July 30, 2025 • 26 mins
Are you caught in the cycle of knowing you shouldn't look but feeling powerless to stop? You're not alone in this struggle, and more importantly, you don't have to remain stuck. In this raw and powerful episode, we tackle pornography head-on, providing practical strategies and spiritual weapons for breaking free.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris Grainger (00:03):
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast
serving Christian men who arehungry to be the leaders God
intends you to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, guys, your meatepisode.
Let's get right into it, okay?
So the scripture of the weekthis week is in the book of 1
John 2, the 16th verse.
It says For all that is in theworld, the desires of the flesh,
the desires of the eyes and thepride, pride of life, is not
(00:23):
from the father, but from theworld.
All right, fellas, I took a lotof time to unpack that one
verse in our spiritual kickoffepisode.
So again, if you're, if youhaven't had a chance to listen,
go back and listen to it.
And if you like the spiritualkickoff episodes which we know
you guys do go get your dailySKO free at the line with N dot
(00:44):
U S.
So sign up for today.
It gets you plugged into ourcommunity, to our platform.
Guys, we don't put that stuffanywhere else.
We're not posting it out onYouTube or anything like that.
Just it lives therespecifically for that reason,
and we're here every day, mondaythrough Friday.
So if you need that littleextra boost of encouragement,
I'm telling you, guys, and nowyou have no reason not to
because it's completely free.
All right, so this this weekwe're talking head on about
(01:08):
pornography.
Okay, now I wrote a Bible studyon the Bible app and so much of
what we're covering here is onis directly from that study.
So if you go through the study,by the way, it sounds just like
podcast.
Well, it's because we createthese resources out here.
We want to share it in otherplaces as well.
Not all you guys are on theBible app, okay, so that's where
(01:28):
you're going to find it, andmaybe this is for you.
This next sentence makes sense.
Like I know I shouldn't look,but I just can't stop.
You ever say that before,because lots of guys feel
powerless when it comes to this,right, but the reality is you
(01:48):
ain't got to stay stuck, no, no,and I'm hopeful to enlighten,
maybe to encourage and equip youto start fighting, because you
may just feel like just anotherbro, just another guy, but you
have what it takes to break freeand to live in victory.
And we talked about this oneverse for the SKO so far as
(02:11):
first John two, 16, lust offlesh, lust of the eyes, pride
of life.
It's not from this world, butthat's it Right.
And if we be, if, if you, ifyou run around with the with
your chest poked out saying thatI got this, the reality is no,
you don't, bro, you ain't gotthis.
The first thing you have isthis when it comes to
pornography, you have to besuper vigilant on just getting
(02:39):
this removed from your life,whatever the cost.
So now we're going to kind ofdig into, okay, if we recognize
that, the lust of flesh, lust ofthe eyes and pride of life,
this is big deals.
Where does it start?
And I want to take you toPhilippians 4.8.
Because Paul tells us therefinally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever isnoble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever islovely, whatever is admirable,
(03:06):
if anything is excellent orpraiseworthy, think about such
things.
And that's in philippines.
So we have to guard our mind.
We just have to.
And I I'm gonna tell a storyhere around sports.
Okay, because baseball was mydeal, that was my jam, bro.
I loved, I love baseball.
We played hours, and I meanhours, either in the batting
cage, at the actual, actualfield itself, or just in the
yard, it didn't matter, man.
And then, as I started learningsport, you know, you hear the
(03:32):
saying that the best offense isa good defense.
Right, and I found myself.
I love that side of the gameand I could see at the first
baseman how my play impacted thegame.
I could also see if we didn'tplay very well defensively.
It broke us up.
We were pretty terrible.
(03:54):
Then I started thinking aboutthat.
In light of the temptationsthat we face as men.
It looks like it seems to melike at every corner.
Now, right that we turn, Idon't need to fix this.
(04:19):
It seems to me that when Istarted reflecting on
temptations that they areseemingly at every corner.
Okay, so we have to start.
Really, if temptations areeverywhere, we need to have a
good defense up.
Okay, a really good defense, andwe have to consider one thing
(04:44):
that's worth considering isstrong boundaries, and maybe the
idea of a restriction or or isis the reason why lots of guys
don't do this, because it feelslike you know, uh, man, I'm
putting, I'm putting myself in abox and the reality is you want
(05:05):
to see a grown man turn to atoddler.
You just tell him what he can'tdo.
Just sit back right, becausewe're going to go out of our way
to be autonomous, right andflexible, because that's what
everybody wants these days.
And yet we need to recognize,when it comes to the context of
battling pornography, if wedon't have these boundaries in
our life, they have to be anon-negotiable, because the
(05:27):
reality is there is no foolproof, guarantee list of boundaries.
To say this is all going towork, but no boundaries is a
guaranteed path to failure.
So the key is determining whichones make the most sense for
you directly.
Again, if the evil one wasgoing to attack you, where would
he target?
