¶ Discussion on Pornography and Chickens
I actually was reading a statistic earlier in the day that said between the ages of 12 and 17 , 93% of boys have viewed pornography and are regular watchers of pornography , 93% between the ages of 12 and 17 . I remember John Piper . When somebody was entering into his seminary , he used to ask the question have you ever looked at pornography ?
And he changed that question to when was the last time you looked at pornography ? Because he realized that it was closer to 100% of people used to either have a problem with it or would look at it . And most people would not claim they had a problem with it . They're just kind of dabbling in it or they're checking things out .
You do not need to go looking for pornography , it will come finding you . I believe that one of the greatest things that we can do is first acknowledge that there is a problem out there . Whether you have a problem with it or not , you do have a problem with it . There's a fight , that is a raging war against your soul Every single day .
You need to be on your guard , because it desires to sift your soul like wheat .
Few things in life friends bring me more joy than discovering facts that I'm certain Ray Comfort does not know . Ray , I am so certain about this , I would almost bet your life on it . Whoa , that's how certain I am . Ray , have you ever heard of the Indonesian black chicken ?
That's the one with the fluffy up here up top . No , oh , it's the one without the fluffy here on top . Yes , but no too , it's the one with the fluffy up here up top .
No , oh , it's the one without the fluffy here on top . Yes , yes , but no two . It's called the . I am Kamani . I am Kamani , the Indonesian black chicken . You've never heard of it , ray , I may have , because there's a lot of different chickens .
No , no , not this one . Oh , this feels so good .
I'm reveling in this right now . I've got to get this chicken . It's so cool .
Could you guys please pray for my wife . She'll soften her heart when it comes to getting more chickens .
Ray's chicken addiction . Okay , ray , this is an all black chicken . So all black feathers black eyes , black beak , black tongue , black skin , black organs , even black bones . Do you know what you call this thing ?
right up here . What's it called , ray ? It's your hand . No , what's it called , ray ? It's not the crop , it's the . I keep forgetting , I'm sorry .
Hat . It's the hat . It's the comb . It's the comb , ray . Okay , and what are these things down here , ray ?
Collar .
No , the chicken has .
It's eggs .
More things Ray doesn't know of . Yes , Waddles , they're called waddles . I didn't know this . This is wonderful , A chicken owner . As long as you and you don't know this stuff , I'm educating you today . It's only been 40 years . The comb and the waddles right .
Is it a comb ?
or a cone .
Oscar's looking at it . Show him Oscar Dude . This thing's crazy , isn't it crazy ? It looks like an alien . It's black , the meat's black , the bone's black , the eggs are black .
I was going to say the eggs are black .
Yeah , the eggs may be fake on their own .
So come on is this natural . No , it's on Google .
It's got to be real . No , it's Israel . It is Israel , israel , jerusalem . Yeah , I want to eat this . Oh yeah , where did you find this ? It came up in my feed today . I don't know . I'm like come on , I got so excited .
Ray has no idea Are you going to send me the link ?
About the black chicken he's going to have like 18 of them tomorrow . It's one of the rarest chickens and it's crazy , yeah , and even as a delicacy , because the meat is black , you call it meat the poultry . Yeah .
I guess , it's meat .
The flesh is blank . When he moves his eyes back and forth , he's thinking .
He's like I could build a bigger coop in the front yard .
Oh yeah , the story in the Bible about building bigger barns .
I like that . Make sure I'm rich towards heaven and I build a bigger barn .
Oh man . So Ray , this is my question Is there a dwarf chicken ? A dwarf chicken ?
Yeah , is there tiny chickens ? Oh they are . They're called . I've forgotten the name of them . Seriously , bantams . Really , type in Bantam . I don't believe you , I'm serious Bantamweight .
You're just trying to pretend like you know something . Someone do a Bantam search . Bantam Find it Oscar . But Ray , as Oscar searches for something that doesn't exist , my question to you is why did you never use chickens for open air preaching ?
I did . You're being sarcastic , aren't you ? Wait , you're joking , I'm not joking . I used to carry a chicken . Which came first , the chicken or the egg ? I had this rubber chicken , I'd bring out and shake it and then I'd have an ostrich egg that I used to use . Mark's looking for the chicken that Ken Ham gave you .
I know you are Mark . Eddie got rid of it .
Where'd it go ? What ?
That is terrible . We need to paint it black , though , now .
Look , there really is Bantam chickens .
They're like Ray Comfort's side .
No way , they're like birds . Yeah , they just look like ordinary chickens , but they're smaller .
So Ray , you should use those and the black chickens for open-air preaching . Oh , I'd love to oh yeah , you can paint your chickens , polka-dotted chickens .
It's got to be against the law . Save our chickens to be after me , peter .
Yeah , ray , give up your chickens , get behind me , get behind me , he says Ray . What would it ? Okay , seriously , what would it take to get you to give up your chickens ?
If the almighty came down . Thank you , Joe Biden .
Boy . He didn't hold to that , did he ? That was ridiculous , mark . By the way , mark , we do need an update . What's going on with your new bird watching ?
Oh , I love it . There's an app that you may absolutely love Ray .
Mark got a bunch of bird feeders .
Oh yeah you can tell what bird it is by the sound Can't hand .
Send that to me . Is it ? Does that really work ?
It is so amazing You've used it , Mark .
Oh , I use it all the time it's like .
Shazam for birds .
Yeah , it's called Merlin Bird .
