Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.
This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.
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Thanks for listening.
Hey, good morning.
If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to 1 Corinthians chapter 7.
That's where we're going to be this morning.
As you turn there, you heard about our marriage conference that we're going to be doing at
the end of the month.
We're excited about that here.
I'm excited for Aaron and I to have an opportunity to go through that along with you guys.
Marriage conferences have played a role and a piece in our marriage from the very beginning.
And what we're excited about for this one is a lot of times marriage conference or marriage
retreats, you've got to go away.
And so what we've decided to do is how can we bring that here to Willow Ridge Church and
have that amongst our body, our congregation.
And so the last weekend, that Friday night and Saturday morning, we'll be gathering together
as married couples to hear wonderful teaching that's going to be provided to us through Right
Now Media and then have the opportunity to discuss and work through some of those.
And so we want all of you who are married, or maybe you're dating, or maybe you're engaged,
maybe you're having conversations, whatever that is, it'll be a wonderful time for us to
continue to build on God's expectation of marriage for us.
And so we'll be selling tickets all the way through the end of the month and so you can,
or next month and so you can, we're still in February, I think, right?
And so we'll be selling tickets back here and would love for you to join us and go and purchase
some tickets.
Have had people ask, can couples that don't go to our church, maybe they go to another church
or they don't go to church at all, can they be a part of this with us?
And absolutely.
And so if you've got someone that you want to invite, that you want to bring with you,
we'd love for them to be a part of this.
Before we get into our message this morning, as you guys, I'm sure, are all aware from watching
the news and what's taking place, I just wanted to kind of take a moment and speak to the war
and the conflict going on in Ukraine and what we're, sorry, what we're going to be doing
and how we're responding as a church.
First off, as you leave, I shared this on social media this week, our SEND relief team, a part
of the Southern Baptist Convention, which does a lot of things but really prides themselves
on being the first on ground in areas of natural disaster, destructions, war, famine,
all those that put together prior to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, this prayer guide.
And we've printed some copies off and they're also at this blue table as you leave.
And if you follow me on, if we're friends on Facebook, and I hope we are, you can print
it there and we'll make this available through our church's social media as well.
And so we'd love for you to be able to pray through, wonderful guide, 10 ways that we can
be praying for the people of the Ukraine and what's happening and what's taking place there.
As far as just some thoughts on this situation, number one, what we're discussing and praying
through as church leadership, how we can respond and how we can help, all right?
There's a humanitarian crisis.
There's going to be a gospel need and a gospel presence for what's going on.
Refugees, that's been a term that I don't know that I heard too often growing up, but it
is definitely a term that my son and daughter grow up in a world where they hear the term
refugee constantly.
And oftentimes when we hear the word refugee, our brain is taking to political matters concerning
refugees.
And I would just like to maybe say for a moment that I'd like for your brain to maybe go somewhere
else when you hear the word refugee.
Always associated with any refugee crisis is also the crisis that comes with human sex
trafficking, all right?
As people flee, there are men and women who want to rally around and support and love and
share.
And you see that happen.
The refugee crisis creates a wonderful opportunity for the church to step in to help men and women
who are broken and hurting, but it also raises to the top in many instances, some of the lowest
of the lows of humanity in this world.
And sex trafficking will be prevalent in these areas.
I mean, if you just think about what's happening right now, and this is not a political statement,
it's a statement of fact.
Women and children are allowed to flee and leave the Ukraine.
And what is happening as a result of that is the men stay behind and it makes them even
more vulnerable to those who seek to take advantage for their own sexual desires, gratifications,
or even monetary means.
So as you pray through everything that's going on, I pray that that would be on the forefront
of your mind.
I want to tell you the work of the Lord that is being done as I've already had one of our
church members reach out to me already who has some connections in surrounding countries
around the Ukraine, who's working with gospel-minded brothers and sisters in Christ to help
these women and children find a safe harbor.
But I also had a friend of mine who's a pastor in the upstate who called and said, man, I don't
know if you have any connections, but I do as he's done missions work in Moldova and in
other areas around there as well.
And so we're just praying through what God would have for us as a church.
