Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Thank you for tuning us in. I'm Darrell Beatty, servants for Christ. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake, amen. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into our series, Divine Perspectives on Sex. You know, when we look at the word of Solomon, the song of Solomon, you know, when you get into something that's about love, you can just mention the word sex in church and it gets people uptight. It doesn't seem to bother us a great deal in our society, but you know what, it's the most searched word in the internet is the word sex. But to mention sex in church is something that is difficult for some of us to do. And so, as a world of a generation, today that maybe we look at it in every part of the commercials and every bit of television and all of the movies and everything that we're confronted with, our children. It is a generation that has experienced a radical change in the American life. In the 60s, America experienced what is known as the sexual revolution, the so-called new morality that came in, the playboy philosophy that we're told that it was going to be a door that would open up sexual freedom. and as a result there would be great happiness, but rather it has become a trap door which has resulted in a sexual disaster. When we look back on the changes that have happened to America's society, and the tremendous change which is taking place in the American life. While musically, you know, we look and we see that they've come a long ways from I Love Lucy Show or all of the way to the way that people get up and dance and stimulate sex and we're living in a day of sexual revolution that has brought great devastation in America and so one out of every five girls pregnant before the age of 19 and in our culture One out of every six Americans has sexually transmitted disease. Sex is not a dirty word and yet there's a great deal of dirty sex that is in America. But interesting enough, the Bible has a great deal to say about sex. The Bible has a great deal because sex, which was created biblically, The Bible discusses sex with a member of the immediate family. In Leviticus chapter 18, verses six through eight, the Bible discusses sex with a member of the family. That's incest, and God says, no, that's not permitted. The Bible discusses sex with a person of the same gender. In Romans chapter one, verse 26 through 27, and First Corinthians chapter six, verse nine, talk about it. That is homosexuality and God says definitely no. The Bible discusses sex with animals in Exodus chapter 22 verse 19 and Leviticus chapter 20 verses 13 through 16 and the Bible talks about bestiality that God says no. And then there's the word which is found many times in the New Testament which encompasses a great deal of sexual activity. It is a word to use to describe sex between partners before marriage and it includes an area pedophilia. It includes going to strip bars. It includes lust. It includes many of the kinds of areas. It is a word from which we get the word pornography. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 3 is one of many references in the use of of that word, that's fornication. And you know what? God says no. The Bible talks about married people having sex with someone other than their mate in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 4. talks about adultery. What does God say? No. Sex is not a dirty word, and yet there's a great deal of dirty sex that is happening across the world and the nation, and we know all of thou shalt not nots, and we've heard this all of our lives. But the question comes up, is there anything positive God has to say about sex? And the answer to that is yes, because in Hebrews chapter 13, verse four, the Bible says, marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled. Paraphrasing it is saying marriage is divinely appointed institution and sex is not a dirty word. In fact, the sociological searchers and marriage and family councils have come to understand that the only real satisfying sex there is, the only sex which is truly fulfilling, is that which takes place between a man and a woman in the bonds of matrimony. Notice I said a man and a woman. The Bible says sex is good. The Bible teaches that sex is God's good gift. It's pure, it's beautiful, it's holy. You'd think that if there was such an important subject as sex, that if God approves of sex, which is not dirty, that there would be a look, a book in the Bible that would talk a little bit about it. Well, that's what I'm getting to. The fact of the matter is, there is a book which talks about a great deal of it. and we look and we take our Bibles over to the Song of Solomon, chapter one, beginning with verse one. And while that you're turning with us over there, we look as we get into the wonderful Word of God and realize that as we read the Bible, as we go along, as we open up with the powerful Word of God, amen. I want to open up with prayer before we go any further. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity to gather and speak about the wonderful word of the Song of Solomon. And as we get into it, help us to understand your design for love, marriage, and intimacy. Guide our hearts and minds to embrace your teaching and apply them in our minds in Jesus' marvelous mighty name. So just the mention of sex in church, it makes us uncomfortable. But while society is often open about it, discussing sex in church settings can feel challenging. But yet the Bible has a lot to say about sex, both the right and the wrong ways, and we explore what God's words says about the important aspect of our lives. In the heart of a bustling city, amidst the sea of faces, there lived a young woman named Ellen. And one day, as she strolled through a park, her gaze fell upon a man who seemed to move with a sincere grace and his presence commanding the space around him. And his name was