Scripture reference: John 3:16-17 (AMPC); 1 John 2:15 (AMPC); 1 John 2:15-17 (TPT); Galatians 1:4 (NLT); Galatians 1:4 (CJB); Hebrews 13:12-14 (TPT); Revelations 18:1-2, 4-5 (TPT); Revelations 18:4 (NLT); Numbers 11:5-6 (KJV); Numbers 13:27-28, 30-33 (AMPC); Numbers 14:1-4 (AMPC); Numbers 14:28-31 (KJV); Genesis 13:12-13 (KJV); Genesis 19:26-29 (KJV); Ruth 1:12, 15-17 (AMPC)
I have got such good news today. I’m so glad that Jesus died for me and that God the Father sent his only son to the world. From the time that I’ve received Jesus into my heart, I received salvation and He saves me every day. Beautiful Jesus, beautiful Son – that’s what the Bible calls Him – Morning Star, beautiful Jesus. We know Him and we love Him because the Bible says that He first loved us.
Let the scriptures minister to you this morning. Let the Bible words minister to you this morning. Let scripture go into your heart, let it fill your heart today. It’s wonderful to have the children here, I have a message today for the young ones.16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life (John 3:16 AMPC). If you have Jesus’ love in you, you have the life of God, you have the very Christ-life in you.
16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him (John 3:16-17 AMPC). Then it’s so interesting that this scripture says; God so loved the world and then the very next scripture that God wants me to read to you is 1 John 2 verse 15, 15Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15 AMPC).
Now we love the world the way God does because we want to preach the Gospel to the world and tell them that if they believe that Jesu is the Son of God that He didn’t come to judge them or condemn them. From that point of view, we love the world just like God loved the world but then He makes a statement like this; do not love the world or the things in the world.
Listen, children, listen, little children, 15Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible (1 John 2:15 TPT). What the Word is saying here is that you can’t love the world and love the Father. For the love of the world and the love of the Father are incompatible. You can’t say; I love the world and love the things of the world and I love God too. What happens is if you love the world, you squeeze the love of God out of your heart, you squeeze it out yourself because you love the world because listen, I’m going to show you this here. It says here, 16For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance—none of these things come from the Father but from the world. 17This world and its desires are in the process of passing away, it’s in the process of passing away, but those who love to do the will of God live forever (1 John 2:16-17 TPT). The world has Satan as its god, that’s why God says you can’t love the world because Satan is the god of this world. Satan is the god of the world so God is saying, you can’t love Satan and love Me at the same time.
.Galatians 1 verse 4 in the New Living Translation says, 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (Galatians 1:4 NLT). Can you even stomach to say this with me? Say this with me, say; this world that I live in is evil because the Bible says it is because Satan is the god of this world.
It says here Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (Galatians 1:4 NLT). Is it an evil world that we live in? Yes, so then how can we love it? If Satan is the god of the world, how can we love it?
If Jesus came to deliver us from the evil world, can I read that again? 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (Galatians 1:4 NLT). Jesus gave His life in order to rescue us from the evil world in which we live. Another translation says, 4who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil world-system (Galatians 1:4 CJB). He’s taken us out of this evil world system and set us free through our salvation just as God desired.
I’m going to read you this scripture that the Lord wants me to read to you. Hebrews 13:12, 12And Jesus, our sin-sacrifice, also suffered death outside the city, outside the city, city walls to make us holy by his own blood. 13So we must arise and join him outside the religious “walls” and bear his disgrace (Hebrews 13:12-13 TPT). Are you baring His disgrace or have you so mingled your life in with the world that they completely accept you? You look just like them, you sound just like them, you think like them, you talk like them.
God wants certain people here today, He wants everybody to hear this message but He wants certain hearts to hear this today because He is calling people. He’s calling us. I know He’s calling me, He’s calling me, He’s calling me to a life of dedicating and surrendering my life to Him that I didn’t, I’m beginning to see is available on a level I didn’t know. It’s by His Word, His words draw you and His Spirit draws you to see if He can find a heart that says; I will surrender my life to You, I will follow You completely, I will believe Your Word completely. He’s looking for hearts like that.
It says here He suffered death outside the city walls to make us holy by his own blood. 13So we must arise and join him outside the religious “walls” and bear his disgrace. 14For we have no city here on earth to be our permanent home (Hebrews 13:12-14 TPT). For we have no city here on earth to be our permanent home. We have no city here on earth to be our permanent home. We get so attached, we think, you know, and actually it says we have no city here on earth to be our permanent home, we seek the city that is destined to come.
