Pure Life Ministries Podcast

When we become a vessel for the mercy of God to flow through to others, that’s when we begin to live in victory. But as humans we have a hard time really understanding what God’s mercy is. So, we’d like to spend a few weeks looking into God’s word for specific pictures that will help us understand what is in God’s heart. This week we’ll look at the bronze serpent, an Old Testament story that reveals the judgment that comes because of our sin as well as the wonderful healing that is available to us when we look to Christ by faith.

In this series we’ve been talking about why receiving God’s mercy and then giving it away to others is central to coming out of sexual sin. Maybe some of you have been saying to yourselves, “Well, that sounds good in theory, but does mercy really work? We think that one of the most convincing ways to show you the power of mercy is to share the story of Frank Leonetti—a man whom God saved from the depths of sin and despair and who has been giving his life away for the last ten years so that people might know Jesus—the one who gave him newness of life. We hope and pray after by the end of it you’ll believe that mercy works.

Last week we discussed how God is good and trustworthy, even when our circumstances challenge us to think otherwise. But what about when it isn’t our lives, but God’s own Word about Himself, that makes us question his character? Because the Bible is full of pictures of a God of wrath and a God of anger and many people can become uncomfortable or even untrusting of God, because of these revelations about Himself. But a right understanding of this aspect of God is vital to knowing and loving Him – it’s vital to living a life of victory. In this episode, we have both Steve and Kathy Gallagher in the studio. Each of them help shed some light on this often misunderstood aspect of God.

One of the most important aspects of living in victory is having a vibrant relationship with God. A relationship where you come to know Him personally, experientially and where you've surrendered all to Him. But the truth is, we will never surrender ourselves to someone unless we trust them, and we won’t trust someone unless we know that they are good. In this episode, we look at one of the most attacked attributes of God: His goodness. As the psalmist says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).

There is a real pathway into the victorious Christian life. The foundation of such a life is total dependence on the God who is willing to live his powerful life through us. Now it’s time to build on this foundation. What kind of life is He looking to live out in me? In this episode we look at one of His most essential characteristics: mercy. What is needed for each of us is for God to give a revelation of His heart of mercy, and that by it He may establish us in a life of victory.

When we realize just how high God’s expectations are for us, and when we see how weak we are, there can be a strong temptation to just give up. We think, maybe overcoming sexual sin is impossible. But this isn’t true! God knows that we can’t be free from sin by our own strength, that we can’t live a holy live without his power. But He’s not asking us to do it on our own. He has promised a marvelous gift that empowers us to live in victory. On this episode we’ll talk about the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit. One vital aspect of being filled with the Holy Spirit that we’ll discuss is what it means to crucify our flesh nature.

If you want to live in victory over sin, you must see that you are helpless to save yourself. However, the culture and prosperity of our day has made it possible to ignore our helplessness and allow us to live life without acknowledging God. But this self-dependence leaves us blind to our true spiritual condition, and separated from the God who yearns to meet our every need. In this week’s show, we discuss this relationship between seeing our need and gaining victory over sexual sin with three counselors from the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program.

Understanding the heart of God is critical for a life of victory. And the revelation of His will for us in Scripture is a love that calls us out of the world and out of sin and bondage to live in fellowship with Him. When we see this desire, this jealous love for us, it should compel us to reach out for a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. And that, is the beginning of really living in victory.

If sexual sin has ruined your life, then “living in victory” might sound like a fairy tale, or even a cruel joke. But living in victory is not only possible, it's God’s will for you. He has made a way for you to lay hold of it. In our latest series, we want to help you understand how you truly can live that victorious life, but the first thing we need to do is to make sure we’re all on the same page. So this week, we're going to make sure that we have a right understanding of true Christian victory.

Nearly every Christian can name half a dozen ministry leaders of evangelical churches who have fallen due to sexual sin. How does this happen to men of God who are leaders in the church? In this final installment in our series The Church Addicted, we'll look at the role of the leader, and ask what happens when a leader is compromised by sexual sin.