Good morning, it's good to be with you. Well, on Friday evening we began in our study of shall we date by taking a bulldozer and seeking to clear out a space for us to build a marriage house. And then in our second section, and in that, by the bulldozer, I mean looking at pressures of the world around us and saying, this all needs to go. And then we move some trees and we trim some other trees in preparation of the building of the house. Then we began with the building itself, or at least looking at blueprints for the marriage house. We saw something of an inferred method. We saw that the young man We saw that both the young man and the young woman would have a face, that each would be a follower of Christ, they would be allies in conviction, that they would be companions in communication, and that they would be enchanters in romance. Then we looked at the young man and saw that he should be a chief. a considerate gentleman, a humble servant, an initiating leader, and an enterprising provider, and finally a faithful lover. And then for the young woman, we saw something of her wisdom, her industry, her strength, her stylishness, her dignity, her optimism, and her manner. So this morning, we want to go on and consider something of the importance of purity in that marital relationship. And we begin by hearing Torn writing to Dr. D. Dear Dr. D, My boyfriend and I have talked of marriage, but he feels that we should live together first. Although I'm 22, I still feel parental pressure and know they wouldn't approve of this trial marriage. My boyfriend says that the divorce rate is so high because people don't really know a person until they live with them. He wants to get married after we've tried living together for a year. What do you think? Signed, Torn. Dear Torn. Your boyfriend is incorrect in his assumption that living together before marriage would help lower the divorce rates. The divorce rate in the United States is high with estimates anywhere from 40 to 60%. However, divorce rates are even higher for those who cohabitate before marriage, Dr. D. A later study has this report. Some researchers have reported that the highest risk factor for divorce is moving in together prior to marriage. Couples who do this have a far greater risk of divorce. In fact, couples who cohabitate before marriage give their marriage a trial run, have a divorce rate reported as high as 85%. Talk about the destruction of a myth. And why would that be? Well, I suppose that if you come into something wondering if it's going to fail and bring that kind of attitude, there's such a tentativeness about this, as opposed to saying, one man, one woman, together for life, there's a different level of commitment with that. Well, notice with me, if you have a handout sheet before you and care to use it, Romans 1, the dignified divine design in marital physical intimacy. First of all, marital physical intimacy is rooted in God's design. And I'm going to move very quickly through this first point because I don't want to be rushed on the other end. So, Genesis 1, 26 and 28 are the passages. I'm going to give only their titles and a couple things about them. But very plainly, as God made them male and female, He made them in the image of God, and we simply have to state the obvious, that the design of the human body was made by God. This is His design. and physical intimacy of a husband and wife made in the image of God moves right on in to being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth. Then as well in his design we could take time to look at Genesis chapter 2, but I'm going to look at that under our next heading B. marital physical intimacy is inseparable from marriage. And the key text for this would be that Genesis chapter 2, and when they are naked and unashamed, it is in a context of a leaving and cleaving and weaving. And I know that that is old terminology, They leave their parents, they start a new authority, they start a new entity, a new ship has left the port, and it is this new marriage. they cleave, that is, they hold fast to one another, they are glued to one another in this process, and then there is the total integration of life, they are weaving together. So, if someone says, well preacher, We love one another. And because we are at this point of loving one another, it is legitimate for us to be involved in marital physical intimacy. Well, the question to ask is, have you formally left that authority structure of dad and mom Have you made this public commitment where you are gluing yourselves together in the marital covenant? And if these things have not taken place, then it's not right for you to be naked before one another and to tell yourself that there is no shame in it. One is written especially in a sinful world such as ours. One is foolish to expose the secrets of his or her heart to someone who has not made a tangible commitment to faithfulness for life. You want this level of intimacy? Then let's make this level of commitment before God and this people and from there we'll move ahead. Then Hebrews 13 and verse 4 as well shows us that marital intimacy is inseparable. The