Renouncing a Greek Sorority - AKA & Idolatry

Blessings to Israel presents Discerning the Times, a program committed to encouraging you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's program. Welcome to Discerning the Times.

My name is Brian Thomas. Always a blessing to be with you. I'm very excited today about my guests as we're going to talk about renouncing Greek sororities and fraternities, for that matter. But before I bring in my guests, I want to remind you, as we always do, that your eternal state is far more important than your current state. And that means if you have never received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, your eternal destiny is the lake of fire. And it is my desire and it is the Lord's desire that none should perish. And so I urge you, I plead with you to give your heart to Jesus Christ.

If you have never received him, confess your sins and profess him as Lord and Savior and you too can inherit eternal life. All right. So today we're going to again discuss the topic of renouncing a Greek sorority. I'm very excited to have my special guest. Christine McCray is here to give her testimony. And I came across her a few weeks ago and I immediately felt the pulling of the Holy Spirit to say, get her on and let's share her testimony with our audience. So, Christine, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to speak with us today. Yes, of course, of course. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. It is truly a blessing and my pleasure to have you.

So a little bit for our audience. Christine McCray is a member of Kingdom Oak Ministries, which is a faith based non-denominational nonprofit ministry established in 2020, founded on the scriptures of Isaiah 61 verses one through four. Their purpose is to proclaim healing, deliverance and freedom through dissemination of God's word, operation of God's works and demonstration of God's love. Their mission is to preach repentance and salvation, teach relationship and discipleship and service through healing and deliverance. So, again, we're here to talk about the topic of sororities and fraternities. And specifically, as my sister is here, she's going to give her testimony of her experience in what she chose to do in renouncing a Greek sorority.

And I began about a little over a month ago. We began this series in which I had a pastor on who had written a book titled Should Christians Pledge Fraternities and Sororities? And he spoke such great truths. It was such a blessing to have him.

And we've we've gotten such great response from the audience on that. But I know that there are some out there because of the fact that the pastor mentioned he never pledged a fraternity. So he's never been in one. There are some that are going to say, well, what does he know?

He's never been in it is like some people today. They have this thing of, well, if you were not a murderer, you can't say murder is wrong. Or if you were not a prostitute, you can't say prostitution is wrong.

And we know that is ludicrous, of course, because God's truth is God's truth. It doesn't mean you had to experience something. But I still thought it would be a good idea for the sake of the naysayers to say, well, I want to hear from somebody who's actually been through it.

And so, again, that is why my sister Christine is here to discuss her experience with the Greek sorority. So, Christine, to get us started, I want to talk about the fact that a lot of people look at things and they say, well, if they're doing good things, that mean it must be right. But because people or organizations, even churches do good things, does that mean they are truly rooted in God? Right.

And that is a really good question because I think we use the word good so loosely in society today. Right. But if we look at scripture, which should be our foundation, everything from our day to day, big things, little things. If we look at scripture, right, in Matthew 19, and I believe it was around verse 16, 15, 16, you know, there was a man, there was a rich man that came up to Jesus and he said to Jesus, he said, teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life? Right. And so Jesus asked them and he said, why do you ask me about what is good?

You know, he said there's only one who is good. And if you want to enter life, keep the commandments. Right. So they continue on with that conversation.

But in other words, to share that scripture and what I'm saying is that we have to take things back to the root and the word of God. You know, there's so many things we call good. Right. We have many rich and famous that we see today, you know, who donate tons and tons of money. You know, they give back to the community. Right.

And then things get exposed and we find out, OK, that person is a pedophile. Or that person was engaged in all of these ludicrous things that we think just because they were doing something good, that that means that at the root of them is good. Right. God will use anything to bless his people. Right. So that means even in using some of the evil or save the money to the world, it all belongs to God anyway.

Right. But he can use anything to bless his people. Just because he might send a blessing through an organization or through a person or through a church. You know, like you mentioned, it doesn't make that organization or that church or that person in itself good. It is only God who is good. So that that would be my response to that question. We say good so loosely nowadays, but we have to remember how God defines it and that's how we should define it as well.

Yeah, that's that's very well said. It made me think about you often hear today when someone asks a person who who's not yet born again in Christ. And you say, well, are you going to heaven when you die? And they say, yes, I think so. And they'll then often say, when you ask why they say, well, I'm a good person, but we know that that our good is not good enough.

Compared to a holy God, the Almighty God, he said in his word that the best we could do is ask filthy rags before him. And so, yeah, we have to keep that in mind. So that that was very well said.

Thank you so much. Now, let's let's talk about why Christians, when we look at this topic of fraternities and sororities, why it is that Christians really should not fit in the world. And because there are some I think I think a problem that we have today with the church is that a lot want to be received by the world.

They want to be bosom buddies with the world, so to speak, and they want to fit in with the world. But if we look at the Bible, we really should not expect to be received. We should not fit in. We should expect to be persecuted and we should expect to be hated and viewed as weird. So what are your thoughts?

