Why would God give you a precious gift only to ask you to temporarily lay it down for Him (for a long season or a short one)?
Are you motivated by pleasing God, or by pleasing self?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (GENEVA)
"Know ye not, that your body is the temple of the holy Ghost, which is in you, whom ye have of God? and ye are not your own. For ye are bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit: for they are God’s."
2 Corinthians 9:7 (GENEVA)
"As every man wisheth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."
Genesis 22:11-12 (GENEVA)
"11 But the Angel of the Lord called unto him from heaven, saying, Abraham, Abraham. And he answered, Here am I.
"11 But the Angel of the Lord called unto him from heaven, saying, Abraham, Abraham. And he answered, Here am I.
12 Then he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing for my sake thou hast not spared thine only son."
I've come to a conclusion. I've decided I want to lay my life down for Jesus. I cheerfully and willingly give Him my self. I give Him the gifts that He first gave me (for we can give nothing to Him except what He first gives us!)
Sexuality is a good and God-ordained gift. He designed it, and tells us how to use it. Since sexuality is built into the good design of our bodies, It is primarily to glorify God.... according to Paul in 1 Cor. 6:19-20. Marital sex glorifies God and sexual purity glorifies God. Both married disciples and unmarried disciples can practice sexual purity, and thus, glorify God. But there is something very precious about total and willing surrender to God in a season of singleness. One must walk the path to truly understand it. I am walking and learning in this path.
God gave me a revelation that has helped me. Rather than focusing on what I cannot do as a Christian single (cohabitate with a woman outside of marriage, or have unmarried sex, etc etc.) or on what I MIGHT be able to do, I have come realize that God doesn't want to TAKE anything away from me, including sexuality. It is a valuable and beautiful gift. He delights when His son or daughter CHOOSES to give a gift to God with a CHEERFUL heart. It takes a change in attitude, and a change in focus. If I choose to give it ALL to God, then it no longer matters what is permissible or not regarding sex acts. All has been cheerfully given to God.... for a time. When God changes the season to a time of marriage, you will know!!
Singles who are Christian have a particularly challenging life because we are caught between two worlds... a world of sanctified sex in the marriage union, and the realm of worldly sex where people have fallen into sin. Keep in mind, I have known pure marital intimacy. I have been single again for almost 7 years. In my time as a single, I have been practicing sexual abstinence. So I have an understanding of both sides of this two-sided coin. But God has been helping me to increase in purity.
We as singles are surrounded by all kinds of things pointing toward sex.... good sex and bad sex. Focusing on good sex (in marriage) when we have no prospective mate can leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled and impatient. And focusing on bad sex (sin) leaves us a bit cynical and distrusting and maybe even feeling hopeless.
But never spurn the gift God gave you. Never ask Him to take it away... like I once did at a time when I was feeling hopelessness in my singleness. God has no pleasure in taking things away when He placed them squarely in your domain. He gave you sexuality as a gift and a responsibility.
But He does delight when we cheerfully lay our beautiful gift down for Him. Abraham willingly gave what God desired, until God told Him to stop.
Are we willing to give God what God desires? He desires holiness. He desires obedience and trust. He desires the Fruit of the Spirit, including self-control. He desires the very BEST for each of us.
So as I contemplated this, the Holy Spirit reminded me that my focus should be on making USE of my sexuality for God in a pure way: complete surrender. I make use of it, and it does not go to waste, as far as God is concerned. It is so precious that I lay the gift on the altar for God. It is just for a season, not necessarily for a lifetime.
Our bodies are always meant to bring glory to God first. God's glory has a higher priority than anything else. That is why I believe God has allowed me to walk in a season of singleness for these past 6 1/2 years. He wanted me to discover the true joy of being a cheerful giver of my own body to Him for His glory.
I GIVE the gift from a willing heart, and that makes the giving so much easier. I used to focus on all the things I CAN'T do or all the things I MIGHT be able to do. I used to perform mental and scriptural gymnastics to find justifications for behaviours that were neither prohibited nor expressly allowed in Scripture (example: masturbation).
But now, the Lord has taught me that my gift is beautiful and valuable, and that it is put to GOOD USE by giving it up completely and freely to God. That is part of how we glorify God in our bodies. Complete surrender. Practicing this has brought my heart to a place where I receive new confidence in Christ, and joy from God.
If you don't want to surrender out of love for GOD, then your habits will not change! Sexuality is a heart issue at its core. And as I discovered, God is gentle and patient. Don't worry if you aren't at this point in your life yet, where you feel you can surrender it all to Him. Give it time, and keep walking and growing deeper in your relationship to Jesus. Let His love slowly change your heart. Let Him show you the secret treasures of singleness.
These days, I find myself caught up in the inexplicable joy of letting God have all my being. To the flesh, it makes no sense. But in the Holy Spirit, it is a reasonable and lovely sacrifice.
By giving it all up for God, I find peace, and assurance that my sexuality is going to good use! It is CURRENTLY doing the MOST IMPORTANT THING in the universe: Glorifying God!
Surrender is only meaningful to God when we do it from our own free will and love of Jesus. And He does not force us to give anything.
If we stop a behaviour begrudgingly, then soon enough we will find ourselves falling back into those very same fleshly habits once again. Why? Because we are focused on what we CAN'T have. We know sex is designed for marriage, for mutual spousal enjoyment, and also for procreation. But we often miss the fact that it is useful when we are single too. We can practice purity, and surrender our gift to God for His glory.
It is time to shift the focus up toward God and His high calling. Jesus is calling. He wants you to know He loves you and designed you and He saves all who call on His name and turn from sin.
There is surprising joy in giving up all sexuality into the care of the Lord God. It remains your sexuality, but you have now entrusted Jesus with its care and protection every day. You no longer try and please yourself your own way, but sincerely want God to be pleased instead. That shows just how much you value your sexuality.
This delights Him. As a single, this is a powerful way to bring God glory. Sexuality is useful in singleness because of this.
Now if you want to get married, go for it, in Godly wisdom. Jesus did not prohibit marriage. But He also did not require it either. The choice is really up to you. Just be sure to follow the discipleship call regardless of what choice you make. If you do choose to get married, your gift of sexuality will be put to good use in the sexual union of husband and wife. That honours God.
But as long as you remain single, and sexually pure, you can still put that gift to good use today. Give it all to God's care. Jesus said, where your treasure is, that is where your heart will be. Let us surrender the gift of sexuality to God.
May we realize that such a willing and cheerful gift each day will bring glory to God each day. And that is the reason we were put on earth, to bring glory to God the Father. There is no better honour.
I am still learning and growing in this, as we all are, and I hope to encourage you with a taste of my own journey with Christ.
God Bless,
-Pastor Curtis
Jul 13, 2016 11:57PM EST