Daniel. It was as if the world had slowed down for a moment, allowing their eyes to meet and their hearts to recognize each other. Eleanor. felt an undeniable connection, a deep inexplicable pull that drew her toward Daniel. Their conversation began with simple pleasantries, but soon it became a symphony of shared dreams and aspiration. Every word he spoke seemed to resonate with the very essence of her being, and each moment, spit together, felt like a rediscovery of a long lost part of herself. But in the days that followed, their love blossomed with an intensity that felt almost otherworldly. Their days were filled with laughter. Their nights were tender whispers and stolen kisses. They celebrated each other's quirks and flaws, their affection growing deeper with every shared experience. It was a love that transcended mere attraction. It was a meeting of souls, a union that felt as though it had been destined by the stars. As they looked into each other's eyes, they saw not just the reflection of their own hearts, but the promise of a future intertwined with one another. Their profound connection mirrored the deep and passion described in the verses of the Song of Solomon, where love is portrayed as an all-encompassing force, more precious than anything else in the world. And so, I'm glad that when we look at what love should be, that ought to be how it was when we begin to fall in love with someone. That's what the Song of Solomon is all about, Amen. And when we look at the Song of Solomon, we look at the interpretation that is the best, because when you read the Song of Solomon, you'll discover that it is a beautiful love story about love, marriage, and sex, and in that order, between King Solomon and a young country girl named the Shulamite. And so, for eight chapters, you have what God has to say about love and marriage and sex. Eight chapters of very plain, sometimes graphic, and always very practical counsel concerning the whole area of love, marriage, and sex in that order. In verse one, it begins like this. the most beautiful of songs by Solomon that we begin to look at that he tells us about. It says, the song of songs which is Solomon's, amen. And so we know that Solomon wrote 1,005 songs. Many of his songs would be on the hit parade because the particular song is his song of songs. We all love a love song. Probably most of us as couples and married, most of us as married men and women remember when you were courting when you were dating that you have a love song that each one of you said, this is our song. There was a song current in that day that was special. I thank God it was your song. Solomon was a songwriter. He wrote a song for himself and his Shulamite girl. And here, God has given it to every one of us. As we move down through the verses, I want to share with you why sex is not a dirty word. And I want to share with you the embracing of God's design for intimacy. Embracing God's design for intimacy, amen. Because I thank God as we look and realize that as we move down through the verses, as we share with you about this. First of all, I want to call your attention, amen, to one of the most powerful things of love, amen. Because when we look and realize of what the Lord is wanting to do in all of our lives, amen. Here, we see the greatest love story from the Word of God, as we embrace God's design for intimacy. First of all, in verses 1-4, we see the beauty of marital love. In a world where the mention of sex often brings discomfort, it's essential to recognize the beauty and the purpose of intimacy within the context of marriage. First, we see that beauty of marital love in verses one through four that we're fixing to read. We see God's design for that passionate love because the Song of Solomon beautifully portrays the desire and passion and inherit in that marital love, praise God. We look and we see that he says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine, because of the Savior of thy good ointments. Thy name is an ointment poured forth, and therefore do the virgins love thee. In verse four, draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into his chambers, and we will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will remember thy love more than wine, and the upright love thee. Verses one through four that we see. So here is the beauty of marital love. God's design for that passionate love that he's talking about, amen, the Shulamites longing for her beloved that exemplifies the physical attraction and the passion that God intends for all couples, amen. When we look at this, we know that, you know what, as we all have that beginning of that first level of attraction, the first level between a boy and a girl is always the level of physical attraction. Boy, she looks good to me. She looks good to you. and we've never found a couple who wanted to find an ugly mate. Oh man, I got an ugly boyfriend. I got an ugly girlfriend. No, no. We never hear the girl say, I want you to meet my boyfriend. No. So the first level that we look at When we look at the beauty of marital love, that God's design for passionate love, is that first level, which is physical attraction. The desire of married love, that involves passion. She says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, amen. And so, I'm glad that when we look and realize that she's saying, kiss me full on the mouth, she's not wanting a little peck on the cheek. You know what? You ever heard about the boy that was dating a girl and finally got enough courage to try to kiss her? And he said, hey, would you mind if I gave you a kiss on the forehead? And she said, lower. He said, would you mind if I gave you a kiss on the forehead in a bass voice? Well, this is not what the girl is asking for. She's saying, lay one on me, baby. She wants to kiss right in the mouth. Now, I tell you, I heard about a wife that for several mornings observed her neighbors across the