Welcome to Pure Passion. My name is David Kyle Foster and I'm your host for today's program. You are in for a real treat today. Dr. Neil T. Anderson is our guest, a man who was instrumental in the hands of God during my many years of healing from sexual sin and brokenness. His book, The Bondage Breaker, is a Christian classic and has sold more than one million copies. When you consider that the average Christian book sells about 5,000, one million is an astounding feat and a clear sign of the anointing, power, and efficacy found in Dr. Anderson's teaching. This ministry is honored to have Dr. Anderson on our board of advisors and it is my hope that we will see a great deal of him on this program. One of the problems that we have in the church today is that the secular mindset has invaded the ways we think and minister to each other. And it's a secret invasion. It comes in the form of secular psychology, the public school curricula, and many other sources that on the surface appear innocuous and even helpful. The danger comes in the presuppositions, a big word that simply means that buried deep in the teachings of secular psychology are assumptions about life and what makes mental and emotional healing possible. The thing that I like about Dr. Neil Anderson is that he honors what is true and helpful in the teachings of secular psychology while exposing the anti-Christian presuppositions that lie behind what is wrong and sometimes what is dangerous. Neil Anderson takes the Bible as the primary source of information for healing and includes only those psychological discoveries that are consistent with God's revealed Word. The foundational principle from which he works, a principle securely grounded in scripture, is the identity of the believer and the provision for healing that flows from that foundation. Well, let's get right into it and you will soon see what I mean. I'm still on a journey myself. So I have a person who comes to me and says, well, I'm not sure there is a God. I'm not sure there is, that the Bible is really the Word of God. And I have to start where people are at. I think God does. I think He takes us where we're at and meets us at that point. And I remember one time, years ago, that a person was in that quandary, I don't know if there is a God or even believe there is one, and I said, You know, why don't you at least do this for a while? Just choose to say, I believe there is, and take Him at His word and live accordingly and see what happens. So God told me to live a certain way. Just make a commitment to live that way for a while and see what happens. He came back a year later. He's a believer. I was kind of surprised myself. I said, but that's fine, but I'm a little opposed to that. Well, I'm going to try Jesus, though. I'll just try this for a little bit. I said, that's not how you really approach God. If he's the creator God, and he spoke and brought all this world into existence, When I come to Him, there's going to be a certain choice that I make. Now, on the flip side of this question, it's really interesting because I can tell you from years of experience that I've had a lot of people come to me questioning God, questioning His Word. In fact, one gal looked at me one time. I don't want to get right with God or anything. I mean, she'd been sexually abused and in a lot of pain in her life and grew up in a nice Christian home, for that matter. And I will say to that person, I said, fine, that's your choice. I said, can we talk? What's happened to you in your life? Wouldn't you like to resolve this thing? Well, yeah. I said, well, I'd like to lead you through something. So we have what we call a repentance process, called the steps to freedom in Christ. Now here's a gal who came, told me, verbally, well, I don't want to get right with God or anything. At that time I thought, gee, I could be playing golf right now, you know, and I'm giving her this time. But I just realized that's kind of a dodge. It's just where she's at at that time. She's been frustrated, not with God, she's frustrated with the church, has probably let her down and failed her. And so here she is, asking God to show her the problems in her life, and we just walked through the steps to freedom like she was a believer at the end of it. she found her freedom in Christ. The step to freedom in Christ is to do what Paul said, to choose to believe and repent. Throughout the 2,000 years of church history, there's been various means by which people have been attempted to relate to God. Early on, the Catholic Church, or I should probably say the Orthodox Church, the only church that was around for 1,000 years, would have a a time when people would come regularly to confess their sins. But repentance is a little more than confession. But the early church really took it very, very seriously. They would literally face the West and say, I renounce you, Satan, and all your works and all your ways. Actually, that little saying has been around in a lot of liturgical churches for 2,000 years. But it was a very personal thing. They would literally do that, renounce Satan in all his works, in all of his ways. So if they were involved in something occultic, if they were involved in some false religion or false guidance or immoral way or whatever, they would very verbally confess that. Then turn and face the East and make a profession of faith in Christ. So the early church, they understood that their opposition was not just the world and the flesh, it was the world, the flesh, and the devil. They took it very seriously. If you were raised in an Orthodox church to this day, you would take it very seriously. It's pretty much our Western world has dropped off the concept that we're in a spiritual battle, and looked at repentance as basically recovery from the flesh. but not the world, the flesh, and the devil. As I took this seriously several years ago as a seminary professor, I started to realize, I said, there are a lot of unresolved issues in people's lives. But the critical issue is, what are the barriers that are keeping me from having an