GUARD THE DOOR

Reference

1 Thessalonians 4:3–8

Broken Bedrooms

GUARD THE DOOR – Biblical Standards for Sexual Purity

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8

Intro: Does God sanitize His Word? Does He avoid subjects that feel uncomfortable or too mature? One of the reasons I trust the Bible is because it doesn’t clean up humanity. It doesn’t hide our mess. It doesn’t soften our scandals. It doesn’t pretend sexual sin is rare. Did you know that the Bible is bookended with sexual brokenness? Very early in Genesis, a man takes a second wife. Polygamy enters the human story almost immediately. By Gen 6, forbidden sexual unions bring divine judgment. In Gen 9, there is voyeurism — and maybe something worse — in Noah’s tent. In Gen 19, God judges the sexual perversion of homosexuality in Sodom. In Gen 20, Abram offers his wife to a foreign king to save himself. Gen 34 records the first rape — and the violent revenge that follows. Gen 39 shows a married woman in power stalking a young single man for a secret affair. The Scriptures are not shy. And when you get to the end of the story, nothing has changed. Rev 9:21 says the wicked refused to repent “of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Rev 17 describes world leaders trafficking in immorality. From Genesis to Revelation, sexual sin is not hidden — it is exposed. Why? Because God is not embarrassed by the truth. He knows sexual sin is never minor. It destroys families. It fractures trust. It invites judgment. It threatens destiny. And yet — God keeps speaking. Because the same Bible that exposes sexual sin also offers sexual redemption. God does not sanitize His Word because He intends to sanctify His people. So when Paul writes in 1 Thess 4, he is not whispering. He is guarding something sacred. He is protecting lives. He is protecting marriages. He is protecting futures. And he gives six clear expectations.

WHAT GOD WANTS

(1) GOD WANTS YOU SET APART

1 Thess 4:3a “This is the will of God, your sanctification…”

Let’s stop pretending God’s will is mysterious here. It’s not hidden. It’s not unclear. It’s right in the text. God wants us different.

This isn’t optional Christianity. This isn’t for super-spiritual people. This is God’s will for every believer. Holiness is not weird. It’s not self-righteous. It’s set apart.

You don’t belong to culture. You belong to Christ. Your body, your desires, and your decisions are holy ground.

Guard the door of your holiness.

(2) GOD WANTS YOU TO STAY SEXUALLY VIRTUOUS

1 Thess 4:3b “…that you should abstain from sexual immorality.”

Let’s say it plainly: stay sexually clean. Keep sex where God put it.

The word Paul uses is porneia — a broad term that includes any sexual activity outside God’s design: adultery, premarital sex, extramarital relationships, and every form of sexual perversion.

Holiness and sexual immorality cannot coexist. Save sex for covenant marriage.

This isn’t God shrinking your life. This is God sparing your life. Sexual sin promises pleasure — but delivers pain.

Guard the door of your heart.

(3) GOD SAYS, “GOVERN YOURSELF”

1 Thess 4:4 “…that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel…”

Don’t let your glands run your life.

Attraction is real. Temptation is powerful. But you are not an animal driven by impulse. You are an image-bearer indwelt by the Spirit.

Self-control is possible. This is something you learn. It is developed. It is practiced. It is strengthened over time. You don’t drift into purity. You grow into it.

Holiness is intentional. It is choosing honor over impulse. It is choosing obedience over appetite. It is choosing long-term joy over short-term pleasure.

Guard the door of your body.

(4) DON’T COPY PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW THE LORD

1 Thess 4:5 “…not in passionate lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

Don’t let unbelievers define your standards.

Culture says, “Follow your heart.”
God says, “Follow Me.”

Culture says, “If it feels good, do it.”

God says, “If it is good, you won’t be confused about it.”

Culture says, “Do what comes naturally.”
God says, “Be holy as I am holy.”

The difference is not intelligence. It’s not upbringing. It’s whether someone knows God.

