Sermon Central
-
Forbidden Pleasures
Contributed by Greg Tabor on Feb 7, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: This sermon takes a look at the false advertisement of forbidden pleasures and the consequences associated with them. It also looks at the deterrent Solomon gives in Proverbs for steering clear from the adulterous and wayward wife.
The Deterrent
What is a powerful deterrent from buying into the lies of Folly? The Fear of God.
Why is that?
It is when one truly fears God, that is totally acknowledges the majesty of God and submits to His will and His way obeying His commands that one begins to listen to wisdom.
It is the fear of God that made Joseph make a wise choice to refuse his master’s wife.
“My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9 NIV
It is the fear of God that will help you continue to make wise decisions on the days of your life.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15 NIV
And what will wisdom bring you? In the case of our study today, it keeps you from making devastating sexual decisions so that you in turn will instead enjoy sexual blessings. You won’t fall for the Victoria’s Secret lifestyle, but rather you will embrace God’s design for sex.
Speaking of wisdom and understanding, Solomon wrote:
“they will keep you from the adulterous, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.” Proverbs 7:5 NIV
Read: Proverbs 5:15-19
God not only wants you to not sin sexually, but He wants you to experience sexuality in its intended way. Put bluntly, God doesn’t want you to miss out on the fun. If you are in doubt of my words, simply read the Song of Solomon. I did this past week. To me sex God’s way sounds pretty exciting.
Conclusion
Folks, we live in a world that is telling us that things God forbids is okay. Sexual immorality is at the top of that list. You don’t see any lotions entitled “Marital bliss,” but you do see lotions called “Forbidden Fantasies” and Tv shows entitled “Temptation Island.” The question posed to you this morning is are you going to choose the fear of God over the voice of Folly? Are you going to be wise or stupid this morning?
And if you say, ‘I’m not being sexually immoral!’ than I ask you to consider where you shop, what you watch, and what other ways you entertain yourself. Impurity begins in the mind friend, long before it is acted out in the body.
If you are married, how is your sex life? Honestly. Does the world seem more alluring than your marriage? If so, then you’ve got some work to do, because Solomon tells us that we should be satisfied with our spouse.
If you are single, then you need to realize God’s plan for you is to be pure sexually in every way. Sex right now is off limits to you because it is only designed for married folks. Song of Solomon should be a future joy for you to look forward to, but it will not have that affect for you if you cross the line now.
If you have been impure sexually, you know you are wrong. But you must also know that while God wants the marriage bed kept pure, He also wants to cleanse and forgive those who have messed it up when they have truly repented.
Let’s pray that God will give us a true fear of God so that we can have the wisdom of God so that we will be discerning and will avoid forbidden pleasures. They’re deadly.
