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Amen all right keep your place there in Genesis 34 Keep your place there in Genesis 34, so we have an interesting story here in Genesis 34 and if Just to break it down for you. We basically have this story where Jacob's daughter Dinah goes out, and it says she went out with the daughters of the land and she goes out and she Committed fornication with this man's session okay, and let me just say that first of all that there's No indication whatsoever in the Bible that this was any kind of forced relationship She went out, and you know she you know they committed fornication together is what happened here, okay, and I'll prove that to you from the Bible Throughout the sermon tonight, but we're going to be talking about Tonight is the sin of fornication Okay, and in this story You know I was talking with someone before the service and all who will remain nameless, but they're like oh, yeah That's kind of a a funny story, but when you actually think about the story. It's actually a pretty terrible story What happened here and the reason that I chose Genesis 34 for this sermon on this topic is because I wanted to get across The Bible talks about this specific sin not it is very different from other sins in a couple of different areas So basically this story I want to get across to you the seriousness of basically all the different people that this affected in Dinah's life So Dinah did something that she shouldn't have done Sesham obviously did something that he shouldn't have done and this had terrible consequences, so basically she she Commits this sin session commits this sin session by the way tried to make things right He tried to go to her father and Mary Dinah and of course her brothers. You know this is the overprotective brother Taking things too far. You know to say the least they of course trick them into getting Circumcised all the males of their city the third day after they've all had this you know painful You know procedure done Simeon and Levi then take and go into this city and they kill everybody all the males They kill everybody they take everything including the children of the people that they killed and Simeon and Levi Actually had consequences There was generational consequences to this act here as well, okay, but the point I want to make tonight is that fornication is a big deal It's a big deal in the Bible, and it's a big deal It's what started the tragedy in this story now Simeon and Levi obviously did not do the right thing But it all started with the sin of fornication And it affects others Dinah affected her whole family here, and it you know it ruined her own future I mean this man that was trying to marry her he's dead after this happens Okay, turn to Genesis 49 and let's look at how it affected Simeon and Levi in their life this decision It does not release responsibility from Simeon and Levi don't get me wrong on what I'm saying here Go to Genesis 49 and look down at verse number five In here we see Simeon and Levi talked about in Genesis 49 Simeon and Levi are brethren Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations Oh my soul come not thou into their secret unto their assembly mine honor and be thou be not thou United for in their anger they slew a man and in their self will they dig down a wall Cursed be their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel Simeon is the also the only tribe that Moses does not bless in Deuteronomy 33 by the way Simeon the the inheritance that Simeon gets is actually just a piece of Inside of Judah they did not have their own land they were not given their own land and the Levites of course You know were you know to dwell in these cities they didn't have their own portion either, so there was actually You know they didn't do the right things and they paid for this But I just want to show you how serious and it how serious fornication is taken now Simeon and Levi although They didn't do the right thing the second thing. I want to point out about this story is how serious they took the purity of their sister and How much they valued that and how big of a deal that it was to them that it kindled their wrath to the point Where they were willing to just go out and murder an entire city. I Mean, that's it's it was a big deal. Just because it's not a big deal the purity of Girls today or the purity of of young people today It was a big deal in the Bible to the point where these men took extreme measures To take vengeance on this situation, and they should not have done it, but it does point out that it was a big deal Okay now The boot series we're talking about first Corinthians 511 go ahead and turn there first Corinthians 511 is the the core verse for this sermon series. We've already gone through a couple Sermons on being a drunkard on being covetous on why those things are specifically called out in the Bible To not put up with in a church in first Corinthians 511 Let's look down and read it together But now I've written unto you not to keep company If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner With such and one know not to eat So tonight we're talking about this sin of fornication and we're going to talk about you know What the world says and what the Bible says? Okay, so turn to first Corinthians 6 I first want to explore, you know what the Bible says about fornication The purpose by the way is not to beat up on anybody for you know past sins But it's to make sure that we call out sin in this church So we all get it right and especially the kids who are growing up in this world can Understand that something that the world doesn't take seriously should be taken seriously and it's extremely Serious in the Bible, okay first Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 13 The Bible says meats for the belly and belly for meats But God shall destroy both it and them now the body is not for fornication but for the Lord and for the Lord the body in first Corinthians 6 18 just a couple verses down the Bible says this it says flee fornication and Then it says something very different about this sin It says every sin that a man doeth is without the