Apostolic Identity Part 10

come out from among them and be separate says the lord do not touch what is unclean and i will receive you i will be a father to you you shall be my sons and daughters says the lord almighty therefore having these promises beloved let us cleanse ourself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of god fundamentally we cannot ignore or excuse behavior or actions or attitudes that violate god's word paul is clear the bible is clear we must separate ourselves from this world from ungodliness from secular culture and we must cleanse ourself from that which has already contaminated our lives separation and cleansing those are the beginning principles that should govern how we engage with our culture of media and entertainment but we must also uh learn and exhibit and demonstrate and live out that we must guard our eyes we must guard our eyes because they are the windows to our heart and our mind or our soul believe it or not facebook disney plus cable tv and youtube did not exist in the days of the old testament and the new testament elijah did not have a tablet jesus didn't preach from a phone and paul didn't have google maps nevertheless inspired by the holy spirit those biblical writers understood the dangers of what we watch and what we see job said what the oldest book possibly the oldest null narrative outside of creation job 31-1 i made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman it didn't take streaming media it didn't take printed press it didn't take a play or a show to trigger sin and lust job knew i have to guard my eyes you see the bible's been applicable since the beginning for every time every culture no matter how technology temptation and sin has evolved david would declare in psalms 101 and 2 i will be careful to live a blameless life when will you come to help me i will lead a life of integrity in my own home i will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar i hate all who deal crookedly i will have nothing to do with them tragically david failed to follow his own advice and when he engaged in the peeping tom pornography of his day he fell and succumbed to temptation because he forgot his vow that i will refuse to look at anything that is vile and vulgar or is crooked i will lead a life of integrity in my own home see satan is the master at tempting us through our eyes it began with eve she saw that it was pleasant to the eyes satan understands that visual and visual media drives ideas right past the filter of our conscious mind into our subconscious mind images and scenes become seeds for present and future temptation and our conscious and our convictions become ever more numbed down and dumbed down by the constant barrage of what we see so the bible understood that if we're going to successfully navigate our culture in a way that pleases god we must guard our eyes it should not surprise us then that jesus declared radical intervention and the necessity of it when confronted by visual temptation he this is part of the sermon on the mount matthew 5 and 27 jesus said you have heard the commandment that says you must not commit adultery but i say anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart so if your eye even your good eye causes you to lust gouge it out and throw it away it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell that's radical intervention jesus was not speaking literally in case you just broke out in a cold sweat but he did use hyperbole to accentuate the eternal necessity of establishing spiritual safeguards and spiritual boundaries no matter how radical they may appear to be in other words you'd be better off smashing the screen of every device melting them down in a bonfire and buying a flip phone then committing and harboring adultery murder and other sin in your heart by what you see radical intervention jesus said it's necessary to guard our eyes amen it's so quiet i can hear the floor squeaking amen and not only should we guard our eyes but we should guard our thoughts paul wrote not coincidentally following his admonition don't be anxious pray ask right and the god of peace will guard your heart and mind then he says but then you need to stay in that state here's how you do it finally brethren whatever things are true whatever things are noble whatever things are just whatever things are pure whatever things are lovely whatever things are of good report if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate think on these things not only do i have to guard my eyes i have to guard my mind i have to guard my thought life the pattern of my thinking and paul gives us the framework to do so what we see and what we hear influences how we think and how we think influences who we are and what we do it matters what you see it matters what you hear it then matters how you think because how you think is who you will be and what you will do jesus said in mark 7 and 21 for from within out of a person's heart comes evil thoughts sexual immorality theft murder adultery greed wickedness deceit lustful desires envy slander pride and foolishness all these vile things come from within they are what defile you he said in matthew 12 and 35 a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of a evil heart and i tell you this you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak and i would suggest ladies and gentlemen that if we are accountable for every idle word then we are accountable for every idle thing we watch or entertain ourselves by you see we cannot ingest the profane and the perverse and expect to perfect holiness inwardly or outwardly junk in junk out junk