Pornography: 4 "B's" to Break Free

Brad:
Hey there everyone, welcome back to Go Mad with Doug and Brad and Jesse. Welcome. So

Doug:
For this episode. We uh as much as we law, I get this mental picture of um, you know how like the the kids all gather around in the adults, the radio, to listen to Little Orphan Annie back in the day. I don't know why, but for some reason that's how I get the mental picture of people listening. I think that's how most listen to this. So we're just gonna say this that this one is kind of rated uh I don't know, PG

Brad:
Maybe thirteen.

Doug:
I mean thirteen. It's we're talking about um porn how to break free from it. So Maybe if the kids are around and there's some Brady Bunch reruns going on in the other room, this might be a good time to introduce them to Greg and Marsha.

Brad:
generation you're living in. You've got people sitting around a radio. It's in a people watching radio.

I jump from the thirties to the But I think we get the idea. Cause you may be driving this Goul, drop your kids off at school right now. So it's just a I uh whenever we talk about the topic of pornography, this is they're Things the Bible says, things that we're gonna say that just we want to make sure that you have the grid for whether people should be listening with you or not.

Exactly.

Doug:
We're we're gonna be honest.

Brad:
I will say If you, this is a very important topic in our lives. We're not gonna I just uh you know, we're not you're not gonna walk away from here with us saying, hey. Take these three steps and this will never be an issue ever again in your life.

But we are going to talk about uh kind of how we get into this issue, but also how we can take steps towards freedom. I so we're gonna cover that, but I as we're talking about this, as we're thinking about this, I actually had a memory hit me from our days living in Arizona. Now, Doug, you're the desert.

That's right. You had moved away recently, um, and um After being out in this community for over 12 years, you had been out there and we move in uh to this place out there, and it's just a place we're renting. And We start noticing over the years that uh there are these little critters that we're uh starting to share our space with Um not voluntarily.

Rather called rattlesnakes. Oh yeah. Now when you're in the southwest Obviously you see mice and people are like they have hontavirus and you're like, I don't want mice in my house.

I just don't want them in the house. There they are, and it starts with a couple, and it's like, okay, so we're putting out the glue traps, we're putting out the the mouse traps, all this. They worked at first.

They worked at first. And so we're like, okay, we're staying on top of this. And then we start noticing this is a disturbing moment in your life where You get a glue trap, you go out to it in the morning, and there's just fur left on it.

And you're like, not only do these not work, they are they are out they are smarter and stronger. These are super mice, they're just like

Doug:
And so we I thought you were gonna say if they're like eating Cheerios next time.

Brad:
No. That was next. So Sarah and I noticed that in this house in the kitchen We start losing drawers because they're like in the lowest. So we're stealing dirt?

We're we're just closing we're basically sealing off drawers because we're like we're giving up The traps aren't working, the peanut butter's not working, cheese isn't working. Oh no. So we're like we're just we're basically giving up parts of the house to these little critters, to these things that are these invasive things. And finally, finally, after a few years of this, well, I in case there's anyone that is just like, hey, just catch them in your hands and set them.

free outside. That's not our uh they we found traps that really work. Let me just say they really work.

And finally found something that was effective. When I think of the issue of pornography, that is what it seems like to me that in the lives of people that when we deal with this, it's like these this thing that starts coming in and it's like, oh, well, it's just a little bit, it's just this, it's just that. And then all of a sudden it takes over more and more of our lives.

And we're just searching for how do I deal with this? What it I've tried this, I've tried that, and we don't know what to do with it. But then all of a sudden someone steps in and says, Hey, you know what?

I've had this problem. And I know that there can be freedom from it. And you start giving helps to someone else.

That's what we're talking about today. This Conversation isn't about judgment or shame. And as I said before, we can't say, hey, just take these three steps and everything's fine.

But we can say take these three steps and you're on the road. to freedom. So what we can talk about the roots of kind of where pornography starts to come into our lives and at least some of these steps you or a loved one can take.

Let me tell you this if you're sitting here listening saying, I don't deal with this Praise God, first of all. Seriously. Yeah, you're in the minority if you're trying to deal with it.

But you know someone who does. Whether you know you know someone who does, you know someone who does. So please.

