Latest / Karl and Crew / Decluttering Q&A with Kathi Lipp & Spiritual Warfare Q&A with Dr. Sam Storms
Transcript
- 0:00S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond. It's Carl
- 0:06S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide, overcome
- 0:10S1: what seems impossible and live as you never imagined delivering
- 0:16S1: the truth daily.
- 0:17S2: If it were possible to have every worldly gain available
- 0:21S2: and you're forfeiting your soul, there's no amount of gain
- 0:25S2: that would make it worth it.
- 0:26S3: Our own way never ever works. Because it's apart from
- 0:29S3: the life source, which is God.
- 0:32S4: For me, growing up, love was always conditional and can
- 0:36S4: be taken from you. Christ's love can't. And he went
- 0:39S4: to the cross with my mind and my heart that night.
- 0:44S1: Now, from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl
- 0:48S1: and Crew. Well, ask the experts and oh, we've got
- 0:52S1: some help.
- 0:53S5: Needed coming right out of the chute. Cathy is with
- 0:56S5: us here today. And here's the question. We got paper everywhere,
- 1:00S5: says someone. I struggle with. Getting rid of paper represents
- 1:04S5: my life journey, and when I look at it, I
- 1:06S5: just can't release it. Please help. What do you say, Kathy?
- 1:11S6: Well, first of all, that may represent your life journey,
- 1:15S6: but it's not your life journey. And so I just
- 1:18S6: want to say there, there are levels of paper, you know,
- 1:22S6: we're going to keep the passport, we're going to pay
- 1:24S6: the bills. But one thing that I think is so
- 1:26S6: important is so much of that paper needs to be
- 1:30S6: kicked back into play. So some of it is bills
- 1:36S6: that we are just hanging on to too long because
- 1:40S6: out of fear, what if I don't? If I pay
- 1:42S6: the electric bill, am I going to have enough money
- 1:44S6: for the water bill? You know, so we we keep
- 1:46S6: things too long because of fear of not having enough.
- 1:51S6: And so that is something we definitely need to get
- 1:54S6: a handle on. But if we're looking at older papers,
- 1:57S6: things that are from your past, things that maybe their
- 2:00S6: letters or something like that. You don't need to keep
- 2:03S6: every letter that your boyfriend from eighth grade sent. Now
- 2:09S6: I will say you keep one because those memories are sweet.
- 2:14S1: He was a good dude.
- 2:16S6: He was a good dude. He just wasn't your dude. Okay?
- 2:21S6: And so.
- 2:22S5: That's.
- 2:22S6: Right. One and release the rest. And you know, when
- 2:27S6: it comes to maybe relatives who have passed on, we
- 2:30S6: don't need to keep everything that they've ever sent us,
- 2:34S6: given us, keep the thing that is most representative of
- 2:39S6: that person or your relationship, and hold that, dear. We
- 2:43S6: need to curate, you know, if if our if our
- 2:47S6: people that we love knew that we would be hanging
- 2:50S6: on to these things for the rest of our lives,
- 2:53S6: they would have sent us a lot less stuff. They
- 2:55S6: don't want you carrying around that burden.
- 2:57S2: Kathy whip with us right now. Author, speaker, blogger, podcast host.
- 3:01S2: Her podcast is called the Clutter Free Academy. She also
- 3:05S2: has a Facebook group that's wildly popular, clutter free. If
- 3:10S2: you've got a question on clutter on Decluttering organization 805 557898,
- 3:16S2: 800 555, 7898. Kathy. This whole topic can bring a
- 3:22S2: level of shame because depending on the degree to which
- 3:26S2: you feel like you're living under the weight of clutter,
- 3:29S2: you feel like I just can't get it together. Everybody
- 3:32S2: else is so much organized. I've tried so many times
- 3:35S2: to get a handle on this house, speak to some
- 3:38S2: of the emotions that sort of keep us stuck in
- 3:41S2: these patterns.
- 3:43S6: Yeah. You know, that feeling of everybody else has got
- 3:47S6: their life together and I'm a loser is very prevalent.
- 3:51S6: But UCLA did a study that said that 66% of
- 3:56S6: women say that clutter is a big issue in their life.
- 4:01S6: So you are not alone, friend. You just are not.
- 4:04S6: And so to think about that shame, maybe the shame
- 4:07S6: is over the money you've spent that on things. You know,
- 4:11S6: those things that are hanging in your closet that maybe
- 4:14S6: still have the tags that, uh, you know, they look
- 4:18S6: like a great idea at the time, but they don't
- 4:20S6: actually fit your life. Yeah. I just want to remind people,
- 4:24S6: this is your first time on earth. Okay? We're all
- 4:27S6: just figuring this out. So we all make mistakes. We
- 4:30S6: all buy things we shouldn't. We all hold on to
- 4:34S6: things because of the memories attached. And so part of
- 4:38S6: maturing is saying, you know what? I made a mistake.
