Today, we will have three points for our message. Zion means church and it is related to salvation If a person wants to be saved, he must be joined to the Lord’s body to be saved. God’s church has three requirements. What does Zion mean? In Israel, today’s Palestine, it is the south-east hill of Jerusalem. By extension, the name is applied to the entire city. The name is applied to its inhabitants. Zion is applied to the people of God generally. In the Old Testament, Zion is referred to as a fortress. David captured the fortress and called it the City of David. Then one day, David brought the ark of the covenant to Zion. Then that place was considered sacred. Later on, David’s son, Solomon, moved the ark of the covenant to the temple. And it was nearby Mount Moriah. So when the Bible talks about Zion, it comes to stand for the whole of Jerusalem. Since Zion is the joy of all the earth, the name became synonymous with redemption, i.e., salvation. To know God and to be known in His book is equivalent as being born in Zion.

““I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’ ” And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.” The Lord will record, When He registers the peoples: “This one was born there.”” Psalm 87:4-6

This is a very interesting passage because it talks about how people are born in Zion. So if a person knows God, if a person’s name is written in the Book of Life, that means that they are born in Zion. We understand that the origin of Zion is a fortress, then it became a sacred place. Now we need to look at the Bible to see how Zion is connected with salvation.

“Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” (Psalm 14:7)

It is very clear from this verse that the place Zion is connected with salvation. Let’s turn to another verse.

“Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” (Psalm 53:6)

Psalm 53 also tells us that the place of Zion is connected with salvation. So what we have learnt is that Zion is not just a physical place but it is a place that we need to be to be saved. At this point you may say, what does it have to do with me today? This was recorded in the Old Testament and today we are in the New Testament. So what does Zion represent?

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22-23)

Can you see the connection between the verses we read in Psalms and this verse here in Hebrews? Psalm 87 talks about the one born in Zion. When we come to Hebrews 12, it talks about the church of the firstborn, registered in heaven. And then when you look at Psalm 87, it talks about how the Lord will record when He registers the people. Hebrews 12 also talks about those who are registered in heaven. This tells us very clearly the connection between Psalm 87 and Hebrews 12. Today, when we read about Zion in the Bible, it is referring to God’s church and salvation. Because when we come to the church in the firstborn, we are registered in heaven. And so, therefore, it tells us very clearly that Zion and the church are connected together. Zion represents the church. Since Zion is connected with salvation, the church must also be connected with salvation too. Praise God. Out of Zion comes salvation. So today, if we want to be saved, we need to believe in Jesus, but we need to be joined to the church of God. We thank God.

< —– Now we will take a break for the choir to sing several hymns. Have a think about Zion and the church. Choir hymns: (1) We Are Your Church, and (2) True Jesus Church—– >

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22-23

Ephesians 1 tells us that the church is the body of Christ. We mustn’t just think that church is a bunch of people gathered together. The church is definitely not a building. The church is the body of Christ. Let us see Colossians 1:18.

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,” (Colossians 1:24)

In the New Testament, the truth tells us that the church is the body of Christ. Therefore, today we understand that if a person wants to be saved, they need to be joined to the body of Christ.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)

We thank God. According to the Bible, Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus is the saviour of the body. And therefore, today, that is why it is so important for us to be joined to Jesus’s body—to be joined to His church. Because Jesus is the Saviour of the body. So now we can see how that out of Zion is salvation. That is why we can see that Zion represents the church and the place we need to be joined to for salvation. Do you remember the verse in Psalm 87? It talks about those who have been born in Zion. Actually, Jesus talked about the need to be born again.

“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Therefore, Jesus was talking about how if a person wants to enter the kingdom of God, if they want to be saved, they need to be born again. They need to be born of water, they need to be born of the Spirit. And when they are born again, they can enter the kingdom of God. Today, if we have be baptised, then we can be registered in Zion. We can be part of the church of the firstborn. Because those who have been born again have had their names registered in heaven. That means they have salvation. If a person wants to be saved, they need to be connected to the church, the body of Christ. Baptism allows us to be born again.

