I'd like to invite you to take your Bibles with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter seven. 1 Corinthians chapter seven this morning. How many of you like to hike? There's different ideas that come to mind when you use a word like hike. You know, for some of you, maybe, perhaps, the trip from your car to the butter section of Meijer through the self-checkout and back to your car again. Boy, that's a hike. Others of you use that term hike and you include terminology such as like miles and altitude. Whoa! I like something in the middle. Our family has enjoyed through the years going to Lancaster County, going down to Hocking Hills. the Hocking Hills region. We love it. It was great when our kids were young, and it was still challenging as they became teens. And we really have enjoyed our trips taking hikes in Hocking Hills. You know, it's not the Appalachian Trail. And it's not a local metro park either. It's like, it's in between the two. There's crevices, there's waterfalls, depending on the season. There are actual hills. It is Hocking Hills. I know it's, some of you have grown up in the West and, you know, you'd be like, ha, hills, nothing, you know. But they're in Ohio. And there are hills. There's been a number of times as we have gone on those hikes, somebody, okay, it was me, got lost. And the signs, when they say, you know, three miles, it sure seems like it's a lot longer than three miles. And there's one particular stretch that more than one time we thought, we are lost. Because we came to this portion where it's easily washed out. And it's, it's just a mile of mud. And somebody at some point, decided to build a boardwalk over how many of you ever know I'm talking about, you've ever been there, Hiking Hills hiking, and you've done that some of you, and they've got this this stretch of about a mile or so of boardwalk that takes you over, over the mud. It's wonderful, right? You can see the mud. It's like right there, right? And you can smell the muck. But you're not in it. You're above it. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter seven is going to help us traverse the muck through a boardwalk of Bible truth. In other words, there's gonna be lessons we learn from his instructions that he gives here in 1 Corinthians that are gonna help you and I make it through the muck of this world on the boardwalk of God's truth. And so, understand as we look at this passage, the Apostle Paul actually is beginning in this part of the letter, he's getting to a question and answer time. He's going to take some questions from the Christians there at Corinth, and he wants to help them understand how to live in this world and how to rise above the muck, how to live above the mud. And so, this Bible boardwalk is something that applied to the church back then, 2,000 years ago, and it certainly applies to us today. Do you believe that God guides Christians today? Do you believe He guides churches today? Do you think He still does that after all these years? Does He speak to us from an ancient text about contemporary topics such as sexuality, gender, marriage? Does God talk to us today about those things? I mean, these are confusing days, right? We have a lot of challenges. Would it be appropriate for Christians today to set scripture aside, peel the layers of our complex culture back, and then follow the guidance of the foremost experts of our day? Would that be appropriate? Oh, no, all right? Raise your fist like, no, no, we cannot do that. Of course not. But that's what every mainline Christian denomination has done in the last 20 years. They've all done it. That's what many progressive evangelicals are doing today. They've set the Bible aside and said, it obviously does not apply to this current situation. But the Apostle Paul, some 2,000 years ago, writes this letter to a church at Corinth, a community very much like where we are living today in a moral, sexualized culture. And he takes questions from the crowd, he answers them, and in so doing it, as he wrote this letter, it was presented to the church as a whole. Now, they didn't meet in a building like us, they met in individual house churches. Some estimate up to 1,000 different house churches met of the Church of Corinth, but this letter would be read to all of them. They didn't say, OK, all the men in this room and all the ladies in this room and and all the children here and all the teenagers here and and all the adults. They didn't do that. He addresses. The topic of sexuality from God's perspective to the entire congregation. And so this morning, as we look to this. Honestly, challenging passage. We have God's clear answer of how to rise above the muck, how to follow a boardwalk of Bible truth in a very difficult day. I'm gonna read verses one through 17 of 1 Corinthians 7. Be patient with me, I'll make some explanations along the way. He says, now concerning things whereof ye wrote. Okay, so this is the question and answer. Paul's gonna turn the subject. Now, in a way, it continues on from what he said in chapter six. We'll get to that in a minute. He says, concerning these things that you wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. And he's speaking of sexuality, speaking of sexual intercourse. And it was, the pendulum had swung. Because the culture was so immoral, so sexualized, there were those who suggested maybe that people shouldn't even get married, that people should be single for life, or even if they were married, maybe they should abstain from sexual activity. So that was a question, right? Sometimes we as Christians, we see what culture does, and we let the pendulum swing, and we come to some sometimes drastic conclusions also. The reality is we have to look to God for answers. And it was right for this church, right? The church sometimes had some problems. They had some contentions in the church. They had some pride and selfishness. But it was right for them to appeal to somebody who's gonna help them understand what God would have to say about living in a wicked culture in a way that pleases God. So they're asking this question. Verse two, he says, nevertheless, to avoid fornication, Let every man have his own wife and every woman have her own husband. He says, I want to give you an answer here in. God has provided for you the ability to marry and you're going to protect yourself from sexual temptations by doing what comes normal and natural amongst many people for a man to take a wife, a wife to take a man and to be covenanted together in marriage. He goes on to explain, verse 3. Talking about sexual intercourse in marriage. He says it's right and it needs to take place. This is something that God honors, God designed, and God blesses. Verse three, let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence and likewise also the wife unto the husband. Verse four, the wife hath not power over her own body but the husband and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body but the wife. Defraud or don't hold back from this sexual marital intimacy. Defraud ye not one another except it be for consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. In other words, as a protection to your home and marriage, have regular intimate relationship between a husband and wife, share the bed as God designed, as he intends. Verse number six, but this I speak by permission and not of constraint. Now he's talking about Singleness because there were those and there are those who God has planned for your life to be single Maybe by your own choosing maybe you were never married or maybe but the Lord has taken a mate away from you Okay, and the Apostle Paul is saying hey for some that's legitimate It's a it's a legitimate option to seek the Lord if he would have you to be a single person He says, this is not commanded, I'm not gonna mandate this on you, I'm just giving this, that's okay. In fact, he goes on to explain in verse seven, for I would that all men were even as I myself. Paul's like, you know what, I've been able to devote so much of my time and energy to the work of the Lord, I wish everybody was like me, a single man. Now Paul, some have suggested, had been married, perhaps he was a widower. We don't know all the details here, the Bible doesn't make it plain, but as he writes this, he's a single man. And he's holding up the virtue of singleness. Again, not to the exclusion of marriage. He goes on to explain in verse 7, he says, But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that. God equips us for what he calls us to. Verse 8, I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them even if they abide even as I. So those who had lost a mate, I'm going to encourage them, you know, if you can do it. You stay single, give more of your time and energy to God and his work. But he says, verse nine, if they cannot contain, or if the temptation is too great, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. And so perhaps a person was once married and their mate perhaps passed away. And they try, they try to live a single life and they need that companionship. They long for that closeness and intimacy that they once had. That's not ungodly. If God provides, get married. Verse 10, and unto the married I command, yet not I but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband. Verse 11, and if she depart, let her remain unmarried. or be reconciled to her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife." Speaking here about divorce. Verse 12, but to the rest speak I, not as the Lord. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. Again, this is a first generation of Christians in a community. It was a pagan. Idle worshiping, immoral community. So first generation. Some people hear the gospel. They understand that they're sinners and Jesus Christ died for their sin. They believe on him and they receive his gospel. They're given eternal life. And guess what? Their life is turned inside out and upside down. But they're married and their mate didn't receive that gospel. They weren't so keen on what the Apostle Paul had been preaching. And all of a sudden they're looking across the dinner table like, what happened to you? What do you mean we're not going to watch that? Or we're not going to do that? What do you mean? What's changed in how you speak? I mean, going to where? The church? And it's possible, possible in our day as well. A person gets saved after their, a married person gets saved and all of a sudden their mate is like something is, he says, if they're willing to stay with you, let them stay with you. Verse 13, and the woman, which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. So hey, if your husband or wife is unsaved, don't use that as an excuse to leave them. Verse 14, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, else were your children unclean, now they are holy. In other words, he's saying this, he's not saying that they receive salvation because their maid is saved. He's not saying that kids are saved because mom and dad are saved. He's simply saying this, Your testimony, the testimony of a believer is impacting the life of an unbeliever. They're seeing you, they're watching you, they're listening to your words, they're looking at your reactions. He used to lose his temper. Why isn't he losing his temper anymore? What's changed in his life? And many a husband, many a wife has come to faith in Jesus Christ because they saw God do a drastic transformation in the life of their mate. Verse 15, but if the unbelieving depart, let them depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God hath called us to peace. In other words, hey, it's a problem. There's a problem in the home, and they can't handle the fact that you've gotten saved. And they say, I'm done. I cannot live with you. You're not who I married. I don't know what's happened to you. I'm out of here. And he says, basically, Don't try to pull their suitcase back in the house. You have to trust the Lord with that, but let them depart. Notice that last expression at the end of verse 15, God hath called us unto peace. A great little principle for the home. The home is to be a place of peace. Many a home is a war zone, but God's desire is that it be a place of peace. And truly, peace can only come to our heart when we're saved. Truly, peace can only come to a home when saved Christians wanna live for and obey the Lord, right? So pick up with me here, verse 16. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband, or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? And again, he's not saying your being saved is gonna make them saved, but your testimony might be what God uses to prick their conscience, to expose their sin, to cause them to look to God and His Word, to look to Jesus and be truly saved, to be born from above. God can do that. God's big enough to do that, right? Verse 17 is our last verse for this before we pray here. He says, but as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called everyone, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all the churches. Let's pray. Father, now as we look to your word, guide us by your Holy Spirit, help us not only to understand what the words say on the page, but what your Holy Spirit is saying to us today. Thank you that you address needs of our current day. Thank you that you address the subject of singleness and marriage and sexuality. And I thank you that the answers that we find in the Bible are not just good ideas, they're God's ideas. So help us to live them and follow them, in Jesus' name, amen. A couple of thoughts I want you to understand from this passage. Really, the key to the passage is a verse we didn't read, but look with me down to verse 26. The situation which Paul was writing this letter was a situation of turmoil, right? The city was wicked, it was carnal. And the Christians were being persecuted. He says this, I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be. And he is suggesting because they were living in a war zone of Christians, Christians were being persecuted for their faith. Because it was a dangerous time, some would opt to stay single. Because their life was on the line. because they were living in a community that was vile and wicked. So Paul writes this Q&A, this answer, in light of the fact that it's a wicked city and the Christians are going through a tough time, okay? So a couple of thoughts I want you to notice from the beginning, though. Scripture is sufficient. God's word gives us answers for life. You might say, well, this is an ancient book written thousands of years ago. Yes, it was preserved by the Holy Spirit of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. God has plans for my life and your life. He wants to guide us through his word. So scripture is sufficient. But let me also add, there are some things, right? There are some places, some ideas and concepts where Scripture is silent. It doesn't speak to it. And in those instances, the Spirit of God guides God's people to make wise choices in present circumstances. He uses principles of Scripture He uses godly counsel from fellow Christians in the church, and he uses careful and prayerful considerations. James said it this way in James 1.5. People were struggling, they were being persecuted. He said, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and abradeth not. God wants you to have answers. He's not left us without answers for life in a complex culture. God has given us answers. Scripture is sufficient, but where Scripture is silent, the Holy Spirit guides God's people to make wise choices in our present circumstances. You know what I learned from this passage? Many people will be tempted sexually. Shock of shocks, right? Now the world talks about it. Everyone talks about it. The church doesn't usually talk about it. We're gonna talk about it this morning. Many people, you might say most people, will be at some point in their life tempted sexually. Well, God made us to be sexual beings. He made us that way. He's put that desire in the heart. But also remember, because of what we find in Genesis chapter three, we are all sinners. Though we're sexual beings, we are sexual beings who happen to be sinners. And we live in an immoral world, right? It's mud for miles, and it's everywhere. And Jesus would explain in his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five, that it's not just the physical act with the body that's sin, but even the sight and the thoughts of the mind and heart. So, here we are as Christians in a wicked world. What are we going to do? Well, for the saved, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who have the Scriptures, there's hope. Look at verse 19 of chapter six with me. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price? That's the blood of Jesus. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's, God's given you. sexual appetites, but as a Christian you are the temple of the Holy Spirit of God, right? He is your owner and he is your occupant. You are his temple and you are his testimony to bring him praise. That's who God made you to be. God's design for sexual intimacy is this, it's for heterosexual, one man, one woman. It's for monogamous relationships, one relationship. It's for married persons, the Bible makes this clear, those who are covenanted together before God. What's the purpose of sexual relationships? Number one, it's to bring partnership, to bring protection, procreation, to bring about children. Number four, For pleasure, God is not a cosmic killjoy. It's best, and it's blessed of him. And then lastly, it's a picture of Jesus Christ and his church. The love relationship between a husband and wife is to be a picture to a watching world of what the relationship is between Jesus Christ and his church. And so, as we look back at this passage, I'm gonna give you two simple points this morning. Actually, I'll give you three. Number one, find your place. The question comes up about singleness in marriage. There are those, and you may be one of them today. And God's very best, His plan for you is for you to be single. It