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How spiritual abuse subconsciously taints our lives · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:48
  Welcome and thank you for joining me today on Unity Without Compromise on the one of a kind, America Out Loud Network.
• 0:59
  Today, I want to discuss with you a very serious topic that affects millions, and many of those millions of people are not even aware of its influence.
• 1:13
  How spiritual abuse subconsciously taints our lives is a serious problem in America and perhaps the globe, but a lot of people don't just don't realize it.
• 1:28
  During my medical practice years and throughout my entire life, I've always been fascinated by the power of the mind, and I have observed closely the power, specifically of how the human mind is at work with everything that happens to us in life, all of the input we receive into our brain has to be processed.
• 1:54
  And the brain is exceedingly dynamic and it is forceful, but it is also vulnerable to faulty information processing.
• 2:07
  And like any form of power, brain power can be used for good and evil.
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  But because it is so robust, and because it is so integrated and complex, we don't realize how we are altering the structures that is the synapses, the connections between neurons and the functions of our brain.
• 2:37
  Now, nowhere have I seen this influence more than when we are processing heavy emotional stressors that are pressed upon us.
• 2:49
  When those stressors stem from abuse of any kind, their negative influence can shape your entire outlook on life.
• 3:01
  It can strengthen you or destroy you.
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  And when spiritual abuse comes knocking, as it does quite often, the unrecognized consequences can be absolutely devastating, both in this life and hereafter.
• 3:23
  I checked out the percentage of U.S.
• 3:26
  adults who are reportedly suffering or have suffered from some kind of religious trauma during their lifetime, and they estimate that to be at about one third of the population in the United States.
• 3:43
  Now, some may think that that number is kind of high, but I'm actually inclined to believe the number is lower than what the actual numbers are.
• 3:56
  In any study or polling of the topic, the problem of determining the actual number lies in the ambiguity of the term religious trauma or abuse.
• 4:11
  How do you define it?
• 4:14
  And is there a difference between spiritual abuse and religious trauma?
• 4:21
  Nobody will agree on any one definition.
• 4:25
  Because unlike all other forms of abuse, like physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and spiritual abuse is a part of emotional abuse, a subcategory, you might say, well, religious abuse is often highly subjective, being emotionally perceived.
• 4:46
  And while beheading Christians for their faith is to most people a glaring form of spiritual abuse, it's called persecution, a faithful Muslim who abides by the Quran might just consider that to be justified punishment.
• 5:06
  So they wouldn't consider beheading Christians abusive at all.
• 5:09
  It's doing your duty as a good Muslim.
• 5:14
  Both Christians and Muslims seek to indoctrinate their children, right, into their own beliefs, into their religious faith, but each one would call the other's efforts abusive indoctrination, not religious teaching.
• 5:32
  So you see the problem.
• 5:34
  If we cannot agree on some form of universal absolute truths, then we can never meanfully define the term spiritual abuse, because everybody's got a different definition.
• 5:47
  And this is precisely the reason, by the way, that we can never have unity without compromise.
• 5:54
  It does not mean, however, that absolute truths do not exist.
• 6:01
  They do exist.
• 6:03
  But many people reject these truths or redefine them when it is expedient to do so.
• 6:13
  Now, if I followed worldly wisdom, I'll be honest with you, I'd stop right here and I'd say nothing more.
• 6:21
  Because to hold any universal truth, I must have a truth standard.
• 6:28
  And I do.
• 6:29
  You've known that, if you have listened to me, the Bible is my only standard of truth.
• 6:35
  I hold the Bible to be God's truth revealed to sinful man as a means of redemption, that is saving us from our sin and from eternal damnation.
• 6:48
  Now, the Bible has been tested and it is proven.
• 6:52
  And I recently covered that topic.
• 6:54
  I hope you listened to it a couple of weeks ago.
• 6:58
  But from that perspective, which is a biblical world view, I want to proceed today.
• 7:00
  Which is a biblical worldview, I want to proceed today.
• 7:05
  And fortunately, you do have free will, you can freely accept it or reject it.
• 7:05
  And fortunately, you do have free will, you can freely accept it or reject it.
• 7:12
  But I want to challenge you today.
