A Passion for Purity (Part 1 of 2)

The how do we hope to walk in purity when we face the constant barrage of temptation, invitations to compromise around every corner. That's the pressing question at hand today on Truth for Life as Alistair Begg continues a series called lessons for life. This message was originally addressed to college students. But the lessons apply to everyone of us of Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 20. My son, keep your father's commandments, and do not forsake your mother's teaching, buying them upon your heart. Whatever fasten them around your neck when you walk they will guide you when you sleep.

They will watch over you when you awake. They will speak to you for these commands at a lamp. This teaching is a light in the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you away from the immortal woman from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife do not last in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread and the adulterous praise upon your very life can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched, so is he who sleeps with another man's wife. No one who touches her will go unpunished. Father open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things in your word for Jesus sake. I want this evening to simply address with you in the time that is available to us, how to maintain a passion for purity, how to maintain a passion for purity from the humility with which we dealt last evening to the purity to which we now turn this evening and it also answers the question, why is it that good people do bad things.

How is it we say to ourselves that these authors whom we've been reading through the years these pastors to those tapes. We've listened and these folks who work startling examples of Christian rectitude. How is it that they could make such a disaster of their ministry and of their lives in relationship to this matter of personal purity and the answer that I believe is that while it may appear to Oz on the outside to have been some immediate, instantaneous and dramatic declension. In point of fact what is been going on in the lives of those individuals unbeknown even in many cases to those nearest and dearest to them is a slow steady leakage and eventually when the tire of their life. Is it where is unable to sustain it any longer. It eventually blows out the rest of the air, and suddenly you have a catastrophe on the freeway of life. I want to give to you some pointers that remain pointers in my own life there pointers in my own life as of today, as of today in my hotel room on my own. As of last evening, alone in my hotel room. I'm not here to tell you young people about stuff that is at arms length to me. I'm not here to suggest to you that I would be able to offer to you that which is not uppermost and vital for me in my own personal pilgrimage. We are all those who are learning seeking to learn from the one who is provided for us the answers. So how then we ask ourselves, are we going to build a make it through another day and another week make it through another year of our lives with a passion for purity.

I have a number of points I'll do as many of them as I can in the time that I have number one if we are going to maintain a passion for purity in our lives. It is imperative that we cherish the word of God that we cherish the word of God.

I use the word cherish purposefully if I were to ask you to give me a synonym for cherish.

You would be hard-pressed. I know that because every so often in the last 12 or 13 years I have had young couples come to me and tell me that their writing their own marriage valves and so I say that is fine and let me see them. When you've finished, and I watch and wait for them to see how they're going to manage to convey the notion of cherish in some other English words. It is almost a lost word that means to volume 2 prize to lay hold off to put Zaks to love to adore, to cherish if you and I are going to make any meaningful attempt at maintaining a passion for purity, then we're going to have to cherish the word of God. The opening verses of Proverbs. Seven give to us a number of words which help us to unpack the notion of cherishing God's word.

What will it mean for me to cherish the word of God will look at the verbs that he uses my son. He says keep my words store up my commands keep my commands. Guard my teachings buying them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart say to wisdom, you're my sister and call understanding your kinsman and all of those very graphic important variables provide for us a picture of what is going to mean to get beyond simply using the Bible as either a textbook for our study in the biblical studies department autos approved textbook whereby we are able to discuss with others or as a kind of little promise book to which we turn from time to time to get beyond all of that to the expedience of the psalmist in the opening. Sam, who distancing himself from the proud in the scoffers of his day, says that the man who is walking in the center of God's will finds his delight in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. In other words, the Bible is vitally important to him.

Some years ago before the death of the late Francis Schaeffer, I came across a quote he was now suffered from cancer for a number of years. His health was declining with great rapidity and somebody somewhere had interviewed him and they were asking him about his love for Jesus and his love for the Bible and I cut the cord out and I have it in my files and he says you know now as my life ebbs from me and as I am unable even to see the book. I love to read.

I keep it close beside me at my bedside and when I awaken in the morning I hold it to me and I just packed. I thought what a profoundly moving picture of a man ravished by cancer.