You just turn it on and it'll play all the birds and it'll tell you and it's actually . You confirm it . Different types of sounds . Show you a picture . It looks like the bird . What do ?
you mean three kinds of sounds , three different types of sounds . There's a call when it's calling other birds . Then there's a song where they're just singing . And then when they're being eaten , what about when they're getting ran over ? Same noise , okay .
That's what they say , right ? Sounds like a full bird that just ate something .
When Sounds like a full bird that just ate something .
When I was at the Olympics .
I asked my wife if she fed the birdies , and she did not .
She said no , I saved it for you and I go .
that's just because you didn't want to feed the birds . How long were you away At the Olympics ? We were gone for two weeks . They all died .
How often , mark , how often do you have to replenish ? They're all side birds right . Yeah , how often do you have ?
to replenish the seeds . I did it this morning . I probably do it every two days , three days . Did you mirror the glass ?
That often .
No we don't , I couldn't figure it out .
Oh , I can do it for you .
Mark , are you turning into a bird guy ? Oh , I love birds .
Yeah , I'll go on a walk and then I play the little sound of hearing the bird .
But seriously , you think about what this means to the birds of the neighborhood ? It's like , I mean , you know birds are running around looking pecking , little here , little there . You're giving them like a full feast .
Yeah , my neighbor who loves birds himself . I went over to his house and I was talking to him and I go boy , these bird the finches . They make such beautiful noise . He's like I hate the finches , I kill them . I'm like , wait what he's like the bluebirds ? I feed them little mealworms right out of my mouth .
I put a little mealworm in my mouth , I kill them . I kill the finches . That's why I have so many finches over at my house .
I'm really concerned about . Have you heard these parrots that have been migrating ?
Oh yeah , they are dry .
They're like from Hacienda Heights or something , and they come over . I mean , they are the most annoying . I'll kill those .
They're beautiful . We have a lot of swallows . I mean swallows yeah .
Do you guys have swallows when I'm eating ? I knew it . I'm like , okay , as you said that , I'm like Ray's brain is going right now to think of a pun . You have a lot of swallows , yeah all the time . Yeah all the time . Unreal , mark , he does , I'm sure you're just . I think we can have chickens .
In our area , can't we ? No , I , I don't know . He doesn't allow them . They lay eggs , do you know that .
Wait , mark , what's ? You have a weird smirk On your face .
I love fresh eggs . If Ray would ever Bring me eggs , I'll eat them . We eat so many eggs At our house but you know I don't know we , because they'd have too much fun running after them . Get the chicken .
Rocky , slaying them by the heads , get the chicken . Remember Rocky ? Oh yeah , facing the chicken .
Getting the chicken .
They're hard , they're actually hard to catch .
Yeah , very hard to catch .
And they run so fast .
Speaking of which the dinosaurs .
Oh yeah .
After the Olympics , I went to Switzerland and I was , and then , nathaniel , I was there too , actually .
Just not with you .
Yeah , we did . It was a crazy hike where we had to use carabiners and strap into . It's called something .
What is it called ? Do you remember ? I don't remember . There's a specific name for that kind of thing .
I don't remember what it is . It's extreme hiking . They can find the body . That's really good , yeah , yeah . But while we were there in Switzerland , we came across Albert Einstein's house . Oh yeah , it was a museum .
It was really , really cool and they don't want you to film inside of it , so we had to pretend like we were taking photos and we were actually doing video .
What's the problem ?
I don't know , but I picked you up a souvenir .
Oh , really yeah oh really .
Yeah , he probably don't want to put it anywhere it's life-size Other than inside the studio , but uh .
Ooh , ah , look at this .
That is really nice All the photos , though , of him inside of his house look like they are a comfort .
Yeah , wow , they are a comfort . Yeah , Ethan and Tanya were saying look , when you had a mustache .
Yeah , you really did . It was very strange .
When you see an Einstein look alike and a man riding a boy's bike break a person down .
Yeah , if I let my hair go , grand , let it hang out , it's the Jewish genes , right , this is very moving , the hands especially . That is really cool and it's solar .
So for those of you that obviously can't see it , it's sunlight , or even light from a light bulb .
Is that serious ? It makes the hand wave and touch the temple like he's thinking . I figured you could either put it on your bike or put it inside the studio behind you On his bike .
Unlike it sitting on the desk in the studio . Oh yeah , I want to say that .
All right , enough of the silliness , more silliness . Time for a cool , classy comment . This is from Miranda . Hi everyone . I've been watching the YouTube , living Waters and Just Witnessing channels for quite a while . I never tire of them . They are five stars plus . But this podcast , wow , I haven't turned it off .
Ray , easy , mark and Oscar , you guys are bringing the Bible to life for me . All of you have given me so much insight and taken that which was in the dark into the light . Did she name the podcast ? No I have lacked courage and boldness and witnessing for too long . I'm ready to move forward onward . You are all well-balanced .
You're a well-balanced team who bring out the best in each other . Miranda , Thank you , Miranda .
To be clear , I've seen Ray try to balance . He's not well-balanced . No , no , look at him , he's mesmerized . He's like . I love that . I like that . I'm gonna write a book about this , ray , you know what would be cool Under that to put Stand Up ?
I'm Just a man .
Yes , that's somewhere for people to I do have a book called Einstein , god and the Bible .
Yeah .
Do you know he didn't like the God that says you shall not commit adultery ? See if you can guess why .
He was an adulterer . Yeah , you don't think about those kinds of people .
He married his cousin yeah After his first wife .
