Living a Praiseworthy Life Before the World: Part 3

And if you look back to the screen, we will be looking at several scriptures this morning in our Bibles. I'll have you turn to some of those but for now, if you look to the screen and let's you can just follow along silently as I read through this verse again. First Corinthians ten thirty one through 33, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offense neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles nor to the church of God. Even as I please all men and all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they might be saved.

These are the words of the apostle Paul. This is part of his mission. This is his court of mission statement. His life was here to bring glory to God that others might see that, might see God, might see Jesus in him and hear the message of the gospel and be saved and really that's why we are all here. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as savior and you're still here, that means he has a purpose for you on this Earth.

Amen. To bring glory to his name. Let's go to Lord in prayer. Once more, Lord, thank you for your word and thank you for this opportunity today to look once more into this very important subject of having a testimony before the world that others might see Jesus in us. Lord, we thank you for all that you've done for us.

Lord, you have asked so little of us. Lord, we thank you for the privilege it is to serve you and to bring glory to your name. Forgive us of our failures. Strengthen us by your grace that we might be better testimonies before all of the grace and mercy and love, the holiness, and justice of our wonderful God in heaven that they might be drawn to you, that many souls might be saved. In Jesus precious name, we do pray.

Amen. Amen. We we have discussed briefly the last few weeks. The importance of our testimony before the world. You say, well, the Bible says that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the what?

The God looks on the heart and indeed God does look on the heart but as that verse also said, man looks on the what? The outward appearance and that isn't going to change and that isn't going to stop and God says here in his word that our outward appearance, our activities before the world, what we say and do, and all of these things should be done to bring glory to the one who has saved us by his grace, who has changed our life, who has made us free, who has redeemed us, and forgiven all of our sins, and has welcomed us into the family of God. Jesus Christ, our savior and like it or not, the world is going to judge you. Not only judge you but they're also going to judge your God. Right.

By the things that they see in you. Matthew five sixteen says, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. God desires to be glorified in our lives. God desires to be glorified in his church in Missouri Avenue Baptist Church and the Missouri Avenue Baptist Church is not this building nor this property, Missouri Avenue Baptist Church are the Christians who gather here to worship and praise the Lord and fellowship and encourage each other throughout the week. In advancing the testimony of the church in our community and among our acquaintances, we also advance the testimony of our Lord and his kingdom.

We must glorify him. That is why in our church covenant, as we've been looking at, give me just a second to get there. We have a section entitled Before the World. I'd like to read it again for you. It says, to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary exemplary in our deportment.

To avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger, to abstain from the sale and use of destructive drugs or intoxicating drinks as a beverage, to shun pornography, to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our savior. We've been looking at these from this particular section of our covenant from the word of God. These are not an exhaustive list of the things we need to be concerned about when it comes to our testimony before the world but these are a few things that we felt it would be good to put in our covenant to be reminded of as Christians and members of Missouri Avenue Baptist Church and we have taken the time to look in scripture and what scripture has to say because scripture is the basis for these. The first one is this, walk circumspectly. The Bible says, Ephesians five fifteen, see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but wise.

That means walk, live with your eyes open, with your mind in gear, think before you act. Be cautious. Be careful. Follow the Lord. We often times give in to desires and lust of the flesh because we do not think things through in light of what?

The word of God. Amen. And we must. The Bible says, walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust in the flesh but if we are not walking in the spirit, if we're not living circumspectly, we will succumb to the lust of the flesh. Right.

We will do things that we we may not even have imagined that we would ever do as a Christian. We still live in this body of flesh that still craves the things of the world and not the things of the Lord. It isn't going to change. This flesh will remain what it is until the day that Christ takes us home and gives us a new body. In the meantime, we must get the victory and we can through Jesus Christ, our savior, who has changed our heart and is changing our mind.

We must walk circumspectly. Proverbs 2,712 says, a prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself but the simple pass on and are punished. We know the truth. We have it here in our hands. We have a guide who lives in our heart, the holy spirit that walks with us through life.

