So let me share the quality that quotes so people don't miss it with my interruption . You can't stop birds from flying over your head , but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair .
Mark SpenceAnd what does that mean Draw that out ?
Ray ComfortSo you get a lust for thought . You just don't own it . You don't grab it and chew it over and let it become part of you . I've dealt with lust in a wonderful way . Many years ago . I had surgery on my eyes laser surgery and they give you an option get both eyes done and you can't see in the distance , but you can see up closely . Or get one eye done and you can see in the distance and you can read it . So I got one eye done , which means when I look at the distance with my right eye it goes blurry . So when I see a lust woman I just close an eye like that and she tends in an instant blur . But I do get slapped a lot .
Emeal ZwayneBecause you're a wanker . You're a wanker .
Mark SpenceI , Ray , was it you the one that told me that every time you feel that temptation , you pray for wisdom ?
Ray ComfortYeah , you pray a negative , a positive , I'm sorry . Or I look at the sky and just say , yeah , cool , that sky is that God has made . Distract myself , because once they're out of sight , they're out of mind . Yeah , it really does help to just look away , but it's very hard for women to understand , like Easey was saying , the nuclear power thing . It really is true . You're driving your car and I can see a lusty woman from 15 miles away and I just got to be so careful .
Oscar NavarroThat was a mountain . Your eyes were blurry .
Ray ComfortSo , and even at my age and guys , it does not . The fire does not go out , it gets worse as you get older . I'm coming up 74 and I'm talking about , I'm fighting lust daily . It's crazy .
Emeal ZwayneI have an idea let's take here this big rubber band thing and put one over each of our shoulders and then connect it to our pants , and this will hold our pants up .
Ray ComfortWe do apologize to people from , yeah , all of our southern friends . Sorry we were going to meet . We do love you .
Emeal ZwayneAnd then let's do something similar for each one of our little cute suckies .
Ray ComfortOkay , guys , suspenders and garters they call braces in New Zealand and Australian and England braces . What the suspenders ?
Emeal ZwayneYeah , I'm not going to lie Suspenders are coming back and I kind of want a guy like that . As I was thinking through all this , immediately you came to my mind . I'm like Oscar would totally wear suspenders .
Oscar NavarroI wear suspenders under suits , but I would totally wear casual pairs of suspenders Would you wear them shorts Like leader house .
Emeal ZwayneI had to put them on when we did this Like a .
Ray ComfortUSPS guy . We did this episode in Switzerland . You guys had me standing on the Matterhorn on those little shorts .
Emeal ZwayneQuoting John 316 . The only thing that was missing were like clogs . I would have never seen you in clogs . Who invented clogs ? They would have made you taller too . I know , really , did they seriously walk around in these wooden ?
Oscar Navarroshoes no , knock it till you try it . Knock it , Tell you try it .
Ray ComfortI wonder if they had racing in clogs 100 meters Clogs ?
Emeal ZwayneOh , it surprised me . But seriously , who came up with who , who , who , who , who , who , who ?
Mark SpenceWho , who , who , who , who who .
Ray ComfortWho , who , who , who , who , who .
Bigwarop shot , meagan , did you see all ?
Emeal Zwaynethis stuff happen . Bigwarop shot those little girls wearing big pants ? Oh yeah , they sounded alright . Do you see any ? pom franks . No , they didn't . Bigwarop shot , so I'm sure one of your alumni members said , though you didn't . Did you see this episode ? Idos loudly , loosen me up Asked us to police . The conversation about how to get a badge was interesting . The this situation is so compelling . It's such a weird story . The this is slower running my resume , sprinkle me you . This is a deep brief scene when they were like they didn't have enough food , and suddenly all we have is an old manny bread Maggots , anyway who came out with suspenders , and why , I don't know , but I like them . They're stupid , oscar no way . These rubber bands around your shoulders holding up your pants ? Who thought of those ? Okay , but Ray , you're from that era . Help me understand sock garters please .
Oscar NavarroOkay , that's different . Okay , actually I'd wear them , what's ?
Emeal Zwaynethat Ray who grew up . Ray's gone on . The who grew up .
Oscar NavarroThat's disgusting , oh , that's real .
Ray ComfortRay , please don't ever show us a picture of somebody eating a maggot , so that your socks don't come down when you're sitting up on a stage and people see your bare leg , which looks horrible . So what era ?
Emeal ZwayneI mean we living in the 1200s ? Well , we still . We don't socks have elastic around them .
Ray ComfortEverything goes around in circles . Suddenly they'll become in and everyone will want them .
Emeal ZwayneThey're so stupid . I looked them up yesterday and the most uncomfortable things things are wrapped around your ankle .
Ray ComfortI've never worn them , but I think it's more English Jolly Good Shell Chad .
Emeal ZwayneTruly good . How about girdles , Ray ? Would you ever wear a girdle ? What's a girdle ?
Ray ComfortThere's men girdles .
Emeal ZwayneA myrtle , it's a myrtle , you've got a great physique when you've got a you know a T-shirt on , did I make them for men .
Ray ComfortYes , at least say what a girdle is . It sounds like you're gargling or something , but it's a thing that pulls all the fat and ran your waist Really tight , so it looks like you have a great physique , a myrtle .
Emeal ZwayneHow vain are we as people . Seriously , you know it's funny when Rachel and I were newly married . I have no idea why , don't ask me why , but I just came up with this random song one day that I sang to her . Here we go .
Mark SpenceNo , no , it's okay , no , please , please , One day you'll wear a girdle baby .
Oscar NavarroShe probably loved it . I am so impressed with .
Ray ComfortRachel . Yeah , Rachel , let's put together and send her a great big gold watch or something .
Emeal ZwayneI'm just saying Easy , rachel's amazing . Well , she grew up with Ray . Copper Is her dad , that's fair . What does that mean ? Well , that means that you conditioned her . For a lunatic like me .
Ray ComfortYeah , I guess you're right .
Mark SpenceYeah , I'm always surprised I guess I shouldn't be how clean your house is . I mean , rachel keeps the house extremely clean and what I'll do is I'll go over to the top of the refrigerator in the very , very back , where she can't reach , and I'll drag my finger across the top and I'll let the dust go inside the air and I go . Rachel , this is unacceptable , yeah now Ease is going to go home .
Ray ComfortShe's not going to talk after that much Ease is going to go home and wipe the fingerprints off the top of that refrigerator Exactly Mark's filthy fingerprints .
Emeal ZwayneBut here guys , look of all the crazy things that have been invented over time , right Garders and girdles and corsets . That the one thing I cannot understand Breath mints we got it , we know . Helitosis . Bustles Explain what . Wait what's a bustle ? I knew you too wouldn't know .
Ray ComfortA bustle is when you want to carry a tray of .
Emeal ZwayneHow do I say this ?
Ray ComfortA tray of keef around the back . It's a woman . They accentuated their rear end so it stuck out back . Yeah , you guys don't remember they look like a chicken , it's like a chicken I've seen a lot of ladies today wear bustles . They're natural .
Emeal ZwayneNo , natural bustles no . But seriously , what was behind bustles ? Sorry , I did not try to google it .
Mark SpenceWas that a joke ?
Emeal ZwayneNo , it's fine , that's Victorian looking .
Ray ComfortWhat's behind bustles ? The bustle is behind , but it is the stupidest thing I've ever seen . Seriously , it's like Fashion . That's all it was . But , ray , it's Memoring white wigs , and that was the Ray , it is 100% illogical .
Emeal ZwayneOh yeah , I'd wear that . You would Oscar . You totally would .
Ray ComfortScott Oscar just saw a picture of the bustle With your waiter pants that go up to your calves ?
Emeal ZwayneYeah , anyhow . And those things they would do back then . The Japanese would bind feet .
Ray ComfortOh , I think they just stopped doing that . That's illegal .
Emeal ZwayneI think over the near what in the world From the time their little kids put their feet in these tight shoes and they had , so it's a bind them up . But why do they do that ? What .
Ray ComfortNo , no . So whatever is bound on Earth .
Emeal ZwayneRay was about to make something up .
Oscar NavarroI want to know what they're going to say about us in 100 years ? I don't know .
Ray ComfortThey used to have these stupid podcasts .
Emeal ZwayneThey begin with welcome to Living Waters podcast .
Ray ComfortWas that your easy ? That's the best I can do In 100 years , with the exception of Ray .
Emeal ZwayneThey're going to say about the three of us , who ? That's true , that's right , and then you know , and then oh , but the Africans with the rings on the neck .
Ray ComfortIt's to extend the neck and it's fashionable . Okay , but tell me the plate on the front of the lift . That's so you can eat .
Mark SpenceSo , you don't have to hold your plate . That's it .
Ray ComfortThe mother goes around with a big spoon and just drops it in the kid's plate .
Emeal ZwayneThat has to be the most perplexing thing I've ever seen . It's the plate , and they keep enlarging . I'm talking like literally the size of a small plate .
Ray ComfortSo why don't we start that in universities ? It would take on .
Emeal ZwayneIt would , but they've done everything else . Yeah , and obviously that probably comes from some of those cultures , the plugs and the ears that keep expanding , expanding plugs .
I've seen guys with big holes in their ears .
Oscar NavarroYeah , I have two holes in my ears .
Ray ComfortAnd actually , when you want to witness to someone the holes in their ears , just put your finger out into the hole and pull it down , all right , here's a comment from TNBS Kaneese K Nizzle , 10 bisknees whatever .
Emeal ZwayneI have no idea what that name is . A joy to listen to in every sense . These men make me laugh and make me think they're so enjoyable to be with . I feel like I know them . I especially appreciate and need the constant keeping on the track of where my joy comes from . I especially appreciate and need I just read that salvation man what is wrong with me today and how to live to honor God in light of all Christ has done for me . If only every Christ follower has a group like yours to hold each other accountable , and a man like Ray Comfort , who follows Christ so closely that he's a modern day Paul . His ways of explaining the things of God have helped me clarify so many aspects that confused me and kept me from important truths that lead me to share the gospel .
Mark SpenceAll right . What's funny about that ?