- 4:42S6: I'm going to I'm going to release that. And I
- 4:46S6: know I've told this story here before, but you guys, uh,
- 4:50S6: when I was a single mom, we went to a
- 4:53S6: goodwill to find my kids some shoes. And my son
- 4:57S6: was desperate to feel a part of school, and all
- 5:02S6: he wanted in life was a pair of cool shoes
- 5:04S6: and we went to goodwill. Goodwill is not known for
- 5:08S6: their cool shoes. Let's just say that that's not what
- 5:11S6: their reputation is about. And we get there. And my
- 5:15S6: my junior high going into high school is wearing a
- 5:19S6: men's size ten. And so we go to the elevens
- 5:23S6: to try to find something he can grow into. And
- 5:25S6: he gives me this pair of shoes and he goes, mom,
- 5:29S6: these are the ones I want. They were an eight
- 5:31S6: and a half. Okay. That that we would have to
- 5:34S6: cut the toes out. We finally I look at those
- 5:37S6: shoes because they come from the eight and a half section.
- 5:41S6: And guys, they were a size 11. And I just
- 5:44S6: think about that guy or most likely his wife who says,
- 5:49S6: you've never worn these. We need to donate them. They
- 5:52S6: didn't know that they were the miracle that my kid
- 5:55S6: needed that day. And I'm so grateful that somebody said,
- 5:59S6: I can release these.
- 6:01S5: I love that story. Taking your calls for. Kathi Lipp
- 6:04S5: 805 557898. When it comes to clutter or hoarding, it
- 6:10S5: manifests itself in a lot of ways. We want to
- 6:12S5: talk solutions here. So if you've got questions, you're stuck.
- 6:16S5: You want to get unstuck. Give us a call right now.
- 6:18S5: Let's go light them up. Phone lines (800) 555-7898. We'll take
- 6:24S5: test text messages as well. Those questions 805 5578 90.
- 6:30S5: Let's go to the phone lines here Ali yeah.
- 6:32S2: Porsha calling in first time caller from Bensenville, Illinois. Go
- 6:35S2: ahead with your question for Cathy. Hi.
- 6:38S7: I just have a quick question on laundry. Um, we
- 6:41S7: have a family of six sports and extracurriculars, plus an in-law,
- 6:46S7: and it seems like laundry is never ending in our house.
- 6:49S7: There's like piles of it. It just, it just feels
- 6:52S7: so much. Is there a system that I can put
- 6:55S7: in place to make laundry easier and more efficient for
- 6:58S7: our household.
- 7:00S2: Great question. What do you say, Kathy?
- 7:02S6: The such a great question. And Porsche keeping up with
- 7:05S6: six people. I, I, you know I'm going to get
- 7:08S6: tips from you. That's what I'm going to say. But
- 7:11S6: one thing I have, uh, I have really released from
- 7:16S6: my life is being precious about laundry. Uh, you know,
- 7:21S6: fabrics are so much better than they were even ten
- 7:24S6: years ago. And lots of people are sorting into like
- 7:27S6: micro piles and it is causing more work than you
- 7:31S6: actually need. So I would say, uh, don't be precious
- 7:36S6: about it. And, uh, I love a shout. Stick more
- 7:41S6: than anything else. That's the best invention of the past
- 7:44S6: ten years, right? And so I.
- 7:46S1: Don't know what that is.
- 7:47S5: What's a.
- 7:48S1: Shout?
- 7:48S2: Stick stain remover.
- 7:49S1: Oh, okay.
- 7:51S6: It's a stain remover. That is just. It's fabulous. It it.
- 7:55S6: Or there's the also the Oxiclean remover. But both of those,
- 8:00S6: those are going, you know, you put them on there
- 8:02S6: and then they sit. The other thing I would say,
- 8:05S6: I don't know how old your kids are, but I
- 8:07S6: think about 9 or 10 is a great time to
- 8:10S6: start learning laundry. Or the first time a child puts
- 8:15S6: clean clothes back into the laundry hamper. That's the sign
- 8:20S6: that they need to start learning how to do laundry.
- 8:24S6: So you start with folding and putting away, but then
- 8:27S6: they can start managing some of that on their own.
- 8:30S6: And I think with six people, you just have to
- 8:32S6: resign yourself to the fact that laundry is an everyday habit.
- 8:37S6: But if you can get into that everyday habit and
- 8:40S6: it doesn't pile up, you're going to feel so much
- 8:43S6: more at peace with all of those things. The last
- 8:47S6: thing I'll say is we have we just have two people,
- 8:50S6: but we have, um, laundry hampers on both floors if
- 8:55S6: you have an upstairs and downstairs. And that's something we've
- 8:58S6: just done recently that has has made a huge difference.
- 9:02S5: Is this why moms sniff clothes?
- 9:05S6: Yes.
- 9:06S5: To see if it's dirty or not. Because moms, I've
- 9:09S5: noticed moms, they just sniff laundry. It's it's a little odd.
- 9:14S6: I, I have I have never been a person who
- 9:19S6: struggles with deep, deep anger until I found clean clothes.
- 9:26S6: I mean, I was going to say something more powerful there, but.