And we don't know what that is yet, but I do know that what God would be calling us to,
especially during this season of time, right?
We are to be people of prayer.
We are to pray without ceasing, but so much rides on what is happening and what is taking
place in this right now.
And so I want to challenge you to join me not only as we pray for the people of the Ukraine,
but also people of Russia.
There's believers right now in Russia who are facing persecution as they stand up for what
they believe to be right in the sense of the gospel, even if it goes against what their
government says.
Let's ask that we pray for them as well.
And so what I'd like to do, and I know this is a little different than how we normally do
things, but we're just going to take some moments of silence where we can just gather
together as a church and pray.
And then I'll close this up, and then we'll get started on our message, all right?
So let's all just bow our heads, close our eyes, and go before the Lord in prayer.
And then we'll get started on our message.
Lord, we come to you this morning with heavy hearts.
Lord, it is the people of God who turn on the TV and find death and destruction.
Lord, it just hits us at our core.
Lord, I pray for the people of the Ukraine this morning who woke up again
to air raids, sounds of rockets and bullets, or just lift them up to you in their fear and in their uncertainty.
Lord, I pray for the leaders, Lord, I pray for the leaders of the Ukraine, Lord, but the leaders of all the nations, Lord, involved in this, whether directly or indirectly.
Lord, God, Lord, I pray for the leaders of all the nations, Lord, that they would seek your counsel.
Lord, I pray for the salvation of those who were blatantly, obviously lost, separated from you.
Lord, that the truth of the truth of the truth of the gospel would be made done.
Lord, I pray for the boldness of believers.
Boldness of believers in Russia, boldness of believers in the Ukraine, boldness of believers in surrounding countries.
Lord, to stand for the gospel.
Lord, I pray for us as a church.
As we evaluate, Lord, what you would have for us, how would you have for us to respond, to partner, Lord, what this looks like.
Lord, I ask that you even remind, that you remind all of us, myself included, Lord, that in the midst of the chaos that is this world, to remind us that you are the God who is not chaos.
But you are in control, and Lord, you're on your throne.
And Lord, may we rest in that.
Lord, and in this situation and everything, may your will be done.
Lord, for the families of our church that have sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives that serve in the armed forces.
And don't know what today or tomorrow may hold or may look like.
Lord, I pray that you'd give them peace.
Lord, to all the soldiers who are involved, I pray that you'd give them protection.
Lord, for the church in the Ukraine, as we just sang, above all, may the light of Jesus shine through.
And may, as a result of this terrible season that we find ourselves in, may men and women and children come to know you.
And it's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
We're going to go ahead and begin in 1 Corinthians 7, starting in verse 1.
Paul writes, as he continues in his address to the church at Corinth, dealing with them and some of the problems that they're facing.
Problems that are detrimental to the unity that Paul would have for them.
And the understanding of the gospel and the right application of that in their life as individuals, as a family, and as a family of God.
And so Paul writes in chapter 7, verse 1 of 1 Corinthians, he says,
Now concerning about, I'm sorry, now concerning the matters about which you wrote,
it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.
So what I want us to look at this morning and try to understand is the problem that Paul is addressing here.
And as we try to understand the problem, it'll help us be able to unfold and unpack and apply the proper context of the solution of what Paul has given him.
Now, there's a lot of debate as in verse 1, and a lot that is happening here.
And I want to kind of share with you through my study, and as the Holy Spirit teaches this to me,
what I feel like is happening, is taking place here in Corinth, and what Paul is particularly addressing here in chapter 7.
Now, the Corinthian society was very sexual.
I tried to think of how we could compare that in U.S. terms, and I'll be honest with you,
my brain couldn't begin to wrap around a specific comparison that lines up fully,
because of some certain details that we're going to find out about what is happening and what is taking place in Corinth.
All right, so if you go all the way back to like middle school and high school, right,
we learned about Greek gods and goddesses and Roman gods and goddesses,
and we get to understand the nature that existed for all of those.
And so this was the culture in which we find the Corinthian church.
