Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000002
|
00:16 Betty Fetters decided one afternoon
00:20 that she was going to explore some of the back acreage 00:26 that she and her husband had just purchased. 00:29 And while she was out walking around through the trees, 00:33 she suddenly found herself 00:37 being hurled down in empty abandoned well. 00:43 As she was going down to the bottom 00:47 expecting instant death on the rocks below, 00:50 she saw a white being of light come down from heaven, 00:56 swooped down into the well and the next thing she knew, 01:00 she was standing on the ground beside the empty hole unharmed. 01:06 And you'll never be able to convince Betty Fetters 01:10 that there are no such things as angels. 01:16 Then little Joanna was only about 8 years old. 01:23 Her mother had just tucked her into bed, 01:27 said their prayers, kissed her good night. 01:31 And turned off the light, closed the door. 01:35 When suddenly Joanna saw this beautiful white being of light 01:41 standing in front of her. 01:44 And this beautiful looking angel said, 01:48 "Joanna, I'm an angel sent from God." 01:54 Now even though Joanna had been raised 01:56 in a Christian home, she was afraid. 02:01 And she looked at that angel 02:02 and she said, "You're not from God." 02:06 And the angel said, "Well, how do you know that." 02:09 Because every place in the Bible where an angel appeared 02:12 and the people were afraid-- 02:14 the angel said, "fear not." I'm afraid. 02:16 And you didn't say "fear not." You can't be from God." 02:20 And suddenly the angel turned 02:22 into this hideous looking monster 02:25 that swooped down on Joanna and said, 02:28 "Would you rather see me looking like this." 02:32 And then vanished away into the darkness. 02:37 Sharon Lee Halstead, April 24, 1996 02:42 sitting across the table from the visiting pastor 02:47 in the women's penitentiary at Salem, Oregon. 02:52 Said to the pastor, "It was the most difficult thing 02:55 that I have ever had to do in order to please God." 03:02 She said as she left the Green home 03:05 with the gun still smoking in her hand. 03:08 She realized that she had only halfway finished the job 03:12 that God had given her to do. 03:14 Lin Green was dead 03:15 but her husband David and her son Nefanger 03:19 were only wounded and managed to escape. 03:21 You see, Sharon Halstead had become convinced 03:24 by an angel of light that it was God's will 03:27 to destroy the Green family. 03:34 Obviously, another bad angel. 03:41 Betty Fetters and the angel 03:46 that swooped down into the well to save for a life-- 03:50 was that a good angel or was it a bad angel. 03:57 And the answer to that question is 04:01 you don't know if it was a good angel or a bad angel. 04:08 Well, why would a bad angel want to save her life? 04:13 2 Corinthians 11:13, "False apostles, 04:18 deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 04:22 And no wonder, because Satan himself 04:26 masquerades as an angel of light. 04:30 It's not surprising that his servants 04:32 masquerade as servants of righteousness." 04:34 Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 04:38 Why would he appear as an angel of light 04:41 swooped down into the well and save her life? 04:43 Don't you think that Satan himself would save a life 04:48 if he thought that by doing so, 04:50 he could gain enough confidence to win a soul? 04:57 And that's angel warfare. 05:02 Revelation 1:1, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 05:09 Because Jesus Himself said, 05:11 "Not only would there be spirits impersonating angels, 05:14 there will be spirits impersonating Jesus himself. 05:17 And the Book of Revelation is here to help us 05:20 reveal and know who Jesus Christ is. 05:25 "The Revelation of Jesus that God gave him 05:28 to show his servants what must soon take place. 05:30 He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John," 05:34 Who testified to every thing that he saw 05:37 that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 05:42 The angel testified to everything that he saw. 05:46 The Book of Revelation was given to us by an angel. 05:49 God uses angels all through the Book of Revelation. 05:52 First two chapters letters 05:54 from the angels of the church in Ephesus, 05:57 the angel of the church in Philadelphia, 05:59 the angel of the church of Laodicea. 06:02 Angels are God's messengers to the world. 06:05 But in Revelation 12, turn there with me 06:08 Revelation 12 and look at verse 7. 06:11 "There was war in heaven. 06:14 Michael and his angels, good angels, 06:18 fought against the dragon and his angels 06:22 and the dragon and his angels fought back. 06:25 But he was not strong enough, 06:27 and they lost their place in heaven. 06:30 The great dragon was hurled down, 06:33 that ancient dragon called Satan, 06:35 who leads the whole world astray. 06:37 He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." 06:41 Angel Warfare, demon angels hurled down to the earth. 06:49 Revelation 14, God's last messages for the world 06:54 in the form of three angels flying through the midair. 06:58 Angels are God's messengers, good angels that is. 07:02 In fact, in Revelation 16:12, 07:05 "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Euphrates River, 07:10 and its water was dried up 07:12 to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 07:15 And then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. 07:20 And they came out of the mouth of the dragon, 07:22 out of the mouth of the beast, 07:23 out of the mouth of the false prophet. 