Yeah , crazy , yeah , but Einstein .
He used to get mad at his wife because she would talk when he was trying to think and I can identify with you , all men can identify with you . Oh , you're in trouble , ray . I'm sorry .
Do we still have that Einstein thingy where ?
all of you are around . Yes , it's in the store .
Yeah , Good call Mark you around . It's in the store .
Good call , Mark you knew Ray would love that . What's that ? Yes , I like that game Alright .
Thank you , Miranda . That was a blessing in time for one of your radically revolutionary resources Not yours , ours . Fight like a man . A full-time battle plan for personal purity . Here it is , friends , For those of you that are watching , not just listening it's here , guys . It's here .
Finally . It's very exciting .
And yeah . So make sure to check that out . Get it for yourself , men , women , get it for men . And don't forget the Living Waters of Mug and the Heaven to Study Bible . Living Waters , all right , friends
¶ The Battle Against Pornography
. Today we are talking about oh , what do you know ? A bold biblical battle plan against pornography . Pornography Boy that word just can really change the atmosphere in a room . It was like do it , yeah , yeah , but it's one of those words that must be used , that must be addressed , because this is a massive , massive problem .
We've talked about sexual immorality , kind of in general . We've hit on pornography here or there , but today we really want to focus in on this . We want to hone in on it because it is destroying the world .
And your book is just so timely Flight Like a man . It's just such a great book Flight , Flight .
Flight Like a Can or whatever , something like that , yeah , so yeah , we'll talk about the book , because it ties into this as well . It's not going to be like everything we talk about , obviously but it's only what I'm going to talk about .
Is that it Oscar ? Yeah , oscar read the book . I did On my flight home from Switzerland back to the US . I got to read Bite Like a man , oh boy how did you escape ?
People are going to try to research the book . They find the wrong one .
It was really good . I do want to say . I want to open by saying one of the things that I really , I really appreciated is that before you even get into fighting you know , the fight against pornography , against lust you spend a great deal of time focusing on biblical manhood and you , you do a great job of describing manhood as a fight for virtue .
Uh , in your book , chat GPT says okay .
Oscar , you're not supposed to tell anyone . Not says I'm kidding Oscar , you're not supposed to tell anyone .
No , here's , I love this line and I got a question for you . Real men demonstrate character , courage , commitment , conviction , devotion and loyalty and , what's more , they're willing to sacrifice for the sake of others and for causes greater than themselves .
Most importantly , real men are willing to fight for what's right , and they do so with the energy and spirit of those indispensable attributes . So the question is like when it comes to talking about fighting for purity , why is it helpful and important to start with the biblical definition of manhood ?
Yeah , yeah , because , you know , scripture calls us to quip ourselves like men and to stand up and walk in true manliness and manhood . And today in our culture there's been a twisting of what manhood really is . What is a man ? I mean , think about it .
To watch a Supreme Court nominee to be a justice of the highest court in the land of the most influential nation on the planet could not give the definition of a woman . You know , like I say in the book Houston , we've got far more than just a problem . We have a catastrophe on our hands , and one of epic proportions .
So when we understand what men do , when you look at the biblical model of manhood , you see that men fight . Obviously men will fight physically to protect others and to stand up for those that are weaker . But they also fight on other levels .
They fight for their family , they fight for the example that they set for their children , they fight for the glory of God , they fight for the integrity of the gospel , and so that's a part of it , and I try to draw that out in the book , like , hey , we're called as men to fight .
And I start by using the example of a man named John Bassalone , who was a hero , a Marine in World War II , and I get into what he did for the sake of his comrades and how he laid his life down on the line for them . It ultimately cost him his life , but the ripple effects of what he did still are impacting people to this day . That's awesome .
Yeah .
So yeah , so , so this is . This is a an important topic . It's a heavy topic but , mark , this is something that men need to face instead of run away from because that's what's happening . It's like either a sense of defeat , or it's a sense of this is too pleasurable , or it's a sense of nobody will understand me and no one can help me .
We need to be careful with that . We begin to think that nobody understands what I'm going through , nobody understands the fight that I'm in , and that's not the case .
I actually was reading a statistic earlier in the day that said between the ages of 12 and 17 , 93% of boys have viewed pornography and are regular watchers of pornography 93% between the ages of 12 and 17 . I remember John Piper . When somebody was entering into his seminary , he used to ask the question have you ever looked at pornography ?
And he changed that question to when was the last time you looked at pornography ? Because he realized that it was closer to 100% of people used to either have a problem with it or would look at it , and most people would not claim they had a problem with it . They're just kind of dabbling in it or they're checking things out .
You do not need to go looking for pornography . It will come finding you . I believe that one of the greatest things that we can do is first acknowledge that there is a problem out there . Whether you have a problem with it or not , you do have a problem with it . There's a fight that is a raging war against your soul every single day .
You need to be on your guard because it desires to sift your soul like wheat . 1 John 1.9, . If we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness . Admit to yourself , admit to God , admit to friends , that it is very possible for you to fall into that category of looking at that regularly .
We can talk about how to avoid that , obviously , but first you have to acknowledge and here's my point that there's a problem . And what are you going to do to avoid that problem ?
Because it's not going to say you know what , i'm'm gonna go easy on you , I'm not gonna come your way , I don't need to tempt you in this area , I'm gonna tempt you in a different area .
No , be on your guard , because your enemy is like a roaring lion , seeking to devour you , to steal , kill and destroy you , and this is typically the avenue and the angle by which he attacks first . Right , right . So there's a problem out there . What are you doing to acknowledge the problem ? How are you fighting it ? So good , mark .