Emeal ZwayneRay just showed a picture of that plate how in the world . Do you live like that ?
Ray ComfortI don't know . It took me 20 minutes to kiss my wife goodbye .
Emeal ZwayneThat's crazy . Anyway , sorry , friend , for the distraction , tnbs and ease You've blessed us today . Thank you for that encouragement and pray for us and Ray Comfort especially . Ray , why are you looking at stuff ? Because there's even bigger plates . You should look up the biggest one .
Ray ComfortWell , this takes the cake . What ? Look at that one Looks like a big pizza . Whoops , oh , it was the ultimate .
Emeal ZwayneThat's insanity .
Ray ComfortIt looks like a pizza . What happens when they take it out though ? Medium sized ?
Emeal Zwaynepizza their bottom lip would be in the ground .
Ray ComfortHow do you eat ? Well , you just tie the knot and carry on .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , how do you eat ? All right , friends , this podcast is brought to you by the Basic Training Course . Thousands upon thousands have gone out around the world . This is that eight lesson , four DVDs set , but you can also get it in MP4 digital format , and it comes with a study guide , 300 gospel tracts and all kinds of good stuff to teach you how to share the gospel with others . We're going to make a new one one day . Yes , we are One day . One day . Don't forget the Living Waters mug so that you can think while you drink and wink , but don't blink and don't forget the evidence . Study Bible , oh cheap All at Living Waters Dot com . Sorry , where ?
Oscar Navarrowere you in ?
Emeal Zwayneyour head , oscar , I fell asleep . All right , friends , today we are talking actually about a serious subject . We're continuing our trek through the commandments we have not yet covered thus far in the Living Waters podcast , and today we're talking about adultery , exploring the destructiveness of adultery . Boy Mark , you keep a list and I do one as well of especially Christian leaders that have destroyed their lives through adultery . The destruction is incalculable . You guys really keep a list . Yeah , is it getting big ? You got it written down somewhere . Yeah , I've got mine , and I've got mine as a mental list , I think , mark actually .
Mark SpenceI have one right now , have a physical list of you know we've had the opportunity to interact with a couple of these people before they were found out and the thing that kind of surprises me is how natural and normal they acted in front of us before they were even found out . And that's a scary thing to hide from fornicating and committing adultery . I shudder , you know I , before I , I was working at a restaurant before I , right when I became a Christian , I guess right after Bible College , and I would read Proverbs five , six and seven every day before I went into work . Every single day . Today I read Proverbs chapter seven to six and seven . Today it just scares me to fall into it .
Ray ComfortSo that's just a young man and just gives straight advice to young man about the harsh woman , loose women , right yeah .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , mark , it's so good to be in that place as men , to recognize that we are capable . I think honestly I've said it before those who end up falling . I believe in the sexual sin are those that in part I mean they're different reasons , but those in part who deceive themselves into thinking now , that can never happen to me .
Ray ComfortYou gotta see yourself as a stick of dynamite and you don't need to be lit , yeah .
Mark SpenceYeah , in fact , that's what Scripture says there in Proverbs . It says all that fell her way were strong men . Wow , Well , yeah .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , and it continues on . You know , back in the day it was going on with top political leaders , presidents , obviously all over the place , but what I mean by that is but it was hidden . Hmm . You know it was almost . I mean , back in certain generations it was almost a given like oh , that's just , you know , that's how it is , and . But with our modern technology today , I mean even like I won't get graphic , but when we're their DNA evidences that people have committed adultery , I mean we all remember the whole thing with Bill Clinton .
Ray ComfortThe blue skirt .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , and we had looked up that video the other day because it came up about how he got technical , remember . You know they said you said there is no sexual this and that is that true and he goes . Well , it depends on what the meaning of is Is .
Mark SpenceOh , for that question . Is that true ?
Emeal ZwayneYeah Well , because he said there , because Clinton had said there is no physical intimacy . And then they said was that statement true ? And he said it depends on what the meaning of is . Is yeah Right , like meaning ? Like back when I said it it wasn't happening . I mean , these guys craft things and you know . But , ray , the Proverbs talk about a man who gets caught in adultery becoming like a crust of bread . Elaborate on that .
Ray ComfortOh , that brings back a terrible memory , really .
Emeal ZwayneShare it .
Ray ComfortYeah , it's very intimate Really . Yeah , I was teaching a group of men and I just said and I had a small loaf of bread on the pulpit , and I just said it was a notch brie farm . You know , indoors in the , in the one of the rooms , and I said a man , what's the scripture ? Again , it's bought to a piece of bread by a loose woman or something like that . Yeah , I said . What does that mean ? It means if she just wants to pick him up and eat him and spit him out , that's what happens . And I picked up the crust of bread while I was talking , took a bite of it and then we had to keep speaking and I couldn't , are you ? serious , I'm serious , it took like eternity for the , because my mouth went dry with nervousness . It got soaked up by the bread . Everything was going oh no so , but it really is . That's what happens . So the thing that I brought out is a piece of bread , has got no resistance . You look at a piece of bread . I'm going to eat you right now , chew you up , and that's what a man is like to a harsh woman Going to eat you up . Buddy , and beware of the flattery of a woman like that . And you hear a woman go up to me and I you're a nice looking guy and he just melts .
Mark SpenceYou know it's demonic if they say it to you .
Emeal ZwayneListen Proverbs 22 , 14 .
Mark SpenceThe interesting scripture , Proverbs 22 , 14 , is the mouth of an adulterous woman as a deep pit . Here's the catcher . Here A man who is under the Lord's wrath falls into it . Wow .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , that's heavy , it's sobering . And , friends , we trace this all the way back again to God's commandments , exodus 2014, . You shall not commit adultery . God is not an adulter . God is faithful . There's no wiggle room .
Ray ComfortThere is there no , just four words . You shall yes Five .
Oscar NavarroAnd it's great that you bring that up . It's a forward command . There's no wiggle room and unfortunately I mean so many people , including Christians , seemingly tend to want to compromise and move the line a little bit . A recent survey was done , and listen to these results . Here's the question they asked , and this was only asked of self-proclaimed evangelicals how often , if ever , would you say the following activities would be cheating on a spouse or partner ? What would you say to these ? Watching pornography without your partner 31% . Going to a strip club without your partner 37% . Ps without your partner . Why does that ?
Emeal Zwaynematter Right ? Hey , honey , you want to go to the strip club tonight ? I don't understand .
Oscar NavarroThat's a whole other conversation .
Going out to dinner with someone that you're attracted to 53% , only 53% . Sending a flirtatious message to someone besides your partner , 58% being emotional Are these people that say it's wrong . The percentage the percentage 58% . Say that would be wrong . Being emotionally involved with someone besides your partner 67% . How about 100% ? Actively maintaining an online dating profile while married ? 68% . Sending sexually explicit messages to someone other than your partner 75% . How is that not 100% ? Romantically kissing someone other than your partner ? 78% . Having a one night stand with someone other than your partner 77% . Having a regular sexual relations with someone other than your partner 82% . The last one is would you be more likely or less likely to support a presidential candidate who has , in the past , committed extramarital affairs ? Only 43% . So we are moving this line . This line is being moved that we just don't care .
Emeal ZwayneWell , and look at what's happening in culture with polyamory .
Ray ComfortWho's she who ?
Emeal ZwayneThe whole thing of polyamory . Do you know what polyamory is ?
Ray ComfortIt's multiple sexual partners with the consent of your spouse .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , it's all of them living together . Sometimes You'll have three men and two women , or a man and three women , or two . It's just as crazy .
Ray ComfortThere's nothing new under the sun , though , is there this ?
Emeal Zwayneis true . And yet , you see , with even people like Will Smith , right , they talk about he and his wife having an open relationship . That's become a common term now , an open relationship , which means we're still married , we still love each other , but we're going to do that . I mean , there was a guy that used to be a pastor that Mark and I know , and he was doing this podcast or something he talked about . He and his wife were committed to each other , but if they end up being really attracted to someone once in a while , they'll give each other a hall pass . He called it .
Mark SpenceWhat is that he was a senior pastor .
Emeal ZwayneAbsolutely heartbreaking and tragic , yeah , so Like a hell pass . But that's what's happening in our culture and in our society . It's becoming this thing where marriage doesn't mean anything anymore . And who could be so twisted in their mind to share their wife with other men , wives sharing their husbands with other women ? I don't know . It's just . God help us . There's nothing new , but it seems like it's getting worse , worse than ever . A desensitization of heart and mind . Listen to this . This is by Ken Hughes , he said recently , leadership Magazine commissioned a poll of a thousand pastors . The pastors indicated that 12% of them had committed adultery , while in ministry , one out of eight 12% One out of eight pastors and 23% had done something they considered sexually inappropriate . Christianity Today surveyed a thousand of its subscribers who were not pastors and found the figure to be nearly double , with 23% saying they had had extramarital intercourse and 45% indicating they had done something they themselves deemed sexually inappropriate . One in four Christian men are unfaithful and nearly one half have behaved unbecomingly Shocking statistics , especially when we remember that Christianity Today readers tend to be college educated church leaders , elders , deacons , sunday school superintendents and teachers . If this is so for the church's leadership , how much more for the average member of the congregation ?
Ray ComfortCouldn't you double those statistics , realizing that these were the ones that had committed adultery but suddenly became honest about it ? Yeah , that's true . I mean how many ?
Emeal Zwayneare really being upright about it and telling the truth . So it's a massive problem and this is in part why I wrote my book Fight Like a man I'm about to say .
Oscar Navarrowhat we need is some sort of like bold biblical battle plan for personal purity .
Emeal ZwayneThat's what we need . Yes , friends , it will be coming out . Publisher has it . They're working on it , so keep a lookout . But that's one of the reasons why I wrote the book , because we have a massive problem and it we don't .
Oscar NavarroWell , I'd love to hear your thoughts on this EZ , because I have to imagine that for most people it doesn't start with adultery . It starts way beforehand with the compromising of lust , pornography . Talk about that space Before the adultery . What is happening ? How are we conditioning our hearts to get there ?
