If you’re anything like I was, I tried a lot of different sources and resources to find help with my sexual addiction. I wanted to “fix it” on my own. When that didn’t work, I tried going to a few different counselors. Nothing helped me. I floundered in my failure to eradicate this issue in my life. I was convinced that no one truly understood my struggles, my fears, or my frustrations. So, I came to a powerful (albeit very wrong) conclusion that I was beyond help and therefore beyond hope. God’s Word says otherwise.
Welcome to Episode #103 of The Point of Purity Podcast. I’m your host Steve Etner, author, speaker, and purity coach for The Pure Man Ministry. In this episode we are going to look at Psalm 54:4 which says, “Behold, God is my helper!”
In Psalm 54:4 the Psalmist declares, “Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.” (NASB) I want you to pause long enough here to consider the power of what David is saying. “God is my helper.” “The Lord is on my side as my helper.” Exactly whom is David talking about? If you answered “God” or “The Lord” you would be correct. But it goes much deeper than that.
The name “God” comes from the Hebrew word Elohim. David is referring to the Supreme, Sovereign, Almighty, all-powerful, most Holy Creator of the Universe – God Himself. This isn’t just any ol’ little “g” god he’s referring to. He is talking about the One and only Elohim! Think about that. The True God of the Universe is your helper. Not porn. Not lust. Not Masturbation. Not sexual fantasy nor sexually acting out. GOD and God alone is my helper.
Dare I repeat this? Let this truth of Scripture sink in – God IS my helper. David didn’t say God “could be” my helper. He didn’t say God “might be,” “would be,” or even He “should be.” No. David boldly declares that God IS my helper. Present tense. Right here and right now, the Almighty, thrice-holy God IS my helper.
Now, I understand that at times (possibly even most of the time) it doesn’t feel that way. Let me assure you that at those times your feelings are trying to mislead you. They are deceiving you. The fact is, God IS your helper. He is always your helper. That’s Biblical truth. That’s the promise of Scripture, directly from the mouth of the Almighty. Take it to the bank of Heaven my friend, God IS your helper.
Now I also want you to notice that the Psalmist says God is MY helper. In other words, He cares about me, personally! He cares deeply about you, my friend. Scripture tells us that He even knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7 and Matthew 10:30-31; 6:26). He is MY helper! Believe that. Cling to that. (Hebrews 13:6) You “can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”
OK. I want you to also note from Psalm 54:4 that God is my HELPER. In Isaiah 41:10, 13 God says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will help you, I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord.”
And in Isaiah 43:1-2 we read, “Listen to the Lord who created you ... the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.’” (NLT)
The Apostle Paul adds, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) In other words: with God as your helper, you not only can defeat the three-headed dragon of lust, porn, and masturbation – but you will crush it! (See Philippians 4:13)
Do you believe (truly believe) that God is your helper in the area of victory over sexual temptation? If your answer is “yes, I believe” – consider this question: are your life’s choices and daily behavior supporting that answer? Are your words just words, or are your actions proving your response? Truth-be-told, I submit that more than likely your answer to that question, of necessity, must be “no, I don’t truly believe God is my helper” – otherwise you wouldn’t be losing the battle with lust, porn and masturbation.
A powerful lie of the enemy is that you’re standing on the battlefield, bloodied, bruised, broken and all alone in this war. One of the major struggles you have wrestled with up till now is truly believing that God wants to help you through this battle, that He wants to help you overcome your bondage to King Me. Instead, you feel like God is angry at you for your sin, disappointed in you for your weaknesses, and punishing you for your repeated sinful choices. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me share with you the Truth from God’s word. Hebrews 13:6 assures us that “We can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me’?” (Hebrews 13:6)
In Psalm 121 David exclaims, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. ... The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. ... The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:1-3, 5, 7-8)
In Psalm 46:1 we read, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 28:7 declares “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts,
and I am helped;” And in Psalm 118:7 we see that “The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.”
Hopefully the point God’s trying to make here in these verses has gotten through loud and clear. Let it sink in that God IS your helper in your time of trouble, trial, and temptation. I urge you to choose right here and now to let Him help you!
