Stop Believing This Lie | Artificial Intelligence | Week 2

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ How are y'all doing this morning? Is anybody grateful to be in God's house? If you're grateful to be in God's house, come on, let's give God a great big praise. Hey, it is so good to see all of you all here. If you're new here, my name is Stephen and I'm the campus pastor. We're so glad that you're here. The easiest way to get connected is by texting the word NEXT, N-E-X-T, to 80857. You'll receive a few messages of scripture, hope, and encouragement throughout your week, often right when you need it. Hey, Flatirons, can we just show some love to our first-timers and new folks that are new here? Let's just show them some love. We're so grateful that you've chosen to spend some time with us. Hey, today we're going to be in part two of our series entitled Artificial Intelligence. Pastor Carl did an amazing job last week. Got Pastor Jim back in the house this week. Is anybody excited here, Pastor Jim? Pastor Jim's message includes some mature themes, and so again, we want to let you know if you have kids in the room, we want to encourage you to use your discretion. We have kids ministry available at all of our services, as well as our Middle School Connect, which will be in the West End. If you are unfamiliar with those environments, we have some of our amazing guest services, volunteers in the lobby that would love to help show you where those environments are. In just a moment, we're going to sing together. This is a new song called Fear No Evil. There's a line that I love. It says, only Jesus, the victory is already won. What that means is

no matter what we go through in life, we don't have to live in fear because the victory has already been won in Jesus. Amen? This song is a reminder of that. So if you would stand, let's sing and learn this song together. All right, come on, we sing. Nobody but you, who's breaking down strong, so the righteous may rise. Nobody but you, nobody but you. Weapons will form, but won't prosper. Kingdoms will bow to the Father, so I will fear no evil, fear no one. Only Jesus, the victory's already won. For it's not by power, not by might, but by His Spirit. In Jesus' name we win this fight, so I will fear no evil. I will fear no evil. All right, you know it now, come on. Who's delivering His people, who protects His bride. Nobody but you, nobody but you. Who's vanishing the enemy, standing on His grave. Nobody but you, oh, nobody but you. Weapons will form, but won't prosper. Kingdoms will bow to the Father, so I will fear no evil, fear no one. Only Jesus, the victory's already won. For it's not by power, not by might, but by His Spirit. In Jesus' name we win this fight, so I will fear no evil. I will fear no evil. Power, my God, my King, undefeated forever. You are freedom, my freedom. ♪ I, my King, was defeated forever ♪ ♪ You are freedom, my freedom ♪ ♪ I will fear no evil, fear no one ♪ ♪ Only Jesus, the victory's already won ♪ ♪ For it's not by power, it's not by might ♪ ♪ But by His Spirit, in Jesus' name we will be resurrected ♪ ♪ I will fear no evil, I will fear no evil ♪ ♪ I will fear no evil, I will fear no evil ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, you're shining, oh, you're shining ♪ ♪ I will fear no evil, I will fear no evil, fear no evil ♪ Come on, thank you Jesus. You're our hope, you're our help. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Oh, we thank you, thank you, God.

Oh, you're a gift, oh, you're a gift. ♪ The reign of darkness now has ended ♪ ♪ In the kingdom of light, in the kingdom of light ♪ ♪ Forever under your dominion ♪ ♪ You're the king of my life, you're the king of my life ♪ ♪ You reign above it all, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ Over the universe and over every heart ♪ ♪ There is no higher name, Jesus, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ And on the cross the work was finished ♪ ♪ God, you poured out your life just to give us new life ♪ ♪ Now from the lips of the forgiven ♪ ♪ Hear an anthem arise, because Jesus, you're alive, oh ♪ ♪ You reign above it all, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ Over the universe and over every heart ♪ ♪ There is no higher name, Jesus, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ You reign above it all, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ From the Lord of heaven and the earth, there unto you song ♪ ♪ We sing hallelujah to the everlasting one ♪ ♪ There is no higher name, Jesus, you reign above it all ♪ You know, sometimes I live my life like what we just sung isn't true. And whether I believe it or not, man, God is, he reigns and he's in control. David the psalmist says in Psalm 24 that the earth is the Lord and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. It's a fact that God is in control. And something amazing happens in our life when what we know to be fact moves to something we believe to be true.

It affects our worship. Our worship then reflects that God is in control, that he has it all in his hands. And listen, man, we're gonna hear some heavy stuff today, some weighty stuff today. But I truly believe that when Jesus comes and when he shines his light, all of the dark things and the hard things that we go through have to run. Darkness is a coward in the presence of our Jesus, right? Because here's the thing, Jesus is light and light and darkness can't exist in this world. same space one has to go and if God is in control it's gonna be the darkness so when we go into this next part of this song I want to encourage you if you're comfortable could you just raise your hands to God the Almighty Father as an invitation as a signal God we need your light to shine in the darkest places of my life God I no longer want to do it on my own I don't have the strength I don't have the power but your light shines bright and so if you're here today doing this next song doing this doing this bridge can we just invite the reign of the Holy Spirit the light to shine in the darkest places of our life let's worship God we know this to be true church so sing this out you sent the darkness running out of an empty grave seated alone in glory thrown on the highest praise cuz you sent the darkness seated alone in glory thrown on the highest praise say you've sent the this running out of an empty grave you see yeah Oh Oh

You rain above it all Yes you do And you rain above it all You rain above it all Sing it out Over the universe And over every heart There is no higher name Jesus you rain above it all Then let all of heaven and earth Hear our dear song We sing hallelujah to the everlasting one There is no higher name Jesus you rain above it all Applause Jesus have my heart, my will, and my soul Jesus have my hopes, my dreams, my world With joy I lay it down With joy I cast my crown Jesus have it all Sing this out church To you I bring my praise ♪ Raise my lips, my song, a living sacrifice as one reborn ♪ ♪ Your life is now my own, your will is what I want ♪ ♪ Jesus have it all, so we give it to him, sing ♪ ♪ And Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, to you belong ♪ ♪ It's the glory, the praise of all the world ♪ ♪ Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, blessing and honor ♪ ♪ Majesty and all, Jesus have it all ♪ ♪ So Jesus have your church, your love, your pride ♪

♪ The joy for which you freely gave your life ♪ ♪ Radiant and white, washed and purified, Jesus has all ♪ ♪ Jesus have your word, your due, your song ♪ ♪ The praise of every nation, tribe and tongue ♪ ♪ And all that has been made, glorify your name ♪ ♪ Yes Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all ♪ ♪ Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, to you belongs the glory ♪ ♪ The praise of all the world, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, blessing and honor, majesty and all, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all ♪ ♪ Yes Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, to you belongs the glory ♪ ♪ The praise of all the world, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, blessing and honor, majesty and all, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all, Jesus have it all ♪ ♪ We laid our defeat and all, Jesus have it all, we'll give you our hopes, we'll give you our dreams, Jesus have it all, have it all, we've sung. ♪ All my days, all my life, have it all, we've sung. All my days, all my life, have it all. ♪ Whatever I'm keeping with this morning, I lay it at your feet Lord. All my days, all my life, have it all. For your worthy Lord, I give you all my praise. All my days, all my life, have it all. ♪ I give it to you Lord. So we sing. All my days, all my life, have it all. Have it all. ♪ You can have it all. Jesus have it all. Jesus have it all. To you belongs the glory, the praise of all the world. Jesus have it all. ♪ We pray Jesus have it all. He can have it all. He can have it all. just like Matthew 6 says we want to seek ye first the kingdom of God so we want this to breathe a prayer I don't want to gain the whole world and lose you don't want to lose you Lord it's that simple so we say I don't want to gain the whole world I don't want to gain the whole world I don't want to gain no I don't want to lose you You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory For you're worthy of it all

