The video is a critique of a movie called The Bad News Bears, which is portrayed as a kids program but is deemed inappropriate due to its negative portrayal of authority and promotion of immoral behavior. The speaker highlights the prevalence of extramarital and premarital physical relationships in television shows, movies, and newspaper depictions, which goes against God's teachings. The sermon then transitions to discussing the fourth attribute of a pure heart, which is single-mindedness. The speaker explains that Satan's goal is to discredit God and uses tools such as the media, secular education, and secular counseling to confuse Christians and promote worldly standards.

We return this morning to our study of the fourth attribute of a pure heart, single-mindedness. We've been looking at God's complaint, our characteristics and the cause found in James chapter 4, verses 1 through 10. The complaint was spiritual confusion in verse 8. The characteristics, spiritual weakness in verses 1 through 3. The cause was spiritual adultery found in verses 4 and 5. Friendship with the world, which the scripture says in essence is enmity with God. The resulting study has been to look at what the enemy through the world system is using to confuse the Christian's mind. Now, Satan's goal is clear. He simply wants to discredit God, his worth, his works, his words and his ways. And in our generation, you'll remember he has equipped himself to do that using five basic tools. The media, which reports as natural, the standards of the world. Secular education, which teaches as reality the standards of the world. Secular counseling, which reinforces as redeeming the standards of the world. Entertainment, which demonstrates as fulfilling the standards of the world. An organized religion, which accepts as progressive the standards of the world. And using these tools with this goal, he has communicated lie after lie after lie. Until first subtly and now overtly, he has challenged the truth of God. And unless you and I as Christians, as God intended, begin to take these truths as convictions. The principles of scripture that we would rather die for than relinquish. We and our children may be in big trouble. You see, Satan's lies are like a skyscraper. Each one builds on the premise that the one beneath it is true. The first lie is that man is innately good. Left to himself, he will do that which is honorable and ethical and good. He will help his neighbor. He will give to the United Fund. He's a good Joe. And he builds on that foundation. The second, that man being good, can trust in the inventions of his own mind. Science, education, philosophy, psychology, history, as his final truth. Even though all of them teach, there is no truth. And then using his own inventions based on his own goodness, man declares that he can do whatever he sets his mind to do. He's the captain of his fate. Lies, all of them lies. But the world, through the media, broadcasts it with every breath. They teach it in school in nearly every class. They counsel men based on these foundations. They entertain us with these philosophies. And organized religion subtly reshapes its thinking to conform to these ideals. But the truth of God is so clear. Man is not innately good. Man is a sinner by birth and a sinner by choice. And secondly, only in Jesus Christ is there truth. And apart from Him, there's no truth at all. And thirdly, apart from Him, we can do nothing. I am not the captain of my fate. The great I Am is the captain of my fate. This morning, as we progress in this study, I trust that you will note that these overt lies of Satan have even deeper spiritual significance. Remember Romans chapter 1, verse 20 in the Amplified Translation says, "...for ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made, His handiworks." And 1 Corinthians 10, 11 says, "...now all these things happened as examples, object lessons for us." In other words, these physical truths and Satan's corresponding physical lies are twofold in importance. One, they violate the physical commandments of God. And two, they adulterate the spiritual illustrations of God. Now, where we left off last week, we were looking at Satan's lies about morality. The first being that the standards of morality change with the times. Satan says behavior is relative. When it comes to holiness, nothing is absolute. Mankind has bought this lie without so much as a struggle. Why not? It means we decide what's right and wrong. It means we can be God. God's standard found in the Word of God that never changes. The world's standards found to be continually fluctuating based on the society and the whims of man, and the church found in the middle being magnetically drawn from the one to the other. And what Satan has caused us to do is to believe one of four lies. We dealt with this last week, for instance. You take an illustration such as adultery. Satan says that God has changed his mind. Surely in the Old Testament, surely in the New Testament, surely a hundred years ago, it was true that adultery was wrong. But God changed his mind. He realized what man could handle. He realized that really he was wrong in making things so severe. Or, secondly, we misunderstood. Surely it's said that in the Scriptures, but we've misinterpreted the Word of God. Or thirdly, God isn't relevant after all. Surely God didn't change His mind, but He's just not with it. Or lastly, God is more flexible than that. Surely those are His standards, but He knows we can't obey. He doesn't demand it. So we have now accepted and in some cases glorified the very things God hates. I'm going to give you just three examples. This morning, the first is stealing. Now, I shared