And if you understand theanswer to that question, that
(05:51):
starts giving you ideas on whatthe defense looks like, because
this may mean accountabilitysoftware needs to be on your
electronic devices, okay.
Or it may be more situationallyfocused, where you avoid
triggering or risky scenariosRight Altogether.
The bottom line is thatwhatever the area of weaknesses
(06:13):
is for you and your situation,you have to take action to close
off potential points of entryfor the evil one.
So now let's go back to thebaseball field for a second
Suppose.
All I did was focus on defense,just being the best first
baseman.
I pitched and I played firstbase.
Let's just say first base.
I just did the best I could tobe the best first baseman, I
(06:37):
never make any mistakes, right?
That would make it hard for theother team to score.
Let's just be real.
Right, it would be hard forthem to put points on the board
or runs.
But I'm telling you, if all Idid was play defense, I would
never put any runs on the boardeither, because at some point
(06:58):
we've got to stop playingdefense.
You've got to pick up a bat andput some runs on the board.
Let's just be real.
And there's no better offensiveweapon against pornography than
the Word of God.
Because Paul the Apostle showsus that the sword of the Spirit
is part of our daily armor.
To put on the battle Right, togo into battle, rather, against
(07:20):
the evil one.
And we can't think thatpornography is somehow outside
of this realm, becausepornography has a grip.
And why would you leave yourbattle weapon at home?
Just think about Jesus.
How did he combat the evil one?
Directly in Matthew 4?
There he was right, nose andnose with the evil one, and all
(07:43):
he had to do was say the word,and that bro would have been out
of there.
Yet he was right, nose and nosewith the evil one, and all he
had to do was say the word andthat bro would have been out of
there.
Yet he gave us a model, simplemodel.
He just said it is written.
He did it three times.
I'm telling you, brother, ifyou're fighting pornography,
having a slew of it is writtenin your life is so crucial
Because in the moments when theevil one comes, man, you got to
(08:05):
be ready.
You have to be ready becausedefense will keep the enemy at
bay, but offense reclaims thatlost ground and advances God's
kingdom in your life.
So I'm telling you right herestrengthen those boundaries up,
wield the sword of the spiritand stand firm in the power of
(08:28):
his word.
So that's it, right here.
So that's just the first thingwe're talking about.
We'll take a quick break.
I've got something big to share.
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle is
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past, in a
(08:51):
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it, andthat's exactly why we built our
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
(09:13):
That means, for less than thecost of a drive-thru lunch, you
can join a brotherhood that'scentered on Christ and built for
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Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
every Monday through Friday, ourLion Lunches, our Bible Studies
, our Friday Forge Gatheringsall that and so much more.
Every man needs a stronghold,and you don't have to fight
alone.
If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
(09:35):
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
All right, now, guys, let's talkabout accountability and
brotherhood.
Ok, it tells us in Ecclesiastestwo are better than one because
they have a good return fortheir labor.
(09:56):
If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.
Right, and I've had lots offriends life, but I've had very
few brothers.
Let's be real about that.
And here's the crazy part Everybrother can be a friend, but
not every friend is a brother.
That's just real.
(10:16):
So we need to define whatfriends are.
Friends are the yes man.
Let's just lay that out.
Friends avoid friction.
They stick around when it'seasy, when it's convenient.
They show up during bankinghours, you know, when they like
that small talk, man, and theyreally want to keep stuff
surface level Right, discussingthe weather or just you know, a
(10:37):
casual lunch and how they housethe family, all that stuff.
But when a storm hits, you ain'tgoing to find a friend around,
brother, you just ain't.
They ain't going to be there.
Brothers are different.
Okay, these are the guys thattell me what I need to hear, not
what I want to hear.
They ain't going to sit aroundand entertain my version of the
truth.
No, they're going to stand firmwith his truth.
(10:58):
These are the boys at 2, 3, 4o'clock in the morning and
something goes down.
That's who you call.
They're not offering advice,they're showing up.
You can hear the keys jinglingas they head out to dole.
They don't hide their battlesfrom me.
They're not afraid to cry withme because their love is real.
(11:22):
That accountability is superhigh and the expectations we
have of each other through theroof.
See, this level of brotherhoodand accountability is so
essential in the fight againstsin, particularly with
pornography guys, becauseisolation is the enemy's
(11:42):
greatest weapon here, and toomany brothers walk through life
without accountability andwonder why they keep losing this
battle.
And I'm telling you we mustprioritize real brotherhood here
.
But finding these types of guys,here's the deal.
I've talked to guys about thisin length.
(12:03):
To find a guy like this, youtalked to guys about this in
length To find a guy like this,you got to be a guy like this.
It takes some initiative onyour end.
It takes effort.
It's more than just checking inan easy box.
It's about forging realrelationships built on truth and
trust.
It takes some time and if youdon't have this, you're missing
(12:27):
a great opportunity for growthand until you take it serious,
the enemy is just going to keepkicking your butt.
