1 Corinthians Week 6 • 1 Corinthians 7

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Hey, good morning.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to 1 Corinthians chapter 7.

1 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

That's where we're going to be this morning.

As you turn there, you heard about our marriage conference that we're going to be doing at

the end of the month.

We're excited about that here.

I'm excited for Aaron and I to have an opportunity to go through that along with you guys.

Marriage conferences have played a role and a piece in our marriage from the very beginning.

And what we're excited about for this one is a lot of times marriage conference or marriage

retreats, you've got to go away.

And so what we've decided to do is how can we bring that here to Willow Ridge Church and

have that amongst our body, our congregation.

And so the last weekend, that Friday night and Saturday morning, we'll be gathering together

as married couples to hear wonderful teaching that's going to be provided to us through Right

Now Media and then have the opportunity to discuss and work through some of those.

And so we want all of you who are married, or maybe you're dating, or maybe you're engaged,

maybe you're having conversations, whatever that is, it'll be a wonderful time for us to

continue to build on God's expectation of marriage for us.

And so we'll be selling tickets all the way through the end of the month and so you can,

or next month and so you can, we're still in February, I think, right?

And so we'll be selling tickets back here and would love for you to join us and go and purchase

some tickets.

Have had people ask, can couples that don't go to our church, maybe they go to another church

or they don't go to church at all, can they be a part of this with us?

And absolutely.

And so if you've got someone that you want to invite, that you want to bring with you,

we'd love for them to be a part of this.

Before we get into our message this morning, as you guys, I'm sure, are all aware from watching

the news and what's taking place, I just wanted to kind of take a moment and speak to the war

and the conflict going on in Ukraine and what we're, sorry, what we're going to be doing

and how we're responding as a church.

First off, as you leave, I shared this on social media this week, our SEND relief team, a part

of the Southern Baptist Convention, which does a lot of things but really prides themselves

on being the first on ground in areas of natural disaster, destructions, war, famine,

all those that put together prior to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, this prayer guide.

And we've printed some copies off and they're also at this blue table as you leave.

And if you follow me on, if we're friends on Facebook, and I hope we are, you can print

it there and we'll make this available through our church's social media as well.

And so we'd love for you to be able to pray through, wonderful guide, 10 ways that we can

be praying for the people of the Ukraine and what's happening and what's taking place there.

As far as just some thoughts on this situation, number one, what we're discussing and praying

through as church leadership, how we can respond and how we can help, all right?

There's a humanitarian crisis.

There's going to be a gospel need and a gospel presence for what's going on.

Refugees, that's been a term that I don't know that I heard too often growing up, but it

is definitely a term that my son and daughter grow up in a world where they hear the term

refugee constantly.

And oftentimes when we hear the word refugee, our brain is taking to political matters concerning

refugees.

And I would just like to maybe say for a moment that I'd like for your brain to maybe go somewhere

else when you hear the word refugee.

Always associated with any refugee crisis is also the crisis that comes with human sex

trafficking, all right?

As people flee, there are men and women who want to rally around and support and love and

share.

And you see that happen.

The refugee crisis creates a wonderful opportunity for the church to step in to help men and women

who are broken and hurting, but it also raises to the top in many instances, some of the lowest

of the lows of humanity in this world.

And sex trafficking will be prevalent in these areas.

I mean, if you just think about what's happening right now, and this is not a political statement,

it's a statement of fact.

Women and children are allowed to flee and leave the Ukraine.

And what is happening as a result of that is the men stay behind and it makes them even

more vulnerable to those who seek to take advantage for their own sexual desires, gratifications,

or even monetary means.

So as you pray through everything that's going on, I pray that that would be on the forefront

of your mind.

I want to tell you the work of the Lord that is being done as I've already had one of our

church members reach out to me already who has some connections in surrounding countries

around the Ukraine, who's working with gospel-minded brothers and sisters in Christ to help

these women and children find a safe harbor.

But I also had a friend of mine who's a pastor in the upstate who called and said, man, I don't

know if you have any connections, but I do as he's done missions work in Moldova and in

other areas around there as well.

And so we're just praying through what God would have for us as a church.

