A Call to Modesty (Compilation) — Compilations

Beauty, Femininity, and Sensuality

What does the Bible say about beauty?

Take heed to this instruction. Take heed to this counsel, so that you can be wise.

Be the place we fix our eyes. Be the center of our lives.

The difference between beauty, which is of God, elegance, which is of God, femininity, which is of God, and sensuality, which is hellish and demonic and causes a stumbling block.

Resisting Sensual Attention and Cultural Pressure

Young ladies, hear me. There is tremendous pressure on you to look a certain way, to dress a certain way, to behave a certain way, to have this certain kind of perfect shape and perfect body. And I urge you, young men as well, older men, older women, as well of all ages, but young ladies in particular, hear me, do not ever yield to the temptation to dress in a way so as to draw sensual attention to yourselves.

Never, never do that. Never be a stumbling block to your brother or to your sister. Now I know temptation can go both ways. I know women can be tempted with the eyes, and men can be tempted to display themselves in certain ways.

But for the most part, and in our culture, and the images that we have in front of us, constant alluring, sinful, sensual images of women disrobed in every different level, calling, appealing to the eyes of men, appealing to the lusts of men.

And all of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You see, young ladies, there are women that I know that could be supermodels, and if they walked in that door right now, with my wife standing right beside me, I could look over there and say, Charo, look at that lady, isn't she beautiful?

Isn't she elegant? Without one problem. But there are other women who aren't half as physically beautiful as the lady I have in mind at this moment, and yet if they walked in there, I would have to turn my head immediately, because it's not beauty, it's not elegance, it's not femininity coming forth from that girl, it's sensuality.

And all of you know exactly what I'm talking about. What some of you wear to the beach, out in public, if someone had wore the same thing 60 years ago, they would have either been thrown in a mental institution or a prison by the secular authorities.

Now, whether you're mad at me or not really doesn't matter. The thing about it is, you can't deny that what I'm saying is true. Go ask your grandmother. It is true. No one would have been caught dead outside.

Not even the worst of the worst. But you see, we have embraced our culture.

You know, our Christian ladies go to the beach in modest bikinis. If you were caught walking the street like that 100 years ago in America, you'd probably be arrested for indecent exposure. Now it's modest.

Now it's modest. Our Christian guys go there and think, man, there's something the matter with me, I'm so filled with lust. I must be weak. I tell them, you're not weak, you're stupid. Well, brother, now you're getting a little extreme.

Why? Because I'm picking on something you like? Because you came down to Florida to do some beach hopping? See, the standards drop and we don't even know it.

Separation from the World

We Christians, remember, here is the great problem with our generation. I don't want to say yours, I just want to say ours. Here's the great problem. We think that in order to be relevant, we need to be like the world.

Jesus said in order to be relevant, you have to be just the opposite of the world.

We like to be in control. We like to call the shots.

And all of you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Dress as Covering Rather Than Display

The purpose of dress is what we're trying to cover up, not what we're trying to reveal. Come on! Young lady, you lost some weight. Do you have to show everybody? Does it have to be the, look at me, look, I can get into this type of thing.

If you're conscious as you're dancing and celebrating before the Lord, and you're drawing attention to yourself, and you're doing it in such a way, thinking of, look at how I look. Look at what I'm showing off.

See how I look in this new outfit? See my legs? See the way it flatters my body? See this, see that? You are working with the devil, my friend. You are a co-worker of hell. You may be saved, but you're playing with fire.

Let's rise higher. Let's be holy people. Let's be people of modesty and godliness.

Those that have said, God, I cast off the works of the flesh. I cast off the works of darkness. I cast off the natural thoughts of man. I cast off the ungodly pursuits of the nations around me. And I'm willing to stand on the same hill that you stood on, Jesus.

We like to be in control.

We like to call the shots. And you will see that when Satan begins to work, and he begins to influence, he begins to destroy beauty, elegance, and all these things. And he begins to work in you, so as to lower your standards, so that you will accept anything that comes your way.

And allow yourself to be treated in a way that is not dignified. You get into the Bible, and you spend years in Scripture, under the discipleship, possibly, of a godly woman. And you grow into a woman of virtue.

A godly woman who has fixed her eyes on God's purposes for her life.