Emeal ZwayneYeah , well , there's a famous saying Marcus quoted it . Often , before a person sins in public , he sinned a long time before that in private . I think it is this strong pull of sexual desire which is very strong . In my book I talk about how it gives nuclear power a run for its money . It destroys kingdoms , it ruins families , it destroys careers . It's like for most men , it's like the urge to eat . You're starving and you're famished . So there's so much that happens leading up to it and , as Ray often says , ultimately it comes down to the fear of God . It comes down to that decision of saying , no , I'm going to fear and honor the Lord . Yes , I have this urge , I have this drive , but my God is worthy of my life . And you develop this healthy , godly habit , ray . You often go to the spiritual aspect of the law Matthew 5 , 27 to 28 . You have heard that it was said to those of old you shall not commit adultery . But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart . Ray , the danger is that we carry with us wherever we go this instinct , capacity to give in to adultery , to sexual sin , because of our minds and our hearts .
Ray ComfortFor us a Christian . I was so consumed by sexual lust as a teenager a late teenager that I thought I had some sort of gift . Really , I thought it was like maybe a gift from God or something like that I could instantly have pleasure with any female in my mind , which every guy can do , and that was the power of lust . And when I became a Christian that's the verse that brought me to the foot of the cross I realized , man , my mind is full of adultery . No one knew about me and the Lord I get so many people reproved me of quoting that verse and saying you idiot , that doesn't mean looking with lust , it's to do with adultery . If you look at a married woman with lust , that's committing adultery in your heart . You don't even understand this and I have to write back in a very cynical way and say okay , I see what you're saying . What you've got to do is figure out the woman that you're going to lust after are married . So what do you do ? You look at a woman and go up to her and say excuse me , ma'am , I was thinking of lusting after you , but I want to know if you're married , because if you're married , I won't lust after you . If you're not married , I can lust after you . So are you married or not ? And you have to do the same thing with pornography . You've got to make sure all the women you're looking at are single women and not married women , and that's to get away from the words of Jesus . Whoever looks upon a woman to lust for her , whoever has committed adultery already with her in his heart .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , and oftentimes I'll be in a public place and I'll see a pretty woman walk by and I'll start looking at the men that are around and it's just so ubiquitous . It's almost like metal being drawn to a magnet and you just see almost every man's eyes just begin to follow this woman and man . There's stuff happening there in the imagination that is an abomination on the side of the Lord . And . Mark . A lot of people again excuse it because they say , hey , what is a thought going to do to harm anything ? Leave me alone . This is what I want to do in my own mind .
Mark SpenceYeah , We've said before . Chuck Swindall was famous for saying you know , you're so a thought , you reap an action . So an action , reap a habit . So a habit , reap a character , so a character , you reap a destiny . It all starts within that mind . You entertain that thought . Somebody once said you can't prevent a bird from flying over your head , Spurgeon .
Emeal ZwayneSo you can prevent them from building a nest
Mark Spencein your head , martin Luther or Spurgeon .
Ray ComfortSpurgeon quoted it he might have quoted Luther yeah . But it's really powerful . Start again , Mark , because someone interrupted .
Mark SpenceI don't remember it . Heath Lambert , though . He said this is the vicious cycle of lust , because lust never has what it wants , because it never has enough . Lust steals joy by creating an endless state of discontentment in the constant search for that one next thing that you don't have yet . Lust is never happy because lust is never full . There's a hole at the bottom of the cup .
Ray ComfortSo let me share the quality of that quote so people don't miss it with my interruption . You can't stop birds from flying over your head , but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair .
Mark SpenceAnd what does that mean ? Draw that out .
Ray ComfortSo you get a lustful thought , you just don't own it . You don't grab it and chew it over and let it become part of you . I've dealt with lust in a wonderful way . Many years ago . I had surgery on my eyes laser surgery and they give you an option get both eyes done and you can't see in the distance , but you can see up closely . Or get one eye done and you can see in the distance and you can read it . So I got one eye done , which means when I look at the distance with my right eye it goes blurry . So when I see a lust woman I just close an eye like that and she tends in an instant blur . But I do get slapped a lot .
Mark SpenceBecause you're a venging
and weak Ray . Was it you the one that told me that every time you feel that temptation , you pray for wisdom ?
Ray ComfortYeah , you pray a negative , a positive , sorry . I look at the sky and just say cool , that sky is that God has made . Distract myself , because once they're out of sight , they're out of mind . It really does help to just look away , but it's very hard for women to understand , like Ezy was saying , the nuclear power thing . It really is true . You're driving your car and I can see a lusty woman from 15 miles away and I just got to be so careful .
Oscar NavarroThat was a mountain . Your eyes were blue .
Ray ComfortSo even at my age and guys , the fire does not go out . It gets worse as you get older . I'm coming up 74 and I'm talking about , I'm fighting lust daily . It's crazy .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , it's a reality . And yet we grow in the Lord , we grow in His grace . He strengthens us , he empowers us , he enables us and we can find victory through Christ . I mean , that's the good news . I know there are guys listening to us right now and thinking , man , is there really hope for me ?
