Surviving Our Present Culture

ANNOUNCER 2 In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Next on In Touch, surviving our present culture. Christians fall into two categories. There are those who are the committed followers of Jesus, and then there are those who are carnally minded believers. And there's a very distinct difference. In fact, when the Apostle Paul was writing to the Corinthian church, here's what he said. He said in the very first verse of chapter three, brethren, I could not speak to you as to spiritually minded men, but as to men of the flesh, as to infants in Christ. And what he was saying is there are two categories of you. Some of you are true followers, you're spiritually minded people, and others of you are carnally minded, which means you are walking according to the flesh, which means walking according to their natural tendencies and desires. There's a very distinct difference between the two. And so, when you think about that, you think about what is the difference. That is, what about these committed, who are these committed followers of Jesus? Well, first of all, they are guided by the Holy Spirit. Committed believers have a passion for God. Committed believers want and desire to share their faith. They desire to walk obediently before God. They trust the Lord Jesus Christ for all of their needs. Their whole life takes on a whole different perspective because they've trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. They're growing in their Christian life, and so they're committed followers. But then there's the other group, carnally minded Christians, for example, and as he says here, he says, you're like babes. He said, I can only feed you milk because they have convictions, but they compromise. They're inconsistent in their Christian walk. Doctrinally, they are very, very weak, and they are usually self-centered. And what they're interested in primarily, for example, those things that give them pleasure

and comfort and ease, they're the attenders and the observers, but they don't get very much involved. They're people who've been highly influenced by the world culture, the culture we live in. And so, there's a great difference between the two. And they have little interest in serving God, but rather serving themselves, and they have become entangled and oftentimes trapped by the very culture they live in. Now, only you can decide which one of those two categories you fall into. And Paul is writing the young Titus, who's a young pastor, whom he has left on the Isle of Crete, a very, very difficult place, and he's instructing him as to how to choose elders and how to establish the churches all over the Isle of Crete. Now, when you think about this culture, you think about it in this light, a culture like you and I live in is certainly not a big friend to Christians. And so, what we have to ask is this, how do you and I live in a culture that is so opposed to what we believe and whose lifestyle is so totally different from ours? How do we live in a culture like this without being captivated by it, overwhelmed by it, overcome by it, and most of all, without becoming like it? How do we live in this culture but live above it? Well, that's what I want to talk about in this message, and I want to talk about the key to living in the culture as we live in and yet not becoming a part of it. So, I want you to turn to the little book of Titus. If you find Hebrews back toward the back of your Bible and turn back, right before that is a little book of Titus on the three chapters, very important letter the apostle Paul wrote to this young pastor. And beginning in verse five, he gives us a little reasoning here. He says, for this reason I left you in Crete that you would set in order what remains and upon elders in every cities I directed you. Then he tells him what kind of people he should be looking for and so forth. Then he comes to verse nine, and he talks about one of the key qualities that these people are to have, and that's this, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance

with the teaching so that he will be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Now, how do we live in this culture and at the same time live above it? How do we live in the midst of all of the influences and at the same time not be influenced by it? The primary key is this. What did he say? Hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching. Now, what does he mean when he talks about holding fast? Simply this, when you hold something, you hold it by your hand. When he says holding fast the faithful word, the word means to cling to, to hold it tight, to hold it close. That is to apply it to your life. So here's what Paul is saying. He says, teaching them to hold fast. Hold tightly to the Word of God. Cling to the truth of the Word of God. Apply it to your life. Because he knew that the Christians that live in that culture of Crete, they would be so highly influenced, very subtly influenced, that before long, you couldn't tell the Christian from the non-Christian. What a message for our day and time. Because we live in that kind of a culture. And we could use many other words to describe the things that go on around us, the laws that are being passed, the attitudes that people have, and the way Christians oftentimes find themselves,

oftentimes too late, caught up in this culture with its vain philosophies, with its immoral attitudes and actions. And then we wonder why the church has such little influence and impact on our society. It does have a relationship with the fact that we have ceased to cling to, we have ceased, listen, hold tightly to the principles and the teachings of the Word of God. When you depart from it, here's what you do. You sever your life from the anchor that keeps you steadfast, godly, walking holy before Him, obedient to Him, walking wisely in the will of God, with the power of the Spirit of God in your life and the assurance of heaven in your heart. This is why he said, cling to it. Now, practically speaking, then how do we cling to it? So I want you to get your pencil out. You should have been taking notes all along, amen? But in case you haven't, I want to give you seven things. How do you cling to the Word of God? Make it practical. How do you cling to the Word of God? How do you keep this in your heart and on your mind, before your eyes and on your lips? Well, there's seven short things. I'm going to give you time to write them down. The first one is this, read it carefully. Don't just read through it quickly. Let me read two or three verses right quick.