You're worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory Let's sing that one more last time You are worthy You are worthy of it all You are worthy You are worthy of it all For from you For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory Let's pray. L-Lord, um, we just sang some marvelous truths Y-You reign above everything. You're a king Y-You're a sovereign. You can do anything you want to do Y-Any way you want to do it Y-And yet your approach to us isn't to force us or ... Y-Or ma-make us do anything Y-You just simply invite us Y-I'll come Y-All you who are tired and weary, come and I'll give you rest Y-You will not kick in the door of our heart, our life Y-You knock and say, invite me in Y-And so, uh, I-I pray that today is that day we invite you in Y-To all of it Y-Jesus, have it all Y-Cause you're worthy of it all Y-And so, uh, we-we come in here to this place Y-I believe, I believe that you have specifically drawn each person into this place

Y-Every campus, online, whatever Y-You have an appointment with them because you want to say something to us Y-And it's good Y-It's gonna sound scary, but it's good because you're good Y-And anything you tell us to do, you're gonna walk through that valley with us Y-You promised Y-So, Lord, you reign Y-And you're worthy of everything Y-Lord, I-I just Y-I know what I'm about to teach you on today Y-I just come against any darkness Y-Any-Any spirit of lying Y-Uh, of-of bitterness, of fear Y-Of guilt, of shame Y-Of hiding Y-In the name of Jesus, you have no place here Y-And I-I declare freedom is about to break out Y-Change is about to fall off Y-Marriage is about to get saved Y-Kids are gonna look back at their parents and say, I love you again Y-I believe that's gonna happen, I claim it all Y-In the name of Jesus, in his name I pray Y-Amen Y-Amen? Y-Amen, come on Y-Let's go Y-Hey, come here Y-Come here Y-So, I'm trying to hire this guy, all in favor? Y-Hey, hey, this is, this is Darian, uh

Y-He might be familiar to ya Y-How many of y'all saw Lion King on tour, anybody? Y-Simba on, uh, on Broadway Y-On Broadway, so, uh Y-I think, I think you're gonna make it Y-I think you're gonna make it Y-Give it up, give it up for our whole Y-All of our worship team together, right? Y-Way to go, way to go Y-Hey, before you grab a seat, turn to somebody Y-Welcome them to Flatirons Y-And then go ahead and sit down Y-Hey, before you grab a seat, turn to somebody Y-Welcome them to Flatirons Y-And then go ahead and sit down Y-And then go ahead and sit down ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ All right, everybody good? Wasn't that amazing? I want to sing like that. I'm jealous, I'm envious, I covet, all that kind of stuff. Anyway, but hey, if you have your Bible with you, we're gonna start, we're gonna be at a different place. Romans chapter 12, if you have a Bible, Bible app on your phone, whatever that is,

some of you are staring at me, we're a Bible church. Did you know that? So you need to start bringing your Bible, all right? Because I have it all memorized. You're lying, there's a verse about that, right? So start bringing your Bible. There's free Bibles on the back of all of our campuses right now. But as you're finding Romans chapter 12, which is about two thirds of the way through the Bible. Last week, Carl did a magnificent job kicking off this artificial intelligence series, didn't he? Especially parents, if you weren't here, you gotta get back online. And I'm gonna need more water than this, just so you know. Anyway, so what he did is he kind of pointed out by starting like, artificial intelligence can do this and cannot do this for us. Now, please hear this. This really isn't a series about artificial intelligence warning you that if you use AI, then you've made a pact with the devil and it's a matter of time until it sucks you into its vortex and takes over your heart, mind, and soul. It's possible. It's scary, but AI is a tool which makes it neutral, like your screwdriver, right? It only does what you want it to do, right? Money is neutral. It isn't a good thing or a bad thing.

It only goes where you point it. The internet is a tool and it can be used for really great stuff and some really not great stuff. Bullets, arrows, same thing. They are neutral. They only go where you point them, right? But behind all of these tools is you. And you choose what role any tool is gonna play in your life. So I wanna kinda start there. So in Romans chapter 12, verse one, a guy named Paul is kinda, he's been talking about who Jesus is and what he's all done. He's done for all of us. And then he goes to this chapter and this is what he says. He says, I appeal to you therefore, because all that stuff Jesus has done for us, by the mercies of God. In light of your understanding of what God's done for you, all right? Here's what I'm gonna urge you to do. To present your, what's the word? Now, if you have your Bible, underline that because we're gonna come back to it. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. He didn't want you to die for him, just live for him, right? Holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

So he just sang, and that was our musical worship, but giving our bodies to God, that's another form of spiritual worship. And to be clear here, when Paul says bodies, he's not going churchy on you. He's actually talking about your physical body. He's not doing what Christians do all the time, only my heart. My heart, I believe, and I love. No, he's pointing out that your internal spiritual life, your heart, right? And your external physical actions are linked. They are inseparable. You following me? We gotta get involved in this. You following me? Okay, because I'm preaching better than you are a minute. I'm just telling you that right now, all right? So, he says this. Do not, he goes on in verse two. Do not be conformed to this world. We'll come back, underline that. We'll come back to that. But be transformed by the renewing of what? Yeah, right? That by testing, you may discern, figure out what is the will of God. We all wanna know that. What is good and acceptable and perfect. And when Paul says don't be conformed to this world,

we talk about this a lot in here. He's not talking about the earth so much. He's referring to the operating system of how this world works, all right? How all week long, the world, culture, everything around you is sending you messages. And here's the message, all right? This is what's right and this is what's wrong. This is good and that's bad. This is important. Don't worry about that. This is what you need to do to be happy, content, fulfilled, satisfied. These are the things that you ought to pursue, spend your time and attention on. Don't worry about that other stuff, it's not important. Paul is saying that your body is gonna do whatever it does based on some type of internal operating system that you have determined in your mind, like this is how I think about stuff, has the best chance at delivering what you believe will result in you experiencing the best life possible. That's what runs your life. And that the world operating system is always trying to determine and dictate how you're gonna think about stuff. That's why Jesus taught all the time, you gotta rethink some stuff, repent, right? Yeah, the world's gonna say, hey, this is what you ought to value

and therefore determines what you'll fix your mind on, what you'll think about all week long, right? And out of that, that's what you'll do with your body. And Paul is saying, as you consider whatever operating system is gonna run your life, he's saying, hey, you might wanna think, like look in the mirror. and consider in view of looking back at the proven historical mercy and demonstration of grace and love that you have experienced from Jesus in your direction. How about this? Jesus is the only operating system that will lead you to a life that's good, acceptable, and perfect. There is no other. Amen. Four of us agree with Jesus there, right? But anyway, but from the opening pages of the Bible, and right up to this moment in this chair, wherever you are, the oldest and most important question you will ever have to ask and answer is this. Who will I allow to lead my life? Who will I allow, choose, to direct my life, my thoughts, and then my body? Will it be God and what he says is true? Or here's the oldest question in the book. It goes like this. Did God really say that? Now, did you think God really meant that?

