Taboo Subjects - Part 1 Sermon Title: Taboo Subjects - Part 1 Sermon Number: 6253 Speaker: Millicent Ellis Links to audio sermon Windows Media Version is best, MP3 is 2 nd best: Windows Media Version http://www.theonlineword.com/s/6253.wma MP3 Version http://www.theonlineword.com/mp3/6253.mp3 TheOnLineWord.com and AirJesus.com TheOnLineWord.com AirJesus.com v7160
- 2 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: What I would like to say very quickly is, it is an honor to be in the Ark of Salvation tonight; and it is an honor and I thank you, Pastors, so much for having me here. I know we hear all the time, when I was in the street trying to get in the Church, I used to hear all these different things that people would say, like, It is such an honor to be in the House of the Lord today, and I would just respond. We all respond mechanically and robotically to things and say, Yes, it is and not really have a clue. Today, I can honestly say that it is always an honor to be in the House of the Lord, because when you get delivered from something, when you really get set free from something, you realize that there are so many other places that you could be tonight: the dope house, the shot house, the little tippy-toe-around-the-women house, the outhouse, all kinds of houses, the gambling house, so many places of bondage that we can be in tonight. But because you're in the House of God tonight lets me know that you may not be perfect and set free from everything, but you're most certainly set free from something, because you choose to be here tonight. (Laughter and applause.) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: God really means something to me today. You see, He delivered me from a $5,000-a-week drug habit. I was shooting needles intravenously and hitting the crack pipe at the same time. One of my fantasies was to have someone shoot me up while I was hitting the pipe. None of my friends would do it, because they said, You're crazy, it will burst your heart. So the closest I could get, I would fill a syringe with 100 cc full of crystal cocaine, lay it down, and then I would have a crack rock as big as my fingernail and put it on a pipe, and I would inhale it and lay it down, still smoking, and take that needle. I was always an extremist in everything I did. I was an alcoholic drinker, and I would have a gallon of liquor a day. I was homosexual for 23 years; I didn t own any women s clothing, I lived as a man, dressed as a man, and I married a woman long before it became a fad. I ve been to prison, was facing over 150 years going to trial in three jurisdictions at one time. Because I had that drug habit and because I was living the lifestyle as a man, I was having to provide for a woman and children. I, as I said, was an extremist with everything. I believe that whatever you do in life, be the best at it. When I was a man or thought I was, I was the best man there ever was. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: I used to have several men come up to me. You know how men can be, especially when they are intimidated in those areas, you know what I m saying? And I would walk around with a suit on, got honeys all on my arm, you know what I m saying.
- 3 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Better-looking than the honeys they had. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: They would walk up to me and say things like, Aw, you just haven t had the right man yet (laughing). I heard somebody whistling (laughing). MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You just need me, Baby. And I was very sharp at the mouth, and I would answer with something like, Sweetheart, I'm 120% man and 99% more man than you will ever be, because not only could I rock your world, I could rock your wife s, too (laughing). (Laughter and applause.) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Thank God for change (laughing). Thank God for change (laughing). Oh, Jesus. I said all of that to just let you know how good God is and that when people say that homosexuality is something that God created, we re going to get off of that, because that is going to have to be in 27 minutes; but they need to know it s a lie straight from the pit. And when folks say you can t be delivered from it, then you are saying that -- I don t know what God you see; but you are saying that there is something out here that's greater than God Himself. Come on, now. I can tell you people today, I have no desires for a woman whatsoever. What used to turn me on, oh, I used to get those catcalls and liked to see those women with all that stuff hanging out here and there. Oh, I know I have been cleansed, because I see that stuff today and it turns my stomach. It disgusts me that women would even lower themselves to reveal themselves in such a manner. It s taken some time for God to allow me; but, see, any change has to come because you want it. And I wanted the change. In 23 years, I perfected myself on what I called the perfect man; and when I found it wrong, I was frightened, because I said, This is what I created myself to be. If you take this from me, what am I going to be? Who am I? I didn t know how to sit with my legs closed, and I had issues with that because I m a big girl, too, and that s a whole lot to keep them open; these things were pushing them apart, even if I wasn t trying to be masculine. I do Christian comedy, too. I want to say this, if you don t mind. If you don t mind taking a little longer tonight than usual, I promise you, you will not be disappointed, Pastor, is it alright?
