Father I pray that you would send us your spirit today in power. Open up our hearts and our minds sharpen our eyes so we could see you at work in our hearts. Like we're seeing it happen all over the world. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

And amen. You can be seated man. I'm so glad you're here holiday weekend and man. You don't care you realize it's important to be with the people of God. And I love this series as it is when we talked about this several months ago.

Now we were talking about what that whole phrase of Jesus saying that you're you're Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth. As it is in heaven and you know people hear that and they think well, that means when Jesus comes back his kingdom will reign and it means more than that. That is true. But it means that you and I are ushering in the kingdom of God, which is his Rule and reign. Where you live and where you work and where you play?

It's where God has more for you than just you coming to be saved, which is important. Okay, you got to be saved. You can't just be a child of God. You got to be born into the family of God, and so it's really important but also your own mission. Because you're pushing back the darkness wherever you are.

There's a lot of Darkness out there. And God has said I will give you power wherever you go. No matter you say, well I can't do this and I can't do that. Yes, you can you can bring hope to the Hopeless and you have good news. This is the great thing about being a Christ follower.

You have good news because you know in the end good is going to win. You know that and so you can just kind of bet on that you so well, how do you know that? Well think about how God has worked is that God is so good. He will take something as crazy as movies and show you who he is and what he's like in the themes of the movies. You typically movies have like this plot.

And there's a there's a character that is that is negative. Then there is a person that is in trouble and then there's a hero that comes and saves the day and at the end of the movie you're going. Hey good wins, and and you know, why is that? I mean, why don't most movies are any movie why don't they end with the bad guy winning because God has put in our hearts. He's put eternity in our hearts to say, you know.

You know that something was created here where you see good winning out over evil in your world. There is a designer. There isn't order there is a Creator and his name we know to be Jesus in our father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit. And so that is the reality that we live with and so that means that you can't say there's five words that you need to memorize that you can't that you've got to say about yourself and that is it's not about me. It can't be about you because you didn't create anything and because it doesn't Center on you centers on Jesus, so it's not about you and so look at the person next to you and say it's not about you.

And and you can look at him saying it's not about me either. It can't be about what you feel about what you desire about what you would like to see happen because it's not about you. You didn't create anything. You are the created matter of fact, you won't find purpose and meaning that last in anything that is created only in the Creator toward is that why is that where the first five words of the Bible in Genesis chapter one, you need to read Genesis 1 2 and 3 to get an idea of what I'm talking about was in the beginning God created. Now if you believe that in any shape or fashion, then you understand.

It can't be about you. It's got to be about God and and you say well, I don't know if I believe God created everything. Well Hebrews chapter 3 verse 4. I love this verse always thought it was funny because the Hebrews writer says we know that every house. Is built by someone and you're going to look yeah.

That makes sense. I mean like if you go buy a house and you see this two-story house, you didn't go. Wow. I bet you some too before his head and some bricks hit and and there were some mortar, you know and and stuck. Oh and it all can't no.

No, you know, somebody had a plan to build that house. Somebody paid for that house somebody put it together that there was a plan and then he goes on to say but God has made everything. We know that every house is built by someone but we know that God has made everything he is to create or he is the designer. So stay with me Romans chapter 1 verse 20 says his eternal qualities and divine nature are clearly seen. So that we're without excuse.

So don't worry about the people in China. Don't worry about the people in you know, New Guinea. Don't worry about them because God's got them covered. He says the general Revelation that I've put out there where you see things you can know that he's there because you actually can see his thumbprints. His fingerprints Helen Keller who couldn't speak and couldn't see and couldn't talk when they finally kind of and Sullivan, you know measured out God.

There's God. She said she said when she may measured back to her. She said I knew he was there. I just didn't know his name. So, you know he's there.

You know, he has created, you know that he is in charge. He has a Divine Design for sex gender and marriage. Genesis 1:27 God made mankind, he made them after his own image male and female he made them. So so you get that in the very beginning. He was Adam and Eve and he made them in His image.