in junk in junk out junk out junk out and then wonder where god's at guarding our eyes guarding our minds our thoughts and then we're also accountable for how we manage our time paul wrote to the ephesians see then that you walk carefully or circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the lord is you see if we have to spend 12 plus hours a day consuming various forms of media what excuse are we going to offer to god for why we did not have time to pray to read his word to help a fellow believer to share our testimony with a neighbor we didn't have time to serve we didn't have time to show up at church we didn't have time to see our kids engaged in youth ministry we didn't have time to be a part of that we didn't have a time to be a part of this we just don't have time we're so busy try that out before the lord and see how it works we all have the same amount of time 24 hours a day seven days a week what distinguishes us is what do you do with your time and paul says be wise be smart wake up you don't have to have a degree in statistics to understand that 12 plus hours a day of media is is there's not a lot of time left throw your happy meal and your nap you know and your break there's not a lot left for god for mission for ministry paul says be wise why be wise because you're accountable for your time you're accountable for what you do with your time your talent and your treasure your checkbook your calendar will many times reveal who's the lord of your life and then there is the principle beyond that of that everything we say and everything we do and everything we think should be acceptable to god that's a novel idea but it is the bible psalms 19 and 14 let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my be acceptable in your sight oh lord my strength and my redeemer so here's two simple questions for this principle what if jesus was sitting beside you would i watch this would i read this post would i listen to this news anchor if he asked for your phone or device it's just two simple questions but it makes the principal come home right and that's by by what we will be judged by amen along those lines paul also instructed the ephesians that they were not to associate in any way with evil and spiritual darkness this is what he said in ephesians 5 and 11 take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness instead expose them it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret and if it's a shame to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret it's probably a shame to watch and laugh and be humored or moved upon by what they do in secret amen i'm just saying you know i know that your media library is dwindling down by the moment of my sentences amen and i'm sorry of the investments you've made but it's it's just the bible john was equally clear clear in his letter to the new testament christians first john 2 and 15 do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him for all that is in the world the lusts of the flesh the lusts of the eye the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world and the world is passing away and the lust of it but he who does the will of god abides forever that's a clear principle to help navigate a culture of media and entertainment and ultimately we must just practice what we profess we are disciples of the lord jesus christ this means the second commandment remains applicable exodus 20 and 3 god said you shall have no other gods before me nothing before me anything that supersedes our love and loyalty to god it's an idol it doesn't have to be painted have incense and have a fat belly to be an idol from social media to shopping it can be an idol from painting to pornography it can be an idol from gambling to golfing it can be an idol working can be an idol canoeing can be an idol wood carving can be an idol amen if it's before me if it's between me and jesus it's an idol if it's before him in priority it's an idol and god said you shall have no other gods before me notice paul's warning to timothy you should know this timothy that in the last days there will be very difficult times for people will love only themselves and their money they will be boastful and proud no matter how wrong scoffing at god disobedient to their parents and ungrateful they will consider nothing sacred they will be unloving and unforgiving they will slander others and have no self-control they will be cruel and hate what is good they will betray their friends be reckless be puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than god they will act religious but they will reject the power that could make them godly stay away from people like that kind of sounds like a diary of 2020 right 20 21 so from guarding our eyes to guarding our thoughts to refraining from anything that would become an idol to doing all that we do and all that we are for his glory in a manner that is acceptable to him these biblical principles this biblical framework has to govern and guide our our interaction our viewing our listening our watching our playing it has to be guided and governed by the word of god those principles that i've already covered this evening that's our guardrails that helps us navigate a path that pleases god we are governed by the bible and not cultural norms and cultural viewing habits so let's practically apply that for a moment in our world of ever-expanding options of pleasure and entertainment and information and media movies and shows and social media and gaming and music and books and magazines but regardless of the source the question is what are you watching what are you reading what are you listening