When you open the Word of God and use it as a mirror for your life, what do you see? Do you see your life becoming more like Christ or more like your flesh? Or do you even look at all? I want you to begin to think about it like this.
If your afraid you’ve put on a few pounds, are you excited to jump on the scale and check? Isn’t it better for your ego to just not step on the scale and find out? Isn’t that what we do? Or do you automatically want to run right over and weigh yourself and then say, yep, that’s what I thought, 2 pounds heavier.
No, of course not. We don’t want to be held accountable for our bad eating decisions. We would rather not know. Clearly, I’m not talking about myself here. And I’m sure I’m not talking about any of you either. But just incase, let me continue for a minute with this line of thought.
You see, the reason we don’t want to step on the scale is the same reason we don’t want to look into what the Bible says about what our life is supposed to look like. It’s because if we are headed the wrong direction, we would just rather not know. However, if we are going to mature in our faith, we have no choice but to look in the spiritual mirror carefully...and admit what we see. It’s not always good.
Here is another passage that will help us know what conforming to the image of Christ is supposed to look like.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 “14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays
anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray withoutceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”
Are you doing the things that this passage says you should be doing and not doing the things it says you should not be doing? Today we will focus on that last verse. “Abstain from every form of evil.” In the KJV it says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
That’s the way I learned it growing up. It sounds good and right that we should stay away from the very appearance of evil. But the challenge is that evil may appear different to different people.
Some people who grew up with an alcoholic parent or had an alcoholic spouse will say all alcohol has the appearance of evil. Others who have not had the experience will disagree. To them having a beer or glass of wine is no big deal. Who’s right?
The same is true with tobacco and other things that are not expressly forbidden in the bible. This is where the slippery slope of legalism begins. There are churches who believe that if a man’s hair is touching his collar, he is in sin. Those same people believe that if a girls skirt is above her knees, she is in sin.
Who get’s to make the rules? Evil is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to things that fall in the category of Christian liberty and not being bound by legalism.
Here is a passage that will help you decide what things you should be involved with and what things you should not.
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 “14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light withdarkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God...”
What are you connecting yourself to? Is it darkness or light? What path is it leading you down? Is it toward darkness or light? Is it obviously evil or is it within your Christian liberty? This is not really that difficult to figure out. Let’s do a little test.
Which of these options for entertainment is obviously connected to evil? Which one of these should you take your family to?A Fall festival? (image)...or a Haunted house? (image)Which one of these do you want your kids to have running through their mind as they try to fall asleep? That wasn’t so hard to figure out, was it?
What about this one? Which one of these movie options has the appearance of evil?A Hallmark Movie? (image) or a Horror movie? (image)What kind of imagery do you allow to permeate the atmosphere in your home? This is not rocket science.
By now, you may have figured out where I’m headed. Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when pastor Randall get’s up on his soapbox and talks about the dangers of Christians celebrating Halloween. So buckle up, here we go.
From the History Channel Website: "Halloween has its roots in the ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on the night of October 31. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United
Kingdom and northern France, believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain. On the sacred night, people gathered to light bonfires, offer sacrifices and pay homage to the dead.
During some Celtic celebrations of Samhain, villagers disguised themselves in costumes made of animal skins to drive away phantom visitors; banquet tables were prepared and food was left out to placate unwelcome spirits.
In later centuries, people began dressing as ghosts, demons and other malevolent creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink.”
But what about “All Souls Day? That’s an ancient church holiday, not a pagan one.” All Souls Day, was invented about 1,000 after Samhain, when Christianity reached the Celtic lands and they started following the same idea as the original pagan tradition. They wanted to be separate from the world...but not too separate.
Don’t we do that today? We see something that the world does really well and we create a Christian version so that we can be involved with something that feels good to our flesh, but still doesn’t technically cross the line into the world. Or does it?
Try this for example. Which one of these images is a rock concert and which is a modern worship service?Rock concert pic vs worship picDo those two images seem a little too close to being the same?
Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Maybe we should stop trying so hard to look like the world, just so we can fit in and look cool. Do you know where you will find the best musicians in town? On a stage, at a church. And this is why. It’s not because they want to worship God, it’s because they like being worshiped. Churches have the best stages, lights, sound rigs, pay checks and audiences. It’s why you don’t see the musicians out talking to people before and after the service. They are in the green room congratulating themselves on the great performance. They are “Christian” rock stars.
OK, enough of that. Let me get down from my soap box and back to our actual topic today.
Halloween is not just the appearance of evil. It is evil. It’s a celebration of fear and death. It is Satan’s big day. The one day a year, he doesn’t hold anything back. So why in the world would christians want to join in the celebration? The same reason they don’t mind a rock concert worship service. They want to fit in and don’t see any harm in it.
And why would they not see any harm in it? It’s mostly because they don’t really believe that satan and demons are real. Or maybe they just refuse to believe that demons are active and have a real influence in the world today.
Did you know that 40% of people who call themselves christians don’t believe the devil or demons are even real. But do our actions at Halloween say the same about us?
I wonder what the percentage would be if it included christians who say they believe that demons are real, but actually live as
though they don’t? Your actions will always show what you truly believe.
Satan is not an omnipresent being, meaning, he cannot be everywhere at the same time. So he uses demons to get his work done. How do we recognize the work of demons? The same way we recognize the work of their leader...fear.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things,that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
The fear of death is the bond of slavery that Satan has on the world. The fear of death is just the fear of an unknown future and the “what if?” Halloween is the celebration of the fear of death.
You have to ask yourself this: Do you believe halloween is really a celebration of evil, or have you been deceived into believing this is just an innocent time for kids to get candy? Do you just look the other way when the obvious signs are right in front of you. How difficult is it to see that demons are behind horror movies, haunted houses and parties that celebrate witches, ghosts, skeletons and magic spells?
But why are we drawn to those things that celebrate fear? Why would we pay money to go to a haunted house and be scared? It’s because we like the feeling it gives us.
According to research from Medical News Today, we like a good scare because of the chemical reaction our body has after the scare is over. After the initial shock, our body is flooded with endorphins, the hormone that makes us feel good. It’s the feeling that we associate with overcoming and winning. We
survived the situation and our body rewards us with a chemical cocktail that is full of the stuff that create feel good emotions.
So, if fear is fun, why don’t we have the same reaction to almost being in a head on car collision? It’s because the danger is real and the possibility of death is actually on the table. In a haunted house, we believe that it’s not actually haunted and that no one is actually going to kill us with a chain saw.
The fear is temporary and our flesh is chemically rewarded over and over as we go through the house. Fear without danger is why we enjoy the haunted house. The difference is because of what you believe about the situation. Is it real or fake?
We completely dismiss the fake danger of the fake chainsaw at the Halloween haunted house, and at the same time also completely dismiss the very real danger of the very real demons behind the entire event. It’s easy to justify going to the event by saying, this won’t actually physically hurt me. But the damage is not meant to be physical...it is spiritual. And it will absolutely damage you. So I’ll ask again, is the danger real or fake?
So let’s say that you completely agree with the concept that Satan is real, demons are real and that halloween is a celebration of evil and that demons are behind it. What about the other areas of your life where you look the other way when it comes to allowing the enemy to have influence in your life?
How about music? I know it sounds amazing. I know it feels good. You don’t have to tell me how easy it is to enjoy secular music. As someone who owned studios for years, music has been a big part of my life since I was a child. And Satan is the absolute best at drawing your attention away with a great melody and musical hook.
But just stop for a second and ask yourself this: Is what I am allowing into my mind, through this music, pulling me closer to Jesus or further away? Do the lyrics glorify God or satisfy my flesh? Does it have the obvious appearance of evil?
Am I going overboard? How far is too far? What does it take to be conformed to the image of Christ? Are we even willing to ask that question?
Have you convinced yourself that you can celebrate halloween, listen to music that glorifies everything that Satan stands for... and still believe that you are being conformed to the image of Christ?
I’ve had people say, “I don’t believe there is anything wrong with what I’m doing. I don’t use halloween as a celebration of fear and death, I just use it for a time to throw a party.”
Let me say this about that. What you believe about something, does not change what it is. Does what you believe about God, change who He actually is? No, of course not. And in the exact same way, What you believe about supernatural evil does not change what it is.
You may believe that the Halloween events you are involved in are just innocent fun...but that does not mean that it is. It is a celebration of the demonic, regardless of how you feel or think about it.
You could be saying this to yourself right now: “I believe that some people use those things for evil, but that’s not what I use them for, so it’s OK for me to do.”
This is just another lie of the enemy. He wants you to believe that you can love God and still love the things of the world. Satan’s agenda is simple: walk the aisle, pray the prayer...but change nothing.
Are we willing to seriously examine our life and see if we are honoring God or participating with Satan and his agenda during the Halloween season?
If you have to constantly justify the things you do or have in your home, to convince yourself or others that they are Ok to do or have...you need to re-evaluate those things. Is it satisfying your flesh? Or is it conforming you more to the image of Christ?
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