And if you're a child of God It's not just that you're a man or woman. You're a son or daughter of the Living God in Genesis. He continues in Chapter 2 Verse 18 when he saw that Adam was all alone. He said it's not a good thing for man to be alone. And I say Amen so he made a compliment.

One who corresponds to him And he brought them together. Now, let me kind of give you the word on that because this is very interesting and it's very important when you say the word man in Hebrew. It's ish. When you say the name woman in Hebrew is shot. That's how close they are.

It is Manish and is shy woman and for Adam and Hebrew, it's Adam Ma and for a woman, it's how why. In a Genesis chapter 2 verse 25 God United the man and the woman he's super glued them together and there was no shame. See see God had a plan for man. God had a plan for a woman. He made man and woman and he brought them together.

They complemented one another and it is Craig Curtis said last week. So beautifully, they're like pieces of a puzzle that fit together. You say within what's wrong? I mean, why are we struggling? Well, we're struggling because Genesis 3 and if you've read the Bible one and two, everything is good.

In Genesis 3 you find that something happens in the garden where Adam and Eve made everything all about them. Don't underestimate your ability and my ability to make it all about us. Even when things are great when things are great. Because here is Adam and Eve they have perfect bodies. They don't have any clothes on.

They don't you know, they're living in the garden. They're walking with God. Everything is amazing until they solve the fruit. And there was one tree in God said look that's one tree, you know the knowledge you don't don't eat of that tree because when you either but you'll die and Adam and Eve got fixated on that fruit. They're like, hey, hey, this looks good for food that this is pleasing to the eye.

This will make us wise money sex and power. It's got everything we want and I know God has said this and oh God is the creator. Our father is the creator we've walked with him in the garden, but we want to do this. And when they did that Eve was broken and Adam was broken and we lost Eden Glory. In a Genesis chapter 4.

I think this is so interesting because in the next chapter Cain and Abel came killed his brother. In Genesis chapter 6 you've got the flood the things were so bad. God sent a flood on the earth and and it keeps going in Genesis chapter 11 the people began to say. Hey, let's build a tower up to God. Let's be like God and God said I'm gonna put you language is everybody has a different language and there was chaos and then chapter 19 Sodom and Gomorrah.

It was so bad that God had to burn the thing to the ground. And for 6,000 years. Because of our desire to say to our creator say we want to do things the way we want to do it and I have these feelings and I have these desires and I'm going to do what I want to do and it's been Brokenness. And that's the bad news. There's good news coming.

And people say well, that's the Old Testament. You know, I don't believe in the Old Testament. It's all kind of stuff in there. We don't believe I know but Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. And Jesus today in Matthew 19 is going to reiterate everything.

I just said to you from Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2 in Genesis chapter 3. Now, let me give you the setting Matthew 19. If you want to look there if you have our app you can look at it or if you don't open your Bible, but 2,000 years ago about this time of year. This is what is so cool. Okay, this really happened this time of year.

Heading up to Easter. Jesus is coming into Judea in the area of Jerusalem. And he is healing everybody when you love that. He put all of our hospitals out of business and wouldn't have to worry about health insurance. I mean Jesus came in he would just sweeping through he was healing everybody as he's healing everybody and he's headed towards Jerusalem.

He knows he's going to be sacrificed on the crossfire sins that the Pharisees show up. And these are the religious elited they're gonna they're gonna do a hatchet job on Jesus. And and so they bring up the subject. No preacher including me wants to talk about they bring up the subject of sex and gender and marriage. And the way Jesus handles it is unbelievable.

Of course. And he takes sex gender and marriage and he puts it on the top shelf. Listen God is for gender. He's four men and women that he created. He's for sex.

Did you know God created sex? Well, if you know that I mean it would like something you came up with like fraternity. Oh my fraternity brother again. No, no, no, God created God creates and God instituted marriage. He says these things are good.

