Come to Shua Foundation Baptist Church if you would turn your hymnal to song number 29 at the cross, song number 29.
[music]
Let's open the service with a little prayer. Thank you Lord for this great Sunday.
I pray that you'll be with the service with a singing and the preaching.
I pray we can have an awesome Sunday celebrating just how great you are, and I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Alright, turn your song book to song number 24, and can it be song 24?
The first, "And can it be sure?"
And let's go over the announcement. Raise your hand if you need a bulletin, and I'll show we'll bring one to you.
Again, welcome to Shul Foundation Baptist Church Sunday morning service.
Let's look at the verse of the week, Proverbs chapter 8, verse 36.
The Bible says, "But he that sinneth against me runneth his own soul.
All they that hate me love death."
Of course, this morning I'll be preaching a sermon about Halloween.
I think this verse in the Proverbs is pretty much sums up Halloween, right?
People love death because they hate the Lord.
And if you want to look at the inside page, we are on YouTube, Facebook, Rumble and X.
So please give us a follow there. Service time Sunday morning at 11, Sunday afternoon service at 4 p.m.
And Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m. This coming Wednesday, we'll be going through Judges chapter number three.
That's the chapter that will actually get into the judges themselves.
So please join us if you are able to.
So many times this afternoon at 1 30 p.m. and Saturday morning, local someone at 10 30 a.m.
So yesterday I went to Gary, we have 14 soul winners and 14 salvations.
Praise the Lord for that with a one to one ratio.
I mean, here we have two salvations locally.
So yesterday, this whole day, we have 16 soul winners and 16 salvations.
So praise the Lord for the soul winners and thank you for praying.
And we will keep doing the Gary one hopefully every single month,
unless it's too dangerous or whatever.
Upcoming events, we will have a pie and pray service
during the Sunday afternoon service on November 23rd.
Please bring a pie to share and it will be a special service
with just a song request and a shorter sermon
and maybe some praise and then we can partake pies together.
So please join us for that.
And then Christmas service will be on Sunday, December 21st
during the Sunday morning service.
We'll have a potluck right after the morning service.
And then a Christmas Eve service will be on Wednesday, December 24th.
If you don't normally come on Wednesday, you don't want to miss that.
So please make plan for that.
And then we have a QR code for the baby registry.
We'll also have a baby shower right after the Sunday afternoon service today.
So please join us if you're able to.
We have a Gary Sonew Marathon coming up on November 23rd, November 22nd.
More details to come on that.
And then we'll finish the year up with the Winter Wonderland Sonew Marathon.
We will meet probably around one o'clock.
Go Sonew for three, three and a half hours.
And then we can then and then we can eat barbecue together, just like last year.
So the food was great and the Sonew was great.
So please join us if you're able to.
And then please help us with the cleaning of the church building
right after the Sunday afternoon service.
If you want to know how to be saved or needs to be baptized,
please see an usher or myself after the service.
Please be diligent in your follow in your follow up so we can get the converts
baptized and and also in church as well.
If you put it on the back side, we can see the birthdays coming up
in the month of October.
We'll sing a birthday to them, probably during the afternoon service.
And with that being said, let's sing one more song
and then we'll take out the offering to him.
Note to song number 11, song number 11.
He died for me.
Song 11, I saw three
a sledge on me near his cross.
I still sing at this time.
Usher's please come forward.
But the Mac, would you pray for the offering, please?
OK, we'll be in Ephesians, chapter five this morning.
You know, Bob, where's your usher will provide one for you.
The fees and Ephesians, chapter five.
Why turn around, begin reading the chapter.
Be therefore followers of God as your
children and walk in love as Christ also have loved us and have given himself
for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for sweet smelling savor.
But fornication and all inclineness or
covetousness, whether not be once named them on you as becoming saints,
neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not convenient,
but rather giving of thanks for this,
ye know that no whoremonger nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an
idolater have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no man deceive you with vain words,
for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord,
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them.
For it is a shame even to speak of those sins which are done of them in secret.
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light.
For whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Wherefore he saith,
Awake thou, thou sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
redeeming the time because the days are evil.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is,
and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
giving thanks always all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God,
wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife,
even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ,
so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, that he might present it to himself.
A glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So are men to love their wives as their
own bodies, he that loveth his wife, loveth himself.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh,
but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord of the church.
For we are all members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined
unto his wife, and nay, too, shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless, let every one of you in
particular so love his wife as even as himself.
And the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Brother Brett, could you pray for the message?
Amen. You are in Ephesians, chapter five.
Let's look at verse number 11, Ephesians 5, verse 11.
The Bible says and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. Now, title of the sermon this morning is
should Christians celebrate Halloween? Question mark.
Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
Now, this coming Sunday, we have a holiday.
It's what they call the holiday of Halloween.
Now, let me give you the answer.
OK, we can close the sermon in five seconds.
The answer is no, not in this world,
neither in the world to come.
And don't tell me individual soul liberty,
because not everything is individual soul liberty.
Right. There's no clear verse in the Bible that says thou shall not celebrate
Halloween, but there are a ton of biblical principles against it.
No, in the Bible says thou shall not smoke weed, cigarette, listen to death
middles, throwing the f-bombs, but we can learn some principles in life, OK?
We can learn some principles from the word of God.
I think the real question is not should Christians celebrate Halloween.
The real question is, can a Christian have fellowship with darkness?
And the answer is no. OK, so this morning I'll give you seven points.
These are not long points about Halloween.
Point number one, going forward to Deuteronomy, Chapter 18.
Point number one, I want to talk about the pagan roots of Halloween.
The pagan roots of Halloween.
Halloween's origin traced back over
two thousand years ago to an ancient pagan festival of the Celtic people called
the Samhain, I mean, spelled as S-A-M-H-A-I-N, pronounced as Samhain, Samhain.
So Samhain was the Gaelic New Year festival
marking summer's end and the start of the dark winter season.
The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st,
the boundary between the living and the dead,
the living and the spirit world blurred, allowing supernatural beings
and the souls of the dead to cross into our world.
Just just by that, you can pretty much know that it's just demonic, right?
There was a time when people feared encountering ghosts or harmful spirits.
So to ward off evil, Celtic villagers lit
huge bonfires and made sacrifices of crops and animals to to appease their pagan gods.
They also wore costumes and masks, often animal skins or grotesque disguises,
believing that these costumes and masks would confuse and scare away those roaming spirits.
In fact, the practice of guising,
also known as going door-to-door in costume, was part of the Sao-in even in the early centuries,
as people offered rhythms or songs in exchange for food.
Many of our modern Halloween traditions, like a jack-o-lantern, costumes, trick-or-treating,
they can be directly traced back to those pagan superstition and rites of Sao-in.
So what are the focuses of this pagan holiday named Sao-in?
The focuses are death, fear, and just attempting to control or appease the pagan gods.
It's a festival of darkness.
No matter how much commercialized Halloween is,
it's based from a pagan holiday with demonic practices.
So you are in Deuteronomy chapter 18, look at verse number 9.
The Bible says this, "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to
pass through the fire, or that use this divination, or an observer of times,
or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consultor with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or an anchorman."
Now, I will come back to this passage later to talk about each
one of these items, but look at verse number 12.
"For all that do these things," don't miss this, "are an abomination unto the Lord.
And because of these abominations,
the Lord thy God that drive them out from before thee, thou shall be perfect
with the Lord thy God, for these nations which thou shall possess,
hearken unto observers of time and unto diviners.
But as for thee, the Lord thy God had not suffered thee so to do."
God has not allowed us to do these abominations.
The word abomination means something
regarded with disgust or hatred, extreme disgust, hatred and loathing.
OK, that's how God sees those abominations.
That's how God sees Halloween.
Leviticus 1931 says this, "Regard not them that have familiar spirits,
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them, I am the Lord your God."
OK, so I believe if you partake in Halloween,
you have committed an abomination, you will be defiled regardless of your
intentions, because what are the attributes of this pagan root of Halloween?
It was celebrated by the ancient Celts around October 31st.
It was believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was open.
They have bonfires, sacrifices and costumes.
They were used to ward off evil spirits.
They offered crops and animals to their gods for protection.
And they dressed up in animal skins or disguises.
They were meant to fool wandering spirits.
OK, that's why I'm against Halloween costumes,
because the root of it is to ward off evil spirits.
It's totally demonic.
OK, so point number one, I talk about the pagan roots of Halloween.
Point number two, I want to talk about the Christianization of a pagan holiday.
And as Christianity, now I use the word Christianity loosely because, you know,
I will talk about the Roman Catholic Church who are not Christians.
OK, so as the so-called Christianity spread into the Celtic lands,
we have the Roman Catholic Church, which is not a Christian church.
We have the Roman Catholic Church try to redeem or to replace this pagan festival
of sowing. OK, so in the seventh to the eighth century,
church leaders established a new holiday, also known as All Saints' Day,
also called All Hallows' Day, in order to honor saints and martyrs of the faith.
Now, you know, we know the Catholics got the saints wrong as well,
because all say people are saints.
OK, but they changed the sowing into All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day
just to honor saints and martyrs of the faith.
And, you know, it was first observed in May.
But then the All Saints' Day was eventually moved to November 1st
by Pope Gregory III around 8741.
