June 27, 2025 • 47 mins
No matter what you are struggling with, from porn to pills, from money to alcohol, John Elmore knows what it’s like to be stuck and how to get free! If you think there’s no way out, don’t give up! John will share the hope of Christ’s transforming power over despair and addiction! Discover what you can do each day, one day at a time, to walk in freedom and joy!
Today's Resource: Freedom Starts Today
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:15):
Please enjoy this encore edition of equip with Chris Brooks. Well,
hey there friends, welcome to another exciting edition of Equipped
with Chris Brooks. I'm absolutely thrilled that you've decided to
tune in with us today. Why don't you do me
a favor? Strap on your seatbelt. We're going to navigate
through the contours of culture, as always, with the lens
of the biblical worldview on. But before we do that,
(00:37):
let me remind you. This is the day that the
Lord has made. He is giving it as a gift
so that you and I can rejoice and be glad
in it. So let's do just that. Let's follow the
words of the Apostle Paul. Let's rejoice in the Lord always.
And again I say rejoice. And with that I welcome
you into what will be, I hope, a very liberating
(00:58):
edition of equip. Today I want to have a real,
raw and honest conversation about breaking free from addiction. The
fact of the matter is, is that addiction is not
only prevalent in our society, but it's pretty prevalent in
our churches as well. Uh, you just look out among
(01:18):
you if you're a pastor. And what you need to
know as you look out among you is that one
out of seven adults between the ages of 18 and
25 are battling some substance abuse disorder. 38% of adults,
as a result of a 2017 study battling illicit drug
use disorder. Uh, there's been a huge rise in the
(01:42):
sales of alcohol, uh, and Covid, and the pandemic has
only made that even worse. And don't even let me
talk about pornography. 55% of married men, 25% of married
women look at pornography at least once a month. Those
numbers drastically increase for both demographics when they're single. And
(02:05):
so that's not just a male problem, but a female
and a male problem as well. So from drugs to
alcohol to pornography, Earthy. There are so many addictions that
are prevalent within the church. What does addiction look like? Well,
the Apostle Paul describes it this way in Romans chapter seven.
He says, the good that I want to do, I
(02:25):
don't do, but the evil that I don't want to do,
that I keep on doing. He was literally a slave
to sin. But praise God, the scriptures tell us whom
the Son of Man has set free is free indeed,
that that means that Christ has come to give us
not just the promise of heaven, though that is a
(02:46):
part of the glorious outcome of our salvation, but also
freedom while here on earth. And I want you to
know that freedom, and so does my guest. That's why
I'm so fired up to have John Elmore with me today.
John Elmore is the senior director of pastoral care and
director of recovery at Watermark Community Church in the great
(03:09):
city of Dallas, Texas. Now over 15 years sober, he
leads the world's largest weekly recovery gathering called regeneration, where
more than 1200 people with every known sin and struggle
find healing in Christ. And so I'm super fired up
to have John with me today, and I believe you'll
(03:31):
be as excited as I am once you hear from
him as we talk about his new book today, Freedom
Starts Today Overcoming Struggle and Addiction. One day at a time. John. Hey,
thanks for joining me, man.
S2 (03:45):
Chris. Oh my joy, thanks so much for the invitation.
I love that setup. I'm already so excited because of
the way you're talking and being real with people. So
thank you.
S1 (03:53):
You know, so sometimes authors write books because of man.
This is my dissertation in college or I did some
research on a topic, so I'm going to write about it.
This is not just you writing from a distance. There's
something about this that's intimate, that's vulnerable, that's transparent. So
talk about what qualifies beyond all of the degrees. What
(04:17):
qualifies John Elmore to write freedom starts today.
S2 (04:22):
Chris, I think I got my my dissertation or my PhD,
whatever you would say in specifically alcoholism, I mean, I
was I was a subject matter expert. And so I
have plumbed the depths of addiction. And Jesus rescued me.
He did not make me better. He made me new,
give me a whole new life. And I knew I
was going to spend the rest of my life telling
(04:43):
people that Jesus is real. You're never too far gone
and he can change everything. And beyond just my personal story,
I now there's 1200 people that come every Monday night,
as you said, finding freedom from every addiction under the sun.
And so it's not just what he did for me.
I'm one off story, yes, but rather this is what
he lives to do. And so, uh, yeah, I would
(05:05):
say it's that it's not my degrees. Anybody can get
an education. You can have an atheist go through the
programs I did with seminary and they can they can
get probably get better grades than I do because you
just study and write the papers. But, um, a changed
life in Christ and then all the change that I've
seen him bring about in others, um, it's what I
love to love to tell with others.
S1 (05:25):
I love that you say that because it's easy, right,
for someone to say, well, that's just John's story, but
the fact that you see it happen over and over
again points to something even greater. And I know that
right now we're talking to someone that would feel overwhelmed
by the thought that you can be free from alcoholism.
You can be free from drug addiction, you can be
(05:46):
free from pornography. For some people, just hearing us say
that is almost like, man, you're talking crazy. There's no
way I can be free. I just can't see it.
But I love that your book helps us to see
how that can happen. And you're seeing it all around you.
You know, I've been doing radio now, John, for 20 years,
a little bit over 20 years. And recently I was
(06:07):
asked by a friend. What, uh, what callers really stand
out to you? And I'll never forget, uh, a caller,
17 year old young woman, called and said I got
addicted to pornography at 11 years of age. Right. And
and and it blew me away to just hear her
(06:28):
story and praise God. Her story was a story of freedom.
But I think about how Satan preys on the young.
Going back to your personal story, it started young for you,
didn't it?
S3 (06:41):
Yeah, it absolutely started young with me. And I'm glad
you said that, Chris, because it starts young with everybody, right?
Like we're natural born sinners. Everybody is born a slave
to sin, children of wrath. And so it begins young.
We just all have different flavors. But for me, there's
always this fascination with alcohol. I remember being four years old,
sipping a beer on the back patio of our steps and.
S2 (07:02):
And like, it's burned in my mind. And then junior high,
I was making mixed drinks by myself I'd get home
from school at 330 and like, dig the back of
the kitchen cabinet, find this nasty like spiced rum and
all this, like old stuff. My parents weren't drinkers really
at all, but we had some. And so I'm making
mixed drinks by myself. And then high school, I'd have
bottles of liquor in my closet. And then when I
(07:24):
went off to school, college, um, left any kind of
semblance of accountability, discipline, whatever. And so from 18 to
30 became an alcoholic. Now as a functional alcoholic, meaning
I'm not like laying in the ditch, you know, always
tied to a bottle of vodka. But I graduated college
as a functional alcoholic. And then by the time I
(07:46):
was 30, shotgun to my head, sleeping on a couch,
walking into an AA meeting. But that's not the case anymore.
Like something dramatic changed. Something huge happened. And I think
a lot of times people think like, you know, but
I've pled with God to take this away. He's all powerful,
all knowing, all present, and I've asked him to take
it away, and he hasn't. So I guess it's not
a God problem. It must be a me problem. I
thought that I was so frustrated, so tired of of
(08:09):
trying to quit sending my alcoholism, I couldn't. So I
just punted. The whole thing walked away from God, and
that did not end well. But he doesn't treat us
as our sins deserve. He rescued me, set my course
on a whole new trajectory. And it's what I live
to tell people now, because I think a lot of
people discouraged. You said there's a lie from Satan. Yes,
it's the case. It's the case, people. I mean, Jesus said,
(08:30):
I came to give you a full, abundant life. And
I think because we don't talk about sin enough, which
is why I'm so thankful you are, because everybody's got sin.
Not everybody's has a savior. But the full, abundant life
like that, that's not walking through life hoping you go
to heaven when you die. But addicted in this life
that's not full or abundant. And so there is a disconnect.
(08:51):
And it's why I wrote this book, and it's why
I will tell anyone about my past alcoholism and my
current freedom.
S1 (08:58):
Yeah, there's two ways to talk about the past. One
is to celebrate it. The other is to recognize that
sin is a lie. It's fool's gold. It's a deception.
And it point people to to the freedom you you
have in Christ. I want to go back to AA
because a lot of people obviously have their opinions about AA.
It's helped a tremendous number of people. But yet when
(09:19):
you think about it theologically, some would argue there's an
absence of theology. Some would argue there's a mixed bag
of theology. Um, but yet God uses I heard someone
say crooked sticks to make straight lines sometimes. And you
went to AA and was confronted with a question that
actually got you to change your life. What was that?
S2 (09:44):
Yeah, it's the most simple question, and it is profoundly
impacted my life. So they ask me, would you commit
to staying sober for the next 24 hours? And Chris,
I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard.
I was like, y'all, I've had three doctors tell me
that I am going to. I'm going to die if
I keep drinking. My family just did an intervention. My
(10:06):
drinking friends are telling me that I have a drinking problem,
and you're asking me if I can stop for 24 hours?
I don't need 24 hours. I need a lifetime of help.
And this guy walked up to me afterwards. He's like, hey,
so you'll commit to staying sober for 24 hours? Because
I did. I like walked forward in front of the
whole group, like heart pounding through my chest. I mean,
it was it was it was a nightmare. But Scott
walks up to me. He's like, hey, so you're going
(10:26):
to commit to staying sober for 24 hours? And I'm like,
I guess he's like, cool, well, you're going to need
some help then. So here's my number. Call me tomorrow
and let me know how you did. And I mean, truly,
I'm like, whatever man. So I that that night, you know,
my phone's blown up with my buddies. Hey, let's go
down to fourth Street, let's hit the pubs, let's go out.
I'm like, no, I'm not going to. And then the
next day rolls around 6:00 and I call this guy Charlie.
(10:50):
And he answers, he's like, you stay sober. I was like, uh, yeah.
He's like, so you didn't drink? I'm like, no, I
didn't drink. He's like, great, do you want to go
another 24 hours? I'm like, you got to be kidding me. Hey,
how long are we going to do this? I don't
I don't need another 24 hours. I need a lifetime
of help. He's like, yeah, I understand, but will you
(11:10):
go another 24 hours by God's strength. And that question
a day became two. Two became a week. A week
became a month. Here I am, coming up on 16
years sober. God set me free. One day at a time.
S1 (11:23):
Praise God, and it all has resulted in this resource
that I promise you will change your life. Freedom starts today.
We'll be right back with more right after this. It
is our goal to strengthen your faith, and we're always
excited as we hear stories of people coming to faith
(11:45):
as a result of our program. But we couldn't possibly
accomplish this mission alone. That's why we're looking for equippers
and people just like you, who will give a monthly
gift to help us keep this program on the air.
Would you consider partnering with us? Become an Equipper today
and receive special insider benefits, such as a bi weekly
email that contains pastoral messages prepared just for you. Call
(12:08):
888644 4144 or go online to equip radio.org. Chris Brooks
here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded and we
won't be taking your calls. Welcome back to equip with
Chris Brooks. Today I'm joined happily so by John Elmore.
John has shared in our first segment some of his testimony,
(12:32):
but maybe as he shared his story, you're saying, man,
that's me. I know what that's like. I know what
it's like to be addicted. Maybe not to alcohol, maybe
it's drugs, maybe it's pornography or some other life destroying sin.
And you say, I know what it's like to feel
like there's no way that I can be free. I
even know what it's like to have family try to
do an intervention or try to cut me off. See,
(12:54):
the one thing that's true about all of us, me included,
is all of us. The verdict is in that we're
all sinners. We're all in need of a Savior. All
of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God. And so today, the only question is, will
you accept God's offer for freedom? Or will you stay
trapped as a prisoner in your sin and in your addiction?
(13:15):
I hope today will be a day of freedom for you.
So John has written his book. Freedom starts literally today.
Freedom starts today. I want you to find out more
at our website. Equip radio. You can go there now.
It's not a coincidence you're listening. God wanted you to listen.
Go to our website, equip radio or if it's easier,
(13:36):
go to our Facebook and Twitter pages. Our social platforms
are available to you. Equipped radio that's equipped radio. John
Elmore says this in his book. If you go all
in the next 90 days will be life altering, sin destroying,
and God glorifying. Man, those are powerful words. Some would
(13:57):
even argue. John, are you overpromising? What do you say
in response to that?
S2 (14:03):
Dude, I got a smile from ear to ear because
that's God's promise. Like it's what he says. Chris. So
Romans six says you're no longer a slave to sin.
You're now a slave to righteousness. And so it's either
true or God's a liar. And I think we know
which one it is, that it is true. His promises
are true yesterday, today, and always in Christ Jesus. And
(14:23):
then in Galatians three it says, if we walk by
the spirit like that's all we do is just walk
by the spirit, that's his command to us. Just walk
with me. He says. There's a promise like we do that.
Then he comes through with this promise. You know what
the promise is, it says, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh. You won't do what you
don't want to do, he says, but all you gotta
(14:44):
do is walk with me. I think we've, like, really
messed this thing up. And we think like, well, Jesus
saved me from hell. And then I got, I got
to follow those rules now. And we can't, we can't
follow the rules. Like, that's what Romans seven verse one
through six says, it's like the law is good, but
it has no ability, total inability to to sanctify you.
The spirit began this work to save you in Jesus.
(15:07):
And the spirit continues to work to sanctify you into
the image of Jesus. So it began as a work
of the spirit. It continues to the work of the spirit.
And so here's the deal. This is not like people
might hear this and be like, oh, you're just like
syncretizing something from a some Christian lifehack bringing it into
the church. This is how the Great Reformation, like Martin Luther,
(15:29):
like that awakened the church. It's how it began. Uh,
it's how the Great Awakening with Jonathan Edwards began. Like
it's all about this daily repentance. But we've forgotten, like,
we've straight up forgotten how to war against sin. And
we've become really private. Like we only post our top 2%
of our life on social media. And so everybody's suffering
in silence while nobody's getting free. And I think the
(15:50):
Lord's just looking like, will you ask him? Because if
you ask if you walk with me like I got
freedom for you.
S1 (15:56):
Man, that's so powerful. I love everything that you just said.
I want to obliterate, though, some misconceptions. You know, every
time you talk, John, it's so full of theology. It's
so full and rich of the word of God just saturated.
You can. You can clearly just tell from your answers
to your responses that you just live your life in
(16:19):
the word by the power of the spirit. But as
great as that is, I don't want anybody to think
that what you have put together in freedom starts today
is a theology of addiction and how to be free
from addiction as some dense theology. Don't get me wrong,
theology is a beautiful thing. But that's not what this
book is, is it?
S2 (16:40):
No, no. In fact, it says that in the introduction,
I'm like, you know what? When I was an alcoholic,
I didn't have time or the desire to read some
300 page book and try to synthesize all the information
about how to get free. In fact, it's funny. It's
happening in real time right now. I'm like reading this
book on a strong willed parent and I'm like, dude,
just give me the answer. Like, don't make me read
(17:01):
this 300 page book because my kid's going to wake
up in eight hours and we're going to have an
argument again.
S1 (17:05):
Yeah.
S2 (17:06):
And so I tell people, I'm like, you're not going
to hear about neurochemistry and dopamine and all that. Like
what you need to know is if you have sin,
Jesus will give you a way out and it will
start within ten minutes of reading this book. Like like
when I say freedom starts today, the title of that book,
like that's straight up true, because I don't want you
to have to wait. I couldn't have waited. I needed
(17:27):
help that day, on my first day of sobriety. And
so that's what this is from. From overeating, from being
a nagging wife, from being a passive husband, from gambling,
from porn, from opioids, like, whatever it is, um, it's
just true and it's true today. But it's not just true.
It is true for you. And so what I would
say is there is there is deep theological truths that
(17:50):
will set people free, but God makes it so plain
and simple, like you don't have to go to seminary.
You just got to go to the Savior and ask,
and he will do it like he says. I mean,
the Pharisees were all messed up because of this. He
called them whitewashed tombs. They had knowledge, but they had
no power because they were far from God. And he
just says, you come near to me and I got you,
I got you.
S1 (18:12):
I want to keep saying it. Whether it's addiction to
social media or food or money or body image or
sex or status, whatever it is, you can be free. Now,
you talked about being free for a day, 24 hours.
You compare that to a penny. What's the connection there?
S2 (18:35):
Yeah. So, um, here's what I would say. In Romans 813.
It says if you live according to the flesh, you
will die like you do what you want to do.
It's going to lead to death. Sin leads to death.
Sometimes it just has a really long fuse. But, you know,
it's out there. Know, like, man, it's leading to marital death,
whatever it may be. Maybe, but God doesn't leave us there,
he says, but if by the spirit you put to
(18:57):
death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. And
so the spirit is the sin killer. We often think
about the, the, the good fruit of the spirit, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.
And we're like, that's half his job. The other half
of his job is to kill sin. He's the sin killer.
It's what he does. And we're trying to do it
on our own, and we're exhausted. Now, here's the thing
with the penny. It's like the smallest increment of the
(19:18):
US monetary system. And so you think about, like, Jeff Bezos, like,
richest dude in the world, Amazon guy. And but when
you if you were to look at his bank account,
it would go down to the very last cent, meaning
all of his billions and billions of dollars of money,
it's all actually made up of pennies. It's made up
of singular cents, like that's how it's counted. And so
(19:39):
a lifetime of freedom is made up by the smallest increment,
meaning a lifetime of freedom. Like you want to be
free from porn or alcohol or whatever from the rest
of your life. Well, it's made up by singular days.
And this is what Jesus said. He said, you know,
give us today our daily bread, not our monthly bread,
not our annual bread, not our lifetime bread, because, I mean,
I think God knows if he gave me lifetime bread,
(20:01):
he'd probably never hear from me again. And so instead
he's like, here's enough for today. I'll see you tomorrow.
And Jesus says, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness today.
Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow's got enough worries of its own.
I think God just wants us to daily walk with
him one day at a time. And in doing that,
there's freedom. And here's what I tell people, too. A
(20:23):
guy will come up to me and he's like, man,
I'm addicted to porn. I'm losing my wife, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, yeah, I know. Hey, could you quit
for the rest of your life? And they typically will
pause for a second, like, because they want to, but
they know they can't. I'm like, man, I know that's
like that's like trying to climb Everest. It feels impossible.
But let me ask you a second question. Could you
quit by God's strength for the next 24 hours? Could
(20:45):
you not look at porn for the next 24 hours
by God's strength? And I've never had a person tell
me no. Maybe two times I had them say, well,
I don't think I could go 24 hours. I could
go 12 hours. I'm like, great, go 12 hours. My God, strength.
S1 (20:56):
Let's do.
S2 (20:57):
It. And that's. And so we go one day at
a time. Yeah. And in doing that, God will.
S1 (21:04):
God does.
S2 (21:05):
Daily walk.
S1 (21:06):
It's a daily walk, friends. And I want you to
start this today. Many of you are listening right now.
And you're saying this is me. Listen, I want to
give away five copies, five complimentary copies of John's book.
Freedom starts today. Maybe it's for you, maybe it's for
someone you love. But we're going to do this through
our social media platform. So you go right now to
Facebook or Twitter. We're going to pick five names from
(21:30):
folks who are saying, I need this now for me,
for my son, for my daughter, for my husband, my wife,
whatever the case may be, not out of judgment, but
simply out of love. I want you to go there.
We'll pick five names and the rest of you who
aren't picked. Don't worry, you still can get a copy.
Order a copy, Find out how to do that at
our website. Equip radio.org. We got a couple of moments
(21:52):
left in this particular segment. John, you've been given all
these promises, all these promises from Scripture. But yet in
your book, you talk about how the promises of God
recorded in the Bible are like a check. In what
way are the promises of God recorded in Scripture like
a check?
S2 (22:13):
So this is like one of the most powerful things.
So in the scriptures, these these promises of God, they
are true. But I tell people they're true for you.
But here's the thing I like. If I gave you
a check, Chris, and you didn't cash it, but say
you're like, I memorized it, I memorized it. I know,
I know how you did the handwriting. I know what.
S1 (22:35):
Data.
S2 (22:35):
Was written on. I know that you. Yeah, I know.
S1 (22:37):
What you wrote in the.
S2 (22:38):
Memo line. I'm like, yeah, but, bro, I'm looking at
my account. You haven't cashed the check. Like, if you
don't cash the check, you're not going to receive it.
