World Impact with Billy Wilson “The Search for Spirituality”

(Billy Wilson:)  Welcome to World Impact and welcome to beautiful Sedona, Arizona.  I’m Billy Wilson, and today on World Impact we’re going to be talking about the spirituality search of our generation. People from around the world come here to Sedona, Arizona on a spiritual search. In fact, Sedona calls itself the center of New Age religion. I’m standing now in a place that some New Agers would call a vortex, where they believe the energy of the earth spirals down. Today we’re going to talking about this search that people are on, the fact that New Age religion is really not new at all. It’s been around for a long time. And God’s Word has a lot to say about it. Now during this program I believe that God is going to speak to your heart, and if you’re on a spiritual search, I want you to call me in America at 1-800-95-SHARE. Or from anywhere in the world you can go to WorldImpact.tv, tell us your story, tell us how you’ve looked at different things and different religions but haven’t found the answer, and we’ll share with you what we know is the answer for the abyss, the emptiness, the vacuum in your heart. It’s a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So call me. 1-800-95-SHARE in America or go to WorldImpact.tv. During this show we’re going to be talking about a new generation experiencing the power of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re going to be offering you a packet called the Empowered 21 packet. Be sure to get that in your home and minister to a new generation. Thank you again for joining us today. And I’ll be back in just a moment from here in Sedona, Arizona, to talk about the spirituality search of our generation.

(Woman:)  We came for the red rocks. I’ve been here before. I love the place.

(Man:)  It’s really pretty down here and we came down just to shop around, walk around and have a good time. 

(Woman:)  But there is a lot of energy and things that we can pull in to make us happier and better balanced humans.

(Woman:)  Actually I wanted to kind of balance my masculine and feminine energies.

(Woman:)  Today we’re trying to figure out what the vortex is.

(Woman:)  Yeah. This is kind of an iron and crystal make a sort of, I don’t know, spinning field, a magnetic field that can recharge your phone.

(Woman:)  Yes. We heard it could recharge your cell phone battery.

(Woman:)  So we’ve been, I’ve been waiting. My phone’s still dead, but I’m hopeful.

(Woman:)  She walks around carrying it. No. No.

(Announcer:)  The New Age idea that spirituality trumps religion and that the earth is the source of great power is not really new. Most traditional Native American religions speak of a universal force, or bond, flowing between the Mother Earth and the Father Sky. There were meeting places respected by all tribes believed to be points where the earth and the sky came together. A shaman was someone thought to be more tuned to the spirit world. The Druids of Scotland similarly thought that the earth was the giver of life and that nodes, or vortexes of power, were scattered across the land. They sought to channel this energy, to find a heightened state of awareness, believing that the answers to life’s problems are within the individual. Driven by their star charts, the Mayans committed human sacrifice at specific times and places, seeking to transfer spiritual energy from the earth and stars into the priests and rulers. Today there is an anti-religious movement, to embrace spirituality as the ultimate prize, where each person is the source of their own enlightenment. They claim culture is the context of the truth. But this New Age spirituality is simply a return to an ancient search for meaning without an absolute moral or spiritual compass.

(Billy Wilson:)  Today on World Impact we’re talking about a spirituality search. And there is a search going on in our generation. More Americans than ever before consider themselves spiritual but they don’t consider themselves religious. This is especially true with new generations. In fact in this new generation that is coming on in America, they are less religiously affiliated than any generation in America’s history. People are searching all over the world for truth, for relationships, for purpose, and for reality. Now one of these expressions of this new kind of search is what has been branded or called New Age religion. Actually this New Age religion is a free-flowing spiritual movement that can encompass Eastern philosophies, mystical tradition, Native-American belief, Celtic goddess worship, and psychic phenomenon. New Age covers a wide variety of disciplines, all the way from alternative medicine to goddess worship, and it claims to examine universal truths independent of religion. Supposedly New Age spirituality is a search for truth. From one brochure of a New Age center here in Sedona, they write the following. “If a person believes that reincarnation is true,” and I’m quoting, “that’s fine because that is his reality. If someone he knows doesn’t believe in it, that’s all right, too, because that’s someone else’s reality. They can have a reality for themselves that follows a different path. The goal is to fully realize our own goodness.” End of quote. Now the truth is, this New Age kind of philosophy is diametrically opposed to God’s Word and the teaching of Christianity. God teaches there is no goodness inside of us, and that the only way we can find truth is through Jesus Christ, and that He is the only way to the Father. Now on this program today I want to talk about this search, the search that’s going on. The truth is though, this New Age religion isn’t new at all.

