Sermons

The world is searching. The world is seeking for answers. Amidst trials and hardships men and women are looking for answers. Uncertainty of the future, a world in kaos, a world where uncertainty reigns supreme. This is the bleak picture of the world in the twenty-first century. More and more people are looking for answers to the perplexities that they are facing everyday. Difficult questions that can't be answered by the finite mind. Questions like, "Why did my teenage son or daughter commit suicide?" - "What does the future hold for me and my family?" - "Why is there so much suffering in the world?" - "When I die, is that it"? These questions and many, many more are being asked throughout the world. As Christians, we have been richly blessed in receiving the answers to life's unanswerable questions. The Lord would not have the world in complete darkness. We have received the answers! Another way it has been stated, "We have received precious rays of light". When the world is searching for answers, where do they turn? Unfortunately, anywhere but the True Source.

The world has turned to the powers of darkness in the search for answers. Seance's are still being used to try and call dead loved ones from the spirit world. Tarot cards is still a popular way of foretelling the future. Palm reading, tea leaves reading, cloth reading, mind reading, mind manipulation or hypnosis. Remember Kreskin or Raveen? People in the 60's, 70's and 80's flocked to see these two men answer futuristic questions through mind reading and hypnosis. We know that all of these methods of seeing into the future are directly related to Satan and his ultimate goal of leading people astray. The people who use these methods may or may not know that they are on Satan's ground. But one thing is certain. They will be led astray. Satan is using a new method to draw people in and away from the True Source. This new method is startling because people think they are communicating with God through His angels!! It is through the medium of telecommunications , satellites and T.V. that Satan is working!! There is a new television show which airs once a week where people can phone in and talk to their angels !! People from all walks of life phone in to talk to the shows' host - a psychic. They tell her their problems,their worries for the future- their unanswerable questions. The psychic then in turn tells them the name of their angel(it could be John, Mary, Bill, Jackie), where their angel is located right now(the angel could be above their head, on their right side, on their left side) and what answers the angel has for their questions. Dangerous !! What could be more dangerous to a person's spiritual and physical life? If anyone ever had any doubts about whether or not we are living in the end times - this should put their doubts to rest. Just as Satan has deceived practically the whole world into believing unbiblical theories, he is now deceiving thousands if not millions into worshipping so-called angels. He is masterfully directing their minds away from the True Source to the false source. Satan's Ground.

He has convinced Hollywood's elite. Actors, actresses, musicians, politicians are falling for his latest trick. But this is only the beginning. This is only one of many shows that are being broadcast. They are being broadcast via satellite all around the world! One of the psychic shows is reportedly paying its host $1,000,000 per week! Do you think the show is popular. There's no doubt. Do you think people are being deceived? There's no doubt. Do you think Satan knows that his time is short. There's no doubt. Friends, we are living in perilous times! Let us all stay awake so that we can be aware of the master deceiver's plans as they are unfolding. As I said before, the most dangerous thing about this whole situation is that people are turning their attention away from the True Source, Jesus Christ, to the false source, Satan.

But what's the difference between the psychics in Bible times to present day psychics. Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel, chapter 2, where we find King Nebuchadnezzar demanding his psychics to interpret his dream of the great image. They cannot. Our God in heaven interprets the dream and gives the explanation to Daniel. Do you see the difference? In Daniel's day- the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers- if they ever did interpret anything-they did not credit the interpretation to the God of heaven-more than likely the interpretation was credited to one of the pagan gods or the spirits. But today's psychics are claiming the ability to talk, see and touch angel's of God. They say they know them by name!! Are men and women, boys and girls being deceived? Satan is gloating over the success of his latest campaign. Are we, as Christians, in danger of being deceived? With all the truth that our Father in Heaven has blessed us with-we should never be deceived!! But it is possible for us to be deceived-to be led astray- if we have not completely, wholeheartedly turned our lives over to Jesus. Only by standing in the shadow of the cross are we safe from the arch-deceiver. But we have a duty to perform. We are to warn those that will listen-even those that will not listen of the great deception that is at hand. Satan has convinced the vast majority of the world to believe in the spirit world, the psychics-the angels of darkness disguised as angels of light. He has also managed to distort the perception people have of God and Jesus. They perceive God as through a fog. They perceive God as a spirit floating around in heaven. They perceive Jesus in the same light. Most believe that He walked this earth but since His resurrection they perceive Jesus as more of an entity than a real God-man. Our duty is to show the world that we believe in a God that is real-tangible. Our duty is to show the world that we believe that Jesus is real-tangible. Not some spirit floating delusion. But a real living vibrant God-man.

How do we convince the world that Jesus is real? By re-acquainting ourselves with Jesus the man. When we see that Jesus was a breathing-seeing-hearing-feeling man-that He left heaven to become one of us so that we could relate to Him -not as a spirit floating around-but as a real person-a real God that cares so much for us that He became one of us-When we see Jesus as real others will as well. I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Luke 19:41-44, "As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city HE WEPT over it and said,'If you, even you had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embarkment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Here we catch a glimpse of the human side of Jesus. This was the time of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem-where thousands were proclaiming Him King. But instead of a joyful heart-we see our Redeemer full of sorrow. Jesus knew what lay ahead for Him-He sees Gethsemane-He sees the scourging-He sees the cross. But Jesus was not shedding tears for Himself. He wept for God's first chosen. He wept for His own people who were about to reject and kill Him. He wept for the doomed thousands of Jerusalem-doomed because of their blindness and their impenitence. Even though He came to bless and save them, He knew that they would finally reject Him. Why did Jesus shed tears? Because He cares so much for us. The human side of Jesus emotionally wept. This is one of the reasons why we can relate to Jesus. We know what it's like to cry. But we also catch a glimpse of Jesus as God. Even though He knew He was to be humiliated, beaten, rejected and killed by the ones He came to save- He still unconditionally loved them. What a God!! We can relate to this man-this God. This is not some hocus-pocus. This is not some foggy spirit world. This is real! Let's take another look at Jesus-the God-man. Turn in your bibles to JOHN 11:32-35 "When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at his feet and said,'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 'Where have you laid him?', He asked. 'Come and see, Lord,'they replied. JESUS WEPT." We know this passage is about Lazarus . But let us back up a little bit. When Lazarus became sick-his sisters sent a message to Jesus,"Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." Jesus loved Lazarus as a very close friend. He did not go to his side immediately because He was to perform a miracle for His friend and family, for His disciples and for future generations. When the time came for Jesus to return to Bethany - His disciples tried to stop Him. Why? They sensed danger in this course of action. The Jews had tried to stone Him on an earlier occasion but Jesus still wanted to return. What love!! Even though the path He was treading could be dangerous - it didn't matter. Because of His love for Lazarus and his family He was willing to walk a treacherous course. When Mary met Jesus on His way to their home, Jesus saw the despair and anguish of those that were mourning. Once again we see the human side of Jesus. He cried because of His love for this family. We can relate to Jesus. Most of us know what it is like to mourn the loss of a loved one. Because of Jesus' humanity He feels the same as we do. He knows what it's like to experience happiness. He knows what it's like to experience anguish. He knows what it's like to experience tears. We can relate to Jesus. In this story of Lazarus we know that Jesus as God was also revealed in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This story perfectly brings to light the relationship between Jesus-the man and Jesus-God. What unconditional love!! We can relate to this man- this God. This is not some hocus-pocus. This is not some foggy spirit world. This is real!!

Finally let us take a look at Jesus' final love act while He was physically here on earth. Matt 27:46-50 "About the ninth hour JESUS CRIED out in a loud voice,'Eloi,Eloi, lama sabachthani?'-which means,'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?.' When some of those standing there heard this, they said,'He's calling Elijah.' Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, 'Now leave Him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save Him.' And when JESUS HAD CRIED out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit."

We've gone over it many times before. We know the story well. But it is something we should never tire of. After all- this is the crowning act. This is why we don't believe in hocus-pocus. This is why we should stand firm and tell the world about something that is real. Something that we can relate to. The cross. That old rough cross where the fate of our future hangs in the balance. That old blood-stained cross where untold pain and suffering has to be endured. That old cross where the stench of death fills the air. The cross where humanity meets a real God face to face. The lonely cross where Jesus finds Himself separated from His father. The sin-stained cross where we should have all been nailed. This is love. This is unconditional love. Here we see Jesus the man. Here we see Jesus as God. Why the cross? We know. There was a cross because of love. He knows what we're like. He became one of us. He can relate to us. We can relate to Him. Humanity meets God. God meets humanity. Unconditional love!! The cross-conqueror invites us to follow Him. The only way. The way to real happiness. The way to eternal life. This is not hocus pocus. This is not some foggy spirit world. This is real. We have a duty to perform. Let us warn those who will listen. Let us warn those who will not listen. The great deceiver is at work. He would have the world believe in a God - believe in a Jesus that are spirit entities. Can we relate to Jesus in this manner. Of course not. Is it not our duty then to show the world a real Jesus- a real God? I leave you with a warning found in Colossians-Chapter 2:6-10 ."SO THEN, JUST AS YOU RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS AS LORD, CONTINUE TO LIVE IN HIM, ROOTED AND BUILT UP IN HIM, STRENGTHENED IN THE FAITH AS YOU WERE TAUGHT, AND OVERFLOWING WITH THANKFULNESS. SEE TO IT THAT NO ONE TAKES YOU CAPTIVE THROUGH HOLLOW AND DECEPTIVE PHILOSOPHY, WHICH DEPENDS ON HUMAN TRADITION AND BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THIS WORLD(Satan's world) RATHER THAN ON CHRIST. FOR IN CHRIST ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE DEITY LIVES IN BODILY FORM, AND YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN FULLNESS IN CHRIST, WHO IS THE HEAD OVER EVERY POWER AND AUTHORITY."