James Merritt - Wed Before Bed
We're starting a series today, and I've told you before, it's not for the faint of heart. But I wanna begin by saying something, and I hope you'll hear. This is really important. We're not primarily a church that likes to talk about what we're against. We talk about what we're for. Because God is a for God, not an against God. And what we're gonna be talking about over the next four weeks, really is very simple. God is for sexual purity. God is for marriage, between a man and a woman. God is far life in the womb, outside the womb. And God is for you, as he made you to be. So, I wanna make sure that you understand this is all positive. We try not to be negative. But at the same time, it is what it is. And so I ask you to pray for me that the next four weeks, that there will have a perfect balance of grace and truth.
Many years ago, there was a prayer, that was given by the chaplain of the Kansas Senate. It is a prayer that needs to be heard today, I think more than ever. And I want you to listen to what this man prayed. Omniscient Father, "Help us to know who's telling the truth. One side tells us one thing, the other just the opposite. If neither side's telling the truth, we would like to know that too. If each side is telling half the truth, give us the wisdom to put the right halves together. In Jesus' name. Amen." I agree with that.
We are beginning a series today, that we're calling, Facing The Truth. And let me just kind of say at the outset, that we're gonna deal with some of the hottest button issues out there in the culture today. Your kids are leading with it in the schools. You're dealing with it at work. And it's incredibly urgent in my opinion. Not just because of where the culture is going, and where the country is going. But quite frankly we're a lot of churches, are going. And we're gonna speak the truth. We're gonna do it in love. But let's just go ahead and get some elephants out of the room.
Facing the truth is not always popular. It can be painful. In fact, there are some people today that would say, that what we're about to do over the next four weeks, is poisonous. And particularly those who buy into the culture of political correctness. One of my favorite authors is a pastor named Mark Batterson. He said something that was so profound and so wise, I want to quote it in its entirety. Listen to what he said.
"When political correctness becomes the golden rule, speaking truth becomes bigotry. Truth is crucified in the name of tolerance, undermining civil debate, conscientious objection, and religious conviction. We live in a culture, where it is wrong to say something is wrong. And I think that's wrong. Remaining silent on a subject that God has spoken about isn't loving. It is cowardly. When we fail to use our voice, we lose our voice. We as the church should be known for what we are, than what we are against. But playing the man requires standing up for what you believe in, even if you're standing alone".
So, I'd like to ask those of you who are watching right now, those in the building, let's make an agreement over the next four weeks. We're not really about political correctness, and we don't really need to be. We ought to all be about truth. I mean that really ought to be the overarching writing concern of all of us. And I'll tell you why. Jesus said this, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free". Free from what? Well, that one statement tells us two things. Number one, it's important we know the truth. It's what Jesus said. You should know the truth. It's important, that we know the truth Because if you don't know the truth, you're gonna be in bondage to error. You're gonna be living a lie. You're gonna be living things and believing things, that are simply not true.
So today we're gonna talk about what is probably, in my opinion, the most ignored. Swept under the rug. Undiscussed sin in the church. And I can tell you why I believe that is described perfectly in this story. Some of you will remember this. In 2019, the internet went bonkers. I mean it just went, it just was lit up over the news. That actor Chris Pratt and his fiance Katherine Schwartz Schwarzenegger, we're moving in together. That's not a big deal. People move in together. We're talking about the people moving in together all the time It's a commonplace thing. The media noted, and this is the strange thing. The media thought this was really cool. Because they were both evangelical Christians, or claimed to be evangelical Christians.
They said, we're not going to move in together, until we get engaged. Not married, engaged. And what was odd was, nobody raised the question about whether or not there was any contradiction, between Pratt's cohabitation, and yet still calling him a devout Christian. A popular evangelical, who urge people to continue living boldly in faith. They said, man, isn't this cool? Isn't this refreshing? They're not gonna live together until they are engaged. Now what our grandparents used to call shacking up, and what we call today hooking up. The Bible calls it something. The Bible calls it sexual immorality. The Bible says it's wrong. And in a letter that Paul wrote, a man named Paul wrote to a church in Thessalonika. He has some very clear pointed things to say about this practice.
