The City of Zion By: Dr. Pete Norris

Today on power in the word so we're the tabernacle of God that he's gonna dwell live and move He always was looking to have a tabernacle inside of us He don't he's not looking for a place to dwell now. He dwells in all of us We were chosen before the foundation of world You were predestined called and chosen in the beloved before the foundation of the world. What did he say on the cross? This is my beloved son whom I'm well pleased with who is he talking to you and me because we were inside him there on God help us understand the sovereignty of who we are in God It is not removable and his grace and mercy sustained us to live victorious Welcome to power in the word too often Christians don't recognize our inheritance that came through Jesus Christ's death barrel and resurrection And we fail to claim our inheritance So today dr. Dar shows us in the Word of God the wonderful and great inheritance of physical and spiritual blessings We've received through Christ. So you stay with us and be greatly encouraged Look at somebody say the city of Zion Now who is Zion? Who's the city? We are So I want you to go with me to Isaiah chapter 60 verse 1 The Bible said arise and shine for the glory of the Lord is risen upon us And then I want you to go down to verse 10 Because I want to start there Now we know Isaiah 60 said the glory of the Lord is risen upon us rise and shine for the glory of the Lord is Risen upon us. How many of you know the glory of the Lord's risen upon you? How many of you know that you are the glory of the Lord? How many of you know that you are the righteousness of God blessed highly favored deeply loved emotionally stable everything. Amen How many of you really know that you are that you are some kind of something now look at Isaiah chapter 60 verse 10 The sons of the foreigners shall build up your walls and their king shall minister to you But in my judgment or wrath I struck you but in my favor. I have had Mercy on you now look at verse 11 Therefore your gates will be open continually There shall be no shut day nor night that men may bring to you

the wealth of the Gentiles and their kings in Procession how many of you know that you are the glory of the Lord has risen upon you and the gates are open continuously now It's time for the favor of the Lord to come on you the wealth of the Gentiles will be coming to me and you the Unrighteous the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just amen. It's time for that to happen But here's the thing. You've got to be prepared to know that you're a receiver for what's coming Amen, most people don't catch because they're not receiving It doesn't matter how good a baseball team you have and how great a pitcher you have If the catcher can't catch you're never going to get anybody out because third strike every time he gets to go to first We've got a bunch of people that's not ready to receive The pitch is coming, but we're not ready to receive That's why if the catcher gives a sign for a curveball or slider and the guy throws a face fastball Then he's gonna mess the catcher up and he ain't better catch it Because he's looking a slider or curveball and he throws a 97-mile on our fastball. It's gonna hit him in the chest Why because he's looking a slider some of you looking for a slider and he's throwing fastballs Okay, you're looking for trouble to happen he wants to bless you You need to get mine off your trouble and get your mind on your Savior Because you don't have any problems You need to stop talking to your problem and tell your problem how big it Jesus is Because the Bible said he's faithful when we're faithless. Amen Now look, let's go to verse 12 because we want to get we want to get going here for the nation and the kingdom shall Which will not serve you shall perish This earthly kingdom is coming down guys and the kingdom of God is rising up. Amen Where's the kingdom of God low here low there for the kingdom of God is inside of us Luke 17 21 and those nations shall be utterly ruined Look at verse 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you the cypress the pine and the box tree together to beautify the place of my Sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious Who's he talking about? Now this is for the Israel, right?

He's talking about a physical thing, but he's talking about a spiritual thing inside of me and you look at verse 14 and the sons of those who flicked you shall come bowing to you and all those who despise you shall fall prostrate at the soles of Your feet and they shall call you the city of the Lord Zion the Holy One of what? Israel so we see here that they're gonna come and bow down to you and call you the city of the Lord Now guys, I want you to understand you and I have been called the city We are the city of the Lord. You got to get away from this mindset of a place We're living inside a person and his name is Jesus and we're operating a kingdom from the inside out the city of the Lord Zion of the Holy One of Israel in other words Zion is the church the city's me and you Are you with me? Remember what John saw in the book of Revelation? He saw a city coming down and the church thinks that's just a great thing of God coming back for the church. The reality is that the church is coming down. Say down, the city of God. John saw a city coming down. In the Old Testament they always saw God coming down. In the New Testament we coming down. Come on somebody, you need to understand. Listen, listen to me. Under the Old Covenant, Jesus always and God always took the bad and he left the good. Now we've got over him in the New Testament in eschatology in the book of Revelation and we're gonna leave the good, we're gonna leave the bad and take the good. God's always looked after his people. Who did he leave when the ark came? When the flood came who was left? The good. He took the, let's go to Matthew chapter 5 verse 14. Stay with me. Now here's, this is in red, this is Jesus talking. He said, you are the light of the what? Of the world and a city that's set up as it cannot be hidden. So he tells me and you that we're the light of the world, right? I'm gonna prove this to you in Scripture today. How many of you know you're the light of the world? Why ain't you shining then? And a city that's set up on a hill cannot be hidden. You can't hide what's inside of you. You can't hide what's inside of you because you're a light of the world. We're looking at all the issues and the problems and what's going on in Iran and what's going over the Ukraine and Russia. We missing a great big God that wants to bless your socks off right now and the blessing of favor and we're looking at what's wrong in the world when we dominating the world because what's in us is greater than what's in

the world. Amen? So we are the city of the light of the world. Look at somebody say, I'm shining brightly. Problems can't put me out. Situations can't put me out. My light's gonna shine. Why? Because I'm a city that's set up on a hill that cannot be hidden. You can't hide what's inside of you. My Lord, I do reckon. Isaiah 28 verse 16 in the classic. Therefore saith the Lord God, behold I am laying in Zion a foundation, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of sure foundation. He who believes, trusts in, relies on, adheres to that stone will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away in sudden panic. Who is he talking about? He's talking about Jesus is that cornerstone and we're not gonna have to panic. We're not gonna have to be ashamed. Why? If we're trusting him and rely on him we will not hasten away. Guys, come on. Trust in him. We need to trust in that word. Let's go to Psalms 118. Amen? Psalms 118. How many of you know that you're the city of Zion? The stone which the builder rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Who's he talking about? I want to give you scriptures to prove it. He's talking about Jesus, right? Let's go to Acts chapter 4 verse 11. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders which has become the chief cornerstone. Who's he talking about? Jesus, right? Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. I want to give you scriptures to verify what I'm saying to you. Now therefore you're no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints and the members of the household of God. Turn to somebody and say I'm not a stranger or a foreigner. I'm a citizen and I'm a saint. Next time you talk to me call me Saint Pete. Amen? Turn to somebody and say look at this brother right here and say there's Saint Larry. Amen? How many of you know you're a saint? How many of you know you're really a saint? Look at verse 20. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, comma, verse 21, in whom the whole building being fitly together grows into the Holy Temple in the Lord, comma, and whom also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. What's he talking about? We are the dwelling place of God. We're the city that's set up on a hill. We're the light of the world. We are the goodness of God, blessed, highly favored, deeply loved. I'm telling

you we are some kind of something because on the inside of us is what God has been looking for and longing to dwell all his life. You're not alone. He's dwelling on the inside of you. Hallelujah. Look at somebody and say if you want to see God look at me. Go to 1st Peter chapter 2. I want you to see this thing. Coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious. Verse 5. You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Verse 6. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. He who believes on him will by no means be rejected. be put to shame. Guys, listen. Listen. I'm going to make a statement. The more revelation you live, the higher life you're going to live. The more words you have inside of you. Listen to me. Listen to me. You don't have to prove the Word. The Word will prove you. See, don't sit out and try to prove the Word. The Word will prove you. Because you're not trying to prove the Word no more. You are the Word. Oh, come on, somebody. You've got to get revelation of who you are. You've got to get revelation. You live and move and have your being in Him. Look at verse 7 here. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Now, who rejected Him? The Jewish people. He's the chief cornerstone and they rejected Him. They're still rejecting Him. Look at verse 8. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. How many of you know Jesus is an offense to the Jewish people? See, I don't buy this thing about He loves the Jews more than He loves us. We're all one in Christ. He said there's neither Jew nor Greek anymore. Amen? There's neither male or female. See, I could preach that under grace, but you wouldn't like it. Because God don't see people like you see them. He sees them through the eyes of Jesus. Because in Golossians chapter 3 verse 3 said, If you be dead, then your life is hidden with Christ in God. Come on somebody. God sees some kind of something. He don't see your mistakes. He don't see your mess. He don't see your failure. He sees you soaring like eagles. Why? Because you're the goodness of God. You're the glory of God. You're the city. You're the light of the world. You're everything that God's looking. The shine in this world.

