This morning's message is entitled, Be holy. And no, I'm not talking about the jeans the teenagers wore coming in this morning, but rather, what does it actually mean to be set apart from God? See, the idea of holiness can seem a little scary and feel a little intimidating if we think about it. If someone is trying to be holy, we usually associate that or reserve that for saints or monks or people who seemingly have it all together. The word to be holy or holiness is this idea of being set apart from God. But more than just a description of the perfection of God, I believe holiness also gives a direction for us as believers. And so we're gonna take a look today at a letter that Jesus wrote to the church in Sayra through the apostle John. We've been walking through 7 letters in Revelation, and messages to 7 real churches that were written to these churches, but also written for us today. Because the book of Revelation isn't just written to satisfy our curiosity about the future, but rather to give us courage to live out our faith today. And so every week we've been taking a look at the different message to a different church and see how it still applies here in Mission Grove today in the year 2025. And so today is is no different, but it's a, it is a different church and a different message. So first off, who were the Terians? So the Thierians it was a church that's about 35 miles inland from Pergamum who we talked about last week around the idea that compromise always costs more than what it promises. And so here is a church that is a little different than our previously studied churches. So the first couple of churches were large, lots of people, uh, lots of temples, lots of other pagan gods. There's a like huge library and university and and and trade and wealth and knowledge and all this mixture and diversity. Well, here in Saya it's a smaller town, there's not. A major temple they follow uh the deity of Apollo, the son of Zeus, but, but there's not like this massive influence. What this town, while not known for its massive population, was actually known for its main export, which was this purple dye. Now purple dye and purple coloring was used in a lot of different things to represent royalty. And with royalty also comes this idea of authority which we're gonna come into play here in just a few moments, but, uh, a character in the New Testament that's tied to this town was a lady named Lydia who in Acts chapter 16 was actually a woman from Tyteria who made her money from selling purple dye and actually it was her, this wealthy businesswoman who got used to partner along with Paul and some others to start the church in Philippi. So here we have this church. That's kind of inland, kind of obscure, uh known for exporting, uh, things that are put into clothing and other, uh, goods and so but what they're struggling with is almost the opposite of the first church we studied, the Church of Ephesus. So the Church of Ephesus understood truth but failed to practice love. And so they, they, they believed in truth, but they struggled with their love for God, their love for each other, and even the overall understanding that they were themselves were actually loved by Jesus Christ. And so today's church is the reverse of that. They were pretty good at loving people, but they were starting to compromise in areas of truth. And we're gonna see that you need to hold both. intention and in scripture to live out what it means to be holy and to be a Christian. So before we begin though, I wanted to share that this basic premise for today's message is that God's design is always for your good. God's design is always for your good, which means that his boundaries in your life were created not to shame you, but ultimately to lead you to freedom. And so, holiness is not about simply being better than others, but rather leading people to Jesus. And so a good baseline verse to set up our discussion today is 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 13 to 16. Which is therefore preparing your minds for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So there is the basis for how we're called to live, that the hope of Jesus Christ is the hope of on the grace that is revealed through Jesus Christ. Verse 14 says, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. You shall be holy as I am holy. So what does that mean? Well, if you're taking notes, I encourage you to write this down, that becoming holy is about becoming more like Jesus. Becoming holy is about becoming more like Jesus, that holiness is more than just a description of God's perfection. But it's also really the direction in which we're called to walk as sons and daughters of God. So let's jump into this letter and read it together. Revelation chapter 2, starting in verse 18. Remember, every letter starts with a picture of Jesus and ends with a promise for believers. Verse 18. To the angel of the church in Tyteria, right, the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. So this image of Jesus, to start off this verse, while also connecting to Revelation one, gives us this picture of authority. So he's called the Son of God, so connected to the deity of God, that Jesus is God. And then it says in here, whose eyes are like a flame of fire. In other words, that God's eyes can see everything. That he sees the motives in your mind and in your heart. So many people walk through the doors of the church, and like, how are you? I'm fine. Jesus knows the real scoop. Jesus knows the real you. And actually looks down on you with love, and he has the authority to judge, which now you see this authority is the son of God, the authority with the flaming eyes is this picture of that. And then even bronze feet is this picture of the authority placed at the foot of Jesus or at the foot of the cross. So all things have been put under the authority of his feet that's described in 1 Corinthians 15:27. So now we continue reading verse 19. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance that your latter works exceed the first. See, it's not all bad in this church that they are actually loving people well, right? They, they have endurance that their faith and service and like if you describe somebody who has works, love, faith, service, endurance, and it's growing, you describe them as a, as a good church. And so there are some good things happening here. And it's a reminder to us that the reality is we're not all good here and, and we're not all bad at all times that usually we're somewhere in this messy middle, right where one area of our life we're giving to God and, and 10 others we're completely miserable in, but in all things we're going to him. And so he's acknowledging, hey, there's some good things happening here. You're loving people well, you're serving well, you have faith and you're enduring. But then he goes, but I have this against you, and this is kind of a big thing. Verse 20. That you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Now in this picture, it it's either an actual person named Jezebel who again is is leading to pagan worship and as part of this pagan worship people are sleeping around, um, prostitutes sleeping with a bunch of different people, um, eating food sacrifice to pagan gods just taking them down this very dark path so it could be a very specific person named Jezebel. Or it could represent a person who I think there actually is an actual person leading people who is guided by the spirit of Jezebel. So in the last church we talked about the Nicholas, which is an actual group of people who are leading people to false teaching, or there are others saying that we followed this guy named Balaam, so it was a reference to the Old Testament. They said, hey, they're they're following people they're compromising the truth. In the same way here, Jezebel was an actual queen, the queen of, um, wife of King Ahab in the Old Testament, so in the times of that prophet Elijah, who then would take over and she was known to for seduction, idolatry, sexual morality, and ultimate death. And so here is he points to the greatest picture in the Old Testament of the sexual immorality that was taking place. So they allowed compromise into a church setting. And they were trying to hang on to both the church and then culture at the same time, OK? Verse 21, I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual morality, and behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her, I will throw into the great tribulation unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to you each according to your works. That's pretty intense. It's because the issue is intense and saying that ultimately God is gonna be the true judge when all is said and done. But what does that mean for you and I today? He continues on, he says, but for the rest of you in Tyteria who do not hold to this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you, I say, I do not lay on any other burden. Only hold fast to what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. And when the earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my father, I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Now there's this, uh, there's this picture here at the end of, of saying, for the rest of you, don't follow the ways of Jezebel, but, but hold fast to what I've given you. What has God given the church? Well, the same thing he's given you and I. It's the message and the hope and the life of Jesus Christ himself. And saying that if you stand with me, if you stay with me, that you will one day rule and reign with me. And that this rod is a rod to not only hold over and break down enemies, but also to break down the strongholds of sin in your life. And that this picture of holding fast to what he's given to Jesus Christ himself, it says that I will give you the morning star. Well, who or what is the morning star? We actually know that because at the very end of the book, in Revelation 22:16, it describes Jesus Christ as the morning star. In other words, church, more than anything else. Cling to Jesus. And that if you cling to Jesus and hold fast to the person and the words and the promises, and the hope of Jesus Christ, that at the end of the day, you will get what you are longing for, which is Jesus Christ Himself, which we're gonna get practical and talk about issues in our culture today, but I want you to understand that more important than any ethical treatment or conduct or morality is your Personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is greater than sex. Jesus is greater than any relationship or choice you might have, and that it's not a condemnation simply against sin, but an invitation to embrace what is eternal and matters most, and an invitation to walk into a better, greater eternal story with the God who made you, loves you, and saves you. Amen. So what does the Bible actually say? About sexual activity and sexual morality. I'm gonna give you a preview here of how we're gonna end, OK. I'm gonna end this morning's message with simply one question. And the question is, what would it look like to take one step towards holiness? Today, what would it take to take one step towards holiness? To be set apart from God. To become a little bit more like Jesus. Because Jesus cares about every area of your life, and that includes your attitude towards sex, money, and power. Now, a few thoughts before we start. OK, a few thoughts before we start. Number one, context matters. OK, the sermon that Peter preaches in Acts chapter 2 is that he's preaching to a group of Pharisees