A Slave To Sin | Girls Gone Bible

Tell us three things about yourself that we don't know. Okay, I'll start. I just got a haircut. My hair is really short. I don't know how I feel about my hair. It looks amazing. I'm not being pick me. Pick me? You know, like a pick me girl.

Do you know that? No. When girls are like, oh, my hair is like so, so people will tell them that it's amazing. That's not why I'm doing it. But GGB, I would like a little bit of encouragement. Do you guys like this length? I like had to cut my hair a little bit because.

just my ends were just so I want a little brighter and then my ends are so dead so just give me a little word of encouragement or if you see me with um 18 inch long hair next week don't worry about it you've never it has never you look amazing thank you so much The vanity is screeching. Go Chakron. Trust me, my cat, Chakron is caster today. How are you?

Three things about me. Three things about you that you wouldn't know. I have a blankie that I sometimes talk to that is the most comforting thing in my life. I can't sleep without it. I sleep with that blanket every night. That's what the hell is since I was born. The rain makes me happy. I have to listen to rain sounds to go to sleep at night. And...

Every time I go into a place, I always look if there's a spider on the wall because I'm so scared. And I find it really comforted on planes because I know there's going to be no bugs on the plane. Wow, that's a good point. Yeah. Has anyone ever seen a bug on a plane? I don't know. But I'm like, I don't have to look around. Everywhere I go, I look. Is there spiders? What about last night? We're like, we're in your living room. And then you're in the middle of talking and I go,

And I go, did you just see Jesus? Like, what was that? And you go, I thought I saw a spider. I was like, you have to stop with the spiders. It's okay. I really have to do exposure therapy. Do you remember when we first became friends and you called me screaming about a spider and then I go, Arr, we have to pray for this. You were so mad at me.

Yeah, I used to make her come over in the middle of the night and kill spiders. We should play that video. We still haven't prayed about your spider phobia. I don't know why. Xenophobia, I think. What'd you go? I was just thinking how I almost... I was thinking about how I got into a fender bender on the highway because there was a spider. Who gets spiders in their car?

talk about like is there some kind of witchcraft on my life hang on can we break that in the name of jesus what about the two times that we've both held What? We both held all their men up. Me in the train. I don't know. There was this like man, older man. There was this beautiful older Asian man. He didn't speak English. He was like... traveling internationally. I don't remember where we were, but he was on the plane. We were on the train and what happened?

And he should have been sitting, but he started wobbling because the train stopped and she like grabbed him. She grabbed the back of his neck. He was like, go on. This man was falling over and I literally go and I catch him and then I'm grabbing you grabbed him by his neck with one hand I was like Good for you. That was insane. What a good and faithful servant you are. Why did I grab that man like that? It was like an impulse grab, you know? I grabbed a grown man by his shirt.

And then one time Ari and I are... Ari's a two on the enneagram. She's a servant. So we gotta stop for every single person who looks like they need help. It's a major inconvenience. Maybe God is breaking something off my life. We're driving on the highway. Ari yells, makes me pull over. We pull over. There's this, bless him, bless him. There's this homeless man, but like. We have to be careful. He like fell off.

his chair or like his I don't know what he had like a car he fell off the car he's on the ground Ari goes she runs she's picking him up off the ground he has a knife in his hand he asked for a ride I look at Angela I go I said, get in the car right now. I'm literally watching her. This man has a knife. I'm screaming from the car. I go, it's okay. I locked my car doors and I said, you know what?

She's in the middle of the road lifting up this grown man with a knife in his hand I'm picking up the man in the train with by his collar Oh, I don't know. Anyways, I survived it. We both survived it. Praise PTL. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Thank you. Oh, man. Hey, guys. I'm Ange. And I'm Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. We are a faith-based podcast where we talk about Jesus. We talk about the Bible. We talk a lot about mental health.

We talk about relationships once in a while. But we are very Christ-centric because Jesus is the one true living God and we love Him. PTL. Praise the Lord. Great intro. You can do it every time. You think my hair's okay? Nah, we're moving on. We're moving on. I am obsessed with it. Is my eye... No, they're not bloodshot anymore. Are you sure? I have an eye infection. They're so itchy right now. Yeah, yeah. Pink eye.

I have to pee so bad. I'm so sorry. We'll find it on your pillow. Probably you, Anne. Probably you. It wasn't me. Was it one of you guys? It was one of them! It was one of them! Nah, you guys wouldn't do that. What's up, GGB? I love you guys so much, man. Ari, like, we can't let her come in with the Hydro Stanley, whatever. She has like eight different types of these Stanley cups. She really does talk to them.

She, bless her, like she literally looks at water and has to use the restroom 500 times. So coming in with one of these really does not serve as well in filming, yeah. Who thought two foxes like you and I would talk about farts so much? Freaking foxes. We have a bunch of foxes. That's what guys from Boston say. What, that you're a fox? God, you're a fox. I want to go to Boston. Where are you going? Hang on. We're talking. So I just wanted to tell you something. Sure. On the record.

i heard you're like you guys should have seen us we're i promise you you can trust us we will lead you well in this episode but today's episode is about sin about how to overcome sin. We're going to be going, it's going to be a lot of reading through Romans 5, 6, 7 and 8. And then we're studying last night. We're in the glory. We're in the zone. We're like doing all this stuff. And then all of a sudden we start. doing the Kendrick Lamar dance.

I can't believe I have it down. I started doing it as I was brushing my teeth. It's not that hard. I know, but for someone who's like a little bit, you're a good dancer though. You might be dyslexic, but you can dance. I'm not dyslexic. I'm sorry. I didn't even know what I meant.

It's cold. I had just started a podcast and I've never done anything like this. When we first started the podcast, I could not even read. I was like, dog dog. The enemy was literally attacking my brain as I would be reading. You're so stupid. You can't read. What about me? He attacks me like this. He goes, ha ha, you're about to have a heart attack. That's all I hear.

I had a really bad panic attack the other day while I was driving. Kind of took me back about five years. On the highway? On the highway, pulled over. It was a very... Very scary, and I will say by yourself. I was by myself called you called my mom called John Nobody answers It was really it was probably good. I needed to work through it, but

Yes, spiritual attack. Yes, it's all spiritual. And how we treat our bodies is the most important thing. If you are having anxiety and panic attacks or depression, you really do need to look at the way that you're treating your body because this is, I'm like so vulnerable right now from a lack of sleep, touring, I'm like running myself into the ground like this. It makes sense why that's happening.

So I just encourage whoever's listening, if you're dealing with mental health stuff, and then you can look at your life and be like, I'm not eating right. I'm not exercising. I'm not sleeping. You know what I mean? It really is. And isolation is a killer of depression. You get around some community and depression.

That's the best thing you can do when you're in anxiety and depression is be in unity. The devil don't like that. Don't like that. The best thing I can do when I'm in a bad spot is get to your house. GGB Gang breaking news from Good Ranchers. Since 2017, over 140,000 family farms in the U.S. have shut down. Why? Because a lot of the meat and grocery stores is not coming from American farms anymore. It's imported from overseas where mass production and low cost

take priority over true quality. This spring, we need to change that. It's time to spring into action and put American farms first because nothing beats. American quality. That's why we chose Good Ranchers.com, the brand that stands for integrity. tradition, and 100% American raised meat. All products on GoodRanchers.com have trustworthy ingredients. Their meat is born, raised, and harvested right here in the U.S.

So you know exactly where it comes from. It's free from hidden additives. There are no antibiotics ever. No added hormones and no seed oils. Just one. Simple ingredient that you can read and that's meat. And speaking of no seed oils, I have exciting news. Their seed oil free chicken nuggets are officially back in stock. These nuggets are made with whole cuts of chicken.

