In First John chapter two verse fifteen the Apostle John makes a statement that applies to everyone who calls him/herself a child of God. Here John warns us: “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.” “The world” is everything God rejects. Of course there are many things in the world that are neither good nor evil. Money is not bad in and of itself. It’s what can be done with money that is either good or evil. God’s true saints are IN the world but not OF the world. We are surrounded by and deal constantly with the sinful aspects of the world. However, we must have no association with them.

The world is allowed into our living rooms full force and unfiltered through the television, the radio, the internet, the newspaper, magazines and through worldly people. Most of God’s saints live with worldly people–spouses, siblings, etc. Television accounts for most of our contact with the world outside the family situation. In First Corinthians 2:12 the Apostle Paul reminds us that there is a “spirit of the world.” That spirit is of the devil. That spirit is now in control of what fills the screens and pages that claim so much of man’s time and attention. I have been in situations in which I was the only person in the room who was not staring into a hand-held screen. I can assure you not one of those people was reading Scripture. We are commanded to “redeem the time” we have been given in this life (Eph. 5:16). Through his antichrist spirit, Satan controls most of what goes on around us most of the time. Have you noticed that cell phone owners can do nothing without their hand-held brains. People in the gym can’t exercise without them. Diners can’t eat without them. Shoppers can’t shop without them. People can’t even go to the restroom without their ever-present companion. Screens and pages determine much of what modern man thinks about. We think about what enters our minds. Most of what enters is what we want to enter. In this way the Spirit of antichrist determines what most people like. New Testament writers tell us that the spirit of antichrist was then in the world. He has not left. The ever-increasing level of sin and degradation in the world is living proof of that fact.

The Lord told me many years ago that television would be the major cause of the church’s falling away from Him. About that time I saw newspaper magazine insert which featured a nationally-known preacher who was singing the praises of the “big eye” that had become a must-have item for the home. The front page of the insert showed the pastor and his family gathered around their television. From the looks on their faces one would think they were worshiping it. In the eyes of God, they were. In fact, that family’s religion was tied directly to the t.v. which, by one of his statements, proclaimed to the world that the t.v. was the central and most important item in their lives. He said that the Lord had revealed to him how important television was by announcing that GOD TURNED ON HIS TELEVISION FOR HIM.

I believe him. I believe that a god did in fact turn on his t.v. for him. The problem involves the identity of the “god” who performed that miracle. The “god of this world” did that (2 Cor. 4:4). Being ignorant of the power of the devil, this false prophet never questioned the identity of his spiritual helper. Never underestimate the power of Satan. Not all spiritual or mental “voices” are from God. Some are, but most are not. I know, for I have heard both of them.

Before I obeyed the Lord and stopped watching television I was a sports addict, especially boxing. One night I was walking toward the living room to watch a boxing match. I heard God tell me to stop doing what I was planning to do. As I continued walking I told Him that if He would take away my desire, I would not watch any more boxing. His spiritual “voice” arrived instantly and was so powerful that I did not take another step. I did an instant about-face and never looked back. Today I do not watch t.v., watch movies, read newspapers or novels or listen to the radio. I do not own a cell phone. Why? BECAUSE THEY BRING THE WORLD INTO MY MIND (HEB.–HEART). Notice that what is shown on t.v., in movies, on printed materials and the internet and broadcasted on the radio IS ALL ABOUT THE WORLD AND THE THINGS OF THE WORLD.

The “things of the world” are not only sinful, they are addictive. For example, how much time do you spend staring at a screen each day? Compare that to the amount of time you give to the study of God’s Holy Bible. This comparison reveals where your heart (mind) is, what is most important to you and what gives you the most pleasure. We do most what pleases us most. We become addicted to that which pleases us. Are you addicted to the Bible? I am.

The Scriptures tell us that the eyes are like windows which are designed to allow light into the home. God tells us that the eyes are like lamps in that they reveal to us what exists around us and shines it into our inner beings. In Matthew 6:22-24 Jesus warns us to be careful what we look at. Science tells us that what enters our minds remains in our minds. The same is true for sounds. The things we see and hear are embedded in our minds which is why we remember seeing or hearing things that we have seen and heard some time in the past, sometimes many years in the past. Scientifically, this phenomenon is called “deja vu.”

The mind/heart is like a sponge. It soaks up everything that touches it. Like a sponge, what the mind absorbs lingers inside it until it is acted upon. Then what is there is brought to the surface and we remember it. It matters not whether what we absorb and remember is good or bad. The process is the same. For this reason we must be careful what we deliberately watch, read or listen to BECAUSE IT DOES NOT LEAVE. The key is to not allow the bad to enter in the first place if possible. It is not always possible to do that.

