Living In The Gardens of Babylon | Dr. Jerry Mason

Well, aren't you thankful to be in the House of the Lord today?

Could you lift your hands and just love him one more time?

Jesus, we magnify you. Jesus, we're thankful for you.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

What a blessing it is to be in God's house.

Amen. Amen.

If you have your Bibles this morning and would turn with me

to the book of Second Corinthians beginning in six and

14. While you're turning there, give

honor to our pastor, to our Bishop, to our youth pastor, for

the Alex, Sister Grace Zach, Sister Malen, for the work they

do with our our younger generation.

Give honor to my wife today who stands beside me.

Unquestionably I'm honored by that today.

Give honor to Jesus Christ, for without him none of us would

even be here to begin with. 2nd Corinthians 6 and 14.

Thank you for standing. The Bible says be you not

unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

I am not preaching on dating this morning, so don't anybody

get nervous. For what fellowship hath

righteousness with unrighteousness?

And what communion hath light with darkness?

What concord hath Christ with Belial?

And what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?

For you are the temple of God, and God hath said, I will dwell

in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they

shall be my people. Verse 17 says, Wherefore I want

you to look at your neighbor this morning and and say, with

whatever passion you have in you today, wherefore come out from

among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not

the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a

father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, sayeth

the Lord Almighty. Let's pray.

Mighty God, help me today, Help me today to preach with clarity

and with wisdom to do your will and seek after your anointing

and your touch today. Speak that which you would have

to be spoken and that only today.

Lord minister our hearts and lines and on our ears to hear

what the Spirit would say to the church.

Help me to do your will and purpose today.

In the name of Jesus I pray and the church said Amen.

God bless you. You may be seated today.

I want to minister this morning with the help of the Lord on

this subject, living in the gardens of Babylon.

Living in the gardens of Babylon.

It was a place that held significant symbolism in its

meetings in various contexts, particularly in religious and

historical tradition. It served as a multifaceted

symbol, encompassing the themes of moral and spiritual

corruption, historical grandeur, suffering, political power, and

intellectual achievement. It consistently embodied the

tension between divine principles and human failings.

Historically, Babylon was a powerful city, an empire in

ancient Mesopotamia, having its grandeur and cultural

achievements to include what is known as the Hanging Gardens of

Babylon. These Hanging Gardens were

regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World.

Babylon was known for its contributions to science,

mathematics, and literature. It represented the achievements

of an ancient civilization in the enduring legacy of

intellectual and cultural contributions, of which some

still remain today. In the Bible, Babylon symbolizes

a center of moral decay and idolatry.

It represented a society or system that opposed divine order

and was associated with excess, corruption, and the rebellion

against God. The Babylonian exile was a

period in which many Jews were taken captive and forced to live

in Babylon, and it became a period that was symbolic of

suffering, loss, and displacement.

When spoken of, Babylon often symbolizes a powerful and

corrupt political or spiritual entity.

The name Babylon itself in etymological matters related to

the Hebrew word Babel, which means confusion and disorder,

which is linked directly to the story of the Tower of Babel in

the book of Genesis, where humanity's attempt to build a

tower to heaven resulted in the confusion of languages.

Ancient Babylon, which is where we find present day Iraq, was a

powerful empire whose destruction was prophesied in

the word of God. In the book of Jeremiah chapter

Jeremiah 50 · chapter mention

50 and verse 13 it says because of the wrath of the Lord, it

Speaking of Babylon, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall

be holy, desolate. Everyone that goeth by Babylon

shall be astonished and hiss at all her plagues.

Jeremiah 51 and 37 States and Babylon shall become heaps, a

dwelling place for Dragons and astonishment and and hissing,

without an inhabitant. Some theological perspectives

draw parallels between the prophetic destruction of

Babylon's desolation and the modern day conditions of Iraq,

which stands on the same soil as ancient Babylon.

Iraq itself has experienced significant challenges

throughout the decades, including conflict and

instability. Some view Iraq struggles as a

continuation of the symbolic narrative of Babylon historical

downfall, while others see it as a separate and geopolitical

issue. From the year six O 5 to 562 BC,

Babylon was ruled by a man we know in the word of God as King

Nebuchadnezzar. Renowned for his role in

expanding and consolidating the Neo Babylonian Empire, his reign

is marked by significant architectural achievements,

including the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,

one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the

rebuilding of Babylons walls in temples.