- 4 - PASTOR NATHANIEL: Go right ahead. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You know, the first time I sat in a -- you know what? When you know God s changing you, people can see it in you. You know, really, the first couple of times I walked in a place and was in the grocery store or something, and folks just walked up and said, Oh you are a woman of God, I am like. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You know that? Then people started calling things out in me. I know the first time I had to sit up in the pulpit. Mmm. It s alright when you re back there. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: When you are up here, you can t do certain things like pick your teeth. And I have lost 100 pounds in a year. (Applause.) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: And Big Girl used to sit up there, and it had nothing to do with me being manly. But, Honey, I was toting some stuff. And trying to keep your stuff feminine-looking up there, it was straining me, because I would sit there and in five minutes, boy, that string trying to keep those jokers together, those legs would part again (laughing). MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You know, the Bible says, The joy of the Lord is my strength. Isn t laughter like a healing medicine? You know, church people are too serious. We look so serious, we run people away. I remember, I had gotten high all night long; but I knew something was wrong, and I remember the demons and things were cutting up so bad and I said, Mama used to take me to church, so I'm going to church, because there s got to be something in there for me. So I eased into church and sat in the back. You know, sinners always sit in the back of the church. Now, I don t know why they do that; but sinners always sit in the back of the church. That may be because if something jumps off, we can get out real fast (laughing)?
- 5 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: But I was sitting in the back of the church, and this was about 15 years ago. And you know those old deacons? You know what I m talking about. They used to have those shirts on, those white shirts they would start flagging in. And those fat women would be hanging across the front. You know what I mean? And those women, you know, with those big, old hats on? And they had those foxes around their necks that bit their own hind parts? And wearing that perfume smells like vanilla extract? MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You know, all those folks were sitting up in there. And I don t know who told the church people that this was a look a holiness. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: You know that deacon sitting up in a front talking about, The joy of the Lord is my strength. I said, the joy of the Lord with my strength. Now, I know I had some issues. But something was wrong with that picture, because when I went to school, joy meant happy-happy-happy. Homeboy looked lie he had hemorrhoids and something like acid reflux (laughing). And I was like, If that s the kind of joy comes with the Lord, I don t want no part of that. While the sinners are sitting in the back of the church, I ll ease on back out the door. You know, when you really get saved and allow God to make you whole, all of those little funny issues you had go out the door, because you used to couldn t tell and you can t talk about fat people, because we are sensitive. Boy, I got saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost. I used to be fat. I got saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost, and guess what? I am still fat. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Big Girl knows she s big. Big Girl is not in fat denial. My body is so big, it wakes up in shifts. I wake up at 4:00 o'clock in the morning, by 10:00 o'clock, it ll say, Okay, everything is away now; you can get up. We are going to get off of some of that. I just wanted to let you know, today I am so in love with who I am. I don t have those issues of low self-esteem and rejection and all of this and all of that; in fact, some men folk would think I have issues now for real. They thought I was hard to get when I was like that?
- 6 - It s even worse now. They will be like they come walking up to me, because they figure big girl s easy prey, Yo, Mama, what s up? And I am like, Huh-huh, well, it sure isn t you, Baby. They go, Well, who do you think you are? I say, I m all of that, and I m not a bag of chips. I m one of those big old packs they ve got, the Doritos, the wavy chips, the cheese crunchies, the corn chips. I am a bag of all of that. And I m not talking about that big 99-cent grab bag, too, because there is no grabbing here. I am so full of myself today. I am so sure who I am today. You ve got to come to the table with something; and I am going to tell you something, it s going to take one heck of a man to get this not because I reject me, because I lived as one for so long, I can do just about everything you do. So he s got to come to the table. I can change my own light bulb, fixed and started my own car; I can cut the dog s hair, cut the grass, lay bricks; I was a licensed chef for 23 years, so I can cook the bacon plus earn it. So I am not mad at you. I am looking and hopeful that God will send me a helpmate; but he has got to be equal and not beneath. Be he not unequally yours. And the bottom line is, though, today that I am proud of who I am. I will not accept less. (Applause.) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: I will not accept less than who God says should come my way. Ladies, stop settling for less. Men, stop settling for less. God has someone for each and every one of us. Sometimes, because we don't know who we are, we don t know what we should be looking for. I wrote a manual called Pieces of People. Have you ever heard the old folks talk about, Here she comes with that old piece of man. Here he comes with that old piece of woman, because as broken people, we run around looking for another piece of person to attach to to try to create a whole, and that s not it. Behold today. It s 1990, I am going to move on now. Thank you for tolerating me, woman. In 1990 I had throat surgery, they cut a vocal cord; it takes two to make a sound. They said I d never speak, talk, sing, do anything without a voice box. Hallelujah, I ve never had one. And I am not Patti LaBelle and I am not Dionne Warwick; but I will not let a rock cry for me. The doctors to this day still don t understand how one vocal cord moves over like it does to compensate. For quite a while, I could not speak but with a rasp. Today I attempt to sing, because He allows me to do so. And I always must minister in song to give Him glory, and I also picked this particular song tonight, because life always offers its challenges to us all; but no matter what comes, my desire is to stay in His will, come whatever what may. (Singing from 13:31 to 18:30) (Applause.)
