The Kingdom Standard for Looking, Lusting, and Divorcing

This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Easley. Today's message is about to begin, and we invite you to prepare your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak to you today as you seek to live your life all in for Jesus Christ. And now from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley. You know, I love it when we open God's Word and Jesus tells us something that we want to hear. But then there's other weeks when you open God's Word and it's like Jesus only wants to tell you things that are hard to hear. Hey, how do you respond when Jesus tells you something that's hard to hear? We're gonna find out in the next 30 minutes. Are y'all ready? Matthew chapter five, we're right in the middle of a series we're calling Kingdom Culture. And Jesus is talking about things that relate to us in this world, things that relate to us personally, things that many of us struggle with, things that many of us battle with. And he's talking about how the battle isn't always on the outside,

sometimes the battle is really on the inside. You know, I was reminded this week of a story from Greek mythology about the Trojan War. Many of you remember the story that took place in ancient Troy. This war took place, the Greeks had been at war with the Trojans for 10 years, and every single day for 10 years, they were unable to penetrate the walls of the city. But then one day, the Greek army appeared to give up, and they left behind this massive wooden statue. Well, this horse on the outside, the Trojans thought that that was a sign that they had given up and that the war was over. And so that they dropped this horse and they dragged it inside the city walls as a celebration, as a token of the victory. For them, this was like a trophy, they were inside the city walls. But what happened later that night as Troy was fast asleep, there were Greeks inside of this massive wooden horse and they slipped out. In the middle of the night, they slipped out, they opened up the city gates and then they let in their full army. And what happened as a result? The entire city was destroyed, not from an external attack, they were destroyed because they welcomed the enemy

inside the walls of their city. Today, when we open to Matthew chapter five, beginning in verse 27, Jesus is going to warn us about something very similar. You see, in that day, the Pharisees were focused on that which was happening on the outside. They were focused on the external, major sins like murder, sins like adultery. But in this message, Jesus is gonna tell us that the real battle begins not on the outside, but it happens on the inside. And I want us to read this text together, we're gonna walk through this text and I wanna encourage you to take notes as we see what Jesus is saying to us today. Verse 27, Jesus said, you have heard that it was said, do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Here's what Jesus was saying. He's saying, lust in your heart is like the Trojan horse in Troy. It may seem harmless at first, but when you welcome it in, it will destroy you from the inside. In today's message, we're gonna hear Jesus reveal that the kingdom standard in several areas. He's gonna show us that there is a kingdom standard for things like looking and lusting and even divorcing. And he begins right here by saying

that the world may see the external, but I'm paying attention to the internal. He's saying, I'm not just paying attention to the fruit of your sin, I'm focused on the root of your sin, right? And really that's the first part of this message, the root of adultery. Jesus begins in verse 27 by quoting the sixth commandment. He said, you have heard that it was said, do not commit adultery. And when you read that, you notice that it's bold and it's bold for a reason. Jesus is quoting scripture. That word adultery, by the way, it literally means any sexual act that occurs outside of a marriage relationship. Any sexual act. If you're wondering what those things include, Paul goes on to break this down for us even further in 1 Corinthians 6. He talks about several sins that I think would be categorized in that area. Here's what we read in 1 Corinthians. Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived. No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.

You're like, man, that's quite the list. It is. Jesus is talking about these sins that keep us from our salvation or eternity He's talking about sins that go unaddressed or unconfessed and right here. Jesus said that lust in our heart Will lead to adultery in our life He was going deeper than the law. He's like you heard this do not commit adultery But I'm telling you that there's a whole nother perspective God's perspective that you need to understand He's saying that I know you've heard the Pharisees say don't commit adultery But they were taking that to mean certain things that God didn't intend You see they believed that adultery was nothing more than just an action That's what was being taught in the current culture of that day. But Jesus taught that according to Kingdom culture Adultery doesn't begin as an act adultery begins as an attitude So what did Jesus say? He said everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already Committed adultery with her in his heart. So what does that mean? Because we're like, I don't want to commit adultery. Okay. Well, what does that mean? He said even if you look if you write in your Bible I want you to circle that word look that word look is in the Greek language And the way that it's written is twofold. First thing I want to point out is this that word Look is written in the present tense. So he's talking about looking I'm looking at something right now But not only is it written in the present tense. It's also written with continuous action continuous action in other words He's saying it may be natural for you to look or glance at a beautiful woman or a man for that matter but what Jesus is saying is when you look with continuous action and you keep on looking and Your glance turns into a gaze That's when you allow the wooden horse in and set yourself up for failure. Does that make sense? C.s. Lewis once put it this way. He said if you look at ham and eggs and you lust you've already committed breakfast in your heart amen, I Don't know if that's true or not

