(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, so we had the reading there in Galatians 3. We are going to come back to Galatians 3 about halfway through the sermon. But if you can just come to Galatians 5, I started a series called The Works of the Flesh and in Galatians 5 19 it says, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these? And in my previous sermon, we touched upon the next ones, also the sins that are listed there, adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lasciviousness. Now we're continuing the works of the flesh. Now my plan was, I was going to preach through all the topics there in verse number 20, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. My sermon notes got a little bit too long, so I had to cut this one in half. So this is the title of the sermon this afternoon is The Works of the Flesh Part 2. And we're going to be focusing on in verse number 20, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance and emulations. Okay, then we'll leave the rest of that verse for part three. Okay, so you can see here, when we talk about the works of the flesh, we're talking about these are sins that any of us are able to commit. Now I've grown up in a Christian home my entire life. But did you know that even I can fall in the sin of idolatry? Some of you might have come from churches like a Roman Catholic Church, where there were idols set up and you say, yes, I've come out of idolatry. And I've now worshiped the true God of the Bible. And yes, you know, when we often think about idolatry as a sin, you know, the immediate thought or the main thought of the Bible is idols that you make that you set up and that you worship. For example, in Leviticus 26, verse one, I'll just read it to you. It says, You shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land or bow down unto it, for I am the Lord your God. And so when we think of idolatry, we merely think about these items, these objects, these images that to represent some God or some false God. And of course, we often associate that with idolatry. Now with us being in this church, I don't think that's the kind of sin that we would ever get ourselves caught into. Can you come with me to Psalm 96? Come with me to Psalm 96. Psalm 96. And so, like I was saying, of course, you know, many have come out of false religion, like the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church, where they have images and idols and all these kinds of practices. And you know, if you're someone that came out of these kinds of churches, you may have, and I know because I've spoken to certain people, held on to some of these objects of the past because of the attachment you may have had in and over the years. It may not even be a spiritual attachment. You know, some people might look at a certain object and say, well, this was passed down from my parents. So this was passed down from my grandparents. And so even though you may not be spiritually attached, you may be emotionally attached just because of that kind of connection. And you know, my immediate, you know, advice and, you know, to you, and of course, this will be command, the commands of the Lord, is just get rid of that junk. It doesn't represent God. It's not going to give you brownie points in the spiritual realm. There are many things that have been passed down by our fathers and forefathers that are just outright wickedness. And we just need to always remind ourselves that, you know, we have one Heavenly Father, our Lord God in heaven, and we want to please Him. So if you have any objects in your household that may have been used in the past for spiritual worship, look, just get rid of them, burn them, destroy them. Don't sell it on eBay. Don't pass it to someone that you love. Don't think, oh, this is something that my grandma gave me. I'll pass it on to my brother or my cousin or something. Just throw it in the bin. That will be the right thing for you to do. And that'll be God's blessings. Okay. Now, there are other religions in the world, though, that do not have idols as far as statues and images that they set up. You know, often the Muslims, for example, Islam, they make a strong point that they don't worship idols and that they're against idolatry. But I want you to notice what it says here in Psalm 96 and verse number 4. It says, for the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. But notice verse number 5, for all the gods of the nations are idols. But the Lord made the heavens. So even though someone may not have a statue like Islam, they don't have a statue of God or even of Muhammad or anything like that. Okay, the Bible makes it clear that all the gods of nations, all the false gods, besides the Lord God that made the heavens, if you worship some false god, if you're involved in some false religion, that is still idolatry in the eyes of God. Okay, so it doesn't matter. Okay, you know, the statue is one thing. Like I said, that's the main way that we understand idolatry. But you know, God expands upon that. Any false religion, any false god is an idol. Now, come with me to 1 Samuel 15. 1 Samuel 15, let me draw more from this topic of idolatry. I don't want to spend time talking about statues, because I don't think many of us in this church are going to have, or hopefully none of us really, have any major draws or love towards statues and images. But idolatry is still something that can creep into our life. Or there might be other sins that are compatible with idolatry. And I want to show you this in 1 Samuel 15. This is such, what we're about to read is, to me, such a powerful verse. It really makes me examine even my own life and what I do for the Lord. And am I doing things for the right reasons? Am I doing it for the praise of man? Am I doing it, I don't know, for some fleshly, you know, benefit or something like that? Or am I doing things for the Lord? And of course, I think it's wise to assess from time to time, you know, why we do certain things. Are we doing it for the praise of God? Are we doing it for the praise of man? But we have a scenario here of King Saul. And of course, King Saul was a saved man, even though he became wayward later in his life. He was a saved man. And as kings, they were not allowed to offer sacrifices, okay? As kings, they were not, that was the job of the Levites, and specifically of the priests from the family of the Levites, okay? And God makes it very clear in the Bible, that is not what kings are to do. And so what we have here is, King Saul had a victory, he took the spoils of animals, and he decided we're going to serve God, we're going to lay this on the altar, these animals, and we're going to offer a great burnt sacrifice to the Lord God. Now, of course, is there anything wrong with burnt sacrifice? Of course not, okay? I mean, you can see it, you know, you can make the argument, King Saul, you've got the right intentions. But he could not wait for Samuel to come, okay? Samuel, who was a Levite, Samuel, who would be permitted by God to offer sacrifices, Samuel's taken too long, I want to serve God now. So he says, well, I'll just do it my way, I'll just offer the sacrifice. What's the big problem with that? Now, look at 1 Samuel 15, verse number 22. Samuel confronts Saul, and Samuel said, Have the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Samuel