Ryan Swanson (Introduction): Hello and welcome to the Thee Generation podcast. This is Ryan Swanson and I want to give a quick explanation to what’s going to happen today. We’re actually jumping back to a couple weeks ago where the Thee Generation Youth Summit took place at Falls Baptist Church in Wisconsin, also Baptist College of Ministry. Some of you were there and some of you were not, so I wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page and understand what’s happening. We had our first live audience there as we did this podcast two weeks ago and also had a very special guest that joined us as we did two things. In this podcast, first off, we explain why Satisfied is called satisfied, and why that’s our theme. And then secondly, we did quite an extensive Q & A session where we allowed the young people that were there to anonymously write questions and then have us pull out of a basket and answer those questions. So it was a fun time and there were quite a few of those questions that were answered and good conversations were spurred on by that and they were questions from young people like yourself. So who knows? Listen up and you might learn something. Here it is. 

Ryan: Okay welcome to the Satisfied program here on the Thee Generation podcast. I am here for the first time with an audience for one of my podcasts. And so if you’re in here listening to this live, make some noise for us.

That’s pretty good, okay. and I’m also here for the first time with my wife on air. Stephanie make some noise.

Stephanie: Hi

Ryan: yeah that’s pretty good that’s good that’s good i’ll take that all right now we just had a little competition i’ve got to mention this right away because we did a competition to see who has the best internal clock we probably have almost ninety people in here believe it or not and there is one gentleman that stood out from among the rest his name is David okay David where you from?

David: Minnesota.

Ryan: David from Minnesota. What’s your last name? 

David: Anaya. 

Ryan: Anaya? David Anaya from Minnesota, okay! This guy was absolutely on the button. He’s got it made and no doubt a 4.0 GPA to go with it. So congratulations, David, and thanks for joining us here today. 

We are going to begin with our first Q&A session on a podcast. And so we’ve had some anonymous questions come in. And so right now those are being screened by our screening committee over here who are just to see if we have any jokesters among us because this is live on air, we’ve got to screen, okay? But then we’ll get to these in just a moment. 

If you have your Bibles with you, we’re just gonna look at something real quickly. Many of you have not heard the podcast before, so why not start a discussion and look at why we call this Satisfied? Why would something on purity be called Satisfied? So we’re going to look, we’re gonna go through this really quickly. Psalm, I’m sorry, Proverbs chapter six. Let’s go to Proverbs chapter 6. 

Proverbs chapter 6. Proverbs 5, 6, and 7 are very applicable to young people who are looking for help in purity. If it’s not something that you are familiar with, it’s something my father-in-law for years has encouraged some to memorize, which I found extremely helpful. And so that would be an excellent practice for you to do, a discipline to get into and begin verse by verse memorizing. This is so much in here for a young person seeking help in purity. 

But let’s go to Proverbs chapter6 verse number 30, this is in the context of a man who would be struggling with what Solomon calls the strange woman, okay, who is a lady who is trying to flaunt herself, get attraction, to tempt a man to be looking, to be thinking on things he should not be. And so let’s look at verse 30, and this is going to be the source of why we have called this satisfied once we get through this. “Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold. He shall give all the substance of his house.” Okay, so what is this saying? If a man steals something, we would just think, well, if you steal, everybody’s gonna despise you, right? Well, this is saying he’s not, there is a certain condition at which he would not be despised, at least not to the extent otherwise. It doesn’t mean there’s not a penalty, we’ll get to that in a minute, but there is a certain condition in which he would not be despised as much. What is that one condition? Someone raise their hand and tell me what the condition is. Right here, Jackson.

