Latest / CCC West Covina / The Attitude Behind Adultery, Part 1

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The Attitude Behind Adultery, Part 1 · CCC West Covina

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Father, we thank you for today. Lord, we are so blessed to be
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here and we just ask that you would teach us much this evening
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that we might grow on a walk with you.
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We thank you Father for the word of God that teaches us how to
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live for the glory of God. We thank you for the word of God
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that shows us the beauty of your presence and who you are and
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what you do. So we just thank you, Father,
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that we could be here and pray, Lord, that you'd open our eyes
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that we might behold the beauty of the Lord in Jesus name, Amen.
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Take your Bible and turn with me to Matthew chapter 5.
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Matthew chapter 5. And last time we were together,
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we asked you, have you murdered anyone lately?
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Some of you took great offense to that.
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Well, if you did, you'll take greater offense this evening
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because I'm going to ask you, have you committed adultery with
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anyone lately? Now you say, well, wait a
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minute, pastor, you're getting over, over the top here.
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Why would someone want to come to our church if you call them a
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murderer and adulterer? Well, listen, I don't do that.
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I just read what the Scriptures say.
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And So what we're looking at in the Bible is something that
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Jesus explains to us about the essence of the law.
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And I think that for most part, we don't understand the law of
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God. Christ came to fulfill the law.
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He didn't come to abolish the law.
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He came to uphold the law of Moses and the prophets.
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That is very, very important. So when he says, I did not come
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to abolish the law, but I came to fulfill the law, that speaks
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volumes to the audience on the hillside of the North Shore, the
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Sea of Galilee, because they might be thinking, who is this
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guy coming and saying the things he's saying, speaking with
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authority? Who does he think he is?
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So we begin to explain to them the essence of the law of God.
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And in our section tonight in Matthew chapter 5, he says these
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words in verse #27 you have heard that it was said you
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should not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone
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who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed
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adultery with her and his heart. If your right eye makes you
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stumble, tear it out. Thought far from you.
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For it's better for you to lose 1 of the parts of your body than
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for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
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If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it
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from you, for it's better for you to lose 1 of the parts of
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your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
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Now if you're on the hillside there in the Sea of Galilee, you
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hear those words, you're you're kind of taken back for, for a
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moment because if Christ says you have heard that it was said
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you should not commit adultery, everybody would say Amen.
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We understand that's the 7th commandment.
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We understood the 6th commandment.
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You should not murder. And we say Amen to that.
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But Christ is concerned not so much about the deed, but the
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desire behind the deed, not so much about the ACT, but the
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attitude behind the act. This is very, very important.
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We live in a, in a nation that is enamoured with marital
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infidelity, sexual promiscuity. In fact, it's, it's literally
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out of control and not only out of control in our nation and in
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the world, but unfortunately out of control inside of the church.
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And Paul would address that in the church, the Church of
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Thessalonica, the church at Corinth, because it is very
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prominent. In fact, our Lord created the
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heavens and the earth. Genesis chapter 1 Genesis
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chapter 2 sin entered in chapter 3 and by the time you come to
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Genesis chapter 6, God is going to destroy every living thing on
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the planet. Why He tells us.
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Genesis chapter 6 verse #5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness
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of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the
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thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
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And that's very, very important how that is stated, that every
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thought, every evil intent of the heart was wicked.
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He didn't mention the acts of those who live on the planet.
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He mentioned the hearts of those who lived on the planet.
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And So what did he do? He destroyed everyone except for
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Noah and his family. God decided to grace Noah and
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his family. 4500 years later, here we sit and the Lord and his
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patience and his long-suffering and his mercy has not destroyed
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the planet. One day He will.
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Second Peter chapter 3, the Book of Revelation tells us how our
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Lord is going to destroy this planet.
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But God has been gracious, He's been merciful to a society that
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has turned their back on the Lord.
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And so you you come to the teaching of Christ in Matthew
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chapter 5 some 2000 years ago, helping people to understand
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what is the true attitude behind the act of adultery.
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Because it's the attitude that dams your soul, not the act
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that's so important to understand.
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Because way before you ever do the ACT, there's a desire and an
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attitude in the soul, in the heart that moves you to do that
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action. And so the Lord wants them to
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understand the intent of the law of God because somehow they
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missed it. Somehow they would think, well,
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I don't murder, so I'm righteous.
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I don't sleep with my neighbor's wife and she doesn't sleep with
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anybody else. So therefore, we're not
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adulterers, We're righteous. We're we're on our way to
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heaven. And the Lord wants to make it
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very clear that that is not the essence of the law of God.
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It goes much deeper than that, and the Bible is replete with
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warnings. We studied it when we looked at
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First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3.
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For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is,
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that you abstain from sexual immorality, any kind of sexual
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act outside the realm of marriage.
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This is the will of God for your life.
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If you want to know what God wants for you, this is it.
