Internet - part 4

Another danger with the net is the amount of time we can spend doing absolutely nothing on it; I know that I can go on and before I know it I’ve just wasted so much time on absolutely useless things! There’s hours spent on fantasy football, days in Ebay and I love reading; you would not want to see the time I spend looking through books on Amazon.co.uk, I can neglect my wife, neglect prayer and why is it we can spend hours surfing the net but most of us would find it difficult to spend even an hour in private study of the bible or in prayer?

We must redeem the time as Paul says in Ephesians 4. We must be wary of how much wasted time we will have to answer for when we stand before our Great God!

Is anyone on Bebo or Myspace?
Those of you who aren’t probably have an idea of what we’re talking about! I can go on Bebo or myspace on Monday evening and by Friday I’ve been around the world twice, reading of peoples sick dogs and education hopes!!! You know…

But what really interests me is when you read that little caption beside a name and it says; “I’m a Christian” Now that interests me- Jesus tells us to love brothers and sisters in Christ so when I see a Christian I wanna know what God’s doing in their life!
'CLICK'
“I am a Christian” and meanwhile a video comes on of the Pussy Cat Doll’s telling me to loosen up their buttons... [...I mean they don’t even have buttons!]
Seriously, Jesus wouldn’t want me listening or looking at that, Job says in ch31 v1 that he had made a covenant with his eyes that he would not look with lust upon a young woman. And that is the example!
Jesus said if you look with lust you’ve committed adultery in your heart.

You click off them and go to someone else, “I’m a Christian and go to such and such a church”. You go to their pics and every picture, morning noon and night, a bottle or pint of beer is in hand. MMMMM Or the pics of the girls…. We’re back to Job 31 I don’t wanna look at those, I want to honour Jesus! And some of the language in conversations or comments, well? It would break your heart!

But the issue at the heart of it isn’t the drink or the clothes or even what you’re looking at. The issue is holiness! I guarantee that there are some here who time and time again fall to sin on the internet or hide their Christianity in front of their friends even on the net!
You see you’re here singing the songs and from your heart you love God, but when you get outside, or when you are in public view you just don’t want to look like some sort of Christian geek! So you compromise and hide your love for God!
I’m not saying everyone should play Charles Wesley on their Bebo page or type up the 10 commandments but if you are a Christian and you were as Philippians said made to shine into this dark world, then SHINE!

Here’s the thing and a lot of people have missed this There is no MYSPACE anymore, MYSPACE is now HIS SPACE My life belongs to Him.
I was in darkness and now I’ve been brought into the light, we are called to purity – away from porn, away from sin, away from all this stuff!
As Philippians says we are called to be lights, shining forth in a dark and perverse world.

1 Corinthians 10;31 says “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything, that’s internet usage included, to the glory of God”.
People always ask, and it’s a fair enough question, “if you died tonight where would you go” or “what would happen if you don’t wake up tomorrow” I’m going to ask you tonight; If Jesus doesn’t come back tonight, and you do wake up tomorrow morning will you live a victorious Christian life?
Will you shine forth as lights into this wicked and perverse world? Will people see that you have been brought out of darkness and now you are light?