I’ve always had several people ask me questions like, “how are you coping to stay sexually pure? It must be tough.” I do laugh. Again they are used to seeing me share freely on this platform about sex and they are scared if that’s not going to be putting me under some pressure.
By God’s grace it hasn’t been tough and I’ve been under no pressure. It has been as easy as anything staying sexually pure for many years. By God’s grace, I have never known a woman and I’m not too much of a baby. It also has never been a matter of lack of opportunity. I’ve somehow always been in some form of spotlight that surrounds me with women.
Back on campus, at a time I was both a fellowship President and a Student Union Executive. Central Student Union and not departmental. And I wasn’t the unpopular type. These two aspects of my life – political and spiritual leadership continue to date. And these two are and will always be women-centric.
I’m sharing this story not for any vainglory but so as to make it real to you and maybe be able to show someone why all your excuses are not strong enough.
My journey of sexual purity can be divided into three phases.
The first is the phase of indoctrination and this is courtesy of my parents. My mum got born again through the S.U. (Scripture Union) revival of the 60s and 70s. She lived in total purity and married as a virgin. Dad had a rough past before meeting the Lord but afterwards, he lived totally pure until he married and after. They always taught us during those daily morning devotions why we must keep ourselves pure. They made us love the idea of chastity so much so that even when I decided against their instruction to have a girlfriend in secondary school, I told my girlfriend that we won’t have sex until marriage. ??. Some of the girls thought I was crazy.
The second phase was immediately after Secondary School into university days when I was going to be totally free from parental watch and gagging. Sincerely, at this point the power of indoctrination was already getting weak. I was already getting bold. I just asked out a girl in my town who was the most sought after then. Certainly with that girl, my purity-till-marriage idea would have been scattered. She wasn’t the type at all. She was very exposed. That girl would have been the one to “deflower” me.? All of this was unknown to my Parents. (I will ensure I share this article with Mum so she can know all the old secrets ??)
But as God would have it, while the girl was still considering my proposal, Bro. Gbile Akanni (Peace House, Gboko) was to come for one of his annual ministrations to the Obafemi Awolowo University community. This was July 2008. My parents who are staff of the ministry knew of it and insisted I must attend the meeting though I was only going to resume as a student of that institution November of that same year. They always looked for opportunities for their children to have a divine encounter. Everyone of us must take note of this. All our children will not be converted at the same time. We must always seek out opportunities for them to have that encounter.
I was at the meeting and it was as though that man called Bro. Gbile ? knew all the secrets of my heart. The theme of the meeting was “Revive us O Lord”. He shared from the story of Jacob who had a divine commission over his life but was busy wasting away with pursuit after women. My people, that was me he was talking about. I also had a divine commission from the womb which my parents told me about and here was I fixated on girls without any sense of assignment.
When Jacob finally got to his wit’s end and wrestled with God for salvation in desperation, his name was changed to Israel. My second name was Israel. I was Eniayo Israel. That’s me again. I couldn’t escape from the message. Even though the 5,000 capacity venue was filled to the brim, it was as though the whole message was just about me. My bum-bum was set on fire that day. It was at that meeting that God arrested my life. From that point, everything changed about me to date.
When I returned back home, I didn’t even bother to check back on the girl who was to give me a response. Me that I was having multiple encounters with God long after the meeting was over. My life had taken on a fresh direction forever.
But this experience also lured me into actively listening to Bro. Gbile’s messages. For those of you who know him, one of the major foci of his teachings is victory over sin. He is used to personifying sin (the Bible did also actually – Read Romans 7) – he calls him Mr. Flesh. Now the focus of these teachings to my surprise wasn’t, “make effort to be free from sin.” He teaches rather that you’ve been made free through the cross on which Jesus died, believe it and you’ll realise experientially that sin can no longer have dominion over you.
I got exposed to scriptures like Romans 6:6&7.
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
Let me produce this in GWT so you can get it.
“We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. The person who has died has been freed from sin.”
