 Hey man, so 1 Peter chapter 5, we're going to start out there this morning, kind of give you an introduction for the sermon this morning. So in 1 Peter chapter 5 and the first few verses we see some qualifications and direction for elders or pastors in the Bible here. Of course there's a lot of qualifications in the Bible, 1 Timothy has a bunch of qualifications for a pastor, somebody that wants to be the leader of a church. And also 1 Peter chapter 5 has some things here and I think actually has, you know, one of the most serious qualifications or directions for a pastor. Look there at verse number 2 of 1 Peter chapter 5 where the Bible says, feed the flock of God. He's talking to elders in verse number 1, you know, elders, pastors, bishops, these are all terms that are used interchangeably in the Bible. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of ready mind. Talking about, you know, that a pastor is not supposed to just, and then he gets more specific in verse number 3 where it says, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples in samples to the flock in verse number 3. So it's interesting here because it says, you know, I'm not as a pastor, it says number 1, in verse number 3, it says I'm not to just like force you into doing things. That's not my job to like, you know, just demand that you do live a certain life and do all these things, but instead, you know, it says I'm supposed to be an example, meaning, you know, in sample, be an example in the way I live my life, the way I raise my children, all this, that's probably one of the hardest qualifications for a pastor when you think about it because it encompasses, you know, a person's whole life, you know, I often think about that as I go through my life as being a pastor that, you know, I'm supposed to be an example and then sample to the flock. I'm constantly thinking, you know, and if, look, if I'm preaching one thing and I'm doing another, that is the opposite of this and it makes me a hypocrite, right, it makes me a hypocrite, I often think about that, you know, in my life as I go along my life as a pastor now, like, I don't want to be a hypocrite in any area of my life because I'm supposed to be an example to the church, to the flock and that's what I'm going to use this morning and I'm going to preach on a very specific topic this morning, but I'm going to use this example, this, not this example, this verse number three, just saying, you know, I'm, I want to be an example of you, I want to tell you why I do things a certain way in my life in this specific area and what you decide to do is up to you, you know, I'm not, I don't follow you home, I'm not living your life for you, but I want to just give you an example of why I do something a very specific way in my life. The title of the sermon this morning is why I don't have a TV, why I don't have a TV, all right, now look, if you have a TV, I'm not against you, you don't have to, if you invite me to your house and you have a TV there, you don't have to hide it in the garage, this is not what this sermon is about, I just want to give you four reasons this morning why I personally do not have a TV in my house, all right, look, and this is just one thing, I mean there's many different screens and many different media ways we can bring media into our homes, I just want to show you why I don't have a TV, look, I see the TVs when I go to Walmart, I see the TVs as I go to Costco, I see these 85 inch, you know, whatever K the TVs are today, they're just super, I mean it's amazing technology, you know, you can get a TV now that's bigger than anything, you know, could probably fit on your wall for like a dollar now, they just get cheaper and cheaper and cheaper as time goes on, but I don't have one, I don't have one in my house, I want to give you four reasons, four things to think about this morning on, you know, why I don't have one and if you want to use that as an example in your life, look, I just guarantee you it'll improve every part of your life, if you just listen to the concepts that I'm going to give you this morning, turn to Psalm chapter 90, I'm going to give you four reasons, I'm going to start out with the simplest ones, the simplest ones that you've probably heard me say before that are very obvious, so start out simple and we'll get more complex as we go through this sermon, turn to Psalm chapter 90, look at verse number 12, Psalm chapter 90, look at verse number 12, reasons I don't have a TV as an example to you this morning is the title of the sermon, Psalm chapter 90, look at verse number 12, the Bible says this, the Bible says in Psalm 90 verse number 12, so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, so the first reason that I don't have a TV is that it's a complete waste of time, it's a complete waste of time in your life, as I look at this statistic that I've brought up many times over the last several years preaching to church, the average screen time ranging between kids to adults is somewhere between seven to nine hours a day that they spend with their face in a screen, now as you get older you say well you know there's many different screens right we have phones now, we have computer screens, all this type of thing but as you get older what you'll see with the statistics is it moves from phone screen time to TV screen time as you get older in your life and I don't know what the reason for that is, maybe older people don't like looking at phones or they just watch more TV traditionally whatever it is but the point is is that the majority at this point in Americans lives the majority of people's waking hours are spent with their face in a screen, so that's number one reason, it's a very simple reason, it's a waste of your time and really when you look at how much people are doing it, it's literally a waste of your life, when it comes to, I mean it's crazy to even think seven to nine hours a day, even kids, even kids ten years old, twelve years old, seven and a half hours, eight hours a day with their face in a screen, it's insanity when you think about it but if you look around you and look at the people that you know and you look at what they're doing just look at a restaurant or wherever you go that's what people do, they have their face in a screen constantly, it's a waste of your life, so you have to ask yourself as a Christian you have to ask yourself this can I afford this, you know can I afford to waste this much time in my life, you just think of Christian parents, you know we're all trying to be the correct, the diligent Christian parents in our lives, you think about things like you know homeschooling, you know we're a big advocate for homeschooling here, I mean look I get more extreme on the topic of homeschooling