People who don’t know God follow their passions. People who know God learn to master them.

How can we follow Jesus and follow the crowd at the same time?

Guard the door of your influences.

(5) DON’T USE PEOPLE

1 Thess 4:6 “…that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother…”

Paul says sexual sin takes advantage. It defrauds. It steals something that belongs to someone else.

Sex outside the marriage covenant always takes something. It steals innocence. It damages trust. It removes peace. It takes what belongs to a future spouse.

When you sleep with someone without lifelong commitment, you are becoming one flesh without making a covenant. Heaven calls that a big deal.

Sexual sin doesn’t just break a rule — it uses a person. Love protects. Lust exploits.

The Proverbs 31 wife models the opposite.

Prov 31:12 “She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.”

She honors her husband with a lifelong posture of faithfulness, guarding her heart, her body, and her affections long before marriage ever begins and continuing without compromise all her days.

Guard the door of how you treat people.

(6) DON’T REFUSE GOD’S VOICE

1 Thess 4:8 “He who rejects this does not reject man, but God…”

This isn’t about preference. This isn’t about personality. This is about God.

To treat sexual purity lightly is to treat God lightly. Rejecting this instruction is rejecting Him. But there’s grace here. The same verse says He gives us His Holy Spirit.

God doesn’t command holiness and then abandon you. What He commands, He empowers.

The Spirit of God lives in believers to help them live holy lives in an immoral world.

You are not fighting alone. You are not resisting in your own strength. God gives Himself to make holiness possible.

Guard the door by listening to His voice.

WHY PURITY MATTERS

Sex Was God’s Idea

Gen 1:27–28 “So God created man in His own image… male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’”

Sex did not sneak under God’s radar. He invented desire. He designed the body. He blessed intimacy. Sex is not dirty. It is powerful.

Sex Belongs in Covenant

Gen 2:24–25 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked… and were not ashamed.”

One man. One woman. One lifetime.

Fire in a fireplace warms a home. Fire on the carpet burns it down.

Your Body Is a Temple

1 Cor 6:19–20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit… you are not your own? For you were bought at a price…”

You are not your own. You were bought at a price.

Purity is not earning God’s love. It is living like you’ve already been purchased by it.

HOW TO GUARD THE DOOR

Let Scripture Set Your Boundaries

Heb 13:4 “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

Ask hard questions before sin asks them for you.

Build Walls Before Temptation

Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?”

What you look at shapes what you love.

Don’t flirt with secrecy. Don’t cultivate private emotional intimacy with someone who is not your spouse.

Guard the door of your eyes. Guard the door of your phone. Guard the door of your private life.

Bring Sin Into the Light

James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…”

Sin grows in darkness. Freedom emerges from confession. Don’t fight alone.

If you have failed, there is a path back. Repent. Turn around. No excuses. No blame-shifting.

Conclusion: Paul’s message is simple. God calls us to holiness. Sexual sin contradicts that calling. It harms others. It invites judgment. And rejecting this instruction is rejecting God Himself.

What does God want? He wants you set apart. He wants you clean. He wants you governed. He wants you distinct.

He wants you loving others, not using them. He wants you listening to His voice. This is protection — not punishment.

Guard the door of your eyes.
Guard the door of your heart.
Guard the door of your phone.
Guard the door of your marriage.
Guard the door of your future.

Holiness builds the home. Sexual sin burns it down.