says, look, do you think, you know, obviously God wants us to obey his voice. Do you think God puts it at the same level, offerings and sacrifices, the same level as obeying God? It's a rhetorical question. Of course not, all right? He says, behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken or to listen than the fat of rams. He says, so God, we're just more pleased with you if you just waited, if you just obeyed. You're not the one to offer sacrifice. This is not God's timing right now. Instead, he goes, I want to do something godly. I want to serve God in my life. He thinks if I just sacrifice, God will be pleased. Now God prefers obedience. You know, and this is why sometimes I think, man, am I, you know, you know, I want to make sure that whatever I do, especially with New Life Baptist Church, that I do it out of obedience to the scriptures, even if it means I have to wait. You know, when it came to one of my old churches and my pastor decided not to ordain me, he said, we'd love to ordain you, Kevin. We'd love to send you out. And I said, well, what's the problem, pastor? You don't believe in the pre-trib rapture. I'm like, okay, it's three and a half years here and there. Does it really matter? Like, is there something more, pastor, that I need to work on? Is there something more that you feel that I need to, because I can't change what I believe, but maybe there's other areas of my life that you're stopping me from being a pastor. He said, no, it's only that one issue. I'd love to send you out, but it's just this one issue. You know what happened? I had people in my church say, why don't you just start your own church? Why don't you just go and start your own church and just call yourself pastor? And because to obey is better than sacrifice. I can, I guess I could try. I really was in contact with some of these people that are in our church today. I guess, hey guys, it's not happening, but let's just sacrifice. Let's just serve God. And if we sacrifice to show people how much we love the Lord, how zealous we are, it's all gonna work out. No, no, no, you gotta obey. Churches start churches, pastors are named pastors. And if God does not want those things to happen, it doesn't work out. Well, that's not God's will. Why would I want to do something contrary to God's will? But look, you can say, well, Saul, you've got good intentions. But look what he says in verse number 23, verse number 15, 23, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And we're gonna look at witchcraft later on. But look, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. He goes, you've been stubborn, King Saul. You know the truth. It's not like you were just misguided and misunderstood. You know what you did is wrong. You're stubborn. Like you think your word is above God's word. You don't think it's necessary to obey as long as you have good intentions and you're doing the sacrifices. He says, no, your stubbornness is as idolatry. So we, like we as God's people, right? We would like, you'd say, pass it. You never catch one of these idols in my house. You never come into my house by accident and see me bound down to some Buddha statue. Or to some image with a long hair, blue eye, blonde Jesus. But are you stubborn sometimes? Am I stubborn sometimes? All of us can be like that, you know? And God says, this is sin as idolatry. It's like at the same level to God. Like that's wickedness. Imagine catching a brother in the Lord bound down to some idol. He got passed out of these guys even saved. And I'd be like, yeah, I've got doubts. But God says, your stubbornness is like that. My stubbornness is like that. Okay, so as we go through the works of the flesh, I just want you to remember, don't think idolatry, I got that covered. Are you stubborn? You know, do you know God's word and still actively go against his word? You know, and think that your methods are above God's word. You know, that is definitely one of my challenges. I'll share with you. If anyone wants to be a pastor one day, one of the challenges is that people want to do service for God. They've got a heart. They've got a zeal. And I'm like, just look, slow down. We've got to do things right. Let's just make sure that we tick all the boxes. Let's make sure that it's God's will. Let's just take one step at a time. Let things happen organically. Let's not force it. Let's make sure God is on our side. It's advice that I give people from time to time that want to just get in the ministry and get straight in and serve God and sacrifice. And this is why I'm here, pastor. Got to slow down though. Got to do things properly, decently and in order, out of obedience. You know, churches start churches. Pastors day and pastors, one thing at a time. Look, I was patient. Like, I'm not giving advice that I've not taken myself. You know, I had to come to the realization, well, God, if you don't want me to serve you, I'm just going to be obedient. I'm not going to just start some church. And even though people are telling me to do it and we may look like we're having success for a year or two and then it all collapses because the Lord was never in it. I don't want that situation to happen. Can you come with me to Colossians chapter three? Colossians chapter three. Colossians three, verse number five. We're looking at the topic of idolatry. Colossians three, verse number five. Colossians three, verse five says, modify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covet, look at this, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Covetousness, which is idolatry. Who has not ever coveted in their life? Let me see a show of hands. Maybe the tiniest of babies, if there's someone here. You know, when we covet things, things that do not belong to us, things that belong to others, and we're like, I wish I had that. God says that's idolatry. But I didn't bow down and worship the idol. Yeah, but you desired things that did not belong to you. God says it's idolatry. Look at verse number six, it says, for which things, sake the wrath of God, cometh on the children of disobedience, in the which you also walked some time when you lived in them. Okay, so Paul says to Colossian church, you guys were covetous. Like you guys were like this before, you know, and Lord willing, I guess, you know, by Paul's words there, they've grown, they've matured, you know, they've been content with what God has given them. You know, instead of, you know, desiring what belongs to others, maybe rejoice that others have something nice. And so, well, I need that for myself. Now I'm going to be content with what God has given me. Because I've got things that others don't have. And other people have things that I don't have. But God has given us a lot in life. Covetousness, desire things that do not belong to you. You know, do not covet your neighbor's house, do not covet your neighbor's ass, and do not covet your neighbor's wife, and, you know, which is part of the Ten Commandments. You know, we can look at what others have and say, boy, I wish that was me. Or that's, you might as well just go down and bow yourself to some idol then, because it's all idolatry. And so again, we see idolatry, don't just read over it, that's not me. There are other areas of our life that God equates with idolatry. And of course, we all have it. We have the ability to covet. We have the ability to be stubborn against God's word, or to think we know better than God's word. So idolatry, that's the first one that's on the list. Let's go to witchcraft. Next one was idolatry, then witchcraft. Now we already saw stubbornness. I had said, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. So you say, pastor, I'm not involved in the witchcraft, okay, but are you rebellious? Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. It's not witchcraft, but it's as the sin of witchcraft. Again, God equates it to the same level. Wow. Say, pastor, I'm not involved in your cult. I hate witches, and I don't even watch Harry Potter, and I don't even go to a magic show. Just in case there's, you know, wickedness in those areas. But are you rebellious? Children, do you rebel against your parents' authority? Do you rebel against your parents' commands? God says this is as the sin of witchcraft. Can you come with me to Deuteronomy chapter 18? Deuteronomy chapter 18. Now when it comes to witchcraft, God has a very simple remedy for witches. The Bible says in Exodus 22 18, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. This is not just a sin, this is a crime in the eyes of God, punishable justly by the death penalty. Again, when I talk about the death penalty, I'm not saying let's go on a witch hunt. Look, if I find a witch down the street, I'm going to give the gospel, okay? But if the government had a fear of God, and they line themselves up with God's word and God's justice, then it would be the government's proper responsibility to put them to death. Now ideally we'll get them saved before they get put to death. But at the end of the day, more important they have eternal life than some temporary life involved in witchcraft. Now Deuteronomy chapter 18, please. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Now I'll be honest with you, most of my life I've never really paid attention to the occult, to witchcraft. I've obviously come across people, I've come across girls that say they're witches and this and that, and I don't know, because I've been saved, and I know I've always got that verse in my heart, you know, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, and I just, whatever. You know, I know there's a spiritual realm, I know there are powers, the devil's powerful, I know there's corruption, I know there are minions of the devil out there, but I've always thought, whatever. Like we often hear of witchcraft in third world countries, or maybe places where they practice voodoo, places like Brazil or something like that, and people experience all kinds of things, but I've never really experienced the supernatural. Like there's one time I woke up at night, and I saw a spirit, I saw a ghost, you know, but, you know, again, now in hindsight, maybe I was just young and stupid, and maybe my eyes were hazy and I didn't see, I don't know, I don't know, you know. But there are people who have had real experiences, okay. And many times witchcraft has been involved. So look at Deuteronomy 18, verse number 10. Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse number 10, it says, There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire. God is saying to the nation of Israel, there should be no one in your nation that offers human sacrifices. Killing your own children. Then he says, Or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consultant with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. Look at this, verse number 12. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive out from before thee. God says, look, I'm going to get rid of these people out of your nation. Don't allow anybody in your nation to practice these things. So we saw the first thing that was listed in this group was a daughter or son passing through the fire. Like I told you, human sacrifice. These things happen in real life. I don't even like to think about it. Sometimes people send me a video, did you know this has happened? I didn't even want to think about it. Like I'm not saying that I'm ignorant and stupid, and I don't know what's going on in the world and how wicked. I know how wicked the world can get. In fact, I need to investigate how wicked the world is because I read the Bible and the Bible tells me already how wicked the world is. So I don't want to feast my eyes on human sacrifice and some video, some of that recorded privately, some setting. I just accept that these things happen because it happened back in the Bible. Like there's nothing new in the sun. Human beings are human beings, the devil is still the devil. The world hasn't really changed much as far as human nature goes and people do sacrifice human beings for the sake of power. Control, power, whatever it is that the devil has offered them in return. It says, all that useth divination. Now divination is the attempt of foretelling the future. Now when we preach prophecy this morning, when I preach on the end times, I'm not doing divination. Like we're just preaching God's word. God knows the future. God knows the beginning from the ending. Okay and but divination is the attempt to foretell the future. Now some of the things that might be listed under this, like what we think of today, tarot cards, palm reading, tea leaves, tea leaves, fortune, even fortune cookies. Now look, if I go to a Chinese restaurant with my wife and they give you the fortune, I'll eat the cookie and I'll laugh at the little thing that's there. Okay, like I'm not reading that going, oh man, this is my future. Something's going to happen tomorrow or whatever it is. I'm going to find you love. Oh sorry honey, we're getting divorced tonight because the fortune cookie told me so. But you know, some people take those things seriously though, don't they? They do. They look at those things and they haven't got God. They don't have God's word. They're concerned about their life and where the direction is. And it's not uncommon for people to turn to these people who practice these things. That would be divination. So you know, even though you say, pastor, of course we're not doing that, but could you be tempted sometime in your life when you're going through great hardships and trials that you might go, Lord, you're not coming through. I don't feel your presence, Lord. Maybe I'll go and talk to one of these, you know, fortune tellers. I know it can happen. Why? Because King Saul did it himself in the Bible and he's a believer. You know, the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. He knew he was not in the right place with the Lord God. And so he goes to a fortune teller, okay. And look, again, those stories are there because it can happen. We're God's people out of desperation. Seek wisdom. It's not even wisdom, you know, but in the wrong places. So that's what divination is. And then it says after divination in verse number 10, or an observer of times. So observer of times is very similar. It's like foretelling the future. And this is what we call astrology. You know, looking at the bodies, the sun, the moon, the stars, the constellations. And what season are we in right now? It's the age of Venus. I don't know. It's a Capricorn. You know, what's your star sign? You know, what's your zodiac? What's the horoscope? Well, you know, open up the magazine. I