Honor God with your body - a message for single young people

1 Corinthians 6:19  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
More and more young people are indulging in pre-marital sex today.  The "sexual revolution" that began during the hippie years has not stopped.  In fact, as the population increased, so did the frequency of it among young people.
Sad to say, the same thing is happening among Christian young people.  One of the most common "prayer requests" that young people bring to the Lord is to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend.  At the least it is a desire that is given to the Lord, that they may meet someone whom they can love.
And the moment God does answer their prayer they will claim that their boyfriend or girlfriend is a gift of God.  But then things get out of control.  They cannot control their fleshly desires.  What begun with holding hands now becomes fondling, which eventually leads to having sex.
Because of their love, their uncontrolled emotion, one partner gives in to the desires of the other, and they surrender their bodies to pleasure.
What happened?

I think it is important for young people to understand that the falling into sexual sin did not happen last minute.  And, also, the solution to sexual sin does not happen at the last minute.  It must happen way before - in the heart.  The foundation of the heart of a Christian must be so strong, that whatever temptation that comes our way we will be able to say "no" to it.  Especially to sexual sin.

The understanding and belief in the passage above, quoted again below, serves as one of those important foundations in the heart of a Christian young man or young woman.
19  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
The moment we are born again we are given a gift.  Not a spiritual gift, but a gift - the Holy Spirit Himself.  He indwells us, lives in us.  And because of this we become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that this refers only to the experiences that a Christian has with the Spirit - of being lead by Him, of knowing His presence, His power in our life.  These are essential workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but this is not the only reason why He indwells us.

Notice when Paul teaches that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, the first thing he writes is "YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN".  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us is about ownership.  He owns us now.  We are not our own anymore!  Our flesh is not ours to please anymore.  Our minds are not ours to fill with physical or sexual pleasure anymore.  Everything that our bodies do are to be actions that are in submission to the One who owns us now.
We were bought at a price.  That price was Jesus Christ's death on the cross.  He paid the price so that we would not be slaves anymore to sin, but now slaves to righteousness.  Some Christians think that being "set free" means that we do what we want, what our bodies ask for.  No.  We are set free from the hold of sin so that now we can be free to obey Christ!
So, since we are now a temple of the Holy Spirit we are not our own, we have been bought at a price.  Therefore, we are to HONOR GOD WITH OUR BODY.

This is the foundation that every young person should bring in their hearts when they are blessed by God with a boyfriend or girlfriend, who should be looked at as a future husband or wife.  For some reason many Christians think that the moment they have a boyfriend or girlfriend they are free to use their bodies to express their "love" or their emotion.  This is a deception that the world has taught us.  We see it in television shows and movies - that to show we love someone we have to hug, kiss, cuddle, hold each other in every part of the body!  That's what the world does.  And a Christian should not be following this automatically.

Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  We should honor God with our bodies.  What we should be asking, praying about, is whether or not we should be holding, touching, kissing or whatever it is that our flesh is asking us to do.  If we are a temple of the Holy Spirit we will only do what we believe honors the God who live in us!
The bodies of our boyfriend or girlfriend are also a temple of the Holy Spirit.  So take care how you treat it.  Are you supposed to be touching, holding, fondling and caressing a body that belongs to the Holy Spirit, that has been bought with the blood of the Lamb, that should be honored by you?

The reason why many young Christians have fallen into sexual sin is they have not prepared their hearts with this foundation in their hearts.  We are a temple of the Holy Spirit, He lives in us, He owns us, bought us and should be honored at all times!
It is so surprising how Christian partners will go from holding hands to holding other delicate and private parts of the bodies, how we hug and caress as if the body we are touching is ours to freely do that to.  No!  Our body, the body of our partner, is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Honor it young people!
Some of you know this truth already, but it is overcome by our emotion!  We "express" our love through our touch.  Again, this is a deception of the world.  We do not have to express our emotion through touching and hugging, which eventually may lead to our being tempted to have sex.  We express our love through the working of God in our hearts.

The only time that a body becomes ours to freely caress and love is when we are married.  That's the ONLY time.  This is why a Christian waits for marriage, to enjoy the freedom to enjoy the body of our spouse (1 Corinthians 7:2-5).  And even as our spouse we are to treat their bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Before that, single young people, be sure to use your body only for God's honor.  Be sure to treat the body of your boyfriend/girlfriend as a temple of the Holy Spirit, honoring Him, honoring his/her body as someone who has been bought.