Absolutely, I agree with all that you just stated. You know, I think that the world that we live in, it trains us to want to be accepted. You know, we have that need to fit in and to be right. And so it can be really difficult when we make that choice to turn away from the world and we make that choice to follow Christ. And then we see things change. We see people fall away. You know, we see people look at us differently. We may even feel some rejection. But the Bible clearly tells us that as followers of Christ, that we should be set apart.

Right. We are called to be set apart. You know, where the Bible says, Be ye holy because I am holy. The word holy means set apart. It means consecrated.

It means set aside. So just as Jesus was rejected, if we're following him, we have to expect that people are not going to always receive us well. They're not always going to believe us.

Right. You know, Jesus was the Messiah and they didn't receive him well. They didn't believe him.

So what more can we expect? He didn't look like what they thought a messiah should look like. He didn't act like.

He didn't come from where they thought he should come from. Right. So they got caught up more so on how the man looked, you know, the outdoor appearance and there the box that they created in their mind of what the messiah should be, what he should look like. But if Jesus got caught up on what they thought, he would have never fulfilled the purpose that he was called to. And so we have to remember that too, you know, that we are called for a purpose. And just as Romans 12, it tells us about not conforming to the patterns of the world. Right. But we have to be transformed by being renewed in our minds. Right.

So we can know what is God's will for our life. And so, like I said, I wholeheartedly agree with that. We're not called to fit in yet hurt. Yeah.

You know, it doesn't feel good to feel rejected. But, you know, we have a higher purpose. We have to focus our mind on things above, you know, just as the word tells us.

Yeah. And this is one of my really pet peeves today in churches, because you don't hear a lot of sermons from pulpits today that talk about embrace being persecuted. Embracing not fitting in embrace the suffering because it's not popular and it doesn't feel good in our flesh. But Jesus did say in Matthew Chapter five, he said, blessed are they. When he was speaking of the Beatitudes, he said, well, when they persecute you for righteousness sake, he said, be be blessed. You are blessed by that because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Yours is the kingdom of heaven when you are persecuted for righteousness sake. And so we should be exceedingly glad, as the Bible tells us, and is one of those things. And to our audience, they with us, we're building up.

I know you want us to get into the real nitty gritty of the sorority life and we're going to get to that. But we're just trying to lead up to to to have in the mind of a believer in Christ and what we should be thinking and how we should approach when it comes to things that are of the world. So we want to talk about the fact that we should not expect to fit in and not try to fit in with the things of the world.

I also like and you had a testimony, your testimony, you posted to YouTube, which is where I discovered you. And in the description, you made the statement of put your feelings aside the world's version of right aside culture aside, even what your pastor said in anything that you've been taught rooted in man's religion or tradition. And I love that statement because it talks about how feelings and emotions can be our guide if we're not careful. Why is that dangerous to let feelings and emotions be our guide?

Right, right. Yeah, it's dangerous when you put our feelings on a pedestal or on an altar, you know, and that goes above following God above us. Speaking Holy Spirit for what we should do, you know, we find ourselves. Oh, I don't feel this way. So I'm going to move this way.

You know, I don't think this. So I'm going to move that way. Right. And so what then ends up happening is our feelings. Right.

Become our idol. Right. And so we know, you know, God talks about casting down, you know, every thought, every imagination that exalts itself again. Right. The truth against the word of God. So when our feelings don't align with the word of God, it needs to be cast down.

Right. When what we think doesn't align, we have to put on the mind of Christ. So we have to submit all of those things to God because it so easily happens in this world today, especially where we have a lot of things being portrayed in the news and different things. And if we're not careful, fear will become the idol of our lives. And so now we're moving according to the news says this.

The news says that. So it's fear that's orchestrating whether we do something or don't do something rather than the Holy Spirit who says, hey, I will teach you and guide you into all truth. Right. And so we know if God calls us to something, he's going to protect. He's going to protect us. He's going to give us provision. He's going to give us everything we need. So we have to make sure, just as a word, that we seek Him first, not our feelings first.

Right. The Bible also talks about let God be true in every minute. You know, everything that goes against what God's word is, that is a lie. Whether it's your feelings, whether it's what your mama said, God's word has to be first and foremost. Above our emotions, as real as it seems, we know our emotions change constantly. And so we can't depend on our emotions.

We can't be blown with every wind, you know, that comes because of the emotions that we, you know, end up making idols sometimes unknowingly, many of the times unknowingly. Yeah. And, you know, the world says follow your heart, follow your heart's desires. But what does the scripture say about your heart? Right.

Right. Well, we know the Bible says, no, that is not our guide because the heart can be very deceptive. And so you're you're so right.

And you hit the nail square on the head when you talk about things like in the news and the media, the way today they just really manipulate people by emotions and feelings. And that come that has become the guide for so many people or as people say, my truth. But we know there's only one truth. The truth is the word of God. Jesus Christ said he is the truth, the way and the only way.

And so that is what should be our guide. What the Bible says, folks, is not about what makes us feel good. If you walk with Christ, Jesus said you have to do what? Deny yourself, take up the cross and follow him. So when I deny myself, you know, Christine, when I'm craving some chocolate chip cookies at midnight and I know I shouldn't be eating that, I have to deny that doesn't feel good to do it.

But I know it's for the good in the long run. And so people, we can't be guided by our cravings and our feelings and our emotions. We have to be guided by the word of God.

And so I love the way you you so rightly lay that out into the audience. I want to also share First Corinthians Chapter two, verse 14, which says, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And that is exactly what we're talking about today, using the Bible and following God to be able to spiritually discern. And it is the Holy Spirit that gives us that ability to spiritually discern things.

And that's exactly what's needed when it comes to Greek life. So so let's dive a bit deeper into your testimony. I want you to share with us. What year did you pledge and what would you like to share about your experience?

Yeah, absolutely. So I pledge it was the spring of 2008. It was my junior year of undergrad. And so I can't say, you know, I've heard some testimonies where people have talked about being hazed and just going through the horrific experiences, which is even, you know, another confirmation of why we aren't to attach ourselves to these type of things.

Just on the, you know, us being that, OK, they do some good. But my process, you know, wasn't anything like that. I didn't go through any paving. It wasn't anything that I suffered in in that way. I can just say that even in going through the process of the rituals and all of that, that it just didn't settle.

But at that time, you know, I just kind of ignored it and thought, OK, it's just me, you know, because this is a new this is different, you know. And also, we have some people who might say, well, I've always wanted to pledge because my mother did it. My grandmother did.

You know, I don't have one of those either. But I can say that, yes, there were quite a few friends and family members at the time who were part of Greek, you know. And so that did inspire me to want to do it as well.

And then just as I mentioned before, you know, the wanting to fit in, you know, you're in college and, you know, everybody's either athlete or they are part of some Greek fraternity or sorority or some type of club or organization. So it was something that was desirable. Right.

How the Bible talks about in the beginning, Eve looked at the fruit and she kind of studied it after faith whispered in her ear. OK, well, you know, it is desirable. Right.

So that that would have been what led me to actually go through the process because others were doing it. Honestly, it was cool. It was popular. And that was it. Yeah, I'll tell you that. You're right. That that feeling to belong.

I mean, it is it is strong. And especially when you go off to college, a lot of people, they're away from home and they're around new people. So you're really trying to fit in and you want to belong. You don't want to be by yourself.

And being alone is not it's not fun for for most people. And I know for myself, when I went to college, the group of guys that I befriended my first year, they all ended up pledging. And I did not because like you, I felt in my spirit, even though I really didn't know anything about fraternities and sororities at the time, but it just didn't feel right to me. And so I didn't pledge. And it turned out to where the majority of the things that they did, I was not included in because I was not a part of the fraternity. So it meant I spent a lot of my weekends alone watching basketball and, you know, reading, reading my Bible and everything. And so, you know, but that's not easy for a lot of people to do. But we want to encourage you out there that Jesus Christ will walk with you, though, if you will make that decision, if you will make that stand.

And then also, Christine. So at this time, when you decided to pledge, were you a Christian at that point? So I consider myself a Christian. You know, we put that label there, you know, because I grew up in the church.

Right. Because mom raised me in the church, took me to church many times when I didn't even want to go, you know, just honestly speaking growing up. But, you know, now that I know what I know now, I absolutely was not a Christian. I was not wholeheartedly committed to Christ. You know, I had I had not been following the leading of Holy Spirit. A lot of times we talk about being a Christian or saying we love God, but God's word says that you love him, we obey him. So I couldn't truly say that I was a Christian, that I was a true follower of God because I knew of him. But I didn't know him personally. Personally, like he calls us. We say that we love him.

Yeah, that's all right. There are a lot of people that, yeah, you walk the aisle and you go forward at a young age oftentimes. But as you said, really, the litmus test is Jesus said, if you love me, you keep my commandments. And it's not that, of course, that means you're going to be perfect. We know that even still we may stumble at times. But when you truly are born again, you should be grieved over sin and wrongdoing. And you should always strive and desire to want to please the Lord.

And so that is a good litmus test. So when did you become born again in Christ? Right. So I did not fully give my life to Christ until 2020. You know, the pandemic came around that time. And so many of us were, you know, stuck at home or having to work from home or whatever. Maybe that was the case for me. And so it really wasn't until that time where, like, I was forced to shut down all of the distractions, really, to where God could get me, where he finally, I don't even want to say he finally started speaking to me, but that I finally started to listen during that time. And so it was then that, you know, I just began to seek God and we know that he places that desire even in us.

So we can't give any credit to ourselves to say, well, I did this or it's even with him drawing us for us to have that desire to speak. But in that time, just just at home, honestly, just in my closet, I just found myself praying and reading the Bible and just like having this hunger, this desire for more. And so that was when I truly gave my life to Christ.

And then, of course, I got that time shortly after that. But yeah, I would say 2020 is when I really became a follower of Christ, a true believer. OK, so timeline wise, 2008, when you pledged in 2020, so we're looking at 12 years later when you really dedicated your life to Christ. So what was it at that point?

I mean, is it is it one thing you can point to in particular that you can say, OK, this is the thing that caused me to renounce or was it just simply because of giving your life to Christ and he just guided you on that? This is not something that you should be a part of. Right.

