Set
4 Meeting 5 – Polluting Influences
Supplemental CD
Scripture:
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Psalm 101:3
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Psalm 119:37
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2 Corinthians 7:1
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2 Timothy 2: 19 – 22
Sword Drill:
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1 Jn. 2: 15 – 16
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Acts 19:19
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2 Cor. 6:17
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Ps. 101:3
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Mt. 15:18
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2 Cor. 7:1
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Prov. 13:20
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Deut. 7:26
Main Concepts:
The enemy doesn’t want us to be
bright lights for the Lord. In an effort
to hinder our testimony, he has many traps, weapons, and tactics that he uses
against us. One way that he damages the
light of many young people is through polluting influences which distract and
contaminate. Identify and be on guard
against these influences.
Using time wisely.
Identifying Polluting
Influences:
Screen Time
TV – The average American over the age of 2
spends more than 34 hours a week watching live television, plus another 3 – 6
hours watching taped programs (movies).
What’s the agenda behind what we're watching?
We talked about our 'eye gates' and how it may take only one second to put something in front of our eyes, but once we have seen something, we may have to work very hard, for a very long time to try to get that image out of our mind...
Video Games – Linked to being antisocial,
overweight, unhealthy, violent, aggressive, etc…Americans spend an average of
13 hours per week playing video games. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/13/teens-and-video-games-how-much-is-too-much/
Music – Can be linked to depression. Considering many of today’s lyrics which
focus on self, problems, relationship troubles, violence, indeceny, material
wealth, etc…not surprising. We talked about how our 'ear gates' are like our 'eye gates'...once we allow something in, if it's a polluting influence, we will have quite a battle on our hands in trying to get it out of our minds.
Good music is a joy to listen to, and a way to worship the Lord. In fact, we are told in Ephesians 5:19 that we should be "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."
However, music can also be a powerful way for the enemy to seduce us into worldly thinking. There is evidence in scripture (Ezekiel 28: 12 - 19) that Satan was created with musical instruments in his actual being...and many think he was the leader of worship in Heaven before his pride caused his fall and expulsion from that holy place. It is very important to be discerning in this area and especially at this age where music is such a influence in young girls lives.
However, music can also be a powerful way for the enemy to seduce us into worldly thinking. There is evidence in scripture (Ezekiel 28: 12 - 19) that Satan was created with musical instruments in his actual being...and many think he was the leader of worship in Heaven before his pride caused his fall and expulsion from that holy place. It is very important to be discerning in this area and especially at this age where music is such a influence in young girls lives.
Thought Life - This is an area that can also lead to depression among other things. I shared about how to 'take our thoughts captive', to hold them up against the truth of God's word, and to replace the lie of the wrong thought with God's truth.
This was a concept I learned very late in life...just because a certain thought came into my head, I didn't have to keep thinking about it or follow it to it's conclusion. Thoughts can create grooves in our minds and when they pop up, we just naturally tend to follow it around it's course...in my past, this would have led me eventually down the path of depression.
It was one of the most amazing revelations to me when a sister in Christ taught me the concept of learning how to take my thoughts captive! I was able to break that cycle of depression - but it was a hard battle. Some days I would have to take the thought captive and replace it with God's truth every minute of the day. I was tired, but I wasn't alone in my fight...the Holy Spirit was right there with me, encouraging me, teaching me, and putting the right people in my path to help me along the way.
Medications are sometimes necessary to deal with depression in the short term...but they are merely bandaids, the world's 'prescription'. To receive a truly healing spiritual 'prescription', you must identify the root of your depression (not just give it the blanket name of depression...but ask God to reveal the true root cause) and counteract the lie with His word. It's not an easy battle, but with God, truly ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and through the power of His Holy Spirit we already have the victory!
Youth Groups -
Reason #2 – Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to my career or interests” (24%) or that “the Bible is not taught clearly or often enough” (23%). Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that “God seems missing from my experience of church” (20%).
Youth Groups -
Interestingly enough, something that came up at our meeting on polluting influences, was the typical 'youth group' culture of today's church. It weighs very heavy on my heart that most youth groups in our churches are little more than social gatherings where kids are listening to worldly music, spending their time flirting with one another, playing games, watching movies, and eating pizza. How do I know this? I've talked to many young ladies and asked them to honestly tell me what their youth group looks like.
A few years ago, a Barna study revealed that as many as 3 out of 5 of our kids will abandon their faith by the time they graduate high school...this fact is very concerning, don't you think?
I believe the number 2 reason they mention in that study, directly speaks to the failing of the youth group scenario existing in most churches:
A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to my career or interests” (24%) or that “the Bible is not taught clearly or often enough” (23%). Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that “God seems missing from my experience of church” (20%).
Here is the link to the Barna page, I encourage you to take a look at all 6 reasons the study pinpointed.
Friends - we pretty much covered this last week...
Focusing on boys - covered in BYMPC
Activity
3 great object lessons…
1.
Polish the silver…great picture of how
removing polluting influences (the tarnish) produces a clean, shiny, and very
bright gleam. Read about Jesus cleansing
the temple, and about how Phinehas cleansed the sin from the camp.
2.
Spoonful of mud in a batch of cookies? Not really, but what a great picture…who’d
eat that?!
3. 1 drop of food coloring changes the whole glass of water (thousands of drops!)...a little sin affects the whole thing.