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He wants you pure, He wants you holy, He wants you seeking His
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name. He says that each of you know
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how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in
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lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God,
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and that no man transgressed and defraud his brother in the
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matter, because the Lord is the avenger and all these things,
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just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
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For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in
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sanctification. So he who rejects this is not
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rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
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Now Paul is writing to the Church of Thessalonica.
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There is no greater model of a church than the Church of
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Thessalonica. It is the model church and yet
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he's already said I've warned you already about this.
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I'm going to warn you again because I want your walk to
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excel even more. This is the will of God.
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Even your sanctification that you abstain from any kind of
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sexual activity outside the realm of marriage.
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So important fact, Solomon, say it this way.
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Drink water from your own cistern.
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Proverbs chapter 5, verse 15. And fresh water from your own
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well. Should your springs be dispersed
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abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be yours
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alone, and not for strangers with you.
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Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your
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youth as a loving hind in a graceful dough.
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Let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
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Be exhilarated always with her love.
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For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress,
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and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
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For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he
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watches all his paths. His own iniquities will capture
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the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of a sin, and he
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will die for lack of instruction.
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In the greatness of his folly he will go astray.
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So whether you're the Old Testament or whether you're the
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New Testament, there is a plethora of warnings all
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throughout the Scripture to help you understand the importance of
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honoring and glorifying the Lord.
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The purpose of sex in marriage is confirmed in First
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Corinthians 7. The perversion of sex outside of
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marriage is condemned in First Corinthians chapter 6.
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And the persistent pursuit of sex, whether in marriage or
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outside of marriage, can be corruptive.
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So we need to understand that. In fact, turn with me in your
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Bible to 1st Corinthians Chapter 7.
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This is the the purpose of sex in the realm of marriage.
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It's for pleasure and for protection.
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The Bible is very clear about this.
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It says the 1st Corinthians 7 and verse #3 the husband must
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fulfill his duty to his wife and likewise also the wife to her
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husband. Other words, you have
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responsibility as a man to fulfill the needs of your wife
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and vice versa as a wife to fulfill the sexual needs of your
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husband. Why?
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The wife does not have authority over her own body but the
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husband does and likewise also the husband does not have
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authority over his own body, but the wife does.
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Stop depriving one another except by agreement for a time
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that you may devote yourselves to prayer and come together
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again. Said Satan will not tempt you
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because of your lack of self-control.
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So Paul says the purpose of sex and marriage is to fold pleasure
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and protection. That's why your body is not your
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own, but it's your husband's or your wife's.
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And don't refrain from having sexual intimacy in your marriage
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except only for the purpose of prayer, because if you do, you
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will open the door for Satan to take advantage of you and to
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tempt you and move you away from the purposes of God.
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And then at First Corinthians chapter 6, Paul goes from the
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purpose of sex inside of marriage to the perversion of
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sex outside of marriage. He says this.
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All things verse 12 are lawful for me, but not all things are
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profitable. All things are lawful for me,
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but I will not be mastered by anything.
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Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God
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will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for
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immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
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You see, this is again the Church of Corinth.
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He's speaking to people in the church.
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He's not talking to people outside the church, but people
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who who profess Christianity inside the church.
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And he tells them, look, sex is more than biological.
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We look at it that way. Well, that's why they use the
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phrase, well, food is for the stomach and the stomach is for
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food. Sex is for the body and the body
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is for sex. No, no, sex is not more than
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biological. Why?
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Because your body is for the Lord, that's why he redeemed
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you. You need to understand that.
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So he says now God has not only raised the Lord, but will raise
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us up through his power. Do you not know that your bodies
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are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the
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members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?
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May never be. Or do you not know that the one
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who joins himself to a prostitute is 1 body with her?
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For he says the two shall become one flesh, but the one who joins
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himself to the Lord is 1 spirit with him.
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Flee immorality. Flee Tornaea.
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Any kind of sexual activity outside the realm of marriage,
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run from it. For every other sin that a man
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commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his
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own body. In other words, there's
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something about sex sin that's different than every other kind
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of sin because sexual sin effects not just you physically,
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but it affects you mentally, it affects you emotionally, it
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affects you spiritually, it can end up affecting you
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financially, It affects every aspect of your life.
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So, so understand that your body is for the Lord, and when you
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take your body and join it to someone outside the realm of
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marriage, you're joining the Lord to that prostitute, you're
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joining the Lord to that harlot, and therefore you've defiled the
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name of the Lord. So he goes on to say, excuse me?
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Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
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Spirit who is in you, who we have from God, and that you are
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not your own if you've been bought with the price?
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Therefore, glorify God in your body.
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In other words, your purpose for your body is that God be
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glorified, that God be honored, that God be magnified in your
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body because He indwells you, He lives within you, and you want
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to be careful about what you do with the body where God himself
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dwells, because sex outside of marriage just perverts
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everything about one's life. And then look what Solomon says
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in the book of Proverbs, the 6th chapter, verse 23.
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For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, and
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he proves for discipline of the way of life to keep you from the
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evil woman. Wow, why do you study the Bible?
