WWUTT 540 Q&A Flee Rapture Music?

Where do the what music beds come from? What's my view concerning the rapture? Where can you find some good, reformed praise and worship music?

And how do you flee from sexual immorality? The answers to these questions when we understand the text.

You're listening to When We Understand The Text, a verse -by -verse Bible study to help encourage your time in the

Word. Let your friends know about our ministry at www .wutt .com.

Now here's your host, Pastor Gabe. Along with my cold co -host, Rebecca Hughes, who's got this sweater around her and her shoulders all squinted up to her ears and her teeth are chattering.

A little bit. Is it cold down here? More than what I'm used to and what I like. Is it?

I'm in a short -sleeved shirt. I feel okay. Well, how about some warmth from our listeners and the lovely emails that they sent our way?

Sounds good. Think that might warm you up? Yes, most definitely. She looks a little skeptical if you couldn't hear by her tone.

Our email address is whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com. This first question comes from Heidi in California.

It's not a real deep question, but it's a question we get a lot related to the music that we use in the

What videos. But this one was funny, the way that she approached it. I was just watching the video called

How to Study the Book of Revelation, and I was wondering what the background music was.

Just curious, is it Zappa? Like Frank Zappa? Oh, got it. I think.

Isn't that who she's referring to? I don't know. Do you know any Frank Zappa songs? I don't know Heidi. Maybe she likes

Zappa. Maybe. I can honestly say I don't know a single Frank Zappa song.

I know. I actually know his. Oh, hello. Your alarm's going off again. I'm sorry.

Is this every show? Just about. Yeah. Most of the time, you, the listeners don't hear it because we cut out the alarm.

But I think I'm just going to leave that one in there. I'm not even going to bother. So you said you know some

Zappa. I don't know Zappa. No, I know the name. But surprisingly, I do know that name.

Well, let me - Because I'm not a name person. Well, you and your brothers used to - Title. You and your brother, you only had one brother, used to listen to your parents' records.

Yeah, oh yeah. And you said you didn't know the names of the titles or anything, but you knew the music. Yes. Right. Anyway, well, if you do know some

Zappa, I'm going to play this video. You'll have to let me know if it sounds like Zappa. Okay. Because I don't know. Okay.

The most popular way to study the book of Revelation is with a globe in one hand and a newspaper in the other, but that's not how it works.

Revelation was as relevant in the first century as it is in any century as it is today. Here are seven things to look for when you study the book of Revelation.

First, the glory of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not only mentioned, it's an underscoring theme.

Numbers are symbolic, especially the number three and things being presented in threes. Second, the relevance and reliability of the whole

Bible. There are 404 verses in Revelation, over 500 references to the Old Testament.

The better you know the whole Bible, the easier it is to understand Revelation. Third, the sovereignty of God and how

God has ordained all things from beginning to end. Fourth, the reality of suffering. The book affirms that Christians will go through tribulation, but we have hope knowing that Christ has the final victory.

Fifth, the inevitability and severity of God's judgment. Revelation is not just about the deliverance of God's people, it's also about the judgment of the ungodly, along with the devil and his angels.

Sixth, the certainty of Christ's return. Jesus said, Seventh, the consummation of redemptive history.

The Bible is not a group of stories, it's one story, about how God is reconciling all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven, through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Revelation is the last page of that story when we understand the text. So did that sound to you like Zappa?

I'm not sure. I mean, it sounded familiar. I guess. It sounded like that era, you know?

Maybe, I don't have any idea. So it's not Zappa? No, it's not Zappa. Okay, so I'm gonna tie this question into the one that we get frequently about, where do the

What Video music beds come from? There you go. They come from a couple of different places. I have written a few of those beds, so they are original creations.

Other music beds have come from my years in radio. I actually saved a lot of the spots that I did, including the music beds that I use for those spots.

And so whatever random music library I was pulling those music beds from, I still have.

Now, every single music bed that is used in a What Video has been altered. So it's not exactly what

I pulled from the music library that we were using. We do those music beds under the spots and things like that.

