Christian Halloween? - Eph 6:12

Christian Halloween?

October 30, 2011

Eph 6:12

Introduction

• Tomorrow evening, kids and adults all over Susanville will be celebrating Halloween
• We see it as a lot of fun, kids enjoy dressing up, it’s a family thing
• It seems like something wholesome, part of the American way of life
• As a matter of fact, it has become a multi billion dollar industry, second only to Christmas
• Sales of costumes, candy, party supplies, greeting cards, tours of haunted houses, movies
• It is huge
• But do we know how Halloween started, and more to the point, is it something we as Christians should be involved in?
• Is it some kind of demon worship?
• Or is it a harmless offshoot of some pagan ritual?
• Today, we will look at the subject of Halloween, and look at what the Bible has to say about the subject, stripping away all our warm fuzzy thoughts about family and innocent fun

Historical viewpoint

• Over 2000 years ago, the Celts lived in England
• Their religious leaders were known as the Druids, who had an elaborate religious system, complete with special days of worship and rituals
• The most important festival was the Fire Festival known as Samhain
• It was observed at harvest time to mark the Celtic New Year
• The Celts believed that on this night the barrier between the natural world and the supernatural was removed, and the spirits of the dead were able to move freely among human beings
• The observances connected with Halloween are believed to have originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on the evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits" (Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1979, Vol. 12, p. 152
• In a section entitled Human Sacrifice, Lewis Spencer writes, "We are informed by Keating that the Irish Druids on the eve of Samhain burned their victims in the holy fire" (The History and Origins of Druidism, p. 105). Spencer further suggests, "human sacrifice was a frequent and common element in their religious procedure. No sacrifice might be carried out except in the presence of a Druid
• Wiccans themselves say this about Samhain
• “At sunset on October 31, clans or local villages begin the formal ceremonies of Samhain by lighting a giant bonfire. The people would gather around the fire to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. It was a method of giving the Gods and Goddesses their share of the previous years herd or crops. In addition these sacred fires were a big part of the cleansing of the old year and a method to prepare for the coming new year.
• “During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, and danced around the bonfire. Many of these dances told stories or played out the cycles of life and death or commemorated the cycle of Wheel of Life. These costumes were adorned for three primary reasons.
• “The first was to honor the dead who were allowed to rise from the Otherworld. The Celts believed that souls were set free from the land of the dead during the eve of Samhain. Those that had been trapped in the bodies of animals were released by the Lord of the Dead and sent to their new incarnations. The wearing of these costumes signified the release of these souls into the physical world. 
• The Catholic church brought Christianity to the Celts.
• Pope Gregory IV Moved the Feast of All Saints to November 1 to replace the observance of Samhain. All Saints Day honored believers who had died
• The night before people would meet for a sacred vigil in church, known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween
• But the old druid practices stayed around , and the Church denounced them, as witchcraft
• Part of the original customs was acts of vandalism, and this was toned down by the practice of trick or treating
• People started doing things to make Halloween safe and fun
• So as time progressed, Halloween became a mixture of pagan, Christian and society customs.
• These days, there is an increase in interest in the old pagan beliefs
• “Buffy the vampire slayer”, “Sabrina the teenage witch” and other TV programs make the occult and witchcraft seem innocent and fun
• But the devil is real!

The Biblical viewpoint

• Eph 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"
• Halloween honors Satan and demons
• They are our enemies
• 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him ..."
• 1 Cor 10:19-21 "Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"
• In other words, you can’t take part in Satan’s things and also God’s
• We may think this is radical. After all, we feel it is harmless
• Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death"
• Satan tries to deceive us, he does not come in a head-on confrontation
• 2 Cor 11:14 "... Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light"
• 2 Cor 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take every though captive to make it obedient to Christ"

Conclusion

• We will be having a family movie night Monday evening at 5pm, to provide a fun alternative to the witches and goblins of Halloween
• Where do you draw the line? I am leaving that up to you.
• Candy is not sinful, nor is putting on a costume
• But know that Halloween honors the devil, and not God

How do I start over? - Hosea 11:4

How Do I Start Over?
October 23, 2011

Hosea 11:4

Introduction

• John grew up in a respectable home
• His dad was a hardworking husband and father, his mother took care of the home and the children
• John felt cared for and made a lot of good choices as he was growing up
• He completed High School, went on to college, and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering
• He landed a good job which paid well.
• One evening John met a young lady
• He was instantly attracted to her and as time went on they became engaged, and then were married.
• Everything seemed to have gone well for John
• But there came a day when John started making mistakes
• After work, John would go to have a few drinks with his friends
• He started drinking consistently, always thinking he had it under control
• He ran into a lady friend, and they started seeing more and more of each other
• Eventually, things started unraveling
• John’s marriage of 12 years, dissolved in divorce
• His children now spend one weekend with mom, one weekend with him
• Things are a mess. He is sorry about how things have turned out
• How can John start over?
• We all have areas of our lives where we have been like John
• How can we personally start over?
• Today we are going to look at the beginning of the road back

What stops people from starting over?

