I love that you quoted Genesis when you said sin is crashing at your door and it desires to have you . I think it is one of the most profound metaphors that the scriptures use to describe sin and it tells us so much about the nature of sin and how it works in our lives . And it kind of gets back to what you guys were talking about , Mark and Izzy . If you think about it , sin is crouching out the door . Why do lions crouch in tall grass to make the antelope feel safe ? Why do snakes curl before they strike ? To make themselves feel or look small , so that you feel safe , being even closer . And that is exactly what sin is doing . It makes us feel safe . It makes itself feel small . Earlier we said a little white lie . Why does the size and the color change the fact ? It's sin crouching at your door , desiring to have you .
Speaker 2Welcome to the Living Waters podcast . Just when we thought we had heard it all , segment where we talk about how we thought we had heard it all but realized we really hadn't heard it all .
Speaker 3Here's a story from Canada . Friends , One of the recent bits of advice included Toronto police telling residents of the town of ETO by Coke to leave their car key fobs near the door to avoid being attacked in their homes by potential burglars . According to police , the number of car thefts in the city has more than doubled in recent years .
Speaker 4Why don't I leave the keys in the car ?
Speaker 1I didn't know Canadians had criminals yeah .
Speaker 3Seriously , guys , it's insane . And what's the city ? It's probably an Indian ETO by Coke .
Speaker 4Oh , ETO to go by Coke .
Speaker 3Yeah , it's from film ET . Well , I think everyone's on Coke in this town . But , guys , I'm trying to figure out what's happening in our society , like is this a byproduct of people getting dumber ? Is it a byproduct ?
Speaker 4Well no , we think they're dumbest , but they get dumber after the dumbest . It's just the craziest .
Speaker 3They're telling home residents please put your key fobs by the door . And , by the way , as they're doing that , they're informing the criminals . Hey , guess what ? We just made car theft much easier .
Speaker 4In Texas . They put the keys by the door with their gun .
Speaker 3But why by the door ? Why not outside the door In the car ?
Speaker 1Why not just leave the car running ?
Speaker 3Why not just send the car to the thieves ? So stupid . But you know what I'm saying . Why not bring your jewelry , your cash , your family heirlooms ?
Speaker 1I had this friend who his key got stuck in his ignition and he was so broke that he couldn't get it fixed . So he would go places and just leave the key in the ignition , like in some ways hoping somebody would steal the car .
Speaker 4Is this one of your dad jokes ?
Speaker 3No , no , no no , I'm waiting for the punchline , that's what I was waiting for .
Speaker 5I can't be trusted . It's always about his wife .
Speaker 1This is real . We would go places and he was like I hope it gets stolen . No one ever stole it . No one wanted that car .
Speaker 5We use a Faraday box . You guys use Faraday boxes because we've had two different times people come to our house , break into our car without when you currently live yeah , where we currently live . Well , once where we currently live and once in Eastville and they have these devices where , if it gets close enough to where the key fob is at , it just opens up the door .
Speaker 1Yeah , it extends it . Extender , that's what they're called .
Speaker 5Yes , how do you know so much about this Oscar ? Yeah , oscar .
Speaker 1Did I show you my new Tesla ? Wait , what's a ?
Speaker 5Faraday box . A Faraday box . It serves the same purpose as a microwave , but it doesn't cook anything .
Speaker 1It eliminates any sort of waves of being able to pick up the transmission , because your key is always transmitting the signal , and so it prevents that signal from transmitting . So where do you put this In your house ?
Speaker 5Yeah , it's in my drawer . There's just a little drawer , a little Faraday box . Lift it up , put the keys in there , and now nobody can use that extension .
Speaker 4Guys , what are you talking about ? The key ?
Speaker 5transmits .
Speaker 4You don't have a steel key like most people have got , that you put in and turn . Huh , yeah , it's a different language . You , orange County .
Speaker 3No , but seriously , you know , on this whole key fob thing , stuff , there has to come a time where all this ridiculousness is eliminated . With the technology we have , you use your thumbprint , you use your iris , whatever . You don't need to carry anything . Mark the beast man , go cashless brother . Yes , bro-more , forehead , forehead , oscar , why were you telling us about the contents in your belly earlier ? By the way ?
Speaker 1Oh , I was explaining what I had for breakfast this morning . Explain it again . I had 12 eggs . No , you did not . Yeah , nine of them were egg whites , though I had two oatmeal pancakes . Hang on a minute . None of them were what . Nine were egg whites , oh , nine , I thought you said none . Nine were egg whites . So you only had three eggs Three eggs plus the other egg whites , two oatmeal pancakes . You just said E I had yogurt with oats and a protein shake .
Speaker 5How many grams of protein is all that ?
Speaker 1That was 120 grams of protein . Wow , For breakfast , I'm full Call . 1-800-glutton man Oscar , I did have . I had comfort eggs though the other day .
Speaker 5They were delightful . Thank you for that .
Speaker 3Oh yeah , comfort eggs . Speaking of which , ray , you sent us a video of you getting little chicken . We're not talking about that right now , mark .
Speaker 1We'll talk about that on another podcast . Yeah , are we ? Uh , I know where you're going with that . Yeah , why ? What ? He's got a pun , he's got one ready I got something okay .
Speaker 3Okay , another podcast , uh , so anyway , oscar , do you feel any sense of guilt over what you ?
Speaker 1consume . It's exhausting . I'm on a high protein , I'm telling you .
Speaker 2I got to wake up early to make breakfast .
