So Romans chapter 1 and verse number 21, it says, because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were they thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, for their foolish heart was darkened. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank You and praise You, God, for what You do. We pray that You watch over us, help, Lord, the rest of this service. I pray that, God, while we understand this in the context, that You'll help us, Lord, to take some things from this for our edification and learning. We thank You, Lord, in all these things. We ask it in Your Son Jesus' name. Amen. Now, what he gives you here, to me, with the normal understanding of the Bible, almost sounds contrary to what you would expect. Normally, we understand that the heart of the matter is the heart, and as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life, all those kind of things, which will probably come up the week after next when I preach on this again. He doesn't say that this direction begins necessarily in the heart at this point, once a man has stopped being thankful, once he's stopped giving God the glory. Now, we know that that begins in the heart, but he says that the next thing that will start to happen to them is they will become vain in their imaginations. And so we're going to talk about what that means to be vain in your imaginations, and then we're going to try to use that to preach about the battle for your mind today. So that's what we're going to try to get into here in this part of it. So he says what happens after they stop glorifying God, they cease to be thankful, it says, but became vain in their imaginations. You see, it's really a response to that idea that they weren't thankful. That normally the response to knowing that God is real in your heart and knowing deep down inside that there is a Creator whose world you live in and get all the benefits and prosperity of it would be that you would give Him glory and that you would be thankful. But instead of that, their natural reaction was to become very vain in their imagination. There was a problem that began in their mind because of the problem already in the heart. And so that's why it seems contrary that He says it that way since the heart is what comes up after this. You know, the next thing in the verse is the heart. Normally, we would say it begins there, and it does. It's just that there's a point he's making here, is that instead of thinking on what God has done and appreciating what God has done, they begin to think on things that are vain. Because things that are vain are things that are empty. Now, be careful to describe the word vain as unprofitable, because God shows in multiple verses they're not exactly the same thing. They're similar words. He'll say something is vain and unprofitable, or unprofitable and vain, meaning they're not exactly the same thing. There are two different aspects they're bringing to the table. And so, when he talks about a vain imagination, he's saying an imagination is something you're thinking that is empty. There's nothing in it. You're thinking on things that themselves have no eternal value. They're not something that's going to have any lasting value to it. So again, it's very similar to unprofitable, but you have to be careful when he says, and by definition, it means those words are going to be different. So today, as we understand why this is so important, how you think like, why is it such a big deal that they begin to think on things that are temporary instead of those things which are eternal? They begin to think about the things of this world and think like this world instead of thinking like citizens of a heavenly country like we're supposed to. Why is it such a big deal that men do that? I mean, honestly, you would expect a lost man to think like that. You would expect a lost man to not think about eternity or to think about what happens after he dies, because why would he? It's better for him and his heart to not think about those things. In fact, Solomon talks about that, that if there's no God, it'd be better for you to eat, drink, and be merry and not think about those things. So somebody who doesn't believe in God, it's natural that his mind goes towards vain imaginations of thinking on the things of this earth that are empty, that are vain. So, you have to understand, though, that it's very dangerous because while normally who you are and what you do proceeds forth from the heart, what you're taking in has the ability to affect your heart. And what you're thinking on day in and day out has the ability to affect your heart. If that's not true, then you could just watch whatever you want to and it would never matter. You could listen to whatever you want to and it would never matter. Reading your Bible would never matter because if you're saying what you take in doesn't affect what's inside of you, then nothing external would matter, but it does. It does matter if you read your Bible. It does matter what you're listening to. It does matter what you're watching. It does matter who you're spending time with. All of that does matter. And so what He's showing to us in this is that when men cease to think about God, they start thinking about the things of this world, and their imagination becomes so wrapped up in the emptiness of this world that their heart becomes foolish and darkened and all these things that are described in the next verses, until eventually their mind becomes reprobate, which means something that is itself without value. The idea behind the word reprobate, I've said this a few times already, probably said a lot before we get there, is the idea of the first time he mentions it's in Jeremiah 6 and he says, I tried you a silver, and he refers to them as being reprobate silver. And what he's saying to them in that verse is that they are silver that when it was put to the fire and it was tested, there was nothing of value in it. It was just dross. Like, I thought I had silver. But it's just dross. And if I can illustrate what that looks like, I used to work for a company as a machinist and we had some people bring to us what they thought was silver because they worked at a company that sprayed the backs of mirrors. And there was a little bit of silver in it. But by the time you actually melted it down to get the silver out, it was mostly just trash. It was mostly worthless stuff that melted away and vanished and had no value or nothing in it that could be refined or done anything with. And that's what God's saying to Israel in Jeremiah, is that, I melted you down, I put you to the fire, and I tested you, and ultimately there was nothing of value to be found. I couldn't scrape the dross away because it was just dross. It was just the trash. That's all that was in your minds. And when he talks about a reprobate mind, that's more or less what he's saying, a mind that has become so filled with the things of no value, the things of this world, that if it were to be put to the fire, there would be no silver to be found in it. There'd be nothing of value to be found within that mind if it were put to the test. So when God says that, you see, this is where that journey is picking up at. Like, okay, I don't believe there's God. I'm not thankful. Now my mind starts going in this direction where it becomes empty and vain, and eventually it'll become so worthless that there's nothing to refine in it anymore. That's what the reprobate mind described later on is. So understanding in the context, that's what he's talking about. Understanding the bigger picture of what it means, the vain mind, realize how important your mind is. God talks about in James 1 that a double-minded man is dangerous in all his ways, like James 1.8. So you understand, a double mind is a terrible thing in the Bible, to not be settled in your mind and have a good mind about you. But let's look at a few passages that I think will help us to understand what's wrong with this vain imagination, why it's something you should be afraid to go down this direction. So the first of those I'm going to take you to is 2 Kings, chapter number 17. 2 Kings, chapter number 17, and if you happen to catch Jeremiah on the way, you can place a marker there because we'll come back to that one in just a minute. So 2 Kings, chapter number 17, verse number 14. As if notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers and did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and his testimonies, which he testified against them. And they followed vanity and became vain. and went after the heathen that were round about them concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove and worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served Baal. And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire and use divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. So you want to know why what he says is a big deal is because he just described to you what it looks like in this passage. When He says that they became vain in their imaginations, it's the same thing He's saying here in 2 Kings 17. He's saying God tried. He tried to deal with Israel. He refined them. He put the fire to them to refine them, but as He tells them in Jeremiah, there was nothing to refine. He says, I tried and I tried with you. I put the fire multiple times. I scraped the dross, but it just was more dross. It was more of the stuff you scrape out when you're refining the silver. And he said, what happened was that when they did not want to believe God, that's what it says, they didn't believe God. When they chose not to believe God, they chose to start thinking on something else. And he said, they begin to think on vanity. They begin to think on the things of this world, the things that have no meaning, value, purpose, whatever. They begin to think on these empty things. And as they began to do that, they began to live according to those things. And he said, in time, they began to live just like the people who he had driven out of Canaan land for them. The same people who worshiped Baal, the same people who sacrificed their children by putting them through the fire, putting them in the hands of a burning bull and sacrificing them and considering the cries of their dying child to be praise unto a God, they did that. How can somebody go down a path to do that? That they would say, it's praiseworthy and honoring to my God to take my child and lay it in the hands of a bull that has fire inside of it made of gold or bronze or whatever and cook my child to death and listen to their screams as a song of praise to my God. How does somebody go to that point of evil? That's one of the most vile things anybody in this room could possibly imagine. But they did it. God's people, supposed to be God's people, did that. So when God says, I put you to the fire and I found that there was nothing of value in you, that you were reprobate silver, that's what He means. It's like, I gave Israel a chance. I gave them a nation. I gave them prophets. I gave them kings. I gave them everything they could possibly need. I brought prosperity. I brought punishment. I brought everything that could possibly be needed to bring this nation to a place where there's something of value in these people. And yet, they immediately begin to worship Baal. They immediately begin to worship the gods of this world. They immediately begin to build idols and go after the things of this world, and even get to the point where they start sacrificing their children to these things. And God says, there's nothing. I can keep putting the fire to you, but there's nothing of value there. That's what he's saying to Israel by the time you get to Jeremiah. Now, at this point, he's still in the fire process. By the time he gets to Jeremiah and he calls them reprobate, that's what he