FCA Talk 2 - Who are you matters
We had a Son rise service this morning at the Chapel on campus and had about 35 kids there. We talked about how important your internal boundaries are in life. Who you are on the inside will ultimately determine what you'll be.

If you don't think that matters - look no further than this past year with Tiger Woods, Mark Sanford and John Edwards. Here are three attractive, very talented, very powerful men that led dark double lives. As an observer we look at them and say, "If I had all that power or all that money or that beautiful wife and family there is NO way I'd be so reckless with my private life. These guys had it made." They did.

But evidently they didn't have a good grasp on who they were on the inside and where their boundaries were.

The irony with all three of these is that they were incredibly visible, public figures. John Edwards was running for President. Running. Out there campaigning. Visible. The media was all around him 24/7. And he thought he could pull off an affair with a staffer while all this was going on? And oh yeah, by the way, his wife was in the middle of a very public battle with cancer. And you want to say, "Really? Did you really think you could pull that off and keep this thing a secret? He really thought he was that special that the media wouldn't turn on him and crucify him?"

Mark Sanford was the sitting Governor of South Carolina and left his office for 4 days to supposedly hike the Appalachian Trail. He thought he could just walk out of his office and not tell anyone and in reality, he was in Argentina with his girlfriend. Mark Sanford's wife is this very attractive, polished, smart woman and he has three beautiful sons and he walked out on them for what he calls his "soul mate" and he was so blind that he thought he could disappear and no one would discover his secret. And you want to say... "Really? Did you really think that would work?"

And Tiger. Oh Tiger. I lose track of the women - 13...15...18 - how he kept track of them all, no one knows. But here is the best golfer in the history of the game, the most marketed sports figure ever, followed by the media 24/7 and he really thought he could lead this double life and no one would ever know? He really thought he was that "good" to pull this off? Did he really think any of these women were attracted to him? They weren't...it was his money that attracted every single one of them. In using all these women, Tiger was the one really being used. Look at this life Tiger had -- look at his wife! And you want to say, "What are you thinking?" He wasn't.

Here's the thing - the world/culture is baiting us with temptation right up to the edge of the abyss. We are saturated as a culture with sex. Look at the clothes the 12-13 year old girls are being marketed...short, short skirts, low cut tops. Andy Stanley says that 50 years ago, given what the women wore then, that these girls dressed like this would have looked like hookers. And they are our little girls!

They are being baited right up to the line. Look at Victoria's Secret. Look at the movies and TV shows we watch. We're being baited and tempted right up to the line and then when we step over that line and fall, the world throws its hands up and won't touch you. You are suddenly alone. A creep. A pervert. You took the bait and did what the world wanted you to do and yet, you fall all alone. You become toxic. The TV show that tries to catch child molesters...I'm all for that show because it exposes those that prey on young girls. These guys are absolutely tourqued up by pornography and chat room sex and our culture has now created a TV show to bait them into a home to meet a 15 year old girl for wild sex. Hidden cameras capture every moment of the destruction of these men's lives and then the TV guy steps out and says "You are busted". Everything they've hidden is permanently exposed to the world in a flash.

Look at Tiger. He's toxic right now. The companies that fawned all over him and paid him millions to hawk their goods have all abandoned him. When we think of Tiger now we remember his great golf skills but we also can never forget the shame. John Edwards will forever be known as the politician that cheated on his wife while she was battling cancer. Mark Sanford was a rising star in the Republican party and a likely Presidential candidate. Not any more.

The enemy is just trying to trip you up. And 13-14-15-16 year old kids would have the tendency to think "Not me, I'm young, I'm supposed to have fun, none of this stuff has hooks in it." Really?

Americans spend $12 billion a year on pornography. That is $4,000 every second. The number 1 consumer of porn is boys ages 12-17. It matters. You've got to make some choices about who you are on the inside before you can determine what you'll be on the outside. You've got to know your boundaries, what you will do and what you won't do. You've got to know what your non-negotiables are...where your line in the sand is.

This stuff matters. The world is coming at you hard and you are kidding yourself to play dumb and think you don't have to worry about it. You all are so incredibly blessed. You go to this great school. You have this great Chapel. You have world class athletic facilities, parents who give you just about anything you want and many of you drive nicer cars than I do. You are so blessed and if you don't think this stuff matters and you don't have anything to lose, you are kidding yourself.

Some of you have already stumbled and made huge mistakes. There has already been sex and drinking and drugs. Some of you have already decided you hate your body or that you have no friends. You are bound up in guilt over your past failings.

The good news is that in John 10:10 Jesus said "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that they may have abundant life." Life. Life. Freedom. No matter how much you've already screwed up -- and I've screwed up too -- there is freedom, great freedom in Jesus. He'll wipe away every sin, forgive every screw up, wipe away every tear and heal your broken heart.

All you've got to do is ask. Ask Him into your heart to be the Lord of your life. Admit you've made a mess of your life trying to run it yourself. Admit you cannot navigate and negotiate life anymore alone. Admit your weakness. Admit your desire for HIS strength and invite HIM into your life as your Lord.

A grand new chapter begins. Your past is past. The Son has risen!

Soar!