don't know. We don't really do magazines these days, do we? But I remember ladies at work would come with their magazines and be like, hey, boss, what's your star sign? And I'm like, I don't know. What is it? I don't know what my star sign is. I think I'm Taurus. I don't know. I can't look. Honestly, I don't even know. I don't care. All right. And it's like, oh, did you know this is going to happen in your future? And you know, or, you know, I'm going to decide to date this person because apparently our star signs are compatible. And if our star signs are not compatible, then it's not going to work out. Of course, that would be someone who is an observer of times, looking at the celestial bodies to determine what they should do or what their future holds. Look, God is saying all of these things are an abomination to Him. We as God's people should have nothing to do with the occult. Nothing to do with it. It might look innocent. Oh, just look up your horoscope in the magazine. Oh, it says that, you know, you're going to have a great day tomorrow. I don't know. I don't even know. I've never read one. I've never read one. Okay. I have a hard time reading ungodly things. You know, I think I told you guys a story once. I, my mother-in-law had, this is before, no, she was saved. She had some Jehovah's Witnesses, no Mormons come to her door. And I was, I visited my fiance at the time and I challenged them. They left the house, but I said, oh, can you leave the Book of Mormon? Because I actually wanted to read it. I wanted to see what the Book of Mormon contains because I wanted to know a little bit more about it. So anyway, they gave me a Book of Mormon. I got home. I read the first sentence. I said, I can't do this, throw it in the bin. I have a hard time reading like wicked things, like things that are all literally of the devil. Okay. And like, even with horoscopes, just looking at it, it's, you know, I guess I can be saved from very young age, the spirit of God. You know, you're, you should feel very spiritually uncomfortable when you're dealing with things that are, you know, not God's word, you know, clearly the voice of the wicked one. Well, the next thing that's there, it says, observer times or an enchanter. An enchanter is someone that casts spells. It says or a witch, generally speaking, witches are female. I guess there are male witches in the world of the occult, but witches are just females with powers, magic powers, whatever. It says verse 11, or a charmer. A charmer, you know, you've heard of snake charmers, right? Where they, you know, see the stuff in India sometimes where, I don't know, those guys with little loots and the snake comes up, the cobra and the cobra is not striking. And we'll say, well, they're snake charmers. Why is the snake not striking? Why is the snake not escaping? Because the snake is hypnotized, that's why. Okay, so things like hypnosis, there's things that we need to stay away from. You know, the Bible says over and over and over again that we are to be sober minded. We are to be in control of our thoughts. You know, putting yourself under hypnosis. You're removing your ability to control your body and who knows what you're allowing to enter into, to take over your mind and your thoughts. Implanting thoughts, potentially. You know, doing things with your body that you would not do otherwise. These are things we must stay away from. The next thing that says there, a consultor with familiar spirits. That's someone that talks to a devil, basically. And that devil, that spirit gives them all kinds of information and it's familiar spirits that has really woken me up in recent years. That these things are all legitimate. These powers, there are powers. You know, these people that say they're witches and wizards and warlocks and all these, they have power. They know what they're talking about, okay. And the reason I've become more aware of it is because people with familiar spirits that I've identified as familiar spirits have said things about me and about my life that nobody, nobody would know except some spirit. Like things that would not just be fed through my family to some third party. You know, these are things that devils know. They're familiar, they observe, they watch. These devils have been around for thousands of years, okay. They know certain things, they've seen life, they've seen the past and they give this information to these people who are seeking to speak with the devils for wisdom and understanding. They'll get those things from devils that have observed and watched and paid attention. Next thing there is wizards. Well, wizards are just male, male witches, I guess, males. And look, if you come from the cult world and you, and like what I'm explaining to you is like, you're completely wrong there, pastor, forgive me, I don't know. Okay, we read these things in the Bible. It's like, that's okay. God, you've told me obedience is better than sacrifice. I want nothing to do with this world, God. I don't even want to spend time going through it and making sure that everything I say here is 100% accurate, okay. But as a general rule, you guys know what I'm talking about. These are things we must stay away from. And then we've got necromancers. Necromancers are people that say they're able to communicate with the dead. Again, I just believe they're speaking to some other devil, some other familiar spirit that was familiar with that person that has passed away. And so they're often able to give true things. Like people, you know, like, you know, these necromancers, oh yeah, I can see your dead husband standing behind you. And he says he loves you. He said he's sorry for leaving the toilet seat up when you wanted it down. And they're like, how do you know that? It's not make-believe, it's real. There are spirits that know these people and they're speaking through that necromancer. They're speaking through that enchanter, whatever it is, and giving this information. People are like, wow, by it. Like, that's amazing. But here's the thing, you know, I read God's Word. And I'm like, it's amazing. How does God know so much about me? How does he know what I struggle with? How does he know when I need help and aid? And it's all there in God's Word. And God's Word is by far superior than the crap that goes on in this world and the witchcraft and the wizards and brethren. Just stay away from it. Like God's given us the riches of his Word. Why do you need to chase that knowledge or that thoughts or that wickedness? Also, you know, it's going to drive you away from the Lord. You know the devil has nothing good to say about Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Boy, we have so much more superior knowledge. We have the wisdom, the deep things of God, the Holy Spirit of God that lives within us, teaching us the deep things of God. Why would we spend time thinking of witches and witchcraft and maybe they've got the answers? No, brethren, what a waste of time. Now, let me just touch upon something, the magic show. Pastor, do you have a problem with people going to a magic show, you know, looking at magic tricks? You know, the biggest problem with magic shows is the way the women are dressed. So that's good enough reasons to just stay away from those things. Okay, like the assistants and all that. No, I don't want to feast my eyes on that, right? But at the end of the day, when people put on a magic show, it's just an illusion. It's just they're called magic tricks. It's not really magic. You know, if someone pulls a 10 cent coin out of my ear, there wasn't magic powers, demon. It's just, you know, a mind trick, illusions. And like, you know, at the end of the day, I'm going to put this down to your personal conscience. Like, even though they might call it magic, it's not magic, obviously, you know. And so, I mean, I personally don't have a problem with my kids, like, taking a deck of cards and then like, choose a card, dad. And I take the card and they put it in the deck and I shuffle it. Was it this card, dad? Look at my magic trick. Obviously, they're not, you know, communicating with devils and all that kind of stuff. But then, I know there are some people that might have a problem with that. I know. Like, I know I've been at church once and I was playing, well, not during church, but playing card games with people. I was like, how dare you play card games? I'm like, what? But yeah, some people have that as a conscience issue. So look, at the end of the day, I think when it comes to those areas, I'm going to leave it up to your personal conscience as to what you believe, you know, you should do with illusions or magic tricks, okay? But we had the reading from Galatians 3. Come with me to Galatians 3. Because again, I can hear you guys say to me, well, you're not really saying it to me, are you? So I just lied. Like, you know, I have no interest in witches and witchcraft and any of that things. Okay, okay, okay, okay. But look at Galatians 3, verse number one. Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? He says, Galatians, you've been bewitched. And I'm sure they're going, we never saw a witch. We've never gone to a fortune teller. We've never gone to listen to the words of the devil. We've never gone to the occult. I'm sure that's their first impression when this letter has been read to them. We've gone to know witches, apostle Paul. But he says, who have bewitched, you've been bewitched. Okay, so again, let's apply this to us again, okay? Because I don't want to be foolish, you know? Who have bewitched you? What's, how have they been bewitched? That you should not obey the truth. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ have been evidently, evidently set forth, crucified among you. This only would I learn of you, receive you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. He says, this is all I want to know from you, Galatian Church. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by works or faith? You've heard about Christ and you put your faith in Christ. Which of those two methods were you saved by? Of course, rhetorical question, they got saved by faith. So when he says, who have bewitched you, what's happening? Someone has crept into the church and started to teach a works gospel. And look, hand on my heart, they're a church independent fundamental Baptist churches. Look, please, I love my independent fundamental Baptist brethren. In fact, if you're saved, and you're my brother in Christ, and you don't even attend an IFB church, I love you. Like my default position before God's people is I love them. And I'm not just saying that, I mean it. I love God's people. You know, I weep when a hero, a brother or sister in the Lord, they have no good church to be part of. You know, and they listen online, praise God for that. But man, you know, I'm saddened by that. They can't be around like minded believers. But there are many independent fundamental Baptist churches across our nation that have been bewitched. It's true. You ask someone, how do you know you're saved? Oh, because I'm received by faith? No, no, no. Well, you know, I'm living a better life today than I was before I got saved. Works of the law. Well, I've got to see the works to be able to determine if you're saved. I thought salvation was without works. And how many works do you have to do before you give someone the stamp of approval that they're saved? No one can ever answer that question. And sometimes you talk to these people. It's like, it's so clearly you're depending on works. As the evidence of your salvation, rather than the hearing of faith. My faith is on Christ and Christ alone. It's so strange. And I wonder and you guys wonder sometimes we talk about this. How is it that a pastor that is salvation by grace, through faith alone on the finished work of Christ so clearly? How is it that they're able to allow their Bible college friend to come behind the pulpit and tell people it's not faith alone, but you got to repent of your sins to be saved. You got to keep the law to be saved. And the pastor doesn't even realize what is going on. It's like they're under a spell. That's what Paul is saying. You've been bewitched like you've been hypnotized. You're not thinking clearly anymore. Look, there is no such thing as a perfect church. But one thing we must be perfect on is on the gospel. I'd rather have any other doctrine messed up. But the gospel has to be clear. Faith, the hearing of God's word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And our faith has been placed on what? What are we trusting in? On Christ, right? His payment for our sins, his sacrifice, his resurrection and nothing else. And if you've done that, you say, pastor, I've done that. My trust is in Christ and Christ alone. I'm going to go with what you said. I'm going to go by your profession of faith and you're my brother in the Lord. I don't need to see how well you're living your life this weekend to work out. Really, are you saved or not? Because that's the path of being bewitched. It's confusing and you don't know anymore. It's like, it's crazy. I don't, I don't get it. And Paul doesn't get it. Like, what in the world? So brethren, like I said, you know, let's try to take these things and apply it to our lives. We may not chase the witches and the fortune tellers and the horoscopes, but be careful who you listen to. You know, don't be bewitched because they dressed nice. They've got the right tie. They went to the right Bible college because they know this pastor, they know that pastor. Are they saved? Are they looking at their works as evidence or is faith the evidence? As the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11. The next thing on the list was hatred. Hatred. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred. Can you come with me to Psalm 139, Psalm 139 verse 19? We have to be careful of hatred. Even though I'm disappointed by some of the independent Baptist churches in Australia, I don't hate them. I want you to understand, I love my brother. I do. I don't hate. Okay. I hate false doctrine. I hate false prophets. Okay. False brethren that seek to cause discord in a church. And sometimes people have this idea that it's always wrong to hate. Now, hatred is something we need to be careful about. But remember, we're looking at the works of the flesh. Remind yourself you've got dual nature. You've got dual nature. Okay. When you hate something, you need to determine, do I hate it because of my flesh? Is this something that the old man hates or is this something that the new man hates? Okay. That's the difference. It's understanding where the source of the hatred is coming from. Look at Psalm 139 verse number 19. The Bible says, Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore ye bloody men, for they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Look what the Psalmist says, verse number 21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against me? He says, God, I hate those that hate you. You say, well, pastor, maybe, you know, the Psalmist is having a bad time. You know, he's expressing things a little bit. He's off the wall here, right? But then look, he's very careful about what he says. Look at verse number 22. He doesn't tell you just hates them. He says this verse number 20. I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. Now, we know that God says, Jesus Christ says that we are to love our enemies. But these are not his personal enemies. These are God's enemies. All right. And he says, I hate them with what? Perfect hatred. You see, hatred that is not perfect is the wrong kind of hatred. Okay, you need to make sure you've got perfect. So how do I get perfect hatred? Well, then we go to the one that is perfect, our Lord God. Okay, and we go to his word. And we see what God hates. If God hates something or someone, wouldn't that be perfect hatred? So if I say, God, I hate what you hate, and I hate the people that you hate. Would that be perfect hatred? Absolutely. So we judge our hatred based on what God hates according to his word. And that's perfect hatred. Now, notice how clear the conscience of the Psalmist is. He's not having an emotional breakdown. Okay, because he says in verse number 23, search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. How can you, like, if hatred is always wicked and wrong, how can you say that with clear conscience? Search my heart, Lord. You know what he's saying? Lord, my heart is completely clear on this matter. I hate with a perfect hatred these people that are your enemies. And so I simply say that, come with me now to Proverbs chapter six. Come with me to Proverbs chapter six. I say that because I want to be clear that all hatred is not wicked. All hatred is not sinful. As long as your hatred is perfect, aligned with God's hatred, we hate the things that God hates, and we love the things that God loves, and there is perfect love, and there is perfect hatred. Okay, you deviate from that. It's not perfect love, and it's not perfect hatred. But Proverbs 6 16, these things doth the Lord hate. Yea, seven are an abomination unto him. So worry about to read the things that God hates. So should you hate this too? Yeah, you should hate this too. This will be perfect hatred, a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, and heart that divides of wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speak of lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. These are things that God hates. Someone that sows discord among, like those things we often see. No, okay, we hate those things. Who's someone that sows discord amongst brethren? People that go around the church gossiping, trying to turn this brother against that brother, that sister against that sister. Did you know they'll come to your house? I saw this, and I saw that, or I heard this, and I heard that. God says he hates it. You ought to hate it. Look, if there are, look concerned, there are times that concerns are major concerns, and as a pastor, I need to hear about that, okay? But please, don't just pick and be bitter and find faults and issues. I've said it so many times, and we all agree, I'm sure. If I spend enough time with you, I'm going to find lots of faults in your life, and you'll find lots of faults in my life. Then we're going to go around and just spread rumors and issues and exaggeration. Oh, God hates it. You better hate it too. You better hate it. You better not be a gossiper causing divisions in our church. But if you find someone is trying to cause division in our church, then you better hate that action too. Don't listen to it. Don't enable the discord. Don't enable the rumors. There are proper ways to deal with things, and obviously, if there's a situation that is so important that needs to be brought before the pastor, please do so. But I'm not interested in rumors, okay? I want to know factual things if they're going to be significant enough for us to take action as a church. The next thing that's on the list is variance, variance. Now, there's only one other passage in the Bible that speaks of variance. And so if variance is something that is a work of the flesh, like hatred, there is perfect hatred where there's also perfect variance. And I'll give you an example of this. If you come to Matthew chapter 10, so not all variance is wicked, okay? Because if you go to Matthew chapter 10, verse number 34, Matthew chapter 10, verse number 34, Matthew chapter 10, verse number 34, Jesus Christ says, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father. And the daughter against her mother. And the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. So if your own family hates you because you're a believer, okay? And they want nothing to do with you because you're a believer, that is perfect variance. You love the Lord. You're just trying to be holy. You're just trying to win their souls. You're just trying to serve Christ. You're just thankful for his salvation. And if your family rejects you, what can you do? You're being persecuted for the name of Christ, okay? But that variance, no problem with that variance. So when we get that understanding, what variance means then? So the people of your own household vary from your beliefs and your standards and the principles by which you live. They've got a different set of rules that they follow, okay? So it's about making variation between the two parties. All right, so if we're doing it for the cause of Christ, we're just serving the Lord and people just hate us for serving the Lord. Okay, well there's nothing wrong with that type of variance. But when we talk about variance of the flesh, we're talking about creating divisions and separations for no good purpose. Like for the name of Christ is a good purpose for people to dislike you. But if there's anything else, we may differ on what long hair looks like on a man, maybe. All right, we may differ on, pastor, are you going to the magic show? I think it's wicked, all right, okay? But if we start to cause divisions and arguments on things that are more like a conscience-based issue, or we're just trying to be different for the sake of being different, brethren, this is variance, variations for no good reason except to cause divisions and conflicts amongst one another. I'm a big preacher on liberty. I believe in liberty, the liberty that Christ has given us. There are so many ways to live your life. I've preached on this so many times. But sometimes Christians just have a hard time. It's like instead of, I'm not saying it's you, you know, just, but there are Christians have a hard time. Instead of going, okay, I'm going to live this life according to God's word, according to my clear conscience, and instead of just being, you know, having validation with your position before God, it's like I've got to seek validation of how I live with other people at church. And if they're not aligned with me, I need to go and convince them to be more aligned like me, or