I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 11. After a few months, we are finally going to spend our time in Daniel 11. And I'll read verses 36 through 37, though our focus today will be upon verse 37. Daniel 11, verses 36 through 37. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all. Marriage is not a blessing that is reserved for one class of people, but forbidden to another or any other class of people. Marriage is a blessed estate for all classes of people. That is made very clear in Hebrews chapter 13, verse four. Marriage is honorable in all. And the bed, that is marital intimacy, undefiled. But whoremongers, that is fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. See, God instituted marriage, not governments, not churches, not culture. God did for the good of mankind to be a help to both the husband and wife in bringing this world under the rule of God, beginning with our own families. bringing this world under the rule of God and to populate this earth and for Christians to bring forth the holy seed to be raised in a Christian family and within the church of Jesus Christ. It should therefore be of great interest to us that one of the identifying marks of this king that's revealed in Daniel 11 verses 36 and following is that he will not have regard for the desire of women in verse 37. And as we shall see, This is a very, very particular way that further confirms that the papacy is the king that is referred to here in Daniel 11, 37. As we consider what is prophesied concerning the papal king in Daniel 11, verses 36, 37 and following. But particularly in verse 37, there are three characteristics concerning this papal king that stand out. And those three will be our main points in the sermon today. First of all, the first characteristic that stands out by which we can mark this king is his apostasy. his apostasy. He shall not regard the God of his fathers. And I'm just gonna switch the order of the second and third point. In the verse, his self-exaltation is the third point that is made in the verse, but I'm going to use that as my second main point, and then go to the, finally, the last main point, his celibacy. his celibacy. So let us consider these three points. First of all, his apostasy. Again, he shall not regard the God of his fathers. Just by way of review, since it has been a number of weeks since we have been going through Daniel 11, we noted in a previous sermon that Daniel 11, 36 begins with the description of the King, when it says, and the King again, with the article in front of it, the, not just a King, throughout the chapter, we hear about a King of the North, a King of the South. And even we see the King that's referred to here, distinguished in verse 40, from the King of the North and from the King of the South. So this is again, a transition to a King, the King. in a very particular way. The previous verses had spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes, you'll remember, who is referred to in Daniel 8 as the little horn, a power, one who is a ruler and has power but starts as little but becomes great and great and becomes a persecutor against God's people. And we saw that in Daniel 11. But we also saw earlier in Daniel that there was another little horn. That first little horn that we spoke of in Tychus Epiphanes comes out of the Greek empire, whereas this other little horn comes out of the Roman empire. And that little horn in Daniel chapter seven is the papal antichrist, as we have already noted quite a long time back as we went through Daniel chapter 7. So here we have both little horns kind of side by side. Antiochus in Daniel chapter 11 and up to verse 35 spoken of, then in verse 36, we find the other little horn that is brought before our attention, the one that comes from Rome, which is again, the papal antichrist. Here it says in verse 36, once again, by way of review, and the king shall do according to his will. And we dealt with this, but just to remind you that the Pope does declare himself to be a monarch, does declare himself to be the king, not simply an ecclesiastical king, but also a civil king who rules over the Vatican. and also claims as an ecclesiastical king to rule over the universal church of Jesus Christ. In fact, the papacy claims that it has two swords, two swords, one to rule over the kings of the earth and the other sword to rule over the church throughout the world. Moreover, according to Daniel 11.36, we see that the papal king does according to his will. That is, he does so by way of his claim to infallibility. His will is supreme. His will is infallible when he declares from his throne in matters of faith and morals. We also see in Daniel 11.36 that this papal king exalts and magnifies himself above all earthly gods, and we've noted that that term gods in Psalm 82 refers not only to religious gods but refers also to civil rulers as gods. And so again this papal king exalts and magnifies himself over all earthly rulers, religious rulers, false gods and speaks We read in Daniel 11, 36, speaks marvelous things. That is high and mighty things against the God of gods. How does he do so? By usurping the office and the authority of Jesus Christ. By removing