Identifying & Rejecting Demonic Religions & Beliefs

 

Identifying & Rejecting all Demonic Religions & Beliefs

 

 

Years ago I watched an episode of Larry King who had 2 guests on his show to answer questions and to debate with one another: Psychic Sylvia Brown and Christian Pastor Max Lucado. King was asking questions like “do you believe in an afterlife?” and “do believe that God exists?” For me the interview was a little frustrating because Max Lucado would begin to give excellent, Bible based answers to every question in the calm and reassuring demeanor that he has. He didn’t dance around the truth for fear of offending anyone, but spoke it boldly yet with a gentle and humble spirit.  The whole time he would be talking Sylvia Brown would be nodding her head in the AFFIRMATIVE as if “agreeing” with him, then she would reach over and touch his arm, cut him off in mid-sentence, and then spin everything Lucado had just said inserting her own false theology and making it seem like the two of them were on the same page.

 

For example, Lucado correctly pointed out that Heaven existed as well as Hell and that the only way to Heaven was through Jesus Christ. Ole Sylvia is shaking her head yes and then cuts in and says “I agree with everything Mr. Lucado is saying! Jesus came here to teach us how to be better people so we could get to Heaven! In my book I show how that afterlife is a big classroom where we can apply the teachings of Jesus to become better people so we can go to Heaven! I’m very thankful for the teachings of Jesus as they’ve helped me and many others!”

 

STOP. If you did not see the glaring anti-Biblical lies in what she said then you need to read this sermon badly and read your Bible even more! Jesus most certainly came here to teach The Way, but the fact is He was/is The Way (John 14:6). We cannot obey and do anything He taught without having His Spirit abiding in us and us abiding in Him (John 15:1-8). There is no “purgatory” type place in the afterlife where we sit down in a classroom and get another chance to choose Jesus—our choice must be made in the physical because as soon as death occurs we are judged (Hebrews 9:27) and sent either to Heaven or Hell.

 

Suppose an unsaved person or a Christian who does not know his/her Bible very well had been watching the same program . . . they might have thought that Max and Sylvia were on the same page, believed the same things, and worshipped the same God. Sylvia certainly made it seem that way. Suppose that same person were to go out and buy one of Sylvia’s books and begin reading with earnest, honestly believing that the theology within is truth. Fact is they would be led to Hell by these false teachings unless their eyes were to be opened.

 

I’m preaching this sermon to you today because, quite frankly, I continue to be surprised and appalled by Christians who indulge in occult teachings & practices not to mention “alternate” non-biblical theologies about the life, identity, character and works of Jesus and think nothing of it.

·        I continue to see “My Daily Horoscope” on the Facebook pages of some Christians. When I’ve brought it up, the response is normally something like “I don’t see why it’s a big deal.”

·        After reading one of Dan Brown’s novels, a Christian I knew said to me “What’s wrong with exploring alternate theories about Jesus that differ from the Bible? I think it’s all together possible that Jesus got married, had kids, and that His bloodline exists to this day.”

·        I knew a lady who had been brought up in the Church by Christian parents tell me that her mom had begun reading Sylvia Brown’s books and thought they were compatible with Bible teachings.

·        A Christian man who’d been attending church for many years along with his wife pulled me aside one day and asked if I thought famous medium John Edwards was of God or not. I’ve had other Christians tell me they thought John Edwards’ ability to speak with the dead was given to him by God in order to bring peace of mind to those still living.

·        There are Christians who’ve lost loved ones who’ve gone to consult mediums to try and determine if their loved ones are in Heaven.

·        Many Christians read self-help books written by New Age and Occult authors like Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and others. When I’ve asked them if the teachings in these books are compatible with Scripture the response is usually “for the most part.”

 

I would like to believe this is all the result of lack of study of the Scripture . . . but that’s not the case. The Pharisees studied the Scriptures full time yet could not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and were unrepentant of their blindness. Merely having knowledge about right and wrong does not guarantee we will choose right. At the same time ignorance of the Scripture is most certainly a contributing factor to the indulgence in false teachings so let’s be sure to remove that factor here and now as far as the occult is concerned. Here is what God commands for HIS people (do you consider yourself to be one of His?):

 

¹⁰There 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, ¹¹or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ¹²For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. ¹³You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. (Deuteronomy 18:10-14).

 

None of you are going to make your children pass through fire, but that ritual was a sacrifice for greater prosperity to the false god Molech.

 

WITCHCRAFT/SOOTHSAYER: also known as divination, which is the practice of attempting to foretell the future through the use of physical objects like Tarot cards, reading tea leaves, casting bones/lots, palm reading, staring into a crystal ball or a bowl of water. These are common practices among psychics.

 

INTERPRETS OMENS/ASTROLOGER: also called “Observer of the times.” Someone who tries to predict the future based on the study of celestial bodies like stars, planets & moons eclipses, etc.

 

SORCEROR: one who uses mind altering drugs to receive visions & contact demonic spirits. LSD and Peyote are two common modern drugs used for this purpose.

 

CONJURES SPELLS: Think of a spell as a prayer to evil demonic forces. Just as we pray to the Lord there are those who pray to demonic “gods” and “goddesses” or to “earth mother” for things.

 

MEDIUM/SPIRITIST: One who contacts the human dead and speaks with them. Modern examples are John Edwards and James Van Praagh.

 

I’m reprinting verses 12 just in case you are in doubt: ¹²For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. 