You and I are it. Turn to someone and say, I'm it. Pastor, you ought to be sober and vigilant and not take more highly of yourself than you ought to. You ought to think exactly who you are. They looked at you and said, You're the Messiah. He said, No, I'm not. I'm not the Messiah. I'm Joseph and Mary's boy. He said, You've well spoken. And I'm going to build my church on this revelation, Peter, because the gates of hell, death ain't going to be able to keep me. I'm coming up out of death and I'm going to prove you to be right. Why? God's looking for somebody to prove to be right. He's looking for some people to walk on water, but he ain't got nobody to step out yet. See, the water's desiring to be walked on, but he can't find nobody to walk on it. Come on, somebody. Get a revelation of who you are. Let's go to verse 9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may prove the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Look at verse 10. Who once were not a people, but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy, but now you have obtained mercy. He said, We're a royal priesthood, a chosen generation. His peculiar people called out of darkness into the light of the glory of God. How could he not call us out of darkness and thus be the light if we're the light of the world? Come on, somebody. Shine. Put it on high beam. Amen? Feed the inside of you until you can't sleep at night. Feed the inside of you until these things of this world no longer move you. You're not moved by what you see. You're moved only by what you are. You're only moved by what you are, not what you see. Got a relationship before? You are. Now, all this is an allegory. These two women represent two covenants. One covenant originated from Mount Sinai. We know that's who? Hagar. Where the law was given and bears children destined for slavery, that is Hagar. So Hagar is bound for slavery, right? Look at 25. Now, Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and she responds to and belongs in the same category with the present Jerusalem, for she is in bondage together with her children. Now, look at verse 26. But Jerusalem, who's Jerusalem? Who's the new Jerusalem? We are. We are. Above, the messianic kingdom of Christ is free and she is our mother. Remember the sermon I did a few months back that Sarah was my mother? Guys, do you understand that the new Jerusalem is Isaac and Mount Sinai under the law is Hagar? The people under slavery. You and I are the new Jerusalem, which is what John saw coming down. Come on, somebody. You've got to understand that you're not going

to need to go up. You're going to come down. Let's go to Revelation 21. Then I, John, saw the holy city. Who's the city? We are. The new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adored for her husband. How many of you know we're the bride? How many of you know when Jesus saw the cross and he said it is finished? The actual Greek word for finished there has an interpretation of the same word bride. How many of you know we're adored for the bride? For our husband. Adored for our husband. How many of you know Jesus is our husband? Let me tell you something. If he's your husband, he's your husband. husband, you're not going to get married, you already consummated that bad boy. Listen to me, if you're not consummated and that's not over, then you can't fellowship with him and commune with him because that's illegal. And you don't want to use his name because that's illegal too. Oh, somebody needs to preach with me. Because you and I are the new Jerusalem that's coming down, that is the heaven of the kingdom of God and the wife of God and we're operating in that dimension as a covenant relationship. So, the new Jerusalem that John saw coming down was us. Hallelujah. Coming down from out of what? Now, you got to understand something, the word coming down out of, out of, out of, where's heaven? In us, man. We were coming out of us. That's why he said, I'm going to pour you out a blessing in Melchizedek chapter 3, I'm going to pour you out a blessing that you can't handle. Where's he going to pour it out of us? See, the kingdom's in us. If you'll learn to operate what's on the inside, the outside will line up. Because we're operating the kingdom. That's what Jesus come preaching for 40 days when he's walking around the earth. Remember?

He didn't talk, didn't do any miracles, he just talked about what? The kingdom. He preached the kingdom for 40 days. Repent for the kingdom of God's at hand. Repent for the kingdom of God's here. Repent for the, I am the kingdom of God. Repent, why? Because kingdom of God's inside of you. He told the Jewish people, stand in there to them, to their face in Luke 17, low here, low there, the kingdom of God's in you guys. They weren't even born again yet. Come on, guys, we've got to understand that before the foundation of the world, you and I were chosen for such a time as this. We were chosen in Christ, made accepted in the beloved of Christ. We were in Christ before the foundation of the world. We're just here existing for a temporary stay. You ought to be happy that you're here. You knew how it was going to be and you still chose to come. You know, the Lord spoke something to me this week. And I was joking with my wife. And she said, what's the first thing you remember as a young boy? Somebody asked you, what's the first thing you remember? So me being me, I said, I remember being born. I was joking. And all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit checked me and he said, you do remember being born because you chose to come. He said, you knew everything that was going to happen before you got here. And you still chose to come. Because your word spoken in time, such is time. And I sent you at the appointed time.

