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Sermon 100 – Satan gives men GIFTS

30 Apr

I was counselling 3 young men who each said they wanted to follow Christ but they couldn’t seem to get there. I asked them what the barrier was. They replied they didn’t know. So, I suggested that if your desire to know Christ couldn’t be fulfilled then there was something you didn’t want to give up. After a lengthy discussion, each one began to admit their secret belief. One said, he believed God had given him a ‘superior brain’ so he could think everything out. Another said, God had given him the gift of ‘coolness’ so he didn’t have to worry about anything, and the third said that God had given him the gift of ‘charisma’ so that everyone thought he was a great bloke.

Genesis 3

I opened my Bible to Genesis chapter 3 and showed them that right back in the beginning Satan said to Eve that God hadn’t done the right thing by them because He had withheld a special gift, and if they were to eat the fruit they could compete with Him as a god and also know what was good and evil like God, Himself (v.5). That sounded logical to her so she took the gift. The fact was, it wasn’t Satan’s gift at all, Satan simply gave her God’s gift, and used it to take power over her and power over all of future mankind. He contaminated the gift. In other words he used God’s gift to destroy them and separate them from God. That’s Satan’s secondary objective. His prime objective is to take over Jesus’ position. The secret gift he gave Eve was, envy. He wants the favour of the Father and moodily objects to the fact that Jesus has it. Any time you envy someone else’s higher position or better position, you prove you’re under the influence of Satan.

I pointed out that the gift they thought was from God was obviously from Satan. The evidence was loud and clear. If God gives you a gift it’s for the kingdom, not for you. It’s to help your fellowman find Christ or walk more faithfully with Christ, not to promote you above your fellowman.

The real reason they thought they had a God-gift was so they could believe they had the right to elevate themselves above their fellowman. It made them superior to their fellowman. This actually proved they were lying to themselves and deceiving themselves. Philippians 2:3 says … Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than yourself. They each actually believed they were someone of importance because they had special powers that no one else had. I couldn’t believe the arrogance of what I was hearing!

The test

When I suggested their thinking and attitude was evil, they were shocked. They couldn’t believe it and each started resisting my observations and politely objecting to such suggestions about them. To their mind it didn’t make any sense.

So, I asked them what does ‘correction‘ mean to them. They agreed that it meant … failure, bad, stupid, incapable and other such words of negativity. I suggested that at a very early age they had defied their parents when they were corrected and thus had contravened God’s instructions of respecting authority. They all agreed. So, I pointed out to them that although all correction is uncomfortable (it has to be if it’s God’s medicine), ‘correction’ just means you’re doing something wrong, or there’s something wrong with your thinking or your attitude and you need to stop it and go in a different direction. It doesn’t mean you’re stupid, and if you interpret it that way, you’re just making an excuse to defy the authority and give yourself the right to have a selfish mood because you’re not getting want you want, just like you did when you were a defiant kid. In other words, you’re just acting like a 2 year old and hiding it in an adult’s body. You’ve never grown up, spiritually.

I also asked them if they had ever called anyone an ‘idiot’ because they didn’t think the way they thought or do it the way they thought it should be done. They all agreed they had done that routinely. I showed them that the Word of God says in Matthew 5:22 that they’re on their way to hell unless they address this evil in their hearts and strongly declared to them that these two pieces of fruit (inner defying of correction and ‘idiot’) were all the evidence they needed to see they were in Satan’s camp, and if they wanted to truly walk with Christ they needed to stop listing all their so-called good points, see their pride, accept the Word of God delivered by the messenger, and repent. Thankfully, one did and the other two wanted to but wouldn’t.

The sad consistent reality

Over my life I’ve met many so-called Christians who appear to be ok on the outside, but when you make a corrective suggestion regarding their character, their demure changes and polite satanism exposes itself. I call it polite because they know that if they show anger it would expose them as the fake they are. The reality is they’ve never been told to stop their moodiness. As children they’ve been given free ‘reign’ to make up their own mind, and when a parent does that you’re just letting your child live for their own selfishness. Humanity always lives for its own selfishness. It’s an automatic reflex. Satan caused it and Jesus came to save us from it. Then as adults we cover this selfishness with niceness so we’re socially acceptable, but still live in the proud and selfish imaginations of our evil heart and are so blinded by the superiority belief of our Satanic giftings that our mind can’t compute there’s anything wrong with us. They’ve actually lost their right mind and don’t know it.

The truth

They couldn’t find Christ because they didn’t want to give up the gift, because giving up the gift meant giving up their position over others.

The one who thought he had a superior brain was really declaring that everyone else was an idiot if they didn’t think the way he thought. He was so bound, he would go away and have to think about everything and make up his own conclusions and always come to a harmonious deduction, because harmony was his favourite characteristic that he was so proud of. The real truth behind all this sham was, he didn’t want to be told. Thus it always comes down to an authority issue; the authority says one thing and your brain says another, and it’s that voice inside you that gives you away. That’s the voice of an anti-Christ spirit that’s dictating your mind.

The one who said he had the gift of ‘cool’ was really saying that he didn’t give ‘a stuff’ about anything. ‘Cool’ meant … my feelings are frozen so I don’t feel any pain, so you can’t touch me. ‘Cool’ was actually a characteristic that stirred his fellowman to envy him and although he hated their envy he gloated on it. It clearly was satanic because you couldn’t tell him otherwise.

The third man used his charisma to win popularity and status. Everything seemed to fall into his lap, so to him it proved his theory that God was his santa because he was such a great guy, and besides, everyone told him so. However, if anyone crossed his thinking he would use his specific knowledge to challenge them and put them in their place below him, and if anyone was positioned above him, he would silently hate them and at the same time pretend to respect them, but it was all a sham. God was on his case though, and when things began to crumble around him he was forced to face the reality of his pride. He admitted he had never seen it. He always thought he was so fantastic. His mind was under a lying spirit.

The measurement

The Word of God declares in James 3:17 that God’s wisdom is easy to be entreated, without partiality and without hypocrisy, and neither of these lads displayed these characteristics when confronted with the truth. The real truth was they lived for envy. Therefore, I knew I was talking to demon spirits because v.14 &15 declare that where envy operates then this sort of wisdom is earthly, sensual and demonic.

The measurement of the true character of a person’s spirit is the Word of God, not what a person thinks they are.

Know this ….

Jesus did the opposite. He was under God’s authority and thus He knew his enemy’s evil trickery. 

Philippians 2:7 … He made Himself of no reputation and took on Him the form of a servant and humbled Himself even to the death of the cross.

If you think you’re a person of some worth because you believe you have a special something then you are the one who is the real ‘fool’ and you are the one who has been duped by Satan to personally and ignorantly be an opponent to the kingdom of God and a means of destruction to your fellow-man.

 

Pastor Craig McWilliam

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Posted by on April 30, 2016 in Correction, Pride, Special

 

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Sermon 94 – IN Christ or OUT of Christ

02 Jan

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; no more can you except you abide in Me …. John 15:4

You can measure whether you’re in Christ by observing the signs.

If you’re in Christ, you’ll …..

  1. be seeking no reputation, like Christ, because God will be 1st; not family or friends Philippians 2:7
  2. be seeking to be a servant, like Christ Philippians 2:7
  3. be hated, like Christ John 7:7
  4. be only interested in the Father’s will, not yours John 6:38
  5. be unsettled on this earth John 12:25
  6. respect your neighbour’s opinion more than your own Philippians 2:3,4
  7. be tolerant of others’ weaknesses because you know you have your own, and thus be forgiving
  8. repent when you do wrong
  9. make judgments based on God’s Word, which will put you at odds with family, friends & the world Matthew 10:36
  10. have faith in God’s ability and plan

If you’re out of Christ, you’ll ….

  1. be seeking popularity and value in the eyes of men John 12:42,43
  2. be doing whatever suits me, even if it looks like I care for others Philippians 2:21
  3. make judgments against people for being stupid, or for hurting your feelings
  4. be moody and murmur about your circumstances Philippians 2:14
  5. envy your neighbour’s better deal James 4:5
  6. be too proud to repent
  7. be too proud to forgive
  8. mix Christ with the world James 4:4
  9. tell God how it’s supposed to be
  10. blame others for your circumstances
  11. live in the fear of loss
  12. believe that you are special and have a special calling, and worthy of God’s special blessing

Christ in you, but you not in Christ

Christ can be in you, but that doesn’t mean that you’re in Christ. King Saul had the Holy Spirit but eventually his unrepentant envy saw him cut off from the vine. Peter had the Holy Spirit, but he denied Christ and spoke Satanic words. Christ was in him, but he wasn’t in Christ until his embarrassment and failure exposed his elevated self-value, and he finally saw his pride and repented. It’s not the ‘do’ that counts, it’s the motive of the heart.

Judging is the defining line

You can be as good as you like and do as much good as you can to make yourself feel like you’re in Christ, but it’s JUDGING others for their stupidity or hurt towards you that ultimately defines your position in Christ. What we fail to realise is that this type of judgment is only Christ’s prerogative, so when we judge we are acting as god. You can make your own errors of judgment; that’s between you and Christ, but when you judge someone else for their errors of judgment, it’s now between you and them, and God will bring their judgment on your head.

Judgment of others’ faults is the evidence of your own self-righteous elevated pride. Judging should alert you to your own pride and scare you into repentance; but sadly, no one seems to care; they’re too proud and too full of their own importance; which is why they judge in the first place. Thus, even though Christ may be in you, judging others without coming to repentance, will eventually see you separated from the vine because Christ will not let your arrogance perpetually mix with His blood.

When you judge someone out of your wounded pride, God says that you are actually speaking evil, not only against the person, but also against God’s law, James 4:11. No one likes to see that because their pride is too important to them, and it blinds them.

Demons take advantage

God instructs us not to judge because …

  1. it’s Christ’s job, not yours. King Saul decided to step in and do the sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel. His arrogance had persuaded him to usurp his position. He had put himself above his position and ultimately became demon-possessed.
  2. it’s sin
  3. it exposes us to demonic influence
  4. it leads to separation from the vine

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is more than judging someone for doing something that you wouldn’t do but yet you do it yourself. Hypocrisy is built on the envy that I am more important, more intelligent, more skilful, or more knowledgeable than you, or the envy that these qualities are in you more than in me. Hypocrisy is really believing that you’re someone who has the right to tell someone else that they’re not who they think they are. Hypocrisy is the door that Satan enters through to take control of your spirit. In James 3:13-17, we read that hypocrisy is a sign of demonic activity in you. This is reinforced in Matthew 18, where we read the story of the servant who was forgiven much but refused to forgive little. The consequences were demonic torment and separation from the Lord until he repented.

Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete it shall be measured back to you. And why behold the mote in your brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, let me pull the mote out of your eye when there is a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite; FIRST pull the beam out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye …. Matthew 7:1-6

If you’re ever going to stay in Christ then you must overcome the evil desire to make judgments against people for not doing it according to your thinking. You must open your eyes to your envy-pride and seek God’s repentance. It’s your responsibility to cease judging (it’s not God’s responsibility to change you), and only after you sincerely face this pride in you will God step in and change your old nature into His nature.

May God open the eyes of our selfish hearts, for without having our blindness removed we will never see Christ even though we believe we’re living for Him.

Pastor Phil McNaughton

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2016 in Judging

 

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Sermon 93 – SOVEREIGN CITIZEN

06 Dec

Recently, I was watching a documentary on the USA which exposed the number one terrorist threat on the FBI’s list. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t ISIS or the KKK, it was the rise of a group calling themselves Sovereign Citizens.

Now, what does that really mean? The name doesn’t sound threatening, but when you really look at what it means you begin to realise that what the Word of God declares is coming to pass.

Sovereign Citizens believe that they are the king of their own domain. Thus, no one has the right to dictate over them. No one has the right to tell them what they can or can’t do; no one has the right to enter their property without their consent, and no one has the right to impose their laws on them; they’re their own boss and the king over their own space. Therefore, they pay no taxes, pay no fines, don’t register their cars, and in fact, refuse to submit to any rules or laws that the country imposes on its citizens. They refuse to contribute to the costs of running the society, but they still demand the right to use the road system, buy the fuel to drive their cars, use the sewerage system and the electricity supply and mobile phone systems and live in the country they were born in.

Nothing’s changed

The name Sovereign Citizen is just a front for selfish humanism. SC is just another angle that Satan is employing to self-destruct humanity and degrade God’s creation. Satan sold the lie to Eve right back at square one … you have the right to be your own god and God has withheld this privilege from you. What he was offering her was the right to CONTROL your own destiny, but what she was ignorantly doing was anarchy against God’s instructions. What Satan was introducing to mankind was rebellion, defiance and blame against God Himself. Once Eve started the ball rolling, the only way you can stop future generations from falling for the same scam is if the current generation holds it position for God. Few if any are doing that, thus SC’s are cropping up everywhere, and the fruit is self-destruction.

You never win by self being the CONTROL king; you always lose.

The fruit of sin

When you turn your back on the ten spiritual laws as set down by God, you remove the barrier that God put in place to curb the infestation of sinfulness and thus allow the rise of humanism, which is the worship of ME as god. You open the door to permit arrogance to be the currency as the right to defend my rights and allow the evil in man to flourish and thus resist any authority that opposes or questions my rights. The soft-cushie church systems are no barrier of confrontation to the expanding demonic force behind this humanistic, atheistic, pro-homosexual, anti-christ, anti-family agenda.

In the USA, because every citizen has the right to own whatever guns and weapons they choose, sovereign citizens are not only arming themselves so they can defend their selfish rights; they’re actually killing to defend their selfish rights. Syrians may be killing Syrians, but the fact is, Americans are killing Americans. I am led to believe from this documentary, that more than 12,000 Americans died this year at the hands of their own people.

Too proud to go back to basics

The laws of so-called Christian nations are modelled on the Ten Commandments. It’s these basic principles of God that has preserved our way of life and our enviable freedoms; but we’ve turned up our noses at God and have blinded ourselves to the consequences that are right in our faces.

Leaders of all nations met in Paris this week to discuss strategies to combat climate change. The temperature of the earth is rising, the ice cap is melting and the sea level is rising and scientists have been predicting a catastrophe for decades. If bankrupt nations are putting money towards a solution, then be assured the leaders of the world know we’re heading for disaster.

Will anybody wake up and see that the solution is not more laws and muscle, and not more scientific solutions? The solution to humanity is and always has been to respect the one and only true God by honouring His instructions of safety for mankind. We first need to own that we have sinned against Him. The issue is sin which requires repentance; not more rules which SC’s are objecting to anyway. The answer to humanity is spiritual; not physical, not more knowledge, not more intelligence, not more rules; the answer is God, not man.

What does the Word of God say should be our attitude to authority?

Romans 13:1,2 tells us that authority is instituted by God and He instructs us to respect that authority and not resist it. The only time we have the right to resist authority is when that authority is going against God’s laws.

The real problem

Most men will proclaim their own goodness, but a faithful man, who can find? Proverbs 20:6

I was counselling a young man who expected God to give him a suitable wife because of his goodness. When I challenged him about his motive he owned up to the fact that he wanted a wife that could rival his brother’s. He wanted a trophy he could show-off. The motive was envy, not faith, and certainly not love. On the surface he presented as a genuine Christian … nice, respectful, capable worker, intelligent and of course, good, but behind my back, whenever he didn’t get what he thought he deserved he got moody. To his thinking, moody was normal and his good warranted a good reward, but the truth is, he’s a Sovereign Citizen. When challenged about the reason for dating his current girl-friend, the response that came back loud and clear was … stay out of it; I have the right to CONTROL my own destiny. Such a reply confirms that his spirit is not of God; it’s under the control of satan.

He made Himself of no reputation, Philippians 2:7

Jesus showed us very clearly that faith in God is via the pathway of no reputation and not via the route of Sovereign Control. If the young man was operating by faith he would have been prepared to sacrifice his motive and WAIT for God’s chosen partner. Like millions of other fake Christians who are really SC’s in disguise, he wanted God to advise him but he also wanted the right to makeup his own mind without being told. He didn’t want to be told he couldn’t do what he wanted, and that’s an SC.

May this challenge your inner motive,

Pastor Patrick Moody


 
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Posted by on December 6, 2015 in Authority, Correction

 

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