street, and she said to her husband, come here, and I want to show you something. He went out that morning, and as the man came out, he grabbed his wife, and he laid a passionate kiss on her that seemed to linger two or three minutes. And she said to her husband, why don't you do that? And he said, well, darling, I hardly know the woman. And this girl is saying, man, I'm attracted to you and it is a matter of passion. I want you to kiss me right now and kiss me in the mouth. Well, kiss is a universal symbol of tenderness and affection. I'd say to girls that's listening to this message be very careful who you allow to kiss you. You probably don't know a great deal about them maybe but you know what you've got to be careful because when it gets to that point a man You need to know that there's something about that physical passion. There's something intoxicating. And do you remember your first kiss? Do you remember the first time that you kissed somebody? And all of a sudden, mine was in the second grade. I didn't know what I was doing. Her name was Frances Haney. And man, we were in those trailers that back when they had the old Emerson wooden floors uh... that they had back then and uh... the radiators for heat that was on the wall for heat back in those days course all of that's torn down there and so uh... but you know what when we look at something about these levels of what it is about knowing God's design for passionate love. That first level is physical passion that expresses involving holding hands, hugging, or like kissing. And that's where it starts off. So you remember the first time that you held hands with that girl your heart began to Jump your hands began to sweat in the palms Then there's hugging then there's that like kissing a peck on the cheek That's the first level of physical passion But you know what when we look at God's design for that passionate love that second level of passionate love is is what we might call light petting. It means that a kiss is a little bit more direct. It's not intended to lead to physical intercourse, but it is a step in that direction. And then there's that third level of God's design for passionate love. what we call heavy petting. That's that deep, passionate kissing that involves that foreplay, preparation for the physical act of marriage. And I want to say that the last two levels, those second and third levels, are to be reserved for marriage because the first level is as far as you go in dating. Physical stimulation takes more and more stimulation in order to result in that same pleasure. You enjoy holding hands with a girl but after a while you don't get the thrill that you did with that. Then you want to hug and that's pretty thrilling and exciting but there's not quite the excitement in that. Then the kiss comes along and that's exciting for a while but that's where you need to cut it off if you're dating and not in a marriage relationship. The Bible says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine, amen, in verse two. But also we see that that desire of married love begins with passion. And because of God's design for passionate love, amen, the Shulamite's longing for her beloved exemplifies the physical attraction and passion that God intends for couples. We look and we see the importance of physical and emotional connection because marital love involves more than physical attraction. It encompasses the emotional and spiritual connection because when we look that what involves pleasure is verse 3 says this, because of the Savior of thy good ointments. Amen. He's talking about the living Bible paraphrases that what Fragment is your cologne. She's saying you smell. Whoo. You smell good to me and in those days They didn't bathe as much as people bathe today so it was not uncommon for them to put on a great deal of ornament and oil and fragrant spices even in our land people didn't bathe as much as we do today. Some of you may remember that on the farm life, there was a big old wash tub that was for the Saturday night bath, whether you need it or not. But today, we're moved a little bit further. Normally, most of us take a bath every single night. Men, let me say something to you. If you want to have intimacy and close with your wife, I recommend that you do that real good shower and soap every night. And so, you know what? it'd be a good thing to get some deodorant and put it on and then get some old spice or some good smelling uh cologne and make yourself physically attractive as you possibly could be men but the true story is that each and every one of us You don't really realize the importance of physical and emotional connection, amen. And so, I wanna encourage you that as she said in verse three, because of the savior of thy good ointments, thy name is an ointment poured forth. She said, thy name is an ointment poured forth. pulled forth. She's saying here that there's another level of attraction that is even more important than the physical, thy name. And in those days, the name was an indication of character or integrity. She was saying that there was something about your character, your integrity, which we find very attractive. And I'm glad that that physical attraction that is important, that foundation to that physical attraction is not only what the person is in physical appearance, but what the person is in inward character. And I want to encourage young people to look for a mate of marriage in the future who has that spiritual character about them. Find someone that loves Jesus. Find someone who is actively involved in church. Find someone who is kind of a person that you would like to meet. That if you want to find someone who is that kind of person, that you would like to meet and date be sure that that kind of person yourself is that because he says thy name is an ointment poured forth amen and so in verse three he's saying that all of the other girls know that you're quite a