• 7:12
  But I want to challenge you today.
• 7:14
  If you have somehow been begrudged or abused in some way in your past, where things were forced upon you, maybe by your parents, by the church or whatever, and you suffered as a result of that, I want to just
• 7:14
  If you have somehow been begrudged or abused in some way in your past, where things were forced upon you, maybe by your parents, by the church or whatever, and you suffered as a result of that, I want to just challenge you to maybe open your mind for a few minutes and hear me out.
• 7:35
  Because as I said, oftentimes people are not even aware of the fact that they are shaping a different worldview other than a biblical worldview, or they are rejecting the Bible and the principles, the honored genuine principles of Christianity, all because somehow they were offended or hurt sometime in their past by religious leaders, by parents or other family members or friends, they were maybe shunned.
• 8:10
  And you know what?
• 8:12
  I totally understand it because I've been there myself.
• 8:16
  So I do understand that.
• 8:19
  And the fact that we were somehow spiritually abused does not mean that we are relieved of all responsibility in the way of answering to God.
• 8:34
  But I do hold the Bible to be God's truth revealed to man as a means of redemption.
• 8:42
  And the Bible has been tested.
• 8:44
  And so I want to proceed today just from a biblical worldview.
• 8:49
  So take it or leave it, but please, before you leave it, please just hear me out and see if what I say makes sense.
• 8:57
  Put it to the test of common sense and logic.
• 9:00
  Now, I'm going to try to define spiritual abuse.
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  In other words, it can pertain to any religion, any religious belief, and it applies to all religious leaders and all religious doctrines.
• 9:27
  So I define spiritual abuse as coercive manipulation, control or harm of someone in the name of God.
• 9:40
  That's it.
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  Simple as that.
• 9:43
  Coercive manipulation, control or harm of someone in the name of God.
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  Some call it religious abuse, others call it religious trauma.
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  They are different.
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  And I'll get to that in a little bit, but they are very different.
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  But with that definition of spiritual abuse, ask yourself have you been spiritually abused?
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  Have you been coerced or manipulated by your church, by your family?
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  Have they tried to control you or have you been hurt in some way, emotionally or otherwise, even physically or even sexually?
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  Because someone is trying to control you in the name of God.
• 10:28
  If you have, tune in, please.
• 10:32
  I want to share with you six characteristics, first of all, of spiritual abuse.
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  And these actually come from a website called Answered Faith.
• 10:44
  So this is not my information, but I thought it was good information and I thought it was legitimate.
• 10:50
  So six characteristics of spiritual abuse, in just in case you're not sure whether you've been abused.
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  Now, these six characteristics of spiritual abuse, I like them because they are in accordance with the Bible standard, what the Bible calls spiritual abuse.
• 11:10
  Number one, leaders demanding unquestioning obedience to their personal interpretations, like legalism, gay marriage, miraculous gifts, women in leadership, abortion, alcohol, baptism, you know, and I could go on and on with doctrinal issues, issues where people divide into denominations because of these subtleties, and they fight about them.
• 11:42
  But any leaders that demand unquestioning obedience to their personal interpretations of scripture, that can be abusive.
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  Number two, using scripture to justify selfish ambitions or financial exploitation.
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  Now that happens an awful lot in the many megachurches, but it can happen at a much lower level too, even in the smallest of churches.
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  Number three, creating fear-based environments where questioning equals rebellion.
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  Oh, you're nothing but a troublemaker.
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  You're hard-headed, you're difficult to deal with because you're questioning what I say is the truth.
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  That is abusive.
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  That is spiritual abuse.
• 12:37
  Number four, placing human traditions above God's clear commands.
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  And that by definition is what we see in denominationalism.
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  Well, we believe this, and you believe that, and we'll consider you to be a brother in Christ, but you're the brother who is in error.
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  And that is abusive when it comes to human traditions.
• 13:06
  And human traditions oftentimes are defended by abusing scripture or misusing scriptural verses.
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  So keep that in mind.
• 13:14
  Number five, another characteristic of spiritual abuse is isolating believers from other Christians or family members.
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  This is cultic.