I've moved pieces around. I even have a program that allows me to eliminate certain instruments.

So it all sounds different. All of these music beds are unique to What Videos, and you will never hear those music beds exactly like that anywhere else.

Cool. I will say I was watching Forensic Files. So the whole true crime drama,

Forensic Files on Netflix. The ones that I don't watch. Yeah, Becky doesn't watch them because I watch them late at night, and it's a bad note for her to go to bed on.

So they always catch the guy. That's the whole point of Forensic Files. But it still creeps me out. The music's dark.

The guy's voice is like, and then they were... Anyway, I'm not gonna... They found the guy lying in a gutter, and his head was split open.

I might as well go watch it. Anyway, so what was

I saying about that? Oh, there was actually a music bed in that show that I was like,

I have that bed. I know exactly which music bed it is that they're using. So anyway, but all of those beds are unique to the

What Videos, and some of them are original. And I have had a couple of people contact me and say, hey, if I wrote a music bed for you, would you put it in a

What Video? If I know you, yes, but I would rather not do a thing where I'm using a music bed, and then you come at me 10 years later and go,

I had that bed, that was copyrighted, and it was mine. If you're gonna contribute something like that, it better remain in that video, and we better not have an issue in the future.

So all of that stuff is mostly done in -house so that I don't have those concerns in the future.

But yeah, that's where the music beds come from. So that one that you heard sounded a little bit different than that.

I actually added some instruments with a keyboard, even to that particular music bed. So all of the beds are unique to the videos that you hear them on.

But I'm glad they're catchy. Thank you for enjoying those music beds along with the

What Videos. This next question is in the same line of kind of what we just watched related to the

Book of Revelation. So this one is about end times. And this is from Nathan, not Nathan, but Nathan.

Hey, Pastor Gabriel, I had a general question on your opinion and exegesis of the rapture. Do you believe in it as MacArthur, or are you amillennial or postmillennial as some reformed individuals?

Thanks so much for your ministry. It has been a feast for my soul and a growth in the faith.

My response to that question is none of the above. I don't agree with MacArthur's view of the rapture.

I'm not really totally in on amillennialism or postmillennialism either. Well, I guess as far as the rapture is concerned,

I believe that the coming of the Lord in judgment and his receiving his saints unto himself, that's all the same event.

So all of that's happening at the same time. There's not a rapture, a secret rapture where people disappear, then a seven year period of tribulation.

And then Christ comes back again to rapture more Christians who were saved during that seven year period and coming back with the

Christians that he raptured the first time seven years ago. You know, that's not in the

Bible. And that's kind of what I've been showing as we've gone through first and second Thessalonians together.

But I will say that, you know, I love MacArthur. I listen to his Bible teaching. I don't agree with him in his dispensational view on end times eschatology.

But look at how good of friends MacArthur is with somebody like Al Mohler, who's also not a dispensationalist.

He is a historic premillennial. And how good of friends he is with R .C. Sproul, also not a dispensationalist.

He is he's kind of the blend of amillennial and postmillennial. Right. And these guys set great examples for different viewpoints on eschatology.

And yet they're great friends and they do ministry together, conferences together, so on and so forth.

Right. And I think when it comes to that kind of camaraderie, we need to imitate that because I see way too much division over differences of opinion on eschatology.

The things that I've been teaching this past week coming out of second Thessalonians, you may not agree with all of that.

And you may not have agreed with my exposition of first Thessalonians chapters four and five either.

I hope that you can rejoice with me in knowing that Christ is going to return.

Amen. That's the promise that we've been given in scripture. That is our hope. That is what we're looking forward to.

And we'll probably disagree on the specifics on the things that are going to take place prior to his return.

Or even how those things are going to play out even right after his return. That's what I was going to say. Because that's basically amillennial or that's basically the millennial viewpoints.

