"Let's Talk About Sex!"

1Corinthians 6:19

 

19Or 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?

 

90's Hip Hop connoisseurs know the title of today's message from the female trio Salt N Pepa. It crossed over and hit pop charts in many countries and continents. The purpose of the song was to talk about "safe sex" and to mimic the taboos around sex. Sex was created by God for the enjoyment of man and woman in a covenant relationship and for procreation. Sex has quite a lengthy reference in the Old Testament book Song of Solomon or Song of Songs depending on what version of the Bible you have. In Song of Solomon, the references to courting, marriage, sex and intimacy between King Solomon and the Shulamite woman are also an allegory to the relationship God desires to have with each us, a very intimate one. In Corinthians the apostle Paul addressed those in the Corinthian church who tried very hard to justify their continued behavior of sex outside of marriage a.k.a. fornication, with the notion that they have freedom to do so even in Christ. Sidebar, the word fornicator is derived from the Greek word pornous which is where we get the word porn. And in Hebrews 13:4 the fornicator denoted in the scripture is not just referencing sex but anything that is immoral or outside of the relationship with God. The apostle Paul breaks it down for the Corinthians as to what "becoming one" means. Let's talk about the act of sex. Now many know that sex in the physical sense is the combining of two bodies becoming one in a rhythm for a time. But what you may not realize is that the oneness doesn't just occur in the natural or physically. It also occurs spiritually. So you, who house the Holy Spirit from God within you, have now taken into yourself, without the authority of God whose stamp is on you, another person's spirit which may not be of the Holy Spirit. And even if they do, they may not be delivered from other spirits that live within them whether it be from all the others they have slept with, generational issues or whatever they may be into that is not of God. Now, you, being a member of the Body of Christ have now just allowed those others spirits or deadness into your body, your mind and your spirit. There is transfer of a spirit just like bodily fluid. So when God begins to speak to you later through the Holy Spirit, guess what He now has to contend with? That's right, all the other spirits and deadness you have allowed to enter you besides what He knew was already there. So then there is confusion and turmoil within you and you are trying to discover who is speaking to you. Once you said yes, to God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, you agreed that Jesus would be Lord of your life and that means now that Christ, paid a price for you with His blood so you belong to Him, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. By having sex with one that God did not ordain for you and/or at the improper time, you have now allowed yourself to be hacked and hinder the work the Holy Spirit desires to do in you and through you which is for the benefit of His glory and meant to bless others. You hinder not only your own progress but that of anything God wishes to do through you because He has to do a continuous spiritual virus scan, sweep and data dump of anything that is not of His spirit. That is why God doesn't want you to be unequally yoked or to be with an unbeliever. To knowingly do so puts you at risk for inner turmoil and other sufferings that you may not have had to endure had you followed Christ's example and God's desire for your life. Everything in your life is supposed to give God glory and praise. But it's hard to praise when you are loaded down with spiritual viruses and the manifestation of everything that you have allowed into you illegally. Stop the hackers in your body, mind and spirit and choose to honor the one whom you said you wanted to be Lord of your life.

An Indifferent Response

Revelation 3:15-16

 

15"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

 

In the book of Revelation starting from chapter 1, the apostle John talks of the seven types of churches. These seven types of churches exist today. If you want to know which one you belong to,  you only need to read the Word and evaluate what you have witnessed and maybe partaken in. Rest assured that the Word of God reveals nothing new under the sun regarding who mankind was then and now. For every situation, there is an applicable word. In the NKJ Study Bible, the text reveals that the apostle John was addressing the church in Laodicea also known as Pamukkale. The city  was one of the wealthiest in Phrygia during Roman rule and was known for banking, it's medical school and textile industry as the study Bible reveals. The study Bible reveals that the cities only drawback was an inadequate water supply. Hmmm....a physical deficit that mirrors the spiritual one. Jesus says to the woman at the well that He is "living water." A place of great wealth as the apostle John quotes, 'I am rich, have become wealthy and have need of nothing'. And yet, the basic is missing. The works of the people and its church show that neither they desire God nor that they don't. In other words, complete indifference. The apostle Paul addresses Timothy in 2Timothy 2:12 with a 'faithful saying,' If we deny Him, He also will deny us. But to be lukewarm or indifferent is the same as neither claiming nor denying. Does this sound like a courtroom answer to you? A witness who will neither claim nor deny a statement for fear of incriminating themselves on the witness stand. But the point of being a witness is to give a first hand account or knowledge of something. However, an indifferent response to anything about the Lord whether word or deed shows absolutely nothing. And God's response is that He rebukes and chastens those He loves and He commands they be zealous and repent. Is God asking the same of you? Have you been indifferent with Him and anything concerning Him whether in word or deed? Have you been like the witness in the courtroom saying, "I will neither claim nor deny,"? All in attempts to keep from incriminating yourself one way or the other. You are in a new year and God wants a new you. God wants your heart more than whatever dollar amount you can present. God wants your heart to be so strong for Him that nothing can stand in the middle of you two without experiencing your strong bond together. But if you want to deny Him, do so and be done with it for at least it will be clear where you stand and you will see where He stands when your time comes. Make a decision as to whom you will serve and then do so.