--------- Transcript ------------------

Find a letter in the New Testament called First Thessalonians, First Thessalonians, Chapter 4.
I've been working on this series probably six or more months, asking God to give me clarity and courage to speak the truth because we live in a world that is in a culture that is sexually insane at this point. Before I get into it, though, as you find First Thessalonians, Chapter 4, I'm happy to report that our 10 man offering came in at $1,000 more than we've ever received. We broke a record. How about that? Let's give God some glory for $27,000.
Came in to help the poor. And so we're still receiving that. If you want to give to it, you can, you can mark about 10 man fund. Also, circles are better than rows. Jesus started his ministry by assembling a small group.
And so we want to be like Jesus and have him live his life through us. And so we have a small group ministry. And in our small group ministry, we are pursuing friendship with Christ and we become friends with Jesus by being friends with his people. And it doesn't matter how good the services are at your church or the facilities or the children's ministry or how extraordinary the preaching is or whatever, you won't stay to church if you don't make friends. And so you desperately need believing friends.
Get in one of our small groups, Angie and I'll be down here after the service to talk to you about that. All right, Broken bedrooms. This week I'm going to talk about the Bible on sexual purity. Next week I'm going to give. I'm going to give you the warning against adultery.
10 reasons to avoid adultery. On the 26th, we're going to talk about. It's the big one. It's the one you haven't heard. A message on sexual needs within marriage.
And then we're going to end the series talking to single people. Guidelines for Singles and Romance. Let me ask you a question. Do you think the Enemy wants me to talk about these things? If there was ever a series I'm doing this year that will bring interference and an attack on me, it's this one.
So will you pray for me these next few weeks?
These are matters that we can keep secret and look normal on the outside. But I know that every Sunday people come in bound and in bondage to sexual sin and to their past and to shame. And I aim to bring Jesus to that because he sets people free. And so this is a big deal. First.
Thessalonians, chapter four, verses three through eight. My sermon today is called Guard the Biblical standards for sexual purity. I'm teaching the Bible, not a man's opinion. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. That you should abstain from sexual immorality.
That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles, who do not know God. That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter. Because the Lord is the avenger of all. Such as we also forewarned and testified for. God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us his Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Father, I pray that the light of Jesus would invade the darkness and the secrets inside of us today. I pray for clarity.
I pray that you would let this truth thunder from this pulpit. I pray God that you would lift shame off sexually broken people of whom I am one. All of us are in this room. I pray for a cleansing. I pray for a liberty.
I pray for strongholds to break. I pray for little ones who haven't dived into the sewer of this yet. That you would protect their purity, keep them clean until their marriage and show the world Jesus. This is our prayer. In Jesus name and a faithful church said.
Amen. Yes or no? Does God sanitize His word? Does he avoid subjects that feel uncomfortable or too mature? No.
One of the reasons I trust the Bible is because it doesn't clean up humanity. It doesn't hide our mess and it doesn't soften our scandals. It doesn't pretend that sexual sin is rare. Did you know that the Bible is bookended from this side and this side with sexual brokenness? For example, very early In Genesis Genesis 4, a man takes a second wife.
Polygamy enters the human story almost immediately. By Genesis 6, forbidden sexual unions bring the judgment of God. In Genesis 9, there's voyeurism looking on someone's nakedness without their knowledge. Not only is there voyeurism in Genesis 9, there may be something even worse in Noah's tent. In Genesis 19, God judges the sexual perversion of homosexuality in sodom.
In Genesis 20, Abram offers up his wife to a foreign king to save himself Genesis 34 records the first rape and the violent revenge that follows. Genesis 39 shows a married woman in a position of power stalking a single young man for a secret affair. Brothers and sisters, the Scriptures are not shy. And when you get to the end of the story, that's Genesis. First book, last book, Revelation.
When you get to the end of the story, nothing's changed. Revelation 9:21 says that the wicked refused to repent. And I quote, of their murders, of their sorceries, of their sexual immoralities and their thefts. Revelation 17 describes world leaders trafficking in sexual sin and immorality. If you're hearing me today, from Genesis to Revelation, sexual sin is not hidden, it's exposed.
Why is that? What's the reason? Because God is not embarrassed by the truth. He knows that sexual sin is never minor.
It destroys families, it fractures trust, it invites judgment, and it threatens destinies. And yet God keeps speaking his love and mercy because the same Bible that exposes sexual sin also offers sexual redemption.
God doesn't sanitize His Word because he intends to sanctify his people. So when Paul writes these words that we read in 1 Thessalonians 4, he's not whispering to us. He is guarding something sacred. He's protecting lives and marriages and futures. And if you're a note taker, he gives us six clear expectations.
Everybody ready? So far, so good.
What God wants, number one. God wants you set apart first. Thessalonians 4. Three, the first part. This is the will of God, your sanctification.
Well, Pastor, would you pray for me? I want to know the will of God. He's not hiding it from you. In some cases, he just is outright explicit in what it is, your sanctification. Stop pretending.
God's will is not mysterious. It's not hidden. It's not unclear. It's right there in the text. God wants us different.
The word holy in your Bible means different. The word sanctified is from the same root as the word holy. It means set apart. Not like the world. The Lord Jesus came to earth to redeem us.
Yes, you believe that, but listen also to restore us to our true humanity and our true human function. Jesus came to earth to restore us to us the life that we lost in Adam, so that we can be in Christ and Christ can be in us. This is what sanctification is. Sanctified means this. It won't be on the screen.
I added it this morning. But I'll say it twice if you're writing it down. Sanctified is for something or someone to be put to its correct use. Sanctified is for something or someone to be put to its correct use fulfilling the purpose for which it was intended originally.
Friends, what I'm preaching you today is not optional Christianity. It's not for those conservative Baptists, it's not for those Holy Pentecostals. This is not for super spiritual people. This is for every believer.
All you older folks, if you think you're old, I'm talking to you. If your kids think you're old, I'm talking to you. The stuff I'm gonna preach to you today, you do not age out of. You don't get too old to go, well, that was in my earlier life. God has different standards for me now.
I'm widowed, I'm older. No, this is till you die.
This is God's will for all of us. Holiness is not weird. It's not self righteous, it's set apart. You don't belong to the culture, you belong to Christ. That means your body and your desires and your decisions are holy ground.
So guard the door of your holiness. God wants you set apart. Number two, God wants you to stay sexually virtuous. And everybody, look at me, starting today, the second part of 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3. That you should abstain.
Not from sex, abstain from sexual immorality.
Let's say it plainly, you stay sexually clean. You keep sex where God put it. The word translated sexual immorality. In First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3, is the word porneia? Porneia.
Does that sound like anything you've ever heard of that involves sexuality? The word porneia is a big catch all category. It's a large basket. It's a broad term that includes any sexual activity outside God's design. Let me list for you what's outside God's design.
Adultery, being sexually intimate with someone you're not married to, any sex before marriage, any extramarital relationships which is also adultery. And listen to me, every form of perversion sexually, and if you want to know what that is, go read Leviticus 18. When you do, put your seatbelt on and understand that what God forbids in Leviticus 18 is because somebody somewhere did it.
Holiness and sexual immorality, sanctification and porneia cannot coexist.
So save sex for covenant marriage. There should have been a hundred amens on that. Let's try that again. Save sex for covenant marriage.
This isn't God shrinking your life. This is God sparing your life.
Do you know as a police chaplain, I get to see prisoners sometimes. Can you imagine how many of those prisoners are there because they never heard this message or heeded its teaching? Because some indiscretion, some choice about what I'm talking about today was the first domino that fell that got them incarcerated.
Sexual sin promises pleasure, but it delivers pain.
So guard the door of your heart. God wants you to stay sexually virtuous. That you should abstain from sexual immorality. Number three. God says, Govern yourself first.
Thessalonians 4. 4. That each of you should know how to possess. That's his own vessel. In sanctification and honor.
Govern yourself.
Quite frankly. Don't let your glands run your life.
You have at least one and likely two vessels to learn how to possess. In sanctification, holiness and honor. Your body and your spouse's body if you're married.
True or false? Physical attraction in human beings is real. Is that true? Is temptation powerful?
But you're not an animal driven by impulse. You're an image bearer, indwelled by the spirit of the living God. So that means that self control is possible. You can learn how to control your own body and sanctification and honor. This is something you learn.
It's developed. You practice it. Let me tell you about practice.
I write out my sermons as manuscripts. I started, I don't know how many years ago because I realized I forgot what I wrote down if I needed it later. And people would ask me if I could send them the file. So I write it out. And then a few years back, I was like, you know, I wouldn't go into a basketball game and never warm up and never shoot a ball.
I wouldn't go play softball and not swing the bat and go catch some fly balls before the game. I would practice so that I could perform it well. And so I practice my sermons every week. I record them out loud. My poor wife has to listen to them down the hallway.
