This blog main focus is to sound the trumpet to call the Church out of Babylon, and sinners to repentance and receiving Jesus Christ as the Savior before the great judgement comes. End-time call out of Babylon, Revelation 18:4.
Showing posts with label Young Adult Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Adult Ministry. Show all posts
Here is something of interest when I was pursuing my Masters degree in Theology, I took a class on Early Church History(Focus was Hebrew Roots), had some interesting notes from the class on relationships in regards to courting, dating, and marriage. I will share my notes on this post, most of my notes come from Marvin Wilson book "Our Father Abraham," and article written by Sol Gordon of Israel. I believe this article would give Christians in western culture a better understanding of courting that leads to marriage, so many individuals put emphasis on the wedding day versus focusing on the longevity of the marriage, and what it takes to stay married.
Quotes from Marvin Wilson book called Our Father Abraham. Here is quotes from the section of the book called Jewish Insights into Marriage and Family: "Contemporary Christians must take to heart this time tested Jewish family value(respect for family background)." They must seek to build friendship which eventually lead to solid marriages because they are based on objective criteria. A piece of paper in the form of a marriage certificate can hardly be expected to hold a marriage together. Prayer alone is also not enough. Flaws, weaknesses, or inefficiencies even when prayed over may still remain problem.
Here some notes from an article written by Sol Gordon from Israel. The article is called "Love and Sex: Poor Motives for Marriage." Notes from the article goes as the following: says the distorted images of sex, love, and marriage not only contribute to the rising divorce rate, but also the increase in pre-martial sex,. Gordon says sex is neither a test nor proof of love. In fact, he relegates it to #9 of the 10 most important characteristics of a mature relationship. #1 is intimacy, he says which includes touch, trust, closeness and caring through good times and bad. A sense humor and honest communication are #2 and #3 followed by commitment to mutual growth. Gordon states mature premartial discussions should concern careers, family, finances, living arrangements, personal values(religion), sharing, aging parents, dealing with differences and even the possibility of infertility. Also need to discuss quirks; poor hygiene; or bad breath; clothes selection; general appearance; compulsive behavior; and behavior towards friends and relatives. Gordon also advises against expecting to change behavior after marriage or putting too much faith in promises. Friendship can be a turn-on according to Gordon, who says he strongly believes that you can turn or make two lovers from friends.
Last piece of notes comes from Marvin Wilson book Our Father Abraham in regards of man and woman marriage day. Wilson states that Jewish weddings they fasted on their wedding day to get the mind of the Lord. At the wedding ceremony the bride and groom partake of communion drinking two cups of wine. The concept was to show common destiny. 1st cup is called the "cup of joy". It reminds the couple that when joys in life are shared, they are doubled. 2nd cup that of sacrifice. In the midst of their celebration, the bride and groom are sobered by recognizing that burdens and problems will someday come into their marriage. But if these troubles are shared, they are halved. This reflects what Jesus says in Matthew 20:22-23.
The babies born between 1982 and 2002 are known as Generation Y or the Millennial Generation (here/here). This generation is unlike any other that America has ever seen, because their morals don't reflect Judeo-Christian values. In fact, the values they reflect range from amoral to immoral. Let's look at some of the critical views of Generation Y:
1. Eighty one percent of Generation Y approve of same-sex marriage (source)
2. Six out 10 Believe Abortion Should Be Legal (source)
3. Thirty two percent are non-religious (source). They are losing faith in record numbers(source)
4. Sixty-Five believe marijuana should be legalized (source).
This is the generation of American's who knew not God! A generation who hates good, but madly in love with evil. We need to fervently pray for this generation, and take more aggressive steps to properly evangelize to this group.
Judges 2:10
King James Version (KJV)
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Hosea 4:6
King James Version (KJV)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Generation Y needs a real Holy Ghost Revival in this land or they will perish in sin! The American Church needs to wake-up and preach the real "Gospel of Jesus Christ so sinners will repent and not perish!!!
