What a blessing praise the Lord. Thank you for that brother. Let's take our Bibles this morning Let's turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 Matthew chapter 19 And as you turn to Matthew, you can also, I encourage you to also keep your place in Romans chapter one. We'll look at both passages together as we start out. And this morning, we are continuing our topical series on what is truth. And this morning, I want us to dive into this topic, the truth about homosexuality. the truth about homosexuality. You know, on the surface, I think that as Christians we have a clear-cut answer because the Bible gives us a very clear answer, but yet there is a great need for us to be able to explain that to a culture that's becoming completely biblically illiterate. We have to be able to understand what we believe, and why we believe it. That's my hope to stir us up for the truth this morning, because we have the truth. Do you believe that this morning? It's not because we are so great, because we have a great God who's given us his great word. And so we can live by the truth. And so let's dive into that this morning. And this topic is one that's front and center in American culture. And so we have to have an answer on this. And we want to make sure the Bible guides us and directs us. But we're going to start here in Matthew chapter 19. And verse 4, this is Jesus here, it says, And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And of course the context here is a question about divorce, but Jesus Christ goes all the way back to the beginning to highlight that there's a fundamental principle, a moral law that God has established that marriage is between one man and one woman. Let's go to Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one. And let's look at verse 24. Romans chapter 1. The Bible says in verse 24, wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves who change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the creator, who was blessed forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women to change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which was meat, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Let's stop here and let's pray. Ask God to help us. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that we have your word. Your word is truth. Your word sets us free. Your word guides us and directs us on how to live life, to be blessed. And Lord, it's because you love us that you've given us your word and you've given us your will. We pray as Christians this morning, as we engage in this important topic, help us to know the truth. Lord, may you, by your spirit, teach us and enable us to be able to express that truth and witness to a lost and dying world. We're just praying you would guide me, Lord, that you would fill me, enable me to preach your truth with clarity, with boldness, with wisdom. May you be honored and glorified, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen, amen. All right, so we're diving into this topic. Again, I think that it's one that is front and center in American culture. It's one that is not gonna go away anytime soon. And so we have to be able to give an answer. The answer can't just be, well, I'm uncomfortable with that. Or, you know, that's not the way I was raised. Or, you know, that goes against my opinion, my taste. No, it's much, much more deeper than that. Because all those answers are just, they're just subjective. They can change, right, depending on the person. But if we can say there's a timeless, unchangeable, moral law that guides us in every generation, every society, we can point to that and point others to that. Wouldn't that be far greater in how we explain our positions? And so we have to realize a couple of things. On this issue of gay marriage and homosexuality, we have to realize that we're in the middle of a sexual revolution. What I mean by that is very rapidly, very quickly, our culture is institutionalizing sin in the sense that what someone would say in the past was wrong or immoral now is defended as a constitutional right. And the question then becomes, how can you stand against that? How can we as Christians hold our biblical values and tell the truth when the world's gonna call us prejudice, bigots, and we're going against the Constitution even perhaps? So we have to navigate these waters. We gotta engage the culture, we're not gonna retreat. That's what some Christians say, just keep your mouth shut, be silent, we're not gonna retreat. No, how do we engage our culture, applying our biblical values? I suppose it kind of starts with this question, does this really affect me? I suppose it's the libertarian argument of, well, if two people way out in San Francisco get married, they love each other, why does that have to do with me? That doesn't bother me one bit. That's the argument that some of the gay advocates will say. Why does it concern you Christians so much? Well, there's a couple of reasons we can say this. First of all, We as Christians, we want to live in a moral society. And we realize when immorality is embraced, that's going to destroy the fabric of society. As a Christian, we