Reviving the Christian Heart in the Digital Era's Challenge

As the buzz and pings of our digital world vie for our attention, how do we keep our spiritual compass pointed true north? We peel back the layers of everyday distractions that threaten to pull us away from our faith and families. We share insights on discerning between sin and the subtle distractions that can derail our spiritual journey, and we emphasize the importance of prioritizing our spiritual needs to cultivate a deeper relationship with God.

The conversation then shifts to the impact of screens and social media on our mental health and spiritual well-being. Together, we confront the startling statistics around teenager's media consumption and its correlation with depression, reflecting on the necessity of intentional media engagement. But it's not all heavy; we inject hope with a rallying cry for a spiritual revival, where we, as Christians, can navigate the complexities of loving others without compromising our beliefs, even as society shifts around us.

Wrapping up, we tackle a concerning trend among believers—a startling lack of biblical knowledge. We advocate for a return to the bedrock of Christian values and encourage authentic living that aligns with scripture. We also share the latest updates on our own ministry efforts through our podcast and newly minted YouTube channel, 'Young America,' as we continue to foster national revival and personal growth. Join us for a heart-to-heart that's more than just talk; it's a call to action, right here on Young America. May God bless America.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

We can't have revival if that's what we're filled with. What are you filled with? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit or are you filled with all the other junk that's on in the world, on your Facebook and your Instagram? This is what this whole podcast is for.

Speaker 2: 0:11

It's for revival and for people to wake up and say, hey, come on, let's go. We're Christians, let's act like it. So today we're going to be talking about the distractions of society and how they affect our Christian life and our personal life. So I guess what some are. What are some of the distractions that we face, Lucky, Well, I mean first, honestly, you have to ask the question like what are we distracted from?

Speaker 1: 0:40

Is this true, you know?

Speaker 1: 0:42

because if you don't know that, then there's no point in asking, because if you don't know that, then there's no point, because we're getting ready to say stuff like you know, your phone is a distraction, or what you watch, your you know your sports or your politics or whatever is a distraction.

Speaker 1: 0:59

But you know, what are they a distraction from? And the answer to that would be, we would say, first of all, the Lord. Our goal as Christians is to always keep our focus on the Lord and what he wants for us, and a lot of times, you know, we get distracted by the things of the world and things that you know don't actually matter. You know, I know, for me sometimes it's like I can get bent all out of shape about this problem over here, that problem over there, and really it doesn't matter because the Lord's in control and he's what actually matters. You know and you know, just going down the list here, I mean, we can say or we can be distracted from our families, our friends, our ministry at church. There's a lot of things to be distracted from and there's a lot of things to be distracted by.

Speaker 1: 1:49

And you know? I mean, the list could go on forever. I think one of the main things obviously and you and I can both attest to this, I think is phones and social media and that sort of stuff.

Speaker 2: 1:58

Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, and a whole. I think that's where they want us as a society. They want us to be distracted and they want us to be kind of out of the loop of things in a sense, because you don't really know what's going on if you're glued to your phone. You're glued to, you know whatever's going on in the background, you know You're not paying attention at all to important things that matter, and so that's just the random rant.

Speaker 2: 2:31

But yeah, wherefore seeing we also are, can pass about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which death easily, which death so easily beset us, and let us run patients the race that is set before us.

Speaker 2: 2:49

That is a really good verse, ok. So basically it's just saying put aside things in the world, put aside the weight of sin, put aside sin itself, and we can go down and we'll mention this later but we can go down and mention all the distractness and sins that do distract us, and but put it aside, lay aside the weight and focus on your goal. You know, in order to do anything in life, you want to accomplish anything you have to put aside your wants and your desires and focus on what you need, your needs. And once you focus on your needs, you're going to grow from it and you're going to realize, hey, this was beneficial, even though it hurt and it's not really what it wanted, but it was beneficial. And you can see the results of it. Like, for instance, let's say, you work out or you want to work out, you have to put aside eating junk food and eating garbage. That's not healthy for you, even though your body wants it and you want it. You're like man, I really want this. You got to put it aside.

Speaker 1: 4:03

And when you do that you'll.

Speaker 2: 4:06

You'll get to see the results like, hey, I can actually see muscles actually growing and I'm getting bigger, I'm getting stronger, and you just have to keep plowing away and it's not going to be easy, I mean, it's really not. But until you form a habit of doing it consistently, it then becomes more natural, it becomes almost a second nature. So we first have to put aside our wants and our desires to get where we need to go and where we want to go. So yeah, I would say too.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Yeah, along those lines is. You know, I've heard people Dr Bill, specifically preaching message about laying side weights and how. Not only is it sin I mean it obviously says it right here and the sin which does so easily beset us but it says lay side every weight and the sin. So then the question would be you know, obviously weights are the sin, but what else could be a weight?

Speaker 1: 5:05

Sometimes things are just not helpful. It's not necessarily inherently wrong, it's just you don't need to be doing it. You know you don't need to be doom scrolling on your phone all the time. Whatever, you know what I mean, and it's not always necessarily that is just wicked and horrible and obvious. Sometimes it's just things that we don't need to be doing. It's not helping us in our growth, whether it's, you know, outright sin or not. You know you need to be analyzing Is it actually helpful or not? I think that's the problem too In America is we do things but we don't really think about why we're doing it or how it's helping us. We just kind of, you know, see what happens.

Speaker 1: 5:49

Yeah, I mean I was like how do we find? Well, that's not really how life works, and so we need to be careful, especially as Christians, to make sure that we're doing things that are helpful and doing things that aren't distracting us from what the goal is, you know, looking onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You know, and that's the goal and that's the race we're supposed to run, with patience, like it says back in verse one yeah, yes, looking towards Jesus and running towards him and growing to be more like him. If something needs to go by the wayside in order to get there, then get rid of it, please.

Speaker 2: 6:27

Yeah, well, I mean, even if you continue to read that verse which you were just saying. You were checking from verse two, looking on the Jesus, the often finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him and endured the cross in despising the shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God. You look at that and it says there we go. The author and finisher of faith who, for the joy that was set before, him and endured the cross.

