Worth the Wait Pt. 1

so everybody listen up tonight we are launching into the one series that we do every few years that most students do a little cringe moment about some are a little uncomfortable about um it's called worth the weight everybody say worth the wait oh yeah but i want you guys first to disarm everybody here i know we have a large group a diverse group of students guys and girls we have a lot of different age groups from middle school to high school so i do want you guys to know we aren't going to go too deep into specific topics the world is unashamed about talking about things that in regard to sexual nature right the the world and the perversion of what they promote it's unashamed and it's so important that we talk about it as a church because the bible has a lot to say about it i want you guys to understand we're not going to go into topics and things that are going to be too crude or too embarrassing for you but we're going to be everything based on the word of god it's going to be helpful because this is something that is all around us in our culture and we need it we need to be strengthened by it amen amen so turn to somebody next you say buckle up now tonight's not going to be too bad but next week no just all right everybody listen up so from 2007 to 2016 um there's a social interaction website existed it was called the experience project and their slogan was this find people who understand you it's kind of an appealing thing people like hey i feel kind of isolated or lonely i need to find people who understand me and there's a website where people would submit posts ranging from hilarious to heartbreaking the posts were in response of really simple questions like what did you have for dinner or complex issues like i know i'll be alone forever everybody say oh that's sad but there's all kinds of posts on this website but buried in the millions of posts there was one entitled i prefer darkness over light and this is what it said he said i prefer darkness over light the darkness allows me to hide who i am and what i truly feel in the light all things have a chance to be revealed darkness makes it easier to hide in the dark you cannot see what is coming next the darkness is a place where you can lose yourself loss in the dark is a great place to be because then you are free from what you were and can be what you want the darkness is bliss easy to hide a place where you can lose yourself and be where you want darkness now this is a frightening but accurate description of today the 21st century culture in modern society outside of this incredible church and the church at large the cover and the comfort of spiritual darkness has allowed things that should be abnormal according to the word of god to now become normal things that were once considered very wrong and sinful are now acceptable and they're right bizarre behavior is expected and even celebrated the shocking what we've discussed last month and what many of you discuss in our small group just a few years ago the same series same questions by students drastically different i compared notes and questions from 2018 to 2022 and every year that goes by the shocking is no longer shocking because of the trajectory into darkness of our culture jesus told nicodemus in john 3 19-20 it's going to be on the screen and the judgment is based on this fact god's light came into the world but people they loved the darkness more than the light for their actions were evil and all who do evil hate the light and they refuse to go near it for fear that their sins will be exposed it's into this darkness loving culture that we as christians are called to shine as light and if our staff can help us up front and brother zach won't you hit the lights everybody say hit the lights all right so everybody do this this is not complete darkness maybe they can do the other uh for your theater so i want you guys to imagine this imagine you've just stepped into a cave how many guys liked going spelunking how many guys are claustrophobic and that's terrifying to you yeah that's kind of what i expected so everybody listen to this you're walking into a cave the floor the walls the ceiling are slick cold and damp and you step deeper inside and light a candle that begins to send shadows flickering down the black pathway as you go deeper into the cave it gets darker after walking downward in the cave for several minutes past the lactites and stalagmites you come to a small body of water you can hear it and the light from your candle reveals something moving in the water no nothing that will eat you but something small that's a fish rising to the surface and then sinking back below you kneel for a closer look and you realize many of the fish have no eyes these fish are swimming up and down they're searching for food in absolute darkness some blind most entirely eyeless they're oblivious to your lone light they don't see your light shining across the surface of the water and it almost sounds made up but it's not aesthetics mexicanus the blind cave fish has a lightless existence we have one normal and one not in any normal lake or pond environment a blind or an eyeless fish would quickly become the dinner of a predator but an environment that doesn't require sight the fish thrive they reproduce and they pass on a lack of vision to the next generation so students modern society i want you to hear this is like a pond at the bottom of a dark cave people by the billions are swimming in sightless circles and they are very comfortable with darkness and they're passing that dark comfort from one generation to the next that doesn't know what it means to truly see most frightenly the darkness of the caves have redefined what is normal in the cave blindness is expected in the cave sight is an anomaly it is rare in the cave everyone grows comfortable with the dark darkness has become a frightening new kind of normal and we are all in this cave together so we must therefore strive to keep our light and we can lights back on do the the hand clap one two three wow does anybody have a clap on light at your house anybody i wish me too let me get one of those everybody listen to this we must strive in the darkness to