Ray ComfortWell , you don't feed it . Yeah , that's the thing .
Emeal ZwayneThey're ensnared in pornography and that's a tragedy . Today , with a click of a button I mean it used to be guys had to go to their computer and you know ?
Ray Comfortno , no , no , no , no , no , no . You're talking your generation , I'm talking pregeneration . You had to go to a magazine , you had to get it . It wasn't even legal .
Emeal ZwayneWell , that was my generation . You had to get it from under the counter . That's what you get pornography called under the counter , and so you had to go to a lot of you know to get something in your hands that people can get within a second , I mean as a teenager , you had to steal it because you had to be 18 to buy it , or your friend's dad had a stash somewhere videos or magazines or but now these young people , with the click of a button in their hand , wherever they are , at any time , an unlimited supply of this pornography .
Oscar NavarroHere's . Another reality , too , though , is that , as it pertains to adultery , it's not always the physical that draws people , sometimes , especially for women , because actually , I was surprised to read that women are the leaders of divorce and adultery right now . So it's not men that are committing adultery more , it's women committing adultery more , and they say that more often than not , with what starts the adultery is an emotional affair . In other words , you feel the emotional detachment from your spouse . You feel unseen , unheard , unknown , unloved , and it begins with companionship . This person understands me , this person listens to me , this person knows me the way my spouse does not . In either scenario , whether it's physical lust or it's the lust because lust ultimately , the original word lust simply means desire . It's a wrongfully placed desire for the physical , for the emotional , for the attention . Here's the thing We've already alluded to this that our desires are so often misplaced . What we need is not always what we think we need . In other words , sometimes we want the thing that we actually don't need . The problem is that , as we pursue wrongful desires , as we pursue lust , they will leave us thirsty , wanting more and more and more , more and more , constantly unsatisfied . I love how the New Testament uses the phrase living water . If you think about the meaning of that phrase for us to really grasp it . We can't do that where we live now because we have water in abundance . These are people that lived in the desert who were always thinking about where their next drink was going to be , or they would die . Much of the water they drank was still water . It wasn't good water . The idea of living water was fresh , flowing , cold , in abundance . What Jesus is saying is that if you pursue these lusts , if you pursue this desires , you will be left thirsty . But only I , jesus , can fulfill those desires . Only I , jesus , is the living water . Whether you are feeling lonely or wanting , the only fulfillment you will ever find for yourself is in Christ .
Emeal ZwayneYeah , it's a whole issue of spiritual starvation I've talked about before In the natural . You deprive yourself of your normal diet , your hunger pains will intensify , your cravings will increase . You must satisfy that craving . We substitute , we go to things that we would never normally eat . That's why people starving will eat bark off of trees or eat leaves , or eat rats , roaches . They'll eat human beings , right , the whole story alive , with that rugby team , the plane crash . They were stuck , they were hungry . They ended up eating the people that died . I mean , no one does that in their right mind . But it's that process of starvation , it's first deprivation that leads to desperation , that leads to deviation , which is substitution , that leads to deterioration . We must satisfy ourselves in Christ because we have spiritual cravings meant to be satisfied by him . If we don't like , the proverb says right , To the satisfied soul even the honeycomb is loathsome , but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet .
Mark SpenceYou know what will a hungry man eat ? Anything . If he's hungry enough , he'll eat anything . Who grew up in sharing with my kids trying to get into their lives when they're really little and young , trying to figure out as they're trying to figure out the opposite sex and they feel this attraction going on and say , hey , it's okay to feel that pull . It's just what do you do with that pull ? How do you respond ? How do you interpret all of that ? And then , as they got on into their teenage years and started getting interested in different people and they're hanging out more and they're just kind of figuring things out . I have my daughter . Ella is in a relationship with a guy named Ryan and absolutely love Ryan to death . How about Ella ? You love her , I kind of love my daughter . But in just simply saying , what is your view on kissing , what is your view on you know , in just going down the whole realm there and just explaining to him , I go , listen , you've been designed to go all the way to have sex . You've been designed like a . Sex is a beautiful , beautiful thing , designed by God . When you get married , people bring you gifts . God is bringing you a gift when you get married and that gift is sex and unfortunately , people open up that gift before it's time and it spoils the gift . So avoid that gift , opening that gift early . And how you can avoid that is just avoid all the things that lead up to that . There's nothing you need to do If you're watching a movie . You don't need to be sharing a blanket , you don't need to be kissing on the lips . You don't just wait . Just wait , because all of these things have been progressed inside of you to lead towards sex and if you have these feelings begin to stir up inside of you , you will not be able to be strong enough to resist those temptations , that's true . So you just need to run , run from it all . Set the boundary right from the beginning . If you go , well , how far is too far ? If you're asking that question , how far is too far ? You've already gone too far in your mind . Because it's not how much can I do and still be a Christian ? It's how much can I abstain from all of these things that are just worldly in appearance and walk with God ? That's what I want . It's not thinking through these things . How much can I do ? But it's man , how fast can I run and just keep my eyes on the Lord . I heard one Christian singer once say look , I'm not going to be caught up with women and the people of this nature . What I'm going to do is I'm going to run so hard after God and when I'm ready to get married , I'm going to look to the left and look to the right and see if there's somebody that kept up with me in my pursuit of Christ , and I'm going to marry that person , and marry them as quickly as I possibly can .
Emeal ZwayneOh , so good . Hey Ray , I'd love you to elaborate on
this . Proverbs 6 , beginning of verse 32 , whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding . He who does so destroys his own soul , wounds and dishonor he will get , and his reproach will not be wiped away .
Ray ComfortYeah , Well , I was hearing your thought while Mark was speaking . We'll go further on to that in a minute , but it's hard to put these appropriately . But if you stir up sexual desire , especially in teenage years , that fire will consume your conscience . You think you've got a tender conscience that would never steal , you'd never lie to Sonya parents . But when that fire , that sexual desire is there , conscience just takes a backseat . So true , and you'll do things that you look back and say was I out of my mind ? And really you're out of your mind . That's what . That's what sexual desire does . It's meant for the joys of marriage and it's meant to consume you and it's meant for love and yeah , I mean .
Emeal ZwayneI mean . The proverb says be always enraptured with her love . It gets more graphic than that .
Ray ComfortNo , I'll let it be graphic , because I remember doing that reading with my family . Do you remember that story ? Yeah , yeah , we're going through . Probably probably Well .
Emeal ZwayneI guess parents will see the topic as some young , a lot of young people listen to this podcast . But yeah , I mean . It says let her breath satisfy you at all times .
Ray ComfortYeah , but when we're having a reading in Proverbs , proverbs 6 , I think it is . Yeah , I just said to Jacob , who's my oldest , no . I said to Sue do you want to read the next verse ? Because that's right . She says no . So I should have just said read it . So I said to Jacob , who's my oldest , would you want to read the next verse ? And he said no . And then I said to Rachel and Daniel was no one wanted to read it ? We just had to let them . Well , I said I think that , yeah , it's actually a great thing to read to a non-Christian . So you know , the Bible says the best place for sex is in bed . Bed is under filed and it says enjoy the breast of your wife . The Bible is unashamedly an instruction book and it tells you just stay with them , the confines of marriage . If your , if your dad gives you a Lamborghini and says son , you just stay on the right side of the road , that's all I ask . And you go on the wrong side of the road , he's got the right , take the keys back and God gives us sex as a wonderful gift of pleasure and procreation and just says stay on the right side of the road . Well , marriage .
Oscar NavarroYeah , I think that's an important verse . And if you think about , like , how , how can we apply that to ourselves ? And speaking specifically to men who are married , and one of the ways that we don't do a good job of that is when we start comparing and you cannot look at pornography , you cannot look at other women walking on the street that are not your wife and not help but compare . When you do that , inevitably what's going to happen is you're going to be unsatisfied with what God has given to you to be your portion . And I remember specifically after Kelly had a camera , what baby , baby two or baby three . I remember at one point shortly after that she was like , oh , you know , my body isn't what it used to be . And I was like , hey , I'm not comparing you to other women and I'm not comparing you to who you were when I married you . What I have in front of me is what the Lord has given me , and that's like to be able to say that to your wife , because you're not comparing them to anybody else , is a gift to her and it's a satisfying gift to yourself . Well put .
Ray ComfortI heard a preacher once talking about the fifth commandment on your father and mother and he said young man , you despise your mother when she gave up a figure to bear you Wow .
Emeal ZwayneThat's powerful . Yeah , and you know , let me just say we're so hesitant oftentimes , as Christians , to talk about sex , and it's because of how Satan has twisted it , how our carnal nature has really tarnished it . Sex is beautiful . It was God's idea , it's his design . I mean , you think about it ? Yeah , human life that bears the holy image of God is created through it . Those children that we would give our lives for were produced through that beautiful act . So there should be no shame . And when we talked to our kids about sex when they were young and we taught them about it , we purposed , as I've shared before , to give them the right perception of it from the very beginning . When we even told them we were going to talk to them about it , we said hey , kids , tonight we have something amazing to talk to you about . You know , most parents like , oh , you know that talk , they're like getting all nervous and oh , you know , no , no , we determined proactively . We said we're going to say we're going to talk about something so beautiful , so exciting . Because the analogy I've shared , that others have shared , that right our children's minds they're like an empty warehouse with empty shelves , and whoever gets there and stocks those shelves first is going to make it harder for the other person to unstock and restock . So we wanted their first impressions to be beautiful and positive , and so we sat down with them , we took them through these little books and just , oh , it's beautiful , it's God's gift , but within the confines of marriage .
Ray ComfortIs he ? I've heard you talk about how everybody sends off a couple on their honeymoon , rejoicing knowing exactly what they're going to do . Can you address that from it ?
Emeal ZwayneWell , yeah , I mean , it's just crazy to think you know that are going off to the honeymoon and everyone is like , yep , that's where they're going . It's like everyone knows . I remember talking about their honeymoon . It's like , ah , you know , it's like you know , what are you guys going to do on your honeymoon ?
