Wow! This weekend our pastor, J.D. Greear, delivered an excellent message on how Jesus offers freedom to the sexually captive. Doubtless this brought conviction to many in our church. If statistics are accurate, up to 80% of our congregation. If I, as the Pastor of Counseling, could give one word of advice to those who experienced God’s conviction this weekend it would simply be this:
“Respond now”
With any life-dominating struggle there is a common cycle: soul thirst tempts us to sin, we succumb to sin, we experience guilt/shame, and that guilt/shame makes the soul thirst worse. A “window of repentance” has been opened to you. If you allow it close with no response, there will be much more pain before the next occasion of God’s conviction.
There is only one way to interrupt that cycle – allow honesty with God’s people to become a vehicle for God’s Word to touch a depth of your soul it has yet to reach. Said another way:
“You will never be more pure than you are honest.”
The question becomes “When, where, and with whom should I be honest?” That is a great question and we have many ways for you to answer it.
Small Group
At some point in your journey you need to be honest with those people with whom you have covenanted to “do life with.” This is where must learn to be honest about any of our struggles with sin or suffering if we are going to consistently experience God’s freedom and comfort.
We have provided two recourses to equip our small groups to care for one another in the area of sexual captivity. These are video based studies with a study guide to facilitate an accountability / encouragement relationship.
- False Love: Overcoming Sexual Sin from Pornography to Adultery
- True Betrayal: Overcoming the Betrayal of Your Spouse’s Sexual Sin
Both of these seminars will be presented live again this Friday at the annual conference of Converting Hearts Ministry entitled “Enslaved: Uncovering the Truth of Sexual Addiction.”
Freedom Group
Freedom groups are struggle-specific small groups where individuals commit to investing a season of their life in overcoming a particular life-dominating struggle of sin or suffering. We currently have Freedom Groups for men’s purity, women’s purity, and women experiencing betrayal. You can confidentially connect with the leader of these groups through this link.
Graduate Intern Counseling
We offer free, personal and marital counseling with a counselor completing his/her masters or doctoral degree. You can learn more about this ministry and download the intake forms at this link.
Bridgehaven Counseling Associates
We have launched a non-profit counseling center where you can receive more experienced counsel with a full-time pastoral counselor on a donation basis. You can learn more about this ministry at this link.
Summary
If you need to experience the freedom Christ offers from sexual captivity, there is as much hope for you as there is love/power in God. Your access to that hope, love, and power begins with being honest with a trusted Christian friend (small group member, Freedom Group, or counselor) who can walk with you to find God’s freedom from shame and bondage. Again, my advice is simply this, “Respond now.”