SIDS is an acronym for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It is the unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant that occurs during the first year of life while the infant is sleeping. One of the greatest dangers the Church has with newly-saved followers of Christ, or babes, is SIDS. Babes in churches have the appearance of being healthy. They attend Sunday service weekly and go to Sunday School, Bible Study, and various ministry fellowships. They appear to have a healthy spiritual life. But unfortunately, they fall asleep in being diligent in prayer. Their lack of prayer offers defeat instead of victory. Instead of enduring temptation, they succumb to it. They become victims instead of victors.
Devoured in Their Sleep
Satan is devouring them in their "sleepy" state of not praying. Jesus told the the disciples in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into the temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." The disciples were asleep when they should have been praying along with Jesus. When adversity came they were unable to stand with Jesus. They all fled, except John. Babes in Christ must be nurtured in prayer and in the Word of G-d so that they won't fall into divers temptation.
Return to the Basics
As the Church of the living G-d, we must return to the basics of prayer, fasting, reading the Word, meditation of the Word, discipleship, and praise and worship. All of these activities must be relayed to the babes in Christ. This will enable them to endure to walk with Jesus for the duration of their lives. Church programs and activities should never take the place of getting babes grounded in the basics, but should produce a healthy "Christian lifestyle" and a relationship with Christ Jesus that will sustain them in these last and evil days.
In the month of January 2013 we did a two part radio broadcast called American Idols, Celebrity Worship = Sin of Idolatry(here and here). We covered that in this present age celebrity worship has now become a new religion for people, and the celebrities they worship are in reality their god or goddess. In American society people may not worship the idol gods of stone, wood, bronze, silver, and gold. However, they do worship actors/actresses, singers, musicians, news anchors, athletes, models, and politicians. These individuals develop faithful followers that follow their every word and move. However, the Bible warns us about the sin of idolatry. One may ask what is the sin of idolatry? Let us examine this sin in this expose'. Are you a person guilty of the sin of idolatry?
What is Idolatry ?
Idolatry is the worship of spirits, persons, or graven images. It also includes trusting in any person, institution, or thing as having equal or greater authority than G-d and His Word.
In ancient Biblical times the nations surrounding the children of Israel were involved in idolatry. They worshiped all types of gods and goddesses including Chemosh, Baal, Moloch, and Astaroth. Now Yahweh had warned the children of Israel not to worship these idol gods. Yahweh alone was to be worshiped because He was and is the only "true living G-d" and the Creator. Unfortunately, Israel fell in and out of idolatry which bought judgment upon the nation for disobeying G-d.
The very reality is this: Israel fell in love with these idols by worshiping them. In addition, these idols were really demon spirits. Psalms 106:36-37 reveals the truth that these idols were devils that caused the people to commit acts of abomination and to sin against G-d.
Celebrities That Are Worshiped
Politicians Worshiped
President Barak Obama Viewed as Messiah
Sports Stars Worship
Lebron James is worshiped as a sports star
Media Diva Worshiped as a Goddesss
Oprah Worship
Music Stars Worship
Kanye West portrayed as Christ Figure
New American Religion of Celebrity Worship
If you see people that place more emphasis and time in listening to the music of their favorite artist, watching their favorite television program, or dedicated to their favorite sports team and athlete, rather than worshiping G-d, you are seeing someone who is an active participate in a form of religion. These people religiously follow their idol news media star, movie and television star, sports star, and/or politician.
The new houses of worship for this celebrity-centered religion are the iphone, ipod, computer, online, sports stadium, movie, music concert, television. The celebrity worship Bible is the tabloid magazine. Magazines such as US Magazine and The National Inquirer sell millions of copies each week. Television programs such as E!, Extra, TMZ, Entertainment Tonght, and Access Hollywood give regular daily updates about their gods and goddesses(source).
Sociologist Rodney Stark states, "typically people do not seek a faith; they encounter one through their ties to other people who already accept this faith." It's been said that fame is a religion, and celebrities are the gods.
So...to Which Idol Should You Bow?