She's the holiest person in this church. She's heard my preaching three times more than you have. And I say it out loud so I can go, man, that really sounded dumb, man. That wasn't any good. I gotta fix that.
I practice because I learn. Because I want to do it right. Because I want to help you.
And you can be sexually pure and learn how to govern yourself. By practicing, you get stronger over time. Listen to me. You will never drift into purity. You're not going to luck into it.
You grow into it. Holiness is on purpose. It's intentional. It is choosing honor over impulse. It's choosing holiness over your Appetites.
It's choosing long term joy over short term pleasure. You know, the book of Hebrews says that Moses decided to bypass the pleasures of sin for a short time in order to honor God by faith. Which means your Bible tells you that sin is fun for a little while and then it destroys. So you guard the door of your body. Govern yourself.
Number four. God says, don't copy people who don't know the Lord first. Thessalonians 4, 5. Not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. In the New Testament the term Gentile just means people who don't know Christ.
They're not sons and daughters of Abraham by faith. They are outside the covenant. Another word for Gentiles in some English Bibles is heathen.
Heathens don't know God. Don't let unbelievers define your standards of right and wrong.
Shouldn't you hear your pastor say that a few times a year? You know, the culture says follow your heart, but God says, follow me. The culture says, if it feels good, do it. But God says if it is good, you won't be confused about it. The culture says do what comes naturally.
God says, be holy, for I am holy.
The difference is between believers and Gentiles, believers and heathens. The difference is not intelligence. There are some very smart unbelievers out there. You work for them. Some of you may be related to them.
They're not dummies. The difference is not upbringing. There are Gentiles and heathens out there with very decent parents. The difference is whether or not someone knows God. People who don't know God follow their passions.
People who do know God master theirs.
How can we follow Jesus and follow the crowd at the same time? What fellowship does like have with darkness? What fellowship does Christ have with Belial? Come out from them and be separate. Paul writes, guard the door of your influences.
Don't copy people who don't know the Lord. Some of you need to break up with your best friends. They are pulling you away from the kingdom of God. Get new friends inside your church. Don't be mean.
Just go away. Drift away. Come back with the gospel number 5. Don't use people first. Thessalonians 4 6.
That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter.
Okay, this is where it gets the easy part is now over.
The real stuff and it's all been real. But the stuff that's going to make you uncomfortable starts now. Paul says that sexual sin takes advantage. It defrauds it Steals something that belongs to someone else.
Do you understand that sex outside the marriage covenant always takes something.
It steals innocence.
It obliterates trust.
It removes peace in the heart. It takes what belongs to a future spouse. Makes you a bandit, a prowler, a thief and a robber. When you sleep with someone without lifelong commitment, you're becoming one flesh without making a covenant. I don't know if you know this.
Some of you guys hadn't put this together yet. I'm going to put it together for you at church, the locker room talk that your buddies say, man, you need to stay away from that girl. She's crazy. And you don't want to date crazy. By the way, the word date by the younger crowd doesn't mean date anymore.
It doesn't mean go out for dinner and a movie. It means have sex with them. Date has become a synonym with lovemaking. So your friends in the locker room say, don't date her. She's crazy.
I tried it. She won't leave me alone. Well, let me talk to you about that crazy for a second. What happens is you did something that caused a real spiritual and emotional bond and union to take place, thinking that it's just a hit and run and it won't last and it'll be forgotten. And you wonder why it broke her heart and she's gonna key your truck and she won't stop blowing up your phone and all of that.
And you're like, she's crazy. No, she's one flesh with you.
And heaven says that's a big deal. Something real happened and God forbids it outside of marriage for this very reason. And you and your darkness and blindness and ignorance thought it was some locker room joke. Don't use people. Heaven calls that a big deal.
Because sexual sin doesn't just break a rule, it uses a person. Hey, listen to me. Love protects lust, exploits and destroys.
First time I saw this was this week. The Proverbs 31, wife. By the way, it's not the Proverbs 31, woman. Ladies, your goal in life should be to be a godly wife.
The Proverbs 31 wife models the opposite of this. I've read this text I don't know how many hundreds of times never made this connection. Proverbs 31:12. This lady is filled with God's spirit and she's industrious. And here's what it says of her.
Speaking of her husband, she does him good and not evil all the days of her life. Now, how I used to read that was she does her husband good and not evil, all the days of their lives. But that's not what it says. She honors and serves and blesses her husband all the days of her life before she ever marries him.
It meets. There's a lifelong posture of faithfulness. She guards her heart and her body and her affections long before marriage ever begins and continues without compromise all her days. That's what Proverbs 31:12. May God raise up an army of these girls.