there's something wrong with them. I don't know, you know, there is liberty amongst God's people and I'm fine if you do things a bit differently to me, I don't care. You know, we need to be doing things according to God's word and God's word is not a prison cell. If you feel Christianity is a prison cell and I can't express myself and I can't do things, you've got the wrong Christianity. The boundaries are not to sin, okay? You cross those boundaries, yeah, God will chastise you, okay? God will correct you. But if we're within the boundaries of obeying God's word, there is so many ways to do things, so many ways to raise our children. We don't need to have the same homeschooling curriculum. Did you know that? We don't need our wives to cook the same meals or to buy the same cookbooks or to breastfeed the same way. We don't need our children at two months old to be saying, or not two months, at eight months old to be saying the same amount of words as the next child, because we're all different. We don't need all our kids out of nappies by the time they turn two years old or something. And we're just, look, there's liberty in God's ways and we need to be used to people just doing things differently and that there's real liberty there. But variance is making divisions with the points of arguments to be seen as someone better than someone else because we do it better. We make the pasta bake better than that person. Your kid's still in nappies. Oh, my kid got out of nappies years ago, I don't know, six months ago. Who cares? Is a kid doing poo in a nappier sin? Of course not. That's so stupid, who cares? Variance. You know, come with me to James chapter one. James chapter one, please. James chapter one, verse number 17. Oh, I better hurry up. Anyway, James chapter one, verse number 17. So variance comes from that word variety, okay? But when you look at James chapter one, verse 17, the Bible says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights. Look at this, with whom is no variableness near the shadow of turning. So within God, there is no variableness, okay? What that's saying is that he's unchanging. Our Lord God is unchanging. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, 14, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. You know, variableness is kind of, you know, being changed, like constantly changed. Could you imagine like, you know, if I as a pastor, I'm preaching and I'm just constantly changing my mind. Oh guys, I was wrong last week. Let me fix it up this week. Now, have there been times that I've done that? Of course, okay? Because I'm a human being, okay? I can make mistakes and sometimes I have to go back. Guys, I was a bit incorrect about that and this, whatever it is, okay? But anytime I've done that, I'm sure you'll acknowledge they were just so insignificant issues that it doesn't really matter. Like in the big picture, it doesn't even matter, all right? But obviously, we don't want a preacher who's just constantly changing their mind. You know, one thing I really enjoy about brother Craig, when he decided to come to this church here, that he went back listening to my sermons going back six years ago, right? And I said to brother Craig, I don't know if you remember this or not. I said, oh, well, if I said anything back then that contradicts what I said today, just go with what I'm saying today. And he said, no, no, it's all consistent. It's all the same. You haven't changed at all. He said, it's a good record, a good testimony that you've got this history and you're still teaching the same things you taught back then today, you know? Now, I hope I've grown. I hope I've gained wisdom. I hope I preach better, all these things, okay? But there's something wrong with your preacher if he keeps changing his mind, okay? And when I think about this, you know, I sat under a pastor who main goal for every sermon was variance. What I mean by this is it's not that he was changing his mind, but he wanted to highlight what another pastor taught. So, you know, when I come to preach, I'm like reading my Bible, okay? Where am I up to in my series, you know? What's going to help the church? What's going to feed the church? All right, let's get stuck into it. And I start working on things. You know what I don't do? I don't go and listen to someone else's sermon and go, okay, what are all the areas that I disagree with? Now, I'm going to start base my sermon on that person's sermon. I'm going to tackle word for word, point by point, everything they've spoken about in my sermon. And that's going to be the thrust of my sermon. I sat under a pastor like that. I didn't even know at the time, okay? Because I was hearing sermons and I was like, that's interesting. That's a different take until someone said to me, did you know that all he's doing is taking the material of another pastor and trying to debunk it? And so his goal isn't to feed the church. His goal is to disgrace or debunk or, you know, make people dislike that other pastor. And I just think that's so wicked. Like, why do that? You know, why dedicate your ministry, you know, service and the time preparation just for variants? Look how I'm different and I'm better than that person down the road or that person in America or whatever it is. Variants, different for the purpose of conflict. And you know what? Oh, I want to be careful of this. And, you know, I hope you guys don't get sick of it when I say, look, these are some issues in the IFB world and I want to teach it better. You know, I want to still come across that I love these people because I do. I want that to be clear. I love my brethren. Okay. And if I didn't have New Life Baptist Church or Blessed Heart Baptist Church, you would find me easily sitting under a standard IFB church. As long as I know that pastor is saved, they're preaching from the King James Bible, you'll find me sitting in that pew, being obedient to my pastor, trying to be a blessing, trying to serve God as much as I can, going soul winning. Even if I'm hearing things like the pre-treat rapture, even if I'm hearing things like God's chosen people and who they are and this and that, you know what? I'll just be like, well, I don't agree with that, but I love my pastor and I'm going to serve God's house as best as I can. Because honestly, I've done that most of my life already anyway. I'm not there trying, what's this issue, that issue? I'm different on this and I'm different on that. And look, variance, it's harmful. And look, I know that you put us all together and go through every single doctrine besides the fundamentals. We're going to have different opinions. And I've got no problem with that. Sometimes people come up to me after I preach, pastor, I see it this way, praise God for you. Thank you for sharing that. Maybe in time I'll come to your understanding. In fact, it's happened. I don't feel challenged. I don't think, well, you believe differently, therefore you're stubborn or you're rebellious. I've had that said about me and I'm not even trying to engage in the conversation. Oh, you believe differently, you're stubborn. Well, I'm not even trying to fight you. I'm not even trying to make this an issue. But I don't see it that way. If you guys have something you want to share with the Word of God, you see something that I preach on a little bit