======================================================================== A LARGE COLLECTION OF SERMONS BY PASTOR DAVID WILKERSON - VOLUME 1 by David Wilkerson ======================================================================== The first volume of a large collection of sermons by David Wilkerson, the renowned pastor of Times Square Church in New York City and author of The Cross and the Switchblade. His messages emphasize holiness, repentance, and radical dependence on God in the face of cultural decline. Chapters: 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. PRE-003-0.03 A Word about Pastor David Wilkerson 2. PRE-004-01.What Ever Happened To Repentance? 3. PRE-005-02. A Booth On The Roof 4. PRE-006-03. A Call To Grief 5. PRE-007-04. A Cheap Cut Rate Gospel 6. PRE-008-05. Holy Ground 7. PRE-009-06. The Loneliness of Jesus 8. PRE-010-07. Suicide- An Urgent Message 9. PRE-011-08. The Coming Purge 10. PRE-012-09. Adultery, Wife Swapping, Cheating and Divorce 11. PRE-013-10. Sipping Saints 12. PRE-014-11. Hollywood Holiness 13. PRE-015-12. How To Win Over Temptation 14. PRE-016-13. Where Have All The Children Gone 15. PRE-017-14. When You Hurt 16. PRE-018-15. Good News and Bad News 17. PRE-019-16. Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? 18. PRE-020-17. Cruising and Boozing 19. PRE-021-18. Stop Condemning Yourself 20. PRE-022-19. Christian, Lay Down Your Guilt 21. PRE-023-20. Hundreds Saved From Suicide 22. PRE-024-21. Jesus and Storms 23. PRE-025-22. Victory Over Your Besetting Sin 24. PRE-026-23.You Can�t Depend On Others For Your Happiness 25. PRE-027-24. You Cannot Carry Your Own Cross 26. PRE-028-25. God Can Use You In Spite Of Your Weakness 27. PRE-029-26. When You Don�t Know What To Do 28. PRE-030-27. A Dry Spell 29. PRE-031-28. Your Marriage Can Make It 30. PRE-032-29. Jesus And Forgiveness 31. PRE-033-30. Will There Be A Depression 32. PRE-034-31. An Uplifting Message of Comfort For Those Who Are Down 33. PRE-035-32. The Seven Thousand Club 34. PRE-036-33. Why Not Just Run Away From It All 35. PRE-037-34. Will God Ever Answer My Prayer 36. PRE-038-35. The Ultimate Healing 37. PRE-039-36. Staying Clean in A Wicked Age 38. PRE-040-37. God Has Not Forgotten You 39. PRE-041-38. Pain Suffering and Confusion 40. PRE-042-39. The Liberated Life 41. PRE-043-40. Down With Religion 42. PRE-044-41. Is Your World Too Small? 43. PRE-045-42. Help Yourself 44. PRE-046-43. It Pays To Go Out In The Street Witnessing To Lost Souls! 45. PRE-047-44. God Is Not Mad At Sinners Yet 46. PRE-048-45. The Key To Power Over Sin 47. PRE-049-46. Be Ye Holy 48. PRE-050-47. Babylon Is Falling 49. PRE-051-48. Coming Soon- A Revival of Holiness 50. PRE-052-49. The Fatal Race 51. PRE-053-50. Feelings, The Messengers of Satan 52. PRE-054-51. Six Reasons Prayers Are Not Answered 53. PRE-055-52. Good News For Bad People 54. PRE-056-53. The Truth About Faith 55. PRE-057-54. The Crime Of Unbelief 56. PRE-058-55. Jabbok � A Place Of Total Surrender 57. PRE-059-56. I Will Be Thy Mouth 58. PRE-060-57. A Christ-less Pentecost 59. PRE-061-58. The Redeemer Is Coming To Zion 60. PRE-062-59. Jeremiah or Jesus 61. PRE-063-60. End Time Values 62. PRE-064-61. Restoration 63. PRE-065-62. Going Fishing 64. PRE-066-63. The Sin Of Mixing 65. PRE-067-64. The Fellowship Of His Sufferings 66. PRE-068-65. Love Your Way To Freedom 67. PRE-069-66. Famine In The Land 68. PRE-070-67. The Hunter 69. PRE-071-68. The Power Of His Presence 70. PRE-072-69. I Will Not Go Out Free 71. PRE-073-70. Ascension Life 72. PRE-074-71. The Man Who Missed Christ 73. PRE-075-72. God�s Intention For This Midnight Hour 74. PRE-076-73. Encourage Yourself In The Lord 75. PRE-077-74. The Glory of God 76. PRE-078-75. The Sin That Makes God Cry 77. PRE-079-76. Wall Of Fire 78. PRE-080-77. Awake And Shake 79. PRE-081-78. The Lord Is Thy Keeper 80. PRE-082-79. He Maketh Wars To Cease 81. PRE-083-80. A Voice, A Mirror, And A Step Of Faith 82. PRE-084-81. The Lord�s Little Turtledove 83. PRE-085-82. The Precious Blood And The Mighty Hand 84. PRE-086-83. A Spirit of Slumber 85. PRE-087-84. God�s Grief Over His People 86. PRE-088-85. Blow The Trumpet in Zion 87. PRE-089-86. One Way To Save Your Home 88. PRE-090-87. A Cry Against Wicked Youth 89. PRE-091-88. Pillow Prophets 90. PRE-092-89. A Highway Out Of Egypt 91. PRE-093-90. The Truth About Corruption 92. PRE-094-91. Watchmen Of The Night 93. PRE-095-92. King Jesus Reigns 94. PRE-096-93. Hatchet Gods 95. PRE-097-94. The Zadok Remnant 96. PRE-098-95. He Has Smeared Over Their Eyes So That They Cannot See 97. PRE-099-96. When The Hedge Goes Down 98. PRE-100-97. There Is A Cry Of Repentance In The Land ======================================================================== CHAPTER 1: PRE-003-0.03 A WORD ABOUT PASTOR DAVID WILKERSON ======================================================================== 0.03 A Word about Pastor David Wilkerson Pastor David Wilkerson was the founder of Teen Challenge, The Founding Pastor of Times Square Church, and also the founder of World Challenge. He was born May 19, 1931 and went to be with The Lord on April 27th, 2011. Through his years of ministry Pastor David Wilkerson epitomized what it means to live by ones faith. He believed God for the impossible. In the 1950’s Pastor David Wilkerson began a journey that would forever change the lives of many people and bring honor and glory to the Name of Christ. He came to New York City and being God gripped with a burden for the urban youth of this city began to preach The Gospel to gang members, drug addicts, prostitutes and everyone who would hear. As a result of his obedience Teen Challenge was founded and many young people addicted to drugs and violence were brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Many of these young people went on to become wonderful men and women of God. Pastor David Wilkerson did not come to New York with a plan. He came to New York with a burden, and a trust in his heart that God is able. His sermons are full of the powerful truths of The Gospel of Jesus Christ that were made real in his own life and ministry. The love that God placed in his heart for The Church and for fallen humanity could be heard in his voice and read in his letters.In my life no man has been such an inspiration, mentor and leader as has Pastor David Wilkerson. The amazing thing about that statement is that I never once met him or shook his hand. I did not know him personally, but the impact he had on my life is too vast for me to tell in this short introduction. I remember as clear as day when my grandmother sat me in front of her television and popped The Cross and The Switchblade into her VCR. I remember thinking to myself this guy really believed in Jesus and boy did Jesus give him some guts. I went on to grow into an adolescent and made some wrong choices as a teen, I’d “grown out of church” and got on with “real life”. This “real life” led me to drugs, gangs, jail and misery but in the deep subconscious of my mind I never forgot that Jesus was able to deal with people like me. I would go all the way until my late 20’s before I finally heeded the call of God and surrendered to the gentle tug of The Holy Spirit, and shortly after I was saved during a tough struggle in my life I one day entered God Help Me into my internet search browser. As I scrolled through the many pages of suggestions I saw one that jumped out at me, it was the Times Square Church website and the name David Wilkerson caught my attention. I lived in New York City all of my life and I NEVER once heard of a Church called Times Square Church, and as for Pastor David Wilkerson, well I remembered the name from the movie I watched as a kid but I had no idea he was pastoring a Church in New York City. Back when I was a child the story of The Cross and The Switchblade left a strong impression on my mind. However as an adult, stumbling onto Times Square Church’s website changed my life. The ministry of Pastor David Wilkerson in my view has been to preach The Gospel of Jesus Christ with a broken heart for His people, and for the lost. As I said in a prior statement I never met Him, but I can honestly say that God used his life and ministry to draw me to Himself in a way that words cannot ever describe. It is my hope and prayer that The Lord will use these messages to do the same for you. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 2: PRE-004-01.WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO REPENTANCE? ======================================================================== 01.What Ever Happened To Repentance? David Wilkerson What Ever Happened To Repentance? August 2, 1999 __________ Whatever happened to repentance? You rarely hear the word mentioned in most churches today — even in Baptist, Pentecostal or evangelical circles. Pastors nowadays seldom call for their congregations to sorrow over sin — to mourn and grieve over wounding Christ by their wickedness. Instead, the message we hear from many pulpits today is, "Just believe. Accept Christ, and you’ll be saved." The text used to justify this message is Acts 16:30-31. In this passage, the apostle Paul was being held in jail when suddenly the earth shook and all the cell doors opened. The jailer immediately thought all the prisoners had fled, which meant he faced execution. In despair, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself when Paul and Silas stopped him, assuring him no one had escaped. Seeing this, the man fell down before the apostles and cried out, "…Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31). As we read this passage, it’s important to remember that the jailer was on the verge of suicide, with sword in hand. He was already at a point of repentance — on his knees, broken and trembling, before the apostles. So his heart was truly prepared to accept Jesus in genuine faith. In the gospel of Mark, Christ tells his disciples, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). It’s clear from what Jesus says here that salvation is found in simply accepting him and being baptized. However, Jesus prefaces his statement with this word: "…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (verse 15). He’s saying, in essence, that before people can believe in him, the gospel must first be preached to them. And what is this gospel Jesus refers to? It’s the gospel that Jesus himself preached — the gospel of repentance! Think about it — what was the first message Jesus delivered, after he emerged from the temptation in the wilderness? Scripture says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Jesus called people to repent before he even called them to believe! Mark writes, "…Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Christ preached, "Repent first — and believe." Elsewhere Jesus says of his mission, "…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). And he told the Galileans, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Jesus’ gospel was all about repentance! ________________________________________ John the Baptist Also Preached Repentance, to Prepare Israel for the Coming of Christ. ________________________________________ John’s message to the Jews was simple and straightforward: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:1-2). People came from everywhere to hear John preach. And he told them in no uncertain terms: "The messiah is soon to appear in your midst — so, you’d better get ready to meet him! You may feel excited that he’s coming. But I’m telling you, your hearts are not prepared — because you’re still holding onto your sins! "Outside you appear clean and holy. But inside, you’re full of dead men’s bones! You’re a generation of vipers, snakes, with absolutely no fear of God. Yet you have no concept that you’re even sinners. I warn you — you must deal with your sin before you can believe on the savior and follow him. So, repent, turn from your sin -- and live in a way that reflects genuine change!" What gospel did Peter preach to the masses on the day of Pentecost? The Bible tells us that when the people heard the apostle testify, "...they were pricked in their heart, and said...Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38). Peter didn’t tell these people just to "believe and be saved." He didn’t ask them to merely make a decision, to cast a vote for Jesus. No -- he told them to repent fast, and then be baptized in obedience to Christ! What gospel did Paul preach to the pagan Athenians on Mars Hill? He told them very directly, "...God...now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). These Greek intellectuals had no trouble believing in God. In fact, you could say their very pastime was "believing." They believed in many gods -- first this one, then that one. Whenever someone came along preaching a god persuasively, they believed in it. So, they believed -- but they did it while living in sin. Simple belief wasn’t enough! Paul told these men, "No, no -- that’s not, Christ! Jesus can’t simply be added to your list of gods. You may believe in them all, but you can’t merely do that with Jesus. He has come to save you from your sins. And he commands all his followers to repent and be cleansed!" Later, Paul preached the same gospel of repentance to King Agrippa: "...I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:19-20). Paul is saying, "Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve preached repentance. And genuine repentance proves itself by its actions!" These passages make clear to us that the apostolic church preached unabashedly the same gospel John and Jesus preached: "Repent for the remission of your sins!" ________________________________________ What Does It Mean To Repent? ________________________________________ Some Christians believe repentance means simply to "turn around" and go in the opposite direction. But the Bible tells us repentance is much more than this. I once heard a man say, "I’m so glad I know New Testament Greek. It translates the word ’repent’ as meaning, ’to change one’s mind.’" No -- this man doesn’t know his Greek! The full, literal meaning of the word "repent" in the New Testament is "to feel remorse and self-reproach for one’s sins against God; to be contrite, sorry; to want to change direction." The difference in meanings here rests on the word "Want." True repentance includes a desire to change! Moreover, simply being sorry doesn’t constitute repentance. Rather, true sorrow leads to repentance. Paul states, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Paul is speaking here of a sorrow that’s without regrets -- one that’s genuine, that "sticks" in the life of the repentant person. This kind of godly sorrow naturally produces a repentance that includes a hatred for sin, a righteous fear of God and a desire to right all wrongs. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that Paul preached repentance to believers. He delivered a strong message of repentance to the Christians in Corinth. The Corinthian believers had been richly blessed by God, having sat under mighty teachers of the word. Yet their congregation remained rife with sin. First Paul testifies to the Corinthians, "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). But then Paul tells them very directly: "I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would..." (verse 20). What was Paul’s fear? It was simply this: "Lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed" (verse 21). This tenderhearted shepherd loved the compromising saints in Corinth. Yet he knew they’d been well-taught that a lifestyle of gross sin was wrong. And he told them, "When I come to visit you, you’re going to see me hanging my head in grief. My eyes will flow with tears, and my voice will wail in sorrow. "If I see you continuing to indulge in uncleanness, fornication and lust, I’ll be utterly broken -- because the gospel has not done its work in your heart. You haven’t yet repented of your sin. And I will call you loudly to repent!" ________________________________________ These Words of Paul Put Me to Shame! ________________________________________ As I read Paul’s words, I find myself examining my own ministry And I have to ask, "Have I cut short the gospel Jesus preached -- the gospel of repentance? Have I essentially taken scissors to my Bible and removed the higher cost of following Christ? Have I lowered his standard by telling people, ’Just believe and be saved’?" As I look at the church today, I wonder: Do we evangelicals insist on a biblical "godly sorrow" as evidence of true repentance? Or are we leading masses of unrepentant people into a false peace? Are we wrongly instructing them that all God requires of them is to say, "I believe in you, Jesus"? Have we cut short genuine conviction for sins? Have we jumped in and offered salvation to those who haven’t actually repented -- who haven’t sorrowed over their trespasses, who haven’t seen the exceeding sinfulness of their sins, who have sought faith so they could merely hide their lusts behind it? We constantly hear awful exaggerations about the numbers of people who come to Jesus through various ministries. Christians report that scores of people were saved as they preached in prisons, schools, tribal meetings. They say, "Everybody in the place gave his heart to Jesus. When I finished preaching, they all came forward for salvation." No -- that is a tragic exaggeration! All too often, what actually happens is that everyone simply repeats a prayer. They merely pray what they’re told to pray -- and few of them grasp what they’re saying. Then most go back to their heathen ways! Such people never experience a deep work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they never repent, never sorrow over their sins -- and never truly believe. Tragically, we’ve offered them something Jesus himself never offered -- salvation without repentance! I believe the church has even taken the feeling out of conviction. Think about it -- you hardly ever see tears on the cheeks of those who are being saved anymore. Of course, I know tears don’t save anyone. But God made us all human, with very real feelings. And any hell-bound sinner who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit naturally feels a profound sorrow over the ways he has grieved the Lord. The apostle Peter felt this kind of godly sorrow, when he denied knowing Jesus. Suddenly, he was flooded with the memory of what Jesus had told him: "Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he Wept" (Mark 14:72). As Peter remembered these words, he was overcome with emotion. And suddenly, he went running through Jerusalem, weeping, "I’ve betrayed the Lord!" Beloved, we simply cannot work up that kind of repentance in our own flesh. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal to us how, like Peter, we also have wounded our loving savior. And that revelation ought to fill us with deep sorrow! I don’t agree with all of the Puritan writers’ doctrine, but I love their emphasis on holiness. These godly preachers called their sermons "deep ploughing." They believed they couldn’t sow true seeds of faith until the soil of their listeners’ hearts had been deeply plowed. So the Puritans made sure their preaching went deep, cracking all the fallow ground of their listeners’ souls. Their sermons produced genuine repentance in their congregations. And, in turn, over the years this produced strong, mature, faithful Christians. Today, however, most preaching is all sowing with no plowing. I hear very few sermons nowadays that dig deeper than the topsoil. Deep plowing doesn’t just address the disease of sin; it digs down to the very cause of the disease. Much of the preaching we hear today focuses on the remedy while ignoring the disease. It offers a prescription without providing surgery! Sadly, we cause people to think they’ve been healed of sin when they never knew they were sick. We put robes of righteousness on them when they never knew they were naked. We urge them to trust in Christ when they don’t even know their need to trust. Such people end up thinking, "It can’t hurt to add Jesus to my life." C.H. Spurgeon, the powerful English preacher, said the following about the need for repentance: "I trust that sorrowful penitence does still exist, though I have not heard much about it lately. People seem to jump into faith very quickly nowadays...I hope my old friend repentance is not dead. I am desperately in love with repentance; it seems to be the twin sister of faith. "I do not myself understand much about dry-eyed faith; I know that I came to Christ by the way of weeping-cross...When I came to Calvary by faith, it was with great weeping and supplication, confessing my transgressions, and desiring to find salvation in Jesus, and in Jesus only." ________________________________________ When Times Square Church Was Founded, We Pastors Preached the Law for the First Few Years. ________________________________________ Why did we preach the law for so long in our church? We did it because many in our congregation were calling themselves Christians -- yet their lives didn’t reflect it! In those early years, many people came forward to the altar at the end of every service. They repeated a pastoral prayer and "accepted salvation by faith." Yet, most of those people never felt any conviction for their sin. They didn’t experience godly sorrow -- and so their lives didn’t reveal true repentance. Supposedly repentant theater actors professed Christ on Sunday but went back to their blasphemous shows during the week. Homosexuals prayed for salvation but still indulged in their sinful lifestyle. Others confessed Jesus at our altar yet continued their adulterous affairs, fornication or drug use. This is why we thundered conviction from our pulpit! The Holy Ghost led our pastoral team to expose all sin, rebellion and disobedience to his word. We preached hell so hot, people got up and left our services. And we preached heaven so real, compromisers trembled at the awesome reality of Christ’s holiness. Our preaching of the law was absolutely necessary at that time. It is God’s mirror, revealing every hidden, secret thing. And it brought the people in our congregation to an awareness of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. While some people ran out, others ran forward in genuine repentance. One of these was a booming-voiced actor named David Davis. He surrendered all to Jesus in true repentance. And today, he and his wife pastor a thriving church in Israel, where they’ve preached Christ for almost ten years. While the true work of repentance was accomplishing its purpose in our church, the Holy Spirit then led us to preach the glory of grace. We taught on the New Covenant, on power over sin through the Holy Spirit, on walking by faith. In short, we began to build up the saints. Through that whole experience, we also discovered the dangers of preaching only the law and focusing primarily on sin. If people are given a steady diet of this message alone, they begin to lose hope and wallow in despair, thinking, "I’ll never measure up." They constantly turn inward rather than looking to the cross for hope. Yet when a church is the Lord’s, it can trust God’s Spirit to bring the message of the law whenever it’s needed. If Jesus sees his people lapsing into an "easy believism," he’ll once again bring the lash of the law upon them, with all mercy and grace. You see, repentance isn’t a one-time experience. It’s not some hurricane that strikes once and then is gone forever. Nor do we experience repentance only in a moment of crisis, and then merely talk about it the rest of our lives. No -- sorrow for sin should be our constant teacher! Spurgeon testified, "I freely confess that I have a very much greater sorrow for sin today than I had when I came to the savior more than thirty years ago. I hate sin more intensely now than I did when I was under conviction. There are some things that I did not know to be sin then, that I know to be sin now. I have a much keener sense of the vileness of my own heart now than when I first came to Christ... "Sorrow for sin is a perpetual rain, a sweet, soft shower, which to a truly saved man lasts all his life long...He is always sorrowful that he has sinned...He will never stop grieving until all sin has gone." ________________________________________ Jesus Said Something to the Church in Ephesus That Causes Me to Tremble! ________________________________________ You may remember the seven churches that John mentions in Revelation 2:1-29. Among them is the church of Ephesus -- a congregation Jesus commends very highly. I like to think of our church in Times Square as being like the Ephesian church. That body of believers labored in one of the world’s most populous cities, never fainting in the midst of vile wickedness. The people lived sacrificially, hated sin and refused to accept false doctrines. They stood strong in faith, loving God with all their heart no matter what temptations Satan threw at them. Yet Christ knew something was amiss among these people. And he so loved this church — it was such a bright lamp to the nations — he wasn’t about to sit idly by and let it die. So he told the Ephesians, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Revelation 2:4). Jesus was saying, "Your fire is going out! The love for me that once motivated your faithfulness is waning. You once bore my burden for the lost — but now you’re satisfied merely to sit and listen to sermons. You’ve become totally engrossed in your own personal concerns, and you’re ignoring mine. You’ve fallen far from where you once stood!" Jesus then tells them, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen…" (verse 5). He’s saying, "Think back! You used to yearn to come to my house, to be with my saints, to bear my burden. But now an hour on Sunday morning is plenty for you!" So, dear Christian — are you still on fire for Jesus? Are you in love with him as passionately as when you first got saved? Or have you lost interest in his concerns, forsaking all ministry? Do you have too much else going on in your life? If so, the Lord says to you, "I’ve got something against you. You’ve left your first love!" Listen to what Jesus says to us at this point: "…repent, and do the first works…" (same verse). He’s saying, "Mourn over your growing apathy. Be contrite — take it seriously. Then let your grief lead you back to where you were when you first loved me!" Christ then gives us a word that lets us know we’d better take heed. He says, "…or else…" (same verse). He immediately spells out the consequence: "…I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick…" (same verse). Jesus is saying here that unless we repent, he’s going to remove all the spiritual authority we’ve been given. This includes our influence on our city, our community, our neighborhood, those in our sphere of influence. Every bit of influence we have will be taken from us, he says, "Except ye repent!" Right now, churches across the world are shutting their doors. Their lights are literally being turned out — because that’s the judgment they incur for refusing to repent! God said they would lose their discernment, their spiritual blessings, their finances, his very presence. Now they’re dead, lifeless, with only memories of his past blessings. I preached in many such churches thirty years ago. At that time they were packed with zealous believers. Today, barely a dozen people sit in their pews. Soon they’ll dwindle to nothing, and their doors will shut for good. God has written "Ichabod" over their doors — meaning, "The Spirit of the Lord has departed!" Yet, beloved, God gives this same message to every Christian individually. He says, "If you refuse to repent — if you remain in your apathy — I’ll remove your lampstand. You’ll no longer have any influence over your family, your coworkers — anyone!" This is exactly what happened to the Ephesian church. God waited patiently — over 1,000 years, in fact — for that church to repent. Yet finally the time came when their backsliding was more than he could endure. The historian Gibbon writes: "The first candlestick of Ephesus was extinguished. The barbarous lords of Ionia and Lydia trampled on the remains of Christianity. Now the Mohammedan mosques invoke the god of Mohammed. Only the church of Philadel-phia still stands erect." Yet, even as we read these words, we are not to fear. Jesus ends his admonition to us this way: "…To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). Dear saint, Jesus is that tree! He’s telling us, "If you’ll repent, I’ll give you constant life from my very being. And as long as you continue to love me, I will provide a flow of supernatural life in you. This life will be revealed in your discernment, your love for people, your good works for my kingdom!" This is the trait that distinguishes every Christian who’s truly in love with Jesus. Such a believer is full of life — and everyone around him knows it! Jesus promises that your godly sorrow, your repentant heart and your renewed love for him will lead you to life. So, pray to him right now: "Lord, give me a truly repentant heart. Take me back to who I was when I was first in love with you. Yet, this time take me farther, deeper in you, than I’ve ever been before!" As you repent, God’s Spirit will begin to produce in you a new revelation of the glory of Christ. And he’ll make it known to everyone around you! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 3: PRE-005-02. A BOOTH ON THE ROOF ======================================================================== 02. A Booth On The Roof A Booth On The Roof By David Wilkerson July 25, 1988 __________ Here at Times Square Church we have designated this year as one of prayer for revival. By "revival" we are not thinking of some great emotional stirring, with people coming from miles around to see something sensational. Instead, we are wanting a prepared people - prepared in holiness! We want a revival of the Lord’s holy presence, where things are so pleasing to God, that He will come down to meet every need - where His glory is revealed! In Nehemiah, the eighth chapter, there are to be found what I call "the five absolute evidences of revival." It cannot be called revival or awakening unless all five of these evidences are present. Nehemiah is a revival book. It is the story of 42,360 Jews returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon to rebuild the walls and get back to the old paths of holiness and true worship. Their leaving Babylon is a type of believers leaving dead, compromising, worldly churches to go forth with a remnant to Holy Zion, to return to the old paths, and to go on with a people and shepherds who walk in truth. This holy remnant rolled up their sleeves and worked in unity to remove the rubbish and filth that had polluted Jerusalem. They rebuilt the crumbling walls and put up the gates. That’s what we are doing at Times Square Church: removing the rubbish that has accumulated, the rubbish of false doctrines, of materialism, of sin and compromise in the pulpit and pew! We are rebuilding the walls that had crumbled. Hundreds of God’s people have been plundered and ravaged by Satanic powers; homes and marriages have been in turmoil; many are backslidden, starving for God’s Word. We’ve been working together to put up walls and gates to keep the enemy out. God has gathered together a remnant of all who have escaped Babylon and are ready to take the five great steps to restoration and revival. ________________________________________ The First Evidence of Revival Is A Great Desire to Hear and Obey the Word of the Lord. ________________________________________ "And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law... And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people... and when he opened it, all the people stood up" (Nehemiah 8:1-5). The cry of their hearts was, " Bring us the true Word of the Lord!" Ezra stood on a raised, wooden pulpit and read God’s Word for six hours while the multitude stood at attention, learning that the cause of their suffering was their own stubbornness and rebellion. The surest evidence of revival in a soul or a church or a city is a great hunger for God’s Word. Backslidden Christians don’t want to hear the Word - it bores them! What they want is excitement. Backslidden preachers don’t preach much of God’s Word - instead, they give short sermonettes. They don’t preach the Law because that produces conviction and shakes up the church! It makes compromisers squirm! Where the Holy Spirit is at work, the people in the pew are clamoring for the Word. I get hundreds of letters from famished saints crying, "We are so hungry. We don’t hear the true Word. We get the dead letter with no anointing - soft soap!" Where God is at work there are Bibles everywhere. There’s an excitement about preaching and teaching with a true reverence for the Word. The Word is loved and honored. How sad it is that in many Charismatic churches, preaching is endured. They can’t wait to get it over with, to get to the praise and worship. It is music, entertainment, and special singers that they want! When the Holy Ghost comes, there is no longer some star evangelist or teacher on center stage, but the Word being hailed. Their cry will be, "Lord, I want it all: the good, the bad, the commandments, the promises, the whole counsel of God!" ________________________________________ The Second Evidence of Revival Is a Heart-Breaking Repentance. ________________________________________ "Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground... And they read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. Then Nehemiah... and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law" (Nehemiah 8:6-9, NAS). Their first reaction to the Word was excitement and joy. They cried, "Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands." David said, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord" (Psalms 134:2). But the Word soon brought them down on their faces. This is true repentance when we are brought by God’s Word to the ground. "They bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground." "...All the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law." They trembled at God’s Word, then took it to heart and repented! When a Holy Ghost revival comes, Christians don’t hold grudges - they don’t gossip or backbite or find fault. They are not trying to straighten out the church or the pastors. They don’t sit around like couch potatoes in front of the TV! No! They are on their faces before God, weeping, because the Word has smitten their hearts. They are not judging others or looking at others. They are being convicted by the Word for not measuring up themselves! ________________________________________ The Third Sign of Revival Is an Incredible Spirit of Joy and Celebration. ________________________________________ "Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." And all the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them" (Nehemiah 8:10-11, NAS). Wherever the love of God’s Word has been restored and repentance has resulted, and where there has been self-mortification of sin, there will always come forth a mighty wave of joy and celebration. But there is a kind of phony joy and false celebration in the land today: It is the celebration of self and idolatry - the dancing around the golden calf! We need great discernment to know the difference between the true joy of repentance and the false rejoicing of idolaters. Moses and Joshua came down from the mount to a great shout in the camp: "It is not the sound of the cry of triumph, nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; but the sound of singing..."(Exodus 32:18). They were shouting, singing, and dancing and Moses knew all along it was of the flesh. He knew they were a stiff-necked, rebellious people, full of lust, fornication, nudity, and sensuality. It was the shout of Idolatry! Can you tell the difference? If there is no preaching of the Law to convict of sin - if there is no weeping or faces on the ground - if there is no love of God’s reproving Word - if there is no repentance - then there is no spiritual shout, no godly song! Be careful! You may get caught up in the song of idolatry. Why was there such great mirth, such a festive spirit of joy in this revival recorded in Nehemiah? They had a great happiness "...because they understood the words which had been made known to them" (Nehemiah 8:12, NAS). In other words, they discerned and took it to heart: they obeyed! ________________________________________ The Fourth Evidence of Revival Is a Booth on the Roof! ________________________________________ "On the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. "So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness" (Nehemiah 8:13-17). The Word of the Lord was restored and the repentance and obedience were genuine. The joy of the Lord had become their strength, but something was missing: the booths! There can be no real and lasting revival, no fullness of God, until we erect a booth! This is truly a message for these last days. The leaders, the priests and the Levites gathered with Ezra to search the Scriptures to see what God wanted of them. They found something the Lord had commanded years before, a perpetual commandment that had been neglected since the days of Joshua. It was found in Leviticus 23:40-43 : "Ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." For seven days God’s people were to erect a temporary shelter (in Hebrew "Sukkah") made with a roof of various branches. They were commanded to live in their shelters for seven days. The New York Times had an entire section devoted to building a Sukkah. In New York City they are constructed on tiny balconies, small yards, and rooftops at the end of September into the first week of October. Of the 613 Jewish commandments, this is still considered one of the most important. Orthodox Jews practice it rigorously. Living in the hut still signifies today: "We are just passing through this world -just spending the night - so we must not be concerned with it’s pleasures and vanities." The Sukkah is so holy to a Jew that it is sinful to take even a splinter from it to use as a toothpick! Even a bad odor will pollute it. It is said, "If one cannot keep Sukkot [the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths], he can’t keep any of the 613 Torah commandments!" The leaders in Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah made aproclamation: "We will again celebrate the feast of Sukkot! Go to the mountains and bring back olive, pine, myrtle, and palm branches. And make your Sukkah, as it is written." What excitement must have filled the air: children and families, all loaded with branches, building Sukkahs! What a sight it must have been from above: on every flat rooftop a little hut - in every empty lot or city Square, in the temple courtyard, visitors camping - even Ezra, Nehemiah, and all the priest! For seven days no one ate or slept in his home - no one slept in the lodges. The entire population lived in these temporary huts! These were not seven sad days of hardship. Instead, they were seven days of mirth, of great gladness. "...Ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days" (Leviticus 23:40). "Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice" (Deuteronomy 16:15). There is much preaching today about this Feast of Tabernacles. It is said the church is entering it’s time of harvest, "a gathering of the corn and the wine," a time of blessing and increase - that we are in a time of great rejoicing and singing, a time of glorious joy in the Lord! What is missing from the message is the Sukkah, the moving into the hut! All the praising, worshipping, shouting, and gladness was to be under the booth, "in the place which the Lord shall choose." What does it all mean to us today? What does the Sukkah have to do with walking with Jesus right now? ________________________________________ The Sukkah Signifies That We Are Strangers Here, Citizens of Another Country. ________________________________________ The seven days spent in the booth alluded to the human life-span of seventy years. The Sukkah was to remind them how temporary life is here. As the leaves faded, they were to see the fading of life, health, and strength. God wanted their hearts and minds set on eternity. They were to remind themselves and their children: "We are only camping here. We rejoice not only for all these temporal blessings, but our hope and joy is in the city coming down out of heaven, Zion!" In Nehemiah’s day, this is what God had them to understand: "You have rebuilt the walls, set the gates, established homes, and planted gardens and vineyards. The Lord has been good, but this is not your resting place. You must look for a city whose builder and maker is God!" David loved his city, Zion. He wrote great poems and songs about its beauty: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion... the city of the great King" (Psalms 48:2). David became wealthy and gave cartloads of gold and silver to the building of the temple, "of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number..." (1 Chronicles 22:16). Yet David makes this incredible statement: "...for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were" (Psalms 39:12). This was said after Israel was settled and prosperous. "Sojourner" means resident alien, one passing through. The word "stranger" in Hebrew comes from a root word meaning "to shrink back with fear, as in a strange place." All our fathers in the faith considered this world "a strange land." They were aliens, citizens of another world. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:8-10; Hebrews 11:13-16). They desired "a better country, that is, an heavenly..." There is a better country than America or whatever your native land. It is New Jerusalem - heaven with Christ! ________________________________________ God Knows How Easily We Are Blinded By His Blessings. ________________________________________ Why would God put the entire nation into tiny huts for seven days? Because He knows the terrible danger His children are in when blessed. He knows how easily we are swept away and forget Him, becoming blinded by ease and comfort. He knows how prone we are to pamper ourselves and become ensnared by the things of the earth. The song of Moses was a prophecy, foretelling the eventual backsliding of God’s people once they would grow prosperous. "But Jeshurun [God’s people] waxed fat, and kicked [became unmanageable]: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation" (Deuteronomy 32:15). This is not a message only to the wealthy, but to us all. The more we are blessed, the more we tend to want, to dig in to this world, to get attached, to buy and spend more. Everything we buy is like another rope tying us to this earth! The Lord wants our hearts to be "in the hut, " in the Sukkah. Every single day, many times each day, He would have us remember, "I’m an alien! I’m just passing through! I’ve got no roots here. I’m going to a better country. Thank you, Lord, for all my blessings - but I rejoice that I’m a citizen of Zion." ________________________________________ We Own Nothing Here on Earth! ________________________________________ Everything God has given us is on lease! We are only caretakers. There is much written about the Promised Land. God promised to give Israel the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, but God never gave up the title - he only leased it to them. "The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me" (Leviticus 25:23). They could only sell the crop rights, and even the poorest had their land released in the year of Jubilee. God owns everything we have. We keep saying, "Lord, I give this back to you!" But we have never really owned anything. "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.... The wild beasts of the field are mine.... For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof" (Psalms 50:10-12). The Lord is saying to us, "Go to the booth on the roof - examine your heart!" Are you a just steward of His property? In light of eternity, in light of the frailty of life, how much do you spend on yourself, in comparison to His work? The great effect of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the laying down of everything on God’s altar, as we get our eyes off the things we possess. At Pentecost it was said, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common"(Acts 4:32). ________________________________________ The Booth is a Reminder to Abstain From All Fleshly Lusts. ________________________________________ "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul"(1 Peter 2:11). It is almost impossible for anyone under fifty years of age to think of eternal values because they assume they still have so much time left. When you get into your sixties and seventies, nature teaches you how short life is! It is much easier to think of being an alien here! But God would have us all stop in the prime of life, rejoice, then take heed, asking ourselves, "Are our youthful, hurtful lusts worth the risk in light of eternity? Moses chose to "suffer affliction with the people of God, [rather] than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25). So the Lord has instructed us to go to the booth, consider how short life is, suffer for awhile, endure for the joy that is set before us (see Hebrews 12:2). "...For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14). Try telling this to young people! The booth is meant to get the world out of us. Go there! Smite ambition! Kill pride! All failed goals, set by ambition, are open doors to lust and sin of all kinds. People say, "What’s the use? I’ll never make it." So they indulge! They are listening to lying spirits. Recognize these voices for what they are: demonic. ________________________________________ The Final Evidence of Revival Is Absolute Separation From the World. ________________________________________ Without a life of repentance and separation from the world there can be no true revival. "And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers" (Nehemiah 9:2). Wherever there is biblical restoration, there will be an ever-growing awareness of the Lord’s call to separate from all that is worldly and sensuous. I have observed over the years that it is the separated, Christ-consumed, holy-living Christian who most effects the secular world. The ungodly expect Christians to be separate and clean. They expect them to be totally "other" than themselves. On the crime-infested streets of New York, with demonic spirits raging on all sides - only a pure, separated, Christ-filled Christian can put the enemy to chase. Compromisers are frightened off and their own sins condemn them. God is raising up a remnant of believers who want revival - but only as it conforms believers to the image of Jesus Christ. And when it comes in its fullness, the majority of Christians will either not recognize it - or, if they do, they will reject it. The separated remnant will hear the trumpet sounding and will know what God is saying. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 4: PRE-006-03. A CALL TO GRIEF ======================================================================== 03. A Call To Grief A Call to Grief ________________________________________ By David Wilkerson October 5, 1987 __________ I am convinced that the only way to experience the fullness of the joy of Jehovah is to share His grief. God does grieve over sin, and those who truly walk with Him enter into His grief. In the days of Noah, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth," and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis 6:5-6). The Hebrew word used here means cut to the heart. It means hurt, pain. The wickedness of mankind was hurting God deeply, causing great pain to His heart. Isaiah said of Christ, "He is.... a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4). The sin of mankind caused that grief. He entered into the very hurt and pain of the heavenly Father. ________________________________________ Old and New Testament Servants of God Shared This Grief Over Sin. ________________________________________ David was a man of God who discovered the glory of joy in Jehovah, but it was born out of great grief over the transgressions among the Lord’s people. He said, "I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved ... because they kept not thy word. (Psalms 119:158). "Do not I hate them Lord, that hate thee ... and am I not grieved with those that rise up against thee... (Psalms 139:21). David hated what God hated; he grieved over the things that grieved God and detested what God detested. The prophet Amos cries out against "those at ease in Zion ... who are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph ..." (Amos 6:1-14). He shared God’s grief over a backslidden people lounging in ease and prosperity, putting out of mind the impending hour of judgment, while lying on beds of ivory (materialism), chanting their music, drinking wine - yet, having no grief over the ruin all about them. (See Amos 6:1-6.) The word Amos used is sickened. He was actually saying, "The sin and ruin among God’s people does not sicken you. It does not disgust you because you have become blinded by sin and the good life you now enjoy." Nehemiah was grieved because he understood the evil that had infiltrated the house of God. A backslidden priesthood had brought into the Lord’s house a terrible compromise, and only Nehemiah understood the depth of the iniquity and the awful consequences it would bring upon the people. (See Ezekiel 13:1-9.) The high priest Eliashib, whose name in Hebrew suggests "unity through compromise" had set up a residence in the temple for Tobiah, an Ammonite prince. By law, no Ammonite was to be permitted to set foot in the temple. But Tobiah, whose name means "prosperity, pleasure, good life", was permitted to abide there, a heathen entrenched in the house of God. There was now a new thing in Gods house. A corrupted ministry was in league with paganism. The people of God were yearning for prosperity, for the good life; and Tobiah was ready and willing to teach them the materialistic path of idolatry. "Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah. (Nehemiah 13:4). Nehemiah understood the evil that was going on sponsored by a sin-soft priesthood. "And I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither brought I again vessels of the house of God..." (Nehemiah 13:7-9). Nehemiah was not acting on impulse or legalistic tradition! He was seeing through God’s eyes, feeling as God felt and he was understanding the evil of mixture, of compromise, of the cancerous growth of sin in God’s house. If more ministers understood the evil mixture of the music, the encroachment of entertainment, the lust for materialism now in the church - like Nehemiah, they would grieve over it and cast it out of the church once again. God, give us a body of preachers and parishioners who are sick of sin and mixture, and who will take a stand against it. God, give us believers with enough discernment to understand the depth and horror of the compromises and sinfulness creeping into the Lord’s house. Paul grieved over the backsliding of God’s people. He warned, "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ ... whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly ... whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things" (Php 3:18-19). The Greek meaning here is loud sobbing or a piercing sobbing out of a broken heart. To see Christians turn aside to earthly things, rejecting the reproach of the Cross, broke Paul’s heart to the point he literally shook with the grief of God. This was not silent despair nor resigned sighing over the falling away, but the loud, piercing, heart-broken crying of a man entering into God’s grief for His wayward children. ________________________________________ The Ministry of Grief ________________________________________ Samuel was a young man who was called to "the ministry of grief." Not his own grief, not the grief of humanity - but the deep and unfathomable grief of God! God was profoundly grieved over the backslidden condition of His own people, and there was no one to share it. God was about to remove His glory from His house at Shiloh, and the present ministry that stood before His altar did not know it. How sad to be so deaf, dumb and blind just at the hour of judgment. Israel was corrupt; the priesthood was adulterous; and the established, organized ministry was totally blind. Eli represents the decaying religious system with all its self interests, having gone soft by easy living with only, a token hatred for sin. Eli had become fat and lazy about the deep things of God, simply going through the motions. His sons Hophni and Phinehas represent the on-going ministry of tradition. These two young priests never did have an encounter with God. They knew nothing of "hearing from heaven." They knew nothing of hunger for God, of a burning passion to experience the glory and presence of the Lord - nothing of God’s grief. These kind dont fast or pray. They look for the best ministerial positions, with the highest benefits and the best chance of promotion. Their hearts have never been broken over lost humanity; they know little of suffering. They are the products of cold, dead ritualism. They are not fresh from God! They say the right things, novel things, they sound and act professional. But there is no anointing, no holy unction; they don’t know the fear and dread of a holy God. So, like Eli’s sons, they become sensual, worldly and self-serving. The sons of Eli became so corrupt, God called them "the sons of Belial" (sons of Satan). It is said of them, "They knew not God." They "made themselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel" (1 Samuel 2:29). This is why multitudes of evangelical youth are growing so cold and sensual, becoming rock and roll addicts, drinking beer, engaging in illicit sex, bored and restless. Some youth pastors are damning them by their own poor example and their lack of Holy Ghost discernment. If the youth leaders don’t know the Lord, how can they reach the kids for God? We now face the tragedy of an entire generation going astray because they have so few shepherds to show them how to escape the Satanic snares of this age. There has been too much catering to the sensual desires of youth. Eli had lost all his spiritual discernment! Hannah, a godly woman, was weeping bitterly in the house of God at Shiloh. She was beseeching the Lord to give her a son and was in deep intercession. She, is a type of the interceding holy remnant who yearn and cry out to God for a fresh word from God. "Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she was drunk" (1 Samuel 1:13). How blind can a minister of the Lord be? She was in the Spirit, conversing with God, under divine unction and soon to become a channel of renewal in Israel - and the man of God couldn’t discern the truth. He totally missed the significance of what was happening at the altar. What has happened to this priest of the most high God, that he should be standing at the threshold of a profound new move of God that would affect Israel’s future - and he is so out of touch with God he mistakes it for flesh? How is God going to get through to this backslidden, corrupt people of Israel? God is grieved; He is wanting to shake things; He is about to move swiftly in wrath and spew it all out of His mouth! But Eli doesn’t know it! Eli has become so indulgent, so comfortable, so steeped in cold tradition - he has not the slightest hint of what God is saying or about to do. His sons are going to be cast aside - literally cut off from the things of God. But they are so consumed with lust, so addicted to the best cuts of meat, so hardened by sin - they have become agents of Satan, blind to impending judgment. God must go outside the established religious structure to find someone open enough to share His grief! ________________________________________ The Samuel Company ________________________________________ The Lord always brings in a Samuel-people to hear His voice in a time of spiritual declension. This company is made up of men and women who care nothing for tradition, for promotion, for denominational boundaries. They represent pastors and lay people who have an ear to hear. They are shut in with God. God sent an unnamed prophet to Eli with a warning. It was an arrow shot directly into the heart of a religious system that had become self-protective. Eli had protected his wayward sons. God said to him prophetically, "You honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel" (1 Samuel 2:29). When Eli had heard how his sons flaunted their fornication right at the door of the congregation, all he would say was, "Nay, my sons, it is no good report that I hear; ye make the Lord’s people to transgress" (1 Samuel 2:24). God later told Samuel He would judge Eli’s house because he knew of their iniquity and did nothing about it. "For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (1 Samuel 2:13). There is a day of judgment appointed here on earth for ministers of the gospel who know the sin in the congregation or their family and they refuse to deal with it. They may slap the wrist of the adulterers, the wine-bibbers, the fornicators - but they have no penetrating message of reproof! They are afraid to discipline their spiritual children. At the judgment our Lord will ask, "Why did you not show the people the difference between the holy and the profane?" Why was Eli so soft on the sin of his boys? Because they were stealing the filet mignon before it went into the seething pot, and they were bringing home this fresh, red meat and Eli had grown accustomed to it. He would suffer if he came down too hard on them - he would have to go back to eating sodden, boiled meat. He had learned to shut his eyes to all the evil about him in God’s house - and in his own family. This I believe is why some preachers are soft on sin. They have become sedated by the good life! They enjoy the comfort and prestige of large numbers, bigger buildings! How subtle it is while knowing something must be said, the minister simply utters a limp, "You shouldnt do these evil things!" No holy thunder. No grief over sin and compromise. None of Paul’s vision of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. No warnings of divine retribution and judgment. People would get offended - stop coming - stop paying the bills. The growth might be hindered. I’ve preached in some of these churches, and its been a heartbreaking experience. The pastor like Eli, usually loves the Ark of God - he is not an evil man. But he is a fearful man. Afraid of the moving of the Holy Spirit, afraid of offending people, giving lip service to holiness - but fearful of dealing too harshly with sin. There is rampant divorce. There are secret affairs! Young people bound by habits; deacons smoking and drinking; and a lot of unspiritual socializing. I stand in that brothers pulpit making known the Lord’s demand for holiness, calling for repentance, warning of judgment upon sin - and compromisers rush forward, weeping, confessing, seeking deliverance. I look to the side and see a pastor worried that the service might get out of control or that there will be some kind of manifestation of uncontrollable weeping or falling to the floor with conviction and grief for sin. He is deathly afraid his "new people" won’t understand. He can’t wait to take over the meeting to quiet things down. He begins to whisper sweet reassurances that God loves them all - and reminds everybody of the lateness of the hour and quickly dismisses them. He puts a wet blanket on the conviction, and the sin-burdened members go home troubled by what appears to be their pastors unconcern. I have left those kinds of meetings broken in heart. I ask myself, "Where is the grief over sin? Can’t leaders see those weeping sheep want to cry out and permit the conviction of the Holy Ghost do His cleansing work in them?" ________________________________________ Where Is the Grief of God in Our Pulpits? ________________________________________ Where are the Samuels who have heard the voice of God, who have been awakened by the Holy Spirit, who have received a revelation of the soon-coming judgments upon a backslidden house of God? Why aren’t all preachers of the gospel grieving over the sinful condition of the church? Why aren’t all pastors and evangelists crying out as watchmen on the wall? It is said of Samuel, "Samuel told him [Eli] everything, and hid nothing from him" (1 Samuel 3:18). I ask you, pastor: Are you telling it all? Are you holding back, hiding the truth, afraid to offend? The message of the Samuel Company is not a pleasant one! "Samuel feared to tell Eli the vision ... " (3:15). Samuel heard God pronounce the end of a backslidden religious structure. The vision was overwhelming! God was no longer going to put up with a form of godliness without the power of holiness. Judgment was about to fall in the house of God. Adultery would be exposed. The compromising leadership would no longer enjoy the blessings of the presence of God. God was going to remove His presence from Shiloh and do a glorious new thing in Israel. God said, "I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever ..." (1 Samuel 2:35). This speaks of the Samuel Company of believers and ministers who share the very heart of God. They know the Lord’s mind; they know His will; and they walk in fear and holiness before Him. The Samuel Company is a praying people; and because they are in touch with God, they are made to know and share His grief! It was while Samuel was in prayer that God revealed to him the fearful things coming to the Lord’s people. "And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle" (1 Samuel 3:11). I can tell you who God is speaking to these days! He is speaking to those shut up to Himself who pant after Him as the deer pants after the water - who have died to every selfish ambition who have no other goal in life but to bring pleasure, glory and joy to His heart! I say it unflinchingly - it is not going to be a denomination that delivers the Word of the Lord to this cursed generation! It will not be a committee which hears the true Word and ignites the last day gathering of the remnant. While the angels of the apocalypse go forth to smite the earth, denominations and religious leaders will be hard at work protecting their interests and strengthening their authority, drawing up bylaws and resolutions. To the very end of his ministry, Samuel bore the grief of God over His people. Israel lusted after a king so they could be "judged like all the nations ..." (1 Samuel 7:5). Samuel fell on his knees, greatly displeased. And again God shared His grief with him: "And the Lord said unto Samuel - Harken unto the voice of the people in all they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them..." (1 Samuel 8:7). ________________________________________ God’s Grief Brings Protest Against Sin. ________________________________________ The grief of God upon the Samuel Company must bring forth a protest against all sin and apostasy! "Now therefore harken unto their voice: how be it yet protest solemnly unto them ... and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them..." (1 Samuel 8:9). Everywhere you turn now, God’s people in growing numbers are rejecting the lordship of Christ! There is a clamor to "be as the nations". That is mixture! That is being just like the world. That is saying, "We want God and the world!" Thank God for the protesting Samuel Company! They have heard from God and they know where all this compromise is going to end. They see the frightful results of apostasy ahead and, like Paul, they sob that piercing, heart-rending cry of grief. ________________________________________ A Call to Grief Results in Everlasting Joy in Jehovah! ________________________________________ Those who sob over sin in the church are called doom-sayers and sad-sacks. Many Christians have said, "I don’t like to be around them. They sound so negative, so morose, and they look so sad." That is because they simply do not know them! They don’t know that those who share God’s grief over sin are also brought into the greatest measure of joy. Those who truly grieve with God are given a leaping heart of joy in Jehovah! "Although the fig tree shall not fruit; neither should there be any provision on the vines; the produce of the olive should fail and the fields not yield subsistence; the flocks should be cut off from the fold, neither should there be any herd in the stalls. Yet will I leap for joy in Jehovah. I will exult in the God of my salvation. Jehovah my Lord is my strength" (Habakkuk 3:17-19, Spurrell Original Hebrew). This joy comes from knowing that God will always have a pure ministry, a holy and separated body - even in the most evil days. They know that God will honor them with His constant presence though all others turn from them in fear. They are full of joy because they draw strength from believing in the majesty and power of God, whose judgments are always righteous. With Habakkuk, they can say, "Though all else fails, my heart will rejoice in God alone!" Even when there seems to be failure all around and so little evidence of results, grief gives way to ecstatic joy, because of nearness to the heart of the Lord. With Paul, the grieving remnant can say, "As dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing..." (2 Corinthians 6:9-10). As conclusive biblical proof that sharing God’s grief results in rejoicing, I remind you of the words of David who said, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalms 126:6). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 5: PRE-007-04. A CHEAP CUT RATE GOSPEL ======================================================================== 04. A Cheap Cut Rate Gospel A Cheap Cut-Rate Gospel! "Give Account of Your Stewardship" ________________________________________ By David Wilkerson undated __________ "And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward." (Luke 16:1-2 NAS). Jesus spoke of a certain rich man who heard a report that one of His stewards was squandering his possessions. So He called him to give account of himself. He said, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward." This parable is most important to the body of Christ right now. It is the tragic story of a servant of God who loses his power and anointing and ends up offering a cut-rate gospel. The rich man of this parable is Christ Himself, in who abides all the riches of glory. The steward being stripped of authority is any and all who have been entrusted with handling the Word of God, but who have been found guilty of squandering their Lord’s resources. This steward was guilty of squandering his Lord’s possessions, an accusation that could be made against multitudes of present-day ministers, Christian workers and laymen. What waste we see in God’s kingdom today! ________________________________________ 1. God’s chosen servants waste time, the most precious resource heaven ever entrusted to the care of mankind. ________________________________________ God-anointed pastors, teachers and evangelists are as guilty as the pleasure-seeking multitudes in the pew. Stewards of the gospel should be redeeming the time and not squandering so much of it on hobbies, sports, recreation and television. Show me a man of God who sits before the TV idol, flitting away precious hours, vexing his soul and mind with the corruption of hell - and I’ll show you an unjust steward whom God will soon bring into account and strip of all spiritual authority. This steward had become one who doted on self. He took his Master’s resources and showered them upon himself. You would think all the riches were his alone, the way he ran about wasting resources and indulging himself. We see the sad spectacle in the church today of Christians running about squandering divine resources without the knowledge God is going to make them give an account of the waste. ________________________________________ 2. Power, another of Christ’s glorious resources, is also being squandered foolishly and selfishly. ________________________________________ The power-brokers in God’s house are those who squander their Master’s power to validate themselves. They want to be known and respected as prophets, as men of the hour, looked up to as mighty warriors of faith, action and power. They love the applause of man, the hero-like adulation; they love to walk about and hear those self-approving words, "Look! There he is! There goes that mighty man of faith, action and power!" Paul denounced such adulation of ministers. We are to give honor to whom honor is due, and that is Christ alone. Undiscerning believers make little gods of self-acclaimed prophets, healers and teachers of new revelations. Squandered power is corrupting the ministry and the house of God. Shallow Christians are attracted to power like bees to honey. And it is a terrifying indictment against a backslidden church to hear Christians say, "My, doesn’t he have such great power!" - instead of whispering in holy reverence, "My, isn’t he full of Jesus! Isn’t Christ so marvelously revealed in him! He makes Jesus so real!" The true steward of the gospel doesn’t seek power to display it before the eyes of curious crowds. Multitudes may behold God’s mighty healing power, as when Jesus healed the sick. Yet you hear Him say over and over again, "Tell no man." God entrusts His greatest power to those who go into hospitals, to the streets, into private homes and in secret, away from all approving eyes and clapping hands, to pull down strongholds, bind demons, set captives free, heal the sick and be a true and unknown minister of Christ’s healing power. The true gift of healing is not manifested in a showmanship atmosphere, but is manifested only when used by humble servants who are totally jealous for the glory of God alone - as Christ was. A single unit of God’s holy power not used or appropriated only to the glory of Christ is wasted. It is an unjust steward spending on himself what does not belong to him. Yet men still make great names for themselves by stealing the Lord’s glory and power to magnify themselves. ________________________________________ 3. Faith is another resource of Christ’s that is being squandered by Christians today. ________________________________________ All true faith comes from Christ! When you speak of the riches of God in Christ Jesus, you must include faith. We are saved by the faith of Christ. But that precious faith that should have been carefully invested is being wasted on trivia. The heroes of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews appropriated their faith to conquer kingdoms, shut the mouths of lions, quench the power of fire, put enemy armies to flight, perform acts of righteousness, receive back their dead and finally to endure torture, mockings, scourgings, chains and imprisonment. Today, Christ’s faith is too often squandered on self! Self-achievement, success, increase of goods, earthly riches and endless prosperity with perfect health and cloudless happiness! Self siphons faith to enrich itself. Why is it that Christians can invest all kinds of faith in an attempt to become prosperous and happy, but cannot have faith for the saving of their house and their neighbors? Why so little faith spent on receiving the holiness of Christ? Why so little faith to evangelize a lost world? One of theses days very soon God is going to put our spiritual backs against the wall and make us all give account of the way we handled His precious faith. Did we waste it on trivia, as if faith exists only to make life easier for us? Will not our Lord, with piercing eyes, ask us why we did not use His riches wisely? What about the time coming so soon, when demonic legions are released upon this generation, and the rulers of darkness expand their sinister kingdoms, the fires of hell and temptations rage, the armies of Satan come marching toward us, and the mockers and torturers and the antichrists rise up to harass the children of God? Will God’s people, God’s stewards, be on the front lines making a mighty swath of faith for the glory of Christ, or will they be standing before the Judge to be stripped and cast aside for squandering? God help us. ________________________________________ The Great Lesson ________________________________________ The great lesson in this parable goes beyond the tragedy of a church wasting Christ’s riches on self interests; it goes to the corrupt thinking of Christian stewards who have been stripped of divine authority. Stewards of the gospel who waste time, faith, power and other divine resources will eventually lose their spiritual authority in Christ and will be released to engage in their own plans and schemes. They will lose their anointing and scramble about, inventing a gospel to perpetuate their own interests. "And the steward said to himself, What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me?" (Luke 16:3). Stewards who squander their Master’s wealth and lose their anointing eventually become totally given over to self-preservation. The primary concern then is not, "What can I do for my Lord?" but, "What can I do for me?" This includes laymen as well as ministers. I asked the Holy Spirit why this steward did not simply repent and throw himself upon the mercy of his Master. Why did he go right out and start planning and scheming to protect himself and his future? The answer, I believe, is that he had gone too far and placed himself beyond redemption. Self-interest had hardened him - he was given over to a divided heart. If you think self-centered preachers and laymen are never beyond saving, you don’t know your Bible. Such were Ananias and Sapphira; such were Alexander and Hymenaeus whom Paul turned over to Satan that others might fear; such were those in Romans 1:1-32, who fell from faith to the depths of a reprobate mind. I tell you, with a grieving heart, that there are right now in this nation laymen, ministers and ministries that have been given up by God. These are those who have been deceived by lying spirits, having been warned time and again by the Holy Spirit and by prophets of God to repent and humble themselves. They became engrossed with self: they started to fornicate with wood and stones, becoming builders of temples and memorials to self-achievement; and they rejected a life of brokenness and humility. They forsook the prayer closet for their interests and the works of their own hands! They recklessly squandered God’s money, God’s faith, God’s time and God’s power. From across this nation I hear from praying, sanctified people the same thing I hear from my heavenly Father. Those who are walking with God, living in the Spirit, instinctively sense that God has discovered and that He deplores all the abominations in the church, in the pulpit, in preachers and in some popular ministries. Not all are corrupt, thank God! There is a growing remnant of repentant saints and ministries who have returned to righteousness and prayer. But the true body of Christ must pray for divine wisdom to discern those who have been stripped of spiritual authority and unction. Growing numbers of praying Christians now share the very grief of God against all the compromise and mixture with the world, and their hearts cry out that God will deal with it soon. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt He is about to do just that! If God can bring Babylon down in one hour, He can certainly clean up the mess in His temple in a moment. Most of the modern stewards who have been stripped by God of all spiritual usefulness are not as wise as the unjust steward - they don’t know it’s all over. They are not aware they have been stripped of their stewardship. But you can tell it is all over by the man-centered plans and schemes they introduce. The Lord’s interests are no longer paramount; the only thing important to them now is their next project. They finish one man-centered project, only to launch another, more spectacular than the other. My heart cries out, "Oh, my blessed Savior, when will God’s people wake up and begin to discern that all this mad spending, building and worldly mindedness represents a squandering spree by Christians and ministries that have been stripped by the Holy Ghost and who are about to be called into account? When will God’s people quit supporting such foolishness? When will the true body of Christ wake up and cry out against it and say, ’Enough!’?" Are there no prophets of God left in the land? Are there no pastors left with enough Holy Ghost discernment and spiritual authority to wake up this people to the dangerous waste of our Lord’s resources? Sad, but true, some of the best-known national ministries today are beyond hearing God’s true Word. I am not their judge, but by their actions it is apparent some are beyond reproof, blinded by their own counselors, blinded by ambition, blinded by the gods of success and power. Some of them will not even receive a prophet now - they are so high and mighty, so self-assured, so rich, so influential, so set in their ways, so committed to their own plans, dreams and schemes - they can’t hear anymore. Their eyes are closed; their ears are shut; and they don’t know the glory has departed and Ichabod had been written over their doors! As certainly as the unjust steward was brought down, they too will fall. God is going to cut off their supply and do a thing so awesome, it will make the ears of all who hear it tingle. I call on praying saints across this land to begin to fast and to pray for a purging within God’s house and among all ministers and ministries. May it begin with me and the ministry entrusted to me. I need that purifying as much or more than all the others. Pray for the holy fire of His holiness to strike fear in all pulpits. Pray that God will save the ministries that can still be saved, that God will humble and break the stubborn wills of ego-centered men, that there will be repentance and a return to purity and honesty. Pray they will respond very soon. Join all other praying saints and take dominion and pull these abominations down. No more squandering of the Lord’s resources! No more collusion with those without concern for the Lord’s interests - but who use other people to further their own self-interests. No more trusting those who offer a cheap, cut-rate gospel! God, give us some prophets and pastors and evangelists, pure, separated, broken, given over wholly to the glory of Jesus, who can thunder against sin and corruption and cause to tremble all the adulterous, divorcing, lukewarm laymen and ministers in the house of God! I believe God’s people are crying for leaders who can set an example of holiness and lead them into a deeper walk with Christ. I think the congregation is hungering for God more than many in the pulpit. Young ministers tell me they can’t find older men of God whom they can look up to as role models of holiness and purity. The people want to move on in God - they want fire in the pulpit and conviction in the pews. They want the Spirit of God to awaken their church and drive out the corruption. At least that’s what I hear from those who write to me. ________________________________________ A Cheap, Cut-Rate Gospel of Compromise ________________________________________ This squandering steward said, "I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship, they will receive me into their houses" (Luke 16:4) He proceeded to call on all his Master’s debtors and offer them cut rate deals. The debtor who owed his Master one hundred measures of oil was told he only had to pay fifty. He cut another good deal for a debtor who owed a hundred measures of wheat. He was told he need pay only eighty measures. He offered sweet, cut-rate deals to all debtors. When the Holy Spirit departs from a man or a minister, and self is in control, all kinds of compromises are offered to debtors. That is why we are hearing such cheap, cut-rate gospel from so many pulpits today. Now, we have come to the heart of the message of this parable. These stripped stewards go about making sweet deals to debtors who are looking for a cheap way to pay. Who wants to pay the full price of complete surrender when there is a standing offer to clear the ledger with a cut-rate salvation? Who wants to fill up the sufferings of Christ, when you can fill up on goodies? Why endure death, the Cross, shame and rejection when you can simply claim your rights and breeze right into paradise without pain or sacrifice? Get in line, saints - it’s bargain-basement-gospel time! Park yourself in front of your TV, flood your soul and mind with the filth from the pits of hell - go ahead, enjoy all the lurid movies, the R and X-rated theaters - run with the crowd, drink, smoke, go to nightclubs, tell dirty stories - divorce, cheat, fornicate - spend and buy and go in debt - don’t pray, don’t fast, don’t weep, don’t talk about burdens, holiness, and separation! Why? Because it’s a day of cheap, cut-rate, painless, powerless, contaminated gospel! It’s being offered every day of the week on radio and television and in crusades and churches all across the land. "And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly... I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:8-9) Get this straight. God is not praising the steward’s evil scheming, nor is He commending his actions as such. He commends only the shrewd way the unjust steward damned himself. The Master complimented the manner in which he sealed his doom. In other words, "You thought it clever to offer these cut-rate deals. But when it all comes down - and it will - you and all who partook in your dishonest offers will be targets in Satan’s dwelling place." What God is saying to us is that there are no shortcuts, no half-priced consecrations, no easy, painless pathways to glory. We are going to pay full price; that means to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him into fullness and resurrection life. On Judgment Day all the stripped and powerless stewards will stand before Christ’s judgment seat, facing not only His flaming eyes but also all the poor, lost children of the kingdom they deceived with their partial gospel. What a howling will be heard! They will renounce their pillow prophets then, crying out, "Sham! Deceiver! Cruel Shepherd! Son of Ichabod! Inventor of lies! You smote us with blindness with your half-truths!" All you can commend some men of God and certain ministers for today is their shrewdness and cleverness in providing for themselves and their followers a sale-priced walk with Jesus. And it is very clever, the way the Scriptures are twisted and contorted to make it all sound so right and approved by God. It’s gone so far now that many can sin at will and not be convicted. They can say, with backslidden Israel, "We have been delivered to do these abominations" (Jeremiah 7:10). Doctrines of demons and doctrines of false security are offered to those who choose to live carnal, sensuous lives. The unjust steward thought he had secured his future - but it was a false security. He was still the same conniving, cheating, sensuous man he had always been; and the friends he ran with were of his same nature - all of them blinded by false security. You can be sure he paid a high price for his folly. Who can doubt that the Master refused the cut-rate deals offered by the unjust steward? I believe the Master demanded full payment. God says to this rich, Laodicean church age, so increased with goods and boasting they have need of nothing - you are in reality a people wretched, poor, miserable, blind and naked. And until all lukewarmness is forsaken, God will spew it and all it represents out of His mouth. That dread release is already happening. God, give us faithful stewards! Give us saints, in pulpit and pew, who will return to the Lord with all their hearts, tear down the idols, and fall in contrition before Your presence. And God, bring back the gospel of righteousness, of separation from the world, of holy commandments of love - and raise up a host of overcomers who will trim their lamps and set out to meet the Bridegroom. God, bring us to the Cross, to death unto self, to the reckoning of ourselves dead to sin by faith, and resurrection into a realm of everlasting life in Christ. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 6: PRE-008-05. HOLY GROUND ======================================================================== 05. Holy Ground Holy Ground by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1983 God can’t use a man until He gets him on holy ground. A holy God must have a holy man on holy ground. Holy ground is not a physical place, but a spiritual one. When God commanded Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground, He was not referring to a two–by–four piece of real estate. He was talking about a spiritual state. God called Moses from the burning bush, commanding him: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground…" (Exodus 3:5). The place was holy! What place? The spiritual condition he had finally come to. Moses had arrived at a place in his growth where God could get through to him. He was now at the place of reception, ready to listen. He was mature and ready to be dealt with by a holy God. Please don’t think for a moment that Moses alone was on holy ground. So was all of Israel, even though they were at the end of their hope. I have never believed God would keep an entire nation under slavery just to give Moses time to mature into a gracious leader. Our Lord is no respecter of persons. God, in those 40 trying years, was preparing Israel as well as Moses. By way of loving judgment, the Lord was driving Israel back to holy ground — back to a hunger for Jehovah. While Moses was on the mountain being stripped of all his rights — because that is what was meant by the removal of his shoes — Israel was in the valley being stripped of all human strength. Moses would have no rights; Israel, no strength. God could prove Himself strong on their behalf in no other way. The great "I AM" was being revealed! What is "Holy Ground"? Let me list at least three descriptions of this spiritual condition. 1. It Is a Place Where All Hidden Leprosy Is Exposed. Moses was truly a man touched by God. He was supernaturally called and was full of revelation about who God was. He was permitted to know guidance as few other men have known. He was humble, pious, and burdened for the honor of God. He loved God and grieved over the sins of the people. In spite of all this, Moses did not know of the leprosy in his own bosom: "And the Lord said unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow…" (Exodus 4:6). What terror — to reach into your own bosom and touch leprosy! What an object lesson on the utter depravity of the flesh. There is nothing but disease and death in the old man. How can Moses stretch forth a leprous hand to bring about deliverance? Impossible! Was God indulging in a little magic with Moses? No! He has no time for tricks and pranks. This was a powerful lesson the man of God must learn. It was God’s way of saying to His man, "When self is in control, you end up hurting people, bringing reproach on My work. When you attempt to do My work in spectacular, fleshly ways — you minister death, and not life. "I cannot use that old nature from Egypt — it can’t be transformed — it will always be leprous. There must be a new man, one caught up in the glory and power of the ’I AM’!" Moses was commanded to put his leprous hand back into his bosom. "And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh…" (Exodus 4:7). He would do it again in the sight of all Israel. God’s people would see with their own eyes not only the miraculous anointing on the Lord’s servant, but also his potential for horrible evil. They were not to get their eyes on Moses, but rather on the great "I AM." Did any in Israel that day dare to put their hand in their bosom — fearing the leprosy that lay hidden in themselves? The flesh was exposed that day, in all its ugliness and corruption. Stretching forth the hand represents ministry. By it the seas opened, fire fell, and miracles were performed. Who among us today dares to stretch forth a leprous hand? Who will attempt to do God’s work with a bosom filled with unexposed leprosy? It will always be there, latent in the old man — the sin nature. And God wants it exposed to our spiritual eyes. Not only is there "no good thing" in us — there is a leprous thing in us! It is that horrible thing that lusts against the Spirit, that deadly thing that one must die to, at the Cross. What a grief it must be to the heart of God to reject so many works done in His name, because they have leprosy in them, the leprosy of ego, the leprosy of human success — competition — self motivation. The leprosy of a worker permeates everything he touches. One may create a great, even spectacular, work for God. All may praise its bigness, its grandeur. But the truth will out. If it has in it the seed of leprosy, it will spread until it finally kills. What is leprosy, but sin? Hidden, unexposed, un-forsaken sin! What happens when a man of God gets on holy ground? His inner soul is exposed! His deepest, hidden sins are brought to light. You can’t lie with a leprous hand staring you in the face. No longer are you telling people what you’ve done for God — you are not glorying in your service to Him. You are too humbled by the exposure of what is in your flesh. Never again will you take lightly the potential for evil, latent in the flesh. Thank God for that second, sanctifying touch! That cleansing moment, when by faith the old flesh is done away with and the hand of ministry is purified, when we are once again clothed in the proper flesh — His flesh. 2. Holy Ground Is a Place of No Reputation Moses had decreased to zero point. Once he had been held in high esteem, respected in high government places, great in reputation and prestige. He moved among the wealthy and the influential, probably the best known man of his time. He was counselor to potentates. But God couldn’t use him until He tore him away from his popularity and esteem. Who knew him now? Hidden away, out of sight — silenced and without influence. He had no outlet for his great energy. No one now hung on his every word. What world leader would listen to such a man — an isolated shepherd, a has–been? But the very moment Moses reached zero point — when his reputation was totally lost and there was nothing left of the old, self–promoting Moses — he was on holy ground! How long did God wait by that bush, ready to break forth in a glorious new revelation? Only until that final, breaking moment when Moses truly no longer cared about his work or his reputation. When he gave up the last scraps of reputation, he found revelation. The Lord Jesus stood on this same holy ground. The scriptures say, "He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…" (Php 2:7). It was a willful choice — to shun reputation and become a servant. Thank God for those who once again are being called to such holy ground, seeking to decrease that He may increase. One great man of God wrote, "The man of God who truly preaches the Word will finally give up the idea of being known. If he preaches Christ, his reputation will constantly decrease; Christ will increase. True prophets die unknown. God gives them their dues only after they die." I believe that! If I as a minister am gaining a larger, more widespread reputation, something is missing in my message. Self is too prominent. Christ should be gaining, I should be losing recognition. I should begin to be less known as the years go by until, like Paul, I end up shut in with God. Recently I wrote to the brethren who manage Kingston Trust in England. These godly men have given their lives to the distribution of books written by J. B. Stoney, Darby, Coates, and other pious English men of God who are now with the Lord. These men have stirred my soul. Their knowledge of Christ is awesome. I am reprinting some of their messages, and I asked Kingston Trust to supply me with biographical backgrounds on them. I was deeply moved by the answer I received. "Dear David — These men labored mostly unknown and unrecognized in their time. They allowed little to be written about themselves; consequently, there is nothing to send you. They were concerned only with the glory of Christ and cared nothing for reputation or recognition." No pictures! No brochures describing how or what they preach! No press clippings; no glamour, no flowery recommendations from well–known personalities. Nothing left of their work or reputation but the glorious message of Christ the Lord. Most of the time they signed only their initials to their messages. They fretted that someone might praise them and rob Christ of all the glory. No wonder they had an open heaven! T. Austin–Sparks didn’t even want his book covers to be in color–lest people be distracted from the message. Plain wrappers for great revelations. I can’t find a picture of these pious men anywhere. They all died in faith, rejected by organized religion and mostly unknown in their time. Yet today, they speak louder than ever. How many evangelists today would submit to the kind of ministry shutdown placed upon Paul? One day he is the busy shepherd of churches worldwide. He is a fruitful evangelist, teacher — shaking nations. He travels, he trains workers, he heals the multitudes in the power of God. The next picture is one of total isolation. He is put out of sight, in a dark prison. But thank God for that shutdown! Out of it came the epistles to the body of Christ. It was a time of no reputation — but glorious revelation. Let me tell you honestly what I believe a number of well–known ministers ought to do. Shut it all down for a while and get alone with God. Enter into a time and place of no reputation. Decrease! Shut down all the machinery — turn off all the cameras — silence all the publicity. Let all the promotion grind to a halt. Let the dear man of God isolate himself from the public eye, and let him touch God for a new revelation of Christ. Then bring back what is of God, in a purified form. What is to be lost? Souls? How can a man of God please Him more than by being shut up alone with Him, decreasing and getting true revelation? God’s kingdom does not depend on any one man or ministry. God is more interested in winning all of me, than in me winning all the world for Him. Furthermore, the world cannot be saved by men who refuse to decrease. May we all decrease! May He alone increase! God help us to get back to this holy ground. 3. Holy Ground Is a Condition of Freedom From Materialism. "He forsook Egypt…choosing rather to suffer with God’s people than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season…" (Hebrews 11:25-27). Nothing saps the power and authority of a man of God quicker than materialism. A true servant cannot set his heart on God and the things of this world simultaneously. Materialism is not "things" in themselves, but the pursuit of things. Material things are the fuel that fires our lust. Christ stands before us as a rebuke we cannot shut our eyes and ears to. He is set before us in the gospel as poor, despised, reproached, persecuted, without a place to lay his head. Jesus never enjoyed the things of this world — not its property, its wealth, its pleasures, or its success. He was satisfied with daily bread. And that is all He asks us to pray for also. If there were any worth to the things of this world, certainly He would have partaken of them. He denied these things because He knew they had no value or virtue. He knew how the things of this world can become the object of man’s affections, consuming all his time and energy. He knew how material things woo souls away from His own love. That is why our Lord poured contempt on the things of this world. Christ wanted us to be so detached from this world and its things, that we would be ready to depart and be with Him momentarily. What a shame we prefer the physical blessings of the old covenant to the spiritual ones promised by Christ! God is calling the church off from this covetous chase for the things of this world, because He knows the vanity and vexation it causes. What a sad day, when our Lord shows us how contemptible the things are that we struggle for, pray for, and worry about. We excuse the poverty of Jesus as necessary to His work of redemption. Since we are not redeemers, we don’t think we should suffer the same kind of lifestyle. Certainly Christ does not expect all to live as He did, but in trampling the things of this world and despising them, our Lord is trying to tell us they are not worth setting our affections upon. It was Christ’s gospel that brought to light a new way of living. A new way of waking humbly with the Lord as strangers having no love for this world. The apostles lived as did our Lord, and they died in a condition of poverty, persecution, and distress. They were set forth as examples of suffering and shame so that God’s grace and love could be revealed through heavenly things. Paul said: "Even to this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling–place…being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it — we are made as the filth of this world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day…" (1 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 4:11-13). Why is it that God gives so much of worldly success and riches to the vilest and most wicked of men? God pours riches and fame even upon His worst enemies. The ungodly get the greatest portion of this world’s goods. Dictators have had more wealth poured upon them than they knew what to do with. You can tell how little God values worldly things by the way He gives them so freely to the damned. The Arabs today have most of this earth’s wealth. The despisers of God have been inundated with so much money; they can’t enjoy or use it all. If property, money, and success were in any way godly or sanctified, would the Lord be so generous in giving them away to the worst of sinners? When Christ and His disciples walked this earth, they were surrounded by the wealth and opulence of the Roman potentates. But that which these reprobates so coveted, Christ totally rejected. He looked upon it as a snare. He preached and taught that it could destroy a man’s soul. He exalted the excellence and superiority of spiritual values over physical. Christ also knew the total dissatisfaction and disappointment of those who had all their hearts could want. It left them empty and unfulfilled. Too, He knew the stupidity of men who had their security in material things. We talk about the riches of our biblical patriarchs. Some of our godly ancestors lived to be hundreds of years old, and it gave them time to enjoy great earthly prosperity, huge estates, unparalleled riches. But it also brought on the violence and godlessness that ended in a flood. To get on holy ground, one must cut the cord of materialism. I have not yet come to that place, but that is my goal. To have no place here on earth, but to give all time and energy in pursuing the revelation of Christ. Then perhaps we can say with our fathers, "Take this whole world, but give me Jesus." God — get us back on holy ground. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 7: PRE-009-06. THE LONELINESS OF JESUS ======================================================================== 06. The Loneliness of Jesus The Loneliness of Jesus Believe It or Not - Even Jesus Gets Lonely by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1978 Get ready now to blow the lid off your theology. Be prepared to see Jesus in an entirely new light. Did you know we have been coming at our problems from the wrong end? We have been so preoccupied with our own problems, we have not even entertained the thought that our Lord has a problem, too. And if we can understand His problem, we will soon get to the root of our own. Our Lord’s problem is that He is lonely. He has an almost insurmountable problem of communicating with those of us who claim to love Him so. He is a "feeling" Savior, and His feelings and needs have been totally neglected by many of His own children. We seek to satisfy the heart of Jesus through praise, only. We sing and shout and lift a chorus of worship and adoration, and that is wonderful and scriptural. We come unto His gates with praise and enter His courts with thanksgiving. We praise Him with instruments. We praise him with song, with uplifted hands, with tears and loud hosannas. But it is still only one-way communication. God commands everything that has breath to praise Him. But praise alone does not meet our Savior’s need. He Never Gets to Talk I wonder if the Lord ever wearies of His children coming into His presence and never once stopping to listen. Nothing is so empty and unfulfilling as one-way communication. Try listening to someone for a few hours without getting in a word. It leaves you with a feeling of loneliness. The person who "got the load off his chest" goes away feeling better - he talked it out. But the poor listener, who could not offer a single word of advice or share his own heart, stands there unfulfilled. How often have we left our Lord there alone in the secret closet, lonely and unfulfilled? We rush into His presence with a "Praise you Jesus; worship you, Jesus! Glory to Jesus! Here’s my shopping list and my healing card. Amen" How many times has He been so ready and anxious to open His own heart to speak, when lo and behold, no one was there. If we pray an hour, we talk an hour. If we pray for hours, we talk for hours. If we pray all night, we talk all night. Millions of voices talking, talking and praising. All my preaching life has been spent in trying to get people to pray. Now, I see that has not really been the problem. The real problem is leaving the Savior in the secret closet, alone, unfulfilled, lonely - having said not a word to us. We left that closet of prayer having unburdened our hearts. We talked it all out with Him, joy filled our hearts. We told Him of our hopes, our dreams, our desires. We left that holy place of prayer with a satisfied mind. Yet, our Lord was still there waiting with keen anticipation, longing to share in that communion. Does our Lord not say, "Yes, yes, thank you for your praise. I accept it. I’m so glad you took the time to be shut in with Me. I have heard your request and the Father will give you the desire of your heart. But please, wait! Please be still awhile. Don’t leave just now. I have some things I want to share with you. My heart is yearning to be unburdened to you. I’ve bottled your tears, I’ve soothed your troubled mind. Now, allow Me to talk! Allow Me to tell you what is on My heart" Our Lord Jesus wants to talk. He wants to tell us what is breaking His heart in our generation. He wants to speak to each child about the beautiful plan He has for all who trust Him - revealing glorious truths; guidance for ourselves and help in raising children; solutions to our problems; new ministries and outreaches that will save the lost; specific words concerning jobs, careers, homes, life partners; truths about heaven, hell and the coming calamities. Most of all, He wants to talk to us about how much He loves and cares for His own. We Forget He has a Need Too Lest you think I am unscriptural, listen to His very own words. Here is a beautiful glimpse into the very heart of Jesus. "But which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him...when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?" (Luke 17:7-8). We have no trouble at all identifying with the servant in his duty to his master. No trouble in putting on our apron and serving up the Lord a full table of praises - a good feast of worship. We love to feed our Lord! We love to see Him feasting on our service and love. We gird ourselves, make ready and serve Him with gladness. It is our greatest joy, our supreme fulfillment - to minister unto the Lord. But we have difficulty with the last part - the Lord’s part. "And afterward, you shall eat!" That is too much for us to comprehend. We do not know how to sit down after we have served Him - to allow Him the same joy we experienced in serving Him! We rob our Lord of the joy of ministering to us. We think our Lord gets enough pleasure from what we do for Him. But there is so much more. Our Lord responds to our faith. He rejoices when we repent. He talks to the Father about us. He delights in our childlike trust. It pleases Him to give us rest and peace and to fulfill all His promises on our behalf. But I am convinced that His greatest need is to have a one-to-one personal communication with those He left here on earth. Not a single angel in Heaven can meet that need. No one who has already passed the veil can meet that need. Jesus wants to talk to those on the battlefield. He must have open lines - two-way lines - to every soldier on every front. Where did I get such a notion that Christ is lonely and has a desperate need to speak? It’s all there in the beautiful account for Christ appearing to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Jesus had just been resurrected. The very same day, about noon, Cleopas and another disciple were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus - a distance of about six and one-half miles. Jesus drew near. They were grieved about their departed Lord. In their grief, they did not recognize Him. To really understand the deep need in our Lord’s heart, watch Him carefully as he walked along beside those talking, grieving disciples. They were communing and reasoning between themselves. How lonely Jesus must have been. He wanted to talk; He had so much to say to them. And when He could hold back no longer, Jesus stopped listening and began talking: "And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them...and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:15; Luke 24:27). There could have been no finer experience for those disciples. They had heard His voice and went away saying, "...did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us?" But because we have never understood the needs of Jesus, we think only of the joy those disciples shared. What about the joy of Jesus? They said their hearts burned when He talked. But I see a resurrected Lord, tears streaming down His glorified cheeks, walking down that dusty road with a heart filled with joy. He was fulfilled, His need had been met. While the world waited, Jesus interrupted the whole plan of redemption a few hours - just to talk! I see Jesus overjoyed. He had ministered. In His glorified form, He had experienced His first two-way communion. He had poured out His heart. His lonely heart had been touched. His need, too, had been met. We Must Allow Him To Speak To Us We know so little today about His voice and His need to speak to us. We are too occupied with His power to be aware of His voice. Like Elijah, the great prophet, we are more familiar with demonstrations of power than we are of His still small voice. Elijah exercised the power of prayer. He closed and opened the heavens. He called fire down and parted waters and his mantle. A man of action who brought entire governments under his spell, he stood on Mt. Carmel and mocked the prophets of Baal, killing them right under the king’s nose. This mighty man of prayer enters God’s throne room seven times, earnestly praying for rain. Seven times Elijah talked to God about this one need. A little cloud appears, and the prophet who, 3-1/2 years before, had closed the heavens and caused a terrible drought, now opens the heavens and "an abundance" of rain falls. Elijah outruns Ahab’s chariot 16 miles to the royal residence. Elijah was flushed with victory. A great spiritual awakening was about to take place. The fire of God had fallen. Miracles had been witnessed by multitudes. It had been an unbelievable display of God’s mighty power. Elijah thought, "Now, even Jezebel will repent! Even she cannot dismiss these signs and wonders. This is God’s hour for this nation." What a shock he got! Jezebel was not at all impressed with miracles and power. She said to Elijah, "By tomorrow at this time, I will kill you just like you killed my priests." The next time you see this great man of power and action - this mighty prayer warrior - this miracle worker - this man who calls fire down out of Heaven - he is hiding in a cave almost 200 miles away on Mount Horeb. What a sight! Forty days and forty nights he spends brooding over how things have all gone wrong. He became preoccupied with problems. His eyes were now on himself instead of God. So God calls to him, "Elijah, what are you doing here - hiding in a cave?" With a pout, Elijah answers, "Lord, the nation is falling apart. The entire government is wicked, immoral. The people have backslidden; they won’t even believe in miracles. Society has gone mad. My message has been thrown back in my face. They really don’t want help. The devil is in control - he’s got everybody but me. I’m the only one left standing true to you, Lord. I’m hiding out to preserve at least one saint." Elijah, a praying prophet, had been so busy for God, so busy demonstrating God’s power, so busy saving God’s kingdom - he had become a one-way servant. He had been talking to God often - but he had done very little listening. Had he been listening, he would have heard God tell him there were 7,000 saints who had not compromised. We Need a Lesson on Listening So God had to teach this servant a lesson on listening. He took him to the very top of Mt. Horeb and gave him an illustrated sermon! "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13). When that wind began to howl, I think Elijah thought to himself, "It’s about time, Lord. Blow Jezebel right off her throne - throw her and her sinner friends to the winds. Blow them all away! Show your power!" But God was not in the wind! Suddenly, a great earthquake - and Elijah said, "That ought to scare them good! God will get even. He will shake them out of their shoes! Thank you, Lord. You are vindicating your servant." But God was not in the earthquake! After the earthquake, a fire! The heavens were aglow with white-hot flames! Elijah said to his heart, "Lord, they didn’t accept the fire that fell on the altar - burn them out! Burn out wicked Ahab! Fry Jezebel. Cause Your fire to consume the wicked. God, I know You are in this fire!" But God was not in the fire! "And after the fire, a still small voice" (verse 12). Can you imagine what happened next? A prophet who was not afraid of a hurricane, who didn’t scare at all at an earthquake, who didn’t bat an eyelid at heavenly fireworks - is absolutely frightened by a still small voice. "And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle" (verse 13). Elijah covered his head with his coat! Why? Had not this prophet talked to God many times? Had he not been to the throne seven times on Mt. Carmel? Was he not a great man of prayer? Hadn’t God used him mightily? Yes! But Elijah was a stranger to the still small voice! And when Elijah finally allowed that voice to speak - alone, quiet, away from all the power displays - he got the most specific directions ever in all his ministry to God. "Go to Damascus; go through the wilderness; anoint Hazael king over Syria; anoint Jehu king over Israel; and anoint Elisha to be prophet to follow you..." (1 Kings 19:15-16). How many busy, busy children of God today have never had the voice come to them? They are so busy witnessing - going about doing good - praying for a spiritual awakening in the land - fasting - so intense - so sincere - so dedicated. Yet, they have heard everything but the voice of the Lord. Something Even Better Than Pentecost John the Baptist never made it to Pentecost! He saw none of the cloven tongues of fire. He did not hear the mighty rushing wind. He did not see Jerusalem shaken and multitudes converted. But John said his joy was fulfilled! He had heard something better than the rushing wind - better than good reports - better than the sounds of a joyful bride. He heard the Savior’s voice. "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled" (John 3:29). John tasted of the greatest joy a follower of Jesus can know. He said, "I stood still and I heard Him talk to me. His voice made my heart leap. He talked to me personally. I listened to my Lord. And that’s my joy. Just hearing His voice." John could say, "O yes, I loved Him. I worshiped at His feet. I told Him how unworthy I was. But my joy is not in what I said to Him. My joy is in what He said to me. He spoke to me. I heard His voice, and I rejoice just in the sound of that voice." Some people teach that the Lord no longer speaks to men - except through the revealed Word. They cannot believe men can be directed and blessed by hearing that still small voice today. Jesus said, "My sheep know My voice; they hear when I call...another voice they will not hear..." But, nowadays we are afraid of all the abuses, afraid it will lead to revelations contrary to the Word of God in the scriptures. But, all the abuses are not God’s fault. Every fake vision, false prophecy, false leading is a direct result of a man’s own pride and self-will. Men abuse every gift of God. Nevertheless, the Lord still speaks directly to the hearts of those willing to hear. "God, who at certain times in various ways spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son..." (Hebrews 1:1). "Wherefore the Holy Ghost saith, Today, if you will hear his voice... harden not your hearts." (Hebrews 3:7). We Can Hear His Voice Today Millions have been converted because one man waited to hear His voice. Saul "fell to the earth and heard that voice." And when he became Paul, he kept on hearing that voice. The Lord spoke man-to-man with him. He knew his Shepherd’s voice. Peter allowed the Savior’s voice to come to him. "And Peter went up on the housetop to pray, and there came a voice to him (Acts 10:9). The entire Gentile race was welcomed into the kingdom, along with the house of Cornelius, because a man obeyed a voice. We are living in the same New Testament times as Paul and Peter. We, too, must allow His voice to come to us. "But today, if you will hear His voice..." What God could do with Christians who learn to hear from Heaven! Instead of waiting for His voice to come to us, we run to counselors, to Christian psychologists; we run to one session or another, reading books, listening to tapes - wanting to hear from God. We want a clear word of direction for our lives! We seek shepherds to dictate our every move. We want pastors to tell us what is right and wrong. We want a leader to follow, a diagram for the future. But few know how to go to the Lord and hear His voice. There are many who know how to get God’s attention - to really touch God, but they know nothing about God reaching them. "They that have ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit saith..." (Matthew 11:15). God wants to shake the earth once more. The whole universe is ready for Holy Ghost convulsions! "See that you refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven...whose voice then shook the earth. But now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven" (Hebrews 12:25-26). He has promised, "Once again My voice will be heard. Those who hear will shake the earth. Heaven and earth will be moved. By the hearing of My voice, whatsoever is loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven." To the last church, the Laodicean church, the Lord cries, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). That is the last call of Christ to the church. There will come a spirit of lukewarmness. Luxury will lead to lukewarmness! Multitudes will grow cold. But my people, "I’m asking to be heard. Open up. Let Me into your secret closet. Let Me talk with you and you talk with Me. Let’s commune. That’s how I will keep you from the hour of temptation that is coming on all the world." John, in his revelation, talks about a day when our Lord’s heart shall be lonely no more. "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And God Himself shall be with them and God said... I will give him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (Revelation 21:3-6). That means free and full communication with no middle wall of partition; no dark glasses; no knowledge in part; but face-to-face conversation! We think of how glorious it will be to spend an eternity praising our Lord face-to-face, bowing at His knee. But have you ever tried to realize what that great homecoming will mean to our Savior? All the children home - free to share His very being. He will make us all sit down, and out of His innermost being will flow rivers of glorious truth. As He did on the road to Emmaus, our Redeemer will begin at Moses and take us all through the prophets. He will share the secrets of the universe. He will unfold every plan. Every cloud of darkness will be dispelled. Christ will share for an eternity! I see the real joy of Heaven not just ours, but His. Our joy will be that of beholding His joy as He talks to us - to speak freely to us face-to-face. Our greatest joy in Heaven will be to see Christ fulfilled - to see His need fully met. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 8: PRE-010-07. SUICIDE- AN URGENT MESSAGE ======================================================================== 07. Suicide- An Urgent Message Suicide An Urgent Message By David Wilkerson November 1, 1977 The Holy Spirit has been prompting me to speak out about suicide. At first, I rebelled against preaching about such a morbid subject, but there was no way I could shake off the urgency to warn young people about the horror of self-destruction. Consequently, for the past few weeks I have been preaching about suicide in all our city-wide crusades. Now I know why God put this message on my heart! Last year this nation experienced a 200% increase in youth suicides. More than 38,000 teenagers killed themselves. Thousands more of young adults also committed suicide. It is fast becoming the most tragic youth problem in our country. What a terrible shame! I have been shocked to tears each night that I have preached on suicide. Hundreds of young people come forward each night. And they are always honest in confessing their needs. I wanted to know why God prompted me to preach this message, so each night. I have been asking the question, "How many of you standing here have been thinking of taking your life?" In every service that I have asked this pointed question, at least 10% of them raised their hands. This means anywhere from 20 to 40 young people were flirting with suicide. Of that number, five to ten of them confessed they were planning to commit suicide within the day or week. There is an Epidemic of Suicides In my twenty years of preaching to troubled youth, I have never been as shaken and sorrowed as I have been in learning of all these mixed-up kids wanting to destroy themselves. In Dallas, Texas, a few weeks ago, a bank president went out in his front yard to get the morning paper. He turned toward the house - and there on the upper back porch - he saw his son hanging by the neck. The boy was a drug addict who came to the conclusion suicide was the only way out. I received a pitiful letter from a 15-year-old girl in Los Angeles. She wrote, "My boy friend dropped me for another girl. I really loved him. My heart is broken, and I’m so lonely. My parents laughed when I talked to them. They called it puppy love. They don’t know it, but I’m going to kill myself. Unless you can help me, I’ll end it all." signed, Janet. I tried to call Janet, but couldn’t reach her. I sent her a special delivery, airmail letter, urging her to call me collect the minute she received my letter. I assured her I had a solution, only "please don’t take your life!" a week later I received the letter back, unopened. It must have been her parents who scribbled the note on the back side - "Please send no more mail - Janet is no longer with us. She took her life." I’ve never forgotten that and I never will. I was too late! Jesus is Robbing the Devil’s Grave Two weeks ago a young man stood in the counseling room and wept through a confession. "I’m so glad I surrendered my life to Jesus tonight. I am a drug pusher and my guilt is destroying my mind. I planned to kill myself tonight. It seemed to be my only way out. But tonight when Mr. Wilkerson said people who commit suicide face the judgment of God, a fear came over me. Now I know why. Jesus is the only real way out." His face was completely transformed. He cried and laughed and left the crusade a truly new-born person. The next night, he came backstage with a duffel bag full of marijuana. We turned it over to the narcotics agents - it was over $2,000 worth of pot that had been destined to be sold to teenagers in his school. What a beautiful miracle! Last week, repentant teenagers stood up in the Afterglow service to confess their suicidal urges. One 15-year-old girl cried out, "My mother killed herself, and I couldn’t forgive her. So I decided tonight was the night to get even with her by killing myself. I’ve lived with anger and hate every day since she died! But tonight Jesus took away all my hate. I will never kill myself now. Jesus has given me a new hope!" Another teenager confessed, through her tears, "My drug addicted brother was murdered. I loved him so much. I got mad at God for allowing it to happen. Suicide was going to be my way of getting back at God for being a killer. But not anymore! Tonight when Mr. Wilkerson preached about suicide, I knew the message was meant just for me - to save my life. I forgive! Never again will I allow Satan to make suicide look attractive. It’s all over! I am going with Jesus now!" One teenage boy jumped up, pulled out a knife and cried out, "This is the knife! It was going to be tonight! My life is filled with fear and loneliness! I want to be saved and set free from these thoughts of suicide." I rushed a counselor over to him to grab the knife. He willingly gave it up and fell to his knees, limp and broken before the Lord. Three young people from his high school ran to his side and began to pray with him. Not only did that boy get a new lease on life, he left the crusade with three newly made friends to help overcome his loneliness. What is Causing This Wave of Suicides? I find two major causes of suicide among the young people who come to us for help. One of the prime causes is the despair of enslavement to an addition. Drug addicts, alcoholics and homosexuals are all candidates for suicide. Thousands of our precious young people are hooked by demonic habits that have ruined their lives. They look in the mirror each morning, horrified! They see the sunken eyes, the deep, dark rings under their eyes. The emaciated arms and legs. The hurt and sickness inside. Then they think of how they are destroying their parents. Most of them still love their parents, and they become overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow for all the torment and misery they have caused. Then, suicide seems to be the only escape left. One young addict confessed, "Brother David, I’ve ruined my life. I was innocent and tender just a few years ago. I was that average, respectable teenager just a short time back. I got in with the wrong crowd, got hooked on drugs, and now look at me. My parents have lost respect for me. Mom looks at me now and just breaks out crying. I know I’m just like an animal now. I have no reason to live. I’m tired of hurting myself, and I’m sick of making my parents suffer so much. I know they die a little inside when they see how much I’ve changed. Maybe when they stand in front of my casket, they can forgive me and remember me the way I used to be. So many times I have had parents in my office crying out their deep hurts caused by discovering their children were hooked or perverted. Recently a fine middle-aged Christian couple confessed, "Just this week our son told us he is a practicing homosexual. We tried to share our hurt with our daughter, and she dropped a second bombshell on us. She admitted she is a lesbian. We are so hurt, we don’t know how to react. We are almost numb with anxiety. We don’t even know how to talk to them now. Our only two chldren, and both are mixed up. We hear Anita Bryant talking about the dangers of homosexual teachers - and our children are going to teach. But we still love them! What do we do now?" But when I questioned those two heartbroken parents further, I discovered that both the son and daughter also carried deep hurts. They hated what had happened to them. They especially hated bringing hurt and shame to their parents. I began to feel compassion not only for that father and mother but also for that poor son and daughter trapped in such a terrifying habit. These two kids are both on the brink of suicide. And, because those parents still love their kids, that just adds to the despair of that son and daughter. The "hooked" teenager wants to kill himself (herself) to atone for his sin. He thinks, "I am a failure. I deserve to die!" It’s a form of self-crucifixion. They want to go to their cross, like Jesus did, and pay for sin. They don’t know Jesus already paid for it all. Divorce and Broken Homes The second major cause of teenage suicide is a broken home. Last year: one million new divorces - ten million kids victimized by broken homes. On the judgment day, I see a generation of lonely, mixed-up kids, rising to witness against parents who let them down. The prophet Isaiah must have been thinking of our broken homes when he said, "Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers." (Isaiah 14:21). Splitting, breaking-up parents are provoking children to unbelievable anger. In Denton, Texas, sits a 14-year-old mute girl who refuses to talk or move. She was an outgoing, happy girl who idolized her parents. But one day dad just "walked out" and moved in with another woman. That very day, Margie crawled into a shell and has not spoken a word since. I can’t reach her. Nobody can. She is like a vegetable. One day she may choose to end it all. That father will stand before God on the Judgment Day and answer for that ruined teenager’s life! Not all children of broken homes and divorce are mixed up and on the verge of suicide. But sometimes it doesn’t show up until years later. In every service we now counsel with young married couples who fall into total despair - and trace it back to their teenage years. They felt rejected and cheated. They put up a good front to cover their hurt. But then one day, years later, the hurt and hate explodes all over the place. Their own marriages suffer. And all too often, they begin to flirt with suicide. What Our Kids Have Not Been Told I am shocked beyond words to discover that the majority of young people contemplating suicide have never been told the truth about what happens after death. Satan has lied to them. Death has been romanticized and distorted. Those young people who have been saved from attempted suicide admit they thought death was the end of everything! One boy said, "When you die, you just die. It’s a world of peace and tranquility. It’s the end of all your problems and troubles. No one can hurt you after you die." That’s why I am traveling this nation warning young people that suicide is not the end. God helping me, I am going to try to warn every young person possible that suicide is a ticket to hell! Everytime I hear of another teenager swallowing an overdose or pulling a trigger, I say to myself, "He could have never committed suicide if he had really known where he was headed. He did not know that death is just the beginning." Precisely, this is what I want every teenager in the world to know. When a person takes his own life, he is guilty of five major sins - for which he must stand before God and answer. These sins are murder, stealing from God, fearfulness, unbelief and lawlessness. Just kill yourself, then float away on a cloud of rest and peace? Never! Here is what my Bible says about it: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). It is not a way out. No! It is instead a way into outer darkness. After death, the judgment! Every suicide victim goes straight to the judgment hall of Christ. Life is a gift! You can’t play God and throw that gift back in His face. He alone holds the keys to life and death - only God can decide when to use them. You have no legal or moral right to defile your body. It really doesn’t belong to you at all. Jesus bought and paid for it - and suicide is stealing from God! And God will never let that go unpunished. The Bible says, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). If you are ready to face the Judgment Day as a thief - if you are ready to face an eternity isolated from God in an outer darkness - if you are ready to sell your body for nothing to the devil - then go ahead! Take your life! Play God! Give in to your guilt and self-pity! But you were warned! Just keep this in mind - you don’t know what trouble and sorrow are until you stand before God as a thief! In dying, your troubles will just begin. You will go from hopelessness - to terror and judgment! A message of fear? You better believe it is! Yes, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wise up, teenager! Get rid of every single thought of suicide. Now! God’s way out is through simple, childlike faith. Trust Him! He can lift your dark clouds and dispel all the gloom. Trust Him to give you a miracle - to make all things turn out for good! Trust Him as a friend that sticks closer than anyone else on earth! Trust Him to keep your mind clear, stable and well-balanced. He has promised to do all this and more for all who simply trust Him like a little child. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up a standard. Thank God, we are going to see the Holy Spirit rescue thousands of mixed-up teenagers from the clutches of suicide and death! We are seeing God’s power do it every single night! Thank God that the gates of hell will never prevail against the truth! Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 9: PRE-011-08. THE COMING PURGE ======================================================================== 08. The Coming Purge The Coming Purge The Homosexual Church Will Be Cast Out by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1977 The mission of Jesus Christ was not only to redeem and baptize believers with the Holy Ghost, but to also separate, purge, and winnow the wheat from the chaff. What a terrible aspect of His mission - to separate and destroy the corrupt seed and prepare it for burning. The church has experienced a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There has been a great ingathering of people from all religions and walks of life. God’s holy floor is full and overflowing with a copious harvest. In fact, those whitened fields have been yielding a record harvest. Now, the church of Jesus Christ is about to experience the second half of the Pentecostal promise. Jesus Himself is about to purge His people. If you believe in the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, you must also believe the rest of that promise. Right after the promised outpouring comes a cleansing of all impurities "on His floor." Jesus is going to separate the wheat from the chaff. "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). Our Lord is going to rid His true church of all that is false and sensuous. The proud, the corrupt, the lukewarm, the lovers of pleasure - all will be winnowed out of His place. John Predicted A Purge In The Church In one great prophetic verse, John foretells what Christ will do to His harvest after the Holy Ghost has been outpoured in the last days — just prior to His return. After the baptism, a fanning period. A time of putting into categories. The wind of the Holy Spirit is going to breathe in a new way — not just to baptize, but to blow all the chaff out of His house. Also, out of our lives. The background of this powerful promise is found on the hillsides of the Holy Land. The harvesters approached those heaps of mingled wheat and chaff with a three-pronged wooden fork. Others used a wooden shovel with a handle about three feet long. The mingled harvest was thrown into the air, directly into the wind. The lighter chaff particles were wafted to the side, blown free from the heavier wheat which fell directly to the floor. The chaff was set on fire and destroyed, leaving nothing but a heap of charred ashes. The wheat was gathered in sacks and stored in barns. In Bible times, if there was no wind available during this winnowing time, a fan was used to create a breeze. It was usually done late in the evening, and if it was not finished by midnight, it was the custom to sleep on the threshing floor and finish in the morning. God’s Word declares, "...His fan is in his hand." The fan Jesus holds in His nail-scarred hand is the Holy Spirit. He sent the Spirit as Comforter and Baptizer. He also will use the Spirit as the separating wind. Jesus, I believe, is even now compelling the Holy Spirit to blow mightily on the harvest. The church of Christ is beginning to feel the first breezes of this final cleansing wind from Heaven. And, He will finish the work before midnight. Jesus Is Going To Expose Sin In His House Our Lord has been watching over His harvest with anxious love. He knows that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will be gathered in. He knows that in that harvest now heaped high are those who offend - those who must be exposed for what they really are - chaff! He has been so patient. To this time, He has allowed the wheat and the weeds to grow together. He has allowed the mingled harvest to accumulate on His sanctified floor. But, oh, my brother and sister - when He decides to purge His floor, there will be no more time for sermons on separation. No more books warning the corrupt to clean up. No more mingled half-bred harvest. His winnowing fork will be plunged into those heaps, including every little prayer group - every Catholic and Protestant church community - every congregation of believers, worldwide. We are all going to feel the impact of that hour when we are winnowed by His hand. To those who are separated and sanctified unto Christ, the purging and winnowing is nothing to fear. We will come out of that purging period still intact, and all about us will be left those of like precious faith. The preachers, teachers, and evangelists are not going to do the winnowing or the fanning. Jesus is going to do it all, through His Holy Spirit. The church need not worry about the Nicolaitans, the swingers, the compromisers, the mixers with the world. Jesus is soon going to do something about it. We have been in an outpouring - now get ready for an uprooting! There will be a final separation of sheep from goats on the Day of Judgment. But, I believe the winnowing process takes place here on earth, before the final judgment. The purging of the harvest comes before it is gathered unto the Master’s barn. "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). All That Offends Will Have To Go In recent years, the call of God to all peoples has been, "Come together in Christ’s name. Be gathered together in love." And, how they did come! Methodists hugged Baptists! Pentecostals began to love Catholics! Hippies, addicts, prostitutes, ex-cons - all came under that banner of love. The harvest seemed endless; the love was all encompassing; and those who had been yearning for the promise declared - "This is that!" That harvest included reapings from Hollywood, Nashville, Washington - from show business, from politics, from the house of Israel. Can anyone deny the harvest is heaped? Lovers of Jesus everywhere have been bringing in the sheaves. There is rejoicing in the body of Christ. Never has the harvest been so ripe; never have the tools of threshing been so occupied. But, that harvest doesn’t just "lay there" untouched, waiting to be stored. Never! Chaff is infused all through those heaps. It all looks like wheat, but it is not. Chaff cannot be permitted to remain with the harvest. The owner of that harvest must come and separate the real from the make-believe. What will be blown away and what will remain? We know from the revealed Word of God that all fornication, all lying, all stealing, all adultery, all gossiping, all hatred will have to be purged from the church. But, He also said He would purge "all that offends." "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Matthew 13:40-41). Our Lord is gong to go to great lengths to fan out of the harvest every scandal, every wrongdoer, and everything that is offensive to God. And, the very first to go will be those things that were highly esteemed among men but an abomination to God. Abominable Music Is Going To Be Blown Away What is so highly esteemed among men that could be such an abomination to God? For an example, take another look at the number-one sacred cow of most Christian young people today - hard rock! They have now renamed it "Jesus Rock" - "Love Rock" - "Holy Ghost Rock." The music itself is not an abomination to God, because it is nothing more than an amplified sound. It can even be imitated by a hunk of machinery, like a Moog synthesizer. But, the cheap commercialism by so many Jesus rockers is one of the worst abominations the church has ever witnessed. I can’t hold it back any longer. Someone has to say it. The effect of the so-called Jesus rock on the church is scandalous. It is a stench in God’s nostrils, and when Jesus begins to purge the harvest - all the Jesus rock money-changers will be the first to go. How long do you think God will put up with some of these corrupt singing groups who travel the country charging up to $7,000 for a single "show for Jesus"? How long will Jesus allow a small army of agents, managers, and promoters to intimidate the churches by pushing music on young people that is nothing but a cheap echo from the halls of ungodly rock concerts? It’s a throwback to the old "pot and acid" music of a decade ago. I am 100% persuaded that Jesus is about to blow all the sensuous, world-like music right out of the sanctuary. We desperately need a cleansing of our music appreciation. Our Lord cannot be pleased when His children develop a taste for a sound that is so much identified with drugs, sex, and violence. And, what about the Christians who feed their minds on country western songs with lyrics featuring divorce, cheating, and barroom blues? A Musical Revolution Is Coming Mark my words, a new revolution in music is coming to the church. The Spirit is going to blow all those "Las Vegas" acts out of His floor - and in its place will come to birth a pure and glorious sound that will make all heaven rejoice. Those compromising groups who were once so popular won’t find a handful of Christian young people willing to listen. Jesus is going to initiate His own "coming back" music. He is going to purge out all the phony, half-surrendered singers and players. He is going to sanctify the voices and instruments of those who pass the purge. Christ is going to bring His true children back to the music of worship. Right now, Christian young people cannot get up off their knees - having really poured out their hearts to Jesus - and then turn on a hard rock sound. Prayer, a broken heart, tear-stained eyes, a vision of Jesus - none of these are part of Jesus rock. But, that’s all about to change. Already, thousands of Christian young people are beginning to meditate and pray with the soothing, gentle music of praise and worship. Jesus rock is out! It may hang on a while longer, and its promoters will say it is here to stay. But, it is dead! In its place? A new sound. A total Jesus sound. A song of joyful praise and awesome worship. Jesus Himself is going to make the change. We are going to see new groups arise - so given to Jesus, so separated from the world and all its silly music - and they will sing an original song, nothing borrowed! Those singers and groups who now enjoy popularity will be left behind, unless they go back to the cross, humble themselves, and begin to focus on worship. Every time these freshly anointed young people sing, Jesus will be exalted. We won’t see the performers anymore. We are going to see Jesus! No more cheap psychedelic album covers. Jesus will be lifted up - instead of self. No more high-pressured agents asking outrageous prices. No more emotional gimmicks to turn on a crowd. No more innocuous ditties about peace and love. No! It is going to be a sanctified sound, delivered by sanctified performers, and heard by sanctified ears. The Homosexual Church Will Be Cast Out What else will Jesus purge from His floor? All the secret homosexuals and all those who excuse them in their sin; that is all chaff and must be swept away. Jesus hates homosexuality, but He loves homosexuals. He forgives those who repent and forsake their evil ways. But, now the church has within its ranks those who would have us believe Jesus no longer considers homosexuality a sin. Homosexuals now claim more than 50,000 members in their "all homosexual" churches. The Metropolitan Community Church is one of many homosexual denominations springing up across the nation. I sent an observer to one of their annual "Holy Ghost" conventions in Dallas, Texas. What unbelievable blasphemy! Each delegate, as they registered, was given a packet which included, among other things, two "boy" magazines of all nude men and a list of all the gay bars in Dallas - so that delegates could leave the evening service, go to their selected bar, and connect with a lover for the night. And, those delegates called themselves "ministers." How they did sing! They praised the Lord with enthusiasm; but their evangelist corrupted the gospel beyond comprehension. He said, "Sure, Paul condemned men who changed the natural use and burned one toward another. But that’s not us. We didn’t change anything. We were born this way. So, come out of your closets. Be filled with the Holy Ghost, and enjoy your homosexuality." How long will Jesus put up with this outrageous blasphemy? How long will our blessed Lord permit "ministers" of the church to excuse and encourage homosexuals in their perversion? And, that’s what it is - a perversion! Try to take the sting out of that word, try to sugar-coat it, try to make it sound inoffensive, but it’s still perversion. Nothing will ever change that! The church may excuse it. Liberal ministers may taunt those of us who still call it sin; comedians may mock and make jokes about those who resist it; but, in reality, Jesus hates homosexuality, and He is going to fan it right off His holy floor. Even now, the homosexual community is staggered by the way in which Jesus is raising up His standard against their sin. The wind of God is set against them. Jesus will welcome with healing arms every homosexual who rejects his sin and cries out, "I’m in need, Master. Forgive and heal me." For the past 10 years, we have helped finance a home for homosexuals. We have provided beds, food, clothing, and counseling for homosexuals wanting help. It is a part of Christ’s command to witness to them about salvation and deliverance. But, the church of Jesus Christ must never compromise and dialogue with the doctrine of devils. Satan’s doctrine is one of proud and arrogant acceptance of homosexuality as a normal Christian experience. Never! The unrepentant and secret homosexuals will be exposed and separated from the true body of Christ. Having rejected the love of Jesus and His offer to deliver them, they face the winnowing shovel of Jesus. Jesus is not coming back for a church that pampers and excuses sin. So, beware! Beware of ministers who excuse vile sin with the whitewash of what they call Christian "love." You cannot bring healing to homosexuals by sympathizing with their sin. Beware of those who come in the name of Jesus who refuse to see "the exceeding sinfulness" of this sin. The adulterers, the fornicators, and the practicing homosexuals will all be cast upon the same heap of rejection. Jesus will not allow it in His true church. A homosexual purge is coming, and the Lord Himself is going to take charge; He will end this invasion into the church by reprobated minds. A Second Mighty Rushing Wind Is Coming Get ready for a second mighty rushing wind. Isaiah pictured nations as rushing ahead like the "rushing of many waters," headed into the wind of God. He said the ungodly will be "chased as the chaff." They will drift about as particles caught up in a whirlwind. "The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters; but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind..." (Isaiah 17:13). Are you ready to receive a prophecy - one from the very heart of God - as to what our Lord is about to do? Isaiah prophesied that "the seed of Abraham" would become as: "...a sharp threshing instrument having teeth who shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff" (Isaiah 41:15). Isaiah predicted God will not forget His people. He will open "new rivers in high places - the wilderness shall become a pool of water - dry land will yield springs...and He will open a new highway of holiness." And, how will the Lord accomplish His purpose and bring about separation and righteousness? "Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 41:16). A Holiness Revival Is On The Way What has Isaiah prophesied? What shall we expect when this purge is full blown? I believe the Lord has given us a small glimpse into what will happen. More than a purging of our music and our morals, I see coming a new kind of awakening. We have witnessed in past years an awakening of love and compassion. This love-awakening brought multitudes into the fold. We have witnessed an awakening from deadness to life - from a form of godliness to the power thereof. Now, we are about to witness an awakening to the holiness of Jesus. Hear Isaiah again. "...and they shall glory in the Holy One of Israel." Holiness will follow love! We will sing a song of rejoicing and be raptured with a new vision of the holiness of the Lord. I see more and more teachers being moved upon to preach separation, godly sorrow, and holiness. The Holy Spirit is going to lift up a standard against the compromise and corruption. We will see a new kind of convert. Soon, we will hear of celebrities giving up show business completely to preach the gospel. Politicians will walk away from their smoke-filled rooms once and for all to spread the Word of God. Talk about separation; they are going to put all the Christian playboy celebrities to shame. These totally surrendered converts will be filled with a vision of Christ’s holiness and purity. And, they will not be afraid to come out of the world. A new generation of young converts will arise with holy boldness to renounce the corruption in the world and the church. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Our children face an age when it will seem like every demon in hell has been set loose to deceive. They will face seductions no other generation has heard of. Satan will assault them with every device at his disposal. Evil men will wax worse and worse. Crime and violence will threaten their very lives. "Gay goons" will stalk the streets of cities, raping men and killing, as they did in the days of Lot. The stench of hell will be almost everywhere. But, Jesus has promised the last-day believer more grace than all other generations. Satan doesn’t know it, but all his attacks will do nothing but help produce a kind of "super saint." I mean that in the right way. Jesus will raise up, in the midst of madness and despair, a holy seed. Strong, separated, unbending young men and women, all of them blood-washed survivors of the last day purge. I don’t worry at all about the future our Christian kids face. They are going to be stronger, purer, and deeper in Jesus than any generation in history. There will be less chaff and more wheat among them. As for me, I’ve been opening up all the doors and windows of my being. My soul cries out, "Oh, Lord, send the wind - the cleansing, separating wind of Your Spirit - and blow all the chaff out of my life. Get rid of all the junk. Give me that ’continual sorrow’ for sin Paul spoke of. Separate me to Yourself. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 10: PRE-012-09. ADULTERY, WIFE SWAPPING, CHEATING AND DIVORCE ======================================================================== 09. Adultery, Wife Swapping, Cheating and Divorce Adultery, Wife-Swapping, Cheating & Divorce by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1977 There is a media blitz aimed at the destruction of the Christian home. Satan is out to wreck every marriage, to break up every Christian couple and destroy the God-ordained concept of "faithful...till death do us part." TV and magazine writers have begun a relentless attack on the old-fashioned idea of "being true to one another." They suggest that every marriage needs an "outside affair" and that marriage can be more healthy with a little cheating on the side. They would have us believe that everybody is cheating a little, that it is normal to be torn between two lovers. Adultery, wife-swapping and cheating is now so prevalent, we don’t even raise an eyebrow about it. The pressure to cheat is getting stronger among Christians, too. How in the world can God wink at the way so many Christians now discard their mates through separation and divorce? Christians by the thousands, including a host of ministers, are running off to divorce courts and forsaking their vows so they can pick up with someone else. Divorce is no more sinful today than spitting on the street. Those who call it quits talk about being incompatible, that the marriage cannot be healed, that all love is gone, that it would be worse on them and the kids if they stuck it out. They don’t want to stifle their personalities. Often, that is the case. On a few occasions, divorce is inevitable. But, in my observations, nine out of ten divorced people are dating someone else shortly after, and even during the divorce. The divorce is a way to discard an old lover for a new one. And so often the second marriage is no better. I have counseled many who confessed their second and third marriages were even worse than the first. People headed for divorce ought to look around and ask a few questions of others who have taken that route. Only a few are really happy the second time around. Usually, it’s like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Divorce is a dead end street - and life with another partner hardly ever provides lasting joy and peace. When two divorced people marry each other, it is usually a union between two losers. They bring to their second marriage a bundle of unsolved problems. Divorce and remarriage is not the true plan of God, and only those who are innocent victims find a measure of happiness in another union. There are occasions where a person could not avoid divorce and remarried in the will of God. But, even then, both partners have to work and pray extra hard to maintain their love and joy. But, they are exceptions to the rule. What a terrible shame, that so many Christians who claim Christ can heal and that God answers prayer cannot accept or believe Him for healing of their marriage. I am convinced that if two people really want to make the marriage work, and they are not secretly wanting someone else, the situation is seldom hopeless. My heart breaks to see so many beautiful homes breaking up. It’s frightening to see couples splitting up, even those who would seem to be so beautifully matched. We are right now experiencing a flood of separations and divorces among Christian couples. and all the "experts" are probing into the problem, trying to find out why one of every two marriages now end in failure. Usually, husbands and wives cheat on one another because they no longer communicate with each other, or because they have grown apart. That is not always the case today. I have been counselng with a number of husbands and wives who claim to be deeply in love with their mates, who communicate well, who enjoy sexual fulfillment with each other, but who got caught up in a secret involvement on the side. They can give me no reason for turning to someone else, other than to say, "It just happened. We got thrown together, we bagan sharing with each other, working together, and we just started respecting each other. I love the one I married, but have such great respect for..." There is a great difference between the swinger and the repentant adulterer. The swinger has an affair and hides it. He flaunts it, savors every moment of its secret allure, and he shows no sign of guilt or sorrow. He is willing to take the risk of getting caught. He plays a Russian roulette game of lust - secret meeting places, hushed phone calls, "business trips," coded notes and greetings, and an endless string of lies and deception. He goes to church acting like everything is pure and holy about him - and he shakes off all conviction by the Holy Spirit. He is given over to a lie, convinced his affair is different, and that God understands his need to be with someone else. The cheating wife plays the same game, but she usually overcompensates for her guilt by being extra kind and loving to her husband. It is quite another thing for a husband or wife to get caught in Satan’s trap, an unwitting, unwilling victim. This sorry husband or wife despises the compromise, weeps with guilt and prays constantly for strength to overcome. There is a sense of shame for having grieved the Holy Spirit. There is a fear of exposure, but more than that, a fear of hurting children and friends. While the cheating swinger justifies what he is doing, this sorry adulterer cries out from the depths of the soul, "Oh God, deliver me from the snare of Satan. Fill me with your holiness. Purify me. Set me free. Let me never disgrace your holy name." A man who was caught recently in a compromising situation told me, "I’ll bet almost every husband and wife has been in the arms of another person since they were married. I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t kissed some other man or woman on the sly." Another troubled man said to me, "I just don’t think there are any really happy marriages left nowadays. Everybody’s having trouble, and that’s why so many are looking for someone else to talk to. They want to be understood. The woman wants someone to tell her she’s still attractive, she wants tenderness. He wants peace and quiet and a little more thrill and romance. All these husbands and wives running around with such need is explosive. It ends in an affair." I believe Jesus still forgives sorry adulterers. He allowed no one to cast stones or accusations against anyone caught in the act of adultery - if that person was repentant and willng to "go and sin no more." I met an evangelist on a plane trip from Toronto to Dallas. This well-known brother sat opposite me, kissing a young secretary and drinking one cocktail after another. I jumped up, knelt beside him and rebuked him with real Christian love. He was shocked. I promised never to expose his adultery and drinking if he would forsake the woman and the bottle, return home to his wife, and ask God for help. He cried and thanked me for being so understanding and forgiving. Two weeks later, he abandoned his wife, took off with his young secretary, and continued his drinking, adulterous ways. The man is still traveling, preaching - and living in sin. But, worst of all, he flaunts his adultery. He boasts, "Why, I’ve been doing this kind of thing every since I got saved. It’s happened before. It’s all right. I have these great physical needs. God is with me - He understands." No! Never! God does not understand that kind of blasphemy. We must restore every fallen brother and sister in Christ, if they repent and are willing to change their ways. But, we must never coddle and comfort those who flaunt their sexual deviation. I and all my minister friends are not above being tempted to unfaithfulness. Even the pastors of our largest churches, our most respected evangelists, the most saintly of God’s servants all are capable of an escapade. Satan is determined to deceive "the elect, the very chosen of God." And, we should take heed when we think we stand, lest we fall. In a moment of weakness, any Christian can yield to the allure of another’s charm. But it doesn’t have to be. Christ has the power to keep us faithful. If we want it, there is ample strength and courage available to us to resist every enticement. Most important of all, we must hate the very thought of adultery and fornication. We must view it as a cancer that destroys everything that is sacred and holy. I’m so righteously indignant at the devil’s attempt to destroy Christian marriages, I want to wade into the problem with both arms swinging. Let’s quit all the lying and game playing and get right to the heart of the problem. If you’ve got problems in your marriage, you better listen good. What I have to say refers only to true followers of Jesus. I asked God in prayer one day why so many ministers - why so many apparently godly people, including evangelists, pastors, key laymen - are leaving their wives and falling in love with someone new. Why do they divorce and live in adultery? Why are multiplied thousands of Christians giving up on their marriages - separating and quitting? The answer? Self-gratification, rather than seeking the glory and righteousness of the Father. Jesus said, "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent hin, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him" (John 7:18) The quitters are not seeking only the glory of God! They are not consumed with a desire to please Him alone. No! They prefer their own glory - their own gratification. Jesus said, in essence, "You would remain true to your vows, there would be no desire to commit adultery, to divorce - there would be no unrighteousness in you, if you really wanted to seek my glory alone." Nowadays, it’s all me, mine! My satisfaction! My growth and development! My need for fulfillment! My loneliness! My frustration and emptiness! My yearning for someone to really understand. It’s all self-centered. It’s all focused on the needs of one’s own self. What God thinks is now secondary. What brings glory to God is subjugated to what brings happiness to the individual. No more going the second mile. No more returning to the first love after repenting and changing. No more striving. No more repudiation of self! No more feeling for the other person’s need! No more putting aside of selfish needs - it’s all "give me what I need to be happy - no matter what it costs." We have become so proud and self-centered. That pride is so strong today, many couples just exist with each other - in a living hell - only because they are too proud to split. And, if one of the partners does split, the other is often hurt only in their pride. When she walks out, his pride is hurt because he thinks people will consider him a failure. What a shame! Down with all this stinking pride. Away with worrying what other people will say! We should fall on our knees and ask God to forgive us for ever thinking of running out on our marriages. Yes, husbands do cheat. They run off on their wives. Some men are homosexuals and divorce may be the only way out. Wives do get fed up and leave. They do fall for someone else and take off. They move into their own apartments and try to make it on their own. but the real tragedy is that 95% of all this foolishness could be stopped! The majority of divorces should never hae been. Most of those being contemplated should be stopped. How? Beginning with you, sir. If you still love that woman and are not involved in a secret affair; if you are willing to change and be the man God wants you to be; if you are wanting your marriage to continue; if you have forsaken all your secret sins - then get alone with God and get right with Him! Your trouble is really not your wife; it is your poor relationship with your Savior! And you, Madam, I don’t believe God will accept the excuse that "You just don’t love him anymore." You may have left your first love somewhere back in all the agony and hurting. But God says, "Repent, remember how it was, and go back and do it all over again" (Revelation 3:3). Your second love for each other can be greater than the first. There is a first and a second love, and the second is always better. Nothing is dead when we serve a creative God. Are you cheating! In love with someone else? If not, get alone with God and repair your lines of communication. Your first love for Jesus got misplaced, and that is why everything else in your life is out of focus. You don’t need to sit down with a counselor and rehash the past. You both need to humble yourselves and go separately to God asking for a renewed love for Jesus and a new sense of His holiness and righteousness. You don’t mend fences by just talking things out. No! You pray it all out until there is nothing left but a willingness to obey God. And, God said, "I hate divorce - let there be no divorcing..." (Malachi 2:15). LB God hates it - you must hate it, too. And if your marriage is really hopeless, then having done all - stand still and let Him direct all the moves. Take any two lovely people, male and female. Put them right up in front of the congregation, surrounded by weeping, praying saints. Let them sing, preach, pray and worship with the others. But, if those two have let down their standards, it they are indulging, if they have become adulterers before the eyes of God, she is a prostitute and he is a fornicator. All the talking in tongues won’t change a thing. And if they keep on flaunting their sin, hiding it, going about as if no one knows or will ever find out, if they have no shame - watch out! God will hang them up and make a spectacle out of them. God will eventually expose them before all. If God’s people would claim but two powerful promises, adultery and divorce could be avoided: "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). "For with God, nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 11: PRE-013-10. SIPPING SAINTS ======================================================================== 10. Sipping Saints Sipping Saints An outcry against the alarming spread of drinking among Christians by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1977 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1). This nation is fast becoming a sodden society of too many intoxicated citizens. Alcohol is now the modern golden calf, and millions of people, young and old, male and female, have been seduced by it. The teetotaler, the prohibitionists, and all the others who have for years fought against this flood of booze have been laughed out of existence. We laugh to scorn those old–fashioned little ladies who went around smashing barrels of whiskey and shutting down bars and honky–tonks, and taking pledges of abstinence. We liberated moderns have made it fashionable to drink. It is now considered sophisticated, urbane, cool — to drink socially. Try saying "No" to the airline stewardess who keeps pushing drinks at you from the time you get on the airplane till you deplane. "What do you mean, no drinks?" She looks at you as some kind of kook for refusing free drinks. People are offended nowadays when you refuse their offer of a complimentary drink. They try to make you feel un-neighborly for not joining them, or that you are putting on a "holier than thou" attitude. Even President Carter couldn’t keep drinks out of the White House. "Be not among winebibbers…" (Proverbs 23:20). To me, the real tragedy is that so many who call themselves "Christian" are now drinking. I call them "sipping saints," because that is how it all begins — one sip at a time. A recent poll revealed that 81% of all Catholics now drink and 64% of all Protestants. These shocking figures keep mounting higher each month. The permissive attitude toward social drinking is fast creeping even into the most conservative, evangelical church circles. I have spoken at Charismatic conventions where thousands of "Spirit–filled" saints of God lifted hands in praise and adoration to God — and after being dismissed, numbers of them walk out into the parking lot, open their car trunks and pull out a couple six–packs and pass them around to fellow worshipers. Others order mixed drinks with their restaurant meals, in between the praise sessions. They return to speak with "pickled tongues." "And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands" (Isaiah 5:12). The prophet Isaiah has a message for the entire Charismatic movement — in both Catholic and Protestant circles. "God’s people are in captivity to these things because of a lack of knowledge…But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness" (Isaiah 5:13-16). The prophet Hosea said, "…wine and new wine take away the heart…" (Hosea 4:11). This suggests that sipping saints have divided hearts. Spirit–filled people lay claim to being "kings and priests" unto the Lord. The Bible emphatically states, "It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law…" (Proverbs 31:4-5). The writer of Proverbs suggests happy, overcoming Christians don’t need wine, that it is only for the depressed and dying. "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts" (Proverbs 31:6). A fine Christian lady wrote to me saying: "We are good church–going Christians. We love the Lord, and we see nothing at all wrong with serving wine in our home. We drink moderately, and our children are learning to drink under our supervision. They do not overindulge. We have never seen anyone drunk in our home. "You are simply trying to make us feel guilty and are pushing your fundamentalist morals on us. We were not raised under the legalistic taboos like you evidently were. Frankly? sir, our drinking habits are none of your concern." God bless that dear lady — but one of these days it will be my business. It starts becoming my business when those teenagers go out with their friends and get stoned. Just today, one of my students, a converted alcoholic, told me how she became a drunkard. Her parents taught her how to drink moderately. At parties, birthdays, and when company came, everybody took a social drink. It was served at meals. She admired and loved her parents. They despised drunkenness, yet they had a bar in the house. This young lady started going to teenage parties and began to drink socially with her crowd. That led to drinking in clubs. Soon she was getting stoned in parked vans. Finally, when problems began to pile up, she began to lean on wine heavily. She ended up in a mental institution, a hard–core alcoholic. That same story is repeated to me over and over again from coast to coast. How many, many times I’ve heard it, "My parents were considered good Christians. They went to church. But we always served wine or beer at our house. My big brother drank moderately and he was my hero. I drank to be like my parents and big brother, but I couldn’t handle it. But they made me think drinking was the thing all good people do." Am I prejudiced? Narrow–minded on the subject? You bet I am! And I have reason to be. My own brother, a minister’s son, started drinking beer moderately — just to be sociable with friends. He wound up a heavy drinker, leaving his wife and lovely children to pursue his habit. Thank God he is saved today and back with his family. But I sent my brother Jerry with a team of converts to Europe to testify about what Christ did in delivering him from the power of alcohol. The Christians in Europe gladly rejoiced in the testimonies of deliverance from dope and prostitution — but they didn’t want to hear a word about Jerry’s deliverance from alcohol. Why? Because European Christians guzzle wine and beer like water. It broke his heart. I have heard all the excuses for the drinking among Christians in Europe — and I can’t accept any of them. They blame it on impure water. They talk about it being rooted in their culture and customs. They drink "because they have always done it."0 How deeply offended some of the pastors were in Paris, France, when I refused to drink their wine. American missionaries, who themselves easily adopted the European customs, told me I should "do as the Parisians do, while in Paris!" Yet, how deeply offended I was when some of these same ministers were so stoned they couldn’t stay awake during my crusade. There is an alarming rate of alcoholism and heavy drinking in Christian circles in Europe. They do get drunk! They are not all moderate! None of their excuses make it right. And what phoniness for American Christians to drink "only in Europe." They won’t touch a drop here in the States, but they think it’s "cute" to join the brethren over there in sipping a few! I am deeply offended by drinking Christians because of the terrible example it sets for young people! This nation is now facing a plague of drinking among teenagers. The two most popular words in school today are "cruising and boozing." Drunkenness is spreading in our schools like a wildfire out of control. Kids tell me that as many as 80% of their class not only drink, but get stone drunk. We face the possibility of having over one million young alcoholics next year. I’ve been helping drug addicts for 20 years. But this drinking rage now sweeping our nation frightens me. They drink now because they think alcohol won’t"waste" them like drugs! Booze is now the preferred "liquid pot." Everywhere you see teenagers getting stoned, they tell you — "No cops, no parents, no politicians can hassle us now — because they are all doing it, too. We finally found a kick that won’t put us behind bars!" I don’t want to get involved in that age–old argument about the Bible and fermented wine as opposed to grape juice. But the more I see of these bombed–out, broken–down, hopelessly drunken young people — the more I am convinced Jesus did not mock that crowd at Canaan’s wedding feast with the same stuff that is destroying our youth today. Christ came to fulfill the law! The law says, "Wine is a mocker…whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Was Christ deceived? Would he have served a drink that would have led to a man leaving a feast drunken to heat up his wife? And in court that man is asked, "How did you get so drunk?" And the convicted man answers, "I went to a wedding feast. Jesus of Nazareth served up a really strong drink. He got me drunk." I can’t conceive that Jesus would mock that crowd and serve a drink that could have been abused if taken immoderately. I believe that elixir Jesus served was the pure juice of the vine — asupernatural punch so full of nature’s true blend, it was a unique and welcome change! Would Jesus add alcoholic content to His supernatural drink and make it "bite the cup" when the law said "Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright…" (Proverbs 23:31)? That was written by a king who had "given himself over to wine" (Ecclesiastes 2:3). And Christ would have never, never given the guests over to wine that was intoxicating. Paul knew the law, too. He revered the wisdom of Solomon. Pure juice of the grape is good for the health! It is nutritious. But fermented wine is not more nutritious, according to a doctor friend of mind who is well read on the subject. How could Paul recommend drinking alcoholic wine when the law he respected so warned, "…be not among winebibbers…"? But the real issue is not whether or not the New Testament refers to fermented wine or grape juice. The real issue is the abuse of it that is so prevalent today. Solomon had three thousand wives. At one time, Moses permitted divorce. God winked! But God does not wink when His laws become so perverted and abused. Look where our permissiveness has led us. So–called Christian discos, featuring beer drinking and dancing to Christian music. Rocking, rolling, drinking "Christians." "…Lest they drink and forget the law…" We are forgetting the laws of God, the very laws Jesus said He came to fulfill. We now allow a lesbian priest to be ordained in the Episcopal church. Homosexuals not only flaunt their sins, they boldly seek recognition and power within the church. One million new divorces this year. Ten million kids victims of broken homes. Nude dancing in the church sanctuary. Liberal ministers mock old–fashioned biblical sex standards. They now tell our kids, "Masturbation is a gift from God to relieve your tensions." And the lawlessness to end all lawlessness, some of our church agencies have been serving as fronts for anti–God, Communistic anarchists seeking to destroy democracy — using the churches’ missions money to engage in covert acts of violence. Do Christians drink because of ignorance? Has no one challenged them by the Word of God? Do these new converts from the Jesus movement drink to prove they are liberated and not under law? A young lady, a member of a Christian love commune, wrote to me recently and said, "Sure, we all drink. Jesus did; Paul did! The Bible is not down on it. Our leaders drink moderately. They are good Bible teachers and they travel, speaking at youth gatherings." Yes — and I happen to know some of them also smoke. They mix Jesus with their heavy rock music, and only God knows where the compromise ends. They seem to think that adding the word "Jesus" to anything sanctifies it and makes it all right. You say — "Don’t judge, David! What about the beam in your own eye?" I am not anyone’s judge. I have not set myself up as some kind of spokesman for any group. But Paul said, "We judge those within — God judges those without." It’s time judgment was called for! It’s time all drinking Christians were challenged! It’s time for the Holy Spirit to expose the looseness, the slaphappy "anything goes" attitude. If it’s wrong for my dear converted alcoholics and addicts and prostitutes to drink, even moderately, then it is deadly wrong for mature Christians to drink and set a poor example for them. And I get very weary and spiritually indignant when drinking Christians come back at me with — "Aw, you’re just a fundamentalist, law bound, moral do–gooder. We modern, liberated Christians are free in Christ. We are not under law. We will not be bound by your attacks on our freedom." That offends everything in me that yearns for godliness and holiness. That offends every young convert whom God has convicted of past drinking habits. And the Bible says "But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" (Matthew 18:6-7). I refuse to give in to the mounting pressures of worldliness — in the disguise of spiritual freedom! What has happened to us, saints of God — when we can sit idly by and not rebuke the fast eroding morals in the house of God? I believe in free grace, but not licentiousness. I believe in the imputed righteousness of Christ, by faith. But I also believe the holiness of God demands that we "touch not that which is unclean." I also believe that smoking ministers are not being honest with God. These "puffing prophets" refuse to practice what they preach. And drinking ministers are a reproach to the name and power of God. It is not an effort to condemn true ministers of the gospel. But how can we as ministers and parents ask our kids to quit using drugs and alcohol, if we will not clean up our own lives — and set a Christ–like example? At times, just for a fleeting moment, I think to myself, "Maybe I’m the one who is wrong. Maybe these new Christians who rock, roll, smoke, drink, and who go back to their old haunts to sing, entertain, and perform — maybe they have seen something in God I haven’t yet seen. Maybe all these fast changes aren’t compromise, but a sign of maturity and growth. Maybe I am too old–fashioned — too out of it to recognize some new thing God is doing." But then I begin to compare the rollicking, boisterous sounds of their music with the old songs like "The Old Rugged Cross," and "Holy, Holy, Holy." Then I want to cry! I look at them going back into those smoke–filled clubs to entertain the drinking crowd on the pretense of taking Jesus with them, and then I compare them with all the millions of God’s people over the centuries from the martyrs on down to the converted addicts and gangs of today, who forsook the world and all its associations to take on the reproach of Christ. I begin to weep for those compromised Christians. I know I am not wrong. Please don’t get mad at me! If you are one of the sipping saints — don’t allow your hurt or anger to rob you of the truth. If you find yourself resenting this message of separation — it is probably because God has already convicted you — and He is now wanting you to enjoy complete freedom. Pray also that God will lay it on the hearts of ministers all over the nation — to take a bold stand in their pulpits against these insidious trends. Pray for our teenagers! The pressures on them to drink with the crowd are getting worse daily. They need to be encouraged to stand up and resist, lest they be drawn into this whirlpool of drunkenness. Even if you don’t "feel convicted" — abstain for the simple but powerful reason of setting an example for the youth! "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things" (Proverbs 23:29-33). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 12: PRE-014-11. HOLLYWOOD HOLINESS ======================================================================== 11. Hollywood Holiness Hollywood Holiness by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1977 It is high time to speak out against all the Hollywood holiness and show business salvation that is now contaminating the house of God. How sad the heart of God must now be to see so many who call themselves Christians corrupting and defiling themselves at the devil’s table. There is a cancer of worldliness growing in the church. God has not called me to clean up the church. I am not some kind of super saint sitting in judgment against others who don’t live up to my personal standards. I am just an ordinary, simple Christian who is appalled by all the soulish, sensous, worldly influences creeping into the church. It’s time to judge righteous judgment and expose the ungodly trends that make a mockery of holiness. And, God help me to do it in love, without purposely hurting any particular person or group. Let me begin by reminding us all of what God demands of those who claim to be born again. God’s Word commands us to "break away" and "come out" from the spirit of the world. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Beliah? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). * There are Charismatic Christians who claim to be filled with the Holy Ghost who still drink their beer, wine, and whiskey. The tongue that "speaks in heavenly languages" is soaked in alcohol and smothered in smoke. Smoking is a debilitating habit, yet many Christians still refuse to lay down this habit. Drinking by "Christians" is damning many young people who are confused by double standards. My Bible says: "...dearly beloved, let us clense ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). Pot smoking, pill popping teenagers come to me with this question: "How can those people who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol put us down for smoking grass or dropping pills and acid? They have their own habits and they’re just as bad. They are the worst kind of hypocrites. Get them to clean up before you try to preach us out of our brand of habits." What bothers me most of all is the terrible influence. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 13: PRE-015-12. HOW TO WIN OVER TEMPTATION ======================================================================== 12. How To Win Over Temptation How to Win Over Temptation by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1977 Temptation is an invitation or an enticement to commit an immoral act. And right now Satan is raging over the earth as a roaring lion trying to devour Christians through powerful enticements toward immorality. No one is immune and the closer you get to God, the more Satan will desire to sift you. Sinners cannot be tempted - only true children of God! Rain cannot touch a body already under water. Sinners are already drowned in perdition. As children of Satan, they do as he dictates. They do not have to be tempted or enticed, because they are already immoral - already condemned. As slaves, they are not free to choose. They simply go from dead, to twice dead, to being "plucked up by the roots." Sinners can be teased by the devil but not tempted. Satan teases his own children into deeper and darker pits of immorality. They are already dead in their trespasses and sins and no longer fight the battles of the living. That’s why our Lord tells us to rejoice when we fall into divers temptations. We are experiencing something unique only to maturing Christians. Temptation is "training under combat conditions." It is "limited" warfare. God limits that warfare to the point of being "bearable." God is wanting combat-seasoned warriors who can testify, "I was under fire! I’ve been in the battle! The enemy was all around me, shooting at me, trying to kill me, but God showed me how to take it and not be afraid. I have experience now, so the next time I’ll not fear." Temptation is not a sign of weakness or a leaning toward the world. Rather, it is a graduation, a sign God trusts us. The Spirit led Jesus into the arena of temptation in the wilderness so He could learn the secret of power over all temptation. Actually, God was saying to Jesus, "Son, I have given you the spirit without measure. I have confirmed you before the world. Now I am going to permit Satan to throw at you every device he has - so you will see how powerless he is - so you will never once fear his dominion - that you may go forth preaching the kingdom with faith that Satan is defeated - that he cannot touch you in any way." And that is why Christians are tempted today. Not to teach us something about ourselves. Not to show off the power of the devil. NO! Temptation is allowed in the saintliest of lives to teach us the limitation of Satan! To defang the devil. To expose his weakness. To reveal Satan as a scarecrow. We fear only what we do not understand. Satan is just like the Wizard of Oz who uses all kinds of scary devices to frighten unenlightened people. What a horror show he puts on. A tinseled display of power, strength and dominion. But God knows it is all feeble noise and phoniness. Behind the stage is a weak wizard; that insignificant, powerless, bespectacled little baldheaded creature pushing buttons and pulling levers. Who in his right mind, knowing the mighty power of God, could but laugh at Satan’s puny sideshow. When we are tempted, it is God’s way of saying to us - "Satan is powerless - he is not what he claims to be - he wears a false mask and shoots out fiery darts that fizzle and die in the presence of truth. But you must discover this yourself! Go into his circus! Stand up to his cheap threats - then conquer your fear of him! He will not scare you - he will not expose weakness in you! He cannot make you do anything! Instead, you will discover his weakness! You will expose him as a phony wizard! Then he will flee from you because he doesn’t want you to share with anyone else the secret you have learned!" It is not enough to say, "It is no sin to be tempted." That means absolutely nothing to those who have already yielded. The problem is not in learning how to accept temptation as an experience all Christians go through, but rather what to do to avoid giving in. The problem is how to bear up when Satan snares us in his trap! We want to know how to get the power and courage to say no, and stick with it. How to find power "not to plan" for giving in. When Satan comes in on us like a flood, there is no time to run to a secret closet for help. There may not be time to grab a Bible and seek out a few powerful promises to encourage us. There may not be a strong Christian friend around to hold us up in prayer. Suddenly, temptation is upon you and immediate decisions must be made. That makes it all the more important that Christians carry with them, at all time, the secret of "bearing up" anytime, anywhere, under any and all temptations. Power to bear up and not yield to temptation does not come from stuffing our minds with scripture verses, or making vows and promises, or spending hours in prayer and fasting, not in surrounding ourselves with godly Christian friends and influences, nor in giving ourselves over to a great spiritual cause. These things are all commendable and normal for Christian growth. But, that is not where our victory lies. The simple secret of bearing up under any temptation is to BREAK THE FEAR OF SATAN’S POWER! Fear is the only power over man Satan has. God does not give us the spirit of fear. That is of Satan only! But man is afraid of the devil. Frightened of demons. Afraid of failure. Afraid his appetites and habits can’t be altered. Afraid of inner desires, that they will erupt and control his life. Afraid he is one of a thousand who may be different, innately weak, full of lust and beyond help. Man is afraid he can’t quit his sin. He credits Satan with power he doesn’t have. Man cries out, "I’m hooked! I can’t stop! I’m spellbound and in the devil’s power! The devil makes me do it!" Fear has torment! As long as you are afraid of the devil, you can never break the power of any temptation. That is why Satan is promoting films like "The Exorcist," "The Omen," and a barrage of movies that make people vomit and faint in fear. That is why Satan is delighted with the teaching now creeping into some churches that demons can possess Christians. Satan thrives on fear! And Christians who are afraid of the devil have little or no power to resist his enticements. It’s all based on a lie! That lie is that Satan has power to break down Christians under pressure. Not so! Jesus came to destroy all the power of the devil over blood-washed children of God. I often wondered why God allows spiritual people to be so tempted. Why doesn’t God remove all temptations instead of "making a way of escape that we may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13)? The answer is simple. Once you learn how powerless Satan is - once you learn he can’t make you do anything - once you learn God has all power to keep you from falling - from then on you can "bearup" underanything Satan throws at you! You can go through it without fearing you will fall! You have heard it said - it is not a sin to be tempted! I say - it is not the greatest sin to give into temptation. The greatest of all sins is not believing God has power to deliver us and keep us from yielding again! The most important move you will ever make as a Christian - is the move you make right after you fail! We are not delivered from temptation, but from the fear of the devil to make us yield to it. We will keep on being tempted until we come to the place of "rest" in our faith. That rest is an unshakeable confidence that God has defeated Satan, that Satan has no right or claim on us, that we will come forth as gold tried in the fire. A double-minded person is unstable in all his ways. That is a person who believes the power is equally divided between God and Satan. That explains why "in time of temptation some fall away"(Luke 8:13). They fall back into fear. They lose sight of God’s mighty power. They cower under Satan’s fear mongering. Jesus taught us to pray that we not be "led into temptation." We are to watch and pray that we "enter not into temptation." The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The spirit of God in you yearns to teach you confidence in God’s power but the flesh seeks to give in to fear. I believe is was fear - not weariness - that put the disciples to sleep while Jesus prayed in the garden. They had just received the news of His betrayal, that Jesus would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, that Peter would become a traitor, that they would all be offended and scattered. Suddenly, they forgot all His miracles, His mighty power to heal the sick and to raise the dead, His power to multiply loaves and fishes. They were now terrified with fear. They feared for their flesh. They feared being abandoned by the Lord. They slept the sleep of doomed men. When Jesus asks us to pray that we won’t be led into temptation, He is actually saying - "Pray that you learn to trust God’s power now, instead of having to go back again and again into the arena of temptation until the lesson is learned!" Pray that you will not have to be led into temptation because the lesson you would be taught has already been learned! The Bible says God "knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation" (2 Peter 2:9). How? By putting us under fire until we come out singing. "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Until we learn that we overcome by faith alone! Until we acknowledge, once and for all, that "for this reason God’s Son was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). You don’t have to yield to temptation, but at times you may! Even the saintliest of God’s people occasionally do. That is why God made special provisions for those who fail. "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous..." (1 John 2:1). Our Lord is not nearly as grieved by our yielding to temptations as He is by our not learning how to deal with it. He is more hurt by the fact we have not trusted His power to deliver. God is hurt not so much by what we do as He is by what we do not do. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, deeply grieved. Not because of the sins in that city. Not because of the alcoholosm, prostitution, adultery, lying and cheating - but because He offered peace and deliverance..."but they would not!" They would not come in simple faith. They would not take Him at His word. They would not run to the shelter of His protecting wing. Their unbelief in His power made Him weep. A sinner is one who lives as one who confesses the devil has more power than God. The overcoming Christian is one whose life confesses "God has the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen!" Some people really don’t want to be free from their temptation. They flirt and play with it - a kind of spiritual brinkmanship. They know God can keep them from their sin - but deep inside they prefer to have a season of fun - a few rounds of immorality - a little taste of forbidden. They are afraid to trust God for power to overcome because they are not really sure they want out. It is too enticing! They don’t want to grieve the Lord or turn their backs on His love. They want to be delivered - "after a while." A half-way deliverance "just in time." Too many today are afraid to turn it all over to the Lord because they still hunger after Satan’s alluring enticement. Satan always makes yielding so convenient, so simple, so easy. But God has the power to make us "want" to be free. He can put in us a will to overcome and power to perform that will. If Satan can put a will in man to sin, God can and does put in His children the will to overcome. Our part is to simply believe God can sanctify our will and put in us an overpowering desire to resist the devil’s invitation. But God has the power to make us "want" to be free. He can put in us a will to overcome and power to perform that will. If Satan can put a will in man to sin, God can and does put in His children the will to overcome. Our part is to simply believe God can sanctify our will and put in us an overpowering desire to resist the devil’s invitation. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Php 2:13). Do you want power to bear up under all temptations? A way of escape? A growing strength to resist? Then quit glorifying the devil! Stop thinking he can force you to sin! He has no power to addict you to anything! Use your shield of faith! Look right into the eye of that storm of temptation and cry out, "The wicked one cometh, and toucheth me not" (1 John 5:18). Conquer your fear of the devil’s power and you can forever after "bear" any temptation he send your way. Simply "commit the keeping of your faith unto him, as a faithful creator." And, most important of all, "In nothing terrified by your adversary..." (Php 1:28). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 14: PRE-016-13. WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHILDREN GONE ======================================================================== 13. Where Have All The Children Gone Where Have All The Children Gone? by David Wilkerson | The apostle Paul wrote, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16). "Children of God." We often use this phrase to describe ourselves as believers. But I believe we use these words too flippantly, with little understanding of the power and depth of their true meaning. What does it mean to be a child of God? It means simply to be God’s dependent - that is, "one who is unable to exist or function without help; one who is controlled by another." A child of God knows he cannot control his own life. He is incapable of functioning without the Lord’s daily help. He lives wholly dependent upon God for everything. Of course, I am speaking here of spiritual children. There are no such "dependents" existing in the world, because sinners are self-sufficient people. They see themselves as achievers, "can-do" people. They preach that whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve - that with the right mental attitude, a person can do anything. Frank Sinatra popularized their theme song: "I did it my way!" Sadly, there are very few children in the house of God these days as well. The church has been flooded with self-help books of all kinds. Many are about taking matters into your own hands: winning your own victory over self, doubt, fear and loneliness. Yet they’re all part of the flesh’s tendency to avoid total dependence on God Himself! Many in the church today believe if you have the right formula, you can figure out everything for yourself and solve your own problems. This attitude says, "God, You gave me a good mind. I’ll just think this through. I know if I do that properly, I can work everything out." This self-help message is also being preached from our pulpits. Ministers promise, "If you can think it, you can do it. If you can name your blessing, you can claim it. Just speak the word into existence!" Beloved, this message is nothing more than humanism - a self-centered, self-fulfilling "gospel of self!" Preachers by the thousands are trying to teach people how to cope - but it is impossible to cope in this life, outside of the power of Jesus Christ! As I was in prayer recently, the Holy Ghost said to me, "David, where have all the children gone?" He was saying, in essence, "I have so few children left, so few dependents. Where are the believers who live today wholly dependent upon Me?" Jesus set a Child in the Midst of His Disciples - And Gave the Church a Powerful Insight Into His Heart! At one point, Jesus found His disciples arguing among themselves. They wanted to know: "Which one of us is going to be the greatest in Your kingdom? Which one of us will rule the most cities and be the most productive for You? Which ones will sit on Your right and left?" "And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:2-3). What Jesus did was amazing, shocking and profound. He looked into the faces of a congregation that was already converted - a group who sought the words of eternal life - and He called for a complete turnaround in their relationship to Him. The phrase He used here, "Unless you are converted," means in Greek, "Unless you are revolutionized in your thinking!" Jesus was saying, "Forget about who will be the greatest! Unless you completely change the way you think about your walk with Me, you won’t even make it into the kingdom!" Multitudes of Christians spend their lifetime thinking about heaven, singing about it and longing to go there. But many will miss it entirely because they did not learn the very lesson Jesus tried to teach His disciples here. I believe He’s saying, "Don’t get your eyes on heaven - on ruling, reigning and doing great things in eternity - until you first learn how to walk in this life. Otherwise, you won’t even make it there!" "...And Become as Little Children" (Matthew 18:3) This scene is one of the most powerful object lessons in God’s Word. Yet we have missed its greatest significance! Christ here is revealing a powerful truth. He is saying, "You’ve got to rethink your relationship to Me - you have to revert to childlike ways!" Upon reading this, I certainly do not want to revert to some childish emotions. I see them in my little toddler-grandchildren: selfishness ("Mine, mine!"), stubbornness ("No, no!"), and jealousy. God help us if we revert to the things we see in toddlers! That would be total bedlam. But when Jesus speaks of being childlike, He does not mean a single childlike characteristic. He is talking about something much broader - and that is a child’s human condition. Some interpret Jesus’ message in this passage as being about trust. They say, "Jesus wants us to be trusting, the way a little child is." But trust has little to do with a child’s human condition. For example, my ten-month-old grandson, Elliot, is not capable of trust. He simply doesn’t know what it means. When he is hungry, he has only one weapon: a good pair of lungs! He can only cry. Elliot isn’t trusting; rather, he is totally dependent. That is his human condition. And he is dependent on his parents, whether he trusts or not. Jesus was focusing on our condition - our utter helplessness - not on trust, faith or innocence. The child He brought into the midst of His disciples was to be a mirror of their own helplessness - not just spiritual helplessness, but also natural, human helplessness. Helplessness is an inability to defend or help oneself. Jesus was telling His followers, "Look at this little boy. He is totally defenseless. He cannot cope with life alone - he must be fed and clothed. And he is a picture of you. You must see yourself as defenseless - as helpless as this little boy." I agree that we must learn to trust God, and that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Indeed, we are to grow up and become men and women of spiritual maturity. We are to put away childish things. We are no longer to be children in our understanding. But never in our lifetime can we put away our human condition of a child’s dependency! God wants us to see ourselves as totally, absolutely incapable of facing this life by trying to figure out or take care of things on our own. We must see our condition as one of utter helplessness! How would you describe the children of Israel at the Red Sea, if not as helpless? They were hemmed in on every side and could do absolutely nothing about it. Only a loving Father God could make a way of escape for them. They didn’t have faith - and they went forward only because Moses had the faith to have the sea opened. They were as children - absolutely helpless! King Asa and Israel were utterly helpless against the Ethiopians. A million-man army and three hundred chariots marched against them at Mareshah. Scripture says Asa cried to the Lord, "Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude... Let not man prevail against Thee" (2 Chronicles 14:11). "So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah" (verse 12). Listen to Asa’s prayer: "Lord, we are helpless. We can do nothing. The power is all Yours - and we are dead unless you help us!" Today the Lord is saying to us, "I have so few such children left. They talk about Me and sing about Me every week in church. But when they find themselves in a hard place, they are not dependent upon Me!" "If Thy Hand of Thy Foot Offend Thee, Cut Them Off... And If Thy Eye Offend Thee, Pluck It Out" (Matthew 18:8-9). I have sought a revelation on this passage for many years. We know the Bible is against self-mutilation. And the most prevalent interpretation is, "If your hands reach for sinful things, or your feet take you to wicked places, then stop it- cut these practices out of your life. If your eyes look lustfully, then stop it, no matter what the cost!" Yet I believe what Jesus says here means much more. It has to do with the lesson Jesus is teaching in this same context: It is a rebuke against self-effort. It’s all about our helplessness! He’s saying, "If your hand tries to work out your problem - that is, if you’re taking matters into your own hands - then stop immediately! If your feet run around desperately trying to solve your trouble, then stop running! If your eye looks to something or someone else for help - a man or woman whom you think may be the answer to your prayer - then by all means, stop looking and pluck out that type of thinking immediately!" I used to do these very things in Teen Challenge. A man once donated a house to our ministry, and we sold it to help buy a building in Brooklyn. About six months later, I was in deep financial trouble - we needed about $5,000. I sat in my office, thinking, "Who can I call?" Suddenly, in my mind’s eye, the man’s name appeared, and I thought: "He gave us a house worth $55,000!" I told my associate, "Call him on the phone. We’ll get our $5,000!" Ten minutes later, my co-worker came back with his head down. He said, "I’ve never been so chewed out in my life." Then, instead of getting on my knees, I said, "Surely there’s somebody else who can help." I wasn’t praying - I was thinking! Oh, how it hurts God when we keep looking for a person or something else to solve our problems! We think, "This is my dream. If I can just get past this certain point, it will solve everything!" We go around with our hands, feet and eyes searching for answers - but God is saying, "Cut it out! Stop it! It offends Me!" Jesus makes it clear that there are serious consequences when we try to make things happen without relying on Him. He says it will cost us eternal life! "What?" you say. "Do I have to pray about everything? Do I have to depend on God for all?" Yes! That is the humility of a child! It means spending the rest of your life saying, "It’s better to live totally dependent on the Lord than to be cast into hell trying to do it on my own!" "It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire" (Matthew 18:8). Here is yet another stern warning in the same passage: "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his heck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). God’s Word is clearly set against any mistreatment of children. But Jesus isn’t talking about child abuse here. Again, in this context He is saying that it is an offense to God for anyone to teach that we are self-sufficient. He is warning against false teachers who would offend young believers with any gospel that caters to self-love and self-will. Shepherds today would be producing Christians who do not depend on the arm of the flesh. But instead, they’re turning childlike hearts away from total dependency on God - and toward self-motivation and self-esteem! Jesus says it would be better for these men if they had never been born. The teachers of the modern prosperity message have offended an entire generation. They have put stumbling blocks before thousands of believers, urging them to seek all the goodness and blessings of a caring Father - but saying nothing of the obligations of a disciple, the rod and the chastisements that go with being a beloved child. If you’re a parent, you care for your children by providing them with good things - but your also care for them by chastising and disciplining them. My father used to say, "This hurts me worse than it hurts you." He was speaking of the physical realm. But in the spiritual realm, his discipline was the salvation of his children! Right now you may be under the rod of the Lord’s discipline. But if you are, it’s not because you’ve sinned - it’s because God loves you. His love is motivating it all! Standing Beside the Child In the Midst Was the God of the Universe! The disciples loved Jesus. They had confessed to Him, "We believe You are the Son of the living God." Yet we have to wonder if that truth really gripped them before Jesus’ resurrection. The Holy Spirit dealt with me while I was preparing this message. He asked me:"Who is it you pray to so much? Who is it you sing so much about? Whose child are you? I said, "It’s You, Lord. You’re the god of the universe." He answered, "Don’t forget that." Dear saint, that hit me! And I discovered that this is the key to utter dependency! If you grasp this key, you won’t need a checklist to know, "Am I trusting as I should? Am I really following His Word? It must register in your mind and soul: "I really am a helpless child. But I am God’s child! The everlasting, Creator God is my Father - He rules the universe. I am the child of a Father who knows all and controls all. This is where the ministry of the Holy Spirit becomes so glorious: He first bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. But then He goes further to reveal that we are also "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17). As you read this message, you may have no trouble admitting a condition of helplessness. Perhaps you are unemployed. As you look to the future, everything seems hopeless. You may readily identify with a helpless child. You can say, "Yes, that’s me - unable to handle my debts, my hands tied, unable to make anything happen!" But standing by the child amidst the disciples was Another - One with a hand on that child’s shoulder. God stood there - God in Christ! And I have no doubt that child crawled into the Master’s lap and hugged Him in total rest and peace. You see, children easily recognized Jesus for who He was - they sang hosannas to Him! We all are helpless children indeed - but we’re children of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe! Dependency is Not Just Recognizing How Helpless You Are - It Is also Seeing How Powerful Your Father Is! Dependency on God means three things: 1. Committing yourself to God’s absolute power. 