every single year, I remember when we first started out in the satellite ministry, look I've always been you know over the top on homeschooling and that we need to have a homeschooling culture and that you know the public school, you know can you really say that it's impossible to have success for a Christian child in public school, can you really say that? Almost, pretty much, the point is this the danger is simply too high there, the danger is simply too high to mess around with that type of thing, you look at all the twisted things that are being pushed on children, look Satan is literally after the children in this society and he's using the public school system to be the main attack force against our children, I mean the public school system is literally advocating child abuse at this point in this country and everybody seems to be okay with it and look so I mean just from the fact of homeschooling you know more on this later but the dad just think about the dad that is going to provide for his family while his wife, homeschools the children, that dad, that father, that Christian leader of his home is going to have to work harder than the normal dad in this country because everybody's just designed in this country to just live on two incomes and look this is going to take time in your life, it takes time to work harder than everybody else, it takes time to provide for everybody else, look dads today Christian dads in this country, dads in general in this country, fathers in this country today they're literally fiddling while they're home while their family burns, that's what's happening in this country, we don't have time to waste, you think about just the idea that the work that goes into being a keeper at home, the work that goes into you know being a mother that stays home and raises her children and homeschools her children she doesn't have the time, keeping a home is a full-time job, if you're somebody that's keeping a home and you have small children or children of any age at your home, my children aren't that small anymore and my wife is busy my wife is busy and you say I'm a homeschooling mom and I stay home and I don't really have anything to do then you're not doing it right you're missing something, you don't have the time to waste in your life, look the Christian parent especially can't afford to waste this type of time that we're talking about this morning, it's hours you don't have to spend and if you do have those hours to spend you know in front of a screen you're missing something you're doing something wrong, one of the thing that has irritated me the most over the last several years is I've of course I've been in the workforce and there's women in the workforce look it's not my wheelhouse to tell somebody else's wife that they shouldn't be in the workforce, we're talking about Christian parents who want to homeschool their children who want to raise up their children in the Lord that's what we're talking about this morning but I've had several women over the last 23 years that are in the workforce when they find out that my wife stays home you know stays home like she doesn't work I mean that that irritates me in general right there just I've had several comments made to me by women that work be like what does she do all day long or you know I just I just don't know what I would just go crazy I don't know what I would do all day long well of course you don't know because you've never had that job of course you don't know that's like somebody going up to a surgeon and saying I just could never be a surgeon because I would just be bored I mean that's a dumb statement is it not you know even though I've never worked in a hospital I have no idea what a surgeon does you know just I've never done that job before the surgeon looking me like I was crazy somebody that comes up to you and says oh your wife stays home what does she do all day especially a working mother that says something like that it's because you have no idea what being a stay-at-home mom being a homeschooling mom it entails you have you have no idea what that's all about it's like it's like you're pretending that you'd be bored as a surgeon or as a bridge designer or as some kind of you know super complicated job that you've never even you've never done you have no idea what it entails so that's always irritated me that's always but the point is that Christian parents don't we do not have this type of time to waste look these kids these kids are growing up fast these kids are growing up fast whether we like it or not your kids are gonna they're gonna grow up with you or without you that's one thing I mean I look at my kids and I'm like how did this happen how did they get you know 21 years old how do these kids you know grow up so fast it just it happens like that and it's gonna happen with or without you turn to Proverbs chapter 18 turn to proper chapter 18 so the first point is a simple one especially Christian moms and Christian dads who want to be diligent in raising their children in the Bible in the Lord as Deuteronomy chapter 6 says in all the waking hours from the time they rise up to the time they go to bed look we don't have this type we don't have seven to nine hours a day to waste on this because men we need to be working hard look and here's the thing I've said this before I'll say it again my job is not the important one I go to work and I provide money so we can pay the bills big deal it's necessary it's necessary but the important job look being a mother that stays home and raises her children is probably the most important vocation that the Bible talks about what is the Bible talking about in Joshua they go into the promised land what does Joshua say with his dying breath what is he saying he is begging the people he is begging the people to please please don't forget please teach this to the next generation please teach God's law to the next generation teach them teach them diligently meaning all the time consistently being a mother that home schools or child especially in the environment of this clown world that we're living in right now is the most important vocation that exists in this country we don't have the time to waste that's point number one go to Proverbs chapter 18 look at verse number nine you don't have the time to waste the second one is this look at Proverbs chapter 18 verse number nine so it's a complete waste is that is the key word there of time or a complete waste of your life look at Proverbs 18 verse number nine it says he that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great what there's a great waster so the Bible here is saying that you know the Bible here is equating two types of people the Bible here is equating and this is so true especially