**You can find the referenced sermon at http://www.imagodeicommunity.com/sunday/sermon-archive/ .**
I listened to a sermon earlier this week, and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you. The title is “Love, Sex, and God: Week 1.”
Throughout the sermon, Rick is exploring the foundational issues related to love, sex, and God. All three could take a lifetime to explore, so forgive me if I/Rick gloss over some things.
The first point is that we are human beings. Mind-boggling huh? But think about it, as human beings we are 100% spiritual and 100% sexual. By downplaying this fact, we run the risk of destroying ourselves, destroying part of what it means to be human. Ignoring our sexuality=ignoring our humanity. Ignoring our spirituality=ignoring our humanity.
Once we accept that we are 100% sexual (and 100% physical, emotional, and spiritual) beings, then we must decide what avenue we want to pursue with our sexuality and spirituality. Do we want to be strictly pleasure seekers? Or do we want to be covenant makers and covenant keepers? In other words, are we looking for something shallow or something deep?
If we are only looking for the shallow, we will be consumed with sex in a physical sense. We will be focused on the frequency of sex, the techniques of sex, the intensity of sex. We will be consumed with how often we “get some,” how good we are in bed, how hot and wild the sex becomes.
But if we’re focused on the deeper side of sex–the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of sex, then we will have a much grander experience, a much fuller existence. With a focus on covenant making, we will enter a relationship, a marriage more particularly, with the intent of living life together, not having one night stand after one night stand. Because when we’re really honest with ourselves, our emotions can’t handle the stress of wondering whether the person we have sex with that night will be there in the morning when we wake up. It’s just too much to handle. Living this lifestyle, we will tend to one of two extremes: we will become overly insecure basketcases, or we will become calloused animals incapable of feeling.
Which leads us to covenant keeping. Over time, we will learn how to satisfy our mate’s deepest longings sexually. We will look for ways to improve our techniqu, but it won’t be our focus. We will be focused on how to please one another, not just ourselves. We will want to learn what it takes to make our hearts sing. And we’ll learn to appreciate each other for more than just our physical appeal. We’ll experience a bond, a connection, a security and comfort with one another that, honestly, is the closest thing we can feel to heaven on earth.
Like Rick says, pleasure seeking is like driving a Porsche, but never learning to shift into second gear. It will only take a short time before we have to go to the mechanic. Covenant making and covenant keeping is like cruising through the country roads, shifting in and out of the turns, gaining the full driving experience.
What do you think? Is he right? Is this true?
Omer Redden 