Speaker 2: 6:55

So, jesus Christ, he didn't necessarily want to go through this pain and this suffering. Even you look at the prayers he prayed at. He said if there's any possible way to get this cup passed from me, lord, can I do this? And I think that cup, like we mentioned before, is Jesus himself, our God himself turning away from Jesus. But Jesus didn't necessarily want to go through all this pain and be rejected by his own father. He didn't want to, but he did. And he didn't want to. He didn't want to go through all this pain and be rejected by his own father. He didn't want to, but he endured the cross and he put aside the way of not wanting to do it.

Speaker 1: 7:44

And he put aside the pain and the agony.

Speaker 2: 7:47

And he looked to his father and said Lord, I need your help. And as Christians, jesus Christ is our ultimate example. This is clearly. He has done this, and I've said this before and I'll say it again If Jesus has done it, then how much more should we as human beings do it? Jesus Christ was perfect. There was nothing wrong with him, but yet he still asked God for help. He still went to God and he's like hey, I need your help. You know, I don't really Jesus was perfect. It kind of doesn't make sense, but he's fully.

Speaker 1: 8:32

God and fully man. At the same time you can see the man in him in that scenario.

Speaker 2: 8:36

So you can see a lot. Jesus did it and God provided the strength and the endurance for him, and so we, as Christians, should also ask God for the strength and looking through Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. He's the one that, he's the one that wrote it and he's the one that's going to finish it. We can't do it by ourselves. We can't do anything by ourselves.

Speaker 1: 8:59

It's always dependent upon God, always, and he's the one who gives us the wisdom to know. You know, in this case, what to avoid or what to put aside to, because, you know, sometimes it's like like David in the Psalms when he says search my heart, tell me what you want me to do, what do I need to get rid of? What's the wickedness that I'm not seeing? You know, he's the one who gives us the wisdom, and the only way we're going to know is if we ask him, and that applies in every area of life.

Speaker 2: 9:35

Yeah, I think what people should do is they should get a piece of paper and, you know, get a pencil or whatever you want, and just sit down and speak to God and ask him to show you your sins, show you your faults. Most of the time, you already know what they are, you're just not willing to admit them.

Speaker 2: 9:59

Yeah, yeah. But if you just sit there and write down the first, you know, the first thing that comes to your mind, write it down. Go to the next thing, next thing, next thing, just write, fill the page, fill a whole book if you want. Just continue to write the first thing that comes to your mind that you know or you think could be a potential problem, and you're Christian life. Write it down and confess it to God. That's what he wants you to do. So go ahead, you know, and what the problem? Yeah, you just got to take it by the horns and let God have it, you know. So, yeah, I mean for you to do that because it is very, very helpful. I've done it several times, you know it's.

Speaker 2: 10:44

It's not easy to to Be honest with yourself. That's one of the most difficult things in In life is being honest with yourself and saying, hey, you need help, and it's very obvious, especially in today's world. As Christians, we all need help and right. The more we get help from God, the better we are off as Christians and the better we are better and the better it helps the world. That's his sight, right, but you know. So just a couple things to think about. Yeah, so any who?

Speaker 1: 11:23

I guess, I think we have.

Speaker 2: 11:25

Yeah, I. I guess we need a new. Next thing, yeah would be. What are the weights?

Speaker 1: 11:33

and we could go on you know, but just few yeah, Well, I mean I wrote down several things. I mean there's a lot, there's a lot of nuance to it too.

Speaker 1: 11:43

I think yeah, you know, the main thing I know for our generation is probably our phones and social media. Well, they're, you know, your Instagram, or tiktok, or Facebook, youtube, I don't really care what it is. I Think everybody probably spends too much time on it. As a generalization, I know I spend too much time and I don't even spend that much time compared to other people. You know, I mean, and it's just not helpful. And it's not like it's bad stuff, it's just not helpful.

Speaker 1: 12:11

You know, I mean it's not growing me, it's not helping me move a direction. I'm just dulling myself and I think that that's I mean. I mean I look at this article Because I looked up a few things. I mean it says things like let's see, read this real quick. Let's see, it says 97% of teenagers use at least one major online platform, and there was another one that I looked up or it was like 30 Me something percent. Let me just go look it up so I can actually tell you instead of just speaking words. That's helpful.

Speaker 2: 12:49

Do, do, do.

Speaker 1: 12:50

Ah, here we go. A recent study has shown that 8th grader, your 8th graders, who Heavily use social media are at 27% of a greater risk for depression than the kids who use social media less.

Speaker 2: 13:03

So that's first of all, yeah, first of all. Why on earth are 8th graders on social media?

Speaker 1: 13:10

That's my first fair point.

Speaker 2: 13:11

That is a fair why on earth do they even have a phone? Like what is wrong with you people? Yeah why I didn't get a phone until I was like 16 people, I was 15.

Speaker 1: 13:24

I think good, I definitely didn't.

Speaker 2: 13:26

I mean if your kids really want a phone, go and buy them a flip phone, yeah yeah, well, they don't need all the other.

Speaker 1: 13:31

Fine, they really don't bad for you.

Speaker 2: 13:35

Ridiculous how bad it is. Well, that's wrong with society. Well, here's also another thing parents I'm gonna try to be careful with this, don't take it the wrong way but parents are no longer looking out for what's best for their children. It's more looking out for what's best for them and what they want to do. And I think that's a problem in society.

Speaker 2: 13:59

We we give the kid a phone or tablet or something just to shut them up and, you know, do whatever you want to do and yeah, it may not even be really what you want to do, necessarily, but just it is which I get it at some point it's, you know it's fine. But if they're constantly on their phone or some tablet or something, why let them give go buy toys and let them play around like a kid should, instead of just loafing their brains into marshmallows and Making them vegetables. You know, don't, don't do that to your kids. I mean sure, yeah, watching something everyone's a lot of fine. I mean, I'm not a place to that at all, but constantly, just because you have it, let's try to not do that.

Speaker 1: 14:50

You know I'm saying yeah, yeah but that's just a total, total random rant. Yeah right, that's okay, that's what we do here on young American basically, it's just friends.