means when he says they reprobate silver. So you understand this, that he's telling Israel, the reason you're on this path is because I tried to deal with you and you chose not to believe me. Isn't that what he's describing in Romans 1? Is it in the heart of all those men, the universe around them is crying that there is a God? The law within their heart, their own conscience is crying to them that there is a God. The Bible that's available in the world around them is crying to them that there is a God, and they choose not to believe Him. They glorify Him not as God. They consider Him to be just like any of the idols, and they begin to go after their vanity. And so he's describing the same exact process. And the reason why this is so dangerous is because the process can happen to anybody if you start going down that path. Now that doesn't mean God won't chase you differently if you're a child. Of course that's true. But God is warning that when men stop believing the Bible When they stop putting the emphasis there and taking God at His word and keeping Him as a central point of their life, you will start to think like the world. You will start to think on vanity. You will get your morals, your convictions, your standards, your philosophies, all of this from the world. This is the same way He said that if you stop glorifying God, you will worship idols. He's telling you when you don't believe God, when you take that out of your heart, you will follow after the world because your mind is going to think on something. And if you're not thinking on the things of God, you're going to think on the vain things of this world. You only really have two choices. And so he's saying, you're going to think about eternity or you're going to think about this world. That's your two choices. You're going to think about God or you're going to follow this world. And the reason why, it would be hard to ever call Belgium a Christian country. It's a Catholic country. There's never a Bible-believing Christian country here. But the reason why a country like mine, that there was a significant portion of people in it who are Bible-believing Christians, and a lot of you have the gospel because of them, so it'd be hard for you to disagree with that statement. The reason why a country like that can be in the spiritual condition it is right now, so that if you were to go to America, you would find that the average person… You think Christians are on every corner, and everybody's a Christian there if you've never been. But if you were to go there and sit down in a church, you would find out that your children are more spiritual than most people sitting in churches in the U.S. anymore. I'm not saying you don't have older people who love God and serve God in churches. I'm saying the average congregation, if you were to go sit down on a Sunday morning in a church in the United States, those people don't even know what the Bible says about anything. They may know John 3.16, but that's about the extent of it. And their love for God is, well, you know, I come to church because it's traditional. It's what our family does, which, if you pay attention, is exactly what Israel was doing at this point in their history. But all of their ideologies, all of their philosophies, their love for the things of this world, all this world, everything is coming from this world. They don't live for God, they live for the vanity of this world. And you understand that just like that nation can go that way, just like Israel went that way, just like any group can go that way, our church can go that way. If we don't take the stand in our church to keep the focus on God and His Word and preach the Word of God, then it won't take more than one generation before our church becomes vain to where all we care about is, well, if you want to make money, then Proverbs and Ecclesiastes tells you how to do this. Oh, you want to feel good today? Well, Philippians says this. If you want to know how to make people like you, well, we find that here. It becomes what churches are. You understand that the vast majority of what calls itself a church in the world, that's all it is. It's a self-help group where people meet once a week because they know that they need something, but they're not willing to submit to God. So they'll come and get a little pep talk, but that's it. Don't talk to me about sin. Don't talk to me about anything else. Maybe you can put a little bit of standards in there because deep down in people's hearts, they know that they need some of that stuff. But don't actually expect me to live by it. You understand that that's the majority of Christianity and our church can become that. We've got a good church right now but that doesn't mean we'll have a good church in ten years. It doesn't mean we'll have a good church in five years. If the people that are in this church don't get a hold of these things and ourselves stop from going in a vain direction of thinking like and acting like the world because that's what Israel did and if the individual parts of this church start going that way then the church as a whole becomes that way. You understand in your own life if little by little your entertainment is the world's entertainment, you're going to start to think like the world. If little by little, the things you listen to are the things the world listens to, you're going to start to think like the world. If everything you spend your free time on, you understand entertainment is the things you distract yourself with. What are you distracting yourself from? Well, I'm distracting myself because I had a hard day today, and I need to wind down, and I need to blow off some steam." That's true. Everybody does that. Everybody has something you do at the end of the day to blow off steam, but what else are you distracting yourself from? Because if it's not the Bible that you're going to blow off that steam, then you're also