understand that from the Bible. But then secondly, this argument presupposes a couple of things. The idea that, well, they're just going to get married. It's not going to bother us. They're going to stay in their box. They haven't stayed in their box. The gay issue is they're militant advocates, that this is not an issue of just accept us, now it's we will punish you. This issue has very quickly become one that is permeating our public education system, where now there has to be a rainbow curriculum, even kids as young as kindergarten have to be taught books where there's two mommies and two daddies and it's okay. And now it's all over Hollywood, you can't put on a movie or a TV show, even a quote-unquote clean Disney movie, without some protagonist advocating for this gay lifestyle. They're not staying in their box. But they say, Christians, you keep your views in the four walls of your church. That's not what the gospel tells me to do. That's not what Jesus tells me to do. They're not staying in their box, but Christians have been beat up and pushed back and they think, well, we got to just keep silent. We don't want to offend anybody. And Christians are staying silent. No, this morning, I want to stir our hearts for truth. I'm not saying that we're going to go after people and be nasty at people, but we have to stand where God stands and be valiant for the truth. Because here's the thing, is the truth a blessing or is a curse? Is it a blessing when we promote the biblical family? That's a wonderful blessing for society. So why shouldn't we be bold and saying, this is what's actually going to help people, one man and one woman for life. And so the church cannot duck this question. The church cannot avoid this question because it's one that's in our culture. It's not going away. And the other side to this is that there is an inevitable collision course between the LGBTQ agenda and religious liberty. There's this runaway train that they're going to impact and it's going to come where they're going to say, hey, you're going against the constitution. We've got to take away some of your protections, tax exemption status. We might take away this, take away that. People are already whispering about some of these things. So there's this collision course, and it was revealed back in the Colorado case of the Colorado Baker. And it went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the issue was not that a gay couple wanted to buy a cake and they didn't want to sell them a cake. Of course anyone can go into a store and buy anything, that's right. Anyone can come into our church. If a gay person comes into our church, they should come and sit and listen to the preaching, praise the Lord, hear the gospel. But the issue there was they were requiring that Colorado baker to create a unique cake for their wedding. And that baker was a Christian that went against his conscience. And in like manner, if a gay couple came and attended our service, that's great. But if they asked me to marry them, I'd have to exercise my conscience and say, I can't do that. And so that's the issue here. These things are coming to play here. And so we have to, as Christians, identify what's happening and be able to give an answer. This sin is not a new sin. Homosexuality has been around forever, because sin has been around forever, right? And so the issue here in America is that it's now been institutionalized, where now it's an identity. And so the question then, again, is how do you talk about a truth that, as some people feel, is at the very core of who they are? Very difficult, but we still must do it. I believe in this issue there is a call to some type of action. I believe that it includes a lot of things. It may include political. I think if you look at what's happening, last week I preached on the abortion issue, on the cause for pro-life, and I believe there is a political party that will help that. But on the gay issue, I think it's a tragedy that there really isn't a political answer, no candidates coming out against gay marriage anymore. I think that's terrible, that's sad. Now I look at what's happening, I see the far left really advancing the narrative, especially with transgenderism and all of that. But when's the last time you heard a politician say, I think this is wrong. I believe in the sanctity of marriage, one man, one woman. You go back just a few years ago, both sides were saying that. I mean, you can see speeches given by Democrat candidates, Republican candidates, they all were saying that, but then something dramatically changed. And so, Maybe there might be a move. Some are standing for what we talked about, religious liberty. Some are standing for that and praise the Lord for that. That's noteworthy. But by and large, that's not going to be the solution. Some are pushing for social action. Well, I'm going to protect the education system and protect my children from what they're being educated by or guard what they watch, guard the environment they're in. That's important. That's a good move. I think that's wise. But whatever action you take, you better make sure, as a Christian, there needs to be a