The Spirit of the World There's a spirit of antichrist in this world, and one thing this evil spirit does is blind people s minds from discerning the truth: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 1 John 4:1-4: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 2 John 7: For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. As a believer, you have to realize that everything in this world is anti-word of God. The spirit of the world is the spirit of antichrist, which promotes the lust of the eyes, selfishness, pride, intellectual arrogance, humanism and beliefs that condone same sex marriage, the murder of babies (the world calls it abortion), and safe sex instead of abstinence. 1 John 2:15: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Leviticus 18:22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22 NLT: Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin. Romans 1:18-32: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 1 John 4:1-6: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. John 3:18-21: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Two Families... Too Different There are two families in this world, and every person in this world is a member of one family or the other: - You re either in the family of God, or the family of the devil; - You either belong to the family of light, or the family of darkness;
- You re either godly, or godless; - You re either righteous, or unrighteous; - You either promote Christ, or you are one of those who promote anything other than Jesus Christ. - You either believe the Bible is God s Word, or you don t believe the Bible is God s Word. Ephesians 3:14,15: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, John 8:44: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 1 Thessalonians 5:5: Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Don t Listen to the News or Get Caught up in World Trends You don t want to rely on the media to get your news, because right now, they re not on God s side. They aren t telling you what God is doing in our nation or the world. If you continue listening to the news, you re either going to become hopelessly discouraged as a believer, or you ll be influenced and brainwashed to think and believe the way they do. They ll twist your thinking so you ll accept wickedness and think it s ok. Even though Lot may not have committed the sin they were committing in Sodom and Gomorrah, he still associated himself with them, and he paid the high price of losing everything he owned, as well as his sons-in-law and his wife (Genesis, ch. 19). Today, there s so much talk and news concerning the environment. There s a spirit in our nation to think green. People are trying to save the planet, but you will never be able to do it. The devil is pushing hard for global order and unity in the form of a one world government and monetary system. The antichrist is just waiting in the wings to bring this about.
In addition to all the effort put into going green, the money we spend in our nation on saving the animals could be used for saving the lost and building God s kingdom. Animals were not created in our class. They re not on our level, and never will be (Genesis 1:24-28). People can become very passionate and emotional over animals, and at the same time, let their neighbor die and go to hell! Don t neglect your responsibilities. Keep your priorities in line with God s Word. And no matter what you may think, Jesus didn t come to save the animals; He came to save the lost. Luke 19:10: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. 1 Timothy 1:15:...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners In the Bible, God had people sacrifice animals, but He never had them sacrifice people! We live in a day that so-called endangered species have more rights than unborn babies. We, the body of Christ, can t afford to get caught up in these side issues. And we can t save our planet, because eventually, the whole earth will be destroyed, and we ll get a new heaven and new earth. 2 Peter 3:9-15 NLT: The Lord isn t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment. Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God. And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved Luke 21:24-28, 33: And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. The people who are totally caught up trying to save the planet are usually not people who are known to worship, love or serve God. They worship and serve the creation, and not the Creator: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Romans 1:25 They are usually people who have never gotten born again, and if they have, they ve been deceived into thinking they could save the earth. Condoning same sex marriage, aborting babies and global warming all go hand in hand; they are all replacements for worshiping God. So, while we shouldn t trash our planet, we need to invest all the time we can into building God s kingdom. We can be good stewards over our planet and thank God for it and all He s blessed us with, but our commission from Jesus Christ is to reach the lost: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:15-20 Until Then, Intercede for the Lost The Holy Spirit helps us to intercede: Romans 8:26-28: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. It s sad to say, but many of our churches do not preach the gospel anymore; they don't teach about sin, the effects of sin, or living a sinful life: For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 Our focus has got to be on Jesus. He has to be first and foremost in everything we do. You need to ask yourself a question: Is God s Word good enough for me, or am I looking for something else? You cannot honestly say, without being hypocritical, that you believe the Bible is God s Word, and at the same time, close your eyes to what people call an alternative lifestyle. If you re not standing for God and His Word, you re taking sides against it. For years, I ve said in my preaching that people, saved and unsaved, are sensing that something is getting ready to happen to this world, and it s more prevalent today than ever before in my lifetime. This is one reason people have gotten so caught up in movements like the global warming movement, going green and trying to save the environment. According to 2 Peter 3, we re going to have more than global warming...we are going to have a global meltdown! But until that happens, we want to get as many people saved and in the body of Christ as we can. Satan is going to do everything he can to stop the work of God. Just make sure he s not using you to try to accomplish it, or to undermine God s Work. If you want to be environmentally friendly and recycle, if you don t want to use plastic bags or eat meat, those are your decisions. But don t forget that the number one reason Jesus came was because of sin, and sinners. You may feel good when you think you re being environmentally friendly, but God s top priority is saving people from going to hell. And God s top priority should be our top priority! When we start interceding for our city, state and nation, God is able to start moving on our behalf and on the behalf of others. Interceding is invisible warfare. We have an unseen enemy; he s called Satan, and he has the kingdom of darkness. He blinds people s minds from seeing the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:3-5: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. We, as the church, the body of Christ, are not to be thinking of ourselves; we re supposed to be thinking of Jesus Christ our Lord and how we can please Him. Sinners are to be interceded for so they can come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and believers need to be interceded for so they will grow and develop spiritually.
I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. Remember that God wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers (3 John 2). Your Word of faith pastor, Pastor Jesse Rich Jesse Rich Ministries P.O. Box 237170 New York, NY 10023 PHONE: (212) 501-7999 Email: www.jesserichministries.com/contact.htm Website: www.jesserichministries.com