with you a couple of weeks ago about a movie. And I haven't been to any more movies, so I'm still going to use the same one as an illustration. It was a clean movie. It was one of those movies you take your kids to. The problem was that in the end, the hero ended up stealing a million dollars from the government. And he was the hero because after all, he deserved it and they'd never miss it. And he was going to use it for a good cause. And the movie ended on that note and everybody was applauding the hero. On TV the other night, I took the time to look at a movie to get some notes. And I couldn't watch it all the way through. It just kind of turned my stomach, if you pardon. But it was called, The Bad News Bears. And this was done, this is supposed to be a kid's program. And I think we're kidding if we think it is. It is bad news. The title is good. And this particular show, what the guys had done is a coach had come out and he was going to try to whip the team into shape. And he represented everything that's wrong with authority. And one of the tough guys rides up on a motorcycle and scares the coach off. So the kids decide that they will steal a van, lie to their parents and go to the game. And the policeman rides up alongside of them and they convince the policeman that everything's okay. And off they ride into the sunset to play in the big game. And our kids sit there and watch this and say, wow, heroes, new heroes in the 20th century. That's our theology. That's our, it's popular today to steal. If you can steal from the government, insurance companies, big corporations, motels or hospitals. That's our theology. What's mine is mine and I'll take it. What's yours is mine if A, I can get it without being punished or B, if I need it more than they do. You try sometime, I've done it recently, paying your bill at a restaurant or a drugstore or somewhere and they give you too much change. And you go back and correct them and say, I'm sorry you gave me $3 too much. And they think you're out of your mind. People just don't, quote, do that anymore. And I had one lady in a restaurant get highly indignant that I would dare to question her addition by giving her some money back. But the Word of God is clear. It says in Exodus 20, 15, thou shalt not steal. Have your children memorized that verse? It means you must never at any time take that which is not yours, period. Leviticus 19, 11 says that you shall not steal, neither deal falsely. Have they seen by your example that this value is absolute? Romans 2, 21 says, thou that preachest, a man should not steal. Dost thou steal? Do they know God's divine alternative to stealing? I don't think it's very popular in our generation. Ephesians 4, 28, let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor with his hands. Stealing, never acceptable to God. What Satan is really saying is that stealing is relative. If your need is greater than the one who possesses it, take it. Just don't get caught. And you take time and watch television and movies, and you read the newspaper, and you will see that that's the thrust of the moral fiber of today's society. It is not whether it is right or wrong. It is whether you need it worse than they do, and whether or not you get caught. What Satan is saying in the deeper truth is, your God cannot supply all of your needs through His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. So you take all you can get for Him. Second illustration is lying. For the sake of simplicity, we'll use the same two shows. In the movie, they lied about the source of their money that they stole. And the reason was it was for a good cause, and they deserved it. In the TV program, the horrible news bears, or whatever it is, they lied to their parents about the van, they lied about the trip, and they lied about the coach. And the parents were painted, as always, as a bunch of idiots. The principle was the end justifies the means. They wanted to play in the ballgame. If your goal is good, it's acceptable to lie to get there. You read the history books your children bring home from school. They no longer honor the truth, they honor accomplishment, whatever it takes to get there. I've told you the story before that Howard Hendricks tells, but because I don't know another one, I'll tell it to you again. Some of you might have forgotten. It's the story of a man sitting one night and reviewing his children on their memory verses. And little Johnny comes his turn, and he says, what's your verse for the night? And he says, a lie is an abomination to the Lord. Very good, Johnny. And the phone rings, and he picks up the phone, you remember. And he says, someone on the other end says, is your wife home? He said, just a moment. And he holds the phone up against him, and he says, Elizabeth, it's Jane. Are you home? And she says, oh no, I don't want to talk to her. So he picks up the phone again, and he says, I'm sorry, she's not home. Can I take a message? And hangs up. He says, now Johnny, where were we? He said, well, we were doing our memory verse. He said, what were we doing? A lie is an abomination to the Lord, right? He said, yes. And little Johnny pipes up and says, yeah, in an ever-present help in time of trouble. Huh, Pop? It's not God's way. Proverbs 6.16 says, there are seven things that God hates. One's lying, and another is a false witness that speaks lies. Proverbs 17.4 says, liars enjoy liars. They seek out the like values in others. Proverbs 19.22 says, a poor man is better than a liar. It's better to be poor and honest than rich and to be a liar. John 8.44 and 55 says that God can't lie, and Satan can't tell the truth. Therefore, God in you never tells a lie, and the flesh in you