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Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not be uncircumcised. Is any called an uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? Care not for it, but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's freeman. Likewise, also he that is called being free is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with the price. Be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present. . . . . . Thank you, Lord, for bringing us here together this morning to sing praises to you and hear your word in the reading. Lord, fill our pastor with your Holy Spirit, Lord, as he comes forward to preach the message that you laid on his heart. And, Lord, we ask that you please give us all ears to hear to be attended and give us all hearts to receive the message. And, Lord, we love you. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. All right. Amen. So we're in 1 Corinthians 7. Do me a favor. Keep your place there. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter number 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. It's right after Psalms. You got Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. So the title of the sermon this morning is Don't Do What We Did. Don't do what we did. And you're like, what are you talking about? Well, first of all, the we could be myself, Jessica, those of us who got married before we were zealous for the Lord. Okay? So the sermon's about basically advice for singles and teens who plan to get married one day or who plan not to get married one day. You know, we're going to talk about that as well. And so you say, well, this doesn't apply to me. Well, you know, it will. You know, if you're a parent, you know, you got children, it's going to apply to you as well because you need to know how to set boundaries, how to raise your kids, how to set them up for success because I'll tell you, you know, doing things the way that, you know, a lot of us that were in the world did them is just going to lead to you looking back, you know, having regrets, wishing you did things right. Right? And so we're trying to avoid that this morning by learning what the Bible says. And so pay attention to these things. I think that if you implement them, there'll be a blessing to you. Now, some of the things that I'm going to speak about this morning are my opinion. You know, like Paul said, you know, these things, I don't speak by commandment, but by permission, he's basically saying, hey, you know, I do have the Spirit of God and you need to pay attention regardless. And so we're going to, with that being said, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, look at verse number one and says, Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. So this verse here basically sums up your entire life. Right. And what is Solomon telling us? He's like, hey, as a young person, as somebody who doesn't have the burden of marriage per se, you don't have children yet. He's saying your focus should be to serve the Lord. Okay. Now go back to first Corinthians chapter seven, you know, because here's the thing. When you get married, you have children, right? You get zealous for the Lord. Now all of a sudden you have these other responsibilities and you're not going to necessarily be able to serve God as well as you could have had you started off in the right capacity and in the right way. And so, you know, a lot of people, I think we have it backwards. You know, we say, you know, a lot of our young people will say, okay, I want to serve God. So that means I got to find the perfect wife. She better be able to play piano. She better, you know, have read the Bible, you know, 18 times and, and basically met every single verse of Proverbs 31. Right. And if she doesn't, man, she's out because I need to be a pastor and that's how I'm going to serve God. Look, you can definitely serve God by being a pastor, but you can do a lot for God being single. You can do more. You can do a lot more. I mean, think about all the work that the apostle Paul did and he wasn't married. Right. I mean, unless you want to go to one of these loser churches out there that said, well, Paul was married. Just doesn't talk about his wife because he's a member of the Sanhedrin. And if you study church, shut up. He wasn't married. Okay. It's, it's, it's obvious by the context of the chapter here. It's crystal clear. But the point is that if you're a young person, your focus needs to be able to, it needs to be you serving God 100% because that's going to keep you out of trouble. That's going to keep you from making big mistakes. And you need to understand that and you need to learn that. Right. And I'm not saying that it, look, if you're, you're, you're married, like I'm married, I've got kids. I still serve God. Amen. Basically, you know, I'm proud of this church. Everybody in here serves God that we have right now. Right. Otherwise you wouldn't be here today. You know, we have people sowing all throughout the week. We have people reading the Bibles, doing the new Testament challenge, all these things. This is great. But you young people, especially don't think, Oh, I'm only 16, I'm only 17 years old. You know, I can't really serve Lord. Yes, you can. And you need to make that the priority. Look, Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. And he says, remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. You know what parents, when you raise your children up, according to the statutes and the commandments in this book, the Bible says that when they get old, they won't depart from them. Those things get sown in their hearts. They might go away for a little season. Right. We all have periods in our lives that we backslide and we do things we shouldn't do. But when that word is in there, it's been pounded in there through preaching, you know, Bible memorization. What have you, when they get old, they're not going to depart from it because God's going to chase in you and bring your butt back in line, you know, hopefully unless you're really stubborn, but you get the point, you know, as a young person, your primary focus needs to be serving God. Amen. So with that being said, first Corinthians chapter number seven, we're going to start reading in verse 32. And what we're going to learn here is what I've been saying all along, that a single person's mission while they're single is to serve God with your whole heart, with your whole entire heart, not one foot in one foot out your whole heart. All right. That's what you're going to see. There's a lot of people today. They're like, okay, look, I just need to find Mr. Right. I need to find Mrs. Right. That's my folk. No. Why don't you make yourself Mr. Right? Why don't you make yourself miss right? And then you don't have to worry about it. God will respond to that obedience and then put the right person in front of you. How about you just do that instead of worrying about, Oh, certain, you know, you got your Proverbs 31 checklist guys, right? And you're going to all these conferences in your life. Okay. Do you have a job? Do you wear pants? You know? No, don't do that. That's not how you, that's not how you find a wife. Okay. And we've talked about that in the past. And the reason why I bring it up is because there are people that do it. Okay. Look, there's not a woman alive that meets every verse in that chapter. Okay. So just remember that verse 32, it says, but I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord, but he that is married carried care for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. That's not saying that a married person can't serve God. We, you know, that's not what it's saying, but he's saying that, Hey, a single person, they can have their whole entire life. I mean, obviously outside of working and, you know, and taking care of yourself and preparing for, for marriage. But he's saying you can do a lot more for God. You can do more so, and you can do more Bible reading. You can get yourself prepared for down the road when you may want to be an evangelist or you may want to be a pastor or a deacon or, you know, whatever position that you think that God has for you. Right. But it starts now. It starts while you're young. It's easier if you do it while you're single. Right. That's what he's saying here. First 34, it says, there is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord that she may be holy, both in body and in spirit. But