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#7 - Which Witch Is Which? (with Pastor Adam Gooch) · The Extra Mile Podcast

0:02
SPEAKER_00: The occult, the things that people would imply that you can get power from or get peace from or get wisdom from, I think there's a curiosity in natural people to say, hey, is that true?
0:14
SPEAKER_00: But it's the trick of the enemy again to man to lure us away from our creator, to lure us away from the source of our hope and our life and our peace.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: And once you cross that line and put your hope in something other than your creator, that in essence is sorcery.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: That is witchcraft.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: That is the occult.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: All right, hey, welcome everybody back to the Extra Mile Podcast.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: Again, I'm Steve Husky, and we are spending some time uh here at Faith Church going back over this previous Sunday's message and going the extra mile to give you some content that we didn't have a chance to cover.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to sit with our XP, a friend of mine, Mr.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Adam Gooch.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Adam, welcome to the table.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Glad to be here, man.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: I'm trying to figure out how it took six other podcasts before I got to the table.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: The only thing I can come up with is you know they say seven is the number of perfection and completion.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: And so the pinnacle has made it for episode seven.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: So we'll see.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: And save the best for last.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's the best for last year.
1:09
SPEAKER_02: We just got to shut it down after this.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: So if you didn't tune in, I would encourage you to go back and listen to the message.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: You can find them online.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: But we had a big conversation on witchcraft and the occult, which, again, on the surface for most people, feels kind of like an outrageous topic, an outdated topic.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: Probably any Christian sitting in any church is like, hey, that doesn't apply to me.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: And what we found is right on the front end, I used a couple of illustrations that are pretty common in culture.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: All of us have been at a Chinese restaurant.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: Every time you go eat there, when they bring the bill, you walk out with a fortune cookie.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: And we read it.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: And I've read it, and I know that there's nothing to it.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: It's just a fortune cookie.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: But I've read something that I'm like, man, that feels like it's reading my mail.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: That's, man, that's oddly peculiar that it applies to my life right now.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, horoscopes.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: I've been sitting in a doctor's office reading a magazine, and there's a section of horoscopes, and I don't read Sagittarius.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: I don't read, I read a Scorpio because that's kind of technically what they would say I am.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: That's the star lineman I was born under.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: And I read those and I think, wow, that, man, that strangely applies to me.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: And what I said Sunday is, you know, those, you can joke about those maybe, but at the end of the day, God forbids those things.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: And what I said was, you know, what what culture says is harmless, you know, God calls dangerous.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think we ought to pay attention.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what were some takeaways maybe you had from the message.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think really that was one of my biggest things is just this idea of these things that culture calls harmless, God calls dangerous, because I think specifically in the conversation related to the occult and witchcraft, sorcery, these things that because culture has outlined it in a way, it makes us bring to mind things.
2:44
SPEAKER_02: When I'm thinking sorcery and witchcraft, it's old men with beards and pointy hats or women with warts on their noses riding broomsticks.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: And it's it's almost like it's the ultimate trick of the enemy because it's a it's the sleight of hand.
2:57
SPEAKER_02: If I can get Christians or non-Christians to to believe that true evil or these things that that God doesn't honor look a certain way, pay attention over here to the ladies on broomsticks and this what we would consider evil.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: If I can get you looking this way into the dark things, you're not paying attention to what I'm doing with this hand, and that's where the hooks come in and people fall under this slippery slope that is the true evil that takes them down some really dark paths.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think, you know, again, because I'm admitting I've looked at, you know, I've looked at horoscopes, I've looked at fortune cookies, and again, people could minimize that, but that means something to some people.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says that the devil comes, he shows up, Satan appears as an angel of light.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: He, you know, so we can discount this subject.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: We can say, hey, I'm not a sorcerer, I don't involve myself in witchcraft.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: But the reality is there are things happening right now in culture that fall underneath the guise of what God's word would call sorcery, what God's word would call witchcraft.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: And so I think as Christ followers, we have to discount maybe how culture paints the picture and come back to the way God paints the picture.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: And if we if it doesn't apply to us, great.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I love to sit in a Sunday service and say, hey, I'm under no conviction.
4:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: But if it applies to us based on what God said, not what culture says, again, we're always going to follow Christ, not culture, then maybe we need to examine our life.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we need to repent.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I talked about some things like again, horoscopes, um, talked about divination, Ouija boards, you know, going to get your um going to get your future red or your palm red.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: All of those things are things that are happening right now in culture.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, but I think there's some gray areas.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: For me, I'll be honest, you know, there's some stuff that's black and white.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: There's some stuff that's some gray.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
4:37
SPEAKER_02: You know, uh I think so much of it it's easy and it it becomes difficult to draw that line of that gray area because it's not a question of do they work?
4:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: Like if they didn't work, they wouldn't be effective.
4:49
SPEAKER_02: It's not a question, does it work?
4:51
SPEAKER_02: It's a question of like what path does that lead you down.
4:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, and again, it's just that it's that deception of the enemy that his number one tool of attack isn't intimidation, it's imitation.
5:03
SPEAKER_02: Like he he wants to make it look as close to the way of the Lord as possible because he wants to take that position.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: And so he's not gonna come out with the horns and the pitchfork because you would immediately run from that.
5:17
SPEAKER_02: But if he can get you into, well, this is bettering myself, this is oh man, that that makes me feel a certain way, go this certain direction, he doesn't want to lead you down the opposite direction.
5:26
SPEAKER_02: He just wants you to make that little, that little uh detour um to control the direction that your life's going so that you'll begin relying more on yourself and what you can do and what this creation offers versus the creator that we should be following.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think that's really, I don't even think I said this Sunday, but at the end of the day, witchcraft and sorcery is really about us taking control.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: It's about us trying to manipulate or maneuver situations, people, emotions.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: But when I say I got to back up, when I say there are grays, there's no gray with God.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: But for me, again, there are things I talked about Sunday that I have participated in in my life that clearly is not biblical, it's not scriptural, it's not okay to be be this, to do these things as a Christ follower.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: But there's some stuff like Harry Potter.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'll be honest, I I forbid my kids when they were young from watching the movies, reading the books, and then later I watched the movies and read the books and liked them.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: And I look back Sunday, you know, thinking about the message, and I'm like, hey, is that okay?
6:21
SPEAKER_00: And I want to say, you know, hey, I know better.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: But he went to the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: Like it couldn't be more blatant.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, so maybe I'm just justifying my own open door to some things I shouldn't.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: But on the next page, I think we're common fans of J.R.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: Tolkien.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, man, love Lord of the Rings.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Some people say that's witchcraft, or C.S.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: Lewis, who was affiliated with Tolkien, and both were Christians, but the best, uh especially C.S.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Lewis, who's one of the greatest apologists that's ever written.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: And so, man, how do you feel like we navigate what's white, what's black, what's justified?
6:57
SPEAKER_02: Lewis writes the lion, the witch in the wardrobe, you know, and there's this line again of spirituality where, especially from a literary context, um, you know, we think of whether it's Harry Potter or whoever, you know, you're watching the Disney Channel and you they get the magic wands, and it's the incantational hocus pocus, abracadabra, and a rabbit appears out of a hat.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: You have to be able to differentiate and almost kind of draw these lines between just these incantational actions versus invocational actions where you begin not just saying the magic word and a rabbit comes out of a hat, but it when you begin invoking things of the spirit, um, drawing those lines, even kind of playing into the world of horror and what we would think of of true evil.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I don't watch horror movies.
7:51
SPEAKER_02: Well, I personally have this line in my own life where you have horror films that are slasher type, and I'm not saying you should or shouldn't watch them, but I personally draw a line that there's a difference between watching a Michael Myers Halloween movie where it's this deranged killer that's murdering people and something like poltergeist, or when you start dealing with the truly demonic spiritual realm and the doors that you kind of open up that you can allow some things to come into your into your home, into your life, and you begin seeing things a different way because you're allowing the spiritual realm to kind of invade your world.
