The Line In the Sand - Sexual Ethic

What's your worship with us? This is the day you made. So I'll rejoice and be glad, rejoice and be glad in me. This is where I believe that you are more than enough, more than enough for me. And you are faithful to your promise, you are stronger than I am. And I'm standing in your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. All my soul, the same thing, all that is within these things. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Jesus, come one day, you are worthy of all, worthy of all my praise. You are faithful to your promise, you are stronger than I am. And I'm standing in your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. It's more than a feeling. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. All my soul, the same thing, all that is within these things. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. All my soul, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Today we rise up like a river overflowing Holy Spirit Let it pour out with the limit Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit Let it pour out with the limit Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit It's more than a feeling. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. It's more than a feeling. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. All my soul, the joy of the Lord is my strength. All that is within these things.

All my soul, bless his name. All that is within these things. All my soul, bless his name. All that is within these things. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. ♪ Please follow their family ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ It's a lamp unto my feet ♪ ♪ Your way is the only way for me ♪ ♪ It's a narrow road that leads to life ♪ ♪ But I wanna be on it ♪ ♪ It's a narrow road that works is wide ♪ ♪ 'Cause you're good on your promise ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you say it out, you hear it ♪ ♪ I've seen how good it works ♪ ♪ If you started your career ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ It's beautiful and the chaos fell in love ♪ ♪ Oh, I know ♪ ♪ 'Cause I've seen it in my life ♪ ♪ It's a narrow road that leads to life ♪ ♪ But I wanna be on it ♪ ♪ It's a narrow road that's high, it's high ♪ ♪ But you're part of the waters ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪

♪ If you say it out, you hear it ♪ ♪ I've seen how good it works ♪ ♪ If you started your career ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you say it out, you hear it ♪ ♪ I've seen how good it works ♪ ♪ If you started your career ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ You're gonna come in ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ I said you love, hope you have ♪ ♪ You said you're gracies always enough ♪ ♪ I said you're hard, but forget or forsake me ♪ ♪ I said I'm saved, you're only yours ♪ ♪ I said my future's forever ♪ ♪ But forget, so I know that you'll never fail me ♪ ♪ You said you're love, but never give up ♪ ♪ You said you're gracies always enough ♪ ♪ You said you're hard, but never forget or forsake me ♪ ♪ You said I'm saved, you're only yours ♪ ♪ I said my future's forever ♪ ♪ But forget for fail, so I know that you'll never fail me ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you said I'd believe it ♪ ♪ I've seen how good it worked ♪ ♪ You started your complete and I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you said it, I'd believe it ♪ ♪ I've seen how good it worked ♪ ♪ If you started your complete and I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you said it, I'd believe it ♪

♪ I've seen how good it worked ♪ ♪ If you started your complete and I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you said you're only yours ♪ ♪ I'll take you at your way ♪ ♪ If you said I'd believe it ♪ ♪ If you said I'd believe it ♪ (motor revving) (motor revving) (upbeat music) (motor revving) ♪ I'm from generations ♪ ♪ Falling down a worship ♪ ♪ To sing the song of ages to be met ♪ ♪ And all gone before us ♪ ♪ All who will believe ♪ ♪ Sing the song of ages to the land ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All flowing in the millions ♪ ♪ All powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ And the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ You've been forgiven ♪ ♪ If you've been redeemed ♪ ♪ Sing the song forever to the land ♪ ♪ If you walk with me ♪

♪ And if you bear his name ♪ ♪ Sing the song forever to the land ♪ ♪ We'll sing the song forever ♪ ♪ Handing man and the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, your people speak ♪ ♪ Holy, to the King of Kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ It's the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All blues and dominions ♪ ♪ All power and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Always and dominions ♪ ♪ All power and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ The angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, your people speak ♪ ♪ Holy, to the King of Kings ♪ (upbeat music)

(upbeat music) You will always be holy, holy forever, You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. You will always be holy, holy forever. God, You are so good. Jesus, we thank You for Your presence right here in this place this morning today. God, we thank You that You are with us. Lord, we thankful that You are who You say You are. That we can truly take Your Word. We can take You out Your Word God. We trust, we can believe in the things that You say, Lord, because You are so faithful to provide. You are so faithful to heal. Lord, I am thankful that Your mercies are new each day. Your love for us is endless God. No matter our background, no matter what, maybe took place yesterday, the day before. Lord, You love us the same. You see us the same in Your eyes, God. Lord, we are all Your children. I am so thankful, God, that You love us. You know us intimately. I pray that today in our worship, we would just exalt You as the name above all names, God, because you are worthy of our praise. As we sing these songs, Lord, we are tuning our hearts. We are tuning our minds and our attention on the goodness of You. Lord, we are calibrating our heart. We are calibrating our mind and our posture to be able to receive from You, Lord.