These things are very good. Matter of fact when he put Adam and Eve together Eddie United they said this is very good. And so here's Jesus response and Matthew Chapter 19 Verse 1. When Jesus had finished saying these things he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan and large crowds followed him. And he healed them all theirs the idea.

And some Pharisees came to him to test him and they said is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? For any and every reason I'm gonna take one they said then just a minute because that's odd. Can they can he divorce his wife for any and every reason? And Jesus said have you not read that in the beginning? Here we go.

The Creator made them male and female and say for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be super glued is the idea to his wife. In the two she become one flesh. So they're no longer too, but they're one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together. Let no man separate you hear that a lot of times at weddings.

I say that at weddings. Why then they asked did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate or divorce and send her away. If marriage is so important and Mary just so awesome. Why did God tell Moses the man could divorce his wife? In Jesus says Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.

But he was not this way from the beginning and I tell you anyone who divorces his wife flippantly except for sexual immorality and marries another woman commits adultery in the disciples said to him if this is the situation it's better just to not marry. And Jesus said well, you're right. Not everyone can accept this word. But only those tomb it's been for there are many people who are physically unable to have sex. They were born this way or they were made this way because of their jobs and Imperial places by others and there are those who choose to be this way for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven the one who can accept this should accept this and Paul's going to say, yeah, that's a good way to live if you can live that way and not not have to, you know, be in a relationship with be married and have sex.

He says it's fine because you know, the Lord's coming back and he kind of focuses you but not everybody can do that. And so Jesus is saying three things. And I want you to write this down because we rarely talk about this mainly because we know that this brings a lot of Shame on a lot of people. And and friends, I'm gonna take that's not what I'm about. In fact, I feel more like a physician that like as a scan and says hey this is what cancer looks like and that looks like cancer and going to say hey if this is in your body and this is cancer.

For me to come to you and go see this on a looking through the scriptures and the X-ray of the of the word of God and to come to you go. Hey, I like to take some more vitamins. That'd be malpractice. Here's three things that Jesus is saying very clearly In this passage in the first is marriage is for a lifetime. Now now write that down because that's radical now.

I mean like it used to say that because yeah, I mean, they're like, no. No, that's not true. That's not possible. I mean, I do a lot of weddings. I was a beautiful wedding this past weekend and Craig Curtis did it and it's always this way like when you get to the vows you remember the vows, you know, you've been to where have you been to wedding?

Yeah, they get to the vows, you know by this time. They're like, they're thinking we're home free. We're home free. He's almost done. We're going to the reception.

We got that food going. We got the band playing we're gonna rock and roll. We got the photographer and you get to that part of like, you know for sickness and in Hell see this in hell. For better for worse, rich or poor Till death do us part. And they're just you know tiptoes like death do his puppet.

And I'm thinking you're gonna try to kill him before this year's over. I mean, I think every time I do a wedding like like, you know, I know you're bubbly about it, but no you're gonna you're gonna think of homicide. I mean, like like you're gonna think of different reasons to murder him and I know right now she's beautiful and wonderful and amazing and perfect but she don't get on your nerves bro, because you're there's a lot of stuff you don't know about her because you like you're not being with her long enough. Yeah, and Jesus says listen marriage when you commit to being married it is for a lifetime. And you know, well, why did the Pharisees say that like, why do you say of course?

You can't just divorce somebody for any and every reason with a Pharisees did The Pharisees had a contract mindset with marriage. And the husband got to write the contract that's always nice in it and it kind of set the contract up to their benefit. That's why contracts are if you don't know that somebody who ever wrote the contract they saw him in there that like, you know ain't right because like they're thinking like, oh, I'm here to death to his part but like over here like if you if you gained a lot of weight we doing we're gonna be gone. And for the Pharisees like in page 22, like if you burned the biscuits you gone. If you don't do you know if they like like we agree like this is what I signed up for and if this doesn't happen in page 32, then you're gone.