never tells the truth. You think about that. It means any time you bend the truth or believe a lie, you're not being led by the Spirit of God. You see, the problem, the end justifies the means. And what we're saying is a lie is not a lie is not a lie is not a lie. You're saying God is a liar then. You're saying there is no absolute truth. You're saying there is no absolute God. Do your children understand what constitutes truth? Or do we bend it to serve our own purposes and then pretend it's not sin? Just one more example, homosexuality. A recent article in a New York paper says that we need to show homosexual activity in city advertising because it brings in good money. A television evangelist recently was banned from secular television station for stating that God's position on homosexuality is. The same station daily broadcasts within its programming the lies that homosexuality is a natural alternative. Anita Bryant takes a stand publicly on the most serious moral issue of our time, and she is publicly harassed, ridiculed, banned, and becomes unpopular. But what does what does God say about it? Your children ought to memorize this. They understand what it is. Leviticus 18, 22 paraphrase. Homosexuality is forbidden for it is an enormous sin. One translation says it is detestable. Leviticus 20, 13. The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have brought it on themselves. Now, God does not hate the men and women who do this. He loves them. And we are not to condemn them, but oh, he detests the act. Society says it's relative. If they think it's OK, leave them alone. And now there are homosexual elements in control of cities, elections, and even the media itself. You know what God does to a nation that allows itself to be perverted in this area by those standards. You go back and read what he did to Sodom and Gomorrah, and you read why. You see, Satan is the author of a lie. The deeper truth that it says is the church can satisfy itself without God spiritually. And it's a lie. And so we accept as natural stealing, lying, homosexuality, prostitution. And the ladies of the street now have their own union. They're striking in some places for better working conditions. Corruption and graft in high places. Proverbs says it's not new, but it's detestable. And we laugh about it and think it's funny. They all do it, we say. Unfaithfulness, marital unfaithfulness. Dr. Joyce Brothers said and was quoted that a midlife affair is good for every marriage. Every man and woman ought to do that because it helps their self-image. She also said, as she spoke to a hairdresser's convention in San Antonio this last week, why, I don't know, she said, male liberation is only a generation away. Male liberation defined was when men come to accept women's liberation. Progress. Pornography, standards in the world today so bad that even the world's getting sick of it. Grade school drugs, drunkenness. These are man's new moral standards. They're okay because they say they are. But they're really not new moral standards. They're just old, old sin. God's standards haven't changed. 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16. If he which hath called you is holy, that is, he is separated from the world by firm convictions, so be ye holy, separated from the world by firm convictions. Because he's in you and in control of your life. Ephesians chapter 5, paraphrase verse 6, don't be fooled by those who excuse these sins. The wrath of God is upon all who do. Verse 7, don't even associate with such people. Verse 11, take no part in the worthiness pleasures of evil and darkness. Instead, rebuke them and expose them. Verse 12, it is shameful even to talk about the things that men do in secret. His standards have not changed and God has not changed. Malachi 3, 6, I am the Lord, I do not change. Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever. Psalm 33, 11, the counsel of the Lord standeth forever the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Psalm 119, 89, forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. James 1, 17, every good and perfect gift cometh from God, the father of lights, in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Morality is not relative. It's a lie. Satan has sold that lie to the world and it's shaking the very foundations we stand on. And if Satan can sell that lie that morality is relevant, he has our behavior in his hip pocket. And having destroyed the basis of God's holiness in man, it's no problem then to tear up his picture book of holiness, marriage. Now, Satan has two basic lies about morals in marriage. The first is that marriage is not necessary for a physical relationship. The second is that marriage was not permanent, that it can be terminated at will. The first leads to the second. And today, live-in lovers are the heroes of our age. The Marvin case is a landmark case, we're told, in our generation. Immorality now carries with it certain inalienable rights. And as clear as God's word is on the physical consequence of this physical rebellion against God, there's an even greater sin involved. And it's the spiritual message that's preached by every premarital and extramarital sexual experience. But your children watching television day and night see three out of every four shows show some form of extramarital or premarital physical relationship is acceptable. And four of the five movies they go to do the same thing. And newspaper heroes, in the past two weeks, there were four series depicting famous people of past years and of our generation, historical, political, and popular entertainers. And in every case, they were people who had gone from one act of immorality to another, and they were making visible, tangible heroes of these because they had had so many conquests. Now, what's the truth about sex outside of marriage? Three things. The penalty to Israel tells God's heart. The importance to the church tells God's commandments. And the portrait to the world tells God's reasons. Leviticus 20, chapter 10, And the man that commiteth adultery with another man's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall be put to death. Deuteronomy 22, 23, If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed to a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her, then shall ye bring them both out, and stone them with stones. Too strong a penalty? Not for the spiritual truth it teaches. What's the importance of it to the church? 