Absolute Surrender: When everything seems to be falling apart around us, we must cry out to God in faith and believe Him to keep us safe.
In the latest "Unveiling Yahweh" sermon, Nate Danser helps us look at the Purposes of Yahweh.
This episode: Steve Gallagher urges us to make sure we possess the character qualities that every true citizen of God's Kingdom has.
Rediscovering Repentance Ep. 10: When God offers us the gift of repentance, neglecting it is very dangerous. We must receive it immediately.
Seeking fulfillment in earthly things is futile. But if we seek fulfillment in God Himself, He will meet our deepest needs.
Human beings have a deep need for fulfillment. It's how God made us. But things go horribly wrong when we seek satisfaction in earthly things. We end up becoming dependent on, maybe even addicted to, things that cannot satisfy us. But if we will seek our fulfillment in God Himself, we'll find that He can do what nothing else can. That’s why seeking fulfillment in God is one of the key lessons on the road to freedom.
After sexual sin, it can seem like an enormous task to re-establish good communication and intimacy in the marriage bed. But God is able!
When a husband truly repents of sexual sin, most couples are ready to put all of that behind them and to enjoy a new life. But they soon find that there are other huge areas of their marriage that still need God's powerful touch. In today’s show, we'll talk about two of the biggest: healthy communication and intimacy in the marriage bed.
This world is a spiritual warzone. But if we will stay close to our victorious Jesus, He will give us the strength to win our battles.
As long as we are living in this world, we are going to be engaged in a spiritual war. As A.W. Tozer said, this world is not a playground, it is a battleground. But if we will stay close to the captain of our faith, the victorious Jesus, He will give us the strength to win our battles.
"Ashes to Beauty" Episode 6: Marriages that have been destroyed by selfishness will be restored and healed through selflessness and mercy.
We know that a marriage cannot survive when selfishness dominates the couple’s hearts and their home. But do we really believe that the opposite is also true–that a marriage will overflow with blessing when each spouse is giving their lives away for others? In episode 6 of Ashes to Beauty, Scott and Erin Wilson talk about why living "the mercy life" radically changed their marriage and became one of their greatest goals.
This world is a spiritual warzone. But if we will stay close to our victorious Jesus, He will give us the strength to win our battles.
As long as we are living in this world, we are going to be engaged in a spiritual war. As A.W. Tozer said, this world is not a playground, it is a battleground. But if we will stay close to the captain of our faith, the victorious Jesus, He will give us the strength to win our battles.
Let's get to the heart of addiction and talk about the first step men must take if they want real freedom.
"I’m struggling.” This is probably the most common way Christian men describe their continual attempts to break free from sexual sin. But for many, it would be much more accurate if they said, "I'm a slave to lust.” In today’s episode, we'll get to the heart of addiction and we'll talk about the first step men must take if they want real freedom.
One of the most effective ways to protect your heart and mind from the power of sexual temptations is to learn true contentment.
It's not easy to be content in America, where everything is screaming at us that we need MORE. But contentment is just one more key lesson on the road to freedom, because contentment creates a barrier of protection around our hearts and minds.
One of the most effective ways to protect your heart and mind from the power of sexual temptations is to learn true contentment.
It's not easy to be content in America, where everything is screaming at us that we need MORE. But contentment is just one more key lesson on the road to freedom, because contentment creates a barrier of protection around our hearts and minds.
When a husband and wife deeply desire righteousness, they are taking one more step on the road toward healing and restoration.
If a couple who were in real trouble asked you what it would take to restore their lives and their marriage, what would you tell them? Would you tell them they both really need a desperate desire for righteousness? In episode five of our series Ashes to Beauty, Shawn and Susan Smith talk about why becoming hungry for righteousness made such a huge difference in their own lives and marriage.
Cultivating a spirit of forgiveness is an essential part of maintaining freedom from habitual sin.
Have you ever had to navigate at high speeds around an object that is lying in the middle of a busy highway? Relationship issues are a bit like that. You've got to learn how to navigate safely around them, otherwise you're going to experience some real damage to your heart and life. In today's interview, we'll talk about why cultivating a spirit of forgiveness is an absolutely critical part of staying on the road to freedom.