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Why do you read the Bible? Why do you memorize the Bible?
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To keep you from the evil woman. It says from the smooth tongue
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of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your
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heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
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For on account of a harlot 1 is reduced to a loaf of bread, and
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adulteress hunts for the precious life.
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Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?
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Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
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So was the one who goes to his neighbor's wife.
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Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.
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Verse 32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking
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sense. He would destroy himself,
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doesn't wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will
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not be blotted out for jealousy and rages a man, and he will not
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spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom,
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nor will he be satisfied, though you give many gifts.
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Again, that the Bible is just replete with warnings about
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sexual sin because it is so damaging, not just to you
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personally, but to your family, to your friends, to your church,
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basically to anyone you come in contact with.
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And so you come to a place where you begin to ask the question,
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what is it about this pursuit of passionate pleasure that is so
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prevailing in the lives of people?
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Well, unless a heart is transformed by God, that passion
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will rage uncontrollably. But even though the heart has
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been transformed, the temptations for the believer are
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great. That's why James says these
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words. James chapter 1, he says very
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clearly that no one say verse 13 when he is tempted.
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I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil,
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and he himself does not tempt anyone.
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But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by
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his own lust. Then when he lust has conceived,
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he gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings
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forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved
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brethren, because it's so easy to be deceived.
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We think that we can sin without consequences, but you can't
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because the result of the consequences of sin is a death
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like existence, A lifeless existence.
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And so Christ comes along because the Pharisees believe
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that if you didn't do certain things, you were righteous.
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If you don't murder, if you don't steal, you don't lie, you
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don't cheat, you don't commit adultery, you're righteous.
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You're on your way to glory. All you got to do is make sure
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you accomplish the right feat, do the right thing.
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And to some degree, look at us. We tend to think, oh man, I
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would never, never sleep with another woman, or my wife would
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never sleep with another man. Oh, that's just so perverted,
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so, so evil, so wrong. Well, that was the attitude of
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the Pharisees. They had the same attitude it
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should be, except for the grace of God.
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There we go, right? But the Pharisees had this
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attitude. Look at us, we are pure and holy
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and righteous because we don't murder anybody, we don't lie to
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anybody, and we don't sleep with anybody outside of our own
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family. And that was how they
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accomplished their righteous behavior and thought that that
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would get them into glory. But Christ comes along and says
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you have heard that it was said. He didn't say you have heard
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that Moses said no, he says you have heard that it was said by
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who? By the ancients of old.
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He says that over and over here 6 times.
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He says that because he gives, he begins each illustration with
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the same phrase. You have heard that it was said
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by by the ancients of old, by the by the rabbis of old.
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This the tradition that you've been taught.
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But I came to tell you the truth and the truth Trump's tradition.
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So you must understand the essence of the law of Moses
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because I came to fulfill that law.
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You see, everything that the Pharisees, Pharisees did was
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external. But what Christ does is
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internal. Christ deals with the inside of
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a person. They, they would say we are
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righteous because of what we don't do or what we do do.
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And Christ says you're not righteous because there anything
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you do or don't do, you have to be righteous on the inside.
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Your heart must be cleansed. Jesus is showing them, oh why
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you might not murder someone physically.
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You hate them in your heart. You slander them, you speak
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against them, and while you might not sleep with your
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neighbor's wife, you lust for her in your heart.
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And because you lust for her, you've already committed
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adultery in your heart. So it's not the act of adultery
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that dams your soul, it's the attitude of adultery that dams
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the soul. It's on the inside, not what's
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on the outside. You see, they could, they could
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stop themselves from committing the act of murder.
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They could stop themselves from committing the adulterous act.
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They can do that externally, right?
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But they could not stop what was on the inside of their hearts,
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the hatred, the lustful thoughts, because they were
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powerless to do that. They were hopeless to do that
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because they were godless, therefore they could not conquer
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the enemy of their soul. So Christ comes along and says,
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You have heard that it was said by the ancients of old, but I
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say unto you, you have misunderstood the law of Moses.
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When God gave the 10 commandments, he wasn't just
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talking about things you don't do.
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The commandments of God go much deeper than that.
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So let me show you how that works.
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Let me explain to you what the Bible really says about the law
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of God, because in today's day and age, this is what we say.
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Well, the Old Testament is about the law of God and the New
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Testament is about the grace of God.
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But I'm afraid we've got that wrong.
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Not that a New Testament doesn't teach about the grace of God.
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It does. Not that the Old Testament
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doesn't teach about the law of God, because it does.
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But we've forgotten the purpose and the meaning of the law of
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God. So let me say it to you this
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way. The Old Testament begins with
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the Pentateuch, the law of Moses, right?