Everything that happens after that. Right. So differing on those opinions. But hey, we can rejoice together in celebrating that our

Lord Christ has saved us from our sins by his death on the cross, was resurrected from the grave so that we can share in a resurrection like his.

And we know he's coming back and he's going to win. Amen. My friend, Nate Pickowitz, who is the author of the book,

Why We're Protestant, especially here in the month of October, highly encourage you to check that book out.

He's a pastor up in New Hampshire, and he is dispensational. And I am not.

But we had a conversation with somebody that came up to us and was asking us about this at ShepCon. Actually, they were asking us about end times.

Oh dear. I looked at Nate and I said, look, if Nate's right and I'm wrong, I'm going to be the first one standing up to him in heaven and going, you know what?

You were right. But here we are. I'm perfectly fine with admitting that he was right and I was wrong.

But then I added, but I'm right. Anyway, so you can have a good natured ribbing with that.

I think it is good to challenge one another because in challenging each other, it drives us to go back to the scriptures and make sure we understand what we are to understand related to what the

Bible says. In context, yeah. Our authority is the word of God. Our authority is not that somebody came up with a system of studying end times.

And so that's what we need to adhere to. If you're reading something in the Bible and you're going, you know what?

That doesn't match up with this version of end times that I have adopted. You probably have a good reason to challenge that and wonder if something that you've believed all this while because somebody taught you that way of interpreting end times theology is reason for you to go.

That might be wrong. And sometimes if it sounds like a stretch, it probably is. Maybe so.

Something to look into anyway. So thank you for the question, Nithin. And I hope that that was sufficient.

It may not help you in your understanding of eschatology, but I hope that it helps you in the way that you relate to fellow saints in the ways that you talk about eschatology.

With charity, with love and encouragement of one another, do not be divisive over differences of opinion on end times unless they're doing something like the false teachers did to the

Thessalonians, telling them that the rapture has already occurred, right? Or you got somebody that comes along and goes,

Oh no, I know exactly what year it's going to happen. No, these guys don't know anything like that. So they need to study their

Bible better. Yes. According to the scriptures, the word of God is our authority.

Next question. This comes from Daryl in New Jersey, and he says, Pastor Gabe, thank you so much for the hard work that you do in your podcasts and videos.

You have been such a blessing in my walk. I really have been enjoying your Friday podcast with your wife.

It has inspired me to perhaps start a podcast with my wife. We are currently worship leaders at our church.

Now, I love that. I love husband and wife duos leading worship.

It's one of the reasons why I love Keith and Kristen Getty so much. They're fun. In fact, there was at one point several years back where we were looking for a new worship leader at our church, which we still are, by the way, if somebody wants to move to Junction City, can't pay you.

Yes. You're welcome to come be worship leaders. I recommend getting a job first.

Yeah, you may be so. You would be bivocational, but we'd love to have you. Anyway. No, I mean, like, because jobs are hard to come by around here.

Are they? I don't know. I think there's a lot of openings for stuff. For like entry level. Well, that's true.

Yeah, I mean, it's not really career level stuff. Right. That's a little harder to come by. I guess. Unless you want to work at the police department and your name's

Anonymou. I'm just kidding. Just kidding. I've ribbed him enough on that.

But I love husband and wife duos. Anyway, when we were looking several years back, that was what I was hoping to get in our applications.

I was looking for somebody who was, you know, I sing a little bit and my wife sings too. And I would have gone sold.

Come on, guys. Come on down here. I'd love to have you lead worship at our church. I lead worship.

That's actually what I did when I first started at First Southern Baptist in Junction City. And I still do it.

And I don't have a problem doing it. I love singing. I love singing the hymns and playing piano, which is what

I do. And we've got a great band. And we've got some other great singers that come up there. But, hey,

I would love to hand it off to somebody else. Doesn't have to be me doing all of that. But anyway, so all of that to say,

I love husband and wife duos that lead worship together. The question that I have for you, Daryl says, concerns music.

Surprise, surprise. Recently, we were being encouraged by leadership to do songs by Hillsong and Elevation Worship.