God, even if the words maybe don't totally resonate with us, as we are singing them, maybe we are not sure what they mean. Maybe we are still waking up. God, I thank You that You love us and You are working through all of it right now. I thank You, God, that You are revealing to people here today this morning. Words of encouragement. You are building up our faith. So, Lord, if those are here today that are just maybe struggling, maybe they are just searching for meaning, searching for purpose, searching for answers, God, I pray today that You would just continue to meet us, to clarify things for us and our hearts and our spirit. We thank You for divine revelation in Jesus' name. We thank You for clarity. We thank You that You are so, Lord, You are so true and congruent, Lord, with what You say. That Your Word is so, it's so pure and honest. Lord, we receive that today. We worship You, put You on the throne. In Jesus' mighty name, you pray, amen. Amen, God's good. We do this every week, but as we do this remember the invitation that Jesus is inviting us to his table To commune with him to remember him to remember the work that was done on the cross that we could be free We could have new life, and what does that mean man? What is what is freedom really mean man Jesus wants us to walk in that freedom and that victory? To overcome strongholds and it was all possible to the work that was done on the cross So as we take communion, let's remember that that symbol what that really means the juice is Symbolizes his body or his blood that was shed for us on the cross that that crackers is his body that was broken He paid the ultimate price that we could have new life So let's accept that invitation today if you feel encouraged to do so and to go to go to God today and commune amen You You You You

You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You

You You You You You You What's up, Pantano? I'm Jonathan and I'm so pumped you're here today At Pantano we're all about doing life together whether you're looking to find community grow in your faith or figure out what your next steps With Jesus look like we want to help you get connected if you're here on campus swing by next steps after service We'd love to meet you answer any questions and help you find your place at Pantano Joining us online take a minute to fill out a connect card through next steps It's a great way for us to get to know you and keep you in the loop with everything happening at Pantano Don't forget to follow we are Pantano on social media that's where you'll find encouragement event updates behind the same moments Stories and all the things that are happening around Pantano pretty cool go like and subscribe Okay, give me a favor raise your hand if you have or you are a student in six through 12th grade Okay, I'm glad y'all raised your hands. I can't see it anyway Okay, if you are a student you can join us every Wednesday night for connect at 630 at our Houghton campus It's a great place for students to build community have fun growing their faith and just all around having enjoyable time And hey if you want to drop off your kids a little bit earlier We have games set up outside from 545 all the way until the start of connect And let me tell you I'd absolutely love to dunk on your child or beat them in 9 square And hey Benson students don't forget we didn't forget about you we know you're there You can come to students connect on Monday nights at our Benson campus at 630 No matter which campus you attend you can expect an amazing time of connection Worship teaching and smoggers And don't forget to stay connected with Pantano students by following us on social media at Pantano students You'll find updates on upcoming events schedules and everything else happening with us in our student ministry For more information visit us on our next steps page At Pantano everything we do is about helping people take their next step with Jesus And live that out in real everyday ways

That kind of life change happens because of people like you Your generosity creates space for growth, honest conversations, meaningful relationships And real life change in our community and far beyond it too To give simply drop your gift in a giving box, give online or text give to 46356 Thank you for your faithful generosity and for being a part of all that God is doing through Pantano Thanks again for joining us and man we are so excited to see how God will show up in our time together I'll see you guys later. Bye! (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO] - Well, either piano, how we doing? We doing all right? (audience clapping) Man, it is really, really good to see all of you. Hey, I need you to do me a couple favors. One, we've got a bunch of people online with us. I wanna welcome Glenn in Austin, Texas. I wanna welcome our Benson campus, all of you on the Pando app in prisons all over the United States and gospel rescue mission. Do me a favor, welcome all of them in, if you would today. We're so glad you're here. (audience clapping) Also, last week we started this series, Line in the Sand. This is week two of that series. But I want you to go ahead and do something. Get your phones out if you got them. I want you to text the word dive, D-I-V-E to 46356.

And I thought that was easy for everybody to spell, but then somebody texted me, I texted the word dream to 46356 and it didn't work. It's 'cause you didn't text the word dive, you text the word dream. So text the word dive, and you're gonna get the deeper dive guide for this series. You can use it in your personal time. You can use it with groups. But download that. It's gonna give you some deeper dive questions and thoughts that you can go into. And today we're in week two of this series. Now, if you've got little ones in here, I'm gonna give you one last opportunity to take them across the courtyard to our wonderful kids area. And let me tell you why. Because today's topic is sensitive. Today's topic is one of those that if you have kids in here, you're gonna have some amazing conversations in the car after church, okay? But with that said, I'm really excited because literally one of my mentors, one of my best friends on the planet Earth, one of the reasons I'm in Arizona, so if you're mad about that, blame the next guy. But literally, this individual has been a mentor in my life for the last 15 years, maybe even longer than that.