Read it carefully. What does it say? What does it say? Meditate upon it daily. Read it carefully, meditate upon it daily. That is, what is this really saying? And how am I to handle this? What is God saying about Himself and about me? Thirdly, study it seriously. This is not just another book. Listen, why do you suppose somebody had the idea of calling this Holy Bible? Because it's from a holy God. That's the reason this is holy. We read it carefully. We meditate upon it daily. And listen, not only that, but we study it seriously. We study it seriously and we believe it wholeheartedly. We believe it wholeheartedly. We obey it consistently. We apply it personally. And we share it confidently. Now, if you meant business by listening, you can give me those back. So I want you to give them back to me, beginning with number one. Number one? Read it carefully. Read it carefully. Number two?

We meditate upon it daily. Number three? We study it seriously. Number four? We believe it wholeheartedly. Number five? We obey it consistently. Number six? Apply it personally. And number seven? Share it confidently. You know what happens? You do that and you know what? You're clinging to the Word and here's what's gonna happen. Your life's gonna change. You cannot do what you just said and at the same time live in sin, walk in sin. You cannot. Because here's what happens. Watch this. We become like what we focus on. For example, let's say that you, let's say one of your parents has lived a horrible, wicked, vile, sinful life, hurt you, absolutely just destroyed you emotionally. And what do you say? When I grew up, I'm not gonna be like him. I'm not gonna be like him or like her for under any condition. I'm just not.

And all your years you grew up, you said, I'm not gonna be like him. I'm not gonna be like her. I'm not gonna be like my mother no matter what. I'm not gonna be like her. I'm gonna be this. I'm not gonna be like her. You know what you focus on? Your mother or your father. You know who you're gonna be like? One of the two of them. You know why? I've seen it happen over and over and over again. Listen, you set your focus on the person you wanna be like. That's where your focus is, not what you don't wanna be like. So, if you don't wanna be like the world, here's what happens. When you turn on the television, something comes on that you know. You know it's going, if you keep listening or keep Watching It's gonna have an effect on you and I'm gonna show you that in a moment. It's gonna have an effect upon you So if you keep watching and watching and watching and watching and watching and watching you know what happens You begin to think like what you focus on You say well not I oh, yes you do. You know what you can't help it and This is the thing that's so dangerous and so subtle in our culture Why do you think they put just enough of

Error and falsehood in oftentimes movies or programs for children just a little bit Don't blast them out on the for just just a little bit Little by little like yeast just a little of little a program here and a program there and you just think how clean Programs used to be then they got slightly smutty Then they just got downright dirty and now they're absolutely filthy and You know what? Here's what's happened Christians say well, you know, I guess that's just the culture we live in You know what? That means they got you Because you have now accepted it Now, I know we can't change the way the unbelieving does their business and what they do except by a godly influence By being true salt and bright light full of the Holy Spirit and the way we go about our lives You live godly before them and what happens eventually one or two things happens they walk away totally from that relationship or They begin to ask you the right questions so You and I have just agreed that in order to hold To hold to it tightly Cling to it make it a part of their life applied in their life. Those things are very necessary. Now. Here's the big question Suppose I don't do that Suppose I suppose I don't treasure the Word of God what happens How does the culture Ultimately destroy us. I want you to jot these down. I'm gonna give you a list number one When you do not hold the Word of God closely Then the following things happen the culture gets your attention. They get your attention All kinds of ways they throw things at you to get your attention It's number one secondly Eventually Eventually they begin to influence you Because you keep listening and you keep watching so they get your attention by that. That's appealing

Then they begin to influence your thinking The third thing that happens is this They win your affections and What you first And what you first were not interested in Got your attention You became very interested and the next thing, you know got you went won your affections Once it wins your affections and that's the next thing that happens is It read to redirect your focus Before you were focused on spiritual things But now you find yourself more focused on the culture around you What other people are thinking what they're saying so they redirect your focus Next thing is before long you realize They're dominating your conversation The culture is dominating your conversation who this movie star is who this ballplayer is what he's wearing what she's wearing No words all these things what happens is your interest level has been redirected and therefore it dominates your conversation What is your conversation? Primarily Filled with today The next thing that happens, you know what it influences your dress The way you dress. Oh, no, no, no, that would you don't think so. Let me give an example You know, there was a time Until recently that women wore blouses that came all the way down to their skirt or whatever they may be You know where I'm headed, don't you? Now we have the idea Somebody got the idea you cut it off about right here and then you lower it down to about right here So somebody can see your navel Who said that's worth looking at I don't understand You said that's what