07:26 They are the spirits of demons 07:28 and they go out performing miraculous signs, 07:31 to the kings of the whole world, 07:33 to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." 07:38 Unclean, demon spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, 07:42 out of the mouth of the beast, the false prophet. 07:45 They're performing miracles 07:47 and gathered the whole world together 07:49 for the battle on the great day of God almighty. 07:52 Verse 16 says, "Then they gathered the kings together 07:56 to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." 08:01 Now I know that many of you came to Revelation now 08:06 because you want to know about Armageddon. 08:10 You want to know about the beast, the dragon, 08:13 the false prophet, 666 written on the foreheads. 08:19 And we're going to talk about these things. 08:23 We're going to talk about the dragon, 08:25 we're going to talk about the beast. 08:27 You're going to know exactly what that number 666 is 08:31 on the forehead and on the right hand. 08:33 We're going to talk about Armageddon, 08:35 the drying up of Euphrates River. 08:37 We're going to cover those things but remember 08:39 we learned that the Book of Revelation quotes 08:42 or alludes to the Old Testament over how many times? 08:46 600 times. Good job, you remembered 600 times. 08:49 And that means that we have to understand 08:52 the little of the Old Testament first 08:53 before we can understand the Book of Revelation, 08:56 so that means that you need to be patient with me. 09:01 Be patient, we're going to get to it. 09:03 We're going to understand all of these things. 09:05 I promise you but what we want to do is apply the principles 09:09 and to build one upon the other, 09:12 so that you can see for yourself, 09:15 what the Bible says about the beast 09:17 and the dragon and the false prophet. 09:22 The false prophet is interesting 09:26 because the prophet is one who speaks for God. 09:30 Therefore, a false prophet must be one 09:34 who claims to speak for God 09:38 but actually he is not. 09:44 And in order for a false prophet to deceive anyone, 09:50 he would have to appear 09:52 as though he were a true prophet. 09:56 He would have to appear 09:57 as though he were a true man of God. 10:03 In fact, Revelation 13 describes the false prophet 10:07 as a beast with two horns like a lamb. 10:10 He looks like a lamb. 10:14 And he performs miracles 10:16 gathering the kings of the world together 10:18 for battle on the great day of God almighty. 10:21 The false prophet looks like a lamb 10:23 and he can work miracles. 10:25 I want you to listen to me carefully now. 10:28 If God works miracles, does He? 10:31 Amen, He does. 10:34 And if the false prophet works miracles, does he? 10:38 The Bible says he does. 10:40 Then miracles can never be the test that God is at work. 10:47 And I think one of the dangerous thing in the last days 10:50 is the tendency for men and women to put faith 10:54 and confidence in miracles as proof that God is at work, 10:58 when the dragon himself performs miracles, 11:02 deceiving people into thinking 11:03 that they're following the lamb when they're not. 11:11 So the Bible tells us in Revelation 11:14 that we can expect to see a time 11:16 when there will be demons coming out of the mouth of the dragon 11:21 the beast, the false prophet. 11:23 An explosion of supernatural psychic 11:26 paranormal activity in the world. 11:28 And I believe we're seeing 11:30 this prophecy being fulfilled right now. 11:33 Paul saw it in 1 Timothy. 11:36 You can read about it, 1 Timothy 4:1. 11:41 "The Spirit clearly says that in the last days 11:45 some will abandon their faith 11:48 and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." 11:52 Paul sees the time in the last days 11:56 when many will abandon their faith 12:01 and follow the deceiving spirits. 12:07 First of all, he is talking about the last days 12:09 and I want you to know that the more we study Revelation, 12:12 the more convinced I become. 12:13 And I think the more convinced you will become 12:15 as we're living in the last days right now. 12:18 Paul was looking ahead 12:19 to the time we're living in right now. 12:25 And he saw many abandon the faith. 12:30 Now, you cannot abandon something 12:32 that you've never been a part of. 12:36 And so people who were once a part of the faith 12:39 are going to abandon the faith 12:42 because they follow the doctrines 12:44 of demons and false prophets. 12:51 We're seeing, we're seeing that explosion of interest 12:55 in supernatural things today, it's happening all around us. 13:00 Favorite television programs from years ago remember, 13:04 'Touched by an Angel and I Love Jenni' 13:07 that seems so harmless. 13:08 But dealing with supernatural psychic phenomena 13:11 and paving the way for programs about witchcraft 13:15 like charm that we see today and Catherine Bell's new movie 13:19 that came out last year, 'The Good Witch.' 13:25 I did a search on the internet, 13:29 for occult, witchcraft, Wicca, 13:34 and I got 8.5 million hits of websites 13:43 dealing with the occult and supernatural phenomena. 13:47 All of this is just an indication that 13:50 that's what men and women are interested in today. 13:55 John Edwards, television program 13:58 where he appears onstage greets his spirit guides 14:02 and then begins to flawlessly relay information to the familie 14:08 eager to hear from their loved ones on the other side, 14:12 information that only the deceased 14:15 could possibly have known. 