Participants: Joshua Nelson (Host), David Anderson, James Brandon, Kory Douglas, Kyle Scarlett
Series Code: PC
Program Code: PC000053
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:03 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:04 may be too candid for younger children. 00:40 Hello, and welcome to Pure Choices. 00:42 I'm your host Pastor Joshua Nelson. 00:44 And I'm so excited that you decided to join us again 00:47 for another edition of Pure Choices. 00:49 And today we're gonna talk about being a Pure Witness. 00:53 How do you use your purity as a witness for Jesus? 00:56 And before we introduce our panel, 00:58 we're going to just say a word of prayer, let's pray. 01:01 Dear heavenly Father, we just ask 01:02 that Your Spirit would be here now 01:04 and guide this conversation. 01:05 In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. 01:07 Amen. 01:09 All right, let's begin by introducing our panel here. 01:12 My friend here to the left to me is James Brandon, 01:15 who is university chaplain in Tampa, Florida. 01:18 And then we have here Kyle Scarlett, 01:21 who is a Oakwood University theology student, 01:24 so a rogue scholar here. 01:26 Here we have Pastor Kory Douglas 01:28 who is a pastor of the Grand Avenue 01:30 in New Life Fellowship Church in Missouri. 01:32 And David Anderson who is also 01:34 a Oakwood university theological student. 01:37 So we have some great panel, panel is here today. 01:40 And so let's talk about this idea of purity 01:43 and being a witness. 01:45 First question that I'm going ask is 01:47 how is purity a blessing? 01:51 Purity is a blessing when you realize that God, 01:55 you have journeyed with God to have a pure life. 01:59 You have a sense of freedom, 02:02 a release in Christ and your conscience is clear 02:08 of, not that you don't make mistakes 02:10 or that you haven't made mistakes 02:11 but the effort that you put forward 02:15 along with God's grace 02:17 has allowed you to live a life of autonomy, 02:20 of freedom and a clear mind, you can sleep well, 02:24 it effects a lot of different things. 02:26 And that's how I find it a blessing. 02:28 Well, I love what you said and he said freedom 02:30 because, you know, just from the experience 02:33 of making impure choices, when you're in that lifestyle, 02:37 you really feel bonded, you feel trapped. 02:40 And being out of that, not having to worry anymore, 02:42 having that freedom is something 02:45 that is just priceless. 02:46 So that is definitely a blessing. 02:48 Right, right. 02:49 I believe it's a also a blessing 02:51 because, you know, we know purity 02:52 is not something that we do in and of ourselves 02:54 but of course as a gift of God, you know, 02:56 the process of purity. 02:57 So I believe, in order to be living a pure lifestyle, 03:00 you have to be in communion with God 03:02 and that's always a blessing to be in relationship, 03:05 fellowship with our Creator, our Savior. 03:08 And also because we know that it's a process. 03:10 It's confirmation as you become more and more pure 03:13 that God is actually real, you know. 03:15 Every day when new things are taken out of you, 03:18 you become more and more like Him. 03:19 God is proving to you that, "I am real." 03:22 You know, and I believe that's a blessing as well. 03:23 Wow. 03:24 Yeah, I like that, really realizing who God is 03:26 and seeing Him better just through 03:28 the process of purification because of ourselves, 03:30 we are just impure, messed up. 03:33 Any new pure choice that we make 03:35 is really a revelation that God does really exist. 03:38 Amen. 03:39 So also in saying that, in fact that God is making us pure, 03:44 then how can our purity be used as a witness? 03:48 What do you think, James? 03:51 I think that our purity can be used as a witness 03:56 because just the implications of living a biblical lifestyle 04:01 and one that is rooted and grounded 04:03 in biblical principle, 04:06 you by default be counter-culture 04:10 in your actions. 04:11 You'll be going against the current, 04:13 you'll be going against, you know, 04:16 what's popular and what seems normal actually. 04:20 So it could be a witness because, you know, 04:24 other people will kind of want to know you by default, 04:28 kind of, be singled out or you'll be in 04:31 a different category, different place, you know, 04:34 and people would definitely, they want to know why that is. 04:38 And that can definitely be a point 04:40 in which we can witness 04:42 that not only are the choices that we make 04:46 give us a better life now or more free life now 04:51 or more liberating experience now. 04:54 But then in the life to come, so we went both ways. 04:57 Yeah, yeah. 04:58 You know, going off of that if I could, 05:01 I think a big part of it is that 05:03 because impurity is so natural, you know, to the carnal man, 05:07 that people look at purity as something 05:09 that's unattainable. 05:10 And so when you live a pure life, 05:12 you're walking living proof that it's possible, you know, 05:16 to be engaged in a lifestyle 05:18 that is against the culture, against the norm, 05:20 and the one that people think is impossible. 05:22 So as much as we live out that pure life, you know, 05:25 we prove to people that changes can be made. 05:28 And as you said that I thought about something 05:29 because a lot of people are going to look at you 05:31 if you're being, you know, pure 05:33 and they're going to say to you, well, you know, 05:35 either they're going to say first of all, 05:36 "No, you're not really pure, you know, 05:38 you're just faking it." 05:39 Or they're gonna say, "Okay, you are, 05:41 so what you think, you're better than me?" 05:42 You know, that type of thing. 05:43 So and I know we've got some young brothers here 05:45 who are in college right now and in the university 05:46 kind of in their hope, you know, 05:47 I don't know peer pressure kind of thing. 05:49 Talking about how can you really be pure on, 05:52 let's say a university campus or school campus, you know. 05:55 David, you want to go with that? 05:56 How can you be pure on a university campus, well... 05:58 And use that really as a witness. 06:00 Yeah, because... Right. 06:01 I can say it is hard 06:03 because you have a lot of beautiful women 06:05 walking around the campus. 06:07 Mercy, mercy. 06:08 Talk about Oakwood. And as men we do see. 06:11 And how... 06:14 You set a standard 06:16 and you setting that standard, 06:18 God really sets the standard in you 06:20 but you naturally set a standard for other people. 06:23 And so when they see that you're a pure brother 06:26 on campus, yes, some females will come but some won't. 06:30 And a lot of the temptation by you, 06:34 by default with you hearing yourself to God, 06:37 they just not going to come your way. 06:39 And so I think that the way to keep yourself pure 06:43 on a campus is to really submit to God. 06:47 Right, right, right. 06:48 And to go off of what he said, let's expand. 06:51 Purity isn't just about sex or physicality. 06:55 It's about how you act, how you speak, 06:59 what you do on a regular basis, what your routine is, 07:02 and if it exudes purity and godly figure. 07:07 And I think it goes deeper 07:13 into what you do in that quiet time with God 07:17 and that helps push out the purity 07:21 that you have with inside you 07:23 because whatever's inside is going to come out. 07:25 And so I think that's how you go around on campus 07:30 and give a pure example for all to see 07:35 and it's not just to women, it's to guys as well. 07:37 It's to the friends that you hang out with, 07:39 and it's an example. 07:42 And so I think that's what you should do. 07:43 Okay. Yeah, go ahead. 07:45 You know, one of the things that I would even add to that 07:47 and it was as for my own testimony 07:50 because you know, one thing they say about college is, 07:52 you can find everything on a college campus. 07:54 So just as much as you can find the impure stuff, 07:56 you can find people who are about good stuff, 07:58 who are about living good lives. 08:00 And my testimony was that I engaged with people 08:04 who are about what I was about. 08:06 I hung around people who were not holier than thou 08:09 but they weren't just doing all they want to, you know, 08:11 all out in the world. 08:12 People who were real I said, "You know, 08:13 we have struggles but if we all stick together 08:16 and hold each other accountable, 08:17 then it will be easier for us to do what is right." 08:19 Which of course, it mean, you know, 08:21 you always just did what was right 08:22 but it would be definitely easier 08:23 when you had people around you to hold you accountable. 08:25 Yeah. Okay. 08:27 And I appreciate you saying that, you know, 08:30 especially the whole accountability thing, 08:31 if you hang around the right people... 08:33 But let's just be honest here because, I mean, 08:37 this is their college experience, you know. 08:40 This is when, you know, the movies are made about, 08:42 you know, people will talk about that all the time. 08:44 People look forward to getting out of high school 08:45 and going to college to just running a muck, 08:47 just doing what they've got to do. 08:49 So aren't you two brothers, you know, in college 08:52 and now aren't you're missing out on something 08:53 right now, you know? 08:55 Missing out on some things, I think. 08:57 Yeah. 08:59 I think some things aren't really missing out 09:02 on in the long run. 09:04 It's more that you, it's more of a blessing 09:07 that you didn't experience in the first place. 09:10 It's being able to say, "Well, I didn't do this. 09:14 I didn't do that." 09:15 Not to brag or boast but to have a clear mind on, 09:19 "Hey, this is the choice that I made. 09:22 This is the decision I made." 09:23 And in the long run you live with it 09:26 and it affects things down the line. 09:28 Years and years later, "Oh, 09:29 I saw you had this and then, the third." 09:31 And not that you're worried about what other people think, 09:34 well, only God can judge you but I think it follows into 09:38 what choices you make now 09:41 affects what happens to you later. 09:43 You know, how people view, you can't... 09:46 For instance, you can't say to somebody, 09:49 "Hey, you shouldn't be doing this than the third." 09:51 But you back then were doing the same thing 09:54 you're telling them not to do. 09:55 And so that's what, you know, 09:56 that's what making a pure choice is. 09:58 It's making the choice that affects you 10:01 in the long run right now. 10:03 I think that's how that goes. Yeah, yeah. 10:04 And that's an example you can really give. 10:06 And that's really what it means to be a witness 10:07 because a lot of the older people like 10:09 they say, "Well, you know, yeah, 10:10 I did all that stuff in the past 10:12 but you should do this, you know, do this better now." 10:13 I mean, you have an opportunity now to say, 10:15 "Look, I could have done this but I chose not to 10:19 and this is my life now because of that." 10:21 My father says something, "Work now, play later. 10:25 Play now, work later." 10:27 And I associate that with if you're in college 10:30 and you're playing around with everybody 10:33 and not being pure, 10:36 you will basically spend the rest of your life 10:39 trying to work for that purity. 10:42 But if you submit yourself to God now and you're pure now, 10:45 you can pretty much get married and play a lot later. 10:48 All right, all right, now. 10:50 You know what too, I can testify to that, man. 10:52 I can testify to that someone in other part of spectrum 10:55 who didn't make all the best choices, 10:57 you know, because when I started college, 10:59 you know, I did have the same cafe, I did my thing, man. 11:02 I thought this is the time to have fun. 11:04 And in hindsight now 11:06 I'm having to submit myself to God 11:08 and work even harder being more intentional 11:10 about being pure, 11:11 and also there are things that yeah, 11:13 I might have experienced them but now I'm wishing that 11:15 I had not experienced them. 11:16 You know, there are things that I experienced 11:18 that have shaped who I am today. 11:20 You know, the mind like we said on previous episodes, 11:24 the mind is a serious thing, man, you know, 11:26 and they just warn our mind, there are images 11:28 that you just are not going to forget, 11:30 they are sensations you're not going to forget 11:32 that you wish you could forget later on 11:35 when you finally made that decision to become pure. 11:37 And so, you know, we just got to while we can, you know, 11:40 be as pure as possible. 11:41 All right. 11:43 And, James, I want to kind of get you in here 11:44 because I know you're a chaplain on the university 11:46 and, you know, 11:48 are these type of things you see 11:50 and what kind of thing would you say then 11:51 to someone who is trying to even use purity 11:54 as a witness in their life? 11:56 Yeah, absolutely. 11:59 I'll tell my students, you can come to school at 18, 12:04 stay for 4 years and leave at 18. 12:07 You're going to come and put all your morals 12:09 and all your values and everything 12:11 that is you on the side and just live your life 12:14 and do whatever you want to do. 12:16 But when you graduate and when you leave, 12:18 you have gained nothing. 12:20 There's no growth, you haven't made 12:21 any progression in your life besides a degree. 12:25 So it's definitely... 12:27 I always try to encourage my students 12:29 to make pure choices what cause that was major 12:33 because every impure choice that you make 12:37 or every sin is not an isolation. 12:42 There's always pain 12:45 and ultimately that is attached with that sin. 12:49 That's kind of like a hitchhiker, you know, 12:51 whatever you want to do is cool, 12:53 whatever sin it is that you want to do is fun 12:56 but it's not an isolation, there's pain, 12:59 and there's regret, and there's remorse 13:02 and ultimately if that's not taken care 13:04 of there's death. 13:05 So looking at things further than the next party, 13:11 or the next thing is definitely paramount 13:14 to your success as a college student 13:16 where you have so many things pulling you 13:18 so many different ways. 13:19 And that's a hard thing for young people to do, 13:23 you know, to really look past their, you know, 13:26 what's happening tomorrow whatever, you know. 13:28 Let's look a little further, you know, 13:30 what I'm going to be doing five years from now, 13:32 what I want my legacy to be? 13:33 You know, so I really appreciate you saying that. 13:36 So let's talk, okay, 13:38 so we're talking about being pure, a witness, 13:41 so this is all not just for, just because 13:45 I want to say I'm good, I'm able to be pure, 13:47 but we're doing this because of Jesus, right? 13:49 Doing this because we have a responsibility 13:51 to Jesus, right? 13:53 So what really is... 13:55 What is Jesus requiring of us, you know, in our purity? 13:59 Well, what I can say is that it's doable. 14:05 Jesus wouldn't have us do something 14:07 that He hasn't done Himself. 14:08 He was here on earth, you know, He was human, 14:11 all God and all human at the same time 14:14 and people like to say that, you know, 14:18 it was easy for Him to hold, 14:21 you know, not to fall into temptation. 14:24 But the truth is, I'm sure He was tempted several times 14:28 not being accepted by His own. 14:30 And not only that, there are things, 14:34 being human that you are naturally prone 14:37 to natural proclivities. 14:39 And so Him on the cross for instance, let's go there, 14:43 He could have blinked a thought. 14:46 "I don't want to be up here anymore," 14:48 and it would have been done, and that would be in it. 14:50 And so for us we have to look at His example 14:54 of self discipline or godly discipline 14:58 and fortifying himself in God on a regular basis, 15:02 keeping our will His will. 15:06 And just subjecting what we have 15:09 inside of us to Him so that whatever happens 15:12 we line up with Him and we can say, 15:14 "Hey, this is what I can fall back on." 15:15 Amen. 15:17 You know, one of my favorite verses 15:18 in the Bible right, one of my favorites verse, 15:20 the Bible says that God was working through Christ 15:22 to reconcile us to himself. 15:24 But that He has also given us the ministry of reconciliation 15:28 that we are not saved for our own sake, 15:31 we are not saved just to be pure, 15:32 just to be righteous, just to be changed, 15:34 we are saved so that God can also reach other people. 15:37 And so we have a responsibility and that God is cleaning us up 15:40 to make sure we do what is necessary 15:42 so that others too can be cleaned up. 15:44 And so our purity is not just about us, 15:47 you know, our responsibilities is also to those we meet 15:50 and come in contact with every day. 15:52 We just talk about witnessing, that's what it's all about, 15:55 you know, so. 15:56 You know, so we can hold up our purity badge as a trophy 16:00 to say, "Look, what I've done. 16:01 Look, this is what I made." 16:03 And even, you know, 16:04 the three prongs of Christian life, 16:06 you know, prayer, Bible study and witnessing. 16:09 You know, a lot of times as Christians 16:11 we focus so much on the prayer and Bible study 16:12 and get ourselves okay, almost like hermits, you know, 16:15 kind of making sure we're fine, that we're perfect, 16:16 and we got everything together. 16:18 But then what about witnessing and sharing that 16:20 with someone else in the practical, you know, 16:22 Christ loving way, you know, 16:24 so that's what we really got to... 16:25 We have to do as Christians we are trying to be pure. 16:29 So let's go a little further then 16:30 with this whole pure witness thing 16:32 and really talking with the young guys here. 16:34 We're talking about this the media, not the media 16:38 but the social networking, you know, 16:40 and how that is being used to kind of put out 16:43 a lot of different agendas. 16:45 But how can we not take that Facebook, or the Twitters, 16:47 and stuff and use that to be a pure witness? 16:50 What do you think? 16:52 Well, I believe first of all you don't want to be 16:54 a false witness on social network. 16:56 So if you're not mature enough to be on social networks, 16:59 don't get on that, 17:01 because you have a lot of people 17:03 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, 17:05 posting things that they're not... 17:07 If their parents saw what they are posting, 17:10 they would get in trouble. 17:11 And so if you're not mature enough 17:13 to be on social networks, don't get on social networks. 17:15 Now with me, I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, 17:20 and I have limited myself the time 17:24 that I'm actually going to be on those. 17:26 And then I will post only consistent things. 17:30 So say if on Friday night I'm posting something godly, 17:33 I'm doing the same thing on Sunday, 17:35 doing the same thing on Monday, so on and so forth. 17:38 I don't necessarily follow people 17:42 who are posting negative things 17:45 because I don't want to see it 17:48 and I don't want to behold that because it's going... 17:50 By beholding we become changed. 17:52 And if we're looking because, I mean, 17:54 social networks have basically taken over. 17:55 We have them on our cell phones, 17:57 on the computers and everything like that. 17:58 So you don't want to be beholding anything 18:02 at all times that's just worldly. 18:06 I want to behold something that's godly, 18:08 that's going to bring me closer to God. 18:10 So I don't necessarily follow those people 18:12 or I'm not Facebook friends with those. 18:14 Yeah, unfriend some people, huh. 18:15 Yeah. You have to. 18:17 Yeah, they'd be liking stuff and you're like, "What?" 18:18 You know, stuff on you're feeding. 18:20 Yeah, it's good stuff, good stuff. 18:22 Go ahead. 18:24 I think, it goes to what... 18:27 Like I stated, it goes to what's inside. 18:30 And so whatever you put out there is going to come out. 18:34 It's focusing on things above 18:37 and I'm not saying to be holier than thou, 18:39 but being positive, being uplifting 18:44 is a completely different thing, 18:45 it's kind of taboo these days 18:48 compared to what is always put out. 18:51 So much sexuality, immorality 18:53 and the language we use, how kind of... 18:57 I want to say, it's very, it's tainted. 19:02 And so it goes back to purity being a blessing. 19:05 Once you've lived a pure life and not that it stops, 19:10 it's always a continual thing, 19:12 it's always a process, it's a learning process. 19:15 Once you've lived that pure life 19:16 and that you're secure in that pure life that you have, 19:20 everything that you do will become something 19:22 and an example of purity. 19:24 Yeah, yeah. 19:25 You know, to add to that I think that it goes beyond 19:27 on social media, it goes beyond what we do, 19:31 you know, what we put out there. 19:32 I believe that we also have to take a stand 19:35 for what is right and often call out what is wrong. 19:38 To give an example, I know someone who put up a video 19:41 of their daughter dancing and whining, you know, 19:43 just a funny video but the caption she puts, 19:46 "Oh, when she grows up, she's going to be a stripper." 19:49 You know, and people in commenting saying, 19:52 "Oh, ha, that's funny," you know, 19:54 and all these comments and nobody says, 19:56 "Why would you want your daughter 19:58 to be a stripper?" 19:59 Even if you're just joking, you know. 20:01 I know for myself, when I'm on social media 20:03 my little brothers, friends, 20:06 old students that I taught, people I've gone to... 20:08 If I see it, maybe you might just take it for real. 20:12 You know, "Really?" 20:13 And they'll respond, "Oh, I'm just joking." 20:15 And I'm like, "Well, it's not funny." 20:16 You know, sometimes you got to just stand up 20:17 and let people know because usually the reason... 20:20 Now, social media is all about getting attention. 20:22 If everybody is eating it up, 20:23 nobody is going to change what they're putting out there. 20:24 Exactly. 20:26 Yeah, that's what you said it because, you know, 20:28 as a pastor, you know, I think so many young people 20:31 are kind of mad on their Facebook friend. 20:33 I have to quote in and watch it. 20:34 Definitely. Definitely. 20:36 But, I mean, you know, I'd be telling them, 20:37 I'd be calling them out because, you know, 20:40 that's what it means to be a witness. 20:42 We have to hold people accountable, you know, say, 20:44 "Okay, is this what you really feel? 20:45 Do you really think, I mean, 20:46 I thought you were doing this last week or that last week?" 20:48 You know, and challenge people because, I mean, 20:51 we have to be our brothers and sisters keepers. 20:52 You know, we have to help people, 20:54 when we see them falling into sin, 20:56 we have a duty, a biblical duty to bring them back up, 20:59 to save them from their sin. 21:02 Yeah. 21:04 That's true, we are brothers' keepers. 21:05 And I heard the word earlier accountability 21:08 and oftentimes, whenever we think of the word 21:09 accountability, it's kind of more of a negative connotation 21:13 like, "Oh, man, I got to be accountable to this person." 21:16 But I think if we shifted our view on that and said, 21:19 "Okay, me and this person, we're just going 21:22 to shrive to challenge each other to better." 21:28 You know to... 21:30 You know, every way that Christ grew in wisdom, 21:32 and stature, and favor with God and man. 21:33 So physically, you know, better, you know, 21:36 spiritually better, intellectually better, 21:38 socially better. 21:40 So I think if you see it like that rather than a, 21:43 "Oh, if I fall I'll call you, 21:45 but let's be a proactive about it." 21:46 Yeah. 21:48 "Yeah, what are you doing man, what are you doing?" 21:50 You know what I'm saying? 21:51 You know, saying, we have a standard 21:53 where we're trying to go, so let's connect and make sure 21:56 that we continue to pour into each other 21:58 so that we can get to where we really want to go 22:00 and impurity is over I can think of that too, 22:04 purity in all of our areas. 22:06 Yeah, I like that. 22:07 I have to, I got touched there. 22:09 I mean, this is important. 22:10 It's not something we could do by ourselves, you know, 22:12 it's all about our relationship with God 22:14 but it really has a lot to do 22:15 with our relation with each other. 22:17 We cannot do it by ourselves. 22:18 I immediately think of living in New York, going to Oakwood, 22:21 trying to make the drive down to Huntsville in a car 22:23 by myself, it's hard. 22:25 But if I've got three or four people in the car, 22:27 you don't even have to drive, you just got to be in the car 22:29 and I can make it to Huntsville with no problem. 22:31 Yeah, exactly. 22:33 Somebody with you makes all the difference. 22:34 Right, right, right. 22:37 Now, I want to see if we can get 22:39 some practical testimonies or examples 22:42 of some ways that we have been witnesses 22:45 maybe in our scope or our frame of friendship whatever. 22:49 How... 22:51 Give me a story about how you were able 22:52 to be a pure witness? 22:55 Who wants to start? Somebody. 22:59 I'll start it while you're still thinking. 23:01 Okay. 23:04 One thing that I realize that a lot of people nowadays 23:05 have a different understanding 23:07 the standard of purity, you know. 23:09 And of course, as you go down that road you kind of, 23:11 your own standard of it kind of deviates. 23:13 But one thing is some of the kids at the church 23:17 were asking like, "Oh, you know, don't you stay, 23:21 you and your fiance stay together?" 23:24 And I said, "No, you know, we're not married. 23:26 We're not married yet," you know. 23:27 And they were just surprised and wondering like, "Whoa. 23:30 I thought you are just supposed to live with someone 23:32 who you're dating," you know. 23:33 But it was an opportunity, a teaching moment 23:34 to even a show witness, say, "Look, 23:36 we're taking a stand of purity so much 23:38 that we're not gonna live together. 23:39 We're not gonna try this thing out. 23:41 You know, we're going to stay separate 23:42 and be able to, you know, keep that purity." 23:45 And I think that when I said that to them on that, 23:48 what they realized that that just open their eyes 23:50 up to a whole another standard, you know, 23:53 God is trying to call us to. 23:54 Definitely. David. 23:55 You know, I haven't always been on the road to God in this. 24:00 And I'm not perfect but 24:02 people know when you're genuine. 24:04 Right. 24:05 And when people see a genuine person 24:08 striving to be like Christ, they will commend you on it. 24:11 And I've gotten many Facebook messages, 24:14 many text messages so on and so forth 24:17 about I respect the fact that you're being real. 24:20 Not perfect but real, people can see through a facade 24:24 and somebody who's just trying to fake being pure. 24:28 And when you're really trying, people can see that too. 24:32 I like that. Yeah, all right. 24:35 You got an example, go ahead. 24:37 Another example would be and I can go off again 24:40 off of what he said, not all of us 24:43 have been on this path in our entire lives. 24:46 Sometimes we deviate and make mistakes. 24:48 But being real about those mistakes 24:50 is also part of purity. 24:52 Impure is also being honest with yourself and what you were 24:57 and what God has created you to be 24:59 and what He's doing in establishing in you. 25:02 And I think that, when you, for instance, 25:07 it goes as simple as opening the door 25:09 for more than just somebody you're with or who you know 25:13 and because it's so foreign right now when it's done, 25:18 it's like, "Oh, I have... 25:20 That hasn't been done before, you holding the door for me?" 25:22 So it goes into actions 25:25 and just being honest with oneself 25:29 about what you were and what God has called you to. 25:31 Yeah, that's such a powerful point 25:32 because that right there, the authenticity, you know, 25:35 that David was talking about is 25:36 what people are striving for, they're looking for. 25:38 And maybe tough sometimes, you know, kind of, 25:39 hard especially for those who made mistakes 25:40 and really be real and say, "This is what I've done." 25:43 But, you know, that's what the devil wants us to do. 25:45 He wants us to hide those things, 25:47 keep those things aside because he doesn't want people 25:49 to see that there is victory. 25:51 He want people to still see you in that light, you know, 25:53 so that's a powerful point. 25:55 Yeah. You know, that would go... 25:57 My testimony would be along those lines too. 25:59 I remember, I began teaching academy Bible 26:01 right out of Oakwood and mind you, 26:03 I'm not that far removed 26:04 from the kids that I'm teaching. 26:06 You know, 6 to 11 but I had, you know, 26:07 high school age kids 26:09 and what separated me from the rest of the teachers 26:11 and this is no credit this to myself, 26:13 was that I was real with them. 26:14 I was able to say to them, you know, 26:16 just 6, 7, 8 years ago, 26:18 I was living in outright sin and I struggled 26:21 and now I'm on a path where me and God are walking 26:23 and there still are some struggles, 26:25 but let me show you how God has changed me. 26:27 Let me show you how my conscious intentional effort 26:29 to stay and communing with God has changed me. 26:32 And surprisingly, you know, in contrast to... 26:34 that's in contrast to the teachers 26:36 who are just saying, "You got to do this, 26:37 you got to do that." 26:38 And I was showing the students this persona 26:40 of I've always been good like this, you know. 26:43 And so when the students needed to get away, 26:46 they ran to my classroom. 26:47 You know, when they wanted to talk about real life issues, 26:50 "Oh, man, Mr. Douglas, let me tell you man, 26:52 you know, I was touched to, 26:53 somebody used touch me when I was a kid. 26:55 You know, I've been this, I feel like killing myself, 26:58 I mean, what should I do about..." 26:59 They came to me, you know, and like I said 27:01 it's not about me but people they can, 27:03 they know when you're being genuine. 27:04 And sometimes, you don't have to be perfect, 27:06 you just have to be real, you know. 27:08 And people can see, "Well, yeah, 27:09 he might have been, you know, one way once upon a time 27:12 but look, I can see the change in him 27:14 and so it must be possible for me also." 27:16 Wow. 27:18 So, really using that purity that God has given you now, 27:22 you know, to use that as a witness, 27:24 that's powerful, that's powerful. 27:25 And Brandon, you wanna share real quick in few seconds? 27:26 Yeah. 27:28 I just want to say that it is definitely possible 27:29 to be pure. 27:31 Someone challenged me and said, 27:32 "Well, can you be pure for one second? 27:35 Can you be pure for 10 seconds? Can you be pure for a minute?" 27:39 So, you know, as it goes you can be pure for a day 27:42 for your lifetime as long as you are states 27:44 in a submissive position of Christ. 27:46 Amen. 27:48 Well, that's where we'll end it right there. 27:50 God wants us to be pure, and in fact our purity 27:53 can be even a spiritual act of worship. 27:55 So I challenge you to be pure. |
Revised 2017-10-09