Living Fearlessly - #220

One of the biggest reasons we struggle with entrusting our soul, our life, our sinful habit to God is the fear of what might happen if we choose to fully surrender. We worry that God will take it away and leave us with little to nothing in return.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

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Transcript

One of the biggest reasons most of us struggle with entrusting our soul, our life, our sinful habit to God is the fear of what might happen if we do choose to fully surrender. We worry that God will take it away and leave us with little to nothing in return. We fear that whatever God does give us in return will be less than second-best. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful 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 and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #220 entitled “Living Fearlessly.”

In Psalm 27:1 David exclaims, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”

Before we go any further, let me remind you of the critical importance of that little two-letter, statement of fact, present-tense word “is” as it appears in this verse. Specifically, “the Lord IS my light … the Lord IS my fortress.” As a statement of fact, that powerful little two-letter word is telling me that without question or doubt Jehovah is my light, He is my salvation, He is my fortress. Count on it. 

Because it is also written in the present tense, it’s also reassuring me that the Lord is my light, my salvation, and my fortress right now. Right now. Right now. Present tense. Never ending. Never quitting. Never ceasing. Never failing to be all that He is. Never. He IS my light. He IS my salvation. He IS my fortress. Aways. Period.

Grounded upon that statement of fact, based upon that declaration of truth, we can safely say that when you are not in the safety and refuge of that fortress, it is not because God has somehow failed you. It is not because, for some odd reason, God—at that moment—ceased to be your light, your salvation, and your fortress. He is always what He promises to be. That never changes. The problem is not with God.

Not only does this define for us the character of God, but it also describes the Christian’s position with God. When I state with confidence that the Lord is my light, my salvation, and my fortress, I am boldly declaring that the enemy cannot touch me because I am totally safe and completely secure within the protection of my heavenly Father.

This truth, that Jehovah is your light, salvation, and fortress is significant to you in this daily battle against your sinful habits and fleshly desires. A fortress is a fortified place of safety and refuge, a strong and impenetrable stronghold the enemy cannot infiltrate. That is what God is for you.

Psalm 94:22 declares that “the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide.” And in Psalm 18:2 we read, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” This is why the Psalmist can boldly say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1-3) And let’s not forget what he says in Psalm 9:9, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”

Think about the verses I just quoted to you. I strongly submit: You can find great comfort and peace in your relationship with God because He is your stronghold. That is what God is to you. Let’s dig into this for a moment. First, as your stronghold, the Lord is your place of safety, He is your refuge.

Psalm 91:2 says, “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” Psalm 46:1 exclaims, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” And Deuteronomy 33:27 declares that “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you.” 

Second, God is your strong and impenetrable fortress. The prophet Samuel writes, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (2 Samuel 22:2). The psalmist writes, “He is my loving God and my fortress” (Psalm 144:2). And we read in Nahum 1:7 that “the Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”

Now I ask you, can you take refuge in anything King Me has to offer? Will King Me act as your fortress, protecting you from the relentless attacks of the enemy? Of course not. God and God alone is your protection and strength as you stand and face your sinful habits. Though temptation may shake you, though it tries to rattle you, though it roars for attention and foams at the mouth, gnashing its hungry teeth at you, though it swells up and appears larger than life, you can resist it because God is your fortress, your deliverer, your rock in whom you take refuge. He is your shield. He is your stronghold.

I love the words of Psalm 91:2 as David says, “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” And we read in that “[God] will hide [you] in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal [you] under the cover of his tent; he will lift [you] high upon a rock.” Are you hearing this my friend? Don’t miss this. This is what the Lord, this is what Jehovah, this is what the almighty, all-powerful, most holy, sovereign, creator of the universe—the God who cares about you—does because this is who He is.

Listen closely as I quote to you some select verses from Psalm 59. “Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood. See how they lie in wait for me! ... They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. See what they spew from their mouths — the words from their lips are sharp as swords, and they think ‘Who can hear us?’ But you laugh at them, Lord; ... You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. God will go before me .... I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. (Psalm 59:1-3, 6-10, 16-17 NLT)

Now I would like to apply that text specifically to your battle with King Me. I have personalized the prayer I just read to you from Psalm 59 to my own battle with my particular temptations. I challenge you to make this, or something similar, your prayer as well. Let me share it with you.

