Mega-Trends Versus Morals

Recently, the Barna Group published a report about four megatrends that they had picked up on in 2007 in their research. I'd like to quote from that article today and show that those particular trends could have an impact on many of us sitting here. Beginning with the article, it says, reflected early in 2007, identified several patterns that are significantly affecting the development of the American culture. These transformations were described as, Number 1. Therefore are these Americans unconditional self-love, we love ourselves. We love ourselves. Number two, noble Christianity. Noble being this N-O-U-V-E-A-U, I think is a French word, meaning having recently appeared or become fashionable. And then, three, the five P's of parenting. What approach are parents using in rearing their children? Well, there are five P's that we will discuss. And four, the designer faith with ruthless values. Now, you can think on those, but we'll come back to each one of them. What impact could these trends have on our lives and our activities? I think you will find that they have a tremendous impact on our society, on the culture around us. And I've noticed over the years, anytime something is very prominent in society, it tends to creep on over into the church. It's like an octopus that puts out its tentacles and it begins to reach in and begins to affect God's people. And I think this is especially true of our young people, as we will see. I believe these trends could affect our responsibility for being responsible for our own actions, and how we look and treat one another. So let's take a look at these, and I'd like to analyze, go through all four of these points, and read a little more information about each one of them, and then comment on them from the Scriptures. Barnas studies, quoting again from the article, underscores the fact that Americans have a high opinion of themselves. When the average American is asked if he's above average, the average American says yes. Now, since half of Americans are above average and half are below, I've never heard anyone say, I'm below average. But, you know, most people have a very high opinion of themselves, and lingering reservations about others. Not so sure about others, though. Despite their self-satisfaction, many Americans want to continue to change and grow. But one might ask, change and grow in what way? It says, among the terms that more than four out of five adults selected to describe themselves, notice four out of five. They were loyal, reliable, independent thinkers, supportive of traditional family values, clear about the meaning and purpose of their life, making a positive difference in the world, and well-informed about current events. So this is what Americans think about themselves. More than two out of three also noted that they are open to new ideas and especially adapted to change. Now, let's take a look at some of these points that were mentioned here. Let's just think about them a little bit. One of the things four out of five said is that they are supportive of traditional family values. Barnard brings out in almost every one of his studies that the social values that we know are changing. And even though people profess to be Christian, when they're surveyed, they know nothing about the Bible. They know nothing or very little about the doctrines and the teachings of their church. Let's take a look at politicians. Politicians talk about family values all the time, don't they? But they mean different things than you and I might mean by family values. It could be a same-sex marriage, and they would classify that under family values. Couples cohabiting together. We have people like Brad Pitt and different ones who are going around. They're not married and they've got kids and they're really played up to and they're admired, you know, they're respected. What about people having children out of wedlock? Single-parent families. Now, there are reasons why sometimes one mate is left to rear a family.

But today in our society, we find that people want children, but they don't want to be married, so therefore you find more and more women, especially, are having babies, artificial insemination, or whatever means, and they have children so that they can have, quote-unquote, a family. Let's notice in 2 Timothy chapter 3, if there were a scripture that I could read to you, especially here in the New Testament, that gives you a bird's-eye view, gives you a prism look into our society and our world today. It's 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Let's begin in verse 1.

Note this, that in the last days, perilous times will come, dangerous times, for men will be lovers of themselves. So what did we find? Americans have a very high opinion of themselves. They love themselves. Two other people they love, me and I.

They're also lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors headstrong, faulty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. You see, our values as true Christians must be based upon the Scriptures, not upon the culture, not upon the changing whims of what's going on around us in society, but upon the Bible.

If I were to ask you for a definition of family values, what would you say?

See, we have an audience here where many of us grew up back in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and the values of families at that time were completely different from values that we find extent today. Let me give you one definition. This isn't the only, but there are principles that govern how a family functions and relates to one another, how they function, how they relate. And it has to do with, one, what is marriage? So again, the whole definition of what is marriage.