But whether he's talking about an attractive woman or breakfast foods for that matter I think the principle remains the same. What Jesus is saying is there's a big difference between looking and looking with lust Job understood that that's why Job said in Job 31 9 if my heart has gone astray Over a woman or I have lurked at my neighbor's door Let my own wife grind grain for another man and let other men sleep with her For that would be a disgrace. It would be an iniquity deserving Punishment now, that's like a shocking verse. You're like, what did we just read? But here's what I want to point out I want you to notice Job didn't say if I commit the act of adultery with another woman No, what did he say? He said even if my heart has been enticed by another woman. I'm guilty all the same and deserving of Punishment and that's what Jesus is saying here He's saying the sin of adultery begins in your head long before it occurs in your bed Right just to put it plainly His primary focus isn't on the fruit of your sin he is primarily focused on the root of your sin and according to God's Word the root of the sin of adultery is lust It's lust A lust isn't just in the look lust is in the heart And when your look lingers it takes your mind and your heart and your body to places you have no business being You know the Greek word for lust is an interesting word. It's the word epithum a oh and It means to set one's heart upon something in an inappropriate way. That's lust It doesn't have anything to do with your eyes right here. No, he goes right to the source Lust epithum a oh to set one's heart upon something in an inappropriate way It's not just a look of your eyes It's it's the consuming desire of your heart And when you have that desire for something that is inappropriate understand Not only does that disrespect the person you're looking at it also disrespects your spouse or your future spouse It also dethrones God

And that's why Job Quickly said in Job 31 1 I have made a covenant with my eyes How then could I gaze at a virgin he's like this is a battle this is a problem and because I know it's a problem I understand the severity of this sin. I make a covenant with my eyes and with God saying I won't even look any longer. I Heard a story about a mom that told her son son. Do not eat a cookie from this cookie jar I mean the jar was there the cookies were full to the brim and he is nose-to-nose Don't eat a cookie and you know what he didn't need a cookie, but you know what he did do He stood there nose-to-nose with that jar For an hour and he sniffed those cookies and he opened that lid and he licked the crumbs off of the lid and he was just Sitting there drooling for an hour and his mom finally said, you know what? That's just as bad Listen, you may not be committing the act of a certain sin But the fact is if your heart is already feasting on the cookies Man in the eyes of God you might as well just eat the cookie You may not be committing the act of a certain sin, but wait, but let me ask you. What are your eyes? seeking Where is your mind dwelling? What is your heart craving? You know when you read the statistics about sexual sin in America, you have to ask the question why don't you I? Mean why are so many people falling into sexual sin in this in this culture in this era? And I think if you were to answer that question, it all goes back to those same three questions that I just asked What are your eyes seeking? Where is your mind dwelling and what is your heart craving? You know statistics tell the truth in 2024 Barna research released a poll that said Right now 54% of Christians reported to be regular consumers of pornography 54% of us Regularly consume pornography as compared to 68% of people that do not know the Lord 54% of us

that same report shows that 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to internet pornography before the age of 18 and Really the most staggering statistic I read this week was that one-third of children in America View pornography more than once before the age of 10 You know when you look at the reality you have to admit We have a problem and that's a porn problem America has a porn problem which in essence is a lust problem and the Bible says if we have a lust problem We also have an adultery problem, and that's what we're seeing all across this country even in our Christian communities In fact a recent study just showed that 80% of unmarried Evangelical young adults get this unmarried people in our churches between the age of 18 and 29 Had engaged in premarital sex 80% of church kids Another Barna research study showed that 62% of individuals who attended church in the last week Would admit that before they got married they cohabitated in the same house 62% of people in the church Cohabitated before they were married another study showed that 20% of married men and 13% of married women Engaged in some kind of extramarital affair while they were married. I'm talking about people like us. I'm talking to us people in our churches Whether you like it or not. Those are the facts that is our current reality. You say how would you define our current reality? Here's what we learn people are addicted to porn. We're having sex before we're married couples are Cohabitating before marriage married people are sleeping around you're like how in the world did we get there in this culture? Here's what the Bible says the root of adultery is lust the root of lust is temptation And the only way that we're gonna avoid sin and temptation is to follow God's instructions And how we can prevent it, can I get an amen from somebody come on? Hey, what does he say? How do we avoid going down the devil's path? How do we avoid taking the bait one more time? Here's what I'd say. The Bible says you gotta guard your eyes You have to continue Guarding what you're looking at the Bible says in Matthew 6 the eye is the lamp of the body If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light

