Dangers of Mainstream Thinking Part 2

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network.

Welcome to Man Talk, brought to you by TAWCMN, talking and walking Christian men's ministry, where they're devoted to breaking down the walls of race and denomination and challenging men to take their God-assigned role. Here's our hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Hey, Will, how are you, Will? You see Roy right here? Well, is Roy Jones in the building by chance? You know, I always wanted to see if I can mimic the voice of Robbie when he does the black guy and the white guy, you know?

But I can't do it like he can do it. But it's good to see you back, Roy. I'll tell you another week of Man Talk Radio, and we were talking about mainstream thinking on last week. Mainstream thinking, people.

Don't ever say you've never thought in the mainstream before, because chances are you have. And you have taken sides. And I guess the case in point was taking sides really a bad thing. As long as you're out, if you're out of mainstream, when you're taking a side and you're not in the mainstream is a good thing, right? Right. That's what we're talking about. So we're saying that if you are speaking or inside and embracing the mainstream ideology, then what you've allowed yourself to do is to be held captive by that thought process.

And which translates into I am now of the world versus just in the world. Exactly. Exactly. And see, this type of thinking, it's dangerous. It is so dangerous that I think we've become numb to it. That's how dangerous it has become and is, that we've become numb to it. People just don't realize that they're in the middle of it and that they are going through the slow fade as we were talking about before we started, which we'll come back to that here a little bit later on a clip we've got for you. But the slow fade is that very thing that you rationalize slowly, that it's okay to move the needle from the absolute to the non-absolute, right? To where you get over to where there's no true right and wrong and so forth.

And again, if you take absolute out of the equation, then you can inject whatever it is you want to. And that's what's been happening in our world today. We've injected our own ideologies. We become our own God. I am the man. I do what I want to do when I want to do it. And so we have- Nobody can tell me anything different. Anything different because I am the successful guy or I have the nice home, the nice car.

I have the princess wife or whatever the case may be. However, we begin to idolize and rationalize things. But it reminds me, Roy, of the book of Judges in Judges chapter 10. I was reading this the other day and God had delivered the children of Israel. And of course, you know, a lot of the Old Testament is Israel disobedience, crying out to God, God coming to the rescue, Israel disobedience, crying out to God and God coming to rescue.

So that's the general theme. But what happens over here in Judges is that God delivers the children of Israel out of their plight and bondage. And then they start serving Baal. They start serving Ashtaroth, the gods of the Syrians. They start serving all these gods. And then God delivered them into the hands of the enemy.

I believe it was the Philistines over in Judges chapter 10. And then all of a sudden they start crying out to God again. And then God told them, he said, look, I delivered you from the Egyptians, the Ammonites, the Amlicites and all of the ites he delivered them from. So if you're putting your trust in their gods, then let their gods deliver you. That's what God said. He said, let their gods deliver you.

And since you putting your faith and trust in them. And then they cried out even more. And then they said, do whatever it is that is right in your eyes, Lord, that you want to do to the children of Israel. But please deliver us from the hands of our enemies.

And of course, God came to the rescue again. The loving God. So my question to the listening audience is this. What with the thinking, this mainstream thinking that we talk we've been talking about and talking about today. Where are you with respect to leaning and relying on mainstream thinking? Or are you leaning and relying on the one true God for your thinking so that you as an individual or follower of Jesus Christ, born again, believer, Christian, whatever you want to call yourself. Are you truly, are you truly, I mean, look at yourself in the mirror.

Are you truly walking the walk and talking the talk? We need to make that practical for the listeners Will. So what is, what would be a prime example in your mind's eye of something that's main line, mainstream thinking that's so obvious against God's plan and God's word? Well, for, for me, Roy, I think we, we can look at what we just went through with respect to the election process. You know, you have, you have individuals who were ready to do things and say things and do just about anything to ensure that their voice be heard in reference to whatever thought process that they embraced so that they can be heard and, and manifest their opinion out there to the world, which again, I think it was embraced to the point to where they forgot to look through the eyes of scripture about what they were doing, exactly about who they were voting for. And so they, they embrace, they embrace this type of thinking and they say, this is, this is it.

