#theEncounter Worship Experience

praise the lord everybody come on give the lord worship give him praise and bless his name for our god is great and he is greatly to be praised come on lift up the name of jesus right where you are it's another sunday morning it's another day that we get to experience god experience his presence experience the power of his word come on lift up the name of jesus this is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice we will be glad in it you woke up this morning to a new mercy not because of us but because of his faithfulness and god deserves to be celebrated for that clap your hands shout for joy give god praise right now i know it's virtual but god is with you right where you are and when you are aware of that you give him the praise you give him the glory we thank god for you tuning in this morning for another encounter worship experience and we ask you to please share it this time and let people know that we're on tag somebody share this with an individual hit that share button as we continue to worship the lord and worship god around the word of god we're praying for you that this month will be a month of miracles a month where you'll see the hand of god working in your life a month where you'll continue to see the manifestation of god working in you and through you and we're believing god with you and if you believe it let's pray about it father we thank you that you're the god of miracles you're the god of the miraculous you're a god that manifests himself you've been here for all of eternity you have always existed we thank you that you chose to manifest yourself in time we appreciate you for creating us and for creating moments thank you for creating us to have a relationship with you to know you for ourselves we thank you lord for how you have allowed us to come to you you've called us to you we thank you for that we appreciate you for allowing us to see your goodness in the land of the living we thank you lord that over the night you kept us and you woke us up this morning it wasn't the alarm clock it wasn't the light shining in it wasn't somebody else but it was you that made sure we had breath in our bodies and we give you praise for that we pray for those who are mourning today for the loss of a loved one who are struggling with grief we pray that you would have lift their hearts be their comfort their consolation and their hope we trust you to do it and father i pray that you would do miracles this month that lord you to increase our faith that you would drop divine moments in these particular moments that we have that lord by faith we can receive it we can hold on to it and experience your miracle work and power bless this service today and the word of god and the worship save somebody today bring somebody back to you connect someone to this house we pray this in jesus name amen god bless you all we're getting ready to go into worship worship the lord right now give him praise everything you need whatever you're looking for guess where you can find it it's right here at the altar so we want to bring the altar from us to you singers [Music] it's right here [Music] what the heart [Music] [Music] how much you love them [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] all about it and know that when you get up he's going to fix [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] everything you need where is it [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so if you journey through life come on [Music] he will meet says [Music] you can [Music] you can't tell what the heart has to say [Music] [Applause] [Music] how [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] can we go to church right here hallelujah listen i'm going down [Music] excuse me while i go down i gotta get to my jesus now i'm going [Music] [Music] my deliverance [Applause] [Music] yes down [Applause] i got to get there [Applause] [Music] you're looking to be set free [Applause] [Music] when you're near [Music] [Applause] somebody need a healing watching me right now you don't have to get to the altar that we're standing at you can make an altar right where you are and say lord i thank you but i need a little bit more grace i thank you but i need healing in my body i thank you save my soul [Music] good morning bethany family this is sister ashley i will be reading our scripture this morning if you could turn with me to mark chapter 3 verses 9 to 15 and it reads and he spake to his disciples that a small ship would wait on him because of the multitude lest they should throng him for he had healed many in so much that they pressed upon him for to touch him as many had had plagues and unclean spirits when they saw him fell down before him and cried saying thou art the son of god and he straightly charged them that they should not make him known and he goeth up into the mountain and calleth unto him whom he would and they came unto him and he ordained 12 that they should be with him and that he might send them forth to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses and cast out devils may the lord add a blessing to the reading the hearing and the application of his word be blessed bethany family we serve a god that's real good y'all [Music] hallelujah you've been so good lord you are good you've been better than good i can't praise you enough i owe you my life i can't praise you enough even if i try you've been so good [Music] me [Music] i can't praise you [Music] at home [Music] y'all can say that at home with us [Music] [Music] you got it at home by now right come on [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] now at home all you gotta do is say these words [Music] [Music] [Applause] many times [Applause] [Music] i hope you feel that thing in here [Music] [Music] so many times [Music] [Applause] you've been better than good to me you've been better than good to me you've been better than good to me you've been better than good to me yeah you've been better than good to me you've been better than good to me [Music] come on [Applause] is there a yes in the building [Music] you've been better than good to me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] glory tell him thank you [Music] thank you come on [Music] [Applause] it feels real good in here it feels real good in here [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] bam [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you've been [Music] nobody but jesus made a way out of no way nobody but jesus turned my midnight in [Music] today [Music] [Music] hallelujah come on and give god glory hallelujah hallelujah when i look back over my life and i see just how far he brought you and me you should have been out of here long time ago he had a plan set for you and he canceled what the enemy tried to do if you're still able to hear what i'm saying you've got a right and a reason to give god free somebody ought to tell them thank you in here i don't know about you but it's been a lot going on this year it's been a lot for the good it's been a lot for the bad a lot of people have been challenged but you're still here those of you who are still working you've got a reason and a right to give god glory those of you with shelter over your head you still got a reason and a right to give god glory even when you thought he left you he was right there covering you on every side with a hedge of angels keeping you from hurt calm and dangerous that's why we say so many doors you move doors are supposed to be closed during this season but for the kingdom citizens doors have been open and left and right i wish i had a church in here with me [Applause] so for everybody that knows what i'm talking about that you can say you've been better than good to me you've been better than good too [Music] [Music] praise the lord i'm so glad you've taken the time to join me once again for the encounter worship experience here at bethany church the transformation church in lindenwald new jersey we are in the midst of an exciting series simply entitled chess not checkers speaking of the critical nature of spiritual warfare in your life we began a segment of this series called witches demons and curses and we are hopefully going to conclude the conversation about the demonic today want you to share with someone inbox a couple people tag a few people and invite them to this conversation concerning spiritual warfare which is critical not only for your understanding but to understand your authority in this very dynamic very important realm in the life of a child of god but before we go there i want to talk to you for a moment about your relationship with god as we welcome those from around the world as they tune in to this particular worship service and this particular teaching i am really inspired to share with you how critical a relationship with god a personal relationship with god is many of us are content with what i call peripheral relationships or even vicarious relationships which means you know someone that we know and love has a deep relationship with god and we think because of their relationship we have a relationship also that their faith is enough to validate whatever position we may occupy uh in the spirit but the bible is clear that you have to seek the lord you have to call on his name you have to ask him to come into your life so i want to talk to those of you who have never given your life to the lord before and just simply inspire you that there's nothing that you've done in life nothing that you could have done nothing that the lord knows about you that will prevent him from receiving you as his son as his daughter as a child of god as a servant in the kingdom it is very important you understand that there's a life that god has planned for you and without him you can't live that life jesus says i come that you might have life but not just life but have it more abundantly so it's not about existing the bible makes a distinction in from existing to living you don't want to just survive you want to thrive you don't want to exist you want to live you don't want to live a mundane monotonous kind of life but a life that's full of promise and purpose a life that god can only give you and he gives it to you because he loves you but he gives it to you because you've decided to respond to his invitation to come into relationship with him on a permanent basis this is not something you're curious about this is not something you try this is a life decision that you make where in my own life i can testify i decided i was tearing the management contract to my life up i was tearing it up throwing it away and giving that management to jesus christ and i can tell you with certainty without any kind of wavering without any kind of uh vicissitude that it made the difference in my life so i'm going to pray for you in just a moment that you would come into that relationship with him at life-changing life-altering direction-changing purpose delivering life in christ but i'm also going to pray for those of you who know the lord but for some reason during the last recent times you've gotten away from that relationship it's less intense you don't pray like you used to pray you don't read your word like you used to read it you when we were when churches were open you were not going to church you know you were not doing those things that you had done in the beginning kind of like what the lord speaks of in the book of revelation you lost contact with your first love i want to con suggest to you today that you can reconnect with that first love in your life and that is jesus christ and serving him and allowing his power and his glory to rule your life but i'm also going to pray for those of you who know the lord saved love him committed living all you know to serve him but find yourself in a position where you need a deeper a different or deeper ministry connection and we're suggesting that the lord has led you to watch us today from all over the world as far away as india from as near as right here in lindenwald new jersey that god has directed you to us and that you will decide to make that connection there are three laws in the bible law of environment the law of relationship and law of influence where you are who you're with where you are allows the power of god to be released in your life so i want to suggest to you today that who you're connected to is critically important to your spiritual life come