It doesn't matter if you hold it. And we do
this with Bible verses. We like memorize them, we study them,
we get them printed on bookmarks. We stick in our Bible,
but we don't live them. We don't appropriate them. And
so they're true. But they're true for you. And God
is looking for us to live by faith. He says
(22:59):
the righteous will live by faith. And that's saying, I
take you at your word that every promise finds its
yes in Jesus. And so what he says when he says,
walk with me, and you will not gratify the desires
of the flesh. Dude, that's true. Like you take that
to the bank. And I think it honors God to
say to him, you said, you said in your word,
(23:22):
and you are not a liar, that if I walk
with you, I won't give in to my addiction or
my struggle. And I think he's just looking for us
to ask, like little children with our arms up. Unless
you come to me like a little child, you know.
And so it's what he's longing for. But is he
going to find faith in his appearing?
S1 (23:40):
I love that man. I want to use a word.
So much of what you're saying is just life transforming.
It's edifying to my soul. And I just want you
to know that I want to use a word. And
I want you to tell me how this one attribute
of God helps to bring freedom. Omnipresence.
S2 (23:55):
Omnipresence. Man. So Jesus said, it is better for you
that I go, because if I go the comforter, the Paraclete,
it means comforter or counselor. He will come. And not
only will he come to like an individual, he will
come to every individual like we are a temple of
the Holy Spirit. And so the omnipresence of God. It's
not just like that. He's everywhere that right now he's
(24:17):
in North Korea and Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and Haiti
and he's everywhere, like from an omnipresent standpoint. But like,
that's that's generally but then specifically for everyone to place
their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins,
believing that he is Lord and he raised from the
dead that he lives in you. The sin killer lives
(24:37):
in you like he is present with you all day,
every day. And there is power in presence like when
my wife is with me. I'm not going to speak
harsh with my kids because she's going to look at
me and be like, John, don't do that. You know
they love you. They need a loving, tender father. You know, discipline.
But don't discipline them in anger. And when I'm alone
and the stress gets to me, I'm more likely to
(24:58):
do that. You know I hate it, but I'm more
likely to do it. And there's power in presence. So
when my my helpmate, my wife is there with me
and it says that God is our helper. And so
that awareness that like he's not only with you, he's
not only by your side, he is on your side
and he is on your side to wage war against sin.
And he just says, just walk with me all day,
(25:19):
every day. And I got you. I'm going to protect you.
I'm going to fight back. Sin. I'm going to fight
back the lies of the enemy as you take up
that shield of faith. And he's going to do it.
And here's the thing. I think a lot of times,
if ever we're, we're confessing our sin reactively, meaning it's
already happened. Like we already gave into sin or overeating
or whatever it may be. Sleeping with our boyfriend girlfriend.
(25:40):
It's a reactive confession. Concessions. What if we started making
a proactive decision? This is something we got to talk
about more. Making a proactive decision, deciding before you even
get into that environment. And there's so much power in that.
I'd love to tell people more about that too.
S1 (25:56):
That's so good. Listen, I want you to stick and stay.
John's just getting started. When we come back, we're going
to tell you how to kill mosquitoes. It's going to
help you. Friends, you can be free today. I want
you to go to our website, equip radio.org. Order the book.
Freedom starts today. We'll be right back. Right after this.
(26:16):
Chris Brooks here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded.
While we won't be taking calls, we do want to
connect with you on social media. Welcome back to Equipped
with Chris Brooks. So grateful for all of our friends
and partners. It's your generosity and God's grace that allows
us to be here each and every day. Really, your
generosity is just evidence of his grace working through you
(26:40):
to help us spread the gospel in your community. So
many men and women are waiting, just waiting for freedom.
Freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom from being a
slave to sin. Freedom that only comes through the life
of the spirit that is available to us through faith
in Christ. Well, how do they get the Word of
God so they can respond to the good news of
(27:02):
God's grace and love offered through Christ? It's through the
gospel being communicated, and I'm grateful to every day come
behind this microphone. But I could not do it without
your partnership and help. If you have been blessed by
the program and you want to stand with us, please
go to our website right now. Equip Radio.com or if
(27:23):
you want to give more immediately, all you have to
do is dial the number 888644 4144. Let me give
the number again 888644 4144. Again Eight. Six. 44. 41. 44.
And just know on the other side of your generosity
(27:44):
and your obedience and giving to this. This ministry. Lives
are being changed for Christ and for his glory. Today
I'm so fired up to have with me, Jon Elmore.
Jon has been walking us through his newest book, Freedom
Starts Today. Today. If you're not familiar with Jon, Jon
is the senior director of pastoral care and director of
(28:06):
recovery at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He's been
sober for over 15 years, and now he leads the
world's largest weekly recovery gathering called regeneration. He's seen about
1200 people per week. You know, you might ask, well,
how many people in our churches struggle with addiction? Really?
(28:28):
The question is, how many of us have sin patterns
in our lives that we have not shaken free from?
And when you begin to think about those that are
in our churches that are addicted to pornography or pills
or food or money or alcohol or social media or
sex or whatever you list as a sin in your life.
(28:49):
All of us are crying out for the same thing.
Is there freedom? John's book says not only is there freedom,
the promise of freedom in Scripture again and again and again,
but it can start today. John, I love that you
have just made this book like Uber practical. It's a
daily devotional. You're asking people to be all in for
(29:10):
90 days, but really, you're just asking people to be
all in one day at a time. And as they are,
they'll begin to see the promises of God come true
in their lives. Before we went to the break, I
talked about you helping us to kill mosquitoes. Now, that's
a part of Dallas life, isn't it?
S2 (29:28):
Yes. Yes, they are in your house. In your car, man.
They're everywhere. They're pervasive. It's like a biblical plague upon us.
S1 (29:37):
So how is sin like a mosquito?
S2 (29:40):
Yeah. Good question Chris. So I come home from work
one day and my wife, you know, we got a
little honey do list as I walk through the door
and it's like, hey, the the sink is clogged, the
door won't shut. Right. And and the last line was
kill the mosquitoes. And I hold up the note. I'm like,
are you. Are you kidding me? Like, what do you
want me to do first? You want me to kill cancer,
print the internet, boil the ocean or kill mosquitoes? Like,
(30:01):
what are you talking about? Like we live in Texas.
I can't kill, kill the mosquitoes. Are you kidding? Because
she was like, I need the mosquitoes gone, man. Our
kids are, like, bona fide blood donors every time they
go outside. And I was like, look, I don't know
what to do. Like, what do you want me to do,
go out there with a fly swatter? Like, they're just
going to come back. And she's like, she just smiled
(30:21):
and she goes, mhm. I thought you might say that.
Would you like, would you like a phone number. And
so I called this number I'm like all right. My
wife said you guys like kill mosquitoes. I thought it
was going to be, you know, something crazy. They're like yeah,
we come out, we fog the yard, and whenever they
come back, just call us and we'll come out again
for free. I was like, you're telling me that you're
(30:42):
going to kill the mosquitoes in the backyard? I'm like, yo,
they fly like our neighbor's house doesn't get treated. They're
just going to fly over the fence. They're like, they
probably will. And when they do, just call us and
we'll come back out, treat it for free. And no joke,
these people come out and our backyard is like free
of mosquitoes until like two weeks go by and I
see one of my arms swat it, like, call the number.
I think they're going to try to charge me or whatever.
(31:03):
They're like, we'll send somebody right out. And as this
is like happening in real time, I'm like, That's God.
Like that's what God does. We we are so foolish
running around like trying to fly swat this like pervasive
sin problem. We're exhausting ourselves. We're so frustrated. It always
comes back every time we say, that's got to be
(31:24):
the last time. I swear it's the last time it
comes back. And so we just get defeated and we
just live in this like existence where we're just getting
the life sucked out of us by sin. And I
think God's just waiting, like, are you going to call me?
Are you going to bring me into the fight? Because.
Because that's what I love to do, I kill sin.
You can't kill sin, but I can. And so will you.
(31:44):
Call me. Here's this is hilarious. So Forbes and Inc. magazine,
they do this study on New Year's resolutions because everybody
makes a New Year's resolution, right? They've been overeating or
they've been not working out or whatever. They got something
in their life that they want change. And people go
public with New Year's resolutions, like they're on social media.
They're telling everybody they throw out all the gluten from
their refrigerator and their cabinets. They're like, they're just they're
(32:07):
all in. And Chris, they did a study and out
of 800 million people, by the way, and they found
that on January 19th, we're talking two and a half
weeks after New Year's resolution. People have already quit their
New Year's resolution. They in fact, they have deemed it
National Quitting Day. And so they're like, mind blown by this.
(32:27):
They're like, wait, people went public? They knew there was
something in their life that shouldn't be. Why are they
quitting two and a half weeks in. So they do
a follow up study and they ask the people, why
did you quit and why did you quit so soon?
Two and a half weeks. Number one answer I didn't
have the willpower to do it. Yeah. And it's like,
you know, this is sociologist climbing the mountain of knowledge
(32:49):
only to find the theologians already sitting there, and they're like,
of course you don't have enough willpower because willpower is
not greater than sin's power, but the Spirit's power is
greater than sin's power. And so you bring him into
the fight and you're going to walk into freedom. Now,
a lot of times we get frustrated because we're like, yeah,
but I walked the aisle and I told my pastor
that I was addicted and my struggle. And then I
went back to it two weeks later, I can't stop
(33:10):
sleeping with my boyfriend or whatever. And here I am again.
So I guess it didn't work. And it's like, no, no,
God worked. Yeah. He just. You didn't ask him to
work every day. You thought you could ask him once
and be free for life. The thing is, is on
the daily, like, you got to stay near to God
because he knows we're going to go rogue. And so,
Old Testament, he gave them manna. He gave them manna
(33:31):
one day at a time. And it's what the. It's
what he does for for us today.
S4 (33:36):
That's so good.
S2 (33:37):
And John Owen. John Owen, great theologian. He said, do
you mortify meaning? Do you kill? He said, make it
your daily work. Cease not a day from it. And
then he says, this be killing sin, or it will
be killing you. So there's no neutral in the in
the Christian life. It's like you got to be on
the offensive, but you can't go on your own strength.
(33:57):
We always talk about the armor of God in Ephesians six, like, yeah,
I got the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness.
Sword of the spirit. Shield of faith. I'm ready for battle.
It's like, dude, you stopped reading too soon, man.
S4 (34:07):
Yeah.
S2 (34:07):
Because then. Because in Ephesians six, you got all equipped
with the armor of God, and you left out the
person of God because Ephesians 619 and 20 it says,
and pray in the spirit. And we, we, we like,
want to go off in the battle solo like Lone
Ranger Christianity. And of course, we're getting beat up by
sin because we left God out. And so we gotta
(34:28):
bring God, but we also gotta bring the body of
Christ into. There's a part of that as well.
