Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!
I pray you and yours are doing well. I am doing great, thanks to my Father in Heaven. This past Sunday, I was blessed with the opportunity to share God's message to my Church's youth ministry. This was my first time sharing a sermon publicly. The week prior, being led by the Holy Spirit I wrote out talking points and reflected on scriptures with respect to the subject of the message, as well as fasted. This summer, our youth ministry has been on the series titled "Moral Boundaries: Purity Paves the Way for Intimacy," and our youth pastor has been leading the conversation diligently. The key scripture we have been using as a guideline is 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8. My conversation with the youth at this Sunday's service was the conclusion of the series. I thank God for using me as His vessel and being blessed to serve as a leader in the youth ministry. I want to share some things below from my sermon notes, and I pray it blesses you. At the beginning of the message, the Holy Spirit led me to share my recent struggle with moral boundaries and used me as an example to show application of the message. So how can we maintain godly moral boundaries? This can be accomplished in 3 ways: relying on God, reading and living by the Word of God, and writing down our boundaries.
[1] Relying on God
As Christians, the most critical way we can maintain godly moral boundaries is to rely solely on God and not ourselves. We must remember that God does not put us in situations to test us and see if we can handle it. As it says in 1 Corinthians 10:13,
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. When we are tested and/or satisfy our fleshly desires, we must ask questions such as: what is my prayer life like? Did I pray about that time I allowed that man or woman to touch me inappropriately or had that sex dream? We must pray in tongues when we don’t know how to pray about our strongholds. Additionally, we must rely on God because He knows best. God is omniscient. To successfully maintain godly moral boundaries, we must remember that God has a greater view of everything. Be reminded of what our Father in Heaven says,
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9.
[2] Reading and living by the Word of God
From the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we let go of being in control and submit to His authority. Now that we are in Christ, our primary focus must be seeking Him with our all. When we focus on Kingdom work and take care of His business, He takes care of ours; He takes care of our cares. Therefore when the goal is to maintain godly moral boundaries, we must read and meditate on the Word of God and live by what it says. As we dig deeper into God's Word, we are nourished from His Word and that renews our minds. In Matthew 6:33, we are instructed to
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. So while you have all these moral boundaries, are you reading and meditating on God’s Word as well? When we keep our eyes fixed on God, who is the author and finisher of our faith, He takes care of everything going on around us. Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who were thrown into the burning fiery furnace? Picture how they were in that furnace and God took care of them that when they came out, they had no smell of fire on them (Daniel 3). That is how God will take care of us and what's going on around us when we fix our eyes on Him and live by His Word. No matter what we are dealing with, once we live by the Word of God, He will take care of it. To be deceived by the enemy and engaging in sex of any form, masturbation, pornography, using foul language, etc. is evidence of spiritual forces in one's life. The acts may be physical but results from spiritual strongholds in someone's life. We must be reminded by what Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-12,
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
[3] Writing down our boundaries
The third critical way to maintain godly moral boundaries is to put pen-to-paper and write or type out one's moral boundaries. We must question ourselves and dig deep into what these include. Ask ourselves: what are my boundaries when it has to do with social media, entertainment, school, friendships, image, dating, etc.? What people/things do I follow on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook? What do these accounts focus on? Do they build me up? Is it focused on sex or body image? With respect to entertainment: what am I exposing myself to? What kind of music am I listening to? What kind of TV shows and movies am I watching? Regarding friendships – what kind of friends do I have? Are they a good influence on me? Are they friends I feel comfortable to introduce to my family or invite to Church? Do these friends honor God? What is their position on sex before marriage, masturbation, pornography, cussing, etc.? When it comes to body and public image - my sisters, how do you carry yourself? Are you wearing outfits that are provocative? You want to be respected but you don’t dress like the princess that you are. Gentlemen, do you carry yourself like a leader? Are your words life-giving? Do you respect yourself and others when you speak? When it comes to dating - are you always ready to pick a call from that guy or girl at any time of the day? Does he or she honor your purity? Does this person honor God with their life?
Be reminded that if you want to be different, you have to do things differently. As it says in Romans 12:2,
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. As a woman or man in Christ, our thought process has to be different. We cannot have the same mindset as those of the world. We must fix our minds on the things above and think on things that honor God. Be reminded of what Apostle Paul says
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8. A few months ago, I did an activity with this scripture by writing down what I think is true (Jesus died for my sins), noble (praying for those who hurt me), just (respecting my parents and those in authority), pure (being free from thoughts and actions of lust), lovely (encouraging others), and good (God’s amazing grace). Times when I face struggles or temptations, I reflect on these things.
To conclude the message, I shared an excerpt from our Church's daily devotional for that day which states:
Run to the One who, with full knowledge of your struggles and temptations, loves you unconditionally; the One whose blood cleanses you from sin, whose grace can lift and sustain you, and whose power can help you live an overcoming life.
Restored woman living for God's Glory,
Ruby B. Johnson.
Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.