spiritual action that's taken too. Because this issue is a sin issue, so there must be a spiritual problem, a spiritual solution, I'm sorry. It's a spiritual problem, so there needs to be a spiritual solution. Psalm 119, verse 136, the Bible says, rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law. As a Christian, we ought to weep. We ought to be grieved that this sin is all over our nation now and fully embraced. I think it ought to start there that we weep. We're grieved when sin and its destructive power is unleashed on our society because we know from the Bible the misery that sin will bring. We're grieved. We ought to pray that God will be merciful. God destroyed entire city and region for this sin, Sodom and Gomorrah. And so what's God gonna do with America? So we grieve, we pray and seek for God's mercy. And then we realize that the Bible is not silent on this issue, and so neither should we. We will not be silent on this issue. By the way, it doesn't matter what religious pope or leader gets up and says, well, now maybe we'll change. Maybe now gay unions are okay. The pope said that recently. We don't go by what man says. We go by what the word of God says. That's where it always starts and ends for us as Christians. So the truth about homosexuality, let's answer a few key points here. First, number one, is there such a thing as free love? That's at the heart of this issue, free love. Why can't two people who love each other be together? Why can't two people who love each other be together? Aren't you Christians for family values? Why do you want to break up families? Why can't two people who love each other, they're not harming anyone, why can't they just be together? Well, a couple of things. First of all, we already live in a society that has moral laws protecting what love is. For example, we have laws against incest. So we already know two people who quote-unquote love each other can't be together in that context. We have laws against pedophilia. We already know that if someone has that desire, we say that it's immoral to act on that desire. We have laws against bestiality. You can go down the line there. So we already say two people who love each other, quote unquote, can't be together. There's a moral way to fulfill that, and there's an immoral way to fulfill that. Society already knows that. And then we have to ask this question, where do we get our morals from anyway? How do we know what's right and wrong? Is it through Twitter and social media? What's trending in Hollywood these days? No, we realize as Christians that we have moral laws that were given to us by a moral law giver. That God is the one that created love and human sexuality, and so he determines how that is to be expressed and experienced. And so morality is not something that we just kind of make up as we go. It's something that needs to be timeless and changeless for every generation. And here's the question I want us to ask the unsaved crowd, the skeptic crowd, the gay crowd, that what is best for society? A set of morals that are always changing every 10 years, or every 10 minutes maybe, or morals that never change, that are timeless, that are a blessing throughout the ages. And as Christians, we have that in the Bible, in the Word of God, timeless principles that have never changed. So this idea of free love, it's really a false idea here. The idea that we're free to do whatever we want to do. No, you're not. You're not free to murder, kill, rape, steal. Freedom is the freedom to do what is right and what is moral. That's what freedom is. And so the Bible describes homosexuality as immoral behavior that goes against God's natural design and order. I want you to go with me to Leviticus chapter 18. Leviticus 18 and verse 22. We have to stand where God and the Bible stand. And the Bible says in Leviticus 18, 22, thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination. We saw in the New Testament, Jesus gave us the fundamental principle of what human love and sexuality is supposed to be like between one man and one woman in marriage. We saw Romans 1, Paul laid it out that this sin is vile affections against the natural order. And here, Leviticus, God calls it abomination. He detests this particular sin. He hates this sin. And so we cannot accept or approve what God himself says he hates and detests. And so here's the rub here. America did not create marriage. Man did not create marriage. God did. The issue here is that God makes the rules. We don't. And so we do things God's way. God has an original design for mankind that's a blessing. He doesn't make these rules to hurt us, he makes these rules to help us, to be a blessing to us. Sadly, sinners have forsaken God's design, whether through heterosexual sins like fornication, adultery, or homosexual sin. And by the way, regarding transgenderism, which is a big part of this, Both the Bible and science reject that idea that you can be more than one gender or gender fluidity or there's dozens of genders out there. Jesus said male and female. Genesis tells us male and female, that's it. And science tells us you either have XX chromosomes or XY chromosomes. You're either