They're gluten-free, allergen safe, and packed with clean, delicious flavor that you can feel good about serving. But the best part of all their boxes, Good Ranchers is delivered. straight to your door offering you true farm-to-table transparency. So you're supporting American ranchers and getting meat that you can feel good about serving. Clean.

simple and exactly as it should be. And you get to skip the grocery store as a whole. Right now, Good Ranchers is running their spring into action promotion. so you and your family can support local ranchers and easily get American quality delivered right to your door. When you subscribe to any of their boxes, you'll get to decide if you want free chicken nuggets, the same ones that I mentioned earlier that Ari and I love, free bacon,

ground beef, or wild caught salmon in every order for a year. But you have to make sure to use our code GGB at checkout to get $40 off your first order too. And seriously you guys, this is the best offer Good Ranchers has ever given. You won't find it anywhere else. To spring into action and help American farms with every purchase, visit GoodRanchers.com now. And remember to use our code GGB to get free meat for a year and $40 off. Good Ranchers, American meat delivered.

The IRS is the largest collection agency in the world. And with April 15th fast approaching, it's more aggressive than ever. In 2025, enforcement has ramped up. And if you owe back taxes or have unfiled returns, waiting is not an option. The longer you do, the worse it gets. Ignoring your tax troubles is the worst thing you can do. April 15th marks another tax year that has passed you by. Getting ahead of this now is the smart move. But never... Never contact the IRS alone. Instead, let the...

at Tax Network USA handle it for you. Why? Because not all tax resolution companies are the same. Tax Network USA has a preferred direct line to the IRS, meaning they know exactly which agents to deal with and which to avoid. With proven strategies to settle tax problems in your favor, whether you owe 10,000 or 10 million, tax networks, USA's attorneys, and negotiators have already resolved over 1 billion in tax. Talk with one of their strategists today.

It's free. Stop the threatening letters. Stop looking over your shoulder and protect yourself from property seizures and bank levies. Don't let the IRS control your future. Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit TNUSA.com. All right, you guys, we have an incredible episode on... sin today. Can I read that little description that I wrote down? What is sin, right?

In the Bible, sin is defined as any action, thought, or behavior that goes against God's will and moral law. The concept of sin is rooted in the idea of disobedience. Sin is often described as separation from God and it brings spiritual death and consequences. I love that it's defined as any action, thought or behavior.

I feel like when people sin, hear sin, they automatically go to, oh sin, sex outside of marriage, oh sin, smoking and drinking and doing all that stuff, which yes, there are so many external behavioral sin things that you do, partake in. but it's also your heart and your thoughts. People forget that pride, greed, anger, bitterness, jealousy, all these things, that's sin.

And it's so much easier, as both of us would know. It's so much easier. I feel like this is how God takes, this is at least how he took us. It's like he has to get rid of all the external behavioral sin first, where we start laying down. activities we start we stop like We stop swearing. We stop having sex outside of marriage. We stop any sort of sexual sin. We stop doing all of the things. God begins to work on modesty stuff.

God begins to work on lust, like all of those things. And then you realize after you think those are the big things and they're the hard things and they are big and it is hard to lay down sin, but then you realize. When God gets all of that out of your life, he actually gets to work on the deep-rooted sin that's in your heart. And I've heard a pastor say, like, all of the stuff that you do behaviorally is a symptom.

to what's actually going on inside. Like these are all symptoms of the sin that's in our heart. So I think that's like so important to remember, you know. I'm literally thinking about what's so cool about Girls Gone Bible is that you can see it. Like we, the modesty, we started with the modesty and we like, it was like this pruning throughout like the beginning you watch. It's so funny with modesty that like.

I just used to, even when God was working on modesty in my heart, I was, that's why it's a heart posture, even with sin. I used to be like just constantly walking the line and being like, oh, but is it that bad? But maybe it's. And then finally you get to a point of maturity where you're like, you don't even consider walking the line anymore. Yeah. You know, like you don't even walk the line. Yeah. And people think it's so.

I was, it's so funny, I was at the hair salon yesterday and I was... talking about modesty and kind of, you know. reiterating some verses from the Bible and she was like oh come on that is so stupid and I remember feeling that way of like it is this is so stupid like why do I have to cover my body but then I remember I felt like I had to show my body for love. That was my identity. Wow.

You think it's so stupid. You think he's like taking away all these things from you and really he's just showing you who you really are. He's trying to reveal to you that you are not, you don't have to do these things. You don't have to show your body. You don't have to, to, to. for love and all this stuff and so it's like the minute we started to lay that down we started to see who we really were that we weren't our bodies it's true empowerment yeah yeah that's what it is

Okay, this is completely off topic, but I just wanted to tell, I want to tell you this story, and I think it's so interesting for them. Because, like, obviously you guys know Ari and I came from the acting world, and we've been acting in L.A. for a very long time. So one of my good friends, she has to have a conversation with her agencies and tell them that she's not okay with LGBTQ roles and sex scenes or nudity. Which, by the way, those three things, you cannot find a script.

you cannot find an audition that is not one of those things either it's a girl who's completely naked or she's gay there is no like there is no actual substance in film or tv at all like it's actually the most demonic weirdo thing that I've ever seen in my life.

And so I'm talking to my friend and she makes such a good point because she's like, we had the whole Me Too movement, right? Like Hollywood did this whole Me Too movement. Like we're giving women their power back and all this stuff because back in the day you used to have. casting couch you used to have like

you sleep your way to the top. Like if you sleep with the producers or you sleep with the directors, and that's like way back in the day. But like if you sleep with someone, that's how you can get a role and do all that stuff. And the Me Too movement like completely abolished that. Right? Maybe. I'm sure it's still happening behind the scenes.

But my friend made such a good point. She was like, the Me Too movement came to empower women, made it so that women would no longer have to either sleep their way to the top or be sexualized to land a role or be objectified to land a role. But now... Like, look what Satan does. He did this fake Me Too movement to empower women, but now every role that you could even go out for is completely objectifying and sexualizing women.

So the only way that you could land a role in acting is if you either take your clothes off or you're in a same sex relationship that has no significance towards like the plot or the arc of the story whatsoever. Like it's just. That's what he does. It's so disempowering. It's so, like, Satan literally tries to give women no option except to, like, you can just see us. And men. And men, too. I don't know, yeah.

And men too, but not even close to what he does with women. Yeah. I just. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. I just, that's so true. And I just. The thing is, is like when you don't compromise their value, God has a way of rewarding you and giving you tenfold. And I am so proud.

Even like from the beginning of Girls Gone Bible that we didn't compromise. There are so many things that we could have done. So many opportunities. So many things. So true. Offers. And we never compromise our integrity. That's the one thing that. I've just really been learning in my journey in U2 because I used to compromise.

So much. If it's one thing in my life, I look back at my career, the roles I did, just... these low blow that is out there for the rest of my life and you know I don't I don't really beat myself up anymore but I still have to see that stuff on the internet for the rest of my life and I'm just like When you hold back and you say, I don't play around with that darkness.

God sees that and He rewards you for that. So I know it's so hard to be in, not even Hollywood, in a society that tells you to do you, make this money, do whatever you have to do to get to the top. When you sit back and you're like, no, I don't do what the world says. I live for God. He sees that and he's like, oh, you just wait.

Even if it seems like you're in a really tough, difficult season where you have to struggle for a little bit. Because me and you really did for a little bit. But then, you know. It's so true. It's so true. Just to be without compromise. It's like. compromise like to be without compromise that's it that's just the best way to live your life and we're going to talk a lot about that today um

Okay, so we're going to read a little bit out of Romans 5. We're going to be reading, just so it's more helpful for you guys, we're going to read all out of NLT today. And... LT is the best. It's my favorite. It's not the most... Accurate, but it's my favorite probably like ESV or NIV is the most word accurate I just love NLT so much because it's the best for comprehension and understanding and I feel like for us especially like that's what's most important that we get deep understanding.

So we're going to read a little bit. First out of Romans 5, you can start at verse 12. And it's Adam and Christ contrasted. When Adam sinned, and as you guys know, Adam and Eve were the first two people on the planet that God made. The whole story, the whole gospel, the whole story of Jesus is that God created man in his image. And we were made to be in perfect relationship with God. But the first two people who ever lived...

fell. They chose their own will as opposed to choosing God's will. They chose to go their own way, to be their own God. And that basically messed everything up for the rest of eternity. Every single one of us live in Adam's bloodline. Every single one of us come from Adam's bloodline.