and religious leaders who had just killed Jesus. So he comes out swinging, and it's repent because you just killed Jesus. You don't understand what you just did. And it's kind of this angry tone. But if you look at the sermon Paul preaches in Athens at Mars Mars chapter 17, it's very different. Why? Because he walks around, he's understanding the cities and like, hey, I see that you're spiritual. I see that you're religious. You're searching and you have this statue to an unknown God. Let me tell you about that unknown God. OK. I want you to hear me today that my heart, my tone is more of an Acts 17 today. Because we live in a culture that is constantly searching. And I think sadly, Christians have used the Bible as like a weapon to beat down people that they feel better than. That we're not trying to prove ourselves better than other people. We are trying to connect our heart to the heart of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And so a few things that we think about this. Number one, that God's design is designed for human flourishing. That you were created on purpose and for a purpose, and so these boundaries are not meant to lock you in, but to set you free. The second thing we have to understand is there's a lot of sins in the Bible, right? There's probably 10 times as many verses about greed as there is about sexuality in here. But we like to point out sins that other people have because they're visible, or we like to feel better about ourselves. But if we can just be honest here that and call sin sin. Cause here's the thing, do you understand that sexual sin is not what sends you to hell? I know that, you know why? Because abstinence doesn't get you to heaven. Sexual sin is a sin, and sin separates you from God, and that separation from God is what sends you to hell. And that what sends you to hell is this attitude of self-righteousness that you either try to define by rebellion or religion in which you say, I am God, so I will choose what I wanna do, and you reject God's plan for your life, and that sin, however big or small that in, that sin separates you from a perfect holy God. And while most religions teach that you have to work your way up the ladder to God, Christianity is different because it recognizes that there is no way we could ever do that. So instead, God comes down, dies on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, and then rises again, offering us a better way. So as we are going to address the issues surrounding sexual morality, understand that in most of these passages you're gonna see them in a list of a lot of other sins. So instead of just trying to pick out the one sin we want to point at other people, let us understand the power and the impact and the depravity that comes from all sin. You know, in the last 5 or so years, it seems like there's been a lot of moral failings from spiritual leaders in our country. And what that does to me is that reminds me of the value of why we need to have these conversations, that all of us, pastors included are are fallen human beings that we have to humbly submit ourselves to the word of God and the spirit of God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, for God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and self-control, and that self-control is in fact a fruit of the spirit. It's part of that, that only through the spirit of God can we go live and honor and obey Him. And so rather than approaching these issues as a place of judgment on others, but we also take the heart of Jesus and recognizing that we need Jesus be the Lord in every area of our life. See Jesus routinely loved people who are in sin. Right, he, he had dinner with Zacchaeus, the tax collector, right? He offered living water to the woman at the well who had 4 or 5 previous marriages and was sleeping around at that time. Uh, there was a group of men who were there to get ready to stone a woman who had committed adultery, and Jesus calls that out and says there's no condemnation for you and offers forgiveness and hope and healing in those situations. And over and over and over again, God offers love to those who need it. And in fact, he tells this parable of the Good Samaritan. The good Samaritans should tell us that we are called to love all people even when they reject what we believe. So when people have a different view of sexual ethics, when people have a different view politically, when people have a different view and even religion, that we are called to love all those people. But what happens is that we get caught in one of two things. We either go the separation route or we go the shame route. So the the separation route, which is what was in the culture of the day, is there are people who taught that the body was separate from the soul. Meaning that you could sleep with whoever you want, drink whatever you want, eat whatever you want, do whatever you want because it's apart from your soul and it doesn't matter, right? And so that makes sense in a culture that says yep love who you want how you want when you want, do whatever you want, whatever feels good right? except God cares about your body. God cares about your soul. God cares about your heart and in your life and your words cares about everything. So then there's the other side, where then it comes in and people then try to shame people. Oh, they're bad, they're evil, they're awful, they're horrible, and they try to shame people in their past. Same concept that the body is bad. So now remove everything and it's just a soul. Well, the gospel comes in and says, no, no, Jesus physically died. To to provide reconciliation mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically down to the core identity of your soul, that we have a greater message. So this idea here is that