I. We live in a time of advancements and growth. Everything around us now is constantly moving forward and changing. Man has been on this earth some 6000 years but it has been the last 150 years that has seen the greatest advancements.
A. Electricity was once a mere curiosity but now is the source and fuel of the modern age.
1. For better or worse we live in a modern age of technology and progression. It now shapes us as a society. Even in the poorest regions in the world you can find people with smart phones.
a. When we went to Guatemala we would drive through some of the poorest villages and see women washing their clothes on rocks and checking their cell phones (probably updating their status on FB “Another day at the Laundry Mat”) these people still cooked on wood stoves and had no electricity, but knew how to surf the web on their phones.
2. Truly we live in a time when now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. I read several years ago before smart phones were main stream that one communication company advertised that they were now reversing the curse of Babel. Science Fiction is now science fact. We have surpassed Dick Tracy’s wrist watch and Captain Kirk’s communication device.
3. TV’s are HD and now anybody with a camcorder and a computer can make their own movies that rival that of Hollywood. You can even have a freshly made pizza made to order and cooked in 3 minutes out of a vending machine. We are rapidly progressing so much that today’s tech is tomorrow’s trash.
B. I am saying all this to prove that we have grown so accustom to change and things getting bigger and better that it would be difficult for us to go back to “the good ol days”, come on now I did not see any of you roll up in here with a horse and buggy, I can assume that at some point today you used a microwave/computer/cell phone/etc…
1. Even the way we speak is associated with this modern age; we now follow people on twitter, send friend requests through Facebook, we now publish our thoughts for all to see rather it be “tweets”, “whats on your mind” or updating a blog. Social media is everywhere and is embraced by people and corporations. We see the logos for these social sites splashed over everything from dog food to gourmet restaurants.
2. Some even now measure their social status by how many “friends” or “followers” they have. Being viral is a way of life now.
C. As much as we have come to terms with and embrace modern advancements in our daily lives. The church has now come to terms with these trends and now embrace them. It used to be back in the day the only ones that got the prestige were the Jim Bakers and Jimmy Swaggarts that helped make the church main stream, using technology and trends. These men and many others were pioneers in molding the church to what it is today.
1. Now the trend is to follow an aesthetics formula for we are now a sight and sound generation. In order to have the attention of the masses and to maintain relevance we now incorporate visual screens with the worship songs and sermons, our pulpits have a certain modern look using lightening and effects to enhance them.
2. There once was a time when the little white church was the place to be; outside it was not much to look at but everyone in town knew that inside that little white church building there was the Power of God. It did not matter that they did not have the aesthetics they had the anointing and that was what people came for.
3. Today folks drive by the little white church cause it no longer looks like a church. The church is judged by how it looks. If there is no flashing lights and an American idol stage, it’s considered outdated.
a. A church is no longer judged by the word or worship but rather how it is presented. Church is now critiqued like a restaurant it can have the best food in town but if it looks like a dump they will not come back. There are so many choices now, that the “community church” that once served as the house of worship for an entire town is no more.
II. But as much as I believe in following modern church trends there is still one trend no matter how many trend cycles they go through that will never go out of style.
A. The church through every changing trend still better be bringing back bell bottoms! Let me explain. My opening text described to you the outer ware of the Priest. The priestly garment was an elaborate display of rich symbolism but it is the pomegranates and bells that speak a prophetic message to the church today.
1. This strange wardrobe design was a complex design that was to act as a symbolic garment for the new testament generation of believers that were to become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
2. God instructed Moses that the Priest would come before him wearing the robe that had pomegranates and bells. Let me break this thing down because I guarantee by the end of this message you will be telling your neighbor to be breaking out their bell bottoms.
B. The use of Pomegranates for the robe is not a design choice just because that was the only fruit lying around. There were much more accessibly fruits in the area but God chose the rare Pomegranate for a deeper spiritual meaning that would transcend time to speak to the NT church.
1. The pomegranate has a white membrane that contains hundreds of red arils from which the blood like juices are encased in and protects the fruits seeds. Since ancient times the pomegranate has been harvested for these arils which would be crushed up along with its seed to make pomegranate juice. Which would be used to cure and prevent many ailments, even today pomegranate juice is marketed for its medicinal and preventive purposes.