So I want you to take God's word and be finding the book of 1 Thessalonians 4. Go to Matthew and turn right. Can't miss it, in the New Testament. Now I wanna admit something right up front. 'Cause I I know you think, you just don't get it. I do get it. Because if there's anything that's uncool today, if there's anything that causes people to roll their eyes today, if there's anything an anachronistic today, if there's anything that people would say, that's just unrealistic. Is two words, sexual purity. You gotta be kidding, Pastor. We don't live in the puritanical age. We not pilgrims. We don't live in the 1800's.
This is 2023. You're really not going to seriously challenge people, that they should abstain from sex before they get married. Because two things are being said today over and over and over. You hear it, I hear it, we all hear it. If it's consensual, if both people agree, what's the problem? And the second thing you hear is, if it brings you pleasure, and it makes you happy, it's nobody else's business. So, if I wanna live, it doesn't matter who I wanna do something with. Where I wanna do it, when I wanna do it, if it is consensual, and it makes me happy, and it makes them happy, what business is it of yours?
So, people talk today, not about committed sex. They talk about casual sex. Why do you care? Why does that keep you up at night? By the way, it doesn't. But why does that bother you? Why are you even talking about it? Because after all, since 1960, the rate of marriage has been declining steadily. And we are now in, what's best described, as a low commitment culture of sex without strings and relationship without rings. I read something in my study, that I thought that's unbelievable. Since the start of the 21st century, the US marriage rate has declined for more than eight marriages per thousand, down to six marriages per thousand in 2019.
Now listen to this, that marriage rate is the lowest level since the US government began keeping marriage records for the country in 1867. In other words, we have the lowest rate of people getting married in America in 160 years. Just not doing it. It's just not a big thing. So, it shouldn't be surprising that over 75% of those who never attend church, and almost 53% of those who do attend church every week, have already had sex before they turn 18 years of age. So, three out of four people that don't go to church, they've had sex before 18. 53 out of a hundred that do go to church every week, sex before the age of 18.
So, as we look at this text, in 1 Thessalonians 4, lemme just ask you to keep one other thing in mind. And if you're a young person today, I want you to hear me very clearly. Sex is not dirty. There's nothing wrong with sex. Sex is awesome. Sex is wonderful . 'Cause God gave it. Here's what you need to remember, because sex is God given. It ought to be God guided. So, from the very beginning, when God gave the first man and woman the ability to have sexual relations, God had a place. God had people. God had a purpose, and God had a plan. And what you're gonna find is sex is best when that plan is followed and that purpose is fulfilled.
So, lemme give you my sermon in a sentence, okay. This will be easy to remember. It is God's will, that you don't say, I will, until you say, I do. Pretty easy to remember right. It is God's will, that you don't say, I will, until you say, I do. 'Cause here's the little secret, God does not want what's good for you. God wants what's best for you. Who wants what's good when you have the best. And God wants what's best for you. He also, oh by the way, he doesn't want just what is best for you. He wants when it's best for you. He wants where it's best for you. He wants who it's best with. And then when you follow that plan and fulfill that purpose, that's when it's the best it could be.
So there are three things I'm gonna say. You can look at your app, and get on your phone, whatever. You can fill in the blank. Three things I want to say very quickly this morning. Number one, sexual purity, is God's will for us. Sexual purity, is God's will for us. Now, normally I would never try to tell somebody, what God's will is for their life. That's not my role, that's not my job. But in this instance, I can tell you whether an equivocation or hesitation. that God's will is.
1 Thessalonians 4:3. It is God's will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality. Now, Paul doesn't mince words. He cuts right to the point. I mean he cuts to the chase. He doesn't, he said, look, let's just get it out. It is God's will, that you avoid sexual immorality. He said there's a difference between a godly desire, and an ungodly desire, when it comes to sex. Godly desires will always end up inside marriage. Ungodly desires always end up outside of marriage.
So he says, look, you are looking for the will of God. Here it is. You avoid sexual immorality. Now the Greek word definition for sexual immorality, is the word pornea. We get the word pornography from that word. That word in the New Testament means, very simply, any sex outside of marriage, between a man and a woman, is sexual immorality. It's not really hard to understand. So rather engaging in this kind of thing of immorality, Paul says, Hey, it is God's will that you should be sanctified, all right. I know that's a big Bible word. We don't use it much anymore. A lot of people don't understand what it means. Lemme make it real easy. The words sanctified, literally means, to be set apart.
