YokeBreaker Sessions – Exploring Sexuality as God created it

Our sexuality is our complete expression of maleness or femaleness. Our sex is determined by God, but how we express our sexuality is a decision that we make.

Unfortunately, the world provides us with way too many opportunities, to get our sexuality assaulted. Remember, sexuality is the way we express ourselves, so it is we who are accountable, when there’s an assault on it.

Wounded Sexuality

You’ve gotten into what seemed like an innocent friendship but then started becoming emotionally dependent on the person. Emotional Dependency is a bait. When you become emotionally dependent on a member of the opposite sex, you become vulnerable to manipulation and injury.

You speak to a person of the opposite gender and you find him or her extremely understanding. Consequently, you feel very comfortable sharing your problems with him. Slowly, your conversations start becoming very personal and you start complaining about your family and your friends to him.

He doesn’t criticize you, he tells you that you are the best, he tells you that you don’t have to change for anybody. He asks you to go for what you want, and not bother about the others. You are encouraged, and the next time you are in pain, the first person you think of is him. You want to run to him and share your sorrow with him. If you can’t speak with him, you feel miserable, and you are desperate. Your communication with your family, friends and others gets totally cut down and the only person you want to express yourself to, is him.

This is emotional dependency. As a matter of fact, emotional dependency is exciting in the beginning. It feels all very magical. You begin to feel that the guy or girl is a godsend. But what you don’t realize is that, in the process of getting emotionally dependent, your sexuality gets wounded. You allow your emotions to be controlled by the person of the opposite sex. You talk in secret, and then lie in public. When you are chatting long hours, or sometimes late hours, your conversation slowly drifts towards talking unnecessary, offensive stuff.

Slowly, you begin to change yourself for the person concerned, many girls become anorexic, to impress their boyfriends with their size zero figures. And many guys, devour their parents’ pockets to gift their girls with things, they believe could sweep them off their feet.

Its not always necessary that you need to be emotionally dependent on a single person to get your sexuality wounded. Using perverse language, the constant urge to keep talking to people of the opposite sex, are all symptoms of wounded sexuality.

In addition, to this, visiting porn websites, reading offensive literature, watching vulgar cinema (Do we have good cinema today ?), and all of this are deadly weapons that assault our sexuality.

Prolonged emotional dependency on a person, would lead you to do anything for him. You can’t tolerate, if he ignores your call, or if he scolds you for something. I’ve heard a story of a girl who sent 500, “I am sorry” messages to her boyfriend, because she missed taking his call. You begin to believe that he’s the only reason you’re alive. You can’t think of a life apart from him. You dress the way he wants, you jeopardize other relationships, and you change your entire self for his sake.

Diseased Sexuality

If you don’t take care to treat your sexuality while its being wounded, it goes to the next stage of getting diseased. This is the stage of addiction. You are addicted to porn, perverse language, flirting, or to the one guy or girl of your dreams.

The addiction that you have for the boy or the girl can be so damaging that you can even lose yourself in the process. Whether you are a guy or a girl; when you allow yourself to get physically defiled, it gets your spirit, soul and body diseased.

It is not only a physical assault that can get your sexuality diseased. Getting intensely attached to a person, that you just can’t stay away, even if it means risking the love of your parents, your hard earned career, your education or sometimes your ambition; even this is a symptom that your sexuality is diseased.

Dead Sexuality

Sadly, in this stage, the person has no control over his or her desires. The state when you have no control over your expressions, your insane drive to fulfill your sensualities. This is dead sexuality. And this is the most deadly assault on your sexuality.

Amidst all this noise, the Master has a voice. A sexuality that belongs to God.The sexuality created by God.

The Holy Sexuality.

God created us holy and pure, and he expects us to preserve our sexuality in the same way. Remember, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, ” then the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked.” When our sexuality is disturbed, we will allow ourselves to compromise with sin. Opportunities that drive our impulse, will begin to chase us.

Most importantly, our sexuality has to be kept holy so that we can bring forth a Godly offspring after holy matrimony.