By the way, every pope is in hell.
So it was moved by the pope from May to November 1st.
Later, All Souls' Day, November 2nd,
was added as a day to remember and pray for all the faithful departed.
So the Catholic Church's intent may have been to provide a godly alternative
and draw people away from the pagan holiday of sawing.
So then October 31st became the eve of All Saints.
Because November 1st is All Saints' Day.
So then October 31st becomes the eve of All Saints,
known as All Hallows Eve, from which we get the name Halloween.
The All Hallows Eve.
So Halloween has pagan roots as well as Catholic influences.
So despite the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to replace sawing,
the old sawing costumes persisted among the local people.
Many of the pagan traditions simply carried over into the so-called
"Christian holiday."
And that's exactly how Roman Catholic operates.
They just mix pagan practices into their own system,
like the Roman gods, like the saints, like the Egyptian sun god.
That's how they operate anyway.
And some families, they will even pray for the dead, which is not biblical.
There's nothing you can do about it when someone is dead.
And, you know, some people will pray for the dead on all souls day,
but also set out food for their ancestors or left a candle in the window to guide ghosts.
And these are practices straight from the Shaolin lore.
And in the medieval island and in the medieval island and Britain,
people continued the costume of going house to house in different clothing,
also known as mumming. That's what they call it on the All Hallows Eve,
reciting verses or songs in exchange for soul cakes or food in honor of the dead.
OK, and that's the origin of trick or treat, folks.
That's why I'm against trick or treating,
because the whole practice is to ward off, you know, evil spirit.
And that's for praying for the dead, which is not biblical at all.
Go to Romans, chapter 12, Romans, chapter 12.
So all hollows Eve remained a night filled
with superstitions about wandering spirits, witches and fairies.
OK, so Halloween was never a Christian observance.
Halloween came from paganism as well as Roman Catholicism, which is also pagan.
OK, and we should never try to incorporate things.
We should never try to incorporate
something wicked into our belief system and start compromising like the Catholics.
Because a Christian label which which which they're not Christian,
but a Christian label does not make a pagan, you know, pagan custom holy.
Just like women's pants is still cross-dressing.
People still wear cool-offs, right?
Men's dresses is still cross-dressing like the kilts.
Rock music with Christian lyrics in it to me is still defiled.
Faith with a little bit of works still does not save you.
You know, just because you're mixing
some Christian influence does not make something pagan holy.
OK, Romans, chapter 12, look at verse number two about says this and be not
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the by the renewing
of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God, which never conform our standards to the world.
We should view everything in light of the Bible and change our mindset based
on what the Bible says. What about the Bible says, be not
explicitly yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship have righteousness with
unrighteousness and what communion have light with darkness and what concord have
Christ with Belial or what part have he that believeth with an infidel, which have
no communion with darkness, which have no concord with devil.
OK, so I don't care how Christianized it is, it is wrong.
Halloween has pagan origins as well as Roman Catholics compromised influences.
So I said point number one, the pagan roots of Halloween.
Point number two, the Christianization of a pagan holiday.
Point number three, I want to talk about
the modern celebration because we talk about the origin and then we talk about
how the Catholics change it in the early days.
But now let's take a look at the modern celebrations.
Over the centuries, Halloween evolved from these mixed origins
into the form we celebrate today.
Irish and Scottish immigrants brought
Halloween customs to America in the 1800s.
That's, you know, that's the immigrants
including folk belief about ghosts, witches and mischief night pranks.
That's why people, grown men should not be doing pranks on people, right?
Other ethnic groups added their own twist.
For instance, German, German immigrants,
you know, brought the superstition about the black cats.
And then we have the English traditions of fortune telling games on Halloween.
OK, so by the early 20th century in northern America,
Halloween had become a popular secular holiday focused on parties, pranks
and children dressed up to beg for candy.
So the custom of trick or treating became
widespread by the mid 1900s, drawing from the old practices of guising
and sewing in Europe, basically guising and sewing as children going door to door
in costume for treats, sometimes offering prayers for the dead in return.
OK, that's the origin of trick or treating.
So should you go trick and treating on Halloween?
No, OK, because it came from the practices of necromancy and witchcraft.
And why would you partake in a holiday of darkness and death?
Why would you put your kids in danger?
Because children are much more likely to be injured or be killed as a
pedestrian on Halloween than on typical days.
OK, one study found children aged four to eight are about 10 times more likely to
be fatally struck by a vehicle on Halloween evening compared to other fall evenings.
They might be kidnapped by someone wearing a mask and you don't even know it.
OK, so why are you putting your kids in danger?
OK, furthermore,
jack-o-lantern evolved from the Celtic
practice of carving turnips with scary faces to frighten away evil spirits.
