February 20, 2025 • 33 mins
Continuing our Sermon on the Mount series, we take a look at what Jesus has to say about one of the most common struggles today: Lust.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think Jesus takes lust so seriously?
Follow-up: How have you seen the effects of lust or objectification in our culture, your school, or among your friends?
2. Jesus calls us to take radical action against sin. What are some things in your life that might be stumbling blocks?
Follow-up: What practical steps can you take this week to "omit" those stumbling blocks, even if it’s inconvenient?
3. The "R" in CORE stands for "Replace." Why is it important to replace sinful desires with something better instead of just trying to stop sin?
Follow-up: What are some ways you can fill your life with a greater love for Jesus so that sin loses its appeal?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you, y'all give her a hand.
Thank you, hannah, for comingup here to read.
I know we gave you the superfun passage to read.
But guys, when I was growing up, I confess I was a very picky
eater.
Do I have any other pickyeaters Like you?
Still are picky, yeah.
So I would eat basically likethree or four things.
(00:22):
One, wendy's chicken nuggets,for whatever reason.
Like Wendy's was the only one.
If you forced me I could doMcDonald's, but Wendy's was it
Like don't get me started BurgerKing garbage.
They weren't good, I didn'twant them.
There was one brand of smokedsausage I don't know why this
specific brand.
Nothing else would do, justthis one Uncrustables grape
(00:43):
jelly, not strawberry,strawberry, unacceptable Grape.
I would eat Pizza.
Pizza Hut was like the top tierPizza rolls eventually worked
their way in there and that wasGarrett's food pyramid.
Like that was literally all thatI would eat and I honestly have
no idea how I made it toadulthood.
I probably already have highcholesterol, but it was all just
processed junk and I had eatenit so long that I acquired a
(01:07):
taste for it.
And when I would try to eatother things, I just didn't want
the real nutritious stuff andit wasn't until I get a bit
older and I start growing that,hey, I need to eat more than
just these three foods, right?
And so I remember, for whateverreason, the first food I tried
that like broke my pickiness wastacos.
I don't know why, butspecifically that I remember and
(01:28):
I ate it and I was like it'slike the music that it's a whole
new world, like it all openedup.
I was like, oh my goodness,like there's actually like other
foods out here, it's fantastic.
And it changed the game, Likeeverything was different for me
and I learned, hey, I had growna taste for this cheap
counterfeit, even though it waskilling me, like it was not good
(01:48):
for me.
If I still ate like that, Iwould probably have all sorts of
health issues to this day, notrealizing what I was really
missing in the real, nutritious,valuable stuff.
Why do I tell you this story?
Well, we've been walkingthrough the Sermon on the Mount
this spring and tonight we're onthe section on lust, matthew 5,
27 through 30,.
What Hannah read earlier andfor many of us in this room
(02:09):
tonight, lust has caused you tohave an appetite for the
counterfeit.
I know it's a hard shiftShallow, selfish relationships
using images of real people on ascreen for pleasure, and my
goal tonight is to show you thatyou can have true freedom in
Jesus.
Specifically, sermon in asentence right here that while
(02:29):
lust distorts how we see others,it damages our relationships
and it enslaves our hearts,jesus calls us to take radical
action to pursue purity, replacesinful desires with a greater
love for him and walk in truefreedom.
We're going to unpack thatsentence.
So if you didn't get that,that's all right.
Real quick, everybody.
Pray with me super fast, bowyour head, close your eyes and
if you would start, would youjust say a quick prayer for
(02:51):
yourself, would you pray foryour heart as we learn God's
word, that we would have openeyes and ears for the Holy
Spirit to convict us.
Maybe this is the first timeyou've ever prayed.
You just say, hey, god, ifyou're there, will you reveal
yourself to me, pray that prayer, and then would you say a quick
(03:15):
prayer for me, that what Iwould say would be helpful, that
it would be grounded and rootedin the gospel, god's word, the
truth, and that it would glorifyhim.
Lord, we thank you so much fortonight and we pray that, as we
jump into a topic that cansometimes be uncomfortable to
(03:35):
talk about, lord, that we wouldjust remove all of those
pretenses, all that weird stuff,and we would just be honest and
real and authentic in thismoment, realizing that we've all
encountered this in some way,shape or form, and that we could
just peel off the things weusually hide behind so that we
could deal with it genuinely, sowe can find freedom and healing
, whatever that might look like,or we could be a part of you
bringing freedom and healing tosomeone else.
(03:55):
God, we love you, we praise you.
Pray all these things in Jesus'name.
And everybody said amen.
So we're jumping in.
I'm going to reread a couple ofthese verses up front Matthew 5,
27, and 28.
Jesus says you have heard thatit was said you shall not commit
adultery, but I tell you thatanyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committedadultery with her in his heart.
And so Jesus continues thisformat that we've seen the last
(04:18):
couple of weeks where heintroduces a command from the
Old Testament.
This is the seventh commandment.
It's found in Exodus 20, 14, ifyou want to write that in your
Bible next to this verse.
And he says you shall notcommit adultery.
That's what God told Moses towrite.
And so the literal law here ifyou don't know what adultery
means is don't cheat on yourspouse, don't cheat on your
husband, don't cheat on yourwife.
(04:38):
But just like the last coupleof weeks, jesus peels back the
layers from the literal commandand says okay, what's the
principle behind it?
Why did God give this command?
What's the heart that'sunderneath this?
And he doesn't stop with justadultery.
He drills down to the heart ofthe sin and he says that
adultery starts in the heart andin the mind, with something
(05:01):
called lust.
Because you can avoid physicaladultery, right.
You can avoid cheating on yourspouse.
But if you look at somebody ina certain way, if you think
about somebody in a certain way,it's still sin, right, when you
desire them with lust.
And why is that?
Well, because lust changes howyou view and how you interact
with people.
(05:21):
When I transferred schools,there were a lot of differences.
I went from a Christian charterschool in sixth grade to a
public school in sixth grade,and it was a jolt, let me tell
you.
And one of the things that Ireally, really noticed, coming
from like a very imperfect butsheltered environment to one
that was not like that were howthe guys that I were in classes
with or on teams with would talkabout girls.
(05:42):
It wasn't oh, you know, she'scool, she's funny, we're friends
it was almost specificallycentered around their bodies.
Or if it wasn't about theirbodies, it was about the things
they've done or their reputation.
And I'll say that it wasn'tjust the guys I'm not just
beating up on the guys here, butthat type of talk actually had
this effect on the girls.
They had this pressure tomeasure up and I remember back
(06:04):
then it just seemed like theculture that I lived in.
It seemed normal because that'show everybody talked.
But looking back, I can justsee how like gross and demeaning
that was.
But the question is, how in theworld do people get to that
point?
Like, how do you just talkabout someone that way?
Well, what it is, it'sconditioning.
All those guys were conditionedto think about people that way,
(06:25):
to lust after women by thesongs that they listened to, the
shows that they watched, themovies they watched and
ultimately, for many, apornography addiction.
And none of them may have goneout and committed adultery, they
weren't even married yet.
But the point is they've beenconditioned to view people a
certain way through lust and itcaused them to treat their
friends, their, maybe sisters inChrist, maybe their classmates,
(06:48):
as lesser than, and treat themhorribly.
And that's why God takes lustso seriously, is it takes
somebody who's made in the imageof God.
You are an image bearer, youhave value given to you by God,
male or female, and it stripsthem of that value and just
turns them into an object to beused for your pleasure.
That's what it is and that'swhy God hates it.
(07:09):
And there's nowhere that this ismore obvious than the current
pornography epidemic.
And just in case you didn'tknow it, it is an epidemic.
Statistics show that over 40million American people
regularly consume it, and it'snot just guys.
One-third of those are women.
And one study says that 11years old is the average age the
child is first exposed and 94%of children will see it by the
(07:29):
age of 14.
And it's not just incrediblywidespread, it's incredibly
damaging.
49% of sex traffickingsurvivors report being forced
into it.
And even those who willfullyparticipate usually end up
depressed, addicted to drugs oralcohol, and suicidal.
In fact, the suicide rate amongthose who are in that industry
is six times higher than thegeneral population.
(07:52):
That means if you participatein, that, your chance or your
statistics of committing suicidesix times higher.