male or female. And by the way, you study it out. All of that is determined at the moment of conception. When the egg is fertilized, immediately it's XX or XY. God says male or female. So this idea of transgenderism is not only unbiblical, it's not even scientific or biological. It's a fairy tale is really what it is. And so we have to be able to have this understanding that there's right and there's wrong. And who makes the rules on what's right and wrong? What man has said is, well, we make the rules. Well, the problem with that is that who's to say you're right, who's to say you're wrong, right? Anything can go. There's no reserves there. Anything goes. If you leave God out, there's no exception for what's right and what's wrong, because it's all what we feel like, right? A Muslim terrorist will tell you, I feel like it's right for me to blow myself up. So what's the standard for right and wrong? And as Christians, we understand the standard is God and his word. Timeless, unchangeable principles. And we have to consider that if God doesn't exist, then there's no basis for right and wrong. And isn't it interesting that a lot of the arguments for homosexuality are moral arguments. It's wrong to persecute and go after homosexuals. It's wrong to discriminate against homosexuals. And so they say, who are you to say that this homosexual lifestyle is wrong? And we can say, who are you to say that it is right? Right back at you. And the reality is we can say, I'm not saying it, God is. And I'm just trying to obey God. That's the issue here. We're standing not in our own ideas of morality, but what does God tell us is moral and immoral? Then there's a second point I want us to consider this morning. Are people born this way? Are people born this way? Another key part of this argument. You say, I'm born this way. You say, I have this, Inclination that I was born with, and how do we answer that as Christians? Well, first of all, the Bible is very forthright and clear that this behavior is a sin and goes against God's design. That means God never created man to fulfill this desire. God did not create, that was not his intention in creating male and female, so that's not a part of his design. So then why are people gay? Why do people turn to homosexuality? Well, a couple of things. The gay community is split on this question. I hope you know that. Because the transgender people say, it's not biology. It's what you self-identify as. I could be a man today and tomorrow I feel like I'm a woman. That's OK. And then the born this way people say, no, it's what you're born with. It's how you're born. That's what determines. And so there's fighting even between them. But here's the thing. As Christians, the Bible gives us a very easy answer. We're living in a fallen world. And ever since the fall of man, man has had sinful inclinations. Ever since the fall of men, men have had sinful desires to steal, to lie, to murder, to express sexuality in sinful terms. That's been the case ever since Adam and Eve sinned. The fall of man. So it ought not surprise us. Now here's the thing, we are not meant to act on sinful desires. Just because you have a wicked desire doesn't mean you act on that sinful desire. That's the issue here. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to deliver us from our sinful desires. The gospel tells us that we're sinners in bondage to our sin, but Jesus came and died on the cross and was buried and rose again to free us from sin, to forgive us and pardon us and make us clean. And He gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to triumph over sin. So that when we get saved, we don't go right back to our sin. We're delivered from that sin, amen? We're free from our sin. And so the excuse of, well, this is how I feel, how I'm born with, that's not a valid excuse. Again, we can go to certain places and pedophiles will tell you, that's just an inclination, a desire I have, I can't help myself. So we gotta set the standard here. Sinful desires do not equal a human right. The gospel tells us that when we accept Christ, He forgives us and helps us to overcome and resist sin. I want you to go with me to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6. Again, folks, there's nothing new under the sun. This sin has always been around. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. And in this passage, the Apostle Paul is giving a list of sin that if man embraces and are unrepentant, that sin's gonna lead him to hell. In 1 Corinthians 6 verse 9, he says, Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, Nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. Look at verse 11. And such were some of you. Paul is saying, listen, you believers at Corinth, you used to partake in those sins. You very much were identified, characterized by those sins. Past tense, such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Praise the Lord. Paul is reminding us here that the gospel penetrates all sin. There's no sinner that's too far from God's grasp in salvation. There's no sin too vile that the gospel can't transform, forgive, and deliver someone from. And 1 Corinthians 6 is proof of that. And