His military campaigns extended Babylons influence across to the

Near East. In the Bible, particularly in

the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar represents both

the grandeur and the hubris of earthly power.

He is depicted as a powerful king who ultimately faces divine

judgment for his pride and his failure to acknowledge God's

sovereignty. Fast forward to the era of Iraqi

leadership from 1979 to 2003, and you find a man that we know

in modern day society as Saddam Hussein at the helm of Iraq's

political structure as its president.

His regime was marked by significant human rights abuses,

aggressive military action, and a quest for regional and world

dominance. During his rule, Saddam Hussein

invoked the legacy of Nebuchadnezzar and other

historical figures to promote his vision of restoring Iraq's

past glory. Saddam Hussein and had a desire

1 which he pursued to be seen as watch this now the self elected

reincarnation of King Nebuchadnezzar, to associate

himself with the grandeur and the power of ancient Babylon.

By aligning himself with Nebuchadnezzar, he sought to

evoke the image of a powerful and transformative ruler,

enhancing his authority and legitimacy in the eyes of his

supporters. Hussein invested in significant

reconstruction and development projects in Iraq that were

intended to evoke the glory of ancient Babylon.

This included the rebuilding of Babylon's ancient ruins and the

construction of new structures inspired by Nebuchadnezzar's

era, thereby visually and culturally linking his regime

with Babylonian heritage. Hussein's claim to be the

reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar was part of a broader effort to

legitimize his rule and project strength and stability.

It allowed him to frame his leadership in our modern day era

as a continuation of Babylonian greatness, thereby legitimizing

his control over Iraq. This self identification of

Nebuchadnezzar was controversial and viewed critically by many.

It was seen as some as a manipulative use of historical

symbolism to mask the regime's authoritarian nature.

I will declare to you today that I see it as no more than Bishop

than the spirit of this age trying to resurrect a time in

history, a point in history, to bring back fleshly rule, to

bring back fleshly authoritarian principles, to try to overtake

the people of God, just as he did in the Babylonian exile

during that day. Just take a look at the Word of

God and see the prophecies associated with the demise of

Babylon and compare God's Word to the modern day condition of

the country of Iraq and you will find it more than curious.

God's Word today, we know, is forever settled in heaven.

What is written is written. What God had brought down in

that era, God will keep down according to His Word and His

authority today. I've not come to preach against

Iraq today. I've come to preach against the

spirit of this age that wants to resurrect the carnality and its

fleshly authority of a day gone by in ancient times.

But all thanks be to God. God, I serve the Ancient of

Days, who is still just as real today as he was in

Nebuchadnezzar's hour. And he has the same authority,

He has the same power, He has the same ability.

Can somebody shout Hallelujah? God's word is forever settled.

What he proclaimed would be will be.

Allow me, if you will, to pause here for just a moment because I

need to make a declaration here today to the people of God that

are listening under the sound of my voice.

Just as true as the prophetic words of God were and still are

regarding the demise of Pablon and what I personally believe

was the prediction of the future of the country of Iraq.

When God makes a declaration, when God makes a prophecy

through His Word on your behalf, it is also just as real and just

as true and will be just as timeless today as it was

generations ago. When His Word says when I fall,

I shall arise, then I can take that check to the bank and I can

cash it today and I can have confidence knowing that if God

said I can get back up again, then every time I fall, every

time I trip Bishop, I know I'm getting back up.

I'm not staying down for the count.

I've not been knocked out in the 15th round.

I'm getting back up and I'm going to serve in victory.

I'm going to walk in victory because I serve a God who is

Abel when his word says when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall

be a light unto me. That means it doesn't matter how

dark things are in my situation. That means it doesn't matter how

many times I convince myself, Mason, you done messed up one

time too many. That mistake was over the top.

That mistake was just one time too much.

It doesn't matter how dark it gets in my in my life.

It doesn't matter how many times I speak against myself and say I

can't do it. I'm that that day is gone.

I'm a washed up has been. I can know that the Lord shall

be a light and he will light my path in the middle of my

darkness. Somebody shout Hallelujah.

That means that when Jesus said I will never leave you, when

Jesus said the words I'm not leaving you means no matter what

I've done. That means no matter where I'm

at. That means no matter how

defeated I feel, I'm never alone.

His promise is just true. His promise is just as you know,

sometimes. Now maybe this is just me, and

if it is, just be patient with me because I'm still trying.

I'm not there yet. Sometimes in my walk with God, I

have had moments where I've read the word of God and Bishop.