You might not realize it, butwhen you're consuming that,
you're consuming somebody beingexploited what might be the
darkest day of their life.
But here's the thing it's onething to know that it's bad for
society or the people involved,but it's another thing to
(08:15):
understand that it's bad for you, that lust takes a toll on you
because you have an enemy inSatan and his demonic forces and
I know we get weird when wetalk about spiritual warfare,
but there is an enemy, scripturesays, that seeks to steal, kill
and destroy, prowling around.
He's here on earth.
He's not off in hell, somewhereLike he's here.
You've probably never been nearhim, but you've probably been
near his agents.
(08:36):
And again, that's a wholenother sermon.
But, point being, this is oneof his favorite strategies.
Did you know that 56% ofdivorces cite pornography as one
of the main causes?
Think about that, like rightnow you could be playing with
the very thing that Satan wantsto use to wreck your marriage.
Some of you have dealt withwrecked marriages.
(08:57):
You've been on the other sideof that and a lot of times we
think that it's oh, it's asingle person problem.
Right, I'm getting married.
It's going to go away, but it'snot because it trains your
brain for variety.
Why would you ever think thatyou're going to be satisfied
with one person forever and everand ever, when you've been
looking at hundreds, if notthousands, on a screen?
You're training yourself forpolygamy.
(09:17):
You're training yourself forvariety.
That switch isn't just going toflip one day.
It kills intimacy.
You're learning to connect witha screen, and image is not a
person.
You're learning to use people.
I could go on and on and on, butthe reality is, guys, most of
you don't need me to convinceyou that lust kills.
Most of you felt it.
Most of you've walked it andlived it.
(09:39):
You've seen that in your ownlife.
You hate that habit.
You hate those decisions youkeep making, those boys or those
girls that you keep choosing,and you've tried to kill it, but
you can't.
You've said one last time, amillion times, you've said a
bunch of never agains that haveonly proven to be temporary, and
I want you to hear me right now.
I am not up here shaming you.
(10:00):
Many of you have heard.
This is my story.
I've been there.
I was hopelessly enslaved tolust for a vast majority of my
life Started at a young age andI went to the camps.
I made the confessions.
I told God I'm never gonna doit again.
And it never stuck.
It just kept coming back.
So my point here tonight is notto shame you but to tell you,
as somebody who's walked throughthat and found freedom on the
(10:22):
other side there, as somebodywho's walked through that and
found freedom on the other side,there is freedom in the person
of Jesus.
If you walked in here tonightand say, hey, that's me, I'm
stuck in that jail cell, you canget out, no matter how many
times you've tried and failed.
And that's where Jesus goes inthis next passage, or in these
next verses, if you'll read withme.
In verse 29, jesus says this ifyour right eye causes you to
stumble, gouge it out and throwit away, for it is better for
(10:44):
you to lose one part of yourbody than for your whole body to
be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causesyou to stumble, cut it off and
throw it away, it's better foryou to lose one part of your
body than for your whole body togo into hell.
And so Jesus pivots in theseverses.
He used the first one toexplain hey, the true heart of
this command is lust and how youview people as objects.
That's why I hate it.
(11:05):
And now, in light of that, howare you supposed to respond?
Right, we understand that thetruth.
Now, what's the action thatflows from the truth?
And he says, hey, well, if yourright eye causes you to sin,
gouge it out.
If your hand causes you to sin,cut it off.
And I'm not about you to ask totake out your pocket knives,
like.
That's not what we're doinghere.
Obviously, jesus isn't beingliteral.
He uses hyperbole andexaggeration all the time.
(11:27):
In fact, he just talked abouthow lust is a heart issue, right
, he's not talking aboutphysical body parts.
So what is he saying?
Well, one, he's using thisexaggeration to make a point
about just how serious lust is.
And we just talked a whole lotabout that, right.
But then, secondly, he's sayingthat, hey, this is so serious
that you need to take radicalaction in your life to avoid
(11:47):
lust, because what you feedgrows.
You understand, that's the lieof one last time, right, you say
one last time.
But you just fed something, youfed a desire, you fed a habit,
you fed a way of thinking, andit grows, right.
And now you want it more.
We see that with sugar.
Right, I'm going to eat healthy.
Just one more cookie.
But you have one cookie.
What do you want?
Oh, I want another cookie.
I want some ice cream.
What you feed grows.
(12:09):
You have to kill it.
And here's the truth, guys.
Lust is not just some pet sinthat you can manage until you
take it to the grave, and thisis really anything.
If you are managing your sin,it is really managing you.
But what type of radical action?
Right, like we're not talkingabout amputating body parts.
(12:29):
Well, apparently I've just beenreally into acronyms lately, so
we have another one.
It's core.
I'm not going to try to explainwhy the word is the way it is,
because it's just a word.
It fit with the ones that I wastrying to use.
Right, so roll with me.
But core, the C is for confessyour sin, the O is for omit or
remove is what that means?
Stumbling blocks?
R is replace the desire and Eis examine your heart.
(12:52):
And we're gonna walk throughthese here with the time that we
have left.
But I just want a disclaimer upfront.
I am not preaching behaviormodification.
What do I mean by that?
I am not saying that you needto sit here and clean yourself
up so that God will love you.
That is the exact opposite ofwhat I'm saying.
There is nothing you can do toearn God's love.
However, though we can't doanything to earn God's love,
(13:15):
god's love should changeeverything that we do.
If we understand that God lovesus, that he loves us enough to
die for our sins, why would wewant to live and remain in that
same very sin?
But I'm also not preaching thatyou just need to willpower your
way out of it, because noamount of willpower is going to
work.
Trust me, I went down that path.
It doesn't.
(13:37):
But these tools, theseapplications, this little you
know silly acronym, are reallyjust practices to place you at
the feet of Jesus, to be closeto him, because closeness to God
is when you're changed.
He's the one who cleans you up.
He's the one who changes youlittle by little by little,
peels back layer by layer bylayer, removes addictions,
(13:57):
removes brokenness, removes hurt.
If you're near to him, he willchange you.
So what we're talking abouthere are just some practical
steps.
If you say, okay, I know, likebeing close to Jesus is how I'll
be changed, like intimacy and arelationship with him.
Okay, but what does that looklike?
We're talking about the what itlooks like here, and there's no
one size fits all, but theseare just some helpful tools that
I've found helpful for myself.
(14:18):
So, c, confess your sin.
You have to realize that sinhas the most power over you when
it remains in the dark.
Right, it's this vicious cycleyou mess up, you feel guilty,
and then you feel shame, and soyou try to hide it, and then you
want to try and like medicatethe shame.
So then you turn back to thatsame issue and it just goes over
and over and over again like ahamster wheel.
And the way you free yourselffrom that is the practice of
(14:41):
confession.
James 5, 16, and we have itsays therefore, confess your
sins to each other and pray forone another so that you may be
healed.
The prayer of a righteousperson is powerful and effective
.
And so at one level, guys, weconfess our sins to God and we
are forgiven.
What that looks like is you areagreeing with what God says
about your sin.
Lord, I looked at that personin an impure way.
(15:01):
I looked at them like they werean object, and that is wrong.
That does not give them thevalue that you give them.
I continued to think about thatwhen I could have stopped and I
should have directed mythoughts towards you, lord, will
you please forgive me?
Right.
And at that level you have thatcloseness with God restored
right.
But on another level,confession to one another is
(15:22):
where we find healing, right.
So when you actually go to abrother and sister in Christ and
say, hey, I messed up this way,this way, this way, pray for me
.
Like that's when we actuallysee just that incredible healing
that starts to come out of that.
One author put it this way.
He says that you need to haveintentionally intrusive
relationships.
I know that's really like wordyand whatnot.
(15:42):
Sounds like it's straight outof an English book, but to
translate that you need peoplein your life who have no secrets
with you and you have nosecrets with them.
They know all your hurts, yourhabits, your hang-ups.
For you that might be a mentor,that might be somebody in the
student ministry, a leader, ayouth pastor, who, but somebody
who knows everything about you,your weak spots, your sin
(16:04):
patterns.
And not only that, but theyhave permission to ask those
tough questions hey, man, whatdoes your phone.
Look like this week.
Hey, how have you been praying?
Hey, are you walking in puritywith your boyfriend or your
girlfriend?