 

If you previously thought it was “cute” or “harmless” to entertain these things then I hope the fear of God comes upon you today and causes you to repent. The word “abomination” translates to “morally repugnant.” In other words, astrology, sorcery, spellcasting, and speaking with the dead makes God sick to His stomach. So how does the Lord react to these practices? He drives them out. Let’s read verses 13-14: ¹³You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.

 

If we indulge in any of the things listed above we are outside the will of God. It’s not cute nor harmless, but allows the power and prophecy of demons into our lives and homes. If you consider yourself to be a Saved Christian, read verse 13 and the end of verse 14 above: our God has NOT appointed these abominable practices for us, His people. I call upon you right now to stop reading your horoscope, get rid of any books, magazines and videos you have on these practices, remove any astrological tattoos you have on your body, and renounce anything ever spoken over you by a palm reader, tarot card reader or psychic.

 

God’s view on these practices is severe: And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. (Leviticus 20:6).

 

As Christians we have the Lord. The Lord is all-knowing so if there’s something we need to know about our lives, our situations, or what may happen in the future we need to ask Him. King Saul started out as a man of God who heard from the Lord and was even prophesying among the prophets of Israel (1 Samuel 10:9-13). Unfortunately he indulged his pride and fear and fell away from the faith to the point where he consulted a medium to speak with the spirit of the Prophet Samuel who had died some years before. Here was the result of Saul choosing the consult a medium vs. sticking with the Lord: ¹³So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. ¹⁴But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

 

Here is what the Lord said through His Prophet Isaiah: ¹⁹And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:19-20).

 

If we are truly Saved Christians, then Jesus Who is the Light of the world placed that light inside of us (John 8:12, Matthew 5:14). Why then should any Christian desire to seek any knowledge or self-edification through reading their horoscope or going to see a psychic?

 

People have asked me if reading Harry Potter is dangerous for Christians and my response is “that depends.” If you’re an adult Christian whose well grounded in the Scripture and powerful in faith and you would like to read the books/see the movies with the intention of faithfully responding to unbelievers by contrasting it to Scripture, sure. If you’re anything less then chances are you’re probably saying “what’s the big deal?” when it comes to Harry Potter and you’re assuring yourself you know the difference between fantasy and reality and therefore HP is no danger to you or your kids.

 

Let me lay it out for you: Harry Potter is a sorcerer and the series exalts sorcery. ⁸But the cowardly, ^£unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerors, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8).

 

I’m not saying you go to the Lake of Fire if you read Harry Potter, I’m asking you why you would want to read/watch and allow your kids to read/watch a series that exalts a practice that God considers to be so abominable that He tosses all who practice it (who don’t repent and accept Jesus as Savior) into the Lake of Fire? Christian parents are commanded by God to raise their kids in the ways of God (Deuteronomy 6:7, Proverbs 22:6) and since God considers sorcery to be morally repugnant it’s not just entertainment to allow your kids to watch these movies.

 

I thank God that He is a God of knowledge and wisdom. I once worked for the same company, Dell Magazines, that publishes one of the premier Astrology magazines in the world called Dell Horoscope. Not only was I an unbeliever back then, but also heavily into the New Age and occult including Astrology. I used to go and visit the Editor-in-Chief of Dell Horoscope and the two of us would discuss the current positions of planets and what effect it was having upon people. I recall one time when I was preparing to travel and the same EIC came to me and said not to as “planet Mercury was in retrograde” which was supposedly a bad omen. One of her favorite sayings was “millionaires don’t use Astrologers, BILLIONAIRES do!”

 

Even though I was a believer in this practice, there was one time when I asked her about that saying: “if billionaires use Astrology to predict the markets and act accordingly, then why aren’t you a billionaire?” I didn’t include myself in the question because my astrological knowledge was amateurish at best, but she had been to school, taken classes, and was the head honcho of a worldwide astrology magazine. I remember her face turning into a scowl because the fact is she was having personal financial difficulties at the time….

 

Our Lord has provided everything for us. My own desire toward such things was that I wanted to know all the mysteries of God and thought it could not be found through the Christian faith. Here is what Jesus offers, however:

 

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹²For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matthew 13:10-12).

 

The mysteries of God’s Kingdom are given to those who become Christ’s disciples . . . please note that doesn’t just mean “getting Saved.” A Disciple is someone who gives his or her life over to Christ, to sit at His feet and learn, then walk in His ways. A disciple is someone who pursues Christ will all his/her heart, soul, mind and strength. I’ve never met anyone whose become Christ’s disciple who reads their daily horoscope or doesn’t see anything wrong with entertaining alternate theories about the identity, life and character of Jesus. A disciple understands they can know the mysteries and the deep things of God, they pursue them, and God rewards their diligent pursuit with greater knowledge and wisdom.

 

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I join the Church that the people of God are granted supernatural Gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, prophecy, healing, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation! (1 Corinthians 12). Those things alone are better than anyone in the occult can hope to accomplish.

 

We do not need to consult any occult practice and do not need to pursue alternate versions like the Gnostic gospels or the writings of Dan Brown. Here is why: ¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15).

 

Jesus has chosen all those who are His friends to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven and gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and allow us to do miraculous works. The purpose of these mysteries and gifts is in verse 16: ¹⁶You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

 

Thus if you are a Christian I call upon you to completely separate yourself from all aspects of the occult and cleave to the Giver of all knowledge and wisdom, Jesus Christ.