in the area of people that watch a lot of TV you think about somebody that waste something the Bible here is saying is that somebody that wastes things they're also lazy these two things go together is what Proverbs 18 is telling us TV makes you lazy watching TV makes you lazy look these first three points I'm going to give you this morning they're all tied together so if you are okay wasting your life watching TV look it's not like you're wasting your life doing push ups I mean it's not like you're wasting your life you know doing some activity that's just not beneficial to your head you're literally wasting your life just laying there who's just wasting your life just like just atrophying away doing nothing laying around just watching a bunch of garbage which will get into the content later but you're trained you're literally training yourself not to work think about that it's making you I've told the kids this I mean this isn't literally true but I've told all my kids this like a billion times the worst thing you could ever be as lazy I tell my kids that all the time the worst thing you could ever be as lazy I mean obviously there's worse things the point I'm trying to get at is like laziness is a is a really bad disease to have and TV makes you lazy it's like think about it this way it's like it's like you know you go to a campsite and they have signs that say don't feed the bears you know why they have a sign that says don't feed the bears there's two reasons there's two reasons for that first of all they say don't feed the bears because they don't want a bunch of bears around they know that if you feed the bears there will be more bears that come if you give the bears a bunch of food they're gonna go tell all their bear buddies and then all the bears are gonna just keep coming to the campground so first one is is that there will be more bears if you feed the bears all right we talked about this in the sense of homelessness in the you know the drug addiction problem in in California a few weeks ago but the first one is there'll be more bears but the second one is this the second reason that they don't want you feeding the bears is because the bears will forget how to feed themselves the bears if people are just you know opening coolers and just giving the bears all kinds of food the bears will get what the bears will get lazy the bears will they will stop foraging food themselves they will stop they will literally stop being bears and they will just expect other people to feed them it literally it will make the bears lazy so the second thing is if you are just okay wasting your entire life laying on a couch or laying in your recliner watching whatever I mean look sports games are like four hours long how many people you know they just waste their life Saturdays Sundays watching all these sports every single night of the week they're watching some show that's their new show or whatever it's a complete waste of your life and guess what it makes you lazy it makes you lazy the second one is this and this fits with the first one and the second one but the third one is it makes you stupid you're like what no I'm serious it makes you dumb TV makes you stupid and I'll explain to you why I'll explain to you why and just a few minutes but I love trends okay I love watching trends and watching trends especially in our country and there's a lot of trends that are going in the wrong direction today and one of the trends that's surprising to people I love when like secular people are shocked when they see some of these trends here's one that people are shocked they just can't explain it they don't know why why since 2006 to today there's some there's a trend that was going like this and now it's starting to draw and that's IQ scores in the United States people are literally getting dumber people in the United States are getting measurably stupider every single year and look we can see it tell me you can't see it today that people are getting measurably stupider here's a here's an actual I'll just read you part of an article from studyfines.org so you don't think I'm just making this up ability scores pertaining to now there's three categories here and I'm gonna explain these categories to you but these are scores IQ measured scores that are actually dropping every single year in the United States ability scores just in the United States though other places in the world they are not dropping like this just in the United States ability scores pertaining to verbal reasoning matrix reasoning and letter and number series I'll explain these to you in just a few minutes all dropped over the course of twenty six twenty two thousand six to twenty twenty three all these scores are heading down you say what are what do these scores mean all right this is just in the U.S. verbal reasoning skills this is this is basically what are verb verbal reasoning skills this is logic this is having consistent ideas what I like to call this is having the ability to to think linearly or linear thought you say what is linear thought linear thought now you tell me that you're not seeing this decline today linear thought is the is the ability to think through a problem meaning I have a problem in front of me if I do this then this will happen then this will happen then this will happen and then I will get to a solution that's linear thought okay now you know a simple way of putting this is like if a equals b and b equals d then a equals c you know that's that's an example of linear logic or linear thinking you think about liberal policies today like all these liberal policies that we see there's a lack of linear thought process they just they're not able to understand look I we have people that are poor and I don't want to have poor people I mean the Bible tells us that that's not our job to solve you know the fact that some people are poor and some people that poor will always be with you Jesus himself said that but the point is people don't like that somebody's poor so their solution is just think of just economics their solution is let's give everybody a hundred thousand dollars a year this is an example of someone who's not able to have linear thought okay they're not able to think about the consequences not only to just that person but the consequences to society the consequences to the greater economy basically all socialist ideas are lacking linear thought you can see that all right because they all have that's why you know they put in all these policies then there's all these unintended consequences that happen it's because they have the the it's not because it's not because some of these people aren't well-intentioned they're just they don't have the ability to think linearly we're literally getting stupider