So it says here in Revelations 18, New Living Translation, this is scripture that God wants me to read to you. 1After these things, I saw another angel coming from the heavenly realm with great authority, and the earth was flooded with the brilliance of his splendor. 2He shouted out with a thunderous voice. This is an angel shouting out with a thunderous voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” (Revelations 18:1-2 TPT). Fallen, fallen is Babylon. Fallen, fallen is Babylon. Fallen, fallen is Babylon. Some of you may hear this for the first time today and you don’t know what Babylon is. Well, I tell you that Jesus knows that fallen, fallen is Babylon and I’m going to tell you what it means.
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!”. Babylon is an environment, it’s an environment. Satan is the god of this world and Babylon is an environment, okay. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a demonic dwelling place, a prison for every unclean spirit (Revelations 18:2 TPT). Jesus says, 4Then I heard another voice from heaven saying: “My people, come out from her, come out from her (Revelations 18:4 TPT). My people come out from her. Are you God’s people? Are you a child of God? Is Jesus living in your heart? So is Jesus saying, come out from Babylon? And I’m going to show you now what Babylon is. It’s a spiritual environment that you find yourself in. This is what the word Babylon means, okay.
This is what the word Babylon means; it is derived from a word Babylim, and the name means gate of gods – small ‘g’. Who is the god of this world? Satan, gate of small ‘g’ gods; gate of gods. Has God opened a new door? Is there a gate of gods in the earth? In this world system, there’s a gate of gods. What does the Bible say who is your enemy, your adversary? Who are God’s enemy and adversary? Satan. Gate of gods is Babylon.
He said that. He’s just gotten through saying, come out of her. She’s become a demonic dwelling place. Jesus was crucified outside of the city, we’ve got to go outside to Him. In our hearts, we go outside to Him. Our hearts go outside. Our hearts choose to not love the world or the things of the world. Our hearts choose to love God, our hearts choose. Right?
So Babylon, gate of gods. The actual Babylon, Persia’s King Cyrus, The Great, conquered Babylon in 539. Babylon was the capital city of Babylonia, a kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia which grew into one of the largest cities in the ancient world. Listen to this; it was a city devoted to materialism and sensual pleasure. This is a dictionary definition, it’s not even a Bible dictionary. It’s an environment devoted to materialism, the love of money and the love of things and sensual pleasure – I do what I want to do, I do what I want to do. That’s the philosophy of the world system. Satan is the God of this world. I’ll do whatever I want to do as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody. But actually, you’re doing what you want to do is hurting everybody. You may not be violent but you’re doing what you want to do is hurting everybody. Your carnality hurts everybody, it doesn’t help anybody.
It’s a city, an environment devoted to materialism and it’s noted for wickedness. It oppresses God’s people, it has no regard for God’s commandments, it has a physical assault on God Himself. Babylon; this kind of thing is against God Himself.
It says here; they come into the Lord’s house to defile it and this is what Babylon also means – I like this for myself. Filled with self and hold no one in higher esteem than their self. Filled with self and hold no one in higher esteem than self. Which means I will do what I want to do, not what God’s Word says. As far as it suits me, I’ll do some of it and certainly not what my pastor is preaching. Certainly not what’s coming from the pulpit, certainly not what’s being taught from what Jesus gave me; gifts. He gave some apostles, prophets, teachers and evangelists to come and bring messages. I’m very selective in that, actually, I don’t even listen anymore. I just come to church and you just drove on and on but nothing penetrates my heart.
Filled with self, completely given over to idolatry, that means that I’ve completely given over to do what I want to do. I don’t want to do what God wants me to do. I’m just glad I’m born again and when I die I go to Heaven. But in the meantime, I do whatever I want to do. And what it says here; Babylon conquers spiritually and literally. Her spiritual warfare with the one true God is expressed in her earthly actions of making war on God indirectly against His people and directly against His house. And Jesus says, Come out of her my people, come out of her my people, she is rooted in pride. She is not just faithful to her own false gods but the chief evangelist where false religion and spiritual deception is concerned. She always ends up persecuting God’s people in the church and attacking God Himself.
