Participants: Pr. Joshua Nelson (Host), Sasha Diambois, Kean Baxter, Jonathan Gustave, Maxwood Annulus
Series Code: PC
Program Code: PC000015
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00:40 Hello, and welcome again to Pure Choices.
00:43 I'm your host, Pastor Joshua Nelson. 00:45 And we have another exciting program 00:47 lined up for you. 00:48 Today, we have some bright young men 00:52 from the ministry of Pure Reality, 00:54 a ministry based in Miami, Florida. 00:57 And so they've just come to talk to us 00:58 a little bit about purity, sexuality, 01:02 and these topics here. 01:04 So I just want to begin by talking 01:05 with a man here, Sasha. 01:07 Actually introduce yourself for us. 01:08 After you've introduced yourself for us, 01:10 then I'm gonna hear from Sasha. 01:11 Go ahead. I'm Sasha Diambois. 01:13 I'm originally from Miami, Florida, 01:15 and I'm a freshman at Oakwood University. 01:19 All right. 01:20 My name is Jonathan Gustave, 01:22 also from Miami, Florida of Haitian descent. 01:24 And I also, at this time, 01:26 at the moment I attend Oakwood University. 01:30 My name Maxwood Annulus, originally from Haiti. 01:33 Now I live in Miami, Florida. 01:34 And I'm a Pure Ambassador. All right. 01:38 Well, it looks we got some strong Haitian brothers 01:39 here with us today, it's all right. 01:41 I also introduce you to my co-host for today. 01:44 This is... 01:45 Go ahead, introduce yourself, sir. 01:47 My name is Kean Baxter 01:48 and I just finished the seminary. 01:49 All right, all right. 01:51 So we have some educated men here today. 01:52 And we want to just talk 01:54 to Pure Reality, this ministry again. 01:56 I want to just talk to Sasha a little bit. 01:58 Share with us just a little bit about your testimony, 02:01 and kind of why you're here? 02:03 Well, growing up in the church, it's very... 02:06 What usually happens is that 02:08 you just do things out of routine. 02:10 And you never know why you do it. 02:12 So I was told, you know, keep your hands to yourself, 02:14 and don't mess around with the girls, you know. 02:17 But after a certain age 02:19 when you start getting feelings like that, 02:20 you don't know why, you just do it. 02:23 Thankfully I never got to the place 02:24 where I tried to explore anything, 02:26 Pure Reality was there. 02:27 So after I went to Pure Reality, you know, 02:30 I understood why, 02:32 understood why I didn't do certain things, 02:34 and it wasn't just about sex, it was just about 02:36 why I believed in what I believed, 02:38 and then why I obey certain laws. 02:40 And then, I made my decision finally, 02:42 you know, that I'm worth something enough to stay away 02:45 and abstain from the worldly things 02:47 because it's really not worth it in the end. 02:50 It's awesome, man. 02:51 So as a young man you made that choice to be pure. 02:56 You know, and it had a lot to do 02:57 with this Pure Reality Ministry. 03:00 So what I want to ask then is, 03:04 what is this Pure Reality Ministry? 03:06 Why is it so important or what does it do, you know, 03:09 so what, you know, why should someone take part 03:13 in this Pure Reality Ministry? 03:15 Well, I would say this Pure Reality Ministry, 03:18 it opens the door for young people 03:20 to come with their burdens. 03:22 Okay. 03:24 Whether it be sexual, immoral things, 03:26 whether it be things that you're struggling 03:28 at home with your parents. 03:29 It's a place, it's like a safe haven, 03:31 and you know that when you go there, 03:33 you come with all your burdens 03:36 but you leave with all the hope of the Lord 03:38 because now you see the light at the tunnel, 03:40 and you could begin to build relationships 03:42 with these people there 03:44 that can help you to grow in Christ, 03:45 and to grow out of the things 03:47 that the world is telling you that you should be. 03:50 That's awesome, so it really creates 03:53 that open environment for people to talk 03:56 or even men to come 03:58 and talk about these issues and stuff. 04:01 A lot of people would wonder why, 04:04 why put yourself through this, this sexual urge is so strong, 04:08 what's the point of trying to stop it, 04:12 and trying to just be pure? 04:15 Well, if we understand who we are 04:20 and who made us, I should say, then you'll see the grand scope 04:24 of why you should stay pure 04:26 because it's more than just not having sex, 04:30 or it's more than just not watching pornography, 04:32 but it's keeping yourself 04:34 not only for that person to come 04:36 but for the Lord 04:37 because a lot of us may not get married 04:40 before God comes. 