[MUSIC]

Welcome to the 700 Club

Canada. I'm Brian Warren.

And I'm Laura-Lynn Tyler

Thompson. It's great to see

you.

Maybe you need encouragement

today to stick with the

decision that means something

better in your life.

Our goal today is to

encourage you to take the

next step. Like Morris

Robinson, an opera singer

who found strength to keep

moving ahead on his journey

of life because of God's help.

Great testimony. Watch.

[MUSIC]

There were so many things

that happened along the way

of this journey that Morris

Robinson could not have

manufactured.

[MUSIC]

God has a plan for all of

us, and we don't know what

it is. You have to be patient

and wait on Him and He will

guide you.

[MUSIC]

How would you finish this

sentence. God made me

Whole.

[MUSIC]

Whole. Why is that?

I've been able to experience

a lot of different things in

life. I was a full-time

athlete. A lot of kids dream

of that, being able to go to

play division one college

football and be on the team

and hang out with the

fellas. I did that. God gave

me a life in the business

world. He gave me a family.

I'm a Dad. You know, I've

gotten to do all these things

but the one thing that He's

really blessed me with to

kind of bring it all together

is the ability to express

myself musically.

[MUSIC]

I had no idea at all. No

aspirations. No hopes and

dreams at all of being a

professional singer. Like

that never crossed my mind.

[MUSIC]

My mother was always in my

ear saying you know you should

be singing. You know, you

should never walk away from

music.

[MUSIC]

She made me join the pastor's

choir, you know. At the

African-American church, the

kid's choir is always the

pastor's choir. So I was in

the pastor's choir. And I

didn't want to be a singer.

I wanted to be the drummer,

you know, but I was too young

to do that.

Yeah.

So James Cleveland had a

song called Can't Nobody Do Me

Like Jesus. And they would

play it on the stereo all the

time.

Can't nobody do me like

Jesus.

And it was really-I got

busted singing it. You know,

I was in my room.

You got caught.

Can't nobody do me like

Jesus. And my mom was that

you? No, it wasn't me. And

next thing you know, I'm

standing in the chair on Sunday

morning cause I was so little

they couldn't see me over the

bannister. I was standing on

the chair and I'm singing it.

And it was like on WALK radio

and they had the tape recorder

so it wahere's probably a

recording of it somewhere.

So you go from playing at

the Citadel, All American, NFL

aspirations but that becomes

a closed door. You move into

sales and you're in it for

almost a decade.

My second or third year at

3M I was like rep of the year.

I sold I don't know, a half a

million diskettes to the

international monetary fund

in DC or something like that.

Wow.

I was nailing it and I was

doing great at it but it was

just like this isn't really

what I had in my spirit.

[MUSIC]

Was there a certain point

in that ten-year window where

that became a weight or where

that really began stirring?

I just knew that I needed to

be doing something else. So

at the time I thought I just

need another job. You know,

I got to do something else.

'm doing this and this

is great. But maybe if I made

more money and had a bigger

opportunity and controlled a

larger territory, I'd feel

ou

know. So I took the job with

a division of Exon Monsanto

selling thermoplastic

elastomers in New England.

And it got worse. Like I was

making almost twice as much

money and I was miserable.

Like I just could not figure

out what it was I should be

doing.

[MUSIC]

It was while I was there, I

auditioned for the New England

Conservatory of Music.

But what compelled you to

take that audition?

I was riding through downtown

Boston. I think I pulled over

and went in and said, "Hey,

look, I don't know what I'm

doing here but I kind of sing

a little bit, you know." And I

got the application. I filled

it out and went in like a few

weeks later and sang The

National Anthem for them, and

they were like have you ever

thought about singing opera?

I was like no. Well, with a

voice like yours, you should.

So that was kind of like the

beginning of this journey.

[MUSIC]

Some people think, you know,

this guy, does he work hard

at this? Why is it happening

for him? They have no idea

n the

strength and the guidance of

as given

me this.

What advice would you give

to someone who might be

watching who is in the thick

of what they believe to be

the American dream

Yeah.

and doesn't have peace?

I always say that, you know,

God will reveal His plan for

you and you just have to wait

it out. It may seem

insurmountable and unbearable,

but you stay with what you're

doing and the Lord will present

an opportunity for you.

[MUSIC]

Laura-Lynn, what a powerful

testimony.

It really is. You know,

this his man was so talented.

He could have gone into,

you know, career choices and

yet God

And did.

