WEBVTT 00:00:04.341 --> 00:00:10.798 I hope to shed some light on some quotes I have here that I've gotten from e-mails in the last three years. 00:00:10.799 --> 00:00:15.655 The first one is, a person says, "I think my real problem is depression, 00:00:15.656 --> 00:00:18.424 and I use pornography to self-comfort. 00:00:18.425 --> 00:00:22.810 I know that is worthy of death before a holy God, but I am stuck." 00:00:22.811 --> 00:00:24.677 I'll tell you, that's true! 00:00:24.678 --> 00:00:29.483 And the real problem, listen, there's a domino that is falling here: 00:00:29.483 --> 00:00:31.828 you get depressed and you feel lonely; 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:34.769 you fall into self-pity; you run to pornography. 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:37.571 So you're right - the root issue here is not pornography. 00:00:37.571 --> 00:00:40.552 But the root issue here also is not depression. 00:00:40.552 --> 00:00:43.611 The root issue here is not being satisfied in Christ. 00:00:43.611 --> 00:00:46.277 Because by not being satisfied in the Lord 00:00:46.277 --> 00:00:49.813 and dwelling in the house of the Lord and beholding the beauty of the Lord, 00:00:49.813 --> 00:00:50.935 you get depressed. 00:00:50.935 --> 00:00:54.713 You lose that perfect peace that Isaiah 26:3 talks about, 00:00:54.713 --> 00:00:56.844 and therefore you get lonely. 00:00:56.844 --> 00:01:01.373 And when you get lonely you feel a void inside, and you think, "Well, I need to fill that void." 00:01:01.373 --> 00:01:06.701 And instead of repenting and taking the way of escape that 1 Corinthians 10:13 talks about, 00:01:06.701 --> 00:01:09.870 you then run to pornography, you run to an idol. 00:01:09.870 --> 00:01:12.653 And you raise that up, and it doesn't satisfy. (P) 00:01:12.653 --> 00:01:19.722 You know, it says in Ezekiel 16 that the Israelites were whoring with their idols. 00:01:19.722 --> 00:01:22.233 Why? They were not satisfied. 00:01:22.233 --> 00:01:25.883 Because they weren't satisfied, they went and pursued their idols, 00:01:25.883 --> 00:01:27.614 and it left them even more empty. 00:01:27.614 --> 00:01:30.856 It says, "Even still you were not satisfied." 00:01:30.856 --> 00:01:33.301 And even yet still, they weren't satisfied. 00:01:33.301 --> 00:01:35.302 And they were a bold-faced harlot - 00:01:35.302 --> 00:01:41.321 they were prostituting themselves with all of their false idols instead of returning to the Lord. 00:01:41.321 --> 00:01:42.927 And that's what so many people do. 00:01:42.927 --> 00:01:45.832 Don't focus on freedom from pornography. 00:01:45.832 --> 00:01:50.444 Focus on Christ, then you will have freedom from pornography. 00:01:50.444 --> 00:01:52.356 I guarantee it. 00:01:52.356 --> 00:01:56.278 Do not pursue freedom. You'll never get it. 00:01:56.278 --> 00:02:01.164 You may get freedom from pornography, but then you got pride - now you're a slave of pride. 00:02:01.165 --> 00:02:05.652 You traded one sin for another sin. And freedom doesn't satisfy. 00:02:05.652 --> 00:02:07.624 When I wake up in the morning, I'm not thinking, 00:02:07.624 --> 00:02:11.105 "Well, how can I be a self-righteous pharisee and have freedom today, 00:02:11.105 --> 00:02:14.116 and then pat myself on the back and feel good at the end of the day?" 00:02:14.116 --> 00:02:18.059 No, I'm waking up and I'm saying this: "I want to behold the beauty of the Lord. 00:02:18.059 --> 00:02:21.684 My flesh faints for the Living God. I'm thirsting for Him. 00:02:21.684 --> 00:02:23.784 Earnestly am I going to seek the Lord." 00:02:23.784 --> 00:02:27.515 And I'm going to go to bed tonight, I'm going to meditate on the Lord in the watches of the night, 00:02:27.515 --> 00:02:32.230 and I'm going to see the victories that He gave me throughout the day because I was relying on Him. 00:02:32.230 --> 00:02:34.736 I wasn't trusting in the arm of my flesh for victory. 