Lisa Barry: Today on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot is going to read a powerful testimony of a man whose life was nearly ruined through an unhealthy lifestyle. Due to the mature content of this testimony, it's important for me to let you parents know that this material is not suitable for children. And now, here's Elisabeth Elliot to tell this incredible story.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says, "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking today about a subject, which is a hot potato. This program is not for children.

Early in the 1970's, the feminist movement was gaining ground very fast and I became very alarmed. Many women were calling themselves feminists who had no idea what the originators really had in mind. The Declaration of Feminism in Minneapolis, 1972, said this: "Marriage has existed for the benefit of men. The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of women. We must work to destroy it."

Homosexuality was on their agenda, the freedom to choose bisexuality, asexuality, and of course, what we would call normal sexuality. Homosexuality and heterosexuality were equally valid in their minds. The National Organization of Women determined to get full civil rights for lesbians. Of course, all of those things have taken place in our society.

I have a testimony that I want to read. I'm not going to tell you his name, (He gives his name and he gave me his name and address). He says, "The testimony I have to share is one that offers great hope. If God can forgive and change a person as He forgave and changed me, then hope becomes more than a positive word. It becomes a long-awaited reality. From the words of a popular song, 'His arms are big enough to love you, even though you've turned Him away.'

"My story starts when I was six years old. My Grandpa brought home my first horse, a pony named Matthew. Matthew quickly became the center of my life and unfortunately the source of my strife. My Grandpa soon expected repayment for my pony in the form of sexual favors. Though I agreed at the time, I knew immediately that it was wrong. I can vividly remember going to feed Matthew and Grandpa would be waiting. I would beg him to stop. But as time went by, these disturbing encounters numbed my conscience of any wrongdoing on my part.

"After nine years of molestation, the homosexual lifestyle felt natural. I easily assumed I was created gay after being first violated at such a young age. My mind failed to realize the mistake in my thinking, so I pursued the homosexual lifestyle with reckless abandon. This lifestyle began to balloon when at age 15, as a young high school student, I encountered my first homosexual relationship beyond my Grandfather. I became confused and saw no positive way to turn, so I turned to alcohol and drugs to cover up the shame and guilt that began weighing down on my conscience.

"Now I believe that onus of guilt and shame was the convicting Holy Spirit of God, but I stubbornly refused to concede to Him. Amazingly though, God was still there, trying to open the lines of communication because He knew the true state of my condition.

"I soon went to the university in anticipation that the gay population was large enough to provide homosexual activity and acceptance. However, I can't remember a darker period in my life. The desperation in the homosexual community was frightening. I saw the effects of AIDS, drug use and suicide, yet I was so blind to the truth God was trying to get through to me--that I see homosexuality for what it is--sin.

"I soon got married in college to convince myself I was normal, although I continued having same-sex encounters. The realization that I was committing adultery also justly compounded my shame, but even the birth of my first child could not straighten my reckless path, despite the emerging of a great inner desire to change.

"Finally, as my wife gave birth to our second son, I left home to pursue full-time a lifestyle of destruction. This is when God really began prodding me, yet I stubbornly refused to give in to His prodding. I was finally free to fully live the gay lifestyle, but it turned out to be not as I expected.

"I was pulled to my family's house every day to see my hurting wife and sons. My mother and friends expressed great disapproval. My church decided to let me go as a prodigal son, hoping I would soon realize the futility of my wayward actions. Neighbors and friends phoned and prayed for me. I was so miserable. Depression weighed on me. I eventually lost my job due to homosexual activity with a client, and it seemed everything stable in my life was gone.

"But in Shakespeare's play, Measure By Measure, he insightfully writes, 'The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.' My only medicinal hope was in God's mercy and restoration. I was finally low enough and broken by God that I realized He was the only stability left for me. I remember praying, 'God, I'm so low the only place I can look is up.' I begged for the restoration of my life with Him, my family and my church. I cried to God like a hungry baby waiting for its morning milk. Praise God, He responded.

"My family and church joyfully welcomed me back home, as once did the prodigal son's father. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever hope or ask. God broke the spirit of homosexuality in my life, and He has restored all that I asked and more. That's why I publish my testimony. People must know that God forgives all sin and can restore us to His plan.

"1 Corinthians 6 says that homosexuals cannot enter the kingdom of God, 'but such were some of you until you were washed in the blood.' I am living proof that Jesus still heals today. Yes, I have stumbled and have gone through the repercussions of my disobedience. However, I have gotten closer to Jesus, my family and my church. I know through faith in Jesus that He can keep me directed on His narrow path and give me the strength to endure temptation.

"Praise His holy name for His love and compassion. God has shown me how important it is to be a dedicated husband and father. It's a wonderful feeling when my children know that Daddy loves them and their Mommy, and that God loves us all. Most importantly, He has taught me that His Son's death on the cross cannot be taken for granted and contorted to fit in with the destructive life I tried to live.

"His blood was my only hope, and I belittled His passion on the cross through my stubborn pursuit of sin. Yet He heard my cries for help and answered my prayers for restoration and reconciliation. He has since opened doors of ministry through music in my church and community. So to finish with lyrics from the song quoted earlier, 'His arms are long enough to hold you, so come back to Him today.'"

As I read this testimony from this man, I was deeply impressed with the fact that it was the cross. It was the blood of Jesus that completely transformed this man's life. It was not a twelve-step program. He does not mention professional counseling. Jesus dealt with his sin when he repented.

I said at the beginning that when the women's liberation movement back in the early 1970's began, many men and women had very little idea of what their agenda was. Betty Friedan signed the Humanist Manifesto. She was against what she called "intolerable attitudes unduly repressing sexual conduct."

Gloria Steinam was afraid that children in the Dade County Schools were being deprived of their "full human talent," meaning they should have the right to choose sexuality or homosexuality. Abortion, the right to kill. They wanted to remove all reference to ideal, to normal, the words "masculine" or "feminine." We can see that all of this agenda has been pretty much acted upon and fulfilled.

I began to suspect that in the Christian church the loss of the understanding of God's plan for "masculine" and "feminine," and the differences between husbands and wives, and leadership in the Church, would ultimately lead to churches accepting homosexuality. I was called an alarmist. We have seen it happen.

Notes from the second year of women's liberation, 1970, said this: "We must destroy love. Love prevents the full development of woman's human potential by directing all her energies outward in the interest of others." That is the diametrical opposite of God's idea. 1 Corinthians 13, "If I have no love, I amount to nothing at all." May God convict those who are leading a homosexual lifestyle. Remember the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.

Lisa Barry: And that's the hope we all share. I just want to say what an encouragement it is to hear from so many of you who have found hope through Gateway To Joy. You know, the fact that Gateway To Joy is on in your area means that there are many people just like you who enjoy hearing what Elisabeth has to say. And these people are investing in the program so that the message will continue on this station without any interruption. You might be one of those people, and we thank you for that.

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Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible. Monday, be sure and join us when the topic will be the trials of singleness. Find out more the next time we meet for Gateway To Joy.