Avoid the Occult

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  29:44
0 ratings
· 236 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
How many of us love a good scary movie?
Do you remember the first movie you saw that scared you so bad you were afraid after it was over with (Salem’s Lot)
Sometimes for the believer it is a fine line between harmless entertainment and dabbling in evil.

God’s People are not to be involved in the occult.

Deuteronomy 18:9–11 HCSB
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. 10 No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11 cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead.
God considers those practices abhorrent, abominable, and strongly offensive.
Notice the long but not exhaustive list of occult practices they were to avoid. in verses 10-11. This involves child sacrifice, trying to learn the will of a god or gods from herbs, the flight pattern of birds, trying to connect with the dead, magic, spells, mediums, etc. It’s a pretty comprehensive warning.
This is not just an Old Testament problem. There are several New Testament encounters with sorcerers (Acts 8, 13, 19) and in each case the sorcerer is an enemy of the true work of God. Galatians 5 lists witchcraft (pharmakon) and something fleshly to be avoided by true Christians. And Revelation 9 and 21 teach against magic, even saying that those who practice magic arts are among those who go to the lake of fire.
SERIOUS BUSINESS

God Views Occult Practices and Practicers as Detestable

Deuteronomy 18:12 HCSB
12 Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things.
Again God is strongly offended by these things.
One of the primary reasons God was allowing Israel to occupy the Holy land instead of the Canaanites, was because the Canaanites were desecrating the HOLY Land with these UNHOLY PRACTICES

God’s People are to be blameless concerning the Occult

Deuteronomy 18:13–14 HCSB
13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this.
Not Perfect- no one but Christ can be perfect. But God calls us to strongly avoid these things.
Again we live in secular America. We can’t go to highway 88 and run the spirit medium out of town.
But we must avoid opening doors to stuff. This might include Oida Boards, Tarot Cards, fortune tellers, reading your horoscope, etc.
For some it will be avoiding watching movies with strong occult. For others it can be to avoid what some would call innocent things like Harry Potter.
I can’t give you a definite on every little thing but I can state with certainty that it would be good to err on the side of caution.

Three Reasons Why

God desires that we put our faith in Him to guide our paths.

All other sources of “insight” into the future come from elsewhere.

They are either fraudulent or demonic. (Recent california preacher prophesying the end of Coronavirus pandemic… right most of the time)

You open the door to demonic activity

and oppression when you dabble in these things. (Come hear Gary Isenhower’s testimony)
If you don’t know Christ, come today. He will save you and be the director of your path.
If you feel like you are dealing with some bad things because of opening the door, I want you to come and let me pray with you. And encourage you to make some adjustments.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more