she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. Verse 35 and this, I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely and that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction. Remember, Paul is dealing with a church that was steeped in fornication. He says there's fornication named or that's going on in your churches, right in your church. That's not even named amongst the Gentiles. Right. And so he's saying, no, that's not the way to go. You shouldn't be endorsing that. Your single people need to be serving God. Right. Which is going to lead into our next point, which is the biggest pitfall that a single person has to watch out for. And that is fornication. Right. But what's the teaching here? It's what I've been saying all along. Right. A single person can serve God. You can do a lot more for God. Right. And let me just say this here. If a person who's single Bible believing Christian coming to church, if you're not serving God with your whole heart now, what are the odds that you're going to do that after you get married? You need to set the standard now. You need to make the habit right now to do these things so that when you do get married. Right. You know, it'll, it'll just fall into place. Yeah. You're going to have to cut back maybe a little bit here and there because you do have to take care of your wife or you're going to have to take care of your husband. Eventually going to have to take care of kids. Right. But you know what typically winds up happening is somebody gets a little bit zealous for a while. They meet somebody and they're like, okay, we're going to get married. I'll change them after they get married. And then you don't see them for six months at a time. They just sporadically come into church and they drop all the soul in or they go soul any once a month, you know, we're trying to avoid that. We're trying to keep the zeal from now to the rest of your entire life. I mean, look, I don't think anybody in here would debate that. That's not what God would want for you. Right. And people all the time want to criticize us. You're too hardcore. You're too this, you're too that. Well, if Jesus Christ came down here right now and stood right next to this pulpit, there's not a person in here that would say that to him. Right. Right. You know, it's true. God wants extreme zeal and according to knowledge, um, back up to verse number seven, back up to verse number seven. And what we're going to do now, we'll just take a look at Paul's desire for singles, but according to knowledge, and I'm going to explain that here. Uh, first Corinthians seven, seven, look at this. It says for, I would that all men were even as myself. So he's like, Hey, look, this really is my design. I wish that everybody he's just basically, I wish that everybody could be like me. Right. Why? Because look at all the works that he did. Look at all the churches that he started. Look at all the problems he fixed. Look at all the souls that he won. Right. He's like, for I would that all men were even as myself, but now here's the knowledge, but he knows better. Right. Most people can't contain like the apostle Paul. Let's just be honest. Okay. He says, but every man have his, have his proper gift of God one after this manner and another after that. Look at verse eight. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I, does that sound like he had a wife? Does that sound like, Oh, you know, he was a member of the Sanhedrin had to, he had to be married as a requirement. You just don't know church history. You don't know Hebrew. No. Verse nine. Now look at this. He says, but if they cannot contain, let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn. Now here's where people stop and they add the words in hell. Okay. There are a multitude of teachers on this planet that add the words in hell after this verse and they'll say, see, if you commit fornication, you lose your salvation. You're going straight to hell is hell's not even mentioned here. We're not, we're talking to save people here. Right. He's like, Hey look, but if they cannot contain, if they cannot control themselves, which is like 95% of people, okay, if they cannot contain, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion is what he's talking about. He's talking about with passion. He's not talking about it's better to marry. If you don't get married, you're going to hell. That would make the first seven verses completely void if that's what it meant. But you know, people believe it. They fall for it. It's true. But if they cannot contain, let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn. So he's saying, Hey, if you're single, that that's fine. Work on yourself. Rejoice. You can do great, great, wonderful exploits for God. But if he can't contain the get married, there's nothing wrong with that. Right. And by the way, what he's also saying here is that we shouldn't push people into marriage before they're ready. Okay. Because you know what? There are some people and there might be people here that can contain. I don't know. Right. That's for you to decide. Not for me, not for anybody else. You're the one that's going to know. You're the one that knows if you can contain, you're the one that knows whether or not you're burning with passion. Okay. And so just keep that in mind. Now turn to Matthew chapter 19, Matthew chapter 19. I'm just going to give you a couple of verses here that basically sum up the majority. So the majority of people cannot contain them. Let's just be honest. Right. You know, I see it all the time. You know, there's most, most young people in church, they're, they're looking for a spouse and that's great. That's wonderful. Paul says that's a blessing. In fact, Genesis 2 18 says this, and the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help meet for him and help suitable for him and help that can help a woman that will help him. Okay. That's what God is saying. It's good that a man get married, but Paul's also just saying, Hey, look, if you're the type of person that you don't need to get married or maybe you've been divorced, you know, you need to stay that way and serve God. That's your focus. That's your goal. Your life's not washed out, right? He's saying both positions are okay if they're done according to God's way. That's what he's talking about here. Proverbs 18 22 says this. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtain a favor of the Lord. Right. That's what the Bible is teaching us here. So, you know, that's the majority. Most people need to get married. Okay. But it's not my job to figure that out. It's your job to figure that out. You know you. Right. And the answer is always going to come when you're serving God. Right. That's what the Bible is teaching us here. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtain favor of the Lord. So look, you will get favor from the Lord. So just, just understand that and realize that. And I had to turn to Matthew chapter 19 because we're going to take a look at this idea of a eunuch, which is the minority of people here. So let's read this here. Look at verse 12, Matthew 19 verse 12. It says, for there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb. And there were some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuch for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. What in the world are you talking about here? You say, what does this mean? What's a eunuch? Well, a eunuch is a person that, uh, okay, well, let's start, let's start at the beginning of the verse. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb. This could mean somebody who's just basically born without the ability to reproduce. You know, maybe they're handicapped or maybe they just, um, just don't have the means to be able to get married and have children. Okay. The next part of the verse says, and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men. As you read through the Old Testament, you'll see that when nations would conquer other nations, one thing that they would do is they would make eunuchs of men, right? They would make them that it's, it's pretty, uh, I'm not going to get too descriptive, but it's not a very pleasant process. They would basically take away a man's ability to reproduce and they would often use those people to guard the queen, you know, and the king's wives and so on and so forth like that. And then look at the rest of it. It says, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. This is not talking about somebody who castrates themselves, right? A lot of people that subscribe to these monk, you know, things, this whole monk idea, you know, you know, these monks and these priests say they're, they're celibate. They really, they made themselves eunuchs and they're really serving God. Now what he's saying here, there are some people like the apostle Paul, they can spiritually make themselves eunuch, you know, without castrating themselves, they can contain and they can go on and serve God as a single person. Okay? But I will tell you, this is the minority. That's why this verse reads the way it does. And that's why Jesus says, Hey, he is able to receive it. Let him receive it. So all I'm trying to tell you this morning is that the majority of people cannot contain. And therefore you need to listen to the words that I'm preaching to you this morning. And you need to understand how to live your life. I'm trying to save you some pain down the road. Okay? That's the goal here. Now go back to first Corinthians chapter seven. So here's the big point that I have this morning about this, this, this whole thing, this whole idea of being single. If you're a single person, your main goal, obviously serving God, right? We understand that. We just went through that. But your main goal in doing that is to avoid fornication. That is the goal to avoid fornication. That is the biggest temptation to a single person that I think is out there. I think it's even bigger than you just completely backsliding and skipping soloing and stuff like that. It's fornication. Right? And so we're going to talk about some advice to young men and I'm gonna give you some advice for young ladies. Okay. Look at verse number one, first Corinthians chapter seven. Now look at verse number one. It says, now concerning the things wherever you wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. So you can tell here that they wrote Paul, they had some questions like, hey, how are we supposed to act here? You know, things are out of control and Paul's addressing these things in verse two. He says, nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. Turn to Proverbs chapter five, very simple concept to understand, but I think sometimes we neglect to really understand what this means. Let a man have his own wife and let a wife have her own husband. That means that if you have a wife or you have a husband, you shouldn't be bossing other people's wives and husbands around. Okay. Because oftentimes in life and even sometimes you'll get a bozo that comes into church that thinks that, well, the Bible said, you know, Paul said I suffer not a woman to teach and he said that and we subscribe to that. We believe that. But they'll say because of that, I'm over everybody's wife and they'll just start bossing all the ladies around. And we had one in our church. But till up till Easter, he would do that. I don't think there was a woman in the church up to this point to the point that he got kicked out that he didn't try to boss around at some point. Okay. But it's not just him. I've seen this in other churches. Right. And the verse says, nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. Kind of a little rabbit trail I'm going on here, but it is important. Okay, guys, when you get married, you're over your wife, not other people's wives. Okay. And we don't have a problem with that here anymore. I just want to just throw that out there so nobody can look back and say, you never said that. You know, there isn't going to be this, oh, we misunderstood you. I thought that, you know, we could just kind of have free reign over every woman around. No. You worry about your own family and your own wife. Okay. Don't be bossing other people's wives around. The Bible does say a fool's mouth calls for strokes. So if something bad happens to you because you boss somebody else's wife around, I'm going to be like Galileo and just care for none of those things. Okay. And hopefully you've done your New Testament readings so you don't know what I'm talking about. All right. So I had to turn to Proverbs 5, but before we go through that, let me read Ephesians 5 through which says this. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saints. It should never be named among God's people that they're in fornication. Okay. Now, with that being said, it shouldn't even be named that it's a suspicion. Okay. So you guys, you ladies that are planning on dating or are dating, you need to make sure that you set boundaries and that you conduct yourselves in a manner that other people wouldn't look at you and say something could be going on. You know why? Because the world's already going to say stuff like that. Right. And we don't need to give them any more excuses to attack us. You see what I'm saying? So he says, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saints. And so with that being said, we need to protect ourselves and you need to learn how to do that. Okay. Because it's real out there. Temptation is your biggest enemy, especially as a young person. So we're going to go and talk about advice for young men. How should a young man live his life in order to avoid fornication? Now, before we get started, I'm just going to read Lamentations 327. I quote this to Kayden all the time, especially when he's carrying water jugs. And it says this, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Okay. So when he's carrying these jugs, you know, on Saturday back there and he's just like, I'm like, hey, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He's like, yeah, I get it. You know? And so with that being said, as a young man and even as a young lady, you need to learn how to work hard. Right? Look, there's so many people out there today in the world. Go to a restaurant, right? There are people that just don't want to work hard anymore. You know, as a young person, you need to keep yourself busy. If you're working for the Lord, which hopefully you all are, you need to work as hard as you possibly can for the Lord. When you go to work in your daily job, you need to work as hard as you can. You need to be looking for things to do and you need to do those things with all your might. Because I'm telling you, when you don't, right, when you don't, when you decide, you know what, I'm just going to go walk around on the rooftop and just see what's out there, just kind of lollygagging around through life, guess what? That's when Bathsheba's going to pop up. Right? You need to work hard. We need people to look at our church and our people and say, you know what, those are some hard working people. Those are some people that will grind it out no matter what. And you know what? I think they see that. When it's 20 degrees and there's snow everywhere and they see us knocking on doors, they're like, you people are crazy. Right? There's people that are atheists and stuff that invite us in all the time because they get it. They're like, okay, look, I don't believe what you have, but you can come in. You know, it's like, if you're not going to listen, you don't believe the Bible, no, but thank you. You know, but that's what we're going for here. Hard work. When you go to work, man, you work hard. You need to be the best, hardest worker at whatever it is that you're doing. Right? And by doing so, you know what, you're going to get home. You're going to be so tired. You're not going to be thinking about all this other junk and you're going to have less temptation to go out and fornicate. Okay. So just remember that as a young man and even as a young lady, you need to work hard at everything that you do. Proverbs chapter five. Look at verse number one says, my son attended to my wisdom and bow thine ear to my understanding that thou mayest regard discretion and that thy lips may keep knowledge. So as a young person here, especially as a young man, you need to regard discretion. You need to be discreet. You need to be able to discern when someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, when someone's trying to get you to do something that is contrary to the law. Verse number three, for the lips of a strange woman drop as in honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil. Right? These ladies out there in the world, they'll tell you what you want to hear. Right? Look what it says. For the lips of a strange woman drop as in honeycomb. Her speech will come across to you. Listen to me. Her speech will come across to you as pleasant, as sweet, as able to receive. And you'll think, well, she's not good now. Right? She don't go to church now. She don't believe now. But if I just marry her, if I just be with her, right, then I can change her. No, you won't. Look at the next verse. 