"The Problem is Choice"

Genesis 2:16-17

 

16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

 

We know that Adam was the first human son of God however he was not born of woman and the Holy Spirit as Jesus. Jesus was begotten because he was produced as an effect or outgrowth and was fathered by the Holy Spirit.  Adam was created from dust and dirt which is what we shed each day.

 

Adam was given a directive by God in the Garden of Eden to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But as Neo said to the Source in the film, The Matrix, "The problem is choice."  The problem was choice but so was the solution. The problem here wasn't that the serpent approached Eve as many would like to believe. The problem was choice. How so? God gave specific instructions for Adam and Eve not to touch that particular tree. Yes, the serpent provided conflicting information than what Adam and Eve had received. However, the problem was they allowed doubt to creep in and they chose to ignore the directive given by God though He already presented them with the consequence of making the wrong choice. The serpent, who is the enemy of our souls, doesn't stop there, he makes the obviously wrong choice look appealing. But the fact remains, as the NKJ Study Bible states, "Both the man and woman sinned through listening to another created being rather than to God." What is choice? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines it as 1)the act of choosing: selection 2) the power or opportunity of choosing: option 3) the best part 4) a person or thing selected 5) a variety offered for selection. We are the only living creatures God gave the ability to think and reason. We are the only ones to whom God gave the power of choice. For every choice there are rewards or consequences. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines rewards as 1)something given in return for good or evil done or received for some service or attainment 2) a stimulus that is administered to an organism after a response and that increases the probability of occurrence of the response. Our society refers to rewards as something good. So a reward for doing something right. But a consequence is often seen as something bad. Consequence as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary is a 1) result 2)importance, effect, outcome or aftermath.

 

The question for you, "Have you been listening to God or to a created being?" Yes, God can speak through others but God speaks to you directly just as much but do you pay attention? Has God spoken to you directly on what to do or not to do? Did you make a choice to not listen to Him? Did you make a choice regardless of the consequences presented to you? Did you think you would be rewarded positively for your choice? Have you suffered negative consequences from your choices? What have you learned as a result? Or do you still not see the problem? Sometimes options are nothing more than diversions from God's truth? Sometimes the question of "did God really say that," is nothing more than the enemy creating doubt in your mind so you will be conflicted enough that you will cheat yourself out of your rewards and blessings just as Satan did. His main objective is to cheat you out of your inheritance as he lost his. Lucifer was once an angel of the Lord. He was the chief angel. He lost his inheritance to be in the kingdom of God and all God's glorious riches all because he wanted to show he was equal to or better than God. So if Satan can assist in opening the door so you will cheat yourself out of your inheritance the way he lost his, then he will have gained what he desired which is misery loves company or the crab in the barrel mentality. As you end the year, think about the choices you have made. Did  you listen to God or did you make the choice to be influenced by someone else? How's that working for you? Jesus is giving you another opportunity to move in the correct direction if you haven't previously because of His shed blood. Is it time for you to reconsider how you make choices?  The solution is also your choice.