And we don't know what that is yet, but I do know that what God would be calling us to,

especially during this season of time, right?

We are to be people of prayer.

We are to pray without ceasing, but so much rides on what is happening and what is taking

place in this right now.

And so I want to challenge you to join me not only as we pray for the people of the Ukraine,

but also people of Russia.

There's believers right now in Russia who are facing persecution as they stand up for what

they believe to be right in the sense of the gospel, even if it goes against what their

government says.

Let's ask that we pray for them as well.

And so what I'd like to do, and I know this is a little different than how we normally do

things, but we're just going to take some moments of silence where we can just gather

together as a church and pray.

And then I'll close this up, and then we'll get started on our message, all right?

So let's all just bow our heads, close our eyes, and go before the Lord in prayer.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

And then we'll get started on our message.

Lord, we come to you this morning with heavy hearts.

Lord, it is the people of God who turn on the TV and find death and destruction.

Lord, it just hits us at our core.

Lord, I pray for the people of the Ukraine this morning who woke up again

to air raids, sounds of rockets and bullets, or just lift them up to you in their fear and in their uncertainty.

Lord, I pray for the leaders, Lord, I pray for the leaders of the Ukraine, Lord, but the leaders of all the nations, Lord, involved in this, whether directly or indirectly.

Lord, God, Lord, I pray for the leaders of all the nations, Lord, that they would seek your counsel.

Lord, I pray for the salvation of those who were blatantly, obviously lost, separated from you.

Lord, that the truth of the truth of the truth of the gospel would be made done.

Lord, I pray for the boldness of believers.

Boldness of believers in Russia, boldness of believers in the Ukraine, boldness of believers in surrounding countries.

Lord, to stand for the gospel.

Lord, I pray for us as a church.

As we evaluate, Lord, what you would have for us, how would you have for us to respond, to partner, Lord, what this looks like.

Lord, I ask that you even remind, that you remind all of us, myself included, Lord, that in the midst of the chaos that is this world, to remind us that you are the God who is not chaos.

But you are in control, and Lord, you're on your throne.

And Lord, may we rest in that.

Lord, and in this situation and everything, may your will be done.

Lord, for the families of our church that have sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives that serve in the armed forces.

And don't know what today or tomorrow may hold or may look like.

Lord, I pray that you'd give them peace.

Lord, to all the soldiers who are involved, I pray that you'd give them protection.

Lord, for the church in the Ukraine, as we just sang, above all, may the light of Jesus shine through.

And may, as a result of this terrible season that we find ourselves in, may men and women and children come to know you.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

We're going to go ahead and begin in 1 Corinthians 7, starting in verse 1.

Paul writes, as he continues in his address to the church at Corinth, dealing with them and some of the problems that they're facing.

Problems that are detrimental to the unity that Paul would have for them.

And the understanding of the gospel and the right application of that in their life as individuals, as a family, and as a family of God.

And so Paul writes in chapter 7, verse 1 of 1 Corinthians, he says,

Now concerning about, I'm sorry, now concerning the matters about which you wrote,

it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.

So what I want us to look at this morning and try to understand is the problem that Paul is addressing here.

And as we try to understand the problem, it'll help us be able to unfold and unpack and apply the proper context of the solution of what Paul has given him.

Now, there's a lot of debate as in verse 1, and a lot that is happening here.

And I want to kind of share with you through my study, and as the Holy Spirit teaches this to me,

what I feel like is happening, is taking place here in Corinth, and what Paul is particularly addressing here in chapter 7.

Now, the Corinthian society was very sexual.

I tried to think of how we could compare that in U.S. terms, and I'll be honest with you,

my brain couldn't begin to wrap around a specific comparison that lines up fully,

because of some certain details that we're going to find out about what is happening and what is taking place in Corinth.

All right, so if you go all the way back to like middle school and high school, right,

we learned about Greek gods and goddesses and Roman gods and goddesses,

and we get to understand the nature that existed for all of those.

And so this was the culture in which we find the Corinthian church.

And for these gods and goddesses, they would build temples,

and these temples would be in different cities throughout the empire,

where men and women and children would come to these temples to worship these specific gods and goddesses.