And they have the permissionfrom you to pry into those areas
.
And I stumbled upon this type ofcommunity at DBU.
It's where the Lord reallybegan to set me free.
(16:24):
During my time there I was in asmall group that was through a
church called Watermark.
Shout out to Porch JP.
He was still around back then.
My seniors know, yeah, butreally what it was is we would
circle up at the coffee house atDBU at a completely ridiculous
hour, like way too early, like 7am.
It was great Not really 7 am islike late now, but we would get
(16:45):
up there like super early, like5.30, 6 am, and we would just
chug coffee and we would talkand we'd pray for one another
and we would answer threequestions how have you fed your
flesh, how have you fed yourspirit and how have you fed
others?
And spirit and others don'treally pertain to what we're
talking about tonight, but whenwe asked that question hey, how
(17:06):
have you fed I messed up here.
I'm feeling tempted here.
Will you check back in on mehere?
And at the end of sharing thatwe would go and we would pray
for whoever just shared and thenwe would share our peace.
And it was so incredibly healingand it wasn't always just like
coddling, pat you on the back oh, it's okay, try better next
time.
Like man, I got like beat up acouple of times, not physically,
but it felt like it.
But that's what goodaccountability does.
(17:27):
It's in love and it's tocorrect one another, it's to
help one another, keep going, toencourage one another, and
sometimes there were hard andmatter-of-fact conversations.
But it was through that type ofcommunity that God changed me.
Without that group I wouldn't bea youth pastor here, that's for
sure.
I wouldn't be the husband orthe father that I am.
And as much as I'd like to tellyou that it was just something
(17:48):
special about DBU best place onearth, disneyland has nothing on
it like the coffee shop,specifically, best coffee in the
world that's not the case.
The special piece was a groupof people who were committed to
Jesus and committed to oneanother and committed to
following Jesus together.
God shows up in that and hechanges you through that type of
(18:10):
community.
Find that group, find thatgroup.
Here I mean fight for it.
Drag your sin into the light,because if it's in the dark it
has power over you.
If you bring it to light, man,you can really start to walk in
that freedom, because you don'thave to do it alone and you have
people to keep you accountable,to encourage you.
So, c, confess your sins.
O omit stumbling blocks orremove stumbling blocks.
(18:32):
And it's one thing to confessyour sins, that's great.
But I've counseled a lot ofguys who they have no problem
confessing their sin.
The issue comes when it's timeto have some life change.
They'll confess all day, butthere's no actual changes that
get made.
And let me tell you that'sreally one of the most dangerous
(18:53):
places you can possibly be.
Because confession is importantbut it should always be paired
with this word, this thing wecall repentance, and that Greek
word for repentance is metanoeoand it really just means a
change of direction.
So if I'm walking this way, I'mwalking towards lust, I'm going
to stop, I'm going to confessthat to God, and then I'm going
to stop, I'm going to confessthat to God, and then I'm going
to turn around and go in theother direction.
And so there's a practicalelement to that.
First Corinthians 6, 18 saysflee from sexual immorality.
(19:16):
All other sins a person commitsare outside the body, but
whoever sins sexually sinsagainst their own body.
You got to flee, you got to runaway.
Think about Joseph in the OldTestament.
Potiphar's wife tries to tempthim.
He just like ducks out, dipsout, he's gone right.
It's the same thing.
One time I counseled somebodyand he was man I'm really like
struggling with lust.
And this was former, different,not here.
(19:37):
And he says man, I've justtried everything, like I can't
help it and I just keepstruggling.
I'm like, okay, okay, you'restruggling with sin.
Cool, like, can I ask you a fewquestions?
All right, sweet, you knowwho's praying over you for your
freedom?
Well, nobody.
Okay, well, like, do you havean accountability partner?
No, no, I don't really haveanybody like that.
(19:58):
Okay, well, like, do you haveany accountability software,
like some filters or anything?
No, no, well, did you like getrid of your smartphone?
Then, like, did you deletesocial media?
Did you cancel Netflix?
No, no.
And you realize sometimes oh,I'm struggling with sin.
I'm struggling with sin and wehaven't even started to fight
(20:18):
this guy.
He wasn't struggling with sin,it was his pet.
He was feeding it, he wasprotecting it.
You have to fight.
If you want to find freedom, youneed to make a plan to remove
whatever has caused you tostumble into sin.
Part of that confession is okay, how did you get there?
How can we walk out of it?
And this is how I can almostalways tell if somebody's going
to get better.
Will you move access?
(20:39):
Are you willing to put upguardrails in your life?
And this could go to any sin,right, maybe this isn't your sin
.
This is any sin that you mightstruggle with.
That might mean hey,instagram's got to go, twitter,
sayonara, snapchat gone.
Maybe that relationship needsto go.
Those lines have been crossedand that other person wants to
keep crossing them.
You might need to go break upwith somebody after this sermon.
You might need to get rid ofyour PlayStation.
(21:00):
You might need to get a flipphone.
You might need to throw out theTV in your bedroom, a certain
genre of music or movies.
I can give you countlessaccountability software, screen
time, use a brick.
Whatever the point is, I'm nottrying to be legalistic.
I'm just saying what Jesus saidand I'm not trying to give you
a black and white list of whatis or not okay.
But the question is are youwilling to give up your freedoms
(21:23):
if they're keeping you a slaveto sin.
Are you willing to give up yourfreedoms if they're keeping you
a slave to sin?
What price are you willing topay?
And it might cost you somethingto fight, but I'm telling you,
not fighting will cost youeverything.
R replace the desire.
One thing that holds a lot ofpeople back is that they focus
on killing sin, and killing sinonly.
(21:44):
They have no plan after that.
And it's not that trying tokill sin in their life is bad,
but you have to replace it withsomething else.
And so some of you see me dothis before.
I stole this water bottle fromAndrea like two minutes before
the sermon, because I forgot Ineeded one.
So thank you for letting me dothat.
But you know, if you've heardthis question before, don't ruin
the example by shouting it out.
But there's times when you knowI've got this cup and it's full
(22:07):
of air and the question wouldbe and I just realized there's a
crack in it.
So I'm going to have to becareful with this illustration.
How am I supposed to get all ofthe air out of this cup?
You know some kids, if you dothis, like in elementary school
classroom.
They're like oh you know,vacuum it out, like maybe you
like turn it upside down, likehold it here and pull a piece of
paper, like all these sorts ofthings.
Andrew's bringing me anon-cracked cup.
Give Andrew a hand.
Thank you very much.
(22:27):
I'm glad I realized that beforeI finished this sermon.
Illustration, right, but soit's okay.
You know there's air in there.
How do I get it out?
Well, the answer is if I figureout how I'm supposed to, there
we go.
You want to get the air out ofthe cup, you fill it with
something else, you fill it withwater and as you fill it with
water, that water drives out theair and you can fill it all the
(22:50):
way up.
Right Point being it's the samething with sin.
You can spend your whole lifetrying to play spiritual
whack-a-mole get it out of there, get it out of there, get it
out of there.
But unless you replace it withsomething else, you're just
going to have other things popup, other idols, other sin
struggles.
And the point is, I love thisquote by John Piper.
He puts it this way.
(23:11):
He says I know of no other wayto triumph over sin long-term
than to gain a distaste for itbecause of a superior
satisfaction in God.
As you create a newer and astronger love for Jesus, it's
going to push out your love forsin, and so I'm here to tell you
tonight hey, fill your heartwith the living water of Jesus.
(23:31):
It's what Philippians 4.8 says.
Finally, brothers and sisters,whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, admirable, anything isexcellent, set your mind on
these things.
So spend time with Jesus.
Do the stuff that makes youlove him more.
Maybe that's worship music,maybe that's an incredible
sermon, maybe that's time innature, maybe that's time with
(23:51):
other brothers and sisters inChrist, maybe that's a really
good cup of coffee, I don't know.
But whatever that is, do moreof that.
Fall more in love with God,because you will start to see so
clearly I can't have this andhim.
I can't have this habit.
I can't have this littleaddiction and have him, and he's
a lot better than this.
This only gives me shame, guilt, hiding, hatred for myself.
(24:13):
He gives me life, and soanything that's going to cause
me to move this direction, Idon't want anything to do with
it, because I just want him, andthat's when it really clicked
for me that Jesus is just somuch better.