is what I'm trying to get you to understand there's this ability there's this ability of thinking of consequences and reaction you know taking reaction to certain things it's being lost it's being lost people are being not able to do it and then the verbal part of that verbal reasoning is just being able to express that verbally being able to express your ideas verbally also being lost think about this just on this same idea of logic and you know just being able to have logical thoughts what's our number one Bible reading rule here what's our number one Bible reading rule in this church the Bible reading rule is if you're reading a verse and that verse the way you interpret that verse makes other verses in the Bible that are clear verses contradict themselves you are misunderstanding that verse you are misapplying that verse because the Bible doesn't contradict itself the Bible God's word is pure God's word is pure so if I'm interpreting some passage or some parable or some obscure you know complicated thing in the Bible to you know be interpreted in a way that contradicts clear scripture elsewhere I am interpreting that wrong think about this more people would be saved if we had this reasoning in this logic ability because if people just decided that you know what I'm not gonna have any logical consistent inconsistencies in my religious beliefs in my faith more people would accept the gospel because works based salvation makes no sense when it comes to being consistent in the Bible you can't make the Bible consistent with itself if you believe that works plays any role in your salvation if more people had this ability more people would accept the gospel the gospel of salvation being a free gift that can't be lost is the only belief that you can have where the entire Bible fits together with itself and there's no contradictions so look I mean this is a big deal that you know these these skills these reasoning skills these logic skills these linear thought skills are being lost it's a big deal it's a big deal matrix reasoning matrix reasoning the second one is just you know it has a lot to do with attention span I'll just kind of leave that one there but you just think about attention span you think about what TV is doing to attention span when you look at cartoons that kids see today I mean I don't watch cartoons today but you know I've seen cartoons at a restaurant or in a doctor's office or whatever and it's just constantly flashing different things it's just constantly changing it's you wonder why kids can't pay attention to anything anymore but it's literally you know there it's saying that this ability to focus on things to focus and stick with tasks meaning meaning follow if I give a complex task to my son and I say I need you to sweep the floor then put the broom away and then close the closet if I tell him to give him three things to do like that that ability is being lost today isn't that what we see but this is part of the IQ falling off letters and no letter and number series is just it's that's a simple one just the ability to do math my wife and I my wife and I were we were at the college we were at the college a couple weeks ago and a college student was helping us we were getting our passport renewed and that the office was at the the college I won't mention the name of the college but we were at the college getting our passport renewed and the price the cost was 150 for one part and 160 for the other part and this college student had to get a calculator out and add those two numbers 150 plus 160 it's just proof we're losing the ability to think we're losing the ability to compute losing the ability to be logical and to verbalize our thoughts now here's another stat that fits in perfectly with with this the percentage of us adults this is from Forbes magazine the percentage of us adults with college degrees or post-secondary credentials has just reached a new high in the United States so what's wrong with this picture we've never been more educated and we've never been more stupid what's happening I mean why is no one noticing this you know people are a little being ripped off by these institutions today and look you say what does this have to do with TV pastor because here's the thing if you watch TV seven to nine hours a day you will never read anything that's why how many times did Jesus say to the Pharisees did you say to the Pharisees have you not watched that on TV of course there was not TV back then but the point is Jesus just kept saying over and over and over again to the Pharisees turn to Proverbs chapter nine he said over and over have you not read have you not read that's the problem with our society today is they have not read why have they not read because they're spending their whole life with their face stuck in front of a screen that's why it even makes your mind lazy you say how because TV is passive TV watching a screen of any time any kind is passive it's something you don't have to think you just lay there and you just take it in you just take in what is ever coming to you when you read you have to be actively thinking when you are reading tell me that you don't experience this when you're reading your Bible in January when you're reading your Bible in January how many times have you had it where you read for like five minutes but you weren't thinking and you just went through an entire chapter in the Bible and you have no idea what you read because you weren't thinking your mind went somewhere else you weren't thinking about the words on the page you have to go back and reread that chapter it happens to me all the time because reading look and the more TV you watch the harder this will get to do the harder it will be to read the harder it will be to concentrate on words on a page look it doesn't even just have to be the Bible it's just you know any book where you're trying to understand what's happening in the page you know a really good author will be able to write such detail where you'll read the book and you'll be able to see the characters in the room you'll be able to see you know what's going on you'll be able to really feel the struggle that's happening in the book but you have to be thinking about that and painting that picture in your mind look reading takes thinking skills you're exercising the muscle of your brain is what you're doing when you're reading and what you're doing when you're watching tv is you're just letting that you're just laying there just like your body is is is rotting away on the couch your mind is also rotting away because your mind does not have to work to watch things on a screen watch things on tv look at Proverbs chapter 9 look at verse number 10 the bible tells us this again and again and again look people people that are that that people that read people that read and especially people that read their bible will feel like they're surrounded by morons today you will you will watch what's happening in our society you will watch uh you will read the news you will see these things happening around you you will see what people are accepting and what people are thinking about things and you'll just be like i'm surrounded by idiots and the reason is this look at Proverbs 9 verse number verse number 10 the bible says the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding what you're seeing is that there's no knowledge of god anymore so people they don't understand anything it's exactly what you are seeing today people understand nothing today that's how we are where we are because there's no knowledge of the holy that's why we're so it's so easy to fool everybody with just about any stupid idea there's no skills there's no knowledge and there's look there's no desire to get any of these things there's no desire for people to understand the bible there's no desire for people to read on things it's just tv and this media it's like the modern day coliseum today it's just got it's got everyone so distracted while satan takes over the entire country is what's happening and look it's not just tv's obviously it's phones other screens can be just as bad i mean it's no good to not have a tv if your face is stuck in your phone all day long i mean you might as well just get a tv it's easier on your eyes i suppose but the point is go read something go do something these things are profitable for you especially the bible the bible says that that's where wisdom comes from that's where understanding comes from is these things i mean i'm talking about artificial intelligence now is going to take over you know i don't believe this but people are talking about artificial intelligence taking over you know a lot of people's jobs and things like this maybe i don't know because you know people are getting you know what i think the artificial intelligence would basically all it is is a computer program that's able to manipulate language and speak the english language or whatever other language and mimic human behavior it's just a computer program it's not some machine that has feelings or anything like that but i think that it will mostly be used to scam people is what i think you know that's what i get i mean i get all these emails now that sound like people you get phone calls that sound like people it's just better and better and better programs that sound like a person and it's going to be used to scam people and guess what it'll be easier to scam people as people get stupider in our society turn to romans chapter seven so the conclusion of the the easy part of the sermon is this that it'll make you lazy it'll waste your whole life it'll make you lazier and it'll make you it'll make you lazy and it'll make you dumber now let's get serious turn to roman chapter seven turn to romans chapter seven turn to romans chapter seven and keep your place in romans because we're going to go to roman chapter two as well look at roman chapter seven in verse number 12 the bible says this talking about reading the bible this is what the bible will do to you before the law is holy paul here is talking about like what's the point of the law is the law here just to beat me up is the law here you know just to make me feel bad is the law here to kill me what's the point of the law what's the point of the bible because when i read the bible you know i feel bad you know in emi chapter eight when ezra and the scribes and the levites read the bible to the people the people were weeping like was the bible just here to make me feel bad about myself look at verse number 12 it says wherefore the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good no it's not just here to make you feel bad it's not here to hurt you it's good verse 13 was then that which is good made death unto me was it here to kill me god forbid but sin that it might appear sin working death and me by that which is good that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful the law is here to show you sin and the more you know the law the more you know the bible the better your judgment will be as far as recognizing sin recognizing evil and recognizing good that's what the bible is saying here turn to roman's chapter two look at verse number i'm sorry verse number 14 roman's chapter two look at verse number 14 so the bible is saying that you know reading the word of god reading the law of god will make sin appear exceedingly sinful to you you be able to recognize it easier and not only that but you have something that god has given you everyone has this for when the gentiles the bible says in romans 214 which have not the law due by nature the things contained in the law these having not the law are a law unto themselves which show the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another the bible here is saying is that even the gentiles you know they knew that murder was wrong they knew that things were right and wrong because god wrote the law in their hearts so god gives everybody that conscience that's what your conscience is you ever heard people say oh he has a good conscience that means that you have god's law written in your heart and that it's not damaged here's the first there the fourth point and the most serious point tv and the content on tv will damage your conscience it will damage the law written in your heart it will desensitize you to sin it will do the opposite of what the bible does it will work against god's word it will work against the law that god's giving you in the bible and it will work against the law that god has given you in your heart you just think about you know tv and the things on tv it's it's to undo your conscience that is what is happening you think about sitcoms and comedies what are these things today they're there to try to remove the consequences of sin to people you think about these things you know in reality you think about just you know all the homosexuality that's on tv and it's made to be a funny thing it's made to be a joke you think about all the fornication that's on tv you think about the sitcoms where the popular characters in sitcoms that have run for years and years and years have had dozens and dozens of different people that they've just been in fornication with yeah what what is it it's fun it's exciting it's city life it's it's not real what would be real if someone did those things or lived that way would be death and disease that's what would be real so your put sin is put forth as not exceedingly sinful but they're trying to cover sin and make sin look like it's fun look like it's