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And so the law that God gives is initiated in the Pentateuch from
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the Pentateuch. Yet the prophets, the prophets
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will elaborate on that. What that which was initiated in
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the Pentateuch and then you have the New Testament and Jesus
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comes and he consummates what was elaborated on based on what
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was initiated in the Pentateuch. You need to understand that, for
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instance, all throughout the Old Testament you'll hear the phrase
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the Law of Moses stated, or as Moses himself taught us, that 15
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times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New
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Testament, there's a reference to the law of Moses because
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Christ did not come to abolish that law.
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He came to fulfill the law of God.
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And so in the Pentateuch it ends with a specific book.
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That book is called the Book of Deuteronomy.
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Deuteronomy could probably be the most important book in the
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entire Old Testament, and the book of Deuteronomy, which is
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the second law, or it is literally the reiteration of the
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law of God. The nation of Israel is about to
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embark on the promised land, and so Moses is going to reiterate
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everything in the law. They got to get it.
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Can't miss it. You have to understand it.
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You're about to embark in a Pagan land, and everything I'm
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going to say to you is a reiteration of what's already
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been said. But I need to make it very clear
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and plain to you. So he does.
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He's preparing them to enter into the promised land.
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Did you know that Jesus quotes the book of Deuteronomy more
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than any other Old Testament book?
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Did you know that the New Testament writers quote the book
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of Deuteronomy more so than any other New Testament book?
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Why would they do that? Because it's the most important
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book in the Old Testament 80 times.
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In the New Testament, the book of Deuteronomy is quoted 80
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times. So important to realize what the
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book is all about. In fact in Deuteronomy chapter
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31 every seven years this was to be read at the feast of
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Tabernacles. What the book of Deuteronomy it
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says in verse 10 of Deuteronomy 31.
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Then Moses commanded them, saying, at the end of every
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seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at
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the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before
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the Lord your God, at the place which He would choose, you shall
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read this law in front of all Israel.
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In their hearing assemble the people, the men, the women, the
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children, the alien who is in your own, your town, so that
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they might hear and learn and fear the Lord your God.
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And be careful to observe all the words of this law.
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Their children who have not known will hear and learn to
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fear the Lord your God as long as you live on the land which
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you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.
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Remember why Israel went to Babylonian captivity for 70
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years? It's because he didn't keep the
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sabbatical, the sabbatical year, like God intended.
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And because they didn't, they didn't read the book of
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Deuteronomy and therefore they did not understand the law of
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God, which is rooted in God's love for his people.
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It's no wonder they went into captivity.
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So the book of Deuteronomy is a summation of, of the Pentateuch.
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It's a summation of basically all of the Old Testament because
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the prophets would elaborate on what the Law of Moses stated.
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And in the Law of Moses there is one verse that is a summation of
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the book of Deuteronomy, which is a summation of the entire
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Bible, making Deuteronomy the most important book in the Old
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Testament. Aren't you glad you came
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tonight? Because you probably would have
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never guessed that one. And that that verse is a very
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familiar verse. It's Deuteronomy 6 verse #5
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which says you shall love the Lord your God with all of your
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heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
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That that is the summation of the law of God.
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You should love the Lord your God.
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Hear, O Israel, the Lord of God is 1 And that that that is put
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inside the the Mezusa and the mezusa is just another word for
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doorpost. And inside that mezusa is the
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law of God, is the the great Shema to hear, hear what about
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the Lord? God is 1.
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And you shall love him with all your heart.
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And you, you're going to a Jewish Home, and you had that
32:32
mezuzah hanging on the door. And the Jewish person will walk
32:36
in and he'll just put his hand over the mezuzah, or maybe he'll
32:42
lick his lips and kiss his lips and then touch the mezuzah.
32:45
Because the Lord is the guardian of that house and the guardian
32:49
of their doors, and they look at it as protection.
32:54
And it becomes the, the pivotal plastic of Scripture for
32:57
families. Because it goes on to say these
33:00
words. These words which I am
33:02
commanding you today shall be on your heart and you shall teach
33:05
them diligently to your sons and shall talk to them when you sit
33:08
in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down,
33:11
when you rise up, shall bind them as a sign on your hand.
33:15
And they shall be as frontals on your forehead to write them on
33:18
the doorpost of your house, on your gates.
33:22
That's why there's the Mezusa, that's why they wear the
33:24
phylacteries. That's why they hang this law
33:27
from them and they take it literally that they shall wrap
33:30
it around them so that when they walk and they talk and no matter
33:33
where they go, it's always about loving the Lord your God.
33:41
Because you see, that's what the law of God is all about.
33:48
It's about learning to love the one true God.
33:55
You see, God was primarily into a relationship with Israel.
34:05
God redeemed Israel. God chose Israel.
34:12
God loved Israel before he ever gave them the law.
34:19
Why? Because the law of God regulates
34:25
how you love God. Need to understand that the law
34:32
of God was given after the love of God for His people to show
34:42
the people how it is they would love God with all their heart,
34:47
all their soul and all their strength and all their might
34:52
see, and that's exactly what the 10 commandments, the moral law
34:57
of God is all about. It's about demonstrating how it
35:02
is I truly love God and love my neighbor because in the book of
35:08
Deuteronomy, that's the emphasis all throughout the book.