Why would I want anything inthis life, whether it's
pornography or lust or anger ornicotine or whatever if it
brings me away from him, it'snot worth it.
(24:34):
True victory doesn't come fromthis mastery of filters and
self-control, but it looks likea heart that's so in love with
Jesus that nothing else will do.
And so, e, examine your heartand thoughts, and this is the
ongoing piece.
Like even once you started towalk in freedom.
Thoughts and this is theongoing piece, like even once
you started to walk in freedom.
It's a lifelong journey becausesin creeps up, like Satan wants
(24:56):
to kind of piece this thing.
Oh, you know you're doing sogood, like you can let it go a
little bit.
Or, oh, you know, you're notactually looking at anything
really bad.
Like you're just looking atthis person, it's just one
glance, it's no big deal, andSatan will try to use those to
gain a foothold.
And a lot of times we thinkthat freedom is the absence of
temptation.
But that's not going to happenon this side of heaven.
Right?
Freedom is no longer beingmastered by those desires.
(25:17):
Have any of y'all ever been tothe mountains before?
Like driven in the mountains,you know those like runaway
ramps.
Anybody know what I'm talkingabout.
So you're going down a hill andall of a sudden you see this
gravel path that like goes offinto nowhere.
It seems right, it's reallydeep gravel.
The point of that is they putthem kind of at the top of a
hill and if a semi truck isgoing through these hills and
they wear their brakes outbecause they've got this heavy
(25:38):
load and they need to stop, theycan pull off of this road
before they pick up too muchspeed and they can drive onto
that path and it'll slow themdown.
But the point being is youdon't want to figure out, you
need to break.
When you're at the bottom ofthat hill, you're in trouble,
you ain't stopping, you'rehitting something and that
something's probably gonna ceaseto exist.
And, guys, it's the same waywith our thoughts.
Even when we're walking infreedom, we have to constantly
(26:00):
examine our heart of hey, whereis my heart at?
Where is my mind at?
How am I looking or thinking?
How am I looking at or thinkingabout the people around me?
Because the thing is, you don'twant to try and stop lust when
you're planning on how you'regoing to get away with it.
Right, you want to stop lustlong before that snowball starts
rolling down that hill?
Right, you want to get off onthat exit ramp, say, hey, you
know, I'm going to text my groupof guys, I'm going to text my
(26:22):
group of girls.
Hey, I, you know.
I had a weird dream or I wokeup just feeling kind of tempted.
We all pray for me today.
I don't want to get to a spotwhere I don't want to be and get
off of that path early, beforethat picks up speed.
And so, guys, I want to closewith this.
I'll go over it Core.
Confess your sins, omit yourstumbling blocks, replace your
(26:43):
desires, examine your hearts, ifyou want to take a picture of
whatnot.
But I realize that a lot ofthis sermon has been preached to
one specific demographic.
Right, you're a believer andyou're struggling with the sin
and you need a way out.
But I want to address thatthere's really three people in
this room One.
You're in jail and the door'sclosed, and that means that, hey
, I'm enslaved to this sin and Ido not have a relationship with
Jesus, I don't follow him, he'snot my king.
(27:05):
And what you need to hear isnot a bunch of tools, not a
bunch of self-help, not a bunchof hey, get yourself out of this
.
You need to hear, you needJesus, you need a new heart,
because outside of that newheart there is nothing you can
do to pull yourself out of thatmuck and that mire.
But Scripture says that Godmeets us in our mess.
He loved us so much to die forus while we were his enemies,
(27:29):
and that he not only took thepunishment for our sin, but that
we receive his reward and thatour old self has died with him
on that cross and we become anew creation with a new heart.
And you're no longer slave tothose things.
And so if that's you tonight,you say, hey, that's me, I'm in
that jail cell and that door isslammed shut and locked.
Forget the core.
Come to the foot of the cross,confess your sin, say Jesus, I
(27:59):
have tried my entire life to runthis thing, to make it look how
I want, and it is not working.
I've made a mess out of it.
I'm a slave.
Jesus, I need something better.
I need you.
I believe you are who you saidyou are.
I believe that you did what yousaid you did, and I'm going to
give you my entire life, myentire heart.
You're the king, you'resteering the ship, and if you do
, I know it's scary because it'svulnerable and everything that
we're really like.
Our biggest fear at the core ofevery single one of us is to be
(28:21):
fully known and rejected.
That's why we hide, that's whywe hide these things.
If they knew the real me, ifthey saw my search history, if
they knew what I did on theweekends, they'd reject me.
God knows all of it deeper thanyou do.
In fact, the sin was committedagainst him.
Yet when you put yourself atthe foot of the cross and say I
am yours, jesus, he calls youhis son, he calls you his
(28:42):
daughter, he calls you belovedand he calls you new.
And so maybe that's you tonightand you need to make that
decision.
Second group is you're sittingin that jail cell, but the door
is open.
You place your faith in Jesus.
He's your King, he's your Lordand positionally, you are free.
Your sin was paid for, butyou're still living in it.
Your sin wasn't paid for foryou to keep living in it.
That door is open.
(29:03):
We got to help you walk out.
That's what these tools arehelpful for.
How do you walk out of it?
How do I take hold of thefreedom that was bought for me
with the blood of Jesus?
And then the third group.
You listen to this like.
I don't know how any of thisapplies to me.
I've never struggled with this,praise God.
Or maybe I've struggled withthis and I'm walking in freedom.
Guys, be that person to someoneelse.
Help your brother or yoursister walk out of it, encourage
(29:32):
them, pray for them, whateverit takes.
And so, real quick, we're goingto close here.
Everybody.
Just close your head, closeyour head, bow your head, close
your eyes.
Nobody looking around.
I just want you to have achance to respond to the Lord.
We're not counting hands, we'renot taking names.
In fact, I'm going to say thisI don't even want this first
group to respond to say, hey,I'm ready to make a decision
tonight.
But if you say, hey, I'm in thatfirst group, I'm in the jail
(29:53):
cell, that door is locked.
I don't know what I believe.
I'm here because my parentsdragged me.
I'm here because the girl whosits across from me is cute, but
I know that I'm in that prisoncell and that door is locked and
I'm not happy with my life.
I feel the brokenness.
If that's you.
Just slip your hand up realquick.
Nobody's looking around.
I just want to pray for you.
I just want to see you.
I see you, I see you.
(30:13):
There's no shame in that.
This is your opportunity.
I'm not counting, I'm not goingto hunt you down after this
service.
I just want you to have anopportunity to confess before
the Lord.
I see you, you can put themdown.
Maybe you're in that secondgroup.
You say, hey, I am in that jailcell and the door's wide open
and, garrett, I have no stinkingclue how to walk out.
(30:36):
Just slip your hand up realquick.
This is your opportunity beforethe Lord.
I'm not counting names, I'm not.
This is you and God.
I see you.
I see you, I see you.
Thank you for yourvulnerability.
I know there's a lot of you whoyou haven't raised your hand,
and that's fine.
(30:57):
Let me tell you, god sees it.
You're really bad at hiding.
He wants you to come to Him.
He wants you to have thatfreedom, and so I'm just going
to say a quick prayer, and we'reshort on time.
We were going to do a thing forD now, but we're just going to
go to small groups real quick.
Lord, god, I thank you so muchfor tonight and I thank you for
the opportunity to be here andto just deal with a heavy topic,
a heavy subject, lord, and myheart breaks for the brokenness
that I know exists in this room.
(31:19):
And, lord, I just pray that aswe leave here, lord, if there's
somebody who needs to step intofaith for the very first time,
that they would come grab meafter this service.
I'll be down here for you guys.
I'm breaking into the prayer.
If you need to make thatdecision, you want that jail
cell, that door open tonight,come here and meet me afterwards
and we'll get that done.
But, lord, I pray, if there'ssomebody who needs to do that,
that they'd have the courage todo that.
They wouldn't put that off,they wouldn't be okay with the
(31:46):
status quo and the slavery anylonger sin.
That you would help them tohave the tools and the courage
to go to somebody and to be ableto start to just step by step,
foot by foot, see more of whatyou've already done for them and
how you can, or how they can,walk into that.
