"Fall" Clothes II

God is sovereign, but humanity and the earth as we know it is not the way God intended it to be. God is working His divine nature back into us. Paul tells the folks in Colossae to change their spiritual "clothes"

Taking off our "fall" clothes of sexual sins...

Colossians 3:5-10

Sexuality is a gift from God to put on @ the right time.

God is not ashamed of our sexuality
Proverbs 5:18-19
Song of Songs 5:10-16; 7:7-9

Anything of high value must be protected.

Our sexuality is of high value. The enemy of our souls is trying to get us to act and do things which do not protect the special gift God has given us. He is constantly trying to get us to put on other clothes that are not consistent with our calling to be like Christ. What ruins the gift of sexuality?

1. sexual immorality (Heb 13; Gen 39)
   when we give ourselves sexually, it takes a piece of us and gives it away to someone else. that is a good thing, in only one place: marriage


2. impurity -- the list is getting more broad! (Prov 6:27; Judges 16)


3. lust -- the most powerful sex organ you have is your brain (Matt 5:27-30)
   God measures us by our heart's internal alignment with Jesus, not external performance. The issue is the heart. It's not the first look, it is the second or third. So bounce your eyes. Pornography dehumanizes all involved and reduces the experience of sex to something distant and disconnected -- the opposite of the intimacy and oneness God designed. Guys: build up your wife's need for security by strengthening your relationship with Jesus. She will feel secure and know you are trustworthy.
   


4. evil desires (2 Sam 11:1-4)
   God redeemed things, and Solomon was born. No matter what you've done, a child is never a curse. But sin followed as well, and Solomon sinned in the same ways David did.


5. greed, which is idolatry -- sex sells
   Pornography is not about sex. It is about money.

So how do we do this? OK, ready...

DON'T THINK ABOUT PINK ELEPHANTS!It's hard isn't it? Even if you close your eyes, what do you see? The elephant is still right there.

The answer is to fill your heart and mind with something else. The answer is not just removal of what is bad -- but it is about filling ourselves with God's stuff (Phil 4:8-9). It has been said "You become what you look at"