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Episode #31 "Talk to Your Doctor - Take Your Meds"
Transcript
Welcome to today’s episode of 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. Proverbs 3:5-6 commands you to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Proverbs 4:23 commands, “Above all else, guard your heart!” So, how are you doing with that? Are you guarding your heart? Are you trusting in Him completely?
Over the last two episodes we have been talking about the health of our spiritual heart. In this episode I want to share with you a couple more thoughts from God’s word on how to protect your heart and keep it healthy. So, c’mon in – grab your Bible and join us for today’s episode entitled: “Talk to the Doctor and Take your Meds!”
(01:00) Talk to the Doctor, Take Your Meds
I mentioned in last week’s episode that a friend of ours had to have a heart transplant. Immediately after her heart transplant, she started taking a regimen of medications vital to the health of her new heart. There are drugs that prevent the immune system from making cells that can reject the heart and there are drugs that help control blood pressure, slow down the thickening and narrowing process of the blood vessels of the heart, and decrease the potential for inflammation or swelling. Each one of those drugs are vital, they are critical, they are necessary for the ongoing health of that new heart.
In the same way, your spiritual heart needs certain things in order to keep it (and you) spiritually healthy. God says in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” I’m certain that I’m fairly safe in saying you want a cheerful heart. Am I right? Don’t we all?
Let’s face it; unconfessed sin does not make a cheerful heart! King David shared in Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silent”—in other words, when I refused to confess my sin — “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” In Psalm 38:3 we read, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of (God’s) indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.”
So, the first thing you must do to maintain a healthy heart is to go to God with your sin, daily confessing it before Him, agreeing that it is an offense to Him, and claiming the forgiveness He offers. Keep a short account with your Maker, Father, Savior, and Friend. You see, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “Therefore” (James 5:16), confess your sins ... that you may be healed.”
Oh, my friend, do not be like the people of Israel who “did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right” (2 Kings 17:9). We battle with the temptation to keep our sexual impurity from others. To lie, hide, deceive, and mislead so we are not caught in our sin. We even struggle with the desire to keep it from God.
Take a cue from David and don’t keep it hidden. Rather (Ezra 10:11), “make confession to the Lord … and do his will. Separate yourselves” from sexual impurity. Confess your sin; mourn over how you have hurt and dishonored your Heavenly Father. Understand that (1 John 1:9) God “is faithful and just to forgive (you) your sins and to cleanse (you) from all unrighteousness”. Acknowledge your sin to God, don’t cover it up any longer and He will forgive (Psalm 32:5).
When you are sick and you visit your doctor, he typically gives you a prescription for what ails you. You are expected to follow his instructions – completely—take all your meds at the exact times and in the precise ways prescribed. If you choose not to, don’t be surprised when you don’t get better. Deuteronomy 7:12-15 says, “If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them,”—in other words, take your meds at the prescribed times and in the prescribed ways — “then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you … The LORD will keep you free from every disease.”
OK, let’s be honest here. Sometimes taking your meds can be annoying, especially when you have to take it every four hours and you don’t like the taste. Right? I’ll never forget as a child absolutely hating the taste of my medicine. I was so glad when the manufacturers started improving the flavor. Admittedly, there are times when we may not like the prescription God gives us. Isn’t it a relief to know that God’s “words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24)!
Just like a parent lovingly urges their child to buck up and take it anyway, God says, “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22). In other words, take your meds, do what your Heavenly Physician tells you to do, and you will get better. Guaranteed!
In Exod. 15:26 God says, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and (If you) do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and (If you) keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." You see, God alone is the only One “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.” (Psalm 103:3) This is why David says, “As for me, I said, ‘O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!” (Psalm 41:4)
Never lose sight of the fact that God wants you to be happy and healthy. He wants you to know genuine, lasting victory over lust, porn, masturbation, and every other form of sexual impurity. And so, I echo the words of 3 John verse 2: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” David says in Psalm 16:11 “(God) will show me the path of life; in (His) presence is fullness of joy; at (His) right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Just as the doctor tells you to take two aspirin and call him in the morning—so you and I need to read God’s Word daily and talk to Him every morning. We should be like the disciples of Acts 2:42 as they devoted themselves to the study and teaching of God’s Word.
(09:52) See the Doctor Regularly
After our friend received her heart transplant, she has had to see her physician regularly. These routine health exams and tests not only make sure her heart is functioning properly, but they enable the doctor to discover any problems early, when her chances for treatment and cure are better.
Do you want to be spiritually healthy? Do you want to prevent sexual impurity from permeating every aspect of your life, dominating your thoughts, and dictating your actions? If so, what are you doing right now to avoid it? What are you doing Right Now to protect your heart? Are you seeing the Great Physician on a regular basis – are you daily in the word and in prayer?
Jesus made it abundantly clear that our top priority must be the kingship of God in our heart as we live out His righteousness in our life (Matthew 6:33). To do that, we need to invest time with God daily.
In each and every one of these episodes we have intentionally and purposefully opened our Bible to learn from the Holy Spirit how to live unreservedly for God. Hopefully these episodes have encouraged and challenged you to face some things in your life and make some critical decisions. It is my prayer that each episode in this podcast has not only been a blessing to you but is encouraging (and challenging) you to grow deeper in your walk with God.
Will you continue to dive into Scripture to seek God’s face? Will you visit your Heavenly Doctor daily?
Studying God’s Word can help you see potential problems in your life before they start. A daily quiet time with God can also help you find a problem that is already beginning to develop in your life. Let’s face it though; devotions are often hard to do.
We tend to get so busy and face so many demands on our time that we can easily push any alone time with God right out of our daily routine. Can you relate? So, let me ask you a question here: Do you love Jesus? “Well of course I do!” you exclaim. Great! Does it make sense then that you should invest regular time with Him and get to know Him much deeper than you already do?
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) I submit that your love for Christ should prompt your obedience to Christ. Let me repeat that. Your love for Christ should prompt your obedience to Christ. You cannot walk in obedience to Him, and you cannot know what it is He wants you to do if you are not reading His Word to find out!
Do you want real, lasting victory over sexual impurity in your life? God says, “If you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments … I will be with you and will build you a sure house.” (1 Kings 11:38) That my friend is a promise you can take to the bank! As you seek His face—as you search the Scriptures to learn more of who He is and what His will is—and then you immediately choose to obey, He will show you what real victory and freedom is like! Guaranteed!
God’s desire for you is that you would have “such a heart as this always, to fear (God) and to keep all (His) commandments, that it might go well with (you).” (Deuteronomy 5:29) That will not happen if you do not “turn from your evil ways and keep (God’s) commandments and (God’s) statutes.” (2 Kings 17:13) So I want to challenge you—right here, right now—cry out against porn, lust, and masturbation and say, “depart from me, you evil doers, that I may keep the commandments of my God!” (Psalm 119:115)
In Psalm 16:11 King David declared of God, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Meeting with God on a regular basis is the foundation for a joyful life. Satan knows this and uses all means at his disposal to chip away at our relationship with God. One of his most successful tactics has been to make us so busy that we feel we just don’t have the time to invest alone with the Lord.
So let me close out this episode with the following verses from Psalm 119:1-8: “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn of your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes.” (Psa. 119:1-8)
If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about our 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 (repeat)
One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is my book entitled “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” This book takes you on a journey through the Bible to examine what God has to say about how your thoughts, words, and actions influence and impact your heart.
Jesus said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33) Your thoughts bear fruit: your behavior. When you train your mind to think godly thoughts, the fruit of your life – the things you do day in and day out – will be godly. On the flip side, when you allow your mind to think sinful, fleshly, ungodly thoughts, the fruit of your life (your daily attitudes and actions) will be ungodly. So, how do I change the way I think? How do I change the things I do? How do I successfully and effectively guard my heart? This book, “Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you into God’s Word to help you answer those questions.
So go to our website, ThePurityCoach.com, and check out our resources page, or go directly to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Extreme Mind Makeover” today.
(20:38) Closing Soundtrack
Thank you so much for listening to today’s podcast. If this has ministered to you, if this has blessed you, challenged you, or encouraged you I ask you to do two things. First of all – would you please let your friends know about The Point of Purity Podcast. Help us help men and women across the globe win their war for sexual purity and live in freedom.
Then second, and this is so important, please take a few seconds right now to go over to your favorite Podcast Player and rate our program and this episode – why? because every time you do, your rating lets them know this podcast is important, it is valuable, and your ratings helps us get this program and this ministry into the ears and hearts of people just like you. 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.