Participants: Steve Wohlberg (Host), Mike Carducci, Wayne Blakely
Series Code: COT
Program Code: COT000011A
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00:09 Is it possible to be gay and Christian?
00:12 The answer may surprise you in this edition of Coming Out. 01:04 Welcome to part 11 of Coming Out, 01:06 a special series dealing with gay, 01:08 homosexual, lesbian and biblical issues. 01:12 The title of our program 01:14 and the question that we're asking is, 01:16 "Is it possible to be gay 01:18 and Christian at the same time?" 01:21 I'm here with Mike Carducci 01:23 and Wayne Blakely from Coming Out Ministries. 01:25 We have-- they have and I do and the Bible does. 01:29 We have a lot to say about this but first of all, 01:32 let me just pose the question to you. 01:34 Aren't there a lot of people today 01:36 that would answer that question 01:38 with the resounding Y-E-S, yes? 01:42 Certainly, you know there is a-- there's a whole-- 01:45 there are many denominations one out there 01:47 today is the Metropolitan Community Church 01:50 which has a-- their main congregation 01:53 is made up of gay Christians. 01:55 I went there for years. 01:56 You went there for years, where is that, what city? 01:58 Well, Orlando. Orlando, Florida. 02:00 It has other branches and satellite churches. 02:03 Yeah, all across the world, right. 02:05 Okay, so they would answer that question. 02:06 How would they answer that question 02:07 if you walked into that church? 02:09 Uh, you know, for me it was the only way 02:12 that I could bring my belief in God together 02:16 with my sexual identity and you know it was amazing 02:19 because I came out when Aids came out. 02:21 And here I'd be sitting in the congregation 02:23 and it was basically the same people 02:25 that I was in the bar with the night before. 02:27 And you can see them, you know, struggling, 02:29 they had Kaposi sarcoma on their face 02:31 and you know they had very life threatening diseases. 02:34 You know, you would see the drag queens there, 02:36 you know, dressing their pantsuits and their high heels, 02:39 but you know what was interesting is 02:41 I was impressed by their sincerity, 02:44 they're like me that there were other people 02:45 that wanted to be right with God 02:48 and we're seeking that sincerely. 02:50 Also in many denominations stay Lutheran, Presbyterian, 02:55 I think Methodist too and more and more being added 02:59 that are changing their doctrine. 03:00 And so they also have a component of the church 03:04 would refer to themselves as gay Christians. 03:06 Yeah, there are ordained gay pastors. 03:10 There are-- so you have, you know, 03:11 we have Christianity on the one side, 03:13 we have gay community on the other side. 03:15 And there is a sort of a hotchpotch 03:18 in the middle of churches 03:20 like the one that you went to where 03:22 there are openly practicing gay pastors and people. 03:27 We have "Christian gay"? 03:33 Community but it's definitely real, 03:34 I mean it's out there 03:36 I recently read this book the Gay Gospel, 03:39 How Pro-Gay Advocates Misread the Bible 03:42 by Joe Dallas, by Joe Dallas. 03:44 This book is a fascinating book 03:46 and Joe went to one of these churches for quite a while. 03:50 And he has a number of quotes here 03:54 and he used to believe this. 03:56 Here's a quote from gay author Mel White 03:59 where he says "I have learned to accept 04:01 and even celebrate my sexual orientation 04:04 as another one of God's good gifts." 04:07 Here's another one from Pastor Troy Perry who is-- 04:10 that's the church that we've been talking 04:12 about the Metropolitan Community Church. 04:14 He said, "How could we go on being ashamed 04:15 of something that God created? 04:17 Yes, God created homosexuals and homosexuality." 04:21 And then gay priest Malcolm Boyd said, 04:23 "I thank, I offer thanks to God for the gift of being gay." 04:28 So this certainly is the position of many people 04:32 of an increasing amount of people even within our own, 04:34 our own denominations, our own church 04:36 there is a segment that believes this 04:40 and they would answer that question. 04:42 "Is it possible to be gay and Christian?" 04:45 Definitely they would say yes. 04:47 Now before we go farther and try to offer 04:50 some biblical clarity on this topic. 04:54 Mike, I want to really focus on your experience 04:57 and you guess my question is, 04:59 can God work in such a situation, 05:05 you know was he working in your life at that time. 05:08 Just tell us a little more about that 05:09 I think it's brighter. 05:11 Yeah. It's just revealing. 05:13 It's amazing because when I got baptize 05:17 I got it that the Lord love me for who I was 05:20 and all I knew was that I was a gay person. 05:23 I tried to change as a young person, 05:24 I left church culture because I couldn't blend, 05:27 I couldn't get answers from my-- my sexual attractions 05:31 and my religion and so I left that totally. 05:33 Well, coming back in at 40 years old, 05:35 I got it that Jesus love me for who I was 05:37 and I thought that included my gay identity. 05:40 And so I got baptized with a boyfriend 05:42 and a sexual addiction. 05:43 So you were still-- 05:44 you were still living with your boyfriend? 05:46 Or you're living with him or just had a boyfriend? 05:47 We weren't living together but we were-- 05:48 Okay, but you had a boyfriend and so you were baptized. 05:51 You had sincerely given your heart to Christ. 05:53 Right, the night before I got baptized. 05:54 As best you could. 05:55 Yeah, my sister said what are you gonna about your boyfriend? 05:57 And adamantly I just said, I'm gay, I was born this way, 06:00 I tried to change. 06:01 I asked God to change me that never happened? 06:04 I said all I know is that Jesus loves me for who I am 06:06 and that's why I'm getting baptized. 06:08 And my sister she stopped the pastor didn't know, 06:11 nobody in the church knew I was fearful to expose 06:14 what I was-- what I was coming into the church for fear 06:17 I'd be rejected of kicked out. 06:19 But I was only following Jesus Christ 06:21 and my faith was like a piece of dental floss. 06:24 The God I believe was able to work with that 06:26 and as I didn't come up out of the water straight 06:28 and I thought things might change 06:30 but this was going to be a process of beginning 06:33 that relationship from the moment 06:34 I made the public expression to be baptized. 06:37 Yeah, today you are one of the cofounders of Coming Out. 06:41 And so-- again tell us a little bit more, 06:45 you-- you were, you accepted Jesus Christ. 06:48 And I can't, my conscience will let me say to myself 06:54 that when you accepted Jesus Christ 06:57 before you are baptized. 06:58 You know and you had a very simple faith, 07:00 just like you know the song that says 07:02 that Jesus loves me this I know, 07:03 for the Bible tells me so. 07:04 Yeah. You know. 07:05 Well, then Bible started to tell me differently. 07:07 Okay but first-- I guess my question, 07:10 you know, I want to zero in on this first. 07:11 'Cause I think it's important. Yes, yes. 07:13 That you had accepted Christ 07:15 and you know is it correct to say 07:19 that you were a Christian when you accepted Jesus Christ? 07:22 Without a doubt. 07:23 I know that my conversion experience 07:25 happen that night that I gave my life to the Lord. 07:27 You know Isaiah 58:8 or 55:8 says 07:30 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 07:32 neither are your ways my ways." 07:34 And that to me, it helps me to understand 07:37 that God knew that I needed to make 07:39 that public expression of my commitment to him. 07:42 And he wasn't worried about all of the other things, 07:44 the sexual addiction and the boyfriend 07:46 that wasn't the issue. 07:47 The issue was understanding in how to relate to a God 07:50 that called Himself father and also a God 07:53 who called Himself my savior and my friend and my brother. 07:57 I didn't know how to relate to men 07:58 and all of that was broken. 08:00 But all Jesus needed for me to do 08:01 was to make my stand for him 08:03 and he was going to do the rest. 08:05 This was the work that I couldn't do 08:06 but as I cooperated with that little bit of faith 08:09 that I had, he was able to move me 08:12 and to grow me and while it cost him a lot, 08:14 Steve, and it was messy. 08:16 What was incredible was that I realized 08:18 according to 1 John 1:9, that He is faithful. 08:22 He was the one that was gonna cleanse me 08:23 from all unrighteousness. 