Christ from his throne. here over his church here upon the earth by taking the crown off of the head of Jesus Christ over the church here upon the earth and placing it upon his own head and sitting within the church of Christ and ruling in that way. And this rule of this papal king, we are told in verse 36, will continue until God's indignation is ended. That is, when his indignation is ended against the covenanted nation of Israel that rebelled against Jesus Christ and will be brought to bow the knee to Jesus Christ, as will all nations at the time of his millennial glory. So now we begin, just since we hadn't been in Daniel for some time, I just wanted to give a very brief summary and review of where we had been. But now let's look at verse 37, and let's look to our first main point that we find there. Neither shall I regard the God of his fathers, and this speaks of his apostasy. You see this king here will depart from the pure gospel and true religion revealed by God to the apostolic fathers. And that apostolic instruction and teaching was codified, infallibly codified in the scripture. but he will depart from that. You see, this departure, that he will have no regard for the God of his fathers, this departure is an apostasy. This is a falling away that was prophesied to come by Paul. And again, we've looked at these passages in the past, so I'm not going to spend really any time on them, but I want to read them for you just to remind you that Paul spoke of an apostasy, a falling away from within the church. In 2 Thessalonians 2, verses three through four, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, that is the day of Christ's second coming, that day shall not come except there come a falling away, that is a religious apostasy first. And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. He sitteth in the temple of God, the church of God. That word temple is used many, many times in the New Testament for God's church. The temple in the Old Testament was a building which pointed to the church of Jesus Christ in the new covenant. So Paul speaks of this falling away and out of this falling away, this apostasy will arise this man of sin, the son of perdition, who will take his place and sit upon his throne in the church of Jesus Christ. Again, we point and have pointed out that that is realized in the papacy. First Timothy 4.1 is another passage which speaks likewise of this falling away. Verses one through three, actually. First Timothy 4.1 through three. Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart, that is apostatize. from the faith. This is a falling away religiously from the faith of our apostolic forefathers, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. That's pretty strong. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Now, what is one of those doctrines of devils? that is specifically mentioned by Paul here. The very first one he says is, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hotter iron, forbidding to marry, forbidding to marry. In this apostasy, in this falling away from the God of their fathers, their apostolic fathers, one of the doctrines of demons, not a doctrine that they receive from God, but a doctrine that has come to them from the devil himself is to forbid marriage. To forbid marriage as we'll see is done by the papacy in the Church of Rome to its priests and its nuns. as well as to deacons within the Church of Rome. And so this papal king may indeed profess to know God, but by his works he denies God, as Titus 1.16 says. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. Now I'm not going to spend, since we've already spent quite a bit of time in past sermons on this particular point and 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 3-4, I'm not going to spend any more time on that except to note that this characteristic, this mark that we read about in verse 37, neither shall I regard the God of his fathers is indeed realized as well by the papacy. As I said, we're going to jump down in verse 37 to the last mark, which is that he will not regard any God for he shall magnify himself above all. So this point is self-exaltation. He'll not regard any God for he shall magnify himself above all. This characteristic of the papal king that's mentioned here, Daniel 11 verses 36 through 37, is actually a repetition of what the angel revealed to Daniel concerning this king in just the previous verse. In the previous verse, in verse 36, he said concerning this king, he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God. And in verse 37, he says, that he'll not regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all. So this is really a repetition of something he had already said in verse 36. And we ask, why does God repeat that? Did God forget that he had already said that this king would exalt himself? No, repetition is needed. Repetition is good for us. Repetition is like taking a highlighter and saying, this is important. I don't want you to forget this. And so we are prone to forget as human beings, but God reminds us and he reminds us, patiently reminds us. And he reminds us of this truth concerning this papal king, that he's going to exalt himself above