2. The moment you cut into this fruit the white membrane is immediately stained by the red juices of the arils from which it is given the term the “bloody fruit” but not only is it called that but it is also called the “life fruit” and there season begins in September which is also the month that that the “Day of Atonement” begins. Now it is not hard to tell where I am going with this. The pomegranate is a type and symbol of Jesus Christ.
3. Just as the fruit must be broken to have access to its properties, so was Jesus broken so that we would have access to His life giving, life restoring properties, he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
a. This book is about the blood …without shedding of blood is no remission. From the coats that covered Adam and Eves nakedness in Genesis, to the blood of a spotless lamb in Exodus whose blood was applied to the doorposts and lintels. Through Isaiah who talked about a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers and from the Gospels to Revelation where we see the song, worthy is the Lamb that was slain…
b. It starts with the blood and ends with the blood. If you’re going to be saved and walk in peace and power it won’t happen just because you attend this church. It won’t happen because you know the pastor personally. It won’t happen because you sing hymns and quote some scripture.
c. It will be because of the blood. Eph. 1:7, “redemption through blood.” Col. 1:20, “peace through blood.” SONG: “My faith is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frain, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name!!!” “Some through the water, some through the flood but all must come through the BLOOD!”
d. That’s why Paul wrote 1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
e. When they crucified Jesus His blood did like Abels. Gen. 4:10, “The blood of Abel cried from the ground. Heb. 12:24, “Jesus blood speaketh better things.” His blood speaks louder than your guilt and condemnation, louder then your sickness, …your pain, your depression.
f. Paul says 1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: how many have seen the TV show Pawn Stars on it people sale their stuff for quick cash some sale to get rid of stuff while others use it as a loan. They are given a ticket and their item will be placed on hold until the owner returns with the ticket to buy back his property. When Adam and Eve sinned they pawned off all of humanity to Satan, but God said “that’s my property they had no right to sale it”, so God took the ticket gave it to His Son and said buy back our property.
4. Re 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. When the enemy comes to you saying, “you used to do this” Say, “The Blood.” “You used to be a” The Blood. “You have cancer” The Blood. “The dr. said you have 6 months” The Blood. “They say there is no cure” The Blood! Satan the blood is against you!!!
C. But there’s more the Pomegranates were paired with Bells. Just as the pomegranates were symbols of Christ the bells are symbolic of the Holy Ghost. It was not by accident they were paired together, this spoke of the NT and the future of Full Gospel Pentecostal Believers. In Lu 4:1 Jesus was described as being full of the Holy Ghost, Jesus said Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
1. We need to realize that we have the power, tools, and the equipment to get the job done. God doesn’t call you and not equip you. Through the indwelling of the HG you have power.
2. We feel it’s for a handful, a select number, chosen few, but this power is for you and you and you for God is no respecter of persons. I am the Lord and I change not. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever! Dan. 11:32, “but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.”
a. It seems normal in American churches to come sit still and be quiet, get information and education but have no motivation, manifestation, or demonstration. This is not the way of the Bible. It’s not just about hearing the Gospel and preaching the Gospel, but working the works of Him that has sent us. Greater works than these shall ye do…
b. Jesus preached & healed, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
3. Mk. 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;(18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
a. We don’t seek signs. Matt. 12:39, “a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.” Wicked people look for signs, but signs look for righteous people. We don’t look for signs, if you need a sign to prove God to you then there is no faith and without faith it’s impossible to please Him. I don’t need signs to believe, but because of my belief signs follow my faith.
b. In the OT you see God working “signs and wonders”, but in the NT the believers worked “signs and wonders”. Acts 2:43, “And many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 5:12, And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.”
c. We don’t come to church looking for miracles, miracles come to church looking for us because For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them and where He is sickness cannot be, possession cannot be, fear… depression… I don’t come to get miracles. I come to get Him and when He shows up He shows out and stuff starts happening etc… Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
D. The bells could not be activated and make any noise without the pomegranates. Without the blood, without repentance, without calling on the Lord to be saved and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no way to have access to the Holy Spirit. But the moment He sees the blood applied; you are a candidate to fulfill Joel 2:28 where God promised to pour out His Spirit. When you put them together and you become a world changer.
1. We got some churches trying to just wear the pomegranates while trying to silence the bells, while some just want the bells without the pomegranates. The only way to get some noise is with the two working simultaneously.
2. Jesus did not intend for us to walk along, He said He had to go so the HG can come, we got to many saying that the power of HG was for then but not now. Noise is a sign of action the two were meant to work together. 1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1Jo 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. The HG does not have an expirations date.
III. Noise is a sign of life. When my daughter was born I cut the cord and she was suctioned out she let out a cry; a noise to let us know she had arrived and was just fine. You know that there is life in a place when you can hear some noise; ever been to a mall where there was not a lot of people or better yet a church full of people, but it was so quiet you had make sure you were not at a funeral.
A. The church is supposed to be filled with the noise of God’s presents. There needs to be more noise. Where ever Jesus went there was noise, the bible says it was noised that he was in the house. People need to know He is in the house, in our lives, etc.
1. Churches today and saints today are making a lot of noise but the type of noise that we should be making can only come from pomegranates and bells. The church needs to have its bells on proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord of their life that the Spirit has filled them and they are walking under the anointing, the power, the unction of the Holy Ghost.
2. When you got a true noise it spreads and people can’t help but spread it; Mt 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
3. The way people knew if the priest was in God’s presence was the by the sound of the bells and the only way you could get any noise is by moving and if the bells could not be heard the priest was dead.. Alive saints make noise; dead ones make none.
4. You better be careful about joining yourself to people that don’t make noise. The priest went in to God’s presents with a rope tied around him and if the people could not hear the bells he was presumed dead. We got to many dead saints, preachers that need to be yanked out.
B. Time for us to say it loud and say it proud!
1. We got drunks, homosexuals, and sinners out there saying it loud and proud. Boasting, bragging, and living out their sinful life styles in the public eye. 2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2. We got to many closet saints; you get loud and proud in the house but outside these four walls you put on a trench coat and hide from your family, co-workers, from the world. Have you ever tried opening up a mint in a quiet environment you are doing everything you can to silence the noise.
a. Some of you are doing the same thing with Christ doing everything you can to keep silent when you are out there in the world. Mr 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
3. There are folks that treat church like a club or bar they live for the weekend only and that’s it; they do nothing all week but once there day comes they are alive and getting their church on.
4. We need to do more moving about; if the only time your bells ring is when you are at church, if the only time you speak of God’s goodness is in church, if the only time you shout is in church, if the only time you speak in tongues is in church, if the only time the gifts are used are in church. You are a closet saint and you need to come out come out where ever you are.
a. You can’t be heard sitting on the couch drinking Pepsi and eating Doritos. Fathers your bells need to be heard at home, momma you bells need to heard, your children need to hear the bells in their home. The world needs to hear your bells; the people in line at Wal-Mart need your bells.
5. If the world can get their flame on and snap and twirl there filth all around why can’t we make some noise out there? Let them snap and switch all they want cause that does not do a thing; let them get their drink on, their freak on, let them proclaim how good money, sex, drugs, alcohol, or any other sinful vice or lifestyle is, but none of them have the power that comes in the name of Jesus.
a. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
C. Lu 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. This is a familiar parable of the ten talents. You know the story each person that received a portion of talent invested and made it into a greater portion except one and he did nothing. Now I am about to flip this story, what I am about to share God just dropped on me while I was going to the mailbox.
1. The word occupy has many meanings, now its meaning here in this passage means only “to busy oneself” or “trade” so there is no special Greek meaning here that is about to unlock some hidden nugget.
2. In 1991 Richard Black wrote a song that took the Church by storm. For those of you that been in church for awhile you know this song cause it was a staple in the church just like saying “God is good” and the congregation would shout back “All the time God is good”.