Let me say it again. Never dress in such a way. I'm talking about your public dress. Never dress in such a way, so as to draw sensual attention to yourself. Never dress in such a way, so as to be an object of lust.

Let's rise higher. Let's be holy people. Let's be people of modesty and godliness.

A Biblical Standard for Clothing

Let me give you a little thing that I always teach on college campuses. Everybody gets a big kick out of it. It's this. If your clothing is a frame for your face, it's of God. If your clothing is a frame for your face, it's of God.

If your clothing is a frame for your body, it is sensual, and God hates it. Two things about dress.

Clothes. The clothes that we wear should draw attention to the face. And the purpose of dress is what we're trying to cover up, not what we're trying to reveal. The purpose of dress is what we're trying to cover up,.

Not what we're trying to reveal. We have embraced our culture. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

Rising Above Indifference and Social Marginalization

The Holy Spirit calls you. The almighty woman of valor. God calls you. Rise up out of your indifference. Rise up out of their own pursuits. Rise up out of a life of nothingness, and hiding and captivity.

Rise up. Society may marginalize you, but not the Lord. The whole world around may be saying you'll ever amount to anything, but not God. You're the one voice that counts in this world. Trust me. You're not going to stand before God, and God's going to say to you,.

Why were you so modest? Why did you go to such an extreme with this purity stuff? God's not going to say to me on that day, Mike, why were you so strict? I don't mean laying trips on other people. I don't mean putting you into some legalistic bondage.

Receiving Correction and Rejecting Hidden Sin

We make mistakes. And students can make mistakes, and blow it in certain ways, and we're just forgiving and loving and compassionate. But when somebody won't receive correction, that's it. When somebody hardens their heart to loving rebuke, that's when I tremble.

When somebody can't hear a word of life, designed to deliver them from the snare of the enemy, pride comes up. Or who are you to talk to me? Or because they're holding on to the sin, they're clutching to the sin.

You say, man, I don't watch people take their clothes off on TV. I mean, Steve Hill preaches about that. What's he so fanatical about? That doesn't bother me. Friend, it doesn't bother you because your heart is hard.

What's your problem, man? You don't go to the beach with all these bikini-clad people walking around. What's your problem? My problem is I love Jesus. My problem is that that stuff is unclean and defiling and brings lustful, suggestive thoughts into your mind.

And if it doesn't bring them into your mind, it's not because you're so holy but because you're so hard. I mean, let's just wake up. Let's just use a little common sense. Let's just be honest. You say, well, you're stealing my joy.

If your joy is being an object of sensual lust, then get saved. But don't go around parading as a believer. I love to look out at our student body, men and women of all ages, and look at the beauty on their faces.

Look at their enthusiasm as they're going after God. There's a beauty. There's something special. I look at some young couples. I say, what an awesome young couple. Look at them. Look at how they glow.

Repentance, Cleansing, and New Life in Christ

Don't degrade yourself, friend. Let's rise higher. Let's be holy people. Let's be people of modesty and godliness. Right now, His convicting spirit is fishing you out. If there's something in your life, if your life as a whole is not right with God, if there's secret sin, if there are things hidden and covered, there are things out in the open, whoever you are, I remind you, Jesus paid the price for every sin you've ever committed.

His blood cleanses us. His blood satisfies God. When we put our trust in Him and say, save me from my sins, He'll give you a brand new start. Whether it's a secret lust, whether it's a relationship, whether it's the whole pattern of your life, whether you've never known Jesus, if that's you, friend, and I give this last appeal, Lendl will sing this to you one more time.

Come now and get right. Come now and get right. Come now and get right while the door of mercy and grace is open. Confess your sin. Confess your fault.

Ask me for the power to put it away and I will consume your weakness with my spirit. Heavenly Father, I confess my sin to you. I don't hide it. I don't make excuses for it. I've sinned. I've broken your laws.

I've hurt myself. This night, I ask you to wash me clean with the blood of Jesus. Lord, remove the guilt. Remove the stain. Remove everything that stands between us. This night, I turn from my sins. I renounce everything unclean.

I say no to compromise. And I ask you to give me a brand new slate through the blood of Jesus. I'm yours, Jesus. Spirit, soul, and body, I hold nothing back from you. My life is yours. Use me for your glory.