8:28
unknown: Yeah.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think there's been, again, I'm I'm not justifying slash movies either, but it was part of my generation.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: But it feels like there has been a shift, probably in the last 20 years, that what are what's considered a horror movie is not a jump scare.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: It is clearly, and they'll tell you it's it's this person, it's this object that is um possessed with by an evil spirit.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: And the the funny odd thing to me is, you know, the pastors, the priests in the movies never have any power.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: Right.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: You know, which to me is just another way of the enemy trying to say, hey, get on my side, I'm where the power's at, I'm where the life changes at.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: And we know that it's found in Jesus alone.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, again, we talked about a lot of different things that are happening in culture tarot cards, um, Ouija boards.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, one I think I want to talk about for a minute that we mentioned on Sunday was crystals.
9:13
SPEAKER_00: Man, they're such a predominant thing in culture.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: And if you're watching this, maybe you have crystals in your home or you wear crystal jewelry, uh, have crystals in your car.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: And I would just say this up front there's nothing inherently wrong with a crystal.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Crystals, God created them.
9:26
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned Sunny, crystals are in the Bible, uh, rubies, topazes, um, those things, sapphires, those are uh technically crystals.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Um so there's nothing wrong with a crystal, but the issue is, and really where it becomes witchcraft, is we where we impose a um a nature or an ability to that stone that really belongs to God.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: So there are people who use crystals to as an as a way to experience healing, that it put emits energy where they bring healing or prosperity or peace or strength.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: And that's who God is.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: God is our provider, not a crystal.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: God is our healer, not a crystal.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: And so when you make, when you allow a crystal to be the thing you turn to for any source, you are becoming an idolater.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: And that thing, that crystal is an idol.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: And so I just want people to hear this, man.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: If you're you have crystals in your home because you think they're pretty, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: But if you are imposing any kind of value or power to it, man, you've crossed the line and really you're dishonoring God.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: And so while there are some grades, I think all of us need to negotiate.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: There are some things in my own life that I need to continue to be led by the Spirit, not legal, not being legalized, um, not by justifying behavior, but what's the spirit of God leading me to do?
10:40
SPEAKER_00: But the things in the Word of God that are black and white, man, we need to repent from and run from and you know, try to follow God's word.
10:47
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
10:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, I think it it's that idea that spiritual rebellion or or chasing after things that are not of God, it never feels like rebellion.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: It starts out feeling like curiosity.
10:59
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm just I'm interested in this.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: But then it doesn't become a curiosity question, it becomes an authority question of like who are you putting in that position of authority?
11:08
SPEAKER_02: And like you talk about, these crystals where you begin looking for power in created objects versus the creator of the object, whether it's astrology and horoscopes, you're looking for guidance and you're looking for something from the universe to give you guidance and direction when scripture is very clear that that the Lord has ordered your steps, that he is the one that that plans out you know, he's the lamp into your feet and the light into your path.
11:32
SPEAKER_02: And you don't have to look to this external source outside of him.
11:36
SPEAKER_02: But that's what the enemy wants you to do.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: He wants you to find your source and your sustenance, your peace anywhere but in God.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, going back to all the way to the beginning, you know, where Satan beguiled Eve, tricked Eve, like, hey, he's just an innocent serpent.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: But before she ate the fruit, he's like, you know, it it was it was good pleasant to the eyes.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Man, she was just curious, like, hey, what is this about?
12:00
SPEAKER_00: And he he threw some gas on the fire.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Man, did God really say you can't eat of this?
12:05
SPEAKER_00: And but once she did it, once she crossed the line, and I think again, the occult, the things that people would imply that you can get power from or get peace from or get wisdom from, I think there's a curiosity in natural people to say, hey, is that true?