Ray ComfortDuh right , but you compare that to someone who's shaking up and it's a shameful thing . But it's just an unashamed rejoicing this couple's going to enjoy the marital bed . Yeah , it's beautiful .
Emeal ZwayneGod designed it , he made it , and I think honestly , as Christians and this is as an encouragement to those of you listening who you know are thinking what can I do to guard my marriage against adultery ? Be together , as 1 Corinthians 7 talks about , regularly , and pursue excellence in your intimacy . Why is that we , as Christians , you know , think about and talk about pursuing excellence and everything , but we kind of segregate intimacy and don't think that way or talk . Are you kidding me ? This is a gift God has given you as a couple for a lifetime . You need to learn to enhance it , to discuss it , to improve it , to pursue it with excellence and to glorify God in it , because you can .
Oscar NavarroYou're reminding me of it , which is Rebecca McLaughlin in her book Confronting Christianity . It's like chapter three or four . From remembering correctly , it's called the miracle drug . Is the chapter . And essentially what she does , she goes through and she says like people think like , oh you know , christianity sounds so dull , sounds so boring , it takes away all the joys . And she quotes this secular survey in which goes around surveying all sorts of people , groups , about who is satisfied in their sexual lives . They ask polyamorous , they ask single people who are sexually active , married couples . The number one group that showed the highest rate of sexual satisfaction was married Christians who regularly attend church . In other words , christianity is not a buzzkill , is what she says in the book , but instead an invitation to ultimate joy . And then she goes on to quote see this Lewis I know I've used this before in the past . See it's . Lewis says it like this it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak . We are half hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us , like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea . We are far too easily pleased . Do you see that God is not trying to hold back joy . Rather , he's inviting us into joy , and we can trust him that he'll deliver Right man .
Mark SpenceSam Storms . He said don't believe the propaganda the world is peddling . This is not God's way of robbing you of fun and pleasure . It is his passionate desire to intensify it . This prohibition exists in order to protect and preserve the beauty and the joy of marital sex . Our laws against theft and murder exist because of the high value we place on personal property and human life . So too , with this prohibition against illicit sex , the purpose is to guard and to preserve and to enhance something far more exciting and full and fun pleasure , namely marital love .
Emeal ZwayneAmen . Wow , that's beautiful . In connection with what Oscar shared . The reason why sexual intimacy is so enjoyable in a Christian marriage is because you have a couple that have a common bond and his name is Christ . They both love him and as they draw closer to him , they draw closer to each other . In addition to that , there's the foundation of trust , because they both fear God . There's a commonality of their faith and their love for the Lord and their unity in the community of God's people . So there was an analogy given of a couple who are just fighting and have acrimony between them . Each time they do that , it's like they're dumping a big bag of garbage in their bed Like all day , and it's piling , piling . Then they expect to come and be intimate in that bed at the end of the day . No way . There's that foundation of loving the Lord that creates that closeness , and I know we didn't end up expounding on it . But that verse in Proverbs 6 about he who commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding . That's what it is . There's a lack of understanding about how this dishonors God , about how this marrs the testimony of the gospel , about how this destroys your children and your grandchildren and generations to come . And it takes something beautiful and desecrates it . And those who commit adultery , yeah , their reproach will not be wiped away . But but there is hope and there is grace in the Lord . John 8 , the woman caught in the act of adultery , in the very act , and they came to stone her , and Jesus has mercy on her . He does the whole writing in the sand thing and then he says to her where are your accusers ? Does no one condemn you ? No one , lord , neither do I condemn you . Go and sin no more . I mean , can you imagine that the freedom that woman fell when Jesus told her something you just did that was worthy of death , is fully forgiven , fully gone ? And that's what he does by his grace .
Ray ComfortI like the thought that the law was written in stone . It's a movable , it's merciless , but Jesus wrote in sand and the sea of gods forget . We're going to wash us that sin away the moment we come to .
Emeal ZwayneChrist , amen . Yeah , and so , friends , if you're out there , my encouragement to you . If you're thinking , man , I'm tempted to commit adultery , I'm struggling with it , whether it's physical or whether it's through pornography , I want to urge you to flee from it . Wake up and recognize the devastating effects . It is not worth it . And you have the name of Christ upon you . You drag that name through the mud , you take the cross , you spit on it , you trample it beneath your feet , you say , through your actions and essence it means nothing . And I pray God convicts you today to wake up , to snap out of it , to remember that God's given you all things that pertain to life and godliness . And if you have committed adultery and you're convicted , now you see your sin , there is forgiveness for you and the Lord . There is hope , there is restoration . We've seen guys who committed adultery against their wives , wives against their husbands , and God took them , restored their marriage , made it stronger than ever before . That's what our God does , so let them do that in you , amen .
Ray ComfortNo , funny at the end of this one .
Emeal ZwayneYeah Well , maybe not for this one . So check it all out , friends . I know they're people that are heavy-hearted now . No time for fun in this LivingWaterscom . Don't forget podcastlivingwaterscom . Check out all the stuff I talked about at the beginning . Thank you for joining us . We'll see you here next time on the LivingWaters podcast . It still is the ultimate cure for insomnia .