So if we're gonna do this God's way and avoid taking the wrong path He said number one, you got a guard what you're looking at Secondly, you've also got to guard your mind in Colossians 3 Paul's talking He said set your minds on what on things above not on earthly things He said what you're focused on is where you're going to go Whatever you're looking at that's what you're gonna chase And so not only guard your eyes guard your mind and thirdly you've got to guard your heart And so I'm not 119. He said I have treasured your word in my heart Why so that I may not sin against you? So when we seek the Lord when we study his word when we guard our hearts with the Word of God He said that allows you to have the defense mechanism in your life to prevent giving in to the devil's schemes The fourth one we would say is you've got to guard your thoughts second Corinthians 10, we take every thought captive. Why? Once again, to obey Christ. We will not obey Christ if we don't guard our thoughts. Last but not least, married people, we've gotta guard our covenant. We have to guard our covenant. Mark 10 9 says, therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. You know, John Owen, who's considered the prince of Puritans once put it this way. He said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. So we've gotta be on the attack, not just defending ourselves. We gotta be on the attack or that sin will be killing you. Jesus talks about the root of adultery. He said, the root of adultery is lust.

The next he's gonna talk about the remedy for sin. The root of adultery and now the remedy for sin. Verse 29, Jesus continues and he said this, if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. This had to be one of the points of the Sermon on the Mount where everybody's like, what? Right? I mean, this had to be a shocking message. Like I said in the beginning, it's easy to hear Jesus talk about the things we want him to say. But man, when he starts getting wild in his language, it causes you to take a step back and say, now I need to make sure I understand him correctly. If you wanna know how Jesus is communicating the primary message he's giving, this is how I would summarize it. You ready? Radical sin requires radical surgery. Radical sin requires radical surgery. Now look at his words. Jesus says, gouge out your eye, right?

He says, cut off your hand. And when he's saying that, understand Jesus is using hyperbole. Hyperbole. Hyperbole is a teaching technique that uses extreme statements to make a very clear point. And it's a good thing, or all of us would be blind and crippled today. Can I get an amen from somebody? Come on. It's a good thing this is hyperbole. But in the Jewish culture, it's important for you to understand that when he talks about the right hand, he's talking about the strong hand. When he talks about the right eye, he's talking about the dominant eye. It's not the weaker eye. He's saying, you need to address it with the stronger eye. So when Jesus makes these statements, here's what he's saying. He's saying, you better be willing to give up anything and everything you have to in order to protect your heart. Don't give up your weakest. Give your best. Give whatever God requires in order to protect your body, your soul, your purity, and if you're married, your marriage. Give whatever it is that you need to give up.

Now the Jewish audience would have recognized this as a call for us to take decisive action against our sin. He's like, do it and do it now. Now that word sin, by the way, is another word you need to circle. That word sin is also where we get our English word scandal. It's also the word that's used to describe a bait stick that would spring a trap whenever an animal would touch it. Pretty interesting, right? I mean, this is a trapping term. In other words, Jesus was saying, anything that could morally trap you, anything that is a danger to you or could cause you to fall into sexual sin, anything like that should be eliminated from your life. He wasn't telling us that we should cut ourselves. He wasn't saying that we should cripple ourselves. He was saying, do whatever you have to do in order to control yourself. Understand, Jesus isn't telling us to manage our sin. He's saying, eliminate anything that could lead you to sin. He said, if your right eye causes you to sin, take action. And notice, he didn't say, if your right eye causes you to sin, put some sunglasses on. He didn't say, if your right hand causes you to sin, put your hand in your pocket and mind your own business. He didn't say that. No, right here, Jesus uses extreme language