Well, in Corinth was a temple that was dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.

And if you don't remember from a long time ago about Aphrodite,

Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality.

And that was embraced in Corinth and in the temple.

As a part of the practice of worship of Aphrodite,

in the temple was temple prostitution, consistently practiced there.

Both heterosexual and homosexual practice there in the temple was prevalent there

and all throughout the culture.

And what we see when we look back into chapter 6 is that Paul felt the need

to address that in context for the church,

but he also felt most because what was happening in the context of the community.

I want you to look back for just a second at 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9.

1 Corinthians 6:9

It should be on the page there right beside you, right?

And Paul's instructing the people of Christ to be different than the people of the world,

to be different than the people of society.

And here's how he addresses it.

He says,

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived.

Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

nor thieves, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And so, Paul says, there's this defining that we need to understand.

Now, Paul gives other lists in other letters that he writes as well.

So, each one of these lists that we see, we come to understand that these lists both oftentimes reflect the society,

and also, more than likely, some of the struggles, both practically or theologically, that are existing in the church.

And so, Paul says, look, those who practice these, this is who they are.

This is what they do.

They will not inherit the kingdom of God.

And then we looked at this last week, verse 11.

He says,

Past tense.

And such were some of you.

And this is the beauty and the hope of the gospel, of what God does.

And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.

And this is what we talked about last week.

And so, if you miss this, go back and listen to this.

They cannot inherit the kingdom because of who they are, but you, because of Christ, and because of his work, you've been washed, you've been sanctified, you've been justified, is what we see here.

And there's some verses we're going to come back and look at in just a second.

But because this is such a big thing that's happening and taking place, Paul looks and says in verse 18 of chapter 6, to the church, flee from sexual morality.

Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

In just a minute, we're going to look at the tail end of this verse.

But right now, I want us to focus in on this four-word strategy that Paul gives.

Flee.

Flee.

What do we do when we face sexual morality?

We flee.

What would Corinth say?

Explore.

Now, I think there's some close correlations that we can begin to connect with Corinthian society and American society.

I heard an author say this a few weeks ago, and I loved it.

He said, God never gave you and I the right to determine what is and what isn't sinful.

He sets the standard.

And so, in this context, he says flee.

The Corinthians want to explore.

They want to find out.

They want to live in that hedonism that we talked about last week.

Well, what feels good to me?

What do I like?

And Paul said, no, no.

We're not exploring this.

We're fleeing this.

We're running from this.

Because this will lead us to our destruction.

We don't want that.

So, we run, we run, we run, right?

So, how does this bring us back to verse 1?

Why do we take this detour back into chapter 6?

Look back at verse 1 of chapter 7.

Now, concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.

Here's what I think is happening.

Here's what I believe is taking place.

Because society in the Corinthian church, and in large part society here, has a view on sex and sexuality that is far removed from God's standard.

And what has happened during the time of Paul, and what has happened in many senses here, is that this standard of society removed from God's standard has invaded the church in many areas.

It's why Paul felt the need to address it in the church.

We've got to talk about this because we've got to make sure that this is what we are, that this is what we're understanding, that we know God's design and God's purpose for this.

And so what I think is happening here in the church, I've labeled the Corinthian pendulum, all right?

And here's what I mean by that.

Sinful Corinthian society has taken the pendulum and swung it on this side.

To sexual freedom, sexual liberation, sexual exploration.

And the church, in response to that, the Christian church, those who aren't embracing it, have said,

well, we're going to swing all the way on to the other side.

And they've covered this other view of sex outside of biblical marriage that is wrong.

They've admitted that.

But they begin to have a distorted view of sex within the context of marriage.

And that sex, even in the context of marriage, is lesser.

Is lesser.

Which isn't God's design at all.

So that's what we want us to begin to see.

Paul wants to bring them back square into God's understanding of sex, sexuality, and the standard for marriage.

Look at verse 2.

Now, in this verse right here, what we're going to see and understand is God's standard.

And we're going to unpack that throughout the rest of this message.

Paul's doing a couple things here in the words that he uses.

