What would you think if we could put onto a giant screen every single thought you had this last week? Would you feel comfortable for everyone in church to see your thoughts? Some might be "R" rated!! We live in a sex saturated culture. From advertising, to talk shows, to a local police officer stealing "adult" magazines, a teacher having a sixth grade boy's second child, to the scandal of the white house — it one almost needs to shield children's ears from the 6:00 news. We live in an "X" rated society.

It is reassuring to know that everyone is tempted. The Bible says, "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone." Everybody faces temptation. Its man's oldest problem. Because God made us to be sexual beings with sexual desires, we all face those temptations as well. It is not a sin to be tempted. It is a sin to give in to temptation. You can't keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from nesting in your hair. The Bible promises that there will always be a way out of temptation. Joseph ran out a door. Let me give you four ways to escape sexual temptation.

Be willing to do in advance what the Bible says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word." (Psalm 119:9) We hear a lot about values these days, that we have to build our lives on a value system. People in other nations who print signs in English often in translation make humorous mistakes. A sign in a Paris hotel read, "Please leave your values at the front desk."

Joseph did not leave his values at the front desk of the Pharaoh's White house! Pharaoh's wife tried to seduce him and get him in bed. The findings of archeology tell us that Egyptian women of Joseph's day enjoyed considerable freedom. They were sexually promiscuous. The decadence of Pharaoh's court compares to the scandals happening today. When immorality is rampant at the top it filters its way down. Christian values are clashing with the values promoted on some TV and news shows just as Joseph clashed with the values of a decadent Egyptian culture. So people say "Everybody is doing it."

Where do you get your values about sexual behavior? Jerry Springer, Dr Ruth, Cosmo magazine?

I submit that the best place to get your values about sex is from the Bible. It has stood the test of time. It won't lead you wrong. Make a commitment to do what God says is right no matter what everyone else says. Until we settle for God's Word as the standard for life we will be seduced into every kind of temptation.

This is the greatest insurance for a happy home life. Rekindle the romance. That's what we mean when we say, "Keep the home fires burning." Contrary to popular opinion, God is pro-sex. It was his idea long before Hollywood came along and made an industry out of sex appeal. The creation story says that God made the trees and it was good. God made the seas and it was good. God made the animals and it was good. He made man and it was good. The he said I can do even better than that and he made woman and the Bible says it was very good! Everything was good but when he made woman it was very good.

The Bible says, "rejoice in your wife. Let her charms and tender embrace satisfy you. Let her love alone fill you with delight." He says be satisfied. Don't compare. There's no such thing as a perfect partner. Some people wonder, "Did I marry the wrong guy?" The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. The grass is greener where you water it. Potiphar's wife was comparing her husband with Joseph who is described as "Now Joseph was handsome and good looking." Did Pharaoh not offer any spontaneity in their love life? Did he come out of the bathroom in boxers and a beer belly looking like a beached whale. All the finesse of a John Deere tractor! What a turn off!

A woman complained that her husband was so caught up in his job that he ignored her. Naturally, he denied this. One night he came home from a bad day, greeted his wife, and collapsed in a chair. "Notice anything different about me?" she asked. Uh oh, he thought, better play this one carefully. "Is that a new

dress?" he asked. "Wrong again." "I'm too tired to guess anymore, what is different about you tonight?" "I'm wearing a gas mask."

Pay attention to your spouse. If there was more courting in marriage therewould be fewer marriages in court.

You need to understand how temptation works. James 1: 14-15 "Temptation is the pull of your own evil thoughts and wishes. These lead to evil actions." The battle starts in the mind. Most adulterous affairs start mentally. If he gets your attention he gets to your feelings. If he gets to your feelings, then he gets to you to act. You say, "I'd never do this. I'm just fantasizing about it." Who are you kidding. How do salesman sell a product. First they get your attention. You begin thinking about the product. Then they say, "Sit in the car–feel it, take it for a test drive." If he gets your feelings you are a goner. Thoughts determine feelings and feelings determine actions. The key is to put a gate across your mind.

Jesus said, "Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5: 28) Adultery starts in the head before it gets to the bed. Lust is not physical attraction. You see a good looking man/woman and you're naturally attracted. God will never take away those natural born desires. Lust, though, is the desire to possess to use for your own needs. Lust is not love. When you are young it is easy to confuse a hormonal surge with love. They are not the same. Pharaoh's wife wanted to possess and use Joseph for her own physical pleasure.

Manage your mind and you manage your sexual appetite.

Ask yourself with every temptation, "Is it worth it?" Temptation is incredibly short-sighted. Especially sexual temptations. There are enormous consequences in braking God's laws. We have heard the hurtful cries from the damage done - emotionally, spiritually, relationally and mentally. There are people still trying to overcome sexual misdeeds done to them years ago. It causes bitterness, guilt, shame, and a burden that only the forgiving, healing grace of God can cover.

Some church leaders were once caught and dismissed due to sexual misconduct. Thank God his grace and healing took the work as a family united to leave that all behind and press on with Christ.

When the devil is tempting you he always says, "Its no big deal." He maximizes the benefits and minimizes the consequences. But the Bible says, "This is God's will for you; He wants you to be holy and completely free from immorality, the Lord will punish those who do such wrongs" (1 Thess 4: 3&6) You say, "But I know guys that are getting away with it." God does not settle accounts in 30 days. God takes this stuff seriously. One woman once told me after she caught her husband chasing around, "If I would have seen him walking down the street, I would have turned the truck onto the sidewalk and run him over!" Heaven knows no fury like a woman scorned! Look what happened to Joseph and he was the good guy.

We should also magnify the benefits of resisting temptation. Exhaustive studies show that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes. Love and intimacy begins in the kitchen. You know I think the dishwasher has taken the closeness away from husbands and wives and parents and children.

The teasing and learning the talking and sharing that transpired between my folks and me as we did the dishes together was truly amazing. Think about it. There is a benefit to little acts of kindness, service and love and appreciation that builds a marriage and family. The rewards can be seen. You can see them together pushing the shopping carts at the grocery store or on the porches of their winter homes in Florida or Arizona. He is an old man with snow-white hair, a little hard of hearing, reading the newspaper through magnifying glasses; an old woman in a shapeless dress, her knuckles gnarled by arthritis, wearing slippers to ease her aching arches. They hold hands still and in a little while they will totter off to take a nap, and then she will cook supper, and they will watch television. They know each other so well they can complete each other's sentences. They may even have a short, soul -stirring argument, just to prove they really care. And through the night one or both will snore unabashedly, each resting content be