"Confined but NEVER conformed"

TONIGHT, I I JUST WANT TO PREACH TO you a little sermon entitled, "Captured but never conformed." Let's go to the book of Revelation, chapter 18. And uh we're going to start at verse 1. And I just want you to follow with me in the scriptures. Revelation 18 and verse 1. And we're going to read, I think, down through number verse number 4. After these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power, and the earth was filled with his glory. AND HE CRIED MIGHTILY WITH A STRONG VOICE, SAYING, NOW, by the way, but hold on. Before this happens, this angel comes down right before the coming of the Lord. And here's what he says. BABYLON THE great is fallen, it is fallen. AND IS BECOME THE HABITATION OF DEVILS, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean bird. FOR ALL THE NATIONS HAVE DRUNK OF THE wine of her fornication. AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH HAVE COMMITTED FORNICATION WITH this religion called Babylon. And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven after that voice heard another VOICE SAYING, "COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE." NOT EVERYBODY, MY PEOPLE COME OUT of her. THAT YOU BE NOT PARTAKERS of her sins. That you receive not of her plagues that is coming up on the earth. Hallelujah. Tonight, talking about being con- con-captured, captured but never conformed. Whenever you were born in this world, you were born in sin as a captive. Everyone in this room was born a sinner. You were born the enemy of God. Guess what? You was born, Brother Barnett, into Babylon. Everyone in this room. You were born into false religion. You were born into the sins OF THIS WORLD. YOU WERE born a captive of Babylon. And who is THE KING OF BABYLON? SATAN, THE GREAT DRAGON. EVERY MAN and woman in this ROOM IS A CAPTIVE SLAVE OF BABYLON. YOU WERE BORN THAT WAY, BUT YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT WERE BORN THAT WAY. I'm going to bring you to some scriptures THAT WILL SHOW YOU A GROUP of men that were born as CAPTIVES of Babylon and show you how they never conformed even though they were captive slaves. NOW, I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE WITH ME TONIGHT, IMAGINE THE GREAT NATION OF CHINA. And I want you to think ABOUT THIS. LET'S SAY THEY WAS TO MAKE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES. AND LET'S SAY THEY WON THAT WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? And this is important. IF CHINA WAS TO EVER CALL IN THEIR DEBT and we can't pay it, there would be A WAR FOR CHINA TO CLAIM THEIR ASSETS. NOW, IF THEY WON THE WAR, which I don't see how they wouldn't, they've got the largest army in the world. Do you know WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO AMERICA? I'LL TELL YOU what will happen. THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANOTHER 4TH OF JULY celebration in America. THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANOTHER STAR-SPANGLED BANNER PLAYED in our assemblies. There would never be another PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO the flag of THE UNITED STATES. THERE WOULD BEGIN TO BE A CHANGE FROM THE AMERICAN MINDSET UH-HUH. to a Chinese mindset. WE WOULD BEGIN TO CELEBRATE THAT IS THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. WE WOULD BEGIN TO CELEBRATE THEIR HOLIDAYS. WE WOULD BEGIN TO CELEBRATE THAT AND GUESS WHAT ELSE WE WOULD DO? WE WOULD BEGIN TO LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE. BECAUSE WHEN A NATION TAKES OVER, THE FIRST THING THEY DO IS TEACH YOU THEIR CULTURE, THEIR LANGUAGE, THEIR WAY OF DOING THINGS, BROTHER. YOU AND I HAVE BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE INTO A WORLD THAT IS NOTHING LIKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD. WE ARE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT BUT HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY A A POWER CALLED THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, SATAN. IT'S A DARK KINGDOM. IT'S A KINGDOM OF FEAR AND WE'RE MEN OF FAITH. IT DON'T GO