My testimony

My brothers in Jesus the Messiah, the only begotten son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God of Israel, let me introduce myself. My name is Jozua and like you, I was fully addicted to porn. Jesus Himself pulled me from that pit and I stand redeemed. Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. There were dark days in my life, but praise Jesus I have truly been set free. Why, my brother, is that important to know? Because God can set you free.

For many men out there today, the fight against porn addiction feels like a lost cause. Trying to quit is easier said than done. It is important to remember not to use your feelings as the major measurement or the more significant indicator for your spiritual condition. Don't go on your feelings, they betray quickly, it was the need to feel good on a physical level that got me and you into this mess to begin with. That being said I want to give a word of encouragement. If you are reading this article at this moment, if you have come to the conviction that it is a sin according to the bible and you can't live with the guilt anymore plus you have tried to quite, then you have made huge progress. It is a major first step. Many a man still sits entangled in it's snare without a care in the world, not knowing that they are already spiritually dead or even worse if you have given up to fight the good fight.

When I was younger, my dad kept a stack of Scope magazines where he kept his whiskey. Me and my brother discovered the feminine physique in a very unhealthy and unholy way. With no father to guide us in righteousness, the devil used this form of isolation to plant his seeds. Even in that God protected us but the devil used a much more subtle technique as to grow my addiction into a tree, rooting itself in my life. With each of us he has a unique strategy to lure us into the trap of addiction. For me and the men who shared their fight with me concerning an addiction, the root was not firmly established with outright lust, or a thirst for alcohol or the next high or money for that matter, but it had a need to be filled and was fed by something deeper. Like so may addictions it starts with a need then as it progresses it goes completely into the flesh where it is completely driven by the flesh and a spiritual bondage.

In primary school and high school, pornographic pictures where passed around and even after school there was a temptation to get involved with it. I once plucked up some false courage to buy a pornographic magazine and when pornographic video's were outrightly available in the video stores I hired one. But each time the guilt overran me and I vowed to never to look at such things again. Later in my my life, the once in a blue moon pattern became more frequent till it became once a month that grew into once a week and so it took control over my life becoming an everyday thing. Let me pause here and also say that watching porn every once in a blue moon is not from God. It still remains a sin and God does not look at its severity by the frequency of engagement. Also sin/addiction does not have preference to race, class, age or background. One of my major struggles and biggest sin in my life was the sin of rebellion and I am still fighting it. Which was the food this addiction needed to grow. For you, it might be that you struggle with rejection or pride etc. Asking God what feeds your addiction is vital to overcoming it. When I was twenty six I fed my flesh on a more regular basis and it was when I went to the States for a job interview that I opened a big door for this to come in taking me to the next level. While I was in my hotel room I did channel hopping where I came across an adult channel. I was fighting with myself the why's and the why nots, but eventually I gave in and I sinned. This single act gave way to many more to come. I was going down a very slippery slope slowly, unaware of where I would end up.

From that time on it became a monthly thing. When I was twenty eight I got a job in the UK and moved there for a while. I tried very hard not to give in, but I had no-one to help me with this battle and I also lived very isolated. Isolation is one of the enemy's tactics to get you to fall. It was there that my flesh was fed and my addiction grew. It became a very dark time in my life. I applied for a work permit and God had His hand in it. Praise him it didn't get approved. I had to come back to South Africa and it was here where I really could confront it head on.

This again is another tactic that the enemy uses amongst the men of God. Fry the frog slowly, kill him softly. I was spiritually dying from the age of twenty six till I hit thirty. It took four years and the enemy was maliciously patient, but God sovereignly intervened. We are all aware of this strategy. Look back in your life and you will discover how this works. Ask God to reveal to you this plan of the enemy. The brother you can't forgive, the pride you can't overcome. Let it lay and simmer. You don't have to deal with that now, God understands. Yes, he understand that you can't deal with it but He can. We must be careful that we don't let sin simmer. Make work of it by taking it to God as quickly as possible involving someone you can trust that you can confide in about this thing and so facing it head on. This does not mean that you do all the work and its up to you to get yourself set free, it means you take a pro-active approach in partnership with Jesus since we are co-heirs with Him. Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

I am ending this week's article with the following: God made me free of porn addiction. God will free you. Next week I will write about my road to freedom. Brother, God wants to set you free. The struggle you are facing is not punishment but it's the road to freedom. The bigger the struggle the bigger the freedom. Jesus longs for you to breathe the fresh air again. Keep yourself in this fight no matter how many times you fall, allow God to pick you up from the ground as a good Father helping a son. The biggest lie from the devil is that you can't be rid of this thing, or you never will be. Stand firm, and do not deny that which is your heritage through Jesus: Your right to be free!