Ray , you know there are some young men that are listening right now , some young teenagers that have never ventured into that arena .
I'd love for you to speak to the fact that , if they allow themselves to start , it will be the worst decision they ever make in their life , and that they can't handle it in terms of like turning it off once they turn it on .
My advice to them would be to get the book Bright Like a man . Bright Like a man . It's a great book . Yeah , I think we've got to take to heart the words of Jesus . He that serves sin as a slave of sin and of all the things that can slave you , it's the . It's the sin of pornography , looking with lust in your heart . I was just thinking this morning .
The average Christian that loves the Lord doesn't desire to desire other women . There's something in me that wants to serve God with all my heart , but there's also something in me that's terribly wicked and that's what lust seeks to unlock that wickedness of the human heart . And you've got to stop . You've got to get on yourself the feet of Joseph .
Joseph didn't wait to resist temptation , he ran . And that's what you could do with pornography . And the problem is that you take your phone with you when you run .
Yeah .
That's why it's such a temptation for this generation , and the only answer is the fear of God To get in your heart and soul . The eye of the Lord is in every place , beholding the evil and the good . And so when you lust after a woman , you commit adultery with her in your heart .
In God's eyes , that's how serious it is , and lust is always a bedfellow of death . Sin , when it's lust , brings forth sin . Sin when it's finished brings forth death . The wages of sin is death . If you can remember that , when you're embracing lust you're embracing death , you're embracing damnation .
You're giving up your very soul for that pleasure and it's not worth the pain .
You know , ray , I love the fact that you mentioned Joseph , and one of the highlights from Joseph's life is the fact that when he resisted Potiphar's wife , he said to her how can I do this thing and sin against God ? Have you seen the ?
dual meaning of that .
No .
I've written it in a book about Joseph . I can't remember what it's called . It's the one where Joseph's coat is on the ground .
It's been run over by a truck .
Yeah , that book , yeah , but he says how can I you throw a comma in there if it's not in there , so you realize what's being said . How can I do this thing and sin against God ? Leading up to that , he says your husband entrusted me with everything . The only thing he didn't withhold me from was you .
So how could I do this thing , betray his trust and sin against god ? Wow , and so when you fall into pornography , not only do you sin against god , but you sit against your wife , you betray your wife , you betray all your friends and , uh and your christian walk , wow yeah , you think of joseph .
I mean , he had , he had full access to indulge his desires at that moment . And obviously she wasn't going to go tell her husband . They were alone in the house .
It was day after day after day .
Yeah , she kept coming .
And he was like you guys , he was good looking .
One of us but the fact that not only did he resist her , not only did he consider his master and not only did he consider I'm going to be sinning against God , but he ran , he ran , he left whatever item of clothing she ripped off of him and he just went .
There's a whole nation named after that . A whole nation I ran , I ran .
I ran so far away . He pulled the Forrest Gump . I ran , I ran , I ran , so far away . So anyway , he pulled the Forrest Gump .
Yeah , I just started running . And running and running .
You know I was thinking back . There's something that you say in the book fight like a can of spam .
Oscar was holding on to that one for a long time . Fight like a can of spam . Oh , no man .
The book is destroyed .
Let's just end this episode right now .
No , there's something you say , something which I'm going to quote in just a second , but it reminded me . You know , I grew up in a secularized upbringing , meaning there was no Bible in my home . We never went to church , even on like the Christmases , the Mother's Days , the Easters .
There was just none of that Like a moral and ethical framework was not taught to me , in other words , like the idea of saving yourself to marriage was a foreign concept to me all growing up , and I suffered consequences because I indulged at a very young age .
But when I became a Christian , my view of God was and this is pre-Christian really leading up to it was like he was some sort of cosmic buzzkill . Why is he going to hold back good things from us ? And of course , that's just such a distorted view .
But the unfortunate reality is I think there's many Christians that probably have that view as well where it's like oh , I got to not look at pornography , I got to keep myself pure , and it just feels like God is holding me back from something amazing . And I love that you point out that that's not the case .
You see , in the book , notice the Lord didn't tell Adam and Eve that they could only eat at a certain time or only a limited amount of food at a given intervals , or that they were only permitted to eat from a select I didn't quote this right a select , specific days .
He didn't crack open the door of permissiveness , he blew it off the hinges when he said , of every and freely , god didn't just give , but he gave in a lavish abundance , providing for his dust framed handiwork and overflowing supply of riches from his divinely generous heart
¶ God's Invitation to Joy
, a heart bursting with perfect and unquenchable love for them . I love that . How , why is it so important for us to realize that God is inviting us into joy rather than holding us back from joy ?
Yeah , it's , it's huge , it's key because , you know , like I've talked about before with Shadrach , meshach and Abednego , when they , you know , chose death , chose burning over bowing , they not only understood the providence of God and the power of God , but they knew the person of God .
Like they knew the person of God , like they said our God , whom we serve , is able to deliver us . They trust in this power . But even if he doesn't , we won't bow . They trust it in his providence . Because they said initially our God , whom we serve , they knew him , they knew his heart , they knew his character .
And when your perception is like , oh , why does God want to keep me from this thrill and I talk about that in the book like all the arguments we come up with in our heart and mind , like , why can't I enjoy this ? Why can't I ? You know , but when you understand God's heart to protect us from harm , he created us . God designed sex . It's beautiful .
