The Core Issue

Just what is wrong with psychic therapies such as the Akashic Records, Reiki, Kundalini healing, psychic empath, psychic mediums, crystal ball gazers, Tarot card readers, astrologers, and more? Aren’t these people merely hoping to help others be healed and comforted? How about the life coaches who use mystical and occultic processes to do their work? 

Based on our experience and connections with these ‘therapists,’ many are indeed attempting to help others. There are, however, the competing goals of money to be made and status to attain, but those are inherent in the pursuit of most career fields. 

So then, just why are we taking issue? Let’s begin with something Jesus said: 

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” 

(Matthew 18:20). 

Throughout the centuries, Christians have understood this verse to mean that when two or more believers in Jesus are together for worship, prayer, or praise, then He is present with them. The same dynamic is true for those who gather to practice or participate in occultic, psychic, mediumistic, or like activities. Yes, we are saying that when this happens, there will be a demonic, satanic presence, which can result in possession by evil spirits. 

This result is even more likely to occur when various forms of meditation are employed. Kundalini healing by drawing and balancing energy fits this, as do “mindfulness” processes whereby a person slips into a passive, altered, or shamanistic state of mind. This can occur whether one is alone, with a single psychic therapist/healer, or in a group. The Wiccan circle, where spirits are summoned for protection, is another example. 

For fifty-plus years, we have engaged in what is called “deliverance ministry.” Visit any online bookstore and type in my name, and you will find three books we have written on the subject. They are A Manual of Demonology and the Occult (Kent’s master’s thesis, written in 1972 and published by Zondervan Publishing House in 1973, updated and republished in 2021), then Deliver Us from Evil: How Jesus Casts Out Demons Today, and The Deliverance Handbook. 

Rather than trying to sell books here, we are trying to claim serious 13 

attention and credentials for our ongoing work in this area. Over these years, we, along with many others, have engaged in the very Biblical ministry referred to as deliverance ministry. Hundreds of times, including now in the pandemic era via Zoom, it has been clearly discovered that demonic spirits entered a person during various practices: with tarot card readers, those using the I Ching, gathering in the Wiccan circle, practicing meditation, being initiated into Transcendental Meditation or into Krishna Consciousness, consulting a crystal ball gazer or a medium, doing deep breathing mindfulness exercises, and more. This becomes clear when a person recognizes what has happened, often after becoming a born-again Christian, realizing they have had a demonic, evil spirit indwelling them. 

Deliverance events can be quite difficult, because the Faustian tradeoff about a demonic presence is that it gives a person both power and knowledge. The Faustian “deal” is one’s soul in exchange for gifts of power, money, and/or knowledge. On several occasions, we were requested to do deliverance with a person who made his or her living as a psychic or a medium. Right during the deliverance ministry, the person would refuse to continue, because the demons in them warned them they would lose their power and knowledge if they were cast out. No longer would they find out about past or future events on the part of their client, as it had been portrayed, nor would they be able to clear the energy, as was supposed, and open up the blockages. And the result would be that they would not be able to continue to engage in their often very lucrative practice. Their very livelihood would be eliminated, and their status demoted. 

The satanic realm has a counterfeit for the spiritual gifts and work of God’s Holy Spirit. These demonic versions are very real, not imaginary, and it is no wonder that occultists, psychic therapists, mediums, and clairvoyants are convinced they have ways to contact the ‘other’ world and to convince their clients that it is all real and wonderful. 

The price that will be paid when demons turn the gift into a ball-and-chain is not worth whatever may come by way of the psychic therapist or their clients. Unless the demons are cast out and the person becomes a follower of Jesus, the cost is an eternal one, and that is being forever separated from God and from all that is love and good. The cost is hell itself. 

2 Corinthians 11:12–15 

[12] And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. [13] For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. [14] And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. [15] So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (ESV)

Twenty-six

Avoid Fund-raisers

“This will help so many in our church. I know a couple

people who could earn some extra money and it will

be good for fellowship. And, pastor, you could save

some money, too.”

It sounded too good to be true. Guess what! It was.

         

Rarely a week goes by that I am not contacted by

phone about a fund-raiser. A major industry has

developed around fund-raising, and of course, fundraising

companies target churches.

Fund-raising businesses purchase lists of nonprofit

organizations, and the opening tactic is to send out a

couple of slick brochures followed some days later by

a phone call. And they will have a fund-raiser

guaranteed to bring in lots of money. For example, they

will produce a directory for the church complete with

photos. They will handle everything. Everyone will

get a nice directory and for every order $5.00 comes to

the church. It works, too. This is usually no scam; it’s

just that the program has to be run through the

governing process, and promoted, and then promoted

some more. Usually there is some paper work, phone

calling, and ruffled feathers to be soothed, too.

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For Pastors

Or there is a deal for long-distance phone rates and

the church will get a certain percentage. Or perhaps it

is group life or medical insurance, and the church

members will get a break on the premiums plus a

certain percentage of the premiums paid come directly

to the church. The word is, “Simply wonderful, a winwin

situation”. And there are dozens of schemes, often

operated by Christian organizations, even missionary

enterprises. I am amazed at the creativity of these

people; they have almost every angle down.

The appeals are irresistible; some people get quite

excited about raising money for the choir or a youth

program, and “We really do need to repave the parking

lot”. In general, the support of special projects,

especially onetime events, may be okay. But the

principle I try to stick to is—no fund-raising for the

general budget. The tithes and offerings that come in

at the regularly appointed meetings and services alone

must support the budget.

There are always reasons for fund-raisers,

sometimes compelling reasons. After the package is

agreed to then the work of promoting the fund-raiser

must begin; the concept has to be sold to the people.