We have no excuse. Right. To walk into tempt into the snares of temptation. We need to use God's word and listen to his spirit. The prudent man, the wise man foreseeth the evil coming.

He hideth himself. What does that mean? It means he avoids it. He flees it rather than running right smacking into it. Sadly, the simple or the foolish pass on and are punished.

The next one in our covenant there as we're reading is to be just in our dealings. Revelation 13 deals with our govern dealings with our government and our authorities but also finishes with our dealings with all men. We are to be just and righteous in our dealings with others. Obey God's ordained authorities. Don't cheat or steal.

Pay back your debts. Treat others fairly. Give them what they deserve and sometimes more than what they deserve. You realize? We would all be on our way to eternal punishment in hell.

If it weren't for the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, for that is what we, as sinners, deserve. But praise God for his love wherewith he loved us. When we were yet sinners, he took our place on Calvary's Cross. He paid our price. Not out of duty.

But out of love. Amen. That we might be saved through his grace and mercy. So, let's follow in his footsteps. Deal with others in a just and fair and loving manner.

Be faithful in our engagements. Moreover, it's required in stewards that a man be found faithful. Be faithful. Be trustworthy. Be dependable.

We live in a world that doesn't put nearly the stock in that that it used to because they do not put the stock in God that they used to nor in his word. We must be different. We must be like the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep your word. Do what you say.

Be careful what you say you are going to do. If you're not sure, you'll be able to do it. Let your yay be yay and your nay be nay. We have no need of swearing, making vows, just simply say, yes, I will or no, I won't. The Bible says.

Be trustworthy. Be dependable. Be faithful person. Exemplary in your deportment. Exemplary in your deportment.

First Peter one hundred fifteen and sixteen, but as he would have called you as holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation because it is written, be holy for I am holy. The word deportment means conduct or behavior before the world. Be exemplary means be excellent in your behavior. Don't allow things to fall through the cracks. Don't treat things as though they're not important particularly in our conduct before the world.

The world doesn't care. But we should. Amen. We shouldn't just be satisfied with doing the least. We should be desire in honor and love of our God to do the best.

The Bible says, if we only do the things we have to do, we are unprofitable servants. Be excellent. Be exemplary in your conduct before the world. Be a a pattern as it says in Titus two seven and eight. For others to follow, for others to see of what it means to be a Christian.

Belong to the Lord. How we behave in public matters, our language, our attentiveness, our appropriateness, our appearance, our timeliness, our actions, all speak to the character and the power of our God. We have here listed a few areas of our deportment following this statement. The first one is avoid taddling and backbiting. Avoid taddling and backbiting.

In other words, avoid things that cause strife and division. Be careful with your what? Tongue. Be careful with your tongue. You know, the same, you know, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

You know good well. That's not true. Never has been true. Words hurt. Words sting.

Words are can be destructive in the lives of people. And words are words reflect. What's in our heart? Jesus said, the things that defile a man, they come forth from the what? Heart.

The things that come out, not the things that go in. Because it's in the heart that man is desperately wicked and it comes out in our words and in our actions and others see what's really there. Proverbs six sixteen through 19. These six things doth the Lord hate. Yey, seven are an abomination unto him.

I've listed the last two for you from that list up here. They are a false witness that speaketh lies and he that soweth what? Among brethren. Whether that be family, whether that be business associates, or whether that be the church. That it should not be the way of the Christian.

To use our tongues, to tear down, to use our tongues to divide, and to bring strife between others. We should be peacemakers, the Bible says. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall inherit the earth. Not the backbires, not the tattlers, not not the gossips. We need to control our tongue and you know something the Bible reminds us in James three, that's not easy.

It's not easy. The tongue is a tariff can be a terrible thing. But as a Christian, you have help. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. And God expects us our children to listen and follow our guide, to walk according to his word, and by his grace and power, you can take a tongue that is full of venom and negativity and God can turn it into a heart and a tongue that can lift up the fallen and give grace unto the hearers.