physical intimacy is inseparable from marriage. Here is God and he looks down, he sees this couple, in their marriage bed, and he says that this is undefiled. There's nothing wrong with this. God is pleased with what he is seeing there. But then, if he looks on someone else who is in bed, he is not pleased with them. Hear the passage. Let marriage be held in honor among all. Let the marriage bed be undefiled. For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. So it's either a marriage bed, or it is not a marriage bed, and there are very different responses from God towards that, and that ought to plainly inform our thinking on this. Now let me just read 1 Corinthians chapter 7 beginning at verse 1 and draw just one quick lesson from this. Now concerning 1 Corinthians 7 verse 1. Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. He's talking about outside of marriage. But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer. but then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Man and woman in something other than the marriage bed, that's not good, Paul says. Then he says, in a very earthy and open way, there is the temptation to sin, and each one should have their marital partner, if God in his providence cooperates with that. But then notice that there is a mutual debt. that there is a debt that the husband owes to his wife, and there is a debt that the wife owes to her husband. And then in verse four, there is at least the hint there in the passage of a mutual owning. She owns him, he owns her. That's the context for this marriage bed that is undefiled. And that mutual possession, my beloved is mine and I am my beloved's, that mutual ownership only takes place as a young person says, goodbye dad, goodbye mom, you need us, we'll be over here in our new place. where there is this gluing together, and we've got two places, Malachi 2 and Proverbs 2, where there is this covenant of marriage, this covenant of companionship. So when you've pledged yourselves one another, to one another in the presence of God, then it is a marriage bed. So, the key lessons. Remove physical intimacy from marriage. take it to another place outside of that bed and you have sin. Physical intimacy is designed to take place in a context of marital love and marital commitment. The bedroom is attached to the whole rest of the house. And there's a world of difference for that physical intimacy to take place, let's say, at the top of the mountain. there is a big difference of that husband and wife going through this process of time and it's like they are climbing the mountain together and they have left and they are cleaving to one another and they are seeking this total integration of life. So when they come to this physical intimacy, it is altogether different than somebody in the space of five minutes coming in and arriving at the top of the mountain by way of helicopter. No, you got to climb the mountain together for it to be a marriage bet. Then just have in our minds that the most satisfying physical intimacy does not belong to Hollywood pretense. but it belongs to those who value the physical relationship enough to wait, who have climbed the mountain of life together and know the sweetness of commitment, of honesty, reproof, repentance, and forgiveness, who experience no guilt, no shame, in their physical intimacy, who enduringly love one another from the depth of their being. C, physical intimacy, marital physical intimacy is intended to bring pleasure. Proverbs chapter five and verse 15. Drink water from your own cistern. Flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. A lovely dear, a graceful doe, let her breasts fill you at all times with delight, be intoxicated always in her love. For why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. What do we learn? Very quickly, the righteous context of this physical pleasure is when this man is with whom? the wife of his youth. The duration of this physical pleasure points to something more than procreation. The intensity of the physical pleasure, enraptured, intoxicated, exhilarated, satiated, and the great preventative from physical pleasure, this physical pleasure, is to avoid the allurements of the immoral woman and the seductress. So here we are taught of the legitimate delights of the marriage bed that is undefiled. So the physical relationship is beautiful, and pleasurable as the most intimate expression of a couple's love and commitment. But it's marital love and commitment. And the couple's love and commitment is their marital love and commitment. I couldn't wait until I found it again in my notes. Well, without marriage, there's no commitment. and you can't say, my beloved is mine and I am my beloved's. Roman numeral two, the common cultural corruption in extramarital physical intimacy. Voti Bacchum. I have a dear friend who ministers in a college town. His church is filled with young college students, and in his words, this generation has an entirely different set of problems. As we talked, both his candor and the depth of depravity shocked me. He said, we as older men, we dealt with lust in