How to Defeat Lust, explained as a video game

Summary

This engaging video by 'Ear to Hear' explains the concept of spiritual warfare against lust, likening it to a video game. It highlights how the devil's attacks, such as lust and apathy, can be counteracted using the 'Armor of God' as detailed in the Bible. The video emphasizes understanding biblical teachings through the metaphor of a Roman soldier's armor, showing believers how to withstand spiritual attacks by grounding themselves in their faith, righteousness, and the gospel. The narrative weaves personal anecdotes and practical advice, ultimately encouraging viewers to actively engage in their spiritual journey.

Highlights

• The Bible describes a 'devil' who uses lust, anxiety, and apathy as subtle attacks: stay alert! 🚨
• Apathy can sneak in when life seems chill; always wear your 'belt of truth.' 🗡️
• The 'breastplate of righteousness' is your moral armor against daily temptations. 🛡️
• Don't lounge! Put on your spiritual shoes and keep spreading the gospel with purpose. 👟
• Form a faith shield with your church community: united, you're unstoppable! 🔰

Key Takeaways

• Understand the Devil's tactics: Lust isn't the only sneaky attack; apathy and fear also play big roles in spiritual warfare. 🛡️
• Equip yourself with the Armor of God: It's not just ancient wisdom; it's your spiritual toolkit for everyday battles. ⚔️
• Ground your actions in faith and righteousness: Stay alert and proactive like a disciplined Roman soldier! 🏺
• Community is important in spiritual battles: Connect with fellow believers to create a stronger defense against attacks. 🟢
• Remember your salvation: The helmet of salvation reassures and protects your mind from doubt. 🪖
• Stay sharp with the sword of the Spirit: Regularly reading the Bible can be your best defense and attack strategy. 📖

Overview

In this video, 'Ear to Hear' cleverly compares battling lust to playing a video game! It's not just lust that's attacking; the devil's playbook includes apathy and anxiety, turning picnics into battlegrounds. Thankfully, you're not defenseless. Suit up with the 'Armor of God': your ultimate combo move against these sneaky tactics!

Drawing from the apostle Paul's letter in Ephesians, each piece of Roman armor symbolically represents spiritual defenses. The belt of truth holds your spiritual pants up, the breastplate of righteousness shields your moral center, and gospel shoes propel you forward with purpose. It all comes together like an epic warrior ensemble from the past!

Finally, the video delivers the ultimate cheat code: engage your faith shield with community synergy, double-check your salvation helmet, and wield your sword of the Spirit—aka the Bible. Whether you're battling lustful thoughts or resisting fear, you're always ready to parry or strike back, fortified by prayer, scripture, and fellowship!

