DeepFake – 1 – Image Hijacked

 

Welcome everyone to Redemption Church and to the month of October! We are so glad to have you here with us in Plano Tx. Blessings to everyone joining us online.

 

DeepFake

We always like to do things a little differently in October.

Our world is becoming more and more technologically advanced.

The ability to take visuals and audio and manipulate them to trick others is at a level few imagined possible.

For decades, graphic artists have been able to edit pictures and video using software like photoshop.

Now with the invention of AI, artificial intelligence can manipulate video and audio at a higher level and to do it in real time.

Our intro video seemed a little different because none of the faces or voices you experienced in the video were actual people. All of that was generated by AI.

I supplied the script and A.I. did the rest instantly.

The faces and voices were synthesized from thousands of facial features and voice recordings. The technology was able to create a lifelike image… and yet I think you would agree that there was something about these images that was not true to life.  Most people describe it as lacking soul.

This kind of technology is an example of “deepfake.”

 

Deepfakes are synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s image convincingly with that of another.

Deepfakes are the manipulation of facial appearance through deep generative methods.

The first time I really became aware of deepfake technology was in 2018 when a comedian named Jordan Peele did a deepfake of President Barrack Obama.

 

Jordan Peele spoke into a camera and did a verbal impression of the former President, and then a computer took that footage and voice and applied to it a database of Barrack Obama’s face and made the image of Barrack Obama say the silly thinks Jordan Peele was saying. The visual image of Obama was very convincing.

That was in 2018. Deepfake technology has been in production since 1997 when a “Video Rewrite Program” was created. The groundbreaking boasted that it could “synthesize new facial animations from an audio output. It built upon older work that interpreted faces, synthesized audio from text, and modeled lips in 3D space, but was the first to put this all together and animate it convincingly.”  https://medium.com/@songda/a-short-history-of-deepfakes-604ac7be6016

 

Deepfake is largely used is silly ways, like face-swapping Elon Musk’s face on the body of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

As technology has grown, the deepfakes become more and more convincing… and more and more dangerous.

 

The Hijacking of an Image

At its core, deepfake is the hijacking of an image.  The image that the creator made is being taken and altered and manipulated by another.

In 2020 a lady named Helen Mort was horrified to see her image plastered all over a porn site. Someone had taken images of her from her Facebook profile… not sexual pictures but pictures at holiday gatherings, weddings, and parties. But they took these pictures and manipulated them through deepfake and placed Helen Mort within a violent and graphic pornographic scene.

Helen says that she felt such shame, and that she still has nightmares about this violation of her identity.

As technology continues to increase, these dangers grow more prevalent. It leaves many to ask, “how can we trust what we see and hear?”

There is Spiritual significance attached to the idea of an image being hijacked. The struggle we face is much more than technological. The danger is more than hackers stealing your personal identity.  There are spiritual forces that want to corrupt and manipulate your image, the image of those around you, and the image of God.

 

DeepFake

Over the next 5 weeks we are going to be learning about the concept of the Image of God, how it has been deepfaked and hijacked by sin, and how to reclaim the image.

 

The Image of God

What does God look like? Close your eyes and try to picture God.

I asked Google what God looks like and here is what came back…

500 people were polled and chose this as their picture of what God must look like.

 

Yes, that is Charlton Heston. Star of movies like “The planet of the apes, Soylent Green, and the 10 Commandments.”

 

Yes, that is from Monty Python.

 

The Image of God

God does not look like any of these.
And it is very likely that God does not look like the image in your mind.

The image you have of God is very important.  Your life will reflect the image of your God.

• Some people have an image of a bloodthirsty killing God… so they strap bombs to themselves and go into a crowd of innocent people and blow themselves up.
• Some people have an image of an angry hateful God who does not love everyone… so they put ku-klux-klan sheets on and tell people of color that God hates them… or they go protest others with hateful faces.
• Some people’s image of God is nothing… these are people who do not believe in God… so they often say that life has no meaning.

Your life will reflect the image of your God. 

Who is your God? Whose image are you reflecting?