S1 (34:32):
Yeah, I want to get to to that. I love
what you're saying. And and, you know, one of the
things that I want to make sure is clear, there
are so many people, John, that listen to you and
will say, man, if I just had someone like John
in my life giving me this type of talk every day,
if I just had someone like John in my life
calling me every morning saying, hey, you can do this,
(34:56):
or to talk to when I'm weak to remind me
of who I am. Uh, I think I can make it,
but what John is trying to communicate and and I
pray that people hear you, man, is that there is
someone greater than John that's available to us. The Holy
Spirit of God is in you, and he is there
(35:17):
to empower you each and every day. And if you
call upon him and it doesn't matter, like, like if
you had John's cell phone number, there would be some
times that you couldn't call, like it would be breaking
the boundaries of friendship, right? But the great thing about
the Holy Spirit, about the Lord's presence in our lives,
is that we can call upon him 24 hours a day,
(35:40):
seven days a week. When we feel weak, when we
feel strong, when we've fallen before seeing the temptation is overwhelming.
You can call upon him at any time, and he
promises that if you call upon him that he will
in no ways cast you out. He will hear your
cry and receive you. Friends, it starts with having a
(36:03):
relationship with Jesus though, and today I want to make
sure you know that salvation comes because of faith. It's
faith in Christ alone. How do we express that faith to.
Through repentance and trust. Just repentance and trust. Acknowledging our
sins and recognizing that we are in need of a
(36:25):
Savior and turning to Christ. his sacrifice on that cross,
his resurrection. Trusting in him for life and that more abundantly.
Acknowledging that he's the only one who can save you.
If you are ready to take that step, dial 888.
Need him? We'll be right back. As a dad, a friend,
(36:47):
and a neighbor, I share your concerns over the growing
problems in our culture. That's why on equip we tackle
the tough issues learning how to respond with grace and truth.
We're looking for like minded partners to stand with us.
Would you be willing to become an Equipper today? In
this role, you'll give a monthly donation to support the
Ministry of Equip and as an Equipper, you'll receive insider
benefits such as a bi weekly email that contains pastoral
(37:10):
messages prepared just for you. Become an equipper today by
calling 888644 4144 or go to equip Radio org. Today's
program has been prerecorded so our phone lines are not open.
Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks. I just pray
that you are fired up and what you're hearing today.
(37:33):
It's just a reminder of God's Word. And I do
pray that you are taking every promise of God to
the bank. Don't be like the person who has the
cheque in their hand but doesn't cash it. You take
it to the bank. You believe God at His Word
that you can be free. And it starts with just
that penny, that 24 hours. Can you, by God's grace, uh,
(37:57):
not give in to that addiction for 24 hours? I
believe you can. And this resource, freedom starts today is
designed to help you to do it. I said earlier
that John says in his book, if you go all
in the next 90 days will be life altering, sin destroying,
and God glorifying. I believe that to be true. You
can find out more about how to order John's book
(38:19):
for yourself, or for someone you love, maybe even for
your pastor, as a resource to help your church to
think through this or for your small group. Find out
more at Equip radio.org. That's equip radio dot. John, I
want to read you something from the book that really
spoke to me about our identity. Because when you are
(38:39):
a man in the grip of sin, you can feel
so low. You can feel so unclean, unworthy, so, so dirty.
But you say this you are royalty. You are not
a slave to the cruel master Satan. Though right now
you live in this world of which he is the
prince of the power of the air. He will continue
(39:00):
to relentlessly wield his threats and afflictions on you, but
you resist him, resist him, and God's promise. And God
promises he will flee from you. Remember, you are royalty
and your father is the King. Never bow, serve, or
answer to anyone else.
S2 (39:20):
Yeah, I think about. So identity impacts everything. And as
a as a dad. Like, I'm gonna I'm gonna care
for my kids as a husband. I'm going to answer
my wife's calls. And I think if we say if
we identify Oklahoma Center, then what do you think you're
going to do? You're going to be thrown back to that.
All throughout the New Testament, it Paul in particular. But
a lot of the authors will write that we are saints.
(39:42):
The word is hagios in the Greek it means holy ones,
like set apart only unto God. And even the Corinthian church,
which was a messed up bunch man. They were, they were,
they were all in on sin. I mean, you got
a guy sleeping with his stepmom, uh, prostitution, homosexuality, drunkenness.
I mean, it was just like they were they were
deep in some stuff. But Paul writes to them and
(40:05):
instead of saying, like, you filthy sinners, he says that
they're saints. I mean, right here in Second Corinthians one,
I'm looking at it right now. It says to the
church of God that is in Corinth with all the saints.
It's just this refrain like your holy ones, he's he's
speaking identity over them, and he's saying, you are not
a sinner whose saints you are, a saint whose sins.
(40:28):
And there's a world of difference, that you're a child
of God, a child of the King. And when that
takes root in you, then you start to live out.
Our doctrine informs our deeds. Our belief determines our behavior.
And that's when God says you are so that you
can start living out that reality, that you're no longer
a slave to sin. You're a slave to righteousness. It
(40:50):
really matters.
S1 (40:51):
Yeah, it does really matter, man. And I'm so grateful
that you have captured this in the book. I guess
my question to you, I love that, um, you know,
every book, the dedication page is so special. You know,
you typically learn a lot about who's important in a
person's life. And your dedication page is unique. I've never
(41:12):
seen a dedication page like this. You open up the
dedication page, and instead of you giving shout outs to
all the important people in your life, you say this
book is dedicated to you, and you give a clear, underline,
blank space for the person to write their name in.
It says, this book is dedicated to you and the
(41:33):
and to the eradication of addiction in the church. Praise
God for that man. What what do you hope people
get from your book when they pick it up?
S2 (41:45):
Chris, it's what you said earlier. When you like talking
about you wish you had a best friend that you
could talk, text and all that. There's so many people
that I get to, I get to meet with, but
I don't get to meet with all of them to
tell them, as you rightly said, not about me, but
about Jesus, who will set them free. And so I'm like,
all right, I'm writing this book for that person, somebody
that's like, man, I got my nephew in Des Moines,
I got my brother in New York. Like, I don't
(42:05):
know what can what can they do? I like wrote
that book with this in mind so that people could
just pick it up and start walking into freedom. And
here's the thing. They've got a friend like, they don't
need me. As you said, they need Jesus, but also
they can't walk through it alone. Hebrews 313 says, encourage
one another daily, so that you will not be hardened
(42:25):
by the deceitfulness of sin. And so I tell people
like Sunday is good, like Sunday at church. That's good.
It's just not sufficient. And women's Bible study on Wednesday,
that's good. It's just not sufficient. But God says every
single day we need to talk to a brother or
sister in Christ to be encouraged, because if we don't,
the daily default is we're going to fall back into sin.
And so I want people to learn how to walk
(42:46):
with the Lord, how to walk with brothers and sisters
in Christ, and how to walk in daily repentance by
turning from sin, by turning to Jesus. And that's why
it's dedicated to them. Because I want to see people
like do the freedom in Christ. It's real, and it's
real for you today.
S1 (43:02):
I want to say this with about a couple of
minutes left, that this needs to be a movement in
every church. This isn't just a watermark thing. I don't
want people to think that this is true in every church.
So how do we start a movement in our church?
Somebody listening to us right now and they're saying, man,
I want this, uh, as, as, uh, man, the clarion
(43:24):
call in our church. What what recommendation or advice would
you give?
S2 (43:28):
Chris? Thank you. Thank you for, like, calling the church
to that because the church, I believe, generally not throwing
stones at churches. The church is the bride of Christ.
But we've stopped talking about sin. And if you stop
talking about sin, then it's really hard to talk about repentance.
And if you don't talk about repentance, then it's like
everybody's suffering in silence while they're sitting in the pews.
And you got a bunch of people with their Sunday
best on, and they're falling apart at the seams on
(43:50):
the inside with the reality of their Sunday worst. But
were those like whitewashed tombs again? And so it's like,
we've got to be talking. Like I say, that repentance
is the root of revival, and that's just not like
a catchy phrase. When Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses
on the Church of Wittenberg that sparked the Reformation, the
first four of his theses were all about repentance. And
(44:13):
he said, when the Lord Jesus Christ said repent, he
meant that the whole of life was to be one
of repentance. And so it's got to be this thing
that pastors I mean, look, we don't I know for me,
I didn't need Jesus apart from my sin. But once
I realized I had sin and I couldn't turn from it,
I needed Jesus. And as a believer, we still have sin.
(44:36):
As you said, you led off this this session talking
about Romans seven. Well, we're still wrestling with sin, so
we've got to have the spirit sanctifying us. And so
it's just critical in life that we do this. And
the church has got to start talking about it from
the front.
S1 (44:53):
From the front. And everyone in the body of Christ
plays a role in this. And so, friends, here's what
I want to do. Uh, with, uh, maybe, uh, just
a few seconds left. I just want to pray for you. Father,
I pray that everyone who's listening to this will have
hearts that are open to the Lordship of Christ. But
even more, I pray that they would accept your free
(45:16):
offer of salvation for their lives, and that they would
know that they can be free because of whom the
son is set. Free is free indeed. Thank you, father,
for sending our Savior to die for us on that cross,
for our sins that separated us from a holy God.
But thank you for raising him again on that third day.
(45:39):
And now, Lord, may the power of the spirit that
raised Christ from the dead be alive in us as well.
In Christ's name I pray. Amen and amen.
S4 (45:48):
Amen.
S1 (45:48):
John, you are a gift to the body. I'm grateful
for your book. Freedom starts today overcoming struggle and addiction.
One day at a time. Thanks a lot, brother Chris.
S2 (46:01):
Thank you for your ministry. It's an honor and joy.
Grateful for you.
S1 (46:04):
Folks, you can find out more about John and about
the wonderful ministry he runs over at Watermark Church and
about the book freedom starts today by going to our website.
You just go to Equip Radio. That's equip radio.org. Now
when I say that this needs to be a movement
(46:24):
in every church. I meant that you need to now
think through how does this book fit into my life?