• There are many things that hold people back from starting over
• There is the fear of what others will think about us if we turn around
• There is the fear of what God thinks of us, would He really accept me back?
• There is the guilt we feel inside, which makes us feel unworthy of having another opportunity to get it right
• This can be so deeply engrained that we give up on trying
• Hopelessness takes over
• 2 Cor 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death
• Another thing that stops us from starting over, is our pride
• We feel we’ve got it pretty well together
• There are a few aspects of our life that need to change but by and large we are ok
• We compare ourselves to others and think we’re doing fine
• 1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

How does God look at us?

• Hosea 11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
• God rescued Israel from slavery and made them a nation which was incredibly blessed
• The Israelites would turn away from him
• God encouraged the Israelites time and time again, to turn back
• He wanted their salvation, not their destruction
• The story of the Old Testament is a story of a backsliding nation, God warning them, them ignoring his prophets, and eventually them going into captivity
• God sees us the same way
• He has extended his hand of forgiveness to us, and offers us the way to holiness
• But often we have become lax and spiritually lazy
• We may have turned away from him for a time, perhaps even most of our lives

The prodigal son

• Now lets turn to the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15
• Luke 15:11-24
• The Father’s attitude was one of welcoming his prodigal son back home
• No matter where we have been or what we have done, God stands ready to welcome us back
• We may have neglected serving him, we may have dabbled in the world’s ways
• We may even have gone completely off the rails, and made a total mess of our lives
• But God stands ready to welcome us back
• More than that, he runs toward the prodigal
• He actively pursues us, and chastens us and encourages us to come back
• The good shepherd goes after the lost sheep and brings it back into the fold
• He does not interfere with our power of choice though
• We have to choose, is this the day I am turning back to God with my whole heart?
• Jer 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart
• God is not looking for half-hearted Christians
• He seeks people with a pure heart.

Is this the day you will make a choice?

• God is seeking you
• You may have accepted Jesus a long time ago, but he seeks those whose heart is perfect before him
• Do you want to be one of these?

Whom shall I fear? - Psalm 27:1

Whom shall I fear?

October 16, 2011

Psalm 27:1

Introduction

• The world is ruled by fear
• We are afraid to do one thing, so we do the other
• Fear influences how we react to situations, it leads us in our choice of friends, it affects our relationships with God and man
• As we grow up we grow up with fears
• 5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn't want to go in alone. "It's dark in there and I'm scared." She asked again, and he persisted. Finally she said, "It's OK--Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: "Jesus, if you're in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?" Charles Allen, Victory in the Valleys
• As we said last week, we can ignore the object of our fear, but that does not change reality
• Now our fears may be more serious than a fear of the dark
• Perhaps, even, we are afraid of confronting the enemy
• Today we are going to look at the other side of the coin, and discover more about who we truly are!

The enemy in perspective

• When we look at a picture from up close, our eyes are blinded to the parts we cannot see
• As we take a peek at the devil and his devices, we may forget the big picture
• 1. The enemy is a created being
• Isa 45:7 – God created evil, in the form of Satan
• Satan was created by God
• This means God is bigger than he is
• Satan is a bully, and we are scared of bullies
• But God is in control!
• We sometimes think that there is this massive battle going on for control of man’s destiny
• And I am sure that the enemy sees it that way
• The trouble is that the battle has already been fought, and the enemy lost!
• That battle was fought at Calvary
• 2. The enemy loses at Calvary

• Video about calvary (http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/animations/walk/index.html)
• The enemy thought he had conquered Jesus when Jesus died
• But what actually happened, is that Jesus went from the cross, down to hell, where he preached to the fallen angels
• And from there he was raised to glory, the third day, and is now in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father
• Today he intercedes for us, he watches over us, he leads us
• The enemy lost the battle
• And so he is a beaten foe

• 3. The enemy has strict boundaries
• He does not have any power that he is not allowed to have
• God puts very strict boundaries on him

