Welcome to Digital Disconnect.
I'm your host Scott Ritsema
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for this series of 13 programs
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dealing with probably one of the
most pressing issues there is
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for us to talk about in
this in this digital age,
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and that is our media use.
And I mean ALL of our media use.
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We often talk
about the kids these days
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and, boy, they
sure are struggling.
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We'll talk a lot about
child development and the family
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dynamics and social
issues, relational issues.
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But every single one of
us can ask: "Lord, speak into
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my life how I can better
glorify You with my media use. "
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And I'm going to
start with two slides here
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right out of the gate that
will give us that urgent sense
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and need to pray
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and open the series with
prayer because when you hear
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that it's not just
that we LIKE our media...
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Listen to this
quotation in a moment.
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I'm going to show it to you.
I've gotta explain who the guy
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is that's saying this. He
works for the big Smartphone Co.
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the ones that
invented the Smartphones.
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And he was in the
neuromarketing department
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so they were experts
at looking at your brain
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and how your brain functions
when you're using their product.
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And so what he said is:
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Now just let that
sink in for a second.
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I like my iPhone.
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A lot of people like their
other devices by whatever name.
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We like media; we
like to use these things.
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But I hope I don't pass
over the line from like to love
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like I'm in love with
it like I love my wife
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and love my
children. You love your sister,
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your mother... your pet, maybe.
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Those are normal things!
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This is the device -
the piece of hardware -
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and we are crossing over the
line into a love relationship
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with our iPhone. I mean you
can just start with the fact
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that that is strange and weird.
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But maybe that's
problematic on spiritual levels
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and on relational levels
that we're going to study
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in this series. I have another
quotation I want to show you
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that will also give us an urgent
need to begin with prayer.
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It comes from George Barna.
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Now he's one of the top
researchers in the world
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in terms of gathering
infor- mation and understanding
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the societal
trends. And what he stated
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straight out, this is
several years ago, he said:
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Now when I had the chance
to speak with George Barna
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about that and
look at his research
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he said: "Scott, you realize
it's actually the majority
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of Americans that
qualify for an addiction
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when you use the
same diagnostic criteria
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that they use in
psychiatry circles
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to figure out if somebody is
addicted to alcohol or whatever.
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You use those same
questions and criteria
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on our media and the
majority of us would qualify
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for an addiction to media. "
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So as we begin
many people might think
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"Oh, I don't have
a problem with media.
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This is a good seminar
for those other people. "
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But maybe this will
reach us in our problem areas
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where we might be
falling in love with our media
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and/or addicted to our media...
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because at that point
I'm not going to be objective
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and honest and
fair about evaluating
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my own media use. I have
to ask for divine insight.
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That's what we're
going to do right now.
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Would you bow your heads
with me and pray this prayer
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in your heart? Father in heaven,
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we want to ask for
Your Spirit to speak to us.
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We don't want our own
opinions, our own preferences
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to rule but we want
Your will to be made known
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and to be done. "Thy
will be done" is our prayer.
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So please give us courage
to face where we could make
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some changes and
find greater joy in You
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by doing so. And our hearts of
course go out to the children,
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to the young people
who are so steeped in
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and immersed in and addicted
to so much worldly media.
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And Lord, as we expose
and understand the nature of
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that controversy
for the souls of men
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give us discernment we pray.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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I want to begin with a question.
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Now I used to teach history.
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I used to be a teacher, so
I'm going to make you think
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a little bit here, OK?
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The question is: when in history
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was the invention of
the first telecommunications
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device? The first
electronic media device?
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So you're thinking back.
Maybe this is television?
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No, before that there was radio.
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Maybe some of you watching
this remember when the TV
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was invented. My
grandpa actually was a salesman
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for Zenith televisions.
I find that terribly ironic
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because here I do
seminars on media at churches
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and on satellite
networks and on the Internet
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exposing the harmful
effects of worldly media
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and excessive media
and it's in my family tree.
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But maybe you think back before
grandpa the Zenith salesman.
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And God bless him by the way.
I praise God for televisions
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that we can use to watch 3ABN...
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that we can use to
watch good things on.
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But these screens can be
used to God's glory 'cause
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when you go back and
see... When was the first one?
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Not radio; not
the silver screen;
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not the
phonograph. Go back further.
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We're looking at 19th century.
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When in the 19th century was
the world's first media device
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invented? The year was 1844.
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You're thinking:
"There was no media in 1844!
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Electronic media? What
are you talking about? "
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Look at this image.
This is Samuel Morse
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tapping away the
world's first text message.
