Last week at Bethel, we focused on sexuality in the chapel messages, and I thought that I would share some or the message material with you along with a few of my opinions mixed in.

The Walterhouses shared their story with us, which involved his addiction to porn for almost 20 years starting at age 14, and carrying through his entire training to be a pastor and his pastorship until he was caught. No one knew. . . . . not his wife. . . . . not his “accountability” partner. . . . no one.  These are some lies that he believe that kept him in bondage:

1. I’m the only person struggling with this sin - now he knew others were dealing with it, but not as bad as him, and wasn’t it supposed to go away after marriage – that’s what other people had told him. . . . what was wrong with him??

2. Everyone struggles with this sin (Lie of rationalization/justification) – in other words, when he heard his discipleship leader make a comment about “just because he is on a diet [i.e., he is married] doesn’t mean he can’t look at the menu” – he figured that this is just a man’s cross to bare, and that all men are dealing with it, so it is really not that big a deal.

3. I’m not hurting anyone else (Lie of denial) – this is just affecting me, noone else is getting hurt. Side not here from me – first of all, “you bring you into every relationship, thus, if you are affected then all of your relationships are affected!” Second, you only have a limited amount of passion and desire, and if you are using up some or most of it on porn, then guess who gets short-changed?. . . . your spouse, your friends, your vocation, etc….

4. I can get victory over this sin (Lie of self-effort) – in other words, if I would just confess it enough, pray about it enough, go to enough church camps, etc…. (his list was fairly long here) . . . then I can kick this thing myself, and noone has to know.

5. I can NEVER get victory over this sin (Lie of hopelessness) – After believing lie #4 and trying as hard as he could many, many times. . . he came to the conclusion that all was hopeless in conquering this. Side note from me: this is not uncommone to see with those struggling with addiction, and it goes something like this. People can maybe envision being strong for a few hours, or a day, but once they start imagining being strong for a week or 2 weeks, a month? – they feel overwhelmed, b/c there is no way they are strong enough for that!! and so they say “screw-it” might as well just give in now. . . .

You know what . . . part of them is right – the state they are in right now, they can’t make it a month, but the secret (that the enemy does not want you to know) is that Day 12 is not as hard as Day 1, and that you are being transformed throughout, so that one day at a time. . . you are getting stronger – sure you will fall, but God is there to keep building you up.

So, keys to victory, according to the Walterhouses:

1. Press in clost to the heart of God – emphasis on the HEART! – and that heart is of love and grace, yes. . . . even for this! He is ready to help and bring you back home!

2. be open with your sexual struggles (or hidden sin) with someone that has bite – in other words confess in a radical way – to people that might leave a mark (i.e., a spouse, an RD, etc…)

3. Call it what it really is. . . . Sin and Lies - and just like any sin, when grown fully leads to death.

One last note from my heart on this:

Deep within each man is a desire to be wanted, and wanted sexually – those images, those pictures. . . you know what they are telling men? “I want you” – “I WANT YOU” – “you don’t have to change, I will except you just the way you are, you don’t have to work to convince me – I am all yours”. That temptation strikes to the core of most men – you take into consideration that men or visually driven, and you have the recipe for a “fall.”

There is so much more to be said on this, but that is it for now – pray for the boys/men and girls/women that are in this addiction right now please – they need all of our help.

Here are some of Shane’s thoughts on Jill Briscoe’s second to last session:

Symbol- Dry Bones Ezk 37

Ø  He (God) does not call the equipped, He equips the called.

Ø  We have dry bones (lost people) every where and they are useless.

Ø  When vision, passion, mission leave you, you dry up.

Ø  The call is discipleship, the call is any time, any place, any where.

Ø  Dry disciples are brittle. They no longer have a backbone . . . only have a wish bone.

Ø  When we dry up we get depressed…we lose hope…and we lose confidence…

Ø  There is more depression in America today because they have lost their hope in God. Without hope. . . we all dry up.

Ø  Want to be big. . . . .  Learn to be small

Ø  Courage is doing the right thing frightened.

Ø  Courage waits for your obedience

Ø  You don’t choose where you are going, you don’t choose what gift you will use, you are just obedient. 

Jill touched on a few different things like dry bones or lost people and spiritually dead Christians, being a soldier of Christ, and then on obedience.   Jill said tonight that in our Christian bubbles we can find one of the hardest places to stay fresh, because we have too many spiritual substitutes. 

Jill made the statement that “it’s easier to be friends with Jesus’ friends than with Him…and it doesn’t matter how holy the substitute is. . . . .  it’s not God!” there are so many people out there that don’t know Christ and I thought it was interesting how Jill put spiritually dead Christians in the same category  with  unbelievers. . . . .really. . . . .  what’s the difference???

