How often throughout the day do you ask God to show you His ways and tell you what He wants you to do – especially as it relates to your sexual purity? How often does it even occur to you to ask this of God? Truth-be-told, not often enough.
In this episode we look at Psalm 25:4-5 where David prays, “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at http://www.thepuritycoach.com
How often throughout the day do you ask God to show you His ways and tell you what He wants you to do – especially as it relates to your sexual purity? How often does it even occur to you to ask this of God? Truth-be-told, not often enough.
In this episode we look at Psalm 25:4-5 where David prays, “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at http://www.thepuritycoach.com
In Psalm 25:4-5 David prays, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
How often throughout the day do you ask God to show you His ways and tell you what He wants you to do – especially as it relates to your sexual purity? How often does it even occur to you to ask this of God? Truth-be-told, not often enough. Am I right?
Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity. I’m your host Steve Etner, Author, National Speaker, and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry. This is Episode #109 entitled “Show-n-Tell”
I remember all too vividly, in my own life, when I was at the point of utter desperation, I was literally hating the man I had become. I wanted so desperately to quit my sinful habits once-and-for-all. I’ll never forget one particular instance when – after having just watched porn and masturbated to it – in shame and guilt, I lay prostrate on my face and literally wept crying out to God for help. I told Him I was done. I was tired of trying to quit on my own and failing time and time again. I promised Him that if He would just take this away from me I would from that point forward fully trust Him to do what’s best and let Him become the manager of my mess.
Sounds great, right? I mean, wow what a prayer! What a gut-wrenchingly emotional moment I had. What power in my words! And yet, they were empty and void of any real, lasting impact. They were the worthless ramblings of an self-centered, egotistical, King Me worshiping idolater.
Yes, I prayed those words. Yes, I thought I meant them. However, immediately after crying out to God, I leaned back in my spiritual Lazy-boy and chose to relax while expecting God to do all the work. I wrongly assumed that the Wizard of the Word would just wave His magic wand and either make all my temptations just vanish before my eyes, or at the very least give me some sort of super-spiritual strength to vanquish the foe in one fell swoop.
Have you ever heard the phrase: Just let go and let God? Letting go and letting God sounds nice, maybe even easy at times. After all, God is doing all the heavy lifting, and certainly He can handle that. However, the truth is you are responsible for maintaining your walk with God. “They which have believed in God ... be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable.” (Titus 3:8 KJV) We must “learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that (we) be not unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14 KJV addition mine) And Proverbs 5:3 commands us to “maintain discretion.”
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to his apprentice Timothy: “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of his chosen angels to maintain these principles.” (1 Timothy 5:21 NASB)
Let me quickly clarify, I am not saying that you need to do good works in order to be saved. Rather, because you are saved, because you are a born-again child of God, you are to maintain good works as an outward demonstration of your inward salvation.
Here’s my point: You cannot be passive in this battle for purity. You must maintain. God is not about making it “easy” for you. He’s not here to “get you off the hook.” That’s one side of the proverbial coin. Here’s the other: Nor is He going to leave you alone to figure out how to wrestle the beast all by your little lonesome.
God promises to give you the strength to fight the battle, but you must “Seek the Lord and his strength seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11) Philippians 4:13 reminds us that in Christ we have the power to stand firm in our faith and say “NO!” to temptation. And when you don’t know what to do or how to do it, God also promises to give you His wisdom. Proverbs 2:6 declares that “The Lord gives wisdom; form his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” James 1:8 promises that “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
Yes, God will always provide you exactly what you need to be victorious in this battle for purity. It is “By his divine power, God has given (you) everything (you) need for living a godly life.” (2 Peter 1:3) So, in the thick of the battle, in the moment of temptation, you must choose to “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic ... For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
God will give you exactly what you need to fight the beast, precisely when you need it. All you need to do is obey the command of 1 Chronicles 16:11 which says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Remember Philippians 4:13 which promises “you can do everything through Christ, who gives you His strength.”
Not only will God give you the strength you need, but He will also give you the necessary wisdom to know what to do the moment you face the beast. Proverbs 2:6 promises us that “the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” THAT is why this entire podcast (in fact, our entire ministry) focuses solely on Scripture! It is from His mouth, from God’s Word, from the Bible that we get knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to face the beast.
And James 1:5 reminds us that “if you lack wisdom, ask God ... He will give it to you - generously.” Yes, my friend, God will do this and so much more - but you must face the beast and you must fight the battle for purity.
As I read some Scripture verses to you here, I want you to be asking yourself this question: “what does God say MY responsibility in this battle for purity is?”
· “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV’84) According to this verse, I am responsible to do what? I must choose daily, I must choose moment-by-moment to guard my heart. (For more on this, listen to Episodes 29, 30, and 31) Not only are we to guard our heart, we are also to ...
· “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) According to this verse, I am responsible to do what? I am to choose daily, I am to choose moment-by-moment to submit / to yield fully / to totally surrender my will, my way, my wants over to God letting Him have leadership and Lordship over every part of my life ... including my sexuality.
· (Ephesians 6:11) “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” According to this verse, I am responsible to do what? I must choose daily, I must choose moment-by-moment to step into the battle for purity, the battle for my heart, fully clothed in Christ’s armor – sword drawn and ready to take my stand with Christ.
· And 1 Peter 5:8-9 commands us to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” According to this verse, I am responsible to do what? I am to resist.
Did you notice that not one of those verses says, “kick back, relax, God’s got this”? Not one says, “let go and let God.” God expects us to step up to the plate. He wants us to pick up our sword and fight! He also wants us to know that we will never be alone in the battle. God will never just push you out onto the battlefield, give you a slap on the back and say, “good luck! Hope you make it!”
Philippians 4:19 assures us that God will meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 9:8 promises that God will generously provide all that we need, so that we will always have everything we need with plenty left over.
Listen closely my friend, Scripture promises you that God will give you everything you need; including the necessary training so that you can stand firm in your faith and effectively resist each and every temptation the enemy throws at you.
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” (Psalm 144:1) “He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” (Psalm 18:34) “Train yourself for godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7b)
Every day is filled with spiritual warfare. Every day you are wrestling against a powerful foe. Every day that foe is whispering his evil lies into your mind, trying to draw you off the path of purity, the path that God wants you to walk.
OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.
If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about our ministry, be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com
One of these powerful resources we are making available to you is my book called “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory.” You see, saying “No” to temptation and choosing to live an upright and godly life is a daily decision you must make. Every time you are faced with a temptation, you are also faced with a decision: Do I give in, or do I stand firm in my faith and fight it? Do I yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit and live to glorify God, or do I focus on King Me and give in to my fleshly desires?
This book “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory” presents, in a very clear and practical way, how to live a life that is holy and pure, how to say no to sin and live by the Spirit in a way that glorifies your creator, your Savior, your Heavenly Father. Again, the title of this book is “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory.” You can find it on Amazon.com or on my website (ThePurityCoach.com) in our Resources section.
And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!
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.