I'm going to go this route and you can't tell me anything different. Right? So for me, what jumps out and we've talked about this in the past, there are two things, right? That that's pornography, that's openly available and readily available and has become more accepted even amongst churchgoers. We talked about the statistics of that. And the second thing is the abortion issue is that, you know, up until what was been 50 years now, I guess just around 50 years, not quite a full 50 years since it was legalized in the U S and I think, what did we say? 63 million babies have been aborted since the legalization of abortion.

I think it was 63 million, if I remember correctly. So for me, that's one of those things, those mainstream, mainline issues of much larger, uh, for me, a much more larger burden on my heart, um, that has become mainstream, mainline thinking. So folks, that's what we're talking about. Think of it in your own life, if you're old enough, and if you're not, you may have only ever known that that was okay and accepted that way. But think about the things in your life that when you grew up were, were not, were not what God would want you to be doing or not what God would want you to be saying or supporting. And if today you're supporting those things, and today you're believing those things, and today you're acting on those things, ask yourself, why, why am I doing that? And there's, this goes back to the slow fade. It's because society and social media and everything's got you wired to, to basically reduce your standards, right.

And start lowering them down. So, and, and, you know, um, what mainstream thinking does is overall the, the thinking of the world is that they reject the existence of God anyway. Well, yeah, I mean, that's the tone, right? Because if they, if they acknowledge the existence of God, then they acknowledge that there's an existence of right and wrong. There is an absolute right and wrong instead of trying to say everything's okay, as long as it's not hurting someone else. So in Romans chapter one, verses 18 through 25, God says, for the raft of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. So in other words, when, when you, and this is one application from this particular verse that you keep the truth from being magnified in and through your life, when you are embracing unrighteousness and you're thinking mainstream, the way society is thinking you, you are actually keeping the truth from blossoming up.

The, if you think of it as a seed, so you put the seed in the ground and that seed is in good soil and it wants to come up. And so it's coming up, coming up, and all of a sudden you mash it down with your shoe and the shoe can represent unrighteousness and sin. So you're keeping, you're keeping the righteousness of God from being manifested to the world and to people who need to hear the gospel. So you'll be held accountable for that. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And folks, that's, I think goes back, if you're looking out for others, loving those, but you also think about, well, if I'm not doing the right thing, then I'm going to pay the price for that. I'm going to be dealt the consequences of that, either in this life or during judgment, when you, your actions and your works for the kingdom are weighed out and put through the fire, correct? Exactly. So that's the important thing here. If we're truly following Christ, that means being a servant and lover of others, then we're truly looking out for other person's best interests and everything that we do impacts the other person's best interest.

And if my behavior in today's times, if whatever I'm doing is not looking out for the other person's best interest and helping them to grow and go, then there needs to be a self-evaluation like we talked in last week's program. And when an individual, see, well, when an individual attempts to use an excuse that, you know, God is not, how do I know God exists? Like, like we said that what mainstream thinking does, God says it right here, because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them.

So, so God has shown to the individual who uses the excuse that God doesn't exist. How does God show himself? He manifests himself because he says it right here in the verse. He manifests himself three ways. He manifests himself through creation. He manifests himself through the word and he manifests himself through the means, his people through the means in which people who are on the absolute bottom have been transformed. And now they're, they're preaching and teaching the word of God and they're serving God.

Right. And, and, and no man can do that, Roy. No man can make a change in a man who has hit rock bottom or is hooked on crack cocaine or pornography or any, all of these things that we've talked about.

The only one who can make change in that man's life, turn him around so he can preach the gospel is Jesus Christ. Amen to that will. Amen. Folks, hopefully you're, you're just pondering the things you're hearing this week and last week. It's, it's been near and dear on our hearts, as you know, helping you to grow and be a greater follower of Christ. That's what this show is all about. Getting men off the sidelines and becoming impact players for the kingdom. We'll be right back here in just a moment.

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Call 336-885-1987. Welcome back to Man Talk Radio. I'm Roy Jones.

And I'm Will Hardy. Well, you know, back in the last segment, we were talking just a few moments to use the phrase slow fade. Um, you know, casting crowns did a song several years back and I'd like to just play the portion of this song so it would allow people to hear. And this, this, just listen to the words of this song and we'll come back to it after the clips played. It's a slow fade when you give yourself away. It's a slow fade when black and white turn to gray and thoughts invade.

Choices are made. A price will be paid when you give yourself away. People never crumble in a day. It's a slow fade. It's a slow fade. So Will, what does that song say to you?

Wow. I mean, it says so much. You know, we, we've talked about when we talked about the subject of pornography, it's always that second glance, you know, looking, looking at the, that individual who has that tight skirt on a tight pants on and we allow our mind, you know, to, to be pulled away or we begin to think as you stated a certain way. And then in our Christian walk, because when we first became born again, Roy, it was like, we were all on fire for Jesus and looking to clean out all the junk and get all the mess out. And now, like the song says, black and white have turned to gray and that's what's happened in our society. We have no moral yardstick, no moral compass that people are talking about. We have it in the word of God and we have it in the followers of Christ that are trying to live their lives out properly.

But as far as in the public eye, there is no moral yardstick anymore, no moral compass. So if you think about that black and white turns to gray, little feet watch where you step or where they're going, right? That means if you step off the path, it's easier to stay off the path. And then that slow fade, all of a sudden you wake up and you're way, way, way off the mark on what God intended for it to be. And you know, Roy, little feet are indeed coming behind you.

They are. And that's, that's the collateral damage we've talked about, you know, when several weeks ago we did bad decisions, right? What, what happens from bad decisions and that, that's such a big point. And that's one of the things that we push so, so hard and it's bottom of our heart wheel, you know, in this about men in your roles as husbands and fathers.

And it's not just the little feet, but the little feet are the ones you need to be worried about first in this particular scenario is what am I demonstrating to my daughter or to my son that it's okay to do or how to live their life out. And if you're living a life that wouldn't glorify God, then you should stop and pause like we talked before, and ask the father to help you get tuned up and in line and grab a hold of somebody to walk it out with you, an accountability partner that starts challenging you, asking you the tough questions. And then the second piece of that, your wife is expecting you and hoping and loving and praying and counting on you to be the one that stays on course, because you are the guiding force in that family. And the wife is looking for, she wants a leader. She wants someone to lead the family in a godly way so that people can look at this family and say, you know, the man who's heading that house, look at his children, look at his wife.

He's truly demonstrated that he is a true representative of God and a true kingdom man. So when you listen to that song, listening audience, when you listen to that song, are you suppressing the truth that we talked about here in Romans chapter one? Is your life suppressing the truth to not want that seed of truth to be, to come up out the ground and blossom and sprout and bring forth multiple, multiple, multiple foes of goodness that someone can enjoy? That should be your life. Your life should be that seed that when it's planted and starts to come up and people begin to look and see what type of fruit you're bearing, they want to say, I want what that individual has. This is what I want for my family.

This is what I want for my life. Well, that is so well put. And I think if men, you could see other men's hearts, especially if you're walking tightly with God, if you could see your brother's hearts, there are so many men that are searching for that fulfillment, but they don't know where to look because society has failed to communicate where to look.

And we certainly don't hear enough about it in today's time about the right place to look. So Will, there's a piece I think that you've got here, some scripture, Romans, the back end of Romans one, I think it's 26 out if I'm reading this correctly. Then it's the second page that has a reference that you've printed up. But uh, is this a part of the Romans one? Exactly. So if it's okay, I'll read the scripture. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things, which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covenants, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil mindedness. They are whisperers.