So I'm telling you this is oneof the primary reasons I'm not
plugging a line right here, butit's just a natural place to
take.
This is why the line within usis doing well.
It's because guys recognizethey can't do this alone.
They need others.
They need others to stayaccountable.
They need others to share theirstruggles with.
(12:49):
They need others to lean in onwhen life is throwing them just
a bunch of hate makers.
They need others to help stayin the fight, and pornography is
a fight.
So I don't know.
Just think about it.
Who's your brother out there?
(13:09):
Who's your friend?
Can you differentiate betweenthe two?
I think you probably can.
And when's the last time?
Consider this as you ponderwhen's the last time you had a
hard but needed conversation?
They're rare these days.
(13:29):
Everybody wants to just be sogentle, and I get kindness,
gentleness, faithfulness.
I get all the fruit.
But sometimes it takes as a man.
We have to be willing to speakthe hard truths to others and
recognize if they're not, ifthey don't receive that well,
(13:50):
that may be what the Holy Spiritneeds.
Just need you to see how muchtime and attention and credit
are you giving them.
So be careful here.
All right, guys, let's take aquick break, we'll be right back
.
We're making a big change thatI think you're really going to
enjoy.
(14:10):
I spent a lot of time thinkingabout our spiritual kickoffs and
, honestly, I love doing themeach week, so much so we started
doing them live every Mondaythrough Friday inside our
exclusive platform.
And here's the best part We'vedecided to give full access,
completely free, so now you canjoin our daily spiritual kickoff
(14:32):
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Every day we go live to readthe word to encourage each other
and find simple and powerfulways to apply God's truth to our
lives.
You'll even have the chance toengage with me directly, and if
you missed a live stream, don'tworry, the videos are posted the
same day so you can catch upwhenever it works for you.
(14:55):
This is exclusivebehind-the-scenes content that
is not available anywhere else,and now we've removed every
excuse.
So if you're ready to getstarted, head over to
thelionwithinus and grab yourfree access today.
Let's grow together.
All right, fellas.
(15:16):
So now we're going to come upwith this idea of breaking free.
Okay, so it says in Psalms 51,create in me a pure heart and
renew a steadfast spirit withinme.
All right, and then you alsoget.
Therefore, now there is nocondemnation in those in Christ
Jesus.
That's Romans 8.1.
So in the mornings here youknow, we live on a farm.
When I step out and go out on afarm before the sun rises, I
(15:40):
pretty much know the layout.
I've walked the same ground,I've handled the same chores
over and, over and over.
But I'm telling you, it doesn'tmatter.
In the dark things are justdifferent.
If I go out there in the darkwithout a flashlight or
something like that, I just tripup, very often I'll misjudge
distance and before you know it,I've just made a complete mess
(16:00):
of stuff because I couldn't seeclearly.
And I tell you this becausewhen we try to fight sin,
especially pornography, alone inthe dark, the same thing
happens.
It just does we lie toourselves and say we got it
under control, we startrationalizing that that it's not
(16:20):
that bad or I can stop wheneverI want to stop.
But then one day we wake up andwe look up and we say, holy
crap, where am I and how do Iget out of here?
And I'm telling you, scripturetells us, guys, that the best
way to fight that darkness iswith light, because they can't
(16:41):
coexist.
And we have to utilize this asChristian men If we want to
actually be victorious.
We have to utilize this.
And when it comes to pornography, the most powerful step you can
take hands down, is confessingand sharing your struggle with
(17:02):
it to another brother in Christ,not your spouse or your
girlfriend, not first at least.
There's lots of emotions tiedto that conversation.
I want to tell you to start totake it to a trusted brother
first who's going to walk withyou shoulder to shoulder,
because that's the moment whenyou speak out and you bring it
(17:25):
to life, the enemy is going tolose a lot of power right there.
And you may be thinking, bro,there ain't no flipping way, I'm
going to do that.
You don't know what I've done.
Hey, you're misinterpreting theGod we serve, because the way
(17:47):
you're talking is like you gotway more sin in you than grace
in Christ.
And I'm telling you, bro,that's a lot, that's a lot.
The finishing work that Jesusdid on a cross covers all the
sin in your life, right From thesmallest of the small ones to
(18:08):
the most highly toxic ones thatyou've done.
Right, he's got a whole lotmore grace than you'll ever have
sin.
And you are not condemned,right, what's condemned Not fit
for use, that ain't you.
You're also not beyond hope.
But I'm going to tell you whatsitting in the dark is not an
option.
It's not an option because theheart of repentance leads us to
(18:29):
move, and that movement is goingto be one of two ways, boys.
We'll either move further intothe dark or we're going to step
into the light.
And I'm telling you, when youstart stepping into the light,
you start breaking free and yourecognize that you don't have to
do this fight alone.
And I'm going to tell you,isolation is the enemy of
excellence.
So if you're thinking you'regoing to have an excellent
(18:50):
marriage and you're sittingaround looking at porn and
jerking off, it's not going tohappen, god and you're sitting
around looking at porn andjerking off, it's not going to
happen.