Be exemplary in the use of your tongue. The Bible says in Proverbs 2,620, where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. So, where there is no tail bearer, the strife ceases. The power of the tongue. Second one, let's see.

Did I skip? Yeah. Don't know why it says C but anyway, it should be the second one and that is we're also supposed to avoid excessive anger. Now, why the word excessive? Well, anger in itself is an emotion is not a sin, okay?

Is God ever angry? Yes, he is. He is righteously angry at sin and at the enemies of his children and of his kingdom and he is right to be so. He is the creator of this world. It belongs to him and there are those who would rob him of his kingdom, who are working against his kingdom, against his children, against his will, who have ignored his law.

He has every right to be angry. The problem is, is our anger is most often not very righteous. Our anger usually has to do with our pride. When our pride gets hurt, then we get angry. How dare they say that to me?

Oh, how dare they do that to me? They left me out. They didn't invite me to the party and we get angry. Because we're worthy. We should have been invited.

They had no right to say that about me. They didn't treat me as the important VIP that I am. That's one of the problems with our anger but another one of the problems with our anger is this, when we get angry, we don't deal with it right. That is the biggest problem. Apostle Paul deals with it in Ephesians four and chapter six.

Four verses 26 through 32. He says, be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Now, I left some words out, couple verses out where the dots are between devil and let that are dealing with stealing and and a couple other things but the passage is telling us that if we do not control our anger, we are giving place to who? Opportunity to the devil and rather than giving opportunity to the devil, we need to let the bitterness and the wrath and that that swells up in our heart. We need to give that to the Lord. We need to get rid of that malice. We need to deal with it in appropriate manner and instead, we need to learn to be what?

Kind to one another. Rather than vengeful. Rather than hurting back. The Bible says, turn the other what? Turn the other cheek.

And this is the kind of thing that it means when it says that. It's not saying if a guy walks into your house and points a gun to your head that you can't defend yourself. What he's saying is when somebody calls you a bad name, you don't have to call em a bad name back. If somebody gossips behind your back, you don't have to gossip behind theirs. You're not right to do so.

Turn the other cheek. Let it go. Let it go. Let it roll off your back. I I I can't begin as a pastor to to relay some of the things I have heard said about me.

I'm a public figure. I'm up in front. So, therefore, people critique what I say and as a leader, they critique what I do and that's the way it is and that's why Paul to both Titus and Timothy said, you be an example. It's important but sometimes people say things that are hurtful. Sometimes, people say things that are mean.

Sometimes, they're right and sometimes they're way off and you just have to learn to let it go. Let it go. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Let it go. Does it really matter so much?

What they think or what they said? It matters what God thinks. Amen. And if you've done wrong, confess it to him. Don't get all wrapped up And what other people think and say or you'll never accomplish anything for the Lord.

Especially in ministry. Learn to deal with your anger appropriately. When we lose our temper and say things that we cannot take back. When we lose our temple, temper, and we hit and kick things, we can't take back. We are dealing the wrong way with our temper.

We are dealing dealing the wrong way with our anger. There is no excuse for violent behavior in the life of a Christian. No excuse at all. When we stew and we steam and we refuse to forgive others, we're not dealing the right way with our anger. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

We're not acting like our father in heaven who sent his son to die for us who rightly deserve his anger. And not his forgiveness. Learn to let it go or if you need to, go talk to the person who wronged you. But do not become a bitter soul. Let all bitterness and wrath and clamor and all malice be put away from Let them not take you over.

You may think I control my anger. I'll be angry as long as I want to be angry, but the anger will begin to control you. As I mentioned last week, how many people have ruined their homes and their marriages? How many people are sitting in a jail cell tonight because they did not control their anger because they let anger have the better of them. There is no excuse for a child of God to have an out of control temper.

The fruit of the spirit is long suffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance, which means self control. These are the fruits of the spirit. A loose cannon, a short temper is the work of the flesh. It does not belong in the life of a Christian. I have known some men that I respected in certain areas.