Unable now to see enough to read his book, wanting it close beside him so that he can hold it to and just packed on the tell you young people tonight will never be a testimony in your life and mine like that at the age of 75 or 80, if we do not learn to cherish the book tonight and in these early days, the psalmist in 119 in verse 97 in these well-worn word says or how I love your law I meditate on it all day long. I love all the rural scenery around this lovely place. As I come down in the morning. The says sheep and cows are already becoming my friends on the right-hand side of the road. The sheep are cleaner than many American sheep that I've seen and tended to think that they brought them straight from Scotland are looking so clean, but had perhaps betrays my ignorance of American sheep, in whom I to malign American sheep. But anyway, I've been looking at them in the mornings and I've been looking at the cows as well. Some lovely beasts in the field just along the road that is the correct usage for the word beast. You understand I don't you. It's not a way to describe your brother when he has stolen your socks. You understand the birds of the air and the beasts of the field and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passive through the paths of the sea. Okay, but they chew the cud a lot those cows of you notice that, and if you get close to them. They do this disgusting regurgitating business and they cough it up chew it again. I believe a number of time, but if there's nothing to cough up there be nothing to chew the whole idea of meditating on the word of God on a daily basis is driven by the very notion that we have fed upon the word of God which we are labeled then throughout the day.

If you will pardon the metaphor to regurgitate and feed upon it all over again. Thomas a Kemper said I have no greater joy than to be in a nuke with the book orders you would say in a knock with the book. How about you young people to cherish the word of God.

I want to tell you something if you miss out on this one.

The question is not if you are going to stumble in the matter of purity.

The question is when you're going to stumble in the matter of purity that is a direct correlation between the place of the word of God, controlling and dominating and guiding my life and my ability to maintain a passion for purity, wherewithal shall a young man cleanses ways by taking heed. According to thy word. Do you ever go shopping when you're hungry. It's a very dangerous thing to do because you find yourself buying some of the most stupid stuff you ever saw in your life mean things that you know frankly taste like sort of reheated sawdust suddenly become appealing to you all.

I think I would really and joy that you know with a little bit of hot milk friends are going. Don't be so ridiculous, that is, that is horrible stuff everybody knows it's horrible. You say listen, I am so hungry before I even get the Cheerios I need a cardboard box before I get into the stuff there is a real danger and shopping when you're hungry and it is a real danger in going around spiritually hungry when we have not said upon the word of God. Proverbs 27 in verse seven he who is full loads, honey. But to the hungry. Even what is bitter taste sweet and in Hebrews chapter 12. Interestingly, putting the two pictures together, we read of Esau see that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son he sold out on the basis of his hunger. Young people want to tell you tonight it is so vitally important for each of us, no matter how long we'll walk the Christian pathway to ensure that if we are going to have a passion for purity. Sexual purity, biblical purity, whatever purity that is a direct correlation between having a genuine earnest love affair with the word of God, because in it we meet Christ who is the very living word of God. You have a memorization program and how about saying today as I keep my journal I'm going to determine that I will memorize a verse of Scripture, every other day every day every week, whatever it might be some of your only 18 or 19 years old, I would be 52 year and then I let the math department take over from there you can memorize a whole chunk of Scripture before you get out of Cedarville store it away in your heart.

I the great privilege of attending public school in Scotland being taught by all kinds of teachers who was not a Christian school, my teacher in the final two years of public school in Scotland used to write the verses of the day on the blackboard, which had to be memorize before we could begin any of our work and so was in a secular school that I learned a certain manner to sons and the younger of them said to his father. Father give me the portion of goods. It falls to me and he divided unto them his living.

Not long after, and so it goes on I learned that in the age of 11 and one of the great dangers of the proliferation of so many different translations of the Bible is that we don't know what were memorizing.

We don't know what were learning find a Bible fine abortion. Whatever it is whatever they tell you here that's the worship okay get that one get memorizing one of the men in the 60s in Wales who was there was now in heaven but hangs stalwart for campus Crusade for Christ in those days I lived in the same home I see a couple of on a couple of occasions in my life and I would. I remember in Philadelphia in suburban Philadelphia being brought around in the morning with a net with a hand. A firm hand on the back of my neck and I awaken to the day the Lord will roll over and look into the eyes of this man. Hinson, many would say how get up going running knives look him say no you're going running and then he would move his hand around the front grab all the my T-shirt and a great lump.