Okay if they’re stealing to satisfy their soul in their hunger it says absolute okay so let’s picture this for a second uh… Jackson because he answered that I’m gonna use it as illustrations and okay okay good good I’m I’m glad you’re you’re good with that okay sir Jackson is there a Walmart in your town of Sheridan you Sheridan right wait I think you said you’re from Shirton. Oh, OK, OK. Gotcha, gotcha. I’m sure my father and I would understand the geography of Michigan better than I. If I went like this, does that help? No. OK, so where’s the Walmart in Greenville? OK, there’s the Walmart in Greenville. Jackson’s going there, and he’s going to go with someone else. Let’s see. Let’s go with Kaden. Aiden? Kaden. Kaden with a K? Got it. All right, so Kaden and Jackson are going to this Walmart. OK? Now they’re going for two completely different things. You see Jackson here, he’s just going because he really wants a monster. Okay, he’s feeling a monster right now. He’s a little tired, but he’s just, how many like monster? Oh, the people. Okay, so he likes Monster, we won’t get into that. But he wants to get a Monster, okay? But, Kayden, I don’t know, I hate to say this. You guys didn’t know this, I didn’t mean to spill the beans, but Kayden’s homeless. Okay, I’m sorry, okay? So Kayden’s homeless, right? So he’s going to Walmart, cause he’s hungry, right? So he comes to Walmart, he’s pushing his shopping cart… that he got down the street. All right, he didn’t get it from Walmart. So he brings his shopping cart and he’s in there, in Walmart and he’s looking for bread. That’s all he wants is bread. Now they both came in there wanting something. Kaden comes out with bread and then Jackson comes out with a monster. Okay, then they get caught because they go through that thing and he starts beeping at a man it doesn’t work in and pretty soon cops are called to show up and is just as big thing as we got to off the thievery going on at city Greenville Walmart can’t believe it okay the cops are there please show up and they look at these two guys came with you still in subject to set up a man I had to have a monster no okay sure and they look at this guy and he’s clearly homeless I mean he’s got bandana around his head I mean everything all right so. So what’d you steal? A loaf of bread. I’m hungry. Do you know how many times this happens? You can look it up, it happens. Many times the police officer will reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet, and he will pull out and pay for the bread out of his own pocket. 

Now did he do wrong? No, well. Absolutely he did. And what does this verse say is going to happen to somebody even that steals because they need something? What are they going to have to do in verse 31? But if you’ve been found, he shall what? Yes. He shall restore sevenfold, right? He’s gonna have to pay, of all the substance of his house, he’s gonna have to pay for it. So there’s still a penalty, but it says men don’t despise him because he’s stealing to satisfy. Now, what is that in contrast with? 

Let’s read on. Thirty-two, “…but whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding. He that doeth it, in other words, lacketh understanding, you’re stupid. Here’s why. It says, he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” You’re not just stealing something because I have a need. You’re not just stealing something I want. And so it’s okay. Maybe it’s not helping you, but it’s not hurting you. Uh-uh. You are despised because you’re stealing something that’s destroying you. You think this will satisfy you.

Every time we turn to lust, we’re looking for satisfaction. Every time. Every time, whether it’s emotional lust, whether it’s physical, viewing, whatever it is, we’re trying to find satisfaction. And we’re looking in the wrong place. Lust never satisfies, never ever. You’re stealing something that’s destroying you. That’s the purpose of this passage in Proverbs chapter six. If we were to look back at Proverbs chapter five, and then look later in John chapter four, we’re gonna see a theme of satisfaction. And the one thing I want us to understand from this time right now, is that Jesus is the one that satisfies.

Nothing in lust can satisfy. You say, well, marriage someday will satisfy. Now there is an extent at which God has, and if we look at Proverbs chapter five in very explicit terms, it says that the wife satisfies the husband, absolutely. However, in John chapter four, when you had a lady that had had, what is it, six, five husbands and she was with the sixth, with the sixth guy, was she being satisfied with that? But she had, man, she had husbands to go around. What was the problem? She didn’t have Jesus. When she found Jesus, she went home totally filled. Totally satisfied because she found Jesus.

The answer’s not gonna come right now by indulging in your lust. The answer’s not gonna come someday by finally getting married and then you can indulge with your wife. It doesn’t work that way. The satisfaction only comes with Jesus. That’s why we spent several months of our podcast this past year discussing how to meet with Jesus. Because if you can’t be satisfied with Him in that way, you are going to continually try to have an outflow of being satisfied with other things in lust. Okay? We’re on the same page? That’s where we’re coming from, okay? Now I wanted to give that foundation. 

Do we have some good questions? 

Screening Committee: Yep. 

Ryan: Are they kind of…or are they good?

Screening Committee: They’re good. 

Ryan: Okay. Oh, we got some good ones. All right. Are you ready, Dr. Jim? We might have to hand them down the table, okay? But we’ll see. I have the absolute right to say here “hey, we’ll cover this in our next podcast. I want to do some looking into it.” There’s no shame in that. I’m not going to be embarrassed, because I don’t know everything. So if that comes up, a good question comes up, and I’ll just say, “hey, let’s cover this later. I want to talk to my father-in-law about it. All right?” 

