SF547 - A NEW NAME FOR AN OLD SIN (Genesis 3 1-5)
SF547
A NEW NAME FOR AN OLD SIN
Genesis 3:1-5
INTRODUCTION
Background
In the 60's, 70's, and 80's the front line of the devil's attack in America was Secular humanism. It deifies man and dethrones God.
In the 90's there is an emphasis upon religious mysticism. Satan is taking advantage of man’ need for a God.
This has given rise to The New Age Movement!
Definition
“‘New Age’ generally describes movements, groups, and ideas that advocate approaching life in way different from established norms in economics, education, religion, and family. ‘New’ does not refer to time but difference.” (HMB)
“Marilyn Ferguson, and influential New Age spokeswoman, says that New Age is an ‘ill-defined’ term to describe a very broad-based movement, which should be called a shift of cultural values, a shift toward the experiential, characterized by spiritual values.” (HMB) "A leaderless, but powerful network is working to bring about radical change in the US. ...This benign conspiracy,..for a new human agenda has triggered the most rapid cultural realignment in history. The great shuttering irrevocable shift overtaking us is a new mind, and ascendants of a startling world view.” (Rogers)
Symbols and Slogans
Code words: Awakening, enlightenment, centering, channeling, consciousness, cosmic energy, global village, holistic human potential, self‑actualization, transcendental, transformational, transpersonal
Symbols: rainbows, pyramid, triangle, eye in a triangle, Pegasus, the winged horse, concentric circles, rays of light, swastika, goat head, pentagram, unicorn, 666
Notice Now...
The Deception of New Age Philosophy
The Defense against New Age Philosophy
1A.THE DECEPTION OF NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY (Genesis 3:1-5) - The Deception of...
1B.Self-Development (4)
Answers the fear of death.
Reincarnation
You must progress through many lifetimes to reach oneness with the One - to become one with Ultimate Reality. If you accumulate good karma (“the fruit of one’s actions”), positive benefits accrue in later lives. Eventually, you may leave the cycle of birth and rebirth entirely through the experience of enlightenment - realizing your true self”
George Churinoff, ordained Buddhist monk, “When you die, the mind leaves its imprint behind. Like a cosmic file cabinet it is there for the next time you need to check in with yourself. ...you will check in again, just as you will certainly check out.” (Knox. NS 9/22/95)
Shirley McClain, "It’s like show business, you keep doing it until you get it right." (Rogers)
Response
(Hebrews 9:27‑28) Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, {28} so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
2B.Self-Discernment (5a)
Enlightenment
“The basic human problem... is that you are unaware of your true identity as divine, as one with Ultimate Reality.... You live in the illusion that you are a limited and finite human being. So you need to be ‘enlightened’” You can achieve this enlightenment... through meditation, yoga, mind-altering techniques, past-life regression, harnessing psychic energy, out-of-body experiences, and trance channeling.... The solution to the basic human problem is not reconciliation with God,... but the realization of your true self...” (HMB)
The idea is for you to feel, not to think. And what Satan really wants you to do through meditation, ...he wants you to have an experience where you encounter him, but he wants you to believe that you are in touch with the living God.
Response
(Mark 7:21‑23) For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, {22} greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. {23} All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"
“Jesus did not teach ‘at-one-ment’ with the One (losing individuality) but atonement (reconciliation) with God through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.” (HMB)
3B.Self-Deification (5b)
Human Theism - “I am god”
Theodore Roszak "Our goal is to awaken the god who sleeps at the root of the human being."
Monism - All is one
Unity - all religions are ok...
George Churinoff, “I think we can use the Buddhist ideas to become better Christians. There are many things we can learn from each other.”
Phil Faillace, Los Altos school board president; speaking concerning the banning of Halloween and other religious holidays in the schools “We’re restoring values to the schools, ... We’re saying the value is in understanding and learning about a variety of beliefs about religious issues, not just one side.”
Pantheism - Everything is God
“Whatever is, is God. All (god) is impersonal energy, force, or consciousness - more ‘it’ than ‘he.’ There is nothing that is not God.” (HMB)
Man loses his uniqueness
INDIA - 1977 National Geographic
20% of India’s food supply is consumed by rats. That’s enough grain to fill a freight train that would extend from LA NY city Monkeys consume another 15% Nonproductive cows another 15%
Response
(Ecclesiastes 5:2) ... God is in heaven and you are on earth...
(Acts 17:28) 'For in him we live and move and have our being.''
4B.Self-Determination (5c)
Moral‑relativism ‑ What may be right for you may not be right for me.
Pragmatism - No longer ask "is it right", but does it work
Globalism, making the world a peaceful global village with all weapons eliminated
Peace Pilgrim, spent 28 years walking for peace, “This is the way of peace - overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth and hatred with love. A peace pilgrim accepts the way of love as the way of peace, and to depart from the way of love is to depart from the way of a peace pilgrim.” (Susan Valaskovic, Rocky Mtn. News)
2A.THE DEFENSE AGAINST NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY (Ephesians 4:13-16)
Three Commitments we need to make...
1B.Unlimited Maturity (13)
You can grow as much as you want to...
Unity in the faith
Oneness in doctrine!
Knowledge of the Son of God
(2 Peter 3:18) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Fullness of Christ
To be completely filled with Christ
2B.Unwavering Stability (14)
Beware of...
Childish ways
“no longer infants”
Confusing words
”every wind of teaching”
Cunning workers (14c)
3B.Unselfish Activity (15-16)
Love Christ (15-16a)
Serve the church (16b)
The Body
You have nerve cells and they look like thin wires. Then you body has fat cells. Your fat cells look like large, white, plastic garbage bags. All of those cells have a function. In fact, every human cell of whatever kind it is has a program written into it. It's DNA.
On your chromosomes you have DNA. The whole function and program of that cell is written in your DNA. In fact if you took all of the instructions you would find on one human cell from the DNA you would have enough to fill 1,000 books of 600 pages each. It's all right there in your human cells. Those instructions tell that cell what to do in order to benefit all of the other members of the body. As long as there is unselfish activity. As long as every cell is giving out as well as taking in, as result of that unselfish activity on part of each of the cells, the body is joined together. The body works to the measure of every cell. It makes increase unto itself to the building up of itself. The body functions and the body grows the way it ought to grow.
Sometimes, in the body, a cell becomes selfish and instead of sharing its life with the body and all of the other cells, it gets selfish and instead of giving out that cell just only takes in. Then that selfish cell that won't share its life with the other members of the body ‑ begins to grow. It grows and gets bigger and bigger and the scientific name for that is cancer.
The same thing happens in the body of Jesus Christ. Every member of the body of Jesus Christ has a specific function. You have a specific responsibility. You are not here in church to just come and be served. You are not here to just come and sit down and say, alright, bless me. But when Christians get selfish and more interested in what they get instead of what they give, they become ingrown. You can spot them ‑ they become critical, they begin to gripe and grumble and they don't like this and they don't like that. They make every decision on the basis of how it's going to effect them personally and forget the rest of the church and forget what it means to the rest of the church.
When the individual members of a church get that way and become more interested in themselves than they are in benefiting the body, then church doesn't grow and doesn't mature and doesn't become all it ought to become. That kind of person becomes very susceptible to the inroads of a cult and you have cancer on your hands.
APPLICATION
In whom are you trusting?
Are you mature, stable, and unselfish?