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Welcome to the David Jeremiah Podcast from Turning Point Ministries,
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delivering the unchanging Word of God to your ever-changing world.
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Listen daily at davidjeremiahpodcast.org or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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On today's episode, Dr. Jeremiah brings a message from his series,
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Powerful Principles from Proverbs. And now, here's David.
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Well, you will never find a book that has more
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pointed principles principles about living a pure life than the
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book of Proverbs. Throughout the whole book are illustrations, mini stories,
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things that you should take to heart when you read
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this book. In fact, one of the ways to study
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the book of Proverbs is to get a notebook and
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put the topic at the top of the page. And
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every time you find a proverb on that subject, just
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write it in underneath the topic. And little by little,
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you'll convey to yourself The power of this book as
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all of the principles about individual subjects come together. That's
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kind of what I did when I prepared these messages
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and came up with these subjects. And I tell you, friends,
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there's so much in the book of Proverbs about living
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a pure life and the dangers and what happens when
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you don't. Tremendous reading for our culture today. Don't forget,
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during this month, we have a wonderful resource. It is
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a book about Israel today. And even today as I awoke,
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I saw some crazy stuff being said about Israel from
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people here in America who've lost their minds about this
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nation and have become as anti-Semitic as some of the
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things surrounding the Holocaust. We need to be on our
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toes as believers and not be afraid to share what
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God has said about the nation of Israel. We've put
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it in a book, 100 plus pages, a beautiful gift book,
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and it's called God's Heart for Israel. and why it
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should have a place in your heart too. And it's
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our resource for the month of August. When you send
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a gift of any size to Turning Point this month,
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we'll send this book to you if you ask for it,
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and it will be yours to read. And you'll be
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happy to have it because it will help you answer
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the questions that are being asked all over the country today.
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Now here's part two of Power Up Purity, Proverbs, How
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About Purity?
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Walter Trubisch was writing on sexual purity and God's forgiveness
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and he made a statement in one of his articles
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that just jumped off the page to me. The statement
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was that God's wonderful forgiveness is so wonderful that God
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can make done things undone.
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And I looked at that and I thought, that's not true.
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That's not true.
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I never wrote a letter to anybody who wrote an
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article in a magazine before in my life, but I
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wrote him a letter. I said, I read your article
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and it is wonderful except for one statement. God cannot
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make done things undone. How many of you know that?
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I was at that time counseling with a young lady
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who was in trouble because of immorality. She was carrying
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a child that she should not have been carrying.
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She had no husband. She had been immoral.
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And she was brokenhearted and she asked God to forgive
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her and God did forgive her.
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No question about it, but the baby was born. Amen.
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You can't make done things undone. So there is a price, spiritually.
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But I don't want to talk about the spiritual price.
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I want to get down to the practical issues that
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affect this in our churches and in our homes. Because
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Solomon looks at us as almost as if he's taking
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an x-ray picture of this particular time in history. And
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he tells us what happens when we do not follow
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God's clear direction about moral purity.
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First of all, we suffer personally.
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Proverbs 5, 9 says, lest you give your honor to
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others and your years to the cruel one. One commentator
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I read said the word cruel one means blackmailer. Lest
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you give your honor to others and allow yourself to
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be blackmailed. You pay a price emotionally. Proverbs 5, 11
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to 14 says that this kind of activity fills your
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life with remorse and regret. And you mourn at last
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when your flesh and your body are consumed and you say,
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how I have hated instruction and my heart despised correction.
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I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor
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inclined my ear to those who instructed me.
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I was on the verge of total ruin in the
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midst of the assembly of the congregation. Notice.
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Hated instruction, despised correction, obeyed not the voice of his teachers,
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inclined not.
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His ear to those who instructed him.
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Here's a person who looks back on his life and
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realized that he had been forewarned and he had ignored
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the warning and had walked headlong into the whole situation
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in spite of that. I cannot tell you how many
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times people have come to talk to me over the
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years of my ministry about relationships that they knew were
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wrong that they knew were in violation of the word
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of God. And as we have talked, I have explained
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to them what God's word said. And they have said,
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we're going to do this anyway and ask God to
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forgive us. That's tempting God with presumptuous sin. That's saying,
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I can do whatever I want and then I can
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just pray a prayer and God will make it all better.
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My friend, that is so presumptuous and it helps you
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to understand how little you know both about the grace
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of God and the judgment of God. And then here's
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one that everyone who's been through a situation in life
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can certainly talk about and that is how this deals
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with you financially. Proverbs 5.10 and notice what it says,
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lest aliens be filled with your wealth and your labors
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go to the house of a foreigner.
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Isn't that something?
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You watch people go through a divorce and see how
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they have to settle their business. Or here's another proverb, 626,
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for by means of a harlot, a man is reduced
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to a crust of bread. I know guys who work
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every day and about 80% of their work goes toward
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alimony and settlement accounts and attorney's fees because they couldn't
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stay at home and do what God tells them to do.
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So they work every day and they're reduced to a
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crust of bread. It touches you professionally. It says here,
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Verses 18 and 19, for her house leads down to
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death and her paths to the dead. Now watch this,
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none who go to her return nor do they regain
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the paths of life.
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A very interesting concept.
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Yes, God can forgive it and yes he will and
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I want to make sure before we're finished, anyone caught
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up in the trap like we're talking about knows that
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God will forgive you and he'll wash it clean. He'll
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give you a clean heart but there is a price
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to pay. There are consequences. There's scar tissue that develops
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over the issues that happen. And it's usually true that
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when someone falls, this is especially true when it's someone
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in spiritual leadership, they may be forgiven and they may
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be restored, but they're never restored to the same level
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of influence that they had before it all happened. They
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can't recover the lost momentum in their life and regain
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the paths that once they walked. Then it touches you socially. Notice,
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Verses 29 through 35 of the sixth chapter say, so
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is he who goes to his neighbor's wife.
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Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
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People do not despise a thief if he steals to
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satisfy himself when he's starving. Yet when he is found,
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he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up
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all the substance of his house. Whoever commits adultery with
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a woman lacks understanding. That means he's ignorant. He who
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does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he
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will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away,
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for jealousy is a husband's fury. Therefore he will not
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spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense,
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nor will he be appeased, though you give him many gifts.
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Every time I turn around, somebody's saying, well, if it's
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just me, and it's just her, and it's all right
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with me, and it's all right with her, How does
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that affect anybody else? How many of you know that
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for every me and every her, there's four or five
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other people involved at each end? There's no such thing
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as just me and her. We all as men ought
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to pray, Almighty God, preserve me from ever having to
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go in and sit down with my children and explain
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to them why their mother and I are not going
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to be together anymore or why I have violated the.
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Covenant of marriage. There's always people hurt. It hurts you professionally.
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It hurts you socially.
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And there's a terrible, terrible penalty to be paid. You say,
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Pastor Jeremiah, this is not a happy message.
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I know.
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But it is a message that comes out of the
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word of God. You know, there are all these passages
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in the book of Proverbs strung together about wisdom. And
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if one person hears this warning and walks away from
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an affair that's about to happen or gets out of
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an involvement that they've started to get into because they
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realize that God has sent them this love letter to
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warn them against the penalty, it will be worth all
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of the tension I feel in this room right now. Well,
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that's the problem. Let's talk about how we keep this
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from happening, all right? I want to get away from
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the problem. Let's go to the solution. Once again, the
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book of Proverbs gives us some encouragement. How do I
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keep this kind of thing from happening in my life?
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And I speak as a person who is taking this
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counsel along with you because I'm no better than anyone else.
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I stand on this platform so you can see me,
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but not because I'm above you.
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I'm just one of you.
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I'm a fellow struggler, a fellow human being with all
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of the same potential to do something terrible if I
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don't walk with God. But listen to the Proverbs. First
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of all, respond to the counsel of God's word and
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Here in this passage that we have read and in
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all these passages, there is this plea on the part
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of the father to the son. Notice chapter five, verses
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one and two. My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
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Lend your ear to my understanding that you may preserve
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discretion and your lips may keep knowledge. Notice in this chapter,
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it talks about paying attention to what you hear. Some
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of you who are younger say, oh, they don't know
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what it's like to live in this culture. This is
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all puritanical. This is all fantasy on their part that
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people live pure lives.
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It is not so.
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There are people who live according to the word of
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God and find the joy of a pure and moral lifestyle.
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Proverbs 7 says, The beginning says this, my son, keep
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my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my
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commands and live and my law as the apple of
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your eye. Bind them on your fingers, write them on
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the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, you're my
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sister and call understanding your nearest kin that they may
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keep you from the immoral woman and from the seductress.
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who flatters with their words. What does that say? That
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the word of God is the preventative. The word of
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God will help you. You need to have the word
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of God flowing through your life, memorizing scripture, hearing God's word,
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reading books, reading the word of God over and over again.
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Let the word of God renew your mind and fill
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your heart with God's truth. Psalm 119 verse 11 says,
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your word have I hidden in my heart.
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Why?
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That I might not sin against you. And Psalm 119
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verse nine says, how can a young man cleanse his way?
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Listen, by taking heed according to your word. That's it.
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Let the word of God be your constant companion. Can't
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get enough of the word of God on Sunday for
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this to happen, I promise you. Can't get it by
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listening to Turning Point Radio or watching Turning Point Television.