Christians that excuse their hot temper. And I don't believe that God excused their hot temper nor should we excuse ours. If that is our problem. Next is abstain. From the sale of and the use of destructive drugs or intoxicating drinks as a beverage.

We spent a good deal of time last week on this. We won't spend a long time here today. Not all drugs are destructive. I have high blood pressure. I take blood pressure medication.

That's not necessarily destructive. I'm trying to lose weight so I don't have to take it either. I'd rather be off of it altogether. But not all drugs are destructive but many are. Legal and illegal.

We need to be careful with the use of those and we should never do anything that is illegal. There's no reason for that. Alcohol, as a beverage. Well, why? Because well, I've been known from time to time to take Nyquil.

It has alcohol in it. It is a what? It's a medicine. Medicine. Yeah, it's a medicine.

Paul told Timothy to take a little wine with this water as a what? A medicine. Not as a social drink, not as a habit, not as an intoxicant and that's what the Bible has something to say about these things intoxicants. The main drug in Jesus' day was alcohol. Alcohol And so the Bible says, and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit.

Do not be intoxicated with wine. Well, you say, well, if I if I just drink a couple of beers or a few glasses of wine at at at supper, then I'm not intoxicated. Well, I was I unfortunately, about a year ago, I wasn't paying attention like I should have been. I was on a road where there was construction and the car in front of me stopped kinda early and real quick and I'd looked down just for a second and I didn't see it and boom, I ran into the backup. Well, in order to keep points off of my license, I had to take an online driver's ed class.

I'm sure glad I didn't have to go to the, you know, to the class physically, but anyway, used to have to do that. But but anyway, I took this class and and along with what I had to learn, there was a lot about drinking and driving. And if I remember correctly, the legal limit in the state of Florida is, I think, o 8% blood alcohol content. Now now, if you had point o 8% blood alcohol content, to most people, you would not appear what? Drunk.

Drunk or intoxicated. That's just maybe a couple of beers or a couple glasses of wine, but to the state of Florida, you are not able to drive because you have been what? You are you are influenced, you have been affected by an intoxicating substance. So, we easily write off and say, hey, I can drink a little bit, it doesn't bother me. But it does.

It does affect us. And so, a lot of times, we think of the word drunk and we think of somebody that's stumbling around who can't walk right. But the easiest way to not be affected by alcohol is to what? Drink it. To stay away.

Because I can't get intoxicated and I can't be affected and it can't impair my judgment or being controlled by the what? The holy spirit. If I don't drink it. And so, the Bible warns. Proverbs 23 of the dangers of alcohol when it's red in the cup.

When it is intoxicating. Not only that but our testimony because when others see, they think, hey, well, it's okay for him or it's okay for her, then it must be okay. For me. And maybe, maybe they will have a different issue. Than you do or maybe they have had a different issue and you just don't know it.

Besides that, the Bible also says, Hebrews, I mean, Habakkuk two fifteen, woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink that put us thy bottle to him and makest him drunken also that thou mayest look on their nakedness. The Bible warns not only about us personally drinking but also giving to others to drink. And so, we have that in our covenant. A lot of churches have taken that out today. A lot of Christians drink today.

That doesn't necessarily make it wise or smart and it does endanger our what? Our testimony in particular before the world. So thus, it stays there in our covenant. The final thing that we didn't get to last week is to shun pornography, to shun pornography. For that matter, to shun or to avoid any sexually immoral activity, which is both destructive to the individual and their testimony.

This word fornication, as we'll see in scripture, is a very broad term that covers pretty much any type of sexually explicit, immoral activity. I'm going to back up here for just a moment and we'll come back to where we are, but I skipped over a verse. I wanted us to read in respect to me find it. It's not okay, where did it go? Not there.

Okay, we'll get there. There it is. Ephesians five, three, and four. Paul says, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saints. Neither full of filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting which are not convenient but rather giving of thanks.