So sin entered the world through Adam and literally spread from generation to generation and will forever be that way until Jesus comes back and redeems all of humanity. And so verse 12 says, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given, but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.

Still, everyone died, from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even those who did not disobey. An explicit command of God as Adam did. So basically meaning that anybody in the world, even if you don't explicitly disobey God's commands which every single one of us do and will because we just have an inherently sinful nature. You are still automatically a sinner because we're in his bloodline. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ who is yet to come.

But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. So it's always a contrast. It's Adam and then Jesus. And because God does it on purpose to show a contrast of a man who chose his own will and a man, Jesus. who literally only chose the will of the Father to be completely devoted to the Father. There's a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God's gracious gift is different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many, but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness. for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. So God's law was given to us to expose how sinful we are.

The whole point in God giving Moses all these commands was not only to give them a guideline in how to live their lives, but he was always foreshadowing the time of Jesus to come where Jesus would come and show us that. Everything that you ever tried to do to be faithful to me through the law would never be sufficient because Our hearts are naturally sinful. We can't overcome sin without God's grace.

Without the sacrifice of Jesus, it's only through Jesus' blood and the Holy Spirit's empowerment that we could even think about overcoming sin. We will never be able to keep God's law. That's why Jesus is necessary. And so... I think a lot of people always have this question of how can we be guilty of what Adam and Eve did? You know what I mean? Why are we, why are you and I accountable for what he did? And I think the whole point in God... I think the whole point in this is that

Whether it was Adam and Eve or you and I that were the first people, we would have done the same thing. We are faulty, weak humans. We do not have God. God-like tendencies, like we don't have His divine ability. He made us human on purpose because then we would need him, then we would be dependent on him. Like the whole point is for us to always be in relationship.

And so if anybody wonders, why are we responsible for what Adam did? It's because we would have done the same thing. Yeah. And we're in Romans 6. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God could show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not, since we have died to sin. How can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Jesus Christ in baptism, we were joined with him in his death?

for we died and we were buried with christ by baptism and just as christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the father now we also may have new lives i love that let's let's stop do you want um this energy drink no So this whole section deals with sanctification. Chapters 6, 7, and 8, deal of sanctification. Romans 6 is... Paul talking about how believers can be free from their struggle with sin. Romans 7 talks about how...

It's like a continuous struggle. Even Paul, who's so devoted to Jesus, has this continuous struggle with sin. And then Romans 8, we all love Romans 8, talks about the victory that we have over sin. so when he says well then because it talks about because romans 5 talks about it like sets us up with all of god's grace and the grace that's given and his grace abounds much more where sin abounds Grace abounds much more. But then Paul is writing and saying, okay, so then should we keep on sinning?

And the answer is obviously no. And if we take advantage of Jesus' mercy and his forgiveness, then we're clearly not taking sin as seriously as we should. Sin leads to death. It is so incredibly serious. His grace is sufficient. Grace's unmerited favor and his grace...

is sufficient to cover all of your sins when you repent, but it does not absolve you of the consequences that come from sin. I feel like people forget that if you're continuing to live in sin, you're choosing to take on the consequence. and the destruction that sin brings on. Yes, of course Jesus will forgive you. But you're not like, you're not then, um...

That's the word I'm looking for. You're not then exempt from the consequence that sin brings on your life. You know what I mean? And I think people too feel like... Man, I don't want to do this. I want to live the way I want. Not realizing that we're just harming ourselves. And this talks a lot about baptism in the beginning. And it's so funny because...

When we were baptized and then we had some people that we know get baptized, I think people mislead what baptism is, like a lot of people feel like. well, I can just get baptized and then I'm saved and then I can go on living the way I want. that's so opposite from it. When you get baptized, that means it's just a portrayal of what

your new life is going to be. It's showing you that you're going to be immersed in the water. You come out and you're going down with Jesus and come out in the newness of life. And it's not that you can just go get dunked in the water and then you come up a new person. We have to actually, you know, come up and actually live right, not just, oh, I'm baptized and I'm saved and I can go ahead living the way I want.

And many people think that. It's not just some, I love that you say that so much because they said we were joined with. Christ Jesus in baptism we joined him in his death we have died and were buried with Christ by baptism You are buried with Jesus. Your old life is gone. You come up out of the water, like you said, into the newness of life, resurrected life, died with Jesus, risen with Jesus. That means new life.

That means everything changes. It means new life and you've been buried and you're up and you're forgiven. You're forgiven for your sins. That means you don't keep living the way you are. You were dead with sin and now you are dead to sin. You know? Amen. And when it says, When I read that from my own interpretation, when I read, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?

I just think about us. And I think about when you really capture the revelation of Jesus and you really have that aha moment of, oh my God. I love you. I respect you. I see you. Like you really, you see Jesus and you, I don't know. I just remember having that moment of, oh my gosh, what? What have I been doing? Why have I been acting this way? I've been living in this like web of deception and you have that reverence, that hit of reverence.

And you just can't go back there. I look back and I'm like, I look at people that... Say they love Jesus, and this is not me condemning you. This is just me because this isn't anything I learned. This is me. Actually, I've walked through this this past two years. And when I hear people

that have been Christians but they're still living the way they want, I think to myself, have you really, do you really understand Jesus? Do you really understand who He is? Have you really went deep enough with Him? Because once you capture... the revelation of who he really is, his love, what he's done for us on the cross.

How can you keep living the way you're living without feeling so sick inside? I can't get away with anything anymore. And so, yeah, when I read that, should we keep on sinning so that God can give us more of His wonderful grace? Of course not. No, of course not. Yes, Jesus has grace, but... We also, it's also like... Don't you see who he is? How can we keep doing the very thing that... Right.

That he is so fervently in this Bible telling us not to do. He's so serious about it. This is so serious. It's serious stuff. Jesus dying on the cross is very serious. If he had to die for the sin. I think we should take it seriously and not take his grace for granted. It's very serious. So good art. I can't even begin to imagine all the money that I've spent on skincare and beauty products over the years to battle issues like acne.

damaged hair, eczema, change in hair color, but I recently realized that I was completely overlooking the most fundamental step. The water that I shower in. We all know how important it is to filter the water we drink. But why don't we think the same way about the water we shower in? Clean water is the first step to an effective beauty routine and it's a step that I have completely overlooked. You guys, I mean this when I say it. The Jolie shower head has legitimately changed my life.

I will never be the same again. My hair grew exponentially after using the Jolie and I can tell how much less soft it is when I'm traveling and not using it. I'm being serious. You will legitimately actually see a difference in your hair softness and texture. and not to mention my skin is way more hydrated after using the Jolie. Jolie is a beauty wellness company that

purifies the water we shower in for better skin, hair, and overall well-being. Jolie's filtered shower head is best in class for removing chlorine and heavy metals. It's the only lab tested and clinically trialed filtering shower head on the market and It's clinically proven to reduce hair shedding in 81% of people. Not to mention it's lab tested to reduce hair frizziness by 40%. It's lab tested to maintain color retention.

And it's lab tested to protect the hair's surface layer. You guys, chlorine is added to our water systems to disinfect it and kill bacteria. But unfortunately, chlorine is damaging to our hair and our skin and- It fundamentally causes issues. Jolie fixes this. The Jolie shower heads have a beautiful...

sleek design. It's the perfect combination of form and function. Jolie still gives strong water pressure and it fits all showers as the plumbing pipe size is universal. Jolie will truly give your best and hair guaranteed. Head to joelieskinco.com to try it out for yourself with free shipping. And if you don't like it, you can return your Jolie for a full refund within 60 days. No questions asked.

