Participants: Joshua Nelson (Host), David Anderson, James Brandon, Jeremy Anderson, Kyle Scarlett
Series Code: PC
Program Code: PC000052
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:03 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:05 may be too candid for younger children. 00:38 Hello, and welcome again to Pure Choices. 00:41 I'm your host Pastor Joshua Nelson. 00:42 And I'm so glad and excited that 00:44 you decided to join us again. 00:45 We have a good one for you today. 00:47 We're talking about Guilty Pleasures 00:49 and we're gonna talk, really talk about 00:51 pornography, masturbation. 00:53 And so before we get into this serious topic, 00:55 let's just bow our heads for prayer. 00:58 Dear heavenly Father, we just ask that 00:59 as we speak about these things that You would guide us 01:02 and that You would just be here. 01:03 Reside with us heavenly Father. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 01:05 Amen. All right. 01:07 Well, let's go and start and introduce 01:09 our panel for today. 01:11 To my left we have Kyle Scarlett 01:12 who is a Oakwood University theology student, 01:16 Huntsville, Alabama. 01:17 And then across from me here we have Jeremy Anderson 01:20 who is a Christian author and speaker 01:22 from Madison, Alabama. 01:24 And next, in the middle there we got James Brandon 01:27 who is a university chaplain in Tampa, Florida. 01:30 And next to him we have David Anderson 01:33 who is an also Oakwood theology student 01:36 in Huntsville, Alabama. 01:37 So we have all men today. 01:40 We're going to talk about this subject 01:41 that really a lot of us are facing. 01:43 And really just want to start off with simply, 01:46 is masturbation a sin? 01:49 Yeah. 01:50 That's a good question and it absolutely is a sin. 01:54 When you look at the word sin, you understand that 01:56 the definition as given is a transgression of the law. 01:59 So we're going to say that the God has a law, 02:00 God has a order of the way things should be done. 02:03 And the way that God ordered or ordained sex 02:07 in the marriage union is to have two people involved 02:12 so that they both get the maximum benefit 02:15 and result and, you know, it's like glue to them 02:18 and it's just how God ordained in order to happen. 02:22 So going against that order, masturbation, 02:25 you're kind of take it upon yourself 02:26 to self stimulating, self pleasure 02:29 and what's actually goes against the law of God 02:31 which is the law of love, which is other centered. 02:35 So you're really being selfish and pleasuring yourself 02:38 rather than waiting until the time 02:40 when you can really experience that gift and that pleasure 02:43 in the right context of marriage. 02:45 So yes, it absolutely is a sin. 02:46 Okay, well, it couldn't be clearer. 02:47 And just going to challenge that a little bit 02:50 because, you know, a lot of our society and things 02:52 we hear a lot of times is that, "Hey, you know, 02:54 masturbation is okay to do 02:55 because it's another part of who you are 02:57 and everybody should just do it. 02:58 It's okay to do." 03:00 So what do we say against that? 03:02 Do we still say it's wrong even though society may say 03:05 that it's okay to do? 03:08 To answer your question, yes, we can say that. 03:11 God presents sex as a form of worship in the Bible 03:14 and once we indulge in masturbation 03:16 that is now self-worship. 03:18 And our bodies were made to compliment the other 03:22 like a male's body is supposed to be touched 03:25 by a female in that form. 03:28 And once we're doing masturbation, 03:31 it's now being touched by a male. 03:33 Interesting, interesting. 03:34 You know, to bring that point further home, 03:37 that's how a lot of people tend to move 03:40 into acts of homosexual relationships. 03:43 Here you have a man who is taking advantage 03:46 of his self and now he's used to a manly grip. 03:50 You know, we have to think about 03:51 what it does to us psychologically. 03:53 And so, you know, the enemy would try to find 03:55 whatever way that he can defile what God made pure and holy 03:57 between a man and a woman. 