So let's see. I pledged initially, like I said, in 2008, graduated college in 2009. And so I will say during that process, the chapter that I was a part of was suspended.

Right. So we didn't have I didn't have any opportunity to really engage in any of the sorority activities, which I look at it now and I'm thankful for it. But usually what happens is once you leave, once you graduate undergrad, you join a local chapter or a graduate chapter after graduating college. I never did that. You know, I would always say, OK, well, once I get the time, you know, I do that. Once I get the money, I'll do that.

You know, you have to pay dues and it is not a low price. And so it was something I kept putting off. So it wasn't a priority at the time. You know, I just wasn't focused on really continuing or focusing on the sorority at that time. But once I began to come close to the price and during that time in 2020, you know, with all the extra time, I found myself just being there to just address certain things. And this was one of the things that, you know, God led me. I ended up like just going through the ritual books, the sorority books, you know, all the things that I got during that process. And I found myself like reading it during that time in 2020. And I just felt so convicted, you know.

And it just seems that it was almost like someone was putting a highlighter over certain things in the book. And so that led me to getting rid of myself and praying and renouncing before God and like truly asking Him, you know, telling Him that I want to be removed from anything that would hinder me and my walk with Him. So for people out there that are listening to audience, if there are any of you that are still kind of resistant, maybe you are in the sorority and fraternity and you say, well, I'm hearing what you all are saying, but I'm still trying to find something that really tells me that we should not, as believers in Christ, be a part of this. So that's what we're going to really get into now is to share with you how the Bible clearly lays out that this is not something that we should be involved in. Because, Christine, again, I was not a part of a fraternity.

I never went through the process of pledging or anything. But it's my understanding that there are there's a lot of secrecy that is entrenched within these rituals and pledges. Correct.

Absolutely. OK. All right. And and you stated in your testimony, you speak about the fact that where God is mentioned in these ritual books, these pledge and oath books, that that's not really him, that God showed you that he shared that with you. And you made the statement in places where the word of God is used. It is used as a label or sticker so that these things pass as, quote, godly, unquote, when in reality, the God and you put little g being referred to in these oaths, handbooks, really referred to the false deities that are at the foundation of these organizations.

So speak to that for us, please. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, there are places, you know, where scripture might be thrown in, you know, and what we are reciting in our engaging in the pledging process. But then at the same time, you recite a scripture. But then in the next moment, you know, you're saying, I'm pledging my heart, my mind and my soul to, you know, the sorority that I was a part of was Alpha Kappa Alpha, a.k.a. Sorority. And so you find yourself in one sense saying, you know, a scripture, you know, like I shared.

But then in the next you're saying, I'm pledging my heart, my mind and my soul to guide Alpha Kappa Alpha. So which is it, you see? And so a lot of times things like that, we just see that we say, OK, it's God. But we have to look at what's being said here.

I'll give another example. You know, if there is a part where the scripture from the Book of Ruth is quoted and I can't remember the exact verse, but it's where she said, your God will be my God and I'll go where you go. OK, so if I'm reciting this right during this process, well, who is your God? So what if your God is not the God that I serve?

Right. You know, and yet I'm pledging myself, I'm coming in covenant because I'm reciting that my God is your God. So we just say that and we say, oh, it's from the Bible. But as I began to read over those things, like I said, it's almost as if like God placed, it was like a highlighter over certain things that he just had me like read out loud.

And, you know, I felt so convicted in saying some of those things. We can't recite, you know, that we're pledging our heart and our mind to an organization, you know, to something where we know clearly that the Bible tells us, right, that we are to love him with all of our heart and our soul. Right.

Our mind, our everything. So just as the Bible says, you know, you can't serve two gods. Right. You have to love one and you'll hate the other.

Like, it's impossible. It's idolatry. Right.

At the end of the day. And so you can't pledge your heart to an organization. It sounds good to say, yes, I pledge to sisterhood and yes, I pledge to all of this. But go back to the Bible. Does the Bible tell us about pledging to a sisterhood? We can have a sisterhood in Christ and still do good things and do godly things.

Right. But he also says, let our yes be yes and let our no be no. He says that we are not to take any pledges or any oath. So again, you know, we are reciting all of these things where we are reverencing, AKA when it should be us reverencing God. But we think it's OK because there are some scriptures thrown in. And so we are promoting the organization.

We're not promoting God. Right. And so we have to take all of these things back to God before we make these decisions, because we go with what sounds good and what, you know, looks right and what the majority is doing. Right. Because the Bible says that there's a way that seems right. But we know that that road leads to destruction.

So just because everybody else is doing it, just because it's cool, just because it's popular and all those things, you know, we will be going to the same place that all of those popular people are going. And we don't seek God for ourselves. Mm hmm.

Yeah. And that that's, you know, to our audience really pay attention to to what my sister here is saying, because God is the one who died for our sins. He's the one that sacrificed himself by way of God, the son, Jesus Christ. And that is who, again, as you said, we are to make an oath to.

He is our supreme creator. There is no one or nothing within fraternities or sororities or any other walks of life that died for our sins. And so we should not be pledging and making oaths to them. And we're not just picking on sororities and fraternities. We're just speaking truth.

But this is in many areas of life. We're going to do some future series on the masons and the eastern stars. And there's so many secret societies out there. And one of the things I mentioned a little while ago about the secrecy, there should be a telltale sign is because if this is OK, then why is it such a secret? Whereas when it comes to Christianity, the Bible is an open book for anyone. Everybody knows what's written in the Bible, but only people who have made an oath or pledge to this particular organization, this sorority or fraternity, is able to to be allowed to read and to know what's in the book.

So that should really be a telltale sign for anyone who may be on the fence. Now, you also you speak about the deities also talk to us about Diana. Yeah. So I remember around 2020, 2021, I was talking to one of my friends in Christ. And so I was just telling her, you know, just about this whole experience and how God was convicting me that that just me renouncing, you know, in the privacy, you know, in that quiet time, you know, that I would have to do more. And so as she was we were just talking and I was just saying, you know, I wanted more understanding. I was just because I wanted to be able to if someone was to come up to me and say why I didn't have the full understanding at that time, you know, but I wanted more. The Bible tells about getting understanding, all that I didn't get understanding, you know, so I was telling her, you know, about my feet to get more understanding, to want to be able to clearly explain this to someone who just really, totally doesn't know, just doesn't have that understanding. And so she was just giving me some encouragement and biblically based encouragement. It was like in our conversation, it just like like God just opened my eyes to the exact scriptures.

And so I said, wait a minute, I have to go to this with me, you know, so we had that conversation to start to go over it. And so the Diana that we know of that is referenced in the Book of Ephesians, right? Where we have, you know, all of these people that were coming up against, I believe it was Paul, if I'm not mistaken, at that time, you know, because they were saying, hey, you know, you guys are not supposed to be worshipping this idol. And so there was the what do they call them, the blacksmith, I believe that that made the statue.

So there was a big uprising because they became angry because they were leading the people to renounce their attachment to this deity, this Diana of the Ephesians. And so God began to kind of open my eyes from there, you know, and just tie it into how it is not that specific name really, but it's a spirit. And so just as we know, there's so many things that are of the same spirit, you know, all of these like Greek deities and all those things. Yes, they have different names and they say, oh, this one is the one we worship for the sun and it's the one we worship for fertility and all these different things.

The names are different and we give them all the all these different characteristics. Right. But it's of the same spirit. It all comes from Satan. And so that was just one of the things that he was pointing out to me. That is where, you know, some of these Greek organizations are founded on the same spirit, the same deities. But we just give them different names. And that's how Satan, as he always poses as an angel of light, we see the good and we don't understand the foundation of things.

Yeah. And for the audience, I want to read this passage because I want you to see what she's talking about here. The fact that the same spirit that you're saying that's behind these idol gods that are mentioned in the Bible that created or calls the people to riot, as you say it in the Book of Acts, these same spirits are now the what's behind these sororities and fraternities. So when you're you're pledging to these things, you're pledging and making allegiance to the same false gods that the Bible speaks of. So as you said, it was when Paul was evangelizing in Ephesus in Acts Chapter 19. I want to read verses 24 through 29.

So if you all can bear with me, but I just want our listeners to be able to to see this for yourself. It says beginning in verse 24 for a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana brought no small profit to the craftsman. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation and said, Me and you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed whom all Asia and the world worship. Now, when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying greatest Diana of the Ephesians. So the whole city was filled with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord.

And it goes on to talk about this, this riot. And again, as you said, Christine, this is what is behind this sorority. The same evil spirit that Paul was telling them to turn from. And the people were upset because the fact that Paul was speaking against it and it was hurting their income.

It was what they were doing as a way of making money. And Paul says, no, that's that's not a god. And so the thing the same thing that caused these people to riot is the same spirit that is behind a sorority that we are pledging to.

And there again, other deities that are behind the other fraternities and sororities. And and we'll we're not going to go through all of those, but just understand, folks, that this is biblical. The Bible is alive and we see the same tricks that the devil was using then. He's still using now. And let me just share one last part to to close this out in Acts 19 verse.

Let's see. Thirty five. I'm going to go to verse thirty four. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours. Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great goddess Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus? So, folks, that is in the Bible. And again, if you are a believer in Christ, there is no way you should be wanting to make an allegiance or an oath to this this spirit. And for that matter is for anyone. But, you know, we're really trying to get Christians to understand why we should come out from these things.

But it is our desire that nobody in the world makes a pledge or allegiance to this. So do you have I want to also have you speak about you mentioned Jezebel and Ishtar as well. But before we go to those, do you have anything more to speak on Diana? Right. And I guess it'll kind of go into that as well as we talk about Ishtar. But just to share a little bit about, you know, Diana, this was a deity or goddess that they serve that was said to live in nature.

Right. They said that she was everywhere where life was. And they called her the mother of all living things. What does that make us think of when we have people who we talk about worshiping mother nature?