In America, pumpkins are more plentiful and just easier to carve.
So the hollowed out pumpkin lantern
became a popular Halloween symbol to ward off ghosts.
OK, so should you carve out pumpkins in the fall?
No, because it came from necromancy.
OK, now I'm not against pumpkin decorations, nothing wrong with pumpkin pie.
But just be careful about having the appearance of evil.
OK, don't don't carve the faces in it,
because it's directly came from the pagan necromancy witchcraft.
OK, so on the surface, modern Halloween is
often portrayed as some innocent entertainment for kids.
It's a time for kids to dress up in their
superheroes and princesses and things like that, for families to enjoy gandy
and fall festivals. However, even, you know, even today,
the core themes of Halloween remain rooted in darkness.
Just look outside, go to the store, look at people's backyard decorations.
Look at the Halloween decorations at people's door.
It's all centered on darkness.
The Bible says, you know, for you were sometimes darkness.
But now are you light in the in the Lord walk as children of light.
We should not crave for darkness.
Just walk into any Halloween store or look at typical decorations.
What do you see? Witches, demons, skeletons,
devils, ghosts, vampires and gore.
Because the holiday glorifies images of death, fear and evil.
And people decorate their yards as graveyard and homes.
They would decorate a home with cobwebs and monsters.
That's stupid.
And horror movies.
And then we have the occult imagery,
the surging popularity each each October.
Go to Proverbs, chapter eight, Proverbs, chapter eight.
So should you watch horror movies with, you know,
demonic events happening and movies filled with gore and blood?
No, don't tell me individual celebrity, you know what I mean?
We should not have fellowship with darkness.
OK.
In fact, for, you know, practitioners of witchcraft and modern paganism,
such as Wiccans and Jewettes, October 31st is still observed as sawing.
And that's a key festival of the dead.
Even, you know, today in the Jewette
tradition, sawing celebrated the day still on October 31st.
And usually they will feature a
bonfire and and the communion with the dead and the modern witches consider
Halloween or sawing one of the most sacred nights to perform rituals.
OK, so still, you know, people still do
these pagan wicked acts, Proverbs, chapter eight, look at verse 36.
This is our verse of the week.
The Bible says Proverbs, chapter eight, verse 36.
The Bible says this.
But he that sinned against me,
wronged his own soul, all they that hate me love death.
So my question to you is, why do you want to be associated with the people
who hate God, who love death? It doesn't make any sense.
OK, you are wronging your own soul.
You are vexing your own soul.
You know, Christians should have nothing to do with Halloween.
So as I said, point number one, the pagan roots of the pagan roots of Halloween.
Point number two, the Christianization of a pagan holiday.
Point number three, the modern celebration.
Point number four, the commercial idolatry of Halloween.
The commercial idolatry of Halloween.
Now, this is going to be a short point,
but Halloween has become heavily commercialized lately.
And retailers promoted for months selling costumes, decorations, and candy.
Halloween is now, don't miss this,
Halloween is now the second largest consumer holiday after Christmas in terms
of spending. That is ridiculous. What about Thanksgiving?
What about New Year's Day, right?
What about Mother's Day, Father's Day, even the International Women's Day on,
like, you know, March 8th or the International Children's Day on June 1st.
You know, I did all that back in China.
Here, people don't celebrate those things, you know, just ridiculous.
They celebrate Halloween.
It's the second largest spending holiday after Christmas.
In the U.S., Halloween spending was,
you know, estimated to hit an all time high of 13.1 billion in 2025.
The average people spent over $100 on costumes, candy and different
decor for this one night.
Sadly, much of the money goes toward glorifying things of horror and the occult.
That oppose godly values.
OK, so should you participate in the events of Halloween?
No, people spend billions of dollars glorifying death.
How much do they spend to preach the gospel?
Now, spend money to go on a mission trip, go to give to a local church, drive an hour
or two, spend the gas money to go to a good church, take your family out for a nice meal.
There are way better ways to spend that $100.
OK, so point number five,
biblical warnings against occultism,
biblical warnings against occultism.
Now, now this is going to be,
I'm going to spend some time on this point because, you know,
some people think all the witches and the magic, they are fake.
OK, let me show you from the Bible.
These are real things.
And you know, you do not want to play with darkness.
The occult is a category of
esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices,
which generally fall outside of the scope of organized religions and science,
encompassing phenomena involving a hidden or secret agency such as magic and mysticism.
It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as extra sensory perception and parapsychology.
Take the Bible back to Deuteronomy chapter 18, go back to Deuteronomy chapter 18,
look at verse number 10 again, Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 10.
Let's go over this list again.
The Bible says this.