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. Look, when I was a supervisor at the shipyard, you know, I would often have to audit people's leave usage. Right? People calling out sick all the time. And I can't tell you how many times, because I was required at a certain point to get their leave, their doctor's notes. Right? Especially when people would really go crazy with it. And I can't tell you how many times it was STD, STD, STD, over and over again. I'm like, look, I mean, it completely changed how I looked at this organization. I mean, I'm looking at people that I came up the ranks with, that I work with, and I'm like, you're filled with disease. I'm looking at all, and they're like, well, I got it from so-and-so, and she's got it from so-and-so. And before you know it, it's like, is there anybody in this organization that's not ridden with a disease? That's what nobody wants to talk about today. But that's reality, my friend. And you guys, you need to be careful. When some woman just shows up, you know, at your work and, oh, I love God, too, you know, oh, really? You're going to come to church? No. But, you know, eventually I got some things to work out. You know, you just need to be careful. And that's why we're going to talk about this other point here in a minute. Don't even think about dating somebody who's not saved. Don't even think about it. Don't even talk to them. I mean, look, you need to run because you can't contain, okay? And the Bible's giving us a strong warning here. These women here that are not saved, they want to speak to you seductively, they will ruin your life. You mark my words, they will ruin your life. Verse 4 again, 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. Verse 6, lest thou should ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable that thou can't not know them. What is that talking about? These women here, they like you today and your best friend tomorrow, right? They will hook you emotionally and not even be emotionally attached to you. They are predators is what they are. You say, but they're so cute. I don't care, you know? So is a koala bear. So is a cougar, but they'll tear you up. You need to be careful, guys. These women will destroy your life. I have seen it over and over and over again. Mark my words, you will get destroyed, I promise you that. Don't ever go down that road. Proverbs 11, 22 says this, as a jewel of gold and a swine snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. You say, well, I know she's been with a lot of other dudes, but I've watched Hollywood movies where it turns out okay. Yeah, guess what? They're following a script, man. Okay, they're following a script. And when that script's done, they go inject all their medicines and pop all their pills to cover up for all their STDs that they've got. That's the reality. This is reality. Look, you'd be better off digging stuff out of a pig's nose than you would be messing with one of these skanks out here. That's what he's saying. I quoted this verse to somebody when I was working at the shipyard and they were like, that's great, man. What, did Gandhi say that? Is that some kind of, you know, is that some Tony Robbins stuff? Man, that's great. I'm going to say that to everybody. You know, I wound up getting in trouble for saying it. But, you know, it's the truth. Let's speak the truth, right? All right, go to First Corinthians chapter number six. First Corinthians chapter number six. So as a young person, as a single boy, man, you teens, you need to guard yourself from these fair women, which you know have no discretion. Their ways are movable. They like you today. They like someone else tomorrow. They're not grounded. And all that's going to do is just get you in a state mentally where you're wondering, what did I do wrong? Where did I fail? You know, maybe I need to take a course on how to be an alpha male and drop $10,000 on it. No, you need to follow Proverbs chapter five. I'll save you the $10,000. You want to be an alpha male? Read the Bible. That's how you're going to get to that status, all right? First Corinthians chapter number six, look at verse 12. Paul says this. He says, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly and belly for the meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now look at this. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. So very clear here, your body is not for fornication. Your body as a Bible believing Christian is the temple of the living God. Verse 15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. God forbid. He's like, no, absolutely not. Just because you won't lose your salvation doesn't mean you need to spend the rest of your life in pain and misery with hospital bills that you can't even afford. Verse 16. I'm sorry. Verse 17. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Verse 18. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committed fornication sin against his own body. You see, there's something about fornicating that destroys the body. It messes with the mind, right? Because look, at some point you get right with God, you know, later on down the road, you might just have regrets. In fact, you probably will. And I'm not saying there isn't restoration, there isn't healing because there is. But as a young person who has never been down that road, you don't need to even try. You don't even need to go down that road. He says, flee fornication. Why? Because it messes with your body. It does something to you. Okay? And look, if you've already done that, I'm not mad at you. I'm not kicking you out. I'm just saying, hey, look, there's still hope for you. Where you're at right now is where you need to stay and you need to advance and move forward, following God with all your heart. Protect yourself from now on and you'll be blessed for it. I promise you that, okay? So there is restoration. But those of you who have not gone down this road, guess what? Don't even think about it. Don't you even try it. Verse number 19. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? He's like, what? You don't know this? You don't know this because they're messing around at church. They weren't doing things in decency and in order, which is why we have church the way we are, why we're fundamental, so that we can talk about these things. You're not going to get this at Life Church this morning. You're not going to get this at The Pursuit. Why? Because it offends people. It offends the fags. It offends everybody that doesn't want to subscribe to the doctrines of God. That's who it offends and that's who flocks to those type of people. But I'm going to try to save you this morning, right? Not all of us have to go down that road. You know, the majority, that's the way they're going. They're like the swans that just ran off the cliff. You know, that's what modern Christianity is today. You know, it's legion basically hurting them all off of the cliff into the water and they're just choking and wallowing in a bunch of false doctrine. Verse 20, for ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. Now, go to Exodus chapter 22, because some people will take the beginning of the verses that we read here. They'll go to verse 12, for example. So you go to Exodus 22, but some people go to verse 12 and say, well, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but all things are brought on the power of any. So fornication is really not as bad as what he's talking about here. This was a special situation. And if you fornicate with somebody, that just means you got to marry him or it means you're married. This teaching's out there. OK, there are people teach that. And I just want to show you from the Bible that is not true. Exodus chapter 22. Look at verse number 16. It says this. And look, there's people, there's a guy who makes videos against Pastor Mendez's church and he teaches this. OK, the guy's an idiot. Verse 16, it says, And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. And that's where they stop. They're like, see, you know, two people fornicate, you know, you just got to marry him. You're good. Or basically they'll say, well, in the context here, you're actually married in God's eyes just because you did that act. No, you got to keep reading. Look at the