08:24 My job was merely to confess my sin. 08:27 So you were, you know, in my mind 08:29 I think of you has as a baby Christian at that time. 08:31 You were just a new born and you were just, 08:33 you know, baby's come out and they-- 08:35 they don't know a lot and they're just little babies 08:38 and you were, you know you had given your heart to Jesus 08:41 and He was at work in your life 08:44 but as Pastor Ron said it during a previous program 08:47 which I think, we all I know, we all agree with, 08:50 God takes us where we are 08:51 but he doesn't leave us where we are. 08:54 You know, you said, 08:55 you mentioned cooperation with God 08:57 and I'm thinking about cooperation 08:59 with the Holy Spirit and you know 09:02 I was hanging out with my best friend 09:04 who was practicing gay man like myself at the time 09:08 and one day before we were going garage sailing 09:10 he said to me, hey we have to have church first 09:13 and I'm like, I hadn't been to church in years. 09:15 And I was like what are you talking about? 09:16 People like us don't usually get considered as someone 09:19 who would still believe in God 09:21 or go to church or anything so he turns on the TV 09:24 and there is Joyce Meyer and she is preaching 09:26 and she said I got this amazing message 09:29 and my heart is just thrilled 09:30 and connected all of the sudden, 09:32 and I said to my friend Dave afterwards 09:33 and I said, how is that you can suffer 09:37 from the alienation from your parents 09:41 and from your brothers and sisters and from the church 09:44 and still have a connection with God. 09:46 And he said, Wayne, you can't let anything come 09:49 between you and your relationship with Jesus Christ. 09:52 And from that day forward, I began to start praying 09:55 and communing with Jesus Christ. 09:57 And God takes us where we are, 09:59 where else can He find us? 10:01 But where we are? 10:02 So, Mike, I want to go back to you as after your baptism. 10:06 Where they didn't know about your secret other identity 10:10 or your secret identity. 10:12 It was only a secret to them, everybody else knew. 10:14 Yeah, okay. 10:15 But anyway afterwards then what did 10:17 God show you as your-- 10:19 as your journey continued on as you-- as you grew up. 10:24 In your Christian life, 10:26 eventually to bring you to where you are today? 10:28 Right. 10:29 In this, you know, you are cofounder of Coming Out. 10:34 What happened is when I started to read the text 10:36 about how the Bible calls homosexuality and abomination. 10:40 I was deeply offended by that. 10:42 How could you say that you love me 10:44 and then call me in abomination. 10:45 You know, haven't I given you my life, 10:47 haven't I given you my heart 10:48 but this is something that I can't change. 10:51 And what I said is-- I said 10:52 if you want me out of that relationship, 10:53 you're gonna have to do it yourself 10:55 because I'm digging at my heals, 10:56 I'm gonna prove to you 10:57 that we can be this mighty team for you. 10:59 And so again God took me my word and He said, 11:02 great you just gave me permission to work 11:04 and within a few weeks my boyfriend broke up with me. 11:06 And I was at home and I remember this 11:08 desperation coming over me is like, 11:10 what you mean to tell me that I'll never know 11:12 what it's like to love someone again. 11:14 That I'll never know what it's like to be held 11:15 or to be comforted or to love 11:18 and I cried out for weeks by myself 11:21 because I couldn't share with my sister. 11:22 She would have been overjoyed and I was in misery. 11:25 And I couldn't share with my straight friends 11:27 because they would have told me I was a fool 11:28 and go back to my boyfriend. 11:30 It was just me and Jesus Christ alone 11:32 and He held me while I sobbed. 11:35 And then what happened is 11:36 He started to put other men in my life 11:38 that were struggling with homosexuality 11:40 and they were along the same path with me. 11:42 Some of them in different areas, 11:44 some thought that if they had a monogamous relationship. 11:47 Others were still addicted to pornography as I was 11:50 and sexually acting out. 11:52 And what happened is like God created this community 11:54 and He started to bring in resources of testimonies 11:57 that we saw of men and women 11:59 that had come out of their gay lifestyle. 12:00 And one testimony particular of this man 12:03 that was so feminine, I was so offended 12:05 when I started to watch his testimony. 12:07 But as he shared his story 12:08 I saw the Holy Spirit working through him 12:10 and I finally at the end of the-- the testimony 12:13 tears are coming down my face and I realize 12:15 that if God could help that a feminine man 12:18 that He certainly could work with me. 12:20 And you know what, that started to change my understanding. 12:22 He was slowly giving me food 12:25 that I could understand and digest, 12:27 but He couldn't give it to me all at once, 12:29 it would have been overwhelming. 12:30 But what He did is He was willing to make 12:32 that commitment to me that this was gonna take a while 12:34 and 2 Peter 3:9 says 12:36 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, 12:38 as some understand slowness. 12:40 Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, 12:44 but that everyone should come to repentance." 12:46 And so I got baptized and ended up realizing 12:49 that I had to make this-- this decision 12:51 was I going to hang on to Jesus Christ 12:53 which was becoming everything for me 12:55 or was I gonna hang on to my identity 12:57 and I came to a crossroads 12:59 because every time I would act out, 13:00 I would feel the separation from the loving God 13:03 who nurtured me and satisfied me 13:05 in a legitimate way. 13:06 And so I would come running back to God 13:08 and say no Lord, I want you but this calls me right. 13:12 So eventually I had to make this decision, 13:15 I couldn't live without Jesus Christ 13:16 and that was when I had to close the door 13:19 on everything that I understood, 13:20 everything that I felt, everything that I thought 13:23 that I was even entitled too and as I followed Jesus Christ 13:26 and gave Him more and more of myself. 13:29 He was able to address not only the reasons 13:31 why this had happened, 13:33 but also the ways out of the sexual addiction 13:35 and bondage that I hooked in even in my ignorance. 13:40 He's a good guy. So He worked with you. 13:43 Where you were, step by step, 13:46 and He progressively changed you. 13:49 You know, as I think about the word, 13:51 I mean I know a lot of people would answer this question. 13:54 Is it possible to be gay and Christian? 13:56 Many people would say yes. 13:58 And my thought is that-- 13:59 it certainly is possible as you are exhibit A 14:02 if they had to for a person to be gay 14:05 and yet to respond to the love of Jesus Christ, 14:09 and to accept Him into your heart 14:12 to become a Christian and to begin the journey. 14:16 And as you begin the journey, the Lord continues His work. 14:20 There is a Bible verse it says, 14:21 "He who began a good work, will finish it." 14:23 That's right. 14:24 And He doesn't leave us where we are, 14:26 He takes us step by step. 14:27 And eventually He Brought clarity to your mind 14:30 that you could not continue to be a genuine real Christian 14:36 and still be practicing a gay lifestyle, 14:40 isn't that correct? 14:41 Yeah, He brought that clarity to you 14:44 and that you know and I think about 14:45 the word Christian itself to be a Christian 14:49 is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. 14:50 That's right. And Jesus Christ had no sin. 14:53 Jesus Christ gave us the Bible. He's the center of the Bible. 14:57 The Bible certainly tells us in Genesis what's God plan is, 15:01 since we've already covered for a man and a women. 15:04 It tells us about the fall, it talks about sin, 15:06 it talks about the deceitfulness of the devil 15:09 and of our own hearts and of the flesh 15:10 and the things that we fall into. 15:13 And the Lord's goal as it says in Daniel 12:10 15:19 "is to purify a people 15:22 and to prepare them for his coming." 15:24 And so I guess I would say that a baby Christian, 15:28 it's possible for them to be a Christian 15:31 and to be have taking the first steps 15:33 and have not really got it yet 15:37 about what the Bible says about this. 15:39 But I think that, you know, in your case 15:41 and I think you're a perfect example 15:43 that when a person continues to follow the Lord 15:45 and is honest with themselves 15:47 their consciences in with the Bible 15:49 that a mature Christian or a growing Christian 15:54 will eventually have to realize that in order to continue 15:59 to be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ 16:04 that lifestyle has to go, it has to go. 16:08 Wayne, you have any comments on that? 16:10 Isn't