I feel convicted about playing their music because I know about the false teaching that comes from their ministries.

I like to do hymns, but leadership is trying to reach a younger generation that feels some of the hymns sing in a language that may be foreign to them.

Do you have any songs that you would suggest that are modern and won't cause us to compromise on our consciences?

Thank you for your help and your ministry. May God continue to bless you and your family and to you as well,

Daryl. I pray that the Lord would bless you in your ministry. And thank you for the conviction that you have, because the doctrine that's in our songs is just as important as the doctrine that comes from the pulpit.

Oh, definitely. Now, I'll tell you that Chris Tomlin songs are fine. I don't think there's anything really inherently wrong with the stuff that Chris Tomlin does, regardless of what you think about Louis Giglio and the stuff that goes on at the

Passion Conferences. I just prefer not to do Chris Tomlin songs because they're just way overdone.

There's a lot of them, and everybody does them. My son's favorite song is still

How Great Is Our God. So for the sake of my son, I have to sneak that song in every once in a while.

It's not for the sake of my son. It's to the glory of God. But that song is kept in my mind because I know

Zeej likes it, too. And I love Matt Redman, and I know that Redman is one who has kind of put his chips behind guys like Furtick and has partnered with Hillsong and stuff like that in the past.

I know that's Matt Redman, but he does such great songs that are doctrinally sound, whereas the

Hillsong tunes are not even doctrinally sound. A lot of them aren't anyway. Redman's very much are.

He wrote Blessed Be Your Name. Blessed Be The Name. Blessed Be Your Name.

Yeah. There's Blessed Be The Name, which is the classic hymn, and there's Blessed Be Your Name, which is Matt Redman.

He did A Heart of Worship, Better Is One Day In Your Courts. And he does a song that's not as common.

I don't hear as many people do this, but I love the song You Alone Can Rescue. That's a great song.

I love that one. That is a great song. Anyway, so Redman is one that I like. Look up Andrew Peterson. We've mentioned

Keith and Kristen Getty. They have more songs than just In Christ Alone.

Right. That is a fantastic hymn, but there's other stuff that Keith and Kristen Getty have done. Yeah, because they lead worship, too, so they have tons of songs.

Of course. Yeah, they've got a whole library and CDs, so you can buy their CDs and... And music.

That's right. They have the sheet music and the books and stuff, too. Yes. Yeah, so that's real good. And even like Christmastime stuff, too.

Christmas tunes. Okay, so I've got four websites. Yeah, that is coming up. Oh, man. Nudge, nudge.

Well, yeah, coming up, it's already... There's Christmas trees in all the department stores. Oh, I know. That was months ago.

Christmas in July, and then we just have... It was. ...Christmas trees up for half the year. It was very surprising. Anyway, so I've got four websites for you to check out.

Cityhymns .com, ThousandTongues .org, SovereignGraceMusic .org,

and SeedsFamilyWorship .com. Actually, let me check that last one one more time, because I did not check to see if that was a .com

or a .org. SeedsFamilyWorship .com. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Is that right? Is this the site? Yeah, there it is. Okay, good. That's right. So SeedsFamilyWorship .com, that is the website.

Yes. So those four sites. Now, you won't come up with the commonly known stuff, but honestly,

I gotta tell you, the... But they're catchy. Oh, yeah, wonderfully. They are really catchy.

Wonderfully catchy songs in all four websites. All four websites have great modern worship songs that you can find that are doctrinally sound.

Now, they're not gonna be as widespread as the Jesus Culture or Elevation Music or Hillsong tunes, but those songs are not as popular as you think they are.

The thing is that you get caught in those bubbles, in that kind of world where only that kind of music is surrounding you, and you think that that's the stuff that's out there.

Right. And as far as Christian praise and worship goes, yeah, it's the most popular stuff, but it's not like everyone has heard those songs, and so they're therefore coming to your church expecting to hear those songs.