Speaker 3What does lunch and dinner look like ? It's exhausting to eat .
Speaker 1It's heavy , it's exhausting .
Speaker 3I'm never hungry . Reminds me of the proverb the lazy man puts his hand in the bowl and I'll bring it back to his mouth Eating is so exhausting .
Speaker 4Oscar gets in the bowl .
Speaker 3Oscar , why are you doing this ridiculousness ?
Speaker 1I've got goals , personal , just personal goals in the gym .
Speaker 4He wants to reach 400 pounds .
Speaker 3He wants to look pregnant .
Speaker 5I think that's the goal he wants to look buff like us Never .
Speaker 1Speaking of , I did reach out to Lance about how to make me . Lance is our chef .
Speaker 2Our chef . Qualify that . Our chef ? Oh yes , our chef , friend , my personal chef , yeah .
Speaker 1We have a friend in New York His name is Lance Ray's written a book with him . What's it called ? Tell , his name is Lance Ray's written a book with him what's it called ?
Speaker 3Tell us , ray , wait , wait , wait , ray , what's a book called ?
Speaker 4Ray , you wrote the book Something about food .
Speaker 1The amount of people that forget the books that they've written is one .
Speaker 3Ray , wait , wait , no , no .
Speaker 4No , no , come on , help me out .
Speaker 3Seriously Wait , no , don't anyone give him a clue . You cannot remember the name of your book .
Speaker 4Made in Heaven , that was another one Made in the Kitchen . Divine Dining , that's that .
Speaker 3Yes , I was just going to say Look , Mark was looking it up . He didn't even know .
Speaker 4I didn't write it , it was on the tip of my taste bud , yeah .
Speaker 1You know , what's funny is it's Lance , Although back in the medieval days there was Lance .
Speaker 4a lot All of that was for that , by the way .
Speaker 3Poor Lance Speaking of .
Speaker 4Lob was told to take his wife and flee out of the city . She turned into a pillar of salt , but no one knows what happened to the flea .
Speaker 3They're not intelligent enough . Take his wife and flee out of the city what happened to the flight ?
Speaker 1I'm imagining the basis from red hot chili pepper oh well , guys .
Speaker 3Um , I do have to confess something . Today I've just been thinking about just my antics and the voices I make , all the silliness . Finally , yeah , spirit is and you're gonna take it on steroids . No , I'm stopping . I just I don't know . It's just something about . It just doesn't seem right . Oh , that's great , izzy thank you .
Speaker 5This is an answer to prayer for so many people . Do you know how ?
Speaker 1long We've had a separate text thread , just praying for you .
Speaker 4Absolutely Wait for it All in the way of this friend ?
Speaker 3No , it's done , he's getting loose , just kidding .
Speaker 2All right friends .
Speaker 3All right friends . Here's another cool , classy comment . This is from Bentley Higgins . This podcast is amazing and I would 100% recommend to a Christian . I am 11 years old , but two years born again . This podcast has great humor , knowledge and worship of God . From easy saying hello , friends to Mark Ming , this podcast has great teachings . Ps Ray should make an evidence study Bible for chickens . This kid's 11 ? Yeah , bentley man . Thank you , man . Thanks for writing in . What an encouragement , thanks for listening to the podcast , and you know if there's anything I'm always advising young people about , it's man , go hard after God . You're young , you have the energy and the lack of distraction that older people get and so , yeah , bentley , go after the Lord .
Speaker 2Evidence Bible with chickens , excluding foul language I see what you did there , yeah , all right , friends , this podcast is brought to you by a radically revolutionary resource .
Speaker 3Why would anyone follow Jesus 12 reasons to trust what the Bible says about Jesus . Ray , did you ? I wrote that one with the chef from New York ? Did ?
Speaker 4you remember you wrote this book , ray ? Yes , I did . I'm not stupid , it's so funny .
Speaker 3Hey , what book are you reading right now ? I'm reading why Would Anyone Follow Jesus ? 12 Reasons to Trust what the Bible Says About Jesus . It's quite the title .
Speaker 5Why you should see the subtitle Ray , do you ?
Speaker 4do . That's so long Did you come up with this title ? I can't remember .
Speaker 3Yeah , you probably didn't . No , it's probably the publishers . Do you have enough patience to even say that whole title , Ray ? What title ? He fell asleep twice before . You definitely don't have the memory .
Speaker 5How close to the title can you actually get , go right now . Well , I know he just said the title of your book .
Speaker 4The one about bringing up children .
Speaker 5No , no no , the book that he just mentioned , wait Go ahead , say it one more time , let's see if he can repeat his own title . No , no , I want to hear him repeat it without me saying anything .
Speaker 4There's too much going on . Since you said it , what's the first word ?
Speaker 3I've got all sorts of other things On the last dayitimate mockers . All right , friends Again . That's . Why Would Anyone Follow Jesus ? 12 Reasons to Trust what the Bible Says About Jesus .
Speaker 1What was the ?
Speaker 3book why ?
Speaker 4Would Anyone Follow Jesus ? 12 Reasons to Trust what the Bible Says About Jesus . Wow .
Speaker 1I'm going to ask you at the end of the podcast , yeah , and don't forget , friends , the Living Waters mug from which you can take a chug .
Speaker 3Ooh , I see what you did there On the spot . That's the new thing Living Waters Mug , where you can take a big chug . And don't forget the evidence study Bible for a lot of good stuff All at Living Waters . Yeah , ray should have finished that one . I was excited about it . All right , all right .