This episode is brought to you by NoCD. Have you ever had a really stressful, unwanted thought pop up during worship? Maybe it made you feel like you needed to start over your prayer or because it wasn't right or perfect and it's filled you with...

shame or caused crushing guilt because it felt like it offended God. A lot of people have thoughts like this, including Ange and I. And trust us, we know how scary and isolating they can be to struggle with. They can even lead to compulsive behavior, like constantly asking for reassurance.

punishing yourself for having bad thoughts or worrying about participating in religious practices like praying incorrectly but here's what's changed everything for us learning that these thoughts aren't character flaws or signs of weak faith they might be symptoms of religious ocd also known as scrupulosity. OCD is really misunderstood so a lot of people can be surprised to learn that it can focus on religion.

true OCD can latch on to anything you deeply care about including your faith and when it does it can be devastating but there's hope because with the right kind of therapy OCD is highly treatable. That's where NoCD comes in. With NoCD you can do virtual therapy designed specifically for OCD. There are licensed therapists that deeply understand OCD as well as your faith and how important it is in your life. They'll help you work through these

thoughts using exposure and response prevention, or ERP, a type of specialized therapy that's the most proven treatment for OCD. OCD also accepts many major insurance plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and more. and provides always-on support between your therapy sessions. If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone, and NoCD can help. Visit NoCD.com to schedule a free 15-minute call and learn more.

That's NOCD.com to learn more and book a free call. We go on Romans 6 verse 5. It says, Since we have been united with him in his death. we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ. so that sin might lose its power in our lives. This is our whole point in reading this today is so that you understand that sin has no power over you.

Sin is not more powerful than you with Jesus. Us alone, absolutely it's more powerful. Us with the authority that Jesus has given us, there is no sin addiction habit, nothing is more powerful. And it says we are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, We know that we will also live with him. It's not just death to sin. It's then life in Jesus. Life in Jesus. It is so...

life more abundantly. That's what he offers. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once. to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. I love that verse. I love it so much. When he says we are no longer slaves to sin.

I feel like Paul is writing to emphasize the point that God does not, we don't get saved and then God doesn't take us out of the world. He doesn't take us out of our situations. He doesn't take us away and like if that was the case he'd just bring us to heaven right away But the point is this beautiful relationship that we're in with Jesus where we get saved and we're still in the world. We're still with temptation. We still have our flesh on that.

wants sin, desires sin, but the point is that He sends His Holy Spirit to come give us boldness to empower us to overcome sin. That's this dance that we're forever in. And so he's saying that we are no longer slaves to sin. Before, we were slaves to sin. We were. We had no choice. Before Jesus, we had no choice. but to give in to our sinful nature. But with Jesus, we are no longer slaves to sin because we have the Holy Spirit who gives us boldness and empowerment to overcome.

And you know, some of you could be sitting here saying, what do you mean I'm a slave? I'm a slave to sin. Right. And I think about, I always go back to my own self because this is something that... Angela and I have both been walking out this past two years completely being pruned and We're used to living a certain way our whole lives and then all of a sudden boom we are like radically changing our lives and it's been such a process but I

When I read this, it takes me back to when I first started reading about sin because I didn't realize how serious it was. I didn't know. I was so ignorant to it all. I kept reading over and over how a slave to sin, what is that? What is that? And some of you that are new to this could just be... wondering that too and think about it like this for anyone who doesn't think they're a slave to sin think about right now if you're sitting in the middle of impurity right now Can you give it up?

I couldn't. Why? Because I had pride. I was like sitting there being like, no, I've been living this way my whole life. What do you mean? I have to give it up. And I kept going back. And I kept going back. And the same with you. You keep going back. You can't stop. You say one more time. Just one more time.

you're a slave to it. That's a slave. When you can't get something up, when you keep going back to it, it's got mastery over you. And so I just remember feeling like... I just remember feeling like... Why do I have to give this up? Am I being punished for this? Like, why is he trying to take these? things for me that that are fun right that's so good and now that I'm on the other side of it I just I can see how

destructive it was to my life. I can now see now that I'm in a place where I can be in a place where I It feels like hell. It feels like I'm in turmoil, but I have a peace that you cannot take away from me. Why? Because the sin is gone. Not saying that I'm free from sin. I struggle with things. I'm saying things that I'm still walking through.

laying our lives down has it's been the cheat code to our life and I understand all this but I remember reading this and being like what is what is this what do you mean you know I'll never forget little story time So as a lot of you guys know, I... I've done it all. I've done it all. I've drank alcohol, been addicted to alcohol. I have, um... Smoked cigarettes, been addicted to cigarettes. I vaped, been addicted to vaping. And I'll never forget when...

I quit vaping because my mom challenged me. And I love a good challenge. My mom basically was like, you couldn't do it. You're a slave to this whatever. And I remember I gave up, I gave up vaping. And I literally, it was one of the most painful things I'd ever done. And I was able to give it up because... I just was around my family and I had a good community. That's something that we'll get to. You want to overcome sin? Oh, you get with some good accountability. You get around people.

who will hold you accountable. You say you're going to quit something and then they'll... It is everything. I was only able to quit vaping because I was with my family, living with them in Florida during quarantine. And then... I moved back to LA and I like started going through something and I started vaping again.

I, by this point, when I first quit I didn't really have a spiritual understanding of what was going on. I didn't understand the spiritual implications of being addicted to something. I didn't quite yet know what having an idol was. so that was when i first started when i first stopped smoking that i didn't really understand when i picked it back up and i was like way deeper in my faith i started reading the bible and i understood what was happening in my body i go I am a slave. to this thing.

Oh, I was smoking cigarettes. That's what I picked up. I didn't pick up vaping again. I picked up cigarettes. I go, I am a slave. I would be in my quiet time, in my room, trying to connect to Jesus, thinking about smoking a cigarette. This thing had taken precedent over Jesus for me. I wanted to be smoking. My body was a slave to it. My mind was a slave to it. I realized like this is true. I was fully a slave. He was my master.

And there was nothing I could do about it until I quit. And the thing with sin is you can't just do a little here and there. That's not how sin works. you let a little bit in it takes a mile and it will absolutely you literally open the door and he will invade your house like you cannot give sin even an inch into you it says that you can't give sin a foothold into your life you can't give satan a foothold and so it was just so crazy when i realized like oh my gosh

I can't even go a little bit without this thing. That's what sin does. It controls you fully. So verse 12 then says, do not let sin control the way you live. Do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.

instead give yourselves completely to god for you were dead but now you have new life in jesus name we pray this over you guys you were dead but now you have new life So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master. For you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace.

the liberating freedom of God's grace. He is a God of liberation. This is what he does. This is how I beat alcoholism. I've beat vaping. I've beat cigarette smoking. Made a lot of progress and disordered eating like he this is what he does. He wants to set us free He wants to set us free from our sinful desires. It's insane And if you don't think that you can do it, let me just tell you that

I became a Christian two and a half years, two and a half years ago. And I literally, my life, I've changed my life all around in the matter of five months. five months of not by my own strength, but asking God, help me with this. Help me. He radically changed my life like this. Don't think that he can't do it for you just because you've been living a certain way your whole life.

Because he can. He can and he will. No matter how deep the sin that you're in, no matter what, it doesn't matter. You're not too far gone. You're not too deep in. You're not too dirty or shameful or anything like that. And we're two girls that sit up on here who come from the world, who literally have had to break off every sin, everything. We were so deep.

in the world and in darkness and in all the things. And if we can do it, so can you guys. Because Jesus can do it in you. We might not be able to do it on our own. I know we can't do it on our own, but with Jesus. anything and everything is possible. And honestly, Ange, I think about it like sometimes we do grieve because we do wish that we were. We sometimes look at each other and we always tell you guys, but we look at people that...

grew up in Christian families, and we're like, man, I wish we could have grown up so pure like this. But that wasn't the case, and God uses everything for His good for those who love Him. He used it for our good and he put us on this platform because a lot of us are so turned against him because you're so deep into your shame. And I just hope that you can...

You can look at us, too, and you can be like, if these two girls did it, two girls that lived in L.A., lived a certain way their whole lives. We were always good kids, by the way. But if he can do what he did in us and we changed our lives in the short amount of time that we did, then so can you guys. I'm serious. And if I could encourage you guys, if anything, it's like this should be.

fun yeah like this shit this is amazing this shouldn't be shameful and I'm talking to myself this shouldn't be shameful this shouldn't be like something to make you shrink back and like you know, cower down because, oh, it's so much sin. It's serious and we have to take it serious. And also, if I was you, I would look at it as like, I'm literally so devoted. to letting Jesus remove every bit of impurity in my heart. And that's a lifelong journey because every single day there's something new.

And it's like insane. You think you're good and then you're not. But it's fun. Like whenever I realize like, oh, there's another piece of impurity. There's another piece of something that is not good. This is sin deep in my heart and we've got to get rid of it. It's my favorite thing to let Jesus work and then overcome it. When I...

John literally always laughs because he's like, I've never met somebody who loves a challenge the way that you do. He loves a good challenge. When I see that there's something not godly or not right, I am like, I am going to let Jesus do what he does. i'm gonna let this happen and it's like i look at it as like this is amazing that he does this for us this is amazing unbelievable we get to overcome sin and we don't do it by ourselves we do it with his power it's amazing oh it's like

This is amazing. And you know what else? Like, I love that you say it's fun because I was just looking at old photos of myself the other day. And I was like, this is incredible. Look at what you did. Look at who I was, how I used to be, how I used to dress. I didn't even have life in my eyes. Look at what you've done in my life. It's crazy. So like...

For someone who's like, no, but I've been living this way, and no, I have too much of a past. Look at how I grew up. That's even more of your testimony. By the end of this, you're going to be like, look at what God did. He's going to shine his glory through you. What a gif- He is to us. And the darker, the more darkness that you've walked through.

Like I've even noticed with John and I, for example, like I, John's like, he grew up in a very like Christian household his whole life, faithful to God. Had to find his faith on his own. Probably had a couple years where, you know, he just went through his own stuff. But for the most part, like, been faithfully walking with Jesus.

That's obviously not my story and I can tell that I am like way more sensitive Not way more but like I'm very sensitive to darkness like he can watch a film that probably I feel like is not I don't want to watch And we've had the conversation before where I think I'm probably a little bit more sensitive to darkness because I've seen so much of it. I've been in so much of it that I have this sensitivity to like even swearing. Like, you know what I mean? That things that people...

Don't think it's a big deal. I and you, we both might think it's a little bit more of a big deal because we know we have tasted and seen what darkness is. We've tasted and seen sin, and we know how much better Jesus is. So we're like just so much more proactive of being like, I can't go back there. And that's the, and I don't know, and I'm just want to say this, that is the gift. There's always a gift to something that we've been through that's hard.

I just remember condemning myself so much from where I come from, and you too. And there's such a gift of coming from... hardship and coming from darkness and while it wasn't fun and while we went through so much he really brings beauty from ashes and like someone that's sitting here listening right now that's like in the trenches that's sitting in darkness

hear what she said there's beauty in it like we look at darkness we can help people because of the darkness we never want to go back there because of the darkness And so do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. So it's not even just your physical body. It's like everything to do with.

who you are and what you have to offer, all of your purpose, all of your capabilities, everything. Do not let anything that you do be an instrument to serve evil. I have spent a lot of my life... unknowingly serving evil. knowingly and unknowingly. You know what I mean? And like... We both have a very acute understanding that everything we do has implications.

That doesn't mean don't go live your life and have a good time and just relax a little bit. We need to hear that sometimes. And at the same time, there's a seriousness and an urgency to... Knowing that everything we do, everything we say, has implications. And we're either serving God with everything that we do and say, or we're serving evil.

Typical children's vitamins are basically candy in disguise. They're filled with two teaspoons of sugar, unhealthy chemicals, and other gummy additives that growing kids should just never eat. That's why Haya created a super powered chewable vitamin. While many children's vitamins are filled with five grams of sugar, which is known to contribute to like a variety of health issues, Haya is made with zero sugar and zero gummy additives. Yeah, it tastes great.

perfect for little picky eaters. Haya fills in the most common gaps in modern children's diets to provide the full body nourishment that your kids need with a yummy taste that they love. Formulated with the help of pediatricians and nutritional experts, Haya is pressed with a blend of 12 organic fruits and veggies, then supercharged with 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, B12, C, zinc, folate, and many others to help support immune system, energy, brain function, mood.

concentration, teeth, bones, and more. It's non-GMO, vegan, dairy free, allergy free, gelatin free, nut free, and everything else. free that you can imagine. Every single batch is third-party tested for heavy metals in a qualified GMP compliant lab using scientifically validated testing methods so you know that the product is safe and nutritious. Haya is designed for kids two and up and sent straight to your door so parents have one less thing to worry about and my niece Sierra is a

obsessed with Haya. They're the only vitamins that she'll take. She loves the taste and she loves the decorating bottle with the stickers that come in the first order. And are you tired of battling with your kids to eat their greens? Well, Haya now has kids daily greens and superfoods. chocolate flavored greens powder designed specifically for kids packed with over 55 whole food ingredients to support brain power development digestion i mean just scoop Shake.

and sip with milk or any non-dairy beverage for a delicious and nutritious boost that your kids will actually enjoy. We've worked out a special deal with Haya for their best-selling children's vitamin. You can receive... 50% off your first order. To claim this deal, you must go to hyahealth.com slash ggb. This deal is only available on the regular website. Go to h-i-y-a-h-e-a-l-t-h dot com slash ggb. and get your kids the full body nourishment that they need to grow into a healthy adult.

The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus, Jonathan Rumi.

seen through the eyes of those who knew him set against the backdrop of roman oppression in the first century israel with over 250 million viewers the chosen is one of the most watch shows in the world the series is consistently a top performer across streaming platforms amazon prime peacock and netflix plus a top rated broadcast weekly on the cw what started as a crowdfunding project has now garnered over 800 million episode views and more than 17 million social media followers.

The Chosen is an independent production written, directed, and executive produced by Dallas Jenkins and distributed globally by Lionsgate. The Chosen is back for Holy Week. the most pivotal week in human history. Tables are turned, friends are betrayed, and powerful leaders plot the death of Jesus, the chosen. Last Supper is the must-see event of the Easter season. In theaters March 28th.

in the U.S. on April 10th worldwide. To give you a little season five synopsis, the people of Israel welcome Jesus as king while his disciples anticipate his crowning. But... Instead of confronting Rome, he turns the tables on the Jewish religious festival. Their power threatened. The country's religious and political leaders will go to any length to ensure this Passover meal is Jesus' last.

Get tickets to The Chosen. Thechosenlastsupper.com. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.

And what was that result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So good. So good. I love.

Howie says I'm using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this because he makes Paul makes such a good point that there is no neutral neutrality You cannot be neutral in this situation. You are either a slave to God or you're a slave to sin. There's no in-between. Christians will always struggle with sin. We will always have temptation, but we don't have to be slaves.

to it if you belong to jesus you cannot belong to sin if you're governed by the spirit of god you cannot be governed by your flesh and sinful nature i want to talk to you guys really because This is... For instance, we were watching, what did we watch the other day? We were watching some show about Love is Blind. Love is Blind. And we're watching less than an episode. We're watching...

We're just like doing things, and I just hear this girl. She's like, you know, I grew up in a Christian household, and... You know, I just, I don't know. Like, I just, I don't agree with some things in the Bible. And I don't know. It's like, I believe in God, but then I believe in the stars and I believe in this and I believe in that. And then the guy is behind the wall and he was like...

I know. He's like, whatever. He's like, I go to church too. And, you know, I pray to God. But just at the end of the day, what's good is that you do whatever makes you happy. He said that, right? Just do whatever makes you happy. And like, this is the society that we're living in. This is why we're all so depressed. This is why we have... tormenting minds this is why we have unforgiveness and bitterness and we're just

We're living in this web of what you said earlier. We're serving another kingdom. If we're not living holy and walking in the will of God and serving God, well, we're serving something else. And so I just. We want to get this through to you guys. We talk about sin a lot, but because it has rapidly transformed our minds, it's saved our lives, it's freed us from depression, it's been...

It's made us right. It's made us right. When you do things God's way, it's freedom. It's freedom. It's peace. It's the peace that surpasses all understanding. Philip Mitchell says, deal aggressively with sin. This is not something to take lightly. We have to learn to hate sin.

And how do you learn to hate sin? You learn to hate what God hates. And how do you learn that? You come into intimacy with Jesus. I feel like when I was watching that girl, that my first thought was, wow, she has put God in a box. she is more she's looking at it in the side of religion she sees things that maybe she doesn't like and she's put him in the box instead of seeing him as a loving father that loves her so much

that if she would just go into intimacy with him, she would realize, wow, he loves me. Why do I say this? Because I was someone. I felt so inadequate. to christianity i felt like no way like i'm not i'm not playing with this like i have to do these rules people look at it as these are rules that he's trying to hurt us he's trying to make us not have fun anymore that he's taking these things are away from us like he's a bad dad and it's honestly the quite the complete opposite

And like we can go through a couple things that he tells us not to do. He tells us not to watch pornography. We think that's hurting us by taking away pornography.

We're watching people, most of these women are broken and sex trafficked and all these things. He asks us to not have sex out of covenant. Why? Because why do you think... I have had a broken heart for so many years we're all living in identity crisis we have broken hearts we're confused that's because we're living outside of the covenant of Jesus We have unforgiveness. We don't talk to our parents, not realizing. I mean, me and you were just talking about this the other day.

how softened our hearts have gotten, the forgiveness, the love, and what other religion has that where you become a better person. He forces you to be the best version of yourself because He tries to strip us of our sin. It's only because when we are stripped from our sin that we become better. Pride is at the root of every sin. It's why we are sitting in sin. It's why you're sitting there saying, I'm not going to get rid of having sex because I don't believe certain things in the Bible.

go deeper with Him. If you go deeper with Him and you realize the love of Jesus and you really go into true intimacy with Him, this is not something I'm saying because I learned it. It's because I've lived it the past two years. It wasn't until I went into true true deep intimacy with him is when I was like, what am i doing i i love you i i respect you i'm i why have i been questioning your word and the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word is god

This is God. This is His words. This isn't made-up stuff, guys. So, you know, I don't know. I just feel like... And especially for men, there's so much pride. You've been a Christian for so long, yet you're still... going against what he says and you're still living the way you want and there's no peace and he's after your hearts as I was praying I saw I saw a vision of men I really did that you're just like

You have no accountability partners. The Bible says you cannot serve two masters. You have a love of money. How can you follow God and have the peace of God when you're... a slave over these things and I see God after so many of you guys but you have so much pride that you're

You won't surrender these things to him. You won't believe. You're saying, I don't believe these things. No, it's not that you don't believe it. It's because you have too much pride. You don't want to give it up because you're a slave to it. So good. Yeah. So insane. So good. I like, and I think if we, we're going to continue on Romans 7, which will kind of speak to what Ari just talked about, about how like.

It's in you. The sin is in you. It's in our nature. It's in our hearts from the day that we're born. It is our flesh. It is our nature. And Paul, I think it's just so encouraging that Paul writes about sin the way that he does because Paul was one of God's best. He was one of Jesus' best. He literally wrote 70% of the New Testament. He was an absolute gangster for Christianity.

And he struggled with sin. That's so encouraging to me. It really is to know that if Paul was the one with the thorn in his flesh, he pleaded three times with the Lord to take it away, and three times the Lord said, My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness.

So Paul had all of these issues. He probably had a chronic illness. He struggled with sin, but he gave everything to Jesus. He loved Jesus. He didn't even get married because he wanted to serve God with all of his life. And so he writes in Romans 7 verse 15, he says, I don't really understand myself. For I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.

So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it. And how many of us can relate to that? I know. It's so special because I think about how like if anyone is struggling. Again, sinner trying to please God by keeping rules or a law or anything and not by the spirit of God. You will always come up short. You will never overcome. It is only by his spirit that you can.

remotely overcome these things this last part when he says so I am not the one doing wrong it is sin living in me that does it I feel like it can sound like such a cop-out to say that the devil made me do it and it is it's like you have autonomy, authority, you have all of the things that Jesus

gives you like you have the ability and you have choice and I speak on that all the time that you have a choice in what you partake in the behaviors you want to have the type of person you want to be you have way more choice than you probably even think And at the same time, we are incredibly vulnerable to sin. Our nature, literally, that's why you have to actively fight against your desire and temptation to sin. You can never underestimate sins.

power because that is our inclination is to sin so when paul writes that he's not saying that it's an out like i'm not the one doing wrong it's g it's it's satan that does it to me like that's not what he's saying but he is saying like of course you're vulnerable Of course that's your desire. Of course that's your inclination. So don't have shame. I feel like a lot of people need to hear that.

If you're having shame because you have so much temptation, and there is a reality in which, like, maybe you're not spending enough time with Jesus. Maybe you're not in the Word enough. Maybe you are giving Satan access points into your life if you're struggling. so hard and at the same time I'm just gonna be honest like I spent a lot of time with Jesus.

And I have to actively fight against temptation every day of my life. Every day of my life. It is a constant battle and choice and laying my life down and a devotion and like... sitting in the presence of god and letting him fill me up putting on that armor every day of my life like every day i'm battling because there is a power in me at work

sin, my flesh, that wants me to go against God. It lives in me. And we cannot be so arrogant to think that we're so strong in God that we are not vulnerable to. sin you know what i mean and you know what else it almost makes you feel I always say the Christian walk is almost harder. Because when we were living in sin and we didn't know the truth, we didn't have the conviction. And so now it's like we can't get away with anything. It's the greatest thing, but it's also...

Equally, it can be exhausting. I will do one little thing. Like, I was on the phone with my mom the other day, and I got a little, like... You know, loud with her. And I got off the phone and go. My whole heart, like I felt like this. Oh, me too with my mom last night. Call right back. Say you're sorry. Like, yeah, like, you know, we've had so many moments. So where we've done this, I don't know. I don't know why I do the things that I do. But you know what the beautiful.

part about it all is, is admitting that. When I read this, I read a man who has a heart of humility that is like... Not hiding, but coming to him because so many of us hide, including myself. And I see a man who is so, has such a heart of humility that is like, I don't understand why I do what I do. I'm being honest. Like I picture him on his hands and knees looking up being like, I don't know why I'm doing this. I need help. And like that is.

truly it's so black and white the advice that we can give to you is is coming to a place of realness and being like, I need your help. It drives you to your knees in the morning to be like, I don't know why I do the things that I do. If you are someone who is sitting in sin right now, who is a complete slave to it, ask Jesus to help you.

I remember my journey. Do you remember yours? My journey, I remember when I was in the middle of it, and it was so cute how God was... It's just the love of God. It's unbelievable how... It literally makes you just always want to forgive everyone when you realize how much he forgives you and he sits with you in the middle of your sin. The one thing that I did, it was like, it was so intimate with him. I would just be like, I need help. Help me. I have, even now, I do this. I, I, I...

The other day I sat there and said, forgive me for my ignorance for not... coming to you about my pride my ego my jealousy my gossip these are things that I'm still walking through that I'm still working on yeah maybe I'm not in the sin of you know sexual impurity but i still am working on things that aren't good in my heart that aren't that are very sinful and god has been

Like I said in another episode, he's been fathering me and teaching me things and helping me unlearn things that I have been wired, that I've done since I was a kid. And so... I've given myself grace, but it's like, help me. I have these things. Get it out. I don't want it in me. I just spoke bad about this person, and I didn't even realize I was doing it until now as I'm sitting here in quiet time. Take it out. Teach me. Help me hate it. Give me a hate for it.

Give me a hate for it. Sometimes when I'd be talking, I wouldn't even realize. That that's actually not from God. That's actually gossip. That's actually, he doesn't like that. Sometimes when I'm trying to teach somebody a lesson, I didn't even realize that that's my pride.

That you don't do that. You come and you forgive. You turn the other cheek when someone slaps you. These are things that I'm learning. And so ask him to teach you. Ask him to convict you. Ask him to give you the discernment. Ask him to give you a hate for it.