Having grown up in church, I've always tried to maintain a

posture that I believed his word.

But there are some things. There's some things I pause.

I'm not going to say we because I can't speak for you, but there

are some things I pause sometimes and think maybe that

one's a stretch. They may just just just just

maybe I'm, I'm just telling you about me.

All right. There are some things I look at

and say, Well, I believe it because I believe in him and I

believe in his word. And, you know, you try to be the

good Christian and and say all the right things, but in my

heart, I'm thinking who? You know, my dad always told me

that I was born in Missouri. For those of you that don't know

what that means, Missouri's known as the show me state.

So you have to see it to believe it.

OK, some of you need to eat protein for breakfast.

So, but it would be a little bit more real, Bishop, if I saw it.

Culmination of all this activity LED up to a moment where several

years ago I traveled to the country of Israel.

My first time there, I was on a business trip working for an

Israeli company and I told my wife then.

And every time I was there after that, I felt the same.

There was just something. Something about every Sunday

School story I heard at the age of 5 just was like real and

right in front of my face. I felt closer to God standing on

Israeli soil than I felt anywhere in my entire life.

And maybe it was just because of thinking that that's where he

walked. Maybe I don't know.

Such a surreal opportunity. And that's how I felt in study

as I began to uncover the linkage between Babylon and a

modern day ruler that was in power from 1979 to 2003.

Because I realized there's some of you that that just hovers way

over your head and you weren't born until like six years ago.

And that's fine. But there are some of us in this

room this morning that when you talk 1973 tonight to 2003, that

encapsulates an era where you were a part of it.

Everyone over the age of 40 say Amen.

There are more of you here than that.

You'll be quiet this morning. I see how it is, but it brought

some life. The linkage of that brought some

life to me to the Word. If you've ever wondered about

seeing God's Word alive in modern day, here's a linkage for

you from a historical perspective perspective.

But it's also a linkage for you in the spiritual perspective

because the same spirit and attitude of that age has crept

into our modern modern day society.

In Babylon there was what was known as the Hanging Gardens of

Babylon. Hanging Gardens were one of the

Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

Construction of them has contributed to the man

Nebuchadnezzar who believed who is believed to have constructed

them in the 6th century. They're described as a series of

terraced structures with lush greenery, a cascading effect.

The terraces were said to be supported by complex system of

mud bricks with water brought up from the Euphrates River through

an intricate irrigation system that included an early form of

the pump mechanism. The Hanging Gardens symbolized

human ingenuity in the grandeur of the ancient Babylonian

civilization, representing the fusion of our architecture and

engineering. The symbolism of the gardens

hold richly and extend beyond their historical and

architectural significance. Today, they represent human

creativity in the ability to transform.

Arid landscapes. And when we speak of arid

landscapes, we're talking about yards.

You don't have to mow. What's a yard?

When I first started working for the Israeli company and it come

budget time, Bishop and we got to talking about the amount of

money we needed to mow the yard for the year, I was initially

told cut that out, you don't need it.

Yeah, we do need it. We got to mow the yard.

Well, can't you just take some scissors out there and do it?

That sounds funny, but they literally did not understand

until we showed photos because the contrast of real estate from

here to there was completely different.

If you've got a single blade of grass growing in a yard there,

you could take a pair of scissors and you could go out

and you could cut it. Not lush greenery, not green

spaces that are irrigated and beautiful, but this garden and

its construction with a representation of this lush

green spaces through advanced irrigation.

The gardens are viewed as a symbol of paradise or an earthly

utopia in a in an area where everything else represents

otherwise. They serve as a testament to the

grandeur and wealth of the Babylonian Empire, demonstrating

King Nebuchadnezzar's ability to command and create monumental

works. Putting all of this into modern

day terminology, the Gardens of Babylon were representative of

four basic things, indulging in material excess, the illusions

of perfection, spiritual and moral compromise, and the loss

of societal values. John 17 and 15.

Jesus states these words. I pray not that thou should has

take them out of the world, but that thou should has keep them

from evil. They are not of the world, even

as I am not of the world. The statement we are in the

world, but not of the world is an OFT used statement in the

Apostolic Church. The Bible does not record it in

those exact words, but in John 17 and 15 the essence of it is

most certainly present. And as we look at the

representation of what it means to live in the gardens of

Babylon symbolically today, it means we are living in a society

where there is a focus on material excess, where there is

a focus on illusions of perfection, where there is a

focus on spiritual and moral compromise, and where there is a

focus on a loss of society's values.

If you don't believe that, take a good look at the news

headlines and then turn over to the book of Romans chapter 1 and

Romans 1 · chapter mention

find where the Bible predicted that there would be a day where

that men would call good evil and they would call evil good.

If you don't think we're living in material excess, I'm not

talking about threats of recession.

I'm not talking about the Dow average or NASDAQ.

I'm talking about the gluttony of people's want to go after

things that they don't need, all at the sacrifice of their

family, the sacrifice of their children, and the sacrifice of

their souls. We are living in an era.

Oh, I feel my help coming. Now.

We are living in an era where there are illusions of

perfection. If you don't believe that, turn

to social media and you will find the trend of behavior.

Nobody posts a bad day. Nobody posts a bad picture.

No, everybody's wanting the filters.

I've got to clean up my crow's eyes.

I've got to clean up the wrinkles on my forehead, and

I've got to get my my neck straightened up in my color

palette just right. I've got to represent myself in

a way that I am not, so the world looks at me.

An illusion of perfection. I've come to tell somebody today

that there is a spirit of this world that wants to destroy the

church and wants to destroy your soul.

And yes, he wants to steal. Yes, he wants to kill and he

wants to ultimately destroy you by causing your focus to be on

the things of this world. Somebody shout Hallelujah.

We are living in a time where there is a war against our

spiritual principles. There is moral compromise on

every hand. Society I could say today and I

could say it with confidence, and if you want to say it's my

opinion, then I respect that today.

But instead of saying that we are losing our values as a

society, I feel confident in my ability today to say that

society has lost her values. We wonder sometimes why it's so

difficult to come into an Apostolic Church and tap into

worshipping the Ancient of Days and forgetting about the things

that we brought in the back door with us.

It's because there is a spiritual warfare that is

warring against you. You don't have any choice if you

want to live a victorious walk with God, that when you walk

through these back doors of this sanctuary, you better lift your

hands and you better lift your voice and you better say thanks

be to God. I've made it another day.

I've come to worship him because the world's trying to grab me.

The spirit of Babylon is on my back and it's trying to give me

material access. It wants me to be perfect and

it's trying to get me to compromise what I believe.

So it's easy to see the parallel between ancient civilization and

the world that we live in today. The year 2024 is not so far

separated from the ideologies and the geopolitical landscape

of an ancient civilization. All because of these four

things, we indulge material excess.

We can get so caught up in gaming that we close our hand to

Kingdom work. I'm not preaching against.

I'm not preaching against prospering.

And I hate using the word prosper in the pulpit because

there's this erroneous prosperity doctrine that if

televangelists like to try to sell you, that if you give seed

money that God will bless you, that's not the word of God.

So maybe I should replace the word prosper you with blush.

One thing my wife and I have determined over the years as I

have had the blessing and opportunity to grow in my

career. But Alex, the more money I made,

the more money I gained. Giving is not all about money,

but that's where our mind goes. So I wanted to hit that first.

We can get so caught up in gaining in this life.

If I've got a project going on at the house and I can't get it

done before church time, guess what happens?

Project waits because Babylon wants me to stay home.

The spirit of Babylon wants to tell me it's just one service.

You don't have plumbing. Your house doesn't have water.

I'm preaching what I've lived. Right now.

You've got your main shut off. You, you, you.

You're. You can't take a shower, you

can't wash your hands. There's no functional restroom,

and you're dumb enough. You going to go to church?

Yes. Why?

Because I'm smart enough to recognize, Bishop, that the

spirit of Babylon, if I give in to that one occasion, this time

it's one thing, Next time it's one thing, next time it's one

thing. Before you know it, I'm out of

the House of God. I'm focused on gain.

I'm focused on compromise. Illusions of perfection cannot

fall victim to the ideologies of this world that if it looks

good, it must be good. We cannot fall into this trap of

thinking that beauty is anointed.

It's a good thing. Oh, help me, Jesus.

When we talk about illusions of perfection, Babylon says if

you've messed up your records, tarnished, you'll never do

anything for God. That's what Babylon says.

But what God says, I'm not worried about your past.

I'm worried about your presence. Don't worry about the future.

We get so caught up in the future we lose track of the

present. We need to be present in the

presence of God. And it's not about, well, it's

next Sunday or six weeks from now, or it's another time when

I'm more comfortable. God can get you out of your

comfort. It's about your present that

matters. We must hold on to the apostles

doctrine and not compromise. Because you see, going to

church, this is the world we live in today.