Stephanie: Some of them are kind of grouped so we can get through. 

Ryan: Well, you give me what you think. OK, here we go. All right, and this is, someone clarified this is mainly in the emotional realm, but it says, 

Question: When does temptation end and giving into temptation begins? 

Answer: This is good, this is good, okay? The second side of this question, what is the practical way to resist temptation? Temptation ends and giving into temptation begins. “When lust hath conceived, It bringeth forth sin.” There is a point when we are giving it and enjoying something that is not ours, that is stealing. Whenever there is enjoyment, now in emotional realm, we talk through the scale of noticing, appreciating. Remember that? How many of you guys heard that podcast? Okay, there’s a few. So we went through that and discussed that. If you at any point, let’s talk first in the emotional realm. If at any point you are enjoying something from somebody of the opposite gender, you’re probably in sin. If you are enjoying some type of interaction that is going on there. Here’s the reason why. Go back and listen to the podcast called One Desire, I believe it was called. The purpose of that podcast was to prove that every desire you have towards the opposite gender is a desire for intimacy. It’s not for anything else. That’s something God gave you. If it’s something specifically towards the opposite gender, it is for one purpose and that is for intimacy. So any giving in and enjoyment from that, even though it feels so fulfilling, satisfying, it’s not, it’s gratifying, there’s a big difference. You are stealing some part away from your future marriage and from the person that you are enjoying that from they may have no idea what they’re getting from you they may have no idea. Maybe they do but maybe they don’t. And so if there’s any point you are enjoying something specifically that way from them then yeah that’s a problem that would be one way to enter into the temptation let’s go to the physical realm real quickly.

I had someone tell me once. Let’s see what you guys think about this. Hopefully we’re on the same page. This was a song leader working on church staff in California. He said, get a long first glance because the second one is sin. Isn’t that terrible? Absolutely terrible. A long first glance is absolutely indulging. Absolutely indulging. You can’t at all say, well that was just a temptation if I choose to look back, uh-uh. Any point at which you are choosing to enjoy something that is not yours, you have entered into the sin, okay? That is a great question, and that’s just a brief look at that. We’ve got to keep moving. But great question. Do you have anything to add to that? You’re going to have to interrupt me at some point. We’re going to be flying through. 

Stephanie: I think it’s just asking yourself why you’re having that interaction is a big thing. So you can set yourself boundaries. Like, I’m not going to go that direction, because I know that’s why I’m pursuing it. So just as you look at relationships. No, that’s really good. Ask yourself why. Yep. 

Ryan:Excellent. Okay, 

Question: How do I set up accountability? 

Ryan: And then another question with it, 

Question: When it comes to weekly accountability conversations, what things do you talk about in order to keep those conversations effective and from becoming redundant? 

Answer: Okay. I think your biggest enemy is not redundancy as much as it is subjectivity. And by that I mean when I come to an accountability conversation and I say to a guy, hey, how’d you do today? Because we do daily accountability, and I would strongly recommend that especially if you’re coming from a point of being enthralled in the addiction yourself and need to be freed, daily accountability. Why? Because if you’re staying accountable just every seven days, you…well, let me give you the answer from Ecclesiastes. I think I can quote it to you. 

“Woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.” What is the verse warning against? It’s really only one thing. Woe to him that is alone. Ecclesiastes chapter four, alone. If you are only accountable one day out of seven, then you’re alone for six days. Okay, that’s a big problem because we all know a lot can go down in six days. A lot. How it’ll begin with a small compromise and then you think, well I’ve already done that so I might as well do this. Well I’ve already done that last night so what’s this? This is nothing. I’m already going to have to confess this in four days so I might as well just go all out. And pretty soon you’re just right back in total relapse to where you were because you’re only accountable once a week. You’re alone. And that word alone, by the way, doesn’t just mean being squished in together in a room of 90 people. There could be someone in here that the devil is tempting and attacking them with thoughts and fiery darts coming at you, you could completely spend this entire hour indulging in wicked thoughts and nobody around you would know it. Okay? Being alone doesn’t mean just physically we’re not with anyone else because you all know in church the devil has attacked you in church, in your class periods, the devil has attacked you in your class periods, you can indulge in all those. Alone means you’re not answering to anybody. Nobody else knows what’s going on inside your head. That’s a problem. You gotta have somebody you are answering to consistently on that. 