And did. And yet God kept

leading him back to his music.

That's right. You know,

and it's funny when we look

at the early days cause when

he was talking about James

Cleveland and singing

Right.

Ain't nobody love me like

Jesus. You know, and then you

s a man coming

e's larger than life.

Right.

You know, what I found is a

lot of people ask the question.

They said, "Why does God allow

suffering in those moments?

Why do we feel like we have to

just get to the end of our

self and be ground down to

powder?" But it's not that

God allows suffering. Does a

doctor allow sickness or a

police officer allow crime?

No. But because it's there,

God is able to lift us beyond

that and perseverance. If

you're going to do anything

significant in life and in the

Kingdom of God, you've got

to suffer long. You got to

hold on.

Right.

It's-it's-it's a-it's a

spiritual principle for

miracles, longsuffering.

It is and-and God, you know,

He doesn't give you everything

that you desire right up front.

Right.

It is that process that

teaches you many spiritual

disciplines.

Yes.

But I-I think about your

life, Brian, and how, I mean,

you also had a, you know,

professional athletic career.

Yeah.

And yet here you are, you

know, a pastor and sharing

with the nation daily on

television.

Yes.

These-these-there are

many talents that you've had.

And, you know, I'm a bit like

our gueshe you know, the

story where I didn't know that

God would lead me into

television. That was not on

my radar, just like it wasn't

on his. So sometimes, God

surprises us.

Yes.

And I bet you there are

people at home and they're

saying, well, I'm not exactly

sure why this door is opening

up over here. But God is

amazing the way He weaves us

into the path that He has for

us.

Well, it is, and you know,

t releases a super power

t makes us

it gets us up in the morning.

It's more than just a cup of

coffee because it's your

purpose that God is releasing,

Right.

Right? And that's what you

see with Morris and you see

that it's what he was designed

for, you know.

Right. He was born to do it.

And-and the same with you.

You know, I hear you so many

times say, "I want to be a

wrecking ball for the Kingdom

of God."

Yeah.

But, you know, in order to

do that, you have to have

faith.

Yes.

Because the one thing that

can cause your dream to get

derailed is when you have

doubt and unbelief that God

can do it.

You're absolutely right.

And you see those people lose

their dream every single day.

Yes.

People who just don't believe

that God can open the doors

That's right.

that are magnificent before

them.

That's right.

It is an act of your faith

and your words declaring

it. I declared many things

before I ever saw any way

that God would do it.

Yeah.

I spoke it before I ever saw

it.

And-and I want to get

something into your hands

because what Laura-Lynn and

I are talking about is really

activating your faith, and it's

like a remote control. You

got to do something, not just

say that you have it. And it's

supernatural. But at the same

time, doubt and unbelief is

kryptonite to your faith. And

this faith is from another

world, and it'll give you a

superpower. And, Father, we

pray even for those now who

are stuck and they feel like

grave

with one end kicked out of it.

But today we pray that their

faith would come alive and the

door would open and your

discernment would flow in

Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. I pray that that

releases people today, Brian.

Amen. Well, meet an artist

trapped by self-doubt and the

corporate jungle after the

break.

[MUSIC]

And when I was twenty, I

took my first design class and

they taught me how to paint.

They taught me shape and form.

And I was like I knew it. I

knew I could do this. And I

knew there was something in

it that God wanted to use.

Artists don't make any money.

Artists are broke. It's not

a profession you want to go

into. Don't pursue it. You

know do something more

practical. I got, you know, a

desk job. So I was in a

cubicle all day long, a gray

little cubicle. In that cube,

I was there for like eight

years. But the whole time I

was just thinking what am I

mean

t was such a fear. I

was like I'm going to get stuck

here. This will be my life.

There's no way. You can't

make it on your art. When I

was young, I had some very

negative words spoken over

me. They would tell me I was

stupid. I was fat. I wouldn't

amount to anything. I was

ugly. I was incompetent. I

was lazy. There was so much

negativity that I just took

that on as truth. And I

believed that nobody wanted

to be around me. I was just

so withdrawn, you know, cause

I felt like a black spot. It

was easy for me to accept

hateful words but I didn't

trust love. And I was

comfortable with just being

mistreated. A lot of this--

this negative mindset kept me

in my own prison. When I was

twenty-two, I was actually

seeing a therapist to deal with

all these thoughts. And I just

remember there was one

night where I was really,

really struggling with it all

and I just cried out to God

and I was like bargaining with

Him. And this force just came

over me of pure love. And I

never felt anything

like that before, and it was

like in a brief moment like

that I saw my whole life. And

I saw all the areas that I had

been getting trapped in and

caught up in. Just things God

was displeased with but it

wasn't like this condemnation.