03:59 And then when we go and we say, 04:01 "Hey, I'm going to, you know, abuse myself 04:03 and take advantage of myself 04:04 and have expressed my own pleasure." 04:06 Then we get used to a certain type of touch, 04:09 and then our brain goes to a whole another place. 04:10 Wow. That's deep. 04:13 Now just wanting to still go a little deeper and further 04:16 talking about some of the dangers of masturbation 04:19 and, James, I want to have you talk a little 04:21 about the emotional side of it. 04:22 Yeah. Absolutely. 04:26 Well, I think that with anything 04:30 overdoing something... 04:31 Well, this is something that we shouldn't do, that's clear. 04:35 But abuse of anything can cause and lead to an addiction. 04:38 Right. Right. 04:39 So having that addiction is, it kind of has a grip on you 04:46 because it's something unnatural 04:48 that you're now kind of predisposed to do 04:52 or you're leaning towards doing that. 04:55 Just like, you know, smoking, you know, 04:57 smokes that go into your lungs, 04:59 our bodies were meant for clean air 05:01 to come out of our lungs 05:03 and in the same way with the masturbation piece. 05:06 So I think that the addiction... 05:10 When you get addicted to anything, 05:11 it's just hard to break. 05:13 And it takes a toll on you psychologically, 05:17 it takes a toll on you physically, 05:19 and in essence you won't be complete 05:25 when it's time to really give that thing to your wife. 05:28 Yeah, yeah or vice versa, yeah. 05:30 Right to your husband. Yeah. 05:32 That's so serious, I mean, and a lot of people, 05:34 a lot of us, now we're all men on the set 05:37 but a lot of us men have developed, you know, 05:39 sexual addictions and don't really realizing. 05:42 So, excuse me, one of the questions then 05:45 and as Kyle here is, 05:46 once you have started down this road, can you stop? 05:49 Yes, you can. 05:50 Philippians 4:13 says, 05:52 "I can do all things through Christ 05:53 who strengthens me." 05:54 And so we should dedicate 05:57 whatever the struggle is to God and give it to Him 06:00 and He will help us to stop whatever it is 06:02 because we can't do it of our own power. 06:04 And so if we give it to Him and let Him handle it, 06:07 it's going to be put away properly. 06:09 Yeah. Amen. Amen. 06:11 You know, denial of self is huge here, you know, 06:13 that's the number one battle is denial of self saying, 06:16 "Not what I want to do, not taking advantage of myself, 06:19 not my will but thy will be done." 06:20 So a lot of times, you know, a man or woman 06:23 that deals with masturbation, 06:25 they're looking to please themselves. 06:27 Yeah, talk about that. 06:28 So as opposed to the delayed, gratification waiting to, 06:31 you can get connected with the spouse 06:33 that God intended to connect where you want things now. 06:36 You know, and so I think that's a strong problem 06:39 that a lot of people are dealing with. 06:41 And, Jeremy, I want to ask you this 06:42 but even though I know you're married 06:44 so I don't know if you can... 06:45 I don't know if maybe those younger guys 06:47 who are not married yet should answer this. 06:49 But the question is, in saying that now, 06:54 a lot of us guys have strong, 06:56 you know, drives for sex, you know. 06:57 And we're not married yet, you know, 06:59 maybe we're not even engaged or whatever 07:02 and we're trying to say, "What do we do now? 07:04 You know, what do we do in the meantime, how do I... 07:06 What I do with these hormones, these sexual drives? 07:08 What do I do with this tension that I have?" 07:09 You know, it seems it's easy just to kind of masturbate 07:11 and end that, you know, I'm okay for a little while. 07:14 You know, the battle once again is in your mind. 07:15 And so, you know, 07:17 just be plain with you all as to speak frankly, 07:19 I was in a relationship and then me my girlfriend 07:23 decided to get married and we say, "Hey, 07:24 we're going to do this in the right way. 07:25 So we're not going to have premarital sex. 07:27 We're going to keep our bodies holy. 07:28 I respect you, you even respect me." 07:30 And so that was a shock for me because I've spent years, 07:33 and years, and years of dealing with fornication. 07:35 So here I am now all of a sudden cold turkey, 07:38 having to stop and keep my body pure. 07:40 And so there are a few things I want to point out. 07:41 For one, when I would struggle at nighttime, 07:44 God quickened me in the mornings 07:46 that it was because of what I watched that night. 07:48 So there were specific TV shows I was watching in the evening 07:51 and I was seeing, you know, the sexual acts 07:53 and then it will stimulate me in a certain way 07:56 so now at night time I'm actually battling 07:58 with sexual demons. 08:00 You know, and I want to take advantage 08:01 of myself, so it was a struggle. 08:02 So God said, "You'll get the victory here 08:04 when you keep your mind pure." 08:06 So I had to start having worship in the morning 08:07 and in the evening. 08:09 Right, right. 08:10 And so, you know, some people say, you know, 08:11 taking a cold shower. 08:13 For me that was too cold, like cold showers didn't work, 08:15 you know, but I will go out for a run, 08:16 I did go out for a jog, I would work out, 08:19 and then you have to take it to the next level, right? 08:21 So when the temptation comes in, 08:23 you've got to go to prayer instantly, 08:24 you got to go to worship. 08:26 Sometimes you may not have that, 08:27 maybe looking at the picture of Jesus on the cross 08:29 because what happens is, this is the battle of the mind, 08:31 "Am I going to please myself right now 08:33 or am I going to please God?" 08:35 We have to make that choice. 08:36 And so we're dealing with sin here, 08:38 and so at the end of the day we have to choose and say, 08:39 "Not my will, but thy will be done." 08:41 And we have to fight it that way. 08:43 Yeah. That's so good. 08:44 And another thing that, one thing that I've done 08:45 is just putting up Bible text 08:47 like, just in your room or in places, you know, 08:49 that you're going to be tempted to go to that area, you know. 08:52 Some of the things that, what do you all think? 08:54 Yeah. 08:56 I heard some great advice just struggling with sin 08:59 or anything that you're struggling with 09:01 and it's basically the universal law of life, 09:04 whatever you feed, grows, whatever you starve, dies. 09:08 So like Jeremy said when you feed these images, 09:11 whether it be something you look at, 09:13 it could be something that you put in your ear, 09:15 something that you hear, 09:16 some music that you're listening to 09:17 that has, you know, explicit, 09:19 you can visualize things that are going on, you know, 09:22 talking about sexual things. 09:24 It could be, you know, your surroundings, you know, 09:27 a group of friends, you know, 09:29 that talk about things like that 09:30 or just commercials, anything. 09:33 So you have to make sure 09:34 you don't put yourself in a position 09:36 to absorb these things 09:38 that you would then want to act upon. 09:40 And I think that, you know, 09:42 just like if you're struggling with... 09:43 If you're struggling alcoholic, you can't go to a bar and say, 09:47 "God help me not get a drink." 09:49 You know what I'm saying? 09:50 So if you're struggling with pornography, masturbation 09:54 you have to not even put yourself in a position. 09:57 You know, have an accountability partner, 09:59 you know what I'm saying, for a certain hour at night, 10:00 you know, you have to, you know, 10:02 take things out of your room, you know what I'm saying? 10:03 Whether, you know, we were at a ministering 10:07 and a friend of ours shrug on with his very thing. 10:11 And whenever he goes on tour, 10:14 whenever he's on the road he said, 10:15 he's going to have to from certain hours, 10:17 he's going to have to be in the lobby. 10:19 You know, when he looks on the computer 10:20 he needs to be in the lobby, 10:22 you know, because that accountability. 10:23 So putting yourself not in a position 10:25 where you're secluded, 10:27 where ultimately you kind of want to do it 10:30 but you don't want to do it, you know it's wrong 10:33 but putting yourself in a position 10:35 where of optimal success. 