(Announcer:)  The core tenet of New Age thinking is that any and all paths lead to God. While the prophets of ancient Israel spoke about an absolute path to God, most of the surrounding religions practiced polytheism and believed each planet in the sky was a deity to be worshipped. The earliest of Egyptian religions had many gods, including a pair representing Father Earth and Mother Sky. In Bible terms, Baal meant “the one,” and was a universal name for a large number of deities, including one who was like the Egyptian earth god Geb. Except Baal could make it rain. By the time the Greeks and Romans arrived on the scene, the New Age practices of renaming one god to match another, and seeking spiritual enlightenment by walking many paths, were both common. What remained uncommon was the belief that only one God existed, worthy of human pursuit.

(Billy Wilson:)  New Age religion is not really new at all. In fact the people of God have encountered this kind of philosophy through the ages, and there are a number of statements in the Bible about it. Let’s read some of them. Leviticus 19 verse 31: 

“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” 

Leviticus 20 verse 6: 

“I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.” 

And Deuteronomy 18 verse 10 through 12: 

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.” 

Not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament, they faced this spiritual environment in which they lived. Christianity began to be preached in the environment of Roman and Greek mythology, in Gnosticism, Zoroastricism, and all of the philosophies of the day. Because of that, the Gospel made a difference. For instance in Ephesus, which recorded in Acts chapter 19, that when the revival took hold there, people turned to Christ. When they did, they openly confessed their evil deeds and a number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In the list of acts of the sinful nature in Galatians 5:19, Paul says idolatry and witchcraft are some of those acts, and they who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. New Age spirituality is not new at all. God’s Word has an answer for it in our generation.

(Woman:)  Religion is man-made. That’s what I think.

(Man:)  I have faith but I wouldn’t say I’m a spiritual person.

(Woman:)  As far as I’m concerned, there are different methods and paths, you know, on the road.

(Woman:)  I would call myself a born-again Christian.

(Woman:)  I mean it’s hard to be here with all these mountains and rocks structures and not to feel insignificant and be wowed by this nature and beauty.

(Woman:)  But eventually they are going to realize that the help is within, and everything is within.

(Woman:)  I think, I think spiritualism kind of fills that hole that people have when they don’t have religion.

(Announcer:)  Between 1972 and 1975, a TV series centered on a wandering Shaolin Monk became an American phenomenon. It was a watershed series credited for making Kung Fu a household term. Since then, books, movies and TV shows focusing on spirituality and unseen realms have increased. Today, shows like “Ghosthunters” and “Paranormal” are on every major network. Despite proven allegations that many of the encounters are fake, these shows remain the fastest growing segment of reality TV. Guests on daytime talk shows like Oprah say there couldn’t possibly be just one way to God. And celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg talk about many roads to the same light. In children’s media, wizards and witches exist. Scooby Doo no longer unmasks the fake ghosts, but rather reveals the ghosts to be real. Astral projection, psychic power, and even demagoguery are now firmly a part of popular kids’ books and movies. Evening TV crime dramas feature psychics and ghost-whisperers working alongside detectives and scientists. Where once “Ghostbusters” made light fun of the paranormal, media today feeds the interest in spirituality with very little regard to consequence or reality.

(Billy Wilson:)  Post-modernity and the collapse of certainty has left a generation on a search. In fact, the spirituality search of this generation may exceed all generations put together before it. This generation is searching for meaning, for purpose, for eternal destiny. Now certainly we are not here on this program to condemn the search. Men have been searching and searching for God and meaning since the beginning of time. But today I do believe God’s Word gives some qualifiers to our search. The first one of those is, we need to search with the proper motive. God’s Word tells us about some men from the East. They were wise men, or as some translations say, they were Magi. They had read in the Hebrew scriptures about a star. In fact in Numbers 24 verse 17 it says, 

“A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel.” 

They had seen a bright star in the East. And because of that, they were motivated to find the one who would hold this scepter. Matthew chapter two verse one and two tells us about it. 

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him.” 

The Magi came to Jerusalem. But who were these Magi?

(Announcer:)  The ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes, ancestors of the Kurds, who were credited with profound scientific and religious knowledge. They functioned as the supreme, civil, and political council to the Persian empire. In fact, the title Rab-mag, or the chief of the Magi, was given to Daniel in 600 B.C. His appointment to this hereditary position is most likely what led to the plots involving his ordeal in the lion’s den. Daniel’s visions and attention to prophecies concerning the Christ would have been studied by every Magi who followed. One of the traditional duties held by the Magi was the absolute choice and election of the king of the realm. It was therefore a group of Persian king makers who entered Jerusalem, seeking the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.

(Billy Wilson:)  When the Magi arrived at Jerusalem after following the star, Herod was troubled. He was king of the Jews and they said they had come to find the king of the Jews. So Herod brought the religious teachers together and asked, “Where is Christ supposed to be born?” They said in Bethlehem. So Herod sends the Magi toward Bethlehem to find the Christ child and then he says the following, as recorded in Matthew two verse seven and eight. 

“Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him report to me so that I, too, may go and worship him.” 

Now in these two occasions we find two completely different motives. The Magi wanted to find the Christ so they could bow down and worship him and bring them their very best. Herod wanted to find the Christ so he could get rid of him, remove him from his life and have his own independence and be his own king in Israel. Today it is critical in this search of a generation that we search with the right motive. 

The second qualifier I believe is also critical, and that is we need to search in the right way. Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 12 and 13 says, 

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” 

Hebrews 10:22 says we need to seek God with a sincere heart. And James four and eight says, 

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded.” 

God says if we will seek him with our whole heart, with a sincere heart, if we’ll cleanse ourselves, if we’ll repent and come to him completely, we will find him. We’ll call on him and he will answer us. So the first two qualifiers to this search of a generation are that we must search with the right motive, and we must search in the right way. 

The third qualifier is the most critical, and that is, we must search for the right person. New Age philosophy teaches that the answer is inside of you and the problem is without. But God’s Word and Scripture teaches that the answer is outside of you and the problem is inside of you. This is a very stark difference. New Age philosophy teaches people to look within themselves and that they will find the answer. But men throughout the ages have looked within themselves only to find darkness and despair. God has a better way. It’s in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s the person those Magi were seeking on the long journey from the East, and when they found him their lives were changed forever. Now I’ll be back in just a moment to conclude this sermon from here in Sedona, Arizona, about the spirituality search of our generation.

(Dr. Matthew Thomas:)  Yeah, I’m Doctor Matthew Thomas from India, and I’m here to tell you how to witness to multiethnic society, multireligious society. I’ve learned a secret in the last 54 years. Just share the love of God. That’s all. Love in action will bring people to Christ. I never talk about any other gods in my country. I just talk about Jesus because I have learned, we know as we lift up the name of Jesus Christ, he will draw all people unto him. Not my message, not my views, not my opinion, but Jesus Christ. So guys just lift up the name of Jesus Christ.

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(Billy Wilson:)  For many years in ministry I’ve heard the following quote attributed to Blaise Pascal. 

“There’s a God-sized vacuum in the heart of every man, which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the creator made known through Jesus.” 

That is an awesome quote and one I believe is very true. However, upon deeper research, Blaise Pascal probably did not say exactly that. In fact, in Pensees 425 this French industrialist, this inventor, this philosopher said the following: 

“What else does this craving and this helplessness proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there, the help he cannot find, in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object. In other words, by God himself.” 

A vacuum, an infinite abyss, only fillable by an infinite God. Saint Augustine would say the following, 

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” 

All of us are on a search. And that search will only end successfully when we turn it toward Jesus Christ and toward our Father God. There were some Greeks that came to town, to Jerusalem, during the Passover feast just before Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. They said to Phillip the following: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” They were on a search. They were looking for Jesus Christ. When they found him, they heard the voice of God and they heard the message of the cross of Calvary. Today I want to challenge you if you are on a search, you are filling the vacuum inside of you, the abyss deep within. The only answer for that abyss, for that emptiness inside, is a relationship with God. And that relationship can only be had through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, chapter one verse 25, 

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator.” 

Now it is a large difference between worshipping the Creator, and worshipping His creation. Here in Sedona, Arizona, it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I am inspired everywhere I look at these red rock formations. And yet I want to share with you, there’s a large difference between worshipping the Creator who made these formations and worshipping the creation itself. God’s Word teaches when we worship creation itself, we enter a place far from a relationship with God that is damned and even condemned by heaven. The apostle Paul at one time found himself in the city of Athens. It was a city filled with people on a spiritual search. Every known philosophy in the ancient world came to the city of Athens to be tested and thought about deeply. Paul had a message of his own. As he walked through the streets he saw that they had an altar to the unknown God. When he began to preach, he said, “I want to declare to you this unknown God, that he can be known because He has now been revealed through Jesus Christ.” In fact, Paul went on and became even more bold, and said that God has raised Jesus from the dead so that every man in the world can have hope. And then Paul says, this God is not very far from every one of us, and if you’ll search for him you can find him. Today as you watch this program perhaps you are on a personal search. I want to remind you, in order for that search to be successful, you need the right motive. You need to search the right way. And most importantly you need to be searching for the right person. God will fill your heart if you’ll search for him through Jesus Christ.

(Song:)  Sing this with us. 
I need Thee, O I need Thee. 
Every hour I need Thee. 
O bless me now my Savior, 
I come to Thee. 
Hear my cry, 
hear my prayer 
from the ends of the earth. 
I’m calling to You.
Oh my heart, 
it grows faint. 
Lord, lead me back 
to the rock that is true.
Hear my cry.  
Lord hear my desperate cry. 
I need Thee. 
Oh, I need Thee. 
Every hour I need thee.
Oh bless me now my Savior. 
I come to Thee. 
Oh I come to Thee.
You have been Lord to me, 
my refuge my strength, 
my tower so strong. Oh yes.
In your house, in your love, 
I long to be, 
in your safety and peace.
Hear my cry, 
Lord hear my cry, 
hear my desperate cry. 
I need Thee, 
Oh I need Thee. 
Every hour I need Thee.
Oh bless me now my Savior. 
I come to Thee, yes. 
Oh, I come to Thee. 
Lord I come to Thee. 
I come to Thee. 
Oh I come to Thee Lord. 
Praise the Lord 

(Billy Wilson:)  Our generation is on a search. And you know the beginning of your search should be, “I need you. God I need your help.” When you’re willing to confess that, God is ready to come to your rescue. Sedona, Arizona, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have been amazed. It’s no wonder people come here and are inspired. And yet we’ve also been saddened because so many people come here looking in the wrong way, for the wrong thing, and leave without the answer. Today if you’re on a search and you’re really wondering if God exists, if Jesus is real, and if your life can ever be put back together again, I invite you to try him. God’s big enough for you to ask him to help you and he will answer you. God teaches us if we’ll come close to him, He’ll come close to us. So today if you’d like to know how to touch God, how to come close to him, I want you to call me at 1-800-95-SHARE in the United States, or go to our website, WorldImpact.tv. Our counselors will pray with you and will help you. We’ll sort of take you by the hand over the airwaves, through the phone, or even on the internet, and lead you to the foot of the cross, to Jesus Christ. He is your answer today. You don’t have to look any more on the inside. Look to him and you can be saved. So please call me, 1-800-95-SHARE in the United States, or WorldImpact.tv. Leave us your prayer request.  Tell us your story. Maybe you’ve tried everything under the sun, but you haven’t tried Jesus. Well, today is your day to see your life changed forever. Now during this program we’ve been sharing with you about the Empowered 21 packet that will help you understand what the Holy Spirit is doing in a new generation. You know in this time when a generation is more spiritual than ever, we’re seeing young men and women become radical for Jesus Christ, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. My personal opinion, we are on the verge of a rediscovery of Pentecostal glory and power in our generation, and we want to help you and the young person in your household experience the power of God. So order that packet right now, called the Empowered 21 packet, give us your best donation, and we’ll get that in your hands. Thank you again for joining us on this World Impact program. I’ve been very glad to be here in Arizona, and talk about the spirituality search going on in our world, because we believe more than anything else, that Jesus is the answer, and here at World Impact we’re committed to sharing Him with the world.