Links to the latest:

 

 

“What if Christians Stopped Watching TV”: https://youtu.be/q3hIHP-mSPY 10 min.

 

Hear the short video at this link (Masturbation. Be a Christian not Aqualung): https://youtu.be/Oy8ixaxkEII

 

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“Fun Times at Church but no Revival. 1988.”

An “historical account” of what never happened.

See link below:

/religion/2022/06/fun-times-at-grace-community-church-but-no-revival-2564925.html

Most of the document deals with the Grace Community Church College age fellowship group in the late 1980 – early 1990s. Sunday mornings were fun. Informative and encouraging yes. But also always fun. How fun? Hear Pastor Chris Mueller messages from that tour of duty here:

https://media.faith-bible.net/audio/vintage

The issue remains that as good as things were with good teaching back then, there were so many of us were at a plateau in our Christianity (some at square one) and we really needed to be awakened. These sleep walkers hide their numbers because they fit in so well.

It would have helped to hear about this (not in bits and pieces over the years):

 

• See yourself for who you really are (quantifiable by what you do).
• See God for who he really is.
• Never forget that God is there.
• True repentance
• Obedience is to be immediate.
• Casting off every encumbrance.
• Think (and make quality time to think).
• Be a doer.
• Never forget.
• Plan everything out with God (regularly).

 

There are plenty of men in single adult fellowship groups that need to work through issues like masturbation, 40 hours a week of TV viewing, prayer time that degrades into thinking about Me time, wishful thinking (if any) that by default becomes the “plan”.

The Church is losing ground: https://nypost.com/2022/06/19/number-of-americans-who-believe-in-god-drops-to-historic-low/

Perhaps you can help.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It’s time to go all in.

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=========================================  Next up…..

Notes from the video:

Why no revival in the Church since the 1970s?

The video:

https://youtu.be/Eef3Vu1imOg

What it is about… Why no revival in the Church since the 1970s?

Transcript:

Many years ago a pastor made the statement in so many words:

The biggest problem with the Church in America is, So many ungodly pastors teaching something other than Bible (or a watered down version).

This pastor is doing due diligence to try to correct the problem.

This problem has always existed but to this degree?

One of the underlying problems: The pool of Christian men from which current pastors came from was very polluted and still is. These men currently need help. Will help be coming from the mix of good and not so good pastors?

The Church needs to experience revival. This has not happened since the 70 and probably never will again. There are reasons for this. There are weights and sins that need to be dealt with and removed (in my opinion). We will get to that. But first…

Do you know where we are in human history?

In the recent past the vast majority of people worked in agriculture and related fields (things directly related to survival). In America, less than 2% of the population work in agriculture thanks to steam engines and then later the internal combustion engine and also electric motors. We now have a 40 hour work week. Most people do little or no manual labor.

We have indoor plumbing, air conditioning, relatively cheap food in abundance, mass communications. Someone once said something like this “Never in the history of the world have individuals had the ability to change the world but are content to do nothing”.

With that thought in mind, besides substandard teaching from many pulpits, what are the problems infecting the current pool of men from whom future pastors will arise?

Almost 100% of everyone in America is addicted to at least one thing. What is it?

Television. Wait. Don’t tune me out. Don’t touch that dial. Don’t change the channel. I’m sure some people will take issue with making TV an issue. If you don’t think TV has a dramatic effect on what people think, feel, believe and do, see this 10 minute video and see the pie charts (links in video notes. What If All Christians Stopped Watching Television). But also consider these points.

In the U.S. people watch about 20 hours of TV a week (average). That’s huge.

With all the things there are to do in this modern technologically advanced society how is it that virtually everyone (on the average) burns through enough time for either a part time or full time second job doing this thing? What a coincidence that almost everyone landed in the same place in regard to sending free time. How is it, that normal, rational, sane adults across America are all flushing about 2000 hours (about 86 days) down the toilet every year (on the average). It is addicting. Watching TV releases endorphins. It is a pleasant “high”. Interesting also that the characters on TV and in movies have lives that don’t include 40 hours of TV.

TV teaches people what to think, feel, and believe and also set boundaries as to what they can do. (society’s parent). It severely limits ones potential.

Pastors of today were TV addicts of yesterday and possibly still are. 20,000 – 30,000 hours of TV (a brain on a leash) growing up has somewhat permanently damaged them and diminished their ability to reason. Sure. Teach me what the Bible says and what it means processed through this defective mental filter. Then the hearers of these sermonettes have a filter. That why they go around saying and thinking:

You know what they say…

Nobody believes that.

There was a study…

FYI. There was a study. Solomon Asch line experiments. If TV says most people think a certain way (even if it is not true) Millions will get with the program and change their views, even if only outwardly.

With TV for 40 hrs. and radio during transit time, no one thinks or ponders.

The next big issue. The other addictions.

Lust, Pornography, Masturbation, and Adultery.

See the video on masturbation (link in notes, Masturbation. Be a Christian, not Aqualung).

Link: https://youtu.be/Oy8ixaxkEII

Jesus said that if you look at a woman to lust after her you have committed adultery in your heart. So the Church is full of men who would never cheat on their wives but at some level would like to. Double minded?

Many have one or more of these addictions to pleasure.

They go through the endless cycle of sin and confession.