10:39 Yeah, yeah. That's good. That's good. 10:41 Okay. 10:42 So let's now talk about those type of things, 10:45 those triggers I guess we would call it, you know, 10:48 how do you then avoid triggers 10:51 or, you know, basically when we're saying triggers, 10:52 it's something that's going to trigger 10:54 or get you down that road again 10:56 where you're going to start masturbating again. 10:57 How do you best avoid triggers? 10:59 You mentioned a couple good things about avoiding, 11:02 you know, various, you know, 11:04 making sure you're around people whatever the case is, 11:06 is having accountability partners. 11:07 Is there any other things, Kyle, 11:09 maybe that you want to add to that? 11:10 Again, it goes back to subjecting those thoughts 11:13 to God and allowing Him to have control of them. 11:16 Once you give control of those things 11:19 and put your mind on things above, 11:21 it makes it easier for you to resist the acts 11:25 that are impure. 11:27 And just give your, ask God what best way, what tools, 11:31 what ideas because He's, you know, maker of everything, 11:34 He knows this intimately. 11:36 And so He would be the one best to ask, 11:39 "Hey, this is what I need help with. 11:40 I'm struggling with this. 11:42 Take control of this and help me figure this out." 11:45 And I think that's the best way to do. 11:46 Okay. All right. Very good, very good. 11:48 Let this mind me in you that is also in Christ Jesus. 11:51 He will keep you in a perfect peace 11:52 whose mind is stayed on Him. 11:54 I mean, that's our rock like, He has to be our strength, 11:57 our fortress, our area of solitude. 12:00 And so when that urge come, when we see that picture, 12:02 we feel it, we know what's happening. 12:04 We can either harbor on it or we can listen to that voice. 12:07 So somebody may pull the scriptures, 12:09 somebody may pray, 12:10 you may take your accountability partner, 12:12 you may look at that picture of Jesus on the cross, 12:14 you may start worshipping like, whatever you do, 12:16 you have to nipped in about at that moment 12:18 because triggers will always come. 12:19 The question is, are you going 12:20 to pull the trigger when it comes? 12:22 That's deep. 12:23 So, in this subject of masturbation, you know, 12:27 we have to now bring in what causes this kind of 12:30 really to pull that trigger to go down that road 12:32 and that's pornography, you know. 12:34 Pornography is a, first of all huge industry 12:37 and it has caused a lot of men... 12:39 A lot of men are struggling with it, you know. 12:42 So I guess we talked, we said masturbation is bad, 12:46 so let's just talk, is porn bad? 12:49 Without a doubt, without a doubt. 12:50 You know, I think the scariest thing 12:52 about the pornography industry now is it's so broad, 12:55 it's so vast, it's so open. 12:57 You know, 10-20 years ago 12:58 you would have to know somebody to get DVD or, you know, 13:00 have to pay a whole bunch of money. 13:02 Nowadays you can go to YouTube, you know, you can Instagram 13:05 what people are posting pictures, you know, 13:07 it's everywhere you turn, a regular TV, it's everywhere. 13:10 And so, you know, I just think that 13:12 shows like these are important 13:13 because with programs like this, 13:15 we're addressing the problem especially in a society 13:19 where a lot of people are focusing 13:21 on what's actually out here, like, pornography is out here, 13:23 everybody's watching it. 13:24 It's everywhere, so vast, you know, 13:26 programs like these are important 13:28 to really target that issue there. 13:30 So, you know, that thing is wrong, man, 13:31 we've got to be real aggressive in the area. 13:32 And so I want to go then further and say, well, 13:34 what is really wrong with it, you know, what are the dangers? 13:36 Go ahead, David. 13:38 Well, the dangers with pornography is 13:40 our brains were designed to only be intimate or see 13:44 one person in that light. 13:46 And so once you see pornography, 13:48 you're now seeing a multiple people 13:50 in multiple different situations 13:53 when we're supposed to get married 13:55 and only see for us, our wives in that light. 