Today we're talking about how to kill sin in your life .
Speaker 4Where's the sin ?
Speaker 3I prepared for a very different podcast how to kill sin in your life . Man , I hate sin . You guys ever seriously have a moment Because we sin , of course , seriously like have a moment because we sin , of course , but you ever have a moment where you just really really feel disgusted by your sin .
Speaker 5No , by your sin , by your sin awesome it's usually after I sin right that you feel it right . That I felt because , before I said , I'm just loving it , loving the idea and matt , can you qualify ?
Speaker 4this yeah please , Mark .
Speaker 3I mean if someone isolated that little sound . We're going .
Speaker 4What you're talking about is you fall into a little bit of selfishness and you feel good about it . It's not like Bathsheba's next door . Thank you .
Speaker 5Right , I thought that would go without saying , but no , I mean , you're right . I mean , when we sin , we think we know more than God .
Speaker 5And I mean you're right . I mean , when we sin , we think we know more than God and we will dabble with things that we shouldn't dabble with stretching the truth , exaggerations , white lies what color what color is that ? But God is always right , he's always right , and let God do whatever he needs to do to get us back into that right thinking . But , yeah , I hate the fact that I enjoy sinning sometimes , right , I hate the fact that I enjoy to be to demonstrate that I'm right . You're wrong , yeah , right . I hate the fact that I try to be first and tops and recognized and regarded and rewarded , as one missionary said . I hate the fact that that comes within my heart and at the same time , I love it . I love it and I hate it at the same time .
Speaker 5I can't wait till it's all done away with yeah .
Speaker 3Yeah , and you know scripture speaks to these sorts of things . I think for the believer again , it goes back to the Galatians five battle that's in all of us , the flesh less against the spirit , the spirit to our contrary , to one another . They're enmity with each other and we're dealing with that . And it's a Roman seven thing too that Paul talked about . You know just that man , that battle that rages in us as Christians .
Speaker 4And it never ends . When you think it has , it starts again . Yeah , lord , I'm so pleased . Today I finally got humble .
Speaker 3Well , yeah , I mean , you think about the things that people will become more proficient at over time and then it becomes like second nature . But there is no really like second nature . Hey , I'm like , I'm over sin , it's done , I don't deal with it anymore . It hits you in new ways . It comes in different shapes and forms with it . Anymore , it hits you in new ways . It comes in different shapes and forms . Ray , what was it like for you ? And I want to start here , right , I want to talk about first the change in relationship to sin that a Christian goes through . So , ray , you get saved . Before you were saved , you were steeped in sin . It was your life , you drank water and then that day hits , you get born again . I mean , you're there with your friends , you're on that surf trip and then everything changes . I mean you came back from that surf trip a different person .
Speaker 4Absolutely different . I had no problem with sin before . I was a Christian . Absolutely no problem with it all . In the same way , a guy has no problem with cigarettes . He smokes 40 a day . But when he tries to stop , that's when he feels that pull of that addiction that he has . It's like a man who's in prison . He has no problem , he thinks he's free until he tries to get out . That's what sin is like . Sin lies at the door , but sin . You ruined what I was going to say . It's got to be silent for this one . Sin lies at the door , but sin lies . There's a deception to it . It deceives . So realize that ruined it too easily , sorry .
Speaker 2Why does phlegm ?
Speaker 3attack my throat . It was just funny the way you did it .
Speaker 5Like I have to cough , so you turn sideways , but you're still into the microphone .
Speaker 1It's the way I do it .
Speaker 3Mark , there we go , done it , I think so You're done . Oh man , you're gonna play a tune .
Speaker 4It's like sin lying at the door .
Speaker 4Okay , here we go . Realize our greatest enemy lies within . That's the problem , yeah . And once you realize your greatest enemy lies within , you can do something about it , be ready for it . And that's what a Christian is someone who fights or battles sin . Yeah , I became a Christian overnight , brand new creature , and felt the pull of sin . In fact , it was so strong that feeling that , like I , had no problem with lust . For us Christians , all our skies lusted . We just live for it . It's just your great pleasure . And when I tried to stop it was so powerful . I got some guys around me and says please brave me , because something's wrong . It's just not right . I want to serve the Lord and yet this thing within me wants to do wrong , just like Romans 7 says . And it's continual and it doesn't go away as you get older .
Speaker 1Wow , you know , I love that you quoted Genesis when you said sin is crashing at your door and it desires to have you . I think it is one of the most profound metaphors that the scriptures used to describe sin and it tells us so much about the nature of sin and how it works in our lives . And it kind of gets back to what you guys were talking about , mark and Eze . If you think about it , sin is crouching out the door . Why do lions crouch in tall grass ? To make the antelope feel safe ? Why do snakes curl before they strike ? To make themselves feel or look small , so that you feel safe , being even closer . And that is exactly what sin is doing . It makes us feel safe , it makes itself feel small .
Speaker 1Earlier , we said a little white lie . Why does the size and the color change the fact ? It's sin crouching at your door , desiring to have you . And when it succeeds at crouching , I think it's interesting because the scriptures describe and this kind of also gets at what you guys were talking about . The scriptures describe sin as those obvious moral failures of lying , of infidelity , of , et cetera , et cetera . But it also describes sin in ways where you are . It says you're drunk to it , meaning you don't see it happening , that you are blind to it , that you're enraged to it . In other words , the way the scriptures describe sin in our life is that it's like we have these blind spots that we cannot see . And this is the importance of community , this is the importance of other people , of accountability , of the wise counsel of others , because it's not enough to be like I would never , because we can't see our blind spots because , sin is crouching at our door .
