“Sergio’s” Testimony

 I was saved in 1981 at a large Charismatic church in Florida.  I was drawn to the church after seeing these happy and upbeat individuals in the Restaurant I was managing at the time, in a Theme Park in Florida. They were attending a Christian concert in the park, and I remember saying to myself - I’ve never seen Christians having genuine fun like this, so I asked one of the people in their group where they went to church.  I visited the church and I went down and accepted Christ after my second visit. This church had well over 5K members, which was large during this time - so they had well known speakers and pastors visit and teach.  Several of these individuals have very large national ministries today and I’m very thankful that I had a solid foundation built into me from some of these individuals of faith. 

 My walk with the Lord was “on fire” for the first several years until I met a young lady who was not a Christian - but I thought I could handle leading her to the Lord and just date her.  Well, she did accept Christ - but we fell into sexual sin and we did get engaged, but after almost 2 years things didn’t work out.  This was around 1985 now and I began seeing other women and having sex with them while dating.  I was convicted of this sin and attempted to ask for forgiveness but eventually never stopped.  I also began viewing pornography around this time which led me into masturbation as well.  I never really stopped going to church, so I was constantly asking God for forgiveness - I would stop seeing women for a few months only.  I had no concept of spiritual warfare or how the devil was influencing all of this in my life.  It was like I knew that living this way was wrong and was not pleasing God, but I always felt like I was going to eventually get myself together and stop living this way. 

 I kept meeting different women and thinking - this is the one I’m going to marry.  We would date for a year - year and a half but then break up.  Therefore over the last 35 years I’ve had sex with many women (about 38) and have crossed the line (heavy petting) with another 10-12.  Although I attempted prior to Pureheart to get help dealing with this - I was never able to either stick with my commitments or stay committed to the programs.  I reached out to 2 different groups designed to help those involved in sexual sin and I also at one point was seeing a private Christian counselor.  Even though I was involved in viewing pornography and masturbation - these were not the overwhelming problem I was having.  My challenge was consistently telling God “that’s it”, no more seeing women and being sexually intimate with them - and then in a short time, falling right back into sin.  My life became cold, mechanical, with a lack of emotion towards women and I eventually turned to women for just companionship and not wanting to be alone. 

 In March, 2019 I had a massive stroke - but God had mercy on me because I have no physical challenges or deficits from that episode.  But I knew this was a wake up call from God so I was led to Tim Davis/Pureheart by searching the Web (while still in the hospital) - for a Christian based program to help men recover from sexual addictions.  I thank God for Tim and Pureheart because after being in sexual sin for so many years and having been through this type of counseling before, I knew I needed this.  But I was a little skeptical on whether it could keep my attention and help me.  I can prayerfully say that Pureheart has exceeded my expectations and gave me exactly what I needed.  It was direct, candid and had a strong spiritual focus.  I didn’t need / want anything sugarcoated or too soft.  Tim was straight-forward and didn’t hold back from getting the issues / challenges around sexual sin on the table for us to deal with them and come up with a plan to defeat the enemy. 

 Over the last year, I have had no masturbations, no porn and no acting out with women! Which is a major accomplishment.  Although I’ve been through counseling sessions before dealing with sexual sin, it was very different going through with a group.  It was helpful hearing from others that were having some of the same challenges and coming back each week to encourage and support each other.  I really like building a bond with a small group of guys where I could pick up the phone or text them anytime during a time of weakness or just to vent. 

 I would highly recommend Pureheart Ministries if you want an experienced, dedicated counselor in Tim who has a proven process that helped me - someone who has been down this road before and didn’t complete the programs. But I can truly say that Pureheart’s plan of group counseling, reading materials, homework, and accountability measures help keep me on track - but more importantly is restoring my relationship with the Father.