In the end, all things are brought by God on her own head so Jesus says here; 4Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins (Revelations 18:4 NLT). This is Jesus, our precious, beautiful Jesus speaking; Come out of Babylon, come out of where the gate of gods where Satan is the god of this world, come out so that you don’t participate in her sins. Don’t love her, don’t love it, that’s the world Babylon, that’s the world system. I can’t go into all the detail but Peter himself calls Rome in his day, Babylon, even though Babylon had already been conquered by someone else. Peter calls the Rome of his day, Babylon because Rome was completely debauched as our world system today is completely debauched. The present world age that we live in is wicked, it’s evil – the Bible says it is, I believe that. The Bible tells me, don’t love it. I won’t. It’s the choice of my heart, in my heart with God where God sees my heart. It’s my choice.
I’m just hearing the sound. Pastor Garth is busy writing a song and I keep hearing this one-liner, this one-liner has been rolling around in me now for weeks; I choose to love Him, I choose to love Him, I choose to love Him, I choose to love Him, I choose to love Him. Glory to God. Hallelujah.
4My people, come out from her so that you don’t participate in her sins and have no share with her in her plagues (Revelations 18:4 TPT). So that you don’t participate in her sins nor share in her plagues. Things that plague the world will plague you if you love it. The Bible says that sin only has pleasure for a very short season, very short season and the wages of it is death. You experience it in yourself. You think this is the deal to love, you know, this is what life is about. 4Come out from her so that you don’t participate in her sins and have no share with her in her plagues 5because her sins are heaped as high as heaven and God has remembered her vileness (Revelations 18:4-5 TPT).
The world system of which Satan is the god is vile to God. God had that experience in the day of Noah when all the sins of the day of Noah were piled up, it says here, 5Her sins are heaped up as high as heaven and God has remembered her vileness (Revelations 18:5 TPT). God sees and He knows everything that is happening in the earth. Long ago, long ago, God heard His people’s cries of bondage. His people were experiencing the plagues of their world that they were living in. God came to deliver them in majestic fashion – all the plagues that came upon did not come upon His people. He protected them from all the plagues of the day and none of those plagues came upon His people. He came to deliver them. Okay. God came to deliver them in majestic fashion. Of course, in much more majestic fashion has God come to rescue us through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Words from the Lord. He gave me this about a month ago; My New Covenant Exodus. The great heart of love of our God on display through Jesus Christ, now awaiting our faith. He spoke to me and said, My New Covenant Exodus. Well, that’s how He speaks to me because He knows I know what He is talking about. I told you before, God through Jesus Christ brings us into a land of promises. His Word is full of promises, all His promises are ‘Yes and Amen.’ In Jesus Christ, all of His promises are ‘Yes and Amen.’ He says, a New Covenant Exodus, that Jesus came to die for and so, He said, this is it, My New Covenant Exodus – He was just reminding me. The great heart of love of our God on display through Jesus Christ. New Covenant Exodus. I came to die, I came to shed my blood so that you can be free from this present, wicked evil world that will destroy you. It will destroy you. If you think like the world, if you talk like the world if you behave like the world. If you adopt its things to yourself, eventually, it will destroy you. In the beginning, it may feel good, but eventually, God is not a man that He should lie. His Word can’t lie. I’m reading you scripture, people. So it says here, The great heart of love of our God on display through Jesus Christ, now awaiting our faith. But these people that God came down because He wanted to deliver them from the plagues of the day and the Egypt of their day, the Babylon of their day – He was coming to deliver them out of it and they changed their mind. They realised, I don’t really want deliverance; not really. They changed their mind.
Now I’m going to read this to you, Numbers 11, 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: 6But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna (Numbers 11:5-6 KJV). We just had to eat manna every day. In the book of Psalms, the Spirit of God says; they did eat angel’s food. They didn’t want it; they didn’t want it. I don’t want to hear you talk, Pastor Sharon about the fact, again. Pastor John, now don’t tell me about that again. I don’t want to hear that. Angel’s food – God’s heavenly food that He brings to us every week. That again, that again?
There are other things there in the world. I remember the garlic, I remember the leeks, I remember the other things in the world. Look at this; which we did eat in Egypt, freely, we could do exactly what we wanted. The cucumbers, the melons and there is nothing at all, just this manna before our eyes and manna. God described it as the colour of bdellium. It was God’s love that rained manna from heaven every day. They didn’t want it. They changed their mind. They looked back to the things and the ways of where they came from; they died undelivered in the wilderness.
They said, “This world’s system is too strong for us. If we can’t beat it, we join it.” That’s exactly what they said. “We will cooperate and participate and do things the world’s way. How can you tell us to come out from her and you’ll give us a land of promise, that’s as wonderful as you say? We want to go back. We don’t want it. We don’t want it because we have to take it by faith; we have to believe but we can’t see it. We will rather have what we know.