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The telegraph is what
we're looking at there.
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And you know
what the message was?
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The message was:
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Can media be used by
God to the glory of God
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to spread the message of
hope and salvation to the world?
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Amen! That's what
we're doing right now!
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But 1844 is a pivotal
year in prophetic history.
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Those who study Daniel chapter 8
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verse 14 actually refers
to a prophetic time period
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that you can chart.
When studying Daniel 9
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as the beginning
point it ends in 1844.
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And so this is the
last days that we are in.
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1844... the beginning of
the Investigative Judgment,
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the heavenly
sanctuary cleansing.
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That's something to study if
you've never studied into that.
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So if 1844
ushers in the last days
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we have to ask:
"Lord, what are You doing
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through us and in us
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during this urgent
time in earth's history?
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And how does the
devil feel about that 'cause
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he's running around
like a devouring lion
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and seeking whom he may deceive
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and bring down into
the pit of darkness? "
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Well, that's exactly what
media is doing today, isn't it?
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Worldly media.
Excessive quantities of media.
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Media addiction. And
so when we think about
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a media seminar it's
not so much a question of
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is media bad or is media good.
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Media can be used for either.
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This is not even a
seminar about media really.
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This series of
programs is about relationships
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with Jesus, with each other,
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with our
families, with our churches,
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with reaching the lost.
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You see, when you think
about digital disconnect
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it's a great concept
because it has two meanings.
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The digital media has
disconnect us from one another
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in many ways: a
divide in the home;
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generation gaps; disconnect
between us and our Savior
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if we are
compromising in our media use
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and consuming that
which is of the world.
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But at the same
time if we are willing
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to disconnect from it
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then the digital disconnect
if you will can bring great joy.
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The disconnect from SO
MUCH media can bring us
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into a better experience
of how to be human again.
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That's the name of
this particular session.
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That got me thinking when I was
looking at these clips online...
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Have you seen them? where
somebody's on their device
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and they fall down the stairs.
One that really got my attention
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you can see this video actually
in the series that we put out
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in our ministry -
Belt of Truth Ministries -
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put out a series
called The Media Mind.
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And in that one there is a
guy walking down the street
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with his phone.
And he's in this alley
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and ahead of him you're watching
he's approaching a manhole
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with ribbons around
it... it's plainly marked.
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He walks right through
the barriers and falls down
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right into the
hole. And I go: "Wow!
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We've got an issue when these
sorts of things are happening! "
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Not just that but
you have pedestrian
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traffic incidents happening.
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Car & Driver Magazine headline:
HUGE RISE IN PEDESTRIAN
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TRAFFIC INCIDENTS.
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And in general, cell
phone-related injuries...
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Have you ever heard of
cellphone-related injuries?
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I haven't, but when I
heard this for the first time
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I thought: "OK,
we're in a new place then
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when there's such
a thing as that. "
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They're up 84% at one point
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and people are walking
into on-coming traffic.
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So we're going to have to
start re-orienting how we do
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human society, aren't we?
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What they did was... You're
going to see a graphic of a
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crosswalk where instead
of people looking at the stop
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and go signs up at eye level
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which is where we have
lived for thousands of years
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looking up and around us.
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We're on our
devices looking down
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and so many people are
walking into on-coming traffic
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where a bus is coming
you have to have the signals
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there at foot
level... at ground level.
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That got my attention
definitely as I was thinking:
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"How did God design
for us to be human? "
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How about the media
mind of this age has become
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disconnected from the people
around us? From the objects
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around us? From the
hole? From the traffic?
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From the lamp post?
Here's another graphic that got
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my attention. In
Austria they had to put pads
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on the lamp posts 'cause
people were waking into them.
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In America they actually
had a federal grant at one point
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to study how can we get
alerts on people's phones
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to tell them when they
are approaching the curb
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so that we can
reduce the traffic incidents
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of people
walking? And so I can't
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tell when I'm
approaching the street?
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How to be human again
indeed! We need to re-discover
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how to walk and not
walk into on-coming traffic.
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Another thing about
how to be human again
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that got my attention
was the concept of kyphosis.
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People are on their devices
and they're hunched over.
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When we're at a 45 degree angle
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there's 49 pounds of
pressure that's being applied
00:11:02.82\00:11:06.29
on the upper spine there.
00:11:06.49\00:11:08.30
And that's actually
re-shaping the muscles
00:11:08.50\00:11:10.87
into a permanent
forward-head posture.
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They call it hyper kyphosis.