14:00 Yeah. Yeah. 14:01 And so it destroys the mind. 14:03 Yeah. Absolutely. 14:04 And to add on to what you're saying, 14:07 I agree totally with that but it's also the fact that 14:11 there's a, I guess there's a... 14:14 It's called the paradigm of choice, 14:16 the paradox of choice. 14:18 And it basically states that the more options that you have, 14:22 the less satisfied you will be with your final option 14:25 that you choose. 14:26 So when you look at pornography, 14:28 you have all these different, you know, 14:30 different types of women, different colors, 14:33 different ethnicities, everything, 14:35 you can kind of narrow down exactly what you want. 14:37 Then when it's finally time for you 14:40 to have be intimate with your wife, 14:43 you know what I'm saying? 14:44 You get what you get 14:46 and that's the beautiful thing about it. 14:47 You know, if two people stay pure, that's it, 14:50 and it's beautiful, and it's lovely. 14:52 But you're never truly satisfied 14:56 with that person that God has given you 14:58 because you have all these images 14:59 and you have all these choices that you've had 15:02 that have really been facades, that have really not been real. 15:06 And then in real life, you suffer because of it. 15:09 Yeah, and it really begin to destroy then 15:11 what God has for you, you know. 15:13 And really my good friend was actually a chaplain for... 15:17 Also he, you know, he was talking about how... 15:21 There's a lot of ramifications when it comes to psychological. 15:24 When you masturbate to pornography, let's say, 15:27 you, it begins a chemical reaction that, 15:31 basically your brain looks like the brain of a heroin addict, 15:35 you know, where you're just... 15:36 And so your mind kind of takes a snapshot of everything 15:38 you are experiencing at that moment. 15:41 And so as you do that, 15:42 now you put imprint of what you like, 15:44 and what you want, and what you... 15:45 That's not the ideal. 15:47 You do that again with somebody else, 15:48 another image, it's another person. 15:49 Now you have all these compiled images 15:52 of this just crazy individual who doesn't even exist now 15:56 because you have a blonde haired person here, 15:59 brunette haired person here, this person there, 16:02 all the shapes and sizes and now you're trying to find 16:04 a wife or husband per se, that person doesn't exist. 16:09 And so now you're trying to compare, 16:11 you're trying to find that person 16:12 that really doesn't exist. 16:13 Go ahead, David. 16:15 Yeah, I was going to say exactly 16:16 what you just said, compare. 16:17 Yeah. 16:19 In pornography, it doesn't only destroy the mind 16:22 but it destroys the body too because most of the stuff 16:25 that they're doing isn't even physically possible, 16:27 if you want to be technical. 16:30 And with anal, and things 16:33 that they're doing within pornography 16:35 that wasn't designed for the body to take part of. 16:38 And then you compare. 16:39 So when you're actually intimate with somebody else 16:42 or when you're looking at other people, 16:44 you're like, "Okay, 16:45 what can I do to match up what I saw." 16:48 And what they don't tell you in pornography is, 16:51 in between cuts they're taking breaks 16:53 and the guys are popping Viagra pills 16:56 and stuff like this to keep going 16:57 for hours and hours, 16:58 when in reality, that's not the case. 17:03 Well, facade is being made for us as well. 17:07 So this pornography thing is serious. 17:09 And I just feel like, we want to talk a little about the, 17:13 what's the danger that's really behind it. 17:15 You know, the demonic possession 17:16 that takes place even in, 17:18 you know, your own privacy of what you think is, 17:20 you know, just you and yourself 17:22 but there's something else happening in those moments. 17:26 Someone want to talk about that? 17:28 Yeah, you know, this is a spiritual battle, 17:31 you know, that we're dealing with. 17:32 And, you know, when we lay down and we have sex with someone 17:35 we are giving them a part, you know, of us. 17:38 Yeah. 17:39 So we have multiple, and multiple, 17:41 and multiple partners. 