Heal Spiritual Adultery (Mt. 5:27-32)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” The title of today’s message is, “Heal Spiritual Adultery,” I hope that you individually and your family will be the blessed individuals who will be able to receive healing and restoration from the Word God gives you, and saves many others. The Word that Jesus Christ gave was not only for the believers, but for all the people of the world, who needed it. God created humans, so the Word the Creator gives to humans is necessary and beneficial for humans.
1. Jews
1) You have heard (Mt. 5:27)
(1) A commandment given at Mount Sinai
(2) Do not murder (Ex. 20:14)
(3) Action of sin
Back in the Old Testament God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, and one of them was, “Do not commit adultery,” and there’s a message Jesus Christ is giving us today through these words. The Jewish people held onto God’s Word exactly as it is, they just received that Word saying, “If I don’t actually commit the act of adultery, then I haven’t committed adultery.” In other words, the Jewish people thought, “If I don’t commit the act of sin, then I’m an okay person.”
2) Jesus Christ
(1) Lustfully (Mt. 5:28)
(2) Who looks at a woman – Committed adultery Mt. 5:(28)
However, Jesus Christ Who is God, gives us the Word that, even if you look at a woman lustfully, then you have already committed adultery with her. It is talking about the problem that began even before the action of the sin.
(3) Inner sin
But we are more focused on the action that comes out instead of the fundamental problem. However, the One Who can truly heal us and save us is talking about the fundamental problem inside of us.
3) Jesus Christ
(1) Right eye – Causes you to stumble – Gouge it out and throw it away (Mt. 5:29)
The Lord says, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.”
(2) Right hand – Causes you to stumble – Cut it off and throw it away (Mt. 5:30)
And, “If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away because that is much better than your whole body going to hell. There were even some people who took these words literally and they actually gouged out their eye or cut off their arm.
(3) Better than for your whole body to go to hell (Mt. 5:29, 30)
How we see the Word God gives us is important. If we gouge out both of our eyes, it would be very hard to live, and if we cut off both of our hands, then we couldn’t work. That means that what we see and what we touch causes problems, but there’s a problem even before that.
So today, we are talking about committing adultery, but where is the line for that? America is the land of freedom and democracy, and they strongly emphasize individual or personal freedom. The thinking that Americans have is, “As long as I’m not breaking the laws of America, I can do whatever I want with my life,” that’s what we call individualism. The ideology that is covering all of America is, “As long as I’m not breaking any laws, I can enjoy and do whatever I want with my individual freedom.” The things that result with that are sexual obsession, addiction, and the division of families.
There are a few desires God gave to humans. First of all, we have hunger, a desire to eat in order to maintain our bodies. If God did not give us that desire to eat, we wouldn’t eat, so we would die. Then, God made us tired, a desire for sleep, so we could have rest for our bodies, and then He also gave us a desire for success. If He didn’t give us that desire for success, we would just live our lives complacently and die that way. Finally, God gave us sexual desire, because that is how we maintain the family. Because God gave us these things, we must use them. But even that, God has allowed in a pure way inside of the family. The problems come when we go beyond that.
2. Biblical figures who committed adultery
1) King David
(1) David saw beauty (2 Sam. 11:2)
In the Old Testament, King David was a figure who was greatly used by God, but there was a great act of adultery he committed. The beginning of that large act of adultery was when he was walking around his palace in the evening, and he saw a woman bathing. So, what we see is important; when Jesus says, “Gouge out your eye,” there’s a reason for that.
(2) Committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:3-5)
It turns out, she was the wife of one of his generals, so he brought her to him, and impregnated her. Now, he had a very big problem, so he created a plan.
(3) Killed Uriah, her husband (2 Sam. 11:15)
He created a plan to send the husband of Bathsheba, Uriah, to the most dangerous battlefront so that he could kill him. Essentially, this is an order to murder him, and he sends this through a letter. That’s politics, these are the methods that people with strength and power use. The people who don’t have strength will just get angry about that, but that’s just what the world is like. Then we hear the report back that this person died in battle, but no one knows what happened because David got rid of all the evidence, but God brings the Prophet Nathan to expose this to King David.
(4) Sinned against Jehovah, forgave (2 Sam. 11:13)
King David immediately says, “I have sinned against the LORD,” and that’s important. He doesn’t talk about the sin he committed against Uriah or Uriah’s wife, but he immediately talks about the sin he committed against the LORD; that’s important. Immediately, Nathan says, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” He should have died; however, ever since the Old Testament, and always, God has opened up the way to go to God, which is the gospel.
King David’s sin was not only the sin of adultery, it was also the sin of murder and many things. This is not only limited to politics, but in every aspect of our lives, the people who have power are trying to use that power to fulfill their sexual desires, and the people who are victims of that are the women and men who have no strength. People think, “If this isn’t revealed externally, it’s okay,” but the Lord is telling us that already, the lust inside of our hearts, is sin.
2) Israel
(1) Jehovah God – Husband (Jer. 3:14)
The Bible says that God is the husband, the groom, and that Israel is the bride. In today’s age, Jesus Christ is our Husband, and the believers of Jesus Christ are the bride.
(2) Gentile, idolatry (Jer. 3:6,9,13)
But Jeremiah 3 talks about how we have loved the Gentiles and worshiped their idols; in other words, we have committed spiritual adultery. In Ezekiel 23, it says, “You have loved Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, and you have left God.”
(3) Spiritual Adultery (Jer. 23:1-21)
In today’s Word, it is saying that even before physical adultery, we have committed spiritual adultery. That spiritual adultery must first be healed in order for the problem of the age to be healed.
3) Adam
(1) Greed of wanting to be like God (Gen. 3:5, Col. 3:5)
In the very beginning, the first man and woman sinned against God. Humans were created to live by God and all of life comes from God. The fact that life is from God means that all blessings are from God.
(2) Satan’s temptation
But one day, through Satan’s temptation, we received a heart of, “God, we can live our lives and make our lives however we want,” that means we have the greed of wanting to be like God.
(3) Separated from the life of God – Spiritual adultery
Humans have no choice but to have this greed if they are separated from the spirit of God, just like a child who leaves their parents has no choice but to fulfill all of the needs that their parents used to meet. That’s what we call spiritual adultery. This is talking about the spiritual state we have even before we commit any physical sin.
4) Woman who committed adultery – New Testament (Jn. 8:4)
In the New Testament, in John 8, there is a woman who committed adultery, and the Jewish people are testing Jesus Christ to see how He would react to this woman, because they saw Jesus and He looked to them like someone who was trying to break down the law, because instead of resting on the Sabbath, He was working and healing people, so they thought, “Jesus is here to break down the law.” Jesus gave us the law, but they thought He was breaking down the law. The fulfillment of the law is loving God and loving people, and saving people is what’s important.
But the Jewish people in those days only took the Words of God that were convenient for them, the ones they were able to keep. Just like Apostle Paul, who said he kept every one of God’s laws, but he had no filling of his spirit, so he was always so thirsty. Just like the people today, they’ve grown up in a Christian family for a long time, but they don’t have the life of God, so the longer they go to church, the more they are oppressed.
(1) You who is without sin be the first to throw a stone (Jn. 8:7)
According to the laws of Moses, they were supposed to stone this adulterous woman to death, and in that field, Jesus Christ says, “Let you who are without sin be the first to cast the stone.” He was writing something on the ground, and one by one, the people in the crowd dropped their stones and walked away, starting from the oldest to the youngest. That means, the older we live our lives, the more we are filled with sin.
(2) Neither do I condemn you (Jn. 8:11)
What was He writing on the ground such that the oldest to the youngest left? What is sin? The Bible tells us that not believing in Jesus Christ is sin. Because of that sin, the other sins that we can see with our eyes follow. That’s why in John 8:11, Jesus Christ says, “No one can condemn you, and neither do I condemn you.” If she had committed a sin, she should be judged, but even God Himself says, “I do not condemn you,” it means that she has been forgiven. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of mankind’s sins, no one can condemn this woman. This is the message the Lord gives us.
(3) Leave your life of sin (Jn. 8:11)
Then He says, “Go and leave your life of sin.” Just because He tells her to leave her life of sin, do you think she’ll never commit adultery again? That’s not what this means, He is telling her, “Do not sin,” in other words, “Believe in Jesus Christ.” This sin that Adam and Eve committed that separated from God, led to every other problem, not only adultery, but every problem. Then, we even go beyond the desire for success, and we’re seized by our obsession and addiction to success. We think it’s a good thing, but individuals don’t know.
Why did God tell us to do this? We have to keep in mind Eph. 4:26-27. People can get angry, but He says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” why? So that you don’t sin. We might get angry and have adulterous thoughts, but quickly go back into the faith of the covenant of Jesus Christ. Quickly believe that Jesus Christ finished all problems on the cross and quickly go into that covenant. We become righteous by faith. It doesn’t matter how pure and righteous we act physically, or how much we try to control our mind or do transcendental meditation, we cannot solve the problem of this age.
In Eph. 4:27, it says, “Do not give the devil a foothold. When we look at a beautiful woman or handsome man, we can say, “This person is beautiful or handsome.” Because God made them good-looking. Can you say that about someone like me? The more time goes by, the less confident I am in my looks. In the past, I used to say, “I’m someone handsome like that,” but not anymore. But when you look at a beautiful woman, your eyes just follow because God made them beautiful. When you look at beautiful scenery, your eyes are drawn to that, but that’s not what this is talking about.
What’s important is that your eyes get fixed on that, and not only that, but you keep thinking about that, then what happens? Satan uses that as a foothold. That’s what this is talking about. That’s why, “Do not commit spiritual adultery.” Things like this can happen, we can get married 3, 4, 5, or 6 times, but that’s not the issue. Do you think that’s the big issue? We don’t believe in God. We’ve been separated from God and think we’re okay, that’s what we’re talking about. If you receive the Word of God incorrectly, you use it as a tool to judge other people. That’s why God gave us the gospel so we can live.
When we go beyond obsession, it goes into addiction. Sexual addiction is a state where we’re completely seized and dragged about by Satan. It’s not only sexual addictions, but lately, there’s video game addictions, drug addictions, work addictions–it’s all about being spiritually seized. Why did this begin? The moment we’re separated from God, we have greed, and the way this is expressed in every family is different. That’s why you can see it and feel something, but don’t let it take place in your heart. Quickly hold onto Jesus Christ and maintain a spiritual state of being with Christ.
It’s the same thing for your desire for success. God gave you the desire for success, but if you cross a certain threshold, you’ll be seized by Satan. From that point on, you’ll be dragged around, and living is not even living anymore. You’re already in a state seized by Satan. That’s what the Bible is talking about. Every other religion tells you not to commit adultery, there are even laws the American government has created, but that’s not what the Lord gave us. He is addressing the spiritual problem, do not be separated from God spiritually. If you have been spiritually separated from God, quickly restore your life by holding to the covenant of Jesus Christ.
It seems on the outside that the Jewish people kept and emphasized the laws of God, but on the inside, they were doing whatever they wanted. That’s why God said, “Your whip is your grave,” they are in their own tomb, because on the outside, they’re pretending like they didn’t do this, but on the inside, they are rotting away. How do we solve the problem of this age, when even the President is doing things in the White House? Even in the churches, regardless of position, even pastors are doing things like this. This is not something that can be overcome by judgment, but only by the power and the life God gives us.
I’m a pastor as well, and in Korea, there are a lot of times when pastors commit adultery, and then what happens is they chase that pastor outside of the church, and that’s what happens visibly, but that’s not what the Lord is talking about. It’s not enough to cast them out; it’s not enough to criticize them. He is giving them an opportunity to restore life, that’s what this is talking about. If I were not a pastor, I’d be able to say this more strongly, but I can’t because I’m a pastor and I don’t want to seem like I’m condoning it.
Who can judge? People are thinking whatever they want inside, and that already is a sin, so nobody can judge. God is giving you the opportunity to go into Jesus Christ, and that is the forgiveness and grace God gave you.
3. Jesus Christ
1) Cross – It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
The reason is because Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Law on the cross, this means He has fulfilled it. perfectly. In other words, He has taken all of my sins on the cross and has already finished it. Then, He completely finished the problem of hell and Satan and is completely with me, seated at the throne of heaven. Because the Lord has already finished everything, only look to that. If you trust in your abilities, you’ll only have the repetition of the same problems.
But what do we think? “I’m determined to not do this again,” but it’s not going to work because your skills are limited. You need to quickly borrow God’s skills and that is only possible by faith, that is why we must receive the grace to have faith.
(1) Following the Holy Spirit – No desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16)
Gal. 5:16 says, “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
(2) Thoughts of the spirit – Life and peace (Rom. 8:6)
(3) Filling of the Holy Spirit – Authority (Ac. 1:8)
Rom. 8:6 says, “The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? Then, what are the thoughts of the Spirit? That’s how we won’t follow the thoughts of our sinful nature.
I would like it if we restored all things and made this conclusion today in Colossians 3:1-5. This is the answer: “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on the things above,” what are the things above? Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Then Col 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things,” then where must our thoughts go? They must look to Christ.
Why? Because in Col. 3:3, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” The more you look at yourself with your skills, the more you’ll face the result that, “This isn’t working.” That is why you need to look at the fact that you have died on the cross with Christ and now Christ is living in you. Then in Col. 3:5, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: seuxal immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Life is only in Christ, and that time of looking at that life is the way to overcome the earth, but we just try to sanctify ourselves to get rid of our greed, right? We try to make our hearts cleaner and purer.
Matt. 12:42 says, “Then, seven demons more wicked than the last will come into you. People have been doing a lot of transcendental meditation lately. They have a good desire, they are just trying to purify themselves, and Buddhism tells you that, “The ‘you’ you know isn’t the real ‘you,’” and they say, “There aren’t any problems to begin with. The universe is you and you are one with the universe. Once you realize that, you’ll be liberated,” and that’s how high level their religion is. It’s gone to the highest level of religion, where they say, “You are no longer you, you must change yourself,” but that doesn’t mean we actually change. You try to sanctify yourself by not leaving the house and looking at a wall for 3-5 years, but it doesn’t work. They say, “All the problems of life are because you have too many possessions,” so they go into a life of asceticism where they give away all their possessions except for a spoon and bowl, but it’s not going to work.
Until you look upon Jesus Christ Who has fulfilled everything, that skill cannot come from us. That’s why people try to control their minds, but it doesn’t work. Some people think, “If I receive transcendental power, then I’ll have the power to transcend all things,” yes, they’ll receive some power, but the inner problems will not go away. Prov. 3 says to guard your heart because that is where all problems come from. If all your problems come from your heart, then can you do anything about it? No. That is why the Christ Who can do it has come into us. That is why we look to him.
2) Healing
(1) Obsession – For a long time (Eph. 4:27)
(2) Addiction (Eph. 4:27)
(3) Family (Mt. 12:29)
It is not about doing some action, but when you look to the One who has fulfilled everything, you receive spiritual strength. We call that time, Holy Meditation, we call that a time of concentration. We only concentrate on God, everything else is an incorrect concentration; that is called “Addiction,” that is called “Obsession.” People who are very successful have very obsessive personalities, and because they’re so obsessed with this, they’re so good at studying, so if they move from being obsessed with studying to being obsessed with people, that already is a disease, and ever since we’re young, we must change that to be correct. People say that, “If the result of an action is good, it’s good; if the result of an action is bad, then it’s bad,” but what’s important is what’s already inside.
You can’t forgive people when you are obsessed with them, right? People can break up while they’re dating but what if you become obsessed with the other person? That didn’t come from out of nowhere. Ever since you’re young, you already had the inner problem of obsession, but then you meet with them and then you break up? That’s how people become obsessed with each other. If we break up we should just be cool about it and then break up. But that person cannot forgive the other, because of their obsession.
This actually happened while they were young, especially people who are good at studying are very obsessive, so yes it is good to study well, but obsession is not. They do it with just a hard-set heart.” On the outside, they think, “I’m really doing something great,” but on the inside it’s a disease. It leads later on to addictions. The problem already began when you were young, and it’s being revealed later. There are some people who are so stubborn and persistent. There are some people who really just go on and talk about the same things their whole lives. It happens when they’re young, and they do something very well because they’re so obsessed with it, because that’s a disease. Then, how are we supposed to study and run our business? Everything should not come from ourselves, but they should come from the life of Jesus Christ. That’s what we call concentration.
All answers including your studies and success come from the time of concentrating on Christ and His life, then without a doubt no matter what internal problems you may have, it will be healed because it’s impossible to overcome Christ. It doesn’t matter what you’re addicted to; it has no strength against Christ, why? Because Christ is the Creator, so it’s not about doing something, but looking towards Christ. If you just empty your mind, you’ll be filled with demons, but if you have a time to concentrate on Christ, you will receive spiritual power. But there are some people who cannot sit still. And there are many times we’re in that category. I’m not talking about laying and sleeping; that’s just laziness.
But I’m talking about the time when you concentrate and fix your eyes on the One Who controls your life. Only that will display the accurate and correct power of God. That is where you must find your meeting of men or women. That is where we must receive the answers of our finances and our business. When we go outside of that life and try to succeed and get what we want regarding our addictions and desires, on the outside, it looks like you don’t have problems, but on the inside, you’re seized by Satan. If there’s a pastor who has a desire for success, they may have a very large church, and on the outside, it may look like there is no problem, but on the inside they’re seized by Satan. They’ll keep developing and getting bigger because there’s already a system in place. But if that answer did not come from the life but instead came from a desire for success, later on they will crumble, whether it’s from sexual immorality or another problem. That’s why successful people have problems we cannot understand. It actually started long ago, but because people do not know the Word of God, even the parents cannot touch this. That’s why we stand before God’s Word.
3) Family
(1) Restore through the Gospel
Today at this time, you listening to God’s Word is looking towards Christ. No, you will not get success or money to fall from the sky, but God is changing you into a state where you can do those things. The reason why people keep worshiping even if they don’t get answers is because the inner things are changing. If kids are struggling with anxiety, it’s because the problem is already inside of them, but If they continue to worship, you will see they have changed.
(2) Family that saves those who are spiritual adulterers
As I concentrate on worship, even I see myself disappearing, that is the principle, and that’s why worship is so important. If you only look at the external things, we don’t have to worship. People only come to look for something when they face a problem, but the Lord is telling us the problem already began. Only when the situations are aligned will that problem be aligned outwardly, but the cancer had already begun. When the conditions and the external situations align is when it will be revealed as cancer. The Lord has given us fundamental healing. Other people say worship is foolish and ineffective, but it is God’s method of all methods. Not only is it worship, but when you go back home, you must absolutely have a time to look to the Lord. I’m telling you this because I’m a witness of it.
(3) Future generation is the one who solves the problems of the age
These kids are in a state where they cannot concentrate on their studies and they’re so divided, they need to receive healing. We talked about obsession earlier, and I’m sure each of you know what you’re obsessed with, but that will be healed because we were made to only love Christ, in other words, to only love God, and the answers and blessings only come from that. Only that is the way to save America and the age. It’s only possible when the correct covenant is relayed in the church. May you be the witnesses this week to have a time to concentrate on Christ, and through that life, healing your family and this age.
Conclusion
1. Peaceful meditation in Christ
2. Power of the blessing of the throne
3. Healing – Witness
Message Prayer
Let us hold onto the Word God has given us and pray. If we say, “Nothing applies to me,” there’s something you’re not aware of, and the moment you say, “There’s nothing that applies to me,” you’ve been separated from God. “I need the power of your life. Allow me to save my family and this world through that strength.”
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. We have no choice but to die, but You have saved us through the cross, so we thank You. Allow me to always look at the things above and go along the path of saving. We pray that You will give us the evidence that only the addictions, obsessions, and problems of this age are solved by the life of Christ, so that we may stand as a witness to save others.
We have returned our material blessings as offering to you. God, we pray that You will bless this offering so that everywhere this offering is used, it is used to save the dying souls and heal those who are suffering under addictions and obsessions in the problems of this age. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray that You will bless the families who have come for the first time and those who are coming for the first time in a long time. May you raise them as witnesses to see that nothing is a problem, and may You stand them up as a witness who will save. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the multiethnic people, and the remnants who desire to look upon the things above, the life of Jesus Christ, to heal and to save the world, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.