Put On The Right Armor (pt. 1 w/Mark Philips) <br> <br> <br>The spiritual world is real and powerful both good and evil; I’m Charles Morris and welcome to Haven Today where in the next few minutes we will be joined by a pastor who will share not only his horror story of living in the dark world of the New Age occult but also the freedom of bondage when we meet Jesus Christ. You are not going to want to miss the next few minutes on a program called Put On The Right Armor: <br> <br>Song: Coming Home <br> <br>We are worshiping the Lord here on Haven Today and I’m Charles Morris coming to you from Colorado Springs and KGFT radio. Before we start this program and I introduce our guest today for you I want to read a passage of scripture that I think is very important for you to have on your mind; Ephesians 6-13:17, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand; your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes form the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” With the word of God in mind, sitting across the microphone from me here in a studio in Colorado Springs is a local pastor Mark Philips. He won a national look-a-like contest. Mark has anyone said that you look like someone in Hollywood? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Yes Steve Martin himself said so because he was one of the judges when I won the national contest so, yes, a few have. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>I think you were on The Johnny Carson Show weren’t you? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Yes I was on the Johnny Carson Show with Steve, I went on the Billy Crystal HBO Special with Robin Williams when he use to do Mork and Mindy and I sat with George Carlin once for three hours when his wife was producing an HBO special; I had a five minute skit and spent the rest of the day with George so it was an interesting time. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>It certainly was and now you are in the Rocky Mountains and a pastor in Colorado Springs in the Broadmoor area and Mark I just want to welcome you as our special guest today. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Charles, it is great to be here it really is. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>Well I wanted to have you on because a lot of people all over the world think of Colorado Springs as the home of Focus on the Family and it is; there a lot of Christian ministries headquartered here. It’s also a place where things go on that people don’t know so much about it is a center of New Age activity and has been even before Christian ministries started moving here yet you are pastoring here and I wanted to have you on to tell us just a little bit about your history where you came from and the Lord just found you and picked you up. Tell us your story Mark: <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Well Colorado Springs really is an interesting place. There are quite a fascinating spiritual polarity here and I was not aware of the when I ended up here. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>It’s By-Polar in a sense. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>It’s very By-Polar and it can be manic and it can be depressive because there are powerful powerful spiritual realities with Colorado Springs. There a lot of ministries here and some very strong churches here but you also do have a lot of the New Age and Post Modern Spirituality and Wicken Arts and what people might call the Occult; you have a lot of that kind of activity here as well. It seemed really obvious when I discovered that why the Lord had brought me here; because of my past being involved with the New Age movement what now has come to be called Post Modern Spirituality, the Wiccan Arts, the Magical Light Arts, I was a member of the Rosicrucian Order, Estara, Eckencar, a member of Paramahansa Yogananda a self realization fellowship so I had a whole lot of food stuffs that are really counterfeit truths and so I really like the title of this program Put On The Right Armor Of God. People that are involved in these things are not bad people, they not mean people, and they are just deceived by the ultimate counterfeit. II Corinthians 11:14 refers to Satan as one who can appear as an angel of light; light of course is symbolic of truth, symbolic of righteousness, symbolic of goodness. He does appear that way. The enemy doesn’t come along with green drool coming out of his mouth saying, “Hello I’m the enemy of the living God, and I’m here to destroy your soul. Follow me.” <br> <br>(Charles) <br>He is a little more subtle than that. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Right, other than a few metal band members not many are going to follow that guy. So he appears as the angel of light and I was one who was seduced like millions perhaps billions are today so I am glad you are sharing this message. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>Mark before you ever got into the New Age movement did you ever have a more historic faith background as a child or a teenager growing up? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Yes I did. I am actually now one of a multiple generations of pastors. My grandfather was the last pastor; he had two daughters so they skipped a generation. I come from a long line of pastors all the way back through my German heritage in Lutheran ministry. My grandfather moved here from Germany when he was a teenager to America and he became a Methodist minister because they were involved in the Women’s Suffrage Movement due to Galatians; he very much believed in it. I was raised in the Methodist church but I didn’t really develop as a child a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe and I found my self empty. Maybe there are a lot of people being raised in the church out there who are listening who find themselves empty and they are drawn to some of the food stuffs of the New Age…. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>If there is a void, the void will be filled. There is a void, we all have one spiritually. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>It will indeed. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>So you got to in to college age or something and then started dipping into the other side? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>It really started my junior/senior year in high school. I really began to get interested in this stuff. I was always interested in science and was buying into the scientific line of atheism, organic evolution, and organic origins outside of the spirit. That left me empty and I had kind of abandoned Christianity when I went this atheistic route and so I began to fill it first with agnosticism and then the quote unquote spiritual realm. I was drawn into the power, I was drawn into what I thought was the realness of spirituality. I got into Yoga and the Martial Arts and different New Age organizations because they seemed to be blending science and spirituality which is something I was not getting from church. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>Christianity was not doing that for you. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>It was not. So I got more and more drawn into that and as I began to develop my skills and techniques in the Martial Arts and Astroprojection which is basically out-of-body experiences. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>Dare I ask you another question about that but I’m going to go ahead and ask it; how weird did it get? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Well it got weird. Not as weird as other extremes I’ve heard of but my soul quest remained in my mind very idealic and very idealistic and it really was to attain what New Ager’s call cosmic consciousness – Christ consciousness – a more eastern term would be Nirvana what the Scientologist call ‘going clear.’ It is really seeking to attain perfection. If you go back to the original lie back in the garden in Genesis 3 you will find the original lie is ‘disobey’ which means do your own thing because you are a mini god. If you disobey and eat of this forbidden fruit is which is representative of knowledge – elitist knowledge - you will attain enlightenment; you will be like a god. And so I was on the quest to become a mini god to become perfect – nirvana – Christ consciousness - going clear – a cosmic consciousness. I was on that quest. I had bought into the original lie. I had bought into the original counterfeit message that in order to be godly you must become a god; very subtle and a very convincing counterfeit. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>Well it is and you were on your way to become a bio-chemist, studying at Oxford, University of England, you had an analytical brain and yet you were buying into a lie; a spiritual lie. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Right. It’s interesting because most people that are in post-modern-spirituality, with the New Age, the occult, they are going to be doing more than one thing. They may be a Buddhist but they are also studying Rosicrucianism or something. They usually have more than one thing going and the reason why is they are still hungry and so you are convinced that when you are in that mind-set that if you put the right food-stuffs together, the right Martial Arts, Yoga, meditation, studying, if you put the right food-stuffs together you will be on the proper path to your godhood. I was following along those lines. After graduating with my bachelors I went to Vanderbilt that’s where I was a bio-chemist but after many years of being involved in this as those who are in the truth know I was still empty. It wasn’t satisfying. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>This is Haven Today and we are here today with Mark Philips and we are broadcasting from Colorado Springs and I’m Charles Morris. Mark has a book that he has written with his experience Secrets and Lies; my journey to enlightenment. We will tell you about that book and how you can get a copy of it in just a little bit. <br> <br>Mark, you broke through though and Satan is real; demonic forces are there. We may not talk about them much especially in North America where most people hear this program but you really believe that Satan is real and capture someone’s heart. <br> <br>(Mark) <br>I know he is because I have personal experience. I have supped with him, I have dined with him, I have slept with him and I have been in his military camps. I know his lying techniques, his deceiving lines, I have lived them and believed them and I was an evangelist for this garbage, an evangelist for this stuff. If there are people out there listening to this I’m not judging your heart or your sincerity at all because I was there and I know there are many people who are involved in witchcraft and the occult and all kinds of metaphysical sciences who are truly convinced that Christians are ignorant of the big picture and that Christians are ignorant of what it’s really all about that Christianity is just another symbolic faith of the metaphysical truth of the universe. I have been there and I know that the sincerity of these people and I was graced by God who broke into my ignorance and my pride and he started bringing other scientist into my life who were Christians and by showing me the evidence and my approaching my analytical mind first I end up coming in the back door of Christianity. I really had an intellectual convict long before it went to my heart; for many people it was the other way around. I was convinced through the scientific and historical and textual and literary evidence of Christianity probably a year before my pride was broken and I was on my knees. I set out to disprove the bible and I set out to disprove the theology of the cross and I ended up at the foot of it. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>You found faith. Mark I would like you to come back on the program again tomorrow – would you do that as well? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>You bet. <br> <br>(Charles) <br>I know that there are people who have kids that have gotten into the New Age movement and I was talking to a father a couple of days ago about this and a father and mother a couple of days before that. Before we go would you lead us in prayer that the bonds of Satan would be broken? <br> <br>(Mark) <br>Yes you bet. <br>Lord God I thank you first of all that you delivered me from the ignorance and the pride of believing I could be a mini god and spiritually evolve to this place of perfection. I thank you that you showed me that place of perfection is only found at the cross and I am going to heaven for all eternity because of the work there not because of my own works. I thank you for that and I thank you I can share that with everyone listening. Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus we would ask you to break all of the bonds of the illusion of the counterfeit all the counterfeits of the enemy be they witchcraft, or the occult or any kind of metaphysical New Age science Lord, break those counterfeits in the name of Jesus. Let people realize that you sent your Son for them to live a perfect life to die on the cross to pay their way into eternal heaven and into a relationship with you and that he resurrected from the dead on that third day conquering death hell and the grave for us. Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus we just pray this message of truth cuts through to their heart and that stirring their feeling right now that they would know that is it you loving them and reaching out to them in Jesus name. Amen. <br> <br>Song: Psalm 23 <br>Sung by: Marty Goetz <br> <br>I can’t think of a better way to end a program on spiritual warfare than Marty Goetz the Nashville Jewish musician singing from his album The Love Of God and that was of course the 23rd Psalm. I pray that the Lord is your shepherd today. Marty’s CD is there at haventoday.org and its scripture songs from start to finish and it will be a blessing to you. Mark Philips I must add was a rich blessing and I know he will be a blessing to you again tomorrow. Now you may have come in on this radio broadcast and yes it is a Christian program and this is an issue that we don’t talk about most of the time but it is a very important issue. Maybe you have been immersed yourself in the New Age movement. Maybe you have had some of the experiences that Mark Philips talked about. If you are lacking hope and you don’t really have peace and you find yourself in the same situation that Mark was in - may I offer you Jesus Christ. We have a book that Mark has written called Secrets and Lies; my journey to enlightenment – which tells not only his story of the metaphysical and the New Age movement but also how Jesus Christ came into his life in a very very bold way and that can happen to you too. If you get the book from us we would also like for you to have the two interview programs on CD with Mark Philips. <br> <br>Now let’s say that you are already a believer in Jesus Christ the spirit of the Lord dwells in you not the spirit of this world but you know someone that has dipped deeply into the New Age world the world of the occult. This book by Mark Philips would be a powerful tool but I have to warn you don’t just get into the first few chapters and stop there you need to read all the way to where Jesus Christ broke into his life and he found freedom and peace and joy. <br> <br>You can go to haventoday.org and order Secrets and Lies and we ask for a gift to support this ministry and we will get it out to you right away. You can call us at 1-800-65-HAVEN, that’s 1-800-654-2836 or you can write to us if you prefer at Haven Today, P.O. Box 79997, Riverside, CA 92513 and in Canada at Haven Today, Box 6800, Vancouver, BC V6B 4C9. <br> <br>I’m Charles and I want to invite you to join me again tomorrow with Mark Philips when again we will be talking about finding Christ is a world of darkness here on Haven Today. <br>