17:42 And so a lot of times, possession takes place there. 17:46 And then when you have the pornography, 17:48 now you're watching this, 17:49 you're programming your mind in a certain way, 17:51 you're seeing it, you're lusting for it, 17:52 you're desiring for it, like you said before, 17:54 it tends to trigger. 17:55 And so those spirits tend to jump into your mind. 17:58 It's not, my hands don't connect with God, 18:00 right, it's not my heart, it pumps blood 18:02 but it's not my back, it's my brain... 18:04 Brain, yeah. That connects with God. 18:05 And so this brain, this amazing device 18:07 that God has given us that connects us to Him. 18:10 When we begin to feed and default things there, 18:13 we're inviting other spirits into our marrying 18:15 and into our mind. 18:17 So those are some things that we have to be aware of. 18:19 Yeah, definitely need to be aware of those things. 18:22 Especially, as, you know, 18:23 we're all men here trying to be godly men, 18:26 trying to keep ourselves connected to God, 18:28 connected to the vine, you know, 18:29 we don't want to disturb or disrupt that connection 18:33 that we have. 18:35 So in saying that a lot of, you know, 18:37 even us here looked at these things 18:39 and gone down these paths, you know, 18:42 can these things be erased? 18:44 Can you get past these type of deviant sexual behaviors? 18:49 Well, an addiction replaced with another addiction 18:53 results in relapse. 18:54 So you don't want to necessarily say, 18:58 "Okay, I'm addicted to porn. 19:00 Now let me do something else in place of it only." 19:04 Because that's going to associate like, 19:07 when you're going for a jog and I like what he said, 19:10 and he went deeper, Jeremy went deeper into it 19:13 as in you have to have that relationship with Christ. 19:15 You can't only do something and replace it 19:18 because you're going to eventually result back 19:21 to your pornography ways. 19:23 Yeah, yeah. 19:25 I think I can go ahead and piggyback off of that. 19:28 Go ahead. 19:31 It all starts with the mindset you go into 19:37 about erasing it. 19:39 You can't do anything of yourself like I said before, 19:41 you have to give those thoughts, 19:44 those acts to God, and allow Him to baptize them, 19:48 so to speak to recreate what you have inclination to. 19:54 We all have proclivities and things 19:57 that we are attracted to because we are born in 19:59 and shaped in iniquity. 20:00 And once we allow God to baptize the thoughts, 20:04 everything can be erased, everything can start anew, 20:06 it's like a fresh new piece of paper, 20:08 and just start all over again. 20:10 So I think, yeah, it can be erased by God in His grace. 20:13 You know, something interesting, 20:14 you know, I found myself praying 20:16 just about led by the Holy Spirit, 20:18 I mean, one time I was praying, I was like, "God, 20:20 brainwash me. 20:21 Just wash my brain." 20:23 I've spent years, and years, and years 20:25 of putting filth into my brain, into my mind, 20:28 I said, "God, wash my brain. 20:30 Brainwash me so that I have a pure mind. 20:32 So I have pure thoughts. 20:34 So that I can hear Your voice clearly 20:35 and then be strong enough through Your power 20:37 to execute the plan that You're telling me 20:39 through Your voice." 20:41 And so that power, that brain is serious, 20:42 so when I talk to people and they say, "Hey, 20:44 I'm dealing with masturbation. 20:45 I'm dealing with pornography," you know, 20:47 you have to be really extreme and release the point 20:49 in some different areas that you want to go about. 20:52 So break out that cycle 20:53 and to get broke free from that addiction. 20:56 Yeah, create me a clean heart 20:58 and renew a right spirit within me. 20:59 That's right. 