• Job 1 – God tells Satan exactly how far he can go and when to stop

The rest of the big picture – God

• God has the power
• Matt 28:18 – Jesus has all power

• This means no matter what the enemy may want to do in our lives, God is bigger than he is
• God gave us power over the enemy
• This means that we can influence how much control the enemy has over us
• Mark 16:15-18
• There are examples of how we do this
• Acts 16:16-18
• Our power is not in ourself, but in the name of Jesus
• We do this by the authority of Jesus, in His name
• John 14:14 – if we ask in Jesus name he will do it
• So we see Jesus’ supremacy over the devil and his associates

• Now sometimes we are a little like this story
• Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
  
  After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years. Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
  
  For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
• We have been given power over the enemy, but so often we have not used it
• Sometimes we are in the storm and God calms the storm when we cry out to him
• Sometimes God has given us the tools and allows us to learn to use them

I do not need to fear

• Whatever my fears may be, I do not need to live in fear
• God’s purpose for me is that I not live in fear, but in victory
• 2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind
• He has made it possible for us to live in victory
• He gave us the tools to fight against the enemy and win
• He expects us to live in the reality of who we really are
• I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality. - Dr. E. Stanley Jones.

Conclusion

• Sure, the enemy is strong and devious
• He may have stolen our joy, robbed us of our purpose, caused sickness and death
• But we can take back the ground that the enemy has stolen
• God’s purpose for us is that we live in victory
• We are able to learn to use the tools God has given us
• Next week we will start to look at the weapons available to us
• So at the start I asked the question, whom shall I fear?
• The answer is no one but a healthy respect for God
• We do not need to live in fear
• Because the Lord is my light and my salvation, and my stronghold

Knowing Your Enemy! - 2 Cor 2:11

Knowing your enemy!

October 9, 2011

2 Cor 2:10-11

Introduction

• Last week I started talking about the enemy, and how he builds strongholds in people’s lives
• Not all of us necessarily believe in a real devil
• Knowing your enemy is threatening
• Looking your enemy in the face means you see him, and you are forced to do something with this awareness
• When we were kids, we sometimes were scared of the dark
• Maybe we used to whistle in the dark to keep our courage up
• Maybe we sang who’s afraid of the big bad wolf
• The unfortunate thing is that whistling in the dark makes no difference to reality
• Similarly, I may believe that the moon is made of green cheese, or that the earth is flat, but that doesn’t make it so
• Today, let’s look, hypothetically, at how the devil works

The enemy is after our destruction

• John 10:10
• The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
• There is nothing good that the enemy brings to the table
• Sometimes we may think what he offers is desireable
• Just like Eve and Adam eating the forbidden fruit
• Satan wanted to pull Adam down and destroy the purpose God had for Adam
• So the fruit looked good
• This is a key aspect to the enemy, he is a deceiver

Satan the deceiver

• 2 Cor 11:14 – Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light
• Satan tries to lead us astray by placing a counterfeit that appears to be right, in our path
• The difference from the true version may only be slight
• But as we accept that one bit of deception, more comes our way, and gradually we move away from the truth and the simplicity we have in Christ
• 2 Cor 11:3 - But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
• Jesus warns that there would be deceivers in the last days
• Matt 24:24 – they will even perform miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible
• You see, what they say will not agree with the Holy Spirit inside us
• If we are walking close with God, we will not be able to be deceived
• But if we are off at a distance, the enemy’s lies can seem attractive
• Here are some examples
• Members of a certain cult come to your door, two by two
• They start to talk and tell you about Bible prophecy, and similar things that you may be interested in
• You invite them in and get them some coffee, and they read some scriptures to you that make you think that maybe you have not heard the whole story
• Little by little your curiosity grows and before long doubts have been sown
• This eventually leads to you no longer believing the simplicity of the gospel
• Deception is one of the enemy’s main tools
• 2 John 10-11 – do not take him into your house, or welcome him
• Someone comes to you and says they have the gift of healing
• They will lay hands on you and you will be made well
• But realize that just as the Holy Spirit gives us gifts, including healing, the enemy also gives power to his workers
• Remember Mat 24:24, they will even do signs and miracles
• But it’s not ablut the miracles, it is about what teaching they bring
• Jesus warns us about this
• Mat 7:21-23 – he says to them – I never knew you

How do you protect yourself from deception?