TOGETHER. WE'RE LIVING IN A CAPTURED POSITION. WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE WE ARE THE MINORITY. WE COME FROM A KINGDOM THAT DOESN'T OPERATE LIKE THIS WORLD OPERATES. WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT SYSTEM AND WE MUST LEARN THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ARE CAPTIVE, WE CAN NEVER BE CONFORMED TO THIS WAY OF THINKING. WE CAN NEVER BECOME SERVANTS OF FEAR. WE MUST REMAIN CITIZENS OF FAITH. WE CANNOT BE CONFORMED. THE WHOLE WORLD OPERATES IN FEAR. WE OPERATE IN FAITH. THE WHOLE WORLD SAYS, "WHAT IF IT ALL GOES WRONG?" AND WE SAY, "IT'S GOING TO ALL GO GOD'S WAY." THAT'S FAITH. THERE'S NO ROOM IN OUR HEARTS FOR FEAR. WE WILL NOT FEAR. WHY? BECAUSE WE KNOW THE GOD THAT answers prayer and that KEEPS HIS PEOPLE. NOW, 586 YEARS before Jesus was born, I want you to travel with me in your mind to the land of Israel. And I want you to picture with me the life of an Israelite. Number one, they were a God-fearing people. THEY LIVED BY THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. ISRAEL, THEY HAD A LIFESTYLE OBEDIENCE TO YAHWEH THEIR GOD. THEY LIVED EVERY DAY A LIFE OF PRAYER. THEY DIDN'T EAT CERTAIN FOOD. THEY THEY HAD A SEPARATED LIFE FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD. THEY CELEBRATED HOLIDAYS THAT WERE DIFFERENT THAN THE WORLD'S HOLIDAYS. THEY KEPT PASSOVER AND TABERNACLES AND ALL OF THESE THEY WERE A DIFFERENT THE WHOLE WORLD HATED THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE SO DIFFERENT. You know why the world hates different people? Because you're a testimony against them. I hope you heard what I said. When you're living faithful to GOD AND THEY'RE YOU'RE A WITNESS AGAINST THEM. WHEN THEY DRIVE BY THIS CHURCH TONIGHT AND SEE YOUR CAR SITTING OUT THERE BEING FAITHFUL TO THE HOUSE OF GOD, YOU KNOW WHAT IT SAYS TO THEM? I'M NOT FAITHFUL. YOU'RE A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD AND AGAINST BABYLON, THE CHURCH AT LARGE. THAT'S why when you LIVE A LIFE DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD, BROTHER JOHN, YOU WILL BE HATED BY THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS BABYLON. THE CHURCH AT LARGE IS BABYLON. THE WORLD is Egypt, BUT THE CHURCH IS BABYLON. NOW, WHEN I SAY THE CHURCH, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TRUE CHURCH. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE CHURCH AT LARGE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ONE DOWN THERE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ONE OVER THERE HAIL MARY FULL OF GRACE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE CHURCH SYSTEM THAT LOOKS LIKE THE CHURCH, BUT THEY'RE CONFORMED TO THE WORLD. BUT GOD'S GOT A PEOPLE, A REMNANT THAT WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER BE CONFORMED. SHOUT OUT I MIGHT BE CAPTIVE. OH, YEAH. I MIGHT BE A SERVANT. I MIGHT BE A I MIGHT BE A MINORITY. IN Satan's world and I am. GOD OF THIS WORLD IS SATAN. OH, AND I MIGHT BE CAPTIVE IN HIS WORLD, DADDY. OH, AND I MIGHT BE LIVING IN HIS DOMINION. BUT HE KNOWS AND I KNOW. I'll never conform. NEVER. YOU CAN BIND MY HANDS WITH CHAINS. YOU CAN BIND MY FEET WITH FETTERS, BUT YOU CAN NEVER BIND MY FAITH AND MY ALLEGIANCE TO THE WORD OF GOD. I MIGHT BE CAPTIVE, BUT I WILL NEVER BE CONFORMED. In the land of Israel there was three boys. Go back with me now. Remember what they're doing every day. They're at the temple learning the word. And guess where they are every Sabbath? They're in the church. THESE ARE DIFFERENT GROUP OF PEOPLE. THREE BOYS BY THE NAME OF SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO. THESE BOYS NOW, THAT WAS NOT THEIR NAME. You know that, right? OH, NO, NO. WHILE THEY LIVED IN ISRAEL, THAT WAS NOT THEIR NAME. OH, NO. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEIR NAMES WERE TOTALLY DIFFERENT. THEIR NAMES, WHILE LIVING IN ISRAEL, WAS HANANIAH, MISHAEL, AND AZARIAH. NOW, WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? BECAUSE HANANIAH, WHICH WAS WHAT WE KNOW AS, UM, A SHADRACH, THE NAME HANANIAH MEANT THE GIFT OF GOD. BUT, THE FIRST THING THAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY WERE CAPTURED BY BABYLON, THE KING CHANGED THEIR NAME FROM HANANIAH TO SHADRACH, WHICH MEANS SERVANT OF SIN. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. You listen to me well. If you're a member of the house OF ISRAEL, YOUR IDENTITY, I need you to I NEED YOUR IDENTITY AS A SON OF GOD, AS A ROYAL BLOODLINE, AND A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, WILL MAKE EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WANT TO CHANGE YOUR IDENTITY. OH, HANANIAH, YOU THINK YOU'RE A GIFT FROM GOD? I'LL CHANGE YOUR NAME TO THE SERVANT OF SIN. OH, YOU CAN change my name all you want to, KING OF BABYLON, BUT I KNOW WHAT MY MAMA NAMED ME. I I SAID "ABEDNEGO." I KNOW MY DESTINY. I KNOW WHO I AM, AND IT'S NOT WHO YOU SAID I WAS. I'M CAPTIVE IN BABYLON, BUT I'M NOT CONFORMED. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GO BY THE NAME YOU'RE CALLING ME, BUT I'M GOING TO LIVE BY THE NAME I KNOW. THAT'S RIGHT. MY GOD. OH, YEAH. YEAH. YOU MAY CALL ME ANYTHING YOU WANT TO, BUT I HEARD MY MAMA SAY, "WHO IS MY MOTHER? THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD." THE BIBLE SAID THE CHURCH IS THE MOTHER OF US ALL. THE CHURCH NAMED ME. WHEN I WENT IN THE WATERS OF BAPTISM, SHE CHANGED MY NAME FROM LOST TO SAVED, FROM DEAD TO ALIVE. SHE CHANGED MY NAME. And now I know my name. Know my name. I KNOW MY NAME. HALLELUJAH. THERE WAS ANOTHER BOY. OH, YEAH. GUESS WHAT HIS NAME WAS? MISHAEL, which means who is what God is. But his new NAME HIS NEW NAME, MESHACH, MEANT who is what Baal is. His first NAME WAS HE WHO IS WHAT YAHWEH IS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL. BUT NOW WE'RE CHANGING YOU TO MESHACH AND WE'RE NOW SAYING YOU'RE WHO OUR GOD IS. THE THIRD SON, ABEDNEGO, HIS NAME WAS AZARIAH, WHICH MEANS WHOM YAHWEH HELPS. BUT WHEN THEY TRIED TO CHANGE HIS IDENTITY, THEY CHANGED HIM TO A SERVANT OF NEBO, WHICH IS A BABYLONIAN GOD. These three boys are in each in Israel. They're living their life. They're keeping the Sabbath. They're going to church. THEY'RE PAYING THEIR TITHE. THEY'RE BEING FAITHFUL. THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD. AND ONE DAY THEY LOOK UP THE DUSTY ROADS OF ISRAEL AND HERE COMES A GREAT BABYLONIAN ARMY. THE KING IS LEADING THE ARMY AND HE SWEEPS THROUGH ISRAEL AND DESTROYS THE CITY, AND TAKES IT CAPTIVE. BUT I WANT YOU to notice something. The king of Babylon didn't take all the citizens with him back to Babylon, not yet. He picked out three boys. I'm sorry, four. Daniel was included. Yeah. Picked out four boys, daddy. Why did he pick these four boys out? And bring them back to Babylon. For 70 years THEY WERE THERE. WHY? BECAUSE SATAN CAN'T GET TO THE church till he gets to the preacher first. These were noble boys. Go look I've been to read you the scripture where it says they were noble sons, which means they were of the line of David. Satan can't capture the church until he gets in the minds of a lying preacher to preach lies to the church, BABYLON. SEE, SATAN CAN'T TURN THE CHURCH INTO BABYLON TILL HE TURNS THE PREACHER INTO BABYLON. HE GRABS THE LEADERS OF ISRAEL, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO, AND DANIEL, AND TAKES THEM WITH HIM. BACK AS CAPTIVES. THEY WERE IN CHAINS. NOW HERE THEY COME TO A LAND THEY'VE NEVER KNOWN. THEY are different. They are so different. Now the king's job is to convince them they're not as different as they think they are, but to make them feel like they're just like everybody else in the world IN BABYLON. YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL. DON'T THINK YOUR FAITH IS BETTER THAN MY FEAR. DON'T THINK THAT YOUR YOUR LIFE IS HOLIER THAN MINE. TURN WITH ME. And I want to read you a sad verse of scripture. Let's go to the book of Daniel, chapter 1. And I want TO READ TO YOU NOW HOW YOU MIGHT BE CAPTIVE, but you can never be conformed. Daniel chapter 1, verse 3 through verse 4. HALLELUJAH. AND THE KING SPAKE UNTO ASHPENAZ, THE MASTER OF HIS EUNUCHS, THAT HE SHOULD BRING READ IT CAREFULLY. NOT ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, BUT