by the way, you think of Corinth, the city of Corinth was a very, very wicked and moral city. A lot of sexual sins and prostitution and even in religion was intermixed in that city. And that's where a church was, amen? And the gospel was reaching people there in that wicked city. Imagine that. And Paul said, such were some of you. So I don't care about an inclination or what you think you were born with. I'm talking about Jesus Christ can deliver you and save you if you'll trust him, if you'll let him. And that also means as a Christian, I don't write people off as Christians. As a Christian, I don't just completely avoid a whole segment of the population and say they are unsavable, right? Because the gospel can save anyone. Take it from the Apostle Paul and his testimony here. I think it also means as Christians that we have to understand that our culture is deceived, that it's embracing lies, that men aren't men and women aren't women. And that means as families, we ought to teach and raise our children that there are distinctions between the genders. You parents, we parents, we have to fight against this culture. Hey, you boys, you're designed and created to grow up and to be men. And you young girls, you're designed and created to be women. And you're different. And that's a blessing. God made you to be different. The idea that we're made in the image of God, I believe our differences coming together in society reflect God's perfect design. And God wants us to complement one another. Society needs males and needs females that are masculine and feminine, respectively. And we're getting away from that, and that's why we're in the mess we're in. And so you have little Tommy. He grows up, and maybe he's a little boy, and he puts on mommy's shoes to try them out. And then 10 years later, he says, you know, I must be gay, because I put on mommy's shoes 10 years ago. It's like, no, listen, you were just curious, and maybe mommy should have put dad's shoes on you instead, but that doesn't mean you're gay. And people are turning to just so much confusion today. And so we have to be able to give them the truth. That brings me to my third point here, that there needs to be a gospel witness. there needs to be a gospel witness, we have to zero in on the sin issue at its core. That we're going after the sin of homosexuality, and I don't wanna be graphic, but it is a behavior and an act. I know people are using it, this is my identity, this is my community, but first and foremost, it's a behavior and an act. And there is a great distinction between an orientation and the act. just like there could be a distinction between an inclination for someone to be proud or someone to tell a lie and actually act on that temptation. Do you follow me there? And so we have to zero in on the sin here. And here's what I want to just explain to you this morning. The statistics show that 3% of the population says that they're gay. They're part of the gay community. But only about 1% or so are actually, you could say, active or have a partner. And so I think that means that there's a lot of people who may identify as gay, but they're just confused. They're just broken. They're looking for something, and they think this is going to be an avenue to help them. And they don't even know maybe what they're turning to. You know, the other day we heard someone said an eight-year-old can be gay and transgendered. And what does an eight-year-old know about that stuff? What do children know about to make a decision like that? So I believe most of these folks, a large segment of them are people who feel confused, rejected, unloved. And the devil comes along with a tool, and you can find that by being gay. Come out. And isn't that what happens in our society? You come out as gay. I mean, Hollywood celebrates you. A man becomes a woman. The president gives them a call and congratulates them. Can you imagine? Bruce Jenner becomes a woman. He's only a woman for six months. He wins Woman of the Year. You figure that one out. Some of you just got that one. But here's my point here, that there's a confusion here. And so when we zero in on the sin issue, people are broken and confused. We have to ask ourselves a question, does the gospel have an answer for people like this? Does the gospel have an answer for people that want love, that want acceptance, that want community? Absolutely the gospel does. When you come to Jesus Christ, you are accepted in the Beloved, the Bible says. You don't have to work for God's acceptance. You have it because you're in Christ, amen? When you come to Christ, you experience love, true, unprecedented love, unconditional love. Christ never says, I love you today, but I don't know about tomorrow. It's unconditional love when you accept Christ. We have community when we come to Christ. People are looking to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Well, the gospel gives us that we're a part of the church. We're a part of the body of Christ. We're connected to believers down through the ages and all around the world. Christ gives us all of that and more. And we have to be burdened and realize that Jesus Christ died