We need to reflect the image of God, but there is a problem.

God is actually invisible!

1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How can we reflect the image of an invisible God? Have I confused you yet?

 

When trying to figure things out, it is often good to go back to the beginning. Let’s turn to Genesis 1:27

God creates the world in Genesis 1, and it is good. A perfect world… no pollution, no climate change concern, no corruption, no evil, no internal revenue service, no Philadelphia Eagles football team.

Then God creates mankind.

Genesis 1:27 (NIV) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Who is made in God’s image?

• Male & Female!  Not just male, but male and female. Scripture does not say that Adam was made in the image of God but not Eve.
• All of humanity is made in the image of God.
• Nothing else in creation is made in the image of God.
  • Beautiful nature is not God’s image.
  • Neat animals are not God’s image.
  • The stars in the sky are not God’s image.
  • These are merely reflections of His grandeur, creativity, and expanse… but not His image.
  • God made Angels, the are glorious, but they are not made in the image of God
  • ONLY MANKIND IS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.

 

Imago Dei

This is Latin for “Image of God.” Ancient Christians would celebrate the wonder and meaning of being made in the image of God. Let’s investigate that wonder for a moment we find in Genesis.

In Genesis 1 God forms Adam and from out of Adam forms Eve.

Adam takes one look at her and says, “bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” (Gen 2:23)
-They love each other.
-They did not argue.
-They did not try to manipulate each other.
-They were an unbreakable bond.
-NO DIVORCE.
-No infidelity.
-They did not grow tired of one another.
 

This is relationship inside the “Imago Dei.”

Adam had a job. He tended the garden. 
-HE DOES NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT HIS JOB.
-HE DOES NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT HIS BOSS.

As the image of God, He enjoys the work. He enjoys having purpose and relationship.

God gave them 1 rule and life inside the “Imago Dei” took no issue with it.
-They did not argue with God.
-They did not complain behind His back.
-They trusted what God said. They took God’s Word as truth.
-They walked with God in open relationship.

The last verse of Genesis 2 says that Adam and Eve “felt no shame.”
-They did not shame one another.

Life inside the “Imago Dei” was love, peace, purpose, and no shame. Sounds great!

Does that describe your life, relationships, and career?  Me neither!  My life does not compare well to the “Imago Dei” life of Genesis 1 and 2.  Why?

 

Sin Hijacks the Image

In Genesis 3 someone who does not bear the image of God slithers up.

The serpent was not made in the image of God. Scripture describes the serpent’s image – “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” (Genesis 3:1)

The crafty serpent attacks the Image of God… the serpent attacks Adam and Eve, by attacking their understanding of God.

Genesis 3:1 (NIV) “…He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

He attacks the Man and Woman by attacking the image of God in their mind. The serpent attacks God trustworthiness.

Can you really Trust what God says?

The serpent attacks the motive of God and suggests that God does not want them to eat the fruit because they will GROW AS POWERFUL AS GOD.  God is just trying to keep the good stuff to Himself.

So, Eve and then Adam eat the fruit that God had told them not to eat and at that moment Sin hijacked the image of God in mankind.

The serpent had pulled a deepfake.  He acted like he was the voice of truth. This deepfake continues today and leaves us wondering who we can trust.

When they ate of the fruit, sin hijacked the image of God.  I want you to notice how differently Adam & Eve act.

-Adam and Eve hid from God.
    -As the Image of God walked openly in relationship with God.
-They felt shame and fear.
    -As the Image of God they felt no shame and fear.
-Adam blames the woman
    -As the Image of God Adam never complained or argued. The Adam who said Eve was “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” seems to be gone.
-Adam blames God for giving him the woman.
    -As the Image of God he never complained about God’s gifts and callings.
-Eve blames the snake.
    -Although Eve does not adequately take responsibility, she does point out the bad guy.
 

Adam in Genesis 2 sounds completely different from the Adam in Genesis 3.
It is almost like a different person is speaking.
It is almost like someone has hijacked the image and is pulling a deepfake.