It's wonderful , it's amazing . But you use it outside of its context , right , like we've heard about fire in a fireplace is wonderful , that's good . Fire in a barbecue cooking your savory food is beautiful . Fire running rampant outside of those contexts is destructive .
And so , understanding God's heart , he wants to keep us from harm and destruction will help our mindset when it comes to veering away from it .
It reminds me of the CS Lewis quote which I've said multiple times and I absolutely love , which he says like we act like God's this cosmic buzzkill , but we ultimately end up and I'm gonna butcher it a little bit here , but he says something like we ultimately end up playing it with mud pies in the slums when he is offering us a holiday at the sea we are
far too easily pleased by our own desires .
And , ray , you give that analogy about the kid stealing from the father . What is that ?
Yeah , when someone says I'm having sex with my girlfriend , I say well , what you've done is you're like a little kid who snuck into his father's bedroom and opened his wallet and stole a brand new $20 bill out from your dad's wallet when in truth , he had got that for you to give to you as a gift in the morning .
Wow , and so you've taken something that was good and made it bad . Yeah , god gave you the ability to have sex and the apparatus , and it's to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage , and you can have sex with your wife thousands of times and not be afraid of sexually transmitted diseases .
But if you go around trying different women , like trying new shoes on , you're going to get these horrible STDs that I don't even want to talk about . They're so bad . So there's certain things that God's given us as clues about the rules that he's given .
You know , when you're given a car , you're told to stand on the right side of the road and don't drink and drive . There are rules that protect you , and the rules that God has given in this word are to protect us .
Amen . I would love if we could you know , in talking about your book Juggle a Pan of Flan , what are the practical steps . Right , when somebody comes along and says all right , I want to fight like a man . Right , when do I go from here ? I fight like a man . Right , where do I go from here ? I've been struggling with this for years .
Or nobody knows about this addiction . Where do I go easy ?
What do I do ? What is the first step , perhaps in this fight ? Yeah well , you know I talk in the book , in my preface , how my aim in writing the book was to not only write something that was biblical and theologically sound , because you have a lot of books out there on the subject but sadly they're humanistic .
You know it's all about , and especially now there are a lot of secular
¶ Practical Steps in Fighting Pornography
books , as the secular world is realizing whoa , pornography is destructive , duh Right . But it's like the world is now finally admitting it and they're seeing from scientific research like this destroys people , you know . So we have a lot of books out there but they're not biblically based , they're not theological .
But along with that I wanted a book that was practical . So you have some books that are really theological , biblically based , but there's no practicality . You have books that are practical but they're not biblically based . So I wanted to hit that sweet spot of like hey , this is rooted in scripture , but this is also practical .
That's why the subtitle is A Bold Biblical Battle Plan for Personal Purity . So you fight like a man and here's your battle plan . So in the book I get practical and I begin by I talk about the world , the flesh and the devil . There's those three parts , and then the last part is called six Cs to succeed and a nope .
And that's a practical principle that I share . But you have to understand your enemy . You have to understand your nature and then you have to understand God's calling on your life . And here's what it comes down to knowing God's will and then deciding to be a doer of God's will . And scripture is clear on that . This is 1 Thessalonians 4 , verse 3 and on .
For this is the will of God your sanctification , that you should abstain from sexual immorality , that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel , and sanctification and honor , not in passion of lust like the Gentiles . And he goes on from there . So people are searching everywhere what's God's will ? I want to know God's will for my life .
It's his will that you be sanctified , set apart from sexual immorality . That's clear and beyond description . Know your enemy . What is Satan's tactic ? Right ? His biggest tactics are what he did with Adam and Eve . Oscar just alluded to that in that chapter he cited , but it was discontent . Right , has God said you can't eat of every tree of the garden , right ?
No , god said they could eat of every except for one . So you have to understand discontent is one of the enemy's tactics . Then you have disbelief oh , you surely will not die . So we disbelieve what the consequences of sexual morality really are .
And then deification no , no , you'll become like God Autonomy I get to do what I want to do , I get to make the call on what is righteous and what is not righteous . And then the battle plan . How do you fight that then ? And so I get into that in the book and I give detail on that .
Then the world the world is coming at us with its ways and its wisdom . How do we combat those ? There's a way to do it . It's understanding certain truths , not marching to the beat of its foolish mantras and its foolish ways . Then the flesh you have your flesh coming against you . How do you combat that ?
Well , you walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh . And then I get into how to do that . And then I get practical with the six Cs , and maybe you guys hit me with questions on that . I could handle that .
What are the six Cs In your book ?
Surf on a Spiral Ham . What are ?
the six Cs Surf on a Spiral Ham yeah so . Or the six Cs . Or the fire lamb yeah so . The six Cs are basically creation , cross , crisis , crown , crowd and Christ . And I open up each one of those points and then I have an alliterated sentence that goes along with it for men to memorize .
So it's things to meditate on in those realms , and then it's a sentence to memorize that you meditate on regularly in your life so that when you're in the heat of battle , you're ready , because this is a big problem .
A lot of men , when it comes to pornography , are like someone who's deluded into thinking that they're on a cruise liner heading toward the shores of Bora Bora , when in reality they're on a Higgins boat heading for the shores of World War II , normandy .
And they're sauntering off the Higgins boat in a bathrobe , some fluffy slippers and a remote control in their hands and they're gonna get smoked . And so you have to understand this is a battle . You never let your guard down , you never put down your weapons , you never turn your back . You're always fighting because the enemy's alive and wants to destroy you .