If you've heard me talk about our covenant group that goes to a cabin a couple times a year, Cal Jernigan is coming today to speak for us. And Cal is the guy that is the head of our mentor group. He's been mentoring a group of us for years. He just retired from Central Christian Church in Phoenix just over a year and a half ago where he grew a church over 10,000 people on multiple campuses in the Valley of Phoenix. But I could think of no greater person to come and just be family to Pantano than my friend Cal Jernigan. So do me a favor, Pantano, give me a warm Pantano. Welcome to Cal Jernigan today. (audience applauding) - Well, hello, Pantano. I do not have enough words to tell you how much I love watching what God has done and is doing in this church. I am an Arizona, and as you know, and I am very well aware of this church. And obviously I have a relationship with Trevor, which I've had for a long time. And I gotta tell you, I have so much respect and I just admire the guy. I look at this thing and I just go, he is so incredibly likable as a person, and he so wins him in the way that he tells people about Jesus. I wish more people were like that. I think the church in the country would be so much better received

if they could communicate the way that Trevor does. And you don't need me to tell you how fortunate that you are, that you have him. So let's start, love the church, love Trevor. Glenn Elliott, who was Trevor's predecessor, is one of my lifelong friends. We went to high school together, we've stayed together through all the years and just watching all of that. So here's the deal. You have always been a church that has been touching the people of Tucson. What you need to understand is it's changing because your reach is far beyond Tucson these days. Your campuses, your online, just the different ministries you have. And here's the most incredible thing. And I say, there's every ounce of purity in my heart. It's only the beginning for you all. It's only the beginning. And it's such a thrill. It's such a thrill to get to come here. So with all of that said, let me get moving. You started a series, as Treb just said, a week ago and the idea is a line in the sand. And the idea behind the line in the sand is, when you talk to somebody about Jesus or Christianity, often people go, no, that's a, that barrier. I'm not crossing, oh, I can't take that. I can't accept that.

And so they draw these lines and then they just basically hold on that and they say, you know, that issue becomes a stumbling block, that is, no, that's like, that's a deal breaker. I'm not going to do that. So what's happening in this series is, what have we just talked about those issues? And we just said, let's just bring it out. And what have we, you know, looked at these things and said, What if we showed somebody why that might be at that line and then what can we do about that? And so that's kind of the idea. It started last week with what I think is probably one of the biggest obstacles to Christianity for people, which is the idea when Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life, there's no other way to the Father but me. All of a sudden it's like, no, whoa, if you did not hear Trevor's message last week, I encourage you, you need to hear this. It will help you to have a conversation with somebody to see a different perspective, a bigger picture, a picture maybe the way God sees it. And so that was last week. So let me get on to what he's asked me to do. The subject he's asked me to address is every bit as much off-putting as the issue of the exclusivity of Jesus. This one kind of hits us differently though. This one gets a little bit more personal. It gets a little bit more kind of in our faces.

I am positive that if you don't walk out, I guarantee you I'm gonna say something that's gonna set somebody, I'm meeting you. That's something in this subject we're gonna go, no, I don't like the sound of that. I don't like what he just said, that bothers me. But the idea is what if we think deeper and go okay, let's go about this and let's kind of figure out what's actually going on here. So that's where I'm gonna go today. Now, I wanna say this. I'm pretty certain that Trevor stands up here and he makes it sound like we're friends and that he likes me. I'm pretty sure that's an act and that he doesn't like me and he wants you not to like me so he asks me if I would talk about this. I'm also pretty sure that the reason he asked me to talk about this is that he needs an excuse for me never to be invited back to speak again at Pantano. And so that's why he gave me this subject. And so I just wanna encourage you to join me as, I enjoy my last time ever being here, okay? Now, what is he asked me to talk about? What is it, what's the subject? He wants me to talk about God and sex and ethics and reasons why God says the things that he says about sex in the Bible. (sighs) (audience laughs)

Not a hard assignment at all, nothing to this one. You know, there are very few things that are more difficult to explain and untenable to a non-believer than the idea that you are not your own and that you don't have the freedom to just do whatever you wanna do with your body. So already, I just have some of you. That's just the beginning. Why would God say the things he says? What is behind this? I just think that there are a few harder drawn lines of objection to God than the idea that he has a virtue of purity that he has for your life and that you can't just do what you want. And it's okay, so are we good? We understand the difficulty, all right? Everybody here? Lot to unpack and I can't cover it all, but I can at least get it started. Now, let's just start with the obvious one. Let's just start with this. Is it okay to talk about sex in church? I mean, come on. Is God okay with this? Is this allowed? I mean, is he like going, I can't believe this? This is supposed to be a holy place. What does God have to do with sex? If this is a fascinating question, what does God have to do?