14:20 Montel Williams, Montel Williams 14:25 in writing a endorsement for Sylvia Browne's book, 14:30 'The Other Side and Back' said in Literary Guild Magazine 14:34 psychic, medium, clairvoyant, channel. 14:38 Now channel is one who claims to communicate with the dead. 14:43 These are all words to describe 14:45 Sylvia Browne's unique powers, says Mr. Williams. 14:49 "I have personally witnessed her 14:50 bring closer to distraught families, 14:53 help police close cases and open people's hearts 14:55 to help them see the good in themselves. 14:58 Now what could be more harmless, 15:00 I mean who wouldn't want to help other peoples in these ways? 15:03 Silvia Browne herself said, "This book is about you. 15:06 It's about your God given power 15:09 and how to reconnect with it and how to put it to good use." 15:12 Now, that should settle it once and for all, right. 15:14 I mean if Montel Williams says, "It's good." 15:17 Then Silvia Browne says, 15:18 "It connects with your God given power." 15:21 That should settle it for us or does it. 15:27 When he uses words like psychic, medium, clairvoyant, channel 15:32 that should raise a red flag for Christians. 15:40 Another seer who lived years ago, 15:45 his name was Isaiah, he warned us. 15:51 In Isaiah 8:19 "When men tell you to consult 15:56 spirit mediums should not a people inquire of their God? 16:02 Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" 16:05 Isaiah warns us against communicating with the dead. 16:10 And today people are flocking to different methods 16:14 and modes of communicating with the dead 16:16 toying with the instruments of the demons of Satan 16:21 trying to deceive them into thinking that they're doing good 16:24 when they're walking along a path to destruction. 16:29 Have you ever heard of the book 16:31 'The Sorcerer's Stone' about Harry Potter? 16:37 You say, "Oh no, not Harry Potter, 16:40 he is just a little boy that wears big glasses 16:42 that children like to read about. 16:46 Nothing could be more harmless. 16:50 Harry Potter, popular beyond the author Kathleen, 16:57 Joanne Kathleen Rowling's wildest expectations. 17:02 And she said on the Diane Rehm Show, 17:04 a top show in England. 17:06 She said, "One-third of her material 17:08 is based on actual occult and witchcraft phenomena." 17:17 Is it possible that our children are being set up 17:22 to follow deceiving spirits in the last days? 17:29 Ten year old Gloria Bishop said, 17:32 "I like what they learn at Hog-Watch School, 17:37 I want to be a witch." 17:42 And we're witnessing witchcraft morphing 17:46 from the old hag stirring up the cauldron pot, 17:50 flying on a broomstick to white Wicca, 17:56 white witchcraft and appealing to our children. 18:02 Do you know what a sorcerer is? 18:07 Look it up in the dictionary. 18:10 A sorcerer is one who claims to communicate with the dead. 18:18 Wicca is a nature based religion 18:22 offering its followers a connection with mother earth, 18:25 which they often call the goddess. 18:29 It claims it by tapping into earth's energies 18:32 and nature's spirits, people can cast wholesome spells 18:36 perform white magic and improve their lives. 18:42 I notice not long ago, a news clip on television 18:47 showing children in a school in California 18:50 pledging allegiance to the earth. 18:55 And when I read about vicar 18:58 speaking about the earth as the goddess, 19:01 the mother earth, it makes me wonder 19:06 if the concerned about the environment 19:14 is being used for something more 19:18 than simply protecting the environment. 19:22 Don't misunderstand me. 19:24 I believe that God created this world 19:27 and He put us on this planet to care forth 19:29 and we should be at the forefront 19:32 of taking care of planet earth. 19:34 Don't misunderstand me. 19:36 But if a devil appears as an angel of life, 19:39 he can take good things 19:40 and turn them into something not so good. 19:45 And we need to be aware. 19:51 Dr. George Barna, famous Christian researchers says 19:54 three out of every four teenagers 19:55 have engaged in at least one type of psychic 19:58 or witchcraft related activity, three out of four. 20:03 Conversely during the past year 20:04 fewer than three out of every ten church teenagers 20:08 had received any teaching from their church 20:11 about the elements of the supernatural. 20:13 They're playing with it. They're experimenting with it. 20:16 But nobody is teaching them 20:18 the hazards and the pitfalls along the way. 20:23 Who is it that the Silvia Brownes, 20:29 the John Edwards, the channels, 20:31 the spirit mediums, who is it 20:32 that they're communicating with on the other side. 20:37 Once a lady was attending Revelation, 20:40 now in Tulsa, Oklahoma years ago but I still remember her. 20:45 She came the first night 20:46 and I was chatting with her a little bit 20:48 and invited her to come back. 20:51 And she said, "Well, I'm not going to be coming back." 20:54 And I said, "Why not." 20:56 She said, "You know, about four years ago my husband died 21:00 and shortly after he died, I saw him again 21:04 and he told me that he had been to heaven. 21:06 He saw God, he saw Jesus 21:08 and they send him back to talk to me 21:10 and to let me know that as long as I continue going on like I'm, 21:14 that when I die, I'll be in heaven too, 21:16 so I don't need to study Revelation. 21:18 I don't need to study the Bible. 21:20 I got my assurance from the spirit of my husband." 21:25 Now, folks I want to tell you something loud an clear 21:28 that this book was given to us by the Spirit of God. 21:33 And if the spirit is leading you 21:36 in any direction other than into this book, 21:38 then you're following the wrong spirit. 