Now, what kind of things do we talk about in accountability? We like to keep it objective, which means if I ask somebody, “hey, how’d you do today in your accountability?” They say, oh, I did pretty good. I say, “hey, great, see you tomorrow.” Now, under pretty good, we could mean anything. We could mean, well, It wasn’t quite as bad as last week. It was better. I didn’t go all out, and so we just said pretty good. We try to take the subjectivity out and keep it objective. We get a number, a scale of one to 10, in thoughts, viewing, and self-gratification. In those three areas, we keep accountable three different numbers, one in each scale, one to 10 every day. Those are the main things we cover every day. Is it redundant? Yeah, it’s redundant. But each time somebody gives, and by the way, for this scale, come and talk to me. We don’t have anything printed up or anything like that, but if you’d like to be involved in one of these, come to me, we will try to facilitate this and make sure it happens. We use an app called Marco Polo for the majority of it so you don’t have to necessarily try to compare schedules and call a group of guys every day. It’s difficult to do that. So an app called Marco Polo, you check in on your own time. 

That’s how we do it. But anyways, on the idea of our accountability, what happens when somebody says, okay, I had a failure? We back up and say, okay, what was the first decision you made that led you down that path? The first decision. Go way back as far as you can. What’s the first decision you made that led you down that way? That’s where we make our next accountability step. That’s where the action step is. So now I’m not just accountable in those three areas. I’m saying, okay, I’m not going to do this anymore either. Okay, here’s a really obvious one. The guy I was accountable with says, all right, I had a three on the scale in viewing because I was in bed with my phone on social media, something came up and I viewed it for a while. Is there a problem there? We got an easy action step. Let’s back up. What’s probably the first? There might be another one, but what’s the first obvious one? Why’d you have your phone in bed with you? So we go back there, way back up, and we say, okay, this is what’s gonna change. We never make the same mistake twice. In theory, in theory, if you never make the same mistake twice, eventually you run out of mistakes. Okay, so in theory, so we back up and say, I’m not gonna have my phone. It would be stupid to have my phone in bed with me again if the devil got me that way last night. Uh-uh, I’m getting serious about this.

That’s done, that’s over. And so when I was talking to this guy, that’s what’s gonna change. So now he’s checking in with the three accountability areas and he’s telling me each day whether or not he has a phone in bed with him. Okay, very simple. So there are some ideas, there’s so much more. We have a sheet we can email you, get to you. It’s called the Satisfied Battle Plan for Purity. We can get that to you. We have a version for ladies, version for men, and we can definitely get that to you. That explains so much more. So I won’t take any more time on that topic, but thanks for bringing it up. It’s great. 

Question: What does 100% perfect purity look like? 

Answer: Jesus Christ. How could you describe this in any other way? I think in one way we have discussed it before is…Okay, so we would call this 10 out of 10, right? When you get to the end of the day, and if you’re checking in on this, you say, I had 10s in all three categories, great. How do you know if you have a 10? Well, this is what I ask guys. Is there anything that you feel like you can improve on tomorrow? Anything. If the same temptations came, everything came, is there nothing that you could do differently? But here’s another side of it, and then I’ll see if my wife has something to say on this. 

Here’s another side of it. Many times we will become accustomed to a certain compromise that no longer seems as bad to us anymore. But yet we still know it’s wrong, and down deep you still want to be rid of it. You’re still sick of it, you still wanna be done with it, it’s just you’ve kinda given up hope. So the temptation is when you check in and just to stop mentioning that one compromise, whatever that is. I just, I don’t need to mention this, it’s not as big a deal as some other things I’m wanting to get rid of in my life. Ask yourself this question, are you content with living with that compromise for the rest of your life? The rest of every day, the rest of your life, or once a week, the rest of your life. What about once a month, the rest of your life? Are you content with living with that compromise for the rest of your life? If you’re not, you better start getting open about it. You better keep shedding light on it. Have you preached the message on light this week? Okay, not here. If you have, I’m sure that is available on theegeneration.org to listen to Dr. Jim’s message on light. But it’s so good. Shed light on those areas. When you realize the reoccurring area in which I am falling, it means it’s dark. It’s dark. The devil’s got a corner. So start shedding light. You say, well, I already told someone about it, and I still struggle. Keep shedding light on it. Keep shedding light. Because the moment you say, yeah, that’s okay. I know I messed this up, but I’m not gonna talk about it this time. You are condemning yourself to a lifelong habit. Just locked it in like that. Keep open about it. Anything else you wanted to say on that? 

Stephanie: I think that’s very helpful what you say about, are you content to live with how you were today the rest of your life? And that’s, in any aspect of life, that’s really important. So, it’s good. Yeah, that’s true. A lot of these could bridge over into other areas. Is this a good one to go in next? 

Stephanie:Sure, go for it. 

Ryan: Okay,

Question: What is the biggest obstacle to doing your podcast? 

Answer: Ha, ha, ha! Ah, let’s see. I mean, time is a thing, because it does take time. I was telling somebody the other day, this is a little insight backstage, satisfied program. Most of the podcasts end up being about 20 minutes long, somewhere in there. But normally recorded, they’re about 40 to 45 minutes long. And I go through and edit it down, because I want it to be more concise. So if you hear some cuts, that’s what’s happening. I try to make it so you don’t pick up on it. Put all the cats out of the bag, everybody knows. But yeah, so somebody said it this way I was talking to the other day. They say you either put in a bunch of time at the beginning and plan it out so you can just do it all in one take, or you can do it afterwards in post, and I do most of it in post. But I’ll say something and then just think, you know, I could say that better, more concisely, and so I’ll re-say it. But it takes time. Definitely takes time. But she’s good, she stays quiet in the house. 

Stephanie: Sometimes. 

Ryan: Now after January 1st, when we have a little one, might have to find a different place to record, I don’t know, we’ll see. All right, Okay. 

Question: What are some good verses for purity of the mind? 

Answer: There’s some great verses in Proverbs chapter five and six, I think. There’s a lot in chapter five.

There’s one thing I think is helpful to begin any discussion on the mind, and that is to realize the indulging in the temptation in the mind doesn’t just start when you begin thinking through and pondering and dwelling on inappropriate images, because first there is a decision to even consider such an action. If we were to go to Romans chapter 8, I believe it is, the beginning of Romans chapter 8, it says to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

We could find verses in Proverbs, what the man thinketh in his heart, so is he. There is something about thinking that considering that is already setting yourself up for failure. And this is, again, bridges over into any other aspect of life. You can’t do a thing until you consider it. And many times, a someone’s solution to a problem of lust comes by, they’ll tell you, well, when you’re in the moment of temptation, just think about all you have to lose. Just think about if you give in, you have your future marriages at stake, your kids someday, you have to lead them, and this will be at stake, and you have all these things, here’s my problem with that. You can’t win this battle logically. It won’t happen. If you try to weigh the pros and cons of giving into the lust, you will always, always, always have way more reason, way more reason to flee from the lust, always. But if you ever come to that point when you’re weighing the pros and cons, yes it would feel good, encouragement, uplift right now, I’m bored, I’m discouraged, whatever. But on the other side, it wouldn’t be good for me, it’s bad for my health, bad for my brain, bad for my family, all these things hurt my relationship with God, all these things. If you’re going back and forth, you’re done. You are doomed. I’m sure we could go through and understand that most of us have been to that point where we have tried to fight the battle with logic and it does not work. It doesn’t. Why? Because we’ve already begun considering it. All the devil needs you to do is to start considering it. Like it’s an option for you. It’s not. If you’re a born again believer, a child of God, this is not an option for you. It’s not even an option. Get it off the table. It’s not like weighing pros. No, it’s not that at all. This is not even an option. Don’t treat it like it’s an option, giving pros and cons. Just say, no, God, this is not me anymore. This is not me. I’m done with this. I’m going to something else. I’m turning from this and going to something else. That is not me any longer. That make sense? OK. 

Does that answer the question I remember? Verses for? Oh, verses on purity. Well, there you go. So you have the beginning of Romans chapter 8. That’s a powerful passage for that. OK.

Question: What are good tools when it comes to combating lustful thoughts? 