live holy to live pure to live right while everything around us invites us to close our eyes and to give in to the darkness through our series this month you need to understand that it is possible to live seeing in a sightless world it is possible to walk cautiously as paul talks about in ephesians 5 15-16 wisely keeping our eyes open because he says the day is evil paul goes on to remind us a chapter later ephesians 6 12 on the screens so we're not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world against mighty powers everybody read this next line in this dark world everybody say that again in this dark world against evil spirits in the heavenly places so students when it comes to serving god we're in a spiritual fight and not only does the enemy want to destroy our bodies but also our souls but this is what we're going to focus on this month there is no other area of life where our soul and our body are so connected as in physical relationships perhaps that's why the enemy of our souls comes against our bodies so relentlessly through sexual sin in an attempt to destroy your body and your soul the darkness will tell you that having morals having boundaries and living a holy life that it does not matter the darkness will tell you to follow the ways of the world the darkness will tell you to do what everyone else is doing who isn't serving god the darkness will tell you that what is promoted on social media by hollywood on the internet in appropriate sites that that is okay that that is normal but the darkness will tell you to do whatever you feel like doing whatever you want to do but as christians and followers of jesus christ we're not living in darkness but we are living in light the world will tell you your body your choice but the bible tells us that your body is the temple of the holy ghost purchased by the blood of jesus christ amen we're not living in darkness but in the light so it's important to follow the light that tells you that your body is the temple of the holy ghost the light will tell you that living a holy and a separated life is right and the light will tell you that when it comes to things of a sexual nature god has a plan for your life and it really is worth the wait that is the focus that is the heartbeat the title of this series this month it's endorsed by the united pentecostal church written by ken gurley and tyler whaley this curriculum it has changed lives and impacted students for many years yes the darkness has its own ideas on sexuality and the physical interaction with one another but what does the light of god's word have to say that's what we're going to start into this opening lesson with a broad understanding listen to what the bible says genesis 1 27-28 right from the very beginning and we mentioned this last month initially god created human beings in his own image in the image of god he created only two male and female he created them then god blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and govern it reign over the fish and the sea the birds in the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground hebrews 13 4 on the screen says give honor to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage god will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery so very clearly anything that is supposed to take place of a sexual physical nature should only take place between one man one woman who are married that's god's plan clearly explained throughout the word of god anything outside of that is not okay it is sinful according to god's word specifically sexual relationships before marriage is called fornication and the person who commits fornication commits sins against his own body the temple of the holy ghost so that's why the bible goes on to clearly tell us first corinthians 6 18 says hey run away from sexual sin you run away from it you run away from friends who promote it you run away from relationships that encourage it run away from it no other sin i want you guys to look at that scripture no other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does there's a lot of different sin you can go to hell for lying you can go to hell for cheating but when it comes to things of a sexual nature it absolutely affects the body so powerfully for sexual immorality the bible says is a sin against your own body so god also promises to judge sexual sin fornication adultery homosexuality all these things clearly in the bible first corinthians 6 9-10 and that's why the darkness will try to tell you sometimes when we read scriptures and we talk about these things it's kind of abrasive because you hear what the darkness tells you is okay what the darkness tells you is fine what the darkness tells you to believe but the bible tells us first corinthians 6 9 don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of god so don't fool yourselves those who indulge in sexual sin worship idols commit adultery male prostitutes practice homosexuality thieves greedy people drunkards or abusive or cheap people none of these will inherit the kingdom of god so this is clear understanding of what the light teaches and stands for student some of you know this some of you will find out but the darkness of this world is screaming and promoting the complete opposite of what i just read to you but i want you to say this outline everybody say to say god has a better plan say it together so god has a better plan god has a better plan and you have to remind yourselves of that that some will say hey this plan this timeline the parameters that is given to you by the word of god that that doesn't apply to us that we can circumvent that that we can shortcut that that we can kind of wash away the lines here and there and experiment and do these different things but the bible says no no no god has a better plan you have to remind yourselves that otherwise you get stuck in the rut of believing the chaos the darkness that surrounds us god is a better plan for your life for your body for your future for your marriage for you as the temple of the holy ghost now if possible and this is hard sometimes as students because i know most of the time you're thinking about tomorrow you're thinking about next week