00:02:34.736 --> 00:02:37.079 I was trusting in the arm of the Living God, 00:02:37.079 --> 00:02:39.483 knowing the Lord is with me, the Lord will give me victory, 00:02:39.483 --> 00:02:41.141 the Lord will allow me to overcome. 00:02:41.141 --> 00:02:43.969 It's not an Internet filter, it's not an accountability partner. 00:02:43.969 --> 00:02:46.291 It's beholding the beauty of Christ. 00:02:46.292 --> 00:02:48.987 That is the answer to freedom from pornography. 00:02:48.987 --> 00:02:50.966 It's knowing Him. (P) 00:02:50.966 --> 00:02:53.442 I'll tell you, don't pursue freedom, 00:02:53.442 --> 00:02:56.433 and don't focus on "I need freedom from pornography". 00:02:56.433 --> 00:03:00.352 Focus and behold Christ, and you will have freedom. 00:03:00.352 --> 00:03:03.436 That's the only reason I've had freedom since I've been converted. 00:03:03.436 --> 00:03:08.781 And if I stop beholding the Living God I will fall into sin, just like King David did. 00:03:08.781 --> 00:03:11.498 You read in Samuel about the victories that he had, 00:03:11.498 --> 00:03:15.097 the wars that he won, about every enemy being routed out. 00:03:15.097 --> 00:03:16.740 But then he made a mistake. 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:20.978 At the time when the kings should have been at war, David didn't go to war. 00:03:20.978 --> 00:03:22.114 He was proud. 00:03:22.114 --> 00:03:25.100 And some of you, instead of seeking the Lord and being in the Word, 00:03:25.100 --> 00:03:28.652 being satisfied in the beauty of Christ, you ignore the Scriptures. 00:03:28.652 --> 00:03:30.740 You go running around on Facebook all day. 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:33.796 You go running around in all the other pursuits of the world - 00:03:33.796 --> 00:03:37.396 some of them even ministerial pursuits. 00:03:37.396 --> 00:03:39.634 You think: "Well, look what I'm doing for God." 00:03:39.635 --> 00:03:41.914 Listen, we can do a whole lot for the Lord. 00:03:41.914 --> 00:03:44.129 But if we're not being satisfied in the Lord, 00:03:44.130 --> 00:03:48.038 we can perform very well, but we will not overcome. 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:55.174 It's a deadly idol to get your joy from your performance and not from the perfect performance of Jesus Christ. 00:03:55.174 --> 00:04:00.625 I mean, that's where my joy comes from, because even if I fall, Christ didn't. (P) 00:04:00.625 --> 00:04:05.866 Jesus Christ, who laid the foundations of the world, lived a perfect life in my place. 00:04:05.866 --> 00:04:10.193 And then He died on that Cross as a perfect, spotless sacrifice once and for all, 00:04:10.193 --> 00:04:14.765 to satisfy the wrath of God that I deserved in hell for all of an eternity. 00:04:14.765 --> 00:04:18.245 And He rose again from the dead - He proved who He was. 00:04:18.245 --> 00:04:22.365 And that same victory that He had on Calvary, and that resurrection from the dead, 00:04:22.365 --> 00:04:26.141 He'll give to the one who comes to Him, who stops trying to save himself, 00:04:26.141 --> 00:04:31.451 who gives up and surrenders, and says, "Lord, I cannot overcome this Goliath in my life. 00:04:31.451 --> 00:04:34.680 I can not. The Goliath is too big, he's too great." 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:37.693 And then, there that David is - that Christ - and He comes in there, 00:04:37.693 --> 00:04:39.702 and He slays him on our behalf. 00:04:39.702 --> 00:04:41.464 That is the only hope of victory. 00:04:41.464 --> 00:04:45.159 You will never get victory through Internet filters and accountability partners. 00:04:45.159 --> 00:04:46.923 It just won't work. 00:04:46.923 --> 00:04:51.223 It blows my mind how many people out there are not focusing on the root. 00:04:51.224 --> 00:04:54.503 The root issue is you're not satisfied in the beauty of the Lord, 00:04:54.503 --> 00:04:57.791 because if you saw what He did on that Cross for your sins, 00:04:57.791 --> 00:05:00.197 you would look and when you feel impatience coming, 00:05:00.197 --> 00:05:02.474 when you feel the temptation to lust, 00:05:02.474 --> 00:05:07.646 there that way of escape is - "God is faithful" - you behold Christ! 00:05:07.647 --> 00:05:09.851 You're satisfied with His likeness. (P) 00:05:09.851 --> 00:05:12.063 What does Psalms 90:14 say? 00:05:12.063 --> 00:05:15.949 "Lord, satisfy us with your steadfast love in the morning, 00:05:15.949 --> 00:05:20.527 that we can rejoice and be glad all of our days." 00:05:20.527 --> 00:05:23.545 How do I overcome? It's because I'm weak! 00:05:23.545 --> 00:05:26.011 I cannot overcome in and of myself. 00:05:26.011 --> 00:05:30.792 My only hope is that I'll be satisfied through the Word of God, 00:05:30.792 --> 00:05:32.560 through prayer, 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:37.227 through seeing Christ in those things - be satisfied in Jesus Christ - 00:05:37.228 --> 00:05:41.132 and therefore I overcome, because I'm satisfied. 00:05:41.133 --> 00:05:43.238 I don't have to go whoring after an idol. 00:05:43.238 --> 00:05:45.036 I don't have to go worship an idol. 00:05:45.036 --> 00:05:46.401 I don't have to be impatient. 00:05:46.401 --> 00:05:48.662 I don't have to go view pornography. 00:05:48.662 --> 00:05:50.231 I don't have to do those things. 00:05:50.232 --> 00:05:54.259 I don't have to worry about the approval of man or what my friends think about me on Facebook. 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:55.940 I don't have to worry about any of that. 00:05:55.940 --> 00:05:57.964 I don't have to worry about my physical appearance. 00:05:57.964 --> 00:05:59.916 I don't have to worry about how I'm performing, 00:05:59.916 --> 00:06:03.776 because Jesus Christ, in my place, performed perfectly. 00:06:03.776 --> 00:06:05.043 That's feedom! 00:06:05.043 --> 00:06:07.466 And if you know that truth, it will set you free. 00:06:07.466 --> 00:06:12.824 And Jesus says, "Come unto Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, I will give you rest." (P) 00:06:12.824 --> 00:06:17.443 It's not "come unto 60 days of freedom from pornography, and then you'll have rest". 00:06:17.443 --> 00:06:18.923 That's not true rest. 00:06:18.923 --> 00:06:21.801 You may pat yourself on the back and feel good about yourself 00:06:21.801 --> 00:06:24.352 when you're able to go to your accountability group that night 00:06:24.352 --> 00:06:26.207 and say, "I've been free 60 days." 00:06:26.207 --> 00:06:27.746 God's not impressed! 00:06:27.746 --> 00:06:31.691 Jesus Christ was free for all of an eternity, and He offered Himself up. 00:06:31.691 --> 00:06:33.547 That's the perfect sacrifice. 00:06:33.547 --> 00:06:38.170 And that will motivate you to submit your life as a living sacrifice to God, 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:41.797 holy and acceptable; and to not be conformed to the world. 00:06:41.797 --> 00:06:45.040 I don't wake up today and think, "Well, I better not look at pornography. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.153 I better not make this an idol. I better not do that." 00:06:48.153 --> 00:06:52.898 I wake up today and I say this, "Where are you at, Lord? Satisfy me. 00:06:52.898 --> 00:06:56.431 Lord, open my mind, my heart, to see the wonders in your Word, 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.752 to see the beauty of Christ, then I will overcome." 00:06:59.752 --> 00:07:04.236 That's my one pursuit - it's a heart burning to know Jesus Christ - 00:07:04.236 --> 00:07:05.792 and in that there's freedom. 00:07:05.792 --> 00:07:09.251 There's no other source of freedom. No other source. (P) 00:07:09.251 --> 00:07:17.745 Psalm 63, David says, "O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You." 00:07:17.745 --> 00:07:21.355 Notice, he's not saying "I'm earnestly seeking freedom. 00:07:21.355 --> 00:07:24.931 I'm earnestly seeking to look good before my fellow man." 00:07:24.931 --> 00:07:26.859 He's not worried about those things. 00:07:26.859 --> 00:07:29.114 He's worried about seeking God. 00:07:29.114 --> 00:07:33.114 He says, "I seek You. My soul thirsts for You." 00:07:33.114 --> 00:07:35.333 His soul is not thirsting for freedom, 00:07:35.333 --> 00:07:39.675 his soul is not thirsting for a better performance, for a hundred days of freedom; 00:07:39.675 --> 00:07:41.858 his soul is seeking for God. 00:07:41.858 --> 00:07:48.239 He says, "My flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 00:07:48.239 --> 00:07:50.537 So I have looked upon You." 00:07:50.537 --> 00:07:52.860 He's not looking for freedom for his joy. 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:55.742 You see, he's not satisfied, and where is he running? 00:07:55.742 --> 00:07:59.426 "To You," to God, to Christ. It's always the answer. 00:07:59.426 --> 00:08:03.101 He says, "In the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory." 00:08:03.101 --> 00:08:06.529 I mean, he is beholding the power and the glory of God; 00:08:06.529 --> 00:08:11.999 the power of the God who split the Red Sea and allowed Israel to pass through it, 00:08:11.999 --> 00:08:14.706 allowed them to endure through the trials. 00:08:14.706 --> 00:08:17.747 Yes, many fell away, but they made it in the end. 00:08:17.747 --> 00:08:19.406 "Few there be that find it." 00:08:19.406 --> 00:08:23.324 But I'll tell you, if you're looking to the Lord, the hand of Him to deliver you, 00:08:23.324 --> 00:08:25.906 to our God, you will find victory. (P) 00:08:25.906 --> 00:08:29.754 He says, "Because Your stedfast love is better than life." 00:08:29.754 --> 00:08:31.592 Do you believe that? 00:08:31.592 --> 00:08:36.903 Do you honestly believe that the stedfast love of Christ is better than life? 00:08:36.903 --> 00:08:41.899 That knowing Him is better than any thing in this life? 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:44.729 He says, "My lips will praise You." 00:08:44.729 --> 00:08:47.320 So often man wants to praise themselves. 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.386 They want to say, "Look what I have done, look what I have..." 00:08:49.386 --> 00:08:54.116 I'll tell you, the only reason I have victory is because I'm so weak and helpless 00:08:54.116 --> 00:08:56.333 that I realize my only hope is the Lord. 00:08:56.333 --> 00:08:59.968 And so I found myself totally cast on Christ every day. 00:08:59.968 --> 00:09:04.358 And there are days where I wasn't cast on Christ, and idols and things crept in my life. 00:09:04.359 --> 00:09:05.950 And I learned a lesson the hard way, 00:09:05.950 --> 00:09:11.817 and God disciplined me from my idolatry and other things where I got my joy. (P) 00:09:11.817 --> 00:09:17.749 He says, "So I will bless You Lord as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands." 00:09:17.749 --> 00:09:22.677 And he says this, "My soul WILL be satisfied." 00:09:22.677 --> 00:09:26.576 His soul will be satisfied, not because he has gained freedom, 00:09:26.576 --> 00:09:33.225 but because he has seen Christ, because he has been satisfied in Christ. 00:09:33.226 --> 00:09:39.631 "My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, 00:09:39.631 --> 00:09:47.462 when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night; 00:09:47.462 --> 00:09:48.760 for You have been my help." 00:09:48.761 --> 00:09:53.350 I mean, I praise God that I can go home tonight by God's grace 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:55.404 as I endure through the rest of this day, 00:09:55.404 --> 00:10:00.566 I can lay in the cot in the I'll Be Honest little office in the Grace House, 00:10:00.566 --> 00:10:07.083 and I can lay there and meditate on the Lord and praise Him for the victory that He will