Speaker 1: 15:01

But um, no, I mean along those lines, just kind of getting back on track a little bit is like. I mean, so our social media use, whether it's teenagers and eighth graders or whatever, or even our age and older, and even sometimes it's scary to see how much older people are on the socials too Kind of funny, yeah. But um, it's just. I mean, physically speaking it's not good for your mental health or whatever, because that's kind of like a big thing now. But honestly, I mean depression, anxiety, all that stuff, suicide, it all goes up Because you're always comparing yourself to someone else or, you're right, shortening your attention span and just can't process things anymore. And then it's affected our the way we communicate to.

Speaker 1: 15:46

You know, like how one of these articles that I looked up was like you know, in some ways it's nice because you can talk to people that you haven't talked to in a long time. Talk to them, yeah, you know texting or whatever. However you want to talk about it for private message or DM or whatever, but at the same time that will never beat face-to-face communication. And then when people who are on socials all the time finally do Meet a person in real life, they don't know what to do. You know what I mean? Yeah, and it's. It's. Their conversation skills are destroyed too, so it's just bad. It's a, it's a weight. It's one of those things that we need to control and not let it control us and I mean I know, for me I've done a pretty bad job of that.

Speaker 1: 16:30

It's like, all right, I'm not gonna do this. And then five minutes later it was like ah, let's go see what's going on. Hey, you know. It's like what am I doing?

Speaker 1: 16:37

This is not. It's not helping me. I mean it's, if anything, I Don't know, I just we need to take it more seriously. I think in our lives, especially as Christians, what we're putting into ourselves, mm-hmm, especially with our phones, and especially as young Americans, I think it's hurting society. You know it's a tool that can be used for good. You know, like we wouldn't be where we're at if we didn't have it.

Speaker 1: 17:05

Let's be, honest, but at the same time it can be used for great evil. Or if not even you know, and if you're not even looking at just evil and you look at just, it's a distraction, it's a weight that needs to put aside. Yeah, so I mean that's one example and we could spend forever on that. Who knows, maybe we'll get back there. But another thing could be screens in general, just television and your show, and you always got to watch the latest drama or the news. And I mean I don't know, especially when you talk about the news, to me it's like a lot of it, especially local news, is just drama. You know somebody got shot or this terrible thing happened or whatever, and that's not really helping anybody. It's just shocking you and people get addicted to that. I think you know. And so, yeah, be careful what you're addicted to.

Speaker 2: 17:56

Yeah, there's a fine line between being informed and being a a loaf, right, right, exactly. Um, I Do encourage you to be informed. It's, you know, it's good for yourself, good for society. Just, it is a good conversation starter. Yeah, I'll do that but, better for worse. Don't, don't let it consume you, which I mean is true with with anything, honestly, whether that sports, politics, news, social media, it you can let this consume you and let it take over you know your whole being, and you know all the stuff that goes on in social media are on the news, half of its focus and then the other half is worthless, right most of the time.

Speaker 2: 18:52

Yeah, so Again, I encourage you to look out with or look out for or look for new stations that would be beneficial to you the actually report facts and not just what they want to say, or some kind of agenda which we can talk about that and we already have everybody's got some sort of agenda Be honest, but or at least an angle on it or a way they say things. I Think to them.

Speaker 1: 19:28

Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 1: 19:30

I was just gonna say I think too, with even the new stations that we characterize as being more Factual or whatever, they still have a lot of stuff where it's just noise. They're just reporting true drama. Yeah, and yeah, I I'm like I used to be really like into this and I would listen to the podcast every day and read all the articles and you know the whole nine yards, and then I was like, is this helping me? No, doesn't actually matter, not really. It's just a bunch of noise. It's just one guy called this guy a name and then he called him back and that was about the extent of it. You know what I mean. Right, I don't think that's really helping anybody. It's just we've become so accustomed to it in America. We got to get our daily dose of drama in.

Speaker 1: 20:13

Yeah more than one way to do that, you know, but the news is definitely one way to do it. Yeah, I Mean. I'm just saying I mean, even if you find something more in line with the way you think, whatever factual, be careful how much you consume of it as right. Just because it's better doesn't mean it's what you need. That's what I would say.

Speaker 2: 20:37

Yeah, and then I guess, another thing we can bring up the sports, and I honestly never really been a Huge fan of sports, same, I mean, I like I'll play, sure, but watching it I Don't get the thrill, you know. Okay someone's shooting the ball through a basket like who cares?

Speaker 1: 21:00

It's like why.

Speaker 2: 21:02

But I mean, I get it, it can be fun for some people, but don't let it consume you, you know, focus on what you're here for. What's your purpose. You see, go, if I got it into, please God. And Football doesn't please God, I'm pretty sure you know. Yeah, we just, you know you can go through all the sports and whatever and you know I have to.

Speaker 2: 21:35

Them are Scheduled on Sundays and so people will skip church and people will, you know, just do a bunch of nonsense and it's like come on, you trust me in church, you need, how, get off your your phone, get off the TV and let's get things done, yeah, but um, and then Politics, that's a that's a big one and I want to be careful with this one, because I do believe you should be involved in your politics. Yeah, you should know what's going on in your politics, but Don't let it consume you again with everything. Don't let it consume you. This one is more realistic To me, anyways, because you can get so involved in type. You just want, you know, things to go your way or things to happen, and you're like, man, come on, just do it.

Speaker 1: 22:26

But we have to remember, we are.

Speaker 2: 22:29

Right. We have to remember that we are Christians before we are Americans. This is something that is very important. We are Christians before we are married, so that means we should do what God would have us to do, rather than what we want us to do.

Speaker 1: 22:46

Yeah, yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2: 22:48

Okay, so again, putting aside every weight. That could be politics, that could be sports, okay, you name it. It could be that put it aside and Look to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of a faith. So the whole point of this is to look through Jesus and Become a Christian like you should be. You know?

Speaker 1: 23:10

Yeah live the Christian life the way it's supposed to be lived, I keep.

Speaker 2: 23:14

This is what this whole podcast is for. It's for revive one, for people to wake up. It's like hey, come on, let's go, we're Christians, let's act like it. And it just come on, people, you know, I guess I can't overemphasize it, I already have enough.

Speaker 1: 23:32

So like, come on, yeah, yeah well, anyways, you know, to your point, it's like it's important. I think that if you are a good Christian, then You're you're gonna want to be aware of your politics, because that's your responsibility as an American right, because if you're a good Christian Then you're the right kind of American too.

