The Mix - Technology

Please sit down. Let's move on to our our third theme. So we've seen creation as a theme in under standing technology. We've seen rebellion as a theme in understanding technology. There's lots of ways of misusing technology.

Here's the third big Bible theme, which is judgment, judgment. Now, when it comes to judgment, in other words, god judging our rebellion, there are 2 types of judgment, really. I mean, you could put it in 2 categories. 1 is partial judgment. Which is god partially judging our rebellion in this world.

And then there's the final judgment of god when the lord Jesus comes back fully judges. I'm really dealing with the partial judgments in this, in this next in this next section. And the partial judgments of god are god's gracious kindness to this world in saying, look, it doesn't work. Open your eyes. It doesn't work living outside of me living away from me.

So it's god's kindness. In judging. Now there's lots and lots of things here, and I really had to edit, what to do here. So here's a few in partial judgments. By the way, Jess and Ann, I'm gonna need you to do the readings.

So if you wanna sort of come and get ready, that will be good. Here's the first thing though. I want you to see that in this world, technology if we're treating it as a god, and we're not learning how god wants us to use it makes us foolish and stupid. It really makes us stupid. And it's hard for us to see.

It's hard for a drunk man to see how stupid he is. Have you ever noticed that? I know I know I've said it already, but it's in my mind now. But drunk people always think they're funny, don't they? They always think they're funny, and they're not You know, if a drunk man came in here now, he would want to come up to the front and go, Hey, I love you all.

Yes. I believe in god. And then he'll say something and we're all sort of looking at him thinking, what an idiot? And then we laugh and he thinks we're laughing with him. But he's stupid and foolish.

And this is what technology can make us. Stupid, foolish, really stupid. It's the belief, and that's what I was trying to show in that picture. It's the belief that we're always getting better. And technology seems to say that's right.

That's right. We're always getting better. Therefore, we're getting wiser and cleverer What you need to notice is ever you watch the news or ever hear anybody when something's happened, or something's happening in the world or there's a tragedy or there's a terrorism. People are always surprised. Have you noticed that?

I'm surprised. You know, they're always surprised in our day and age. See, that gives away a whole thinking that What did you expect that we've got, well, we've got better? We constantly in 2018, I wouldn't have thought stuff like that would go on. Would you?

We always think it's getting better. I mean, I was even like this. We found out that there are probably 98 brothels in Kingstonborough. 98 brothels in Kingstonborough, there's 1 at the end of this road. 98.

And I think, why my goodness? That's that's amazing, isn't it? It's but you see, it's all hidden. And technology shows us that those posters whenever you see the new buildings that are going up and the new homes, just to look around at Kingston where there's gonna be new homes. It's always really young, good looking people with the right beard drinking coffee in a beautifully clean house.

Now, sorry Anne. I'm sorry about this, but I mean, I often say, I'm gonna get big pictures, not that you're not beautiful, of Anne thoroughgood and stick them up over Saint Georges. Because there's not an older person. There's not a disabled person. There's not an ugly it's not that you're ugly.

There's not an ugly looking person. You have to put up Ben Reed as a picture because he's such a good looking bloke. Yeah? Why aren't I stuck up there? Yeah?

I've been to more Christian union meetings than you ever have. It's all a pretense. It looks like everything's going well but underneath. That's what technology can do for us because technology doesn't change the hearts of people. It just makes us more powerful to do more wickedness and more harm.

Doesn't it? However and listen to these bible passages, Anne will read them and I'll flick through. So do you understand up here and, Anne will read, this is from Isaiah 44 verse 9. It's quite a long passage, but listen, read along. All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind. They are ignorant to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol which can profit nothing. People who do that will be put to shame. Such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand. They will be brought down to terror and shame. The Black Smith takes a tool and works with it in the coals. He shapes an idol with hammers. He forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses strength he drinks no water and grows faint. The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker. He roughs it out with chisels. He marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory.

That it made dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars or perhaps took a Cyprus or oak, let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine and the rain made it grow. It is used as fuel for burning. Some of it, he takes and warms himself, He kindles the fire and bakes bread, but he also fashions a god and worships it. He makes an idol and bows down to it.

Half of the woody burns in the fire, over it, he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill, also warms himself and says, ah, I'm warm. I see the fire. From the rest, he makes a god. He's idle. You bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says, save me. You're my god. They know nothing. They understand nothing. Their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see.

Their minds close so they cannot understand. No 1 stops to think No 1 has the knowledge or understanding to say half of it, I use for fuel. I even baked bread over its coals. I roasted meat and I ate. Should I make a detestable thing from what is left?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood such a person feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him. He cannot save himself or say, is not this thing in my right hand a lie? Now there's lots to be said about that, but do you see how stupid this person is, they make something and then they worship it. It takes up their life and their time, and it's stupid. And technology, which is what they're using there, can make us stupid, and we think we're wise.

Here's another 1. I love this is, Job 28. There is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Mortals put an end to the darkness They search out the farthest recesses for awe in the blackest darkness.

Far from other people, they dangle and sway. The earth from which food comes is transformed below as by fire. Lapis lazuli comes from its rocks and its dust contains nuggets of gold. No bird of prey knows that hidden path. No falcon's eye has seen it.

Proud beasts do not set foot on it and no lion prowls there. People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains. They tunnel through the rock, their eyes see all its treasures. They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light. But where can wisdom be found?

Where does understanding dwell? So they're clever in their technology They're mining and digging and taking things and manipulating them, clever in their technology, but you don't find wisdom there. That's that's what it say. You don't find wisdom there. You can dig and mine and manipulate, but you don't find wisdom there.

And that is 1 of the judgments that I think, god is allowing to happen in this world to show us that we can have all this technology and we can be technologically as evil as anybody else that ever lived, we use technology for evil because our heart hasn't changed. And you don't find wisdom in technology. That's 1 way. I think that's 1 partial judgment. Let me deal with another 1.

Technology doesn't deal with loneliness. Remember, Cain was trying to deal with his loneliness. It doesn't. It is a lie. And all the research is saying this.

So I read a book, a few months ago called I Generation. It's it's it's called I Jin actually, but it's worth reading. Lots of research about the effects of, the the phone, the smartphone on the eye generation, which is if you're sort of, 23 and younger, that generation. And it is a disaster what's happening. People think they're connected.

Technology is telling us that we're connected, but the truth is people are so incredibly lonely. And it doesn't deal with loneliness. We'll see more truth of that. 1 of these books is, 1 of these sections deals with that, and I I would recommend reading that. That's another thing.

The loneliness. This is why church is so utterly vital and important. Because we can speak to this nation about loneliness and relationships with older people as well as, with will as our peers. So that's a lie. There's a judgment in that, lonely, lonely people.

Where do they all come from? Where they come from technology very often. So here's another thing. We've already read it that we become like what we like. So you've gotta remember that now, you know, modern searches saying the brain is malleable and what you look at, your your brain adapts to that That's why people get addicted to pornography, and that's why it's such a such a terrible thing on technology.

We become what we like if all of the time we're looking at inane, and stupid videos of cats you know, being saved, it'd be better if to see them squashed. But if we're we become what we like, And, constantly, we become quite nothing y. That's a that's another thing, of judgment. We have a tower of nothing at the end of your life What would it be? Yeah.

I spent 8 hours a day looking at technology, and that's all I did. You know, will any of your Facebook friends come to your funeral? Oh, they're put up a thing. Oh, it's so sad and the emoji with a eyes well, they won't bother to turn up. So we can build a tower of babel of nothingness.

Here's in this book in I think it's yes, it is this book. Here's some quotes from c s Lewis, he's in the screw tape letters, which would be a very good book to read. During media fast. Let me give some quotes. I now see that I spent most of my life doing, neither what I ought nor what I liked It's interesting.

And then he goes on, steal away a man's best years, not in sweet sins, not even in good sins. But in the dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why in the gratification of curiosity is so feeble that the man is only half aware of them. Think about what you do on your phone. Think about what you watch, what grabs your attention. Curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them.

All of these are judgments in this world where you can see technology is being abused. We're trying to get away from god, but in the end, we worship a false god in our stupidity. We tried to get away from loneliness instead of connecting with god and his people in the church with the most alone people. Who think we're connected, and all of our time is wasted on flickering of the mind over who knows what or who knows why? Some of you have seen this video.