Paul says, but fornication and any kind of uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be what? Named once among It shouldn't, no child of God should be doing, partaking in this immoral, ungodly activity. Okay. There is no excuse for it. It is wrong.

It is destructive both to your personal walk with Lord, the Lord, and to others around you to your testimony. The Bible is very clear on this matter. We'll move back up here. Give me just a second. To this right here.

Exodus twenty thirteen to 15. What we find in Exodus 20? The 10 what? Commandments. Commandments.

Okay? We have thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal. Now, it would seem that sexual immorality is a big deal to who? It's a big deal to God. Everyone would agree that stealing is wrong and murder even more so and God felt it necessary to wedge thou shalt not commit adultery right between the two.

The world in which we live doesn't see it that way today. Living together unmarried seems to be a very popular thing to do. Fulfilling your gratifying, your fleshly lust at a moment's notice seems to be a popular thing to do. It's not only excused and justified in our in our entertainment world, it is celebrated. Our young people in particular are so affected by it that we need to be affected or infected by the word and the will of God and not by the entertainment and leanings and ways of the culture of the world in which we live.

Our God does not change. He considered adultery a sin then. He considers it a sin when? Now. And to God, it's a big deal.

The relationship between a man and a woman in marriage represents and pictures the relationship between Christ and his what? The bride. Church. His bride, his church. And God is ever faithful to his church.

God will never leave us nor forsake us and he expects our marriages to mirror that and our moral activities to demonstrate the holiness of God. Under the law of Moses, adultery, homosexuality, and other types of fornication were punished very harshly. Mostly, most of the time, by execution. We're not going to take the time to turn to Leviticus 20 but you can read it there. The punishment for adultery was execution, the punishment for homosexuality was execution.

Now, we're not under the law. We're under grace. We're not going to go around executing people. That's not our prerogative. That's that's God's prerogative but it still remains a lot.

It still remains a sin. It still remains a sin. Proverbs warns with great earnestness, the young man who may be tempted by the adulteress to flee, lest great evil befall him. This is in Proverbs five one through 13. I have to read this for you.

The Lord uses very strong terminology in Proverbs five. He says, my son, attend unto my wisdom and bow thine ear to mine understanding that thou mayest regard this regard discretion and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil but but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are movable that thou canst not know them.

Hear me now therefore, oh you children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh to the door of her house. Lest thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years unto the cruel. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth and thy labors in the house of a stranger. And thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed and say, how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me.

The world says it's no big deal. Have fun. Sow your wild oats while you're young. God says, please, please, please, don't. Don't.

It will take you down a path that leads to destruction. It will leave scars that are not easily erased. It will bring destruction to your testimony. It will rob you of your joy. It may tear apart your home and your family.

Please, the Lord says, I beg of you. Don't go down that path Save yourself for one. The wife or husband to be and be faithful and be faithful. Will you say we're no longer under the law but under grace and you're God doesn't expect the same things now as he did then. We read down to the Old Testament pastor.

Other Christians, they don't take it so seriously today. It seems everybody's doing it. Well, as to everybody's doing it, that didn't seem to matter to God when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Mostly, everybody was doing it in those cities. He destroyed all of them.

Only Lot and some of his family made it out. So, everybody's doing it doesn't fly with God. Besides that, it's never really true anyway. As to Christians don't seem to take it seriously, there are two answers. Number one, not everyone that says they're a Christian really are.

Be careful, be careful who you're comparing yourself to and who you're following. There's a lot of Christians and even preachers out there. Really aren't Christians. Bible says, by their fruits, you shall know them and if their life is fraught with immorality and ungodly living, it doesn't match up. Doesn't match up.

Second thing is this, Christians are often wrong and sadly ignore the scriptures and the holy spirit that by no means makes their actions right. One of the dangers of sending my kids to Christian school is the idea that they think, well, because I go to a Christian school, everybody's Christian and if my Christian friends do it, then it must be what? Okay. That's not the case. Not every person in Christian school is a Christian and Christian kids often.