Amen.
Guard the door. Of how you treat people. Don't use them. God says. Number six.
Don't refuse God's voice first. Thessalonians 4, 8. The one who rejects this does not reject man, but God. Listen to me. I am not telling you, Trevor Davis, opinions about sexuality in the world.
This isn't about preference. It's not about personality. This is about God. To treat sexual purity lightly is to treat God lightly. That's what that verse means.
Rejecting this instruction and living and being promiscuous and having this high body count and doing everything but the act and all of that. And sending naked pictures and pornography. All of it. Living that way and saying, God, you can have all of my life, but this. You're really saying God, but you can't have the other parts of my life either.
I'm making the rules now. And I bet you my will overcome yours. God, do you think you'll win that battle?
Aren't you glad there's grace here for all of this?
The same verse that says if you reject this, you reject God also says that God gives you his holy Spirit. God doesn't command holiness and then abandon you.
What he commands, he empowers. The spirit of God lives in believers to help them live holy lives in an immoral world. That means that you're not fighting alone. You have the spirit of God and your local church all behind you. You're not resisting in your own strength.
God gives himself to make holiness possible.
So you guard the door by listening to his voice. Don't refuse God's voice. Okay, Pastor, you preached that text. So what? Let me tell you why purity matters.
Let me give you three reasons. You ready? I need some water for this.
Purity matters because sex was God's idea. I am telling you the truth. From the inventor of this Genesis, chapter 1, verses 27 and 28. So God created man in his own image. Is that verse true?
Did he make male and female and create them? Are those the only two genders? Okay, then, God. What's the next word?
Is it blessed? Look, your sex life Inside your marriage is a blessing from God.
You should be thankful for it, you should honor it, you should protect it. Guys, you should get better at it. Women, same. It's a blessing. God bless them.
And here's how we know. He said, be fruitful and multiply. Enjoy this activity and then make little Christians and populate the earth with little believers that you're going to raise up and evangelize. It's the blessing that means that sex didn't sneak under God's radar.
He invented desire. He designed your body. It's amazing. God blessed intimacy. That means that sex isn't dirty.
It is empowered from heaven. Listen to me, Christians. Every time you make love to your spouse, you worship God. When you do it for him and for her and for your guy, it's the only time it's worship. Inside the covenant of marriage, purity matters because sex was God's idea.
Number two, sex belongs in a covenant.
When God invented marriage, it sounds a lot like this. Genesis chapter 2, verses 24 and 25. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother. I should do a whole sermon on get out of your parents house, you 27 year olds.
Man, this delayed adolescence has brought nothing but immorality and hurt. Therefore a man shall leave his mother and father. Be joined to his what? Girlfriends joined to his wife. And they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked and were not ashamed. It's where your nakedness doesn't bring shame in your marital bedroom. It's been that way since Genesis chapter two, which was a very long time ago. This has always been God's plan. And the enemy has had his guns and his sights set on this.
And I gave you that list of all that mess in Genesis. So from the beginning, Satan's been at war with this. It belongs in a covenant. One man, one woman, one lifetime. Amen.
You see, fire in the fireplace warms the home. But fire outside on the carpet and on the walls burns it all down. And some of you, your sexual activity is on the carpet and the walls. It's not in the fireplace. And you're wondering why everything's going wrong.
And why do you keep having all these breakups and all this? You've abandoned the covenant. That's where it belongs. Number three, Purity matters because your body's a temple. I taught you last week that the essence of the Christian life is that Jesus lives in you.
That means where you go, he goes. Who you lay down with, Jesus is there.
Where you go in the dark, you take the Lord with you. Your body is A temple? If you don't believe me. First Corinthians 6, 19, 20. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
You are not your own. You were bought at a price you know. You were purchased with the precious blood of the very Lamb of God.
Purity is not earning God's love. It's living like you've already been purchased by it.
Okay, Pastor, I agree with you. How do I do it? Yes, but how? How to guard the door?
Number one, let Scripture set the boundaries. Hebrews 13:4. Marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled. But fornicators, that's the poor naius. Sexually immoral fornicators and adulterers.
God will judge. Listen, you never get away with it.
Every sexual indiscretion you've had, every broken marriage that you pulled the pin on the grenade, all of your adulteries, all of your fornications, you don't just outgrow them. You don't get enough water under the bridge to erase them. You must bring them to God and repent.
This is what the world doesn't want you to hear. Ask hard questions before sin asks them for you. Let the scriptures set your boundaries. Number two, build walls before the temptation. I learned this the first year I was saved.