catch but be sure that you find a partner that is admired by other people. They're saying to the Shulamite woman, my, you have a rare one in this one, my gracious, alive, all the girls would like this one. And so I wanna encourage you something that young people, let me say to you that you need to find someone that others would speak well of is what I'm saying. And so when we look at verse four, Draw me we will run after thee the king hath brought me into his chambers We will be glad and rejoice in thee we'll remember thy love more than wine But listen the upright love thee and so he's saying what do other people say about this individual? What are they trying to say? He says in verse four, draw me, we'll run after thee. She's saying, take me away with you. Let's run off together. I want to be with you. I like your company. I'm attracted to you. So ask yourself, why are you attracted to this individual? Is it just physical attraction or is there more than that? I don't know about many girls who want to go with the town flirt. or that some gigolo. I don't know many girls that want to go with the town drifter and loafer. I don't know many girls that want a deadbeat that's no good for nothing. But this Shulamite is saying, I am attracted to you. And you could tell when there's an attraction there. The girl may indicate it by the way that she looks at you with her eyes or with her body language or the smile that she has on her face. When you come around, girls don't ever call a boy unless they have permission from parents that involves changes in schedule. You basically are sending wrong signals. When you call boys on the telephone, on your iPhone, don't you be that kind of girl. Because she's saying here draw me and we'll run after they asked yourself the question about the person that you're attracted to is This the kind of person I would be honored if they would date me would I be honored if this person was? would agree to a date with me? Would I be proud to be seen with this individual in church? Would I be pleased to take this person to beat my mom and my dad and my parents? Or is it somebody that's so disgusting that you wouldn't even want them to come out of the back alleys, of the back streets? You see, in this whole area of desire of married love, this passion and this physical attraction. Pleasure, there's the desire to be with an individual, but you have to look deeper than the mere physical attraction of the matter. We're talking about the fact that sex is not a dirty word. We're talking about love. We're talking about marriage. and sex according to God in the marriage relationship. And so, I'm glad that the depth of that affection that is expressed that goes beyond physical appearance to the character and the integrity beloved. Not only do we see that beauty of marital love in verses 1 through 4, but The second thing is the challenges that are in marital love. Because when we look at that marital love, that challenge that comes with it, marriage is not about its challenges requiring couples to navigate various issues together. First of all, there's a self-image and there's insecurity. The Shulamites' concern about her appearance reflects common struggles with our self-image. Because in verse 5, he tells us, he says, And so we look and we see that self-image and that insecurity that is everywhere in the world today. Because the challenge in marital love, a man, when we look and realize that some of the difficulties that merge that he's talking about, as we deal with pleasures, we see in verse five that the Shulamite girl has to say, I'm black, but comely. And the word black does not mean racially black. She's saying that I am suntanned. I'm weathered. And comely means lovely. O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon, and the tents of Kedar were tents that were made out of the black wool of the goats in that area. The curtains of Solomon were made out of silk of pure deep Purple here's what this girl is dealing with. She's dealing with the difficulty of self-image She looks at herself and she says I see some natural beauty there, but I'm suntan. I'm so dark I'm weathered and in those days it was different from our culture today in those days a woman was to be fair-skinned in our day That has reversed itself. Today women want to be tanned. We even have tanning booths. We don't get enough on the beach that we go to the tanning booth. But in those days there was supposed to be fair skin and she was suntanned and she was weathered. Do you see how conscious that she was of her personal appearance? And so that self-image Insecurity is what's happening in the world today. There's so many women that are vain and men that are vain That's something that happened to them and they'll go spend all kinds of money to try to cover it up And they're concerned about their image here. This Shulamite was concerned about what she looks to others. She's a bit About as on one hand that she looks at herself in the mirror and thinks she looks pretty good And then she thinks she does it she doesn't look real good And it seems almost universally true that women battle the whole matter of self-image and how they appear to other people. The culture in which you and I are living today has not helped that any. And so we see all of these models and these flat-cut bellies and these actresses and actors who all look like perfect physical specimens, but they're not. they might be look that way but listen you need to know that there is nobody who is perfect physically these people who look that way in these magazines they've been airbrushed they've got flaws that are taken out and there's nobody that's perfect as some of those look you'll be amazed at what hollywood can do for individuals boy they can even do it where you're on the camera and the camera can change their looks right with the camera today with the effects that they have you know what when you come up to someone