Purity For Life

If you’re really beginning to live in victory, you might think that from here on out everything will be easy. But in your marriage, you will still see that old man rising up. You may find your temper surfacing occasionally. Complaining and criticism may still come naturally. There’s even thoughts of lust still grabbing at you when you least expect it. Is this what God has for your marriage? I think the answer is yes, and no. It’s not God’s will that you continue in sin. However, he does desire to use these struggles to mold both of your characters. It takes time to unlearn years of sinful habits and to learn the values that God has designed and called you to live out in your marriage. For husbands, it starts by learning to love and serve your wife in the way that Christ loves us.

In Luke 15, we see a picture of God as a father, longing and waiting for His lost son to return home. We can picture many wives in a similar place, having spent months, or years, or decades with a similar longing and desire for their husbands to repent of their sexual sin and return to Jesus. But unlike the Lord, who does not grow weary or anxious in the waiting and suffering, we can quickly respond in wrong ways. And maybe that’s where some of you are at today. You've been praying for your husband to change for a long time, but he’s still in the far country, and you don’t see any signs of repentance. It can be tempting to listen to the voice that’s telling you to give up. And though today's episode can't give you the answers for your exact situation, we do believe that it will give you hope.

When a wildfire burns a forest to the ground, it seems as if its life and beauty has been forever destroyed. But this is not the end of the story. In time, a lush new forest will replace the devastation. When the fire of lust is let loose in a marriage, all that is beautiful seems to turn to ash and death. But this too, is not the end of the story. When a husband truly repents and turns to God, and when a wife learns to forgive and trust, the seeds of a wonderful marriage are there waiting. It’s only a matter of time until all that was destroyed will be swallowed up in new life.

Maybe you’ve tried everything to break free of porn addiction or some other form of sexual sin. You’ve tried reading books, listening to podcasts and sermons, going to support groups and therapy sessions. You really do desire freedom, but nothing has worked. However, there is one more option: the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program. Now some people have asked us, “Why is that any different than all the other options out there?” Our hope is that today’s episode will answer that question and show you that real, deep and lasting change is possible.

Anyone who earnestly wants to follow Christ must be wary of a common trap waiting to hinder their walk. That trap is the wisdom of this world. This counterfeit wisdom is seductive, because it caters to our fallen nature. In this episode, we’ll explore some of the dangers of worldly wisdom as it expresses itself in our western context. Then we’ll point you to the only One who is truly wise and the only One who is worthy of our trust.

The person seeking to overcome sexual addiction will likely find that Satan and his demons have contributed to the establishment of his sinful habits. In this episode, we look at the role that deliverance from these evil spiritual forces plays in gaining freedom from porn. We discuss various aspects of our war against the Enemy, and his various strategies to defeat us. We see that God wants to deliver us, but He is after so much more than just our sexual sin. He wants our whole lives.

In this final episode of our Victory series, we’re going to look at some of the fruits that come out of a life lived in the Spirit of God’s mercy. We’ll look at purity, gratitude, humility, and what it truly means to know God. We’ll then look at the importance of persevering in this godly life by examining the story of King Solomon and some of the pitfalls that can beset even the most sincere saint.

In Scripture, we never see the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to preach, or how to heal the sick or cast out demons. What we do see is them asking Him to teach them how to pray. Scripture reveals that a strong prayer life is central to life of the Christian, and in this episode, we look at how it is vital to the victorious life. There’s encouragement in the promise that if we would pray for God to mercy others by meeting their needs, then He will gladly come and meet our own needs.

We pick up where we left off in last week’s episode by exploring some ways to live out a life surrendered to God’s will. But to live out God’s will is simply a willingness to give to others the mercy He has given to us. And this requires that we see our circumstances and those around us with very different eyes. We are joined by a variety of Pure Life counselors this week to look at this topic, because it is one of the most vital components of our ministry to men in sexual sin.

Consider how different your life would look if Jesus were to take over your body and live His will perfectly through you. One thing is certain, sexual sin wouldn’t be anywhere in the picture. His deep love for other people would make selfishness and lust an utter impossibility. God has clearly revealed that His will is mercy, but as fallen human beings, there’s so much in us that opposes that will. That means, we really need to surrender. In this episode, we discuss what it means for us to be consecrated to God, so that He may do His will of mercy through us.