college. These kids deal with hookups. For the uninitiated, the hookups are casual sexual encounters with no strings attached. Two students are hanging out, they decide they want to have sex, but not a relationship, so they simply hook up. Sadly, the young men and women about whom my friend was speaking professed to be Christians. even beyond question of salvation. This is a problem for the marriage relationship. The walls of intimacy have come down so low that not even physical intimacy is viewed as a significant excursion into another person's life. It is this culture that is producing tomorrow's husbands and wives. Mulvihill says, as one who deals with college students, how far is too far is a question that I often hear. He says it's the wrong question to ask. When I read between the lines of the question I'm hearing, how close to the sexual line of sin can I get without crossing it? We are not to approach the line, but to flee from it. Think of just two passages. When there is the warning in Proverbs 5 about that immoral woman, it's not, don't go into her house. It is, don't go near the door. When Paul is giving advice to Timothy, it is flee. Flee is not the same as see how close to the line you can get. The story of a queen and three strong men and a cliff. There was a queen who lived way up high on this mountain. There was a narrow little road that wound its way up and at places that dropped off thousand feet. So she was looking for someone to pull her little carriage up the mountain and down the mountain. She had three that applied. She looked at them. They're all big burly guys and said well we're not going to divide decide this on a matter of physicality. So she asked her question in the interview, how close will you keep my carriage wheel from the edge of the road? And the first guy says, oh, I will stay one foot away from the edge. I can do that. I can control that. Strong man number two said, I have unusual abilities. I will be able to keep you safe with the wheel only six inches away from the precipice. And the third guy says, oh my queen, I will stay as far away from the edge as I possibly can to protect your life. Guess who got the job? And that's something of how we ought to think about this. So, A, I'm just going to list these six negative consequences. First of all, A, six negative consequences of premarital physical intimacy. What's wrong with it? I thought it was going to help me to know if I could live with this woman or this man for life. Number one, premarital physical intimacy prevents other aspects of the relationship from developing. It's like it gets sidetracked. Number two, premarital physical intimacy, and if I didn't note this, it is coming from Stacy and Paula Reinhart in their book, Choices. Number two, premarital physical intimacy injects fear and guilt into the relationship. They can be naked and unashamed when it is a marriage bed. Number three, premarital physical intimacy lays a foundation of distrust and respect. I want your body, but I don't know that I'm ready to commit to you, so let me have the goods, and yet I'm not going to. It brings in distrust and disrespect. Number four, premarital physical intimacy leads to a comparison on the basis of physical performance. Especially if someone has been involved in a kind of polygamy of going from one to another to another. Five, premarital physical intimacy increases the likelihood of later marital infidelity. It's just the opposite of what you're pleading. Six, premarital physical intimacy deceives the parties into thinking that they are truly in love. You can have tingles, you can have all sorts of feelings, but love is desiring and doing the very best for another person in the name of Christ. So A, the six negative consequences. And now B, the cost. The cost, what's wrong with it? Why should I stay away from it? Well, Mulvihill argues that sexual sin has a price tag. And if you want to know what that price tag is, well, we're going to look at Proverbs 5. Proverbs 5 and verse 1. Maybe I'm just going to take the time to read these 14 verses. My son, Be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understandings, that you may keep discretion and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. But in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. Her steps follow the path to Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life. Her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her. and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life, you groan when your flesh and your body are consumed, and you say, how I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof, I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation. Any cost? The first cost is listed in verse 3 and 4. It is spiritual death and destruction. Notice the radical change. delightful honey-like, delightful honey-like temptation to the deadly consequences of this grievous sin that tastes horribly bitter like wormwood and lays in the grave like a sword. You see, it seems so nice. It seems so absolutely horrible and painful, at least when the conscience is enlightened. The sword, it's not a