Have you ever really thought deeply about what God has to do with sex? If you stick around, you will today. 'Cause I'm gonna do everything I can do to get you to think about it. Why is the subject of sex discussed so openly outside, but so quietly inside the church? Why is it a taboo in our culture to talk about sex in church? Why is it seen as something to be ashamed of? Why are we carrying so much shame around with us when it comes to our private sexuality? But in the world, everything I'm gonna say today, that's controversial, the world's saying every day. You just don't tend to hear it in church. So what is it that makes us feel like we should be ashamed as if somehow we've done something wrong? Well, who are we afraid of offending? It's interesting. Many parents, and if you're a parent, many parents and truthfully many pastors communicate to their children or to their congregation sex before marriage, outside of marriage, it is filthy, it is nasty, it is disgusting, and it is gross. You should save it for the person you marry. (audience laughing) What? You gotta be kidding, folks, sex is not a four letter word. It's just simply not. Now, what I wanna do is something that I think

a lot of us pastors just take for granted that people know what the Bible actually says about some things. So, I'm gonna do something and I'm just gonna ask you to bear with me. I wanna just show you some scripture. I wanna show you some thing. I wanna point some things out. Just kinda get our minds going. I wanna take you back to the source. So, let's go to the book of Genesis. If you have a Bible, we're gonna go to Genesis, we're gonna be in Genesis chapter one. I don't know if you know this. I didn't even know where Genesis is. Open your Bible to page one, and that's where we are. Okay, in the beginning, first words, in the beginning. All right, so we're going all the way back. So, chapter one, verses 26, and then 2728, it says this. Now, don't reach a conclusion. Just don't bring your preconceived conclusion to the text, just say what it's gonna say. And then God said, let us make human beings in our image to be like ourselves. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Melon female, he created them. They God bless them and said, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it. Right over the fish in the sea and the birds of the sky

and all the animals that scurry along the ground. It begins with the words, let us, let us create. Okay, so the us is an important concept. The us represents the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God lives in community. God created a relationship. God lives in relationship and it's good to have a relationship. Let's just start there. It's an important thing. Then it says he created us. Now, this is what starts to get dicey in our culture. He created us male and female, all right? Two genders, two sexes, and we can differ in between sex and gender. But he speaks about both of them. So we'll just say two sexes. And binary, two, okay, not six, not 33, two, male and female. Now, if you just read it that way, it's pretty easy to understand, male and female, okay? And I wanna explain something that somehow we forgot, the sex you ended up is what God gave you at birth. Now, when I say ended up, it depends on how much you're gonna mess with what God created. But he created male and female. If you were born a male, hard as it is to receive these days, he wanted you to be a male. If you were a female, I know again,

I'm stepping on toes here. If you wanted you to be a female and he created you a male, it means he goofed up, which means you're a mistake, which I am adamantly gonna disagree with. You are not a mistake, you are exact. You have no more control over any of this than you did when you were born, where you were born, who your parents were, what country, blah, blah, blah. He knew and he, you were born a male, he wanted you to be a male, you were born a female, he wanted you to be a female, all right? Okay, in his image we were created. You are an image bearer of God. You are not another evolved animal at the highest food chain position. You are created in his image. We live in a world that says all of us are just evolved animals, highest form of animal, random choice, no meaning, no purpose, just happened to be this way. That's how you were born, so that's who you are. And then he said this, now don't miss it. He said be fruitful and multiply. Be fruitful and multiply. Do you hear anything in this that sounds restrictive? Do you hear anything in this other than he intended to give you something and bless you with this? Which raises a much more important question, is God for us or is God against us? Is he on our side or is he on the opposite side

of the field? Be fruitful and multiply. I don't wanna put you on the spot, but the end guess is what that means? (congregation laughing) How long do you think it took them to figure that out? Hey, you're a little different than me. They're naked. How long do you think, I wonder what? Oh, stop there, but you get the idea. (congregation laughing) So here's what I want you to understand. We were created in physical beings, emotional beings, spiritual beings, intellectual beings, and yes, you were created a sexual being, which means that you were created by God, by design, on purpose, and that your sexuality is part of who he created you to be and the part of your life he wanted you to have. Now, he, God, okay, I'm gonna do something here. You probably never heard that done in church, okay? I'm gonna slow this down. So that we don't miss it. I wanna make sure that you understand what all this means, 'cause I don't think we ever talk about it, and I think somehow we forgot what it actually means. So if you'll bear with me, and... Let me just all right. Let's make sure we get it. Okay. God created sex