give me. 00:10:07.083 --> 00:10:13.781 I'm confident in Him because I know that I need no other sacrifice than Jesus' blood and righteousness, 00:10:13.781 --> 00:10:16.888 and my own performance will fail a million times over. 00:10:16.888 --> 00:10:18.828 My only hope is in the Lord. 00:10:18.828 --> 00:10:22.511 I mean, isn't it glorious to meditate on the Lord? 00:10:22.511 --> 00:10:26.225 I mean, 21 years of my life I would be meditating on lust in the night, 00:10:26.225 --> 00:10:28.571 and I'd be driving myself in misery for hours, 00:10:28.571 --> 00:10:33.520 trying to get to bed with all these daydreams and anxious thoughts pummeling my mind. 00:10:33.520 --> 00:10:37.405 And I couldn't overcome because I didn't have the beauty of the Lord. 00:10:37.405 --> 00:10:41.919 I kept trying to find victory in myself. (P) 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:47.571 "My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me." 00:10:47.571 --> 00:10:51.391 That's my only hope. Is that yours? Is that yours? 00:10:51.392 --> 00:10:55.214 I've been getting e-mails from hundreds of you guys out there 00:10:55.214 --> 00:10:57.302 who are saying you're addicted to pornography. 00:10:57.302 --> 00:11:03.143 I'll tell you, the Lord's right hand upholds me, that's my only hope. That's it. 00:11:03.143 --> 00:11:05.101 It sounds so simple, doesn't it? 00:11:05.101 --> 00:11:11.989 But Luke 18:17 says, "Unless you receive the kingdom of heaven as a child, you will not enter it." 00:11:11.989 --> 00:11:15.271 A child is helpless. They're totally cast on Christ. 00:11:15.271 --> 00:11:18.321 They know their only hope of redemption, their only hope of freedom, 00:11:18.321 --> 00:11:20.095 is in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:11:20.095 --> 00:11:23.235 They don't wake up and rely on themselves and relying on their father. 00:11:23.235 --> 00:11:26.785 And that's where my hope is; my reliance is my Father in Heaven. 00:11:26.785 --> 00:11:31.106 The only way out of victory is in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. 00:11:31.106 --> 00:11:33.690 Go there, and you will find victory. 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:39.787 Go to the arm of your flesh and rely on that, and you'll fail, time and time again. 00:11:39.787 --> 00:11:46.975 And my friend, beware of practicing your righteousness, not only to be seen by men, 00:11:46.975 --> 00:11:50.404 but to think that on Judgment Day you're going to stand before God 00:11:50.404 --> 00:11:52.870 and say, "God, look what I have done." 00:11:52.870 --> 00:11:56.098 God is not impressed with 100 days of freedom. 00:11:56.098 --> 00:11:58.492 God is not impressed with 10 years of freedom. 00:11:58.492 --> 00:12:03.461 God is impressed with one thing: the perfect life of Jesus Christ 00:12:03.461 --> 00:12:09.086 and His sacrifice of Himself to atone for sinners' sins on that Cross. 00:12:09.086 --> 00:12:12.559 He gave Himself up to set you free. (P) 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:19.624 "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed" (1 Corinth. 16:22). 00:12:19.949 --> 00:12:23.526 To find more content on I'll Be Honest that deal with overcoming sexual sin, 00:12:23.526 --> 00:12:28.715 you can go to the "Media Library" and select a subject "Sexual Sin and Pornography", 00:12:28.715 --> 00:12:30.930 and you can find a list of resources there. 00:12:30.930 --> 00:12:35.086 You're also able to use your e-mail and subscribe for e-mail updates 00:12:35.086 --> 00:12:37.273 that you'll automatically get from an RSS feed 00:12:37.273 --> 00:12:40.838 every time a new piece of content is uploaded to the Site. 00:12:40.838 --> 00:12:43.456 Again, our burden is just to put the truth out there, 00:12:43.456 --> 00:12:45.228 and I pray God will use it, 00:12:45.228 --> 00:12:49.336 and that people will walk in freedom and be lovers of Christ.