on let's pray god i bless your name now for the time and for the opportunity you have afforded us today i thank you lord for this opportunity to pray but also to suggest and to lead people into relationship with you to lead them back into full relationship that has restored relationship and repaired fellowship but also to connect those that love you with a place they can call home i pray right now lord by the power of your spirit that you would reach out and touch the whosoever whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved whosoever that has done whatsoever if you call on him today you shall be saved i want to talk to those i'm praying lord for those that know you but got distracted some kind of distortion some kind of deception stepped in and all of a sudden lord they're not where they used to be in you i pray right now for restoration of position restoration of relationship i pray that the fellowship be repaired and the relationship be restored i pray right now for those that love you and know you and understand in their heart i need to connect to a place where god is moving where the word of god is being taught the power of god is being released through the power of the holy ghost where the gifts of the spirit are in full operation without excuse and where god's people are enjoying the destiny the blessing the promise the provision the prosperity and the protection of god i pray you put a yes in each of those people's hearts did they make the decision today to follow you lord if they never have made the decision today lord to come back to you and that all of them would make the decision to connect with this ministry and go into the future with us holding hands into the promises of god i pray by the power of the spirit that you say yes in jesus name amen now if you made that decision today write us on the site now you may be in a dilemma you may be saying to yourself i want to do this but i'm so far away during the pandemic we started what we call the connections church that is our virtual worldwide church where you'll be involved in ways you never thought possible with the ministry here at bethany church the transformation church in lindenwald new jersey so write us on the site tell us the decision you've made one of our ministry professionals will get back to you one of those people that serve the ministry we'll get back to you as soon as possible and show you the next steps get in class with me lifestyle ministries you may want to participate in bible studies panels all all areas of ministry are covered we want you to be a part of that and i'll see you real soon now let's go to our bibles we're going to go to matthew chapter 8 as we continue our series on the sub-series on demons and we're calling this among the tombs among the tombs matthew chapter 8 start at verse 28 and when he was come to the other side into the country of the gerges there met him too possessed with devils coming out of the tombs exceeding fears so that no man might pass by that way and behold they cried out saying what have we to do with you jesus thou son of god art thou come hither to torment us before the time watch the words now have you come to torment us before the assigned time and there was a good way off from them and heard of many swine so the set devils besought him saying if thou cast us out suffer us to go away into the herd of swine and he said unto them go and when they will come out they went into the herd of swine and behold the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters and they that kept them fled and went their way into the city and told everything and what was befallen to the possessed of devils and behold the whole city came out to meet jesus and when they saw him they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts among the tombs now we need to settle something spiritually at the very outset of this particular conversation in an area where many christians are sometimes curious some unbelieving uh some superstitious and some skeptical based on the life of jesus christ if you are a believer in the lord jesus you must be a believer in the evil side of the spirit you must be a believer in those things that they exist in their existence not believe to follow but in their existence you must come to a reality that they are real demons alone are mentioned 82 times in the bible 62 of those times are in the new testament so accept it or not they are real we know they're real because jesus confronted them we know their reality because the lord jesus ward against them and we know that they are real because the lord jesus defeated them now you must understand demons and that word translates knowing ones demons specialize in deception and they specialize in affliction the problem for this uh this reality is this you can't cast out the flesh and you cannot disciple a demon that bondage either through the flesh or the demonic must be broken by the power and the authority of jesus christ now let's go to mark chapter 3 i want to show you a few scriptures as we develop this conversation mark chapter 3 and we're going to take a look at verse 14 and 15. now watch what happens so we understand that these bondages these afflictions must be broken by the power and authority of jesus mark 3 verse 14 and he ordained 12 that they should be with him watch the words and that he might send them forth to preach watch the authority now they might be with him time with him and that he might send them forth to preach when he decided they were ready and he ordained them to do those things but 15 tells you some additional things that they were ordained to do they were ordained to have power to heal sickness and to cast out devils so for not only for jesus was this a reality but for his disciples this is a reality go to mark chapter six let's take a look at something else as we bring forward some more witnesses to this reality mark chapter 6 verse 12 and 13 and they went out and preached that men should repent and they cast out many devils cast out many devils demons anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them so an unbeliever's main issue is possession a believer's issue is influence oh yes the strong word bondage so it is possible for a born-again believer to be in bondage in certain areas of their lives area where a stronghold exists and that stronghold begins with an evil thought an evil spirit the demonic hiding behind a thought and then is realized through behavior of that believer so bondage for a believer is some kind of demonic or evil influence now how does this happen how is it that a believer can be influenced by the demonic let's go to john chapter 10 and we'll take a look there john chapter 10 as we develop this conversation today john chapter 10 verse 1. now watch what your bible says verily verily when you see verily really it means truly truly now understand any time the lord says something twice he is showing you how important it is to him and how vitally important it is to you verily verily i say unto you truly truly i say unto you he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbs up some other way the same is a thief and a robber thieves get in through openings or vulnerabilities that we provide so the enemy evil thoughts the demonic looks for an opening opening of curiosity open that is based on something habitual opening that is based on some kind of rejection syndrome some kind of rejection mindset you may have jealousy envy uh entitlement a need for justice these are openings that we provide for the enemy to sneak in he desires to get in where sheep dwell to unsettle an already skittish bunch bondage therefore can be defined in the bible as a besetting sin sin you can't seem to shake in order for bondage to happen there has to be some form of deception in order for bondage to happen there has to be some form of deception deception go to galatians chapter two let me show you what that looks like galatians chapter two i'm gonna show you a context that you may have considered maybe not but we'll look at it today galatians chapter 2 and let's read the first four verses and because i want you to get the context then 14 years after i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas and took titus with me also that's galatians chapter 2 verse 1 and i went up by revelation and i communicated unto them that gospel which i preached among the gentiles but privately to them which were of reputation lest by any means i should run and had run in vain didn't want to be non-productive but now the titus who was with me being a greek was compelled to be circumcised and that because of false brethren unawares brought in who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus watch this for what reason that they might bring us into bondage slipping in to spy out your liberty now let's look at the context give us some greater understanding so the apostles of jerusalem gather together titus comes and he is a gentile so he's a believer but a gentile believer he's non-jewish paul taught that all people were accepted in the kingdom of god by faith now this is going to be very important false brothers the text says false brothers rejecting grace of salvation were requiring all believers be circumcised even though it's not by works it's by faith in their minds if you were not circumcised like they were there was no salvation now this is just just as common but in other areas of life now in the body of christ if you didn't come in the way i came in didn't go through the same mourners bench that i came through didn't have to tarry all night like i did you know how you know how that goes you cannot possibly be born again the bible calls them spies i want to add to you that they were religious enough to be in the crowd to be in the company to be heard but did not receive the full revelation of salvation by grace through faith and what they did they infiltrated not to learn more but to discover weaknesses they sneaked in alongside they came in without invitation into the apostles private conference they were having a private conference and they came in for two reasons number one to spy on the freedom that believers had in christ not for good but looking for something to criticize so now it's a matter of religion versus salvation that struggle that still exists secondly they wanted to put christians in bondage enslave them through traditional thinking that did not make it through calvary there are certain certain things of the old testament that did not survive calvary there are certain things in the old testament that were changed by calvary and there's certain principles in the kingdom in the old testament that came through calvary unchanged so this circumcision tradition does not make it through calvary unchanged it did not make it through the form of tradition they held to didn't make it through calvary and there is the resistance and they were trying to bring every gentile individual who was not required by culture to be circumcised into this bondage of thinking creating bondage creating a stronghold but paul has been teaching salvation is by faith now go to joel chapter two let me show you something joel chapter two you all stay with me i'm taking you somewhere today um joel chapter two and i want you to go down to verse nine watch what happens watch the deception and watch how the enemy slips in they shall run to and fro in the city they shall run upon the wall they shall climb upon their houses they shall enter in at windows like a thief enter like a thief through a window through a door through an opportunity that you and i leave open because sometimes of non-biblical belief or biblical tradition that the lord has transitioned so they were looking for circumcision on the outer man where god is now looking for circumcision in the heart of an individual so in christ in the old testament only males were circumcised but in the new testament women and men were circumcised in their hearts so circumcision made it through calvary but made it through changed watch how this works go to luke chapter 10. so enter like a thief and the reason they enter like thieves is to place believers in bondage telling you how the demonic works go to luke chapter 10 let me show you something going to be a lot of scriptures today so i want you to stay on board luke chapter 10 and we're going to look at verse 17. luke chapter 10 verse 17. watch what happens now and the seventy returned