How does this book fit into our church? Maybe I
can be a catalyst that starts a movement. So why
don't you go to our website again? Equip radio.org. That's
(46:47):
equip radio dot o r g. Friends, it has been
such a joy to be with you today. I hope
that you've been blessed and been encouraged. And until we
together again next time. As always, remember equip with Chris
Brooks is the production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
Moody Bible Institute.
Please enjoy this encore edition of equip with Chris Brooks. Well,
hey there friends, welcome to another exciting edition of Equipped
with Chris Brooks. I'm absolutely thrilled that you've decided to
tune in with us today. Why don't you do me
a favor? Strap on your seatbelt. We're going to navigate
through the contours of culture, as always, with the lens
of the biblical worldview on. But before we do that,
(00:37):
let me remind you. This is the day that the
Lord has made. He is giving it as a gift
so that you and I can rejoice and be glad
in it. So let's do just that. Let's follow the
words of the Apostle Paul. Let's rejoice in the Lord always.
And again I say rejoice. And with that I welcome
you into what will be, I hope, a very liberating
(00:58):
edition of equip. Today I want to have a real,
raw and honest conversation about breaking free from addiction. The
fact of the matter is, is that addiction is not
only prevalent in our society, but it's pretty prevalent in
our churches as well. Uh, you just look out among
(01:18):
you if you're a pastor. And what you need to
know as you look out among you is that one
out of seven adults between the ages of 18 and
25 are battling some substance abuse disorder. 38% of adults,
as a result of a 2017 study battling illicit drug
use disorder. Uh, there's been a huge rise in the
(01:42):
sales of alcohol, uh, and Covid, and the pandemic has
only made that even worse. And don't even let me
talk about pornography. 55% of married men, 25% of married
women look at pornography at least once a month. Those
numbers drastically increase for both demographics when they're single. And
(02:05):
so that's not just a male problem, but a female
and a male problem as well. So from drugs to
alcohol to pornography, Earthy. There are so many addictions that
are prevalent within the church. What does addiction look like? Well,
the Apostle Paul describes it this way in Romans chapter seven.
He says, the good that I want to do, I
(02:25):
don't do, but the evil that I don't want to do,
that I keep on doing. He was literally a slave
to sin. But praise God, the scriptures tell us whom
the Son of Man has set free is free indeed,
that that means that Christ has come to give us
not just the promise of heaven, though that is a
(02:46):
part of the glorious outcome of our salvation, but also
freedom while here on earth. And I want you to
know that freedom, and so does my guest. That's why
I'm so fired up to have John Elmore with me today.
John Elmore is the senior director of pastoral care and
director of recovery at Watermark Community Church in the great
(03:09):
city of Dallas, Texas. Now over 15 years sober, he
leads the world's largest weekly recovery gathering called regeneration, where
more than 1200 people with every known sin and struggle
find healing in Christ. And so I'm super fired up
to have John with me today, and I believe you'll
(03:31):
be as excited as I am once you hear from
him as we talk about his new book today, Freedom
Starts Today Overcoming Struggle and Addiction. One day at a time. John. Hey,
thanks for joining me, man.
S2 (03:45):
Chris. Oh my joy, thanks so much for the invitation.
I love that setup. I'm already so excited because of
the way you're talking and being real with people. So
thank you.
S1 (03:53):
You know, so sometimes authors write books because of man.
This is my dissertation in college or I did some
research on a topic, so I'm going to write about it.
This is not just you writing from a distance. There's
something about this that's intimate, that's vulnerable, that's transparent. So
talk about what qualifies beyond all of the degrees. What
(04:17):
qualifies John Elmore to write freedom starts today.
S2 (04:22):
Chris, I think I got my my dissertation or my PhD,
whatever you would say in specifically alcoholism, I mean, I
was I was a subject matter expert. And so I
have plumbed the depths of addiction. And Jesus rescued me.
He did not make me better. He made me new,
give me a whole new life. And I knew I
was going to spend the rest of my life telling
(04:43):
people that Jesus is real. You're never too far gone
and he can change everything. And beyond just my personal story,
I now there's 1200 people that come every Monday night,
as you said, finding freedom from every addiction under the sun.
And so it's not just what he did for me.
I'm one off story, yes, but rather this is what
he lives to do. And so, uh, yeah, I would
(05:05):
say it's that it's not my degrees. Anybody can get
an education. You can have an atheist go through the
programs I did with seminary and they can they can
get probably get better grades than I do because you
just study and write the papers. But, um, a changed
life in Christ and then all the change that I've
seen him bring about in others, um, it's what I
love to love to tell with others.
S1 (05:25):
I love that you say that because it's easy, right,
for someone to say, well, that's just John's story, but
the fact that you see it happen over and over
again points to something even greater. And I know that
right now we're talking to someone that would feel overwhelmed
by the thought that you can be free from alcoholism.
You can be free from drug addiction, you can be
(05:46):
free from pornography. For some people, just hearing us say
that is almost like, man, you're talking crazy. There's no
way I can be free. I just can't see it.
But I love that your book helps us to see
how that can happen. And you're seeing it all around you.
You know, I've been doing radio now, John, for 20 years,
a little bit over 20 years. And recently I was
(06:07):
asked by a friend. What, uh, what callers really stand
out to you? And I'll never forget, uh, a caller,
17 year old young woman, called and said I got
addicted to pornography at 11 years of age. Right. And
and and it blew me away to just hear her
(06:28):
story and praise God. Her story was a story of freedom.
But I think about how Satan preys on the young.
Going back to your personal story, it started young for you,
didn't it?
S3 (06:41):
Yeah, it absolutely started young with me. And I'm glad
you said that, Chris, because it starts young with everybody, right?
Like we're natural born sinners. Everybody is born a slave
to sin, children of wrath. And so it begins young.
We just all have different flavors. But for me, there's
always this fascination with alcohol. I remember being four years old,
sipping a beer on the back patio of our steps and.
S2 (07:02):
And like, it's burned in my mind. And then junior high,
I was making mixed drinks by myself I'd get home
from school at 330 and like, dig the back of
the kitchen cabinet, find this nasty like spiced rum and
all this, like old stuff. My parents weren't drinkers really
at all, but we had some. And so I'm making
mixed drinks by myself. And then high school, I'd have
bottles of liquor in my closet. And then when I
(07:24):
went off to school, college, um, left any kind of
semblance of accountability, discipline, whatever. And so from 18 to
30 became an alcoholic. Now as a functional alcoholic, meaning
I'm not like laying in the ditch, you know, always
tied to a bottle of vodka. But I graduated college
as a functional alcoholic. And then by the time I
(07:46):
was 30, shotgun to my head, sleeping on a couch,
walking into an AA meeting. But that's not the case anymore.
Like something dramatic changed. Something huge happened. And I think
a lot of times people think like, you know, but
I've pled with God to take this away. He's all powerful,
all knowing, all present, and I've asked him to take
it away, and he hasn't. So I guess it's not
a God problem. It must be a me problem. I
thought that I was so frustrated, so tired of of
(08:09):
trying to quit sending my alcoholism, I couldn't. So I
just punted. The whole thing walked away from God, and
that did not end well. But he doesn't treat us
as our sins deserve. He rescued me, set my course
on a whole new trajectory. And it's what I live
to tell people now, because I think a lot of
people discouraged. You said there's a lie from Satan. Yes,
it's the case. It's the case, people. I mean, Jesus said,
(08:30):
I came to give you a full, abundant life. And
I think because we don't talk about sin enough, which
is why I'm so thankful you are, because everybody's got sin.
Not everybody's has a savior. But the full, abundant life
like that, that's not walking through life hoping you go
to heaven when you die. But addicted in this life
that's not full or abundant. And so there is a disconnect.
(08:51):
And it's why I wrote this book, and it's why
I will tell anyone about my past alcoholism and my
current freedom.
S1 (08:58):
Yeah, there's two ways to talk about the past. One
is to celebrate it. The other is to recognize that
sin is a lie. It's fool's gold. It's a deception.
And it point people to to the freedom you you
have in Christ. I want to go back to AA
because a lot of people obviously have their opinions about AA.
It's helped a tremendous number of people. But yet when
(09:19):
you think about it theologically, some would argue there's an
absence of theology. Some would argue there's a mixed bag
of theology. Um, but yet God uses I heard someone
say crooked sticks to make straight lines sometimes. And you
went to AA and was confronted with a question that
actually got you to change your life. What was that?
S2 (09:44):
Yeah, it's the most simple question, and it is profoundly
impacted my life. So they ask me, would you commit
to staying sober for the next 24 hours? And Chris,
I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard.
I was like, y'all, I've had three doctors tell me
that I am going to. I'm going to die if
I keep drinking. My family just did an intervention. My
(10:06):
drinking friends are telling me that I have a drinking problem,
and you're asking me if I can stop for 24 hours?
I don't need 24 hours. I need a lifetime of help.
And this guy walked up to me afterwards. He's like, hey,
so you'll commit to staying sober for 24 hours? Because
I did. I like walked forward in front of the
whole group, like heart pounding through my chest. I mean,
it was it was it was a nightmare. But Scott
walks up to me. He's like, hey, so you're going
(10:26):
to commit to staying sober for 24 hours? And I'm like,
I guess he's like, cool, well, you're going to need
some help then. So here's my number. Call me tomorrow
and let me know how you did. And I mean, truly,
I'm like, whatever man. So I that that night, you know,
my phone's blown up with my buddies. Hey, let's go
down to fourth Street, let's hit the pubs, let's go out.
I'm like, no, I'm not going to. And then the
next day rolls around 6:00 and I call this guy Charlie.
(10:50):
And he answers, he's like, you stay sober. I was like, uh, yeah.
He's like, so you didn't drink? I'm like, no, I
didn't drink. He's like, great, do you want to go
another 24 hours? I'm like, you got to be kidding me. Hey,
how long are we going to do this? I don't
I don't need another 24 hours. I need a lifetime
of help. He's like, yeah, I understand, but will you
(11:10):
go another 24 hours by God's strength. And that question
a day became two. Two became a week. A week
became a month. Here I am, coming up on 16
years sober. God set me free. One day at a time.
S1 (11:23):
Praise God, and it all has resulted in this resource
that I promise you will change your life. Freedom starts today.
We'll be right back with more right after this. It
is our goal to strengthen your faith, and we're always
excited as we hear stories of people coming to faith
(11:45):
as a result of our program. But we couldn't possibly
accomplish this mission alone. That's why we're looking for equippers
and people just like you, who will give a monthly
gift to help us keep this program on the air.