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You gotta get in the book yourself. Let the word
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of God come through your spirit. Secondly, reject an arrogant attitude.
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Notice verse 26 of chapter seven. says, for she has
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cast down many wounded. Now watch this. And all who
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were slain by her were strong men. How many of
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you know that there's no such person who is totally
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impervious to this kind of an attack or this kind
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of an involvement? The first thing we need to do, men,
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is exercise this knowledge, and women too, that any one.
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Of us, no matter what our background, no matter what our.
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Circumstances, capable of doing something to hurt God and hurt
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the ones that love us and hurt our testimony and
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hurt our families. We're capable of it. The Bible says
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that we're not ever to allow pride to get into
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our lives because pride goes before destruction and a haughty
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spirit before a fall. First Corinthians 10, 12 says, therefore,
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let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
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Amen.
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Had a date and he took his date for a
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picnic and they stopped, this is a true story, they
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stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought two boxes of
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chicken to go on their little picnic. And when they
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got to the park, he opened up his box of
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chicken and instead of chicken, in the box was apparently
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that day's receipts, over $ 800. His date said, what are
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you going to do with this?
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He said, well, We'll take it back, absolutely.
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So he went back to Kentucky Fried and he took
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the box and he gave it to the proprietor. And
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the proprietor was overwhelmed, as you can well imagine. In
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our culture today, that kind of thing doesn't happen very often.
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And he said, you know, this is an incredible story.
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This is a wonderful story. I'm gonna call the newspapers,
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we're gonna get them out here and we're gonna put
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this in the paper and let everybody know that honesty
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is still around.
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He says, oh, don't do that. The woman I'm with
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is not my wife.
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Now that illustrates the subtle way that we think.
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Isn't that right?
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You can be honest about $ 800 and absolutely dishonest about
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a more important relationship than you'll ever know. That's how
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easy Satan fools us into thinking we're incapable of making
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such mistakes.
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Listen to me.
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Don't be arrogant. Don't think it can't happen to you.
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I don't care how pristine you may be in your
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thought process. Remember, let him that thinketh he stand take
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heed lest he fall. Reject an arrogant spirit. And then thirdly,
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recognize the danger of conversation. This is happening more and more.
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Every time we talk to somebody, well.
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We could just talk.
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Usually it's not even a sexual thing that begins. It's just, well,
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she listened to me. She cared about what was going on.
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I could talk.
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A reminder to all marital couples, we need to talk more.
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What's going on right now is we got chat rooms everywhere.
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On the internet.
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We got all kinds of infidelity going on because people
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are talking to one another on the internet. Now I'm
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not saying that every internet relationship is bad, but it's
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bad if you already have a relationship. Somebody said, well,
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I'm not sure I'm married to the right woman. My friend,
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if you're married, you're married to the right woman.
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Amen. Chat rooms, just the very thought of it.
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People getting together in the quietness of their study or
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at work or wherever. Developing relationships through conversation. Did you
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notice when we were going through these passages how much
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was said about words? In case you didn't, let me
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just run them by you real quickly. Proverbs 2.16, to
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deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who
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flatters with their words. 5.3, for the lips of an
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immoral woman drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil.
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Proverbs 6, 24, to keep you from the evil woman
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from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Proverbs 7, 21,
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with her enticing speech, she caused him to yield. With
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her flattering lips, she seduced him. Just be careful about conversations.
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There is a line in a conversation between a man
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and a woman who are not married to each other
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and are married to somebody else. There's a line in
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conversation over which you should not cross. When you start
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discussing personal intimate things with people who are not your
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own spouse, you have entered into the danger zone and
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it's just a matter of time before all of the
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things that we've talked about already become personally known to you.
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Watch out for your conversations. I never saw that before,
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but it's so true. Then run away from temptation. I've
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said this so often in various sermons that come close
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to this subject that I almost embarrassed to say it again.
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But notice what it says in Proverbs 5, 8. Remove
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your way far from her and do not go near
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the door of her house.
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Get out of there, man. Get out of there. I
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often said the best.
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Equipment for maintaining moral purity is the best pair of
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Adidas you can buy.
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Joseph ran away. Remember that?
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Joseph was caught and he ran away. And it says
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in the word of God that we're to flee this.
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Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways.
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Do not even stray into her paths. 1 Corinthians 6.18
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says flee sexual immorality. 2 Timothy 2.22 says flee youthful lusts.
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Run from it. I don't have to interpret that.
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You're in a situation at work where this kind of
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thing is happening and you're getting kind of drawn into
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a relationship, ask for a transfer. Okay? If you have
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the power, ask for their transfer. But don't allow yourself
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to stay in an environment where you are constantly exposed
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to the same temptation which you are.
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Currently not doing well with.