21:43 This is the only way for us to navigate 21:47 the paths in the darkness of the world around us today. 21:51 This is the only safety 21:52 that Bible says it's like a light shining on the pathway. 21:58 I want to talk about for a second 22:00 another kind of spirit or supernatural phenomena 22:04 and some of you may have experienced 22:06 or maybe you know someone who has. 22:09 Hearing a voice warning you 22:10 or feeling a force moving you out of oncoming disaster. 22:13 Friend of ours was driving with her two little girls 22:17 strapped into the backseat of her car 22:19 when suddenly on a slippery highway, 22:21 she lost control of the car 22:23 and was headed straight into a concrete revetment 22:26 bracing herself expecting instant death 22:29 for herself and her two little girls. 22:31 Suddenly she found that she was sitting in the car 22:35 parked harmlessly along the side of the road. 22:39 And you'll never be able to convince her 22:40 that there are no such things as angels. 22:44 My father-in-law, Dina's dad was awaken one night 22:47 years ago in the middle of the night 22:49 with a distinct impression that his mother had died. 22:52 Seconds later the telephone rang, 22:53 it was his sister calling him from the west coast 22:56 saying that their mother had just passed away. 23:00 Now, I tell you these stories not because they're so unusual 23:04 but they do happen, they happen enough for some of you 23:07 to have experience some of those very same things 23:09 or may be you know someone who has and the story is like that. 23:12 They convince us without a doubt that 23:13 there is a supernatural realm of existence, a spirit level, 23:18 a level that exist on a realm between man and God 23:21 and furthermore you and I were created with a capacity 23:24 and the desire to communicate with the supernatural. 23:27 The problem is that millions and millions are turning 23:30 to the only kind of supernatural phenomena 23:32 and they're hearing about and that's the occult, 23:34 spiritism, Wicca and witchcraft. 23:39 The question is, is it safe? 23:42 Is it safe for us to be involved 23:44 in any kind of supernatural or psychic phenomenon? 23:48 In the little epistle 1 John, in 1 John 4:1, he writes, 23:55 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, 23:59 but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, 24:02 because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 24:06 Don't believe every spirit. 24:08 Test the spirit to see if they're from God, why? 24:10 Because there are many false prophets 24:12 going out into the world. 24:14 Don't believe every spirit, test the spirit. 24:17 Notice the link between false prophets and the spirit, 24:21 the evil demon spirits that work in the world. 24:23 That's what Revelation tells us. 24:25 The false prophet appears as though he is the Lamb of God 24:29 to make you think that you're following Jesus 24:31 when in fact you're following a demon spirit. 24:35 He goes on to say that every spirit 24:37 that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. 24:40 This is the spirit of the antichrist, 24:41 which you've heard is coming 24:43 and even now is already in the world. 24:45 The reason we need to understand the difference 24:47 between the good spirits and the bad spirits 24:50 is because it's the bad spirits that empower antichrist 24:54 and you'll never understand the antichrist who is the beast 24:57 unless you understand the difference 24:59 between good and bad spirits. 25:01 And that's why we're taking a little time 25:03 to look at this issue. 25:05 Well, some say, well, if that's the case and it's so dangerous 25:08 then I don't want anything to do with any kind of spirits. 25:13 But that's not safe either. 25:16 Because the Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. 25:21 "Do not put out the Spirit's fire, 25:24 do not treat prophecies with contempt but test everything. 25:28 And hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." 25:31 So you can't just throw out any kind 25:33 of supernatural phenomenon but you need to test it. 25:38 Test the spirit to see if it's really coming from God. 25:42 Well, how do you test the spirit? 25:47 The Bible tells us Isaiah 8:20, 25:51 "To the law and to the testimony. 25:53 If they speak not according to this, 25:55 there is no light in them." 25:57 The only way to test the spirit is with the word of God. 26:01 Sometimes people tell me, 26:02 "Well, I know the spirit is right 26:03 because my spirit bears witness." Wrong test. 26:06 You can't test the spirit with the spirit 26:09 because the spirit claims to be the Spirit of God 26:12 even though it's a demon spirit, 26:13 you can't test the spirit with the spirit. 26:16 You can only test the spirit with the word of God. 26:20 Amen. Well, how do you do that? 26:28 What do you do if a spirit or an angel tells you 26:33 to read Matthew 8 and 9? What do you do? 26:41 You don't know if it's a good spirit or a bad spirit. 26:45 Well, there's nothing in the Bible 26:46 that says don't read Matthew 8 and 9. 26:51 So read it, what if it's a bad spirit, doesn't' matter. 26:57 Good spirit, bad spirit, read the word of God. 27:02 And so you read Matthew 8 and 9 27:04 all the stories about Jesus healing people. 27:09 And the spirit tells you, 27:11 God wants to use you to heal people. 