LIVERMORE — At the North Livermore Baptist Church July 21 service, the congregation was welcomed in by Pastor Bonnie Higgins at 9:30 a.m. to begin the service. The Call to Worship, Invocation/Lord’s Prayer were recited. The hymns that were sung were “Glory to His Name”, “He Lifted Me”, and “What a Wonderful Savior!”. The service ended with “Go Now in Peace”. Linda Lyman is the organist, Janet Diaz is the pianist, and Lew Lyman leads the music for the congregation each week.

The sermon, titled “Lust Begins in the Heart” and scriptures from Matthew 5:27-30. Pastor Bonnie started out by saying our morals in this life time has gone to the extreme. Our culture is full of television shows, movies, billboards, magazines, all geared towards sexuality. Two of the ten commandments speak out about it.

One is do not commit adultery and the other says do not covet your neighbor’s wife…. In today’s scriptures it says that if you look at another person in a way you should only look at your spouse, then you have committed adultery in your heart and it is a sin. God’s intent was that you would only have a relationship with your spouse.

Our society today seems to be okay with plural marriages (there is even tv shows about it), open marriages, dating sites for the married people, etc. What was once immoral is now becoming moral in the eyes of the people. But not in the eyes of God.

Scriptures tells us that if we look at another person while married in a lustful way, you have committed adultery in your heart. Lusting is against the plan that God has for His children. Last week we learned that we can commit murder in our hearts with our angry words.

This week we will learn that we can commit adultery when we look lustfully at another person other than our spouse. Lust alone is enough to defile us before God. We know that God created human sexuality as a pleasurable gift to be enjoyed, to build families, to strengthen intimacy/unity between a husband and wife. But the sins in our hearts, has a way to corrupt the best of God’s gift.

When we stay faithful to our spouse, God is glorified because the couple is fulfilling God’s commandments. When a couple goes outside of their marriage, even in the heart or mind, they have broken the commitment to God.

In the story of King David, he learns the hard way about the lust he had for Bathsheba. David allowed his eyes and his heart to wander and want what he shouldn’t have, he lusted over her. There was death, betrayal, guilt, and a barrier brought between him and God. When you lust over someone else instead of your spouse, you allow lust to replace God. That other person becomes all you think about.

How do we defeat lust in our lives in a world that makes it “normal”? First, we must prepare our heart. Our heart is the soil where the seeds of sin are rooted and begin to grow. We must not allow the seeds to be planted. We must deepen our love and commitment to God instead. We must keep our heart pure by spending time reading His Word and seeking His guidance in our daily walk.

Secondly, we must refocus our thoughts. Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” To overcome lust in today’s society, you must keep your heart pure and change your way of thinking to God’s way. Make sure you stand on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Through prayer, renewing of your mind, and guarding your heart and staying on the journey of purity that honors God, you too can overcome lust in your life.

Coming Events: Vacation Bible School “Breaker Rock Beach” – July 22 – 26 from 6 – 8 pm, Ages 4-12.