"There shall not be found among you
anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire or that uses
divination or an observer of times or an enchanter or a witch or a charmer or a
consultor with familiar spirits or a wizard or a necromancer.
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.
And because of these abominations,
the Lord, I got to drive them out from before thee.
So let's just go through the list.
One that maketh his son or daughter to pass
through the fire, that's child sacrifice in order to gain favor with some false
gods. Right. And then we have divination.
Divination is, you know, attempting to gain supernatural knowledge or guidance
apart from God, such as fortune tellers, tarot cards, palm readers, crystal balls,
horoscope, pendulums, even Christian fortune telling disguised as
prophetic readings sometimes, you know. And then we have the observer of times,
one who claims to read the future or discern luck based on celestial or
calendar signs, such as astrology, zodiac signs, lucky days,
Mercury retrograde, or seasonal superstition, you know, different
observers of time. And then we have the enchanter.
Enchanter is one who uses spells, signs or gestures to produce supernatural
effects, such as spellcasters, energy workers who speak incantation.
And then we have a witch, which is a female who uses sorcery, spells or potions
to influence or to control people. OK, that's why I don't use too much perfume.
I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
But sometimes, you know, certain chemical can really influence your neuroplasticity.
Anyway, that will be a separate sermon on that, OK?
I can produce sermon about a biblical
perspective on almost anything. So anyway, what about enchanter?
Enchanter is one who binds through spells or rhythmic chance, often to control
animals or people. Consultor with familiar spirit is one who talks
with a spirit that impersonates the dead or acts as a personal demon to guide.
Familiar spirit, right? Pretend to be someone familiar to you.
And then I have wizard.
Wizard is a male practitioner of the occult knowledge or magic.
And then we have necromancer.
Necromancer is one who seeks to
contact or communicate with the dead.
OK, Bible to Acts chapter 19.
Go to Acts chapter 19.
So we should have nothing to do with these, you know, occult wizards, spells,
you know, potions that actually control people.
Acts chapter 19.
By the way, those are real things because the Bible says it.
That's how we should be avoiding those things.
Acts chapter 19.
Look at verse 18, Acts 19, verse 18.
The Bible says this.
And many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds.
Many of them, which also used the mysterious arts.
Those are the dark arts, magics.
They use curious arts and brought their
books together and burned them before all men.
And they counted the price of them and found the fifty thousand pieces of silver.
So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
So if you are involved, not I'm aware of.
But if you are seriously involved in the
practices of the occult, you need to burn those books and the devices and get
right with God, confess your sin to God, throw away your tarot cards, horoscope,
or any other potions that smell too much.
I'm not against perfume.
I'm just making a joke.
So, by the way, that's another reason why you should not celebrate Halloween,
because it's associating with all the divination, enchanters, necromancers.
So go forward to 1 Corinthians, chapter 10.
1 Corinthians, chapter 10.
Look at verse number 20.
But too much perfume can actually be pretty dangerous to some people.
I mean, first, it causes cancer in California.
So I don't want cancer.
1 Corinthians, chapter 10.
Look at verse number 20.
1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse number 20.
The Bible says this.
But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice,
they sacrifice to devils and not to God.
And I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils.
You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of devils.
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
Are we stronger than hate?
The Bible is teaching us that we should not even be playing with these things.
You might be curious, but you may be involved in something
demonic and you don't even know it. Right.
And God is a jealous guy.
If you are worshiping demons, even unintentionally, God will punish you
because you should serve the Lord himself alone.
OK.
And the devil and demons, they are stronger than you think.
You may think that you can get away with these things,
but you have no idea how powerful the demonic spirit works.
These are real things.
You know, don't sacrifice to the devils.
Don't partake in the events of Halloween.
Go to Daniel, chapter 10, Daniel, chapter 10.
And the point I'm trying to make is the spiritual realm is real.
Demons are real.
Those, you know, people who cast spells, those are real people.
They have real demon, demon influences.
OK.
I mean, it's not just, you know, yeah, you know, obviously people use, you know,
people can do card tricks.
I mean, there's nothing demonic about it.
But some people can use real magic given,
you know, the power is given by Satan, Satan himself.
Then in chapter 10, verse number five, then chapter 10, verse five,
the Bible says this, then I talked about Daniel lifted up my eyes and looked and
behold a certain man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with fine gold of
you fast. OK, now I believe this man is an angel or a messenger of the Lord.
Now jump onto verse number 10.
The boss says this, And behold, and hand touched me, me is talking about Daniel,
which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hand.
And he, this angel, said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved,
understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright.
For unto thee am I now sent.
And when he has spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
Then he said, Hear unto me, fear not, Daniel, for from the first day
that thou didst set thy heart to understand and to chase thyself before thy
God, thy words were heard, and I'm come for thy words.
So basically, the story is Daniel was praying to God for an understanding,
you know, of the prophecy.
And then we have this angel.
We have this messenger.
He was, you know, carrying the answer back to Daniel.
OK, look at verse number 13.
The bow says this, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia,
which stood me one and twenty days below Michael," which is commonly known as Michael,
the archangel, if they are the same, you know, if it's the same Michael here.
"Below Michael, one of the chief princes
came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
OK, notice the story here.
Here we see a spiritual realm, you know, acting out, right?
We have, you know, this angel was trying to bring to Daniel the word,
the word of God, the answer from God.
But then this answer was delayed for 21 days.
Why? Because there's a prince of the king of Persia withstanding him until Michael,
the chief prince, came to help this angel.
And then he was able to bring Daniel the word of God.
OK, notice the spiritual realm fighting.
You know, the prince of the king of Persia,
I believe it's a demon assigned to the king of Persia because, you know,
if you see in the Bible, you know, the prince of Persia, the prince of Grisha,
you know, those princes, those demons, they have they have localities.
OK, there might be a prince of the communist China.
I mean, the prince of North Korea, right?
Because the demons are running the world right now.
OK, because the Bible says for we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against brains,
disabilities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
So I believe in, you know, most of the world governments, national governments,
they are wronged by the prince, the devil.
OK, and devil have many minions and Satan.
Satan is called the god of this world, the prince of this world.
OK, and then Satan has many princes to control the nations.
OK, and you know, I believe Satan has at least 51 million demons working for him.
Depending on how, you know, depending on your interpretation of Revelation
chapter five, about one third of the angels, you know, rebelled against God.
That's why, you know, don't dabble in the demonic realm.
It is real, because then it's a pretend is clearly talking about the prayers,
and the response was hindered for 21 days because the angel who was bringing
Daniel the word was hindered by a demon, by a prince of Persia.
OK, so by the way, sometimes when God
answers your prayers late, you know, this might be what's happening.
Right. There are real spiritual warfares taking place.
OK, so now I don't believe saved Christians will be demon possessed,
but they can certainly be demon demon
oppressed because the Bible says in First John four, verse number four, you are of
God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world, right, because when you are saved,
you are indwell with the Holy Spirit of God.
You can never be demon possessed,
but you can certainly be influenced by the demonic spirits.
Turn the Bible to Exodus, Chapter seven, Exodus, Chapter seven.
By the way, the best way to perform
exorcism is not with all those Catholic rituals.
And then the real way to perform,
to cast out demons, is by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Because when somebody say they are
indwell with the Holy Spirit of God, they are the temple of God, right?
So, you know, don't, don't be,
don't be stuck into all the Catholic rituals, spraying dust.
It's the gospel.
So, so in Exodus, Chapter seven, look at verse 19.
Exodus, Chapter seven, verse 19, here we see the first plague
against, against Egypt.
The Bible says this, and the Lord speak unto Moses, say unto Aaron,
take thy rod and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of Egypt,
upon their streams, upon their rivers and upon their ponds,
and upon all their pools of water that may become blood and that there may be
blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels
of stone, and Moses and Aaron did so as the Lord commanded, and he lifted up the
rock and smelled the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in
the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned
to blood. So here we have a miracle, right?
And this miracle was performed through the power of God.
They were able to turn the water into blood.
OK, but look at verse number 22, the Bible says,
and the magicians of Egypt, those are not the good guys.
Notice they did so.
They did the same thing with their, don't miss this, enchantments.
And Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
neither did he harken unto them, as the Lord had said.
Now, I believe this literally happened.
I believe the magicians of Egypt did the same thing,
not through the power of God, but through the power of the devil.
OK, these are not some made up thing.
They really did that because the occult is real.
Look at the second plague.
Go to chapter number eight, Exodus chapter eight.
Look at verse number six, Exodus chapter eight, verse number six.
I don't believe they pour some red dye into the river.
I mean, it's just stupid, you know.
Exodus chapter eight, look at verse number six.
The Bible says this.
And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt,
and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
That's a miracle, right?
Aaron stretched out his hand and then we have frogs came and, you know, everywhere,
covered the land, which I do love some good frog legs.
But look at verse number seven.
And the magicians, the bad guys, did so with their, not for the power of God,
but with their enchantments, spell casting and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
See, some people make fun of the spiritual realm and think it's not a big deal.
But the occult is real.
The magicians of Egypt, they literally did these things.
OK, through the power of the devil.
Now, personally, I'm not against some, you know, magic tricks or some kind of illusions.
You know, just some, you know, I think I think card tricks can be pretty can be pretty innocent.
Right. I think it can be pretty cool.
But I believe you can reach to a certain level that that it actually starts becoming
demonic because, you know, we know some mind readers right now.
Some of them, they are, you know, magic because they, you know, some of them,
they are real, like not like demonic mind reader.
I mean, they're they're just trying to confuse people.
But I believe there are some real mind readers because if you look at, you know,
some magic performances, they can be pretty dark.
Right. Some of the illusions, magics.
If you see the settings, they are all dark with skeletons and demons.
You know, there's something wrong with that.
You know, so I believe there are some
magicians, illusionists, you know, they are given their power is given.
Their power is given by the devil to do those mind readings, some high end magics.
Again, I'm not against some innocent card tricks, but just be careful.
Don't dabble with the spiritual realm,
because the Bible does say the magicians, their soul, their enchantments.
These are real things.
OK, so their code and magic are real.
But I also want you to see that even
though their powers, the magics are real, but their power is also limited.
Look at verse number 16, Acts chapter 8, look at verse number 16.
The Bible says this, "And the Lord said
unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod and smite the dust of the land
that it may become lies throughout all the land of Egypt.
And they did so for Aaron stretched out
his hand with his rod and smote the dust of the earth.
And it became lies in men and in beasts.
All the dust of the land became lies throughout all the land of Egypt.
That's a miracle from God.
Aaron stretched out his hand with the rod and then the land is covered with lies.
But look at verse number 18.
And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lies.
But they could not.
So where were lies upon men and upon beasts?
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God.
And Pharaoh's heart was hardened as he harkened not unto them, as the Lord has said.
So even though the occult and the magic still are real, but their power is still
limited, right? There are certain things that they could not do because God is
still more powerful than the devil. Amen.
So go back to Exodus chapter seven, look at verse number eight.
Exodus chapter seven, verse number eight.
The Bible says, And the Lord spake unto
Moses and unto Aaron, saying, when Pharaoh shall speak unto you,
saying, show a miracle for you, then thou shall say unto Aaron,
say thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
And Moses and Aaron went unto Pharaoh,
and they did so as the Lord had commanded.
And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants.
And it became a serpent.
He'll have a famous miracle when, you know,
when the rod was cast and the rod turns into a snake, a serpent.
But look at verse number 11.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers,
not the magicians of Egypt.
They also did in like manner with their enchantments,
for they cast down every man his rod and they became serpents.
So they did the same thing.
But notice, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods because the power of God is
still way more powerful than the power of the demons.
OK, so even though the the occult, witchcraft, they are all real things,
but God is still more powerful than that.
Go to second Thessalonians chapter two, second Thessalonians chapter two.
So modern witchcraft, new age practices,
crystals, astrology and channeling are just modern forms of the ancient Egyptian
sorceries, right? And the devil still deceives people
into seeking spiritual power apart from God.
You are in second Thessalonians chapter two, look at verse number eight.
Second Thessalonians chapter two, verse number eight.
The Bible says, "And then shall that wicked, that wicked is the antichrist,
and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,
even him," talking about this antichrist, "whose coming is after the mystic,
the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish,
because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved."
So Antichrist, his power was given by Satan himself,
and he can perform power, signs, and lying wonders.
So don't play with the spiritual realm,
because the occult and the magic and the spell, those are real things.
And Christians should stay as far away from these things as possible.
That's why I also believe that we should not be even watching the videos about these things.
Here's my reasoning. Let me ask you a question.
Can people be saved watching a gospel video online? Yes.
So what can a demonic video do to your spirit and your home?
Because if you can watch a video and be saved, what if you watch a demonic video?
You know, you might be haunted.
You might be oppressed, you know, so do not play with those things.
Go to Leviticus, Chapter 20, Leviticus, Chapter 20.
Let me give you point number six.
I want to quickly talk about the Day of the Dead because, you know,
right after Halloween, many cultures, especially in Latin America,
they will celebrate Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead.
And that's, you know, observed on November 1st and 2nd.
And that coincides with the Catholics All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
But it has deeper, you know,
pagan roots dating back to the Aztec rituals honoring the goddess of death.
OK, so during the Dia de los Muertos,
families built altars for dead relatives, decorated with skulls,
and believed that the souls of the departed returned to visit the living.
It's taught that the boundary between
the spirit world and the living world grows weak at that time,
allowing people to commune with their departed loved ones.
Participants light candles to guide the spirits, offer food and gifts at graves
or altars, and even hold festive parades with skeleton
costumes to to welcome the dead.
OK, again, again, it's a holiday of darkness.
OK, let's have a look at verse number six.