27:14 Go and pray for your neighbor who is sick. 27:17 What would you do? 27:18 You don't know if it's a good spirit or a bad spirit, 27:20 what would you do? 27:22 Go, pray for your neighbor 27:24 because there's nothing in the Bible that says, 27:26 thou shalt not pray for your sick neighbor. 27:30 So, it's okay. 27:32 Even if it's a bad spirit, it's okay. 27:37 But you see the bad spirits 27:41 will try to lead you with good things. 27:46 So that when you test it 27:48 you see that he squares up with scripture. 27:52 And he gains your confidence. 27:55 And then asks you to do something, 28:00 contradictory to scripture. 28:03 And that's exactly what happened to Sharon Lee Halstead. 28:07 Remember, an angel of light 28:11 convinced her that she should go and pray 28:15 for her neighbors and they were healed. 28:19 And she began to put more and more faith 28:21 in that angel of light. 28:25 At first she tested it with the scripture 28:29 but as the things came to pass, 28:31 she relied more and more on the spirit 28:34 and less and less on the word of God 28:37 until finally she had so much confidence in the spirit 28:41 that the spirit was able to convince her. 28:45 Sharon, God has shown me that the Green family 28:50 who are faithful loyal Christians 28:54 are about to fall away and He wants you 28:58 to take their lives now before they fall away, 29:03 so that they can be saved. 29:06 And you'll be doing the highest work of service to God. 29:10 And she had so much confidence in the spirit 29:14 that she went to take the lives of the Green family. 29:19 You see she should have tested the spirit one more time. 29:24 Thou shall not kill 29:27 and she would have known that it was a bad spirit. 29:32 That's how the demon spirits works. 29:37 Even more in Ephesians 6:12. 29:44 "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 29:47 but it's against the rulers, against the authorities, 29:50 against the powers of this dark world 29:52 and against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms." 29:59 We're involved in demonic warfare. 30:05 We're involved in warfare 30:07 with spirits of darkness from heavenly realms. 30:12 And the problem is that it doesn't even look dark, 30:16 because it seems as though, it's the power of God. 30:20 Now, some people will say, 30:21 "I don't want to be in that war, pastor." 30:24 Too bad, you're. And you can't avoid it. 30:27 All you can do is chose to be on the right side. 30:33 It happens all around us. 30:36 It happened to Jesus, He was constantly confronting demons. 30:40 John saw in the last days in the Book of Revelation, 30:43 Paul warned us about it. 30:46 And even in the Old Testament, God forbid and warned us 30:50 against being involved with demon spirits, 30:52 Deuteronomy 18:10, "Let no one be found among you 30:58 who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, 31:01 who practices divination or sorcery, 31:03 who interprets omens, that's astrology, 31:06 who engages in witchcraft, casts spells, 31:09 or who is a medium or spiritist who consults the dead. 31:12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to God." 31:15 Well, who would burn their children in the fire? 31:19 That was just back in Bible times. 31:22 And what's wrong with astrology? 31:24 What's wrong with checking the newspaper 31:26 to see what Leotells me to do today? 31:32 You see astrology is based on the idea that your destiny, 31:37 your fate is fixed by the position of the stars, 31:39 the movement you're born. 31:43 But we know that we are born sinners 31:48 destined for destruction. 31:52 But when we meet Jesus Christ, 31:53 we're born again and our fate changes. Amen. 32:01 But I have never heard astrologer ask the question, 32:05 when were you born again, Have you? 32:09 When you look to the stars for guidance, 32:12 you're turning your back on the God who made those stars. 32:16 He wants to lead you. He wants to guide you. 32:23 Let no one be found among you who consult the dead, 32:27 channels, John Edward, Silvia Browne and others. 32:35 J. Z. Knight, Yelm, Washington claims to be a channel 32:43 for a warrior Ramtha who supposedly died 3,500 years ago. 32:50 And many of the popular stars pay thousands of dollars 32:54 for counsel and guidance from Ramtha 32:57 through his channel, J. Z. Knight. 33:01 She wrote in her book, 'A State of Mind, My Story', 33:07 a little exchange that she had with Ramtha. 33:12 Ramtha told her one day "I Ramtha, 33:15 I'm the enlightened one and I know that I'm God 33:18 and you do not that you're God but I know what you know." 33:24 It's interesting. 33:26 J. Z. Knight said, "Okay, 33:28 but right now I have to go to Safeway." 33:32 Ramtha the all knowing one said, "Safeway, what Safeway." 33:40 It's a market where you go to buy groceries. 33:44 Oh, what's groceries? Some God, isn't he. 33:51 Vital lies, vital lies if these are the spirits 33:55 of departed loved ones, vital lies. 34:00 A lady whose husband had gone to war 34:02 faithfully wrote and the letters came back, 34:05 his letters came and he answered 34:07 but one day his letter stopped coming. 34:10 And the days turned into weeks, 34:13 she didn't know what had happened. 34:15 No one knew what had happened to him. 34:18 And finally one day some of her friends 34:20 convinced her, he must be dead. 34:22 Why don't you go to a medium, to a channel 34:26 and they will able to contact him 34:27 and he can tell you what happened. 34:29 So she went to a channel 34:31 and she saw what appeared to be her husband. 34:34 He explained how he had been killed in the war. 34:39 And she left feeling a little better 34:40 at least she knew what happened. 34:43 But two weeks later she heard a knock on her door, 34:46 she opened the door and there he was unharmed. 34:50 He wasn't even wounded. 34:51 He had just been missing in action. 34:56 Vital lies, if these are spirits of the departed loved ones, 35:01 vital lives, why the immorality. 35:09 My wife and I had the opportunity 35:10 to watch a gospel film one night of two young ladies 35:14 who had been involved in witchcraft 35:16 and praise God, He delivered them. 35:21 And they told their testimony and they said one evening 35:25 they were all standing together in a circle nude, joining hands. 35:30 Nude? Why the immorality? 35:35 If these are spirits of departed loved ones, why the immorality? 35:44 And the lady went on to say how she was filled 35:50 with feelings of love and warmth and compassion 35:55 while she watched her 18 month old baby boy 35:59 being consumed in the flames as a living sacrifice. 36:04 And the other girl says, "At that time 36:06 there was only one thought that possessed my mind 36:09 and I wished that I had a baby boy 36:11 that I could offer as a sacrifice too." 36:14 It's only too gruesome to be told 36:17 but it needs to be told because that's where it ends. 36:21 That's where spiritism leads. 36:22 It's a part of a picture. It's a part of the scene. 36:26 That's where spiritism ends. Now how can that ever happen? 36:33 How could someone ever do anything like that? 36:38 Isaiah tells us how it can happen? 36:42 Turn back to Isaiah 9 in the Book of Isaiah. 36:51 Chapter 9:15 "The elders or prominent men, 36:57 they are the head, the prophets who speak lies are the tail. 37:03 And those who guide this people mislead them, 37:07 and those who are guided by them are led astray." 37:12 Now, why are these people led astray? 37:16 They're led astray because they're following men 37:20 instead of following God. What is the result? 37:28 Verse 20, at the end of verse says 37:30 "Each one will feed on the flesh of their own offspring" 37:33 That's what happens when people turn 37:37 to following men instead of following God. 37:41 That's how it happens. 37:43 And many today are making exactly the same mistake. 37:50 Archie Ijames gave up his pastored 37:55 in the Black Methodist Church and join the Peoples Temple 38:02 because he was impressed with the way they took in minorities 38:08 and treated everyone equally in that church. 38:15 Christine Cobb left her neighborhood Baptist church, 38:18 joined the Peoples Temple 38:20 because they were such a warm friendly caring church 38:23 and she liked the way she felt when she went there. 38:26 Ross Case, 32 year old attorney joined the Peoples Temple 38:30 impressed with their track record 38:32 for civil rights in the community 38:34 and little Loretta Stewart, 16 year old high school girl 38:38 on her way to high school dance 38:40 was in raptured by the music coming from the Peoples Temple. 38:44 She went in and became a part of that fellowship 38:47 because they loved her and they embraced her. 38:49 The Peoples Temple was a friendly church. 38:52 It was a warm caring church. It was a safe church. 38:56 The member of the Indianapolis, Indiana 38:58 chapter of the Disciples of Christ-- 39:00 a mainline Protestant denomination. 39:04 The pastor, young, powerful, dynamic 39:08 a man who'd been recognized 39:10 by the likes of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, 39:13 J Edgar Hoover and a host of others. 39:16 He was appointed by the mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana 39:19 as the Director of the Human Rights Commission for that city. 39:27 Ross Case, Loretta Stewart, Archie Ijames, 39:31 Christine Cobb, all loved their pastor. 39:39 And they followed their pastor. 39:44 The reverent Jim Jones to Guyana 39:51 and were there when 900 people drank poison Kool-Aid 39:57 because they were following the pastor. 40:02 You see when we follow a man 40:04 instead of following God bad things happen. 40:10 And the reason I'm telling you that story 40:12 is because Archie Ijames, Ross Case, 40:14 Loretta Stewart, Christine Cobb were not weirdoes. 40:19 They were not some moronic branch of society. 40:23 They were people just like you and I. 40:25 In fact, I was in Portland, Oregon, several years ago 40:29 and after this meeting, a lady came up to me 40:32 and said pastor, Christine Cobb was my cousin. 40:36 I said, "What? She was your cousin." 40:40 She said, "Yes." 40:42 I said, "What was she like? Was she kind of weird?" 40:47 She said, "No, she was just like all the rest of us." 40:51 And did you ever go to that church with her. 40:54 She said "I did, I went to that church." 40:56 Why didn't you go to Guyana with her? 41:01 She said, "My grandmother told me 41:04 that the more she prayed about it, 41:06 the worse she felt about that man." 41:12 Thank God for praying grandmothers, amen. 41:18 They were people just like you but they made one mistake. 41:27 They followed a man instead of following God. 41:32 And it wasn't as though they didn't have warning 41:34 because they were times when he would preach things 41:37 that did not square up with the word of God. 41:39 But when they asked him about it. 41:41 He said, "Look, don't get hung up in doctrines, 41:45 doctrines aren't important, people are important. 41:48 We need to love one another. 41:50 We need to do caring things for one and other. 41:52 Don't worry about doctrines." 42:02 You see the false prophet is going to appear 42:06 as though he is the man of God. 42:11 He is going to know his scripture. 42:13 He can quote it backwards and forwards. 