Maybe there's something other than God that will work better for me. You're gonna do that all week long. Paul is saying, if Jesus is in your heart, most will go, yeah, I love him, I'm in my heart, right? Then Jesus will be lived out with what you do with your body. And of all the parts of our life, this is never more true than when it comes to sexuality and identity. And I say and because they're linked. The way that God has created us, I've been riding a horse this week, I'm a little tired. Okay, here, so the way that God created us, our sexuality, our gender, that's a big buzzword today, right, right, male or female, is undeniably linked to our identity. It's part of who we are as an imager of God. Everything you do all week, you did as a man or a woman. Amen, thank you, all right, right? Which is why, of all the things that Satan is gonna target in order to do what he only does, he comes to steal, kill, and destroy you as an image bearer of God, then sexuality and identity will always be at the top of the target list to destroy you. So that's what today, all right, we are gonna take a biblical look at sexuality and identity and what and how the operating system of this world, how it's waging war against God and against you

through sexuality and sexual sin, and specifically pornography. Now, the way we're gonna do this, all right, we're not gonna get crude, so parents, we're gonna talk about it. We're gonna talk about big stuff, so if you don't wanna have the car right at home conversation, I'll come to this word later, flee, right? But here's what I'm not gonna do for the next 35 or 50 minutes, all right, here's what, all right, I'm not gonna, what I'm gonna spin up here and make it a list of, hey, I wanna make you aware of what's out there in porn world, there's a lot. What's happening in the AI world of porn, it's crazy, right? What's happening in your children's gaming systems with online predator? How pornography is directly linked to human trafficking and slavery around the world, funds it, all right? I could do that, and at some point, that needs to be done, I'm gonna do that, but I'm not sure if that's the best way to use our time today. We'll come back to it, though. Instead, here's what, I would like to approach this topic the way, and I've heard this, all right, that a treasury inspector learns to spot a counterfeit bill. You've heard this illustration, right? They don't get all the counterfeits on the cabinet

and then try to, oh, that one's fake because of this, and that's what's fake because of, no, what they do is they study the original one, like the original, the authentic plate, so that anything that isn't that immediately jumps out and goes, not real, counterfeit, artificial, reject. So here's how the rest of today is gonna go. First, I wanna look at what God set up, his idea, and has designed when it comes to sexuality. Second, I wanna look at what is actually going on when we step outside of God's plan, and then third, here's what I wanna get to, all right? It's gonna get good, all right? What would it look like if we were to return to that, like to God's original operating system, for you as a man or a woman? So here's the only statistic that I'll throw out at you. I thought I had that turned off, anyway. Here's what, some of you are going like, I don't know, this is church. I don't know if we should be talking about stuff like this in church. You are so wrong. Why, yeah, because all, both secular and Christian organizations, here's the stats. 75% of the Christian men in this room, 40% of the Christian women in this room have viewed pornography this week. 50% of the pastors in America have.

So this is kind of a big deal, and it's relevant to the room, amen? Some of you are like, amen. You're going like, one, two, three. One of us, anyway, so anyway, so. So here's where we're gonna start. We're gonna literally go back to the beginning, when God thought this up, designed it, set it in motion about who we are and how we're gonna relate to one another, especially as a man and woman, right? But rather than go back to the first two or three chapters of the Bible, I wanna go to a scene, if you have your Bible, Matthew 19, Matthew 19, it's one of the Gospels, right? A scene where Jesus is asked a question about marriage and divorce. We're gonna talk about divorce, but this is not a sermon about divorce, so don't email. So you're saying my divorce, I don't know. Pray about it, we'll get to it later, right? But Jesus is asked a question about marriage and divorce, and his response to what the original intention was meant to be in the beginning was to quote the opening pages of the Bible way back in Genesis. So in Matthew chapter 19, we're gonna pick this up in verse three, okay, everybody got it? Ready, here we go, so. And Pharisees, these are this religious rulers, all right,

like authorities, they came up to Jesus to ask. and tested him by asking. So this is a test. Is it, Jesus, is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any reason? Now to be clear, right, the religious leaders asking Jesus this question, they really weren't looking to learn anything from Jesus. They were just hoping that he would answer it wrong so they'd go, see, he's a fake. He's a poser, don't follow him, all right? The truth is Jesus knows what's going on and he's gonna tell them what they already know because to be a Pharisee, you had to memorize the first five books of the Bible to pass the test, right? So they've read this, right? The real truth is they were looking for a reason or a loophole in what God is about to say so they could operate their lives and their behaviors and their marriages and their sexuality by a different operating system. Time out, truth is, nothing has changed. We do it all week long, all our life, all right? I know, I know what God said. I've heard that verse and Pastor Jim told me this and some of my Christian friends are there, right? But I wanna do something different than that. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna keep asking around. Did God really say that?

You think that's what he meant? I mean, it could mean something different, right? And by the way, I think my situation is different. Here's what we're gonna do. We did it all week long. We're gonna keep on asking around until somebody agrees with us, validates what I want to do anyway and now I can go do it and pursue it without as much guilt and blame. That's our operating system. So Jesus knows that's what's going on, right? So verse four, Jesus answered, have you not read? In other words, you've read. I know you've read. Have you not read that he, God, who created them from the beginning, made them, what's the next three words? Well, there we go. There's the definition, right, right. And it said, therefore, because God did that, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife. It means glued to his wife. And the two shall become, what's the word? One flesh, all right? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. A lot of our weddings end with this, right? What therefore God has joined together,

let not man separate. So Jesus is teaching a lot here, but he's teaching in marriage, they, husband, male, wife, female, are no longer two separate things, but one new unique thing, one flesh. Now listen, when you get married, that doesn't mean you lose your identity or your uniqueness. What it means is, you put a ring on a finger, you have surrendered your isolation. I'm not gonna live in isolation from her or him. From this point on, everything that any one of them does affects the other one. You say, well, I try not to. Sorry, you're glued together. See, marriage is a spiritual covenant. God's involved. Where a husband and wife are glued together, joined together by God. I'm not talking about a legal contract. You go down to the courthouse, based on conditions and deliverables, we're gonna keep this thing together, but if she doesn't live up to it, he doesn't live up to it, we're gonna break this thing, all right? In marriage, God's painting a picture, an unbreakable picture, and later in the Bible, Paul, we're gonna look at again here in a minute,

he says, what I'm about to describe for you is a mystery. Like one's kind of reflecting the other. God is trying to paint a picture, a spiritual concept, an imaging of, ready for this, in our marriage? Trinity. Husband, wife, Holy Spirit, all glued together. All three of us, all right? Intertwined, inseparable, and like any covenant, the only thing that breaks it is death. Till death do us part. Now in Genesis 2, write this down, we're gonna look at Genesis 2, because this is where Jesus, he quoted it from it, but this glued together, this one fleshness, all right? The Hebrew word is echad, say echad. Okay, let's go Jewish on this. Echad, you should spit on the back of the head in front of you, okay? All right, one, two, three, echad. Echad, yeah. Pooey, all right, right, right? One, it means one, okay? Hero, Israel, the Lord, our God is echad. One, we got one God, right? So he goes more into this, look at Genesis 2. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, all right, husbands, they don't count as much. Mama don't count as much. There, and that's another sermon. Anyway, so, the man shall leave his father and his mother

and hold fast to his wife and they shall become, what's the word? Echad, all right, right? One flesh, and the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Can I get an amen? All right, there we go, that was a good one right there. So this oneness, in this oneness, there was a nakedness. It's more than just no clothes, all right? It was this oneness, intimacy. Like, we know each other fully. We fully enjoy one another. That's why it's meant to be fully open, sharing. I have nothing to hide. I'm not worried about her discovering anything and all that is lived out, played out in a context that there's no shame in our bedroom. There's no hiding, there's no fear of him finding out, all right, so that's what Jesus is saying. The religious leaders keep pushing back. They said to him, okay, Jesus, why did Moses, Moses, you know, the kids out of Israel, 10 Commandments, all right, all right? Why did Moses command one, a person, to give a certificate of divorce and then to send his wife away? Jesus goes, "'Cause you have hard hearts." That's why. Because of the hardness of your heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,

but it was not meant to be like that from the beginning. So historically, Moses wrote into the law, I mean, he looked around how people were treating one another, and then with God's permission, under certain conditions, usually to keep men from abusing and throwing away their wives like commodities, Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be given to that woman, because without that certificate, she could be stoned to death. No legal standing, no voice in her culture. But Jesus makes it clear, but that wasn't what God meant it to be in the beginning. So this is gonna be a big one right here, right? So Jesus makes it clear to them and to us, for all of us who are looking for loopholes, okay? Verse nine, Jesus says, "'And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, "'except for sexual immorality,'' underline that, "'and marries another, commits adultery.'" So Jesus restates God's purpose in creation and in marriage to be a reflection of Trinity, of husband, of wife, of God, gluing them together in complete openness and honesty, including sexual oneness and intimacy. And the only reason that ungluing this Trinity, the three of us, would be allowed is when a fourth something violates that sacred ground,

inserts itself into husband, wife, Holy Spirit, glued together in marriage, and that is sexual immorality and adultery. And if you grew up in church in the last 100 years like I did, I went to church in the 1900s. Can you believe that? But anyway, so that has always been limited to, yeah, you mean he cheated on me. He slept with somebody else, all right? But the idea of sexual immorality, it's more than that, okay, all right? That just feels like concrete, there, okay? You broke it, now you're guilty and I can divorce you, all right? It literally translates this. The word is porneia, say porneia. It sounds familiar, all right, we'll get to that, which includes this, any, any, and all sexual activity outside of the covenant of intimacy in the marriage bed. Porneia, it's where we get pornography. It's also the same where we get prostitute, right? It's more than images on a screen or on a page. I heard someone explain it to me this way. Everybody have a junk drawer in their kitchen? Everybody, come on, come on, it's a mess. All right, it's right there by the trash can, right, right? It has all that stuff in there that you're going like, I don't know where to put it. Throw it in there and shove it close as best you can. And then when you open it up, it's like, hey, all right.

Porneia, biblically, is kind of the same thing. If it doesn't fit in the naked and unashamed husband, wife, glued together by God, exclusively pursuing sexual oneness and intimacy toward one another, if it ain't that, it goes in the junk drawer and it's all sin. It's all sin. What do you mean? Here, I'll give you a quick list. Adultery, fornication, pornography, prostitution, same sex, opposite sex, trafficking, sexual child abuse, all of it. If it's different or other than husband, wife, joined by Holy Spirit and intimate oneness, it's porneia, and Jesus says, who says? Jesus, not Jim, that porneia has the ability, the potential to damage your marriage so deeply that it might just break it and destroy what God intended for good. And we're gonna, all morning long, we're gonna have internal conversations. That's where we're gonna land in a minute, right? You can minimize it, rationalize it, justify, pornography, any way you want to try, but Jesus says that porneia can and will destroy you and your marriage and everybody attached to you, including your kids. It will kill, steal, and destroy everyone. Jesus says it's such a big deal,

there's not another deal like it. If you go back to Genesis 3, look this up later, right? After sin enters into the equation in Adam and Eve's life, sexual intimacy in naked and unashamed will be replaced by a different competing operating system, and this is our world, it goes like this. For men, sex will be about power to prove to themselves, I'm enough. That's how we prove our power. Watch this, guys, right? We brag about it since high school, since the locker room, since college. To the guys at the bar, right? For women, sex will be about, ready, ladies? Manipulation to get what you want for yourself. You're a really good hostage taker. I didn't say that last night. I don't know if I should have said that. That was too much, came out right there. So anyway, which explains a lot, if you think about it, right? If sexual intimacy in marriage is intended to be an expression of the image of God, Trinity, displayed in an exclusive intimate oneness of a husband and wife in God, Trinity, and sexual porneia is potentially the biggest threat or weapon that has the power to intrude and destroy that God, that oneness, does that explain a lot?

Like why the number one operating system in this world aimed at you, aimed at your children, targeting you, tempting you, confusing you, seducing you? making you promises of happiness and fulfillment and empowerment and love. This world's operating system is any definition or version of sexuality except God's. Except God's original plan for you from way back in the beginning. Anything goes, do whatever you want, just not God's plan. Doesn't that explain why every time, I'm gonna get in our business, all right, every time that we have bought the lie and embraced the world's version of sexuality, we discovered, rear view mirror, looking back, it didn't work, it was artificial, it wasn't real. It could not do for either one of us what it promised to deliver. It was a lie, but we discovered it too late. At the source, just look at your own story or the stories close to you, right? At the source of every failed marriage, every affair, every addiction to pornography and alcohol and drugs, just keep on going, it can be traced back to, I chose the wrong operating system, one of us did. I didn't like what I had, so I thought I could find something better than what God said was good and true, and I was wrong, and so many people got run over by my decision. Now, let's look at why.

What is really going on with sexual immorality? Why does it, like nothing else, have this unique ability to wreck our lives and our hearts and our souls and our marriages and our families, like nothing else? I don't even know what second place is. I wanna hit one, this one, pretty, pretty. Did he sneak in here? Thank you, Jesus, all right, so. I thought it was a miracle, I was like, well, praise God, all right, so. Don't leave early, it gets better, all right, so. So I wanna hit this one really, really quick, and then get to what Jesus says about all this, so turn over to, if you're in Romans or Matthew, go right, go toward the back of the Bible. I want you to find a letter called 1 Corinthians. It's a letter a guy named Paul wrote to some Christians living in a town called Corinth, and we're gonna be in chapter six, all right? Now, let me tell you, as you're finding that, because it's really important you find this, all right, on your app or whatever it is. Corinth was a city back then where sexuality of every, like, every kind, all kinds, was not only accepted and celebrated, it was such a part of the culture, it was part of their worship service at the local temple. Like, before they became Christians, they would go to church, all right, and have sex with prostitutes as an act of worship.

Nobody missed church. Some people came several services, you know, but anyway, so when they became Christians, I didn't say that last night, anyway, they were blown away that what they were doing was not only, like, not okay, but was killing their souls, and they look at Paul and go, I don't understand what the big deal is. Why? And Paul says this, okay? Now, you look at these verses here. There's parts of it that have quotation marks around it, which means Paul is quoting something, not the Bible. He says this, all things are lawful for me, so that's actually a local Corinth saying, okay? But not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, there it is again, but I won't be dominated, owned by anything. Here's another saying. Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food. This is Paul, and God will destroy both of them. The body, here's the application. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, porneia, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. So Paul is quoting local artists, poets, whatever, back to these people, and saying, we all know this. All things are lawful for me, we all know that. In other words, I'm free. I live in Corinth, this is a free nation.