It takes courage when following God and the Spirit.  Jill told a story about when she felt the Lord calling her to go into this place where a big concert was being held and tell the people about God. She said that first she wanted to pray for courage and as she prayed she said that she still didn’t have courage so the first night she didn’t go in, but she knew that she would have to come back the next night. So she did and she began to do the same thing pray for courage, but as she was praying, she still did not feel courage,  but she heard God asking her  “will you go in for me, WITHOUT  the courage?”  - – - Are we willing to be Bold for Christ and go into places when we don’t have the courage?? are we willing to be OBEDIENT? Jill went on to say that after she had said yes and started in God gave her courage and she went on to lead a man to Christ. See. . . . .  it takes the first step from us. “Courage is doing the right thing frightened.” Take courage even when you are scared because “God does not call the equipped He equips the called.” It’s up to God and His will to show us where we are going to go and what gift we are going to use, not us. We just have to be obedient. . . . . Amen!

Shane is continuing to blog for me, and here are his thoughts from the 3rd session:

 This session Jill used the symbol of water. She told us different ways water was used as a symbol in the Bible.

 - His (God’s) part is to give us soul fulfilling water…our job is to give Him permission!

 - Is your teaching refreshing the people? Is it water?

 - Are you a well watered garden? That people see and want to walk through with you?

 - Without water people cannot survive, the Spirit is like an artesian well.

 - The devil wants to dump a whole lot of muck down our wells.

 - TV/movies – you invite into your living room people that you would never let in your front door.

 - Some of you are totally out of touch with God and you think nobody knows! You have perfected the Jesus smile

 - There is ether self power or God power.

 - no one ever said that all the blessing were just for the people on the front row

  After hearing the story by Jill about when she was exhausted and disconnected,  and a man made a statement about her Jesus Smile that woke her up a bit; I wondered how many of us are like this? How many times have I been like this? Is this YOU?

 To summarize Jill’s message today and using the Symbol of water we need to know this. Gods job, the thing that he is in our lives to do, is to fill us up with “Soul fulfilling water,”  but this requires something from us as well. . . . Our job is to let him in, to open our heart, mind, and soul, and give him permission to pour into us.  When we allow God to pour into us and water our garden of life we are able to refresh others to teach others with the fruits that grow from us.  Are you a well watered garden. . . am I? Or are we like a dried up tumble weed, a skeleton of a living, vibrantly colored bush? Sink your roots deep into the Spirit of God! Be nourished by living water that can only come from him. Don’t let the devil fill up the well that God is pouring into, with muck and garbage! Without water there is no life.

So, in the Fall here at Bethel we have a series of talks over the course of 3 days that we call the Deeper Life Conference. The guest speaker for these days is Jill Briscoe .

I wanted to give some highlights of this journey over the next few days starting with today’s talk:

- There is no such thing as an ordinary day when it comes to the Holy Spirit

- You don’t learn error/lies by studying error/lies, you learn it by studying the Truth

- When you feel overwhelmed remember that you are over-shadowed by the Holy-Spirit, who has overcome all things!

She encouraged us to do an exercise in learning about the Holy Spirit. She said to go through John 16 and make a list of all the “work of the spirit”
1. He is a Counselor
2. He will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgement
3. He is the Spirit of Truth
4. He will guide you into all truth
5. He will tell you about the future
6. He will bring Glory by revealing to you what He receives from Jesus and the Father

The question then I have for all of us. . . Are these things happening in our lives? How would we know??

I know this may be a reminder for you, but it was one that I needed recently – As one is able to determine the health of a tree by the quality of its fruit, so it is with us, we know by the fruit that we are (or are NOT) producing. . . here is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23):

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control

Fruit happens . . . . . . . let’s make sure it’s the good stuff people!

Have a passion about something that influences every other part of your life. . . that was one of the main points of the chapel speaker on Weds., Rev. Jack French (Missionary Church Evangelist). . . . let me tell a few of his other points that stuck with me:

1. Always respect other people, but never be afraid of them

2. You can only live today. . . not yesterday. . . or tomorrow

3. No matter what you are up against. . . NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE UP AGAINST. . . you can face it through Christ

4. The measure of life is not money, fame, retirement, clothes, or cars. . . but, . . . did you, for someone else, make Jesus closer, bigger, clearer – - more real?

5. Apathy is the inability to dream, to see potential in yourself and others. . . what drives you there?

6. Enthusiasm comes from the synergy of two things (1) when a workable plan is put into practice (2) when an ideal takes imagination by storm.