Not only is God your helper, but David also says (in Psalm 54:4) that the LORD (Jehovah) is the “sustainer of my soul.” In other words, God is the only One upon whom you can fully lean and completely rest for strength and support at all times and in every aspect of your life. As you choose to daily lift up your soul to Him, only God will hold you up and keep you from collapsing or giving way under the weight of your trial, temptation, or test.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)
Here is the point: In Psalm 25:1, David is saying that he is lifting his soul up to God. He is fully surrendering and totally yielding all that he is to God because he is confident that God will not only take care of him but meet ALL his needs. Every single one of them. What about you?
OK. So far, we’ve seen that lifting your soul up to God means you are choosing to surrender totally and completely everything you are and everything you have over to the Almighty, Most Holy, Sovereign, Creator of the Universe. And this, of necessity, must include your sexuality.
Now let’s move our focus now to the word “surrender” and ask this question: What does the word “surrender” mean? How would you define it? To “surrender” is to yield every aspect of your life completely, willingly, and unreservedly to the possession or power of the Almighty God, your Creator, and the Savior of your soul. To “surrender” is acknowledging and admitting to God that which you are yielding, that which you are giving up to God is no longer yours to have, to hold, to use as you see fit. You are willingly submitting it all (including your sexual passions and desires) to the power and authority of God. He owns it all. Every aspect of your life, everything that happens is under His Sovereign control.
Do you truly, genuinely want to be free from your sexual temptations? Deep in your heart, do you want to live in constant, consistent victory over sexual impurity? Yes? Then you must daily choose to surrender “yourself to God.” Choose to yield completely and unreservedly everything you are and everything you have over to God’s perfect authority in your life. Only then will you be able to set yourself firmly against the devil and successfully withstand his constant barrage of temptations (see James 4:7). Only then can you “resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9).
Watch this now: Submitting yourself to God, lifting your soul to your Heavenly Father – in every area of your life, including your sexual passions–is the only way to “give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27).
Never lose sight of the fact that the problem you are struggling with is not lust. It is not pornography. It is not masturbation. As we have already discussed (and will continue to repeat), those are the by-products of the real problem. The real problem each and every one of us are struggling with is a worship disorder of the heart. In your heart you are worshiping the wrong god.
Wrong worship will always lead to wrong behavior.
To change your behavior, you must start by changing your heart.
This submission to God, this lifting up of your soul, this total and complete surrender is NOT about handing over your sexual desires to Him. That is certainly part of it. However, before you can (or will) do that, you must first choose daily to surrender your heart, your life, your will, your desires–yourself over to God. “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 25:1)
OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.
As I close this episode, I just want you to know how deeply honored I am that you have chosen to share your time with me today and listen to this episode in its entirety. Would you prayerfully and seriously consider joining us in being a vital part of this ministry. We are praying for and looking for Purity Coach Partners who will commit to supporting this ministry in two major areas.
First and foremost, in prayer. I’m talking about more than just “Dear God, please bless Steve and The Pure Man Ministry.” As important as that is, we need partners in this ministry who are praying for us daily. Praying for wisdom as we counsel, praying for protection as the enemy tries almost daily to stop us in our tracks and shut us down. Praying for the men that are entrenched and enslaved in this sin – praying for their freedom, praying for victory, praying for clarity as they study the Scripture, praying for their personal spiritual growth, and praying for their families – their wives, their children, their churches. We NEED faithful prayer partners who will commit to praying for this ministry on a regular basis. Would you consider becoming a Purity Prayer Partner?
But we also need partners who choose to come alongside of us and support this ministry financially. We are a donor-supported, faith-based, not-for-profit ministry. Everything we do is dependent upon God’s people giving to this ministry financially. So, if this episode, if the description of this ministry speaks to you – if you share our burden to reach men and women across the globe with the message of freedom, victory, hope, healing, and restoration through the cleansing power of the Word of God as led by the Spirit of God – would you please join our team of Point of Purity Partners? We are looking for monthly supporters whom God is calling to support us with gifts of $25, $50, $100 per month or even more.
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So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.