So I give the practicals and then I end it with something interesting Oscar no , was that a tease ? Yeah .
I've got a thought I think you nailed it before . Yeah , I've got a thought . I think you nailed it before . The world's way of handling the problem of pornography is to talk about it being destructive . But that's not going to deter any man from indulging in the pleasure . You can tell them cocaine is destructive , they still take it . Cigarettes are destructive .
Alcohol's destructive . It destroys . You can see how it destroys lives . Greed is destructive . You can try to turn people to the love of money . It's bad , it'll ruin your marriage . People still give themselves to it , still indulge , because human beings are basically stupid . What we've got to tell them is it's a sin against God . Amen .
And that's what Nathan said to David when he indulged You've sinned against God and that's what he cried . Created me a clean heart . And I've got to . I never forget this . The night I was converted I saw the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said you've heard it said by them of old you shall not commit adultery .
And I remember thinking , well , I'll make it to heaven if there is one , because I've never committed adultery . But then I read but I say to you , whoever looks upon a woman to lust for her has committed adultery already with her in his heart . And the emotion that I felt was one of horrors .
It wasn't sorrow , it was oh no , it's God saying this thing that gives me so much pleasure . And it gave me so much pleasure . Lust gave me so much pleasure . I thought I had a special gift because I look at a woman and get instant pleasure . I didn't have to dangle my feet as sharp bait like I did with fishing .
I used to travel to try and get pleasure with surfing . Every two or three days you get great surf and it gives you pleasure , but with lust it's instant , instant gratification , it's great pleasure . So what we need to do is say to the world you're sinning against God , and God will create a clean heart .
And the thing that brought contrition to me as I look back was the cross , when I understood that's what God had to do so I could be forgiven the sin that broke my heart and that gave me the ability to find a place of godly sorrow which works repentance unto life .
Amen , yeah , and Ray , you bring out such a great point , right In terms of those that know what they're doing is causing destruction , but they still do it . The greatest example of that is when you see a medical doctor who's like a chain smoker , right . I mean , this guy understands physiology , understands biology , he knows what this is doing to him .
He has treated patients with emphysema , with lung cancer , with gum cancer . I mean , he understands . He's still smoking , you know . And so , yeah , it's more than that , and I talk about that in the books . You know , part of it is , yeah , you do recognize that , but it goes beyond that and it comes down , yeah , to , ultimately , the fear of the Lord .
It reminds me of , like , how do we actually train ? Where is transformation even possible ? And the interesting thing , you mentioned Psalm 51 . I love that moment when David says to God against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight . And this gets into your point of like .
We always talk about it as destructive , but it's more than that . When David says that you have to think , like , wait a minute . What about Bathsheba ? You sinned against her . What about Uriah ? He's dead . You sinned against him and his entire family . You're the king . You sinned against the nation of Israel . You're supposed to lead them with integrity .
Without a doubt , david is not downplaying the sins that he's committed horizontally , but what he's doing is recognizing that his sin is first and foremost vertically . And what's amazing about Psalm 51 , and it starts out by proclaiming the steadfast love of God .
And that's I love Thomas Chalmers talking about , like , how we actually change , how is transformation possible ? He calls it an explosive power of a new affection . What we need to do is look to God and see how he has loved us , and that will create in our new hearts an explosive new affection for God .
That will rid us of those old affections and lust of pornography . And you I love that you hit this at the beginning of the book and this little part called
¶ Power of the Gospel in Purity
hope for the weary In the book Bite Like Roseanne . You say , you say no matter you get the cake .
Thank you for joining us .
friends , We'll see you here next time .
No matter how big or prolonged or shameful your sexual sins have been . An overwhelming abundance of hope is available to you in the inexhaustible love and grace of God .
The glorious gospel , secured by the death and resurrection of Christ , not only redeems and regenerates , but also enables transformative change , as it empowers you in ways you may never have thought possible . Easy , I'd love for you to talk to that young man right now listening to this podcast , and he's like man .
I'm living a double life , no one knows , and I've tried to kill it before and I never have . Could you just remind him of the gospel and the power of transformation ?
Yeah , yeah , and I talk about that in my preface as well is that the other thing I wanted the book to be was extremely gospel centric , because , ultimately , our hope is found in the gospel and the fact that the gospel is not just the instrument through which we're saved , it's the treasure house and the ever-flowing fountain from which we live as God's people .
And so you extrapolate that in that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling inside of you that God has given you through the gospel , all things , as 2 Peter 1 tells us , that pertain to life and godliness . And so it comes down to understanding the gospel and then valuing the gospel right . As I've quoted before Paul Tripp , value impacts behavior .
So you come to that place where you meditate on the reality and the truth of the gospel , the price that was paid to redeem your soul , the greatness of God , the fact that you're going to stand before him and give account for what you did with the treasures of the gospel .
And so you live from the gospel , you understand the power that God supplies , you understand the forgiveness and the mercy that's there , because that's another thing that often keeps men from walking in purity they stumble and then they say it's over for me . That's it . But the gospel reminds you he's paid for that sin and that he sympathizes with your weaknesses .
That's a part of the gospel , because he became a man like you so he can come to the aid of those who are tempted . So what does that do ? It makes you run to the Lord , cry out to the Lord , and then you obey him by getting accountability and by , you know , taking the steps to put to death this sin in your life by his strength , power and grace .
So good that make sense .
Yeah .