Would you consider partnering with us? Become an Equipper today
and receive special insider benefits, such as a bi weekly
email that contains pastoral messages prepared just for you. Call
(12:08):
888644 4144 or go online to equip radio.org. Chris Brooks
here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded and we
won't be taking your calls. Welcome back to equip with
Chris Brooks. Today I'm joined happily so by John Elmore.
John has shared in our first segment some of his testimony,
(12:32):
but maybe as he shared his story, you're saying, man,
that's me. I know what that's like. I know what
it's like to be addicted. Maybe not to alcohol, maybe
it's drugs, maybe it's pornography or some other life destroying sin.
And you say, I know what it's like to feel
like there's no way that I can be free. I
even know what it's like to have family try to
do an intervention or try to cut me off. See,
(12:54):
the one thing that's true about all of us, me included,
is all of us. The verdict is in that we're
all sinners. We're all in need of a Savior. All
of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God. And so today, the only question is, will
you accept God's offer for freedom? Or will you stay
trapped as a prisoner in your sin and in your addiction?
(13:15):
I hope today will be a day of freedom for you.
So John has written his book. Freedom starts literally today.
Freedom starts today. I want you to find out more
at our website. Equip radio. You can go there now.
It's not a coincidence you're listening. God wanted you to listen.
Go to our website, equip radio or if it's easier,
(13:36):
go to our Facebook and Twitter pages. Our social platforms
are available to you. Equipped radio that's equipped radio. John
Elmore says this in his book. If you go all
in the next 90 days will be life altering, sin destroying,
and God glorifying. Man, those are powerful words. Some would
(13:57):
even argue. John, are you overpromising? What do you say
in response to that?
S2 (14:03):
Dude, I got a smile from ear to ear because
that's God's promise. Like it's what he says. Chris. So
Romans six says you're no longer a slave to sin.
You're now a slave to righteousness. And so it's either
true or God's a liar. And I think we know
which one it is, that it is true. His promises
are true yesterday, today, and always in Christ Jesus. And
(14:23):
then in Galatians three it says, if we walk by
the spirit like that's all we do is just walk
by the spirit, that's his command to us. Just walk
with me. He says. There's a promise like we do that.
Then he comes through with this promise. You know what
the promise is, it says, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh. You won't do what you
don't want to do, he says, but all you gotta
(14:44):
do is walk with me. I think we've, like, really
messed this thing up. And we think like, well, Jesus
saved me from hell. And then I got, I got
to follow those rules now. And we can't, we can't
follow the rules. Like, that's what Romans seven verse one
through six says, it's like the law is good, but
it has no ability, total inability to to sanctify you.
The spirit began this work to save you in Jesus.
(15:07):
And the spirit continues to work to sanctify you into
the image of Jesus. So it began as a work
of the spirit. It continues to the work of the spirit.
And so here's the deal. This is not like people
might hear this and be like, oh, you're just like
syncretizing something from a some Christian lifehack bringing it into
the church. This is how the Great Reformation, like Martin Luther,
(15:29):
like that awakened the church. It's how it began. Uh,
it's how the Great Awakening with Jonathan Edwards began. Like
it's all about this daily repentance. But we've forgotten, like,
we've straight up forgotten how to war against sin. And
we've become really private. Like we only post our top 2%
of our life on social media. And so everybody's suffering
in silence while nobody's getting free. And I think the
(15:50):
Lord's just looking like, will you ask him? Because if
you ask if you walk with me like I got
freedom for you.
S1 (15:56):
Man, that's so powerful. I love everything that you just said.
I want to obliterate, though, some misconceptions. You know, every
time you talk, John, it's so full of theology. It's
so full and rich of the word of God just saturated.
You can. You can clearly just tell from your answers
to your responses that you just live your life in
(16:19):
the word by the power of the spirit. But as
great as that is, I don't want anybody to think
that what you have put together in freedom starts today
is a theology of addiction and how to be free
from addiction as some dense theology. Don't get me wrong,
theology is a beautiful thing. But that's not what this
book is, is it?
S2 (16:40):
No, no. In fact, it says that in the introduction,
I'm like, you know what? When I was an alcoholic,
I didn't have time or the desire to read some
300 page book and try to synthesize all the information
about how to get free. In fact, it's funny. It's
happening in real time right now. I'm like reading this
book on a strong willed parent and I'm like, dude,
just give me the answer. Like, don't make me read
(17:01):
this 300 page book because my kid's going to wake
up in eight hours and we're going to have an
argument again.
S1 (17:05):
Yeah.
S2 (17:06):
And so I tell people, I'm like, you're not going
to hear about neurochemistry and dopamine and all that. Like
what you need to know is if you have sin,
Jesus will give you a way out and it will
start within ten minutes of reading this book. Like like
when I say freedom starts today, the title of that book,
like that's straight up true, because I don't want you
to have to wait. I couldn't have waited. I needed
(17:27):
help that day, on my first day of sobriety. And
so that's what this is from. From overeating, from being
a nagging wife, from being a passive husband, from gambling,
from porn, from opioids, like, whatever it is, um, it's
just true and it's true today. But it's not just true.
It is true for you. And so what I would
say is there is there is deep theological truths that
(17:50):
will set people free, but God makes it so plain
and simple, like you don't have to go to seminary.
You just got to go to the Savior and ask,
and he will do it like he says. I mean,
the Pharisees were all messed up because of this. He
called them whitewashed tombs. They had knowledge, but they had
no power because they were far from God. And he
just says, you come near to me and I got you,
I got you.
S1 (18:12):
I want to keep saying it. Whether it's addiction to
social media or food or money or body image or
sex or status, whatever it is, you can be free. Now,
you talked about being free for a day, 24 hours.
You compare that to a penny. What's the connection there?
S2 (18:35):
Yeah. So, um, here's what I would say. In Romans 813.
It says if you live according to the flesh, you
will die like you do what you want to do.
It's going to lead to death. Sin leads to death.
Sometimes it just has a really long fuse. But, you know,
it's out there. Know, like, man, it's leading to marital death,
whatever it may be. Maybe, but God doesn't leave us there,
he says, but if by the spirit you put to
(18:57):
death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. And
so the spirit is the sin killer. We often think
about the, the, the good fruit of the spirit, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.
And we're like, that's half his job. The other half
of his job is to kill sin. He's the sin killer.
It's what he does. And we're trying to do it
on our own, and we're exhausted. Now, here's the thing
with the penny. It's like the smallest increment of the
(19:18):
US monetary system. And so you think about, like, Jeff Bezos, like,
richest dude in the world, Amazon guy. And but when
you if you were to look at his bank account,
it would go down to the very last cent, meaning
all of his billions and billions of dollars of money,
it's all actually made up of pennies. It's made up
of singular cents, like that's how it's counted. And so
(19:39):
a lifetime of freedom is made up by the smallest increment,
meaning a lifetime of freedom. Like you want to be
free from porn or alcohol or whatever from the rest
of your life. Well, it's made up by singular days.
And this is what Jesus said. He said, you know,
give us today our daily bread, not our monthly bread,
not our annual bread, not our lifetime bread, because, I mean,
I think God knows if he gave me lifetime bread,
(20:01):
he'd probably never hear from me again. And so instead
he's like, here's enough for today. I'll see you tomorrow.
And Jesus says, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness today.
Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow's got enough worries of its own.
I think God just wants us to daily walk with
him one day at a time. And in doing that,
there's freedom. And here's what I tell people, too. A
(20:23):
guy will come up to me and he's like, man,
I'm addicted to porn. I'm losing my wife, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, yeah, I know. Hey, could you quit
for the rest of your life? And they typically will
pause for a second, like, because they want to, but
they know they can't. I'm like, man, I know that's
like that's like trying to climb Everest. It feels impossible.
But let me ask you a second question. Could you
quit by God's strength for the next 24 hours? Could
(20:45):
you not look at porn for the next 24 hours
by God's strength? And I've never had a person tell
me no. Maybe two times I had them say, well,
I don't think I could go 24 hours. I could
go 12 hours. I'm like, great, go 12 hours. My God, strength.
S1 (20:56):
Let's do.
S2 (20:57):
It. And that's. And so we go one day at
a time. Yeah. And in doing that, God will.
S1 (21:04):
God does.
S2 (21:05):
Daily walk.
S1 (21:06):
It's a daily walk, friends. And I want you to
start this today. Many of you are listening right now.
And you're saying this is me. Listen, I want to
give away five copies, five complimentary copies of John's book.
Freedom starts today. Maybe it's for you, maybe it's for
someone you love. But we're going to do this through
our social media platform. So you go right now to
Facebook or Twitter. We're going to pick five names from
(21:30):
folks who are saying, I need this now for me,
for my son, for my daughter, for my husband, my wife,
whatever the case may be, not out of judgment, but
simply out of love. I want you to go there.
We'll pick five names and the rest of you who
aren't picked. Don't worry, you still can get a copy.
Order a copy, Find out how to do that at
our website. Equip radio.org. We got a couple of moments
(21:52):
left in this particular segment. John, you've been given all
these promises, all these promises from Scripture. But yet in
your book, you talk about how the promises of God
recorded in the Bible are like a check. In what
way are the promises of God recorded in Scripture like
a check?
S2 (22:13):
So this is like one of the most powerful things.
So in the scriptures, these these promises of God, they
are true. But I tell people they're true for you.
But here's the thing I like. If I gave you
a check, Chris, and you didn't cash it, but say
you're like, I memorized it, I memorized it. I know,
I know how you did the handwriting. I know what.
S1 (22:35):
Data.
S2 (22:35):
Was written on. I know that you. Yeah, I know.
S1 (22:37):
What you wrote in the.
S2 (22:38):
Memo line. I'm like, yeah, but, bro, I'm looking at
my account. You haven't cashed the check. Like, if you
don't cash the check, you're not going to receive it.
It doesn't matter if you hold it. And we do
this with Bible verses. We like memorize them, we study them,
we get them printed on bookmarks. We stick in our Bible,
but we don't live them. We don't appropriate them. And
so they're true. But they're true for you. And God
is looking for us to live by faith. He says
(22:59):
the righteous will live by faith. And that's saying, I
take you at your word that every promise finds its
yes in Jesus. And so what he says when he says,
walk with me, and you will not gratify the desires
of the flesh. Dude, that's true. Like you take that
to the bank. And I think it honors God to
say to him, you said, you said in your word,
(23:22):
and you are not a liar, that if I walk
with you, I won't give in to my addiction or
my struggle. And I think he's just looking for us
to ask, like little children with our arms up. Unless
you come to me like a little child, you know.
And so it's what he's longing for. But is he
going to find faith in his appearing?
S1 (23:40):
I love that man. I want to use a word.
So much of what you're saying is just life transforming.
It's edifying to my soul. And I just want you
to know that I want to use a word. And
I want you to tell me how this one attribute
of God helps to bring freedom. Omnipresence.
S2 (23:55):
Omnipresence. Man. So Jesus said, it is better for you
that I go, because if I go the comforter, the Paraclete,
it means comforter or counselor. He will come. And not
only will he come to like an individual, he will
come to every individual like we are a temple of
the Holy Spirit. And so the omnipresence of God. It's
not just like that. He's everywhere that right now he's
(24:17):
in North Korea and Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and Haiti
and he's everywhere, like from an omnipresent standpoint. But like,
that's that's generally but then specifically for everyone to place
their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins,
believing that he is Lord and he raised from the
dead that he lives in you. The sin killer lives
(24:37):
in you like he is present with you all day,
every day. And there is power in presence like when
my wife is with me. I'm not going to speak
harsh with my kids because she's going to look at
me and be like, John, don't do that. You know
they love you. They need a loving, tender father. You know, discipline.
But don't discipline them in anger. And when I'm alone
and the stress gets to me, I'm more likely to
(24:58):
do that. You know I hate it, but I'm more
likely to do it. And there's power in presence. So
when my my helpmate, my wife is there with me
and it says that God is our helper. And so
that awareness that like he's not only with you, he's
not only by your side, he is on your side
and he is on your side to wage war against sin.
And he just says, just walk with me all day,
(25:19):
every day. And I got you. I'm going to protect you.
I'm going to fight back. Sin. I'm going to fight
back the lies of the enemy as you take up
that shield of faith. And he's going to do it.
And here's the thing. I think a lot of times,
if ever we're, we're confessing our sin reactively, meaning it's
already happened. Like we already gave into sin or overeating
or whatever it may be. Sleeping with our boyfriend girlfriend.
(25:40):
It's a reactive confession. Concessions. What if we started making
a proactive decision? This is something we got to talk
about more. Making a proactive decision, deciding before you even
get into that environment. And there's so much power in that.
I'd love to tell people more about that too.
S1 (25:56):
That's so good. Listen, I want you to stick and stay.
John's just getting started. When we come back, we're going
to tell you how to kill mosquitoes. It's going to
help you. Friends, you can be free today. I want
you to go to our website, equip radio.org. Order the book.
Freedom starts today. We'll be right back. Right after this.
(26:16):
Chris Brooks here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded.
While we won't be taking calls, we do want to
connect with you on social media. Welcome back to Equipped
with Chris Brooks. So grateful for all of our friends
and partners. It's your generosity and God's grace that allows
us to be here each and every day. Really, your
generosity is just evidence of his grace working through you
(26:40):
to help us spread the gospel in your community. So
many men and women are waiting, just waiting for freedom.
Freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom from being a
slave to sin. Freedom that only comes through the life
of the spirit that is available to us through faith
in Christ. Well, how do they get the Word of
God so they can respond to the good news of
(27:02):
God's grace and love offered through Christ? It's through the
gospel being communicated, and I'm grateful to every day come
behind this microphone. But I could not do it without
your partnership and help. If you have been blessed by
the program and you want to stand with us, please
go to our website right now. Equip Radio.com or if
(27:23):
you want to give more immediately, all you have to
do is dial the number 888644 4144. Let me give
the number again 888644 4144. Again Eight. Six. 44. 41. 44.
And just know on the other side of your generosity
(27:44):
and your obedience and giving to this. This ministry. Lives
are being changed for Christ and for his glory. Today
I'm so fired up to have with me, Jon Elmore.
Jon has been walking us through his newest book, Freedom
Starts Today. Today. If you're not familiar with Jon, Jon
is the senior director of pastoral care and director of
(28:06):
recovery at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He's been
sober for over 15 years, and now he leads the
world's largest weekly recovery gathering called regeneration. He's seen about
1200 people per week. You know, you might ask, well,
how many people in our churches struggle with addiction? Really?
(28:28):
The question is, how many of us have sin patterns
in our lives that we have not shaken free from?
And when you begin to think about those that are
in our churches that are addicted to pornography or pills
or food or money or alcohol or social media or
sex or whatever you list as a sin in your life.
(28:49):
All of us are crying out for the same thing.
Is there freedom? John's book says not only is there freedom,
the promise of freedom in Scripture again and again and again,
but it can start today. John, I love that you
have just made this book like Uber practical. It's a
daily devotional. You're asking people to be all in for
(29:10):
90 days, but really, you're just asking people to be
all in one day at a time. And as they are,
they'll begin to see the promises of God come true
in their lives. Before we went to the break, I
talked about you helping us to kill mosquitoes. Now, that's
a part of Dallas life, isn't it?
S2 (29:28):
Yes. Yes, they are in your house. In your car, man.
They're everywhere. They're pervasive. It's like a biblical plague upon us.
S1 (29:37):
So how is sin like a mosquito?
S2 (29:40):
Yeah. Good question Chris. So I come home from work
one day and my wife, you know, we got a
little honey do list as I walk through the door
and it's like, hey, the the sink is clogged, the
door won't shut. Right. And and the last line was
kill the mosquitoes. And I hold up the note. I'm like,
are you. Are you kidding me? Like, what do you
want me to do first? You want me to kill cancer,
print the internet, boil the ocean or kill mosquitoes? Like,
(30:01):
what are you talking about? Like we live in Texas.
I can't kill, kill the mosquitoes. Are you kidding? Because
she was like, I need the mosquitoes gone, man. Our
kids are, like, bona fide blood donors every time they
go outside. And I was like, look, I don't know
what to do. Like, what do you want me to do,
go out there with a fly swatter? Like, they're just
going to come back. And she's like, she just smiled
(30:21):
and she goes, mhm. I thought you might say that.
Would you like, would you like a phone number. And
so I called this number I'm like all right. My
wife said you guys like kill mosquitoes. I thought it
was going to be, you know, something crazy. They're like yeah,
we come out, we fog the yard, and whenever they
come back, just call us and we'll come out again
for free. I was like, you're telling me that you're
(30:42):
going to kill the mosquitoes in the backyard? I'm like, yo,
they fly like our neighbor's house doesn't get treated. They're
just going to fly over the fence. They're like, they
probably will. And when they do, just call us and
we'll come back out, treat it for free. And no joke,
these people come out and our backyard is like free
of mosquitoes until like two weeks go by and I
see one of my arms swat it, like, call the number.
I think they're going to try to charge me or whatever.
(31:03):
They're like, we'll send somebody right out. And as this
is like happening in real time, I'm like, That's God.
Like that's what God does. We we are so foolish
running around like trying to fly swat this like pervasive
sin problem. We're exhausting ourselves. We're so frustrated. It always
comes back every time we say, that's got to be
(31:24):
the last time. I swear it's the last time it
comes back. And so we just get defeated and we
just live in this like existence where we're just getting
the life sucked out of us by sin. And I
think God's just waiting, like, are you going to call me?
Are you going to bring me into the fight? Because.
Because that's what I love to do, I kill sin.
You can't kill sin, but I can. And so will you.
(31:44):
Call me. Here's this is hilarious. So Forbes and Inc. magazine,
they do this study on New Year's resolutions because everybody
makes a New Year's resolution, right? They've been overeating or
they've been not working out or whatever. They got something
in their life that they want change. And people go
public with New Year's resolutions, like they're on social media.
They're telling everybody they throw out all the gluten from
their refrigerator and their cabinets. They're like, they're just they're
(32:07):
all in. And Chris, they did a study and out
of 800 million people, by the way, and they found
that on January 19th, we're talking two and a half
weeks after New Year's resolution. People have already quit their
New Year's resolution. They in fact, they have deemed it
National Quitting Day. And so they're like, mind blown by this.
(32:27):
They're like, wait, people went public? They knew there was
something in their life that shouldn't be. Why are they
quitting two and a half weeks in. So they do
a follow up study and they ask the people, why
did you quit and why did you quit so soon?
Two and a half weeks. Number one answer I didn't
have the willpower to do it. Yeah. And it's like,
you know, this is sociologist climbing the mountain of knowledge
(32:49):
only to find the theologians already sitting there, and they're like,
of course you don't have enough willpower because willpower is
not greater than sin's power, but the Spirit's power is
greater than sin's power. And so you bring him into
the fight and you're going to walk into freedom. Now,
a lot of times we get frustrated because we're like, yeah,
but I walked the aisle and I told my pastor
that I was addicted and my struggle. And then I
went back to it two weeks later, I can't stop
(33:10):
sleeping with my boyfriend or whatever. And here I am again.
So I guess it didn't work. And it's like, no, no,
God worked. Yeah. He just. You didn't ask him to
work every day. You thought you could ask him once
and be free for life. The thing is, is on
the daily, like, you got to stay near to God
because he knows we're going to go rogue. And so,
Old Testament, he gave them manna. He gave them manna
(33:31):
one day at a time. And it's what the. It's
what he does for for us today.
S4 (33:36):
That's so good.
S2 (33:37):
And John Owen. John Owen, great theologian. He said, do
you mortify meaning? Do you kill? He said, make it
your daily work. Cease not a day from it. And
then he says, this be killing sin, or it will
be killing you. So there's no neutral in the in
the Christian life. It's like you got to be on
the offensive, but you can't go on your own strength.
(33:57):
We always talk about the armor of God in Ephesians six, like, yeah,
I got the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness.
Sword of the spirit. Shield of faith. I'm ready for battle.
It's like, dude, you stopped reading too soon, man.
S4 (34:07):
Yeah.
S2 (34:07):
Because then. Because in Ephesians six, you got all equipped
with the armor of God, and you left out the
person of God because Ephesians 619 and 20 it says,
and pray in the spirit. And we, we, we like,
want to go off in the battle solo like Lone
Ranger Christianity. And of course, we're getting beat up by
sin because we left God out. And so we gotta
(34:28):
bring God, but we also gotta bring the body of
Christ into. There's a part of that as well.