Listen in, share this with friends and family. We pray that this will be a good, healthy, encouraging conversation for you today.

Doug:
Yeah, and and thanks, Brad. The podcast is about ambassadorship. Yeah.

Being an ambassador, being Christ's representative to others. Um the longer maybe you've dealt with this problem, maybe it's an addiction in your life or someone you know, and you you like you said, Brad, it comes in so quickly. And and You don't you don't realize how much of a hold it's taking.

Um and it affects, as an ambassador, affects every relationship. um in your life. Uh the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

And the longer you've dealt with pornography, the more you know this is one of his big ones. This is one of his big weapons. to do that.

We know if you're listening that um you probably already come in feeling feeling shame. um feeling guilt about it or maybe you haven't been able to help a friend with it. Maybe you feel hopeless.

Maybe you feel oh man. That's that's going on so long. Yes, it you know, you you ask yourself, why is it so difficult to escape?

I was I was um looking into this a few years ago when I was preparing a message And it turns out, this is like, you know how much I hate to get into science because I really don't understand any of it. But I got I understood this. So pornography, watching it, it's as addictive as a strong drug like cocaine or morphine.

There's a book out there called Your Brain on Porn, How Porn Hijacks the Male Brain And it can hijack the female brain too, of course. But it talks about this study with these cardboard butterflies. Now let me let me read this to you, because this is fascinating and it really tells the story.

So these things were decorated to be more colorful and more beautiful than the average live butterfly. So you got these you got these cardboard ones that are made made all more um more colorful, gorgeous than the average butterfly. Now let me read this to you.

Then butterflies would seek out the cardboard butterfly to mate with rather than the real butterfly. Goes on to say when you're exposed to pornography on the screen and images come up that are highly stimulating and arousing, it's like the cardboard butterfly. Your brain receives, listen to this, a flood of dopamine into your system.

and opioid types of transmitters, which seemingly make you feel good because it's for pleasure, you're also receiving opioid pain-reducing neurotransmitters. Which helps bond your brain to the screen. This keeps you coming back for more pornography.

So whatever sexual activity your brain is exposed to, it's adapting, it's brain training. Wow. Get this.

You're having a sexual encounter with the person on the screen, as far as your mind is concerned. So now perhaps Your wife all of a sudden doesn't measure up and you don't even realize you're doing this to yourself. You go, where did my desire for my wife go Um, we're wired by God through sex to bond spiritually with our spouse.

In fact, I've heard it called a soul. Sex is a soul adhesive on purpose. God wired us that way.

So you don't just watch a sex scene. You just, according to this science, super glued yourself to a stranger and in the process, maybe unglued yourself. From your spouse.

Brad:
And that's really uh where we have to start with the topic is talking about the monster under the bed. We have to talk about this monster of pornography because It's not, again, not for guilt and shame. It's to acknowledge what it is and what you just shared there goes a long way to establish the dangers of it.

Um I honestly going into this, there's a uh big Barna study that was about pornography years ago and now they did a second one just in the last year beyond pornography. and talks more about it. And I honestly thought that this was a topic just as far as what is pornography that was agreed upon.

I I kind of thought that, especially with Christians, that it was, hey, we agree at least on what the base is that we're talking about, but it's not. There's not agreement even on what it is. I think sometimes because we're rationalizing what it is, but So let's take a look at this because of what you just said, Doug, pornography, the word, isn't in the Bible.

If you're looking for that It's not in the Bible, but the idea is, and that's what you were just talking about there, that the root word of it is pornea. The the root word and the the root word of pornography is pornea is in the Bible. It's repeated several times.

And it basically means sexual immorality. And so while we have wanted to kind of isolate this sin that is just hey, it's just me. It's just one person.

It's a it's a really kind of a victimless sin other than myself because it's just it's not, you know, having an affair with someone else or whatever else. It's sexual immorality. It's not a victimless sin.

It is a it is something that impacts people around us. It impacts you. It impacts, I mean, the people on the screen.

That we are seeing when we see that they are victims. They are victims because it is something that people want to see. And so the definition I saw on this is.

Pornography and the definition is so kind of sterile, it's printed or visual material that contains the description or depiction of erotic or sexual activity. For me, yeah, it's it's messier than that. It's not i I mean, it is when we see someone or we're reading something that is sexual in nature and it gets our body feeling any sort of way that only our spouse is supposed to get us feeling.