There will be meetings, meetings with committees and

boards and councils; of course, everyone must be “on

board”. It will be necessary to allot a significant amount

of Sunday morning announcement time, at least, for

promotional purposes. It will be in the bulletin for

weeks, special flyers will be printed, posters painted

and banners made—to get everyone excited about the

fund-raiser.

Once one fund-raiser is run there will likely be

more of them. The budget may come to depend on

fund-raisers. “We are going to make up our red ink

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Avoiding Fundraisers

through a fund-raiser.” Then there will be a lot of fundraisers.

It is a tremendously draining exercise.

Now I will admit that Miller Avenue does do a yard

sale once a year for our Annual Gospel Concert. (I am

not as clean here as it might seem.) The yard sale is a

compromise on my part and I have not made up my

mind whether I am doing the right thing or not. For

the last nine years we have had an annual yard sale to

fund the concert. I have to admit it is fun to do. All of

the money goes directly to our gospel concert. But I

have at least limited fund-raising to the concert. I say

“No” to everything else though some are quite

tempting.

Despite my inconsistency, my suggestion is to avoid

fund-raisers, particularly anything that has to do with

saving money on telephone rates, insurance, utilities,

soap, cosmetics, plastic containers, and groceries—

anything where people sign up and change who it is

they have been doing business with.

Of course, many promoters of fund-raisers are

certain it is all for Jesus. One hears, “Don’t you want

your money go to Christians rather than those pagan,

secular utility companies?” Well, I got sold once; I tried

a telephone deal. A slick start-up telecommunications

company in the south someplace sold me, and all for

the glory of God.

I got a whole bunch of people to switch their longdistance

telephone carriers to this wonderful Christian

group. We did a promotion, a company representative

even flew out; we had a couple of meetings and people

got excited about it and changed their long-distance

telephone carrier. The company made one point very

clear—there would be no charge to make the switch.

We had it in writing. Praise God! And then the long

distance bill was going to be lowered by 20% and 10%

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For Pastors

of that total would come right into the church. Imagine

10% right into the church!

It’s simple really. Let’s say the long-distance phone

bill had been $50.00 a month. The new company would

save the subscriber $10 and $5.00 would come right

into the church. Praise God! Come right here into the

church! Well, we did it, and I persuaded nearly all of

the elderly people in the church to get on board. We

were going to use the money for the choir. This was

actually the plan to fund the gospel concert before we

came up with the yard sale idea.

The first thing that happened, people come to me

and complained they had been charged, I think $10.00,

to switch over; and of course, that was not supposed to

happen. When I contacted the company they

apologized for the charges and said they couldn’t help

it, it was the FCC, or something or other, the NCA, or

the TWP, or some kind of government agency that

charged this and, well, what can you do. We had that

little hurdle.

The next thing people reported that their longdistance

phone bills had jumped considerably. I

contacted the company again and said, “We were

supposed to have a 20% saving.” I was told, “You know

that comes in the second year. We haven’t quite got

there.” I checked my notes at that point and this was

indeed news.

When after several months had elapsed and no

money had come into the church I called again. I said,

“It has been four months now and we have not received

a check. We figure it ought to be forty or fifty bucks by

now, for the choir.” And the voice at the other end said,

“We are going to look into this.” They looked into it

for more than six months. The last time I called I got a

recording saying the phone had been disconnected.

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Avoiding Fundraisers

We never did receive a single penny. Everybody had

to switch back over to their old long distance carrier

and it cost them another $10.00 apiece. It was a

complete boondoggle. In fact, a couple of years went

by before we finally got that company to keep

reenlisting us as their customers. We told them over

and over “We do not want you to be our long distance

carrier.” No matter, they kept doing it, the $10

switching charges continued and there are some people

who are still mad at me. It ultimately cost the Philpott’s

around a hundred dollars and a lot of prestige, and it

was a long time before the people on the church council

would listen to anything I brought up about money.

Flee fund-raisers!

         

  Anybody have a story you could send me about a

fund-raiser?

Maybe someone had a good experience—tell me about

it.

  How would you handle it if a person in the

congregation announced that he or she had the perfect

idea for a fund-raiser?

 Introduction

Advertisements from Psychic and Reiki Therapists, Life Coaches, Mindful- ness/meditation practitioners, Akashic Records consultants, Tarot Card readers, Channelers, Hypnotists, Energy Therapists, and more are offering their services to a generation of people who are largely unaware that these are occult practices and that they are spiritually and emotionally dangerous. Yet these therapists are convinced they are not engaged with evil influences and other malevolent beings and that they are only working with benevolent spirits and entities to help and heal people who engage their services. Sadly, the reality is that such practices are an invitation to being exposed to and being subject to demonic forces.

Such practitioners, therapists, and consultants are convinced their activity is safe and helpful; they are not usually aware that they are tapping into demonic forces, and of course, neither are their clients or students. Some become aware that they are encountering spiritual entities, but they generally do not realize the true demonic nature of these beings. 

Some, however, do know the actual source of their powers, but their desire for this power and knowledge is sufficient for them to ignore the truth. The same is true for the clients/patients, since there is usually a sense of being helped, at least at first. And this is the primary reason for this book. This is an eternal issue—there is a heaven and a hell, and that awful serpent, also called Satan, is coiled up in these psychic therapies and empaths.

How do we know this is true? is a fair question to ask.

Following is a brief autobiographical statement from Kent: 

Even though I graduated with a master’s degree from the Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in Mill Valley, CA, and did a second master’s there as well, I disagreed with the professors who thought that there are real demons and an actual devil. I thought I knew better but went along with it anyway. 