And for the person who, by yourgrace and mercy, has not been
touched by this terrible,terrible sin and the struggle,
lord, that they would be ablessing to others, they could
(32:07):
be a brother or sister and helpother people walk out of it.
And Lord, god, we just thankyou so much for tonight and this
opportunity.
We love you, we praise you, wepray all these things in your
son Jesus's name.
And everybody said amen, loveyou, guys.
Let's go to our small groups.
Thank you, y'all give her a hand.
Thank you, hannah, for comingup here to read.
I know we gave you the superfun passage to read.
But guys, when I was growing up, I confess I was a very picky
eater.
Do I have any other pickyeaters Like you?
Still are picky, yeah.
So I would eat basically likethree or four things.
(00:22):
One, wendy's chicken nuggets,for whatever reason.
Like Wendy's was the only one.
If you forced me I could doMcDonald's, but Wendy's was it
Like don't get me started BurgerKing garbage.
They weren't good, I didn'twant them.
There was one brand of smokedsausage I don't know why this
specific brand.
Nothing else would do, justthis one Uncrustables grape
(00:43):
jelly, not strawberry,strawberry, unacceptable Grape.
I would eat Pizza.
Pizza Hut was like the top tierPizza rolls eventually worked
their way in there and that wasGarrett's food pyramid.
Like that was literally all thatI would eat and I honestly have
no idea how I made it toadulthood.
I probably already have highcholesterol, but it was all just
processed junk and I had eatenit so long that I acquired a
(01:07):
taste for it.
And when I would try to eatother things, I just didn't want
the real nutritious stuff andit wasn't until I get a bit
older and I start growing that,hey, I need to eat more than
just these three foods, right?
And so I remember, for whateverreason, the first food I tried
that like broke my pickiness wastacos.
I don't know why, butspecifically that I remember and
(01:28):
I ate it and I was like it'slike the music that it's a whole
new world, like it all openedup.
I was like, oh my goodness,like there's actually like other
foods out here, it's fantastic.
And it changed the game, Likeeverything was different for me
and I learned, hey, I had growna taste for this cheap
counterfeit, even though it waskilling me, like it was not good
(01:48):
for me.
If I still ate like that, Iwould probably have all sorts of
health issues to this day, notrealizing what I was really
missing in the real, nutritious,valuable stuff.
Why do I tell you this story?
Well, we've been walkingthrough the Sermon on the Mount
this spring and tonight we're onthe section on lust, matthew 5,
27 through 30,.
What Hannah read earlier andfor many of us in this room
(02:09):
tonight, lust has caused you tohave an appetite for the
counterfeit.
I know it's a hard shiftShallow, selfish relationships
using images of real people on ascreen for pleasure, and my
goal tonight is to show you thatyou can have true freedom in
Jesus.
Specifically, sermon in asentence right here that while
(02:29):
lust distorts how we see others,it damages our relationships
and it enslaves our hearts,jesus calls us to take radical
action to pursue purity, replacesinful desires with a greater
love for him and walk in truefreedom.
We're going to unpack thatsentence.
So if you didn't get that,that's all right.
Real quick, everybody.
Pray with me super fast, bowyour head, close your eyes and
if you would start, would youjust say a quick prayer for
(02:51):
yourself, would you pray foryour heart as we learn God's
word, that we would have openeyes and ears for the Holy
Spirit to convict us.
Maybe this is the first timeyou've ever prayed.
You just say, hey, god, ifyou're there, will you reveal
yourself to me, pray that prayer, and then would you say a quick
(03:15):
prayer for me, that what Iwould say would be helpful, that
it would be grounded and rootedin the gospel, god's word, the
truth, and that it would glorifyhim.
Lord, we thank you so much fortonight and we pray that, as we
jump into a topic that cansometimes be uncomfortable to
(03:35):
talk about, lord, that we wouldjust remove all of those
pretenses, all that weird stuff,and we would just be honest and
real and authentic in thismoment, realizing that we've all
encountered this in some way,shape or form, and that we could
just peel off the things weusually hide behind so that we
could deal with it genuinely, sowe can find freedom and healing
, whatever that might look like,or we could be a part of you
bringing freedom and healing tosomeone else.
(03:55):
God, we love you, we praise you.
Pray all these things in Jesus'name.
And everybody said amen.
So we're jumping in.
I'm going to reread a couple ofthese verses up front Matthew 5,
27, and 28.
Jesus says you have heard thatit was said you shall not commit
adultery, but I tell you thatanyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committedadultery with her in his heart.
And so Jesus continues thisformat that we've seen the last
(04:18):
couple of weeks where heintroduces a command from the
Old Testament.
This is the seventh commandment.
It's found in Exodus 20, 14, ifyou want to write that in your
Bible next to this verse.
And he says you shall notcommit adultery.
That's what God told Moses towrite.
And so the literal law here ifyou don't know what adultery
means is don't cheat on yourspouse, don't cheat on your
husband, don't cheat on yourwife.
(04:38):
But just like the last coupleof weeks, jesus peels back the
layers from the literal commandand says okay, what's the
principle behind it?
Why did God give this command?
What's the heart that'sunderneath this?
And he doesn't stop with justadultery.
He drills down to the heart ofthe sin and he says that
adultery starts in the heart andin the mind, with something
(05:01):
called lust.
Because you can avoid physicaladultery, right.
You can avoid cheating on yourspouse.
But if you look at somebody ina certain way, if you think
about somebody in a certain way,it's still sin, right, when you
desire them with lust.
And why is that?
Well, because lust changes howyou view and how you interact
with people.
(05:21):
When I transferred schools,there were a lot of differences.
I went from a Christian charterschool in sixth grade to a
public school in sixth grade,and it was a jolt, let me tell
you.
And one of the things that Ireally, really noticed, coming
from like a very imperfect butsheltered environment to one
that was not like that were howthe guys that I were in classes
with or on teams with would talkabout girls.
(05:42):
It wasn't oh, you know, she'scool, she's funny, we're friends
it was almost specificallycentered around their bodies.
Or if it wasn't about theirbodies, it was about the things
they've done or their reputation.
And I'll say that it wasn'tjust the guys I'm not just
beating up on the guys here, butthat type of talk actually had
this effect on the girls.
They had this pressure tomeasure up and I remember back
(06:04):
then it just seemed like theculture that I lived in.
It seemed normal because that'show everybody talked.
But looking back, I can justsee how like gross and demeaning
that was.
But the question is, how in theworld do people get to that
point?
Like, how do you just talkabout someone that way?
Well, what it is, it'sconditioning.
All those guys were conditionedto think about people that way,
(06:25):
to lust after women by thesongs that they listened to, the
shows that they watched, themovies they watched and
ultimately, for many, apornography addiction.
And none of them may have goneout and committed adultery, they
weren't even married yet.
But the point is they've beenconditioned to view people a
certain way through lust and itcaused them to treat their
friends, their, maybe sisters inChrist, maybe their classmates,
(06:48):
as lesser than, and treat themhorribly.
And that's why God takes lustso seriously, is it takes
somebody who's made in the imageof God.
You are an image bearer, youhave value given to you by God,
male or female, and it stripsthem of that value and just
turns them into an object to beused for your pleasure.
That's what it is and that'swhy God hates it.
(07:09):
And there's nowhere that this ismore obvious than the current
pornography epidemic.
And just in case you didn'tknow it, it is an epidemic.
Statistics show that over 40million American people
regularly consume it, and it'snot just guys.
One-third of those are women.
And one study says that 11years old is the average age the
child is first exposed and 94%of children will see it by the
(07:29):
age of 14.
And it's not just incrediblywidespread, it's incredibly
damaging.
49% of sex traffickingsurvivors report being forced
into it.
And even those who willfullyparticipate usually end up
depressed, addicted to drugs oralcohol, and suicidal.
In fact, the suicide rate amongthose who are in that industry
is six times higher than thegeneral population.
(07:52):
That means if you participatein, that, your chance or your
statistics of committing suicidesix times higher.
You might not realize it, butwhen you're consuming that,
you're consuming somebody beingexploited what might be the
darkest day of their life.
But here's the thing it's onething to know that it's bad for
society or the people involved,but it's another thing to
(08:15):
understand that it's bad for you, that lust takes a toll on you
because you have an enemy inSatan and his demonic forces and
I know we get weird when wetalk about spiritual warfare,
but there is an enemy, scripturesays, that seeks to steal, kill
and destroy, prowling around.