It was just like this intense

love like you deserve better

than this. You're worth more

than this. And it was the most

beautiful thing I've ever

experienced. And I remember

the next day I woke up and

the Bible made sense to me,

and it was just I felt like I

started a relationship at that

point. For about two months,

I just felt like I was on this

God high, like love. I just

felt so much love, and then,

you know, life started creeping

back in and I started getting

back into the same cycle of

anxiety and worry and fear.

Do I really think my life is

going to mean anything? Do

I really think my paintings are

going to go anywhere? Because

I was just so discouraged.

Like I was like I can't do

hy even

go on. What's the point? I

kept

praying the whole time. I

mean every day. I would

take twenty-minute walks and

pray to God and I'd be like,

you know, if you can use my

art to show people life, not

religion, show people life and

truth, do something with it.

This woman in one of my small

groups, my Bible study group,

I had a dream that she was

praying for me, and she put

her hand in the middle of my

head and felt peace in contrast

with all that depression. And

it was the most amazing thing.

remember looking at

her and I was trying to

communicate to her in the

dream. Keep praying because

because whatever you're doing

is working. And then I woke

up and I described what I

had seen and she confirmed it.

She was like, yes, I was

praying for you. I was

believing that I was hateful,

that I was depressed, that I

was a horrible person, that

there was no point and

everything was just black.

And it was not a Christ

mindset. Even though I had

been saved and I had been

given, you know, the mind of

Christ, I was choosing to

believe these lies. So I ended

up going to a deliverance

minister. I was able to

actually identify the lies with

God's help and replace them

with what God said about me

and replace them with truth.

And after that, it was like

that fear just lifted because

I was like you know what, God?

No matter if I fall and fail

right on my face, you've got

me, and I'm going to trust

in you. The day after I got

back, I walked into my job

and I said, "God, give me the

courage because I can't do this

anymore." And right then I

just had this wave of energy

and I went and got a box and

started packing all my stuff.

And so I took Him at His Word.

And instead of making an

eight-year fear-based decision,

I made a instant faith-based

decision. And after I made

that decision, it was the most

amazing thing. Commissions

started pouring in. Blessings

started pouring in. I started

noticing yes, this is right.

And the best way I can

describe is the way an artist

would describe it. It was

like my vision went from

blacks and grays to color.

feel alive.

[MUSIC]

I love when she said that

she had to replace the lies

with the truth. You know, the

enemy knows how distinct you

are. You may not have a gift

nd, you know,

we all have such different

gifts. But for sure, when the

enemy sees what our gift is,

He starts telling us that

we're unworthy, that we can't

do it, that we don't have the

talent necessary. All of those

lies that she lived with for

so long, and yet the truth

sets us free every single

time. I've had to battle the

lies. You have to battle the

lies. But it is in receiving

y faith.

When this Word says that

we are more than a conqueror,

that's what we believe. We

don't believe the enemy when he

tells us to take our life, to,

you know, to give up, to lose

hope. We don't believe those

lies. We believe the Word of

the Lord. Well, if you love

tuning in every single day, and

I have met so many of you

across Canada, who you tell

me that you are PBRing the

show, that you do not miss

it. I've been at a, you know,

some speaking events and

people said, "I saw you this

morning." And it really

means so much to us. Would

you consider partnering with

the 700 Club Canada. And in

order to bless you after your

partnership, we'd like to get

the DVD, Miracles into your

hands. This is an incredible

DVD that will inspire you.

People that have gone through

all kinds of experiences where

they needed the power of

God. It will inspire faith

into your life. Would you

consider doing that?

1-855-759-0700. It would mean

so much to us. Thank you for

literally linking arms with

our family here. We consider

you part of our clan. Thank

you. Coming up next, Brian

sits down live in studio with

Josh Gilman to discuss his

ministry to people trapped in

pornography addiction.

[MUSIC]

Welcome back. We have a

wonderful treat. We're talking

to writer but also ministry

leader, Josh Gilman, and this

is a serious subject, because

we're talking about strength

to fight. Welcome.

Thanks.

Now we talk about strength

to fight and, you know, when

hen I see you,

I mean we had a wonderful time

even before we came on talking

a little memory lane and

ou live

in the Ottawa region.