My youth pastor said, you need to memorize job 31 1. I was 15 years old when I got saved. And every woman was beautiful because I was 15. You know what job 31:1 says? I've made a covenant with my eyes.
The NIV says not to look lustfully at a girl. Should I look upon a young woman? I made an agreement with these two.
Listen to me very carefully. What you look at shapes what you love.
So don't flirt with secrecy.
I left my phone down there. Accidentally. Raise your hand if you have a smartphone. Look around the room. Raise them up high, everybody.
If you don't have a smartphone, you probably have an AOL email address, right? You're a legend.
You know the average iPhone user touches their phone. And Apple knows this. The average iPhone user touches their phone 2617 times a day. Now, that's average. Some of you are going, I only touched my phone 20 times.
Well, think about what it took for that other person to make your average 2617.
The battle is at your screen.
Don't flirt with secrecy. Let me give you a snapshot of the world we're living in right now. The global pornography industry generates tens of billions of dollars every year. Somewhere between 57 and $100 billion a year. Well, how Much is that, Pastor?
That's more than the revenue of the five major professional sports leagues. In a year combined, baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer hit 47 billion. This is big business built on human weakness. And the effects are just massive. Studies show that couples who have pornography in their life are 200% more likely to to divorce.
These are not Christian sources. It's probably higher. Heavy users of pornography report lower relationship satisfaction. They just aren't fulfilled in their romantic relationships. More anxiety in their lives.
They feel isolated and they can't get rid of the shame. And here's what's most alarming to me. Exposure is happening younger and younger, and it's becoming more normalized. And researchers are warning that repeated exposure to pornography will slowly normalize physical aggression. It will numb your conscience and it will increase acceptance of violence against women.
What used to shock people now shapes our expectations.
What used to be hidden, now disciples our hearts. This isn't just a private struggle. It's a cultural force. It's a tidal wave. And it's quietly rewriting how people think about love and sex and marriage.
81% of all serial killers in America reported that they heavily use pornography before they started killing people. You're going to see violent offenders on the rise because of this. You don't flirt with secrecy. Don't cultivate. Let me get out of that for a second and talk about your workplace.
Don't cultivate private emotional intimacy with someone who's not your spouse.
I got to tell you, opposite gender friendships is a major red flag for married people.
Pastor, you tell me I can't be friends with a woman and have a wife. I'm telling you that's stupid and foolish. I'm telling you, you just kicked the door open to destroy your family. You're parading your self control. That's ridiculous.
The rise of this concept of the work spouse y' all heard about this is also foolish and ridiculous. You need to end those today. Look, your marriage is worth more than your job. If it costs you your employment, keep your marriage. Break it all off.
Because of this, I started texting guests that visit our church. But if it's a lady, I'll add my wife to the text.
Why? You can't be too careful. And I've got nothing to hide. That's how we live. Yes.
Is this too much? Am I going too far?
Guard the door of your eyes. Guard the door of your phone. Guard the door of your private life. And lastly. And it's the only way to win.
Bring sin into the light. James 5:16. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. You won't break the strongholds of sexual sin in your life behind closed doors by yourself, just between you and God. This is a one another thing, Pastor.
You telling me I gotta tell all of my embarrassing secrets to a bunch of people? No, I'm telling you. Tell it to one. Probably not gonna be your mom and dad.
All of you don't need to come to me. I can do a few. It'll be men. But there's got to be an adult of your same gender in this church. You may not know them very well.
You just admire them and you think they walk with God. Go ask them. Hey, will you pray for me? I've got some secrets that I need to get out of the darkness where the devil owns it and bring it into the light so Jesus can have it. What do you think that wise Christian's gonna say to you?
Absolutely. In your secret, safe with me. Unless it's a crime. Then you got to tell the police if you leave it in the dark. I mean, how's that working out for you?
My friend wrote a song in the 90s and there was a line in it, and I can't get it out of my head. Time and time again, I just confess the same old sin.
Sin grows in the darkness. Freedom emerges from confession. Fight this alone. If you fail, there's a path back. That's how gracious Jesus is.
You repent. You turn around, you change your mind about all this stuff. You don't make excuses. You don't shift the blame. You bring it into the light.
Holiness builds the home. Sexual sin burns it down. And you get to choose. Let's pray together. Prayer team.
If you'll come to the front.
Father, would you teach Great Commission Church.
How to guard the door?
Set some people free for the glory of Jesus. This month, God purify your church in Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand together. Did you make it through that sermon?
I did, too. I think to the mission field you go. The prayer lines are open. Love you guys. See you next week.