body when I go out and I and I Curse somebody out or I do something bad it those these are all sins that I'm doing Outside of my body that I'm doing to somebody else that I'm doing, you know outside of my body But he that committed fornication sinneth against his own body So that's a unique sin About fornication is that it's a sin the Bible says against your own body and we'll see that we'll see that tonight What know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own So you're sinning against this body that is now, you know in the New Testament this body is where the Holy Ghost which seals you Resides and this body is not your own. Why is this body not your own verse number 20? For you are bought with a price Therefore therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit Which are God's you were paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and it is not your body to do what you want with it and Committing this sin this specific sin of fornication which is having a physical relationship outside the bounds of marriage is A sin against that body which is not yours because it was purchased with a heavy price Turn to 1st Thessalonians 4 So we see that fornication is something that is very clearly taken very seriously in the Bible fornication is the act of committing sexual sin outside the bounds of marriage period okay Look down at 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse number 3 verse number 3 and the Bible says this For this is the will of God Even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication now And sermon we could just end the sermon right there, right? This is the will of God that you know, even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication You know, the Bible could be a lot shorter The Bible could be a lot shorter do this Don't do that Here's how you go to heaven. It could be just you know a few dozen pages Right. I mean that should be enough for us Just the fact that the will of God is that you don't commit fornication But we're not going to stop here because I want to prove to you tonight that the law is you know We're studying the law heavily in Romans. The law is good for us God wrote the Bible to protect us God put these laws there not to just have a bunch of puppets on a string but to actually protect you It's good for us the law because why Because God loves you. That's why So what's interesting about the Bible is that it could be very direct and very simple and that should be enough for us Is that God says do this that's enough if you have faith, that's what we should do Now We understand it's very very clear. You cannot misunderstand the Bible on Fornication I didn't look at other versions on this. They probably mess it up most of them But it's very it's it's impossible to understand to misunderstand the King James Bible on fornication. It's not Possible it's very clear. Don't do it So let's look at the world what they teach and what's happening You know, the contrast is that the world this is a really bad one in the world today and all of you know it You know, the contrast is that the world through through TV through school through whatever, you know Interactions that you have in the workplace the people that you meet today, you know They teach now and it's fully accepted. I would say that this is normal that Fornication is normal. There is no shame attached to it anymore none As a matter of fact it is to the point now where if you would be judgmental against someone that commits fornication You would have people's anger turn turns towards you You would be condemned by people But the thing about the media and the TV and the people out in the world that you will never hear is the dark side of fornication They will never tell you the truth and that I mean that that's wicked in itself the fact that you're gonna hear all these things that you just it's normal that's what you do and There's just no there's no consequences that are listed, you know for anybody in the in the world. So what's happening? Excuse me what's happening out there and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna bombard you with stats It's pretty easy when you look at the statistics of what's happening today. Basically the statistics are this by the time kids are 18 years old 50% of them have committed fornication and Then by the time they're 25 that number goes from 50% to 90% So whatever studies you look at that's what you're gonna see. So by the time kids get out of high school It's about half of kids who have already had that relationship with Somebody that they're not married to and by the time they go to college or wherever they go from the time They're 18 to 25. They're pretty much all doing it after that Okay, and you all know this is true if you've met people and know people in the world It's it's completely it's completely the norm today Marriage the idea of marriage is dying in the United States So statistics on marriage are this today 30% of young adults ages 18 to 34 are married 30% one and three but 40 years ago. It was 60% But listen to this 50 years ago in 1968 1969 living with an unmarried partner was extremely rare point one percent of Of 18 to 30 year olds Lived with an unmarried partner 18 to 35 years old nobody nobody did it By the time single women today are in their mid 30s three-quarters of them will have cohabitated with someone Imagine that Now you think now do you think that this helps women? This is feminism a lot of this by the way, do you think that this helps women it is basically given men You know free access to women outside the responsibility of marriage That that's what this has done what young girls dream of growing up and getting married and having children in Order for them not to think about those things anymore. They have to be trained otherwise But that's what young girls dream about that's what young girls want to do it's it's it's programmed into them You know All these numbers are getting really sick of stats, by the way Because I'm so sick of seeing graphs that were at the all-time high on I Mean every single graph from all the different sermons that we've done on society and whatever It's