Answer: I’m going to have in just a minute with you mentioning your side on the emotional side on how you thought through that and how that was helpful. Really, I just went, that was really the discussion we just had. So not even considering it, not even going there, not even a thought to consider. We’re moving right past that when it comes to inappropriate thoughts, viewing, and self-gratification. That is a big one, do not consider it. It’s not an option. It is not an option, out of bounds. Don’t steal it, it’s not gonna satisfy, leave it alone. Go do something else. By the way, here’s a quick tip, maybe for thoughts as well. I’ve met some really buff guys. Who have, I’ve gotten really honest with on purity and they have with me as well. And it’s really not as much a struggle for them. And so I’ve asked him about it and I’m thinking of several guys who said, every time I was tempted, I would just go work out. I would go work out. Now there’s a couple ways that that’s helpful. It is helpful to have your male passions be focused to something with an outflow, okay? Now I’m not saying this is the answer for purity, okay? Satisfaction comes in Jesus Christ. But here’s a tool. You may find that, man, when I’m sitting around, couch potato eating my chips and feeling lazy and bored and not wanting to do anything, you think the devil’s gonna have fun with you there? Oh yeah, get up and do something. Go out for a jog. Get something that you do. When I’m tempted, I’m gonna go and do this thing. Get my mind off it. It’s very helpful for you. Ladies, I’m sure it would be just as helpful. It does the same thing. Getting your mind off, focused on other things, and having a different outflow for those passions at the time.

Now going over to the emotional side of things, if you are struggling with someone of the opposite gender and really dealing with feelings for them, maybe you’re coming up to college or upper high school and you’re thinking, well, this could be a possibility. How do I deal with this? This is one way that my wife told me was a huge help to her. I thought it was profound. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in a podcast yet. So why don’t you explain that? 

Stephanie: Yeah, I feel like you vaguely talked about it. I might have. Opportunity when you notice something about somebody or even notice you’re attracted to somebody, not focusing on that person as they are the person themselves, but focusing on character qualities that are speaking to you in that way and learning stuff about yourself really. Like, I really appreciate, for a girl, I’d be appreciating a guy that has leadership or a guy that’s considerate to others’ feelings and things like that. So using it as a tool to figure out something about yourself and not just getting so focused on, OK, this is the guy for me like checking these boxes and such, but you use that as an opportunity to see what the Lord’s teaching you about yourself and what he has in a future mate for you. 

Ryan: That’s really, really key. I’ve shared this with several guys who said that has been so helpful. So, because we tend to think like this is just, what we do is we have prospects, right? We have a prospect list and like she checks this box, but she checks this box, or he’s good in that area, but he’s cute here. Like that, it doesn’t work that way. You’ll always have a plan B. Then someday you’re gonna, guys, she’s gonna walk the aisle, plan A is gonna walk the aisle, you’re gonna say I do to her, and then plan B is gonna walk by and you’re gonna, oh yeah but she’s still good that way. Oh, doesn’t that sound terrible when it’s like you’re married now? Well shouldn’t it sound just as terrible beforehand? Don’t have plan A, plan B, no prospects, and the way you do that is when there is something you appreciate, make it about you. God is showing this is some way that God has designed me that someday will be fulfilled in a spouse, Lord willing. But this is not God showing me something about her and about her and about her and about her. Uh-uh. To learn something about you, God’s teaching you something about yourself. That’s okay. Don’t be afraid of it. Maybe write those things down. This is something I appreciate. God will like me, bless me this way and a spouse someday. This is what I could really use and would be a help when I’m completed with a spouse. But it’s not about them. It’s about God teaching you. Okay? Great. Is that helpful? That’s awesome. That is good stuff. 

I really appreciated that when she shared that with me a few months ago. Okay, this is piggybacks right off of another one of our questions that we were just discussing. 

This is really good. 

Question: What do you replace impurity with? 

Answer: In the first episode it talks about replacing workouts. I don’t even think I mentioned that on a podcast, but I did. Replacing with workouts, but are there spiritual things to do? Yes, absolutely. 

Here’s an example, okay. Let’s say you’re driving down the road. How many drivers are in the room? Okay, maybe half are drivers. You can apply it in different ways. But let’s say I’m driving down the road and there’s billboards all over, okay? And billboards lots of times can be a temptation for thoughts of nothing else, but as it brings things to mind. And so now I’m driving down a stretch of highway and I’ve passed those billboards and now I’m being bombarded with attacks and thoughts. What can I do? Because I can’t go do push ups, right? It’s not gonna work. No, not gonna work in the truck.

So what can I do? Well, this is where you get back to memory, having something in your arsenal, like Proverbs chapter five, if you have been memorizing, you can go right to that. My son, attend to my wisdom. And you just start quoting through the scripture as it flows to mind, and you have redirected your mind. 