Number one, Paul defines the only marriage that is pleasing to God.

The only marriage that is pleasing to God.

One man with one woman.

If you look at the tail end of verse 2, each man should have.

Right there, that word have.

His own wife.

And each woman have her own husband.

And that word have is always used in connection with marriage.

And Paul's going to explain that.

One man, one woman.

Not a homosexual relationship.

Not a polygamous relationship.

Not an adulterous relationship.

Not any other relationship.

One man, one woman.

It's the beauty of God from the garden.

Right?

And then secondly, Paul begins to lay the groundwork here in verse 2 for the battle against sexual morality.

Right?

What I want us to understand, and this is hard for us.

This is a difficult thing for many of us to grasp.

But sexual desire is given by God to humanity for good.

Right?

For good.

Now, my wife and I, the desire that I have for her, it's good.

The desire she has for me, it's hard to believe.

Thank you.

I appreciate that y'all finally laughed at some point in time with this.

All right?

It's good.

Right?

It's what's there.

It's what God gives us.

It's what God has for us.

Now, what happens in sin is that sexual desire that turns to lust, that turns to sexual immorality is not what God has for us.

But I'll be honest with you.

Let's go all the way back to the beginning of our relationship.

We talked about this this past week with our kids.

The night that I met my soon-to-be at that point in time, not soon-to-be because it's 18 months later.

The night I met Aaron, we went to the same college we never met.

We were set up on a blind date.

A blind date at church to watch a Christmas church pageant, right?

Like, that was just awkward and uncomfortable.

I mean, it was great that we met at church, but that's where we were, right?

And I'll never forget First Baptist North Augusta, the church that I grew up in.

I'm standing at the bottom level.

And when you enter into the sanctuary area, you actually enter in on the second floor if you come from one of the parking lots.

And Aaron had parked at that second parking lot, and she was working her way down the stairs.

And I remember standing there thinking to myself, this is before social media, all right?

I know for some of our teenagers and even 20-year-olds, that's hard to believe.

I'd never seen her.

True blind date.

And I'll never forget black pants, black and white sweater.

And I saw her walking down the stairs, and I thought, I don't know if that's her, but I hope that it is.

And then she came walking up, and the friend that introduced us introduced us,

and then I was, y'all find this hard to believe, but I don't know that I spoke for like an hour and a half, two hours.

Just blown away by your beauty, babe.

Like that.

Yeah.

Emma's uncomfortable.

Grayson's serving in kids' ministry, so he's glad he's over there this morning, all right?

Right?

But in that, I'm attracted to her.

We date.

We get engaged.

And can I tell you what is going on in the mind of a man who loves the Lord in preparation for his wedding night?

Looking forward to God's design for sex in my life and in her life, and for that moment that we can be together.

And that's good.

That's what God intended.

Removed from lust.

Removed from immorality.

But sexual desire can be used by Satan to tempt people into being sexually immoral.

I read this this week, and I loved it.

An author said, Satan does not produce sexual desire.

It is good, and he never produced anything good.

His aim is to ruin what God created to be good.

And so what Satan does, he says that in this desire of what God gives a man and what God gives a woman,

and is meant to be celebrated on their wedding night together that Satan wants to say,

and Satan wants to take and break and abuse and twist and turn it into something that it's never been intended to be.

And when we think about it, he does that with so many different things in our life.

But primarily, this is what we see in marriage and in sex.

It's a beautiful picture of God's plan for marriage in Genesis 2, verse 24 and 25.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife.

And they shall become one flesh.

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

There's beauty, so much beauty in this verse.

What we see in Genesis 2 is we see the formation of the family, the husband and the wife.

We see the design for sex that God gives of the husband and the wife, and even more beautiful.

What we see in the relationship between the husband and the wife is we see two people freed from shame.

They're not embarrassed.

They're not filled with shame.

Why?

Because that's not who God is.

And we see the husband and the wife.

And what's going on, why I believe the marriage is so important, is because unlike any other picture that we see of relationships,

different than the relationship I have with my daughter, different than the relationship I have with my son,

different than the relationship I have with you, different than the relationship I have with my parents,

different than the relationship I have with my friends,

different than the relationship I have with my lost friends,

that the picture, that the gospel picture that exists in marriage.