04:41 But we're keeping ourselves for Him, 04:43 and this is where He speaks to us, 04:46 you know, in our minds, in our bodies. 04:48 And He wants us to be pure in a way 04:51 where we can glorify Him so that the world can see that 04:55 it is possible in the midst 04:57 of all these things that we see, 04:58 you know, on the shows, and commercials, 05:00 and all these perverse things, 05:02 there is a people that can be pure, 05:04 and it starts from a very young age. 05:07 That's why the enemy does this thing 05:08 where he tries to instill the impure things 05:10 at a very young age, 05:12 at the age of six, seven, you know, even younger. 05:17 I want to piggyback on that, and I want to ask Maxwood, 05:20 do you feel like you're missing any, 05:22 missing out on anything 05:23 by being involved in this ministry? 05:26 Not at all, I actually believe that I'm gaining more. 05:31 The message that Jesus preached me, 05:34 He was here was when you'd leave 05:36 the things of earth, you gain in heaven. 05:39 And I think, our whole, 05:41 as Christians our whole mindset should be not to try 05:44 and living in now but to try and restore 05:46 and regain that perfection, that purity that when Jesus 05:51 and God originally made us in Garden of Eden, 05:54 that's what we should need to get back to. 05:57 And that's what purity is about, 05:58 that's what our Pure Reality's message is about. 06:00 You know, I first encounter Pure Reality back in 2007, 06:04 I thought it was just a sex camp, like, 06:06 you know, okay, don't have sex. 06:08 Right. I thought that's all it was. 06:10 But through my years until now, 06:14 I realized that it's more than that. 06:17 It's your language, it's your mindset, 06:19 it's the way that you treat others, 06:21 and purity is who God is. 06:23 So if we say that we're Christians, 06:25 if we say that we're followers of Christ, 06:27 then we should seek to try and be just like Him. 06:29 And that's why I believe that I'm not losing anything at all 06:33 because even the things of earth 06:35 that we gain now, we can't take with us 06:38 whether we go to heaven or to hell. 06:40 Yeah, yeah. 06:41 You know, that's something that really, 06:43 personally I had a struggle with saying, 06:45 you know, while there are so many good things 06:46 or things you think would be good 06:47 out there in the world that you, 06:49 all your friends are doing, you want to do, 06:50 engage in all these things. 06:52 But really saying, "Hey, I'm going to forgo this now 06:55 for what God has for me later." 06:57 And really believing that. 06:59 But it's hard, it's hard, you know, it's hard. 07:01 So, you know, 07:03 what struggles have you really felt 07:05 and really tackling that, really saying, 07:07 "I'm gonna do this thing," you know. 07:08 Well, personally, you know, 07:11 being in school, being in college as a freshman, 07:13 everybody always wants to go to parties 07:15 or everybody always wants to do certain things, 07:17 but right now it ain't that hard, 07:19 but my hardship took place 07:20 in my senior year of high school 07:22 because I was going through so much, you know. 07:25 Well, school is stressing me out, 07:27 and it was at home, 07:29 I was not used 'cause my parents were arguing, 07:31 so I wasn't used to it. 07:32 So what happened was, 07:34 I started drinking to go to sleep, 07:36 and I couldn't sleep unless I was heavily, 07:39 like very near like knockout intoxication. 07:42 And when I finally came to 07:44 and realized what was going on with me 07:46 and I realized that I was literally a drunker, 07:48 I had to pray that off of me, 07:50 I had to pray that away from me. 07:51 And it was so difficult because, you know, 07:53 like when you're going through things 07:55 in your conscious mind, 07:56 I was never able to understand why people do drugs 07:59 if they were just going to come back here. 08:01 But it's just that separation where you're not conscious, 08:03 where you can't think about things clearly, 08:05 is just enough, you know, it was just enough 08:07 to put me to sleep at that time. 08:08 But the prayer that I prayed wasn't necessarily, 08:12 "God take away the alcohol." 08:13 Because if He just took away the alcohol, 08:15 the desire would still be there. 08:16 I had to pray for my perspective 08:18 of the situation to be changed because the problem 08:22 was not necessarily the alcohol, 08:24 it was the fact that I wanted it. 08:25 You know. Right, right. 08:27 And just like that, just like with purity 08:28 and all of that, we were just naturally sinful, 08:31 naturally perverse people. 08:32 So what I realized is I need to stop praying 08:34 for actions to change 08:36 because actions only change from a inner change. 08:38 So when I... 08:40 I had to pray to God from the very beginning, 08:41 help me to make Jesus my alcohol, 08:44 you know, make Jesus my crutch 08:45 so that when I'm going through situations, 08:46 when I'm going through things that are rough, 08:48 I can pray and He can be the peace 08:50 that gives me that I go to sleep 08:52 'cause in Psalms it says that, that rest, you know, 08:54 not just sleep but rest in your sleep, 08:56 that's a gift from God. Yeah. Yeah. 08:57 So if I wanted to rest, I had to go to back to heaven, 09:00 so that I could get that gift and that's what I prayed for. 09:03 And that's how I got over it. 09:05 That's deep, and I want to just... 09:07 I got to touch on that right there 09:08 because that's really where it is for a lot of men. 09:11 You know, we have this desire but there you're saying, 09:14 I'm praying to God, saying take away this desire, 09:17 start with the root of it. 09:18 That's awesome, man, that's awesome. 09:20 Powerful. 09:21 Maxwood, I want to ask you about a teen ambassador, 09:24 what is that about? 09:26 Pure ambassador is all we are young people 09:29 who have attended the retreat, 09:32 and really just want to get back 09:34 and spread His gospel. 09:36 We have our directors and our people 09:38 who put on a program or the retreat itself. 09:42 But they are older, 09:45 and they, most of them don't have the time 09:48 and the knowledge to reach the youth 09:50 that we have as young people. 09:52 So they need us as a work force to go out there 09:55 and really spread this message. 09:57 So we went to training to actually know 10:00 when we go to churches how to... 10:02 What to say, what to present, 10:04 what to talk about, how to respond. 10:06 We put on skits, and plays, and we go around... 10:11 And we ourselves have to be able 10:14 to hold up that banner. 10:16 And it's not easy at all 10:17 because now it's an actual spotlight on you. 10:20 But I don't mind a spotlight 10:22 because it's actually a boost of accountability, 10:25 because I look at it as man, okay, now I'm someone 10:29 people are looking for as a role model. 10:31 So I really have to step my game up, 10:33 and make sure I stayed up 10:34 to the standards that are required. 10:35 So we're just a group of young people 10:37 willing to give back 10:39 and willing to really take this message 10:41 to the next level 10:43 because I'm a Sabbath school teacher, 10:46 I'm a pathfinder counselor. 10:47 I deal with young people of my age or younger 10:51 on a regular basis, and that's the... 10:53 There's dearth in our youth in our churches, 10:56 and there is so much 10:57 that we're dealing with so it's... 11:00 I believe being a pure ambassador 11:01 has helped me to just be able to deal with those issues 11:06 that I deal with by being Sabbath school teacher 11:08 and a pathfinder counselor. 11:09 So that's what being a teen ambassador is all about. 11:12 That's good. That's awesome, man. 11:14 That's awesome. 11:15 So as you're doing this teen ambassador, 11:17 as you're going out, 11:19 and talking to these various men, 11:20 and, you know, ladies 11:21 or whoever you're talking about this subject, 11:24 I want to just come at it, 11:25 you know, from a man's perspective. 11:27 Let's just be real now, you know. 11:28 As men, you know, we have this natural... 11:32 It seems more than the woman do, 11:34 this urge, you know. 11:35 We have this natural desire just to have sex, 11:39 and just to go around 11:41 and spread our seed if you want to say, 11:43 with whoever we come in contact with, you know. 11:45 Like the song you can talk about that, 11:47 you know, we often hear. 11:49 So, you know, here you have men listening now 11:51 and we're just saying, you know, 11:54 how do you really stop, I mean, come on, 11:56 you know, you all sitting here, we sitting here, you know, 11:58 act like, you know, we got it all together. 11:59 But how do you stop? 12:01 How do you really get to that point? 12:02 I know, Sasha, you want to talk about 12:04 the spiritual aspect of it. 12:05 It's just... 12:07 You have to fill up, 12:08 fill up your tank 'cause you don't... 12:10 When you go to the war, 12:12 you don't start doing pushups on the frontline. 12:14 You do that before, you get your muscles ready, 12:17 you know, you make sure that you're physically fit, 12:19 you have endurance so that you can fight it. 12:21 And so many times we're looking for results 12:24 but we don't want to put work in. 12:25 But that's not even scientifical 12:27 because every reaction has an equal 12:29 and opposite reaction. 12:30 So if I don't put any time in, 12:32 I don't do my devotions in the morning, 12:34 I don't pray. 12:35 It's not that necessarily I'm gonna be tempted less 12:38 if I pray in the morning. Right. 12:39 It's just the fact that when I pray in the morning 12:42 or when I take time to give God His time, 12:44 I have to be tempted more, 12:45 for the devil didn't get results. 12:47 So when I don't pray, I mean, that first temptation 12:49 that comes, that first slight hint 12:51 of something that is wrong, I'm going to jump at it 12:54 because I had not put my guard up from the morning. 12:56 And there's so many verses in the Bible 12:58 that talk about how to resist temptation. 13:02 "Greater is he that is in me 13:03 than is he that is in the world." 13:05 You know, things like that, 13:06 and it's just a matter of removing your self 13:08 from the equation and realizing that this is not your battle. 13:10 God has already won, so when the devil comes 13:12 at you with something like that, 13:14 you just need to remove yourself 13:15 and stand behind Christ because behind Christ, 13:18 temptations can come 13:19 but they can never make it through, 13:20 they can never penetrate the protection 13:22 that you've put up from the morning 13:23 when you've woken up, you know... 13:25 That's good. I like the imagery. 13:27 But, Kean, honestly, man, 13:29 I mean, I'm sitting here listening to this, 13:30 this is great. 13:31 But I mean, let's be practical. 13:34 I mean, what does that really look like though, 13:36 to stand behind Christ? 13:39 I would say to make it practical, 13:43 for me personally it would begin 13:45 with relationships, you know. 13:47 And the number one relationship is Jesus of course 13:49 because you can't just tell a guy, 13:51 "Oh, stay pure, don't have sex, don't touch her. 13:54 Why are you doing this?" 13:55 You know, so you got to get to know 13:57 the person Jesus first for yourself. 13:59 And then God will start to reveal to you 14:01 the practical things that you can do. 14:02 You know, me I like to work out, 14:04 you know, I like to play basketball, 14:06 you know, and just having that accountability, 14:09 being with guys that are willing to be open. 14:11 I think that's one of the most important things. 14:13 If you have a group of friends that are willing to be open 14:16 to talk about their struggles 14:17 when they are in their personal rooms, 14:19 then you'll be able to share your things. 14:21 And then, you know, you guys are no, 14:23 man, I'm not alone in this. 14:24 But on the other hand, 14:25 if you have friends that are about doing the things 14:28 that the world does, then the pressure comes. 14:31 You know, and I think a lot of the young men, 14:33 we put ourselves in those positions. 14:35 We put ourselves in a position 14:37 where, okay, we have this type of friends, 14:39 and we grew up with these friends, 14:41 and we just want to stay tight with them. 14:42 But God is leading us in a different direction, 14:44 but we don't want to leave our friends. 14:46 And then we get on with our friends, 14:47 we're trying to be holy, 14:49 and then they are declowning us. 14:50 You know, they're making fun of us 14:51 because, "Oh, you're trying to do." 14:53 It's inevitable, you're going to go right back 14:54 to the same thing. So it's all... 14:56 I think it starts with your crowd of people, 14:57 you know, start finding things you can do, 14:59 you know, meeting other people, 15:01 being active in church, playing sports. 15:03 You know, guys, we macho like sports, play sports, 15:06 you know, go work out and things like that. 15:08 Yeah, yeah. 15:10 Okay, that sounds good, sounds good. 15:12 So we just kind of make sure we have it all together here. 15:15 Staying behind Christ, you know, 15:17 get the relationship with Jesus, you know, 15:19 that that's kind of the reason why 15:20 you're doing that, you know, you were... 15:22 And I like to talk about the fact 15:23 that you were bought with a price, 15:24 you know, 1 Corinthians, 15:26 you know, you're bought with a price. 15:27 And so you glorify God in your body, 15:28 you know, you understand that you are His. 15:31 But also now going a little further you're saying, 15:33 "Okay, let's get an accountability partner." 15:35 You know, and I think what Max was saying this, 15:38 you know, earlier he was saying stay busy. 15:39 Stay busy. 15:41 Definitely because if you... 15:44 When you find yourself in idle times, 15:46 that's when temptation comes. 15:49 You know, the computer at midnight, 15:52 really not doing anything productive, 15:55 you get all kinds of temptations. 15:58 Yeah. 16:01 Personally, I developed a pornography addiction 16:03 at the age of 12. 16:05 It was my first time I was exposed to it 16:06 but that's when the addiction started. 16:08 And at the age of 18, 19, 16:10 that's when I really went to make conscious decision to, 16:14 you know, be removed from that, 16:15 and that process still continues 16:17 to be totally delivered from it. 16:19 But during that process, 16:21 I had to do some practical things 16:23 to detach myself from that. 16:25 I had to get off my Facebook for a couple of months 16:28 because simple triggers as a girl 16:31 posting her picture of herself in a certain manner 16:34 which probably to her don't even look like nothing, 16:38 we're just like... 16:39 And the next thing I know I'm on another website, 16:42 the one I'm not supposed to be doing. 16:43 Simple things like that. Yeah. 16:45 So in fighting this battle, 16:49 we really have to be engrained in it, 16:51 not to give the enemy any... 16:54 Don't give him a inch, don't give him nothing at all 16:58 because he is gonna take it, 17:01 and he is going to take advantage of it. 17:03 He studies us, he knows our weaknesses, 17:05 he knows the areas, he knows what we like, 17:07 he knows what our mind's and heart's desire, 17:09 he knows as men we're visual, he knows that. 17:13 So he is gonna place those things 17:15 within our paths to try and detour us. 17:17 So it's our responsibility if we really want to be pure, 17:22 to put ourselves in a situation 17:25 where we won't even have to face them. 17:28 So those practical things and doing, staying busy, 17:33 not spending time doing idle things, 17:37 conversations, you know, knowing that 17:40 "Hey, I may not," 17:41 even if I'm in a relationship with a young lady, 17:44 may be talking after 10 o'clock at night 17:46 is not good for us. My Lord. 17:48 Because we all know after certain time on phone... 17:52 Something happens, man, Something happens. 17:53 The conversation just always seems 17:55 to go down that slippery slope. 17:58 So it's very important to really take conscious, 18:01 to be conscious. 18:02 And not say, "Oh, this is not going to affect me, 18:04 it's not..." No, but to consciously say, 18:07 "This is not the best way for me to go." 18:09 I want to key on, in on what you said about 18:12 staying busy, and as a teen ambassador, 18:15 you've made yourself responsible 18:18 to younger children, 18:21 and to do not only to stay busy for busy sake, 18:25 but busy doing good things. 18:27 Doing good things. 18:28 And this is, of course, 18:29 another thing that the devil 18:31 will like to take away from us that, 18:32 you know, we're just busy doing 18:35 our own thing for our own purpose 18:37 but we have to be busy doing what God wants us to do. 18:40 Yes, definitely. 18:43 All of us here are very much involved in church, 18:46 you know, I always say my first priority is church 18:49 when it comes to being involved 18:51 because I mean, "Oh, is that your church? 18:52 Oh, let's doing something." 18:54 That's what keeps me, that's what keeps me 18:56 being pure part of a pure ambassadors 18:58 and Pure Reality, and, you know, 19:00 Jonathan does naps and Sasha, you know, he is doing ministry, 19:05 and that's what keeps you. 19:07 Because the more you get involved in this work, 19:09 is the closer you get to Christ, 19:10 the closer you get to Christ is Him always able to keep you. 19:13 So being involved like, you know, Kean says, 19:16 in the good things, 19:18 closer to Christ, doing His work, 19:20 removing self is really the way to go. 19:24 That's right, yeah, we have a few more minutes left, 19:28 but I really want to tackle relationships a little bit. 19:31 And I know some young ladies watching 19:33 are wanting to us to talk, 19:34 ask some of these questions about relationships. 19:35 And I want to ask this question. 19:37 As men, we got to be real, we got to be honest. 19:40 Question is, why is it so hard for us 19:43 brothers to pop the question? 19:45 And I know my brother here, he is married, 19:46 so he did, he did, he made the point. 19:48 So why is it so hard you think for us now? 19:50 You know, a lot of young ladies can't complain about that 19:52 though he is just kind of dating me. 19:53 Talking about that, what do you all think? 19:56 If I may answer first, I think that for me personally, 20:02 one main thing is know when God's time. 20:06 Sometimes we want to move in our time 20:09 whether it be the guy or the young lady. 20:12 We want, you know, to move on and do this, 20:14 I mean, you know, for whatever pressure there is. 20:17 But it's important to remember what God time is. 20:19 And if we move on God's time, 20:21 we will find ourselves to be in better position 20:23 to succeed than to fail. 20:26 And one of the thing is that for myself, 20:30 I have not been in a relationship 20:32 for like almost six years now. 20:34 And one of the main things is purity 20:36 because a lot of people I have encountered 20:38 or young ladies I meet, even being interested in, 20:41 purity is not that important to them. 20:43 So when you don't have that connection 20:48 or that thing in common, then we can't move forward. 20:50 So we have to make sure that 20:52 when it comes to principles, and values, and morals, 20:54 that the young man and the young lady, 20:57 they have those things in common. 20:59 And also that both people are ready 21:00 for that next step so they can move ahead. 21:03 I mean, let's just say, 21:04 just playing, sometimes it's hard 21:06 to find a good woman. 21:08 I mean, they always talk about it's hard to find a good man, 21:10 but and that's people trying to be right, 21:11 it's kind of hard to find a good woman, you know. 21:13 Yeah, yeah. 21:14 I started preaching at like 12. 21:18 So by the time I was like 15, 16, 21:20 I was starting to get invited to places, 21:22 and what I've realized is so many times, 21:24 especially down in, 'cause I'm from Miami, 21:26 sort of highly Caribbean and things like that. 21:29 They just want their children to be with ministers so bad. 21:32 And it got to one point where I was like this is ridiculous, 21:35 this lady, I just met her that day when I spoke, 21:39 and she took me into the room with her... 21:41 I was 16, and she took me with her 21:43 16-year old granddaughter, 21:44 and like, "This is my granddaughter. 21:45 She is single, she is 16. 21:47 Why don't you guys speak?" 21:49 And then left and closed the door. 21:50 And I'm thinking to myself, you know, 21:53 "This is your grandchild, not property. 21:54 You don't know me from anywhere." 21:57 You don't know if I'm just good at preaching. 22:00 And what I've realized is, you know, 22:02 we approach marriages very, very wrong, 22:05 you know, very, very, very, very incorrectly. 22:07 Marriage is supposed to be prayed on, 22:10 it's not just because a person looks good from the outside, 22:12 you don't know what they struggle with, 22:13 you don't know their family history, 22:15 what type of generation or curses 22:17 are you inviting on your children, 22:18 on your offspring 'cause you don't know the person. 22:21 And I think that that spiritual aspect 22:22 is lacking and also with dating, 22:25 as Maxwood said it's very difficult 22:27 to find someone who is bent on purity. 22:29 So many times, 22:30 I've spoken to a girl or tried to be interested in her, 22:35 and invest time in her, 22:36 and what it starts off is because they know like, 22:40 basically what I do or my history 22:42 with Pure Reality and things like that, 22:43 they put a facade that they are pure, 22:46 that they are genuinely trying to live right. 22:49 And then within like six months of speaking to them, 22:52 not even dating, they will say, "Why haven't you kissed me?" 22:55 And I'm thinking to myself, 22:57 "Did you hear what you just said?" 22:58 You know, what happened to that purity, 23:00 what happened to waiting 23:02 because people forget a kiss is something very, 23:04 very, very powerful, a kiss. 23:07 It's not something to be thrown around, 23:09 and it's so sad that mainstream society 23:11 and TV just throws kisses around. 23:13 Kisses are used to seal your marriage, 23:16 "You may kiss your bride." 23:17 And things like that... 23:19 Kisses are intricate because, 23:21 you know, your lips are very sensitive, 23:23 the most sensitive part of your body is your lips. 23:25 And when you kiss someone, 23:26 you can just open doors to all type 23:28 of sexual immorality after that. 23:30 And I feel like, you know, 23:31 if you're going to try to become 23:33 wifey material as we would say, 23:35 someone who is worth being a wife, 23:37 and you would like someone to be engaged, 23:38 firstly, you have to value yourself 23:40 so that they can know that you're valuable. 23:42 And secondly, give them something to go after, 23:45 don't just throw everything on the table 23:46 because if the guy doesn't feel like 23:48 there is anything to chase for, 23:49 most likely he is not going to ask the question. 23:51 Experience honest, yeah. 23:53 So for those reasons, 23:55 how important is it then to depend on God? 24:00 Because you say that we put up facades all the time. 24:04 And what do we... 24:07 How do we approach that? 24:08 Well, in the Bible, 24:11 there are a few indications of what it means to be a man, 24:14 you know, when God made Adam, he had a job. 24:18 He was supposed to take care of the garden, 24:19 he was knowledgeable, 24:20 he knew what his purpose was in life, 24:22 you know, and he was at one with God. 24:26 God gave him his mind. 24:28 And we don't look for people with the mind of God anymore. 24:33 So much so that he had the mind of God 24:34 and so much so that they were one, 24:36 that the Bible never lists that God told Eve 24:38 the rules of the garden. 24:39 Adam knew his duties as the husband 24:43 and told Eve what she was supposed to do, 24:45 you know, or what the rules were, 24:48 and how to follow the will of God. 24:50 And also the next example 24:51 I would like to give use is Jacob, I'm sorry. 24:54 He worked seven years for his first wife 24:56 that he didn't want but he worked those seven years 24:58 because he loved that woman. 25:00 He loved her. 25:02 And so many times girls are saying 25:03 they don't want to wait or they don't want to wait 25:05 to give their boyfriend his sexual needs 25:08 because he is not going to wait for them. 25:09 If he is not going to wait for you, 25:11 he doesn't love you, he doesn't value you, 25:12 he doesn't cherish you, 25:14 and those are not the qualities you'd like in a husband. 25:16 And the good thing about Adam and Eve 25:19 was when Adam was ready, God brought Eve to him, 25:23 he didn't have to go out looking for her. 25:24 Yeah. 25:26 God knew Adam and exactly what he needed 25:28 and the same with Eve. 25:29 Yeah, there is a lot to say about waiting on God, 25:31 and really a lot of this has to do with waiting, 25:33 you know, it's just being willing to wait on Him 25:35 and trust in Him that He will give you 25:38 that great experience when it's time. 25:40 And thinking about that in practical... 25:42 We only have a few minutes left but, 25:43 John, we were talking about Job 31, 25:46 how it says, "I made a covenant with my eyes, 25:48 why then should I think upon a maid?" 25:50 Why should I even look at a woman? 25:52 Now in our society and media, 25:54 it's hard to keep our eyes holy. 25:56 Is this applicable today? 25:57 Most definitely I believe so. 26:00 And I honestly believe that enemy has the great job 26:04 of making all the things in this life, 26:08 everything that we do, you know. 26:10 I love basketball. 26:12 If I go to the basketball game, there's cheerleaders there. 26:15 If I go to a football game, same thing, 26:16 and these people, these women are half naked. 26:19 You know, music and you just start thinking 26:22 about certain things when you hear 26:23 certain times the music. 26:25 So I mean, the way you would do that 26:28 is abstaining from certain things, 26:30 you know, like I said, you know, 26:32 I like to watch basketball, I like play basketball. 26:34 I'm not going to just stop watching basketball altogether. 26:37 But I'm not going to put myself and go through a game if I know 26:40 I'm going to see these types of things, 26:42 you know, I'll watch it from my home, 26:43 you know, these type of things. 26:45 And it's not just walking in the streets 26:47 with your eyes up and not looking at anyone. 26:49 Yeah. It has nothing to do with that. 26:50 But I believe it's more of a mental thing like, 26:54 what are you going to do, you know, 26:56 are you going to go to this store here 26:59 where you know they have this type of things 27:01 'cause I know you know guys... 27:02 Yeah, yeah. We're very, very, very visual. 27:05 And if you even look at a Victoria Secret catalog, 27:09 it's... Your mind, it's going crazy, it's going crazy. 27:13 So it just goes back to 27:15 what are you doing with your time, 27:17 you know, what are you doing with your time, 27:19 what are the type of people that you're around, 27:21 you know, because all these things 27:22 have a part to play in your eyes, 27:24 you know, making the covenant with your eyes with God. 27:27 Man, that is so true. 27:28 We really have to make that covenant with our eyes, 27:30 and in the practical sense, 27:31 when we're watching something on TV, 27:33 we're watching a show, 27:34 we have to turn away from that thing, 27:35 turn it off, you know, walk away, get out of the room, 27:37 you know, and really make that covenant. 27:39 And I truly believe that we can do it. 27:41 And if there's man watching here, 27:43 you can do it. 27:44 There is hope, you can make it happen. 27:46 And just know that God is there with you. 27:47 So that's our program for today, 27:49 we're going to wrap it up here. 27:50 But remember, make pure choices. |
Revised 2018-03-07