35:12
Loving God and loving your alien neighbor.
35:16
If you love God, you'll love your brother, you'll love your
35:19
neighbor. In fact, isn't that true that
35:23
Jesus says these words? And Matthew chapter 22, when the
35:27
Pharisees came to him and said, Lord, what's the greatest
35:29
commandment? What's He say?
35:32
He says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
35:35
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
35:38
Deuteronomy 6 verse #5 So, So the Lord's asked the question,
35:42
what's the greatest commandment? He didn't say You shall have no
35:45
other gods before me. Didn't say that.
35:49
Don't you say remember, remember the Sabbath day and keep it
35:52
holy? No, says you should love the
35:56
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
35:59
This is the great and foremost commandment.
36:03
The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as
36:06
yourself. And then comes verse #40 That's
36:10
what it says. On these two commandments depend
36:16
the whole law and the prophets. On these two commandments hang
36:27
the law of Moses and the prophets.
36:31
Everything is about loving God and loving your neighbor.
36:34
And if you love your neighbor because you love God, you won't
36:39
commit adultery, you won't murder, you won't steal, you
36:44
won't covet. Why?
36:46
Because you love God and you love him so much you love your
36:49
neighbor so you won't defraud your neighbor.
36:54
The reason people steal and lie and commit adultery is simply
36:59
because they do not love God. Therefore they cannot love their
37:05
neighbor. See, and here were the Pharisees
37:11
claiming righteousness based on the fact that he didn't do this
37:14
or didn't do that. But that's not the purpose of
37:19
the law of God. And so the Lord would explain
37:27
all that He means. The law did not 'cause Israel's
37:34
relationship with God. The law was the result of
37:42
Israel's relationship with God. Oh, by the way, that's the exact
37:48
same way it is in the New Testament.
37:50
Did you know that? Sure it is.
37:55
What's the Bible say? We love him because what?
37:58
He first loved us. And So what did Christ say?
38:05
If you love me, you will do what you will.
38:09
Keep my commandments. See, if you love me, you'll obey
38:20
me. And how will I obey you?
38:24
By understanding all that you say.
38:26
And follow me through on that. If you go back to Deuteronomy
38:31
chapter 10, listen to this verse 12.
38:36
Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you?
38:41
That's a good question, right? Moses is asking Israel, the
38:45
nation, What does the Lord require from you but to fear the
38:50
Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and love Him, and to
38:56
serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
38:59
soul, and to keep his, the Lord's commandments and His
39:05
statutes, which I am committing you today for your good.
39:09
See, the regulations only come after the relationship, for the
39:17
relationship is 1 of love. Therefore, the way we love God
39:26
back is demonstrated to Him by obeying all that He says, and
39:32
therefore the demands of the law become the delights of 1's love
39:38
for their God. That's so important to
39:42
understand. It says behold verse #14 to the
39:48
Lord. Behold, to the Lord your God
39:50
belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that
39:53
is in it. Yet on your Father's did the
39:56
Lord set his affection to love them, and He chose their
40:00
descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this
40:05
day. The Lord loved you.
40:07
The Lord chose you. The Lord redeemed you.
40:15
The regulations never came until there was redemption.
40:22
They were purchased, bought out of slavery in Egypt.
40:28
So he says in verse 16, here's the key.
40:30
So circumcise your heart. God wants the heart cut away all
40:38
the the, the frivolity and cut away all the the hypocrisy and
40:42
cut away all the the immorality and cut away all those things
40:47
that keep you from loving God. God says, circumcise your heart.
40:52
I want your heart to be solely devoted to me.
40:56
That's what God wants. He wants the heart.
40:58
So when Christ comes along and says, you have heard that it was
41:02
said, do not commit adultery, but I say unto you, it's all
41:07
about the heart. It's what's happening on the
41:10
inside. The Pharisees were into the
41:14
external show, but I'm into the internal soul.
41:22
Big difference. And Christ says this is what's
41:27
important. You need to understand this.
41:33
And so it goes on and says these words of verse 17 of Deuteronomy
41:36
10. For the Lord your God is the God
41:38
of gods and the Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the
41:40
awesome God, who does not show partiality or take a bribe.
41:45
He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows
41:48
his love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.
41:52
See. Love the Lord your God with all
41:53
your heart, and love your brother.
41:55
Love the alien. Reach out to them, care for
41:58
them. So show your love for the alien.
42:02
Verse #19 For you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
42:07
You shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve Him, cling
42:11
to Him. You should swear by His name.
42:16
He is your praise and He is your God who has done these great and
42:20
awesome things for you, which your eyes have seen.
42:25
Chapter 11 verse #1 You shall therefore love the Lord your God
42:30
and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and
42:34
His commandments. You see the order, It's always
42:37
love Him. And how do you know you love
42:40
Him? You keep His commands, you keep
42:41
His statutes, you keep His ordinances.
