My friends,
The Word of our Lord speaks plainly and often to the doctrine of having “ears to hear.” This means in Mideast parlance to obey the truth of the command from our Creator.
Mark 4:23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Is there a consequence to dismissing this admonition? Yes…
Luke 14:34-35 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The ear is a part of our five senses given by God. It is good and holy in its design and commanded use. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139.4).
The other senses are sight, taste, smell, and touch. According to Wikipedia, each sense has an organ dedicated to it. Praise God!
The nervous system has a specific sensory nervous system, and a sense organ, or sensor, dedicated to each sense. Humans have a multitude of sensors. Sight (vision), hearing (audition), taste (gustation), smell (olfaction), and touch (somatosensation) are the five traditionally recognized senses.
If you’re like me, you so greatly appreciate your senses to serve our Almighty Majesty’s kingdom…and in so doing, enjoy this life God has bestowed on us!
Yes? Yes…
OK, are you ready for a shocker then?
You are a “sensual” person. Hands down. Being sensual actually means to be pleased by one’s senses. That’s it in a nutshell.
Notice it is not “all” about sex. No sir. Sexual celebration in a heterosexual marriage from our God given sexuality is a gift like all other life giving gifts such as oxygen, atmospheric pressure, gravity, etc.
Now, is all anger sinful and evil? No indeed. Our brother the apostle Paul declares it is the normal Christian life as he quotes Psalm 4.4 in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger…
There is holy anger like God, and sinful anger in the flesh. Clean food is good and holy, but a glutton is heinous and inherits the lake of fire (Duet. 21.20-21).
We see clearly now then that it’s how we use the gift that counts for or against us and His kingdom. And the population, maturation, and completion of the kingdom is our Lord’s eternal purpose.
But, you might protest, what about all those New Covenant passages that condemn sensuality?
Mark 7:22 …deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Romans 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
2 Corinthians 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.
Galatians 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality…
Ephesians 4:19 …and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
1 Peter 4:3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
2 Peter 2:2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned…
2 Peter 2:7 …and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men…
2 Peter 2:18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error…
The key here is the second to last passage above: the sensual conduct. Not sensuality, the pleasure of the five senses, per se. But the conduct, the way we use our sensual God given nature.
I love my senses and how they help me understand, relate, enjoy, and serve Jesus Christ. Again, I’m sensual, and am immensely pleased with that fact, that gift of God. Holy sensuality is our calling, dear saints. Remember that definition from above?
Being sensual actually means to be pleased by one’s senses.
Therefore, monogamous sexual celebration in heterosexual marriage is holy and right. It’s the very act that God uses to try and describe His desires relationship with us. To “know” Him.
God is a real Person. He certainly has “senses” as we try to relate to Him, and He to us. He certainly can hear and see and touch!
God is a sensual Person. Holy sensuality is what He then imparts to all people. But as His ambassadors to the lost and dying world He commands redeemed people like us to use it in only a holy way. Again, praise God!
Now here we see the life of all people and especially the Christian. We’re to be on the right side of walking worthy in the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the world. This includes walking always in holy sensuality, not in sinful sensuality.
God loves holy sex. He created it. He’s in our spirit as we sexually celebrate with our wives and husbands. He actually speaks to the lovers here in the Song of Songs in the fifth chapter. Amen! It stands to reason if He is persecuted through our painful persecution, doesn’t He also experience in some mysterious way our sexual pleasure?
Song of Songs 5:1b “…Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
Acts 9:4-5 …and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…”
Always remember that our Savior and Lord is the author and finisher of our faith…and our sensuality, which includes our sex life.
Our sexuality teaches us about our Lord. We are all made for beauty, to reflect this beauty, and to enjoy all beauty, each in his and her own way. In other words, to admire and fully experience the beauty of our dear Lord’s creation.
Every person is a beauty to their Creator. We must always bear in mind what the prophet Samuel thought some older brother in David’s family would be anointed the future king of Israel instead of David. Even the great servant Samuel initially failed to see the wisdom of God in this. A lesson for us all.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 When they entered, he (Samuel) looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Our great and gracious merciful Lord God is the author of pleasure. In everything we do as believers, we can bring Him pleasure. What a magnanimous gesture on His part toward us. We see this clearly in one of my favorite passages in the entire Word of God, and one of the three where we derived our ministry name, Walk Worthy!
Colossians 1:9-12 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Let us always embrace and live out completely our holy sensuality. Isn’t that exactly what God commands us to do? Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength by bringing Him pleasure in all respects through His “senses?”
Let us get to it then!
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See sensuality in Christian Marriage here.
See sexuality, beauty, & why they matter here.
See our exciting and steamy Song of Songs paraphrase here.
See our Page on sex here.
See Michael Pearl’s outstanding book on Holy Sex here.
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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,
Marc
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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!
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You may view our Archives here: RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org