The question is: what celebrity idols do you bow down to daily? Do you you spend more time listening to ungodly music and watching ungodly music videos? What ungodly Anti-Christian and anti-moral celebrity poster is hanging on the wall of your room? Do you spend more time reading about your favorite celebrity than you do your Bible? How much time do you spend in prayer versus watching your favorite television show with your favorite actor? Please think about these questions. If you answered affirmatively to any of them, you might have a serious sin problem with idolatry. Stop bowing down to these celebrity idols! they don't mean your eternal soul any good!
1 John 5:21 warns Christians on the following, "Keep yourselves from idols." Don't bow down to the sin of idolatry! Revelation 21:8 states that idol worshipers will have their destiny in the Lake of Fire. Please keep Jesus Christ first in your life, and you will have eternal life.
Alert! Alert! Alert! Sodomy Revival Among USA Teens.
Churches tell your teenagers to flee Babylon and its plagues! Christian teens make your “Exodus” out of Babylon now! Don’t look back to Sodom/Babylon like Lot’s wife!
There is a revival of sodomy going in our country, especially among our teens. Young people are being deceived by Satan to participate in other methods of premarital sex outside of vaginal intercourse. As if premarital sex in itself wasn’t bad enough. Which other methods am I speaking of? Oral and anal sex. Some girls believe that by participating in these other forms of sex they are maintaining their virginity. Deceived by the lies of the devil, they honestly believe they are keeping themselves “pure”. Unfortunately, they don’t realize that they’ve defiled themselves along with their male counterparts. Proverbs 14:12 says, “ There is a way that which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Where does sodomy originate from? It originates from pagan idol worship. In the Bible primarily sodomy was among the worship of Baal. Male and female prostitutes committed acts of sodomy as a form of worship to Baal. Sodomy was widely practiced by the people dwelling in Canaan. The American Heritage Dictionary defines sodomy as, “anal or oral copulation of one male with another, anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex, and copulation with an animal.” The book of Leviticus tells us that the practice of man with a man (sodomy), and bestiality (sodomy/ sleeping with animals) among other things were forbidden by Yahweh. Jewish law bans all acts of sex outside of intercourse between husband and wife. This includes masturbation, anal sex, oral sex, and intercourse of unmarried people in Israel. In the music industry you have several prophets and evangelist of Baal and sodomy.
Several years ago rap artist 50 Cent had a song called “Candy Shop”. He also had another song he did with Lil’ Kim called “Magic Stick.”
He also had another song he did with Lil’ Kim called “Magic Stick.” Both songs glorify a woman having oral sex, or committing sodomy, with a man. The latest prophet and evangelist of sodomy is popular a New Orleans rapper named Lil’ Wayne. He had a hit song called “Lollipop in 2008.” This song makes references to a woman giving a man oral sex, and vice versa. Imagine a young person who listens to the lyrics of this song day and night. Its the opposite of Joshua 1:8! Instead of meditating on the law or the Lord, s/he is meditating day and night on oral sex, lust, perversion, and fornication. By meditating on the song “Lollipop”, any young person is going to fail at living holy, being righteous, submitting to the voice of the Holy Ghost which is able to keep them from falling into sexual immorality (Jude 24). When young people begin to sing along or listen to the lyrics of “Lollipop” they are letting Lil’ Wayne prophesy oral sex (a curse of sodomy) into their life. Proverbs 18:21 tells us death and life is in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
What Lil’ Wayne won’t tell in his song is that oral sex can lead into sexually transmitted diseases of herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and human pappilloma virus (HPV). Doctors have now found that HPV causes cancer of the throat. And what do you know? There is now a rise in the number of young men with throat cancer resulting from heterosexual and homosexual oral sex. Physicians are now recommending that not just girls and young women receive the vaccine for HPV, but are asking the government’s permission to start giving the vaccine shot to boys. Doctors say that if the current trends continue within the next ten years there maybe more oral cancers in the United States caused by HPV than tobacco or alcohol.
Lil’ Wayne is not only a prophet of sodomy, but a prophet of death. The type of lifestyle he raps about is a “death style”, that leads to diseases, death (Romans 6:23) and eternal separation from God.
Some churches they promote “virginity pledges” among their young people to wait and have sex until marriage. Unfortunately, many of these program do not work for the following reasons: 1. They don’t promote sanctification, holiness, and transformation of the mind and
2. They lack the proper teaching of taking a vow onto the Lord. If you take a vow unto the Lord you must keep it. Going through a nice virginity pledge ceremony and receiving a pledge ring doesn’t ward off temptation and demonic influence[here ,here]. Most kids that go through these pledges don’t keep them and unfortunately, most attempt to find loopholes of avoiding vaginal intercourse by engaging in anal and oral sex/sodomy(source/source). This is the deception of them thinking that they are maintaining there virginity by not engaging in vaginal intercourse. However, using anal and oral sex as alternatives causes these teens to become new converts of sodomy, thus becoming sodomites instead of saints.
Anal sex opens a person up to anal cancer, HPV, chlamydia, hepatitis, herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV. Both acts of sodomy (anal and oral sex) make a young person susceptible to disease and expose him or her to unclean perverse spirits that form a sexual stronghold in their life. Sodomy can possibly damage young people throughout their adult life if they don’t get delivered through the “blood of Jesus Christ.”
Unfortunately parents don’t teach or talked to their kids about sex and the majority of churches don’t teach the youth about sex. Most learn about sex through friends, videos, television, music, internet, sex education in school, and pornography. Don’t let Lil’ Wayne or any other entertainer teach your young people about sex. But let us be the ones who tell them that that the right type of sex is not dirty, but beautiful and wonderful between a husband and his wife.
We have to turn our young people from the “gospel of sodomy” to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We must turn sodomites to saints through repentances from anal and oral sex. Our kids in these days have to be taught the difference between unholy and holy, and the unclean versus the clean (Leviticus 10:10-11).
Parents be vigilant (1 Peter 5:8) with your kids! Establish and maintain open and honest communication with them. Check out their Myspace and Facebook pages and check to see if the content is of a sexual nature. Find out what CDs they listen to and/or the songs they download to their ipods. What are their favorite videos on Youtube? Pray in your children’s rooms and anoint it. Ask the Holy Ghost to lead and guide you to know if they’re involved in sexual promiscuity. We must fight a good fight to make sure that this generation is walking in the victory of sexual purity. We are all in a serious spiritual war for the souls of our young people. We must make sure that they will receive eternal life instead of eternal damnation.
Tattoos in today's society are quite popular. One in 10 Americans have tattoos, and one - third of 25 to 30 year old in America have tattoos (here). Church folks are even getting tattoos because of the influence of today’s culture. We will explore the truth about tattoos, how they originated, what they symbolize, the biblical perspective on tattoos, and the possible health risks.
Leviticus 19:28 says, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord." The act of tattooing includes tribal markings dedicated to a particular person’s tribal deity. The tattoo was originally a sign of alliance and worship to an idol god. Therefore, tattooing originates from pagan demonism, idol worship, and the magical arts of the occult world.
Tattooing-Magic and Demons
Tattooing was a method used by pagans such as sorcerers and pagan priests. Sorcerers used the method of tattooing to pass on their powers or demons to a disciple or descendant. A Tattooists in paganism are much like a shamans or occult priests. They are a point of contact to the spirit world. In Michelle Delio's states on page eight of her book, "Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration," that tattooing is all about personalizing the body to making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit to dwell inside. The Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit for those are in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise in tattooing the body is a temple to a spirit/demonic spirit.
A perfect example of tattooing and the act of passing down magical powers to a disciple or descendant is television series, "Smallville." In the episode, "Spell", the character Lana Lang has a spell book from one of her ancestors. She becomes possessed by the spirit of her ancestor (really a demon spirit), and assumes the magical powers of her ancestor. It seems Hollywood's entertainment industry is well versed in the knowledge of the occult and its promotion. They know the reality of the occult spirit world and tattooing.
A pastor once told me a story of a woman who was at one of his church services. The woman ended up responding to the altar call after the sermon stating that she wanted the "baptism of the Holy Spirit." She was having a hard time receiving the Baptism when he noticed that her tongue was pierced. He told me that the Holy Spirit spoke to him and to tell the woman to remove her tongue ring. She did and guess what? She received the Holy Spirit! Several days later, the woman brought five thousand dollars worth of body piercing and tattooing equipment to the church. When she spoke to the pastor she told hm that she was into Satanism. She confessed that she and her friends would pray satanic prayers over their body piercing and tattooing equipment to invoke demon spirits on the people getting the tattoos. She asked the pastor to dispose of the equipment which he did with extreme pleasure.
United States History on Tattoos
Concerning the history of the United States, tattoos have always signified rebellion in a society with criminals, adulterers, traitors, and the deviant. Many prisoners and criminal gangs have used and continue to use tattoos to indicate criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation. In the beginning of the late 1990’s the lower back tattoos became popular with young woman. It’s intent was to emphasis sexual attractiveness. However, some consider this type of tattoo as sign of promiscuity and indication of the "raunch" culture. Hence, the nicknames "tramp stamp" (a.k.a "slut) and "dirty girl" tattoo.
In parts of Britain adultery was punished by tattooing. In the army deserters were tattooed with the letter "D".
Yes indeed the popularity of tattooing in American society has grown by leaps and bounds. However, corporate American doesn't look to favorably on tattoos. In in poll done by Careerbuilders found the following:
Over 42 percent of managers said their opinion of someone would be lowered by that person's visible body art. (Personally, I think that the actual figure is much higher.)
Three out of four respondents believe that visible tattoos are unprofessional.
Employers aren't legally bound if they tell someone not to reveal tattoos at the workplace, or to keep tattoos covered up isn't illegal. In survey done by vault.com employers and employees were asked the question about body piercing and tattoos in the workplace. Sixty percent of the employers were less than likely than to hire someone with body piercings and tats, because on how the company image maybe tarnished. An individual may see it as self-expression, but an employer sees it as rebellious, bringing attention to yourself, and not a team player(here).
Health Consequences on Getting Tattoos
There are many health concerns when it comes to tattooing. There is a possibility of contracting deadly blood -borne diseases including but not limited to; AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, tetanus, syphilis, and tuberculosis(here).
Tattoo parlors are not held to the same health regulations as a health care practitioner office. Many of the parlors cater to customers that are somewhat deviant and already carrying some type of disease.
Tattooing opens your body up to infections, diseases, and scarring, which can have a devastating effect to a person’s overall health. Tattoos can also cause person to have chronic skin disorders such as sarcoid, keloid scarring, allergic dermatitis, psoriasis, benign and malignant tumors. In some cases people suffer an allergic reaction from the tattoo ink(here).
1990s sex symbol and Baywatch television star Pamela Anderson, is the prime example of the health dangers of tattooing, after contracting hepatitis C(serious liver disease), she got disease by sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband rock star Tommie Lee.
What Would Jesus Do(WWJD) on Tatttoos
If you are someone who received a tattoo in ignorance before you became saved or after getting saved, I am not saying that you are not saved, you did out of ignorance. However, we are trying to teach the youth and babes in Christ in today’s church not get caught up in the culture of the world. Our purpose is to enlighten and educated the church in the way of holiness (Leviticus 10:10-11).
Some may say will Endtimeshofar, that is Old Testament scripture, were not under the "law or the Old Testament," were under the New Testament and grace. Your outdated and out of touch of what is going on in today times, even in the Book of Revelation(Revelation 19:16) Jesus has a tattoo on his thigh that says He is the "Lord of lords and Kings of kings." This is false teaching to any one who teaches this is heresy, Jesus would never have a tattoo, because He is Jewish number one, and number two He came to fulfill the Torah(Law) and not destroy the Torah(Law), three He would be in direct violation of Torah(here). Even with that being said, someone that got tattoos before getting saved shouldn't continue to get tattoos(this is called repentance), or even some young person thinking about getting a tattoo because it is culturally relevant needs to take not just look at Leviticus 19:28 scripture into account, but Exodus 20:4 put a graven image on your body whether or not it is a Christian tattoo it violates the Word of God. Again our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So why would you want to violate "the Word" and your body?
Let us not learn the way of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2), but fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We’re in Babylon, but Babylon is not in our hearts (1 John 2: 15-16).
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