Speaker 1: 23:52

But you know, like you said, if that's what's consuming you, it's so easy, I think, for people to get out of, been out of place, you know, and so focused on the problem that they don't remember the solution. And the solution is Jesus Christ. So if you start living for him right and do it what he wants you to do, then the problem is gonna fix itself, right, I mean, and it may not be overnight, and maybe it won't be till he comes back. Well, one way the other, that's the truth.

Speaker 1: 24:17

So I'm wearing your head in the sand and start getting your act together, if you look at history.

Speaker 2: 24:23

The people in government have taken out God out of the public schools, out of government itself. They've taken God completely out of it, and you can see, as a result, we are declining. And so when we, as a society, get back to Morals and values that are in the Bible and that are Christlike, then we see an increase in everything. Yeah, just because the things in the Bible are practical, right, and they're smart, they're wise. That's why they're in the Bible, you know. So when we Remove God and we remove the Bible from society, we're removing values, we're moving Things that are essential to humanity right, and you're replacing them with what I feel like, what, yeah, what, whatever one else feels like, and it's enough of this nonsense. Nobody cares what you feel like it, that's another thing.

Speaker 2: 25:26

When did we start caring about what people felt like Like? When, why? Why are we doing this? We don't care if you're a furry, we don't care if you're. Okay, let me be careful. But people, enough with the feelings, let's go on hard, cold, facts. Okay, that's all I'm gonna say, because this is too much nonsense. When is this stop, honestly. When is this nonsense stop?

Speaker 1: 25:51

Well, we get revival back.

Speaker 2: 25:52

That's when exactly, and I'm fed up with this. It's oh, it's just so annoying Because that's all you see. Yeah, on the news, whatever, and it's. Come on, people, enough with your feelings.

Speaker 1: 26:07

Yeah, well, I mean, and here's the thing, the reason that feelings have taken over is because when you Replace God and objective truth, which you can can be derived from the Bible you replace that with subjective truth, and you and your feelings, because your feelings rule you and so, right, then you take away things like the sanctity of life and that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and made in God's image, and and, and you have nothing to base anything on so you can do whatever you want, and that's what we're seeing. The fruit of is we took it out, we took that out of schools, we took it out of government, we took it out of our social and cultural lives and we can see the fallout. That's why we have you know, that's why we have the problems that we have in public schools, that's why we have the problems that we have, you know, and all the LGBTQ Stuff, and that's why we have the problems that we have in government and we have the problems that we have with abortion, and even you can see, in other countries they're starting to bring in euthanasia, and that's gonna come here pretty quick, if I had to guess, because whatever your Canada does, we do next. And so, yeah, that's why is because when you take God out of life, then Human life has no more value and your body, it has no more value either. And that's how we've gotten where we've gotten, and that's why we need to have revival and why Christians need to care About their spiritual lives and living the Christian life. And that's why they need to care about their politics, because it actually matters and instead of complaining and waiting for the sky to fall, if we got our act together.

Speaker 1: 27:38

You know, there's still people out there who need to be saved and there's still time to turn the country around, even just on a political level. But the only way we can do that is if we quit complaining and start acting on what God's word says, because he's given us the tools that we need. You know, it's not our power or our sound mind, or our or our love. It's his love. He's not giving us a spirit of fear, so let's act on it. He's given us the Great Commission to go, so let's act on it. We have the Holy Spirit in dwelling us, in us, and so let's act on it and go, do what we're supposed to and, if we can, do that then we can fix the problem.

Speaker 2: 28:15

Yeah, that's an important point to bring up. Is it's not through our love, it's not through you know what we want?

Speaker 1: 28:23

to do, or what we don't want to do.

Speaker 2: 28:24

It's through Jesus love. I look. I'm not gonna sit there and Love a furry. I'm not gonna sit there and love a trans. I'm not gonna sit there and love Whatever you name it. I'm not gonna sit there and do it. Okay, I'm just it's wrong and it needs to stop. All right, but Jesus is the one that loves you. He loves the person and not the sin. That's. That's where I'm headed with this and.

Speaker 2: 29:05

We, as Christians, we need to look past not, you know, listen to what I'm saying. That, what I'm not saying. We need to look past their faults and love them, because God loves them, right, okay, does that make sense? Mm-hmm, I'm not saying we should accept them. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying we should love them and share the gospel with them.

Speaker 2: 29:30

Sometimes, as Christians, we look at them and we are disgusted, and rightfully so, because it is gross and it's nasty, all this Stuff that's going on. And To a certain extent, I understand that there are some people that are genuinely confused and to those people, I I genuinely Understand, you know, like, if you're confused, okay, you're confused, that's. But the other Majority of them are just seeking for attention. They're just looking for, right, yeah, oh, what's, what's new and trendy and what can I do to get attention? And I have no patience for that and I don't think any one should have any patience for that. So that's out in the air and let it filter as you may, but that's where I stand and, yeah, I'm staying with me. Welcome on board. But yeah, you know, this nonsense needs to stop and yeah, it needs to be said. No one is saying it, and so I'm gonna say it and that's where I stand. So, yeah, join me or no, that's your decision but God's on my side and we always win.

Speaker 1: 30:51

Yep, I think something too that I think you could say with that is that the only way that you can, shall we say, fix the problem, the only way that you can bring that person to an understanding that is true and to come to the knowledge of the Lord is is by Showing them God's love and you can't do that if you refuse to interact with them completely Right now.

Speaker 1: 31:20

That also brings in the so where do you draw the line? Right as well, you know? How far do you go? I think that's a hard question. That's, you know, I don't know I Could be wrong.

Speaker 1: 31:36

I think a lot of that's between you and the Lord where you draw your line as to how far you go. But I think what I'm saying is Just don't go to the point where you just never Speak to a person, especially if it's a person that you know. If you just burn the bridge, then they're never gonna get right. The Lord anyway right.

Speaker 2: 31:58

And I mean you basically said that, yeah, but the only book that some person will read is you. You are the one that that you know. They may never read the Bible, they may never come to church, they may never do any of that, but you may be the one that Shows them. This is God, this is love, this is Jesus Christ and perfection, and this is the Christian life. This is what it actually means to be a Christian. And when we Act like Christians, you look at the word itself Christ. Christians is Christ like.