says in verse 7, Every man hath his proper gift of God. I do believe there is a gifting for singleness. It doesn't mean you have no desire or have never had any desire for it, but you have a greater desire that God has given you to live a life of singleness and celibacy for God. There are those, and you may be one today, And so what do you do about that? You recognize, hey, this is my place before God. I'm going to rejoice in it. I'm going to thank the Lord for how he has gifted me to live in this situation. I'm going to trust him with it. You say, well, I'm in that situation. I'm not exactly crazy about that situation. I would sure like that to change soon, but I don't have any prospects. I don't see anything coming. Rejoice in the Lord and trust in him. Trust that God has already gifted you to continue in that state until he provides something different. What about marriage? There are those who are married, and he gives examples of those here who might be married but wanted to get out of their marriage. And he says, hey, stick it out, stay in it. Your marriage is valuable, it was created by God, designed by God. It says down in verse nine, if they cannot contain, if they cannot triumph over this temptation, let them marry. You say, well, that's easier said than done. But if this is how God equipped you, right, if this is how he has wired you, if this is who you are, then you're going to have to trust God that he'll provide, in his time, a mate for you, if they cannot contain. So nothing wrong with saying, I'm praying about, I'm looking for, I'm asking God. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you're content with what he does in your life, if they cannot. Then he says in verse nine there, he says, it is better to marry than to burn. It's a good choice. Proverbs 18.22 says it this way, he that findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of the Lord. God is not against marriage. He designed it, He made it. And we live in a world where real, normal marriages are rare. But what a wonderful opportunity for God to show His glory. And if you are married today, praise the Lord for your marriage. Praise the Lord for how he has led you. You say, well, it's not all peaches and roses in my life. Thank the Lord for it. This is the place that God has put you. Find your place. In verses one through four there, two through four, he talks about the fact that husbands and wives are not to withhold physical intimacy from their mate. And he says, when would you abstain? If you were to abstain for a time as a married couple, he says it would be temporary. He makes that clear. It would be for ministry. He speaks about prayer and fasting, like we are gonna be so devoted to the Lord over the next period of time, every spare moment we're going to spend seeking the Lord in prayer for a specific request. He says, okay, temporary, for ministry, but he emphasizes it's not mandated, right? And the answer comes in verse five, because Satan can come between a husband and wife through the physical relationship. And when it's inconsistent, when it's not, a part of your home if you're not sharing the bed, guess what? Satan can get in and tempt you and maybe lure one away from the other and into a place of sexual sin. And so, what do we have? A place God has given to us. And it's the right thing, if you're a young person who's never married and you're single, it's the right thing for you to say, Lord, what do you have for me? Maybe you already know the answer to that. You say, I could never be alone. Some of you may say, you know what? There's nobody on my radar, and I don't know that that will ever happen. Hey, there's nothing wrong with you evaluating it. Now the world takes those insecurities, right? The world creeps in and says, okay, well if no guy has paid attention to you or called you, then obviously you need to begin turning your desires towards another woman. Now that's unnatural, and it's ungodly. It's an abomination to the Lord. The world doesn't seem to leave any room for biblical singleness. But it's God honoring. In fact, we'll talk about it in a minute. It can be a great blessing. But God's desire for sexual relationships is always, a monogamous relationship, a heterosexual relationship, always within the bounds of matrimony, a covenanted marriage. God honors that. So number one, find your place. Number two, fulfill your purpose. As a single, there's gonna be a purpose for you that may be different. You may have more time available. I remember as a fresh college graduate, I began as a children's pastor, and was a one year until I was to be married. And you know what, they used me to the full. I was working 80 plus hours a week. I was a children's pastor, I was a custodian, and I mean, I was just, I was doing, burning the midnight oil day or night, serving at the church I was at. You know what, I could do that. I remember having a talk with him about a month before I was to be married. I said, now I'm gonna be married. Can we tweak my schedule a little bit? Can we, and it was a little difficult, like, well, Jason, we hired you to do these 50 billion things, and you're doing them great. Keep it up, you know? I'm gonna wanna be able to come home to my wife at night. And so they did. So I went from, I was children's pastor, and I went from children's pastor and custodian to an 18-acre property, by the way. I wasn't the only one, but it was a big job. to becoming a art teacher for kindergarten through junior hires, each class separately, being the yearbook sponsor, to being the full-time substitute teacher for the high school, and then the children's pastor in marriage. But, I was home at night. The little tweak. But it was good, you know, it was good. But as a single person, you know, I don't regret that year of giving everything I had in every waking hour to the work of the ministry. I praise the Lord for that. It was great. I was grateful when it ended, too. I was grateful to have a wife to serve with. And now two are better than one, right? There's