And for these gods and goddesses, they would build temples,
and these temples would be in different cities throughout the empire,
where men and women and children would come to these temples to worship these specific gods and goddesses.
Well, in Corinth was a temple that was dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.
And if you don't remember from a long time ago about Aphrodite,
Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality.
And that was embraced in Corinth and in the temple.
As a part of the practice of worship of Aphrodite,
in the temple was temple prostitution, consistently practiced there.
Both heterosexual and homosexual practice there in the temple was prevalent there
and all throughout the culture.
And what we see when we look back into chapter 6 is that Paul felt the need
to address that in context for the church,
but he also felt most because what was happening in the context of the community.
I want you to look back for just a second at 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9.
It should be on the page there right beside you, right?
And Paul's instructing the people of Christ to be different than the people of the world,
to be different than the people of society.
And here's how he addresses it.
He says,
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived.
Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
nor thieves, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And so, Paul says, there's this defining that we need to understand.
Now, Paul gives other lists in other letters that he writes as well.
So, each one of these lists that we see, we come to understand that these lists both oftentimes reflect the society,
and also, more than likely, some of the struggles, both practically or theologically, that are existing in the church.
And so, Paul says, look, those who practice these, this is who they are.
This is what they do.
They will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And then we looked at this last week, verse 11.
He says,
Past tense.
And such were some of you.
And this is the beauty and the hope of the gospel, of what God does.
And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.
And this is what we talked about last week.
And so, if you miss this, go back and listen to this.
They cannot inherit the kingdom because of who they are, but you, because of Christ, and because of his work, you've been washed, you've been sanctified, you've been justified, is what we see here.
And there's some verses we're going to come back and look at in just a second.
But because this is such a big thing that's happening and taking place, Paul looks and says in verse 18 of chapter 6, to the church, flee from sexual morality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
In just a minute, we're going to look at the tail end of this verse.
But right now, I want us to focus in on this four-word strategy that Paul gives.
Flee.
What do we do when we face sexual morality?
We flee.
What would Corinth say?
Explore.
Now, I think there's some close correlations that we can begin to connect with Corinthian society and American society.
I heard an author say this a few weeks ago, and I loved it.
He said, God never gave you and I the right to determine what is and what isn't sinful.
He sets the standard.
And so, in this context, he says flee.
The Corinthians want to explore.
They want to find out.
They want to live in that hedonism that we talked about last week.
Well, what feels good to me?
What do I like?
And Paul said, no, no.
We're not exploring this.
We're fleeing this.
We're running from this.
Because this will lead us to our destruction.
We don't want that.
So, we run, we run, we run, right?
So, how does this bring us back to verse 1?
Why do we take this detour back into chapter 6?
Look back at verse 1 of chapter 7.
Now, concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.
Here's what I think is happening.
Here's what I believe is taking place.
Because society in the Corinthian church, and in large part society here, has a view on sex and sexuality that is far removed from God's standard.
And what has happened during the time of Paul, and what has happened in many senses here, is that this standard of society removed from God's standard has invaded the church in many areas.
It's why Paul felt the need to address it in the church.
We've got to talk about this because we've got to make sure that this is what we are, that this is what we're understanding, that we know God's design and God's purpose for this.
And so what I think is happening here in the church, I've labeled the Corinthian pendulum, all right?
And here's what I mean by that.
Sinful Corinthian society has taken the pendulum and swung it on this side.
To sexual freedom, sexual liberation, sexual exploration.
And the church, in response to that, the Christian church, those who aren't embracing it, have said,
well, we're going to swing all the way on to the other side.
And they've covered this other view of sex outside of biblical marriage that is wrong.
They've admitted that.
But they begin to have a distorted view of sex within the context of marriage.
And that sex, even in the context of marriage, is lesser.
Is lesser.
Which isn't God's design at all.
So that's what we want us to begin to see.
Paul wants to bring them back square into God's understanding of sex, sexuality, and the standard for marriage.
Look at verse 2.
Now, in this verse right here, what we're going to see and understand is God's standard.
And we're going to unpack that throughout the rest of this message.
Paul's doing a couple things here in the words that he uses.