again with joy saying lord even the devils are subject unto us through your name look at where your authority lies not in you not in your enthusiasm but the authority that you have in this realm where witches demons and curses are the norm you have authority in jesus name so the authority is in his name and through faith in his name watch this now and he said unto them jesus talking i beheld satan as lightning fall from heaven behold i give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you notwithstanding in this watch this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you that evil spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven so jesus said don't get hung up on the fact that you may have to do some spiritual warfare and win with the power of my name be focused on the fact that your name is written in heaven in that hour jesus rejoiced in spirit and said i thank thee o father lord of heaven and earth thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes even so father for so it seemed good in thy sight so evil spirits the demonic anything in that realm subject to us in the name of jesus that word subject means obedient the word subject also means submissive now we tend to think christians that we are all clear because we don't compare to the man or the men in the text i mentioned to you before that the word demon means a knowing one a knowing one they are the agents of idolatry they are active in all idolatry an idol is nothing in itself but every idol has a demon associated with it who induces or seduces with his worship and sacrifices its practices but the main entry point is your thinking go to first corinthians chapter 10 let me show you something i hope you're getting this today first corinthians chapter 10 watch what the bible says first corinthians 10 let's go down to verse 20 and 21 watch what happens but i say that the things with the gentile sacrifice they sacrificed the devils the things that the unbelievers sacrificed they sacrificed to devils and not to god do you see this and i would not that ye should have fellowship with devils now oh boy here we go so you have a friend who dabbles in sorcery dabbles in the occult dabbles in ancestor worship dabbles in trying to speak to the dead necromancy dabbles in potions and and sense and chance the bible says i would not be should have fellowship with devils why you cannot drink the cup of the lord and the couple of devils you cannot be partakers of the lord's table and of the table of devils you can't not pull yourself apart trying to dwell comfortably in both worlds let me show you an old testament reference that'll help you understand it go to deuteronomy 32. my intention today is to challenge you i may say some strong things while we're talking today but my intention is to challenge you into becoming greater stronger more focused deuteronomy 32 go down to verse 17. watch what it says now just to have another witness they sacrificed unto devils not to god you see it to god's plural whom they knew not to new gods that came up newly whom your fathers feared not who your fathers had no reverence for amazing go to revelation chapter nine let me show you something stay with me now it's important we're doing a lot of bible turning today because it's important you not hear about this i don't want to refer to it i want to show you what it is you need to know many times in the body of christ the older christians have been taught things that newer christians only here by reference so they'll teach faith in some people's life earlier we don't have that issue here and this tells you to have it later so one generation is taught and another word generation is merely referred to that may be the problem with power and authority because i only know what's being referred to i have not been taught what to believe why says now revelation 9 let's go down to verse 20 show you something you may not have seen before and the rest of the men which were killed which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood which neither can see nor hear no walk idols can't see can't hear can't walk neither repented they of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their fornication nor of their thefts so during the time watch this watch our practical decision of the plague god of the pandemic god is giving his people time to find his strength to move away from to become disconnected from these that bondages become a part of life so the the fact that you're living through this pandemic god has given you an opportunity to repent of the things that you've done look at the text verse 20 of the things that you ended up worshiping of devils of idols that you may have made out of the things you possess or that you've earned and these things the word idol means good for nothing they can't see can't hear can't walk i jokingly say all the time it's a terrible thing when your god sits on a mantelpiece and your house catches on fire and you have to go rescue your god so he does not get burnt up but that idol is a representation of the demonic if it has become your god jesus says very plainly in the new testament you can't serve god and mammon so the service is the context of god and mammon meaning god is a spirit which we know and mammon is a spirit which we know you can't serve god and serve wealth there's a difference between serving wealth and having wealth when you control wealth and wealth does not control you so when is there too much money for an individual when that money causes you to lose trust in god so if you don't trust god enough but you start trusting the material god has to take his hands off the material until you begin to trust him again so idolatry leads to spiritual rebellion because it shields your thoughts and reveals itself in your actions let me say that again idolatry leads to spiritual rebellion where does idolatry start in your thoughts now the whole point of a stronghold is to shield you from outside influence now on a very casual level i know you've had conversation with someone who may suffer some rejection issues and no matter how much truth you get give them no matter how long you talk to them there's no getting through to them that my brother and sister is a stronghold that is a thought that has become a fortress in which no new information is allowed to come that my brothers and sisters is a form of bondage they are trapped captive chained to a thought that restricts from receiving and therefore restricts from growing man that was good unclean spirits tempt with unclean thoughts i hope you're still with me we're doing good then let's go to first timothy chapter four first timothy chapter four um and i want you to see something that i thought was very very intriguing first timothy chapter four uh you may not have seen this scripture before in your own study first timothy chapter four verse one you've heard about this first timothy four one says now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving he to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils so these seducing spirits these evil spirits seek to distribute errors among humanity now the striking part of this text to me and new testament always been is when you talk about spiritual deception it is normally talking about believers because if i am not saved i am not deceived if i'm not saved i'm just lost and i'm enjoying being lost if i'm not saved because i don't know any better but once i get saved then seducing come along to try to infiltrate my thinking with errors and what seduce you into believing a lie now i don't have time to go into the national nature that a seducing spirit can have on a country but any time with any people that lies become preferable to the truth there is seducing spirit at work go to leviticus chapter 20. let me show you something leviticus chapter 20. um as we work our way through this now we've got a few minutes looks like i'm not going to finish this part again so we're going to have part 3 on the demonic next time leviticus 20. all right let's go down to verse six is the first thing i want you to see and then we want to skip down a couple verses to another verse verse 6 says and the soul that turneth after after such as have familiar spirits okay that's the seducing spirit and after wizards you know what they are and go to a whoring after them seeking to set up relationship craving them going after them seeking them i will even set my face against that soul and will cut him off among from among the people bad influence contamination go down to verse 27. look what it says a man also or a woman that has a familiar spirit or that is a wizard shall surely be put to death disconnect they shall stone them with stones their blood shall be upon them now i'm i'm so glad for so many people that this uh particular covenant piece this particular mandate did not make it through calvary unchanged watch what happens i'm going to show you something so seducing spirit familiar spirit seduces you into believing in them who have familiar spirits seducing spirits or spirits that want to seduce you into believing in them who have familiar spirits something you would call a medium those people that say they can talk to the dead so you go you know you you become impatient with the purpose of god i'm going to talk to you a minute you become impatient with the purpose of god so you you either go to or try to read something that is written by someone who says they speak to dead people i'm talking to you and that spirit begins to seduce you through your thinking that spirit begins to give you the impression that this person has power now watch what happens the bible talks about this you've probably never seen this before go to leviticus 19. we're going to go down to verse watch what it says now i need you to see this 19 31 leviticus 19 31 regard not them that have familiar spirits neither seek after wizards watch this to be defiled by them to be contaminated by them i am the lord your god so this destructive deception of spiritualism or spiritism is forbidden in the bible and part of the problem is contamination so you must be guarded you don't expose yourself to this contamination of spiritual things how much time do i have i've got two minutes all right let's go to deuteronomy 18. i want to show you something and we're going to stop in just a moment because i cannot rush this i have to make sure you get all of this revelation regarding this important area of spiritual warfare deuteronomy 18. let's go down to verse 9. uh-huh when thou art come into the land which the lord thy god giveth you thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations you should not allow yourself to be influenced or cause yourself to doubt your own faith by the presence of other people's religions watch what happens here now let's go to verse 10 there shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire or that uses divination or an observer of times or an enchanter or a witch or a charmer or a consultor with familiar spirits or a wizard or a necro man sir oh my so the bible forbids seeking after this destructive deception that comes by way of spiritism let's go to isaiah let me show you something else i know this is a lot of bible but you need it for this message isaiah uh let's see chapter eight isaiah chapter eight and all by getting get understanding isaiah chapter 8 verse 19 watch this now and when they shall say unto you seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and that mutter should not a people seek unto their god for the living to the dead watch how this works now to the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them no light in them so this this uh contamination that you can experience by having fellowship with people who try to call up the dead at their at their at your gatherings or social gatherings many times the demonic can be uh hidden in a social gathering you can have friends where you get together and they're seeking people's voice and advice from the dead and and gonna call up the ancestors and burning incense and and all these types of uh social gatherings which actually look like acts of faith but actually hiding hacks of rebellion don't ever be uh guilty of hiding rebellion in an act of faith ever be subject to that don't ever hide rebellion in an act of faith watch what happens now you've got to understand the position that you're in and understand that the position that the witches and the demonic have in the kingdom of god now watch how this works the bible says that demons tremble they tremble before god go to the book of james and we're going to stop there because we we're about a minute and 43 seconds over let's go to james i want you to start telling people about this we're having a great conversation um concerning this element of spiritual warfare and it's really important that you and i get this understanding james chapter 2 and we're going to stop after we make this point it says wherefore my beloved brother let every man be swift to hear to speak slow to wrath for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of god oh my goodness wherefore lay apart all filthiness laid aside superfluity or superficiality of naughtiness receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls it is imperative that if you realize from this conversation we've had today from this teaching today that you may have some open windows and that you may have started to entertain some thoughts which means you're entertaining some type of evil spirit that is not in line with god that this word today is an alarm for you to shut those doors and shut those windows there may be conversations that you were uncomfortable with a year ago that you're comfortable with now at work there may be some people that you're uncomfortable with because of their their lack of salvation and the way they pursue life and you continue to make excuses for them so you can remain in fellowship with them you know they don't love the lord you know they don't love the word of god but yet you're trying to fit around pagan to a square around a square peg into a round hole you know that they are not with the lord and you understand clearly that they aren't but you've been trying to fellowship you the lord gave me this you're you're like the disciples on the boat rowing during the storm you're like the sailors on the boat that that jonah was on they rode and rode and were making no progress you're trying to build that relationship with that unspiritual individual and it's not working but you're thinking it's starting to change because you're making excuses for behavior that you know is not in alignment with your life and with the life that god has for you you have opened the door and a window if you become impatient with the process of god with understanding your purpose and your destiny we're teaching on wednesday nights how to get a word from the lord that will help you but the reality is that when you seek palm reader when you seek someone to tell your fortune when you seek a dream book when you seek those things you are discontent with the process and the timing of god and you're opening your thoughts to possible invasion to influence you into disobedience i really have to go i don't want to stop the next time we're together we'll start right there because i need you to get this i'm so so glad to be a part of this ministry i am one of those pastors who is a member of his own church um united with the church i believe the first year within the first year that uh god gave us the assignment and uh one of the things that has always blessed me about our ministry is the outreach that we have into the community what we do for people outside the walls of the church for 30 years we've been feeding folk for 30 years we've been meeting their needs around holiday times but also week to week for food and and clothing 30 years we've been advocating for youth in 30 years we've been taking care of our widows and those that are less marginal those that are marginalized 30 years we've been educating our people and helping to send young people to college 30 years we've been spreading the gospel throughout the world and when you give to this ministry that's what you're helping us do did you know that when you give to this work that you are helping us impact the lives of millions of people around the world with the gospel did you understand that when you sow into this ministry unto the work that not only is god seeing you as an intercessor and a mediator uh but you are asking god to do something uh for someone else that you've already received you you're actually sharing the favor and sharing the provision and sharing the blessing so when you get ready to give your tithe and your offering in just a moment that's what you're doing continuing to help us feed clothe and how senior citizens continue to help us advocate for youth in their schools continue to help us influence injustices around this nation so join us today as we give to the kingdom work that god has assigned to our lives and remember philippians four tell us that god will supply all your need according to his riches and glory that is the god response written in the word of god to those of us who invest in ministry which is an investment in people go to all the world teach all nations teach all people impacting the lives of people around the world that's what you do when you bring your tithes and your offerings and your gifts to the lord by way of this ministry i want to thank you in advance the icons are on the screen i want you to prayerfully bring god the tithe not the leftover but retired from our gross i want you to think about that special offering god is laid on your heart think about the people that will be fed the people that will be clothed the children that will be equipped for school senior citizens that will live safe secure lives think about all those things that god has allowed us to do but only possible through your health god bless you now i'm going to pray for you and then we're going to go god i thank you once again for this tremendous opportunity to share your word with your people and now god as we bring our gifts to you we bring them to you joyfully and thankfully appreciating where you brought us from how far you brought us and the promise of a future that you've given us now god bless each giver in the name of jesus and remember faith acts like a thing is so even when it's not so that it might be so god bless you i'll see you real soon

Channel: Bethany Baptist Church

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Id: U3VVKxRYKx8

Length: 70min 51sec (4251 seconds)

Published: Sun May 23 2021