Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: I challenge you to hope and to dream and to see visions again. You may say, "I've lost all that." No, God is not finished. There are streams in the desert. That's the good news. No matter what part of the wilderness we fall down in, there are streams in the desert to renew us. I challenge you to hope, to dream, to see visions, and to believe God that God is faithful.

Announcer (Male): Thank you for listening to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow. To support this ministry financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpittmanministries.com. Your donations keep this radio ministry going. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here is Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: "But he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Amen.

I take you there to read that because we hear in our society today that people don't know who they are, why they are here, and all of that. Paul answers that question right here when he says the body is not for sexual immorality; the body is for the Lord and the Lord for the body. What's my purpose in living as a believer? For me to accomplish all that I want to accomplish? No, I am to live for the Lord. My body is not my own; I belong to him.

This is the reason I bring this up about sexual immorality, because a lot of times we have been trained—I was trained, I was taught, I wasn't a Christian all my life—that your body is for pleasure. You look at any movie, any love scene, or whatever you want to mention or think about, and it seems like the goal the world says is that sex scene, that yielding of that woman's body or the man's body or whatever it is. That's really what it's all about. That's really the real goal in life.

That's what our kids are hearing. That's what young people are hearing. That's what our whole society is hearing: that your body is for sexual immorality. But the Bible says that your body is not for sexual immorality, but it belongs to the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Amen. Now, you belong to him. If we can get that straight in our heads, it would help us. Amen.

I'm a red-blooded male, too. Hallelujah. And there are temptations that come my way and come your way. But when you understand and you settle it in your heart that I am the Lord's, this body belongs to him and he belongs to this body. We are the temple of God. Therefore, glorify God. You're not your own, but you've been bought at a price. We belong to Jesus Christ. Isn't that good news?

Now, we say amen to that, but we live as if our body belongs to us. It doesn't. The body belongs to the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Therefore, glorify the Lord in your body and in your spirit. Here's the deal: if you don't master your body, it'll jack up your spirit. Come on. You drink 19 cups of coffee every day, and you're irritable. "Honey, can you..." "What?!" "Honey, I just want you to take the trash..." "I'm getting the trash!"

I'm serious. If we're not good stewards over our bodies—I'm not saying you've got to be a certain weight, height, or anything else—but if we don't master these bodies, as Paul said, "I beat my body under, I bring it in subjection to the spirit, lest after preaching to others, I myself have been disqualified." And so we have to bring our bodies in subjection because if you don't, your spirit is jacked up. And if your spirit is jacked up, it jacks up your body. You've got a nasty attitude about folks, getting in fistfights at church and all. None of you guys do that, do you? But I've known some denominations. Amen. Sunday morning on the steps of the church, we're throwing down right now. "I didn't like what you said, Pastor." All right.

But I love that your body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord. Oh, really? I'm not supposed to give myself to my boyfriend or whatever? There's nothing wrong with sex in marriage, in the confines of marriage. I'm not knocking that, obviously. Hallelujah. But the reality is that the bottom line is my body belongs to him and the Lord is for my body. He dwells within the temple of my life, my heart. I belong completely to him.

If we can get our minds around that, it would help us to overcome that foolishness of sexual immorality and some of the things we struggle with sexually. Because the message from the world is that your body is for sexual immorality because your god is pleasure. In the last days, men will become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And we see it happening in the church. Glorify God. Don't be like those who would die in the wilderness, but glorify God in your bodies. God will not be well-pleased if our body is not wholly his.

What does Romans 12:1-2 tell us? That we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. That's the least we should do is present ourselves. Imagine if your life was completely presented to God. Where would God send you? What would God do in your life? What would you allow God to do in your life if you lived as if your body was not your own but his, and that the Lord is for your body? You see what I'm saying? You don't? Okay, let's move on then.

Thirdly, back here in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, he says in verse 8, "Nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did." And he says in verse 9, "Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed by serpents." Let's not tempt Christ. What does it mean to tempt Christ? Here's the other thing that will leave you sprawled out, scattered in the wilderness: tempting Christ is doubting God's plan and God's purpose.

