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We're gonna get started with song number 17 song number 17 one day Song number 17 as you find your seats and if you are able to let's all stand together for our first song See you on that first verse one day when heaven was filled with his praises one day when sin as dark as could be Jesus therefore to be born of a virgin Living he loved me dying. He saved me Rising he justified Really One day Me Oh Glory yes One day they let him up Calvary's mountain one day they To die on the tree Suffering and Despised and rejected Dying he say Carried my sins far away Rising he just Really forever One day he's come me Oh Glory One day they left him alone in the garden one day he rested from suffering free Angels came down or his tomb to keep it Above the hopeless my savior is he Living he loved me dying. He saved me He carried my sins far away Rising he justified One day he's come me Oh One day the grave could conceal him no longer One day the stone array from the door Then he arose over deadly and conquered now is a My lord Living he loved me dying. He's a Very My sins far away Rising he just Really forever One day Oh See on that last verse one day the trumpet will sound for his car With his glories will shine My beloved Me Yes Let me love me dying Very My sins far away Rising he justified really One day Amen wonderful scene. Let's start up our service with a word of prayer dear God my father We thank you so much for dear God that you rose again. We got to conquer death for us Oh dear God and my father and Lord, we do pray that you please just be with us this evening with God I pray that you please just help us. We're got to be attentive to the service with God You please just bless the singing unto you and I pray that you would please with God also just help us with God to just Just taking the sermon to our hearts with God I pay that you please just be with our pastor guide him Lord God I pray that you would bring to remembrance of the things he has studied with God today and that the sermon will touch our hearts We know these things in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated Sign number 410 faith is a victory sign number 410 as our second song It's not more than 10 Sing on that first verse in camped along the hills of light he sold There's rise and press the battle where the night shall bow with skies Against the fall and valve below let all our strength be heard Faith is a victory That overcomes the world Faith is a victory Faith is a victory Oh glorious victory that overcomes the world His banner Over us is love Our sword the word of God We tread the road the Saints above with shouts of triumph trod By faith they like a whirlwind's breath swept on o'er every field The faith by which they conquered death Is still our shining shield Faith is a victory Faith is a victory Oh glorious victory that overcomes the world On every hand of all we find drawn up in dread array Let tens of these be left and onward to the fray Salvation's helmet on each end with truth all good about The earth shall tremble need or tread and echo with a shout Faith is a victory Faith is a victory Oh glorious victory That overcomes the world To him that overcomes a foe wide raiment shall begin Before the angel she shall know him confessed in heaven Then onward from the hills of life our hearts will love a flame will vanquish all the hosts of night In Jesus' conquering name Faith is a victory Faith is a victory Oh Alright great singing. Thank you for being here this evening. Welcome to first works Baptist Church Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song which will be 411 hold the fort if you want to get that ready in your songbooks 411 of course our Sunday morning service is at 1030 Sunday evening 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock You see so many times in teams and the lips the list of expecting mothers there if you can continue to keep them in prayer And then the important reminders are at the bottom. You could look at that on your own time. Just make sure you give heed to those Announcements there and of course on Friday, October 27th We have a home school park day and then Sunday October 29th is Melissa pays baby shower Along with the fall program and so that's actually gonna be the start of our fall program And want to encourage everyone to bring all their visitors on that day invite your family friends Co-workers and we want to fill up the house of God on that day and so I want to encourage you to do that and The fall program begins on that day and we'll end At the the conclusion of it will be the Thanksgiving banquet. That's something we do on a yearly basis In fact, let me read this announcement here Regarding the Thanksgiving banquet says we're excited to announce our fifth annual Thanksgiving banquet at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, November 21st Please sign up today to help us begin planning for seeding food, etc We encourage everyone to dress up mid to late 1800s style clothing Little house on the prairie dock holiday, etc. Okay Apparently Jose already has his gear together. Amen. And so we're telling you in time so you can you know Really? The goal is to just accumulate, you know all the gear throughout the years so that in ten years You're just full-blown dock holiday or something. You know, you just have you have the guns you have the bullets you have everything It's a lot of fun and we're gonna be taking pictures on that evening as well And then we're excited to announce that this year's bank will be held here at the church we will transform the auditorium into a banquet hall and We need help with many aspects of the banquet to make it a success. Please consider helping this year We need volunteers for setup teardown as well as decor and food And then you can see my wife if you are able to help with decor or food and Brother Ulysses if you can help with setup and teardown, so we're looking forward to this year's banquet. It's gonna be exciting We're also gonna give prizes for the best dressed on that evening looking forward to it And then lastly men's prayer night is on Friday, November 3rd 7 p.m. At the church building And that is pretty much it for our announcements And lastly, of course Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service Let's take some Sony Sony numbers from this past week salvations from Monday to Thursday Any salvations from Monday to Thursday two and four? Okay. How about Friday and Saturday salvations for Friday and Saturday four and One okay, and then this afternoon salvations for this afternoon for the Cody's team three the Morris team one for the hikes team one For the Glen's team one anybody else going once twice thrice. All right, keep up the great work on Sony Let's go ahead and sing our next song four hundred and eleven Hold the fort Song number four hundred and eleven hold the fort See you on that first verse oh My comrades see the signal waving in the sky Reinforcements Oh Jesus Back to Thy grace we will See the mighty host advancing see The mighty men around us falling courage almost Hold the floor for I am coming Jesus signal Wave the answer back to By thy grace we will See the glorious banner waving here the trumpet In our leaders name of triumph over every Jesus signal Oh Back to By Fears and long the battle rages Word comes our great commander cheer my comrades Oh Amen wonderful singing at this time our ushers will be receiving the offering and please turn your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 10 You You You You Good evening, so now we're in Jeremiah chapter 10 And the Bible reads He the word which the Lord speaketh unto you Oh house of Israel Thus sayeth the Lord Learn not the way of the heathen be not dismayed at the signs of heaven for the heathen are dismayed at them For the customs of the people are vain For one cut at the tree out of the forest the work of the hands of the workmen with the axe They deck it with silver and with gold they fasten it with nails and with hammers that they move not that it move not They are upright as the palm tree But speak not they must needs be born because they cannot go be not afraid of them But they cannot do evil neither. Also is it in them to do good For as much as there is none like unto thee O Lord thou art great and thy name is great in might Who would not fear thee O King of nations? For to thee doth it appertain for as much as among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms There is none like unto thee But they're all together brutish and foolish. The stock is a doctrine of vanities Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish and into gold from Ufaz the work of the workmen and of the hands of the Founder blue and purple is their clothing. They're all the work of cunning men But the Lord is the true God He is the living God and an everlasting King at his wrath The earth shall tremble and the nation shall not be able to abide his indignation Thus shall you say unto them the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth? Even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power He hath established the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his discretion When he others other is his voice There is a multitude of waters in the heavens and he calls it the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth He maketh lightnings with rain and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures Every man is brutish in his knowledge every founder is confounded by the graven image for his molten image is falsehood And there is no breath in him in them. They are vanity and the work of errors in the time of their visitation They shall perish The portion of Jacob is not like them for he is the former of all things and Israel is the rod of his Inheritance the Lord of hosts is his name Gather up thy wares out of the land Oh inhabitant of the fort or fortress for thus saith the Lord Behold, I will sling out of the inhabitants of the land at this once and will distress them that they may find it So woe is me from my hurt. My wound is grievous But I said truly this is a grief and I must bear it My tabernacle is spoiled and all my cords are broken My children are gone forth out of me and they are