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, Sexual sin is never right. Our bodies were not made for that, but for God. Galatians 5, 18, and 19, When ye walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, which are these, adultery, fornication, sex outside of marriage. Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 3, Fornication, let it not so much as be named among you. Has your children ever memorized as they grow up? 1 Thessalonians 4, 3, They say, I want to know the will of God concerning dating and marriage. Here is one thing they can memorize. This is the will of God. Even your sanctification, that you abstain from fornication. Now what's so important about that? Why does God place such a high priority on sexual fidelity? It's because of the portrait that it teaches the world. 2 Chronicles 21, verse 11, It says, He made high places to worship, causing Jerusalem to commit fornication. He likened idolatry to adultery. Why? Jeremiah 3, 14, Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married to you. Hosea 2, 19 and 20, I will betroth you to me forever. Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness. Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 23 through 32, Husband is the head of the wife and the Savior of the body. As the church is subject to Christ, let wives be subject to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one. This is a great mystery, Paul said. But I'm speaking about Christ and the church. That's why it's so important. Marriage is a portrait. The bridegroom is Jesus Christ. The church is the bride. And if our spiritual relationship, our spiritual intercourse with God, it was not possible until we were betrothed to Christ, until Calvary. And a physical relationship outside of marriage, either before or during, says this to the world, that the church can have a spiritual relationship with God without the cross. And it's a lie. Just as a man has no access to God without first committing his life to Christ, so man was designed not to have physical fulfillment without commitment of his life to another. Do your children understand that? Do they know how God feels about sex outside of marriage? Do they know how God feels about premarital sex, about heavy petting that leads to premarital sex? Do they understand the spiritual truth that sex portrays? Do they grasp what movements towards immorality in their lives are saying to God? They are being bombarded with it on television, in movies, in school. They're being told it is natural, it is acceptable, it is a normal expression of yourself. They're being sold a lie. The third lie about morality builds on the other two. If holiness is relative and marriage is optional, then it stands to reason for those who find marriage an acceptable alternative, it is at best not binding, but temporary. If no commitment is required, then no commitment is binding. Hence, divorce becomes not a thing to be avoided for countless reasons, but a logical step for man who in his own authority is his own authority to take it well. And so the world's concept of the permanence of marriage has degenerated to one of disdain. It's a joke. At best, one of tolerance for those with, quote, old-fashioned ideas. And the Church of Jesus Christ, magnetically pulled by the reasonableness of the world's argument, have come to condone, accept, and in many cases counsel and encourage the breakup of the home. And we can often change partners, quote, unquote, and not even recognize the spiritual truth that's involved. Now, one of Satan's tools has been the legalistic condemnation of divorced people, the relegating of those who are divorced to second-class citizenship within the body of Christ. And then he points an accusing finger at the Church and says, This is love. And as usual, there is partial truth in his accusation. There is no scriptural basis for second-class citizenship in the Church of Jesus Christ. There is no basis for a judgmental spirit that compartmentalizes one's sin and brands those sinners as unclean. But you see, his method is this, to create a smoke screen so that out of guilt in our harsher judgmental spirit, the pendulum of conviction will move to that inevitable gray area which says that God really has no firm attitudes on divorce. And there, you see, is a lie. Even those here this morning who have experienced divorce, either personally or in your immediate family, and we are told that that is now nearly 70% of the world's population, will be the first to admit that the acceptance of divorce as the normal Christian alternative violates both the essence and the intent of the Word of God. Now, this morning, we are not going to deal with the details of divorce, so if you were looking for something good and controversial, you are in for a disappointment. If you were hoping for a good argument on what are and aren't acceptable grounds for remarriage, you will be disappointed again. We are not here to argue