God ain't going to bless that.
You can't just keep walkingdown this path, this sinful path
, and expecting God to bless.
It's like folks that come to meall the time talking about
their relationship's not thatgood and they want God to bless
something.
They're living together,playing married, a couple kids.
(19:13):
I'm like you're asking me foradvice, but you're asking God to
bless something that he didn'tdesign.
You're doing it your way,you're not doing it God's way.
So if you want to do marriageGod's way, then he'll bless it.
And pornography is no place inGod's way.
And I'm telling you this is adaily victory, guys.
(19:33):
This is a daily that you haveto fight.
A daily victory, guys.
This is a daily that you haveto fight.
And as we kind of wrap up thisidea of fighting again, it says
in ephesians 6 you got to put onthat full armor, guys, so that
you can take your stand againstthe devil schemes and that
fighting.
Uh, there's never an off day,right, go back to our farm, man.
(19:57):
I know I'll bring it up a lot,but there's intentional effort.
Off day, right, go back to ourfarm man.
I know I bring it up a lot, butthere's intentional effort
every day.
I got to check the fences, Igot to feed animals, I got to
prepare for the weather.
It's nonstop.
If I let up for a minute, thoseramifications are real and then
catching up will just wear meout.
Daily focus, intensity isrequired, and that applies to so
(20:20):
many areas of life, doesn't it?
So the fight againstpornography requires the same
level of discipline every day,and this is next level
discipleship stuff, fellas.
And I'm telling you what I'vetalked to guys who physically go
through the motion of puttingon the armor of God every
(20:42):
morning as a reminder that thebattle lies ahead.
And from you know some, like mymentor, the first hour a day he
commits to prayer and scripture.
The methods are different, butthe theme is clear God comes
first, period.
(21:04):
And God's not some cosmicvending machine where we just go
hey, throw out a prayer when weneed something and expect an
immediate result.
That kind of theology leads tofrustration, and we need God
every single moment, every day,period, and when it comes to
battle and pornography.
Thinking that you can overcomethis alone it's just wrong,
(21:30):
because you're not going to beable to willpower your way
through it.
You may for a season, but we'retalking about true victory and
the fight against it may neverfully disappear.
But I guarantee you one thingthe more reps you put in against
it, the more you train yourmind, the more you get to right
(21:52):
habits, the more you align yourheart, the stronger you'll
become.
So I'm telling you right now,guys, just by going through this
, if you're in the pits andyou're going through this, you
are not alone.
This struggle does not defineyou.
The enemy wants you to think itdoes.
He wants you to think thatyou're stuck, but that's a lie.
(22:16):
Victory starts at the foot ofthe cross.
Every day, every morning,commit to stepping into the
fight, not with your ownstrength, but with the power of
Christ, because victory is notin a single moment, but in those
little daily steps of obedience.
So I'm telling you the questionand we've talked about it
(22:39):
several times this week is ifyou were to eat one and you want
to take you out.
How would you do it?
That is worth sittingunderneath a tree and thinking
about.
And then, once you've got theanswer to that, all right then
what are you going to do to gointo the offense, to start
protecting that and to put theright boundaries in place?
And I can't answer that one foryou.
I can just encourage you to godo the work and I can also at
(23:05):
least offer up a conversation tohelp you.
So I don't normally do this, butlook, if you're interested, if
you're struggling in this areaof your life and you want help,
send me an email.
Chris at the lion withinus.
Okay, put whatever you want tothe email, I don't care.
(23:26):
I will send you back a little,a little, a personal scheduling
link and we'll find a time We'lltalk.
You're not going to fight thisbattle alone.
I'm not going to try to pushanything on a lion or what we do
.
I care less about that.
It's all about serving you andjust listening and encouraging.
If there's resources I can justgive you, I'm just going to
(23:52):
give them to you.
I don't want another brotherout there to go fight this
battle of pornography bythemselves and keep getting
their butt kicked.
When I have ways we can help.
So again, chris, that'slionwithanus.
Shoot me a note.
Guys, come back on Friday.
I highly encourage you to.
Again, we do these solo episodesusually about once a month is
what we target to do, because wewant to equip you, we want to
(24:15):
encourage you, we want to helpyou out.
Uh, we just want to just bringyou some fun as well.
Uh, and, and quite frankly, Ispent a ton of time writing
these devos and these studiesfor the Bible app and we want to
just get the message out to you.
So again, if this is somethingpornography is a struggle area
for you, you're not condemnedand we love to support and
(24:36):
connect and just walk alongsidewith you in this battle.
Alright, guys?
So thelionwithinus is where youfind all the information on
ways we try to serve, ways wetry to help Connect with us over
there on the Bible app directly.
We have our Christian LeaderAssess.
We have a weekly roar, we haveall the different ways.
You have our daily spiritualkickoff, our community and the
(24:56):
leadership mastermind.