you're thinking about finishing school and kind of the farthest maybe from some of you is summer you're trying to be thinking that a lot of you guys may not really be thinking a whole lot about next school year the school year after that high school college some of you guys are but a lot of times when it comes to the deep things and the future we don't look down the road we kind of think about the here and now but i want you to stop and kind of look down the long road of life and to dream a little bit imagine the married version of you some of you are like imagine yet mrs mr so and so imagine a couple of kids on the swing in the backyard drinking sweet tea or something like that imagine the minivan yes go ahead imagine you driving that bad boy i never thought it would happen but it has happened one of the funniest moments me and my wife we said well never ever ever ever ever get a minivan we got a honda accord we had a honda pilot suv we had a lincoln we were planning on zara and room is getting tight and we were with my friend at a general conference and we had to go to dinner and we sat down in his minivan they pulled up we got in the minivan we're hanging out i'm sure looking around this thing's nice and i was like that moment is like it happened i was like when i looked back at my wife and she's like it is pretty nice i'm like ah it's happened we're here and we got a minivan but here's the thing most students that get into a relationship now tend to make life decisions based on the you the us of this relationship on the next 10 minutes rather than the you of the next 10 years but god's plan for you and your relationship looks even further than that most teenagers regret revolves around making decision with short term thinking that had long term consequences the 12 15 or 18 year old version of you doesn't realize that the 25 35 45 year old version of you with the family will have to live with the choices that you made so many years earlier and they will affect the 25 35 45 year old you and your marriage and your family life and relationships are full of choices and making choices outside of god's plan by engaging in premarital sex or other inappropriate physical relationships experience significant consequences there's the obvious unwanted pregnancies around a million teenage women get pregnant each year 78 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned according to fox news since the supreme court ruling in 1973 on roe versus wade over 63 million unborn children have been legally aborted in the united states most girls don't plan on having abortion because they're thinking about the 10 minutes versus the next few years of their life if you follow the news there is a possibility that the supreme court ruling will be overturned the decision will be up to individual states and the legality of abortion in each state will depend on a true democracy determined by voters which would be a wonderful win for the united states and for the followers of jesus christ but another consequence is sexually transmitted diseases i want you to think about this a third of all americans over the age of 10 have one or more of these diseases the cdc estimates that one in five people have an std think about that one in five people now don't look through that lens within the church okay jesus name that number is significantly lower within the church i know some of you guys are like one two three four five huh we're not doing that here today all right pull it back in here we're gonna read it back in but think about this before you foolishly engage and make decisions with others that have not been faithful that are living in the darkness that one in five have stds and estimated 68 million americans are afflicted with at least one of these incurable diseases that can lead to infertility miscarriages still burst mother to infant infection cancer emotional trauma is huge sexual immorality that people don't talk about outside of marriage carries a high emotional price tag teenagers often think the relationship is much deeper than it is than what it was with that student that they'll be forever think about that high school relationship but don't mistake love for emotions and lustful desires couples and sexual immorality find how shall this false love is when the hurt comes when they experience guilt fear shame heartbreak misunderstanding loss of identity personal values and a fracturing of the soul the fact that society is getting increasingly dark is very clear but while some turn to darkness others will make the best decision of their life and turn to the spiritual light when you make the decision to turn to the light there will be significant benefits for your future this world only promotes the reasons why you should pursue sexual immorality but there should be many reasons why you should not there are many reasons why abstinence abstaining from sexual immorality is worth the wait obviously the most important of all is because god's word clearly forbids it and by abstaining we are in a right relationship with jesus christ right pure of sin free from sin but i want to mention a few other things quickly of why absence is a better choice there's a lot of research just statistics i can't mention at all for the sake of time but one abstinence avoids the complications the consequences of what i mentioned like stds abortion emotional trauma number two abstinence heightens the chance of marrying the right person it enhances your chances of because as soon as you date somebody even though they shouldn't be the right one you somehow you're attracted or you meet somebody at school and it's just you're okay but i promise you if somebody says hey brother joel i'm thinking about this person i like this person what do you think i'm interested in this person and if i said before you start dating before anything takes place that shouldn't take place and i say no i really don't think that's a good idea your parents don't feel good about it abcd okay you can take a step back but if you come to me after you've already begun a relationship after you've already gotten close to one another physically you've crossed some lines those emotional and physical ties are so