The closed captioning script of Pastor Don Moore’s sermon at Living Word Chapel, West Hurley, NY.  Remember that what is in [brackets] is what the congregation says.  I slightly edited it for readability.

Have a blessed day,

Heather

SAY AMEN
SHOW 128
DEALING WITH YOUR LEGION
8/2/09

Alright, let’s go.  In the fifth chapter of the book of Mark.  There are a number of great stories and all, but this particular one is very famous and we usually look at it in terms of what happened to the man who had all the demons.  It’s called the demoniac of the Gadarenes or Gadara.  And we want to look at it, but I want you to take a little bit different slant to this thing.  I want you to view it and put yourself in it so that you can improve, so that you can get better.  I noticed that when I read it last night, I put myself in it and I found something and I think that it’ll help you as well. 

So, in the beginning of the fifth chapter, it says, “Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God  that You do not torment me.”  For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”  “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!“”

Today I want to minister to you from the idea that God is speaking to all of us.  [amen]  To have the unclean spirits come out of us.  To call the unclean spirits, come out of us.  We get so holy and righteous in the Church that we always want to posit that someone else is troubled by an unclean spirit, but we’re good to go.  The reality of the situation is you’re sitting here now because you know you have not always been good to go.  [amen]  Well, a few of you will be honest to admit it.  But most of you are crazy anyway.  [laughter]  And the rest of you that won’t admit that you’re crazy, already been crazy, so we just know you got some stuff going on and all of it is not clean.  Well, glory. 

There’s some unclean stuff going on in all of us, in thought or in deed.  The difficult thing is that that spirit cannot be driven out from us unless we come in cooperation with the concept that first of all, we have some struggles.  And then second of all, we’ve met the Man who can do something about our struggles.  Well, glory to God.  I’m not on the attack.  I’m trying to get you set free.  But the one who must give you the command to set you free is not external to you.  That person is internal to you.  You must give the command to be set free.  You must give that, and God, by His Spirit, comes in agreement with it and then drives away your unclean spirits. 

This will be useful to you today only if you would come in agreement with the fact that you ain’t all that.  That you do have some bad decision making that is going on.  You have gone left when you should have gone right.  You have stood up when you should have sat down.  You should have turned around and walked away from some situations and things and people, and you stayed there and went to war with them, only to find out that it was a waste of time and a distraction.  You have permitted sickness in your body and come in agreement with it when you should have cast it out by a Word.  All of these things are true.  You have experienced sadness that was a direct result of the actions that you took and the things that you thought.  You have created some problems where there was peace and you were the disruptive factor in it.  You have created alienation.  By virtue of your activity and of your mind you have created and caused people to be alienated from you on circumstances and situations to boil over to a point that you did not want to take credit for it, but the reality is that if we look at the circumstance and situation you were the root cause of the problem, but you just have found somebody else to blame. 

Can we move on today?  [ok]  Those people are not here today.  [laughter]  I’m speaking to somebody else in TV land.  It’s not you.  Yeah, you are innocent, little thing you.  [laughter, don't think so]  Yeah, yeah, right?  How are we doing?  Everybody alright?  Just smile at your neighbor so they’ll know I’m not talking about you. 

So, let’s break this down and look at it from a self viewpoint, from looking inward, from examining ourselves.  Everybody believes that we should from time to time check us out, you would agree with me, say, “Yo!”  [yo!]  Alright, alright, that’s all I need, just a little encouragement here.  “Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.”  So, right there, we need to realize we are already living in the world, in a country that has crazy folk in it.  [yeah, come on now] 

Verse 2.  I’m going to break this down verse by verse, I have rehearsed.  In verse 2, “And when He had come out of the boat,…”  This is Jesus, is getting out of the boat.  “…immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,…”

I don’t know about you, but I can remember when Jesus got out of the boat in my life.  I can remember very clearly where I was.  I remember what I was doing.  I remembered I was living an unclean life and there were unclean spirits in me.  And then, I realize that Jesus had gotten out of the boat, and had come ashore right where I lived.  [come on]  And I realize that, my goodness, there was nothing wrong with Jesus, so if there was a problem here, and something was wrong, I had to accept the fact that the unclean spirit was with me and not with Him.  [amen] 

See, sometimes we want to blame Jesus for everything.  Where is He?  Jesus has left me.  He’s gone on vacation.  Where is He in this circumstance, in this situation?  Well, guess what.  He got out of the boat and He’s on your shore.  And He’s looking for you.  And He hasn’t gone anywhere.  He’s come to you.  He has arrived at the place that you’re at, and He is waiting to see what you have to say. 

So, this madman, realizes that Jesus has gotten out of the boat, and it says that He was met, and notice that it said, “…he came out of the tombs…”  He came out of the tombs.  When Jesus stands on your shore, you have to recognize that you just came up out of a tomb… What is a tomb?  A tomb is a place of death, isn’t it?  A tomb is a place of death.  And how often have we had death thoughts?  Darkness?  Been surrounded by death and darkness?  How often have we come to Jesus and had to realize that a lot of the things that we were thinking and believing, we had just come out of a tomb?  A death thought? 

How often has a husband looked at his wife and said the only thing wrong here is you?  [hmn, hmn, hmn]  You’re my problem.  If it wasn’t for you, I’d be handsome and rich, famous,… and a liar.  [laughter]  How often have we done it?  It’s coming from a place of death.  When we come up out of this place of darkness, where we somehow posture ourselves as perfection, Lord have mercy, I’m trying to reach somebody here.  When you come up out of a place of I’m the only one right here, and there’s something wrong with you, you’ve come from a place of death.  You’ve come from a place of darkness, a place of lie. 

I used to go around, “Boy I wish my wife would get saved.”  See, Jesus was out of the boat and I was coming to Him, but I was coming from a place of death, and I was like, “I wish my wife would get it together.”  You know what the Spirit of the Lord said to me?  “I saved you, didn’t I?”  [amen]  Some of you didn’t get that.  He was reminding me that my tomb that I was in that He saved me from, He could save her from that same tomb as soon as things were ready and in place.  [amen]  And that I was not so wonderful that I had saved myself.  [laughter]  That I, somehow, had walked into the light of salvation because why?  I was all goodness and light.  No, I came up out of a tomb.  With what?  With unclean spirits. 

Well, what does an unclean spirit look like, Pastor Don?  You want to hear one of the worst unclean spirits?  “That ain’t going to work….That can’t happen … God ain’t going to do that for me…And He sure enough ain’t going to do it for you.”  [laughter]  How about this one?  “I was born poor, I’m always going to be poor.”  That’s an unclean spirit.  You know?  Here’s another one.  “They’re just against me.”  One thing I didn’t like about growing up in the black Baptist church was the religion, the religion of persecution.  We had a religious thinking of persecution, that if whitie wasn’t against us, the devil was against us.  And so, if you had whitie and the devil against you, you didn’t have a chance.  You were just black and pitiful, and that’s the way you were always going to be.

 So, we’d be singing songs like, (singing) “Go down Moses, way down in Israel land.  Tell old pharaoh, let my people go.”  What are you talking about?  Man, you know, and (singing) “Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.”  You know what that means?  Come by here, Lord.  See, we were so unworthy, we were so black and pitiful, we were so unworthy that we had to say, “Lord, would you consider coming by here?”  [laughter] (singing) “When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.  When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”  You’re a loosing, lying dog, you ain’t going to shout.  If you can’t shout now, you ain’t going to shout then! [laughter] What are you waiting for, you waiting to die to get Jesus.  I mean, some of those songs are just death.  They were just tombs, unclean spirits, and we just wouldn’t analyze what does the song say?  The song is saying, be miserable now, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  There’s supposed to be heartache, pain and misery.  The more you suffer, the better it is for you.  What?  What? 

There’s only one kind of suffering you’re supposed to do now down here.  And that is persecution.  You’re not supposed to sign up for poverty.  You’re not supposed to sign up for death.  You’re not supposed to sign up for disease.  The only thing you have to sign up for is persecution.  Meaning, you should be doing so good as a Christian, that the heathen can’t stand you…. Well, I’m just preaching the truth here, whether you like it or not.  You know what I mean?  It says that God should be blessing you so much, that the heathen look at you, wonder why you’re blessed, and they persecute you for it.  You should be smiling and happy, so much, that they go, listen, don’t you know this is a recession?  [laughter]  What are you so happy about?  And you should be saying, “I’m happy because the joy of the Lord is in my heart.  I’m happy because it’s only money.  I’m happy because it’s only a roof on a house.  I’m happy because I am so blessed, I can go bankrupt 14 times and God’ll raise me up 15 times.”  [yeah!!!]  What are you talking about?  I could lose this house, I can get four more houses.  [amen]  Better than the last one.  What are you talking about?

(singing)  “I got shoes, you got shoes, all God’s children got shoes.”  Now, this is the word I hate.  When?  (singing) “When I get to heaven, I’m gonna put on my shoes.”  Why didn’t you put them shoes on now!  [laughter]  You’re supposed to be walking in the glory that says, “Beautiful are the feet of those who spread the Gospel.”  Why are you going to wait until when?  (singing) “When I get to Heaven, gonna put on my shoes.  I’m gonna walk all over God’s Heaven.”   You need to be walking all over His earth.  [come on!]  Practicing for walking all over His Heaven.  [yeah!]  What are you talking about? 

I’m glad, Lord, I’m glad you sent me here today.  Some of them ain’t so happy but I am.  Listen, you’re supposed to be happy now.  Why would you postpone your life?  Your joy, your fulfillment.  “I could be happy if I had a job at IBM.”  What are you talking about?  Their shipping those IBM jobs everywhere but your house.  You know, I mean, come on. 

Look at verse 3.  I’m talking to some of you all.  “…who had his dwelling among the tombs;…”  Had his dwelling among the tombs.  I don’t know about you, but only a couple of times a week I turn on the news and see what’s going on.  Cause why?  That’s the tombs.  [amen]  I don’t need to know every bad thing that’s happening in the news.  You know, it’s all bad news, 99.9% of it’s bad news.  Occasionally they’ll tell you somebody was happy.  [laughter]  And they are happy because what looked like a bomb didn’t turn out to be a bomb, so now they’re happy.  [laughter]  The rest of the time, you know, they aren’t telling you nothing.  They’ll tell you every rock star’s getting a divorce, or whatever. 

They’re not putting me and my wife on TV.  We have 40 years of happy married life.  Where’s my testimony?  [applause]  What are you talking about?  My goodness.  Stop living in the tombs.  Michael Jackson is not one of the apostles.  [laughter]  Case you were wondering.  I just want to clarify that, just for the record.  [laughter]  Just for the record.  I just want to keep things straight here. 

The world has nothing for us.  The world is the marketplace of destruction. It’s a tomb…I said, it’s a tomb.  [yeah it is!]  Stop watching Geraldo and this other guy, Springer, Stinger,  what is his name? [Springer]  What are you, crazy?  If you watch that show and it makes you feel better to find out that there’s that much insanity in the world, something’s wrong with you.  [laughter]  I’ll watch it just to see how crazy people can be.  It’s a tomb!  [laughter]  You got that insanity in your house.  Why do you need to turn it on TV too?  [laughter]  It’s ridiculous.  My goodness.  You know, you just got to figure out some things for yourself. 

And so, we are wandering around, dwelling in these tombs, and notice what it says.  “…and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains…”  watch this now, “…were pulled apart…” how?  [by him] 

When someone comes with the answer, and then we put the answer down, or we get an attitude because we don’t know it…listen, one of the greatest things that you need to realize.  If somebody says something and it upsets you, you need to first examine yourself and say, why did that upset me?  Not start pulling apart their chain and start getting mad at them and arguing with them and all.  You need to ask, why did I get so upset about that?  How come that was a successful weapon against me?  [oh, yeah]  You know, somebody yells at me, “Pastor Don, your homophobic…Pastor Don, your a racist….Pastor Don, your a capitalist…Pastor Don, your a short guy…Pastor Don….”  None of that bothers me.  What are you talking about?  How many people in this room can dunk a basketball?  [laughter]  Can you dunk Willie?  Ok, so there’s one guy in here that can out dunk me.  [laughter]  I’m not offended by that. 

But what I’m saying is we need to realize these are shackles and bonds.  There are things that we think that keep us tied up.  We’re looking for enemies under every rock rather than the chain breaker, not an enemy.  We’re looking for somebody that can break these chains and set me free from my wrong thinking.  Set me free from my prejudicial mindset.  Set me free!  [amen] but what it says is, you can’t get free, not because freedom isn’t available, but because you have bound yourself.  And you have accepted the chains.  You have accepted the limitations upon you.  You have accepted that the television says we’re in a recession and everybody’s going to be poor, homeless and out on the streets.  You have accepted talk down mentality. 

That somehow when you look in the mirror, you don’t do like Pastor Don.  I say, “God lives inside this man.  I walk in divine health.”  I come away thinking and believing I look good.  I look good on Monday, I look good on Tuesday, sometimes on Sundays I’m a little shaky, but other than that, I look good everyday.  [amen] 

You gotta have that dignity in yourself to realize that you are bound, you’re bound, Revlon’s lying to you ladies.  You look good with or without their products.  [laughter]  What are you talking about?  Come on ladies, [yeah!]  I’m trying to help you.  [clapping and laughter]  Wash your hair, get out, shake it and let it kink up you look good.  [laughter]  You can’t comb it, but you look good.  [laughter]  Let’s move on.  Let’s move on.  I’m trying to help you crazy people. 

Look what He says here.  Look at verse 5.  “And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.”  Can I help you with this?  [yes]  When are you going to start examining your daydreams?  In your daydreams, you’re in these high, lofty mountains, you’re in these high, lofty places.  But you’re still in a tomb.  It’s good to daydream, but you better be daydreaming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That’s high and lofty thinking, that has a point to it. 

People coming into a fantasy about what they are and what they aren’t and just living in the mountains of their mind.  But have you examined the mountains of your mind?  Some of us have never taken a thought captive.  You know I have a teaching tape. I’m going to make it available again.  It’s called, “Think about what you’re thinking about.”  Most of us walk around all day, our minds are thinking but we never stop and go, what am I thinking about?  [laughter]  If you’re thinking in the tombs or in high, lofty mountain places, you need to examine that and make it obedient to Christ and say, “What was I just thinking?” What am I thinking about?  What am I thinking about?  Cause you can be doing your job at work and thinking evil thoughts about people.  You can be doing your job and thinking they are all out to get me.  Because why?  That’s mountain thinking.  You’re just in the cobwebs of your mind. 

Can I go on a little further?  How are you all doing?  I’m ready to close here.  It says, he’s in the tombs crying out.  Look at that.  Crying out.  You need to examine if you’re pathetic… Doesn’t make you a bad person.  You’re just pathetic.  [laughter]  You know.  You’re just pitiful.  That means you’re just full of pity.  So you just walk around all day doing what?  Crying out.  And it says, day and night, night and day.  If you pick on yourself long enough, if you get depressed enough, long enough it says, cutting himself with stones. 

I looked that “stones” up.  Do you know what it talks about?  It says, cutting yourself with little rocks.  Little sharp rocks.  Little sharp rocks.  Coming against yourself with little sharp criticisms.  Stabbing your wife with little sharp criticisms.  Little things that you thought she should do and she didn’t do them, but your problem is you’re pathetic, so you just want to attack her and make her the fault of your sadness. 

I always love this one.  “I’d marry her but…”  And I’d go, “But what?”  And the guy always goes, “If she’d get her act together.”  And I always go, “What if she used that same criterion on you?  What if her criteria was she’s waiting for you to get your act together?” …  It’s easy to feel superior to other people, cause you can cut them up because they make mistakes.  But the truly superior person is the one who, even though they could cut you up, lifts you up.  Brings glory into the situation.  [amen]  Makes you feel fabulous. 

How many of you people ever seen my wife?  She floats into a room.  You know, she’s got so much dignity and grace, she just floats into a room.  Well, why is that?  Cause for 40 years, I’ve been telling her she’s all that…You know, she’s starting to believe it.  [laughter]  I’m afraid when she believes it, she’ll throw me over.  I mean, say, “You know, I’ve been with you 40 years, and you ain’t good enough for me.”  [laughter, never happen]  My God.  Glory to God. 

Now, look at verse 6.  “When he saw Jesus from afar…”  that’s a position we all get in.  We all have these unclean spirits in us, and then we see Jesus from afar.  And that’s because we got these unclean spirits of pornography and sexual lust and so forth.  And all of a sudden, though, from afar, we see Jesus.  But look it, this guy did the right thing.  Even though he felt Jesus was afar off, he ran to Jesus. 

You know, good preaching like this, next Sunday there will be some people who won’t come back, cause they’ll feel like I picked on them purposely.  But they won’t examine themselves, in the light of it.  They’ll just stay away a few Sundays, but guess what, next Sunday I’ll be preaching something totally different so you don’t have to worry.  [laughter]  In all the year’s I’ve been preaching, I’ve only preached one sermon twice.  And that was only because a particular pastor asked me, would you minister that same thing in my house.  Other than that, I bring fresh manna all the time.  [that's right]  If you don’t believe it, go in that room there, I got hundreds and hundreds of tapes, and you just don’t find oh, a repeat of 2004.  Because I believe God’s got something fresh for you all the time.  [amen] 

But some people will run from Jesus, rather than run to Jesus.  And so, he says, run to Jesus and do what?  [worship Him]  Run to Him and do what?  [worship Him]  Worship Him.  “And he cried out with a loud voice….”  A what voice?  [loud voice]  “…loud voice, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son…” And he gives him praise, “…Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 

Jesus is not in the tormenting business.   Jesus is in the glorification business.  He wants to raise you up and glorify you in His Name.  He wants you to come up out of the tombs, come down off your high mountain that you’ve built.  He wants you to open your heart, your mind and your ears, and realize that you are an unclean person who has unclean spirits.  That you’re not all that.  You’re not a perfect version of light and knowledge and intelligence.  You’re just broken, busted, and disgusted just like the rest of us, and that if you would confess it, run to Jesus and worship Him, guess what He’ll do?  He will help your unclean spirits leave.  He will bring you into a mindset of sanity.  He will clean up all the cobwebs and confusion of your mind.  He will break loose in your finances.  He will break loose in your love life.  He will break loose in your success, in your job. He will bust onto the frontier of your hopes and dreams and He will establish Himself and He will raise you up, to sit next to Him on His throne. That’s the God I serve!  [applause]  I said, that’s the God I serve! 

Below is a closed captioned transcript of a sermon by Pastor Don Moore.  Remember, what is in [brackets] is what the congregation says.

SAY AMEN
SHOW 127
THE BOOK OF ACTS CONTINUED
7-12-09

See if you can find the Book of Acts, the 15th chapter. The 15th Chapter.  We’re going to really focus a little bit later on the 16th chapter.  But right now we want to just take a look in the 15th chapter.  When I was reading this last night and this morning, I thought to myself how interesting it is that we are living in the continuing adventures of the book of Acts.  The book of Acts was never concluded for we are the extension of it.  We are right in it now.  [amen] … And it is just wonderful to get understanding from this.

We want to start in the 15th chapter, cause there’s some important things that we need to be reminded about.  I’m going to summarize some of this, but you can follow along as we read it.  It says, a certain man,  “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be…“” what?  [saved]  “…you cannot be saved.”  So these men, they came down to Judea where the apostles are and they begin teaching the brethren that circumcision is necessary to salvation.  Does everyone see that?  [yes] 

We live in a time where there are new additions being made.  Since Jesus left, the apostles laid it out for us early in the book of Acts, what is the key to salvation.  What is it, what is it that certifies, establishes us, that we can be born again?  That we can live with the security of knowing that God is our Father, Jesus is our Lord, and our salvation is guaranteed.  There are many that struggle just with the concept that you can, once saved, you could always be considered saved.  And they’ll fight over that.  They debate over it on radio, on TV, and they go back and forth and they write books.  And there are people that declare all of these different things, that you have to belong to my church if you’re gonna go to Heaven.  And you have to do church the way that I do church if you’re gonna go to Heaven.  And you have to sit when I sit, stand when I stand, turn when I turn, read what I read, eat what I eat, and dance when I dance, and then you’re going to Heaven.  If you’re not doing it the way I say you should do it, and if you don’t do it the way my church says you should do it, then you’re not going anywhere, maybe to the Mall, but not to Heaven.  [laughter] 

Well, let’s find out how the early apostles dealt with this.  And then we can get some understanding.  The most important thing I feel is that there is a liberty and a freedom that comes when we know the truth.  [amen]  When we know the truth, then we can in an honest and forthright manner, we can tell people the truth.  We can tell them exactly what thus says the Lord.  Let’s look at this now.  So these guys come down and they’re building these walls, and they say, you have to do it this way. 

In verse 2.  “Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute…”  Well, no small mean’s what?  [big, large]  It got hot and heavy, buddy.  [unhuh]  They were like whaling on each other.  Banging.  You know, you should be this way, it should be that way.  And they’re going back and forth.  And then it says, “…certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.”  We’ll read that again.  You ready.  So, “…they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles, the elders, about this question.”… [come on now]  Do we see what they are suggesting here? 

Why should we not do the same thing today?  [hmmmnh]  We have in the scriptures, we have the writings of the apostles, we have the writings of the elders of the Church, that tell us the same information that they had then.  [right]  I think, can I be honest with you guys?  [yes]  In all the years that I’ve been ministering and pastoring, there’s one thing that still, I haven’t gotten over.  And that is, why would you make major life decisions without consulting the Word of God and consulting those who God has given responsibility for you spiritually?  [amen]  Why would you do that?  [come on, please, say that one more time]  Why would you do that?  Why would you make major life decisions without consulting the Word of God and the people that God has entrusted over your lives?  Why would you do that?  Why would you think that you, by yourself, can come up with a right conclusion for your life when your life is a mess?  [amen]  Because that means all the decisions that you independently made up to that point in time, you messed up.  You made some bad choices and bad decisions.  So then, when, after you become a believer, where there is safety in a multitude of counseling, why would you then make arbitrary decisions, assuming somehow that you’re gonna be ok? 

And so, my personal problem becomes this.  After you’ve messed it up, and not consulted with the elders, not consulted with the Word of God…(knocks)  [laughter]  (knocks)  [ring, ring]  (knocks)  “Pastor Don,”  [laughter]  “Pastor Don, why is God abandoning me?  Where is God? I just kept on calling.  I don’t know what I’m going to do?  Everything’s a mess and I need help.  Where are you when I need you?”  In the same place I was that you could have asked me before you needed help…  [that's it, amen, clapping]  Well, glory to God. 

So the apostles have a problem, some guys have shown up and said, none of these Gentiles can be saved unless they’re circumcised.  And this debate begins.  And so, let’s see how they decide to solve it.  So it says, in verse 3.  “So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria…” and then they’re going to go.  In verse 4.  “And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all the things that God had done with them.”  In verse 5.  “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying,…”  Now are these guys saved?  Yeah, they’re saved.  Are they part of the Church?  Yeah, they’re part of the Church.  But they rise up and they say, “…It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.“…

If it was so clear, then this next meeting would never have happened.  But in the very next meeting it says, “…the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.  And when there had been much dispute,…”  Much whata, whata?  [dispute]  “…much dispute…”  It’s ok to dispute and not agree Church.  I don’t know what happened to the Gentiles that missed what the Jews did.  The Jews argued.  They would argue from sunup to sundown, and love each other, and go home and it was ok.  [yeah]  But Gentiles, I can’t believe it.  If we just have a discussion, and someone doesn’t agree, they part company.  [yeah, that's right]  They leave town.  And they don’t want to talk to you anymore.  You know.  How can we, how are we going to gain wisdom if we don’t discuss things.  It’s ok that you disagree.  I don’t hate you if you don’t agree with everything Pastor Don teaches…  I just know that if you study the Word, and after awhile you’ll figure out I’m right.  So, I’m not worried about it.  [laughter]  I don’t have any problem with it. 

But the Apostle Paul says, you know, he’s going to dispute.  They’re going to dispute and discuss things.  They’re going to air things out, so that it’s ok.  It’s alright to come to my office and say, “Pastor Don, I don’t believe any of this stuff.  I believe what my great grandmomma told me, that if I sprinkle some flowers with olive oil I’m saved… I will sit there and smile.  I won’t condemn you.  On the inside I’ll be cracking up.  [laughter]  But on the outside, I will be thoroughly polite with you and listen to your tale of woe.  So, what they had was the liberty.  Can you say, “liberty.”  [liberty]  Freedom.  [freedom]  They had freedom to discuss and debate things in order to do what?  Arrive at the truth.  Come up with the truth.  But you’re not going to get there without a discussion.  A person that talks to themselves and only talks to themselves, we call that person schizophrenic after awhile.  Thank you very much.  Moving right along. 

So in verse 7 it says, “And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them:  “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”  So he is saying, God spoke to me and gave me clear instructions so that we could what?   We could open up the doors of the church and let in the Gentiles.  [right]  Isn’t that what he’s saying?  [yes]  And then verse 8 he says, “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” 

Wow.  This is a major, major passage of Scripture that doesn’t get discussed.  In other words, Peter realizes that the Church has a difficult question that needs to be answered.  Everybody look up here.  Come on now.  He has a difficult situation that needs to be answered.  That admittance to salvation is the question, and it pivots on opinions.  Different opinions.  Peter, who has direct instructions from God, [that's right] who by signs, wonders and miracles received a clear vision from God, that permitted the door to be opened for the Gentiles to come in.  Peter, who has had an experience with the Holy Spirit, the confirming Word of God in the Old Testament, as well as in his heart and by his eyes through signs and wonders, Peter is now declaring to them, God built into this system, watch me carefully, a way for us to know the truth.  [hallelujah, amen, yes] …

The Church today has rejected this decision making, pivotal, and it is pivotal, cause the Church could have turned many different ways, pivotal way, of analyzing the information to come up with an answer.  Why do we speak in tongues and in a spiritual language?  Is it just because we want to babble about?  Or is it a sign from God of a certification of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in order to arrive at truth and in order to be discerning?  Well, what does Peter think?  Here’s what Peter thinks.  And everyone of you that’s a Gentile needs to hear this.  Peter thinks that because of the sign of speaking in tongues, every Jew that was a Jew, and every Gentile that was a Gentile, could be certified by the Holy Spirit, according to this experience, and therefore could validate the presence of active God…

This is not some loose doctrine, that Pastor Don’s trying to push off on you.  I’m saying that Peter has made a declaration written down in the book of Acts, that says this.  We believing Jews had an experience in the Upper Room  where the Holy Spirit certified us as being empowered and present with God Himself… That experience caused them to what?  Convert in one sermon.  Boy, I’d love to be able to do that.  Three thousand people.  [amen]  Now he says, as a result of that gift and promise of God, from the Old Testament into the New, the promise that the Holy Spirit would come and endue them, or give them power.  The manifest sign of that presence and power was their ability to speak in an unknown language. 

Call it gibberish if you will, or whatever.  But, one thing I’ve noticed is that Spirit-filled people, no matter whether they are Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic, or Pentecostal all know that that experience is real to them.  Now, I want you to see what Peter is saying underneath it all.  Here’s what he’s saying.  If you got it, there ought to be a sign that you got it… If you got it, there ought to be a sign that you got it.  If you have it, there ought to be a sign that you have it. 

How many of you sitting here today have some money?  I got a dime in my pocket right now.  A dime.  You should have a sign of your wealth if you declare to me that you have some wealth.  I didn’t say that you are wealthy.  But I’m saying that you should have a sign that you have something…We don’t have any other way of identifying who’s got the Holy Spirit and who doesn’t.  There’s no other sign.  You can’t look at people and tell.  You can’t look at ‘em and tell.  Cause I’ve seen some pretty shabby looking people who are very filled with the Holy Ghost and with God’s power.  I’ve seen some other people that are bold and powerful, you know tall and elegant like me.  Impressive.  [laughter]  Don’t you dare laugh at that.  [laughter]  Very impressive people.  And they don’t have it.  They have eloquence.  They have charisma…

I was at a big meeting.  There were maybe 15,000 people there at this particular meeting.  And the fellow that was preaching, at the end of the meeting, he stepped away from the pulpit and he was here.  And a young man got up in the audience and ran up to the front of the podium.  Cameras are running and everything.  And he just reaches his hands up to the guy that was speaking, and he says, he says, “Pray for me.”  He says, “Pray for me and I’ll be healed right now.”  Held his hands up, “pray for me. I’ll be healed right now.”  He had some kind of disease, but somehow in the course of the meeting and through the sermon, his faith had come to that point.  And all he did was he stood at the podium, and said, “Pray for me, and I’ll be healed.”  And the man who had just preached stepped back from the man.  And he says, “You’ll have to wait.”  Watch this now.  He said, “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow night when Benny Hinn is here.”  [oooooooh] … His face, the young man’s face just fell.  He was just so crushed and devastated.  Cause his faith at that moment.  

Think of the boldness to stand up in front of 15,000 and rush the podium, said, “Lay your hands on me and I’ll be healed.” … You know… I saw some of the other dignitaries on the dais, they just, they just died right then and all.  And so, as this great man of God stepped back, refusing to lay hands on this sick person, they closed and said his closing prayer.  And the other men, careful now.  The other men who had seen this went to get this young man, but by then the moment of faith was gone.  [pshew] 

We can’t know by people’s, we can’t know by their demeanor, the number of degrees behind their name.  We can’t know by any of that.  Some of the most anointed people I’ve known are little old ladies who just had the faith to believe that they pray for you, something’s gonna happen.  [amen]  Hallelujah.  But if they speak a word of prophesy it’s going to come to pass.  [amen]  That God can change your frown into a smile and they know that if they pray for you, things will get better.  [amen] 

The Apostle Peter knew that there was a sign that God had established to identify if the power and the presence of God could flow and be in manifestation.  We don’t have any other sign.  And some of you might say, well, in the Upper Room, it says that flames like fire emanated from their heads. Do you know, that’s a sign usually of martyrdom?  Of, they were going to pay the highest price.  The highest sacrifice for the Lord.  And that would be that they would be martyred.  Everyone’s not going to get that.  But it says, that all would be endued with power from on high.  And the word used there is not exusia, which in the Greek would be authority, like a badge.  But He says, dunamis, like dynamite power.  And the only sign of the presence of dynamite power is not boldness, is not arrogance, it is not posturing and charisma.  It says that the sign that Peter is acknowledging to the Church of Jerusalem in the Book of Acts, is a very simple thing.  They had had an encounter with the Holy Spirit who left them the ability to speak in other tongues…

Whether you believe in tongues or not, just believe what the Word says.  The Word says, we should let – here’s what Peter’s saying.  We should let the Gentiles in because they have the same sign that we have.  Let’s look at it in the Word.  How are you guys doing?  [good]  You didn’t get mad and go home?  [no]  No, good. 

Look at it again in verse 8.  This is Peter, the great apostle.  They built churches to Peter.  They built great cathedrals to Saint Peter.  People cross themselves in front of his statue and all.  Why do we listen to his words?  What did he say?  “So God, who knows the heart…”  Knows the what?  [heart]  “…acknowledged them…”  How did God acknowledge them?  “…by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,…”  Well, how did they get the Holy Spirit?  They prayed and believed by faith to receive and then it says, “and they began to speak…as they were filled.” 

Can you see filling?  No you cannot.  Can you sense it?  Praise God, yeah you can.  And, when a person starts getting filled, and you say to them, “begin to speak.”  Their faith causes them to say, “Doesn’t make sense to me, but I’m speaking Jack.”  [amen]  I’m going to open up my mouth and let it go… Whooawhoo.  Yada Yada.  Opie, opie, di ay.  Zingie boom boom. 

You know, it always cracks me up that people can sing in the shower, and when they get to the part where they don’t know the words, they sing in tongues, but get them in the Church and tell them, pray in tongues, or sing in tongues, and they go, “I can’t.”  Umn, ha.  What do you mean you can’t?  You just lied in the shower.  You’ll be singing one of them old Beatles’ songs, “I want to hold your hand.  I want to hold your hand.  And when I jadja mu day acto, hey, hey.  I ope zee op hey hoday deeda. I ca hi, I ca hi, I ca hi.”  [laughter]  You like it that much huh?  “Oh, yeah.  I’ve got that something, da da da da.” 

Come on.  It’s such a simple thing.  But when we make it all spiritual, walls come up and problems in our heads and we get to go into difficulties.  But what God is basically saying is, if you can’t yield to me and do something stupid, how, when I tell you to lay hands on the sick and they should recover, how are you going to believe that?  [whoot]  You can’t follow a simple command, open your mouth and begin to speak.  How are you going to raise the dead?  How are you going to pray for a demonic spirit to leave and expect it to leave?  If you can’t even bring yourself to get out of the way, to open your mouth and go hash ha mana hey.  [amen]  Send the pizza today.  [laughter, oh and your interpretation]  Interpretation, that’s what it was.  Where’s my pizza?  [laughter]  Alright. 

So, let’s go on with this and see, because right now I’ve got about a half a dozen people that are thoroughly offended.  And that’s good because out of your offense you’ll read the Word.  In verse 9.  “and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts…”  how?  [by faith]  By what?  [by faith]  “…by faith.”  And then he goes to a conclusion.  Peter, the great saint.  “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”  Let’s all read the next verse together.  Come on.  “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”  Then look at verse 12.  Look what happened.  “Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring…”  watch this.  The fruit of this gift of tongues, the fruit of the indwelling of the Spirit, “…they declared how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.”… 

Well, what are we saying here?  Barnabas and Paul, who had been serving the Gentiles and reaching them had realized that if God gave this gift to us, and in like manner showed up with signs and wonders, then surely God was certifying that this is a gift from Him for all.  [hallelujah] … And that by participating in it, we would have a sense of, watch this now, watch this.   God inside… [amen] 

When we do something that is supernatural, even though we don’t understand it, God will give us a sense of God inside…Not God outside.  Not God across the street.  Not God down the block.  Not where is God?  You know where God is.  For when you begin to worship Him through your Spirit man, through the gift that He has placed in the body, you begin to realize, huh, I am not alone.  God is still with me.  How do you know?  Because, you cannot continue to speak an utterance, less it is by the Holy Spirit.  It says, for they began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

In other words, your vocabulary would not grow.   Your vocabulary, you’d be stuck with, “pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza”  calling it tongues and your vocabulary would never grow.  But the Holy Spirit gives you utterance so that you then can begin to flow, for what purpose?  Everybody ready?  [yes]  Your mind is a problem to spiritual matters.  [amen]  Your mind is a problem to spiritual matters.  Your mind is a problem to spiritual matters.  Some people will never, ever speak in tongues, and the reason is because of this one simple thing.  I’ve heard so many people say, “I can’t do that because it doesn’t make sense.” 

Here is the transcript of Say Amen Show 126, I made the closed captioning easier to read by dividing it into paragraphs, left the comments of the congregation in [brackets], three dots … means a pause, and I kept it in Pastor Don’s words.  Praying this blesses you.  What I especially like about having a transcript is that you really don’t miss one word. Lately I have been challenged in downloading the video onto Xanga, has anyone else had this problem?

Things are slowing down at the home front – my oldest is now in Edinburgh, Scotland for a semester and my other son is in his college - my daughter (who is like an only child now which she likes) is applying to colleges.  Hard to believe that this time next year all three will be in college – how time flies.

God bless you!!!!
Heather

********

Say Amen
Show 126
Facts, Fantasy, and Truth
7/5/09

In John, Chapter 14 beginning in verse 6.  The Lord Jesus Christ is having the Passover meal with the Apostles in the next few pages.  And He is going to give them the information that they need to get through life.  He begins this passage of scripture talking to Thomas.  They call Thomas, Doubting Thomas, but I want you to know that that may be what they call him, but Thomas was the first one that said, when Jesus said He was going to Jerusalem to die, it was Doubting Thomas that said to the men, let us go with Him.  Let us go to Jerusalem and die with Him.  So I don’t think it was what he was doubting.  He wasn’t doubting Christ, he was doubting when Christ was said to have risen from the dead, he was questioning the fact of the other Apostles’ experience. 

So Thomas speaks up in verse 5 and says, “…Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”  And Jesus answers this most famous passage of scripture.  “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  … Let me read it again.  “…I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  In these three nouns of power, Jesus is saying that He is the way. 

When you look that up in the translations in the Bible, here’s what it says.  He is basically saying that He is the highway upon which you must walk if you choose to go to the Father.  He isn’t saying anything except, if you wanted to get the fastest way from New York City to here, the fastest way is you’d have to go on Route 87, the New York State Thruway.  And so it’d be like Jesus was saying, if you want to get out of Sin City, and you want to get up to the mountains where it’s beautiful, and if you want to go to the place where the deer run and the antelope play, [laughter]  and if you want to get to a place where squirrels and chipmunks are eating your flowers, then you have to get on the New York State Thruway and go on that road and you will get there. 

He is saying, that if you really want to get through life, if you want to get through the difficulty and the confusion of life, there are many paths that you could choose.  But He is saying, if you want the path that is going to lead you to the Father.  If you want the path that is a direct shot, that you can’t get lost on, that there’s no confusion, there is no deviation, He is saying, get on the Way.  The original Christians were called People of the Way.  [that's right] 

Oprah, she’s great, but she should stick to TV, cause spiritual stuff is, she’s a little lost here.  She’s giving this concept that there are many ways to get to God.  No, there are many ways to get to many gods.  [alright]  But there’s only one way to get to God.  [amen]  That He is the Way, the Path. 

When it says, “the truth,”  it means that there is no lie.  That He is veracity.  It means that He is the ultimate ability to know right from wrong.  He is truth.  There is no lie in Him.  How many of us here would be honest and say, there’s some lie in us.  [yes, come on]  There’s some lie in us.  If you didn’t raise your hand you’re a liar.  [laughter]  Cause some of you have artificial foams in your shoes that make you look as tall as me.  [laughter]  Well, that’s a lie. Some of the blondes in here are really brunettes…  [hey, laughter]  And that’s a lie.  You know, some of us are wearing glasses and the glasses are a lie.  And some of us look all fancy on the outside but we’re in pain on the inside.  [alright]  And so, we put on a good face to go to church, we look good.  Got to look righteous and holy, all that.  You’re righteous and holy lookin’ folk.  But that’s a lie…. That was good, I delivered that with superlative timing. 

And so we have to admit that unlike Christ, there was no lie in Him.  He didn’t even wear artificial Dacron… He didn’t even mix artificial petroleum clothes with natural fabrics and fibers.  Cause see, that was against the Law of Moses.  So even His clothes were the truth.  Lord have mercy.  Watch out. 

We have some churches that tell you if you worship the way that we worship, you do what we do, the way we do it, we’ll get you to heaven.  And it’s not scriptural.  The scripture says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  By the life He means the zoe, the God kind of life.  Meaning that this is the way to live and this is the way that if God was on earth, which He was in Jesus Christ, this is the way to live your life.  This is the God kind of life. 

In the God kind of life, there is no sorrow.  In the God kind of life there is joy and there is the presence of the Lord, in all things that you do.  There is no part of your life where God is in the closet and you’re out.  No, there isn’t.  In the God kind of life, it’s walking every day in the presence of the Lord. 

Getting up and looking in the mirror.  How many of you have started doing it?  I do it every day, I look in the mirror when I’m brushing my teeth and I say, “God lives inside this man.”  See, cause during the night, I might have been sleeping, thinking some wrong thought, dreaming some wrong dream.  So I want to remind myself, that I’m the man of God.  I look and I say, “God lives inside this man.”  And then I’m concerned about my physical body and my mental, so I say to myself, Lord have mercy.  “God lives inside this man and He walks in divine health.”  [amen]  Divine health means I may have a symptom but it can’t stay.  [amen]  Lord have mercy. 

So Jesus said to us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  When He says, “No man comes to the Father except by me.”  We can get very confused.  He didn’t say no one can come to the Father except by the Living Word Chapel… [amen]  He didn’t say no one can come except by the Baptist Church.  No one can come to the Father except by the Catholic Church.  No one can come to the Father except by the little storefront.  I love the little storefronts have the biggest names.  [laughter]  Deliverance Redeeming Church of the Power of the Anointed One and the Blood of the Lord which Cleanses.  [laughter]  You know this big name.  And you look at the name of the guy and it says, it says, Leo Smith, Apostle, Prophet, Bishop, Pastor, Teacher, World Evangelist.  And I go, give me a break. 

Nobody has a lock on this thing but Jesus Christ.  [amen]  Nobody has the formula but Jesus Christ.  Run up on the mountain there and find baba whootsie, whootsie, and he’s only telling you what he thinks.  [amen]  But sit down with Jesus Christ and He tells you what He knows.  [amen]  And He knows everything.  [clapping, amen]  Praise God.  Boy, when I grow up I’m gonna be a preacher, I tell you that. 

So let’s look at this other scripture that is our keynote scripture.  And it’s in verse 17, the same place, but in verse 17…  In verse 17 it’s the first four words right there.  “…the Spirit of truth…”  and then He goes on, “…whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,…”  How do you know Him?  “…for He dwells with you and will be in you.“  [amen]  Isn’t it good to know God has not left us as orphans.  [amen, hallelujah]  The Spirit of what?  [truth]  The Spirit of what?  [truth]  The Spirit of what?  [truth]  The Spirit of truth… Now I want you to look at some definitions.  Can you listen up here?  Definitions.  I love the dictionary as you know.  I believe that words are important and we need to know what they are saying, what they mean. 

The word “fact”, well, what is a fact?  We say something is a fact.  What’s a fact?  You ready?  [ready]  A thing that is known to have occurred and to exist.  Stay with me now.  Please stay with me in Jesus’ Name.  A fact is something that is known or to have occurred to exist.  A fact is something that is verified information or a piece of evidence.  I’m gonna run that to you real quick here.  A fact is something that is known.  We’re not going to deny that it exists.  It is something that we know has occurred to exist.  It does exist.  It is true in the sense that it is verified information.  We know that it’s verified information.  It does exist.  And it is a piece of evidence.  Everybody got that?  [yes] 

Well, what is fantasy then?  Fantasy is the inventing of images… a fanciful mental image…a daydream, a whimsical speculation.  I like that.  Whimsical speculation.  An invention or a fabrication, something that is …make believe.  Fantasy.  Inventing images, a fanciful mental image, a daydream, whimsical speculation, an invention, a fabrication, something that is make believe.  Our world just thrives on fantasy. [yes it does] Our world thrives on fantasy.  Television has unfortunately captured the minds of the mentality of our culture.  And most everything that we see is fantasy.  It’s whimsical fantasy.  It’s inventions.  And unfortunately what happens is if you fantasize long and deep you will cross over and cause your fantasy to become your truth.  [that's right] 

Can I give you an example?  It is a fantasy to believe that wealth will make you happy.  [yeah]  It is a fantasy, but our culture tells us it’s a fact that if you get rich you will fulfill your fantasies and you will be happy.  That’s what it tells.  You know, what does it tell?  You watch TV and a commercial comes on.  And a commercial shows you what?  A lady riding a bicycle, and she’s just so happy.  And she’s riding her bicycle and she looks over at her husband and he’s riding his bicycle.  And they’re so happy and they get off of their bicycle and they’re playing tennis and they’re having a great time.  And then in the evening, they have a candlelight dinner and they’re looking lovingly into each other’s eyes.  And the fantasy is if you take that drug.  The fact is you will have a sick stomach, you will puke, you will have undefined symptoms, and if you take that drug… it will mess you up.  It has so many bad side effects that the person that tells you about the side effects is a professional reader.  [laughter] …  You know a professional reader, somebody that can read it very fast and say it so fast so that you don’t understand what you said and you can stay in your fantasy.  [laughter] … Fantasy.  Fantasy. 

Want to sell a car?  Give me a foxy blonde, put her next to the car, and we can sell that car. Why is America in the mess that it’s in?  Happiness is not owning a home… That is a fantasy. Happiness is not owning, happiness is owning a home that you can afford.  [amen]  … Glory to God.  [hallelujah]  Happiness is not having a man.  He could be your worst nightmare.  You might be better off without him.  [amen]  Glory be to God.  If I only had a man.  [laughter]  You’ll later be, “Please get rid of this man.”  [laughter]  Pastor Don, please, please help me get rid of this man.  I think the saddest thing I have to tell the people is that I don’t do divorce.  [amen]  You know.  I don’t do divorce.  Cause they really want you to approve the fact that they want to get rid of this guy.  Well, hey, you picked him.  [laughter]  Fantasy.  Inventing images.  Fanciful mental images. 

You want to hear one of the saddest of all?  [yes]  We really think, the fantasy is I want to be a star.  If I could just get on MTV and win the talent show. If I could win, you know, if I could have my moment of fame, what’s it called?  Idol.  What’s that thing called?  What’s that show? [American Idol]  American Idol, and why do you want to be the American Idol?  So you can become a rock or a pop star.  I’m thinking to myself, has anybody looked at what happens to rock and pop stars?  [come on] … Have we examined the outcome?  The end game?  What about the end game of rock and pop stars?  Elvis was the king of rock.  Michael’s the king of pop.  How about Bette Midler?  She’s still cranking along.  Hope she’s healthy and hope she’ll live a long time.  Hope she’s doing good.  But guess what?  Her predecessor didn’t make it.  [that's right]  Most of you all don’t remember the 1960′s.  But the one at the top of the heap was who?  Janice Joplin.  Ah, some of you all old folks.  [laughter]  Janice Joplin.  Top of the heap.  Look what happened to her.  And we can go on and on and on and on. But fantasy.  Our fantasies can become our facts.  [that's right]  But our fantasies should never become our truth.  [amen] 

Well, what is truth then?  What does the dictionary say truth is?  Truth.  A quality or state of being true.  In accordance with facts.  So, you don’t throw out the facts when you’re dealing with the truth.  You look at them, you bring them together, and you say, truth or reality, genuine.  But then, here’s the part that truth is.  Not spurious or counterfeit… [right]  Not spurious or counterfeit.  Meaning, there’s no sham.  There’s no phoniness, there’s no faking in it.  And then it says what?  It says, conforming to a standard, and I love this, or expectation… Truth conforms to a standard, and truth has with it an expectation of what?  Correctly positioned, balanced, upright, honest, and without variation… That’s truth. 

What is this Bible?  This is the grandest book that has survived all attacks.  [yeah]  It’s a best seller.  It has always been a best seller since it hit the shelves.  Since it hit the shelves, it has been the best seller.  [amen]  Now, let me ask you a simple question.  If it was filled with lies, as Islam says, that it’s a corrupted book, if it was filled with lies and all like that, how long would this last?  It wouldn’t last long at all.  Then why is it still around?  Because it is the truth.  [amen]  Come on, say “amen” like you mean it.  [amen]  It’s true historically, it’s true scientifically.  Anyone that challenges it will fall on this rock…and get busted up.  [amen]  Because it cannot be disproved or argued with.  It always works. 

Anyone says to you, I’ve read the Bible, it’s been tampered with and translated and all that, you ask them the next question.  How much of it have you read?  [alright]  And you will always find, I have never had a person say the Bible is not the truth, that it’s filled with lies and confusion, I’ve never had a person like that say to me, and I’ve read the whole thing.  Or that I even have understanding of it… How many of you have read the whole thing?  At least once.  Good.  The rest of you get busy because you need the whole thing.  You need from Genesis to Revelation to really get this thing.  Buy one of those Bibles that says, the Bible in 365 days.  Personally, I think you should do it in a month.  You know.  I mean, it’s not as long as The Tale of Two Cities.  It’s only 1500 pages.  It’s as long as a book I read, Shogun.  You know, about Japanese history and stuff like that.  Get you a Bible and read it.  It won’t take you that long. 

Now, let’s go to another passage.  John, Chapter 18.  John, Chapter 18. Right past this one… Jesus has been arrested and He’s on trial.  John, Chapter 18…  Are you there?  [yes]  John, Chapter 18.  I’m going to begin at verse 28.  “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them…”  Pilate is the Roman Praetorium.  He’s the head governor there.  “…What accusation do you bring against this Man?”  They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”  Is that a fact?  Is that their fantasy?  Or is that the truth? 

Obviously it’s not the truth for they could not find a sin that they accused Him of that could be verified by what?  By an honest witness.  [that's right]  So, this verse here, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”  is their fantasy.  [right]  But what did they do?  They took their fantasy and they called it a fact.  And they are presenting it to Pilate as the truth.  In other words, they’re acting like a politician.  I’d better move on.  [laughter]  Cause there’s still some people in the Body of Christ that are still political and they really need to grow up. 

Verse 31.  “Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”  Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,”  that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.”  In other words, they want Him to be crucified.  “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again…”  and he said to Jesus, watch this.  “…Are You the King of the Jews?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”  In other words, Jesus is saying, is this your fantasy, is this your fact, or are you telling the truth? …

You see, after I get through with you today, the stuff that you let slide, you’re not going to be able to let it slide anymore.  The stuff that runs through your brain, you’re going to have a way and a system of bringing it into the reality of your mind, and examining by these three concerns and be able to get honest with yourself, for out of anything but honesty change is not possible.  [yes]  You cannot walk the Way if you are lost in the confusion of  your mind, calling facts “fantasies” and fantasies “truth”.  That’s just an epilogue to the end of the surlog to the prelude, to the conclusion of the whole thing.  [laughter] 

Verse 34.  “…Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning me?”  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have you done?”  Jesus answered…”  Now is He going to tell him His fantasy, His facts, or is He going to give Him the truth?  “…My kingdom is not of this world…”  What is that?  Is that’s Jesus’ fantasy?  [no]  That is His truth.  And He says, “…If My kingdom were of his world…If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…”  That’s a fact.  “…so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”  Lord have mercy. 

The Truth is telling the truth.  He is saying, you’re looking at Me, I’m not giving you something of fanciful fact here.  He says, I am telling you the truth.  My Kingdom is not of this earth…Then, can you go on a little further with me?  [yes]  Yes, maybe?  [yes]  Good.  “Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”  Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king...”  In other words, He’s saying you got that fact right.  That’s a fact and you got it right.  Then He says, “…For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.“ 

Now I want to show you something.  In Verse 37, Pilate goes from the fantasies that the Jews had told him, and He now has given a fact.  He has described the fact that Jesus rightly is a king.  He’s got his fact right.  But does he know the truth?  Well, let’s find out.  Let’s find out.  “Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”"  Pilate’s got a fact, he’s standing in front of the Truth, and he doesn’t have a clue… But, look what he comes to the conclusion.  “…I find no fault in Him at all.” 

In Chapter 19.  Go to verse 6 because the matter isn’t done yet.  “Therefore when the chief priests and officers saw Him,…”  saw Jesus  “…they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”  Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” …

That’s of their fantasy.  Jesus didn’t make Himself anything.  It is a fact that Jesus is who He says He was.  Therefore it is the truth.  “Therefore, when Pilate hard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?”  But Jesus gave him no answer.  Then Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me?  Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”  (chuckles)  The boy’s having a fantasy here.  And look what Jesus says.  “…You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given to you from above.  Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”  [amen]  I got one “amen” there in the back.  [amen] 

Let’s break this down so we can get some understanding here.  Pilate believes that he has spoken truth, but he has actually only touched the truth in identifying that Jesus is a king.  And the rest of it is fantasy.  Even his position of power is an idea fantasy, a whimsical fantasy, in that he believes that he has the facts right, that he has authority and power over Jesus.  But the truth is … the truth is, he doesn’t.  The only truth that exists there is that what Pilate is about to do has been prophesied before the dawn of time, and he is acting out a scenario and his fantasy isn’t the truth.  We have to be discerning and recognize that there is much confusion between our fanciful, whimsical thinking and our truth and what we see as true.

Thought you might like to see what I have been working on these past few days – besides a research on the harvest, I gave a speech at our local Woman’s Aglow about my past, and wrote the following to hand out to the people for their reference.  Please feel free to use this if it is helpful to you.

MINISTERING TO THOSE IN THE NEW AGE AND OCCULT

SIMILIARITIES/DIFFERENCES

Most of the people you meet who are in the occult will tell you that they are good, moral, upstanding people, and they are.  They are caring, loving, and seeking the truth the best way they know how to seek the truth. They feel that their beliefs and Christian beliefs are not inconsistent, but we know that their beliefs do not line up with the Word of God. Yes, both Christians and those in the occult have a good concept of stewardship of the earth, most care about people and those in need.  Both are seeking a meaningful experience and relationship with God. But there are some real differences.

1. Christianity is Monotheistic – there is one God.  Most occultists feel that there are many gods and each person should be able to worship the god or gods that they are comfortable with.  That there is a vast pantheon of gods and you can pick and choose not only gods, but also what you want to believe and practice.

2. Christianity is Exclusive – Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.  But pagans will feel that your spiritual path may not necessarily be my spiritual path.  They often feel that whichever path you take will lead you to God, even though the paths could be diametrically opposite.

3.  We need salvation from our sins – Many in the occult do not feel that they sin or that they need to follow a list of do’s and don’ts.  They have no idea that what they do is sin.  Many will say that they follow the three-fold law of return, that what you do will come back to you three-fold – that if you do good you will get three times more good, if evil, three times more evil.  Their main law is, “an it harm none, do as ye will.” But most in the occult do not want to follow a prescribed set of rules such as the 10 Commandments, for those “rules” are considered to be patriarchal and repressive. They believe in the inherent good of mankind.

4.  God’s Authority.  While Christians know that God is sovereign, those in the occult feel that each person is god and can determine for themselves what is right or not.  They feel that they are master of their destinies and can control what is going on in and around them.

MINISTERING THE WORD TO THOSE IN THE OCCULT

Remember – people are going to watch you.  What you do will say far more than any impact your words will have. 

1. Pray – pray for the person, for the right words to say, for guidance from the Holy Spirit.

2. Love the people – your love will break down more barriers than any other thing. Don’t rush things, keep the friendship open and love the person even if they don’t accept Christ as fast as you would like them to accept Him – it took me two years of talking with Pastor Don Moore before I accepted Christ into my life.

3. Listen – listen more than you talk, you are trying to locate the person and where they are coming from.  You want to know what kind of occult spirit you are dealing with, what caused the person to seek the occult in the first place. That will help you find the right method to reach them.

4. Minister in the right environment – sometimes a person’s house with all of their paraphernalia may be the wrong environment – get them out to a coffee shop, a Christian outing that is fun like a picnic or concert, or somewhere away from the influence of the occult.

5. As passionately as you believe Jesus, they believe their gods and tenets are true.  They are searching for God, but may not know that it is God that they are really seeking as they go from one new age belief system to another.   Gain some knowledge about what they believe – remember Paul in Acts 17 spoke to the Athenians using their gods and worship practices to preach the Gospel. Acts 17:22-24 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Those who do worship other gods will pray and receive answers to their prayers, but what is the source of the answer?  Satan, disguised as an angel of light, may give a healing or deliverance from a situation, but the source is not God, and any time satan chooses, he can remove the healing or deliverance.  We need to seek the truth of God, knowing that Jesus won the battle, and His Word is truth.  The deceptions of satan will wilt with the light of truth – the Word of God will not come back void.  Trust the Holy Spirit to minister to the person, and listen to how the Holy Spirit wants you to minister to them.

6.  Know that satan is an experienced deceiver.  It is ok to readily admit that there is good in what your new age friends are doing – satan will seek to give people a good portion of truth, with just a tiny lie/deception in the midst (think of how satan misquoted the Bible to Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness – giving a partial scripture but not the scripture in context – Luke 4:1-13) – no one would accept a bold faced lie – so much of the new age literature can easily be mistaken for Christian literature unless you look closely.  Examples are A course in Miracles; Conversations with God; The Secret, etc.  On the surface there are many moral truths in the new age literature, but there is always a lie, a misdirection that will take a person away from the truth of God.  When a person is in agreement with what the Word of God says, let them know that that is also what is written in the Bible.  But also let them know where what they are saying differs from the Bible. Ask God to reveal to you where the lie is and then you can lovingly point out the errors.

7. Ask questions and listen to their answers, and when appropriate and led by the Spirit consider asking a question that will get them to think about what they are believing or saying.  An example – if a person tells you that each person should be able to determine what is true for them, and that your truth may not be the same as my truth.  Try to find out if they believe that two truths that are opposite in nature can both be true.  For example can you have as true that there are multiple gods and one God?  How can both be simultaneously true? But remember, this has to be done in love at the right time – sometimes when you “win” a debate you lose the person.  It is far more important to keep the conversation going than to win the debate.

8. Find out what caused the person to turn their back on God.  Where is the father wound?  Often a broken relationship with their father, a father figure or an authority figure causes the break with God. Find out what happened that makes it hard for a person to accept Father God in their lives.  When you know where the wound is, then you can find ways to pray for the person, counsel them, and help them sort out those areas.

9.  Speak in simple language, not peppered with Christianeze.  Some of the words that we use as Christians will make no sense to a nonbeliever – such as Washed in the Blood of Christ, etc.

10.  Teach them the truth about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Speak in terms of how your life is improved by having a relationship with God. Let them see your relationship with God, share your testimony – let them know how you dealt with tough things in your life with the help of God.  Give them the Gospel message with love. Let them know there is a Heaven to be gained and a hell to lose. Recommend a good book to read about the deception of the occult – such as The Beautiful Side of Evil by Johanna Michaelson.

11. Answer their questions honestly – remember they have probably met hypocritical Christians, have had things said to them that have pushed them away from Christ, have seen Christians not walking the Christian walk.  Share strengths and weaknesses, and how no one is perfect. Let them see that life with Jesus is far better than doing things their way. 

12. Share the truth in love – offer little bites of truth, not bashing them over the head with scriptures to where they turn you off – but scatter the seeds of truth a bit at a time.  Keep the door open for discussion. Discussion needs to be a two way street – you can learn a lot from the person.  As time goes by, you will be getting lots of the Word into the person, and the more Word in, the more the erroneous thinking will be pushed out, but if they shut the door on the first meeting you won’t get too far. Drop seeds of the truth and the Word. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

13. They may resent the fact that they need to be converted, as if they have done something wrong.  It will take time and loving conversations to get them to the point where they feel the need for a savior.  It is very easy to make excuses for what you did and rationalize your sins away, and it takes the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin.  Be patient and know that the Holy Spirit will reach them.

14.  Have patience, know that you may make two steps forward, three back, but be persistent and faithful and loving and you will make inroads.

15. Know that satan will try to put obstacles in your path, to keep the person from you, to distract them and you from the goal.  That is why you need to stay prayed up and aware of any distractions.

16.  Once you have brought a person to Christ, respect them – don’t show them off or parade them as a trophy – “Look at who I got saved.”  Know that it is the Holy Spirit who brought the person to Jesus, you were just the instrument.  They will be fragile and need to build their relationship with God.  When they are ready to testify, they will testify about what GOD has done in their lives.  If they feel that you are using them as a trophy it may drive them away from God, not closer to Him. Also, satan will be trying to get the person back and if you expose them before they are ready to share their testimony, it also opens up a way for satan to attach.

17.  Make sure to disciple the person, keep them in the Word.  Get them hooked up with a good Word-based church, and stay with them until they get established.

18.  Make sure that they remove all paraphernalia from their new age participation from their house.  I kept our church’s burn barrel busy for months.  This includes books, tools, dream catchers, statues that were dedicated as idols, ceremonial clothing and anything else that the person has that would keep them tied to their past.  These materials should be completely destroyed, not sold to others. 

SOME SCRIPTURE REFERENCES SHOWING GOD’S VIEW OF THE OCCULT.

As you share these scriptures with those in the occult and new age they will probably remark that some of these scriptures seem unnecessarily harsh.  You need to explain to them that God wants His children to have no contact with mediums, sorcerers, witches, etc. because this can open up the doors to the spiritual realm when a person has no controls or discernment.  The supernatural realms contain both evil and good, and an unprotected person can easily be deceived. Evil can and does wear a mask, and satan imitates what God does.  There is a war that is going on in the heavenlies, and a person not rooted or grounded in the truth of God, can very easily be deceived, satan does not play fair.  God does not want us mixing with satan and those who are his minions.  The Commandments and rules that God has given us are not given to us to keep us downtrodden or oppressed, but rather there is great freedom in living life the way God wants us to live life – God knows that His way will bring righteousness, peace, and joy into our lives.  We all can use righteousness, peace, and joy.

Exodus 22:18 You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 19:31 Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:27 A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them

Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

1 Samuel 28 – the Witch of Endor

Psalm 97:10 You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints;  He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

Ezekiel 13:23 Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD

Micah 3:7 So the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners abashed; indeed they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God.

Zechariah 10:2 For the idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies, and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; they are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

Malachi 3:5 And I will come near you for judgment;  I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien— because they do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

I included both the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in the following passage to show you the contrast between evil and good.  God’s way is far, far better!

Galatians 5:19-23 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

I looked up “Sorcery” in Bible Gateway and they gave this list:

(Divination by an alleged assistance of evil spirits)

1. Forbidden  (Leviticus 19:26-28, 31; 20:6: Deuteronomy 18:9-14)  
2. Denounced (Isaiah 8:19; Malachi 3:5)
3. To cease  (Ezekiel 12:23,24; 13:23; Micah 5:12)
4. Messages of, false (Ezekiel 21:29, Zechariah 10:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:9)
5. Diviners will be confounded (Micah 3:7)
6. Belongs to the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:20)
7. Wickedness of (1 Samuel 15:23)
8. Vainness of (Isaiah 44:25)
9. Punishment for (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 13:5)
10. Divining by familiar spirits (mediums or spiritists) (Leviticus 20:27; 1 Chronicles 10:13; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3)
11. Practiced » By the Egyptians  Isaiah 19:3, 11, 12)
12. Practiced » By the magicians (Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18)
13. Practiced » By Balaam (Numbers 22:6; 23:23)
14. Practiced » By Jezebel (2 Kings 9:22)
15. Practiced » By the Ninevites (Nahum 3:4,5)
16. Practiced » By the Babylonians (Isaiah 47:9-13; Ezekiel 21:21,22; Daniel 2:2, 10, 27)
17. Practiced » By Belshazzar (Daniel 5:7, 15)
18. Practiced » By Simon the Sorcerer (Magus) (Acts 8:9)
19. Practiced » By Elymas (Bar-Jesus) (Acts 13:8)
20. Practiced » By the girl at Philippi (Acts 16:16)
21. Practiced » By charlatan Jews (Acts 19:13)
22. Practiced » By sons of Sceva (Acts 19:14, 15)
23. Practiced » By astrologers (Jeremiah 10:2; Micah 3:6,7)
24. Practiced » By false prophets (Jeremiah 14:14; 27:9; 29:8,9; Ezekiel 13:6-9; 22:28; Matthew 24)

As a member of Living Word Chapel, West Hurley New York:  www.livingwordchapel.com  I am privileged to sit under the teachings of Pastor Don Moore.  I post notes from his teachings on my blog: www.xanga.com/wondering04