and hyperbole in order to send a very clear message to us as believers, and that message is this. You ready? He said, whatever it is that's tempting you, whatever it is that's causing you to fall into sin, either with your hands or in your heart, you need to get rid of it right now. Hey, read these words in Romans 13. He said, make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. In Colossians 3, he gives us another word. He said, put to death. He said, kill therefore what is earthly living in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Once again. Jesus said what? Make no provision for it. He said kill it and get rid of it. He's telling us as believers, this is on us. I've given you clear instructions and now it's your job to take decisive action against anything that's leading you down the wrong path. You know in the year 1519, Cortes landed in Mexico to conquer the Aztecs. And that story is famous because when he landed and conquered the Aztecs, he then burned all of his ships to ensure that retreat was no longer an option. I think that's what the Bible is telling us to do. That's exactly what the Bible is saying that we should do in how we treat temptation to sin. He's saying if you leave an escape route for your temptation, you will eventually take that escape route. So burn the ships and remove all the options that are leading you to destruction. Hey, if your smartphone is a temptation, maybe you don't need a phone. Or perhaps you need a downgrade to a flip phone. I said that in the first service and everybody's like, I already got a flip phone, all right? I mean, it's whatever. Dude on the front row still had a bag phone. I saw somebody in the back of the room with one of them Zach Morris brick phones. They're like, what's up now? No temptation here, right? But in all seriousness, hey, if you know your smartphone

is your kryptonite and you know that smartphone is your greatest source of temptation to sin, then why in the world would you ignore this message from Jesus and continue walking down that same path that leads you over and over to destruction? Or if you're in a relationship where you know that you're living in sin, or a relationship that is leading you into sin, or is a temptation to sin, listen, you need to end the relationship. Let me ask you, if you're a follower of Jesus and he truly is your Lord and your savior, but you're also in a dating relationship with a non-believer, or you're in a sexual relationship with someone that you are not married to, do you honestly expect God, the God of the universe, to bless your relationship? Do you honestly expect God to bless you in your life when you're in that relationship? Because I wouldn't. Listen, God has laid out some very clear boundaries in the Bible and relationship guidelines for all of us to follow. And when we disregard his instructions, I just believe that we are treading on some very dangerous territory with God. So if you're in that relationship that you know does not honor God, I believe the Bible would instruct us and say, you have one of two options. You either end it or you amend it. You say, what does that mean? It means that if both parties in that relationship recognize we've missed it, and they're willing to repent from their sin and follow God's plan, that may be an opportunity to amend that relationship, to reset, and to finally do things God's way. But what is it that's leading you into sin? Listen, it may not be a smartphone. It may not be a relationship. Perhaps for somebody in the room today, you would say, I'm battling an addiction. Hey, if you're battling an addiction, guess what? You're in the right place. But man, you know what God's calling you to do? He's calling you to action. And you need to get some real accountability and start telling the truth to yourself and to other people who can help you. At some point in all of our stories, we have to decide, am I truly willing to eliminate the things that tempt me? Am I willing to follow the Lord and burn the ships and remove those things as an option or not? Someone once put it this way. They said, what you feed grows and what you starve dies. So let me ask you, in your personal life, in your story, in your relationship, is there anything in your life that needs to die? If so, starve it. Eliminate it. Do what Jesus tells you to do instead of feeding it. Jesus talked about the root of adultery. He talked about the remedy for sin. And he's about to take it to a whole other level, talking about the reality of covenant. The reality of covenant. In verse 31, Jesus is still talking and he said, it was also said, whoever divorces his wife must give her a

written notice of divorce. Understand he's talking about a new culture, right? He's talking to believers. And he's saying, I know you've grown up hearing that this is okay. And you've grown up hearing this list of rules. But I want you to see that I have a different perspective. I've taken it to another level. And if you're going to follow me, you need to understand how I see the sin in your life. Right here, if you notice in that verse, you're going to notice that these are words that are bold. I didn't bold them. They're bold in your Bible. And the reason they're bold is because Jesus is once again quoting Scripture. He's quoting something that they would know from Deuteronomy. That's Deuteronomy 24, 1 in your Old Testament. Which the Pharisees knew that verse, but they were interpreting that verse to mean something different. They were interpreting that to mean that God not only condoned divorce, but in effect, he was commanding divorce. In the first century, if you look, these are teachers of the law who were teaching that divorce is totally fine as long as you get the paperwork right. That's why he said, give her a written notice of divorce. Like, hey, make sure you get the paperwork right, and then you can really divorce for any reason. In Jesus's time, some Jewish leaders, especially followers of Rabbi Hillel, they were teaching you could get divorced for any reason. Even if she burned dinner, you could divorce her. That was on the list. I'm not making that up. That's really on the list. Other reasons a man could legally divorce his wife in the first century were, number one, if she was seen in public with her head uncovered, or if she talked to another man on the street, or if she spoke disrespectfully to her husband's parents. How about that one around Thanksgiving?