Today, television and other visual instruments provide much of what the average person allows into his/her heart. What we absorb mentally are the “lights” (Heb.–lamps) that fill our minds with the “things of the world.” What we CHOOSE to see and hear reveals where our heart is–what pleases us. The vast majority of things provided by television, movies, books, radio, the internet, etc. reflect the world in which we live. This means that what we CHOOSE to spend our free time looking at reveals what is important to us. A couple of hours in church each week, a prayer before sleep and a chapter in the Bible each day does not nullify the hours spent staring into a screen or at a page, listening to the radio, etc. When determining what to do during your free time, ask yourself if you would invite Jesus to join you. If He would not, then do not.

Jesus speaks to the above statements in Matthew 6:22, stating that if our eyes are good (we choose to look at good things), our entire being will be filled with light. We count as “light” whatever we allow to enter our minds through our eyes and ears. We choose to view and hear what we determine to be “light.” One’s chosen “light” says much about one’s spiritual condition. In the next verse Jesus warns that if our eyes are bad (we choose to look at worldly things) our entire being will be filled with darkness. He is saying that what the world views as light is, in His eyes, darkness, and, He adds, “great is that darkness.” Wasting our time on the things of the world when we could be involved with the things of the Lord is like watching porn in church.

As I am continuously reminded, man, including churchman, does not see things the way God sees things. Contrary to man’s opinion, his (man’s) opinion does not count; only God’s opinion counts. I once told a woman that what she was doing was Biblically prohibited. I explained that what she was doing was an act found in heathen religions designed to honor a heathen god–the sun. She replied, “But that’s not why I do it.” Case closed. God’s disapproval meant nothing to this religionist who, by the way, is a close relative. Another close relative told me that she wanted nothing to do with my religion. All others in my family have the same attitude but have not yet told me so.

In verse 24 Jesus speaks about those who spend a couple of hours each week in church, then waste hours each day staring into screens, listening to radios, etc. The Lord views this as doing service to Satan. Jesus describes such people as dual servants who serve both Him and the devil. He warns dual service people that: “No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God (things of the spirit) and mammon (things of man–the world).” This is God’s view of the situation. He tells us that His ways and man’s ways are totally different. Only one way counts. The other way makes one “lukewarm.” Being hot for two hours on Sunday and cold the rest of the week does not please the Lord. Those who do dual service call themselves “sinners saved by grace.” I actually had an ordained preacher call herself by that title.

A perfect example of dual servicehood is found in Revelation 3:14-22 where Jesus is describing a church of that day (90-100 A.D.) that represented (characterized) the church of the final era of this world–the era in which we are now living. Read about this eye-opening comparison using the key word–Eras. Here Jesus is describing a church located in a city called Laodicea. He told the people in that church that, though they were convinced that they were right with Him and His Father, they were in fact serving two masters, making them both hot and cold–“lukewarm”–like vomit. Those self-righteous church people believed that they were the apple of God’s eye. Jesus described them as “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” This perfectly describes professing Christians today. They believe that they “have need of nothing,” but in reality have nothing.

We all have choices to make. Our choices relative to the world around us reveal what we are inside. Our choices determine what we value (holiness or sin) and who we want to please (God or Satan). Sadly, most believers choose the latter. In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus prophesied that this would be the case with the end-time church. Few, He noted, would enter His sheepfold through His narrow, restrictive gate. Many, He said, would choose Satan’s wide, worldly gate. The people in both groups would claim to be in “the church.” However, only one group will join Jesus Christ upon His return to earth. That group, He said, would be few in number. Read “My People Who Are Called By My Name” and Who Are God’s People? Key words–Called and People respectively.

In summary, the salvation seeker must be JUSTIFIED in order to have all of his/her past sins removed. Once declared righteous (justified–without sin), the seeker must remain justified by abiding IN CHRIST by obeying the Ten Commandment Law of God. To do so one must have the Holy Spirit abiding within him/her. The Spirit is given at the time of true repentance followed by true justification. Jesus of Nazareth is the seekers’ perfect example of living the obedient life. The “only believe” message of counterfeit Christianity is a deadly hoax by which Satan has lured billions of seekers into his embrace while convincing them that they are one with the Biblical God. Christ’s message to the modern Laodicean era church dispels that lie for those who know God’s Word, believe it and live it. All others are living a lie and are spiritually dead. Read Bait and Switch. Key word–Switch. L.J.