not there is none to stretch forth my tent anymore and to set up My curtains for the pastors are become brutish. They have not sought the Lord Therefore they shall not prosper and all their flock shall be scattered Behold, the noise of the brute is come and a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah desolate and A den of dragons Oh Lord. I know that the way of man is not in himself It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps Oh Lord Correct me but with judgment not in thine anger lest thou bring me to nothing Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not and upon the families that call not on thy name For they have eaten up Jacob and devoured him and consumed him and have made his habitation desolate Let's pray to look out. Thank you for the King James Bible Lord and all the great truths out of your word Lord I just pray that you feel past with the Holy Spirit Lord as he preaches those truths to us Lord and that us and the Congregation are edified by the preaching and we come away with a greater understanding of your word Lord We pray this all in Jesus name. Amen Amen. All right. We're in Jeremiah chapter 10 before I begin preaching. I forgot to make one last announcement chef Gonzalez Brought some food tonight and he brought his famous meat and so that is in the fellowship hall But I believe it's first come first serve, right? And so make sure that you partake of the meats drinks and diverse Whatever he's got going on over there in the back after the service and thank him for doing so Jeremiah chapter 10 Verse number one says hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you O house of Israel Thus saith the Lord learn not the way of the heathen and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven For the heathen are dismayed at them and the time of my sermon this evening is Christian superstition I guess another name could be Christian urban legends, right or Christian old wives tales Just essentially superstitious beliefs that Christians have essentially believed in because of tradition because other people taught them these things because sometimes even because of Bible colleges right that teach these things and false doctrines that have infiltrated churches through dispensationalism There's a lot of superstitious beliefs out there and we want to make sure that as Christians We base our beliefs off of what the Bible clearly says, right? Not just what we've heard or what we think to be true We need to make sure that we have concrete evidence for the things that we believe and not become superstitious Regarding certain things now, let me give you this definition the dictionary definition of what I mean regarding superstition it says here irrational belief usually founded on ignorance or fear and characterized by obsessive reverence to for omens charms, etc a Notion act or ritual that derives from such belief and obviously when you think about something that's superstitious or a superstitious person They're essentially committing almost an act of idolatry, right because they're ascribing power or supernatural capabilities to a specific person place or thing that God hasn't ascribed to you understand that God did not give that particular person place or thing that power or Ability and so that's what we were talking about when we refer to superstition now, obviously there's worldly superstitions, right? Think of people Who think it's a superstitious thing or they think they're they will be cursed if they walk under a ladder, right? I don't even know if people really believe in this stuff anymore, but I remember growing up There's people who believed that you know, you step on a crack you break your mother's back If you open an umbrella in the inside of a house, you know, you break a mirror at seven years bad luck, right? That's why people throw salt over their shoulders carry rabbit's foot I don't know too many American superstitious beliefs, but I know a lot of Hispanic superstitious beliefs Okay, and those are these are they pale in comparison to the Hispanic versions of old wise fables And in fact, you know Christians if they're not careful even Hispanic Christians can still believe some of this stuff. I remember being in the Spanish ministry and There is this belief amongst the Hispanic culture That a person in your family can have the eye Okay, and what is the eye well from my understanding because I don't really grow up with a lot of Hispanic superstition but from my understanding is like You know a mom would be cooking and making something that requires a little bit of foam and if a person in the family have The eye and would actually directly look at that pot He would cause it to you know Deflate or whatever and so they this person would be characterized as like having the eye And I remember a Christian told me about that and said yeah, it's crazy the way nature works, huh? I'm like, that's not nature You're superstitious, you know, they have this other belief where if a baby, you know, I was sick I might be misquoting this because I don't know too much about Hispanic Superstition but you know, they would roll an egg Right on the baby's body am I am I getting this right and if you cracked it in a term black it basically took all The impurities out of the baby just crazy stuff. Okay, and It's all superstition. It's not real. It's not founded on the Bible and It's it's it's something that people just get from tradition from that's why they're called old wives tales They're getting it from their mother their great-grandmother and it might be someone here who's getting offended at that That is true You know if you do rub the egg It does happen if you ever rub an egg and you crack the egg and it goes black as you just had a rotten egg That's all it means. Okay Go to Ezekiel 21 now here in Jeremiah chapter 10. You're going to Ezekiel 21 You know, God is commanding the prophet to preach and say don't be dismayed at the signs of heaven He's obviously referring to the celestial bodies and how the heathen are often dismayed or they become afraid because you know the stars and the planets are in a certain alignment and Because of that that's gonna affect their way of life. That's gonna affect their crops They're gonna that's gonna affect their finances or their health, you know, that's all superstition and God is saying don't be dismayed at that Prosperity and success. It's all based upon our walk with God Or if we're right with the Lord if we're obeying God's commandments It's not dependent upon whether you can see Mars and if it's in alignment with the moon or Saturn or whatever may be He says don't be dismayed at that the heathen are dismayed at that Said unsaved people are into astrology and horoscopes and all these nonsensical Ideologies that doesn't have or hold any water in the Bible, but look at Ezekiel 21 in verse 21 Here's another example. It says for the king of Babylon Stood at the parting of the way at the head of the two ways to use divination Now divination is basically, you know fortune-telling right to be able to tell the future What it's referring to when it talks about divination He made his arrows bright. Listen to this. He consulted with images, which is obviously referring to idolatry But I want you to notice this last statement. He looked into the liver Now a lot of people don't know what that's actually referring to is like What does that mean to look into the liver but this is often referred to as? Hepatoscopy. Okay. This is something that the ancients would often practice and when they would do these animal sacrifices They would open up the insides of the animal and based upon how the liver looked That's kind of how they would divine what was gonna take place in the future. So it's like oh man. This liver is really bad It's unhealthy. It looks you know Corrupted, you know, this is not a good sign But this is something that was very commonly practiced amongst the Babylonians the Romans and even the the people in Gaul They would often determine the future of a tribe the future of a family based upon the entrails of an animal. Okay? You say well, what is that? That's superstition if An animal had a bad liver because it's just an unhealthy animal doesn't mean anything It's not gonna cause anything to go wrong You can't divine you can't tell the future based upon the organs of an animal. You understand? It's all Superstition now when we look at superstitions outside of the scope of biblical Christianity You look at for example the Catholics which is a very superstitious religion Even though they claim to be Christian right and you got holy water, for example And they believe you know when you go into their mass they even have the little Stations in the entrance where you grab that holy water and you put it on your forehead and somehow that makes you sanctified No, that's superstition. It's disgusting too. Okay, because everyone's dipping their hand in their holy water And it even got to the point where people believe that they can ward off spirits and demons and vampires using holy water I mean as a kid I saw the exorcist and if you remember, you know He's like throwing holy water on the girl and she's like burning, you know, that's all nonsense Unless it's like acid or something that's being thrown at her and it's not holy water. It's all superstition How about crossing yourself? That's something the Catholics do that's a superstitious belief now I used to do that when I was a Catholic and in fact, we were so superstitious about it, and I don't know if like Caucasian Catholics did this I just know Hispanics did this but I remember like if I was with my friend and we were driving down the street and If there's a Catholic Church on the side it was imperative that we would cross ourselves as we are Passing by the Catholic Church. How many know what I'm talking about? You know, it's just like oh man, you know It's all superstitious. You said why'd you do that? You know, I don't know protection Just it's just something you do, you know to honor God, but it's all superstitious beliefs All we're doing is putting our thumb on our foreheads to our chest to both of our shoulders And then you know, that's it and then people, you know They often cross their fingers like this like a cross and