Coming Out Of Babylon by Zac Poonen

[Music] so we want to continue our study why another church and we were looking first of all at 1 Corinthians that we begin with that verse again in chapter 11 in the first century in that church in Corinth the church planted by the Apostle Paul where he spent one and a half years instructing them sometime after he left the church at backslidden the elders could not control the direction of the church it's like a bus that had gone out of control of the driver and there was one family called the flam Lee of Chloe that realized that the elders couldn't do much about it so he wrote to Paul and that's how he got 1 Corinthians you read that in chapter 1 and then Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 16 I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions now why were there divisions there were divisions because some people were not happy with the direction the church was going they were not happy with the way the elders of the church were leading the church and so they couldn't cooperate with everything that was going on and they were probably meeting together in their home during the week or something like that and then Paul says there have to be factions among you so that those who are approved may become evident and if the church in Corinth continued to go in that backslidden way and one day the Lord removed his presence from that church then those who were overcomers in that church would form another church why another church because the first church the leaders of the first church wouldn't stick true to God's Word wouldn't stick to God's standards wouldn't preach holiness would tolerate sin would allow the world to come right in that's why another church and the same thing we we considered in the five churches in the book of Revelation chapter two and three how if the elders did not take the rebuke that came from the Apostle Paul Apostle John those five churches would have some of them would have left the overcomers would have left and then the Lord Himself would have left that church and gathered together with the overcomers that have been two churches why another church because the elders would not listen to the rebuke of the Holy Spirit it says in each one of those seven churches he who has a year to hear revelation 2:11 and a number of times thereafter let him hear what the Spirit is saying to all the churches that means what is spoken to the church in Ephesus is a warning to all the churches throughout 2021 centuries they where if you leave your first love the Lord will remove his presence from that church the Lambs town will go and then some others will gather round the name of Jesus who came to save his people from their sins and they would meet there if the elder in Pergamum you see the Elgar in Pergamum revelation 2:12 himself was not a person preaching the prosperity gospel but he says there in verse 14 there are some who hold this teaching of Balaam the teaching of Balaam as we saw last time was to make money through preaching when God gives us a gift it's meant to serve other people it's not demand to make money for ourselves it's not meant to make honor for ourselves when God gave Jesus and anointing on the in the time of baptism the devil came and said why don't you use that power now to make bread for yourself from the stones and he said no I will not use the power God gave me to get something for myself but he did use that power to feed 5,000 people with bread later on and that's the temptation that comes to many people when they are anointed by God God gives them a gift and it's a tremendous power we can have we can make money with that gift whether it's preaching or singing we can get honored with that gift we can get authority over people we can make people service we can do all types of things for personal benefit and Christendom is full of people elders preachers pastors bishops Archbishop's exert the whole lot of them who use the power and authority God gave them to get personal benefit it's a misuse of the anointing of God and God would draws his presence the gifts remain before the devil became the devil God gave him gifts but when he withdrew the anointing the gifts remained with the devil that's why the devil has supernatural power so why another church because people misuse God's gifts for themselves and begin to make money for themselves through preaching the gospel get honor for themselves draw people to themselves when it came to the church in Thyatira we saw in chapter 2 verse 18 here was a case where a woman began to take over the church I've seen this in a number of places where they have uncontrolled prophesying hmm many women who want prominence seek to become prophetess and turn out to be Jezebel's will try to control the church sometimes the wife of the pastor becomes an assistant pastor even though the Bible says a woman is not called to leadership in the church God is given man the headship of the church the very reason why a woman covers her head in the meanings of the church is to say I'm submissive submission to the man all that disappeared hmm and gradually the spirit of Jezebel began to take over and then got us to move out and start a church which is true to his word in chapter 3 verse 1 we saw the another church in Sardis a hypocritical church one that is living on a name maybe God did work many years ago and living on that name maybe three generations ago somebody mighty man of God was there but three generations later the whole church is back slidden and like the Jews said to John the Baptist we got our fathers Abraham and John the Baptist said don't boast your father's Abraham and there are churches today that boast in their leader who founded that church hmm they don't have the spirit