Now the reason I give that illustration is because it's all around you they've got down diamonds in there, and all kind of things. Now, while it's funny, it's tragic. Let me show you why. All the young girls who are wearing those are not unbelievers. Enough Christian young women have watched, got their attention, influenced their thinking, changed their focus. And you know what happens? Now they're cutting their blouses off. They're lowering whatever else they're wearing. Why? I'll tell you why. They're doing it because that's what seems to be the thing to do. You know what they've done? They have allowed the culture to determine the way they dress. And I would say to any young lady, would you dress like that and walk into the presence of the Son of God? No, you wouldn't. Why do you let the culture around you influence you to dress in a way that is certainly far from being the best, or even oftentimes just plain decency? Let me ask you a question. If you're a Christian, what do you want people to look at? What's the light of the body? Right here. You know what?

You live a godly life. They're going to look in your eyes and they're going to see love, joy, peace, contentment, you name it. And I'm not talking about just women. The same thing is true of men. It is their eyes we want people to look at. Why? Because that's who we are. Don't let the culture so, listen, so clog your mind with false ideas and patterns of belief and behavior that you become less than what God wants you to be. You know, if you have good self-esteem, you don't have to show off anything. The fact that you want to show off something is a sign that you're trying to get somebody's attention. If you live a godly life, you won't have to worry about getting anybody's attention. Listen to this. They will see it in your, they'll see it in your eyes. They will see it in your countenance and they will feel it in your presence. You don't have to undress to get their attention. But the culture is working at it. Listen, dominating your conversation, influencing your dress, and also influencing your choice of music. There's no doubt about it that music, the way we have it today, oftentimes, has been one of the key, listen,

the key weapons of Satan to drag millions of young people away from godly ideas, the Word of God, truth, decency, morality, godliness. And what do they do? You see, there's all kind of music. Somebody says, well, everybody has all kind of music. That's right. There's all kinds. What does it do to you? Does it cause you to worship God? Now, there's lots of songs out there that are just pleasant, good songs, and doesn't have any physical effect. Can have you, make you have an emotional feeling of feeling good because of it. But if it so works in your body that you begin to feel sensual, what you have to ask is this, where did that come from? That's why you have to be careful what you listen to, how you dress. You see, the world, listen, the world culture, the world culture has penetrated every facet of our society. One of the most powerful weapons is music. Dress. And you see what happens? Little by little, somebody comes out and dresses a certain way and somebody else says, well, I'd like to be like her. And so, you want to do the same thing? Why don't you ask the question, what does the Word of God say? What does the Word of God say about decency and in order? What does the Word of God say about being a godly woman or a godly man?

You know what else they'll do? They'll fill your mind with sensuality and immoral thoughts over and over and over and over and over again until finally, you know what's happening? You're committing the very things you see on TV. Or the lust pattern in your life has become so strong, you feel that you're in bondage. Isn't it interesting that Satan He offers these awesome promises only to find yourself in bondage of something now you hate because you cannot stop. You know why? You severed yourself from the anchor, the living Word of God. Then what happens? They want to ruin your witness. The culture wants, listen, the culture wants to drag you away from God. He can't, listen, the culture can't get you away from God until they get you away from the Book, until they get you away from God's Book. They can't get you away from God. And once they do, it ruins your witness. Then you're so much like them, it doesn't make any difference any longer. They, listen, they love your company now because you're no longer a contradiction to the way they live. You're so much like them, you don't bother them anymore. Say, how you doing? Glad to see you. Before, because you were like salt and like light. Now you're so much like them, it doesn't make any difference anymore. If you don't cling to the Word of God, listen carefully, you will not cling to God. He gave us this Book. He gave us, He gave us this truth for our, listen, not only for our salvation, but for