God gives us many gifts, that He intends us to open after Holy Matrimony.

They are

1) Covenant Love

2) Intimacy

3) Sex

4) Children

5) Celebration

The gifts have to be opened and experienced in the exact same order. Many married lives, don’t have the gift of celebration, just because they opened the other gifts before their holy matrimony.

What I’ve written above, is what I’ve been taught.

But, if I have to share with you what I have experienced, all of it is nothing but the Grace of God. For, I do not have a Master who is unable to sympathize with my weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just like me, but was without sin.{Hebrews 4:15}

When I look back, and wonder how I’ve been able to be safe, It was not my “righteous” decisions rather it was the faithful Master who kept me safe by His Grace.

There’s a war on our sexuality. The devil wants to defile it and believe me, we cannot handle it by ourselves, we need the strong arms of Jesus. I have been saved of so much of unnecessary tears and emotional trauma, not because of my self control, but because of the love of God. It was a simple, childish prayer I said, 9 years ago, “God, I have wasted 13 years of life already, please accept me into your fold.”

Ever since, the Master Shepherd has been passionately taking care of me, and preserving my sexuality. I can firmly testify. there is no miracle more powerful than salvation. And no refuge greater than an absolute surrender to the Master.

YokeBreaker Sessions – Honoring Parents

I smiled sarcastically, when I read this session’s topic. C’mon! this one can’t be for me.

My strategy with parents has been very simple, “Shut up and nod your head”. Then take your complaints to God. Argue with Him, fight with Him, and throw your tantrums before Him. He’ll listen; He’ll wait till the fumes subside, and then He’ll show me where I am wrong. Sometimes, when I have messed up real bad, He’ll take me in His arms, and help me face the music.

I love my folks, and I’ve poorly described the effect that they have on my life, in the posts, “My Maker as my Mother” and “Celebrating my DaDs”. But frankly speaking, I have my share of complaints and frustrations too.

In this YokeBreaker session, my Master told me something about myself that I never knew.

In the parable of the prodigal son, I have always identified myself with the prodigal son, because I have my own personal story of eating the pig pods, and then running back to the Master’s arms.

But this time I saw myself in a different light. I wasn’t the rebellious prodigal son, I wasn’t the son who ran away breaking my father’s heart, I wasn’t the spendthrift who wasted all my father’s money on some wild fascinations.

I was the good, obedient son who remained with my father, working for him in his fields, and following all his orders.

It wasn’t my wayward brother’s return that hurt me. I was happy too, to see him back alive. But that’s when I realized that I wasn’t being recognized. Yeah! that’s the point.

No matter; how good I am, the need and the expectation to be recognized and appreciated keeps growing within. And at one point it shows its face. The guy in the parable felt his shot, when his father arranged a feast for his younger brother.

For me, it could be anything else. But it all drills down to this..

Do they recognize my efforts?

Do they realize, that it’s not just them, but I have made sacrifices too?

To this, I heard the Master’s Voice, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours.”

I felt foolish and dumb. When God had an eternal inheritance in store, I was looking for a goat.

Maybe, you’re looking at yourself and your eyes are all blinded from seeing the good things your parents have invested in your lives. And all that you can see is that you have become hybrid robots, aping them, obeying them and losing yourself. Believe me, your parents are not in control of your life, neither has God given the controls to them. God is in total control.You are not living to fulfill their desires, you are fulfilling God’s dreams.

A deep transformation took place in the heart of the prodigal son, so his focus changed and he sought to honor his father. This transformation, was something that the good son missed.

Honoring parents’ is not an action, it is a lifestyle. Out of the ordinary, we can’t get into this lifestyle. We need God to help us honor our parents in all seasons.

It is painful when parents are pushy, unrealistic and offend our emotions with their thoughtless words. It is hard to honor parents, when we know that they’re messing up big time. When your temper and tongue reaches critical threshold levels…

Whisper this prayer, “God, I wish I could give them a piece of my mind, but You do that for me….I’ll just go ahead and do what they want…”

Every time you pray this prayer, God has this to say to you, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours.”

YokeBreaker Sessions – The power of Revelation

• But why is the Word of God important?

The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. 1 Samuel 3:21

That’s what God’s Word does to our lives. It reveals God Himself.

We read God’s Word for encouragement, direction, comfort and people like me, to fill blog entries It’s time we realize that the primary reason God has given us His Word, is so that He may reveal Himself to us. Every other purpose is secondary.

• Have we realized this?

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:1

When we received Christ Jesus as the Lord of our life, we were precious infants in the hands of God. With a musical babble, long spans of peaceful sleep, hands in our mouth, drooling all the time, throwing little tantrums, kicking the air with our chubby legs and clinging really tight to the Father’s arms. God gave us the right to become His children. He was a beaming with a large smile. He looked with pride and said, “That’s my child”!

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. Genesis 21:8

Isaac was a long awaited son for Abraham; however, he did not feast on his son’s birthday; instead, on the day his son was weaned from milk. Abraham chose to celebrate his son’s growth rather than his son’s birth.

God does enjoy our babyish exertions. But He celebrates when He see His children grow up. All along; He does not want to see an infant who can’t understand what He speaks rather he desires to see a grown up victorious young son or daughter to whom He can say, “Come, inherit my riches”.

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:7

The revelation of God in our lives retains us in holiness. For spiritual growth, being holy is indispensable. Without holiness, no one can see God.

• How does the revelation of God keep us Holy?

It helps us to overcome.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. I John 2:14

It gives us clarity so that we won’t be deceived.

until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14

It gives us the Grace of God.

God’s grace is very different from His mercy.

Imagine, a motorist speeding at 100 km/hr on a city road in Chennai. He meets with a tragic accident, and is bleeding to death. An ambulance passes there by chance, and seeing the guy battling for his life, rescues him. He is treated and he gets his life back, but of course, with his share of bruises, fractures, and paralyzing pain.

This kind of rescue is mercy.

But the revelation of God in our life rescues us through Grace.

Imagine if the motorist had his path diverted and never met with an accident, he would now have his life, without bruises and pain. In Grace, there are no injuries; Grace redirects our roads to the right destination.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18

The revelation of God will ensure His intrusion for the sake of our prosperity, protection and peace.

Abram fought against the kings who invaded Sodom and Gomorrah and captured his nephew Lot. He pursued them along with 318 of his trained men and recovered all the goods and rescued Lot as well. After Abram returned, the king of Sodom went out to meet him.

But before this could happen, Melchizedek, the king of Salem and the priest of God Most high intruded. He met Abram, brought out bread and wine, and blessed him.

This intrusion, gave Abram a revelation.

So, when the king of Sodom came out to meet Abram and offered him riches; Abram said, “I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal”.

The intrusion of the High Priest can prevent us from touching the things of Sodom.

Next time, I hold my Bible in my hands, I am going to set aside, all my childish wants and needs and ask God to reveal Himself through the words inspired by the Spirit.

It is exciting to know that God is eager to enlighten His children about Himself.

What a loving Father we have!! A Father whose greatness cannot be fathomed, but yet longs to manifest Himself to His children.

FAQs

How much of the Bible should I read everyday ?

We can’t put a rule there, because physical appetites vary and so does spiritual appetite. Your reading of God’s Word is proportional to the hunger you have. The question here is not how much of the Bible can I read, but you need to work on growing your appetite. Babies don’t eat much, but young warriors need much food for a constant supply of energy. It is healthy to have a good appetite. And make sure that you don’t get yourself spiritually anorexic.

Sometimes, when I read a Scripture something like an inspiration rises within me and I feel led towards a particular direction. How do I know if it is from God and not my own ?

Ask God to confirm it. When God wants to take you in a particular direction, He will confirm it in many ways that you can recognize immediately. But you need to make sure that you are sensitive to His voice. Robert Murray, the Scottish preacher of deep piety and prayer used to say, “When you are reading a book in a dark room, and come to a difficult part, you take it to a window to get more light. So take your Bibles to Christ.”

Excerpts of other sessions coming soon!!!