- 7 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Taboo issues, untouchable subjects. Why should these things be so taboo when they are so real? Why should they be so untouchable when they touch every area of our lives? Why is it that the enemy has so successfully convinced us to not touch certain things? The very things that keep us in bondage, the very things that keep us in torment, the very things that keep us from enjoying the wonderful life that God intended us to have, Satan has convinced us that we should not talk about these things, because, you see, in talking about things such as giving my testimony, it sheds light on it; and whenever you shed light on darkness, darkness must flee. So he has infiltrated the church house, convinced us to be silent about issues, because as long as things are kept in the dark, those demonic entities are allowed to work. Those entities such as rejection, guilt, shame, self low-esteem, self condemnation, can operate freely. The spirit of fear can operate freely, because we have the fear of exposure. Jesus came to set us free. He said to loose the captives, to loose the bonds; yet, we come to church looking for that freedom and come to church and get bound up twice, because I am already bound with my issue; now, I come to church and learn how to become religious, and now I m bound up again, and I ve got two sets of shackles on me. Taboo issue. I am going to be referring to Scriptures in 2 Timothy, the Chapters 3 and 4; Romans, Chapter 1; I will go to Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verse 5; I will go to Leviticus -- moving too fast for you? (laughing) -- Leviticus we ve got 27 minutes (laughing)-- Leviticus, Chapter 18 and Chapter 20; and briefly, we will refer to Genesis, Chapter 19, and even Jude, Chapter 1. What I am going to attempt to address briefly today are immortalities that have plagued society that we don t want to touch, the taboo stuff. In 2 Timothy, Chapters 3 and 4, in Chapter 3 it talks about such issues, such as, that in the last days, perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. I am going to key in on that lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God and having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. I am going to key there right now, because most of the sexual, perversive issues are pleasure issues, and we get to a place where we love the pleasure more than we love God. So we kind of put Him on the back burner. And the reason I speak about having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, because this is not just a worldly issue; I m sorry; it is in the church house.
- 8 - We have that form of godliness, we carry the right Bible, we got the fish symbol in our windows and on the bumper stickers and the bumper, What Would Jesus Do headbands, wristbands, and we know how to get up in church and holler, Shakalaka-laka-laka, wear the proper attire and have the form of godliness when I am in church; but the moment I leave, and sometimes not even after I leave church, I revert back to my worldly ways, denying the power of God Himself, and I can go to the liquor house, go to the crack house, go to the ladies house, go to the gambling house, go to these different places; and I can carry myself as if I have no clue who Jesus is, and unfortunately we don t. We have simply the form of godliness. In Chapter 4, it says: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap themselves teachers and preachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away from the truth, and shall have turned unto fables. I am going there, because when we start addressing such issues as homosexuality, and even the church people of God today are saying that we need to stop bashing, and I would like go over to Romans, Chapter 1. Well, they say that we need to stop bashing homosexuality; even God s people today are trying to say, Well, it must be all right. God loves everybody. Yes, He does; but God does not love the sin in us. I saw Jerry Springer yesterday. This is something I do not watch. But I was channel-surfing yesterday, and Jerry Springer had this woman, a Christian woman, on there, and she was bringing her nephew on because he was gay and she was going to beat the Bible, and she said that unto you. So, I stopped. I said, I am going to watch this one (laughing) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Unfortunately, this woman was ill-equipped to address the issue, did exactly what most church people do and made herself look like a complete, uninformed idiot, because she could not rightly explain why it was wrong. She could only say things like You got demons, and of course they always are going to come back and say, You can t judge me. The Bible says Judge not, lest ye be judged. The Bible says God is love, and He loves me. He was quoting all this, and all she could sit there and say, But you re just wrong. Now, how are you going to call me a demon? And she was so idiotic in her preparation or uninformed that they even brought out this old drunken man that was supposed to be a preacher, called him Preacher Joe or something. He came out with a Bible and he blasted her, and she could not rightly divide the Word of God. And by the time they got through with her, she was stumbling and mumbling and actually started fighting the boy. Now, she s born-again Christian, and all she kept saying was she was going to beat the Word of God into this child. I said, You know what, God? You had me see this before I came to the Ark today (laughing).
- 9 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Prior to that, Cheers was on. I don t watch that, either. And they had gay Cheers. I said, Okay, You re preparing me for tonight and Sunday. But what I want to say simply is, we need to learn the proper way to minister to these issues. They are human beings, but do not be confused: God did not create them that way. That sexual perversion came in when Adam and Eve sinned and then all kinds of things came in, and it is not of God. God does not make mistakes. I hear homosexuals always say that God is perfect, that He is incapable of making mistakes, that He knows all things, He is this and He is Almighty, but then they say, But then He put me in a wrong body. Hold on. What you are trying to say? God was creating man, and all of sudden He sneezed and said Oops (laughing)? The Bible that I read says that God created the Heaven and Earth and all of that stuff in seven days. Nowhere in the Word of God did I see He said on the eighth day He created an alternative lifestyle. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Most Christians are only equipped to say, God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and The Word of God says be fruitful and multiply. They are not even quite rightly dividing that, because He said be fruitful and multiply the Kingdom of God, as well as reproduction. In Romans, you know, in Verse 22, it says: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. When they ate off of the Tree of Knowledge, that s when we started getting stupid. If you take a notice, the more education that people have, the further they get away from God. You go down a little further, it says that: And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man. And then you go down a little further and it says in Verse 25: Changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. See, because once we become so wise, that s when we become the fools, because all of a sudden now, me with all of my accolades and all of my titles and all of my honors and all of my glory, man starts to worship those things, the creature, above the Creator, turning the truth into a lie. For God gave them up unto vile affections: for even the women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of a woman, burned in their lust one towards another. Most homosexuals and I was guilty of saying that nowhere in the Bible did God ever say that homosexuality was wrong. You know, I was so blind; now that I am saved, I see all this, I m like, Duuh! I mean, you can t even bend that. He said men with men. Hello! Is there something in there we re missing? Okay. And He said even, Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
- 10 - woman, burned towards one another, we already went there. And He said because they did not want to retain the knowledge of God, He turned them over into what? The reprobate mind. Quickly, let s go over to Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verse 5. I am going to read these quickly and then go into some things. In Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verse 5, it says -- how many times have you heard Scripture quoted and said, A woman should not wear pants. The Scripture does not read that. The Scripture that they are referring to is this: The woman shall not wear clothing that pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman s garment: for all who do so are an abomination. Hello, people, guess what? He isn t talking about women wearing pants. Now, when I thought I was a man, living as a man for 22 years, walking around with men s suits on, neckties, and as I told Pastor back there in the back, I even had those Fruit of the Looms, you know, the kind with the little cut in the front. I didn t have anything there, but I was wearing them anyhow. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Call that imagination. You know, what was that song that the Temptations -- (singing) Just my imagination, running away with me (laughing). But anyway, when I was wearing those clothes, see, the word that s always left out that is really important is pertaineth. When I was wearing those clothes, those clothes were pertaineth to a man, and I was an abomination. Today, I ve got on pants; but these are women s pants, they were made for me, they aren t pertaineth for a man (laughing). Neither shall a man put on a woman s garment that pertaineth to a woman. Guess what? *30:40 (inaudible) didn t start anything. He was talking about dressing in drag, and this is in the Old Testament. Me wearing a man s clothes being butch and a man being a drag queen, I m sorry, hasn t got anything to do with A woman ought not to wear pants. Okay? Now, let s go to Leviticus, Chapter 18 and Chapter 19 and Verse 22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, it is an abomination, okay? Go over to the next one over here in Chapter 20, Verse 12: And if a man lie with a -- wait one moment. Let s go to 13: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: and they both shall be put to death. In Jude, Chapter 1, we don t have to go there for time s sake; but it refers to God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because of their immoral acts.