Speaker 1It's making us feel safe .
Speaker 3Yeah , that's how , man , Oscar , I love the imagery you gave and really helping to open up what scripture is saying right Crouching , yeah , why does it crouch right , it's getting ready to pounce , but it's also it's hiding , you know , and that's so good .
Speaker 4I think it's relevant the two animals you use the lion , satan , runs about as a roaring lion , walks , not runs . Walks about as a roaring lion , seeking whom he made a vow . And Satan is like a serpent snake , it's like a donut .
Speaker 5Oh , I like that it hides the calories . And it looks holy Cream filled donut it tastes so good and I did not have four donuts today .
Speaker 1You did not , I did not have four donuts , the difference between my breakfast and your breakfast .
Speaker 3Mark . Yeah , you did , mark , I did not . The difference between my breakfast and your breakfast , mark . Yeah , oscar , no one who has had 12 eggs has any room to talk about anything or to criticize people and what they eat ? Sin lies in the belly . Yeah , but you know , oscar , I like what you said about community in relation to sin , and this goes back to Hebrews 3.13 .
Speaker 4There's nothing wrong with a hmm , what's it say ? It's Hebrews 13 . Everyone knows what Hebrews 13 says yeah again .
Speaker 3Hebrews 3.13 . Thank you , ray , but exhort one another every day , as long as it is called today , that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin .
Speaker 4Amplified Bible .
Speaker 2The deceitfulness of sin Amplified Bible .
Speaker 4The deceitfulness of sin . I was going to do that . Let none of you be deceived by the delusive glamour of sin .
Speaker 3That's what the Amplified Bible says that's really good . Glamour , yeah , and guys , I want to boy , I really want to get into this . I feel this right .
Speaker 4I was going to memorize out loud the Amplified Bible , but the neighbors got annoyed . He set up speakers all around .
Speaker 3All right , yeah , so , but . But I feel this like kind of righteous indignation rising up within me because of so much filth and junk being peddled by so-called churches today . And look , I never want to come against the bride of Christ . She's precious to the Lord , but there are many adulterous mistresses , harlots today that are not the bride of Christ and they're teaching false things . And one of those things is antinomianism . Right , we've talked about that before .
Speaker 3Scripture speaks to that , especially 1 John . And that is this whole dynamic that basically says no , don't worry about sin . It creates this sort of false notion that to battle against sin , to hate sin , to seek to flee from sin , is legalism . Right , that's the buzzword used . Oh , that's legalism . Oh yeah , you're just a legalist . No , you're not a legalist , you're a biblical Christian , like Ray often talks about .
Speaker 3And think about what Hebrews 12 , 4 says in your struggle against sin , you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood , meaning there's this exhortation of shedding your blood . Meaning there's this exhortation you say you're battling sin but you haven't yet resisted to bloodshed is another translation in your struggle against sin , your battle against it . And so we have to kind of address this and talk about man . How should we , as Christians , abuse sin ? How should we approach it ? And so many people sin . How should we approach it ? And so many people . They say stuff but they never back it up biblically or they just ignore whole passages of scripture that deal with these things the call to a Christian to flee from sin , to put it to death , to get away from it .
Speaker 5Yeah , our pastor says that we treat sin like a cream puff . But we need to treat it like a rattlesnake . We dance around it , we get close to it , we smell it , we taste it , we want to be all around it . Right , we need to be careful , we need to run . I mean scripture makes it very clear Just flee , run , physically run , run from that situation .
Speaker 5From that time , and when people come to me and say , listen , I'm struggling with sin , and I ask him well , are you willing to do whatever it takes to not sin , to not give yourself over to those sort of things , like I mean , whatever it takes . I wrote down a couple of things . Are you willing to switch from a smartphone to a flip phone ? Ooh , good , mark Right , well , no , I need that for work . And we begin to rationalize certain things , and I don't think we need to rationalize as much as we think . Are you willing to change jobs ? Are you willing to get rid of the internet ? Are you willing to stop covering for your boss who doesn't have integrity , whatever it may be ? I'm not looking at you very intentionally when I say that , but are you willing to cut sin off ? Because if you're really willing to cut sin off . It demonstrates that you're serious about your sin . Yeah .
Speaker 3Amen , yeah . And so let's get into some passages that deal with this Colossians 3 , 5 to 10, . Therefore , put to death your members which are on the earth . Fornication , uncleanness , passion , evil desires and covetousness , which is idolatry Because of these things , the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked , when you lived in them . But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger , wrath , malice , blasphemy , filthy language out of your mouth . Do not lie to one another , since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man , which is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him . So , oscar , this is like a radical call we're to put to death , we're to put off all these things here , but I'd love for you to set us up with the foundation of why we are able to do that , the gospel power to be able to do it .
Speaker 1Yeah , such a good question .
I love Augustine's way of talking about sin . He's gonna punch you in the face in heaven .
Speaker 3when he sees you , he's gonna put you in his name . What ?
Speaker 4sort of coffee did he drink ?
Speaker 1Right ? No , I love the way he talks about sin and I think it gets to the answer to your question . When he talks about sin , he talks about all sin comes from a place of disordered loves . He talks about the fact that we are primarily lovers . God created us to love , to love him and to love others . And what happens when we sin is that we love the wrong things at the wrong times and at the wrong ways . And so , in that sense , paul Tripp says in his book how People Change . He says we must not offer people a system of redemption , a set of insights and principles . We offer people a redeemer .