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And they're saying this is
happening with young people too
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not just the
elderly. Normally as we age
00:11:18.61\00:11:21.88
you know we come down.
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But another thing with
young people is this one
00:11:23.48\00:11:25.81
that you'll see a
graphic of. A Washington Post
00:11:26.01\00:11:28.05
article with the scan there
- the x-ray - of a little bony
00:11:28.25\00:11:32.22
protrusion. And it
says: "Horns are growing on
00:11:32.42\00:11:34.92
young people's
skulls. Phone use is to blame,
00:11:35.12\00:11:37.63
research suggests. "
00:11:37.83\00:11:39.16
And then this one: the
potty with a tablet on it.
00:11:39.19\00:11:43.97
And you're like: "What is that?
00:11:44.17\00:11:45.50
A digital potty? I didn't
know there was such a thing! "
00:11:45.53\00:11:47.74
Well, yeah... kids
can't learn to use the potty
00:11:47.94\00:11:50.77
with a normal potty any more
because everything has to be
00:11:50.97\00:11:53.71
"gameified. " Everything
has to be "incentivized"
00:11:53.91\00:11:56.71
and done on a digital screen.
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What is this world coming to?
00:11:58.71\00:12:00.48
Well, we've been told
we've achieved some level of
00:12:00.98\00:12:04.29
social connectedness because
everybody can be on social
00:12:04.49\00:12:07.16
media. We can all
be online together
00:12:07.36\00:12:09.06
and it's a great social boon
of relational connectedness.
00:12:09.26\00:12:12.96
We're the most socially
connected generation in history
00:12:13.16\00:12:16.13
we've been told. But
then when I understand
00:12:16.33\00:12:18.93
that we are the most
lonely generation in history...
00:12:19.13\00:12:21.00
When you look at the
Surgeon General of the US
00:12:21.40\00:12:23.81
come out and say: "We have
an epidemic of loneliness. "
00:12:24.01\00:12:27.04
In Japan they just appointed
a Minister of Loneliness
00:12:27.24\00:12:30.41
meaning like a secretary,
a cabinet-level office
00:12:30.61\00:12:33.65
in their government.
00:12:33.85\00:12:35.18
And this one
really was strange to me.
00:12:35.22\00:12:37.02
When I learned about the
"cuddling with strangers"
00:12:37.22\00:12:40.52
craze... Did you
ever hear about that?
00:12:40.72\00:12:42.06
That was definitely pre-COVID.
But people were going out
00:12:42.26\00:12:44.73
because they're so
lonely they just want to hug
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that they go out and
hook up with strangers
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at a "Cuddling Cafe"
or hire a professional
00:12:48.46\00:12:51.23
cuddler to come to their
house and snuggle with them
00:12:51.43\00:12:53.57
and give them a hug. How sad!
00:12:53.77\00:12:55.34
By the way, if you
know people in your area
00:12:55.54\00:12:58.21
who have not had a
visit, who have not had the love
00:12:58.41\00:13:00.78
of Jesus Christ and the
arms of Him reaching out,
00:13:00.98\00:13:03.08
reach out right now.
We are the body of Christ,
00:13:03.28\00:13:05.98
the hands and feet of Christ,
00:13:06.18\00:13:07.52
to solve this
crisis of loneliness
00:13:07.55\00:13:09.38
that social media is not
solving... it's causing it.
00:13:09.58\00:13:12.19
And if you're
feeling lonely right now
00:13:12.39\00:13:14.56
know that Jesus is
right there with you.
00:13:14.76\00:13:16.93
And praise God we can have
this tool of media right now
00:13:17.13\00:13:20.10
to come together in a way
that we wouldn't have been able
00:13:20.30\00:13:23.53
to do prior to 1844 and
the invention of the telegraph.
00:13:23.73\00:13:27.37
So we're going to keep using
these devices to God's glory.
00:13:27.57\00:13:30.64
But have you noticed?
Our society sure is crumbling
00:13:30.84\00:13:33.88
in so many ways. For
those who are "weirded out"
00:13:34.08\00:13:36.88
by the Cuddling with
Strangers craze by the way
00:13:37.08\00:13:39.65
there is the chair
that will hug you back.
00:13:39.85\00:13:41.65
Yes, look at that graphic.
00:13:41.85\00:13:43.18
You can't believe that's
a real thing till you see it
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.05
in USA Today. Some
inventor in So. Korea said:
00:13:45.25\00:13:48.29
"People are so lonely
we'd better make chairs
00:13:48.49\00:13:50.53
that hug them. "
Yikes! So what is the solution
00:13:50.73\00:13:53.96
to this? Well... God
always has a solution.
