Are Ancient Landmarks Still Relevant: Part 2

proverbs chapter 22 verse number 28 we have been in this vein of thought this vein of teaching over the last two weeks we will continue uh for the sake of time and the sake of uh what we will do in honoring of sister jamie i will probably have to split this up in two sections but i'll go as far as i as far as i can tonight proverbs chapter 22 verse 28 remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set leviticus 20 22-26 he shall therefore keep all my statutes somebody say all my statutes and oh somebody say all my judgments and what's that do them somebody say do them that the land wither i bring you to dwell therein spew you not out and ye shall not walk in the manner of the nation which i cast out before you for they committed

all these things and therefore i abhorred them but i say unto you you or ye shall inherit their land somebody say their land and i will give it unto you to possess it a land that floweth with milk and honey i am the lord your god which have separate somebody say separated separated you from other people you shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean between unclean files and clean you shall not make your souls abominable by beast or by foul or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground which i have separated from you as unclean and you shall be everybody say holy holy unto me for i the lord am holy and have severed you from other people that ye should be mine i don't know those of you that have read the word of god those of you

that went through the yearly bible reading you may have read this passage of scripture before but as i read this afresh even today i begin to see that that god throughout and everybody knows that the old testament is a pattern of things to come a pattern the old testament was a pattern of things that were to come so jesus said i've not come to destroy the law i've come to fulfill the law okay so tonight i want to help us and and try to interject into your spirit something that i feel that is so necessary right now god has always desired to have a separated people he's always desired that as though he did the children of israel when he brought them out of the land of egypt he separated them he brought them through the red sea now in this portion that we we

just read he is bringing them into a land flowing with milk and honey a prosperous land they would inherit houses and land that they did not build they did not per se earn or but god said i've separated it out you from them and what was theirs will now be yours god's always dealed with separation from the foundation of the of the world brother jones god's always desired to have a separated people always hallelujah and where does the enemy fight us as the church of the living god he fights us in this realm of separation the enemy wants us to bend and blend and be just like everybody else but my subtitle for my message tonight is this dare to be different dare to be different webster defines the word different as partly or totally unlike in nature form or quality not the same as

unusual or special aren't you glad tonight that you are different god has always wanted his people to be different from those who do not serve him you should be different than those that are around you if they do not serve the lord your god you should be different the bible is complete with command after command after command that teaches us that different is not damning dimming different is not dysfunctional and different is not detrimental now that's the opposite message that the enemy is trying to sell christianity today the enemy is trying there there has been an onslaught for for on all religious on all religions all religious faith to be the same and not to focus on any differences we're just all one melting pot of people and we're all going to this one proverbial place called heaven it doesn't matter how you live it

doesn't matter what you do there's no road map where we're all going to end up at the same place that's the the mentality we're to you know respect their their viewpoint they've they've got the truth and they've got the truth but there can only be one truth there can only be one jesus said i am the way i am the truth i am the life there's only one way muhammad is not the way buddha is not the way cairo christian is not the way no other prophet is not the jesus is the only way to salvation he's the door he said i am not i but i am the door that's what he said brother good he said i am the way i'm the door any man come any other way is like a thief or a robber so we've got to get this core

it's okay to be different it's okay to be different hallelujah the world that we live in doesn't want us to focus on our differences but i think it's in time to rise up and understand as holy ghost-filled people we will be different let's don't negotiate the difference that god's called us to be for exodus 11-7 that ye may know how that the lord does put a difference between the egyptians and israel look at that right there god's always been about difference i want you to be different now a lot of times because we are different we just want to hold our head down and feel sorry for ourselves because we're different we should hold our head up and and not prideful but proud that god has separated us unto himself to be different somebody shout amen

leviticus 10 and 10 i'm trying to help us tonight and that you may put somebody to say difference between holy and unholy between unclean and clean god's always been about difference i don't want you to be like everybody i don't want you to blend i don't want you to be like everybody i want you to be reserved for me and me alone hallelujah first kings 8 53 for thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth to be thine inheritance as thou speakest by the hand of moses thy servant when thou broughtest our fathers out of egypt oh lord god god's all about us being different i've come to i've come to challenge you more tonight and instruct you it's okay to be different i dare you to be different i dare you to be a light i dare you to pierce

through the darkness with the light of truth that's inside of you by the holy ghost hallelujah ezra 10 10 through 12 and ezra the priest stood up and said unto them ye have transgressed and have taken strange wives to increase the trespass of israel now therefore make confession unto the lord god of your fathers and do his pleasure get this and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives then all the congregation answered said with a loud voice as thou has said so must we do you look at that he was look that ezra the priest stood up and said he looked them square in the eyes if you could look at from that point of reference ye have transgressed you have taken strange wives to increase the trespass of israel but here's the remedy if you will make a

conf or if you will make a confession or repent unto the lord god of your fathers and do his pleasure not your pleasure that's our problem in 2021 we want to do what pleases us we want to do what pleases his flesh and what happened so many times in our pleasure being fulfilled his pleasure is unfulfilled do hit somebody say his pleasure and separate yourselves from the people of the land he said you you got to cut some connections in this world you've got to cut some connections with the people of the land and from the strange wives you can't continue to live like you've been living once you repent when you repent before god you come to an altar of repentance when you make your confession you've got to separate yourself from some things now this isn't something you've not heard before i'm sure

but i think it's a good reminder for us that repentance always brings a separation from the unclean and a cleaving to the clean there is a separation from the strange wives and then here's what i like about it when you read that scripture then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice as thou has said so must we do it was an attitude of submission did you know when you dare to be different it takes a submissive spirit it takes a submission of your will your flesh doesn't want to be different your flesh doesn't want to dress holy your flesh doesn't want to sanctify itself you've got to crucify that flesh you've got to say no flesh you're not going to do what you want to do because i dare to be different hallelujah

when you get the revelation of this you're going to understand how to walk in victory not just because i've said it but because the word of god hath declared there is a must we do could this be the translation that we find in acts chapter 2. after peter had preached these words and stood on the day of pentecost he they would say these words what must i do could it be a correlation going all the way back to the book of ezra when they said and so must we do there is required a response when you hear the preaching of the word of god when you hear the teaching that i'm teaching on wednesday nights it provokes a response in the heart of everyone in this room those of you that are watching online tonight there is a response that you must give god what

i'm hearing it may convict my heart it may challenge me to a deeper level of commitment but at the end of the day at the end of the night there must come something out of the heart that says so must we too i've got to do it god i've got to do it i could flip it and say we get to do it oh god to please you ezekiel 22 i love these scriptures ezekiel 22 26 her priests have violated my law have profaned mine holy things they have put no difference that's where we i feel the holy ghost so strong in this room tonight just through the teaching they have put no difference between the holy and profane neither have they showed everybody say difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths and i am profaned among

them if that doesn't tell us where we're at right now if that doesn't get we have put no diff there's no difference between the holy and the unholy the clean and the unclean there's no sin anymore or so they say i said it last week and i'll say it again we're calling evil good but brother chris the real danger today is we're calling good evil there's no difference between the good the holy the good the clean the unholy the holy there's no difference and god's always been about be different be separated i've chosen you i've called you out i put a i put my mark i put my finger upon you and the enemy is fighting this end time last day church before the coming of the lord trying himself trying its best to deceive us to rock us a lullaby us to sleep and

make us feel that you know there's really no need to put any differences in who we are what we believe no no no really no difference but that's remember i said the old testament was a pattern for the up for the things to come in the new under the dispensation of law and grace don't you think the devil's ever changed though the same spirits that were at work then have just crept into the next dispensation and and they're still at work they're still a jezebel spirit i said there there is still a spirit trying to eliminate the difference in who we are let me ask you this when the trumpet sounds if there is no difference if there is no difference who's going to be caught up to meet him in the air who's he coming for if there is no difference if there is