- 9:29S8: No, no, it's powerful enough.
- 9:32S6: You know, to find clean, folded clothes in your child's
- 9:37S6: laundry basket.
- 9:38S2: Yes.
- 9:39S6: Is is is, you know, whatever crime is committed. After that,
- 9:43S6: she is excused. And, um, you know, a jury of
- 9:47S6: women would not convict. Uh, and I think a lot
- 9:51S6: of it comes from overstuffed drawers. Our kids. Most of
- 9:56S6: our kids aren't dealing with too little. They're dealing with
- 9:58S6: too much. And they just it's hard for them to
- 10:01S6: manage the symptoms. So getting those older clothes out of there,
- 10:05S6: the things that, you know, maybe somebody bought for them
- 10:08S6: that they don't wear overgrown, they're outgrown. Get those out.
- 10:12S6: Because if they see a drawer that's too full, that's
- 10:15S6: going to go in the laundry hamper.
- 10:17S2: Cathy, live with us right now. Author, speaker, clutter Free
- 10:20S2: Academy is her thing. You got a question 800 555 7898,
- 10:27S2: 805 5578, 98. Coming up, we'll tackle this one. Heartfelt. Cathy,
- 10:32S2: how do I help an elderly parent free up clutter?
- 10:35S2: They asked for my help, but when I help, they
- 10:37S2: don't want to get rid of anything that's coming up.
- 10:41S1: Get in the know with life's biggest questions. It's Ask
- 10:45S1: the Experts week with Carl and crew.
- 10:48S2: Ask the expert. This half hour we have Cathy Lipp,
- 10:50S2: clutter free expert. This question came in from a dear
- 10:54S2: listener who says, Cathy, how do I help an elderly
- 10:56S2: parent free up clutter? They ask for help, but when
- 10:59S2: I actually help, they don't want to get rid of
- 11:02S2: items that clearly they should. Cathy. This one is um.
- 11:06S2: This is very near and dear to the heart of many.
- 11:10S6: Yes, this is the universal thing that all of us
- 11:12S6: are going to have to deal with with very few exceptions.
- 11:16S6: So here's what I would say. Ask that parent what
- 11:20S6: their goal is. They say they want to declutter, but
- 11:23S6: why do they want to declutter? Is it because they
- 11:26S6: want to be able to have people over? Or is
- 11:29S6: there a safety issue? Uh, or do they just want
- 11:33S6: less so that it's easier to clean? Or maybe they say,
- 11:37S6: you know, think I don't want to leave all of
- 11:38S6: this for my kids because you can go back to
- 11:42S6: that answer over and over again. And when they are
- 11:46S6: struggling to get rid of things, it's or to put
- 11:50S6: things away to say, hey, mom, I want to make
- 11:53S6: this a safe place for you to be able to
- 11:55S6: walk around? I'm. I'm also worried about your safety. And
- 11:59S6: so being able to say those kind of things put
- 12:02S6: the goal in front of them. Um, I think it's
- 12:05S6: really important to ask before you touch things like, um,
- 12:08S6: can I go through this box? Can you know, we,
- 12:12S6: we have to remember our people, our, our parents aren't
- 12:15S6: former people. They are, they are people and they have
- 12:19S6: whole lives. They have, you know, their, their boundaries. Um,
- 12:24S6: and then to realize you're just going to have to
- 12:27S6: go slow. Uh, sometimes they don't want to get rid
- 12:30S6: of things because they're worried that the story is going
- 12:33S6: to be gone. So you can ask, hey, tell me
- 12:35S6: about this picture or tell me about this. And we
- 12:40S6: also have to remember that they're grieving a season of
- 12:43S6: their lives that, uh, you know, that people who maybe
- 12:48S6: are near and dear to them are now gone and
- 12:50S6: they can't share. So I would say keep it to
- 12:54S6: short amount of time, 30 to 90 minutes. Um, pick
- 12:59S6: one small area and I would start with safety first.
- 13:04S6: I think that's the most important thing, especially if things
- 13:06S6: are on the floor and start with easy wins the
- 13:10S6: expired food. I know that some people are still going
- 13:14S6: to hold on. Those are perfectly good fruit cocktails. But
- 13:18S6: to say you know what, let's just start with a
- 13:21S6: fresh pantry. The things that you're actually eating. Because a
- 13:24S6: lot of that food was from a season that they
- 13:27S6: are no longer in. And so start with those small wins.
- 13:31S6: But safety is the most important thing. But also their
- 13:35S6: emotional comfort is really, really important. And I think a
- 13:39S6: lot we, we think about getting rid of stuff. It's
- 13:42S6: probably going to be more storing stuff until it's the
- 13:46S6: child's decision. That's, that's what I'm seeing more and more.
- 13:50S6: It's not so much about getting rid of stuff. It's
- 13:53S6: about storing things in a, um, a systemized way until it.
- 14:01S6: Some people just are not equipped to make those emotional decisions.
- 14:04S5: Love it. Kathy Lipp is our expert right now answering
- 14:07S5: your questions. 805 557898. Going to give back the phone lines.