So, here's what happens. I didn't realize it totally at the time. When I gave my life to Jesus as a 9-year-old boy, God took my body, and God set it apart. God said, your body, is no longer your body, son. Now belongs to me. So, you can't use your body, any way you want to. Anywhere you want to, with anybody you please. 'Cause it's not your body. It is my body. It's no longer yours. It is set apart. So in other words, from the time you're born, it is the will of God for you to take your body, and save your body, for the only person that deserves your body. And that's the person that you're going to marry.
Now you may say, you may be watching right now. You may be in this room. You may have already checked out. You may have already turned me down, turned me off. You may have already made up your mind. Sorry, not gonna do that. Here's what I want you to understand. And I'm talking to people who claim to be followers of Jesus. If you decide to cross that line, if you decide to do whatever it is you want to do, you just had a head-on collision with God's will for your life. You are completely out of God's will for your life. That is not the will of God for you. And yes, we hear those collisions going on all over the church. And those collisions are going on inside the church.
In the last 50 years, this is mind boggling. In the last 50 years, the percentage of men and women who live together, who cohabit before they get married has gone up 900%. Did you hear that? 900% in the last 50 years, 70% of women age 30 to 34, have cohabited with a male partner. Two thirds of new marriages take place between couples, who've already lived together on an average of 31 months. Now there is kind of a little ray of light here. Yes, evangelical Christians are less likely than most Americans have premarital sex. That's true. However, a Pew research survey in 2019 found 58% of white evangelicals, and 70% of black pentecostals believe cohabiting is okay. Living together is all right. If the couple plans on getting married.
By the way the younger generation, 43% evangelical Christians, ages 15 to 22 said, we probably are definitely are going to live together, before we get married. I'm talking about people who say, I love Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives in me. I've been born again. I have been saved. I've repented of my sins. And four out of 10 say, we're still probably gonna live together before we get married. Only 24% say, no, we're not going to do that. Two thirds of those ages, 29 to 49, have cohabited at least once. And 53% of evangelical Christians, listen to this. 53% of evangelical Christians, currently in their first marriage lived together before they got married.
Lemme just make this real easy for you to understand. Tell you where I'm coming from. Only 14% of Americans say, cohabitation is unacceptable. So, I already know, what I've been saying, already in the first 10 minutes of this message. 86% of Americans say, don't buy, don't believe it. Wasting your time. That's not who we are. That's not what we're going to do.
So, if you're a follower of Jesus, lemme make this real easy. When it comes to sexual purity, you gotta make the same decision Jesus made in the garden of Gethsemane. You are either gonna say to God, not my will, but yours be done. Or you're going to say, not your will but mine be done. 'Cause we already know what God's will is. It is the will of God, that you avoid sexual immorality. That is God's will for you. That is God's way. By the way, that word, avoid, when he says it is the will of God, that you avoid sexual immorality. Do you understand what the word avoid means? Lemme just make sure you we do. It doesn't mean be discreet. It doesn't mean practice safe sex. It doesn't mean love the one you're with. It means no sex, before marriage, outside of marriage. Sexual purity is God's will for us.
Number two. Sexual purity, is God's work in us. Not just God's word for us. It is God's work in us. See, sexual purity is not just something you live, it's something you learn. It's something you parents ought to be teaching your kids. It's something you grandparents, at the right time can talk about with your grandchildren. It is God's will that you learn how to do it. And God wants to teach you. So, Paul goes on to say this. "That each of you should learn to control your own body, in a way that's holy and honorable". Now watch this. "Not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God".
So, Paul says you're going to give your body over to one of two things. Passionate lust or perfect love. Okay, what's the difference? Big difference. Lust seeks to take what it shouldn't from someone else. Love seeks to give what it should to someone else. Lust is designed what you want for yourself. Love is designed what God wants for the other person. Lust is saying no to sexual purity. Love is saying no to sexual immorality. Now you can mark this and write it in your heart forever. If it's before marriage, or outside of marriage. If sex is before marriage or outside of marriage, God says it's not love. You can call it love. It's not, it's lust. It's not love. It has nothing to do with love. It's all about lust.
And when you engage in lust, God's word is very plain. He says, you know what? When you do that, you're acting just like a pagan. You're acting just like an unbeliever. That's the way God expects unbelievers to act. It's not the way he expects his kids to act. Now I realize there's some of you in this room maybe are listening to me right now. And you are either already engaging in sex out outside of marriage, and you're gonna keep doing it. Or you're not yet, but you still plan on doing it.
Well let me just ask you to keep one verse in mind. It's the next one. And that in this matter, no one should wrong. Remember this word, wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warn you before. See, here's the problem with sexual immorality. When you decide to ditch God's will, and you decide to go the way most of the world is going, if I wanna do it, I'm gonna do. It's none of your business. If it's consensual, If it's pleasurable, it's okay. If that's the way you decide to go, you just hit the trifecta. You just hit the trifecta of sin.
Number one, you just sinned against God, because you just got outside of his will. Number two, you sin against yourself, 'cause you used your body in a way you shouldn't. And it's not even your body. And then number three, you sin against the other person, wrongfully using their body. 'Cause that word for wrong, when he says, don't wrong another person. That word literally means to cross a boundary. To go into forbidden territory. To trespass. In other words, here's a good word for you guys, when you take a girl out on a date. Just imagine she's wearing this on the front of her body. No trespassing. No trespassing. Forbidden fruit. Can't do it. That word for take advantage of, literally means to take more than you deserve.
When my boys were growing up, I taught them a principle over and over and over and over and over. I said, you can't do the wrong thing, if you're not in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. You ever thought about that? You can't. If you're not in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong person, you can't do the wrong thing. So every now and then, you know, maybe you're thinking about being with a member of the opposite sex, and maybe it could be misconstrued, or it could bring temptation. And if that's the situation, you should always ask two questions. Number one, should I be here? Number two, should I go there? Should I be here? Should I go there?
I tell you, it broke my heart, when people began to make fun of Mike Pence, the vice president Pence. Vice president of Pence, said, he followed the Billy Graham rule. Not with a woman alone, if it's not your wife. Now I realize there's some of you, you work in a secular workplace. Maybe you've got to go to lunch with a female or a man. I'm not. I'm not down on it. I get it, I understand. All I'm simply saying is, just for the record, I've always followed Billy Graham rule in my life. I'm just not with a woman alone that's not Theresa. Not her. I don't counsel women alone. I don't go to lunch with women alone. I don't meet women alone. I just don't do that. Why? I wanna avoid even the appearance of evil.
And the National Health and Social Life Council completed their... Listen to this. They completed the most extensive survey of American sex lives ever. This really made me feel good. They found, sexually active singles, that is single people who are sexually active, they're not married, they sleep with whomever they want to. Wherever they want to. whatever they want to. Sexually active singles have the most sex problems, and get the least pleasure out of sex. On the other hand, married couples report the greatest happiness and most satisfaction in their sex lives. As a matter of fact, when you're committed to someone in marriage over a period of years, your sex life actually gets better over time.
So, God wants to work in you, in such a way, that by his power, by his spirit, by his grace, you control your body in a way that's holy and honorable. And lemme tell you why that really pays off benefits. How that pays dividends. You ready for this? You're not even expecting what I'm gonna say. It really pays off, when you go to a high school reunion. 'Cause you don't have to walk into that reunion and see that girl, or see that guy, who's now married to someone. And you know what you did. And you feel ashamed and you feel bad.
See, God knows what he's doing. God says, listen, when you come to the end of your life, I'm trying to minimize two things. Any regret that you would have, and any repentance you have to exercise. And I'm gonna tell you, you know, one of the... Looking back at it now, wasn't real happy about it. But I never had a date in high school. You know Theresa, she's dating machine, right. They're lined up out the door. You know, nothing wrong with that. I mean, she's a virgin. We got married. But my point is, I look back now I realize, you know, God, you protected me. And and there's just something... And look, I'm not trying to brag. Except for the grace of God. It'd be me. But God knows what he's doing.
God says, look, one of these days your life's gonna be over. And I know that fruit tastes real good right now. By the way, do you think Adam and Eve lived the rest of their life wishing they hadn't taken a bite of that apple? So God knows what he's doing. God's word sexual purity is God's will for us. Sexual purity is God's work in us. I want you to save the best for the best. And there's the last thing will be done. Sexual purity is God's word to us. Because here's what you're gonna hear. Listen, your kids are hearing it in school. They're hearing it on the internet. They're watching it on TV. They're seeing it in the movies. They're hearing it in the music they listen to. You don't need a marriage license to fulfill your sexual desires.