He's here on earth.
He's not off in hell, somewhereLike he's here.
You've probably never been nearhim, but you've probably been
near his agents.
(08:36):
And again, that's a wholenother sermon.
But, point being, this is oneof his favorite strategies.
Did you know that 56% ofdivorces cite pornography as one
of the main causes?
Think about that, like rightnow you could be playing with
the very thing that Satan wantsto use to wreck your marriage.
Some of you have dealt withwrecked marriages.
(08:57):
You've been on the other sideof that and a lot of times we
think that it's oh, it's asingle person problem.
Right, I'm getting married.
It's going to go away, but it'snot because it trains your
brain for variety.
Why would you ever think thatyou're going to be satisfied
with one person forever and everand ever, when you've been
looking at hundreds, if notthousands, on a screen?
You're training yourself forpolygamy.
(09:17):
You're training yourself forvariety.
That switch isn't just going toflip one day.
It kills intimacy.
You're learning to connect witha screen, and image is not a
person.
You're learning to use people.
I could go on and on and on, butthe reality is, guys, most of
you don't need me to convinceyou that lust kills.
Most of you felt it.
Most of you've walked it andlived it.
(09:39):
You've seen that in your ownlife.
You hate that habit.
You hate those decisions youkeep making, those boys or those
girls that you keep choosing,and you've tried to kill it, but
you can't.
You've said one last time, amillion times, you've said a
bunch of never agains that haveonly proven to be temporary, and
I want you to hear me right now.
I am not up here shaming you.
(10:00):
Many of you have heard.
This is my story.
I've been there.
I was hopelessly enslaved tolust for a vast majority of my
life Started at a young age andI went to the camps.
I made the confessions.
I told God I'm never gonna doit again.
And it never stuck.
It just kept coming back.
So my point here tonight is notto shame you but to tell you,
as somebody who's walked throughthat and found freedom on the
(10:22):
other side there, as somebodywho's walked through that and
found freedom on the other side,there is freedom in the person
of Jesus.
If you walked in here tonightand say, hey, that's me, I'm
stuck in that jail cell, you canget out, no matter how many
times you've tried and failed.
And that's where Jesus goes inthis next passage, or in these
next verses, if you'll read withme.
In verse 29, jesus says this ifyour right eye causes you to
stumble, gouge it out and throwit away, for it is better for
(10:44):
you to lose one part of yourbody than for your whole body to
be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causesyou to stumble, cut it off and
throw it away, it's better foryou to lose one part of your
body than for your whole body togo into hell.
And so Jesus pivots in theseverses.
He used the first one toexplain hey, the true heart of
this command is lust and how youview people as objects.
That's why I hate it.
(11:05):
And now, in light of that, howare you supposed to respond?
Right, we understand that thetruth.
Now, what's the action thatflows from the truth?
And he says, hey, well, if yourright eye causes you to sin,
gouge it out.
If your hand causes you to sin,cut it off.
And I'm not about you to ask totake out your pocket knives,
like.
That's not what we're doinghere.
Obviously, jesus isn't beingliteral.
He uses hyperbole andexaggeration all the time.
(11:27):
In fact, he just talked abouthow lust is a heart issue, right
, he's not talking aboutphysical body parts.
So what is he saying?
Well, one, he's using thisexaggeration to make a point
about just how serious lust is.
And we just talked a whole lotabout that, right.
But then, secondly, he's sayingthat, hey, this is so serious
that you need to take radicalaction in your life to avoid
(11:47):
lust, because what you feedgrows.
You understand, that's the lieof one last time, right, you say
one last time.
But you just fed something, youfed a desire, you fed a habit,
you fed a way of thinking, andit grows, right.
And now you want it more.
We see that with sugar.
Right, I'm going to eat healthy.
Just one more cookie.
But you have one cookie.
What do you want?
Oh, I want another cookie.
I want some ice cream.
What you feed grows.
(12:09):
You have to kill it.
And here's the truth, guys.
Lust is not just some pet sinthat you can manage until you
take it to the grave, and thisis really anything.
If you are managing your sin,it is really managing you.
But what type of radical action?
Right, like we're not talkingabout amputating body parts.
(12:29):
Well, apparently I've just beenreally into acronyms lately, so
we have another one.
It's core.
I'm not going to try to explainwhy the word is the way it is,
because it's just a word.
It fit with the ones that I wastrying to use.
Right, so roll with me.
But core, the C is for confessyour sin, the O is for omit or
remove is what that means?
Stumbling blocks?
R is replace the desire and Eis examine your heart.
(12:52):
And we're gonna walk throughthese here with the time that we
have left.
But I just want a disclaimer upfront.
I am not preaching behaviormodification.
What do I mean by that?
I am not saying that you needto sit here and clean yourself
up so that God will love you.
That is the exact opposite ofwhat I'm saying.
There is nothing you can do toearn God's love.
However, though we can't doanything to earn God's love,
(13:15):
god's love should changeeverything that we do.
If we understand that God lovesus, that he loves us enough to
die for our sins, why would wewant to live and remain in that
same very sin?
But I'm also not preaching thatyou just need to willpower your
way out of it, because noamount of willpower is going to
work.
Trust me, I went down that path.
It doesn't.
(13:37):
But these tools, theseapplications, this little you
know silly acronym, are reallyjust practices to place you at
the feet of Jesus, to be closeto him, because closeness to God
is when you're changed.
He's the one who cleans you up.
He's the one who changes youlittle by little by little,
peels back layer by layer bylayer, removes addictions,
(13:57):
removes brokenness, removes hurt.
If you're near to him, he willchange you.
So what we're talking abouthere are just some practical
steps.
If you say, okay, I know, likebeing close to Jesus is how I'll
be changed, like intimacy and arelationship with him.
Okay, but what does that looklike?
We're talking about the what itlooks like here, and there's no
one size fits all, but theseare just some helpful tools that
I've found helpful for myself.
(14:18):
So, c, confess your sin.
You have to realize that sinhas the most power over you when
it remains in the dark.
Right, it's this vicious cycleyou mess up, you feel guilty,
and then you feel shame, and soyou try to hide it, and then you
want to try and like medicatethe shame.
So then you turn back to thatsame issue and it just goes over
and over and over again like ahamster wheel.
And the way you free yourselffrom that is the practice of
(14:41):
confession.
James 5, 16, and we have itsays therefore, confess your
sins to each other and pray forone another so that you may be
healed.
The prayer of a righteousperson is powerful and effective
.
And so at one level, guys, weconfess our sins to God and we
are forgiven.
What that looks like is you areagreeing with what God says
about your sin.
Lord, I looked at that personin an impure way.
(15:01):
I looked at them like they werean object, and that is wrong.
That does not give them thevalue that you give them.
I continued to think about thatwhen I could have stopped and I
should have directed mythoughts towards you, lord, will
you please forgive me?
Right.
And at that level you have thatcloseness with God restored
right.
But on another level,confession to one another is
(15:22):
where we find healing, right.
So when you actually go to abrother and sister in Christ and
say, hey, I messed up this way,this way, this way, pray for me
.
Like that's when we actuallysee just that incredible healing
that starts to come out of that.
One author put it this way.
He says that you need to haveintentionally intrusive
relationships.
I know that's really like wordyand whatnot.
(15:42):
Sounds like it's straight outof an English book, but to
translate that you need peoplein your life who have no secrets
with you and you have nosecrets with them.
They know all your hurts, yourhabits, your hang-ups.
For you that might be a mentor,that might be somebody in the
student ministry, a leader, ayouth pastor, who, but somebody
who knows everything about you,your weak spots, your sin
(16:04):
patterns.
And not only that, but theyhave permission to ask those
tough questions hey, man, whatdoes your phone.
Look like this week.
Hey, how have you been praying?
Hey, are you walking in puritywith your boyfriend or your
girlfriend?
And they have the permissionfrom you to pry into those areas
.
And I stumbled upon this type ofcommunity at DBU.
It's where the Lord reallybegan to set me free.
(16:24):
During my time there I was in asmall group that was through a
church called Watermark.
Shout out to Porch JP.
He was still around back then.