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Enemy Description This chapter introduces the devil as the enemy, highlighting the daily attacks he launches such as lust and anxiety. It emphasizes that the first attack is particularly dangerous because many are unaware of its occurrence. The chapter suggests that God provides six specific pieces of armor to guard against these attacks, stressing the importance of knowing and using them for survival.
• 00:30 - 01:30: The Devil's First Attack: Apathy The chapter explores the concept of the devil's first attack, which is seemingly innocent and deceptive, likened to a picnic. It highlights how this attack, despite its benign appearance, is a strategic ploy by the devil to render individuals complacent and unaware of the ongoing spiritual battle. This form of attack is termed as 'apathy,' where individuals are lulled into inaction or indifference, allowing detrimental influences to take hold without them noticing.
• 01:30 - 02:30: The Belt of Truth The chapter titled 'The Belt of Truth' explores the concept of spiritual armor as described in the Bible's book of Ephesians. It specifically focuses on how relying on God's power can help individuals navigate through life's difficulties. The chapter contrasts human tendencies to neglect spiritual practices during comfortable times with the need for diligent spiritual discipline during challenging periods. It introduces the first piece of the 'armor of God', emphasizing the significance of the 'Belt of Truth' in maintaining spiritual focus and fortitude. This is especially pertinent when one is feeling apathetic or disconnected, illustrating how a disciplined spiritual life can provide strength and resilience.
• 02:30 - 03:30: The Challenge of Lust The chapter titled 'The Challenge of Lust' in the transcript provided delves into understanding the metaphorical armor of God by comparing it to the physical armor of a Roman soldier. Specifically, it highlights the function of the belt in both contexts. While a modern belt is perceived as a tool to hold pants up, for a Roman soldier, it was a crucial part of the armor, used to carry weapons. It also served as a symbolic piece, adorned with tassels and metal plates, identifying the soldier's legion within the Roman army. This introduction sets the stage for exploring the spiritual parallels in the armor of God.
• 03:30 - 05:00: The Breastplate of Righteousness The chapter discusses the concept of the 'Belt of Truth' as part of spiritual armor, drawing a parallel to a Roman soldier's belt. It emphasizes the importance of aligning one's thoughts with reality, contrasting truth and lies. The belt symbolizes readiness and preparation, allowing for the carrying of spiritual weapons. The chapter also highlights the mindset of being a soldier in God’s army.
• 05:00 - 07:00: Switching to Worship Music This chapter emphasizes the importance of starting each day with a prayer to be vigilant against the lies and attacks of the enemy. By acknowledging oneself as a child of God and a soldier in His army, it encourages awareness of subtle spiritual battles, such as pride from compliments or jealousy from seeing others' success.
• 07:00 - 09:00: The Soldier's Shoes and the Gospel of Peace This chapter discusses the subtle ways the devil can attack individuals in their daily lives. It highlights how seemingly mundane scenarios, such as walking by a store like Victoria's Secret, can be used by the enemy to incite negative thoughts, particularly lust. This specific temptation is emphasized as being particularly prevalent among men, with the warning that even a single lustful thought can grow into a severe spiritual threat, potentially destroying one's life. The chapter underscores the importance of being aware of such spiritual attacks and staying vigilant to maintain one's peace and faithfulness.
• 09:00 - 11:30: The Attack of Fear and the Shield of Faith The chapter explores the concept of spiritual attacks, symbolized by provocative thoughts or imagery appearing spontaneously. The importance of recognizing these attacks as manifestations of fear is emphasized. The text discusses the metaphorical 'belt of truth,' which allows individuals to identify these attacks. The primary focus, however, is on the 'breastplate,' or 'shield of faith,' as a defensive mechanism inspired by the Roman armor used to deflect physical weapons. This breastplate serves as a spiritual defense against intrusive thoughts, comparing it to Roman soldiers' protective gear to highlight its significance in spiritual warfare.
• 11:30 - 14:30: The Deceptive Mirror and the Helmet of Salvation The chapter discusses the historical and biblical significance of a Roman breastplate, connecting it to the concept of righteousness as described in the Bible.
• 14:30 - 16:00: The Sword of the Spirit and Daily Bible Study The chapter emphasizes the importance of guarding one's mind against negative influences, specifically lustful thoughts. The author shares a personal experience of having to delete over 2,000 songs from their iPod after following Christ because the lyrics were negatively influencing their thoughts and perception of women. The chapter encourages taking proactive steps to prevent such distortions in one's mind.