that is like a movie actress who came to live in our town or somebody that is a academy award-winning movie actress, you know what? They might look drop-dead gorgeous, that they moved or they're someone that you knew from years ago, a man. But the thing is, is we gotta watch out for that self-image and insecurities and understand one another when it comes to those things, amen. I'm glad that when we look at the word of God, amen, and as she said, you know what? I, as the curtains of Solomon, look not upon me because I'm black, but because the sun hath looked upon me, and my mother's children were angry with me, and they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. When we look at this, she's saying, look not on me. I'm an outdoor girl. I've had to work on the outside. I've had to work for a living. And all of a sudden, she has her hair and all of this that is done up. And I'm going to tell you something. She looked at Solomon. She says, look not at me. Have you ever had your wife say to you, what are you looking at me for? Is my lipstick wrong? Is something the matter with my hair? What are you looking at me for? Well, we're all very conscious about our appearance, amen? But I thank God. You ever heard about the husband whose wife said to him, hey, does this dress make me look fat? And he said, no, no, it's your hips that make you look fat. That ding-a-ling wondered why she wasn't ready for sex later on that night. Well, husbands, it is your job to constantly let your wife know how attractive she is to you. Let your wife know how beautiful she is to you. It is never, never proper for a husband or for a wife to put down the physical appearance of their mate in public or in private. You need to be the number one cheerleader of your mate. And so good sex has nothing to do with size. It has nothing to do with shape. It has a great deal to do with the psychological and the spiritual effects and surroundings upon the whole matter of sex. And so there's that sex image problem. But that's not all. I'm glad when we look at verse seven, the Bible says, tell me O thou whom My soul loveth where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? Amen. So she veils herself. Solomon has gone off to work and she's lonely. And Solomon is away from the house. We see not only the self-image and insecurities, but we see the need for an emotional security. The desire for emotional security is evident in the Shulamite's longing for her beloved presence and protection. And so, there must be mutual trust and commitment that are essential for building a secure and fulfilling marital relationship. Solomon is away. She's feeling insecure. She needs some protection. She needs some security. And that's why it's important for husbands to be checking and calling your wife. She needs to know that she's important to you, that she does not interrupt your schedule, that she picks up the phone. and you see how things are going, pick up that phone. For why should we not keep an eye and let them know that there's a need for that emotional security of our loved ones, amen? I thank God. You know what? Here, as we look at the Word of God, it goes a long way toward sexual intimacy in marriage, that all of us, the way that we ought to be in marriage is the security, not only the desire of that self-image and securities and that need for emotional love. We see the beauty of marital love in verses 1 through 4. and the challenges in that marital love in verses five and six. But I'm glad in the third thing, verses seven and eight, we see fulfilling marital love. Achieving a fulfilling marital relationship requires understanding, commitment, and continuous learning, amen. Because when we look at the fulfilling of that marital love in verses seven and eight, as I was saying a while ago in verse seven, tell me, "'O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, "'where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon, "'for why should I be as one that turneth aside "'by the flocks of thy companions?' And then verse eight, "'If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, "'go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock "'and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents.'" And so, what do we see in fulfilling that marital love in verses seven and eight? the role of knowledge and understanding because Solomon emphasizes the importance of knowledge in a marital relationship that he's talking about in verse 8. Here we see that you start off and we look at how that marriage demands knowledge because he says if you know not You know what? He says in verse 8, if thou know not is what he says. And so there's a lot to learn in marriage. There's a lot that we don't know about marriage. There's a lot that we don't know about Bible 6. But marriage really is a lot of surprises because there's some things that maybe you didn't know. For instance, you didn't know that maybe he might bite his toenails in bed every night. You didn't know that she gargles peanut butter and crackers in the bed every night. It's a surprise every day, but marriage is like buying a CD. You buy the CD for the song, or you listen to it digitally, and the rest of the songs come with it, and all of a sudden, it's a surprise, because 1 Peter 3 says, Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to the knowledge given honor unto the wife. It's going to be a lifetime endeavor of learning your mate. and what the demand of married love is all about. The first thing is this, learn everything that you can about marriage and the opposite sex. I tell everybody as a pastor that I was for many years, let four seasons pass when you're dating somebody to know exactly the knowledge that you need to know about them before you get involved with them. And sometimes that ain't even enough. But there, as we look at the fulfilling of marital love in verses 7 and 8, the role of knowledge and understanding