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Realize the fulfillment of your marriage relationship. It's not only
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what you do out there, it's what you do at
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home as well.
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Turn with me.
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You're not going to believe this is in the Bible,
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but it is. Let me read beginning in the fifth chapter,
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beginning at the 15th verse.
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Are you ready?
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Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your
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own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of
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water in the streets, let them be only your own
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and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be
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blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth as
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a loving dear and a graceful doe. Let her breast
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satisfy you at all times and always be enraptured with
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her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured
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by an immoral woman and be embraced in the arms
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of a seductress? You say, that's almost erotic language to
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be reading in church. It's in the Bible. And what
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it says is, There isn't anything wrong with sexuality. There's
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not anything wrong with it. God created it. It's to
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be enjoyed within the boundary of marriage between one man
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and one woman who covenanted themselves together for life. And
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the Bible says in the book of Hebrews that God
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honors this, that marriage is an honorable thing among all
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and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
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God teaches us that the best defense is a good offense, right?
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And when you allow God.
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To work in your own marriage relationship so that it's strong,
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makes it even more difficult for the tempter to come
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and lure you away and do something that will destroy
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your life. Finally, resolve love. to guard your heart. Proverbs 6.25 says,
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Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor
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let her allure you with her eyelids. Proverbs 4.23 says,
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Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it
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spring the issues of life. Job said in Job 31.1,
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I have made a covenant with my eyes. Why then
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should I look upon a young woman? A young man
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who was unaccustomed to the nightlife of the city was
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in Paris in the company of an older man. It
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was night as they stood outside one of the dens
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of iniquity and the atmosphere was heavy with perfume. The
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sound of music and dancing broke in upon the ear.
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The lights over the entrance seemed alive with brilliance. Turning
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to the old man, the younger man asked, and what
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is this? With no smile whatever, the reply came, this, son,
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is the gate of hell. And above the entrance was
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a sign, nothing to pay, nothing to pay to get in,
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but everything to pay once you're there. The word of
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God is such a loving letter. It may sound as
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if it's harsh when we speak of it in terms
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like this, but God loves us so much he wants
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the best for us. And the best for us does
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not lie in illicit relationships and immoral conduct. My friend,
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the best is in a relationship according to God's word.
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I have a friend by the name of Richard Furman
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who is a doctor in Boone, North Carolina. He is
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a thoracic surgeon and a wonderful Christian. And we were
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talking about losing our parents. He told me about his
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dad who died when he was 73. And he said, David,
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one thing I will never forget is is that after
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my dad died, we as children gathered around and were
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talking to my mom about my dad and their relationship
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and their marriage. And we got to talking about their wedding.
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And mom said that when they got married, they didn't
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have any money for a honeymoon. So they spent their
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honeymoon in her parents' home, up in the second story
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of their home. And one of the kids said, mom,
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how long did the honeymoon last? She said it ended yesterday.
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That's what I want. Isn't that what you want? Isn't
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that where the joy of life is? Isn't that where
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godliness is reflected in homes? It ended yesterday.
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May it be so for us. And let me say
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this to you. Wherever you are in this process, maybe
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you have blown it. Maybe there's some scars on your heart.
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I want to tell you that God will forgive you.
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And he wants you now to take what's left of
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your life and make the best of it for his
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honor and glory. You can't go back and undo what's done,
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but you can go forward. You can go forward with
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the principles of God's word and live your life according
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to his principles of purity. May God grant that you
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will do it. And in the process, may you find
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a way to cultivate a higher love a love for
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the Lord Jesus that will be so great that you
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would never want to do anything to hurt him because
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he's done so much for you.
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Amen.
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Amen. Well, tomorrow we're going to talk about power up
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your marriage, Proverbs for partners. So kind of make that
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transition into the marriage discussion tomorrow from the book of Proverbs.
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I hope you'll join us then. I've been telling you
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about this book, God's Heart for Israel. It's our resource
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for the month of August. You'll want to have this
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book because it brings together the passages from the Bible
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that talk about the importance of Israel in God's plan.
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And it's important that we as believers don't lose sight
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of what the Bible tells us. The Bible is very
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clear that God blesses those who bless Israel and that
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he curses those who curse Israel. I didn't say that.
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The Bible says that. And it's in this book. along
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with a lot of other principles. We want you to
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have the book. When you send your gift to Turning
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00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:35.589
Point in the month of August, we'll send it to
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you when you ask for it, and it'll be our
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way of saying thank you for your involvement. See you
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next time.
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Thank you for listening. Please join us next time for
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00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:56.950
another message from Dr. Jeremiah. You can also download the
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00:24:56.990 --> 00:24:59.950
free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or search
443
00:24:59.990 --> 00:25:02.640
in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access
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00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:03.259
our content.