Yes.

And a football fan too.

Yeah, yeah.

A little bit. At least you-

you might

Oh, I follow it.

You follow it.

We won the last

championship so I'm a football

fan for Ottawa now.

You know what? I kind of

thought that you'd bring that

to our attention. But not

ou have a

a passion for helping people

fight not on the grid iron but

fight a fight against

pornography.

Yes.

How did that start?

For me, I had a very normal

experience growing up which

unfortunately means that I

encountered pornography at a

really young age. And like the

majority of people who grew

up with the internet and then

with smart phones, I dealt

with porn addiction. And it

really, really did a number on

me.

How old was that when it

I was first exposed to it

literally stumbling across it

in the middle of a street when

I was eight.

Eight.

But, you know, by the time I

was fourteen is when the

internet really exploded and

and that's when it became a

huge issue in my life. And it

was almost ten years until I

could say that I was actually

n freedom and

victory.

Yeah.

And so I was really happy

f,

you know, finding freedom and

overcoming. No longer feeling

a slave to this thing. And I

was happy to just leave it

there. But a couple of years

ago there was an incident in

Ottawa where they suspended

the entire Ottawa U hockey team

for an alleged sex assault.

I remember that. Yeah.

And because of that, my

brother and some other friends

who were at Ottawa U asked

permission to do a presentation

on pornography and how it

nd

sexual violence and human

trafficking, all these things.

And they did a presentation

in the main student center

Yes.

at the university, and it

was just supposed to be a

one-time thing. It went

incredibly well, standing room

only and started to get some

incredible feedback from

people, people who'd been

sending us hate mail

previously to the event saying

how they were going to, you

know, show us up and we were

going to look like fools. And

afterwards they're asking us

for help to deal with it

themselves.

So they asked you to come

in and actually hold

We asked to go in.

Or you asked to go in.

Yeah, it was my brother

nd some of my friends.

They said, "Can we please come

in and do this?" And the

university said, "Sure."

Yeah.

And so we just did that.

We threw up some clips of

it on YouTube, and over the

next year, we got sixty-five

invitations to speak across

the country. And none of us

were doing this and this is not

nd I was

just wanted to help them do

the ministry, to be behind the

scenes, but then after a year

of that seeing that we could

not do this as a hobby, and I

began to get more and more

passionate about helping other

people. Some of the other

guys ambushed me in a

meeting. They had lied to me

about what we were going to

meet about. And in the meeting

they said, "We're actually here

cause we think that you need

to go full-time with this

ministry and that this needs to

be a full-time thing in Canada.

Wow. And now Strength to

Fight is the only full-time

ministry that is fighting

pornography one hundred

percent.

Yeah, in Canada as far as I

know. If there's other ones

hope there is,

even if they're starting today,

I, you know, we're trying to

help people start other

organizations as well. That's

what we want to be a part

of is being a network of

people who are fighting this.

Let's uncover this a little

bit deeper. I mean when you

you look at your own battle

and then now moving Ottawa U,

how do you fight a billion

dollar a year industry where

you have described it as a

plague that is hitting

this generation?

The main way that we fight

back, cause people always

want to ask us, you know, how

ow do we take it to

the industry? And we said,

"Well, we just stop watching."

The way that they make their

money is every click. Every

click goes into their pockets.

That's money that they then

use to make more pornography,

to get more people addicted, so

they click more, so that they

make more money. And it goes

around again. And when we

say no, when we stop clicking,

they stop making money.

Yeah. And I know that sounds

t's some

practical things because I know

even on my own computers and

different things, I have to

have to be very careful

what pops up on those screens.

ou're

trying to buy something on

Kijiji.

Right.

and, you know, you're-you're

being assaulted with that. And

f we're living in a

pornofied generation, the only

generation that has not known

purity. And this is not just

a male issue either.

Not at all.

Talk to us about the

statistics about female as

well in this.

Basically, what we've seen

is that as soon as the smart

phone came out, so as soon

as you didn't need to go to

a store and say, "Here's my

money. Give me porn." As

soon as the anonymity factor

came in, the rates of addiction

and exposure to girls matches

guys. And you read those

statistics and you think that

can't be true. But we go to

high schools, we go to

universities and every single

place we go when the people

come and talk to us

afterwards, one hundred percent

confirmation that this is

absolutely destroying a

generation of girls and women,

nd the problem is

especially in the church when

we only talk about this as a

men's issue. And the girls,

they have double the shame.