- 11 - Over in Genesis, we know that what was going on there was the perversive act of homosexuality. It even said that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; but because of Abraham s sake and Lot being there, He said, You know, I ve got to let Abraham know what s going on. You know, it is stipulated award sad testament that Abraham started off saying, Well, Lord, if you could find 50 saved folk over there, would you destroy the good with the bad? And God said, No, you know what? If we can find 50, no. Abraham said, Whoa. Let me think about that thing. He said, Well, how about 45? God said, Okay, I will let them alone for 45, and Abraham thought about that thing, What about 40? He broke that thing, had to break it all way down to five. And God was still merciful; Even five up in there, I ll say it. You know, that s a sad testimony if you think about that. So He sent the angels, and the angels went up in town and, of course, Lot said, Well you know what? I am going to break this thing down where you can understand it. Lot said, Well, you know what? I don t think you need to hang on the streets; you need to come on up in my house. They were like, No, we are cool down here. No, Lot was like, No, you re not (laughing). So he took the men into his house, and it said that all of the men of the town, it said even the old and the young, came and surrounded the house, hollered up there, Hey, Lot, where are those homeboys that went in your crib? Lot stepped out the door, and he told them, Say, look, don t do this. They re like, Send them out here, that we may know them. If you take a look at whenever the word know or knew is used, knew, in the Bible it usually refers to a virgin, For she knew no man, intimacy. Even in the Scripture where He says, Go from Me. I knew you not; you ve never been intimate with Me. So when they ask that they send the men out, to make this clear, so that we may no know them, they were talking about having sex with the men, having homosexual acts. And Lot told them, Please don t do this, and he was sick; but being that was the culture back then, he was going to send his virgin daughter out there. Do what you want, but they wanted no parts of her, because they were such as they were. But because of that abomination, God destroyed the entire place. With that being said, I think that s enough to let everyone know that this is not of God. God s Word does not change; it remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And what tends to happens is, because a lot of people begin doing something, we want to now make it right. It doesn t mean that it changes the status of whether it s right or wrong; it just means a whole lot more folks are going to the H-E-L-L hogging sticks, okay? Just because a whole lot more folks want to murder people today doesn t make it right. When we remove the boundaries or the absolutes from society, that means that absolutely anything goes. And we ve got to realize that as people of God, we ve got to take a stand for some things. We are not going to pick on just homosexuality today. We are going to talk about heterosexuals who are not doing what they should do, as well. This thing of running around on your wife and on your husband, these types of things are not to be tolerated; either you is or you ain't. There are no gray
- 12 - areas. The Bible was not written for the world and citizens; the Bible was written for God s people, and it is a textbook for us to learn how to behave and to conduct ourselves. For every problem that we have, the answer is in the Word, as when the Bible says, Study to shew thyself approved. Most people study to prove how much they know, because the more you learn the Word of God, the more you will learn what it is that you should do and how you should behave as people of God. You are not representing yourself when you walk out of this church building tonight; you are representing God. And if we are not willing and able to conduct ourselves in godly, holy and righteous ways, then we need to shut up and sit down. I don t care and I have no problems, no qualms, with what people believe. You have a right to believe anything you so choose. But I am righteously indignant for anyone who carries this Word of God and wants to turn around and say certain things are all right. You need to sit down. You can believe what you want to, but do not turn God s Word into a lie. People preach the Word of God with a built-in clause, say I can t be holy. We sing all these songs, (singing) Be ye holy, oh, Lord, you are holy, and we leave that clause where He is holy; I can t be. We use the Scriptures that our righteousness is as filthy rags. This is true; but once you become saved, old things have passed away and you are a new creature, and you take on the Righteousness of Christ. But we preach that It can t be righteous, because we read the Bible says so ; no, no, no, no, no, no, not today. It is inexcusable and unacceptable; again, you either is or you ain't. The word effeminate is written in the section of the Bible where it names that certain people or certain things shall not enter into the Kingdom of God. The word effeminate is in the dictionary defined as womanly, unmanly, weak, to grow womanish or weak, of unmanly characteristics, again describing, excuse me, homosexual. I am giving you these things not to bash, but