to and what are you playing in your home or wherever you may be and there are some questions you should ask yourself is it promoting or aligned with biblical values that's a simple question but it's a pretty good filter to put on everything you listen watch play engage with or is it pushing a biblically divergent view agenda and values which one is it pushing similarly a question could be to ask yourself is this evil is it ungodly is it vile is it vulgar is it violent is it lawlessness does it devalue human life does it demean fathers families and christians is it glamorizing spiritual darkness and zombies and in ouija boards is it demonic with seances and spells is it evil does it trigger lust or sexual fantasy is it accentuating conduct that is acceptable to god am i privately engaging with deeds of evil and spiritual darkness is it true is it noble is it just is it pure is it lovely is it admirable is it a wise use of my time and through the filter of those questions game on watch on listen on for the glory of god the advancement of his kingdom and his purpose on your life but that's the biblical filter that ought to guide how we interact with media and entertainment in our world now i understand that most of what is available just failed all those questions i'm sorry i know you're going to be bored with 12 hours of time but i might remind you that we are accountable to the bible not cultural norms and viewing habits amen and on a related note i understand that movie theaters are becoming a relic of the past they're like a phone that you turn the numbers like this right something to be seen in a museum but and essentially i also realize that everything that can be seen in a theater can be viewed on the phone in my pocket right now or at least in time but our church has historically and practically maintain a standard of not watching movies at a public theater i understand the accusation of inconsistency there and whereas the theater let's just be honest and not try to justify a habit that the theater maybe maybe maybe has the occasional maybe once in your life morally neutral movie that's been shown but most movies at the theater blatantly violate the biblical principles and the questions we just reviewed so this practical standard of separation which still is in play both protects our pursuit of holiness and it protects our public witness that we don't profess one thing but seem to practice something else now just to be clear pleasure and entertainment are not inherently wrong aren't you glad about that thank you jesus right this is not doom and gloom climb up 5500 stairs of broken glass or you can't please god that's not what the bible is all about psalm 16 and 11 you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forever more god made you to laugh god made you to enjoy life god made you to understand what is pleasurable and what is not and at his right hand there are pleasures forever more jesus said in john 10 and 10 the thief does not come except to steal kill and destroy i have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly so pleasure and joy and entertainment and humor and life and stories are a part of human existence and are blessed of god within the framework of his word what matters is what is the source of your pleasure what is the source of your laughter what is the source of your attention that is what matters paul told titus in three and three once we too were foolish and disobedient we were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures our lives were full of evil and envy and we hated each other paul said that was once us we were misled and we became slaves to many lusts and pleasures because satan is the master graphic artist at a billboard he can make a billboard that makes rotten cheese look like you just went to fogo to chow he is the master of manipulation but ladies and gentlemen when you punch through the billboard there is horror there is depression there is suicide there is divorce there is dysfunction there is anger there is a loss of identity and confusion paul said we were misled but we have been saved and washed and cleansed and we have a road map that will lead us down the path of life and down this path there are no secrets there's abundance and joy and pleasure and a reward that is eternal that's what paul says [Applause] jesus said in luke 8 the parable of the seeds notice he's describing the various hearts and their receptivity to his words in 8 and 14 the seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message but all too quickly the message is crowded out by 12 hours of cares and riches and pleasures of this life and so they never grow into maturity that is the challenge before us in a culture crazed by pleasure and entertainment but in this vein and because tonight is the last night i need to address something similar in that is in the umbrella of entertainment and that is sports sports can offer valuable recreation sports provides health benefits relational team community benefits but organized sports can escalate the challenges of living out the biblical principles that we've discussed tonight so here's a question if you or your child is involved it's just a question you have to navigate where and when do you draw the line for participation and based on the entire series of this biblical teaching of apostolic identity or just the bible for itself that line should at a minimum maintain gender distinction and modesty and it should maintain faithful attendance to church full engagement and spiritual disciplines that's where that line should be so it's not for me to tell you at what age or at what number