no dif who is he coming for he's coming for the bride of christ he's coming back with for a church that has made themselves ready you can't make yourself ready and there not be a difference you've got to be different than this world oh let me let me keep on ain't nowhere near going to get finished 7 23 ezekiel 44 23 and they shall teach my people everybody say the difference the difference between the holy and profane cause them to discern between the unclean and clean you know what i prayed today i said god if you would baptize us if you would baptize mothers and fathers if you would baptize grandmothers and single moms single dads if you would baptize them with a spirit of discernment i'm afraid in this modern age in this hour that we're living in we have lost the gift of

discernment but i prayed the gift of discernment would rise back into the sanctuary it would rise into homes and that we could discern what was unclean and clean it's okay daddy to say no we're not doing that it's okay mama to say no you're not wearing that come on we've got to discern we've got to have a spirit of discernment that would rise up a holy indignation against the unrighteousness and the profane spirit of our day a discernment there needs to i want us to start praying these prayers of dessert god give me discernment let me be sensitive of what's going on inside my home let me be sensitive as what's going on in my family let me be sensitive what's going on around me so that i can properly discern the clean from the unclean hallelujah

the holy and the profane y'all all right tonight leviticus 20 26 and ye shall be holy unto me for i the lord am holy and have severed i'm going to talk about that word in a minute and have severed you from other people that you should be mine let me just ask you this just because that page that that's right here in the middle of our bible this little page right here brother brother hamilton made this illustration there's this little page right here that separates the old testament from the new testament if we rip that out okay if we ripped that little page out right there do you think god just because he manifested himself in flesh decided to change the formula or decided to change the idea the god idea of separation from old testament to new testament he never changed the idea of

separation if he severed a people in the old testament we're going to see this in a minute he didn't stop doing that in the new testament he's always designed us to be separated unto him why that you should be called his there should be no doubt when you go when you do your daily affair when you're out there should be no doubt that you are his there should be no doubt they're different they talk different they act different they've got a different tone about them when they see you walk when they see you talk when they interact with your love and passion and compassion when they interact with your mercy and grace and they interact with those things those characteristics that fruit of the spirit they should know you're not the normal you you're not the normal individual let's jump to some new testament second

corinthians 6 and 17 wherefore come out from i know this is we we've heard this preach before but in light of everything else i've just taught us wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the lord and touch not the unclean thing and i will receive you this is the same god that was given the inspiration to the prophets of old that i just read about speaking through paul to the church in corinth that was established he still wants a different church he still wants a separated church he still wants a clean church he still wants it hallelujah

i know it's 20 20 i know this seems so old-fashioned but it's still true i said it's still the truth you're probably not going to hear this at every church that you go to i understand that it doesn't change the fact that god still wants a separated church he still wants a different church he still wants a church that is clean that is still reserved for only him you will never be able to convince me that god doesn't dare for his people to be different the word severed in leviticus 20 26 means to set apart to make a distinction to make different this is the first time the word severed is used but it is not the first time the actual hebrew word is used severed comes from a hebrew word bedell and the first time bedell is used in scripture is in genesis 1

and 4. you read it and god saw the light that it was good and god divided or severed the light from darkness god severed the light from darkness god set apart light from darkness god made a distinction between the light and the darkness and god still makes a difference between light and darkness but here's the deal you don't have to be smart to recognize when it's light and when it's dark you don't have to be smart you you don't i mean now i know it just doesn't take a very is it dark outside right now it probably yeah it's dark and if somebody tells you it's light outside they're lying to you now there are some people that'll tell you that man it's raining outside there ain't no rain the sun shining they're lying you don't have to have great spiritual insight to know when

it's light outside and when it's dark outside god has made that very distinct and clear and the same word and distinction he used to let us know when it was light and when it was dark was the same word he used to describe how he wanted his people to be viewed versus other people in other words as easily as you can tell when it's light or dark you should be able to tell if someone is a saint or a sinner it don't take long just take a look at their life just take a look at them we should be everybody say severed we should be set apart we should be distinct we should be different every major christian denomination used to value separation every one of them very few that i don't know about maybe but all of them valued separation we all used to

have landmarks that defined and separated us from the world oh but about 75 years ago give or take give me a little attitude on that approximately 75 years ago things began to change landmarks begin to move and then be removed entertainment go set go back 75 years ago and the word entertainment what comes to your mind entertainment was we you can't participate in any entertainment there were no movie theaters there was no dancing there was no men dressing and acting like women there were no women dressing and acting like men uh 75 years ago people had a respect and an understanding of spiritual authority 75 years ago things such as jewelry and cosmetics and the list could go on and on and on 75 years ago all major denominations had a stance or a landmark or a standard that said this is things we stand

and hold true i'm certain when these things begin to erode away the thought behind them would have been we can relate more to people this away we can let down the fence and more people get in we can reach more people this way we can respond better if we're more like the world the only problem is that ideologue that those ideals goes against god's ideals there are things the the the odd ideological thinking of man we're not careful it can quickly unalign with god's theological pattern of the word of god god has always required his people to be different always because he has always wanted his people to make a difference why be different want to be different sister amanda he wants you to make a difference why be different sister bell he wants you to be a different he wants you to make a

difference did you know different people make a difference samson everybody say samson was a different man and while he was different he was being used by god to do great things samson's downward spiral begins with these words judges 16-7 and simpson said unto if i say her if they bind me with seven green with that they that were never dried then shall i be weak but don't stop reading there here's where the enemy were and be as another man 16-11 and he said unto her if they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied never have they tied up a man they've never been occupied then shall i be weak then as another man judges 16-17 do you see the demise here do you see what the enemy or lucifer was trying to do through this through this woman he was trying to

make him just like everybody else that's where the enemy is after you right now i'm trying to i'm trying to destroy the difference in you so you'll just blend and be just like everybody else judges 16 and 17 that he told her all his heart and said it it eventually caught up with him and said unto her there hath not come a razor upon my head for i have been a nazarite unto god from my mother's womb if i be shaven then my strength will go from me and i shall become weak and be like any other man delilah's target was very simple she wanted to make the strong man weak and that could only be accomplished when he default when he divorced his distinction that's right when we as a church shot when we as a church divorce our distinction we divorce our difference

we divorce those things that we have held true the same stuff is happening today the devil is trying to make this strong church weak and the only way he can do it is try to make us like every other church just be like every other denomination just let go of every everything every bit of separation every bit of difference do what all the other churches did 75 to 100 years ago just be like everybody else but i rise to you this evening on this wednesday to declare unto you we shall not remove the ancient landmarks we will not fall for the lie of the devil the last thing this this city needs is another weak church the last thing this city needs is another weak ministry the last thing this city needs is a weak move of god there are plenty opportunities down this one

highway right here for people to walk in and to be rocked asleep where there is no spirit there is no move of god there is no hand clapping there is no owl running there is no the gifts of the spirit are something that's never discussed or never talked about but i rise as your pastor and rebuke the ideals that say we must let down and move the ancient landmarks but oh no we're rising in this hour with a fresh declaration i choose to be separated i choose to be set apart i want to be different because god has called us to be different no wonder the writer said in first peter 2 and 9 but ye are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people i'm talking about new testament information given by god to the church a peculiar people that

you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light i think right now we ought to clap our hands under the lord hallelujah he's called you to be different he's called you to be set apart he didn't save what did he save you for he didn't save us so we could be like everybody else he didn't die on a cross so we could remain worldly and carnal he didn't take his stripes on his back so we could wander in weakness and wonder what when he put his spirit inside of you he separated you unto him that's why we still believe in the laying on our hands we believe in the radical power of deliverance that when you walk to an old-fashioned altar and you come into this place hands can be laid upon you with a

surrendered heart and a confession you can be delivered do i have anybody in this room right here that's ever been delivered by the hand of the lord i don't ever want you to feel like that your circumstances have gone too far well you just don't understand where my family you don't understand my children i've come to tell you what's in this room what's in this church can take those that are bound that are addicted that are lost and they can be found that's called the power of the holy ghost you've tried everything else you've tried the things of these worlds you've tried the self-helps can i tell you the power that makes the difference is jesus hallelujah

the power of the holy ghost well i don't know about that holy ghost i don't know what to think about just give it a try tell everybody you know let the spirit of evangelism come upon you i don't know about that holy ghost but i heard a preacher tell me that if you'll come to his church if you'll come into that house god can deliver you it's the difference i said it's the difference that makes the difference in a time when the spirit of antichrist is trying to tear down anything and everything that makes us different antichrist i know we i know we think of a person the antichrist but the spirit of antichrist is already at work it's sowing seeds of thoughts into your mind that's anti-christ i lift up my voice as your pastor i cannot be silenced and i dare you to

be different i dare you to trust god i dare you to take up your consecration to another level it's still okay for us to be different it's time to do self let's do some inventory of our own lives what do you need to change what do you need to go and get rid of what do you need to sacrifice what do you need to crucify in your life it's still okay for us to value old ancient landmarks doesn't matter if grandma used to do it what are you doing doesn't matter if your mom and daddy used to live for god what are you doing what am i doing i've come to tell you this evening that we need to let god's word be true and let every man be a liar if we keep removing ancient landmarks we're going to become like every other people

we try very hard to maintain standards that will keep us separated from the world i'm unapologetic about that we keep standards we have standards it protects us i said it protects us and when you look at verses like first john 2 15 love not the world neither the things that are in the world if any man love the world the love of the father it's not in him right so so tonight i want i want you to dare to be different i want you to be different those of you in this room and i know our students are going to watch this they may be watching it in their class i know they were going to watch either last week or this week but those of you that are involved in leadership you know that we have guidelines that we we adhere to that bars

just a little bit higher that we we try we make consecrations and sacrifices because we're everybody say leaders we're not trying to be legalistic but we've sanctified and consecrated ourselves to a higher level you know and it come to me as a revelation we're trying to protect the glory that's what happens when you have no landmarks and you have no standards brother you don't have anything to protect the glory it's dangerous to handle glory if you're not qualified for the job it's dangerous to serve in ministry if you're not willing to live a lifestyle that would separate you from the world when they begin to move the ark of the lord they put it on everybody say a new cart they had no knowledge that ancient landmarks had been removed because if they were still in place the glory would have never rested on a

man-made card of convenience you know why they put it on the cart so they wouldn't have to carry it they didn't want to carry that that god box they had no and brother hamilton didn't do this didn't i don't think i don't remember him saying this but do you realize how they carried the ark that was so so many thousands of pounds through the joy of the lord the joy of the lord became their strength so when they got under the weight of what they could not carry joy took them to a place they could not get on their own where there was no joy in the camp the ark of the covenant had been in obedience house and they was trying to get it so they was going to put it on a new cart we're doing a good thing we don't want to

go back and do what we know to do we don't want to go back and and read okay let's see what moses told us to do there was a way to carry this thing just hang with me they made a man-made card of convenience but instead they would have known holy men must carry the glory you don't pull it you don't push it you let it settle and you carry it you let the glory settle and you carry it but when you remove landmarks you will start doing things that you can't explain why you're doing it when you remove landmarks you'll begin you will become more worried about making everyone else happy and forget we should be making god happy there's a phrase among us today seeker friendly we want to make our services seeker friendly and i understand what what that terminology means i