whip, it's a sword. Listen to a parallel text over in Proverbs 7, 22. I'm just going to pick out. You got an ox that is going to slaughter. What's going to happen to that ox? You got a stag that is caught fast with an arrow piercing his liver. What do those two have in common? Then you got a bird rushing into the snare. He's caught. What's going to happen to him? He, the man who engaged us in this, does not know that it will cost him his life. And now, O sons, listen to me and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths. For many a victim has she laid low. And all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death. All right, have I overstated the headache? Cost number one, spiritual death and destruction. Yes, but you can repent and God will forgive you. Yes, that's true. But Solomon is envisioning at least some instances where someone is so addicted to this path that they are not able to repent and come back from it. and you don't know that you will be able to come back yourself. Second cost, loss of honor due to a stained character. Verse nine, lest you give your honor to others. Well, no, no, I want my honor. Sorry, you forfeited it. Sexual sin puts a black mark on the sinner's reputation. Third cost, wasted time. Verse 9b, your years to the merciless. It's not minutes, it's not hours, it's not days. It's going to cost you. And this is scripture, this is not me. Your building of your happy marriage house takes a setback by years. Fourth cost, now verse 10, squandered wealth. Lest strangers take their fill of your strength and your labors go to the house of a foreigner. The unfaithful man or woman gives his resources to others. Sexual sin may have a financial cost. It may cost the sinner a job, or he may or she may have to pay child support. Sexual sin always carries a spiritual price tag, but may also include a financial cost. Five. lifelong regret. It's not me predicting this, I'm reading the passage. Verse 11, and at the end of your life, not for the next six months, but at the end of your life you've grown when your flesh and your body are consumed and you say, how I hated discipline and my heart despised reproof. I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation. Those who sin sexually must live their whole lives knowing that they made a foolish choice. I don't think that's an overstatement. I know the grace of God can intervene and can wonderfully forgive us and can wonderfully change our lives for the good. However, it appears that Solomon, by the Spirit, is not assuming that all who engage in sexual immorality will come back from it. Some sins are very addictive. Even where there is forgiveness and restoration, likely the scars of your sin will remain. Now, please understand I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad this morning. I point you to the grace of God, I point you to the gospel, you bring all of your sin and He gives you all of His righteousness. but I am primarily speaking to young people who are wanting to build a marriage house and they feel the power of temptation and I think they need to hear Proverbs 5 and to hear something of the cost. They're hearing from the devil, whispering, oh no, no, this will help you. This will lower the divorce rate. Oh yeah, 85%? No wonder there is intense parental earnestness urging the child back away from the precipice. Don't go near her door. The pleasure of sin lasts for a very short season while the wages of death can last for eternity. Proverbs speaks of the devastating results of taking your foot off the brake, the brake pedal when it comes to self-control, and that's where the foot needs to be. It warns of enslavement to lust, a seared conscience, blackmail. illegitimate pregnancy, the financial drain of child support, sexually transmitted diseases, public shame, bitterness, anger, and incapacitating guilt. Roman numeral one, the dignified divine design. Roman numeral two, the common cultural corruption. in marital physical intimacy, Roman numeral three, the preserving of purity. The preserving of purity. First of all, A, the necessity of guidelines. The necessity of guidelines. Those of you who've been here for the last six sessions know that you've heard Romans 12 too frequently. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's the justification for starting up the bulldozer and getting rid of worldly thinking. But I have not referenced verse 1 yet. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship, which is your reasonable service. Romans 13, 14, make no provision for the flesh. 