1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,200 We are going to be talking about the New Age movement. 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,160 This is going to be our final look at a world religion and 9 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:31,320 cult. And as I mentioned to you 10 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,400 before, we could just go on and on and on really forever in this 11 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:36,680 series. And there had to be a place 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,680 where we wanted to kind of take a off ramp, if you will, to be 13 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,880 able to move into the next series and where God would have 14 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,920 us next. And so I do think it's important 15 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,960 that we look at the New Age movement and it is going to be 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,280 different than anything else that we have looked at thus far 17 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,880 because everything that we have seen up to this point has been 18 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,960 very clearly defined and very clearly delineated. 19 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,000 Meaning this, when you look at the Mormon church, there's a 20 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,560 Mormon set of doctrines. There is a Mormon hierarchy, 21 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,480 there are numbers, there are ways to account for how many 22 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,000 members there are. And of course I know there are 23 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,040 splinter groups. And we could say this with all 24 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:16,760 of these world religions and cults, couldn't we? 25 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,240 But whether it's Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, the Church of 26 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:27,240 Scientology, Unitarianism, the Islamic faith, the Buddhism, all 27 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,000 of these things that we've looked at, there is some sort of 28 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,680 structure of which we can look at. 29 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,000 Find out how many adherence. There are leadership core 30 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,560 beliefs. Such as that but when it comes 31 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:39,760 to the new age movement, that is not the case. 32 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,400 That the move age movement is more of a philosophy that cuts 33 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,640 across so many different realms. And so because of that, there 34 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:52,280 really is no real way to know how many people are involved in 35 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,680 the new age movement. What is the leadership of the 36 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,520 new age movement? Where is the new age movement 37 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,960 centrally located? The answer is there are no 38 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,080 answers to any of those because it's more of a philosophy. 39 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,760 It's more of a. A thought process, and I would 40 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,840 say to that many hold to the. New Age movement, without even 41 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,480 realizing they actually hold to New Age thoughts. 42 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:18,240 And even beyond that, I would say this morning that the New 43 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,240 Age movement is starting to creep into Christian churches as 44 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,200 well. Now, we're not going to really 45 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,320 talk about that here this morning because we'll give you 46 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,320 more of an overview of it, but it's something that we need to 47 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,560 be aware of and understand how insidious it really is. 48 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,440 And you say insidious, what, what do you mean? 49 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,960 The fact that it is a very, very real thing that is infiltrating 50 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,120 all of these different areas as dangerous and people maybe don't 51 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,320 even realize how dangerous it is. 52 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,840 That's right in front of them. And so we'll be looking at this 53 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,360 morning in the title of this lesson is the new age movement. 54 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,920 There's nothing new about it. The new age movement, there's 55 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:57,520 nothing new about it. Now, if you were to go down 56 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,920 Route 138 towards Stoughton or as a a friend that I had from 57 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:04,840 Georgia once said, stuffed in, if you were to drive towards 58 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,680 Stoughton on Route 138 on the right hand side, right before 59 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,280 you go into the next town, you will find that there is a gift 60 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,080 shop. There is a Learning Center 61 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,480 called the Women of Wisdom. Now listen, I, I think women 62 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:19,880 having wisdom is a wonderful thing. 63 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:21,000 Amen. I am not against it. 64 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,680 Hey, it's Mother's Day, right? I think women are wise. 65 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,640 I think having women having wisdom, it is a great thing. 66 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,200 However, the Women of Wisdom is called This is on their own 67 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,200 website, a unique gift and bookshop, holistic healing 68 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,840 center and sanctuary for spiritual and personal growth. 69 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:40,800 Now you hear that. In and of itself, there's 70 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,160 nothing necessarily alarming about that in and of itself. 71 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,640 And I would tell you many years ago when the church just 72 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,040 started, I remember there was a lady who is here. 73 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,360 I won't mention her name, She's been gone for many years, but 74 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,120 she told me that she frequented the Women of Wisdom. 75 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,520 She says, oh, pastor, it's really just more of a gift shop 76 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,760 than anything else. I said, well, it doesn't seem 77 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,720 like it labels itself as a gift shop. 78 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,800 I mean, I see there's advertisement for mediums and 79 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,480 for spiritualism that's outside of the Word of God. 80 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,560 It doesn't seem to go pastor. I just go in there and it's a 81 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,480 gift shop. And this is where we as 82 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,079 Christians must be careful because this new Age type 83 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,080 thinking is all around us whether we realize it or not. 84 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,080 So just this last week I went on to the Women of Wisdom website 85 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,200 and I clicked that tab that said about us. 86 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,800 I want to know what they are about and I want you to listen. 87 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,840 I'm going to read this a little bit exhaustively here this 88 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,680 morning, but I want you to hear how at first you might be 89 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,320 nodding your head. You think you know, these are 90 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:41,000 some pretty good things that are being. 91 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,160 Spoken of some things that maybe are being missed by a different 92 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,080 groups and some things that are. On the hearts of people who are 93 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,760 struggling in certain areas. But the farther we go, with the 94 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,240 deeper we go, we start to see the real fallacy and really the 95 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,720 biblical inaccuracies that are being presented. 96 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,560 So this is from the owner of the Women of Wisdom, says Women of. 97 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,240 Wisdom was born from my desire to learn and grow, to reconnect 98 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,560 with who I am, strengthen my connection to the divine, and I 99 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,640 need to reclaim all the parts of myself that I left behind or 100 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,960 gave away to any number of people in my life. 101 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,040 I'd followed the path that my family roots in society laid out 102 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,880 for me, believing that it. Would bring me happiness 103 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,400 somewhere along the way in the business of being a daughter, 104 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,240 wife, full time mom, corporate executive, PTA. 105 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,360 Member, Girl Scout leader, board member at church, etcetera. 106 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,000 I had lost myself. I was disconnected from myself, 107 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,360 running on autopilot, Though through my healing process, I 108 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,000 discovered that so many women, and men too, it says, had 109 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,520 followed this path and made the same realization. 110 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,840 Existing wasn't enough. Doing what was expected by 111 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:48,960 others and me didn't bring fulfillment. 112 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,920 So I set to the task of remembering who I was, what 113 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,880 dreams I had once had and given up on What did I want to be when 114 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,280 I grew up? I wanted to make a difference in 115 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:02,120 the world. Offer as I was blessed to have 116 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,720 offered to me the opportunity and gift of healing to others. 117 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,520 To provide a safe sanctuary for those wanting to begin their 118 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,800 path, explore themselves and expand their perceptions. 119 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,760 Gain the knowledge to build a fulfilling life, then to truly 120 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:21,080 dare to open the heart, let go of fear and heal the past. 121 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,120 Connect to the Divine and to love oneself and others. 122 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:26,880 Choosing to live with compassion. 123 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,200 And finally to integrate this knowledge and compassion into 124 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,600 life's everyday experiences. Bringing wisdom and peace to 125 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,280 live the greatest adventure. Daring to make all their dreams 126 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,200 come true. And so, in 1996, Women Wisdom 127 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,120 was born. The store provides a beautiful 128 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,560 place to find all the tools to facilitate the healing and 129 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,640 reflects the beauty within all of us. 130 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,640 Our classes are broad, ranging from many perspectives on a 131 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,200 large variety of topics because learning is an ongoing part of 132 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,600 change and growth. We have mediums and psychic 133 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:04,000 readings to provide messages, insight, guidance, and support. 134 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,400 And of course, we have holistic healing treatments to assist you 135 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,280 in resolving any obstacles to live an amazing life. 136 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:17,000 People often ask why her name is Women of Wisdom to remind us of 137 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,800 what we so often forget, that wisdom is something that we have 138 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,520 within. And if and when we make the time 139 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,280 to connect to our hearts, desire our truth to our greater selves, 140 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:35,560 to connect to our divinity, then anything, everything is 141 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:37,840 possible. You know, isn't amazing how it 142 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,080 starts with maybe the heart's desire of someone who is not 143 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,120 saved, that they feel life is unfulfilling, that they feel 144 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:45,720 that all the things that they were. 145 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,680 Supposed to do. We're supposed to. 146 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,400 Bring them joy and happiness. And then they find that that is 147 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,800 not the case. And friend, that's what life is 148 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,600 before. We know Jesus Christ is our 149 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,880 Savior, that you keep reaching, that you keep trying to find, 150 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,760 You keep trying to search for that hole in your heart that 151 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,520 only Jesus Christ can fill. And so they present a problem 152 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,360 that is real, of course mentioned towards women, but 153 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:14,840 also towards men as well, That there is this God sized hole in 154 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,760 your heart that can only be filled by Jesus Christ. 155 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:19,840 But their answer is much different. 156 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,680 That the answer is not outside of yourself. 157 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,200 That the answer is actually within yourself. 158 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:31,720 That the problems of life don't come from yourself because of 159 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,840 sin, but rather the problem is you have not properly connected 160 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,000 with divinity. That there is no God 161 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,600 necessarily. There might be some life force 162 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,919 or all. The universe is God and God is 163 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:48,400 the universe, but really you yourself are a God. 164 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,720 And this is what the New Age movement propagates and teaches. 165 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,040 And there are places like the Women of Wisdom right up the 166 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,280 road. There are 1900 numbers. 167 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,480 If those are still around, I don't think Miss Cleo is still 168 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:02,960 around anymore. But whether it would be Miss 169 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:08,160 Cleo or mediums or horoscopes or any of those things that somehow 170 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:12,000 take the sun, moon and stars and all that is in the universe and 171 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,560 all that is divine and help. You find the divinity within 172 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:18,640 friend. This is. 173 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,080 Everywhere. This is part of the American 174 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,960 culture. It has become so much a part of 175 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,080 the American culture. I'll be honest with you, I don't 176 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,080 think we often even realize it's around. 177 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,680 In fact, I was listening to a preacher just this week. 178 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:35,880 I was doing some research on the New Age movement, not just only 179 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:37,200 through the. Books that I have, but also 180 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,360 listening to some teaching on it as well. 181 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,120 And, and he said there was a little bit within Christianity 182 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,000 and emphasis. On the New Age movement, maybe 183 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,200 2025 years ago, but not so much anymore. 184 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,480 And he says the reason he explains to people is because 185 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,120 really, in many ways, the New Age movement has won. 186 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,240 That is so integrated within our society, within entertainment, 187 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,400 all these things that we don't often even realize it's around. 188 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,760 Just like you don't go around every day saying, boy, isn't 189 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,880 this oxygen great? Isn't this air wonderful? 190 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,680 You just know it's there because, well, it's there and 191 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:09,840 you don't think about it very much. 192 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,600 And in many ways, the New Age movement has integrated itself 193 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,760 so much in so many ways that we don't. 194 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,200 Often see it for what it is, and I would say even for myself, not 195 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,120 that I would buy into it lock, stock and barrel, but the idea 196 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,600 is that it is so insidious again that it hides itself, but yet so 197 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,000 dangerous that you don't even realize where it's lurking. 198 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,760 And again, there are churches that are. 199 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,880 Ushering this in with open arms because of the talk of the. 200 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,040 Divinity, because of the talk of that. 201 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,480 We've heard this before, the champion within you, all of 202 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:43,600 these types of things, where did they come from? 203 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:48,040 Well, they come from not the Word of God, but rather this 204 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,560 very real philosophy that's completely counter to the Word 205 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,960 of God. It's sacrilegious teaching that 206 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,520 is wrapped up in an empowering and appealing cloak that the 207 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,960 problem is you don't trust yourself enough. 208 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,160 Now I know the problem is I trust myself too much. 209 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:05,600 We're going to preach this morning on the Good Shepherd, 210 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:06,960 the Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. 211 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:08,960 The problem in my life most of the time is this. 212 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:10,520 I don't listen to Good Shepherd enough. 213 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,280 He's trying to lead me in right pass and I don't pay. 214 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,280 Attention, the problem is not that I have neglected the divine 215 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,800 spark within me. The problem is quite the 216 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,160 opposite. And so here is where we are this 217 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:22,080 morning. New age movement. 218 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:23,840 There's nothing new about it. How old is it? 219 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:25,960 Well, Deuteronomy 18, let's go ahead and start there. 220 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:30,040 We'll begin in verse #9 where God has some very stark words 221 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:32,840 about some of the very things that we just read about a few 222 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:34,880 moments ago. Now remember, Deuteronomy is the 223 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,640 second telling of the law. Moses is preparing the people to 224 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:40,320 go into the Promised Land, preparing them for the people 225 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,080 they were about to meet. And he's explaining why these 226 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,440 people really are going to have to be eradicated from the 227 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:47,800 Promised Land. And so look what it says in 228 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:53,360 verse #9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God 229 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,920 giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do. 230 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,520 After the abominations of those nations. 231 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:03,120 There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son 232 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,920 or his daughter to pass through the fire. 233 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:06,320 And I'll stop right there for just a moment. 234 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,560 That that literally there were those of the Amorites and the 235 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,680 Hittites, and all the tights that were there in the land, 236 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,000 that as human sacrifice were taking their children and 237 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,520 sacrificing them upon the altar. And so God starts by saying 238 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,280 this. You do not need to learn after 239 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,120 them. This is why they're being 240 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,560 removed from the promised land. The closer proximity they were 241 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:33,600 to them, the more they became like them. 242 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:35,760 And this is important for us to listen. 243 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,640 The closer we are to something, the more become, the more we 244 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:42,680 will become like it if we're not careful. 245 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,320 Now again, do we need to be around the world so we can win 246 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:46,520 the world? Absolutely. 247 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,160 First Corinthians 5, you'll remember Paul says if you want 248 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,160 to be away from the world, you'll have to leave this earth. 249 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:52,560 If you want to be away from the world. 250 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,600 We're around it all the time. But there's a difference between 251 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,000 trying to. Influence the world and allowing 252 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,960 the world to influence you, and so God practically. 253 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaking says there's some problems and the very first one 254 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,720 is this the sacrificing of children upon the altar? 255 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,200 By the way, this isn't my message, but if Erica is still 256 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,680 sacrificing children upon the altar today, when you consider 257 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:17,280 the fact of what? Abortion is and women shouting 258 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:22,000 their abortions and proclaiming how wonderful abortion is. 259 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,680 That's an abomination before an almighty God. 260 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,520 A. Sin that this country will have 261 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:29,640 to pay for someday. I do believe and it says as it 262 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,760 continues, not just that anyone that maketh a son or. 263 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,480 Daughter, to pass through the fire, or that useth divination. 264 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,320 Now what is divination? To be able to divine that which 265 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:45,800 is beyond what we know. Or an observer, or times, or an 266 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,400 enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consultor with 267 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,760 familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer literally 268 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,000 speaking to those on the other side. 269 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:02,880 For all that do these things are what an abomination under the 270 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:04,440 Lord. And because of these 271 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,320 abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before 272 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,960 thee. For thou or thou shalt be 273 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,280 perfect with the Lord thy God. For these nations with thou 274 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,200 shalt possess hearken unto observers of times, and the 275 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,480 diviners. But As for thee, the Lord thy 276 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,280 God hath not suffered thee to do so. 277 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,760 Now what is it saying here? This is what these people are 278 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,360 doing. I'm not going into a deep dive 279 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,680 on each of these because this is not for us to be. 280 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,520 Able to go through Deuteronomy 18 and to be able to go through 281 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:34,160 each. Which of these? 282 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,840 I think we could and draw some very real and radical parallels 283 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,480 to some things we see today. But the idea is more of an 284 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,760 overview that these things that the Amorites and the Hittites 285 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,520 and all of these people that were of the land, the things 286 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,120 that God said, these are abominations, are things that 287 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:55,040 the world is grasping with open arms today. 288 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,720 And that we, even in our freedom in Christ, if we're not careful, 289 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,440 can maybe grab on to some of these things as well that work 290 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,200 themselves into Christian teachings, into podcasts, into 291 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,280 popular books. And we have to be able to be 292 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,920 very spiritually perceptive to be able to understand these 293 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,560 things. They in those in the land, those 294 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,880 who were abominable, they were searching for an answer through 295 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,040 the dead. They were searching for an 296 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,440 answer through spells, and they were searching for answers 297 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,680 through everything. Can we put it this way? 298 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,720 They were looking for answers for everything but God. 299 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,600 Anything but God was the answer to their problems. 300 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,360 But verse 15 says this, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee 301 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,800 a prophet from the midst of thee, and thy brethren like unto 302 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:48,200 me, unto him shall ye hearken. And we see from the previous 303 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,920 verses the other nations listen to the wrong voices. 304 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,160 Can we put it this way that the other nations were listening to 305 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,280 the wrong voices? But what is God saying to them? 306 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,480 You need to listen to me, the voice of the prophet, the 307 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,320 capital P there. Who's that talking of it? 308 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,560 That is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and that they were to 309 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:09,960 listen to God and to God alone. When? 310 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,760 They listen to God. They did so well. 311 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,840 When they listen to all these other things, boy, it was just 312 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,480 problem after problem after problem. 313 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,480 Deuteronomy 2929 says this. The secret things belong unto 314 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,400 the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong 315 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,040 unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the 316 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,040 words of this law you. Know there's some things in the 317 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,000 Bible I wish we knew that just don't happen to be in the Bible. 318 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,280 You know? Probably for me, highest on the 319 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,760 list is what Jesus was like when he was a child. 320 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,040 You know, we see him at his birth, then we see him at age 321 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,000 12, then we see him as he starts his earthly ministry. 322 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,320 I don't know about you, but I wish the Bible just had a whole 323 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,560 book about stories of Jesus childhood. 324 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:51,800 I would love that. I would love to be able to read 325 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,400 what he was like and. And to know how different he was 326 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,760 from the other children and what that experience would have been 327 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:57,840 like. But you know. 328 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,440 There are things like that, and maybe a multitude of other 329 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,120 things that you all are thinking about this morning as well that 330 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:04,960 the Bible does not make us Privy to. 331 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,720 And you know why? Because here's the answer. 332 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,720 The secret thing is belong to the Lord Lord. 333 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,040 There's some things God has not revealed to us in his infinite 334 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,319 wisdom. We can't question the fact that 335 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:20,359 God has not revealed certain things was God is not wrong 336 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,880 because he did not reveal to us what Jesus childhood was like. 337 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,440 Honestly, I think a lot of people would just focus on those 338 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,960 stories and really miss the reality of who Jesus was. 339 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,040 And so probably it's a great blessing that we don't have that 340 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,640 for that very reason or could be another reason. 341 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,800 All I know is it's a blessing we don't have it because if we 342 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,480 needed it, God would have given it to us. 343 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,680 And since we don't have it, that means we, well, don't need it. 344 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,320 And the secret things belong to the Lord. 345 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:47,520 Now here's what the New Age movement says. 346 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,640 Now catch this this morning. The New Age movement says there 347 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,440 are secret things, and I'll give you a way. 348 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,280 To learn them. There are things that you don't 349 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,960 know and there is the way to find them out. 350 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,280 There is a divinity who has real teachings, but he hasn't given 351 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,760 us everything. And so you will be able to 352 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:14,240 channel your own way to be able to learn all of these very, very 353 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,520 important things. Now, who was someone who fell 354 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,160 into the trap of this? Well, we're not going to go 355 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,880 there this morning, but you could turn later to First Samuel 356 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,320 28 and you'll find that Saul took all those people who were 357 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,200 in the land that we just read about in Deuteronomy chapter 18. 358 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:30,120 And what? Did he do? 359 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,840 He removed them. He completely removed him 360 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,440 because that was what God had told him to do. 361 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,000 And so we told Israel to do. And so he came to a point 362 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,080 sometime in his reign, where he had purged the land of all these 363 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,400 people. But there was one witch who 364 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,440 remained in a place called Endor. 365 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,440 And when Samuel, or rather Saul, could not hear from God. 366 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,040 Now, why couldn't he hear from God? 367 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,080 Well. Because God had shut the windows 368 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:58,360 of heaven, if you would, from him, Because he was unrepentant 369 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:02,280 of his sin. And God in his benevolence was 370 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,120 not answering. Because that quietness from the 371 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:09,320 Lord should have caused Saul to say, whoa, I'm far from God. 372 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,440 I need to get right with God. Instead he said, I need to know 373 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,960 what's going on. The Philistines are breathing 374 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,160 down my neck. I don't know what David's up to 375 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,520 right now. I'm in real trouble. 376 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:22,560 I can't hear from God. So what did he do? 377 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,720 He found the one witch that still remained, and what did she 378 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,960 do in her own way, channeled from the other side? 379 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,760 There's a lot of questions about how that took place. 380 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,760 I believe that the Lord supernaturally allowed this to 381 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:37,400 take place. There are questions of whether 382 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,520 Samuel was actually Samuel or not. 383 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,160 I don't know, but I should could argue probably this morning 384 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,680 either way. But I do know it wasn't as much 385 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,080 about the power of this woman as God was trying to make a very 386 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,360 graphic illustration to to Saul to show him how far he had 387 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,400 gotten away from God. Because even this woman seemed 388 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:59,400 very surprised at what took place. 389 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,400 She was as surprised as anyone. But what did Saul? 390 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:07,920 Do he needed an answer from the other side how to move ahead? 391 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,000 Does that sound a lot like what's going on today in a lot 392 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,000 of ways? Oh, I can't do anything without 393 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000 reading my horoscope. There are people who really 394 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,760 believe that we laugh at that. But there were people who would 395 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,320 not in in a day not that long ago, would get the newspaper. 396 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,120 Not because they wanted to see what was going on in the op eds 397 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:28,480 in the front page, and not because they want to see what 398 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,160 the scores were for the Sox or the Celtics or the Pats. 399 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,280 But because they had to turn that horoscope to know how do I 400 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:40,080 get about my day. They needed word from the stars 401 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,320 to be able to know how to move. And this is prevalent within our 402 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:45,920 society today. It still is. 403 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,400 Whether it's channeling or mediums, they're out there and 404 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,480 they're everywhere. I can tell you even just. 405 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,680 Over in here in Easton, there's two different places with 406 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:56,960 psychics and Mansfield, right on Main Street. 407 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,160 There are two different places that I know of, of which you can 408 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,920 receive types of readings. And that's just within these two 409 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:07,600 towns here, 50,000 people, four different places where it can be 410 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,440 spoken of. You say, well Pastor, a lot of 411 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,000 that's just a bunch of hokum and it's a bunch of junk. 412 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,800 There's nothing real to it. And I will say there's a lot of 413 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,040 con men out there that are trying to be able to pretend, as 414 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,840 I've said before, you know, you know, you did you did you have a 415 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:25,520 mother? You know, it's like, well, yes, 416 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,960 it's now that you mentioned it, yes, I did. 417 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,960 You know, did you know someone that started with the letter R 418 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:32,760 by any chance? Name, first name, last name, 419 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,920 middle name, anything. You know, there's a lot of that 420 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,120 that's out there. But is there some very real 421 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,440 occultism that is also out there? 422 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,760 You better believe it. And as believers, we must 423 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,920 understand it, acknowledge it, and when we see it, have no part 424 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,720 in it. And Samuel, Saul rather, was 425 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,640 exactly the opposite. The New Age movement has much to 426 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,840 do with the divine, but it has nothing to do with the God of 427 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,560 the Bible. And this is important, has much 428 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,000 to do with the divine, but it has nothing to do with the God 429 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,160 of the Bible. It's everywhere in Hollywood. 430 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,040 I know that's a surprise to everyone here today. 431 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,160 But the fact that Hollywood peddles it to such a level is 432 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,840 something that should be important for us to recognize 433 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:17,560 because whether we like it or not. 434 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,560 Hollywood shapes a lot of cultural thinking. 435 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,080 Should it be that way? No. 436 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,120 But the fact of the matter is that every election, who is the 437 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:27,920 one that wants to speak up and influence us on who to vote for? 438 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,680 It's those who are in Hollywood, those who are in sports, but 439 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,360 really those in Hollywood who lie for a living. 440 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,840 I mean, that's what acting is. I'm not saying that the acting 441 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,120 is not is there's, you know, good reasons to act and there's 442 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:43,440 not necessarily everything that's acting is bad by any 443 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,400 stretch. But say these people now all of 444 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,000 a sudden say, because I can act, because I can do it. 445 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,680 You need to listen what I think about politics or even what I 446 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,320 think about God himself. I'll give you some examples. 447 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,520 Harrison Ford once had a wide-ranging interview. 448 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,600 When the conversation turned to God, Harrison Ford indicated 449 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,360 that he appreciated the advice of Paul Tillich, who said, if 450 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:04,760 you have. Trouble with the word. 451 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,200 God. Then take whatever is central 452 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,680 and most meaningful in your life and call that God. 453 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,160 Harrison Ford went on to say. I don't have any religious 454 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,000 construct, but I think nature and God are the same thing. 455 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,520 And with all due respect to Harrison Ford, nature and God 456 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,760 are not the same thing. You'll hear a lot about God is 457 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,120 the. Universe and the universe is 458 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:27,280 God. There's only one problem. 459 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:32,600 With that, before the universe was God, and this is a real 460 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,800 misnomer of that which is taught in. 461 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,760 The new age movement of along with many other things in the 462 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,080 1997 movie Out on a Limb, Shirley MacLaine is standing on 463 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,560 a seashore facing the ocean. Her arms are outstretched. 464 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,800 She shouts at the surf. I am God. 465 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,800 I, I am God now I wasn't aware of this and I actually went on 466 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,920 to YouTube and wasted 5 minutes of my life watching this clip 467 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:03,040 from this movie of her literally grappling with this thought 468 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,800 about the universe and what it was. 469 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,680 And finally she got to the place where she did stretch out her 470 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,920 arms and she yelled I am God. The music starts to swell. 471 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,520 Isn't this a wonderful and touching moment? 472 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,880 And the answer is no, it's blasphemous that you are God. 473 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,800 We can be quite confident that this is not the God of the 474 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,480 Bible. Bette Midler recorded a song in 475 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,320 1990s which you probably are aware of from a distance. 476 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,800 One of the lines of the song says God is watching us, God is 477 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,480 watching us. God is watching us from a 478 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,320 distance. The notion there is this idea, 479 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:40,880 which they call process theology, that God sets the 480 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,400 world in motion and completely removes himself from it. 481 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,360 He's just watching at a distance and is not even capable of 482 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,080 intervening in any way. Again, this is far from. 483 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,720 The God of the Bible, who loves us with an everlasting love, 484 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,360 knows the number of hairs on our heads, intervenes in our lives 485 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:58,600 in the affairs of people with regularity. 486 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,080 So many. Thoughts about who God is, but 487 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,360 yet not the thoughts and the truth of the Bible. 488 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,840 So what are some common characteristics of the New Age 489 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:10,560 movement? All right, So what are some 490 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,360 common characteristics of the new? 491 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:15,800 I missed those slides. I'll tell you of the new age 492 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:16,400 movement. Well. 493 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,160 There are some core beliefs of New Agers, including monism, 494 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:25,720 which means that all is 1, Pantheism, which means all is 495 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,200 God. And mysticism, which is the 496 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,600 experience of oneness with divine monism all is 1 497 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,720 pantheism, all is God and mysticism, the experience of 498 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,560 oneness with the divine and all three of. 499 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,960 These thought process have logical fallacies, not even 500 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,680 including. The fact that they are patently 501 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,720 unbiblical, meaning this, that we could argue against these 502 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,760 things really without even using the Bible because just logically 503 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,840 they do not make sense in and of themselves. 504 00:25:55,840 --> 00:26:00,280 Well, God is everything. And so that's why I don't eat 505 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,760 meat. People say it. 506 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,040 Now, listen, if you're a vegan this morning and that's what you 507 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,600 want to do because you think it's better for you, go for it. 508 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:09,640 I mean, I'm going to eat a hamburger. 509 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,880 I don't know about anybody else, but I like a hamburger and a 510 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,240 steak. But I will say if you just want 511 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,320 to do that because a health thing, then there's nothing 512 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:17,600 wrong with that. But there are people who 513 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,880 literally because of the New Age movement. 514 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:21,400 Thoughts. Why can't because of the 515 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,880 sacredness of all life. Well, the answer is well, but do 516 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,720 you cut your grass? Because that's sacred too. 517 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,720 What do the cows eat? Well, that's sacred too, if you 518 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,440 could. Go so far. 519 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,680 Do you understand again now is is life precious? 520 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,720 Absolutely it is as has, but God's also given us dominion 521 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,040 over this world as well to be able to as Adam did before the 522 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,600 fall, to dress and keep the garden. 523 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,480 Work is not a curse. Adam was given this job before 524 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,680 the curse came. But we find that this these are 525 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,040 the thoughts that are out there today. 526 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,880 Now along with those, there's a lot of secondary 527 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,400 characteristics. And I would say if there's a 528 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,200 word that you could use to explain the new age. 529 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,200 Movement and new Agers in general. 530 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,120 It will be this eclectic, eclectic. 531 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:08,720 Now, we usually use the word eclectic when you say someone 532 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,640 has maybe an eclectic clothing style. 533 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,400 You know, they dress in a certain way and a little bit of 534 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,400 here, a little bit of there. You know, you go in someone's 535 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,960 home, maybe they've decorated it in an eclectic way. 536 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,040 They don't really lean into one way of decorating. 537 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:22,600 It's this room is this, this room is that. 538 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,120 Sometimes it's a bunch of different mishmash of stuff all 539 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:27,280 in the same room. You know, that could be 540 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,800 eclectic. But when I say that New Agers 541 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,560 are eclectic, what I'm saying is this. 542 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,320 They take a little bit of hearing what they believe, a 543 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:35,480 little bit in there, what they believe. 544 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,680 By the way, many New Agers will take biblical thoughts in and of 545 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,200 themselves. The problem is they divorce them 546 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,720 from the context and the truth of the rest of the Bible. 547 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,480 And so it'll take a little bit here, a little bit there, a 548 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,720 little bit of the Far Eastern religions, a little bit of the 549 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:56,160 Bible, a little bit of Jesus Christ, a little bit of Vishnu, 550 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,600 a little bit of a, of a medium and put it all together. 551 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,240 And they have created their own way of thinking. 552 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,640 The problem with this is, well, who is God? 553 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,600 Well, they are, because they have become the arbiter of 554 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:11,200 truth, but that goes along with what they believe, that they are 555 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,680 the ultimate authority. And this is a very, very 556 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,320 dangerous way of thinking. They consult holy books like the 557 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,840 Bible, the Hindu Vedas. But also feel free to consult 558 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,680 psychics and Chandlers, whose revelations from spirit guides 559 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,480 are considered just as authoritative as what you would 560 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,160 find in. The Word of God, they have no 561 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,600 hesitation and consulting astrologers, others who practice 562 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,360 the occultic arts of necromancy, palm readings, ball gazing, 563 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,400 tarot cards and the like. As I've mentioned before, you 564 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,440 know I have a program. The Church has a program, 565 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,680 Liberty Home, that runs on Easton Community Access 566 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,080 Television every week. And I'm thankful that we've had 567 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:51,920 that platform. To be able to do that now over 568 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,800 100 episodes on ecat over the last three years. 569 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,800 I'm thankful for that. But there's also someone who has 570 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,520 a program called Whispers from the Other Side and she can speak 571 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:04,600 to those in her mind that are on the other side. 572 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,240 And she has gone to great lengths. 573 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,440 I've watched some of parts of her shows. 574 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,800 I can't say I've sat down for a whole 30 minutes and watched it, 575 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,520 but gone through and watched certain parts of it where she 576 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,800 has said, well, I can hear somebody saying this and 577 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,000 somebody saying that. Did you have someone in your 578 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,480 life whose name was this? And the person will be across 579 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:26,240 from and say no, no, it's I'll be honest with you, I'm almost. 580 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,760 Embarrassed for her? Even though I know she's being 581 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,200 exposed as someone who is untruthful. 582 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,360 But I'm almost thinking, wow, you put yourself out on a limb 583 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:35,560 there and you weren't even close. 584 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,000 And they won't even say, well, you know, some, you know, 585 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,880 somebody like that. No, they would say, no, I don't 586 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,680 know what you're talking about and should say, oh, well, you 587 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,040 know, that voice is fading away now. 588 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,800 There's another voice that's coming in and it's just we we 589 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,600 look at that and it's just so plain and obvious. 590 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:55,000 But there are people out there who are absolutely grasping for 591 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,920 something. I'll share this with you. 592 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,680 I was talking with my wife this morning because, you know, my 593 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:07,400 mom passed away about, you know, 12 years ago now and, you know, 594 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,240 Mother's Day today. And I was, you know, going to 595 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,720 pick a card out for for Diane. And just I was thinking, you 596 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,960 know, boy, I miss picking out a card for my mom. 597 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,560 I'll be honest with you. You know, she died when I was 31 598 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,160 years old. And the way that life works, 599 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,320 that's, that's pretty young, all things considered. 600 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,640 And so I miss him. I miss her, you know, I, I, I, 601 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:31,120 I'm glad I still have some tapes where I can listen to her voice, 602 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,880 you know, VHS tapes. I just don't have a VHS, you 603 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:38,640 know, VCR, but I have VHS tapes. So I know I can listen to them 604 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,720 at some point. But I'm thankful to have them. 605 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,280 But I also know this, I have the Lord and she does too. 606 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:50,640 And in the midst of that, I know I will see you again, that I 607 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,400 have that hope. But think about someone who 608 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,920 doesn't have that hope and they're desperate. 609 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,960 They've no in their mind because of their belief system. 610 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,560 Either they won't believe, they won't hear them or see them 611 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,000 again, or they just hope and not the kind of hope that we have, 612 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,400 which is a sure expectancy, the hope of hey, flipping a coin 613 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,960 kind of hope. And I hope I get the what I call 614 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,920 when it's up in the air. I get it. 615 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,520 I get the desperation. But the fact of the matter is 616 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,040 that desperation does not excuse the fact that it is patently 617 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:28,720 unbiblical and dangerous to be involved in such a thing. 618 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:33,480 There's a reason that God gave such a very clear rebuke to 619 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:35,240 these things that we're Speaking of here this morning. 620 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,680 So what are some of the common thoughts of the New Ages? 621 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:38,920 We've given you some of them already. 622 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,080 They believe that personal transformation takes place 623 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,200 typically. When a human recognizes his or 624 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,080 her. Witness with all things in the 625 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,800 universe, I am one. With the universe, the universe 626 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:52,800 and I are one. These are mantras, if you will, 627 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,800 of those who are New Agers. Now, secondly, they're 628 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,680 planetary. Transformation, they believe, 629 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,400 takes place when a critical mass of human beings come into this 630 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,720 same awareness. That's why World Peace for many 631 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:05,880 is such an important thing. Now. 632 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,680 I believe in World Peace in the sense that I don't want the 633 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,760 world to be at war. I don't want the world to be 634 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,200 burning down. I don't like seeing what we see 635 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,640 out in the world today and the evil that is surrounding us. 636 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,400 I don't like it, I don't applaud it. 637 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,520 I don't say, hey, this is the way it ought to be. 638 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,800 It ought to grieve our hearts. And I'm afraid sometimes we just 639 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,600 get used to it because we're so surrounded by it. 640 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,560 But there are people who are very real into the World Peace 641 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:28,880 movement, believing that is enough. 642 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,440 People touch the spark of divinity within them. 643 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:36,520 It will truly bring World Peace to the entire planet, and this 644 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,040 is a fallacy to be able to consider that. 645 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,040 But that's why they would be at the same time so peaceful in 646 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,560 some ways, but so emphatic that we don't believe. 647 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:47,840 Like they do. Because we're the ones keeping 648 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,720 the planet down. Our teaching is the one that's 649 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,160 keeping World Peace from really happy. 650 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,560 That's why there are certain elements that believe that we as 651 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,440 Bible believe in Christians are the real problem of society 652 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,560 because we are the ones that are hindering true World Peace come 653 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,600 coming from with our absolute truth that we believe. 654 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,000 How dare that we would believe in absolute truth. 655 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,200 Now most new Agers are open to meditation as well. 656 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,720 Now here's the thing, is meditation good? 657 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,920 Well, yes, it's good as long as it's well, biblical. 658 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,800 And what do we often say that everything that God has, it's 659 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:25,840 good and right and pure. Satan has a cheap copy, a cheap 660 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,280 imitation of and that is certainly true with meditation. 661 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:33,360 What is biblical meditation? Well, Psalm one 19148 is a good 662 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,080 example. Might prevent the night watches 663 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,360 that I might meditate in thy word. 664 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:42,400 Real meditation is meditating upon the word of God. 665 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,160 This is what we are to do. We ought to meditate every 666 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:47,640 single day. Now again, that doesn't mean 667 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,080 that you can get cross legged on the floor. 668 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:51,920 Some of us, you get cross legged, you might need someone 669 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:54,600 to help you get uncross legged. All right, So I'm not saying 670 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,360 that you need to do that. That's not what we find in the 671 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,400 Bible. But the idea is that when we 672 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,200 read our Bible, we don't just read it and discard it for the 673 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,960 rest of the day, that we ought to ruminate on the Word of God, 674 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,360 just like my preacher brother Turner used to say. 675 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,760 It's like a cow chewing the cud. You know, you chew on it, and 676 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,360 then what do they do? Well, they kind of spit it out, 677 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,239 but they chew it again and they spit it out. 678 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:16,600 I know it's gross, but it's not so great. 679 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,960 But the idea is that cow is extracted everything. 680 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,440 Every possible nutrient. That's why their bodies work in 681 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,120 that way. And when we read the word of 682 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:27,960 God, we ought to extract every. Nutrient we possibly can 683 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,080 throughout the day. That's biblical meditation. 684 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:32,400 Well, I'm going to take a a verse that I read in my Bible 685 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,360 reading today. I'm going to write it down on my 686 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:35,600 phone. I'm going to look at it, you 687 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:37,080 know, every hour or something like that. 688 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,400 I'm just going to write it down, put it on a sticky note, put it 689 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,960 in my car so I can meditate on it again. 690 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,400 Not, you know, humming or humming or anything like that. 691 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,639 It is literally just I'm going to take the word of God. 692 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,280 I'm going to ponder and meditate on it because really we're going 693 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:54,560 to meditate on something today. Your mind ponders something 694 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,440 during the day and not always healthy things. 695 00:34:57,680 --> 00:34:59,840 And So what do we need to do? We need to meditate on the Word 696 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,680 of God. But the eastern form of 697 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:06,040 meditation is when one goes into a trance like state and seeks to 698 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,760 attain a sense of oneness with all things. 699 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:13,160 You see, when we meditate biblically, what do we do? 700 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:17,400 We fill our mind with thoughts of the Lord, but Eastern 701 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,000 meditation is this. Empty yourself of everything so 702 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,800 that you can be filled with that which is evil. 703 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,520 Whether they realize it or not, that is exactly what it is. 704 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,000 Emptying the mind. Directing energies within the 705 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,120 body allows the balancing of vital energies which is used to 706 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:35,800 promote spiritual and physical healing. 707 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,000 I'm going to say something might not be popular here today, but 708 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:43,160 it is very true that even yoga itself, as it was taught, was 709 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:47,320 all about directing energies and those types of things. 710 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:49,200 Now you say. Pastor So if I do those 711 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:50,640 stretches, you're saying it's evil? 712 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:52,400 I'm not. Stretches themselves are not 713 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:53,840 evil. All right, you want to do the 714 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:56,920 downward dog, help yourself. All right, I don't understand 715 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:58,600 anything about it. I don't know. 716 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,680 But here's what I do know that there's a difference between 717 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:05,960 stretching because it's good for your body and getting involved 718 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,280 in Eastern meditation, of which yoga is. 719 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,720 I wouldn't be part of a yoga group for a lot of reasons, but 720 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:16,200 the main reason would be this would be I don't want to be 721 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,040 involved in what could be considered a type of new age 722 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:21,680 worship where I am emptying myself. 723 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,560 And again, there will be people. I know there are Christians who 724 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,360 would. Scream at me right now. 725 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:31,360 You are crazy for thinking that. You think the stretches are 726 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:33,480 going to are going to cause your mind I. 727 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,440 Didn't say anything about the stretches. 728 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,360 Nothing wrong with stretching before I run, you know I do. 729 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,440 I stretch. It's probably good for me. 730 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,120 You know what I don't do? I don't empty my mind while I 731 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:48,640 stretch and try to focus my mind on that which is unseemly from 732 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,840 the Word of God. This is what I'm talking about, 733 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,480 it being so prevalent in society today. 734 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,440 Your energy, your chakra, good vibes. 735 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,640 These are the kind of things that are spoken of and even 736 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,440 sometimes we repeat. I'm not even thinking about the 737 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,000 fact. Well, what are good vibrations? 738 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:09,160 So I think that's a song. Well, it was, but it's more than 739 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,240 that. The idea is the very vibrations 740 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:15,600 of the human energy and the human spirit as people are often 741 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,600 talking about it and listen. I understand why I'm saying this 742 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:20,200 to some people. I'd sound like a crank right 743 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:24,960 now, like you're crazy. But the Bible warns us there's 744 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:29,240 some very clear things that are out there that we need to avoid 745 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,120 and we need to be cautious not to be scared of. 746 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,520 I'm not scared of yoga. I don't drive past the 18 yoga 747 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,280 studios here in Easton because I think that's how many we have 748 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:42,960 here in Easton. I don't drive past them and I'm 749 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,080 fearful. I don't walk past one and I'm 750 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,320 afraid for my life or afraid that I would be tempted to go in 751 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,240 and stretch and all of a sudden become a new ager. 752 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:57,200 But I will tell you this, I do recognize what it is, whether 753 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:00,200 everyone else does or not. And I'm not saying everyone who 754 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,840 does it is doing these things. I'm not saying everyone who 755 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,120 practices yoga is a new ager. I am saying they're involved in 756 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:08,880 something. They may not even realize 757 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:10,040 they're involved in the 1st place. 758 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,960 That's the important part is I'm not making an accusation of 759 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,080 someone's life choices because they're in there, but whether 760 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:18,200 they realize it or not, they're involving themselves in 761 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,960 something that is much different than maybe they even think that 762 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,880 it is in the 1st place. So we mentioned a few moments 763 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:26,560 ago that the New Age movement is not new. 764 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,600 And I'm not going to be able to finish this today, but we'll get 765 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,480 where we're going here this morning as the best that we can. 766 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,160 There are a number of factors that contribute to the 767 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,000 emergence, or I would even say re emergence of the new age 768 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,920 movement in the United States. And a lot of it goes back to 769 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,880 here in the very Boston area. Many of you are familiar with 770 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:44,800 Walden Pond. How many of you ever been over 771 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:47,440 there before? I have the very center of 772 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:52,240 Transcendental Meditation, the idea of to go out and become one 773 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:54,800 with nature. It was a. 774 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:59,840 Rejection of biblical theology and rather going out and being 775 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,080 one with nature. Now again, there are parts of 776 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:05,800 that that are very understandable. 