Jim Van Gelderen: This is Jim Van Gelderen, and I’m podcasting from Piedmont, Missouri, where my wife and I are just beginning a series of revival meetings at Victory Baptist Church here in Piedmont. Piedmont is a more rural town in beautiful southeastern Missouri, not too far from St. Louis. Most importantly, the church is encouraging.

We had very good crowds this morning, and this evening, on Sunday evening, we are looking forward to a great week. A shout-out to Lacey: if you’re listening, we ate at your grandmother’s house here today. I appreciate you listening to the podcast, as do the others who listen.

If I’m ever in the area, or Bobby Bosler is, or one of us associated with Thee Generation is, we’d love to hear from you. It’s been good to hear from different people who listen to the podcast, and we trust that you are encouraged and helped in the Lord.

I’d like to talk about something that I think is very important for anybody, but particularly for young people, because you’re framing up the rest of your life. That is the issue of application. Sometimes when I’m preaching or teaching revival preaching and trying to help young men understand it, I’ll say, “There are three very important things in revival preaching: application, application, and application.”

My point is simply this: you really don’t have preaching without application.

You can teach without application, though that’s probably not wise either. But you can’t preach without application. Application is not just understanding what the Bible says; it’s implementing it in your life.

Sometimes we use the word standard. One of the reasons I use application is because, unfortunately, sometimes today young people particularly have a negative view of standards. But all standards are, if properly understood, lines you’ve drawn for your life.

They’re applications: what the Bible means to you and how God is leading you to apply it to your life.

Obviously, the Bible doesn’t work if you don’t apply it. The Bible is full of commands. Commands are obvious, like “Love not the world.”

That’s a command God gives us. The question would be, how do you implement that? But there are also principles.

A principle would be, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” there in James 4:4. That’s a principle: when we flirt with or are friends with the world, we’re at odds with God. It puts us at enmity with God and makes us an enemy of God.

That’s a principle.

The Bible is full of commands and principles. In order for them to be life-changing, they have to be applied. David says in Psalm 101, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.”

That has to be applied. How do you do that? It’s obviously going to affect the YouTube channels you look at and the movies you download.

It’s going to affect any media you’re looking at. Does it pass the Bible test?

Sometimes you have to make a decision. I remember when I was in high school. My parents were great parents, but they let me watch too much television.

There were several television programs God began to convict me about. Some were police shows with a lot of violence, and God convicted me about that. Others had issues of moral compromise.

Obviously, the innuendos were different than today, or not as much out there, but they were nonetheless troublesome to me. I remember being troubled by some of the programs I watched and having to make a decision: I’m going to make an application. I’m not going to watch that television program anymore.

That’s a standard. That’s an application. As a result of God’s convicting me with His Word, I’m not going to do that anymore.

Different people will have different applications, partially because of what sin you’ve opened in your life. For instance, a man who has struggled with alcohol has to be much more careful than somebody who hasn’t. I can walk in front of a bar and hardly even think about it.

I don’t even realize I’m walking in front of a bar, and at this point it is no temptation. Certainly, I can make poor decisions and have alcohol become a problem, but at this point it’s not. I don’t even think about having a standard about not walking in front of a bar.

But I know one particular man who drives home a different way so he doesn’t have to drive past a bar. That is a temptation for him. He might have a different application than I do because he’s made poor choices in the past.

That means a temptation exists in his life that doesn’t exist in mine.

A young man who’s been unwise in what he’s looked at on the internet, particularly moral compromise, pornography, and other things like that, may have to be very careful about media choices and even accessibility on his device. Someone else who has not made those choices wouldn’t have to be as strict a standard because that issue isn’t troublesome at this point in his life. He needs to be careful.

All of us need to be careful, and all of us need to have standards about applying certain things.

For instance, even a person who hasn’t looked at things he shouldn’t has to be careful. There are certain things I’m not going to watch. I’m not going to watch an R-rated movie because there’s a good chance there will be things in it—and sometimes PG-13, and sometimes PG for that matter—that involve moral compromise, which could cause you to become inflamed and cause temptation.

That could then cause you to have a problem in what you’re looking at.

Everybody needs to have applications from what the Word of God says. When you’re in a message and hearing preaching—and I know there are a lot of camps going on this summer; hopefully you’ve attended one or will—you’ve got to determine in your own heart, what’s my application?

Those are very important things in your youth: applications about what you’re going to do and not do; applications about places you won’t go on the internet, things you won’t do, safety measures you’ll put in place, accountability issues, and whatever God leads you to. Of course, sometimes you have to discuss this with your parents about things that need to be handled carefully.