is one of the most important things, amen. And so, you know what? As we look and realize that every Sunday we're going to have something that we may be learning at church. You know what? A man may pay $10 for a $5 item that he wants, but a woman will pay $5 for a $10 item she doesn't want or need because married men live longer than single men. But married men are a lot more willing to die. You see, men woke up as good-looking as they went to bed, but women somehow deteriorate through the night, is the way some people think. But a woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. And so there's two times when a man doesn't understand a woman, before and after marriage. Number one, we've got to learn everything you can about marriage and about the opposite sex. Number two, commit yourself to faithfulness to your mate for a lifetime. And number three, cultivate intimacy and cultivate affection before pushing for more sex because let me say that you've got to make your mate your priority after Jesus because but before the children are your parents let me say that again make your mate your priority Jesus but before the children are your parents you say why Jesus is first your mate is second but let me tell you something you can put children above everybody all day long and usually that happens but listen you gonna be living with that man and woman the rest of your life you're not going to be living with your children the rest of your life. And so they need to be a priority. You need to set those boundaries that they're important, that you're there for each other. And so Jesus says in the Bible that I've loved you with an everlasting love. Jesus indeed is our beloved. He is our lover of our soul. And just like Solomon's name was music to her ears, the name of Jesus can be music to your ears. Just as Solomon was the lover of her soul, Jesus can be the lover of your soul. And so I'm glad that when we look at the beauty of marital love in verses 1 through 4, the challenges in marital love in verses 5 through 6, and the fulfilling marital love in verses 7 and 8, the role of knowledge and understanding, amen, is very important. And the second thing is honoring and cherishing one another because marriage demands mutual honor and respect and acknowledging the beauty and the uniqueness of each spouse. Because let me remind you what verse 7 said, Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, will thou feed us, will thou make us thy flock to rest at noon? For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions. What is he saying? Tell me, my love, where will you lead your flock to graze? Where will you rest from the noonday sun? Why should I need to look for you among the flocks of the other shepherds? You know what? When we look and realize today, the fulfilling of marital love, of honoring and cherishing one another, amen. Honoring one another creates an environment where love and intimacy can flourish, amen. And so, listen, you know what? As I get ready to close out. and realized that years later, Elena and Daniel stood side by side on a sunlit balcony overlooking the ocean. Their love had endured the trials and triumphs of life, growing stronger with each passing year. As we mentioned this in the beginning of our opening of this story, they had weathered storms together, celebrated countless joys, and created a life full of cherished memories. And as they watched the sunset paint the sky of gold and crimson, Daniel took Elena's hand and gazed at her with the same deep passionate love that he had felt from the very beginning and in that moment their love seemed to transcend time itself. It was a love that had evolved and deepened and yet retained the same fiery intensity and purity that it had when they first met. Elena looked at Daniel, her heart swelling with gratitude and affection. She knew that her love was not just a fleeting romance, but a profound bond that had been tested and proven true. And it was a love that was not only about physical attraction, but also about a shared journey, mutual respect, and an unbreakable connection. As they embraced, they realized that their love was a living testament to the verses of the Song of Solomon. It was a love that was beautiful, enduring, and eternal. A love that, like the lush imagery and passionate expressions in our texts, had become a rich and vibrant part of their very souls. They had found in each other a partner who truly understood the depths of their heart, and in their unity, they had discovered a love that would endure beyond the bounds of time. Boy, I hope and pray that you find someone like that. And so, you know what? What is God's design for intimacy within marriage? God intends for marriage to be a beautiful expression of love, commitment between a husband and a wife, reflecting His love for His people. You know, I wonder, how can we overcome the challenges in our marital intimacy? I believe by having open communication, understanding, mutual respect, that couples can navigate challenges and strengthen their bond of matrimony together. I wonder as how important it is to embrace God's design for intimacy is that it leads when we embrace God's design for intimacy, As I call this message, it leads to a deeper spiritual, emotional, and physical fulfillment in marriage, honoring his purposeful intimacy. I hope and pray that you got something out of this message as we shared about how powerful it is, the beauty of marital love, challenges in marital love, and fulfilling marital love with these we see that we are able to have the great embracing God's design for intimacy. Heavenly Father, thank you for your guidance and wisdom on the topic of marital intimacy. Help us to apply these truths in our lives and relationships that we may honor you and experience the fullness of your design for intimacy with those that you have given into our heart and life in Jesus's marvelous mighty name. Amen. you