Speaker 1And then Thomas Chalmers in his book the Explosive Power of New Affections . He says the heart is not so constituted and the only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one . In other words , how do we ultimately kill sin in our lives ? No , one man . I first off , let me make sure I'm being crystal clear here . You're absolutely right .
Speaker 1You need to get yourself out of a situation that's causing you to sin . Get rid of the phone , get rid of the situation . But it's also important to remember that setting up borders and accountability will not change your heart . The second we used to have a cat growing up and you can close the door as much as many times as possible , but the one time you left the front door open the cat would go . Why ? Because it was in his heart to go and it is in your heart to sin . And the only way you can get rid of that is the expulsive power of a new affection , and that affection is Christ . It's Christ crucified on the cross . When you see how God has loved you and what he has done for you , it bubbles up a new affection , a new adoration that you've been loved and then you love your redeemer back , and that is what explodes with the new affection and gets rid of those old loves that continually sends you back to that same source of sin .
Speaker 3So good , yeah , and you know , that's the thing Heath Lambert in his book Finally Free , which is a book on , you know , overcoming sexual sin , which is huge , and I know that some of you men listening right now are getting convicted already about this , because this is the one thing that most men struggle with most lust , pornography , you know , all the other sins associated with that , and I love what he says at the end of the book because he's talking about , you know , again , he talked about a bunch of things that we need to put in place and we do , but in the end he talked about how his heart has changed . He was on a trip , going out of town , somewhere thousands of miles from home , and he sees this big billboard for an adult bookstore and he thought man .
Speaker 3I'm far from home . I can go in there , no one will know who I am . I can do it anonymously for as long as I want . And then he said he realized in his heart , what am I doing ? He said , wait a minute , I don't want that anymore . And in the book he's talking about becoming more attracted to Christ . And he said that's when I realized I was finally free Again , not meaning that he didn't have a temptation toward it or a lure , but truly in his heart of hearts something had changed . He didn't want it . And , like this Christian rapper said in one of his songs , he talked about how the porn monster was coming and trying to attack him . And then he's talking about the sword of the spirit , the word of God . And then he said with my sword I hacked it to pieces because I'm way more attracted to Jesus Nice .
Speaker 3And it's so so good Go ahead .
Speaker 5Mark I was just Sproul said you will not take your sins serious until you take your God serious . So you just really have to decide what you want . I mean choose this day whom you're going to serve . I mean stop playing around , right ? God doesn't play games . Take God serious . His word is serious . Sin was so serious to God that he sent his son , jesus , to die a horrific death in our stead .
Speaker 5Take God serious and if you do that , I believe that the voice of the sirens as they sing their songs to us that want to destroy us on the rocks of the waters that there's a sweeter sound . All that Christ went through in our place to give us heaven , to give us fellowship , to free us up . You know why live in that place anymore ? So to move
forward . You know , I think that there's some very practical steps that you can take . You know , I mean you can seek accountability . You can get inside the Word , you can fellowship with other people that koinonia , people who understand people who are going through . You know your accountability partner should not be somebody of the opposite sex , unless it's your spouse , right ? But live your life in such a way where you can sell your parrot to the town gossip and you're okay . I don't remember who said that . Maybe it was Oscar , it was a parrot . It was a parrot , yeah , yeah , no , remember who said that , maybe it was Oscar , it was a parrot .
Speaker 3It was a parrot . Yeah , yeah , no , exactly , mark , yeah , no , oh yeah , no , yeah no no , no , no . Yeah , yeah , no , no , no , no . Yeah , yeah , no , yeah , no , no , no , no . Yeah , yeah no .
Speaker 4The adult bookstore thing .
Speaker 5I like to get out there . Oh , that's really good . Wait , wait , mark . You brought back a memory Just now let me finish that , and then we can go to this Adultery bookstore .
Speaker 4Remind them that it's adultery . When you look with lust , is that what you're saying ? Yeah , exactly . Yes , I did . I climbed it .
Speaker 2What did you do , Ray ? Wait , wait , wait .
Speaker 4Oh boy , this is going back many years . Is this criminal ? Yeah , it is . Which is just not far from us and I saw a billboard with a very lusty picture on it . It was Claire upcoming movie by ABC . It was Claire Patra and she was totally in her birthday suit , except for a towel just over her buttocks and I thought how dare they put that in our neighborhood . I've got a wife and I've got a daughter if they get raped because some guy got off on that dirty picture up there . So I went to Home Depot and purchased a really big ladder and I went and purchased a huge , huge blanket and at 6am climbed up that ladder with a big staple gun and put the blanket over that naked woman stapled on her .
Speaker 4And I almost died doing it , because I didn't realize every action has an equal and opposite reaction when you push that stapler and you're balancing . I just went backwards , it was about a 17 , 18-foot drop and I thought this will look good . You know what was an evangelist doing ? Below a dirty billboard , under a blanket .
Speaker 3With a blanket Dead Staring up at it . Yeah , staring up at it .
Speaker 5I remember driving to work and just seeing this big red blanket . Yeah , is there a picture of this ? Yes , I got it .
Speaker 4I got a picture of this Really , you still have that picture . Oh , yes , oh , you got to get that out , yeah , anyway , I provoked ABC . I put out a news release and said , abc , I damaged your billboard . This is vandalism . I want you to come and get me . And I would have said how dare you ? And they didn't .