grace is greater than any sin. So when you humbly approach him, that you, that no one is disqualified from the love of God, based on their past or present struggles. But what that means is that we have to humble ourselves and approach God's word with reverence and say I'm gonna take your word versus my desire. So we're gonna, I, I'm setting this all up because I know there's gonna be people that disagree with me today. And you know what? I'm gonna give you the freedom to do that. Cause at the end of the day, you have to decide what you believe. But can I ask you something? For those who disagree with what we're gonna say today, it's gonna be a lot of scripture cause I want you to hear from God's word, not my words. If you disagree with me, I ask that you just, will you humbly seek the Lord and His spirit. And his word and pull your reference not based on how you feel but what God says who you are and who you are because if you allow the God if you allow God to be God I think you can experience incredible transformation. So today's message is not one of harsh judgment towards our world which God says he will do, by the way, but rather an invitation. To experience a better story for the design of how God made you, what he's called you to do, and more importantly, who he's called you to be. Peter at the end of his letter, 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 1718 says, you therefore beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the air of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and into the day of eternity. Can you grow in both your obedience to what God's word says and grace in how you speak and love the people around you? Cause as Christians, we're called for both, to speak truth in love and to love people with truth. And so understand this, that more than anything we say today, that the most important thing you can have is a relationship with Jesus. But to have a relationship with Jesus is that he wants all of you. He doesn't want you to say, OK, I'll give you an hour on Sunday, but I'm gonna do what I want on Saturday. I'll give you a few words of my lips, but I'm gonna gossip to my neighbors tomorrow. I'll give you what I am in public, but what I watch on my phone or on the computer at home it's gonna be for me. Like he doesn't want a compartmentalized version of you. He wants all of you. Jesus doesn't want to simply be first in your life. He wants all of your life. Because that is where the story is, that's where the beauty is. And so this morning is not a condemnation simply on the world, but an invitation to a greater story. And if you struggle with what we're about to read, good. I want you to wrestle. I'm fine if you push back because you push back, why? Because you care. And so push back under the understanding of the humility of what God's word has to say and let it impact your soul so that you personally can choose God like Joshua did. He says, as for me in my household, I will follow the, we will follow the Lord. And then with love and truth and service, how you treat the world around you, because it's not an us versus them, it is we're trying to reach people with the good news of the gospel that changes everything. So may you view this as an invitation for as God designed life and beyond. So what does the Bible say about sexual activity? What does it say? Well, first, a couple of verses on the value of marriage itself. You see, Genesis chapter 2, verse 24 says, therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And this isn't just simply a physical action, but rather a uniting of the souls. And this is important to understand because this description is found in Genesis chapter 2, but sin enters the world in Genesis chapter 3, meaning That the unification of this is not that sex is bad, but rather. It was created by God in the covenant of marriage, and the covenant of marriage is valuable. We know this also because in the New Testament in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul writes this in describing the relationship of husbands and wives. He describes it here in chapter 5, verse 32, that the mystery is profound, and I'm saying that it refers to Christ in the church. Jesus values marriage so much that he says it is a it is a picture of Christ in the church. And I think for many of us, we struggle promoting a Christian sexual ethic because of how poor we've experienced the image in a marriage. Some of you in this room have experienced betrayal. Some of you in this room have experienced hurt and pain in this life. And so now you're attaching your view of morality with your experience versus the intention and the design of God. OK. says in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 4 says, let marriage be held in honor among all and let marriage, the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and the adulteress. Now this word for sexual morality really comes from this word pornia, which really describes that any sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage is dishonoring to God. And so this idea, why? Because it's an inner mingling of the soul. That's why this matters so much that there's a that impacts every part of you. That's why sexual sin feels different than other sins because it it intertwines with the soul. And so Paul actually offers a higher ethic because again there are people who separated it from the body saying it doesn't matter, do whatever you want. And then there's people who said, I'm gonna shame the people who don't live like I do, right? and judge them and be harsh, no, no, no, no, no, no, we are, our sexuality is actually based on the higher belief that our hope and fulfillment is found in Jesus. And that our lives are meant to follow and honor God. And through that, through belief in Jesus, Jesus