What is the purpose of marriage? Is any style of marriage okay?

How a husband guides, directs, and leads his family. How a wife supports, helps, and submits to her husband. See, these are all family values. How to rear our children. Our commitment to one another. Because you find today that in marriage, commitment is not a major ingredient. And passing on to our children's spiritual values. All of these should be a part of traditional family values. And yet, how much diverse opinion, ideas do we find about all of these topics in society?

We find that even some in the church, I've found over the years, allow the culture to define their values, instead of really going to the scriptures. Now, another point that was brought out is that the four out of five Americans thought they were clear and clear. And they thought they were clear about the meaning and purpose of life, or their life. Now, maybe they're just talking about their purpose. And their purpose could be, I want to achieve the American dream. I'd make a lot of money. I want to be happy. Whatever it might be.

Do most people in our society base the purpose of life on the scriptures? Do they, whenever they're confronted with a problem, a trial test, difficulty, or wondering why am I alive, do they go to the scriptures? Well, we have an example back here in Acts 17. In verse 10 of the Bereans, Acts 1710, that they sent an example that's an admirable example for the rest of us. It says, It says, Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Now, these were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. So you'll find that we need to be searching the scriptures to find out. If some new idea comes along, some new concepts, some new approach, we need to be searching the scripture and see, does that measure up to the standards that God has set, the values that He wants us to have?

Going on, quoting from Barna, Although more than four out of five adults say they are Christians, they do not consider their faith to be their primary defining attribute.

They are more likely to see themselves as Americans, consumers, spouses, parents, and even employees than to describe themselves primarily in the terms of faith commitment.

So, when they're given a list of things to choose from, four out of five will choose most of these others instead of, well, I'm Christian, and that comes down. They say they're well informed about current events.

How many people do you know who have what is called a biblical worldview of what's going on in the world?

Most people get their news from where? Well, they watch TV at night, or they catch CNN news, and they hear these little snippets, and they don't pick up very much about what is going on.

Now, you and I should view world news how? Well, again, through the prism of the Bible.

We look at the Bible, the Bible tells us what to look for. Christ said back in Luke 21, verse 36, watch and pray always that we might escape the trials at the end of this age. What are we supposed to watch? We're supposed to watch what's going on in the world, news, events that are taking place, and we measure those by the scripture, by the Bible, and what the Bible has to say. And thereby, we come to understand what the worldview is all about.

Some people might have a worldview, but it's based upon politics. It's based on their political party. It's based on the country they live in. If you're a Muslim, your worldview is viewed through the religion of Islam. Here in this country, it's viewed through, perhaps, democracy.

And we all have a worldview, but our worldview should come through what the Bible has to say.

You and I are exceedingly blessed, brethren. We are blessed to be able to understand prophecy and the major world events that are to take place. The church is a big help in this regard. With Good News magazine, World News and Prophecy, Booklets, United News, Beyond Today Program, the Internet, there are all kinds of information out there that we have. We can study that. We can have an overall perspective from the Bible of events that are going to take place here in the future and how what is happening today possibly ties in with that.

Going on under this, quoting from Barna, it says, "...a prevailing path to maturation," that means maturity, "...however, are usually not characterized by plan and intentional development." So it's saying that people normally grow up and mature, not because there's a strategy being planned out for them and they're working towards that strategy. It's just a matter they grow up. They experiment. Instead of engaging in a series, they engage in a series of adventurous experiments seems to be the norm. When it does occur, growth takes place rather unexpectedly and the changes accepted are typically adopted on the basis of feeling.

Does it feel good? Does it make me feel good? So people do what? Well, they have sex practices. It doesn't matter how perverted they are based on what? Well, if it makes me feel good, not if it's right, not if the Bible says it's right, not if it's good for the other person or good for society, but if I think it makes me feel right. And so, you know, they do those type of things.