that resonate with what your-- 16:13 your burden is, I know that. 16:14 Yeah, I fought well, you know five years 16:16 after my beginning to pray to God, 16:19 you know God confronted me or I confronted God 16:22 and I said, you know, I don't know-- 16:26 or God said to me, you can't just keep blaming me 16:28 for something when you don't sincerely know Me. 16:30 And the only way to know Me is to get into My word 16:32 and to communicate with Me and I began to find 16:36 that God was opening up the doors for me 16:38 to learn more about Him and if I-- why, 16:40 what I had believed for so long 16:43 was the only way that I could believe 16:44 and He begin to reveal Himself to me. 16:47 And pour me out of what I thought was something 16:51 that was acceptable to Him. 16:52 So you realize that what you thought 16:54 was acceptable really isn't acceptable. 16:56 Correct, yeah. Not to Him. 16:57 You know, Steve, I don't want to minimize in any way 16:59 that it was a matter of like oh, well, this has to go. 17:02 It wasn't that cavalier for either of us. 17:05 It came with great deliberation. 17:06 Sure. 17:07 And again Jesus never yanked it out of our hands 17:11 or wrestled with us about it. 17:13 It was always our choice to do. Sure. 17:15 But what was so incredible, Wayne, right? 17:16 Is that when we let that go, 17:18 when we gave Him the freedom the work 17:20 what He gave us instead was something beyond anything 17:23 that I never could have imagined the peace, right? 17:26 Incredible. Yes. 17:27 Peace. Yes, it satisfies. 17:29 A clean conscience, an empty heart. 17:31 I will keep them in perfect peace. 17:33 Whose mind is state on me because He's trusting me. 17:36 And I had to learn how to trust God all over again. 17:39 I've been used by men all my life. 17:40 I used men and so I couldn't relate to a God 17:43 who called himself love but as he showed me 17:46 that he was there faithfully for me 17:47 and every time I fell that He said get back up, 17:49 Michael, I still want you. 17:51 Then I was able to start learning 17:53 how to trust Him incrementally at first 17:55 and as that grew also, then I could realize 17:57 that I could trust Him with everything. 17:59 Yeah, amazing, I want-- 18:01 Then God gave me a new identity. 18:02 Now that's right. In Jesus Christ. 18:04 Well, yeah, He did you know I talk about Paul-- 18:09 you know people said that He want you a gay Christian 18:11 and I'm going, you know, I'm really not, 18:12 I had to really research that 18:14 because I'm not identified by my temptation. 18:18 And I used the example about Paul, 18:19 you know, when Paul was on the road to Damascus 18:22 and God intervened with him. 18:24 He said, Paul would you stop killing Christians 18:26 and become one. 18:27 And he did and he praised God 18:30 but he didn't continue to identify 18:31 as a Christian killing Christian. 18:33 Sure, yeah, that's right. 18:34 And so God showed me 2 Corinthians 5:17 18:39 and said that if you repent "therefore he says 18:44 you know if anyone is in Christ, 18:46 he is a new creation; old things have passed away, 18:49 behold, all things have become new." 18:51 And so I have a new life, a new beginning with Jesus. 18:55 Revelation Chapter 14 to me 18:58 really speaks to this whole issue. 18:59 Revelation 14 is a prophecy of three angels 19:02 that give messages to the world before the return of Christ. 19:05 And in verse 7 there's a call 19:08 to worship Him that made heaven, 19:10 and earth and the sea, and the fountains of waters 19:13 which is a call to worship the creator. 19:15 And that points us back to the garden. 19:16 In fact it points back to Genesis 19:19 and to God's plan for men and women in the garden, 19:22 His original plan. 19:24 And then the second angel in verse 8 talks about Babylon, 19:27 it says that Babylon the great has fallen, 19:30 has fallen and Babylon, 19:32 the word Babylon means confusion 19:34 and it says that she's made all the nations 19:36 drink the wine of her fornication 19:38 and it is a religious conglomeration that's confused 19:42 and it's joining the world with apparently 19:46 trying to join the world with Christianity 19:48 is called fornication. 19:50 And it's then giving the world 19:51 its wine, its confusing doctrines. 