And even if we never act on those feelings. You're dealing with some sort of pornography there. And it's hard when we look at it that way, but let's be real about it.

We've got to Drag that monster out into the light. Oh yeah. Because that's when you can really start to deal with it and start to find freedom and healing in all of this.

Um Jesse, we're gonna be talking about Four B's today. Yes. Um we kind of get to the first one when we're talking about the monster under the bed and dealing with what pornography really is.

Jesse:
Yeah. Yeah, and Doug had mentioned uh I put it a really good way earlier, um, when we start with brokenness. Um we start with where we're really at.

Um two kinds of brokenness. First is recognizing the tragedy of the sin that we find ourselves in. Um most people, I think, don't get into pornography on their eighteenth birthday having made a calculated decision.

I I think this is a good career move. Um most people uh who who find themselves trapped in pornography today, that started as a child. Um that's a tragedy.

That should not have happened Um in multiple mul multi in multiple facets. Like um they should not have been allowed access to that kind of material. Um it's a tragedy that we live in a world that targets children as an a you know, a viewer.

Um as an eight, ten, twelve year old, if you're handed a stick of dynamite, you you don't know what to do with it. It and in some degree, unless we recognize As an adult, what a tragedy it was that that child had to handle such something so explosive at that age, maybe without any guidance, maybe in secret. That is so sad and that never should have been.

And it it's evidence of the fallen world that we're in. We we're living in a world where sin um just thrives. And sadly, the weak and and the young often receive the brunt of of uh what sin, what sin does to this world.

And as an adult, we have to recognize that if we find ourselves in pornography now, what a tragedy And if we allow ourselves to feel that brokenness, we can bring that brokenness to God and say, oh my goodness, wasn't the God We can cry out with the psalmist like, God, this is awful. We can lament, we can, we can cry over the fact that we had to endure that. Now, the other side of brokenness is Every time I look at pornography, it's offensive to God.

And so I look at my part to play and say, okay, what am what am I doing now? If I look at pornography, because God is so good and because he values his image bearers so much that when I look at pornography, I am devaluing his creation, his image bearers. Um and I have to reckon with that.

I have to admit that. Um and I bring that side of my brokenness to God. So, God, on one hand, what a tragedy that I live in this world and maybe had to deal with this at a young age.

On the other side, wouldn't offense to God that I'm dishonoring his creation. Bringing those two sides of brokenness to God um is a great place to start for our hearts. Powerful.

Doug:
Kids. Wow. Kids finding this stuff, you know, it it used to be that you had to go and if you wanted to to view this stuff You had to go and find it.

Yeah, you had to go to a store, a magazine or something. It doesn't mat you have to find pornography anymore. Pornography finds you.

And because of these because of phones, it's so easy to access. And one of the great tragedies, as Jesse just said, is when a young person Um and these days really young. So before you get too down on yourself, and yes, there is there is there is a a a feeling of brokenness that comes from knowing you've sinned against God and you need to be made right.

But know that that a lot of times, man, you're victimized at a very young age. Um, like Jesse said, it was brokenness that got you into this mess, but it's gonna be brokenness, a healthy kind, that gets you out. Psalm 51 says Praise God for this.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Um come to Him like that. Uh the same God that hates sin, you ready for some good news, loves to restore hearts that love him.

He says, I make all things new. So if you are here, if you're listening today, going, I can't believe how many times I've told God I'm gonna I'm gonna get away from this. I can't believe I haven't been able to help the person that needs help so badly.

Start here. That no matter how long it's been, no matter how many times you've made the promise, he still wants to make you new. He still wants to restore you.

Um There's always a way out, and he's got one for you. We're uh that's why I'm glad we're talking about these four B's today. Uh the first one, brokenness.

Um

Brad:
The uh things that I I we prepare for the podcasts, obviously, but sometimes you don't know exactly which direction. Something's gonna go. Um the uh I wanna I wanna share this and then I wanna share something personal.

Um In your brokenness, please know that you are not alone. The devil wants you to think in your shame, in your gr regret in your hopeless feeling that you have that you are alone. But today these are some stats and then like I said I I want to share something from my heart with you.