Yeah , so Mark , the lure right of pornography . Today we're living in an era where , as opposed to when even we were kids , right , I mean you might steal a video if you could , because you couldn't buy it right If you weren't 18 . Or you might get a magazine from a friend whose dad had it stashed at home , or whatever .
But now at the , at the just click of a button , and it's not even you have to go to a certain place . Like Ray said , it's like these are now , these are appendages , basically , that we have attached like part , they're part of our body , these phones and the high clarity , quality graphics and just that , all of that .
Now it's like men are put in a position where they have to recognize they're in the crosshairs at all moments .
Yeah , I mean , I couldn't word that better . I was waiting for you to stop it . It just kept getting better . The accessibility of porn is undeniable . You do not have to go searching for it , it will find you out . It knows where you live . It reads your mind , if you would .
I had somebody tell me recently that they were on Facebook and a picture or video had popped up right there on their screen which is not even allowed within Facebook . It just happens . It's just there . It desires to sift you While you're sleeping . The enemy is planning In your book how to Lead a Ninja Clan . Well , it's never going to get old .
No , men , keep thrashing something until it's twice dead plucked up by the roots .
Women just say just once is fine . I actually want to weep for my book , like my poor book .
Ride a rocket van . I really want actually . I'd love for you , because we don't have a lot of time left . I'd love for you to address that person who just says I'm just not buying into it easy . I'm just not buying into it easy , I'm not buying into what you're saying , because I've tried too long to try to give this up and I just can't give it up .
I've tried . Where does that person go right now ? Who's saying that listening to this ? And it's 40 minutes in and it's just saying guys , you have not hit me , I'm not moved .
So I would say stop believing the lie , stop believing the lie that you can't , and let me prove to you that you can . If you were guaranteed $100 million , unquestionably . In fact , elon Musk is putting up the money $100 million . It's put in an escrow account . There's no like . Oh , I changed my mind . It is there , right .
If you go six months without looking at pornography , you will get $100 million . Those of you listening right now , men that have been saying for ages oh , I can't stop . You know for certain , without the shadow of a doubt , you will do whatever it takes to not go search out pornography . You would throw your phone in the trash For that hundred million .
Yeah , you'll do whatever , you'll go lock yourself Right . So , wow , okay , let me take it . Let me take it in another direction . This is good . Every time you look at pornography , you lose a body part . Click , oh , there goes my ear . Oh , bye-bye nose , I really loved you . There goes an eyeball .
Oops , there goes my right arm , my left arm , my right leg , my . Are you kidding me ? If you knew ? Every time you click on pornography , you lose a body part . You know well , everyone's gonna know what you've been doing . First of all , everyone's gonna be like man . He's really been struggling . But you know you're just a head , don't laugh .
You know you would stop looking at pornography . So don't say you can't , because it's calling God a liar Again . If you claim to be a believer because he said he's given you his spirit and the fruit of his spirit is self-control , it's not that you can't , it's that you won't . And until you recognize that you can , you won't .
So there should be a greater motivation than something physical , right , which there is , right . I mean , we've been called into a relationship with God , a relationship that is pure . Yeah , you know we start talking about . Well , listen , you don't understand the destruction that it's gonna cause . You're right .
And this idea of destruction has become like this nebulous , unclear idea and thought and I did it last time , nothing happened to me then or I've already done this , I've already had sex with my girlfriend . I might as well do it again , because nothing happened . He made me like this . What role does prayer and fasting have in the midst ?
of this battle . They're huge . And I talk about that where . I talk about the battle against the flesh , because how do you not give into the flesh ? You walk in the spirit . What does it mean to walk in the spirit ? You involve yourself in the things that the spirit of God is involved in . And what are those things ?
Well , the Spirit is involved , obviously , in the Word . It's called the sword of the Spirit . The Spirit is involved in using our spiritual gifts . The Spirit gives gifts to whom he wills . The Spirit is involved in evangelism . When the Spirit comes upon you , you will be my witnesses .
The Spirit is involved in fellowship , the fellowship of the Spirit , and the Spirit is involved in prayer . We do not know how to praise . We ought , but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep to utter . So yeah , prayer right . Crying out to God in accordance with what His will is right .
We just learned in 1 Thessalonians 4 that it's His will that we abstain from sexual immorality and our sanctification . And 1 John 5 tells us that if we ask anything according to his will , he hears us . And if he hears us , we have the request which we've asked .
And so we demonstrate faith by praying in accordance with God's will and recognizing he's our source of help and hope . And , yeah , what do we do ? How often we say I want to overcome these things in my life , okay . Are you praying over it ? No , do you fast over it to break those bonds ? No , are you memorizing scripture on that topic ? Not really .
Are you reading any books on the subject ? No , are you getting accountability on it ? Uh-uh , oh . Okay . Oh , I have cancer and I hate cancer , but I don't get my chemo treatments . I don't do my homeopathic if you go that route , whatever , there's different views on that but I don't do my chemo treatments .
I don't do my homeopathic If you go that route , whatever , there's different views on that but I don't do anything . And I really want to overcome my cancer ? No , you don't . It's suicide by cancer is what you're doing really , but you're just pretending like no , this is a cancer that is destroying men , it's destroying families . It's destroying the glory of God .
Look , if you don't care about the destruction for yourself , how selfish do you have to be not to look at your wife and your children and your family , your parents and the glory of God ? So we can . We just won't . But we need to .
We have that saying that you can't prevent a bird from flying over your head , but you can prevent them from making a nest in your head , in your hair . I think that kind of ties into your NOPE principle right . Maybe you can address that .
