Topic Covenants & Promises

1. Heirs To The Promise

2. Your Promises

3. Satan's Lies & Breaking Covenant

4. Choices & Unfulfilled Promises

5. Build Toward The Promise

6. Receiving Reassurance of God's Promise

7. Want a promise from God?

Consequences & The Occult - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 24, 2023

We previously noted that although many think occult practices are normal and harmless, God's opinion is otherwise. Today, we continue to examine God's stance on this issue.

Our God has said that He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). He doesn't want to share us with anything else. So much so, the first of the Ten Commandments states, You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3). To Him, anything that takes priority over His word and His ways in our lives is a problem. A problem that turns the heart away from Him.

Occult practices often begin as a quick and easy means to an end. The intent might not be to abandon the Lord. However, pride and misinformation propel people into thinking this is possible. They ignore that the aim of such practices is to drive people from the Lord to other gods, all of whom are simply another face for satan. It can take one try and before they know it, they have fully delved into what is known as New Age Spirituality (palm readers, necromancers, tarot card readers and the like). A practice which relies on a spirit that is not God's Holy Spirit for knowledge and power.

We might not want to hear it, but one consequence is that the occult leads to or entrenches curses in a person's life and lineage (Deuteronomy 28). This is because God has determined that He will reject those who reject Him by turning elsewhere for help (Deuteronomy 32:19). Thus, the occult - which in no way serves or honors God - causes one to serve something other than the Sovereign Lord.

In His mercy, God granted everyone the right to choose between Him and satan. However, His verdict for all who make satan their choice is repeatedly stated in the Bible and it isn't good. One such statement is in 1 Corinthians 6:9 - Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men. The continued practice of the occult - idolatry by another name - along with other sins acts as a barrier to reaching heaven. Given this consequence, why choose the losing side?

And for those who believe they can use Biblical scripture as they dabble in the occult, may scales fall from eyes, IJMN, Amen. Just because the word of God is pronounced into a situation does not make it godly. After all, the devil quoted scripture to Jesus so as to manipulate Him into sin at the conclusion of His fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:6). That encounter ended with Jesus saying, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’" (Matthew 4:10).

And that is what God is calling you to do today. He wants these words of Jesus to rattle you into clarity. Serve Him only! You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Don't play with the dark, for the word instructs that light has no business with the dark (2 Corinthians 6:14). The occult/magic arts are designed to blind you to the disastrous consequences that lie in wait.

This is why God warned in Deuteronomy 11:16 - Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. And He promised He will deprive those who turn to other gods from His blessings (Deuteronomy 11:17). If, however, those who strayed return and repent, He will forgive and shield them from the worst of those consequences.

I pray you will turn back to the Lord by acknowledging where you have sought and currently seek things outside of the Lord’s will. Repent, for God's hands are wide open to free you from satan's snares and thereby redeem you in His grace. This is exactly why Jesus died on the cross - to make you brand new in the Lord.

On Friday, we'll review certain popular practices that stem from the occult. May the Lord continue to show us how to receive His best by becoming who He created us to be in Him. IJMN, Amen.

See you at fellowship at Noon EST today.

For more, please see:

1. Let Go of Idols

2. Avoid The Occult (At All Costs)

3. Consequences & The Occult

4. Specific Occult Practices & God's View

Avoid the occult (at all costs) - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) January 20, 2023

As the year began, the Lord spoke to us about being His children so we receive His best. This required we make changes for the better. Changes that glorified Him, bringing us further into His blessings and mercies. These changes included treating others the way we want to be treated. And upon further consideration, we discovered that how we communicate about people was as important as how we treat them.

Today, we look at another practical step that brings us closer to God. We shall consider the issue of occult practices and the Lord's call to each of us to stay far away from them.

What does the occult entail? Practitioners of the occult seek to dominate, manipulate and control other people, nature and circumstances. To that end, they seek out knowledge and power from sources other than the Lord. Whether their goal is to for perceived 'good' or evil is irrelevant. The occult appears normal and oftentimes, harmless. It is all around us and thus, hard to identify for what it truly is. Consider the ease of access to astrology/horoscope/zodiac. What does it aim to do? It claims to tell you about your life based on the stars in the sky. However, God wants His people to know that He, and not the things He created, is the source of all knowledge. And by turning to these created things, by seeing them as a source of understanding, people end up reverencing them and serving them, which was never God's intention (Deuteronomy 4:19).

Pay attention to Deuteronomy 18:10-11 - You must never sacrifice your sons or daughters by burning them alive, practice black magic, be a fortuneteller, witch, or sorcerer, cast spells, ask ghosts or spirits for help, or consult the dead (GWT). Despite these commands, each of us has enjoyed movies and television shows where characters concocted spells, made magical potions, or communicated with the dead as necromancers. In fact, many of us actually know people who do one or more of these things on a regular basis. Yet, God's instruction is to stay away from such practices.

Sadly, many don't realize that God wants us to come to Him for all our needs. Isaiah 8:19 - Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? (NLT). The reason why God wants His people to come to Him is so they are not deceived and led into the snares of satan. For satan's goal is to cause God's children to sin and thereby fall out of His blessings and into curses.

The devil's lies make too many think they can't hear the Lord but, God speaks to each and everyone of us. He has not hidden Himself or His voice (James 1:17). The key is to put in the time to hear Him speak in the way He wants to communicate with you. He wants the ears of your heart to ring with the cadence of His words. There is no shortcut to this, you will have to put in the work (and don't assume it's much), accept His grace to hear and consistently seek to hear. And when this becomes the pattern, there will be no need to consult mediums, psychics, spell casters or necromancers.

Next Tuesday, we shall review some consequences that befall practitioners of the occult. For an example, return to the series on Jezebel - a witch, murderess, and worshipper of false gods. Until then, I pray you will take this message to heart. I pray you will seek God for the answers to the questions you have. By His grace, you will deepen your relationship with Him, whereby His voice is as familiar to you as it was to Adam when he was in the Garden of Eden. IJMN, Amen.

Please join us as we fellowship together at Noon EST for an hour during today's Praise & Pray (for others). Come ready with your reasons for thanking God (even if it's just because He is the Almighty). Bring the people/situations/places you want to lift up in prayer and a heart willing to honor the Lord. I pray you will be well-blessed, IJMN, Amen.

For more, please see:

1. Let Go of Idols

2. Avoid The Occult (At All Costs)

3. Consequences & The Occult

4. Specific Occult Practices & God's View