to equip you with the Scriptures in the Word of God, because we always are supposed to be ready with a ready answer and not look stupid like that woman did, and to let them know, I love you, but it s not right and be prepared to show them, be prepared to love them, be prepared to understand that it is a demonic spirit and soul, just like the demonic spirits of gambling and lust and everything else that we might be walking in. We are no better off than they. We have got to stop placing sins in categories. There is no good sin and no bad sin, no big one and no little one, like there are no white lies, a lie straight up. Okay? Let s get real today. I'm gonna get past some of these things (laughing). I want to discuss these things with you all quickly, like such as this thing called the down-low; turn it around, what does it say? Lowdown (laughing). Now, I might be a little wrong for this; but I personally believe that it is about as lowdown as you can get, because, see, a straight-up homosexual is straight up, a straight-up lustful, perverted heterosexual is straight up. But you are a lowdown dirty scoundrel when you are running around behind closed doors with a man and you ve got a wife,
- 13 - because you re lying greater than anything that I know, because you are not admitting the fact that you are homosexual for real. There is no way between this And then you are dirty, because now you are going to go home and contaminate your wife. You risk hurting her, harming your children; you are just a lie straight from the pit. You know that down low, Baby, you re lowdown, and you need deliverance. You know, Satan is an imitator; God is the only creator. For everything that God has created, Satan, trust me -- trust me, I know -- has created an imitation. Let s take a look at something. Homosexuals identify the lie themselves. What do they call the lifestyle? Alternative, meaning that it is a copycat of something that was original. Is it true or not? What do they call themselves? Male and female impersonators, meaning I am impersonating something that is real. And Satan always takes whatever God does, and whatever He creates, He puts a perversive twist to it. Now, I am a woman, God created me a woman; Satan had messed around and had me running around thinking I am a man. Think about how twisted that is. Now, I was molested as a child; so there were a lot of things that went on that caused me to reject -- and that s what the spirit of rejection does, by the way, and that is the founding and most strong spirit stronghold in a homosexual, because you are rejecting who God created you to be. For whatever reason it may have been caused, it s still the spirit of rejection, and I was rejecting who God created me to be. So, now, I am turning around -- and look at the twist here. Satan, he does, he has a sick sense of humor. Now, I don t like men; but then I become one. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Something is wrong with that (laughing). I can t stand men, but I work as hard as I can to be one. Something is wrong with that picture. I become the very thing I claim I hate. The bottom line is, I found out later once I was delivered it was not men that I was rejecting; it was I was rejecting my interpretation of what I thought a woman was, because I had seen women as weak, abused, unable or incapable of making their own decisions. I had seen them abused a lot, I had seen them beaten, I had seen them cheated on, and lied on, and in my household my mom couldn t make any decision and was treated just like the children, and all around me, this is what I saw. So my interpretation of what a woman was was something that was entirely weak and unable to make decisions, abused, misused, and I didn t want to be that. I was not going to let any man do that to me; but then I got twisted and became a man and became just as abusive, jealous and crazy as he was. Terrible thing. With that, as I said, everything he does as an imitator, he twists things up. Do you know that, as I said, when you remove all the absolutes from life, anything goes? They say, Well, what harm is it to allow homosexuals to marry and have children
- 14 - and adopt children? and that s a crack on the harmony thing. Well, next, you have your pedophiles. So now they are like, Well, what s wrong with me having sex with children? In fact, there is an organization called "Sex by Eight or It's Too Late", and they are trying to get laws passed that say that a child at eight years old is capable of making their own sexual decisions. There is another organization that s trying to get as what we know it as incest passed, because what they are saying is that the parents, the mother and father, are the ones who could rightly teach a child to have sex, because they would teach them in a loving manner. Just like the folks that say, Well, I let my children smoke at home, because I d rather they smoke it in the house than be out there in the street. Come on, people. That is just trying to legalize incest, and like I said, when we remove all boundaries, when nothing is absolutely right and nothing is absolutely wrong anymore, anything goes. I ask you today to take a look at where you are. Take a look at what you stand for. Take a look at who you say you represent. Take a look at yourselves. Be honest with yourself. Is there something in you, are