Pastors, where are you in this list? Whatever combination of these, are you fighting OR giving in, Or have you given up? Or have you won? For many it is like the Monopoly game with cycles of lading on jail and getting out but never really getting anywhere going around the board.

If you have any involvement in Adultery, you are no longer qualified to be Pastor, elder or deacon. The same may be true for Pornography (no longer above reproach). Possibly even Masturbation (intent to be an Adulterer). After being removed from your position as a pastor (loss of employment if you are not a volunteer) If you are an Adulterer and unrepentant, you should expect to be asked to no longer attend Church.

Questions: Don’t you think that viewing pornography on a regular basis would degrade your ability to rightly divide the word of truth? How about 40 hours of television?

Do you grieve the Holy Spirit and sear your conscience habitually. Seek help from elders.

If I was a Christian counselor I think I would typically ask 3 questions to see where a person is at:

 

What do you do with your free time?

What do you do with your money?

What do you think about?

Where are you at Pastor? You can only lead people as far as you have gone (unless you are a hypocrite).

1 Peter 5:3 Lead by example.

Are you stuck on square one? Even if you are a gifted speaker, if you are stuck on square one, you are a dud.

If you are or have been involved in adultery, you should step down. Typically if you are “caught” and it goes public, you give people a reason to laugh at the Church and mock God.

One Jr. high school pastor had a kid come up to him and say “Don’t let me down. You are the only reason that I know this thing is true”

I am telling you Pastors… Don’t let us down. This is much bigger that your addiction to pleasure and your need to stay employed.

Question: What would your wife think.

If you are in an adulterous relationship…

Questions:

Is she saved or are you using a lost person for your own selfish needs like anything else in your life that is disposable. Do you pray for her salvation? Let’s suppose you are walking through a store and you see an item and you think to yourself, “This would make a nice gift for my mistress”. Has this happened to you?

You are in the process of destroying your own life and your Church, your wife and family and perhaps your grand kids lives.

How about the effect this sort of thing has on your family? These actions start with the way you think and it ends up being who you are. If you think this is only about reputation and employment.

Here is a case history to illustrate how one pastor with wrong thinking and actions helped to mess up three generations.

The people:

Two parents

2 kids

6 grand kids

Total: 10 people. Here are the stats:

5 divorces.

One each of the following:

Suicide.

Attempted suicide.

Accidental death by drug overdose.

Runaway, re-acquired.

Under aged marriage.

Bigamy.

Gramps was an associate pastor for part of his life. Grandma tells me that his way of thinking, twisting and stretching Scripture to fit his own desires rubbed off on the kids.

Two scenarios within the case history:

Gramps starts seeing one of his employees (he owned a small company) who is half his age outside of work. He claims there was no sex. I believe he was telling the truth as he had to stay within what the Bible says you can and cannot do.

Grandma says stop seeing here or I will divorce you. Gramps does not stop. He is easily caught with this person in public. Grandma divorces grandpa.

What this looks like to me is that grandpa wants to get caught. He wants grandma to divorce him so he can marry the girl. He wants grandma to be the “bad guy”, not him. He gets what he wants.

Next scenario. One of the two kids:

Gets married before legally old enough.

Has kids and then is legally separated.

Gets married before divorced from first spouse.

Gets divorced from second spouse.

Takes kids across state lines illegally.

Gets divorced by the first spouse.

Gets married 3 more times and divorced 2 more times. Spouse 5 is about 40 years younger and was a teen when they married. Lived in another state when they first met on line.

In the middle of all this, while married to #4. This child would like to go back to spouse #3 (the favorite up to this point. FYI: #3 never claimed to be a Christian.). This is tricky because, like gramps, this child must stay within the confines of the Bible while still getting what they want. This will require major scripture twisting.

Marriage #4 must somehow not be a real marriage.

Marriage number #1 and #2 must not be real, and / or, not legal marriages.

Schrödinger’s marital status?

FYI: I am one of the grand kids in the case study (one of the kids from this child).

What was life like growing up with one of the 5 spouses as one of my parents for 11 years?

Just a very few points:

Step parents parenting philosophy: “Parents should not be friends with their kids. They are the authority”

This one was the biggest TV addict in the family (work sleep eat TV).

We never talked at the dinner table. I think this was a rule.

I only invited friends into our house one or twice during the 11 years. Not comfortable doing so. What parent would give their kid a stone if he asked for bread. I didn’t ask for things. That was not the nature of the relationship.

All of the conversations that I can recall initiating with this person that were not of the everyday logistical type talking could probably be jammed into an hour. Conversations? Not the nature of this relationship.

This is the light version of that life. It was quite a bit worse. Hey pastor, your kids are watching you.

So for those pastors with clean hands and a pure heart, where and when is the next revival? With all of the above, perhaps never. The Church in America is full of addicted adulterous, hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, couch potatoes who fill every spare minute of their free time with noise and images.

Here is a grocery list suggestions of things to do:

Stop watching TV.

Print the TV pie charts and pin them up on the wall in your office. They will be great conversation starters. Have extras for handouts, especially blank ones.

Start asking the 3 questions when counselling men or just ask even if you are not counselling.

Send a link to these videos to pastors and men who you think will benefit from them or better yet, make your own. You can probably make better ones.

Start men’s accountability groups or hand this off to some elders to do.

End.