That's where that comes from. And we go into, you know, Diana, that was the name, you know, in that particular culture and area. But as we look into other cultures, the spirit is the same, but the name, you know, so she was considered Ishtar to the Assyrian. Right. So, again, same spirit, different name.

Right. And so I just wanted to share that because if we look for these things, we will certainly find it. And it's not looking as in, you know, we're looking just to because we're looking for a reason, you know.

No, it's God-lit, it's spirit-lit. You know, believe me, when I say I try to not know, you know, I try to say, well, no, you know, it took me a while. You know, it took me a while to come to the point where I am now, where I can, you know, clearly and boldly say, like, no, this is wrong. Like, no, on all levels, you know, and I'm going to continue to boldly say that. Why?

Not because, you know, I have a vendetta against sororities or fraternities. No, but because Holy Spirit says so. Right. And so just as I mentioned earlier, you know, we have to let God's word be true and everything else that exalts itself up against that, everything that goes in opposition to that is a lie. It's not true, no matter how good it sounds, no matter if it has, you know, a little bit of a lie and some truth in it. You know, it's a lie.

It's deceptive. And so, you know, I just wanted to share that little bit that we truly want to know if we truly go before God, he will reveal these things to us. He will point us in the direction so that we can get that understanding and get that knowledge. And share with us also, if you will, about Ishtar and the Statue of Liberty, what that that connection is. Yeah, so. So as I mentioned, in that culture, she was considered Diana. Diana is the Roman name for that.

Right. In the land of the Assyrians, she was considered Ishtar. Even in, what was it, the, when we talk about, you know, in the Old Testament, we hear about those ash quartz holes that they set up. And so that was another name for that same deity. That was the Canaanite, that was the name that came from the Canaanites. Even where in, and I'm sorry, I should have written the scriptures to go with the exact, but if you look in the Old Testament, even where they talk about the Queen of Heaven, the people were addressed because of their idolatry of the Queen of Heaven, which is also linked to, you know, we have people who worship Mother Mary. Same deity, same spirit. But with the Statue of Liberty, I'll go into that. And so I was, I went through deliverance in 2020, no 2021 would have been the first.

And I'll say, let me say this first, if I can. I don't want it to seem like deliverance is just like a one time process because our walk with God is a continual deliverance, it's a continual us being, you know, renewed, you know, and transformed, right? But in 2021, or maybe around the end of 2020, I went through deliverance twice. And when I say this, I mean, I reached out to a deliverance ministry. It's a ministry by the name of Luke 4-18.

They're located in Austin, Texas. And so I reached out to this ministry because they walk you through, you know, the process of deliverance. They help you to, they ask questions, they help you to identify patterns that are on your bloodline. They walk you through, you know, forgiveness, because forgiveness is a major part of deliverance, of salvation. They walk you through healing, you know, and renouncing certain things, new age practices, and all of these things that, you know, we say are spiritual, but definitely not godly.

Many things that we open ourselves up to, and we don't even realize it. And so they have a great process to help you to go back and identify all of these things, identify what are the things that, you know, you've been dealing with, whether it's healing that you need in certain areas or trauma that you've experienced. They have a really good process for that. So I contacted them for the first time. And during my deliverance, one of, and I actually think this was the second time that I contacted them.

And not to prolong the time, but I think this is important to share as well. I contacted them a second time because what I realized is that my first time around, there was still a lot of unbelief that I was dealing with, you know. And so, you know, we have to make sure that when we go through the process of deliverance, when we say that we want to put aside all these things that are not of God, we have to, our mind and our heart has to align with that, which is one of the reasons why God had me to renounce and then renounce again, you know, because we can say things with our mouth, but our heart has to be connected to that, right? And so in that second deliverance process, one of the women pointed out, she, and she was like, you know, I see this crown on your head and in the spirit, of course. And so she was just describing it and she was like, it looks just like the headdress of the Statue of Liberty. And so, you know, she just continued to describe it, but she was a little confused too, like not really understanding what she knew.

It wasn't supposed to be there, but she didn't have the revelation at that time as to why that was there. And so fast forward after that deliverance and everything, I got the revelation from Holy Spirit that what she was describing was in fact the headdress and the Statue of Liberty. The reason why that was on my head was because I was, well, the spirit again, that's attached to the Statue of Liberty.

And we can look this up too as well. If you look, you will find, you know, some general answers to the foundation of the Statue of Liberty, to the inspiration behind it. But if you look more, you will find that the person who came up with this was inspired by, you know, the statues that he saw in the Egyptian tomb. And so he had this infatuation with these tombs, right? So this is a person who put together the Statue of Liberty. And so that was the inspiration for that statue.

And so God linked the two things to explain to me that again, that same spirit that was behind that same inspiration that came from the Statue of Liberty was indeed still connected to, you know, as I mentioned, you know, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Diana of Ephesus, right? And so God explained to me. Now, remember, this was my second time renouncing. And so that's when he convicted me. You know, the reason why this is still on your head, as I mentioned before about confessing things and making sure that we're in a place where our heart aligns with our mouth, because what God convicted me of in that moment was, you know, yes, you confess in a secret place.

Yes, you confess when, you know, this ministry walks you through deliverance, just still in a pretty private setting, you know, but your heart, right? Your heart is still not aligned with what your mouth is saying. When people address you as Ashtar or when people say, oh, yeah, you know, she's a member of AKA too, you don't speak up, right? You don't say anything. You just nod and smile.

So, you know, the Bible talks about where God says, you know, if you deny him, then he'll, if we deny him, then he'll deny us, right? You know, and so though I confess several times with my mouth, right? I did not speak up. I was not publicly saying, you know, not that I had to wear a sign or anything, but my heart was still attached to the sorority. I had not fully removed myself. I had not fully been convinced of what I was declaring. And so God just continued to give me revelation on that and convict me to the point where I ended up posting that video to publicly renounce, look, I'm no longer a part of it.

And this is why, you know, and it wasn't just for me. It was because, you know, there's other people who that word was for. Now, whether they received it or not, I can't vouch for that, but I can vouch for the fact that the blood is no longer on my hands, right? The Bible talks about when God gives us a word and, you know, we proclaim it, whether the people listen or take heed or not, that's no longer on us. But we've done our deed. However, if God gives us a word or tells us to do something and we fail to do it, you know, like the washing on the wall, we fail to speak what he tells us to speak. Now the blood is on our hands because those people that we were supposed to release that word to, they didn't get the word because we failed to do what he called us to do.

So all I'm doing is my part in it. I can't vouch for you, but I can say that I released the word that God gave me. I shared the revelation that he gave me.

I shared my testimony. And so that was where the whole Statue of Liberty, you know, which was really crazy. Like it took me a while to like really get my mind wrapped around it. I was like, wow, you know, like it's just crazy how so many things that we just look at in our day to day and don't say much of it. You know, and Statue of Liberty is just one. You know, we have many of these big monuments, you know, like up in Washington that just many things that we don't realize are just modern day. You know, the same as what was going in biblical times, the ash pore holes and the these statues and and places of worship. We don't even realize the spirit behind or the inspiration or the foundation of these things is not rooted in God.

Wow. I'll tell you, my sister, I'm just sitting here enjoying this preaching. I mean, that's that's good preaching. That is good preaching.

I mean, it is really eye opening and people you need to to really listen and receive what she is saying. And the fact that God showed you through this this vision of having the crown of the Statue of Liberty on your head, showing that that connection to to the false deity. It is. That's really powerful.

It really is. And it just goes to show you how many things, as you said, that are right in front of us in society and which really we are glorifying idols and we may not really realize it, but it's there and there is influence. And I want to share also a couple of scriptures. Revelation Chapter two, verse one through seven. When John was writing to the seven churches, he wrote a letter to Ephesus. So this is the same Ephesus where this riot took place over this false deity of Diana. And as you said, in some cultures, they call it Artemis, but still the same spirit. Also in Jeremiah Chapter 44, verse 17. I think this is what you are referencing where it says, but we'll but we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our mouth to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her. And this is when the prophet was telling the people to turn away from this idolatry and the people were responding that they are going to continue to burn incense to the queen of heaven. So that's exactly what you're talking about, Ishtar. And to your point.

Yeah. Other cultures. It was Asher, as the Bible talks about the Assyrians and the Babylonians called it that. And some even say, well, it was thought to be the wife of the false god Baal, also known as Molech. And we won't get deep into that, but just think about what's going on today in our society.

When you look at Ishtar, that is a symbol that we have as a statue representing our country that's based on a false god. And when you look at the fact that Molech was what people in the in the Bible days, the Old Testament, they were sacrificing their children by burning them in the fire to Molech and then look at the child sacrificing that's going on in our society right now through abortion. Folks, we really need to to wake up and we need to repent.

We need to turn back to God. And again, these things that you're sharing, Christine, is just is so powerful, so eye opening. And I just praise God for your testimony and your boldness to to wrap us up here in the last few minutes. What what actions did you take concerning when you renounced this sorority, when you decided to do so? What what steps did you take to really show and to say to God, I am completely wiping my hands clean of this organization?

Yeah. So, you know, as I shared before, I definitely, you know, went before God and repented and renounced, you know, and denounced before God in prayer. You know, during that private time with Him several times, as I shared, we can confess day in and day out, but our heart has to align. You know, there's a scripture that says if you confess with your heart and believe in with your I'm sorry, if you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart.

Right. You know, we talk about receiving Christ and salvation. You know, there's a reason why He said He doesn't say you just confess with your mouth. If you have to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is all that He says He is.

And so for me, you know, initially I confess with my mouth, but my heart was not there yet. Right. There's another scripture that talks about the people worship me with their mouth, but their heart is far from me. Right. That's what God said about His chosen people that had turned away from Him time after time. But, you know, like I said, I repented and renounced and denounced, you know. And so I want to say this, too, you know, renounce means to commit to stop doing something or to stop having something. Right.

When we denounce something, on the other hand, it is like making an announcement. Right. And so I had to renounce.

Right. First to say, God, I commit to stop doing this thing. That was that that private time, you know, and even in my private time, I said, God, you know, I'm going to, you know, no longer associate myself.

Like I said, I got rid of all of my nalia. But then God said, no, you still need to denounce. So that was that announcement. You still need to publicly declare that I am your God. Right. That it is me that that you serve and no other God.

And you also need to share your testimony, not just for you, but for others. Right. The Bible says, you know, we overcome by the word of our mouth. Right. By the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony.

Right. And so we have to make sure that, you know, we renounce, we denounce, you know, do what Holy Spirit is leading you to do. You know, but your heart has to match with what your mouth is saying.

Your lifestyle has to match what your mouth is saying. And so I confess and renounce and I did it privately, like I said, and then publicly because God kept convicting me to that video. I also sent a former letter. I wasn't sure where the letter would go.

So I sent out two letters to like the, you would call the national division and then the regional division, which would, you know, in my area to fully, you know, withstand my membership or fully request that my name be removed from all registries that would keep me affiliated or connected to the organization. So I did do that as well. You know, as I mentioned, I went through deliverance, you know, which was for that.

And then just me being delivered all around outside of even just the sorority stuff. And so, you know, it's, you know, the Bible talks about we have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. You know, and many people get that confused and they think of literally fearing and trembling.

But no, it's referencing God. You know, you honor God so much that you wouldn't dare want to do anything to grieve his heart. You wouldn't dare want to do anything that would put you in wrong standing with God. And so I'm going to say again, you know, deliverance to the process. You know, the Bible talks about us going from glory to glory and faith to faith. So the closer that we walk with Christ, the closer, the more that we put away these things that, you know, we now know, you know, we once were a child, right? We're no longer a child. And so we have to put away the childish things. We have to put away the elementary way of seeing things.

We have to put away the milk, you know, so that we can get to the meat that he can truly take us to where we're called to be, to where we're supposed to be. And we can't do that with having a mindset of we think we know everything, of clearly what it is is pride. You know, and that's something that God convicted me of in that.

You know, it was pride because I was too worried about how others would see me or whether they would accept me or if they would think I think I'm this or I'm that because I was removing myself from an organization that what the majority did. And so, you know, it's pride as well when we don't want to open our ears to what God is telling us. The Bible also talks about us having ears, right? He says lots of people having ears but not being able to hear, right?

Having eyes but not seeing. That's referring to that ignorance and that pride. You know, we don't want to see certain things because it's been instilled in us because we've been taught traditionally because we've been taught all of these things that aren't biblically based but because it seems right, we go with it and we do it. And everything that doesn't align with that, we think it's foolishness. But the Bible says, and I think you mentioned it earlier, that the things of the world that seem so wide is foolishness to God. And God will use the simple things, the foolish things, right? The people who might seem foolish, maybe I do, right?

But He'll use those things to show those who think that they're wise, like, no, this is not me, you know? And so we just truly have to take all of these things to God, you know? I can't make anybody turn away from what they're doing but all I can do is share my testimony. All I can do is do what God tells me to do. That way I'm in good standing.

That way I'm working out my salvation with the fear and trembling that we're called to walk it out with. Wow. Wow. What a powerful, mighty Word of God from a mighty powerful woman of God. I just praise God for you, Christine. This is such good stuff and people will be blessed by it. And those of you listening, you don't have the excuse anymore because Hosea chapter 4 verse 6 says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

You can't say now I didn't know because you've heard from what she has stated that these things are not rooted in God. And again, I praise God for your testimony and I thank you so much. Before we close things out, can you share with the audience if they want to get in contact with you or follow your ministry, anything, if they have any questions or just want to hear all the great things that you're doing, how can they do so?

Absolutely. So there is we have we do have a Facebook page, Kingdom Oak Ministries. You can check out our page. You can message me through that page. We do have a website, KOministries.com. Email if you like to email me personally. If you have any questions, please feel free. I don't mind sharing what the Lord has shared with me. The email address is KOministries20 and it's two zero. So KOministries20 at gmail dot com.

That is another way that you can reach me. Oh, and we also have a YouTube page where we share our Bible studies and and just any anything that the Lord leads us to share. And I just pray that, you know, this message, this testimony on today, bless all who have your finger. Amen.

Amen. Well, Christine, you are doing mighty works. And again, I praise God and I thank him for you and the way in which he's using you. And I just pray that others out there will be encouraged and also influenced to do the same, follow your lead by renouncing and denouncing their affiliation with these organizations and then sharing their testimony.

I pray that it will just spread like wildfire throughout the land and that more and more will realize that they need to come out from among them and turn back to our great and wonderful Lord. So, again, thank you so much. I really look forward to having you again in the future. And may God bless you as you continue to go forward and doing the work for his kingdom. So thank you so much for being with us. You are very welcome.

Abby, all the glory. Thank you for having me. Amen.

Thank you so much. And to our audience, please come back and join us again next week as we continue to encourage you to discern the times by viewing life through the lens of the Bible. Until then, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel. Until the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. Thank you for tuning in to Discerning the Times. Please come back and join us next week as we continue to encourage you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God. Discerning the Times is presented by Blessings to Israel.