of the leader the leader knew God the followers just know the doctrine why another church because God is not building a church around doctrine jesus said this is eternal life then they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent so the church is built by around people who know God who have eternal life and not those who are living before the face of men like it says in chapter 3 verse one grew up a name that you're alive but you're actually dead most Christians seek for a name that they are spiritual most Christian leaders seek for a name that they are spiritual and they use all types of gimmicks and eloquence and jumping and shouting and all that type of stuff to try and get a name that they are spiritually alive but the mark of spiritual life is not jumping on the platform it's not shouting or yelling into a microphone it's a holy humble life humility is the mark of life holiness is the mark of life and so you see here in Chapter three that's the problem with this church and then the fifth church which is in a backslidden condition is a church and Laodicea and of course this one is a proud church why another church because the leader has become proud and moment a person becomes pride a proud he gets into fellowship with Satan and Satan was cast out for his pride and the church is cast out and God begins again so these are the reasons you see in all these cases if the elders did not respond to the warning you see God doesn't throw away a church of move his presence out without warning he always warns he warned Israel before he withdrew his glory from them in the Old Testament there's a picture of this in the Book of Ezekiel in Ezekiel Ezekiel is a one prophet of Israel who was in Babylon and we saw that Babylon is a picture in revelation 17 of false Christianity as opposed to Jerusalem the true Christianity and so this Old Testament story of Israel going to Babylon and coming out of Babylon teaches us why another church because christened and went to Babylon God pulls out from Babylon in the Old Testament a remnant not all the people came back a whole lot of Israelites found it much more comfortable to be in Babylon but in the book of Ezra God lists the number of people who came out came back to Jerusalem and built the temple a picture of those who come out of corrupt Babylonian Christianity and build another Church for the glory of God and in Ezekiel we read God revealing to Ezekiel how there was hidden sin and idolatry among the leaders in in the minds of the leaders there is all types of sin going on let me show you one example it says here the Lord ezekiel chapter 8 verse 7 the brought me to the entrance of the court and then when I lip there's a hole in the wall he said son of man now dig through the wall in other words go inside and see what's happening in the minds of these leaders dig through the ball they Luis looks wonderful others on the outside all painted up and all go and see the wicked abominations that are going on in there this is talking it's a picture of what goes on in the minds of leaders and there were all types of beasts and distensible things and out of those idolatry and standing in front of them were the 70 elders of the house of Israel and they were burning incense and he said to me verse 12 son of man do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark each man in the room of his carved images that is in their mind as idolatry in the mind of the leaders it's not visible on the surface the number one idolatry is the idolatry of money and honor and so what happened the Lord stone reveals to Ezekiel that's the reason why the glory departs and you see here in chapter 10 verse 4 the glory of the Lord went up from the Carib to the threshold of the temple threshold means the gate the entrance the glory which is on top of the temple moved slowly it wasn't a sudden departure slowly it moved to the gate I believe that this is what is happening in the five churches in Revelation the glory had departed from the center of the church to the door and the Lord was giving a final warning to those five churches in Revelation saying are you gonna repent I point out your sin if you have a year to hear what the Spirit is saying listen but they wouldn't listen and then we read finally verse 18 then the glory of the Lord departed from the entrance of the temple and stood oh the care of him and with the carrying departed they lifted their wings and the glory of God hovered over them and like that the glory departed to a slow movement from the most holy place to the threshold that is the entrance and then slowly moved away and the Lord says that's the reason why you people are in Babylon because all types of sins and the leaders never took action against his sin like I was saying in Pergamum the leader himself is not preaching the prosperity gospel but he was allowing some people to do that type of thing and he didn't have control over them that happens in many churches where the elders don't have control over what some young people are doing or what some people are propagating it's like a bus driver who's given over the control of the bus to the passengers and they drive it hither and thither of weather wherever they like many churches are like that where the pastor poor man is dependent on the salary that the board decides to give him he can't offend the rich people and so many things like that and so he's got a piece all the rich people and therefore he loses Authority he's one of the greatest tragedies in Christendom today a pastor controlled by the money of rich people sitting on the board and they're rich people are usually the most carnal people in a church and the pastor dare not of correct them because they'll throw him out and look for somebody else who will