All that is found at the lionwithin dot us.
So have a great day, keepgetting after it.
I'll see you back here for ourfun Friday and remember to keep
unleashing the lion within.
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast
serving Christian men who arehungry to be the leaders God
intends you to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, guys, your meatepisode.
Let's get right into it, okay?
So the scripture of the weekthis week is in the book of 1
John 2, the 16th verse.
It says For all that is in theworld, the desires of the flesh,
the desires of the eyes and thepride, pride of life, is not
(00:23):
from the father, but from theworld.
All right, fellas, I took a lotof time to unpack that one
verse in our spiritual kickoffepisode.
So again, if you're, if youhaven't had a chance to listen,
go back and listen to it.
And if you like the spiritualkickoff episodes which we know
you guys do go get your dailySKO free at the line with N dot
(00:44):
U S.
So sign up for today.
It gets you plugged into ourcommunity, to our platform.
Guys, we don't put that stuffanywhere else.
We're not posting it out onYouTube or anything like that.
Just it lives therespecifically for that reason,
and we're here every day, mondaythrough Friday.
So if you need that littleextra boost of encouragement,
I'm telling you, guys, and nowyou have no reason not to
because it's completely free.
All right, so this this weekwe're talking head on about
(01:08):
pornography.
Okay, now I wrote a Bible studyon the Bible app and so much of
what we're covering here is onis directly from that study.
So if you go through the study,by the way, it sounds just like
podcast.
Well, it's because we createthese resources out here.
We want to share it in otherplaces as well.
Not all you guys are on theBible app, okay, so that's where
(01:28):
you're going to find it, andmaybe this is for you.
This next sentence makes sense.
Like I know I shouldn't look,but I just can't stop.
You ever say that before,because lots of guys feel
powerless when it comes to this,right, but the reality is you
(01:48):
ain't got to stay stuck, no, no,and I'm hopeful to enlighten,
maybe to encourage and equip youto start fighting, because you
may just feel like just anotherbro, just another guy, but you
have what it takes to break freeand to live in victory.
And we talked about this oneverse for the SKO so far as
(02:11):
first John two, 16, lust offlesh, lust of the eyes, pride
of life.
It's not from this world, butthat's it Right.
And if we be, if, if you, ifyou run around with the with
your chest poked out saying thatI got this, the reality is no,
you don't, bro, you ain't gotthis.
The first thing you have isthis when it comes to
pornography, you have to besuper vigilant on just getting
(02:39):
this removed from your life,whatever the cost.
So now we're going to kind ofdig into, okay, if we recognize
that, the lust of flesh, lust ofthe eyes and pride of life,
this is big deals.
Where does it start?
And I want to take you toPhilippians 4.8.
Because Paul tells us therefinally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever isnoble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever islovely, whatever is admirable,
(03:06):
if anything is excellent orpraiseworthy, think about such
things.
And that's in philippines.
So we have to guard our mind.
We just have to.
And I I'm gonna tell a storyhere around sports.
Okay, because baseball was mydeal, that was my jam, bro.
I loved, I love baseball.
We played hours, and I meanhours, either in the batting
cage, at the actual, actualfield itself, or just in the
yard, it didn't matter, man.
And then, as I started learningsport, you know, you hear the
(03:32):
saying that the best offense isa good defense.
Right, and I found myself.
I love that side of the gameand I could see at the first
baseman how my play impacted thegame.
I could also see if we didn'tplay very well defensively.
It broke us up.
We were pretty terrible.
(03:54):
Then I started thinking aboutthat.
In light of the temptationsthat we face as men.
It looks like it seems to melike at every corner.
Now, right that we turn, Idon't need to fix this.
(04:19):
It seems to me that when Istarted reflecting on
temptations that they areseemingly at every corner.
Okay, so we have to start.
Really, if temptations areeverywhere, we need to have a
good defense up.
Okay, a really good defense, andwe have to consider one thing
(04:44):
that's worth considering isstrong boundaries, and maybe the
idea of a restriction or or isis the reason why lots of guys
don't do this, because it feelslike you know, uh, man, I'm
putting, I'm putting myself in abox and the reality is you want
(05:05):
to see a grown man turn to atoddler.
You just tell him what he can'tdo.
Just sit back right, becausewe're going to go out of our way
to be autonomous, right andflexible, because that's what
everybody wants these days.
And yet we need to recognize,when it comes to the context of
battling pornography, if wedon't have these boundaries in
our life, they have to be anon-negotiable, because the
(05:27):
reality is there is no foolproof, guarantee list of boundaries.
To say this is all going towork, but no boundaries is a
guaranteed path to failure.
So the key is determining whichones make the most sense for
you directly.
Again, if the evil one wasgoing to attack you, where would
he target?
And if you understand theanswer to that question, that
(05:51):
starts giving you ideas on whatthe defense looks like, because
this may mean accountabilitysoftware needs to be on your
electronic devices, okay.