1 Thessalonians 4, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. And abstain means to refrain by choice. No. Mulvihill. The Bible is clear. Sexual purity starts in the mind. The one who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart. Now, Jesus, when he spoke that, he ruined the Pharisees' logic. If I just externally keep the law of God, look at me, look at me, I'm really good. Jesus said, oh come on fools. Mental purity is what is required. The Bible is clear. Sexual purity starts in the mind. External boundaries aren't enough. In fact, if we focus all our energy there, we have already lost the battle. Internal boundaries are also needed. The Bible teaches that boundaries begin in our hearts and extend out from there. There is something of the relevant scriptures and the relevant lessons It is good for you to have the encouragement and counsel of your Christian friends, your parents, extended church family, to keep yourself for your life mate. You must recognize the natural progression of physical involvement. One of the authors refers to this as the domino theory. You start with the holding of hands, and then you want to go to the next domino, and then you kiss. And when you've kissed, well, it wants to move on to the next domino. So you have to be aware of that dangerous progression. And finally, as we close down the necessity of guidelines, where lost purity is grieved before the Lord, there is forgiveness, but God doesn't put you in a time machine and take you back to before the crime was committed. And when you think, this is an aside, One of the most astounding things about Joseph and his brothers is that after they sold him, they talked about murdering him, they ended up selling him into slavery, and it's 22 years later that the brothers' consciences are grieving them over what they did 22 years ago. Young person, God's got a monitor. Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. Amen. Next verse. But shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Necessity of guidelines. B, suggestions for your guidelines to maintain purity. Establish righteous habits of prayer and reading. Why? Because we're trying to start with the mind and the heart. Memorizing some, the same passages independently as a couple. Praying at the end of each time together. Two, establish an explicit relationship of effective accountability. Reinhart speaks of a pastor that urges the couple to establish their own guidelines. You're engaged now. What are your guidelines going to be? I'm not going to tell you what they are. You're going to tell me. You're going to put it down on paper. And if it's me that you choose, then I'm going to have a copy of this. But here's the deal. As we get closer to your marriage date, I'm going to ask you, how did you do with the guidelines that you established? Three, avoid impure thoughts, the Matthew 5, 28. Not looking with lustful intent. James 1 14 and 15. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Impure thoughts, see where it goes. Four, avoid stirring and exciting another's emotions. Save yourself for your spouse. Song of Solomon 2.7, by the gazelles, the hinds of the field, that you do not arouse or awaken love until she pleases. Difficult passage. It may, as an NIV application commentary, it may have this sense. Because of the devastating and overpowering results of love, they should ensure that it, love, is awakened only when the timing and circumstances are right. There is, in effect, a time to embrace, a time to embrace, and a time to refrain. It is dangerous to awaken love when it does not desire to be woken, or it is as it is to rouse a sleeping animal. Like we say, rouse the sleeping dog. The Koreans say, to rouse a sleeping lion. Five. Avoid provocative appearance and actions. The woman, the guy who looks at a woman with lustfulness, that's his problem. He has sinned. Guys commonly struggle with their eyes, but many girls appear to be somewhat innocently unaware of the difficulty a guy has in remaining pure when looking at a girl who is dressed immodestly. This author says, having lived in a university town has convinced me that many girls can be naive about the way guys' minds work. I know some aren't. Ladies, you must think through modesty issues. I deal with enough men to know that the way a girl dresses causes lust problems for men. While men must learn to control their eyes and the thoughts, you too must show self-control in your manner of dress. You can practice loving your brothers in Christ by dressing modestly. First Timothy 2. I will that the males pray. Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control. With modesty and self-control. It means something. What does it mean? Do you belong to the Lord Jesus? Then listen to what he says. Young ladies, you need to think about more than fashion when you're buying your clothes. Paul wants modesty and self-control to apply to your dress and your appearance as young ladies. It's true of young ladies. It's true of older ladies. Guys have their responsibility. I get that. I understand that. But you can either make the situation worse or you can make it better. The world says, show yourself. And the Bible says, hide yourself. Hide yourself and keep yourself for your husband. High school proms and dances. Explain to me how a young man with typical raging hormones can righteously deal with the seductive dress, the alluring setting, the provocative movement, and the stimulating touch. You make your choice. I ask myself, I make my choice. Explain to me how a young lady seeking to live modestly and righteously can enjoy the typical climate of the worldly prom or the nearly as worldly prom replacements. Six, avoid kissing