Okay, you’ve all heard the illustration, probably don’t think of a purple elephant. Have you guys heard that? Yeah, okay, what are you gonna try to do? What are you gonna do? You’re trying not to think of a purple elephant, but it’s impossible, get that in your mind. Unless you think of a? 

Guest: Turtle!

Ryan: That’s right, thank you. I needed someone to get creative. Yeah, something different, a pink elephant or something. You have to redirect those thoughts if you’re going to get it off. Our mind doesn’t work well defensively. It works best offensively. So get something else to focus and to think on. So there is nothing better than scripture memory to go to because you always have it. You always got your brain with you, hopefully. Right? So you always have something to go to. Now when I say scripture memory, you’re probably thinking, “oh, I tried that once because I was told I should memorize I have made a covenant with my eyes, therefore I will not think upon a maid.” Or, you know, different verses like that specifically regarding purity. But the problem is we’re driving down the road and we think, okay, you quote that verse, and then now what? You’re just like, “oh, I’m out of verses. Know what? John 3.16”. And you just start going through, trying to remember different verses from different… You need a flow of scripture. Your mind is renewed by washing of water by the word. You don’t do that with little drops. You need to turn on the faucet. When you’re bombarded with those thoughts, you need a faucet, something to flow through and cleanse in that way. Does that make sense? So start memorizing Proverbs chapter five. We’re not going to get through all these, are we?

Stephanie: No.

Ryan: Okay. 

Question: How to know whether I am in victory because of a real spiritual prosperity or just physical restrictions? 

Answer: Okay, okay, I know where they’re going with this. There’s a school of thought that says, because a filter on my computer is not spiritual and because it can’t fix the problem in my heart and it’s a heart issue, then I shouldn’t get a filter on my computer. Okay, I’ve heard it, trust me, trust me. Okay, what’s the problem with that? We did a podcast called Buy a Filter or Be a Filter. The point of that podcast, it was one of our first ones, maybe second episode, something like that, last year. The point of it was, if you are going to decide that you’re gonna sift through everything coming through on your computer, there is going to be residue. And even if you’re at a point you’re saying, oh, but I’m not choosing to dwell on anything, if you are just allowing free access and whatever pops up, whatever goes there, you’re not being careful on your computer, that’s just a flow through, there’s gonna be residue. And that you are going to deal with the filth that is coming into your mind.

Now, it is absolutely true that no filter, Covenant Eyes no matter what it is, nothing can solve the problem in your heart. It can’t, because it can’t satisfy you, okay? This comes back to, you have to be, your solution is to become satisfied with Jesus Christ. Go back and listen to those podcasts you need to, or it’s probably exactly what, I just flew in today, it’s probably what you’ve been hearing, what you will be hearing about how to be satisfied with Jesus Christ. That’s where it comes down to. It’s not gonna be these different things. However, to set ourselves up for failure by allowing free access in any area is stupid. It’s absolutely ridiculous. If we were to go to Proverbs chapter five verse number eight speaking of the strange woman, it says, “remove thy way far from her and come not nigh the door of her house”. In that day, if you were going to indulge some way in lust, you had to cross town. Pornography lived in a house. You had to cross town and go and find her. And so the solution, what Solomon says to his sons, stay on your side of town. Nowadays, where does she live? She’s in her pockets. She’s on TV in the living room. She’s everywhere, floating around in the wavelengths on the Wi-Fi, everywhere you have access. So then how do we apply “remove that way far from her? Come not nigh the door of her house”? Don’t even get close. That might look different from person to person. Don’t get close, whatever that means. But for sure, we’re not allowing free access to anything. 

Someone told me the other day, a key for raising my son someday, they said, have this as a rule. Never allow him unlimited anything. I thought that was pretty good. Really good. Alright, we have time for maybe one or two more. So you’ve got to pick one or two. OK, alright, let’s wrap up with this one right here. Better be good. Here it is.

Question: In a previous podcast, you mentioned one desire. How does that fit into a teenager’s life? 