42:43
He gives them to you to regulate how it is you truly love the
42:47
Lord. He has shown you how to love Him
42:50
and how to love your brother because you love Him.
42:53
He has spelled it out very clearly for you so that there's
42:57
nothing for you to even think about.
43:02
God did it all for you. Verse 22 of Chapter 11.
43:07
For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am
43:10
committing you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in
43:14
all His ways and hold fast to Him, then the Lord will drive
43:19
out all these nations from before you, and you will
43:22
dispossessed nations greater and mightier than you, But you got
43:28
to love the Lord. Then you come to Deuteronomy
43:33
chapter chapter 31, excuse me, chapter 30 and verse 15.
43:41
Moses says, see, I have set before you today life and
43:45
prosperity, death and adversity, in that I command you today to
43:49
love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways and to keep His
43:53
commandments and His statutes and His judgments.
43:55
You see, the order is always the same.
43:57
Love the Lord your God. How do you love him?
44:00
By keeping His statutes, by keeping His commandments, by
44:03
keeping His ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that
44:09
the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are
44:12
entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away,
44:16
you see it's all about the heart.
44:18
God's always been concerned about the internal, not the
44:21
external, because if the internal changes, the external
44:25
will by nature change. But you can live a life of
44:29
hypocrisy on the outside because there's been no transformation
44:34
on the inside. That was the Pharisees.
44:38
That's how they live their lives.
44:40
But God's always been concerned about the heart.
44:44
But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn
44:47
away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you
44:50
today that you shall surely perish.
44:53
You will not prolong your days in the land where you are
44:55
crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
44:58
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today.
45:02
And I've set before you life and death, the blessing and the
45:04
curse. So choose life in order that you
45:07
may live, you and your descendants.
45:09
How? How will you live?
45:10
By loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by
45:15
holding fast to Him. For this is your life and the
45:19
length of your days, that you may live in the land which the
45:22
Lord swore to your father's to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give
45:27
to them. So important to understand the
45:33
law of God. The law of God was given to
45:40
regulate how it is we love the God who has already put us in a
45:46
relationship with him. God never gave the the, the 10
45:51
commandments for to, for us to just to blindly obey and have no
45:56
heart behind it. That that's just hypocrisy that
46:00
means nothing to God. God's not looking for the
46:04
external show. He's not looking for the life
46:10
that looks good on the outside. Man looks on the asset.
46:14
God looks at the heart, and So what he is doing in Matthew
46:18
chapter 5, saying, Look, this is what you say.
46:21
You have heard that it was taught by the ages of old.
46:24
You should not do this. You should not do that.
46:26
But I say unto you, the great but ologies of Scripture, but
46:30
ologies give you the greatest theology.
46:33
But I say unto you, But I say, He is going to reiterate the law
46:41
of Moses. He's going to reiterate the law
46:45
of Moses that was giving out of a love for a people that would
46:49
obey their God and serve him freely, openly, and only so
46:59
important to understand the sum of the Old Testament is simply
47:08
love God. The sum of the New Testament is
47:11
simply love God. It's all about loving the Lord
47:20
our God and God. God wanted to make sure that
47:26
they just didn't go through the motions of obeying.
47:32
Remember the rich young ruler? What must I do to inherit
47:36
eternal life? Evidently he realized he was
47:38
missing something. Evidently he had missed eternal
47:42
life in this ruler, this scribe, this, this rich man came to
47:49
Christ and he asked them, you know, Lord, what must I do to
47:53
inherit eternal life? And Christ says to him in Mark's
47:59
account, Why do you call me good?
48:03
For only God is is good. And so he comes to the Lord, and
48:12
the Lord says these words, if you wish to enter the life, keep
48:20
the commandments perfectly, keep the mall without exception.
48:29
Then he said to him, Which ones? What do you mean which ones?
48:36
You know which ones there are? Which ones?
48:38
So Christ says he gives him the loving your brother ones, the
48:45
easier ones, the simpler ones. He says you should not commit
48:51
murder. I haven't killed anybody.
48:55
Should not commit adultery. I don't sleep with anybody else
48:58
but my wife. You should not steal.
49:01
Why should I steal? I'm rich.
49:04
Should not bear false witness. I don't lie.
49:05
I need to lie about anything. I have everything.
49:09
Honor your father and mother. Well, I've done that.
49:11
That's why I'm rich. They got their inheritance.
49:15
And you shall love your neighbor as yourself, which, by the way,
49:18
the summation of the law, Love God, love your neighbor.
49:22
The young man said to him, All these things I have kept, What
49:32
am I still lacking? Oh, see, even though he kept
49:37
them all in his own mind, he was still lacking.
49:43
You see, what the what the the religious establishment did was
49:46
was just lower the standard of the law.
