Pornography and Paralysis, Who Knew?
October 11, 2017
It’s a secret sin for many and a plague spreading rapidly in today’s church, but like with all weapons forged against God’s people there is a strategy to stop it. Kingdom Works continues to share one every effective weapon against pornography and in a recent press release revealed what the poison of a Blue Ringed Octopus has in common with addiction to pornography.
Paralysis is a frightening concept; to be alive but unable to speak, unable to move. Growing up in Australia, I remember, as a young boy, being terrified when I first heard what happens to humans when they are bitten by a Blue Ringed Octopus. This slimy, slithering creature produces venom that completely paralyses its victim.
You can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t even breath. And that’s how most victims die, unable to tell those around you that you are suffocating. Most victims don’t know they have been bitten until it’s too late.
“You hear the doctor pronounce that you’re dead and there is nothing you can do to tell them you’re still alive,” one reporter explained.
Pornography is having much the same effect on the Church right now with over 68% of churchgoing men viewing porn on a regular basis. When men view porn, they become stricken with guilt and shame which leads to feeling unworthy to lead and afraid to speak out. Their secret sin becomes a dead weight in their life. They avoid ministry opportunities and begin to suffocate spiritually.
Chris Ogden is the Adult Ministry Pastor at Orlando First Baptist Church. He also runs a support group for men at his church using a powerful cinematic curriculum called the Conquer Series. Ogden recalls what guys are like when they first enter his Conquer Group, a support group for men who struggle with porn.
“For a lot of guys that have struggled in the area of sexuality, the lie becomes ‘This is just who I am. This cannot change. This will never go away. I might enjoy a week or a month [of sobriety] here or there but ultimately this is embedded in my soul, I can’t get free of it.’”
Dr. Ted Roberts, host of the Conquer Series, who has counseled thousands of men to freedom from pornography, discusses why so many people in the church can’t stop viewing porn. Churches often treat this issue as a moral one, but fail to recognize it’s mainly a brain problem,
“We tell men to try harder, pray harder, love Jesus more.” Dr. Roberts adds, “But, what starts off as a moral problem, quickly becomes a brain problem. Telling a man to try harder is only tightening the ‘noose’ of bondage.”
Recall for a moment the Blue Ringed Octopus. While there is no anti-venom, if the victim is placed on a ventilator and receives ongoing respiratory treatment, he can survive long enough for the paralysis to subside. In the same way, the Conquer Series has provided a breath of fresh air for over 450,000 men in more than 60 countries around the world as they are trained with biblical principles and proven strategies to conquer porn and walk in freedom.
Ogden recounts what happens to these men as they go through the Conquer Series;
“As the guys in our church walk through that, you could just see that flame of hope kind of rekindle, and going, ‘I not only believe what they’re saying is true, but I think it could be true for me.’ And I think when that switch happens, that’s when God unleashes the power in the guy’s life.”
Larry Tormey leads the Conquer Series at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Placid in Florida.
“We have been using the Conquer Series for over a year, showing this to hundreds of men. It has been not only a God-send for these men, but for me personally,” says Tormey.
ABOUT THE CONQUER SERIES: The Conquer Series is a cinematic DVD series for men on sexual integrity. Over 450,000 men have started their journey to freedom from pornography through the Conquer Series which is being used in over 65 countries. KingdomWorks Studios, the producer of the Conquer Series, aims to help further God’s Kingdom here on Earth through the medium of film. Their mission is to bring God’s Kingdom to the lost and seeing God’s Kingdom reign in the lives of His children.
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