God created sex everybody here Which means God designed Amen brother, I'm with you Which means God designed sex Okay, you uncomfortable yet Talking about sex might embarrass you or bring shame to you It never embarrasses God and it never brings shame to God doesn't make him the least fit uncomfortable. So Okay, again, just so we're tracking God designed the man the male and God designed the female the woman God designed the man God designed the woman Okay And I'm going to say something very intentionally. It's not slipping out of my mouth. I can't believe you say it Can't believe I'm going to say this on purpose. Okay, so just put your seat belt on Okay, keep your hands in your feet in the car at all times because it's going through your curve here Can I just be real candid with you? God designed sex he created it. He designed male. That means God designed a male's penis A female's vagina Never thought I'd hear those words in church Well, you did today you were here It's got it. They're going I'll be the left somebody ever let him preach anywhere It's got come on God didn't create those parts in some dark alley on a back street in shame and you know discussed No, not at all Nothing nasty about it. He created the reproductive system. He created the reproductive process Okay, so just so we're tracking okay created the male the female the sexual organs the Way, it's all supposed to work and and then he said use this be fruitful and multiply And then he said of all things This is good

It's very good. Not just good. It's very good. Okay. Now. All right, so let me see if I'm tracking here Okay, so sex and sexuality was actually the idea of God Yeah, which means if you like sex and You like sexuality you'd like I like this thing. You know, you need to stop and say thank you to God Thank you. God. This is awesome He's the creator. He's the designer Amen, amen But actually when he got done with the male and the female that's where he said very good just by the way Which means that God understands sex now again not to offend anybody No matter how much you think or I think I understand this you you're in my knowledge of sex pales in comparison to God and Dr Ruth if you have all right He understands all of this he understand so let me just ask you this question. Okay, if you have never been exposed So you got two bodies, all right, and they look very similar And could you come from scratch could you come up with the idea of a male and a female? Could you come up with these parts? Could you come up with this process? Could you come up with the attraction between a male could you make all this happen? God did God did And you know, can you look at this thing and you go? Wow now? I want to read the words of Philip the answer because again, we're taught. We're just animals You're just a highly evolved animal. I say no, you're not so Philip. Yeah, she said having studied some anatomy I marvel at God laboring over the physiology of sex the soft parts the moist parts the millions of nerve cells sensitive to pressure and pain Yet also capable of producing pleasure the intricacies of a reptile tissue the economical and ironical Combination of organs for exclusion excretion and reproduction the blending of visual appeal and mechanical design as a zoologist Remind us in comparison with every other species the human is bountifully endowed Which is why I just was well done God well done boom Fantastic all right, so what's the issue? So God designed sex and created sexuality. It was good explained how it was supposed to be

and then we get to Genesis chapter 2 Now Genesis chapter 2 is a retelling of chapter 1 in a little different perspective, so let me let me pick up the story there So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and while the man slept The Lord God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening and then the Lord God made a woman At last, the man has claimed this one is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh. She will be called woman, because she was taken from man. This explains why a man leads his father and his mother and his joint to his wife and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. Now if you know anything about this story, basically Adam was naming animals and then he's looking around and he's looking at, you know, a hippopotamus, an elephant, a giraffe, or whatever. And he's going, I feel so alone. None of these, they're like male and female, but I'm just me and so God goes, yeah, we're gonna have to fix that. It's not good for you to be alone, so he takes the rib and then he wakes up, he puts him into a sea, he wakes up. He takes a look at the creation of God. The male takes a look at the first female. Wow, wow, wow, wow, whoa, whoa, whoa, man, women, that's how you got your name. (audience laughing) Whoa, man, whoa, yeah, that's okay. That's not true at all. I do find this a little amusing in Hebrew, which is this original language. It, a male's name is Ish.

