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Then, if you know the story, he blames Eve, Eve blames the devil, you know, it just goes into the blame game there. God reads them the riot act, and then in verse 21, unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. Now obviously the spiritual application there is Adam and Eve are trying to cover their nakedness, and you could say that's their sin, they're trying to cover their sin themselves. Adam hides from God because of his sin, and look, how often do we see that, eh? Don't we see that so often the majority of the times when you're knocking a door? A lot of the people are just hiding from God, they don't even want to hear what God's got to say, ultimately because of their sin, because of that separation, because not wanting to acknowledge their sin. Adam's hiding from him there, you know, it always makes you think of in John chapter 3, you know, men love dark rather than light because their deeds were evil, and here he's hiding from the light of God, isn't he, because of that sin, but, but, God has to shed blood to pay for the sin, doesn't he, okay? And we see that picture there with him making the coat of skin. But back to just the face value, just the first application, God didn't say to them, I'll take off those silly fig leaves and enjoy being naked, did he? Didn't say, you know, we'll just call it naturist Eden and, you know, now when I kick you out, just go and find a nice place to hang around naked. No, he made them clothing, didn't he? He made them clothing because with the knowledge of good and evil, God wants us to cover our nakedness, okay? God made them clothing, God wants nakedness covered. In fact, the next time it's seen in the Bible, it involves Noah and the wickedness from his son Ham, and we're not going to go there, but basically his son ends up, two of his sons end up walking backwards to not see his nakedness while they're covering him. Now if you turn to Revelation 16, 15 says, Behold, I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And again, the primary application, people seeing your nakedness is shame. It's embarrassment, it is embarrassing, okay? And look, away from the confines of a marriage, it is an embarrassment. And that's pretty obvious, isn't it? Okay, it is inbuilt until the conditioning and the brainwashing and everything else is hitting you. It is inbuilt to be embarrassed of nakedness, isn't it? Okay, and as children start getting older and getting that knowledge of good and evil, they start to feel that shame about nakedness, okay? That's just, that's standard. You know, you think about it with, you know, in many areas of life, look, you don't want people to see you naked, do you, okay? It's not, well, it's just because I just don't look very good. Look, it doesn't matter how you look, it's embarrassing, okay? You don't want to be seen naked, whatever great you think you are, however great your body is or whatever. Look, nakedness is a shame, okay? That's the truth of it. But the world likes to fight against that, doesn't it? Okay, the world likes to convince you that you're in the wrong, that somehow you're too uptight, that you're some sort of, you know, whatever they call it, some fuddy-duddy, et cetera. And look, how many of you, anyone who's been to just a health and exercise gym, how many of those gyms just have communal changing rooms? I mean, there is no other option. You can't even go in a cubicle, you have to get changed in front of other people. That's just bizarre, isn't it? Communal showers, what's all that about? I remember that from young at like sports teams and stuff, it's just weird. And you feel weird, but you've kind of been convinced that, well, you're uptight, it's you that's got the problem. No, it's weird. It's not right. Just because the world says it's okay doesn't mean it's okay, does it? Okay, because we should feel shame, we do feel shame, because I don't want to be standing there in front of either men or women. Standing there stark naked, because there's no reason for... I mean, literally, you could put up a bit of cheap MDF, couldn't you, in between, and you could get exactly the same amount of people in there, couldn't you? Okay, and it's not going to cost much. But it is weird, it's very weird. And, you know, especially since being saved, it started bugging me more and more and more. And I remember when the kids were at a swimming club. Where was that swimming club? It was, I'm trying to remember which one it was, in Leatherhead, wasn't it? Okay, and it used to get packed. You can have anyone taking their kids to swimming lessons, these sort of classes, and sometimes they're really busy, these places. And all the change rooms are always just full. And what people do is they just leave all their stuff in the change room, which is really annoying, and then you kind of go in and you have people banging on the door and stuff, because their stuff's in there, and it just gets really irritating. And they had this kind of this area where they had this... Because they had sports, it's like a big leisure centre and other things, and then they had these individual cubicles on the outside of this bench in the middle with lockers, but it had cubicles all around it. So the normal thing to do when you go to get changed would be to go into the cubicles, wouldn't you think? Especially when you've got children's swimming lessons all over the place, yeah? Okay, now I took my kids to come out, I took them into this bit. So they got their stuff in the lockers, put them into a cubicle each, and you can imagine they were mortified, because soon after I'm shouting at grown men who are just walking around with their kit off, yeah? And it's like, they're a kid... And I even said to the guy, I said, can you put some clothes on? We're in a change room. I said, no, look, there are children running around, what's wrong with you? I end up in a row with this guy. He was literally going like this, and they try and pretend that they're just so at ease with it. Yeah, it doesn't even bother him, but he's literally taking one bit of clothing out at a time, out of his lot of stark naked, yeah? Next bit out of the locker, because you couldn't take a few things at once, could you, yeah? And I've been in... Look, don't think I hang around these change rooms, but I've been working in gyms a long time, yeah? And I've been going to gyms a long time, and it is weird. You get people that will put on their shirts and ties and start using the hairdryer while they're still half naked, okay? They're weirdos, and obviously a lot of them are just out and out weirdos. Okay, this guy, I end up telling him off, then in the middle of telling him off, and we got in a bit of a row, and he's going, are you calling me a pervert? I said, yeah, you're a pervert, yeah? You're a pervert, there are children, and what is wrong with you? Some other guy just walks in naked. This is, honestly, yeah, this is Leatherhead Leisure Centre. This isn't like you're thinking, what sort of a haunt are you taking your kids to? This is a leisure centre with kids everywhere, and this is the world that we live in. Oh, but we're uptight, aren't we? Oh, no, no, I'm just so uptight. You know, I don't care about a grown man just walking around stark naked, like, he's got a towel, put the towel around you, you know? But no, no, because really, ultimately he probably was a stinking pervert, wasn't he? But they try and make you, he's going, well, why have you got a problem? What do you mean, why have I got a problem? Because they've got children who are about to walk out of a cubicle, and you're standing there completely stark naked. And anyway, that's just a little side note on that. But the world sees things differently, doesn't it? And the world tries to make us feel and act as if we're the ones that are uptight about it, but no. It's a shame, isn't it? It's a shame. Lest he walk naked and they see his shame. Turn over to Exodus 28, because what exactly is nakedness? What is nakedness? Is it the loins? The loins being the central region? Well, yes. But in Exodus 28, the priest's garments are described. Exodus chapter 28 and verse 41. Exodus 28, 41. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, and they may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. And by the way, that doesn't mean hot pants to the top of the thighs, that's to the thighs and covering the thighs. Okay, otherwise it would have just been for the loins, yeah? Okay, that's covering the thighs from the loins to the thighs. Now, turn over to Exodus chapter 20. Why are the thighs nakedness? Because they give people impure thoughts, basically. Okay, just, you know, one of the reasons, and God obviously knows best here, in the same way that the loins go to the top of the hips. The top of the hips are basically up here, okay? And when you start uncovering lower down there, in my day, that was a provocative photograph. You know, if someone was kind of with something really low slung, that was a bit of nakedness, okay? That was the sort of thing you wouldn't just see on a clean cut sort of image, okay? Now, was it? Nowadays, it's sadly very, very different. But the loins and the thighs here, he's talking about being nakedness. Now, God actually takes it very seriously, and in the same way as well. If you had someone who is lifting up just even a skirt, or dressed even at half the thigh, again, that's a provocative photograph, okay? That was clearly showing some form of nakedness. Again, now it's just water off a duck's back, isn't it? God does take it very seriously now, between chapters 20 and 32 of Exodus, Moses is in Mount Sinai, and God is giving him, sorry, all these commandments. And soon after the 10 commandments, he says in Exodus 20, verse 26, "'Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, "'that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.'" And I had one of these anonymous clowns on my sermons. You get these guys sometimes come on YouTube, and they don't seem to be able to go by their name. And it was a sermon I did, pull up your trousers, or pull your trousers up like a man, yeah? And I was talking about the girding up your loins, being pulling up your trousers. And this guy was basically trying to argue that this verse proves that they wore skirts, because he says, "'Neither shalt I go up by steps unto mine altar.'" Because a lot of people, they just really, really want to believe that men used to wear dresses and skirts. Again, very odd, isn't it? Okay, even though the Bible talks about breaches and hosin, et cetera. And look, we've just read, haven't we, just a few chapters along, him describing exactly what he wants the priest to wear. Because who goes up to the altar? It's the priest. It's the priest. So in this same conversation in Mount Sinai, because it is the same conversation, if you look through those chapters, he specifies the priest's clothing, which includes linen breaches, long shorts or short longs, whatever you want to call it, covering the loins and the thigh to cover the nakedness, yeah? So what is this passage saying? It's saying that being beneath someone in a pair of shorts is discovering their nakedness. And look, steps could even be a ladder, could be angled steps, whatever it is. I don't want to be beneath any of the men in here, okay? Wearing a pair of long shorts down to the knees, I don't want to be underneath them, while they're walking up a pair of steps, okay? That's what it's saying. Now, you could look at two possible reasons for that. One is probably an unpleasant angle, and secondly is probably because you're likely to see up the linen shorts. One of the two, either way, that's what God's calling nakedness, because he's just made it clear that covering the thighs, and it's got nothing to do with men wearing dresses, because he's just told them to wear linen breaches. Okay, pretty clear for me. This guy, it took him a little while, and then eventually I don't think he wanted to accept it, but he was one of those. But anyway, right. So like I said, thighs are nakedness, okay? And throughout civilized history, civilized nations influenced by the Bible, people have dressed decently, haven't they? Look at your bulletin, if you've got a bulletin in front of you. And just while I was thinking about this sermon, I was thinking about Southend Beach 100 years ago. Okay, 100 years ago, look at how people are dressing. And for those of you that aren't here, I should have had like a bigger one I could put up. There we go. This is Southend Beach 100 years ago. And if you look at Southend Beach 100 years ago, it looks to me like I can't see any nakedness there. Did anyone see any nakedness there? No, man. Okay, and I made sure here, I definitely don't want to be making a bulletin picture with nakedness there, but no, there wasn't any nakedness. What about that compared with now? The state of it now, eh? Oh no, because that's because, yeah, everyone's just got much wiser now, haven't they? Yeah, much less uptight about it. Isn't it much better that when you go down the beach, all you can see is people bearing the nakedness? Is that better? Oh, but at least they can get a better full body tan. Well, they're still not getting a full body tan. So why are the thighs that important? Are the thighs that important? Why are the breasts that important to be sun tanned? Anyone explain that to me? No? Why is it that? Look, we all want to, yeah, getting some sun on you is nice, isn't it? Yeah, it's good for you. You don't have to do that by being literally borderline completely naked, do you? Okay, and it's not just beaches, is it? And look, how they dress at the beach there, you wouldn't even see out on the street now, would you? Okay, nowadays, what are you seeing when you go out on the street? Just absolute nakedness everywhere. If the thighs are nakedness, wow. Okay, it's everywhere. And look, and like I said as well, like that lower part of the abdomen, let alone things that leave nothing to the imagination anyway. So even if they're covered, there's a difference, isn't there, between what should be an undergarment and what people are wearing nowadays as an overgarment. Look, it is an absolute state now, isn't it? What's the big difference? For me, people aren't even trying to attempt to follow the Bible anymore, are they? Okay, that for me is the difference. And look, there's nothing new under the sun, I'm sure in many nations, the more ungodly they've got, the more this has happened. But like I said, that was only 100 years ago, and okay, at worst, it's women especially, and we see this with women, but it is men as well, dressing half naked, just trying to get negative really, because it is negative type of attention, isn't it? And at the worst, it's them basically prostituting themselves. Okay, isn't it bad? Turn to Leviticus chapter 19. Proverbs chapter seven, verse 10, talking about the strange woman, speaks of a kind of clothing where it says, and behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot and subtle of heart. So the way many women dress today is probably worse than how a harlot dressed a few decades ago, isn't it? It's worse than how a harlot dressed. Oh, we're so liberal and progressive. Yeah, so progressively wicked, yeah, isn't it? It's absolutely, it is. We're progressively wicketer and wicketer, and it gets worse and worse, yet people want to act like people like ourselves have got a problem, like we're some sort of weird uptight, and oh, well, let them dress how they want. No, it's wicked. I don't want to see that when I go down the street. And hopefully everyone else feels the same. Deep down, they shouldn't want to see that, should they? Because it's wicked, and we're going to talk about what that does as well. Now, okay, even worse though, even worse than how you dress is how you dress your children, isn't it? Even worse than that, because you've got people dressing their children like literal whores and literal rent boys, okay? I mean, the men now, young men, the young boys now, what is it, like weird deck shoes with no socks and trousers half rolled up around the ankle and tight little t-shirts and half slung trousers? It's just absolutely camp, isn't it? It's absolutely wicked. And the girls, I mean, I talked about this, I think, in a sermon a few months back. Man, it's absolutely terrible, isn't it? How people dress their children. And it's not just like in my day, there were, sadly, girls that would sneak off to their liberal friend's house and get changed before going out. Now their parents are walking out with them dressed like that. Now they're holding their dad's hand and walking out. Like, what is that? Well, absolutely wicked, isn't it? It is terrible. And that's what we're dealing with. That's what we're dealing with in society. And a part of that is the influence of what we're going to see in pornography everywhere. And look, and so much of it is coming away from the Bible, isn't it? Leviticus 19, when you turn, verse 29 says, "'Do not prostitute thy daughter to cause her to be a whore, lest the land fall to whoredom and the land become full of wickedness." Because that's what, really, they're ultimately doing, aren't they? Because first they're learning that dressing like that gets them attention. That's what they're doing to validate themselves a lot of the time, isn't it? Because whether they've got men craning their neck when they drive past or not with a lot of women is how it validates their own looks, isn't it? And sadly, as we know, it's not really about looks a lot of the time. It's just about how provocatively you dress as to whether or not they get the old neck crankers and everything else as they drive past and the horn beeping and the rest of that stuff. But they get used to that sort of attention. They get used to that. And then they start to learn how to get more attention. And a lot of the time it's a bad slippery slope, isn't it? And look, how we dress our children is important, isn't it? Isn't that important, yeah? And look, if someone lives in your home, if you're a man of a house, yeah, you pay the bills, they live under your house. You're the spiritual head of that house. It is up to you how they dress, isn't it? Yeah, it should be like, oh, well, she's just a bit old to tell, no, no, she's not too old. Who's the man of the house? Who makes the rules? Who's the boss? Yeah, in the same way, if you're a boss of a company, you can have a dress code there, can't you? The same way at your home, you should have a dress code. Because it's not just when you come to church, is it? And I hope with people here, it's not just when you come to church. Yeah, I'm not saying you have to get in your Sunday best to walk around the home, can if you like. But what I am saying is that you should be covering your nakedness, shouldn't you? Okay, and you should be dressing modestly, women and men as well. Okay, oh, well, now I'm at home, I can walk around in my speedos. No, okay, you should be covering your nakedness, okay? Go back to 2 Samuel 11, because sadly, it leads on to so much more sin nakedness, doesn't it? So 2 Samuel 11, and back to verse one. And it came to pass after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabah, but David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an evening tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself and a woman who was very beautiful to look upon. There's so much wrong here, isn't there, in those first two verses, but let's just focus on this first part for now. If Bathsheba is washing herself, do you think that she's fully clothed? Anyone think she was fully clothed there? Now, it's not talking about her hands and face, because I don't think that would be washing herself, would it? If she was washing her hands or she was washing her feet, I think it would have said she was washing her feet, she was washing her hands. She's washing herself. Why was she washing herself in potential view of anyone? Why was she? Why was she in potential view of anyone? Oh, well, it was only the king's rooftop. Well, still, she's in potential view. I'm sure there was a way she could have washed herself without being in view of the king's rooftop. Now, I might be reading into the text here. Maybe she was, you know, completely careful about it. I don't think so here, okay? She's washing herself. I'm not saying that she was stark naked, but I think there was more on show than probably should have been. Now, like I said, you know, he was on the king's rooftop. The rooftop seemed to be mentioned a few times in scripture, so it's not that it's just it was only his. I think, look, people go up on the rooftop. She should have found a private place that wasn't to be viewed by anywhere, any rooftop for me to be washing herself. Isn't that obvious, isn't it? I have at home, we have frosted glass on our bathroom window, but I tell you what, every time anyone gets in the shower at home, because that frosted glass isn't quite good enough, is it? We still pull down the blind. Now, that could get pretty annoying, because sometimes you pull it up too far and it gets caught on the top, and other times, you know, my wife's recently put a plant there, which the leaves seem to come out a bit faster. It's a bit annoying, you know, and it's snagging. But you still do it, don't you? Okay, and I hope most people here would still do it, because when you're lit up, you know, especially in the evening and you've got the light on and it's not light outside, you can be lit up, can't you? And look, I don't want to be, and neither does anyone else in my house, want to be on view to anyone else, okay? And you mate, you take those precautions, don't you? Okay, well, I don't think Bathsheba has here. What was the result for this married woman? Well, first, David was looking upon her, wasn't he? He was looking upon her, and let's move on to, you know, the second point of this sermon, or second subject, and that's pornography. I'll keep a finger there and turn over to 1 Peter chapter two. What is pornography? Well, dictionary.com gives this definition. Sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal. Listen to that again, sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal. Or the like, so, or something similar, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal. So I submit unto you that based on that definition, we are all inundated with pornography on a daily basis. Okay, based on that, basically something similar whose goal is to elicit sexual arousal, just think about some of the billboards you see when you drive down the road. Think about the adverts, being on YouTube, on your phone, if anyone watches anything else. When you're watching most things, you're gonna get