“Father, deliver me from the beast of my sinful temptations. O my God; protect me from the fleshly desires that rise up against me. Deliver me from the self-centered, self-worshiping whims and wishes of King Me. For the sinful desires of my flesh lay in wait for my heart; fierce to consume my passions and pleasures—always turning them toward evil and wicked desires. Every day it comes back, howling like dogs, prowling about in my mind. Bellowing with their mouth—whispering deceit into my heart with swords in their lips. ‘God doesn’t care about you,’ they whisper. ‘He won’t answer your prayers,’ they say. But you, O Lord , laugh at that beast of temptation; you hold it as nothing. O God my Strength, I will watch for you—I will place all of my focus upon you, for you, O God, are my fortress. I am convinced that you, God, in your steadfast love will meet me right here, right where I am. I know You will let me look in triumph upon my sinful habits. O God, for the deception and lies this beast of temptation utters daily to my heart, consume it in your wrath; consume the dragon until it is no more, that everyone may know that God rules over my heart—that the Lord is my stronghold. Yes, every day my evil passions come back; yes, they howl like dogs and prowl about my heart and mind. They wander about for food and growl loudly if I don’t feed them. But I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my temptation. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”

Again, that’s my prayer based off of Psalm 59. I would like to encourage you to make the time to read through Psalm 59 and personalize it for yourself. Never forget the promise of Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knows those who take refuge in him.”

Let’s be honest. Some of you are listening to this episode thinking, “Yeah, right. That has not been my experience. I cry out to God for help, I ask Him to be my strength, I try to trust in Him to help me defeat the beast; what good has it done me? I still give in. The beast still wins. Sure, those verses may be true for most Christians, but not for me.” Can you relate?

I hear you loud and clear, because I used to think and feel the same way. For now, let me just say that it all starts with this: You must choose daily lift up your soul sacrificially to God (Psalm 25:1). You must daily, moment-by-moment, like-it-or not choose to fully surrender every aspect of your heart, soul and mind to God. You must daily choose to trust Him with everything (Psalm 25:2). You must daily choose to reject King Me, turn your back on the darkness, and walk, every moment of every day, in His pure and perfect light (1 John 1:7 and Ephesians 5:8).

As you train yourself to live this surrendered life, as you develop the mindset of daily living to the glory of God instead of the sinful pleasures of King Me, you will discover that God “is [your] loving ally and [your] fortress, [your] tower of safety, [your] rescuer. He is [your] shield, and [you can] take refuge in him.” (Psalm 144:2) 

You will be able to say just as Samuel did, “The Lord is [not might be, will be, should be, or ought to be, but is] my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (2 Samuel 22:2). And as you stay consistent, at the end of your life you will also be able to say of God, “you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:3)

When I was a young boy, I was convinced that a child-consuming parasitic creature of goo lived underneath my bed. I firmly believed, contrary to my parent’s insistence otherwise, that this devourer of my soul had the uncanny ability to blend in with its environment so that you couldn’t see it. However, though totally invisible to the naked eye, in the darkness of night its presence was strongly felt. That imaginary creature had tremendous power over me, freezing me literally motionless in bed; not because it was really there, but because I was convinced it was there.

For over thirty years of my life, I lived with another fear. I was terrified of surrendering the sinful wants and desires, whims and wishes of King Me over to God. I was convinced that if I gave up my sinful habits completely I would be condemned to living a terrifying life of drudgery and boredom. I firmly believed that God would take my sinful habits away from me and, as a form of punishment for my lack of faith, let me be miserable the rest of my life. What I had done was to give King Me authority in my life, not because of what might be, but because of what I imagined could be. Can you relate?

That is the deception of the enemy. He skillfully keeps you forever stuck in the trap of your own irrational fears. He preys on your insecurities, anxieties, and doubts. He tries to persuade you that God is selfish, indifferent, distant from you—that He has better, more important things to do than worry about your petty self-centered illusions and delusions. As a result, your afraid that God will abandon you, forget about you, or hide His face from you and you’ll be stuck suffering instead of enjoying the pleasures sin has to offer.

One of the biggest reasons most of us struggle with entrusting our soul, our life, our sinful habit to God is the fear of what might happen if we do choose to fully surrender. We worry that God will take it all away and leave us with little to nothing in return. We fear that whatever God does give us in return will be less than second-best and definitely not as pleasurable. Oh, my friend, nothing could be further from the truth.

Your fear of losing out is based largely upon a wrong understanding of who God is and His immeasurable, impenetrable, unfathomable love for you. Listen to the following verses as I quote them to you and allow the truth of God’s amazing love to wash over you and cleanse away your fear.

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8) “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Are you hearing this? Are you truly listening to the power of Scripture right now? Hold on, because there’s more! Paul writes in Romans 8:35-39,“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And in Zephaniah 3:17 we read, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

OK. I want to hit the pause button until next week’s episode as we will continue this thought and dive even deeper into God’s Word. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website at ThePurityCoach.com.

I am super pumped and uber excited to announce to you the release of my newest book entitled “Living Free: Victory thru Surrender” available now on Amazon. You see, in our journey through life, we often find ourselves teetering at the edge of an ongoing battle of the heart. This book, “Living Free: Victory thru Surrender” will challenge you to examine your worship, your focus, your desires, and the very foundation of your faith: in short, to discover how to live in victory over sin through faithful surrender to God. 

So go to Amazon today and pick up your copy of “Living Free: Victory thru Surrender” - and join me on this transformative journey toward a life of genuine freedom – found not in indulging the fleeting and fickle desires of the flesh, but in truly devoting yourself entirely to the only One who will fully satisfy your soul.

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 Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.