Video #17 -Wise Up Wise Guy

In Psalm 19:7 David declares that “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

David is simply saying that God’s Word is sure – it’s reliable - it’s trustworthy.  When God says something, you can take it to the bank.  You see, “all his precepts are trustworthy, they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness” (Psa. 111:7-8).

I want to challenge you to pause for a moment right now and take a close, hard look at your life.

• Can you honestly say that God’s “testimonies are (your) delight; they are (your) counselors” (Psa. 119:24)?
• Do you delight in God’s Word “as much as in all riches” (Psa. 119:14)?
• Would you rather invest your time in reading God’s Word to feed your spiritual soul, or spend time looking at pornography to gratify your selfish desires?
• Is the Bible your “heritage forever … the joy of (your) heart” (Psa. 119:111)?  It should be.  Why?  Only through Scripture are we able to grow in Christ and be victorious over lust, porn and masturbation.

To win our battle against sexual impurity, we must grasp the vital necessity of growing daily in our relationship with God.  Think about it this way - to grow in Christ you must daily:

    Give Him your heart and mind (Prov. 23:26 cp. Prov. 4:23; 23:19; 28:26; Matt. 22:37),
    Read the Bible (Rom. 15:4 cp. Prov. 4:13; Psa. 32:8; Matt. 4:4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17),
    Obey what God reveals to you (Jn. 14:15, 23 cp. 1 Jn. 2:4-5; 5:3), and
    Work out your faith (Phil. 2:12 cp. Gal. 6:7-9; Heb. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:12; Phil. 1:27).

God’s word is not only trustworthy, but David tells us it will make you wise.  Wisdom has been defined as the skillful application of knowledge.  In other words, when you read God’s Word, you gain knowledge – you learn who God is. You discover what God expects of you.  When you invest your time daily in the study and memorization of Scripture, and throughout the day meditate on what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you from God’s Word, then you choose to live that truth out in obedience to what God has revealed - God promises you will become wise.  You will understand how to apply what you have learned to your own life.  You will begin to actually live a life that glorifies God.

And here’s the exciting part: when you do that, when you choose to live out God’s truth in your life, you are “living by the Spirit.”  And God’s promise to you is that when you “live by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh!” (Gal. 5:16) In other words: you won’t lust, you won’t look at porn, you won’t masturbate! How cool is that?

David says that “The unfolding of (God’s) words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psa. 119:130).  When you memorize Scripture, when you hide God’s Word in your heart, it becomes a great deterrent to sin (Psa. 119:9, 11).  Why?  It is God’s Word that “makes (you) wiser than (your) enemies, for it is ever with (you).”  As you dig into Scripture, you will “have more understanding than all (your) teachers, for (God’s) testimonies are (your) meditation” (Psa. 119:98-100).

I cannot overemphasize the importance, the necessity of investing your time daily to be in the Word.  If you want to know how to defeat the dragon of sexual impurity, if you want to live a life that honors and glorifies God, you must fill your mind with the testimony of the Lord that is trustworthy.  As you apply its truth to your life, as you walk in obedience to God’s standards, you will be wise – you will be free!

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About Steve Etner
Steve Etner is a National Men’s Speaker, Author and Purity Coach (www.thepuritycoach.com). He has authored many books, including “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to Transform Sinful Habits into God-Pleasing Patterns of Life”; “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity”; and “Are You A Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.” 

Steve’s conferences, seminars and retreats focus on what God has to say about the way we think and the impact it has on our behavior. By teaching men how to live in moral purity by equipping them with Biblical answers, Steve’s goal is for men to have a re-ignited passion for Jesus and learn how to prepare their minds to successfully overcome their temptations and thus live pure lives for Christ.