every God. earthly gods, rulers, religious rulers, he'll exalt himself above all. So this is a claim of superiority over all civil rulers and religious rulers. This is the claim, as we've just read in 2 Thessalonians 2.4, of the man of sin and the son of perdition. who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Pope Gregory VII asserts in the Dictatus Popei in 1075 that no one can judge the Pope. No one can judge the Pope in Proposition 19. He's supreme overall, in other words. Pope Boniface VIII declared in Unum Sanctum in 1302 that, quote, it is entirely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff. All people, all rulers be subject for salvation to the Roman pontiff. If that's not speaking high and mighty things, if that's not exalting oneself, I'm not sure what would be. Pope Leo XIII wrote in his, The Reunion of Christendom in 1885, that the Pope holds, quote, upon this earth the place of God Almighty, end of quote. That is claiming absolute supremacy upon earth. And these blasphemous statements I remind you have never been retracted, repented of, forsaken. And this is another mark that the papacy is the king revealed in Daniel 11.37, his self-exaltation. And the third main point, third main point is his celibacy, which is where I want to spend the remainder of my time. He shall not regard the desire of women. we are told. I wanted to end on this identifying mark of this king because this is, I believe, an unmistakable mark of the papacy and of its priesthood. What is What is the desire of women that the king shall not regard? What is the desire of women? What does that refer to, the desire of women? Well, universally throughout the ages, there has been generally written, I believe by God, into the very structure and nature of women, the desire to be married and to have children. Women are created with a natural desire to nurture children. That's the way God made women. The very design of their body demonstrates this in conception, in pregnancy, and in birth, and in nursing their children. Men can do none of these things. Granted, our culture, Transsexual culture is seeking to erase that God-given design and desire in women, but it yet remains within women, even when a culture, a wicked and sinful culture, seeks to suppress that truth in unrighteousness. When Laban, who is Rebecca's brother, and when Rebecca's mother sent her off with Abraham's servant to marry Isaac. The blessing that Laban and Rebecca's mother spoke to Rebecca is given to us in Genesis 24, 60, which I believe again shows and demonstrates that this is the way God has made women. And they, that is Rebecca's brother Laban and her mother, blessed Rebecca and said unto her, thou art our sister, be thou mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. Bring forth a lot of children to God's glory. Psalm 128.3, and these are just very representative of many, many other passages that we could share. Psalm 123, again, the blessing of a wife and her being a fruitful vine. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children like olive plants round about thy table. That's the blessing. In fact, for nearly all of history, probably until just the last 50 years or around that number of years, for nearly all of history, it has been viewed as a blessing to be married and to bear children. And it has, to the contrary, been a great burden for women to be barren and unable to conceive and unable to bear children. That was not considered to be a blessing because God has instituted marriage to bring forth children from that marriage. And again, there are those times and we find even in the Old Testament that various women were barren. And God has his reason and his purpose in those particular cases. But generally speaking, God has instituted marriage as being that desire that women have to be joined and married and to bear children. You remember Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, 11. And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but will give unto thine handmaid a man child, remember she was barren, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. She took a Nazirite vow on behalf of Samuel. But again, the blessedness, that's the desire that God has put within women. And it's contrary to nature. When a society is speaking against marriage and the family and children, and in fact is murdering their children. It's contrary to nature. It's contrary to what God has established. But it is the desire of women that the king here will disregard and which the papal king, I submit to you, has likewise disregarded in forbidding priests and nuns to marry. The desire of women. This king will forbid, will disregard that desire of marriage and of having children to a class of people, namely priests and nuns. What does the New Testament say about this? Well, as we already noted, Paul speaks of an apostasy, a falling away from the faith, from the apostolic gospel and truth revealed by Jesus Christ, falling into lies that originate not with God, but originate with the devil, Paul says. And one of the doctrines of demons, which we already noted, that's promoted in this great apostasy is forbidding to marry. in 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 