This is the world somebody say Amen, world we live in today.

My 35 is ticking down. I've got 4 minutes, Let's go.

The world we live in today. They don't mind if you go to

church on Sunday morning. They don't mind if you go to

church on Sunday night. I don't think Now I know there's

a lot of places that don't have Sunday night service anymore and

that's that's their business. And I'm not talking about that.

I don't society doesn't care It's Sunday.

In American Society specifically, we go to church

midweek. That starts becoming a big

question, having daily devotion, having a walk with God that is

representative of more than just attending church.

Babylon says, oh, I don't understand because the

difference between the church and Babylon is we prioritize God

and by Babylon prioritizes self-serving examples for us on

how to live and function in this world and how to be of be in

this world but not of this world.

We find Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, the king of

Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. He wanted to change their name.

He did change their name, and I'm not going to go through the

list Pastor preached on this recently.

I've certainly not come to try to repeat what he preached, but

let's just let me remind you this morning that while

Nebuchadnezzar was changing Daniel and Hananiah and Mishael

and Azariah's names so that he could do these things, he wanted

to change their identity from Hebrew to Babylon.

He wanted to change their vision, change their voice, and

redirect their mission. And that's exactly what Babylon

wants to do to us today. That's why we must stand firm,

and that's where we must stand against the spirit of this age,

and we must stand against an appetite for success or excess.

We must stand against an image first mentality.

We've got to stand against compromise and we need to stand

against the devaluation of our faith because this world, I've

really not come to preach a negative message today, but this

world, the spirit and the age of this world, the representation

of the spirit of the Antichrist is here.

And even on the days when it seems innocent, it wants to stop

at nothing more than having you walk away from what you know.

That's why I know I'm redundant. They say repetition is the

mother of all mastery. So I try to practice that.

I know I'm redundant, but that's when I when I have this

microphone at the opening of a service.

That's why so many times one of the things I off to say the most

is what a privilege it is to be in the House of God.

It's not an accident. I'm saying that on purpose

because if it were not for God, if it had not been for the Lord,

I might not have survived Monday through Saturday to be in the

House of God on Sunday. It's a privilege.

It's not an obligation. Bishop.

I love it. It still rings in my ears.

I used to hear you say it all the time, quoting the psalmist

David getting up on a Sunday morning, getting his family

ready and saying, come on, it's church day.

I was glad when they said unto me, now I got to practice Bishop

just a little bit. I was glad when they said it,

I'll do some post churches stretches just to make sure

everything's good tomorrow. I was glad when they said unto

me, it's a privilege to be in church but don't know it's a

privilege to get into the presence of God, lift my hands

high and say I love you Jesus. It's a privilege to lead worship

and won't look over during a season of worship and see a man

by the name of Reese with his hands lifted receiving the

baptism of the Holy Ghost. It's a privilege to be in God's

house. I might be living in the gardens

of Babylon, but I refuse to let Babylon live in me.

Oh, somebody lift your hands and thank Him right now.

What a privilege. What a privilege.

What a privilege. Sit down.

I'm in overtime. I've got to hurry.

In Exodus chapter 2, a basket was drawn out the Nile River.

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

Pharaoh's daughter and behold, baby is insightful.

Miriam, this baby's sister, asked an all too important

question to Pharaoh's daughter. Would you like for me to get a

nurse of the Hebrew women? She may nurse the child.

Pharaoh's daughter, the Bible records for us, hired this

Hebrew woman to nurse this baby that she pulled from a basket

out of the water. If a nursing a child was simply

about a nutritional feeding time, it wouldn't have mattered

how the baby Moses was fed. However, the Midrash Commentary,

an ancient Jewish commentary on Hebrew scriptures, states that

the baby Moses refused to be nursed by Egyptian nurse mates.

This set the stage for the Scriptures of Exodus chapter 2

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

to unfold and for Jochebed, or if you're following Hebrew

terminology, Yochabed, Moses's mother to become the nurse maid

for the baby Moses. According to Jewish laws, a baby

was not to be weaned before the age of 24 months.