3. That song was “Enemy’s Camp” you know that song “I went to the enemy’s camp and took back what the devil stole from, he’s under my feet, Satan is under my feet”, you would even do that song with motions and conclude it with “Look what the Lord has done”. That song became a sure fire hit for camp meetings and altar calls.
4. What God dropped on me about that verse was nothing but a new perspective on that parable. There is one version of the word Occupy that means to “March aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation”. The moment God put a military spin on that parable in Luke 19; I realized that song was sending a selfish message that is not Kingdom minded. Why should I just go to the enemy’s camp and take back what he stole from me, how about I go to the enemy’s camp and take the whole camp.
5. In Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, even though the land had been promised to Israel, they had to do something themselves; they were going to have to walk out their promise the entire length and breadth of it. Joshua was promised the land according to how he walked it; we have been given the power and the inheritance to claim everything in this book, every promise is mine; we need to stop taking lots and start claiming acres. Stop taking a little healing, stop taking a little… I’m going to occupy my blessing!
D. I fear that this generation and my daughter’s generation will not know of God’s power. 2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
1. We are at a place where there is a generational gap in the church, I realized that when I was talking to brother Turner and Tim and Sasha Moore we were talking about what it was like when we grew up with tape decks cordless phones that picked up your neighbors call, all a computer was good for was playing Oregon trail or doing basic math on our Tandy computer, how we had laser disk, turn tables, 8 track. Even though there is less than 15 years between us it shows how quickly technology has progressed in such a short amount of time.
a. God spoke to me through that conversation that we got a generation that is raised in churches with all the modern amenities, they have come to expect their pastors to preach from tablets, they expect their church to have HD video screens displaying songs, notes, and graphics, they expect their church to have more programs than the YMCA.
b. Churches are appealing to the senses and giving this generation what they are accustomed to but are sacrificing the presents and power of God.
2. We got pastors that are now psychologist and sit on the stage diagnosing people and writing out weak scriptural prescriptions while trying not to offend or label anyone a sinner.
3. Could you imagine Jesus acting like Dr. Phil, “Blessed are the poor in spirit:, for they are born this way and suffer from a past regression that was brought on by a poor family environment, Blessed are the meek: for they are this way due to a lack of a strong parental influence, well that’s all I got time for today, join me again tomorrow here on this mount where we will dive deeper into your psyche to help you understand that as Lady Gaga says you are born this way.”
a. I don’t need Sigmund Freud or Erik Erikson’s theories all I need to know is God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
E. Churches may change their names, they may change their style of worship, praise teams may replace the choir, phones and tablets may have the digital Word replacing the printed Word, the pulpit may change, the way we connect to people may change, but one thing that can never change is the anointing it is the only thing that can break the yokes of bondage, the Word of God is still true. Jesus is still the way the truth and the life.
1. I believe churches need to be modern and use technology to bring the lost in. If we got to give them doughnuts, if we got to have the words to the song on a big screen, if we got to have a nice website and stream our services, if the building no longer looks like a church that’s ok.
a. The shadow of doughnut will not heal them, but an encounter with Christ will, big screens want heal the blinded, but Jesus can, typing on a keyboard will not replace the laying on of hands and the prayer of faith, a church building does not house the power of Holy Spirit; we as the ambassadors of Christ and the temple of the Holy Ghost, we are the light that is to shine in their darkness.
2. Church trends may change but the believers can never put away their bell bottoms we need to be strutting around in them as living witnesses and in demonstration to the power of Jesus Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
3. Bells were used to alert people of specific time, they are a form of warning, they were used to call people together, they were used to call attention to the beginning and end of an important event, bells are a symbol of peace and freedom. One of the most famous bells that we know of today are those of the New York Stock exchange which are rung at 9:30 am to signify the start of business.
a. Jesus said I must be about my Father’s business; it’s time for the church to get to business, the highways and hedges are congested with people while the church sits vacant! Is there anybody here that’s wearing bell bottoms? It’s time for us to go right into the thick of enemies camp and say, I am taking back my family, I am taking back this city, I am taking back this nation, it’s time for the church to be heard. IT’S TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO RING LOUD AND CLEAR! CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!