Right. Don't have that impression of people that are coming into your church, especially if you've got leadership that has that seeker -friendly mentality, and so they're looking for songs that they think would draw a younger generation in.

That younger generation probably doesn't know Elevation, Hillsong, and Jesus Culture.

No. So if you're... They probably don't even know the gospel or the basics. There's that as well.

So if you're looking for something that has that sound that you think would appeal to a younger generation, those four websites will get you the songs that you want.

And in fact, I want to play one here. This isn't going to be one of the heavier tunes, but I just love this song, and I found it through City Hymns.

Cityhymns .com? Yeah, cityhymns .com. Getting mixed up on the .coms and the .orgs.

But anyway, City Hymns did this song, and the first time I heard it,

I learned it on piano immediately and did it at church the next Sunday. This is a kind of a rehash of a

Horatio Bonner song called Not What My Hands Have Done, and this song is called

Holy Hands. So take a listen to this. Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul

Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole

Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load

These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all

I bring And I have come too high beneath your wing

These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace

And now I wear your righteous Thy work alone,

O Christ, can ease this weight of sin Thy blood alone,

O Lamb of God, can give me peace within Thy love to me,

O God, not mine, O Lord, to thee Can rid me of this darkened rest and set my spirit free

These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all

I bring And I have come too high beneath your wings

These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace

And now I wear your righteousness

Thy grace alone, O God, to me can pardon speak

Thy power alone, O Lamb of God, can this sore bondage break

No other work save thine, no other blood will do

No strength save that which is divine can bear me safely through These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all

I bring And I have come too high beneath your wings

These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace

And now I wear your righteousness

I praise the God of grace, I trust his truth and might

He calls me his, I call him mine, my guide, my joy, my light

He tears, see who's safe with me, and freely pardon gives

I love because he loveth me, I live because he lives

These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all

I bring These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace

And now I wear your righteousness These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all

I bring And I have come too high beneath your wings

These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace

And now I wear your righteousness And now

I wear your righteousness Yeah, probably not.

It's the spinning song, however. Yeah, if you wait and listen to the outtakes at the end of this episode, you'll hear the joke related to that.

So those four websites, once again, cityhymns .com, thousandtongues .org, sovereigngracemusic .org,

and seedsfamilyworship .com. Also, the Grace Notes hymnal that comes from Grace To You, the hymnal that they put together,

I can't remember if it was last year or the year before. But anyway, it's got tons of great stuff in it, new and modern, as well as classic hymns.

So I would encourage you to check that one out as well. I don't know if you can pick it up at gracetoyou, gty .org?

Yeah. I don't know if they're a .org or a .com either. Why can't we just be .ministry?

Right. What .ministry? Anyway, and thank you again, Daryl, for your conviction and dedication to great music serving the people of God in the church.

All right, so this portion now, this is where I get to that question that's a little bit more on the adult side.

And so if you, it's almost like a spoiler alert. So if you need to stop the audio now and screen the program before you let your kids listen to it.

This person who has written in has asked to remain anonymous. He says, hello, Pastor Gabe and Becky.

If this question makes it onto the podcast, please refrain from using my name on the air. I'm emailing you in regards to a struggle

I'm currently facing in my life. I know you've received emails like this before, but I'm struggling with sexual addiction and my salvation.

This is an issue that I've kept from everyone close to me. I understand the severity of this sin and I've tried repenting several times, but I keep coming back to it.

I've seen your what video, how to stop watching porn. And although I like the video, the only thing I would say in response is that to an addict, it just isn't that simple.

As a sex addict, I'm tempted every minute of every day. Just catching a glance of an attractive woman out in public will send my mind places that it should never go.

I know the right things to say to people to make them believe I'm saved from this sin. But truthfully, I know

I'm going to hell if I keep this up every time I've repented. I just feel like I'm doing it on my own with no help from God.

I don't feel Christ intervening in my life. And what terrifies me most is wondering whether or not it's even his will to save me.

I guess my question is, do you think that there is any hope for someone like me? Thank you for what you do.