My seniors know, yeah, butreally what it was is we would
circle up at the coffee house atDBU at a completely ridiculous
hour, like way too early, like 7am.
It was great Not really 7 am islike late now, but we would get
(16:45):
up there like super early, like5.30, 6 am, and we would just
chug coffee and we would talkand we'd pray for one another
and we would answer threequestions how have you fed your
flesh, how have you fed yourspirit and how have you fed
others?
And spirit and others don'treally pertain to what we're
talking about tonight, but whenwe asked that question hey, how
(17:06):
have you fed I messed up here.
I'm feeling tempted here.
Will you check back in on mehere?
And at the end of sharing thatwe would go and we would pray
for whoever just shared and thenwe would share our peace.
And it was so incredibly healingand it wasn't always just like
coddling, pat you on the back oh, it's okay, try better next
time.
Like man, I got like beat up acouple of times, not physically,
but it felt like it.
But that's what goodaccountability does.
(17:27):
It's in love and it's tocorrect one another, it's to
help one another, keep going, toencourage one another, and
sometimes there were hard andmatter-of-fact conversations.
But it was through that type ofcommunity that God changed me.
Without that group I wouldn't bea youth pastor here, that's for
sure.
I wouldn't be the husband orthe father that I am.
And as much as I'd like to tellyou that it was just something
(17:48):
special about DBU best place onearth, disneyland has nothing on
it like the coffee shop,specifically, best coffee in the
world that's not the case.
The special piece was a groupof people who were committed to
Jesus and committed to oneanother and committed to
following Jesus together.
God shows up in that and hechanges you through that type of
(18:10):
community.
Find that group, find thatgroup.
Here I mean fight for it.
Drag your sin into the light,because if it's in the dark it
has power over you.
If you bring it to light, man,you can really start to walk in
that freedom, because you don'thave to do it alone and you have
people to keep you accountable,to encourage you.
So, c, confess your sins.
O omit stumbling blocks orremove stumbling blocks.
(18:32):
And it's one thing to confessyour sins, that's great.
But I've counseled a lot ofguys who they have no problem
confessing their sin.
The issue comes when it's timeto have some life change.
They'll confess all day, butthere's no actual changes that
get made.
And let me tell you that'sreally one of the most dangerous
(18:53):
places you can possibly be.
Because confession is importantbut it should always be paired
with this word, this thing wecall repentance, and that Greek
word for repentance is metanoeoand it really just means a
change of direction.
So if I'm walking this way, I'mwalking towards lust, I'm going
to stop, I'm going to confessthat to God, and then I'm going
to stop, I'm going to confessthat to God, and then I'm going
to turn around and go in theother direction.
And so there's a practicalelement to that.
First Corinthians 6, 18 saysflee from sexual immorality.
(19:16):
All other sins a person commitsare outside the body, but
whoever sins sexually sinsagainst their own body.
You got to flee, you got to runaway.
Think about Joseph in the OldTestament.
Potiphar's wife tries to tempthim.
He just like ducks out, dipsout, he's gone right.
It's the same thing.
One time I counseled somebodyand he was man I'm really like
struggling with lust.
And this was former, different,not here.
(19:37):
And he says man, I've justtried everything, like I can't
help it and I just keepstruggling.
I'm like, okay, okay, you'restruggling with sin.
Cool, like, can I ask you a fewquestions?
All right, sweet, you knowwho's praying over you for your
freedom?
Well, nobody.
Okay, well, like, do you havean accountability partner?
No, no, I don't really haveanybody like that.
(19:58):
Okay, well, like, do you haveany accountability software,
like some filters or anything?
No, no, well, did you like getrid of your smartphone?
Then, like, did you deletesocial media?
Did you cancel Netflix?
No, no.
And you realize sometimes oh,I'm struggling with sin.
I'm struggling with sin and wehaven't even started to fight
(20:18):
this guy.
He wasn't struggling with sin,it was his pet.
He was feeding it, he wasprotecting it.
You have to fight.
If you want to find freedom, youneed to make a plan to remove
whatever has caused you tostumble into sin.
Part of that confession is okay, how did you get there?
How can we walk out of it?
And this is how I can almostalways tell if somebody's going
to get better.
Will you move access?
(20:39):
Are you willing to put upguardrails in your life?
And this could go to any sin,right, maybe this isn't your sin
.
This is any sin that you mightstruggle with.
That might mean hey,instagram's got to go, twitter,
sayonara, snapchat gone.
Maybe that relationship needsto go.
Those lines have been crossedand that other person wants to
keep crossing them.
You might need to go break upwith somebody after this sermon.
You might need to get rid ofyour PlayStation.
(21:00):
You might need to get a flipphone.
You might need to throw out theTV in your bedroom, a certain
genre of music or movies.
I can give you countlessaccountability software, screen
time, use a brick.
Whatever the point is, I'm nottrying to be legalistic.
I'm just saying what Jesus saidand I'm not trying to give you
a black and white list of whatis or not okay.
But the question is are youwilling to give up your freedoms
(21:23):
if they're keeping you a slaveto sin.
Are you willing to give up yourfreedoms if they're keeping you
a slave to sin?
What price are you willing topay?
And it might cost you somethingto fight, but I'm telling you,
not fighting will cost youeverything.
R replace the desire.
One thing that holds a lot ofpeople back is that they focus
on killing sin, and killing sinonly.
(21:44):
They have no plan after that.
And it's not that trying tokill sin in their life is bad,
but you have to replace it withsomething else.
And so some of you see me dothis before.
I stole this water bottle fromAndrea like two minutes before
the sermon, because I forgot Ineeded one.
So thank you for letting me dothat.
But you know, if you've heardthis question before, don't ruin
the example by shouting it out.
But there's times when you knowI've got this cup and it's full
(22:07):
of air and the question wouldbe and I just realized there's a
crack in it.
So I'm going to have to becareful with this illustration.
How am I supposed to get all ofthe air out of this cup?
You know some kids, if you dothis, like in elementary school
classroom.
They're like oh you know,vacuum it out, like maybe you
like turn it upside down, likehold it here and pull a piece of
paper, like all these sorts ofthings.
Andrew's bringing me anon-cracked cup.
Give Andrew a hand.
Thank you very much.
(22:27):
I'm glad I realized that beforeI finished this sermon.
Illustration, right, but soit's okay.
You know there's air in there.
How do I get it out?
Well, the answer is if I figureout how I'm supposed to, there
we go.
You want to get the air out ofthe cup, you fill it with
something else, you fill it withwater and as you fill it with
water, that water drives out theair and you can fill it all the
(22:50):
way up.
Right Point being it's the samething with sin.
You can spend your whole lifetrying to play spiritual
whack-a-mole get it out of there, get it out of there, get it
out of there.
But unless you replace it withsomething else, you're just
going to have other things popup, other idols, other sin
struggles.
And the point is, I love thisquote by John Piper.
He puts it this way.
(23:11):
He says I know of no other wayto triumph over sin long-term
than to gain a distaste for itbecause of a superior
satisfaction in God.
As you create a newer and astronger love for Jesus, it's
going to push out your love forsin, and so I'm here to tell you
tonight hey, fill your heartwith the living water of Jesus.
(23:31):
It's what Philippians 4.8 says.
Finally, brothers and sisters,whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, admirable, anything isexcellent, set your mind on
these things.
So spend time with Jesus.
Do the stuff that makes youlove him more.
Maybe that's worship music,maybe that's an incredible
sermon, maybe that's time innature, maybe that's time with
(23:51):
other brothers and sisters inChrist, maybe that's a really
good cup of coffee, I don't know.
But whatever that is, do moreof that.
Fall more in love with God,because you will start to see so
clearly I can't have this andhim.
I can't have this habit.
I can't have this littleaddiction and have him, and he's
a lot better than this.
This only gives me shame, guilt, hiding, hatred for myself.
(24:13):
He gives me life, and soanything that's going to cause
me to move this direction, Idon't want anything to do with
it, because I just want him, andthat's when it really clicked
for me that Jesus is just somuch better.
Why would I want anything inthis life, whether it's
pornography or lust or anger ornicotine or whatever if it
brings me away from him, it'snot worth it.
(24:34):
True victory doesn't come fromthis mastery of filters and
self-control, but it looks likea heart that's so in love with
Jesus that nothing else will do.