harmless it's it's covering and damaging your conscience all of these things you think about drinking and drugs think about just this drug culture today one of the things i i did a sermon on joe rogan maybe a year ago but one of the things that i noticed when i was looking up joe rogan's you know his podcast and all these things and one thing that came up again and again and again one thing that people like joe rogan because he's the he's the typical like cool guy right he's the he's the cool guy he's he's what people think masculinity is or should be today but one of the things that when i was looking up his views on on the bible his views on jesus all these different things it was hard because it's interlaced into every single almost every single episode that i watched by the way is just this idea of like drug culture just being cool they're talking about how you know drinking and drugs and i'm not just talking about like marijuana not like marijuana is good but they're just they're talking about like hard drugs and how it's like like a cool thing it's a normal thing look this is the media today they have normalized drug culture look when i was in high school my high school was was was worldly and it was bad but back in the 90s in in my high school anyway in in nowhereville north dakota like if you i mean the only drugs that we had ever heard of was like marijuana and maybe it was like one percent of kids in that school that were like that did marijuana and we called you know we called them we called them loads like they're the loads you know they were the weird guys that wore black trench coats and you know they were losers we considered like the idea that you would do drugs you're you're just a loser like that was just common thinking now it's like a normal thing like drugs like marijuana is normal it's it's being legalized everywhere it's become you say well should it be legalized but here's the thing when people don't have morality in their lives the only thing like people people equate legality to morality if you don't have the bible that says hey be sober if you don't have the bible in your life whatever's legal is okay this is the problem nobody has any morality anymore so whatever is legal you know more people will go into it unfortunately so look this drug culture becoming normal it's look here's another here's another trend let me show you another trend from pew research concern about drug addiction has declined in the u.s this is a trend so people that are actually concerned about people being addicted to drugs and getting on drugs it's becoming less and less you look at the trend over the last 20 years it's just people are caring less and less about it but fatal overdoses and drug addiction as a problem is is skyrocketing so you're like what what in the world's going on here basically less people every single year are caring about it but it's more of a problem every single year you say how does this happen through media through culture through all this stuff that is being pushed you know into your home look here's the thing i have never sat down with my kids i have never ever sat down with my kids and talked to them about the dangers of alcohol and drugs never we've never had that conversation but you know we do do we go soul winning and we see this we see the results they see you know somebody that drinks a lot they see what that person's house look like they see what that person's yard looks like they see what that person's life is like and then we talk about that we comment about that but here's the thing the desire we're talking about your conscience it's chapter two and verse 14 and verse 15 the desire to be sober think about this the desire to be sober is a natural thing you have to undo that you have to undo it so all these people that are now they're pro drugs and they're pro all this that has been that natural desire to be sober to be normal has been undone you say how movies tv all this influence that is just normalized sin through what making it a joke making oh everybody does this and it's just a funny thing there's some funny guy on some sitcom that that he's high all the time and ha ha it's funny but there's no consequences because there's never going to be consequences on any tv show that you watch especially the the funny ones literally they're putting across things as jokes that will kill you you see how serious this is like oh pastor you're taking this kind of seriously they're literally putting things across as funny that will kill your children i mean this is why i don't have a tv you can have it you can have all these garbage tv shows all these garbage movies that they put out that try to normalize all these things that will kill my family that's why i don't have a tv turn to isaac chapter five look at verse number 20 on the idea of attacking and damaging your conscience tv and the the products that tv pushes forward and programming that the media puts into your house look they twist the idea of good versus evil they change the idea of good versus evil there's no good guys and bad guys anymore you'll find yourself watching movies watching tv shows and cheering for people that are bad cheering for fornicators cheering for adulterers cheering for murderers they romanticize people that are evil look at isaac chapter five look at verse number 20 wall into them that call evil good and good evil put that that put darkness for light and light for darkness and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter the bible here is saying woe to that don't let woe into your home woe unto you if you show your children these things that confuse good and confuse evil and you find yourself cheering for some murdering bank that that has just killed a bunch of people and it's trying to you know i mean they romanticize evil in all these shows and all these movies now you know let me just confess my faults to you this morning because i haven't had a tv for many many many many years but the thing that i did not give up after i gave up tv the last thing that i gave up in this category was going to the movies i loved before especially when i was unsaved i used to love going to the movies it was just i just it was just something that i i like to do to go to the movies but you know what we gave up tv and then i started i kept going to the movies even after we didn't have a tv anymore because you know it's just the movies i can choose what movies to see but here's the thing you need to understand every single time those few times that i went to the movies after i knew i shouldn't be going to the movies they always sneak something in every single time after i got saved that i went to the movies even after we got rid of the tv there was always that conversation walking out of the movie theater going like we shouldn't have gone to that because they always sneak something in whether it be through the previews whether it be you know through something in the movie they just they just always sneak something in i was just like i shouldn't be here you know what that is you know what that is when you get that feeling like i shouldn't be here or you walk out of you know a movie theater thinking like i feel bad that i did that i feel like i've betrayed you know somebody after i did that you know know what that is? That's called the Holy Spirit in you. That's called the Holy Spirit convicting you. You know what you're doing? When you do that and you're going, I'm going to hang on to this one area of my life. You know what you're doing? Grieving the Holy Spirit. And when we tell you something, you can feel it. And you should respond to the Holy Spirit in your life. Because if you're saved this morning, you got the Holy Spirit inside you. And that Holy Spirit is trying to tell you something. And you should listen. You say, I'll only, Pastor, you're crazy. I'll only go to PG movies. First of all, like this rating system is like, it's completely unbiblical. Even if it was biblical, who's doing ratings? Who's telling me what's okay with my family, for my family? Are you insane? You trust these people? They ruin this entire country. They're trying to ruin your children. You're going to trust them to rate something. But the rating system is completely unbiblical in general. This idea that, oh, it's not good for kids, but it's okay for me as an adult because I'm older than 18. You know what that is? That's like situational ethics is what that is. What's situational ethics? We don't, the Bible doesn't, isn't for situational ethics. Situational ethics are like, oh, it's okay to wear a bikini at the beach, but not to the grocery store. I mean, if you walked in, if somebody, if some woman walked into a grocery store in a bikini, everybody would be like, that's lewd. That's, that's inappropriate. But at the beach, it's completely fine. Look, this is not biblical. If it's wrong in one place, it's wrong everywhere. If it's nakedness in one place, it's wrong everywhere. Look, if it's sin for a 12-year-old to watch something, it is sin for an adult to watch it. It's completely unbiblical. And they will always, look, they will always sneak something in anyway. Here's another one, as far as damaging your conscience. TV, and especially before Easter. And I don't know if this is still going on. I can guarantee that it is. But I remember before Easter, all these shows, all these channels like Discovery Channel and History Channel, they would always come out with a tax on the Word of God, with a tax on the Bible. And they would always be pitched like some biblical show, or some biblical history, or some biblical discovery of a new book in the Bible, or something like this. But it was always a disguised attack on God's Word, always before Easter. Isn't that funny? Look, TV constantly attacks the Bible. Because here's the thing, it doesn't matter what they're talking about on TV, about the Bible, they will always get wrong. Always. There's a new show out that I've heard people talk about soul winning everywhere called The Chosen. Look, it's wicked as hell. Why? Because it gets it wrong. Somebody told me the other day that Judas was just misunderstood. Judas was just misunderstood. Look, these people turn to Romans chapter one. You're still in Romans, right? Go back a chapter to Romans chapter one. These biblical TV shows will always be wrong. You say, why did they even put them out? Because it sells. That's why. Because Christians are stupid. That's why. Because Christians will do anything possible to get something biblical or something spiritual in their life without reading the Bible. Even if it gets 95% of stuff right, why would you want to mix up true biblical stories and true biblical accounts in your mind and twist that with a bunch of junk that could be not true? And just like, it'll damage the truth to you. It'll damage the law in your heart. Look at Romans chapter one, verse 25. You know what these people do? They're telling all these Bible stories. They're telling all these stories that are unbiblical. They're creating biblical fiction and trying to pass it off as this is what happened in the Bible. They're trying to create a show that shows Jesus that has nothing to do with the stories in the Bible or even twists a little bit the words of the Bible. You know who does that? You know who twists God's word? Satan does that. That's his methodology. Half God said he's been trying to get us to doubt God's word since the beginning. Look at Romans one, verse 25. It says, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who has blessed it forever. Amen. These are people that God ends up rejecting here that take his word and take the truth of his word and change it. This is what he talks about in the last few verses of the Bible. Anybody that changes my word, what do you mean by change God? Anybody that adds anything to it? Anybody that removes anything from it? They're done. That's what he says. That's how serious God takes all this stuff. So I mean they're trying to attack the Bible. They're trying to attack your conscience. They're attacking the basis of good and evil. No, I'm not going to watch any of this stuff on TV. Sunday school is the same thing. This is why we don't have Sunday school. One of the reasons that we will never have Sunday school here is because Sunday school, it creates biblical fiction for kids basically. It creates, look it makes the Bible a cartoon. This is not a cartoon. This is real. It's setting kids up for failure. You know why? Because when kids grow up they know that cartoons are just silly. They know that they're a joke and it puts the Bible in that same category. The Bible is serious. The law of God is serious. But these Bible stories will get lumped in as cartoons to kids because that's how it was presented to them in Sunday school. The Bible should be presented as the Bible reads to all ages as the Bible says. So look, it'll damage your conscience. It'll mess up your ability to judge good and evil and look at what's happening today. One of the things that shocks me today is that people are still putting their children in these institutions. All the things that are happening. They literally want to mutilate people's children now. There's literally, look, these surgeons now for all this trans stuff, they're the new abortion doctor. And people are literally still like putting their kids in these institutions. Usually, what's going on? Well, their ability to recognize good and evil has been diminished because they're being filled with all this poison and they're not reading the Word of God. That's what's happening. I mean, at least we know why it's happening and it's not going to happen to us. But look at this. Here's the last point. I think I said four. There's five. Here's the last point I have tonight. A why I don't have a TV. It's not real. It's not real. It skews TV and everything on it skews reality. All these TV shows, all these movies, they, it's all fake. Look, even reality TV, it's all fake. None of it is real. And guess what? It skews reality. It gets people who have this desire to live in some other person's life. And you know what that does? That makes you discontented with your own life. You watch these people, these, these movie stars or whatever, and you're just like, oh, man, what a glamorous thing or, or what a wonderful thing to be like that and not have these problems. When these people in reality, they're just, they're miserable, they're a drug addicted, they're filled with disease. They just have all these sicknesses, but they're, it's presented. None of it's real, folks. It's all fake. And literally, people could be discontented with their own life by watching this. Look, live your life. Live your life. You know, you want, you watch something, oh, I just like to watch remodeling shows. Why do you go remodel something? You're like, oh, I just like to watch survival shows. You know, our guys running through the woods. Hey, why don't you go run through the woods? Why don't you go camping? Why don't you go hiking? Why don't you actually go do something with your life? Because if I get up and I walk to the refrigerator, I get tired. That's because it made you lazy. You literally sit around and you watch people do things that you could never even attempt to do, because you just, you're lazy, you're out of shape. It's, it's destroying people. Be a doer. Be a doer in your life. That's why, like, there's this explosion of like, I don't know if I hear people talking about it, all this like explosion of like comic book and like superhero movies. Maybe it was always this bad, I don't know, but there's like Batman 15 now, or Superman 20 or whatever. It's like, first of all, is there any new ideas coming out of these, these places? It's just, let's just do another remake of, but why would you have adults watching comic book movies, unless these adults are just like, they just have this subconscious desire to escape reality? Here's another, another trend, another trend. Video games, the average age of gamers is getting older and older and older. People that sit around literally like living their life in these games is getting older and older. It's adults now. I think the average age, I looked up, the average age, I have it written down here, 33 years old. The average age of somebody that sits and just plays these video games. And look, we're not talking about Pac-Man. These games, people are literally living in these games. I've worked with guys that would stay up for 20 hours straight playing these games. Adults. I've worked with guys who are now divorced because of this being part of it. Are you spending time with your family when you're doing that? They're living in an alternate reality. It's not real. None of it is real. Hey, why not? As a Christian, we said nothing to do with this type of stuff, but why not actually do something great with your life? I mean, look, folks, there is nothing good about it. This is why I don't have a TV because there's nothing good about it. There's nothing good about it. Look, and I still have to manage other parts of my life. We still have a computer in my home. I still have a phone that I have with me. I still have to manage those things so I don't have my face in my phone. And you know, we're not on the computer. Our computer is like tightly monitored, the kind of content that comes into our home, which is another sermon in itself, but it doesn't do, I don't have a TV, but I sit around watching YouTube all day. It doesn't compute. It's the same problem. It's the same problem. Look, if you need to have a how to video or something, look, by the way, all these reality TV shows, there's nothing do it yourself or nothing how to about it. It's a bunch of drama and garbage is what it is. If I need to find out where some pulley is in my washing machine, it's like a minute and a half video. First of all, I have to read and research and look up like exploded parts diagrams on the internet and do all this research. And then I can find some video that's like two minutes long where I can figure out how to actually do that. If I even need the video after I've read about it, but all this reality and all this stuff, you're not learning anything. You're not learning anything by watching some history channel show about the Bible. You know what you're doing? You're having your conscience seared. You're having the Bible that you just read in January. You're having that twisted to you is what you're there is nothing good. So just a recap. Look, it's a waste of time. It makes lazy and stupid. It damages your judgment, your conscience, your good versus evil. And it skews your perception of reality. Look, I can guarantee you this, I can guarantee you this. Here's a guarantee, especially for the Christian. If you look without a TV, without a TV, your life, especially your Christian life will improve in every area. That's quite a guarantee right there. But I'm just trying to help you this morning. This is these are the reasons, some of the reasons that I don't have a TV, it's not like getting rid of the TV is is a silver bullet by the way, because the devil Satan has come up with all kinds of different ways to get this junk, this garbage into your home and into your mind. And just remember, folks, when you go to that movie, and they throw that thing in front of your face, where you're just like, Oh, I shouldn't I shouldn't have. Hey, it's great that you recognize that you shouldn't have been there, that you shouldn't have seen that, but you will never forget that image, that thing that you saw. One of the beauties of God's creation of you is that we have this infinite recording device right here, everything that you see, and everything that you hear, especially on screens, you will never forget it. You'll remember it until you die. This is why 30 years later, you hear some song on a restaurant radio or restaurant speaker, you're just like, I remember the words that song, because you have this infinite recording device in your head, they've tried to measure how much the human brain can record, they haven't they haven't figured it out yet. Infinity is what they think, at this point. Look, your life will improve in every area. There's nothing good on TV. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.