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00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.209
Welcome to the David Jeremiah Podcast from Turning Point Ministries,
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00:00:04.669 --> 00:00:08.609
delivering the unchanging Word of God to your ever-changing world.
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Listen daily at davidjeremiahpodcast.org or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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On today's episode, Dr. Jeremiah brings a message from his series,
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Powerful Principles from Proverbs. And now, here's David.
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Well, you will never find a book that has more
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pointed principles principles about living a pure life than the
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book of Proverbs. Throughout the whole book are illustrations, mini stories,
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things that you should take to heart when you read
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this book. In fact, one of the ways to study
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the book of Proverbs is to get a notebook and
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put the topic at the top of the page. And
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every time you find a proverb on that subject, just
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write it in underneath the topic. And little by little,
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you'll convey to yourself The power of this book as
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all of the principles about individual subjects come together. That's
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kind of what I did when I prepared these messages
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and came up with these subjects. And I tell you, friends,
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there's so much in the book of Proverbs about living
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a pure life and the dangers and what happens when
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you don't. Tremendous reading for our culture today. Don't forget,
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during this month, we have a wonderful resource. It is
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a book about Israel today. And even today as I awoke,
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I saw some crazy stuff being said about Israel from
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people here in America who've lost their minds about this
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nation and have become as anti-Semitic as some of the
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things surrounding the Holocaust. We need to be on our
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toes as believers and not be afraid to share what
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God has said about the nation of Israel. We've put
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it in a book, 100 plus pages, a beautiful gift book,
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and it's called God's Heart for Israel. and why it
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should have a place in your heart too. And it's
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our resource for the month of August. When you send
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a gift of any size to Turning Point this month,
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we'll send this book to you if you ask for it,
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and it will be yours to read. And you'll be
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happy to have it because it will help you answer
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the questions that are being asked all over the country today.
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Now here's part two of Power Up Purity, Proverbs, How
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About Purity?
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Walter Trubisch was writing on sexual purity and God's forgiveness
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and he made a statement in one of his articles
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that just jumped off the page to me. The statement
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was that God's wonderful forgiveness is so wonderful that God
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can make done things undone.
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And I looked at that and I thought, that's not true.
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That's not true.
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I never wrote a letter to anybody who wrote an
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article in a magazine before in my life, but I
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wrote him a letter. I said, I read your article
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and it is wonderful except for one statement. God cannot
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make done things undone. How many of you know that?
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I was at that time counseling with a young lady
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who was in trouble because of immorality. She was carrying
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a child that she should not have been carrying.
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She had no husband. She had been immoral.
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And she was brokenhearted and she asked God to forgive
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her and God did forgive her.
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No question about it, but the baby was born. Amen.
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You can't make done things undone. So there is a price, spiritually.
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But I don't want to talk about the spiritual price.
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I want to get down to the practical issues that
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affect this in our churches and in our homes. Because
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Solomon looks at us as almost as if he's taking
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an x-ray picture of this particular time in history. And
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he tells us what happens when we do not follow
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God's clear direction about moral purity.
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First of all, we suffer personally.
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Proverbs 5, 9 says, lest you give your honor to
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others and your years to the cruel one. One commentator
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I read said the word cruel one means blackmailer. Lest
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you give your honor to others and allow yourself to
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be blackmailed. You pay a price emotionally. Proverbs 5, 11
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to 14 says that this kind of activity fills your
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life with remorse and regret. And you mourn at last
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when your flesh and your body are consumed and you say,
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how I have hated instruction and my heart despised correction.
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I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor
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inclined my ear to those who instructed me.
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I was on the verge of total ruin in the
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midst of the assembly of the congregation. Notice.
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Hated instruction, despised correction, obeyed not the voice of his teachers,
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inclined not.
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His ear to those who instructed him.
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Here's a person who looks back on his life and
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realized that he had been forewarned and he had ignored
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the warning and had walked headlong into the whole situation
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in spite of that. I cannot tell you how many
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times people have come to talk to me over the
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years of my ministry about relationships that they knew were
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wrong that they knew were in violation of the word
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of God. And as we have talked, I have explained
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to them what God's word said. And they have said,
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we're going to do this anyway and ask God to
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forgive us. That's tempting God with presumptuous sin. That's saying,
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I can do whatever I want and then I can
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just pray a prayer and God will make it all better.
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My friend, that is so presumptuous and it helps you
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to understand how little you know both about the grace
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of God and the judgment of God. And then here's
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one that everyone who's been through a situation in life
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can certainly talk about and that is how this deals
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with you financially. Proverbs 5.10 and notice what it says,
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lest aliens be filled with your wealth and your labors
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go to the house of a foreigner.
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Isn't that something?