Speaker 3Wow , no , I remember that , ray . That was awesome , great comfort . But yeah , you know , ray , what would you say to what Scripture says Hebrews 11 , 25 to 26 , that sin is pleasurable for a season .
Speaker 4Yeah , I would say to that . We've probably got some unbelievers listening and thinking what is all the fuss about ? Sin is pleasurable . What they don't realize is that sin is married to death . That's what the Bible does . The wages of sin is death . The soul that sins shall die . Lust brings forth sin . Sin that was finished brings forth
death . And when you realize that , then you realize that the Christian life is . It's like running through a landmine . We're involved in warfare and we're running through an area that's got landmines in it . And so we just look at those who have trodden on landmines in the past in scripture , and people we know of in the world that didn't fear sin enough . They just ran straight into that and got blown to pieces , and so we should fear because of what sin is , what it does , and then we should fear because of the cross . The Bible speaks of looking at that cross and being fearful . That's how serious God sees sin is . Yeah .
Speaker 3Yeah , and here's another passage again , and I want to give you scripture , friends , because it's through God's word that we are convicted and renewed . Ephesians 4 , 17 on it , says this I say , therefore , and testify in the Lord , that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind , having their understanding darkened , being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them , because of the blindness of their heart who , being past feeling , have given themselves over to lewdness , to work all uncleanness with godliness .
Speaker 4Now lewdness . Can you define that , because it's an archaic word ?
Speaker 3Yeah , it's a form of uncleanness often associated with sexual sin . Then he says but in verse 20 , you have not so learned , christ , if indeed you have heard him and been taught by him , as the truth is in Jesus that you put off , concerning your former conduct , the old man which grows corrupt grows corrupt according to the deceitful us and be renewed in the spirit of your mind , and that you put on the new man which was created according to God and true righteousness and holiness . And so , Oscar , he's expounding there that the putting off and what you were referring to basically is the putting on right and understanding who you are in Christ is the putting on right and understanding who you are in Christ , being enamored by him . But there is that call to again to recognize that's no longer who we are and that we put off and put on .
Speaker 1Yeah , and that we're invited . We're actually invited into something so much better when we put that new man on . I mean , we talked about you mentioned earlier , ray where people are like , well , what's the big deal ? Again , sin is crouching , it makes itself small , it makes itself seem pleasurable , and I think often we talk about sin as like these do's and do nots , and they most certainly are that .
Speaker 1But in addition to that , the scripture also lets us know something about the character of God , and that is that God is chiefly interested in our joy , and that's a lot different than saying God wants us to have this wonderful plan for our life right now , and you know your best life now , blah , blah , blah . I mean that God , his desire , is for your joy , everlasting joy . You could say that there's no one in this world that is more interested in your joy , everlasting joy . You could say that there's no one in this world that is more interested in your joy than God . He is the chief joy officer of your life . And so when God is pleading with you to not go down that road of sin , to not lie , to not look with lust , to not gossip , to not do whatever it is , he is not holding you back from joy . He is inviting you in to joy , and I love the way CS Lewis puts it .
Speaker 1It's one of my favorite quotes by him . I've said it before . He says 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 the slum because he cannot imagine what it is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea , we are far too easily pleased . Man , god is inviting you into everlasting pleasure . That is the call of repentance to turn from death and to turn towards everlasting life .
Speaker 3Yeah and Mark the joy is Christ himself . Right , he's the treasure , he's the true pursuit of the Christian whose heart has been arrested by his love .
Speaker 2Yeah , we are all coughing .
Speaker 5I'm good In his presence is fullness of joy , and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore . This is exactly what Oscar is talking about . Sometimes you don't know how thirsty you are until you take a drink . You ever experience that , maybe when you play basketball . You don't know how thirsty you are until you take that first sip and you need another one . Usually when I go to a restaurant and you say give me two glasses of water , bring me the largest glass that you've got , bring it every 10 minutes until I pass out and then bring it every 15 after that , I mean , it's kind of the way it is .
Speaker 4The lady just died doing that Drinking water .
Speaker 3Yeah , she had too much water , like 50 gallons .
Speaker 4No , she only had like six glasses or something like that . It was too much for when she died . Did you stop drinking ? No , I have two glasses a day , but for me that's a lot .
Speaker 5Yeah , little guy , yeah , I drink more water than anybody you've ever met .
Speaker 4What was your question ?
Speaker 3We were talking about how too much water wrecks the memory . No , just about Jesus being the object of our joy .
Speaker 5Yeah , that's exactly right .
This life is about Christ , it's not about you , right ? I've often said you need to get over yourself . God already has that . This life is not about you . And if it's not about you , who is it about ? Or what is it about ? Well , it's about a who . It's about Him , it's about Jesus Christ . So make it your aim . I want to give you a hobby . Your hobby is to know Jesus Christ . Let him , who glories , glory in this that he knows me and that he understands me . John 17 , three . This is life eternal that they may know you , the only true God , and Jesus Christ whom you have sent . So joy life . Everything that you need in this life is found in knowing him . Now , boast about him , boast in him . Glory that you know him , and I'll tell you , it revolutionizes everything about how you live your life , because you want to live to the glory of .