Flowers or Fruit?

John 15:16  "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

When flowers of a fruit tree come out it's a sign that the tree is about to bear fruit.  The flowers look nice, they bring color and decoration to a tree, and at times even smell good.  But that is not why the tree exists.  It's just a sign that it's about to bear fruit.  Eventually the flowers disappear, but when the fruit come out that's when the tree is at it's best!  This is what everyone is waiting for...not the flowers, but the fruit.  So as much as we may enjoy the sight of the flowers, it is the fruit that we must really be waiting for.

Jesus made it clear to His disciples - you did not choose Me but I chose you.  How many Christians today really understand this truth?  We did not choose to be Christians, He was the One who chose us to be His disciples.  And He chose us for a purpose - to bear fruit, the kind of fruit that lasts, not the fruit that this world has to offer.
Have you noticed what the world's fruits are, what it likes to display?  Financial and material prosperity, nice clothes, nice shoes, the latest gadgets, titles and positions in life, big houses, fancy cars, jewelry, etc.  The more you have, the more "fruitful" you are.
What is regarded as fruit for so many should be seen as "flowers" for Christians.  Sadly, many Christians today are after the flowers rather than the fruit.

How we come in prayer everyday asking the Lord to "bless" us, to give us a better life, allow us to have things, to buy things, to build things...and forget that the Lord chose us to bear fruit, the fruit that will last.  He did not choose us to have flowers.

How many of us are more concerned about bearing fruit, who prioritize our spiritual fruit rather than material prosperity and gain in this life?  I believe that many have fallen prey to the deception of the world that the fruit we must bear is material and financial.
How many Christians do you know who have compromised their faith and righteousness for profit in their business, for financial gain, for promotion in their office.  How many Christians give up their fellowship with the Lord through prayer, meditating on God's word, attending Sunday services, fellowship with other Christians, serving the Lord in ministry - all for the sake of gaining fame and fortune, having a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or wife, a family.  They claim a "personal relationship" with God, and yet openly neglect the very things that God desires from His disciples - the fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
Phillipians 1:11  having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

How many of us would prioritize bearing these fruit in our lives, rather than enjoy the pleasures and "fruit" of this world?
Without realizing it we contradict the words of our Lord Himself who warned us:
Mat 16:26  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Are we using God to gain the whole world, and in the process losing our soul?
Let's stop living for the flowers.  We were chosen to bear fruit.  When we face Him in eternity our God is not going to check how much we earned, how big our house is, how many cars we have, how we prepared our children's future education...He's going to check our fruit, the fruit that lasts till eternity.

For the Sake of Your Name

Psalm 31:3  Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
We always ask the Lord to lead and guide us.  But how many of us ask Him to lead and guide us "for the sake of your name"?
Most of our asking the Lord to lead and guide us is for the sake of our good, for what we believe is right for us, to satisfy the desires of our heart.  How many of us pray for the sake of His name, for the glory of His name in our life?
We forget that, as Christians, we are called to live for Him, for His glory, and for His purposes.  God is not here to satisfy our desires.  We are here to satisfy His desires for us.  That's why we call Him "Lord", remember?

Even the famous "Romans 8:28" reminds us about why God works all things together for good in our life:
Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God works for the good, first to those who love Him.  Notice it's not for everyone.
Secondly, He works for the good to those WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.
Are we living for His purposes?  Are we asking God what His purposes are for us?  Is it truly our desire to glorify His name?
This is when God's leading and guidance becomes clear to us.

How many of us will heed the call to be pastors, evangelists, missionaries, if we would just pray for God's leading and guidance for the sake of His name.  How many of us would use our time to share the gospel, teach bible studies, disciple others, instead of spending much of our time making money, looking for life-time partners and preparing for our "future"?  How many of us would stop planning for our retirement by spending our money on travel, vacations, building our dream houses or farms or businesses, and spend our money on ministry, building His church, using the remaining time of our life to serve Him, doing whatever He desires us to do for His church, His kingdom?  If we just pray for the Lord to lead and guide us for the sake of His name, you will be surprised at what He would have us do for Him.