Or it may be more situationallyfocused, where you avoid
triggering or risky scenariosRight Altogether.
The bottom line is thatwhatever the area of weaknesses
(06:13):
is for you and your situation,you have to take action to close
off potential points of entryfor the evil one.
So now let's go back to thebaseball field for a second
Suppose.
All I did was focus on defense,just being the best first
baseman.
I pitched and I played firstbase.
Let's just say first base.
I just did the best I could tobe the best first baseman, I
(06:37):
never make any mistakes, right?
That would make it hard for theother team to score.
Let's just be real.
Right, it would be hard forthem to put points on the board
or runs.
But I'm telling you, if all Idid was play defense, I would
never put any runs on the boardeither, because at some point
(06:58):
we've got to stop playingdefense.
You've got to pick up a bat andput some runs on the board.
Let's just be real.
And there's no better offensiveweapon against pornography than
the Word of God.
Because Paul the Apostle showsus that the sword of the Spirit
is part of our daily armor.
To put on the battle Right, togo into battle, rather, against
(07:20):
the evil one.
And we can't think thatpornography is somehow outside
of this realm, becausepornography has a grip.
And why would you leave yourbattle weapon at home?
Just think about Jesus.
How did he combat the evil one?
Directly in Matthew 4?
There he was right, nose andnose with the evil one, and all
(07:43):
he had to do was say the word,and that bro would have been out
of there.
Yet he was right, nose and nosewith the evil one, and all he
had to do was say the word andthat bro would have been out of
there.
Yet he gave us a model, simplemodel.
He just said it is written.
He did it three times.
I'm telling you, brother, ifyou're fighting pornography,
having a slew of it is writtenin your life is so crucial
Because in the moments when theevil one comes, man, you got to
(08:05):
be ready.
You have to be ready becausedefense will keep the enemy at
bay, but offense reclaims thatlost ground and advances God's
kingdom in your life.
So I'm telling you right herestrengthen those boundaries up,
wield the sword of the spiritand stand firm in the power of
(08:28):
his word.
So that's it, right here.
So that's just the first thingwe're talking about.
We'll take a quick break.
I've got something big to share.
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle is
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past, in a
(08:51):
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it, andthat's exactly why we built our
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
(09:13):
That means, for less than thecost of a drive-thru lunch, you
can join a brotherhood that'scentered on Christ and built for
growth.
Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
every Monday through Friday, ourLion Lunches, our Bible Studies
, our Friday Forge Gatheringsall that and so much more.
Every man needs a stronghold,and you don't have to fight
alone.
If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
(09:35):
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
All right, now, guys, let's talkabout accountability and
brotherhood.
Ok, it tells us in Ecclesiastestwo are better than one because
they have a good return fortheir labor.
(09:56):
If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.
Right, and I've had lots offriends life, but I've had very
few brothers.
Let's be real about that.
And here's the crazy part Everybrother can be a friend, but
not every friend is a brother.
That's just real.
(10:16):
So we need to define whatfriends are.
Friends are the yes man.
Let's just lay that out.
Friends avoid friction.
They stick around when it'seasy, when it's convenient.
They show up during bankinghours, you know, when they like
that small talk, man, and theyreally want to keep stuff
surface level Right, discussingthe weather or just you know, a
(10:37):
casual lunch and how they housethe family, all that stuff.
But when a storm hits, you ain'tgoing to find a friend around,
brother, you just ain't.
They ain't going to be there.
Brothers are different.
Okay, these are the guys thattell me what I need to hear, not
what I want to hear.
They ain't going to sit aroundand entertain my version of the
truth.
No, they're going to stand firmwith his truth.
(10:58):
These are the boys at 2, 3, 4o'clock in the morning and
something goes down.
That's who you call.
They're not offering advice,they're showing up.
You can hear the keys jinglingas they head out to dole.
They don't hide their battlesfrom me.
They're not afraid to cry withme because their love is real.
(11:22):
That accountability is superhigh and the expectations we
have of each other through theroof.
See, this level of brotherhoodand accountability is so
essential in the fight againstsin, particularly with
pornography guys, becauseisolation is the enemy's
(11:42):
greatest weapon here, and toomany brothers walk through life
without accountability andwonder why they keep losing this
battle.
And I'm telling you we mustprioritize real brotherhood here
.
But finding these types of guys,here's the deal.
I've talked to guys about thisin length.
(12:03):
To find a guy like this, youtalked to guys about this in
length To find a guy like this,you got to be a guy like this.
It takes some initiative onyour end.
It takes effort.
It's more than just checking inan easy box.
It's about forging realrelationships built on truth and
trust.
It takes some time and if youdon't have this, you're missing
(12:27):
a great opportunity for growthand until you take it serious,
the enemy is just going to keepkicking your butt.
So I'm telling you this is oneof the primary reasons I'm not
plugging a line right here, butit's just a natural place to
take.
This is why the line within usis doing well.
It's because guys recognizethey can't do this alone.
They need others.
They need others to stayaccountable.
They need others to share theirstruggles with.
(12:49):
They need others to lean in onwhen life is throwing them just
a bunch of hate makers.
They need others to help stayin the fight, and pornography is
a fight.
So I don't know.
Just think about it.
Who's your brother out there?
(13:09):
Who's your friend?
Can you differentiate betweenthe two?
I think you probably can.
And when's the last time?
Consider this as you ponderwhen's the last time you had a
hard but needed conversation?
They're rare these days.
(13:29):
Everybody wants to just be sogentle, and I get kindness,
gentleness, faithfulness.
I get all the fruit.
But sometimes it takes as a man.
We have to be willing to speakthe hard truths to others and
recognize if they're not, ifthey don't receive that well,
(13:50):
that may be what the Holy Spiritneeds.
Just need you to see how muchtime and attention and credit
are you giving them.
So be careful here.
All right, guys, let's take aquick break, we'll be right back
.
We're making a big change thatI think you're really going to
enjoy.
(14:10):
I spent a lot of time thinkingabout our spiritual kickoffs and
, honestly, I love doing themeach week, so much so we started
doing them live every Mondaythrough Friday inside our
exclusive platform.
And here's the best part We'vedecided to give full access,
completely free, so now you canjoin our daily spiritual kickoff
(14:32):
space at no cost.
Every day we go live to readthe word to encourage each other
and find simple and powerfulways to apply God's truth to our
lives.
You'll even have the chance toengage with me directly, and if
you missed a live stream, don'tworry, the videos are posted the
same day so you can catch upwhenever it works for you.
(14:55):
This is exclusivebehind-the-scenes content that
is not available anywhere else,and now we've removed every
excuse.
So if you're ready to getstarted, head over to
thelionwithinus and grab yourfree access today.
Let's grow together.
All right, fellas.
(15:16):
So now we're going to come upwith this idea of breaking free.
Okay, so it says in Psalms 51,create in me a pure heart and
renew a steadfast spirit withinme.
All right, and then you alsoget.
Therefore, now there is nocondemnation in those in Christ
Jesus.
That's Romans 8.1.
So in the mornings here youknow, we live on a farm.
When I step out and go out on afarm before the sun rises, I
(15:40):
pretty much know the layout.
I've walked the same ground,I've handled the same chores
over and, over and over.
But I'm telling you, it doesn'tmatter.
In the dark things are justdifferent.
If I go out there in the darkwithout a flashlight or
something like that, I just tripup, very often I'll misjudge
distance and before you know it,I've just made a complete mess
(16:00):
of stuff because I couldn't seeclearly.
And I tell you this becausewhen we try to fight sin,
especially pornography, alone inthe dark, the same thing
happens.
It just does we lie toourselves and say we got it
under control, we startrationalizing that that it's not
(16:20):
that bad or I can stop wheneverI want to stop.
But then one day we wake up andwe look up and we say, holy
crap, where am I and how do Iget out of here?
And I'm telling you, scripturetells us, guys, that the best
way to fight that darkness iswith light, because they can't
(16:41):
coexist.
And we have to utilize this asChristian men If we want to
actually be victorious.
We have to utilize this.
And when it comes to pornography, the most powerful step you can
take hands down, is confessingand sharing your struggle with
(17:02):
it to another brother in Christ,not your spouse or your
girlfriend, not first at least.
There's lots of emotions tiedto that conversation.
I want to tell you to start totake it to a trusted brother
first who's going to walk withyou shoulder to shoulder,
because that's the moment whenyou speak out and you bring it
(17:25):
to life, the enemy is going tolose a lot of power right there.
And you may be thinking, bro,there ain't no flipping way, I'm
going to do that.
You don't know what I've done.
Hey, you're misinterpreting theGod we serve, because the way
(17:47):
you're talking is like you gotway more sin in you than grace
in Christ.
And I'm telling you, bro,that's a lot, that's a lot.
The finishing work that Jesusdid on a cross covers all the
sin in your life, right From thesmallest of the small ones to
(18:08):
the most highly toxic ones thatyou've done.
Right, he's got a whole lotmore grace than you'll ever have
sin.
And you are not condemned,right, what's condemned Not fit
for use, that ain't you.
You're also not beyond hope.
But I'm going to tell you whatsitting in the dark is not an
option.
It's not an option because theheart of repentance leads us to
(18:29):
move, and that movement is goingto be one of two ways, boys.
We'll either move further intothe dark or we're going to step
into the light.
And I'm telling you, when youstart stepping into the light,
you start breaking free and yourecognize that you don't have to
do this fight alone.
And I'm going to tell you,isolation is the enemy of
excellence.
So if you're thinking you'regoing to have an excellent
(18:50):
marriage and you're sittingaround looking at porn and
jerking off, it's not going tohappen, god and you're sitting
around looking at porn andjerking off, it's not going to
happen.
God ain't going to bless that.