• 13:27
  If you were to dare to question certain things in the Mormon church or in the Jehovah's Witnesses, or in any of the many other pseudo-Christian cults, well, you're being abused.
• 13:48
  They will abuse you by isolating you from other Christians, from other family members, from even your spouse and children to try to pressure you to follow their belief blindly.
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  Follow their belief blindly.
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  That's abusive.
• 14:02
  That's abusive.
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  Last of all, claiming special revelation that contradicts biblical truth.
• 14:04
  Last of all, claiming special revelation that contradicts biblical truth.
• 14:10
  Now, a lot of Christians are guilty of this, and I don't think they're intentionally trying to be guilty of it.
• 14:10
  Now, a lot of Christians are guilty of this, and I don't think they're intentionally trying to be guilty of it.
• 14:16
  But every person that says the Lord spoke to me, ha, big red flag there, okay?
• 14:16
  But every person that says the Lord spoke to me, ha, big red flag there, okay?
• 14:23
  Because so many times I hear Christians saying that, and what they claim that the Lord spoke to them comes.
• 14:23
  Because so many times I hear Christians saying that, and what they claim that the Lord spoke to them contradicts scripture, and therefore it was not the Lord.
• 14:34
  It was something else, maybe just fabricated in your own mind, or at the worst, some demonic influence.
• 14:41
  But it was not the Lord spoken to you, because the Lord speaks to us today through the scriptures.
• 14:48
  And we are strengthened in those scriptures, and remember the scriptures are a work of the Holy Spirit who protected those scriptures, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to apply those written principles, written in human language that we can read and understand anybody, but they are spiritually discerned, many of them, and that takes a will to know God in order to be rightly influenced by the scriptures.
• 15:18
  And that's a big problem with people who might say loosely that they're a Christian, but they have never read the Bible.
• 15:26
  Well, they cannot understand the scripture because they aren't spiritually discerned.
• 15:31
  All these characteristics of spiritual abuse, if you'll look at them, they have a form of godliness, but they not deny its power.
• 15:41
  And that's exactly what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 5.
• 15:46
  Now, let me just clarify this.
• 15:49
  Jesus, in his earthly ministry, was never manipulative, and he was never coercive.
• 15:57
  He always honored his gift of free will.
• 16:02
  We have a choice to accept or reject God's words.
• 16:09
  And when we do so, we expose who we are.
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  We expose the intent and content of our hearts.
• 16:19
  We saw how Jesus reacted to those who were insincere.
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  He called the Pharisees, for example, is a bunch of hypocrites.
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  Because saying or believing one and practicing another is very hypocritical.
• 16:36
  Many Christians are accused of such things, and that's probably because Christians are human beings, flawed in every way.
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  All of us need a savior.
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  So we're going to goof up sometimes.
• 16:48
  But there is a difference between blatant hypocrisy and messing up because we're human or weak at times.
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  Jesus called out the deceivers.
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  The writers of the scriptures called out the deceivers because they were telling people what they want to hear for selfish gain, which is usually money or popularity or power, and we see the same thing today in a big way.
• 17:17
  And then there are other abusers having a form of godliness, but denying its power.
• 17:23
  And those are the profiteers, the people that want to make a lot of money off of Christianity, because those people seeking the Lord, seeking spiritual things, seeking eternal life through Christ, through the blood of Christ, well, they're vulnerable because they recognize their shortcoming, their sin.
• 17:43
  And a lot of profiteers will take advantage of that and promise them great things if they will only give them a lot of money.
• 17:51
  We see this with the megachurch mania in this day and age.
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  What would Jesus think about the mega churches today?
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  Well, well, it all depends what's in their hearts.
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  That's what it comes down to.
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  But a lot of them do not have pure hearts.
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  And we see that by the fruit that they produce.
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  So if you're attending a megachurch, be careful and look closely at what and who you are really funding.
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  Too many church leaders will gladly take your money and use it selfishly.
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  And of course, this violates the eighth commandment that God gave us.
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  You shall not steal.
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  Are the church patriarchs?
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  Sometimes we see these in the little country Baptist church.
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  One man and his family have ruled at church for years.
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  And there's one patriarch who just loves power more than God's word.
• 19:00
  Sometimes it's the pastor of a church.
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  In the Bible, in the Christian New Testament example, there is no such thing as one pastor.
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  There was always more than one.
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  But this is so common to have the pastor in smaller churches that it just opens them up for abuse because it is not following the biblical pattern.
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  But the pastors are enabled by the people in the church, family anyway.
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  They want that.
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  They want somebody to take control, take care of the church, all the problems.
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  Feed us, feed us, feed us, and we'll leave it all up to you.
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  But in the biblical example, there is always a multiplicity of elders or overseers or shepherds, which is translated to pastors from the French pasteur, shepherd.
• 20:07
  But then there's deacons, by the way, who serve in a more practical functional way.
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  But if you have a small church and none qualify, then I would suggest, because this is a very big problem.
• 20:23
  I would suggest that that is a spiritual problem of not making disciples in the church.
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  If you've got multiple older men in a church and they are not qualified, that's a failure of discipleship.
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  And remember, Jesus told us to go out and make disciples.
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  That means mature in the faith as you grow older.
• 20:47
  And then another form of abusers, false abusers, false Christians are the limelighters.
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  They love popularity, they love being honored, they love having the best seats, but they are never servants.
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  But they are never servants.
• 21:02
  And we see this even in Trump's administration with his so-called uh, you know, religious guidance that he's not getting, actually.
• 21:02
  And we see this even in Trump's administration with his so-called uh, you know, religious guidance that he's not getting, actually, that there's a lot of limelighters in there who do not really know the scriptures, and that hurts them lots.
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  That there's a lot of limelighers in there who do not really know the scriptures, and that hurts them lots.
• 21:18
  Uh there's a lot of biblical examples of spiritual abuse.
• 21:18
  Uh there's a lot of biblical examples of spiritual abuse.
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  The abusers are abundant throughout scripture.
• 21:23
  The abusers are abundant throughout scripture.
• 21:27
  Jesus, his apostles, the prophets, so often warned us to beware of all forms of spiritual abuse, because such abuse is devastating and can have eternal consequences.
• 21:27
  Jesus, his apostles, the prophets,
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  Now, not all religious trauma is spiritual abuse.
• 21:44
  And I want to deal with that briefly.
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  Now, this is an extremely touchy subject.
• 21:49
  I get that.
• 21:50
  But religious trauma is not necessarily coming from spiritual abuse.
• 21:57
  Either we accept the word of God as authoritative, or we don't.
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  Those who don't might feel abused by scripture.
• 22:05
  The Bible is not silent about who will enter heaven and who will be condemned to hell to eternal torment.
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  A conscious eternal torment.
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  That's what the Bible says.
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  It states it very clearly and unequivocally, but it's God's call.
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  God will decide.
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  You and I have no say in that.
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  If you call God's judgment unfair or abusive because you want to pridefully continue living a life of, for example, sexual perversion, well, that's your free choice that God gives each one of us.
• 22:39
  And if you know the truth, and if you are convicted in your own conscience and emotionally traumatized by it, well, then you may well experience what some would call religious trauma.
• 22:51
  And many therapists would gladly have you pay them to console you and tell you, oh, you're okay, don't worry about it.
• 22:59
  But if the Bible says you're not okay, that your prideful sinning will lead you to hell, then you're going to hell if that's how Jesus Christ so judges you on that final day of judgment.
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  In this case, who is the real spiritual abuser?
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  The preacher who proclaims the word of God for what it says, or the counselor who tells you your homosexuality is just fine.
• 23:29
  See, not all religious trauma is spiritual abuse.
• 23:34
  Now, recall my definition of spiritual abuse.
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  Okay, coercive manipulation, control or harm done in the name of God.
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  So coercion means it is forced.
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  It's not the same as persuasion or teaching or encouraging what we call exhortation.
• 23:53
  Biblical Christianity, however, is never, never coercive.
• 24:00
  Biblical, genuine Christianity, is never coercive.
• 24:04
  Salvation is offered to every person by invitation only, which means you can accept it or reject it.
• 24:13
  Nobody is forced to receive Jesus Christ's gift of salvation by his grace.
• 24:19
  It's totally your choice.