is greater than any potential sexual activity you might experience. It's higher than that. So he's writing to the church in Corinth, which was like a modern day kind of Las Vegas, if you will, or an ancient day Las Vegas, and he writes these words in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 9. He says, do, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were and that's such a key verse here, we tend to focus on the list of the negative, but notice the positive of what's, what's possible. Says, but you were washed, you are sanctified, and you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God. That there is healing and hope available for all people. Despite what you've done, despite what's been done to you, despite the failings that there is a greater hope. A few verses later, verse 18, he writes this says, flee from sexual immorality. So every other sin is a person that, uh, a sin a person commits outside the body, but sexually moral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you from whom you have from God, that you are not your own. You were bought with a price. See there again, he brings back the better. He says, he's not saying being sexually pure because it's shame on you. God's waiting to hurt you. He's saying being sexually pure because God died for you. He cares so much for you that he gave up his own life so that you can experience the freedom that comes from trusting him as Lord and Savior. So things like forgiveness and peace and purpose and meaning and joy comes through Jesus, not your sexuality. That the culture is gonna come in and say do this, pursue that, and if it's, if it's sex is an issue, guess what? They're gonna put in money and fame and popularity, and materials and things. Nothing's gonna fulfill that desire in your soul apart from a relationship with Jesus. Amen. He's not saying this because simply you're bad. We are bad, we're all the priest, all of us, but he's saying this because Jesus is just that good. In other words, he's saying, look, Paul's writing, if you're single, honor God in your singleness. You don't need a relationship to be a son or daughter of God. You don't need to be married to follow God. That you can honor God have a fulfilling life, not in a relationship. See, I think our culture says no, no, no, you need to have this right? You need to have that person and this really to be fulfilled. No God say no no no, you can live a very honoring relationship and have all the joy and purpose in your life, not dating someone. Honor God in your singleness. Also says married people, honor God in your marriage. Your marriage is supposed to be a representation of Christ in the church. Are you loving your spouse the way that Jesus loved us? Because marriage is not simply a license that you stand in front of an officiate, but it's a relationship, a covenant, a promise and commitment to each other. Is your marriage honoring God? Because it's higher than just some desire or action. He's not, he's not pushing you down into the granular, he's actually pulling us up to the hope and peace found in Jesus. See, when you have that eternity in mind, it shapes how you live today. He writes these words, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 3 to 5. He says, For this is the will of God, that for your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body and holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. Right? There's that self control that honors God. It's not that your desires are too much, it's that we desire too little. We look for the world to satisfy something that only God can. He's trying to pull us upward to something more meaningful so that we can reflect God's love in every area of our life. One of the most intense books in the Bible is is the book of Romans. In which you see things like Romans 3:23 for all of sin and falls short of the glory of God. But you also have verses like, uh, Romans 5:8, for while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, right? You have verses like in Romans 8:31 that if God is for us, who can be against us, that there's nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ, that we can be more than conquerors for those who believe in Him. Like there's the incredible picture. But in order to understand the value of salvation, we also have to understand the sin that we're actually saved from. And so it's gonna give a list here in Romans chapter 1, there in verse 24. It says, therefore, God gave them up. And the lust of their hearts to impurity. To the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, and here's a key verse here, verse 25, for the because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Doesn't that sum up our society today? And this goes beyond sexual identity. It just does, right? That you've traded God for a drink for a drug, you've traded God for the need for the promotion or the house you've traded God for the feeling you get when you gossip and somebody feels worse about somebody else, right? You've traded God for the feeling of pride. And boasting. You've traded God for this self- sufficiency idea that like uh that you think you're better than you ought to be. I said, no, no, no, when you exchange. Creation for the Creator and you mix those priorities, you've missed the whole thing. Understanding that God wants your heart and your soul. So it's not about a list of do's and don'ts and rules and regulations that you can check the boxes and feel good about yourself, but rather these are the things that lead to flourishing in life. That there's hope and grace available to all people, but what is it that we sin? We starts giving them examples and again, it's a list. So before we just pick one thing out of the list, understand this is a description of our world. Verse 26. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for women exchanged natural relations for those who are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving themselves the due penalty for their error. One more passage here of this. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 8 to 11. Now we know that the law is good, and if anyone uses it lawfully. Understanding this that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and the disobedient, for the ungodly and the sinners, for the unholy and the profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality and enslavers, liars, perjurers, and here's a key phrase, by the way, it says, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. What he's saying here is, hey, in case I didn't list the sin that you struggle with, you're in here too. That all of this is in contradiction to the person God created you to be. Verse 11 says, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. What is he saying here? He's saying this that Jesus should be the Lord of every area of your life. And I'm not gonna stand up here. I'm not, I'm not throwing stones. I'm not judging. I hope you hear my heart here. Like all of us are sinners, pastors included. Right, I just got back from being a. Middle school camp counselor over the week. You don't think I had some negative thoughts in my head at some point. Except they're not you, and we're good, we're good, you're awesome. No, all of us fall short, all of us. There's not one person in here that doesn't need the transformative grace of God, but to understand that is to understand that God, I wanna give you not a part of my life. I don't wanna just give you an hour of my week. I don't wanna just give you uh the words out of some songs I sing. I wanna give you my heart and soul. That's why the great. Commandment is to love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, may I be a beacon of hope and grace to share and invite people to a better, bigger story. That my story is not based on the sin of the past, but the salvation and hope for the future, that Jesus Christ can come into every marriage, every relationship, that I am more than my sexual identity, that I'm more than my pride, I'm more than my addictions, or my doubts or my struggles, that I am defined by what Jesus Christ did on the cross and who he has called me to be. That as Christians, we don't shy away from the word of God. But we humbly approach and we simply take a step. Because becoming holy. It's about becoming more like Jesus. For everybody that's watching, for everybody that sees this, I want you to know that God loves you. God loves you. And because God loves you. Because I love you. What we see in scripture is that sex is sacred. It's powerful. It's meant to be protected by the covenant of marriage. that any sexual activity outside of the God ordained context. Of marriage between one man and woman, it's described as sexual morality. So this includes adultery, premarital sex, pornography, homosexual and bisexual behavior, gender distortion, rejection, polygamy, incest, and any other form contrary to God's design. But God's truth is never shared to simply shame somebody. That along with God's call to holiness, it's God's call to grace. And that his redemption, his love, his forgiveness is available to all those who seek him and lovingly call upon his name. So if you're wrestling, wrestle in the name of Jesus. If you're struggling, invite God into the struggle. If you care about, invite God into caring for them. Wherever you are in this journey, may we just come together and submit to his love, understanding that you have a choice for you and your family of what it means to follow Jesus and in turn have called to love every single person created in the image of God. Because our heart here is to help every man, woman and child experience Jesus. May we not be a place of judgment. But at the same time will we not be a place that just goes with culture but says man I struggle I battle it's difficult but through prayer and love and community I wanna be the man or the woman that God has called me to be. I want to love, I want to serve, I wanna follow. And so I, I end this morning with this. That wherever you are on this journey. Are you willing to take one step towards holiness this week? You take one step. Maybe it's to stop looking at something you're not supposed to look at. Maybe it's a conversation with your boyfriend or girlfriend that we need to honor God. With their bodies Maybe it's an attitude for somebody who lives differently than you. That you can see them as God sees them. Maybe is a choice to refrain, to withhold, or To invest in What is one step towards holiness you can take this week? And you can do it. Because the grace and the love and that salvation that comes through Christ alone. Let's become more holy. Let's become more like Jesus, where you pray with me, dear heavenly Father. I know this is a culturally sensitive topic. The The moment we're in Doesn't change the mission we're on. The things we do Doesn't define us, but rather God who you've made us to be. And who you've called us to be. And we accept you as Lord and Savior in our life and the grace that comes from knowing you. That a relationship with you, God is greater than any sexual activity. That we can honor you with every area of our lives. And that we can love people which you have loved us. Where we take every area. And may we love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love others the way that you loved us by sacrificing and serving and loving and sharing truth and love with the people around us. May we experience you Jesus. May you bring healing in our relationships and may you give us hope for the future. We love you in your system we pray. Amen.