You could divorce your wife if she became plain looking compared to other women who her husband deemed as being more beautiful. No pressure, ladies, right? But in that culture, that's how it was. The Pharisees 2,000 years ago, by the way, these are the most religious people in the world, they viewed divorce very much like our culture views divorce today. It was no longer a sacred covenant. It was now just another contract. I read one study this week that was conducted by a Harvard professor, and this is what he said. He said, the divorce rate in America rose 700% in the 20th century alone, and today continues to rise. Let me give you just an idea of where we are in America today. For every 10 weddings that happen, four will end in divorce. And three of the four will happen in the first eight years of marriage. Nearly one million children per year are involved in divorce cases. Think about that. Stats show that 50% of all American children will witness the end of a parent's marriage in their life. Here's the wild thing, guys. This has not always been the case in America. If you look at history and just rewind the tape by about a hundred years, did you realize that a hundred years ago in our country, less than 1% of marriages ended in divorce? Less than 1%. Fast forward to the late 1940s and early 1950s, that number went to 2%. Two percent of all marriages. It's just amazing to me that what was once considered to be extremely rare in America has now become the national norm. Divorce is now considered in our culture to be a normal result of being married. It's just what we do.

Someone once said, marriage begins as ideal, but when it becomes an ordeal, it leads you looking for a new deal, right? And yet, statistically, those new deals rarely work out. Here's what the stats show. 41% of first marriages end in divorce, 41%. 60% of second marriages end in divorce, 73% of third marriages end in divorce. And you know what's crazy about that? In our culture in America today, what I just told you is treated like, that's no big deal. It's just part of it. And you know what? That was the exact same attitude that the Pharisees had regarding divorce. For whatever reasons, these experts in the law, people who had every word of scripture memorized, had forgotten God's definitive statement about divorce in the Old Testament. What does it say in Malachi 2.16? If he hates and divorces his wife, says the Lord God of Israel, he covers his garment with injustice. Older translations of that verse actually read, God hates divorce. And some people have kind of reshuffled those words to mean God hates divorced people. And if you've ever heard that, that couldn't be further from the truth. He doesn't. Listen, God loves every single person that's been divorced. And in this verse, you understand the meaning of Jesus' message is emphasizing how God does hate some things. And he hates the harm and the destruction and the pain that comes as a result of divorce. That's what he hates. He loves us, even when we fail, even when we fall short. But he hates the consequences that result from this. Terrible thing in verse 32. Jesus continues and says but I tell you Everyone who divorces his wife except in the case of sexual immorality Causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery

Right here. Jesus is throwing some punches He's throwing punches at the culture of that day and he's pointing some things out that they hadn't heard before And maybe you're hearing that for the first time as well and you're thinking well, how could that be the case? But understand right here. The Lord is reinforcing God's permanent design of marriage that goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 2 in Genesis 2 24 that verse says this is why a man leaves his father and mother and Bonds with his wife and they become one flesh. It's the word it God, right? It means to becoming one So from the very beginning God is saying marriage has never been a contract It's always been a covenant and this is where we miss it oftentimes the way God designed it It was never supposed to be a covenant between a husband and a wife Now we've gotten this wrong in America for a long time. It's like you and you the covenant is together. It's not The covenant is designed to be not between two but between three so the covenant is with us, but it's also us and God That's why in Ecclesiastes 4 Solomon said a cord of three strands is not easily broken So who's the third strand of the covenant of marriage? God is the third strand and we know that nothing about God is temporary Nothing about God can be killed or destroyed. God is forever Therefore when God is a part of your marriage covenant, he's saying marriage in the eyes of God will be forever However, Jesus gives us one little exception in verse 32 to this rule of no divorce and the exception is in the case of What? sexual immorality He uses that word for sexual immorality That's the word pornea by the way pornea in the Greek is where we get our English word pornography But that word pornea it goes far beyond what you and I think of pornography that word is actually defined as as Serious marital unfaithfulness that words talking about illicit sexual intercourse whether it's through adultery whether it's it's through Homosexuality it would even include incest in the first century. So in other words, Jesus was totally against no-fault divorce He said to divorce for any other reason Like incompatibility or financial instability or I don't like them anymore or I'm not attracted to her anymore or they drive me crazy