next verse. If her father, uh oh, now we've got a problem. If her father utterly refused to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry version. Wait a minute. So now all of a sudden the father has the right to say no. Think about that. Why would God say that the father has the right to say no, you're not going to marry my daughter? Think about that for a second. Why would he do that? Because there are some people out there that aren't good enough for your daughters, guys. Right? That's what he's saying. That's the idea here. So let's say a young girl, you know, they commit fornication. She gets pregnant. Dad finds out, you know, the guy's a sleazeball. He's a dirtbag. He doesn't work. He wants to live in a van. You know, all these things, which is true. We've seen that. You know what? That's the type of person that is not going to be a good husband. He's not going to be a good father. So the dad who hopefully has some stones, right, says no, you're not good enough for my daughter. You're not getting married. So there are some people, a lot of people believe it or not, in this planet that you shouldn't marry. Right? So just because the act has been done doesn't mean you have to marry that person. I mean, think about it. Do you really think they're a good person trying to persuade your daughter to do that act in the first place? No. Right? So this idea that's being taught out there that, well, if you commit fornication, that means you're marrying God. No. That's false doctrine. That is not true. Right? So understand that. Let's move on here. Go to Genesis chapter 34. So advice for young men. Work hard. Serve God with all your heart. And guess what? You will be more apt to flee fornication than the person who does not take that advice. Work hard. Serve God. Look, all you guys can remember that. And look, I'm proud of the singles that we have in this church, by the way. Because I've been to churches, you know, that are a lot bigger than ours, and it's usually the opposite. It's usually the ladies that have, you know, multiple kids or the dads that have multiple kids. You know, they have all kinds of problems that they're doing the majority of the work. And look, in this church, it seems like, you know, I know we're small, but the singles are doing a lot of work. Right? Briley and David went out soloing on Tuesday when it was freezing cold and pitch black. Right? You know, if you guys didn't have families, you may not have been able to. Like me, I had work, you know, when I get home. You know, I've got family duties. I've got stuff. I've got a church to run. You know, I wasn't able to go with you guys. But you see what I mean? You see the power of being single. You can get it done. You can get that work done now. And then when you're older and when you do get married, when you do find these things, you know what? You're not going to slip. You're still going to make that a priority. I'm still going to get my soloing in a couple times a week. I'm still going to do my Bible reading every day. Amen? So we don't have a problem here. Right? I'm just trying to save you down the road. Right? Because look, sooner or later, we're going to be growing. Look, we're going to have people coming in and coming out, people getting mad and leaving all the time. You know? See ya. I'm not changing. I'm not stopping. This is hardcore. This is reality. This is biblical Christianity here. Right? And it's you guys that are building yourselves up now that will persuade them, the new ones that come in, to do right. Right? That's what I'm going for here. That's the goal. And we will reach that goal, Lord willing. So now we're going to move on to the ladies. Okay? Genesis chapter 34. Here is the first bit of advice. We're going to read this passage here about one of Jacob's daughters named Dinah. Okay? And the first thing I want you to understand this is I want you to see as you read through this passage here, the dangers of the daughters of the world. There is a danger in the daughters of this world. What does that mean? There's a danger when God's children, especially you ladies, decide, you know what? I'm going to yoke up and be best friends with people that don't serve God, people that want nothing to do with him. I'm going to show you that example here in this chapter. Look at verse one. Genesis 34.1 says this, And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. That's not there for you to just gloss over. It is there for a reason. Right? Went out to see the daughters of the land. You say, what's the big deal? Let's keep reading. Verse two. And when Shechem, the son of Amor, the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her. Listen to me very carefully, ladies. The women of the world have no problem with the Shechem of this world. They're after the Shechem. They want the Shechem and they want you to join with them. So when you go out into the world and you decide, you know what? I'm going to hang out with them. They're not that bad. They will change you. You won't change them. Verse number three. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel and spake kindly unto the damsel. You see, this is the wisdom of the world. They have it backwards. Right? The man out there, right? The whoremonger out there, ladies, right? He'll speak kindly unto you, just like the woman in Proverbs chapter five. He'll tell you what you want to hear. I promise I'll marry you. I promise I'll take care of you. I promise I'll do this. But at what cost? What if you get AIDS and die? Then what? What if you get an STD? Huh? Then what? There goes serving God. There goes serving God. There goes your rewards. There goes a lot of problems. But that's what they'll promise. I promise I'll take care of you. We don't have to. We'll get married next. We'll get married next. Here and now. Right? The temporal. That's the message of the world. And that's what I'm trying to save you from. And that's why the daughters, you ladies in this church, you need to understand the daughters of this world are filled with danger. This is what will happen to you. I promise you. I've seen it. I promise you it will happen to you. Verse four. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. Verse five. And Jacob heard that he defiled Dinah, his daughter. Now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob held his peace until they were come. And Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out unto Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel and lying with Jacob's daughters, which thing ought not to be done. Go to Second Corinthians, Chapter six. We're going to stop there. If you're not familiar with the rest of the story, basically what happens is Jacob's son say, OK, Dad, you're not going to do anything about it. We'll go ahead and do something about it. Right? And so they're like, Yeah, no problem. Let's yoke up. Why don't you guys all just get circumcised like we are. Your people be as us. Right? And so after they get circumcised and then they're sore, they're like, Now let's go get them. Right? Can you imagine dying after being circumcised as an adult, man? That would be horrible. That's what they did. And so what's the message here? The dangers of the daughters of this world would just wreak havoc and hell on your entire family. It doesn't just affect you. It affects dad. It affects mom. It affects the siblings. It affects the entire family. It will ruin your life. They don't have your interests. They don't want to serve God. Right? They get their wisdom from Dr. Phil, from Dr. Oz, from Oprah. That's where they get their wisdom from. Not from this book here. This story is just as applicable to us today, if not more so than even it was back then. 2 Corinthians 6, look at verse number 14. It says, it says this. So you say, Okay, I got all this. What's the deal here? Well, here's the message. You work hard, you serve God, male or female. Doesn't matter. Young ladies, you need to serve God. You need to stay away from the daughters of the world and you will be fine. Same thing with you guys. It's the same, it's really just the same message here. Now, with that being said, we're going to kind of transition this sermon into how to prepare for marriage. I want you to read this carefully here. 2 Corinthians 6, 14. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with the unrighteous? And what communion hath light with darkness? I'm not saying if your work invites you to a party, you can't go. You know, you need to take some things into consideration first, right? But, you know, it's not always a bad idea. You know, you're at work and someone's like, Hey, let's go to McDonald's or let's go to get something to eat. Fine. You know, it's when you neglect God's people for their fellowship. It's when after work you're like, Hey, what are you doing? Why don't you come over and hang out? That's when it becomes a problem. We shouldn't be unequally yoked with people like that. Leah should not have gone out and decided to yoke up with the daughters of the land. It ruined her life. It ruined her purity. Young people, you need to protect your purity. You need to be in a position to where it is easy for you to flee fornication. And not make provision for the flesh here. So, nonetheless, with this being said, you know, those of you that can't contain, which is most of you, like I said, you know, you need to start preparing yourself for marriage now. You need to become Mr. Right, Ms. Right, whatever, right now. And you're going to do that by purposing in your heart not to marry somebody who isn't saved. It is a nightmare. It is a nightmare. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time it doesn't. Okay? Now, go back to 1 Corinthians 7. 1 Corinthians 7, look at verse 25. This is some advice for the unmarried and the widowed here. So pick up at verse 25. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. So he's like, hey, you know, don't make that your main thing. Right? Work on you. If you're not married, you know, and you've been married, you're widowed, whatever the case is, you know, don't be like, okay, I got to get married like tomorrow, because you're just going to wind up hurrying and speeding the process and possibly regretting it. Okay? So he's saying, hey, just work on you. Right? And God will take care of the rest. Now look at verse 28. He says, but if thou marry, thou hast not sinned. And if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. He's like, hey, you know, it's not a sin for you to get remarried if you're widowed. Okay? Those of you that are single, it's not a sin for you to get married. And Paul's just trying to make that clear. He's like, look, Corinthians, I'm not trying to set up a church full of celibate people here. Right? Both issues are good if they're done according to God's ways. Right? That's what he's saying. Now look at verse 29. But as I say, brethren, the time is short. It remains that both they that have wives be as though they've had none. So he's like, hey, it's good to get married, but just know this, you're going to have trouble. And everybody who's married will raise their hand and you will have trouble. Nobody in here is going to be married for 20 years and not have some kind of fighting or, you know, some real low, low, lows and, you know, some highs. It's just the cycle of life. Right? You wear the old man, you're going to have trouble. And just realize that. So, you know, you guys, you just need to realize, you know, your marriage isn't going to be a Hallmark movie. It's not. Okay? Maybe for a little bit. Right? Just a little bit. But you're going to have some trouble. You need to know how to deal with that trouble. And the way to deal with that trouble is to keep coming to church and serving God. Okay? Don't let the sun go down upon your anger. So just realize that. So jump down to verse number 36. It says, But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncommity toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will. He sineth not, let them marry. Nevertheless, he that standeth steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin doeth well. Verse 38. So then, he that giveth her in marriage doeth well, but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. Verse 39. The wife is bound by the law, so as long, or as long as her husband liveth. But if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married, to whom she will only in the Lord. That is the key. That is the priority. The Bible-believing Christian, you need to marry somebody who is in the Lord, somebody who is saved. Okay, verse 40. But she is happier if she so abide after my judgment, and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. So, turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 6. 2 Corinthians, chapter 6. So real quick, I'm just going to leave you with a couple of quick points here in two subjects. Choosing the right person and protecting your purity. You say, why do you keep saying these things over and over again? Because I want them to sink down into your heart. When you get into a situation, I want my voice to ring in the back of your head with these verses. Don't do it. Die, death, AIDS, SED, okay? That's what I'm going for here, okay? When that alarm clock goes off and it's time for soul winning, I want you to hear my voice. You're weak. Get up. That's the goal. Alright. So, choosing the right person and protecting your purity. So, number one. We've already been talking about this, and that's choose a believer. 1 Corinthians 15, 33 says, be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners. Remember, you're not going to change them. They're going to change you. And I'm talking about somebody marrying somebody who isn't saved, okay? Make sure the person is saved first. And zealous for God, by the way, right? That's key. Because if not, you could be setting yourself up for some failure later down the road. So, 2 Corinthians 6, look at verse 14. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? An infidel is somebody who doesn't believe. Okay, that's what he's talking about there. So, you say, well, man, this girl, she's just great. This guy's just great, right? But they have a problem with Hollywood. They have a problem with Hollywood, but I think I could stretch that out. I doubt it. They believe part of the Bible, right? I think I can get them saved eventually. I just need to work. No. That's not how it works. You sign your name on that contract. You make that vow before God. And then all of a sudden, it's like, I got you. It's like when you join the military and they're like, all right, all that stuff I just promised you that's out the window, get your butt on the bus right now. You're leaving today, not next month like I told you. Okay, take it from somebody who's been there, okay? That's reality. So, just think about these things, right? When you meet somebody and they're in the world, they don't believe like you. They're the snare of the devil, right? And look at verse 15. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Look, you're not going to change. If they reject the truth now, they will reject the truth after you make that commitment, so just don't even go down that road. All right, so number two, go to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. So number two, you know, just one thing here, and that's look for character traits. You need to have some discretion, okay? Because you're a zealous group, you're a zealous people, so you need to make sure that the person that you want to marry is the same, if not even more zealous. Romans 12, look at verse nine. Let love be without dissimulation. Abort that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. I think that's a good idea. I think you need to look for somebody, young guys, young ladies, right, that you need to look for somebody that has that same aboring, that same hatred towards evil. You know what I mean? Somebody who hates the sodomites, right? I mean, let's just get real with it. I mean, that is, that'll tear a marriage apart right there. You got two people unequally yoked on that issue. It can be hard, you know? So you guys aren't married yet, you know? Look for somebody who abores that which is evil and cleave to the one that's good, you know? You find somebody that lines up with these doctrines, go for it, you know? Verse 10, be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love and honor and preferring one another. Does the person have this attribute, this character? Do they love the brethren? Do they love God's people? Ask yourself that. Verse 11, not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. You wanna find somebody who's fervent, somebody who is dedicated, zealous, right? Not slothful in business. A person that is slothful now, who is lazy now, will be lazy more than likely 10 years from now after you marry them. You say, oh, whip him into shape. Ladies say, I'll get him, I'll get him gone. Maybe not, maybe not. Save