June 25, 1995
The greatest ever recorded revival of spiritual obedience took place in Nineveh. Jonah took a submarine ride to get there. You might recall that Nineveh was a wicked place that got God’s attention. He commissioned Jonah to go and preach to those folks. Jonah rebelled --tried to run in the opposite direction, and became fast food for a big fish.
Having gotten Jonah’s attention, God gave the prophet a second chance to preach. Once Jonah preached the simple message God had demanded, something more than one hundred thousand people repented -- got right with God.
Perhaps the most startling thing about that revival, however, is not the number of converts More amazing is the fact that the preacher despised his own success. Jonah put on a monumental pout. The last sentence of the prophet’s story is God’s simple question to the prophet:
"And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" Jonah 4.11
You may miss the impact of God’s statement concerning the people of that city not being able to distinguish between left and right hands. Counting was done by using the joints of the fingers, 12 on each hand. The multiples of 12 served as the basis for the 12 month calendar, 24 hour day and 360o circle. God was saying to Jonah that these people can’t even tell time. These poor, illiterate, superstitious people of Nineveh ought to be pitied, not pouted over.
I believe our nation, indeed our world has reached the status of Nineveh. We cannot tell what time it is on God’s clock. We claim to have entered a "New Age" of civilization, spiritual enlightenment and brotherhood. Yet crime is soaring, poverty and ignorance grows. The New Age has an old problem -- it isn’t working!
CONCERN OVER CULTURE
It is said that the art of any culture reflects that culture. If that is so, our culture is reflected in Hollywood’s garbage output I am concerned about the underlying message Hollywood is sending to the young minds of our future (and a few old ones of our present).
Hollywood is saturated with, and fueled by the New Age Movement. You say "New Age" and immediately people want to know your angle. Visions of weird and spooky spiritual experiences flood the mind. It’s like the overweight, out-of-shape philosopher was telling his doctor, "Doc, I had an out of body experience." The doc took one look at the man’s sagging stomach and replied, "I don’t blame you!"
CONDITION OF OUR CULTURE
Let’s ask some questions about the condition of the so-called "New Age" What exactly is the New Age Movement? Who’s at the back of this conspiracy? What does it look like? Where’s it going? Why’s it so dangerous? Can’t Christianity coexist with it? What’s all the fuss about?
Lyrics from a "sixties" song correctly identifies the basis for New Age thinking:
"This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius...Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding. Mystic crystal revelation, and the mind’s true liberation....
The New Age Movement has it’s orientation in the Zodiac, an imaginary belt encircling the heavens, which encompasses an 8o elliptic pathway of all the planets and moons, except Jupiter. The constellation of Aquarius (the "water bearer") is the symbol of life in witchcraft curses.
An anonymous writer penned these words to describe the New Age craze:
“The New Age Movement, a hodgepodge of scientific hokum, heresy, and deception could emerge as the greatest threat to Christianity in history. While it claims to be new, it actually is as old as the Garden of Eden, with its promises that you will not die and you will be gods. New Age teaching says that we won’t die; we’ll be reincarnated. The Bible says that it is appointed for a man once to die and after that comes the judgment. The New Agers teach that we are all gods. The Bible teaches that there is one God! The New Age Movement urges the abandoning of objective moral standards such as the Word of God. If we are gods, they reason, we can set our own standards of conduct.”
Sound familiar?
With this New Age of no moral absolutes/ do anything so long as it pleases you kind of outlook, the sixties touched-off an avalanche of destructiveness to the moral and spiritual fiber of our society.
Instead of "harmony and understanding" we have discord and Bosnia. Instead of "sympathy and trust abounding" we have children killing children, and having babies. "The mind’s true liberation" turned out to be the most unpeaceful, stressed-out, drugged-up society in the history of mankind.
Ironically, this stressed-out, shoot ’em down, throw it away society’s New Age rallying point is stuff called: karma, spirituality, ecology, holistic medicine, motivational training, and sports/exercise training! It is even infiltrating the church. It is called "deeper life" or some other spiritual-sounding name. Often it will point to the power or strength you can possess. Scripture is taken out of context to prove a selfish thesis. Most often you will hear it in terms that encourage you to locate and unleash the power that is within you. It is a control thing.
Spirit guides, channeling and power lust are part of the so-called spirituality. I have counseled with those who have been trapped in such New Age snares. People, real people -- good, Christ-loving people who had a vulnerable moment have been trapped in pseudo-spiritual activities that involve demons.
I know -- you’re thinking, "Hey, preacher, this is getting too weird, man. Demons? Channeling spirits?" My friend, if you believe in Christ, and His Word, then demons are just as real. The spirit-world is a reality or Christ is a fake, and the Bible a lie. Which brings us to the main thrust of this sermon:
THE GUMP CHARACTER
Forest Gump is a lovable, naive and pure young man with an IQ of 75. (Hollywood would say that qualifies him to be a Baptist preacher.) Well, if that doesn’t set your mind at ease! What could be threatening about a man who makes a statement like "Life is like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you’re gonna get."
Life was not easy for Forest Gump. However, he has a pure heart, and that -- according to Hollywood -- will triumph over any circumstances. Everything will turn out O.K. for the good guy. Now, that sounds good. There are some who will even make a Christian case for it (Romans 8.28):
And we know that all things work together for good..."
The problem is that Hollywood won’t finish that sentence.
"And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, and are the called according to His purpose."
The insidiousness of Hollywood’s Gospel according to Gump is that a half truth sounds pretty good. Gump is an entertaining movie. That is perhaps the greatest danger to the complacent Christian. When you set your mind in neutral, Hollywood’s message can get through to your brain.