00:13:54.16\00:13:57.37
Sometimes just
seeing what the problem is
00:13:58.63\00:14:00.50
you identify the solution.
00:14:00.70\00:14:02.20
You know that social
media is increasing loneliness
00:14:02.40\00:14:04.77
'cause all the
studies are showing it.
00:14:04.97\00:14:06.31
Well they did a couple
of studies where they said:
00:14:06.71\00:14:08.51
"Well let's just take people
off social media for one week. "
00:14:08.71\00:14:11.45
One of them was at the
University of Pennsylvania.
00:14:11.85\00:14:13.72
Another one was a Denmark study.
00:14:14.12\00:14:16.38
And in one of the cases
they brought social media use
00:14:16.58\00:14:18.85
down to 30 minutes per day.
00:14:19.05\00:14:20.79
And in the other one it
was a social media fast.
00:14:20.99\00:14:24.56
And what were the results?
00:14:24.76\00:14:26.39
Well, you'll
find it not surprising
00:14:26.59\00:14:29.10
that after one week
of no social media use
00:14:29.30\00:14:32.47
loneliness scores
dropped significantly
00:14:32.97\00:14:36.71
in young adults who were
studied in these studies.
00:14:36.91\00:14:39.01
One week of no social media
or very limited social media
00:14:40.01\00:14:42.98
use reduces your loneliness.
00:14:43.18\00:14:45.58
Oh, we're going to get
more into that when we look at
00:14:45.98\00:14:47.65
the session called
Anti-Social Media because
00:14:47.85\00:14:49.92
really you can't
necessarily call it social media
00:14:50.12\00:14:53.09
when it's increasing loneliness.
00:14:53.29\00:14:54.62
It is anti social media if
it is increasing our loneliness.
00:14:54.76\00:14:58.46
So the media mind if you will
00:14:58.66\00:15:00.96
is becoming more
lonely but the mind of Christ
00:15:01.16\00:15:04.43
fulfilled. You see
that's the solution
00:15:04.63\00:15:07.50
Jesus wants to bring to us:
00:15:07.70\00:15:09.04
the fulling experience
of relational connectedness
00:15:09.70\00:15:13.41
when you disconnect some
from your digital immersion.
00:15:13.81\00:15:17.71
Again, they are tools.
Utilize them, but don't be
00:15:17.91\00:15:20.85
used by them. When
we have a commitment
00:15:21.05\00:15:24.49
to make a digital
disconnect of some kind
00:15:24.69\00:15:26.72
we find relational connected-
ness starts to take over.
00:15:26.92\00:15:30.23
Our experience with
Jesus and with each other.
00:15:30.43\00:15:32.56
We'll look at that in the ses-
sion called Anti-Social Media.
00:15:32.76\00:15:35.26
But again, this session is
called How to be Human Again.
00:15:35.66\00:15:38.33
Did you know that the average
American touches, taps, and
00:15:38.73\00:15:41.34
swipes their device
2,617 times per day?
00:15:41.54\00:15:46.94
Two thousand six hundred
and seventeen times per day!
00:15:47.14\00:15:49.81
You multiply that
by 365 days in the year
00:15:50.01\00:15:52.91
and you get almost a million
touches, taps, and swipes
00:15:53.11\00:15:56.99
of these devices. It's almost as
if that's the world we live in
00:15:57.19\00:16:00.96
now... the virtual world.
00:16:01.16\00:16:02.96
A counterfeit reality.
00:16:03.16\00:16:04.56
You know, I was thinking
about when I was looking at that
00:16:04.76\00:16:07.13
those numbers I was like:
"How many times am I touching,
00:16:07.33\00:16:09.76
tapping, and swiping? "
We're all re-evaluating.
00:16:09.96\00:16:12.03
OK, am I using too much media?
00:16:12.23\00:16:13.87
I mean, it's not
worldly; I'm using it as a tool
00:16:14.07\00:16:16.40
but maybe there's a
quantity that I've reached
00:16:16.60\00:16:19.07
peak media use and it's
going to become problematic
00:16:19.27\00:16:21.71
for my joy and
relationships and everything.
00:16:21.91\00:16:24.48
2,617 times of these...
00:16:24.68\00:16:29.08
how many times did I
touch my children today?
00:16:29.28\00:16:32.42
How many times? Even
just a pat or wood and nails
00:16:32.82\00:16:36.22
or soil and plants
or cooking and real
00:16:36.42\00:16:39.43
physical non-virtual things?
00:16:39.63\00:16:41.70
Are we touching those
a million times a year?
00:16:41.90\00:16:44.87
I don't have any data on that.
00:16:45.07\00:16:46.57
You're going to hear a lot
of information in this series.
00:16:46.77\00:16:48.67
Hopefully, it's information
that prompts us to think
00:16:48.87\00:16:51.01
and re-think our media use.
00:16:51.21\00:16:53.17
And it comes with a transfor-
mation of the Holy Spirit
00:16:53.38\00:16:56.08
because when we look
at the latest numbers
00:16:56.28\00:16:58.21
they are
absolutely catastrophic.
00:16:58.41\00:17:00.25
Our society is
crumbling under media addiction.
00:17:00.45\00:17:02.95
Take a look at these stats.
00:17:03.15\00:17:04.85
Parents aren't far
behind with 8 hours per day
00:17:11.83\00:17:14.43
so we can't judge too
harshly there, can we?
00:17:14.63\00:17:16.53
up to 150 times per
day in some studies...
00:17:35.92\00:17:37.82
You're just thinking: "How are
these numbers even possible? "
00:17:42.82\00:17:45.59
It's coming to the point where
00:17:46.26\00:17:48.10
keeping track of the numbers
is an irrelevant exercise
00:17:48.30\00:17:52.07
because 45% of teens when asked:
00:17:52.27\00:17:56.37
"How much are you on
your phone during the day? "
00:17:56.57\00:18:00.04
the answer they give
is: "Almost constantly
00:18:00.24\00:18:04.21
on our devices. "
00:18:04.41\00:18:06.11
Now I want to warn
us against something.
00:18:06.31\00:18:07.72
It's really easy to look
at what the culture is doing
00:18:07.92\00:18:09.68
out there and feel comfortable
because I'm not nearly that
00:18:09.88\00:18:12.69
crazy with my media overuse.
00:18:12.89\00:18:14.79
But the Bible
gives us a warning.
00:18:15.29\00:18:17.23
It says: "They
that compare themselves
00:18:17.43\00:18:19.49
among themselves are not wise. "
00:18:19.69\00:18:22.30
So we don't want to
measure ourself by the standard
00:18:22.70\00:18:24.77
of the world. We
don't want to be conformed
00:18:24.97\00:18:26.63
to the world. We want to
be transformed by the renewing
00:18:26.84\00:18:29.37
of our mind according
to the standard and plan
00:18:29.57\00:18:32.11
that God has for us.
00:18:32.31\00:18:33.84
II Corinthians 10:12
gives us some good wisdom
00:18:34.04\00:18:37.31
not be comparing
ourselves among ourselves.
00:18:37.51\00:18:39.71
I saved one more statistic for
last here in this section on...
00:18:39.91\00:18:43.62
on some data because
this one was, whoa! ominous:
00:18:43.82\00:18:47.22
the number of
minutes of media per day
00:18:48.09\00:18:50.73
for the average
American. A few years ago
00:18:50.93\00:18:52.99
it came out with Nielsen Media
00:18:53.40\00:18:55.80
to exactly 666
minutes of media per day.
00:18:56.00\00:18:59.77
Now I'm not suggesting
that is the fulfillment of
00:18:59.97\00:19:02.20
Bible prophecy, BUT
when you see in Rev. 13
00:19:02.40\00:19:05.54
an ominous number
of the beast - 666
00:19:05.74\00:19:08.58
and then you look at
"That's the exact number of
00:19:08.78\00:19:10.88
minutes of media use that the
average American was consuming
00:19:11.08\00:19:13.35
during that year" that is a
very large number as well...
00:19:13.55\00:19:17.32
not just an ominous prophetic
and dark-sounding number.
00:19:17.52\00:19:20.72
But we also want to become
think- ers. And what I mean by
00:19:21.12\00:19:24.69
that is we know deception
is coming in the last days.
00:19:24.89\00:19:28.30
And when we are looking at the
amount of media we are consuming
00:19:28.70\00:19:31.63
per day...
Somebody sent me an article
00:19:31.83\00:19:33.94
from a mainstream news outlet
00:19:34.14\00:19:36.00
that said: "Kids today
aren't spending any more time
00:19:36.20\00:19:39.87
with media now than
they were in the 1980's. "
00:19:40.11\00:19:43.68
And you're scratching your head
going: "That's not correct. "
00:19:44.35\00:19:47.08
That was stated in a
mainstream news article
00:19:47.28\00:19:49.28
and people just
are fed with propaganda
00:19:49.48\00:19:51.62
and passively receive
whatever is promulgated
00:19:51.82\00:19:55.16
through these
supposed "credible" outlets.
00:19:55.36\00:19:57.36
Kids today are not
spending any more time
00:19:57.56\00:20:00.13
with media than
they were in the '80's?
00:20:00.33\00:20:02.56
Well, what is the
actual data on that?
00:20:02.96\00:20:04.90
Jean Twenge at San
Diego State University
00:20:05.10\00:20:07.47
has looked at
that in great detail
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.00
and she's the one that
gave us that 9 hours per day
00:20:09.17\00:20:11.77
in 2016, so that's
a number of years ago.
00:20:11.97\00:20:15.28
I don't know what it
is now, but in the 1980's
00:20:15.48\00:20:17.75
it was 3.5 hours per day.
00:20:17.95\00:20:19.61
So we've almost
tripled since the '80's.
00:20:20.02\00:20:22.32
So I think we
can sum that up with
00:20:22.52\00:20:24.95
the media mind
becomes deceivable
00:20:25.15\00:20:27.89
but the mind of Christ
will be critically thinking.
00:20:28.29\00:20:31.66
We must be
thinkers not mere reflectors
00:20:31.86\00:20:34.96
of other men's thoughts.
And I include myself in that.
00:20:35.16\00:20:37.27
Whenever I was a
classroom teacher,
00:20:37.47\00:20:38.80
whenever I go to
churches to do these seminars
00:20:38.93\00:20:41.17
and I'm speaking
on Media on the Brain
00:20:41.37\00:20:43.81
I'm always challenging
listeners to this seminar
00:20:44.01\00:20:47.11
to take this
information to God for yourself
00:20:47.31\00:20:49.64
and seek truth and
think and make decisions
00:20:49.84\00:20:53.01
that God is leading you to make.
00:20:53.21\00:20:54.68
Not being a mere reflector
of other men's thoughts:
00:20:54.88\00:20:58.52
that's a very important
principle in the last days
00:20:58.72\00:21:01.09
when deception is coming.
00:21:01.29\00:21:02.62
But really the bottom
line is if we're going to make
00:21:02.86\00:21:04.99
our lives what
God wants them to make
00:21:05.19\00:21:07.03
we have to have standards...
we have to have rules
00:21:07.23\00:21:10.07
in our media use. And
that might not sound like
00:21:10.27\00:21:12.37
something we want to
do. Like: "Oh, I don't want
00:21:12.57\00:21:14.34
rules! Is that legalism? "
00:21:14.54\00:21:16.30
We've gotta make our own
expectations for our children
00:21:16.50\00:21:20.44
and for ourselves frankly
00:21:20.64\00:21:22.34
in terms of a
bunch of questions.
00:21:22.54\00:21:24.28
Let me put a few questions
up on the screen for you
00:21:24.48\00:21:26.38
and you'll see the kinds of
things we're going to be asking
00:21:26.58\00:21:29.48
ourselves through this series.
00:21:29.68\00:21:31.55
If we can tackle those questions
00:21:55.34\00:21:57.85
and if we can say: "All
right, I'm going to have
00:21:58.05\00:22:00.52
my own standards and
rules that God is leading me on"
00:22:00.72\00:22:04.05
And by the way, I can
tell you when it comes to
00:22:04.25\00:22:06.05
what kinds of media -
00:22:06.25\00:22:07.82
that first
question you saw on there -
00:22:08.02\00:22:09.52
if we're
discussing worldly media,
00:22:09.72\00:22:12.63
something that has
principles of this world,
00:22:12.83\00:22:15.33
of Satan's kingdom
not of the kingdom of God,
00:22:15.53\00:22:18.37
then how many hours should
we be consuming of that per day?
00:22:18.57\00:22:22.14
And at what times of the day?
And for what duration of use?
00:22:22.34\00:22:25.54
and so on. Well,
the Bible is clear.
00:22:25.74\00:22:27.74
It says: "Come
apart and be separate
00:22:27.94\00:22:29.91
saith the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing
00:22:30.11\00:22:33.31
and I will receive you. "
00:22:33.52\00:22:35.02
NO UNCLEAN THING. Zero
hours of worldly media.
00:22:35.22\00:22:39.55
And we're going to
touch on that later,
00:22:39.75\00:22:41.59
but a lot of these opening ses-
sions that we're doing together
00:22:41.79\00:22:44.49
will be dealing with digital
devices that we find as tools
00:22:44.69\00:22:48.93
but still we can
get out of control with.