777 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:08,880 In the sense that you think of how commercial this world is, 778 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:10,640 you think of how much of A rat race it is. 779 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:12,600 And certainly in the 1800s it was. 780 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:15,720 It was in its own way. I'm not saying that it is like 781 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:18,520 it is today, but there was commercialism back then just as 782 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,760 well and to be able to get away. And draw close to God could 783 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:24,520 certainly be appealing in its own way. 784 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:26,280 There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. 785 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,200 But when it's not tethered to the Word of God, what? 786 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,080 Happens. Well, I'm going to go out there 787 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:32,400 and I will be one with the sticks. 788 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,680 I'm be one with the dirt and be one with the trees and be one 789 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,760 with the water, and I'll be one with the divine that was within 790 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:39,440 me. This becomes very, very 791 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:42,040 problematic. Transcendentalism emphasizes 792 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,560 intuition as a means of ascertaining. 793 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,680 Truth, it holds it. All religions contain divine 794 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:50,520 truth and affirm that the goal of religion is to obtain 795 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:54,040 conscious union. With the divine, such ideas help 796 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,120 set the stage for the eventual emergence of the New Age 797 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:00,760 movement revival, the cultism that took place in the late 19th 798 00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,960 century. The Theosophical Society in 799 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,120 1875. The Anthro. 800 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:10,440 Philosophical Society, 1912. The Arcane School, 1923. 801 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:12,080 And this one's the most scary of all. 802 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:14,240 The IM movement. Think about that. 803 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,800 The IM movement in 1930s, that's all part of occultism and which 804 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,160 has merged with, and it's really been part and parcel with the 805 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:24,120 New Age movement. And we don't have to go into the 806 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,880 individual groups themselves. I could tell you did a little 807 00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:30,040 bit of research on the Theosophical Society and I did 808 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:32,560 enough looking to know this stuff isn't good. 809 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,480 And this stuff has more to do with the devil than it does have 810 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,040 to do with God Almighty. And it's the kind of stuff that 811 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:42,280 we as Bible believing Christians should stay away from. 812 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,120 But where does this all come from? 813 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,120 And we can even look at the fact that it stems from around 2nd 814 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,440 century. Gnosticism. 815 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,960 What is Gnosticism? Gnosticism comes from the Greek 816 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:57,080 word gnosis, which means knowledge, and it was purported 817 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:02,640 to offer otherwise hidden truth. As the indispensable key to 818 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:05,960 human salvation that you have to find that which is hidden to 819 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,040 truly unlock. The key to your salvation. 820 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:13,040 Gnosticism with its secret knowledge is long gone, but a 821 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:15,280 revival of certain Gnostic ideas. 822 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,240 Neo Gnosticism occurred around the same time. 823 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,640 Here's some of the ideas of Gnosticism. 824 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,120 Man has a start spark of divine with him. 825 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:27,560 Man is ignorant of his divinity and Jesus came as a way shower 826 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,280 to bring enlightenment to humankind. 827 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,960 Now there are so many problems with that that we can't diagnose 828 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,400 in the next minute and 1/2 that we have here. 829 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,800 We'll look at it the next time we are together. 830 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:42,880 That man is a spark of divine within. 831 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:46,080 Man is ignorant of his divinity now. 832 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,080 Here. Here's the thing that is so 833 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:50,840 puzzling and there's so many things, and This is why I talk 834 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:55,280 about the logical fallacies that we can just debunk these things 835 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,320 just by using pure logic, let alone the word of God. 836 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:03,160 But I go back and we'll end here with Shirley MacLaine on the 837 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:07,640 beach. And I know that it is fiction, 838 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:11,600 but at the same time, I truly believe from looking at some of 839 00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:14,680 the things of the way that she looks at life, that this was as 840 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,960 much her own philosophy as it was her acting. 841 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:22,040 There. In this scene, I am God. 842 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:26,520 My only question would be, if you just came to the realization 843 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,200 that you were God, how much God are you? 844 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:35,920 If you just realized that you are God, are you really God? 845 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,600 I go back to Isaiah 14, don't turn there, but I go back to 846 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:43,440 Satan, who also had. God like thoughts. 847 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:50,520 I will be like the most high. I will, I will, I will, I will. 848 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:53,400 Of course we say he has an eye problem because of all those 849 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,240 eyes that are there that chapter, but The funny thing is 850 00:42:56,240 --> 00:43:01,640 the very fact that he said I will become was the damning 851 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:04,760 quote that showed that he was not God. 852 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:09,960 The fact that he said he would become God showed he wasn't. 853 00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:16,440 The fact that someone could realize they are God is the very 854 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:21,840 evidence of the fact you are not if it just took you being out in 855 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,280 the beach with your toes in the sand. 856 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:30,080 And the salt spray in your face. To realize that you are God, you 857 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,520 aren't God, and that's the problem. 858 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:34,760 One of the many problems with the New age movement. 859 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:36,640 Now we get back together. Next week, Brother Davis will be 860 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:38,640 doing Sunday school. Next week I will be here. 861 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:40,000 Our family, Lord willing, will be here. 862 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:42,360 We flying back Saturday night. As far as I know, we're not 863 00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:45,120 flying on Spirit Airlines, so we should be here next Sunday. 864 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:47,880 But he'll be teaching Sunday school the fall. 865 00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:50,400 And we will look more at the New Age movement and more, many more 866 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,440 of its fallacies, how we contradicted biblically beyond 867 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:56,680 what we've looked at so far, and even some hints and helps so 868 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:00,080 that you can identify even in Christian literature and in 869 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,160 Christian teaching. So I hope it's been a help to 870 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:05,000 you this morning. Thank you for listening to the 871 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,600 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 872 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:11,240 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 873 00:44:11,240 --> 00:44:14,400 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 874 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:20,320 info@mylibertybaptist.org or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 875 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:25,040 Washington St. in Easton, MA. May the Lord bless you as you 876 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:26,240 grow in His Word.