The reason for this is that my college major had been psychology, and 10 

during my course of study I had concluded that there was no such thing as demons or demon possession but merely psychological disturbances of one kind or another. This all changed while I was a street evangelist in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury District from 1967 to 1969. At that time, I even visited a few times with Anton LaVey, the founder of the Satanic Church, and thought that he was a mere charlatan. But then, I began to encounter those who actually did have indwelling demons, so directly and personally that I could no longer deny the existence of that which is evil and demonic. Those experiences, which came by the hundreds, began a long history with what is generally called “deliverance ministry.” 

My thesis for the second master’s at Golden Gate Seminary is titled, A Manual of Demonology and the Occult, which was published by Zondervan Publishing House in 1973. This resulted in people from all over America and even foreign countries arriving at my doorstep looking to be rid of demonic spirits. By 1975, at the church I pastored in San Rafael, CA., we were forced to develop twelve two-person teams whom we trained to do deliverance ministry. During that era, with one of our pastors, Mark Buckley, I routinely engaged in casting out demons. And this still goes on today but with less traffic, thankfully. 

During the period of the 1970s, I operated a counseling ministry along with my pastoral duties. We called it the Marin Christian Counseling Center on Fourth Street in San Rafael, California. I had hundreds of patients. Many of them had come out of the beat or hippie generation and had been exposed to strange cultic groups of an Eastern variety, including various occult practices, even satanism. 

During that period of the sixties and seventies, occult practices were not nearly as popular and common as they are today. Then it was avant-garde and edgy, so to speak; now it is mainstream and largely accepted, and there are few voices expressing a different point of view. Thus, the reason for writing this book. 

For many of the chapters, we have included material from Wikipedia. Our reasoning is that readers should see what others have said on the various topics, especially those who engage in the actual practices, as well as those who criticize them. Some are in support of, for instance, Reiki, while others are not but do not take a position. Rather, they may present what is generally known about the area of interest. 

Final Note: While doing the ministry of deliverance that began in the late 1960s, I learned that in most cases, demonization began with involvement in some form of the occult—therefore the reason I began a study of these practices. Here is the list of those practices that I included in my book, Deliverance Handbook: A Guide to Casting out Demons for Today’s Christian.11 

A partial listing of occult practices includes three major categories: 

(1) Fortune telling; (2) Magic; (3) Spiritism. 

1. Fortune telling 

a. Astrology 

b. Palm reading 

c. Tarot 

d. I Ching 

e. Ouija Board 

f. Fortune Teller 

g. Tea Leaf Readings 

h. Crystals 

1. Magic 

a. Witchcraft 

b. Satan worship 

c. Curses and spells 

d. Love magic and hate magic 

e. Use of crystals for healing and other purposes 

1. Spiritism 

a. Seances 

b. Mediumship 

c. Clairvoyance 

d. Hypnotherapy 

e. Mental Telepathy 

f. Clairaudience 

g. Channeling 

h. Automatic Writing.

Twenty-five

Avoid “Movements” Within

Christianity

“Today we are going to hear from Brother Blank who

will report on the new thing God is doing in His

Church.”

“Hundreds of Christian leaders gathered in Los

Angeles over the weekend to learn how to prepare for

the upcoming computer meltdown.”

“Some churches are becoming ‘12 Step’ centered.

It shows we can learn from the culture we live in.”

         

In the 37 years I have been a Christian, I have seen

many “movements” come and go. For instance,

there have been prophecy movements; Christians

excited about world events that surely signal the soon

return of Jesus. Books about the “YK2” problem were

big in 1999. I have seen movements for the “Battle for

the Bible,” people getting excited about defending the

Bible. I have seen movements regarding shepherding,

preaching the necessity of being submitted to a

“shepherd,” which would result in a balanced life. I

have seen the “Deliverance Movement”—everyone

getting all the demons cast out. (I was involved in this

particular movement myself.)

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Movements

Then I have seen the movements whereby

addictions are cured or healed. (Almost everyone is an

addict, so we are told, and we can be free of them by

doing such and such.) And so we have Christian

movements that focus on addictions.

There has been a large and popular movement

whereby oaths and promises are made thus insuring

true Christian manhood. And spiritually discerning

Christians are “mapping” the demons that control cities

and that frustrate the success of the gospel message.

There have been, there are, and there will be

“movements” within the Christian community.

The Christian community, by and large, seems to

constantly need to be excited by some new thing. A

big revival is talked about here, and people are learning

how to take over their local governments over there;

people are rushing off to someplace in Canada, or they

are going off to someplace in Florida. They are booking

airplane flights and making hotel reservations. They

are spending lots of money running off and having a

good time then coming back and trying to get their

churches to appreciate the new movement and get on

board.

New movements have to be sold to the church,

and pastors end up being promoters rather than

preachers. Literature is mailed out, meetings are called,

and special speakers are brought in—all to get people

on track with the new and exciting movement. Talk

about a waste of resources!

Nearly all of the movements I have ever seen turn

out to be somehow funny and strange, but more than

that they are diversions from the primary goal of the

gospel ministry. Movements waste our money, steal our

time, and embarrass us. My suggestion is to avoid

movements.

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For Pastors

Could it be that those who are merely Christianized

(those who experience false conversion) are the ones

who are attracted to the movements within

Christianity? It has been my observation that those who

have experienced true conversion are satisfied with

Jesus. Growing up into the stature of the fullness of

Jesus and bringing Him glory and honor, these seem

to be enough.

The work of the gospel preacher is always full and

never ending. Therefore there is usually little time for

the movements, exciting events, great meetings, and

outstanding seminars with so many great speakers

coming together. Well, these may keep people excited,

moving and supposedly busy, but I wonder about the

movements.

         

  What “movements” have you gotten involved with?

  Where are those movements now?

Brain storm to see if you can guess what the next one will be. I

think it will involve celebrations and rituals. Yes, Christians seem to be

captivated by big, noisy, “spiritual” celebrations.

Recently one of my students who had graduated from the seminar where I was teaching returned to speak about his church planting experiences. I asked him what had he not learned in Seminary that he really needed in his ministry? His answer was He did not learn how to combat the evil spiritual forces that he met every day. 

Dr. Philpott has seen the need to inform the modern-day Christian of the need to understand the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. This book is a must for all who are ready to understand that the church today is involved in spiritual warfare. If our battle against the enemy is to be won, we need to better understand Satan and his methods. This book will help in informing the interested believer of the enemy and his methods. 

~ Professor William Wagner 

Founder Global Strategy Forum 

The Philpotts give overviews of a wide variety of occult practices popular in the culture today and provide a biblical response to each. Christians can benefit from reading about these, because in order to share the truth of Christ, we should be prepared to come across people with these views. The book can also be handy as a reference on specific topics. These subjects are not discussed much in the church, and many congregants are unaware of the views that go along with them, so the Philpotts have provided a needed and useful service with this book. 

~ Marcia Montenegro, Christian Answers for the New Age, and former professional astrologer 

It is my privilege to encourage Christians and non-Christians alike to read this book. It will open your eyes to the many seductive avenues that Satan uses to lead people astray and away from the True Living God of the Bible. 

It has also grieved my heart to see my fellow Christians who are ignorant of the dark spiritual realm. I believe a large degree of the deception we see in the church today is the result of a lack of deep biblical instruction – both from the pulpit and in one’s private study of the Scriptures. If we are not armed with the infallible, inerrant, unchanging Truth from the Bible, we are prone to fall for lies and half-truths. 

I know Pastor Philpott to be a learned teacher, as well as a kind servant of Christ, who cares deeply about others’ spiritual conditions. 

This book is a great tool for unmasking many forms of “spirituality” – ones that even many Christians embrace today – to their detriment. 

Sharon Dutra, Be Transformed Ministries 

Author of Be Transformed; New Beginnings, and Fishers of MenPathways to Darkness Kent A. Philpott, MDiv, DMin Katie L. C. Philpott, MDiv Earthen Vessel Publishing Exposing the Dangers of Contemporary Spiritualities 

Pathways to Darkness: 

Exposing the Dangers of Contemporary Spiritualities 

©2023 by Kent and Katie Philpott 

All rights reserved. 

Earthen Vessel Media, LLC 

San Rafael, CA 94903 www.earthenvesselmedia.com 

ISBN: 978-1-946794-38-3 print 

978-1-946794-39-0 eBook 

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023944807 

Cover and interior design by KLC Philpott 

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, internet site, or broadcast. 

All Biblical Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Contents 

Introduction 9 

The Core Issue 12 

Medium Tyler Henry: Is This Real? 14 

Yoga and Meditation 18 

Psychic Empath 34 

Mindfulness or Mindlessness? 41 

Reiki 50 

Akashic Records 62 

Kundalini Awakening 69 

Third Eye Awakening 78 

Life Coaching 85 

Ancestral Medicine 92 

Tarot 111 

Channeling and Mediumship 118 

Sarah Young: Jesus Calling 124 

Crystal Healing 127 

Astrology 134 

The Ouija Board 140 

Wicca: Witches among Us 149 

Power through Communion? 168 

Richard Rohr and the Enneagram 172

Shamanism 181

SanterÍa: From Slavery to Slavery 203

Islamic Mysticism 223

Christian Mysticism 235

Soul Confusion 245

A Collection of Short Articles 253

How Demonization Occurs 267

How to Recognize that You Have a Demon 274

One Last Word 276

Bibliography 278

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Martin Luther

VERSE 1

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing

Our Helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe

His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate

On earth is not his equal

VERSE 2

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He

The Lord of hosts His name, from age to age the same

And He must win the battle

VERSE 3

And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure

One little word shall fell him

VERSE 4

That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth

The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also

The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still

His kingdom is forever

Twenty-four

Avoid Political and Social

Controversies

“Pastor, we as a church have got to get the vote out

this year and we need to promote the Christian

candidates. And that proposition supporting capital

punishment is the most important one of all.”

“Pastor, we as a church have got to get the vote out

this year and we need to promote the Christian

candidates. And that proposition against capital

punishment is the most important one of all.”

         

There are many political and social controversies,

causes, and issues that churches become

embroiled in. Some are extremely worth while, some

are even important.

There is no end of Christian based programs and

movements that have a political or social dimension

and are generally approved of in the Christian

community. These, however, tend to divert and dilute

the message and ministry of the gospel preacher.

Christians are often pictured as being politically

conservative; this identification is not always a helpful

one. People will reject the Christian message for no

other reason than they think political baggage goes

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Controversies

along with it. And, the fact is that perception is too

often correct.

Of course, Jesus is not identified with any political

party. And though many Christians might fall into

politically conservative camps, Christianity itself is not

political. Espousing certain political views, endorsing

political candidates (while it may seem to be expedient

and often-times even demanded in certain

environments) will ultimately prejudice the gospel to

the very people who need to hear it’s message.

Political opinions and positions are sometimes

mixed right in with gospel presentations. The message

seems to be, “Choose Jesus and support so and so and

such and such.” What a mistake! An unnecessary obstacle

is placed in the way of the unconverted as though the

gospel were not offense enough.

People at Miller Avenue do not know how I vote

or what political party I identify with (I hope). Neither

political material nor speakers come before the

congregation. Christians, certainly, are to be good

citizens and may take active roles in politics, but the

gospel preacher is neither a politician nor a promoter

of political causes. I like to think our job is far too

important than for us to be bogged down in secular

trivia.