When men and women come together for the beauty and the glory of God in marriage,

there's a picture that's being displayed.

And we see this evident all throughout the New Testament, primarily in Ephesians chapter 5,

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

where God gives marriage a unique purpose, and God gives marriage a unique passion.

And if you're married, and you do not know this, if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ,

there's a greater good for your marriage than raising great kids.

There's a greater good for your marriage than having a wonderful retirement plan and bank account.

There's a beautiful picture for your marriage that is found in Scripture,

and the purpose of marriage is a picture of Christ and the church.

You and I, we are referred to the body of believers,

make up the church, which Scripture refers to as the bride of Christ.

And since we are the bride, Scripture tells us that Jesus is the bridegroom.

So Aaron and I have this unique calling within our marriage that is unique to every marriage

that is found under the Lordship of Christ, to reflect the gospel in that.

That I serve her, and that I love her, and that I seek her best for her, as Christ did for the church.

And that she, in response to my leadership in the home,

that she, in response to my care for her,

that she, in all of those aspects, responds as Christ, as the church responds to Christ.

And this church loves Christ.

There's the unique design that's there.

And every time that we have the opportunity to live that out,

both positively and negatively, it reflects on who Jesus is.

But there's a greater good for your marriage than anything else.

And it's Christ.

And it's Christ.

And so Paul, jump back to 1 Corinthians 6, 15.

So Paul connects this with sexual morality.

And he says,

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?

Never!

Or how do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?

For as it is written, two will become one flesh.

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

So Paul talks about the spiritual connection between us and the Lord

and the spiritual and physical connection between a husband and a wife within this.

It's a beautiful design that he's laying out.

And so when sexual immorality invades culture and invades the church of all places,

like what in the world are we doing?

When it shows this,

and when we see this,

and whether we see it at Corinth or we see it at Willow,

when we are broken from God's standard of marriage,

we are broken from the Lord as well.

Removed from what God desires for us.

So we can see how this continues to play out.

Look at verse 3.

Scripture says,

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights,

and likewise the wife to her husband.

For the wife does not have authority over her own body,

but the husband does.

Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body,

but the wife does.

Do not deprive one another,

except perhaps by agreement for a limited time,

so that you may devote yourselves to prayer,

but then come together again,

so that Satan may not tempt you

because of your lack of self-control.

What I want us to look at here in these few verses

is an understanding of sexual selfishness.

What we saw, what we read in Genesis chapter 2

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

is that in marriage, two become one.

This has physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual applications.

In verse 4,

does it mean that I tell Aaron what to do

and that I have control over her?

Verse 4 also doesn't mean that Aaron tells me what to do

and that she has control over me,

but what it does mean in the context of marriage

is that she and I are not two independent beings on this earth

doing what pleases me and doing what pleases her,

but we are one joined together and unified by Christ.

And so what is for her good is for my good.

When she hurts, I hurt.

When I rejoice, she rejoices.

And this is what this begins to see in marriage.

And practically speaking,

I believe that what this looks like is that in marriage,

and maybe this will be for some of us here today.

There is not my money,

my time,

or my agenda.

It's ours.

On that day,

June 19th,

2004,

at Matlock Baptist Church

with Aaron's dad officiating the service,

right?

In the commitment of that,

it was no longer me,

but it was always going to be we

as we go forward to becoming one.

Now,

this doesn't mean I don't have possessions.

I do.

It doesn't mean I don't have hobbies.

I do.

It doesn't mean I don't have money in my wallet.

I do less now than I did.

But that has nothing to do with Aaron

and everything to do with two teenagers, right?

I do.

What it means

is I have these

and so does Aaron

under the agreement

of what we do

is for the betterment,

not just of me,

but for our family

and our marriage.

And the moment any of those things

distract me from what we're working toward

in that,

they need to be removed.

They need to be removed

within there.

There's no room

for selfishness

in marriage.

Lose

the my

and the I

in that.

There's no room

for selfishness

in marriage.

But in context

for here,

what do I mean

about sexual selfishness?

what was used

then

is used today.

Sex,

a gift

by God

given to a husband

and a wife

and his design

is never meant

to be a leveraging tool

or a tool of manipulation.

So a couple ways.

Number one,

stop treating sex

like a reward

to be won.

Right?

What do you,

what do I mean by that?

All right?

Have you ever

done nice things?

Have you ever

sought to serve

your spouse

with an end goal?

not to be

their betterment,

not to be

for their kindness,

not to be

for their good,

but in the hopes

that as a result

of that,

that you would get sex.

That's selfishness

and manipulation,

not the way

that God designed it.

Number two,

stop using sex

as a punishment.

Have you ever

thought to yourself,

they didn't do this,

they didn't do this,

they didn't do this,

so I won't do that.

In both

of these instances

is an abuse

and a misuse

of sex

in the context

of marriage.

Both of these

are forms

of manipulation,

both of these

are forms

of selfishness,

and they were

never a part

of God's design

for marriage.

But,

Paul does say

there is a reason

to not have sex

in marriage.

Look back,

he says,

do not deprive

one another

except

perhaps

by agreement

for a limited time

that you may

devote yourselves

to prayer

but then

come together

again

so that Satan

may not tempt you

because of your

lack of self-control.

So here's what I want to say

about this.

Maybe

there comes a time

in your marriage

where a season

needs to be placed

on an emphasis

on spiritual

matters

that are

different

than what

you've gone

through before.

And I'm going to give

some examples

of these

in just a second.

And Paul says

when that

happens

it's okay

in the context

of your marriage

to take

a break

from sex.

I would equate

it to the call

that we have

on our life

in fasting.

Right?

God calls us

to fast

and to fast

from food

and I don't like

it that he says

that but he says

it.

Alright?

And when he says

it it's not

that we're fasting

so that we can

lose weight.

It's not that

we're fasting

so we can tell

people about it.

It's that we're

fasting for a

purpose that we

can cry out

to him

depend on him

focus completely

on him

and hear from him.

And so Paul says

there may become

a time

and an opportunity

in your marriage

where you need

to address

some spiritual

things that are

going on

in the context

of your marriage

and so as a result

of that

you may need

to break

from sex

for a season.

And so some

illustrations that I give

maybe there's some

big decisions

that you need to make.

And so you as a couple

decide

before we make these

it may be a career

decision

it may be a decision

about a home

it may be a decision

about a child

it may be a decision

about a relationship

and so the two of you

come together

and you agree

that we're going

to come and pray

and seek the Lord

this is what we're

going to do.