21:00 So that's really what you have to do 21:02 and God can do that, you know. 21:03 Oh, man, He did it for me. 21:04 Yeah, amen, amen. Yeah. 21:07 You know, still thinking about and talking about 21:11 this whole issue of pornography and we were saying 21:12 it's kind of a way the devil uses this porn 21:16 to kind of get in the way of your relationship with God. 21:20 So I want to just talk a little bit about, you know, 21:24 just still talk a little more about that. 21:26 You know, the fact that this is a device, a plan, 21:30 this is the great controversy we're dealing with now. 21:32 This is a plan of the devil to use this thing 21:35 to really get in the way of our relationship. 21:38 So how can we kind of then as men stay away from the idea 21:42 that or kind of compromising and kind of say, 21:45 "Okay, well, no, just a little bit is okay, 21:46 a little bit here and there is okay. 21:48 I know I did it once, you know, this month." 21:50 Or something like that you know. 21:52 I think it goes into, you cannot serve two masters, 21:56 you either pick the good side or you pick the bad side, 21:59 there is no gray. 22:00 You have to decide God all the way, 22:03 decide His thoughts, decide His actions, 22:05 decide His character on the things that He is about 22:08 or you can go all the way to the left and decide, 22:11 "Oh, I'm going to be this way." 22:12 You can't dapple your feet in two different pools 22:14 and expect a different experience. 22:16 And what has to happen is you go all the way to God 22:20 which is full hot or you go lukewarm 22:22 and God will spew you out of His mouth. 22:23 So that's... 22:25 That's a message to the church of Laodicea. 22:26 Wow. Yeah. 22:28 That's a Revelation 3:16, 22:30 and we have to be completely committed. 22:32 And so that's why I tell people don't just say, 22:34 you're not going to, you know, watch porn, 22:36 you're not going to masturbate anymore, 22:37 but you watch other regular shows 22:39 and you're listening to other music and stuff like that. 22:41 Like you have to be 100% committed to Christ. 22:45 And it takes a big man, it takes a strong man, 22:47 it takes a godly woman, a woman of virtue. 22:50 And, you know, I tell people all the time, 22:52 if you made mistakes in the past, don't worry, 22:53 God can restore you. 22:55 But don't use His powers of restoration as an excuse 22:58 to keep on playing, you know. 23:00 When that conviction takes place 23:01 at that time, at that moment 23:03 that's when we have to be in 100% with God. 23:06 But He can make you new again, I've experienced that 23:08 in my life personally but it was rough, it was hard, 23:14 it took a lot of self denial on my end. 23:16 You know, a lot of prayer, and a lot of sacrificing, 23:19 a lot of fasting. 23:21 You know, the Bible says 23:23 that only certain power comes from prayer and fasting. 23:25 And so I believe that when we have specific strongholds 23:28 that we've been battling with for long time, 23:30 it's time to move past just praying about it. 23:32 Let's start fasting, denying yourself of food, 23:36 or beverages, or TV, or sports, or whatever it is 23:39 but start the fasting 23:40 because a lot of times we say, "God, I want 23:41 more of Your power, more of Your power." 23:43 He's like, "Okay, I'll give it to you. 23:44 I'll give you more of me but would you give me some of you? 23:46 Would you deny yourself?" 23:47 So there's power there in prayer and fasting. 23:49 Amen. I think that... 23:51 I definitely appreciate that point. 23:55 One of the other things that we, kind of, 24:00 in the other positions that we find our self in, 24:02 is we always, it seems as we're always on the defensive. 24:06 You know, we talk about these things like 24:07 pornography, masturbation 24:09 like they're out to get us, you know. 24:11 But, you know, the Bible tells us 24:12 that greater is the God, the Spirit of God that's in us, 24:15 you know, than the enemy that's in the world 24:16 that is trying to cause us to sin 24:18 and turn our back towards our master. 24:20 So I think that we have to get into the mentality that 24:23 we're more than conquerors. 24:25 You know, we have the Spirit of God within us 24:27 and we shouldn't be cowering back 24:29 from all these devices, we know them, 24:31 we have to be watchful and we have to pray 24:33 because, you know, that the enemy is as a raging lion, 24:36 you know, seeking whom he may devour. 