And I hope to hear back. God bless. So in the video, how to stop looking at porn, which is the what video that was done, said, here is a simple solution for stopping what you're doing.

And it's just this stop. And that that is still true. And I still hold to that answer.

Right. That does not mean nor does the video allude to solving an addiction mindset.

Right. So, yes, your brain has now been conditioned to look at women a certain way and to crave a certain thing.

And whenever you look at that thing, there are certain hormones, chemicals that are released in your brain.

And it develops a sense of euphoria and you are addicted to that feeling. And so you still want to look at women to release those chemicals so that you can have the feeling that you're used to having because of your lust.

And it's it's an enslavement to your flesh. If you are addicted to the chemical releases in your body, you are being enslaved to your own body.

That's where you are. And it's the constant looking at that that has conditioned you to keep coming back and looking at that.

So just because you need to stop looking at porn does not mean you've solved your problem with lust.

That may still be a struggle that you will have in your body for a long time. But as far as the feeding, the urge goes, you've got to stop and you absolutely have control over that.

You can stop looking at porn and you just don't want to. A person who keeps looking at it just doesn't want to stop.

That's really what it comes down to. So once you've done that, once you have made that commitment and you've said before God and you've cried before him and you have actually felt bad for what it is that you've done.

You know what you're doing is evil and you need to stop doing it. Once you've done that, you've made that.

This is it. Cold turkey. I'm repenting, which means you're going to turn away from this and you're not going to go back to it anymore.

Right. I've repented of this. So you've stopped looking at porn that you are going to need

God's help to get your brain away from what it has now been conditioned to long for and desire that sense of lust that you are constantly battling in your flesh.

And it's going to take a long time and the length of time is different for every person. But these are the kinds of things that's going to require discipline and accountability.

Setting up boundaries. Right. One of the issues that you have even mentioned in your email is that you're doing this in secret and you're not letting anyone know about it.

That's a problem. That's a huge problem. If you want to solve this and if you're truly repentant, you are going to have to go to somebody and tell them.

So let me read you a couple of passages here. First Corinthians 7, beginning in 17, flee from sexual immorality.

Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Or do you not know that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God? You are not your own for you were bought with a price.

So glorify God in your body. And before that, Paul said, do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?

For it is written, the two will become one flesh. And then again, verse 17, but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

So if you are with the Lord and you do have the spirit of God, then you are desecrating the temple of the

Holy Spirit. Whenever you chase after sexual sin, it is a serious sin that is unique to all other sins.

The solution is given here from the Apostle Paul. Very simply, verse 18, flee from sexual immorality.

Run away from it. Get as far from it as you possibly can. Put yourself in a place where you will not be tempted to click on the wrong thing on the computer or watch the wrong thing on Netflix or flip through the wrong thing in a magazine.

Whatever it takes for you to get your eyes away from that, get away from it. And it's everywhere.

Especially in this culture. You can drive down the interstate and pass by a billboard. So I understand the temptation.

And you know, when you mentioned, I lust for a woman who walks by me, she's probably not wearing much.

I mean, just here in Junction City, going down to the grocery store and buying groceries. I've seen women down there that need to put way more clothes on.

I sleep in more than that. So this is from James chapter 4. And this is like 12 verses out of James 4.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and you quarrel.

You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.

You adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says, he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us, but he gives more grace.

Therefore, it says God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

I'm going to stop there for just a moment. So God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. The fact that you are not talking to anyone about this and you are doing this in secret, you don't want anybody to know about it, and you're using all the right

Christian words to keep people in mystery and unaware of this dark secret that you're doing in darkness, that's pride.

And you think that you are good enough to handle this on your own.

And not submitting to the Lord, not giving your soul to the care of your church, who is supposed to look after one another, encouraging and admonishing one another.

You're not even allowing the church to do that for you. So this is pride that you're keeping this all to yourself and thinking that you can handle this on your own.

And there's probably people in the church that have been through the same thing. And can give you great solutions to this.