just we're all-time high all-time high all-time high There's never been a time in the United States where less people under the age of 30 are Unmarried or more people are unmarried under the age of 30 You know This is the norm today and the sad thing is that on a lot of these things if you're under the age of 50 You don't even remember a time in your life when it was right You know that stat I said was in 1968 I wasn't alive then But think about this for a second think about marriage today. Nobody's getting married, right? Think about this if you were a young man today why in the world and you had no religious Convictions why in the world would you get married? There's no reason to I Mean, it's not like you need to be married in order to gain access to you know You know female relationship it's not necessary anymore They're saying that nearly a third or more of Millennials will just never get married It's it's just it's just where the culture is going And here's the thing about this cohabitation and you know, this this cohabitation that's coming out of this. You know what it is Even even the young dating scene that's out there today I hear about it all the time, you know people at work or talking about, you know, dating people or whatever Unfortunately, you got to listen to this stuff Look, it's divorce training I'm gonna get a girlfriend I'm gonna move in with her and then when I'm sick of that girlfriend I'm gonna get another girlfriend or I'm gonna get a boyfriend and then when I'm sick of that boyfriend I'm gonna get another boyfriend. I mean it's it's divorce training that's why three-quarters of marriages end in divorce and Then when people see these statistics they're like, why would I ever get married? You know a man without any religious convictions would be an idiot to get married and that's exactly what I've heard many times from men You know, it's just risk for them You know, I had a guy I had a guy that I worked with And it's a very interesting situation because I worked with him over the last few years Great guy. I mean not a not maybe not a great guy, but he was that he was a nice guy He had been divorced and he was living with his girlfriend and You know, I talked to him about you know, marriage and things like that And I didn't really even know he was divorced until I knew him for a while But then he goes and he has a child with his girlfriend that he's living with. I'm like man What could he possibly do that's right now? You know, but he's not supposed to get remarried Because he's already been married and he's divorced but now he has this child You know, it's possible for these people to paint themselves into a corner where they have no choice but sin You know but This is why I'm not opposed to young people getting married or to two kids getting married young in the right Circumstances when I mean young I mean 18 20 years Old because look the odds that you're gonna find somebody that hasn't been living with four people in their life You know if you wait to get married until you're 30 are pretty low at this point in this society You know, that's great. You know, they get saved But I mean that's that's a lot of baggage that people are taking with them, you know I'll tell you right now that my kids aren't going to be married to Somebody who's lived with four different people and have essentially been trained for divorce. It's not going to happen So it's and you say oh you can't tell your kids that well You know what their opinions are my opinions are their opinions and you're like, how did you do that? Well, we'll talk about that in a few weeks when we talk about raising kids But it's possible because my kids agree with me on what I'm saying up here All right So look, that's the reality of the world that we live in today The world teaches lies about this the world has swallowed the hook on Fornication, you know, there's no I mean it's it's everybody's doing it everybody this guy had this child with this lady You know, it's like congratulations. They're buying him baby gifts and I'm the big jerk because I didn't say congratulations one time I mean What's there to congratulate? You know, you didn't kill your child good job But is that really something to congratulate somebody for you know, congratulations. You didn't commit murder It's ridiculous Let's look at the reality that they won't tell you the reality of fornication Disease I'm not even going to get into the graphic details on disease, but here's the bottom line every time you commit fornication You're flipping a coin That's what the that's what the statistics say You're flipping a coin and if you take 50% times 50% times 50% times 50% The odds are pretty much guaranteed that you're going to end up with something with what's going on out there. I Mean, so it's a series. That's why the Bible says that you know, the Bible predicted this The Bible said that every sin that a man committed is out, you know is outside the body but fornication you're sinning against your own body You are literally destroying your own body When you commit fornication Forty forty percent of children in the United States at this point are born outside of wedlock 40% that's like half I Mean what in the world? Look if you have past sins just confess them and move on that's not what I'm talking about But don't you know what it's like we talked about drinking or whatever else don't make light of them Because this is serious stuff Get it right and move forward. Don't look back So, what's the Bible way what's the Bible way turn to 1st Corinthians 7 I Mean this isn't this isn't like rocket surgery this this sermon tonight. This isn't like deep doctrine This is really clear Right, but I want you to understand that the main thing that I want you to understand tonight Is not what the Bible teaches about this because it's really easy to know what the Bible teaches about this It's so clear what I want you to understand is that you will be completely different from the world When you when you do the Bible way as far as this goes and we're gonna see the Bible way now Okay, 1st Corinthians 7 look at verse number two Nevertheless to avoid fornication, here's how