24:38 But, you know, being intentional, 24:40 being pro active about having the victory, 24:43 and I think that, one of the thing that is a major 24:45 that sometimes we overlook and we've touched on this 24:48 but scripture memorization, 24:50 really hiding that word in our hearts and our minds, 24:53 really because when those things come up, 24:56 if we don't have anything to resist, 24:58 that instantly comes up. 25:00 You know, by the time you try and go 25:02 and find something to counteract that, 25:03 we've already found ourselves sinking into that, 25:06 into sin, in that thing. 25:08 Yeah. 25:09 I mean, it's easy for us to compromise, 25:11 if we have nothing to counter that? 25:12 Yeah. 25:13 So, you know, you just kind of go right into it 25:15 and that's really, I think about Ephesians 6 25:19 putting on the whole armor of God. 25:21 You know, and as men being on here, 25:23 that's something that, you know, we like to think 25:24 and really visualize that, 25:26 putting on the armor every morning waking up 25:27 and put that mesh on, you know, 25:28 putting that helmet on and really saying, 25:30 "You know, I'm about to do war. 25:32 This is a struggle, this is a fight, 25:34 it's going to be hard, it's going to be tough. 25:36 You know, I know that the devil is going to come 25:37 like that roaring lion trying to take my attention away 25:40 but guess what, I'm going to stand firm 25:41 because I'm putting on the armor of God." 25:43 And the sword is the Word of God... 25:46 Word, yeah. Which can defeat the enemy. 25:48 You know, that's a memorizing scripture and whatnot, 25:50 so having that in your mind that's a great solution. 25:54 You know, it's funny because when I got converted 25:57 and I got re-baptized and I had a nice long period 25:59 until I got married. 26:02 I don't know who it was, it was maybe my pastor, 26:03 maybe my dad that said, "Don't worry about it, 26:06 but don't go into this thing saying 26:08 it's going to be the next six months 26:09 or the next year and I can't do anything. 26:10 Just say today God, I'm gonna live for you." 26:13 Today, you know, January, whatever or February, 26:16 whatever the day they say, "Today, 26:18 I'm going to live for you. 26:19 I'm going to be righteous. I'm gonna be holy. 26:21 I'm gonna keep my body pure today." 26:22 It's a walk, it's not a race. 26:24 Daily. Daily. 26:25 Die daily, yeah. 26:27 Just man falls seven times but he gets back up again. 26:30 So we understand in this life we will fall 26:34 but we are also given the promise 26:38 that God can keep us from falling. 26:42 So, you know, I would encourage anyone 26:43 who is really trying to fight this thing, 26:46 first, don't fight in your own power, 26:48 don't step into the ring with that sin, with Satan 26:52 and think you're going to come out a victor. 26:54 And at the last minute try to tag in Jesus on the side 26:57 and say, "Okay, I'm dying, I need You to help me." 27:00 But you know it's little too late. 27:01 It's a little too late, you know, 27:03 so before the spirit and let God 27:05 really take control of your mind and your heart 27:08 that you want to be in subjection with His will 27:11 and that we can get to the point 27:12 where we actually hate sin as Christ hates sin 27:16 and we love righteousness and we love pleasing 27:19 and being in right standing with God. 27:21 Amen. 27:23 Man, I really want to just say to some young person out there 27:26 who is struggling that you can have victory in Jesus. 27:30 You know, this is a serious struggle that, 27:32 you know, we all have faced. 27:34 We all are striving to be perfected by Christ. 27:37 And when you stay connected to Him, 27:40 when you stay close to Him, He will give you victory. 27:43 Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, 27:45 "Everything is permissible for me 27:47 but not everything is beneficial. 27:48 Everything is permissible for me 27:50 but I will not be mastered by anything." 27:53 So look, make pure choices, you can do it by Christ, 27:56 by His grace you can make pure choices. |
Revised 2017-10-09