00:22:49.13\00:22:51.67
So every person
listening will take these ideas
00:22:51.87\00:22:54.64
and these thoughts
and this information
00:22:54.84\00:22:56.30
take it to God with an
open heart and an open Bible.
00:22:56.50\00:22:59.31
And my goal is to
prompt us to think.
00:22:59.71\00:23:01.71
And when I receive thousands
- literally - of e-mails
00:23:01.91\00:23:04.45
and contacts and
talking to people at churches
00:23:04.65\00:23:06.92
and at conferences and
they say: "I made changes
00:23:07.12\00:23:09.85
in my media use and
saw positive results
00:23:10.05\00:23:13.86
spiritually and in every way. "
00:23:14.06\00:23:16.99
It's kind of like:
"Well, you thought you were OK
00:23:17.19\00:23:19.86
before you made the changes.
" "I don't need to make any
00:23:20.06\00:23:22.63
dietary changes. " Or:
"The way I live my life is good.
00:23:22.83\00:23:25.53
I'm comfortable. I don't need
to make changes in my media use"
00:23:25.73\00:23:29.07
says the average person.
00:23:29.27\00:23:30.91
Like the average person
would go into my father's
00:23:31.11\00:23:33.64
optometry office, OK?
My dad was an optometrist.
00:23:33.84\00:23:36.85
And he would have people come
in and say: "Oh, I don't need...
00:23:37.55\00:23:39.68
I don't need
glasses. I can see just fine.
00:23:39.88\00:23:42.35
I don't have any
problems with my eyesight. "
00:23:42.55\00:23:45.35
And my dad, the
doctor, would say to them:
00:23:45.55\00:23:47.39
"Are you seeing blurry?
Are you sure everything's good?
00:23:47.59\00:23:49.89
Well let's go ahead and
give you a little test here. "
00:23:50.09\00:23:52.99
And down come the instruments
over the eyes, right?
00:23:53.19\00:23:55.56
The moment of truth.
"Read that top line here. "
00:23:55.76\00:23:59.07
"OK yeah... that's A M V W R. "
00:23:59.27\00:24:02.20
"Read that second line please. "
00:24:02.44\00:24:04.94
"Wait a minute...
the second line? "
00:24:05.34\00:24:07.38
"I'm supposed to be
able to read that? "
00:24:07.58\00:24:09.48
"What is that? Is
that a C or a G or an O
00:24:09.68\00:24:12.55
or a Q? I don't know. I
can't read the second line,
00:24:12.75\00:24:15.25
doc. " And then he
does the whole drill of
00:24:15.45\00:24:18.92
"Which one is clearer: 1 or 2? "
00:24:19.12\00:24:22.12
"Two. " "Two or three? "
00:24:22.32\00:24:25.86
"Umm... two. "
00:24:26.26\00:24:27.76
"Two or four? " "Two's
still the clearest there,
00:24:27.96\00:24:31.20
doc. " And he breaks it to you:
00:24:31.40\00:24:33.67
"You thought you were seeing
OK but you can see even better
00:24:33.87\00:24:37.61
when you have a prescription
and you try something. "
00:24:37.81\00:24:40.61
You see the analogy
here with our media use?
00:24:40.81\00:24:43.81
We try something different
00:24:44.21\00:24:46.31
like those people did
in that study in Denmark.
00:24:46.51\00:24:48.92
University of Pennsylvania
studies. Let's just take away
00:24:49.12\00:24:51.32
social media for a week or
reduce it to 30 minutes a day.
00:24:51.52\00:24:54.96
Oh! All of a sudden
you notice a difference.
00:24:55.36\00:24:57.86
You ask those people
beforehand: "Oh, I'm fine.
00:24:58.06\00:25:00.50
I'm fine. "
Right? We all are fine.
00:25:00.70\00:25:02.70
But God wants to prompt us
to try something different.
00:25:02.90\00:25:05.87
He says: "Test Me in these
things and see if I don't open
00:25:06.07\00:25:08.84
the floodgates of
blessing upon you. "
00:25:09.04\00:25:10.81
He says: "Taste and see
that the Lord is good. "
00:25:11.01\00:25:13.38
"You will seek Me and
find Me when you search for Me
00:25:13.58\00:25:15.74
with all your heart. "
00:25:15.94\00:25:17.28
So that's the quest we are on.
00:25:17.31\00:25:18.81
This is not a seminar
about media as much as it is
00:25:19.01\00:25:21.72
a seminar about our
relationship with Jesus Christ
00:25:21.92\00:25:24.72
and our relationships with
each other and the family unit
00:25:24.92\00:25:27.72
that God is so interested
in restoring in the last days.