listen to them what a pity that Christendom comes to that state where a man's supposed to stand as a servant of God and he's actually a servant of some board of rich people do you think God will tolerate that that a man stands up there in his name and he's not interested in pleasing God or telling people what God wants to hear he's interested in telling them what everybody else wants to hear so that's how the glory departs and then we read in chapter what's the you know chapter 40 onwards of Ezekiel is the new covenant it's all symbolic language there and in symbolic language we see finally the glory of God is in chapter 43 verse - why another church here God is building his church again the first church the Glory's departed and godforsaken it has become Babylon but God's not going to leave himself without a witness on the earth and we read in chapter 43 verse 2 the glory of the Lord God of Israel came from the worldly east the way it had gone it came back because he found a few men like daniel ezra zerubabbel joshua the high priest haggai zechariah later on nehemiah and other godly men who didn't want the comfort of babylon and moved to jerusalem and sacrificed and wanted to build a pure testimony for Christ for God to prepare the way for the Christ the Messiah and it says the glory of God finally verse 4 chapter 43 verse 4 came into the house by the way of the gate it's wonderful I'm really excited when you see this praise the Lord that God's gonna raise up another testimony for his name where his glory will be there the reason God's glory departs from many churches because he never gives his glory to another person God gives us everything but his glory to give us his power he'll give us his wisdom he'll give us his blessing he'll give us even his nature but isaiah 42:8 says my glory I will never give to another and when man touches the glory of God glory of God departs when man begins to use his ministry whether it's preaching or singing or music or whatever it is when he uses it to draw people to himself and takes the glory to himself God departs from that church because his glory he will not share with another or when God sees that a church instead of depending on the Holy Spirit begins to depend on money and music and psychological gimmicks the glory of God departs because that's an insult to the Holy Spirit it's almost like saying to the Holy Spirit we don't need you we can do this with money with music and with all our psychological tricks and of course a lot of superficial prayer and fasting to put a religious whitewash on all these earthly tactics glory have gone to parts but God raises up another church where the glory of God comes back where the leaders have understood what it means to build a church where God is glorified where Christ is exalted then he says in verse 10 as for you son of man described this let me paraphrase it describe this new covenant church to my people so that they may be ashamed of the church they've built so far for their iniquities and let them compare what they have with my plan which I have given in my word you know it's like if somebody built it if Moses builder tabernacle which is not at all according to God's plan God's glory would not have come upon it you're reading a Zeke Exodus chapter 39 and chapter 40 about eighteen times I think you find this phrase as the LORD commanded Moses so he did it as the LORD commanded Moses so he did as the LORD commanded Moses oh he did it build the tabernacle and then it says the glory of God came upon that Tabernacle when we do things according to God's plan God's glory will be there and so it says sure the people of Israel my plan and if they are ashamed of all the day this is very important if they're ashamed of all that they have done then make known to them the design of the church what the new covenant church is really meant to be now I'll tell you why so many people don't understand the new covenant church it's because they are not ashamed of their sin because it says you so clearly if they're ashamed if they're ashamed of their sin look at the number of people today will get angry every day and they're not ashamed of it they go to sleep peacefully at night after lusting after women in their thoughts during the day even though Jesus spoke clearly against these things there's unrighteousness and money matters they still lies there yes is not yes there no is not no okay they slip up but the sad thing is they're not ashamed of it it's not because he's sinned he's because they sinned and they're not ashamed of it God doesn't show them the plan and then when somebody goes according to the plan they call him a heretic that's a false teaching that's a false church who are the people saying it are they godly humble people who don't love money far from it for the people who criticized us for 30 years look at their lives look at their family lives look at the way they're brought up their children look at their attitude to money look at all the reports they sent to America to get money these are the people criticizing with no holiness no godliness no preaching on overcoming sin no anointing no revelation and many of these preachers now go to our CFC website to get points for their sermons after calling us heretics no revelation God is again such prophets God is against such preachers arena in Jeremiah chapter 23 it's an amazing chapter you read Jeremiah chapter 23 and you see the reason why the church goes astray because the leaders have gone astray let me read a few sections from the from the message translation verse 17 Jeremiah 23 they preach their sermon titled everything will turn out fine to congregations who have no taste for God their next sermon is nothing bad will ever happen to you to people who are set in