Speaker 2: 32:35

So when we act Christ like, it then shows a reflex who we are or who we belong to, and so on the other side, we see if we're not Christ like, that then shows what are we doing? Why? Why aren't we acting as we should? And we're giving them the wrong message and we're showing them things that they shouldn't see. Now, I get it, we're all human, we're all you know we're. We're human. We're not perfect, I get it. We fall sometimes, but we need to make the most of what God has given us and be good stewards of what God has given us and just live the Christian life.

Speaker 2: 33:20

Yeah, it's really not that difficult, as long as you read your Bible and you pray and you ask God for his help. That's I know it sounds simple, but that's pretty much playing yeah, there's, no, there's no. Yeah, I don't know. There's no hard thing to it really, it just, yeah, putting aside the weight. That's. That's the hard part is giving up yourself and, you know, submitting to God.

Speaker 2: 33:50

And I think I don't remember where that verse is, but it's when you know, when temptations come, it's submit to God, resist the devil, and then he will flee from you. First of all, you have to submit to God. You have to submit to you know, things that you, that you don't want to do, or the things that you want to do. You have to put them under subjection and you have to give them over to God, putting aside the weight, and. And then you have to resist the devil.

Speaker 2: 34:17

So it does take effort on your part. You have to resist him, resist the devil, and then he will flee from you. So, trust in God, resist the devil, and then you know and the devil is gonna keep on coming back, he doesn't go anywhere. Unfortunately, and and that's also another thing we talked about is after we have a victory. That's when we are most vulnerable, because we're like oh man, I got this, I don't need this anymore. And then it was like half you thought, and then he comes back and he jabs you and he gets you, and Then you're like oh crap, I just messed up and you gotta start from square one again. But you always have to be on guard.

Speaker 1: 35:04

You always have to, you know you're smithing, god, you had to be ready, right.

Speaker 2: 35:11

That you always have to have your guard up. That's true with anything. Just always be on the guard, always be on the watch for, yeah, whatever, but um, any is this yeah, the, the devil's bow is bent and he's just waiting for you to put the shield down.

Speaker 2: 35:31

Well, yeah, yeah. And the devil is smart. He's been around a lot longer than all of us have, so he knows how humans work. He has it down to a science, and we need to focus on God and focus on our relationship with God, because when that is Strong and when it's growing, the devil can't touch us.

Speaker 1: 35:54

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: 35:54

You know yeah well, that's because you're where you're supposed to be. If you're not where you're supposed to be, then you're wide open, right, and that's not God's fault, that's your fault, mm-hmm, you know it's kind of like along with resisting the devil. You know that classic illustration. We hear like, oh, there's this bad show on TV, but every time it comes on I just pray and like, alright, help me resist temptation, but you don't turn off the TV, even though the remote's right there. You know, if you get your act together, then you're gonna have the presence of mind to use your brain and turn off the TV, you put the phone down or whatever the deal is and that's part of it is you need to. Number one, if you're where you're supposed to be, with the Lord and submitting yourself to the Lord, you won't be in that situation in the first place.

Speaker 1: 36:44

Well, let's say you're in that situation, then have the presence of mind to resist the devil, put and put it down, turn it off, whatever the situation is, and Stop and lay aside the weights. And I think that's important too is like, you know, I think about me or other people that I know, and it's like oh yeah, I have this problem, I just can't get rid of it. That's like, well, have you put the phone down? Have you turned the TV off? Have you Done whatever it is you have to do to make it stop? And it's like, well, no, I just kind of, you know, slowed around and, yeah, you. I think one thing we need to say, especially with distractions in this episode, is be intentional about what you do, what you watch what.

Speaker 2: 37:28

What.

Speaker 1: 37:31

What you're reading for politics, what you're watching for sports. Not saying you can't entertain yourself, but be intentional about it and be very careful about it. I think that's half the battle, right. There is like Especially I mean that's like a doom scroll thing even just on a practical level and on a bigger level is like you're not, it's not intentional, you're just scrolling for kicks, or you're just watching TV for kicks, or you're just reading the politics for fun. And that's when the devil, that's when you're letting that, that's when the door is open.

Speaker 2: 38:01

Right, especially when you're going on your phone.

Speaker 1: 38:03

You know they have bet there's junk on there all the time. You know it's so easy to just be like, oh Yep, and the devil's waiting for that, because he knows you're wide open. If you're not using your brain, you're not being intentional with stuff. So you need to be intentional and if you know something is not helping you grow, whether it's bad or not, maybe that's something you shouldn't be doing anymore, because if it's not helping you grow closer to the Lord, then it's probably a weight and it's holding you back. That's what I would say is be intentional with what you do, just on a practical Application levels. Be intentional with the way you do things.

Speaker 1: 38:42

Yeah, because that's gonna help you submit to the Lord and resist the devil.

Speaker 2: 38:47

Yeah, that's a good point, it's really really solid. But, um, so I mean, on a practical level, like Jacob was saying, put your phone away, put your whatever it is, put it away. And honestly I Don't want to spiritualize everything, but let's be honest here put your phone away and how often do you read your Bible? Pull your Bible out. Why don't we read that anymore? You know, yeah, we have so much free time on our hands. Why don't we put the phone away, put your TV away and pull out your Bible, pull out a by dictionary and just go through the Bible and read and you don't understand a word. Look at it. You got a, you got a lot, you got a dictionary right there. Let's, let's get you know, let's get practical people. Come on, yeah, so you know avoid or pray.

Speaker 1: 39:38

You know, I don't think we pray enough. Do all, no, no, no, not at all, not at all. I Mean maybe it feels like you're not doing anything, but you can do it while you're doing stuff. We need to pray, right.

Speaker 2: 39:49

You don't have to close your eyes and fold your hands. Yeah, you can go about your business and speak to the Lord. You know it's, it's not complicated, you just have to do it, and I know it sounds easier than it is, but you gotta take the first step sometime right, and might as well be now.