intimate relationship with God? What are the barriers? If you read the Old Testament, false guidance was taken very seriously. If you were to consult a medium or a spiritist. Literally, you were to be cut off from the rest of the people. If you were a medium or a spiritist, you were to be stoned to death in the Promised Land. So false guidance is a very serious issue. The number of people today that we've encountered who have contacted Ouija boards and and played Bloody Mary and what seemingly seemed to be, for a lot of us, kind of innocent games that kids play. They're really not innocent. They become open channels for Satan to have access to God's children. When you start consulting false guidance and tea rooms and all those kind of things, and reading your tarot cards, and so we get that out of the way first. So we literally will have a person pray and ask the Lord, what way have I been involved with false teachers? and false guidance in my life, because it's a very serious offense to God. Oftentimes, if there is a real spiritual problem there, usually it will pretty well get resolved in the first step. Then we look at deception itself. In what ways have I deceived myself or been deceived by this world? All of us have been to some extent. You can't instantly renew your mind, but you won't even start the process until you understand, in what ways have I wrongly defended myself? If I'm sitting here living my life, learning to lie to protect myself, realize that I don't need to do that anymore, Christ is my protection, he's my defense. So we get that out of the way. Then bitterness, unforgiveness, is a critical issue. In fact, it is in most cases almost the issue. If you're laboring in bitterness, you're not going to have an intimate relationship with God, because God himself will turn you over to the tormentors if you don't forgive from your heart. and pride and rebellion and sin and things passed on that I've picked up intergenerationally. Iniquities are passed on from third and fourth generation. So once you've removed that barriers, once you have really repented of that, then suddenly the connection is there, and the freedom that comes with it. So there's nothing magical here. Our steps to freedom are just a way that we help people connect with God. We've been listening to Dr. Neil Anderson field questions about who we become when we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we come back, we'll hear more vital information from Dr. Anderson about how God trades our old, fallen identity for a new one, the identity of being a child of God with all the accompanying powers and privileges. Don't go away. We'll be back in just a minute. It's really not what you do, it's who you are that counts. I mean, we all kind of know that, and we kind of grab back to it, but I said, I was talking to a Christian counselor just last Sunday after church, and he said, every one of my clients, we get to a certain point, and he said, well, tell me what I should do then. What book should I read? It's a national calamity. I said, if I just told you that, I'd be putting you back under the law again. Now, the paradox, I suppose, is that is there something we should read? Yeah, the Word of God is truth, and good books that will help guide you, help you understand that truth. Galatians 3 is so clear. If you're the works of the law, you're under curse, it says. And I said, But Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. He said, in order that, the coming of the promise of the Holy Spirit would come, so that we may live our life by faith. And so rather than trying to change a person's behavior, God had to change the moment who we were, he made us a new creation in Christ, and then change what we believe. Because people are just living out what they choose to believe. Listen, this is a very important issue. People don't always live according to what they profess, but they actually do live according to what they believe. So you'll find a lot of people that are making a profession of faith, but when you actually look at their life, they're actually living out what they've chosen to believe. Now, you know, when I look at my own life, and I was a religious non-believer. I grew up in Minnesota. I mean, I thought I was a Christian. For years I thought I was a Christian. In fact, when I was in the Navy, I thought I was the only Christian. I mean, I'd show up at Protestant worship service in the mess deck on our little destroyer, and I'd be one or two or three other guys that would be there, and some poor officer had to be responsible for the Protestant service, whether he was a believer or not, I don't know, we'd go through this little liturgical thing. And I did meet a couple guys that were true believers there, but actually, I thought I was. People on board the ship thought I was, thought I was the Christian. And you know, honestly, thankful for the Sunday school stories I heard going to church, and you know, I'd grown up with the stories about David and Goliath and all that kind of stuff, and I'm actually thankful for that. And I was raised in a pretty moral home, so I didn't have a lot of obvious flesh patterns that would clearly identify me as a non-believer. They were there. And then when I got married, My wife was Catholic, I was Methodist, we became Episcopalians. And then we found the Lord, by the way, through the Lay Institute for Evangelism. But having been in the Navy for four years, I saw a lot of junk. I mean, need I say more? If you're in the Navy, you're going to see a lot of stuff you wish you didn't see. And I remember saying, gosh, I'm going to clean up my mind. I think I read at that time that an average man had some thought of sex every seven minutes. I was beating that one two to one. And I thought, why is it so hard? Because if you're just giving in to tempting thoughts, actually it's no struggle. Because you're just giving in to it. The moment that you stop and say, man, I'm not going to think those thoughts anymore, I'm not going to look at that pretty girl anymore, then you suddenly realize the battle