I Have A Friend Who Plays With Fire (Sexual Temptation) Series

I Have A Friend Who...

Plays With Fire

Dr. Marty Baker

Stevens Creek Community Church

Augusta, Georgia

www.stevenscreek.net

November 18, 2001

When I was a child, I used to love to build tents out of bed linens. Some were elaborate while others were very simple. They were typically made out of sheets, blankets, quilts or comforters. I am sure that many of you have done the same thing.

One October morning in 1965, I built a small tent over my bed. It was dark inside so I placed a lamp underneath covers. The lamp provided an array of colors as its light pierced through the bed linens. In the middle of this project, I became distracted with the sound of the Beverly Hillbillys show coming from the television in the living room. I ran into the room to watch Jed, Granny, Jethro, Ellie Mae, Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway and Jane.

A few minutes into the show my mother walked through the living saying, "I smell smoke." I ignored her and continued watching TV In the meantime, she was checking all the appliances and scoping out the house. Everything was fine until she opened my bedroom door. When she did there were flames going from the floor to the ceiling. She ran into the living room saying, "Get out, the house in on fire." I replied, "No, its not, I’m watching TV."

She picked me up and ran outside. Within minutes, our yard was filled with firemen and a group of onlookers. In a small town, a siren is an invitation for the community to gather. People came from all over town to watch our house burn.

When it was all said and done, my bedroom was destroyed. On the positive side it now had a skylight. The Fire Chief declared that it must have been faulty electrical wiring. Umm ...an electrical fire. Well, he was close, it was electrical, but it was not the wire’s fault. You know, they did not ask me. Okay, I feel better. I’ve confessed a thirty-six year old secret. I caught our house on fire. Whew!

The fire did a lot of damage to our house. Not only did it destroy the structure and furnishings, but it left a stench in the air. It took weeks to rebuild my bedroom and get the house back to it’s original condition.

Fire is an multifaceted phenomenon. On one hand, it can hurt you and destroy your stuff; but on the other hand, it can provide energy that warms and purifies.

In some ways, human sexuality is like a fire. It provides an emotional energy that warms and encourages, but left undisciplined it can wound and destroy people God loves.

Over the last several weeks, we have been in a series of messages entitled, "I Have a Friend Who ...." This series has addressed a number of topics like: I Have a Friend Who Struggles with Anger; Doesn’t Understand Christianity; Needs Financial Help and so forth. Today, I am going to talk about human sexuality.

Needless to say, most of our friends do not struggle with their sexuality, it appears that they indulge in it. If you listen to their talk, you been to wonder if you are normal. They brag about their conquests like Georgia fans brag about their victories. It makes you feel like a Clemson fan, everyone is going to a bowl game except you. I sometimes go home and complain to my wife and she assures me that it’s all talk. Well, if it is, they have a vivid imagination.

I realize that a message of human sexuality will make some people nervous.

Its like the Readers Digest Story of a pastor who had plans to preach a message on sex. He was a little nervous about the subject so he did not tell his wife what he was speaking on. On Sunday morning, his wife was not feeling well, so she stayed home from church. As he was leaving the house, she said, "By the way what are you speaking on today?" The pastor quickly replied, "Sailing." She thought that was strange, but did not say anything.

The next day she was doing the weekly grocery shopping at Kroger when a new member saw her and said that they missed seeing her at church yesterday. The conversation continued as the lady said, "Tell you husband that his message really helped her out." The pastor’s wife laughed as she said, "He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s only done it twice. The first time he got sick; the second time he lost his hat."

As I said, a talk focused on human sexuality tends to make some people nervous. For the most part, your friends are not embarrassed about the subject especially the guys. They talk about it everyday. It’s on their mind constantly. The question is: "What does God think about it?" Well, the Bible is very clear that God is in favor of sex. Spend a little time in the Old Testament book Song of Solomon and you will get a glimpse of God’s thoughts on the subject.