- 14:12S5: Got a text that came in help. I got a
- 14:15S5: husband who's a hoarder, doesn't care to get things organized,
- 14:19S5: but then it obviously bleeds into my life and functioning.
- 14:23S5: That's a tough one. Kathy, what do you say?
- 14:26S6: Oh my goodness, I am with you guys. My dad
- 14:29S6: was a hoarder. I saw my mom struggle with this
- 14:32S6: not for years, but for decades. And so, um, a
- 14:36S6: couple of things. If he wants help, there are now
- 14:41S6: some hoarding programs. So you can Google this, um, that
- 14:45S6: were not available even two years ago. So, but if
- 14:49S6: he doesn't want help, then I think you have to
- 14:53S6: put bigger goals in front of you as a couple as, um,
- 15:00S6: then I just want to get rid of your stuff.
- 15:03S6: So one of the goals can be I want to
- 15:05S6: be able to feel safe in my own home. I
- 15:08S6: want to be able to feel peace in my own home.
- 15:11S6: I want to be able to have our kids. Or
- 15:13S6: for a lot of people, it's a safe place for
- 15:16S6: the grandchildren to come. That's really important. And sometimes this
- 15:22S6: isn't a clutter issue. Um, it is a relationship issue
- 15:27S6: to say I need safe spaces to respect. And so
- 15:33S6: with some couples, we have to be able to say, hey,
- 15:37S6: you get this room, I get this room. I'm not
- 15:40S6: going to talk about anything that's in your room, but
- 15:44S6: I need for our kitchen and our living room to
- 15:47S6: be safe, clear spaces so that I can feel at peace.
- 15:53S6: And for a you know, hoarding is a mental disorder
- 15:58S6: that is not something that you can train out of
- 16:00S6: a person. And so you need to get them in
- 16:03S6: to get psychological help. Or if it's really just a
- 16:08S6: clutter issue that may be marriage counseling and go see
- 16:13S6: a marriage counselor that has dealt with clutter and stuff
- 16:17S6: and hoarding before, because that's what you're going to, you're
- 16:20S6: going to need somebody with some background. You really will.
- 16:23S2: Kathy Lipp, our guest this morning, want to get as
- 16:25S2: many questions as we can in these remaining moments. Anonymous
- 16:29S2: caller from Miami, Florida. Go ahead with your question.
- 16:32S9: Hi. Good morning. My problem is I have a department
- 16:38S9: store at home and in the storage. I was a
- 16:40S9: shopaholic and I still love to shop. I cut down,
- 16:47S9: but now I'm trying to get rid of all of
- 16:50S9: these clothes. And I too am embarrassed because I don't
- 16:55S9: invite anybody to my house. My house is nice and clean,
- 16:58S9: but it's full of clothes and I don't know. Sometimes
- 17:05S9: I am very embarrassed and ashamed, and I have to
- 17:08S9: apologize to God for the bad use of the money
- 17:13S9: that he has given me. And I try to do sales,
- 17:19S9: but I. I'll sit out there for a little while
- 17:23S9: and I lock it up, but I really and truly
- 17:27S9: want to get rid of this stuff every time I
- 17:31S9: start to get rid of them, you know, it becomes
- 17:34S9: so overbearing that I just it's my teeth and stop.
- 17:40S9: So I yeah, it's like I'm not getting anything done
- 17:44S9: on my own.
- 17:45S2: Yeah. Anonymous from Miami. Thank you for that honest call.
- 17:48S2: Go ahead. Kathy.
- 17:50S6: Well, first of all, I just want to give her
- 17:52S6: a hug. I really do, because, um, I know the
- 17:56S6: shame of buying too much and feeling like I've abused
- 18:02S6: the resources that God has given me. But I do
- 18:06S6: believe that there is redemption in this. And one of
- 18:09S6: the things I would say is, uh, cluttery people and
- 18:14S6: shopaholics are some of the kindest, most generous people I
- 18:18S6: have ever met in my entire life. And to our
- 18:21S6: anonymous caller, I would really encourage you to find a
- 18:26S6: program that is equipping women for the workforce or helping
- 18:33S6: single moms who are struggling. And once we know, oh
- 18:39S6: my goodness, there's a person on the other end who
- 18:42S6: needs these clothes, who needs these shoes, who needs these
- 18:46S6: for a job interview or to be able to go
- 18:51S6: to church on Sunday and feel and feel confident. Find
- 18:56S6: a program that works with those women. And once you
- 19:00S6: know when whenever I talk with cluttery women or Shopaholics,
- 19:05S6: if they know the things that they've bought can go
- 19:08S6: to help somebody else. There's a release in that. There
- 19:12S6: is a freedom in that. And so, um, maybe God can,
- 19:17S6: you know, just redeem those decisions that you made when
- 19:22S6: maybe you were in an emotionally vulnerable place or just
- 19:26S6: didn't know how to deal with some of the emotions
- 19:29S6: in your life. So shopping was the answer. And now
- 19:32S6: you can use those results to help other women.