Number one, Paul defines the only marriage that is pleasing to God.
The only marriage that is pleasing to God.
One man with one woman.
If you look at the tail end of verse 2, each man should have.
Right there, that word have.
His own wife.
And each woman have her own husband.
And that word have is always used in connection with marriage.
And Paul's going to explain that.
One man, one woman.
Not a homosexual relationship.
Not a polygamous relationship.
Not an adulterous relationship.
Not any other relationship.
One man, one woman.
It's the beauty of God from the garden.
Right?
And then secondly, Paul begins to lay the groundwork here in verse 2 for the battle against sexual morality.
Right?
What I want us to understand, and this is hard for us.
This is a difficult thing for many of us to grasp.
But sexual desire is given by God to humanity for good.
Right?
For good.
Now, my wife and I, the desire that I have for her, it's good.
The desire she has for me, it's hard to believe.
Thank you.
I appreciate that y'all finally laughed at some point in time with this.
All right?
It's good.
Right?
It's what's there.
It's what God gives us.
It's what God has for us.
Now, what happens in sin is that sexual desire that turns to lust, that turns to sexual immorality is not what God has for us.
But I'll be honest with you.
Let's go all the way back to the beginning of our relationship.
We talked about this this past week with our kids.
The night that I met my soon-to-be at that point in time, not soon-to-be because it's 18 months later.
The night I met Aaron, we went to the same college we never met.
We were set up on a blind date.
A blind date at church to watch a Christmas church pageant, right?
Like, that was just awkward and uncomfortable.
I mean, it was great that we met at church, but that's where we were, right?
And I'll never forget First Baptist North Augusta, the church that I grew up in.
I'm standing at the bottom level.
And when you enter into the sanctuary area, you actually enter in on the second floor if you come from one of the parking lots.
And Aaron had parked at that second parking lot, and she was working her way down the stairs.
And I remember standing there thinking to myself, this is before social media, all right?
I know for some of our teenagers and even 20-year-olds, that's hard to believe.
I'd never seen her.
True blind date.
And I'll never forget black pants, black and white sweater.
And I saw her walking down the stairs, and I thought, I don't know if that's her, but I hope that it is.
And then she came walking up, and the friend that introduced us introduced us,
and then I was, y'all find this hard to believe, but I don't know that I spoke for like an hour and a half, two hours.
Just blown away by your beauty, babe.
Like that.
Yeah.
Emma's uncomfortable.
Grayson's serving in kids' ministry, so he's glad he's over there this morning, all right?
Right?
But in that, I'm attracted to her.
We date.
We get engaged.
And can I tell you what is going on in the mind of a man who loves the Lord in preparation for his wedding night?
Looking forward to God's design for sex in my life and in her life, and for that moment that we can be together.
And that's good.
That's what God intended.
Removed from lust.
Removed from immorality.
But sexual desire can be used by Satan to tempt people into being sexually immoral.
I read this this week, and I loved it.
An author said, Satan does not produce sexual desire.
It is good, and he never produced anything good.
His aim is to ruin what God created to be good.
And so what Satan does, he says that in this desire of what God gives a man and what God gives a woman,
and is meant to be celebrated on their wedding night together that Satan wants to say,
and Satan wants to take and break and abuse and twist and turn it into something that it's never been intended to be.
And when we think about it, he does that with so many different things in our life.
But primarily, this is what we see in marriage and in sex.
It's a beautiful picture of God's plan for marriage in Genesis 2, verse 24 and 25.
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife.
And they shall become one flesh.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
There's beauty, so much beauty in this verse.
What we see in Genesis 2 is we see the formation of the family, the husband and the wife.
We see the design for sex that God gives of the husband and the wife, and even more beautiful.
What we see in the relationship between the husband and the wife is we see two people freed from shame.
They're not embarrassed.
They're not filled with shame.
Why?
Because that's not who God is.
And we see the husband and the wife.
And what's going on, why I believe the marriage is so important, is because unlike any other picture that we see of relationships,
different than the relationship I have with my daughter, different than the relationship I have with my son,
different than the relationship I have with you, different than the relationship I have with my parents,
different than the relationship I have with my friends,
different than the relationship I have with my lost friends,
that the picture, that the gospel picture that exists in marriage.