Speaker 1: 40:08

So, yeah well here's another thing real quick, because I just think, had this thought about, like because this podcast is for people our age and so I think it's very important for people our age and for you and me to to pray, and yes, I think we need to look for opportunities. Just, sir huh, if you know what I'm saying and yeah, so instead of you know we're saying, lay aside the weight. But once you lay aside the weight, pick up what needs to be picked up, pick up the word of God, start praying, because we don't know that we're young and dumb, you know that's kind of. The phrase is like oh yeah, you don't know anything yet. Well, we don't. But the way we find out is through God's word, by prayer, because he's gonna lead you in the way. You should go and give you the whiz and you need when you need it. Your phone and all the shorts and reels aren't, and so, yep you. It's extremely important for young. I don't think young people are intentional enough.

Speaker 2: 41:06

We just know and right at.

Speaker 1: 41:08

I mean I just float and I'm done floating, I'm tired of right. It's that that there's no time for that. You know there's things to do and there's work to be done.

Speaker 2: 41:19

Right and we only have a certain amount of years to get what needs to be done, and we don't even know if we have your time.

Speaker 2: 41:27

Right, it's not guaranteed, it's just assumed that we have that and we're wasting our time scrolling through other people's junk. It's like Put your phone away, scroll through your life, scroll through your brain. Delete some stuff that needs to be deleted, yeah, and Import some new stuff. Like, come on, people, get in the word yeah and Pray. It's very important. Prayer is half the battle, honestly, because prayer, it does occupy your mind. It keeps your mind busy. You're thinking about spiritual things. You're thinking about God. You're thinking about Things that will glorify God. You're thinking about your spiritual self and when you are Praying, you're you're asking God for help. You're asking, you're telling God look, the Lord already knows, yes, but he wants you to know. That's the thing he wants you to know. He already knows, he's waiting for you to realize that, hey, I'm an idiot, I don't know anything and and he's just waiting. He's like you're so close, but you're not thinking there yet ask and maybe you get an answer.

Speaker 1: 42:34

You know.

Speaker 2: 42:36

It's like oh, but you know.

Speaker 1: 42:42

Here's another thing here, yeah, is, I think, going prayer and Bible reading and I think, even in my own life, for sure I gotta get my act together on this one is memorizing more scripture and, yeah, having the Bible you know at your, at your fingertips or at your brain, because you know that, you know those intrusive thoughts when it's like that flaming arrow gets shot into your brain.

Speaker 2: 43:07

Well, how do you?

Speaker 1: 43:08

fight off the flaming arrow? Well, the only way is with you know, the truth and the breastplate of righteousness, and the gospel, the preparation of peace, or yeah, I think that's what is yeah. In Ephesians 6, and the only way you fight it off is with scripture. I mean, you can see that from Jesus. When he was tempted in the wilderness, he quoted scripture to the devil. Why are you supposed? To fight the devil if you don't have any scripture in you, you know, and the same three verses aren't gonna serve you all the time.

Speaker 1: 43:35

Right so be memorizing God's word, be in God's word, meditate on God's word and be prepared for when the, you know, the lion comes and and the arrows fly, because if you're not prepared, then you're gonna fall. And that's what's hurting Christians today is we're not living the Christian life, we don't know God's word, need to memorize more of it and so that we can defend ourselves against the arrows and it's not just the defense too, like we said before it's, you know, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It's speaking of the church and we're part of the church, and the gates of hell are a defensive weapon. So that means we need to take the battle To the devil, and the only way you're gonna do that is if you're prepared and you have a sort of spirit and you're doing what the Lord wants you to do. Anyways, that was my rant.

Speaker 2: 44:20

Another thing that surprises me actually is Just the simple basic Bible stories. Christians don't know those even. Yeah, you know it's. It's very sad, it's basic, it's basic stuff. People should know Simple, basic stuff and they don't. And it's like, how do you not know that? You know, and I was fortunate enough to be raised in a Christian home where, you know, I went through Christian school. I was always, you know, reading the Bible. I was always brought up in in the Bible and you know I'm fortunate enough to know what's in the Bible. I mean, I obviously don't know all of it, there's no way but I have learned the simple basic truths about. You know the stories and it just surprises me how little Christians know about the Bible. And it's, it's Awakening. It needs to be awakening the people. See, I don't think people take Christianity seriously.

Speaker 1: 45:31

That's true, it's a label and they call it a day, right, and that's true.

Speaker 2: 45:37

Yeah, it's a label and that's very, that's very good. Like, for instance, you look up what is the religion of Christianity and you come up with Muslim are not Muslim. There's Catholic, yeah, catholic, mormon, presbyterian, all this stuff, and I'm not saying that those people aren't Christians, but I'm saying it's a label. Mm-hmm, it is not. You're confessing? Your sins to a human being that is flawed, who he himself Doesn't even know anything.

Speaker 2: 46:19

He himself is a drunkard, and yeah whatever, as you are right and so like who? Who thinks telling your sin to a man is a good idea? Let's just be honest here. Why? Why is that a thing? Okay, you should be able to speak to a God that is perfect and Confess your sins to him. There's no me or besides. She's Christ, and that is the point. It's just, christianity has a label, and I I like that. You mentioned that, because it's very true and people like oh yeah, I'm Christian, but yet your actions show the other Good you're not either opposite.

Speaker 2: 47:09

Right, you're not even trying, like you call yourself a Christian, but yet what are you doing? Like there's?

Speaker 1: 47:18

no evidence, there's no fruit. You don't look like one, you don't talk like one. I'm sure don't act like one.

Speaker 2: 47:25

Yeah, but anyways, another random rant, but a necessary rant, yeah, anyways, let's get on with it. Um so, on a spiritual level, what is the Bible say about time instructions? Well, first of all, our focus should be on him, right? He's the author and furniture of our faith, so our focus should be on him. So in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 24, it says no man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God and name it. So this verse saying you can't serve two masters, you can't serve yourself and you can't serve God. It's either God or yourself, and you know when you try to serve yourself and you serve God, it's a pathetic attempt at Christianity. Stop fooling yourself, stop fooling everyone else. Enough with the nonsense. It's one or the other right and commit fully to it, because we have enough fake Christian, we have enough for fan of these going around. We don't need another one. Own up to it and and yep, it needs to be real to you. It really does.

Speaker 2: 48:42

Christianity is a lifestyle. It's not a label, it's not Something that someone created. It's a lifestyle. It's how we live our life. There's. That's it, yep, and I'm sick and tired of people that Call themselves Christians and they act like the stinking devil, they act like the world, they act. There's nothing different about them, and I'm sick and tired of it and people need to change. Yep, it's a simple fact. Yeah, you know, and People need to hear it, because I'm fed up enough. I'm fed up.