• Know the truth
• John 8:32 You shall know the truth and the truth shall mae you free
• Where do we find truth?
• In God’s word
• John 17:17 – thy word is truth
• Psalm 51:6 - Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place
• Remember last week we talked about being made holy through and through
• We need to be soaked and marinated in God’s truth
• Then we will know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil
• This is where discernment comes in
• But it starts with two things: Knowing God’s word, and closeness with God

Conclusion

• One of the marks of the enemy, and one of the main ways he gets to us, is through deception
• When we know the truth, Satan won’t be able to deceive us
• But Satan has many techniques he uses
• We’ll talk more about that next week!

What is a stronghold? - 2 Cor 10:4

What is a Stronghold?

October 2, 2011

2 Corinthians 10:4

Introduction

• Hebrews 12:1
• Do we have a sin that "so easily besets us"?
• Does it seem that whenever we stumble on our Christian path, it is usually or often, this one sin?
• There is something about this particular sin which keeps on getting in our way, taking away from the enjoyment of the Christian way of life
• But it is Jesus' purpose for us that we experience freedom in our lives
• He tells us, "The truth shall set you free"
• He tells us he came to preach good news to the poor, to heal the sick, and to set the captives free
• Today we are going to start a journey, together, to discover how we can lay these besetting sins aside, leaving them behind us, and experiencing the freedom Jesus intends for us

We are spiritual beings

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23
• For us to be sanctified or made holy "through and through" involves every part of our being.
• It describes us as a complete person
• Paul then emphasizes this by describing us in different words - "may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless ..."
• By this we infer that a person is made up of different parts - the spirit, the soul and the body
• The spirit:
• Ecclesiastes 12:7 - when we die, our body our outer shell, is left in the grave. Our spirit, however, returns to God who gave it
• John 14:16-17 Jesus promises us a Helper, Comforter, One who comes alongside (the meaning of the Greek word paraklete)
• He was not yet in the disciples, though He did work with them and empower them to do the works that Jesus did (see Luke 9 and 10)
• It was only at the day of Pentecost, that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, with accompanying signs - boldness, speaking in tongues the Holy Spirit gave them, the sound of a mighty wind in the house, and the appearance of tongues of fire, resting on each of them
• Additionally, in verse 23 Jesus says that the Father and Jesus will make their home with the believer
• So now the Holy Spirit, the Father and Jesus came to dwell in each of them, the complete Trinity.
• God is spirit - we find this in John 4:24
• Our spirit is the part of us where God dwells
• Before God comes to dwell in our spirit, our spirit is dead
• Eph 2:1-5 God made us alive with Christ, before that time we were dead in our transgressions and sins
• But it is the Spirit that gives life - John 6:63
• Jesus came to give us life - John 1:4
• This all happens in our human spirit - before Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit take up residence, our human spirit is dead, lifeless. When God comes, he imparts life to our spirit, because He has life in Him
• So now our spirit, which was lifeless, is alive!
• Our body:
• We all know what our body consists of - it is physical, it can be touched and felt. It is the part of us that remains in the grave when we die, as we saw before in Ecc 12:7
• Finally, the soul:
• What is left of our person after we consider our spirit and our body, is what happens in our minds
• This then is the soul
• It can be broadly described as being of three parts - our thinking, our emotions, and our power of choice (or our will)
• It is here that the battles of our life are fought
• 2 Cor 10:1-6
• We are constantly in a battle with our thoughts
• We fight to keep our thoughts obedient to Christ
• But we fall down so many times
• The apostle Paul, great Christian as he was, also had this constant battle
• He describes it in Romans 7:15-25
• He wants to do the right thing but tumbles so often to do the opposite of what he wants
• Isn't this just like us?
• Particularly with this "besetting sin"

We are like a house, from a spiritual perspective

• Matt 12:23-45
• This describes the person as a house, to which this spirit had free access, because the house was unoccupied
• Houses have entry points - doors, windows
• It is through these entry points that people can come into the house
• For Satan, the enemy of our souls, sin provides these entry points
• When we sin once in a particular area, and then repent from the heart, little damage may be done, though some sins do have larger impact than others
• But if we continue to sin in this area, it is as though we are building layer upon layer of sin, and this forms a stronghold where the enemy takes up residence.
• The enemy says he has rights because we invited him in by sinning in this area

Conclusion

• It seems so unfair that the enemy can slip into our lives unnoticed
• We may not be convinced that Christians, who have been filled with the Spirit, could be affected by the enemy in this way
• However, the fact remains that Christians are afflicted by these besetting sins, and can be set free
• In the coming weeks we will examine how we can eradicate these strongholds
• I know we have a lot of questions and preconceptions about this subject
• Please be patient as we dig deeper during the coming weeks