12:20
SPEAKER_00: But it's the trick of the enemy again to man to lure us away from our creator, to lure us away from the source of our hope and our life and our peace.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: And once you cross that line and put your hope in something other than your creator, that in essence is sorcery, that is witchcraft, that is that is the occult.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: And I think we've also we've all done it.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: We again, we just didn't do it with a pointy hat.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: We didn't do it with the cauldron.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: I think anything that that becomes your source of of peace or identity or guidance, eventually that will shape your faith.
12:51
SPEAKER_02: That that's where you begin putting your faith.
12:53
SPEAKER_02: And where you put your faith ultimately determines your future.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: And there's so many of the things, especially in culture, and you can go all different, all different avenues.
13:02
SPEAKER_02: But I know Sunday you spoke some about like meditation.
13:05
SPEAKER_02: There's nothing wrong with, you know, uh focusing and like, but what are you meditating?
13:10
SPEAKER_02: You're not to empty your mind, you're to fill it with truth, you know, and you get things like there's nothing wrong with yoga as a physical exercise of stretches and positions, but that can be a very easy, slippery slope that leads you into Hinduism and the chakra.
13:26
SPEAKER_02: And like that's right.
13:27
SPEAKER_02: That's the that's the conversation we're having, and how easily the enemy can come in with that sleight of hand and oh, this is just an exercise.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: It's not, it's not that, it's not that bad.
13:38
SPEAKER_02: And the next thing you know, your your faith and your future is being shaped while you're what you're allowing to speak into you.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: I didn't uh I didn't look, I didn't do the research, didn't find a number.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Just curious, if you pulled a number out of the air, this is just a you know my own opinion.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: Like I wonder what percentage of Christians right now, people who love the Lord sitting in church are participating in some way, shape, or form, whether again through crystals or all the things we've mentioned, are participating in what what God's word would call the occult or sorcery or witchcraft.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Like I man, I would think 20%, 25%.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I think that's outrageous to think that so many people are crossing that line again, out of innocence.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: And I said this Sunday, I think this is a big deal, especially when it comes to getting your palm red or your future red or horoscope, all the things that we're trying to figure out our future.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, this idea that what's if there's nothing behind it, if there's nothing to it, it's just kicks and giggles.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Well, why do it?
14:36
SPEAKER_00: God's forbidden it.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: So if there's really no benefit, why would you do it?
14:39
SPEAKER_00: And if there is a spirit speaking, well, it's not God because God's not okay with it.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: So what is the spirit that's speaking in those seances or sessions?
14:48
SPEAKER_00: And it's clearly scripture teaches us it's demonic.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: So you are turning to something demonic.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: We're turning to spirits, we're turning to stones, and we're turning to stars rather than the God who created all those.
14:59
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it I might even go so far when we speak about Christians who are allowing these this influence or this practice.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: I might go even higher than that.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: Um because and I know we'll get here eventually, but I think so much of well-meaning Christians use this idea of speaking in faith and and claiming things.
15:21
SPEAKER_02: And you discussed that some on Sunday of these these name it claim it preachers who it sends you down this road where you're you're speaking things into existence, you know.
15:31
SPEAKER_02: And I loved the quote that you said that like you don't speak things into existence, God does.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: Um and I think even from that perspective, you may not be looking at horoscopes and having crystals in your house, but the second you begin taking power that is not yours and you begin trying to walk in this, I can, I can make this happen by the words because that God's given me this power, you start putting yourself in that position.
15:55
SPEAKER_02: So it's not just, you know, stars and stones itself.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Yes, right.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, I was thinking about, I didn't share any of this Sunday, but as a kid, I remember playing with a Ouija board a few times.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: And uh I can remember a specific time, me and a friend of mine, we uh up in my bedroom and we got this Ouija board sitting on our knees, and we're holding the planchette, I think it's called, and it started moving.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Now I can just tell you, I don't know if it was him doing it or subconsciously I was doing it, but I can remember being freaked out that this thing actually moved.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, some of the games kids play, and again, it's a game of Bloody Mary looking in a mirror, um, light as a feather, stiff as a board.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, we look back and those are just fun things kids do at sleepovers, or at least, you know, just I know things have changed generationally, but again, at the end of the day, it's those things are not just fun games that kids play.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Those are those are open doors.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: The enemy's trying to lure us away from our creator.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: And again, a culture, when you look around, again, starting where we where this message starts with again, witchcraft and sorcery seems outlandish.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: But when you understand what it is, it's everywhere.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: People are trying to position themselves in the place of God and looking everywhere for answers and solutions, but God.
17:05
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: And He's the one who sent His Son so we could have every solution.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: So um, I had a couple questions.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh, one some several people ask about um uh what did I call them?
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, the boards.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: Vision boards?
17:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, vision boards.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: I've never heard of a vision board.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, but once I looked it up, so people want to know, okay, Pastor, if there should be a concern with us trying to manipulate our destiny, manifest our destiny, call it in, call the creation in.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: And people want to know, like, is there something wrong with vision boards?
17:35
SPEAKER_00: And I immediately I said no.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: And there's a couple reasons.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, first of all, man, I think dreams, dreams are part of our destiny.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: God has a future and a hope for us, and he wants us to know some of what that is.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, you look, for example, in uh Joel chapter 2, verse 28, we find out that dreams, not all dreams, and I think this is the distinct difference.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: You shouldn't pursue or try to manifest every dream that you have.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: But when you know that you have a dream or a purpose or a vision from God, man, that's the one you should chase.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: And so Joel 2.28, it says, And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: So again, dreams and visions, really God can give those to you.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: So that's not something that's coming from the enemy.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: So again, it's kind of what is your source for the dream you have?
18:24
SPEAKER_00: What is the source for the passion you have?
18:25
SPEAKER_00: If it's yourself, which you mentioned, um, if it's something other than God, man, I think you ought to be careful not to chase that thing, put power in that thing, allow that thing to have influence over your life.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: But if you know as you're pursuing God that He's laid that passion or that burden or that vision or dream on you, I think 100% you should pursue it.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: Dreams start to then determine our direction and how we're gonna chase our life.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Man, your kids are in a in a big phase of life where they're making decisions, and that came with something in their heart before they made a decision.
18:54
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think so much of it, this this manifesting, you know, and vision boards can be like you talked about, they can be motivating, they can be just goal setting.
19:05
SPEAKER_02: Like I just want to, I want to lay out my plan through prayer, through trusting in the Lord.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: Um, but there's a big difference in attracting what you're focusing on, you know, and and speaking and faith is biblical, but speaking as if you're God is not.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
19:22
SPEAKER_02: You know, and that's where even in the spiritual, I want to avoid friendly fire if I can.
19:27
SPEAKER_02: But especially in charismatic circles, the speak it into existence camp.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
19:32
SPEAKER_02: Um, it can so easily lead you to well, if you speak this and it happens, well then you find yourself in this prideful, I did this.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: And if you speak this and it doesn't happen, well then it leads you to shame because you didn't have enough faith.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: And again, it ultimately just pushes you back to reliance on self.
19:49
SPEAKER_02: Do I have enough?
19:50
SPEAKER_02: I'm not doing something all right, rather than just trusting that um, yes, you can speak in faith, you should speak to those things, but ultimately, thankfully, we have this anchor that we get to look back to of no, you speak the word.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: It's not your word, speak it into existence.
20:05
SPEAKER_02: That's God's role.
20:06
SPEAKER_02: Thankfully, he's given us his word that we can then use that as our tool, that as our weapon to, you know, take on the challenge that life sends its way.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: But we so easily that slope, you find yourself speaking things and saying things that, you know, when you have brothers and sisters in your life that can kind of call you and challenge you, and we've probably all been in those more charismatic type circles where somebody gets up and says something or thus saith the Lord, you know, and you're like, Yeah that no, no, that ain't it.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: And when you say that, I mean, because that's those are the moments that we have the discernment of the Holy Spirit.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: So again, we're not just relying on how do I feel, what does culture say, but what does the word of God say and what is the spirit of God saying in the moment?
20:47
SPEAKER_00: And you know, just you know, um, I am charismatic and I, you know, embrace what the gifts of the Spirit are about.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: But it's crazy to me that people who love, who do, I think they love genuinely love the Lord, but man, they're putting so much power in themselves.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: Again, they're trying to manifest the future by speaking something, and we should, we should say what God says.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: That's what confession is.
21:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: But that's where we stop, and we don't have the power in ourselves to do what God does.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: And nowhere in scriptures does it say that we can call those things that are not as though they are.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: That's what God does.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: God, only God can call a man like Abram, who's too old to have kids, to give him a miracle so he can birth a nation.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Abram didn't do that.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: God did that.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: And so again, man, I think there's a cautionary tale.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, but so dreams.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: So again, if you have a vision board, I would encourage it if that dream comes from God.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: What are some quotes?
21:37
SPEAKER_00: What are some verses?
21:38
SPEAKER_00: What are some pictures that you could put on a vision board that is your picture of your future, the destiny God has for you?
21:45
SPEAKER_00: You know, if you don't, I think we start living without without barriers, without boundaries.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says where there's no vision, the people perish, people cast off restraint.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: And so, really, a God given dream really becomes a blessing, becomes a motivation, gives us a focus for.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Our prayer.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: And then Habakkuk 2.2 says, write the vision and make it plain.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: So those who read it can run.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: So there's something empowering about, you know, not manifesting your own destiny, but hearing God's purpose for your life and writing that down, whether it's by pictures or words.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: And then, man, you wake up in the morning, you're like, hey, this is who God's called me to be.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: So if you're here, man, you're like wrestling with, you know, is this okay?
22:23
SPEAKER_00: Is this not okay?
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Again, man, go to the Word of God.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: What does God's word say about your actions or your practices?
22:29
SPEAKER_00: And if God says no, you need to say no.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: And if uh God says yes, you need to say yes.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: And if it's in the grave, pray about it.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: I think the Spirit of God will give you some wisdom.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: Um, so vision boards, I think if the vision comes from God, by all means make a vision board.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: I um I had a funny one though when I got home, and this is something really practical.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: So my wife, you know, is my biggest fan and biggest critic.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: She's sometimes very subtle.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: I'll say, babe, you know, either how did I do today, or she'll just tell me, good word, babe.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I need more than that.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Like, what was good?
22:59
SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, it wasn't all good.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: So give me some bad.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: But we get home and we're talking about the message.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: And uh, if you know my wife, man, she's a beautiful lady.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: She loves to dress nice and she loves jewelry.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: And uh it's in right now for girls to wear like 50 bracelets on each wrist and you know, E Newton bracelets.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: And so she brings up to me, she's like, Steve, I wanted some bracelets, and they're called Buddha girl bracelets.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: And she's like, you know, man, do you think I know I'm like red flag?
23:28
SPEAKER_00: But I was like, well, tell me more about it.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: And actually, the word Buddha girl in the company, it's spelled different than Buddha, you know, as in Buddhism.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, well, let you know, you can do some quick research.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: And so it's spelled B-U-D-H-A.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: And uh, well, you could do a quick Google search on that, and it's this in uh Buddha B-U-D-H-A, I'm sorry, is the Hindu T in the is the Hindu deity of the planet Mercury.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: So this company, again, nothing happens by accident.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: They chose this name for honor for on purpose, for a reason.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: And if you purchase that jewelry and wear it knowingly, hey, this jewelry is dedicated to the deity of the planet Mercury.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, we believe there's one God, and there's the God who made the planet Mercury.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: And so to willingly put that on the wrist just because it looks good, just because culture says they're in style, again, I think that's where we're crossing the line.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: And so it's something as simple as jewelry.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: That's what God's word was called would call an amulet.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I the way I answered my wife, I'm like, babe, if it has the word Buddha in it, that's probably a bad idea.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: And now that we know what it stands for, definitely a bad idea.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: And I said this, I said, you wouldn't wear a jewelry stack if it was Satan's stack.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm not wearing Satan's stack of jewelry.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, Buddha, I don't think it's that far away.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: So to me, it's crystal clear in some things.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Some things is just legalization or lead, not not legalization, legal, uh, make a legalism.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: We got to find that area, man, in our own hearts and our own lives where where are we justifying, where are we compromising, where are we going along with culture and we know we shouldn't.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think the Spirit of God can help us make those decisions every day.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: I think just the entire conversation, you know, the line, and it it can be razor sharp at times because that's like we talked about, that's the tool of the enemy, is to imitate Christ as close as he can get, but kind of like Ric Flair, you know, Jesus is is often imitated, but he's never duplicated.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: And um so it's just it's a you will never slip into truth, but you can always slip into deception.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Like that it's such an easy just to to fall into it because it makes it so easy.
25:36
SPEAKER_02: And I think all these things we talk about, even when you look like Old Testament, the occult, the witchcraft, the sorcery, we talk about horoscopes, crystals, you know, all these things manifesting your destiny and positive thoughts and good vibes.
25:52
SPEAKER_02: It's just ancient paganism with modern branding.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: That's what it is.
25:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's the trust of yourself, trust creation.
25:59
SPEAKER_02: Put your faith in the powers of this world, who we know who is the prince of the powers of this world.
26:05
SPEAKER_02: That's the enemy's goal, is to get us to trust him.
26:07
SPEAKER_02: And we would never, like you say, we would never trust Satan.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm not, but we trust ourselves, and he doesn't need you to love him.
26:16
SPEAKER_02: He just doesn't want you to love God.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: I mean, at the end of the day, Satan is the great counterfeiter.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: You know, the Bible says in the end times there's gonna be lying signs and wonders.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: So God is the originator of miracles, signs and wonders.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: And man, the enemy imitates that to get our attention off of our creator, onto him, or onto anything but God.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: And I heard it said this way that, you know, people who work at banks, people who work in um different areas of dealing with counterfeit money, you probably have heard this before, that the goal is not to learn all the counterfeits, you know, because there's so many different variations, so many subtle counterfeits, you know, it's hard to know them all.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: But if you can know what a real dollar bill looks like, when you touch a phony, when you touch a counterfeit, you know it immediately.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, to me, it's not, hey, digging into every conversation on the occult.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: If you want to read more books and do more study, man, I would always encourage it.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: But if you're a Christ follower, I would encourage you to fall in love with Jesus, to know God's word.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: And the more you know the truth, the more when the deception tries to slip in, you'll be 100% aware and not by the lie of the enemy.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: So, man, just would encourage you.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: Hey, we live in a culture and society that is leaning into the conversation and leaning into the practice of the occult.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: Don't fall victim.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Don't allow the enemy who comes like an angel of light to deceive you.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, follow God's truth, lean into the truth, pursue truth.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: And I think at the end of the day, God will work out the rest.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Closing word.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Any other thought?
27:32
SPEAKER_02: No, man.
27:33
SPEAKER_02: Honored being here.
27:34
SPEAKER_02: Great conversation.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: I think it's one of the most applicable to our times today.
27:38
SPEAKER_02: And like we said, anything that the enemy can get you to do to remove God from the place of authority in your life and to put anything else in, whether it's yourself, your spouse, your job, if you're looking to anything to be your peace, your provider, your guidance that isn't the Holy Spirit and isn't God, then the enemy's winning in your life.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: So hey, thanks for tuning in to The Extra Mile.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Again, if you like, if you enjoy this content, like it, share it, go ahead and watch the entire message if it helps, or get on TikTok.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: You can watch some small clips of this.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: But either way, again, thanks for joining us.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Pastor Adam.