for heterosexuals and homosexuals. and that the solution, the cure for homosexuality is not heterosexuality, it's Jesus Christ. It's the gospel. That's the answer. And so people are looking to belong to somewhere, belong to something, and we can belong to Christ. And so I think it means, as Christians, we need to consider, how can I be a witness? If the gospel really is powerful, can transform lives, how can I be a witness? It means a couple of things. As I go out and speak the truth, I'm gonna encounter two types of people, really. I'm gonna encounter people that are hurting, broken, and they're confused, and they're seeking the truth, and I can present them the truth. And then I can meet people that they have hard hearts. And they don't want to hear what I have to say. I mean, they don't care how nice you are, how friendly you are, how well-dressed you are. They completely reject the message, which means they completely reject Christ. And we have to realize we're not in the hard hearts business. That's the Holy Spirit's job. I pray for them. That's the Holy Spirit's job to change a hard heart. But for the ones that are open and seeking, and I believe there are many that are, we can speak the truth in love. I think we need to understand the opportunity to present Christ in the public square. Do it in a way to persuade people to come to Christ. Someone said, when we talk about these issues, talk about them as if you have a relative right in the middle of it. And for many people, they do. And so how do we respond? Well, first, we got to explain to people that there is a God. There is a God who has expressed his will through the word of God, through the Bible. And that means that we use apologetics, we defend, we give a reason of the hope that's within us, right? We explain to people the Bible is true. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. The Bible tells that God has a plan for us. And we explain to people God's design. And then I believe we can also tell people that there's another side. When you embrace sin, it's not all fun and games. We can explain that even if you leave the Bible aside, that the homosexuality behavior community is self-destructive. Self-destructive. I know Hollywood and gay pride and all the stuff happening puts a happy face on all of this, but there are some serious issues behind the LGBTQ community. In 2017, the CDC reported that where HIV status was known, 45% of gay men were HIV positive. That's terrible. Or almost half of that population is HIV positive. The studies show that they are far more promiscuous. And the number of gay men who experience lifelong monogamous fidelity is almost zero. You know what that means? They're looking for love and they're not even finding it. They have multiple partners throughout their lifetime, can never settle down. That's not a recipe for a family, for society, for a happy life. It's just not. But the world says, isn't it wonderful? Isn't it great? Again, going back to the health concerns, STDs are greatly increased among the homosexual population. Bacterial infections like gonorrhea, syphilis are rampant in this population. They're only about 2% of the population, but yet this very small group accounts for more than 50% of cases of syphilis, studies show. And so think about this, even from a medical perspective, we're talking about the coronavirus and stopping the curve and all of that. And what about sexually transmitted disease and all? This is in our community. So is homosexuality a benefit to individuals and society at large, even from a medical perspective? And then there are tragic statistics about the psychological impact. The American Academy of Pediatrics revealed alarming levels of suicide among transgender youth. More than half of transgender male teens reported attempting suicide in their lifetime, teenagers. 30% of female teens have attempted suicide. Among non-binary youth, they don't know if they're male or female, they're on the spectrum, so to speak, 42% say they attempted suicide at some point in their lives. And the studies show that the gay population, there's 10 times the national average of attempted suicide. That's terrible. That's tragic. Again, that ought to make us weep that people are turning to this thing that's making them want to commit suicide, depressed, anxiety, unhappy, full of disease. That's not a recipe for a good society. That's not a recipe for a blessed life or a happy life. And so again, these are hurting broken people that need healing, that need community, that need love. And Jesus Christ provides all of the above. If people repent and turn to Christ, He gives you all of that and more. And so we can present Christ in such a way that we say, listen, this is what would be a blessing in your life if you just trust in Christ. Now, some people write off those studies, and they say, well, it's because of you Christians, and you guys are bigots, and you hate us, and so you make us miserable. But think about what's been happening the last 20 years. Have Christians been winning this argument, or has the culture been more accepting? So as the culture is more accepting, the trends are still going up with suicide, depression, all of that, disease. So what's happening here? Well, a lot we can say, but I want to leave you with a couple of things. There's good news. The gospel is good news, that Jesus Christ can and is saving people out of this lifestyle. You know, I read some incredible testimonies of people that were delivered from this lifestyle, and still God's still working on this. I read of a man that he grew up in a home where his parents were divorced, and each parent became gay. Father became gay, mom became lesbian. And that caused him to go on a journey to see Christ. And he got saved, and now he's a pastor today. I read of a lesbian woman who was a professor at a prominent university in upstate New York, fully entrenched in the lesbian lifestyle, and again, that seeking, that curiosity for the truth, and God led her on a journey, and she was completely delivered from that and saved. So I tell you that to encourage you, that there's good news. God is working, because the gospel always works. And so I encourage us as Christians that as we explain what we believe, we can do it in a way we explain why we believe it. Speak the truth in love and compassion. We explain that we have an all-wise God who loves us and wants what's best for us. And so what I often say is that I'm not just anti-gay, I'm pro-family by God's design. God knows what the family needs to be and that's what's best for society and I want to follow God's plan. But then there is bad news. That you can be as nice and friendly as you want to be, but at some point the truth is going to offend somebody. At some point your Christian worldview is going to offend people. It's going to offend the culture. The truth always does. And the temptation for Christians is, well, I don't want to offend anybody. I don't want to rock the boat. And so I'll just keep silent. You know, Jesus gave a word to his disciples, and I believe he gives the same word to us. He said in Matthew 10, 16, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, but be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. You see, he's saying you gotta learn how to navigate your culture, understand you're going out in the midst of wolves who are gonna despise you and hate your message, You can be harmless as a dove, but may you also be wise as a serpent too. And so as a Christian, we got to realize this issue is very important and we can't stay in our box and stay silent. It's all over the culture. And so what's the answer? It's the gospel. We have to get right to the gospel and show people that Jesus Christ is the answer to meet all of our broken needs and desires. So as Christians, may we be stirred for the truth. and not remain silent. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that you give us your word, you express your will to us. Lord, we're thankful that you, in your perfect design, established the family. And Lord, I believe there's an attack on our families today. So we pray a special prayer that you would protect our families, guard us against these various tools of the enemy to take away from the Christian home through homosexuality, fornication, adultery, divorce, all types of wicked sins in our culture today. Lord, I pray that you would preserve morality, righteousness. And Lord, that means we have to take a stand for the truth. So we pray today for boldness. Lord, help us wherever you plant us to speak the truth in love and stand where you stand. Lord, I pray that we would embrace the gospel and embrace the effect that it can have on sinners. And we would be bold and sharing the gospel, even with people with whom we disagree. Lord, give us the compassion that we need and the boldness that we need. Lord, we also pray that you be merciful to our nation. Lord, we're grieved today that this sin is rampant all over our nation. And we think of where things are headed in the future generations. Lord, we grieve over that. And how much are you grieved? But we pray you would be merciful. We pray you'd send a revival, Lord. Though we don't deserve it, Lord, send a revival and turn the tide. We pray that we would see truth and righteousness exalted in our land. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed this morning, maybe You're here this morning and you need to understand the power of the gospel in your life. Whatever sin issue you may have, the gospel can deliver you. Jesus will save you, forgive you and cleanse you. You can have eternal life. The gospel is clear. Jesus Christ died on the cross. We're sinners. He's a savior who took our place. And if you trust in him, he'll forgive you and save you. I wonder if there's anyone here that would say, pastor, please pray for me. I need salvation. I need to trust Christ today. That's my need. Would you slip your hand up? I'll pray for you. So I need to be saved. Okay. We pray for our nation and pray that God would give us opportunities to stand for truth and righteousness. Pray that God would enable us to continue being a witness, to not be silent, but to speak the truth in love. Father, we pray that you would continue to encourage us and challenge us with these thoughts. Build us up in our faith.