their own ways and he's almost like a prophecy of what's happening in the 21st century but how many of these bothered to meet with me that regard have they bothered to take in what I have to say or listen to me and then lived out my word no he was 22 if they'd only bothered to sit down and meet with me they would have preached my message to my people and then they'd have gotten them back on the right track and gotten them out of their evil ruts and then it says here in verse 28 they swap they swap dreams with one another everybody's competing with the other to say who has had the greatest dream and a vision of this and a vision of that and some lady will get up there and say I got a vision of this and some young fellow will get up there and say I got a vision of that they'd swap dreams and visions with one another and they feed on each other's delusive dreams and visions and trying to distract my people from me just as their ancestors were distracted by the no God bail they are distracted from the true God by money and the love of money which is the equivalent of bail in the New Testament Elijah said worship Jehovah rbl today we say Christ or money make your choice you can't serve both jesus said they're only two masters the two masters in the Old Testament were Jehovah and Bill and Jesus said in Luke 16:13 the equivalent of that in the New Covenant is God and money and their worries relates to worship Jehovah sometime beyond some time there are Christians today who worship Christ sometime money the other time how do you know which God you worship you can find out by what you think about most in your mind if you think more about Jesus then about money you're a worshiper of Christ if you think more about money than about Christ no matter which church you go to even if you come to this church you're an idolatry and idolaters mind you know you saw that in Ezekiel 8 what always going on in their mind that idols were in their mind so Jeremiah warns against that and the Lord says finally to these people first 23 in chapter 23 and verse 30 I am against those preachers who steal my words for other pictures have you ever heard that God said I'm against them the Bible says he's against the proud and he's against preachers who steal sermons from other preachers without any anointing without any revelation they're only doing it for honor they listen to a message that go to some read some book and they preach that he delivered it out no wonder God wants another church why another church because he doesn't want all this secondhand manna that doesn't come from heaven and the Lord says finally in verse 32 I've had it with all these preachers who get that sermon secondhand from each other yes I've had it with them they make up stuff and then the pretend it's a real sermon of theirs yes I've had it with these preachers who preach lies that they dream up spreading them all over the country ruining the lives of my poor people with that cheap and reckless lies I've never sent these preachers never authorized a single one of them they do nothing for this people absolutely nothing and he goes on further in verse 36 they don't go around pretending to know it all saying God told me this and God told me that and the said the Lord I don't want to hear all that anymore God says only the person i authorized speaks for me otherwise my message gets twisted as it's happening right now and then finally in verse 38 but don't pretend that you know all the answers yourself and talk like you know it all I'm telling you quit saying God told me this and God told me that and that kind of talk this happened 2600 years ago it's happening all over again there's a proverb in English that says history teaches us that history teaches us nothing if you can think about that what it means is we learn nothing from history that's what we discover that people don't seem to learn from the failures of others the whole Old Testament has been written to warn the Christian Church today don't make the same mistakes that Israel made to warn Christian leaders today don't make the same mistakes that all those false prophets in the Old Testament made but they won't listen let me show you another verse where are these idols in the in people in the preached leaders of today the zeeco 14 and verse 3 says in verse 1 some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me some of the elders leaders and as Ezekiel was a prophet of God he was much younger than these old men he was only around 30 years old but he was a prophet he said the Lord said to him son of man these men have set up idols in their hearts and put right before their faces the stumbling block of iniquity he was not speaking about external idols he was speaking about idols in the heart even in the Old Testament how much more it is in the New Covenant this is what leads finally to Babylon so I want you to turn now to Revelation chapter 17 where we read of this Babylon chapter 17 and 18 are a description of Babylon which is going to be destroyed it's a picture of the Falls Church and I'll show you why it is a picture of the fall Church in chapter 19 you read about the bride of Jesus Christ getting ready for the marriage of the lamb that's the contrast and she's called in chapter 21 Jerusalem in revelation 17 he says I'll show you come I'll show you the judgment of the great harlot harlot means prostitute if a man is married to if a woman you know we're supposed to be the Bride of Christ if you're married to a the girl is married to brother a and he fools around she fooled around with B she's a prostitute she's devoted more to be than to a she's a prostitute that's how harlotry comes but if she's married to be and his would be all the time then she's not a prostitute isn't that here okay a is Christ be his money I told you that Java and BL the person says I'm engaged to Christ but is more interested in money what do you call him Harland prostitute but a person married to money like the people in the world there are prostitutes kept true to their husband they don't claim to be married to Christ you need to understand what harlotry is no non-christian can never be a harlot according to this it has to be a Christian who claims to be married to Christ but his devotion is to what would you think of your wife claims to be married to you and is more interested in other men the neighbor or something wouldn't you call her a harlot it's exactly what the Bible says no let me show you in another verse that'll make it clearer James chapter 4 why another church because God doesn't want a harlot to be the Bride of Christ and so when the church goes the way of harlotry some people come out of it and form the Bride of Christ James chapter 4 he's talking to beloved brethren you know you see that many times chapter 2 verse 1 my brethren chapter 3 my brethren many times my beloved brethren [Music] what does he tell my beloved brethren chapter 4 verse 4 you have dull traces are you like that my beloved brother and he loved ultra sees don't you know that friendship would be the world is hostility towards God hey that's how you become an adulteress here is God and here's the world and the world includes Mammon honor so many things and the god of this world you know Jesus himself said is the devil the Bible says Jesus came not only to save us from sin but to save us from this world system in the Old Testament there was no such thing as being saved from the world because nobody had me understanding about the world system was there was no conflict with Satan in the Old Testament they only fought with human beings in the Old Testament they had no understanding of the supernatural world that came to light only after people received the baptism in the holy spirit until people are baptized in the Holy Spirit there they're unaware of this supernatural realm that is all around us and even when many were baptized the Holy Spirit when the devil sees that these fellows are going to become a threat to me he dilutes them he makes them compromise leads them astray here and there and they suddenly come down to the realm of Earth again which has happened to the vast majority of people who say they speak in tongues I mean if you watch Christian television you'll see that perhaps 90% or the people who keep on asking money from poor people are those who speak in tongues it amazes me they claim to be better than those other people are not baptized in the Holy Spirit you're baptized know his spirit you should be more free from the love of money than others who are not baptized in all these pretty if it is the Spirit of Christ but if it's not the Spirit of Christ if it's a counterfeit you'll love money more like all these people this counterfeit if he people ask me how do you know a counterfeit gift I say show me a healer who doesn't ask people for money like Jesus the Apostles they never ask people for money these are the two gods Babylon is centered on money in the world and honor and position and all that and where a servant of God where a preacher an elder is interested in that he will only build Babylon when he's seeking his own honor he had belt races don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God if for anyone who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God how many people believe this if I become a friend not only Pete God loved the world people he loved the filthiest sinners on the earth he came to call the sinners but this world's system if anyone loves this world system he cannot he is not only can't love God is the enemy of God beloved brethren don't become enemies of God let me show you another verse this is the burden of James in one 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 Paul uses this language verse 2 I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy for I betrothed you to one husband so that the Christ one day I might present you as a pure virgin not as a harlot and when people go into harlotry God's servants pull out some people so that there'll be a pure virgin for Christ but I'm afraid Paul says like the serpent deceived Eve by his cleverness your minds it's always in the mind if your mind it's a question of where your mind is your mind can be led astray from simple pure devotion to Christ your bridegroom slowly let us stray into something else that's how Babylon is found but then the person who comes and preachers will preach another Jesus who is more interested in making you healthy and wealthy than in making you holy in fact he doesn't make you holy at all he just makes you healthy and wealthy well a lot of businesses in the world can make you wealthy and a lot of hospitals can make you healthy but they can't make you holy jesus something which no human being can do you know I always think of people who say that Jesus makes us wealthy do you know that people of other religions say the same thing our dear Muslim friends say Allah is the true God because they say look at all the oil has given us all the nations come begging to us for oil Allah has made us wealthy all the sheiks of all those Gulf countries and others extremely wealthy Islam they say has made us rich the richest businessman in India worship the goddess laxmi Hindu goddess of wealth they say Lakshmi has made us wealthy Christian preachers today say Jesus has made us wealthy now some confusion here is is it Allah who makes people wealthy or Lakshmi who makes people wealthy or Jesus who makes people wealthy and I'll tell you one thing if you look compared the world I think Allah is probably made people more wealthy than the Christian preachers and Lakshmi also but Christian preachers are way down and well Jesus doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of making wealth compared to all these people what is this Christianity healthy Jesus makes us healthy the healthiest people in the world by the way are not Christians and there are enough sick people in the charismatic Pentecostal churches that preach healing as much as in any other Church we must not live in a world of delusion it's devotion to Christ whether I'm rich or poor his devotion to Christ whether I'm sick or healthy that's the thing which makes us a virgin says here otherwise we drift away with the very clever tactics of satan using language that convinces our mind Satan is a great psychologist he studied man for six thousand years he's influenced the great teachers of psychology and Christians go and get degrees in psychology too they imagine that their mouthpieces of God that's how deception comes and we preach another Jesus and they receive it says here another spirit verse for some other spirit the spirit that doesn't make them holy that just makes them babble in tongues counterfeit tongues 90% of the tongues I've heard it's counterfeit I can sense in my spirit this is not Holy Spirit this is just somebody repeating three or four syllables back and forth don't be fooled by that genuine tongues is a language I mean even if you don't know Chinese if you see somebody speaking Chinese you can make out he's speaking some language or any other language in the world if a person speak he's not just babbling - three syllables back and forth what a disgrace and a dishonor to the name of Christ to call that speaking in tongues as if the Holy Spirit is such a hopeless useless spirit it just makes people mutter to three syllables back and forth that's not speaking in tongues I've spoken in tongues for 35 years 34 years it's a language brother and sister it's a language just like any other language English Tamil Malayalam any other language you speak to God don't be fooled by all this nonsense going on in the world today another spirit and a different gospel not the gospel of the glory of Christ but some other gospel see it says here in chapter 4 the gospel the gospel is called in chapter 4 verse 4 the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God the gospel is that I can partake of that glory of Jesus Christ and become like him that gospel is not preached some other gospel why another church because God wants a church that will preach the true gospel when there's so many counterfeits going on God wants churches to lead people to the genuine baptism in the Holy Spirit that will free people from the love of money that will free people from sin that will free people from the world that'll make them frightened the devil instead the devil frightening them that will give him authority over Satan that will make them build godly homes and that will prepare the people like John the Baptist prepared people for the coming of second coming of Christ let's turn back a verse in Malachi first Malachi chapter 1 I told you the Old Testament history is a picture of Israel's declined they started out in great power in the days of Joshua and declined sometimes a prophet would come and lift them up and they would go down in the dumps again now that God would raise up a prophet they'd go down in the dumps again and he'd raise up a prophet they come a little while and go to dump the dumps again few people would respond and finally Malachi was the last prophet and the Lord says I've finished with you all Christendom history has been like that started out with great power in the Acts of the Apostles just like the book of Joshua decline decline and then now and then God would raise up a man a prophet who would lift up people a few would respond and would come up for a while then the Prophet would die and the denomination he started would sink because that his followers didn't know God they just held on to the doctrine and they became prosperous and became Babylon in a little while then God raises up somebody else and his movement moves along for some time and then he dies and then it's down in the dumps again and then God raised up this is been the history of Christianity always every spiritual movement rises raised up by mend and declines over a period of years then God has to raise up something else it's always been like that a depth and a resurrection and that goes into death another resurrection and that movement goes into death another resurrection of a small group spin like that that's why we have so many churches they are needed so that those are approved of God will always be manifest so that God will always have a witness on this earth the true witness it may be a small one but it'll be a pure one somewhere here and there there'll be a light that's shining for God is a pure virgin for Christ so in Malachi God says he says a time is coming hmm I will not in except he says first of all in verse 10 you don't waste your time kindling a fire on my altar I'm not pleased with you I will not accept an offering from you I wish somebody would shut the gates he says in verse 10 of chapter one I wish somebody shut the gates of the temple and they never well this I don't want any of your meetings and your services and your conferences and all its rubbish I wish somebody would close that all these things down but do you think that closed down you think it closed down the conference is meeting because God is not there no they'll continue because the pastor's had to earn their salary the superintendent's have to earn their salary how can you close down the church the Lord says I'm not pleased with you and I will not accept an offer for you but now listen to this Israel you think you're the only ones I'm gonna use you think I'm depending on you just because you let me down forget it I'm gonna raise up another movement this is the picture of why another Church God rejected Israel because they failed God started with what we call the church today the same thing has happened in 21 centuries what happened to Israel happens to this church raised up by the Apostles that declines God pulls out another thing he says I'm going to have from the east to the west verse 11 my name will be great among all the nations and in every place a pure offering is going to be offered to me and my name will be great when we started this church 34 and more years ago in our little house with just a few families that's the verse that we started with the Lord wants a pure offering not a big offering a pure one Israel was big but it wasn't pure Lord says I've had enough of all of you I want a group coming out of this and you know the first church was a group that came out of Israel Peter James John Paul Matthew all those fellows it was Baptists why there was another church it came out of Israel and when this thing in the Apostles died and all these things they started became like old Israel something comes out of that in a few years 50 years later that becomes all corrupt something comes out of that that's how it's been but always God is seeking for a pure testimony like Paul says I'm jealous over you with a godly jealousy because I want to present a pure virgin to Christ and that's why he spoke to them and labored with them and corrected them and urged them and rebuked them and tells them in 1 Corinthians 4:20 sheíll I come to you with a rod I'm not interested in all your words he says the kingdom of God is not in words but in power John the Baptist came preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand the church is supposed to be the kingdom of heaven on the day of Pentecost heaven came down into the hearts of 120 people and they were supposed to be a heavenly people the Holy Spirit lifted them up in their spirit into the heavenlies like it says in Ephesians 2 and seated them there it didn't happen til the day of Pentecost that along with Christ in their spirit they sat there seated with Christ in the heavenlies and they lived till it became a mixed multitude pretty quickly in Chapter six they start grumbling about food thus partiality the Jewish service would give more food to the Jewish widows and less food to the non-jewish widows partiality complained about food are these heavenly people how quickly the descent to earth so we see also in the church many places starts with great power and pretty soon the devil comes in and corrupts it with the world but the Lord is then going to look for another pure offering in every nation the Lord will look for a pure offering chapter Revelation chapter 17 again yeah one more verse before I go on and that's in James you know we saw that you adulterers and adulteresses in chapter 4 verse 4 I want you to see the next verse after that beloved building chapter 4 verse 4 you adulteress is friendship with the world is enmity towards God whoever wants to be a friend of the world will be the enemy of God do you think the scripture speaks to no purpose he jealously ah the same word that Paul uses I have a godly jealousy to present you as a pure virgin he jealously desires our spirit which he created to dwell in us he wants that spirit to be unpolluted li his he speaking about our spirit not the Holy Spirit he desires the spirit that he has made to dwell in us that spirit that was dead that was born again to life when we were converted and received Christ he wants that jealously for himself it's like a husband who has a pure or you know there's a pure jealousy Paul speaks about that in second deserving a godly jealousy her husband tells his wife darling I want you to be mine exclusively I don't want you to ever think of another man is that demanding too much every husband wants that from his wife Jesus Christ wants that from his bride I want you to think of me and never they'll be a rival to my affection in your heart he jealously desires our spirit now he turned to revelation 17 again and we see babylon babylon is called the great city verse 5 babylon the great eleven times in Revelation Babylon is called great hmm the mark of a harlot Church his human greatness bigness megachurch great church big Church great building great music great preaching great eloquence really not necessarily anointed great great great great great people in contrast Jerusalem in chapter 21 and verse 2 is called a holy city there's the contrast between a great city and a holy city that's the contrast between Babylon and Jerusalem a great Church and a holy church what did you see in Malachi Israel was a great people millions of them and God says I'm fed up with you I don't want any of you that is the biggest mega church of all Israel for many millions God said I finished with a whole lot of you I know you've got the Bible they had the true Bible Genesis to Malachi I finished with you what I'm looking for is a pure offering and we see here a holy city so the true Church emphasizes holiness the first Church majors on greatness bigness in the world what is that bigness consist of we read here in verse three the woman was sitting on a scarlet beast and if you read Daniel and you read the chapters here the beast is a picture of the greatest political power the Antichrist it's the mixture of religion and politics Babylon in any Church where there is politics there's Babylon and the true Church of Jesus Christ is no politics there's nobody trying to form one party in another party no church is not a democracy where people vote for who's going to