Desire needs Direction

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

Desire is not sinful by default

Desire is powerful by design

Desire becomes shaped by who rules it

INTRODUCTION: DESIRE IS NEVER NEUTRAL

Life is shaped more by desire than by knowledge

We move toward what we want most

Desire moves us toward God or away from Him

Matthew 6:21 Where your treasure is, your heart follows

I. DESIRE AS GOD DESIGNED IT

A. Desire Is Part of God’s Good Creation

Desire existed before sin

Desire itself is not the enemy

B. Desire for God Is Good

We are commanded to long for God

Psalm 42:1–2

Psalm 73:25

Matthew 5:6

When God is the object, desire becomes worship

C. Desire Strengthens Covenant Love

Desire is celebrated within commitment

Song of Solomon 2:16

Proverbs 5:18–19

Hebrews 13:4

Biblical desire commits, it does not consume

D. Desire Can Drive Godly Purpose

Scripture affirms holy ambition

Philippians 3:13–14

1 Timothy 3:1

Surrendered desire produces perseverance

II. WHAT HAPPENS TO DESIRE WITHOUT GOD

Ephesians 4:17–19

A. Desire First Corrupts Thinking

Vanity of mind precedes sinful behavior

Direction is lost before morality collapses

B. A Downward Pattern

Darkened mind

Distance from God

Hardened heart

C. Desire Escalates Without God

Desire intensifies rather than weakens

Sin grows out of unchecked longing

James 1:14–15

Romans 1:24–25

Sin begins with desire detached from God

III. LEARNING CHRIST REORDERS DESIRE

Ephesians 4:20–21

Christianity is not rule keeping

It is learning Christ

Truth is personal, not abstract

What we love shapes who we become

IV. PUTTING OFF AND PUTTING ON

Ephesians 4:22–24

A. Old Desires Must Be Put Off

Some desires lie and enslave

The heart needs correction, not trust

Jeremiah 17:9

B. Renewal Begins in the Mind

Change starts internally

God reshapes thinking to reshape desire

C. New Desires Are Created by God

God gives a new heart

Desire is redeemed, not erased

Ezekiel 36:26

V. THE THRONE QUESTION

Desire always serves something

If God does not rule desire, something else will

Self

Pleasure

Fear

Approval

Romans 6:16

TRANSITION TO SONG OF SOLOMON

Song of Solomon celebrates desire

Ephesians explains desire

Desire is safe when it is rightly ordered

Song of Solomon shows desire when:

God sets the boundaries

Covenant provides security

Love is intense but protected