things I could do married that I couldn't do single. I remember showing up to make visits on children in our church by myself at their home, and parents looked. Here's a single guy at the door. This is odd. Well, I didn't think anything of it. But it was a whole lot different a year later when I showed up to visit children from our church with my new wife. And all of a sudden, they didn't just say hi to me on the porch, they invited me in, they sat us down, they brought us cans of pop. It's like, wow, this is great, having a wife. It's helpful in ministry. But there's a purpose that God has for you. Look with me over, we're gonna get to this passage next week, but I just wanna point out two verses to you, verses 32 and 33. As it relates to singleness and marriage and ministry, there is such a thing as a single ministry, whether you're in full-time ministry or not. If you are single, God has equipped you, more than likely, to be able to spend more time, energy, and effort in some area of ministry for his glory. It may be a prayer ministry for you, if you're up in years. It might be physical, active help around the church if you're younger. But look what he says, I would have you, I would not have you, excuse me, I would have you without carefulness. This is verse 32 of chapter seven. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. That's where their attention is. Verse 33, but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. Again, it's not saying that married people don't serve God, but their attention, their focus is different. And so there is such a thing as a single ministry and a married ministry. Primary ministry of a married person is to minister to their mate, serve God together. Primary emphasis of a single person is to focus on the Lord, walk with the Lord, serve Him with all you've got. It doesn't mean that single people don't have responsibilities, they do. It doesn't mean they don't have time constraints, because they do. But it's their focus, their focus in life is, I'm just looking to the Lord, I wanna live for Him. Again, let me remind you, he's not talking about pastors and missionaries and evangelists, he's talking about Christians in the church. Why in the city of Corinth was it important that there are Christians who are serious about their walk with Christ? Why was it important for the church of Corinth that they take very seriously their love and care for their neighbor? Because this is a vile community, a wicked community. And in that black darkness of sin in the city of Corinth, there was a bright shining diamond. And it was those true believers who had been saved. And the glow of God was all over them. And God wanted to use them to make a difference in this community here. Number three. Be faithful to your God-given path. So number one, find your place. Number two, fulfill your purpose. Number three, be faithful to your God-given path. In verse 17, he says, but as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called everyone, so let him walk and so ordain I in all the churches. In other words, God has a plan for you. fulfill it be faithful to it down in verse 20 let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called down in verse 24 look what it says brethren let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God in other words there's a calling for you and it's okay to say, here's what God has called me to. This is my place, and I'm gonna fulfill my purpose, and I'm gonna do it faithfully. I'm gonna faithfully follow God's path for my life. God guides us, church, through challenging days, and he's going to guide us through these challenging days. A couple of interesting thoughts. Marriage is a ministry. Number two, singleness is a trust. Number three, divorce is always difficult. Some of you have weathered those storms. You have family members who have weathered those storms. And you understand, it's not one and done. It's a lifetime ache. It's a long hurt. And this passage reveals to me, you know what, there are interesting situations. There are circumstances that you and I, we're gonna have to seek the Lord about this. There are some challenges in real life that you and I face where we take God's word The precept. There's gonna be places where you have to apply God's word, the principle, like it's not spelled out, but you need to follow the guidance of his word. And in all of this, we're going to have to be a people who have a heart, who's ready to forgive, seek reconciliation wherever it is possible, and to live our life in our place, in our station for the glory of God. That's where we are today. That's what God has for us today. So what are we to do? We're to seek scripture's solution. Seek the Bible's answers where you can. Number two, we need to submit to the spirit of God. But let's be honest, this world is messed up. Do you want that? I mean, if you're taking your cues from actors in Hollywood or celebrity, YouTubers, if you're getting your best advice for life from people who don't know Jesus Christ, you're gonna probably end up in the same situations they're ending up in. Not a lot of happy homes coming from the pit of hell. People who do not know Jesus Christ, people who are following, by the word of God tells us, Ephesians 2, It tells us in one and two, tells us we are all born in this world, not only sinners, but we're following Satan. If you're gonna follow people who are following Satan, you're gonna end up in a mess. We don't want Satan to get into our homes. We don't want him to get into our marriages. We don't want him to get into our lives. So we need the word, right? And we need to submit to the spirit of God as he speaks to us. Just don't do what everybody else is doing. Follow the Lord. What happens if you step off the boardwalk that God's given to us? What happens if you step off that Bible boardwalk of finding your place? Of fulfilling your purpose? Of following God's path? What happens if you step off of that? Some of us have. And you're in the mud. But it's even more than that, right? It's