49:52
If if I can relegate the law to what I don't do and what I do
49:55
do, then I can keep it. I'll be good, I'll be righteous,
49:59
I'll go to heaven. But that was never the intent of
50:03
the law. Intent of the law was to
50:06
determine the condition of the soul and what's happening on the
50:09
inside of a of a man. So Jesus said to him, if you
50:14
wish to be complete, if you wish to be perfect, if you want to go
50:17
to heaven because you have a perfect life, a sinless life, go
50:22
sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
50:26
treasure in heaven and come follow me.
50:31
What did Christ do? He drove him to the 1st 4
50:36
commandments, the ones that dealt with his relationship with
50:39
God and the very first one. You shall have no other gods
50:43
before me. But he did.
50:49
What was the God? He had himself His riches, they
50:56
were more important to him than the one true God.
51:02
But when the young man heard this statement, he went away
51:04
grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
51:12
He was unwilling to surrender to the one God who rules the world.
51:18
He was an idolater in his heart. And even though he would say I
51:23
never murdered anybody, I'm sure he hated somebody.
51:26
And even though he never committed adultery, I'm sure
51:29
there there was lust in his heart after someone else, but he
51:32
never saw that. He never understood that he
51:35
didn't really love his neighbor as he loved himself.
51:38
And by the way, Jesus would change that in John chapter 13
51:42
when he would say a new commandment I given to you a new
51:46
command, say a new one, another one.
51:49
We got enough. Why are you going to give us a
51:50
new one, A new commandment, not in number, but in quality.
51:55
That is a new commandment I given to you, that you love one
52:00
another even as I have loved you.
52:07
See that no longer loving your brother as you love yourself.
52:11
No longer is that any good. Doesn't work.
52:15
Why? Because there's a selfishness
52:17
there. I want you to love one another
52:19
as I have loved you. A selfless, sacrificial kind of
52:23
outreach and ministry to your brother.
52:25
Because you love me. That's what I want.
52:31
That's the new commandment. That's how you shall now live.
52:38
So Christ comes along and says simply this I, I, I, I just want
52:43
you to love me. That's it.
52:47
I love you. I redeemed you, I chose you, I
52:52
called you. I I just want you to love me
52:56
with all your heart, and that's what the law of God is all
53:00
about. It's about loving God with all
53:01
your heart and, and demonstrating that thou shalt
53:08
have know the God before me. That's the singularity of love,
53:12
right? Know the Gods before me.
53:16
None. There's one God, and I love him
53:23
because He's my God, and I will worship him because he's the one
53:28
I love. Thou shalt have no other gods
53:31
before me. That's the singularity of love.
53:34
Thou shalt not make unto thee any carved image or any likeness
53:40
of anything that is in heaven above, that is in the earth
53:44
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
53:48
And thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
53:52
For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the
53:55
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and 4th
53:58
generations of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto
54:03
thousands to them that love me. This is the loyalty of love.
54:10
Love is very loyal, love is very faithful.
54:15
So God says, this is the singularity of love, and this is
54:19
the loyalty of love. This is how you know you love me
54:24
with all your heart. Thou shalt not take the name of
54:28
the Lord thy God in vain. This is the sublimity of love,
54:35
the great exaltation of the name of God.
54:38
In not ever defaming the name of God or treating it as if it
54:41
means nothing. You remember the Sabbath day and
54:47
to keep it holy, that's a sanctity of love.
54:52
The Sabbath day was never a day just designed, Forrest.
54:58
The Sabbath day was designed for one reason, for you to be holy.
55:05
And you love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your
55:08
mind. You never say to God, you know,
55:11
I know there's a day to worship you, but I'm going to go to the
55:13
beach. I'm going to go to the party.
55:17
I'm going to be with my friends. Why?
55:21
Because you love him. It's called the sanctity of
55:25
love. And then he says, honor your
55:29
father and mother. This is the respectability of
55:31
love. Respect.
55:34
Honor the parents that God gave you.
55:38
Thou shalt not kill. That's the dignity of love.
55:44
Why? Because man is made in God's
55:45
image. He's an image bearer.
55:48
You treat him with dignity and respect.
55:52
Thou shalt not commit adultery. That's the purity and the
55:55
fidelity of love. It's singly minded so that it
56:00
doesn't pursue someone else outside the realms of marriage.
56:04
Thou shalt not steal. That's the generosity of love.
56:09
You're generous to give, not to take from someone else because
56:13
you're selfish. Thou shalt not bear false
56:17
witness against thy brother. That's the integrity and honesty
56:21
of love. And thou shalt not covet thy
56:26
neighbour's house, the neighbour's wife, manservant,
56:31
his maidservant, his ox, his ass, or anything that is his
56:35
neighbour's. Why do you do that?
56:37
Because that's the serenity of love.
56:40
I'm content with what I have. I'm at peace with what I have.
56:44
I don't need what you have. I don't even want what you have
56:49
because I'm at peace with what I have.
56:50
Because what I have is what God has given to me.
56:54
And God says these 10 commandments are strictly about
57:01
your love for me and your love for your brother.
57:05
And those who love me will follow me and obey me.