Here’s how their hearts went, Numbers 13:27, 27We came to the land to which you sent us, surely it does flows with milk and honey! This is its fruit. 28But the people who dwell there are strong (Numbers 13:27-28 AMPC). People in the world’s system are strong. Things that are happening in the world are so impactful on my life, so strong what’s happening in the world, so real, it’s overwhelming. 28But the people who dwell there are strong; and the cities – remember Jesus died outside the city. The cities are fortified and very large (Numbers 13:28 AMPC). We saw men there, of great stature and courage – these unsaved people in the world are strong and they’ve got such great courage and they so brazen in the way they hate God, they hate Jesus and they’re so strong and they build empires for themselves and they so disregard God, and they’re so popular and they’re so famous and they’re so big and they’re so talented and they’re so rich and they have such great courage. See how they stand and do exactly what they want to do and just get away with it and we admire that. We can see it work for these people in the world system so we will go with what we can see and know rather than go into a land of milk and honey that God promises us. We don’t know how we’re going to get there, we don’t know how it’s going to look. That’s exactly what they did.
30Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it. 31But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people (Numbers 13:30-31 AMPC). How can God expect us to come out of the world system? We are not able to get out of it, we are so dependent on it. We are so embroiled in it. For they said, we are not able to … for they are stronger than we are (Numbers 13:31 AMPC). We think the world system – I tell you these are secret things that go on in your own heart and my own heart – it’s idolatry. To think that there is anything in this world system that Satan is the god of, that can save you. To think that anything in the world system that Satan is the god of, can deliver you and save you. He’s an angel of light and he will do exactly to you what he did to Adam and Eve in the garden. “Look, look at the fruit. Look at the fruit. You can eat it, you can eat it. You can eat it. You can eat it.” Doesn’t matter that God says, “Come out of that thing. You don’t eat it. You can. You can. You can.”
So it says here, 32So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. This world system just devours us. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. 33There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:32-33 AMPC). This world system despises the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This world system despises God, despises Jesus, and despises the Holy Spirit. The same world system that hated Jesus in His day still hates Jesus today. “Don’t say that name to me. Say any other name. Say Mohammed. Say Allah. Say Buddha. Don’t say the name of Jesus to me.” You try and say the name of Jesus, you’ll feel like you want to choke to even say the name of Jesus because you know what their response is going to be. They hate Jesus. The world hates Jesus.
Do we need to preach the Gospel to them and pray for them? Yes. But the world hates Jesus, hates God the Father. Has got all kinds of philosophies to tell you. All roads lead to Rome – you can go any way to get to God. You can go the way of Buddha; you can go the way of this; you can go by the way of that. Ag, we are all God’s children. And God sent Jesus, His only Son to die for us, and there’s ten million other ways and we must believe that?
Then it says, Numbers 14, 1And all the congregation cried out, these are God’s people, cried out with a loud voice, and [they] wept that night. 2All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, “We are so tired of this manna, we want to go, we can’t see any signs of anything God’s promised us.” Deplored their situation accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, the whole congregations said it, the whole congregations said it. It could be that this whole congregation is saying that and only God will know what’s in your heart and what’s in my heart. The whole congregation said, “We don’t know about that message of faith. We don’t know about that supernatural increase. We don’t know about that marvels and wonders. We don’t know about that God’s love for us that He wants to take us out of the world system and into a promised land and He’s got things for us that’s completely different to the kingdom of darkness.” Says this here, the whole congregation said, Would that we had died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey (Numbers 14:1-3 AMPC). Our wives and little ones will be a prey.
This is very important today, children. This is very important today, parents. 3 Our wives and our little ones will be a prey (Numbers 14:3 AMPC). We will not let them go God’s way because they will be prey to God. God will prey on our little ones. God is preying on our little ones. We will take them into the world. We will take them the way of the world. We will take them to Egypt. We will feed them the leeks and the garlic of Egypt. We will not entrust them to God. We will instil in them the ways of the world of which Satan is the god of. Entrust our children to God? No, we entrust them to the world system. Our wives and our little ones – that’s what the men were saying. 3Our wives and our little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt? 4And they said one to another, Let us choose a captain and return to Egypt (Numbers 14:3-4 AMPC).