I can't do this anymore. He said none of those reasons are permissible in the eyes of God In fact, Jesus says in the text wrong divorce Leads to adultery. Did you catch that? I mean those are Jesus's words not mine But he clearly teaches here that when remarriage occurs after a faulty divorce And there are no biblical grounds for that divorce to support it. He said the joining of that new Union Consummates an adulterous relationship You say well, why would that be the case? Why would he say that and here's the only reason I can think of The only one that can end the marriage is the one who established that marriage and that's God God established he establishes marriage Remember marriage wasn't our idea. God created marriage. He he created the rules for marriage Therefore if he designed it and he instituted it and he created the guidelines for it I believe Jesus is saying why do you believe you have the power to end it? Especially if I'm involved That's why Jesus says in Matthew chapter 19 verse 6 what God has joined together. Let no one separate no one Not even us You see many people in our culture treat marriage like it's a post-it note Like if the first one doesn't stick we'll just get the next one out and we'll stick it But God designed marriage to be superglue, right? He uses the word bond. He's talking about us bonding together And once it's bonded Superglued. Hey, it's not meant to come apart. And when you try to separate something that's been superglued together What happens it tears apart and it causes damage to both sides And the truth is there are many people listening to this message that can attest to that They've walked this path and they know that divorce is destructive if you agree with that shake your head, right? It's destructive It negatively affects our children and our families and our churches and our communities it leads to enormous challenges emotionally financially relationally even spiritually and Sometimes messages like these leave people wondering like where do I go from here? I mean you're looking back at your past if it's related to to lust or adultery or sin or divorce force and you're looking at your pastor like man what in the world what am I

supposed to do let me try to give you a little clarity for that I believe the Bible says for those of us who are married hey continue to fight for your marriage continue to believe the Lord and his word and follow God's plan honor God by honoring and loving each other and understand that God is the third strand he is the third strand in the court of marriage and if you're putting God to the side then you're gonna get it wrong so prioritize God God make him the foundation of your marriage serve the Lord together give unto the Lord together worship together pray together you're in this thing together so marriage and married people do it God's way singles I would say the same thing prepare for marriage now you're like I ain't never get married okay but act like you are prepare for that marriage by cultivating a heart of faithfulness today do it God's way you cannot make up your own rules when it comes to how you treat sex or cohabitation God makes it very clear there is a path that God has created and if you expect God to bless and honor that relationship then you've got to do it God's way for those of us who have experienced divorce in the room and I know many people have listen to me our God is a God who offers grace it's easy to hang your head be like I'll just I'll never be anything for the Lord that's crazy listen our God is a God who restores and redeems and through his love he offers perfect redemption and the opportunity for renewal no matter what you've done in the past hey do you believe that God is who God is do you believe God can do what God says he can do the man when you're feeling guilty right now and you're feeling broken right now believe what the word says in Psalm 34 18 it says the Lord is near the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit you may feel crushed today but our God desires to pick you up and to plant your feet on a firm foundation hey when you read the Sermon on the Mount and you really listen to what Jesus is communicating here's what you're gonna hear him say he's gonna say how many of you have ever hated somebody raise your hand raise your hand liars raise your hand if you've ever hated somebody raise your hand he would say you're a murderer you'd be like what I just hated something you're a murderer