When God becomes large in a persons heart, mind, and their daily life, then their problems become much smaller and more manageable.
Many men often blame their strong sex drive for their sexual sin. That begs the question, is somehow lowering one's sex drive the answer for overcoming sexual addiction? Steve Gallagher answers that question in this interview.
Host: Hey, Steve, thanks for coming in. We want to deal today with an email that came in from a 21-year-old man who is struggling with the power of his sex drive. And it seems that someone has suggested to him that psychiatric drugs may be an option to help lower his sex drive. How would you respond to that?
Steve: Well, I would respond from Scripture like I would with any kind of an issue that comes up in life like this. In 2 Peter 1, Peter made a couple of interesting statements that I think we should take a look at. He said this, “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (1 Peter 1:3-4, NASB 1995) Now that's a mouthful and I understand that, but I do want to say a couple of things about this.
First of all, I need to say that I believe this statement is true. With all my heart I believe it's true. Not only because the Bible says it, but also because it's my testimony. It's something that I have experienced and have seen lived out in the lives of many people. God has what every believer needs. That's not just cheap preacher talk or something. It’s the reality of anyone who has a life with God. Peter promises us here that God's power will provide everything we need to make it in life. We have to decide if we really believe that.
That's what it boils down to when we hear these kinds of promises made in Scripture. Do we really believe what the Bible is saying? Personally, the idea of a Christian needing to take drugs to live in victory is absolutely preposterous to me. It shows me that the young man asking this question does not yet know what it means to have the power of God in his inner life. If he will establish a strong devotional life, not only will he find that there is power to live victoriously in Christ, but it'll give him a wonderful opportunity to ask God for a greater infilling of the Holy Spirit.
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Host: Now, one of the things that I see in his email is that he is so focused on his physical sex drive. And of course, most guys that are 16 years and older are often focused on their hormonal issues that are drawing them toward giving over to their sexual sin. But in the passage you just read from 1 Peter, there’s more being spoken of than just a strong sex drive when Peter uses the phrase “corruption is in the world because of lust” isn’t there?
Steve: Well, this young man who reached out is overwhelmed. And like you said, a lot of young people do become overwhelmed when their hormones are raging inside. But when God becomes large in a person's heart, mind and their daily life to where they are spending time with God and they are connected to the vine, then their problems become much smaller and more manageable. When you're just living in the flesh, of course, your problems are going to be overwhelming.
Host: Now, in his email, he said that he wants to reduce his sex drive. Now are we saying that if he develops a solid relationship with the Lord that his sex drive is going to go diminish?
Steve: No. His sex drive is not going to change. It's a physical thing that he has to deal with. But what does come into play is the power to be able to deal with it in the right way. That's what he's missing. All he's focused on is his sex drive, but he's not seeing the power of God at work in his inner man.
Host: And of course, one of the things that fights against young men who want to go on the right path with this issue is that the culture is saying that you are a captive to these desires and you can't help but indulge in them. In fact, the culture teaches that you are abnormal if you don't give into these desires.
Steve: Right. And one of the problems which that raises is the fact that so many young people are more plugged in with the world and our pagan culture than they are to the things of God. So of course, when you're more plugged in to the strong messages coming from television and the internet, that's going to shape your thinking, your belief system and it's going to strengthen the unbelief that's already in you.
Host: And for a young man or even for a young woman, if you look at it right, this is a wonderful opportunity to prove the faithfulness of God in your own life.
Steve: Yes, it is a wonderful opportunity to glorify God in your body. It sends such powerful message to young people around you today who are totally given over to the things of this world, their flesh and sexual sin for you to stand strong and say, “I choose to say no to my flesh. My life in God means more to me than worldly pleasure.”
In this episode, we'll talk about how to effectively deal with day to day temptations so that you can stay on the road to freedom.
Spoiler alert: There are things inside of you AND outside of you that are TRYING to get you to stray off the narrow path and into sin. That's what makes the road to freedom so hard sometimes. In this episode, we'll talk about how to effectively deal with everyday temptations so that you can stay on the road to freedom.
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