distracting yourself from the Bible. If it's not God you're going to find some relaxation and find peace, you're also distracting yourself from Him. So while you're distracting yourself from God, and I'm not telling you you have to read the Bible all day, every day. I'd tell you you'd be a better person if you did it, but I'm not telling you you have to. That's between you and God. I'm telling you that my life is better when I listen to Christian music, preaching, and that kind of stuff instead of anything else. But what I am saying to you is this. When we talk about having fun, having distraction, having entertainment in our life, that's what it is. It's distraction. It's not just the bad stuff it's distracting you from. If the distraction is not God, if church is not your distraction, that you come here to get your peace and your help and all of that, then whatever your distraction is is also going to be distracting you from God. So I'm not telling you you can't have hobbies. I'm not telling you you can't have things that you enjoy besides God. It's okay that you like to go and do other stuff as long as it's not distracting you from God. Now, don't get me wrong here. Since I've got married and have kids, it's hard to go out and do a lot of stuff. I used to like to run. I used to like to ride a bicycle. I did that with God. When I was running, I was praying. I was thinking on things of God. When I was riding my bicycle, I was singing, singing hymns and stuff. People in the forest probably hated me because I would ride and sing How Great Thou Art as I was admiring the beauty of God's creation. I'm not telling you you can't have those kind of things. But when God says to pray without ceasing, that means that when you have your hobbies, God should be able to be included in those. When God tells you to rejoice always and all these kind of things that are consistent, it's not like, okay, you do it now, but later you can take a break from it. Those kind of things where He talks about speaking to ourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, all that kind of stuff, that's not things that God says you do it on Sunday and then you take a break the rest of the week. Those are not things that God says you do it for a little while in the morning and then you go to work and you forget about it the rest of the day. Those are supposed to be infectious to the rest of your day so that all day long you carry that with you. I like, you know, Newts was talking about, he was reading David, talking about meeting God first thing in the morning and being ready to meet Him. And he said in his mind, he pictures the idea of David getting up and getting dressed and sitting down at the table like he's expecting God to come sit down with him and meet. And while he was joking some about it, honestly, that's what your devotion should be like. You're expecting God to be on the other side of the conversation there, that you're meeting with Him. That's not what most people do. They get up, they say their prayer, do their devotion, whatever they've got to do, so they can get out the door, get to work, do everything else, and you're distracted from God the rest of the day, all day. And if you're not thinking about God, what are you thinking about? There's only two choices. If God's not in your thoughts and in your mind, and He's not what's going on throughout the day, then whatever else you're thinking about is vanity. I'm not saying it's not important to some degree, like your job's important to you that you keep it, that you eat, that you have stuff for your family, but is it eternally important? Because if not, it's vanity. It's something that the Bible says within a generation will be forgotten. It'll have no eternal value whatsoever because it's empty in the long run. So I'm not telling you don't go to your job, but I'm saying if you go to your job and that means you can't think about Jesus anymore for the rest of the day, you can't have that song in your heart, you can't go to God in prayer if something's bothering you and talk to Him, then you have to ask what's going on. He goes, I've worked in some of the hardest conditions. I've worked in things where you have to break your back and you're sweating, you're cutting your hands open, trying to keep up with machines, and you can still do it. It doesn't matter what job you're doing, you can still have communication. You don't have to have the Bible open in front of you. I've had jobs where I can do that too. But you don't have to have the Bible open in front of you to be able to have communication with God throughout the day. You have to have that communication in your heart. It has to be a reality to you, that the lines of communication, prayer, all of that stuff is within your heart. So, that your imagination throughout the day is not on vanity, it's on things that matter. In fact, that's why God promises to bless those who meditate on the Bible, not just those who read it. You get up in the morning, you read your verses, you can say, I read the Bible through this year, that's great, I hope you get something from it, but God didn't promise to bless that. God promised to bless when you carry it with you and it infects your thoughts throughout the day. That's what meditating on it is. It stays with you and you're still thinking about it. One, two, three, four, five, six hours later, it's sticking with you. And if it's not, then you have to ask yourself why. And I'm going to be honest. And the reason why I'm harping on this so much when it's honestly supposed to be one note in my message. is because most often the reason why it doesn't stick with you longer than the time it takes you to close your Bible is because you were distracting yourself worrying about what I have to do next while you were reading it. You weren't even thinking about what it says when you were there. You weren't thinking about what the preacher was saying when you were sitting in church. You were already worried about, what am I going to eat when I get home today? What am I going to do when I leave from here? Oh, how late is it? Because I got other stuff I have to do. And I'm not picking on anybody individually. I'm talking about, in general, this is what we are like as people. Is it the reason why the things of God don't stay with us more than it takes us to get out the door? is because we immediately distract ourselves. Like the service ends, you check your phone to see what you missed out on in the world. The service ends and you're already trying to get away from everybody's, you know, I don't have time to fellowship, so I've got to go eat. I've got to go do something. And you understand that every one of those things you're doing is killing yourself spiritually because your imaginations are not on the things which are eternal and the things of God. Your imaginations are on those things that are vain. It's not just on Sunday. It's throughout the week. You're distracting yourself through things that are important like your work. I'm not taking away your work. You still need to be there, but God should be able to go with you. I'm not saying you don't spend time with your family. You still need to do that, but God should be able to go with you. I'm not saying you don't have hobbies. You play sports, that's fine, but God should be able to go with you when you do it. You go out and you enjoy nature, you walk. I mean, I love that. I like to do that. I don't do it nearly enough, but I love that. God should be able to go with me when I go. If God is not with me when I go in my thoughts, then I must be thinking about something vain. Because you know my head's not empty all day long. I mean, I take that back. Laurie would disagree with that statement. But most of you would not say that my head would be empty all day long. There's only a few of you who would say something like that. But the point is, other than a few of you, who I'm not going to name right now, I don't think most of you walk around with an empty head all day. You're thinking about something. While you're at work, while you're at school, while you're eating, while you're doing whatever you do throughout the day, there's something going on. But how often does that something have anything in the world to do with God? How often is that something even remotely connected to God? Because if not, what you're doing is you're thinking on vanity. And God says when you start thinking on vanity, you start to learn the philosophies of the world. You start to learn to love the things that the world loves. You start to hunger for the distraction that the world offers. Your heart goes after the vanity so that you become a vain person. And you start to walk after the vanity of your mind just like the Gentiles do. And God warns us not to do that anymore. In fact, I'll show you that verse in a moment. Let me give you a few more verses. In fact, let me skip the one here in Jeremiah. We'll go to Ephesians 4, the one I just quoted. Jeremiah is God asking the people of Israel what iniquity did they find in Him that they would walk after vanity instead of obeying Him. Why on earth would you choose idols and things that are empty and have no value over the God of heaven and earth is the question He's asking them. Why would you choose, if you have a choice of what to do with your day? Would you choose to go on YouTube and listen to somebody talk about a bunch of nonsense and make up a bunch of things and try to present to you their evidence that they have no real evidence for, whatever nonsense they have, or talk to you about some self-help thing that it's just something they made up because they want your money? Like, you understand that. Why, when you have a choice between, I'm going to devote my time to thinking about something that would honor God and bring me closer to Him, And I'm going to go on and listen to conspiracies. I'm going to go on and listen to somebody telling me how that I can declutter my life. I'm going to go and listen to someone who tells me how to better manage my finances. And, you know, managing your finances is good. But I'm going to tell you most of the people you're listening to, they ain't got anything about God in their advice. There's a few out there who do, but they're few and far between. You understand that the vast majority of what you're listening to, the vast majority of the things you're giving your time to, the friends you're spending time with, the things you're doing are things that are leading you in this vanity so that you think that what really matters in life is what they think is what matters in life. So your colleagues say, well, you've got to get ahead because you've got to have money, you have to be able to buy a house, you have to be rich, you have to have this and this and this, you have to be able to retire by a certain age. This is the expectation. So how could you not be living for this? And that's all you hear all day, day in and day out. I mean, you live in Belgium. You have to retire by a certain age. You have to have a house by a certain age. You have to have everything by a certain age. You have to choose what you're going to do with your life for the teenagers. Like, I'm going to go to school. Well, you have to have the degree that's going to give you the most money because, of course, that's what God wants you to do. God obviously wants you to be rich. I mean, all of us are rich, so you don't get sarcasm. Nobody in this room is rich, except for a few of you. Some of you are hiding it. But no, the point is that The world is telling you that what God wants is for you to be financially successful, successful in a career that the world approves of. And is that really what God said at any point in your life? At any point has God actually told you that that's what He wants you to do? Or do you do it because