Alive to God: Part II

Remain standing as we read our text for today

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We have been talking about 20th century american christianity. Where its influences have come form and what they have led to.

It is important to note that not every church are guilty of the things I am talking about and not every church during this time is the reason for the church dieing.

However much of this stuff was common enough that I am confidant that most here have been exposed to a style that was not strictly biblical. Because some things are not biblical does not necessarily mean it is anti-christ.

Some do have that attitude. I know Pastors who think the alter call is unbiblical and therfore must be evil. While I agree that the alter call is not in the pages of scripture, it was 19th century invention, i do not go to that extreme.

Not at all, I have no problem with people wanting to come to the alter so long as you understand that walking up does not save you nor make you righteous.

Jesus saves you, Jesus makes you righteous, not you walking up to the alter.

I have had more of a focus on the fundmentalist and the free gracers. In the sermon that introduced all of this I also brought up emotionalism but we have not explored that yet. I was saving that one for today.

Before I do, please note that when I use the phrase emotionalism, I am not saying that we should be without emotion. I am talking about a movement dominate in the 20th century that manipulated emotions to make people think that it was the Holy Spirit.

I dont want my words to be taken as demeaning so I choose emotionalism over other words that others prefer to use.

The reason for that is the emotionalism is the fastest growing movement within Christianity for the last 150 years. It has tapered off and started to decline but for the most part, growth.

and because it has been so widespread, some of you may have been raised in it, or influenced by it. I dont know, but I want to be sensitive to those of you who may have history with what we are talking about.

And by sensitive, I mean i am not going to result to name calling as some do. But I will be honest and unfourtanly, emotional movement has wrapped their entire identity into said movement.

And because so many have done that, many have an intense emotional response. Not surprising right? Its not easy speaking to these people because my words cut deep with them.

Its never my intention, but it is often the result. So sensativity with honesty.

The emotionalism movement is the charismatic movement. Some believe this movement began with pentocostalism, is did not.

It began with what is called the radical reformation. There was several different small groups around during the reformation that believed, Rome is wrong, Luther is wrong, along with Calvin and zwingly.

So there were things like uniterianism, which is a rejection of the Trinity. And at the time was illeagl to teach such view.

The largest group of radical reformers was called the anabaptists. Some have argued that the anabaptists are the baptists today, or our line, historically speaking, comes from them.

Nope. If we are tracing baptist history to the reformation it goes to John Calvin before it goes to the Anabaptists. The name means re baptisers and if you need to find a modern day version of anabaptits it is found within three groups.

The Amish, the menonites and the hutterites. Today they are not known for emotionalism. That kind of faded from them.

People over in america did read about them and how they were inspired by spirtual mysticim. Which is where a lot of this came from.

then poof an offical movment was birthed in the first couple years of the 1900’s call pentocostalism.

And that movement has many diffrent extreams, they all do not function on the same page.

You have very mild forms, to very extreme. While some practice things that are concerning, it is more of their doctrine that is concerning. And it is my beleif that if their doctrine was correct, the practices would be corrected as well.

I believe the same about the catholic church. I think if they can get the doctrine of salvation right, all their other bizaare stuff will begin ti disapear.

Let me share with you all some doctrine of the emotionalists.

Lets begin with Todd Bentley. This man is a former biker, or at least that is what he says. I, personally dont believe a word out of his mouth. He could be telling the truth but the man lies so much that I just dont believe what he has to say.

This man did “revivals” and often traveled. He had a healing ministry, and would do bizzare signs in the name of the holy spirit.

Now Todd and his crew would have Holy Seziurs. They would violently shake on the ground. They would alos have Holy Laughter. This is where you break out in uncontrolable laughter, you cant contain yourself.

The key word is uncontrolable. Because Todd Bently likes to preach with a hand mic. But he always manages to control the mic perfectly in his hand when things are uncontrolable.

Its bogus, he wants you to hear something you’ll hear it. That is not the worst about this man. oh far from it. As previously stated, the man has a healing ministry.

This man said that a crippled woman came on his stage. She was in a wheel chair and he asked God how is he going to heal those crippled legs and God told Todd to smack her legs on the stage like a baseball bat.

