Sermon Central
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A Witch's Invitation Series
Contributed by Johnny Small on Jan 18, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: 3rd in series of Taking Up Your Cross in Today’s World. This sermon is to inform Christians of the snares of the occult and how to recognize them.
A Witch’s Invitation
Several years ago Christian music artist Carman produced a song and video entitled "A Witch’s Invitation." Very seldom do you hear Christian artist or even Pastors telling about the snares of the occult. What I want to discuss tonight is the occult. The definition of the word occult is: "Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences or phenomena." It encompasses witchcraft, astrology, spiritualism, satanism, fortune telling, paranormal, parapsychology, extra sensory perception, self-hypnosis, and hypnosis. In the first sermon of this series I told you about my study of the occult. The Bibles tells us what Satan means for evil, God uses for good. God is all knowing and even though I didn’t accept His call into His ministry at 14, He knew I would at 54 and so He used those 40 years to teach and train me in what He wanted me to tell His children today.
The occult is real. I wish there were some way I could say this more emphatically so that you would believe it. Everything that I have listed above is real, people are involved in it and they used it in their everyday lives, but it is Satan who is controlling the mechanics of it.
Let’s look at astrology. Many in the Christian church read their horoscope everyday as soon as they get up in the morning. Almost every newspaper in this nation publishes horoscopes in their paper. Many people use their horoscope to invest their money or make decisions in their businesses. We have even had presidents of the United States that have consulted astrologers before making important decisions regarding our nation. I have read and studied astrology and it is possible to come up with horoscopes that appear very accurate, but remember, the Bible tells us that Satan is a liar and a deceiver. Many have told me that they read their horoscopes just for entertainment. Their lives would be must better if they read the Bible instead. The Bible tells us that astrologers will burn in hell. That is enough for me to stay away from horoscopes. Let’s read Isaiah 47: 13-14.
Isa 47:13-14
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame.
(NIV)
Even though most people do not believe it, Satan does have power. Remember the things that God allowed him to do to Job and his family? Remember when Moses went to the Pharaoh and did the miracles commanded by God? Aaron threw down his staff and it turned into a snake, the magicians was also able to turn their staffs into snakes. When Moses turned the waters of the Nile to blood, the Egyptian magicians were also able to perform the same feat. The magicians duplicated the plague of frogs also. So Satan has limited power. Especially during the tribulation, those who are not raptured will see many miracles from Satan.
Let’s look at fortune telling next. Let’s read Acts 13:16-19
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."
18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
(NIV)
Does this sound familiar today? Fortune telling is a multibillion-dollar business today. I guess the one that most people are familiar with is Ms. Cleo. She advertises everyday on every TV network. For a 30-second ad on TV she has to pay approximately $100,000.00 depending on the time slot. To be able to afford that type of advertisement, she has to be making an enormous amount of money. I can’t prove it, but I am sure so-call Christians are using her services too. Why do we need to consult medians to learn the future? Haven’t you finished reading the Bible? In the book of Revelation we are told everything that we need to know about the future. By consulting horoscopes or fortunetellers, we are showing that we do not have faith in God’s promises for us. I would rather trust God, than a woman that is processed with a demon. In the scripture that we read in Acts, we saw the slave girl was able to predict the future by the procession of an evil spirit or demon. I am about to get myself in trouble, but if the Bible says it, I will preach it as the truth. Demon procession is also real and many in today’s world are either demon processed or demon oppressed. Why do people today not believe in demon procession? Is it because we do not believe Satan exist?