you do it. Here's how you avoid fornication listen up Let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband There it is So you get married So you want to have a physical relationship with a woman which is a great gift from God get married. That's how you do it Now let's look at the Old Old Testament on this the Old Testament is very detailed on The rules for the physical relationship between a man and a woman go to Exodus 22 Look the physical relationship between a man and a woman is designed for the confines of marriage once again not rocket science It's very clear Look at Exodus 22 in verse number 16 The Bible says is everybody there. I want everybody to look at these next verses that we're gonna go to Exodus 22 in verse 16 and if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed and lie with her He shall surely endow her to be his wife if her father utterly refused to give her unto him He shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins I'm gonna go in a little rabbit trail here for a second because there's this lie that People that don't know the Bible will talk about and say oh, you know rape in the Bible is okay You know, the Bible says rapes, okay Okay, I want to prove that wrong to you here First of all, it says if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed. Let me explain the word betrothed so betrothed in the Old Testament is kind of like It's kind of like half engaged But it's there's really no equivalent to it today because it's like betrothed is is like the engagement And then when the marriage is consummated, that's the marriage. Okay, but the betrothal is treated pretty much like the marriage Okay, it's treated just as seriously. You'll see that as the marriage There's really no equivalent to betrothal today in our society It's just the marriage right but the betrothal is taken just as seriously that you will see as the marriage So it's basically like they're married. Okay, and there's no cultural equivalent to it today is what I'm trying It's not the engagement of today, you know where people are engaged for like 10 years Engagement today has become a joke in America. It's ridiculous It's a way for for the man who's never gonna marry the girl to keep her around for another couple years That's what it is. That's what engagement is Okay, don't even get me started now here's what's interesting and If a man entice a maid when I was reading these stats This is proof that the Bible just if we should just listen to the Bible And people would just listen to the Bible. I mean Forget about it. The Bible predicted and called all this stuff before people figured it out, you know five years ago, right? Here's what's interesting when I was reading these stats on these teenagers and like the 50% of 50% of teenagers have fornicated by the time they're 18, right? Here's what's interesting I saw this like side stat in one of these studies that said of those 50% of teenagers that had that had Committed fornication like 50% of the girls said that they were coerced or they were you know enticed To commit fornication All the guys it was like 4% So Studies today show that basically young girls are being coerced into this They're being pressured into this. That's what studies show Well, that's just what the Bible just said right here if a man entice a maid didn't say forced her He didn't say, you know, there was any kind of you know force here, but it was just you know, he enticed her He convinced her To lie with her. He shall surely endow her to be his wife So it says that if a couple basically commit fornication, she's not betrothed That they're to get married But the father has a say here, right? Which indicates that the daughter probably has a say here too because the father wants to do what's best for the daughter, right? So her father her father has to say and if the guy basically, you know, the father's like no way you're marrying my daughter Because let me tell you something. I will be much more strict on who marries my daughter than she will be Much more strict the filter is going to be much finer. Let's put it that way Then he has to pay a fine, okay Now go to Deuteronomy 22 And I want to look at four different scenarios that the Bible talks about and if you have a pen I mean you should actually you should actually highlight these sections in your Bible go to Deuteronomy chapter 22. I Want to look at four different scenarios the Bible is very detailed on this relationship and how it is to be Taken Look at Deuteronomy 22, and I want to start in verse number 22, and I want you to just kind of Highlight verse number 22. That's one scenario. Okay? So just put a bracket around verse number 22 and that scenario is Adultery basically and it says here's of a man be found lying with a woman married to and husband Then they shall then both of them shall die both the man that lay with the woman and the woman So thou shalt put away evil from Israel That means if two people commit adultery if the woman's married or he's married or which says the woman here that they're both to be Killed. Okay the death penalty the death penalty now Now take a make a bracket around verse number 23 and 24. This is the second scenario If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed to an husband and a man find her in the city and lie with her Then ye shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and he shall stone them with stones that they die the damsel Because she cried not That's important that she cried not being in the city and the man because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife So thou shalt be put evil away from among you there again is someone who's betrothed Which is basically treated as marriage in Israel. Okay, and it was a consensual relationship That's what that she cried not means and we'll see that when we go down to the next scenario Now, oh, yeah rape in the Bible it the Bible allows for rape. Yeah. Well keep reading Verse number 25 put a bracket around verse number 25 and verse number 26 and verse number 27 those three Verses put a bracket around those. So the first two categories were different categories of adultery Now, let's look at verse number 25 through 27. And this is the category of what we would call rape today But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field and the man force her and Lie with her then the man only that lay with her shall die But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing There is in the damsel no sin worthy of death for as when a man riseth against his neighbor and slayeth him Even so is this matter rape is compared to murder Right here. It's the same thing. He says so is the same sin He basically said when a man riseth against his neighbor and slayeth him even so is this matter? He's saying this is like murder kill the man So just go ahead and take all the rapists out of prison and just execute them. That's what the Bible teaches About rape. I mean, is it unclear? For He found her in the field and the betrothed damsel cried and there was none to what to save her So this man is executed Good riddance now verse number 28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin which is not betrothed She's not married and lay hold on her and lie with her and they be found Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsels father fifty shekels of silver and she shall be his wife Because he hath humbled her he may not put her away all his days. This is the exact scenario as Exodus 22 fornication Okay, they committed fornication together and let me just point out that and lay hold on her is very similar to the wording Of what cesham did with Dinah? It does not mean just because some phrase in the Bible You know sounds to you like it. Does it say force her? Does it say she cried? No, this was a consensual relationship It means he laid hold on her as he you know Grabbed her physically because obviously it's difficult to commit fornication without physically touching someone So that's what this means. It does not imply any kind of forceful Relationship here. So it's the very same. It's very consistent with Exodus 22 verse 16 So there's your four scenarios, we have two adulteries one rape and the other fornication, okay now Let's go back to 1st Corinthians 5 11 1st Corinthians 5 11 So you see that even in the Old Testament the the rules were very specific, you know, they were very They were very serious, you know about you know The physical relationship between a man and a woman and it was very you know The confines the rules the walls the the boundaries were very clear We're very clear and just because the world today doesn't have those boundaries It doesn't mean the boundaries of the Bible have changed because they're exactly the same where they were, you know back then You know, I am the Lord I change not Now 1st Corinthians 5 11. What does that mean for us? Okay, what does that mean for us but now I've written you not to keep company of many man that is called a brother be a fornicator or Covetous or an idolater a railer or drunkard or extortioner with such a one know not to eat so this is one of those things where a Church has to actually quantify something in the Bible and every church may not quantify the same lines They may not, you know draw the same lines But let me just say that there's no fornicators that are called brothers will be allowed in this church So if you are committing fornication You and you you are you are a regular member of this church and we call you a brother Like I said before we're not on a hair trigger To throw people out of church We want to be long-suffering with people want to give people time to grow We want to have you know, give people time to get right but if people are in this church and they're just Committing fornication like they're they're not going to be allowed in this church That's that's the line that we draw. So what this basically comes down to you're like, how do you know you follow people home? No, I'm not following anybody home But here's the thing and this is the reason that I brought up cohabitation and I talked about cohabitation so much Because everybody's living with everybody now and it's no big deal. Well, it's a big deal here Okay, so basically the line that Verity Baptist Church takes is that it's not allowed Cohabitation is not allowed here so if you are living with your boyfriend or living with your girlfriend and We get to know you and we find out about that, you know, we're not spying out on anybody But look eventually we're going to find out who you are And We find out that that type of situation is going on. You will basically have three choices at that point. Okay? The the three choices are you you move out? You get married or you leave Verity Baptist Church and We hope that Always people choose to get right that's what we always hope because that's the point of a church that we can all you know Sanctify ourselves together and sharpen ourselves and we get right But it's a hard line, you know, and and you say why? well Because God says so that that's why and You can see why if we want to put if we have to put logic to it How serious are these kids and these teenagers This is a big deal. This is a big battle Parents, do you want to raise kids that don't commit fornication? Do you want to raise kids that go to their wedding day pure? Who doesn't want to do that, but you got everybody out there that's against you and Telling you it telling your kids. It's okay. It's normal. It's it's old-fashioned to do it this way and Then we have people sitting in the church That are living that way But I preach from the pulpit that we're against it. No what what you do matters more than what you say So that's why I mean we don't have to put logic to it because God says so that's it But that's the logic to it Because if we don't follow God's rules We will lose our kids to this since these sins And like I said you you have this isn't about your past you put your hand to the plow and you move forward This is about the kids. This is about us moving forward. That's what this is about So that that's why you know, it's not mean-spirited even to that individual that has to leave the church It's Loving to them that they would get right because they're committing a sin that's against their own body remember They're destroying themselves They're gonna endure, you know, the the consequences of fornication They're gonna endure the chastisement of God. I mean it's gonna be terrible for them. I Mean, it's it's the best thing we could do for them But ultimately it's it's to protect, you know, the integrity of God's Church this isn't my church You know Jesus Christ is the head of this church You know and kids However old you are, you know, I want you to know that we are serious about this here The dangers of this kids and teenagers are real It's dangerous It's dangerous out there and what the world will tell you is dangerous it's a lie Look, and if you look at you look at that that friend of mine or that co-worker of mine He painted himself into a corner in his life where he had no choice where He wasn't sinning So, what do you tell somebody like that If he goes and he gets married, that's what he should do. You should go get married confess that sin and raise his daughter You know, that's that's what our pastor would say It's it's a difficult situation, but you can get yourself painted into a corner where any decision is sinful. You see Kids, it's it's a big deal. You can make it's one of the things that you can do in your life Look if I have a drinking problem, it's really easy. I just stop drinking. No problem But fornication is something that can hurt your body and you will carry it with you for the rest of your life You will carry that with you for the rest of your life Look imagine, you know you meet that person that you want to marry kids They're saved you love them and then you find out that they've lived with three people Over five years in their life. How devastating would that be? I mean that You know you bring all that, you know marriage is a wonderful thing You're not only sinning against your own body, but you're sinning against your future spouse Think about it that way Think about your future spouse that you're gonna love and and Lord willing you're gonna spend the rest of your life with you're committing Selfish sin that will affect them Think about that Remember that remember the the the business deal of marriage? How marriage is a business deal? What are you gonna do when you find the rubies and You're like, hey She's got all these rubies and you're like, I've got a bag of trash You want to trade? I Got a bag of disease you want to trade Deal-breakers seen it happen I've seen it happen where two people want to get married and She finds out about his past done no marriage You find the rubies nobody is going to trade you a bag of rubies for a bag of garbage that's really what it boils down to Look the physical relationship between a Man and a woman is a wonderful thing and Marriage is a wonderful thing They're all those things are wonderful And that is the bounds that God has put on it, but you can think about this marriage single Young men and young women think about this marriage that you're going to have in the future because if you're in this church my my guess is you're probably going to get married one day and You're probably going to find somebody that is Worthy of marriage if if this church continues to grow But you could do things today To ruin that marriage five years down the road You see what I'm saying or the ruin the chances of that marriage down the road I've seen it super nice guy super nice gal Finds out about her past. I've seen it both ways finds out about her past finds out about his past no marriage It's a big deal Bags of trash don't buy bags of rubies. That's really what it boils down to right So fornication is a big deal. We will take it seriously here It's it's a loving thing to do God's very clear about it. There's no possible way. You could you could misunderstand Fornication in the Bible and God, you know, he not only tells us to not do it, but he's he's warning us For our own good and you know what if you have a good if you have a wonderful marriage That that's a happy life my friends I Mean that is a happy life, you know, even if you get married by the way, this isn't a sermon on marriage But if you get married, do you know that there's no guarantee that you have a good marriage? Let's Say a man and a woman get married and neither of them will ever get divorced They're just like they're not gonna get divorced. They're gonna stick it through, you know There's no guarantee that you will have a good marriage together There's no guarantee, but marriage if done the right way and started the right way Can be the the greatest blessing read Song of Solomon Solomon started out with a really good marriage I mean, those are some incredibly happy people that are really enjoying the relationship that they have together But just let me just say one last time There are things that you can do and fornication is the biggest one That you can do to destroy your chances of ever having that That's that's probably you know worse than just the physical Problems that you could have from fornication Just the fact that you could never it could destroy your chances of ever having a great marriage I love my marriage and I hope my marriage keeps getting stronger and better and and I just It's it's it's a gem in my life It's a gem in my life and it should be a gem in yours as well. Don't destroy it before it even happens Okay, fornication is a big deal. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer Your Heavenly Father We thank you for these people. We thank you for your word Lord, we thank you for these these these These markers that you put in the Bible to protect us and these boundaries that you put in the Bible to protect us help us You know have our hearts right with these things Lord and when when other people tell us that Things are outdated or old-fashioned or just help us Just just focus on the anchor of your word and we know Lord that you love us and that you're always right and whatever you do is right and your word is perfect and We just we thank you for all these hedges that you put to protect us. Just help us to always Remember that that your word is right and whatever the world says is wrong The world is changing Lord and you don't change. We thank you for that in Jesus name amen