through 3. Is it just a coincidence that the papacy, the Church of Rome, have fallen away from the pure gospel of Christ and his truth and teach lies through the whole world, and that one of those lies is to forbid marriage to priests and to nuns? And to the contrary, to require a vow of celibacy never to marry. A vow never to marry. A vow that they make before God, which is an unlawful vow. That's not a lawful vow. We'll talk about, again, a gift. that God gives to some to remain single, but that's not the same as taking a vow to celibacy. God does not tell us in advance what he has with regard to our life. We may think we're very content right now to be single. That may be the case, and The Lord, again, however, can bring into one's life later on one that one did not anticipate. Therefore, one ought not to vow that which one cannot foresee what God is going to do with regard to something that is good, something that is lawful, something that is a blessing like marriage. Our confession of faith actually points that out, that that is sinful and wicked to take vows of celibacy. I submit that this is, again, from the New Testament, a most important clue to understanding who this king is that's revealed in Daniel 11, 36 through 37. What does history reveal about Rome's vows of celibacy? Early councils that forbade marriage to clerics and to nuns, and even required those who are already married to abstain from sexual contact with their wives appear in Rome. the fourth century. In the Senate of Elvira in 305, Canon 33, we read, it is decided that marriage be altogether prohibited to bishops, priests, and deacons, or to all clerics placed in the ministry, that they keep away from their wives and not beget children. So if they're married, stay away from your wife. And as well, don't beget children. Whoever does this shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical office. So he'll be removed from office if he doesn't follow that. And the Council of Carthage, 390, Canon Three, We read it places all that bishop, priest, deacon, guardians of purity abstain from conjugal intercourse with their wives so that those who serve at the altar may keep a perfect chastity as if it's unchaste to have marital intimacy. That's according to that particular decree, that's unchastity. To have conjugal relations, marital intimacy, if you are a priest, a bishop, if you are a cleric. Pope Siricius in 385 falsely claimed that celibacy and abstinence from marital intimacy was an apostolic practice that must be followed by the ministers of the church. Apostolic practice, we'll look at that in a moment, but where do we see that taught in the New Testament? The apostles said that either forbade ministers to marry, or if they were married, to refrain from marital intimacy. and not to have children. Pope Leo I wrote to Bishop Rusticus in 458, the law of continence, that is refraining from sexual activity, is the same for the ministers of the altar, for the bishops, and for the priests. When they were still lay people or lectors, they could freely take a wife and beget children. But once they have reached the ranks mentioned above, What had been permitted is no longer so. Interestingly, in the earliest years of the church, the clergy were not only in the New Testament times, but post-apostolic times. The clergy were usually married. And even the Church of Rome acknowledges this. found an article written by a Bishop in the Catholic Church, who is basically articulating and giving the historical and theological reasons for celibacy. And he says this, it is clear from the New Testament, and he mentioned several passages in the New Testament, that at least the Apostle Peter had been married. interesting, the first pope, had been married, and that bishops, presbyters, and deacons of the primitive church were often family men. It is also clear from epigraphy, the testimony of the fathers, synodal legislation, papal decretals, and other sources that in the following centuries, a married clergy in greater or lesser numbers was a normal feature of the life of the church. Even married popes are known to us. And it gives us an example, Pope Hormizodus, who is the father to Pope Severius. And so again, we see that even Roman Catholic scholars acknowledge that this was not the practice to forbid marriage, whether in the Old Testament, the New Testament, or in the early centuries of the church. Was there biblical evidence for marriage among priests of the Old Testament and ministers in the New Testament? Again, I can only mention very, very few in order to keep this within a sermon, one sermon. But in Leviticus 21, 13, notice there is no celibacy here that is required for priests. And this is even speaking of the high priest. And it says, and he shall take a wife in her virginity. He's to take a wife. but in her virginity, not forbidden. And certainly not once having been married to abstain from all marital intimacy, nothing stated to that effect at all. When we come to the New Testament, we've read Hebrews 13, four, that marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled. The apostles, as this Roman Catholic scholar has already noted, the apostles were married, even Peter in 1 Corinthians 9, 5. Apostle Paul says, have we, that is Paul and Barnabas, have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles and as the brethren of the Lord and Cephas? Don't we have the authority? Don't we have the right to have a wife? They voluntarily chose not to do so, not because they were required or forbidden from doing so, And that's perfectly okay if one, again, voluntarily chooses not to marry because they believe God has called them to some particular calling that would be needful to be free of certain of those responsibilities in order to dedicate and devote oneself entirely to that particular calling. but not required to do so. First Timothy chapter three verses two and four speaks of the husband of one wife as being a qualification for a bishop. And likewise in Titus, the same qualification for an elder, same qualification for a deacon, a husband of one wife. And it speaks of the minister being one who rules over his house, his children well. Qualifications doesn't mean that again, if one is not married, that one cannot be a bishop, meaning a pastor, an elder, but it's just saying that that I believe is the norm that one would have a family and that being so that that man is to be devoted to his wife. not flirting with the other women in the church, not being one who arouses various suspicions about his fidelity to his wife. Those are, again, qualifications for one who becomes an elder if he is married. So why is the papacy the Church of Rome, forbidden priests and nuns to marry, we might ask. Well, it is claimed that the unmarried state and the abstinent, the sexually abstinent state, even if one is married, as a cleric, are a more holy estate. that allows one to be free from distractions and earthly pleasures like wives and children so that one can entirely focus on the kingdom of Christ. And again, I said, there is a gift that God gives to certain men to be single, but not required of them. to be single, not required. As a married man and who is a minister, I hardly consider my wife or my children or my grandchildren to be distractions, but to be the means that God has provided to promote his kingdom. You see, where this idea that it's a more holy estate to be single, to be celibate, never to have been married, or after marriage, to refrain from marital relations, where that developed was very gradually. developed within the faithful church. It developed within Gnosticism. It was another false teaching that was being spread throughout Christendom at that time. A mixture of Greek philosophy with Christianity, a syncretistic mixture Wherein, according to Gnosticism, the flesh is evil, the spirit is good. So that again, to be involved in marital intimacy was evil, according to Gnostics. And therefore, forbidding marriage. And that it was a much more holy estate therefore to be free. Now how they perpetuated, how you could grow, I guess you only could add by way of converts, because you certainly, if that was your view, you'd die out within a generation or two because there'd be no children coming from those relationships. The Council of Trent in 1563 The Council, again, was the Counter-Reformation Council, Roman Catholic Council, in 1563 in Canon 10, under the title of Doctrine on the Sacrament of Matrimony. It says, if one saith, that the marriage state is to be placed above the state of virginity or of celibacy and that it is not better and more blessed to remain in virginity or in celibacy than to be united in matrimony, let him be anathema, let him be cursed, let him be damned. You see, appeal is made to Jesus by, you know, Jesus was never married. And appeal is made to Jesus. Well, again, Jesus, I think, is an example to us in many ways. However, not in his celibacy. Jesus is absolutely unique. in that he is unique in his incarnation. We can't imitate that. He's absolutely unique in his substitutionary death. We can't imitate that. He's absolutely unique in his sinless human nature. We can't imitate that. And he's unique in his celibacy. How could, again, Jesus, having a sinless nature, think, you know, again, it's only hypothetical, but would he have, again, sinless children? He pass on that sinless nature to his children? But again, my point simply is we don't imitate Jesus in every single respect because he's absolutely unique. And it is claimed by the church room that those who are ordained are married to Christ. And that's a better marriage than being married to a fellow, a man or a woman. But I would counter by saying the Bible doesn't teach that ministers are uniquely united to Christ, that they are uniquely married to Christ. It actually teaches that all who by faith come to Jesus Christ are united to Christ by way of spiritual union and marriage, that he is our heavenly husband over the whole church, not just for ministers, not just for nuns, not just for priests, not just for popes. Jesus says, indeed that there are those who have made themselves eunuchs, for the sake of God's kingdom. In Matthew 19, 12, Jesus says, for there are some eunuchs, that is those who cannot have sexual relationships, there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb Physically, they are just unable, disabled from doing so. There are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men. In other words, men have castrated them. And so there are some eunuchs, made eunuchs of men. And then it says, and there be eunuchs, Jesus says, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. They, again, have voluntarily recognize they have the gift of singleness and celibacy in order to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to devote all of their time to service in a particular way, but that's voluntary. They have made themselves. It's not because they were required to do so, Jesus says. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, 7, for I would that all men were even as myself. He's talking about himself being single. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that. Paul recognizes and he speaks with regard to troubles that are on the horizon, that are coming, that he foresees. And he says in 1 Corinthians 7 that he's seeking to help those who are facing this great trial and tribulation that is coming upon the church to avoid a lot of pain. Because we suffer, I believe, more pain when we see our loved ones suffering than we even suffer ourselves when we are suffering. When we see our children, when we see our wives suffering, that is, again, a greater degree of suffering, I believe, than anything that we, as men and as husbands, as fathers, will suffer. And Paul says, this is coming. And for this present time, he says, that he would, that those in Corinth would be like him for this present time. Not perpetually, not forever. But the one thing that we need to understand is that Paul does not forbid marriage to anyone. He says, but if you marry or if you give Your virgin child in marriage you have not sent. There's no command not to marry, as we find is done by the papacy within the Church of Rome. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 7, 29, And again, I'm just going through some of these points with you as we draw to a close. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, 29 that those who have wives are to be as though they had no wife. And in saying that, he's not talking about forsaking the duty of marital intimacy to one's wife. because he's already said earlier in 1 Corinthians 7 verses three through five that it is a duty and responsibility that a husband and wife owe to one another by way of marital intimacy. That's not to be denied. The exception he gives is for a time, a season of prayer and fasting, but the ordinary is to, if one is married, is to engage in marital intimacy. And so that, again, is not what Paul is saying. If you're married, don't have marital intimacy. He's saying, again, that we're not to allow We're not to allow our attachment to our wife or to our husband to be greater than our attachment to Jesus Christ and our love for him. That's what he's saying when he says those who have wives are to be as though they had no wife. Basically, we're to put Jesus first, even above our wives, even above our children. Wives are to put Jesus first above their husbands, above their children. Jesus comes first. That's what Paul is saying. And so as Paul states in 1 Timothy 4.2, to forbid marriage is a doctrine that comes from the devil and is promoted by the son of perdition in the great apostasy and that is what this king does that is prophesied to come in Daniel 11, verses 36 through 37. He does not regard the desire of women. Okay, let's have just a brief time of application. My heart really goes out to the young people, the young adults in our church. And I want to basically, in my application, address you in particular. I want you to know, again, how much I love you and care for you as your pastor. What should you who are single do if you do not have the gift of celibacy to remain single? What should you do if you desire to marry but there doesn't appear to be anything happening presently or as far as you can see even in the near future? What should you do? Let me give you just a few suggestions. First, don't let your desire to marry become a stronger desire than your love for Jesus Christ. your desire to commune with Jesus Christ and to grow in Jesus Christ, to become mature in Jesus Christ. And if you're a man, to become a leader in standing for your convictions right now, before you are married, to learn, to learn, the kind of leader God calls you to be by becoming that within your own household, by way of young men and young women being very quick to submit to their parents. even if you're living outside of your parents' home, to learn that there is a godly honor that you owe to your parents, especially when it comes to male-female relationships. That's the way God has ordained it. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says that it is given to the father to basically dispose of, to give his daughter in marriage or his son in marriage. That's his responsibility. It doesn't mean that he arranges a marriage without the consent of his son or his daughter, but it means that he is working and both parents are working to seek to be there to help, not to hinder, to help their children prepare for marriage. But you can begin preparing while you're yet in the home, young women, learning how to take care of a family while you are yet in the home, taking care of your brothers and sisters, learning to cook. Household responsibilities. There's so many things you can do to occupy yourself even now. being more focused upon becoming the man or woman of God that you ought to be than looking for a man or woman of God. More focused on yourself, becoming rather than looking. Because if we're becoming, God will in his time, I believe, bring the one for us. So don't consider your time of being single to be wasted time. Use it, learn, grow, mature. Pray, draw near to Christ. This is a time that you can use very, very profitably. if you will. Another point is simply to control your sexual desires. Control your sexual desires beginning in your thoughts. How do you do that? Well, you certainly don't control your thoughts by sitting in front of your computer and watching pornography. by watching various very suggestive type of sites, websites. You don't do so by flirtation with those of the opposite gender and sex. You don't do so by eyeing over, going up and down a young woman or a young man. that is only going to invite temptation. If you thought temptation was difficult, you're adding gas to the fire by doing so. You see, David in Psalm 101, verse three, says that he will not set any wicked thing before his eyes. And when we, again, set these things before our eyes and we go into situations where we're going to be tempted Now, I understand sometimes we can't avoid situations because it has to do with work. Obviously, if it's putting us in very immoral situations, we may have to say, I can't do this, obviously. but we're not voluntarily going into situations that are going to be tempting. We, again, abstain from, again, all appearances of evil. We flee, as Paul says, youthful lusts, not run to them. We can't put ourselves in those situations and then cry out, Lord, save me and rescue me. We pray that prayer before we put ourselves into those situations. Because that's when we need God's strength and God's power. And another point is this. You're not under the dominion of those thoughts. You're not under the dominion of those lustful desires. You're not under the dominion of those temptations. Because Jesus Christ has rescued you. If you have trusted Him, if you believe in Him, if you have committed your ways unto the Lord and accepted Him as Lord and Savior of your life, that resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead abides in you. You have the power by God's grace to say no, no to that temptation. I'm not going to go down that path. If I need to walk away from a situation, if I need to get up from a chair to get away, if I need to go and talk to a counselor, a minister, I mean, to one who's going to help me and encourage me to avoid those temptations, that's the approach to take. To pray, to spend time in God's word. That's how we, again, do so, because the world says to look, look but don't touch, that that's okay, to look. But that's not what Jesus says. Jesus says if we look upon a woman to lust after her, we have committed adultery in our hearts. So we can't either look by way of lustful looks, nor can we handle or touch. Both are wrong, both are contrary to the eighth commandment of God. Don't think, just a couple more, don't think that your struggles, young people, young adults, don't think that your struggles with the lust of the flesh will end simply because you get married. How many married men and women dell into all manner of sexual immorality. Marriage didn't prevent them from doing so. Indeed, indeed, marriage is instituted to be an aid, God says, to help us to avoid fornication, sexual immorality. But it's not the answer. The answer is Jesus Christ. The answer is his power working in us, which is ours in Christ. The answer comes in Christ training our minds, training our eyes and our bodies to flee temptation, to flee to him. And one last point before we close. Dear young people and young adults, Don't make physical attraction that which is most important in looking for a future spouse. Proverbs 31.30 says, favor that is outward charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised. So often, even within the church, what is most important to young people, young adults, is physical attraction. I dare say that ought not to be the case. There's nothing wrong with being physically attracted. I'm not saying that that's a sin in itself to be physically attracted. But if that's what's most important to you, I believe you have your priorities mismanaged. Because God says, the fear of the Lord is what's most important. that one fears God, takes God seriously. And so may the Lord keep you young people and young adults from making physical attraction to be so important that you would rather choose to remain single all of your life if your particular standard and measure of physical beauty is not met. Physical beauty, dear ones, will pass away. It will pass away. And I dare say physical beauty will not keep one happy and united in marriage either. But inward spiritual beauty and agreement in God's truth will last forever and will bind Your hearts together till death do you part.