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Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church for a welcoming and uplifting worship experience. If you’ve been searching for a church near you, you’ll discover a warm, authentic church family ready to help you grow in faith.

We are a family-friendly, non-denominational Christian church in Olive Branch, serving individuals and families throughout DeSoto County and the greater Mid-South. People looking for Christian churches in Olive Branch often discover a vibrant community where faith comes alive and lives are transformed through the Gospel.

Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Christ for years, you’ll find welcoming Sunday services, practical Bible teaching, and a place to belong. We are more than a congregation — we are a church family united by a mission to follow Jesus and live out the Great Commission.

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Families searching for a church with strong children’s programs love our engaging Kids Ministry and safe, caring environments. Students can connect through our Youth Ministry, and adults of every stage can find community through groups, prayer, and discipleship opportunities. As a multi-generational church, we love seeing every age grow in faith together.

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Experience contemporary worship with modern Christian music, heartfelt prayer, and Gospel-centered messages designed to help you encounter God personally. If you’re looking for vibrant worship near Memphis, you’ll find a place that feels both authentic and inspiring.

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We offer Bible studies, small groups, and discipleship opportunities that help you understand and apply God’s Word to everyday life. If you’re looking for a place to grow spiritually, you’ll find support and encouragement here.

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We are passionate about serving our neighbors through outreach and local partnerships, making a positive impact in Olive Branch and beyond.

Conveniently located in Olive Branch, we serve families from surrounding communities, including Southaven, Germantown, Collierville, Lewisburg, and Byhalia.