And Jesus says no. That marriage is not a contract that you can get out of when there's certain things. You don't like. Or when you don't get your needs met listen, I've been married 40 years and and they're being 29 or 30 or 39 that I'm not always gotten my needs met. And and I've not thought about divorce and I've considered homicide.

I really have so different way like average Hitchcock said the that the best murder weapon is a nice circle like an icicle because once you stab them like it can melt and I'm thinking like I can them no. No, but nobody believed that that all convict me now. She could murder me you go. Hey just died. We hate it.

But marriage is not a contract marriage is a covenant. Marriage is a covenant. You know, what a covenant means it means to cut. In the Old Testament the New Testament they would take an animal when they were agreeing on something and it was not a contract because this is not about you or this it is about death. They would take an animal, you know around and they would cut it in two and it put it on this side and on this side and they'd be blood there and they're saying may this be done to me and even more if anything if I break my word to you.

And God is saying me too. I'm in this with you. Like when he gets bad, I'm gonna be with you when when things don't work out right? I'm going to be with you. You know Christ is the groom and and the the church is the bride.

I mean, he's saying I get you how many times as the church or it's Believers? Have you broken your word to Christ? And he says but I'm still with you. I'm going to pursue you. I'm going to love you.

Listen, that is the consummation of marriage when you get married and you're together. Sexually you consummate a marriage a man and a man can't do that a woman and a woman can't do that. That is God's plan for a man and a woman after you get married. You said well, wait a minute. That's just a piece of paper.

Hear this all the time. That's just a piece of paper. That's something man made up. Well, think about this is a piece of paper. We seem to let this piece of paper right here rule a lot of Our Lives.

What if I said? You know their paper you don't care about to give me a you got a bunch of money. I can have let me let me just paper. I mean you don't care about that. Do you just paper just paper and that's why a lot of people souls are.

Right there. With what happens to them when they get married or they're with someone and all the sudden they're pulled apart and he said wait a minute Jeff. I know this. I mean you're making me feel but I've been divorced this and my parents have been divorced everybody. I know has been divorced.

I'm not talking about the past I'm talking about now. God has a plan for you now. If you're in a marriage, that's difficult get help. We will help you. We will point you in a direction.

If you've been divorced and you're thinking about getting married again this time move forward to do it. Right? I've never heard anybody say man. I am so glad we got divorce. He just felt so good and the kids were so happy.

Much like a living death And I can't tell you how many times I have sat with people husbands and wives and children and they have cried and fell into my arms and I'm breaking inside thinking I know this hurts. I know this hurts. I know this hurts. And it hurts because that wasn't God's design. Now I understand if there's there's been adultery and if there's been abandonment, there's been abuse.

I understand that I'm not saying that divorce doesn't happen. It does happen. In many many cases. That's the only way you can do it I get that but the reality is that it's not God's plan. Here's number two sex is for marriage.

Hard stop That's the most radical thing I can say in our culture. If I went on any network, and I said you need to understand sex is sacred. He unites you to someone else's Soul. It is only for marriage. You should never have sex unless you're married.

They would shoot me online. Because when you have sex you listen if you're younger, and you said well, I'm not married and I'm you know, I'm gonna you know you brother Jeff you don't understand. I do understand. I get it. But when you're with someone casually your body is making a promise that whether you know it or not.

It's like taking a postage stamp and and put it on a letter, you know that you're going to mail and then peel it off and then trying to put it on another letter and peeling it off and then try to put it on another letter and peeling a little bit of you is being lost every time you do that. It's why we're the most broken generation that I can remember. We're hurting like no generation I've ever known. Because we've cheapened God's gift to us. Sex is a good gift.

It doesn't just sell shampoo. Or shaving cream or the focus of a halftime of a Super Bowl It's it's more than that. It is a gift from God that we can't base our Identity On. Listen, I want to be real careful here because I understand all the parameters of this and I've had conversations with with people in all different, you know places in Life or there's been a man this attracted to a man and a woman who's attractive woman. I talked to them and and a man who's left his wife and a woman who's left her husband and and kids have been caught in the middle of all that.