I Three in five adults, 61%, report viewing pornography, and half of those who use porn say that no one knows. So I mean mo most there's a good number of people who they just think no one knows. It's a huge problem that impacts countless more people than we'll ever really know.

You can't tell when you just go look at someone or meet someone. what sin they're dealing with in a lot of cases and this is one of those.

Doug:
The vast majority of people in this life, because of phones and everything, have been exposed to it at some point.

Brad:
Yeah, and the access, like you said, Doug, is it's It feels unstoppable sometimes. It just does. Uh for every filter that's created, the devil works to defeat it with some unseen open door.

That doesn't mean you don't use filters. Let me be clear there. Don't throw up your hands.

I've seen people who just throw up their hands. It's like Well filters don't work. Well, I mean even if they don't work completely, if they work some, that that's some protection.

This checks out data from WebRoute Cybersecurity, so a firm that just looks at blank numbers here.

Doug:
Yeah.

Brad:
Estimates that I I was I really was Floored by this and honestly, it it's heartbreaking when I read it. It's heartbreaking now. 28,258 users are watching pornography every second.

And thirty-five percent of all internet downloads are related to pornography. But you are not alone. But the devil wants you to make you feel like you are and that you shouldn't talk about it.

We uh I know because I've been there. And I'm gonna be honest. Part of me is like, well, don't talk about it, Brad.

You need to talk about this from the outside looking in, as far as yes, I know this is a problem for other people. I have found freedom. I want you to know that, and I am so grateful to God that He has given me a freedom and a newness of life in this area.

It doesn't mean that there aren't temptations, still. I want to be clear on that, but there's a freedom I remember, Jesse, as you were sharing, I remember it was a young age where it didn't become an addiction at a young age or whatever, but All of a sudden it was just a very random, unexpected, not sought-after exposure to pornography. And it was it's like when you look at pornography, it it's it's like my dad uses this, you guys probably have heard this.

I know you have Doug. He uses this illustration of Me, he'll say, my now, Keith words here, he says, what if my son Brad was up in his room And he started a fire. And we have this fireplace in our house growing up.

And he's like, and he just decides to start this fire in his room. And all of a sudden he's like, Dad. That now I have to I do have to tell you.

People come up to me. They have come up to me and said, you started a fire in your room. And I'm like, he says what if.

But but the If I'm being honest, there was a fire that I did allow to burn that should have never been lit and the and when you When pornography starts out in this little flame, if you can grab that giant bucket of water from the Lord and douse that. Early on, it will save you months and years of heartache. And you can help someone else in that.

If you have walked this road and you found freedom, help someone else. Don't hide your story Tell uh tell people, but I'm not saying you have to put it on blast on the internet, but you know, tell people who are struggling with it. If you are in the middle of it now.

Tell someone about it because there is hope and there is freedom. And if you know someone that's young and just might be exposed to it, they're not going to come up to you and say, Hey Dad, guess what I just saw? Um that is they might, they might, but the odds are that they're going to feel ashamed about it.

Well, there's so much shame involved. And they're gonna hide it and it gives the devil room to work. So just know you're not alone and there are steps we're gonna get to really quick here, but that you can take to start on the road to freedom or help someone else.

Doug:
No temptation has overtaken you, but such is common to man. That scripture might not apply more to something than pornography. Um Brad, you brought this up.

And let let's just let's just go down this road a little bit more. We're talking about the four B's. The first is brokenness. The next one is a brother.

Or a sister, or as my wife says, or a bestie. Good bit, so that would be a good B. Like you said Sin thrives in in secrecy. I've said before that sin is a vampire.

It it i i a vampire If y maybe you don't watch vampire movies, but I know enough that when you drag it out into light, into sunlight, it dies It dies in the light. Sin loves being secret. Drag it into the light by having accountability with somebody that you trust.

A brother in Christ, a sister in Christ. You say, oh, that's so embarrassing, but this is God's prescription for healing. In James 5.

16, confess your sins. Pray for each other So you'll be healed. I loved one of my favorite scriptures in all the word, 1 John 1 9.

