Ephesians 6:
We are the children of God and the whole world lies under the control of the Evil one.
-1 John 5:19
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am’
-John 14:1-3
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
-Ephesians 6:12
‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’
-John 16:33
The church is supposed to be the voice and model of morality in culture in hopes that some will choose the narrow way.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
-2 Timothy 3:1-5
Our job is not to save culture but to pull people out of it!
While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.
-George Washington, Writings
God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever...
-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII
I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.
-Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10).
-John Quincy Adams, Life of John Quincy Adams
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.’
-Luke 17:1-2
Mommy don’t know Daddy’s getting hot at the body shop, doing something unholy.
-Sam Smith, Unholy
When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.
-Matthew 12:43-45
The spirits have returned.
If America follows the ways of God, she will become the most blessed, prosperous, and powerful of civilizations. But if our hearts shall turn away, so that we will not obey, but shall be seduced, and worship and serve other gods, our pleasure and profits, and serve them…we shall surely perish.
-John Winthrop
Who are the spirits that have returned and what do they want?
Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger…
-Judges 2:11-12
…they regarded as god the Lord of heaven, calling him Beelsamen, which is in the Phoenician language, ‘lord of heaven,’ and in Greek ‘Zeus.’
-Ancient Nabatean Text
They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
-2 Kings 17:15-17
Baal: The god of prosperity.
The Spirit of Baal could not be contained in the halls of business. It was everywhere. Americans pursued money, served money, were driven by money, and worshipped money as much as the ancients had worshipped their idols. American life became increasingly monetized. The spirit of Baal even went to church. As in ancient times, when Baal worship was added to the worship of God, so now the doctrines of Baal, the pursuit of material prosperity and personal gain and success above all things, invaded the sanctuary. And so, what could have been a protection and antidote against the invasion was compromised.
-Jonathan Cahn
The Arch of Palmyra.
The Ancient Arch had connected Baal’s Temple, with the city’s main avenue, the re-created arch stood by New York City’s most famous and main avenue, Broadway, the modern equivalent to the great colonnade at Palmyra. So too did the molten bull; the two symbols of Baal were joined.
-Jonathan Cahn
1. The people of God turn their hearts away from God and toward something else.
2. The Earth is almost always worshipped.
3. Man is relegated to the level of animal.
4. Man’s ultimate pursuit becomes prosperity and pleasure.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
-Matthew 6:19-21
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.
-Luke 12:20-21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
-Matthew 6:21
Do you know where your heart truly is?
What do you invest in most?
What is your life about?
The calling of this church and you as a Christ follower is to:
Acknowledge the demonic world.
Acknowledge the methods of the demonic world.
Acknowledge the danger to your children.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Acknowledge the reality and method of winning the spiritual battle.
What is your main takeaway from this message?
Make a Decision