A woman's name is Ishah, is that awesome? Ah, you gotta add the ah when you're looking at a woman. Ishah, okay, well, that was free, that's not even in my notes. Anyway, what is in my notes is this line that is very important. This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one. Two united into one, sex means something. There's no casual hook up here, there's no one night stand, there's no traditional temporary thing. This means something in God's eyes. And naked felt no shame, what should be ashamed of? What have we done wrong? What is inappropriate about any of this? This is all God's idea. Everything's awesome, awesome. And then we get to chapter three. Now, chapter three, enter the villain, enter Satan, chapter three's spoiler alert. Let me tell you what he's gonna do. His intentions gonna be to destroy the good things that God's created and turn good bad and turn bad good. Now, Satan raises questions and I want you to pay very careful attention to the way he works this 'cause I think there's so much to learn here. Genesis three one, the serpent was shrewder than all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, did God really say, you must not eat the fruit of any other trees

in the garden, did God really say seriously? You gotta be kidding, that's what he said? That's what he told you and then he responds. But by the way, I do need a point, Satan speaks. Did you catch that? He communicated. He spoke a language that she could understand. He has persuasive ability and he has persuasive intent. Note that, all right? So she says in Genesis chapter three, verse two and three, of course we may be eat the fruit of the trees in the garden than when we're planted. It's only the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, we're not allowed to eat. God said, you must not eat a bit or even touch it. If you do, you will die. She says, look, there's one thing off limits. Everything else is in bounds, one thing's out of bounds. Look at how, he gave us all of this, all right? And the serpent said to the woman, verse four, "You surely will not die." Pay attention to what's happening here. Directly contradicts what God just told them. Directly contradicts God's directive. Clearly changes the boundaries from out of bounds, the in-bounce, in-bounce to out of bounds. And what was it that Satan said his mind on? What was it that he picked at the start? What was the object that he got her to look at?

The one thing that God said no to. Don't pay attention to all the good blessing. Just pay attention to the one thing God said no to. You don't think Satan understands human nature. Do you think you alone don't like being told no? You can't do what you wanna do. You think you're alone? He knows exactly what's going on. I wanna read a quote from a woman in Chloe Cole. Maybe don't know who she is. She was a teenager, persuaded to become. She was a female to transition to a male. She got on the other side of that. She said this is crazy. Became a believer and went back to being a female in all the process of that. She said these words, and I just read them and I thought that is so interesting. us was insufficient. The devil's first tactic was to convince us that we could grasp something else and become something more. If we just looked elsewhere. Folks, that is so good. To convince us that we could graph something else to become something more. Now, that's just tactic. It was then it is now. Can I just show you a couple of things that Jesus said? Maybe so you start to understand why there's lines drawn that he kind of wants you to see the other side of like maybe you need to see this way. This is what Jesus said about Satan in John 844. He was talking to a group of people and said, "You are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things that he does." He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he is consistent with his character for he is a liar and the father of lies. He's a deceiver and his language is deception. Make a note of that. In John 10, Jesus said this and he was talking about saying, "The thief's purpose, Satan, is to kill or to steal and kill and destroy." My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying

life. See, he wants to rob you of what God gave you. He wants to remove the blessing that God placed upon your life. He wants to ungift God's gift to you. Now, if that doesn't blur the line a little bit that maybe you could start to understand the motive of why we draw these lines that there's more going on. Now, Satan, I don't know, his whole plan was to offer you something more than God offered you. That was the plan. That's how it worked. It's exactly, by the way, what he did in Jesus said, "The wilderness," right? God says, "You've got to do this. I'll tell you what I'd take a shortcut. I'll get you here." But that's exactly what he does to you and me. Don't do it, God's way. I've got a better idea. Has Satan lost his voice? Do you think he could communicate to even if he doesn't communicate to you? I've never heard the voice of Satan. That's a fact. But am I sure I have it? Or did I just not recognize it as the voice of Satan? Because I want to suggest to you that he speaks now in a language all of us can hear that we can understand and we are receptive to. His voice is dressed up in something that we have become very comfortable with. Remember the Verizon commercial or whatever it was? Can you hear me now? You know how I think Satan speaks to you and me today and he's jabber in a way right now? He speaks to us through culture, through culture, the culture we live in. That's the medium of his voice. And he communicates to us through different aspects of culture, the culture we are embedded in that we live in. He persuades us to disobey the voice of God and listen to his voice and basically believe that he's going to give us something more for something else. Let me repeat it. I need you to make sure. He speaks to us through culture, tempting us to disregard all that God has clearly communicated, promising us something more. Now he has different voices and dialects and inflections and all that kind of voice stuff. But you know how he speaks to you and how he speaks to me? Through culture, whatever aspect of culture is most pleasing, most attractive and most desirable to you personally. Now, I'm going to say this bluntly, Satan will tell you whatever it is you want to hear to get you to disobey God. So what do you want to hear? What do you want to hear? What do you want to hear? He's been talking a lot lately. He's got a siren song that's numbing people's brains. Whatever you say, we'll do. I am one of the things that's just fascinated me. And this again, I'll give you a short list of, I just think it's amazing. I did just retire, okay? I'm not a young puppy. I'm amazed at how much culture has changed over my lifetime. I just am amazed. I mean, I'll give you a short list of things. I just go, I can't, gosh,