powerful and so strong and blinds the judgment of what you should do and the decisions you should make that is why absence enhances the possibility of marrying the right person because you can clearly see that hey that person is not good for my future but if you get engaged in inappropriate behavior you will be blinded by the darkness with your decision making over and over again number three abstinence enhances the possibility this is statistics of good education and career greater marital satisfaction a good example to the next generation first peter 2 9 says this about us but you students you're not like that for you understand this you're a chosen people you are royal priests a holy nation and once again i remind you you are not your own you are god's very own possession you are not your own where you can do what you choose what you feel free to do what feels free about what makes you feel good what you want to do no you are god's own possession and as a result you can show others the goodness of god he called you to come out of the darkness to live outside of the darkness and into his wonderful light far below the streets of new york city how many guys have been to new york city yes maybe a few of you have new york city there literally are thousands of people who live under the streets in abandoned tunnels in chambers of the new york subway system if you're interested you can watch the youtube documentaries or videos they're called mold people m-o-l-e everybody say mole people it's a real thing mole people live mostly in darkness attempting to make homes in dirty wet moldy rast infested environments every once in a while in the cover of darkness a few venture above ground at night to secure food and medical supplies but research has uncovered this thriving culture they think is thriving a culture that is adapted to life beneath the city the normal world is just right above their heads restaurants and shops line the streets children play in the sunlight families gather discuss their days and their plans but below the streets the mole people they picked their way through the dark tunnels of a life that somehow accepted darkness and loneliness as normal in some ways it's a very vivid picture of a life that we live in the school environment that you're in environment that we're around all the time the dark the danger the community evading the law of god like spiritual mole people some will choose to live way below their god intended normal and they will be living a way that he doesn't approve of but just above that is a life that they should be living but they see others around them living in darkness and the darkness becomes normal and for many students sexual immorality is normal sin is normal wrong decisions normal what we look at that we shouldn't look at is normal what we talk about the things that we're comfortable discussing with others with members of the opposite sex that we should never have no business sharing or discussing but it's normal but i want you guys to understand you can't wander in spiritual darkness jesus said in nicodemus in john 3 19 and the judgment is based on this fact god's light came into the world but people loved the darkness more than the light for their actions were evil verse 20 all who do evil they hate the light and they refuse to go near it for fear that their sins will be exposed so what's the point tonight in this first lesson i just want to encourage you since don't buy into the culture that says that dark is normal and light is to be feared we are not mole people society does not value sexual purity but it should remain a priority with those who serve god purity is not normal to the world but we were never supposed to be normal to the world we're called to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth we are citizens of a different kingdom we're called to obey god we live by a different standard we play by a different set of rules we're called to be a light in the darkness those who are going to help us with worship can make their way back this time since i want you to know by the age of 18 over half of the u.s teens will have engaged in some type of sexual activity half of every teenager will engage in some type of sexual activity by the age of 18. according to a survey in 17 magazines 75 of teens 75 percent believe that most of their peers are engaged in some type of sexual activity that is frightening a new normal of a godless 21st century but once again we're not called to be part of the darkness but be called to be holy as god is holy first thessalonians 4 3-5 says this god's will students is for you to be holy and to stay away so stay away from all sexual sin that could be physical it can be digital all sexual sin then each of you will control his own body and you will live in holiness and honor not going to live like those in the darkness not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know god and his ways so i say this often i said it recently in our holiness theories our apostolic identity series that episode students you have to get comfortable with different you have to be comfortable with living outside the lines drawn by media music and social media get comfortable with being different comfortable with speaking up comfortable with taking a stand comfortable with confrontation comfortable the idea that when we make commitments will not be ashamed of those commitments and to let others know we don't live to please ourselves we don't live to please others we live to please god amen i want us all to stand in the middle of the darkness amen that's good let's give the lord a handclap of praise amen i want you to invite you guys to the front we're going to close in prayer in the middle of the darkness we will be a light and i want us to come to time of prayer we're just going to take a moment on night one we're going to get more specific focus in the next couple of weeks we're going to say a prayer and a commitment to god very simply to be a light in the midst of a culture with darkness and sexual immorality amen that's all we're going to pray say god i am making a commitment to be a light in the darkness a darkness god of sexual immorality in my culture i will be alive