The Point of Purity Podcast

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 Helping men and women find hope, help, healing, restoration and redemption
leading to lasting victory over sexual addiction through a growing, vibrant, powerful relationship with Christ.

Episode #131 - "What Do You Want - WHO Do You Know?" 

Transcript

I have a question for you. Do you truly want to live a life that consistently glorifies God? Do you want to be God’s Man of Steel? I’m serious. Don’t just flippantly take a swing at this. Think deep. Think long and think hard. Make the bat connect with the ball. As a man, deep down in your gut do you want, long, desire, and crave for a life totally characterized by godliness no matter what? Do you really want to be a Super Man of God?

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, and this is Episode #131. In this week’s episode we are going to continue our series on becoming a Super Man of God. This week’s episode asks the questions “What Do You Want and Who Do You Know?”

Let me repeat my opening question: Do you truly want to live a life that consistently glorifies God? Do you want to be God’s Man of Steel? I’m serious. Don’t just flippantly take a swing at this. Think deep. Think long and think hard. Make the bat connect with the ball. As a man, deep down in your gut do you want, long, desire, and even crave for a life totally characterized by godliness no matter what? Do you really want to be a Super Man of God?

I’m going to assume that your answer is something like this: “Yes. I want to live a life that in every way reflects God. I want to daily be, think, do, say, and feel in the ways God wants me to. I genuinely want to glorify God in every part of my life!” To that I shout a hearty “Great!”

However, I have a couple of important follow-up questions for you. The first one is this: Why? Why do you want to be a Super Man of God? Your honest answer to that question is critically important. The motivation of your heart for living a life that glorifies God will make all the difference in the world. You see, if you are trying to be a Super Man of God SO THAT you can be victorious over the enemy, so you can be the kind of guy that others look up to, so that you can be a spiritual leader in your church, then you have the wrong motivation.

Listen to these verses: “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives” (Proverbs 16:2 NLT). “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.” (James 4:3 NLT)

Don’t misunderstand me here. Yes, you need to be victorious over the enemy, and it’s a great thing to be a spiritual leader in your church. But if that’s your primary reasoning for becoming a Super Man of God, you’ve placed the emphasis upon King Me, not God.

Our goal should always be to be the kind of men that honor God in everything we think, say, and do. Every moment of every day of our life. So, here is my second follow-up question for you: What are you doing right now to achieve that goal? C’mon – man to man – what plan of action do you have in place right now to pursue God’s purpose for your life. What steps are you taking to be God’s Man of Steel and whom have you asked to hold you accountable?

Wanting to be God’s Man of Steel is a great first step. In fact, when your heart’s motivation for wanting to be godly is cored then you’re well on your way to success! However, simply wanting something isn’t going to make it happen. For example, at the time of this recording I want to be 20 pounds lighter (after all, my Superman T-shirt doesn’t look all that impressive with that big blue bulge in the middle and hairy belly poking out at the bottom ... just kidding). But the truth is, unless I change my daily life habits and consistently adhere to a specific diet and exercise program, losing that weight and showing off my 3 ¼ pack isn’t going to happen (hey – at my age anything greater than a 2 pack is sayin’ something). In fact, if I’m not careful just the opposite could happen.

You may want to be a godly man, but unless you make some spiritual lifestyle changes, you won’t see your desire transform into reality – and that’s a fact.

To live daily as a Super Man of God, it is critical that you consistently adhere to a specific godly “diet” of daily feeding upon God’s Word. I’m not talking about Spiritual Melba Toast and a bowl of Holy Corn Flakes here. I’m not referring to that short little thing many of us do in the morning that we tend to call “devotions.” I’m talking a thick, juicy, godly T-bone, medium, seasoned just right with a side of piping hot steak fries and a pile of scrambled eggs! I’m talking about a sit down with your Bible, notepad next to you and pen in hand with a sheer determination to not get up until you have discovered buried treasure kind of meal. A man’s meal. A Super Man’s meal. How often do you eat like that? How often do you genuinely “feed” upon God’s Word?

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah couldn’t get enough of his Bible. In fact, he likened his reading of God’s Word to eating a full course meal - drawing all the nourishment and strength he needed to live a godly life directly from the pages of Scripture (Jeremiah 15:16). Peter instructs us to deeply desire the Word of God because Scripture alone helps us grow up in our relationship with Him (1 Peter 2:2). To be a Super Man of God, you gotta eat right, eat often, and eat well. So again, I ask you, what are you doing right now to pursue godliness?

OK – now let me take you back in time to the year 2003 and let me ask you this: Do you know Michael Jordan? I’m talkin’ here about one of the most amazing pro basketball players of the 20th Century. Do you know Michael Jordan?

For example, did you know that he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award five times? Did you know that he was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina? Okay, how about the fact that he won an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and 1992, tried his hand at baseball with the Chicago White Sox, came back to basketball in 1995 and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA History by the NBA? Those are a lot of great facts about MJ. But that’s all they are, just facts. None of them help us to really know Michael.

Here’s my point: Do you know the God of this Universe? Do you know Elohim? Facts and figures about God are all great and good, but knowing a lot of details about your Creator isn’t necessarily going to help you live a godly life. If all you have is an intellectual understanding of God, the only thing you will have gained is a lot of great head knowledge (and the ability to win hands down at Bible Trivia games). We need to get to know God much deeper than a list of facts and figures. We need to know our Heavenly Father far more than just those few Bible verses we memorized in Sunday School.

When your efforts are simply on increasing your knowledge of the Bible, your life will become focused around works instead of a relationship. You will find Christianity to be more of a burden instead of a blessing. You see, as we truly get to know God on an intimate level, we will trust Him with more control of our life. Only as we surrender our self and yield our life over to God will we become God’s Men of Steel.

Jesus loved stickin’ it to the religious leaders of the day. On one occasion He said to them: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39). Those guys were intent on learning and knowing Scriptures, yes. But their heart’s motivation was wrong. Their focus was on gaining knowledge of the Word of God for the sake of knowledge itself.

For them it was all about King Me looking good and sounding all holy and super saintly. It wasn’t about God. Those guys put so much value on their head knowledge that they totally missed the Son of God – the One whom the Bible is about – the One who was standing right before them. Jesus was verbally grabbing them by their sanctimonious robes and shouting, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me!”

Watch this now. Do you have a head knowledge of God’s Word but not a heart relationship with the God of the Word? You can know a lot of great Biblical truths and principles; you can have a lot of passages memorized and know Bible doctrine, but if you are not living those truths out in your daily life, if you are not living by the doctrine you know to be true, you are not glorifying God – you are not a Super Man of God. Period.

So let me ask you this:

• What excites God?
• What angers Him?
• What concerns Him?
• What makes Him sad?
• How much does He love you and in what ways does He show it?
• What are His deepest desires for you?
• What does he want for your life?
• How does He want you to live and work and play?

That’s the kind of knowledge we need. That’s the kind of knowledge that will draw you closer to him and enable you to stand firm against the enemy. However, that kind of knowledge doesn’t come from know a bunch of Bible verses and doctrine. It comes only as you invest time with your Creator daily. As you discover who God really is, your heart will begin to change toward Him. Your focus will wean off of self and will be increasingly placed on loving the One who eternally loves you!

OK. Let’s hit the pause button until next week’s episode as we continue our quick journey through my book “Are You A Super Man?” If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man 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.

Let me take a moment here and tell you about the book this current Podcast Series is based upon entitled, “Are You a Super Man? How to Become God’s Man of Steel.” You can purchase a copy on Amazon.com.

Here’s what I want you to know: If you’re a man looking for a 12-week men’s Bible study then this book is a must. “Are You a Super Man of God? Becoming God’s Man of Steel” is a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at what it means to be God’s Man of Steel in a world that is Anti-God, Anti-Christ, and Anti-Bible. Let’s face it guys: As Christian men we try to be the Super Man of God that others want, need, even expect us to be. We do fairly well most of the time at presenting the “spiritual man of steel” persona to those around us, yet inwardly we know we are far from being the godly man we want to be.

As a Super Man of God your strength, your ability to effectively live a life that honors and glorifies God, comes directly from the SON. The closer you are in relationship to Jesus Christ, the greater your power to resist the archenemy of your soul (the devil) and watch him flee from you (James 4:7).

Yet, truth-be-told, you also have a weakness. It’s your Kryptonite, that radioactive element of your life before Christ that your spiritual archenemy uses to his advantage. The fact is, when you play around with your Kryptonite, it weakens your will and ability to stand firm and fight the fight of faith.

In this 12-week men’s Bible study you will learn how to identify your Kryptonite, steer clear of it, find your super-spiritual strength as you daily draw closer to the SON, and be the man of steel God has called and equipped you to be. So, let me encourage you to go to Amazon.com today and purchase your copy of “Are You a Super Man of God?”

And if you have not yet subscribed to this Point of Purity 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.

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