adverts that are trying to cause sexual arousal. Innuendo, what about innuendo? Writings, it's said here, writings. What about the amount of innuendo? I mean, you have like just what seems to be apparently comical innuendo and it's always sexual innuendo, so often it is, isn't it? Like I said, YouTube, look, you can, I was, just an example, yeah, on our work, like the church YouTube account, so that, look, in case you're going, oh, well, it's algorithms, look, nothing's getting scrolled on that. The only thing that goes on that is live preaching or any other preaching, okay? Myself and Pastor Thompson are the ones that access it and we were doing something here, weren't we, looking through the different, looking through some of our videos or something on it and then it just suggested next, kind of have like at the end, like an end screen on whatever we're on, it's got like a sort of all these different things and one of them is just some women in like basically underwear, you know, or just like the way it was done, it was just, why on earth is YouTube suggesting that? I was showing something, I think, with my daughter on the way here and again, just out of nowhere, you know, I was scrolling for something I was looking for and then suddenly it's just this bizarre video there and YouTube does that, doesn't it? And things will come up and it's like, oh, well, you must have looked at something like that. No, that's just, it's in your face everywhere. YouTube obviously is, and it's social media, like I said before, that is massive, isn't it? Social media, absolutely everywhere and you could have just blocked every one that you think, that sort of thing, you're gonna get adverts come up, suggested videos, you get all this stuff, it's everywhere, isn't it? Absolutely everywhere. Again, if it's something whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal, movies, you're watching movies, look, how much of it is for, it goes on that as well, doesn't it? Yeah, it's again, trying to elicit sexual arousal and it's absolutely everywhere and the risk for Christians is that we get desensitized to it, isn't it? Okay, that's the risk that we get desensitized to it because of the world. I saw a few studies talking about the size of this issue in Christian churches in the States and that's talking about Baptist churches in the US. How many young Christian men have problems with it? And why, why is that? Maybe it's not being preached about enough, do you think? Maybe it's not being taken seriously enough. Maybe they think that as single men and women, it isn't a problem because a lot of people think that, don't they? Well, if you're single, it's not really a problem, is it? You're a citizen, really, if you're single, well, you know, better to watch porn than to burn, you know? Well, I don't agree. 1 Peter 2 and verse 11 says, "'Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, "'abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.'" Beseech you, pleading. Look, whether it's videos or some absolutely, like of, sorry, some absolutely dirty, rotten, filthy, disease-infested harlot, or it's just some attention-seeking, provocative slut somewhere in the attire of an harlot, either way, it's a fleshly lust which wars against the soul, isn't it? Either way. Look, it doesn't have to be the most debased thing either way, it's warring against the soul. Do you think that God wants you joined unto an harlot, whether you're single or not, do you think that? Does he want you unequally yoked together with unbelievers, single men out there, single women out there? Okay, like I said, that obviously goes for women as well, that by all accounts are tempted by this as well, not in as great numbers, but it does happen as well. 1 John 2 16 says, "'For all that is in the world, "'the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes "'and the pride of life is not of the Father, "'but is of the world.'" Yeah, but it stops me fornicating. Single man, single woman. Does it really, though? Does it really? So this is from a Christian charity called Enough is Enough. They've got a website, got some interesting stuff on there. The findings of a study on teenagers back in 2005 show that basically watching porn normalizes sexual harm, promotes aggression towards women, shapes negative attitudes and behaviors towards women, affects healthy intimate relationships, can lead to addiction. There are other studies that show our brains react to pornography the same way an alcoholic might react to seeing a drink advertisement. Okay, it's massively addictive. Another one says that researchers believe that pornography's intense stimulation of the brain brings about significant changes to the brain, similar to drug addiction. Okay, it's massively addictive. It's highly addictive. Does anyone wanna just, oh, well, you're single. Yeah, that's all right. What, does that mean you're just gonna, once you find someone, that's it, done? No way. Oh, but if you go back to the Greek in 1 Corinthians 7, 9, instead of saying, but if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn, it actually reads, but if they cannot contain, let them lust over some rotten worldly whore, for it is better to become some deranged porn addict, yeah, than to burn. Do you think that's what it says back there? Look, I did, yeah, I did a term of Greek once, yeah. I know what the Greek actually says. But it's not just the singles out there, is it? Because it's not. According to a 2014 pornography survey, and in case any of you are single in here thinking that, right, oh, no, look, I honestly, I don't, look. It's not just singles. According to a 2014 pornography survey and statistics proven men ministries study, this survey says that 55% of married men say they watch porn at least once a month, compared to 70% of not married men. Okay, a little bit less, but that's still a lot, isn't it? The following percentages of men say they view pornography at least several times a week. So with the 18 to 30 year olds, 63%. The 31 to 49 year olds, 38%. The 50 to 68 year olds, 25%. And with women, that was 18 to 30 year, 31, sorry, 30 year olds, 21%. 31 to 49 year olds, 5%. 50 to 68 year olds, 0%. So once your wife gets over 50, you're in the clear, guys. You don't have to keep checking your history. But, but, but look, many, there are, look, there are some bizarre relationships out in the world. And again, there can be that in Christianity as well. But you know, some will go, oh, well, it's consensual. It's a consensual thing. Maybe they both think it's okay. They're open about it because we have an open relationship. We watch it together. Well, a University of Oklahoma study of married couples who watched porn revealed married couples who watched porn increased their risk of divorce by nearly 200%. More than doubling their chances of heading to divorce court. Wow, 33% of women watch pornographic videos of you explicit photos at least one time per week, apparently, according to that study. So there's some different stats there, but anyone thinking, yeah, it's probably not that bad. Hope no one's thinking that. Turn back to 2 Samuel 11. Because whether you're single or married, it's sinful. And look, at its simplest form, well, it doesn't say thou shalt not watch pornography. No, but it is covetousness, isn't it? At its simplest form, it's covetousness. You're coveting something that's not yours and is unobtainable. Oh, well, what about if you're single? Well, I don't think the singles, when they're ogling some picture, watching some video are actually considering marriage. I don't think they're looking at some slut somewhere, some whore somewhere, whatever else you want to call them and thinking, yeah, well, that might be, you know, a future wife for me, okay? So really you're coveting something that's unobtainable because God makes it clear that you shouldn't be yoked together with unbelievers. And I would say that if a Christian, and look, Christians can, and maybe will sadly do things like that and get involved in that sort of industry and pictures and everything else. Well, if they are, yeah, you definitely shouldn't be looking at her as wife material. Okay, you're coveting what you can't have, but it also leads on to more sin, doesn't it? So let's look back at 2 Samuel 11 and verse two. And it came to pass in an evening tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself. And the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Again, I'm convinced of some amount of nakedness. David sees he lusts, verse three. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliab, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite? So then when lust has, sorry, when lust hath conceived it bringeth full sin, doesn't it? Look at verse four. And David sent messengers and took her and she came in unto him and he lay with her for she was purified from her uncleanness and she returned unto her house. What was the result of this story? Adultery, wasn't it? Adultery and then murder. I mean, what a wicked story, isn't there? But look how it all started. How it all started. And look, had Bathsheba been single it still would have been adultery because David was married. But look at verse three. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliab, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite? Not only was he told that she was married, but the husband is on the list of David's 37 mighty men. Yeah, the husband is out on the front lines fighting a war that David should have been fighting. I mean, how wicked is that? Just being told that that's who her husband is, one of your mighty men, one of your loyal soldiers who's out there fighting for you. And look, once the idea started, it was too late for him, wasn't it? Look at verse four. And David sent messengers and took her and she came in unto him and he lay with her for she was purified from uncleanness and she returned unto her house. Notice how David didn't force her. Didn't say he forced her, did it? She came in unto him and he lay with her. That for me is consensual. Okay, that's consensual. And what's all that about? So Bathsheba, and look, these few verses don't paint a very good picture of Bathsheba, do they? Okay, she's out there washing herself in view of at least David, who knows who else. She gets called, called to go along there. She could have refused, couldn't she? And we saw worldly queen Vashti, don't we? And Esther refused to just dance or maybe not even dance, just to show her beauty, to be prance paraded in front of people by King Ahasuerus, isn't it? And look here, she could have just said no, couldn't she? She could have said no, not interested. What would have happened? Maybe he would have got angry, I don't know, but she consented here, didn't she? That is absolutely wicked. And if you know the story, what happens? Well, Uriah gets killed, as we've seen, just in that chapter there. And then the result after that, the baby that she's impregnated with dies as well. And then the repercussions continue, don't they, with Absalom, you get, I think even then, David's wives are then basically, you know, whatever you want to call it, taken by other men by Absalom, really, and just the whole thing, like what a state of affairs happened after that, all because of what? How did it all start? It all started with the nakedness, didn't it? It started with the nakedness and it continued with David looking upon her. It was a woman washing in view of David and David looking and lusting after her, wasn't it? But the adultery wasn't committed after, was it? It wasn't committed after because the first case of adultery, well, Matthew 5.28 says, but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her have committed adultery with her already in his heart. And look, when men or women start lusting after others, you're basically entertaining the idea of adultery if someone in the equation is married, okay? If anyone in that equation is married, you're entertaining the idea of adultery, aren't you? Soon as you start looking, then look, in your heart, you're committing adultery if you're lusting after them. And same, it goes for men and women there. And if you're not, it's likely fornication really, isn't it, okay? If you're single and there's no one married involved in it. Now, what about, you know, well, it's another single Christian. How about that? How about if you're lusting after a single Christian lady or man if you're a lady? Well, if top of your criteria for marriage is sexual lust, then you're in for a rough marriage, okay? Because that's not what you should be looking for, is it? Okay? So how do we avoid all of this? The nakedness, the pornography, the repercussions. What can we learn from this story? Well, look at verse one there, back to verse one. And it came to pass off the year was expired at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabah, but David tarried still at Jerusalem. So point number one is stay in God's will, isn't it? Stay in God's will. David should have been going forth to battle, shouldn't he? David should have been leading his men to battle. They'd had a previous battle with the Amnites a year previously and it was time to fight again, I think is what it's saying there. At the time when kings go forth to battle, it was a year later. You see this a few times in scripture where it's sort of a year later and then they say it's time for battle. If you're hanging around at home instead of fighting for God, yeah, you're skipping soul winning to lie on your bed. Yeah, I would say that you're probably more likely to fall into this sort of sin. How about that? If you're swerving church to have a lazy day at home, you're skipping church. You're having a lie in instead of reading your Bible. All of those things for me, you're not out fighting for God, you're not serving God, you're more likely to fall into this sort of sin, aren't you? We should be in the will of God. We should be trying our best to be in the will of God in every area of our life. We should be in the will of God and then we're more likely to resist that sort of sin. Because look, when you're feeling spiritual, you're more likely to act spiritual, aren't you? Yeah, when you're not at church, when you're not reading your Bible, when you're not out soul winning, when you're not praying to God, those are obviously like those four big points, aren't they? Those four key points in a Christian's life. When you're not doing those things, you don't really feel that spiritual. Even when you miss out one of those things, David missed, maybe he just missed out that one battle, maybe it was a one battle. But when you miss out one of those things, you're not really feeling like you're in the will of God, are you? And when you feel out of the will of God, you're more likely to be tempted by this sort of sin. So make sure, obviously, clearly, and that goes for everything in life, doesn't it? For any sort of lust of the flesh. But here we're talking about this sort of sin, this nakedness, this pornography, stay in the will of God. Psalm 119 verse 80, you don't have to turn there, says, let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed. So when our heart is sound in the statutes of God and his statutes include all those things I just talked about, then there's less likely that you're going to be in that sort of shame, that embarrassment of what is filthy sins, aren't they? Okay, look at where we are in 1 Samuel, sorry, 2 Samuel 11 and verse two, and it came to pass in an evening tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself and a woman was very beautiful to look upon. So, said like, you know, kind of, number one, we're staying God's will, number two, stay busy, stay busy. Evening tide is evening, not night. So David is lounging around in bed in the evening, okay? So it's not nighttime. He obviously is able to see her and yeah, maybe she was lit up with lanterns or whatever, I don't know, but look, it is evening tide, it didn't say nighttime, okay? So, he's lounging around in bed in the evening, he's at a loose end and he goes onto the roof. That's what it's saying here, isn't it? He's just kind of got really not much to do, thinking, what shall I do? And he goes onto the king's rooftop, and that's a big part of this, isn't it? Because he shouldn't have really just been wandering around on the king's rooftop in the evening, he's a king, he should be busy, he should have been out fighting a war for starters, shouldn't he? But now he had to climb a staircase at least, yeah? Yeah, maybe a ladder, okay? Nowadays, the woman washing herself is at the tap of a button, isn't she? Nowadays, the woman washing herself, and much, much, much, much, much, much worse, is literally at the tap of a button. Like, how bad is that, how real is that temptation for men and women of God every single day? Okay, it's not that you've got to, well, look, you can be busy and still be lured into that temptation, can't you? I was looking at some stats that men actually at work who had admitted to having looked upon, it was like the vast majority of men at some point at work, okay? And with women, it was quite high as well. So, look, you can look at this and go, well, you know, wicked David, et cetera, imagine him now if it had just been at the click of a button, he wouldn't have even had to go up onto the rooftop, okay? And we have to be aware of that, don't we? Because it is a very real danger, it's something we need to be wise about, it's something we need to be wise about with our kids as well, as they grow older, because, oh, well, no, they're good, oh, they've been raised in a church, not going to be any issues there. No, you need to get whatever parental controls you can. Look, really, for me, look, unless, you know, you've got some real control, you know exactly what they're doing, they shouldn't just be just unsupervised on computers, should they, okay? That's nuts for me, that's absolutely crazy, especially as they get older, especially as they know how to search for things and everything else, look. Because foolishness spanned the heart of a child, it spanned the heart of an adult, isn't it? Okay, so, look, we need to be wise about this sort of thing, but here, he should have been busy, shouldn't he? He should have been out fighting battles for God instead of loitering at home and eyeing up Bathsheba, which is what he's doing, and we should all be busy, shouldn't we? There is plenty to do in life without being a Christian. Now, if you want to serve God as well, there is plenty to do, isn't there? Okay, if you haven't got anything to do and you're to the point where now I might as well just browse someone washing themselves or worse and naked pictures and naked videos and the rest of it, look, find something to do, there's stuff to do for God. Really, you're neglecting the things of God because you could be doing things for God, couldn't you? Okay, we all have, look, you want to have some leisure time doing other stuff, great, but when your leisure time's going into sin, find something to do for God because we should be busy, shouldn't we? That's why in Genesis it said, Cursed is the ground for thy sake. Okay, it's for our own good. That was Genesis 3.17, by the way. Now, look at, again, in verse two, the second half, it says, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. So stay in God's will, stay busy, stay covered. Yeah, stay covered, especially the women, but it does apply to both, doesn't it? Okay, it's not just the women, it does apply to both. Had Bathsheba not been washing herself in view of David, I don't think any of this would have happened, would it? Now, I'm not saying she's completely to blame, but it wouldn't have happened, would it? Because she also committed adultery. She committed adultery. She was out there washing herself. She was basically, I think, at least some form of nakedness. I think that she probably wasn't completely modest appareled at that point. And look, we should be dressing in modest apparel with shame, face, andness, and sobriety. Okay, we should, shouldn't we? And that goes for everyone, and it's not just at church. That includes at the beach, doesn't it? Oh, it doesn't matter when you're at the beach. Is that true? Oh, it doesn't matter when you're at the swimming pool. Look, look, you can still take your kids swimming in modest apparel, okay? There's some good stuff you get out of there. You can get it here, by the way, as well. And there are swim skirts. Oh, you look like a weirdo, so what? You look like someone who actually cares. You look like somebody who's not prancing their children around, looking like something out of one of these sort of videos or movies that we've just been talking about. Why is it suddenly different when you're at the swimming pool? Oh, but when they're doing sports, that's okay, then. Is that okay when they do sports? I actually left a gymnastics class, of my daughters, by the way, not mine. I know I'm not really a gymnast. But this was a homeschool gymnastics class because they banned my daughter from doing it in a skort. And a skort is basically a skirt over shorts, yeah? Because you can imagine with gymnastics, it's not really, you know, you can be in some pretty bizarre positions and stuff. So she, no, can't wear it. So what do you mean can't wear it? Actually, Paul pulled me over. Oh, no, no, she'll have to take that off. And she had, I think you had leggings underneath, yeah? No, no, just the leggings. I don't want her in just leggings. Okay, so what's wrong with leggings, you ask me? Because leggings are undergarments. You're not going to do it in a pair of tights, are you? Because they're completely skin tight, because they're not, for me, that's nakedness as well. Oh, well, it's okay because they're covering it. Look, we're not Muslims, okay? You can dress like a man in a pair of trousers and everything else. Oh, well, as long as we cover our heads, oh, we're really modest. That actually said to me, when I got in a row about it, they were going to me, oh, we'll speak to whatever her name is, because she's a Muslim, she's dealt with this. And this one's a Jehovah's Witness. I was like, I don't care what they think about it. I just care what the Bibles, what does the Bible say? The Bible doesn't say there's a problem with women having their arms uncovered, does it? Okay, we don't have to cover every little inch and have veils over our heads and everything else. Look, they want to do that in their cult, they can do that in their cult. I just care what the word of God says. Okay, and the word of God says that thighs is nakedness, so I want my kids to cover their thighs. And I also don't, I want them to be modestly dressed as well. Okay, and modestly dressed isn't with things skin tight to their figures. Anyway, we ended up leaving because, no, no, no, it's health and safety. Health and safety, you can't make this stuff up. You've got boys there in like baggy shorts and again, boys doing gymnastics, well, that's another sermon for another time, yeah. But baggy shorts, baggy t-shirts, oh, no, that's okay because it might get caught in the equipment at school. But anyway, so yeah, we left there and I did get a refund, that was good. But yeah, look, make a stand, hey? Make a stand because no one else is, are they? And if we just keep just blending in with the world, it just gets worse and worse. The bar just gets lower and lower and lower and we just keep getting lower and lower and lower, don't we? Okay, and we can make a polite stand. You don't have to start calling everyone wicked and perverts and everything else. I think in that time I did all right with that. But look, you can still make a stand, yeah? The word of God's clear on that. We should be as men and women's stand. And look, as men, it's not like, well, all bets are off and I've talked about this before and I'll do it again. Oh, well, no, no, but not when you're on a bicycle though. Because on a bicycle, it's okay to just have every single detail on show to people. What, because I'm on a bicycle? Yeah, that's all right, isn't it? To go in skin tight gimp outfit because I'm on a bicycle. You know, tottering down. You see them in the high street, something like tottering down in their cleats, literally in skin tight lycra. That is perverse, isn't it? That's weird. Oh, I might lose a second off my average time for that course when I'm running red lights and everything else because I've got to, you know, show everyone on Strava or whatever map I'm on that I've actually done it even quicker than them. Because that's what it comes down to, isn't it? Oh, well, none of them are pros. And even if they are pros, I still think it's wrong because God's clear about that, isn't it? But look, none of them are pros. And yet, for them it's so important you've got to have the lycra on. Look, I did a lot of cycling when I was young. Yeah, I used to cycle all over the place when I was a kid and I never had to wear a pair of lycra. Pair of lycra, I never wore even the cycling shorts, you know, and if I did, I would have put it underneath something because I didn't want to look like a weirdo, okay? But now, well, it's okay because there's however many million middle-class weirdos running around on 10 grand bikes with 200 pound lycra suits on. It's weird, yeah? It's weird and really, for me, it's still showing nakedness, isn't it? But guys as well, same, you know, in the sports and all that stuff, short shorts. Short shorts are queer, okay? And this is something I had to deal with, someone who's into Thai boxing. Look, I had to kind of come to terms with that, short shorts are queer, okay? Wear something else, wear something longer or wear something underneath them as well. Look, it's queer. And that's in many sports there is that. And same, look, look, same with the girls as well. Again, when you're doing sport, it doesn't mean it's okay to dress like a man, does it? Look, the Bible's clear, not to wear that that pertaineth unto a man. So if you as a woman think that, oh, well, now I'm doing a sport, or now my kid's doing a sport, it's okay for them to dress like a man. Well, for me, God doesn't want you doing that sport if you can't do it without dressing like a man, if you can't do it without revealing nakedness. Men, if you can't do it, and I don't think there are many sports where men can't do it without dressing like a woman, I would say probably tossing logs in Scotland if they still do that in kilts. Don't do it, men, yeah? Any other sports like that? I think that's about it. That's all I got off the top of my head. But look, just don't do it, okay? It's clear. Because, look, we should be staying covered. We don't want to be attracting that sort of attention because it can lead on to more sin. Now, also, don't forget that how you behave is affecting other people. If you find that something that you're dressing, the way you're acting, yeah, and look, a lot of women, look, a lot of women are in tune with this stuff, okay? A lot of men are as well, okay? You know when you're being looked at like that. Women, okay? You know, don't you, okay? And look, and sadly for a lot of women, they spend a life trying to be looked at like that because that, again, that's where they're getting their, whatever the word I used for it earlier that's just gone off the top of my head, but, you know, say again? Validation. Validation, thank you. Someone's listening at least, okay. But it is, that's when they get their validation a lot of the time, and they've had that from young and they're, you know, it's validating their good looks, they're feeling like they're, you know, that men are looking at them, that's a good thing. So that continues a lot of the time. But as Christians, do we really want that? Now look, I'm not saying, right, you have to look as rough as you possibly can, okay? Women, if anyone even thinks you look slightly pleasant, you're out of God's will, I'm not saying that, okay? And same with men as well. I'm not saying, you know, make sure you've got stains down the front of your top and you don't brush your teeth and make sure that your hair's all over. I'm not saying that, yeah? Look, we should have some self-respect as well. But you're not trying to get that sexual lust, are you? Okay, you shouldn't be trying to go for that. You shouldn't be standing in front of the mirror before you go out. Obviously, especially not going to the house of God. But in any way, you shouldn't be looking at the mirror and going, right, how am I going to get lusted after today? Okay? Sadly, women do, because when you're doing that, when you're doing that, Proverbs 28, 10 says, who so causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way? He shall fool himself into his own pit, but the upright shall have good things in possession. Okay, so if you're causing the righteous to go astray like that, and you can do that, can't you? Okay, look, Christian women who are going to be around Christian men a lot, if you're trying to just, look at that, a little bit sultry, a little bit seductive, trying to make them look, and men, vice versa, any of that, look, that's wicked, isn't it? Okay, you'll fool yourself into your own pit, yeah? And that's something to bear in mind. And that's something to bear in mind with, look, it's not just obviously the loins. There's other parts of the anatomy as well. Like, think about that, think about, are you seeing some effect, depending on how you wear? Because people go, oh, well, it's only that, so women just walk around, you know, they can have everything out just for everyone to look at. Is that okay? Is that okay? Look, if that's causing an issue, and if that's a sexualized part of you, then for me, like, look, you don't want to cause the righteous to go astray in an evil way, okay? Something to bear in mind, isn't it? Now, look at the end of that verse again. And from the roof, he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Right, so number one, I said stay in God's will, number two, stay busy, number three, stay covered, and number four, stay pure. See what I did here with the stay bits? Yeah, I hope no one's missed that either. Okay, stay pure. The wicked world says, look, but don't touch, doesn't it? But looking leads on to touching, doesn't it? Okay, that's the truth. And in this country, and in this day and age, it's