And you took on flesh and you dwelt among men full of truth and grace. My God, come on, somebody. We've got to understand that you weren't an accident waiting to happen. You were a destiny that was born to exist. See, listen to me. You understood the surrenders of God during the birth and process of giving birth. But we haven't understood the birthing process of trusting God in the second birth. You were helpless. But yet you were purpose-driven. And so when your mom and daddy, your mom gave birth to you, you knew the process. That which is born of water is water and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. That was the first process, the beginning of the new birth. What do you say in John 10? No one comes any other way than through, is a thief and a robber. Any other way. Any other way. Jesus said, I'm the door. Right? In other words, if you'll learn to come in and out of the door, that you were already behind the door before. Because remember, under the old covenant, Jesus was behind the cross. When the new covenant is laid, He's before the cross. As an intercessor for me and you. That's still where He's at. Nothing can go wrong in your life as long as you understand truth in your life. That went over really good. Let's go to verse 3. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be His people

and God Himself will be with them and be their God. Now how many of you know that this cannot be talking about eschatology at the end of time because we are the tabernacle of God now. We're not going to be the tabernacle of God later, we're the tabernacle of God now. You've got to understand that we are the tabernacle of God. Behold, I heard a loud voice from heaven. In other words, the translation of this text said John heard a voice behind him. The voice was not behind him, the voice was in him. What did he hear? He said, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. What does Emmanuel mean? God with us. But the translation of the text, if you look it up in the Arabic, it says God in us. So we're the tabernacle of God that He's going to dwell, live and move. He always was looking to have a tabernacle inside of us. He's not looking for a place to dwell now, He dwells in all of us. And there's nothing you can do to make Him not dwell there. Why? Because you were chosen before the Father. You were predestined called and chosen in the beloved before the foundation of the world. What did he say on the cross? This is my beloved son whom I'm well pleased with who was he talking to you and me because we were inside him there on the cross My god help us understand the sovereignty of who we are in God It is not removable that his grace and mercy sustained us to live victorious We're not trying to get by we're conquering In the Old Testament God would come down on top of the sacrifices But John saw the people coming down in the New Testament think about that a minute Under the Old Covenant God would come down. Listen to me very carefully. He would come down and he would put his judgment and His fire when Elijah prayed down fire remember story he would come down on the sacrifice and the sacrifice would be destroyed Correct, but when when the judgment of mankind coming down upon Jesus on the cross, he was not destroyed

He stood there because there was more grace inside of him and more love inside of him So the judgment that was on Jesus was not out of wrath. It was out of love And so after it was all over and all the judgment of the whole world had come upon him He stood and said my god my god Why have you forsaken me the relationship changed and immediately he said I commend my spirit to thee Why because he said I have a commandment That I have the right to lay it down and I have a right to take it up And I have a command from the father to lay it down and to take it up So he knew when he lay his soulish man down that his spirit that had descended to the father was gonna come back in three Days and lift him up out of that tomb Why because he had a commandment the Bible said love one another as I have loved you This is the new and the only commandment that you and I walk in the love and understand how much he loved us first John Chapter 4 verse 7 6 10 says it's not that you love him But that he loved you and I came up a pituation for our sins my god He became the mercy see that you and I can live in this place of it inhabited that he inhabited our darkness and became Light and light begin to reflect out of it and now with a lot of the world shining throughout a tall eternity Every word that is spoken is spoken. So such a time is this and you're not speaking into the future and calling those things We're manifesting God on the earth We're not looking for him to do something we've become his his light that shines out of darkness My god, let's go to first Peter 2 and 9, but you are a chosen Turn to someone say I'm a chosen race I'm a royal priesthood a Dedicated nation God's own purchase special people say I'm special That you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and the perfection of him who called you out of darkness In other words, he said I've called you out of ignorance and I brought you into this marvelous light And now you're the light of the world shine somebody somebody say I'm shining My goodness, I try to contain it, but you just can't contain it Lord man, we're some kind of something If we could get a hold of who we are in Christ Every day would be a lot shining. We wouldn't we wouldn't hit the ground but about every third step. I

