Video Transcript: Ministry Skills for Sexual Intimacy Related Topics - The Creation Design

Henry - So we're back, it's time to now get into the class content that we're responsible for.  And we're gonna first of all talk about the way it was meant to be created by God. Yes.  

Pam - Marriage, sexual intimacy and pleasure, physical, physical, spiritual and emotional.  Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden,  

Henry - Eden means The garden of pleasures. So, God wants us to have a full and  pleasurable  

Pam - life, right? Sexual intimacy is hardwired in every human.  

Henry - I like the words of Moses, helps us understand our intimacy DNA,  

Pam - right. So immediately in Genesis two, verse 24, after talking about the creation of Adam and Eve, for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and  they will become one flesh.  

Henry - I think that's so interesting about like, so Moses writes the book of Genesis, and he's  reflecting upon the creation of Adam and Eve, and then later on, puts in there, for this reason,  a man shall leave his father and mother to imply. Marriage and sexual intimacy is a pre fall,  created in designed aspect of an image bearer of God. So we can talk about that. Why should we be into this class for ministry? Well, because it's so key to our pre fall image bearing  creation. So we'll get into a little philosophy, Who is a human, a human is a sexual person,  right? God created that way, because then Moses and in the word puts it, it's a marriage,  intimacy in marriage brand of sexuality. Very interesting.  

Pam - Yes. Right. Pleasure connected to reproduction in Genesis 1:28, God bless them and  said to them Be fruitful and increase in number.  

Henry - I find it fascinating to that. Sexuality and reproduction. The pleasure of that is a  connected thing. It is a win win. You are emotionally, physically and spiritually, one out of that  intense pleasurable experience comes by God's design.  

Pam - Children. Yes. In most cases, yes. Yeah.  

Henry - Everybody has to have children. And we're, we know that we're that sin has come into the world and we're gonna talk about that later. But in its design, it  

Pam - was for Yes, Be fruitful, multiply. Yes, increase.  

Henry - Right. And that can frustrate us because, you know, we don't live up to that. What's  wrong with us? Remember, this is before sin has come into the world. But at least it's the  North Star, right? Like, when God created image bearers, he wanted them to have sexual  intimacy and oneness. And out of that children. Now, in ministry, we bring this up a little more  to because our world is separating reproduction from sexual intimacy in a quick way. And I  mean, even debates such as pro life debates, Roe v. Wade, that infamous decision that  legalized abortion was a decision that said that sexual privacy is a woman's business. It's not  anything to do with the impact that it has on reproduction. So it becomes a philosophical thing where we're Oh, no, a woman's body belongs to her alone and her sexual pleasure is her 

business, apart from the consequences of having a child, so pro choice as she can choose to  terminate that pregnancy not connected to the consequences of her sexual lifestyle. Right.  So, I mean, that is, you know, again, you see, that is not how  

Pam - God intended it.  

Henry - And every child that is born out of that experience of sexual intimacy is a image  bearer of God we believe. So but again, here's an area where there's lots of ministry  opportunity, if someone has gone through abortion. This is time where the healing that Jesus  Christ can forgive. does forgive someone or not? Can he does the blood of Jesus Christ?  

Pam - Well, some people struggle with thinking, can anybody forgive me for doing that too?  So it's not us totally  

Henry - I want to be really clear in history notice how the book of Genesis here just gave us a  ministry moment here, right? Because Because because it's a pre fall institution of sexuality,  having children connected to sexuality and sexual intimacy, because it's a prefall so hardwire  

when someone aborts the baby, I believe there is an internal, like, in we've seen this in  ministry, the internal guilt, right? You know, that someone may feel that depression, all of  these things have is not just terminating the pregnancy, like many in the social sciences want  to argue it is, it is going against how someone we believe, was designed by God, treated. So  in ministry, so I'm going to love on people and point them to Jesus Christ. You know, we who  have not had an abortion are no better in our sin than someone else. We are here as  ministers to say that Jesus Christ is the only way the truth of Life there, they will often  experience these things. We're here to say, there is a balm in Gilead, so to speak, there is  water of life for you. But But again, notice, even here, and even I think there's other ministry  connections here, if someone cannot have children. This is another area where their intimacy, it may have been joyful and pleasurable, and they want to have a baby, and they can't have a  baby. It's understandable how ministry is needed in this area, and it's so connected to  intimacy, we have all this pleasurable intimacy and oneness. Our goal is have a baby, and we  can't have a baby. So the connection, there is another connection and ministry. And we've  experienced that where, you know, one of the things that we get into adoption so much on in  promote adoption, is because we know the depth of how somebody who is married, how they  want to have a child, and how they can be used by God to minister to a child that's not well  placed. And God can use that as well. Pretty, pretty incredible really. Cannot get over to that  slide here. There we go. 

Pam - All right. Sexual intimacy, marriage, pleasure and pleasure connected to the marriage  worldview. Hebrews 13 Verse four marriage should be honored by all in the marriage bed kept pure for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral proverbs six verse 25 do not last in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.  

Henry - You know, two things here is that these are passages that deal with the fallen  humanity. Right so and we're going to get deeply into what happened in our brain what  happened when you know that happened, but it's fascinating that the word of God starts  bringing redemption like redemption is the marriage bed should be honored by all right, going  back to creation. And don't go after, in that case, the prostitute but you can say don't go after  the cheap in suitable in intimacy of pornography, or all of these things that right, you know, in  a sense, we're already seen. And it really comes down to calling us back to this. 

Pam - Okay, God created your sexual intimacy, pleasure is a gift to enjoy. Adam and Eve  enjoy sexual pleasure in the garden of delight, The pleasure was not fragile or shameful, like  eating and naming the animals, sexual pleasure was filled with deep satisfaction.  

Henry - Whenever, you know, a lot of times when people think, well, you know, look at he's,  you know, he's subduing the earth by naming the animals and then he's found Adam in  chapter two of Genesis, as without a helper and then Eve is created and then then, you know, it really wasn't talked about that they did it that they had sexual relations. And we know they  did it because Moses calls attention to the fact that this for this reason? Yes. Okay, so these  are what you do in work and that word subdue the earth in Genesis chapter one, verse 26,  27, 28, that whole cultural mandate, what you do your that word to have dominion as that  word to be a steward, we in the New Testament to be the deacon to be the minister, you  know, so it's fascinating how that Old and New Testament ties together. And then sexual  intimacy, relationship with another person is this crucial piece of that. So, you know, God  really wants you and I to be enthusiastic in promoting sexual intimacy in marriage, in the  marriage worldview, in every way to say, this is a beautiful gift of God. And you know, then so  how is this then characterized? 

Pam - It's designed for pleasure. They're put in a garden of pleasure, there's no shame,  physical, spiritual, emotional oneness occurs. And it's hardwired into reproduction.  

Henry - The design for pleasures I reminds me of when we're thinking about the  

Pam - book intended. One of the first books that we were introduced to in marriage class we  took before we got married.  

Henry - So Dr. Edwin, weep ministered to us, like you are going to minister to a young couple, through the knowledge you're gonna gain from this class, or a couple that stuck, or a neighbor who has been injured in need see a different way and Jesus drawing them through the injury  

to himself. So, you know, we actually have a message through the Bible, of how it ought to  be. And we also know that from brokenness, where you get into the, into the next section, that how it ought to be, is not all filled, in fact, none of our experiences because we all are sinners  and fall short of the glory of God. So until next time, praise God as you pursue this topic and I  congratulate you to still be in this class into courageously look forward to how you can  ministering in this very sensitive area.