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  And by choosing obedient faith, we are saved from our sin.
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  By rejecting God's grace, well, we are justly condemned to eternal torment.
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  That's what the Bible says very clearly.
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  The standard holds for each one of us alike.
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  It doesn't matter who you are, Jew, non-Jew, you know, Muslim, Hindu, it doesn't matter.
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  God says this is the way it is.
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  The standard holds for each of us, and this is not spiritual abuse.
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  It's God's decree.
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  And it is based on total freedom of choice.
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  Remember?
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  My body, my choice?
• 25:07
  Yes, well, here it is again.
• 25:09
  My body, my soul, my spirit, my choice.
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  And that is true.
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  Now, but here's my concern and burden.
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  A lot of people whom I would actually consider to be really, you know, good people, relatively speaking.
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  They absolutely refuse to entertain the thought of a just and a fair creator God simply because they have been subjected to some kind of religious or spiritual abuse in their past.
• 25:40
  Now, it seems to me, just from my observation, that the more educated and the more knowledgeable that a person is, the more they are apt to build a barrier or a hedge that keeps them from considering the reality of an absolute truth standard.
• 26:00
  And these people, not all of them, but a lot of them, these people will just dance all around the truth of God by proclaiming so many other truths, you know, so many good things, with tremendous insight and logic and rational and deep thinking.
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  But they will refuse to commit themselves to the truth that a righteous and just God will judge each one of us one day.
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  They will call themselves agnostics or atheists, secularists, philosophers, mediators of truth, and they seem to have all knowledge, all but the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• 26:47
  And if you press them and ask them, why will you not even give ear to the truths of scripture?
• 26:56
  They'll answer you with a myriad of excuses, give you all kinds of answers that sound really polished and refined, but when you break it down and analyze it, these are foolishness, the words of foolishness, because they have, and they do it because they have experienced spiritual abuse in their lifetime, and they don't even recognize what they are doing and why they are kicking against the goads and resisting Jesus Christ.
• 27:29
  They have seen the abuse, they have smelled it, tasted it, and sometimes have been beaten over the head with it, and because of that abuse, they choose to reject the most important truth in this world.
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  And I really feel for these people, because some of them are really good people.
• 27:49
  Now, there's a lot of other scholars and very talented, educated people who love God and who see it, who see the truth, the truth of creation, the truth of the power of God, the evidence of both what we have seen and not seen through the scriptures.
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  Truth, the truth of creation, the truth of the power of God, the evidence of both what we have seen and not seen through the scriptures.
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  But those who reject the most important truth of the world, they choose wrath over blessings beyond imagination.
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  But those who reject the most important truth of the world, they choose wrath over blessings beyond imagination.
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  And that does sadden me.
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  And that does sadden me.
• 28:25
  These people, many of them are forever tainted.
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  These people, many of them are forever tainted.
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  Some of them go to their graves.
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  Some of them go to their graves, many of them.
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  Many of them go to their graves condemned because they just didn't recognize how their spiritual abuse subconsciously tainted their lives.
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  And if you're one of those people, I think it's something that ought to be brought to the forefront of your brain so that you can really process it.
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  Why do people do that?
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  Well, it's a simple answer.
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  They want to protect themselves from more abuse.
• 28:56
  They don't want to be hurt.
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  They don't like being bamboozled and they're determined to never be again duped.
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  And they pride themselves in their wisdom.
• 29:09
  Because they do, to a large extent, protect themselves by straddling a spiritual fence, but totally unaware how they are doing it and what the consequences are.
• 29:24
  And that can be really devastating.
• 29:27
  Well, I will discuss that in further detail, specifically how spiritual abuse subconsciously taints our lives after a short pause.
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• 34:14
  We also plan on proceeding with America Outloud 25010 celebration.
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  It is going to be online, and further details will be coming on that.
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  We want to encourage you to join us.
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  This will be on July 1st and 2nd, and it's going to be available to every one of you.
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  We want this to be above all things a celebration, and we want to, as always, equip you with the truths that you can take with you into your life and hopefully speak boldly and speak out loud.
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  Don't be silent.
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  That this is a time that we must fight for God and country.
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  Well, today I am talking about how spiritual abuse subconsciously taints our lives.
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  Talking about how spiritual abuse subconsciously taints our lives.
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  And I want to ask you: have you chosen wrath over blessing because you were somehow abused?
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  And I want to ask you have you chosen wrath over blessing because you were somehow abused?
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  I want you to think about that.
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  I want you to think about that.
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  They say about one-third of the American population has experienced some form of religious abuse.
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  They say about one third of the American population has experienced some form of religious abuse.
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  Now, not everybody who's been abused walks away from Christianity.
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  Now, not everybody who's been abused walks away from Christianity.
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  Some will use that abuse and be strengthened.
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  Some will use that abuse and be strengthened by it and dig in deeper.
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  And that's what I did.
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  I don't want to be duped like anybody.
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  I don't want to be abused like anybody.
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  But we have to seek God if we want to live eternally in his kingdom.
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  Maybe, just maybe everyone has suffered some form of spiritual abuse in their life.
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  It all depends on how you define it, and that's not easy to do.
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  And remember, not all religious trauma is spiritual abuse.
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  And vice versa.
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  The Bible does, however, hold Christians to a higher standard than non-Christians.
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  And when it comes to religious leaders abusing people, let me just tell you, God has no tolerance for it.
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  Jesus called the pompous leaders of the Jewish crowd hypocrites.
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  They are decaying on the inside, even though they're all shiny on the outside.
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  He called them a brood of vipers.
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  And take a look, go into the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you will see that these writers warned us repeatedly about abusers.
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  This is not something that God wills for anyone.
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  Often the biblical writers call these abusers out even by name.
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  And if we dare to listen, the Bible does tell us how to deal with them.
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  But that seldom happens in modern times, unfortunately, and for a lot of reasons.
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  Incompetent leadership is rampant, just like it is in our government.
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  There's a lot of incompetent leadership in the churches these days.
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  Many church leaders have very little Bible knowledge in this day and age.
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  And that has repercussions.
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  A lot of people, including church leaders, are they fear legal reprisal.
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  If they were to actually implement Bible-based discipline, they fear being sued.
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  And it could very well happen.
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  And that's called persecution.
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  It's a form of spiritual abuse.
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  Or some people just don't want to offend the offenders, no matter what they stand for.
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  Hey, I'm all for killing children in the womb.
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  No problem with that, right up to you know, late term abortions, right up to before right before they are delivered, go ahead and kill them.
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  They're not alive yet.
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  Now that's a lie, that's nonsense, but you know, even those people, there are others who don't want to offend them because they call themselves Christians.
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  And some people, some Christians are just cowards.
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  Or maybe they just have a lack of days of attitude.
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  They just don't care.
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  They're too busy, too caught up in their lives.
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  Or they fear division.
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  And when church leaders fear division, most of the time, it's for financial reasons, especially these larger churches.
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  But mostly, mostly we don't discipline according to the biblical principles because of a lack of respect for God's word.
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  Now, what the Bible says about church discipline is very clear, but it is not easy to apply, especially when the abuse comes directly from established church leaders, these guys who've been there for years, they're very popular, they're powerful, and they love that power, just like the Pharisees of old.
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  Here's a few examples.
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  In Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 through 17, we read, moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and reprove him in private.
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  Take him aside, talk to him.
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  And if he listens to you, you have one your brother.
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  But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be confirmed.
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  And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.
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  And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a heathen and a tax collector.
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  Now, when's the last time you saw that kind of discipline effected in your church?
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  Carried out.
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  First Corinthians chapter 5, verse 11.
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  But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he should be an immoral person or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a swindler, not even to eat with such a one.
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  Hey, those are pretty serious words.
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  In other words, hold the brothers and sisters of Christ accountable.
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  Do it with patience in love, but do it when the Bible speaks, don't be afraid to speak and uphold the word of God.
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  Be a defender of God's word.
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  That's an ambassador of Christ.
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  Galatians 6 1.
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  Brethren, if even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.
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  And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that man and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame.
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  And yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
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  A lot in the churches.
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  2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 24 and 25.
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  And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition.
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  And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition.
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  If perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth.
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  If perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth.
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  We've been taught how to keep the peace, right, and defend the truth, but I seldom see it happening in the churches.
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  And this is a gross failure of church leadership, because it affects everyone, including those outside of the church.
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  It affects our behaviors, the way we think, the way we look at the world.
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  How does spiritual abuse taint our lives?
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  Well, in every way imaginable.
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  It shapes marriage and family relationships.
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  I've seen a lot of marriages destroyed by a husband who refused to love his wife, quote, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, Ephesians 5.25.
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  I've heard the bitter rebellion of children who were frustrated and discouraged and battered by a parent who refused to train up a child with loving discipline, and whose disdain for Christ and the church persisted because of their parental hypocrisy.
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  Their parents betrayed them, they felt, and so I'm going to reject it all.
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  Throw the baby out with the bathwater.
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  And it does affect our political views.
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  The issues before us today in America, and they are many and they are egregious, but the issues are not right and left.
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  They are not liberal versus conservative, but they are always right versus wrong, according to a standard.
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  See how many Americans have a warped standard.
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  See how many of them claim spiritual abuse as a reason for shunning the call to Christian conversion.
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  Wow.
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  It's more than you think.
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  The problem with this with it with allowing yourself to be influenced by spiritual abuse is that it invites compromise in ourselves.
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  If you refuse to gain knowledge of biblical truth, then ultimately you're lost.
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  You don't have a right standard.
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  Your only standard then becomes your conscience.
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  But the conscience is not perfect.
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  It can be easily distorted.
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  The conscience can be completely seared to the point that we see people saying, Oh, if I wanted to abort my baby the day before my due date, that would be the right thing to do.
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  God doesn't have a problem with that.
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  Well, that comes from a seared conscience.
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  To take another human being and regard them as somebody less than yourself goes against the biblical standard for whatever the reason it is.
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  We are told to respect our neighbor, to love our neighbor as ourself, and regard him even greater than our own regard.
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  That's how important our neighbors should be to ourselves, who, whoever they are.
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  And ultimately, what happens when you allow yourself even subconsciously to be abused is that it robs us of the blessings of Christian living.
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  Now, when I say that, I want to qualify that because Christian living is not always an easy life.
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  In fact, as I said, we are held to a higher standard.
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  It is not necessarily an easy life at all, but it is a fulfilled life.
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  I have been persecuted, I have had my life threatened when sharing the gospel, even in other countries.
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  But my life is fulfilled.
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  I wouldn't trade it for a thing, and I am still growing and being discipled by the words of Christ in the scriptures.
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  And even when blessings come through hardship and tears and grief, they still accomplish their good work in us if we focus on our eternal purpose while we are here on earth.
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  Remember, if you want some encouragement, remember these words from Jesus.
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  He said, But many who are first will be last, and the last.
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  Matthew 19, verse 30.
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  That must forever be our encouragement.
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  We are probably all going to suffer some form of religious or spiritual abuse at some point in our lifetime.
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  But it does not have to destroy us or push us away from God.
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  That's my whole point today.
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  When Jesus returns, he says, He will punish the unrepentant wicked.
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  There will be no excuses.
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  Oh, well, I was wicked because I was abused.
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  Well, forget that.
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  That's not going to hold up.
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  Our duty before God, every human being's duty before God is to honor God and to endure to persevere and to strive to grow beyond the spiritual infancy stage where most Christians spend most of their life, if not all of it.
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  That can never happen if we allow our people, our other people's personal abuse against us to tarnish our opinion of God, or to turn us away from the scriptures.
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  Now, in no uncertain terms, God has warned us through the scriptures.
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  Now, in no uncertain terms, God has warned us through the scriptures.
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  Spiritual abusers are going to arise from every sector of society, everywhere, inside and outside of the church.
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  Spiritual abusers are going to arise from every sector of society, everywhere, inside and outside of the church.
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  Spiritual abusers may very well be in your immediate family right now, or in your community, or among your group of friends.
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  Spiritual abusers may very well be in your immediate family right now, or in your community, or among your group of friends or acquaintances at work or wherever.
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  You may have a spiritually abusive spouse that you have to deal with every day.
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  And that is so difficult.
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  I so heartily sympathize with you.
