Posts by Pastor Sabrina Sessions (Page 36)

Behavior and Roots to Curses

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From these roots there derive many different kinds of behavior. A list of twelve causes of curses that proceed from God is given in (Deut. 27:15-26). God warns Israel: “If you do these things, you’ll come under a curse.”

These can be summed up these main causes:

Idolatry, false gods and the occult.
Remember that the occult is the as worshiping false gods.
It means going to false gods or the servants of false gods for help which we should seek only from the true God.

Look particularly the consequences of idolatry or of the occult as stated by God in (Ex. 20:3-6).

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” (Ex. 20:3).
“You shall have no other gods before Me” (or beside Me).
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” (Ex. 20:4).
“And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things,” (Rom. 1:23).

Dishonoring parents.

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, [worship them] nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments,” (Ex. 20:5,6).
“The first commandment with blessing is: “Honor thy father and mother that it may be well with thee.”

Paul points out that it is the first commandment that carries with it a promise of blessing.

If you fail to honor your parents, you incur a curse upon yourself.
If that is your condition, you need to repent, change, adjust your attitude and if possible your relationship with your parents.

Evangelizing the Elderly

April 9, 2010
Pastor Sabrina Sessions
End times, Marriage and Family, Podcasts

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The elderly of our world provide another vital target population. For the first time in our history, there are as many people over age 65 as there are under 18. Often the elderly are lonely, ill, poor or dying. They need the help and fellowship of the church. To be ready for living and for dying, they need Christ. In every local church we have energetic and devoted members who are approaching retirement age. Moreover, these unique members can reach those of their own age with the gospel.

Even the elderly, in many cases, have dabbled in idolatry or the occult or immoral sex. Consequently, spiritual ground is not easily gained in their lives. Their minds have been bound by the powers of darkness and much intercessory prayer is needed to reach both backslidden Christians and nonbelievers. However, it is not impossible, if Christians are willing to pay the price to pray.

We must minister to various races, nationalities and cultures around the world and to those pockets of people who come to the United States. Some 25 Million Hispanics live in the United States, and their number is growing. Migration from the Middle East has reached such proportions that Muslims outnumber both Jews and Presbyterians.

We can reach them when we deliberately seek to understand them. The apostle Paul said, “And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ) that I might gain them that are without law,” (1 Cor. 9:20-21).

Relationship of Idolatry and Pagan Worship

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There is a relationship of idolatry is worship of other gods and goddesses and pagan heads of state. Devils are always attached to different territories, leaders and have an emotional impact upon the people. An example of having to accept the local gods in order to prosper is recorded for us in (2 Kin. 17).

After the Assyrians had carried off the Israelite populations, they filled the vacuum they had created by transplanting large groups of people from other conquered areas.

These new settlers did not worship the Lord and so the lions caused much chaos among them that the governor sent a complaint to the Assyrian emperor that the immigrant transplants did not ‘know not the manner of the god of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the god of the land,’ – 2 Kings 17:26.

The emperor discerned the people not worshiping the god who controlled the regions; to change them, he sent the Jewish priest back to Samaria from Assyria ‘to teach the people the law of the god of that land’ –2Kings:17:25.

The priest sent to the colonists was not a true priest or God, but one of those who had been attached to the calf-worship, probably at Bethel. Hence, he would be willing to tolerate the mixed religion, which a true priest of the Lord would have unsparingly condemned. — 2 Kings 17:28

The Old Testament reveals high places on which the people offered sacrifices to the god residing there (I Sam. 9:12-13; 10:5; 1Kin. 3:2; Hos. 2:13, etc.). High places were places people sacrificed to the god of the area. High places were associated with Baal (‘high places of Baal’ in Numbers 22:41), or other alien deities (Lev. 26:30)

Neo Paganism Revival

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“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments,” (Ex. 20:3-6).

Neo Paganism is the revival of the old gods and goddesses of pre-Christian polytheistic mythologies, mystery cults, and nature religions, such as Celtic, Egyptian, Roman, and Sumerian. Prudence Jones and Caitlin Matthews writes: “Pagans’ are people who follow the Old Religion, the native religious tradition of Europe which predated more abstract world religions such as Christianity . . . In a sense the new Pagans are neo-Pagans, since they derive their impetus from a spiritual re-emergence and reinstatement of ancient Pagan principles.”

Neo Paganism also includes existing tribal religions and shamanism. Then it includes new religions inspired by avant-garde science fiction and fantasy works as well as diverse occultic sources and traditions; related to witchcraft covens are other neo-pagan groups.

Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days and received from the Lord all the laws that were to govern the religious and secular life of the Israelites. The Israelites felt abandoned by Moses during his absence and went to Aaron and said to him, “up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him,” (Exodus 32:1).