19:54 And in Chapter 18:4, God says to His people, 19:57 come out, come out of that. 19:59 Don't participate in that mixture, 20:02 that blend of the world and the church 20:05 or religion or true Christianity. 20:07 You just can't blend the world 20:10 and the Lord, it just doesn't happen. 20:12 And then in verse 12 the third angel 20:14 makes an appeal to a group of people to become saints. 20:19 It says here are they that keep the Commandments of God 20:22 and the faith of Jesus. 20:23 And when you look at the Ten Commandments, 20:25 honor your father and mother, 20:26 no adultery, children you know respect your parents 20:30 and it's very clear that the Ten Commandments 20:33 support marriage 20:35 they support men being men, women 20:36 being women not committing adultery. 20:39 Not having any form of sexual deviation 20:42 but becoming a pure people 20:43 who follow the commandments of God 20:45 and it seems to me that God's call in these last days 20:47 doesn't seem to me I know that based on Revelation 20:50 God's call to his people is to come out of this confusing 20:55 blending trying to blend, you know, 20:58 the things of the world with the things of the Lord. 21:01 And to get real clarity on this that from God's perspective, 21:06 you cannot answer to the question. 21:09 I believe from the Bible and from God's perspective, 21:12 you cannot continue to be a practicing 21:18 gay person living a life that is contrary to scripture 21:23 and yet still be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. 21:29 You know, it's just, you know. When I came back-- 21:31 Mixed in rolling water. Right. 21:33 When I came back to the Lord, 21:34 I followed Jesus Christ as a young person 21:36 and at 20 years old I still knew 21:38 that He was a savior of the world, 21:40 but I just figured that ain't include homosexuals. 21:43 And then when I came back at 40 during the 20 years 21:45 that I was in that lifestyle and gone, 21:47 even in the church culture that I went to, 21:50 Jesus Christ was nothing more to me than just a good person. 21:53 I got it that He was kind and loving and fair 21:55 but He didn't seem as a savior with the ability 21:58 and the power to overcome every sin. 22:00 And I believe it that is some of what 22:04 we're saying that if we go against God's word 22:07 because He made a plan to me that-- 22:09 that it was not in his plan for me 22:11 but if we go against that and say that, 22:13 that God will ignore that or overlook at them. 22:15 Basically that's the biggest insult is that we're saying it, 22:18 Jesus Christ is not powerful enough to save us from our sin 22:22 and so then I can understand why we would just say, 22:24 well, He's got to accept me as I am 22:26 because He can't change me. 22:28 And, you know, and we can also deceive ourselves 22:31 to becoming the people that Jesus describes in Mathews 7 22:35 who say to him Lord, Lord but who do not do 22:39 what he says, he says many will come to me on that day 22:42 and they'll say, Lord, Lord 22:43 you know didn't we this and this-- 22:45 Or how about Isaiah 4, where it says, 22:48 "We'll take your name but we'll eat our own bread 22:50 and we'll wear our own apparel." 22:51 Meaning our own righteousness not yours, 22:53 and I believe it that was a real struggle for us. 22:56 Wayne, you have this saying that you say a lot about, 23:01 you know, do we need a savior? 23:03 You know when people come in 23:04 and they want to baptize their sin 23:06 or go against God's word. 23:09 Yeah, why do you need a redeemer? 23:11 You know if you are going to justify your sin, 23:14 then why do you need a redeemer for. 23:16 Mike, if I would have been your pastor, 23:18 when you came into the church at that time 23:21 I would have hoped 23:22 you know looking back kind of the ideal situation 23:26 if I would have been your pastor, 23:27 I would have hoped that you would have sensed 23:28 enough love in me and safety in me 23:31 that you could tell me 23:32 what was going on your life and that if I knew that 23:36 you know I would pray with you, I put my arm around you. 23:39 But I would gently postpone your baptism, 23:42 I would--I would post-- 23:43 That would have been unusual, Steve, 23:44 because I think that, that's what a lot of people 23:47 that struggle with homosexuality are fearful of 23:50 because they have been rejected. 23:52 One night I was in a gay bar 23:53 and five of us were talking about 23:55 how we've been kicked out of church, 23:57 how we've been treated by the church, 23:58 our parents and so that's-- 24:02 And I would hope that I would be the pastor 24:04 that you wouldn't feel that way for me, 24:06 that you wouldn't feel rejected 24:07 but that you would still understand that, 24:09 you know, in Acts 2 Peter verse 38 says 24:12 "Repent and be baptized" that there are things 24:15 that we do need to give up and it doesn't mean 24:17 God doesn't love me, doesn't mean I don't love you, 24:18 doesn't mean the churches love you, 24:19 doesn't mean we don't want you here. 24:20 We want you to keep coming, you know, 24:22 God's working in your life 24:23 but still in order to be baptized, 24:26 you really do need some more preparation-- 24:28 Well, Steve, because you went there-- 24:29 And that would be my position. 24:30 Because you went there, Steve, God had to go with plan B. 24:33 And like he said, He takes us where we are, they didn't know. 24:36 They didn't know, they didn't know 24:38 but God knew and He still worked with you. 24:41 Praise God, He still worked with you. 24:42 He still loved you, we serve at big God, 24:45 a wonderful God. 24:46 You know, we're not without warning. 24:48 You know, Paul has given us a number of warnings that come 24:52 and one is about a new gospel, a different gospel. 24:55 And that's in Galatians 3:1 that says, 24:58 "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, 25:02 that you should not obey the truth, 25:04 before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrait, 25:08 among you as crucified." 25:10 Yeah, that's right. 25:11 It's a bewitching based on the Bible 25:13 to believe that you can, to believe you can be 25:16 an openly practicing homosexual or lesbian 25:21 and still be a follower of Jesus Christ 25:23 at the same time to believe that really is a delusion. 25:26 Right it says, "Whomever is delivering the message 25:29 that is different than the original gospel 25:32 may he be cursed." 25:33 That's right. 25:35 But again thank up, thank the Lord, 25:36 He works with us in our delusions to get us out. 25:38 That's right. Thank you. 25:39 Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. 25:41 Let me-- we have just a little bit of time left, 25:43 I want to go to one more text here. 25:46 The next chapter from the new creature text 25:48 that you used is in 2 Corinthians 6:14 25:56 Paul says, "What fellowship has righteousness 25:58 with unrighteousness? 26:00 What communion has light with darkness? 26:03 What concord has Christ with Belial or Satan? 26:07 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? 26:10 For you are the temple of the living God, 26:12 as God has said, I will dwell in them, 26:14 and I will walk in them, and I will be their God, 26:16 and they will be my people." 26:18 And then verse 17 says, 26:19 "Wherefore come out from among them," 26:21 like it says in Revelation come out of Babylon, 26:23 as your ministry is all about, come out. 26:26 You come out of this things. Into marvelous light. 26:29 That's right, come out from among them 26:30 and be separate says the Lord 26:32 and I will receive you and I will be a father to you-- 26:37 And that's what I was missing. 26:38 And that's what you needed. That's right. 26:40 "And you will be my sons and my daughters," 26:42 says the Lord almighty. 26:44 Wow. This is God's plan. 26:46 The Bible's very clear that God loves us. 26:48 He takes us where we are but He doesn't leave us there. 26:50 He purifies us, He leads us along step by step 26:53 to be a mature and genuine 26:55 and true followers of Jesus Christ, 26:58 whose mission is to save people from their sins. 27:04 May God help us to hear his voice 27:07 to be honest with our consciences, 27:09 accept the message of the word of God 27:12 and to come out from every form of sin 27:14 as we get ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ. 27:21 If you would like to order the 13 part Coming Out series 27:24 for $34.95 plus shipping, call 1-800-782-4253. 27:29 Or write to White Horse Media, PO Box 1139, 27:32 Newport, Washington, 99156. 27:35 Pastor Ron Woolsey, Dwayne Blakely 27:37 and Mike Carducci are each available 27:38 to conduct a seminar in your area. 27:41 To schedule a speaking engagement, 27:42 contact Coming Out Ministries by calling 360-936-8514, 27:48 or visit comingoutministries.org. |
Revised 2015-03-12