S1 (34:32):
Yeah, I want to get to to that. I love
what you're saying. And and, you know, one of the
things that I want to make sure is clear, there
are so many people, John, that listen to you and
will say, man, if I just had someone like John
in my life giving me this type of talk every day,
if I just had someone like John in my life
calling me every morning saying, hey, you can do this,
(34:56):
or to talk to when I'm weak to remind me
of who I am. Uh, I think I can make it,
but what John is trying to communicate and and I
pray that people hear you, man, is that there is
someone greater than John that's available to us. The Holy
Spirit of God is in you, and he is there
(35:17):
to empower you each and every day. And if you
call upon him and it doesn't matter, like, like if
you had John's cell phone number, there would be some
times that you couldn't call, like it would be breaking
the boundaries of friendship, right? But the great thing about
the Holy Spirit, about the Lord's presence in our lives,
is that we can call upon him 24 hours a day,
(35:40):
seven days a week. When we feel weak, when we
feel strong, when we've fallen before seeing the temptation is overwhelming.
You can call upon him at any time, and he
promises that if you call upon him that he will
in no ways cast you out. He will hear your
cry and receive you. Friends, it starts with having a
(36:03):
relationship with Jesus though, and today I want to make
sure you know that salvation comes because of faith. It's
faith in Christ alone. How do we express that faith to.
Through repentance and trust. Just repentance and trust. Acknowledging our
sins and recognizing that we are in need of a
(36:25):
Savior and turning to Christ. his sacrifice on that cross,
his resurrection. Trusting in him for life and that more abundantly.
Acknowledging that he's the only one who can save you.
If you are ready to take that step, dial 888.
Need him? We'll be right back. As a dad, a friend,
(36:47):
and a neighbor, I share your concerns over the growing
problems in our culture. That's why on equip we tackle
the tough issues learning how to respond with grace and truth.
We're looking for like minded partners to stand with us.
Would you be willing to become an Equipper today? In
this role, you'll give a monthly donation to support the
Ministry of Equip and as an Equipper, you'll receive insider
benefits such as a bi weekly email that contains pastoral
(37:10):
messages prepared just for you. Become an equipper today by
calling 888644 4144 or go to equip Radio org. Today's
program has been prerecorded so our phone lines are not open.
Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks. I just pray
that you are fired up and what you're hearing today.
(37:33):
It's just a reminder of God's Word. And I do
pray that you are taking every promise of God to
the bank. Don't be like the person who has the
cheque in their hand but doesn't cash it. You take
it to the bank. You believe God at His Word
that you can be free. And it starts with just
that penny, that 24 hours. Can you, by God's grace, uh,
(37:57):
not give in to that addiction for 24 hours? I
believe you can. And this resource, freedom starts today is
designed to help you to do it. I said earlier
that John says in his book, if you go all
in the next 90 days will be life altering, sin destroying,
and God glorifying. I believe that to be true. You
can find out more about how to order John's book
(38:19):
for yourself, or for someone you love, maybe even for
your pastor, as a resource to help your church to
think through this or for your small group. Find out
more at Equip radio.org. That's equip radio dot. John, I
want to read you something from the book that really
spoke to me about our identity. Because when you are
(38:39):
a man in the grip of sin, you can feel
so low. You can feel so unclean, unworthy, so, so dirty.
But you say this you are royalty. You are not
a slave to the cruel master Satan. Though right now
you live in this world of which he is the
prince of the power of the air. He will continue
(39:00):
to relentlessly wield his threats and afflictions on you, but
you resist him, resist him, and God's promise. And God
promises he will flee from you. Remember, you are royalty
and your father is the King. Never bow, serve, or
answer to anyone else.
S2 (39:20):
Yeah, I think about. So identity impacts everything. And as
a as a dad. Like, I'm gonna I'm gonna care
for my kids as a husband. I'm going to answer
my wife's calls. And I think if we say if
we identify Oklahoma Center, then what do you think you're
going to do? You're going to be thrown back to that.
All throughout the New Testament, it Paul in particular. But
a lot of the authors will write that we are saints.
(39:42):
The word is hagios in the Greek it means holy ones,
like set apart only unto God. And even the Corinthian church,
which was a messed up bunch man. They were, they were,
they were all in on sin. I mean, you got
a guy sleeping with his stepmom, uh, prostitution, homosexuality, drunkenness.
I mean, it was just like they were they were
deep in some stuff. But Paul writes to them and
(40:05):
instead of saying, like, you filthy sinners, he says that
they're saints. I mean, right here in Second Corinthians one,
I'm looking at it right now. It says to the
church of God that is in Corinth with all the saints.
It's just this refrain like your holy ones, he's he's
speaking identity over them, and he's saying, you are not
a sinner whose saints you are, a saint whose sins.
(40:28):
And there's a world of difference, that you're a child
of God, a child of the King. And when that
takes root in you, then you start to live out.
Our doctrine informs our deeds. Our belief determines our behavior.
And that's when God says you are so that you
can start living out that reality, that you're no longer
a slave to sin. You're a slave to righteousness. It
(40:50):
really matters.
S1 (40:51):
Yeah, it does really matter, man. And I'm so grateful
that you have captured this in the book. I guess
my question to you, I love that, um, you know,
every book, the dedication page is so special. You know,
you typically learn a lot about who's important in a
person's life. And your dedication page is unique. I've never
(41:12):
seen a dedication page like this. You open up the
dedication page, and instead of you giving shout outs to
all the important people in your life, you say this
book is dedicated to you, and you give a clear, underline,
blank space for the person to write their name in.
It says, this book is dedicated to you and the
(41:33):
and to the eradication of addiction in the church. Praise
God for that man. What what do you hope people
get from your book when they pick it up?
S2 (41:45):
Chris, it's what you said earlier. When you like talking
about you wish you had a best friend that you
could talk, text and all that. There's so many people
that I get to, I get to meet with, but
I don't get to meet with all of them to
tell them, as you rightly said, not about me, but
about Jesus, who will set them free. And so I'm like,
all right, I'm writing this book for that person, somebody
that's like, man, I got my nephew in Des Moines,
I got my brother in New York. Like, I don't
(42:05):
know what can what can they do? I like wrote
that book with this in mind so that people could
just pick it up and start walking into freedom. And
here's the thing. They've got a friend like, they don't
need me. As you said, they need Jesus, but also
they can't walk through it alone. Hebrews 313 says, encourage
one another daily, so that you will not be hardened
(42:25):
by the deceitfulness of sin. And so I tell people
like Sunday is good, like Sunday at church. That's good.
It's just not sufficient. And women's Bible study on Wednesday,
that's good. It's just not sufficient. But God says every
single day we need to talk to a brother or
sister in Christ to be encouraged, because if we don't,
the daily default is we're going to fall back into sin.
And so I want people to learn how to walk
(42:46):
with the Lord, how to walk with brothers and sisters
in Christ, and how to walk in daily repentance by
turning from sin, by turning to Jesus. And that's why
it's dedicated to them. Because I want to see people
like do the freedom in Christ. It's real, and it's
real for you today.
S1 (43:02):
I want to say this with about a couple of
minutes left, that this needs to be a movement in
every church. This isn't just a watermark thing. I don't
want people to think that this is true in every church.
So how do we start a movement in our church?
Somebody listening to us right now and they're saying, man,
I want this, uh, as, as, uh, man, the clarion
(43:24):
call in our church. What what recommendation or advice would
you give?
S2 (43:28):
Chris? Thank you. Thank you for, like, calling the church
to that because the church, I believe, generally not throwing
stones at churches. The church is the bride of Christ.
But we've stopped talking about sin. And if you stop
talking about sin, then it's really hard to talk about repentance.
And if you don't talk about repentance, then it's like
everybody's suffering in silence while they're sitting in the pews.
And you got a bunch of people with their Sunday
best on, and they're falling apart at the seams on
(43:50):
the inside with the reality of their Sunday worst. But
were those like whitewashed tombs again? And so it's like,
we've got to be talking. Like I say, that repentance
is the root of revival, and that's just not like
a catchy phrase. When Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses
on the Church of Wittenberg that sparked the Reformation, the
first four of his theses were all about repentance. And
(44:13):
he said, when the Lord Jesus Christ said repent, he
meant that the whole of life was to be one
of repentance. And so it's got to be this thing
that pastors I mean, look, we don't I know for me,
I didn't need Jesus apart from my sin. But once
I realized I had sin and I couldn't turn from it,
I needed Jesus. And as a believer, we still have sin.
(44:36):
As you said, you led off this this session talking
about Romans seven. Well, we're still wrestling with sin, so
we've got to have the spirit sanctifying us. And so
it's just critical in life that we do this. And
the church has got to start talking about it from
the front.
S1 (44:53):
From the front. And everyone in the body of Christ
plays a role in this. And so, friends, here's what
I want to do. Uh, with, uh, maybe, uh, just
a few seconds left. I just want to pray for you. Father,
I pray that everyone who's listening to this will have
hearts that are open to the Lordship of Christ. But
even more, I pray that they would accept your free
(45:16):
offer of salvation for their lives, and that they would
know that they can be free because of whom the
son is set. Free is free indeed. Thank you, father,
for sending our Savior to die for us on that cross,
for our sins that separated us from a holy God.
But thank you for raising him again on that third day.
(45:39):
And now, Lord, may the power of the spirit that
raised Christ from the dead be alive in us as well.
In Christ's name I pray. Amen and amen.
S4 (45:48):
Amen.
S1 (45:48):
John, you are a gift to the body. I'm grateful
for your book. Freedom starts today overcoming struggle and addiction.
One day at a time. Thanks a lot, brother Chris.
S2 (46:01):
Thank you for your ministry. It's an honor and joy.
Grateful for you.
S1 (46:04):
Folks, you can find out more about John and about
the wonderful ministry he runs over at Watermark Church and
about the book freedom starts today by going to our website.
You just go to Equip Radio. That's equip radio.org. Now
when I say that this needs to be a movement
(46:24):
in every church. I meant that you need to now
think through how does this book fit into my life?
How does this book fit into our church? Maybe I
can be a catalyst that starts a movement. So why
don't you go to our website again? Equip radio.org. That's
(46:47):
equip radio dot o r g. Friends, it has been
such a joy to be with you today. I hope
that you've been blessed and been encouraged. And until we
together again next time. As always, remember equip with Chris
Brooks is the production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
Moody Bible Institute.
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