everywhere you look, isn't it? Absolutely everywhere. David should have looked away, shouldn't he? He shouldn't have looked upon her. The second he saw that there was a woman down there washing herself, he should have looked the other way. Now, look, I'm not saying that every man in here, if you can't look the other way, that's it, you're wicked. You would have done exactly the same as David. But you know what, you wouldn't have done what David did had you looked away, okay? And look, David, he looked upon her, and then that just conceived lust, didn't it, after that. Keep your eyes pure. Men, keep your eyes pure. Refuse to look, avert your eyes, do what you can. Not just when you've got your wives next to you, not just when you're in front of people, not just when you're with church people, avert your eyes. Because the truth is, there's going to be men, and I hope not here, but there's Christian men around the world, that once they're away from everyone at church, they're probably neck craning and everything else, maybe worse. Maybe wolf whistling and beeping, and ow, ow. And I'm joking, but truthfully, I bet there are. And I bet there are safe Christians that do that. When they think that it's safe, when they're with their work buddies, when they're with their workmates, when they're in the van with the work guys. I'm not saying if you work in a van, whoever does work in a van, you know that, that's it, just because you're in a van. But there is that cliche with the white van man, isn't there? It's a bit of a cultural thing there. But look, avert your eyes, don't look. Don't look, and nowadays, that's not just when you're out driving down the road and some woman in the attire of an harlot walks by, because now that includes when you're scrolling down on your phone, that includes when you're looking at a video, that includes when the advert comes on and suddenly it's some TikTok whore gyrating or whatever else. Look, don't look, turn away your eyes. Click, click, you know, click your phone off, whatever you need to do. Look, it is important, it's serious though, isn't it? I know I made light of that, but really it is serious, isn't it? Because it is an issue, because look, when you start looking at other women and you're looking and you're entertaining that idea, no, I'm not saying that means that's it. You're going to actually commit physical adultery. You're already committing it in your heart when you're lusting, okay, for starters. But secondly, I think you're that much more likely, because you're entertaining the idea of other women. You're entertaining the idea of lusting after someone else. Don't do it, do your best, do whatever you need to do. Like if you have to come off social media, come on, is it that important? If you just can't, you just can't not, but stop and pause and look and lust, don't do it. Come off it, do what you have to do. If you can deal with it, you can do it. But look, you need to be sensible, because if you want to ruin your life, do you want to start looking at other women, then what's next after that? Then you start inquiring after other women. I'm not saying, look, I'm not saying anyone that's ever looked at this stuff is going to, but there is that risk, isn't there? There is that risk. And look, and it's not just men here. Don't entertain the flirting, silver-tongued, you know, Adonis women as well. Look, the tradesman that comes and he just wants to try and look so cool and smooth, or whatever it is that might tick a woman's box, look, just don't even entertain it, yeah? It's not okay, none of it's okay, okay? It's wicked, really, isn't it? Okay, don't entertain it, shouldn't be looking at someone who lasts after them, whatever that is that makes you do that. Don't have to turn it, but Matthew 6.22 says, the light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. Now, I know we're nearly done, guys, and I've gone over a little bit. Turn over to Psalm 119, where there's a section which just sums it up to me. So, Psalm 119, you're gonna go to verse 33. So, 119, verse 33. Where it reads, Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it until the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law. I shall observe it with my whole heart. That's staying in God's will, isn't it? Verse 35, Make me to go in the path of thy commandments, for therein do I delight. That's staying busy for me. You're gonna go in the path of his commandments. Verse 36, Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. And one of those testimonies is staying covered, not uncovering your nakedness. Verse 37, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. That's staying pure, isn't it? Verse 38, Establish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach, which I fear for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts. Quicken me in thy righteousness. We should fear the reproach of God. How do you think he feels about these sorts of sins, by the way? How do you think he feels about one of his children just, and think about like the worst sort as well, looking at that sort of filth, looking at pornography. I don't think he's just looking down going, ah, well, it's okay. Well, you're not committing the act of adultery. You're not committing the act of fornication. It's just uncleanness, isn't it? It's uncleanness, it's filth, lasciviousness, whatever you want to call it. It ended there, that passage, with quicken me in thy righteousness. That's to be refreshed, reinvigorated in his righteousness. And that, in that context there, and that should be our desire, shouldn't it? And I don't think you're going to feel like that if you're staring at nakedness and the rest of the filth out there, are you? Are you going to feel just quickened in God's righteousness? That really what it does is put a block, doesn't it? Puts a block between you and God. If that's something, and if you're like, and again, I'm not trying to scan and see what sort of reactions I get here. Honestly, I'm not, yeah. Because for me, there could be here, there could be people that will have a problem that will possibly have been or are addicted to this. There might be people watching online like that, further down the line, maybe today, maybe not. There might not, but there might be people that sometime down the line could have been, okay? And it's a big deal, all right? It's not a joke, it's not a laugh, it's not something to just be fobbed off as, oh, well, that's just what the world does. It is a big deal, okay? Because it leads on to worse, because it's wicked, because it's filthy really, isn't it? And we should just try our best to just avoid it at all costs. So tactics for that, number one was stay in God's will. Number two, stay busy. Number three, stay covered. And number four, stay pure. And on that, let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for some of the harder lessons in the Bible, passages like 2 Samuel 11 there, and just all the truths that we can get from that, of which I've only just scratched the surface, and the lessons we can learn from it. And I thank you that you make it clear what you expect from us, that where your standards are, that we should have standards too, and have a debase the world continues to become that you don't change, your word doesn't change. How you want us to live doesn't change. Please help us to want to live for you, help us to want to serve you, help us to want to behave how you want us to. And just bless everyone in here. Help them to act upon this, even if it's just to safeguard for the future. And in Jesus' name, we pray all of this. Amen. Amen.