His words: Of course she was healed. And of course, this was a story. No witnesses, except paid staff. He told another story about seeing an old woman worshipping in the front row with her hands raised.

God toled him to go and kick her in the face. So he went and kicker in the face with his biker boot. Got her right on the nose he said and then said she fell under Gods power right then and there.

What does that mean todd? you kicked an old lady in the face and now she is under the power of God… Sounds like you killed her todd, but again.. Story. The guy has tons of stories including raising the dead. The man is always raising the dead.

This man has so many videos of himself on his facebook page, he always has his phone with him where he is always posting some video up, never has them when raising the dead.

There are several videos of him kneeing people in the stomach and people needing help up after he has done it, but of course no actual healings.

There is another man, named todd white. This guy does street healing. He ask people what pains or sores they have. Everyone has back pain, I caused pain in my back by a sneaze, on more than one occasion.

Everyone has back pain. Todd White tells people you may or may not know this but you have one leg slightly shorter than the other. I can cause your leg to grow.

Camerman gets at an angel where we see one leg half in inch lower. The man prays and grows the leg where the camerman gets a different angle.

He is literally pulling their leg. By the way, that is an old street magician trick. Todd white called Kennith copeland his mentor and spiritual father.

Kennith Copeland- after he said that about kennith, Kennith said you all need to send him some money. All of these guys do it because of a major pioneer for them. Paul Crouch, the founder of TBN.

Paul list is incredablly long. He is the one that has led these men to where they are at, of course, if you know who he is then you know he has already passed away.

A few years before he died, he gave TBN to his sons. Paul Jr and matthew. Paul Jr hire his daughter and her husband who is a lawyer. When they discovered all the illeagal activities the family and the network was in she said she could not go with it.

She wrote a letter that she cant put her name on something that the IRS is sure to look into. They fired her, her husband, Paul jr and the rest of the portion of the family.

Paul and Jan never spoke to their grandchild again. Becuase of their greedy and illegal activities. And Paul Sr. activity is known to anyone who has seen or heard him.

There is no excusing this man. In 1989 he said something that really shines some light on what Paul feels, He was mad, i mean angry, at real pastors, real preachers.

Not fakes like him, benny hinn, or kennith copeland who were with him when he made this statement in 1989, when real pastors called out paul, he got mad.

It was during a telethon and some think the pastors were calling the telethon to call him out which is why he got so mad. He said he is so sick of peopel nit picking his teaching.

God will shoot you if I dont first. He said that, God will shoot you if I dont first. He continued. He said all this nit picking, trying to get my theological speak out of my eye while they have a plank.

They are focused on my doctrine while people are going to hell, let God set out all of this doctrine dodo they attack me with.

If you are in a ministry where the leader calls doctrine dodo, you need to get out.

Well Todd white teaches that Jesus was not God on earth, he is attacking the nature of Jesus, the very first heresy of the church.

Kennith copland and benny hinn teach that they are little Gods. Kennith said when God tells him I am, he is going to say I am too.

I havent even talked about steven furtick, that man said Jesus broke the law to save us. He also said if you need to know about the doctrine of grace you are at the wrong church.

We just preach Jesus. And its sounds noble, to some. But how to you preach Jesus apart form grace? Its all non sense.

But at least Paul Sr showed his real side in that, he never, ever, wants you investigating his doctrine, Non of these guys do. When things are done, it is in circumstances they can control.

I will challenge any self proclaimed faith healer to a hospital visit and I gurntee they will not go and if they do, no healing will take place.

Has anyone here been inside a childrens hospital? why dont these guys go there? there are kids there for months where mom and dad switch off hospital sleep over nights. Get over there, heal that child and let that family go home.

They wont, because they cant, because they are liars and they know it.

Now this sermon is not about God not doing the miraculas because that is not true, God is very much active and miracles happen everyday. This sermon is actually about doctrine.

Because other than their lies, the number one thing all these guys have in common is false doctrine. Because its dodo according to crouch. A false doctrine.

Honestly, anyone who is claiming to raise the dead, grow legs (but never with amputees), or as robert tilton claimed make midgets grow (his words), anyone claiming that has false doctrine, I can almost gurntee that.

But they know people are deperate, and they take advantage of desperate people, and if it is not desperation, its emotionalism.

Giving you an controled experiance, a manipulated experience, and who can ever question experiance. This is sound doctrine is important.

Before we unpack our text, Let me explain doctrine, The word simply means teaching. Doctrine is a biblical word, it means teaching and instruction. So we say the doctrine of sin, the teaching of sin. So lets unpack this text and point out something to you all.

Romans 6:8–9 NASB95

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

Verses 8 and 9 are an expalaination of what Paul just said, of what we looked at last week. He is guiding the reader through his reasoning.

As explained last week, Paul is arguing for truth and he is using argumentative, almost a legal way of reasoning. How a lawyer would prove a point. So Paul is not saying if as in he is not sure.

But is using language that makes the reader use their brain. If we die with christ, we believe that… thee is something that should not be overlooked as well.

Whenever you see paul say we believe, I believe, I am convinced, something along those lines, the language paul is using can be described as we have no doubt.

Some have tried to say well that is what Paul believed but that is not from God. That paul is saying it is my opinion. he is not saying it is opinion, but that we have trust that we shall live with him.

See the word believe means trust and assurence. The words root is faith, anytime you see the word belief or believe, its root word is faith. And faith also means trust and assurence.

Pistuo- which is a noun that means faith, when turned into a verb gets translated as believe. And it always means trust and or assurence.

We have assurence that we shall also live with him.

KNOWING That! Here is that phrase again. This is something that Christians should already know. Paul is assuming that this is common knowledge for all christians.

This is something you should know if you already dont know. That Christ was raised form the dead, is never to die again. Death is no longer master over him.

Death has no power over jesus. Paul continues to explain.

Romans 6:10 NASB95

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

The death that Jesus died, he died to sin. What does that mean? he died to sin? Jesus, who is fully God, became flesh when the Holy Spirit came upon mary. She concieved.

Jesus is not of adam because no male see was used to concieve Jesus. The world he came into, as a humble and innocent baby, was a world of fallen creation, Hid fallen creation.

He entered into the realm of rebellion, rebellion towrds him. And in humbling himself and putting on the weakness of flesh, Jesus was tempted in all things.

God who knew know sin, was tempted by sin and was living among sin. This very sin would be placed upon Jesus. Sin he never commited, sins you and I committed.

He died to sin because sin was on him but not only that, it was sin that pronunces us guilty, it is sin that must be defeated by true righteouness in order for the new covenant.

Jesus died to sin. And for the first time, the father and the son were seperated. And the agony of that caused Jesus to cry out like a man, Father why have you forsaken me?

Jesus felt the sting, the curse that was meant for you and I, though he never deserved that sting. While man was lost a hopeless in their sin, Jesus died to sin.

Once and for all. This is not a question of numbers, some people point to this and say see, all will be saved. It is not a question of numbers but an emphasis on the relationship of death, death to sin and how effective it was.

So effective, that it is a one time event. This is why the catholic mass should be a serious concern. Every mass, they are spiritually re-crucifing Jesus.

This is why all of their art depicts Jesus as still on the cross, they re-crucify him. But the death that Jesus died was once and for all, he is not to go through that again, he is not to repeated nor does it need repeating.

Further, Jesus came off that cross, and now the life he lives, he lives to God. That is not for his sake, He is God, he prayed to have his perfect felloewship with the father restored like it was before creation.

Jesus life that he lives to God is for us. We have now have fellowship with the father through the Lord Jesus christ. There is only one way, there is only one God, there is only one baptism.

Folks, so far, in our study of this letter, it has only been doctrine. I dont know if you realized that or not, but paul has had zero application for the christian. It has been pure doctrine.

Until now.

Romans

Romans 6:11 NASB95

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

For the first time, paul is now bring the application of all of what he has been saying. Why is that? because doctrine is important. What good is application, what good is works, what good are your emotions, and what good is your experience if you have false doctrine?

This is important for your very health. This is not some system of man here, This is the God instituted way, This is his design.

Talk false doctrine

This begs the question, is the holy spirit really working in areas where he is blasphemed? God is not the author of confusion and he is not one to against his own word.

We will re go over verse 11 next week, but know that the key to the christian life is to have sound doctrine. Explain: