Participants:
Series Code: AAO
Program Code: AAO000009A
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00:11 We have been looking at the counterfeit
00:15 of what Satan is doing to counterfeit 00:20 what our Lord has promised in His Word. 00:24 We've been looking at spiritual formation 00:26 and its eastern mystical roots, 00:29 and we're seeing how the enemy is duplicating, 00:35 he is lying and deceiving. 00:38 And through these eastern arts, 00:42 he's infiltrating the Christian church. 00:46 I want to open tonight 00:48 with a promise in Romans Chapter 8. 00:52 Turn with me there, Romans 8:19, 00:57 it says, "For the earnest expectation 01:01 of all creation is waiting for the manifestation 01:08 of the sons and daughters of God." 01:13 That's what the entire universe is waiting to see, 01:18 and that's the one thing 01:20 that Satan is seeking to counterfeit. 01:23 Tonight, we're going to show 01:26 what he is doing, 01:28 and how this is coming into our church. 01:32 Mystery unveiled the omega of a most startling nature. 01:37 You remember that in the very beginning 01:40 I asked you to make note of that word nature. 01:45 We know that there's two mysteries 01:47 spoken of very prominently in scripture. 01:52 The first mystery that we see 01:55 is in 1 Thessalonians or 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2. 01:59 It says, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." 02:04 But in Timothy, 02:06 Paul tells Timothy the mystery of godliness 02:12 is God manifest in the flesh. 02:16 So what we have seen over the last few messages 02:20 is that the mystery of iniquity is the exact opposite 02:25 of the mystery of godliness. 02:28 Instead of it being God manifest in the flesh, 02:31 it is evil spirits and demonic forces 02:35 that are manifesting in human flesh. 02:41 I'm gonna open with a statement from the Lord servant, 02:46 8 Testimonies, page 28, 02:49 "The world is a theatre, 02:51 the actors its inhabitants are preparing to act their part 02:56 in the last great drama. 02:59 Transgression has almost reached its limit. 03:03 Confusion fills the world, 03:06 and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. 03:11 The end is very near. 03:14 And we who know the Truth 03:18 should be preparing 03:19 for what is soon to break upon the world 03:22 as an over whelming surprise." 03:25 We who know the truth, 03:27 we have looked at that and we've seen 03:30 that the word truth literally means in the Greek 03:34 the unfailing verity of God's Word. 03:40 We who know that He cannot lie, 03:43 we that have grown in faith trusting Him 03:47 should be preparing. 03:51 Matthew Chapter 24 tells us, and this is a common text, 03:56 this is a common chapter, most of us know this. 04:01 In Matthew 24, the Lord says, 04:05 "Jesus went out and departed from the temple, 04:08 and His disciples came to him 04:11 to show him the buildings of the temple." 04:14 This was one of the most magnificent structures 04:17 that'd ever been built 04:19 and Herod had refurbished the temple 04:22 after the Hebrew people had come back 04:25 out of their Babylonian captivity. 04:29 "Jesus said unto them," unto His disciples, 04:32 "see ye not all these things? 04:36 Verily, assuredly I say unto you, 04:40 there shall not be left here one stone upon another, 04:47 that shall not be thrown down." 04:50 Jesus was speaking not only of the destruction in AD 70, 04:56 but I believe we are yet to see 04:58 a physical manifestation of this prophecy, 05:02 because if you go to Jerusalem today, 05:05 the Wailing Wall was still there. 05:07 Those stones that are there have been there for 2000 years. 05:12 There are still stones stacked one upon another, 05:16 and right now in our world 05:18 we're seeing the focus on Israel. 05:23 But what's more important than the physical temple 05:27 is the spiritual truth which it was a shadow of, 05:31 which it was a symbol in which it represented. 05:36 Desire of Ages, page 160 to 161, we're told, 05:41 "God designed that the temple at Jerusalem 05:45 should be a continual witness to the high destiny 05:50 open to every soul. 05:53 But the Jews had not understood 05:55 the significance of the building 05:57 they regarded with so much pride, 06:00 for they did not yield themselves 06:05 as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. 06:08 That glorious building, its walls of glistening gold," 06:14 representing purity, purity and holiness, 06:19 "reflecting in rainbow hues the curtains 06:22 that were inwrought with cherubim, 06:26 the fragrance of ever-burning incense 06:28 pervading the entire building, 06:31 the priests robed in spotless white, 06:35 and in the deep mystery of the inner place, 06:38 above the mercy seat, 06:40 between the figures of the bowed, worshiping angels 06:44 was the glory of the Holiest." 06:48 The very presence of the living God. 06:51 "In all these, 06:54 God desired His people to read His purpose 06:59 for the human soul. 07:02 It was that same purpose long afterward set forth 07:06 by the Apostle Paul, 07:08 when speaking by the Holy Spirit, 07:10 he said, 07:12 'Know ye not that you are the temple of God, 07:17 and that the Holy Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' 07:22 And as Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, 07:26 the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 07:30 'When shall these things be? 07:32 And what shall be the sign of thy coming, 07:35 and of the end of the world?' 07:39 Jesus answered and said unto them, 07:42 'Take heed that no man deceive you.' 07:46 For many shall come in My name, saying, 07:50 I am the Christ, and shall deceive many. 07:54 And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, 07:58 but see that ye be not troubled, 08:00 for all these things must come to pass, 08:03 but the end is not yet. 08:05 For many false prophets shall arise 08:09 and shall deceive many. 08:11 And because iniquity shall abound.'" 08:16 Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said? 08:20 He said, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." 08:25 The mystery of how Satan takes possession 08:28 of God's temple by yielding to sin and transgression, 08:34 because iniquity shall abound. 08:39 The over spreading of abominations 08:42 is what the Prophet Daniel calls it. 08:45 "The love of many shall wax cold." 08:49 "And this gospel, the glad tidings of the kingdom 08:54 shall be proclaimed in all the world 08:58 for a witness unto all nations, 09:01 and then shall the end come." 09:05 You know, growing up as a Christian, 09:07 I thought the kingdom is Christ's second coming. 09:11 And I didn't realize there is a deeper meaning, 09:15 when you look up the word kingdom in the Greek, 09:19 it literally means the sovereign, the king, 09:25 and the reign of God. 09:28 He said, "This glad tidings of the reign of God 09:34 shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness, 09:40 and then shall the end come." 09:44 Galatians 3:8-9, 09:48 listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us, 09:51 "And the scripture, foreseeing 09:54 that God would justify the heathen through faith, 10:00 proclaimed before these glad tidings 10:05 even unto Abraham, saying, 10:10 in thee," and later on "in thy seed 10:15 shall all nations of the earth be blessed." 10:20 And we looked at this the other night, 10:22 the word justify literally means to declare, 10:27 and to render, just, and innocent, 10:31 and clean, and pure, 10:33 and holy, and righteous, and perfect. 10:39 The scripture foreseen that God would justify the heathen 10:45 through faith. 10:50 "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles 10:57 through Jesus Christ, 10:59 and that we might receive the promise 11:03 of the Spirit through faith." 11:07 Galatians 3:14 says. 11:10 It's interesting because it says 11:12 the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles. 11:17 The word come on means to generate 11:20 or to bring into being. 11:25 Jesus went on and said, 11:27 "When ye therefore shall see the abomination 11:31 which causes desolation, 11:33 spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 11:37 stand in the holy place, 11:40 whoso readeth, let him understand." 11:45 When you look this verse up, it says, 11:48 this abomination that causes God's temple 11:52 to be desolate will stand in the holy place. 11:57 And the word stand in Greek means to abide, 12:02 to literally to covenant and abide. 12:07 "Then let them which be in Judaea 12:09 flea into the mountains. 12:13 For then shall be great tribulation, 12:16 such as was not since the world began, 12:20 no, nor ever shall be." 12:25 This was the focus of Christ message 12:29 in Matthew 24, 12:30 and in Luke 21, and in Mark 13, 12:34 the abomination that cause desolation. 12:39 When the children of Israel had went back 12:42 and rebuild the temple after the Babylonian captivity. 12:47 We talked about the other night, 12:49 that when they built that temple, 12:52 the Ark of the Covenant had been secreted away, 12:55 God servant says. 12:56 And Josephus also talks about that. 12:59 They indicate that it was probably 13:02 the Prophet Jeremiah 13:04 that instructed the priest 13:05 to hide that Ark of the Covenant. 13:07 That ark was the throne of God. 13:13 Without the throne, the king cannot reign. 13:17 And now Christ tells us, 13:20 "When you see the abomination that causes My temple, 13:25 My sanctuary to be desolate, 13:28 you know it's time to flee." 13:32 And God's Word says that the temple 13:35 that was desolate was not just a physical temple, 13:39 it was men's hearts. 13:43 The Prophet Daniel tells us in Daniel 9," 13:46 Now therefore, O our God, 13:49 hear the prayer of Thy servant, 13:53 and my supplications. 13:56 Let Thine anger and Thy fury 13:58 be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, 14:02 a symbol of his people, 14:05 from Thy holy mountain and cause Thy face 14:09 to shine upon Thy sanctuary which is desolate." 14:16 When Jesus went into the temple in John Chapter 2, 14:21 many people don't realize there was a veil 14:25 between the holy, and the most holy place. 14:28 The holy place was known as the tabernacle 14:31 and the tent of the congregation. 14:34 And the most holy was the presence of God, 14:38 and there was a veil that divided those two. 14:43 But they don't realize that for almost 500 years 14:48 there was nothing behind the veil. 14:52 They had a form of godliness 14:56 but no power. 15:02 Jesus went on 15:04 and He inspired the Apostle Paul 15:07 in 2 Thessalonians, 15:09 and listen to what Paul says about this very same event. 15:13 He says, "Let no man deceive you 15:17 by any means, 15:19 for that day of Christ return shall not come 15:24 except there come a falling away first, 15:28 an apostasy, 15:30 and that man of sin be unmasked and unveiled, 15:36 the son of perdition." 15:39 The son of destruction. 15:41 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself 15:45 above all that is called deity 15:48 or God or that is worshiped. 15:52 So that He as God is sitting in the temple of God, 15:58 showing himself that He is God." 16:02 There may be a physical event 16:05 that takes place in the Middle East, 16:09 I'm not denying that. 16:11 But more importantly, 16:14 Satan and his fallen angels are going to strive 16:19 to take possession of the hearts 16:22 and minds of every man, woman, and child 16:26 that has not surrendered completely to Christ. 16:32 Then Paul tells us, "Remember ye not, 16:36 that when I was yet with you, 16:38 I told you these things 16:41 but now you know He that witholdeth," 16:45 he that is holding back, 16:48 "that he might be revealed in his time, 16:52 for the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 16:57 When you look on the screen, 16:59 and you look on the right hand side 17:02 that is the hexagram, 17:03 it's called the Star of David by many people. 17:06 Most people don't realize that symbol was never used 17:09 in the Bible by God's children. 17:13 Solomon, there is record that he possibly 17:17 could've used that 17:18 when he had went into apostasy, 17:20 but what that symbol means is even more striking. 17:25 It is the union of a male and female triangle, 17:30 one ascending and one descending. 17:34 It's the same symbol that Hitler used 17:37 when he developed the symbol for the swastika, 17:40 or when he adopted that symbol. 17:42 That was actually a Hindu symbol, 17:44 and a Buddhist symbol. 17:46 And we see that same philosophy, 17:49 that same ideology, 17:52 with a symbol of the yin and yang 17:54 which you see below. 17:55 It is the joining of opposites. 17:59 And in the occult world 18:01 as well as in eastern mysticism, 18:05 they tell you on the higher levels 18:09 it is the joining of spirit and flesh. 18:14 The joining of what the pagans say 18:17 are the heavens and the earth. 18:23 Revelation Chapter 14 and 18 tells us, 18:27 "And there followed another angel, 18:29 saying Babylon is fallen, is fallen, 18:33 and she has made all nations to drink of the wine 18:40 of the wrath of her fornication." 18:43 The word fornication there means immorality 18:46 and the illicit union with pagan gods. 18:51 Revelation 18 goes on and gives us 18:54 another description of this, 18:56 he says, the Apostle John says, after these things, 19:01 after Revelation 14, 19:03 after the three angels' messages, 19:06 "I saw another angel come down from heaven, 19:11 having great power, 19:13 and the earth was lightened with his glory. 19:17 And he cried mightily with a loud cry, saying, 19:21 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, 19:25 for she has become the habitation of devils, 19:29 and the stronghold of every foul spirit, 19:34 and a cage of every unclean and hate filled bird." 19:40 This is telling us that when Christ returns, 19:44 every human being on the face of the planet 19:48 is either going to be filled with Spirit of the living God 19:51 or they will be filled with unclean 19:54 and unholy spirits. 19:58 "History is repeating... 20:00 with the Bible open before them, 20:03 and professing to reverence its teachings, 20:06 many of the religious leaders of our time 20:10 are destroying faith in the Bible, 20:14 as the Word of God, as the Word of Deity." 20:21 We're told in Psalm 33 that by the word of the Lord 20:24 were the heavens made 20:26 and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 20:31 That Word has power. 20:34 Jesus said the words that I have speak unto you, 20:37 they are spirit and they are life. 20:42 When these men destroy faith in God's Word, 20:47 they take away from men and women 20:50 the only thing that has power to save them. 20:54 "These men busy themselves with dissecting the Word, 20:59 and they set their own opinions above its plainest statements. 21:04 In their hands God's Word loses its regenerating power. 21:11 This is why infidelity runs riot, 21:15 and iniquity is so wide spread. 21:20 When Satan has undermined faith in the Bible, 21:24 he directs men to other sources for light and power. 21:30 And thus through these other sources, 21:33 he insinuates himself. 21:36 Those who turn from the plain teaching of Scripture 21:39 and the convicting power of God's Holy Spirit 21:43 are inviting the control of demons. 21:48 Criticism and speculation concerning the Scriptures 21:54 have opened the way for Spiritism and Theosophy. 21:59 Those modernized forms of ancient heathenism, 22:03 to gain a foothold even in the professed churches 22:06 of our Lord Jesus Christ." 22:10 Now I want to show you how this happening in our day. 22:14 The men that I'm going to quote, 22:17 all of these men are part of the emergent church 22:20 or emerging church movement, 22:23 ancient mystical practices 22:25 that they are trying to blend with Christianity. 22:29 And all of these men are teachers 22:33 in spiritual formation. 22:35 They're using what we have been learning 22:39 to influence the congregations and millions across this world. 22:45 This is the statement from Professor Marcus Borg, 22:49 he was Professor at Religion and Culture 22:52 at the Oregon State University. 22:54 Listen to what he says, 22:56 "Enlightenment as an archetypal," 23:00 and I may not be pronouncing that correctly, 23:03 forgive me, 23:04 "as an archetypal religious metaphor 23:08 belongs to a mystical way of being religious. 23:13 Outside of the Jewish and Christian traditions, 23:18 the best-known enlightenment experience 23:22 is the Buddha's mystical experience." 23:26 He is a professor of religion and culture and he is saying, 23:31 "We need to look to Buddha to understand enlightenment." 23:35 And then he says, 23:36 "So it is in the Gospel of John, 23:40 enlightenment is a central metaphor 23:44 for salvation." 23:45 And this is not true. 23:47 He says, "To be enlightened is to be born from above 23:51 and of the spirit. 23:53 In other words, to be born again. 23:57 Thus the born again experience, " 24:00 according to Professor Borg, 24:02 "in John is an enlightenment experience." 24:07 Now we need to look and see what this enlightenment is? 24:11 Obviously he's tracing it back to the Buddha, 24:14 to the Buddhist religion. 24:17 Shane Claiborne, 24:19 another Christian author and Christian activist says, 24:22 "If you tell me I have to be born again 24:25 in order to enter the Kingdom of God, 24:29 I can tell you that you also have 24:31 to sell everything you have, and give it to the poor, 24:36 because Jesus said that to one guy also." 24:41 If Jesus said it, 24:42 can we not take His word literally? 24:45 Listen to what he says, 24:47 "But I guess that's why God invented highlighters 24:52 so that we can highlight the parts we like 24:56 and ignore the rest." 24:59 This is identical to what Thomas Jefferson did 25:04 in the Jefferson Bible. 25:06 He took the parts he liked, 25:09 and he cut out the parts he didn't like. 25:12 He took out the miracles of Christ. 25:15 He took out the virgin birth. 25:17 He took out every statement 25:19 where Christ declared that He was the Son of God. 25:26 Listen to what Pastor Tony Campolo said. 25:30 He said, "I learned about this way 25:33 of having a born again experience 25:37 from reading the Catholic mystics, 25:40 especially 'The Spiritual Exercises' 25:44 of Ignatius Loyola." 25:46 Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Jesuit movement. 25:49 He was heavily involved in eastern mysticism. 25:54 His book, The Spiritual Exercises 25:57 is now being used across the western world 26:00 by yoga instructors and gurus, 26:03 and tai chi and qigong instructors. 26:06 They have found that by using what Ignatius taught, 26:11 they can enhance the practice of their eastern arts. 26:18 "Like most Catholic mystics, he developed an intense desire 26:22 to experience a 'oneness' with God. 26:27 Gradually, he came to feel an intense yearning 26:31 for the kind of spiritual purity 26:34 that he believed would enable him 26:37 to experience the fullness of God's presence within." 26:44 Another leader Brian Mclaren, he said... 26:48 This is from his new book, A New Kind of Christianity. 26:53 "When Jesus promises life of the ages, 26:58 a far better translation of the Greek I believe, 27:02 than eternal life, 27:04 he is not promising life after death 27:07 or life in eternal heaven instead of eternal hell. 27:13 Being born of God and born again 27:17 or being born from above would in this light mean 27:22 being born into this new creation. 27:26 So again, Jesus is offering a life in the new Genesis, 27:31 a new creation that is of the ages. 27:35 What he just did was, he twisted the Word of God, 27:41 he made it so complicated. 27:44 Jesus said, "I have given unto you eternal life." 27:49 Our Father said, "I have given unto you eternal life? 27:52 and this life is in My Son." 27:56 It means literally you will live forever. 28:00 What Brain Mclaren just said was almost the exact same thing 28:04 that Pastor Rick Warren is teaching 28:06 in the Purpose Driven Life. 28:08 Don't worry about heaven and hell, 28:11 it's about here and now. 28:16 Ministry of Healing, page 429, we are told, 28:21 "These theories that God resides 28:24 in all matters or pantheism, 28:27 if they are followed to their logical conclusion, 28:30 they sweep away the entire Christian economy, 28:35 the plan of Salvation. 28:37 They do away with the necessity for the atonement, 28:42 the at-one-ment of man with God 28:46 and they make man his own savior. 28:51 These theories regarding 28:53 God make His Word of none effect, 28:56 and those who accept them are in great danger 29:00 of being finally led 29:03 to look upon the whole Bible as a fiction. 29:07 They may regard virtue as being better than vice. 29:12 But God being removed 29:14 from his position of Sovereignty, 29:17 the throne of our heart, 29:19 they place their dependence upon human power alone, 29:24 which without God is worthless." 29:30 Now I want to show you 29:31 something a little more up-to-date. 29:35 Listen to what happened at an interview. 29:38 In 1988, Barbara Walters held an interview 29:42 with George H.W. Bush, 29:46 George Bush Sr., 29:48 when he was on his campaign trail 29:50 for the presidency. 29:52 And she asked him a question 29:54 that completely caught him off guard. 29:58 She asked the upcoming new president of our nation, 30:02 if he was a Christian, 30:04 because there were things he was saying 30:07 that were causing the Christians 30:08 in America to say, 30:10 "Finally we've got a Christian president. 30:13 This is a good thing." 30:15 And she wanted to make this clear in her interview. 30:19 When she asked if he was a Christian, 30:21 listen to what George Bush Sr. said. 30:24 He stumbled over his words. 30:28 He looked down for a moment. 30:30 And then he answered, 30:33 "If by being a Christian, 30:36 you ask, if I'm born again, 30:40 then yes, I am a Christian." 30:44 What many don't realize is that George Bush Sr., 30:48 George Bush Jr., 30:50 and Prescott Bush, the grandfather, 30:52 were all members of an occult society 30:56 at Yale University. 30:58 That society was called The Skull and Bones. 31:01 And in their initiation, 31:05 they went through a ritual 31:08 that once it was achieved, 31:12 you were now classified as a man 31:15 that had been twice born. 31:21 Manly P. Hall, 31:23 one of the greatest philosophers of Freemasonry 31:27 that they've ever had. 31:28 Listened to what he says, 31:30 "Among the ancients, 31:32 a fabulous bird called the Phoenix 31:35 is described by early writers, 31:38 in size and shape it resembles the eagle, 31:42 but with certain differences. 31:45 The Phoenix, it is said, lives for 500 years 31:50 and at its death, its body opens 31:54 and there's this flame of fire 31:57 and out of the ashes emerges a new Phoenix. 32:03 Because of this symbolism, 32:06 the Phoenix is generally regarded 32:09 as representing immortality and resurrection." 32:14 In the Chinese arts, 32:15 and that's where they got it from. 32:18 You usually see two symbols 32:20 that are held higher than all others, 32:24 the Dragon and the Phoenix. 32:26 And often you will see the two intertwined. 32:31 It means the Dragon is the symbol of occult wisdom, 32:35 and the Phoenix is the symbol of rebirth. 32:39 So through occult wisdom and initiation, 32:44 they believe that a man can be reborn. 32:51 Manly P. Hall went on to say, 32:53 "The Phoenix is one sign of the secret orders 32:57 of the ancient world 32:59 and of the initiate of those orders, 33:02 for it was common to refer to one 33:05 who had been accepted into the temples 33:08 as a man twice-born or reborn. 33:14 Wisdom confers a new life, 33:17 and those who become wise are said to be born again." 33:23 Do you know this is the same thing 33:25 that Satan said to Eve? 33:27 It's a tree that will make you wise. 33:31 And the Apostle James says, 33:33 "This wisdom descended not from above, 33:37 but from beneath." 33:41 General Albert Pike, 33:43 he was a confederate Civil War General. 33:47 He wrote the Bible for Freemasonry 33:50 called Morals and Dogma. 33:52 Listen to what he says in that book, 33:55 "Initiation was considered to be a mystical death, 34:00 and the perfect initiate in the Eleusinian Mysteries 34:06 was then said to be regenerated, 34:11 new-born and restored to a renovated existence 34:16 of life, light and purity." 34:20 The Bible says, professing themselves 34:22 to be wise, they become dumb. 34:27 "In the ancient system of initiation, 34:30 the truth seeker must pass through a second birth, 34:35 and those who attain this exalted state 34:38 were known thereafter as twice born. 34:43 This new birth must be personally earned 34:46 through a complete regeneration of character and conduct." 34:51 Now I want you to pay attention to his words, 34:54 "This new birth must be personally earned." 35:00 You earn wages. 35:03 God's Word tells us 35:05 that the new birth is a gift from God. 35:08 You cannot do anything 35:11 to earn perfection and righteousness. 35:15 This new birth, he says, 35:17 "This ceremony involves a symbolic death 35:21 according to Kenneth Mackenzie," 35:23 who is another Masonic author, 35:26 "he writes in the ancient mysteries, 35:29 the aspirant could not participate 35:32 in the highest secrets, 35:34 until they had been placed in a coffin. 35:38 And this ceremony, 35:41 he was then symbolically said to die, 35:45 and his resurrection was to the light." 35:51 Albert Pike goes on and says, 35:54 "The day has come when fellow craftsmen 35:59 must know and apply their knowledge. 36:02 The lost key to their grade is the mastery of emotion..." 36:08 When I was in Chinese kung fu, and in qigong and in tai chi, 36:13 all of those arts focused on channeling emotion, 36:17 because Satan knows 36:19 the emotions are the easiest doorway 36:21 to find access to the throne of your heart. 36:26 He says, 36:27 "Once they have achieved mastery of their emotions, 36:32 it places the energy 36:34 of the universe at their disposal. 36:39 When the Mason learns that the key 36:41 to the warrior on the block 36:44 is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, 36:50 then he has learned the mystery of his craft." 36:55 You remember what Paul said? 36:57 The mystery of iniquity. 36:59 Satan works to control our emotions. 37:02 We know that faith is not based on emotions. 37:06 Faith is based on thus saith the Lord, 37:09 regardless of how I feel, 37:11 I have to take God's Word and say, 37:14 "This is sure, He cannot lie." 37:18 But the occult world says, "It's all based on emotions." 37:24 He says, "The seething energies of Lucifer 37:30 are then in his hands 37:32 and before he may step onward and upward, 37:35 he must prove his ability to properly apply this energy." 37:41 When I was in Chinese kung fu 37:43 and I was working on discipleship level. 37:46 That was the one thing that we had to do, 37:49 we were told we have to channel this energy that they call chi, 37:55 into our hands 37:56 and into our arms and move it in the body. 37:59 And then we had to demonstrate we were able to do that. 38:03 Some people would demonstrate that through breaking, 38:06 you know, cinder blocks or stones. 38:09 Some people would demonstrate it 38:11 through breaking coconuts with their palm. 38:15 Other people would demonstrate it, 38:17 like the other man and I, 38:19 we had to be able to take our hand 38:21 and make the hand get hot, 38:23 and the other one freezing cold. 38:25 And then we were told 38:27 make the pointer finger get hot, 38:29 the rest of the hand freezing cold. 38:32 Once we had done that, 38:34 we began practicing with channeling that energy 38:37 into the hand when we would strike, 38:40 but all of this were gifts 38:42 that were given to us by the spirits 38:46 that had come into our lives. 38:50 Albert Pike says, 38:52 "He must follow in the footsteps 38:55 of his fore-father, Tubal-Cain," 38:58 he was one of the off-spring of Cain in Genesis, 39:04 "who with the mighty strength of the war god 39:09 hammered his sword into a plowshare. 39:13 Incessant vigilance over thought, action, and desire 39:18 is indispensible to those who wish to make progress 39:22 in the unfolding or unveiling of their own being." 39:28 They are showing like they did in that previous slide. 39:32 This figure from the Freemasons 39:34 is showing a mason with a hammer and a chisel 39:38 cutting himself out of the stone. 39:42 God's Word says that Christ was the stone 39:46 that was cut out of the mountain without hands 39:50 and that we also are living stones 39:54 cut and chiseled without hands 40:00 but by the power of God. 40:05 Once this progress has been made 40:07 in the unfolding of their own being, 40:11 he says, "The Fellow Craft's degree 40:14 is the degree of transmutation." 40:18 That's another word for transformation, 40:21 the changing of the character that we were designed to be, 40:27 the image that we were designed to be 40:30 into the image of Lucifer and Satan. 40:36 Now look where all this goes back to. 40:39 New World Encyclopedia tells us, 40:42 "In Hinduism, the highest three classes of Hindu society 40:48 are known as the Dvija, 40:51 that means in Hindu Sanskrit the twice-born ones 40:57 because they have undergone the sacred thread ceremony, 41:01 in which male members are initiated 41:05 into the second stage of life, 41:08 called the ashrama of a Vedic follower. 41:12 This sacred thread ceremony is considered 41:15 to be a type of second birth. 41:19 The doctrine of the twice-born has been criticized 41:23 for promoting hierarchy and elitism in Hindu society, 41:29 but its supporters see it 41:31 as a type of initiation and purification 41:37 into a higher state of existence, 41:40 analogous, analog... 41:44 "Forgive me, I can't even pronounce that, 41:47 "analogous to the baptism of other religions." 41:54 The British Ki Society it says, 41:58 "Zen Buddhism began the idea of understanding life. 42:04 It suggests that when one understands life, 42:08 one feels as if one is newly born" 42:13 that's where the word Sensei comes from. 42:17 That's what a Japanese master instructor is called a Sensei. 42:24 He says the word, 42:25 "Sen means before and Sei means to be born. 42:31 So Sensei literally means 42:33 a person who is twice-born or born before. 42:40 This birth is a spiritual, not physical birth." 42:45 People tell me all the time, 42:47 aren't martial arts just about self defense. 42:50 That's what Satan wants you to think when you begin. 42:54 Isn't yoga just about stretching? 42:56 That's what the serpent, 42:58 the Kundalini as they call them in yoga, 43:02 that's what he wants you to believe when you begin, 43:07 but the masters will tell you, the gurus will tell you, 43:11 this birth is a spiritual, not a physical birth. 43:16 "The original meaning of Sensei is one who is spiritually born 43:22 before others." 43:26 Desire of Ages, page 35, 43:29 "Satan was seeking to shut out 43:31 from men a knowledge or knowing of God, 43:35 and to turn their attention from the temple of God, 43:39 and to establish his own kingdom. 43:43 Through heathenism, 43:45 Satan won his great triumph 43:48 in perverting the faith of Israel. 43:51 By contemplating and worshiping their own conceptions, 43:57 the heathen had lost a knowledge of God, 44:00 and had become more and more corrupt. 44:03 And so it was with ancient Israel. 44:08 The principle that man can save himself 44:13 by his own works lay at the foundation 44:17 of every heathen religion, 44:19 it had now become the principle of the Jewish religion. 44:24 Satan had implanted this principle 44:27 and wherever it is held, 44:29 men have no barrier against sin." 44:34 We need to ask ourselves as Christians 44:37 and even more importantly 44:39 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 44:41 are we following the footsteps of the ancient Jewish people? 44:45 Are we striving to earn salvation 44:49 and to set ourselves free from sin 44:51 through our own will and works? 44:57 "The means by which we can overcome the wicked one 45:01 is that by which Christ overcame, 45:05 by the power of the Word." 45:08 The same word that spoke light in the darkness, 45:13 spoke life to the dead. 45:17 It spoke purity to Mary Magdalene. 45:21 It spoke wholeness to the leper in Luke Chapter 5. 45:27 "God does not control our minds without our consent, 45:31 but if we desire to know and to do His will, 45:37 he has promised, 45:39 we shall know the truth 45:42 and the truth shall make us free." 45:46 "The world is a theater, the actors are its inhabitants, 45:51 they are preparing to act their part 45:54 in the last great drama. 45:56 With the great masses of mankind there is no unity, 46:01 except as men confederate to accomplish 46:05 their selfish purposes and God is looking on. 46:10 A power from beneath is working to bring about 46:13 the last great scenes of the drama 46:17 Satan coming as Christ, 46:21 and working with all deceivableness 46:24 of unrighteousness 46:25 in those who are binding themselves together 46:29 in the secret societies." 46:32 "The forces of darkness will unite with human agents 46:36 who had given themselves into the control of Satan 46:40 and the same scenes 46:41 that were exhibited at the trial, 46:44 rejection and crucifixion of Christ Jesus 46:48 will be revived again. 46:52 Through yielding to satanic influences, 46:56 men will be transformed into fiends," 47:01 look that word up, 47:03 "And those who were created in the image of God, 47:07 who were formed to honor and to glorify our Creator, 47:12 will become the habitation of dragons. 47:20 And Satan will see in an apostate race 47:24 his masterpiece of evil, 47:28 men who reflect his own image." 47:33 "Transgression has almost reached its limit. 47:37 Confusion fills the world, 47:40 and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. 47:45 The end is very near, 47:48 and we who know the truth should be preparing 47:52 for what is soon to break upon this world 47:56 as an overwhelming surprise!" 47:59 Jesus told us when Satan appears, 48:04 don't even go and look, 48:07 don't cut your television on to see, 48:10 because it will be an overmastering delusion. 48:16 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 48:19 having the everlasting gospel and glad tidings 48:23 to proclaim to them that dwell on the earth, 48:27 to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," 48:32 and listen to what he says, 48:35 "With a loud voice," he cries, and says, 48:38 "Fear God, and give the glory to Him, 48:44 for the hour of His judgment is come, 48:48 and worship Him that made heaven and earth, 48:52 and sea, and the fountains of water!" 48:55 This is the Sabbath. 48:56 It is a sign that we have faith that the same word 49:00 that brought the worlds and the universe into existence 49:04 is able to recreate you and I 49:08 in the image of our Savior. 49:12 "Let everyone who claims to believe 49:15 that the Lord is soon coming, 49:17 search the Scriptures was never before, 49:20 for Satan is determined to try every device possible 49:25 to keep souls in darkness, 49:28 and blind their minds to the perils of the times 49:31 in which we are now living. 49:34 Let every believer take up his Bible with earnest prayer, 49:38 that he may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit 49:43 as to what is Truth, 49:46 what is the unfailing verity of God's Word, 49:50 that he may know more of God and of Jesus Christ, 49:55 whom He has sent. 49:57 Search for the Truth as for hidden treasures, 50:01 and disappoint our enemy." 50:04 "The time of test is just upon us," she says, 50:09 "For the loud cry of the third angel 50:11 has already begun to sound in the revelation 50:16 and revealing of the righteousness of Christ, 50:20 as our sin-pardoning Redeemer. 50:24 This is the beginning of the light of the angel 50:28 whose glory will fill the whole earth. 50:32 If you would stand through the time of trouble," 50:35 the Lord servant tells us, 50:37 "You must know Christ," 50:40 for this is life eternal, 50:43 "And appropriate, 50:45 as your own the gift of His righteousness, 50:49 which He imputes to the repentant sinner!" 50:53 First Selected Messages, page 363, 50:58 "The message of Christ's righteousness 51:00 is to sound from one end of the earth to the other, 51:04 to prepare the way for our King. 51:08 This is the glory of God, 51:11 which closes the work of the third angel." 51:15 Then she says, 51:17 In Testimonies to Ministers, page 456, 51:20 "What is justification by faith? 51:25 It is the work of God 51:28 in laying the glory of man in the dust 51:32 and doing for you and I 51:35 that which it is not in our power 51:37 to do for ourselves." 51:41 Luke 17, 51:43 listens to what our Savior says, 51:45 "And when Jesus was demanded by the Pharisees, 51:49 when the Kingdom of God should come. 51:52 He answered and said unto them, 51:56 'The kingdom of God, 51:58 the reign and the sovereign of God 52:02 cometh not with observation, 52:04 neither shall they say, 52:06 Lo here! or lo there. 52:10 For behold, the kingdom, 52:13 the reign of God is within you!'" 52:20 Nicodemus came to Jesus, 52:22 and he asked the same question 52:24 and "Jesus answered and said unto him, 52:27 'Except a man be born again, 52:31 begotten again, 52:34 he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 52:38 And Nicodemus asked, 'How can these things be?' 52:43 Jesus answered, 52:45 'That which is born of the flesh is just flesh, 52:50 but that which is born by the Spirit of God is spirit. 52:56 Marvel not that I say unto you, 52:59 you must be born again.'" 53:04 Now I want to look in our last moments, 53:07 I want us to see how this happens. 53:12 Galatians 3:1-3, 53:15 the Apostle Paul tells us, 53:18 "O foolish Galatians, 53:21 who hath bewitched you, 53:23 that you should not obey the truth..." 53:27 And you look up the word obey, 53:29 and it means have confidence in and believe, 53:32 who has bewitched you, 53:35 that you do not believe the Word of God. 53:40 "Before whose eyes Jesus Christ 53:43 hath been evidently set forth 53:47 and before ordained, crucified for you? 53:53 Are you so foolish? 53:55 Having begun by the Spirit, 53:58 are you now made perfect by the flesh?" 54:02 Do you remember how Isaac was born, 54:06 God came to Abraham and Sarah 54:09 and he said, Ishmael, 54:13 who you had, by the power of the flesh, 54:16 he's not even counted as seed of your own flesh, 54:21 you're going to bear a Son. 54:25 God promised Abraham and Sarah 54:30 would have that son and Galatians 4 says, 54:34 "That's why Isaac was born by the Spirit." 54:40 "For as many as received Him, John says, 54:45 to them gave he power to become to be brought 54:49 into being as the sons and daughters of God, 54:52 even to them that believe on his name." 54:56 John 1:12-13, 55:00 "Which are born or begotten not by blood, 55:05 nor by the will of the flesh, 55:08 nor by the will of man, 55:12 but of God. 55:15 For of his own will begat he us 55:19 with the word of truth, 55:22 so that we should be a kind 55:24 of firstfruits of his creatures, 55:27 his creation." 55:29 James 1:18-21 tells us, 55:34 and then Galatians says, 55:36 "Now we brethren..." 55:38 Galatians 4:28-29, 55:41 "Now we brethren, as Isaac was, 55:45 are children of God by promise. 55:49 But just as it was then, 55:52 he that was born by the flesh persecuted him 55:56 that was born by the Spirit, even so it is now!" 56:00 Do you remember what happened in 1888? 56:03 The majority of God's leaders 56:06 and the majority of our church rejected the message 56:11 that Christ had given through Jones and Waggoner. 56:14 They said, 56:16 "We're doing this fine on our own." 56:18 They repeated what the children of Israel 56:20 had said at Mount Sinai. 56:22 The Lord came down and spoke His commandments, 56:26 His laws of life, 56:29 and they said, everything you've said, 56:31 we will do. 56:33 Ellen White says, "Every command is a promise." 56:37 And God says, "All that I have spoken, 56:40 I will do for it is I that work in you both to will, 56:46 and to do that which pleases me." 56:51 1 Peter 1:22-23 says, 56:56 "Therefore being born, 57:00 and begotten again, not of corruptible seed, 57:05 but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, 57:10 which liveth and abideth for ever." 57:14 And this is the word which by the glad tidings 57:20 is proclaimed unto you. 57:23 "Behold, brothers and sisters, 57:26 what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, 57:30 that we should be called the sons of God. 57:34 It is for this reason that the world knoweth us not 57:37 because it knew him not." 57:40 Beloved, now, today, 57:44 if you will, but hear my voice, 57:47 and harden not your hearts in unbelief. 57:50 "Now are we, the sons and daughters of God, 57:54 and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, 57:57 but we know that, 57:59 when he appeareth, we shall be like Him, 58:03 for we shall see Him as He is." |
Revised 2019-02-25