yourself the pain now and look for somebody who's not slothful in business. Verse 12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. I think that these here are good attributes to look for in somebody that you wanna marry, all right? Now, go over one chapter, Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13. So not a big section on that, right? You guys get it, you understand the deal. Flee fornication, but if you're looking for a spouse, look for somebody who's zealous. Look for somebody who's fervent in spirit and you'll be fine, you'll do well, okay? I don't have to give you this big long old checklist and you go through that, no. It's simple, serve God, get the understanding and you'll be able to see. And you know, by the way, sowing is a great way on how to learn how to people read, right? Because you talk to multitudes of people. I mean, you already do through work and just being out in your daily lives anyways, but when you add sowing to them, you get to see people lie to your face all the time, right? And so that's gonna boost your discretion out, right? So you guys in this church that work hard for God, you've got a serious advantage over the people that don't because you get to see. You know what, I think there's, I can't put my finger on it, but something's wrong with this person that's gonna give you that discretion and that's key. So let's talk real quick here about protecting your purity. Number one, I would say this to any young person is don't be left alone with the opposite gender. That's what happened to Leah. You know, she was allowed too much liberty. She was allowed, and by the way, I think if you were to talk to Jacob today, he would say, don't do what we did. Don't let your daughter have free rein out in the land. You know, these daughters, like my girls, they're not, you know, we give them some liberty, but I'm not letting them go out by themselves. I'll tell you that right now. I don't care how old they are. I don't care how old you two are. When they need to go to the bathroom, daddy's watching. I'm watching. They'll be 18 years old, I'm watching because we've put a lot of work into raising these kids, and I'm not letting some shoe-shining bozo that wants to live in a van come around and try to swoon them with words. It ain't happening. You know what? I'm at the point right now to where I'm looking at the parents, and I'm just gonna say this is my opinion. I think if mom and dad are halfway in and halfway out and they're interested in a kid, I might just not go for it. You know what I mean? Because look, the apple don't fall too far from the tree. I'm just saying, you know, I might make an exception someday, but I'm looking at their family. You say, you're crazy. You're darn right I'm crazy. They're the only two girls I got. I'm protecting them. Look, I'm just gonna say this right now. Rick is an idiot. Don't be like Rick. Rick was a bad father. He was a horrible father. Do you guys understand that? You say, you're trying to be me. Now I'm trying to teach the people that are still remaining here some truth, and you can look to him for an example. Don't do what he did. I'll change the sermon title right now. Hey, don't do what he did. Don't let your daughter even attempt to date some loser like that. That won't work. That is disgusting. That is sick. There's something wrong with you. It's horrible. I won't let it happen with my kids. I'll tell you that right now. I'll get it. Look, you better have your pilot's license because you're going for a flight. I promise you. You better be flapping those arms, man, and acting like an eagle because you're going down. There is no... Why am I talking about this right now? What am I talking about here? Romans 13, right? Yeah, don't be left alone with the opposite gender, right? Because the shekems are out there, all right? Okay, look at verse 14. I'll get my thought back here. All right, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. That's what I'm talking about here. Don't make provision for the flesh, okay? So you're interested in somebody. You know, guard yourself. Have some accountability. I believe it's a good idea to have dates chaperoned, right? Because when you read even through the Old Testament, what does God often do? Hey, but the father, right? The father, the father needs to know. You see, I don't have a father. The mother, look, somebody needs to be able to hold you accountable. Why? To protect your purity so that you can flee fornication. Don't even make provision for the flesh. Why? Because the shekems of this world and the daughters of the land are out there trying to pull you into their own hell. That's why. Turn to Titus chapter five real quick. I'm sorry, not Titus, 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter five. 1 Timothy chapter five. So don't be riding in cars along with the opposite gender, you know, things like that. I think you're just setting yourself up for failure. You're basically making a provision for the flesh. And that's why I say, hey, don't do what we did. You know, when I was growing, you know, when Jessica and I were teenagers, I'm looking back, you know, we were talking about this and it's like there were so many times where, I mean, we could have gone down the road to shekem, you know, it would have been bad, you know, but we don't do what we did. You know, I mean, we had way too much freedom, you know, and looking back, we can tell that God was definitely, you know, shutting doors and making things impossible to happen. And I'm thankful for that now, but still don't even go down there. Don't do what we did. Do what this book says, okay? 1 Timothy 5. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the youngers as sisters with all purity. And so I just had you turn here because I want you to see that. We need to treat the young people in our church, these young ladies, you young men, you need to treat them with purity. Because you know what? We've had people even come in here like Storm Morton, right, with his tongue hanging out. Oh, oh, oh, you, oh, you, you know, and pestering all you ladies, right? He violated this verse. He wasn't treating you younger ladies as sisters with all purity. He was up to something, right? And guess what? He's not alone. There are other people that will come in here and do that same thing, right? So we don't need to be like that, and the young guys treat these ladies with all purity. They are valuable, valuable, right? We preach value. Look, the world wants to value a dog, right? Didn't Trump just pass some law that made it a federal crime to harm an animal? I just read that the other day. I don't know if anybody knows more about that, but I guess he made it a federal offense to, I don't know, to harm dogs. I just saw that, and I didn't even read the article. It just got me upset. Because, you know, at the same time, they're like, well, just, you know, abortion's fine. Right, but you don't hurt Fido, right? Don't hurt the squirrels. Don't hurt the birds. You run over a crawl, find you 5,000 bucks. Again, I'm going off topic here. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 22. You get the idea? We need to treat people with value, right? Young guys, treat these ladies in here with all purity. They are pure. Help protect their purity, and by doing so, you'll be protecting yours as well, okay? So, about this, the point I want to hear was don't be alone with the opposite gender. This is just some dating advice for you guys, okay? Don't be alone. Don't put yourself in a position to where something could happen. Don't be alone with the opposite gender. Number two is I think that these dates should be chaperoned. You should have accountability, okay? Deuteronomy 22, look at verse 13. It says this, if any man take a wife and go in unto her and hate her and give occasions of speech against her and bring up an evil name upon her and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid. Verse 15, then shall the father of the damsel and her mother take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city and the gate. I'll explain this here in a minute. Verse 16, and the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her, and lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid, and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity, and they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city, and the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him. What did you say? What in the world are you