our protection. And you know what'll happen? Eventually, the culture will ruin, listen, will make you useless for the kingdom of God because having altered your schedule, you have no time to serve Him, little or no time to read His Word at all, and now that you're spending your money on things rather than giving God what ought to be given to Him, you're not interested in people being saved any longer because you see, now your life is so self-centered and so caught up in yourself. And you know what's happened? You haven't even realized that it's happened. You are so far from where you used to be. And you read the Scriptures every night, and you believe that somehow the Word of God must be a vital part of your life, and then the culture got your attention, began to affect your thinking, won your emotions, and got your focus off God. And now what happens? It leads you into idolatry. You say, well, now, wait a minute, I would never bow down before some wooden stone or gold god. No, we're not talking about those gods. America has other gods. But you know what a god is? You know what idolatry is? Idolatry is, listen carefully, idolatry takes place in your life when anything, any person, any practice is more important to you than your relationship to Jesus Christ. When you're more loyal, more devoted, more committed to that person, that thing or that practice, then you are the son of God. You are committing idolatry. You have violated one of the commandments. And you know how it happens? You let the culture get your attention, penetrate your thinking, win your emotions, and get your focus off of God and off of His Word.

Now, here is the tragedy of it all. Listen carefully. Here is the tragedy of it all. Right now, if you listen, say amen. Eventually, if there's no genuine change in your life, here's what's going to happen. One of these days, you're going to die. And somebody's going to come and look at your body in the casket, and here's what they're going to say, saved soul, wasted life, because you let the culture get your attention, influence your thinking, win your emotions, turn your focus from God. And what I want you to see is this. He says, hold it tenaciously. Cling to it, He says. You say, all right. Okay, I admit that I haven't, so what do I do? Now, listen very carefully so you won't misunderstand. I'm going to say, I'm going to give you a word. Don't jump to any conclusion until I define it. The way you deal with drifting, handling it loosely, laying it aside, it's no longer in your heart, no longer really in your mind, no longer before your eyes and therefore not on your lips. The word is repent. Now watch this carefully. Repentance, while the word means change and turn another direction, that will never work until the end. The following thing is true. The motive must be right. If you repent, turn away from this action or this attitude because you're afraid of God's judgment, because you fear what may happen to you, it won't work. You know what?

Before long, you'll be right back at it. The motive must be, I want to turn. I want to repent of this sin because I'm grieved that my relationship to my God is not right. I'm grieved that I've grieved Him. Grieved in my heart that I've been trying to live and convince and persuade and argue and defend and my relationship with Him has been awesomely damaged. When that is your motive, repentance will be a reality. I've just told you the truth. And if you have any truthfulness about you at all, you'll have to say, well, that's right. Now, people say, well, you know, these Bible believers, that's right. So I want to ask you to do something because I want to go on record. I want you to take your Bible in your hand. And I want to be sure, in case anybody out there has any doubt about the fact of who we are and what we believe, that we are Bible believers. But we're also Bible carriers. And we're also Bible practices. And you see, it's one thing for a few people in the church to have a Bible. But what I want to say to you is this. We not only believe what we've said, we practice it. And I'm going to ask everybody in here who has a Bible to hold it up, every single person in here. This is who we are. This is the book we live by.

This is the anchor of our lives. This is the instruction book, divinely given by Almighty God. And you can see, as you look around, almost everybody in here has one. We always have lots of guests. They don't always know to bring those. But if you're a member, more than likely you have one. And we have one simple command. Cling to it. I want you to put it to your breast. Cling to it. Hold it tightly. Apply it to your life. Live by it. And you'll experience God's very best in your life. If you're one of those persons who's never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, what are you going to say when you stand before Him and He says, this is the standard by which I'm judging you. You've neglected it. You've denied His Son. You've turned away. You let the culture determine your eternal destiny. What in this world are you going to say? You won't have anything to say. And I want to encourage you to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and tell Him today that you acknowledge your sinfulness.

You're not coming to Him because you deserve to be saved. You're coming asking for mercy. You want Him to forgive you and to save you from your sins. You're committing yourself to Him. You want to live a God-led life. You want to walk in His ways. And you know what'll happen? He'll change your life. And what you used to look at and think was so important will lose its importance. And the things you've neglected will become the most precious things in your life. And our Father, how grateful we are for this precious book, this indestructible, eternal, faithful word of yours. I pray that you'll sink this message into the heart of every single person. Let it cut deeply into the heart of one who has drifted, fallen away, living in sin. But knowing as they've listened, I've heard the truth. Let there be genuine repentance and a fresh new love and devotion and clinging to the word is my prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen.