“YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. (Exodus 20:14 NKJ)

Adultery definition: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not his or her spouse. (Webster)
• A standard given to us by God to build relationship: home, community, and beyond.
• When Jesus came into the picture in Matthew 5:27, He expanded the definition and standard.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28 NKJ)

• Jesus defines adultery not just as the final act that ends up in bed but the initial act that starts with the look.
• Adultery is any form of sexual Immorality that starts in the eyes and ends up in the heart.
• Jesus challenge us to maintain sexual purity.

Why is sexual purity so important to God? ONENESS.
• ONENESS can only be achieved in a marriage between a man and woman.
• The concept of ONENESS between a man and a woman is defined in Genesis 2:24

Therefore, a man shall LEAVE his father and mother and be JOINED to his wife, and they shall become ONE FLESH (ONENESS) (Genesis 2:24 NKJ)

How do we maintain that ONENESS in marriage as part of God’s plan?

#1: STAY COMMITTED.

ONENESS requires commitment:
• Commitment to resolving conflicts.
• Commitment to building a strong line of communication.
• Commitment to raising kids God’s way.

“Great marriages don’t happen by luck or by accident. They are the result of a consistent investment of time, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, affection, prayer, mutual respect, and a rock-solid commitment between a husband and a wife.” Dave Willis (Voice Actor)

• Oneness requires commitment to each other, but most importantly commitment to God.

There was a time in King David’s life when that commitment failed.

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites… However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1 NLT)

• David’s commitment to God and the nation of Israel was to be King and to perform the duties of a King. But one day, he decided to stay behind and send someone else.
• Commitment is not something you can delegate to someone else.

#2: TRAIN YOUR EYES

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. (2 Samuel 11:2 NLT)

• By looking, King David opened up a door to his soul.

“The eye is the gateway to the soul” Leonardo Da Vinci

YOUR EYE is like a lamp that provides light for your BODY. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. (Matthew 6:22-23 NLT)

A wandering eye leads to a wandering soul.

As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. (2 Samuel 11:3-4 NLT)

So where should our eyes be to maintain ONENESS?

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:2 NLT)
Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you (Proverbs 4:25 NKJ)
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; … It shall not cling to me. (Psalm 101:3 NKJ)

#3: GUARD YOUR HEART

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
Wrong thoughts allowed in your heart will set you on the wrong course.

• How do you deal with it? Transparency.
• Transparency with God. Bring it to God. Transparency with one another.

So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. (2 Samuel 11:14-17 NLT)

• His eyes opened up the door when he slept with Bathsheba.
• His heart led him in the wrong direction when he murdered the husband.

So how do we maintain oneness in marriage with our thoughts?

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8 NLT)

RUN FROM SEXUAL SIN! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18 NLT)

#4: SEEK THE POSITIVES

You will always find what you are looking for. Think about the difference between two birds- a vulture and a hummingbird. Vultures soar high in the sky looking and searching. What does a vulture find? Dead things. The ugly oversized bird doesn’t stop until he finds lifeless, rotting roadkill. Contrast the vulture to the hummingbird. With its wings flapping twenty beats a second, what does this small bird find? Not dead things and disgusting rancid meat, but instead, sweet, life-giving nectar. Daily, each bird finds what he is looking for. The same is true for you. You can be on a roadkill diet, or you can find nectar in each day. It’s up to you, because you will find what you are looking for! (Soul Detox – Craig Groeschel)

If you SEARCH FOR GOOD, you will FIND FAVOR; but if you SEARCH FOR EVIL, IT WILL FIND YOU! (Proverbs 11:27 NLT)

• It’s true in marriage. It’s true in church. It’s true in life. What you seek, you find!

CONCLUSION
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?