talking about? What does this mean? The principle here, we don't have these Old Testament laws here, right? Our country's not designed this way, but the principle remains the same. Notice what the father's doing here. The father can prove his daughter's purity. Why? Because he was a chaperone. Why? Because he had accountability. That's why. He made her accountable, and when he, when the guy brought a false accusation, he's like, no, I can prove my daughter's purity. So you guys, you need to protect your daughters. You need to chaperone them. You need to make sure that you know what they're up to, what they're doing, so that you can prove false accusations down the road. Why? So that you can protect their hearts. That's the goal. That's the idea here. That's what you need to do. That's the principle that's being taught here. Now look at verse number 18. I'm sorry, verse 19. And they shall immerse him in 100 shekels of silver and give them unto the father of the damsel because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel, and she shall be his wife. He may not put her away all his days, but if this thing be true, and the tokes of her virginity be not found for the damsel, then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of the father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones as she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel to play the whore in her father's house. So shalt thou put evil away from among you. So just realize God's desire for your children. For you singles, you need to protect each other. That's the idea here. You dads, you need to protect your children. You need to make sure you know what they're doing. You need to help them protect their purity, okay? Last story here. First Kings, I'm sorry, Second Kings chapter one. Second Kings chapter one. And we're almost done. So just all that, just some advice for you. Just some dating advice for you, okay? I think that dates need to be chaperoned, and I really would say that if at all, you need to make sure that you just don't put yourself in a situation where you're alone with the opposite gender, okay? With that being said, you will do well, and you know what, like I said, you can say that that's your opinion. That's fine, you can do whatever you want, right? I'm not gonna lord over you. Do whatever you want, I don't care. But realize that these things, these principles, I got them from the Bible, and I think that God would be on my side, okay? So, number three, learn from the mistakes of others. Why did I have you read Genesis 34? So that we could learn the mistakes of Jacob. So that we could learn the mistakes of Leah. So that we don't go down those, so you don't do what we did. So that you don't do what other people have done and don't make those mistakes. And by the way, the Bible says it's good for a man not to touch a woman. How's that for some dating advice? You know, because when you start getting romantically touchy with people, you're not exactly fleeing the temptation there. You're setting yourself up for emotions and failure. And so I think it's a good idea that young people aren't just slobbing all over themselves, and I've seen it in our churches, but the ones that remain pure, that say, you know what, I'm not gonna hold hands, I'm not gonna, I know some of you are gonna say that you're crazy for saying that, right? But you know what, they're happier today. Why don't you go call Pastor Thompson and ask him how his kids are doing, right? They follow this advice. You know, his kids that are married, they decided, you know what, we're not gonna touch each other till we get married. And you know what, they're blessed for it. And you talk to the ones that have, and they'll say, do what they did. So I'm right with this. So, number three, we need to learn from the mistakes of others. Second Kings chapter one, verse seven here. This is a story where King Ahaziah, he's about to die, and he says, you know what, guys? You know, you false prophets, I need you to go talk to Beelzebub, and I need you to get me some advice here. Am I gonna live or die, okay? And so, this is the time of Elijah. So he goes out and sends these messages here. We're gonna pick this up in verse number seven. Now look at this, it says, and he said unto them, what manner of man was he which came up to meet you? So, King Ahaziah, he sends these guys out, right, to go inquire Beelzebub. Instead, they meet the man of God, right? They meet Elijah, and they're like, uh-oh, something, you know, Elijah's like, hey, go back and tell that guy you're gonna die, and this'll make sense here in a minute. Look at verse eight. It says, and he answered him, he was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins, and he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite. Verse nine, then the king sentenced him a captain of fifty with his fifty, and he went up to him, and behold, he sat on the top of a hill, and he spake unto him, thou man of God, the king hath said, come down. So here, Ahaziah's like, look, I'm pissed. I don't like that message. I don't wanna hear that. Go bring him to me. We're gonna kill him. Verse 10, and Elijah answered and said unto the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty, and guess what happened? And there came fire down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Now, you would think that if fire came down and consumed the captain and fifty men, the people would hear about that and be like, you know what? Maybe we oughta learn something here. Maybe we ought not to go back and talk to Elijah that way. Maybe Beelzebub's not the person that we should be getting our counsel from. Verse 11, again, also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty, and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, if I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty, and the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Now, think about that. Now there's a hundred plus people dead. And look, Ahaziah's not, he don't care, because look, he sends another wave of people. Round three, look at verse 13. And he sent again the captain of the third fifty with his fifty, and the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and besought him and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of all these fifty thy servants be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifty. Therefore, let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him and be not afraid of him. And he arose and went down with him unto the king. So what's the lesson here? The multitudes of the world, their message is what Ahaziah's message is. And it's death. You see, Ahaziah here, he basically pictures the voice of the world, if you will. You know, the voice of the world is going to always push their agenda. It's okay to fornicate. It's okay to shack up before marriage. It's okay to touch. It's okay to do these things. All the while, the multitudes of this nation and this world are dying. They're getting A's. They're having nothing but trouble, right? But what does Ahaziah do today? Keep sending out them waves of fifty. He keeps sending them out and sending them out. They never change the message. They never learn, right? But on the third round, right, this guy, he's like, uh-uh, I'm not going to go down like that. I'm actually going to respect this man of God. I'm actually going to listen and apply these things to my life and not do what they did. I'm not going to make the same mistakes, right? That's why I had you turn here. Learn from these things that we went over this morning, right? And apply them to your life and you will thank God for it. I promise you, okay? So just realize that. I realize it went kind of long again, you know, but there's plenty of information on this subject and we'll come back to it at another time. But just remember, you know, you singles, just purpose in your heart. Work hard, serve God, and you know what? God's going to observe that. He's going to bless you. Protect that purity, right? Stay away from the daughters of the land because they're just going to destroy you. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Lord, thank you so much for the wisdom that's found in your book. I just pray for all the people in our church, Lord, married, single, whatever situation we're in, Lord, that you would continue to strengthen those of us that are here and help us to serve you all the days of our lives, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen.