Advertise on podcast: Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift

In this episode Tony shares the SECOND greatest gift you could ever give to God, which is the submission of your will to his will. When God decided to create human beings, he did most amazing and remarkable thing when he decided to give us free will. God did not make us robots. He did not program us so we would have to love him and obey him. Instead, he gave us free will so we would have the choice, and we could then choose to love him and obey him or we could choose not to. In this way, when we do choose to love God and obey him, and when we do choose to surrender and submit our will to him, it's among the greatest gifts we could ever give him. This was the original temptation in the Garden of Eden, when the serpant essentially tempted Eve to exercise her will independently of God. "Why should God have the right to tell you what you can and cannot do?  If you eat this fruit, you can be like God!  You can decide for yourself what's right and wrong!" And a good example of this from the bible is the example of Jonah, because when God told Jonah what he wanted Jonah to do, Jonah decided he did not want to submit his will to the will of God, and Jonah went in the completely opposite direction! And another good example fo this from the bible is Mary, the mother of Jesus, because when the angel Gabriel announced God's plan to her, she immediately surrendered and submitted her will to the will of God, and thank goodness she did! The SECOND greatest gift you can ever give God is the submission and surrender of your will to his will, and at the end of this episode Tony extends an invitation to you concerning the FIRST and greatest gift you could ever give to God!

In this episode Tony shares a concept / idea / strategy that has helped him tremendously in his personal life... in his walk with God... in his purity walk... in his mental and emotional equilibrium for at least the past year. The Power of Music! God made us, and gave us a heart. And God made music, and music, in a mystical way, is a powerful language of the human heart. There's music in heaven, and there will be music for eternity. It's almost as if we wouldn't know how to be human if we didn't have music. From the earliest days of humanity, humans intuitivly discovered the importance of rhythm and beat, even if it was as simple as  beating on a drum. There is rhythm, and melody, and cadance, and beat. And this is the importance of worship, because the music can quite literally transcend our thoughts and reasoning to transport us into the very presence of God. In this episode Tony shares how music can powerfully and profoundly effect our brain chemistry to release the feel good chemicals - dopamine, oxytocin, seratonin, and endorphins - that can help us regulate our emotional state, and our choices, in healthier ways. Tony shares how he's been experiencing music (and dance) in a new, and deeper, and healthier way that's contriubted significantly to his metal, emotional, sexual, and spritual self-regulation. It's a powerful and significant concept / idea / strategy that can and will help you in so many different dimensions of your life. Superstition - Stevie Wonder Mustang Sally - Wilsn Pickett I Wish - Stevie Wonder Let's Stay Together -  Al Green I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers Chain Breaker - Zach Williams Redeemed - Big Daddy Weave Redeemer - Nicole Mullen Shattered - Blanca The Power of Music!

In this episode Tony shares 2 important metaphors. The first one concerns the game of chess. When you're playing chess, the objective is to get your opponent in "checkmate". This means he doesn't have any moves left. In this metaphor Tony compares our relationship with God to the game of chess. In one sense God is attmepting to get us in "checkmate", which means we surrender completely to his will, plan, and Lordship for our life. God's was is better than my way. And in an interesting turn of events, it can often be the sexual area of a man's life that God uses to finally get that man in "checkmate". It's when we become desperate enough as a result of our struggle with sexual brokenness, compulsion, and addcition, that we often come to the place where we're finally ready and willing to do the work we need to do that will allow God to work in a deeper and more powerful way in our heart and life than ever before.  CHECKMATE! The second metaphor is taken from the wonderful movie, The Wizard of Oz! When the farmhouse crashes down, and Dorothy opens the door and steps over the threshold, the movie changes from black and white to color, and she delivers the most significant line of the entire movie: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" In this sense there's a kind of "before and after" in each one of our lives. The metaphorical "Kansas" (in black and white) represents the old way we used to live our life, and the metpahorical "Oz" (in color) represents the new way of life God has intended for us. It's the way of God and the way of his kingdom. We're in a new and different place we might not really understand, but we're finally positioned to experience the life, healing, restoration, and redemption of God in our heart, life, and sexuality like we've never experienced before!

Are you serious about being a man of purity? Are you serious about expressing and experiencing your sexual gift in a way that’s consistent with what God says about sexuality? Are you serious about really working on this area of your life? If you are, these things are not going to happen on accident. It’s only going to happen if you can identify some strategic issues that will truly make a difference in your relationship with yourself, and then do the work that’s necessary to apply those things to your life and situation. In this episode Tony shares 4 important skills of purity that will be very strategic for the average guy to practice as he seeks to experience his sexual gift in a healthier way. (1) Self-awareness You need to be in touch with yourself. You need to be award of what’s going on with yourself emotionally so you’re aware of those moments when you might be getting more vulnerable to temptation and acting out. If you don’t know what’s going on with you it sets you up for repeated failure. (2) Interrupting yourself When you feel yourself beginning to escalate in the old cycle of failure, you absolutely need to be able to interrupt yourself in order to break free of that old cycle and create the possibility of choosing something different and healthier. (3) Choosing a healtheir alternative If you can catch yourself as the old cycle begins to unfold, it creates the possibility for you to exercise your “no” muscle, and for you to make a healthier choice, such as calling a friend, going to the gym to work out, mowing the grass, listening to some music, or writing a psalm to the Lord to tell him how your feeling at that moment and what you’re struggling with. (4) Practice We must then choose to practice this new and healthier cycle over and over again. Practice being aware of myself, interrupting myself, and choosing something healthier, and as we practice these 4 important skills of purity we will help you to stay on track!

God did the most amazing and mysterious thing. He created us with free will; the ability to choose; the ability to say "yes" to something if we want to say "yes", and the ability to say "no" to something if we want to say "no". God could have made robots, but God wanted something way more authentic, and real, and sincere than that. He wanted a creature that had the ability to disobey him, but that would freely to choose to obey him. Wow! In this episode Tony reminds us that we have the ability to choose. Over and over again, probably severeal times a day, you're going to have the ability to "choose", and the choices you make will both determine and reveal the person you truly are. Being a healthier person has something to do with getting the power of choice back, and then exercising your will in obedience to God! 14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:14-15  11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearingof the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purifyfor himself a people that are his very own,eager to do what is good.  Titus 2:11-13  6 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,7  and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused.  Genesis 39:6-8

This world is very broken. Every person is very broken, and this is why we need a Savior. This world has a way of beating people up. There's hurt, pain, confusion, depression, difficulty and hardship in every person's life. It just looks different for each of us at different times of our lives. There's an ebb and a flow. When the going gets a little bit tough (or a lot tough), and it seems like things are really hard, we may sometimes be tempted to struggle with questions about God's love. Does God really love me? Does God really care? If God really loved me, why is he allowing this difficult situation in my life? Why doesn't God do something about this? In this episode Tony explores the question of God's love. How can we really know for sure that God loves us, even when we're going through something really difficult in our life? How do I know that God really loves me, even if I'm struggling with a weakness, or even if I've been acting out in a sinful way. What's the ultimate proof of God's love? There is an ultimate proof, and if you understand this one thing you'll always have the sure confidence of God's love for you, regardless of what's happening in your life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

Our connection to God in the process of change, healing, and recovery is of supreme importance. It’s hard enough to overcome sexual compulsion, sexual addiction, or addiction to pornography with the Lord, let alone without the Lord. Even secular recovery programs such as Alcoholics Annoymous affrim the importance of your relationship to a "higher power" to the process of recovery, and at least 6 of the 12 steps directly mention this reality. Step 2: accept that a higher power, in whatever form, will restore your sanity Step 3: make a decision to turn your will and life over to a higher power Step 5: admit to a higher power, another human, and yourself the nature of your wrongdoings Step 6: accept that a higher power will remove your character defects Step 7: humbly request the higher power remove your shortcomings Step 11: use prayer and meditation to connect with the higher power If we're serious about being better men, we must have a relationship thing going on with God, and not just a religion thing. Tony asks a critiically important question at the end of this episode, and the way you answer the question has profound implications for your life! 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:4-5 Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  II Corinthians 5:17 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  I John 5:12 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20    

Tony recorded this episode on New Years Day, 2024! He focuses on one particular passage which is Luke 8:22-25, and observes how God often chooses to bring his people through a "storm" rather than around the "storm". In Psalm 23 it says that God is with us through the valley of the shadow of death. In the Old Testament God brought his people through the Red Sea when Pharoah was coming to destroy them. Jesus himself had to go through the cross in order to get to the resurrection. And in Luke 8 the disciples had to go through the storm in order to get to the other side of the lake where Jesus had told them to go. No matter what's going on in your life at this time, you can rest asured in faith, that God is with you, and God is going to get you through the situation you might be currently concerned about or struggling with. Even if you're stuggling with your sexual gift in any way at this time of your life, God can get you through. He can get you through sexual addiction to the other side. He can get you through sexual compulsion to the other side. He can get you through porn addiction to the other side. God sees you, he is not indifferent, he cares, and he can get you through! HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

Good News of Great Joy Tony recorded this episode on Christmas morning and shares a significant observation from the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke chapter 2. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2:8-12 We learn from the story that this “good news of great joy” is for “all the people”, and this means that what happened on that holy night was for me and for you! On the night Jesus was born, an angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem and proclaimed a message to them that reveals the very reason that our lives can be changed even today, over 2,000 years later. If you’re struggling in your heart, life, or situation, there is hope! Even if you’re struggling to manage and experience your sexual gift in a healthier way, there is hope! The proclamations of both the angel on the night Jesus was born, and by the old man Simeon in the temple 8 days later, and the implications therein, contain the very truth and power that can change our hearts and lives, even today. Take heart! Have courage! Don’t give up! There is “good news of great joy for all the people”!      

This episode was recorded on December 19th, 2023... in the shadow of Christmas which was just 6 days away. It's so easy to get lost in the helter-skelter and business that comes along with this time of the year - buying Christmas gifts, parties, get togethers, traveling, family obligations, etc. Rush... rush... rush... busy... busy... busy! Sigh! In this episode Tony encourages us to remember the "true reason for the season", and shares 3 important observations from Luke 2, which is the story about the birth of Jesus. It's interesting to note the progresson of 3 intersting vignetes that appear one after the other in this passage. The first one concerns something that was proclaimed by the angel who appeared to the sheperds that night. The second one concerns something that was proclaimed by the old man, Simeon, who had a special connection to the Holy Spirit. The third one concerns something that was proclaimed by the old woman, Anna, who had been a widow for 84 years, and was over 100 years old. SAVIOR! SALAVATION! REDEMPTION! A very significant "theme" emerges around these unusal events that occurred when this special litte boy was born in the manger in Bethlehem, and the proclamation of this "theme" reveals the very reason of his birth. SAVIOR! SALAVATION! REDEMPTION!  

In this episode Tony explores the mystery of the Incarnation - the mysterious reality that God became a man, and made his dwelling among us. God became one of us, and the little baby in the manger - Jesus - was incomprehensibly 100% God and 100% human at the very same time. But this profound mystery isn't just theology for us to believe in our head. It's reality that makes all the difference in our hearts and lives. It's the reality that God is with us that creates the possiblity that our lives can be truly different. It's the reality that God is with us that creates the possibility that a man who's struggling with an addiction to pornography can truly change into a new and different man. What do you think the chances of true and lasting change would be if God wasn't with us? When we're confused... God is with us! When we're struggling... God is with us! When we're depressed... God is with us! When we're discouraged... God is with us! When we feel weak... God is with us! And when we're strugglng with pornography, or any kind of compulsive sexual behavior... God is with us! In this episode Tony shares 3 very powerful scriptures that affirm the reality that... God is with us! “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  Matthew 1:23 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  John 1:1,14 5 The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:5-7

What can God stop? God is God, and God is all powerful, and God is almighty, and nothing is too hard for God. God can do anything God wants to do, and God can stop anything God wants to stop. In this episode Tony shares 15 amazing things that God stopped in the bible, along with the corresponding verse for each of these 15 things. (1) God stopped sickness. (2) God stopped the storm. (3) God stopped the armies of pharaoh. (4) God stopped paralysis. (5) God stopped leprosy. (6) God stopped lameness. (7) Gid stopped infertility. (8) God stopped hungry lions. (9) God stopped 135,00 Midianites. (10) God stopped the firey furnace. (11) God stopped demons. (12) God stopped deafness. (13) God stopped Goliath. (14) God stopped blindness. (15) God stoppeed death itself. Is there something going on in your life right now that you would like God to "STOP"? In this episode Tony affirms that God can "STOP" anything God wants to "STOP", but also shares one very important reality that we absolutley need to understand and accept.