Today’s mini-sermon is the 3rd of a 9-part series that is appearing in the Saturday, Sunday and Thursday additions of the Answers2Prayer newsletters.
As we look ahead at VERY uncertain times, the Holy Spirit continually brings certain scriptural passages to my attention–passages that I KNOW are for such times as these, and that I KNOW I am to share with each of you. One such passage is found in Rev.:
“Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people” (Rev. 18:4).
In the past 2 mini-sermons, we learned that we are to come out of “Babylon”, we learned why we need to “Come out of her”, and we learned that although literal Babylon was destroyed years ago and was never rebuilt, this prophecy is still relevant for us today. We discovered that “Babylon” must also have a “prophetic” meaning, and we learned that “Babylon” represents a church.
But which church? Surely NOT my own! Last seek we learned that Babylon is symbolized by a woman in red, riding on a dragon. But this isn’t the only reference to “women” in prophecy. Another is found in Rev 14:3-4: “No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.” Interesting! The 144,000 do not defile themselves with women—churches—but keep themselves “pure”. Could this be that the 144,000 are those who have not dabbled in “Babylon”? Have not “committed adultery” with churches? Okay. So we’re warned that the prophetic Babylonian church is the one we commit adultery with. But this only confuses the issue more! How on earth does one “commit adultery” with a church??? The reference to committing adultery is used throughout the Old Testament to represent worshiping other gods than Jehovah. “Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.” (Jer 3:9).
But we don’t worship gods of wood and stone in our day and age! And certainly not in my church!
Or do we?
I would like to propose that any time we put something higher than God, we break the first commandment! Anytime we put someone or something in a place of higher authority than God’s Holy Word, we break the first commandment! Anytime we put our own will or opinion, or the will or opinion of another human or human institution above what God has written in His Holy Word, we are “worshiping other gods”!
Now this is where I usually start feeling kind of pious. After all, I’ve grown up a Christian. I’ve gone to a Christian church all my life! The pastors were devote men of God. The Children’s division leaders and youth leaders were all God-fearing individuals. So I guess I’m kind of “shielded” from these problems. These people would ONLY teach Bible doctrine! I can believe my church and my pastors. I don’t have to study on my own!
My friends, I’m sorry to inform you, but anyone with this attitude is putting something or someone as a higher authority than God. No matter how correct something that a person says may be, if we take their word for it, without checking in with God first, we are “committing Spiritual Adultery”!
Do we “commit Spiritual Adultery”? Do we take the word of our pastors and church leaders as gospel truth without bothering to check its authenticity by the Word of God? Do we take each and every idea we are enlightened with back to the Lord in study and prayer for verification? Are we flirting with Babylon?
COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE! Keep yourselves pure before the Lord! Go to Him and Him alone for truth!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “Come out of her, my People” mini-series, please click here.)