And I'm going to tell you it's unwise to build your identity on sex. It's Unwise, I say why because you will only spend between they did a study on this that scientific study. I didn't come up with this on the low end points. Oh six five percent on the high end point four percent of your time having sex you mean you're going to base your whole identity in life and happiness and your kids on on something that it's just point six percent point four percent of your life. Your identity is found in Jesus.

You're identity. It's not found in some action. If you have that kind of love for this you will crush yourself and crush the other people around you you say what doesn't God want to be happy. No, he wants you to be deeply fulfilled. He's got so much for you in this area that you're going to miss.

Listen to what the writer of Proverbs says and we could do this. I mean like I started looking through the Bible at all the passages on what I'm talking about. It was almost on every page. God takes your sex life very seriously as should you that's what the writer of Proverbs says in chapter 6. Verse 23.

He says wrap your mind. With God's word that will protect you from a promiscuous woman or man from the seductive Talk of the tempter don't lustly fantasize on her beauty nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes. You can buy an hour with a prostitute for a loaf of bread. You can reduce her to a loaf of bread. You can make her a commodity but her promiscuous woman.

She will eat you alive. Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants? Can you walk Barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters? It's the same when you have sex with your neighbor's wife you touch her and you'll pay for it. No excuses.

Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal when he's called. He has to pay back. Even if he has to put his whole house in Hawk adultery is a brainless act. That's for sure. Soul destroying self-destructive expected bloody nose of black guy and a reputation ruined for good For jealousy detonates rage and a cheated husband while for Revenge.

He won't make allowances nothing you say or pay will make it right neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him. It's so important. Yeah, I know for some of you this is stuck up on you. You had no idea that we're going to be talking about this and and I've been knowing for weeks and man. I haven't been able to sleep hardly.

I've been waking up at three o'clock in the morning. My stomachs hurt. I thought you know, they're gonna misunderstand. They're gonna God they're gonna misunderstand that that you don't love them that you're out to get them that you want to punish them. It's like Jeff.

No, I'm trying to save them. The greatest hurt in people's lives go to their sexuality that they're messing up. He said well Jeff, what do we do? There's obedience. In the struggle and that's what we do.

We never say to people who come to venture man. You better have it all together. No, are you crazy? I don't have it all together. But we struggle.

And we struggle well. Listen, we're all broken sexually in some way. All of us are hurting with regard to this topic in some way. And God loves you. He wants to do things in your life.

Let me just kind of give you this idea before I close Okay, number one temptation is not a sin. Like when you're tempted and you know, you see something or you see someone or no matter what kind of Attraction it is. That's not a sin. And God will give you Grace to overcome if you'll struggle if you if you'll get in this word if you'll feed the spirit and not the flesh first first Corinthians. 10:13 says no temptation is overtaken you but such is as common to Mankind in every Temptation.

God will make a way for you to escape and and there's a moment in time. We've all been there. Well, you have the opportunity. There was the Escape at you go. Well.

I'm trying to get there. I'm trying to get there. I'm trying to get there and it's too late. But Temptation itself It's not a sin attraction is not a sin. Listen to attraction was a sin.

We'd be living in sin all the time. I mean, that's just the reality that that when you see somebody you're attracted to regardless of who it is regardless of of its male to male or wife to woman to woman or or husband to somebody else's wife or or you're not married to another person. That's not sin. James says that you need to understand that. God does not tempt you you say.

Well God made me this way. God doesn't tempt you. That you are tempted when you are dragged Away by your own lust that when you allow that lust to be conceived in your heart it leads to death. So what do I do Jeff? You invite Jesus into your struggle.

You let us struggle alongside you. You don't give up. So this is why my life is. You don't give in. You don't struggle alone.

Tim Keller said that the church is more like you going into a waiting room in a hospital and looking around and saying why are you here? What are you sick with it? Why? Are you here? What are you sick with?