be the elder and people go down canvassing for votes that's Babylon through and through as politics that's okay for the world not for a church and yet that's how even the Pope is elected by watch where do you see a person's being elected by votes in the New Testament where do you see elders being appointed in a church by votes in the New Testament nowhere Christendom has drifted even many Pentecostal denominations the leaders elected by votes it's politics where do you hear of votes isn't it in politics in democracy the church is not a dictatorship no one-man rule the church is not a democracy the church is a family a family which has got a father and mother and children babies teenagers grown up who grow up to be fathers that's the church and the main thing is holiness so when a church becomes great and neglects holiness there has to be another one a pure virgin for Christ and the other thing about Babylon that makes it corrupt his money you see in chapter 18 the kings of the earth chapter 18 first of all let me point out verse 4 there are God's people sitting in Babylon remember this we don't say that everybody who's in a Babylon in church is unconverted but there are people there who belong to Christ who should not be there chapter 18 verse 4 I know the voice from heaven saying come out of Babylon my people Oh so God's people are sitting in Babylon today and the message from heaven is come out of Babylon my people come out of that corrupt system come out of a church that's not preachy holiness come out of a church that's living in spiritual adultery come out of her I know you're my people but come out of her what are you doing sitting there if you're my bride why you fill your own with somebody else and then it says in verse 11 the merchants of the earth 18:11 weak because no one buys their cargoes anymore Christianity has become big business haven't you've seen in Christmastime commercial street people of every religion put up pictures of Santa Claus and pictures of snow which we have never seen in the whole life in India two cotton balls up there to symbolize snow and all to get its business business business make money with business Jesus stickers and Jesus t-shirts and a lot of money in Christianity I tell you write books and become millionaires and produce CDs music CDs and become millionaires this is big business Christianity what happens when it all collapses the merchants of the earth weave because nobody is buying all those CDs and t-shirts and books anymore which made their authors and singers millionaire and the other thing that makes babylon babylon is music verse 22 the sound of harpists and musicians and floors and trumpeters are no longer heard the early church never had any of these things they had godliness they had never attracted people with music or money or psychology they attracted people by their message of godliness devotion to Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit so when Christendom drifts in the direction of Babylon God says come out of all my people one person here one person there one person here comes out and those five or six people meet together from another Church why another church because God they heard God is what is saying come out of her my people chapter 19 do you know this is the first time in the New Testament the word hallelujah comes the chrysanthemum is full of people who showed hallelujah now let me tell you all of you the first time in the New Testament the word hallelujah comes they never say an empty hallelujah today's Christians say empty hallelujahs here they only say hallelujah because hallelujah because it is hallelujah because of that so when I say when I hear somebody say earlier I say what for because of what the first time hallelujah comes in the New Testament is Revelation chapter 19 and read it hallelujah because he has judged the harlot verse 2 hallelujah because Babylon is destroyed is that my people are singing Hallelujah today they're sitting in Babylon and singing Hallelujah and people in the elder said yes amen verse 4 hallelujah they also said in lujah and they say finally in verse 6 hallelujah because the Lord our God Almighty is finally reigning in the church no longer the harlot now let us rejoice and be glad because the Virgin is coming forth that pure church verse 7 as a bride ready to marry her lord this is the end we are moving towards brothers and sisters he who has a year to hear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches in these days beloved brethren humid ultra sees no you're not that friendship of the world will make you an enemy of God come out of that it's not a question of one particular denomination you can sit in this church and be part of Babylon in your spirit if it will just coming out of war some church and joining some others that'd be easy it's not it's in your spirit idolatry as we saw is in our mind we had to get out of it in our mind in our spirit God daily desires our spirit is not just that we take our body and put it in a seat in some other building in our spirit he was yours to hear let him hear let's pray Heavenly Father we beseech that you will stir us in our hearts unto me respond wholeheartedly to your loving long-suffering call bring down our pride the pride we have in our understanding and in our mind and thinking that everything is okay bring us down before you lord and help us to recognize where you're moving by your spirit in these days and to be there to be a pure virgin Church for you on this earth we pray in Jesus name Amen

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Keywords: Zac, Poonen, Revival, Repent, God, Sermons, Jesus, SermonIndex

Id: lfcMjYD2U38

Length: 58min 26sec (3506 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 27 2010