Speaker 2: 49:18

Imagine what God feels you call yourself a Christian and yet you act just as bad as the devil and and just yeah, imagine, people, what God feels like. You're turning yourself into something that, look, the Lord died for us. He's, he came up himself and we can't even have the decency to respect that. We only have the decency to love God enough to give up our thinking self and Serve God. Enough is enough, people.

Speaker 1: 49:53

Yeah it's true hurts me.

Speaker 1: 49:55

Yeah, well, I think, because you mentioned Like waking up and it reminded me of the great awakening and how that was a time when in American history, where many people did wake up and realized that that was a time when, like now, everyone wore the label you know over a Christian or we're good and over whatever, but they weren't. They didn't go to church, they didn't act like it, they didn't look like it, and and that's when the Lord rekindled the fire and we had a great awakening. We need to have another great awakening in America and it's about time we did. It's time that Christians start acting like Christians and if you're not a Christian, then Now is today is the day of salvation. You know the Lord came to this earth and he died for you and he's. He gave up his life for you to conquer sin and death so that you don't have to experience eternity and hell with the devil and separate it from God. And he loves you and he wants you to accept his gifts so that you can not be separated from God anymore and spend eternity with him. That's the whole point and you know that's the main message of the podcast.

Speaker 1: 51:09

Is revival and Christians waking up and our Christians supposed to Wake up if we don't lay aside the weight? And how we supposed to wake up if we don't look? If we're looking like the rest of the World? I mean, we got the scales over our eyes. We can't see our own hypocrisy. And it's time that you know, I think, because it's one of those things, too, where people say, oh, we should be doing this and that's good. And then, as soon as they get out of church, they go back and do whatever they want right?

Speaker 1: 51:36

Well, it's time you started acting on what you saying and not just saying it out loud for saying words it's just that's. That's vanity and vain words and vain jangling, like we talked about in the last episode. You know you're just speaking stuff for kicks and giggles and you need to know why you do things too. I think that's another problem. Why a lot of young people leave churches is they ask questions and then their parents are like Well, that's cuz, her grandpa did it and his grandpa did it and his grandpa did it. That's not a good reason. You need to have a biblical reason, whether it's chapter and verse or a principle put forward in the Bible. You need to have a reason for why you're doing it and start acting on the reason, not just saying you're gonna do. That was my version of the rant, yeah.

Speaker 2: 52:13

Also, I Certain types of Christianity like charismatic or I don't even know what you call it. I guess charismatic and a cost. I'm just gonna something like that. It's, it's a feeling, it's, it's a movement. It's nothing concrete, it's nothing solid, it's just. Oh, this is the way I feel for the two seconds that I'm in church, that I'm in this. Make me feel good. Worship service.

Speaker 2: 52:38

Whatever the heck, you want to call it yeah and it's. It's nothing Solid, it's nothing concrete, it's. Oh, I'm gonna serve God for two minutes because this guy said something that was inspiring. And Enough of that. People, come on, get in the word of God and let God speak to you, not this other man that looks like a. You know, yeah, I'm trying to be, you know, politically correct in the most polite way, which I don't believe in, that nonsense anyways, but I'm not trying to, you know, get myself canceled. But People need to stick and wake up and realize that it's not about what some, it's someone that goes on some past is what the Bible says right and he needs no longer on that guy Exactly like, sure, he may have something good to say every once in a while and it might be inspiring, sure, but that should not be the extent of your Christianity.

Speaker 2: 53:43

Just going to church every Once a month, if that, or every Sunday, or not every Sunday, or every Easter or holiday or whatever the heck you want to call it. It's not enough we To come down because pretty wired, yes, very wide. It's something that I'm very passionate about. If you can't help but, look, in the nicest way possible, wake up and and I'm not necessarily, well, yes, I am, actually I am Look, with this podcast, we are trying to stir people up. We are trying to Encourage people to live the Christian life. We're trying to encourage revival, and if God wants us To bring the revival, so be it. If not, let us encourage it, at least let's Do something together.

Speaker 2: 54:49

Yeah, let's come on, let's spark the fire, let's pour some gas on it, let's light this puppy up, let's go yeah so Thank you, you know come on it's just, yeah, I think I'm tired of it and people need to hear it, and so I'm gonna say it. And look, I know not everyone listens to this podcast, but if you want to listen to this podcast, share this podcast, because we are trying to share the gospel, we're trying to stir up Christians and it's not about self, you know, self promotion or self, and snacking or whatever we're not for the glory and the fame of it.

Speaker 2: 55:34

We are solely in it for people to grow as Christians. We are in it to see revival. We're in it to see people saved, and people need Christ. They're dying by the minute. And what are we doing? Scrolling through our phones, growing through society, going through life, and we don't even care. And so I'm asking you to care for your neighbor, care for somebody, share this podcast, and I, just you know it's necessary, yep and Anyways, yeah, do us all a favor, and Just you know share with us and what God read the Bible, go to church and Wake up.

Speaker 2: 56:25

Yeah, anyways, moving on now.

Speaker 1: 56:29

Yeah, well, we'll probably get back to it. But one thing with getting back to laying side weights, because that Obviously the secondary point to this, because we've talked a lot about revival and that's the main point. But Philippians 4 8 says finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, what's or things are honest, what's where things are just, whatsoever things are pure, what's where things are lovely, whatsoever things are what's, whoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. So here's the question how do you know what is a weight, how do you know what to put aside, how do you know what is sin, even? And how do you know, let's say, if a thought is the right thought or not? Well, the answer to that is go through this list.

Speaker 1: 57:10

We've talked about this in the last episode too, when we went through 1st Timothy, chapter 1. But Go through the list. Is it true? If it doesn't said that box, get rid of it. If it checks that box, go to the next one. Is it honest? Well, if it's not honest, get rid of it. Is it just? If it's not, get rid of it, go through the list. Okay, memorize this verse. This is a verse to memorize Philippians 4 8.