that's what mom, dad, uncles, aunts, grandma, grandpa, and all these people pressure you? And I'm not just talking to the teenagers anymore. Some of you have already been in your career for a little while and you still have this pressure hanging over you that this is what society expects me to do. Is it really what God tells you to do? Is it really what God's leading you to do or are you still following after vanity because all day long you're thinking of vanity? That's the question you have to ask. Do you feel like you have to go party and do everything your friends do? You have to go everywhere your friends go. They took a vacation, so I have to go spend, you know, 5,000 euros on vacation because that's what my friends did. That's what my family did. Do you have that pressure linging over you because that's what the world does? Because when you're going to think about vanity, that's going to happen. Do you feel like, you know, sometimes you're a weirdo because you go to church and all the society is saying, well, that's what, you know, people who believe in fairy tales and people who aren't mature enough to take care of themselves and all that kind of stuff, that's what they're telling you. And if that's all you're listening to, you're listening to their entertainment, you're listening to their music, you're listening to your friends at work and at school and all this kind of stuff, then all day long you're being fed with that. And if you start to think on that stuff, you're going to go down that path to where your mind becomes vain also. So, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 tells us we're not to walk that way anymore. He says, "'This I say, therefore, in testifying the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not, as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who, being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness and greediness.'" He's talking to Christians who are Gentiles. And he says, I know you grew up in a society that teaches you that your perverse pleasure should be a priority in your life, that it's really important that you're being fulfilled that way. I know you grew up in a society that told you life is about being rich and having a good home and big income and all this kind of stuff. I know you grew up in that because it's what the Gentiles teach. That's why he names greediness and lasciviousness. And I can take exactly what he said and apply it to you right now in the day and age you live in, because as far as I'm aware, everybody in this room is a Gentile, and you grew up in a society or culture that this is what they have beat into your head from the day you were born. And I know that you grew up that way. And I know that that's probably how you walked. You probably spent your life until a certain point where what mattered was, I have to have a good career, I have to have a good income, I have to have this and this and this, I have to fit in, I have to have friends, I have to make sure that I put all these things in the box that society is telling me has to fit into my life. And God says, I want you to not walk in the vanity of your mind just like the other Gentiles do. You used to. In time past, you used to walk like that. But I don't want you to walk like that anymore. He describes them in other passages. In Philippians 3, he describes them, people who have this mind. He says their belly is their God. And he says, I don't want you to be someone who just chases after what feels good, must be good, like the world is teaching you. In Titus, he talks about They're conscious being defiled, that they're unbelievers and that their mind and conscience is defiled. And He says, I don't want you to think like that. You have to learn to think differently than what the world thinks like. So what I'm challenging you with today, and again, I have a lot of stuff we could talk about, but what I'm challenging you with is very simple. Your mind has the ability, you have just as much ability to be vain in your imagination as any unbeliever you spend time around. And the more time you give to the things they're telling you, the more vain you're likely to become because you start thinking on those things. And I'm not telling you you can't have hobbies, but you better make sure there are hobbies that Jesus can be there with you when you have them. I'm not telling you don't go to your job, but He needs to be able to be with you when you're doing it. If He has to stay home when you go to work, then there's something wrong. If the places you go for fun, He has to stay home and you don't want Him there, then you shouldn't be there. You understand that? This is true for all of us, because if not, we become vain in our imaginations, and I'm not telling you you're going to build a statue and sacrifice your children on it. But I am telling you, you'll send them to learn the things of the world and sacrifice them to the world and to the system of this world in a very new way. You don't have to sacrifice them at the altar anymore. You can sacrifice them at the school. You can sacrifice them at the TV. You can sacrifice them trying to fit into what pressures your family and friends and society puts on you because, oh, you have to do this for your children. But did God say you have to do any of that for your children? And I'm telling you, you may not sacrifice them to an idol. You may not have a physical idol set up in your house, but the longer you think on vain things, the more vain you will become, and you will start to sacrifice your children to this world. Because, well, they have to have fun. All the other kids are doing it. They have to go there and do that too. I know pastors, I know preachers and pastors that you know who right about now in their life are starting to kick themselves because they had that philosophy that, I don't want my children to miss out on anything that the children in the world have, and so they started letting their children become more and more friends with the world. And you know where their children are now? In the world. I'm talking about people who grew up in a pastor's home and should know the Bible, should know the things of God, and right now they're not even darkening the doors of a church at all. They're married to unbelievers, they've went after wicked things, and why? I talked to their parents when they were younger. I know exactly what their philosophy was. Well, you know, they have to choose for themselves and I want them to be able to enjoy the things that everybody else gets to enjoy and they have to go there. Where did the Bible ever say that a child should get to choose, and I'm not even talking about teenagers when I say this, that they should get to choose where they go while they're still under your roof and these things. Like, they're going to choose their salvation. They're going to choose whether they love God or not. That's ultimately always going to be up to them. But what you let them watch, what you let them listen to, where you let them go, what friends you allow to be around them, you have that choice while they're under you. And God says it's entirely your responsibility to make sure it's right. It's never been a choice that is supposed to be, well, they just get to choose whatever they want. It was always supposed to be that you were protecting them from the vanity of this world. Instead, most parents are sacrificing their children to it because they're afraid that somebody at work is going to judge them because, you know, I don't let my kids do this. Somebody at work is going to judge them because my kids have to dress or act or talk a certain way. Somebody is going to judge them because I don't send my kids everywhere that everybody else sends their kids to. I know the biggest thing that a lot of people struggle with, and I'm not here preaching to you that you have to homeschool your kids. I personally have a conviction on that, but I'm not going to preach it right now. But the biggest thing I know almost everybody I've ever talked to struggles with that is that they feel like people are going to look at you like you're doing some kind of witchcraft because you're teaching your children at home instead of sending them to the school. How is that even possible? But you understand if you believe that's what God wants you to do, it's irrelevant what the world thinks about it. It's completely irrelevant what the world thinks about any of that stuff. All that matters is what you believe God wants you to do with those children. Otherwise, you're sacrificing them to this world and to the idols of it because, well, everybody has to have this level of education, everybody has to have sports, everybody has to have fun, everybody has to have this, and you're sacrificing your children because you're trying to please somebody who's not God. And that's where your vain mind will take you when you start thinking on vain things. And I'm not trying to be mean to anybody, I'm not trying to pick on you today. In fact, I'll be honest, I didn't even get to half the stuff that was supposed to be about picking on you, so be glad I didn't get that far in my message. But the point is this. You have a choice what you think about. You have a choice what you're going to do with your minds. And I understand everybody in this room testifies they're saved, they testify they know God, that you glorify Him as God, you're thankful, all that stuff that come before this, you check that you've got it right. But far too many people who believe in God and say that they give Him the glory don't really give it in their life like they should. They're not as thankful as they should be, which we've talked about the past two weeks. But for sure, the vanity of the Gentiles is creeping into their life every day. And they're thinking like people who don't know God. They're getting their morals, their convictions, their philosophies, their priorities, all this stuff from people who don't know God. You know why the world doesn't get to tell me how to dress is because they worship the God of this world. Their hearts and minds are blinded by the God of this world. I don't care what they think about it. You know why they don't get to tell me how to raise my kid? Because I don't care what they think about it. You know why they don't get to tell me what I should think is fun and what I should do with my life and what a proper goal for my life is? Because I don't care what someone whose God is the devil. You understand? That's what the God of this world means. Someone who is following the devil should not be telling me how to live. But if the person you're getting your information from is not the Bible, is not coming from Bible preaching and Bible teaching and your own Bible study, it's not God teaching you, then it's the devil. I'm not saying everything the world says is going to be entirely from the devil, but you understand the main author behind their philosophies was the God of this world. The one who taught them that you have to sacrifice your children this way, you have to, it's the God of this world. So you have to choose today, for you, for your sake, for your family, for our church's sake, for everybody's sake, for this country's sake, you have to choose to not walk in the vanity of your minds, to not think on vain things and distract yourself with the things of this world so that you don't have time to think about God anymore. You have to give God the time, the preeminence, all the things He deserves if you want to be able to overcome the vanity of the mind. Father, we thank You and praise You, God, for what You do. Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings and for Your goodness. I pray, God, that You'd watch over us, help us to serve You. Thank You, Lord, for all that You do. We ask all this of You in Your Son, Jesus' name. Amen.