anybody knows this? Do you know this? When I was in high school, any of the things I'm just about to fire off here, if you would have told me these things were going to actually happen, I would have said, you've got to be kidding me. When I was a high school student, if you would have told me marijuana would be so legally in stores on street corners. playing the lottery would become a national sport, I'd go wrong. That betting on sports like we do today would be legal. I would go not a chance. That lying in corruption would be as prolific and ubiquitous in politics as it's become today. I'd go there. I'm never going to let that happen. The divorce would become as common as it's become. I don't pass a judgment on any of these things. I'm just saying, these are all these things. When I was a kid, there was no such thing as a starter marriage. You're married for life. I've been married 48 years because that's what I learned, okay? Five different women, 48. No, one woman. Yeah, boy. If you would have told me same-sex marriage would be legalized that places in the U.S. abortion would be legal until the day of birth, which has now become in Massachusetts, no way. That LGBT pride, all of that would become as political and cultural influence, influential as it is now. That we would be encouraged to choose our own personal pronouns and persecute it if you didn't honor somebody else's choice. I would go there. No world I'm living in. The pornography would become as prolific and as ubiquitous as it is today, no chance. That trans men would be competing with winning the awards. That trans men athletes would be competing against females and winning the awards. The females, that Sophie Cunningham for making the statement, "I don't think women should have to compete against men. I don't think men should be allowed in women's sports." That has blown up into a national controversy. Doesn't that just seem obvious? No, not when you embed yourself in culture. Folks, here's the deal. Are we confused in our culture these days? And I could go on. There's no need. You get the point. If you would have told me though, any of those things would be legalized. And by legalized, here's what you need to understand. We've been desensitized to the point that now they're normalized. And that's a big point. Don't miss it. Normalized. In the 1980s, there was a philosopher that was very prevalent, a Christian guy named Francis Shaper. He said something that I have never forgotten. He said this in the 1980s, "The unthinkables of yesterday have become the facts of today. The unthinkables of today will become the facts of tomorrow." What?

What? Things that no one would have thought yesterday could become normal, the things I just listed. And then he said, "What you find unbelievable, unthinkable today will become the way it is tomorrow." Why? Because Satan uses culture to persuade and influence. And it's the culture that's running away with us here. He's going to convince people that God's way is the wrong way, that he's smarter, he's better, he's more good-willed, and that you can do any of these things without consequence. So, now things assaulted the core values of Western culture no more than God's word when it comes to this area, very personal to all of us, your sexuality, nothing. And he just comes along and says, "You know what? I'm going to teach you to challenge every kind of authority to appeal to freedom and lack of restraint, to defy autonomy. We're going to give you. It's your body. You can do with it whatever you want." So how's it left us? How are we doing? I'll tell you how it's left us. We're seriously confused. We are seriously confused. We're so uncertain anymore. We don't even know what a man is anymore. We don't know what a woman is anymore. We don't know what marriage is about anymore. We don't know what truth is, what's right, what's wrong. What's the essence of freedom? We don't know any of this stuff anymore. But you know what Jesus said? "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The truth. "I am the truth." The truth is the anecdote to deception. "I am the truth." John 17, 17, make them wholly by your truth, teach them your word, which is truth. That was his high priestly prayer. He said he was the truth. We talked about that last week. He is the truth. So here's what I want to just cause you to think about. It will make you a little bit uncomfortable. I think God's word is really clear. I think I think it's very easy to understand. 1 Corinthians 14, 33 says, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." What is an author? He is not the author of confusion. What does the author do? He creates out of nothing something. He is not the author of confusion. He didn't create confusion.

Someone else did. I wonder who. John 8, 43, 44, read part of this, but why can't you understand what I am saying, Jesus said? It is because you can't even hear me. For you are children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer. We read all that. So Satan wants to confuse the cloud to just absolutely convolute, and God wants to clarify. Now, I want to make a sense. I'm going to-- this is going to get a little offensive to people. I'm going to make something-- I'm going to say something very clearly that's going to make some of you uncomfortable. I don't think our problem with God's word is that we don't understand it. Our problem is we do understand it. Did you hear what I just said? Our issue with God is not that-- well, we didn't even know what you meant. Our issue is we know exactly what he meant. We don't want to do it. We don't want to live under it. Let me just read a passage, OK? I'm just going to read a passage. This was actually the passage Trevor assigned to me, by the way. Keep that in mind when I read it.

Romans 1, 21 to 27. Now, OK, now just try to follow. This is going to be really difficult to understand. Just try to follow. Do your best to figure out what this actually means. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God, or even give him thanks. They began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. And as a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged sex with each other and the men, instead of having normal, sexual relationships with women burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men. And as a result of this, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Anyone confused? Anyone going, I need to pick up a word of that. No, it's clarity, is what's so uncomfortable.

Now, I want to say something. From this point on, I want to speak hard to heart. He's not ranting. He is not ranting against LGBT. He's ranting against the exchange that we give up something to get something that is not greater than what you gave up. That's what sin always does. He wants to convince you to give up something valuable for something not so valuable. And here's what I want to explain to you. If it was more valuable, that it would be the way he described it there, that's what he would have created us to be. He would have said, this is the best I've got. This is what's very good. But you're giving up what's very good for something that he knows is lesser than very good. And he's your father. And he loves you. And he wants nothing but the best for you. If we would just simply do what was in our own best interest, every one of us would just obey God. And if it was good, it wouldn't be called sin. It wouldn't be able to sin. It wouldn't be identified as sin. God has nothing better. So let me just-- let me land this by just saying, God aches when you give up a promise for a pittance of something better. He hurts for you.

He doesn't stop loving you. He doesn't kick you out. He doesn't kick you to the curb. He doesn't go, I will never look at that person. I'll never care about that person. Listen, let me give you a little formula. God is for us. God is against sin. God is for us. God is against sin. Let me tell you about you. God is for us against our sin. What's your sin? It's whatever Satan has told you, he has better for you than God has. That's your deal. And God goes, look, OK, we went on this journey together. I want you to know I never left you. I've never abandoned you. I've never forsaken you. I love you and I'm with you. I have never obeyed God, and that's not the end of the sentence. I have never obeyed God in my life and regretted it, never. I have also never disobeyed God and prospered from it. Do you see it? Yeah, because I love you, man. I just want nothing but, and by the way, he said, you turn them over, you can do whatever you want, you can do whatever you want, you can do whatever you want, but not without consequence. With forgiveness, but not without consequence. God's going, can I just spare you the consequence, because you know what a loving father does?

He watches over the welfare of his children. You are the love of your father, and it's a privilege for me to get to close his message by telling you that. So my last message to Pentennel, it's been fun, it's been good to be with you, let me close in prayer. So Father, thank you for the clarity of your word, thank you that you make it so obvious to us. Our problem is not that we don't understand, it's that we do understand, but we are drawn lines that say that we believe, we know better, but we've been convinced we know better because we've listened to a voice that is not yours, God forgive us, help us to see it, help us to understand it. If there were something better, that's what you would have created for us. This is as good as it is, it is so good, very good. And if you father for the gift, in Jesus name, amen. So let's just respond in worship. Christ is my firm foundation, the rock come with just everything around me shaking. I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus, because He's never let me down. I've still got joy in chaos, I've got peace that makes no sense. I won't be going under, I'm not up by my own strength, because I've filled my life on Jesus, He's never let me down, He's faithful in every season. So why would He fit now, He won't, He won't, He won't fade, He won't fade, He won't, He won't, He won't fade, He won't fade. Christ is my firm foundation, the rock come with just everything around me shaking. I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus, because He's never let me down. He's faithful in generation, so why would He fit now, He won't, He won't, ♪ He won't fail ♪ ♪ He won't fail ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ In shame when you blew my losses ♪ ♪ But my losses put on you ♪

♪ I'm safe with you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through ♪ ♪ In shame when you blew my losses ♪ ♪ But it's on you ♪ ♪ I'm safe with you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through ♪ ♪ You blew my today ♪ ♪ In shame when you blew my losses ♪ ♪ But it's on you ♪ ♪ I'm safe with you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sing it through ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm standing strong on you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through ♪ ♪ 'Cause I have built on you ♪ ♪ Christ is my third foundation ♪ ♪ We rock on which I stand ♪ ♪ And everything around me's taken ♪ ♪ I've never been moved by ♪ ♪ 'Cause I put my faith in Jesus ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ So I wouldn't be better now ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ ♪ You blew my today ♪ ♪ He'd never let me down ♪ Come on, declare this.

♪ He won't fail ♪ ♪ He won't fail ♪ That's a plot, Lord, today. He's so good. Jesus. We thank you that we can trust in you. We can believe in you. God, we pray you'd be with us this week as we leave this place. We continue to ponder what we've heard today. Man, reflect on the goodness of you. In your name we pray, amen. Thanks so much for being here. God bless you all. If you're new with us, man, we want to get to know you across the courtyard. We have next steps where you can get to know our staff and our team. And then if you need prayer for anything, I want to encourage you. We have a prayer room across the courtyard. Have a great week. See you again. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