When your mind has been saturated with filthy images for years, it’s hard to imagine ever being able to have a pure thought life. But the Word of God is powerful! Last week we emphasized our need to seek the lord, and in this episode we want to help you live that out practically. We’re going to look at how scripture restructures a pornographic mindset, why a healthy relationship with God’s word is so important. Then we’ll give you some examples of how saturating your mind in God’s word translates into a changed life.

Jesus told us to relentlessly ask, persistently seek and unashamedly knock until we receive what we need from God. So in this week’s show, we look at how a relentless pursuit of God is vital to live in victory. We're looking for more outward changes. We're talking about more than half-hearted prayers. We must begin to lay hold of God’s promises and to believe that those who seek Him will find Him.

It’s time to apply everything we've learned so far in our Victory series. But to do that, we must go to the source of sin in our lives and deal with it there. God’s Word is clear, if we've been living in sexual sin, we don’t just need a change in our behaviors, we need a transformation at the deepest level. We need a change in our hearts, of our wills and of our desires.

Scripture warns that in the last days there will be antichrists who will lead many astray. And so without a clear understanding of who Jesus Christ is, we can easily be deceived, and fail to become the disciples we were meant to be. This week we take a short break from our victory series to speak with Glenn Meldrum, evangelist and author of The Radical Jesus. He’ll challenge us to abandon false conceptions of a tame Jesus and to know Him as He truly is - radical in every way!

In this week’s episode, we look at one of the most shocking moments in King David’s reign, when he became a liar, an adulterer, and a murderer. We’ll look at it through the eyes of Nathan, the prophet who confronted David in his sin. We’ll also examine Psalm 51, the song that David wrote to express his brokenness, repentance, and need for mercy. This is a story that hits close to home for anyone in sexual sin, and we think what it teaches about God is essential for living a life of victory.

In chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel, we find three amazing stories that all paint a unified picture of God. We see the picture of a shepherd pursuing his lost sheep. We see a woman, diligently searching for her lost coin. And we see a father, eagerly ready to welcome home his lost son. These parables were meant to reveal the heart of a God who pursues those who are lost, who overflows with joy when they are found. This week, three Pure Life Ministries staff sit down with Nate to discuss how this picture of God’s mercy is very evident as they reflect on their own journeys to Christ.

In our current series we’re looking at how to live a victorious Christian life. We’ve shown that this can only be done through the power of mercy, but God’s mercy is often radical, going far beyond what our human ideas would imagine. Take the example of Hosea, a man called to embody God’s mercy in the most unlikely way possible. He was called by God to marry a prostitute. This picture is shocking, but it exemplifies God’s faithfulness to us, even when we go astray. So join us as we dive in to this picture of mercy as we learn what it reveals about God, and how we can appropriate that into our own walk with Him.

When we become a vessel for the mercy of God to flow through to others, that’s when we begin to live in victory. But as humans we have a hard time really understanding what God’s mercy is. So, we’d like to spend a few weeks looking into God’s word for specific pictures that will help us understand what is in God’s heart. This week we’ll look at the bronze serpent, an Old Testament story that reveals the judgment that comes because of our sin as well as the wonderful healing that is available to us when we look to Christ by faith.

In this series we’ve been talking about why receiving God’s mercy and then giving it away to others is central to coming out of sexual sin. Maybe some of you have been saying to yourselves, “Well, that sounds good in theory, but does mercy really work? We think that one of the most convincing ways to show you the power of mercy is to share the story of Frank Leonetti—a man whom God saved from the depths of sin and despair and who has been giving his life away for the last ten years so that people might know Jesus—the one who gave him newness of life. We hope and pray after by the end of it you’ll believe that mercy works.

Last week we discussed how God is good and trustworthy, even when our circumstances challenge us to think otherwise. But what about when it isn’t our lives, but God’s own Word about Himself, that makes us question his character? Because the Bible is full of pictures of a God of wrath and a God of anger and many people can become uncomfortable or even untrusting of God, because of these revelations about Himself. But a right understanding of this aspect of God is vital to knowing and loving Him – it’s vital to living a life of victory. In this episode, we have both Steve and Kathy Gallagher in the studio. Each of them help shed some light on this often misunderstood aspect of God.