The Bible says this and the soul that turned after such as have familiar
spirits and after wizards to go a whoring after them.
I will even send my face against that soul
and will cut him off from among his people.
They will be they will be deported.
Their own citizens can even be deported
if they are worshipping familiar spirits.
OK, anyway, so notice it's called familiar spirits.
What are they worshipping?
That they think in their mind that they are praying to their ancestors.
But it's rather demons who are impersonating their ancestors, right?
That's why the Bible says familiar spirits.
Those demons are familiar to them.
OK, John, on to verse number twenty seven, verse twenty seven.
The Bible says this, a man also or a woman that had a familiar spirit,
or that is a wizard shall surely be put to death.
They shall stone them with stones, their blood shall be upon them.
So God takes witchcraft very, very seriously.
It's a death penalty.
So that that's just one other reason why praying to Mary is wrong,
because they may be praying to a devil that looks like what they call Mary.
Right.
And since Catholics are not saved,
they may be demon possessed by praying to those dead saints, which are really dead
demons. The Bible says for there's one God and one mediator between God and man,
the man Christ Jesus.
So instead of praying to deceased relatives or trying to invite our spirits back,
we should pray to God alone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Go to first Thessalonians chapter five.
This will be a last passage we turn to.
So I said point number one, the pagan roots of Halloween.
Point number two, the Christianization of a pagan holiday.
Point number three, the modern celebrations of Halloween.
Point number four, the commercial idolatry of Halloween.
Point number five, biblical warnings against occultism.
Point number six, the day of the dead.
And lastly, point number seven.
I want to talk about the Christian response to this holiday.
Obviously, I would have read this verse and have no fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
We need to stay clear of the activities of Halloween and reprove the works of darkness.
We need to stay away from the occults.
No trick or treating because that's coming from pagan roots.
Now, personally, I would not even recommend truncal treat,
because truncal treat is a modern family-friendly
alternative to this traditional trick or treating.
Truncal treat is often hosted by churches,
schools, or different communities, centers in a parking lot rather than neighborhoods.
Families park their cars in a parking lot,
open their trunks, and decorate them with themes such as Bible stories,
fall harvests, and cartoon characters. Children then walk from car to car
collecting candy or small prizes rather than going from house to house.
Sometimes there are costume contests, games, food booths, or gospel tracts
distributed as part of outreach.
But you're in 1 Thessalonians 5, look at verse number 22.
The Bible says abstain from all appearance of evil.
That's why I apply this biblical principle that I'm against trunk or treat.
By the way, I would not even recommend I'm just preaching against a lot of people.
I wouldn't recommend tract or treat either.
Why would I go out on a demonic holiday?
Don't be a holier than thou and say I'm just trying to share the gospel.
Now, would you go to the bar to preach the gospel?
Why are you going to a demonic event to preach the gospel?
Now, I wouldn't even recommend.
OK, I'm just digging myself into a hole.
But I would not even recommend you
opening the door and give the kids candies.
Why would you support them going trick or treat?
Because when you open the door and give them candy, you are supporting them to go
trick or treat. Right.
And why are you promoting an unhealthy lifestyle?
Giving them candies, you know, doesn't make any sense.
And why are you teaching the kids it is
OK to eat food from strangers? Because I think it's kind of hilarious.
You know, people people teach their parents
don't eat from the strangers, but understanding them for Halloween.
The moment you open the door and give them
candies, you are teaching them that's OK to eat food from the strangers.
And that is wicked. OK, so anyway,
no trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat, supporting an unhealthy diet.
Maybe, you know, put some gospel invitation at the door, just haven't grabbed it.
Don't even open the door.
OK, what if someone wear a mask and just shoot your house?
I mean, it's scary, right?
So what's the point of the sermon?
Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
Not in this world, nor in the world to come.
Let's close in with a prayer.
Thank you, Lord, for your word and pray
that we'll stay away from this holiday of darkness.
I pray that we will shine the world with the light of the gospel
so people can be safe and I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
Sing one last song, song number 37.
It's a very fitting song.
There will be no dark valley.
Song 37, there will be no dark valley.
Once home to gather his love.
Once home be known, Jesus comes to gather his love.
So there'll be no sorrow.
Jesus comes.
There'll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes by the glorious morrow.
Jesus comes to gather his love.
Once home to gather his love.
Once home gather his love.
Once home when Jesus comes to gather his love.
There'll be no griefing when Jesus comes.
There'll be no more pain when Jesus comes by the blessed reaping.
When Jesus comes to gather his love.
Once home to gather his love.
Once home gather together his love.
Once home be songs of griefing when Jesus comes.
There'll be songs of when Jesus comes.
And a joy when Jesus comes to gather his love.
When Jesus comes to gather his love.