CONFUSION OUT FRONT
Does Hollywood even know what constitutes genuine Christianity...and if so, do they even care? You ask this question because there are a lot of "stars" (even this name is now suspect) who both claim to be Christian, yet hold definite New Age views. A few:
Oprah Winfrey was raised in a traditional Baptist family, accepted Christ early, sang Gospel music.
Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers claims to be a "mainstream Christian," yet was quoted in an interview carried in The [Florida] Times-Union (6/16/95) as a man who doesn’t need to go to church.
and...my all-time favorite New Age nuisance,
Shirley MacLaine “who claims to have spent times in past lives as a monk, a Russian ballet dancer, a male court jester, her own daughter’s daughter, a harem dancer, a Brazilian voodoo practitioner, a Chinese tai chi artist, a prostitute, an Incan youth in Peru and a Roman guard, says she has also caused trees to sway, mastered the knowledge of weather control and had the power to communicate with elephants and other animals of the jungle.”
One of the more disturbing quotes I ran across while preparing for this message was attributed to former first lady, Nancy Reagan, “ live a more meaningful life by linking astrology with Christianity.”
CAUSES
There are at least three causes for the major involve-ment of Hollywood in the New Age movement:
• DECEPTION
There are those who have achieved great popularity and power by outright deception. Jesus warned about these when teaching about His second coming:
Matthew 24.24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
I used to laugh each time the commercial starring "Miss Portia" came on. She would hawk for the state’s lottery games. She drove around in an antique Cadillac pointing-out numbers that were certain to win. Question: If people like Miss "P" have such powers, and it is available to so many, Why does the lottery ever "roll over" on Saturday night?"
• DELUSION
There are untold millions in the Body of Christ who are spiritual babes, never having grown past the point of being "spoon fed." James (1.22) says But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. We tend to hear that verse as a call to act on our faith. It is just as much a warning against being "bottle-fed" your theology.
If there is one thing that will keep people in the dark, and in danger of delusion by fads like the New Age, it is the baby Christian who will not go beyond hearing sermons. His Bible rests on the coffee table collecting dust. His prayer life is non-existent. His life is up for grabs, spiritually.
Frankly, many of the things the New Agers put out sound rather good. One man advertises Profit - Power - Personality, through hypnotism. He demonstrates average, every day folks like us walking on live coals of fire, or broken glass. Sounds good, looks fascinating; it’s just that hypnotism, seances, channeling, et al, are directly opposed to doing the will of God.
Maxine Negri is a humanistic psychologist. She has said, "The movement’s promise of omnipotence and indestructibility [makes] all human goals appear possible, even the elimination of death -- not through Jesus Christ or Mohammed or other divine messengers but through one’s own human, independently earned spiritual enlightenment."
That is the basis for the New Agers -- Spiritual enlightenment -- Translation: We are God, each one of us. We are independent little universes, responsible to no higher power than our own individual whims and humanistic fancies. New Agers see no moral absolutes, because they are the only measure of right and wrong. Obedience is limited to either what feels good, or what "seems right." The Bible says that our salvation is by grace...not of ourselves.
Note, in the reign of King Josiah, when it was discovered what was the true will of God concerning moral absolutes/obedience to God; that which the New Age despises, the king led his people to obey the Word of God, not some deluded thinking of men:
2 Kings 23.24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
• DOLLARS
The apostle Paul described the powerful influence money can have when it comes to motivation.
Romans 16.18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
The Friday (6/16/95) Leisure section of the [Florida]Times-Union carries the movie ratings. On page D-4 the ticket sales for the top 20 Box Office ratings were listed. Ticket sales totaled over $75 million for ONE WEEK. That represents some 18 million viewers. That is not only lucrative, it is a powerful medium for getting a message across.
Can New Age Philosophy and Christianity coexist?
The answer was penned six hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ by the prophet Jeremiah:
"O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." 16.19
The New Age thinking has no place in the church. Yet it abounds in the world, and we are subject to its influence in movies, TV, and all our culture. How can we keep ourselves from the dangers? One word:
CHANGE
3 Changes that can separate you from New Age
philosophy:
AND SAMUEL SPAKE UNTO ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, SAYING, IF YE DO RETURN UNTO THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEARTS, THEN PUT AWAY THE STRANGE GODS AND ASHTAROTH FROM AMONG YOU, AND PREPARE YOUR HEARTS UNTO THE LORD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY; AND HE WILL DELIVER YOU OUT OF THE HAND OF THE PHILISTINES. 1 SAMUEL 7.3
#1. PUT AWAY THE STRANGE GODS
Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters. It is true. You cannot be devoted to Christ and New Age philosophy at the same time. It is like wanting to be hot and cold simultaneously. Joshua said, "...put away...the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel." (24.23)
He also said, ...choose ye this day whom ye will serve; ...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
It is a simple thing, but the prayer is to humbly tell God that there is no other god for you.
#2. PREPARE YOUR HEART TO SERVE GOD
It is one thing to offer up a prayer. It is entirely another thing to put yourself in such a position as to be accountable for your actions according to the prayer you’ve prayed.
Your prayer may have said the appropriate thing; "Dear God, I repent of my sin -- you are the only God I will worship. I know Jesus died for me, and I ask you to forgive me."
-- That’s a good and necessary prayer to be saved. NOW BE ACCOUNTABLE!
Make a public decision for Christ. Stand before this body of believers, committing to worship and serve HIM only!
#3. SERVE HIM ONLY
Commit to being an alert believer, recognizing that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ is worthy of your allegiance. Study your Bible every day to be thoroughly familiar with what God approves. Reject the world’s philosophy, the gospel according to Gump.
