Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
00:16 Welcome to Battles of Faith, I'm Atonte Myers
00:19 And I'm Ivor Myers 00:21 On today's program we are going to be
talking about the 00:24 martial arts, and I'm very excited about
this program 00:27 Because if you have been watching this
hole entire series 00:30 you will know, that we have been talking
about 00:32 the entertainment industry
00:33 and we can pair it to a black hole 00:36 and if you feel very trapped by that
black hole 00:39 like you can't escape
00:41 this program is going to be specially encouraging to you
00:44 because by the end of the program 00:46 you will know how to escape
00:48 that black hole 00:49 you will be able to
00:51 spiritually fight the war 00:52 more effectively
00:54 Amen. You know Atonte this is a very special program
00:57 because we felt that we needed to do something
01:01 on this, when you look at the martial arts industry
01:04 it is definitely an industry 01:05 that is growing by leaps and bounds
01:07 you look at video games 01:09 you look at movies
01:10 such movies like 01:12 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
01:14 Enter the Dragon House of Flying Daggers 01:16 these movies that maybe some of our
listeners, 01:19 our viewers are familiar with
01:21 or your children maybe familiar with them
01:25 the martial arts it's making it's way into
01:28 a lot of these media 01:32 venues, and it's becoming popular
01:34 among young people, I remember 01:37 one movie came out
01:39 maybe ten years ago 01:41 The Karate Kid
01:43 and after that movie came out 01:44 every young person was going to learn
01:46 this martial art 01:50 and so we felt it definitely.
01:52 I have a background in the martial arts 01:54 My brother
01:55 younger brother was born in 1973 01:59 my mother was at a drive in movie theater
02:02 watching the opening night 02:04 it was the opening night of
02:05 Enter the Dragon 02:07 so my younger brother came
02:09 was delivered 02:11 She had to leave that movie theater
02:12 go deliver him, she came back the next night
02:14 to finish seeing the movie. 02:16 My brother, from his birth has been
02:21 was, I should say 02:22 addicted to the martial arts, as was
I 02:25 and so we have a background
02:27 in the martial arts, my uncle, 02:29 my fathers brother actually thought
us the martial arts 02:32 >From age of 10 we learned the art of
Wing Chun 02:36 He was a student of a classmate of Bruce
Lee. 02:41 My uncle that is
02:43 He began to teach us this art and we were just all into
02:47 the movies, and everything dealing with the martial arts
02:50 and we watched as this phenomena 02:52 actually just grew
02:56 and now be believe it is an issue that we need to deal with
03:01 when we're talking about the entertainment industry
03:04 yes, well people like myself who are not as familiar
03:08 with the martial arts because 03:09 growing up, it didn't really interest
me 03:12 but, I know that its a huge thing
03:15 the movies are taking it on 03:18 and they are making movies about it
03:20 and they are very popular 03:21 and the video games
03:24 as I am passing young people 03:25 with these little game boys or what
ever you call them 03:28 and passing the TV screen I see all
this Kickboxing 03:31 and all this type of martial arts
03:33 I know it's very huge with the young people
03:37 Yes, and it's appealing Atonte 03:38 because as you look at these movies
03:40 or watch these video games 03:42 You've got one person, one guy
03:43 beating up fifteen, twenty, thirty people at one time
03:48 and you've got this supernatural feats going on
03:51 witch we are going to talk about in a little wile as well
03:53 as we have seen, the enemy of souls 03:55 is behind a lot more
03:58 then we imagine 04:00 and we're going to see it front
04:02 this is one of those feels 04:05 where we are going to have our eyes
open 04:07 to see what the enemies plans are
04:09 and how he is succeeding 04:11 to further his plan to deceive and to
destroy souls 04:17 as Christians there is a war going on
04:20 and God does want us to fight 04:21 but it's a spiritual fight
04:23 and He wants us to train spiritually 04:25 That's right. A lot of people don't
realize this but 04:29 the martial arts, if you would go to
your internet and type in 04:34 new age or spiritualism and martial
arts 04:37 you would find that there is a very
strong connection there 04:39 infect, we are going to look at our
first slide 04:42 and we are going to nodes something
that is in 04:45 the Encyclopedia of New Age Believes
04:47 and the Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, basically states
04:51 that martial arts represents 04:54 forms of spiritual education
04:57 that function as means towards self-realization or
05:01 self-enlightenment. 05:03 So the power is within yourself
05:07 within yourself, right 05:08 you advance stage by stage until you
reach 05:12 a final level as it were of self realization
05:16 and it's amazing Atonte that people don't realize that
05:19 when you look into a book like this 05:22 the Encyclopedia of New Age
05:24 people would say, what is the martial arts doing
05:26 in a book like this 05:28 why would they even talk about that
05:29 well the fact is as we're going to learn 05:32 there is a lot of spiritualism
05:34 that is tied into the martial arts 05:37 So, they don't give the glory to God
05:39 for their training as they go to each level
05:43 higher and higher 05:45 the power is within themselves
05:47 There are a lot of superhuman feet 05:50 that are performed in the martial arts
05:54 there is something called Dim Mac 05:57 the Death Touch, where
05:59 a martial artist is supposed to be able 06:01 to hit a person that person will not
really feel the blow 06:09 but they will die days later
06:11 there are supposedly these powers of martial artist
06:17 ho are able to break 06:18 you may have five or six bricks
06:20 and they send what they call Chi Energy 06:23 we're going to look at that in a moment,
but Chi Energy 06:25 they'll hit these stack of bricks
06:28 and the bottom brick will brake 06:31 but the top four remained intact
06:35 and again I will ask, where does this Chi Energy come from?
06:39 Is this within yourself? Are you empowered by a higher being?
06:42 Does it come from God? 06:43 Let me give you the definition of Chi
Energy 06:45 We're going to go to our second slide
here 06:48 and the Chi Energy is basically described
as 06:51 Universal energy that can be accessed
or channeled into 06:56 through meditation.
06:59 Atonte, a lot of times you will see the martial artist
07:02 he is sitting on the floor 07:04 either before or after he has practiced
07:07 and he is doing breathing exercises 07:09 and these breathing exercises
07:12 are actually to try to channel 07:15 this Chi Energy that is supposed to
be out there 07:18 in the universe
07:20 because the more Chi Energy a martial artist has
07:21 he becomes more stronger. 07:25 Atonte as you look at this
07:28 and you look at spiritualism 07:30 you see that these practices are basically
one and the same 07:34 different form, but the same thing
07:36 and this is why in the Encyclopedia of New Age
07:41 the martial arts is found there 07:44 because involve these things such as
Chi 07:46 and these super human feat
07:49 Wow. It's amazing 07:52 that power can come out of someone
07:57 or trough another entity 08:00 and do these things
08:02 We're going to look at another sign 08:03 because we're going to sea where to
source comes from 08:06 and I just want to put up a picture
08:07 on the screen right now 08:09 of something called the Yin-Yang symbol
08:12 and some of you may have seen the symbol before
08:14 you sea that all over the place but you don't always
08:17 know what it is 08:18 it's a dominant sign in the martial
arts 08:20 it is the Yin-Yang symbol
08:21 you notice how half of the symbol is black
08:23 and half of the symbol is white 08:24 and there is a little white dot on the
black side 08:31 I'm going to read to you
08:32 This is from another book 08:34 called Black magic, white Magic
08:37 and listen to what this book has to say about
08:38 the Yin-Yang symbol 08:40 It says: Another ancient magical sign
08:44 called the yin-and-yang first appeared 08:48 sometime before the 3rd century B.C
in China 08:51 This emblem became the favorite of sorcerers
08:55 and mystics throughout the orient because 08:58 it too, embodies so many possible meanings
09:02 So Atonte, it's amazing that the dominant sign
09:06 of the martial arts, this yin-yang symbol 09:10 is again in another book, that happens
to be called 09:13 Black Magic, White Magic
09:15 is described as a favorite 09:18 magical symbol for sorcerers
09:21 As we begin to look 09:24 at this issue of the martial arts
09:27 we begin to understand that there is much more here
09:30 than meets the eye 09:32 We would shrink back in horror
09:34 in getting involved with open sorcery 09:38 but, the devil has a way of masking
09:43 and putting in a different and more pleasant form
09:46 some of the same spiritualistic concepts 09:49 and we accept it more easily
09:51 because it's more pleasant 09:53 So, basically it is representing that
darkness and light 09:56 can be mingled together or evil and
good? 10:00 the ying-yang represent principles,
opposites 10:04 and the opposites must be together in
order to exist 10:08 if there is good, there must also be
evil 10:12 there is soft-hard, light-darkness
10:16 and the Yin-Yang symbol 10:18 actually represent these two principals
10:20 the Yin would represent the internal aspects
10:25 and the Yang would represent the external aspects
10:28 So, we want to look at, very quickly 10:30 the internal aspects of martial arts
10:32 Should a Christian be involved in the Yin
10:35 so the speak of martial arts 10:37 the internal aspects.
10:39 we think, clearly, that meditation, Chi Energy
10:44 all these things are actually sorcery, another form
10:49 of spiritualism that connects us, or channels
10:52 so called energy, we channel so called energy
10:55 into ourselves, not going to use it myself, but
10:58 the practitioner channels so called energy into himself
11:01 and that is clearly a firm of channeling 11:04 or sorcery, or magic
11:06 You know, we're thinking about meditation 11:09 we should only be meditating on God
11:12 and the things of God, and His word 11:14 so unless the martial artist is meditating
solely on God 11:19 to get his power I would say no.
11:21 When a person gets involved in the martial arts
11:26 you start of at a very simple level, but you advance
11:30 and step by step you are required to go deeper and deeper
11:34 into these meditational practices 11:36 if you want energy, you have got to
harness the Chi 11:41 you have got to meditate, and you have
got to do all these 11:45 different things that the Bible will
se here, actually 11:49 goes against the Bible
11:51 it is channeling, it is sorcery 11:53 and as a Christian I believe, that
11:55 God sends a red flag, when you read things like this
11:59 that this is a magical sign 12:01 and that this is the dominant symbol
in the martial arts 12:03 we should know that a Christian should
have nothing to do 12:07 with the Yin, or the internal aspects
of martial arts. 12:10 Because if we meditate on God and His
word 12:13 we will have power, because there is
an enemy out there 12:16 that we should be fighting, and it is
the devil 12:19 and God wants us to have victory, and
to win over Satan 12:22 and if we do, the meditating, like a
martial artist would 12:26 the long hours, or the concentrating
12:30 on whatever it is that they are concentrating on
12:32 if we would just focus on His word and on Him
12:34 and pray to Him, He would give us that power.
12:36 The bible does not condemn meditation 12:39 But we are to meditate on God and upon
His word 12:42 and it's amazing Atonte, that the martial
artist 12:45 will sit there for hours in meditation
12:47 and so often, we as Christians 12:51 pray for five, three minutes, and we're
off 12:55 the martial artist know, that in order
to get power 12:59 this Chi Energy, they have got to meditate
13:01 and as we should realize 13:03 that we're not trying to get Chi Energy,
we are trying to get 13:06 the power of the spirit of God
13:08 witch by the way with Chi Energy 13:10 say this simply, often a counterfeit
saying 13:12 don't you want this energy, don't you
want this power 13:15 no, as we want the indwelling of the
spirit of God 13:18 witch is not an energy, He is a person
13:21 we want the indwelling of Jesus Christ in us
13:24 and we get it trough meditating upon His word
13:28 and upon His promises, and we sea here Atonte that already
13:33 the devil uses that principle 13:35 wherever there is a genuine there has
to be a counterfeit. 13:37 Isn't it amazing how the world flax
13:40 to something like the martial arts, their in classes to learn
13:45 they are training, learning how to meditate, but when it says
13:49 why don't you come to a bible study course
13:52 and learn how to pray to God 13:54 and to meditate to God
13:56 the world is not flocking that way 13:58 unless you know that does not want that
14:01 he knows where the real power is 14:03 and he knows where the false power is
14:05 the internal aspect of the martial arts is
14:07 eastern mysticism, that's what it's called
14:10 the mysticism of the orient 14:14 and I believe as Christians our eyes
should be opened 14:18 to say, we can't
14:20 consciously partake of this aspect of the martial arts.
14:24 Now, the other question is 14:26 should a Christian, we said that the
Yin represents 14:28 the internal, the Yang represents the
external 14:30 should a Christian partake in the Yang
of the martial arts 14:34 the external, because some say
14:36 we practice the martial arts, but we don't practice
14:40 the evil side of it. 14:41 and Atonte that Yin-Yang sign reminds
me of 14:47 black and white magic
14:48 There are a lot of people, who say, I read Harry Potter books
14:51 but I'm not into sorcery 14:53 I'm just reading it for entertainment
14:56 the question is, can we separate the martial arts
15:00 from it's inherent I believe, mysticism 15:08 as we look at the Yang of the martial
arts 15:12 the external aspects, we have got to
ask, did Jesus exercise 15:16 the principle of studying how to fight
15:19 because that's what the martial arts is,
15:22 it is studying how to fight. 15:24 Now, let me say this upfront, that I
don't believe that 15:27 we should allow ourselves to be
15:30 you see somebody being 15:32 assaulted on the street, you're not
jut going to stand by 15:34 and say I'm a Christian, I can't do
anything, 15:36 I can't help this person
15:38 or if you're getting assaulted 15:40 that you're just going to stand there
15:42 and just be beaten, of course you want to defend yourself
15:45 you want to defend your family, and your children
15:47 to get involved in the martial arts, to learn how to do that.
15:52 You know, I grew up in New York city, 15:54 and none of the kids there knew martial
arts 15:57 but they all new how to fight.
15:58 I'm saying, even then 16:01 I believe as Christians, we ought to
seek the face of God 16:06 and the spirit of God
16:09 instead of seeking our own strength and willpower
16:12 to save us, just in case something happens 16:16 That's right. The real fighting, if
something like 16:21 that happened, if an incident happened
16:23 I believe God would give us the power at that time
16:27 to do what we needed to do 16:28 but the things that we need to deal
with daily 16:31 is the spiritual attacks and assaults
that 16:33 puts on us daily
16:35 and we're totally unprepared 16:37 I mean you're studying for the martial
arts 16:39 and you're real enemy is attacking you
spiritually 16:43 and you're loosing on every battle on
that form, 16:46 but you're preparing for a fight that
may take place? 16:48 Doesn't make sense.
16:51 It's interesting Atonte that one of the other major symbol,
16:54 or the other major symbol of the martial arts
16:56 is the dragon. 16:58 and when we look throughout the bible
17:01 the dragon is always connected to and is personified
17:05 as Satan himself 17:06 so as for a Christian to enlist himself
17:09 under the symbol of the dragon and the Yin-Yang sign
17:13 to me that is just, you know 17:16 God says light and darkness can not
dwell together 17:19 Good or evil can not
17:23 coexist, or in the Christian they should not coexist
17:27 we should separate, light and darkness 17:29 have nothing to do with one another
17:31 and I believe as a Christian we shouldn't actually be involved
17:37 in the martial arts, in the sense that 17:40 internally it is full of spiritualism
17:44 externally, it is the dragon, the force of the dragon
17:48 the dragon is all about force 17:49 the lamb on the other hand, Atonte
17:52 is about gentleness and peace. 17:54 When we are constantly training ourselves
17:59 just in case of a physical conflict 18:02 we are training ourselves in war
18:05 and the bible tells us, that there is another war,
18:08 another conflict, 18:10 that is the conflict that we're supposed
to be fighting 18:13 and like I said at the beginning of
the program 18:15 we have done this series, and we have
been talking about 18:20 the entertainment industry, and the
black hole 18:22 and many of you are probably saying
18:24 Hey, I want to get out, I want to stop doing this
18:27 and I want to stop doing that 18:28 but I don't have the power to do that
18:30 and God is saying trough me, you do have the power.
18:34 Pray, meditate on Me, seek Me, and you will have the power
18:39 to escape and get out. 18:40 Jesus beat Satan on the cross, when
He died 18:45 and God wants to give us that same power,
18:49 that Jesus had, on the cross. 18:51 There is a beautiful verse, Atonte in
the 18:53 Ephesians chapter 6.
18:55 It's just amazing as we look at the context and the content
18:59 of this verse in light of what we are talking about right now
19:03 In Ephesians Chapter 6, Paul says this: 19:08 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord, 19:10 and in the power of his might. Put on
the hole armor of God, 19:14 that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. 19:17 For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, 19:23 the Christians warfare is not against
flesh and blood 19:25 but against principalities, against
powers, 19:29 against the rulers of the darkness of
this world 19:33 against spiritual wickedness in high
places. 19:37 Satan has gotten our young people all
exited 19:40 to go out there and try to learn this
art, the martial arts 19:44 not realizing that it leads into spiritualism
19:48 and instead of getting exited 19:50 about this verse here Ephesians
19:52 our kids should go out and say 19:54 today, Lord I know, it is your wish
Lord 19:59 that I have power over the evil one
in my life today 20:02 and they should be exited about that
20:05 and they should be training for that 20:08 When Paul says here that we wrestle
not 20:11 against flesh and blood
20:13 there is a very interesting history behind this verse
20:18 because in Paul's time, just before Paul's time,
20:20 the Olympic games of that time 20:25 culminated with a particular event called
the pancration 20:30 and the Pankration was a Greek martial
art 20:36 it was a Greek martial art of wrestling
and boxing 20:39 so when Paul says in first Corinthians
9-26 20:42 Not as one, that beats the air,
20:48 there is box, some translations it will say box
20:51 it was this martial art of wrestling and boxing
20:54 and when Paul referred to, he said, we wrestle not
20:57 against flesh and blood 20:58 he was using a martial art to symbolize
21:03 to spiritual fight of faith with another words Paul says listen
21:07 as a Christian we're not engaging 21:12 in a physical wrestling match
21:14 we're not engaging in the physical martial arts
21:17 our fight is something different 21:20 we have got a spiritual enemy to face
21:22 and I believe Atonte, that Paul here is telling us
21:26 I want you to learn how to be a spiritual, not a physical
21:30 a spiritual martial artist. 21:33 A fighter who fights with grace.
21:36 When we look at the martial arts, 21:39 what do we sea? Graceful fighting.
21:41 It's a beautiful art form 21:43 but Paul says, don't get into the physical
thing 21:46 because our fight is spiritual
21:49 and so he says don't box as one who beats the air,
21:53 don't hit aimlessly, I want you to fight gracefully.
21:57 We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
21:59 we're wrestling against supernatural forces
22:02 and Paul here invite us, the word of God invite us
22:05 to learn how to fight just as gracefully as the martial artist
22:10 but in the context of the spiritual realm
22:13 and when we learn this concept, this principle
22:18 and you want to see the world marvel 22:21 after what is going on in your life,
the all say 22:24 how are you able to fight spiritually
like that? 22:28 Why isn't Satan able to get you?
22:31 in the way, as he is getting 22:32 me, or the person over here, or the
person over there 22:35 and that's when you'll be able to share
22:37 the gospel of Jesus Christ with them 22:39 and say, I am getting this power from
Jesus 22:42 and He is empowering me.
22:44 My meditation is not in Chi, it is in Jesus Christ
22:47 my fight is not a physical one it is a spiritual one
22:51 Psalms 18, verse 34, the bible says there
22:54 He teach it, my hands to war, so that a bowl of steel
22:59 is broken by mine arms. 23:01 Are we talking about God is going to
give me 23:04 power to actually break a physical bowl
23:07 No, that is not, what he is saying. 23:09 He is using this in the context of this
spiritual battle. 23:13 God wants to teach our arms, how to
war 23:17 so that when the devil comes, with his
hard blows 23:20 that they will be broken by our arms
23:22 He wants to teach us how to fight 23:25 this good fight of faith.
23:26 There is a beautiful verse, Atonte 23:28 a story, rather, well we can't call
it beautiful 23:31 it is found in Genesis Chapter 4
23:33 the story of Cain and Able 23:35 and God here is coming to Cain, because
Cain at this time 23:40 is angry with his brother,
23:41 and he is on the verge of doing something, 23:43 that is going to ruin his life.
23:45 in Genesis 4, verse 6, the bible says here
23:49 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you angry?
23:52 Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou
23:58 not be accepted? and if thou doest not well,
24:01 sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire
24:07 and thou shalt rule over him. 24:08 What's happening here is, these feelings
of anger 24:12 are bubbling up in Cain,
24:14 and he is angry at his brother Able 24:20 and God has rejected his sacrifice,
and accepted Abel's. 24:24 and so, God come to him and says
24:26 Cain you're wrestling, with feelings 24:29 and I understand this
24:31 But I want you to rule, or to dominate over those feelings.
24:36 It says here, thou shalt rule over him 24:40 The word there Atonte for rule is MASHAL
M A S H A L 24:45 does that word sound familiar?
24:46 The word means to dominate, to rule over
24:50 God is telling Cain here, Cain don't allow sin
24:54 to rule over you, you rule over it, dominate it Cain
25:00 fight against it. 25:01 He is calling Cain here to fight to
good fight of faith. 25:07 He is calling Cain to become a spiritual
martial artist. 25:12 Not against some person, but against
his own fleshly desires. 25:17 And you know what Cain does, Atonte?
25:19 He takes the advice, that God gives him,
25:21 and he turns it physical. 25:24 When God was telling him what to do,
25:28 there was power there, because when God speaks, there's power
25:31 that is why we believe in His word, and claim His word
25:33 and at that point when God said, 25:37 Cain MASHAL sin, dominate it,
25:41 there was power there, and he could have beat it.
25:44 There was power in God's word, and Cain chose to reject that.
25:48 It's interesting Atonte, that in the NIV
25:51 translation of this verse 25:52 it says: sin is crouching at your door
25:55 and I can't help, but think about that 25:58 blockbuster movie, Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon, 26:01 sin is crouching like a crouching tiger
26:04 at the doors of our hearts, 26:07 and we have got to be aware
26:09 that we are in a spiritual battle 26:11 and sin is right there at our door
26:14 crouching, like a crouching tiger, and a hidden dragon.
26:17 God says you can master it, 26:19 if you come to the lam Jesus Christ,
26:23 I will give you the power, to defeat the dragon.
26:27 I will give you the power to fight 26:29 against to forces of sin.
26:32 I will give you the power to wrestle 26:34 against spiritual wickedness in high
paces. 26:37 the devil is following the physical
stiles of fighting 26:42 and God says, I want to draw you to
a higher battle 26:47 a higher fight, and to think that we
can seat 26:50 under the feat of the grand master Jesus
Christ. 26:54 The master of the fight of faith, and
learn from Him. 26:58 What greater honor?
27:04 It's so neat, that Jesus symbol is a lamb, and
27:09 and Satan's symbol is a dragon 27:11 and normally a dragon should be able
to beat a lamb 27:14 but Jesus has supernatural power
27:18 with Jesus, acting and living as a lamb, 27:21 we can beat the dragon.
27:23 We can beat the dragon and all his forces 27:25 his music, his movies, his entertainment,
all those things 27:28 Jesus says: in the lamb
27:31 when you follow the lamb, 27:34 He will give you that power to overcome
27:37 all the assaults of the enemy. 27:40 I encourage our listeners out there
27:44 to enroll in the school of Christ. 27:48 He is the man of war, the bible says
27:51 not a physical war, but a spiritual war
27:54 and when we seat under His feat when we learn from Him
27:58 the devil tumbles. 28:01 Jesus wants you to have that power
28:02 and we pray that you receive that power 28:05 We're all out of time, until next time
28:09 God Bless