What did we read back here in 2 Timothy 3 and verse 4? That we would come to a time at the end when people would be lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. Not loving God, but loving pleasure and what pleasure can be or can bring about. Most Americans, it seems, are willing to change as long as the pathway promises benefits and enjoyment and generally avoid pain, conflict, and sacrifice. Well, what you find is we, as Christians, have been told that we will enter into the kingdom of God through much tribulation. That we will be tested, we won't always be loved, we'll be hated. Christ said, if they love me, they'll love you. If they hated me, they'll hate you. And so we find that we tend to be hated. It goes on to say many people change, but is that change really what we would call godly change? All change, change by itself, is not an indication of repentance or conversion. We have people today who change all kinds of things.

Blondes want to be brunettes. Brunettes want to be blondes. Redheads want to be blackheads.

That doesn't sound good, does it? We find people cut off the end of their noses. They want to reshape their noses. They want to cut the fat out. They tuck the tummy. They do everything in the world to change. People dissatisfied how they look, so they go and they have complete makeovers. And then they buy totally new wardrobes. I'm not saying a new wardrobe and all those things aren't great, but that's not godly repentance. That's not godly change. That's not changing in a right direction. Too often it's a change to keep up with or to impress people out of vanity, out of pride, out of ego. When we repent, we must repent God's way. Well, the way God says to go, repent implies change, but it must be in a godly direction, not just a selfish direction.

It's also amazing another oddity observed through the research is that adults, especially those under 30, so all of you under 30, listen up, regularly strive to be connected to a substantial number of other people, and yet possess a nagging sense of loneliness, isolation, and restlessness. The constant involvement with social networking via the internet, text messaging. See so many young people walking around, the thumbs are going like crazy. I mean, there are dozens and hundreds of messages they're sending every day. Back and forth, they're communicating and talking, and phone calls via mobile services, and frequent appearance in common hangouts. You can think of Starbucks, you can think of movie theaters, you can think of favorite restaurants. Our manifestations of the investment in relationships and connections that are important, but somehow not as fulfilling as desired.

Now, how do you and I normally connect to one another? It's hard to develop a relationship with cell phone. You can pet it, you can hug it, you can say, do you love me? But it doesn't give anything back. Our computer. Now, there are people who love their computers, but it's just a screen there. There's a box down there, and you can't love the thing, not the way you love another human being.

You and I must communicate with one another, but what is missing? Many times, it's the personal touch.

When a man and woman get married, there's a contact there. There is a relationship there. They share hopes, dreams, everything with one another. And when you have a deep friendship with somebody, it's not just because you can text message them, it's because you really get to know them.

How many of you receive on a regular basis a handwritten letter in the mail?

A few. Not very many. Handwritten letters go on the way of the dodo bird.

You know, I used to be able to go to the mailbox, I hope I get a letter today.

Well, today, well, how many emails do I have? And you clear out the junk, and then you look for those that might be a personal message. And many of those are just business, and occasionally, you get something that is personal. People used to sit down and write out long letters and send them to people about the family, how things are going, and then somebody would reply back. And you enjoyed going to the mailbox today. Well, no. You go to the mailbox, and there are bills and there are flyers. And that's basically it. And occasionally, you'll get a letter.

Why are there so many suicides among young people today?

Well, because many young people do not have the real relationships in the way that they should. Relationships are built on spiritual principles. How do we develop a relationship with God? Well, we talk to Him, and He talks back to us through His Word. Okay, that's the first point.

The second point is noble Christianity. Again, that means something that's recent, something that's fashionable. Notice what Barna says here. The research discovered that people are reframing not just faith in general, but Christianity in particular. While slightly fewer adults and many fewer teens are identifying themselves as Christians these days, the image of the Christian faith is taken a beating. Why? Well, harsh media criticism on Christian-like behavior of church people, the people who claim to be leaders, and they're out here as homosexuals, they're out here as committing adultery on the side with prostitutes, things of this nature, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crisis and the like. The result is those who choose to remain Christian, however they define it, are also reformulating the popular notion of what Christian and Christian life needs to be or means to be. Many people today in our society still call themselves Christians, but they have redefined what the term Christian means. If I call a rose a blipschnick, it still arose. I don't care what I call it. And people try to say, I'm a Christian, but then they change the rules. They change the rules on what makes a Christian, so therefore they claim that they are a Christian, and yet they're using different definitions. This is very popular today. So some of these changes are producing favorable outcomes, others are less appealing. For instance, a generational analysis by Barna Data shows that spiritual practices among those who claim to be Christians are shifting dramatically.