theological details this morning, but we are here to underline scriptural principles out of which conclusions must come, and there are some uncontested facts which we will all agree on. Principle number one. Marriage was ordained of God for both physical and spiritual reasons. A. To replenish the earth under authority, Genesis 1, 28. B. As a partial cure for man's loneliness, Genesis 2, 18. And C. To portray to a world man's relationship to God through a visible, physical relationship on earth, Ephesians 5, 23-32. Principle number two. He designed it in such a way that two people were to become one, uniquely separate yet indivisible, in function separate, in essence, one. The best illustration God could have given us in this regard is the illustration of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in function separate, in essence, one. And the Christian who has been married in Christ now finds himself in Christ, two people separate, yet in essence, one, indivisible. What it literally says is a man and a woman in Christ become one. Their roles are different, their functions are separate, but the essence of their being becomes singular. 1 Corinthians 6, 16, and 17 says, The tooth saith he shall be one flesh. Illustration. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. That's the picture. Principle number three. Satan's goal through unbelievers, as through the Pharisees, was and is to seek loopholes in God's plan to justify divorce. The rest of this passage will be found in Matthew chapter 19, verse 3. The Pharisees came unto him, tempting him, and said unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Give us some loopholes, Jesus. We want to make this as convenient as possible. Principle number four. Jesus ignored the temptation to argument and always returned to the principle. What was the intent in the heart of God? He answers in verses 4 and 5. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And he said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the twain shall be one flesh. Or paraphrased, it says, Don't you read the Scriptures? In them it is written, At the beginning God created a man and a woman, and that the man should leave his father and mother and forever be united to his wife. The two shall become one. No longer two, but one. And no man may divorce what God has joined together. Principle number five. God, from the outset, designed marriage to be permanent. We find that in verse six. Wherefore, they are no more twain, but one flesh. Therefore, what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Principle number six. Divorce was instituted by Moses, not because it was the plan of God, but because of the hardness or impenitence of men's hearts. Verse seven. They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a writing of divorcement and put her away? And he saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives. But from the beginning it was not so. In the paraphrased translation, Jesus replied, Moses did that in recognition of your hard and evil hearts. But it was not what God originally intended. Principle number seven. God's picture of the consequence confirms his conviction, his position, about the compromise. Verses nine through eleven. And I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and marry another, committeth adultery. And whoso marrieth her that is put away, doth commit adultery. Jesus' disciples said to him, If that's how it is, it's better not to marry. Not everyone can accept this statement, Jesus said. All men cannot receive this saying, save to those to whom it is given. It's a hard saying. It's hard to swallow. But from the beginning it was not so. Principle number eight. The spiritual picture marriage portrays is the most important part of God's actual commandment. Because it gives us the underlying purpose of his heart and the underlying plan behind the statements. And it is this. One. As we have shared this morning, marriage is God's portrait etched in his own blood of a two-fold illustration. God the Father and his bride Israel. God the Son and his bride the Church. And two. The relationship it depicts is a. Permanent. Cannot be broken by either party. Involves total commitment. B. Not based on satisfactory performance or worth, but on perfect love by one of the two parties. Example. God the Father chose to take as his bride tiny, insignificant, unattractive Israel. Someone he could love without limit. Israel time and again rebelled. Abandoned Jehovah. Rejected his son. God's testimony. He loved her. And he is patiently waited for. Even today she has returned home. But has not submitted herself to his authority. But the scripture says one day she will. And he has not. He will not forsake her. He is allowing her to enjoy her quote freedom. She thinks she has power apart from him. So patiently he waits. For she will return. Meanwhile he sends his son into the world to call out a bride that he has chosen. He too chooses the insignificant seemingly unworthy. Not many noble. Not many mighty. Not many wise have been called. The bridegroom commits himself for eternity to his undeserving bride. That's us. And the bride. That's us. Comes to accept the groom and make a commitment for life. The groom's father even knowing the heart of the bride. Prepares a wedding feast to celebrate the eternal relationship in heaven. And though we the bride are continually unfaithful. At times committing grievous acts of spiritual adultery. Double minded. Unstable in all our ways. The scripture says he will not leave us. He will not forsake us. He will not disown us. He will not allow us to leave him. He has rather prepared for us his finest dwelling place. And he is soon coming to bestow upon us all the treasures he owns. That my friend is what marriage is supposed to say. I love you. And love never faileth. What the world's lie about cheap divorce says spiritually. If marriage is temporary. So is salvation. When we become unfaithful. God must become discontent. Turn his back and say you didn't measure up. You didn't make me happy. So much for eternal security. You see it's a lie. And the final truth about divorce and remarriage. Has to do with Satan's smoke screen. The goal of God is not condemnation but reconstruction. And that's why those who have experienced divorce. Are not to be branded or relegated to second class citizenship in the body of Christ. Those of you here this morning who have been through a divorce. Have a message. You have experienced the grace of God in ways that others have not. You are equipped. 2 Corinthians 1, 3 and 4 says. By the God of all comfort who comforted you through this test. So that you now may be equipped to help others. You as it says in Isaiah 58, 12. You have a job to do. Your job is to strengthen the concept of the home. By example and testimony. To encourage those who are passing through the floods of marital disillusionment. To hang in there. Yours is a ministry of deep importance. But unusable. God forbid. You have been placed in the ministry. The ministry of home building. But for all of us here today who are married. Divorced or otherwise. We have a responsibility. Your marriage and my marriage says to the world. And to our children. Here is a picture of Jesus Christ and his church. Your partner may be as unlovable to you. As we are to God. Apart from Christ. He or she may be unfaithful. Inappreciative. Unresponsive. Your task is to assume the role of the savior of the marriage. The greater the abuse. The greater the love. God did not promise you a perfect marriage. Not even a happy one. He did promise you more grace than you will ever need. And he calls us to show to the world. That Jesus loves and loves and loves. Even when the object of his love is unlovable. That you see is the truth about marriage. Teach it to your children. Relearn it for yourself. Make it a conviction. The world desperately needs to understand it. What we have seen this morning is that Satan desires to destroy the marble fiber of society. By discarding the absolutes of scriptures relative. And then bombarding God's center of life. The home. Cheapening sex. Cheapening marriage. In essence making the home as a vital continuing spiritual unit. A thing of the past. But Christian there is another way to look at it. I believe Satan has overplayed his hand. His tactics once so subtle. Once underground are now blatant. Overt tactics. And attacks on the word of God. The battle lines are no longer fuzzy. And the issues are no longer vague. He thinks the church is down for the count of nine. I say the church is just waking up to the reality of the conflict. All across America the church of Jesus Christ is experiencing an awakening of convictions. And Satan's trumpet blast to surrender is the church's call to battle. Christians are taking God stands on old issues. The church is fed up with pornography. The church is fed up with drugs. The church is fed up with being blasted by humanistic philosophies. With role switching. With rampant divorce. And like a slumbering giant awakening from a decade of moral apathy. I believe God's people are about to reset the old standards. And remark the old battle lines. I believe the rumblings are everywhere in modern Christianity. And I think it's time that you and I awaken ourselves as well. If we have to, turn off the TV. And turn on to the Word of God. If we have to, stay home from the movie. And stay the home as the center of life. Spend all of your time teaching your children. It says when they arise, when they walk by the way, when they go to sleep, when they wake up in the morning. The truth of God that never changes. Write it on the door posts of your house. Write it on your gates. Every time they look, everything they hear, let them know that God is absolute truth. Satan's lies are in the open now. We can see them for what they are. We can see what they produce. He's gone too far. He can't turn back. But now the church can have a clear choice. If you and I, as part of the church of God, take a clear stand. We know the problem. Pray to God that we might be part of the solution. Let's pray. Father, the issues are so much clearer than we like to realize. We get so bogged down, Lord, in the petty details of theological discussions that we oftentimes miss the whole point. The point is, Lord, that you never condoned sex outside of marriage. The point is, Father, that morality was never meant to be relative. The point is, Lord, that from the beginning it was not so. You designed marriage to be, by your divine grace, a permanent relationship. What you have joined together you never designed and desired that man should put asunder. And yet the world today has so cheapened the reality of marriage and thus has so cheapened the spiritual truth it portrays, Lord, that the world is no wonder it looks at the church and does not understand the internal security of the believer because the picture book that we show the world of marriage is crumbling, it seems. But, Lord, we just pray that you'd reinforce and reiterate to our hearts this morning that you do have a plan, that you do have absolutes, that you do mean business, and that it's time for the church of Jesus Christ to take a stand. To Jesus alone be praise and honor and glory. The faithful one who is so faithful to us continues to love us and wait for us and prepare a place for us for all eternity. In Jesus' name we ask it.