Speaker 3God , amen , yeah . And again , ephesians 5 , 8 on it says for you were once darkness , but now you are light in the Lord . Walk as children of light , for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness , righteousness and truth , finding out what is acceptable to the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness , but rather expose them for the shameful , even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret . But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light , for whatever makes manifest is light . Therefore , he says awake , you who sleep , arise from the dead , and Christ will give you light . See then that you walk circumspectly , not as fools but as wise , redeeming the time , because the days are evil . Therefore , do not be unwise , but understand what the will of the Lord is . So , yeah , we're to wake up and we're to walk in wisdom , by understanding what God's will is , redeeming the time , buying it up .
Speaker 3And then Romans 6 , 1 to 4, . What shall we say then ? Shall we continue in sin ? That grace may abound ? Certainly not . How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it ? And then Paul goes on from there and six verses , 12 to 14 , he says therefore , do not let sin reign in your mortal body , that you should obey its lusts and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin , but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead , and your members as instruments of righteousness for sin shall not have dominion over you , for you are not under law , but under grace . And so no , oh yeah , I'm under grace , that's great . So no Repent , repent . Flee from that and walk in holiness .
Speaker 4That lady had four bottles of water in 20 minutes . That's what killed her . How did she die ? Was ?
Speaker 3she drowning in it . I don't know , it's probably some weird flu . Gray Water is normal . That it's probably some weird flu .
Speaker 5Gray Water is normal . That seems weird .
Speaker 4Yeah , it does seem weird , but it's happened to another lady that was in 2023 . Another one just recently .
Speaker 5Yeah , mom dies from brain swelling after drinking too much water . Having a relationship with ET ? Wait , what is this ? New York ? The National Enquirer .
Speaker 4No , no , no , no , no , no . There's a whole lot of legitimate sources .
Speaker 5There's a whole lot of legitimate sources . Oh okay , I'm just saying be careful .
Speaker 3Inquire . All right , friends , here's this really good article I came across by Grant Gaines and he gives this quote by John Owens be killing sin or it will be killing you .
Speaker 1That's the flag in my office .
Speaker 3Is it .
Speaker 1You never noticed that .
Speaker 3That's where I've seen it . Well , if it wasn't in Latin , we'd be able to know that it's there . Yeah , but he talks about in the article . He talks about Owen's book , the Mortification of Sin .
Speaker 5It's a great book . It is the .
Speaker 3Mortification of Sin . And you know , and Owen's in , that is , he's doing an exposition of Romans 8.13, . For if you live according to the flesh , you will die , but if , by the spirit , you put to death the deeds of the body , you will live . And then he says this he says the deadliest snake in the world is Australia's inland tapen . The venom from one bite can kill 100 full-grown humans . Imagine let's call it a ham snake . A what A canned ham snake A canned ham snake .
Speaker 3Yeah , imagine you came home to find this venomous killer coiled up in your living room . What would you do ? You wouldn't encourage your kids to play with it . You wouldn't keep it around as a pet , no , you'd grab a shovel and aim for its head Shovel , shotgun , buckshot .
Speaker 3We have something far more dangerous in our homes and hearts Sin . Sadly , too many people play with sin instead of putting it to death . He says what is the shovel we use to attack our sin ? Owen gives us nine practical directives . I just want to hit a few of them .
Speaker 5No , please take your time . No , no , seriously , I think this is important .
Speaker 3The first is diagnose sin's severity . Ray sin's severity , Just speak to that for a moment .
Speaker 4Yeah , I wanted to go in a slightly other direction . Sin is incredibly severe .
Speaker 3Now , while we're on this , speaking of that , I can always count on you to do that .
Speaker 4Speaking of that , the miracle is that God changes the heart . So you love righteousness . That's your own personal miracle . You and I . Before we come to Christ , we're children of wrath , drinking in iniquity like water , loving darkness rather than light . And when we become new creatures in Christ , suddenly we begin to thirst for righteousness . That's what we're talking about . So when people say , how do you know God is real ? Well , he transforms your heart in an instant so that a sin-loving sinner loves righteousness . For me that was a miracle that I've never got over . Suddenly I want to please the God that gave me life when I didn't give him two seconds serious thought in 22 years , New creature in Christ , Thirsting after righteousness . So sin is very sincere , Sincere .
Speaker 2Sincere you are deceived .
Speaker 4I knew you were part of the Illuminati Severe .
Speaker 3We see what you're all about . In fact , your nose is in the shape of a triangle . I knew you were part of the . Illuminati .
Speaker 4Oh , that's right .
Speaker 5I want to shake hands , it's like those horns .
Speaker 3All right , whatever . Ray Number two . Number two Mark Grasp sin's serious consequences .
Speaker 5Speak to that . Yeah , there's a lasting effect to sin . We think that sin is momentary , but it's like a donut it's covered in razor blades . Who's eating donuts with razor blades ? There's always something up sin's sleeve . You just have to remember that . There's always up sin's sleeve . There's always something up sin's sleeve .
Speaker 1What is happening on that side of the table ?
Speaker 5Yeah , sin's sleeve .
Speaker 3Yeah , oscar , number three that side of the table . Yeah , sin sleeve . Yeah , oscar number three be convinced of your guilt . Be convinced of your guilt when it comes to sin , calling it what it is , you know , and not lightening it . Yeah exactly .
Speaker 1Well , you know when , when we're confronted with our sin , it's so , um , like a default mode for us that our inner lawyer comes out , that we're like , hey , it's not that bad , but this situation or she made me do it , or if well , if this wasn't happening , then this would be happening Rather than man . When your sin is revealed to you , especially by other people or circumstances or situations , that's actually God offering you grace , because he desires to transform you , to be more like his son , and to run from that , to be adverse to God , working in your life , is a dangerous place to be .
Speaker 5Yeah , why do I feel guilty ? Because you're guilty , not confess , and move forward .
Speaker 3Ray number four earnestly desire deliverance . He says this . He says knowing your great guilt , you can long for deliverance from sin . Why is this important ? Because longing , breathing and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself . That hath a mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed after . That's good . That's what I was going to say .
Speaker 3Yeah , you have nothing to say on that right , yes going to say , yeah , you have nothing to say on that , right . Yes , number five Consider the relationship between your sins and your natural temperament . He says each person has a unique temperament and nature that makes certain sins harder to kill . Owen reminds us a proneness to some sins may doubtless lie in the natural temper and disposition of men . In other words , mark , know yourself , know what you're prone to sin in and flee from it .
Speaker 5That's right . I mean , if you're going to master yourself and know yourself , know what you're capable of doing , then you can flee from certain things . Right , If you come from a place where you struggle with alcohol , don't go hang out at a bar to go witnessing the share of the gospel . Know what you're capable of doing . And the thing is we don't even know what we're capable of doing . Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked . We do not graduate from temptation , as Ray said earlier . Yeah , oh , Ray has something to say .
Speaker 4Yeah , I do . We need to seek God's strength when it comes to this whole thing . When I go hunting the beach , for the last four or five years I've been going early on a Saturday morning . I used to go in the afternoons , but there's some good things about going in the morning . One , you get easier parking and two , the girls aren't there that forgot to put their clothes on . They're cold .
Speaker 1Because it's colder , that's really good , actually .
Speaker 4So that's why I go early in the morning , and so I am driving there , I , and while I'm driving there , I think , lord , please let the fear of God fill my heart , because that's what I need . The Bible says the ungodly that there's no fear of God before their eyes , and that's what we need as Christians have the fear of God before our eyes , so that our eyes are only feast upon that which pleases God , amen .
Speaker 3Ray Comfort's 4 am beach evangelism .
Speaker 2Ray's witnessing to the seagulls .
Speaker 4And that's good , because it's in the dark .
Speaker 3Yeah , and then you know , I'll just summarize these . But address , he says , avoid occasions that incite sin , which kind of goes along with the fifth one . Address sin's first signs and meditate on God's glory and don't rush to comfort yourself . That's a good one . Owen's final instruction comes in the form of a caution Though we may experience guilt and conviction over sin , we shouldn't assume that sin is defeated . Sin is deceitful and it can trick us into thinking we've dealt with it decisively when we have not . Owen warns us not to seek peace , speak peace to ourselves before God speaks it , but rather to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith he before God speaks it , but rather to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith . He warns we may console ourselves falsely if we treat the process of repentance lightly , don't show concern for other sins or if our consolation is not attended with the greatest detestation imaginable of that sin in reference , that's really good .
Speaker 5You'll know that sin is done with you when you're dead . So that's why you have to deal with sin seriously right now . So when you sin you go man , I blew it Meditate long on that place and surrender that to Jesus and then , once you deal with that sin , then you could be killing sin . If you just go oh I can't believe I did that and then you just quickly move on , you're going to do it again because you haven't dealt seriously with your sin . Because you haven't dealt seriously with your sin and you'll know sin is done with you because when sin is full grown it brings forth death .
Speaker 4Yeah , that's good , mark , all it takes is humility , Say , Lord , I blew it . And then you flee to the cross and he's faithful and just to cleanse us from all sin or cleanse us from all unrighteousness . But the joy I have when it comes to understanding the cross is that when I sin and I say to the Lord I did that again , he doesn't know what I mean by again .
Speaker 3Wow , that's so good , I love it . He throws our sins in the sea of forgetfulness and puts up a no fishing sign . So , yeah , friends , this is all key . And remember , look , you can't be a person who has cancer and says , yeah , I hate cancer , don't want cancer , but you never go and get the treatments you need to overcome it . You don't say , oh , you know , I have diabetes and I really want to continue going on living , but nah , yeah , but you never do your dialysis .
Speaker 3It's ridiculous , if you have these besetting sins in your life , whatever they may be , and you just kind of like , let one day roll into the next and that becomes a week , then a month , then a year , you're going to have a lifetime of stunted growth as a believer and I'm talking to the believer who's you know . Yeah , you're not living in what many would maybe identify as gross immorality , and that's the danger , right , those respectable sins that Jerry Bridges talks about in his life . But you just kind of ah , bitterness or whatever , or jealousy , or envy , or covetousness , those are all serious , but they're not seen as serious . Take them seriously and take the steps you need Meditate on scripture and memorize scripture , study God's word on the topic , listen to sermons , read books , get accountability , pray over it every day . Those are ways that we can practically overcome sin . Amen , amen . So repent of your sins . Oscar , mark and Ray , all right friends , why would anyone follow Jesus ? 12 Reasons to Trust what the Bible Says About Jesus . It's a book by Ray Comfort .
Speaker 2Don't forget to chug from the Living Waters mug in the Heaven and Study Bible at livingwaterscom podcast at livingwaterscom .
Speaker 3Friends , give us your thoughts and comments . Don't forget to give us a rating . Keep us at five stars . Keep telling your friends about us . Subscribe , oh , subscribe . Can you spell subscribe , oscar ? I didn't think so . Thank you for joining us , friends . We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast , the one podcast you can't wait to turn off . Click , click , mark , get your head off the microphone .