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  That is hard.
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  Having to deal with a spiritually abusive spouse every day is like hell on earth.
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  And this abusive spouse might even be a leader in your church.
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  Look at all of the leaders we see failing.
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  Satan is having his way with them.
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  And Satan does attack those people, especially when he sees they are so willing to compromise.
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  Please don't use it for an excuse.
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  And yes, we absolutely should confront all abusers.
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  Jesus Himself was never a doormat.
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  He was nobody's punching bag.
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  He called the shots in his life.
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  Yes, he was abused when he was persecuted, when he was brought before Pontius Pilate, but that was the very reason Jesus Christ took on human form to do his Father's will of redemption.
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  That is why Jesus chose to go to the cross.
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  And we have the same choice.
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  We are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
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  It's not necessarily an easier life, but it is a life worth living.
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  But we should confront all abusers, and the Bible says that very, very clearly.
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  So don't shy away from it.
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  Don't suppress it in your brain and let it affect you adversely.
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  Confront it and deal with it.
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  But do it with patience, with gentleness, with sincerity, and with truth.
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  If we neglect so great a salvation on account of someone else's abuses, then we too are without excuse.
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  God, Christ the Redeemer, will hold us accountable for our free will choices.
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  Every one of them.
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  Sometimes spiritual abuse happens, and you are the victim.
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  What should you do?
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  Well, first of all, this is a hard fact to accept, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can deal with it.
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  Because every true Christian will suffer persecution.
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  2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 12.
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  Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
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  If you're not suffering persecution, ask yourself, is something missing from my life?
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  It's a hard fact, but it's the truth.
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  Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 1 through 7.
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  Read those.
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  I'm not going to read the whole verse passage right now, but he says there that believers should not take other believers, other Christians to court.
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  He says, why not rather be wronged?
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  Why not rather be defrauded?
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  Paul speaks about the worldly courts highly unfavorably.
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  And he says to avoid them when another Christian wrongs us.
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  And of course, that is a form of spiritual abuse when we are wronged by a brother in Christ or sister in Christ.
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  So often we expect justice from a secular court that is itself tainted and worldly.
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  And then we are surprised at an unjust outcome.
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  Of course, that's happening all over the place right now.
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  And even more so, if you are a Christian, you can expect to be persecuted.
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  If you haven't figured it out, the courts are not about justice.
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  They're just not.
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  It's not the way the system is set up.
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  Worldly judges will have a worldly standard.
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  And rule number one is that life is not fair.
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  So what I'm saying is we should all learn this lesson and be conscious of the fact that spiritual abuse can really adversely affect our lives in ways that we don't even consciously bring to mind.
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  We're not aware of it, but we should be aware of it.
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  Because if you reject Christianity, because someone spiritually abused you, that's not the end of it all.
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  That's not an excuse before God.
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  And so I'm asking you today to please reconsider.
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  Because ultimately, it's only an excuse, and it won't wash with God.
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  Forgive the abusers and discover the riches of genuine biblical Christianity.
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  It's awesome.
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  You can only do that by knowing God's word, by understanding what the Bible really says, and that is doable.
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  Yes, beware of the deceivers.
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  There are many, and they are increasing.
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  Beware of the abusers, they are many, and they are increasing.
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  But by all means, as far as is possible with you, as far as you in your own conscious mind are aware that God exists, ask yourself, what is my duty before God?
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  What is my responsibility?
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  What is my responsibility, my answer to God when He has revealed Himself to us through Scripture?
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  My answer to God when He has revealed Himself to us through Scripture.
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  And by all means, search for God with all diligence and with a sincere heart.
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  And by all means, search for God with all diligence and with a sincere heart.
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  And you will surely find him.
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  And you will surely find him.
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  That's another Bible promise.
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  That's another Bible promise.
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  Our God reigns.
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  Our God reigns.
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  That's my message for today.
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  That's my message for today.
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  I thank you so much for.
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  I thank you so much for joining me.
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  Spread the gospel.
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  Share the faith.
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  Be a genuine Christian.
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  And please read your scriptures daily without missing.
• 56:42
  You've been listening to Unity Without Compromise.
• 56:45
  Adieu?