prior to the engagement or marriage. Elizabeth Elliott was a close friend of Jim Elliott. They weren't dating yet. But his senior year, he had his renaissance. And he hung out with people that weren't really that spiritual. He dated some girls that weren't that spiritual. Evidently kissed some. Said it was not that big a deal, doesn't mean anything. This is Elizabeth. Because the girls he had kissed did not mean anything to him, he took it lightly at first. I didn't. Later on, Jim is able to say, I have confessed to God, to the senior class, to the foreign missions fellowshippers, to you, to other individuals, and I am eased. If there is more that I must do, I stand ready for reproof. Do you yet expect more of me? What a tremendous thing. The domino effect of love. One goes, avoided. Now, I said engagement or marriage, that's what the heading is. Seventh, avoid situations of temptation. Avoid situations of temptation. When you're dating, plan to be together in places where you'll have accountability. If you want to be alone at times for talking, you have to be, that's fine. You should, however, plan to be alone in public places. A park, a restaurant, or something like that. A distant bedroom with the door closed is not the place to spend time together. That's a recipe for disaster. See, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. I've referred to them a few times. The young people know that it was in 1948, actually June 1948, Jim Elliot said to Elizabeth, if I marry, I know who it'll be. That is, of course, if she'll have me a little later. I can't ask you to marry me, and I can't ask you to commit yourself to anything, whatever. I can't even ask you to wait. He knew that he was going. In a pioneer mission situation to tribal Indians somewhere in South America, he said, I need to go there for a year to find out if it's safe for me to even have a wife. But if it is safe, you're the one that I want to be my wife, but I'm not asking you yet, and I'm not asking you to wait. Elizabeth Elliott visited South America five years later. January 1953. There was a knock on the door and a man handed me a telegram. Jim was in Quito waiting for me to come. Don found me traveling as fast as the mud would allow the horse to go. Another night and I caught a banana truck before dawn for the 10-hour grinding journey up to Quito. That evening we were alone by the fire. Jim waited nearly five years for this. He took it slowly. We looked at the fire, spoke briefly of our journeys from the jungle, sat in silence. In the fullness of time, he asked me to marry him. Then the first kiss and a ring on the finger. April, 1953, writing tour. I need you, darling, and need you soon. I love you strongly tonight with a sense of power, a huge surging hope inside of me as to the fulfillment of our love. It is not the quiet longing that is usually on me, but the upflung fists and the shouting for possession of both arms eager to crush you to me. It is the bursting heart and the wild eye of passion and the laugh that makes the stomach tighten. You cannot possibly understand this, and I don't really ask you to. It is just one of the ways that I love you. and it happens to seize me as I write. Love is not at all resting in me. It is tenseness and a daring, a call to crush and to conquer. Good night, my brave lover, and may the God who loves you stronger than I stand guard over you through the night." Now, imagine with a man with these verbal skills if he wanted to twist them, but he didn't. October 1953, over five years. We were married in Quito. October 8, 1953, the McCulley's and the Tidmarsh's were our witnesses. Others came to see us off at the airport and throw rice at us at the El Panama Hotel overlooking the Pacific coast of Panama. I picked up the phone shortly after we arrived. Mrs. Elliott said a polite voice. I was stunned. Mrs. Elliott. It was only the front desk inquiring if all was satisfactory in our room. We went down to dinner and as we dawdled over coffee and dessert savoring the luxurious atmosphere and enjoying the music of the band, Jim looked across the candles at me. I can hardly believe we've got a bed waiting for us. The verse given to us for that day was Isaiah 25 9. Lo, this is our God. We have waited for him. It was unspeakably worth the wait. Let's pray. Father, please grant that we would carry with us more and more your way of thinking. Help us to keep just that mental picture before us that you there in heaven, you there with us. You look on that marriage bed and you say, good. I'm pleased. I designed this. They are naked, and they are legitimately unashamed. And yet, you look on another kind of bed, and you are angry. Angry that such have spurned you, have refused to listen to you. Not only are you angry, but you pledge that you will judge. Father, write the principles of these passages that we've considered this morning on the hearts of our young people. We pray that on the one hand, they would see that it was unspeakably worth the wait on the positive side and help them to see that there is a cost for ignoring you. We pray these things in Christ's mighty name, amen.