And the process could customarily go up to four years

with dedicated Jewish prayers recited between the mother and

the baby, the child, because if it's up to four years old, a

child's talking with dedicated Jewish prayers recited before

the nursing time. Jewish tradition holds that

teaching children about God and the Torah as a fundamental

aspect of raising them, Deuteronomy 6 four, part of the

Shema, is a central declaration of Jewish faith and is recited

daily in Jewish prayers. It's common practice for Jewish

parents to instill these values in their children, so it's

plausible today to believe that Jacob Ed, as a devout Hebrew

woman, would have been mindful of imparting the faith to her

son Moses every opportunity she had.

I can just imagine the nursing time that Moses spent with his

mother going something like this with her holding Moses.

I can hear the words of Deuteronomy 6/4 in the Hebrew

language as she said Shema Israel, Adonai Elohenu Adonai

Ihad here O Israel, the Lord our God is 1 Lord, I can hear her.

This is my imagination today, but I can hear her saying,

Moses, as you grow, I want you to love and serve God with all

of your heart, mind, and strength.

I can hear her saying, May God grant you health and strength,

wisdom and understanding. I can hear the mother saying,

Moses, may you walk in the ways of the Lord and grow up to be a

righteous person. I even hear her saying, Moses, I

want you to hold on to your spiritual values.

You're going to need your faith as you grow up in the House of

Pharaoh. And I can hear, perhaps most

importantly, I can hear Jacobin whispering into the ears of a

young Moses. Moses, you're not an Egyptian.

Moses, you're not. You may live there, but you are

not of there. Moses, you're not an Egyptian,

you're a Hebrew. Moses, you belong to Jehovah

God. Moses became who he was because

his mother chose service to God over material wealth and excess

and an easier life. Moses became who he was because

on a Sunday morning and Sunday night, Moses mom didn't find

excuses not to go to church. She found privilege in the House

of God. She would not allow Moses to

lose their values. I need to remind someone today

as I'm closing this morning and musicians come.

I need to remind someone today that you're not an Egyptian in

this house. You are not a Babylonian in this

house. You are.

And we are today the children of the Most High God.

We might be in Babylon. Stand with me this morning if

you would please. We might be in Babylon and it

might be green and filled with luscious gardens, and there are

occasions where it might be beautiful and it might look

good. There are references in the Word

of God that talk about joy and sin for a season.

Luscious greenery, the beauty and the grandeur of this world.

Babylon might look like it has something to offer, but let me

remind you and echo the words of our Scripture text today in 2nd

Corinthians 6 and verse 17, where he said, wherefore come

out from among them. The word wherefore means for

which reason leading up to verse 17.

It's talking about not being unequally yoked together with

unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with

unrighteousness? What communion hath light with

darkness? What Concorde or harmony or

agreement hath Christ with Belial or Satan, or what part

hath he that believeth with an infidel?

An infidel is just an unbeliever.

So the compare and contrast of these things he's saying what

relationship to these things and for the for this reason, for

this reason, come out from among them and be separate, sayeth the

Lord, who is them. Them are the workers of

iniquity, the infidels, those that serve Babylon.

It's the spirit of this age. Wherefore come out from among

them, sayeth the Lord. It's OK to be different.

It's OK to be different. I'm not talking about clothing

right now, because until you get it in your heart, your clothing

don't matter. Until we get it in our attitude,

your clothing don't matter. And I believe clothing matters.

I believe there's Bible preference precedent for that.

But in the Apostolic Church, over decades, we have

grandstanded on our appearance and lost the fact that we need

right attitude. Right attitude write speech.

The things I say matter. The things I do matter, the

attitude I say I'm in matters. It's OK to be different.

Don't let Babylon change your identity.

They may call you different, but just because they've got a

furnace doesn't mean we have to bow.

This altar is open this morning. I've come today to remind

someone that we need a consecration to separation

decisions made in an altar service.

Watch me now. The decisions we make right now

in this moment. I'm not worried about lunchtime

right now. The decisions we make right now

become the actions we take when the last Amen is sin and the

service has been closed. And this is the moment where I I

surrender my consecration to God and I need to reflect on my life

and my living in Babylon. God allow me to be a part of the

people that do know their God. I want to be strong and do

exploits for God, but I've got to 1st remember who he is.

I've got to be first part of those that are consecrated to

separation. This altar is open today.

I'm asking, would you come if you just need to remind God that

you're committed to him or that you need his help or that you

can't do this alone? This is the hour, this is the

moment, this is the day to remind God.

And if you don't want to come to this altar today, but you want

to kneel at your seat, stand at your seat wherever you're at

today, just let your voice be heard in the heavens this

morning. That God, I need him.