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You watch people go through a divorce and see how
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they have to settle their business. Or here's another proverb, 626,
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for by means of a harlot, a man is reduced
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to a crust of bread. I know guys who work
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every day and about 80% of their work goes toward
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alimony and settlement accounts and attorney's fees because they couldn't
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stay at home and do what God tells them to do.
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So they work every day and they're reduced to a
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crust of bread. It touches you professionally. It says here,
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Verses 18 and 19, for her house leads down to
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death and her paths to the dead. Now watch this,
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none who go to her return nor do they regain
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the paths of life.
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A very interesting concept.
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Yes, God can forgive it and yes he will and
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I want to make sure before we're finished, anyone caught
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up in the trap like we're talking about knows that
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God will forgive you and he'll wash it clean. He'll
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give you a clean heart but there is a price
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to pay. There are consequences. There's scar tissue that develops
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over the issues that happen. And it's usually true that
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when someone falls, this is especially true when it's someone
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in spiritual leadership, they may be forgiven and they may
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be restored, but they're never restored to the same level
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of influence that they had before it all happened. They
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can't recover the lost momentum in their life and regain
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the paths that once they walked. Then it touches you socially. Notice,
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Verses 29 through 35 of the sixth chapter say, so
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is he who goes to his neighbor's wife.
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Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
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People do not despise a thief if he steals to
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satisfy himself when he's starving. Yet when he is found,
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he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up
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all the substance of his house. Whoever commits adultery with
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a woman lacks understanding. That means he's ignorant. He who
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does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he
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will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away,
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for jealousy is a husband's fury. Therefore he will not
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spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense,
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nor will he be appeased, though you give him many gifts.
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Every time I turn around, somebody's saying, well, if it's
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just me, and it's just her, and it's all right
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with me, and it's all right with her, How does
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that affect anybody else? How many of you know that
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for every me and every her, there's four or five
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other people involved at each end? There's no such thing
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as just me and her. We all as men ought
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to pray, Almighty God, preserve me from ever having to
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go in and sit down with my children and explain
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to them why their mother and I are not going
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to be together anymore or why I have violated the.
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Covenant of marriage. There's always people hurt. It hurts you professionally.
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It hurts you socially.
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And there's a terrible, terrible penalty to be paid. You say,
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Pastor Jeremiah, this is not a happy message.
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I know.
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But it is a message that comes out of the
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word of God. You know, there are all these passages
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in the book of Proverbs strung together about wisdom. And
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if one person hears this warning and walks away from
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an affair that's about to happen or gets out of
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an involvement that they've started to get into because they
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realize that God has sent them this love letter to
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warn them against the penalty, it will be worth all
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of the tension I feel in this room right now. Well,
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that's the problem. Let's talk about how we keep this
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from happening, all right? I want to get away from
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the problem. Let's go to the solution. Once again, the
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book of Proverbs gives us some encouragement. How do I
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keep this kind of thing from happening in my life?
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And I speak as a person who is taking this
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counsel along with you because I'm no better than anyone else.
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I stand on this platform so you can see me,
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but not because I'm above you.
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I'm just one of you.
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I'm a fellow struggler, a fellow human being with all
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of the same potential to do something terrible if I
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don't walk with God. But listen to the Proverbs. First
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of all, respond to the counsel of God's word and
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Here in this passage that we have read and in
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all these passages, there is this plea on the part
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of the father to the son. Notice chapter five, verses
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one and two. My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
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Lend your ear to my understanding that you may preserve
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discretion and your lips may keep knowledge. Notice in this chapter,
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it talks about paying attention to what you hear. Some
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of you who are younger say, oh, they don't know
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what it's like to live in this culture. This is
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all puritanical. This is all fantasy on their part that
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people live pure lives.
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It is not so.
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There are people who live according to the word of
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God and find the joy of a pure and moral lifestyle.
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Proverbs 7 says, The beginning says this, my son, keep
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my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my
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commands and live and my law as the apple of
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your eye. Bind them on your fingers, write them on
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the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, you're my
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sister and call understanding your nearest kin that they may
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keep you from the immoral woman and from the seductress.
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who flatters with their words. What does that say? That
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the word of God is the preventative. The word of
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God will help you. You need to have the word
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of God flowing through your life, memorizing scripture, hearing God's word,
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reading books, reading the word of God over and over again.
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Let the word of God renew your mind and fill
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your heart with God's truth. Psalm 119 verse 11 says,
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your word have I hidden in my heart.
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Why?
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That I might not sin against you. And Psalm 119
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verse nine says, how can a young man cleanse his way?
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Listen, by taking heed according to your word. That's it.
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Let the word of God be your constant companion. Can't
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get enough of the word of God on Sunday for
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this to happen, I promise you. Can't get it by
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listening to Turning Point Radio or watching Turning Point Television.
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You gotta get in the book yourself. Let the word
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of God come through your spirit. Secondly, reject an arrogant attitude.
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Notice verse 26 of chapter seven. says, for she has
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cast down many wounded. Now watch this. And all who
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were slain by her were strong men. How many of
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you know that there's no such person who is totally
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impervious to this kind of an attack or this kind
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of an involvement? The first thing we need to do, men,
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is exercise this knowledge, and women too, that any one.
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Of us, no matter what our background, no matter what our.
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Circumstances, capable of doing something to hurt God and hurt
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the ones that love us and hurt our testimony and
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hurt our families. We're capable of it. The Bible says
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that we're not ever to allow pride to get into
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our lives because pride goes before destruction and a haughty
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spirit before a fall. First Corinthians 10, 12 says, therefore,
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let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
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Amen.
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Had a date and he took his date for a
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picnic and they stopped, this is a true story, they
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stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought two boxes of
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chicken to go on their little picnic. And when they
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got to the park, he opened up his box of
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chicken and instead of chicken, in the box was apparently
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that day's receipts, over $ 800. His date said, what are
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you going to do with this?
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He said, well, We'll take it back, absolutely.
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So he went back to Kentucky Fried and he took
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the box and he gave it to the proprietor. And
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the proprietor was overwhelmed, as you can well imagine. In
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our culture today, that kind of thing doesn't happen very often.
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And he said, you know, this is an incredible story.
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This is a wonderful story. I'm gonna call the newspapers,
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we're gonna get them out here and we're gonna put
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this in the paper and let everybody know that honesty
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is still around.
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He says, oh, don't do that. The woman I'm with
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is not my wife.
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Now that illustrates the subtle way that we think.
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Isn't that right?
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You can be honest about $ 800 and absolutely dishonest about
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a more important relationship than you'll ever know. That's how
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easy Satan fools us into thinking we're incapable of making
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such mistakes.
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Listen to me.
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Don't be arrogant. Don't think it can't happen to you.
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I don't care how pristine you may be in your
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thought process. Remember, let him that thinketh he stand take
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heed lest he fall. Reject an arrogant spirit. And then thirdly,
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recognize the danger of conversation. This is happening more and more.
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Every time we talk to somebody, well.
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We could just talk.
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Usually it's not even a sexual thing that begins. It's just, well,
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she listened to me. She cared about what was going on.
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I could talk.
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A reminder to all marital couples, we need to talk more.
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What's going on right now is we got chat rooms everywhere.
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On the internet.
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We got all kinds of infidelity going on because people
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are talking to one another on the internet. Now I'm
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not saying that every internet relationship is bad, but it's
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bad if you already have a relationship. Somebody said, well,
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I'm not sure I'm married to the right woman. My friend,
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if you're married, you're married to the right woman.
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Amen. Chat rooms, just the very thought of it.
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People getting together in the quietness of their study or
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at work or wherever. Developing relationships through conversation. Did you
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notice when we were going through these passages how much
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was said about words? In case you didn't, let me
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just run them by you real quickly. Proverbs 2.16, to
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deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who
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flatters with their words. 5.3, for the lips of an
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immoral woman drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil.
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Proverbs 6, 24, to keep you from the evil woman
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from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Proverbs 7, 21,
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with her enticing speech, she caused him to yield. With
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her flattering lips, she seduced him. Just be careful about conversations.
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There is a line in a conversation between a man
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and a woman who are not married to each other
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and are married to somebody else. There's a line in
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conversation over which you should not cross. When you start
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discussing personal intimate things with people who are not your
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own spouse, you have entered into the danger zone and
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it's just a matter of time before all of the
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things that we've talked about already become personally known to you.
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Watch out for your conversations. I never saw that before,
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but it's so true. Then run away from temptation. I've
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said this so often in various sermons that come close
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to this subject that I almost embarrassed to say it again.
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But notice what it says in Proverbs 5, 8. Remove
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your way far from her and do not go near
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the door of her house.
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Get out of there, man. Get out of there. I
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often said the best.
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Equipment for maintaining moral purity is the best pair of
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Adidas you can buy.
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Joseph ran away. Remember that?
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Joseph was caught and he ran away. And it says
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in the word of God that we're to flee this.
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Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways.
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Do not even stray into her paths. 1 Corinthians 6.18
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says flee sexual immorality. 2 Timothy 2.22 says flee youthful lusts.
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Run from it. I don't have to interpret that.
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You're in a situation at work where this kind of
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thing is happening and you're getting kind of drawn into
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a relationship, ask for a transfer. Okay? If you have
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the power, ask for their transfer. But don't allow yourself
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to stay in an environment where you are constantly exposed
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to the same temptation which you are.