When men and women come together for the beauty and the glory of God in marriage,
there's a picture that's being displayed.
And we see this evident all throughout the New Testament, primarily in Ephesians chapter 5,
where God gives marriage a unique purpose, and God gives marriage a unique passion.
And if you're married, and you do not know this, if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ,
there's a greater good for your marriage than raising great kids.
There's a greater good for your marriage than having a wonderful retirement plan and bank account.
There's a beautiful picture for your marriage that is found in Scripture,
and the purpose of marriage is a picture of Christ and the church.
You and I, we are referred to the body of believers,
make up the church, which Scripture refers to as the bride of Christ.
And since we are the bride, Scripture tells us that Jesus is the bridegroom.
So Aaron and I have this unique calling within our marriage that is unique to every marriage
that is found under the Lordship of Christ, to reflect the gospel in that.
That I serve her, and that I love her, and that I seek her best for her, as Christ did for the church.
And that she, in response to my leadership in the home,
that she, in response to my care for her,
that she, in all of those aspects, responds as Christ, as the church responds to Christ.
And this church loves Christ.
There's the unique design that's there.
And every time that we have the opportunity to live that out,
both positively and negatively, it reflects on who Jesus is.
But there's a greater good for your marriage than anything else.
And it's Christ.
And so Paul, jump back to 1 Corinthians 6, 15.
So Paul connects this with sexual morality.
And he says,
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?
Never!
Or how do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?
For as it is written, two will become one flesh.
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
So Paul talks about the spiritual connection between us and the Lord
and the spiritual and physical connection between a husband and a wife within this.
It's a beautiful design that he's laying out.
And so when sexual immorality invades culture and invades the church of all places,
like what in the world are we doing?
When it shows this,
and when we see this,
and whether we see it at Corinth or we see it at Willow,
when we are broken from God's standard of marriage,
we are broken from the Lord as well.
Removed from what God desires for us.
So we can see how this continues to play out.
Look at verse 3.
Scripture says,
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights,
and likewise the wife to her husband.
For the wife does not have authority over her own body,
but the husband does.
Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body,
but the wife does.
Do not deprive one another,
except perhaps by agreement for a limited time,
so that you may devote yourselves to prayer,
but then come together again,
so that Satan may not tempt you
because of your lack of self-control.
What I want us to look at here in these few verses
is an understanding of sexual selfishness.
What we saw, what we read in Genesis chapter 2
is that in marriage, two become one.
This has physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual applications.
In verse 4,
does it mean that I tell Aaron what to do
and that I have control over her?
Verse 4 also doesn't mean that Aaron tells me what to do
and that she has control over me,
but what it does mean in the context of marriage
is that she and I are not two independent beings on this earth
doing what pleases me and doing what pleases her,
but we are one joined together and unified by Christ.
And so what is for her good is for my good.
When she hurts, I hurt.
When I rejoice, she rejoices.
And this is what this begins to see in marriage.
And practically speaking,
I believe that what this looks like is that in marriage,
and maybe this will be for some of us here today.
There is not my money,
my time,
or my agenda.
It's ours.
On that day,
June 19th,
2004,
at Matlock Baptist Church
with Aaron's dad officiating the service,
right?
In the commitment of that,
it was no longer me,
but it was always going to be we
as we go forward to becoming one.
Now,
this doesn't mean I don't have possessions.
I do.
It doesn't mean I don't have hobbies.
I do.
It doesn't mean I don't have money in my wallet.
I do less now than I did.
But that has nothing to do with Aaron
and everything to do with two teenagers, right?
I do.
What it means
is I have these
and so does Aaron
under the agreement
of what we do
is for the betterment,
not just of me,
but for our family
and our marriage.
And the moment any of those things
distract me from what we're working toward
in that,
they need to be removed.
They need to be removed
within there.
There's no room
for selfishness
in marriage.
Lose
the my
and the I
in that.
There's no room
for selfishness
in marriage.