00:25:27.92\00:25:31.29
Now as I was listening to
the information about eyesight
00:25:31.69\00:25:35.16
and media use, you know,
you do a lot of near work,
00:25:35.36\00:25:38.10
you have a lot of screen time
it increases the risk of myopia
00:25:38.30\00:25:41.30
and nearsightedness.
You know, my dad's voice
00:25:41.50\00:25:44.21
echoed in my brain:
"Scott, you're going to be
00:25:44.41\00:25:46.57
in your 40's and you're
going to need glasses. "
00:25:46.78\00:25:49.81
I've been holding out. I'm
even eating a lot of carrots
00:25:50.01\00:25:52.75
and a lot of
vegetables and beta-carotene.
00:25:52.95\00:25:55.12
I'm going to try to
eat healthy and have a good
00:25:55.32\00:25:58.05
"ocular
hygiene" my dad calls it.
00:25:58.25\00:26:01.26
You know, blink a lot
when you're doing screen work
00:26:01.46\00:26:03.86
and take your eyes off the
screen every once in a while
00:26:04.06\00:26:06.53
and reset. So I'm
going to try to not
00:26:06.73\00:26:10.00
have the same
problems that people have had
00:26:10.20\00:26:13.34
because of media
use. Well... I realize
00:26:13.54\00:26:17.37
that when that happens
00:26:17.57\00:26:19.61
I'm doing something to my brain,
to the melatonin in my brain,
00:26:19.81\00:26:23.51
when I'm looking
at media at night.
00:26:23.71\00:26:26.18
Now think about this, OK?
00:26:26.38\00:26:27.75
When the sun sets it's
a certain type of light
00:26:28.15\00:26:31.05
that is
communicating to our brains
00:26:31.25\00:26:33.82
"time to go to sleep. "
Melatonin is produced in
00:26:34.02\00:26:36.19
the brain. And when
it's morning and daytime
00:26:36.39\00:26:39.89
it's bright lights. Well...
00:26:40.10\00:26:41.66
our digital media
simulates the bright light.
00:26:41.86\00:26:44.20
And so as you look
at the graphic here
00:26:44.40\00:26:46.50
you'll see the kid with
the phone right before bed
00:26:46.70\00:26:49.64
versus the old hearthside and
the candlelight and that feeling
00:26:49.84\00:26:53.48
of really going
to sleep with peace.
00:26:53.68\00:26:56.64
The Bible says: "God
giveth His beloved sleep. "
00:26:57.05\00:27:00.32
That's in Psalm 127.
00:27:00.52\00:27:02.22
"Thou shalt lie down and
thy sleep shall be sweet. "
00:27:02.42\00:27:05.15
And so God wants us to
have energy the next day.
00:27:05.55\00:27:08.32
You know, when
children use devices before bed
00:27:08.72\00:27:11.79
they're 2 times more likely
to be sleepy the next day.
00:27:11.99\00:27:14.56
Just 15 minutes can do
it... especially video games
00:27:14.76\00:27:17.43
'cause they
increase cortisol release.
00:27:17.63\00:27:19.60
They increase stress hormones.
Even social media can do that.
00:27:19.80\00:27:22.60
Teens are way sleep deprived.
00:27:23.00\00:27:25.74
They should be
getting nine hours per night.
00:27:25.94\00:27:27.71
They're getting less than 7.
00:27:27.91\00:27:29.28
Adults too. 87%
of us go to bed with
00:27:29.48\00:27:32.61
and wake up with our devices
00:27:32.81\00:27:34.18
and these things take
their toll on our sleep.
00:27:34.38\00:27:37.19
I want to have a...
the mind of Christ becomes
00:27:37.69\00:27:40.59
energized but
the media mind tired.
00:27:40.79\00:27:44.26
That's the bottom line there.
00:27:44.46\00:27:45.79
But God has a better
plan for us, doesn't He?
00:27:45.93\00:27:48.80
In ALL the aspects
that we're discussing here.
00:27:49.00\00:27:51.50
And so He wants to
bring joy to our lives,
00:27:51.90\00:27:54.24
restoration to
our relationships,
00:27:54.40\00:27:56.07
and ultimately
inspiration that we can overcome
00:27:56.91\00:28:00.41
whatever besetting addictions,
habits are getting us down.
00:28:00.61\00:28:04.48
Seek Him with all your heart
and He will be found by you.
00:28:04.68\00:28:07.68