Hey, Paul, lighten up, it's not a big deal. And everybody I know, everybody in my neighborhood, all my buddies, everybody I know is doing this, and it's not even a crime. I should be able to do, be free to do whatever I wanna do. And Paul goes, okay, maybe, maybe not. But just because there's not some law against it, doesn't mean it's gonna be helpful to your life. And it may actually end up dominating you, enslaving you, before you realize you become, what you become is a part of, I'm a free man. I'm a grown man, nobody's gonna tell me what to do. Paul goes, okay, nobody can make you do anything, but here's the warning. You're gonna write this down, okay? This is good, right here. I better get an amen off this, all right? If you continue to use something good from God, which is sexuality, in a way that it was not meant to be used, porneia, God will allow that good thing used badly to destroy you, amen? Isn't that some of our stories? And I think Paul sees it, like, everybody's head like wrinkling up, like going, I don't know. What do I do with this stuff, all right? Verse 14, and God raised the Lord, Jesus, and will raise us up by his power. I think Paul knows all the conversations that are in those people's heads, and in our people, in our heads right now,

and he goes like this, I don't know how to do that. I don't even think it's possible for me to walk away from my sexual past, and you can't even believe the mess I'm in right now. I mean, I don't know how to do that. I don't know if I can. Honestly, I don't know if I want to right now. It's kind of working for me, feels like it. Paul says, here, all right, how about this? The same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available to you, and here's why he says. because that's how much power it's gonna take to get free. Then Paul reminds them of what's really going on. Here's why porneia is so destructive, right? Like nothing else, right? Verse 15, do you not know? And everyone's going, we know. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, my body, and make them members of a porneia? Never, no, I'm not gonna do that. Or do you not know, and I know you know, that he who is joined, glued to a porneia, becomes one, a God, body with her? For it is written, he's gonna quote the same Old Testament, the two will become, how many flesh? One, right? But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with the Lord. Translated, right?

You can only be in one covenant at a time. Just one. One system's gonna run your life. One operation. God's covenant plan for your sexuality, or porneia, write this down if you can, all right? But you cannot have both. Jesus said you can't serve two masters, and if you try to serve two masters, embrace two lives, both will fall apart. And you'll end up hating and despising all parts of your life, and all parts of God. It's just too much pressure. So I would say this, and this is why God brought you in this place, or your campus, or online, right, right? Today is a crossroads moment. Two deals on the table. You gotta choose. You cannot leave these rooms without making a choice. Choose God, or choose porneia. But don't try, in the name of grace, or God understands my struggles, which he does, but it doesn't mean he's given you a pass. Grace is not a pass to keep on sinning. You have reasons, we all have reasons that we ran after sin. Not one of us has an excuse. So God says right now, choose. My grandpa said, fish or cut bait. What do you mean, cut bait, Jim?

Okay, here it is, verse 18. Very, write this down. I think you can even memorize this verse. Here it goes. Flee from sexual immorality. Let's memorize the Bible verse. One, two, three. Flee from, that's it, see, you're Bible scholars. Now, look at this, right? Notice what God doesn't say. Hey, come on, fight harder. Fight sexual immorality, he doesn't say that. He doesn't go like, hey, guys, can you cut back on the porn, the sexual immorality? Hey, how about you cut down on the number of affairs you had this year? There's it, all right? How about you just live your life, get as close to the line as possible, don't jump across it, that'd violate your standards. That's called flirting with sexual immorality, right? You know, he doesn't even say, and I double-checked this, you should pray about it. I think you should pray about it, but that's not what he says. God says, what's the word? Flee, and the Greek word for that is fuego, but I translate it, it goes like this. Run! Like, should I just like, no, no, run, right?

Escape, like drop everything, do whatever it is that you need to do to get the hell away from it, literally, right? Put as much distance between that and you as possible. Why, what's going on here? Here it is, pay attention, important. Every other sin, time out. God's not saying that sexual sin's the worst sin in the book, and it's worse than other sins, and that'll send you to a deeper level of hell. No, no, all sin equally separates us from God. You hear that, right? But what Paul is saying is that sexual sin, watch the heads nod, it's just different. Not in its condemnation, Jesus' blood can cover everything. We're not talking about that. But in its consequences in this life. To you and everybody in this life who's connected to you. Why, well, all right, all sin is bad, true. But I don't think any of us lost sleep last night that five years ago we cheated on our taxes. It was a sin, y'all. Or at work a year ago, I lied to my boss on the expense report, or how about this, man? I didn't tell my wife the complete truth about the price of my new golf clubs. It's a sin. She's looking at you right now going, I told you it was a sin, right? So anyway, but that's sin, all other sin, right?

A year ago I was on a business trip and I cheated on my spouse. Or you're on the computer or on your phone and your wife walks up behind you, you didn't see her, or she gets your phone and checks your history and finds Pornhub, different consequence, right? You follow me, just nod, don't say anything out loud, just straight ahead right now, right? So here, let's keep on going, Paul explained, every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his or her own body. See, body is more than just your physical body, but it certainly includes it because when your body is engaged in sexual sin, you bring with it participation of every part of you. Heart gets involved in it, mind gets involved in it, soul and your body. Unlike any other, I'll give you a weird example that popped in my head, okay? So when you watch a movie tonight on whatever, right? And there's a scene in there where somebody gets stabbed, okay? You watch that and go, ugh, but you know it's an actor. You watch it happen, but it's outside of you. You're observing, you're not participating. But if you were, don't try this, but if you were to watch that same murder scene and you got a butcher knife in your hand and you just start stabbing the pillow beside you,

that's gonna change ya. That's why so many video games have become so dangerous. I don't know part of the game in real life. I don't know where one starts and stops. See, with sexual assault and pornography, that's exactly what's happening. And I'm not gonna get graphic here because you know where this goes, right? You don't simply watch. You join in, you participate, you become one with that person in your mind, certainly with your body, and it changes you and it stays with you long after you walk away from that secret hookup, all right? Even if you hope, pray, wish, try, pretend, declaim, it didn't matter. It was a big deal and it still is today because it changed you, because it glued itself to you like God designed it to do. And now it's part of who you are forever unless Jesus gets involved. So this is the part that I was sitting there and I don't know, so I talked to Rob and I'm telling this story with my wife's permission, okay? But she was so nervous she didn't come to church today. So babe. So before we got married, I'm not gonna confess any sins so you don't get your hopes up, all right?

So none of your business. All right, so anyway, so. But before we got married back in the 80s, all right, we both knew we had some stuff in our past. But we decided, I think on a date we decided, we decided, let's just don't talk about it. We just acknowledged there's some stuff, but we loved each other so much, we loved each other so much, we're getting married, and we forgave each other for whatever stuff that might have happened, and we would just leave it in the past and move on and start a new life together and pretend like that stuff never happened. Guess what? You know, it didn't stay in the past. And our undealt with, tried to ignore it, sin followed us and disrupted our marriage and our intimacies in ways we never put the dots together, we never understood decades into our marriage, like some of our hardest, frustrating, confusing seasons of our marriage were rooted in unresolved, we didn't even realize it at the time, unconfessed, unhealed wounds that happened before I even met Robin. We just intentionally brought all of our past, hope it didn't matter, sin and pain and regret, right into that marriage with us, hoping it wouldn't be a problem.

Guess what? It was a big problem. Which resulted in us unknowingly doing things or saying things to one another that triggered that secret stuff in the other person's past. And when they reacted poorly, we just assumed that's how she feels about me, that's how he must feel about me. But it had little to do with us now. And it was much more about the stuff and the secret, let's not talk about it, memories of the past that were still glued to us. And until it was brought out into the light, nothing's gonna change. So it changed in January. We were on vacation and we've been married 42 years, all right? And so I'm sitting on the balcony looking at the Pacific Ocean, I'm going, uh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. You ever prayed like that? Like, uh, like that groaning, like I don't have words, Holy Spirit, come on. I was about to hit, so after a lot of prayer and a lot of nerves, hey, can we talk? And we had, I'm not kidding, the best, most honest, healing, hardest conversation of our marriage,

about stuff that happened over four decades ago. But we lived in fear and denial, afraid of what might happen if our dirty, dark little secrets were brought into the light. See, bringing that darkness, some of you right now, you are puckered up by the idea of this, all right? Bringing that darkness into the light was really scary and really hard and really painful. And I didn't know how it was gonna work out. I've never been to the other side of it yet. But I'm telling you, it led to something better than before. We moved from artificial to real. A guy named Matt Chandler, I've quoted him so many times, I'm not gonna quote him anymore, I said this, all right? To be 99% known is to be unknown. You following me? Let's just say that together, one, two, three. To be 99% known is to be unknown. That's your afternoon conversation. So let's talk about and look at what's going on in your mind right now. Because you are having some conversations, aren't you? And I would guess those conversations have one or all three of these words in them. The words are rationalize, justify, minimize.

I'm president of your club, by the way. Here's the imaginary conversation you're having with yourself, with God, with me, with what you think is gonna be with the person in your life, right? You're sitting there going like. It's not, Jim Blighton, it's not that bad. I mean, it's not as bad as, and then you fill in the blank. At least I'm not doing that, right? See, when you start rationalizing your sin, it's like playing the worst game of Would You Rather. You know that game? It gets dark fast, all right? How about this? Would you rather get cancer from dip or cigars? Who cares? You got cancer, right? Would you rather destroy your spouse, your marriage, and your children through an affair or pornography? Either way, you destroy the most important people in your life, same result. Again, one more conversation between Rob and me. So we were in the kitchen a few years ago, and I was talking to Rob, and I was telling her, hey, one of my buddies from church got busted by his wife for looking at pornography, and his wife's actually thinking about divorcing him. And without missing a beat, Rob goes, yeah, I don't blame her.

I'm gonna go, that's not very Christ-like. You know, it's like, I did not say that. I mean, I said, what? I mean, he didn't cheat on her, Rob. He goes, yeah, yeah, I did. And I'm like, babe, babe, all right, right. Porn is not the same thing as having an affair. And Rob goes, yeah, it is. It's the same thing. And we went back and forth in the kitchen for a while, and after a while, the Holy Spirit was like, do you understand what you're doing? Like, are you trying to defend porn to your wife? And then I shut up. Because to Robyn, it's the same thing. That's all that matters, stop talking. But the truth is, it's not just to Robyn it's the same thing. To Jesus, it's the same thing. And if you try to minimize the results of viewing pornography as anything other than, or less than the same adultery that will destroy your life, your marriage, you're deluding yourself, and you're trying to minimize your sin. Because here's why we do this. We rationalize and minimize sin so we can keep on pursuing it with less guilt. Amen. It's our story.

You're loose, I'm not doing, yeah. Jesus says, yes, you are. They're the same thing. But let's go a little further upstream as to what's really going on that gets played out in that. If porneia, sexual immorality, is the original strategy to steal, kill, and destroy us back in the beginning, that means that it came from Satan. So this is what it means. Pornography is a demonic attack and stronghold formed against you, your wife, your marriage, your family, with the goal of stealing and killing and destroying everybody involved. It's demonic. And it holds on like only a demon can do. It was like that from the beginning. Nothing has changed except now Satan has some new cool toys at his disposal to deploy against you for the same purpose. AI does everything better and faster, including deception, addiction, and destruction. It's on steroids. And it's on its way. Again, okay, so here's some more conversations. Here's what some of us are thinking. Okay, all right. I know it's not good, but it's better than nothing.

Or it's better than what I have. Or how about this? You know what, and I've heard this. I've heard this in counseling appointments, right, right? We say, I'm not a good counselor, so don't ask, because I'll be really rude to you, all right, right? I've had a husband look at me and goes, hey, this isn't, it's not my fault. If my wife would just be more whatever, sexy, romantic, attentive, available, adventurous, attractive, I wouldn't be forced to do this. It's kind of her fault. And I've heard it from women the same way. Which leaves a lot of wives thinking like, I guess he turned to porn because I'm not enough. Ladies, right, not true. Listen, right, his sin is never your fault. That's his fault. Her sin, her affair is never your fault, men. You're responsible for your own sin. Here's a good one. I can't wait for the next service, because there's gonna be about 200 students over there. Here, it goes like this. Jim, I'm 17. I'm losing my mind. I'm going crazy. I'm about to explode. If I don't do this, I think I might die, Pastor Jim. It's like, no, you won't.

It feels like, right? And by the way, Jim, everybody at school, all my friends, they seem fine, not broken. Or how about this? Let me just talk to the single people, right? It's just until I meet the right person, and then once I get married, I won't need to do that anymore. Not true. Because it's no longer about sex. It's about power and manipulation. It's about identity. Who you are and who you have become. It might have started one way when I was 17. It's a different story today because it changed you. So I'm gonna speak to students, high school, middle school. Average age of first exposure to porn is nine in America. So I'm gonna talk to single people here. Now watch this. It's gonna be fun. They're gonna try. Watch all the married people try not to nod their heads. They won't be able to. They'll go, ah, tell, right? So it goes like this. Who you are becoming now is who you will be later, and a ring won't change it. If Jesus doesn't lead your life now, you will not allow him to lead it later. It starts today.

Because see, pornography's not your biggest problem. It feels like it. It's what you're most scared about getting busted for. It's actually the solution that. you've turned to in order to fix or medicate your bigger problem. You don't know who you are. You have a broken identity. And you're searching around, shopping around for somebody to tell you. You don't know who you are, and that's why you can't blame anybody else for your sin. You're searching for something good. You're searching for identity in the wrong place. And with pornography, for a few minutes, I can pretend, I can fantasize I'm powerful, that I'm enough, that I'm loved, that I'm wanted. I know in just a few minutes, there's gonna be a tsunami of shame, but for a moment, I can actually pretend that I'm worth loving. That's what you're looking for. But here's what most of us are thinking. Of all the things going through our mind, here's the most common conversation in our heads. If we have in the past or right now have pornography or a sexual sin going on in our life, here it is, ready? I can't tell anybody. And here's the backup.

How could anybody love me if they knew what I've already done? What I've thought about, what I've desired, what I've fantasized. Like what I actually kind of thought I wanted. If she found out, if he found out about that, they'd think I'm a monster. I can't tell anybody. It would hurt so many people if they found out. So I will keep it to myself. I'll keep it in the dark, in secret. I will continue to hide what's going on. I surrender. I live my life in shame and guilt and fear of being found out. I'm defeated. I'm a slave. Maybe I can figure it out on my own, by myself in isolation. Here's the truth. You can't. Because if you could on your own, you already would have. Satan's biggest scheme to keep you locked up in shame and secrecy, don't tell anybody. But, and we've heard this so many times in the last several months. But when Jesus says, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life, what he means is, I'm making myself available to you to show you the way out of that.

Show you the way out of shame and fear and guilt and addiction. He'll expose the lies of the identity that you've been living out of because Satan told you that's who you are. He's gonna replace it with the one that is actually true from him and he will rescue you from the death and the grave and destruction because that's where you're headed, in secrecy. So I've been listening to Brother John Jenkins. He has this sermon out in Maryland and it's called, I Will Not Go Down Without a Fight. All right, all right. I'm gonna have John come here and teach this but I'm gonna rip him off today. But kind of a new perspective, like where I feel when I get trapped. Ready, you ready for this, okay? Hell knows all about you. Yeah, let that one sing in. Hell knows about you. Turn to the person next to you and go, hell knows about you. Go and say it to them right now. Don't be mean like, hell knows about you. No, no, all right. Keep on going, all right. Hell knows about, hell knows about what you're caught up in.

Hell knows what you're addicted to. Hell knows all about that, right? And hell knows this, is that if you were to ever get free of that, if you, how about this? God has a call on your life. He has a purpose for your life, a plan for your life. And if you could ever get free of that, can you move those screens, please? If you could ever get free of that, hell knows that you're gonna wreck hell on his kingdom. Right? He's calling your, Jesus is calling your life to break free of those satanic strongholds and step into the calling and purpose that God has for your life. If you were, can you imagine if you could get free of that and become the man, the husband, the father, the leader that God, the wife, the mother, the sister, whatever that is, that design, hell would know you would kick in the gates of hell and wreak havoc on his kingdom, all right? But if he can keep you down, mired in shame and guilt and fear and hopelessness, all in secrecy and isolation, he wins. And every round you lose this. So God has a plan for your life. He's just not gonna hand it to you. You gotta go fight, you gotta fight. Turn to the person next to you, you're like, hell knows about me, say it, go ahead, say it.

Now look back and say this, I will not go down without a fight. You gotta do it more, I won't go down without a fight. I need Brother John Jenkins here right now. Look at the person and say it with attitude. I will not go down without a fight. Get swagger, go, go. That's what you gotta have. I'm not going down without a fight. I might get bloody, I might get beaten up, all right? But you know what? They're gonna know they've been in a fight. Right, and until you're willing to do that, you're a slave. But if you were, this is how we started. If you were to choose to surrender this broken part of your life to Jesus, like lay it down, I don't wanna touch it anymore. Bring it into the light now so Jesus can take it from you. If you were to tell Jesus whatever it takes to have this stronghold out of my life, I'll do it, you say Jesus, I'll do it, all right? I'll obey. Not only will Jesus set you free and heal you, he will actually, you're gonna be like, Jim, you're crazy, all right? He'll actually use this thing that you hate, your worst sinful, shameful moment, and he will turn it around and say, I got an assignment for you. I got a calling for you.

I got a ministry based on that. It's gonna be a gift to the people around you. We talked about this last Easter, right? You can't see it from where you are because you're still chained up to it. You can't see freedom from where you are. But we have a promise, God can work all things for good for those who love the Lord and are called to his purposes and respond, go, I'm in. But for the new life to start, the old one has to die. So last story, he's such an ego, it's all about him. Okay, here we go. Everything I talk about today is not hypothetical or theoretical for me. It's my story. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. And I think about that this week, it's like God could have called any person on the planet, picked that person to be the pastor of Flatirons Community Church. There are a lot of pastors in this world and leaders and teachers out there, more qualified, more theological, you know that, more spiritual, better speakers, but God chose me, all right? And what, I wish I had a cooler story, don't you? Don't you had a wish, a cooler thing to go like, hey, here's my past I'm ashamed of? I used to rob banks. Well, that's cool, all right? Mine is not that, mine is shame and guilt and insecurity,

hiding and regret. Why don't, we're a church for men, that's our reputation. Why do I have a heart for men who are trapped in brokenness, shame, guilt, regret, and insecurity, who have spent most of our lives trying to prove, I am enough, I am enough, but deep down inside, always being afraid I'm gonna be exposed for the pastor that I am. Because that's my life. I am coming on. It's my story, here's my story. Jesus took this poor little small town boy from Indiana who got hurt and abused all the way through grade school, and listen, we've talked, the 10-year-old version of myself, we've talked, he did the best he could, he survived. Didn't you? But out of that pain and out of that hurt, it led to a lot of bad decisions. High school and college, keeping shame and struggles of secrets through most of my marriage. My sin, my fault, I'm not blaming anybody, right? But my story doesn't stop there, my story says this. And then Jesus reached into that mire and he pulled me out and he forgave me and he washed me clean and he holds on to me today and if it at all tries to come back online, which it does, his grace holds me together. And today, he sent me here to speak hope and grace and restoration to men who are just like me. I ain't throwing stones at anybody, I'm preaching grace.

I'm preaching grace and new life is still possible for you no matter what you've done or what's been done to you, but only if you go fight for it. And you have to be willing to surrender your sin, don't call it anything else, your sin. We live, I'm gonna give you a vision for your life. We live in a pornographic, abusive, manipulative, destructive world, amen? Who better to reach men and women trapped in that world than a man or woman who lived in that world, was rescued by Jesus from that world and now is living on mission to bring freedom to those still trapped? Free people, free people. Who else, who else is more qualified than the formerly disqualified man or woman who was rescued and redeemed and then re-qualified by the only one who can do that and that's Jesus. That's my story, I'm sticking to it. It can be your story too, amen? All right, I'm almost done. Soon as I'm finished, I'm done, all right? Jesus, Jesus right now, Jesus is saying this. You can close your eyes, you can hear him. Come to me. All you who are weary and tired of carrying all this burden, this false identity, this shame, this panic, this guilt, this fear of being found, he says, come over here, I'm right here. Come to me and I will give you rest, peace.

I'll walk with you. Jesus is not gonna tell you to do anything that he's not willing to do with you. He's not mean. I'll walk with you, I'll walk out of the hell. I'll meet you there and I'm currently trapped in it and together we'll walk into an abundant life that hell never wants you to ever experience. Hell may know about you and has a plan to keep you there but Jesus knows about you and he's bigger, better, greater, stronger than hell and he can save you from certain death but you gotta ask him today, save me. Surrender to him then and then obey whatever he tells you to do and he will be clear. And then whatever consequences come from that along the way, this is so scary, isn't it? Because you can't see from where you are how this is possibly gonna work out well but he promised he'll be with you, he won't forsake you, he'll deliver you, he'll heal you and he'll set you back on the path to become the man, the husband, the father, the woman, the wife, the mother, the image bearer of God that hell tried to steal from you. Jesus says, I'm gonna give it back to you. I don't care, I don't care if you're 12 years old or 112 years old, right? It's not too late and it's not too hard for Jesus. All things are possible with Jesus but you gotta decide. Light or dark, truth or hide, Jesus or I'm gonna be on my own in secret, life or death.

The path to freedom starts today, one step. Now I'm done, I really am done but you're not done because hey, this is John Zekes, he's our men's pastor and listen, he's gonna give some next steps, wait, wait, three of them like you, right? I love this man, all right? But he's gonna give some steps for men and some of the women are going like, oh, you're waterbombing me. What about us? Hey, Mother's Day's coming and I got the sermon written. I'm gonna answer, what is a woman? I'm about to tell you what Jesus says that is, okay? So you're welcome, Brother John Jenkins, or Watkins, I'm sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what our pastor just shared with us, it's critical that you don't forget this message. And I just wanna encourage, go through this week and go back and listen. It's pivotal. But here's what I know, Satan doesn't care if we hear about God, he wants to keep us from being like Jesus. He doesn't care if we hear, he doesn't want us to do. And you probably feel something called conviction right now.