How to Defeat Lust, explained as a video game Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 this is you and this is your enemy the Bible calls him the devil and he has a number of attacks he'll use against you daily attacks such as lust and anxiety but the first one he'll use against you is one of the worst because most people don't even know it's happening thankfully God has given us six specific pieces of armor we can use to defend against all the attacks of the enemy but if you don't know what they are or how to use them you're not going to survive
• 00:30 - 01:00 so what's the devil's first attack well it looks like [Music] this yes this is a picnic this attack might not seem so bad at first glance but there's a good chance the devil is actually using this attack right now to destroy you while you think you're just enjoying a nice day at the park it's actually a trick the devil has made you think you're no longer in a violent battle so he can attack you without you even realizing it this attack is called
• 01:00 - 01:30 apathy when life is hard I am very aware of my need for God's power to get me through my difficulties but when life is easy and comfortable I often choose to skip going to church or I hit snooze on my alarm clock five times instead of waking up to read my Bible so how do I snap out of this trance you need to use the first piece of the armor of God the armor of God can be found in the book of Ephesians in the Bible and was written with the Roman soldier in mind so in
• 01:30 - 02:00 order to understand the armor of God we need to understand the armor of a Roman soldier the first piece of the armor of God is the belt when I think of a belt I just think of something that holds my pants up but a Roman soldier would have used his belt for something completely different the belt was primarily used to hold the soldiers weapons but it also had special tassels and metal plates with engravings on them to show what legion in the Roman army he belonged to soldiers would even wear this belt when
• 02:00 - 02:30 they weren't going to battle to show people I'm a soldier in the Roman army the Bible calls this belt truth truth is when what you think actually lines up with reality so then a lie is the opposite of that like thinking you're just having a nice picnic when you're actually in the middle of a violent battle when we put on the belt of truth we're not only getting ready to holster our spiritual weapons like the sword which we'll talk about in a minute but we're also reminding ourselves I am a soldier in God's army so how do you put
• 02:30 - 03:00 on the belt of truth in your own life you do it by starting every day with a simple prayer like this god I am your child and a soldier in your army help me to be aware of the lies of the enemy today it seems so simple but it will actually prime you to notice little attacks throughout the day for example now when someone gives you a compliment you'll notice if the enemy is trying to use that compliment to make you prideful or when someone gets promoted at your
• 03:00 - 03:30 workplace instead of you you'll notice if the devil is using it to make you bitter even something as simple as walking by Victoria's Secret at the mall can be used by the enemy to attack you with lustful thoughts which brings us to the next attack the enemy will try to use against you lust the Bible says that a simple lustful desire can grow into something that will kill you spiritually and destroy your life it's an attack the enemy uses on everyone especially men
• 03:30 - 04:00 for me it happens daily a provocative YouTube thumbnail will come across my screen or an explicit thought will randomly just come into my mind don't act like you've never had a thought like that thankfully because I have on the belt of truth I recognize the attack but how do I defend against it this brings us to our second piece of the armor of God the breastplate the Romans called it and it was used to deflect swords and daggers in close hand-to-hand combat
• 04:00 - 04:30 this right here is the oldest Roman breastplate ever discovered and it guarded vital organs such as the heart we usually picture our thoughts coming into our head but people in Bible times pictured their thoughts coming into their heart so it makes sense that the Bible calls this breastplate righteousness this is just a fancy word that means doing the right thing even when nobody's looking and this righteousness comes from Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made this means that if you've put your faith in Jesus
• 04:30 - 05:00 he's given you the power to choose right over wrong and you do this by guarding your mind against anything that would cause you to have lustful thoughts for example when I started following Christ I had to delete over 2,000 songs off my iPod at the time even though I like the beat of a lot of the songs I had the lyrics were seeping into my mind and giving me lustful thoughts my mind was being distorted and so was my view of women i encourage you to do a purge of
• 05:00 - 05:30 your own music and replace all of the songs that have ungodly lyrics with worship music it's really difficult to have lustful thoughts living in your mind when you're listening to worship music all day this is exactly what I did when I came to Christ and it helped a ton by the way I recently made a huge switch from using Apple AirPods to using Raycon earbuds i really wish I would have learned about them sooner because I'm not joking they're literally the most comfortable earbuds I've ever worn and because they're sponsoring this
• 05:30 - 06:00 video thank you Raycon you can get them for literally half the price of what I paid for my AirPods right now I've been listening to one of my favorite Christian artists Forest Frank and all the beats in his music just come across so crisp but the best part is I can put worship music on in the background while I read my Bible even in a busy coffee shop because Raycon earbuds have active noise cancellation that makes it easy to focus in the middle of total chaos but unlike the other premium earbud brands
• 06:00 - 06:30 they're so comfortable that I can leave them in my ears for hours without making my ears sore if you want to also own the most comfortable earbuds that I've ever put in my ears then go to buyracon.com/eartohehere to get 20% off the bestselling everyday earbuds brought to you by Raycon and when you do it also helps support this channel the Bible says to focus your thoughts on things that are pure and virtuous so the next time you see something that gives you a
• 06:30 - 07:00 lustful thought flood your mind with something righteous okay this next attack of the enemy is way more subtle than a Victoria's Secret model and it looks like this this attack is similar to the first but is only used if the first attack doesn't work the devil loves to use this attack on good Christians you know Christians who are not really doing anything wrong they go to church they stay away from lustful thoughts and they even study their Bible but sometimes if
• 07:00 - 07:30 the devil can't attack you he'll just lull you to sleep so he can wreak havoc on the others around you while you're nice and cozy in bed this is where the soldiers shoes come in let me ask you a question where were you the last time you had your shoes off if you weren't swimming or walking on the beach you most likely were at home we usually put on our shoes when it's time to go and a Roman soldier was no exception his shoes had a thick sole with small iron cleats that were used to keep the shoes from
• 07:30 - 08:00 coming apart or wearing out during the long march into battle another cool thing about the iron cleat was the loud sound they made when marching on the pavement of the Roman road this sound alone would strike terror in the ears of the enemy the Bible calls these shoes the preparation of the gospel of peace this means that as believers we aren't supposed to be just sitting behind a fortress waiting to defend against an attack we're supposed to march into battle with a purpose and that purpose
• 08:00 - 08:30 is the gospel the interesting thing about this battle is that not one single human being is neutral you're either fighting on the side of God's army or you're captive to the enemy thankfully someone stepped out of the safety of their Christian bubble to tell you that there is a God who loves you so much he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins so that you can be free from the enemy and join the army of God at first you were excited to put on
• 08:30 - 09:00 the shoes of the gospel and spread the word but maybe somewhere along the way the enemy attacked you with purposelessness what you need to do right now is think of somebody in your life that you need to share the gospel with and then just do it and if you don't know how to share the gospel there are a ton of resources over at livingwaters.com and on their YouTube channel it's so exciting to wake up every day on a mission for God and the devil can't stand it so the next attack is one of the most common today and has also paralyzed many believers the Bible
• 09:00 - 09:30 says that the devil is shooting fiery darts at you but what exactly do these fiery darts represent in Roman times opposing armies would sometimes dip their arrows in something flammable set them on fire and shoot them at the opposing army at night but the material used to light the arrows on fire would almost always cause these arrows to miss the target completely so then why did armies use these fiery darts one word
• 09:30 - 10:00 fear imagine seeing a swarm of these flaming arrows flying through the sky toward you this attack would strike fear in the opposing army and sometimes cause them to retreat unfortunately fear and anxiety is an attack that the enemy is using on many people today it's so prevalent today that people are literally experiencing what many today are calling anxiety attacks so what weapon has God given us to defend against fear and anxiety the shield and
• 10:00 - 10:30 it would have looked like this it was nice and big so the soldier's entire body could take refuge behind it also it didn't matter how big or small of a soldier you were all shields were made the same size so the Roman army could do this come together to create one giant shell blocking incoming attacks and press forward into enemy territory as one unit the Bible calls this shield faith faith is when you trust in God through every situation regardless of
• 10:30 - 11:00 the outcome recently my wife was having some health issues and she had to go to the hospital immediately my anxiety went through the roof i was thinking to myself "What's going to happen to her what if she doesn't make it what if my kids have to grow up without their mom?" These were all real fears I had and they were completely robbing me of peace i felt paralyzed what's robbing you of your peace financial troubles health issues maybe it's the fear that you'll never achieve your goals in life it's in