But in context
for here,
what do I mean
about sexual selfishness?
what was used
then
is used today.
Sex,
a gift
by God
given to a husband
and a wife
and his design
is never meant
to be a leveraging tool
or a tool of manipulation.
So a couple ways.
Number one,
stop treating sex
like a reward
to be won.
Right?
What do you,
what do I mean by that?
All right?
Have you ever
done nice things?
Have you ever
sought to serve
your spouse
with an end goal?
not to be
their betterment,
not to be
for their kindness,
not to be
for their good,
but in the hopes
that as a result
of that,
that you would get sex.
That's selfishness
and manipulation,
not the way
that God designed it.
Number two,
stop using sex
as a punishment.
Have you ever
thought to yourself,
they didn't do this,
so I won't do that.
In both
of these instances
is an abuse
and a misuse
of sex
in the context
of marriage.
Both of these
are forms
of manipulation,
both of these
are forms
of selfishness,
and they were
never a part
of God's design
for marriage.
But,
Paul does say
there is a reason
to not have sex
in marriage.
Look back,
he says,
do not deprive
one another
except
perhaps
by agreement
for a limited time
that you may
devote yourselves
to prayer
but then
come together
again
so that Satan
may not tempt you
because of your
lack of self-control.
So here's what I want to say
about this.
Maybe
there comes a time
in your marriage
where a season
needs to be placed
on an emphasis
on spiritual
matters
that are
different
than what
you've gone
through before.
And I'm going to give
some examples
of these
in just a second.
And Paul says
when that
happens
it's okay
in the context
of your marriage
to take
a break
from sex.
I would equate
it to the call
that we have
on our life
in fasting.
Right?
God calls us
to fast
and to fast
from food
and I don't like
it that he says
that but he says
it.
Alright?
And when he says
it it's not
that we're fasting
so that we can
lose weight.
It's not that
we're fasting
so we can tell
people about it.
It's that we're
fasting for a
purpose that we
can cry out
to him
depend on him
focus completely
on him
and hear from him.
And so Paul says
there may become
a time
and an opportunity
in your marriage
where you need
to address
some spiritual
things that are
going on
in the context
of your marriage
and so as a result
of that
you may need
to break
from sex
for a season.
And so some
illustrations that I give
maybe there's some
big decisions
that you need to make.
And so you as a couple
decide
before we make these
it may be a career
decision
it may be a decision
about a home
it may be a decision
about a child
it may be a decision
about a relationship
and so the two of you
come together
and you agree
that we're going
to come and pray
and seek the Lord
this is what we're
going to do.
Number two
there may come
a time of sickness
where a spouse
is battling
going through
a time of poor health
a time of poor sickness
and it's discussed
and it is agreed
that during this
because of the physical
condition
of the spouse
that we're going
to break
and instead
we're going
to spend
that time
in prayer
before the Lord
there's a third
aspect
that I think
unfortunately
is all too often
in many marriages
where I think
this passage
of scripture
applies
and it's when
sin
and brokenness
has invaded
the marriage
and reconciliation
needs to happen
a spouse
has hurt
a spouse
and in that
reconciliation
needs to be
in place
there's a spouse
who feels abused
there's a spouse
who feels taken
advantage of
there's a spouse
that's hurt
and we can try
to force through
that
and act
like nothing's
wrong
in the bedroom
and in the world
but what needs
to happen
is reconciliation
and so a time
is dedicated
to that
here's what I see
this take place
number one
it happens
for a season
it happens
for a season
what do we want
this to look like
what does this
need to be
how long
does this
need to last
where do we
feel like God
is drawing us
number two
it's agreed upon
it is never
her will
nor mine
it's his
and in unity
of the spirit
we walk in that
and we agree
and the third
that we see
is that we
need to be
careful
because what
Satan chooses
to do
what Satan
wants to do
is to find
a foothold
in the marriage
so that he
can break it
apart
by taking
what is good
and replacing