Okay, so what are some of the new practices that are involved today that maybe when you were growing up you never heard of? Well, churches today are embracing racial diversity and tolerance within a congregation. If you some congregations, if you go there and they get up and they teach against certain sins, whether they're sexual or whatever, people will walk out because they say you are close-minded. You are a bigot because you don't tolerate. Tolerance is the main quality that people have today of measuring you a person who is a good person. Are they tolerant? And of course, what they mean by that is that you tolerate sin, you tolerate anything, but you're supposed to have tolerance. So if you don't accept alternate lifestyles as an example, you're considered a bigot. Tolerance has been raised to the level of the Bible. It's almost equal to the Bible and authority.

Another new practice is pursuing spiritual diversity in conversation and relationships. Today, people consider themselves spiritual, but not religious. See, spiritual, you can define what spiritual means. Spiritual might mean that you pray to the great unknown, but you're spiritual, but you're not religious, which would imply that you're part of a religion. So, you know, they make a difference there. Many today are increasingly looking into all kinds of different religions, and so a lot of the Eastern religions, a lot of things like Hinduism, Islam, and so on are coming in, and many Americans are beginning to look at these. A third practice is valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual educations.

Now, this almost seems like a misnomer, because in some cases, you have these huge mega churches, 5, 10, 15, 20,000 people, and you think, well, these people are all disconnected.

But know the way they actually get people to connect with one another, they have small groups.

So, they have small groups for mechanics, small groups for kindergarten teachers, small groups for second grade teachers, small groups for, you know, it could be anything for women who are redheaded and left-handed. You know, they have all of these different groups where people who have things in common come together, and they discuss their craft or they discuss their interest. And so you find that most people today are ignorant of what their church teaches. Most people do not know doctrine as far as actual teachings. Most could not open up the Bible and say, the reason why I do this is, and turn to a scripture and read that scripture. Now, I know we live in the Bible Belt here, and there is more of a religious awareness in the Bible Belt than there are in other parts of the country. But you have to realize, not all the country is like this.

There is the great unchurched out there, and many who go to church just occasionally.

There's certainly, many are certainly ignorant of what the Bible teaches. It's like 2 Timothy 3 verse 7 says, I think again, describing the end time, always learning. Always learning something new, being exposed to it, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. So, never actually reaching the knowledge of the truth.

And another thing, as a new approach, is blending all forms of art, novel forms, and instruction into religious events. So, today we find all kinds of novel services, where you have rock bands in, you have almost anything in to attract people. There are churches that have drive-in theaters where you come in, you drive in, you don't have to change your clothes, you just pull up to the window, you watch the little screen, you listen, or maybe there's a big screen, you listen on headsets, and then you pull away. You don't even have to change your clothes. You can make it to the ballgame that afternoon, have a tailgate party. And, you know, this is what's going on. People think that if we can just get people interested in, quote-unquote, religion, what good does it do to get them interested if you're not teaching them the truth?

And another thing, another new development, is accepting divergent forms of spiritual community.

Among those are house churches. See, we're not the only group that have stay-at-home groups. Intentional communities and marketplace ministries.

Barna goes on to say, traditional ventures such as integrating discipline and regime and personal faith development are becoming less popular. Repeating the same routine in religious events is increasingly deemed stifling. So, you know, you wouldn't want to be stifled. So, come to church every week, sit here, be instructed, sing songs, you know, do this type of things.

That's something that's not relevant anymore. And then, you find, he goes on to say, rigidity of belief, which includes the notion that there are absolute moral and spiritual values, perceived by a large and growing share of young people to be evidence of closed-mindedness.

