Sexual stewardship is not a common subject that you’ll find in the church, unfortunately. In fact, many believers have never had bold teaching on this important topic. But we need to lay a strong foundation from the Word of God for every area of our lives, including sexuality because there is such an aggressive attack on it in the world today. Keep reading to understand what Honoring God with Your Body: The Power of Sexual Stewardship is about.
Did you know you have the responsibility to determine how you get to present your body to the Lord? God’s Word says this:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Now, you can look at this scripture and interpret its meaning through the lens of law and legality—“Don’t do this and don’t do that.” Unfortunately, if you perceive it as a set of rules and regulations, you’ll wind up thinking God won’t love you, bless you, or forgive you unless you do the right thing. That’s actually a fear response, because you’re trying to get God to love you..
But when you read this through the eyes of God’s love for you, then you’ll approach it with an attitude of, “Lord, I will do this because of how much You love me.”
Notice that it says it’s only “by the mercies of God” that you can present your body a living sacrifice. You see, it’s only by the mercies of God and His grace that you can be a living sacrifice.
Is it Holy and Acceptable?
And when you do that, God calls it holy and acceptable. That’s the only way you have the ability to draw from what Christ has done for you. This is what He has promised, equipped, and enabled you to be—because He lives inside of you! Then you can realize that this is not about you.
There will be opportunities, challenges, and invitations that present themselves in the sexual arena that you can present to God. There will be some things the enemy will try to court you into, but you have the ability to say, “No, I present myself as a living sacrifice.” This is not just when you receive the beautiful gift of salvation. It’s a dynamic that you get to choose to walk in every day, believing you were made for more.
Your body, emotions, and heart may want to go down an ungodly path. They’re just wanting to be compromising, tolerant, and even lukewarm.
But when temptations come, you can call upon Jesus to carry you through any challenge you might face. Knowing your true identity in the Spirit empowers you to resist lust, passions, and worldly desires. You can confidently declare, “No, my body isn’t controlled by hormones, desires, or fantasies. My body is a living sacrifice to who I really am in the spirit.” And that’s where your strength comes from.
God has given you the ability to walk after the Spirit (Rom. 8:1), and when you draw upon His strength, you can accomplish God’s will.
Singles, listen to me. You can walk in your redemption now and save yourself for your future spouse no matter what your past is. If you’ve “ruined” your life in some things in the past, the devil will tell you that because of that, you can just be whatever, do whatever, with whomever. But because God has redeemed you, now you get to hold your sexuality precious to God and save it for its rightful place of glory—in a covenant relationship of marriage.
I want to invite you to be a doer of God’s Word and not just a hearer of it.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Ask God how you can honor Him in your speech, your dress, your interactions, physical touch, and how you act with the opposite gender. The way that you present yourself will either cause people to look at you or look at God in you. You can dress attractively without dressing to attract. Let people see your calling, your anointing, and the love of God shining from your spirit. You can trust God with every area of your life and be a doer of the Word.
Carrie Pickett
Carrie Pickett spent sixteen years as a missionary in Russia, where she established and directed the Charis campus in St. Petersburg. In 2015, she returned to Colorado and now serves as the assistant vice president of Charis Bible College. She also serves as director of Charis Woodland Park and the Global Training School, dedicated to spreading God’s grace worldwide and raising powerful ministers with a Great Commission vision.