you're in. And this is a battle. It's a battle for our mind. And I was just struggling, trying to keep my thoughts pure. And one of the great issues looking back at that time was, and nobody ever explained this to me, and frankly most men don't come forward and talk about their struggles, so you're kind of battling this thing out here alone and hopefully hear a little cue Sunday morning or read it in a book somewhere that'll finally be the answer for you. But I remember at that time saying, wow, why is this so hard? And I was trying not to think sexual thoughts. That doesn't work. trying not to think bad thoughts or sick thoughts, frankly, will never work, because that's all you'll think about. You know, if I'm talking to you who are listening right now, I say, all right, for the next few minutes don't think about this. That's what you think about. See, the point is, we're not called to dispel the darkness, we're called to turn on the light. You say, well, what's the difference? I say, the difference is profound. If I told you that Philippians 4, 6 and following, be anxious for nothing, don't be double-minded about anything, it's a real issue, because the anxiety is double-mindedness. Be anxious about nothing, but by prayer and supplication, in other words, turn to God. And the peace of God that passes through all understanding will guard your heart and your mind. But don't stop there. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, think on those things. That's a different approach, rather than, don't think about sexual thoughts, because that will just keep coming back to you and back to you. It's a law concept. but think upon what is true and pure and right and lovely." And don't stop there, because the next verse says, put it into practice. In other words, do the right thing, do the noble thing, do the whatever is true thing. Do that. And so you put that into practice. I'm getting repetitive here, but overwhelming experience. Because it is overwhelming at times. If you're free in Christ, you can do that, you can choose the truth. But it's like a person asked me, should I rebuke every negative thought? Are you kidding me? That's all you do the rest of your life. You'd be like a guy stuck on a lake with 12 corks around you and a little hammer, and your whole life purpose is to keep the corks submerged by bopping them down while you're treading water. I said, you've been sitting there going like this here, and I said, that'll never work. You'll be stuck there for the rest of your life. What should you do? Ignore the stupid corks and swim to shore. Again, we're not called to dispel the darkness, we're called to turn on the light. Ignore the corks, don't pay attention to it. See, Scripture says, in latter days people will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits. Don't pay attention to it. Forget what's there, and keep choosing the truth. We're listening to Dr. Neil Anderson, Director of Freedom in Christ Ministries of Knoxville, Tennessee. This is vital teaching for this hour, when so many in the body of Christ are in bondage to sinful behavior, unaware of their position and authority in Christ. Have you noticed yet that faith is something more than mental assent? That to believe in something is more than just agreeing to propositional truth? Biblical faith includes a practical reality that is missing in today's easy-believism. To have biblical faith means to agree with something so thoroughly that you change your life accordingly. When we come back, we're going to learn more from Dr. Anderson on this topic. When I came to Christ, you know, the Lord referred to Him as the door. you walk, you're transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. So I stepped through that door. By faith, I stepped through that door. Now you're in the kingdom of God. I mean, you're a brand new creation in Christ, old things have passed away, all things become new. Nobody pushed the clear button up here. Everything that was programmed in your memory is still there. All the visual images, all the experiences that you've had in your past. And now you can repent, now you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind, whereas before you couldn't. You needed to have the mind of Christ within you to do that. But what happens when I step through that door? I am, by the grace of God, I'm a new creation of Christ. But imagine, like your mind, looking ahead of you, you can see Jesus, he's the author and finisher of your faith, you're supposed to fix your eyes on Jesus, keep your mind fixed on him, but on both sides of this alleyway that you're walking on, all being narrow at first. It's narrow. But there's two-story buildings, and people are poking their heads out, and they're like pimps, you know, you're, you know, come in here, you want to do this, and so the tempter is right there, you know, and the accuser is right there. You did this, and you sicko, and all the deception that is there. And there's three ways to respond to that. One way, and the very common one, unfortunately, is that people, they step through the door, they're in the kingdom of God, but they believe the lies. They just sit down. They don't understand this battle for their mind, and so they listen to the pimps and the prostitutes and all the people encouraging them to do this and go there, and so they just sit down. Actually, I believe they're children of God, but they're totally defeated. They're just sitting there. They don't The next one is interesting, because their approach is, no, I'm not going to do that, you can't stab me, I'm a child of God, I don't believe this thing. Boy, fighting the good fight, right? No, actually kind of losing it, because they're not making any advancement. They're warding off the fiery darts. They're trying to stop the tempting thoughts and the accusing thoughts. But they're not growing. They've taken their eyes off Jesus. They're going like this here, trying to deflect. They're bopping down corks. And I said, what should you do? Don't pay attention to it. Fix your eyes on Jesus and keep on walking. Here's