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Things that will help give us victory
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over sexual immorality, sexual impurity,
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and victory over fornication -
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again, that's the Greek word porneia -
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things that will help us gain the victory.
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First is in 1 Thessalonians 4:3,
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"This is the will of God,
your sanctification."
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In verse 7, "For God has not called us
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for the purpose of impurity,
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but in sanctification."
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It will help us to remember
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that this is the will of God,
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our sanctification.
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Specifically, sexual purity.
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Have you ever started out on some job,
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or studying some course,
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or out on some journey,
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and you begin to get confused
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and lose sight of the goal?
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And it helps you to remember again,
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this is where we're going;
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this is what it's all about;
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this is the purpose
of this study after all;
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to remember, this is the point of it.
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And so, you want to know
what the will of God is?
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You know, people go around -
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Christians go around:
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"What is the will of God for me?"
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And we're thinking in terms of
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what must I do;
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but here God is talking about
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what must we be.
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And so this is the will of God.
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You want to know what the will of God is?
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Right here it is.
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I know it's not everything,
but it is real.
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It is a big thing - a main thing.
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This is the will of God - to clean you up.
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Your sanctification -
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to set you apart from your lusts;
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to set you apart from the world;
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and to set you apart and give you
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sexual purity.
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And God, in v. 7, has not called us
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for the purpose of impurity.
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Remember, this is one
reason God called you,
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was to give you victory over lust.
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I mean, that helps, you know.
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To realize the big picture
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or the main point of it
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or the goal of the whole thing
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is to give you victory over sin
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and especially this Goliath sin,
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that is, sexual lust.
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A second thing that will help us
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in gaining victory is the next phrase:
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"that you abstain from sexual immorality."
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That word "abstain,"
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it will help you to realize
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that some of the New Testament teachings
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on victory over sin is just to quit it.
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I mean, it says lay aside, put aside,
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put off, abstain - abstinence.
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It will help you to realize
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that some of the New Testament
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way to victory is just this flat-footed.
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Just this straightforward,
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just this simple,
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just bare raw quit it.
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Stop sinning.
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Be a man.
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Be a woman.
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Take yourself in hand and just quit it.
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Abstain from it.
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And be radical about it.
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The Lord says, "if your eye
causes you to stumble,
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pluck it out."
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What does He mean? He means to be radical.
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He means to spare nothing.
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Take care of this thing.
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Radical purging.
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Radical dealing with sin.
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A radical dealing with it.
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It says in Romans 13
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regarding this matter of walking
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as children of the day,
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it says specifically,
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do not go on in sexual
promiscuity or sensuality.
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He says right after that,
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"Make no provision for the flesh
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to fulfill the lusts thereof."
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Not just a little, but make none.
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No provision.
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A radical dealing.
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You're not allowing one thing to stand.
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Like one brother said,
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if the first domino falls,
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the other hundred go down pretty easy.
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You don't make an opportunity for it.
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You don't give an occasion for it.
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You learn how to eventually possess,
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control, manage your body.
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You learn your weaknesses.
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You learn these weak areas -
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things that make you go down,
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go into it,
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that will get you wrapped up in it,
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so you make no provision for that.
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You don't leave any bait out for the bear.
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"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ."
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Romans 13.
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We're talking about radical.
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Dealing with it radically.
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In Ephesians 5, it says
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don't let it even be named among you
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as becometh the saints.
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Not even named.
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Yeah, you stay right plumb away from it.
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There's no accusation.
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There is no condemnation.
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There's no blame.
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There's no opportunity for anybody to say
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what are you doing here?
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Job says, "I made a covenant with my eyes
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to not look on a young woman."
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Isn't that quite a way of putting it?
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I'm entering into a covenant with my eyes.
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There's an agreement
here with this body part.
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And so you're on the computer,
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and you're looking at Fox News,
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and here they've got
these little ads pop up.
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And you know, you glance at it,
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you see it's there.
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But you're not going
to take the second look.
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You're not going to dwell on it.
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You're not going to camp there.
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You're not going to let
it breed in your mind,
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but you turn your eyes away just like that
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and don't look anymore.
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Talking about radical abstaining.
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It says in another place -
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I already quoted it - 1 Corinthians 6,
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it says, "Flee immorality."
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You run from it.
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That's what Joseph did
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when Potiphar's wife tried to suck in him.
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He didn't stay there and talk
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and reason and chatter with her.
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No, he got out. He ran!
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Flee immorality.
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You realize you play with fire,
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you're going to get burned.
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That thing will build,
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that thing will grow,
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that thing will spread.
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It will get you.
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You cannot take fire in your bosom
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and not get burned.
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And so, you run from it.
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Get out of there.
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Don't give it a chance.
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This excerpt is from the full sermon:
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Abstain From Sexual Immorality.
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The sermon can be listened to,
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along with 150 other Bob Jennings sermons,
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on the I'll Be Honest App
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under the tab: Speakers - Bob Jennings,
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or on ILLBEHONEST.COM/BOB-JENNINGS-SERMONS