not just stepping in a mile of mud. When you step off the Bible boardwalk, you're actually stepping into a minefield. And it's dangerous. And you're not just going to get your shoes dirty. You might lose your leg, or worse. Sin is nothing to be trifled with. There's going to be some portions of the boardwalk that are easy to pass over, right? The Bible's really clear. Here's how I live in this situation. There's gonna be some places in the trail when you don't see the boardwalk. It's a mess. And down in Hocking Hills, some of those places where there isn't a boardwalk and some of the, you know, ground has been washed out, covered in mud, there's something else there. Trees. They have branches. And they have roots. And there are some places where you actually have to navigate over the mud by holding branches and stepping on limbs and carefully walking through. And I think in some ways, the same is true for the Christian who finds some places in life where the Bible isn't so clear. Where it's not spelled out. There's not a boardwalk there, and you're going to have to trust not only the Bible, but the God of the Bible. When you're going to have to look to Him for answers that you don't see super clear right here. And so you're gonna have to turn to him. And now again, don't run from him. Don't run to the world for your answers, but you humble yourself before the Lord. Say, God, I need the guidance of your Holy Spirit. Direct me. Lead me through your word and lead me through principles and lead me by my fellow Christians in the church, those who sit across the table from me in our Bible study hour. Lead me through people who can point me to you. So when you cannot trust, when you cannot find the answer from the Bible, make sure you're trusting the God of the Bible. It's not for you, the Bible doesn't talk about it, it's up for me to decide. No, no, no, no. Those are the places you have to carefully navigate by reaching for those branches and stepping on those roots and making your way down the path that God has ordained for you. What about your kids? What about the kids you'll one day have? Don't you wish they didn't have to make such hard choices? Don't you wish it was, you know, the whole big path of the Bible? Like, let's all just follow the Bible. They didn't have to look around at a world trapped in sin, condemned to hell. And you're just praying that one day when they're out of your home, when they're not under your roof, that they'll make choices that please and honor the Lord. When they move far away from you and you don't know what's going on with their life, when you're just, God, I want them. I want them to follow your word. I want them to trust in you. God enables obedience. You're familiar with Psalms 1, aren't you? Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Oh, to love the God of the Bible. to trust Him, to meditate on Him, to think about His words. First John 3.15 says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world, here it is, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away. and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Then in verse 28, it says in 1 John 3, 28, and now little children abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Our lives are before the eyes of the Lord, we're told in Proverbs 5. He ponders, or he thinks about every step we take. How about you? I want my steps to please the Lord. When Jesus Christ comes again, I don't want to hang my head in shame. I want to say, Lord, I've sought to live for you. I want to bring glory to your name. So you may be in a situation today where you have stepped off the boardwalk of the Bible. You've stepped away from the sure ground of God's Word. And you're slipping, and you're sliding, and you're falling. And you say, is there any hope for me? Absolutely. First Corinthians chapter six, verse 11, Paul said to this church, he says to this church, too. And such were some of you, but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. You were that way. but you're not that way anymore. Colossians 3.1 says, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth in the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth, for you're dead and your life is hid with Christ and God. It's possible for you to live for God in an ungodly world. God does give guidance to his church, amen? He does give guidance to Christians, amen? And you and I can follow him. And so you look at a passage like this and you say, wow, I wish Paul had some clearer answers. There's one portion he says, this isn't what God's saying, this is what I'm saying. Then he says later on, but this is what God's saying. He's navigating tricky waters, right? He's navigating a difficult path. But ultimately he is pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5.25 says, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Notice this, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. that he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that it should be holy and without blemish. That's us, the church, those who have trusted Christ as Savior. You're a part of God's church. Jesus Christ died for you, not only to save you forever, but to change you now, to sanctify you, to make you into the image of Jesus Christ. And so it's possible for you and I to live in a muddy world as we put our feet on the solid word of God. And where the word of God is not clear, we trust the spirit of God. We seek him and we follow his leading for our life. Father, I thank you for your word. Thank you that you speak to us about real life issues. Thank you that you give us examples of those who honor you and those who reject you. And Father, this morning, there's a choice in every heart in this room. Are we going to follow the guidance of God, or are we gonna go our own way? One way is treacherous and dangerous and destructive, and the other way is solid and sure and eternal. I pray, Father, we would choose this day whom we will serve. Help us to serve the Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.