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Currently not doing well with.
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Realize the fulfillment of your marriage relationship. It's not only
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what you do out there, it's what you do at
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home as well.
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Turn with me.
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You're not going to believe this is in the Bible,
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but it is. Let me read beginning in the fifth chapter,
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beginning at the 15th verse.
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Are you ready?
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Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your
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own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of
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water in the streets, let them be only your own
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and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be
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blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth as
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a loving dear and a graceful doe. Let her breast
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satisfy you at all times and always be enraptured with
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her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured
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by an immoral woman and be embraced in the arms
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of a seductress? You say, that's almost erotic language to
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be reading in church. It's in the Bible. And what
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it says is, There isn't anything wrong with sexuality. There's
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not anything wrong with it. God created it. It's to
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be enjoyed within the boundary of marriage between one man
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and one woman who covenanted themselves together for life. And
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the Bible says in the book of Hebrews that God
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honors this, that marriage is an honorable thing among all
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and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
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God teaches us that the best defense is a good offense, right?
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And when you allow God.
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To work in your own marriage relationship so that it's strong,
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makes it even more difficult for the tempter to come
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and lure you away and do something that will destroy
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your life. Finally, resolve love. to guard your heart. Proverbs 6.25 says,
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Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor
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let her allure you with her eyelids. Proverbs 4.23 says,
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Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it
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spring the issues of life. Job said in Job 31.1,
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I have made a covenant with my eyes. Why then
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should I look upon a young woman? A young man
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who was unaccustomed to the nightlife of the city was
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in Paris in the company of an older man. It
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was night as they stood outside one of the dens
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of iniquity and the atmosphere was heavy with perfume. The
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sound of music and dancing broke in upon the ear.
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The lights over the entrance seemed alive with brilliance. Turning
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to the old man, the younger man asked, and what
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is this? With no smile whatever, the reply came, this, son,
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is the gate of hell. And above the entrance was
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a sign, nothing to pay, nothing to pay to get in,
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but everything to pay once you're there. The word of
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God is such a loving letter. It may sound as
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if it's harsh when we speak of it in terms
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like this, but God loves us so much he wants
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the best for us. And the best for us does
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not lie in illicit relationships and immoral conduct. My friend,
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the best is in a relationship according to God's word.
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I have a friend by the name of Richard Furman
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who is a doctor in Boone, North Carolina. He is
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a thoracic surgeon and a wonderful Christian. And we were
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talking about losing our parents. He told me about his
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dad who died when he was 73. And he said, David,
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one thing I will never forget is is that after
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my dad died, we as children gathered around and were
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talking to my mom about my dad and their relationship
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and their marriage. And we got to talking about their wedding.
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And mom said that when they got married, they didn't
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have any money for a honeymoon. So they spent their
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honeymoon in her parents' home, up in the second story
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of their home. And one of the kids said, mom,
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how long did the honeymoon last? She said it ended yesterday.
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That's what I want. Isn't that what you want? Isn't
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that where the joy of life is? Isn't that where
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godliness is reflected in homes? It ended yesterday.
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May it be so for us. And let me say
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this to you. Wherever you are in this process, maybe
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you have blown it. Maybe there's some scars on your heart.
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I want to tell you that God will forgive you.
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And he wants you now to take what's left of
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your life and make the best of it for his
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honor and glory. You can't go back and undo what's done,
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but you can go forward. You can go forward with
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the principles of God's word and live your life according
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to his principles of purity. May God grant that you
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will do it. And in the process, may you find
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a way to cultivate a higher love a love for
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the Lord Jesus that will be so great that you
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would never want to do anything to hurt him because
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he's done so much for you.
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Amen.
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Amen. Well, tomorrow we're going to talk about power up
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your marriage, Proverbs for partners. So kind of make that
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transition into the marriage discussion tomorrow from the book of Proverbs.
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I hope you'll join us then. I've been telling you
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about this book, God's Heart for Israel. It's our resource
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for the month of August. You'll want to have this
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book because it brings together the passages from the Bible
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that talk about the importance of Israel in God's plan.
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And it's important that we as believers don't lose sight
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of what the Bible tells us. The Bible is very
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clear that God blesses those who bless Israel and that
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he curses those who curse Israel. I didn't say that.
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The Bible says that. And it's in this book. along
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with a lot of other principles. We want you to
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have the book. When you send your gift to Turning
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Point in the month of August, we'll send it to
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you when you ask for it, and it'll be our
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way of saying thank you for your involvement. See you
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next time.
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Thank you for listening. Please join us next time for
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00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:56.950
another message from Dr. Jeremiah. You can also download the
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free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or search
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in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access
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our content.