42:18 He will read Bible text to you. 42:20 He will pray for you, he will heal you. 42:22 The false prophet appears as a man of God. 42:25 He could be a pastor, 42:28 pastor of the largest church in town. 42:30 Pastor of the small friendly church in town. 42:34 He could be your pastor. You don't really know. 42:39 We can't follow men. We have to follow God. 42:43 He could be a popular television evangelist. 42:45 He could travel all around the world 42:48 holding Revelation Now programs. That's right. 42:55 How do you know that you're not listening 42:57 to the false prophet right now? You don't know that. 43:04 It's only one way to know 43:06 and that is to test what I say by the word of God. 43:10 Amen. Don't take my word for it. 43:13 Don't take any one's word for anything. 43:15 Take God's word forward, 43:16 that's the only thing we can trust. 43:18 I'm not afraid to put my faith 43:20 to the acid test for the word of God. 43:22 Don't you be afraid to do the same thing? Amen 43:27 That's what this angel warfare is all about. 43:32 You know a lot of people say, "Man, I'm scared now. 43:35 I didn't know about all that." 43:37 Well, I know we've been talking about some heavy things 43:39 but we need to unveil what's going on in this world. 43:42 I want to shift gears now 43:43 and close in these last few minutes. 43:45 I want to talk about some better things, happier things. 43:48 In fact in Psalm 34:7, the Bible says, 43:51 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him." 43:55 So God has good angels. Praise the Lord for that. 43:57 In fact, I'm going to show you that for every bad angel, 44:00 there are two good angels here in the world. 44:02 So you don't be have to be afraid of the bad angels. 44:04 Turn to Hebrews, this is one of my favorite ones 44:07 in the little Book of Hebrews the first chapter. 44:10 In Hebrews 1:14, "Are not all angels ministering spirits 44:20 sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" 44:22 God has angels that He sends to serve you. 44:28 In the Bible times they saw they're angles. 44:31 Today we don't see them, why? 44:33 Because I think maybe we're just too busy 44:35 doing this and doing that and going here and going there. 44:38 We don't even think about angels I believe, 44:40 if we thought about it and if we prayed about it, 44:43 if we spend time communing with God, 44:45 maybe we can see angels just like they did in Bible times. 44:48 Wouldn't you like that? Amen. 44:51 God has angels send to serve you. 44:55 But I want to show you something even better than that. 44:59 In the Gospel of John 16, the Gospel of John 16:7, 45:05 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, 45:08 it is for your good that I'm going away 45:10 unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you. 45:13 But if I go I'll send him to you." 45:16 That counselor is the Holy Spirit. 45:18 And so Jesus is saying that it's better for Him, 45:23 it's better for Him to go away and send the Holy Spirit than 45:26 it is to have the Holy Spirit right here with us 45:29 that to have Jesus right here with us. 45:32 It's better for Jesus to go away 45:35 than it is for Him to be here in person 45:38 because when He goes away, He sends the Holy Spirit. 45:43 Now that doesn't sound like a truth to me. 45:45 But Jesus said, it is the truth. 45:48 And if it is then that it's better for Jesus 45:52 to send the Holy Spirit than to be here in person. 45:56 Then I don't believe we have begun to experience 46:01 what God wants to do for us 46:03 through the power of His Holy Spirit. 46:06 So I marked down a few things in my Bible 46:09 that help us to understand how to tap in, 46:12 tap in to that power and wisdom of God 46:15 we'll hold down for dear life. 46:17 I want to s how you how to do it right now. 46:19 In Verse 13 it says, "When the spirit of truth comes, 46:23 he will guide you into all truth." 46:25 Do you want to know the truth? Amen. 46:29 We all want to know the truth. 46:30 I have never met anyone who says, 46:32 I don't want to know the truth, tell me a lie. 46:35 We want to know the truth. 46:36 But the Bible says 46:37 the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. 46:42 If you let him, if you let him lead you into the word of God. 46:46 And then the Bible tells us in the end of verse 13, 46:49 he will tell you what is yet to come. 46:51 If you ever had to make a decision 46:52 and you have asked yourself the question 46:54 if only I knew what was going to happen tomorrow? 46:58 If only I knew what was going to happen next week or next month. 47:02 The Bible says he will tell you what is yet to come. 47:06 Now we saw that God predicts the future 47:08 through the Spirit of Prophecy, He predicts the future. 47:13 But I believe this is more than that. 47:16 The Bible also says if we listen we can hear 47:19 that still small voice behind us 47:22 telling us this is the way walk in it. 47:26 God will lead you and help you to make decisions. 47:29 You don't need a crystal ball, 47:31 charts of the stars, tarot cards. 47:33 All you need is the Spirit of God 47:35 to lead you through the word of God. 47:39 And then there's more. 47:42 In Romans 8 lot of good things here. 47:47 In Romans 8 look at verse 11 with me. 47:50 "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus 47:53 from the dead is living in you, 47:55 then he who raised Christ from the dead 47:58 will also give life to your mortal bodies 48:00 through his spirit, who lives in you." 48:04 Now that tells me that the same spirit 48:07 who raised Jesus from the dead 48:11 wants to live in you and to empower you. 48:14 He wants to be in you. 48:15 That means that he can be closer than father and son, 48:20 mother and daughter, husband and wife. 48:22 God's spirit wants to live in you. 48:24 You need never be alone again. 