The difference between conviction and guilt and shame, guilt and shame always brings me back to myself. Conviction is a gift that God uses to draw us to him. But I know for a fact, it is a fact, that that conviction, it fades really, really quick. For most of you, by the time you get to the parking lot, it'll be gone. Especially by the time you get home, by the time you eat some good food. You feel it now, but it'll fade. And he said, John, how do you know, man? What makes you qualified to even tell me that? Because I lived that destructive, vicious cycle for 20 years of my life. Hearing amazing messages like our pastor just gave us, time after time after time. Messages of freedom and messages of hope, but choosing bondage. Choosing to live my life and cope with the things that are going on in my life with lust rather than Jesus. And here's what I'm telling you. The freedom that's come, I'm not saying that you're gonna be free from temptation. You would have to leave this earth to be free from temptation. But Jesus has come to free you of those chains, to free you of bondage, enslavement, addiction, and from the misguided identity that I have lived in for years. And so I'm not just up here to tell you

that there's hope in Jesus. There is, and it starts right there. But I'm also to tell you, man, that we're in a fight. We're in a fight, and so that's why we as a church have started a new ministry called Fight Club. And it's a ministry for men to fight for sexual integrity. And those words are very intentional because if you're like me, you spent a long time, a lot of years fighting against things, fighting not to click, fighting not to search, fighting not to look at it, fighting not to text her. But what if we were men that are known not for, not just for what we fight against, but what we're fighting for? Man, I tried that white knuckle discipline, trying harder. I literally tried to stop watching porn and tried to not do certain things. And I would go a long time, and sometimes I even stopped, but you know what that led me to? Then it led me to gambling. Then it led me to spending money that I didn't have because I was trying to cope with my own strength. I thought it was a porn issue, but it was a Jesus issue. I'm looking for dopamine. I'm looking for some way to cope with my anger. I'm looking for something to cope with my fatigue and my frustration. And Jesus is like, son, I'm the well that won't run dry. If you eat of my bread, you'll never be hungry again.

And so this ministry is inviting men. And let me just tell you, I'm in a fight with you. I was the first one to sign up for this because I'm fighting every single day to live a life of sexual integrity. I have a four foot 11, a hundred pound woman that is worth the fight. I have a 17 month old son that is worth the fight, worth me being the father that leads him to purity, that he doesn't find porn on my phone or in our house, worth to be faithful to my wife, that my children can look at me when I'm 80 years old and say, man, I'm blessed because I can see my dad was faithful to one woman. That's what I'm fighting for. This is not a porn ministry. We're gonna talk about it, absolutely. We're gonna tackle it. Absolutely, we're gonna tackle it. We're gonna go after it, but I'm fighting for sexual integrity in my life. So I wanna invite every man that's willing to jump in a fight with me. I had about 30 guys that last night decided to step into the fight. Now, that's awesome. But the statistics our pastor just gave us, there's some men that still walked out of here in bondage. And I'm praying. I'm praying that they'll still step in.

I wanna invite you into that. We're gonna have our first workshop on June 20th. We'll be unpacking some of the things Pastor Jim talked about today, going deeper with them. But listen, even if you can't make it on June 20th, this is not about a workshop. This is about a fight. And this ministry is not going anywhere. I want the devil to know that he has a lot of men, but he doesn't have the men of Flatirons. So the freedom comes from Jesus, but it's coming in May 15th and 16th, unfiltered. And listen, here's what I wanna tell you. What James tells us as much is that if we confess some of the things that we're going through with our brother, that'll bring healing. And unfiltered, we're making space for you to come into. Look, it ain't a confession. You don't have to come in here and share all your deepest, darkest secrets, but it's gonna be a place where you can just be a man. You can be who you are. There'll be fellowship, there'll be good food. There'll be good merch. I'm a merch guy, so there'll be merch that's exclusive to this event. But we're gonna have amazing preaching, an amazing community, because I think that's where the healing comes from. And maybe you're like, John,

I know we've already heard about unfiltered. I already signed up. I'm good. But if you already signed up, I would encourage you to invite somebody. And all of our campuses, if you're watching right now, I wanna invite you in. I've been here seven months, and this is not to boast. I'm just telling you. I'm trying not to be a hypocrite. I invited this guy, and I expected him to say no. I don't even know the man. And he said, yeah, bro, I'll go. So if you've already signed up, I just wanna encourage you, man. Invite somebody. And if you haven't, let this be the day that you join us on May 15th and 16th. And finally, coming out of unfiltered, just to let you know how serious we are as a church about this porn thing, this sexual integrity and purity, we'll be going into a 30-day devotional during the month of June. And here's what I love about this devotional. It's different than any other devotional, and I've done probably 100 of them, is that a lot of devotionals, they start with porn. Stop doing this. Get accountability. Go this way.

Go it. But this devotional starts with Jesus. Because I don't know about you. When you have that foundation of the Lord, when I'm tempted, and I'm still tempted, man. I tell people all the time. I wasn't struggling with porn when I was watching it. I just watched it. I struggle now that I don't watch it. I'm fighting against that temptation of something I've done for so long to cope with. And so that's what we're gonna do, man. We're gonna go through this devotional to walk in freedom starting in the month of June. Man, I know I said some heavy stuff today, a lot of stuff. And we talk about a fight. Fight starts on my knees. Our fight for sexual integrity, man or woman, boy or girl, it starts in prayer. And so that's what I wanna do. If everybody could stand to your feet, everybody watching online, if you could just stand with me. Father, God, we come to you. All of our shame, all of our guilt, the weight of our sin, God, I know what you have done in my life and I'm forever grateful. But there's some men and some women here right now under the sound of my voice. They can't stop, God.

They can go a little while and then they just go right back to it. God, I declare right now, Holy Spirit, we need your help. We need your strength. We need your power. The enemy wants to kill us. He doesn't wanna hurt us. He doesn't wanna trip us up. He doesn't want to confuse us. He wants to kill us. He wants to destroy our families. He wants to kill our children. So Father, we talk about fighting and we can't fight without you, Lord. We only can fight because you already fought, Jesus. We declare today that you reign victorious. That on this battlefield, we stand behind you as our commander-in-chief. You go before us, Lord. Thank you for the fight you fought on the cross for us, Jesus. Gave us the ability to walk in freedom and the ability to walk in purity, God. Thank you for what you did through your son. That's what we live through. That's what we surrender to. And we're taking time because, God, we need work done in our hearts. We need to ask you to renew our mind, transform our thoughts.

Reconcile marriages today. I pray for every woman in this building, God, who has been a victim, oh God, of their husband or dad or friend that has been enslaved to pornography and lust and sexual sin. God, I pray that you will, as a good father, heal those wounds. Those women that were hurt in their marriage, God, I pray, God, that you will show them that you are a father that loves them and sees them. And so, Father, we just thank you for today. We thank you for your goodness and your kindness. Thank you for your love. We thank you for your goodness and your kindness. Thank you for a pastor that has the courage to tackle these things. Holy Spirit, thank you for giving him a conviction to not sit on this, to not cower, but to stand tall by your grace. God, we love you, we bless you, and we thank you, and it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen, can we give something for Jesus? Come on, let's give it up for him. Hey, I'll be out at the thin red line wall. I'd love to talk to you, kind of information about what's coming up. Also online, I'll be at your campus as soon to talk to you as well. See y'all next Sunday, see you.

♪♪