what I've noticed. If you're free in Christ, you can do that. if you're not, you've got all these unresolved issues in your life, you've got bitterness, you've got pride, you've got all these unresolved issues. You're bobbing down corks, you're going from book to book, place to place, trying to survive. And so the key, and this is what I think repentance was intended to do, was to get rid of the garbage in my life, and once that's gone, and there's a peace of God that passes the soul understanding, God, in the heart and the mind. Once that's there, they don't only see Jesus, they can make choices. Sure, there'll be more temptations and more accusations, but it's like it's at a distance. I just met last week with a gal no fault of her own, was sexually abused by her grandfather. Well, that just set a stage for all kinds of promiscuity and defeat and loss. And she hadn't had a decent man in her life from day one. And I mean, she's just plagued. She's trying to read books and she can't read them. She's trying to read her Bible, she can't read her Bible. And so we get her through the whole process. And I said, now close your eyes. I said, in your mind right now, is it quiet? And she went, Holy cow. Can I close my eyes again and see if it's still true?" Now, in her life, she had never experienced that. She probably has never experienced that. Now, she may have when she was a toddler, but I would suspect from the abuse she had in her home that probably she's never had any really true mental peace, which led to an awful lot of drugs in her life, because that gave her a temporary relief. I mean, a lot of people drink and use because they have no mental peace, and that's a brief escape from that. And all of a sudden I got this high and this great feeling, and my problems aren't there for a while, and then you wake up the next morning, the problems are still there, no mental peace. But here she found that in the grace of God. And she just, I said, go to the restroom and freshen up, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. And I wish you could see her, folks, because she's 33 now. I mean, she's had a rough life. I mean, a rough, rough life. Treated horribly by almost every man in her life. And I remember looking at her after she forgave all these men, I said, you've never really had a father or a man who really wanted the best for you. I said, can I ask your forgiveness on behalf of all of us men who've abused you, ripped you off, violated you? Oh my gosh, she just emotionally just fell apart. She's never had a man want the best for her. They've all used her, sexually. They've all used her for her toy, I guess. Suddenly there was a man in her life that didn't want to use her, didn't want to have sex with her, didn't want her to be subject to him, but wanted to just love her as a child of God. But at the end of this whole thing, the mental peace that she had was so overwhelming to her that she wanted to close her eyes again just to see if he was still there. That's what I think repentance was intended to do, was to get us so right with God that there's no barriers between myself and my Heavenly Father now. And when that happens, and when there's a clearness in the mind, there's actually a peace of God that passes all understanding God in the heart and the mind. When that happens, now, for her ability to read Scripture, to grow, to understand it, It's almost instantaneous. I don't believe in instant maturity. It would take me the rest of my life to conform to the image of God. But you won't even start that path unless there is a genuine sense of repentance until that conflict is resolved. Because it's very hard to grow in Christ if you're filled with pride and rebellion and bitterness. In fact, you won't grow. And so the role of the church, essentially, is to help remove those barriers that are blocking that intimacy with God. And to do that in a loving way, and to do it knowing that I'm not the one who's actually doing it, but God himself is doing it. Essentially, you're connecting them, again, to the source of life. Which is the ministry of reconciliation that God gave to us. I mean, this should be going on in every church. Every church. If it's a legitimate church, that's our ministry of reconciliation. Reconciling people to God in such a way where they, when they're done, they know they've connected again to the source of life and the Abba Father relationship is there and there's a peace of God guarding their heart and their mind. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today's program, but we are not yet finished with Dr. Neal T. Anderson. He will be back next week to provide more insights into God's design for deliverance from bondage that today is called addiction. I want you to know that you can be free from any bondage. First, you must turn your life over to Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can rescue you from your bondage. And He is the only one who can rescue you from being separated from God for all eternity. There is no other name given under heaven by which you can be saved, the Bible teaches. Your compulsions, addictions, and bondages are only a small part of the problem. Your sin is the first thing that stands in the way of your freedom. Because you have told lies, gossiped about others, taken what is not yours, used the name of God as blasphemy, lusted after people in your heart and perhaps even in the flesh, and committed any other manner of sin, you have cut yourself off from eternal life with God. You are lost and without any hope apart from God's mercy and forgiveness. Fortunately, for both you and me, God became a man 2,000 years ago, the man Jesus Christ, and He took upon Himself the penalty for the sins of anyone who would turn to Him, turn away from their sin, and allow Him to be the Lord of their life. This is the manner that God has chosen to redeem you from the curse of your own actions. There is no other way and no other name. If you will turn to Christ today and do these things, God will save you and set you free. Until next week, God bless you.