of hours that little league sports or high school or wherever the case may be church league where that line is i'm just going to tell you according to the bible that line needs to mean that there's no breaking of gender distinction there's no loss of modesty that there's no skipping church for practice that there's no all of a sudden we can't give because we've got a fun travel league all of those things that's biblical guidance for how to handle sports but what about being a spectator well here's another guiding question you got questions i got questions back for you is your conduct governed by biblical principles that's my question about being a spectator are you redeeming the time are you attending church are you faithful in giving and tithes are you forsaking idolatry you could that that's the framework so as a spectator we just have to navigate that framework for our involvement of sports is the environment ungodly no you have to navigate that is it cursing is it drunkenness is it lewd well i'm not stupid i did attend the university of georgia and worked right outside the gates and it was quite funny all the red pants and the white shirts good luck finding a person who wasn't drunk and then since it's closely associated with sports and gaming let's quickly talk this next next next wednesday who knows pastor john's might preach on heaven and this is going to be wonderful but closely associated with sports and game gaming is gambling whether you're betting on a horse a football team a roll of the dice playing the lottery or stupid tax or playing a game of chance gambling violates biblical teaching on the stewardship of our money greed lust and addiction so don't excuse gambling in any form now understand that my intention tonight is not to condemn or mock my goal is just to present the bible last time i taught alex quarantine for two and a half weeks it was so bad i had to hide in my house for two weeks from the death threats that were coming my way brother randy brock assured me that would not be duplicated tonight just easy but if you find yourself engaged in entertained by or addicted to media and entertainment usage and habits that are contrary to the word of god you can change i'm not here to condemn you god's not here to condemn you but in his goodness he's here to call you back to his word how do you do that you have to repent if you're justifying that habit go ahead the heart can justify anything but good luck with that on judgment day so it begins with repentance that i want to live by the word of the lord and by his spirit and you've got to then sever the source of temptation spiritually radical surgery no matter how far-flung that may be don't negotiate flee useful lust paul said number three you've got to walk in the spirit prayer and bible study you've got to sever the temptation you've got to walk in the spirit you can't just say i'm going to watch better you know i'm just going to leave the room i'm going to keep watching that show i'm just going to try to leave the room when it gets rough that's like too late right that's you got to sever it and if you can't handle a remote without going exploring then cut it all out radical intervention for the safety of my soul walk in the spirit through prayer and the word we've got to develop new habits and thoughts you've got to replace the old with the new then establish safeguards of accountability with a spouse with a parent with a pastor proverbs 4 and 23 guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life and i'm almost done and they still haven't dismissed chip's practice he had triumphantly crossed over the jordan river on dry land he had faithfully and quietly marched around the walls of jericho he had heard joshua's instructions that everything in the city was to be destroyed except the gold silver silver bronze and iron which were dedicated to the lord's house but as he marched through jericho his eyes wandered they wandered to fancy garments silver coins and gold wedges abounding throughout the city finding himself momentary alone covetedness captured his heart he took a garment then a few coins and then a wedge of gold he secretly snuck them out of the city and into the privacy of his own tent and he buried them there it was his tent his life his heart and mind were a roller coaster of conviction and condemnation but he managed to justify his misconduct nobody knew nobody else was impacted it's me and my phone it's me and my tv it's me in my hotel room who cares but god knew what was in his tent and god cared what was in the ten and ultimately his sin was revealed and achan lost his life and worse aiken's family lost their lives so what you and i do in the privacy of our home or on our device matters to god and it's not just about you it's about your family amen so understanding the principles and the promises of god's holy word how should we then live our lives peter said this in second peter 3 and 8 but beloved do not forget this one thing that with the lord one day is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day the lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness but is long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance but the day of the lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements would melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells therefore beloved looking forward to those things these things be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless

Channel: Atlanta West Pentecostal Church

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Length: 38min 38sec (2318 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 09 2021