- 19:35S5: Yeah, this is good stuff. Cathy Lip boy, we're getting
- 19:37S5: a lot of questions here that we won't be able
- 19:39S5: to get to all of them. And I think what
- 19:41S5: we need to do is point people to an amazing
- 19:43S5: website here. Right, Alli?
- 19:45S2: Yeah. Just text the word clutter to 805 five, 5578, 98.
- 19:51S2: This is going to connect you to many resources from
- 19:54S2: Kathy on her website. You can get started on some
- 19:56S2: of this today. Very practical. Just text clutter to 800 555, 78, 98.
- 20:03S5: So grateful for the experts that we've had on today.
- 20:06S5: This site is dynamite. Text cluttered 805 557898.
- 20:13S1: You've got questions. They've got answers. It's Ask the Experts
- 20:17S1: week with Karl and crew.
- 20:19S5: It's Karl and crew final half hour. Ask the experts.
- 20:23S5: Got a great man of God with us here today
- 20:25S5: doctor Sam storms. We're answering questions around spiritual warfare 805 557898.
- 20:34S5: Well good morning Sam. I want to kick this off
- 20:36S5: with something very important. We you we prove it's almost proverbial.
- 20:42S5: We either put our head in the sand or we're
- 20:45S5: too kind of Western for it. We don't want to
- 20:48S5: even talk about spiritual warfare, or we fixate on it
- 20:52S5: to our own peril. Now, we've got to be alert
- 20:55S5: to this, because Paul uses four different Greek words to
- 20:58S5: describe this battle that's not flesh and blood. How do
- 21:02S5: we get to a high ridge on this topic alone?
- 21:06S10: Well, I think you're right when you say that there
- 21:08S10: are typically two extreme responses by Christians, which is delightful
- 21:12S10: to Satan. That's you. He would have us, uh, either
- 21:15S10: ignoring the reality of who he is and what he does,
- 21:18S10: or become utterly obsessed with it instead of taking a
- 21:22S10: biblical perspective on it. And of course, you're talking about
- 21:24S10: Ephesians six, where Paul talks about principalities and powers and
- 21:30S10: and dominions and authorities. And what's amazing is that what
- 21:35S10: he says before that, he says, we do not wage
- 21:37S10: war against flesh and blood. And I think, my goodness,
- 21:40S10: if anybody in the world wage war against flesh and blood,
- 21:43S10: it was Paul. I mean, the Pharisees, the religious leaders
- 21:46S10: beat him. They imprisoned him. They did everything they could
- 21:50S10: to kill him. And yet he says no. He says
- 21:52S10: that's real. But that's not really the real battle behind
- 21:56S10: the forces of human flesh and blood are the forces
- 22:00S10: of Satan. And I think that's why we have to
- 22:02S10: remember that we are in a very real battle. I
- 22:04S10: think so many Christians just kind of cruise through their
- 22:07S10: life thinking that because there's nothing, um, you know, really
- 22:12S10: spectacular happening to them, that somehow Satan has left them alone.
- 22:16S10: And that's precisely where he wants you. That's how he
- 22:19S10: wants you to think because that's when he launches his attack.
- 22:22S2: Doctor Sam Storms, our guest, asked the expert this morning,
- 22:24S2: let's go to the phone lines. Diana. First time caller
- 22:27S2: from Tennessee. Go ahead with your question.
- 22:31S11: My question was about unclean spirits. And if you get
- 22:33S11: one out, do they come back? Multiply?
- 22:37S10: Well, certainly it would seem to be consistent with Scripture
- 22:41S10: if an unclean spirit is expelled or defeated or, um,
- 22:47S10: you know, basically banished from your life. If there is
- 22:50S10: not repentance for the sin that led to that attack.
- 22:54S10: If there is not a commitment to Christ to fill
- 22:58S10: your heart, your life, your mind with him. Certainly you
- 23:01S10: can expose yourself to a return visit. And we need
- 23:03S10: to be very careful about that because typically, um, if
- 23:08S10: Satan or if a demon enters into a person, it's
- 23:11S10: because they are living in unconfessed, unrepentant sin. And that's
- 23:16S10: why it's so important that when a person is set free,
- 23:19S10: that they take steps to embrace the fullness of Christ,
- 23:22S10: the fullness of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
- 23:25S10: Because yes, they, they, you know, just give you a
- 23:28S10: quick example. You remember when Jesus was tempted in the
- 23:31S10: wilderness by Satan, and of course, our Lord resisted him
- 23:35S10: at every turn. And at the end of that, it
- 23:37S10: says that Satan left for a more opportune moment. So
- 23:42S10: even in the case of Jesus, Satan is driven away.
- 23:46S10: He's subjected to the power and the authority of Jesus.
- 23:49S10: But he basically says, I'll come back at a later
- 23:51S10: time when maybe you're a little less strong, when you're
- 23:54S10: a little bit less aware of my presence. And if
- 23:56S10: it was true of him, it certainly would be true
- 23:58S10: of us all.