I remember years ago, when the big old headphones you would put on to listen to music were common, young people would get right with God about sneaking music in their own home that their parents didn’t want them to listen to. Besides that, it was not music that would have glorified God and would have been problematic. They would decide to give their headphones to their parents.

That way all the music had to be out loud, which meant their parents would hear it. They gave their headphones away because they couldn’t handle the possibility of secrecy in regard to what they were listening to.

That’s a standard. That’s an application. Not everybody would have to have that application, but some would because they’ve opened themselves up to sneaking.

The same thing is true with internet issues, phones, and all that technology access. Some have to be far more careful and far stricter in their applications than others. All of us need to be careful, but some have to be more guarded and put up lines that perhaps others don’t.

I know guys who have flip phones. They won’t have a phone that accesses the internet. They can text and call, but that’s about it, because they know their failure and their temptation.

They want a track record of victory, and they don’t want to put themselves back in a place where compromise is easy. God can lead you to do that.

I remember years ago a young man who was a sports fanatic. God dealt with him about the fact that it had become such a problem in his life. God made it very clear to him that he didn’t need to be watching ball games anymore or looking at the sports page.

He made the decision: no more ball games, no more sports page, no more statistics.

Not everybody has to make that application. But he knew that it was hindering his walk with God. I remember him really growing after that decision because he got something out of his life that was very distracting.

It wasn’t wrong in and of itself, but it became distracting.

There are issues that are wrong in and of themselves. They’ll always be wrong. It’s a shame for a man to have long hair.

Long hair was wrong in the sixties; it’s still wrong on a man. God tells us it is. That’s something intrinsically wrong.

Some things are wrong by association. In other words, they become associated with things that are worldly. As Christians, we want to avoid those because of the association.

Associations change. Maybe thirty years later, that association is no longer there. I grew up in the hippie movement.

There were a lot of things associated with the hippies that may not be problematic in and of themselves, like blue denim. There’s nothing wrong with people wearing jeans, but that was identified with the hippie movement. For a while I didn’t wear jeans because I didn’t want to be identified with that.

That’s obviously no longer an issue. It hasn’t been for decades. Probably most of you listening never even thought about it.

Associational issues change, and certain brand names and certain things can be identified with a subculture that is worldly or anti-God. As Christians, we may have a standard about that, knowing that one day the standard may not be important because the association will be gone.

Intrinsic things are always wrong. It’s always wrong to look at things that are immoral. It’s always wrong to be disrespectful to your parents.

Certain things are always wrong, and sometimes you have to make a decision in your life about an application: how am I going to apply this?

I want every young person to be encouraged in your youth to let the Lord lead you in your applications. Sometimes we need to make an application based on the Word of God. But sometimes the Lord will lead us to a stricter or stronger application because of His call on our life.

I encourage you to follow the Lord, and God will lead you. Applications and standards are not wrong if the Lord is leading you.

I tell people legalism is not drawing a strict line. Legalism is your attitude toward the line. You could have a very loose line or a very strict line, but be a legalist because your attitude toward the line is wrong.

We don’t try to keep those lines in our own strength, and we don’t condescend to people who don’t make the same application.

If we’re looking at the line and saying, “God led me to that application,” while looking to Jesus for His strength and grace to keep that standard, that can’t be legalism. The Holy Spirit is the opposite of legalism. When He’s leading and enabling, we know we’re following Jesus.

That’s the whole point.

Young people, don’t be afraid to make applications in your life and to make decisions.

You can say, “I won’t do this,” or, “I’m not going to go here anymore. I’m not going to watch that, or I’m going to get off that particular YouTube channel, or I’m not watching that television program anymore. I’m going to erase that movie from my streaming service.”

Whatever it might be that God deals with you about, make a decision.

Sometimes you need to tell someone because we know our own propensity and our flesh. Sometimes, again with media decisions, it might even entail getting some kind of filter or using Covenant Eyes, if you’re familiar with that app, to help you with moral purity.

I don’t know what your application is going to be, but make sure that when the Lord is touching your heart, you say yes. Then look to Him for the strength to keep it. He’ll grace you when He’s led you.

I want to encourage you to make applications.

It’s important, particularly when you’re hearing preaching, to walk out—especially if there’s been conviction—and say, “Lord, what needs to change? What’s the standard or application You want me to have based on what Your Word says and what Your Holy Spirit is stirring me about?” Young people, you’ll lay a great foundation for your life.

Many times, some of those convictions and standards God leads you to will be life-protecting and life-altering, and will lead you on a plain path. The Holy Spirit will always lead you the right way, and you can always look to Him for strength.

That really is what total surrender is all about, and total dependence. I trust you’re encouraged by recognizing the importance of following the Lord Jesus in His grace and strength. May the Lord bless you.

It’s good to be with you for a few moments. Press on, and we’ll look forward to next time.