You can't just keep walkingdown this path, this sinful path
, and expecting God to bless.
It's like folks that come to meall the time talking about
their relationship's not thatgood and they want God to bless
something.
They're living together,playing married, a couple kids.
(19:13):
I'm like you're asking me foradvice, but you're asking God to
bless something that he didn'tdesign.
You're doing it your way,you're not doing it God's way.
So if you want to do marriageGod's way, then he'll bless it.
And pornography is no place inGod's way.
And I'm telling you this is adaily victory, guys.
(19:33):
This is a daily that you haveto fight.
A daily victory, guys.
This is a daily that you haveto fight.
And as we kind of wrap up thisidea of fighting again, it says
in ephesians 6 you got to put onthat full armor, guys, so that
you can take your stand againstthe devil schemes and that
fighting.
Uh, there's never an off day,right, go back to our farm, man.
(19:57):
I know I'll bring it up a lot,but there's intentional effort.
Off day, right, go back to ourfarm man.
I know I bring it up a lot, butthere's intentional effort
every day.
I got to check the fences, Igot to feed animals, I got to
prepare for the weather.
It's nonstop.
If I let up for a minute, thoseramifications are real and then
catching up will just wear meout.
Daily focus, intensity isrequired, and that applies to so
(20:20):
many areas of life, doesn't it?
So the fight againstpornography requires the same
level of discipline every day,and this is next level
discipleship stuff, fellas.
And I'm telling you what I'vetalked to guys who physically go
through the motion of puttingon the armor of God every
(20:42):
morning as a reminder that thebattle lies ahead.
And from you know some, like mymentor, the first hour a day he
commits to prayer and scripture.
The methods are different, butthe theme is clear God comes
first, period.
(21:04):
And God's not some cosmicvending machine where we just go
hey, throw out a prayer when weneed something and expect an
immediate result.
That kind of theology leads tofrustration, and we need God
every single moment, every day,period, and when it comes to
battle and pornography.
Thinking that you can overcomethis alone it's just wrong,
(21:30):
because you're not going to beable to willpower your way
through it.
You may for a season, but we'retalking about true victory and
the fight against it may neverfully disappear.
But I guarantee you one thingthe more reps you put in against
it, the more you train yourmind, the more you get to right
(21:52):
habits, the more you align yourheart, the stronger you'll
become.
So I'm telling you right now,guys, just by going through this
, if you're in the pits andyou're going through this, you
are not alone.
This struggle does not defineyou.
The enemy wants you to think itdoes.
He wants you to think thatyou're stuck, but that's a lie.
(22:16):
Victory starts at the foot ofthe cross.
Every day, every morning,commit to stepping into the
fight, not with your ownstrength, but with the power of
Christ, because victory is notin a single moment, but in those
little daily steps of obedience.
So I'm telling you the questionand we've talked about it
(22:39):
several times this week is ifyou were to eat one and you want
to take you out.
How would you do it?
That is worth sittingunderneath a tree and thinking
about.
And then, once you've got theanswer to that, all right then
what are you going to do to gointo the offense, to start
protecting that and to put theright boundaries in place?
And I can't answer that one foryou.
I can just encourage you to godo the work and I can also at
(23:05):
least offer up a conversation tohelp you.
So I don't normally do this, butlook, if you're interested, if
you're struggling in this areaof your life and you want help,
send me an email.
Chris at the lion withinus.
Okay, put whatever you want tothe email, I don't care.
(23:26):
I will send you back a little,a little, a personal scheduling
link and we'll find a time We'lltalk.
You're not going to fight thisbattle alone.
I'm not going to try to pushanything on a lion or what we do
.
I care less about that.
It's all about serving you andjust listening and encouraging.
If there's resources I can justgive you, I'm just going to
(23:52):
give them to you.
I don't want another brotherout there to go fight this
battle of pornography bythemselves and keep getting
their butt kicked.
When I have ways we can help.
So again, chris, that'slionwithanus.
Shoot me a note.
Guys, come back on Friday.
I highly encourage you to.
Again, we do these solo episodesusually about once a month is
what we target to do, because wewant to equip you, we want to
(24:15):
encourage you, we want to helpyou out.
Uh, we just want to just bringyou some fun as well.
Uh, and, and quite frankly, Ispent a ton of time writing
these devos and these studiesfor the Bible app and we want to
just get the message out to you.
So again, if this is somethingpornography is a struggle area
for you, you're not condemnedand we love to support and
(24:36):
connect and just walk alongsidewith you in this battle.
Alright, guys?
So thelionwithinus is where youfind all the information on
ways we try to serve, ways wetry to help Connect with us over
there on the Bible app directly.
We have our Christian LeaderAssess.
We have a weekly roar, we haveall the different ways.
You have our daily spiritualkickoff, our community and the
(24:56):
leadership mastermind.
All that is found at the lionwithin dot us.
So have a great day, keepgetting after it.
I'll see you back here for ourfun Friday and remember to keep
unleashing the lion within.
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