If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just He won't just he yes, he will forgive our sins, it says, but then he will purify us from all unrighteousness Now I'm gonna warn you, your flesh, your sin nature will hate you for this. Gonna say, Don't tell anybody. And and if you're going to make sure it's someone you trust, maybe it's a pastor, and I would strongly suggest If it's not going to be a spouse that it's it's a person uh of the same sex, not the opposite sex, your f your flesh or sin nature will say, Don't do it, but take this huge leap of humility.

And let me let me address this real quick here. As the spouse, there may come a day where God works on your spouse's heart to come and confess this to you. Decide now, rather than when you're in the shock of the moment, decide now how you're going to respond to this.

I will say, this is such a huge act of love on your spouse's part to be willing to confess this. And it's a huge act of love for your spouse. as hearing it to forgive but this is how God says we get to healing how will you respond forgive As Christ has forgiven you, I know that's hard, but consider this: if if your spouse loves you enough to have the courage, To tell you, love them enough to forgive them and make that decision now before the shock kicks in.

Brad:
I I uh I didn't know you were gonna share uh that uh thought with folks and that is so important because you and I have seen we've talked with people who the the spouse we know uh and there's studies this barna survey there's there's studies on that how it impacts the other person um and it's not just Women struggle with this too. Let's be clear. More and more women struggle with the issue of pornography so No question.

It could go the other way as well. Um it is we've heard spouses react out of anger, out of disgust, out of all these things, and I I get the feelings. I get those emotions.

Don't don't we're not negating those, shortchanging those. But this survey says eighty-four percent, if seventy-four percent even for Christians. So eighty-four percent for people overall, seventy-four percent of Christians say They don't have someone in their life helping them with the issue of pornography.

Talk about feeling alone. So if they are reaching out and saying, Hey, I know I have broken Hebrews 13 and I have not kept the marriage bed pure. And this is how that's played out.

I've been looking at things I shouldn't look at, or or however they phrase that. Help them know that you're there to work through it with them. Not that you're okay with it.

Not that uh you have to be like, oh, that's fine, let's just move forward, but that you're willing to work through it and I would go w to one other group with that, Doug. The parents out there. When when things when things were discovered as far as the struggles I was having You know what?

I still remember that a father who didn't react out of anger or disappointment or shame.

Doug:
Oh, praise God.

Brad:
But basically had his arms around me saying, Hey We're I don't know his exact words, but we're gonna get through this. I'm here to help you through this. It made a world of difference because it was something I was so afraid of.

And then to have someone there that said, I'm here to walk through this with you. And so what you said, Doug, about someone you trust, that's really key because you don't want someone that's going to react the wrong way. You want someone that's going to say You know what?

Whether I've experienced it or not, I'm here to walk through this with you and help you find the healing that you want.

Doug:
But just wow. Uh the here's the thing. Brad when you when you say that I'm thinking of the the person, first of all Thank you for for being honest and sharing what you're sharing because there's someone more than one that is listening thinking that it's hopeless to get out of this.

Um, when someone reaches out to you with this, reach back to them. Don't recoil in horror. Um The uh I I'm thinking of our Heavenly Father.

When when we is we think if I come to him with this, he's so angry with me about my sin. He's just waiting, he's sitting on a cloud just waiting to stomp me because of how angry he is with me. Remember, remember he is faithful and just.

You come to him with this just like I our dad was a uh representation of our Heavenly Father He will feel the same way. He will feel love and he will he will be glad that you come and say, I want to, I want this out of my life. Brokenness, um the brother or or a bestie.

Brad:
And and in the brother, let me give uh I I do want to say two hope verses. Um good, we need those. Stuck out to me in my life with this.

First of all, because you you said there is hope, and there is. First Corinthians 10, 13. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful.

He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. There's hope because you're God gets what you're going through. He knows the feelings.

He knows what temptation is because of Jesus because he knows these feelings and he created us he knows our inmost being But he's faithful. He's not gonna let us be tempted. Even if we give in to temptation, it doesn't mean God didn't provide a way out.

It just means we missed the off ramp. Uh we we weren't looking for it maybe, but but this is the other one. This is the you were verse.

1 Corinthians 6. 9. It talks about the sexual moral.

Then you look at, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

And it says in verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6, uh 1 Corinthians 6. 11. That is what some of you were.

You were washed, you were sanctified, you were this. You don't have to be defined by that anymore. It's not who you are.