Choose poorly. And so do adults. That doesn't make it right. Number three, as to whether God expects the same of his children today, he is very clear. Hebrews thirteen four, marriage is honorable and all in the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

That's Hebrews. That's the New Testament. That's not the Old Testament. That's not the Old Covenant. That's the New Covenant and God expects the same thing today.

That word whoremongers is the same word in the Greek porneia that's translated fornication and it refers to all sexual immorality outside of marriage. God covers it all. Fornicators, whoremongers, and adulterers. First Thessalonians four three, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication. First Corinthians six eighteen through 20, I'll just read it for you.

It says, flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body but he that committeth fornication, sin is against his own body. What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which you have of God and you are not your own. For you are bought with a price.

Therefore, I glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are gods. The culture in which these Christians were saved out of in the early New Testament, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Corinth, they were wildly immoral cities. Much like our culture today. God said to them, just because they think it's alright and just because they practice it all the time does not make it right, it is a big deal to me. It is a big deal to me.

There is no room for debate, any sexual activity outside of the marriage relationship is a sin and sends the wrong message to the world around us. Furthermore, the Greek word for fornication is the word porneia. It is the word from which we get pornography. Often, immoral activity is fueled by pornography which is common in today's society and be become more and more acceptable even among Christians but it doesn't make it right. God says concerning this in Matthew five, you have heard it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Can God be any more clear? There should be no debate against about this among Christians. There should be no justification. Looking at pornography. This goes to the very heart of the matter when our covenant declares we are to shun pornography because it is tantamount to adultery and fornication.

You think because you are not engaged in this activity with another person that God doesn't know or God doesn't care but God says, be not deceived. God is not mocked for whatsoever there, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. God knows, God cares, and behold your sin will find you out. If you refuse to repent and forsake it, you will in time be found found out to the ruin of your testimony and perhaps to the ruin of your marriage and of your ministry. Therefore, Job declared in Job thirty one one this, I made a covenant with mine eyes.

Why then? Should I look upon a man? Job said, I've made a covenant with mine eyes. I will not look upon women in that way. I will not partake.

How many of you this month have watched a movie or a show at a theater or on a TV that contained pornography, which by the way is anything that is formulated to produce a sensual response. Doesn't require nudity, it can be words, it can be sounds. You might say, well, I'm happily married and it won't hurt me. You are wrong. What enter into our minds, enters our hearts, and what we listen to and watch matters to God and eventually affects our actions.

Besides that, we may encourage others or more profoundly affected than we to do the same. So consider the commitment of Job. I made a covenant with mine eyes. Why then? Should I look upon a maid?

And you say, but pastor, I've already fallen. I've already fell. I've already in this. Well, then consider what David had to say. Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit in me.

Repent and forsake immoral thoughts and activities now before they blossom into something which will leave scars on your heart and testimony in your home. Remember, this isn't all just about you. Your wants, your desires, even your physical or spiritual health but it also is about God and others. Our fellow Christians in the lost world around us are watching to see what we will do. Will you repent?

Will you do what's right? Will you today? If you're here today and you've never trusted Christ as savior, you're a sinner too. It maybe this sin. It it maybe another that sticks out in your life but Jesus died to free you from it.

Jesus died to save you from it. Jesus died to forgive you from it. Will you come to him today and be saved? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, for the privilege to look into this very important subject over the last few weeks.

I pray Lord that we would keep our heart with all diligence, that we would keep it clean and pure, that if we allowed things into our life, to fulfill and gratify the lust of the flesh without concern for the love of our God or the testimony that we are to for the world. That we would repent of that and forsake it today. That we would confess our sin that you might cleanse us from all unrighteousness. For you are able. Lord, help those Lord who may be here, who struggle with this, to understand there is victory in Jesus Christ.

That you can give us victory over every sin for you've already won that victory for us. We pray Lord if there's one here today that's never trusted Christ as savior that they would come. As we give this hymn of invitation, that they might be saved and know the forgiveness that is found in you. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.