they kiss it like it's a cross I mean, you know what I'm talking about. Okay, they're like, you know, they would do that. That's superstition Crossing themselves holy water now obviously these are very nonsensical They're foolish, but even some of the stuff that the Catholic Church practices is just plain wicked like necromancy Okay Incantations for the dead praying for their lost loved ones who are in purgatory or whatever, you know, we have a holiday It's not holiday at all. It's an unholy day. It's coming up called Day of the Dead where really a bunch of Catholics practice Necromancy, they just communicate with the dead and that's that's wicked that is against the Bible but at the end of the day It's all superstition. They're not communicating with lost loved ones. They're communicating with Devils. Okay, it's all satanic and So We have that example. We have examples of Pentecostal prosperity preachers who are also superstitious You say well, how do you know, you know, how about faith healing? That's superstition How about if you give online to this particular ministry? God is going to put $100 into your account or something or God's gonna heal you or if you give this much to this ministry I'll send you a handkerchief. That's anointed And then you'll have God's favor on your life. That's all superstition It's not real. It's for gullible people who don't know the Bible. Okay, and The Bible tells us that the simple passed on and are punished. Okay, how are they punished? Their bank accounts are punished because they're constantly giving to these ministries. And in fact, I remember years ago when we had a ministry in Maywood We I used to go to this It was like a senior living home, but it was like half Senior living home half recovery for people who were injured and then half like insane insane asylum I know that's more than one. I give three. Okay quarter quarter quarter, whatever you want 75% each or whatever They had all these right there and I Remember we met this lady. We led her to Lord here. Her name was Vanessa She was in a wheelchair and she got saved. She ended up coming to church. She got baptized and She started asking me about tithing. I was like, yeah, it's biblical to tithe. She's like, well I do tithe You know, I'm like, okay, and she's like, yeah, I tied to this ministry. She told me what ministry was but it was some online Prosperity gospel preacher thing and She's like I've been given to this whole thing to this thing for like years so that I can be a second walk again You know and she really thought and I'm thinking myself like well, I mean you're still in a wheelchair I mean you're not walking You know and and when we told her like yeah You can't you're not supposed to be giving your money to that those places are they're greedy of filthy lucre They're making merchandise off the flock of God and obviously we taught her and then she ended up getting right in that area But you know, there's a lot of people out there that are gullible about those things and they will readily believe Superstitious practices and customs that are put forth by sometimes most of the time false prophets Okay, well then I'm gonna talk about five to six superstitious beliefs that saved Christians can often believe okay and These examples that I'm giving tonight are examples that I know personally by experience being a fundamental Baptist Go with me if you would to Turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 I'm sorry, go to Psalm 115 first Psalm 115. Then we're gonna go to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 Let's talk about things Christians are superstitious about okay first and foremost crosses and I'm referring to Necklaces or crosses that are on a wall things of that nature now Let me just say this is that there's actually nothing wrong With wearing a cross or even putting a cross in your home First and foremost as long as Jesus is not on there Okay If you put Jesus on that cross Then at that point it is idolatry and it's a clear violation of Exodus chapter 20, okay But if this is just a normal cross, there's actually nothing wrong with that and you know people ask me this all the time They're just like hey, you know Is it wrong for me to have a cross as a necklace or to have crosses in my house? Is that Catholic or you know, how should I view this? Well, the problem arises when you begin to ascribe divine supernatural power to that cross Because in my experience even prior to being saved the only reason people wear crosses was not for looks Okay, let's just be honest here because they'll say well, I'm not doing it because I believe it has any supernatural power I just do it because you know, it's just it's just for looks most people wear crosses I'm just be honest because they've ascribed some sort of supernatural power to it. They think it'll protect them You understand it's just like oh I wear it because I just you know, I feel like it you feel like what? Because it's just a piece of gold on your chest. You know what I mean? Like that's at that point you're ascribing some sort of Supernatural divine power to it like it's gonna protect you by wearing it and I've literally had Conversations with people who use crosses and they asked me about this and they'll say well doesn't the Bible say take up your cross daily And I say yeah, it says if any man will come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me But you know, I don't think he was referring to that little tiny little gold piece you have on your chest Okay, obviously the teaching there is The cross represents and symbolizes death Okay, and so when the Lord says to deny yourself and to take up your cross He's basically telling you what the Apostle Paul says later on to die to self to crucify the flesh with the affections and lust it doesn't mean a literal cross and Some people are just overly literal about some of the things that the Bible says and I think I told this story a couple months ago, but I remember we're doing we're shooting an Episode for the landmarks and there's a guy literally walking down the street with a huge cross on his back But it had wheels at the bottom And it's just like you guys are overly overly literal about this stuff That's not what he's referring to there And so our cross is bad No Unless you're ascribing some sort of divine power to it unless you think it's protecting you unless you think it's actually giving you favor with God okay, it's like Catholics and the reason I keep bringing up Catholics is because they're they're guilty of a lot of this stuff You know, it's like Catholics when they put the Virgin Mary on their chest or something They tattoo the Virgin Mary on their chest and they think that somehow they believe this They think that's gonna like provide protection for them or God's gonna give them favor of some sort because they tattooed You know the Virgin Mary or people who tattoo Jesus Christ or a Bible verse on their chest or on their back They think that somehow God is just pleased with that. It does nothing That's a superstitious belief. It does absolutely nothing and I guarantee you listen to me There's a ton of people in hell today who have Jesus Christ had it on them Did nothing to them don't do anything to them. They're just defiling their body. They're literally just They are breaking God's commandments about not marking yourself By putting God's name on them and thinking that that somehow is gonna game them favor with God And so look if you have a cross on you right now There's nothing wrong with it. If you think it looks nice or whatever, you know, it's like a decoration It's a jewelry of some sort. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with it But if you think it's like it's somehow gonna protect you on your right home You know, I mean you get in the car. You're just like, you know You know at that point you're committing idolatry That's superstition that cross will do nothing for you my friends. Okay? Look at Psalm 115 verse number four this obviously applies to physical crosses It says in verse number four their idols are silver and gold the work of men's hands They have mouths, but they speak not eyes have they but they see not they have ears, but they hear not Noses have they but they smell not they have hands, but they handled not feet have they but they walk not Neither speak they through their throat They then make them are like unto them. So is everyone that trusted in them now I always thought that was funny because he's referring to the fact that these idols are dumb And he says they that make them are like unto them because they're dumb They're idiots, right? So is everyone that trusted them It thinks that the Jesus on the cross that they're wearing around there You know their neck or even placing on their wall if they really think that's gonna do something for them You know, they're dumb just as they're as dumb as the person who made it Okay, he says Oh Israel trust out in the Lord He is their help and their shield don't trust on something That's physical a physical cross with Jesus on there now again, don't think that I'm what I'm saying is don't ever wear a cross You know, if if you have a cross around your neck or in your household for decorations sake then maintain it That's what you want There's nothing wrong with that But I'm just gonna tell you right now the vast majority of people who do that Often do it because they ascribe some sort of supernatural ability to it They literally think it's gonna help them in some way shape or form and it's very much Catholic go to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 If you would 1st Corinthians chapter 1 So our cross is bad, of course not Unless you're ascribing something some divine ability to it at that point. You're committing superstition You're committing idolatry. You got to put your faith in the Lord Okay, 1st Corinthians 1 verse 17 says for Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel Not with wisdom of words listen to this lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved It is the power of God So the power doesn't rest upon an icon or a carving of a cross the power the power rests upon the preaching of the cross Christ who died on that cross You understand so at the end of the day the emphasis should be on Jesus Christ not on that cross You know, it's not gonna help you ward off vampires if you point it or something, I saw a funny video and It was in Spanish actually and you know, it was like one of those old Spanish Spanish shows I don't know if it was a movie or show But it was like a vampire right and the vampires coming at the guy and the guy pulls out a cross And he's like, you know trying to ward him off and then the vampire laughs at him He's like jokes on you than Spanish. He's like jokes on you. He's there. I'm Jewish you know and Then I think he pulled what does he pull out? Oh, yeah, he pulls out a swastika Like Hey, the power is in the preaching of the cross not a physical cross Okay. So look if you want protection from the Lord if you want God's favor on your life go Sony right Go preach what happened on that cross. You don't need a physical cross to make you successful Keep you protected you need to go preach the gospel in order for God to give you favor and You want you know, I want to put something on put on the Lord Jesus Christ. How about that? You know put on the new man And everyone's worried in the month of October. What am I gonna wear for Christmas or not Christmas? What are we gonna wear for for Halloween, you know? What am I gonna put on put on the new man put on charity put on bowels of mercy the Bible says, right? Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Hey, how about this put on the whole armor of God? And So you don't need a physical cross and I hope no one here is wearing one is just like oh man I'm not gonna wear this ever again I'm not saying you can't wear it as a decoration or something if you like it, but don't ascribe power to it though Okay, don't be superstitious about that thing. All right Because you know, sometimes Christians they they they wonder about that like well there's a cross on top of that church You know, I'd say there are Christian churches in that bass not bad unless they think that there's literally something Divine about the cross that's on top of that church that steeple. Okay, go to 2nd Kings chapter 22 2nd Kings chapter 22 Things that Christians are superstitious about Christian urban legends You have the cross how about this the physical Bible itself Now I'm a fundamental Baptist and I came from an old IFP Church Where there's people that would teach that you know You should handle the physical Word of God in a certain way because it's God's Word. Okay, and Christians can often become superstitious about the physical Bible itself and They end up adopting kind of like this Muslim Quran view of the Bible where they ascribe holiness to the physical book itself and They think it's like almost even to the point where if you have a Bible for example, and it's falling apart They would think it's sacrilegious to throw that Bible away in the trash Okay But here's the thing folks is that if it's falling apart You know and it's not usable to read Then go get a new one Something special about a physical Bible in and of itself. It's the content of the Bible It's the Word of God. This was made by a machine The physical Bible was made by a machine and you know I knew someone in times past and he ended up being a false prophet But he would often treat the Bible in such a way He's like you wouldn't put it on the floor and you would get on people for putting it on the floor now Let me say this. Okay, because I don't think we should have a superstitious view of the physical Bible But I do think you should take care of your stuff though You know, I think you should be a good steward of the things that you have Okay, and so, you know don't take this to an extreme and just like start throwing your Bible all over the place Take care of your stuff. And in fact, sometimes if I get a new Bible I won't put anything on top of it Not because I think I'm gonna be cursed but because it's new Yeah, I'm not gonna put my drink on top of it I don't want rings around my Bible for a while But then after a while, obviously my kids spill something it gets on my Bibles. All right Well, it's over and done with you know, now I can put anything on top of it But it's not because I ascribe some sort of physical power or supernatural power to the physical Bible itself It's because I want to be a good steward of the things that I have Okay, and so don't be superstitious about the physical Word of God and don't freak out if we're throwing away Bibles in the trash Okay, it's just like oh man. Why would you do that? So that's a Bible up because the front cover is ripped up No one's gonna use it. And here's what I find funny people used to say this in the past Regarding Bibles and I would tell them well, do you want it? And they're like, oh, no, no, no, I don't want it What I mean, I thought you esteemed it so much It's like no, but you shouldn't throw it away. Then you use it Bibles are meant to be used right and I remember even before I was saved. I also believe that there are some sort of divine power to the Bible itself Okay, probably comes from the Catholics Whereas like you have to have the Bible in the house You know on the table in your room on the coffee table on your nightstands like there's something about that Bible that was special Okay But having a physical Bible in your house does nothing if you're not reading and obeying it Okay You don't become godly by osmosis You know you guys ever seen that video of the Chinese kid. He's studying and he's like he's looking at the pages. He's going flips the page and he's like Nothing's happening okay, you know you actually have to read the Word of God and Memorize it obey it. That's what God is steams Okay is the actual reading and obedience to the Bible not the physical Bible itself But let's let's let's look at an example here. Look at verse number 8 of 2nd Kings 22 This is of course the story of Josiah He's taken over as the king and it says here in Hociah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord and Ociah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king word again and Said thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of them That do the work that have the oversight of the house of the Lord and Shaphan the scribe showed the king saying Ociah the priest hath delivered me a book and Shaphan read it before the king and it came to pass When the king had heard the words of the book of the law that he rent his clothes what does that mean he tore his garments he tore his clothes and the king commanded Ociah the priest and Ahicham the son of Shaphan and Akbar the son of Micaiah and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah a servant of the king saying Go ye inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this book that is Found for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us So just having the physical Bible in the house of God did nothing for Israel Did nothing for them why because they had it in the house of God It was there the entire time and God's wrath was still coming upon Israel I mean think about this in the Old Testament the Ark of the Covenant was a physical structure that essentially was meant to be in Israel to essentially kind of picture that the presence of God and There is a time where the children of Israel were fighting against the Philistines and They brought the Ark of the Covenant thinking that that would help them win and they still lost Because at the end of the day they weren't right with God Okay, so if something as holy as the Ark of the Covenant which was something in the Old Testament that was very much important Couldn't deliver the children of Israel from the hand of their enemy if they weren't right with God how much less a physical Bible Understand today physical Bible won't do anything for you unless you're reading it. Do not take a superstitious view of the Bible You know if your Bible is being torn up now, I get it. You know, there's certain Bibles that I still have That have a Sentimental value to me okay, maybe they're like one of my first Bibles where I learned specific doctrines and I keep those even though they're kind of tattered only because It brings memories of times past when I was growing in the Lord as a brand new Christian and it means something to me but you know what, that's all it is and They also let me say this Regarding reading the Bible. Okay, because old I have been now this isn't something that maybe you're familiar with But in the old IFP, this is something that was common and that is the subject of remas Okay, what is that? It's a teaching in the old I have been Rema is a Greek word that means word where they teach that you got to read the Bible until God speaks to you But here's the thing when you read the Bible that's God speaking to you And I'm serious it's just like read the Bible until God Speaks to you so you have to have like an a like and what is it an epiphany? When you're reading the Bible in order for God to speak to you, but what about everything else? It's still the Bible still the Word of God and what they're referring to is that when you're reading the Bible Something has to really just stand out to you. And and that basically is an indicator that God is talking to you But at the end of the day no matter what word you read in the Bible, that's God speaking to you right then and there Okay Obviously there's instances when you read the Bible and maybe you're involved in sin Or maybe you're going through a hard time and you read the Word of God and you read something That's pretty clear and it's talking about you your current situation That's the Lord speaking to you But you know other times when you're not going through anything and you're reading Bible and you're just getting information That's still God speaking to you You don't have to have great swelling joy in your heart and you know have a tear in your eyes Every time you read the Word of God, there are times when I read the Bible and I'm not emotional about it I'm just learning the Word of God and So there's nothing It's just view of reading God's Word either and that's something that came from a guy by the name of Bill Gothard Okay, who came up with this this view of arima? You got to look for your remas or something It's like no the entire Bible is arima Okay, and so don't take a