48:26 So many people tell me, pastor, I just feel so alone. 48:31 But when you connect with the Spirit of God, 48:33 He dwells in you, the same spirit 48:35 that raised Jesus from the dead wants to live in you. 48:38 That's good news, amen. Amen. 48:40 And then he says, "If by the spirit 48:42 you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." 48:47 God wants to empower you by His spirit 48:50 to put to death the misdeeds of the body. 48:53 The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead 48:57 wants to live in you and give you power. 49:00 Power to break the chains of addiction. 49:03 Power to break the addiction of drugs, alcohol, tobacco. 49:08 Any of the problems, pornography 49:11 that people are struggling with today. 49:13 God has power and He can give you the power, 49:16 the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead 49:20 can break the chains that enslave you, 49:22 that's good news for us tonight. 49:24 Amen. And then security. 49:32 The spirit himself testifies in verse 16, 49:36 "With our spirit that we are God's children." 49:40 You know there's something about a sense of security 49:43 we can have when we are God's children. 49:49 Something about having a father. 49:51 We have, my wife and I have two boys. 49:54 Well they are not boys anymore, they are all grown up and gone. 49:57 But they were little boys 50:00 and I remember when they were little, 50:02 they could be standing up at a high place 50:05 and I could stand down there with my arms outstretched 50:08 and they would jump off into my arms. 50:12 They knew their father wasn't going to let them down. 50:17 They knew they could trust their father. 50:22 If we can have that kind of security in our earthly fathers, 50:26 how much more security do we have 50:30 in trusting in the Spirit of God. 50:33 Amen. Amen. 50:34 He is your Father, 50:38 He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. 50:42 That means that you are a prince you are a princess, 50:47 you're somebody in this whole world. 50:49 You can walk with your head held high 50:51 because you are a child of the King. 50:53 Amen. That makes you somebody. 51:00 And then in verse 26, the Bible says, 51:06 "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. 51:08 We don't even know what we ought to pray for, 51:12 but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans 51:17 that words can never express." 51:21 We don't even know what to pray for. 51:23 People tell me all the time, 51:25 "Pastor, I don't know how to pray." 51:29 I'm telling you there is power in prayer. 51:35 God is not just up there and we're down here. 51:37 He connects with us through prayer. 51:40 And there is power in prayer 51:42 and God wants to work miracles in your life. 51:44 You say, well, I don't know how to pray, 51:46 but you don't have to know how to pray. 51:48 All you need to do is talk to God 51:49 like you would talk to a friend. 51:54 You don't have to know all of those 51:56 these and thoughs and whoosh and chugs, 52:01 just pretend that you're talking to a friend 52:06 because Jesus wants to be your friend. 52:10 Picture Him sitting there with you. 52:13 Talk to Him, tell Him what's going on in your life 52:16 but you know sometimes there are things 52:18 that we can't even think of what to say 52:20 and that's when the spirit intercedes with groans 52:23 that words can never express. What power? 52:33 And then in Galatians 5:22, 52:38 the Bible tells us about the fruit of the spirit. 52:43 Love, could the world use more of that today. Amen. 52:47 Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 52:54 faithfulness, gentleness, self control, 52:57 I could use a lot more of patience, could you? 53:01 I could use a lot more of all of these things. 53:03 These are the benefits that you can have right now, 53:08 if you allow the Spirit of God to work in your heart. 53:11 Do you want peace? 53:13 Do you want rest from the things going on around us? 53:18 Seek the Spirit of God. 53:21 The Lord God, we just thank You and praise You 53:26 for Jesus who has set us free from the fears of demon spirits 53:34 and the fears of things going on all around us. 53:38 And empowers us to live a peaceful, happy, 53:43 joyful life in Him regardless of the circumstances. 53:49 Lord, we want to walk with Your Spirit. 53:51 In Jesus name, amen. 54:08 I'm only human I'm just a woman 54:21 Help me believe in what I could be 54:27 And all that I am Show me the stairway 54:41 I have to climb Lord for my sake 54:50 Teach me to take One day at a time 54:59 One day at a time dear Jesus 55:07 That's all I'm asking from You 55:16 Just give me the strength To do everyday what I have to do 55:29 Yesterday's gone dear Jesus 55:37 And tomorrow may never be mine 55:45 Lord help me today 55:49 Show me the way One day at a time 55:59 Do you remember When you walked among men? 56:11 Well Jesus you know If you're looking below 56:18 It's worse now than then Pushing and shoving 56:31 They're crowding my mind So for my sake 56:41 Teach me to take one day at a time 56:50 One day at a time dear Jesus 56:58 That's all I'm asking from You 57:06 Just give me the strength 57:10 To do everyday what I have to do 57:20 Yesterday's gone dear Jesus 57:27 And tomorrow may never be mine 57:35 Lord help me today Show me the way 57:41 One day at a time So for my sake 57:52 Teach me to take One day at a time |
Revised 2014-12-17