Had a brother to tell me one time in 1976 He was in a service and he went to a Katherine Kuhlman Conference and she you know who Katherine Kuhlman was she was one of the God's generals and Such a move of God upon her life and such the presence of God, but no one knows the price she paid for that but the Bible said she stepped off the side of the platform and just Stood there in open air and she's just talking away and they're sitting there looking at her for two or three minutes And she turns and walks back on the platform and she's still elevated Under the presence of God McPherson The woman who built the four square You know the Bible said that and they said that in one of the things that I was reading I've read all those guys because I believe we're a seed of those Same anointings in them's in us But she was in a trance for like two or three or four hours and they would come up and look at her touch her And she wouldn't she didn't move for four hours in a trance under the spirit of God See, I believe the power of God's much stronger than we give him credit for I believe what's inside of us is more alive But here's what I believe. I don't think it's about paying a price. I Think it's about understanding the price that's been paid Now listen to me very carefully One day I was walking and the Holy Spirit spoke to me. So plainly said Pete. He said how precious is the blood buddy? And I said Lord is the most precious thing in the world. He said but then how valuable is what it paid for? Because only the only listen to me the only thing that's worth the value is what somebody's willing to pay for So how valuable you If the blood of Jesus is so valuable how valuable is what the blood bought Revelation 21 for and God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying. There will be no more pain for the former things have...turn to somebody and say the former things have passed away. Now guys, this cannot be talking about the end of time because there's no death for you. The Bible said the blessing of the Lord I

add no sorrow to your life. Proverbs 10, 22. The blessing of the Lord I add no sorrow to your life. Sorrow means toil and labor and work and strive and produce and performance. He said the blessing is singular, don't have an S on it. In other words, it's something you wear. It's something you become, not something you do. What you've got doesn't make you wealthy. Who's got you makes you wealthy. Are you with me? So the former things have passed away. Let's go to Isaiah 42 and verse 9. Isaiah was prophesying. This is 658 years prior to what's happening here. Behold, the former things have come to pass and the new things I declare. Before they spring forth, I'm going to tell you of them. In other words, the old things are going to pass away and the new things are going to come. Then before it happens, I'm going to tell you of it. Remember when God was going to destroy the city and he couldn't destroy the city because he promised Abraham and Abraham had come to God and said you can't do that. Moses said you can't do that. Why? Because you've got a covenant. How many of you have come to God and said you can't do that because you've got a covenant? So you don't know what your covenant is so you can't come to him and tell him to not do it. Because you don't understand the covenant is not about you. The covenant is about him and you're the recipient of the covenant. Jesus died for his own covenant and became a death to the testator that made the covenant alive and the testament alive. But he was the executor of the judgment of the covenant that he died for. So he not only died for it and fulfilled the covenant, he came back to establish and execute the judgment. He's only waiting for you to ask and realize what's yours and then you can have what's yours. Amen? Turn to someone and say it's mine. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 5 and 17. Are you good? Are you good? Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. What's happened? How many of you know you're that new creation? You're that new species? Old things of what? And now all things have become new. When did that happen? That's not happening when Jesus is coming back. That's happening right now when you become a new creation. Why? All things are going to be wiped away. No more sorrow, no more pain, no more strife. See, if you're looking at the right thing, you're not looking at the wrong thing. You can't look at the right thing and the wrong thing at the right time. James said bitter and sweet can't flow out of the same thing at the same time. You and I need to be talking the word of God, speaking the word of God. Death and life is in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18, 21. Proverbs 62,

you're snared or taken by your words. Matthew chapter 12, you're condemned by your words or you're justified by your words. Turn to someone and say I'm justified because every word that comes out of my mouth is truth. Amen? Turn to someone and say I'm full of truth. So old things have passed away and behold all things have become new. Now let's go back to Revelation 21 verse 5. Then he who sat upon the throne said behold I make all things new. And he said to me write for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me write for these words are true and faithful. What did he do? He who sat upon the throne did what? Made all things new. Turn to someone and say all things have been made new to me. See here's our problem. We believe everything we're told. Thank you for joining us today at Power in the Word. All of us here at Harvest Fellowship Church want you to know that God is not mad with you, but He loves you so very much. And He has a plan for your life. Please feel free to contact us here at Harvest Fellowship Church at our website HarvestFellowshipChurch.net. So until next week, please remember there's power in the word.