“Come out of her, my people…” — Revelation 18:4
There are moments when God doesn’t simply reveal what is wrong. He calls His people to come out.
That is the central challenge of the latest episode of Through the Refiner’s Fire Podcast, “Exodus From Babylon: Come Out of Her Pt. 1.”
Craig, Antonio, and Pastor Ronnie continue the Exodus From Babylon series by examining what it means for believers to recognize the influences, desires, strongholds, distractions, and compromises that can pull them away from the Lord.
But the conversation is not simply about identifying Babylon.
It is about answering the question:
If God is calling us out, where is He calling us to?
The answer throughout the conversation is clear: to Christ.
The Call: “Come Out of Her”
The episode begins with Revelation 18:4–8 and the command for God’s people to come out of Babylon so that they do not participate in her sins or share in her plagues.
The discussion describes this as more than a warning. It is a call to deliverance.
Babylon is discussed as representing worldly influence, desires, systems, seduction, and strongholds that can pull God’s people away from their devotion to Christ.
That makes the command deeply personal.
Coming out requires examination.
What have we become attached to?
What have we continued to entertain?
What influences have shaped our thinking?
What things have we said we have overcome while continuing to keep ourselves close enough to them that we could easily return?
The episode challenges believers not simply to say that they have been delivered, but to actually turn away and not go back.
Coming Out Is Not the End of the Journey
One of the most important themes in the conversation is that coming out of Babylon cannot be the final objective.
The purpose of Israel’s return from Babylon was connected to restoring worship.
In the same way, the believer’s departure from worldly influence must lead somewhere.
It must lead to Christ.
It must lead to worship.
It must lead to surrender.
It must lead to transformation.
As the conversation develops, the question is essentially asked:
If we come out of Babylon but God has not restored prayer, worship, intimacy with Christ, and His altar within us, what have we actually come out for?
That is a challenging question because it moves the focus away from identifying everything that is wrong around us and toward examining what God is doing within us.
You Become What You Worship
A powerful point made during the conversation is:
You become what you worship.
If our hearts remain devoted to worldly systems and desires, those things will continue to shape our character.
But if we worship Jesus, submit ourselves to His Spirit, and allow Him to work within us, the process of transformation begins.
This connects directly with the discussion of Romans 12:2 and the renewing of the mind.
Transformation is presented as a process.
There can be pruning.
There can be pain.
There can be suffering.
But the goal is that we become more like Christ.
The ultimate calling discussed in the episode isn’t simply having a ministry, gaining influence, or becoming known.
It is being conformed to the image of Christ.
The Lion and the Lamb
The conversation turns to Revelation 5 and John’s vision of the One worthy to open the book.
John initially sees the Lamb who had been slain.
The discussion uses this moment to emphasize something important about the call out of Babylon.
God isn’t merely calling His people away from something.
He is calling them to Himself.
The Lion of Judah.
The Lamb who was slain.
Jesus Christ.
The call is relational.
It is an invitation to abide in Him.
This changes the way we understand deliverance. We aren’t being called to save ourselves through our own strength. We are called to seek the Lord, trust Him, pray, submit, and allow His Spirit to work in us.
The Danger of Seduction and Deception
The episode spends considerable time discussing the subtle nature of deception.
Seduction doesn’t always look like open rebellion.
Sometimes it looks attractive.
Sometimes it looks harmless.
Sometimes it looks familiar.
Sometimes it looks religious.
And sometimes the danger is that we don’t even realize we are being deceived.
The conversation connects this with the biblical themes of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
The example of Eve illustrates how temptation can work through what appears desirable.
She knew what God had said.
But the temptation redirected her attention.
That is one of the recurring themes of the episode:
Distraction can move us away from the Word of God and toward another narrative.
The World Is Competing for Your Attention
The conversation then moves into a very practical issue: distraction.
Phones.
Social media.
Constant information.
Arguments.
Opinions.
Entertainment.
Responsibilities.
Notifications.
The sheer amount of information entering our minds every day can leave us mentally exhausted.
One of the brothers describes this as a kind of decision fatigue.
We are constantly being asked to choose:
What should I watch?
What should I believe?
Who should I listen to?
What should I respond to?
What should I buy?
What should I say?
What should I do?
And after spending the entire day responding to the world’s demands, we can become too mentally exhausted to simply sit before God.
That led to one of the practical ideas from the conversation:
Say yes to God first.
Rather than allowing every demand of life to compete for our attention, begin with our greatest “yes”—our yes to God—and allow that relationship to shape the decisions that follow.
The Word of God Against Deception
Another major point from the episode is the power of Scripture.
The Word of God isn’t merely information.
It gives us the foundation for understanding:
- Who God is
- Who we are
- What sin is
- What holiness is
- What righteousness is
- Where our hope is
- Where our future lies
The world constantly presents competing narratives about who we should become.
Scripture tells us who God created us to be in Christ.
That is why the believer must remain grounded in the Word.
If we don’t know what God has said, we become increasingly vulnerable to whatever voice happens to be loudest.
How Can You Come Out of Something You Don’t Know You’re In?
This question became another significant part of the conversation.
How can you come out of something when you don’t know you’re in it?
This is where the importance of the body of Christ comes into the discussion.
Sometimes we need other believers to help us see what we cannot see about ourselves.
That requires humility.
It requires putting aside ego.
It requires being willing to hear the Word of God even when the correction is uncomfortable.
The episode presents the church as a place where believers can help identify spiritual pitfalls and encourage one another to return to the Lord.
This is part of what it means to be watchful.
A Watchful Church Recognizes God’s Voice
One of the strongest statements from the episode is:
A watchful church recognizes the voice of God.
The problem isn’t always that God isn’t speaking.