Yes. And it's in your area, so they would know the way to drive, they would know what needs to be done in your area.

Or somebody that might even be committed to walking around with you. There you go. Finding ways to encourage you in the midst of just being in the world.

Yeah. Alcoholics Anonymous, don't they have like a sponsor that'll kind of do that sometimes? I don't remember if it was them or somebody else, but it was something like that.

Something to that effect. So it might be something like that. Somebody that can be with you and help encourage you.

And even when you see things or you confess, you know, I've got a thought right now. Somebody can say, okay, let's go to the scriptures.

Let's pray. Let's commit our minds to God. Somebody that can be with you to help you through that.

You have to tell somebody else. Right. That's basically the point that I'm getting to here. Quit being deceitful.

Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double -minded.

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. One more portion of James to read here out of chapter 5, verse 13.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. So, this is a temptation that you are suffering with.

So, commit your mind and your heart to the Lord. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the

Lord. Now, oftentimes we use that passage to talk about physical sickness.

That could also apply to a sin sickness. Like you are so sick with this sin and you're done with it.

I want the elders to know about it. I want them to come pray over me and anoint me with oil. That I would be forgiven.

And I think that answers your last question. Is there any hope for someone like me?

Is that what you mean? So, there is. Yes. There is. Absolutely. Our God is a great

God who heals. He raised Lazarus from the dead, for crying out loud. Christ himself came back from the dead.

He can resurrect your dead spirit. And so, yes, there is absolutely hope for you.

But you've got to stop keeping these things secret. And thinking that you can do this all by yourself.

And you have to mourn over this. You have to feel sick over your sin.

And be willing to do anything necessary. If you still think that you can do this on your own, then you're not willing to do anything necessary to get over this sin.

And I highly recommend not making that accountability partner a woman.

Oh, yes. Definitely. Right. And women struggle through this too.

So, if there's a woman out there who is struggling with this very thing, your accountability partner needs to be another woman. If you're a man that is struggling with this, your accountability partner needs to be a man.

Right. Somebody who's going to keep you accountable. And by the way. Because it would not be very helpful in the sense of,

I don't know. I think it would make things more complicated than what they need to be. For you to have an accountability partner that's the opposite sex would just be inappropriate.

I mean, these things that you're struggling with, you need to tell somebody of the same sex. You cannot tell somebody of the opposite sex.

Right. Because that's part of the whole accountability thing. But anyway. And quit lying to them.

Quit telling them everything is, or answering their questions the right way to make them think that you're saved.

You know what I mean? Right. If you're doubting that you're saved, and you're telling everybody that you're saved, that's deceitful as well.

Yes. Right. So, the elders of the church pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Verse 15.

The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another. There you go. And pray for one another, that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.

So, this past week I had the chance to listen to Jared C. Wilson at the KNCSB conference, which was in Salina, and one of the comments that he made about prayer, he said, is prayer not admitting helplessness before God?

And so, that's what you do when you pray, and that's what you do when you pray with other saints. You admit your helplessness before the

Lord, and your need for him to save you, cleanse you, purify you from your sins. I'm baffled by that verse that you just read, that I'm thinking about planting seeds, and I'm like, oh,

I have to get them in the ground. I'm literally going through my head of my to -do list. Right, because you've got flower bulbs to plant.

I do, and I have a limited amount of time to get them in, otherwise they're going to die, and they're not going to plant to anything.

So, for there not to be any fresh seeds for three years, and then all of a sudden it rains and stuff grows.

Right. That's just a miracle. God bringing life where there was death. Right. Yes. There was absolutely nothing.

Yeah. So, just, I don't know. That's amazing. Sorry. That's, so this is.

My brain. Beholding the glory of God, and knowing his grace to forgive you of your sin, and make you a new creature.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. 2

Corinthians 5. If you are still walking in your sin, then you're still enslaved to your sin, and you're submitting your members to your sin, but instead you need to submit your members to God as instruments of righteousness.