Assisting the Enemy

Proverbs 25:21-22

 

21If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

 

What does it mean to give and provide for someone who has not been kind to you or has tried to harm you? It means that you will show God's love even if they refuse to do so. Showing God's love is how the common world will know He exists. We are to be examples of God's love to the world by how we treat one another. But if one doesn't treat the other well, is it all bets off? No. Often God will put those who have harmed you in a position where they will have to ask you for assistance or they may need assistance whether they ask or not. And if GOD says you are to meet that need, you do so with His love in mind. Remember, it is God who will give the directive on what you are to do. Your hurt feelings must be put in the proper context. But what about if they are not so nice to you? Does it mean you won't be angry and hurt? No. It is normal to feel those feelings. You are to acknowledge them but then you are to ask God to remove them from you. Having the anger is not a sin but acting on the anger is. Keeping the anger leads to bitterness and that is why you have to let it go. So before you give or do anything, it still has to be done with the correct intention or motive that lines up with God. Your well treatment of someone who has not been good to you is to show them that God's love in you outweighs the anger and bitterness of their heart. It is supposed to cause them to reflect and to feel a level of guilt for their less than stellar behavior toward you. It is supposed to cause them shame now rather than judgment later as the NKJ Study Bible notes. The shame is to lead them to repent and be remorseful of their behavior then God will forgive them. God gets the glory because His love shown through you is supposed to bring about change in others and bring them closer to Him. Your reward from God will come for your obedience. What if they still do not get it? You cannot control them. All you can do is your part and God will handle the rest whether good or bad. God is the God who sees or Jehovah Roi and He will handle it according to His time.

Whose Wisdom Are You Following?

James 3:15-16

 

15This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

 

The scripture brings a whole new meaning to 1Corinthians 14:33 which states, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." Many of us have heard the first part of 1Corinithans 14:33 but without giving thought to what it really means. The word has stated there are two types of wisdom, God's wisdom and the world. The wisdom reflected by God is from the Greek word "Sophia" as said in the NKJ Study Bible. The wisdom from the world in simple terms is demonic.  And this is why the spiritual gift of discernment is necessary. God is wisdom but not all wisdom is of God. As a matter of fact, the word says in Proverbs to seek wise council. The apostle Paul speaks of godly council but if you are not surrounded by men and women of God who conduct themselves as such, what wisdom do you think you will receive? The world teaches you to do things for self-seeking reasons while the wisdom of God ALWAYS teaches and communicates the concern and well-being of others as brought up in the Study Bible. How so? The self-seeking wisdom of the world is focused on doing whatever you can the easy way; whatever requires the least amount of sacrifice. But God teaches you, "no pain no gain or "No cross, no crown." The greatest reward will come from the sacrifice you make to do things in accordance to God's plan for your life, His direction, which means no shortcuts. For example, God gave you a means or money to support not only your family but also the kingdom of God from which you have greatly benefited but you would rather use the help or dollars He gave you to play the lottery because the jackpot is big. You were not being a wise steward of the talents/money He gave you. Another example, "God gave you a command to teach His people to prepare them for greater works of service but you listened to "your boy or your girl" who said let's go to the club and get our drink on which you know means you won't get up Sunday morning and be prepared to teach God's people the Word that they may be ready and mature in Christ for His service and not being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine as said in Ephesians 4. Whose wisdom are you adhering to? The path you take is directly related to the wisdom you receive and the choice you make to act on it. If you are confused about anything, know that God didn't confuse you. God makes Himself very clear and is ALWAYS mindful of your future as said in Jeremiah 29:11 as well as the future of those around you and keeping His reputation in tact. Whose wisdom has dictated your life? Hint, if you have no peace and contentment about anything and have that sick feeling in your stomach that hits every time you think about the choice you made, then chances are you followed the wrong wisdom. Seek God and He will answer as the Word says in Matthew 7. Seek God and His kingdom and those HE shows you to be of His name and not perpetrators attempting to imitate being an angel of light but are really of darkness as is described of Satan.

 

Doing it For Love

Romans 13:8

 

8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

 

The law means the Ten Commandments. The Lord talks continuously in His word about the "motive" or reason for someone saying or doing something is important. It is mentioned in Proverbs repeatedly but also Jesus spoke about what comes out of the mouth is what is in the heart and people claiming to do things in the name of the Lord but being turned away at judgment. And the apostle Paul spoke about love being the greatest no matter what gift you have to give to the world in 1Corinthians 13. Why? Precisely the question. Why? Why are you doing what you are doing? Jesus spoke about the Pharisees loving the place of honor yet they had no regard for the people they were supposed to teach and lead. Do you realize that by Jesus talking about people who gave to the needy and claimed to be prophesying in His name He was saying that doing something just for the sake of doing something or to receive your own recognition is no better than not doing it at all? Why? Because God wants you to be motivated by love. "What's love got to do with it?" EVERYTHING!! The Word says in 1John 4:8-9 that God is love and anyone who does not love does not know God. And His demonstration of love was by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus demonstrated His love by sacrificing His blood and life on the cross for you and I. So your motivation is important. If you are not motivated by love first and foremost, then it means nothing. If you are not giving, teaching, leading or doing anything else with love for others as your motivation, then why do it? 

 

 "Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do but how much love we put in that action" ~ Mother Theresa 

 

What is your motivation? Are you doing it for the love of God? For the love you have for others? If not, then it's as empty as not doing it all.

 

P.S. My sincerest condolences to the Mandela family and to all in South Africa in the passing of a great icon. Dr. Nelson Mandela demonstrated his love at the price of giving up 27 years of his life. A clear demonstration of love. He demonstrated like the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and many others, that the suppression of a group of people because of the color of their skin does not have to be tolerated. He also showed the modern world that a Black man could be president of a country and lead it. Thank you God for the 95 years you gave to Dr. Nelson Mandela.

Discernment at Work

Nehemiah 6:12

 

12Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

 

God moved on Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to rebuild the city. While God was moving on the heart of Nehemiah to take the lead in rebuilding the holy city, God was also moving on the heart of King Artaxerxes to financially plant a seed and provide whatever was needed for the rebuilding. Now Nehemiah had been serving King Artaxerxes and was faithful in doing so. Tobiah and Sanballat were upset when they learned that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt. And from that point on, they decided to plot to stop the building. Tobiah and Sanballat came at Nehemiah from every angle they knew how. They had already devised slander in writing. However, when that did not work, Tobiah and Sanballat sent someone from the house of Shemaiah who they paid as a secret informer to "prophecy" or prophe-lie as is often said in the kingdom of God when someone gives a false prophecy and are not sent by God himself. Prophets are to be the mouthpieces of God. They are to speak what God is saying, to give encouragement, God's direction and rebuke when necessary. So if God didn't send them, whose mouthpiece are they? Just something to think about. Now why would someone go to great lengths to do such a thing? These people were actually enemies of the Jews as a whole who had tried many times to destroy the Jews. Rebuilding the wall and the city was representation of the strengthening of the Jews and their reuniting after their captivity which the enemies did not want. Nehemiah did not allow himself to be distracted, paid off or scared into aborting the plans God gave him. The prophe-lie given to Nehemiah was that people were coming to kill him if he didn't stop rebuilding.

 

So what does this mean to you? Hmmm... Did you know the enemy of your soul uses these same tactics? Did you know there are people that the enemy uses just like Tobiah and Sanballat used someone from the house of Shemaiah to be a secret informer?  Remember the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. So if you are moving in the direction God has for you and the enemy is upset, he will send threats and even scare tactics. He may even send someone to prophe-lie to get you so wound up that you stop moving with God's plans. Like Nehemiah, you have to "perceive" or use the spiritual gift of discernment to understand the spirit of the person and more importantly, the motive behind what is being said to you. For that is what the gift of discernment does, it divides between good and evil. It divides truth from lie and shows the motive behind whatever words are said and what spirit they are said in and the heart of the person saying them. God sometimes allows you to see the plans of the wicked and gives you strategies to combat. 1Corinithians 2:13-16 and 1Corinthians 12 which gives insight to how God uses the spiritual gift of discernment. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines discern as 1) to detect with the eyes: distinguish 2) discriminate 3) to come to know or recognize mentally. So in essence God teaches you to use your spiritual eyes to see what the natural man cannot see. If you need help to see so as not to get tripped up by the enemy, ask God to show you and He will for the sake of His plans.  Sanballat kept inviting Nehemiah to sit down and discuss as a means to get the full plan but also to distract Nehemiah away from the time he was to spend doing what God told him. You cannot entertain everyone when God tells you to do something. You cannot give away the plans God has given you. You cannot give your attention to people who do not mean you well. If God shows you that someone is off and has intention to hinder the plans of God, BELIEVE HIM! God's Word is always true and He is a man that cannot tell a lie in a world where so many do.
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