it with what
is filthy
as we look
and as we
see
and as we
understand
so much
of what
is happening
here in the
church of
Corinth
so much
of what
is happening
in the
society
of
Corinth
is so much
of what
is happening
in so many
churches
and in so many
marriages
and so many
societies
today
that we
have the
right
to determine
what is right
and what is wrong
and God
says that's
not the
case
it's my
plan
one man
one woman
together
for a unique
purpose
to reflect
the glory
and the
goodness
of the
Lord
and it's
my prayer
that as you
see my
marriage
that as we
examine our
marriage
what is
resembled
is the
serving of
Christ
to serve
the bride
and in
areas
where I
failed
I'm
sorry
and that
in turn
what we
see from
that
is the
bride
who loves
and follows
Christ
and that
it's
reflected
for all
the world
to see
that it's
shared
and that
he's
proclaimed
stop
letting
Satan
determine
where the
pendulum
is
and find
what God
has called
us to
would you
pray with me
where does
I look
out in
this
congregation
I see
a lot
of
couples
in
here
a lot
of
husbands
and
wives
Lord
and
while I
know
some
Lord
I don't
know all
but you
do
Lord
and as
they go
through
as they
battle
as they
face
Lord
I pray
that they
would
seek
your will
for their
marriage
for your
glory
for your
name
for your
now
Lord I
also see
couples in
here who
are dating
who are
engaged
Lord and
the struggle
that they
face
is a
difficult
one
Lord I
pray that
through the
strength of the
Holy Spirit
in them
Lord
that they
would not
succumb
to the
sexual
temptation
that Satan
would
cast at
them
but they
would remain
strong
in their
faith
they would
be willing
to take
the desire
that you've
given them
and restrain
for that
wonderful day
where they
look at each
other and
say I do
and pledge
and commit
themselves
Lord also
in this
room
is the
single man
and the
single woman
the single
girl and
the single
boy
Lord I
pray for
their purity
as well
as their
standard as
they wait
and if you
provide them
a spouse
Lord
and we
celebrate
you
but if
what you
have for
them is
singleness
Lord what
they would
embrace
what your
word tells
us
Lord if we
were able
to continue
on
is the
beautiful gift
of celibacy
where they
can focus
in on you
even more
fully
and Lord
what you
have for
them
look up
real quick
I left
this out
and I'm
sorry
but if
you
are a
person
whether
you're
married
whether
you're
single
and whether
you're
dating
and you've
struggled
and you've
fallen
and sexual
morality
and adultery
and lust
and homosexuality
there's
goodness
and forgiveness
at the cross
and he
pours it
out
and pours
it
out
and pours
it
out
and another
lie that we
feel sometimes
is that when we
fall in short
of God's
standard
we have to
live and carry
the shame
that comes
along with
it
and Jesus
says I've
come to set
you free
so that we
live in hope
and glory
and goodness
and so if
that's you
this morning
you may have
some stuff
that you need
to walk
through
and we
want to
walk
through
that
with you
but there's
fullness
of redemption
that's found
in Christ
he takes
what is old
and makes
it new
he takes
what's dead
and makes
it alive
again
and there's
beauty
and there's
hope in that
let's go back
to the Lord
in prayer
God if
there's
anyone here
and that's
what they're
struggling with
Lord
we pray
that today
they find
forgiveness
and hope
through the
gospel of
Jesus Christ
the foot of
the cross
to walk
in the
newness
of life
free from
shame
Satan
defines them
by their
sin
Lord
but you
define us
by Christ
and we
live in
him alone
because we've
been washed
we've been
sanctified
and we've
been justified
God
so you're
going to
pray
man
just a
moment
we're
going to
stand
and we're
going to
respond
we've got
prayer
encouragers
on either
side of
auditorium
a husband
and wife
team
loving each
other for
the glory
of God
maybe you
want to
pray with
one of
them
maybe you
want to
come down
front and
pray
maybe you
want to
pray right
where you
are
maybe you
want to
stand and
sing
we just
ask that
this morning
as you
respond
respond as
God's
leading you
would you
stand as
we worship
him
thanks again
for listening
to the
Willow Ridge
Church
weekly podcast
we hope
that you
enjoyed
listening to
this week's
message
if you'd
like to
learn more
about who
we are
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