Answer: Can a teenager be satisfied with Jesus Christ? Yes. That’s pretty good. Good answers, okay? Absolutely. Now, many times you’re going to be satisfied to the extent that you understand your need. And many of us don’t understand how needy we are. We don’t. The Lord may bring a crisis into your life that wakes you up to how big that hole is in your life. How much needs to be satisfied. You may say right now, man, I’m good. Like, I don’t have a big, you know, I have ran across some guys who struggle, do not struggle with purity at all, but they spend all night gaming, okay? What are they indulging in? It’s still gratifying. Now, eventually, somehow the devil is going to get them in purity. It’s just leading that way. However, a guy legitimately could have victory in purity because he is being gratified in another area. Okay? That is not the solution. That’s not where we’re going. At some point, the Lord’s gonna bring you to a crisis point and you understand how big your need is. If you’ve heard my testimony, that’s when I first asked for this young lady from her father-in-law and I was told no. For good reason, I still had a big addiction in my life. Do you think that woke me up? I’ve been praying for her for seven and a half years at that point, never dated anyone else, never prayed about anyone else, and to be told no at that point, and my world was shaken, okay, for good reason. And that will be for different things to different people. 

There is a gentleman in our church to a family we were just talking about. They moved from California. They’re in our church, and we’ll conclude with this. They’re in our church and the wife is saved. We’re not sure about the daughter, but the wife has been saved. But the husband is not. He is alcoholic, comes from a family of alcoholics, and his brother just died from alcoholism, and a very very sad situation. She explained to us how much she prays and is so desperate for her husband. That would have been probably a month and a half ago. Then, just, I mean, he was showing no interest in, he would come to church, no interest in the Bible, said nothing. Didn’t need Jesus. Didn’t need Jesus. Well-paying job. He’s an elevator engineer. No problem. Everything’s going to be fine. Until she gets a call, he’s in jail, just had a DUI wrecked his Tesla while he was drunk.

He called and said, I need help. Now was he not just as needy the day before? What happened? Jesus specifically designed a circumstance to reveal just how needy he was. He called and he said, whatever this Jesus is, I need it. He came to church that next Sunday. My pastor preached the gospel in the morning. He came out into the lobby after the service. He says to all of us in the lobby, he said, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but I’m not saved, and I’m getting saved today.” He said, “I’m ready to surrender”. In his words, I’m ready to surrender. And he did. Pastor was able to talk with him. He accepted Christ that day. The problem was not that his hole was filled. 

The problem was not that he was already satisfied. He wasn’t. He wasn’t. He just didn’t realize how big his need was. And when God designed a circumstance to wake him up and show him that, man, it hurt. It cost. But it was worth it. This guy is absolutely on fire for the Lord right now. 

As you are looking for complete purity you may just say I don’t have the motivation, I don’t have the motivation for period there’s some times I feel it there’s other times I just I can’t drum up enough reasons to tip the scale. I can’t convince myself it’s not worth it, or I just don’t even think about it, I’m going into it. Why don’t you get on your face and ask God to show you how big your need is? It may hurt, it may. I don’t know if I’ve told my father-in-law this, but before that first conversation that I had with him, I took several days away to pray and fast. This is when I knew I was gonna be talking to him the first time about his daughter. And I knew the sin problem that was still in my life. And so I got a hotel room just by myself just to spend away with the Lord I got a hotel room that turned out to be like 15 minutes from my house. It’s kind of awkward but I needed the time away and So I spent that time with the Lord and I asked one thing in particular. I said Lord do anything necessary to rid me of this sin. Then just a couple weeks later here it is opens up this this huge gaping hole that was already there, but the Lord designed the circumstance to make that happen that may be the biggest thing you need young person is for God to show You how big your need is how big it really is there might be something covering up So it doesn’t look as big and God’s gonna take that away and remove it show you how big that need is. It was a great question. I remember was but it was a great question. All right, this has been good what we can do is take the remaining questions. Are there quite a few still?

Stephanie: Not really,

Ryan: We can save those as topics for future podcasts. Make sure we cover those. Right now in our podcast, we are sort of wrapping up a discussion on emotional purity. I would strongly advise you to, if you’re going to start listening now, go to the beginning of a series. Emotional one would be a great way to get in. If your problem is you’re struggling with some way of physical addiction, go to the beginning, start listening to those and go through the accountability we discussed very heavily in the beginning.

Well to wrap up our podcast. We want to thank you for listening and a quick goodbye from everyone in the room. 

Guests: Bye!

Ryan: All right, well thank you for joining us as we learn to be less gratified and more satisfied with Jesus Christ. We’ll catch you next time.