Speaker 1: 57:30

Finally, brethren, what's where things are true, what sort of things are honest? What's where I think you're just. What's whoever things are pure? What sort of things are lovely? What's whoever things are of good report, if there been any virtue and if there been any praise. Think on these things. There are things in our lives, even in my life and I, you would probably say in your life and Lives others, that we see, that don't check these boxes, that we don't need, that aren't bringing praise there, aren't virtuous, they're not a good report and you know that's one thing of good report. You know you need to let's go back to politics. You need to be aware, but if you don't always need to be, you know reading the depressing stuff, if it's not a good report, then you know be careful and you might need to get out of your life. Let's be honest.

Speaker 1: 58:13

Yeah be dwelling on the things that are gonna keep your focus where it needs to be, and if it's not a good report, get rid of it. And if it's if it's Not praiseworthy, get rid of it. And there's so many things that we see on a day-to-day basis is just a flood of information, especially in this country. You're just flooding information all the time and it doesn't check these boxes. It's just stagnant and it's it's worthless and we can't have revival if that's what we're filled with. What are you filled with? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit, or are you filled with all the other junk that's on in the world, on your Facebook and your Instagram? Okay, right, what are you filled with? You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with his word and praying and Looking for opportunities to serve.

Speaker 1: 58:54

I think that's one thing Christians need to do more of is is Quit complaining. Let's say it's your church. Quit complaining about things that are in your church and start going and fixing the problem yourself, because someone's got to step up and if you're always waiting for somebody else to step up, it's never gonna happen. You be the one to act and if you're young, you've got the body to do it in the brain to do it, you be the one to act. Okay. And then if there's like a ministry need that you see, you know whether maybe it's kids or maybe it's a nursing home Ministry, or maybe it's music or I don't really care what it is or even, like I say we get more people to do podcasts like this, find the opportunity and go, figure out how to do it the best you can and honor the Lord.

Speaker 1: 59:35

Why are you waiting around? There's things to be done, and if you're waiting for someone older than you to do it, then you pray about it and see if you're the one who's supposed to be doing it, because it's time to move and we can't wait for everybody else. We just got to go now, you know. And if you're waiting for everybody else, you'll be waiting for eternity. That's what I say. You can't wait. The time is now. I mean, even with salvation, today is the day of salvation. There's people out there who need to hear it today, and if you're not gonna go tell them, then how are they supposed to know? Like, yeesh, look for the opportunities, look for the chance and live your life in a way, that's an example, right? Anyways, that was my part of the rant, but yeah, um.

Speaker 2: 1:00:23

All right, let's read first Corinthians 735 and this I speak for your own prophet, not that I am a caches narrowing to you, but for that which is comely and that ye may send them to avoid without distraction. Look, paul is saying hey, I'm doing this For your own good, I'm doing this. The Lord may be glorified, I'm doing this for the Lord. That is necessarily, or you know, anyone else, but it's for the Lord because he deserves it. People, he really does. You look at what God has given us. You look at what all he's done for us as Christians, even if you're not a Christian. All that he's done for us and there's no possible way to repay him. The bare minimum that we can do is try, attempt to live for him, and that doesn't even compare to what he's done for us. And I know I've been passionate about. You know this. But Look, people, I am genuinely Asking you to live the Christian life. Yes, it's difficult, yes, it's not what we necessarily want, but it's what God wants and that's what God deserves.

Speaker 1: 1:01:44

And yeah, it doesn't matter what you want anyway right.

Speaker 2: 1:01:50

Put aside your wants and your desires because they're not important. They're simply not. We're going through life, floating around, scrolling through whatever, and nothing is getting done. And no, I'm preaching to myself as well. You know I'm not perfect. But why, george? I'm sick and trying to be yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:02:19

We all are well, maybe not all of us. I know I'm trying to grow and a Lot of this has been like wow, you gotta fix that. You got to fix that. It's time to change. It's time to change America. It's trying to change people.

Speaker 1: 1:02:35

Listening this, I don't. Who cares? It doesn't matter what everybody else thinks. That's another thing I think we have an issue that's a distraction is what other people think. It doesn't matter what other people think, it matters what God thinks.

Speaker 1: 1:02:48

And If that's not enough for you, then you need to get your act together and get back in God's word and start praying about it, get filled with the Holy Spirit and start doing what the Lord wants you to do and start serving where he wants you to serve, because he needs you and he needs you to do what's right. And if you're too worried about what all your friends think, then maybe you should go get some new friends. Get friends who are gonna encourage you to do right and Moving the way that you're supposed to and do what you're supposed to. That's the kind of people you need. And you need to get your family in the place that you know you need to be and you need to be the man and the woman or the woman that God created you to be and start doing what he wants. That's how we change things. This is how we get revival in America. This is how we change America in every other front. It starts with you and spiritual revival and doing what the Lord wants you to do.

Speaker 1: 1:03:36

Laying inside the wake that's the goal. Lay aside the weight, press towards the mark For Jesus. And he's our ultimate example, and you know he, I mean, and we can see even the ultimate example of how he came To this earth. We talked about this already. You know he went through the pain. He became like as we are, yet without sin. He's fully God and fully man and he understands us and he died for us. And, like Joe said, I mean, that's all we can do is Try to our best to serve him, and the way we do that is get rid of the weight and have a Bible and start doing what we're supposed to. Anyways, I Don't know where else to go with that, but maybe got me here.

Speaker 2: 1:04:19

No, I'm. I think, just like Lord, you've wicked your heart. Yes, he's gonna be king.

Speaker 1: 1:04:29

Well, alright, one thing I want to say before we go that's more on a practical podcast update type level is we have been doing five-minute Fridays every week, so we do two episodes every week, and then I have released our first video podcast on YouTube, and so if you would be interested in watching the video version of this Podcast and I would go check that out it's a young America, same symbol and logo as everything else, and you can go check that out and we should be catching up to date with those, hopefully relatively soon, depending on upload speeds and that sort of thing. But, yeah, thanks for listening and we'll talk to you people later. Have revival and get your act together and we'll be praying for you and you pray for us.

Speaker 2: 1:05:19

And we'll get this thing turned around. I needed yep.

Speaker 1: 1:05:23

Thank you for listening to young America. If you enjoyed the show, please consider sharing it with a friend, and if you want to see more content from us, please check the links in the description below and consider Supporting the show. God bless America.