You can put it in the were category. Oh man. And praise God for that.

Doug:
Yeah, man. We've got a brother. We start with brokenness before the Lord.

A brother. My uh I I heard a story recently, a true story, about a guy, um, a father, who found his son's porn stash, basically, a bunch of magazines. His son had had hidden them in the laundry room And uh somewhere, I don't it I'm not sure where, but somewhere in the laundry room and his so his dad is looking for something, of course, he finds these.

He didn't Confront his son about it. He didn't even say a word to him. You know what he did?

He he left him there, but he left the Bible on top Oh wow. Wow. Of the stash.

Wow. Um there's only one weapon that kills strongholds, um, and that is truth. It's God's truth.

That's why it says in 2 Corinthians, we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. God's book, the Bible, there's our third B. Is that weapon. We're not talking about, oh, go read the Bible and everything will be okay.

We're talking about that the Word of God is alive and active, separates truth from lies. And it can make the difference in your heart. I I can tell you this.

This is truth. This book is that weapon. Commit to regular Bible study, memorization.

And prayer through certain scriptures that are truths about our bodies that are truth about lies and in Romans it says that the the mind will be transformed and will be renewed He renews our hearts, he renews our minds. You can drain your brain of the drunk, and we talked about brain training before.

Brad:
You can retrain your brain for a holiness.

Doug:
Proverbs twenty five, like a city whose walls are broken through as a person who lacks self control. Um do you know the opposite of pornea is i I mean you brought up Greek before. I did.

Mr. Smarty Pants. That was mostly why I did. I gotta I I I gotta at least try here, but I but I actually the the opposite of pornea is this word enkretea it means self-control ooh The opposite of pornea is self-control, discipline.

Here's the thing. That verse goes on to say about who whose walls are broken down. Uh so a city with no walls means the enemy is getting in wherever he wants.

The word builds the walls against that attack. Um by the way, we might be surprised all the Bible has to say about sex and you know that People just a little side note here.

Brad:
Yeah, we gave a PG thirteen rating earlier.

Doug:
Oh man. I don't know if there is a rating. I don't know if there is a rating, but but that that's the thing.

Yeah, porn is bad. The Lord made sex. Uh it's this incredible expression of love in marriage.

It's why we gotta get serious. So Brad, we've had a I gotta jump in there.

Brad:
You mentioned Bible, so here's just a a verse that sticks out to be from the Bible because so many times When you I hear people talk about leaving this stuff behind, it's about get rid of it, get rid of it, stop, stop, stop, stop. And I love this verse for that Paul's writing to a young Timothy who may have had feelings uh and and desires to get every other young man. Yeah, so and he says Paul writes to him, flee the evil desires of youth.

2 Timothy 2. 22. But he doesn't just leave it at flee the evil desires of youth.

He gives them the other part of it. Pursue. Righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

So don't just leave this vacuum. Right. Flee, flee, flee.

It's also pursue. And that's where the word of God comes in, Doug. That's where it helps give us this light for our path.

So lean into that truth. And as you pursue You will retrain your mind because you are pursuing the things of the Lord.

Brad:
So I love that God.

Brad:
That's God's promise.

Brad:
So we've got a the brokenness that leads to the brother.

Doug:
The brother Bible. Have you ever seen, here's our fourth B to break free, as you will, uh uh perhaps. Um you ever see those movies where The uh it's at the end and like the guy who's the bad guy, the murderer, or whatever the the Um the good guy kind of gets a hit in.

Like he hits him and he's like and the murderer is kind of stunned and and he like and and he's like, oh, and now What should you do next? Take another swing, right? Make sure that this guy is taken care of so he can't attack you.

But instead He just he doesn't do anything. He doesn't do anything. And you're like, you're yelling at the screen, he's not dead, you idiot.

He's not dead. Don't be that guy Uh like you said, Brad, God always uses He uses terms many times of like total annihilation when it comes to sin in a believer's life. Put to death.

Put to death. Kill, destroy. So that's why our fourth B is a bat.

I'm talking like a baseball bat. Basically, what we're saying here. Look, you go into acts and you see the uh the the early believers, they found that how much God hated witchcraft and they had all these very valuable books and scrolls, said it was worth millions of dollars in today's money They said, Well, I think we'll go put 'em in a drawer and make sure we don't look anymore.

Now actually they have a public bonfire. They go, We're gonna make sure there's not a way back to this thing that has hurt us that offends God. Um, they decided we're not uh something we do is we keep feeding this monster just these little morsels rather than just taking a bat and and killing it, getting it out of our life.

Victoria's Secret catalogs. That app on your phone.

Brad:
It could be a social media thing everywhere.

Doug:
I'm going to delete that. NFL commercials. I mean, ask David Ask King David what kind of damage just a little spicy entertainment can do.

That of course started a domino effect, one that started with compromise, I can handle it. And it and it blows up into something awful. So Second Corinthians seven, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates.

And boy, does porn do that.

Brad:
Well, and you said before, Doug Put to death. I actually I had that verse written down here. Galatians uh Colossians 3.

5 says, put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust. evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. So you have in there sexual immorality, impurity and lust and evil I mean you have all these these different things.

that could tie into uh pornography, but when we're looking at this and the sexual morality side, it really starts with that determination. As well, it's not just an idea that a thought, well, I really should not do this anymore. It's a determination.

I'm gonna put this to death. I'm gonna do what it takes and I'm gonna leave this thing behind and I'm gonna leave it, like you said, not turn my back on it when it's There's a uh there's a scene in uh this movie Monty Python years ago where they They're this guy, they think he's dead, and he's like, I'm not dead yet. And uh and it's that's what if you leave it there It is a chance to come back to life.

Doug:
We keep feeding the monster in our closet these little morsels because we're not f f okay, so get I'm gonna tell you just real quick a couple of True stories, true things that people have done. Guys, I know what they have done to get serious about this. Yeah. And you then ask yourself if you're listening, what do I need to do to get serious about this? One guy I know, I look I'm just telling you, you decide.

Brad:
Be careful. We're not saying go do this right now. We're telling you what others have done.

Doug:
Decide what it is for you to get serious about it. One guy put his iPhone on a tree and shot an arrow through it. Yep.

He said it's not worth it. It's not worth it. One guy taped pictures Get this you think.

Brad:
Finish the episode before you do that.

Doug:
And then another guy taped pictures of grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, because he wanted to be remembered that there's a cloud of witnesses around him. I haven't heard that one. Another guy took a picture of Jesus on the cross and put it on his computer screen.

Wow. Um, maybe you need to use a medicine ball instead of going to the gym. Um, you know what I did?

So way back so I used to get this magazine when there was such a thing of of as paper magazines. Yeah, I've seen those before. Called Entertainment Weekly.

Yeah. And I asked Anna, I said, Would you go through this please? And and uh and just get rid of anything that you think nice, yeah is i i is uh would be offensive to God.

I don't want anything, you know, I don't want it to harm my relationship with you. And it was so funny when I got this thing back. There's just rips and tears and marker things that I don't like.

Like there's ten percent of this thing left. Um do whatever it takes. And by the way, if we're talking about bridges Remember our kids.

There's a reason in 2 Timothy it talks about fleeing youthful lusts because it starts then. Your ten-year-old Is looking for ways to thumb through that SI swimsuit issue. Um they're watching super sexualized movies, you uh TV shows with tons of that humor.

Listen, when you're cool with those things. You might as well be handling handing him or her that stuff to look at. Don't feel the flames of a future addiction by not being a leader for purity in your home.

Brad:
And I think uh that kind of uh at least for me, this is how I would um round it out for me, how I'd wrap some things up with these the encouraging news as we've been talking about that there is a way out that The Lord can use your brokenness if you just acknowledge that before him and you give that to him. He can use the tools of a brother, a bible, a bat in your life to be able to be free from this. So my encouragement is when you look at 1 Corinthians 10 13, that we said before, when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.

Use the tools that are a way out. So that means stop watching some of the things you watch that have w portray women inappropriately, uh or men inappropriately, or r uh relationships inappropriately. Some of these innocuous as I don't think we could say chick flicks anymore, but uh those innocuous rom-coms, that's it.

Now I then you that some of those stories in there are very detrimental because uh all of a sudden you have this one night stand and it's like it's fine and all these things and yeah and it triggers different feelings in different people. But use things like Covenant Eyes. It's a I it's so funny 'cause I've talked with people.