So, are there any things that you and I believe that I would classify as firm beliefs that we would be rigid on, if you want to call it that, we would not compromise with? How about the Sabbath? How about the Holy Days? How about our understanding of the plan of God? You know, there are many different doctrines that we understand. And yet, if you hold to something that you believe is right, and somebody comes in, they say, well, you know, I know you believe that, but look, let's have a little flexibility here if you want me to attend. You know, I'll have my own ideas, and you have more of a Unitarian type of approach, where everybody can believe what he wants to, and it doesn't matter. But that's not what the Bible says. We're all familiar with John 17 and 17. Christ said, thy word is truth. So here's where the truth is. It's in the Word of God. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 10, here's a prophecy for the end time that talks about those who will be deceived in the end time by the workings of Satan, the false Christ.

Verse 10, it says, with all unrighteous deception among those who perish. Why?

Because they did not receive the love of the truth. So you and I have to have a love of the truth that they might be saved. There are absolute moral and spiritual truths.

They're summarized by the Ten Commandments. So the result of this new approach to Christianity is form and structure for the Christian faith that will have a broad base consequences, Barnas said. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about here. I'd like to read to you from an article by Warren Smith. Warren Smith used to be a person who practiced new age, religion, and philosophy. He has since gotten out of it. He's written an article about something that Oprah Winfrey is going to be doing. We're all familiar with Oprah. It's been said that she's the most powerful woman in America, has the most influence, and she certainly has sometimes some wonderful shows dealing with health, diet, and exercise, many other things. But here is something that she's getting involved in that is the exact opposite. Let me read.

Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all stops on her XM satellite radio program this coming year.

Beginning on January the 1st, 2008, Oprah and friends will offer a year-long course on the new age teaching of a course in miracles. You might say, what's wrong with studying miracles? Well, go read the Bible, but she's going to have a course on miracles here.

A lesson a day throughout the year will completely cover the 365 lessons from the course in the Miracle Workbook. For example, lesson 29 asks you to go through your day affirming that God is in everything I see. The grass, the trees, the rocks. That's what the Indians used to believe. That's what a lot of people, even in many different religions, believe today.

Lesson 61 tells people to repeat the affirmation, I am the light of the world. Lesson 70 teaches the student to say and believe, my salvation comes from me.

See, not from God, but from me. By the end of the year, Oprah and friends, listeners, will have completed all of the lessons laid out in the course in the Miracle Workbook. Those who finish the course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset, a new age worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is in everyone and everything.

A Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life, and the courseworkbook bluntly states, this is a course in mind training.

It is dedicated to thought reversal. It's reversing your way of looking at things.

The Course in Miracles is allegedly a new revelation from Jesus to help humanity work through these troubled times, and it began with channeling. Now, that should tell you something right there, somebody who begins channeling. Channeling teaching in 1965 to a Columbia University professor of medical psychology by the name of Helen Shuckman. S-C-H-U-C-M-A-N.

One day, Shuckman heard an inner voice saying, this is a Course in Miracles. Please take notes.

For seven years, she diligently took spiritual dictation from this inner voice that described Himself to her as Jesus.

A Course in Miracles was quietly published in 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. For many years, the Course was an underground cult classic for new age seekers who studied the Course individually with friends or in small study groups. And again, some summation of the Course is, there is no sin. A slain Christ has no meaning. The journey to the Cross should be the last useless journey.

Do not make pathetic error of clinging to the old rugged Cross.

The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. Now, notice this one.

It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.

God is everything. The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.

The oneness of the Creator and the creation is your wholeness, your sanity, and your limitless power.

The Atonement is the final lesson. He, man, needs to learn, for it teaches him that never having sinned, he has no need of salvation. Now, I'll guarantee you there'll be tens of thousands, who knows hundreds of thousands of people, who will at least be exposed to this, and many will take this Course and follow through with it. That's part of the new Christianity that's going on.

Let's progress on to the five P's of parenting.