“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” Titus 3:5

Today, many people believe in Jesus. But they have not received baptism. Baptism allows us to wash our sins away, so that we can be saved. Baptism allows us to have a regeneration from being a sinner to become a child of God. If we are not baptised, if we are not baptised according to the Bible, how can we be regenerated? If we are not born again, how can we be registered in heaven? We thank God. From what Jesus tells us, if we want to enter the kingdom of God, we need to be born again. We need to be born of water and of the Spirit. So then the promise of God would be fulfilled. According to Psalms, it tells us that we are born in Zion. And it tells us in Acts 2:38,

“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

Today, when a person is a sinner, they need the forgiveness of sins. Where to get the forgiveness of sins? Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. After baptism, when our sins are washed away, we are registered in heaven. So thank God, now we understand—not only that Zion represents the church, but through baptism, we are joined to Zion, to the church, to the body of Christ, and that we can have salvation. And therefore, baptism allows us to be joined to the body of Christ. Baptism allows us to enter the kingdom of God. Baptism allows us to be regenerated. Baptism allows us to receive the forgiveness of sins. Baptism allows us to become a part of Zion. Zion is the place of those who have been born of God. Now we understand that Zion represents His church, and that church is important for salvation, and that we need to be joined to the church for Jesus to save us. Then which church belongs to Him?

We need to pay attention to Jesus’s words.

Firstly,

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”” (Mark 16:17-18)

We thank God. Many people who come to True Jesus Church, their illnesses have been healed. And people who have trouble by evil spirits, they come to True Jesus Church, and the evil spirits are cast out in the name of Jesus. So according to the words of Jesus, the signs will follow those who believe. There will be signs and miracles.

“how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Hebrews 2:3-4)

God confirms the truth that is spoken through signs and wonders, confirming that whatever has been preached is the message from God. So that today you want to find Mount Zion, if you want to find God’s church, you must find the church where the power of God abides. In True Jesus Church, God’s power is here. We thank God, just recently in a place nearby in Birmingham, we have a small church there. There was a child who had a skin problem. His whole body was in poor church. A sister prayed for him. She prayed to Jesus. As she was praying, she touched the skin of this little boy, and said to Jesus, “Jesus, please help this child. Help him have a good sleep so he can sleep until morning. Thank God, the child fell asleep, and over a very short period of time, he was completely healed.” We have brothers and sisters from Birmingham here, afterwards you can ask them and they will testify to you that it is a miracle! God is here in His true church.

Now our second point.

You may say that as long as someone calls upon Jesus, they are part of God’s church. But what did Jesus say?

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

If a church belongs to God, they must not only know God’s will, they must also follow God’s will. That means the truth of God’s words.

““Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the Lord of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’” (Zechariah 8:3)

Here it talks about Zion. It talks about Jerusalem. Now, don’t forget what we read in Hebrews. Hebrews tells us that when the Bible talks about Zion and Jerusalem, and when it talks about the city, it talks about the church of God. So the church of God, according to the Bible, will be called the City of Truth. And so because it is a City of Truth, therefore, the church must follow the truth of God’s words and God’s will. Today, when you come to God’s church, you need to make sure that the church follows the word of God—the Bible. This is the second point. The first point was that the church must have signs and miracles. The second point is that the church must follow God’s words and God’s will.

The third is that the church must have the Holy Spirit.

“Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1 John 3:24)

How do we know that the Lord abides in us? By the Spirit whom He has given us. What happened when the Holy Spirit was poured down on the group of disciples in Acts?

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

So thank God, now we have understood the three points needed in a church of God:

1. Signs and miracles
2. The truth
3. The Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues.

Now we have understood. Out of Zion. Zion means church. The church, Zion, is connected with salvation. If a person wants to be saved, he needs to be joined to God’s church through baptism. Today, we understand that Zion is important. We thank God. We want to show you through the Scriptures that how do we know we are God’s church? Because we have signs and miracles, we have the truth, and we have the Holy Spirit.

We thank God that in our church, we have three modes of prayer. Silent prayer, prayer with words of understanding, and we also pray in tongues—just like what we have learnt in Acts 2:4. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, they will speak in tongues. That is the utterance given by God. Today, we don’t just have faith. We have evidence of God’s Spirit abiding in us. Today, you can also experience God living in us. Put your hands together and close your eyes to help you concentrate. Then begin your prayer by saying, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray” to call upon the name of the Lord to listen to your prayer. Then you can say “hallelujah” to praise God. Then you end your prayer with “amen”.