And as you go into intimacy with him and you really like, I, we, we keep saying this intimacy because when you realize, recognize the love of Jesus, recognize how he's your dad and he wants to teach you. And he's, he's, he does, he's not out to. to hurt you and to take things from you but I think I've said this in another episode, not everything that feels good is good. It's actually extremely detrimental.

And I know some of you could be sitting there being like, well, this is such a loss. But trust me, what feels like a loss is not a loss. It is for your good. Man, I'm like thinking about... How he's like, I don't really understand myself or I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. Anybody who's watching, who's ever dealt with any sort of addiction.

We all know what it's like to do the things, the very thing, that you hate more than anything, but you literally can't stop doing it. I'll never forget when I was drinking and... I would go to the little liquor store. I was literally 22, 23 years old, and I would wake up at 8 o'clock in the morning because...

My anxiety was so bad and I... couldn't do anything about it except drink so I would wake up at 8 o'clock in the morning and go to the liquor store and get those little bottles of alcohol and I'd get into my car. And I would go home and then I would literally be drinking at 8 o'clock in the morning and it'd continue like that for the rest of my day. And I lived like that for probably six months.

And I can't tell you how many times I looked at them in the mirror and said, I hate this so much. I look at the alcohol and be like, I hate this so much. I did not want to do what I was doing and I couldn't stop. And I couldn't help myself. And there was no part of me that wanted to be in that position. But I had no power. I was a slave. to alcohol and I was a slave to anxiety that was driving me to alcohol. I have a family member. who literally has said the words, I'm really struggling.

we like get mad because they're drinking and you get mad at people when they're in addiction and you get mad at people when they're making bad choices but then if you really come back and zoom out and look at the situation, you can guarantee that that person is struggling and they probably don't want to do what they're doing. So just know that we have compassion for anybody who's sitting here in the middle of addiction because we know what it's like.

to do the very thing that you just don't want to do. And because it's what makes you feel good, you don't know the comfort that you can find in Jesus yet. You don't know the love that you find in Jesus yet. That's your comfort. That's your love. That's the only thing that quiets the noise and quiets the voices. It's the only thing that makes you feel normal or okay. It's not even like you want to feel good at this point. You just want to feel okay. I know what that's like.

So we're just here to encourage you that there is life in Jesus. There's freedom in Jesus. Whatever you're gripping onto right now, the addiction, the alcohol, the smoking, the sex, whatever it might be, you can find that same comfort. And that satisfaction and that fulfillment in Jesus, 30 million thousand times more, a number that is innumerable, you can find it in Jesus.

And it actually satisfies, and it actually fulfills, and it actually brings comfort. Because any sin that is making you feel better results in you feeling worse, period. It's a catch-22. It happens every single time. Satan does. He offers you something good and it ends in bad. Jesus offers you life and he gives you life. I overcame alcoholism. This is my whole testimony. I overcame alcoholism when I met Socrates, and Socrates prayed for me for six months.

And that's another thing. Sometimes it doesn't happen overnight. When something is so deeply rooted in you and in your brain and in your brain chemistry, like alcoholism and addiction and the anxiety was in me, it didn't happen overnight. And so I prayed for myself every single day for six months. Socrates would call me every day. And I cried out to Jesus every day of my life. And I begged him to remove it. I begged him to make me better.

It's funny when something happens, like an overnight success actually took seven years of work to get there. A moment of supernatural deliverance is what I experienced when I got free from alcohol. I literally... picked up a drink Put it down. had a moment of absolute defeat where i said i'm gonna die if i keep going i'm actually going to die

I feel like I'm dying. I wake up every hour in the night to drink because my body goes through such severe withdrawals that I'm going to die. And in a moment I received supernatural deliverance. I didn't call out to God in that moment. but it was about six months of praying. six months of

seeking God and not even really, not knowing at all what I was doing, not knowing if He would ever respond or ever answer my prayer, but I had no other choice and I had people praying for me. Six months of prayer led to one moment of deliverance. And then I, but this is the thing, this is how I stayed sober. I literally had people praying for me. And I let Jesus come in, and it was only by the Spirit of God that I was able to...

That's kind of tough because I never craved it ever again. I received... supernatural deliverance from alcohol. Which happens and then there's other cases where it doesn't. And then there's other cases where you can get delivered from something. You partner with God and you decide to lay something down and then you have to continuously fight. With alcohol, I never craved it ever again. Anxiety, that is my, anxiety is not a sin, but that's my normal, that's my default.

Me away from Jesus is anxious. Me away from Jesus is fearful. Me away from Jesus is prideful and arrogant and self-defensive and self-protectant. So if I don't stay close to Jesus, that's... that's where I go back to, you know? And so anybody, like, yes, you could be supernaturally delivered from sin, from a habitual sin in your life. But if you don't stay close to Jesus, if I lose my connection to Jesus,

You can probably find me at the bottle within a year. Like, you know what I mean? I have no idea. But I know, I know I'll never go back. I know I'll never try again. And that's another thing with sin. If you get free from it once, do yourself a favor and don't go back. God of liberation I always think about the Israelites how they were delivered they were freed from

slavery in Egypt and all they wanted to do was go back. When God liberated them from their slavery and all they wanted to do was go back because it felt better to be in slavery than it did to go through the wilderness to get to the Promised Land. If you endure the withdrawal from your sin, from the discomfort of having your sin removed, if you just endure the wilderness, you will reach the promised land. But so many of us go back.

to slavery because it's all we know because it feels good be empowered today to not go back to the thing that God delivered you from Romans 8, so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life... giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Power of the life-giving spirit that is the Holy Spirit. He is a part of the Trinity. We serve a Godhead.

Father, Son, and precious Holy Spirit, the one who is there at the beginning of creation and the one who is responsible for the rebirth of Christians. Holy Spirit is our best friend. you have no idea i call on the holy spirit and i feel power surge through my body he is Don't forget about the Holy Spirit. We love Holy Spirit so much. He's the one. who was there they were all there jesus father and holy spirit were there when we got saved

But the Holy Spirit is the one who literally encountered, who filled us, who said, I am coming inside your body. I'm not just around you. I'm not just with you. I'm in you. Because I'm the one who gives you power, strength, boldness, and the ability to overcome. the temptations of life. I love him so much. And that's what, when you walk in obedience with God, that is the gift that we have. And if there's someone who's sitting here who doesn't understand it, try it. Obedience is like...

That is when we partner with God in a way that is going to blow your mind. It is insane. You think about, we were going to have a whole episode on confidence, but when I think about confidence, I remember I used to put it in all these other things that would thought.

I would make me confident. Now I'm like, no, it's when I'm walking in obedience. I'm like, I'm anchored. I'm strong. I'm confident because I know who I'm walking it out with. And that's when you say even, I'm having trouble hearing from God. Well, what's driving? Is it your flesh or is it the Spirit? Is it the Holy Spirit driving? Because when the Spirit is driving, that's when you can hear things, that's when you partner with Him, and that's when you see things happening.

you're not even gonna believe it's unbelievable you guys this is something we've been walking through and it's it's just It's insane. It's insane. It's insane. It's miraculous. It's miraculous. It's Jesus. I am like overwhelmed right now. This is so cute. It's overwhelming. It's overwhelming. And again, like this is not something we're just like. preaching because we're reading it or we learned it or we grew up in it it's because we've walked through it and we are so

passionate about it because we've learned the cheat code to life. Do you know what it's like to live in darkness your whole life? and then to reach the light and be like, are you kidding me? I went my whole life Living like this and it was here the whole time. He was here the whole time. Take it from two girls

who have no reason we could have started a podcast about anything. We could have done anything. This was an accident to fall into ministry. This was an accident. We literally just knew the love of Jesus and the light of Jesus Christ. frees you from darkness yeah and i'm looking i'm looking back and i'm like i didn't want to let go of these things Because I thought this was fun. I look back and I'm disgusted. I give myself so much grace. I'm like, how did I sit and sin that way? How did I?

How was I living like that? Not that you should condemn yourselves, but the things that you think are so good right now that you're sitting in, you are going to look at them. He changes the desires of your heart. You're going to look at them and be like, wow, now I understand this scripture. you know, um, He's, I just want to say this. He's after you. He's after your heart. And he's looking at you and he's.

He's like, if you would only just follow me, if you would only listen to me, if you would stop second-guessing and being deceived by the enemy and second-guessing these scriptures and thinking these things up. Oh man, I don't know if this is true. If you would just put your pride down and open up your hands and surrender it to Him. You have no idea what's on the other side of what I have for you. If you would just...

Stop. If you would put your pride down and give it to me. Yeah. Oh, it's so good. And it's also a matter of The Holy Spirit doing an incredible work in your heart. Removing impurities. Spending enough time with Jesus. It's like a cleansing. Every hour that I spend with... God, in the presence of God. It's a cleansing that's happening over and over. He's cleansing. I'm just going to be completely honest. I'm going from someone who had...

Only in pure relationships. And like, you guys are on like such an interesting journey with me right now. This is, I'm, you know, in my first like true godly relationship.

Me and John. spend like he lives in another place he doesn't live where i live so we've spent our dating relationship um at hotels not ever staying in the same hotel never spending the night with each other but like of hotels on the road in really romantic settings like all this stuff like it's been extremely romantic the fact that like and I love him with all my heart I want to marry him I'm incredibly attracted to him

And there is no lust whatsoever. There is no sin that takes place. There is no sin that even... Like, of course, there's temptation at times, but God killed it so much, killed the lost so much, and we're in agreement that, like... Sex is not bad, but it's just not yet. And so we have an understanding, we are in agreement that this isn't even an option. So our minds don't even go there. There's almost even no temptation at times. My body that is wired to work a certain way, God killed.

it inside he literally kills sin if you allow him to i am literally in a dating relationship where it's so romantic and we're in a hotel and like we're not like it's like we're homies in a sense kind of but like you know what i mean like we're best friends i say this to say that coming from someone who like

I never would have thought in a million years. I'm putting my leg up. I never would have thought in a million years that this could be my life. That I could have no lust in me. That I could have no desire. I tell you this to encourage you that like it is. Insane! I don't understand it fully yet. except thank God that we have these words.

to remind us that it's not by our own might it is by the spirit of god who does a work in you he cleanses you he purifies you but you have to allow him to and that you have to understand and feel empowered to overcome that my biggest thing with you guys. Let's read this really quick. It says, Romans 8 verse 5 says those who are dominated by the sinful nature.

Think about sinful things. Notice this is two categories you can be in. Dominated by the sinful nature, you think about sinful things. But those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit. Think about things that please the spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. That's all we have to say. Be empowered to know that the same spirit that raised Jesus.

from the dead the same spirit that holds all of eternity bound in his hand hands lives within you. That is how powerful you are in Jesus. Yeah, I love this so much. I can't believe the way my mind has changed. It's unbelievable. Do I still, at times, have intrusive thoughts? Do I still get tempted? Do I still have these desires sometimes that I'm like, oh my gosh, yes, I really do. I'm a human in my flesh, but... I...

At times, it's been incredibly difficult. At times, especially when I'm in a place of vulnerability, when I'm in a place of, like, it's most of the time when I'm in a place of vulnerability that I want to revert back. So just be aware of these things.

Yeah, I think about, I didn't realize how dominated I was until I look back at who I was and who I am now. It's insane. Those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. And while we want to sit here and we want to... say don't condemn yourselves and we don't want you to condemn yourselves and you i want you to look at us and our past and who we were we are we love you and we are

We came from the world, so we are not condemning you. But when we are walking in disobedience with God, continuously, knowingly. It is death, meaning it is a separation from God, meaning you are serving another kingdom, meaning you are walking of the world, which is... another kingdom. You are not walking with Jesus. What a nightmare. That is an actual nightmare. I'm in Samuel reading the story of David. It said that the spirit of the Lord left Saul because of his disobedience.

I think about being separated from Jesus, and it's as equivalent as living in hell. You're living in hell. I want you guys to hear our words, and I want you guys to have life and peace. A peace that surpasses all understanding. Take it from someone who never had it their whole life. And I'm just like... I value peace so much because I never had it. And that is what life is. It's a life with Jesus. And with Jesus, there is peace.

I want to say one more thing. Scripture says, you know, I give you spiritual milk hoping that you will mature in the spirit, meaning... When you first come to Jesus, He shows you the love of Him. You have to understand the love of God. That's what I did before He even had to prune us. And then you have to get mature. There is a time to understand his love and to know that, okay, I'm learning, but then we have to grow up. And I believe we are in a season that we have to grow up.

And so when you know, the reason why we say this so boldly to you is because it wasn't until We had godly people in our life to put us in our place that seemed like a slap in the face but was the greatest gift ever. I love what you said about... You can't be the holiest one in your group. You know when you used to say that, I didn't understand it until now. Now I get it. I'm like, no, you're right.

It's not until you get with people that you can call when you're in the middle of being vulnerable and being like, I need help. Get me out of this. We need each other. So good. Thank you for saying that about accountability. We're going to do a whole episode on actual practical ways to overcome sin because I just think it's so important.

We just want to give you guys an invitation. If you're watching today and you just listened to a whole episode on the Bible and about Jesus and you've never given your life to Jesus. We just want you to know that whatever situation you're in, whatever sin, and the word sin might be so funny to you. It might be so taboo.

And trust me, it was for me too. I was following Jesus for a while, being like, ugh, sin, whatever. Like, not even understanding the true gospel. So I understand you. If you're in a position where you don't even, like, you're like, sin, there's nothing wrong with it. But as we just said this whole time, that sin leads to death. It's not the way that God intended for us to live. And I know that if you really took a look at your own life.

you could see the implications and the result of the sin in your life. And if you don't see it yet, but you see that your life is in turmoil, you have depression and anxiety, and your ways are crooked, they're not straight, they are... You just have chaos in your life. I just really encourage you to... Give it a try to lay down the pride and just take this thing, take this Jesus, take this scripture that says to obey.

the way that God asks you to live and not the way that your flesh and your sinful desires. Take it at face value and just try it out. See what it's like to be obedient to God's word and to not succumb and give into your flesh and into sin because it has radically changed our entire lives. And if you've never given your life to Jesus before... We just want to invite you into a space where

you can know the truth of who God is and the truth of who you are, the truth of why you were created. Like we said earlier, that first Adam, God created man in his own image. He created Adam and Eve and he gave them. full human choice to do whatever they wanted, but he encouraged them to follow him, to be in relationship with him. But they chose their own way, their own will. Man fell and our relationship to God broke and we all became enemies to God.

And for the next hundreds of years, God would spend all of the time pursuing us, pursuing his people, until one day he literally just could not take it anymore. He was so lovesick for humanity that he... stepped into human history. He put on flesh and he came onto earth by the name of Jesus. And he lived 33 years and ultimately gave up his life on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And that day, by that one man, Jesus, grace.

flooded the earth and the holy spirit was poured out and now you and i have the ability by grace through faith By the grace of God, nothing that you and I can earn or do ourselves. By the grace of God, if we place our faith in Jesus, our lives are saved and you get that Holy Spirit empowerment that we just talked about for the past hour and a half. So if you're ready to accept Jesus,

You have nothing to lose and legitimately everything to gain if you have been living in chaos and turmoil and anxiety and depression and heartbreak and addiction. Give your life to Jesus and He will empower you. He will empower you to overcome all that is coming against you. So you can repeat this. Dear Jesus, I give you my life. I believe you died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins, and you rose again on the third day, and now you're seated at the right hand of the Father.

I renounce the devil, I renounce the world, and I renounce my sin. I invite you into my life as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, empower me to overcome sin. Empower me to overcome temptation. Jesus, I give you my life. In Jesus' name, amen. that was so good I love it when you preach we love you guys so much if you just gave your life to Jesus you just did the best thing you could ever do in your life thank you Jesus we thank Jesus for your life

We adore you guys. We love you. We love you and you have the power to do it. You are strong enough. He is with you. Oh, we're so excited for your journey. And we're so happy to just be on this with you. Yeah. What a gift. We love you guys so much. We love you guys so much. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. We love you.