57:13
Remember the words of Christ when He said this in Luke 16.
57:22
He said you, the Pharisees, are they who justify yourselves
57:29
before men, but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly
57:38
esteemed before men is an abomination in the sight of God.
57:46
That's just a tremendous indictment against the
57:50
religiosity and hypocrisy of the religious establishment.
57:55
What you, what you do for a show on the outside that everybody
57:59
oohs and awe is about, that's an abomination to me.
58:04
Because your heart doesn't love me, you only love yourself.
58:09
That's your God, not me, and therefore all your acts are
58:16
truly an abomination. John said this way in first John
58:21
24. The one who says I've come to
58:25
know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar, is a
58:35
liar, and the truth is not in him.
58:45
You can't say I love God and disobey His word.
58:49
God says, that's just an abomination to me because if you
58:53
love me, you will keep my commandments because the
58:56
commandments are the regulation of how you love in a
59:01
relationship with the true and living God.
59:05
I've spelled it out for you. I made it very clear to you.
59:10
And so the Lord comes along and, and here he is on the, on the,
59:13
the north slope of the Sea of Galilee saying, Oh, I know what
59:17
you've heard. I know what you've been taught.
59:20
You've been given all these traditions, but I'm here to give
59:23
you the truth behind all the commandments that I've given
59:28
because I've come to fulfill the law, not abolish the law.
59:31
I am the embodiment of the law. I am the, the, the consummate
59:37
truth of all that Moses said people would say, well, I don't
59:46
love the Lord. And the Pharisees knew they
59:48
couldn't love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind straight
59:50
anyway. So they they relegated the
59:52
commandments to something that they that looked made them look
59:54
good on the outside. Because the place I I can't do
59:59
that. I don't.
1:00:01
I don't love the Lord with all my and I don't love my neighbor.
1:00:05
And now God got you right where he wants you because you have
1:00:09
the inability, the impossibility to ever do what he asks.
1:00:18
So he says, unless your righteousness exceeds that it
1:00:20
describes the Pharisees, you'll never enter the Kingdom.
1:00:25
Like, whoa, I guess we're not getting in.
1:00:29
What do you mean? Because the righteousness that
1:00:33
Ioffer, it's the only thing that gets you there.
1:00:37
And my righteousness can be yours.
1:00:42
But you got to come to me my way.
1:00:43
You got to come on my terms. You got to come humbly before
1:00:48
me. See, Christ is driving into a
1:00:51
point of desperation, a point that says, man, oh, I can't do
1:00:57
that. I can't love you like I should.
1:01:01
My heart is deceitful, it's desperately wicked.
1:01:04
There is lustful ideas and perversions within my heart.
1:01:09
I hate my brother. I want to murder my brother.
1:01:12
On the inside I don't commit the ACT, but on the inside I can't
1:01:14
stand him. And I want my neighbor's wife.
1:01:20
So what do I do? Christ has come to me, all you
1:01:23
that labor and have you laid and I'll give you rest.
1:01:25
Come to me and I will transform your inner man.
1:01:30
I will save your soul. He's driving them there.
1:01:36
But isn't it interesting that when the greatest preacher
1:01:42
preaches the greatest sermon ever recorded, nobody repents.
1:01:50
Nobody. Nobody is that convicted that
1:01:53
says, Oh Lord, save me, Lord, I cry out and beg for mercy.
1:01:59
No one does, are they marvel at his words.
1:02:01
Never a man spoke like this man spoke, but nobody repented of
1:02:09
their sin. Isn't that amazing?
1:02:14
I just, I just I marvel at that. I read this.
1:02:17
I think I am so convicted. But evidently they weren't
1:02:23
convicted. Needless to say, our Lord came
1:02:28
to present the truth. Next week we'll we'll dive more
1:02:34
into the text itself. But I thought it'd be good to
1:02:37
set the tone for what is Christ is saying when he says, look,
1:02:41
this is what you've been taught, but this is the truth behind the
1:02:44
law of Moses. This is what I always want.
1:02:50
I love you enough to redeem you. I love you enough to choose you,
1:02:55
I love you enough to call you, I love you enough to Commission
1:02:58
you, I love you enough to indwell you, and if you love me,
1:03:05
you'll keep my commandments. Let's pray.
1:03:10
Father, we thank you for today and the things you've taught us
1:03:12
and so much to to study and so much to learn.
1:03:19
I, I pray for all of us that Lord, you do a mighty work in
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our hearts. Help us see the intent of all
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that the law means and how all you've asked is that we love the
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Lord our God with all of our hearts, soul, mind, and strength
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and teach them to our children. They walk by the way and they
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sit by the side. Somehow we would invest in them
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the truth of loving God, the God who was the Redeemer of man's
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soul. There's someone here tonight
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that doesn't know you. We pray for them should work in
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their heart cause him to come to a place of repentance.
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The crowd for mercy and say, Lord save me from my sin, that I
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might serve you only I pray in Jesus name, Amen.