You can do it whenever you want to. With whomever is willing wherever you can. And it is nobody's business but theirs. Butt out. Yep, that's what culture says. But this is what scripture says. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being, but God. The very God who gave you his Holy Spirit. So here's the question now. This is where the rubber meets the road. And I'm talking to every one of you. You're single, you're not married. That's probably who I'm talking to right now.
Here's my simple question. Not hard. Who you gonna listen to? What you gonna listen to? You gonna listen to Hollywood? You gonna listen to that rock music star? You gonna listen to that celebrity? You're gonna listen to culture? Or you gonna listen to scripture? Who you gonna listen to? What are you going to listen to? Because here's what the culture will say, if it feels good, do it. If it's consensual, it brings pleasure. It is nobody's business, not even the preachers. That's what the culture will say. God will say, you stay pure. You stay clean. You stay holy.
Now here's the good news for me. Listen to what Paul said. If you following Jesus, and you're listening to me right now. And you're already hot under the collar. And you don't even like what I've already said. And you're not gonna listen to me. Here's the good news for me. It will take me a half a baby after to go to sleep tonight. You know why? You're not rejecting me, You're rejecting him. Paul said, if you reject this, you're rejecting the God that you say, has given you his Holy Spirit. You not rejected me. You rejecting him.
So, to help you make that decision, let me just clarify a couple of things. We'll wrap this up. Satan wants what's worse for you. God wants what's best for you. So you can say, yeah, I've heard all this before. But, I'm gonna do it when I wanna do it, where I wanna do it. With whom I wanna do it. I just wanna give you one last warning. You may get what you want. You will not want what you got. Satan's fruit tastes good at the end. It tastes poisonous at the end. Listen to this. More than 55% of sexually experienced 15 to 19 year olds, wish they had waited to have sex. 12 to 14 year olds, 81% of 12 to 14 year olds that have had sex, 81% wish they had waited to have sex.
And by the way, just for the record, if you're a woman, just another thing to consider. If you decide to go ahead and live with a guy that you're not married to, your chances of divorce just went up 33%. There's a 33% higher divorce rate for people who live with a man, women who live with a man, than those who don't. But let's put all that aside, there's somebody else involved in a lot of these cohabitation situations. How about the kids? How about the children? I think we ought consider them. 'Cause when it comes to the wellbeing of children, a cohabiting union bore closely resembles single motherhood than marriage.
In a 2013 report from the National Marriage Project, scholars found this. Listen to this. Scholars found cohabitation is not the functional equivalent of marriage. It is the largely unrecognized threat to the quality and stability of children's lives today. According to this report, children of cohabiting parents in their twenties, are three times more likely to experience the dissolution of their family than children born to married parents. Lemme tell you what that means. Here's a kid that's born to a man and a woman who are married. And here's a kid who is born to a man and a woman who are not. The odds of that kid growing up in a broken home, is three times greater than that one. Three times, more likely to see his parents split up, and live with either, without a mom or without a dad.
Listen to this. Nearly half of parents, who are cohabiting at the time of their child's birth, nearly half will break up within five years of the birth of that child. Nearly half, will call it quits within five years of the birth of that child. That's compared to only 20% of married parents. So lemme just make this real easy for you to understand. If you decide, I'm gonna live together. If you decide I'm gonna hook up. If you decide I'm gonna do it before marriage. You are less likely to ever marry, and more likely to divorce if you do marry. That's just the facts.
So, I wanna address two groups of people as I close this message. You're a single person. You're listening to me right now, and you have abstained. You've remained pure. And and you know, I just wanna encourage you, do everything with God's help to stay that way. 'Cause you're not only doing what God wants you to do, you doing what's best for you. I've done quite a few weddings. I have never met a couple, that I married, who did not sleep together before they were married, who ever came back and said, I wish we'd slept together before we got married. I met tons of 'em who said, I wished I hadn't. Never met one who said, I wished I had. But let's say you're a single or a married person, and you feel guilty because you messed up. You blew it. Or you blowing it right now.
Lemme just say a word to you. It is not the unpardonable sin. God loves you just as much before you hooked up, as he did after you hooked up. It has nothing to do with his love. His grace and his forgiveness, is as wide and as deep as the biggest ocean in the world. And you could be forgiven right this very moment. You just confess your sin. You repent of your sin. You ask God to forgive you. He will clean you, and he will forgive you. It's just that simple. And by the way, if you're in this situation, I know for some of you may be tough, 'cause I would be shocked if I'm not talking to somebody in this room. For sure somebody's listening. And that's you right now. You're in a cohabiting situation. You can get out of it. You should get out of it.
By God's grace, you will get out of it. And I'm telling you, you'll be happier if you do. And that burden will be lifted off of your shoulders. And I know this message has been tough. I get it. And they're not gonna get any easier. 'Cause next week we're gonna deal with abortion. I mean gay marriage. Next week's we're gonna deal with gay marriage. Next we're gonna deal with abortion. Next we're gonna do with transgenderism. They don't get easier. I understand. I get that. But I agree with what one pastor said, and he said it best.
I'm gonna say this, we'll wrap up. I keep coming back to sexuality, because I think it's the primary test our generation's fidelity to the way of Jesus or the world's ideas and ideologies. I agree with that. It is one of the most common New Testament examples of non-Christian behavior. He's right. Sexuality has always been in the area, where followers of Jesus stand in sharp contrast to the world. Now I realize there was a time, not too long ago, when people would've just said, yeah. I think you're just being a little old fashioned. I think you're being a little bit unrealistic. I wish that was all people are saying today. 'Cause you know what people are saying about what I've said already today.
This is poisonous. This is harmful, This is dangerous. This is judgmental. Because we've gotten this thought in our mind, now, who we sleep with is a right. It is a human right. And who we sleep with is absolutely no body's business, but ours. You might, could get away with that. If there was no God. Unfortunately there is. And I agree with what Sam Alberry said. He put it best. God cares who he sleep with, because he cares deeply about people who are doing their sleeping. Sex was his idea, not ours. Misusing sex, can cause profound hurt and damage. Yes it can. And yes it does. Which is why by the grace and power of God, you should wed before you bed, and you'll be glad that you did.
So, I'm gonna close with this, and say, amen. We've heard this a million times in church. Jesus died for our sins, and he did. He died for our sins. But here's what we miss. When Jesus died, he didn't just die for your soul, he died for your body. As a matter of fact, your body is so important to God. Guess what? One of these days, Jesus is gonna come back. He's not gonna raise your spirit. What's he gonna raise? Somebody tell me. Your body. Why would he raise the body? 'Cause the body's a big deal. God says, I created it. I made it. I don't make junk.
I want everybody to continue to have a body. When you meet Jesus, the scars are in his hand, ladies and gentlemen. The holes are in his feet. When you meet Jesus, the body is a big deal. And so when you got saved, and I got saved, when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, he got the body too. It's his. So what I'm trying to say to you, is this, and you'll hear this in every message. I'm not trying to run your life. I'm not trying to be sexually voyeuristic. I'm not trying to meddle in your affair. What I'm trying to do at all. To what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to tell you, I want what's best for you. And that's what God wants for you. You will regret it, if you ever fall into the pit of sexual immorality, live long enough, you will regret it. But if you refuse to do it, you never ever will.
Would you pray with me? With heads bowed and eyes closed. I wanna talk about something more important, what we even talked about today. And that's not your sex life. It's your life. It's your heart. It's your soul. It's your relationship to God. 'Cause lemme just tell you this. You know what good does it do? Let's just say you're not a believer. You say, you know what, I'm not a believer. But I'm not sexually active, and I'm gonna wait till I get married. Great. What good does that do? At the end of the day, if you die without Jesus. I'm married and I'm never gonna get divorced.
Praise God for that. But at the end of the day, what does it matter if you don't know Jesus? And the key to sexual purity, is not in what you do, or don't do, it's who you know. And I wonder who's watching me right now. I wonder who's in this room right now? And your biggest problem, is not you're living in sexual sin. Your biggest problem is you're a sinner, that needs a savior. That's your biggest problem. All these other things are just symptoms. You need Jesus. And I just wonder who today would say, I'm a sinner, and I need Jesus. I wonder how many of you, right now in this room, would say this to Jesus right now. You've never really said it before.
Lord Jesus, I've never, ever accepted you into my life truly as my Lord and Savior. But I'm going to do it right now. I'm a sinner. I need a savior. You're that savior. You died for me. God raised you from the dead. You're alive right now. I believe it. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Save me, forgive me of all of my sins. I repent and turn away from my sins. And I trust you as my Lord. I receive you as my savior.