Now, this sometime I'd like to come back to you and give a sermon on, because there's so much information here. But most parents, as Barna said, want to do a great job of rearing children. However, Barna's study concluded that throughout the year, among parents of children under 18, revealed a few parents had a strategy or plan for how they will accomplish that goal. Here's a kid. What's the goal? What do you want to do with him? How do you want him to turn out? How do you expect to get to that point? See, very few people have any strategy. What is the goal for children? Why did God institute marriage in the first place? What is God's goal for children?

Malachi. Let's go over to the book of Malachi, chapter 2, verse 14. Malachi, chapter 2, verse 14.

It says, Why did God create marriage and make us one?

Having a remnant of the Spirit, and why one? He seeks godly offspring.

That's what God is looking for, that our children grow up to become godly offspring.

So this is God's goal. It's not always achieved, but it's what we should be striving for. It should be put up there as the goal and how we're going to reach it.

Now, there are five primary outcomes that Barna has analyzed as de facto strategy that parents use. And notice how some of these have prepped into the church. Some of these are things that people do, thinking that I'm doing a good job and marrying my children. Number one, preparation. First feet, preparation. Millions of parents enroll their youngsters in numerous and various activities in order to prepare their children for success.

Most parents do not see themselves as the key to grooming a well around the child.

They believe their role is to place their child in development environments and under the total age of those who can take their prodigies to the next level of proficiency.

The key in child rearing, one of the big keys, is you as a parent must spend time with your children.

You've got to be involved with them. And no one can have a greater influence on our children than we can as parents.

Mothers are the key, especially during the early age, for children to be there. Someone in the family has to be there to teach, guide, and be there with the children. Dads must be engaged and involved. So you find that people think, well, as long as my child is being prepared, they're in sports, they're in ballet, they're taking singing lessons, they're doing this, they're doing that, they're well rounded, they can do almost anything. I'm a success. I've done my job. And in many cases, they themselves are not that involved. Second point, second key, performing well.

Performing well. Parents look for measures of productivity that indicate how their child is doing on the path to success. Good grades in school, scoring in sports, performing well, and artistic endeavors are among the measurements parents rely upon, as well as feedback from other parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, and other experts. So as long as you're doing well, you've got good grades, doing well in sports, they're a success. I'm doing well.

I've done my job, and so you keep pushing them in that direction. The third is pressure management. Amidst significant parental expectations, stiff academic standards, and peer pressure, many kids struggle to stay healthy and balanced. So parents are cognizant of these mounting pressures in the attempt to help their offspring learn how to manage stress, competition, and disappointment. So they look at pressure management. Then, protection. And again, this is an age-old problem, we all admit. We certainly want to protect our children from bullies, from kidnapping, drugs, sexualization. So security of our children is one of the top priorities, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

And then the fifth one, public perception. In a society where image is reality, and parents are as anxious about their image as a parent, as they are about their child's image with its peer group, influencing public perception is a major concern among parents. Like politicians, many parents hone their skills in spin control, positioning in order to place them and their child in the best possible light. Now, how many parents put down at the top of their list for goals character development of their children?

How many people put down their child's relationship with God as a major factor? How they relate to authoritarian figures, and with them as parents? What about qualities such as honesty, truthfulness, love, service, giving, obedient? What about hard work? Do all of these traits so often we find that these traits may be sly simply to succeed in some other area? Barna's survey points out that most parents underestimate the influence that they, the parents, can exert on their children, and can have on their children. Consequently, they focus on the five Ps, but neglect emphasis upon activities will strengthen their relationship bonds with their children.

Many parents, even those who are born-again Christians, also overlook the need to foster a deeper connection between their children and God and to develop a world view for them. So, you know, those are just things that we need to consider.

And then point number four, again, remember we're talking about major trends in the culture and the society around this, is what is called designer faith. We have designer genes, designer clothes, so we've got designer faith and ruthless values. Barna writes, as young adults, teenagers, and adolescents have become accustomed to radical individualism. They have introduced such thinking and behavior into the faith realm as well. Faith is an acceptable attribute and pursuit among most young people. However, their notions of faith do not align with the conventional religious perception or behavior, whereas their behavior does not reflect that they have faith, how they act, how they treat other people.