Now, we've all had times where we may have doubted or wondered what God was doing in our lives. David also doubted at times, but he continued to believe in God. Even sometimes you say, "Lord," David would say, "Lord, what are you doing?" Then he would say, in Psalm 42:11, "For I shall yet praise him, for he is the help of my countenance and my God." So David always came back to faith. Amen. And there are times I've had doubts and frustrations and stuff. "God, what are you doing? I don't understand this." Yet I think of what David did. He said, "Yet I shall still praise you, for you are the help of my countenance and you are my God." That will never change. David was a man after God's own heart, even though he wrestled sometimes with God.

But to tempt the Lord, it literally means an exhibition of distrust. The Bible says that without faith, we cannot please God. Are we exhibiting distrust in the Lord in our ministry? Are we tempting the Lord saying, "Yeah, God's going to show up. Yeah, really." Are we tempting the Lord? We need to repent of that.

The father of the demon-possessed mute boy that Jesus healed prayed one of the most sincere prayers, a prayer that I often pray. There's nothing wrong with this prayer. Jesus said, "You believe I can heal your son?" He said, "I believe, Lord, but help my unbelief." There's nothing wrong with that, telling God where you really are. But tempting God, exhibiting distrust in God that God is not going to be faithful and do what he has promised, is a sin. It is embracing unbelief completely. If we will see God move in our day, it requires men and women who will rest rather than test the Lord. They'll rest in the Lord rather than test the Lord. Do you want to see the Lord move in this day? Do you want to see him move in your ministry? You want to see him do something new in your ministry, in your church? Then we need to rest in him and believe God, not test God.

Second Chronicles chapter 16, many of you know it well: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him." So true. At this stage in my life right now, that's where I'm at. I'm like, "Lord, let's do it. No limits." I'm not talking crazy stuff, like build a church on top of Pikes Peak—if God wants me to do that, we could do that—but what you've given me, the vineyard you've called me to, the place in the harvest field you've called me to. Am I limiting you? Am I doubting God rather than speaking words of faith?

The Bible says there's life and death in the tongue. Amen. And you can speak life to a congregation or death to a congregation. I shared with you a little while ago about how the Lord rebuked me for sharing things from the congregation, like, "I don't know how long I'm going to be here, and woe is me, and it's about time for me to retire." God said, "Stop it, because they're not words of faith; they're words of doubt, and you were destabilizing the congregation through your whining from the pulpit." That's what the Lord told me. Because that's what I was doing.

And so I would hear sometimes people say, "Pastor Al, I heard you were retiring." "Where'd you get that from?" And the Lord says, "From you, because you're not speaking words of faith. You're speaking words of distrust." But God's eyes are going to and fro throughout the earth, to and fro throughout this auditorium, this meeting, and saying, "Who will believe that I'm God? Who will take the limits off and trust me for great things?" The question is: will it be you, or you, someone over here, over here, that will truly believe God, or will we continue to tempt Christ?

Here's the fourth thing he said. This is one that gets to all of us. Amen. We should just repent before we even get to this point. He says here, "Nor let us tempt Christ," and then he says after that in verse 10, "Nor complain, as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer." Complaining. None of you ever do that, I'm sure. But isn't that one of our favorite pastimes sometimes? Complaining about the sheep God has given us to serve, complaining about things not changing the way we want them to change or as quickly. Complaining. And complaining never gets you anything, as the old saying goes, except for one more lap around Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

What we say on a consistent basis will soon be manifested in our lives. You keep complaining about your wife, you're going to have a bad marriage. You keep complaining about your husband, you're going to have a bad marriage. We keep complaining about the church, we're going to start to despise the people God called us to love. Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit. I mentioned it before, but I didn't mention the second part: those who love it will eat its fruit.

If your diet's been a little bitter lately, maybe it's because you're sowing bitter seeds. Are we speaking life or death into our ministries? Psalm 19:14 says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." What's pleasing to God are words of faith. "Lord, I believe you. I don't understand it, I don't know what's going on right now, but I trust you," rather than complaining. "Lord, I consecrate myself to you and I trust you, Lord, and I'm going to believe you."

It was St. Augustine who said, "Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand." Amen. God is looking for those who will believe, not complain, but believe that God is able to do above and beyond what we could ask or even think.

Paul, in verses 11 to 13, basically wraps this thought up. In verse 11, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, he says, "Now all these things happened to them as examples." In other words, learn from this. Learn from their examples, Al. You can't be engaged in sexual immorality; guard your heart and your mind. You can't be engaged in tempting Christ and complaining and idolatry, elevating things above me, or you'll be a casualty in the wilderness. For all of us.