Romans 6:6-7 GWT
Take note of, “the person who has died has been freed from (Mr) sin.” Now Colossians 3:3 says, “For you died…” (Not, “you should die”).
So he will ask us, “do you believe you died (i.e do you believe that, your old man (KJV) or the person you used to be (GWT) or your old life (ERV)or your old self i.e human nature without the Holy Spirit (AMP), died?) I will say, “well, that’s what the bible says, so I believe it.”
‘You mean you believe that your old man (the spirit and nature of the devil which we inherited from Adam) also called Flesh in Galatians 5:19 who produces sin in you has been Killed by Jesus’s cross?” Then I’ll say, “that’s what Romans 6:6 says so I believe it.” He will then say “if you believe it, then you are free from sin. You wouldn’t have to commit sin one more day because the producer of sin in you is dead.” Suddenly I see myself saying, “haa won’t it be too audacious for me to declare that I won’t have to sin one more day?”
The truth is I began to believe these things with my whole heart and I began to see the power of God released for me to live in practical holiness daily without stress. Faith in the finished work of Christ on any subject delivers result in that subject. Some people have exercised faith in the finished work of Christ for their bodily healing and they got healing; faith in the finished work of Christ concerning deliverance from the power of darkness and they became untouchable by devils and demons and generational curses and the likes thereafter. But so many haven’t understood that the same finished work of Christ settled our struggle with sin. If you truly believe it, you will see power.
So I began to meditate and confess constantly scriptures like Romans 6:6. I will put my name and recite loudly so I can believe it more and more. Scriptures like Galatians 5:24.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Galatians 5:24 KJV
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.”
Galatians 5:24 AMP
You will think it’s saying you should crucify the flesh. No, that’s not what it’s saying. It’s saying if you are a christian, you have (through the death of Christ on the cross that you are reckoned to be a part of) crucified your sinful nature with its affections and lust. The rule is you have to believe it to make it a reality practically in your life. Every blessing in the new creation has been finished through His cross 2000 years ago. We access our own portion of it by looking back to 2000 years ago i.e looking back on the cross and accessing our own portion of grace through faith. (Romans 5:2).
Bottom line, the second phase of my journey was marked by the power of the holy Spirit to walk in practical holiness. It has been easy and not a struggle. There was only one occasion in 2011 when by a deliberate disobedience (not the lack of God’s power) I almost lost it. It was God that rescued me on that occasion through my partner at the time. I repented and made a fresh decision not to even entertain as little as a kiss and since then to date, a period of nine years, that has been the case.
When you experience this power of God, being alone with a woman or even your fiancée where a third eyes can never see you will make no difference. If you were even placed on the same bed with a woman and you’re left alone for seven nights, it will make no difference. I’m just telling you that this power is not a power that can only work if a woman or a man is removed far away from you.
Now I didn’t say since I’m dead, I can now go and be watching pornography or other erotic pictures. The reason why I don’t watch secular films too. When you expose yourself to those things, your resistance to sexual allures will become totally weakened.
The final phase of my journey so far is how God helped me to see at a point practically the wisdom behind his position on sexual purity. I saw how much it is for my own good beyond the question of heaven or hell. Even right here on earth, there’s a great mess you can make your life if you don’t follow the purity code. When I saw all these things, I became ideologically armed against premarital sex and other sexual impurity to the point even if you beg me with it and you add an extra bonus of $5M if I can just do it, I won’t take it.
Most of you don’t know the great harm you do to yourself and your future by those indulgence. If God can imprint a revelation of it on your heart, you’ll prefer to die than to do it.
I documented last year some of what God helped me to see on this when I wrote on this platform, “Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Have Premarital Sex.”
As from tomorrow Monday, at 5pm daily, I’ll share on this platform one after the other Reasons 1-10 why I have refused and will refuse to the end to have premarital sex or live in sexual impurity.
Your brother,
PEA.
©Peniela Eniayo, Akintujoye| hello@lovestraighttalks.com
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