I’m going to cut a long story short but God was so grieved by that response of His people. He says this in Numbers 14, 28Say unto them, Moses, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, God hears what you speak in your heart to Him. You may have never said it with your mouth but your actions and in your heart. He says this, 28Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, this is God’s response to them after they did that. As ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: 29Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; you are not going to the promised land. 29Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness (Numbers 14:28-29 KJV). My great love reached out to you. I made all these promises to you. You knew that I was God, you saw signs of it. You know that I’m God. You choose, you choose, you choose it, you choose it. And you choose unbelief, you choose not to love Me. Jesus said, (audio not clear). I choose to love. I choose to love. I choose to love Him. I choose to love Jesus. I choose to love Jesus. Children, you can choose to love Jesus with all your heart. You can choose to love Jesus all your days. You choose to love Jesus, you choose to love Jesus.
29Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. Twenty years old and upwards. 20/20 people, I want to tell you; is there any murmuring or any doubt in your heart about supernatural increase and a new open door and marvels and wonders? You choose unbelief. If it’s in your conversation, you’ve chosen unbelief. I choose to love You. I choose to love You. Then He says this, 30Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein (Numbers 14:29-30 KJV), except for Caleb and Joshua. But your little ones, but your little ones. [Pastor Sharon praying in tongues]
The Lord will take the children. He will take the children. The Lord will take the children. The Lord will take the children. 31But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, your little ones that you said I’m preying on them – we can’t give them to You, we will give them to the world system. You can’t have them. He says, I’ll take the children, I’ll take the children. 31But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised (Numbers 14:31 KJV). Eiran, God wants to take you in, He wants your life completely. Are you under twenty? Did you hear what the Word of God says? God says those that are twenty years and under will go in. He wants your life completely. Zack, Jesus wants your heart completely. Are you under twenty, Daniel? Know Jesus is beautiful and He wants your heart completely.
It’s time for the children to follow Jesus completely. Choose to love Him because your heart can choose to love Him. Your heart can choose, your heart can choose to love Him completely. I was five years old when I gave my heart to Jesus. He wants your life completely. He wants You to love Him completely. Trust Him completely, follow Him. He wants to take you into wonderful things, wonderful things in Him. He’s got things for you, for your life. Beautiful things. But you have to believe it. Can’t be like that generation of older people that were God’s people but always had excuses. But why? You know, they always wanted other things. God wants your life. He does not want the world to have your life. He does not want you to love the world, the things of the world. Choose to love. Choose to love Him today. Just make a decision in your heart, just let Him pull on the strings of your heart. He’s using me as a vessel but actually it’s Him pulling on the strings of your heart and saying, “Give Me your heart. Let Me take you into things in your life, give Me your heart.” It’s Jesus talking to you today through this strange vessel. I mean He is talking to you, “Give Me your life and your heart. Let Me take you into wonderful things.” Don’t look at even your parents. Don’t look at your parents. Don’t look at any other thing. Look at Him. God is your Father, Jesus is your Lord and the Holy Spirit lives in you. The day you gave Jesus Christ your heart, and asked Him to come live in your heart, the Holy Spirit came to live in you and never left you, never left you. He wants your heart. (audio not clear)
You are God’s daughters, you are God’s daughters. Joshy, Jess, Juan-Mikey; He is going to take the children. Children, will you let Him take your heart today? You just have a quiet day today with Jesus, just this afternoon and just let Him work in you, let Him, tell Him, “I’m willing to give my heart to you. I want to give it to you completely.” Just give Him your heart, don’t love the world and the things of the world. (audio not clear)
God says, 31But your little ones … them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised (Numbers 14:31 KJV). I’m going to finish off with this example that God wants me to give you. It was a man, he was a man of God, a father. He was the father of a household. His name was Lot and Lot, actually, should never have separated himself from Abraham, even though Abraham said, “Separate yourself from me”. He should have been like Ruth and said, “As my soul lives, I will not leave you. I can see what is in you and on you, what God is doing here and by divine association, I’m staying with you”. But he separated easily from Abraham and it says he pitched his tent towards Sodom. This father pitched his tent towards Sodom (Genesis 13:12 KJV) – towards the world system, towards Babylon. This father grew up as a man as a Hebrew, pitched his tent towards Sodom. He left Abraham easily, pitched his tent towards the world system. They separated themselves. He said, “They separated themselves from Me, they separated themselves.” Lot dwelt in the city and pitched his tent towards Sodom but Sodom was wicked. This world system of which Satan is god, is wicked. And there have been mothers and fathers that have pitched their tents towards Sodom. (audio not clear)
God is going to take the little ones, He is going to take the little ones, He’s going to take the little ones, He’s going to take the little ones, He’s going to take the little ones that will take Him. The little ones that will take Him, He’ll take them, He will take them in.