Just pick me right up out of the bed move me up under my feet said no we're going running and then as soon as he got me putting 1 foot in front of the other were heading along the streets of the Philadelphia server. He said to me hey what is Philippians 314 96. I don't know anything. Well let me tell you what it is I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus say that after me. Okay, okay.

I was go with before you have killed me on his running dream burn another verse of the Bible into me took me back and said there there is a good start to the day learned to cherish the word of God.

Some of us have difficulty with memory. Some of us are blessed with a great memory. Either way, get it in their get the word of God in their secondly if were going to have a passion for purity. We need to stay awake and stay alert. If your Bible is still open a Proverbs 6 and seven. You will notice that the problem of the problem with the individual. Here is that the young man failed to consider what was going on. The characters described here lacked judgment at the window of my house verse six I looked out through the lattice and I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men I you who lacked judgment. He was silly and he was failing to stay awake. He was failing to stay alert.

He was living his life in a kind of moral dream he was living in a kind of indifferent carelessness, and therefore he was susceptible to the disaster which awaited him. If we are going to maintain a passion for purity were going to have to learn lessons from life turn to Proverbs 24.

Solomon says in verse 30. I went past the field of the sluggard past the vineyard of the man who likes judgment thorns that come up everywhere. The ground was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins. So in 30 and 31 you have observation in verse 30. Do you have application.

This is imperative if were going to make it through life, especially to live in the realm of purity we need to see the mass that's out there and we need to apply our hearts to the mess that we see and we then have to on the basis of our understanding of it. Make it referential to our lives and so he says a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

These individuals have failed to stay awake. There failed to stay alert.

First Peter 57. Be self-controlled and alert for the devil is a roaring lion going around seeking those he may devour. Thirdly, if were going to maintain a passion for purity. We need to make our choices in advance and on the basis of God's word. Whenever you find someone who falls into this kind of sin that is more than even chance that they have been making their crucial decisions on the fly. Now you see in the realm of aviation they put these characters in those simulators time and time and time again why so that they may learn to make the right decisions before they have ever to make those decisions when they issue is crucial in life is at stake. I always tell my teenage young people, you better make decisions about moral purity on an afternoon light.

Today was kinda cold and drizzly in Greek can unappetizing go out and make your decisions on that day. Don't tell me that you'll make your decisions in the backseat of your father Scott at 1130 some Friday or Saturday evening because I'm going to tell you. You'll never ever manage you make your decisions tonight when the problem hasn't confronted you on the basis of God's word so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to reference the prior decision know I already made that decision. I know that this is very appealing. I know that this is tremendously urgent in its strong pool, but I already made that decision. I don't think the people who follow file in this regard have said I would and said you know I am going to go out and do wrong.

I think it is that they have never said I am going to do what is right. There's a difference between simply affirming truth and laying down our spiritual milestone in relationship to these things practical wisdom from Alastair Bragg as she continues her series called lessons for life. Today's message is called a passion for purity and this is true for life before we wrap up today. This is the last opportunity I have dimension to your book. Our team is very excited to offer. It's a book geared toward young adults, those in their 20s and 30s, but the principles in this book can apply to any of us. The book is titled is this it, what happens when you've spent your life. Dreaming and working toward a particular goal and things just don't pan out the way you thought they would. Sadly, that's a common reality. Reality that author Rachel Jones has personally experienced in this book Rachel helps us turn away from cultural expectations or visions about what the good life is and instead she points us toward what it looks like to be mature and complete in Christ. Whether you're just finishing college or you're preparing for retirement.

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All of us are truthful. I hope you have a refreshing weekend and hope you listen Monday. As we continue this message about developing a passion for purity is part of Alistair's practical series for college students titled lessons for life. So be sure to join us. Today's program was furnished by Truth for Life for the learning is prolific