- 23:59S5: Great stuff. Doctor Sam Storms is our expert for this
- 24:02S5: half hour talking spiritual warfare. You got a question. Let's go.
- 24:06S5: 805 557898. Give us a call if you can. 805 557898. Uh,
- 24:14S5: Dolly in Kissimmee, Florida. What do you say?
- 24:18S12: Good morning. Um, my question pertains of how you deal
- 24:22S12: with this in ministry environments. Like I've, um, facilitated by
- 24:27S12: facilitated Bible studies where I have understood that there is
- 24:32S12: a presence within somebody in the group that returns or,
- 24:37S12: you know, takes breaks and you understand that also, I,
- 24:41S12: I serve in anti-trafficking environments and whenever there are certain
- 24:46S12: Nat activities or the. Such. Pardon me like there is
- 24:50S12: I can. I'm actually fine that I'm in that attack
- 24:54S12: like flat tires. All the things that happen almost 80%
- 24:59S12: of the time that I'm involved in something with anti-trafficking.
- 25:04S12: How do I like, I guess I'm wondering in ministry,
- 25:08S12: is there something, um, I should cling to? How do
- 25:13S12: I deal with somebody sitting across from you in a,
- 25:15S12: in a DBS, um, that, you know, is under um.
- 25:22S5: Yeah, there's a, we, I think we got it. Dolly.
- 25:25S5: There's a few layers there, but number one, Sam and
- 25:27S5: Nick great that she's got her sleeves rolled up and
- 25:29S5: she's in the fight here my man.
- 25:31S10: Absolutely, absolutely. Um, I don't know if you're aware of
- 25:34S10: Luke ten, verses 17 through 22. If you're not, you
- 25:39S10: need to sit, sit down and read it. Actually 17
- 25:42S10: to 20. You remember when the 72 were sent out
- 25:45S10: by Jesus. These were ordinary disciples. Not one of them
- 25:49S10: is named. These aren't elders. These aren't apostles. These aren't
- 25:52S10: pastors or seminary grads. These are just average followers of Jesus.
- 25:57S10: And they came back and they said, Lord, even the
- 26:00S10: demons are subject to us in your name. And listen
- 26:03S10: to how Jesus responded. I have given you authority to
- 26:07S10: tread on serpents and scorpions. That's an Old Testament symbolic
- 26:10S10: language for demons and over all the power of the enemy,
- 26:14S10: and nothing shall hurt you. So the place you have
- 26:17S10: to begin is with the understanding of your authority that
- 26:19S10: has been given to you by Christ through the power
- 26:21S10: of the spirit. And you need to exercise that authority.
- 26:25S10: And if you're sitting across from someone who is oppressed
- 26:28S10: or demonized or whatever degree of influence there is in
- 26:31S10: their life, you simply have to say in the name
- 26:34S10: of the Lord Jesus Christ, I take authority over all
- 26:37S10: demonic spirits. I command you to leave this person. I
- 26:41S10: command that they would never return. Now what often happens
- 26:46S10: is nothing occurs and you think to yourself, well, I failed.
- 26:50S10: We have to remember that oftentimes a person who seriously
- 26:54S10: demonized doesn't want the demons to leave. Their identity has
- 26:58S10: almost been wrapped up in this experience they have had
- 27:02S10: with the darkness of Satan's kingdom. So you have to
- 27:05S10: really probe deeply into their life. Tell me about your background.
- 27:09S10: Tell me about your childhood. Were there any instances of molestation? Um,
- 27:14S10: have you been involved in any kind of unrepentant sin?
- 27:17S10: Are you in it now? Have you confessed and sought
- 27:20S10: forgiveness from the Lord Jesus? And I think when the
- 27:23S10: Spirit of God, when the Spirit of God is present,
- 27:25S10: as he always is, you will get clues as to
- 27:28S10: how this person has opened the door to a demonic influence.
- 27:31S10: And then you, in the name of Jesus, close it.
- 27:35S10: And again, you ask them to repeat these very same words.
- 27:38S10: They need to confess. They need to declare yes. Standing
- 27:41S10: on the authority of Christ that they are seeking freedom,
- 27:45S10: and I think you will find that it happens. Now,
- 27:47S10: it may not happen instantly. Sometimes it takes quite a while.
- 27:51S10: But the fact of the matter is. And that's why
- 27:54S10: I say we command the demons to leave. Not. And
- 27:57S10: they leave. But until they leave, you persevere in declaring
- 28:02S10: the authority of Jesus over your life.
- 28:04S2: Doctor Sam storms taking your questions. He's our expert. This
- 28:07S2: half hour. Questions on Spiritual Warfare 805 557898, 805, five, five, 78, 98.
- 28:17S1: When you don't know who's better to ask than an expert.
- 28:21S1: You're listening to Carl and Cru.
- 28:23S2: We've got our guest expert, Doctor Sam Storms, founder and
- 28:26S2: president of Enjoying God Ministries, taking your questions on spiritual warfare.
- 28:31S2: 805 557898 let's go to Jeffrey calling in this morning
- 28:36S2: from Elmhurst, Illinois. Jeffrey, go ahead with your question.
- 28:41S1: Hi.
- 28:42S13: Good morning. God bless you guys. Um, so my question is,
- 28:46S13: um password. Can you please describe the difference between I'll
- 28:52S13: say consequences, you know, and uh, um. And um, being
- 29:03S13: processed by God. I don't know if that makes sense.
- 29:06S10: I think consequences and what, what was the last thing
- 29:09S10: you said.
- 29:10S13: And process, you know, when you process, you know, God,
- 29:14S13: you're being processed by God. You know, of course we
- 29:17S13: have to go through some difficult time, you know, like
- 29:19S13: right now, I'm the reason I'm asking is because I need,
- 29:23S13: I need help, you know, it's my fifth week without
- 29:26S13: pretty much sleeping. Well, you know, and I'll be honest
- 29:30S13: with you guys, uh, I was, you know, doing not
- 29:35S13: things right before God, you know, especially with my cell
- 29:37S13: phone and everything. And I fell into temptation. Temptation. And then, um,
- 29:42S13: you know, I repented. You know, I walked away from that.
- 29:46S13: And then, um, you know, and everything is great now, but, um.
- 29:50S5: But you're getting harassed, I think, Jeffrey, I think you're
- 29:54S5: raising a good point, Sam. You know, sometimes you fall
- 29:57S5: to temptation and then you wonder, do I have lingering consequences?
- 30:01S5: Can there be a spiritual war about caving into temptation
- 30:04S5: of looking at something screwy on the internet?
- 30:09S10: Yes, indeed. In fact, in Ephesians chapter four, the apostle
- 30:13S10: Paul says, don't grieve the Holy Spirit, lest you give
- 30:17S10: the enemy a foothold, a place, an opportunity in your life.
- 30:21S10: So the key there is not, oh, we'll when we
- 30:25S10: if we sin, we know we will. The issue is
- 30:28S10: how do we respond to it? Do we immediately confess it?
- 30:31S10: Do we take it to the cross of Christ? Do
- 30:33S10: we say, Lord, I have failed again? I need your
- 30:36S10: healing and powerful presence in my life. I need you
- 30:39S10: to cut off all activity of the enemy who's trying
- 30:41S10: to exploit this And lead me to think that maybe
- 30:45S10: I'm not even a child of God at all. So
- 30:47S10: I think in this kind of situation, yes, there are consequences.
- 30:51S10: We are never at peace with the enemy. We are
- 30:54S10: never at peace with the with the power of the flesh.
- 30:57S10: You know, in Galatians five, Paul talks about how the
- 31:00S10: flesh wages war against the spirit and the spirit against
- 31:03S10: the flesh. And I think all of us can say, yeah,
- 31:06S10: that's me. It's a constant battle. And that's why we
- 31:09S10: need to continually avail ourselves of the benefits of the cross,
- 31:14S10: lay our sins before the Lord with honesty and sincerity,
- 31:17S10: and map out a plan for not yielding to that
- 31:20S10: same sin again. We can't just go blindly into life
- 31:25S10: thinking that we are automatically protected. If we were, Paul
- 31:28S10: would not have said what he did in Ephesians six
- 31:31S10: when he's speaking to a very mature church and he said,
- 31:34S10: you've got to put on the armor of God each
- 31:36S10: and every element of it. So I would encourage you
- 31:39S10: to go to Ephesians six and start with verse ten
- 31:42S10: and read through the end of the chapter, and I
- 31:44S10: think that will help.
- 31:45S5: Excellent. Doctor Sam Storms, our guest is going to go
- 31:48S5: back to the phone lines here. Anonymous. Name. Anonymous. City
- 31:52S5: and state. What's your question for doctor storms?
- 31:55S14: Yes. Um, ten years into my marriage, my husband engaged
- 32:00S14: in pornography, or I should say, reengaged in pornography. Um,
- 32:06S14: things started happening, uh, in my home, in my family,
- 32:09S14: to my children. My health started rapidly declining. Um, things
- 32:14S14: were happening to my children in terms of exposure to, um,
- 32:20S14: sexual things. Um, I did not know this. I was
- 32:24S14: just recently informed about a year ago, um, that this
- 32:29S14: took place 20 years ago. And, um, I want to
- 32:33S14: know what sort of demonic portal or hold because my
- 32:38S14: husband's involvement with pornography was brought into my home because
- 32:42S14: it literally did feel like all hell broke loose in
- 32:45S14: my family about 20 years ago.
- 32:47S5: Thank you. Anonymous. What do you say? Sam?
- 32:50S10: Is his use of photography still present? Is it ongoing today?
- 32:55S15: Well, apparently.
- 32:57S14: Involvement about a year ago. A year and a half ago. Um,
- 33:00S14: but he says he does not have a problem with
- 33:02S14: it anymore. But when we've had conversations with him, there's
- 33:06S14: been a childhood involvement around 9 or 10 of exposure. And, um,
- 33:12S14: I didn't know any of this information. So the family
- 33:15S14: is basically broken apart and um.