He pitched his tent towards Sodom, left Abraham and pitched his tent towards Sodom but the men of Sodom were wicked men. 13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly (Genesis 13:13 KJV). That is how this world system is before God. The Lord said to Abraham, okay it says here, Abraham started pleading for Lot. He said, “Lord, You are going to destroy Sodom but if you can find 50 people, what if there is 40 who are righteous.” He is pleading for Lot in Sodom, pleading.
Today, the Spirit of the Lord pleads. He pleads with the older generation who have pitched your tent toward Sodom, and indeed in many of your ways moved into Sodom. The ways of Sodom have come into you. You loved the world and you loved the things of the world or you’re filled with self-idolatry; it’s yourself. You make the way. You make the plan, you do it, and not go the way of God, of faith into the Promised Land. He pleads for you today. Lot and his wife and his children shared in the plagues, they participated in the sins of Sodom and shared in the plagues. Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom and the impact it had on his wife – I haven’t seen it like this until God showed me two weeks ago. She looked back but he pitched his tent. She looked back and turned into a pillar of salt but he pitched his tent, he pitched his tent. She looked back but he pitched his tent and God got them out just in the nick of time. I mean they got into the debauched culture so much that Lot was even prepared to give up his two daughters to men. That’s how debauched Lot had already become.
The angels came to rescue, because Abraham interceded. It says that Lot lingered. And Lot lingered and it says while Lot lingered – why was he lingering? The things I have grown so accustomed, I’ve grown to love – I must leave? He should never have left Abraham, should have been like Ruth with Naomi. (audio not clear)
Pastor John and I will not leave you, we will not leave you, little children. We’re not leaving you, we’re not leaving you. Many of you have grown up since you have been little; we are accountable for your souls. We watch out for your souls, we do.
26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26 KJV). You know, and you may say but if I look back and I look behind and I look at things, you know, I am not actually going to turn physically into a pillar of salt but you will turn into that which you should not have turned into. God had something else in mind for you to turn into; to turn into being like Jesus because you can be because you can choose to love Him. Hallelujah.
She looked back and 27And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: 28And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 29…God remembered Abraham, and delivered Lot. (Genesis 19:27-29 KJV).
In Ruth 1 it says, Naomi says, 12Turn back (Ruth 1:12 AMPC). Turn back; it is the same thing that Abraham had said to Lot – separate, separate. Naomi goes, “Turn back, turn back,” to her daughters-in-law, “Turn back, turn back. Separate yourself from me.” 15And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return, go, after your sister-in-law. And Ruth said, 16…where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. (Ruth 1:15-17 AMPC).
My prayer, because I know it’s God’s heart’s cry, is to the degree to which we have pitched our tents as the generation that is not the little children in the twenties and under, the degree to which we have pitched our tent towards Sodom that God would reveal all of it so that we may reap it. That we may have an honesty with God, and say, “Yes, I see, I see, show me where I’ve pitched my tent towards Sodom. I see, I see, I see. I say God forgive me and I ask for You to lift that off my life. Lift it off my children, Lord. Get it out of my heart, because I am going into the Promised Land.”
This is my prayer for you today, and it’s my prayer for myself, it’s my prayer for us,people, and that’s the Gospel today. This is good news today, this is good news, this is good news. Any places of my heart that I’ve pitched towards Sodom dematerialises today in the power of this word. Amen. This is the word that God brought today, this word that’s come to us today has the power to dematerialise it. It has the power to dematerialise. Say, “Yes, Lord, yes, Lord. Every part of me pitched towards Sodom, let it dematerialise, let it come out of Babylon, let it come out. Every part of me that loves the world and things of the world, let it leave. I choose to love You.”
Let me pray for you. Father, I pray for these precious people today. I pray for the little ones that you have spoken to today. I pray for the parents, I pray for those who are under twenty. (audio not clear) I pray, Father, I pray for us, Father, this word, this word the blood of Jesus, this word surrounds us all by the blood of Jesus. This word surrounds all of us, surround our hearts, Lord, till every part of us that loves the world and is pitched towards Sodom leaves, Lord. This whole week-long may this word be like a fire that burns in us, Father, burning the love of the world and the things of the world out of us, Lord. Helping us to let Jesus pitch His tent, tabernacle in us completely. Thank You, Father, for this word today, like fire in us and among us in Jesus’ name. Heritage of Faith, Johannesburg, (audio not clear), may it burn, may it do in us what it is supposed to, in the little ones, in all of us, in Jesus’ Name. God bless all of you, God bless all of you, Amen.
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