Listen, folks, they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud boasters, inventor of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Are you in that category? Exactly. Just got to ask the question. Exactly.

And listeners, are you in that category? And, and will correct me if I'm getting the scripture reference right here, but it's Romans 1 28 through 32. That's correct. Okay, good.

Yep. So forgive us. I grabbed hold of a copy of his notes from him. So that's correct because see, Roy, what will happen is if a person continue to practice, and that's the key word listener, that's the key word practice. If you are a practice-titioner, if you will, of any of these things listed in Romans 1 28 through 32, and you look forward to doing these things, then again, you need to look at yourself inwardly and say, have I truly been converted?

Number one. Now, if you have truly been converted and you're not a practitioner of these things, because what will happen if you continue to practice them, God will give you over. And I, I bold and underlined at that statement, God gave them over. In other words, God releases his hand and he says, if you want to do these things that's listed here, you go ahead and do them.

Just like the children of Israel, we talked about in Judges chapter 10, you know, God said, if you want to serve Baal and Ashtaroth and all of the gods of the, the Syrians and the Amalekites and Ammonites, if you want to serve them, then seek their gods and let them bring forth an answer to you. But God will give you over to your own passions. He will give you over to your own lusts. He will simply turn you loose to do whatever it is you want to do. And if you, again, he's already said it when we talked about in last week's show, all the ways of a man are pure or good or clean in his own eyes. So he don't see any problem with what he's doing. No, I want people to understand, Will, you just stressed it very well, but God's going to give you over to a reprobate mind, right? So the base mind. So think about that. Basically, if your heart stays hardened, he's going to just turn, turn away and it will always be hardened.

There will be no turning back at that point. Exactly. And that's scripture folks. That's not, that's not a Roy opinion.

That's not a will opinion. And we try to share with you from the word of God on everything we're talking about. So that is so important for you to know, because if you're sitting there saying, well, I'll eventually get on line. Well, it may not be up to you to eventually get in line. God may say enough's enough. And then all of a sudden you can't, you no longer can rationalize right and wrong in God's eyes.

Right? Because you won't see it through his eyes because he's hardened your heart. Exactly. And so the third and last point we want to make here is that because people don't, you know, look and understand that God exists. And so if they reject God, then they will reject the people of God. And so this is what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10, verses 16 through 22, behold, I sing you out a sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpent and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in the synagogues. You will be brought before governors kings for my name's sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, don't worry about what you will speak for.

It will be given to you in the hour of what you should speak. And then he goes down here, verse number 21, he says, now brother will deliver a brother, father will deliver up his child, children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. So see, this is what we're up against. These are the dangers. And see, if you are practicing this mainstream thinking, you need to get into the word and let the word of God filter out the things that don't need to be there.

Needs to write your course. Will that last verse 22 at the end of that, Matthew 10, 22 says, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. For my name's sake. Now listen to this last piece folks, but he who endures to the end will be saved.

That's right. So therefore it's up to you as a follower of Christ to stand strong, to stand tall and stand on your standards. As my old boss used to tell me, always stand on your standards. It's okay folks, because God will come along in the supernatural to reinforce you as you're standing right where he needs you to stand and see he, he wants you to be that person, that representative that he's called you to be nothing more and nothing less. Don't be afraid to call wrong, wrong, and celebrate the right. And if you'd be persecuted as a result of that, just rejoice in God, knowing that God has your back because you know how the story ends. We win, Satan loses. Folks, just as we always like to close the show out, if you don't know the Lord, Jesus Christ is your savior, please just take a moment. If you want to invite him into your heart right now, just know that he died for your sins. He rose on the third day and all you got to do is admit being a sinner, repent and start following him and just say, father, I turn my life over to you and give him 100%.

He will save you and you'll have eternal life. We thank you for joining us. This has been ManTalk Radio. It's always good to see you. God bless everyone. Thank you for joining us on ManTalk today. Visit us at www.tawcmm.com. Men walking the talk. This is the Truth Network.