 

Deepfakes are synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s image convincingly with that of another.

That serpent came with a synthetic message and manipulated the image… it replaced the image of God with its own image. Sin hijacked the image.

It is one thing to look at a computer screen and see and hear your image do and say things you never do or say… Some external person has deepfaked you, using technology.

It is quite another thing to hear yourself say hurtful things, and to watch yourself do harmful things that you know you should never do… because some spiritual force is working within you.

If someone is deepfaking you with technology, you find the source and shut them down.
But what if someone is deepfaking you spiritually? How do you find them and shut them down?  What if the source is working inside you?

 

“What have I done? What have I said?”

I think this is how Adam and Eve felt because of sin.
I think this is how we fill because of sin.

Are you shocked by some of the things you say?
Are you shocked by some of the things you do?
You know that deep down you should be better?
You know that you are falling short of what you could be… should be… what God created you to be.

You are not alone. Sin has deepfaked us all.

Sin has taken the peaceful image of God and deepfaked it to cause war.
Sin has taken the loving image of God and deepfaked it hate others and not forgive others.
Sin has taken the faithful image of God and deepfaked it to abandon others.
Sin has taken the holy image of God and deepfaked it do immoral things.

You are not alone!  This is my story. This is your story. This is the Apostle Paul’s story…

Romans 7:15-20 (NIV)
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Paul is saying that life is confusing!  The person he wants to be, tries to be, prays to be… often does not show up. Instead of Paul showing up, it is like some other force is at work.

V17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

 

There is another force at work in our lives and it is SIN!  It has hijacked us! I have been hijacked!

The person that you are really mad at… you need to give them grace!  BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN HIJACKED!
You think this is who they want to be? NO THEY WERE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD… THEY WERE CREATED TO BE SO MUCH MORE… AND SO ARE YOU… BUT SIN HAS HIJACKED US!

Sin is the enemy!  Not Karen from work!
Sin is the enemy! Not that kid from school named Daxton!
Sin is the enemy! Not your least favorite politician!
Sin is the enemy, and it has made fools of us all.

Romans 7:21-24 (NIV)
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
 

Where is evil? It is working inside us…
Where is sin working?  It is working within us…
THIS IS TRUE FOR CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS!  The Apostle Paul is confessing this.
Sin is within your body. Who can rescue us from what is working within our own bodies?

Romans 7:25 (NIV)
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Only God can deliver us!
The God who made us in His image! He can deliver us!

Through Jesus Christ our Lord!
It is through the work of the cross, death, burial, and resurrection that we are delivered!

 

Sin hijacks the image, but God has offered mankind a way to reclaim the image.

 

Reclaim the Image

Wait… we never really answered the question earlier… WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE.  We discovered that God is invisible.

God is invisible, but He does have an image. Do we know the image?

Colossians 1:15-17
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
We were made in the image of God… that image is Jesus.

 

Only God is God. No one is like God.
Only mankind is mankind. Nothing else in creation is like mankind.

Because of sin we are separated from God…

But God sent His son to us…

 

Only God is God. Only mankind is mankind.

Only Jesus is both!  Jesus both God and man. Some call Jesus the God/man.

If you want to see God… look to Jesus. He is the image of the invisible God.

If you want to see mankind how mankind was mean to be… look to Jesus. He is the image of perfect humanity.
If you want to know your true identity, the you that you were always meant to be… look to Jesus.

 

Reclaim the Image

You have been deepfaked. Sin has hijacked you and turned you into what you never meant to become.

But if you will look at Jesus today, you will see who God is, and you will see who you are supposed to be.

Through Christ you can reclaim the image.  You can take off the old deepfaked sinful self… and you can put on a new self.

Colossians 3:8-11 (NIV)
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

We need rid ourselves from somethings, and as we do we begin to look more and more like Jesus.
We will then see ourselves differently, and we will see others differently… We will not see Gentile or Jew… this denomination or that denomination… this nationality or this political party… wealthy or poor… but all we will see is Christ.

Are you tired of being hijacked? Put Jesus in control of your life.