CERTAIN. SATAN AIN'T AFTER THE WHOLE CHURCH, HE'S after certain ones. The ones that are leading the church. Get them carnal-minded, get them to conform to Babylon, and the whole church will conform. I need a little help now. HE SAID, "I DON'T WANT YOU TO BRING EVERYBODY YET. I JUST WANT YOU TO GET CERTAIN ONES." WHO? WHOSE SEED? The king's children. The You know, we've always said in the church that certain families And we don't mean it like it sounds, but we would say they're royalty. What we meant by that was, for example, my grandmother. Uh she worked for God all of HER LIFE. SO THEREFORE HER CHILDREN Satan went after HER CHILDREN, ALL 10 OF THEM. ALL 10 OF THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE ROYAL SEED. IN GOD'S EYES, YOU'RE ROYALTY WHEN YOU'RE FAITHFUL. HE SAID, "I WANT YOU TO FIND ME THE KING'S CHILDREN." DO YOU WANT ME TO BRING ALL MILLION ISRAELITES BACK TO BABYLON TO BE OUR SERVANTS? NOT YET. NOT YET. THEY'RE COMING. BUT I GOT TO CONVINCE the king's children to conform to our way of life so they can convince the church, all of Israel, to change. I need somebody to help ME NOW. YOU MIGHT BE CONFINED, BUT I'M GOING TO TELL YOU don't you ever be conformed. He said, "I WANT YOU TO GET ME THE PRINCES." WHO WERE THEY? DANIEL, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO. THESE WERE DAVID'S LINEAGE. MY GOD, THESE WERE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD. SEE See if Satan can get You can get the leaders to get discouraged, SHUT THE CHURCH DOWN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONVINCE THE CHURCH. HE JUST GOT to convince the leaders to shut it all down. Oh, wow. Go to the next verse, verse number four, BROTHER KENNETH. CHILDREN IN WHOM was no blemish, SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD, HOLY UNTO THEIR GOD. SATAN always goes after the the preacher's kids with no blemish. Why? Because he wants to destroy the lineage of the house of God. And who did he want? THE ONES THAT WERE WELL-FAVORED. AND SKILLFUL ON THE PIANO and in the pulpit. I need to You see what I'M SAYING, RIGHT? SKILLFUL IN IN IN IN THE WORK OF ISRAEL, THE WORK OF GOD. KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD. DON'T BRING ME JUST ANYBODY. YOU FIND ME THAT PREACHER THAT CAN PREACH THE HOUSE DOWN. WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE HIM. WE'RE GOING TO CON- WE'RE GOING TO CONFORM HIM TO THE WORLD'S WAY OF THINKING. THAT UNDERSTANDS SCIENCE, WHICH DANIEL WAS ONE OF THOSE men that understood science. HE UNDERSTOOD THE STARS, DIDN'T HE? OH, YEAH. AND AS SUCH HAS HAD ABILITY IN THEM TO STAND WHERE? IN THE KING'S PALACE. LEADERS OF ISRAEL, I WANT THE LEADERS. SO THAT I CAN DO MORE THAN PUT THEM IN CHAINS. I DON'T WANT THEM IN CHAINS. I WANT TO CHANGE THEM. MY GOD. So what What do I want the leaders? Get ready. So that we might teach them our way of thinking. Our language. So that we can remove them from their Hebrew roots, from their Israeli identity. WE WANT TO CHANGE THEIR LANGUAGE TO WHERE THEY CALL THEIR GOD BY DIFFERENT NAME THAN YAHWEH. WE WANT TO CHANGE THEIR LANGUAGE. I want the leaders so that we can teach them how to be Chaldean rather than Israelites. God gave me this message today. May not be for nobody in this room, but I'm determined to never be conformed to this world. HALLELUJAH. I KNOW I CAME FROM THE KING'S PALACE. I KNOW WHO I AM. I CAME FROM THE COURTS OF ISRAEL. I CAME FROM THE ALTARS OF PENTECOST. I CAME FROM THE OUTPOURING OF THE OF THE HOLY GHOST. I KNOW WHO I AM. I KNOW WHO I AM. We're told that Daniel and his friends were of the seed of David. Let's read uh verse five, brother Kent. And verse six. Hallelujah. AND THE KING APPOINTED THEM A DAILY PROVISION OF HIS MEAT. NOW, LISTEN. He got Shadrach, MESHACH, ABEDNEGO, AND DANIEL. And even though they're prisoners, he treats them so well. All right. Oh, yes. Made them feel important. Satan will always build your church for you so you'll feel important when you start thinking like he thinks. Start preaching a watered-down Chaldean gospel. WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR LANGUAGE FROM FAITH TO FEAR, THAT'S RIGHT. HE'LL REWARD YOU WELL. Y'all come on in and be good little PRISONERS NOW. WE'RE NOT GOING TO HURT YOU. WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU WORK IN THE FIELD BECAUSE you're royal and you're leaders in the church. Oh, we're going to seduce you LIKE THE PIED PIPER OF HELL. WE'RE GOING to convince you you ain't nobody special. We're going TO CONVINCE YOU ALL THAT POWER IN GOD YOU THINK YOU HAVE IS A BUNCH OF BULL. WE'RE GOING TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU DON'T HAVE A HERITAGE IN GOD. WE'RE GOING TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU'RE JUST LIKE US. I'LL NEVER BE CONVINCED. I I grew up hearing my grandma pray 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning. I know where I CAME FROM. I SAW THE POWER OF GOD FROM THE TOP OF MY HEAD TO THE I KNOW WHO I AM. AND HELL WILL FREEZE OVER BEFORE YOU CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. I MAY LIVE IN YOUR WORLD, SATAN. I MIGHT HAVE TO ABIDE BY SOME OF YOUR SYSTEMS, BUT I'LL NEVER THINK LIKE YOU. THE KING DIDN'T FEED THEM mush like he did all the other slaves. Brought them into his house. Said, "Sit at my table and eat my meat. And of the wine which he drank." That's pretty good living right there, isn't it? And I mean, meat and wine and sitting with the king. Before Satan destroys you, he'll always bring you close to make you think he loves you. He'll always make you think you're special to him before when he's offering you the drugs of THIS WORLD. HE'LL ALWAYS MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE important before he discards you. AND HE NOURISHED THEM FOR 3 YEARS. That at the end thereof, they were fixing to go into 3 years of schooling. They were going to be changed from Israelites to Babylonians. Chaldean language. They weren't going to talk about Passover no more. They was going to talk about Well, never mind. The holidays OF BABYLON. WE GOING TO CHANGE YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO GO FROM YOUR BIBLE TO THE WAY WE DO THINGS. FOR 3 YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO RE-EDUCATE YOU. JUST LIKE IF CHINA WAS TO TAKE OVER AMERICA, THE FIRST THING THEY WOULD DO IS QUIT TEACHERS IN OUR SCHOOLS TO EDUCATE US AND RE-EDUCATE US INTO THE CHINESE WAY OF THINKING. THE FIRST THING SATAN WILL do is re-educate you. And you can't believe God's word. And after 3 years, what were they going to do? Come stand before the king. Read the next verse, number six. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, their name still Hananiah right there. HANANIAH, MISHAEL, AND AZARIAH. WHAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW, they was about to lose that identity. God help us to not lose our identity in God. THESE FOUR YOUNG MEN ARE A TYPE OF THE BODY of Christ living in Babylon. As we're GOING TO SEE SHORTLY in the next few verses, let's go to verse seven. Hallelujah. UNTO WHOM THE PRINCE OF THE EUNUCHS gave names. Now they're being changed. Their 3 years has started. Here comes the change. Change you from your identity of who you really are. AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO GET NEW NAMES. DANIEL IS NOW BELTESHAZZAR. HANANIAH IS NOW SHADRACH, WHICH MEANS THE SERVANT OF SIN. MISHAEL IS NOW MESHACH. AND AZARIAH IS NOW ABEDNEGO. THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO CHANGE THEIR destiny and to change their identity. And I'm going to shorten this without reading any more. As they stood before the king, brother John, Daniel said, "O king, we have one request. Please don't make us eat your unclean food." "What do you mean, my unclean food? It's the best food in the kingdom." "I know, but we're a separated people. We can't eat that. Our God" And the king's thinking in his mind, "Give me 3 years, you'll eat everything I've got. I'm going to reeducate you." If you're not careful, this church they try to reeducate me every day. The church world tries to reeducate me EVERY DAY. BROTHER VON, FORGET ALL THAT. JUST LOVE JESUS. AND I KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. THEY YOU KNOW WHY THEY WANT TO reeducate you? Because you're an embarrassment to them. You make them feel like they're not doing what they should be doing. YOU'RE A TESTIMONY AGAINST THEM WHEN YOU'RE LIVING THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. SO THE KING TOLD DANIEL, "SON, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU 90 DAYS TO EAT YOUR CLEAN FOOD. AND AFTER 90 DAYS, IF YOU DON'T IF YOU'RE NOT WHERE I CAN USE YOU, IF YOU DON'T LOOK HEALTHY, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU EAT MY FOOD." YOU CAN READ THE story of what happened. I won't keep you long. The truth is this. They were in fetters, strong. They were captive, but they were not conformed. You changed my name, but when we get back to the household king and you're not there, we're going to call each other by our real names. BROTHER VON, YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE WHOLE CHURCH. QUIT PREACHING. WHAT YOU PREACHING ABOUT THIS AND THAT? I KNOW I CAN'T CHANGE BABYLON, BUT I'LL BE IF THE BABYLON IS GOING TO CHANGE ME. I'M AN ISRAELITE. I KNOW who I am. God's called ME TO BE SHEPHERD FROM THE WORLD, and I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU MOCK ME, OH KING. I WILL NOT EAT YOUR FOOD. I'LL DIE FIRST. I'LL DIE FIRST. I'LL DIE FIRST. I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE AND DIE FIRST. AND THAT KING is saying, "I know, son. I just need a little time, and you'll be doing everything we want you to do. You'll be keeping Babylonian holidays by the time we get through with you, oh Shadrach. Oh yeah, you won't Your Passover, you won't No, we're going to turn you into the Catholic I mean the Babel the cat the Babel the Catholic the Babylonian system that we are. Oh yeah. Protestants that lives like the world. You can't tell a difference in the church and the world. You know why? You not only are you captive, but you've been conformed. God's looking for SOMEBODY THAT SAYS, "OH KING, I WILL NOT EAT OF YOUR MEAT. I REALIZE I'M A CAPTIVE, AND I REALIZE I GOT TO OBEY YOUR LAW. I'M HERE. WE'RE NOT GOING TO PROTEST. WE'RE NOT GOING TO RISE UP AGAINST YOU. WE'RE NOT GOING TO FIGHT YOU. BUT WHEN WE GET HOME AND YOU ain't nowhere around, we're going to be who we are. Hallelujah. That's why Paul when Paul was talking about speaking in tongues, it's sort of funny what he said. He basically said, "If visitors come in, you know, try to keep your tongue talking to a minimum because they'll think you're mad. " BUT BASICALLY WHAT HE'S SAYING IS IF IT'S JUST YOU bunch of folks, do what you want to do. Let it real. BECAUSE HERE'S WHY. YOU MAY HAVE ME AND CHANGE, BUT YOU AIN'T WITH ME 24/7. And when I get home, I'mma call myself what my mama called me. I'mma eat what my mama taught me to eat. I'm going TO KEEP THE HOLIDAYS MY MAMA TAUGHT ME FROM THE GOD OF ISRAEL. I'M GOING TO BE SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD. YOU CAN MOCK ME, BUT YOU'LL NEVER CHANGE ME. HALLELUJAH. And now I want to read you the saddest verse of it all. I'm going to close with Ezra chapter two. And we're going to close now. Hallelujah. I thank God I know who I am. THANK GOD I'M HOLY GHOST FILLED. FIRE BAPTIZED. THANK GOD THAT I'M A CAPTIVE IN SATAN'S WORLD, BUT I'll never think like you. Daddy, he can't make me think like him. HE CAN MAKE ME WEAR THE CHAINS. He can't make me think like him. The only way he can do it is if I get out of that book. That's why I said, "Be not conformed to THIS WORLD, BUT TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF your mind, BY THE WASHING OF THE WORD. " LISTEN TO ME, CHILDREN. WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD IS TREMBLING IN FEAR OF COVID-19, THE CHILD OF GOD SAYS THE LORD'S GOING TO TAKE ME HOME ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. I HAVE NO FEAR. SHAME. I LIVE IN A DARK WORLD, BUT I SERVE A bright God. The God OF LIGHT. THE GOD OF LIFE. I'LL HAVE NO FEAR. YOU'RE GOING TO BE AFRAID. NO, KING. YOU CAN MAKE ME WEAR YOUR CHAINS, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE ME AFRAID. NOW, let's read the saddest verse of them all. After Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and Daniel came to Babylon, we know how that story ended. Anybody remember the fiery furnace? He didn't quite convert them, did he? They went in the fire, AND WHO SHOWED UP? THE KING GAVE UP, didn't he? Sometimes But after they couldn't convert those four boys, they wound up going back to Israel and bringing over a million Jews to Babylon. Over a million, brother Barnett, as their servants. The God of BABYLON WAS THEIR GOD IN PUBLIC, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, even in private, he became their God. Because Ezra tells us what happens at the end of the 70 years of Babylonian exile. Out of the million people that went to Babylon, TO THAT FALSE CHURCH, THAT FALSE RELIGION, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED. THE WHOLE CONGREGATION that came out now after those 70 years, read how many of them there were. 42,000 out of over a million wanted to leave Babylon and go back to Israel when it was over. Only 40 2,000 longed for the old ways, the old paths. Only 42,000 longed to see the commandments again, longed to see THE TEMPLE AGAIN. ONLY 42,000 ARE LEFT. OUT OF A MILLION LONGED FOR THEIR ROOTS OF FAITH. THAT'S ALL THEY CARED. WHENEVER THE KING SAID, "YOU'RE FREE TO GO." OVER A MILLION OF THEM CUZ THEY'D HAD CHILDREN over those 70 years, GRANDCHILDREN. WE'RE PROBABLY UP TO 2 MILLION BY NOW. IF THEY JUST HAD ONE CHILD APIECE. AND 40 I THINK that might be less than maybe we're at 10% of the people. I don't know if we're at 10%. No, that'd be Well, that's about right. They came out to go back to Israel. Now, read the next verse for the king. I want you to read this. Hallelujah. Verse 65. Besides their servants and maids, there were 7,330. And there were among them 200 singing men and singing women. Why did any more come out? They found a good life in Babylon. I could read it to you, but I'm not going to right now. You can go read it. When when WHEN EZRA ASKED THEM, "WHY AREN'T YOU COMING?" WELL, we've built a house here. We started going to the Babylonian church. We've got friends in the Babylonian church. We've built a network. We got a good job here. Why would we want to take that long journey back to Israel where our city's destroyed? Yeah, your city's destroyed, but that's where your heritage is. That's where the altar is, the ark of the covenant is. Only 42,000 had not been conformed to Babylon. And I prophesy to you tonight that at the end of time that we're living in, there's a small remnant going back to Israel. Turning their hearts back towards home. The house of God. Everybody else has found friends in this world that they like to hang out with. Found peace in Babylon. But tonight, if you're in this room and watching me by camera around the world, there's a call going forth to the house of Israel. COME OUT! COME OUT! WHEREVER YOU ARE, COME OUT OF HER! MY PEOPLE I'VE SURELY STILL GOT SOME PEOPLE LEFT IN THERE, HE SAID. 42,000, I'LL TAKE THEM. COME OUT! LEAVE THAT SYSTEM AND COME OUT! PLEASE COME OUT BEFORE I DESTROY it all. Babylon is fallen. BABYLON IS FALLEN. COME OUT! IT'S ABOUT TO ALL CRUMBLE. THE NATION'S IN AN UPROAR. AMERICA'S ABOUT TO FALL. EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED. COME ON HOME. GET BACK TO THE ALTAR. GET BACK TO FAITH. GET BACK TO YOUR FAITH IN GOD. Let's stand tonight. Thank you, Lord. Brother John, I can't get you out of Babylon in your chains, but by the preaching of the word, I can pull your mind out of there. Hallelujah. There was an old song we used to sing, Brother Barnett, said, "I don't want to get adjusted to this world, but I want to come out." I hear the Lord saying tonight, "Come out wherever you are. Come out wherever you are. Come out and be a separated people unto me, saith the Be a PECULIAR PEOPLE. SHUT BACK. DON'T EAT THAT MEAT, SON. I KNOW YOU'RE in chains, but your mind is still free. We live in an evil world, but we walk by faith in the God of Israel. Daddy, thank you. Oh, that precious time.