how many of y'all have ever lusted anybody just want to stand to your feet and just bless the Lord with that today come on he's saying you're not just a luster man you're an adulterer how many of you haven't gotten marriage a hundred percent right in your life come on now you know what he say you're guilty this is Jesus with a megaphone overlooking the Sea of Galilee with believers at his feet who've heard one thing from the culture of the day but now he's saying I'm telling you what I expect I'm telling you my perspective and Jesus grabs a megaphone and he says you're all guilty but you don't have to stay that way you don't have to live guilty you see none of us are holy but holy is the Lord and because he is righteous we as sons and daughters can also be seen as righteous in the eyes of God how not by your acts not by your good behavior not because you did everything right it is only by the blood of Jesus Christ it's only by his blood and so you're like but Jordan I haven't done everything perfect nobody has that was the point he's saying the Pharisees have given you this long list of rules and you know what that list has shown you nobody can do what I require for righteousness that's why God sent Jesus but here's the truth you ready for this if you don't know Jesus you have zero hope you have zero hope for salvation for forgiveness for eternity you have zero hope if you're without Christ but the Bible says if you're willing to surrender your life to him and to follow him and to trust him and to love him second Corinthians 12 9 says that his grace is enough for you and his power is made perfect in your weakness and by the blood of Jesus Christ is able to forgive how many of your sins all of your sins every single one of them so go through the entire list and ask the question is Jesus big enough strong enough and capable enough to cover this sin and the answer is absolutely yes but have you given him everything you have to give have you surrendered your life to Christ have you trusted his blood to cover that sin and to give you the hope that you long for would you bow your heads and close your eyes Listen, I may be speaking to someone today that said,

Jordan, I can't do this. I can't do this by myself. Can I just tell you, you can't. There is nothing you can do in the flesh to make you feel better, to make you act better, to earn your way to any kind of better position with the Lord. It's only through Jesus. It doesn't happen by actions. It happens by surrender. Have you surrendered your life to Christ? Yes or no? I'm talking about surrender to everything. Have you said to Jesus, your way is better than my way? Because today is the day I believe God's calling us to action. He may be calling you to action when it comes to how you address temptation. He may be calling you to action in your relationship. He may be calling you to action when it comes to surrendering your life for salvation. But you wanna hear something incredible? Jesus promises to go with you on the next step. Whatever that step of faithfulness is, guess what, he's with you. He's for you. He's not against you, he's with you. And he promises never to leave you or forsake you. He's with you, but will you have enough faith in him to take that next step, whatever it may be?

Father, today I pray that you would give courage, that you would bless these people with faithfulness as they consider what it looks like to take their next step with Jesus. Lord, I pray that that next step, it blesses your name. I pray that next step puts a smile on your face. I pray, Lord, as you see us dealing with what the word of God is preaching over us, Lord, I pray that our response would be pleasing to you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. At All In, we are committed to spreading the gospel across the globe. However, we also recognize the importance of addressing basic physical needs for those that we aim to reach. During my travels, I've witnessed firsthand the struggle that many people face in obtaining something that many of us take for granted, clean drinking water. In numerous communities overseas, clean water is very scarce, and that's why our ministry prioritizes providing clean drinking water to those who have the greatest needs. Last year, I led a team to Africa to commission a water well near Nairobi, Kenya, and let me just tell you, it was a joyous moment to see the clean water flowing and to see the smiles on the faces of the people that live there. This year, All In partnered with our friend, Pastor Brian Mills from Together We Church in Yukon, Oklahoma, and he led a team to Africa to commission our second water well

as a part of this project. Brian shared how impactful it was to witness hope being spread among the people as they watched clean water flow from that well, and really to see this impoverished community, this forgotten community, be remembered in the name of Jesus. I want you to know that our mission is to provide clean water to communities in Africa, and we're gonna continue doing that for years to come. The need is immense, and we are determined to continue providing pure water to as many poor communities as possible. Listen, once clean water is available, we can then take the gospel to those communities and share the living water that Jesus spoke of, ensuring that these communities will never thirst again. To keep building wells, we need your financial support, your contribution to All In, and we need your support to keep building Your contribution to All In helps us fund mission projects and bring the good news of Jesus to a world that has so many needs. So please support us by following the steps on the screen right now. Your generous giving, no matter the amount, is deeply appreciated. Thank you in advance for your support. Thank you for going on this journey with us. Together, we can make a significant impact for the kingdom of God.

Hey, we never wanna end our broadcast without giving you the opportunity to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. If you'd like to make the decision to trust Jesus and wanna know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen so that we can pray for you and also put information in your hands right away. Today, we celebrate your decision and look forward to being a part of your personal journey of going All In with Jesus Christ. This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. We hope today's message encourages you as you strive to live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.