Yeah , so the NOPE principle . It's interesting how it came about . I was counseling a man who was really struggling with different issues and I said how are you doing with pornography ? He said , yeah , I'm doing pretty good . I said , how are you doing with lust ? Like , as you're going about your day , you see one ? He said , ah , not doing too good there .
And I go , man , you know what ? There just comes a point where we as men have to say nope . And I was just having this conversation with him and it just came to my mind . So you just have to say nope , I'm not doing this , I'm done with this .
And to have that attitude , and I saw that it resonated with him and it really it kind of stirred my own heart up with just that righteous zeal for purity . Anyhow , the next day I'm leaving home , heading toward the office , and these two young ladies jog past my car wearing barely
¶ The Power of Saying "Nope"
anything , and I just instantly found myself going nope out loud . And I told the young man , I said we need to even say it out loud . And so , as I continued driving , I thought in my mind . I thought , man , I wish there was an acrostic that would tie in with the word nope . That would mean something and help men .
And as soon as I thought that it popped into my mind Nope , n-o-p-e , not one peak , even , not one peak . Even I've been saying peep .
I've been peeping , it's the peep too . Yeah , you've been saying peep , so we've been peeping . It's the peep too .
Yeah , you've been saying peep , We've been on a wrong . Oh no , it hasn't helped you guys . Then it does work easy .
I've used it .
Yeah , and I've shared it with several men . I've had many men say to me this has like changed my life , because you say it out loud , which commits you , and nope has an attitude with it as opposed to no . If someone says , hey , can you do this for me ? And you go , nope , it's like whoa .
It's like saying to the wicked , deceitful human heart that says , oh , just look at that lady , because has she got a mustache Right ?
I talk about that in the book too . Yeah so , but then why , nope ? Why not one peak , even ? And you know everyone's different . Some men are married , others aren't , whatever . But for me , as the book too , it's attached to something . So I say nope , not one peak even . Why ? It's because of what I love , and what are the five things I love .
So I imagine my hand going out to reach the handle of the plow . Jesus said if anyone puts his hand to the plow , looks back , he's not worthy for the kingdom . So I envision my hand going out to reach the plow and each finger represents one of these loves and , as I say , each one .
I'm envisioning my finger curling around the handle until my hand is just tight against it . Nope , not one peak even . Why ? Because I love my Lord , I love my lady , I love my lineage , my children , grandchildren , those that went before me , those after me . I love his lambs , god's people , and I love the lost , those that I'm to be a witness to .
That's lovely .
So , because I love all of those , nope , not one peak , even Not with my physical eye , not with my mind's eye . And as you begin to distance yourself from those things , the more you grow in holiness and purity and strength . To resist .
I'm going to talk to our graphic artist and see if he will create a wallpaper with a Bible verse on it so you can put it on your iPhone . It's the first thing you see . If your right eye causes you to sin , pluck it out and cast it .
Oh , that's good Ray .
And that comes directly after whoever looks upon a woman to lust us . Matthew 5 , 29 . That other verse is 28 . And Jesus is saying if your right eye , your best eye , and you think about we've all got best eyes , we've got best hands , try throwing with your left hand . It's horrible . If you're right handed , it just doesn't work .
He's saying if your right eye causes you to sin , pluck it out . And then he says cast it from you . Don't put it down where you can pick up and slip it back in the slot . Cast it from you , for Don't put it down where you can pick up and slip it back in the slot .
Cast it from you , for it's better to enter heaven without an eye than go to hell with both your eyes . And then he brings out where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched . That should put the fear of God . So if we get a wallpaper created , we make free of charge along with your book .
Yeah .
It might be good to have on your phone , because you've got to go through that gate to get to your phone .
Amen Ray , that's a really good idea . And let me just say , men , those of you listening , this book is full of hope .
What's it called ?
Fight Like a man , a bold , biblical battle plan for personal impurity , but it's full of hope . The real impetus behind it is look , no matter how far you've gone , no matter how much you've blown it , there is hope in the Lord . It's not a book that beats you down Again , it's gospel-centric , so it's given you the gospel and I want to urge you to get it .
Look , let me be candid . I get zero money from this as you purchase it through Living Water . So I'm not pushing this so I can make money . I want you to be impacted by this book and to give it to other men so that God will use it to change lives . I've been humbled by the response . It's got Dr John MacArthur's endorsement .
He said every man needs to help this excellent book offers . The foreword was written by Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis , the ARC Encounter and Creation Museum .
Kirk Cameron endorsed it , ray Comfort endorsed it and others , pastor Jack Hibbs , mike Fabares , tony Wood , todd Friel , owen Strand , john the Baptist , phil Johnson , justin Peters , my pastor , phil DeCoursey . So please check it out and , whether you do or not , men repent , get right with the Lord . Let Him transform you . We've gone over . Yes , ray .
And not only can you get it from livingwaterscom , but you can go to amazoncom , and if you go there to get it , leave a comment . It really helps .
Comments are really important , yeah , so go and leave comments , because that helps propel the book . I've been amazed by its ranking . It was number one in sexual health recovery and , like in the top , in fact , of all books that were on Amazon .
It was number 1,800 out of 32.8 million titles and it was in the top 50 , top 100 , actually top 30 in a number of different categories . So I'm blown away by its success so far . So check it out , friends , and that's about it . Thank you for joining us .
We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters Podcast , where we have no idea , except for today , except for today , what we're doing .