-Psalm 101:3-4, "I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil."
-Titus 2:11-12, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,"
-So, if we watch TV or any movie, are we not setting vile things before our eyes, especially in today's society?
-As an American culture, we have heavily clung to media, Hollywood, and anything it produces. So as Christians, do we truly take this Scripture to heart, and apply it to our lives? We must get to a point where we hate every ounce of evil in our lives. The question is, will we take action to avoid it, and get it out of our lives?
-Jude 23, "...hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
-In the same verse, it also says "snatch others from the fire and save them;" But, we have to be careful not to become so much like non-Christians that no one can tell who you are or what you believe. If we are truly in Christ, the world should have no influence on us in anyway. We should not be like non-believers at all in anyway.
-Influence them for Christ, don't allow them to influence you to sin!
-That's the problem with many so-called "Christians" today, they call themselves Christians, but by their life, there's no difference between them and the world. They may have a form of godliness, but they deny it's power.
-2 Timothy 3:5, "having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
-Our claims to know Jesus Christ, mean nothing!!!
-Titus 1:16, "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good."
-Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then i will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
-By the way we live our life, must resemble or portray that, not only do we know Jesus Christ, but also that He knows us.
-When we watch TV or any movie, or listen to any secular song, or see a photo that we shouldn't have seen, those things filter into our mind, and find itself in the depths of our heart, and it sits there, and corrupts our Spirit man, and our heart. There are spiritual snipers everywhere trying to attack us.
-You don't have to go looking for sin, it comes looking for you.
-Just try to think back, has there ever been an image that you saw, that you knew in your Spirit you shouldn't have seen, and immediately it's engraved in your heart and mind? And now when you think about it, that image comes up?
-That's why as true Christians, we must be completely careful and on guard what we listen to, what we look at, what we say, or what we do. We must completely get rid of or crush anything that sets itself up in our lives against the knowledge or Word of God.
-2 Corinthians 10:5, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
-Even our thoughts must be submitted to His control as we live for Him. Because, we must ask ourselves, have we truly made Jesus Christ, Lord of our lives, in every area?
-There was a true story I once heard from one of my mentors', Pastor Aaron Turner: There once was a man who went to work everyday. And as he had drove his car, there was a billboard on the side of the highway that would cause him to stumble with lust in his Christian walk. So, he finally decided to go a whole other route to get to work that was longer, just for the Lord's sake. So he wouldn't stumble any longer. He was so willing to sacrifice, to live a holy life, and get to know the Lord Jesus Christ more. He was willing to surrender it all to Him.
-Would we be willing to sacrifice, and go out of our way, just to avoid a billboard, that would cause us to stumble; which is a spiritual sniper, so that we could truly get to know the Lord Jesus Christ and obey His Word? This man was willing to sacrifice and surrender anything to avoid any type of sin. We should apply this in our lives, to every area. Even if we have to get rid of TVs, movies, computers, or anything that causes us to stumble.
-So, ask yourself this, are you willing to sacrifice and surrender anything for His sake? Because Jesus Christ sacrificed everything for us.
-A powerful example I want to point to is the story of Smith Wigglesworth. This man was a true man of God, and the Lord used him in such a powerful way to reach souls for the Lord. I'd encourage you to read his biography and story. One thing about him, was he never read anything except the Bible. He made it a habit, that he didn't want to know mans' opinion, but what God had to say. This is such a powerful illustration, because if you look at his life, you can definitely see that this man of God, was truly dedicated to God, more than most people today. So, from his example, ask yourselves this, how much closer to the Lord would you be if we were to fully dedicate our lives to Christ, just like Smith Wigglesworth did?
-Imagine how much more powerful the Lord would show up in your life. The Lord is looking for the faithful in the earth that are His, as it says here in Luke 18:8, "...However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
-The Lord is in the process right now of separating the sheep from the goats. Will you be a sheep or a goat? Examine your life. Smith Wigglesworth wouldn't allow anything in his life if it wasn't of the Lord. Now if we applied that to our lives today, how much stuff, or how many things would we be surrendering over to the Lord, this very moment in our lives? Probably too much to count, i can guarantee. And that's how it is in everybody's life today.
-Smith's example provides such a vitally important lesson, and shows how truly important it is to live our lives truly for Christ.
-Now think about this, Psalm 1:1 says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." So, if we go to the movie theater, and watch any movie, aren't we sitting in the seat of mockers? When we watch that television show, aren't we watching the same things as mockers or scoffers? When we listen to that worldly music, aren't we walking in the counsel of the wicked? Examine your life, and ask yourself these questions. Does the Lord truly approve of everything you do, say, and listen to? Or are you making that judgment for yourself, of what you decide you want to do, say, or listen to, rather than letting God approve of what you do?
-Psalm 36:1-4, "An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong."
-Don't become people as these verses describe. The more you compromise and rationalize things, the more you will become like people that these verses describe. We must give God our lives in every area, allow Him to approve of everything in our lives according to His Word, hate all wickedness, and live the true life for Christ, like Smith Wigglesworth did.
-The sad thing is, there's many people like those verses describe in America, and all over the nation, and the even sadder part, is it's in most churches. When are we going to confront it? When are we going to Say NO!! to all ungodliness and worldly passions? When are we going to get sick and tired of it, and truly make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives? When are we going to get to a point, where we completely hate all wickedness with every ounce of our soul and being? When are we actually going to live out what God's Word teaches us to do?
-Examine your hearts, an if you claim to be a Christian, your life must line up with God's Word, and we must hate all wickedness, and stay away from it. There's no fellowship between light and darkness. I challenge you to apply this teaching and biblical viewpoint to your life. Because, we must live what God's Word tells us. God Bless everyone!
-PM
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