None of this jives with it. For instance, young people are still likely to claim the label of Christian, but the definition of the term has broadened beyond traditional parameters. So now people come up with their own definitions. As an example, if I didn't have one ounce of athletic ability and I claimed to be an athlete, you know, I could claim it all day long, but I'm not an athlete.

If I can't dribble a ball, kick a ball, run. Every time I run, I stumble, fall, break my neck, you know, this type of thing. If I claim I'm a scholar and I never read a book, never study, you know, I never know anything beyond what I learned in grade school, how can I claim I'm a scholar? I may claim it, but that doesn't mean I am one. The same thing is true of being a Christian. It says, in fact, the values that young people are prone to embrace are often consistent with Christian belief, but are not based upon biblical foundations.

Now, this is something I think is important to grasp. For instance, while young people have developed adopted values such as goodness, kindness, and tolerance, they remain skeptical of the Bible.

So, who defines what is goodness? Who defines what is kindness and proper tolerance? Well, the Bible does. They're skeptical of church tradition and rules or behavior based upon religious teachings. So, what are they going to base their Christianity on if it is not biblical teachings? Well, it's the ideas that are being promulgated in the educational system, the university. We are literally churning out millions of young people out of the universities, high schools, who do not know how to think for themselves, who do not know basically almost anything. They think they're smart. They think they relate. They think they know a lot, and they're all growing up to be, quote-unquote, tolerant of each other. But they don't know what the Bible has to say.

You know, our behavior and our teaching should be based upon the Bible. And again, it's 2 Timothy 3, 5, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. People have form, but they don't have the substance.

It may look good, but they don't have the substance in here.

What I mean by that, in another Barna study, in other words, he summarized all the studies he did throughout the year, in another study that basically focused on the religious beliefs of American people. Notice what Barna said. Although the large majority of the public claims to be deeply spiritual and say that religious faith is very important in their life, only 15% of those who regularly attend a Christian church write their relationship with God at the top of their priority of life. So what is their top priority in life? Making money, family, whatever it might be. Now these are those who claim to be Christians. If only 15% of them do, what about those who are not Christians?

Three out of four teenagers have engaged in at least one type of psychic and witchcraft-related activity. Among the most common of these endeavors are using an Ouija board, reading books about witchcraft, or Wicca, playing games involving sorcery or witchcraft, having a professional dual-palm reading or have some fortune told. These are all things people engage in. Look at the popularity of the Harry Potter series and made the author, or the Rawlings, a billionaire. A tremendous amount of money made through that. The notion of personal holiness has slipped out of the consciousness of the vast majority of Christians.

While just 21% of adults consider themselves to be holy, by their own admission large numbers have no idea what holiness means. So they say, I'm holy, but what does that mean? Well, I don't know.

They don't know what it means. Only one out of every three, 35% believe that God expects people to become holy. So the expectations are not very high there. Barnas, no, another one here, evaluating spiritual maturity remains an elusive process for clergy as well as the individual. How would you measure your spiritual maturity? What would you use? Across the nation, the only measure of spiritual health used by at least half of all pastors was the extent of volunteer activity that people did. How much do they volunteer? Those are the spiritually mature. Barnas tracking of young people showed that most of them had disengaged from organized religion during their twenties. When they get in their twenties, that drops by the wayside for most. And most young people would rather be popular than to do what is morally right. So they'd rather be popular.

Rather than these megatrends have a way of creeping into the church. They're insidious. Satan the devil tries things out in society. If it works there, you find eventually it begins to be in the church. Many of these ideas are prevalent today, and we find that among some of our young people some of these things are there. You and I need to be on guard and keep track of the major trends that are happening so that we can contend with them now. We can be aware of what they are. We can have knowledge and understanding, and so that we can also be prepared for the future. So, brethren, let's make sure that we do as the Bible says, to watch and to pray always.