Welcome to the Frill the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn. And whether you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform, maybe Apple or Spotify, or you're watching on our YouTube channel, I'm so thankful that you've joined me for this episode. And I hope this series has been a blessing to you as well. We've been talking about holiness, and I'm wrapping up the holiness series today by asking this question: what are you watching? Asking of myself as well. What am I watching? And I want to give you four truths to consider, and then we'll finish off the episode with five applications, next steps basically, that you can apply to your life. You know, holiness doesn't stop at what we say, even though we've talked about that in the first episode. It doesn't stop at how we dress, although we talked about how modesty matters, or what we do in secret, and what we're watching by way of lustful things or pornography and some of those topics. Holiness extends to what we willingly place before our eyes in an entertaining way, like entertainment, media, these things, what we scroll. And we live in one of the most visually saturated cultures in human history, if not the most. Doesn't mean people couldn't see or watch or take in massive displays of sin throughout history. Of course they could. But today in our world, streaming platforms, social media, movie sports, reels, short clips, all of it, you can scroll endlessly. Content is constant. And by the way, that is why we do what we do here for the gospel, is you are being bombarded with so much content all the time, worldly content, false teachers, this, that, and the other, that many years ago I began to ask the question why aren't more Christian ministries competing, quote unquote, getting in the flow of content and the algorithm to minister to people, equip Christians, and give them things to share and be convicted by, strengthened by, and taught by online. I mean, it's obvious. And now the question throughout our culture is not any longer, you know, can I access that or like, oh, where can I get that or find a way? No, no, it's should I watch that? Should I engage in that? Because you can have anything you want. And if it doesn't exist, you can tell AI to make it for you. Scripture has always understood something that modern media culture ignores. What you look at will shape what you love. You know where this really plays? The algorithm. People kind of make jokes like, oh, I work so hard for this algorithm. Uh you're getting fed content based on what you've carefully curated and selected and watched and clicked on or commented on and liked. I think we actually do understand this if we just stop and think about it. Scripture knew this first and warned us of it first. What you look at shapes what you love. Basically, what you look at and engage in shapes your algorithm. I want you to think about the algorithm of your heart. Let me give you four truths here to consider. Number one, your eyes are not neutral. In Matthew 6, 22 to 23, Jesus actually says the eye is the lamp of the body. He says, so if your eye is clear, the whole body will be full of light. In other words, what Jesus was saying is this: your eyes are not just cameras, they're gateways. They don't just look out, they welcome in. And what you constantly allow through your eyes is going to condition your soul. Job in Job 31, 1 says, I make a covenant with my eyes. Such strong language, because Job understood that visual intake fuels internal desires. What I behold with my eyes, I then desire. The psalmist prayed this in Psalm 119, verse 37 turn my eyes from looking at vanity. Why? Well, he didn't assume that he was immune. He asks God for help. And so, as Christians, don't ever assume just because you got the Holy Spirit in you and you're a Christian, that what you look at won't affect you or won't shape what you long for. Oh, it will. We cannot pretend that hours of consuming violence, sexual content, crude humor, blasphemy, and darkness are going to have no impact on our lives. They do. Not always immediately, but I'll guarantee this, they will eventually. Truth number two, I want you to think about is you become what you meditate on. Paul gives us one of the clearest filters in scripture when it comes to what we're meditating on. And it's in the book of Philippians. If you want to turn there, if you have your Bible and you want to follow along, do this. If you're on the fly, I'll just read this to you, or if you're watching, it'll be on the screen. Philippians chapter four, verses eight and nine actually gives you a grid for meditation. You become what you meditate on. So think about this. Paul says, Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute. And if there's any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Let's just count those for one second. Whatever is true. So one, honorable, two, right, three, pure, four, lovely, five, good repute, six, excellence, seven. Anything worthy of praise, eight. Right? Eight things. Dwell on those. Notice these and say, I think about them occasionally. It says dwell. In other words, park your mind there. Let your imagination set up shop. So now ask yourself honestly. I'll do the same. Does most of what we watch fit that grid? I'm not saying we just all stick our heads in the sand and pretend like evil and sin don't exist. We never see anything. No, no. Scripture actually records sin. You'll see it, you'll read about it, violence, betrayal, immorality, darkness, adultery, all of it. But what's sin does not get, it doesn't get center stage to be glamorized and glorified. None of those things do in the Bible. The Bible never invites you to binge watch sin for entertainment's sake. So if something repeatedly celebrates what God condemns, let's be careful not to feast on it. Number three, you can either renew the mind or you can numb the mind. That's the third truth I want you to consider. You can either renew your mind or numb it. Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Great passage on this in particular. Paul the Apostle says, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. So present your body, present yourself as a sacrifice unto God. You are an offering. Okay, and what, Paul? Well, verse two, and do not be conformed to the world, so don't be shaped by the world and into the image of the world, but be transformed, so be totally changed, by the renewing of your mind. When we're asking the question, what are you watching? We're asking the question, what are you renewing? Or what are you numbing? Entertainment can either aid in renewal or it'll numb your mind. Some content sharpens your conscience, some content slowly erodes it. And erosion is subtle. You know how this goes. You start getting numb to things. That the first episode shocked you. That particular movie, that video, that reel was like, whoa, no, that's inappropriate. But by season three, by the fourth scroll or whatever it is, it barely registers. What once grieved you now amuses you. What once disturbed you now entertains you. Well, that's how desensitization works, and that's the enemy's goal. So be careful. You can either renew the mind or numb the mind. Number four, the real issue is affection. That's really what this comes down to. Here's the deeper question: what do you love? What do I love? When someone says, Oh, I just, I just love that show, or I just love that song, I love that band, I just love that movie, and it's filled with sexual sin, wickedness, vulgar language, adultery, immorality, all of that. What is it that we love? They say, Oh, cost you, don't be so legalistic. No, no, get your definition of legalistic behavior or legalism correct. Biblically speaking, legalism is doing something, thinking that it saves you. You're earning salvation or keeping your salvation or some status with God. It's not at all what I'm talking about. I'm talking about what Psalm 101, verse 3 says. I'll set no worthless thing before my eyes. The psalmist is not trying to give you a formula for earning salvation, not at all. It's about guarding affection, guarding our joy. Because when we love Christ, we actually want to protect our joy in him. We don't want images lodged in our memory that distort beauty and normalize sin and weaken the appetite for righteousness. The bottom line is, friend, you cannot consistently consume content that mocks holiness and then expect your heart to burn for it. You cannot consistently consume content that is filled with what the Bible says God hates and then expect your heart to be filled with love for him. And holiness does not mean we just isolate from the culture. Oh, I can't even be around anything, can't go to anything, can't watch sports, can't watch movies. No, no, no. It just means that we need to operate with discernment within the culture. The Bible makes it clear we're in the world, but we're not to be of the world. And so start by asking diagnostic questions. You know this if you've been with me for a while now, Christian Liberty series, holiness series, previous teaching. I like asking diagnostic questions. It's not, is this allowed? Can I do it? Of course you can. Let's be technical and objective. Of course you can. But let's ask better questions. Like number one, does this stir affection for what God calls sin? Is this kind of getting me fired up about what God is fired up about but in a way of judging? Sin is not light. Sin is not entertainment. Sin is not a joke to God. Are my affections beginning to get stirred for things that God is opposed to? Number two, does this numb my conscience? Am I kind of being lulled right now? Am I being lured? Is this lowering the bar on what God's standard for holiness is? Number three, would I watch this sitting next to Jesus? You can laugh at that question if you want. I doubt if you're one of our regular listeners, you are laughing at that question. But if you're newer to that, you go, come on, man, this guy, you know, no, no, no, hear me on this. You're the temple of the Holy Spirit, so he is in you. And the Bible says that we're in Christ and Christ is in us. He's the omnipresent Son of God. What you watch and what I watch, we're sitting next to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit of God. It grieves him. Would you watch it sitting next to Jesus? I think it's a fair and fitting question. Next, would I be comfortable if my children adopted this as normal one day? If this is what my kids grew up to watch and what they did, is that what you want for them? Maybe you do. Maybe you don't. It's an important question though. Finally, does this help to renew my mind or clutter it? Am I filling my mind with crazy imagery, violence, fear, anxiety, drama, murder, sin, whatever it is? And and and now I'm just cluttered and I feel overwhelmed and I feel anxious. Or is it renewing my mind? Am I strengthened? Am I educated? Am I encouraged? Am I entertained? There's good entertainment. But you've got to ask those questions. Because it's really not about making a rule book. It's about discerning is this renewing my mind or is it numbing it? Now, five practical applications I think will be helpful for living this out because you've got to apply this to your life. I do have, I gotta do the same. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us. We have different lives, different locations, different places, different recreational habits, different leanings, different wiring, all that. But the truth is the same. So here's what we all should do. Number one, audit your intake. Audit your intake. Track what you watch for one week, be honest, and just look at it. Awareness is the first step towards renewal. What are you watching? What am I watching? Let's audit and kind of know what we're doing. How many hours did you scroll? What did your screen time look like? Second, apply the Philippians 4.8 filter. I think this is a great way to assess what we're watching. If it fits consistently into multiple categories that violate the categories of Philippians 4.8, dump it. If it consistently violates whatever is pure, it's not pure, whatever is honorable, lovely, excellent, of good repute, if it's just vulgar, then it probably doesn't belong in your playlist. Third, try fasting from something. If you cannot step away for 30 days, that particular genre or that avenue of media might have more control over you than you realize. And you remember from our Christian Liberty series, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. I will not be mastered by anything. So if you can't fast from it for 30 days, you got a problem. I got a problem. Fourth, replace passive consumption with active growth. So instead of sitting back and just letting something else dominate your mind, take action. Fill your mind with scripture, read good books, engage in edifying conversations, meaningful work. And also, hey, recreation. Recreation is good. Maybe for you, you need to get out of your head, get away from the phone, go out, go play in like a men's softball league, or go get together with your lady friends, or you know, go do something with the guys that's edifying. Go do an escape room like some of my buddies like to do, or go uh bowling, or over here in Arizona, we have night golf. I've I've gotten into that a little bit. I'll make sure that the home is healthy and take care of my wife and make sure the kids get down okay, and then go play a late night round of golf when there's a morning the next morning that's a bit slower on the weekend. You know, whatever that is for you. I don't know what yours are, but I've got mine where you're not just sitting around. Go on a date with your wife, go have fun, go take the family out. Do something besides doom scrolling and being passive while something else dominates and dictates your time and your mind. Fifth, protect your weak spots. If certain genres fuel temptation, dump them. Don't test your limits. Don't play around with that stuff. Whatever that looks like for you, what are your triggers? Get them out of there. And I want you to remember this as a kind of summary statement. The pursuit of holiness is about guarding your joy in Christ. That's what it's about. It's about guarding your joy in Christ. You are secure in your salvation because of the Lord's finished work on the cross, but the enemy wants to rob you of joy through sin. And so fight against his schemes and pursue holiness because your eyes are gateways, your mind is soil, your heart is being shaped every day, and all of that is going to produce a harvest. It's going to come out and it's going to produce some kind of fruit. What is it going to produce? And so the question is not just, you know, what are you watching? Or can you watch it? Or am I allowed? It's this. What is this doing to you? What is what you're consuming doing to you? Well, that's it. Good questions. I hope for you to think through, and that's a wrap on my series on holiness. I definitely want to encourage you. Keep taking the word of God seriously. Keep embracing and enjoying the chisel of the Spirit of God as He convicts and brings things to mind for your life. I hope that you were not only challenged, but that you were encouraged. And that I provided you with not only biblical truth, but practical steps for putting the truth into action. You know, that's always my goal here for the gospel. That's why our ministry tagline is sound doctrine for everyday people, because I want you to have the truth, sound doctrine, reliable doctrine, but for everyday people, I want it to be that we can understand these truths and put them into practice, whether you are a woman, a man, young, old, whatever that is, newlywed, dating, college student, or you're a young family or an empty nester. I want people from all walks of life to know the truth and to present that truth to you in easy to understand ways. And so that's always the goal. Thank you for being a part of our ministry. Thank you for consuming this content, content that I pray will renew your mind. And on behalf of our entire team, thanks for sharing our content and for supporting For the Gospel. Your monthly partnership and your one-time gifts go straight into creating these resources. They allow our staff and our team to produce free content the way we do. And so thank you to all of you who are partnered with us. For more information about the ministry or to partner with us monthly, go to forthegospel.org. All the information is there. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Until then, keep on living for the gospel.