you having dark secrets that are taboo that you afraid to talk about? I want to say this, and then I ll close, Pastor. I hear a lot of pastors and preachers teaching today, they got on this kick, Take off the mask. Take off the mask! I asked a few pastors, Are you and your staff prepared to deal what s behind those masks when the masks come off, and when is your staff going to take off their masks? because, see, I am not quite willing to unmask and expose myself to someone who isn t ready to expose theirs. The Church is supposed to be the place where we can come and unmask. This is supposed to be the place where we can come and get the healing and allow Jesus to set the captives free and loose the bounds, not a place to learn how to put on a mask and be bound twice. I want to give you this. Just take a look at this for a second. When Jesus called Lazarus forth, He d already set him free when He called him forth. He was bound in the grave cloak; but he was set free already and loosed in his spirit when he said, Lazarus, come forth. Now, Jesus could have walked there over and took the grave clothes off; but what did He say? He told the people who were representatives of the Church, he said, Now, you loosen. If you take a look at that, what did it really mean, if you want to get a little deep with it? See, Jesus already set him free; but we as church people can keep you bound up. Jesus set me free. He who the Son sets free is free indeed. And I had a whole lot of church folks telling me, You ought not to be telling people that stuff. You know, huh-huh. Ooh, Sister, you need to be quiet about that. I told them, Let me tell you something, I was like Lazarus. I had been dead, and surely I stank it. And He said, Millicent, come forth. He set me free, and I am not willing to let you ask-the-priest, holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, neverdid-anything-wrong church folks to bind me back up. You better get yourself some of what I ve got.
- 15 - MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: So, remember, as people of God, God has set them free. Are we going to bind them back up in the church? When He said, You loosen, He was letting us know we have the ability to keep them bound or allow them to be free. And I ask you today, don t let Satan have authority to operate in your life. A lot of people say, Well, if I tell these folks my secret, they are liable to tell my minister and persecute me and talk about me. Do you think God didn t know that? When He said, Confess thy sins one to another, don t you know He knew half those folks, or three-quarters, are going to blab your business? But, see, it isn t even about them blabbing your business, Baby; it s about you getting free. I don't care if they pick up the luggage. I told folks, I ve already bagged it up and put it on the *47:48 prairie; but if you want to pick it up and carry it, your business is your own. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: It isn t even about what they say about each other; it s about it coming up off of you! The difference in being exposed and your putting it out there is, if you expose, Satan uses it as a weapon against you; but if you put it out there, you use it as a weapon against him, because every time I tell my business, I bust him upside the head one more time. (Laughter and applause.) MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: God bless you today. As Pastor said, I do have a book, if you don't mind, called Running Toward Life., It tells about the ordeals that I have been through. So if any of you have one or two little teeny issues that you think you have all the pieces, if God can set me free from all that extreme mess that I was doing, that stuff you have is a walk in the park. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: Get free today. Get delivered today. He said that He came to give us life and life more abundantly. Stop allowing the enemy to rob you of the things that God has for you. Trust Him today. I do. You saw me come and limp up here, because the kind of ministry I do does not come without cost, and I am going to debate them. They say, For whom much is given, much is required. I like to say, For whom much is forgiven, much is required. God bless you all today. (Applause.) PASTOR NATHANIEL: Trust me. You may not need it for you; but you re going to run into someone where you will need this information, because oftentimes those -- and it s not about even homosexual bashing; but it s about knowing and
- 16 - understanding the truth, because when you look at God s Word -- and that s why you have to understand His Word -- if His Word and His Law were applied, most of the Church would be dead, just to be honest about it, because He said if somebody sleeps with another man s wife, you have to kill both of them; mostly, the Church would be dead (laughing). So it s about trying. Most of the Church would be dead. MS. MILLICENT ELLIS: So would the people. PASTOR NATHANIEL: That s just all there is to it. So it s real, real, real stuff. I just thank you, Evangelist Ellis, for just being true, and I understand how difficult sometimes it is to even pull out of the past; but it s real, and no one can speak that with power as the person who has gone through it and who has gone through a deliverance of it. So there s just a power with it. (Applause.)