It's a powerful video worth seeing again anyway. This is Moby, the the the singer songwriter, and this is an exceptionally good video. By the way, this is how to use technology. I wish Christians would would do this. If we turn the lights off, then we can see and hear this because it's worth seeing and hearing.

Can you just turn some lights off over there? Let's watch this. So we've dealt with judgment. I need to move along quite quickly now. The fourth theme in the Bible we have creation, we have rebellion, we have judgment.

This is to understand technology. The fourth thing is redemption. This is the great thing about the Christian teaching. There is redemption. And god uses technology to save and redeem.

You see it in the old testament, part of the Bible again in Genesis in Genesis chapter 6, god uses technology, in the arc to rescue I mean, you get judgment and salvation that go together, definitely, in that whole story of the flood, but nevertheless, There's the technology words, make yourself an art, build it, make rooms, make lower and middle decks and so forth. So redemption, god in redemption in saving people, in redeeming people from a rebel for our rebellious. He uses technology. And of course, he he does that on the cross. Exactly.

If you think of the technology in the cross, that both shows us the wickedness of humans but it's it's god using technology for salvation. There was much technology in the cross. The nails that were rammed through his hands, the Roman whipping. It was a technological torture of cat of 9 towers with little bits of stone or metal in it, the knitting together of, thorns that make a mock crown. The actual cross it itself was, a masterly, piece of technology to execute people in excruciatingly painful ways.

And yet god use is that, that technology. To bring about salvation. And that's the beauty. So because of what Christ has done, We don't have to hide from god and cover up because Christ on that cross was uncovered, and all of our sin paid for. We don't we're welcomed into the paradise, into the city of god.

The consequences of our sin are dealt with. We are now sons of god. And so god remakes us, and here's a technology word. Because of what Christ has done, we're remade. For we are god's handy work created in Christ Jesus to do good works which god prepared in advance for us to do.

We're now remade, reformed. The technology of god has been working into in us to make us a new person, which leads us on to the last theme, creation, rebellion, judgment, redemption, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit doesn't work separate separately but he works through the word and through the church. That's where you see the Holy Spirit work, through the word and through the church. And he works. And he works in this new creation.

He brings us to Christ, works on us to make us more like Christ. And what happens then to those of us that are stuck in this technology that's binding us and manipulating us and forming us. What do we do? Well, we ask god, and his spirit helps us and through his word and through the church, he helps us to redeem the time so that in the end, don't you want at the end of your life the master to say, well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in a few things.

And I will put you in charge of many things, come and share your master's happiness. You are faithful. You are faithful with the technology, with the little bit of time that you've been given. You didn't waste your time endlessly on cat illustrations. I'm trying to read all this, but but we are to redeem the time.

Be careful how you live, don't be unwise, and the spirit of god teaches us through his word. Don't be foolish Don't get drunk. Don't be taken up with, the influences of the day. Redeem the time. Use it.

We should be about god's glory and whatever we do. So on the phone, you know, on this technological stuff that we have all over us. You know, are we doing this? So whether you eat or drink whatever you do, do Do it for the glory of god, the spirit of god, through the word of god with god's people is helping us to do these things. And to put that right.

And then a big vision for technology that we could go into the world and use the technology to see people saved. If you're good at art, do art for god. If you can do if you could do something like that Moby video, do it. That the powerful things. Why is it on Facebook that you put up something stupid, a picture of a meal, or a picture of a toilet that you saw on holiday, and you'll have a hundred and 50 likes.

You put up a sermon and 1 like. What is wrong with us? What do you think? Paul would say about using this technology? You receive the whole you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Jude and to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Now I can do that. I can tweet stuff about god. I could use my time to think about what would be good to send out to let people know about rather than just passing on that which is in Maine and a waste of time, and it's gonna cause others to waste their time and not bring glory to god. So, they're the themes. On your table for just a couple of minutes, pray.

Pray. Pray for this week. Pray for the things that you've learned, pray for your use of technology to bring glory to god and to subdue a wicked world to come under the lordship of Jesus Christ just for a minute, and then we'll sing our last song together.