So this is an example to us and they were written, he said, for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come. That's what this is. This is not a beat-down message. This is an admonition, to admonish you to put no limits on what God has called you to do. Then he says in verse 12, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." There's always somebody out there like, "I've got all that covered. I'm good. Thanks. I'm glad all these other people are here, but I'm okay." Really? Take heed. Take heed.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful." Amen. Can you say that? God is faithful. Yes, he is. "Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape." I always thought about what that means. Well, the Lord is saying, "I'm not going to take you to the top of Pikes Peak so you can be away from temptation. I'm not going to take you to monastic living, some monastery somewhere." But even in the midst of our culture, in our society, in all the things going on around us, God says, "I'm going to keep you." That to me proves that God is God, that God is able to keep us even though we're in this wicked world.

And he will make a way of escape. The problem with us sometimes is God says, "Hey, there's the exit. It's time to go now." And we're like, "Well, is that really the exit?" To hesitate is always disobedience; it's always sin. God gives you the exit. He tells you, "This is the way out." He will show you the way of escape. But the problem with a lot of believers whose dreams and hopes have perished in the wilderness is they do not take the exit when God tells them to, and they play around and flirt around with sin and get burned.

He will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it, that you may be able to endure. And how do we endure? We endure by the power of his Holy Spirit. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But here's the key: who strengthens me. Is the Lord my strength? And if the Lord is my strength, then there are no limits. No limits, nothing that God cannot do through me or in me that he desires to do.

So here we have a warning: "Take heed lest you fall," and a promise: "God will deliver us," and he indeed will. In the wilderness, we can still realize our hopes and our dreams. We can still realize the vision that God has given to us if we will recognize our own sins, recognize that we ourselves through our own affections have put ourselves in that position. God will then come because he's a God of great mercy. He's rich in mercy. Aren't you glad about it? And he will renew our trust in him. He will restore us. He will recommission us for his service if we will turn to him.

You say, "I'm in the wilderness, Pastor. I'm out here, man. It's so dry. It's been so dry for so long. I just don't... there's no hope." Hey, let me tell you. He's able to renew dry bones, is he not? He's able to raise up an army from dry bones. The church is not finished. Your vision is not finished. Your hopes are not finished if you will put your hope in him. Isaiah 35:6 says, "Then the lame," speaking of the future restoration of Israel, it says, "Then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing, for waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert."

Aren't you glad? And I challenge you to hope and to dream and to see visions again. You may say, "I've lost all that." No, God is not finished. There are streams in the desert. That's the good news. No matter what part of the wilderness we fall down in, there are streams in the desert to renew us. And so I challenge you to hope and to dream, to see visions, to believe God that God is faithful, that he who began a good work will also complete it. Amen.

He is faithful to perform what he has promised. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 9, says, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him." The rest of this year and the following years, let's say within ourselves, "Lord, no limits. Help me to be everything that you've ordained me to be. I believe that you're the God that Isaiah said who works and nobody can reverse it." Amen. Do you believe that? Praise his holy name. Give God praise and glory. Amen. Thank you, Lord.

Father, I pray that you would help us to take the limits off, the restraints off of you, Lord, through our own affections, and to humble ourselves before you and to allow you, Lord, to create in us, as David said, a clean heart, renew in us a right spirit, that we might bring glory to your name, that we might impact and touch this generation, that we might rise up as a mighty army and go forth and believe through your faithfulness we indeed will accomplish what you've called us to do. No limits, Lord. For each one of us, that means something different, but Lord, let us embrace that today. Let us turn from anything that is hindering and restraining. Let us truly walk in that liberty for which you've set us free. We give you all the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you guys.

Announcer (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpittmanministries.com. Also, consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 50584, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949, or visit us online. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by email at info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.

Have you been wanting to hear Pastor Al teach live? Well, now's your chance. Join Pastor Al at Legacy of Faith Church in Denver, Colorado on Palm Sunday, March 29th. There, Pastor Al will be teaching a dynamic Palm Sunday message that you don't want to miss. Doors open at 9:15 AM, service begins at 10:30 AM. Head to legacyoffaithchurch.com to get directions or get more information. That's legacyoffaithchurch.com. We'll see you there.