What year he says, it's not like going to a job interview where you're trying to impress people. I've got it together. I'm I am welcome here. I should be here. I should run this place.

That when you come before the Lord and you say hey. I need help. I'm struggling here. I'm losing it here. I'm falling here.

That when you do that listen to me when you do that, it's amazing. What can happen in your life. Listen what he says in First Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9 First Corinthians 6 verse 9 says this or do you not know that the wrong doers will not inherit the kingdom of God, you know what he's saying? He said if a person continues to do wrong when they know it's not right and they continue and continue and continue and continue. He's gonna send that you've never done wrong.

He said that you don't continue in that do not be deceived neither the sexually immoral know the idolaters nor adulterers boy. That's all of us nor men who have had sex with men or thieves or greedy nor drunkards nor Slanders. No swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Well who's left? He says that's what some of you were.

Not who you are. Listen, if you've come to know Jesus, he's given you a new life. He's giving you a new identity. He's giving you his Spirit. He will take all the Brokenness.

Here's the good news. I was working up to the good news all the Brokenness in your life. All the mistakes that you have made you say. Oh, I don't care about this. I do what I want you that's fine.

You're gonna wind up just like this right here. You see that? Because I deal with every single week. But when you come to him and say I'm hurting I'm broken. I know this is not right.

I know I don't need to be living my life this way. He begins to take all the broken pieces of your life. It's it's amazing what he can do and he gives you something that is called wholeness. Where you're made brand new? Or he backs you and says I got you.

I love you. I never stop loving you. You can start all over. You can live with power you can live with hope. When Jesus said I am the bread of life, he wouldn't say like you can have some french bread with your meal bread in the first century meant you live.

You didn't die. He says I am your bread. I'm all you need when he said I am the Living Water you couldn't live without water. He said they couldn't find water in the first century. He says I'm all you I'm a spring of Living Water that's bubbling up in you.

You said but Jeff. But it cost me so much. I mean if I lived away God is calling me to live don't you note it don't you understand. Are you so out of touch it? You don't know what that will cost me.

Well, maybe I don't know everything but look what he says in and leave that there Matthew 19 in over on. Verse verse 19 verse 11 not everyone can accept this word. But in verse 19 and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mothers or wife or children or feels for my sake. Will receive a hundred times as much in this life according to mark. And he says here in Matthew.

A hundred times as much here and then you'll inherit eternal life because many will be first. The first would be last in many who are last will be first in Jesus is just simply saying this if you will understand you're not missing out on anything. When you choose to follow his example, you choose to follow his word when you choose to struggle to be obedient. He said I'm going to give you back everything if nothing else. He'll give you the family here.

He used to will I lose this relationship with you got us. We can struggle together. You can be in house church we'll struggle with you. This is not a place for Perfect People. It's a place who are struggling.

To be what God has called them to be. I'm going to ask you to Bow your heads for just a moment and and we're gonna sing and I know it's time to go, but I want you to take just a second. Before you get ready to race out of here. And I don't know where you are. I know in leading up to this sermon.

I talked to a lot of people. Who meant they wept? And I wept with them. And maybe you have someone in your family that is struggling. Maybe you'll admit that you're struggling.

Or maybe you'll just pray for her church for the next few minutes. Would you humble yourself and be willing to come to the altar? And just pray say God do a new thing in my life. God doing new thing in my marriage. God restore me help me to be the person that you've called me to be.

And ask God to move in your heart. Father in Heaven, I thank you today that God you have given us everything we need. To live with deep deep joy and fulfillment But God you have a design. God you've created things according to your will. And father I pray today and it's this way in my life that they'd be repentance.

That the Gospel is offensive to all of us. That you call us to repent and turn. To deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow you. And father I pray today that you begin to work in our hearts God. I'm not the Holy Spirit.

God you have to speak to us. You have to clarify this God. You've got to draw us to yourself. Because you're drawing us to life. To protect us from death Father we love you, we honor you.

We have we pray that you would have the room to move in our hearts in Jesus' name. Amen