Covenant Eyes is uh just is something where basically someone in your life that you designate that you trust Gets a report on what you've been looking at, what you've been doing and everything. This is huge. It works.

And to know that accountability is there, I've heard people say Well yeah, but Covenant Ice can be a little uh pricey. I'm like so we're putting a price now on the and it's not bad. It's not bad.

Exactly. So if you need that Do that. Use the filters for your home.

There's apps out there like Custodio and uh Yeah, Jesse, what was that one?

Doug:
You mentioned one

Brad:
Oh, canopy, yeah.

Doug:
Canopy's been what I've been looking at. I was looking at that actually recently. What does it do?

Jesse:
I I remember thinking that's incredible. It real-time blocks um sexually explicit images on whatever's on the screen. So it doesn't I think if I understand right, it doesn't go by site, it goes by the web showing up on the screen.

Brad:
Yeah, so and I do think that one is especially targeted towards sexually uh explicit content. So that one I so there's so many tools out there, even if they don't catch everything, they can be part of the plan. that God uses and lean into as you said before, Doug, someone you trust, a brother or sister in Christ.

The if you're uh same sex, uh especially outside of marriage and then if you uh are sharing this with your spouse to be able to do it in a way that uh is a healthy way. Go if you missed that earlier on, go back, listen to that. Um and Galatians 5.

1 is the verse that I want people to be encouraged with today. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves.

I love that phrase that Mindset, do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Because we are not we're we're fighting back. We're standing firm, we're fighting back.

Galatians 5. 1. Galatians 5-1.

It is there is freedom. Christ has given us that. And I think the the one image that hits me is when we talk about not being alone, there uh having someone to walk through this with you is so key.

You have your savior that you should go to, that you should talk to about this. And then you have that brother or sister in Christ. And I think of Mr. Frodo and Sam Gamgies I that are Lord of the Rings and I don't can I give a spoiler alert when something's been out that long?

I at the very end you see that that Frodo can't keep doing he can't fight on his own. He can't keep going. And Sam picks him up and he says, I can't do this for you, but I can carry you.

And he says I am going to be there for you. Be that brother in Christ for someone. And if you are struggling with it yourself, let someone carry you in those hard times.

Doug:
Uh boy, there's so much. Um That God has to say about this. We we're we're gonna wrap up here in a second, but um Jesse, if you would in a moment, we're just gonna pray for um Whoever's listening that is heartbroken because They are trapped in this and they feel like there's not a way out, or someone they love very much is trapped in it, and they don't feel like there's a way out.

Oswald Chambers, listen to this quote. This is amazing. Oswald Chambers said this: Leave the broken, irreversible past in God's hands.

and step out into the invincible future with him. Is anyone else ready for that? He is a God that restores.

He can make it where you only have eyes for each other again. You may have been listening today. Feeling dirty.

God says, let me clean you up. Come to me. Feeling shame.

God says, let me forgive you. Come to me. Enslaved.

God says, come to me. I'll make you free. That freedom starts at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Acts 3. 19. And then Jesse, if you'd pray for us and for everyone listening here, do this.

Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out and praise God for this, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Hmm.

Jesse:
Let's pray. Father, uh, we're coming to you, recognizing we can't actually change our own hearts. You can We're recognizing we don't have power to walk in obedience to you.

You can help us do that. We're coming to you because we need you. Um Thank you that you offer us forgiveness every single day.

And we need it every single day. But we want to walk in a way that honors you. If we have you in our hearts, if we're your ambassadors, Jesus, we want to do a good job at that.

We need so much help. Would you come even now and begin to work in hearts of listeners to set them free? To enable them to walk in a way that honors you, in openness, in freedom, knowing that as they bring their sin to you, they will not be rejected.

But they will be received like the Father receives the prodigal son. Um help them to believe it. That's what you're really like.

Holy Spirit, do the work in us that we can't do. Help us though. To take the steps that we can take, trusting that it's you who works in us as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

We love you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Brad:
As you take these steps to freedom, as you walk towards this this, you will become a more effective ambassador for your Savior, for Jesus.

Brad:
So till next time. Until next time from all of us to all of you. Go mad.