Number two

there may come

a time of sickness

where a spouse

is battling

going through

a time of poor health

a time of poor sickness

and it's discussed

and it is agreed

that during this

because of the physical

condition

of the spouse

that we're going

to break

and instead

we're going

to spend

that time

in prayer

before the Lord

there's a third

aspect

that I think

unfortunately

is all too often

in many marriages

where I think

this passage

of scripture

applies

and it's when

sin

and brokenness

has invaded

the marriage

and reconciliation

needs to happen

a spouse

has hurt

a spouse

and in that

reconciliation

needs to be

in place

there's a spouse

who feels abused

there's a spouse

who feels taken

advantage of

there's a spouse

that's hurt

and we can try

to force through

that

and act

like nothing's

wrong

in the bedroom

and in the world

but what needs

to happen

is reconciliation

and so a time

is dedicated

to that

here's what I see

this take place

number one

it happens

for a season

it happens

for a season

what do we want

this to look like

what does this

need to be

how long

does this

need to last

where do we

feel like God

is drawing us

number two

it's agreed upon

it's agreed upon

it is never

her will

nor mine

it's his

and in unity

of the spirit

we walk in that

and we agree

and the third

that we see

is that we

need to be

careful

because what

Satan chooses

to do

what Satan

wants to do

is to find

a foothold

in the marriage

so that he

can break it

apart

by taking

what is good

and replacing

it with what

is filthy

as we look

and as we

see

and as we

understand

so much

of what

is happening

here in the

church of

Corinth

so much

of what

is happening

in the

society

of

Corinth

is so much

of what

is happening

in so many

churches

and in so many

marriages

and so many

societies

today

that we

have the

right

to determine

what is right

and what is wrong

and God

says that's

not the

case

it's my

plan

one man

one woman

together

for a unique

purpose

to reflect

the glory

and the

goodness

of the

Lord

and it's

my prayer

that as you

see my

marriage

that as we

examine our

marriage

what is

resembled

is the

serving of

Christ

to serve

the bride

and in

areas

where I

failed

I'm

sorry

and that

in turn

what we

see from

that

is the

bride

who loves

and follows

Christ

and that

it's

reflected

for all

the world

to see

that it's

shared

and that

he's

proclaimed

stop

letting

Satan

determine

where the

pendulum

is

and find

what God

has called

us to

would you

pray with me

where does

I look

out in

this

congregation

I see

a lot

of

couples

in

here

a lot

of

husbands

and

wives

Lord

and

while I

know

some

Lord

I don't

know all

but you

do

Lord

and as

they go

through

as they

battle

as they

face

Lord

I pray

that they

would

seek

your will

for their

marriage

for your

glory

for your

name

for your

now

Lord I

also see

couples in

here who

are dating

who are

engaged

Lord and

the struggle

that they

face

is a

difficult

one

Lord I

pray that

through the

strength of the

Holy Spirit

in them

Lord

that they

would not

succumb

to the

sexual

temptation

that Satan

would

cast at

them

but they

would remain

strong

in their

faith

they would

be willing

to take

the desire

that you've

given them

and restrain

for that

wonderful day

where they

look at each

other and

say I do

and pledge

and commit

themselves

Lord also

in this

room

is the

single man

and the

single woman

the single

girl and

the single

boy

Lord I

pray for

their purity

as well

as their

standard as

they wait

and if you

provide them

a spouse

Lord

and we

celebrate

you

but if

what you

have for

them is

singleness

Lord what

they would

embrace

what your

word tells

us

Lord if we

were able

to continue

on

is the

beautiful gift

of celibacy

where they

can focus

in on you

even more

fully

and Lord

what you

have for

them

look up

real quick

I left

this out

and I'm

sorry

but if

you

are a

person

whether

you're

married

whether

you're

single

and whether

you're

dating

and you've

struggled

and you've

fallen

and sexual

morality

and adultery

and lust

and homosexuality

there's

goodness

and forgiveness

at the cross

and he

pours it

out

and pours

it

out

and pours

it

out

and another

lie that we

feel sometimes

is that when we

fall in short

of God's

standard

we have to

live and carry

the shame

that comes

along with

it

and Jesus

says I've

come to set

you free

so that we

live in hope

and glory

and goodness

and so if

that's you

this morning

you may have

some stuff

that you need

to walk

through

and we

want to

walk

through

that

with you

but there's

fullness

of redemption

that's found

in Christ

he takes

what is old

and makes

it new

he takes

what's dead

and makes

it alive

again

and there's

beauty

and there's

hope in that

let's go back

to the Lord

in prayer

God if

there's

anyone here

and that's

what they're

struggling with

Lord

we pray

that today

they find

forgiveness

and hope

through the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

the foot of

the cross

to walk

in the

newness

of life

free from

shame

Satan

defines them

by their

sin

Lord

but you

define us

by Christ

and we

live in

him alone

because we've

been washed

we've been

sanctified

and we've

been justified

God

so you're

going to

pray

man

just a

moment

we're

going to

stand

and we're

going to

respond

we've got

prayer

encouragers

on either

side of

auditorium

a husband

and wife

team

loving each

other for

the glory

of God

maybe you

want to

pray with

one of

them

maybe you

want to

come down

front and

pray

maybe you

want to

pray right

where you

are

maybe you

want to

stand and

sing

we just

ask that

this morning

as you

respond

respond as

God's

leading you

would you

stand as

we worship

him

thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge

Church

weekly podcast

we hope

that you

enjoyed

listening to

this week's

message

if you'd

like to

learn more

about who

we are

or explore

additional

resources

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