The sermon on Sunday ought to be preached in every church worldwide! Our three married children prefer to think that their parents are 75-year old virgins, but their mere existence proves otherwise.

     Since I know that preachers don’t have time to say everything that could be said in one sermon, let me share several additional thoughts on “Flee from sexual immorality” (I Corin-thians 6:18).  The Apostle Paul wrote a similar directive to young Timothy who was the lead pastor of the church in Ephesus which Paul planted (Acts 19 & 20).  He wrote, “Flee the evil desires of youth…” (II Timothy 2:22).  Timothy was well versed in the scriptures as a child (II Timothy 1:5) and mentored for ministry leadership by Paul; so why would Paul write this warning?  Was Timothy the most eligible bachelor in the church?  Could be, but Paul knew this church and the Greco-Roman culture surrounding it.  But I know from experience that the “evil desires of youth” become the evil desires of adulthood.  I wish I outgrew them!  While I didn’t outgrow them, I can weaken them significantly—how?

     Paul continues in his directive, “…and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (II Timothy 2:22).  This spiritual principle of “flee and pursue” was also given to Timothy in Paul’s first letter following his instruction about the false teachers and their love of money.  Paul writes:

        But you, man of God [Timothy], flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (I Timothy 6:11)

 Simply put, “flee evil desire by pursuing Christ”.  The writer to the Hebrew Christ-followers put it this way:

            “…throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

           And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our

          eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

I’m not a perfected pursuer of Christ, but this I learned and know--when I pursue the fellowship of Christ regularly, not just Sundays, the temptations that easily “entangle” me lose their strength and appeal. When you fix the eyes of your heart on Christ, the pleasures of his fellowship weaken the empty pleasures of sin. Don’t run and look back--rather look forward in the pursuit of Christ every day. The race of faith is not a dash but a marathon.