Christianity, as I have said before, is worldwide,

cross-cultural, and not identified with any political party

or cause. Christianity is not Western, it is not Eastern;

it is global. Jesus died that all people may come to Him

as Savior. Potentially any one in the world may come

to Jesus, regardless of their political affiliation or their

social commitments.

There are several social concerns I avoid though

many Christians are heavily immersed in them.

Although I have particular views on abortion, I will not

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For Pastors

get drawn into that arena. My views tend to be

conservative in that regard, yet the issue has been

politicized to the point that I think spending time,

money, and energy in that direction is largely counter

productive. I also will avoid the issues of capital

punishment and prayer in the schools. (I am probably

limiting the audience for this book by stating my

feelings like this.) These are not areas where I want

to stand up on a bandwagon and start beating the drum.

My finding is that once exposed to the Scripture, by

the leading of the Holy Spirit, Christians tend to come

to certain conclusions on social, political, and ethical

issues without my having to influence them myself.

Certain stances become obvious.

Christians have a number of different views on the

ethical and social issues; I have mine, but they are not

ones I am going to be speaking on from the pulpit. A

safe illustration is that during the “Cold War” I did not

demonize the Soviet Union nor preach fear of

communism though I reject the system. I think it is

very important that we learn to agree to disagree about

things that are not central to the gospel message. Now

I know that there will be those that will argue against

me, but this is my opinion. I believe we need to speak

out against sin and take various stands, but the

promotion of the gospel must remain uncontaminated

by other messages.

Another area I don’t get involved in is the Evolution

verses Creationist controversy. I believe the Biblical

account in Genesis—God as maker of heaven and

earth—and I pretty much leave it at that. I have not

always done so, but I have found it to be an area that is

overwhelming, and people can become greatly

obsessed with this issue. In my experience, people who

were atheistic evolutionists, upon hearing the message

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Controversies

of the gospel, have been converted and became

followers of Jesus. I find that I do not need to deal

with the various views they have. People’s social and

political views have a way of changing as time goes on

especially as a person is exposed to the Scripture. What

I cannot do through providing videos and books and

cassette tapes and argument, God’s Spirit can do. If a

person differs with me on some point, this does not

greatly excite or concern me. I do not want to be the

agent for change; rather I would have that be God’s

province.

A pastor who focuses on conversion oriented gospel

preaching, I observe, generally will not engage

themselves, except minimally, in extraneous

controversies even within their own denomination. We

only have so much time, so much energy, and it is too

easy to be distracted by the “significant” trivialities

we are constantly faced with. And there is one issue

right after another. Let others engage in those things;

but let us go forward proclaiming the gospel, lifting up

the name of Jesus, and somehow these other things

get taken care of along the way as well.

         

  Did I tread on any of your favorite issues?

  If I did, can you separate that from the basic thrust

of the chapter?

  What happens when politics, social issues, and the

gospel are all mixed up together?

Twenty-three

The Bible Study

“You take the Bible way too literally for me. I am

shopping around and I know Miller Avenue isn’t my

kind of church. I am not interested in what happened

to a bunch of Jews a long time ago.”

Absolutely correct, Miller Avenue would not work

for this person. Should I change to accommodate him?

Should I suddenly become “liberal” so that I might

get this person into a pew?

         

The early Christians were devoted to the “apostles’

teaching”. (See Acts 2:42) At that point in the

history of the Church it would have meant a devotion

to the words and deeds of Jesus as well as to the entire

Hebrew Scripture, the Old Testament. In our time we

look to our Bible, the Old and New testaments, for the

apostles’ teaching.

What an incredible document the Bible is, a neverending

supply of wisdom and grace. The Bible is God’s

very word that the Holy Spirit helps us to understand.

The Bible is a book about Jesus, His past, His present,

and His future. However, it is “spiritually hidden” from

the unconverted and often mysterious to the converted

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so the ministry of exposing the Bible is indeed a critical

one.

Since 1968 I have had the blessed privilege of

teaching a Tuesday night Bible study. The name of

my little television program is “The Bible Study”. In

both cases I teach verse by verse, starting from where

I left off and ending wherever we happen to be when

time runs out.

Preparation for the Bible study is nearly as

extensive as for the sermon. The actual Bible study

lasts for one and a half hours while the television

program is only one half hour. My study for the

television program is simply a perusal of the material

from the Bible study, and that is usually not much more

than a few notes in the margins of my study Bible.

Most often the Bible study takes place in my living

room. At times it has been conducted in the church

building. It is informal and as relaxed as I can make it.

Sometimes I have hot water ready for coffee, tea, or

otherwise, with some cookies or fruit. Not many come,

five to eight people is typical. The material is fairly

involved in that I do not gear it for beginners, but I

will answer any and all questions. I use no aids or other

books though I am not against this and have done so at

various times. The Bible study guides, however, seem

to get in the way and are usually superficial. People

end up studying the guides and/or outlines rather than

the Bible itself.

My job is to expose the Scripture. Sometimes I

don’t understand some passage myself; I am often

baffled. I will ask tough questions, even play the role

of “devil’s advocate” to help people focus on the text

and context. As best I can I will avoid interpreting the

Scripture to meet the confines of some theological

model. The Scripture must say what it says and not

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what I want it to say. There is no effort on my part to

entertain, excite, or inspire; this must come naturally,

or supernaturally, from the Word of God itself. As we

hear Jesus speaking to us from His Word, we are

changed. Hearing Philpott helps no one.

It is my general practice to begin on time, often

without an opening prayer, and close with a prayer.

Starting from the opening verse I will proceed until

someone asks a question or makes a comment. It is

not intended to be a lecture and if need be I will ask

questions myself to provoke discussion. There is no

offering, no personal ministry such as praying for people

for healing, and so on. Bible study is just that; Bible

studies have been known to “deteriorate” into

preaching meetings or discussion groups.

Let me suggest several forms the Bible study might

take. One, much as I have described above, my own

method. Two, various people are assigned passages that

they are then to expose with a leader keeping things

on track. Three, the study of major themes of a biblical

book rather than a verse by verse approach. Four,

personal profiles of major biblical characters are

presented. Five, people are invited to present their

favorite biblical passages with discussion of the same

conducted by the leader. There are, of course, many

other Bible study methods. I do not want to make it

seem that I am against the very fine Bible study

outlines and guides current today. These can be used

to great advantage.

The history of the world for a thousand years before

the Reformation has been called the “Dark Ages.” The

availability of the Scripture to the common person

brought light into the darkness. The Bible is not to be

worshipped or used as a weapon, yet the Bible is a great

treasure to be studied diligently and loved greatly.

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The Bible Study

         

  If you could keep it secret, would you describe you

real attitude toward the Bible?

  How do you feel about it? Do you feel confident as

a teacher of the Bible?

  What problems do you have with the Bible?

Sabbath Rest

“Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy” Exodus 20:8

“Sabbath”—the word means rest. The Sabbath day is a day to be kept holy, and primarily this means not doing any work on that day. Rest is the whole thing.

Resting the body, the mind, and the heart is healthy. Getting good sleep is very important as it exercise. Eating right is equally as crucial to good health. And there is the mental/emotional dimension as well. A sound body and mind go together.

There is something more: there is the spiritual dimension. We may be resting the body, sleeping and eating well, and getting enough exercise, yet we can be unhealthy if we do not have spiritual health as well. And spiritual health is what the Bible is all about.

There are two Sabbaths

First, there is the actual ceasing from work or labor. This is the intent of the fourth of the ten commandments given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai around 3500 to 3800 years ago. Over time many dozens of subsidiary laws were developed designed to keep anyone from even coming close to breaking the primary law. By the time of Jesus, the “hedge about the law,” the hundreds of extra ordinances that needed to be observed so that the primary law might be kept. These had become quite burdensome over time.

The first job I ever had was delivering kosher foods to Jewish households on Friday afternoons. This gave me a firsthand opportunity to learn about all that went into the preparation for the evening Shabbat meal.  Preparing the meal was labor intensive, too. It took an experienced woman to make it work. best they could, but few there were who could boast they keep perfectly kosher.

The Jewish sabbath begins sunset Friday evening and extends to sunset Saturday evening.[1] When the sun slips below the horizon, the Sabbath is on and no work is to be done, not even turning on a light switch after dark Friday evening. This is all to obey the commandment from God as delivered to Moses, and thus to all of Israel.

Is there more to it than this?

Second, there is a fuller meaning for the fourth commandment.

Last Sunday someone asked me, “Pastor, why don’t you rest on Sunday instead of working like you do preaching and everything.” My reply, “I am resting, yes it wears me out, but I am resting. I am resting in Jesus and doing what He called me to do.”

            My work is such that I rarely have a complete day off especially not with cell phones and computers. It is frankly impossible for me to take a day off. Yet, I realize the necessity of getting away from screens of all kinds and thus manage to work in an evening here, an afternoon there. But I am “resting” 24/7. I’ll tell you how soon.

The Sabbath laws are nearly impossible to keep, especially in an era such as ours. We recall that one of the purposes of the Law of God is to show us we are law breakers and thus in need of a Savior. If we depended on our keeping of all the laws to be accepted by the Creator God, we are indeed in way over our heads.

Since God is holy, sin (unholy acts and thoughts and intentions) cannot be in His presence. If we would be with Him in heaven our sin must be put away. And this is exactly what happened when Jesus died on the cross. Here now are a few passages from the Hebrew Bible that make this clear:

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him, he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)

“And he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11)

“Yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)

Isaiah was looking ahead to what the Messiah would accomplish. The Christ, and this title is derived from the Greek language and is synonymous with Messiah, took our sin upon Himself, died in our place, thus making it possible to us to be forgiven.

            Just how then, does this work, we might ask, and this is the whole thing.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest

We rest in the Person and Work of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, shed His blood to cleanse us of all our sin. He died in our place, which is the final and ultimate outcome of our sinning.

            Yes, this runs counter to the general view of all of the religions developed in human history. These focus of self-improvement, doing good to others, being kind, helping the poor, and caring for the environment. All of which are good and right, and are activities and deeds all of us should attempt to do. However, and this is a big however, these have nothing to do with the forgiveness of our law breaking.

The greatest health

However fit and physically healthy we may be, how emotionally and mentally stable and secure we may be, unless we are spiritually healthy, we are in the poorest of health.

            Sin is what separates us from God. It does so both now and forever. With Jesus as Savior and Lord, we have peace with God right now. And when we leave the planet, we have peace with God forever and ever. To neglect this is most tragic.

There is a tragic since of life, and we all know what that is after we have lived a few decades. There is a greater loss, being forever driven from the presence of God.

A summary

Biblical Christianity is healthy.   

            By means of regularly confessing our sin we are free from guilt and shame. What a burden it is to carry around the weight of unforgiven sin. Oh, I remember my sin, and others may remind me from time to time how awful I was, or I am, but the One who counts has utterly and completely forgiven me.

            And I accepted by my Creator God and can accept myself and the fact that I am a son of God.

            Plus I continue to grow up. Where I am right now I will not be tomorrow; the Holy Spirit is working on me.

            Now I have a reason to live; having purpose and meaning is huge and nearly every day I have an opportunity to share the Gospel message with others.

            I am not alone either; I am part of the world’s largest family. Some don’t care for me much, but I have tons of real brothers and sisters in Christ.

            Opposition is something I expect, living in the fallen world. How could it be otherwise, but I know it is present and it does not intimidate me in the least, in fact, it spurs me on.

            The end of the world does not threaten me. Jesus said His followers would face great difficulty at that point, but that it would not be long, and He would be with us through it all. So, bring it on.

            Suffering, life happens to us all, and I will suffer. No one gets by, and as I get older family and friends become disabled and die. We just get old. But again, we are not alone.

            I have real hope not a wish for the best. Jesus type hope is assurance of salvation. There is not hoping here; Jesus is Savior and Lord now.

            Peace, yes, I am not longer at war with God. It is done, the peace agreement has been signed, sealed, and delivered.

            Yes, I am tempted to worry and anxiety; who is not? When I get rattled and distracted, fearing what is going on with me and my world, I can look to Jesus and He will make me strong.

Biblical Christianity is healthy. How incredible, we have the best of it all both here and now and forever. We have every reason to give thanks to our God.

---

[1] The actual onset of the Sabbath and its ending are variously stated. The movement of the moon also comes into play. My description is generalized.

Twenty-two

The Prayer Meeting

“Hello pastor, I am visiting here in Mill Valley and I

wondered when your prayer meeting was?”

That question cut me to the quick: we had no

prayer meeting.

“My mother is quite ill and I flew in from Miami

to be with her. I would like to have some prayer.”

I hung up the phone vowing to begin a prayer

meeting at Miller Avenue.

         

Erroll Hulse has written an excellent tract titled,

“The Vital Place of the Prayer Meeting”. It may

be obtained from the Chapel Library, 2603 W. Wright

Street, Pensacola, FL 32505. (This is a ministry of the

Mount Zion Bible Church in Pensacola.) I can never

do better than what Erroll Hulse has done in that

excellent piece of work on the prayer meeting.

Prayer is, of course, vital to the life of the church

and to every believer individually. I must admit this is

an area in which we are not strong at Miller Avenue

Church and I wish this were not the case. However, by

the grace of God and the leadership of Anatoli Sokolov,

a Baptist pastor and recent immigrant from Moscow,

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The Prayer Meeting

Russia, we now have a wonderful prayer meeting at

Miller Avenue that begins one half hour following the

Sunday morning worship service.

Recently I preached a sermon based upon Acts 6:1-

6. That passage describes a problem that developed in

the primitive church in Jerusalem. The apostles were

distracted from vital ministry because of the necessity

of caring for the widows of the church. To resolve the

situation, the apostles meet with the disciples (the

church) and announced, “It would not be right for us

to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to

wait on tables.” (Verse 2) Thus issued the selection of

the first deacons who were assigned the task of serving

the widows of the church. The apostles’ intent was to

focus on “prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Verse

4) “Ministry of the word” refers, I believe, to the

preaching of the gospel and to the “apostles’ teaching”.

Prayer, preaching, and teaching go together.

In that sermon on Acts 6, I encouraged everyone

to make a list of the names of those who were

unconverted among their family, friends, and other

associates. Alongside the name I suggested noting the

date of the initial prayer. The point was to pray regularly

for the people whose names were on their list, pray

that they would hear the gospel and be converted. I

believe that it is important to pray for those we think

are unconverted and bring them before the throne of

God on a regular basis, pleading that God would draw

them to Jesus. The prayer meeting is a likely setting

for these prayers.

Our best efforts need to be in the prayer meeting.

Not everyone in the church will come to the prayer

meeting, but those who delight in prayer and feel the

burden of prayer will gather together. The size of the

group is irrelevant.

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For Pastors

That we are taught to pray is abundantly clear from

the Scripture. Through Jesus we have access to the

Father who hears our prayer. We are taught to make

our needs known to Him, and though He knows our

needs before we ask Him, yet we are told to bring our

requests to Him.

Prayer has seemed paradoxical to me. The will of

God will be done. His purpose will be accomplished

because He is the sovereign God, yet in the prayer

meeting we bring our requests before the throne of

grace and have the confidence that God will hear and

that He will act according to His will to bring glory to

our Lord Jesus Christ.

It sometimes evolves that the prayer meeting takes

on the character of a Bible study or a preaching meeting.

However, prayer meetings are best if they are in fact

prayer meetings. A prayer meeting need not be lengthy,

but it needs to be serious. It has been my experience

that the focus should be on prayers for the unconverted,

for those who are ill, and for those who need to be

encouraged in their faith. We can pray for those who

have the rule over us in the secular world. We can pray

for Christian leaders around the world and for churches

around the world. We can pray for difficult

circumstances wherever and whatever they might be.

But it is best if it is a time of prayer and not discussion,

because we have a tendency to want to discus issues

rather than bring them to the Lord in heartfelt prayer.

There are many forms the prayer meeting might

take. Let me suggest three of the most common. One,

after a short exhortation to prayer or the reading of a

verse on prayer, various people can bring any request

before God aloud while the others listen to and “agree”

with the prayer. Two, either sitting or kneeling, each

person can pray aloud or silently, and this perhaps after

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The Prayer Meeting

a short word or two on the subject of prayer. Some of

the best prayer meetings I have ever been in have been

small and we have been on our knees. It was in such a

prayer meeting that God called me into the ministry.

Three, a prayer request is made then someone in the

group recalls a promise in Scripture that speaks to the

request. For example, a request is made for new

Sunday school teachers and then another person (or

the same person) reminds the group of the saying of

Jesus: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are

few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send

out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38).

Then the specific prayers are made. This pattern can

continue until the meeting time expires. (I think it is

best if there is a definite ending point and that the

leader adheres to it.) There are, of course, many more

forms for the prayer meeting.

Many wonderful things happen in prayer meetings.

During the Third Great Awakening in America, 1858-

1860, the prayer meeting was central, more so than even

preaching. Somehow we are more sensitive to God’s

Holy Spirit at prayer; our hearts may become tender

and open to the words of Jesus. I believe the Holy Spirit

impresses upon us the truth of His word in that quiet,

rare, and wonderful time when we turn our heart, soul,

and mind to the Lord, coming into His very presence.

         

  Can you remember a prayer meeting where you had

the sense that you were in the presence of God?

  Few have I suppose. What prayer meeting format

seems best to you?

Anxiety and Worry

“Do not be anxious about anything” Paul wrote to the Philippian Church. Instead of being worried, we should, by means of prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, bring our concerns to God” (Philippians 4:6).

And we do, and it helps. We have a relationship with God; we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and thus we are connected. Scripture urges us to pray and we do and see many answers our prayers.

            Often I do not see the answers as they occur. It may take months, even years, before I see that a prayer was answered, and this without talking myself into it. It simply becomes apparent.

At the same time, I still worry. And likely so do you.

To be like Jesus

Based on my extensive reading of the Gospels, not bragging here, but I have preached through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, verse by verse, at least twice each. If Jesus was ever worried like I get worried, well, I do not see it. Even reading ‘in between the lines’ Jesus is calm, cool, and collected.

            Jesus was well aware of the dangers He faced. Three times He announced to the Twelve that He would be killed. He knew what was coming. The kingdom was squarely upon His shoulders.

            He did not fear His opponents, He did not withdraw from them, except to pray, and on a time or two, to protect His disciples, got out of harm’s way by going north to Galilee. He was vulnerable, only two swords in the armory, and He faced every challenge.

To be honest about it

I am not like Jesus much of the time. When I was younger, I was less anxious. Now, in my seventh decade, I find I have lost certain strength. Yes, I still go out to the prison to do baseball, coach high school baseball, stand in front of the television camera, and preach away on Sunday morning, but I can tell I have changed.

What to do about it? is a serious question.

Helpful hints?

First off, I am not going to conceal my weaknesses. I do talk about them, in prayer, with my wife, and with a close friend or two. I can be honest with God, too. What would I conceal? And, how could I do so if I tried?

            I recall right now words from a hymn, “He knows my every weakness.” Neither the title of the hymn nor the author comes to mind, but I attest to what he or she spoke of.

Second, my sin is all forgiven. The devil cannot get at me. I just keep confessing my sin (see 1 John 1:8-2:2), walk away forgiven and blessed, and keep going.

            I have a habit I am trying to break. I speak of myself in negative ways. “I am a bad man.” “I never get it right.” “I ought to be fired.” “I need to resign from the church.” “I am just your average jerk.” (This last one I have said from the pulpit a number of times, I must confess.)

            This is not healthy for me and I know it. Writing this chapter helps remind me that saying such things to myself is not healthy. By God’s grace I am stopping this practice.

Third, my Christian friends encourage me. The brotherhood of believers can be so supportive. I have learned not to hang with those who like to criticize and be judgmental; this is not the way of Christ at all.

            Are such folk Christians? I refer to those who delight in pointing out our flaws? Not always, and in a Christian fellowship of any kind, one is never sure. I suspect those who desire to encourage and build up are the real brothers and sisters in Christ.

Four, maybe I am a little weird sometimes, and so I know I need to be humble and not hesitate to ask for forgiveness.

            This can be overdone, to the point of ridiculousness. I do not want to be so super sensitive that I shut down, fearful I might do or say the wrong thing. I am talking about our own personal acceptance of who we are. We are not actors on a stage, or job seekers trying to impress. We are who we are, and our job, one of them anyway, is to like ourselves.

Five, be able to laugh it off. We will do odd things, say things we wish we had not. So what?

            We need not take ourselves so seriously. We have to be free to be ourselves, also.

Six, we can be self-affirming, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do well managing a baseball game.” “I think my books serve a real purpose and a lot of people like them.” “My preaching is improving.” “This is the best period in my life.”

            You get it I know, and I am not worried about making mistakes along the way. I have to get over being worried about what others think of me. I want to be the best me, but I am not always the best me. Okay!

Casting our cares

What the Apostle Peter wrote for us in chapter five verses six and seven, of his first letter to the churches, is so very helpful.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

I am only going to focus on the “casting all your anxieties’” part of the sentence.

Here is our word, anxiety, and here in the plural, anxieties. Does Peter expect the believers he is addressing to have anxiety? The answer is easy.

            Just because one is a Christian does not mean one does not get anxious. I say this because I have known some who would say, “Well, if you worry you cannot be a Christian.”

            Where does thinking like this come from? Not from the Bible. Not from the mainstream teaching of the Church down through the centuries. Not from the Holy Spirit. Where then? I will let it go, it is not worth the time and trouble.

A last word

Here it is, and this is not the first time I have made this point, but it needs to be made again. “Casting all our” cares, concerns, worries, anxieties, fears, and whatever else is skulking around in there, casting these on Him. And by “him” we mean, the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Will you be able to do this? Probably not like you would like to, but you hope to obey the Word, and this is what counts.

If necessary, make a list of your worries. Each time you pray, get the list out and bring each one, again and again, in prayer to the God who loves you.

I doubt I will ever get to the place where I have put all my anxieties and worries behind me. No, I won’t, but I keep doing what Scripture invites me to do anyway.