That's Romans chapter 6. So, all of this again to say, flee from sexual immorality, stop looking at porn.

You do have it within your own cognitive power to stop doing that.

And then you've got to confess to somebody. So, your immediate response right now, cold turkey, stop looking at porn.

Right. And then your next move should be, talk to an elder, talk to a pastor. And that's what

I was going to say, is make sure it's not just a baby in the faith. Don't confess to somebody who's immature in the faith.

Definitely make it somebody who knows the Bible and knows how to guide you well.

Yes. Let me kind of add to that though. Go for it. Let me add to that. If the person maybe that you are closest to in the faith, you know to be young in the faith or immature in the faith,

I still think it's okay to tell them, but then the two of you together go to somebody who's mature in the faith.

So, now you've got somebody with you who's a friend and a support. And now you're coming to somebody who is more seasoned in the faith or somebody who's even a teacher, a

Sunday school teacher, your pastor or an elder or somebody like that and talking to them and saying, you know, two friends coming together about this.

My friend is dying in his sin. He needs help. What can we do? So, now you've got not only somebody teaching you, but you have somebody to help walk with you.

All of the same gender. Yeah, right. Again, all in the same sex, not telling somebody the opposite sex.

I can't stress that enough. I mean, even as a pastor of a church where we have had women in our church who have had this same problem,

I can't do the one -on -one counseling. So, anytime that I've visited with a woman about this kind of a thing, my wife is there.

And then there are times when I might get her connected with other women to be able to talk about this because there are going to be some specific things in those addictions that I can't talk with you about.

So, it's just too personal. But this is the matter of the setup that we have in Titus 2 of older women mentoring the younger women.

Exactly. And older men mentoring the younger men. So, there are certain things about sexuality that a man should not be talking to a woman about who is not his wife.

Right. And likewise, there are things about sexuality a woman should not be talking with a man about who's not her husband.

Right. And so, this is why the church needs mature men and immature men, mature women and immature women so that we're complimenting one another in our strengths and weaknesses and we have a functioning body of Christ.

Amen. So, anyway, I hope that these answers have been an encouragement to you. I want to pray for you.

And then that is how we will conclude our program. All right? Okay. Lord, I thank you for this person's willingness to want to step out and say,

I'm having a problem and I know that if I don't solve this, this could result in my condemnation.

I need to do something about this because I believe that in his heart there is a desire for holiness and to please

God. And so, I pray that that longing in his heart to get over the thing that he knows that is a sin that will destroy him will blossom, it will bloom, it will grow, it will mature, and his love for the word of God will cleanse him and lead him in sanctification, perhaps salvation for the very first time, but that you also put some strong men around him that he will confess to and will encourage him, will hold him accountable, will not be gentle, but will tell him harsh things where harsh things need to be said, admonishing, correcting with goodwill so that he will flee from sexual immorality and walk the path of righteousness that we have been called by Christ to walk.

Lord, we ask that you forgive us our sins. All of us have sinned. And according to what

Christ has said in Matthew 5, that if you even look at a person with lust in your heart, you've committed adultery in your heart.

So all of us have committed adultery. All of us need to be cleansed from this sin, which we have been given through the atoning blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection from the grave, that we might be resurrected from these dead spirits into a living spirit in Christ Jesus and walk as Jesus walked.

And so, Lord, I pray that once again, you give us a strong conviction in our heart. May we never be comfortable with our sin, but we always seek the righteousness of God.

And when we sin, we're convicted about it to go before God and ask forgiveness. We've been given this promise that if we ask forgiveness for our sins, you are faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness through Christ Jesus, our

Lord, who paid the price for our sins on the cross. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen.

Amen. How did you get spinning song in your head?

What is that from? I always go to that song. Like, you know how you have that one song that's stuck in your head forever?

And, like, no matter how many... Spinning song is the one that is routinely stuck in your head for all eternity.

Yes. So it lives up to its name. Yeah. Spinning. Just spinning around in your head. Yep. All day long,