• 11:00 - 11:30 times like these that you need to fall to your knees and say these three powerful words "God I surrender." The Bible says to cast your anxieties upon God because he cares about you my wife is okay now by the way but regardless of the outcome trusting God acts like a shield against fear because you know God has a plan that is bigger than the hard thing you're going through i know that this is easier said than done but this is why God has given us fellow believers
• 11:30 - 12:00 to fight alongside us it's when we each bring our faith together that we become unstoppable this is the way Jesus designed it to be he said "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." If you haven't been to church in a while maybe you were hurt from people in the church in the past i want to encourage you to go back because we are much stronger when we come together okay we're almost to the final piece of armor which is actually a weapon i'm going to show you exactly how
• 12:00 - 12:30 to use this weapon to attack the enemy in just a moment but first the devil has one more attack and it's actually his most deadly one a deceptive mirror that doesn't show you who you are today with all your armor on instead it shows you who you used to be before you join the army of God and if you're not careful you'll believe that the person you see in this mirror is the person you are today i have a friend who really struggled with this he was constantly beating himself up for who he used to be
• 12:30 - 13:00 and at one point even believed that God hadn't even saved him at all doubt is an attack the enemy will use to cause you to attack yourself if you don't know how to defend against it this is where the helmet comes in not only does it guard your head but it also guards your eyes and much of your face for this reason each helmet was created to fit each specific soldier in the Roman army perfectly the Bible calls the helmet salvation salvation is the free gift God
• 13:00 - 13:30 has given each one of us through Jesus Christ it means God has saved you from your sin and has made a special place for you in heaven with him but wait a second if salvation is something that God has done then why is it my responsibility to put it on the reason is not that you're getting unsaved and received every time you take it off and put it on but rather it is the confidence of your salvation that you're putting on one way you can do this is to preach the gospel to yourself every day
• 13:30 - 14:00 this might sound a little crazy but you need to be reminded of how and why you were saved so that you don't start to doubt your own salvation and condemn yourself like many Christians do if you were to look into a mirror wearing this there's no way that you could doubt your place in the army since God has given you a helmet to fit you and no one else but if you're still not sure if you're really a Christian I'll recommend a video for you to watch in just a minute that will help you find out but now that you've put on all of this armor it's
• 14:00 - 14:30 finally time for you to pick up your weapon the sword of the spirit typically this sword was the length of a soldier's forearm and was used in hand-to-hand combat this sword was sharpened on both sides so it could easily slice through the opponent roman soldiers were experts at wielding this sword because when they weren't in direct battle they spent much of their time training with their sword this would build up their muscle memory so that they could be effective fighters in battle in the same way us Christians
• 14:30 - 15:00 should be training with our swords as well the Bible tells us that the sword is the word of God so the way we train with it is by studying and memorizing it daily now this might sound a little controversial but I actually believe that the habit of reading your Bible every day is more important than the habit of brushing your teeth daily i mean the attacks of the enemy are way more deadly than cavities set a time every day to read the Bible so when the
• 15:00 - 15:30 devil tries to tell you that you need to give into temptation not only can you block the attack but you can say "The body was not made for immorality but for the Lord." When the enemy tries to attack you with fear and anxiety in one hand you can block the attack with your faith but with the other hand you can use the sword of God's word to say "I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding." And when Satan tries to make you doubt your salvation you can confidently say
• 15:30 - 16:00 "God loved me so much he gave his one and only son and because I have believed in him I will not perish but have everlasting life and with that final blow he'll have no choice but to slither back into his dark hole until another time but by then you will have had even more training with the sword of the spirit and be even more ready for the enemy's attack now if there's any part of you that doubts your salvation maybe you wonder if you've lost it or maybe
• 16:00 - 16:30 you're just not sure if you're really a true Christian then check out this video here because I'm confident that by the end of it you'll no longer be unsure about your salvation ever again