differently, don't be afraid to talk to me. I'd like to hear it. People do that all the time and I've got no problem because I love you. And I know that I can iron sharpen a fine. I don't believe church is just one way, pastor's way and pastor's got all the knowledge. We all have the Holy Spirit of God. We all have God's Word. We all have the Bible. And I love hearing other men get behind this pulpit and preach because they'll talk about things that I've never thought about. I've never considered. I've never thought of the passage that way, you know, and it's all good. It's all growth. Next thing, emulations. Emulations, that's the last one. When you emulate, you're copying. So it's different for variants. Variance is like you're trying to make distinctions for the cause of conflict. But emulations is you're trying to be just like somebody else. I already covered this a little bit. Again, liberty. We do things differently. Please never be like the reason we homeschool our kids is because pastor Kevin doesn't. Wrong. Just chuck your kids in the school system. Do it because you know why you and your spouse have come together and said by the biblical principles we see in the Bible, we think the best thing for our children and especially to be away from the influence of the world is to homeschool our kids. If you do that, praise God, you know why you're doing it. Look, I don't have 12 kids because I'm following a pastor in America. You know what? I don't even have 12 kids because I felt this was the biblical thing to do. You know what? I wanted three kids and God did not give me three kids. He gave me one, then two, then four. God did not give me three. Why? Because maybe I would have stopped. Once you get to four, then five doesn't matter. Once you get to five, six doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore. It's just another one. And then you get to 12. Oh, you're trying to be like this pastor. It's got nothing to do with emulation. And what gives us, what God gives us is what God gives us. God might give more, God might give less. It's in God's hands. So I don't believe in emulating. I don't believe emulating anybody's life. I think it's a waste of life. God has given us an abundant life. He's given us our personalities, our experiences, our strengths, our weaknesses, our families. So we can make a good life out of that instead of saying, oh, what's that pastor doing over there? Let's do it like that. I think you're insane trying to live a life like that. I think it's crazy because at some point you're going to try to emulate and it's all going to fall apart. Because every family is different. And every pastor is different, do you know that? And every church is different. Don't tell me church down the street is doing this or church in America is doing that. Okay, this is New Life Baptist Church. These are our families. These are our resources. These are our, this is our manpower. What can we do with what we have? It's so many parables, right? Christ, the talents and the pound. Some people get 10, some get one, some get five. But whatever you get, you're not comparing yourself to the others that got something different. You need to be able to utilize what you have today to further God's kingdom. So I'm not trying to compare myself to some other church. I'm not trying to compare myself to some other pastor. I'm not in any competition and I'm not trying to be like somebody else. And I'm not trying to make New Life Baptist Church something that it's not. The church is an organism. It grows, it develops. God adds, God removes, okay? This is his body. He's the head of the church. Christ builds the church, not Pastor Kevin. I'm not trying to follow some 10 step program on how to have a thousand member church. We're just trying to do what God's word tells us. Now, sorry, I'm gonna wrap up quickly. Let's go to Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11, verse number 13. Boy, a bit long for an afternoon sermon. Sorry guys. Romans 11, verse number 13. Because like variants, there can be a good variance. Like hatred, there can be a good hatred. Like emulation, there can be a good emulation, okay? In Romans 11, verse number 13. For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify in mine office. If by any means I may provoke to emulation, them which are my flesh and might save some of them. Paul says about his fellow Jews, I want them to emulate us, but in what sense? To get saved, right? When they see these Gentiles serving the Lord, getting saved, praising the Lord, right? He says, I'm trying to provoke my fellow Jews who are unsaved through emulation. So that would be a good emulation. Ah, mum and dad got saved. Maybe I need to get saved. Good, emulate that, right? Follow that, that's right. That's a good emulation to have, to be saved. I'm gonna quickly read to you from Hebrews 12, verse number 2. Looking unto Jesus, again, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him, again, for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Who are we to emulate? If you're gonna emulate anybody, the pastor of the church, no. Jesus, let's do it like pastor, wrong. Do it like Jesus. Let me be an example, but your eyes must be on Jesus all the time. We're not emulating families or people or children or whatever, it's garbage. It'll make you upset, it'll make you frustrated when you can't live by the standards of some of the family or some of the families not living up to your standards or whatever it is. Our eyes must be always on Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith. If it's not, it says, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. I've seen this, I've seen emulators get weary and faint in their minds. I can't do it, I can't live like a godly Christian, I can't be like this pastor, I can't be like this brother, I can't be like this family, stop it. You're gonna drive yourself insane, weary and faint, and give up on the race that God has set before you. Your eyes are on the racetrack, Jesus is on the finish line. I'm trying to run to be more like Jesus. And on the other lanes, there goes pastor Kevin, there goes brother Craig, there goes brother Callum, all right, whatever it is, great. We're all focused, we're not competing with each other, we're looking at the finish line, Jesus Christ. Something wrong with you when you compare in one to another, you gotta be like us, you gotta raise my kids like us, ridiculous. I hate it Brevin, I hate it with a perfect hatred, can I say that? Yeah, live like pastor X, be like Baptist Church X, it drives me crazy. Not really, I have a happy life. But people think like this, you gotta get out of it. You gotta get out of that thinking, okay. Anyway Brevin, the works of the flesh part two, sorry that I've gone a bit over time, but the sins that we looked at was idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations. Again, don't just throw out the baby with the bathwater, some of these things are righteous, as long as you'll experience those things in the new man. Obviously we're talking about the works of the flesh, please be careful, please be careful. And if you ever say to me pastor, New Life Baptist Church should be more like this Baptist Church, I'm just gonna walk away from you, I'm sorry. I'm not interested in emulations, okay, all right, let's pray.