believe we ought to have the first class guest services i believe it ought to be a first class experience when you walk if you're a guest tonight we you're watching online this is a first class church that goes without saying but i'm afraid if we're not careful we're more afraid about being seeker friendly that we forget we better make our services a place where the glory can dwell first and foremost what good is the church if people come in and there's no glory what good is it for people to walk in this place this place is just like the la this place is just like right down the road there's no difference god help us there better be something sad and people that when daily man i ain't never heard nobody crazy preach like that i've never heard anybody or seen anybody dance before the

lord like i've never seen a people so excited about what they believe i've never felt man i had chill bums go from the top of my head to the soul of my feet i felt the fire of the holy ghost come all over me that better be what we strive to have in this house hallelujah when we remove landmarks you can carry the ark any old way you will use anybody regardless of their qualification we must have leadership guidelines for ministry i heard this analogy i never i never i guess put two and two together but i read a an analogy about a benadab's son uzza uza gets put in position around the ark of god whose is in a position he's not qualified to be in because according to the bible knowledge commentary dated 2004 there is no evidence that abinadab was a levite

or his sons uzza and oha were even qualified to be near the ark let alone touch it and because there was no standards in the place there was no standards being adhered to when the ark shook and uzza reached out and touched it he died when we are not willing to be different then we are proving we are not ready to handle glory there were standards set forth just to wait tables in the book of acts acts 6 and 3. wherefore brethren look ye out among you seven men of honest report full of the holy ghost in wisdom who we may appoint over this business just waiting tables doing menial stuff we must church and i'm closing i promise you we must maintain landmarks in this very modern world we must take a stand against some unrighteousness and not be ashamed of saying no to

certain things and saying yes to other things we're being lulled we're being bombarded the marketing of evil is a book you need to read the marketing of evil the marketing of evil is what is captured that this country a sad day when you cannot if you're not discerning fake news five years ago who would have thought we would be hearing and encountering fake news but we're being bombarded by all manner of news outlets that are pumping and and trying to get our minds wrapped around and distorted to thinking things that where did that thought come from where did that idea come from i ain't never i wasn't raised like this where is this all coming from it's causing children to do things that you as a parent never dream or imagine your children would do the spirit of antichrist is rising it's time as we

as the church better evaluate what standards i have in my life and ask yourself i know in our flesh we all have that sense of unworthiness that keeps us humble but when we come into this place and when we serve and when we minister in and out of the building let's never forget our bodies are a living sacrifice our bodies are the temple of the holy ghost our landmarks that we have placed upon our lives are to protect us inside and out stand to your feet right now this subject has consumed me the last three weeks because i feel like an all-out assault has been upon the church not just recently but i feel as though the spirit of the hour has risen up and has begun to creep creep in if we lose landmarks if we lose distinction if we lose separation if we

lose standards we will first be weak and like any other man god help us this cannot become a weak church brother josh brother paul we cannot have a weak church we cannot have a weak church but we must have a strong church that is different and i dare you to be different i dare you we used to say i double dog dare you i double dog dare you to make a commitment you and god why because you want to carry glory because you want to be separated unto him because you've been called out because you've been delivered because you've been separated and severed i choose to be yours and yours alone let's pray oh god oh god i love you tonight i thank you god for the power that worketh in us this evening i thank you for this evening god i thank you for

every life that's gathered in this room and i'm asking you right now that you would help us that there would be something that would awaken that would call us and remind us we've been called to carry glory we've been called to carry the gospel i don't want to be disqualified because of my stubbornness i don't want to be disqualified because of my my unwillingness to commit and be separated i thank you o god for your word i thank you for your promises god i pray there would be a spirit that would rise up in us to renew our faith in you it's okay to be different it's okay to be separated god i trust you with our future i trust you for a great harvest of people that are in darkness but are really looking for the light they're looking for the real they're not

looking for the facade they're not looking for a watered-down gospel they're not looking for a country club they're not looking for something that's not authentic that's not biblically based that's not rooted and grounded in truth but god may we rise to the occasion may we rise to this moment our moment in time our moment in history it's in the name of jesus we pray and everybody say amen let's dare to be different