They havhey have double

the he thoughts that they

are despicable human cause

they think not only are they

struggling with this sin, but

they're struggling with a

man's sin.

You know, you-you say

somethinhathat

really struck a chord with me

as well. You said that it's

important to prospect but

also to look at the value of

human life. Talk to us about

that.

When we first started this,

the first presentations we ever

started doing weren't just all

about the horrors of

pornography but rather the

intrinsic value that you have

as a creation of the Creator.

Talk to us about that.

Because when you understand

your value, you don't really

need to go into the reasons

of science and everything why

pornography is wrong. When

I was in the midst of my

addiction, I would look at

myself in the mirror every

single night and I'd say, "I

hate you," cause I had to.

In order to accept that these

people could exist purely for

my benefit, I had to think that

people must not have value.

And if they didn't have value,

then I didn't have value. And

the day that I actually began

to be able to fight and to find

the he will to fight was whn

I finally understood in my

core that my value begins and

ends with being a creation of

the Creator.

My God.

There is nothing that I can

do about that. And then, once

I realized that I mattered,

well, then you mattered and

then they mattered.

You know, you wrote this

book, Winning the Impossible

Fight. And, you know, give us

some practical things, how we

win this impossible fight.

Because we know that nothing

is impossible with God, right?

Right.

And-and that's our-our-

e

hold to that but what are the

practical things that we do?

The first thing is

understanding the fight that

we're in.

Okay.

To really just accept the

reason why I'm having trouble

with pornography and why

t's

everywhere. That's not in your

mind. That's not your

imagination. It's coming at

you

It is everywhere.

from so many different

angles. So the first thing you

need to know about winning a

fight is what fight you're in.

And so it talks a little bit

Good.

about that and kind of

reframes the way we think

about this and culture. And

then thehere's four steps

ny

victory over pornography.

Give us those.

Number one, is you got to

t's like

if every closet in your home

was filled with pornography,

that's what every digital

device is in your home. So

you got to understand it's

recognized where it's coming

from. You do whatever it

takes. When I decided that I

couldn't

figure out how to lock down

my iPhone. I sold it. I

switched to a Blackberry.

You don't know suffering in

life until you make the switch

to

Oh, my.

But I did. I said, "I need-

I need to get this gone out

of my life, whatever it takes."

Yeah. Whatever it takes.

Also on my computer.

Yeah.

The second thing was you

ou have to renew

your mind. So I started an

intensive Bible study going

through how I think, how I

think about

Reprogramming.

How I think about women,

how I think about others, how

I think about myself and God.

The third thing was true

accountability. Not

accountability in terms of like

holy tattletaling on myself.

That's good. Cause

accountability without

relationship is tyranny. It

actually is just, you know,

abuse.

Accountability where it's

accessibility. I'm actually

letting you into my life so you

see what's going on in my life.

I don't have to just tattletale

on myself to you.

Yeah.

And then lastly, relying

on the Lord.

All right.

I like to think about

Nehemiah, chapter 4 when

they're surrounded by their

enemies and they're terrified

for good reason. And he gives

this great speech and he says,

"Remember our God who is

great and awesome and fight

for your homes, your wives,

e gives this

wonderful speech

Amen.

talking about where the

strength to fight comes from.

Yes.

Then at the end of the

chapter he says, "So neither

I nor my men, neither of us

took of our clothes and we

slept with our swords at our

sides." Not only trusted that

God was the one where the

strength came from

Yes.

But He could give them the

strength to fight, and that's

where hat's where our name

comes from.

Amen. Somebody's dealing

with this right now. Could

you pray even in this closing

nd they need to

come out. It starts with this,

t's a

process that needs to continue.

Why don't you pray with them?

Lord, I thank you that you're

the one that gives us that

strength and that you're the

one that can help us overcome,

that you're the one that can

nd guide us,

or like it says at the end of

Psalm 139. "Lord, lead me

in the way everlasting." And

so for those of us that are

are struggling today, Lord,

that we would just look to

you and that you would be the

one that leads us in the way

everlasting.

Amen. Winning the Impossible

Fight. Josh Gilman. And,

you know, we have to have you

back because this is something

s

impacting this culture. Thank

you for the fight that you're

fighting

Thank you so much for having

me here.

and thank you for being here

as well. You know, if you

identify with that,

1-855-759-0700. Even after

we're off the air, remember

this that whom the Son sets

free is free indeed. God bless

you. Until next time.