Sometimes we are simply too distracted to recognize His voice.
The danger isn’t always obvious rebellion.
Sometimes the danger is what we become consumed with.
If we become consumed with Babylon, the beast, controversy, arguments, cultural conflict, or exposing everyone around us, we can lose sight of Christ.
The episode doesn’t argue that discernment or apologetics are unnecessary.
Instead, the conversation challenges believers to make sure that exposing darkness does not become more important than following Jesus.
Christ must remain the focus.
The Refining Fire
This naturally connects to the name of the podcast.
Through the Refiner’s Fire.
Fire purifies.
The episode discusses how suffering, hardship, trials, and difficulties can become part of God’s refining work in His people.
The believer may sometimes look at difficulty and ask:
“Why am I going through this?”
But the discussion encourages another question:
What is God producing in me through this?
The fire is not necessarily evidence that God has abandoned us.
It can be part of the process through which He is refining us, creating us, transforming us, and making us ready.
The Power of Silence
One of the most reflective portions of the episode centers on silence.
The conversation considers Jesus’ silence before His accusers and the moments when Jesus withdrew to pray.
The discussion also reflects on Job and the powerful role his friends initially played simply by being present with him in his suffering.
The phrase that emerges is:
“The power of presence.”
In a world where everyone has an opinion, everyone has a response, and everyone wants to be heard, there is something powerful about becoming quiet enough to listen.
Silence can create room for receiving.
Room for prayer.
Room for reflection.
Room to hear.
Room for the Holy Spirit.
The question becomes:
Have we become so accustomed to noise that we no longer know how to be still before God?
Sound Doctrine or Itching Ears?
The conversation then turns toward 2 Timothy 4 and the warning about people who will not endure sound doctrine but will gather teachers according to their own desires.
This connects directly to the larger theme of Babylon.
Deception doesn’t always require rejecting Christianity altogether.
Sometimes the greater danger is mixing the truth with something else.
Taking what God has revealed and adding practices, beliefs, philosophies, or spiritual systems that do not belong there.
The episode challenges believers to remain faithful to the Word rather than creating a version of Christianity that fits their preferred worldview.
Expectancy Preserves Us
Near the end of the episode, the discussion turns toward expectancy.
Why do we guard our hearts?
Why do we search Scripture?
Why do we continue to pursue holiness?
Why do we resist the seduction of the world?
Because we are looking toward something greater.
We are looking toward Christ.
We are looking toward His kingdom.
That expectancy can help preserve the believer.
The world may offer temporary pleasure, comfort, success, recognition, and belonging.
But the Christian hope points beyond this present world.
The episode challenges us to ask whether we are holding so tightly to this world that we have forgotten the kingdom we are waiting for.
We Are Living Epistles
The final portion of the conversation brings the message back to the heart of Through the Refiner’s Fire.
We are called to be living sacrifices.
We are called to allow God to write His story in our hearts.
We are called to become living epistles.
Whether we experience suffering or success, the question remains:
How can my life glorify God?
Suffering can glorify God.
Success can glorify God.
Our testimony can glorify God.
Our obedience can glorify God.
Our transformation can glorify God.
The goal isn’t simply to escape Babylon.
The goal is to become increasingly like Christ.
Questions for Personal Reflection
After listening to “Come Out of Her Pt. 1,” consider these questions:
- What has God been calling me to come out of?
- Are there things I claim to have overcome that I am still entertaining?
- What voices are competing for my attention?
- Am I spending more time consuming the world than seeking God?
- Do I recognize the voice of God through His Word?
- What am I worshiping through my time, attention, desires, and decisions?
- Is God restoring prayer and worship in my life?
- Am I being transformed, or am I simply becoming more religious?
- Do I have people in my life who can lovingly correct me with God’s Word?
- Have I become more interested in exposing darkness than becoming like Christ?
- Do I intentionally make room for silence and prayer?
- Am I allowing Scripture to renew my mind?
- What does saying “yes” to God look like in my life right now?
- Am I living with expectancy for Christ and His kingdom?
- Is my life pointing people toward Jesus?
Key Takeaways
1. Coming out requires action.
God’s call isn’t merely to recognize Babylon. It is to come out.
2. Coming out isn’t the destination.
We come out of Babylon to come to Christ.
3. Deliverance requires dependence on God.
We don’t overcome through our own strength. We need the power of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
4. Worship determines transformation.
What we worship shapes who we become.
5. Deception can be subtle.
Sometimes the most dangerous influence is the one we don’t recognize.
6. Distraction can make us spiritually sleepy.
A believer can become so consumed with the world that they struggle to hear God’s voice.
7. Scripture anchors us in truth.
The Word helps us recognize God’s character, our identity, sin, holiness, righteousness, hope, and future.
8. We need the body of Christ.
Other believers can help us recognize blind spots and spiritual pitfalls.
9. Silence matters.
We need space to stop speaking, stop consuming, and listen.
10. God’s refining process has a purpose.
The trials we experience can become part of God’s work of transforming and preparing us.
11. Expectancy helps preserve us.
Looking toward Christ and His kingdom changes how we live in the present.
12. We are living epistles.
Our lives should become testimonies of the work God is doing in us.
Final Thought
The call of “Come out of her, my people” is not simply a call to leave something.
It is a call to return.
Return to Christ.
Return to worship.
Return to truth.
Return to prayer.
Return to holiness.
Return to intimacy with God.
Return to the Word.
And allow the Lord to build His temple within you.
The question isn’t only:
“What do I need to come out of?”
The deeper question is:
“Am I willing to come fully to Christ?”
That is where the Exodus begins.
Faith is sharpened. Truth is professed. Believers are transformed.
To listen to the Podcast Click here – https://throughtherefinersfirepodcast.christepistle.com/
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