superstitious view in that regard and here's another example of how a physical Bible doesn't really mean Anything how about when God told Ezekiel to eat the scroll? Right like the Word of God. He's just like tearing it just eating it. So well, that's he's desecrating the Word of God No, he's not because it's a picture of him consuming the Word of God the page in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean anything You know, the Bible says this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth But thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein For then thou shalt make that way prosperous and then thou shall have good success So don't be overly literal because if thou were true Then it's just that we got to have like a New Testament in our physical mouths like all day long You know, don't be like these Jews There's just like oh as frontlets between my eyes and so let me stick a box on my forehead with God's Word That's not gonna do anything to you. I mean you should learn that from the bad example of the Jews Even with their phylacteries and scriptures on their foreheads. They're still twofold more children of hell Because it does nothing for them they don't learn the Word of God by osmosis. They're blinded to God's Word. There's nothing Significant essentially about the physical aspect of the Bible. Jesus said sanctify them through thy truth Thy word is truth the Bible talks about to be doers of the word and not hearers only now turn with me if you would to Let's see here. Go to Acts chapter 17 if you would act chapter 17 Talk about superstitions in the Bible Let me breeze through some of these because I got I'm on the third one and I need to get all of them done here Here's another one that I've experienced as a fundamental Baptist and that is the call to preach and to the ministry Okay That's a superstitious view right there now I remember when I first got saved I Wanted to preach You know, I remember thinking myself and and you said what made you want to preach? Well, what made me want to preach is the preacher? Because the preacher got up and just ripped face. I'm like, I want to preach with authority I want to like know the Bible and preach it the way he preaches it. It was a basically I was inspired By men of God and so I figured well a pastor and a preacher kind of interchangeable there I want to be a pastor one day and I remember going to my spiritual leaders and before I even talked to my pastor, I went to one of his assistants and He asked me he's like, so what is it? Do you want to do and I said I Want to be a pastor. He goes. Okay, you're called to preach. You got to go to Bible College And so when you go to Bible College, you're often given this rhetoric of oh, you're called to preach You're called to preach. So it's soon transition from I want to preach To I want to pastor to I'm called to preach I'm called to be a pastor and it's not because I learned that on my own It's these are things that people were just telling me like, oh you want to preach? Oh, you must be called to preach Okay, and what they're referring to is just like some divine revelation of God Where he's just like Bruce Mihia You know, I'm sanctifying you to preach before all nations and so after a while I just would say yeah, I'm called to preach I'm called to be a pastor because that is the narrative that they constantly give in old IFP churches Now you said do you think you're called to preach? I just think I wanted to preach and I think I wanted to be a pastor and Here's the thing is that I didn't hear a specific call to it. I Got saved I Heard a Baptist preacher preach and I was like, I want to do what that guy's doing right there I want to perfect the Saints and obviously I didn't use that term But I was like I want to help people with the Word of God I want to know the Bible and I remember thinking myself I want to preach but I don't know what to preach because I don't know the Bible I Ain't got nothing to preach. I guess I got to learn the Bible But there's this idea out there that you have to be called into the ministry Or you have to be called to preach or you have to be called to a foreign mission field in order to be like a missionary like that that colony has to be on your life and The problem with that is is that you're essentially excluding everyone else who doesn't have that, you know, schizophrenic Experience and Then it creates this system Where if you're not called Well, let me back it up it creates a system where if you're not Gonna be a pastor if you're not gonna be a missionary if you're not gonna go into full-time Christian service Then you're not called of God and therefore you're somewhat of a second-class citizen in the house of God You know because they would often refer to the Bible college students as being the cream of the crop because they're the ones who are called But here's the reality folks is that there are definitely calls in the Bible But every single cause for every person for example the call to salvation and after salvation the call to service The Bible says for we are as workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Which God hath before then that we should walk in them. You don't need to be called to serve Jesus You know, you don't need a divine calling to serve Jesus. The Bible just tells you to serve All right, the Bible tells you to sow in to serve This is what the Bible is teaching You don't need a special light from heaven To tell you that he's set you apart and sanctified you to be an apostle to be a prophet to be a pastor The Bible says if any man desire The office of a bishop he desires a good work. And here's where that system is flawed is That there's people who feel like they're called But they're not qualified right So if you say you're called but you don't meet the qualifications then does that mean that you really heard it from God Because why would God call someone who is not qualified? According to his own standards, right According to God standards is not qualified yet. He calls them doesn't make any sense Okay, and then another thing is this is that when it comes to for example the call to be a missionary It's flawed Because they're just like I'm called to go to this particular part of the world But no, we're all called to go everywhere To Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the utmost parts of the earth. We're supposed to go everywhere right not to just one specific geographical location and Sometimes that that is also just kind of hammered into the minds of young people and they're like well You got to go to this place. You got to go to this place These are the areas you can be called to or something, you know, and it's like why don't we just go to all of them? But they expect missionaries to just go to one mission field and just stay there for the rest of their lives Whereas the biblical model of mission work missions work is that we can take trips Go there for a little bit win a bunch of souls come right back And obviously there's examples of the Apostle Paul staying there for years on end, but that's because they don't have airplanes You know They didn't have all the transportation and social media that we have We could literally just go there for two weeks and get a bunch of people saved and get a lot done and then come right back So you don't need a call for the ministry you need to be qualified you need to have a desire you need to be qualified and Obviously if you're gonna be a pastor you got to have the umph The endurance the ability to withstand the ability to handle pressure and stresses You know, that's not for everyone you understand and so I know a bunch of people who are called and you know what? They didn't cut it. So what what happened did God make a mistake? And you know, I used to hear these stories in Bible cause I remember this one particular guy and he's cool now You know, he's pastoring and all that but I remember he came to college and You know, we're all using the the calling terms and like we're called to preach and he said this he's like he's like Yeah, I was called to preach but I just kept rejecting it. I just told God no, I don't want to preach I don't want to be a pastor I don't want and what he wanted was just like a really cool story of how like God worked on this man He was running from God. He's be like a Jonah and God finally got to grab a hold of his heart now He's a pastor. It's just like cheesy story. You're not Jonah, bro, you know But he wanted to like tell the story as if like there's just this constant battle and God really cuz you know He's just like the he could be one of the best pastors ever God really wanted him to be a pastor, you know, I don't think that God is up in heaven Just really wanting particular people to be pastors. He's like, please. Can you please be a pastor, please? Let me just work ever. No, it's just like you have to meet the qualifications and then you can pastor All right be sent out by a pastor have the training all that and there you go But it's not like God is just pleading with men to be pastors God wants people to serve him but he's not gonna he's not gonna plead with people to serve him serving. God is a privilege Serving God at whatever capacity is a privilege. It's an honor. He's not gonna beg people to serve him. He's commanding us to serve, right? All right, let me move on here how about this a physical building People could become superstitious about a physical building or it was like well the place where I'll stand is this holy ground kind of thing Well, this is like the temple. This is the house of God No The people are the church Not the physical building and it gets to a point where it's just like well We can't have any other activities in the church because this is the church You know, how can you have activities? Isn't this like the sanctuary? No, this is a room. These are actually two rooms converted into one Okay, I don't know if you guys know that you're like, oh man, so you're gonna have like the banquet in here I thought we couldn't eat in the auditorium. Well at that time it's not gonna be an auditorium Guess what it becomes on that date a banquet hall I mean, this is not it's not hard folks. Here's another thing the altar calls People have a superstitious view of the altar, okay of Alter calls and in fundamental Baptist churches, this would often be the altar call right here This is the altar and at the end of the service all of you All of you Would be down here immediately after the service and if anyone is still sitting in their seat it's like oh This person is resisting the Holy Ghost This is literally the view and reason people are chuckling because they probably experienced that Fact it's like they want people to come to the altar and get on their knees and get right with God and make decisions And and here's the thing. You're like, oh man, you're just criticizing. I was a part of that system I went to the altar. In fact, I got saved at an altar So I know what I'm talking about here. Okay, I went to the altar multiple times throughout my Christian life at In old IV Church, that's just something we did But it's not biblical You say well altar is in the Bible. Okay, the altar is in the Old Testament The temple had an altar but there is absolutely zero evidence in the New Testament of altars For four churches in Fact look at Acts chapter 17 because when you look at altars in the New Testament, you'll find some in the Gospels, which is pre New Covenant, right? They're still in the Old Covenant at that time and then you'll find some in reference to the altar of the Old Testament and Here's one in the book of Acts. Okay, look at Acts 17 verse 23 For as I passed by and beheld your devotions I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God whom therefore ye ignorantly worship Him declare I unto you. So the only example of people using altars in the in the New Testament are pagans Using altars, but let me say this fundamental Baptists have an extreme Superstition about altars and in fact if any old IFP heard what I'm saying right now They would be greatly offended at what I'm saying Because they they idolize the altar they base their ministry success Not all of them but the vast majority of them off of how many people come to the altar And I'm telling you if you were to stay in your seat during the altar time. Oh, man, you're you are backslidden and I'm sure it's in non-denom churches too. I'm sorry Cody. Is this true? Can you verify this? Okay, and And So the altar There is no altar in the New Testament. Like I was wondering why you don't call us to a decision because that's not my job Once the sermon is over we pray and you don't have to just get right with God here You can do it on the way home. You do it throughout the week I mean, my job is to preach the Word of God you respond to the preaching of God's Word. I'm not gonna coax you Where's the hand? I see that hand. Where's that hand who else who else who else who and it just turns into like This mantra just kind of like who else I see that hand. I see you're fighting it. You're fighting you right there Yeah, just get down here, right? You know, it's just like and I've been in services where they've done that and you're just kind of like this and you're like And he's looking right at you I've been in youth conferences that are like that because they determine success of based off of how many people come to the altar All right, let's move on Superstitious Okay, go to Psalm 122 Psalm 122 Here's one of the biggest superstitious beliefs of Christians pray for the nation of Israel That's a major one Okay, let me read you a couple verses here Genesis chapter 12 verse number one says now the Lord said had said unto Abram Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shall be a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee and Curse him that cursed at thee and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed and that's why we got to bless Israel So this whole war that's going on right now between Israel and Palestine. You better be on the right side You better be on Israel side This is I guarantee you a lot of fundamental Baptist churches today Probably preach something to that extent Pray for the nation of Israel. Okay, and I guarantee you they went to Genesis chapter 12 and Say you'll bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse at thee And so they create this system and this operation of superstition in the minds of Christians thinking and I don't want to say anything bad About Israel, even though it's just a really wicked occupation in Palestine Even though you know They reject Jesus Christ and spit on Christians and they hate the Lord and they take they take pride in the fact that they kill The Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to curse them because oh man something might happen to me. You're being superstitious Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them they hate the Lord therefore wrath is upon thee from before the Lord So according to the Bible the Bible tells us that if we support wicked people God's wrath will be on us and you know what the nation of Israel is a wicked nation wicked as hell and No Christian should ever pray for the prosperity of a nation. That is a Christ rejecting nation That hates the Lord Jesus Christ He said what do you make of Genesis chapter 12? Well, good thing we have a King James Bible that tells us who's being referred to here because he says the singular referring to Abraham okay, and People always want to point to America We've always just been good to Israel and Genesis chapter 12. Yeah, but it looks like like America's curse though Like the opposite is a when's that blessing coming? There's all kinds of abortions All kinds of faggotry in this country Doesn't look like anything's really improving just going down the toilet Maybe we shouldn't like stop doing that and see if the opposite works But Christians have a superstitious view of Israel for sure. Oh, they're God's chosen people Oh, that's that's God's people as the physical nation of Israel. We should pray for them Well, let's look at like the examples of prayers in the Bible against Israel Well, look at Psalm 122 first because this is another verse they'll pull out look at verse number six Pray for the peace of Jerusalem They shall prosper that love thee Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. I mean, I've heard this verse these verses priests all like many times They're saying, you know, we got to pray for Israel pray for the peace of Israel peace within their walls priests Prosperity within thy palaces, but look at verse number eight for my brethren and companion's sake I will now say peace be within thee not for the physical land Not because there's people there that God still steams as being as people he's Christ rejecting Jews He's saying for my brethren and my companion's sake and it says in verse number nine because of the house of the Lord God the Lord our God I will seek thy good So this is obviously referring to an era when the house of God was still in Israel But there's no house of God in Israel now The temple is no longer an Institution that is sanctioned by God in the New Testament. You said where's the temple now? You're looking at it Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost which he have of God and ye are not your own the Bible says all Believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He says so we shouldn't pray for the peace of Jerusalem We shouldn't pray that they would prosper and the peace would be there within their walls and prosperity within their palaces Well, let me ask you this are there is the house of God there because we should pray for peace for churches right That we would live a peaceable life That the magistrates and kings of this world would leave us alone, right so that we can serve God Unhindered that's what we should pray for Not for some Christ rejecting Nation that hates the Lord Jesus Christ like yeah, but they believe in God the Father They don't believe God the Father because they they don't believe in the son If you don't have the son, you don't have the father the Bible says And in fact go to Jeremiah chapter 7 if you would Jeremiah chapter 7 You know Elijah prayed against Israel David preached against Israel Isaiah preached against Israel and look at Jeremiah chapter 7 verse number 16 Therefore this is God speaking pray not thou for this people Neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them neither make intercessions to me for I will not hear thee He's telling Jeremiah. Don't you pray for these people and he said why is he saying that because they're involved in idolatry Because they're against the Lord and you know what the Israel of Jeremiah's days pretty much the Israel that we have today They have not Kept God's covenant. They're completely against the Lord. They rejected the Lord Jesus Christ He came into his own his own received him not and so you know what? We should take this as an admonition to ourselves as it was given to Jeremiah and say, you know I'm not gonna pray for Israel because I'm not gonna pray for people who are against the Lord I'm not gonna pray for the prosperity of a nation. That's occupying Palestine is in his living wickedly and shame on Christians who do Shame on the Zionist Christians the dispensational dipsticks of this world Who just want to promote Zionism and infiltrate churches with Zionism. It's nonsense my friends. They are not the apple of God's eye You know, yes, they are. Okay. Okay. I'll give you this. They're the rotten apple Without fruit go to Acts chapter 2 Now I remember when I first learned or started learning about replacement theology There is still something within me that kind of felt a little bothered by Preaching against Israel and it's only because of that dispensational teaching. It was just like man, but I knew what was right So it's just like I got to get over this, you know But I've had so much dispensational teaching and Zionist teaching that it just felt weird Okay, but you know, yeah, I've done it long enough that it just doesn't you know I'm just kind of seared to the idea now, you know, it just doesn't really bother me But you know if I felt like that I guarantee you there's plenty of people out there Christians out there Who believe like that and they feel like oh man, we don't want to touch the Lord's anointed We don't want to touch Israel. We got to pray for them folks It's a wicked nation and I honestly don't even know what's going on over there But it sounds like the same thing that's been going on for decades on end. Just Israel being Israel Just mistreating the Palestinians and doing all that And you know free Palestine. Amen. That's what I believe All right, here's the next thing here Here's the last thing is that Christians can often become superstitious about the Hebrew and Greek languages And again, this derives from dispensationalism as well because dispensationalist can often take a superstitious view of the Greek language Where they think that the Greek language is just this mystic Supernatural language because God chose that language to be used to translate The new to pen down the New Testament and therefore it has some sort of divine power behind it But folks the Greek language is just like any other language The only thing that's special about is that yeah, God chose it to pen down the New Testament But you know what? We have it in English today and the Word of God is in every other language as well and Here's proof of that look at Acts chapter 2 verse number 5 to show you that Greek is not just some supernatural mystic language Verse 5 says and there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews Devout men out of every nation under heaven now when this was noise the broad the multitude came together and were Confounded because that every man heard them speak in his own language they're all amazed and marveled saying one to another behold are not all these which speak Galileans and How here we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born Parthenians and Medes and Elamites and dwellers of Mesopotamia and in Judea Cappadocia and Pontius in Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia in Egypt and in the parts of Libya and Cyrene about Cyrene and strangers of Rome Jews and proselytes Crete and Arabians we do hear them speak in our tongues The wonderful works of God. Well, if Greek is such a mystic supernatural language You know, why didn't they just tell everyone you guys all need to learn Greek if you're gonna hear the Word of God You know why because of the fact that at the end of the day the originator of languages is God To be used to proclaim God's Word to communicate one with another There's nothing supernatural about it and people often have this attitude because because they don't know Greek They get they get to study in the Greek and they think that Greek is just deeper, you know, just gives you more meaning But what they don't realize is that you can get that in English just use up the source That's basically what it is now I've started the Greek language I know a little bit of Greek I can speak a little bit of modern Greek and I'm reading through the Greek New Testament. I've read through Matthew Mark Luke and John I've read through 1st 2nd and 3rd John and the book of Revelation and Jude and I'm still working on the Greek New Testament and At the end of the day if I want to learn something From the Greek Bible I just go to kind of like a Greek thesaurus to kind of like Expand the meaning and give me a greater understanding what's being said But it's not something mystical because the same thing could be done in the King James Bible The same can be done in any book, right? If you want to know, you know, you ever read a book and then you run into a word You just don't know what it says what it what it means. You could just literally pick up a thesaurus It's almost like using a dictionary because it gives you a word that's familiar that you're familiar with and like, okay now I understand and I learn a new word But there's nothing supernatural or mystic about the Greek language and in like manner There's nothing mystical or supernatural about the Hebrew language because you have the dispensational is who push Greek to make it sound as though Oh, man, it's like, you know this mystical language or the Calvinists do the same But then you also have the Hebrew roots movement That will try to push Hebrew the Hebrew letters and the Hebrew languages or the Hebrew language and Try to claim as though it's divine there's something supernatural about it But folks there's a time when the Hebrew language was dead for for 2,000 years Doesn't sound very supernatural to me if it could not survive for those 2,000 years and you know Why it was dead for so long because people just stopped using it and in fact the Jews It's always the Jews fault, okay When It came to the one of the names of God which is Jehovah We would know as Jehovah in the Bible today in our English King James Also known as the tetragrammaton No one really knows how it's spelled in the original Hebrew Now people could speculate today what it might have been spelled like but no one can be a hundred percent sure how it's spelled or excuse Me how it's pronounced You know why because it was dead for 2,000 years and so people because people aren't using it They don't really know how it was originally stated. So is it really supernatural is The tetragrammaton really that's and let me just tell you what my position is on the tetragrammaton as the pastor of this church Just so I can educate our church. And so we all understand where I'm coming from In the Bible you have God revealing himself throughout biblical history Through different names and these names aren't necessarily Negated when one is revealed. They're just kind of accumulate. So he's known by all these names Okay, and you know you have in the book of Genesis God revealing himself as just God Elohim he reveals himself as Lord Adonai But it wasn't until Genesis chapter or excuse me Exodus chapter 6 that he reveals himself through what's known as the tetragrammaton That's like a fancy way of saying the four-letter name of God. Okay, which we would see in our King James Bible as Jehovah, okay, and even then it doesn't even use it very often Because if you read the King James Bible, you'll often see that sometimes there's Lord that's spelled all capital letters Right you ever read the Bible and just like sometimes it's capital L and then lowercase or D other instances if they're all in caps Well when they're all in caps that's referring to the tetragrammaton, okay So that was revealed in Exodus chapter 6 to Moses at the burning bush Reveal himself as Jehovah the I am that I am the tetragrammaton That's where that stems from and then thereafter there's just different variations. He's the Lord of hosts You know, we know that his name is jealous And then of course we have God Almighty and then in the New Testament the name that's mostly emphasized The greatest name is Jesus So that's kind of the name that really takes the preeminence Over all names to a certain extent. Why is that? Because it's the name that we have to believe on in order to be saved understand But now you have the Hebrew roots movement who have sought to infiltrate Christianity. They're they're Judaizers and Then this term Yahweh's popping up Okay, and look when I first got saved I didn't I never even heard of Yahweh So what'd you hear of Jesus? and In fact in my Bible your Bible as well You will never find one instance where Yahweh is being used and I'm just be honest with you I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it, right? And in fact, no one knows how it's pronounced. I'm just saying it the way they say it but all of a sudden The Hebrew roots crowd is pushing this name Okay, and they they take a superstitious view on that name Where they think like that's the name of God That's the name that we should be using and in fact when I did that interview with that book of Enoch, dude He literally had a shirt that said Yahweh and he is a Hebrew roots guy like he blows the shofar You know, he does all that But you know, it's interesting is that he refused to use the name Jesus Isn't that interesting Now we're not saying that the name Jehovah isn't a valid name because we have it in our Bibles That's the name that God chose to reveal himself by. You say well, how do you know if it's valid to use Yahweh or not? Well number one because of the fact that it's just not found in the Bible That's number one. But number two, let's follow Jesus's example. Should we not walk the way Jesus walked? Speak the way Jesus spoke and In the New Testament when Jesus and the disciples are quoting Old Testament scriptures that had the tetragrammaton They never used they don't even use Jehovah Like when Jesus wants to quote the tetragrammaton from the Old Testament, he doesn't even use Jehovah. He said what does he use Lord? Now if the tetragrammaton was so divine and supernatural Then why did Jesus not use it and Here's the thing folks. It's not like God couldn't have taught us how it was pronounced He could have just left it in the Bible. I mean there's instances in the New Testament where Greek names and Greek terms are transliterated you have seraphim cherubim, right? You have a Paul or not Paul you have a bad in There's times when the Hebrew word is just left there and you know what he's saying, you know that it's a Hebrew word So if it was that important he would have left it in the New Testament for us to know, okay He said so what's your take on Yahweh then? Well my take on Yahweh as far as I know and I don't believe this is blasphemous at all That it's either the name of God But I just highly doubt it and I have so many other names to pick from or it's just the false God of the Hebrew Israelites Hebrew roots movement Okay, you know, well, that's kind of you know Sacrilegious. Well, let me ask you this when I talk about the Jesus of the Mormons. Is that sacrilegious? No, because we know we're not referring to our Jesus Christ Right if I say the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witness, we're not talking about our Jesus Hey when I say that faggoty haired Jesus of the Catholics We know we're not referring to our Jesus Christ you say well Can you give me an example in the Bible where someone did something like that? Well, how about Paul when he talked about? Another Jesus Right, he didn't say another false god. He like literally said another Jesus Meaning there's possibly someone out there in his time Preaching Jesus, but it wasn't the Jesus of the Bible Jehovah's Witnesses Right. There you go. And So I don't take a superstitious view of that name because I've never heard of it God never taught it to me I've grown in the Christian life Preach the gospel and I've never used that name once because I've never heard about it until the Hebrew roots movement And here's a good way to determine where something if if the source of something is Righteous or unrighteous who are the people who are using that name? right Like who are the people that use the King James Bible? When they when you pinpoint who used the King James Bibles like all the Baptists they're gonna be soul winners They're big on separation heart preaching. They're characterized by that label, right? Who are the people that use Yahweh a bunch of heretics And people on social media who just want to be trendy You know because you see on their social media Instagram like Yahweh, you know That's what they put because they want to be trendy They want to have like an edge on the truth, but that's not in the Bible. They don't know Hebrew they don't know how to pronounce you have a 50-50 chance, but you got 50-50 chance that you're wrong and So I rather just stick to the names that God has actually revealed in his word and to me The most important name is Jesus Christ Jesus rendered the tetragrammaton as Lord. I'm good with that go to Psalm 138 if you would Psalm 138 And look sometimes in the Bible God uses these names interchangeably and He is not Really making a big deal about it He's not subscribing some sort of supernatural power if they interchange them unless you're referring to one specific person of the Godhead By a distinct name for example given to the Son of God You know, we can't call God the Father Jesus Because they're separated, right? And we can't say the Jehovah is the name of God the Father only because of the fact that Jehovah also means the I am that I am and Jesus said before Abraham was I am So he's also Jehovah But he's distinctly referred to as Jesus He say well, what are you referring to then? Well? I'm referring to the fact that there's instances in the Bible Where names are used interchangeably to refer to just the Godhead period and God didn't really bat an eye at it Okay, here's an example in Genesis 22. You don't have to turn there when Abraham is about to offer Isaac and of course God stops him there. He says in verse 14. He names the place of that area Jehovah Jireh Well, that would seem kind of confusing if Jehovah is not a name that he was revealed to Abraham Isaac and Jacob as according to Exodus chapter 6 right Exodus chapter 6 that he wasn't says that he wasn't known to Abraham Isaac and Jacob by the name Jehovah, but in Genesis 22 14 Abraham refers to that place as Jehovah Jireh. So what's going on here? Well based upon The evidence and the fact that the Bible does not contradict itself. What's taking place here is that Abraham Potentially used the name Elohim or Adonai and then the writer of the book of Genesis who's potentially Moses after Genesis chapter 6 say well his name is also Jehovah and you just put Jehovah Jireh He put the tetragrammaton there because he saw nothing wrong with Replacing them because they could be used interchangeably to refer to the Godhead The Bible tells us in Philippians chapter 2 verse number 9 wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and Given him a name which is above every name referring to Jesus. And so when we preach the gospel, we don't use Yahweh We don't tell people to call upon the name of Yahweh. We don't pray to Yahweh. No one here prays to Yahweh Because you're not accustomed to using that name because you've never heard of it in this book It's not found in here What's in the original language, but you don't speak or you don't speak or pray in or preach from the original languages I mean, I'll be honest with you. I don't even say Jesus when I pray because I'm not Greek I Use Jesus Jesus Christ And to call out the false god of the Hebrew roots movement is very much biblical because Paul the Apostle did it and You know, there is another Christ. There are false prophets. There is another Jesus another gospel that's being preached out there another spirit and It's not sacrilegious to call that out because God told us that there would be another Christ That's not Jesus Christ And if so if we can use that term another Jesus because we definitively know that that's his name How much more a name that we don't even know if it was his name? But at the end of the day look at Psalm 138 verse 1 this is the most important thing here He says I will praise thee with my whole heart before the gospel. I sing praise unto thee I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth Listen to this for thou has magnified thy word Above all thy name. What is he saying? The Word of God is more important than the name Now is the name important? Yes, but the Word of God is in the tier just above that You know why because there's a lot of people who claim Christian There's a lot of people who claim to believe in Jesus But you know what if that name and what they claim to believe in doesn't match up with the word Then it's not Christianity If they say they believe on Jesus Christ, but they have to repent of their sins They're not believing in the testimony that God has given So in order for us to validate the name, we got to see what doctrine the name is attached to We got to see what doctrine and what belief is attached to that name and let me say this I have not met one single person who calls upon Yahweh to believe in the doctrines of the Bible They always believe in a workspace salvation They're always trying to Judaize people try to get people to observe all these feasts and Reject the name of Jesus Christ. I want nothing to do with that and So that's how I determine if it's the right name or not. What doctrine is attached to that name? You know the Jehovah's we believe in Jesus too. But what do you believe about salvation? Well, we believe it's a process We believe you have to do works. Okay, then then you know what you don't believe in Jesus you believe in another Jesus Well Yahweh is Jesus well not based upon your doctrine is not Your doctrine is saying something else and I magnify his word above his name. I Determine if it's a right name if the right doctrine is attached to that name Plain and simple my friends that's why it's important for us to know the Bible and not just be cared about with every wind of doctrine a People on social media. Well, I believe in Jesus just like you That doesn't cut it If people tell me they're a Christian. Sorry, that doesn't cut it Someone tells me. Oh, I believe in Jesus and he's my Savior. I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry that doesn't cut it What is the word behind that name? What do you believe say shibboleth? Right pronounce the word and I don't want to know 5050 either Say shibboleth was like what's sibboleth, but it might be Soboleth or Sherbert, you know, I don't want I want the name Here's what's wonderful about the Bible my friends and here's what's wonderful about the name of God is that it's attached to a specific doctrine And so it helps us to kind of cipher through what's right and what isn't Doesn't matter how convincing and wonderful that name is and we love the name of Jesus love it. I love the name of Jesus, right? But you know, if someone comes to me with the name Jesus and they praise him and they render unto him honor But their doctrine is in complete contradiction to the Bible then you know what I want nothing to do with that other Jesus Plain and simple my friends. It's about the doctrine that's attached to that name. You know what Yahweh I See nothing but bad doctrine attached to that name Plain and simple don't be superstitious About the names of God Okay, we obviously ascribe to the fact that when someone gets saved they don't just call upon God They don't just call upon the Lord. They don't call upon the tetragrammaton They have to call upon Jesus why because that's specifically instructed by God because Jesus is the one who died for us Jesus the one who resurrected and so let's not be superstitious Christians. Amen. Let's pray father We thank you so much for your word and thank you for the name what the name means to us because of the word And the only reason we know of the true name that is above all names We know that based upon that name and based upon what the Word of God says that that is the truest name there is And let us not be deceived that when people tell us that they believe in Jesus or they believe in God They believe in the Holy Spirit That we would ascribe Christianity to them because of that because at the end of the day you've magnified your word above the names and so help us decipher through them and not be deceived the Hebrew roots movement is on the move and They have sought to infiltrate churches through their ideologies and false doctrines and Lord. We need to stick to the tried and true Recognize what the Word of God says and be vigilant about it and not be tossed to and fro help us not to be superstitious Christians Regarding these matters this evening. We love you. We thank you. Pray the scenes in Jesus name. Amen Amen we're gonna be singing a song Called I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary If you don't have the song sheet Please raise your hand and one of the ushers will come by and give you one Keep your hand raised nice and high brother Alex Solis over here needs one My wife over there needs one Oh We're gonna sing this song in the first verse Sing it out unto the Lord There are things as we Traveled is her shifting sands That transcend all the reason of man But the things that matter the most in this world They can never be held in our By believe in a hill called I'll believe Ever And I'll simply I Believe Cries who was slain on that cross Has the power to change lives lives today? Or he changed me completely a new life is That is why by the cross I will stay I believe In a hill called Mount Calvary I'll believe There's no more I'll still be to the old I get across I Believe that this life with its great Surely someday will come to an end But faith will conquer the darkness and And believe me at last to my friend I Believe in a hill called Mount Calvary What ever the car Has surrendered and earth is no more Amen wonderful singing you are dismissed