- 33:20S10: Yes. Thank you. Okay. And let me just say, um,
- 33:25S10: that perhaps pornography is the single most, uh, frequent inroad
- 33:32S10: of the demonic into people's lives today. It is so pervasive.
- 33:36S10: It is everywhere. So I think that, um, you simply,
- 33:41S10: of course, if you're I don't know the situation. Your
- 33:43S10: husband is still with you. This has to be confronted.
- 33:46S10: This has to be. You all have to take steps
- 33:48S10: to make sure that there is no access to pornography.
- 33:51S10: There are numerous other programs that you can get for
- 33:54S10: your computer that will block any access to it. But
- 33:57S10: the fact of the matter is, there very likely could
- 34:00S10: have been a demonic intrusion as a result of that sin.
- 34:04S10: So what you need to do with yourself and your children,
- 34:07S10: and if your husband, if he's still living with you,
- 34:09S10: but especially for your children, you have to pray over
- 34:12S10: them constantly and consistently and say, Lord, um, they did
- 34:17S10: not sin. They did not do this. This harassment from
- 34:19S10: the enemy was an open door that was created by
- 34:23S10: my husband's sin. So, father, I take authority in the
- 34:26S10: name of Jesus and I ask that you would protect
- 34:28S10: my children, give them wisdom, give them insight, give them power. Uh,
- 34:33S10: make them aware of the fact that they are under attack.
- 34:36S10: And the same thing goes for you as well. So again,
- 34:39S10: if you know, I'm just having been in pastoral ministry
- 34:43S10: for over 50 years. I'm oftentimes rather skeptical about men, particularly,
- 34:49S10: who say, oh yeah, I used to be involved in pornography,
- 34:53S10: but I'm not now. Uh, nine times out of ten,
- 34:56S10: they're lying. The fact of the matter is that it's
- 34:58S10: such a has such a powerful pull on the human flesh. So, um,
- 35:04S10: what you need to do if you can't control that
- 35:07S10: in your husband's life, you can control what happens to
- 35:10S10: yourself and to your children in your home. And you
- 35:13S10: have to simply trust the authority of Jesus, pray it daily,
- 35:17S10: pray it constantly. Luke chapter ten, Jesus says to you
- 35:21S10: and me, I have given you authority over all the
- 35:25S10: power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. You
- 35:28S10: need to memorize that text. You need to speak it
- 35:30S10: out loud. Any time an attack is coming, and you
- 35:33S10: just need to be alert to the fact that pornography
- 35:36S10: is a massive open door to demonic influence.
- 35:39S5: Yeah. So many listening to this right now. Uh, Wayne
- 35:42S5: in Hobart, Indiana. We got to get you in here quickly.
- 35:45S5: Let's go ahead. Wayne.
- 35:47S16: Yes. Uh, my wife's been given a rosary from her.
- 35:51S16: Her sister had it, and now her sister passed, and
- 35:54S16: she's been giving that rosary and, uh, since, uh, since
- 35:57S16: they prayed to Mary over that rosary and saved prayers
- 36:00S16: to Mary. I believe that's, uh, an idol. And I
- 36:04S16: believe it should be taken out of our house. But
- 36:06S16: I'd like your opinion.
- 36:08S5: What do you say?
- 36:09S10: I completely agree with you, Wayne. I completely agree with you. Now,
- 36:13S10: typically if somebody is using a rosary, all they're doing
- 36:15S10: is as a as a way of reminding them what
- 36:17S10: to pray for. But if they're praying to Mary, I mean,
- 36:21S10: why in the world would we want to pray to
- 36:22S10: a human being when we can go directly to the
- 36:25S10: throne of God and pray to Jesus? That just simply
- 36:27S10: doesn't make any sense. So yes, it can become an idol.
- 36:31S10: It can become a form of divination in which there
- 36:34S10: is a dependency upon the rosary for communion with the
- 36:38S10: Lord or for spiritual power. And if that is the case,
- 36:42S10: I think you need to do your very best to
- 36:44S10: persuade your wife to get rid of it and to
- 36:47S10: go directly to the Hebrews chapter four. We go with
- 36:50S10: confidence to the throne of grace to find mercy and
- 36:53S10: grace to help in time of need. So just ask,
- 36:56S10: why would we want to go to a human being
- 36:58S10: when we can go to God himself? I just I
- 37:00S10: have never understood that part of Catholic theology.
- 37:03S5: One mediator between God and man, and that is the
- 37:06S5: Son of God, Jesus himself. Sam boy, we gotta stay there. Okay, guys,
- 37:12S5: we have got a resource page for you. That is
- 37:15S5: absolutely awesome, don't we, Ali?
- 37:19S2: We do. Just text storm to (800) 555-7898 (800) 555-7898. Just text
- 37:27S2: the word storm for more resources from our guest expert
- 37:30S2: doctor Sam Storms, text storm 800 555 7898.
- 37:36S5: For the questions that couldn't get answered, they may well
- 37:38S5: be answered right there.