And so, e, examine your heartand thoughts, and this is the
ongoing piece.
Like even once you started towalk in freedom.
Thoughts and this is theongoing piece, like even once
you started to walk in freedom.
It's a lifelong journey becausesin creeps up, like Satan wants
(24:56):
to kind of piece this thing.
Oh, you know you're doing sogood, like you can let it go a
little bit.
Or, oh, you know, you're notactually looking at anything
really bad.
Like you're just looking atthis person, it's just one
glance, it's no big deal, andSatan will try to use those to
gain a foothold.
And a lot of times we thinkthat freedom is the absence of
temptation.
But that's not going to happenon this side of heaven.
Right?
Freedom is no longer beingmastered by those desires.
(25:17):
Have any of y'all ever been tothe mountains before?
Like driven in the mountains,you know those like runaway
ramps.
Anybody know what I'm talkingabout.
So you're going down a hill andall of a sudden you see this
gravel path that like goes offinto nowhere.
It seems right, it's reallydeep gravel.
The point of that is they putthem kind of at the top of a
hill and if a semi truck isgoing through these hills and
they wear their brakes outbecause they've got this heavy
(25:38):
load and they need to stop, theycan pull off of this road
before they pick up too muchspeed and they can drive onto
that path and it'll slow themdown.
But the point being is youdon't want to figure out, you
need to break.
When you're at the bottom ofthat hill, you're in trouble,
you ain't stopping, you'rehitting something and that
something's probably gonna ceaseto exist.
And, guys, it's the same waywith our thoughts.
Even when we're walking infreedom, we have to constantly
(26:00):
examine our heart of hey, whereis my heart at?
Where is my mind at?
How am I looking or thinking?
How am I looking at or thinkingabout the people around me?
Because the thing is, you don'twant to try and stop lust when
you're planning on how you'regoing to get away with it.
Right, you want to stop lustlong before that snowball starts
rolling down that hill?
Right, you want to get off onthat exit ramp, say, hey, you
know, I'm going to text my groupof guys, I'm going to text my
(26:22):
group of girls.
Hey, I, you know.
I had a weird dream or I wokeup just feeling kind of tempted.
We all pray for me today.
I don't want to get to a spotwhere I don't want to be and get
off of that path early, beforethat picks up speed.
And so, guys, I want to closewith this.
I'll go over it Core.
Confess your sins, omit yourstumbling blocks, replace your
(26:43):
desires, examine your hearts, ifyou want to take a picture of
whatnot.
But I realize that a lot ofthis sermon has been preached to
one specific demographic.
Right, you're a believer andyou're struggling with the sin
and you need a way out.
But I want to address thatthere's really three people in
this room One.
You're in jail and the door'sclosed, and that means that, hey
, I'm enslaved to this sin and Ido not have a relationship with
Jesus, I don't follow him, he'snot my king.
(27:05):
And what you need to hear isnot a bunch of tools, not a
bunch of self-help, not a bunchof hey, get yourself out of this
.
You need to hear, you needJesus, you need a new heart,
because outside of that newheart there is nothing you can
do to pull yourself out of thatmuck and that mire.
But Scripture says that Godmeets us in our mess.
He loved us so much to die forus while we were his enemies,
(27:29):
and that he not only took thepunishment for our sin, but that
we receive his reward and thatour old self has died with him
on that cross and we become anew creation with a new heart.
And you're no longer slave tothose things.
And so if that's you tonight,you say, hey, that's me, I'm in
that jail cell and that door isslammed shut and locked.
Forget the core.
Come to the foot of the cross,confess your sin, say Jesus, I
(27:59):
have tried my entire life to runthis thing, to make it look how
I want, and it is not working.
I've made a mess out of it.
I'm a slave.
Jesus, I need something better.
I need you.
I believe you are who you saidyou are.
I believe that you did what yousaid you did, and I'm going to
give you my entire life, myentire heart.
You're the king, you'resteering the ship, and if you do
, I know it's scary because it'svulnerable and everything that
we're really like.
Our biggest fear at the core ofevery single one of us is to be
(28:21):
fully known and rejected.
That's why we hide, that's whywe hide these things.
If they knew the real me, ifthey saw my search history, if
they knew what I did on theweekends, they'd reject me.
God knows all of it deeper thanyou do.
In fact, the sin was committedagainst him.
Yet when you put yourself atthe foot of the cross and say I
am yours, jesus, he calls youhis son, he calls you his
(28:42):
daughter, he calls you belovedand he calls you new.
And so maybe that's you tonightand you need to make that
decision.
Second group is you're sittingin that jail cell, but the door
is open.
You place your faith in Jesus.
He's your King, he's your Lordand positionally, you are free.
Your sin was paid for, butyou're still living in it.
Your sin wasn't paid for foryou to keep living in it.
That door is open.
(29:03):
We got to help you walk out.
That's what these tools arehelpful for.
How do you walk out of it?
How do I take hold of thefreedom that was bought for me
with the blood of Jesus?
And then the third group.
You listen to this like.
I don't know how any of thisapplies to me.
I've never struggled with this,praise God.
Or maybe I've struggled withthis and I'm walking in freedom.
Guys, be that person to someoneelse.
Help your brother or yoursister walk out of it, encourage
(29:32):
them, pray for them, whateverit takes.
And so, real quick, we're goingto close here.
Everybody.
Just close your head, closeyour head, bow your head, close
your eyes.
Nobody looking around.
I just want you to have achance to respond to the Lord.
We're not counting hands, we'renot taking names.
In fact, I'm going to say thisI don't even want this first
group to respond to say, hey,I'm ready to make a decision
tonight.
But if you say, hey, I'm in thatfirst group, I'm in the jail
(29:53):
cell, that door is locked.
I don't know what I believe.
I'm here because my parentsdragged me.
I'm here because the girl whosits across from me is cute, but
I know that I'm in that prisoncell and that door is locked and
I'm not happy with my life.
I feel the brokenness.
If that's you.
Just slip your hand up realquick.
Nobody's looking around.
I just want to pray for you.
I just want to see you.
I see you, I see you.
(30:13):
There's no shame in that.
This is your opportunity.
I'm not counting, I'm not goingto hunt you down after this
service.
I just want you to have anopportunity to confess before
the Lord.
I see you, you can put themdown.
Maybe you're in that secondgroup.
You say, hey, I am in that jailcell and the door's wide open
and, garrett, I have no stinkingclue how to walk out.
(30:36):
Just slip your hand up realquick.
This is your opportunity beforethe Lord.
I'm not counting names, I'm not.
This is you and God.
I see you.
I see you, I see you.
Thank you for yourvulnerability.
I know there's a lot of you whoyou haven't raised your hand,
and that's fine.
(30:57):
Let me tell you, god sees it.
You're really bad at hiding.
He wants you to come to Him.
He wants you to have thatfreedom, and so I'm just going
to say a quick prayer, and we'reshort on time.
We were going to do a thing forD now, but we're just going to
go to small groups real quick.
Lord, god, I thank you so muchfor tonight and I thank you for
the opportunity to be here andto just deal with a heavy topic,
a heavy subject, lord, and myheart breaks for the brokenness
that I know exists in this room.
(31:19):
And, lord, I just pray that aswe leave here, lord, if there's
somebody who needs to step intofaith for the very first time,
that they would come grab meafter this service.
I'll be down here for you guys.
I'm breaking into the prayer.
If you need to make thatdecision, you want that jail
cell, that door open tonight,come here and meet me afterwards
and we'll get that done.
But, lord, I pray, if there'ssomebody who needs to do that,
that they'd have the courage todo that.
They wouldn't put that off,they wouldn't be okay with the
(31:46):
status quo and the slavery anylonger sin.
That you would help them tohave the tools and the courage
to go to somebody and to be ableto start to just step by step,
foot by foot, see more of whatyou've already done for them and
how you can, or how they can,walk into that.
And for the person who, by yourgrace and mercy, has not been
touched by this terrible,terrible sin and the struggle,
lord, that they would be ablessing to others, they could
(32:07):
be a brother or sister and helpother people walk out of it.
And Lord, god, we just thankyou so much for tonight and this
opportunity.
We love you, we praise you, wepray all these things in your
son Jesus's name.
And everybody said amen, loveyou, guys.
Let's go to our small groups.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.