2. Submitting to His will. 3. Waiting for Him to act in His proper time and way. Do you know a Christian who’s in a panic situation? Let’s say you ask him, "Do you believe God has the power to deliver you?" His answer probably would be: "Yes - God has all the power needed. Nothing is impossible for Him." Then you ask:"Do you believe He cares about you, that He loves you?" His answer might be, "I’m not the best Christian. I’ve made mistakes. But, yes - I do believe God loves me, that He cares about what happens to me." Finally, you ask: "If you believe He has all power, and that He cares for you - then why are you always so fretful, full of panic and fear?" Your friend will answer, "Because nothing is happening! Things are getting worse, and I’m on the brink of total disaster! Those who talk about trusting God have jobs. They’re not in my position - they don’t know what it’s like! I get my hopes up, and then they all get dashed. Everything turns up zero!" This is why so many have lost hope - because they’ve moved from helplessness to hopelessness without seeing the other Individual in this story - the One who has His hand on that child’s shoulder! In this life, we will experience hardships. It’s not only the wicked who suffer, but "many are the afflictions of the righteous" (Psalms 34:19). And through such trials, you will end up either hating God or casting yourself completely into His care. Beloved, the Holy Spirit has come for just such times. He has come not only to keep you pure, but to keep you from disaster. He has been sent to lead and guide you through all trials, crises and hopeless situations. "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10). We’ve almost relegated this verse to a little Sunday-school ditty: Every child has a guardian angel. I don’t doubt that’s true. But Jesus is saying so much more here! He’s saying, "Don’t despise those who, like children, have given up trying to figure it all out. They have cast themselves completely upon My care. And their Father has a host of angels who’ll do anything needed on their behalf!" The Holy Spirit Will Fan Your Faith in God’s Faithfulness! God does not always take us through the easy way. As was true for the believing Hebrews, the way includes much hardship and suffering: "Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions" (Hebrews 10:32). Is this true of your life? You went all-out for Jesus, making a full surrender - and His light was turned on in you! Then suddenly you entered a time of great suffering. Your problems and trials mounted up! "Ye were made a gazingstock " (verse 33). You became a spectacle to the whole world, a picture of suffering, and example of tribulation. The world around you wondered where your God was, and why you were suffering so much. "[You] took joyfully the spoiling of your goods" (verse 34). Think of it: The Hebrew Christians were cast in jail, and their fellow believers were imprisoned. They lost their nice houses, all their furniture and clothes - all their earthly goods. We may come to that place soon in America. Will you handle it as the Hebrew Christians did? The Scriptures say they not only endured it - but they endured it joyfully! What did the Hebrews have that helped them to remain joyful in such trials? The answer is in verse 34: "Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." They had their eyes on the return of Jesus! They were living for eternity! They did not throw away their confidence in God when all this was happening. On the contrary, they had the same promises we have - and they trusted. "But call to remembrance the former days" (verse 32). The author of Hebrews was calling on these believers to look back and remember the Lord’s deliverance! A dear Christian woman told me recently how her husband lost his thriving business ten years ago. The couple was nearing fifty years of age when they lost everything. Late in life they had to start over, with virtually nothing. So they moved into a small apartment - and they prayed together and grew in the Lord. She testified, "Never in the past ten years has the Lord failed us. And these have been ten of the happiest, most productive years of our lives. God used all the hardships to bring us together, while many of our friends were falling apart and getting divorced. "We don’t spend much, because we don’t have much. But it has been better now than when we had it all. There were times when we needed $10,000 and God met that need. We look back and we can see God’s faithfulness. He’s brought us through!" Dear saint, God always brings His children through! I’m not saying you won’t go through hard places, and maybe even lose a job or a house. we all need to be prepared for that. but the Bible tells us, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward" (Hebrews 10:35). "Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith" (verses 36-38). It doesn’t matter how hard it gets, because it won’t last very long; Jesus is going to come again! And whether or not He comes during your trial, He promises to deliver you. Here is the only way you and I are going to make it: We Must Trust Our God To Take Care of His Dependents Those who shrink back in fear and unbelief will end up in destruction: "them who draw back unto perdition" (verse 39). God has not pleasure in them. They will fall, and they’ll end up in darkness and confusion. I see such shrinking back among so many today. They have no faith; they do not abandon themselves to God’s care. They see themselves as helpless, forsaken, abandoned children. They have not cast themselves upon the Lord, saying, "Yes, I’m helpless - but I’m a child of the Almighty God!" Beloved, I have a loving Father who will never fail me. And I’ll not accuse Him of failing me! He’s going to see me through, one way or another. I may not have the lifestyle I’m accustomed to. But if He brings down everything around me, and I maintain my faith - I will have joy, happiness, peace and all that I need! As you read this, you may be facing an unknown future. You may not know what is just ahead for you, in your career or for your family. You may be in a situation that calls for you to face the impossible. Right now, the Holy Spirit is calling you to childlike dependence on your Father. He’s urging you to cast yourself upon Him in utter helplessness. And He’s calling you to remember: You are a child of the Almighty God! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 15: PRE-017-14. WHEN YOU HURT ======================================================================== 14. When You Hurt When You Hurt by David Wilkerson | December 1, 1978 In one way or another, we are all hurting. Everybody is in the same boat. Even the laughing, happy–go–lucky crowd is hurting. They try to hide their hurt by drinking and joking — but it won’t go away. Who hurts? The parents of a prodigal son or daughter. Millions of parents have been deeply wounded by a child who has rejected their counsel. Those loving parents grieve over the deception and delinquency of a child who was once tender and good. The victims of broken homes are hurting. The abandoned wife who was rejected by her husband for another woman. The husband who lost the love of a wife. The children who lost their security. Others suffer illness. Cancer, heart problems and a myriad of other human diseases. To be told by a doctor, "You have cancer — you may die!" has to be terrifying. Yet many reading this message have experienced such pain and agony. Lovers break up. A boyfriend or girlfriend walks away, trampling on what was once a beautiful relationship. All that is left is a broken, wounded heart. And what about the unemployed? The despondent ones whose dreams have collapsed? The shut–ins? The prisoner? The homosexual? The alcoholic? It’s true! In one way or another — we are all hurting. Every person on earth carries his own burden of pain and hurt. There Is No Physical Cure When you are deeply hurt — no person on this earth can shut down the inner fears and deepest agonies. Not the best of friends can really understand the battle you are going through or the wounds inflicted on you. Only God can shut down the waves of depression and feelings of loneliness and failure that come over you. Faith in God’s love alone can salvage the hurt mind. The bruised and broken heart that suffers in silence can be healed only by a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit — and nothing short of divine intervention really works. God has to step in and take over. He has to intercept our lives at the breaking point and stretch forth His loving arms and bring that hurting body and mind under His protection and care. God must come forth as a caring Father and demonstrate that He is there, making things turn out for the good. He must, by His own power, dispel the storm clouds — chase away the despair and gloom — wipe away the tears — and replace the sorrow with peace of mind. Why Me — Lord? What hurts most is that you know your love for God is strong — yet, you can’t seem to understand what He is trying to work out in your life. You could understand why prayers go unanswered, if you were cold toward His love. If you were running from God, you could probably understand why the testings and severe trials keep coming on. If you were a down–and–out sinner who despised the things of God, you could bring yourself to believe you deserved to be hurt badly. But you are not running — you are not rejecting Him in any way. You long to do His perfect will. You yearn to serve Him with all that is in you. And that is why your hurting is so debilitating. It makes you feel there is something terribly wrong with yourself. You question your spiritual depth; and at times, you even question your sanity. From somewhere deep inside you, a voice whispers, "Maybe I’m defective somehow! Maybe I’m being hurt so deeply because God can’t see much good in me! I must be so out of His will, He has to discipline me to make me obedient." Friends Try So Hard to Help A bruised or broken heart causes the most excruciating pain known to mankind. Most other human hurts are only physical. But a heart that is wounded must carry a pain that is both physical and spiritual. Friends and loved ones can help soothe the physical pain of a broken heart. When they are there, laughing, loving and caring, the physical pain eases and there is temporary relief. But night falls, and with it comes the terror of spiritual agony. Pain is always worse in the night. Loneliness falls like a cloud when the sun disappears. The hurting explodes when you are all alone, trying to understand how to cope with the inner voices and fears that keep surfacing. Your friends who really don’t understand what you are going through offer all kinds of easy solutions. They get impatient with you. They are mostly happy and carefree at the time, and they can’t understand why you won’t simply "snap out of it." They suspicion that you are indulging in self–pity. They remind you that the world is filled with heartbroken, hurting people who have survived. More often, they want to pray that "one–time, cure–all, solve–everything" prayer. You are told to "release your faith, claim a promise, confess a cure, and walk away from your despair." That’s all well and good, but it’s preaching that usually comes from Christians who have never known much suffering in their own lives. They are like Job’s "baby sitters," who knew all the answers — but who could not relieve his pain. Job said of them, "Ye are all physicians of no value." Thank God for well–meaning friends, but if they could experience your agony for even one hour, they would be changing their tunes. Put them in your place just once, feeling what you feel, experiencing the inner pain you carry, and they would be saying to you, "How in the world can you take it? I couldn’t handle what your are going through." Time Heals Nothing! Then, there is that age old cliché, "Time heals everything." You are told to hang in there, put on a smile, and wait for time to anesthetize your pain. But I suspect that all the rules and clichés about loneliness are coined by happy, unhurt people. It sounds good — but it is not true. Time heals nothing — only God does. When you are hurting, time only magnifies the pain. Days and weeks go by and the agony hangs on. The hurting won’t go away, no matter what the calendar says. Time may push the pain deeper into the mind, but one tiny memory can bring it to the surface. Truthfully, it doesn’t help much either to know that Christians have suffered before you — down through the ages. You can identify with the suffering of Bible characters who survived tremendous ordeals of pain. But knowing that others have gone through great battles doesn’t calm the hurt in your own bosom. When you read how they came out of their battles victorious — and you still haven’t — it only adds to your hurt. It makes you feel as though they were very close to God to receive such answers to their prayers. But it makes you feel unworthy of the Lord, because your problem lingers on — in spite of all your spiritual efforts. Double Trouble People seldom get hurt just once. Most who hurt can show you other wounds also. Pain is layered over pain. A broken heart is usually a tender, fragile one. It is easily broken because it is not protected by a hard shell. Tenderness is mistaken for vulnerability by the hard–shell heart. Quietness is misjudged as a weakness. A total giving of oneself to another is mistaken as "coming on too strong." The heart that is not afraid to admit its need of love is misjudged as "too sexually oriented." It follows then that a tender heart that reaches for love and understanding is often the easiest to break. Hearts that are open and trusting are usually the ones that are wounded the most. This world is filled with men and women who have rejected the love offered to them from a heart that is gentle and tender. Those strong, hard–shelled hearts that trust no one — hearts that give so little — hearts that demand love be constantly proved — hearts that are always calculating — hearts that are always manipulating and self–serving — hearts that are afraid to risk — those hearts seldom get broken. They don’t get wounded because there is nothing to wound. They are too proud and self–centered to allow anyone else to make them suffer in any way. They go about breaking other hearts and trampling on the fragile souls who touch their lives — simply because they are so thick and dull at heart themselves, they think everybody should be just like them. The hard hearts don’t like tears. They hate commitment. They feel smothered when asked to share from their own hearts. Heartbreakers Do Not Get Off Easy! Part of the pain a broken heart must suffer is the thought that the offender, the heartbreaker, is going to get away with it all. The heart says, "I am the one hurt and wounded — yet I’m the one who pays the price. The offender gets off scot–free — when he should pay for what he did." That’s the problem with crosses — the wrong one usually gets crucified. But God keeps the books, and on the Judgment Day, the books will be balanced. But even in this life, heartbreakers and people–wounders pay a high price. No matter how they try to justify their hurtful actions, they cannot drown out the cry of the one they wounded. Like the blood of Abel that cried out from the ground — the cries of a broken heart can pierce the barrier of time and space and terrorize the hardest of hearts. Hurts are usually caused by outright lies. And every liar must eventually be brought to justice. Is there a balm for a broken heart? Is there healing for those deep, inner hurts? Can the pieces be put back together and the heart be made even stronger? Can the person who has known such horrible pain and suffering rise out of the ashes of depression and find a new and more powerful way of life? Yes! Absolutely yes! And if not, then God’s Word would be a hoax and God Himself would be a liar. That cannot be! Let me share with you a few simple thoughts about how to cope with your hurt. 1. Stop Trying to Figure Out How and Why You Got Hurt! What has happened to you is a very common ailment among mankind. Your situation is not unique at all. It is the way of human nature. Whether you were right or wrong means absolutely nothing at this point. All that matters now is your willingness to move on in God and trust His mysterious workings in your life. The Bible says, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). God didn’t promise to give you a painless way of life. He promised you "a way of escape." He promised you help to bear your pain. Strength to put you back on your feet, when weakness makes you stagger. Most likely, you did what you had to do. You moved in the will of God — honestly following your heart. You went into it with an open heart, willing to give of yourself. Love was your motivation. You did not abort the will of God — someone else did. If that were not true, you would not be the one who is hurting so. You are hurt because you tried to be honest. You can’t understand why things blew up in your face, when God seemed to be leading all along. Your hearts asks, "Why did God allow me to get into this in the first place, if He knew it would never work out right?" But the answer is clear. Judas was called by The Lord. He was destined to be a man of God. He was hand picked by the Savior. He could have been mightily used by God. But Judas aborted God’s plan. He broke the heart of Jesus. What started out as a beautiful, perfect plan of God ended in disaster, because Judas chose to go his own way. Pride and stubbornness wrecked the plan of God that was in operation. So, lay off all your guilt trips. Stop condemning yourself. Stop trying to figure out what you did wrong. It’s what you are thinking right now that really counts with God. You did not make a mistake — more likely you simply gave too much. Like Paul, you have to say, "…The more I loved…the less I was loved…" (2 Corinthians 12:15 KJV). 2. Remind Yourself God Knows Exactly How Much You Can Take — and He Will Not Permit You to Reach a Breaking Point! Our loving Father said, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13). The worst kind of blasphemy is to think that God is behind all your hurt and pain. That it is the Heavenly Father disciplining you. That God thinks you need one or two more heartbreaks before you are ready to receive His blessings. Not so! It is true that the Lord chastens those He loves. But that chastening is only for a season and is not meant to hurt us. God is not the author of the confusion in your life. Neither are you. It is human failure. It is the enemy sowing tares in your field of endeavor. It is the deception in someone else near you who lost faith in God. The enemy tries to hurt us through other humans, just like he tried to hurt Job through an unbelieving wife. Your heavenly Father watches over you with an unwavering eye. Every move is monitored. Every tear is bottled. He identifies with your every pain. He feels every hurt. And He knows when you have been exposed to enough harassment from the enemy. He steps in and says, "Enough!" when the hurt and pain no longer draws you closer to the Lord — when, instead, it begins to downgrade your spiritual life — God moves in. He will not permit a trusting child of His to go under because of too much pain and agony of soul. When the hurting begins to work to your disadvantage — when it begins to hinder your growth — God must act and lift you out of the battle for awhile. He will never allow you to drown in your tears. He will not permit your hurt to deteriorate your mind. He promises to come, right on time, to wipe away your tears and give you joy for mourning. God’s Word says, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalms 30:5). 3. When You Hurt the Worst, Go to Your Secret Closet and Weep Out All Your Bitterness Jesus wept. Peter wept — bitterly! Peter carried with him the hurt of denying the very Son of God. He walked alone on the mountains — weeping in sorrow. Those bitter tears worked in him a sweet miracle. He came back to shake the kingdom of Satan. A woman who had endured a mastectomy wrote a book entitled, "First You Cry." Recently I talked with a friend who was just informed he had terminal cancer. "The first thing you do," he said, "is cry until there are no more tears left. Then you begin to move closer to Jesus, until you know His arms are holding you tight." Jesus never looks away from a crying heart. He said, "A broken heart…I will not despise" (Psalms 51:17). Not once will the Lord say, "Get hold of yourself! Stand up and take your medicine! Grit your teeth and dry your tears." No! Jesus bottles every tear in His eternal container. Do you hurt? Badly? Then go ahead and cry! And keep on crying, until the tears stop flowing. But let those tears originate only from hurt — and not from unbelief or self–pity. 4. Convince Yourself That You Will Survive — You Will Come Out of it — That, Live or Die, You Belong to the Lord! Life does go on. You would be surprised how much you can bear with God helping you. Happiness is not living without pain or hurt. Not at all. True happiness is learning how to live one day at a time, in spite of all the sorrow and pain. It is learning how to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what has happened in the past. You may feel rejected. You may feel abandoned. Your faith may be weak. You may think you are down for the count. Sorrow, tears, pain and emptiness may swallow you up at times — but God is still on His throne. He is still God! You can’t help yourself! You can’t stop the pain and hurt. But our blessed Lord will come to you — and He will place His loving hand under you and lift you up to sit again in heavenly places. He will deliver you from the fear of dying. He will reveal His endless love for you. Look up! Encourage yourself in the Lord. When the fog surrounds you and you can’t see any way out of your dilemma — lay back in the arms of Jesus and simply trust Him. He has to do it all! He wants your faith — your confidence. He wants you to cry aloud — "Jesus loves me! He is with me! He will not fail me! He is working it all out right now! I will not be cast down! I will not be defeated! I will not be a victim of Satan! I will not lose my mind or my direction! God is on my side! I love Him — and He loves me!" The bottom line is faith. And faith rests on the one absolute — "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 16: PRE-018-15. GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS ======================================================================== 15. Good News and Bad News Good News & Bad News by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1978 The good news first! And, I’ll tell you why. I find that people all over the nation are hungry for good news. There has been such a constant barrage of bad news, any good news seems like a ray of sunshine on a dark day. Sometimes we see only the bad side of things and forget that all around us, every beautiful and uplifting things are happening. Let me share some of the good news we need to be reminded of. 1. THE DIVORCE RATE IS LEVELING OFF AND MAY SOON REVERSE ITSELF. Studies reveal that in recent months, the divorce rate has tapered off, and, in some areas of the country, it is actually reversed. Even more startling, experts tell us that nearly 20% of those divorced are now remarrying their former mates. It is also most encouraging to see the new trend in professional counseling. Just a few years ago, numbers of experts were advocating extramarital affairs, easy divorce, sexual experimentation and changing of partners. There has been a sudden change of direction. Now, the experts are calling for a return to old values. Marriage to one partner is finally winning out as the only satisfying way to find peace and fulfillment. For example, two well-known authors, experts on marriage counseling, recently married after living together for nearly two years. They said they discovered they, too, wanted to experience the old-fashioned joy of being faithful to one partner. 2. THERE ARE MULTIPLIED THOUSANDS OF HAPPY MARRIAGES, AND THEIR NUMBERS ARE GROWING! Sometimes I get discouraged by all the talk about divorce and broken homes. If we are not careful, we depress ourselves by thinking that the majority of marriages are unhappy and troubled and headed for divorce. Not so - at all! This was made very real to me in a recent crusade. Sitting in the front seat were two beautiful people, both of whom were in their late fifties. The husband sat all through my crusade, holding onto her as if she were his most precious treasure. She kept smiling up at him throughout the meeting. I could lip-read his constant remnder - "I love you." I was so blessed by it all, I stopped the meeting and asked them publicly how long they had been married. "Thirty-three years, he answered with a big smile, "and it’s getting better all the time." I felt impressed to ask the entire audience for a show of hands by all couples who had been happily married for at least ten to twenty years. Hundreds of hands were raised. The love between those many husbands and wives was so powerful, so beautiful, the audience wept. Thousands of people that night realized what the Holy Spirit was saying - There are millions who have not bowed their knees to Baal. An army of faithful husbands and wives are growing stronger in their love and care of each other. Satan will never be able to destroy their homes and marriages. Their love is a constant thing, renewed daily by the super-natural power of God. All marriages are not ending in divorce. the majority of Christian marriages will continue to be happy and strong. 3. TEEN-AGERS EVERYWHERE ARE EXPERIENCING A HUNGER FOR CLEAN AND WHOLESOME VALUES! It’s true that many teen-agers drink and abuse narcotics. Others are godless and wild. But, in my travels across this nation, I sense a growing hunger for a return to solid, old-fashioned values. This is not a shallow religious kick. It is not a surface kind of fad that will soon pass away. It is actually a revolution, of sorts. For the first time in years, unwed mothers are once again feeling sorrow for their actions. Teen-agers are learning once again to blush. Girls now want more than just a weekend of sex and booze. Now, they are demanding commitments from their boyfriends - and faithfulness. No lifetime commitment - no sex. Fewer and fewer are living togethr without marriage. "Live in" arraangements have caused more jealousies, more fights, more hassles than marriage. Girls are getting smart - they now understand why young men prefer to just live together. It’s so they can walk out and pick up with another girl when they get bored. That scene is changing rapidly. Watch your social pages in the newspapers next May, June and July. I predict an increased number of weddings. Also, these newly married young people are fed up with divorce. They suffered through the divorce of their own parents, and they are deciding to work harder at making their own marriages work. I am more encouraged than at any time in my ministry because our young people are so down on divorce and so high on marriage, now. Pregnancy outside of marriage is out! Lifetime commitments are now in! Thank God for this new trend. And now the bad news! 1. GET YOUR OLD "VISION" BOOK OUT AND RE-READ IT - TROUBLED TIMES ARE JUST AHEAD. Do I still believe a severe recession is coming? A housing slump? A drop in auro sales? Massive strikes? runaway inflation? Collapsing money markets? A Wall Street panic? Bankrupt cities? Layoffs? Unbelievable increased interest rates? YES! Absolutely! Already, Europeans are calling the dollar, "Paper money." That’s exactly what they called the German mark just prior to the Great Depression. Carter’s program to shore up the dollar and the economy will not work over the long range. Gold, once over $200 an ounce, fell to $100 (a drop of $100 per ounce). Gold is again climbing, and peaked recently at over $230 an ounce. This dramatic increase represents only the panic in people’s hearts. Gold has no intrinsic value. The Bible is filled with accounts of societies throwing gold on the streets as worthless during times of crises. Gold is not a hedge against anything. It is a panic commodity that feeds on fear. Christians are warned in the Bible against trusting in it. In my view, we are right on the brink of the most severe recession since the Great Depression. Soon Christians will no longer be able to ignore my kind of message. It won’t be long until everyone will be heeding warnings about preparation. 2. A GROWING NUMBER OF CHURCHES AND SPECIAL MINISTRIES WILL GO BANKRUPT. For the past few years, I have been begging my fellow ministers to avoid debt. I’ve warned against borrowing millions of dollars to finance huge building projects and unrelated programs. I have appeared on almost every Christian television talk program and have warned the godly directors against launching expensive programs totally unrelated to their original call. I respect these men of God, but I cringe when I see them asking for multiplied millions to build schools, colleges, expanded headquarters, retirement centers, retreat facilities, etc., etc. I have told them to their faces that the time will come when they may have to suffer and their funds could be drastically cut. I also grieve to see the growing number of ministers buying or leasing private jets. This is a day in which all of us as ministers should be cutting back in our life styles - and should be willing to give up our little empires and work just with people. Already, unfinished buildings sit idle, rotting away, with no funds to finish them. The ministers are developing ulcers and heart pains. They worry and fret. They are forced to beg and plead for additional funds, until it begins to turn off their most loyal friends. Right now, five major churches are bankrupt. Many others are on the brink. Some of these pastors are my dearest friends - and they are nervous wrecks. In spite of all of this, others continue to borrow multipled millions to build expensive buildings and to expand their facilities. they are running all over the nation, trying to borrow millions of dollars. It hurts me when they tell me I just lack faith. It is not a lack of faith - I believe God is going to crucify all my ego trips, as well as those of all other ministers and evangelists. Our little empires are going to come tumbling down. Our big budgets are going to be cut to the bone. We will be forced back to simple New Testament methods. And we are going to be surprised at how much more we can do with so much less. One last warning to all who will heed: Get your house in order! Get clear of debt. Make do with what you have. curb your appetites and get your eyes off buildings and material things. Get involved only in people and their needs. 3. EVEN CHRISTIANS WILL SUFFER - BUT GOD WILL NEVER FORSAKE ANY OF HIS CHILDREN - AND NOT ONE WILL EVER HAVE TO BEG FOR BREAD. God has promised that even though His children will always live with suffering, they need never fear. God will protect and feed them through every crisis. Hard times can only turn out for the good to all who trust in the Lord. Easy living has put too many souls to sleep. We are going to experience a good shaking. We will all be tested - but it will be good for our spiritual lives. It will bring people back to prayer; believers will be prodded back to their Bibles. Love for one another will grow, and our common needs will bring us together. We are going to have to learn to trust in the care of Jesus on a daily basis. The church will experience a genuine awakening. God’s people will turn away from materialism and trusting in worldly things. Afraid of depression - strikes - earthquakes - bankruptcies - ward and rumors of ward? Not for one moment! Perfect love casts out all fear. We are told to rejoice when we see all these things coming to pass. Let no trusting child of God be overcome with fear or anxiety. God still has everything under control. A closing statement - I have had a special meeting with all those who work with me in this ministry. As a result, luxury cars are being traded for economy cars in some cases. Associates have offered to reduce their salaries, even to the point of working without wages, when and if necessary. We have stopped all building. We are determined to make do with what we have. We are not going to beg for money, and we have pledged to put every dollar received directly into helping reach and save lost young people. We need only $35,000 to close out the year completely in the black. We have joined prayer that God will help us wipe it all out, and from that point on, we will do nothing without cash in hand. Your help is really needed. How beautiful that so many friends care. I am one minister who refuses to get an ulcer or a nervous breakdown, as a result of debt or over-extension. I am very content simply ministering to the needs of people. My eyes are not on buildings and big headquarters - I’m focusing all my time and attention on helping lonely, hurting people who need help. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 17: PRE-019-16. HAVE YOU FELT LIKE GIVING UP LATELY? ======================================================================== 16. Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1978 A growing number of ministers have been writing to me in recent months, telling of their concern for parishioners who are simply giving up. One minister wrote, "I see my church members trying so hard to cope with problems in their marriages and pressures in their personal lives. Just when it seems victory is within reach, they stumble and fall. Good, honest Christians are so often overwhelmed by guilt and condemnation, it causes despair. And when they can’t live up to their own expectations - when they fall back into sin and get involved - they decide to give up. Few know how to pull out of a moral tailspin." I agree with the assessment of these ministers. Growing numbers of Christians are at the breaking point. None of the talk about giving up has to do with the Lord. Few Christians would even entertain thoughts of quitting on their love for Jesus. Most despairing Christians think only of giving up on themselves. You hear it so often now, "I just can’t go on anymore. I can’t make it, even though I try so hard. It’s hopeless! Why try?" I hear some ministers today who continually preach only a positive message. To hear them tell it, every Christian is receiving miracles - everybody is getting instant answers to prayer - everybody is feeling good, living good, and the whole world is bright and rosy. I love to hear that kind of preaching, because I really wish all those good and healthy things for God’s people. But that’s not the way things are for a great number of very honest, sincere Christians. How sad to hear such shallow theology being pushed from pulpits today. It’s an insult to a lowly Jesus, who became poor, who died a failure in the eyes of the world. It is the kind of materialistic preaching that has so ill-prepared an entire generation to endure any kind of pain - to be content with such things as they have - to be abased and not always abounding. Serving God becomes a kind of Olympic race in which everyone must strive for the golf medals. No wonder our young people give up in defeat. They can’t live up to the image created by religion, of a happy-go-lucky, rich, successful, always positive-thinking Christian. Their world is not that idealistic. They look in a mirror reflecting a face covered with ugly pimples. They live with heartbreaks, hour-by-hour crises and horrible family problems. Their friends are hooked and dying on all sides. They look into the uncertain future, frightened and worried; loneliness, fear and depression hound them daily. Positive thinking won’t make their problems go away. Confessing these problems don’t really exist doesn’t change a thing. These "apostles of the positive" dare not exclude the Gethsemane experiences of life. The cup of pain, the hour of isolation, and the night of confusion were all part of the Master’s lifestyle. Our great achievements, our successes, ought to take place at Gethsemane, not Fort Knox! The sawdust trail for many has become the gold dust trail. The Bible has become a catalog, with unlimited order blanks for life’s goodies - for everyone who wants to become a "silver" saint. anything having to do with job-like pain and suffering is considered negative living. God is good, and those who give generously do receive abundant blessings. One should always think on good and honest reports; but pain, poverty and suffering have befallen some of the saintliest of God’s people - just like righteous Job. What do you say to that wife whose home is breaking up, and she seems powerless to stop it? She’s been advised by her friends, counseled by her pastor, and has been exhorted over and again to "Stay on your knees and believe God for a miracle." So she fasts, and she prays. She bends over backwards, to the point of crawling on her knees to her husband. She exercises faith with every intellectual insight she possesses. But, in spite of all her honest efforts, he grows hard and bitter, demanding a divorce. Not all marriages are healed through prayer or good intentions. It takes two to make a marriage work, and even though prayer may bring down the power of Holy Ghost conviction upon a straying mate, that mate can resist all God’s efforts and abort the solution. Some of my friends may be wondering why I am spending so much time talking about marriage, divorce and the home. But the reason is simple enough. In my crusades, I talk to so many kids on the brink of suicide, and an overwhelming majority tell me their depression stems from trouble at home. Dad and Mom are having trouble. Or, they have already gotten a divorce. Multitudes of husbands and wives are giving up on their marriages. A minister friend of mine, whose divorce had just become final, told me he has become a hero of sorts to some of his closest frields. One friend called and said, "Where did you get the courage to split up? Man, we’re having trouble, too, but I guess I’m a coward. Wish I could take that step." Another called, saying, "Our marriage is a farce. We don’t communicate at all anymore. I’ve given up. But how do you take that final plunge into divorce? I’m so hung up on security and my job - I’m just afraid I’d lose too much." Still another called and offered, "I admire your courage. You got out of a hopeless situation. I guess I’ll go on existing, living in misery. I don’t want my kids to turn on me. That’s the only thing holding me. I’ve given up completely on our marriage." There are many readers of this message who, at this very moment, are on the verge of giving up. You can’t understand what is happening to you - to your marriage - to your home. Something is missing, and, try as you will, you simply cannot find the key to making things work out right. How many hours have you spent, all alone, trying to figure out where things went wrong? The magic is gone. The romance is gone. The communication is gone. In its place there ar now arguments, questions, suspicions, innuendoes, cutting remarks. A brokenhearted lady wrote, "Sir, I just can’t believe it’s happening to me! I was so secure, feeling sorry for all those others who seemed to be having so many problems. But never did I imagine our marriage could crumble. I was too intelligent - too much into giving and sharing. Now, I’m a victim of this curse of divorce. It’s a shattering experience." A successful marriage counselor took me to lunch ecently and, before the entree was served, he confessed his own marriage had been in jeopardy. "You just can’t take any good marriage for granted anymore." he said. "I find I have to work harder than ever to keep a good thing. I’m convinced Satan is determinged to break up my marriage - and every good Christian marriage. It’s a well-planned attack on the best of marriages. If Satan can get the strongest, most admired marriages broken up - then weaker ones will be tempted to quit struggling and give up." The secret struggles in the Christian’s personal life are just as critical. the inner battles of the average Christian today are staggering in intensity and proportion. Multitudes are involved in situations too hard to comprehend. Like David the Psalmist, they confess, "My sins have overwhelmed me - they are too high for me to understand." Paul said, "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened" (2 Corinthians 5:4). I doubt we could even count the great numbers of Christians who groan in secret because of the burdens they carry. Paul talked about, "...trouble which came to us...we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life" (2 Corinthians 1:8). If you pulled back the facade from every great preacher and every admired personality, you would find moments of deep depression. You would find the same infirmities you find in any normal Christian. We all have seasons of despair, accompanied by feelings of failure. At times, we have all thought of quitting. We have all had thoughts of giving up. Why do we feel like giving up at times? Mostly because we act like God has forsaken the earth. We don’t doubt His existence or His reality. But our prayers seem to go unanswered. We cry out for His help in such desperation, and He seems not to hear. We struggle along, making one mistake after another. We make promises to do better; we get into the Bible; we cry and pray and stay busy helping others and doing good. But we are so often left with an empty, unfulfilled sensation. The promises of God haunt us. We claim those promises - in what we believe is honest, childlike faith - but time after time we fail to receive what we ask for. In the hour of temptation - down we go! Doubt creeps in and Satan whispers, "Nothing works. Faith in God doesn’t produce results. In spite of your tears, prayers and trust in God’s Word - nothing really changes. Days, weeks and even years go by, and your prayers, hopes and dreams are still unanswered and unfulfilled. Quit! give up!" Every Christian on this planet reaches that crisis point at one time or another in life. And in that moment, when the walls seem to be caving in and the roof appears to be collapsing, when everything seems to be coming apart and sin demands the upper hand - a voice deep within cries out. "Walk oaway from it all. Pack it in! Escape! Why put up with it? Run away. You don’t have to take it. Do something drastic." David, overwhelmed by the evil in his heart, cried out, "Awake, why do you sleep? Cast me not off...why do you hide? Why do you forget?" (Psalms 44:23-24). Christian - does it amaze you that great men of old faced the same battles you and I face today? The Bible says, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). Job was a perfect man in God’s sight. Yet he, too, experienced a time when he wanted to give up. Job’s agony came from a terrible dilemma. He sas convinced in his heart God knew where he was and what he was going through. Yet, he himself could not enter into the presence of God. "Behold," said Job, "I go forward, but he is not here; and backward, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him" (Job 23:8-9). Job was saying to himself, "I know God is there someplace, looking down on me in all my trouble. He knows the way I take - but in spite of all I do to find Him, He keeps hiding from me. I believe God is real, He is there, but I just can’t see Him." In total desperation, Job sobs, "I am afraid of him...the Almighty troubleth me" (Job 23:15-16). And all those fearful and troubled thoughts about God were the result of what Job thought was a divine do-nothingness. Job argues, "You don’t cut me off, yet you don’t remove the darkness" (Job 23:17). The bottom line for Job was simply this: either cut me down or make things right - just don’t be silent toward me! Even if You cut me off, at least I’ll know You are there. How can we learn to hold on and live one day at a time? You can begin by forgetting all shortcuts and magic cures. The Christian doesn’t need a supposed demon of despair cast out, as if his going would make life easier. Nor will God come down and do our living for us. The tempter will not be destroyed until that day God casts him into prison. Satan will always be here, deceiving, accusing and trying to rob every believer of his faith. The longer I live for Christ, the more difficult it is for me to accept easy, cure-all solutions. But, in my own struggles, I’ve found great comfort and help in two wonderful absolutes. The first absolute is - GOD REALLY LOVES ME. God is not in the business of condemning His children - failures or not. He yearns over us as a loving father, wanting only to lift us out of our weaknesses. I caught a glimpse of that love recently while walking in the woods around our ranch. Not once did I stop to consider the birds flying about, free and healthy. But suddenly, there on the ground just ahead flopped a crippled little bird. Struggling so hard to fly, the little baby bird could only flip over helplessly in the dust. I stooped to pick it up. It was then a familiar Scripture came flashing through my mind. "Not one (sparrow) shall fall on the ground without your Father" (Matthew 10:29). I once thought that verse read, "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father knowing about it." But Matthew’s version states - "one shall not fall without the Father." God is with us, even when we fall. We do not fall without the Father. He does not fall into our sin, but He does come down to our fallen condition. He does not abandon us on our way down. He never forsakes a crippled child. For, you see, we are that sparrow. David said, "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Psalms 102:7). David saw the bathing Bathsheba from that housetop - and he fell, a broken, crippled sparrow. But God did not give up on him. Our Lord never gives up on any of us! Have you also fallen? Do you relate to that crippled sparrow, flopping helplessly in the dust? Are you wounded, hurting and feeling lost and lonely? Do you ever think to yourself, "How can God put up with someone like me? How can He still love me when I’ve failed Him so badly? Oh, but He does love you, my friend. Often, we can recognize His great love only when we have hit bottom and find ourselves in such need of it. You will have won a great victory if you can be convinced God loves you even in your wounded, crippled condition. It was a wound that made me kneel and show compassion for a helpless bird. And it is our wounds, our hurts, our helplessness that causes His love and compassion to overshadow and envelop us. Our strength is renewed by His everlasting love. Just rest in that wonderful love. Don’t panic. Deliverance will come. God answers us by showing His love. And when we have learned how weak we are and have learned to trust His love and forgiveness - He will stoop down and gently help us back to the nest. The second absolute is - IT IS MY FAITH THAT PLEASES HIM THE MOST! "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). God wants so much to be trusted. That trust He counts as righteousness. I know some very holy, sanctified people (at least outwardly) who walk the straight and narrow. They would never once admit to feelings of failure and despair. They think of themselves as saints. But their great sin is doubt. Sometimes I think certain sinners have more faith than many self-righteous Christians. What do I do when temptation rolls over me like a flood? When my inadequacies overwhelm me and I see the reflections of my weaknesses? Give up? Quit? Never! I bring to God all I’ve got left - my faith in Him! I may not understand why He seems to take such a long time to intervene, but I know He will. He will keep His word to me. I am convinced Satan wants to rob me of only one thing - my faith. He really doesn’t want my morals or my good deeds or my dreams. He wants to destroy my faith and make me believe God has forsaken this earth. A fall is never fatal to those who keep their faith intact. In spite of continual struggles and feelings of helplessness at times, I still believe my Lord. In spite of despair and pressures that bog the mind and sap the strength, I believe God. I believe He will "keep me from falling and present me faultless before the throne of glory, with exceeding great joy." He loves me and He wants me to keep on trusting. So I will accept that love and keep my faith strong. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 18: PRE-020-17. CRUISING AND BOOZING ======================================================================== 17. Cruising and Boozing Cruising and Boozing by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1978 Alcohol is the modern Delilah, bent on shearing the church of its locks and robbing it of strength. I am seeing certain things among young people today that really break my heart. Go to almost any rock concert and study the thousands of young people swaying to the loud music. On stage, a wild and demonic group of drug freaks, dressed in repulsive drag, spit and stomp their way through jungle-like sounds. Screaming teen-age girls reach out with uplifted hands, begging to be touched, or glanced at, or spat upon, or vulgarized by some lewd motion. It’s a constantly moving mass of possessed bodies, hair and arms flailing about, jumping, falling, tripping out. Most are stoned. They vomit; they pass out; they fall over each other in a pitiful kind of fake ecstasy. Watch them chugging down six-pacts before the concert out in the parking lots. Their vans serve as mobile bars and bedrooms. It’s a race to drunkenness by students who purposely want to get "stoned out of their heads." Some have to be carried into the concert by half-sober friends. Others are left outside, draped over bushes and garbage cans, passed out on the curb in drunken stupors, and others are doubled up with stomach pains while staggering in between parked cars. They look like wartime casualties left wounded and bleeding by retreating forces. Inside, it’s like a foretaste of hell, a satanic commercial, advertising what the real thing is like. The sex and punk rock language pours out of the huge banks of amplifiers. It’s a Niagara of filth and insolence. Pills and joints are passed around like Lifesavers. The pills are downed with beer. The joints are smoked between big gulps of wine, beer, and fifths of whiskey poured from thermos bottles. The booze "mellows out" the other highs. The music high, the violence high, the sex high, the drug high, the rebellion high - they’re all peaked out by alcohol. It is a terribly depressing sight to sit in a balcony seat among them, looking out over a sea of restless, stoned youth. Suddenly it dawns on you - these kids are actually worshipping at the devil’s shrine. They idolize those demon-possessed performers, even when they know them to be anti-Christ, anti-God, and anti-country. Drug- and alcohol-sedated minds are like little blobs of clay being molded by the hands of merchandising devils. They look like lambs being led to the slaughter. You feel the icy-cold darkness of demon spirits on the loose. You can almost see the devil weaving a spiderlike web over the audience, and one after another becomes entangled. They wiggle and squirm like creatures trying to free themselves. Watching them file out of that concert is like viewing a funeral procession. The stench of spiritual death is everywhere. After all the beer, the drugs, the wild music, and the shouting and dancing - they are still empty and lonely. They carry out a load on their backs much heavier than the one they carried in. They came hoping to find freedom; they wanted a release, something to soothe that empty ache deep within. Instead, they leave, hurting even more. So off they go in their speeding set of wheels to the all-night delicatessens for more beer. If the concert won’t satisfy, perhaps a night of "cruising and boozing" will. And not even the sight of head-on collisions can stop them. Even when they see their young friends carried away in ambulances - their sirens screaming. They can attend the funeral of a dear friend with total resignation, as if to say. "Well, at least he found peace at last. No more searching, no more hassles - death rescued him from emptiness." Who Are These Stoned Students? It sounds morbid, and it is. It sounds overstated and exaggerated, but it is not. Just who are these thousands of drinking, drug-taking kids who flock to concerts and who cruise and booze into the early morning hours? Street bums? Cheap harlot-type girls? Ghetto victims? Poverty kids? Ungodly Christ-haters? No! Not at all. Most of them can look you right in the eye and profess, "I am a Christian. I go to First Church. My parents are good Christian people." And it’s true. You can find them on any given Sunday, sitting in church with their families. Some of them sing in the choir; others are active in Christian youth work. They respect God; they are not down on Jesus; they occasionally leaf through a Bible. These modern, young boozers drive around in expensive cars, vans, and pickup trucks. For the most part, their parents don’t have the slightest idea about how far they have slipped. They con their parents with an air of innocence. What saddens me the most about these crusing, boozing, self-deluding Christian youth is that parents, ministers, youth leaders, and the church have demanded so little of them. The church, in general, caters to their drinking life style. The pastor is afraid to speak out against wild music, wild clothes, wild concerts, uninhibited drinking, permissive sex - afraid to speak out for fear they will turn him off and leave the church. Youth pastors put juke boxes in the church recreation halls so their kids can feed their hard-rock appetites after a quickie prayer meeting. Too often, the pastor, the youth pastor, parents, and half of the deacons can’t ask the kids to stay away from booze, simply because they themselves drink. The pastor likes his wine, the parents sip cocktails, the deacons guzzle beer. these sipping saints in the sanctuary are the real root cause of this wave of drinking that, right now, is sweeping over the nation, destroying thousands of our best youth. Show me a man in the pulpit who drinks, even moderately, and I’ll show you a coward when it comes to preaching the truth. I know personally of other ministers who don’t touch a drop of alcohol themselves, but who are afraid to speak out against drinking in their congregation - because they don’t want to incur the wrath of all the big moneyed, influential members. They would be thrown out on their ears, should they stand up like a prophet of God and cry out against all the wine swilling and beer chugging. Needed - Preachers With Guts Where are all the men of God called to be pastors, youth leaders, youth counselors - where are those who love young people enough to challenge them head-on about the horror of drinking? Away with this spineless, mousey approach to immorality and drunkenness! Away with all this silly talk about not wanting to turn off or offend teen-agers who cruise and booze with their school friends. Away with this unscriptural double talk about a new morality with more freedom to drink in moderation. Away with all the lies that Jesus and Paul drank wine, and that Christians who are not under law can do the same. God, give us ministers and parents with enough moral courage to put a stop to this flood of permissiveness that approves drinking and fornication for young people. How many more of our kids have to become alcoholics and burned-out shells of humanity before we say, "Enough!"? How many thousands more of our teen-agers must be sacrificed on brewery altars before we get angry enough to speak out? What will it take to convince sipping saints they have become the biggest stumbling block this generation has encountered? When will drinking Christians ever wake up to the fact they are the bad examples who have sent thousands of youth on the road to drunkenness? When will ministers come to realize their silence on this problem is taken as approval for drinking? No more beer with bibles! No more Christians with cocktails! No more sipping by saints! This generation has had enough of foggy moral standards that allow an "anything goes" life style. They are fed up with preachers of the gospel who excuse their sins. They have lost all respect for churches and ministers who no longer demand they "come out of the world and be separate and clean." Drinkers Must Be Challenged This generation needs and wants a message that demands more holiness, more self-denial, more love for Jesus, more separation from a degenerate world. They don’t want some beer-sucking saint to pat them on the back and tell them, "Just keep your faith - be moderate in all things - think good thoughts - you’re OK - a little drink is good, as long as you stay in church and do good." Somebody needs to tell this drinking, reveling genereation, "You are dead wrong." Here and now, I challenge every young person reading this message. I say to you that drinking any kind of alcohol - beer, wine, whiskey - is wrong in the sight of God. I don’t care how many ministers you know who drink. I don’t care how many churchgoers drink. I don’t care how much your parents drink. I don’t care if every politician who calls himself a Christian drinks. I don’t care if all your friends drink. That doesn’t change a thing, as far as God is concerned. It’s still dead wrong! I know I cannot talk you out of your desire to drink, nor can or will I attempt to scare you out of it. Some will only turn me off and get angry. But you are being challenged, not just by me as a minister - but by the Holy Ghost of God. The Spirit is moving throughout the earth today, calling honest Christians to a life of total surrender, complete separation from sensuality and lust, and total abstinence from alcohol and fornication. Alcohol’s Mysterious Power Alcohol has a mysterious power. Men can’t seem resist it when things go bad. It is so simple, so available, so socially acceptable - and yet, it can destroy the body as surely as cancer. It offers a substitute peace - a temporary relief from pain - healing for aches and sorrow of heart and mind. That’s what they offered Jesus when He hung on the cross - "something to relieve the pain." He refused that drink. He hated it. A supernatural life was flowing into Him, and He would not corrupt it with a drink offered by the devil. You can’t drug God with alcohol. And you can’t drug any of His true children, either. As with Christ, they will have nothing to do with the sacraments of Satan. Half the civilized world is drugged with alcohol. The leaders of Russia rule with vodka. The French govern under the influence of wine. This nation is led by a congress in which the majority of its congressmen and senators legislate under the influence of martinis and cocktails. Laws are made under the influence of liquor. The power of alcohol is in its ability to put the life of the soul to sleep. It sears the conscience by numbing it until the pricks are no longer felt. It leads the soul into an everlasting search for pleasure. Its mysterious power lies in the fact it feeds upon itself. It creates a consuming hunger that can never be satisfied. It sweeps victims up in promises of life and happiness, while all the time sinking them down into a dark world of demons, despair, and death. It promises heaven, while bumping them back to hell. Alcohol is dangerous because it drowns thought. It turns convictions into cowardice. It causes one to go to sleep on God, and it turns heads and hearts away from spiritual things. Alcohol grows on men’s insides. What it does to the soul is far more devastating than what it does to the body. It turns the spiritual mind into a sieve that cannot retain the promises of God. truth is pickled and ejected right out of mind. The passion for God is replaced by a passion for poison. Alcohol then becomes the devil’s opium to drug mankind so completely, God is forgotten. Alcohol is an apparatus clever people use to dull the pain of boredom and the emptiness of life. It is a civilized method to become savage. Mankind is now deadly afraid of being sad and unhappy - so a "cult of cheerfulness" was invented by the devil. The members of this cult are people with troubled minds. Alcohol is their religion, and it offers a "packaged peace." In reality, it is a travesty against truth! Alcohol is dangerous because people are always looking for something to liven life up. They picture themselves as among those who are missing out on the real joys of life - so they convince themselves a little alcohol will turn on a new blaze of light and happiness. But then the picture breaks down, and the light becomes darkness. They discover play-acting is self-deceiving. Without God at the center, everything turns sour. The happiness hour becomes a downer. The most dangerous thing about alcohol is that you cannot shut down a craving for it from your side. Only supernatural intervention can tame and annihilate its devilish grip. That is what makes it sinful. It is that mysterious power inherent in its elements that seeks to enslave, inflame, and render helpless all who surrender to it. Alcohol is much more than just a drink - it is a demonic concoction formulated in the devil’s own mind, and served up to the world as an antidote to the cross of Jesus. My Inner Witness There is something deep within me that cries out against even the thought that Christ Jesus ever drank or produced alcoholic beverages. If I had no Scripture or scientific evidence to back me up, what I have seen with my own eyes - and what I feel in my heart - would be enough. I walk into a Brookyn hospital ward to visit a fifteen-year-old boy dying of alcohol poisoning. I see a lad going into a dark eternity, diseased, broken, and mindless. His eyes are sunken in their sockets - his cheeks are bony and hollow - his inner parts are in decay, his liver filled with corruption - his complexion is palid and his hair is matted. Victor started drinking cheap wine when he was less than ten years old. By the time he was fourteen, he walked the streets of the Bowery like all the other burned-out alcoholics. He slept on the street, covered with newspapers for a blanket. Victor died in that overcrowded hospital without a friend to his name. He was just one of many such nameless young men and women who die of alcoholism in our big city hospital wards. But when I look into their dying faces, as I look with horror at the devastation casued by alcohol, as I pray over their emaciated bodies - something cries out in me, "Oh God - Your Son Jesus could never have created a drink that does this to kids. Jesus could never have served a drink to His friends that can ruin people like this." Try it once! Go to any city morgue and look at the remains of teen-agers who were killed in a car crash - a result of drunken driving. Witness those teen-age bodies being laid out on slabs, while weeping parents identify their remains. You, too, will get angry as I do. You, too, will wonder how any God-loving, life-respecting Christian can ever touch a drop of alcohol. How dare we identify Jesus and Paul with such destruction and horror! How dare Christians drink the same beverage that spreads death and terror all across the nation! Try sitting in the lobby of a motel late at night watching the parade of drinking patrons coming and going to and from the clubs and bars. To me, it is so depressing. In that crowded, smoke-filled room are huddled a restless group, trying to find happiness from a bottle. For hours they sit and drink. The divorced are in there trying to drink away their sense of failure. The traveling salesman is getting stoned, hoping to alleviate his loneliness and mediocrity. Young marrieds and singles dance and sway in drunken stupors, forcing themselves to enjoy what they know will end up as a night of emptiness and depression. With every drink, they get louder and bolder. they find a few hours of courage to face a life of fear. You watch in amazement as these who talk so much about enjoyng their happiness hours get up and run to the restrooms - to vomit. I watch those potbellied men burping their way into the men’s room - and I want to weep. Their eyes are so sad; their joy is phony; and it seems they are crying out for help. They make such fools of themselves. They come staggering out of these rest rooms, wipe off their mouths, then march right back into the bar to start all over. Closing time is the most hideous spectacle of all, as the patrons stagger through the lobby to their cars in the parking lot. They act like frightened little animals being forced to leave the security of their feeding place. The thought of those drunken drivers careening down the highways is terrifying. They can hardly walk, let alone drive an automobile on our busy streets. I have witnessed these horror parades many times. And the more I see them, the more my heart tells me that the sinless Son of God could never be a part of such a world. Jesus would not put a drink into a person’s hand that could lead to drunkenness. Suppose Christ had served up fermented wine at the wedding of Canaan. If but one celebrant had too much and left that wedding reception and went out, causing an accident on his journey home - what would he tell the court magistrate? Would he say, "Jesus did it! He made this really good wine; I had a little too much - I got smashed. It all happened at the home of a friend of His mother, Mary." Go to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. watch the hordes of drunken celebrants staggering through the streets. Look at all the homosexual queens strutting around in drag - holding beer cans in their hands. See the thousands of young students falling over each other in drunken stupors. Listen to the parade marshall toast "the god of alcohol." Thousands, from all over the world, gather to drink and celebrate. The streets are wild with music, dancing, carousing, and drunkenness. At times, it seems like hell has spilled over its borders and everybody is worshipping wine, whiskey, and women. If you are an overcoming Christian, it makes you very sick just to see it happen before your eyes. The sight of multitudes openly flaunting their drunkenness is too much for tender hearts to comprehend. But one thing is sure - you know God is grieved by it all - because you sense a bit of His grief in your own heart. Then you know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, Jesus and alcohol do not mix. He is offended by what it is - by what it does to men - and by any identification with it. The Bible warns against drinking. The historical facts prove it is deadly harmful. And my heart tells me it is sinful! My inner witness tells me Jesus came to deliver from such wickedness and not to produce and encourage its use. Jesus made fermented wine? Paul used and recommended it? Not in a million years! The Holy Spirit within me confirms the conviction of my heart. Now, I have the witness of God’s Holy Word, the proof of science and the convictions of my inner man. I need no other proof. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 19: PRE-021-18. STOP CONDEMNING YOURSELF ======================================================================== 18. Stop Condemning Yourself Stop Condemning Yourself by David Wilkerson | June 1, 1978 I feel so ashamed of myself when I think back over my early ministry - because I condemned so many sincere people. I meant well, and often my zeal was honest and well-meaning. But how many people I brought under terrible condemnation because they didn’t conform to my ideas of holiness! Years ago I preached against make-up on ladies, I preached against short dresses. I condemned everything that was not on my "legitimate" list. I have preached some very powerful sermons in the past, condemning homosexuals, divorcees, drinkers and compromisers. I am still deeply committed to the idea that ministers must cry out against the inroads of sin and compromise in the lives of Christians. I still don’t like to see Christian women painted up like streetwalkers. I still don’t like mini-dresses. I believe, more than ever, that God hates divorce. I am still committed to the idea that God will not wink at any sin or compromise of any kind. But lately - God has been urging me to quit condemning people who have failed, and instead preach to them a message of love and reconciliation. Why? Because the church today is filled with Christians who are burdened down with mountains of guilt and condemnation. They don’t need more preaching about judgment and fear - they are already filled with enough fear and anxiety. They don’t need to hear a preacher tell them how mad God is with them. They are already too much afraid of God’s wrath. They need to hear the message John preached - "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17). Jesus said to an adulterous woman, "Neither do I condemn thee - Go and sin no more." Now why can’t I, and all my fellow ministers, preach that same kind of loving message to the multiplied thousands who today live in fear of adultery? Why do we still condemn divorced Christians who remarry - when they have truly repented and have determined to sin no more in that manner? Recently a ten-year-old lad stopped me after a crusade and begged me to hear his story. He was hysterical. "My Mom and Dad got divorced two years ago. Mom is a good Christian, and she married a nice Christian man. I live with Mom and my stepdad now, and I love them a whole lot. But my Mom is always sad, and she cries a lot - because a minister told her she was living in sin. Is my Mom going to hell because she got divorced and remarried another divorced man? I’m all confused, because they’re both such good Christians." I told that boy what I want to tell the whole world. "If she divorced because of her own adultery and remarried - she is living in adultery. God hates adultery. But, if she has repented, God forgives her, and she starts all over like a newborn Christian. She is not living in sin when it is under the blood of Christ and forgiven. She can begin a new life without guilt or condemnation. If Jesus forgives murder, thievery lying, stealing, etc. - He also forgives adultery." It amazes me that we ministers are so willing to go to Africa to preach forgiveness to "the heathen" - but so unwilling to preach forgiveness and reconciliation to Christians at home. One minister complained to me about all the divorced, broken, troubled people in his new assignment. I thought, "My brother, you ought to be thankful God put you in such a fertile field. Those are the people who need your help the most. They need a man of God to show them how to begin all over anew. I am a happily married man, and God helping me, Gwen and I will always be together till death do us part. And I despise divorce with a passion. But it troubles me that the church is willing to "write off" all those who have made a mistake. The church offers comfort and solace to all those who are "the innocent victims." The wife who was cheated on. The husband whose wife walked out on him. All the children hurt in the separations. But what about all the "perpetrators" - the sinners, the ones who wronged some innocent loved one. If one out of every three marriages now ends in divorce, that means that millions of husbands and wives are "The guilty party." I’m not willing to give up on even the guilty ones. The thief Christ forgave at Calvary was not an innocent victim. No! He was a perpetrator - he was the criminal. But in his sin he turned to Christ in faith. He was forgiven and taken with Christ to glory. What about homosexuals and lesbians - and alcoholics? Will condemning them accomplish any good? No! A thousand times no! Christ did not come to condemn these sinners, but to rescue them in love. God hates homosexual acts, but he does not despise people who do not live up to masculine or feminine roles. Last week, a lovely 19-year-old nurse stopped me after a crusade. Tearfully, she sobbed out a pitiful confession - "Mr. Wilkerson, I’m a lesbian. I feel so dirty and unclean. The church where I used to attend asked me to never return. The minister said he couldn’t take a chance of my seducing others in his congregation. I feel like suicide is my only way out. I live in total fear and condemnation. Must I kill myself to find peace?" She kept backing away from me as if she was too unclean to be in my presence. I asked her if she still loved Jesus. "Oh, yes," She replied. "Every waking hour, my heart cries out to Him. I love Christ with everything in me - but I’m bound by this terrible habit." How beautiful it was to see her face light up when I told her how much God loved her - even in her struggles. I told her, "Don’t ever give yourself over to your sin. God draws a line right where you are. Any momentum toward Him is accounted as righteousness. Any move back across that line, away from Him, is sin. If we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. Keep your spiritual momentum! Keep loving Jesus - even though you still do not have total victory. Accept His daily forgiveness. Live one day at a time! Be convinced Jesus loves sinners - so He must love you, too!" She smiled a smile of relief and said, "Mr. Wilkerson, you are the first minister who ever offered me a ray of hope. Deep in my heart I know He still loves me - and I know He will give me a deliverance from this bondage. But I have been so condemned by everybody. Thanks for your message of hope and love." Reader of this message - are you living now under condemnation? Have you sinned against the Lord - have you grieved the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you waging a losing battle with an overpowering temptation? All you need do is search God’s Word, and you will discover a God of mercy, love and endless compassion. David said: "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared" (Psalms 130:3-4). A distraught woman who had come to my office sobbed, "Mr. Wilkerson, once God cured me of alcoholism. But recently I got discouraged and went back to drink. Now I can’t stop. I’ve failed the Lord so badly that all I can do now is give up. After all He did for me, to think how I’ve failed Him. It’s no use - I’ll just never make it." I’m convinced there are more spiritual failures than many of us realize. And there is a demonic strategy to build such failures into walls to keep the defeated ones far from God. But we don’t need to let the devil turn our temporary defeats into a permanent hell. I believe there are literally millions of people like the young sailor who came to see me. With tears in his eyes he said, "My Dad is a minister, but I’ve failed him so terribly. I’m so weak, I’m afraid I’ll never serve the Lord like I should. I’m so easily led into sin." Confessions like these are tragic, but I have great encouragement in the realization that some of the greatest men and women of the Bible had times of failure and defeat. Would you consider Moses a failure? Hardly! He was to Israel what Washington and Lincoln together were to America - and much more. But look closely at the great lawgiver’s life. His career began with a murder, followed by forty years hiding from justice. Moses was a man of fear and unbelief. When God called him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, he pleaded, "I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech...send...by the hand of him whom thou wilt send" (Exodus 4:10; Exodus 4:13). this angered God (4:14). All his life, Moses longed to enter the Promised Land, but his failures kept him out. Even so, God compares Moses’ faithfulness to Christ’s in Hebrews 3:1-2. His failures did not keep Moses out of God’s Hall of Champions. We usually think of Jacob as the great prayer warrior who wrestled with the angel of the Lord and prevailed. Jacob was given a vision of heaven with angels ascending and descending. Yet this man’s life was filled with glaring failures, and Scripture does not hide any of them. As a youth Jacob deceived his blind father to steal his brother’s inheritance. Married, he despised his wife Leah while he nursed a great secret love for her sister Rachel. He did not accept his responsibiligy as a husband. After the birth of each manchild, Leah kept saying, "Now this time my husband will be joined unto me" (Genesis 29:34). But the fact was - Jacob hated her. Here was a man caught in a web of trickery, graft, theft, unfaithfulness and polygamy. Nevertheless, we still worship the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. King David, singer of psalms and mighty warrior, delighted in the law of the Lord and posed as the righteous man who would not stand among sinners. Yet, how shocking are the weaknesses of this great man. Taking Bathsheba from her husband Uriah, he sent that unsuspecting man to death at the front lines of his army. The prophet Nathan declared this double sin gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Picture the great king standing by the casket of his dead illegitimate child, a stolen wife at his side and a world filled with enemies who cursed God because of his notorious sins. David stands there a total failure. Yet, God called David a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He blessed the murderer Moses and the schemer Jacob, too, because these men learned how to profit from their failures and go on to victory. If you are discouraged by your failures, I have good news for you. No one is closer to the Kingdom of God than the man or woman or young person who can look defeat in the eye, learn to face it, and move on to a life of peace and victory. Here is the program to do this. 1. Don’t be afraid of failure. This seems like an automatic reaction. When Adam sinned, he tried to hide from God. When Peter had denied Christ, he was afraid to face Him. When Jonah refused to preach to Nineveh, his fear drove him into the ocean to flee from the presence of the Lord. But God has shown me a truth that has helped me many times: Something much worse than failure is the fear that goes with it. Adam, Jonah and Peter ran away from God not because they had lost their love for Him, but because they were afraid He was too angry with them to understand. Satan uses such fear to make people think there is no use trying. That old "accuser of the brethren" waits like a vulture for you to fail in some way. Then he uses every lie in hell to make you give up, to convince you that God is too holy or you are too sinful to come back. Or he makes you afraid you are not perfect enough, or tells you that you will never rise above your failure. It took forty years to get the fear out of Moses and to make him usable in God’s program. Meanwhile, God’s plan of deliverance had to be delayed for nearly half a century while one man learned to face his failure. If Moses or Jacob or David had resigned himself to failure, we might never have heard of these men again. Yet, Moses rose up again to become one of God’s greatest heroes. Jacob faced his sins, was reunited with the brother he had cheated, and reached new heights of victory. David ran into the house of God, laid hold of the horns of the altar, found forgiveness and peace and returned to his finest hour. Jonah retraced his steps, did what he had refused at first to do and brought a whole city-state to repentance and deliverance. Peter rose out of the ashes of denial to lead a church to Pentecost. 2. Despite failure, keep moving on. It is always after a failure that a man does his greatest work for God. Twenty years ago I sat in my litttle car, weeping - a terrible failure, I thought. I had been unceremoniously dumped from a courtroom after I thought I was led by God to witness to seven teen-age murderers. I had seen my picture in the tabloids over the caption, "BIBLE WAVING PREACHER INTERRUPTS MURDER TRIAL." My attempt to obey God and to help those young hoodlums looked as though it was ending in horrible failure. I shudder to think of how much blessing I would have missed if I had given up in that dark hour. How glad I am today that God taught me to face my failure and go on to His next step for me. I know of two outstanding men of God - both of whom had ministered to thousands of people - who fell into the sin that David committed with Bathsheba. One minister decided that he could not go on. Today he drinks and curses the Christ he once preached about. The other man repented and started all over. He now heads an international missions program that reaches thousands for Christ. His failure has been left behind. He keeps moving forward. In my work with narcotic addicts and incorrigibles, I have observed that the majority of those who return to their old habilts become stronger than all the others when they face their failures and return to the Lord. They have a special awareness of the power of Satan, a total rejection of confidence in the flesh. 3. Despite failure, continue to worship. There was only one way for Moses to stay in victory, because he had a disposition like so many of us today. He continually communed with the Lord, "...face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Exodus 33:11). Moses maintained that close friendship with God. I believe the secret of holiness is very simple: Stay close to Jesus. Keep looking into His face until you become like the image you behold. One evening a hysterical woman stopped me on the street and blurted out a terrible confession. Clutching my sleeve so hard I thought she would tear it, she said, "Mr. Wilkerson, I am facing the darkest hour of my life. I don’t know which way to turn. My husband has left me, and it’s all my fault. When I think of how I failed God and my family, it is almost impossible for me to sleep at night.What in the world am I going to do?" I was moved to tell her, "My friend, lift up your hands, right now on this street corner, and begin to worship the Lord. Tell Him that you know you are a failure, but you still love Him so. Then go home and get on your knees. Don’t ask God for a thing - just lift up your heart and your hands and worship Him." I left that lady standing on the street corner with her hands raised to heaven, tears rolling down her cheeks, praising the Lord and already tasting the victory that was beginning to surge back into her life. Now, let me talk about your failure. Is there trouble in your home? Has some despised habit gripped your life so hard you can’t seem to break it? Are you tormented in mind or spirit? Has God told you to do something you have failed to do? Are you out of the will of God? Are you hounded by memories of what you were at one time? Or by visions of what you can be? Then worship the Lord in the midst of your failure! Praise Him! Exalt Him! All this may sound like an oversimplification, but the way past failure is simple enought for children, fools and Ph.D.’s to follow successfully. Christ says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). "Come unto me, all ye (failures) that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 12:28). Don’t be afraid of failure. Keep going on in spite of it. Worship God until victory comes. The hardest part of faith is the last half hour. Keep going, and you will yet face your finest hour. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 20: PRE-022-19. CHRISTIAN, LAY DOWN YOUR GUILT ======================================================================== 19. Christian, Lay Down Your Guilt Christian, Lay down Your Guilt by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1978 Christians are strange creatures. They travel the world, preaching the love of Jesus and His forgiveness for any and all sin. They tell the heathen, the addict, the alcoholic, the prostitute - "Come to Christ and be forgiven. He forgave your sins at the Cross - so come and receive forgiveness and healing for all your hurts. You can have peace and be free of guilt." As a result sinners, who have been guilty of every conceivable kind of dark and evil deed, gladly come to Christ and are instantly forgiven and delivered from their guilt. But the hardest thing in the world for the Christian to do is receive for himself the same kind of love and forgiveness he preaches to sinners. We Christians find it so very difficult to allow ourselves the same freedom from guilt we offer through Christ to harlots and drunkards. Christians sin against the Lord, then proceed to carry about an excruciating load of guilt. They want to pay for their failure. They want to be punished. They want to do penance or suffer some kind of hurt before they are forgiven. "But Lord," argues the Christian, "I sinned with my eyes wide open; I knew better. I knew before I did it that I was breaking a commandment. How can I be forgiven for grieving my Savior by such insolence? I shook off the conviction of the Holy Spirit and went ahead stubbornly and committed sin." The Danger of Guilt Guilt is dangerous in that it destroys faith. The enemy of our soul is not at all interested in making Christians into adulterers, addicts or prostitutes. He is interested in one thing only - turning Christians into unbelievers. He uses the lusts of the body to bind the mind. Satan did not want Job to become an adulterer, or an addict to pain pills or a wine guzzler. No! Satan wanted one thing of Job - TO CURSE GOD! He wanted to destroy his faith in God. So it is today. Your real battle and mine is really not with sex, alcohol, drugs or lust. It is with our faith! Do we believe God is a deliverer? Is He there to help in the hour of temptation? Are His promises true? Is there freedom from sin? Is God really answering prayer today? Will He bring us out of the battle victorious? Will joy follow weeping? Satan wants you to be so crushed with guilt, you let go of your faith. He wants you to doubt God’s faithfulness. He wants you to think nobody really cares. That you will live in misery and heartbreak. That you will always be a slave to your lust. That god’s holiness is unreachable. That you are left alone to work out your own problems. That God no longer cares about your needs and feelings. If he can get you to the point of despair, he can flood you with unbelief - then he has succeeded in his mission. The three simple steps toward atheism are - guilt, doubt and unbelief. Guilt can eat away at the spiritual vitality of a Christian like a raging cancer. It causes a person to lose control of life; it leads to a desire to quit or retire from spiritual activity; and finally, it brings on physical pain and disease. Like cancer, guilt feeds upon itself until all spiritual life is gone. Weakness and a sense of shame and failure is the end result. I meet Christians across this nation who go about continually burdened down by an overwhelming load of guilt. They have made themselves believe they are traitors to the Lord. They live in spiritual agony and grief every waking hour, because of some hidden sin or seakness. They cannot appropriate divine forgiveness for themselves, and they live in dreaded fear of God’s judgment upon themselves or their families. The Causes of Guilt Who are these guilt-ridden, sad souls? It is often that married individual, who for years has been a captive in a loveless marriage, who finds someone else to light up their boring life. Somewhere along the way, their marriage lost its romance. Hurts would no longer heal; the lines of communication were cut. Then one day, without even seeking it, someone else enters the picture. A tender word, a tender touch, and there is a new kind of awakening. Someone else ignites those dying embers - and the secret love affair is born. They take comfort in the words of the song that says, "It can’t be wrong, when it seems so right." But often there are children to consider; a reputation; a job or a ministry. But the one thing, above all else, that brings on the guilt is the knowledge that God’s laws are being broken. God won’t smile on it. He won’t put His blessing on it. Then the war begins. Torn between a conviction of having finally found the "one true love of life" - and the innate desire to stay true to God and marriage vows - guilt keeps piling up. They want out of a hopeless marriage, but without displeasing God. There are multiplied thousands caught in this kind of trap - even ministers. The more they love God, the worse their guilt. A few are able to shake off the fuilt and go about indulging their secret affairs, having justified their actions with elaborate excuses. But most cannot be dishonest with their own hearts, so they go on living with accumulating guilt. Then, too, what about all those other secret lusts of the flesh that haunt the soul? The christian who overindulges in drink on the sly? Or, too many prescription drugs that have caused a dependency? What about the thousands of Christian men caught up in porno binges? A strange attraction sends them back into the X-raged movie houses or to the newstands for nudie magazines. Not just once or twice - but nearly every time he is alone - especially when on the road. Yes - I’m talking about Christians. Secret affairs, drinking prescription drugs, pornograph, homosexuality, lesbianism 0 and many other human weaknesses - are all prime causes of guilt. The sinnes can indulge in any or all of these sins and not battle with guilt. Not so, the true child of God. Saints That Ain’t Sadly, many pious Christians hide behind puritan masks and go about like the publican of Christ’s time, who boasted, "Thank God, I’m not like such sinners." To hear them tell it, their marriage is flawless and their morals are saint-like. Don’t believe it! We have all sinned and come short of God’s holiness. There are none righteous in their own strength. Show me the saintliest soul on earth, and I’ll show you one who battles temptation as much as any other Christian alive. And if a Christian would like to cure himself of being judgmental, all he has to do is look inside himself and be honest about his own inner struggles. That should keep us all from worrying about another’s spiritual condition. One of the good things that should come out of a Christian’s inner struggle with the flesh is that he learns to quit throwing stones; that is, if he is honest about himself. The Word instructs, "Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13). Perhaps out of all the terrible struggles Christians are now enduring, we will discover a new spirit of tolerance and love for others. Perhaps being forgiven so much ourselves, we will, in turn, forgive others their shortcomings. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). Tested by the Word Is there freedom from guilt? Can Christians deal with infatuations, addictions, weaknesses - in an honest and godly way - and find true freedom from sin’s power? Will God keep on forgiving, while the struggle goes on? If that besetting sin keeps on overcoming the believer, will God continue to forgive until the victory comes? There have been some very godly people who have confessed to me that God’s Word tried them severely. The promises sound like they should work almost automatically, but they don’t. The commandment says don’t; but our weak flesh can’t seem to obey. Then we go ahead and do what we know to be positively sinful. The Word says, "...sin hath no more dominion over you" (Romans 6:9). Yet, it doesn’t seem to work in everyday life. "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:24-25). The question is, where do I get the power to resist the lust of my heart? Is it sheer willpower? Do I grit my teeth and say, "I’ll simply walk away from it - never to let it hold me in its power"? Does God expect me to resist with what I have? Can I win over my besetting sin in one moment of finality? Others say glibly, "Just stop it! Quit it! Walk away from it! You know better - what’s so difficult?" Oh, yes - but those same people, who find it so easy to walk away from all the lusts of the flesh and the desires of the world, find it nearly impossible to walk away from their own loneliness, their sorrows, their fears, their struggles with health. Every Christian on this earth fights inner battles - not one is immune! The way to get rid of guilt is to get rid of sin. It sounds simple, but it is not. You don’t just make up your mind to "drop" that third party who has sentered your life. Many have tried that and found it didn’t work. You don’t just walk away from things that bind. The Scripture haunts you. It says, "Put off the old man...lay aside the besetting sin...flee the appearance of evil...walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." That is exactly what you want - freedom from the sin that so easily besets you - to walk in the Spirit completely and live a life totally pleasing to God. But you seem helpless in putting off those desires. When you can’t seem to overcome and you keep falling flat on your face, failure after failure - then you begin to think, "Something is terribly wrong with me. I am a sensuous, wicked, weak child. God must be fed up with all my failures. I’ve made Him mad." that is when guilt floods in like a tidal wave. We All Face the Same Struggles Take heart, child of God - everybody is in the same boat. Not all of us battle a secret affair or an addiction of the flesh. Some of us struggle with a more insidious enemy - doubt. To doubt God’s concern and daily involvement in our lives can cause terrible guilt. But there is no temptation befallen you that is not common to all men. You are not going through some strange trial, unique only to you. Thousands more are going through the very same struggle. The most important move you will ever make in your life is the move you make right after you fail God. Will you believe the accuser’s lies and give up in despair, or will you allow yourself to receive the forgiving flow of God’s love you preach so much to others? Do you fear asking His forgiveness because you are not really sure you want to be free from that thing that holds you? Do you want the Lord, yet, secretly long for something or someone not lawfully yours? God is able to answer to sincere prayer, to make you want to do His perfect will. Ask Him to make you want to fulfill His will. "For it is God which worketh in yo both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Php 2:13). When a Christian sins, he feels shut out of God’s presence, just as did Adam. God is always there, waiting to talk, but sin causes man to withdraw. God never withdraws - only man does. Actually, the person living in sin is afraid to open up to God for fear He will ask a commitment to holiness before the sin is ready to be surrendered. The sinning Christian knows, "If I get close to Jesus, the Holy Spirit will put His finger on my secret sin, and I’ll have to give it up - and I’m not ready for that, yet." It does no good to ask yourself, "How did I get into this mess? Why do I have to be tempted along these lines? Why such a trial when I didn’t ask for it or want it? Why me, Lord?" Don’t blame the devil, either. We sin when we are drawn away by the lust of our own hearts and enticed. Don’t Justify Your Weaknesses Never justify your wrongdoing! There is only one way to become "hardened" by sin, and that is to justify it. Christians who learn to hate their sin will never "give themselves over" to its power. As Christians, we must never lose sight of the "exceeding sinfulness" of sin. Stay uncomfortable with your sin. I heard it said of an evangelist who lives in open, shameless adultery, "Well, at least he is honest about it. He’s not trying to hide his adultery like some ministers who do it on the sly." But I see nothing honest in that at all. That adulterous evangelist has been totally blinded by a multiplicity of justifications. He has no guilt, because he has given himself over to a lie and has become the victim of a reprobate mind. On the other hand, the person who continues to struggle, hating a garment spotted, despising all sin against God - has all heaven standing by to help. Until the victory comes, continue to despise all your wrongdoing. Never Limit God’s Forgiveness My dear Christian friend - never limit God’s forgiveness to you! His forgiveness and longsuffering has no limit. Jesus told His disciples, "If thy brother trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him" (Luke 17:4). Can you believe such a thing? Seven times a day this person willfuly sins before my very eyes, then says, "I’m sorry." And I am to forgive him - continuously! How much more will our Heavenly Father forgive His children who come in repentance to Him? Don’t stop to reason it out! Don’t ask how or why He forgives so freely. Simply accept it! Jesus did not say, "Forgive your brother once or twice, then tell him to go and sin no more. Tell him that if he ever does it again, he will be cut off. Tell him he is an habitual, hopeless sinner." No! Jesus called for unlimited, no-strings-attached forgiveness! It is God’s nature to forgive. David said, "For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plentious in mercy unto all that call upon thee" (Psalms 86:5). God is waiting right now to flood your being with the joy of forgiveness. You need only to open up all the doors and windows of your soul and allow His Spirit to flood you with forgiveness. John, speaking as a Christian, wrote, "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). According to John, the goal of every christian is to "sin not." That means, the Christian is not bent toward sin, but stead, leans toward God. But what happens when that God-leaning child sins? "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 2:1; 1 John 1:9). Lay Down Your Guilt - Now! You don’t just lay down your guilt, your sin, your inner struggle - as if it were a jacket you strip from your back. You lay it all down through a super-natural operation of God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit responds to the broken heart that reaches out in faith to lay hold of God’s promises. He then imparts His divine nature to that hungry vessel. A miraculous series of events begins to unfold. Suddenly, there comes to the saint of God a renewed desire to confess, to yield to God’s will, to become more like Jesus, to see things in the light of eternity, to experience a rush of surrender. The Holy Spirit brings the yielded vessel around to God’s way of thinking. We go after things we believe are good for us. We covet what is not ours. But God looks way down the road, and He knows what is best. Our ways and thoughts are not His ways or His thoughts. God will give His surrendered child something even better, If he lays down his own plan. What is it that stands between you and God? Is it a secret sin? Lust? Doubt? Fear? Anxiety? That is the cause of your guilt. Be willing to lay it down in surrender at the foot of the Cross. Have a funeral, right there - do your hurting and dying - then rise up in obedience and walk in the Spirit. God will not let you down. He will replace that empty place with something far better. something pleasing to His own heart - and providing more joy to you than what you gave up. Lay down your guilt - my friend! You don’t need to carry that load another minute. Open up all the doors and windows of your heart, and let God’s love in! He forgives you - over and again! He will give you the power to see your struggle through to victory. If you ask - if you repent - you are forgiven! Accept it - now! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 21: PRE-023-20. HUNDREDS SAVED FROM SUICIDE ======================================================================== 20. Hundreds Saved From Suicide Hundreds Saved from Suicide In Crusades Across This Nation, Hundreds of Youth Have Been Saved Just in Time! by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1978 We have declared war on suicide, and already we have witnessed many great victories. A few months ago, in a newsletter, I told how God promped me to preach about suicide in every crusade we conduct. When God first prompted me to speak out on the subject of suicide, I was incredulous. I argued, "How can I preach on such a morbid subject in city-wide crusades? Only a small percentage of the audience would relate to such a message! People might think I was making too much of the problem." But I obeyed the Lord. About five months ago, I preached on "Suicide" for the first time - in Spokane, Washington. I have been preaching about it in every crusade since, and the results have been both tragic and miraculous. Tragic, because I have had at least 35 on any given night confess they were on the brink of suicide. In Reno, Nevada, 72 people confessed they were thinking of suicide. In nearly every service, from 15 to 35 people admit they have attempted suicide at least once. Is it just a bunch of phony confessions from teen-agers looking for sympathy? Never! Not when they roll up a sleeve and show you scars from razor wounds. They reach into their pockets and purses and hand me their vials of sleeping pills. Others sob out detailed confessions about how they had it all planned out. Girls use sleeping pills mostly. Boys use guns and knives. Many commit suicide in a speeding car - purposely driven out of control. It is tragic because even ten and eleven-year old children share with us their heartbroken confessions. One ten-year-old girl, last week, really broke my heart. I broke down and wept in front of a large audience when she looked up at me and said, "Sure - I know what you mean by suicide! I’ve been thinking about it all week. Dad’s an alcoholic; he beats me up. Mom runs around - she’s never home. She hates me! Nobody loves me. It’s easy to kill yourself when you got nothing to lose." Hundreds who heard that confession wept with me. In a recent crusade, a very overweight teen-age girl stood and blurted out, "I’ll tell you why I’ve tried to kill myself - twice! Look at me! I weigh over 200 pounds, and I’m only 15 years old. The kids in school call me a freak. They laugh at me. I have no friends. They don’t know it, but inside me there is a girl like everybody else, who needs love. I don’t want to live like this. I’d rather be dead than be a sideshow for people to laugh at." How my heart went out to that poor girl. We meet so many overweight kids who hate themselves. Thank God, this particular girl has been turned around and, hopefully, is sticking to the diet our follow-up people shared with her. Letters of Confession In response to my last newsletter about suicide, some very shocking replies were received in my office. Here are just a few: 1. "After ten and one-half years of troubled marriage, separating, getting back together, my husband finally shot himself through the head. Your letter is the best thing I’ve read on suicide. I only wish someone had said it sooner. I know it will help others. A.L." 2. "The message on suicide couldn’t have come at a better time, for ten minutes before my brother brought me the mail, I was contemplating which way I should do it. I tried to kill myself this summer, but my friend caught me. You said how it wouldn’t be the end - judgment and darkness, but what about a backslidden Christian? I am curious, would God send me to hell for it? Take care and please write me and answer my questions, if you have a minute or two sometime. B.F." 3. "Your last message on suicide really hit home with me. I’m from a broken home, and I was running away and taking drugs most of my teen years. then I quit drugs, got married, had a beautiful baby girl, then ended up divorced. I’m new in Christ, and I’m trying but I guess somehow I’ve been letting myself think about suicide. I thought I’d be forgiven. Praise the Lord for your message! I’m putting suicide out of my mind, and i’m going to concentrate on the Lord and raising my daughter in Jesus. J.K." 4. "Your letter on suicide arrived Wednesday, just an hour or so after I was informed that a high school junior I know is suicidal. I was grateful for the letter, not only because it made me aware of the situation, but I believe it can be used by God. As a substitute teacher, I’ve noticed that many, many kids writing term papers have chosen suicide as a topic. Tomorrow I will put your letter in the library with the reference books used to write these papers. I know the Lord will use your paper to speak to the right kids. S.C.L." 5. "Yes, I know all too well the heartbreak of suicide. I stood over the dying body of a beloved granddaughter who had poured a gallon of gasoline over her body and set herself on fire. She lived long enough to give me the assurance that she was saved. It was an experience I shall never forget. Her words still ring in my ears, ’Grandma, how long will it take me to die? I did not pray for her to live; she wanted so much to die. And though she could not speak to me, I know she had found the Savior in those days of dying. Now I have another granddaughter on the same road. Please pray for her! I pray constantly and so do her parents. C.O." 6. "I received your message on suicide today. It is something - of all times. My son just yesterday told me he was going to kill himself. I talked to him and told him that wouldn’t end it. That he would not go to heaven and be with God. That it is the devil’s work. That’s what he wants people to do - destroy themselves. I am leaving this message lay on my table so he can read it also. Please pray for my family . S.E.U." 7. "My daughter contemplated suicide. She even wrote a letter of a last will and even checked on the price of funerals, so I learned from one of her girl friends. One evening I came to the house, and she had it locked, and all the gas jets and oven were running without flames. It shocked me. I called in a minister to help, and she came out of her bedroom like it was a lark - but it was no lark to me! Since a prayer of healing between us, at least we can communicate on the natural level now. For one of her term papers, my daughter researched suicide and reported on it - but it was only on the worldly level, not what the Bible says about suicide to murdering. Now she is married and has a little girl herself. Shortly after the little girl was born, I told her that as she loves her little daughter, so I loved her so she told me she knew that. I’m praying for the day of her salvation. A.A.G." Thank God for the miracles of deliverance! Each night, after preaching about suicide, I return to my motel room with mixed emotions. I can never erase from my mind the haunting faces and tragic confessions of so many young people who almost took their lives. I see them, in my mind, lying dead from a self-inflicted wound or overdose of pills - and I break out in a cold sweat. I shudder at the thought that it’s now payday for all the past ten years of permissiveness, divorce, immorality and spiritual emptiness. Now the bill has come due. Consequently, there is a whole generation of lonely, mixed-up kids who scoff at death - and who despair of life. they are not in a majority - at all! But, their numbers are growing. And any true Christian who can’t weep over these tragedies is not really aware of what is happening in the world of youth. But my heart also leaps for joy becuase of all those who are being plucked out of Satan’s grip! Jesus is not only saving souls - he is saving bodies! Young bodies once self-condemned to suicide and death are now completely healed and turned around. They come forward, boldly. they follow us backstage to the "miracle afterglow" service - and we share with them the simple steps on how to touch Jesus with childlike faith. To see their troubled frowns turn into smiles of victory and inner peace is worth the whole world to me. What a joy to have them stand up and tell everybody, "Jesus lifted by burden. The thoughts of suicide are all gone! I will never alain allow self-pity to destroy me! I’m free!" Letters of thanksgiving come into our office daily. They are testimonies of miraculous changes in their lives. They tell about how Jesus took away their sense of failure - how He filled their lives with love - how new-found friends were discovered - how the Holy Spirit is helping them to graciously endure a hopeless home life - how Jesus gave them a renewed sense of self-importance - and how grateful they are that I obeyed God and preached a message on suicide that put the fear of the Lord into their hearts. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 22: PRE-024-21. JESUS AND STORMS ======================================================================== 21. Jesus and Storms Jesus and Storms by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1978 Jesus ordered His disciples into a boat that was headed for a collision. The Bible says He "constrained them to get into a ship..." It was headed for troubled waters; it would be tossed about like a bobbing cork; the disciples would be thrust into a mini-Titanic experience - and Jesus knew it all the time. "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away" (Matthew 14:22). Where was Jesus? Up in the mountains overlooking that sea. He was there praying for them not to fail the test He knew they must go through. The boat trip, the storm, the tossing waves, the winds were all a part of a trial the Father had planned. They were about to learn the greatest lesson they would ever learn. And that is how to recognize Jesus in the storm. They recognized Him to this point as the miracle worker, the Man who turned loaves and fishes into miracle food. They recognized Him as the friend of sinners, the One who brought salvation to every kind of lost humanity. They knew Him as the supplier of all their needs, even paying their taxes from a fish’s mouth. They recognized Jesus as "the Christ, the very Son of God." They knew He had the words of eternal life. They knew He had power over all the works of the devil. They knew Him as a teacher, teaching them how to pray, to forgive, to bind and to loose. But they had never learned to recognize Jesus in the storm. And tragically, those disciples who thought they really knew Him best could not recognize Him when the storm hit. That’s the root of most of our trouble today. We trust Jesus for miracles and healing. We believe Him for our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. We look to Him as the supplier of all our needs. We trust Him to bring us into glory one day. But when a sudden storm falls upon us and it seems like everything is falling apart, we find it difficult to see Jesus anywhere near. We can’t believe He allows storms to teach us how to trust. We are never quite sure He is nearby when things really get rough. The ship is now tossing; it appears to be sinking; winds are blowing; they have everything contrary against them. "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid" (Matthew 14:24-27). They were so suddenly swamped, so suddenly overwhelmed, the very thought that Jesus was nearby watching over them was absurd. One probably said, "This is the work of Satan - the devil is out to kill us - because of all those miracles we’ve had a part in." Another said, "Where did we go wrong? Which one of us has sin in his life? Let’s have a heart-searching; let’s confess one to another. God is mad at somebody on this boat!" Another could have said, "Why us? We’re doing what He said to do! We’re obedient! We are not out of God’s will. Why all of a sudden this storm? Why would God allow us to be shaken up so much on a divine mission?" And in the darkest hour, "Jesus went unto them..." How difficult it must have been for Jesus to wait on the edge of the storm, loving them so much, feeling every pain they felt, wanting so much to keep them from getting hurt, yearning after them as a father for his children in trouble! Yet, knowing they could never fully know Him or trust Him until the full fury of the storm was upon them. He would reveal Himself only when they had reached the limit of their faith. The boat would have never gone down, but their fear would have drowned them more quickly than the waves beating on the ship. The only fear of drowning was from despair - not water - and fear and anxiety! Remember, Jesus can calm that sea anytime, simply by speaking the word, but the disciples cannot. Could faith on their part have been exercised? Couldn’t they command the sea in Jesus’ name — "Greater works shall ye do." Could not the promises have been put into practice - "All things asked in prayer... ye shall have!" Not until we have learned to recognize Jesus in the storm! Not until we receive faith to ride out the storm! Not until we learn to "be of good cheer" when the boat appears to be sinking. "And when the disciples saw Him ...they were troubled saying, It is a spirit (a ghost)...." (Matthew 14:26). They did not recognize Jesus in that storm! They saw a ghost — an apparition. The thought of Jesus being so near, so much a part of what they were going through, did not even enter their minds. Here is the danger we all face - not being able to see Jesus in our troubles. Instead, we see ghosts. In that very peak moment of fear, when the night is the blackest, the storm is the angriest, the winds are the loudest, and the hopelessness so overwhelming, Jesus always draws near to us to reveal Himself as the Lord of the flood - the Savior in storms. "The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever" (Psalms 29:10). They compounded their fears. Now, not only were they afraid of the storm, they had a new fear — ghosts! The storm was spewing up ghosts. Mysterious spirits were on the loose! You would think that at least one disciple would have recognized what was happening and say, "Look friends, Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us. He sent us on this mission; we are in the center of His will. He said the steps of a righteous man are ordered by Himself. Look again - that’s our Lord; He’s right here. He’s never been far away; we’ve never once been out of His sight. Everything’s under control." But not one disciple could recognize Him! They did not expect Him to be in their storm. They expected Him at the Samaritan well. They expected Him to be there with outstretched arms, bidding little children to come; to be in the temple driving out the money changers; to one day be at the right hand of the Father to make them kings and priests. But never, never did they expect Him to be with them, near them - in a storm! It was to them just an act of destiny! An unexpected disaster! A tragic accident of fate! An unwanted, unexpected, unnecessary trial! A lonely, fearful journey into darkness and despair! A night to be forgotten! But God saw that storm through different eyes! It was as much a test for these disciples as the wilderness was for Jesus. God took them away from the miracles, shut them up in a tiny, frail boat, far from the upper room, and then He turned nature loose. God allowed them to be shaken - but not sunken! There was only one lesson to be learned - only one! A simple lesson - not some deep, mystical, earth-shattering one. Jesus simply wanted to be trusted as their Lord in every storm of life. He simply wanted them to maintain their cheer and confidence even in the blackest hours of trial. That’s all! Jesus did not want them to conjure up ghosts! But they did, just as we all still do. Every man in that boat must have conjured up a ghost for himself. Jesus must have appeared as twelve different ghosts in twelve separate minds of those disciples. Perhaps one thought to himself, "I know that ghost; that’s the ghost of lying! I lied a few weeks back. That’s what this storm is all about. That’s the reason we’re in trouble; I lied. That’s the ghost of lying, trying to warn me to quit lying. I will! I will! Just get me out of this mess and I’ll quit lying." Another probably thought, "That’s the ghost of hypocrisy! I’m two-faced. I’m a phony. Now I can see what I am in this storm. That’s why the storm! God sent that ghost to warn me to straighten up. I will! I will! No more hypocrisy - just deliver me." Another - "That’s the ghost of compromise! I’ve been compromising lately. Oh, my. I’ve really failed the Lord. It’s been a secret thing I tried to hide. But I’m scared now. You allowed this storm; You sent that ghost to warn me to get back to holiness. I will! I will! Just give me another chance." Another - "That’s the ghost of covetousness! I’ve been too materialistic." Another - "That’s the ghost of wasted time! I’ve grown lazy. I’ve not been witnessing! I’ve grown cold, lukewarm. I’ve learned my lesson..." Another - "That’s the ghost of grudges. I’ve not been forgiving like I should. I’ve been avoiding certain people! That’s why God is shaking me up - to teach me to quit holding grudges." Another - "That’s the ghost of secret sin! Evil thoughts. I can’t seem to give it up, so God had to send this storm to expose me." Another - "That’s the ghost of broken promises. I promised God I’d do this thing, and I didn’t do it. Now, God is getting back at me. He’s mad at me so He put me out in this storm. I’m sorry. That’s the lesson - I’ve learned my lesson." No! No! A thousand times no! Those are all ghosts of our own minds - apparitions only. None of these are the real lessons to be learned. God is not mad at you. You are not in a storm because you failed. These ghosts are not even in your storm. It is Jesus at work, seeking to reveal Himself in His saving, keeping, preserving power! He is wanting you to know that the storm has one purpose only and that is to bring you to complete rest and trust in His power and presence at all times. In the middle of miracles - and in the middle of storms! It is so easy in a storm to lose a sense of His presence and feel that we are left alone to battle against hopeless odds; that somewhere along the line, as a result of sin or compromise, Christ has forsaken us and left us out there all alone in that tossing boat. What about those times when the contrary winds are sickness, disease, and pain? When cancer strikes? When pain and fear are so overwhelming, you can’t spare a thought about the closeness of Jesus? Your sudden storm is upon you, and there is no other thought than survival. You don’t want to die. You want to live! You see the ghost of death in the shadows and you tremble. You don’t have the strength to face even the next hour. That is what the presence of Jesus is all about. It is a revelation that is the most powerful when it comes to us when most needed. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 23: PRE-025-22. VICTORY OVER YOUR BESETTING SIN ======================================================================== 22. Victory Over Your Besetting Sin Victory Over Your Besetting Sin by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1979 Sin causes Christians to become craven cowards who live in humiliating defeat. They can’t stand up with courage against sin because of the secret sin in their own lives. They excuse the sins of others because of the disobedience in their own hearts and they can’t preach victory because they live in defeat. Some of them once knew what it was like to live victoriously, taking vengeance against sin, having fulfilled Christ’s righteousness in their own lives. They experienced the power, the courage, the blessings that come to those who are obedient to the Lord. Today they are but a shadow of their old selves. Now they hang their heads in shame, unable to look the world in the eye, victimized by a sin that rules their lives. A besetting sin has robbed them of their spiritual vitality and one enemy after another is raised up against them. A once mightily used evangelist now sells cars in a small town in Texas. He once stood in the pulpit as a powerful preacher of the Gospel and thousands were converted through his ministry. He became an adulterer, left his wife and ran off with his girlfriend. In just a few weeks, he lost everything. That minister is now but a shell of his old self, to see him shuffle about, beaten down and sad-eyed, is pitiful! He lives in constant fear and spends sleepless nights thinking of what could have been. His anxieties have made him physically ill, he has heart pains, ulcers and hypertension. He has repented of his sin, but he cannot undo the past. God forgives, but people don’t. A sixteen-year-old youth confessed to me, "I’m having sex with my girlfriend. I’ve been reading what the Bible says about fornication and adultery and now I’m scared. I worry that God will have to judge me if the Bible is true. I keep doing it and I’m full of fear, guilt and worry. It seems like there are two people inside me - a good one and a bad one. I am afraid the bad person in me will overpower the good person and God will have to give up on me. How can I make sure the good person in me gets the victory?" Both the minister and the boy have been overpowered by their enemies of guilt, fear and depression. They are victims, defeated and humiliated by unseen enemies that threaten to destroy them. Sin always brings on the enemies. Sin weakens all resistance; it turns warriors into weaklings. Lust conceives, then it brings on sin, and sin brings on the enemy to destroy. We Must Learn From Examples In The Old Testament David had enemies. They were the Philistines, the Amorites, the Syrians and other enemies arrayed against Israel. When David was right with the Lord and in good fellowship, none of his enemies could stand before him. He slew them by the tens of thousands and his name was feared in every enemy camp. But when David sinned and became estranged from the Lord, his enemies grew bold and triumphed over him. Sin caused him to lose his courage and confidence, making him weak before all his enemies. David’s sin of adultery immediately followed one of his greatest victories. The Ammonite-Syrian war was one of Israel’s greatest battles. David gathered all Israel together, passed with them over Jordan and did battle at Helam. The Syrians fled before Israel - seven hundred chariots were destroyed, forty thousand horsemen killed and all the kings allied with the Ammonites and Syrians fled. The chapter on this great war closes by saying, "And they made peace with Israel and served them" (2 Samuel 10:1-19). This great man of God, basking in the glory of his greatest victory, begins to lust after Bathsheba, kills her husband Uriah and commits adultery with her. "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord" (2 Samuel 11:27). So the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. The prophet did not come to counsel David on how to handle his guilt and condemnation. He did not offer the king a salve for his stricken conscience. Rather, Nathan got right to the heart of the matter. "Thou art the man. You have despised the commandment of the Lord. You have done evil in the sight of the Lord. You are guilty of secret sin." Sin Brings On Its Own Judgment. To a man after His own heart, God had to say, "Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house..." (2 Samuel 12:11). Shortly after, his beloved son Absalom turns against him and David flees for his life into the wilderness. What a pitiful sight! "And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up" (2 Samuel 15:30). Is this weeping, barefooted, broken man the same great king who, just months before, had defeated two world powers? What turned him into a weak, powerless and cowardly man who fled before, the enemy? It was sin - nothing else! Like Samson, David was shorn of his courage and power because he caved in to the weakness of his flesh. Solomon, too, was feared by all his enemies. Pharaoh’s armies were held off by his powerful reputation. The Edomites dared not attack so powerful a king. His was a glorious reign and his fame was unparalleled. He was blessed, prospered and honored in everything he did. But Solomon sinned against the Lord and permitted his love for God to grow cold. He lost touch with heaven. And look what happened. God said to him, "Because you failed to keep my covenant and my statutes ... and have turned aside to other gods...I will rend the kingdom from you..." (1 Kings 11:11). Suddenly the enemies of Solomon fall upon him. "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite..." (1 Kings 11:14). Not just one enemy, but two: "And God stirred up another adversary, Rexon ... and he abhorred Israel..." (1 Kings 11:23-25). Sin and compromise so weakened this mighty king, even his servant became an enemy. "And Jeroboam ... Solomon’s servant, even he lifted up his hand against the king" (1 Kings 11:26). Not a single enemy of Israel could stand before them when that nation did what was right before God. Their enemies fled in terror at the mention of their name. The enemies’ hearts "melted like wax" when the victorious armies of Israel went to war, with banners waving. But when Israel sinned, even their weakest enemies prevailed against them. Achan committed an accursed sin and the minuscule army of Ai sends Israel running in humiliation and defeat. Listen to the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple and you soon discover that all Israel was aware of what made them victorious and what brought defeat upon them. "When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee .. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy...(1 Kings 8:33; 1 Kings 8:46). All Israel had to do, to maintain the copious blessings of the Lord was to "harken diligently to the Lord’s commandments, to love the Lord and serve Him with all thy heart and soul." God promised blessings beyond anything they could imagine. God promised them, "There shall no man be able to stand before you, for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon..." (Deuteronomy 11:25). Israel was told, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey ... And a curse, if ye ... turn aside out of the way..." (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). Is This Generation Bringing On Itself A Curse? Such a very clear manifestation of God at work must not be lost on us today. Is this why we are falling as victims before our modern enemies? We do not fight against flesh and blood enemies - ours are more powerful!. Our enemies are fear, depression, guilt, condemnation, worry, anxiety, loneliness, emptiness, despair. Has God changed in His character or does He still "stir up adversaries" against a sinful, compromising generation? Can it be that these modern-day enemies are overpowering many of God’s people because of their hidden sin and backsliding? It was not a heavy yoke God put on His people. It was so simple and easy: "Obey and be blessed or disobey and suffer." That same message is echoed in the New Testament: ’For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace’ (Roman 8:6). We have had enough teaching on how to cope with our problems and fear. We have not had enough teaching about how to deal with sin in our lives. You can’t heal cancer by putting patches on it. It has to be removed. We will continue to be a neurosis-bound people as long as we excuse the sin in us. No wonder we are so depressed, worried, burdened with guilt and condemnation - we live on in our disobedience and compromise. Most of us are fully aware that sin is at the root of all our problems. We know that sin causes fear, guilt and depression. We know it robs us of all spiritual courage and vitality. But what we do not know is how to overcome the sin that so easily besets us. Most of the books I’ve read about achieving Christ’s righteousness - and how to live a holy life - never tell you how to get and keep the victory over sin. We hear it preached at us all the time, "Sin is your enemy. God hates your sin. Walk in the Spirit. Forsake your evil ways. Lay aside that sin you keep indulging in. Don’t be bound by the cords of your own iniquity." That’s all well and good. You Can’t Just Walk Away From Your Besetting Sin How do you overcome a sin that has become a habit? Where is the victory over a besetting sin that almost becomes a part of your life? You can hate that sin; you can keep on swearing you will never do it again; you can cry and weep over it and live in remorse over what it does to you - but how do you walk away from it? How do you reach the point where that sin no longer enslaves you? Recently, I asked over 300 seekers a very pointed question: "How many of you are fighting a losing battle against a besetting sin? How many have one secret sin that keeps dragging you down?" I was shocked at the quick reaction. Almost all of them admitted they were victims, seeking desperately to be delivered from a sin that bound them. I hear such horrible admissions of defeat and failure everywhere I go concerning this matter of victory over a besetting sin. Most are dedicated Christians who deeply love the Lord. They are not wicked or vile people; it’s just that they have to admit, "I have this one problem that keeps me from being totally free." The Confessions Are Honest And Heartrending "I can’t tell anybody what my secret battle is; it’s between the Lord and me. I’ve prayed for deliverance for over three years now. I’ve made a thousand promises to quit. I’ve lived in torment. The fear of God haunts me. I know it’s wrong. But try as I may, I keep on doing it. I sometimes think I’m hooked forever." "You tell me to lay aside my sin - great! I’ve done that hundreds of times. But my sin won’t let go of me. Just when I think I’ve gotten the victory - WHAM - it comes back again. I’ve cried a river of tears over my sinfulness and I’m tired of promising God I’ll never do it again. All I want is to be free, but I don’t know how. I know I’ll never be what God wants me to be until I get the victory". "I’ve been preaching to others for over fifteen years, but recently I fell into Satan’s trap. I’ve been crippled spiritually and as much as I hate my besetting sin, I can’t seem to get free of this bondage. None of the formulas and solutions I preached to others seem to work for me. Frankly, I wonder how long God will put up with me before I’m exposed." Is There Victory Over All Our Habituating Sins? I have no formulas, no simple solutions. I do know there is much comfort in the Bible for those who are fighting battles between the flesh and the Spirit. Paul fought the same kind of battle, against the same kind of enemy. He confessed, "For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do "(Romans 7:19). Paul cried out, just as all mankind does, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He goes on to say, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord..." Yes, we know - victory over all our enemies is through Jesus Christ the Lord. But how do we get the power out of His vine into our puny, little branch? How does this thing work? I love Jesus, always have; I know He has all power. I know He promises me victory, but just what does it mean? How does the victory come? It’s not enough to be forgiven; you must be free from going back to your sin. I am just beginning to see a little light on this great mystery of godliness. God is asking me to do the following three things in my own search for total victory over all my besetting sins. 1. I must learn to hunger for holiness and to hate my besetting sin! Every waking moment I must remind myself that God hates my sin. Mostly, because of what it does to me. God hates it because it weakens me and makes me a coward. Therefore, I cannot be a vessel of honor to do His work on earth. If I excuse my sin as a weakness - if I make myself believe I am an exception and that God will bend over backwards to comply with my needs - if I put out of mind all thoughts of divine retribution - then I am on the way to accepting my sin and opening myself to a reprobate mind. God wants me to loathe my sin, to hate it with all that is within me. There can be no victory or deliverance from sin until I am convinced God will not permit it! The fear of God against sin is the basis of all freedom. God cannot look upon sin; He cannot condone it; He cannot make a single exception - so face it! It is wrong! Don’t expect to be excused or to be given special privileges. God must act against all sin that threatens to destroy one of His children. It is wrong and nothing will ever make it right. Sin pollutes the pure stream of holiness flowing through me. It must be confessed and forsaken. I must be convinced of that. 2. I must be convinced God loves me in spite of my sin! God hates my sin with a perfect hatred while, at the same time, He loves me with an infinite compassion. His love will never once compromise with sin, but He clings to His sinning child with one purpose in mind - to reclaim him. His wrath against my sin is balanced by His great pity for me as His child. His pity conquers His loathing against my sin the moment He sees me hating it as He does. My motive must never be fear of God’s wrath against my sin, but a willingness to accept His love that seeks to save me. If His love for me cannot save me His wrath never will. It should be more than my sin that shames me and humbles me; it should be the knowledge that He keeps loving me in spite of all I’ve done to grieve Him. Think of it! God pities me! He knows the agony of my battle. He is never far off, He is always there with me, reassuring me that nothing can ever separate me from His love. He knows my battle is enough burden without forcing me to carry on with the added fear of wrath and judgment. I know His love for me will cause Him to withhold the rod while the battle is being fought. God will never hurt me, strike me or abandon me while I am in the process of hating my sin and seeking help and deliverance. While I am swimming against the tide, He is always on shore, ready to throw me a life line. 3. I must accept the loving help of my Father in resisting and overcoming. Sin is like an octopus with many tentacles trying to crush out my life. Seldom do all tentacles loosen their hold on me at once. It is one tentacle at a time. In this war against sin, it is victory - one dead soldier at a time. Seldom does the entire enemy army fall dead at a single blast. It is hand-to-hand combat. It is one small victory at a time. But God doesn’t send me out to do battle without a war plan. He is my Commander; I will fight inch by inch, hour by hour - under His direction. He dispatches the Holy Spirit to me with clear direction on how to fight, when to run, where to strike next. This battle against principalities and powers is His war against the devil - not mine. I am just a soldier, fighting in His war. I may get weary, wounded and discouraged, but I can keep on fighting when I know He must give me the orders. I am a volunteer in His war. I am ready to do His will at all cost. I will wait for His orders on how to win. Those directions come slowly at times. The battle seems to go against me, but -in the end I know we win. God wants me to just believe in Him. Like Abraham, my faith is counted to me as righteousness. The only part I can play in this war is to believe God will bring me out of the battle victoriously. Finally - When The Sin In Me Is Conquered, All My Other Enemies Must Flee What I do about the sin in my life determines how my enemies will behave. Victory over besetting sin causes all my other enemies to flee. Worry, fear, guilt, anxiety, depression, restlessness, loneliness - all are my enemies. But they can harm me only when sin turns me into an unprotected target. The righteous are as bold as a lion. They have a clear mind and conscience and that is a fortress these enemies cannot overrun. Do you want victory over all your enemies? Then go at it the right way by dealing ferociously with your besetting sin. Remove the accursed thing in your life and you will become mighty in God. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (surround or harass) us..." (Hebrews 12:1). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 24: PRE-026-23.YOU CAN�T DEPEND ON OTHERS FOR YOUR HAPPINESS ======================================================================== 23.You Can’t Depend On Others For Your Happiness You Can’t Depend on Others For Your Happiness by David Wilkerson | June 1, 1979 A sad young minister and his wife came to me for counseling recently. After four troubled years of marriage and two children, they were contemplating divorce. She was the saddest looking wife I have seen in years. Her husband, the young youth minister, stood nearby, shuffling his weight from foot to foot, while his teary-eyed wife sobbed out her confession to me. "There is absolutely no hope for our marriage," she cried, We are in two different worlds. He is so wrapped up in his work, he has no time left for me and the children. My whole world has been wrapped up in him, but now I’m getting tired of sitting home waiting for him. I’m not accomplishing anything on my own. I don’t even know if I love him anymore." It hurt me to see such a lovely couple acting like strangers to one another. I recognized the cause of their problem immediately. Both were bored, restless and unhappy with each other. Just like multitudes of other couples, they once stood before a minister to be married, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes with their hearts filled with hope and anticipation that their marriage would be happy and fulfilling. Now, just a few years later, their hopes are in ashes. They become disillusioned and, try as they may, they can’t seem to rekindle the spark of first love. It is then the ugly thoughts of divorce surface. I looked that young wife in the eye and said, "What a shame that all your happiness depends only on what your husband does. If he is a good husband, if he treats you the way you think you should be treated, if he spends a little time with you - then you may find a little happiness. But when he lets you down, you have nothing left. Your whole world rises and falls on the actions of your husband. That is why you are so empty. She nodded affirmatively, then bowed her head sheepishly while I continued. "Young lady, you’re not a whole person. You’re just half a person. You cannot survive if you depend on someone else for your happiness. True women’s liberation means finding your own happiness in yourself through God’s power. You must become your own person and quit depending on your husband or someone else to make you happy." She knew I was right - I had hit the nail right on the head. She promised to change her way of thinking and get involved with life herself. I left them, convinced she was determined to step out of her role as an emotional cripple and find her own source of happiness through a new relationship with God. True Cause of Divorce and Broken Relationships Husbands and wives are becoming emotional cripples who lean all over each other, causing both to fall. We mess up our relationships because we live under the influence of a lie. We have convinced ourselves we have a right to happiness and that our spouse is morally obligated to create it for us. The danger of that lie is that when we can’t find the happiness we expect from them, we put all the blame on their failure to do what was right. Our divorce courts today are overcrowded with husbands and wives seeking divorce simply on the grounds their marriage gives them no happiness. One such divorced husband told me, "God bless my dear wife; she tried so hard. I gave that woman three of the best years of my life, hoping she could learn to understand me and make me feel like a man. She just didn’t have it in her. She simply did not know how to make me happy." That man will probably get married once or twice again, hoping a new wife will succeed where the first one failed. Some keep marching down the aisle one new partner after another, trying desperately to find one understanding soul mate who will create happiness for them. But they seldom find it. Their misery and unhappiness increases with each new marriage partner. No other human being on earth can create happiness for you. You must create it for yourself through the work of God in your own life. Marriage is not made up of two halves trying to become a whole. Rather, marriage consists of two whole people who are bridged by the Spirit of God. Marriage never works unless both parties maintain their own identity, settle their own values, find their own sense of fulfillment and discover ther own source of happiness. They must be complete in themselves through the Lord. Why allow what someone else does to destroy your life? Why permit the actions of another to rob you of your peace and joy? Why can’t you be your own person? Why can’t you look life right in the eye and say, "From now on, I’ll not allow someone else to drag me down. I am determined to be a whole person and I will discover my own source of happiness. No more leaning on someone else to give meaning and purpose to my life! I want a happiness that will not be lost just because somebody fails me." Step Out of Your Bondage to the Actions of Others I say to every housewife who will hear me: "Step out of your bondage of living your life only through others." God never intended that you find happiness only through your husband or your children. I am not suggesting that you forsake them - only that you forsake your degrading bondage to the idea that your happiness depends only on other people. God wants you to discover a life of true happiness and contentment based only on what you are as a person and not on the moods and whims of people around you. Wives who become clinging vines are not attractive to intelligent men. Husbands eventually walk all over wives who lean on them and exude an attitude that suggests, "You are my whole world and if you ever let me down, I might as well kill myself." Wives who become independently happy and content in and with themselves suddenly become mystifyingly attractive. The truly attractive wife is the one who can say to her husband, "I love you and I’ll be your friend, but I’m a person, too. I’m going to act like a whole person and my hapiness will be what I create through my own relationship with God." This is also a message that every young person must heed to survive the pressures of broken relationships so common today. How can young people find happiness when their parents are splitting up and their homes are disintegrating? They, too, need to learn not to depend on others for their happiness. A 19-year-old gift confessed, "My dad and mom have been in love for over 23 years. I think their’s is just about a perfect marriage. If I ever learned they had been having problems and were putting on a good front just for me - I think I’d die. In fact, if my folks ever got a divorce, I’d go out and do drugs, sex and alcohol just to get even with them. I’d throw my life away." "What a horrible concept," I told her. "Isn’t it a shame that all your happiness depends on what your parents do. If they fail, so does your purpose in life. You will go all through life substituting others in the place of your parents. You will always have to have an idol - someone to be your good example. You will never be your own person. You will fail only because someone else fails you. What a pity!" Our young people today must learn to find their own source of happiness; they must no longer depend on their parents to create it for them. Thank God I am now meeting hundreds of young people who have found their own place of happiness in the Lord. One young man told me, "I love my parents, but I’m not going to allow their divorce to affect me. I’m going on with God. I have my own life to live and I’m not going to let them drag me down by their actions." We must give ourselves to the needs of others. We must help heal the hurts of those we love. We must get under one another’s burdens, but we can do all of this only when we are happy with ourselves. We can help others find themselves only after we have found ourselves in the Lord. There Is a Right Way to Find Happiness I’m not one who cares much for formulas or how-to directions. But in my own experience, I have found a simple way to find a true happiness that does not depend on what others do. It is a happiness that does not come and go and it is not affected by the moods, words or actions of people in my life - even those I love the most. What is that secret? I have discovered that my needs are spiritual, not physical! Our basic human needs include food, water, shelter and the air we breathe. Beyond that, our needs are spiritual. And those needs can’t be met by any human being. All unhappiness is a result of trying to meet our needs through human relationships. When another human being fails to meet our needs, we become frustrated and unhappy. For example, the husband comes home from work tired, short-tempered and feeling a need for a kind, understanding word from his wife. He is depressed and he wants his wife to make him feel better. In turn, his wife has her own needs. She is feeling down, lonely and she is wanting him to lift her spirits. So they lean on each other. The unspoken message rings out, "I’m hurting, honey; heal me. I’m down; lift me up. I’m depressed; make me happy. I’m blue; take my blues away. I’m in need; meet that need. Put your arms around me and love all the hurt out of me." Of course, neither of them can meet the needs in each other, because those needs are spiritual and only God can meet them. You can be in the arms of someone you love all night long and still wake up crying inside. The discovery is soon made that those needs cannot be met by sex or by a tender word. That is why some men pay a prostitute $100 a night just to sit up and talk with them. They hope their blues can be talked away. It never works, because the next night, they are seeking someone else to share their problems with. We expect our spouses to do Godlike work. We expect miracles of them. We know only that we have overwhelming needs and that they must be met. I have had lonely people tell me, "If only God would give me someone to love, I’d be such a better person and a better Christian. I know all my unhappiness is a result of being so alone all the time. I need a friend - only then will I be truly happy." I say - not so! Another person, male or female, may give you temporary relief from the agony of loneliness, but unless you are a whole person with your own source of inner strength, the old feelings of despair and loneliness will once again overwhelm you. Two years ago my wife and I counseled a young lady who insisted she was the loneliest girl in the state of Texas. She said, "If I could only find a husband, get married and settle down, I’d never be lonely again." We helped pray in her prince charming. She did get married to a fine young Christian gentleman. But three months after the wedding, she was back to us in tears, crying, "I’m still lonely. I’m still empty. I know now it wasn’t just the man I needed. I haven’t settled things in my own life yet." That girl will never be a good wife until she learns to quit leaning on other people to meet her needs. A young divorcee asked my wife and me to pray that her estranged husband would return. She was nearly hysterical, crying, "I want him back so badly. I know I messed up our marriage - I was so crazy and immature. But now that he’s gone, I want him back. I think I’ve grown up. I’ve matured. I know I can do it right this time, but he’s been dating another woman. I’m so desperate that if God won’t bring him back to me soon, I’m going to go out to the nearest bar and tag on the biggest drunk you ever saw." I informed her we would not pray for his return, because she was not ready for him. She would mess it up all over again. Why? Because she was still not a whole person. She was ready to throw her morals away if he did not come home to try once again to make her happy. That is why many people don’t get such prayers answered. They are not ready to try again. They would make the same mistakes all over again - even if remarried to someone else. They are still leaning on others - always using someone else as a crutch to hold them up. They have not become a whole person and they are not complete in themselves. God Alone Is the Only Source of All Happiness and Contentment Paul said, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Php 4:19). Not your husband or your wife, pastor, psychiatrist or your best friend - but God! Go ahead and share your broblems with your friend or pastor or a professional counselor. But, in the final analysis, they can help you only if they make you face yourself. You must do it on your own - take your needs to the Lord and allow Him to make you whole. Eventually, you must get rid of every crutch and lean completely on Jesus alone. When your relationship with the Lord is wrong, it affects all human relationships. Most Christian married couples are not having trouble with their marriage - rather, they are having trouble with God - with faith - with prayer; therefore, they have trouble with each other. When people confess to me their marriage is in trouble, I don’t have to dig too deeply until I discover they are not where they should be with the Lord. They are bored with the things of God, so they are bored with life and marriage. They have lost touch with God and, in turn, have lost touch with their spouse. They are not really suffering from a lack of communication with each other; they are suffering mostly from a lack of communication with God. When people quit talking to God, they quit talking to one another. And people who quit talking to God soon get very lonely and depressed. They are actually lonely for God, hungering for communion with Him, yearning for His close love and nearness - but, instead of recognizing these needs as spiritual, they blame their lack of fulfillment on their husband or wife. If most Christians were truly honest, they would have to admit there is nothing terminal about their marriage problems. What is wrong is their relationship to the Lord. Their faith is in trouble and when people are not on right terms with God, they get frustrated and take it out on the one they love the most. They are actually angry with themselves. That empty, restless feeling is a hunger for God. But instead of returning to the secret closet to satisfy that thirst, most Christians drift further away and fall deeper into despair. There is not a Christian in this world who, deep in his heart, is not aware that God will help him. We know God can heal all our hurts - that He can heal any marriage - that He can wipe away every tear and bring joy, but we simply do not take the time or effort to run to Him in our hour of need. You can be happy. You can be a whole person - and you need never again lean on another human being. That is not to say we don’t need one another. We need the prayer, help and comfort of loving friends and family. But there can be no lasting happiness if we expect others to create it for us. Why not allow Him to renew your heart - renew a right spirit in you - and reveal to you that in His presence there is fulness of joy and pleasures evermore? That is why Jesus said, "Be of good cheer...Lo, I am with you alway" (Matthew 14:27; Matthew 28:20). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 25: PRE-027-24. YOU CANNOT CARRY YOUR OWN CROSS ======================================================================== 24. You Cannot Carry Your Own Cross You Cannot Carry Your Own Cross by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1979 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] It’s very true that Jesus said to His disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me." But Jesus could not carry His cross - and neither can you! Jesus fell under the load of His cross, weary, exhausted, and unable to carry it another step. John said, "And he bearing his cross went forth into a place...called Golgotha" (John 19:17). the Bible doesn’t tell us how far Jesus carried His cross. We do know they compelled Simon, the Cyrene, to pick it up and carry it to the place of crucifixion (Matthew 27:32). Jesus did take up His cross and was led by His tormentors like a lamb to be slain. But He could not carry it for long. The truth is, Jesus was too weak and frail to carry His cross. It was laid on another’s shoulder. He had reached the end of His endurance. He was a physically broken and wounded man. There is only so much one person can take. There is a breaking point. Why did they compel Simon to pick up that cross? Was Jesus lying on those cobblestone streets like a lifeless man, with the cross lying over him like dead weight? Did they kick Him, try to prop Him up, and attempt to force Him a step further? But did He just lie there, with not enough strength to move an inch? His cross had become too heavy to bear. What does this mean to us? Would our Lord make us do something He could not do? Did He not say, "...whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple? (Luke 14:27). A cross is a cross, be it wooden or spiritual. It is not enough to say, "His cross was different - our cross is spiritual." Personally, it gives me great hope to know that Jesus could not take up His own cross. It encourages me to know that I am not the only one burdened down to the ground at times, unable to go on in my own strength. If we are going to identify with His crucifixion, we must also identify with the steps that led to the cross. We must face, once and for all, the truth that no human being can carry his own cross. Don’t look for some hidden interpretation; Jesus knew exactly what He was saying when He called us to "take up our cross and follow Him." He remembers His own cross. He remembers that another had to carry it for Him. Why then would He ask us to shoulder a cross He knows will soon crush us to the ground? He knows we can’t carry it all the way, in our own strength. He knows all about the agony, the helplessness, the burden that crosses create. There is a truth hidden here that we must uncover. It is a truth so powerful and edifying, it could change the way we look at all our troubles and hurts. And even though it almost sounds sacrilegious to suggest Jesus did not carry His own cross, that is the truth. What it means to us today is that Jesus, who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities, must experience for Himself what it is like to be weak, discouraged and unable to go on without help. He was in all points tempted just as we are. The temptation is not in failing, not in laying down the cross because of weakness; the real temptation is in trying to pick up that cross and carry it on in our own strength. God could have supernaturally lifted that cross and magically levitated it all the way to Calvary. Then, too, He could have taken the weight out of the cross and made it featherlike. But He did not. The crucifixion scene was not a series of blunders, and though Christ died at the hands of sinners, the entire plan was borne in the heart of God from the foundation of the world. God put Simon there, ready to play his part in the plan of redemption. God was not caught by surprise when His Son could no longer carry the cross and thus fulfill prophecy. God knew Jesus would take up His cross, follow toward Golgotha, then lay it down. Your Cross Is Meant to Bring You Down God knows also that not one of His children can carry the cross they take up when following Christ. We so much want to be good disciples; we so much want to deny ourselves and take the cross upon ourselves; we seem to forget that same cross will one day bring us to the end of our human strength and endurance. Would Jesus purposely ask us to take up a cross that He knows will sap all our human energies and leave us lying helpless - even to the point of giving up? Absolutely yes! Jesus forewarns us, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). So He asks us to take up our cross, struggle on with it, until we learn that lesson. Not until our cross pushes us down into the dust do we learn the lesson that it is not by our might or power or strength, but by His power. That is what the Bible means when it says His strength is made perfect in our weakness. It has never meant that God’s way is a little better than ours or that His strength is a a bit superior. It means that God’s way is the only way; His strength the only hope. Jesus looks upon this world, filled with confused children going about trying to establish their own righteousness, trying to please Him in their own way, and He calls for crosses. The cross is meant to break us, to drain us of all human effort. We know we are stronger than Simon who will come at our breaking point and take over the burden, but He cannot take over until we give up, until we come to that point where we cry, "God, I can’t go another step. I’m exhausted! I’m broken! My strength is gone! I feel dead! Help!" Jesus was crucified "through weakness" (2 Corinthians 13:4). It is when we become totally weak and self-abased that we witness we are made strong, by faith in the Lord. Our spirit is willing to carry our own cross, but the flesh is weak. Paul could glory in his cross, taking pleasure in how weak it made him. He said, "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong...For he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Paul was not weak and strong at the same time. He grew weak because of troubles and distresses. But when he was cast down to the ground by his cross, he did not despair. It was out of that weakness he became strong. Paul rejoiced in this process of being made weak because it was the secret to his power with Christ. "Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." What is your cross? It is any burden or pressure that threatens to break you down. My junkie friends call theirs "a monkey on the back." That is not a sacriligious reference to the cross. It simply defines their image of a burden that crushes them to the ground. I have often heard husbands and wives referring to their marriage as a "a cross to bear." Others see their cross as an unfulfilling job, an illness, a state of lonliness or divorce. I have heard all kinds of definitions of what the cross is suppossed to represent. I have even heard homosexuals refer to their habit as a heavy cross. Since Jesus did describe the details of the cross we are to take up, I suggest it is anything that will hasten a crisis in our spiritual lives. For example, loneliness can be a cross if it becomes a burden too heavy to bear and it finally brings us to the end of ourselves. It is then that we can allow the Lord to reach down to us and lift us out of our pity and self-destructiveness. Loneliness is a good thing if it makes us weak enough to want only His strength. "I’m Not Doing Enough for God" My cross is peculiar but not unfamiliar to many others. I am constantly burdened by a sense of "not ever doing enough." This cross usually becomes the heaviest right after I’ve written a best-selling book; after preaching to thousands; after launching a feeding program for starving children; after counseling with hundreds of troubled couples. I stop for a few weeks, take inventory of my life and ministry, and something in me gets restless. I get depressed and confess to my wife and friends, "I don’t feel like I’m doing anything for God. I’m not as fulfilled as I should be. Sometimes I feel so useless." So often I get that "unfinished" feeling. I feel I am wasting too much time doing insignificant things. It’s hard to relax when a voice inside condemns you for not "burning out for Jesus." I think of all the things I promise myself I will do; the projects I’ll finish; the growth in God I’ll achieve - and much of it never gets done. I accuse myself of being lazy. Others seem to be so disciplined and motivated, and I picture them in my mind as all passing me by, leaving me behind in the dust. But God will ask me to keep taking up that cross daily, until it finally gets the best of me. Evidently that’s a part of my life that is not yet under His control. One day, I’ll fall down in despair and cry, "Lord, I just don’t care anymore. Let the world pass me by. Let my dreams all fade. Let me be nothing but an obedient disciple. I don’t want to compete with myself or others anymore. No more ego goals. Take over, Lord, and lift my load." That is when our Lord will step in and whisper, "Now David, let Me carry your load." Spiritual Crosses Sometimes spiritual pride can be a cross. You take on a heavy load when you begin to testify about the great things God is doing in your life. God gives you a broken and contrite spirit. Others come to you for help and receive blessings. You are used in wonderful ways in encouraging people all around you. It begins to dawn on you, "Wow! I’ve had such great joy. God has made me so tender and loving. I’m finally learning how to overcome my temptations and I’m growing so much in the Lord. I feel like I’m about to break through into a life of spiritual glory and power. At last, I’ve reached a lace of trust and peace. I don’t ever want to go back to what I was." A week later you are groveling in the dust; your spiritual balloon busted, and everything seems to have drained out of you. All you can say is, "What happened? I haven’t sinned against God; I haven’t doubted. The joy just disappeared. I don’t seem to have anything in me now to give to others. I’m dry and empty. Why couldn’t I have kept the beautiful feelings?" You Will Never "Arrive" Hear me, friend - God will never permit you to feel like you have arrived. That’s the trouble with too many Christians today. Way back, they received a great blessing from the Lord. God did a wonderful work in their lives. The Holy Spirit came upon them and redid their lives, through and through. It was glorious and they started telling the world about their awakening. And it’s been downhill every since. They have been riding out that one great experience, and in the process, they became self-satisfied and complacent. Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall. Finally that once-blessed Christian ends up feeling weak and empty. After trying unsuccessfully to invent and recreate the blessings, he gives up in despair. He cries out, "I’m spiritually dead. I’m losing ground with God. I feel like a phony. I can’t seem to get back to where I was in the Lord." Your love for Jesus can put you on your knees, but your cross will put you on your face - on the ground in the dust. God meets you in your prostrate condition and whispers, "I have chosen the weak things of the world; the foolish things; the broken things; the things that are nothing - that no flesh should glory in His presence." The Cross Teaches Us How to Deny Self You will have to carry your cross until you learn to deny. Deny what? The one thing that constantly hinders God’s work in our lives - self. Look again at what Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." We are misinterpreting this message if we emphasize self-denial, that is, the rejection of material or unlawful things. Jesus was not calling upon us to learn self-discipline before we take up our cross. It is far more severe than that. Jesus is asking that we deny ourselves. This means to deny your own ability to carry any cross in your own strength. In other words, "Don’t take up your cross until you are ready to reject any and every thought on becoming a holy disciple as a result of your own effort." There are millions of professing Christians who boast about their self-denial. They don’t drink or smoke or curse or fornicate - they are examples of tremendous self-discipline. But not in a hundred years would they admit it was accomplished by anything else than their own willpower. In fact, they are quick to add statements like the following: "I can quit any time I want. The devil can’t trick me. I know what’s right and I try to do it. I keep all the commandments. I’m a clean, moral person. I don’t lie or cheat and I am faithful to my marriage vows." They are practicing self-denial, but they have never denied self. In some ways, we are all like that. We experience "spurts" of holiness, accompanied by feelings of purity. Good works usually produce good feelings. but God will not allow us to think our good works and clean habits can save us. That is why we need a cross. I believe Jesus is actually saying to us, "Before you take up your cross, be ready to face a moment of truth. Be ready to experience a crisis by which you will learn to deny your self-will, your self-righteousness, your self-sufficiency, your self-authority. You can rise up and follow Me as a true disciple only when you can freely admit you can do nothing in your own strength - you cannot overcome sin through your own willpower - your temptations cannot be overcome by your self-efforts alone - you cannot work things out by your own intellect. Jesus Never Forces a Cross on Us He said, "Let Him take up his cross." Never once does our Lord say, "Stoop down and let Me lay a cross on you." Jesus is not in the drafting business; His army is all volunteer. Not all Christians carry crosses. You can be a believer without carrying a cross, but you cannot be a disciple. I see so many believers rejecting the way of the cross. They have opted for the good life with its prosperity, its material gain, its popularity and success. I’m sure many of them will make heaven - they will have saved their skins, but they will not have learned Christ. Having rejected the suffering and sorrow of the cross, they will not have the capacity to know and enjoy Him in eternity, as will all the cross-bearing saints who have entered into the fellowship of His suffering. Those who suffer will reign together. I am not glorifying the suffering and pain - only the results they produce. Like Paul, we should look at the trials and hurts we are now experiencing and rejoice in the knowledge we are going down the only path that leads to ultimate victory and maturity. No longer, then, do we look at our burdens and troubles as accidents and penalties but as a cross that is offered to teach us submission to God’s way of doing things. If you are hurting right now, you are in the process of healing. If you are down, crushed under the burden of a heavy load, get ready! God is about to show Himself strong on your behalf. You are at the point of revelation. At any time now, your Simon will appear because God does use people to perform His will. Someone is going to be compelled by the Holy Spirit to come into your path of suffering, reach out to you, and help lift your burden. Your Cross Is a Sign of His Love Dear friend-don’t think of your trial as judgment from God. Don’t go about condemning yourself as though you have brought down upon you some dreaded penalty for failure. Stop thinking, "God is making me pay for my sin." Why can’t you see that what you are going through is a result of His love? Are you being chastened? Do you feel like you are being dragged down? Are you in pain? Suffering? Good! That is the evidence of His love toward you. Submit! Take up your cross! Be prepared to go down even more! Get ready to reach your crisis! Get ready to reach the end of yourself! Be prepared to give up! Be prepared to hit bottom! Please understand you are in Christ’s own school of discipleship. Rejoice that you are going to become weak in order to experience His overpowering strength in you. He laid His cross down; why won’t you? For Him, a Simon appears. For us, a Savior appears. We get up and go on. It’s still our cross - but now it’s on His shoulders. "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up" (Ecclesiates 4:9,10). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 26: PRE-028-25. GOD CAN USE YOU IN SPITE OF YOUR WEAKNESS ======================================================================== 25. God Can Use You In Spite Of Your Weakness God Can Use You in Spite of Your Weakness by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1979 God has determined to accomplish His goals here on earth through men with weaknesses. Isaiah, the great prayer warrior, was a man of like passions — meaning, just like the rest of us — weak and wounded. David, the man after God’s own heart, was a murdering adulterer who had no moral right to any of God’s blessings. Peter denied the very Lord God of Heaven — cursing the One who loved him most. Abraham, the father of nations, lived a lie — using his wife as a pawn to save his own skin. Jacob was a conniver. Paul was impatient and harsh with converts and associates who could not live up to his ascetic lifestyle. Adam and Eve turned a perfect marriage arrangement into a nightmare. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, did some of the most stupid things ever recorded in history. Samuel murdered King Agag in a rage of anger in an overzealous show of righteousness. Joseph taunted his lost brothers in almost boyish glee — until the games almost backfired on him. Jonah wanted to see an entire city burn to justify his prophecies against it — he despised the mercy of God toward a repentant people. Lot offered his two virgin daughters to a mob of sex–crazed Sodomites. The list goes on and on — men who loved God, men who were greatly used by God — almost driven to the ground by their weaknesses. Yet, God was always there saying, "I called you; I will be with you! I will take away the evil of your heart! I will accomplish my will, regardless!" God’s Treasure Is in Earthen Vessels One of the most encouraging Scriptures in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 4:7 : "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Then Paul goes on to describe those earthen vessels — dying men, troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down. And even though never forsaken or in despair, those men used by God are constantly groaning under the burden of their bodies, waiting anxiously to be clothed with new ones. God mocks man’s power. He laughs at our egotistical efforts at being good. He never uses the high and mighty — but, instead, uses the weak things of this world to confound the wise. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But 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 that are mighty; And the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not…That no flesh should glory in his presence" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Wow! Does that ever describe me! Weak thing — foolish thing — despised thing — abase thing — not very noble — not very smart — not very mighty. What insanity to think God could use such a creature! Yet that is His perfect plan — the greatest mystery on earth. God calls us in our weakness, even when He knows we’ll do it wrong. He puts His priceless treasure in these earthen vessels of ours because He delights in doing the impossible with nothing. God delights in using failures — men and women who think of themselves as unable to do hardly anything right. A woman wrote to me recently saying, "I’m the world’s #1 failure. My marriage is failing. I seem to do everything wrong in raising my children. I’m not very good at anything. I’m not even able to understand the Bible very well. Most of it is over my head. I feel like I’m not worth anything to anybody. I’ve not been a very good wife, mother or Christian. I’ve got to be the world’s worst failure." She is just the kind of person the Lord is looking for — people who know that if anything good happens through them, it has to be God. All the hotshot Christians who go about bowling people over with their great abilities never impress God. God looked down on a scheming, base, weakling of a man called Jacob and said, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob…I will help thee…behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth.…thou shalt rejoice in the Lord…" (Isaiah 41:14-16). Men often use God to achieve fortune, fame, honor and respect. Talent, personality and cleverness are all used to advance God’s kingdom. But God is not impressed. His strength is perfected in those of weakness. When I Say Weakness, I Do Not Mean Sensuality God does not use people weak in righteousness. A man’s weakness can lead him into adultery, gambling, drinking and all kinds of indulgences. God is not referring to that kind of weakness. When He calls the base, He is not referring to the wicked. The weakness God speaks about is our human inability to obey His commandments in our own strength. God calls us to a life of holiness and separation. He tells us we can be free from the bondage of sin. His Word promises freedom from sin’s power, as well as forgiveness. God’s Word comes to us with some impossible challenges — "Resist the devil. Walk in the Spirit. Come out from among them. Do not commit adultery. Love your enemies. Enter into rest. Leave behind all your fears. Put down your lustful desires. Let no sin have dominion over you. As He was in this world — so be ye. Overcome self, pride and envy. Sin not!" Do you know how to answer that call? Think honestly about how little you can do on your own to fulfill these challenges — then you realize how very weak you are. Your heart begins to cry, "Lord, how can we do such great, holy things? Whereby are these things possible?" There is no way at all you can stand up to these commandments and challenges in your own strength and knowledge. The call to holiness is frightening and disturbing. You know what God asks of you, but you don’t seem to know how to fulfill it. Some think they can do it on their own! So they go into a convulsive concentration of all their inner resources. They grit their teeth and muster up all their human powers. They set out with great energy and resolve — calling upon all they have and taking matters in their own hands. They proceed to "obey or die trying!" It works for a little while, until God crosses them up. He steps in and foils all men’s schemes and self–determined efforts of the flesh. Then failure strikes, just at the moment all seemed to be going so well. These do–it–yourself christians end up frustrated, defenseless and weak. That is when our Lord takes over! He comes then with such a comforting message; "Lay down your weapons. Quit trying to be so self–sufficient and strong. I am your weapon — your only weapon. I am your strength. Let Me do what you can never do. You are not supposed to do it on your own. I must do it so you will glorify only Me. I will give you My righteousness — My holiness — My rest — My strength. You can’t save yourself; you can’t help yourself; you can’t please Me in any way — other than by receiving the blessings of the Cross by faith. Let Me be in charge of your growth in holiness." If You Have Too Much Going for You — God Can’t Work Gideon is an example of a called man who had too much going for him. He was called to deliver God’s children from slavery. What does he do? He blasts the trumpets and calls together a mighty army. Thousands of valiant fighting men rallied under his banner. But God said to Gideon, "Your army is too great — too many men — too much strength. Send them back! If you win the victory with all this show of strength, you and your people might think you won on your own abilities. You’ve got too much going for you — and I don’t want you to steal the glory. Strip down your army!" One by one, those men leave Gideon’s army. He must have stood by thinking, "How ridiculous! Win by weakening ourselves? God calls me to do battle, then asks me to disarm! Insanity! This is the craziest thing God has yet asked me to do. There goes my plan to become a legend in my own time." Those fighters must have left the battlefield shuddering with astonishment. Who ever heard of winning a battle by laying aside weapons and manpower! From a human standpoint, it is crazy. Great victories by tiny remnants. Walls tumble without a shot fired. Armies put to flight by a motley orchestra of trumpet players. By the power of faith alone, weak men confound the world. The Way to Holiness Is Humility No matter how powerful and honorable a man may be, God cannot use him until he falls in the dust and gives up all his idols. Human pride must be smashed. All our boasting must be silenced. All our thoughts and plans must be abandoned. All human achievement must be recognized for what it is — filthy rags and a stench in God’s nostrils. Man must become powerless — defenseless — and hopeless in himself. He must come with fear and trembling to the Cross and cry out, "Be thou Lord of my life." There Is Also a "Weakness of the Flesh" There are Christians who fail the Lord. They love Him very much — they worry about grieving Him. But, in spite of their love and good intentions, they fall into sin. Even ministers commit adultery. Multitudes of Christians fight inner battles with lust. Their passions overrun them, and they become victims to overwhelming desires. There are modern Bathshebas and Delilahs — as well as men of God who are enticed and deceived by them. Some of these weak children of the Lord are guilty of the sin of Peter — they have denied the Lord who called them. Others are weighed down by the guilt and condemnation of secret sins. Only God knows the battles that are fought by men and women who are among the most esteemed in the church. Those with the most acute battles often spend much of their time crying out against the sins of others — mostly to divert attention from their own struggle with the flesh. Does God quit on any child of His who is waging a war against some white-hot passion? Does God lift His Spirit before the victory is won? Does the Lord stand nearby watching, as if to say, "You know what I expect of you. You know My laws and My commandments. When you get it right — when you wiggle free from your lust — then I’ll set in motion your river of blessings. Until then, you are on your own." Never! Never! Instead, our Lord comes to us in our weakest moment — with sin stains blotched all over our garments — and He whispers, "My strength is for you — in this, your hour of weakness. Don’t give up. Don’t panic. Don’t turn away — don’t shut me out. Is there godly sorrow in you? Do you despise what you did? Do you want victory? Keep moving with Me — toward Me. My arms aee still stretched out like a mother hen spreading her wings. Come, I’ll protect you from the enemy." People are giving up because they feel so weak before the power of the enemy. They say to themselves, "Why doesn’t God come down and take this ugly thing out of me? I’ve begged Him; I’ve prayed; I’ve cried. Doesn’t the Lord know how much I want to please Him? Why do I have to go on being tested for so long? Do I have to go on month after month, giving in to this thing? Where is my freedom from sin’s power? Why don’t the promises work for me?" But we seem to forget that God often leads us the long way around — we are seldom permitted to march straight into the promised land. There are lessons on faith to be learned. The wilderness temptations give God a way to show His power to deliver. Only Christians who have come through hurt, through fires of temptation, through the agony of defeat — only they can really help others who hurt. I saw Israel Narvaez, Mau Mau gang leader, kneel and receive Christ as Lord. It was not just an emotional surface experience — He really meant it. But Israel went back to the gang and ended up in prison, an accessory to murder. Did God quit on him? Not for one moment! Today, Israel is a minister of the Gospel, having accepted the love and forgiveness of a longsuffering Savior. Have you failed? Is there a sin that so easily besets you? Do you feel like a weakened coward — unable to get the victory over secret sin? But with that weakness in you, is there also a consuming hunger for God? Do you yearn for Him — love Him — reach to Him? That hunger and thirst is the key to your victory. That makes you different from all others who have been guilty of failing God. That sets you apart. You must keep that hunger alive. Keep thirsting after righteousness. Never justify your weakness — never give in to it — never accept it as a part of your life. There Is Only One Thing That Works! Faith is your victory. Abraham had weaknesses — he lied — he almost turned his wife into an adulteress. But Abraham "Believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness." God refused to hold his sin against him — because he believed! Sure, you have failed. Maybe yesterday — or today! Grievously! shamefully! But do you believe Jesus has the power to ultimately free you from sin’s power? Do you believe the Cross of Jesus means sin’s bondage is broken? do you accept the fact that He has promised to deliver you from the snare (trap) of Satan? Let me tell you exactly where I believe the victory is! Let your faith rise! Let your heart accept all the promises of victory in Jesus! Then let your faith tell your heart, "I may not be what I want to be yet — but God is at work in me, and He has the power to loose sin’s hold on me. I’m going to keep my momentum toward the Lord until I’m free at last. It may be little by little, but the day will come when faith will conquer! I will not always be a slave! I am not the devil’s puppet! I am a weak child of God, wanting the strength of Jesus. I am not going to be another victim of the devil. I am going to come forth as pure gold — tried in the fire! God is for me! I commit it all to Him who is able to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the throne of God — with exceeding great joy." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 27: PRE-029-26. WHEN YOU DON�T KNOW WHAT TO DO ======================================================================== 26. When You Don’t Know What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1979 What would you think if our president, addressing the nation on network TV, confessed — "We really don’t know what to do! Your leaders are confused, and we have no sense of direction." That would be some kind of speech. The nation would be convulsed with ridicule and scorn for him and all his associates. But that is exactly what King Jehoshaphat did. Three enemy armies were closing in on Judah, and this mighty leader had called the nation together at Jerusalem to formulate a war plan. He needed plans, a decisive declaration of action. Something had to be done immediately. Instead, Jehoshaphat stood before his people and poured his heart out to God in confession, "O Lord God, they come to cast us out of our possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our Lord, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are fixed upon thee" (2 Chronicles 20:11-12). What kind of plan is this? No program, no committee action. No flying banners, no bright and shiny war machinery, no brilliant war plans, no blaring of trumpets or mustering of patriotic armies. Just a simple confession — "We are in this over our heads — we don’t know what to do — so we will just keep our eyes on the Lord." They decided to stand still, admit their confusion, and put all their eggs in one basket. They would not move anywhere but closer to their Lord — look no other place for help but to Him. Does is sound cowardly and ridiculous? Well–armed enemy troops surround them, and vultures fill the skies, waiting for the battle to begin — while they just stand together, praising God, admitting they don’t know what to do next — and looking only to Him for deliverance. Nowadays, when we get into trouble, we act as if we are saying, "Lord, I love you, but I already know what I’m going to do." When the enemy comes in like a flood, we panic. We feel we must do something — make something move or give. We have a need to see things happen, and we feel guilty if we are not constantly proving to God how willing we are to "do anything He requires of us." The Urge To "Make Things Happen" Comes To Us All 1. A divorced mother worries about her little boy’s insecurity since dad left the home. The child won’t let mother out of his sight. He screams and calls for his daddy. All the love mother showers on him doesn’t seem to be enough. What did this Christian mother do? She called her friends for advice; she researched books on child raising, looking for solutions; she went about her day in worrisome concern, thinking to herself, "I’ve just got to do something about this problem before it gets out of hand." But there is a better way. It’s absolutely Scriptural for that mother to throw up her hands and cry, "It’s too much for me; I’ve tried my best; I don’t know who to turn to or what to do! No one can help me — so I’ll just stay close to Jesus, keep my eyes only on Him — and trust that He will see me through." 2. A perplexed couple is on the verge of giving up. They so much wanted to give 100% to Jesus, but they have been exposed to legalistic preaching of fear that has brought them under bondage. They got swept up into the Charismatic Movement, hoping to find joy and fulfillment. But one preacher warned them, "Jesus says you must be perfect. He would never ask us to do something we couldn’t do. To say you must sin a little each day is a cop–out." Another added, "Delayed obedience is disobedience. Any disobedience can damn you." Now they worry about all the things they forgot to do, about their imperfections and daily battles with the flesh — and they feel defeated. Recently they picked up an evangelist’s newsletter that warned, "On Judgment Day, there will be many Christians who have been to church three times a week, prayed in tongues, given prophecies, taught Sunday School and served as deacons — who will not be allowed into Heaven because they have not read their Bible enough and prayed enough. God is angry with people who sin — every day. He is determined to punish them eternally. There is no hope unless they stop sinning completely." Now they also worry about having prayed, given and read their Bibles enough to please God. They live in constant fear. They have been told various things about their fear — some claiming a "demon of fear" had crept into them. Others told them they were guilty of a "wrong confession" — and they were urged "not to accept that fear." Just "confess victory," they were told — and all would be well. The wife said, "We have become so miserable in our efforts to clean ourselves up for God. Every night we evaluate our day and always feel God is displeased because we, somehow, failed to behave right, confess right or do right. We promise to do better tomorrow. But these are the things that make us want to give up and quit trying. We’ve lost our sense of peace and security. This is not the abundant life — it is fear. Does not the Cross of Jesus mean more than that?" What should they do? They wonder now who is right — the Charismatics or the Baptists? Their faith is shaken, and they have lost their sense of direction. Which teacher is right? They all seem to have such good arguments and plenty of Scripture to prove their point. What is holiness — what does God expect? Does God do it all for me at the Cross — or do I have to muster up my own strength and work out my own salvation with fear and trembling? It’s very confusing! My Answer: Admit your confusion — don’t seek out pat answers to all these questions. Don’t run around looking for teachers to give you solutions and answers. You don’t know what to do or where to go? Good! Very good! Now you are ready to do it God’s way. Now you can say with Paul, "I’ve decided to know nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified." Quit looking to these preachers and teachers — go yourself to the Lord! Get your eyes on Him and with Jehoshaphat, cry loud, "My eyes are fixed on you!" 3. A couple in Iowa are trying to save their marriage. They’ve been married for fifteen years, and the last five have been unbearable. Both have skeletons in their closets — both have been guilty of taking their vows lightly. He cheated and she "almost did." For five years, they have tried to forgive one another. But the marriage is not fulfilling now. They pledge their love to each other — but each of them knows something is wrong. They can’t put their finger on it. They are lonely, even when together. They are not reaching each other, and the harder they try, the more frustrated they become. They’ll have a good week, when everything seems to be patched up and going well. Then, suddenly, it all breaks down and silent anger and resentment take over. She cries herself to sleep — he thinks of giving up. In a way, they are still attracted to each other — in another way, they seem to be allergic to each other. They have tried to talk their problems through: They’ve made promises they couldn’t keep; they’ve read books seeking help; they’ve been to a marriage counselor. But nothing brings about an honest solution. They have both reached a place where there is no turning back. They simply do not know what to do or where to go for help! Is there any solution? I think so. All marriages — even good ones — have their periods of stress. But some marriages can’t be healed at all — outside of a genuine miracle. When two people have tried everything — when it dawns on them there is no place to go for help — when confusion and panic take over — that is when God has to intervene. Once again — all you can do in such a crisis is do as King Jehoshaphat. Don’t be afraid of your confusion. You aren’t the only one up against the wall. God specializes in "hopeless" cases. God takes over when we give up trying to work it all out ourselves. This couple, with a marriage about to hit the rocks, must stop looking for help outside of the Lord. They must commit their problems and lives over to the Lord and pray, "God, it’s over our heads. We’ve tried and failed. It looks hopeless — so we’ll just stand in Your presence, looking only to You for help. It’s You, Lord — or nothing. Our eyes will stay fixed on You." 4. Reader — you, too, face crises in which you don’t know what to do — or where to go for help! Is it a financial crisis staring you right in the face? Do you live in a home situation that tears your spirit apart? Have your children hurt you — has a child brought anguish to you? Has sickness or pain brought you down to the valley of death? Have you lost a job? Is your future scary and uncertain? Is your marriage in trouble? Has the death of a loved one left you depressed, lonely and empty? Has a divorce left you felling like a rejected failure? Do you — right now — feel overwhelmed? Have you tried so many ways to see it through, yet nothing seems to help? Have you grown tired of trying? Have you reached the end of your rope? Have you said to your heart, "I don’t know what to do now!"? We are living in a time when everything is getting shaky and insecure — and almost everybody is hurting in one way or another. Hardly anybody knows what to do anymore. Our leaders don’t have the foggiest idea of what is happening to this world — or to the economy. The future is anybody’s guess. The business world is even more confused — with economists arguing with each other about what is coming. There is not a single businessman or economist in the world today who knows for certain where we are headed. Psychologists and psychiatrists are baffled by the changing forces affecting people today. They watch the breakup of homes and marriages — as confused as the rest of us as to why it is happening. Their reasons all contradict each other. It can even be confusing for Christians nowadays. Ministers admonish us to face our problems by "looking into the Bible yourself — finding the answer." But the Bible doesn’t always specify — "This you must do!" There is not always a direct answer for your specific problem. At times, unless the Spirit gives you a special revelation, you can get confused by verses that seem, on the surface, to be contradictory. At one place you read, "Sell all you have and give to the poor." Then you read, "If a man neglect his own house, he is worse than an infidel and has denied the faith." If you sold all and gave it away to the poor, how could you have any left to provide well for your own? Believe it or not, even the greatest saints who ever lived never did fully understand the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Why all these different denominations? Why all the fighting over doctrine? Why so many disputes over baptisms, doctrines and morals? Simply because men today are still in darkness about so many things. We all eventually reach a place like King Jehoshaphat did. The enemy comes against us all. Some put on a big front, as though they have no fears, no questions, no problems, but they are the ones who, inwardly, fight the worst battles. Often, those who judge everybody else and who appear so holy and righteous before others are waging a war with lust deep inside them. Yes — we are all hurting in one way or another! We are all in need! We all reach that point of panic when the heart cries out, "What do I do now?" Some people think I shouldn’t confess that I, too, have battles. But I do get spiritually dry at times. I get plunged into darkness and confusion on occasion. With Joseph, I can confess, "The Word tries me!" But I am no better or worse than any reader of this message. Billy Graham is in the same boat. The saintliest of people hurt, too. I know what King Jehoshaphat was going through. I’ve been there — when, I too, had to cry aloud, "I don’t know what to do — so I’ll keep my eyes fixed on Him!" You don’t fold your hands — sitting around at ease — letting God do it all! That is not what it means to keep your eyes "fixed on the Lord." We look to the Lord, not as people who know what to do, but as people who don’t know at all what they must do. But we do know that He is the King who sits on the flood. He is Lord of all, and we know that even if the world breaks in two — if it all falls apart — He is a Rock of certainty. Our eyes are fixed on a risen Lord. If we do not know what to do, our faith assures us He knows what to do. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, pictured the Christian like someone trying to cross a sea of floating pieces of ice. This Christian cannot rest anywhere while crossing, except in his faith that God will see him through. He cannot stand anywhere too long, or otherwise he sinks. After having taken a step, he must watch out for the next. Beneath him is the abyss and before him is uncertainty — but always ahead is the Lord — firm and sure! He doesn’t see the land yet, but it is there — apromise in his heart. So the Christian traveler keeps his eyes fixed upon his final place! I prefer to think of life as a wilderness journey — like that of the children of Israel. And King Jehoshaphat’s battle, along with all the children of Judah, is also our battle. Sure it’s a wilderness; yes, there are snakes, dry water holes, valleys of tears, enemy armies, hot sands, drought, impassable mountains. But when the children of the Lord stood still to see His salvation, He spread a table in that wilderness — rained manna from above — destroyed enemy armies by His power alone — brought water out of rocks — took the poison out of the snakebites — led them by pillar and cloud — gave them milk and honey — and brought them into the promised land with a high and mighty hand. And God warned them to tell every following generation: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zechariah 4:6). A reporter asked me to respond to a question about pressures on the church from the IRS and other government agencies. "Isn’t the IRS trying to tax all evangelical ministries? Won’t that day come when the government will strangle missionary and evangelical outreaches? What will you do then, seeing these things are already in the works?" I replied: "We are going to be forced right back into doing the work of Jesus the way He did it Himself. The day will probably come when I and all my minister friends will have to quit doing evangelism like big business and get back to New Testament methods. We will be priced out of expensive methods and have to go back to walking the streets with sinners, like Jesus did. but as long as our eyes are focused on Jesus, no one will ever stop His message from being preached." That Is Why Jesus Said, "I Am The Way!" (John 14:6) Stop searching! Stop looking in the wrong direction for help. Get alone with Jesus in a secret place; tell Him all about your confusion. Tell Him you have no other place to go. Tell Him you trust Him alone to see you through. You will be tempted to take matters into your own hand. You will want to figure things out on your own. You will wonder if God is working at all — there will be no sign of things changing. Your faith will be tested to the limit. But nothing else works anyhow — there is nothing to lose. Peter summed it all up — "To whom shall we go, for thou hast the words of eternal life?" (John 6:68). "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…" (Hebrews 12:2). "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22). "Ye that seek the Lord: Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn…" (Isaiah 51:1). "Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7). "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord" (Psalms 112:7). "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God" (Isaiah 50:10). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 28: PRE-030-27. A DRY SPELL ======================================================================== 27. A Dry Spell A Dry Spell by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1979 I preach to thousands, yet there are times I feel so very dry - so far away from the warm presence of God. In these moments of dryness, I have no great yearning to read the Word - the reading of the Bible is done mostly through a sense of obligation. When I’m dry and empty, I feel little compulsion to pray. I know my faith is intact, and my love for Jesus is strong. There is no desire in me to taste the things of this world. It’s just that I can’t seem to touch God in those days and weeks of spiritual dryness. Have you ever sat in church and watched those all around you getting blessed, while you feel nothing? they cry; they pray; they worship with tremendous feelings. But you are not moved upon - at all. You begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your spiritual life. Christians all around you are telling these great stories about how God is blessing them and answering all their prayers. They seem to live on a mountaintop of happy experiences, while you just plod along, loving Jesus, but not setting the world on fire. some of your prayers have still not been answered. You don’t shout or put on an emotional display. You have no big stories to tell about some fantastic miracle you’ve witnessed. It almost makes you feel like a second-class believer. I believe that all true believers experience dry spells at various times in their Christian life. Even Jesus felt the isolation - when He cried aloud, "Father, why have you forsaken me?" Notes from my diary - during a dry spell: I keep notes of almost every thought I receive in my nighttime devotions. Recently, during a dry spell, I recorded my feelings. I think there are many Christians who will relate to these honest notations made in my diary. A note of caution before reading this very personal confession: when I talk about the sin in my own life - do not try to interpret that as some hideous, openly flaunted weakness. To me, whatever is not of faith is sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I often fall into the gross sin of doubt. So, please do not read into my confession of sin something not intended. Think of your own sin as you read. I wonder why God seems to be so distant at times. Is He angry with me? Does He have to hide from me because of failure in my life? Is God holding back on me in some way, bound by a contract in His Holy Word that demands He close His eyes in my direction because of my stubbornness? Does sin cause a separation? Is God really there, wanting to break through to me with overwhelming joy and peace - but unable to because of a barrier I have constructed as a result of a besetting sin? Must He hide - against His own will - because He honors His Word above His name? He hid from Israel in times of backsliding. Must He hide from me for awhile, until I see the horror of my sins and run from them? Does He finally get weary of my constant falling, and must He shut me off for awhile only because He loves me so? Does His omnipotent love demand that He isolate me from His presence until I break and yield as a submitting child - weary of my emptiness and despair? Or is all of this dryness a result of my own blindness? Is it just a result of living on feelings? Is He there all the time, in spite of my failure, waiting for me to accept His forgiveness? Do I feel isolated only because I’m ashamed and burdened with guilt? Do I shun Him because I know I’m unworthy of His blessings? Has the knowledge of my weaknesses made me believe I have no right to expect this nearness and comfort? I am not morbid; I have no death with. It’s not just the "nighttime blues." And, I never once doubt my eternal salvationl. What I do doubt is my ability to understand how God works. I have always felt the power of His great love. Even in my dryest hours, the sense of His lvoe for me is almost overwhelming. But it is not enough to know the Father loves you. It is not enough to believe all His promises. It is not enough to know you want the Lord with all that is in you. there must be more. There must be the nearness of the Lord. The still small voice. The joy of hearing that voice. The knowledge that He not only abides, but that His word is even in your mouth. The heart must feel His warmth. The glow of God’s presence must fill the room. The tears that are all bottled up inside must find release. The joy of Jesus must rush through all the corridors of the mind. The heart must know that He has come to guide, to comfort, to help in the hour of need. There must be no doubt - no question - that God has chosen to come and commune with His servant. Without the nearness of God, there can be no peace. The dryness can be stopped only with the dew of His glory. The despair can be dispelled only by the assurance God is answering. The fire of the Holy Ghost must heat the mind, body and soul. I want God’s total presence. I want to flow in His river of love. I want complete forgiveness of all my sins. But more than forgiveness - I want freedom. What is forgiveness without freedom? I know the Lord has promised to forgive me seven times seven in a single day. I know His love and forgiveness is to all generations. I know that if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive - and to cleanse me. But it is not enough to be forgiven and cleansed from yesterday’s sins. I need freedom from the power of the sin that so easily besets me. Freedom from the slavery of all passions. Freedom from the chains of all iniquity. I know God’s Word promises freedom. I know the many Scriptures that talk of "walking in the Spirit," so as not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. I know about the warnings to flee all lusts. Other Scriptures flood my mind about "overcoming" the world. but there are times I don’t seem to find the key. How do those verses work in a practical way in my everyday life? What does it really mean to "walk in the Spirit"? Does that mean you will never fall again? A child keeps falling while learning to walk. Even adults stumble and fall. Can you fall - even while walking in the Spirit - get up and walk again - getting stronger as you go? But God, You’ve got to be there! If You are not there in my time of dryness, there is no hope. You must be there, calling for me - longing for my voice - yearning over me as a father pities his child. If not - life has no meaning. He cannot give up on me when I’m hurting. Yes, my flesh is weak. Yes, I fail Him - over and over again. Yes, I’ve told Him how sorry I am - a thousand times this year. Yes, I’ve promised to forsake the world and everything in it. Yet, I can’t seem to keep my word at times. Yes, there are a few times I feel like the worst kind of sinner; a cheat; a cad; a two-timing, worthless child. Yes, I don’t feel I am worthy to ever expect Him to come near me when I feel so cheap and ungrateful. But, in spite of all that, somehow I know He is not far off. Somehow, I hear a distinct small voice calling, "Come, my child - I am aware of all you are experiencing. I still love you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. We will face it all together. I am still your Father - and you are My child. Come, not on your merits or goodness, but come on the merits of your Savior - Jesus the Lord!" Somehow I know He will bring me out of this dry spell. I have in me a flame that will not be somthered. I seem to know the promises will be fulfilled. In His time, in His way, He will turn my dryness into a river of love. His word will come to me. A new revelation of His will. A renewed spirit and a greater peace of mind. All because He has never failed me once before. Oh, God! I have feet of clay. My mind is strong in faith. My heart melts for You. My tears are hot with desire for the touch of the Lord. But my feet keep taking me astray. I am not walking in the Spirit as I would honestly like to. Where is that day-by-day victory? Where is the power to keep myself holy and pure? God, I search the Scripture, hoping to find a formula - a way out of the bondage of sin. If it means staying on my knees all night, then I’ll do it. Does it mean reading my Bible through - until I stumble on a clear message of deliverance? Then I’ll read and read! Most of the cliches and easy solutions offered by preachers do not work - even though they sound pious. Somewhere there has to be victory over all the power of the enemy. Somewhere I can put aside the weight, the burden, the harassment. God promises total freedom, total victory over the power of the enemy. Someday my foot will no longer be snared in Satan’s trap. Someday I’ll look into my heart and see only Jesus - only holiness - only those things pleasing to God. Someday God must lead all His children to a place of freedom from sin’s power. The Word of God is so vast. I know so little of how to find in it the answers to my personal needs. The only hope is that the Holy Spirit will supernaturally lead me to the truth that will set me free. I can’t find it by myself. I can’t get it out of books or from counselors. I can’t understand any of it without the Holy Spirit revealing it to me. I want to know what God expects of me; I want to know how much is my part and how much is His! Oh God, cleanse my desires. Make me desire those things You know to be best for me. If You gave me everything I desired, it would be a bedlam of confusion, with no order or harmony left. All my human desires are blind! They are usually out of keeping with my real needs and are often contrary to God’s moral laws. It is so easy to desire what would cause the greatest damage to myself, lead to the worst misery, and bring on the most tragic kind of confusion. I think of my desires as being well thought out, intelligent and needful to my well-being. Sin causes my desires to be loosed from God’s moral law. They end up as foamings of the inner appetites. Soul-hunger, aspirations, lusts and passions reek with all kinds of disorder. They are phantoms without perception. Where do many of my desires orginate? Not from a spring of reason and common sense; but they are instigated, instead, by raw lustings of the old nature. They rush out of my mind like wild troops - confused, blind and in total disarray. They swarm like bees - fast and wild. As time goes by, I so often discover how vain and foolish my desires were. I desire to undertake a new project, and it explodes before I can get started. Later, I learn my disappointment is a blessing in disguise. If God had not interfered and kept those desires from me, I could have destroyed myself. My desires can often be very morally bad. They can be fouled by lust. There is an entire breed of desires lurking beneath the surface, pushed upon us all constantly by our Adam nature - always breaking into the mind, mingling with our deepest and holiest thoughts, trying to make the mind accept them as God’s thoughts. Very often, my personal desires are so dominate, so deeply imbedded, they invade my mind in the secret closet. They become so powerful and persistent, I allow them to deceive me into accepting them as the still small voice of God in the inner man. May God keep me from the deception of my own immoral desires. What shall I do to overcome spiritual dryness? 1. I must maintain a life of prayer! Why is it that none of us pray as we should anymore? We know that God is wanting to comfort and help us. We know that our burdens can all be lifted when we are shut in with Him. There is something deep within us that keeps calling us to prayer. It is the Holy Spirit saying, "Come." Come to the water that satisfies that soul thirst. Come to the Father who pities His children. Come to the Lord of life who promises to forgive every sin committed. Come to the One who refuses to condemn you, or forsake you, or hide from you. God does not hide from us when we sin. Never! That is only our fear condemning our hearts. God did not hide in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned. He still came to them, calling and yearning for their fellowship and love. We ourselves hide - because of our guilt and condemnation. We can’t imagine God still loving us, when we are so disobedient and ungrateful. Come boldly to His throne of grace - even when you have sinned and failed. He forgives - instantly - those who repent with godly sorrow. You don’t have to spend hours and days in remorse and guilt. You don’t have to earn your way back into His good graces. You don’t have to pretend a superficial kind of sorrow or feign tears. Go to the Father - bend your knees and open your heart - and cry out your agony and pain. Tell Him all about your failings - all about your struggles. Tell Him about your loneliness, about your feelings of isolation, about your fears, about your failures. We try everything but prayer. We read books, looking for formulas and guidelines. We go to friends, to ministers, to counselors - looking everywhere for a word of comfort or advice. We seek mediators and forget the one Mediator who has the answer to everything. We don’t pray because it’s so hard to do - most of the time. It’s not hard when trouble comes unexpectedly. Cancer strikes - or a loved one dies suddenly of a heart attack. Then we are so broken in spirit, we cry and pray. That’s all right. But we should be leaning on Jesus through the good and the bad. We should be getting our strength and help long before the crisis overwhelms us. We should be pouring out our hearts to Him every day of our lives. No wonder we are so dry and empty. We have eimply neglected the secret closet of prayer. It is not really dryness - it is lukewarmness. It is a growing coldness caused by drifting along, getting away from the holy place. Nothing dispels dryness and emptiness quicker than an hour or two shut in with God. Putting off that date with God in His secret closet causes guilt. We know that our love for Him should lead us into His presence, but we busy ourselves in so many other things - time slips away, and God is left out. We throw in His direction a whole array of "thought prayers." But nothing can take the place of that secret closet - with the door shut - praying to the Father in that seclusion! That is the solution to every dry spell. 2. I must no longer be afraid of a little suffering! Christ’s resurrection was preceded by a short period of suffering. We do die! We do suffer! There is pain and sorrow! We do not want to suffer! Or resist! Or be hurt! We want painless deliverance! We want supernatural intervention. "Do it, God," we pray, "because I am weak and always will be. Do it all, while I go my way, waiting for a supernatural deliverance!" Or, we blame our troubles on demons! We seek out a man of God and hope he can cast him out - so we can go our way with no pain or suffering - all done! Breeze right through to a peaceful life of victory! We want someone to lay hands on us and drive away all the dryness. But victory is not always without suffering and pain. Look at your sin! Face it! Suffer it through as Jesus did. Fill up His suffering! Enter into it! Suffering endures only for a night; joy always follows in the morning. God sets before you a choice. His love demands a choice. If God supernaturally lifted us out of every battle without pain or suffering, it would abort all trials, all temptation - there would be no free choice, no testing as by fire. It would be God superseding His will on mankind. He chooses to meet us in our dryness and show us how it can become the way into a new life of faith. • It is often according to the will of God to suffer dryness - and even pain. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19). • But thank God - suffering is always that short period before final victory! "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered awhile, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Peter 5:10). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 29: PRE-031-28. YOUR MARRIAGE CAN MAKE IT ======================================================================== 28. Your Marriage Can Make It Your Marriage Can Make It Ten simple steps to help make your marriage successful by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1979 This message is for husbands and wives who want their marriage to succeed. It is also for those who are remarried and are finding it is necessary to work as hard, or harder, the second time. This message is also for the singles who hope to establish a good Christian home someday in the future. This message is for honest marriage partners only. It is not for those who are looking for a way out of their marriage or who are wanting a way to simply exist in a bad arrangement. I know of no strong marriages that have not been tested, severely. Husbands and wives who experience suffering, pain, misunderstanding and temptation - can, together, rise above it all and enjoy a marriage that is both beautiful and enduring. How each partner reacts to crises is the key. It’s very true that fewer marriages are making it in these troubled times. The divorce rate is getting scary - and it strikes closer to us every day. It’s almost like a raging flood out of control, sweeping away foundations that have stood for years. Even marriages that have lasted for thirty or forty years are breaking up. Most of the books on how to improve your marriage are nothing but pulp. At times, I think some of the writers simply dream up their untested, juvenile instructions on how to achieve marital bliss. It’s not that I don’t want help from the "experts" to improve my marriage; it’s just that few marriage counselors are practical or scriptural. For me, their methods are unworkable. Instead, I have asked numbers of husbands and wives to share with me their secrets to their long and happy marriages. One man told me, "I’ve been married for 43 years now, and it’s beautiful and better than ever." That man has something to say that I want to hear. Those two lovely people are the real experts. Most of the ten steps to making your marriage work have been given to me by husbands and wives who enjoy long and successful marriages. Some of the steps have been learned in my own marriage, as my wife and I struggled to achieve a lasting love. Here, for your prayerful consideration, are TEN WAYS TO HELP MAKE YOUR MARRIAGE WORK. 1. Even in your most heated arguments - never use the word divorce! A lovely young wife, whose divorce was to be finalized within the week, confessed to us, "I wish now that I had never used the word divorce. We have been married only five years, but we argued so often. Things got pretty bad, and one day I blurted it out - ’I think we ought to get a divorce.’ We were both shocked, at first. We had never even thought of divorce before that moment. But after the shock wore off, I realized the seed for divorce had been planted. It was easier to say the next time. Within weeks, that’s all we talked about. The seed grew monstrous roots that finally strangled our marriage." Others who have been divorced tell me the same thing. "Tell everybody you can," they say, "to never even speak the work’divorce.’ There is something fatal in the very use of the word. don’t let them plant that seed - it grows too wild and too fast." I agree! The Bible says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" Proverbs 18:21). 2. Do not think that intense disagreement means there is trouble in your marriage. Be honest when you disagree. Express your hurt. Let your feelings show. And God hwlp you if you don’t. People who keep things bottled up inside are candidates for all kinds of illnesses. But most married people who have intense disagreements think they are somehow becoming allergic to aone another. They think to themselves, "Oh boy, here we go again. It’s a hopeless situation. We must have lost our love and respect for each other." Quit the theatrics. You are only human, and you might as well mark it down that you will have disagreements at times from now until you are called home to heaven. Learn to get it all out, quickly. Don’t ever think of quitting on your marriage because you are still weak in the area of communication. People who keep looking for a perfect relationship with "no more fighting" are heading for real disappointment. Most important of all - never drop "the bomb" when you argue or disagree. Every husvand, every wife, knows exactly what to say to get his or her "goat." For me, the "bomb" is "phony." I hate to be caslled a phony, and my wife knows it. And she used to use it on me "for the kill." When I wanted to get even, I’d drop the bomb on her. "Gwen," I’d say, "you are getting fat." When she ran from the room weeping, I knew it had found it’s mark. Thank God, we’ve outgrown such childishness. But we still have disagreements. The important thing is to never go to sleep back to back. Take the humor stick and knock the stuffings out of your pompous attitude. Laugh at how ridiculous you both are. Learn to admit, "our marriage is still good - we simply have here a failure to communicate." The Bible offers the best advice of all - "It is an honor for a man to cease from strife; but every fool will be meddling" (Proverbs 20:3). 3. Never make your mate the butt of jokes - privately or publicly. Comedic partners who poke fun at their mates think of it as "good-natured joking." It is not! It is degrading and dangerous. Making jokes about the stupid things your husband or wife did at home is another way of putting him or her down. Behind most of these jokes is a spirit of anger and malice. It’s a way of "not letting them forget their mistakes." It’s a way of bringing up the mistakes again so that everybody can know about the failure. Behind all the laughter can be terrible hurt. Being the butt of a joke can be like getting slapped in the face. How often have you heard a husband blurt out to everybody standing nearby, "Hey, did you hear what my wife did? It was the craziest thing you’ve every heard." Then he proceeds to tell every embarrassing detail. Or she will joke, "My husband is a dirty old man - all he thinks about is sex." But it’s no joke. Husbands and wives who respect one another do not resort to such foolishness. It represents "no class." Joke about anything you choose - but not about your husband or wife. Humor - yes! Butt jokes - never! 4. Practice complimenting each other - sincerely and often! How tragic that some husbands and wives believe they have been called to keep their mate humble. They are constantly pricking the balloon so that he or she will not get a big head. One middle-aged wife told me, "Somebody has to keep my husband humble. He gets so much attention from others - he needs to be brought down a peg or two. He gets too big for his britches. I know just how to straighten him out." How sad! One day that husband will walk out on her, and seek another woman who will build him up. Men especially have such a need to be encouraged and their egos unruffled. It is not a sin to build each other up - with sincere compliments. There is no need to tell lies or be shallow about it. Anyone who can stand before a sacred altar and make vows for life, surely ought to see enough good in that partner to talk about it. A divorced woman told me recently, "My husband’s been gone now for over three years. How I wish he would come back. The loneliness is unbearable. There are a million things I forgot to tell him. If I had only let him know how good he really was, in so many ways. What a fool I was - I could never learn to compliment him; I was always on his back, pointing out all his mistakes. I see how some husbands and wives treat each other so coldly, and I want to scream at them - ’Wake up, before it’s too late ’ Quit your sarcasm and encourage each other.’" Wives tend to become as beautiful as the compliments their husbands pay them. They become radiant when told how attractive they are. And husbands will do almost anything to live up to the compliments and encouragement of a proud wife. The Bible says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver..." (Proverbs 25:11). 5. Never smother each other- set your love free! It has been said, "If it’s really love, set it free - and it will always return. If not, it wasn’t love from the start." There is a great measure of truth in that. loving husband of 45 years confessed to me the secret of his enduring marriage to one wife. "I believe it is my privilege and duty to create an atmosphere in my home in which my wife can reach her full potential. She, in turn, helps me reach mine." With his encouragement, she was active in the church; she did volunteer work in the hospital; and she had her own hideaway where she indulged in painging. He said she was a betty wife to him because she was happy with herself. She was not being smothered by a husband who was interested in nothing but his own goals. Jealousy is a form of bondage - it is the most smothering human passion known to mankind. Husbands and wives who fear the loss of a partner’s love try to overcompensate by holding on too tightly. It becomes an iron grip. A wife who thinks to herself, "I won’t let him out of my sight!’ is actually expressing her fear of losing him. The husband who will not allow his wife plenty of room for growth and expression will one day resent the boredom and narrowness forced on her. The most fulfilling of all marriages are those in which both husbands and wives commit their love to God’s keeping, and who truly set each other free to grow and mature. If God cannot keep you together, charm and sex will never do it. Without freedom, there can be no growth. Not freedom to flirt or fool around - but freedom to take on new challenges and set new goals. True freedom is based on trust, and trust comes from feeling secure in each other’s love. The Bible says, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" (Isaiah 58:6). 6. Learn how to say "I’m sorry!" - and mean it! "Love Story" was a movie whose theme was "Love is never having to say I’m sorry." that is a lie from the pits of hell. Love, according to God’s Word, is learning how to say I’m sorry. An irate husband boasted, "I walked out on my wife last night. She is always right, and I’m always wrong, but not this time. I’m not going to let her walk all over me again. I know I’m right on this matter. I’m always the one who has to give in first. Well - this time I’m staying away until she crawls on her hands and knees and admits she’s dead wrong." Along with learning to say I’m sorry," husbands and wives must learn how to say, "I forgive." Jesus warned that the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father depends on our forgiving those who trespass against us. "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. but if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25-26). Has your husband or wife cheated on you? Have you been wounded by adultery? Did you accidentally discover their secret affair? Was there a true repentance? Are you trying hard to forgive and forget? You may never forget - but you must learn to forgive. As long as you live, you may be haunted by the images of your husband or wife in the arms of someone else. You may always hurt and grieve over it. But is he or she has shown evidence of godly sorrow - and every effort is being made to make it up to you - you must forgive. More than that, you must stop, once and for all, bringing up the past. Multiplied thousands of marriages have survived infidelity, but only because godly sorrow for sin was followed by Christ-like forgiveness. If you keep dragging up all the old, ugly past - the marriage will be in jeopardy. The Bible says, "The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression..." (Proverbs 19:11). 7. Never shut each other out - be open at all times! Never "Clam up" or walk out when things get shakey. One of the most aggravatiing actions irritating marriages today is the silent treatment. A young wife asked me to "talk some sense into her husband." He was about six feet and four inches tall and weighed over two hundred pounds. "All he does," she said, "is close up on me when we disagree. He won’t fight back. He just walks out the door, leaving me to steam in my own juices. When he cools down, he comes home. but he is like ice until I make up with him. He can go for days without saying a word. I hate it. I’d rather he yell or scream or even hit me. But no more silent treatment - I can’t take anymore." It is deadly wrong to say to your husband or wife, "Just leave me alone. I don’t want to talk. I’m going through a rough place - let me work it out by myself. I just don’t want to be around anybody right now." that is not only stupid - it is a genuine put-down. What is marriage all about - if it is not about sharing and helping one another through every crisis? I’ve heard all the excuses: "It’s that time of the month." "I’m going through the change of life." "I’m not feeling well." "I’ve had a bad day." "My nerves are bad." But none of these excuses give you the moral right to shut out someone who loves you. Keep the door to your heart always open to accept help in your time of need. The Bible says, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls..." (Proverbs 25:28). 8. Make a conscious effort to keep the joy flowing! If the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), then strong marriages should abound with joy. When marriage loses its joy, it becomes weak and vulnerable. Show me a happy home, and I’ll show you a joyful couple at the helm. Husbands and wives, who no longer laugh and play together, no longer love each other. There is a joyful childishness about true love. I’ve come to the conclusion our marriages are suffering from too many sober husbands and sad wives. Sure, there are problems. There is sickness, unexpected trouble, financial problems, misunderstanding, pain, and even death. But life goes on - and it’s a shame that so many couples never enjoy life. They keep hoping they will someday be happy and contented - when all the bills are paid, when the kids are grown, when they reture. But life passes by so quickly, and all they have to show for it are the wrinkles and lines on their worried faces. No thanks! Not for me! The future is now. God is on the throne and He has everything under control. Thank God for a partner who loves me. I plan to enjoy every minute of it. I’m going to keep the joy flowing! There’s a time for weeping, but also a time for rejoicing. The good outweighs the bad - so look up and live. The Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones" (Proverbs 17:22). 9. Never turn to a third party in time of trouble! There is always someone eager to console a hurting husband or wife. And when there is no one to talk to at home, many go seeking a friend elsewhere - "just someone to talk to." that is where almost all adultery begins. Church choirs can be hot beds of adultery - if the director is not a discerning man of God. Husbands and wives sit at home, while their troubled mates gravitate to a sympathetic friend in that choir. It also happens on the job, in the office, wherever people are working closely together. It is especially bad nowadays with so many hurting people looking for help and consolation. Secret affairs begin innocently enough - just talking about mutual hurts, then follows the leaning" process. All too often, it ends in transference of affection and adultery. Never, never, never tell your marriage troubles to a third party. Not even to the closest friends of your own sex. They are usually the first to squeal your troubles to the world, and, they are in a position to hurt you when you need them the most. Lean only on Jesus! He never tells - except the Father! It’s true, there are so few to talk to about your problems. But husbands and wives should be best friends. They should lean only on one another. Leaning in any other direction leads to a fall. The Bible says, "Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterward his mouth shall be filled with gravel" (Proverbs 20:17). 10. Consult Christ about every detail of your marriage! Adam and Eve brought deceit into their marriage and then compounded their rebellion by hiding from God’s presence. God never hides - only man does. But God was vitally involved with that first marriage between the first man and woman. And He is just as concerned about every Christian marriage today. No marriage can make it today if one or both partners are hiding out from God. Show me a marriage without a partner that is close to Jesus, and I’ll show you a marriage with little chance of survival. At least one of the partners must be in daily consultation with the Lord. There must be a hotline to the throne room. It works best when both husband and wife are talking to Him - but if there is one partner running from God, it is all the more imperative that the other be able to run to a secret closet for help and direction. A praying wife can often save her marriage - as can a praying husband. Love is not enough to keep a marriage strong - only God’s power can do that. That power is at work, right now, healing and keeping marriages! Divorce is the result of one or both parties losing their faith. But where Jesus is King - the marriage can make it! "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 30: PRE-032-29. JESUS AND FORGIVENESS ======================================================================== 29. Jesus And Forgiveness Jesus And Forgiveness by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1979 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The most difficult thing in all the world for Christians to do is forgive. For all the talk in the church about forgiveness, restitution, and healing, there is very little of it truly demonstrated. We all like to think of ourselves as peacemakers, lifters up of those fallen, always forgiving and forgetting. But even the most deeply spiritual today are guilty of wounding brothers and sisters by not showing a spirit of forgiveness. Even the best of Christians find it hard to forgive those who injure their pride. Let two good Christian friends have a "falling out," and you have a lifetime grudge going. They seldom admit it, because they cover their unforgiving spirits with a facade of courtesy calls, nice words, and an invitation to "come and see us sometime." But it is never the same again. We really don’t hate that other party; we just seem to be saying, "I’ve got nothing against him, but just keep him out of my hair. Let him go his way, and I’ll go mine." We simply ignore people we can’t forgive. The most difficult person to forgive is someone who is ungrateful. You loved someone without being loved. You sacrificed to help a friend in need, only to be criticized or taken for granted. The person you went out of your way to help shows nothing but ingratitude and selfishness in return. Your good intentions are misinterpreted, and you’re good deeds are misconstrued as being selfishly motivated. In disbelief, you exclaim, "How can they be that way, after all I’ve done for them? So that’s what I get for being so big-hearted?" Do we ever forgive that ungrateful person? Hardly ever. We smile at them, wave a greeting from a distance, but we determine to "never do anything for them again." We find it nearly impossible to forgive anyone who deceives us. We are most anxious to be forgiven our own lies and failures, but nothing infuriates us more than to discover someone has lied to us. It is considered a breach of trust. We so quickly lose respect for that person. If we do forgive, it is always qualified with, "I’ll forgive you this time, but if you ever lie to me again, you’ve had it with me." We can’t forgive those who tell us we’re wrong. Convinced we have a good reason for everything we do, we find it nearly impossible to forgive the person who suggests we have made a mistake. Rather than take an honest look at what that person is saying to us, we go into a long, involved explanation, justifying our actions. The closer our critics are to the truth, the less likely we are to forgive them for bringing it to our attention. A bank clerk gave me ten dollars too much. I smiled, returned the ten dollars, and said, "Young lady, you made a little mistake. You gave me ten dollars too much." She exploded. Her cheeks flushed with anger as she replied, "What do you want, a medal for honesty? Everybody makes mistakes." That’s just like so many of us. We don’t like to be reminded of our mistakes, and those who remind us, even in love, receive a cold shoulder instead of thanks. The majority of Christians don’t know the first thing about handling criticism — especially printed or written criticism. A critical letter ignites all kinds of wrath. We sit down, and, point by point, retaliate like a wounded bear. The pen floats on a river of poison ink. We want to set the record straight. We will not be maligned or misunderstood. We are ready to defend, at all cost, our honor and our honesty. What masterpieces of defense we pen! Wounded pride makes us very eloquent in proving our point. Even those of us, who have learned never to answer our critics and to file all written criticism in the wastepaper basket, find it difficult to honestly forgive the author of that criticism. In effect, we are saying, "I’ll not fight back, but someday God will get you for that! You’ll pay, someday!" Rather than forgive and forget, we let our resentment smolder for months and even years, just waiting for an opportunity to meet that critic face to face and "tell them off." Believe it or not, we must learn to forgive God first. God has never sinned against anyone, but that does not stop us from holding a subtle grudge against Him. We come into His presence to pray, so often, with something bothering us deep inside, about the way He has not done what we thought He should. A teen-age girl confessed to me, "Sir, two years ago my mom and dad were killed in a car crash. They were both ordained ministers, and they were the best, most godly parents a teen-ager could ever have. For the past two years, ever since the day of their funeral, I’ve held this little grudge against the Lord. I wondered how He could allow them to be killed in such a violent way. Doesn’t God protect His own? I can’t pray anymore with real trust in Jesus, because I carry in me this idea He failed me. What can I do? I guess you can say I’ve been mad at the Lord." A young couple I know, who reside in a southern state, has been carrying a grudge against the Lord for nearly ten years. Their beautiful five-year-old daughter died shortly after being stricken with a brain tumor. They grew bitter. They did not quit going to church; they still went through all the motions. But they no longer believed in the effectiveness of prayer. They are afraid to disown God; afraid to call Him a liar or an unfaithful Father. But there is no question about their deep-seated grudge against the Lord. They have never forgiven the Lord for "taking away their only child." I find this subtle spirit of un-forgiveness toward Christ everywhere I go. A young lady in Wisconsin asks, "How can I ever pray in faith again? I’ve been so lonely, and I need a Christian husband. I began to claim every promise of the Bible. I exercised faith, I fasted, and I wept. I know my life is pleasing to God. But it just all collapsed. When I finally met a nice young man and thought he was the one God sent to me, he dropped me and took off. He won’t even talk to me now. Does God really answer prayer? What do I have to do to get an answer? I don’t want to blame God, but why did He allow me to get hurt? Why do I have to live alone when all I want to do is give my love to someone?" Almost every Christian at some time in his life has had to face this problem. A prayer goes unanswered for weeks and months - even years. An unexpected illness or tragedy claims a loved one. Things happen that have no rhyme or reason. Then faith begins to waver. But the Word makes it very clear that a wavering person will never receive anything from God. Jesus understood this tendency in His children to hold grudges against heaven when mountains aren’t moved on schedule. He warned Peter not to ask anything when standing in God’s presence, unless he was forgiving. "And when you stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your father which is in heaven many forgive you your trespasses" (Mark 11:25) I believe Jesus is saying, "Don’t stand in God’s presence asking for mountains to be removed or for forgiveness of your sins, if you have a secret grudge in your heart against heaven. Get it out! Let the Spirit of forgiveness flow through you. Cry out - God is faithful! He has not failed! He will answer! He will supply! Submit yourself and ask Him to forgive you for allowing these doubts to spring up." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 31: PRE-033-30. WILL THERE BE A DEPRESSION ======================================================================== 30. Will There Be A Depression Will There Be A Depression? by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1980 There is a "survival panic" gripping this nation. Some economic experts warn Americans to flee the cities, buy a home or acreage in the country, hoard a supply of dried foods and ammunition, lay away a stash of gold or diamonds, and get ready for a terrifying depression. At this very moment, economic gloom is covering the nation like a dark, foreboding cloud. Unemployment is spreading, and, in some parts of the country, it is nearly as bad as it was during the depression of the 1930’s. Everywhere I travel now, people ask me, "David, where is our nation headed? Is this the economic storm you warned about in your VISION book back in 1973? Are we going to have another great depression? What do you hear from the Lord about the present problem?" Those who read my books and other publications know that I warned of a false economic boom that would be followed by a severe economic recession - and that was said when many others were predicting a collapse in 1973. We have experienced that false economic boom, and now a recession is raging throughout the land. Daily, I receive requests from people to update the message of THE VISION. Let me begin by saying this: Even though I was one of the first of those warning Americans to prepare for an economic storm, the purpose of my warnings was to awaken children of God to His faithfulness in hard times. The theme of my message of warning has always been, "God has everything under control." Never have I suggested people should take the matter of survival in their own hands. Tragically, too many Christians are living in fear, as if everything was out of control. They worry that an influx of foreigners will cause further unemployment and that spies are being imported with the refugees. They worry that the nation is falling apart - spiritually, economically, and morally. They worry that the economy will collapse, that anarchy will break out and make our cities uninhabitable, that food will become scarce, that inflation will spin out of control, that their children will be left to face a world of total chaos. Here is my message about current events! 1. The Fear Of Impending Calamities Can Do More Damage Than the Calamities Themselves! The Bible says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Will there be a depression soon? Is this the economic storm so many ministers and economists have been warning of? Will the present recession turn into a deep, long depression? Or, is this another short-lived adjustment of the economy? Frankly, I don’t know! And neither does any other human on earth. The economists are giving us terribly conflicting forecasts. So-called "prophets" are sending out all kinds of confusing warnings. Let me list a few of the recent warnings that have been sent to my office by self-proclaimed "prophets." Last year, hundreds of worried Christians wrote to me about a prophecy by a South American prophetess that most of Florida would be inundated by a tidal wave. Many Christians slipped out of Florida on the predicted date on a so - called "vacation" - just in case the lady was right. Florida is still with us! Nine months ago, two sincere Lutheran charismatic gentlemen sent out warnings that a major earthquake would shake the Chicago area - that Russians would land in New York and invade the land, etc., etc. I was shocked by the numbers of Christians who were taken in by these so-called prophecies. Chicago still stands - the Russsians have not invaded. A "prophet" from Texas told me in no uncertain terms that I must warn the nation that Jesus was coming at noon April 7, 1980. The deadline passed and the good brother is, no doubt, busy getting a new date. Various groups around the nation are predicting that America will soon be overtaken by calamities - except in certain "safety zones. They warn other Christians to join them in these safety zones to save themselves from earthquakes, famine, enemy armies, and other horrible disasters. Of course, you are expected to sell all you have and bring the proceeds with you to their safety zones. It is so sad, because most of these who preach such a message are sincere - and they mean well. But their messages are unscriptural, and they are in error. Christians today must not heed any fearful message that is not balanced by God’s promise to protect and keep, anywhere, at any time. No human on earth knows when, how, or where God will send judgment. The times and seasons are all in His hands. God has dealt with me personally about using dates, names, or places; and, when I disobey God on this matter, I end up speculating, rather than truly prophesying. All true prophecy must offer hope and comfort to God’s people who live by faith. There are some predictions that are contrary to the Word of God. For example, California simply cannot "break off and fall into the Pacific." No matter how powerful an earthquake there may be on the West Coast, the boundaries are secure. The Bible says, "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end" (Job 26:10). That sounds to me like a contract that is good until this earth is dissolved. The Bible also says, "...who shut up the sea with doors... And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" (Job 38:8; Job 38:11) Where do you live? In an earthquake zone, maybe near a fault line? Do you live in a city that could one day be strangled by wildcat Teamsters’ strikes? Do you live in a sprawling suburb that seems less secure as the days go by? Do you live in a crowded apartment - not a blade of grass or a cow in sight? No food stored up? No gold bars or coins to hedge against inflation? No garden to raise your own food? No country hideaway? No place to hide if anarchy breaks out? Nothing to fall back on if the economy collapses? Nothing to live on if you lose your job? Do you feel left out when others around you boast about their plans for the future? Don’t panic! You have all you need if you will believe in our Lord’s promise of protection. Every child of God has an ironclad contract of survival. The more I read the words of Jesus, the more I believe He is asking for our childlike trust in Him - to keep us safe in every situation. My advice is to stay put and quit listening to voices that speak warnings contrary to Scripture. "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." (1 Corinthians 14:33). Paul refused to use dates or set times and seasons in relation to prophecy. "But the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you" (1 Thessalonians 5:1). Paul went on to say that Christ works "as a thief in the night... moving unexpectedly... when least expected." Jesus also warned against moving in panic when false prophecies go forth in the land. He said, "Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not" (Matthew 24:26). Christ warned us to not believe men or women who claim a secret revelation about when and where Christ will strike with the lightning of judgment. "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken" (Proverbs 3:25-26). 2. Get Your Own Direction From God About the Future! Don’t depend on David Wilkerson to tell you about the future. If you are a child of God, you can hear from Him just as well as I do! Don’t depend on Jim Baker of PTL or Pat Robertson of 700 Club. Don’t depend on someone you believe has a gift of prophecy to tell you about the future. I was saddened a few years ago when ministers told me I ruined their building programs by my message of warning in THE VISION. One wrote to me and said, "My board vetoed our church building program because they think you predicted a depression." Thousands of others read THE VISION and threw it down in anger. The trouble was, they didn’t take time to read my message to the Christian at the back of the book that "God has everything under control!" I have businessmen contact me from all over the world, including bankers and industrialists, as far away as Japan. Even Jewish businessmen want my advice about the future. I don’t give anybody any advice! I say to Christians, "You know the Lord as well as I do. Go to Him; He will not keep you in darkness. He will show you what to do, specifically, for your own needs." I admit I have been wrong at times. I’ve been overzealous and, at times, have unknowingly slipped off into speculation. None of my books are infallible. They are honestly sincere, but they are not the Gospel. I am sure they contain mistakes, and no Christian should plan his life or future by what I or any other minister says. Obey the Word, yes. But, at the same time, learn to hear from God on your own. To have a "shepherd" direct your future plan is totally unscriptural and dangerous. I don’t mind telling you what I think is happening at present. This is not inspired - it is not a prophecy - it is only what I personally believe will happen. I am less concerned about the present economic downturn than I was in 1973. I don’t think this is the big recession, yet - and the economy may well come back by the end of the year. We could yet see a quick turnaround and another false boom. I don’t know. This is only what I believe - and I could be dead wrong. But if the economy does come back, I think God’s people should be clearly warned by what we are seeing now - and use the false boom time to get everything in order. We know now how quickly a depression could be upon us. Could it be that God is telling us all to realize how fragile material things are and that we must get back to real values? Also, if God shakes this land much more with a deep and long recession, all this emphasis on prosperity preaching and materialistic faith will come to naught. Such ministers will face the censure of thousands of disillusioned Christians who are not prepared for suffering and difficult times. Somehow, God will force us back to humility, simplicity, and a zeal for missions. If you are spending time on your knees in the secret closet of prayer, you are not worried about the future. God is doing a most wonderful thing for those who have turned to Him in simple faith and childlike prayer, looking for guidance. He is sending a revival of personal guidance. Do you need direction right now? Building plans? Business expansion? Questions about your next move? Personal problems? God can and will tell you what to do - when to do it - and how to do it! He delights in directing our step. God always gives specific directions to those who are willing to obey Him and who believe He is concerned about every detail of life. I know there will be some who write to me and say, "David, who am I to believe? There are so many conflicting predictions and prophecies - and they all seem to come from men and women who appear to be very godly. Who are we to believe?" You are to believe only what the Holy Spirit confirms to be the truth to your own heart, as you test it by the Word of God and diligent prayer. Actually, it is getting pretty ridiculous - with so many predicting so many conflicting things. All the more reason for each believer to be in contact with the Lord, personally. The praying Christian can listen to all these warnings, examine each one, accept what is worthwhile and be unmoved by all the rest. All true messages from God’s throne will be confirmed individually to each praying Christian. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalms 32:8). "I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins [heart or mind] also instruct me in the night seasons" (Psalms 16:7). 3. God Has Emergency Plans for Every Believer During Crisis Times! No matter how unsettled the world becomes, God’s people can relax and keep their joy flowing, because our Lord has promised special protection when it is most needed. Didn’t God have an emergency plan for the children of Israel during the worldwide famine? He sent Joseph ahead to Egypt, promoted him to prime minister, filled the warehouses with enough grain to last out the famine - then transported his people within walking distance of those storehouses and fed them to the full all through the raging famine. Didn’t God have emergency plans for Elijah? While his nation reeled under the impact of an economic collapse and food was scare because of severe famine - and a wicked king had a ransom on his head - God put His emergency plan for Elijah into effect. He hid him by a quiet brook and fed him by having a bird deliver his food. The survival plan also included a mysterious barrel of grain that never ran out. What about Noah? What a detailed survival plan God had for him and his family! An ark - floating him and his family safely above all the death and destruction of a worldwide flood. And Lot? God actually sent angels to personally pull him and his children out of the doomed city of Sodom. God’s hands were tied until Lot was safely out of the suburbs. It was more than a loss of his job, more than a collapse of the economy, more than a downfall of the government - it was total annihilation of his society. But Lot was delivered safely. Paul proved God’s emergency contingencies over and again! This apostle was shipwrecked, chased by thieves, imprisoned, accused of treason, plotted against by assassins - yet, in every crisis, God had a contingency plan for deliverance. Only when God determined his race was over did He call in His last contingency plan. He called him to his resurrection. We, too, have an emergency plan for survival - designed specifically for each believer. Let there be no question about it. God will see us through every crisis. There is no crisis that Satan can throw against the children of God that can bring them down. Not depression, not famine, not a loss of job, not sickness or suffering of any kind. God will deliver His children with a high and mighty hand. There is not one single reason to fear. In 1973 I wrote the following message in "THE VISION." This message is just as relevant today, as it was then. It is the theme of my writings and my ministry - "God has everything under control!" The message of the Bible to all true believers is: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). Men’s hearts are failing them for fear over the things happening to this earth. People are hoarding up, saving up, and getting ready for the coming worldwide recession. Even devout Christians are getting caught up in this wave of fear and anxiety about the future. People are afraid the ship is sinking. Mankind is yearning for security, and it has led to an epidemic of "grabbing" for houses, land, money, and guaranteed income. Does it all sound scary? Is the truth frightening? One thing is certain - everything appears to be falling apart, as far as the natural eye can discern. Even the most doubtful person on earth must, in his honest moments, admit that something apocalyptic is taking place in the world. Along with the vision of calamities, God gave me a very special message of hope for all true believers. I desperately questioned God about all the things I saw coming. I asked Him to show me how Christians could do all they have to do in a limited time when so many were forsaking and going into hiding. How can Christians keep fear Out of their hearts? How can they face all the news reports and anticipate all the calamities and disasters without being afraid for their homes and children? Do they abdicate and turn this old world over to the devil and let him have his way? Do they pay off all their bills, salt away some reserves in the bank, then just try to ride it all out - hoping that a better day will come? Do they buy a farm or a piece of land and flee to the country - hoping they can escape the coming tragedies? Do they let their motivation die and surrender to fear? Do they abandon all their dreams and ambitions and become as hermits looking for truth? Dear friend, hear what the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Just five little words, but so powerful that they awakened in me a glorious new hope and faith. Those five little words are: God has everything under control. That is right - everything is under control! You and I, and everything that touches us, are under His control. It’s true! No matter how things look in this drunken world, all things are still working together for good to everyone who loves God and are the called according to His purpose [Romans 8:28]. Let the dollar fall. Let depression or recession come with its unemployment and fear. Let pollution and inflation come. Let there be wars and rumors of wars. Let the fabric of society disintegrate. Let mankind go to the drunken brink of disaster. For the true child of God, everything is still under control! It really doesn’t matter - nothing can harm those who abide under the shelter of His almighty wings. The shadow of the Almighty is bigger than any fearful shadow this age can project. God’s children need fear no evil. His children will never beg for bread, and He will supply every true need up to the very last minute of time. God has not promised to keep His children from suffering. He has not promised to keep us from facing an hour of need. We have no promise of world peace, tranquility, security, or continuous financial well-being. We are promised peace and security of soul and mind - the supernatural provision for every true need - and assurance that we would never have to beg for bread. God would rather we all come to the place Paul the apostle came to when he said, "Having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1 Timothy 6:8). The future looks evil and foreboding. But David said in the Psalms, "I will fear no evil" [Psalms 23:4]. This is the message for believers today. The future is also under His control, so we need not fear. God has it all preprogrammed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar. The God who controls all of heaven and earth said: "The nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: "...All nations before him are as nothing;... less than nothing" (Isaiah 40:15; Isaiah 40:17). God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That means simply that we are to work as though the end will never come, and live as though it were coming tomorrow. God is still counting the very hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall. He is still hearing petitions before they are asked. He is still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think. So why be afraid? Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work! He is saving, healing, baptising, and getting His house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approach. Do I hear someone ask, "But how can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?" My answer is the Bible answer: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain... waiting the redemption" (Romans 8:22-23). A woman in labor may scream because of pain; yet, in her heart, she rejoices because of the fact of new birth. The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can, wifh confidence, say: God has everything under control! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 32: PRE-034-31. AN UPLIFTING MESSAGE OF COMFORT FOR THOSE WHO ARE DOWN ======================================================================== 31. An Uplifting Message of Comfort For Those Who Are Down An Uplifting Message of Comfort For Those Who Are Down by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1980 All you happy, healthy, top of the world Christians living under blue skies, and who are, right now, enjoying the sunshine of life - this message is not for you. This message is only for those who are down; for those children of God driven down by despair, loneliness, grief, pain, suffering. It is also a message for those who are down because they have no other human being to lean on. Although they lean on the Lord, the human need to love and be needed is not satisfied But most of all, this message is for those who can’t seem to shake off feelings of despair because they don’t understand what they are going through. I know of some very saintly Christians who are experiencing a trial so heavy and painful, they wonder at times if God is letting them hurt more than they are able to bear. Their heartbreak almost crushes them and they wonder why their prayers for deliverance are not speedily answered. I have known of great men and women of faith who have experienced a trial so dark and deep that life itself seemed almost not worth living. A godly minister friend of mine, who was going through the most difficult trial of his life, told me, "David, recently I have been so cast down, so weary and tired, so fed up and discouraged - I began to understand why some people who are not Christians want to kill themselves. Suicide never once enters my mind; but there are times that, if it were not for my Savior, I could not go on. I would rather die than go on like things are! Now I know why so many people turn to drugs and alcohol - they have to get stoned to go on. I know God will bring me out; but right now, I hate to get out of bed. Still, I trust God." I can almost hear someone say. "if that godly minister friend of yours was standing on the promises and living by faith, he would be always happy and prosperous. He should be praising God, smiling, and rejoicing. What a doubter he must be. What a negative mind he must have. I know the New Testament provides us with better promises than the Old. I know Christ will never allow us to be tempted more than we are able to bear. I know God wants all of His children to enter into the rest of faith and not worry and fret. I know there is complete victory, joy, and peace to all who rest in His Word. The fact is, however, that God still permits testing times, in which the soul is permitted to go through a fiery trial - which, according to God’s word, is to try us. God actually allows severe testings in our lives to prove our love for Himself. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you" (1 Peter 4:12) All the prophets predicted that saints of God would be tried by fire - just as gold is refined by fire. Jeremiah said, "God...shall melt them...and try them..." (Jeremiah 9:7). Daniel predicted that in the end times, saints would be tried severely to purge them and make them ready (Daniel 11:35), Zechariah prophesied the coming of the testing fire "to refine them as silver is refined...as gold is tried..." (Zechariah 13:9). The New Testament suggests that fiery trials are to be accepted - as common to all men. Even the great apostle Paul spoke of being "cast down. perplexed, and in despair" (2 Corinthians 4:8). And even though he sounded a note of victory through all the trials and testings, nevertheless, he did experience despair. There are times in which you can know in your heart that you are serving God with all that is in you - you are sure of your love for His Word. You believe all the promises; you know He is faithful and you confess it so; and you know you are willing to do anything God asks of you. You cannot think of anything standing between you and the Heavenly Father. You know you have prayed in faith - and still you are down. The darkness does not lift. The burden still presses you down. There is no sign of your prayers being answered. You still cry out, "How long, O Lord? How long must this trial go on? When will I ever come out of this fire?" The Patriarchs and Prophets Were Also Down At Times Are there any examples in the Bible of suffering and affliction among godly people that would relate to us in our trials? Yes! In fact, James encourages us to "take for an example of suffering and affliction - the prophets." Then he focuses on the suffering of Job. "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy" (James 5:11). Here is a righteous man of God, so down he longed for death. He was so crushed by grief and sorrow, he lost his will to live. His sons were taken from him with a sudden cruel blow. He lost his wealth, his influence, and his good name. His friends, such as they were, forsook him and sat in Judgment as his accusers. Those he had helped turned against him. Those he loved no longer responded to his needs. Rather than help him, those around him accused him of bringing all the trouble on himself. Not even his own flesh and blood understood what he was going through. Not one person really cared. Looking into the future, all Job could see was pain, tears, loneliness, and emptiness. There was not one silver lining in all the dark clouds hanging over him. Besides all the battles with being alone in his struggles, a physical infirmity fell upon him. His body also became an enemy. Spiritually, physically, financially - in every way. Job was down. The loneliness Job experienced must have been horrifying. And the despair hung on so long, with no relief in sight, that Job started to get bitter. He despised the day of his birth, as if to say, "God, you brought me into the world - for this? Was I born to live in turmoil, pain, and trouble?" He questioned why God was so long in answering him. But Job’s greatest despair came from a dilemma he could not understand at all. "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?" (Job 3:23). The perplexing dilemma is this: Why does God make Himself so real to me, yet keep me hedged in with trouble? God keeps reveling His Word to me; He is so real to me in prayer; I see the light of His glory and faithfulness - yet, the way in front of me is still dark. Why all the light shed on my soul - and I’m still confused, still hidden away, closed in by trouble? Job was actually saying, "God, everything is closing in on me; I see no way out - so why do You keep sending me all these promises of deliverance?" In other words, "I’ve got the message; I see the truth; I know what You are saying - but where is my solution?" Trouble and Trial Often Follow Great Blessings It often happens that a believer’s worst trials come right after the most glorious revelation and spiritual growth. As a child of God, you can be thrust into a long, drawn out trial immediately after you have taken leaps and bounds in spiritual growth. God seems to have been preparing you to go through a severe testing time. So you yield to His chastening rod. The troubled days that follow force you to rely only on God. You know you are in the furnace; you know that only His supernatural strength is carrying you through it all - and you are wanting to learn all the lessons God wants to teach you. Just as you are about to give up in despair, the Comforter comes and gives a short season of rest to your weary soul. You are refreshed and encouraged. You begin to look ahead and think. "I’m coming out of it! Deliverance is just around the corner! A few more days or weeks. and everything will be just fine." But the days roll by and, instead of your burden lifting, it gets heavier. Just as you thought the battle was over - it worsens! Plans go awry. Things that you hoped would happen - don’t. Promises are broken. The much longed for victory does not materialize. A Mighty Prophet Gets Down The prophet Jeremiah went through just such a trial. He had hoped for deliverance, but, instead, was cast deeper into the pit of despair. He cried out, "He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out; he hath made my chain heavy...He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone; He hath made my path crooked..." (Lamentations 3:7; Lamentations 3:9) How clearly this prophet describes the feelings of a child of God who finds himself cast down to the very depths: that hedged in feeling; burdens that feel like chains getting heavier; walls of stone in every direction an uncertain road ahead; a crooked path. Keep in mind this is the same Jeremiah whom Christ so often quoted. How could a prophet of God. who thundered against kings and nations fall into such deep turmoil and despair? Great kings and captains of mighty armies hung on his every word. This is the same prophet who kept kings Johanan and Hashaiah and all their armies waiting for ten days while he sought God for their direction. "And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of he Lord came to Jeremiah, and he called the kings and captains, and said... thus saith the Lord..." (Jeremiah 42:1.9). Again and again the Lord had spoken to this humble prophet. He had experienced glorious revelations and mighty anointings of the Holy Spirit. He knew what it was to come out of the secret prayer closet with clear direction from the Lord. But now, he is down, way down. Lonely, feeling rejected, thinking God had stopped answering his cry - he now allows that old root of bitterness to spring up, and, as a result, he grew restless and troubled. He lost his spiritual composure, crying: "He hath filled me with bitterness and he hast removed my soul far off from peace..." (Lamentations 3:15; Lamentations 3:17). Jeremiah lost sight of God’s hand in his life. He could no longer sense God being in anything that was now happening to him. He thought he was now on his own; that all God’s leadings had gone sour; that maybe after all, the light in him was really darkness. "...he hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light..." (Lamentations 3:2). How sad, yet how very common to all people of God - Jeremiah hit the very bottom. He could get no lower. Listen to his pitiful hopelessness: "My hope and strength is gone...all that is left is misery and affliction...nothing left but ashes..." (Lamentations 3:16-21). I wonder how many of my reader friends can relate to the agony of Jeremiah when he was down? Are you, too, at that point in your trial that you cry out, "God, I’m at the end of myself! I can’t take anymore! I’m so miserable I could die! I can’t get any lower than I am right now! I can’t understand it! When will this darkness pass?" Do you wonder if the day will ever come when you will be happy and carefree again? Do you worry that your trial has already lasted too long, and you are not going to be able to hold out if it continues? Do your hopes and dreams keep falling apart - as if you seem condemned to a life of misery and trouble? Thank God - there is an answer to it all in the Word. We have been given a message of comfort for all who are cast down. The Way Up So far, we have focused our attention on the problem. Now, let us consider the way to victory over all despair. We can begin with the prophet we have been referring to as our example of suffering, because he also sets the example in faith and hope. In his very darkest hour, Jeremiah discovered a glorious truth that brought new hope and assurance to his mind. It was something he already knew about God, but it didn’t touch his soul until he came to the end of himself. He discovered that at the very bottom - there was God! The further down he went, the more God was to be discovered. Down was not into some dark, hidden, fearful abyss - but down is going deeper into God. God was not to be discovered "UP THERE" in some blissful soaring into untroubled skies, but in the shadows of grief and despair. When Jeremiah hit bottom, he bumped into God! He fell hard against the faithfulness of a compassionate God. Listen to his discovery: "God is a God of compassion... His compassions for me cannot fail... they are new every morning... great is his faithfulness..."(Lamentations 3:22-23). Little by little, Jeremiah began to realize some great truths that can only be discovered by those who are down. 1. When I am at the very lowest point; when troubles flow over my heart like water, and I say, "I am cut off" - God draws near and whispers, "Do not fear!" (Lamentations 3:54-57). 2. When God seems to have "covered Himself as a cloud, so that my prayers could not pass through" - He will still see my oppression and will judge my case" (Lamentations 3:44; Lamentations 3:59). 3. If the Lord allows grief and sorrow, He will at the same time, uphold me with abundant compassion and love (Lamentations 3:32). 4. God hurts when I hurt; He wants my troubles to end! (Lamentations 3:33). 5. God is not against me, trying to crush me under His foot when I’m down like a prisoner in trouble (Lamentations 3:34). 6. God is not trying to sabotage any of my plans; He is not causing my confusion; He is not working against me (Lamentations 3:35). 7. Even in my despair and bitterness, when I hated to face a new day - His compassion failed not. His mercies were waiting for me - new each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). 8. Because God is always faithful, He will do right by me. God will not cast me off. God will save me (Lamentations 3:25-26). 9. When I am at my lowest, I have no where to turn but to God; so I will lift up my heart and my hands, and thank Him for His faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:40. 41). 10. Being down has so spent my strength and hope. I am left empty and humbled - so now, I can depend totally on His mercies! (Lamentations 3:18, 20. 21). What it all means is simply this: Get your eyes off your problems and afflictions, and remind yourself that God is still faithful and that His compassion and tender love is yours for the taking. Rebuke your unbelief and say to your soul, "Wait just one minute - -God is still God! He is still on His throne, hearing and answering prayer. God is going to act on my behalf not one minute too soon or too late.. He is not trying to hurt me; He loves me. God is overflowing with love toward me; He cares about me. Right now, even though I am down and hurting, He is not far off. He sees every move I make; He bottles every tear; He will take quick action and do what must be done - on time! God is bigger than my problem! God is too holy to fail me. His promises have not and cannot fail. So I will quietly wait on my Lord to bring me out into a safe place. Until then, He is with me in the darkest hour. I am not alone - He has promised to never leave or forsake me! In my sorrow - He will comfort me! Even in death - He will not forsake me!" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 33: PRE-035-32. THE SEVEN THOUSAND CLUB ======================================================================== 32. The Seven Thousand Club The Seven Thousand Club by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1980 "I have left for me seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and whose mouths have not kissed him" (l Kings 19:18). I have wonderful news for every Christian who is discouraged by the apathy and godlessness in this nation. Let it be known that no matter how wicked and corrupt this society becomes; no matter how many Christians compromise; no matter how many fall into sin - God still has a mighty remnant who are holy, separated, and true to Himself. It is so easy for Christians to be deceived into thinking that Satan is winning in this battle for the saints, and that the predicted last days "falling away" has touched all of God’s people. The Bible does predict that in the last days many will be turned aside: that men will love pleasure more than God; that the love of many shall grow cold; that evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse; and that Satan will declare war on the saints of the Most High. It is also true that Satan, as a roaring lion, is now going about with great wrath, seeking victims to devour. The enemies of God are going all out in an attempt to deceive and seduce every true follower of Christ. Hell has unleashed all its powers, hoping to wreck and destroy the faith of God’s chosen. But I believe the Holy Spirit has a glorious and encouraging word for His church. The truth is: Not all of God’s people are falling away! Not at all! God is right now raising up a multitude of sanctified saints who are standing up against the idolatry of this age. They are so filled with love for Christ, they are ready and willing to be persecuted for their faith and devotion. The 7,000 Club Elijah had just fled from the threats of Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab. God found him hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb. And God said, "Elijah, what are you doing here, hiding?" Elijah, that great prophet of holiness and righteousness, so jealous for God’s glory, had become totally disheartened by the moral landslide his nation was experiencing. With righteous indignation, Elijah replied, "God, I’ve been jealous for Your glory, but Your people have forsaken Your Word; Your altars have been broken down; Your ministers have been persecuted; and I’m the only one left. I and only I am left - and now they’re out to get me, too..." To all outward appearances, Elijah had a good argument. His society was nearing a collapse. The government was the most wicked and vile in all history. The Bible says, "Ahab made pagan shrines for pleasure, and did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings that were before him" (1 Kings 16:33). The government was actually forcing the nation into idolatry. Jezebel was the most wicked queen to ever share the throne. She was a God-hating woman, bent on killing every follower of Jehovah. It was a horrible time of persecution, immorality, and madness. The prophets of God had to be hidden in caves and fed by sympathizers. Mobs of wicked men roamed the nation, tearing down the altars of God and killing His priests. All religious freedom was gone. Pagan shrines were catering to the adulterous lusts of a nation whose people had turned themselves over to iniquity. And now came the crowning insult toward God: Jezebel had decreed the murder of Israel’s most famous preacher, the Prophet Elijah. Elijah was determined to "hold out to the end." If the whole nation forsook God, he would stay true! But God was not about to congratulate this hiding prophet, because at that very moment, the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the land. Young Elisha was feeling the first stirrings of God’s hand upon him. Jehu, a powerful young revolutionary, was chomping at the bit, waiting anxiously to declare war on the corruption and godlessness in the land. A great moral awakening was about to happen, and God would soon throw Jezebel to the dogs and overthrow the wicked rulers. But now comes the real shocker: Elijah was most emphatically informed by God, "I have me 7,000 who have not compromised; 7,000 who have not given in to the corruption around them. They have not been seduced. They are Mine!" Not just three young men - Jehu, Hazael, and Elisha - not just a handful, one here and there - but thousands! God was trying to tell Elijah that He had His people stationed in key positions, all across the nation, believers standing tall and true, in spite of the corruption around them. Until recently, I’ve been entertaining the same kind of thoughts that drove Elijah to despair. I see materialism eating away our spiritual life. I rise up in righteous indignation as homosexuals, pornographers, and the underworld flaunt their lawlessness. I see compromise, eroding standards, lukewarmness and backsliding, and double-minded Christians in league with evil men. The unions are filled with corruption; government is tainted with scandal; and church dignitaries mock the holy standards of our founding fathers. At times, it makes me want to stand up and scream, "Wake up, America! Judgment is coming. God is going to make us pay for our violence and wickedness." I see happening to our nation what Elijah saw happening to his. And some Christians are going into hiding, just as he did. Lately, however, God has been encouraging me to open my eyes to the great calling out of saints that is now taking place in this, our own time. God said to Elijah, "Thousands have not bowed." To us, I believe He is saying, "Millions have not bowed!" Glory be to God, we are not a tiny remnant! We are not a faithful few! We are an army; a blood washed multitude, in every walk of life, unbending and uncompromising in an age gone crazy. Satan would like God’s people to think their numbers are dwindling fast; he wants true believers to think the majority have already defected to his camp, so that fear would drive them into hiding. Don’t believe the lies of Satan! God is still at work, pouring out His Holy Spirit and drawing hungry hearts to Himself. With all the backsliding, materialism, love of ease, preoccupation with success and worldly gain - God is calling out a people who are pulling up their earthly roots and who are getting ready for the return of Christ as Lord! History Repeats Itself During its first three hundred years, the church passed through nine systematic persecutions. The first was under the emperor, Nero: then Domitian, Trajan, Marcus, Severus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, and Aurelian. In between these persecutions, the church had anywhere from ten to fifty years of rest. The church was always at her best under the fires of persecutions, and at her weakest when friendly with the world. A study of history shows that from 255 A.D. until the year 303 A.D., the church enjoyed almost fifty years of toleration and peace. During this period, Christians had attained an unparalleled degree of prosperity; while at the same time, there was a deep decline from the simplicity of the Gospel. Beautiful church buildings had been erected all through the empire, with a great display of architectural splendor. Colorful vestments and sacred vessels of silver and gold were introduced into the worship services. It became the vogue of society to join the Christian churches; even the wife of Emperor Diocletian and his daughter were members. Christians moved into high positions, even in the imperial household. They held places of supreme authority in the provinces and in the armed forces. But fifty years of prosperity and ease produced the usual consequences. Faith and love decayed; pride and ambition crept in; materialism became an obsession of both layman and bishop. The clergy became corrupted by pride, luxury, and a spirit of covetousness. Cyprian, the godly bishop of Carthage, wrote: "...because the divinely prescribed regimen of life has been disturbed in the long season of peace, a divine judgment was sent to re-establish our fallen, slumbering faith. Forgetting what believers did in the times of the apostles and what they should be doing, Christians labored with insatiable desire to increase their earthly possessions. Many of the bishops, who should have been examples, neglected their call to engage in the management of worldly concerns." The sad effect of worldly ease and prosperity was a weakened, faithless church. Jealousies and dissension split the church, and heresies were introduced. So, once again, God had to bring persecution on His people to refine and purify them. Almost like lightning, the Emperor Diocletian began to rage against Christianity. Once again persecution hit the church with a vengeance. It became the greatest persecution in church history, and it lasted a full ten years. About the 24th of February, 303 A.D., an edict was issued that all Christian churches were to be destroyed; that all religious meetings must be discontinued; and that all Scriptures must be burned. Pagan shrines were erected, and all who refused to fall down and worship were killed. Christians who would not renounce their faith were imprisoned, their property confiscated, and all privileges revoked. Multitudes were tortured, and all bishops and priests were rounded up and jailed. The most devout Christians who survived were sent as slaves to the mines and treated like animals. But it was the fire of this terrible persecution that awakened an army of slumbering saints. The cruel tyrant, with his bloody edicts, miscalculated. He thought that a church weakened by prosperity and ease would simply deny the faith, because of fear, and turn to idol worship. This emperor had been a sly tool of Satan. Before, he persecuted God’s people, he first attempted to sap their spiritual strength by flattering them, bringing them into intercourse with his royal court, enriching them with beautiful buildings and prosperous times. And just when Satan thought he had addicted the church to ease and luxury; just when he thought he had corrupted the clergy; just when paganism and Christianity had made peace with each other - he brought down the evil scepter of violent persecution. This was now a battle between God and the devil. Satan was determined, in the year 303 A.D., to once and for all exterminate the Christian name. Instead, he awakened a sleeping giant. The spirit of martyrdom revived. Though some were too spiritually weak to survive, many Christians, who before had sat on beds of ease and luxury, took joyfully the spoiling of their goods. Young people, especially, became strong in the Lord and rejoiced in the midst of dire persecution. Ministers once again grew mighty in prayer and faith. The world lost all its attraction, and God’s people were bound together in unity and love. In a short time, Christians boldly came forth and offered to die for Christ. Are We Ready for the Impending Flood? Once again the church has enjoyed forty years of prosperity, dating from the last worldwide depression of the thirties. Will Christians, who drive expensive cars and who live in gorgeous homes filled with luxuries, be able to suffer the loss of all things fur the sake of Christ? Or, will our comfortable life-styles turn us into spiritual weaklings who will finally bow to modern idols? No doubt, many fun-loving, covetous Christians will fall away when things get critical. But God has been encouraging my heart with the knowledge that right now the Holy Spirit is raising up the most dedicated, consecrated, holy people the church has ever known. All across this nation, I talk to very godly young people who were raised in luxury and comfort, who care nothing at all about materialism. They are wanting to give their lives, body and soul, to the ministry of Christ. Christians everywhere, of all ages, seem to be getting weary of possessions and are, instead, seeking a deeper walk with the Lord. There is a deepening hunger for holiness. There are multitudes who are laying down their wine glasses, shunning ungodly enticements, and purging their lives of compromise. Let me tell you what it’s going to take to be an overcomer in the days to come! 1. A Cirumcised Ear To Go With A Circumcised Heart! "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51). Stephen introduced this thought: You can call yourself a child of God, but you are resisting the Holy Ghost; you are stubborn if your heart and your ears are not sanctified. I see this resistance to the Holy Ghost everywhere I look: Ears that hold on stubbornly, unwilling to shut out the world. This generation is holding out their ears. They seem to be saying, "I gave Jesus my heart: my ears are mine!" They feed their souls on ungodly, pagan music. Even country-western music has become immoral, wicked, and filthy. God must show us that hearing it is as bad as seeing it. If faith comes by hearing, foolishness comes by hearing also. But we are so stubborn, so resistant to the Holy Spirit. Our reaction is, "What kind of holiness kick is this? Listening to rock or western lyrics doesn’t hurt me a bit..." God has been rebuking me, telling me I cannot anymore permit an uncircumcised ear to pollute my heart, then get up and talk about surrender to Jesus! 2. Go Sour on the World! Paul, in speaking to the Hebrews, said, "Remember how you endured great afflictions? How you took joyfully the spoiling of your goods?" In one way, that means their possessions were confiscated, but in a truer sense, those possessions became sour to them. They looked at all they had and said, "Those things are spoiled to me." To spoil means also to rot, to decay. Thank God for what you have, but look at them as things that are rotting, decaying. All through the Old Testament, enemy armies who plundered the possessions of Israel were called "spoilers." I want to be my own spoiler. I want everything I possess to go sour. I want ungodly music to sour, ungodly amusements to sour, ungodly friendships to sour! The more sour the world becomes, the sweeter Christ will become. Do you remember the three men who made excuses? They couldn’t attend the feast because: one bought land and had to close the deal: one bought oxen and had to test them; one married a wife and wanted to honeymoon. God is not against owning land or oxen or marriage. Their sin was in putting these things first. You don’t have to quit sports or sell your car or quit dating. But Jesus must come first! So much so that everything else is nothing in comparison! 3. Get Deadly Serious About The Things Of Jesus! The call of Jesus is to sober up. The Bible has a lot to say about sober-mindedness. Paul told Titus: "Exhort young people to be sober minded" (Titus 2:6). He talked also about gravity, sincerity. Peter warned the Christians: "Get hold of your mind and be sober" (1 Peter 1:1-25 :l3). "The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer... (1 Peter 4:7). He is not talking about a long face or a lack of humor. He is talking about getting deadly serious! In other words, quit playing games. The end is near. Get to praying! Live like people who are leaving this earth! God is calling to all Christians: Clean up your act; clean up your conversation; circumcise your ears; get down to end-of-the-world business! Get into the Word! Get back to the secret closet! I see coming a new kind of Christian, one more holy, more dedicated, and stronger in the Lord, than in all of history! Who is the last day saint? He came out of great tribulation; he shook off the bondage of possessions. He is sober in an age of frivolity and madness, hungry and thirsty for God, totally rejecting the pleasures of this world, and willing to suffer for Christ. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 34: PRE-036-33. WHY NOT JUST RUN AWAY FROM IT ALL ======================================================================== 33. Why Not Just Run Away From It All Why Not Just Run Away From It All by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1980 Almost everywhere I go nowadays, I hear people say, "I wish I could just run away from it all." Then after a sad pause, they add, "But I don’t know where to run. I have no place to go. And I guess I’m too chicken." Recently, while trimming my hair, my barber confessed, "Yesterday I called a few airlines for information on flights to Hawaii. I had this sudden wish to sell everything, walk away from my business and obligations, fly to the warm sunshine of Hawaii and become a beach bum." Then, with a heavy sigh, he added, "But I couldn’t get up the courage. So, I’ll keep dragging myself to work, and the problems will hang on." What About The Housewife Who Wakes Up In the Morning to Daydream About Running Away from it All? Her marriage is has gone stale; she feels bored and restless; and no one seems to understand what she’s going through. There are some good days, but mostly they are unbearable. She wonders if it’s worth it all. She doubts she will ever be really happy - and there fleeting moments when she says to herself, "Sometimes I feel like packing it all in and just taking off - anywhere - just to get away!" What About the Husband? How Often Does He Dream Of Escaping His Burdens and Pressures? He gets tired of the daily routine - tired of working so hard, while falling further behind. He feels the heavy burden of raising a family in a very complex age, and he begins to think, "How long can I carry so many people on my back? How long do I have to solve everybody else’s problems? Everybody is plucking at me, and I’ve got nothing left. I’d like to just get away from it all." One day The Husband Or Wife, Or Both, Look Around And Take Inventory. The house is nice, the cars are fine, the living is comfortable - but it doesn’t bring happiness. There is a lingering emptiness, an unexplainable kind of longing for something more out of life, out of marriage. They remember better days, past dreams and hopes, and it all seems to have given way to a mundane kind of existence that is not what they had hoped life and marriage would be like. The magic is gone and the joy of sharing and loving is now overshadowed by problems and the cares of life. The children are loved, but their problems only complicate things even more. All Of These Things Have A Way Of Coming To A Boiling Point. There comes a time when even the most patient, tender, trusting Christian reaches a crisis that plunges the soul into feelings of helplessness and despair. Those are the times when everything seems to be going wrong, and there seems to be no end of the trouble in sight. It is then this urge to run away comes on so strong. Like David the psalmist, we inwardly cry, "Oh that I had the wings of a dove - I would fly away to a distant wilderness and escape this tempest and storm?" The True Christian Never Thinks Of Running Away To Something Evil Or Sinful. Their love of God is strong, and they would not, for a moment, grieve the Holy Spirit. But still they find themselves boxed in. There are certain things they have prayed about that demand an answer, if not a miracle. They are convinced God is faithful and that He cares for His Children and answers prayer. But, for some unexplainable reason, their prayer is not answered - at least not up to now. Hard as they try, their marriage situation does not improve. The children continue in their foolishness, and the daily problems keep mounting. Often, the financial pressure grows steadily worse. Just when one crisis is passed, another one comes along. They begin to wonder if life is just one series of burdens and problems after another. And the thing they don’t understand the most is this: "If I prayed, in real faith, and I did not get an answer - is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Am I failing the Lord, or is sin blocking the answer?" Or they begin to harbor a subtle grudge against God for ignoring them in their hour of need. We Would All Be Surprised, If Not Shocked, By The Great Numbers Of Good Christians Who Secretly Harbor Momentary Thoughts Of Running Away From It All. Almost everyone is hurting in one way or another. I heard Oral Roberts tell me once, "There were times I would have liked to walk away from it all. Sometimes the burdens are overwhelming but running never solves anything." The late Kathryn Kuhlman, that mightily used healing evangelist who ministered to thousands, once confided to me, "David, more than once I’ve thought of just walking away from everything. How nice it would be to wake up without all the responsibilities and burdens." I, too, have had these kinds of moments when I wanted to hop on a plane and take off to some quiet, unknown place and get away from everything. Never once in my lifetime have I ever entertained a single thought of running from God or from my faith. I have never thought of running from my family or my ministry. Mostly, like so many others, I wanted to run from the demands and the busyness that tends to trap and enslave - leaving no time to grow. So many would-be escapees are like the woman in dallas, texas, who confessed, "I would have left long ago, but I have no place to go. Where does a 45-year-old woman run to? And what would I do when I got there? Guess I’m just stuck here for the rest of my life." One gentleman wrote, "I did run away - for one week! That’s all I could take. The loneliness and despair only got worse. Being alone didn’t help at all. I was miserable, and I realized you can never run from any problem - you have to stay and ride them out." That is the testimony of a vast majority of those who did run away. They tell of feelings of guilt - fear - emptiness - far worse than anything they had experienced before they ran off. And the most tragic confessions come from those who wanted to go back - but couldn’t. It is never the same when you go back. Things change drastically when you run away from family, from obligations, from the job. Even though you have second thoughts and decide to go back and "try again" - others change. Situations change. And just as it happened to Esau, your birthright is wrenched from your hands and given to another. If you run, don’t expect to back and find everything the same. You will never be the same; something will have been lost that can never be replaced. When People Think They Have Failed, Their First Impulse Is To Run. If that failure brings them shame, if they feel disgraced in any way and can no longer look someone in the face - they think only of running away. It’s their way of punishing themselves, as if to say, "I’m no good. I’m a burden. The best thing for me to do is get out of everybody’s way. I’m a troublemaker, so I’ll leave and not disgrace anybody. I can’t be loved now; I can’t hold my head up; so I might as well get lost." That is the first reaction of husband or wife caught in adultery. The exposed party weeps, cries, and then offers to get out of the way. "Okay, I know what I’ve done. I’m filthy, no good, worthless. You deserve better. I know you and God will never forgive me, so I’ll just pack my bags and get out." In many cases, the guilty party does leave, then tells everybody, "I got kicked out. I did my best to be reconciled, but my spouse disowned me." Young People Think Of Running Away For Various Reasons. Girls often run when a boyfriend breaks their heart. Heartbreak for a young woman is the most cruel and traumatic experience of all. Without God’s help, it is nearly impossible for some to overcome. So they run, and keep on running - from God, from feelings of worthlessness, and from their inner hurt. Young men run from jobs and careers that are dead end. Almost daily, I receive letters from young me seeking full-time employment "in some kind of ministry." They confess to feelings of not accomplishing anything with their lives. They feel like running and not stopping - until they can find some kind of work that satisfies their need for fulfillment. That is why I believe the majority of our runaway youth today are not running away from something, as much as they are trying to run to something worthwhile. They are searching, more than running. Do I sound too pessimistic? Do I sound as if I think the majority of Christians are restless, bogged down in despair, faithless, and wanting to run? Do I make it sound like there is no victory in Christ - no life of joy - peace and happiness? Do I make it sound like most marriages have gone stale and that a majority of husbands and wives are wanting out? That is not the intent of this message. Thank God for all the happy, well-adjusted, settled Christians who have no problems, pain, or adversity. Thank God for those who enjoy marriages free from burdens and hassles. Thank God for the Christians who live, breathe, and talk faith and victory. That is the goal Christ has set for us - a life of total trust, childlike faith, and victory over all the power of the enemy. But some of us are still going through struggles. Some of us are still praying earnestly for things that have not yet come to pass. Some of us, filled with faith and victory, still endure family pressures, illnesses, heartbreaks, and trials. We, too, love the Lord and have peace with God. But we can’t lie about our true feelings, and we can’t hide from the battles that surround us. So don’t think we are second class Christians because of those times we cry as Jesus did, "Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?" Don’t think we are blasphemers or doubters because we get these fleeting thoughts occasionally about escaping from the battle. Don’t accuse us of being immature or weak simply because we do not yet understand all the Word of God - or how to appropriate all the promises - or how to get every prayer answered. And please don’t tell those of us who still weep and cry and hurt because of pain, suffering, and misunderstanding that we must laugh, be always happy and successful. Even that saintly apostle Paul spoke of being "pressed beyond measure, insomuch that we despaired even of life." God Fully Understands Man’s Impulse To Run In Times Of Trouble And Crisis. That is why he provided Israel with cities of refuge, where people in crises could run for shelter and protection. Six cities were set aside so that any Israelite who was overwhelmed "unawares" by a problem could "run unto one of these cities that he might live" (Deuteronomy 4:42). Today we have something even better. God has provided us with a Strong Tower to which we can run and be helped in times of need. "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10). Friend, There Is No Place To Run - But To The Lord. David in times of trouble, fled to the Rock. Jesus invites us to run under the shelter of his wings. When many of His disciples were forsaking Him, Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, "Will you run away too, like the others?" Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." Peter was convinced that Jesus was the only place to hide - the only place to rest. Think of the poor, dejected homosexual who has just lost a "true love." He drinks to deaden his guilt and despair. He lives in fear and constant torment, lonely and fearful. He has no place to run - because he has no Christ. He has not sheltering wing, no refuge from the storm. Think of all the perplexed husbands and wives locked into hopeless marriages - unable to communicate, unable to bridge the chasm between them. They drink; they cheat; they live in agony and mistrust. They see no hope, so they run from each other. They seek temporary relief from their problems in any way possible - pills, alcohol, infidelity - but it only makes them more depressed. They have no Savior to run to. They have no strong tower in which to escape the powers of evil. What a pity! But not so for the child of God! We have a place we can run to! There is no place on this earth to escape our problems and pressures - He alone has what we need. To whom shall we go? Where shall we go? To Him! Can’t you hear Him crying, "Come, run to Me, all you who are weary with problems and heavy laden with burdens - and I will give you rest"? Don’t Try To Understand What You Are Going Through - In Your Life - Your Home - Your Marriage - Or Your Work. You will never understand it in a million years. When the enemy comes in like a flood, trying to swamp you and make you run in fear, flee to the secret closet of prayer and pour out your heart to the Savior. Give Him your complaints, bring forth your strong reasons, as Isaiah suggested, and let it all out in His presence. Cry a river of tears if they come. If you have no tears left, simply give up and let Him take over everything. Then stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Don’t Let The Devil Try To Deceive You With The Idea You Are Evil, Unworthy, Or Demon Possessed. If you have failed, if you have sinned - confess it! Repentance is simply wanting desperately to change! You can run to the forgiving arms of Jesus and be made completely whole and go forth stronger and cleaner than ever before. And don’t listen to those lies from Satan that suggest you are in a hopeless situation. Those fiery trials you are going through are common to all Christians, and God will not let you go through more than you can bear. Here Is God’s Message of Hope: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 35: PRE-037-34. WILL GOD EVER ANSWER MY PRAYER ======================================================================== 34. Will God Ever Answer My Prayer Will God Ever Answer My Prayer? by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1979 Have you ever asked that question? Is there one special matter you have been praying about for a long time, with no apparent answer in sight? Are there times whenyou wonder if the answer will ever come? Have you honestly done everything you know to do? Have you fulfilled every requirement of prayer? Have you wept, fasted, and fervently petitioned God in true faith? - And yet nothing seems to happen? If you must answer yes to all of the above questions, you are in good company. You are not some strange kind of Christian suffering chastisement from the Lord. The delayed answer to prayer is one of the most common experiences shared by even the saintliest of God’s children. I thank God for ministers and teachers who preach faith. So do I! Thank God for teachers who stir my soul to expect miracles and answers to all my prayers. Perhaps the church has become so faithless and unbelieving, God has to explode on us with a new and fresh revelation of His powerful promises. There is much new teaching today on "Making the right confession." Also, God’s people are being urged to think positively and affirm all the promises of God. We are told to rid our lives of all hidden grudges - make all our wrongs right, even back to our childhood. It has been taught lately that most of our unanswered prayers, our lingering illnesses, our inability to move God on our own behalf is a direct result of mishandling our faith. As one faith teacher put it, "Faith is like a faucet; you can turn it off or on." It all sounds so simple. Do you need a financial miracle in your life? Then simply rid your life, we are told, of all the hindrances, grudges, and unbelief - confess to having already received the answer by faith, and it will be yours. Do you want that divorced husband to return for a reconciliation? Confess it - imagine it is happening - create a mental image of a beautiful reunion - and it is all yours. Is there someone you love at death’s door? Then put God on notice you will not take no for an answer; remind Him of His promises; confess healing - and it will happen, so it is taught. And if your prayer is not answered; if the husband stays away months on end; if the sick loved one dies; if the financial need turns into a crisis - is is suggested it is all your fault. Somewhere along the line, you allowed a negative thought to block the channel. Or, you had a secret sin or unsurrendered grudge. Your confession was unscriptural or insincere. One faith teacher wrote, "If you didn’t get the results I did, you aren’t doing everything I did!" I am not being facetious. I believe God answers prayer. Oh, how I do believe that! But my office is receiving tragic letters from honest Christians who are totally confused and despondent because they can’t seem to make all these new prayer-and-faith formulas work. "What’s wrong with me?" writes one troubled lady. "I’ve searched my heart and have confessed every sin. I’ve bound demonic powers by the Word of God. I’ve fasted; I’ve confessed the promises - yet, I have not seen the answer. I must be spiritually blind or I’m doing it all wrong." Believe me, there are thousands of confused Christians all across this nation who are condemning themselves for not being able to produce an answer to a desperate prayer. They know God’s Word is true, that not a single promise can fail, that God is faithful to all generations, that He is good, and that He wants His children to expect answers to their prayers. Yet, for them, there is that one prayer that goes unanswered - indefinitely. So they blame themselves. They listen to the tapes of teachers and preachers who speak so powerfully and positively about all the answers they are getting as a result of their faith. And they hear the testimonies of others who have a formula all worked out and who now receive all they ask of God. Then they look at their own helplessness, and condemnation overwhelms them. Let me bear my soul to you on this matter of unanswered prayers. First of all, I respect and love all the teachers and ministers of faith and positive confession. They are great men and women of God. We desperately need to be reminded of the power of faith and proper thinking. It is all very much scriptural, and those who resist or deny such teaching have probably never taken the time to hear what is truly being taught. But there is one major problem. The faith bandwagon is rolling along full speed on wheels that are not balanced. And if it keeps rolling in the direction it is now going, without balance, it will get sidetracked, and many trusting people will get hurt. Already some are giving up because they have come under bondage to teachings of faith that suggest all unanswered prayers are a result of human error. In other words, if it didn’t work for you - you did something wrong - so keep doing it until you get it right. You cannot feed your faith only on self-serving promises of healing, wealth, success, and prosperity any more than you can grow healthy and strong eating only desserts. Faith comes by hearing "all the Word" - not just preferred portions. What about Bible truths that speak of suffering that teaches obedience? As Jesus did, we learn obedience by the things we suffer (Hebrews 5:8). There are as many scriptures about suffering as there are about faith. Our faith should not be afraid to investigate Bible passages that deal with God’s delays, His seasons of silence, and even His sovereignty - when He acts without giving man an explanation. Paul warned that faith should not stand alone. He said, "Add to faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, temperance, patience, etc." Faith without patience and virtue and self-control becomes self-centered and unbalanced. All diseases are not caused by demons or evil spirits. Most are caused by a lack of self-control, gluttony, and bad habits. This belching, bloated generation stuffs itself on mountains of junk food, desserts, and poisoned beverages - then, when the body is weakened and stricken with disease, we run in panic to God’s Word for a quick panacea. We will do anything to be healed - except practice self-contral and temperance. And even though God, in His mercy, will often overrule our self-indulgent ways and heal our bodies, we need to invest our faith in some self-control. There are times in the Bible when God could not, or did not, answer - no matter how many times it was asked for - no matter how great the faith or how positive the confession. Paul was not delivered from the affliction that buffeted him, though he prayed diligently for an answer. "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me..." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God wanted to see the work of grace completed in Paul first. He would not permit His child to become puffed up with pride. He would not rejoice in a deliverance - but in learning how God’s power could be his in times of weakness. But look what it worked out in Paul, proving God was right in not answering his request: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Was Paul lacking in faith? Full of negative thoughts? Wrong confession? Why didn’t Paul preach the message we hear so much today - "You don’t have to suffer infirmities, poverty, distresses, suffering. You don’t have to put up with necessity or weakness. Claim your victory over all suffering and pain..." Paul wanted more than healing, more than success, more than deliverance from prickly thorns - he wanted Christ! Paul would rather suffer than try to overrule God. that is why he could shout, "I glory in my present situation - God is at work in me through all I suffer. In and through it all, I know my present suffering cannot be compared with the glory that awaits me." We abuse our answers. We become ungrateful, and we so often turn our deliverance into disaster. That’s what happened to Hezekiah. God sent a prophet to warn him he was to prepare to die, saying, "Thou shalt die, and not live." Hezekiah wept, repented, and begged God for an additional fifteen years. God granted his prayer. He was given a new lease on life. the very first year into his reprieve, he compromised, exposing Israel to the enemy kings. He brought disaster upon his family and his nation. There are other times God refuses to answer our prayer request, because He has "a better way." He will answer, all right, but we will not recognize it as such. We will see it as rejection - but, through it all, God will be doing His perfect will. You find this principle at work when Israel was being led away captive to the land of the Chaldeans. "What a disaster," they cried. "God has rejected our prayers; we are forsaken. God has turned a deaf ear to us." Those who were left in Jerusalem became puffed up in thinking God had heard their prayer and blessed them by permitting them to stay. But those who stayed behind were totally destroyed by sword, famine, and pestilence - until they were all consumed (Jeremiah 24:10). But those who were taken captive were told, "You have been sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for your own good..." (Jeremiah 24:5). They never did recognize God at work, preserving a remnant, but those who were "saved through suffering" were returned to rebuild the land. Some of My Prayers Have Not Yet Been Answered The Bible says, "Honest confession is good for the soul." I confess to you that I have not yet received answers to two prayers I have been praying about for years. Already I hear somebody say, "Brother David, don’t do that! That is negative! That is a wrong confession. No wonder you haven’t received those two answers yet!" I am more amused than hurt by such comments. I refuse to ignore the facts. The facts are that I have earnestly prayed about these two matters - I have laid hold of every promise in the Bible - I have confidence that God is able to do anything - I have given my blessed Lord mountain-moving faith! Yet, the years roll by, and I have not yet seen the answers. Thousands of my prayers have been answered. I see answers to my prayers every single day of my life. God does the miraculous in my behalf, at every turn in my life. But still, those two prayers have not yet been answered. I’ll let the experts on prayer and faith try to analyze the reasons for these unanswered prayers - but, as for me, I am not one bit worried about it. I’ve been all through the self-condemning bit. I’ve had quite enough of blaming myself for not receiving the answer when I wanted it. God is bringing a balance into my faith! My positive confession is being rechanneled in the right direction. And, oh the joy and freedom when your faith in God no longer depends on just getting answers. What a release when your faith focuses only on Jesus and receiving His holy character. Will My Prayers Ever Be Answered? I believe in Holy Ghost timing. In God’s own time, all our prayers will be answered - in one way or another. The trouble is, we are afraid to submit our prayers to Holy Ghost scrutiny. Some of our prayers need to be purged. Some of our faith is being misspent on requests that are not mature. We are so convinced that if our request is "in accordance to His will, we should get it." We simply do not know how to pray, "Thy will be done!" We don’t want His will as much as those things permitted by His will. The only test we require of our prayers is rather self-centered: "Can I find it in God’s catalog of things permitted?" So we search all through God’s Word and cleverly lay out all the reasons why we should be granted certain blessings and answers. We match the promises to tailor our specific requests. When we are convinced we have a good case and have garnered enough promises, we march boldly into the preseence of God as if to say, "Lord, I’ve got an iron tight case - in no way can You turn me down. I’ve checked my faith. I’ve got Your Word on the matter. I’ve done everything according to plan. It’s mine! I claim it! right now!" Is that all that faith is about? Simply a tool to pry out of God benefits of promises? A challenge to His faithfulness? A test of His word? A key to unlock God’s blessing room? It seems to me we are marching into God’s throne room with our faith banners waving, armed with an arsenal of promises, ready to violently claim all that is due us. all the while, we picture our approving Father congratulating us on unravelling the mystery of faith and therefore extitling us to the bounties of heaven. Until God restructures our desires and ambitions, we are going to keep on squandering our precious faith on things created, rather than the Creator. How craven and corrupt our faith becomes when it is used simply to acquire things. What a tragedy that we should boast that our faith produced for us a new car, an airplane, a financial bonanza, a new home, etc. Faith is a form of thought - albeit positive, divine thought. But Jesus warned us not to give one thought to material things. "Only Gentiles (heathen) seek these things." How very clear Jesus is on this matter saying, "Therefore...Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:25; Matthew 6:32). Even the wicked prosper at times - and it can’t be said that faith produced it. God rains His love and blessings on the just as well as the unjust. Show me a prospering Christian, and I’ll show you a reprobate prospering even more. I abhor the idea of teaching Christians how to use faith to become prosperous or more successful. That runs contrary to the teaching of the lowly Nazarene who called on His followers to sell out and give to the poor. He warned against building barns and deplored the consumng hunger for wordly goods. He had no time for those who stored up treasures here on earth. He taught that His children should not become entangled with the deceitfulness of riches, but that faith should cause us to set our affection on things above. How can it be that all the teaching we have today about faith, Jesus should say, "...nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" 9(Luke 18:8). Could it be Jesus does not consider the modern brand of faith to be faith at all? Is our so-called faith so self-serving, it is becoming an abomination to the Lord? No matter how many scriptures are quoted to support it, self-serving faith is a perversion of truth. Compare much of the materialistic faith so prevalent today with the faith described in Hebrews 11:1-40! The things hoped for by these great men and women of God could not be measured by any worldly standard. The substance they sought was not money, houses, success, or a painless life. They exercised their faith to win God’s approval of their lives. Abel’s faith focused only on righteousness, and Gad gifted him with it. Enoch’s faith was so God-centered, he was translated. His faith had but one single motive - to know and please God. Faith to Noah meant "moving with fear" to prepare for the coming judgment. How that man would weep it he could ever witness the madness of materialism that grips our generation. Abraham exercised his faith to keep reminding himself he was a stranger on this earth. His blessing pact on this earth produced only a tent in which to dwell, because he put all his faith in that city whose builder and maker is God. Some who had a reputation for having great faith ’received not the promise" (Hebrews 11:39). Those who did "obtain promises" used their faith to work righteousness, to gain strength in times of weakness, and to put the enemy to chase. Were some of them not living in faith? Did God refuse to answer some of their prayers? After all, not all these prayer and faith warriors were delivered. Not all lived to see answers to their prayers. Not all were spared pain, suffering, and even death. Some were tortured; others were torn asunder, wandering about destitute, afflicted, tormented (Hebrews 11:36-39). These were great men and women of faith who suffered cruel mockings, beatings, and imprisonment. They were not afflicted and tormented because of a lack of faith or a wrong confession - or beccause they harbored a grudge or ill will. Couldn’t men of faith produce more than goatskins for their backs? Couldn’t they have risen up in faith to claim that one great promise that no plague could come near their dwelling? Oh, my dear friend, the world was not worthy of these saints of faith, because they had the kind of faith that crushed every claim of the flesh. Their faith had a single eye; they considered all the blessings of God as eternal and spiritual, rather than earthly and now. Yes, I know the faith chapter closes saying, "God has provided some better thing for us" (Hebrews 11:40). But how shall we define that better thing God has prepared for those who have faith today? Better health benefits? Better goatskins? Better financial arrangements? better times of ease and prosperity? Better old-age benefits? Bigger barns, filled with all we need to retire in style? No! I say God has provided for us something better in His only begotten Son. He came to earth as man to show us an even greater, single-minded faith - and that is, "to do the will of the Father." We should be spending more time getting into Jesus than trying to get something out of Him. We should not be praying that God make things happen for us - but to us. Those who are so exercised in their faith for healing, for financial blessings, for solutions to problems - should, instead, focus all their faith on obtaining the "rest in Christ." There is a faith that rests not in answered prayer but in knowledge that our Lord will do what is right for us. Don’t worry about whether God is saying "Yes!" or "No!" to your request. Don’t be downcast when the answer is not in sight. Quit thinking of faith formulas and methods. Just commit every prayer to Jesus and go about your business with confidence. He will not be one moment early or late in answering. and if the answer we seek is not forthcoming, let us say to our hearts, "He is all I need. If I need more, He will not withhold it. He will do it in His time, in His way, and if He does not fulfill my request, He must have a perfect reason for not doing so. No matter what happens, I will always have faith in His faithfulness." God help us if our faith serves the creature rather that the Creator. God forgive us if we are more concerned about getting prayers answered than in learning total submission to Christ Himself. We do not learn obedience by the things we obtain but by the things we suffer. Are you willing to learn obedience by suffering a little longer with what appears to be unanswered prayer? Will you rest in His love while patiently waiting for the promise, after that you have done all the will of the Father? Jettison your theology and get back to simplicity. Faith is a gift, not a diploma. Faith should not be a burden or a puzzle. The more childlike it is, the better it works. You need no seminar or textbook - you need no guide. the Holy Spirit will lead you closer to Jesus - who is the Word - by whom cometh faith. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 36: PRE-038-35. THE ULTIMATE HEALING ======================================================================== 35. The Ultimate Healing The Ultimate Healing by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1979 Resurrection from the dead is the "ultimate healing." I tried to share that glorious truth with the grieving parents of a five-year-old boy who had died just hours before of leukemia. They had begged God for the healing of their dear child. The whole church prayed earnestly. Friends had prophesied: "He will not die; he will be healed." One week prior to the little boy’s death, the heartbroken father picked the fevered child up in his arms and walked him around the room. "God, I’ll not give him up. Your promises are true. My faith has never faltered. More than two or three have agreed in Your name that he should be healed. I confess it now, and I claim it." In spite of everything, the child died. I was there when that child was laid out in a tiny casket. I looked with horror on all those sad faces of Christian friends who had gathered to mourn in death. The parents were in a state of shock. Everybody was afraid to speak out what they were thinking. I know the church people were thinking it, and the pastor acted like he was thinking it. I know the parents were certainly thinking it. And just what was this unthinkable thought gripping their minds? Simply this -- "God did not answer prayer! Someone goofed! Someone stood in the way of God’s healing power! Someone is responsible for this child’s death. A grudge, a hidden motive, or a secret sin. Someone or something hindered the healing." It was there and then this glorious truth dawned on me, and I took the parents aside and briefly unburdened my heart. "Don’t question God," I said. "Yours prayers have all been answered. God gave your son the ultimate healing. That little, fevered, diseased body has been abandoned, and Ricky is right now clothed in his perfect, painless body. Ricky has been healed! God did exceedingly above all you could ask or think of Him. He is alive and well -- all that has changed is his body and his location." Those parents turned on me with anger. They were bitter and confused, and they left the graveside to enter a bleak five-year period of doubts, questions, guilt, and self-examination. During that time, they would hardly speak to me. But God, in His mercy, always breaks through to sincere hearts. One day, while in prayer, the Holy Spirit came upon that grieving mother, reminding her of my message. She began praising the Lord, saying, "Ricky was healed. God did answer our prayers. Lord forgive our doubts. Ricky is right now alive and well and enjoying his healing." I treasure the moment we stood together, arms entwined, thanking the Lord for such comfort. Ricky’s father confessed, "Dave, we were so angry with you. We thought you were heartless, suggesting our son, who had just died, had been healed. Now we understand. We were so selfish, we could not understand what was best for our son. We thought only of our own pain, our grief, our suffering. But now the Lord has shown us Ricky was not destroyed by death, but the Lord drew him to Himself." The Life Is Not in the Shell These mortal bodies of ours are but mere shells, and the life is not in the shell. The shell is not for keeping, but a temporary confine that enshrouds an ever-growing, ever-maturing life force. The body is a shell that acts as a transient guardian of the life inside. The shell is synthetic in comparison to the eternal life it clothes. Every true Christian has been imbued with eternal life. It is planted as a seed in our mortal bodies that is constantly maturing. It is within us an ever-growing, ever-expanding process of development -- and it must eventually break out of the shell to become a new form of life. This glorious life of God in us exerts pressure on the shell, and, at the very moment resurrection life is mature, the shell breaks. The artificial bounds are broken, and, like a newborn baby chick, the soul is freed from its prison. Praise the Lord! Death is but a mere breaking of the fragile shell. At the very precise moment our Lord decides our shell has fulfilled its function, so must God’s people abandon their old, corrupt bodies back to the dust from which they came. Who would think of picking up the fragmented pieces of shell and forcing the newborn chick back into its original state? And who would think of asking a departed loved one to give up his new, glorified body -- made in Christ’s own image -- and return to the decaying shell from which they broke free? To Die Is Gain? Paul said it! "To die is gain!" (Php 1:21). That kind of talk is absolutely foreign to our modern, spiritual vocabularies. We have become such life worshippers, we have very little desire to depart to be with the Lord. Paul said, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better..." Yet, for the sake of edifying the converts, he thought it best to ’stay in the shell.’ Or, as he put it, "abide in the flesh." Was Paul morbid? Did he have an unhealthy fixation on death? Did Paul show a lack of respect for the life God had blessed Him with? Absolutely not! Paul lived life to the fullest. To him, life was a gift, and he had used it well to fight a good fight. He had overcome the fear of the "sting of death" and could now say, "It’s better to die and be with the Lord than to stay in the flesh." Those who die in the Lord are the winners; we who remain are the losers. How tragic that God’s people still look upon the departed as "losers -- poor, miserable souls, cheated out of a greater measure of life." Oh! But if our spiritual eyes and ears could be opened but for a few moments -- we would see our dear loved ones on God’s side of the universe, walking in the pure, crystal river of eternal life -- trying to shout at us, "I won! I won! I’m free at last! Press on, dear earthlings; there is nothing to fear. Death does not sting. It is true -- it is better to depart and to be with the Lord." Did someone you love break out of the shell? Were you there when it happened? Or did the news reach you by phone or telegram? What kind of horrifying feelings rushed through your mind when you were told, "He is dead!" or "She is dead!"? Certainly it is natural to mourn and weep for those who die. Even the death of the righteous is painful for those left behind. But as followers of the Christ, who holds the keys of death in His hand, we dare not think of death as an accident perpetrated by the devil. Satan cannot destroy a single child of God. Satan, though permitted to touch Job’s flesh and afflict his body, could not take his life. God’s children always die right on His schedule -- not one second too soon or too late. If the steps of a righteous person are ordered by the Lord, He orders the final one, too. Death is not the ultimate healing -- resurrection is! Death is the passage, and sometimes that passage can be painful, even excruciating. I have seen many of God’s chosen people die in tremendous pain. But Paul answers that well by proclaiming, "...I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us..." (Romans 8:18). No matter how much pain and suffering wreak havoc on these bodies -- it is not even worthy to be compared with the unspeakable glory that awaits those who endure the passage. God’s Magnetic Pull In my years of watching the godly die, I have note one common experience. I call it the Magnetic Pull. I’m convinced that death comes to the saint long before the last breath is taken. When the Lord turns the key, an irreversible magnetic pull of God’s Spirit begins to draw the loved one to Himself. Somehow, God permits that person being drawn to know it is happening. He is given an inner knowledge he is going home. He has already seen a bit of the heavenly glory. While loved ones gather around him to plead for his resurrection, you can sense he doesn’t want to stay imprisoned in his shell any longer. A crack has appeared; he has peered through and has glimpsed the New Jerusalem, with all its exciting eternal joys. He has seen a vision of the glories awaiting him. To turn back would be emptiness. Recently, I stood by the bedside of a saintly mother who was dying of cancer. Her hospital room was aglow with God’s holy presence. Her husband and children were softly singing hymns, and, as weak as she was, she lifted her face heavenward and whispered, "I feel His pull. It’s true -- He does draw us to Himself. It feels like a powerful magnet, and I’m going faster and faster, and I don’t want anybody to stop me now." Within hours, she broke through her fleshly shell into God’s inner circle. In that holy hour, no one dared interfere with this divine process of changing, when the terrestrial was being swallowed up by the celestial. It’s so sad to hear Christians condemn God for ’taking their loved ones from them.’ "Lord, it’s just not fair," they argue. Though it is difficult to condemn what people say in times of deep grief, I believe such questioning can be selfish. We think only of our loss and not their gain. God only plucks out of this world those He can no longer love at a distance. Their mutual love demands they be in His presence. It is then love is perfected. To be with the Lord is to experience His love in its fullness. So you stand helplessly by as your loved one enters that passage called death. You know it’s a dark, lonely path, and you can hold their hand only so far. The time comes when you have to let that loved one go and let Jesus take them by the hand. They are no longer yours -- they belong to Him. You feel so helpless, but there is not one thing you can do but rest in the knowledge that the Lord has taken over, and your loved one is in good hands. Then in a moment, they are out of sight. The battle is over. Only the broken shell remains. The delivered soul has taken flight into God’s holy presence. The death of the righteous is a precious thing. David, the Psalmist, wrote, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalms 116:15). God looks upon the death of one of His children as a cherished moment. But we humans find little or nothing in this experience to cherish. A young mother told me a pitiful story of the trauma she endured after the death of her two children. The first child died at the age of 18 months. The second lived only about two months. She had thought God had given her the second child to make up for the loss of the first -- now both were dead. She and her Christian husband went through months of self-examination. Was there sin in their lives? Had they angered God by doubting His healing power? Were they in some way responsible for the deaths of their children? Then, one dark day, a ’good Christian friend’ came to them with what she declared to be a message from the Lord. They were, she said, being chastised by the Lord for hidden grudges, dishonesty in their marriage. "Those children would still be alive," they were told, "if your hearts had been purged of sin and if your confession had been right." They were crushed to despair. But God, in His mercy, showed them how ridiculous such thoughts were. Such teaching is tragic nonsense. God doesn’t play Russian roulette with lives. Shall we quit praying for the dying? Shall we give up on the terminally ill? Should we just lie down and die, if that leads to the ultimate healing? Never! More than ever in my life, I believe in divine healing. We should pray for everybody to be healed. And the only people who are not healed, according to our concept of healing, are those who are chosen for His ultimate healing. some are not given restored organs or limbs -- instead, they are given the perfect healing -- glorified, painless, eternal bodies. What is there that our minds can conceive as being a greater miracle than resurrection from the dead? We Are Too Earth Bound Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking about it. We suspect those who talk about it as being morbid. Occasionally we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the subject of death is taboo. How different the first Christians were. Paul spoke much about death. In fact, our resurrection from the dead is referred to in the New Testament as our Blessed Hope. But nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the good life we have been accustomed to. We have so cluttered our lives with material things, we are bogged down with life. We can no longer bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, "To die now would be too great a loss. I love the Lord -- but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I married a wife. I’ve yet to prove my oxen. I need more time." Have you noticed there is very little talk nowadays about heaven or about leaving this old world behind? Instead, we are bombarded with messages on how to use our faith to acquire more things. "The next revival," said one well-known teacher, "will be a financial revival. God is going to pour out financial blessing on all believers." What a stunted concept of God’s eternal purposes! No wonder so many Christians are frightened by the thought of death. The truth is we are far from understanding Christ’s call to forsake the world and all its entanglements. He calls us to come and die. To die without building memorials to ourselves. To die without worrying how we should be remembered. Jesus left no autobiography -- no headquarters complex -- no university or Bible college. He left nothing to perpetuate His memory but the bread and the wine. What is the greatest revelation of faith, and how is it to be exercised? You will find it in Hebrews: "These all died in faith... confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth... But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:13-16). Here is my honest prayer to God: Lord, help me cut loose from the bondage of things. Let me not squander my gift of life on my own selfish pleasures and goals. Help me to bring all my appetites under your control. Make me to remember I am a pilgrim, not a settler. I am not your fan, but your follower. Most of all, deliver me from the bondage of the fear of death. Make me to finally understand that to die in Christ is gain. Help me to look forward with precious anticipation to my moment of Ultimate Healing. Proof Scriptures: Revelation 1:18; Hebrews 2:14-15; 2 Timothy 1:10 ======================================================================== CHAPTER 37: PRE-039-36. STAYING CLEAN IN A WICKED AGE ======================================================================== 36. Staying Clean in A Wicked Age Staying Clean in a Wicked Age by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1979 Is it possible for a Christian to stay clean and pure in a world filled with violence, immorality, and corruption? Or is it inevitable that the spirit of this age will wear down the saints of God and vex their souls? It happened to Lot and his family in Sodom, and it is happening to multitudes of Christians all around the world. The overwhelming temptations of this evil generation have already caused numbers of Christians to compromise and indulge in ungodly practices. I believe it is possible to not only stay clean in the midst of a moral landslide, I believe it is possible to grow in holiness and purity - even though hell engulfs this generation. It is not inevitable that God’s people should fall by the wayside, victims of demonic powers let loose on this earth. There is a sensuous spirit of wickedness gripping the land, and many Christians live with a growing fear that they may be slowly giving in to it. We are constantly bombarded with that which is lewd and immoral. Magazines, movies, and TV parade before viewers scenes of nudity, lust, and violence. Adultery is glorified, and one is given the impression that nearly everybody is indulging in a secret affair with a new partner. Drugs, alcohol, and sexual promiscuity are glamorized. Popular TV hosts boast about their drunken escapades, their numerous divorces, their flaunting of all moral codes - and the audiences love it! The more shameful their deeds, the greater the applause. Ministers and evangelists who speak out against all this immorality and filth are mocked and ridiculed. Comedians smirch the good names of Anita Bryant, Billy Graham, Rex Humbard, and all other preachers of righteousness, by making the pursuit of purity the butt of their devilish jokes. On Judgment Day, the multitudes of revilers and mockers will watch in silent terror as all the sacrilegious comedians and cartoonists are called before our holy God to give an account. Our all-powerful God will shake the heavens when He laughs in their faces. They will all tremble and scream for mercy when face to face with Him whom they’ve mocked and ridiculed. He will roar at them in holy indignation, "As you did it unto one of these, the least of my servants, you have done it unto Me." It’s Time to Take Inventory Truly honest Christians must now take inventory and ask of themselves these important questions, "Are my moral values changing? Is the wickedness of this age seeping into my life? Am I being affected by the barrage of sensuality I see all around me? Am I developing an appetite for worldy things? Am I changing for the worst without knowing it?" The truth is, most of us now allow things in our lives we condemned just a few years ago. We have no holy indignation left in us. We are not only silent about the eroding morals of our land, we slowly but surely give in to the mounting pressures and accept the lies of Satan. We are all being lured by powerful but insidious forces of lust and sensuality. You may not like such a charge, you may even think you are immune to such an accusation - but examine your life honestly for a moment. Do you watch filthy programs like, "Saturday Night Live"? What about all the immoral movies? People can accuse me of legalism, narrow-mindedness, or anything else they choose, but in all honesty these programs flaunt divorce, adultery, infidelity, and even homosexuality. We claim to be God-fearing Christians, yet we still feed our souls and minds on too much of this satanic filth. Just a few short years ago, our generation was shocked by the antics of the Beatles and other such rock groups who invaded this nation with music that extolled drugs, sex, and violence. People now look back at those days and say,"How stupid we were. What was all the fuss about? Why did we get so worked up about them? They were just innocent kids out to make a buck. It was just a put-on, a commercial ripoff." But friends, have we really grown up? Are we now more intelligent, more tolerant? Or are we now so intimidated by evil forces, we accept with resignation what we once knew to be sinful and corrupting? Look at what has happened. Rock music has moved into the house of God; the drug-induced sounds were given a weak Christian message, and multitudes of young Christians have now developed an appetite for a music style that was borne in the minds of demonic mockers of God. I have been in meetings where "Christian" young people laughed at some old-timers singing, "The Old Rugged Cross." But what a shame that so many of the young people today do not know how to enjoy the glorious hymns that were borne in revivals of righteousness. Yes, we are changing. Our music has changed. Our standards are falling. Our tolerance for evil is ever growing. Our silence against encroaching immorality is more and more evident. We boast to ourselyes that we are now more educated and enlightened, more able to cope with and accept the moral changes without being affected. We like to think we are above being tainted by pornography, dirty TV, and the growing tide of immorality that engulfs us today. An ever-increasing number of Christians can now parade into dirty movie houses, leer through pornographic magazines, watch hours of filthy TV, socialize with ungodly crowds in ungodly places, then lie down on their beds at night thinking to themselves, "All this and Jesus too! I am not in the least bit affected by all the dirt and filth around me. I’m still the same Christian I always was. But could it be that we are now so lukewarm, so cozy with the "new morality," we have become blind to our true spiritual condition? I, for one, want the Holy Spirit to turn His searchlight on my soul and expose every wicked or evil way that is encroaching into my life. I want a revival of righteousness in my life. I want to hunger and thirst anew for true holiness. The Culprit Is Not Just "The Spirit of This Age" What really corrupts a Christian? What is it that causes the Christian to "fall away" and become worldly minded? Why is it that so many Christians today are spiritually dry and empty? Why is it that so many complain that it is getting more difficult to stay clean and pure in this age? Is it because there is a spirit in this age that is more devious and deceptive than any previous generation? Are we fighting bigger and meaner demons than our forefathers? Is the level of corruption higher today than it was a hundred or a thousand years ago? Does Satan have some kind of special power over this century? I say no! Satan may be angrier than ever before, evil men may be waxing worse and worse, sin may be abounding on all sides - but it is not Satan’s power nor the spirit of evil loose in the land that is corrupting Christians. Other generations have experienced outbreaks of violence and corruption. Noah’s generation was so evil God was forced to wipe it from the earth. It was an evil and perverse generation that constructed the tower of Babel. The prophets all thought of their generation as being the most evil and wicked in history. Listen to the prophet Hosea crying out against his generation, and it sounds like he is talking about our modern society: "There is whoredom and adultery... people think God is excusing their sins....There is none that calleth upon God....They have mixed themselves among the people... like silly doves they mix with the heathen..God’a people are casting off the things that are good and making idols of silver and gold. They are turning my altars into altars of sin... Prophets are speaking foolish things, and the spiritual man is mad, because there is a multitude of iniquity in his heart..." (Hosea 7:1-16; Hosea 8:1-14; Hosea 9:1-17). Hosea said to his generation, "You have forgotten your Maker. You claim to know God, but you don’t consult Him anymore. You are busy building, pursuing the things of this life, but in the process, you have become empty vines-trees without fruit - half-baked cakes." Isaiah thought his generation was the most wicked and vile in all times. He said of his society, "Wicked, rebellious... sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters... (Isaiah 1:4). Children that are corrupters? An evil generation that has forgotten God? Does it have a familiar ring to it? Jesus referred to His generation as "...evil... wicked, perverse." Long after Christ ascended to the Father, Peter was crying out against the sins of that generation, saying, "You have eyes full of adultery... You can’t cease from your sins. You love unrighteousness... You have hearts exercised with covetous practices... You even curse children" (2 Peter 2:14-15). In every one of these former generations, there was a spirit that caused man to forsake God and rebel. There have been juvenile delinquents in every past age. Drunkards, harlots, and murderers have been flaunting their sins from the beginning. Adultery, divorce, fornication, and all the other iniquities of our generation have been just as widely practiced in the past. Evil has always been present. Satan has been busy in all past generations. The devil tried to tempt and deceive David, Isaiah, Paul, and the people of God in every generation just as forcefully as he seeks to devour God’s people today. In spite of it all, God has always had a remnant. No matter how violent and corrupt a generation became, God always had a people who remained true to the end. The spirit of their age did not overwhelm them. They grew strong and holy in the midst of persecution and evil. In every generation there have been some who have never bowed their knees to the devil’s idols. They continued in God’s presence with clean hands and pure hearts. They rejected the world and all its pleasures and looked to Christ as the prize of their lives. You tell me past generations did not have to cope with pornography, dirty movies, flaunted homosexuality, sexual deviations, and promiscuity? That the evil seducers of today are more powerful and have more unique tools of seduction? In answer to that I say, sinful human nature is the same in every generation. Roving mobs of violent homosexuals turned Sodom into one of the most wicked and unsafe cities in the world. These murderous multitudes, among them many young men, tried to rape visiting angels. Archeologists have discovered pornographic drawings on the walls of ancient diggings. Centuries-old Chinese literature is rife with sexual deviation and eroticism. In the fourteenth century, writers spoke with alarm about young people out of control, disobedient to parents, full of anger, and ready to destroy those who opposed them. No! It is not just the dirty magazines, the filthy movies, and corrupted TV. It is more than a spirit of wickedness that is causing men to have eyes full of adultery. People are not indulging in sin and falling away simply because they have become victims of an overwhelming force of evil. We Are Becoming Strangers to God This generation is becoming wicked and vile because it is losing its faith in God. And that faith is dissipating because the Bible is no longer consumed as a life-giving force. If faith comes by hearing God’s Word, and the Word is neglected and put aside - no wonder the faith of so many has dissipated. Don’t blame the devil for your spiritual decline. Don’t blame the pornographers, the movie producers, the television moguls, the pushers of drugs, nor the makers of alcoholic beverages. Our backslidings are a result of one thing: a lack of prayer and Bible reading. I can find but a handful of Christians today who take time to pray. We know we should pray, we know what happens to our spiritual lives when we ignore the Lord. We know Christ waits for us in the secret closet of prayer to renew us and fill us daily with His power and holiness. We are not ignorant of how God works. We fully understand that His way to purity and holiness is simple and easy to follow. Yet we find it almost impossible to shut down our lives for even one hour a day to spend in God’s holy presence. We have time to watch hours and hours of television. We have plenty of time to socialize, go out to eat, attend sports events, etc., etc. But we end the day too tired, too mentally exhausted to pray or read God’s Word. Honestly now - how much of God’s Word do you read each day? Each week? How much time do you spend shut in with God, all alone, to pour out your heart to Him? The truth is - this entire generation has little or no time for either prayer or Bible reading. We Can Change! We Can Be Purged! God has been challenging me to return to the secret closet of prayer with a renewed determination to shake off the worldly influences of this age. The world can change me only when my inner man is cold or lukewarm. The sin and filth all around can affect me only when my soul is dry and empty. When the soul is on fire with love for Jesus, when the mind is lifted in prayer and praise, when the Word of God is fresh and alive in the heart - no demon or devil from hell can touch or influence me. No worldly pleasure can entice me. No ungodly crowd can draw me aside. Nothing Satan parades before my eyes can allure me - because I am alive with the power of God’s holy presence. Christians, shame on us all! Shame on us for giving our precious Lord so little of our time. Shame on us for sitting at the devil’s table, feasting on worldly things. Shame on us for compromising and calling it maturity. Shame on us for letting the Bible sit there on the table, unopened, unused - neglected! Sure, prayer is difficult at times. God fully understands the pressures we feel. He is not a hard taskmaster; His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But God will not much longer permit this generation of Christians to remain lazy about prayer and faith. Satan is cleverly making us too busy to take time with God. And how easy it is nowadays to simply "take things by faith." No prayer, no searching of God’s Word for help and direction. We feel God owes us every promise; that it is no longer important to block out of our schedule a time and place to pray. We shout at God what we call "thought prayers." We console ourselves in believing that God should be pleased that we think about Him occasionally throughout our busy days. We are not going to make it, Christian, not through the coming flood of demonic corruption - unless we get back to fervent, diligent prayer and Bible study. God is longing to find men and women who will step away from the sensuous parade and fall on their knees in repentance and who will cry for power to overcome the world. We need to be praying, "Oh God, cause me to see how cold I have become. Cause me to know how weak I now am. Put in me a new hunger for spiritual things. Make me to yearn for holiness and righteousness." God is ready to meet this generation in the closet of prayer. He is ready to pour out more grace than ever before known to mankind. He is wanting to enlist an army of men and women, young and old, who will return to the old paths of holiness and purity. I believe it is possible to stay clean, no matter how wicked and vile this world gets. I believe it is possible that this wicked and vile generation can witness the growth of some of the greatest Christians the world has ever known; uncompromising, unafraid to preach against sin, unwilling to bend or break! I want to be one of those men of God. I want, out of this wicked and perverse generation, to experience His gift of holiness. Here is God’s desire for all who live in the midst of depravity: "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Php 2:15). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 38: PRE-040-37. GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU ======================================================================== 37. God Has Not Forgotten You God Has Not Forgotten You by David Wilkerson | August 1, 1979 There is a fiery message burning in my bones. It is a message every Christian needs to hear, especially in this age of overpowering temptations and excruciating hurt. The message I bring to you from the Lord is simply this: God has not forgotten you! He knows exactly where you are, what you are going through right now, and He is monitoring every step along your path. But we are just like the children of Israel who doubted God’s daily care for them, even though prophets were sent to deliver wonderful promises from Heaven. God’s people sat in darkness, hungry and thirsty, praying for deliverance and comfort. God bottled every tear, and He heard their cry and answered, "I will preserve thee... You shall no longer hunger and thirst... I will have mercy on you and lead you by springs of living water... for the Lord will comfort his people and have mercy on all the troubled ones..." (Isaiah 49:1-26). Did Israel rejoice in these promises sent directly from the throne of God? Did God’s people quit their fretting and begin trusting in the Lord to see them through? Did those who were hurt and confused believe a single word of these promises? No! "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me" (Isaiah 49:14). These were not reprobates or sons of the devil. Rather, they were those "who sought the Lord... the sons of Abraham... those who knew righteousness... in whose heart was the law of God..." How much clearer must God make His Word to these stubborn, unbelieving children? God was greatly concerned because they were not appropriating or hearing His promises. You can almost sense the impatience of the Lord in rebuking their unbelief. "I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of men... and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and thou hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy..." (Isaiah 51:12-13). We Simply Ignore God’s Promises Does it all sound familiar? Here we are today as the children of the same Holy God, having in us the glorious promise of Holy Ghost comfort; yet we go about daily fearing the oppressor. We know what our Lord has promised us: guidance, peace, a shelter from the storm, a way where there seems to be none, a supply for every need, healing for every hurt. Do we believe any of it? Do we just put these promises out of our minds and go on our way, worrying and fretting and taking matters into our own hands? I’m afraid so! And we are all alike. We get in a tight place; we get lonely and depressed; we fall into temptation and yield to lust; we make tragic errors and live in guilt and terror; and through it all, we choose to forget all that God has promised us. We forget we serve a God who laid the very foundations of this earth. We forget our Father is all powerful, and that all things that exist were made by Him. We see only our problems. Our fears shut out the vision of His power and glory. We get afraid; we panic; we question; we doubt. We forget in our hour of need that God has us in the palm of His hand. Instead, like the children of Israel, we are afraid we are going to blow it all and be destroyed by the enemy. How difficult it must be for our loving Father to understand why we won’t trust Him when we are down and in need. God must think to Himself, "Don’t they know I have graven them upon the palms of My hands... I could no more forget them in their hour of need than a mother could forget her suckling child... and even though a mother could forget her child, I cannot forget a single child of mine" (Isaiah 49:15-16). The Sin Of Christians Is Unbelief Again and again God came to Israel pleading for their confidence and trust in times of crises. "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not!" (Isaiah 30:15). God said to them, "You didn’t ask at My mouth, praying for help and guidance. You didn’t wait for Me to help. You didn’t return to Me for help and strength when you really needed it. You didn’t accept My counsel; you didn’t wait for Me to work; you didn’t wait for that quiet word behind you that whispers, ’This is the way; walk ye in it.’ You didn’t believe My strong arm could deliver you. You didn’t call upon My name of rest in the shadow of My palm. No! You took matters in your own hand; you depended on others; you trusted in your own thoughts. You conceived chaff and were burnt by your own fire." God seems finally to shout at Israel, "Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read: not one promise shall fail... for my mouth it hath commanded... so strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you... sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 35:3-10). It seems to me that even the New Testament echoes God’s displeasure with unbelief: "Ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:6-8). Jesus worried that when He returned to this earth, He would not find any faith left. He had just finished a message about how certainly God answers prayer. He had just promised that the Heavenly Father would speedily "avenge and answer his own elect, which cry unto Him day and night." It must have been with a heavy heart that Jesus spoke the following: "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:7-8). We Have Begun to Doubt That God Still Answers Prayer Can it be that we continue in our hurting - continue in our sinning - continue living in defeat and failure - simply because we really do not believe God answers our prayers anymore? Are we as guilty as the children of Israel in thinking God has forsaken us and given us over to our own devices to figure things out for ourselves? Do we really believe our Lord meant it when He said God will act just in time, in answer to our prayer of faith? Jesus implies that most of us, even though called and chosen, will not be trusting in Him when He returns. Some of God’s people have already lost their confidence in Him. They do not believe, in the deepest of their souls, that their prayers make any difference. They act as if they are all on their own. Instead of submitting to the Lord in quiet confidence and rest in His promises, we try so hard to work out our own solutions. And when our way of doing things blows up in our faces, we get angry with God. A young divorcee confessed, "I almost went out to get stone-drunk tonight. I’ve been praying for a whole year now for my husband to return, but instead of coming back to me, he has taken up with another woman. God didn’t answer my prayer, so I thought I’d go out and get drunk to show Him how angry I am." What a pity! She was ready to take it out on God because He wouldn’t answer her prayer her way on her time schedule. Like so many others who beg God for favors, she wanted only one thing: relief from her loneliness and release for her sexual drive. She didn’t want more of Jesus, more holiness and Christian character. No! She simply wanted a man at her side. I knew immediately that God could not answer that woman’s prayer. She was not ready to receive her husband back. She was till an emotional cripple, and she would have blown it a second time. Then all she would have left would be another failure, and her despair would be compounded. God had not forsaken her; He was actually being merciful to her. He was saving her life, but she couldn’t see it. Be honest now! Has your faith been weak lately? Have you almost given up on certain things you have prayed so much about? Have you grown weary with waiting? Have you thrown up your hands in resignation as if to say, "I just can’t seem to break through. I don’t know what is wrong and why my prayer is not answered. Evidently God has said no to me." What about all the lonely people in the world who are torn apart by their solitude? The young unmarrieds who spend months and even years praying for a loving mate? Others would be satisfied if God would answer prayer and give them just a friend. They cry at night. The telephone becomes their life line, and when things get unbearable, they call someone - anyone - just to talk for awhile. Does God still answer those kinds of prayers? You know - the old-fashioned kinds where Christian girls still pray in a Christian husband - and boys pray in the Christian wife? Can God miraculously send into lonely lives friends, mates, in answer to prayer and faith? I still have to believe God works that way. Yet I know for a fact, after interviewing hundreds of lonely people, that few of them really believe God’s promises. Show me a lonely, hurting child of God who puts character and growth ahead of all other needs, and I’ll show you one who is sure to be fulfilled. Instead of praying with faith, instead of reading God’s Word and growing in strength, instead of committing their future to His keeping - most lonely people watch TV, read junk magazines, and grow spiritually dull. Their faith is weak because they are spiritually crippled. They pray only in quick snatches. They wallow in self-pity and self-condemnation. They are stunted and unbelieving, ready to think God has picked them out of the crowd to be treated wrongly. God can’t answer their prayers because they are not ready for friendship and true love. They would mess it up in a short time because unbelief with God always leads to instability in human relationships. I say to all lonely people: Get back to the secret closet! Get back to simple, childlike faith! Start yearning for Jesus - more than for a friend or mate. God will, according to His own Word, meet your every need. God Help Me, Or I’m Going to Blow It All Almost everywhere I go today I hear Christians, even ministers, tell me there is something missing in their lives. A pastor friend summed it up like this, "David, I start to hunger after the Lord. I get a broken spirit; I weep and cry for hours. I feel like something in me is seeking expression. Like a birth about to take place. I want more from God and more out of life. I want to be holy. I want to know God and get through to Him. I pray that what I feel won’t dissipate but will keep growing until I break through. But, sadly, in a few weeks I lose my broken spirit. I go back to my old fears and dryness. I get so close, but I never go all the way. Then I say to myself - What happened?" Does that describe what you go through? Do you feel like you are just outside the gate; so close, about to break through to a life of joy, faith, answered prayers, and victory? Is there something in you that keeps condemning you, as if you never do enough to please God? At times do you think to yourself, "I’m just not doing anything. I’m not getting anything accomplished. I’m not growing. I’m not making real progress?" I am of the opinion that in all of us, just beneath the surface, there lingers a horrible thought, "Oh God, help me or I’m going to blow it all." We never say it, but we think it. "God, I’m so weak, so susceptible to my besetting sin, so ignorant about winning over temptation, so confused about prayer and how to overcome the devil - I’m afraid I’ll do something stupid and ruin everything." God Is Not a Divine Tease or Riddle What does it all mean when prayers go unanswered? When hurts linger? When suffering is permitted to continue, and God seems to be doing nothing in response to our faith? Often God is loving us more supremely at that time than ever before. The Word says, "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." A chastening of love takes precedence over every act of faith, over every prayer, over every promise. What I see as hurting in me could be His loving me. It could be His gentle hand spanking me out of my stubbornness and pride. God could be saying to me, "I’ve promised to meet your every need. I told you I would do anything you asked of Me in faith. You need to submit to s season of chastening; it is the only way I can make you into an experienced vessel of love. You can ask to be delivered, but it will only delay your spiritual growth. Through this suffering you will learn obedience, if you submit." We have faith in our faith. We place more emphasis on the power of our prayers than we do on getting His power into us. We want to figure out God so we can read Him like a book. We don’t want to be surprised or bewildered. And when things happen contrary to our concept of God, we say, "That can’t be God; that’s not the way He works." We are so busy working on God, we forget He is trying to work on us. That is what this life is all about: God at work on us, trying to remake us into vessels of glory. We are so busy praying to change things, we have little time to allow prayer to change us. God has not put prayer and faith in our hands as if they were two secret tools by which a select group of "experts" learn to pry something out of Him. God said He is more willing to give than we are to receive. Why are we using prayer and faith as "keys" or tools to unlock something that has never been locked up? It’s all freely given. It’s been out-poured. It’s a storehouse with all the doors and windows opened, with a Father who is already at work daily loading us with His benefits. When Jesus said, "Knock, and it shall be opened," He was talking about your door, not His. Knock down all your own doors. You need no key to enter His presence. Prayer is not for God’s benefit; it is for ours. Faith is not for His benefit, but for ours. God is not some eternal, divine tease. He has not surrounded Himself in riddles for men to unravel, as if to say, " The wise will get the prize." We are so mixed up on this matter of prayer and faith; we have had the audacity to think of God as our personal "genie" who fulfills every wish. We think of faith as a way to corner God on His promises. We think God is pleased by our efforts to back Him against the wall and shout, "Lord, You can’t go back on Your promise. I want what is coming to me. Your are bound by Your Word. You must do it or Your Word is not true." This is why we miss the true meaning of prayer and faith. We see God only as the giver, we are the receiver. But prayer and faith are the avenues by which we become the givers to God. They are to be used, not as ways to get things from God, but as a way to give Him those things by which we can please Him. Something Better Than Answered Prayer Do you want a promise or do you want the Promisemaker? Do you want answers to prayer or do you want Him who works all things together for good? Can you imagine a wife who sticks with her husband only for the benefits she receives? She enjoys the prestige of her renowned husband, using his name freely to enhance her own position. She enjoys all the luxuries he provides; she constantly spends on his credit cards. Yet she takes for granted the one who loves her so. She has little time to spend with him; she is so preoccupied with her own comfort and pleasure. How long before the world knows she uses her husband, that she is more interested not so much in him, but in what he provides? Beloved bride of Christ, is that not the way we treat our Master? We demand the use of His credit cards, while showing so little interest in His love. All the promises are given to us so we can become partakers of Him. He wants to get His divine nature of love into our puny bodies. Do I believe all the promises are mine? Yes! Do I believe God still answers prayer? Yes! Do I believe He will comfort me; deliver me; give me the things I need to be free and fulfilled? Yes! But all that God does in me and for me depends on one thing: I must believe that He hears me when I call, that He bottles every tear, that He is more willing to give than I am to receive, that He is most anxious to answer every prayer that will help me be more like Himself, that He will never withhold anything that I need any longer than I can bear to be without it. God has not forsaken me - nor you! A thousand times no! He is right now wanting us all to believe He is working all things out for our good. So quit trying to figure it out; stop worrying; stop doubting your Lord! The answer is coming! God has not shut His ear! You will reap - in due season - if you faint not! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 39: PRE-041-38. PAIN SUFFERING AND CONFUSION ======================================================================== 38. Pain Suffering and Confusion Pain, Suffering, and Confusion What it Means to the Child of God by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1981 In recent months I have had a sinking feeling inside me, a feeling that our entire society is spinning out of control. There is an eerie kind of confusion spreading throughout the land. There is a gnawing inside that no one (not our President, not our congress, not our courts) can change what is happening. In spite of the optimism of the President, we all seem to know he can’t do a single thing to stop inflation, unemployment or crime. The divorce rate seems to be spinning out of control. Now even some of our best-known ministers are getting divorced. It’s becoming a national plague! It seems no one is immune. It destroys the feeling of security, because it looks like our society is unraveling and falling apart. Our kids are going crazy! Ten million of them are victims of broken homes. They are mad and bitter and feel rejected, so they go crazy on parties, sex, drugs, and alcohol. There have been times lately that I thought it was totally hopeless - that we have already lost our young people. 82% now drink; 52% are on drugs, pot; promiscuous sex is everywhere. The only hope is that God is bigger than their problems. You look at the filth on television, the immorality of our nations, and you wonder to yourself if it is too late! Have we already lost all sense of morality and decency? The worst part is that the chaos and confusion is now hitting close to home. A great number of very godly people are suffering. Sickness, disease, divorce, depression: it’s all now striking God’s people. People who had the right confession, who practiced faith, and who loved God dearly can’t understand why they and their families are sick. Cancer strikes! Unemployment hits! The bills pile up! Many end up confused, feeling helpless, wondering what hit them. Some blame themselves for a lack of faith, or they live with guilt, supposing that sin is the cause. I had a rock bottom experience recently. My daughter had a large cancer removed from her bowel. My wife was placed in a psychiatric ward for treatment. All of this happened right after I made a commitment to go back to the streets - immediately after a new commitment to a life of holiness and faith! Everything was going so well. My family was healthy; my wife was at my side; God was revealing new truth to me; and I had a powerful burden for lost souls! Then the bottom seemed to fall out. I felt helpless! Things were happening beyond my control, and within one week, there was total confusion and chaos in my life. In that confusion, God sent me a message - one that sustained me and showed me what it all meant. Let me share it with you. It is the message Christ gave His disciples just before He was taken by the priests in the garden. "Then saith Jesus unto them, all of you shall be offended because of me tonight: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad..." (Matthew 26:31-32). In the Original it reads, "All of you shall be confused because of me, this night..." Jesus’ disciples did not understand a word of this warning! They didn’t have the slightest concept of what was about to happen. It was the most important message they would ever receive, and they didn’t get it! This very night would be the first of a three-day drama that would be the most important in all of history. A world-changing event was coming! God was about to redeem the world of all sin through His Son Jesus. A fountain of forgiveness and cleansing was about to be opened, soon to flow to all mankind. The disciples and the entire world were on the brink of the most glorious, joyful occasion ever! Jesus, knowing all of this, did not predict a night of rejoicing, expectation, or praise and glory. Why not? Why could they not spend this night in jubilation on the eve of victory for the church of Jesus Christ? Instead, Jesus predicted a night of chaos and confusion for every disciple. He said, "All of you - every one of you - shall be confused because of me - tonight!" These Christ-educated, miracle-working men of faith were about to be cast into an hour of chaos! All the faith in the world could not save them from this night of confusion! They were going to lose their sense of direction! All their guidance system will seem to fail them! They were going to end up feeling lost and running about as if they had no Shepherd! "I will smite the shepherd..." What a horrible moment! The night before, they sat under the stars on the Mount of Olives; they sang beautiful hymns. Jesus was there in their midst, revealing to them the truth. They felt the warmth and glow of His very presence. Suddenly, in one night, it seemed to be all over! The enemy moved in and, for a while, seemed to be in control. Suppose you had been there the night everything spun out of control causing untold confusion. It was a beautiful, calm, star-lit night in the Garden of Gethsemane. The drowsy disciples were comforted by the sound of intercession coming from their Master’s lips. (My dad’s praying used to comfort me so.) Visualize Judas, one of their own, leading that mob. They surround the Master; they are screaming, "Imposter! Kill Him! Murder the Man! Away with Him! Child of Satan!" These disciples watch in horror as the Pharisees and priests drag Him away like a helpless criminal. It is an impossible sight for them to behold! They had seen Jesus whip these same men out of the temple. They heard Jesus boldly call them vipers, hypocrites, and children of the devil! They knew Jesus vanished miraculously once from them at another time. In their hearts they must have been crying, "Call down a host of angels, Master! Escape once more! Don’t let these hypocrites drag You about like a thief!" The disciples were panic stricken! It happened so fast! They weren’t programmed for trouble and hard times! They had memorized and practiced all His teachings about miracles, power over devils, and asking and receiving! They had experienced sky-high faith when casting out demons, when the miracles were happening, when multitudes were fed, and when all needs were being supplied by faith. But their faith had never been tested by a night of chaos and confusion. They conveniently had shut out all His warnings about suffering and pain. They wanted nothing to do with the warnings about the afflictions of the saints - about persecution. They loved it when they were told they had power to speak the word - to bind and loose in Heaven and earth! But they didn’t want to hear Him say, "Deny yourself. Lose your life. Sell and give to the poor. In this world you shall have tribulation - trial by faith - trial by fire. Endure hardships." Peter was the great man of faith in their midst. After all, he was the only one of them who had walked on water! He was the disciple who didn’t believe in suffering or in crosses! Jesus tried to prepare His disciples for a time of suffering and pain, but Peter would have none of that negative thinking. "Jesus began to show His disciples how he must... suffer many things... and be killed.... Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid! This shall not happen to you" (Matthew 16:21-22). Imagine this disciple rebuking Jesus and saying, "You don’t have to suffer! Master, claim Your own promises! Let me speak the word of faith and save You from the pain and suffering." I have heard honest men of God today, with the same misguided faith and zeal as Peter, stand before congregations and rebuke them for their lack of faith. They cry aloud: "You don’t have to suffer! If you do, it is only because you have no faith! Get rid of your negative thoughts and words, and go your way, happy and prosperous, without pain or suffering." I am convinced that if Christ sat in the audience, hearing this kind of preaching, He would stand up and cry out the same thing He said to Peter: "Stop! Quiet! What you say is offensive to Me. You preach what is of man but not of God!" Peter was an honest man of faith and power, but he didn’t know the deeper truths of the Spirit. It was also Peter who said, "Though all others are confused about You... I shall never be confused" (Matthew 26:33). Listen to Peter’s theology. "Not me, Lord - no pain, no suffering, no confusion for me. My faith will help carry me right through everything. I know my spiritual rights. I believe God. I just don’t allow suffering or pain in my life." But whose faith was the first to crumble under the pressure of confusion that night? Peter’s! So it is with so many I know today. They go about boasting about their great faith and how they have conquered all disease and pain. But let cancer strike, let confusion and trouble fall, and they end up in total misery. They get confused by it all! They have no alternative but to blame it on secret sin or a lack of faith. This night even the Son of God would enter a time of confusion and chaos! Things would get so painful, so confusing, He would end up crying out, "Father, where are you? Why have You forsaken Me?" Not only did they face a time of confusion, but they were going to be scattered about like abandoned sheep. "And the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matthew 26:31). Look at our Lord’s little flock now. Peter was wandering about in the hills, weeping, condemning himself for failing faith. The rest fled to the desert and countryside. They had forgotten the words of Jesus - "Fear not little flock, for it is my Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). They were on the threshold of a new revelation of inner power and glory, but all they could see were the terrible things happening to them. No miracles now! Everybody is feeling mental pain! They are suffering! They are confused! They can’t sense the presence of the Lord! The heavens are brass! They had given up heart! Mary Magdalene came running to them as they were mourning and weeping. She said, "He is alive! He’s still our Shepherd!" But they believed her not! Why would God allow all this confusion, fear, chaos, suffering, and pain? After all, the disciples had not sinned or forsaken the Lord. Their faith at that time was real! They did nothing to deserve all the pain! I feel confident they ended up blaming themselves for what was happening. "We must have done something wrong! Our faith must have been too weak. We must be paying the price for sin in our lives." But not so! God permitted every moment, every event! It was all a part of His master plan! And it was not permitted simply to teach them a lesson. God didn’t explain the reasons. He was not trying to educate them about some hidden truth. He was not trying to prove them. He was simply doing His own will. How often we think our suffering and pain is to teach us a lesson. We say, "Well, I hope He shows me what I’m supposed to learn out of all of this quickly, so I can get it over with..." If we end up in the hospital, we think it is God’s way of getting us to witness to someone. We try to explain our suffering, hoping to justify God’s way of doing things. There need be no other reason for your confusion, pain, and suffering than God working things out for you in His own way. It is most often the sovereign work of our God unfolding a master plan known only to Himself. Through all suffering of God’s people, God is at work! The miracle soon follows the confusion! Study your Bible, and you will discover these same patterns in the lives of all of God’s people. In case after case, when God began to fulfill His promise, the roof seemed to cave in first! Think of Daniel and the three Hebrew children. They gave themselves to a life of holiness and separation from the world and all its pleasures. Daniel pledged himself to a life of prayer, tears, and intercession. But what did that get Daniel and the three Hebrew children? Confusion just before victory! You don’t go from the prayer closet to some mountaintop victory. You go to the lions’ den! You don’t go from consecration to a life of ease and blessing only. You go to the fiery furnace! Their theology was not afraid of pain and suffering because they knew it always ended in God having His way! Through lions and red-hot furnaces to God’s perfect will! •Think of Elijah. God gave him a glorious promise of a spiritual awakening in the land, of an outpouring of abundant rain, and of a new day of victory for God’s people. Ahab and Jezebel were to be overthrown. But look at all the confusion that broke out after the promise was given. Jezebel threatened his life, chasing him into hiding in the mountains. Wicked forces killed the prophets of God. The land continued in wickedness and drought. The Word of God seemed like a hoax! Can you imagine how confused Elijah must have been? "What kind of answered prayer is this? I’m left to my own! Where is the Lord? Has His promise failed?" And all the while God was brewing up the storm of the century! The confusion would soon pass, and the answer would be forthcoming. • Christ left His disciples a promise that could have seen them through all the confusion and pain, but they were too swollen up in sorrow to remember. He had told them: "After I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee" (Matthew 26:32). In other words, "Don’t try to figure it all out. Don’t question the time of confusion. It’s not your fault; it’s not your battle. God is at work! When this is all over, I’ll still be going before you. Your shepherd will still be there." Do you understand this was between Christ and His Heavenly Father? It was not even the disciples’ drama. They were affected by the working of God in someone else’s life. My wife developed guilt by thinking she passed cancer to our daughter. She took God’s work in Debbie’s life as her own. I condemned myself because of my wife’s battles. But God showed me that though I, too, may suffer, He is doing something in her. So I quit condemning myself and turned her over to God’s keeping. Certainly what God is doing in those near us does bring us confusion and pain. But God wants us to trust Him to be leading through it all. We are not to be overcome with sorrow because of the pain and suffering of others. We must care, pity, and love - but then, we must turn it all over to a loving Father. No matter what the disciples felt, no matter how confused things appeared to be - God was at all times in control! That is what this revelation of Christ is all about. In your most painful, confusing hour, stop and say: "God had everything under control." Yes, divorce is out of control. Pornography and lewdity is spreading. The government and world leaders are confused. It looks as if our world is spinning out of control. But that’s the clue we’ve been waiting for! Christ is about to come! We are on the brink of a new world. Let us not miss the meaning of it all. God is doing His thing. Our Shepherd is still leading! And our suffering and pain will give way to a faith that will never fail. It will be a faith that has been tried, as gold, in the fire of adversity. Remember, the hardest part of faith is the last half hour, just before the victory comes. Finally, never be confused by confusion! It does come to the best of God’s children at times. But the confusion is often God’s way of calling out of us a faith based only on one fact: God will do what is right for all His children - in His time - in His own way! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 40: PRE-042-39. THE LIBERATED LIFE ======================================================================== 39. The Liberated Life The Liberated Life by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1981 I stood in the lobby of a hotel recently, watching singles file one by one into a huge banquet hall. The sign outside the hall read: Creative Singles’ Party. It was a Sunday evening, supposedly the most depressing day for lonely people. What a tragic sight it was. Some were nineteen and twenty; others were in their sixties. No one was smiling. They looked as if they had all come from the same funeral. You could sense their emptiness, their loneliness. There was a horrible sense of sadness about it all. Every one of them headed right to the liquor table and filled their glasses with alcohol. And four hours later, they filed out-even sadder! They walked out the revolving door, as if to say, "Is this all there is to life? What a downer!" But I can take you to the steps of almost any church today and show you the same depressing sight. They come walking into God’s house and hardly anyone is smiling. You can read their faces, and you can see written there the same fears, the same loneliness, the same emptiness you see at a singles’ party. Stand in front of any school on Monday morning and watch the kids dragging into their classrooms. Their faces are long; they are half asleep. They look bored, and they seem to resent "having to go" to school. They count the minutes until lunch time. It’s the same thing on the job-Monday morning blues. The employees act like they are drafted and are being sent to the front lines to face a firing squad. They soak themselves with coffee till noon. Listen to their language, "Oh man, another long week ahead. I can’t wait for Friday." And now we’ve got the "Sunday blues"-kids who resent being forced to go to church; dads who prefer to sleep in or who say to their wives, "the preacher had better not go past twelve. The Cowboys play at one o’clock, and I don’t want to miss the kickoff." Two-thirds of the crowd keep looking at their watches; the other third is checking out the crowd, inspecting what others are wearing. Most tragic of all, a majority who attend the church services don’t expect to get any help! They are glad the service lasts only an hour and a half. If it lasted three hours, few would attend. It’s an hour and a half to ease their consciences; an hour and a half to keep up the tradition of going to church on Sunday. They walk out just as they walked in: bored, worried, frustrated, and full of fear and anxiety. How it must break the heart of God! We are turning His house of deliverance and prayer into a place of bondage and boredom. A recent national survey asked the question, "Where do you get the most bored?" The majority answered, "In church." My friends, when the house of God is no longer a place where people can find strength and liberation, it needs to close its doors. If there is no shout of victory, no glorious joy, no liberating power-it is no longer God’s house. "Icabod" should be written over its doors-"The glory has departed." How sad, but true, that a great majority of all the people god created will die and go into eternity having never really lived. Most people simply endure their life. Their life has been one long private war. Even when it’s at its best, it is never what they think it should be. There is always something missing. No one seems to know what it is, but everybody is searching for it. They keep looking for what they call "the meaning of life." A voice deep within keeps whispering, "There has to be more. Somewhere there is something better-better than living with constant guilt; better than just existing, dragged down by habits, sins, and weaknesses. Life is supposed to be FREE. It should never keep me a prisoner. It should be liberating." That Inner Voice Calling You to a Liberated Life Is God Himself Centuries before Christ was born, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied that God would send a deliverer to mankind who would liberate life. Jesus Himself stood in a Jewish synagogue one Sabbath and reminded to world of this prophecy: "And when he opened the book Jesus found the place where it was written by Isaiah, 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,...This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:17-21) The Patriarchs and Prophets Were Also Down At Times Jesus was telling the whole world, "My mission on earth is to liberate every bruised life." To liberate means to set free from all bondage; to release from all slavery; to do away with everything that oppresses. If you believe Christ is telling the truth, then you must believe He is saying to you and to me, "I am sent to liberate your life, to release your life from all oppression and bondage. I come to set your Spirit free." Paul also preached that Christ came to call every believer to a liberated life. "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty?" (Galatians 5:35) "Christ has liberated you, so make sure you stay free and don’t get tied up with the chains of bondage again" (Galatians 5:1) Paul preached about "the glorious liberty of the children of God" [See Romans 8:21] If Christ Came to Liberate Us From a Miserable Life, Why Do We Go On Living the Same Old Miserable Way? That is what God wants to know! "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" (Galatians 4:9) It must be so frustrating to God when so few of His creatures take seriously His offer to liberate them. The children of Israel never accepted His offer. He brought them out of Egypt, the house of bondage, and promised them a liberated life in Canaan, "but some, when they heard, did rebel?" Paul said they came short of finding their liberation because the word they heard did them no good-because they did not really believe what they heard. Paul tells us that God’s offer to bring us into the rest of a liberated life still stands today. "God’s promise that all may enter His rest still stands, and we ought to tremble with fear because some of you may fail to reach it" (Hebrews 4:1 Paraphrased). Since the children of Israel failed to accept His offer, God set another time for people to experience liberated life. "He has set another time for coming in, and that time is now" (Hebrews 4:7 Living Bible). "There is a full, complete rest still waiting for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). Think of what God is saying to us today, "If you aren’t careful, just like the millions of Israel, your generation will go through life without coming into the liberating rest I’ve promised." Look around, folks, It’s true! We have failed to reach this rest in our lives. We are still restless and troubled. And our disbelief in His glorious promise of liberation grieves God. "But with whom was God grieved forty years? Was it not them that sinned? Why couldn’t they go in? Because they didn’t believe Him" (Hebrews 3:17-19). The Only Thing That Keeps Us From Entering Into the Liberated Life God Has Promised Us Is Unbelief! Why did millions of Israelites die in a snake-infested wilderness, after living forty miserable years in sorrow and fear? Why did they stay in a desert wasteland when they could have moved right into a land flowing with fruits, vegetables, honey, and all things to make life beautiful? Why did they wander aimlessly in tents, eating dust, when they could have owned their own homes on their own land? The answer seems incredible! It was too good to be true. They simple could not believe that God loved them enough to trade off their misery for such a wonderful life. They had grown so accustomed to misery, they thought that was the way life was supposed to be. The spies that came back from that promised land of peace and rest told them all about its beauty; about springs and rivers of water; about vineyards, fig plantations, herds of milk cows, an abundance of honey, green pastures. It was all that God said it was! But some of the spies added, "Don’t get too excited about this new life you’ve been promised. There’s a catch. There are some giants in the land also." The people’s hearts sank within them. They began to murmur and complain, "I knew it-I just knew it! It was too good to be true; too easy; too much like a fairy tale. It’s all a false dream. Such a beautiful life in a beautiful land is impossible." Caleb cried out, "Let us go at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30). But listen to them as unbelief takes over: "We be not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are" (Numbers 13:31). Joshua stood up in the middle of this unbelief, and God spoke through him in one last effort to get them into a new life. "The Lord loves us. He delights in us. He wants to bring us into this place and give it to us. Don’t be afraid; don’t reject God’s promise. The Lord is with us. Not even giants can stop us" (Numbers 14:8-9 Paraphrased). But the people almost stoned him instead. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me?" (Numbers 14:11). This is what God has been dealing with me about lately. He has been asking me the same question, "David, when will you believe Me and take Me at My Word? When will you enter into this life of liberty and rest I’ve promised you?" He is warning me to be careful, lest I, too, fail to enter into the liberated life, His abundant life-free and restful. Are we ready to finally believe what Jesus said? Or will our unbelief rob us of His promises? He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). He also said, "I am come that you might have life, and that you may have it in its fullest measure" (John 10:10). And again this promise: "I have come to bring liberty to everyone who is bruised" (Luke 4:18 Paraphrased). Nothing Else But Our Unbelief Stands Between Us and a Totally Liberated Life We are just like the children of Israel. We think a life totally free of fear and guilt is too incredible. Life lived in its fullest measure? Life with 24-hour-a-day rest and peace in my soul? Life without a heavy burden of condemnation or depression? Life in the presence of a loving, gentle Savior who cares about all my needs? Life without turmoil; without worry; without the fear of falling? Does it sound too good to be true? Is it just a tease from God? Not at all! This is exactly the kind of Liberated Life Christ wants every one of His children to have. Not just a few of His children-but all! Not just for those who break some kind of theological code-but all who simply trust Him for it! Even Christ Himself admitted He could do no miracle for those who had unbelief in them. "Let us do our best to enter into that place of rest...being careful not to disobey God as the children of Israel did through their unbelief" (Hebrews 4:11 Paraphrased). The Same Faith That Gives You Eternal Life Gives You Liberated Life Right Now! Isn’t it shocking that the children of Israel believed God could get them out of Egypt, but they couldn’t believe He could get them into the promised land? They had survived ten supernatural plagues. They watched in horror as death claimed all the firstborn children in Egypt, and not one of them died. They had witnessed the unbelievable sight of a sea piling up on both sides to open a dry passage right through it. They walked through a sea! They watched in amazement as the sea fell in on Pharaoh and his army, drowning them. "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord." How excited Israel was! They were now saved! The old life was gone; new life was theirs. They danced for joy, filled with anticipation of a glorious new life in a land of beauty and rest. "Thou shalt bring us in, and plant us in the mountain of our inheritance, our own homeland, the place you have meant for us to dwell in" (Numbers 15:17 Paraphrased). Six weeks later, they were down in the pits of despair! They were miserable; they were troubled; they were complaining; they forgot all about God’s miraculous power. They were fearful and afraid. "The fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt the whole congregation murmured against Moses...moaning...’Oh that we were back in Egypt, and that the Lord had killed us there. He brought us into this wilderness to kill us all by starvation’" (Numbers 16:3 Living Bible). In the months ahead, these same people doubted God on ten different occasions. God said, "That is enough! Their doubt will keep them out. These men have seen My glory; they’ve witnessed My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and they have doubted and tempted Me these ten times. And they have not believed My promise. Therefore they shall not come into the land, but their carcasses shall fall in the wilderness?" They were saved, all right, but for what? To spend forty miserable years in a scorching wilderness, living in spiritual poverty, murmuring and complaining, bowed down with feelings of rejection, depression and daily sorrow? Afraid to die and yet not wanting to live? Living under the fear of God’s wrath? That is not what God wanted for them. That is not why He saved them. They got themselves bogged down in a desert rat existence because they lost their faith in God. It makes you want to scream, "Israel, wake up! You don’t have to live like that. There’s a beautiful place for you, a wonderful and liberated life just over the hills. Don’t be so stupid! Believe God-it’s true!" Even more tragic than this is that so many today are stuck in that same old wilderness of despair. We are just as blind and unbelieving. We believe God to save us in eternity, but we won’t believe Him to give us abundant life right now. We have been told in no uncertain terms by God that we have a life of complete rest and liberation waiting for us. Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom?" (Luke 12:30). Did Jesus say what I think he said? God wants to give me a kingdom? Where is it? "The kingdom of God does not come to you visibly...The kingdom is within you?" (Luke 17:20-21). Oh great! That means from now on I’ll be rich, increased with goods, and in need of nothing. No! It is something you possess in your inner man. It is a liberated life! "For the kingdom of God is not what you eat or drink...but it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17). God Is Doing Everything Within His Power to Call This Generation Out of the Kingdom of Darkness, Into This New Kingdom of Light! What is it going to take to get us out of our miserable lives of guilt, fear, and depression? What will it take to make us see there is a far more glorious life awaiting us? Paul said, "Give thanks unto the Father which hath made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:13). Do you want this liberated life? Do you believe now that it is your inheritance? Do you now believe God wants desperately for you to have it? Then accept it by faith! Move into it! Claim it as your own! Paul says, "Haven’t you suffered enough? Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?" In other words, "Aren’t you sick and tired of living a life of fear and mental torture? Haven’t you yet learned there is a better way?" "The just SHALL LIVE by faith!" You simply put your faith in what God said He would do for you. This liberated life of righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost is a gift. You can’t work for it. The greatest joy of all is to know you are no longer "guilty" before God. It is the joy of knowing your faith makes you right before Him. "Blessed, and to be envied...are those whose sins are forgiven and out of sight...What joy there is for anyone whose sins are no longer counted against him by the Lord" (Romans 4:7-8). Abraham became the father of nations, simply because he took God at his Word. He could have doubted and lost everything. "But Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew even stronger, and he praised God for this blessing even before it happened. He was completely sure that God was well able to do anything he promised. And because of Abraham’s faith God forgave his sins and declared him ’not guilty.’ Now this wonderful statement, that he was accepted and approved through his faith, wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will accept us in the same way he accepted Abraham-when we believe the promises of God who brought back Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Romans 4:20-24 Living Bible). This Daily Supply of Liberated Life Depends on a Daily Faith in God’s Promises We believe Him to forgive us in order to save us; we must believe that He will keep us. The power that saves us keeps us! The faith that brought Christ into our lives keeps us from falling. "So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be" (Romans 5:1-2 Living Bible). Do you face an overwhelming temptation? Is there a besetting sin that keeps trying to drain your life? Put it in God’s hand! Believe THIS promise and leave it Him to fulfill it: "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the throne of God with exceeding great joy?" But there’s a warning also: "They believed not for his wonderous works...therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble?" (Psalms 78:32-33). They suffered mental anguish, feelings of worthlessness, and years of trouble-all because they didn’t trust in the wonderful love and power of God. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 41: PRE-043-40. DOWN WITH RELIGION ======================================================================== 40. Down With Religion Down With Religion by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1981 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] In a recent survey, young people were asked the question, "Where do you get bored the most?" The #1 answer was, "In Church." I agree! The majority of churches today have nothing at all to offer young people. Most teen-agers go to church only because their parents make them go. And many of their parents go only because it’s the "religious thing" to do. It’s not because young people have become godless or irreligious. In fact, another recent survey showed that 84% of American young people believe in God and that He is personally involved in their lives. They are not down on God, just religion. They can’t understand why there are so many religions - so many denominations - so much confusion, fighting and hatred - all in the name of God. Think of the religions in the world; to name just a few: Buddhism, Hinduism, Mohammedanism, Catholicism, Islamism, Judaism, Protestantism, Shintoism, Mormonism, Unitarianism. It’s almost impossible to keep up with all the old and new religious denominations, movements, groups, and cults. There are more than twenty Baptist organizations; more than twenty-five various Pentecostal denominations; Methodists; Presbyterians; Church of Christ; Disciples of Christ; Lutherans; Episcopalians; Christian Church; United Methodists; Free Methodists; Brethren; Plymouth Brethren; Christian Science; Seventh Day Adventists; Jehovah Witnesses - and on and on. Even more confusing are all the new religions: The Moonies, Hare Krishna, Kimbanguism, Zen Buddhism, Spiritism, Scientology, etc. Have you heard it said, "There may be many religions on earth, but we all worship the same God"? This is what the Islamic Ayatollahs preach. They kill, kidnap, torture - all in the name of God! Millions of Iranians and other Islamics are ready to die for the god of their religion. Iraq and Iran are both Islamic religions: the same god, the same doctrines, telling the world they are fighting a "religious war" against each other. More people have died because of religion than any other cause on earth. In Ireland right now, Catholics and Protestants kill each other in the name of God and their religion. Church history books are full of bloody accounts of religious wars. In the name of religion, the world has suffered the atrocities of inquisitions, burnings, beatings, drownings, mass murders, and genocide. I heard a Ku Klux Klan leader say in an interview, "We burn crosses in the yards of Blacks to show them that Jesus Christ was White." This demented man goes around preaching that God raised up the Klan to protect the Bible, morals, Whites, and motherhood. Klan members boast about being "very religious." The devil invented religion! Satan is a very religious being. The dictionary definition of religion is: "A belief in a superhuman power." The Bible makes it clear that the devil believes in God, so much so, he trembles at the thought. "So you believe there is one God; good for you: but the devil also believes, and shudders because of him..." (James 2:19 Living Bible). Nothing provoked the holy anger of Jesus Christ more than empty religion. It was religion that kept people from accepting Him as their Savior. Their religion kept them from entering the Kingdom of God. The religion of the Jews kept them in spiritual darkness. It had a strong hold on the masses, binding them with rules, regulations, laws. It was a religion of bondage and fear. Christ was a threat to the scribes, Pharisees, and high priests of religion. The scribes were legal experts in the Jewish religion. It was their expertise that helped the temple and synagogue priests to keep the people under bondage. The scribes spent their entire lifetimes studying their religion and telling people how to be religious. They later became known as rabbis. It was religious leaders who turned God’s house into a den of thieves. The temple of God was supposed to be a house of prayer, where people who were hungry for truth could find reality. But Jesus walked into the temple one day and discovered the religious leaders had turned God’s house into a carnival! "Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out those who sold and bought inside the temple and to overturn the tables of the money changers..." (Luke 11:15). Jesus made a whip and, with a holy zeal, He drove them out into the streets. Can’t you hear Him, "Out - all you religious scoundrels! Out - you religious cheaters! Down with your religion; down with your godless forms and traditions." These same religious fanatics killed the Lord Jesus! Keep in mind, Jesus was not killed by a mad mob of atheists and agnostics. He was crucified by high priests, church leaders, zealous and orthodox religious crowds. Churchgoers killed Him. They killed Him, nailing Him to a shameful cross, spitting and laughing at Him - all in the name of religion. The high priests claimed they crucified Him to the glory of God! They called Him an imposter. People go to hell sitting in church pews. They are devoted, pious, and they have a strong belief in a superhuman power. They talk much about God. But religion without spirituality will damn their souls. Christ Himself warned that many who use His name will be lost on Judgment Day. "Not all who are religious are really godly people. They may call me Lord, but they still won’t get to heaven. At the judgment many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not preach in your name; and cast out demons, and do many wonderful deeds in your name? But I will answer them, Depart from me..I never knew you...you workers of iniquity..." (Matthew 7:21-22 Living Bible). In other words, it’s going to take a lot more than religion to get you into heaven! Christ does not live in church buildings, either! Every church that has ever been built has been dedicated to "the glory of God." But God does not live in any church, cathedral or temple. Like so many people to day, the disciples were awe-stricken by the huge, beautiful temples and synagogues. But Jesus said: "See all these great buildings? There shall not be one stone left upon another. They will all be cast down..." (Mark 13:1-2). Brick and mortar cannot contain the power and glory of God. The Bible says, "The most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands..." (Acts 7:48). "You are God’s temple... Know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). There is absolutely nothing sacred about a church building or a temple. What makes a building sacred are the two or three spiritual people who gather there in His name! He is there - in them! They bring Him into the building! Thank God there are churches where Christ is very present and people’s needs are being met. But take these Spirit-filled people out of that building, and you may as well turn it into a bar or dance hall. Christ lives only in the hearts of the church members. God will not send a single soul to hell for not attending church. Going to church can’t change you anymore than walking into a barn changes you into a horse. We are commanded to join together with believers and assemble in His name! But that can be anywhere. If it is in a live, Christ-filled church, then go! But Christ is not going to judge you on church attendance, but rather on seeking after Him. He prefers you find a true body of believers and worship with them. Paul, the apostle, could also cry out, "Down with religion." Before his conversion, he was known as Saul, the persecutor of Christians. What a religious man he was. He admitted: "I belonged to the strictest group in our religion. I was a Pharisee." He furthers states, "I was one of the most religious Jews of my age in the whole country, and tried as hard as I possibly could to follow the old, traditional rules of my religion..." (Galatians 1:14-15 Living Bible). The most religious man in all the country - this regular church goer - this clean, moral, religious fanatic loved God but didn’t know Christ, His Son. One glorious day something happened to this religious man! He junked his religion and discovered the Man, Christ Jesus!< "...but then something happened to me... God revealed His Son in me..." (Galatians 1:15 Living Bible). I say as Paul did, away with your religion! Knowing Christ is the only thing that counts. Jesus said, "If you had known me, you would have known my Father..." (John 14:7). "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father..." What the world needs is a new revelation of the power in Jesus Christ! What made Saul give up a lifetime of religion to follow a Man? What made him say: "Everything is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than rubbish, in order that I may have Christ, and become one with Him..." (Php 3:8 Living Bible). What a change! Suddenly, all the religion that once meant so much to him is now worth nothing; it’s all rubbish! Now he has found reality. In Christ! A man who knew God - found Christ! God did not reveal himself to Saul because he was religious. The other men with him must have also been very religious, to embark on such a traumatic journey to enslave Christians. They were probably also commissioned by the priests, chosen for their religious fervor. They, too, heard the voice. If Christ reveals Himself only to people who are religious or zealous they would have all been converted. God is no respecter of persons, so he could not have "chosen" Saul arbitrarily, out of the blue, over all the men traveling with him. Christ explains why the revelation came to Saul. His spirit in him was "kicking up." He was in turmoil in his soul. His conscience was smiting him. He was under the knife of conviction. Revelation follows conviction for sin. You can’t be made whole until you begin to admit sickness. Only the sick need the physician. The Great Physician was responding to a very sick spirit. This man, Saul, was sick on his feet. He later stated that he persecuted Christians "in ignorance," and that is why he got the revelation. But Saul’s ignorance did not make it right. God does not respond just to those who sin in ignorance. The heathen sin in ignorance and do not see the Light. It was more than that. Saul was doing and saying one thing outwardly, but thinking something else in his mind. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." A person can be outwardly a persecutor, an outright rejector of Christ; also outwardly wanting nothing to do with Christ. He may sound like the worst Christ-hater on earth. But inwardly he is stricken. He is in a war! A battle is raging! Even now, there are people all over the world who talk and act like cold hearted sinners, but they are just a lightning stroke away from discovering Christ as Lord. Man judges you on your outward appearances; God looks at the inner man. If a man can’t get Christ out of his mind, he will never keep Him out of his life. I hear teen-agers everywhere saying, "I don’t need Him; don’t want Him! Let everybody leave me alone." But a battle is raging inwardly. The knife of conviction is pricking them. They are thinking about their life, their future, and their emptiness. Is it possible to be religious and persecute Christ? Yes! Saul did it! Jesus said so! "Saul, why do you persecute Me?..." Others persecuted Him. The priests, the Pharisees, Herod, the Roman soldiers - but only to one persecutor did Jesus ask why. Not, "Why persecute?" but "Why you?" "Of all people, Saul, why you? I could understand the soldiers, the priests, the Pharisees. They are all spiritually blind. They do it because of hatred. But why you? You are spiritually hungry; you are different." Christ was trying to show this sincere man he had no reason to go on rejecting! This is the question that comes to all sincere souls - "Why you?" The cold hearted addict, maybe! The blinded unevangelized, maybe! But you? WHY? What reason? You see, Christ Jesus was not a stranger to Saul! When Jesus asked, "Why do you persecute me?", Saul asked, "Who are you - Lord?" There is the clue! He already sensed Christ in his heart. That would be like saying, "Who are you - David Wilkerson?" You don’t call Him Lord without respecting Him! You don’t call Him Lord - except by the spirit. "No man calleth him Lord except the Spirit be in him." The Holy Spirit had been working on Saul. He may as well have said, "Is that You Lord? So You are the One making me so miserable!?" Here is a man under Holy Ghost conviction, with a growing disgust for his rejection, knowing what was right in his heart, but still going through the motion of a rejector. Christ met Saul on that Damascus road because Saul was ready to give up his religion and find reality. The first thing he did when the light struck was to fall on his face. The other men stood speechless! They heard the same voice and didn’t move a muscle. They stood unmoved, blind to the meaning of it all. Saul gave in and surrendered at the first call. This outwardly hard, calculating persecutor had a tender heart. "To this one will I look; to him that hath a broken heart and a contrite spirit." The light cuts right through our religion to reveal Christ. "Suddenly there shined a light." This light was a sudden revelation - not about the power or love of Christ, but a revelation of what he had been doing to Christ. Suddenly it hit him, so hard, so traumatically; he literally went temporarily blind! He also lost his appetite. When it suddenly dawned on him, he could not stand it. To think, Paul reasoned, "My religion almost kept me in darkness. I was rejecting the very One who could meet all my needs. I’ve been so blind. This is what I’ve been wanting all along. All along it was Him! How could I have been so blind? How could I have held out so long? Why didn’t I see it before?" Saul was simply in the throes of repentance! It was his soul crying out, "That’s enough! I can’t hold out any longer. I’ve hurt Him enough! I need Him! I’ve had enough of dead religion." Repentance is not just sorrow for sin! It is sorrow for rejecting His love, sorrow for putting Him aside for so long! Repentance is saying, "Lord, I’ve been shutting You out too long. I need You now." The light didn’t strike in Jerusalem. The Spirit did not wait until He rounded up the Christians and herded them to the jail. Wouldn’t that have been more spectacular, a greater witness, to smite him in the sight of all those witnesses, in front of the priests and before all His Christian prisoners? Wouldn’t it have been more powerful if about a thousand of his Christian prisoners saw him fall on his knees and get converted? No! No minister! No Christian witnesses! No counselors begging! No other human voice! He was all alone in front of his own crowd. His friends, his associates, had to be the first to see and know about the miracle in his life. He was going to have to forsake that bunch of Christian haters. He was going to have to walk away from his crowd and walk alone for a while! They saw their best friend turn spiritual, rather than religious. "Poor Saul," they must have said. "He’s lost his mind; gone crazy. No one will ever hear from him again. He’s given up everything he’s worked for. Poor man." If you go with Christ, your old friends must be the first to go, even if you must walk alone! The religious Saul became the spiritual Paul - and a whole new world opened up to him. Instead of empty religion, he was "Filled with the Holy Ghost." Where once he was filled with bitterness, hatred, and blindness, now the power of God dwelt in him! He now had power to live life as it was supposed to be lived. He was given strength. He discovered new friends - "the disciples of Damascus!" Those he once hated - he now loved. Those "fanatical" Christians were now his best friends! He found he had everything in common with them now. Most important of all - he was given resurrection life. This once-dead religious Pharisee became alive in Christ! This is what we get instead of religion! We get life - as it is supposed to be lived! Life in heavenly places in Christ! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 42: PRE-044-41. IS YOUR WORLD TOO SMALL? ======================================================================== 41. Is Your World Too Small? Is Your World Too Small? by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1981 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Phillips Brooks, a great preacher of the 19th century, said, "Sinners have no right to condemn Christianity - because it hasn’t been tried yet...." I agree! I don’t think any human on earth has yet discovered the power and glory that is available in Christ, here and now! In John 12:35, we find an outright challenge to our smallness. In one single verse, Jesus calls us to forsake our narrow little circle and be transformed into the glorious kingdom of liberty and usefulness. Over and again Jesus calls to us, "Your world is too small; ask for greater, more meaningful life." Here it is: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25). I. What a paradox - hate life to find it! Despise it to discover it! It doesn’t sound reasonable. Yet, the key to abundant life is right here in this seemingly insignificant and confusing statement. This is His challenge to our small world! Understanding what He means here is the door to a life-giving revelation. Jesus also said: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Certainly Christ cannot mean hate in terms of a classic dictionary interpretation: To loathe or detest; to dislike or reject. God’s Word says, "He that hateth his brother is a murderer..." (1 John 3:15). "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." "Honor thy father and mother." It is not life that is to be hated, because life is a gift from God. It is not people we hate; that is unscriptural. We must learn to hate the way we are living life. We must hate what our preoccupation with families and loved ones has done to us. Is your life all wrapped up in just your children, husband, wife, or parents? Are all your joys and problems limited to this small circle? God is simply calling on us to widen our circle of living. Life must be more than simply draperies, bills, kids’ schooling, parents’ welfare, family relationships. Martha was addicted to a life of trivia; Mary wanted to grow! Mary wanted to expand her horizons. Jesus approved of Mary’s approach to life. You cannot grow until you hate your present immaturity. You don’t have to forsake your duties and obligations to family and friends; but you can become so bound by duty, it can stunt your growth. One day you must wake up. A holy anger, a holy hatred, must arise in your soul, and you must cry out, "Oh, God! I hate what I have become. I hate my temper tantrums. I hate how irritable I am at times. I hate my moodiness. I hate how small I have become. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!" Think of the most spiritual person you know - that spiritual giant who never panics, who always seems so kind and secure, so committed to God, so pure and holy. He will tell you of a time he came to this crisis, of how he hated his world with its pettiness, its jealousy, its bondage. He learned to hate what he had become so much so that he determined to change. He got hungry - desperately hungry! You will never change what you are until you hate what you’ve done to yourself. You can’t want more out of life until you get bored and sick of what you have now. You’ve got to get so sick, so disgusted with your life as it is now until you tell yourself, "I want more out of life. I will no longer live in such trivia, such weakness, such bondage! I want to be liberated." Hate your present life so much, you will cry out to God, "Lord, translate me into Your glorious kingdom of power and victory! Give me the life of joy that so many others are getting." "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). II. It is when you learn to hate what you have become that you begin to hunger and thirst for what he offers. And what is it that our Lord offers? He offers death as a way of discovering life. "Let him take up his cross and follow me..." If the way of the cross is the way to a greater life, we must understand it well. If our abundant life depends on it, we’d better get it. First, let’s deal with the misconceptions of the cross. So much has been written - almost always complicated. We seem to think the way of the cross is some kind of narrow, shameful walk with the crowds rejecting and mocking, spitting and scoffing. We feel we are imitating the walk of Christ if we, too, are buffeted and rejected by sinful man. We think of persecution as the way of the cross. Certainly, His way is narrow. We will be persecuted for His sake, and we must separate ourselves from wicked man. But that is not the truest meaning of the cross. We focus only on the suffering of Christ. We magnify and admire our Lord for being so mild mannered to those who cursed and spat upon Him. We talk about His courage in a dark hour. We talk about His sweating drops of blood. We talk about the nails, the thorns, the agony. But others have died in even more cruel circumstances for the cause of Christ. Could you have been there that day Jesus was pushed and prodded by the mob toward Golgotha, you could have heard in a whisper the true meaning of the cross. You would have heard Jesus saying over and again, "Your will, Father; not mine! I live and die only to do Your will." That, my friend, is the meaning of the cross - to do the will of God! There is only one cross - with one meaning - for Him and for us! Your cross is not some kind of physical ailment or thorn in the flesh. It is not a bad home situation. It is not a sickness or disease. It is not some kind of endurance test. It is not a burden of any kind - physical, spiritual, or otherwise. You hear people say, "It’s my cross. I’ll bear it." These I call "martyr crosses. Your cross and mine is one. It is the same cross He bore - with the same meaning. The cross is doing the perfect will of God. Jesus said, "Let him deny himself and take up his cross.... It has nothing to do with self denial, suffering, or hardship. His yoke is easy; His burden is light. He paid the price. The meaning is so simple, we miss it. It is this: If you are to be my disciple, you must give up your own will and take up mine. Taking up the cross is simply taking up the absolute will of God. It is to be totally abandoned to do things God’s way. Can the cross be so simple, and its doing be so complicated? Not at all! Only two demands are made at the cross: 1. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37). 2. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:39). "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40). In other words, all I will ever ask of you stems from the doing of these two things! If absolute love for God be so important, He must show us how. This has been the cry of all true saints: "I really don’t know how to love Him." We think of our love for God as something we do for Him, like praising or worshipping or going into the secret closet to talk to Him. We think that loving Him is being holy, kind, witnessing to the unsaved. Not so! God is love, and to be truly God, He has to spend it. Loving Him is letting Him be God in us and through us! Love is something He does for us! We shy away from this concept as if it were selfish, but it is not! We love Him most and best when we permit Him to flow through us, doing and being all He says He is. See that Christian on his knees, crying, fasting, and praying? See the big tears? Hear him begging God to accept His praise and worship? Listen to him say over and again, "Lord, I love You! I love You!" Is that love? Not when all He does is talk! Not when He addresses God as some kind of isolated, untouchable Being in need of nothing but praise. What if my wife met me once a day to admire me, do all the talking, and go live her own life? Our God needs to love! He needs people to appropriate Himself, to draw on His power, to use His resources. Let me show you the one who is loving God with all that is in him. He is the one who, in simple childlike faith, lays hold of the precious promises and puts them to work in his everyday life. It is not love to ignore all He has promised to be and do through us. It is not love to go through life harried, lonely, worried, depressed, carrying our own load. Love is getting into God and using His glorious power. I know many people who think they are great lovers of God. They fast and pray half the night through. They refuse to look on anything sinful. They are into self denial. They are sincere. They study God’s Word diligently. They are compassionate and honest. But they never do enter into God’s life of victorious, overcoming rest. They are so busy fighting the devil, they have lost sight of the fact that the devil was already defeated at the cross. Some Christians only have a "closet" relationship with God. They really know how to touch God in prayer. But they don’t know how to live God. They have no nitty-gritty faith. They have no crisis confidence! And what about loving your neighbor as yourself? Here is where our world becomes so small. God asks us to do His perfect will, not to enforce a law on us but to release a new life-stream in us. But we don’t ever really know what to do with all these promised resources. Here is the simplicity of what Christ is trying to get through to us: (1) Hate what you are, then come and find My new life for you. (2) Reject your old lifestyle; take up My perfect will. (3) That releases in you all My resources, if you will simply accept it as a fact. (4) Then go out and help lost humanity with what I’ve given you. The story of the good Samaritan is God’s way of showing us how to love our neighbor. Did you ever stop to think that the Good Samaritan is a type of the Christian who is living the abundant life? He was the only one with the resources to help the hurting man who was left bleeding and dying by thieves who robbed and beat him. The priest was certainly compassionate. Perhaps he wept over this hurting man. But he had to pass on because he was so poor, so penniless; he had nothing to work with. The Levite probably made a decision to run down the road and find someone else to help. He would find someone going the opposite way and say, "Please, about two miles on your left is a bleeding man, a victim of armed robbery. See what you can do for him." But the Good Samaritan had what it took! While the priest and Levite walked, he rode horseback. He had wine with him; he had oil; he had bandages. He knew where the nearest hotel was. He had resources! Healing oil. Tourniquet. A stallion. An unlimited bank account. "Whatsoever thou spendest, I will pay." Listen to the Good Samaritan at the inn. "Take good care of him; forget the cost; I’ll foot the bill." This is what God is trying to show us - that we have all the resources we need to live fully and to love completely. We face the world not as spiritual paupers but as sons of a King, riding in splendor and equipped to help any suffering neighbor. Loving your neighbor is having what it takes to help him. It has nothing to do just with sympathy, advice, kindliness, and friendliness. You don’t help a starving man by telling him how sorry you feel for him or that you will fast and pray for him. But you help him by feeding him! Do you really want to obey the Lord’s commandment to love your neighbor as yourself? Then get something to give him. You can’t love your neighbor until you have what it takes to help him. III. We have tried to keep the Holy Ghost captive to our small world. "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:17). We have preached the outpouring of the Holy Spirit too exclusively. He said upon ALL flesh - not just believers, but non-believers as well. Jesus associated with sinners. He ministered to them. He claimed to be their Physician. Why can’t the Holy Spirit be associated with sinners? Why can’t the Holy Spirit touch sinners as did Christ? The Holy Spirit was not given only to purified, sanctified saints. He was poured out for the whole world. He is to be denied to no one. He comes to convict of sin. That means He must be working in the sinners minds. He seeks to lead sinners into all truth, to comfort those who need it most. He was not poured out just to the 120 in the upper room. That mighty rushing wind blew over the entire earth, upon all humanity. It shook not only that room; it shook the earth! All of Israel, Africa, Europe - all the known world. "I will shake all nations..." (Haggai 2:7). "Whose voice then shook the earth.. Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven" (Hebrews 12:26). God never intended that the outpoured Holy Ghost become the exclusive property of the believer. We have cornered Him and put Him in a pure, holy little vessel. We have lived and ministered as though the Holy Spirit is appalled by sin and will not go near it, as though He has come only to keep saints pure and preserve them until Christ returns. We who believe do not own the Holy Spirit! We do not direct Him. We can’t limit Him in any way. "He bloweth where he listeth [willeth]..." (John 3:8). The Holy Spirit is Christ’s leading evangelist. He is already at work everywhere Christ sends us. Don’t ever be surprised when you go into the worst hell spots on this earth to find the Holy Spirit already outpoured and people already under conviction - hunger and thirst everywhere, before you even get your Bible open. There are no wicked safety zones immune to His power and presence - not Russia, China, Poland - nowhere on earth. He enters homosexual havens. He is there at every junkie shooting gallery. He is there in every brothel. He hovers over every massage parlor. He does not shy away from the sight of anything evil or wicked. He came not to stamp out the evil but to help mankind to be lifted out of it. He comes uninvited. He breaks forth at the most unexpected times. The sinner takes his pleasure, wipes his mouth, enjoys its lingering taste - then suddenly the Holy Spirit moves in, unannounced, unwanted, unexpected. But He cares not for bars or doors; He cannot be shut out. No power in hell or on earth can shut Him off. The Holy Spirit is never shocked by what He sees. He knows what men are capable of doing. He sees murder, rape, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, drug addiction, but it never chases Him away - not even in disgust. No person is too evil or too far gone or too difficult to touch. He is not afraid of the dirt, filth, and sleaziness. He was not outpoured simply to bless the blessed; He came to bring life to those who are dead in sin. He came to work in the Christian; He came to work on the sinner! He is right now working on people already given up by society and the church. He cannot be shaken off. His presence makes the sinner unexplainably miserable. Even when the sinner is doing his own thing, totally involved in his pleasure, the Holy Spirit keeps calling him, deep within his subconscious mind, back to God. He becomes the sinner’s shadow, trailing him everywhere he goes. He is the hound of heaven; He gives the sinner no peace. He continually pricks the man’s conscience. He brings to his memory every past word of truth ever heard; He is a memory jogger. The Holy Ghost is the Baptizer, but He is more than that. If all He is to me is an experience of ecstasy, if all He is to me is a release, if He controls only my tongue, if He only makes me feel happy - I’m missing the true purpose of His coming. He has come to reconcile the whole world to Christ. He has come to lead every disciple into the total fullness of life in Christ. He has come to reveal to us the unlimited resources at our disposal. He shows us the Father, His power and His leading. We must now preach that He is everywhere and working on everybody. He is no respecter of persons. He does not respond only to hunger; He comes to those who haven’t even called upon God’s name. "...I am found of them that sought me not..." (Isaiah 65:1). The Holy Spirit is the very breath of God, breathing down the necks of sinners. He comes not to the sinner to condemn, rebuke, or moralize; He comes to convict. The Holy Spirit can be as present in a bar room as He is in a church. There is probably more of His Spirit at work in a sinners’ hideout than in a seminary. Why? Because where sin abounds, God’s grace much more abounds. The sinner can be convicted by the Holy Spirit as easily in a gay bar or an X-rated movie house or a shooting gallery as in a church. He is right there where the sinners are at all times. He takes no breaks. He never sleeps. When they awaken, He is still there, patiently waiting for them to come to the end of themselves so they can reach out and be healed. The Holy Ghost will enter the sinners’ dreams; He will give them visions. Don’t think that all dreams and visions are given to Christians. Sinners have probably more than anyone else. "They will dream dreams, and see visions...." He will manipulate their dreams, implanting messages on the subconscious mind. Some of the dreams are real and they keep recurring. The vision is like a supernatural altar call. The Spirit shows them what they could be, what life could be like if they gave it to Christ. Pictures keep flashing in their minds that won’t go away, visions of what life could and should be for them. "Your sons and daughters shall prophesy...." It doesn’t say these prophets are trained ministers or experienced Christians who are into the deeper things of God. Any sons and any daughters shall prophesy. This explains clearly the mission of the Holy Spirit on earth: to come upon people and turn them into prophets. A prophet is one who tells a supernatural story because he has experienced a supernatural deliverance. The Holy Spirit is doing this miraculous work right now all over the world. He is healing and turning homosexuals into prophets for Christ. Addicts are prophesying about their miracle of healing. Prostitutes, alcoholics, and street people are all walking away from the slavery of Satan and are turning to Christ, and they are prophesying. What miracle stories! He is turning sinners into prophets! The Old Testament prophets did not experience the miracle these new prophets have. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel all talked about the miracles of deliverance that were to come, but they didn’t get it. They must take their seats and listen humbly as these new prophets tell how Christ the Lord set them free. If you are going to flow with the Spirit, you must expand your small world. Take off all limitations. Move into the miraculous and go after your liberty now! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 43: PRE-045-42. HELP YOURSELF ======================================================================== 42. Help Yourself Help Yourself You Can Turn Your Life Around by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1981 One of the most tragic words in any language is SOMEDAY! It sums up the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of this entire generation. Listen to the addicted drug user or alcoholic, "Someday I’m going to break this habit! Someday I’ll get this monkey off my back! Someday I’ll wake up and this nightmare will be just a bad dream. Someday - I’ll be free." Listen to the young, lonely single person, "Someday my true love will come into my life and chase away all my blues! Someday I’ll sit by a roaring fireplace, with candlelight, in the arms of someone who will love me and help me make it through the lonely nights. Someday - I’ll be happy! Listen to the heartbroken divorced person, "Someday I’ll find someone who will understand me - someone kind, gentle, tender - someone who will wipe away all my tears. Someday I’ll find that one true love, and I’ll be happy! Someday this feeling of rejection will pass, and I’ll laugh and love again - someday!" Listen to the one locked into a loveless seemingly hopeless marriage, "Someday, somehow, there will be a way out! Someday I’ll find what I’m looking for! I know there is happiness and magic out there somewhere. Someday I’ll be free to follow my heart! Someday, I’ll find someone to accept me as I am - someday! If you look close enough, you will find that almost all mankind is living for that someday - when things will get better, when conditions will improve, when the bad times will disappear and the good times will come rolling in! We seem to think that all we need is a little more time; that someone will come along and make everything better! We think someday our prayers will be answered; someday we will be happier, holier; somewhere, somehow, a miracle is waiting to happen to us. My friend, I’ve got news for you. Someday is never going to happen if you just sit around hoping for some kind of miracle. There will be no knight-in-shining-armor to deliver you from your troubles. If your prayers are to be answered, there are some steps you must take to make it happen. If the miracle ever happens, it will be a result of something you do! You can sit around waiting and wasting away and die in your fears, loneliness, and depression. There comes a time when you must take matters into your own hands. You must act! To sit and hope and dream could be fatal! Four leprous men sat outside the besieged city of Samaria. the Syrian army was determined to starve them out. These men could have died of hunger, but they decided to do something about their hopeless situation. They said, • "Why sit we here and die? Come, let us surrender unto the hosts of the Syrians... If they kill us, we shall but die. So they rose up... and when they were come into the camp... there was no man there..." They discovered food, gold, silver, clothes - all their hearts could desire, "for the Lord had intervened..." There is something tragically wrong with the way most of us are living the Christian life. We have strayed so far from God’s concept of what life is supposed to be. We are not living it the way God intended at all! Consider the adjectives God uses to describe the life He provided for all believers: abundant life, overcoming life, satisfying, full of joy, with the very peace of God that passeth all understanding; a walk of light with no part dark, fullness, quickened, free indeed; wisdom, good cheer, blessings, unction, power, anointing, liberty, assurance, quietness, victory! Now think of the negative adjectives being tossed around by Christians today: coping, depression, fear, anxiety, sleeplessness, loneliness, blues, despair, survival, emptiness, restlessness, weakness, guilt, condemnation, temptation, oppression, bondage, holding on, down, hurt nervous, perplexed, burned out! Not in the wildest stretch of the imagination did God intend for His people to live as we do today - as though God has forsaken the earth; as though Satan was gaining control; as though one-by-one the saints are going to be worn down and fall away; as if depression, fear, and anxiety are the Christian way; as though Christians are weak, void of strength or power, and ready to surrender to the powers of this age! We live as though we think Satan can run slipshod over us at will, and that he can rob us of the things God has given. The most faithful among us now grow weary and weak; even the strongest are losing heart! This must not be allowed to continue! Christ did not say He was coming back for a church that was depressed, downhearted, defeated, nervous, worn out, trying to cope with life. He said He was coming back for a triumphant church, overcoming, victorious over all the power of the enemy. Listen to His Word: • "Shout unto God with the voice of triumph..." (Psalms 47:1). • "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14). • "Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things; His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory..." (Psalms 98:1). • "For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith..." (1 John 5:4). • "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us..." (Romans 8:37). Just prior to His death, Christ stood over Jerusalem, weeping because of mankind’s refusal to understand what God had provided for them. Jesus watched in quiet as the multitudes marched about as sheep having no shepherd: fearful, despairing, brokenhearted, restless. He must have been incredulous, thinking, "It’s so unnecessary. They could be living in joy, peace, and contentment!" "He wept over Jerusalem, and said, If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace... but now it is hidden from your eyes..." (Luke 19:41-42). Looking back, doesn’t it seem unbelievable that people could be so blind? That they could walk about, living their lives in such fear and depression, when Christ was in their midst crying out, "Come to Me. I’ll give you rest, peace. I’m the way; look to Me and be helped!"? But aren’t we just as blind as those poor souls? • "You will not come to Me that you might have life..." It is not enough to be satisfied only with eternal salvation. Some Christians think that is all God has provided. You get saved, then you endure till the end. It is even more tragic that we live in such spiritual poverty when you realize God has provided us even better promises than in Old Testament times. • "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry... by which he is the mediator of a better agreement... which was established upon better promises..." • "God having provided some better thing for us..." (Hebrews 11:40). What is this better arrangement with better promises. It is Christ living in us, rather than among us! We need our eyes opened to His greatness in us! • "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him... That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints... And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power..." (Ephesians 1:17-19). •"And anoint thy eyes with eyesalve that you might see..." (Revelation 3:18). The king of Syria sent an army of cavalrymen and charioteers and a huge battalion of soldiers, and they came by night to Dothan and surrounded that city to capture the prophet Elisha. • "And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them... And Elisha prayed, Lord... open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold... the mountain was full of horses, chariots of fire..." (2 Kings 6:8-17). We, too, need our eyes opened, for we have an even greater power: • "Greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world..." (1 John 4:4). I believe it is possible for you to turn your life around. I believe there is a way to discover a life of joy and peace beyond anything yet known. I believe there are three issues that must be faced, three steps to a new life of power and peace. I - You must learn once and for all that you cannot depend on someone else for your happiness! • "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters... and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water..." (Jeremiah 2:13). These two evils are the cause of all the unrest and turmoil in the world today. We no longer look to God for our help. We turn to people: husbands, wives, friends, ministers, counselors, psychologists. The wife expects her husband to make her happy, to chase away her blues, to fulfill her needs. The husband is an emotional cripple, leaning all over his wife, hoping she will meet his inner needs. Others run from one counselor to another, from book to tape to seminar to a confiding friend. We are constantly looking for the right person, the right word, the right encouragement. It is important to be teachable, to submit to sound doctrine. But there are some things no human being can teach. There are some crises that only the Holy Spirit can lead to a way out. Sometimes there are no answers anywhere in human minds, then the Holy Spirit must teach us out of the crisis! We must turn inward and shut out all outside voices and clamoring. Here is proof: • "But the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you, and you need not that anyone teach you..." (1 John 2:27). •"The foolishness of God is wiser than men; the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25). The things God wants to do for us have not yet even entered the minds of wise, worldly counselors. • "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him..." (1 Corinthians 2:9). They are revealed by the Spirit in us! • "God that revealed them unto us by His Spirit..." If the things God has prepared for us have not yet "even entered the mind of men," how can any man tell me what he does not know? • "For what man knoweth the things of a man , but the Spirit of men which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God..." (1 Corinthians 2:11). I am not against Christians seeking good counsel. I am not against Christian psychology. But none of it is worth even talking about unless it brings the person to this absolute truth: No other human being can be your source of happiness and peace! Those who lean on the arm of flesh are digging wells that can’t hold water. They are constantly needing someone to pour into them advice, but they can’t hold it. They are broken cisterns. II - The answer to all your problems can be found only in yourself! I am not speaking of the godless self, but the regenerated self, possessed by Christ. One of the most important verses in God’s Word is John 4:14 : • "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst... but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of life-giving water springing up into everlasting life..." •"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink... He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water..." (John 7:38). This life-giving water shall be in him and shall pour forth out of him! Out of where? His inner-most being! Let me prove to you beyond any shadow of a doubt that everything you need in this life has already been given you when Christ came in! He is in us with all power for all needs! • "According as his divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue..." (2 Peter 1:3). • "That God will give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you might know him..." (Ephesians 1:16, New English Version). • "How very great is His power to work in us who believe..." (Ephesians 1:19). • "Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ..." (Hebrews 13:21). • "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us..." (Ephesians 3:20). • "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory... to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man..." (Galatians 3:16). • "He has raised us up together, and made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." (Ephesians 2:6). • "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal body, by the Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11). I know there is some great, indescribable power within me! I sense it. It keeps waiting to break forth; it’s a feeling that an explosion of greatness can come forth. I know the Spirit knows all and sees all and that He alone has all the answers I need. I know I don’t have to go to man or to anyone outside of myself. I know I must help myself. Everyone who calls Christ Lord and who trusts Him has the Holy Spirit in him to help make life abundant and glad. • "Please understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost..." (1 Corinthians 12:3). • "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God..." (1 John 4:2). •"But you are not in the flesh... but the Spirit is IN you... if it is true He abides in you... If you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you can’t be His..." (Romans 8:9). Do you call Jesus Lord of your life? You cannot believe on Christ unless the Spirit be IN you! You don’t have to wait for some miraculous feeling or for a special revelation. You are ready to walk in the fullness of the Spirit the moment you confess Him as Lord and follow Him absolutely! It seems almost unbelievable what the Spirit can do in us and for us! Listen: • "And he shall send you a comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not... But you know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you" (John 14:16-17). • "But when the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remberance whatsoever I have said unto you..." (John 14:26). • "When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself: but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and He will show you things to come..." (John 16:13). • "But if the Spirit of Him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you... He that raised Christ from the dead shall also make alive your mortal body, by His Spirit that dwelleth in you..." (Romans 8:11). • "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [sins, weaknesses, habits], for we know not what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered... and he that seeth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God..." (Romans 8:26-27). • "We have received the Spirit, which is of God... that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God..." (1 Corinthians 2:12). • "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32). • "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you..." (1 Corinthians 3:16). • "The Spirit produces love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control..." (Galatians 5:22, New English Version). • "God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, and the Spirit cries out, ‘Father, my Father...’ And since you are no longer a slave, but a son, God will give you all He has for His sons..." (Galatians 4:6-7, New English Version). • "We must believe that He is (in us) and that he rewards those who diligently seek him." •"When you heard the good news that brought you salvation, you believed in Christ, and God put His stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit He had provided... The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised His people, and assures us God will give complete freedom to those who are His..." (Ephesians 1:13-14, Today’s English Version). Are you ready to receive this truth and act on it? What have we just read? He is in you: To comfort; to guide; to lead you into all truth; to show you things to come; to make you alive; to help all your infirmities; to help you understand all the things God has freely given you; to bring you joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, self-control; to give you all that a son of God has been promised; to reward your diligence; to assure your freedom; to give you access to the Father; to bring you a place of quiet rest and truth. III - There is only one way to extract all this power - only one way to put it to use in turning your life around! It is not enough to quit leaning on the arm of the flesh! It is not enough to have a revelation of God’s mighty power in us through Christ! It is not enough to repent and believe! It is not enough to claim all these blessings! It is not enough to exercise faith! Nor is it enough to fast and pray. Nor is it enough to go about boasting that you have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and speak with tongues. It is not enough to go about doing good, witnessing, reading your Bible. I know may so-called "Spirit-baptized" Christians who live miserable lives. Some get divorced. Some live in adultery. Some are forever lonely and depressed. Some live in constant fear and guilt. Speaking with the tongue of men and of angels is not enough! Giving your money is not enough. God is waiting on us to do something we hate to do! We talk about doing it. We plan someday to do it. Some of us think we have already done it, but not really. Actually, doing it is the secret of the fullness of God. Doing it opens the floodgates of all God’s blessings. Doing it brings new power, peace and confidence. God wants an absolute, unqualified surrender of our life to Him. Nothing short of total yieldedness will bring to your lives the power and glory of God. The greatest, most supreme, condition a human being can experience is a life wholly given over to God! The Holy Spirit may be in you, but have you fully yielded to Him, so that He can work through you? When you were converted, the Spirit came in. When you surrender, He takes possession! The proportion you yield to the Spirit is the proportion you will be filled and possessed by Him. • "Yield yourselves unto God... neither yield unto sin... to whom you yield yourselves to obey, his servants you are.... As you have yielded ... as servants to iniquity... now yield... to righteousness unto holiness" (Romans 6:13; Romans 6:16; Romans 6:19). We must yield what we covet the most to be healed where we hurt the most. The man who covets to be rich and famous can no longer cope with his present condition. His obsession with getting rich makes him despise his poverty. He can never be happy where he is until he surrenders what he wants the most. The wife who feels locked into a loveless, unfulfilling marriage covets freedom. She dreams of a man who is tender, kind loving. She covets a new life - freedom! She can never be healed of her present hurt until she yields the thing she covets the most. The person who lives only for prosperity and promotion, to be accepted by people, coveting the praises of others, lives in misery! He can never be at peace with himself until he surrenders his spirit of covetousness. The lonely single, living only for the day a love will come along, coveting a mate, will never be healed of loneliness until the thing most wanted is surrendered. The thing you covet is the thing that causes your hurt. Give it up! Lay it down! Make up your mind to do only God’s will, and healing power will be released in your life! We must also yield when we are the most right! "What credit is there if you suffer for having done wrong? But if you endure suffering even when you have done right, God will bless you for it..." (1 Peter 2:19-20). The power of God is released in your life the moment you learn to surrender when right! When you know you are right! Someone else is in the wrong. You know it; perhaps they know it. The flesh rises up and argues, "Don’t give in again. Don’t be walked on. Don’t be pushed around. Stand up for what is right." When you can swallow your pride, humble yourself, forget your rights, and yield - that is growth! That is the way to open the floodgates of power, peace and joy! Learn to suffer when right, and God will bless you with spiritual power! The motivation for yielding should not be fear but the joy of living! Most of us try to avoid sin. We try to surrender and obey, only to avoid hell and damnation. We yield because we are afraid of God’s wrath. But that is the wrong motive. We should yield so that we can live a full life in the Spirit; so that we can partake of His divine nature right now; so we can learn how to live - and not just how to die! That besetting sin in your life is the one hindrance to the flow of all God’s healing power. God wants it yielded and forsaken for one reason: He wants to do something great in your life. He wants you to move on into a new life of victory, glorious peace, and usefulness. Get angry at your sin; speak to it; declare war on it, saying "I will no longer allow my sin to rob me of all God has for me! It has held me back long enough! It has stunted my Spiritual growth for too long! I want to be free. God, take it away!" The responsibility is all in your hands! Your destiny is in your hands. You can have His power! God has already done all He can do; all He waits for is your full surrender! Help yourself! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 44: PRE-046-43. IT PAYS TO GO OUT IN THE STREET WITNESSING TO LOST SOULS! ======================================================================== 43. It Pays To Go Out In The Street Witnessing To Lost Souls! It Pays to Go out in the Street Witnessing to Lost Souls by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1980 Here are just three of the many testimonies of those who were saved during our recent San Francisco outreach. These converts left that city and are now surrounded by Christians in a godly environment. Some are going through our Teen Challenge program in various centers throughout the United States. Please read their testimonies - study their pictures - and pray much for their continued growth in Christ. Billie Burnette [Billie is the young lady Mrs. Wilkerson won to Christ. She was once belligerent and hardened to the Gospel. Today, Billie is living with Christian friends - preparing to enter school to finish her education.] She writes: "I thank the Lord for pulling me out of the horrible life I was living - the gay scene of San Francisco. I searched everywhere for love; I longed to be loved and needed. My heart was so full of love to give, but I could never find a way to release my heart from its prison. I felt unloved and unneeded. I was always hurting when I was on the streets. There was never any true love. "I tried so hard to change. I wanted so much to know God and to love Him. But I always felt so unworthy, and I became afraid that God could never forgive me or love me, in spite of all my sins. I tried so many human ways to show God I loved Him, but fear would overpower me, and I’d only feel worse. I know now that all the while God really did want to love me and change me into a worthy child of His. "When Mrs. Wilkerson and all the World Challenge people came to our streets, they showed me a God who really seemed to understand my deepest needs. So I discovered He wanted me to quit struggling and stop trying to please Him in my own puny way. He wanted only my faith to set me free – faith in what He did at Calvary. I have found the pure love I’ve been looking for. I am so thankful God sent someone down into the Tenderloin to find me. He didn’t have to do that – but He did - and how grateful I am. "Now I want to give Him all my life. After all He has done for me, that isn’t too much. I need the prayers of brothers and sisters in Christ." Billie Gene Hopkins [Just weeks ago, Gene was a lonely, lost gay - getting drunk an stoned with homosexual friends. Today he is serving Christ as a student in our Los Angeles Teen Challenge Center. They report that he is growing spiritually and has a call on his life for the ministry.] Gene writes from Los Angeles: "By the ninth grade, I was getting drunk a lot and began smoking marijuana with friends. I hardly ever got caught by my parents. To them, I was well behaved. "I continued living this double life until the age of nineteen. The Gene my parents knew was now going to college full time at night and working during the day. The side of my personality they didn’t see, however, was beginning to take control of my life. "By this time, I was experimenting with acid, pills, angel dust, and a few other drugs. I was continually trying to see what I could get away with. My parents began to see me smashed more and more. They thought their all-American boy just had a few too many drinks once in a while. Soon I was getting messed up at lease twice a week. They didn’t know that a lot of times it wasn’t alcohol, but downers or angel dust or some other drug that I experimented with. Up to this point, I had already had three homosexual experiences that no one knew about. I didn’t even tell my best friend about these. I don’t know who I had the encounters with because they took place in a dark X-rated theater, and I didn’t bother to ask for names. Then one day I decided that I couldn’t and didn’t want to continue the game of pretending to be someone I wasn’t. The battle inside was so intense that I came very close to killing myself. But before doing that, I let the darker side of me take over. I ran to San Francisco. "I got off the bus in San Francisco with $1,200 in savings. A week later I had a job with Bank of America, but two months after that I quit and gota job in a gay restaurant on Castro Street. My home was a room in a hotel in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. It all seemed so exciting. I got drunk, took drugs, and had sex whenever I wanted and with whatever sex I wanted. I loved the freedom and independence which made up for the occasional loneliness. "Three months after I arrived in San Francisco, my parents located me through some kind of detective agency. I had disappeared and at the time couldn’t care less about how worried they were. After they found me I told them I was gay. "Now that my family knew what I was doing, I felt even more free to take part in the drug and sex scene around me. I did take part for the next year and a half. The sin in my life just kept getting heavier and heavier. The drugs, which at first gave me a fantastic feeling, began to lose their kick. I was constantly searching for a new kind of high. The same thing happened with sex. At first it was so great. But too much of anything can get boring, and I started feeling guilty afterwards. "After two years of constant partying, I was burned out and just a shell of who I used to be. I was depressed more and more. Even though I was surrounded by friends and potential lovers, a part of me felt totally alone. I started isolating myself from friends who wanted me to do still crazier things. The battle inside my brain started to intensify again, and thoughts of suicide, which never really left, came back even stronger. I went to a psychiatrist and told him about the two different sides of my personality that were literally tearing me apart. "During this time I must have been handed thirty different tracts telling me about Jesus. Somehow He didn’t seem real to me. I bought a Bible and began to read it, then just threw it away. "Then one day a man from the coffeehouse on Taylor Street gave me a book called TWO OF ME. After reading it, I realized that God was reaching out to me. I went back to the coffeehouse the next day and prayed the sinners’ prayer with another person and asked Jesus to come into my life. I quit my job at the gay restaurant and week later was at the Los Angeles Teen Challenge Center. That’s where I am today. "There are still some old desires that tempt me at times, but Jesus has filled me with a much stronger desire – that is, to serve Him and walk in His love. (Please pray for my family. None of them have been saved yet.)" Ephraim Shapiro [Ephraim is Jewish. Two months ago he walked into our coffeehouse in the Tenderloin section of San Francisco - a homosexual rock singer with ambitions to be a star. Today he is serving Christ, growing in the Spirit, and studying the Bible at the Teen Challenge Center in Houston.] Ephraim Shapiro writes: "Ten minutes outside of Houston, and I was scared. For all practical purposes, alone. One week before, I had left everything behind in San Francisco: my friends, my goals, my dreams - everything! In both jazz and rock circles, I was gaining prominence. I finally had what I had been working for all my life - acclaim! "Being Jewish, I decided as a youth to excel in the study of Judaism. It was always assumed by the Jewish community that I would enter Rabbinical school but Jewishness lost its appeal to me. The cost of acclaim as a scholar is, purely and simply, discipline, so I left theology and pursued my selfish goals. Oh, I was doing my own thing, but I was paying the devil’s price - two near suicides, the death of a close friend, and a period of silence and confusion lasting for almost two years. "As a plane began to land, I pondered what my psychiatrist had recommended just one week earlier - to go to a sadomasochist bar and experiment. I just wasn’t sure that what I really needed was an experiment with enjoying pain. The captain’s voice interrupted my thoughts announcing our arrival, and within a couple of hours I was at the Teen Challenge Center in Hungerford, Texas. So this is why I had cancelled concerts and left San Francisco with David Wilkerson’s people. So this is where my life was supposed to change. "Well, it’s two months later, and there has been a change, praise God, what a change. The Lord has shown me that just like everything else, this change in my life costs. But, this is the first time that I did not have to pay. Jesus paid the cost. He told me that when He died on the cross, everything that I ever was before I knew Him died on that same cross. Jesus died for Ephraim Shapiro so that this person who never knew how to stand on his own two feet could walk with Jesus. Jesus died for Ephraim Shapiro so that this person who, for 29 years, was frightened and angered by love could love divinely and perfectly. "Praise God for Teen Challenge. There is a genuine ministry of the Holy Spirit here, because and only because there is a genuine hungering for holiness and a true love for lost souls." Ephraim ======================================================================== CHAPTER 45: PRE-047-44. GOD IS NOT MAD AT SINNERS YET ======================================================================== 44. God Is Not Mad At Sinners Yet God Is Not Mad At Sinners Yet by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1980 The day of the fury of the Lord has not yet come, but it is fast approaching. The burning up of this earth and the passing away of the heavens, so clearly predicted in the Bible, are continually drawing nearer. God has been warning mankind for centuries that the whole of universal nature will be turned into a heap of ruins. A mighty cosmic conflagration will cause the framework of creation to explode into fragments. According to the Bible, a meltdown is inevitable; it is only a matter of time. Specifically it predicts, "... the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). Mankind has been warned in precise terms to prepare for the horrors of a dissolving nature, amid wild wars and the frenzy of reeling elements. God predicts mankind will not stop its pell-mell rush to nuclearize the earth and He assures it will end in a global melt down. Every anti-nuclear voice in this nation is inadvertently preaching the very warnings of Almighty God. In Revelation 18:1-24, it is predicted that a "burning judgement" will fall on the earth in less than one hour. It is God alone who is holding back the destructive forces to make time for every hungry heart to respond to His last call. God is not venting His fury at this present time because He is too busy executing a mission of mercy. There is no anger in God when He is in the process of inviting mankind to be reconciled to Himself. God, at this very moment, is prodding true believers to invite all to accept His free offer of salvation. God has a longing desire to save mankind from the power and effects of sin. He speaks now only in tones of tenderness and sympathy. His messengers are now circulating this message of peace with God to every habitation of man. There is an all-consuming wish in the heart of God to save mankind from the wrath that is coming. God’s beseeching call is to now one of affection. He so loves mankind, He is not willing that one soul perish in sin. To reach that goal, God is not sparing any effort - His overtures can now be heard throughout the land, on radio, television, from pulpits, on street corners. Everywhere, twenty-four hours a day, the joyful invitation is non-stop. There is not an intelligent person in the land who has not heard the message that God is love; that He longs to save mankind in an instant. We would all perish before God like a moth in the flame. But God has no pleasure in the death and destruction of the wicked. He gets no kicks out of destroying such a paltry foe. He would rather all men accepted His offer of regenerating power. A God who has all power to destroy men in hell lovingly asks, "Why will you die?" The dignity of God will not permit Him to prove His majesty and power by destroying weak and insignificant enemies. You’ve been reading God wrong if you think He is out to get you. He sent His own Son to die on a cross, demonstrating to mankind that He wants to condemn no one, but rather to save and heal. God is willing to save and help you, but are you willing to be helped? Of one thing you can be sure: one day, your lifeless corpse will be stretched out before the eyes of weeping friends and relatives. That coffin will not be the end of the line. Like everyone else on earth, you are going to look death in the face and get one last look at life. Cast the thought out of mind, but that won’t change the facts. The fact remains, the day is coming when loose dirt will be shoveled into your narrow house where you are laid, and the grounds keeper will plant green sod over your empty form. You will be forced to make room for a new generation. All sight, senses- all love and laughter - all tears and temptation will end at your grave. And what will it all have meant if in this life Christ’s offer of love was flung back in His face? Can anything in this life be worth facing an eternity without hope? Consider the man who dies in his sin. The ruined soul is resurrected to face Christ, the Judge. Will death automatically purge that soul? Will the worm eat away the rot of sin? Will he suddenly appear, in a transformed, eternal body, free from all the old chains? Will he somehow rise, holy and pure, leaving his past in the dust? Never! There is no magic change in death for the sinner. He will rise the same way he died – a slave. The sinner dies, keeping all his sins to himself. The secrets he carries to his grave are the secrets exposed at the Judgment. The soul never dies - and neither does sin. Sin dies only at Calvary. Why do sinners look at death with such complacency, as if they will rise fresh and new in eternity? The Bible says - it is appointed unto man once to die and after that, the Judgment. What if that is not a lie but really true? How do you face a Savior in death, whom you have so stubbornly rejected in life? In His Word, God clearly describes what is waiting for those who deny and reject His call to repentance. He describes the day of reckoning in horrific terms, then lovingly begs mankind to flee from its wrath. The scenario is simple, yet terrifying. The Son of God will appear in the heavens, surrounded by a mighty army of angels, He will collect all His children around Him and carry them to an eternity of fulfillment and joy. The sinners, first from the graves, then those who are alive at His coming will be taken to the Great White Throne Judgment Seat of Christ. The books will be opened and the solemn passing of sentence will proceed against those who flaunted their iniquity, rather than accept His offer of salvation. So what if you no longer accept the Bible as truth? How can you categorically deny a book that is believed by some of the most intelligent minds on earth? It is believed by numerous scientists, world leaders, philosophers - as well as millions of this world’s inhabitants. What if? What if these words of the Bible are actually the truth? "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I say the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-12; Revelation 20:15). You can escape the fury of the coming storms. God has provided a method by which the children of wrath can become the children of peace. God would much rather be glorified by the salvation of saints than in the destruction of sinners. He wants to turn all His enemies into friends. That is why the Heavenly Father loves homosexuals, addicts, alcoholics, gamblers, prostitutes, agnostics - and every conceivable kind of sinner. He loves them all so much, He is trying to adopt every one of them. He is trying desperately to justify them, take away their guilt, chase away their darkness, and remove all their chains. But God is running out of ways to reach this generation. Man continues to obstinately erect barriers of unbelief. Instead of responding to God’s signals of love, sinners, instead, muster up rebellion and almost become indignant against His efforts to save them. God knows that terror and fear will not subdue a sinner, and that is why He does not threaten anyone into obedience. You must respond to His love with Love. But God has already tried to reach sinners, both with wrath and love, and neither seems to work. Jesus said, "To what shall I liken this generation? They are like children sitting in the market place playing tunes to each other saying, We mourned to you and you wouldn’t mourn. We piped dancing music to you, and you wouldn’t dance" (Luke 7:31-32). Christ here reveals the two methods God had used to reach mankind. The mourners and the dancers. John the Baptist was the mourner. He thundered the wrath of God against sinners he called vipers. He came down on adulterers, fornicators, hypocrites - unmercifully calling for a change in life-styles. Jesus came on the scene with a different message. His was a message of love. He called sinners friend. He was gentle, loving, sympathetic, and He associated with hurting people. No legalism, no harshness - it was all love and joy. But the masses would not respond to mourning or to dancing. Jesus is saying, "You said you were repulsed by hard, doomsday preaching. You wanted to hear of love and sympathy rather than judgment and condemnation. Yet, I came to meet you on these loving, gentle terms - and you still won’t respond. What is left? What more can God do?" The average sinner in this nation has heard enough Gospel to save all of China! God help the sinner who goes to the Judgment Day from America! Better to live in Gospel-deprived Africa or Russia, than to live in a society saturated with the Gospel and die as a Christ-rejecter. Will God soon decide to "wipe the dust of this unbelieving generation off His feet"? That is what He told his disciples to do when their cities and peoples rejected the message of Christ’s love. God help every self-willed unbeliever the moment His love gives way to His wrath. The terror defies description. How can any intelligent human being reject the offer of love and salvation from the very Creator of the universe and not expect a day of reckoning? Is the intellect so warped it can expect to pay the penalty for breaking the law of man and not pay the penalty for breaking God’s law of love? God’s Ultimate Weapon God has one last method to reach the sinner. It is a singularized outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He has promised in these last days to pour out of His Holy Spirit upon all flesh. Not just as a religious experience. Not even always spiritual. The Holy Spirit has come upon all mankind, revealing the emptiness, loneliness, and nothingness of life without Christ. What is behind the total despair of this globe? What or who is causing this wave of emptiness and feelings of hopelessness? It is the Holy Spirit - trying to desperately to show every sinner how useless and worthless life is without a Savior. He is revealing to men how low and powerless they are! How useless the wisdom of men. How futile all human effort is! "And when he is come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment..." (John 16:8). It is at the point of man’s worst misery, when he is faced with the truth of his hopeless condition, that the Holy Spirit presents the claims of Christ. To every heart convicted by the Holy Spirit, there will follow a message of hope and truth about Christ. God is searching the earth, seeking for those who will give Him the faith that He wants. It’s a faith so little known, so little understood, so little used. It’s not a faith to procure the better things of life, because a mans life consists not in the things he possesses. It’s a faith in Christ’s total sufficiency! A faith in His ability to become all in all. A faith in His desire and willingness to take charge of a life surrendered to Him fully and make it to know abundant and full life! A faith that Christ will fill the empty void - that He will take a very personal interest in all that pertains to my life. Not just keeping the universe and nature on course, but become totally involved in my life, its details, its problems, its needs and desires. Also, that Christ can make me know pleasures that are real, lasting - without hangovers, regrets, or shame. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 46: PRE-048-45. THE KEY TO POWER OVER SIN ======================================================================== 45. The Key To Power Over Sin The Key to Power Over Sin A Clear Message on the Christian’s Freedom From the Tyranny of Secret Sin by David Wilkerson | August 1, 1980 I thought that the way to get power over sin would be to study the origin of sin. In other words, where did sin come from? How did I get infected with it? But what a long, involved study that is. It’s a rather complicated story of a star war that took place before I was born, when the chief angel, Lucifer, led an army of a third of God’s angels in an insurrection. The origin of sin also has to do with man’s being born with a free will, including an alternative to commit evil. It has to do with Satan bringing that alternative to the attention of Eve, the first lady of creation. It has to do with both Adam and Eve having their eyes opened to the inner struggle they had introduced into their bodies and minds. How sin was communicated from Adam to the rest of the human race is another one of those theological problems still being argued. I decided against trying to locate the origin of Adam’s sin. I am more concerned about my own struggle. A person afflicted with cancer isn’t concerned about entering into a study on how cancer originated. He simply wants a cure for his own disease. It’s true, the physician should understand the cause of disease to find a cure. But the afflicted body is more concerned about immediate help. I simply asked the Holy Spirit to show me how to honestly deal with the evil that is right now present in me. To me it doesn’t matter where it came from, how it originated of how it got into my mind - all I know is that it is there, that I don’t want it to dominate me, and that I need help to overcome it. I asked God to show me the answer in simple terms I could understand. With simple, child-like faith, I have stumbled upon truths that have opened my mind to a new life of freedom from sin’s dominion. They are the keys to my victory over the deception of sin. What discovery did Paul make that could cause him to rejoice and say, "There is now no condemnation hanging over my head" (Romans 8:1 Phillips)? What stopped him from saying, "I want to, but I can’t"? He talks about A New Principle of Life. This new principle of life in Jesus actually stopped the sin merry-go-round, plucked him off the endless ride, and freed him once and for all from its power. Simply stated, here is how this new life principle works, according to Paul. I. Believers Are No Longer Slaves to Sin. • We have no obligation to our sensual nature (Romans 8:12 Phillips). Abraham Lincoln is said to have "freed the slaves" with the Emancipation Proclamation. This legal document declared slavery dead. All slaves were set free. When this news first spread through southern plantations, many of the slaves would not believe it. They continued slaving for their masters, convinced their promise of freedom was a hoax. Numbers of unscrupulous landowners told their slaves it was a false rumor and kept them under bondage. But little by little, the truth dawned on them as they saw former slaves walking about, happy in their new-found freedom. One by one, they threw down their loads, turned their backs on slavery, and walked away to begin a new life. Maybe you haven’t heard yet, or maybe it sounds too good to be true, but Christ emancipated all the slaves to sin at Calvary. You can now "walk out" on the devil! You can throw down your load of sin, walk away from Satan’s dominion, and enter into a new life of freedom. Let me show you what the Bible means when it talks about dying to sin. When Lincoln emancipated the slaves, the "issue" of slavery died. Not the slave master - not the slave. The slave could walk away free, saying to himself: Slavery is a dead issue. Now the slave could slip back into the field and pick a few more rows of cotton - perhaps through fear or instinct - but that, in no way, made him a slave again. He was free, but he had to exercise his freedom. The proclamation couldn’t force compliance, and neither could the slave master force him to return. It was a matter of the will of the slave. The Bible says, "...he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him" (Romans 6:7-8). What that means is simply this: Since the matter of your slavery to sin is a dead issue, seeing that Christ has already declared you emancipated, you are now free to live as a new person in Christ by thinking of yourself as unchained. Christ can’t make you do right, and Satan can’t make you do wrong. Christ declares we are free by faith, but we must act as a free person. When someone receives Christ as Lord, what is it in him that dies? Sin doesn’t die. Satan doesn’t die. Nor does the evil die. The "issue" or the "controversy" dies. Sin created a controversy in the heart of man about who was in control, and the battle between good and evil was the result. God simply emancipated the mind from sin’s control, killing the controversy of slavery. When the Bible says, "we die to sin," it simply means that to us the issue is dead! There is no more argument - the matter is not negotiable - man is free! The issue as to who is in charge is dead! Paul used legal terms to describe the Christian’s freedom from sin’s bondage. The same legal terms are used daily in Congress: The bill is dead. The amendment was killed. The resolution died. Eons ago, in Hell’s court, Satan decreed a law that, as prince of the world, all living souls were his subjects. God’s supreme court killed that law of sin. It died because Satan could not enforce it anymore. God declared it unconstitutional and substituted His own law - the law of the spirit, giving Him all rights to the believers body. No Christian can now say, "I can’t help myself. I can’t break free from my sin." Paul was finally delivered from this kind of talk, and so must we be! Satan can’t make you sin now; it is your own lust coming back to birth. If Christ did not break the power of sin, the crucifixion was a hoax. You will always be a slave until you quit excusing your weaknesses by claiming to be helpless. You are not helpless as a child of God. You are not the devil’s patsy anymore, so get busy and discipline your wild, stubborn will. A Christian who says "I can’t" is actually saying "I won’t." Pretending to still be a slave is an alibi Christians use to put off facing the responsibility of their freedom. • And so we should not be like cringing, fearful slaves, but we should behave like God’s very own children, adopted into the bosom of his family (Romans 8:15 Living Bible). • Now Christ has made us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don’t get all tied up again in the chains of slavery (Galatians 5:1 Living Bible). II. Freedom From Sin’s Slavery Must Be Accepted by Faith. The whole thing then is a matter of faith on man’s part, and generosity on God’s (Romans 3:16 Phillips). Faith is something you do about what you know. Knowledge means nothing unless it is acted upon. The children of Israel received the good word that God had given them Canaan for a homeland. That information would have meant nothing at all to them if they had remained in Egypt as slaves. But the Bible says, "By faith... they forsook Egypt... by faith they passed over the Red Sea (Hebrews 11:27-31). The Israelites did not march to the border of Canaan, fire one volley of arrows, and expect all the enemy armies to drop dead. The land was theirs, but they had to possess it "one dead soldier at a time." What does that have to do with my getting victory over the grip of sin? Everything! Christ settled the issue of slavery to sin by declaring you emancipated from its dominion, but you have to believe it to the point that you do something about it. It is not enough to say, "Yes, I believe Christ forgives sin. I believe He is Lord. I know He can break the power of sin in my life. " You are mentally consenting to what you heard. But faith is stepping out on that promise of freedom and acting upon it. How? By breaking off with old friends who drag you down. By convincing yourself that freedom is, in reality, yours. Claim it! God said it, so act on it. Shake off your passiveness and move into your new life of peace and freedom with determination assurance. Your struggle can and must eventually end. The Bible is clear on this matter - Christians are expected to enter into a rest. There still exists a full and complete rest for the children of God... and he who experiences this rest has (quit the struggle) and is resting from his own works.... Let us then be eager to know this rest for ourselves... and beware that we do not miss it through falling into unbelief (Hebrews 4:8-11 Phillips). Action-Faith Creates Confidence Believers overcome the evil power of this world through faith. True faith is the only thing that can help you stand up with confidence against the powers of temptation. Self-control is possible only when, by faith, the truth about being emancipated is accepted. Loving God means obeying His commands, and these commands of His are not burdensome. In fact, this faith of ours is the only way in which the world can be conquered (1 John 5:3-4 Phillips). Be self-controlled and vigilant always, for your enemy the devil is always about, prowling like a lion roaring for its prey. Resist him, standing firm in your faith, remembering that the strain is the same for all your fellow-Christians in other parts of the world. And after you have borne these sufferings a very little while, the God of all grace who has called you to share His eternal splendour through Christ, will Himself make you whole and secure and strong. All power is His forever and ever, amen! (1 Peter 5:8-11 Phillips). Keep Your Momentum The most important thing I can say to a believer who is still battling a secret sin is: Keep your momentum! No one has ever drowned when swimming upstream toward Christ. No one is left bleeding by the wayside if he is wounded in his struggle to be free. When you fall or when you are face to face with an addiction that won’t let go, God draws a line right where you are. He says, "Get up; confess; and keep moving on. Don’t cross back over the line. Don’t go back to slavery. Keep coming to Me. You have been emancipated, so keep your momentum toward your freedom, by faith. The most important move you ever make, as a believer, is the move you make right after you fall. Satan whispers, "You are rotten to the core, sensuous, childish, immature. You will never be holy; you will never be anything in God. So quit! Give up. It’s useless to try. Go back! God is too high and holy; it’s too complicated and difficult; you’ll never figure it out. It’s all over!" Lies - all lies! So you sinned? So you thought you had freedom and lost it? So you think people will call you a phony? So you sinned with your eyes wide open - knowing better - with the Holy Spirit screaming in your ears? So you never thought you could do such a vile thing again? So what? Is there godly sorrow in you now? Are you determined to get up and act emancipated? Are you humbled, shamed, and repentant? Are you ready to move on? Accept God’s forgiveness and move on! You are still His child. You are not a slave to sin. His loving kindness is greater than all your sins. Accept His love and forgiveness and take heart. Stop your everlasting introspection. You won’t find victory probing around the garbage dump of your evil nature. That would be like a losing general, crossing the enemy lines to consult with his foe, asking, "Can you please tell me what I’m doing wrong? I want to defeat you, but I can’t seem to make headway. What am I doing wrong?" Right direction doesn’t come by understanding the wrong. It comes only by understanding the bountiful mercies of God in Christ Jesus. So quit looking inward; look up to Him who loves you at all times. Stop trying to figure yourself out, and rejoice in His restoring, healing love. For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants (Php 2:13 Phillips). III. Believers Are Supernaturally Helped in Their Hour of Temptation There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). This is the most powerful and encouraging promise in all of the Bible for believers who face temptations. God makes it very clear that no child of His is left alone to battle against lust, passion, or any habituating evil. Supernatural help is needed and provided. Believers all over the world are becoming weak against temptation, and they are yielding to the flesh in increasing numbers. It seems as though some Christians now think of temptation as a kind of incurable disease that won’t let go until it destroys its victim. They cringe in fear when temptation strikes, thinking, "Oh, no - here I go again. It’s got me in its grip, and I just know I’m going to give in. I have no will power; I’m too weak to resist." That is the defeated thinking of believers who do not know how to claim their right to assistance. What is this right promised to all believers? It is the right to supernatural help in temptation. Do I mean by this that Christ not only delivers a believer from the power of sin, but also helps keep him from going back to it? That is exactly what the Bible says. When temptation rolls in like a flood, Christ exercises His lordship and does something supernatural to combat it. He "makes a way to escape," so that believers can survive the ordeal or, in other words, "bear up under it." Temptation is a test of man’s free will; therefore, God can’t take away His alternative to sin without destroying that same free will. So God does something just as effective for all who trust Him. He does something about the object of lust. He works outside of us at the very source of temptation. That is best illustrated by a mother doing something about her child’s temptation to steal cookies from a cookie jar. She can’t whip the temptation out of him - so she simply puts the cookie jar "out of reach." It is further illustrated by a father who moves his family away from a drug-infested neighborhood to keep his children from being seduced by narcotic users and pushers. Parents have moved to a new continent to keep a son or daughter away from corrupting influences and friends. These parents all acted in love, hoping their temporary intervention would allow time for their children to learn obedience from the heart. Although the time must come when children decide issues for themselves, a loving parent cannot stand idly by and allow an immature child to be overtaken by some evil influence. A concerned parent will either move the child away from the temptation or somehow put it out of his reach. The Bible illustrates how God can put objects of temptation out of the reach of His children. For example, the children of Israel began to murmur against Moses for leading them out of Egypt. They wanted to go back to their old life style. Freedom seemed too costly. So God arranged to open the Red Sea and allowed the Egyptian army to chase them across on dry land, then He closed up the Sea - blocking any chance of return. God did that only in answer to the fervent prayers of Moses and other Israelites who wanted freedom. Just as Jesus did, believers are to resist temptation with the Word of God. Most temptations can be defused by focusing the laser of truth on them. But there are other temptations that are so engrained, so furious and tenacious - they cannot be endured without supernatural intervention. The severest of temptations are often the result of a direct and personal attack by demonic powers. Paul speaks of "fighting’s without, and fears within" (2 Corinthians 7:5). Satan actually declares war on certain converts who deserted his army because they once best exemplified his power to possess. In his anger at losing such a "prize," he fights them from without by pounding on them with one severe temptation after another, to sift them as wheat. Jesus said to Peter, "Behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31). Are you a believer who is being pounded by a recurring temptation that seems beyond your strength to resist? Homosexuals, alcoholics, addicts, and illicit secret lovers are especially overwhelmed by crushing temptations. So often, they yield and are soon swallowed up in remorse, guilt, and feelings of helplessness. As believers, they don’t doubt that Christ has freed them from all obligations to obey the lust of their flesh. And, in many areas of their lives, they have seen progress and victory. Yet, there remains one besetting sin - one overpowering temptation to give in to a certain lust. Thank God, there is a way of escape! God is a "miraculous intervener." It took a storm and a whale and a lot of supernatural intervention to get Jonah out of trouble. God has been known to turn water "bitter" and to cause manna to "stink", in an effort to make obedience less difficult. God, in answer to fervent prayer, can make your object of lust become an abominable stench to you, and He can make yielding to sin become so bitter, you will hesitate ever giving in again. He may detour you; He may remove people from your life; He may cause the object of your lust to turn against you; He may throw up all kinds of road blocks; He may throw up a "Job wall" of protection; He may simply draw you irresistibly into the secret closet of prayer; He may send someone to warn or correct you - but in one supernatural way or another, God will answer prayer and intervene, making it possible for believers to overcome their most violent temptations. Believers who, deep inside, don’t want to give up their lust and who secretly hope to keep on indulging it can never receive this miraculous intervention when being tempted. God moves in to make a way of escape only when the heart is fully committed to a life of separation and purity. If there is not such a commitment, it won’t work. God is not obligated to intervene when someone really doesn’t want deliverance. Flirters with secret sin are left to fight temptation with their own strength. Then when they yield to sin, they blame God for not "pulling them out." They say, "I waited for God, but He just let me go ahead and do it." But the believer who honestly wants to be free from sin’s bondage can be assured his loving Father sees his struggle and will use all the power of Heaven to assist him. When severely tempted, ask God for His supernatural intervention, and ask in faith, believing He will do it. God has promised to "deliver us from all evil." Here is proof of God’s help in time of temptation: Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked (Psalms 97:10). We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free! (Psalms 124:7 Living Bible). My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me (Psalms 25:15). So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19). I need no longer fear slipping or falling. He will keep me, love me, and bring me to glory by His power. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, unto his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy (Jude 1:24 Living Bible). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 47: PRE-049-46. BE YE HOLY ======================================================================== 46. Be Ye Holy Be Ye Holy by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Three months after Israel left Egypt, they arrived at the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp. Moses climbed that rugged mountain to commune with the Lord. God called to him and said: "I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud so that the people themselves can hear me when I talk to you, and then they will always believe you. Go down and get the people ready for my visit…Sanctify them… On the morning of the third day there was an awesome thunder and lightning storm, and a huge cloud came down upon the mountain…All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because Jehovah descended upon it in the form of fire…The whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake… As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke — and God thundered his reply…" (Exodus 19:9-19 L.B.) What did God thunder to Moses and His chosen people? These words: "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests. A holy people…" (Exodus 19:6). There is an earth–shaking prophecy in Hebrews about to be revealed at this time. God has promised to speak once more — just as He did at Mount Sinai! "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven…" (Hebrews 12:26). "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh…for if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape…if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven…" (Hebrews 12:25). Once again God is speaking from heaven. The message is the same as it was in Moses’ day. Our God is even now thundering this awesome command. "Be ye holy — even as I am holy!" (1 Peter 1:16). God Demands Perfect Holiness! We can’t escape the language of the Scripture! We dare not back away from God’s description of those who are called: •Holy and without blame •glorious, without spot or wrinkle •holy, unblamable, unreprovable •righteous, pure, clean •cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh The whole world knows from sad experience this command to be holy like God is absolutely impossible! Scripture tells us "There is none righteous — no not one…there is none that doeth good…" (Romans 3:10-12). We have all sinned and come up short of God’s holiness. All mankind has miserably failed to obey the command to be holy like God. God did not say, "Be holy! He said, "Be holy, even as I am!" As this age becomes more and more corrupt and filthy, the thundering call to holiness will grow louder and louder in the hearts of men. There are only three ways to respond to God’s command to be holy. At this very hour you are in the throes of one of these responses. I. The First Response Is to Just Give Up and Quit Trying the Impossible. I’ve preached in a prison ward in Mexico City to more than 150 rapists and murders. I’ve ministered to some of the most sinful people on earth, including prostitutes, gangsters, drug pushers, and skid–row alcoholics. One question always comes to mind — "How did he, or she, get like this? How did a once tender child turn out to be so wicked and unholy? How did devil get such a hold on them?" The same question could be asked about the Jews who heard God speak audibly at Mount Sinai: "How could people ever forget the thunder, the lightening, the trumpet sounds, the supernatural smoke, the violent earthquake — and the cosmic voice of Almighty God? How could they turn out to be such wicked, vile, adulterous, and unholy people?" For six days these people saw God’s glory - "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel…" (Exodus 24:17). Then, forty days later, those very same people — who had fallen prostrate on the ground because of God’s holy presence — danced naked around a golden calf — worshiped a dead idol — played, fornicated, caroused — totally corrupted! Just 40 days from heaven to hell! God was enraged! He commanded Moses — "Get thee down to your people — how quickly they have turned away from me and my command to be a holy people…" (Exodus 32:7-8). There was nothing like it in the history of the world. In just 40 days, a holy people — and a holy priesthood — had corrupted themselves. Aaron, the high priest, had been on top of Mount Sinai with Moses. "He, too…saw the God of Israel…walking on a brilliant pavement of sapphire stones…" (Exodus 24:10). How could a man who actually saw the glory of God turn away so quickly, mold a golden calf, build an altar to it, and invite all of Israel to fall down and worship it? The reason for this sudden rebellion goes back to Mount Sinai — back to that thundering voice — back to God’s command — "Be ye holy!" Behind all rebellion is an anger toward God for making what we believe are impossible demands! For days the Israelites sat brooding in their tents — full of fear of a holy God who demanded holiness from them. It soon began to dawn on them how impossible it was. I see them going from tent to tent, gathering in small groups and venting their anger: "How can we ever live up to such an impossible demand? How can we be like God? Someone says the unthinkable — "Well, I know what I’m going to do — Irefuse to live in fear! I won’t serve a God of fear — aGod who makes such impossible demands!" Soon the rebellion spread like wildfire. People began saying, "Why would that God of Moses bring us out into the wilderness, knowing how weak and frail we are, and allow us to be tempted — and on top of it all, demand the impossible from us?" Even Aaron, the high priest, must have given in to this anger — this feeling of helplessness. He had seen the holiness of God and it seemed so high and unreachable. He came off Mount Sinai to the reality of his own sinfulness! Finally, he too was saying, "What’s the use — I’ll never make it — I’m too weak and sinful." The world is mad at God! Angry He brought them into a wilderness of temptation and sin — made them tremble with fear — then demanded they be holy and pure! And, worst of all — to their way of thinking — no one to show them how to be holy and good! II. Another Response to God’s Demand for Holiness Is — Do the Very Best, Humanly Possible, to Obey! What pain, what suffering, what superhuman effort are endured by zealous people trying to obey God’s command to be holy! Paul said of them: "I give them credit for having a zeal for God, but it is misdirected…Because they are ignorant of God’s righteousness, they go about to establish their own righteousness, having not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God…" (Romans 10:2-3). They hear God thundering His command, Be ye holy!" So they answer, "I’ll be holy — if it kills me!" They live under a terrible burden by not knowing the Scriptures! They want to be holy so they try to obey God through sheer willpower. After all, doesn’t the Bible say: •Shun the very appearance of evil •Resist the devil and he will flee from you •Lay aside the sin that easily besets you •Put off the old man and all its evil desires •Yield not your body to temptation It sounds like God put all responsibility on us. So off we go — attempting to be holy! Some give up smoking, drinking, dancing, card playing — even theater–going. Others try to please God by fasting, praying, and pleading with Him to "take away all my evil desires." One promise after another is made — only to be broken! Sometimes, through superhuman efforts, they can last a week, a month, or longer — and not give into besetting sin. Then just as they think the victory is won, back down they go! Tempted, defeated — and left in despair! Why? Because unless they submit to the righteousness of Christ by faith, it is all in vain. They have set themselves to an impossible task! All our good works must spring a from a pure heart, sanctified by faith in Christ’s work on the cross. God despises every human effort to be holy — when it is done in man’s own strength! He despises every book, every sermon, every doctrine that calls men to holiness through man–made rules and traditions. Entire holiness movements have been born through men’s desire to do everything humanly possible to please God and be holy. A few have become absolute legalists. Church history is filled with ridiculous ideas on how to be holy. I have read of monks who slept on bundles of thorns and piles of broken glass. Others bound one foot, hopping around on one foot until they lost the use of the other. Simon Stylites stood for thirty years on top of a column, and when too weak to stay there, he had a post erected and chained himself to it. In the Middle Ages, long processions of flagellants traveled from country to country, moaning, weeping, singing sad songs of repentance, and whipping their bare backs as they marched. Thousands joined these processions in an effort to "whip out the evil." We’re just as guilty. We’ve simply invented modern ways to create holiness. First, short hair was sinful — then long hair. Makeup and jewelry were thought by some to be worldly. Long sleeves and long dresses for women were considered holy. Cooking on Sunday or riding a bicycle on the Sabbath was sinful. Some thought you had to be poor to be holy. Others thought God expected a total withdrawal from society — and monasteries were begun. Think of all the books written by "holy" men. Men who have made holiness sound so unreachable — as if it took a lifetime of self–denial — affliction — mourning — long fasts and deep humility! These books sound so saintly — so holy and pure. But many of them are abominable in God’s eyes. Because these so–called holy men never did submit to the righteousness of Christ — agift given through faith alone. The apostle Paul said: "I want to be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law [or works]…but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…" (Php 3:9). III. The Only Proper Response to God’s Demand for Holiness Is Total Surrender to the Holiness of Christ! "But now the righteousness of God without the law is revealed…even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no distinction…being made justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…" (Romans 3:21-24). God has revealed to us a sure way to become absolutely holy and perfect in His sight — whereby all His children can live in absolute peace and joy, knowing God looks upon them as holy, pure, and unblamable. And this is all a free gift! His gift of holiness can never be a reward for anything we have done. It is an unearned, undeserved favor! An outright gift! "Wasn’t Abraham accepted by God for all his good deeds? Didn’t he earn his right to heaven by all the good things he did? No! For righteousness is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn’t be free — but it is! It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be holy in his sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God’s wrath…" (Romans 4:1-5 L.B.). Some argue — "I know that becoming holy is humanly impossible — but with God’s help all things are possible." In other words — "I can make it if God will just help me out!" We seem to think we are to do the very best we can — then having done all we can — call on God to give us a little boost! Wrong! Dead wrong! We cannot be holy — even with God’s help — because God will not assist a thief trying to climb in some other way than what He has opened. This is the dilemma so many Christians are in today. They pray — "Oh, God — don’t you see how hard I’m trying? Don’t you feel the agony of my heart? Don’t you see how hard I’m fighting to stay pure? God — why don’t you come with special power to help me in my struggle?" We think God should be delighted with our tearful efforts. We expect Him to be standing by, applauding our hard work — eager to pick us up when we fall. We assume He is pleased with all the struggling, the fighting against sin, the resisting temptation! But God’s Word says, "If a man strive for mastery — yet is he not crowned, except he strives lawfully [according to God’s rules]…" (1 Timothy 2:5). God is not at all interested in Christians doing battle against certain sins. He is not interested in patching up their weak spots. He will have nothing to do with such pick–and–choose struggles. He wants more than that — He wants to put the robe of Christ’s righteousness on those who hunger for holiness! He wants to exchange our filthy rags of self–righteousness for a spirit of holiness — alife of holiness — through faith in Christ. He wants to put an end to all our discouraging and useless struggles to be holy! Submission is the only way into God’s holiness — "…submitting to the righteousness of Christ, through faith…" To submit means "to surrender the power of your will." With God there is no such thing as willpower — all power is His! He will permit no other power than His own! God demands absolute holiness for a reason — He wants us to be humbled by this demand! He watches over our struggles to be holy with patience — waiting for us to fail so miserably that we will run to His throne, fall on our knees and cry out, "It’s hopeless! I will never be holy! I am weak — sensuous — sinful — Ihave no good in me at all!" this is the kind of repentance God is looking for — confessing the weakness of our futile efforts — denying that we have any power at all in ourselves. Beloved — hear this — you can never be clothed in Christ’s holiness until you fall on your face before God’s throne — naked, poor, wretched, weak, and totally helpless! You must once and for all admit you have no power in you to resist sin — that you have nothing to offer the Lord but a broken–down, defeated and helpless lump of clay. You must admit you can’t be holy — even with help. You must be given holiness — as a gift. The greatest gift you can give to God is your faith that He will give you His holiness! Isaiah exulted: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness…So the Lord will cause righteousness to spring forth before all the nations…" (Isaiah 61:10-11). All hell is about to break out on this doomed world of ours. Evil men and seducers will get even bolder and more violent. There will be nudity on prime time TV — cable stations showing X–rated movies. Satan has declared war on the saints! Corruption, adultery, drinking — sexual debauchery such as the world has never before witnessed. All around will be godlessness, fear, hardheartedness — mockery of all that is good and pure and holy! How shall we stand in such an hour? What is our defense? How do we stay holy in such a wicked age? What human being can resist the flood that is coming? Who can keep himself from being contaminated and spotted by it all? No one! Not by their own strength, that is. This is why this message of total surrender must grip our souls! Only God has the power to keep us holy — to present us to Himself a holy people without spot or wrinkle! Believe this — The God who gives us His holinessr — has the power to keep us in it! The safest place on earth is at the foot of the Cross — humbled before God’s throne. The more wicked the times, the more we need to stay yielded! Stay submitted! Not giving up — but giving in! You can then know what it really means to walk in the Spirit — so as not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. It means this: living at all times in a constant state of submission and yieldedness to God’s power! Living in a state of total surrender — giving up all rights to power and self. Becoming totally dependent on God to perform all things for you, and through you. Be Ye Holy — Even As I Am Holy — by Faith Alone! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 48: PRE-050-47. BABYLON IS FALLING ======================================================================== 47. Babylon Is Falling Babylon Is Falling by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "And the angel cried mightily with a strong voice, saying Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird…" (Revelation 18:1-24 :). Martin Luther and other Reformation preachers taught that Babylon was the Catholic church, and the Pope, the beast. Many believers at that time were martyred for leaving the church — multitudes murdered by orders from the Pope. Anyone who knows church history can verify that the Catholic church in the past has been stained with the blood of many godly souls. But Protestants have also killed Catholics — as in Ireland today. They are killing each other like madmen But the Babylon John is talking about is something beyond the Catholic church. The beast is something more powerful than the Pope. Babylon is still a great world power visible before our eyes today. Its power and influence have grown incredibly in the past decade — until today it boasts tremendous might. Babylon is not a physical city; it is a spiritual condition — even as Zion is not just a city in Israel, but also a representation of the true church of Jesus Christ. Babylon is the harlot church! It is a church within the church — avisible body existing with invisible body of Christ! A professor Milligon, in 1885, wrote: "Babylon is not the church of Rome, in particular. No doubt that church has deeply sinned…but it is not the spiritual harlot. Babylon is all professed Christians who love the world’s favor, rather than its reproach. It is those who esteem the honor of the world, rather than its shame. It is those who love ease rather than sacrifice; grasping, covetous — but having no compassion on the poor. Babylon is all who anywhere profess to be Christ’s "Little Flock" but who are not, because they deny Him by their actions." Babylon, as far as I am concerned, is any church — any ministry — any minister — any Christian, in league with the world! It is made up of certain pastors, evangelists, and multitudes of Christians — all who have been seduced by covetousness and worldly mindedness. It is religion that has been polluted in its ungodly methods — and a sanctuary corrupted by ungodly alliances. Babylon is Falling! John’s prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes — even now. God is soon going to bring down every unspiritual church, every unspiritual ministry, every backslidden minister, every lukewarm, worldly Christian! John in his vision saw a harlot supported by a beast: "And one of the angels talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters (lands)…So he carried me away in the spirit in to the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns…And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet colors, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; And upon her forehead was a name written: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" (Revelation 17:1-5). It really is not complicated. Forget about the seven heads and ten horns — those are only symbols that signify the worldwide influence of the harlot. What we have is a vivid picture of the apostate, sensual, rich church of today! A famous, influential harlot, in possession of great wealth and prestige — but polluted with nakedness, fornication, and filth! It is the very description of the Laodicean church mentioned in Revelation 3:1-22 — "…rich, increased with goods, in need of nothing — but unaware that she is naked, wretched, poor, and blind…" Babylon is not the apostate church, just because I said so! The Old Testament prophets knew who this harlot was! They identified her as the backslidden people of God who had been corrupted by the heathen around them. Jeremiah said "Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has played the harlot!…Israel has whore’s forehead…and refuses to be ashamed" (Jeremiah 3:3). Ezekiel cried out, "How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things — the work of an impudent, whorish woman…" (Ezekiel 16:30). And Isaiah anguished, "How is the faithful city become a harlot! It was once full of judgment and righteousness — but now murderers…" (Isaiah 1:21). The same message is declared by the prophets Joel, Amos, Micah, and Nahum. They all cried out — "My people Israel has turned into a degenerate plant — an impudent harlot!" God’s once faithful, chosen people went whoring after heathen ways! The became fun–loving compromisers with sin. They defiled God’s holy places by bringing into them strangers — unclean sinners! Ezekiel thundered this message: "Say to the rebellious house of Israel…you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised of heart, and in flesh…to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house…you have not kept the charge of my holy things…you have hired keepers in my sanctuary for yourselves…Thus saith the Lord God — no stranger, no alien in heart…shall enter my sanctuary" (Ezekiel 44:6-9). In the tabernacle of the wilderness — and in the temple of Solomon — sinners were allowed only in the outer court, and never into the holy place. Only the sanctified were allowed to minister unto the Lord — only those who were separated and anointed. Now the church is the outer court — where all sinners are welcome and sought out! But when it comes to handling the holy things of God — only the pure in heart, only the consecrated of God is permitted! When John saw a harlot supported by a beast, he was seeing into our day — acarnal church infiltrated by the world! The beast is the spirit of this world! It has been given its power by the old dragon, Satan! You and I know it’s true. The world has crept into the church! It is seducing the children of God — trying to turn God’s people to spiritual harlotry! Doing God’s work with worldly methods! Using ungodly singers! Unconsecrated show people! It has become fashionable to copy the world — its music, its styles — even its choreography! All but a few religious record companies are now owned by major Jewish corporations. Some religious television programs are being directed and produced by men who have nothing at all to do with Christ! It’s a fact! Can you imagine an uncircumcised Philistine being called into the holy place by a priest of Israel, to choreograph the ministry before the ark of the covenant? That priest would have been slain by God — right on the spot! Jeremiah was shocked that the people of his day were being willingly led away by such deception. He lamented, "…and my people love to have it so…" (Jeremiah 5:31). Today, multitudes of Christians love to be entertained by a half–baked gospel. The love to hear the half–hearted Jesus commercials of celebrities. Too many Christians love show business gospel! God Has Decreed It’s All Coming Down! Babylon Is Falling! "O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasure — thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness…" (Jeremiah 51:13). God has decreed "Enough! I’m going to put a sudden end to all spiritual foolishness!" What does it mean to us — right now, in our day? So much, in fact, that God says it will tingle the ears and astonish the whole world! We are going to witness the fall of some highly esteemed ministries! Multimillion dollar projects are going to come crashing down! It will be headline news! Some churches that have strapped themselves with monstrous debts will go bankrupt! Liberal denominations will suffer an even greater loss of revenue! God is going to shut down every TV program that used ungodly men and methods. There is coming a great purge! Only the spiritual ministries will remain! Those who hear the call of the Spirit and purge their ministry, God will bless and increase. Those in league with the world will only grow more unspiritual and worldly. The spiritual man of God will fill the breach! God is getting ready to do a new thing! He is going to bring down the proud, the famous, the ambitious — and lift up the humble, unknown prophets to bring the church back to repentance and holiness! Friends, the days of superstar evangelists are all over! No more one–man shows! No more stealing God’s honor! No more glamour! No more showmanship! No more world–directed choreography in God’s holy place! No more big–time religion! The Holy Ghost is going to shut down corporate religion! God has declared He will not finance the ego of any preacher of the Gospel! The Holy Spirit is already wooing the children of the Lord away from bigness, brightness, and sensationalism. Even sinners are fed up with all the pitiful appeals for money! A revived, sanctified people are going to discern between the clean and unclean! Those in the middle of building their little empires will weep and despair — as God brings it all down! He is going to write "Icahabod" over their doors! His glory will depart from them! God is going to cause the hustle and bustle — the busy pace — to burn out and wear down all who have wasted so much time at building — instead of seeking the face of God! Jeremiah foresaw God’s judgment — "I am against you Babylon…I will lift up my hand against you and roll you down from your heights and leave you a burnt–out mountain…You shall be desolate…you shall be completely wiped out…" (Jeremiah 51:25-26 L.B.). God Is Warning Every Sincere Child of God to Get Out of Babylon! The Scripture commands — "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquities; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense" (Jeremiah 51:6). God Is Calling Pastors to Forsake the Ways of Babylon! He is telling ministers to put away their drawing boards and get back to giving themselves to fasting, praying, and studying God’s Word. Go ahead and build — expand and plan — but once the plans are decided on, let the elders build the church — set the pastor free to fast and pray! Because God is going to spew out of His mouth all gospel that is light and frivolous! Jeremiah rebuked the priests of his day, saying: "You have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, Peace: when the is no peace…" (Jeremiah 6:14). Slightly means "light, silly, lacking in substance." God’s purge will do away with all silly, surface gospel that has no substance! God is bringing back a two–edged sword! He is bringing back men who have heard His command and cry out, "Thus saith the Lord…" The days of winking at sin are over! God now demands holiness. God Is Going to Put "The Blush" Back Into the Gospel "Were they ashamed when they sinned? No — they were not ashamed, neither could they blush…" (Jeremiah 6:15). Blushing is "red cheeks caused by a sense of shame and guilt for wrongdoing." God is going to give His church true shepherds who will show His people their sins. He will bring back godly sorrow and shame for sin and compromise. No more putting patches over sin! No more comforting the wicked in their iniquity! God is going to humble every minister who has false values — who "chases after the wind". Jeremiah said, "…The pastors have transgressed…walking after things that do not matter…" (Jeremiah 2:8). He wept over a ministry that had become carnal, sensuous, earthy: "For the pastors are become carnal and sensuous…and have not sought the Lord…therefore, they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered…" (Jeremiah 10:21). Don’t get me wrong — Iam not down on the ministry. And I judge my own heart as well! But there are so many in the pulpit today who no longer seek the face of God. They have become carnal and sensuous — given over to professionalism! They have become dead and worldly. God is getting ready to change all that! He said, "I will set up shepherds over them that shall feed the flock…they shall not lack anymore…" (Jeremiah 23:4). These true shepherds will no longer heal the people’s hurts with cute little prayers of release! No more "just trust God and all will be peaceful and well." No more innocuous clichés! NO! They are going to heal the hurts by getting to the root of them — SIN in the heart! They will lay the axe to the root, and bring healing through total repentance and forsaking sin and the world. God Is Calling His Congregation Out of Babylon. "For the Lord of hosts says, Babylon is like the wheat upon the threshing floor; in just a little while the flailing will begin…" (Jeremiah 51:33 L.B.). "Remove out of the midst of Babylon and go forth out of that land…" (Jeremiah 50:8). Babylon was the world power that kept God’s people Israel in captivity. It is a type of the modern–day slavery to the spirit of this age. Over and over again the Scripture says, "And Babylon came up and carried away the people of God, in chains…" Paul reminds us, "These things serve as an example and shadow of spiritual things…" (Hebrews 8:5). Babylon is still the spirit of this world — It is the mystery of iniquity, the mother of all spiritual adultery. While the Israelities were held captive in Babylon, Isaiah sent them this warning — "You are not taking the things of God to heart…you are living in pleasure — living carelessly…" (Isaiah 47:4-8). In other words, you are not paying attention to the things of God! You are wrapped up in fun and pleasure! You are not paying heed to the times, and you ignore prayer and God’s Word. Look around! Christ is about to come — and where are the saints of God? Caught up in whirlwind of socials, recreation, movies, TV! These are sinful only because they rob us of all our time! The prayer closets are empty! The tears are gone — the zeal for Gods house is vanishing! This is the work of Babylon — seducing God’s people away from the altars — to play with their toys. Getting God’s people preoccupied with ease, prosperity, and pleasure. God is calling all of us to leave this carnal, sensuous, careless way of living — and get back to seeking the Lord with all our heart. Jeremiah could see that Babylon had robbed God’s people of their faith and confidence in the Lord. He wrote, "My people have been lost sheep…they have forgotten their resting place [refuge]…" (Jer, 50:6). They quit their singing and rejoicing in heart — because they thought God had forsaken them: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, Yes, we wept…we hanged our harps upon the willows…for they that carried us away required of us a song…How shall we sing in this strange land?" (Psalms 137:1-4). Babylon had taken away their hearts! They lost their mirth and joy! They said, "We’ll never sing again!". Everything seemed so hopeless. Days dragged by. "Zion," they mourned, "hath been forsaken by God." They looked at their hopeless condition and complained, "Our God heareth not — we are abandoned as orphans." Oh, saints of God! Forsake the gloom of Babylon! God has not forsaken you! He is grieved by those who accuse Him of abandoning them! Don’t stop singing! Your greatest revelation of God can come during captivity! It was by the River Chebar, with all the harps hanging on the willows and God’s people in a state of confusion and fear, that God opened the windows of heaven with a new vision. Ezekiel recorded it in the following way: "…the fifth of the month…as I was among the captives…by the River of Chebar, that the heavens were opened…and I saw visions of God…" (Ezekiel 1:1). This is what God is going to do for multitudes of his children — and turn their captivity into joy — open the windows of heaven with a glorious new vision of God’s glory! God Is Bringing Down Babylon — So He Can Raise Up Zion! "Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come!" (Psalms 102:13) Zion is the true church — holy, spotless, unblameable, unreproveable in His sight! God sovereignly set a time when He would restore Zion. That time has come! "…The Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory…" (Psalms 102:16) God is tearing down — only so He can build up! On the ashes of burned–out egos — the ashes of false dreams and bankrupt ministries — He will raise up a glorious new work of the Spirit! He will tear down the old to build up the new. God is going to reveal His glory — and the people of God are going to receive a new vision of His holiness and purity! A revival of righteousness is coming! "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down — and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up…" The prophet Joel saw this day of restoration coming! He said: "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly…" (Joel 2:15). I can tell you that all over the world now, men and women of God have heard that trumpet sound. They are sanctifying themselves before God — and they are weeping between the porch and the altar. They know God is about to purge His church — bring down all that is false and fleshly — and do a great new work. And they don’t want to be left out! God is going to bring Zion back to the altar! David implied there was so little activity around God’s altar that the birds made their nest there — unperturbed: "The swallow hath found a nest for herself…even thine altar…" (Psalms 84:3). Joel cried out, "Howl, ye ministers of the altar…" (Joel 1:13). Between the porch where the congregation sits — and the altar — there is supposed to be a weeping man of God! He is to "weep between the porch and the altar…" He is to weep over the barrenness of the altar — because God has withheld His blessing (Joel 1:13). What an awesome, glorious prophecy John saw about the altar! He predicts fire will fall upon it and shake the earth! "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer…incense as offered with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne…and the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints…ascended up before God…and the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar…and cast it into the earth: and there were thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes…" (Revelation 8:1-5). God is right now taking the measure of His holy altar! He knows who weeps there! He knows who longs for God’s presence there! "And there was given me a measuring rod…and the angel said…Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship there…" (Revelation 11:1). I am not talking about the wooden rail at the front of the church! That is not the altar — not at all! The altar is any secret closet — any place you fall before the Lord and worship and pray! Many Christians never leave church unless they kneel before some wooden, railed, padded knee bench! They go home saying, "I’ve been to the altar." For many, it is just a dead ritual! God is giving a fresh revelation of what and where the altar is. It is in your heart! It is an altar not made with hands! It is a spiritual place — aplace known only to God and you, where the heart truly worships and glorifies the Lord! The Holy Spirit is erecting a mighty altar in the hearts of hungry saints — worldwide. Rebuild your altar! Get back to that daily, secret communion! The Spirit is wooing all God’s children back to His altar! Finally, God is going to take away all the "dainties" — and replace them with true riches of holy righteousness. "And the good things that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which are dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more…" (Revelation 18:14). What a "dainty" gospel we’ve been hearing lately! A gospel of goodies! Dainty means "elegant things". John proclaims Babylon is falling — and all its dainties with it! "For in one hour all these riches will come to nought…" (Revelation 18:17). The holy apostles and ministers are told to rejoice that an end is come to the lusting after the things of this world — "Rejoice, holy apostles and preachers…she who lived "deliciously" [luxuriously] — shall be thrown down in one hour…" (Revelation 18:7; Revelation 18:20). God is not leading His church into poverty! He is going to reveal the true riches of His Gospel — and vomit out of his mouth this pagan concept of materialism! Old Brother "Praying Payson" said it best — "It is my prayer, that if God has any worldly blessing in store for me, He would be pleased to give me His grace instead, or change them all into spiritual blessings." Babylon is Falling! "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues…" (Revelation 18:4). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 49: PRE-051-48. COMING SOON- A REVIVAL OF HOLINESS ======================================================================== 48. Coming Soon- A Revival of Holiness Coming Soon — A Revival of Holiness by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] A revival of holiness is coming to this nation. The sparks have already been ingnitied by the Holy Spirit, and everywhere I travel now there are signs of a glorious awakening, with multitudes of God’s children hungering and thirsting for righteousness. The Bible predicts that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. Holiness, the true righteousness of Christ, is the standard. That blood-stained banner of holiness is being raised over the battlefields of sin and corruption and soon, very soon. There will arise a crescendo of voices crying out to the Lord: "Cleanse us. Consume us. Lift us out of the mire and filth of this age. Bring us back to holy living and heavenly mindedness. Purify us and keep us unspotted from the world." The young Christians, and especially young ministers, are sick and tired of all the religious game playing. They are weary of all the interdenominational bickering and doctrinal hassles. They are hungry for a faith that will keep them clean and pure in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. They are beginning to call on the Lord for an awakening in our country, and for a vision of God’s holiness. I hear their cries from coast to coast - they tell me, in essence, "We do not want some kind of theological system. We are tired of materialistic teaching and preaching that leaves us so empty and dry. We don’t want to be told how to be successful or prosperous. We are young, so we don’t relate to health messages. We need to be convicted of sin - to know how to grieve over our backslidings and pleasure-loving ways. We want to know how to yield our bodies to Christ in total surrender - and know what it means to be holy. We need a gospel that shows us how to stay clean in this filthy age. A Prophetic Word I believe that even now my pen is anointed by the Spirit of God when I tell you that He is going to sovereignly move upon His church and awaken it anew to Bible holiness. The chosen of God are going be stirred in their inner man; the Spirit is going to convict and tug and pull - until believers are once again yearning for spiritual cleansing and deliverance from the power of sin. Backslidden, cold-hearted church goers are going to be shaken and convicted by the powerful probings of the Holy Spirit. Judgment will begin in the house of God, and the Lord’s holiness will be revealed in the inner man. Secret sin is going to be exposed, everywhere, and many, many Christians are going to be convicted and warned by God to lay their sin down, forsake it, or be judged openly, severely." Lukewarm, backslidden ministers are going to see the standard of holiness raised in the land, and they will either turn to the Lord with fasting and praying, with tears and godly sorrow, and repentance - or, they will resist and be confirmed in their deadness and unconcern. But I believe every true minister of Christ who longs for restoration of Purity in the church, will experience a new call to diligent prayer and a renewed hatred for private and national sins. We are going to see old-fashioned Holy Ghost conviction falling upon both sinners and Christians in churches all over this nation. I take that to be a Holy Ghost fact. It’s already beginning to happen. In few months we received letters and phone calls from various ministers throughout the country telling of the sovereign moving of God’s Spirit in their churches, with entire congregations completely shaken by powerful conviction of the Holy Spirit. Ministers report a renewed emphasis in their preaching against sin and compromise in their churches. They tell of people running to altars and repenting, crying out to God for a new baptism of love and cleansing in their souls. Covetousness, bitterness, and worldlimindedness are being confessed and forsaken. Their people are beginning to turn from wicked ways, and there is now a returning to the old paths of righteousness, by faith. Without being forced, they are beginning to fast and pray for a new vision of mercy and grace. God Has Shaken Me In my own ministry I can tell you that God has turned me inside out! I’ve been reading books written by holy Puritan writers. Godly men like John Owen, Sibbes, Goodwin, Baxter, and others. I have been shocked by how far we have strayed from the ways of the Lord. The primitive church walked in the fear of God and lived holy, dedicated lives. Our Puritan fathers were pious and godly men who hated sin. Luther, before he died, said, "I fear that when I’m gone this message will be forgotten. It has happened just as Luther feared. We have strayed, far off, from Reformatlon theology. The godly reformers of past centuries would not even recognize the self-centered, cheap gospel being preached in so many pulpits nowadays. Like the young people of today, I too am tired of playing spiritual games. I’m tired of the lazy, self-pampering, materialistic preaching and teaching that has carried us so far away from the gospel of repentance, holiness, and total surrender. This is what I am now hearing on my knees in the secret closet of prayer: Davld - examine yourself; look in the mirror of God’s holiness. Get rid of all the sin and corruption - pride, self, and ambition. Begin seeking the face of the Lord with fervency and sincerity. Wean yourself from things; from materialism - hunger, thirst, for the true righteousness - the gift of God through faith in Christ. Call on God from a sorrowful heart and pray for a fresh anointing. Run often to the secret closet and seek Him with all your heart and soul. Dig deeper into God’s Word - seek a new revelation of God’s awesome holiness. Love not the world, and forsake all its pleasures. Surrender everything - humble yourself and preach against sin and compromise with a holy zeal. Awaken God’s people! Preach against sin in the Lord’s house. Call for Christians to repent! Preach fearlessly until there is a godly sorrow for sin! Call for the people to humble themselves and pray! An Axe and a Fan! When John the Baptist prophesied concerning the appearance of Christ, he saw Him coming with an axe in one hand and a fan in the other. "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the tree: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire... Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquencible fire..." (Matthew 3:10-12). John did not see Christ coming with a bag of favors on His back, like some kind of divine Santa Claus. He was not coming to make mankind prosperous and successful. He was coming with an axe and a fan! Christ was going to appear in His house to purge it out! To purge means "to cleanse, to get rid of, to carry away, that which is impure." The fan is the Holy Spirit, whose mighty wind is about to blow away all the chaff of lukewarmness and sin out of God’s holy temple. The axe is the convicting power of God’s Word going forth under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Listen to the language of John’s prophecy - "Christ will purge, cut down, gather, burn, separate! All the compromise will now be judged. All the self-seeking and pleasure madness will be held in contempt of His court. All the mixing with ungodly Christ rejecters will not be overlooked. He will not spare in using both the axe and the fan. He has waited long enough for His vineyard to produce fruit. The phoniness, the chaff, all must be purged. Our Lord is going to cut off the spiritual roots of all false professors and hypocrites. Only those with clean hands and pure hearts will come to His holy mountain. He will reject His own altars and turn away from many churches - if there is not a revival of repentance. If you are not hearing that kind of preaching from your pulpits, I fear either the mlnister or teacher has lost the anointing, or else they are teachers who love to scratch itching ears. The preaching and teaching that is most pleasing to God in these last days is that which puts the axe to the root of sin in our lives. We need preaching that shakes us to the depth of our hearts, exposing the chaf of secret sin and world mlndedness. We need, and we will soon get, more preachers and teachers with a sword in their hands to cut to the very marrow of the bone and bring forth true repentance and the forsaking of sin. You Too Will Feel the Purging If I, as a minister of the Gospel, in full time service to the Lord - with a library lined with religious books - and a call of God - fell under the red hot conviction of the Holy Spirit - so may you! I didn’t realize how cold my heart had become. I was not hating sin with a godly hated as I should. I didn’t know the world was slowly creeping into my soul, making me spiritually weak and dry. I was no longer fasting or prostrating myself in His holy presence until His divine holiness melted and broke me. I thought the only fast needed today was Isaiah’s "setting of captives free and lifting the heavy burdens of the poor." But I used that as an excuse so I wouldn’t have to abstain from even one meal to make time for prayer. I was one of those ministers who so glibly boasted, "I refuse to look into my heart - I know it’s wicked - so I’ll just let Jesus forgive it all and I’ll forget it." That sounds like New Testament theology, - but it’s only half the truth. We never do give up our attractions to sin; we never get to the roots - until we see how exceedingly sinful we are, and how desperately we need the grace and mercy of Christ. We cut down the tree, and leave the roots to spring up again. Oh, yes - I prayed and read my Bible; and I preached and I gave to the needy; and I loved my wife and children; and I thought I was a pretty honest, humble and sincere minister. But that was before the Holy Spirit made me take an honest look in the mirror of His righteousness. I saw things in me that shocked me. I was not totally yielded. I was still in the clutches of subtle kinds of pride. I was slowly being poisoned by the love of comfort, ease, and recognition. It was mostly in the subconscious, but still very real. But God in His mercy woke me up! He took me in His compassionate arms and put me back on holy ground. It’s just a beginning and I’ve got a long way to go, but I will not turn back. There have been other times God called me to go "all the way" to a deep and life-changing surrender, but I’d get too busy to follow through. But not this time - I am going to go all the way, until He humbles me, purges me, and gives me His robe of true righteousness. My Ministry Is Changing! The Holy Spirit Is Purging Changes have taken place in me, and now also in my pulpit ministry. Part of that purge is that the music in all of my crusades is changing. Along with me, our musical group has been directed by the Spirit to sing and play only Christ-exalting praise and worship music. There will be no music in our meetings that knowingly mimics the sounds of the ungodly rock or disco groups. No entertainment! We are going to present music that calms wild spirits, that lifts up the name of Jesus, that makes young people want to take a sober look at themselves and to begin hungering for the things of God. I know a lot of musicians will believe me, when I prophesy here and now that God is going to blow out of His church all music that offends heaven. The fan is in His hand right now - much of modern music is chaff, and it will be purged. The day is soon coming when singers and groups who continue putting out unsanctified "religious" music, will no longer have an audience. Revived young people, led by the Spirit of God, are going to be weaned away from all music that sounds like an echo from the rebellious past, including any kind of music that exalts wickedness. Young people who return to holiness and purity will develop an ear for music that is healing and worshipful. God is going to do a new thing in music! I’ve seen it coming for a long time. A total purging! It’s already beginning to happen. Just this week, two other groups told me their next albums will feature more worship and praise. One well-known musician told me, "God has been stirring my heart lately. I’m going to write all my songs on my knees now. No more silly junk. I don’t care about album sales anymore - I just want to minister to people" God has promised me that the young people will enjoy, and one day soon prefer, the sanctified sounds of the Spirit. The revival of holiness that is coming is going to bring back the beautiful, uplifting music that Christ desires. All revivals of holiness, in all past ages, have been accompanied by a purifying of music in the church. This prophecy will bear honest witness to all praying readers of this letter. Don’t you, too, feel the witness in your heart that changes are coming - purifying, cleansing changes? No More Easy Believism! In this revival of holiness that is coming, God is going to call for separation and commitment. No more putting patches over sin. Sin must be not only confessed, but forsaken. People who claim to be saved, but who play around with adultery and fornication, will be put on the spot! Those who walk down the aisles to "be saved" will no longer get away with just "praying a simple prayer." No! They must be so convicted of their sins they will hate them. They will not be leaving my crusades with a false security, just because they shed a few tears and said a little prayer. I want to see the Holy Spirit smite people with such conviction they will see the "exceeding sinfulness of sin." Then, I want the Spirit to do more than an emotional, surface work in them. I want them to see how sinful, how totally helpless they are! Then, I want them to get a revelation of the loving grace of Jesus Christ - and I want them to receive, by faith, the gift of His holiness and righteousness! I want them to count the cost - give up the world, its pleasures, and all ungodly friends - and turn completely around to walk with God. This revival of holiness will be rejected by many. They will call it a return to legalism; they will say it is "preaching the Law"; they will say It leads to bondage! But they are wrong. I, too, despise legalistic holiness. But the revival I see coming is one of true, biblical holiness. It will focus on inner truth and purity. Christ is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle, not for a church lounging on ivory beds of ease, covetousness, and selfishness. Worldlimindedness is overtaking God’s people - a work of God must challenge it soon. Christ wept not for Egypt, Rome, or Greece - He wept for Jerusalem, His own city wherein lived His own people. The Word says: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land" (Chronicles 7:14). Are you one of His people? Have you been sensing really the deep inner awakening I’ve been talking about? Have you been feeling a renewed hunger for righteousness? Have you grown tired and weary of the emptiness and foolishness of the world? Have you been feeling the nearness of His return? Has our blessed Lord been calling you back to the closet of prayer, and back to a life of yieldedness and purity? Get ready, saints! While the liberal church gets colder and more godless - while the lukewarm preachers continue to offer false hope - while this old world begins to disintegrate while all around is crime, violence, unemployment, and evil - the Holy Spirit calls - "My people! Confess your sins! Humble yourself, now! Repent, now! Call on the Lord, now!" Saints of God - if you feel this same inner stirring - ask God to make you nauseated with sin, worldliness, and materialism. Pray for a new hunger and thirst for God’s fullness. Get back to the secret closet of prayer! Don’t miss out on this next great move of God’s Spirit in the land! Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. Music, morals, families, churches, seminaries, colleges, and even the government! "...Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven.. that those. things which cannot be shaken may remain..." (Hebrews 12:27). Take this message with you into your quiet place of prayer - read it prayerfuily, and allow the Spirit of God to melt and break you, and anoint you with fresh oil! Holy! Holy! is our God! "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord... "(Hebrews 12:14). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 50: PRE-052-49. THE FATAL RACE ======================================================================== 49. The Fatal Race The Fatal Race by David Wilkerson | January 15, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "...Let us run with patience the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1) The very word race suggests competition. God’s people are likened to runners in a long distance race, competing for a prize. The prize being a glorious revelation of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But we are corrupting that race toward eternity, and we have substituted a debased and carnal prize. The competition is getting very intense, but now it is God’s people competing with one another. And the prize now is success, prosperity, applause, and acclaim. Christ has become nothing more than the sponsor, since all the runners claim to be competing in His name. Great numbers of the competitors wear Tee-shirts marked, "I’m #1." Others are bolder, sporting the words, "I Refuse to Lose." It has become a fatal race. There once was a time the race was not to the swift, or to the prosperous, or to the covetous - but rather to the humble and weak. The race at one time led through persecution, privation, spoiling of goods, hardness and martyrdom. Some of the runners wore only goatskins, some were tortured, some were torn asunder, others were beaten and scarred. They were stopped in the middle of their race and were burned at the stake, others were thrown into prisons and filthy dungeons. Some had their eyes plucked out, and others were forced to watch their children being tortured before their eyes. And why, pray tell, did all these exhausted runners go through such turmoil and suffering? Why didn’t they drop out? Simply because the prize to them was worth it all. They wanted nothing but Christ! They considered, along with Paul, the things of this world as mere dung. They loved not their lives, but only Christ. They were strangers here on earth - running with all their might and strength toward that city whose builder and maker is God. They would have mocked you if you tried to substitute carnal prizes. they would have cried out, "Take the whole world, but give me Jesus." Contrast that kind of race with what we see developing in God’s house today. Yesterday, I was informed that one well known evangelist had upset other TV evangelists because he offered TV stations more money to take over their prime time spots. He "upped the prize". Another boasted that he was going to take on enough additional stations to assure he was on more stations than any other evangelist in modern times. Pastors and evangelists are competing to build the biggest, most unique churches and headquarters. One minister friend confided in me, in all seriousness, "Pastor J___ is building a church of 119,000 square feet - so I had my architect redo our plans and expand our new church to 121,000 square feet. I want the most square feet of any church in my state. And what about the multitudes of Christians now caught up in the race for material things. They now want two of everything. A backup system for everything they own. It is almost as if we are trying to turn this race into a jackpot marathon. My dear children of God, this race is not some kind of eternal raffle. It is not a competition for prosperity, health, and success. If our faith is rewarded with anything short of the prize of a high calling in Christ Jesus - it is not worth competing for. The only one who wins this prize is the child of God who wants to obtain nothing but more of Jesus. He is the one who casts the things of this world at the feet of the cross as worthless junk - that he may win the glorious joy and peace of the Savior. The Way to Perfect Happiness Here on Earth Is to Give Up the Fatal Race of Human Competition. If a Christian can give up all competition for worldly objects, if he can stand aside from the mad race which so many are now running - he could discover what it means to be totally contented. The Christian who drops out of the carnality race can say to all competitors, "Divide your prizes; keep it all; I quit the race." He could say to one, "You keep the ambition." To another he could say, "You take the applause." To another, you take all the money and materialism." He could leave them all to compete with one another for their worldly prizes and he could run his own lonely race, a different race, a race for but one prize. The glory of God in Christ Jesus. But it is almost impossible today to get Christians to renounce the fatal race, without cutting off their feet. So many are in the fatal race of carnality, so few in the race for eternal values. In all history, only those who have learned to renounce the world and all that is in it, have discovered true happiness. One great divine said, "I never knew what it meant to be happy until I quit striving to be great." If we could but cease struggling with worldly ambitions, and be willing to become nothing, we would break through into a new world of peace and joy. Praying Payson Dr. Edward Payson, known by most as "praying Payson," pastured in Portland nearly 175 years ago. In 1806, just a few years after the Declaration of Independence, America was devastated by a severe depression. It was the darkest period since Independence and Dr. Payson vividly recorded the tragedy in his area. He wrote: "Business has stagnated, many are failing. Hundreds of seamen and other citizens have been thrown out of employment, and they are destitute. "I tremble for my poor country. I fear our sins have helped call down judgment upon us. If we escape a civil war, it will be well. "Some of our wonderful young converts have lost their all, and had their homes stripped away; but it does my heart good to see them cheerful and quiet under it all. Others, who have no God, have lost their reason, they worry incessantly, and are apparently dying of a broken heart..." Dr. Payson and his dedicated congregation suffered the spoiling of all their goods. Dr. Payson himself lived on pennies during those hard times. On December 28, 1807, in a letter to his mother, Dr. Payson wrote: "Conditions worsen. A large number of the wealthy merchants live in poverty now. Businesses are failing daily, so that we are threatened with universal bankruptcy. The poorhouse is already full, and hundreds are yet to be provided for. Many who have been brought up in affluence are now dependent on others for daily food. If the hard times continue, nine-tenths of the people here will be scattered to the four winds. I have scarcely enough myself to pay for food and board. "Perhaps, Mother, you will grieve for me and say, Poor Edward!’ But you never had more reason to rejoice on my behalf, and cry, Rich Edward!’, than now. Blessed be God, my faith does not stand on such tottering foundations as to be shaken by these commotions. God keeps me quiet, resigned, and even happy in all these troubles. I do not mean I don’t feel pain - I do. All my worldly hopes are destroyed. My friends are about to be turned out into the streets, and many may starve. In these circumstances it is impossible not to feel pain. "I thought I knew before, that this world is treacherous, and its enjoyments but for a moment; but these hard times have taught me to wean myself from creature things and pursue the things of God. "It is my prayer, that if God has any worldly blessings in store for me, He would be pleased to give me His grace instead, or change them all into spiritual prosperity." Edward Payson and his band of believers had quit the fatal race. They could take joyfully the stripping away of all they possessed, because they were in this world - but not of it. The world was unworthy of them. If We Could Spend Just Five Minutes Either in Heaven or Hell, We Would Run a Different Race. If We could spend just a few minutes in heaven, we would never again compete in a carnal race. If we could experience a short walk within the gates of that city of God; drink in the peace, the beauty, the heavenly splendors; listen to the grand choirs of angels and seraphims singing the glories of the Lord; mingle with the patriarchs, the martyrs, the apostles, those dressed in white robes who came out of great tribulations; to once again visit with departed loved ones and hear their enraptured stories of what eternal bliss is like; sit beside the crystal waters, feel the glow of God’s holy light; marvel at the splendid colors, the perfect trees, flowers and plants unknown to human eyes; and best of all, to catch a glimpse, just one, of the face of the resurrected Lamb of God; to feel the glory and warmth and sense of security shining forth from His presence; and finally, to behold Him who was from the beginning, our holy, holy, Almighty God! Would you ever come back to this earth and take up the fatal race again? Never. You and I would live only for the Lord, rejecting the world and all its pleasures and carnal things. We would run His race! We would never again backslide, grow cold, or serve the Lord halfheartedly. If we could spend even a few minutes in hell, we would never be the same. To be drawn into that black furnace of fire and everlasting darkness; to suddenly be cast into a demonic world of godlessness, cursing, hatred, lust, and corruption; to hear the groans of the eternally damned, to witness their terror, their grinding and gnashing teeth; to rub shoulders with the workers of iniquity, the rapists, the murderers, the world’s dictators and tyrants, the crucifiers of the Lord Jesus; to listen to the endless sounds of hopeless, useless prayers of the damned; shaking their fists at the God of justice, cursing the day they were born; to feel what lostness means, cut off from God and truth and love and peace and all comfort; to witness such unbelievable sights and scenes beyond all the world’s atrocities combined; and worst of all, to stand face to face with that bloody butcher from hell, Satan himself; to feel a wicked, enslaving fear as the father of all lies tries to take you by the throat and choke out of you a confession that he is lord of all; to walk out of the gates of hell with the cries of the eternally damned ringing in your ears, voices of the ungodly from all ages, bellowing out their pitiful cries - "We are lost! Lost! Forever Lost! Chained to darkness and eternal tortures!" How could you return to earth from your short visit to hell and ever be the same again? Would you go back to neglecting God’s Word, His house, His love? Would you go about your selfish pursuits of accumulating, hoarding gold and silver, and praying for even more? I hardly think so. No - you and I would live every hour as if it were our last. Oh, how we would pray, and work, and study, and sell rather than buy, and fast, and witness, and help the poor, and be constantly looking for the Lord’s return. I used to say to congregations, "Don’t come forward to be saved just because you are afraid of hell. Just come in simple faith." But I was wrong - deadly wrong. The apostle said, "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." There is a godly fear that leads to repentance. It’s true hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. It’s also true that Christians are saved by unmerited grace, and that faith in Christ is the believer’s security. Also, Christians are not supposed to doubt the saving and keeping power of Christ. But - there is one huge problem. Passive faith, the fleeting kind that comes and goes, in flashes and during emotional highs and lows - that kind of faith will not save the soul. Only saving faith - the kind born out of deep contrition for sin; out of a heart that has repudiated all iniquity and besetting sins; out of a heart totally and daily surrendered to the Lordship of Christ - only that kind of faith guarantees grace. God helping me - I have once and for all dropped out of the fatal race of carnality and worldly mindedness! I have quit the competition race! I will no longer run in flesh-motivated, ego-tripping, man-pleasing races. I want to do more than simply give up mental attachment to things, houses, cars, lands, possessions. I want the power and grace to curb my appetites, to lay aside all the junk, to sell what I don’t need, to quit buying and building and acquiring unneeded things, and to get my eyes so focused on Christ and eternity, the things of this world will lose their hold on me, and materialism will no longer be my master. Beloved - if this message doesn’t sit well with you, if it angers or upsets you even in the slightest - perhaps you should do what I’ve been doing lately. Get shut in with God, day after day, and ask the Holy Spirit to turn God’s holy searchlight on your soul. Get deadly honest with God. Ask Him to expose the sin in you. Become God hungry and Holy Ghost convicted. Like me, you will soon discover how much time you have wasted, how many foolish lusts and wants have crippled you - and you will fall on your face before this Holy God and confess the coldness and emptiness in your heart. And if you do it with an honest heart, you will begin to thank God for pricking your conscience and stirring you to run a different race. You will thank God for messages like this. Saints of God - the trumpet of the Lord is about to sound. Our Lord is coming in clouds of glory to catch up His bride. A bride without spot or wrinkle. A bride purged of covetousness, pride and worldly ambition. Shall we spend our final hours on earth putting money in bags with holes in them? No thanks! I’m just passing through. I want no more roots to hold me down. Thank God for the good things He has given me, my family, a nice house, modern transportation - but daily I now prepare my heart to walk away from it all to be embraced in the Savior’s arms! I don’t want to be a fanatic or take some kind of poverty vow, or neglect my family and their future. I simply want to be released from all covetousness. Do you want to quit running and beating the air in vain? Then quit the fatal race. Set your face and heart to seek the Lord as never before. Changes are coming! For you - for me! Are you ready? "It is my prayer, that if God has any worldly blessings in store for me, He would be pleased to give me His grace instead, or change them all into spiritual blessings." Edward Payson PART TWO — How to Discern False Teaching and Error Ulrich Zwingli, the great Swiss reformer, left us some very good advice on how to judge doctrine and teaching. Although written over 450 years ago, his counsel is desperately needed today. I am including this message because I feel every believer must now fully test the teaching and preaching of all evangelists and teachers. There is a sure Word of God to keep us from all error and false teaching. "...we shall not go astray if we seek only the mind of the Spirit. If we do not, if we apply our energies to find scriptural support for our own opinions, though they be nothing but leaves and grass, we shall constantly be in error. The will of God is that He alone should be the teacher. We should be taught by Him, and not by man. It is not for us to sit in judgment on Scripture and divine Truth, but let God do His work in and through it, for it is something we can learn only by God.... "The Scripture came from God, and not men. How then can man be judge? See 2 Peter 1:1-21. "You might ask, who is to tell me whether he is divinely enlightened or not? The God who enlightens the teacher will enable you to perceive that what he says is of God, or not. You may say: That is not my experience, but if so, take heed lest you be of those who have ears to hear and hear not, as Christ shows from Isaiah: "The word of God teaches its own truth...We dare not shape the divine ’ Who has told you the mind of God, that you declare things which God Himself has not said, and that you say you received from God, but you lie. You would attempt to even teach God and force Him to accept your own views....’ "If you are to judge on any matter, you must think like this: Before I say anything or listen to the teaching of man, I must first consult the mind of the Spirit of God. (Psalms 85:1-13 : ’I will hear what God the Lord will speak.’) "Then you should reverently ask God for His grace, that He may give you His mind and spirit, so that you will not be of your own opinion, but of His. Have a firm trust that He will teach you a right understanding, for all wisdom is of God, who freely gives to all who believe. "Then go to the written Word of the Gospel, not believing anything contrary to the revealed Word. The doctrines of God are never more clearly formed than when done by God Himself and in the words of God. Men seek to twist and force the Scriptures according to their own folly. "Put away that view of your own which you want to read into the Scripture. I know some say they have searched the Scripture and discovered texts which support their own opinions. Alas! Here we come upon the cancer at the heart of all human methods. And it is this: Men want only to find support in Scripture for their own views, and so they take a particular view and relate all texts to that view, no matter how artificial - and in that way men twist the Scripture in order to make it say what they want it to say.... "False Teachers tell us: Not everything is told us in the Gospels. There are many good things which are never even thought of in the Gospel.’ So they pick out verses without regard to context, and twist them according to their own designs... they are set so much on their own human understanding that they are sure there cannot possibly be any other.... "When I was younger, I gave myself overmuch to human teaching. About seven or eight years ago I decided to devote myself entirely to the Scriptures. I came to the point where led by the Word and Spirit of God, I saw the need to set aside all these things and to learn the doctrine of God directly from His own Word. Then I began to ask God for light and the Scriptures became far clearer to me - even though I read nothing else - than if I had studied many commentaries and expositions. My own feeble understanding could have never brought me to this point." Conclusion Zwingli was not against Bible teaching. He believed as I do that God set teachers in the church. But he insisted that nothing should be believed until the Spirit of God revealed it to the individual, after much prayer and searching of the Scripture. Also, he believed that the very lowliest of Christians, even the unlearned, had the right to question all teaching until proven by the Word and Spirit of God. He pointed to 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 as proof that unlearned believers can pray and receive insights of truth that could expose even the most learned of false teachers. Therefore, pray for an understanding. Test all you hear by prayer and the written Word. Accept no man’s boast that he has a special revelation, beyond what the apostles received. Most of all, pray for and never argue with those you believe are in error. False teachers have a purpose, and that is to make us want to know the truth so badly, we will search the Scriptures diligently until we hear from God for ourselves. "But the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and ever as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him..." (1 John 2:27) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 51: PRE-053-50. FEELINGS, THE MESSENGERS OF SATAN ======================================================================== 50. Feelings, The Messengers of Satan Feelings, the Messengers of Satan by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I am so glad my feelings have no meaning I am even more grateful they do not affect my salvation or my relationship to the Lord. I would have given up long ago had I given in to my feelings. My feelings have discouraged me many times; they’ve tried to deceive me; they’ve tried to rob me of my peace and joy in Christ; and they have harassed and accused me of every evil thing possible. I have come to recognize all unsettling feelings as messengers of Satan, intended to bring me down into despair and fear. I can be walking along in the Spirit, reading my Bible, praying and loving the Lord with all my heart. Suddenly, unexpectedly I am overwhelmed with troubled feelings that flood my mind that spirit. I did nothing to deserve these evil messengers of Satan. It seems as though the wicked principalities and powers of hell choose to buffet me with unwanted negative feelings when I least expect them. Often, these mental buffetings come upon me right after some great spiritual victory or revelation. When the enemy comes in like a flood, trying to drown me in depressing feelings and negative thoughts, I have a tendency to blame myself. I say to my heart, "Why am I cast down, O my soul? Why am I suddenly disquieted in spirit? Shy so restless and irritable - when I don’t want to be? What evil thing have I done to deserve these negative, depressing feelings?" "Oh God - Why Do I Feel Like This?" Dear reader - have you never known such a phenomenon in your life, when peace and happiness are suddenly disrupted and you are cast down into the very pit of despair? Have you never prayed - "Oh, God, why am I feeling like I do? Why such a heavy, sad, fearful cloud hanging over me? What’s wrong - have I brought it upon myself by something I’ve done." I don’t care how saintly you are, or how much faith or revelation of truth you may have - there comes to all God’s children this humbling experience of falling into a dry, depressing time of confusion. When it hits you, everything seems distorted for a while. An inexplicable irritability is the first sign of this buffeting from Satan. As much as you hate it - you will find yourself short tempered, cutting off your loved ones and those you work with - and perhaps even raising your voice at your husband, wife, or children. You may then feel condemned; you may even feel sinful and immature. You will probably do as I do and end up thinking to yourself - "How could I feel so low, so weak, so immature, so stupid - how did I turn from hot to cold so quickly? What’s bothering me? What’s making me act so un-Christlike? If you allow it to happen, feelings have a way of draining your confidence in the Lord, and in yourself. Your feelings, if left unchecked and permitted to run roughshod over your spirit, can drag you down into abject despair and fearfulness. And fear has torment. Your feelings, when in contral, will lie to you like the devil himself. They will put on you a fear of cancer, fear of dying, fear of losing a loved one - and a world of other overwhelming fears. They are like dark, broken glasses that distort everything you look at. Perhaps just yesterday, you had marvelous thoughts of God’s power and love. Your faith was alive with hope; you encouraged others; you felt spiritually strong; revelation truth excited your soul! But today, just hours later, the picture has changed. Maybe the cloud was there when you work up. Maybe it crept over you in the middle of the day. Without warning, without any reason you can think of - you are thinking and feeling something entirely different. To be really honest about it, you feel blah! You feel down! You feel strange! You feel confused! You feel helpless! You feel like you haven’t learned anything - that you are still a bundle of mistakes! You feel unworthy! You feel like you are wasting time! You feel unloving! You feel dejected! You feel misunderstood, forsaken! You feel angry that you feel so helpless and blue! You feel discouraged because you are still the victim of childish pouting. You thought you had leaned how to handle such crisis in the past, but now you realize there is so much more to learn about yourself. It’s so easy to throw around theology and simple formulas and tell people, "You shouldn’t feel like that! Where is your faith? God wants you to live in victory and constant joy! You should not be victimized by feelings of despair or depression." My answer to that is this - there is not a single child of God on this earth who does not, at times, experience a low period of unexplained feelings of emptiness, confusion or fear. And the longer one walks with God, and the deeper one goes in Him - the more one is apt to be buffeted by Satan with such hellish weapons. Do not despair or fret if you are going through such an experience at this present time. God is trying to teach you some powerful lessons about feelings and how to deal with them. Lesson One: My negative, blue, depresing feelings - did not come from God - so I don’t have to put up with them! "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind..." (2 Timothy 1:7). I can reject every negative feeling because I know none of them is from God. Feelings that make one afraid are not sent from heaven - they are messengers from the pits of hell! They are to be rejected and bound through the power of prayer and faith. Think of it - God is saying to us - "I didn’t give you these feelings of fear and doubt. Instead, I’ve given you a spirit of love, power, and authority." He calls us to abolish these unwanted thoughts, bringing them into captivity and obedience to Himself. We dare not allow our feelings to master us. We dare not permit them to linger and grow into roots of bitterness and doubt. We must come against them in the name of Christ the Lord - and cast them down! We are commanded to do so! "Casting down imaginations, and every proud thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..." (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every downcast feeling is the fruit of a satanic seed of mistrust. It is the old serpent at work again, trying to make us question God’s faithfulness. It is Satan planting, in our minds, evil thoughts of being abondoned or neglected by God. The devil wants God’s children to think of themselves as spiritual orphans, left to their own ways and wit. It is subtle, insidious, and very dangerous - because it is rooted in a lie. The lie is this - God is with you to a point - then you are on your own. He answers some prayers, but not all prayers. He delivers you from some temptations, but not all. He reveals Himself - only to go back into hiding. Lies - all lies, and the very seeds of our negative feelings. No wonder God Color commands us to war against them. Lesson Two: God can cause these messengers of Satan - these negative feelings - to praise Him! "Man’s futile wrath will bring you glory. You will use it as an ornament!" (Psalms 76:10 Living Bible). Negative feelings turned into praise are an ornament for our Lord and Savior! Yes! God can show us all the sinfulness and evil still lurking in our hearts, by permitting Satan to buffet our minds with these messengers. Certainly, negative thoughts do not originate from God - but they can be permitted by God. Such permission was given in Job’s case. It happened to me recently. It was the second night of my crusade in a southern city. The huge auditorium was nealy three-fourths empty. The meeting was not attracting new people. About 7:30 I peeked at the crowd from behind the curtain - at all those empty seats. and after so many months of crowded auditoriums. Up to that very moment, my spirit was aglow. The message for that evening was burning in my heart. I had prayed diligently for the meeting. But suddenly, my countenance fell - and a flood of negative thoughts cascaded over my spirit. I had thoughts of anger, disappointment, rejection, confusionn - thinging that my crusade team had been guilty of poor planning. I thought of the TV evangelist who had drawn such good crowds in the same auditorium just a month before our crusade. I ran to my bus and fell on my knees, weeping and horrified. I didn’t know there was no much spiritual junk left in me. I thought I had gotten the victory over all numbers, crowds, and ambition. But, oh - such terrible feelings I had just experienced. I had even entertained thoughts of shutting the crusade down. I cried out, "Oh, God - I can’t go back into that auditorium - I can’t preach - until you deal with me! Cleanse me! I see why you allowed it - you knew this was all still in me! You brought it all out - you dug it up and made me see it!" God did deliver me. Every negative thought was bound on the authority of Christ’s name, and I walked onstage with a glow of peace and victory. God had humbled me by allowing the messengers of Satan to bring out those proud feelings in me - so they could be exposed and cast down. The very thing Satan meant to hurt me, turned into a blessing. Satan’s wrath was turned to praise to God. I walked away from that victory, wearing the ornament of meekness and joy. Praise His holy name! When you sense the enemy of your soul pumping negative feelings into your mind, let it do its work before casting them out. Let those feelings reveal to you how weak you are - how dependent on the grace, love and mercy of the Lord. Let those sad, confusing feelings show you how evil the heart is and how much His strength is needed, every day, every hour. Let it expose in you every remaining shred of pride, self-ego, ambition, secret sin, lust - and bring you so low you will never again boast about how spiritual or mature you are. One blue, depressing day of negative feelings can knock out of any Christian every false notion of self righteousness. God allows disgrace to make a way for His grace. Confess your failure, then cast down the feelings that revealed it to you, committing all your thoughts to His care. When your feelings cause you to suffer and grieve, you can be sure the Lord is trying to teach you obedience and complete trust in Himself. I know I have learned to rest in Him alone when swamped by negative unwanted feelings. "Though he was a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered..." (Hebrews 5:8). Lesson Three: We must take comfort in knowing that our Lord feels what we feel, and He understands completely. "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin...Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need..." (Hebrews 4:15-16). I take great comfort in knowing that my Savior understands my feelings. He relates to all I am experiencing. Every feeling, He truly understands. And He never condemns me for suffering such attacks from the enemy. Instead, He tells me to hold on, and be not afraid. He lets me know He too is familiar with this kind of struggle. Then He offers me a gracious audience at His throne, with a promise of mercy and grace in my hour of need. Whether my negative feelings have been a result of a physical or spiritual battle, our Lord offers comfort and help when most needed. What does our Lord mean by this? He is encouraging all His dear children to quit fretting when under the influence of negative thoughts. No more accusing yourself of failure and wickedness. Sin can be the cause of despair and fear - but not always. So don’t just lie down and take it! Don’t go to bed at night until you shut yourself in with Him, approach His throne boldly and claim the mercy and help He has so clearly promised. Claim mercy, forgiveness, and grace to expel all negative feelings. That is Christ’s formula, not mine. Having claimed victory, having used the authority of His name, having come to Him with faith to lay hold of forgiveness and the promises - then ride out your storm in a state of rest! Let God dissipate the negative feelings at His own pace. "...after he patiently endured, he obtained the promise..."(Hebrews 6:15). "...weeping endureth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning..." (Psalms 30:5). You can lie down to sleep with this prayer on your lips: "Oh, Lord - I reject these negative feelings. I disown them. I don’t know where they came from or how - but I commit them all to you. Give me a new assurance, take away all fear. Amen!" "For in that he himself hath suffered being tested, he is able to help them that are tested..." (Hebrews 2:18). PART TWO: Proof of God’s Love and Protection 1. When it appears law and order is collapsing - Christians do not have to run and hide - because our God is closely monitoring every move! Proof: "How dare you tell me, ’Flee to the mountains for safety,’ when I am trusting in the Lord? For the wicked have strung their bows, drawn their arrows tight against the bowstrings, and aimed from ambush at the people of God. ’Law and order have collapsed,’ we are told. ’What can the righteous do but flee?’ But the Lord is still in His holy temple; he still rules from heaven. He closely watches everything that happens here on earth. He puts the righteous and the wicked to the test; he hates those loving violence. He will rain down fire and brimstone on the wicked and scorch them with his burning wind. For God is good, and he loves goodness; the godly shall see his face" (Psalms 111:1-10; Psalms 110:1-7; Psalms 109:1-31; Psalms 108:1-13; Psalms 107:1-43; Psalms 106:1-48; Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 104:1-35; Psalms 103:1-22; Psalms 102:1-28; Psalms 101:1-8; Psalms 100:1-5; Psalms 99:1-9; Psalms 98:1-9; Psalms 97:1-12; Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 95:1-11; Psalms 94:1-23; Psalms 93:1-5; Psalms 92:1-15; Psalms 91:1-16; Psalms 90:1-17; Psalms 89:1-52; Psalms 88:1-18; Psalms 87:1-7; Psalms 86:1-17; Psalms 85:1-13; Psalms 84:1-12; Psalms 83:1-18; Psalms 82:1-8; Psalms 81:1-16; Psalms 80:1-19; Psalms 79:1-13; Psalms 78:1-72; Psalms 77:1-20; Psalms 76:1-12; Psalms 75:1-10; Psalms 74:1-23; Psalms 73:1-28; Psalms 72:1-20; Psalms 71:1-24; Psalms 70:1-5; Psalms 69:1-36; Psalms 68:1-35; Psalms 67:1-7; Psalms 66:1-20; Psalms 65:1-13; Psalms 64:1-10; Psalms 63:1-11; Psalms 62:1-12; Psalms 61:1-8; Psalms 60:1-12; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 55:1-23; Psalms 54:1-7; Psalms 53:1-6; Psalms 52:1-9; Psalms 51:1-19; Psalms 50:1-23; Psalms 49:1-20; Psalms 48:1-14; Psalms 47:1-9; Psalms 46:1-11; Psalms 45:1-17; Psalms 44:1-26; Psalms 43:1-5; Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 41:1-13; Psalms 40:1-17; Psalms 39:1-13; Psalms 38:1-22; Psalms 37:1-40; Psalms 36:1-12; Psalms 35:1-28; Psalms 34:1-22; Psalms 33:1-22; Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 31:1-24; Psalms 30:1-12; Psalms 29:1-11; Psalms 28:1-9; Psalms 27:1-14; Psalms 26:1-12; Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 23:1-6; Psalms 22:1-31; Psalms 21:1-13; Psalms 20:1-9; Psalms 19:1-14; Psalms 18:1-50; Psalms 17:1-15; Psalms 16:1-11; Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 14:1-7; Psalms 13:1-6; Psalms 12:1-8; Psalms 11:1-7; Psalms 10:1-18; Psalms 9:1-20; Psalms 8:1-9; Psalms 7:1-17, L.B.). 2. No matter how much violence and crime is on every side - God promised to keep His loved ones from the reach of evil men. Proof: "O Lord, we know that you will forever preserve your own from the reach of evil men, although they prowl on every side and vileness is praised throughout the land" (Psalms 12:7-8, L.B.). 3. Even if the whole world around us begins to collapse - any nation or person who really trusts God will still be standing. We are not even to fear earthquakes. Proof: "Some nations boast of armies and of weaponry, but our boast is in the Lord our God. Those nations will collapse and perish; we will arise to stand firm and sure" (Psalms 20:7-8, L.B.). 4. The coming recession need not frighten or worry the true believer - because God has promised to take care of him. Proof: "Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God’s constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it. He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him. That is why he is not afraid, but can calmly face his foes. He gives generously to those in need. His deeds will never be forgotten. He shall have influence and honor. Evil-minded men will be infuriated when they see all this; they will gnash their teeth in anger and slink away, their hopes thwarted" (Psalms 112:6-10, L.B.). 5. The godly person will not escape all suffering - but God has promised to deliver in the end. Proof: "The good man does not escape all troubles - he has them, too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. God even protects him from accidents" (Psalms 34:19-20, L.B.). "Who can stand before an angry God? His fury is like fire; the mountains tumble down before his anger. The Lord is good. When trouble comes, he is the place to go! And he knows everyone who trusts in him! But he sweeps away his enemies with an overwhelming flood; he pursues them all night long" (Nahum 1:6-8, L.B.). "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalms 37:24, K.J.) 6.God has clearly promised to deliver anyone who trusts Him and who calls upon His name. Proof: "It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest" (Psalms 127:2, L.B.). "I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry" (Psalms 37:25, L.B.). "If you belong to the Lord, reverence him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing" (Psalms 34:9-10, L.B.). "Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough" (Psalms 37:18-19, L.B.). "Therefore the Lord God says, You shall starve, but my servants shall eat; you shall be thirsty while they drink; you shall be sad and ashamed, but they shall rejoice. You shall cry in sorrow and vexation and despair, while they sing for joy" (Isaiah 65:13-14, L.B.). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 52: PRE-054-51. SIX REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED ======================================================================== 51. Six Reasons Prayers Are Not Answered Six Reasons Prayers Are Not Answered by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1981 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The devil’s final strategy in deceiving believers is to make them doubt the faithfulness of God in answering prayer. Satan would have us believe God has shut His ears to our cry and left us to work things out for ourselves. I believe the greatest tragedy in the church of Jesus Christ today is that so few now believe in the power and effectiveness of prayer. Without meaning to blaspheme, multitudes of God’s people can now be heard complaining, "I pray, but I get no answers. I’ve prayed so long, so hard, without any results. All I want is to see a little evidence of God changing things. Things go on as usual - nothing happens. How long must I wait?" They no longer visit the secret closet because they are convinced that their petitions, born in prayer, are somewhere miscarried at the throne. Others are convinced that only Daniel, David, and Elijah types can get their prayers through to God. In all honesty, many saints of God struggle with these thoughts - "If God’s ear is open to my prayer, and I pray diligently, why is there such little evidence of His answering?" Is there one certain prayer you have been praying for such a long time, and as yet it has not been answered? Have even years gone by and still you wait, hoping, yet wondering? Let us be careful not to charge God, as did Job, with being slothful; and unconcerned about our needs and petitions. Job complained, "I cry unto thee and thou dost not hear me; I stand up, and though regardest me not" (Job 30:20). His vision of God’s faithfulness was clouded by his present difficulties, and he ended up accusing God of forgetting him. God rebuked him soundly for it. It’s time we Christians took an honest look at the reasons why our prayers are aborted. We can be guilty of charging God with neglect, when all along our own behavior is responsible. Let me name six, of many reasons why our prayers are not answered. Reason One: Our Prayers Are Aborted When They Are Not According to God’s Will. We are not at liberty to pray at random for whatever our selfish minds conceive. We are not permitted to come into his presence and vent our silly notions and mindless ramblings. If God signed all our petitions without discretion, He would end up giving His glory away. There is a law of prayer! It is a law meant to weed out beggarly, self-centered prayers - while, at the same time, making it possible for honest seekers to ask in confidence. In other words, we can pray for whatsoever we will, as long as it is his will. "If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). The disciples were not praying according to God’s will when they prayed with vindictiveness and revenge. They petitioned God thusly, "Shall we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Jesus answered, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:54-55). Job, in his sorrow, begged God to take his life away. What if God had answered such a prayer? Such praying was contrary to the will of God. The Word warns, "Let not thy lip be hasty to utter a matter before the Lord." Daniel prayed the right way. First, he went to the Scriptures and searched out the mind of God. Having gotten clear direction, and sure of God’s will, he runs to God’s throne with a mighty assurance. "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer" (Daniel 9:3). We know too much about what we want and too little about what He wants. Reason Two: Our Prayers Can Be Aborted When They Are Designed to Fulfill an Inner Lust, Dreams, or Illusions. "Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lust" (James 4:3). God will answer no prayer that would add to our honor or assist our temptations. In the first place, God answers no prayer of a person who harbors lust in his or her heart. All answers are dependent on upon the plucking out of our hearts the evil, the lust, and the besetting sins. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalms 66:18). The test of knowing whether or not our request is based on lust is very simple. How we handle delays and denials is the clue. Prayers founded on lust demand hasty answers. If the lusting heart does not get the thing desired, quickly, it whimpers and cries, it swoons and faints - or it breaks out in a spell of murmuring and complaining, finally accusing God of deafness. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not" (Isaiah 58:3). The lustful heart cannot see God’s glory in His denials and delays. Yet did God not get more glory by denying Christ’s prayer to save His life, if possible, from death? Shudder to think of where we would be today had God not denied that request. God, in His justice, is obligated to delay or deny our prayers until they are purged of all selfishness and lust. Could it be there is one simple reason why most of our prayers are hindered? Could it be a result of our ongoing flirtation with a lust or besetting sin? Have we forgotten that only those with clean hands and pure hearts can set their feet on His holy hill? Only a total forsaking of a pet sin will throw open the gates of heaven and unclog the blessings. Instead of yielding, we run from counselor to counselor - trying to find help to cope with despair, emptiness, and restlessness. Yet, it is all in vain because sin and lust have not yet been plucked out. Sin is the root of all our problems. Peace comes only when we surrender and forsake all lust and secret sin. Reason Three: Our Prayers Can Be Denied When We Show No Diligence to Assist God in the Answer. We go to God as if He were a kind of rich relative who will support us and give us all we beg for, while we lift not even a hand to help. We lift our hands to God in prayer, then put them in our pockets. We expect our prayers to get God to working for us, while we sit idly by, thinking to ourselves, "He has all the power; I have none, so I will simply stand still and let him do the work." It sounds like good theology, but it is not. God will have no idle beggars at His door. God won’t even allow us to be charitable to those who on earth refuse to work. "We command you that, if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). There is nothing unscriptural about adding sweat to our tears. Take, for example, the matter of praying for victory over a secret lust that lingers in the heart. Do you simply ask God to take it away miraculously, then sit by, hoping it will die on its own? No sin has ever been slain in the heart without the cooperation of man’s own hand, as in the case of Joshua. All night long, he lay prostrated and mourning over Israel’s defeat. God set him on his feet saying, "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned. Up, sanctify the people..." (Joshua 7:10-13). God has every right to rouse us from our knees and say, "Why sit around lazily, waiting for a miracle? Have I not commanded you to flee from the very appearance of evil? You are to do more than simply pray against your lust, but you are commanded also to run from it. You cannot rest until you have done all that is commanded." We cannot go about all day long giving in to our lust and evil desires, then run into the secret closet at night to pray for a miracle of deliverance. Secret sin causes us to lose ground with God in prayer, because unyielded sin is actually siding with the devil. One of God’s names is "Revealer of Secrets" (Daniel 2:47). He must bring to light the hidden secrets of darkness, no matter how saintly the one who tries to hide it. The more pains one goes to in hiding sin, the surer God is to expose it. The coast is never clear to secret sin. "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance" (Psalms 90:8). God will protect his own honor above the reputation of those who sin in secret. God exposed David’s sin in order to keep His own honor before ungodly men. And David, who was so jealous of his own good name and reputation, even today stands before our eyes exposed and still confessing - every time we read about him in the Scripture. No - God will not allow us to drink from stolen waters, then attempt to drink at His holy fountain. Not only will our secret sin find us out, it will deny us God’s best and bring on a flood of despair, doubt, and fear. Don’t blame God for not listening to your prayers if you’re not listening to His call to obedience. You will end up blaspheming God and accusing Him of negligence, while all along you’ll be the culprit. Reason Four: Our Prayers Can Be Aborted By a Secret Grudge Lodged in the Heart Against Another. Christ will not deal with anyone with a wrathful and unforgiving spirit. We are commanded to "lay aside all malice, envy, and evil speaking, and as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word" (1 Peter 2:1-2). Christ will not even communicate with a wrangling, jangling, unforgiving person. God’s law of prayer is clear on this matter, "Lift up pure hands without wrath or doubting" (1 Timothy 2:8). By not forgiving the sins committed against us, we make it impossible for God to forgive and bless us. He instructed us to pray, "Forgive us, as we forgive others." Is there a grudge smoldering in your heart against another? Don’t look upon it as something you have a right to indulge in. God takes such things very seriously. All the wranglings and disputing among Christian brothers and sisters must grieve His heart more than all the sins of the ungodly. No wonder our prayers are hindered - we have become so obsessed with our own hurt feelings and so concerned about our mistreatment from others. There is also a malignant mistrust rising up in religious circles. Jealousies, uncharitableness, bitterness - and a spirit of revenge, all in God’s name. We should not wonder if God shuts the very gates of heaven on us, until we learn to love and forgive. Yes, even those who have hurt us the most. Get this Jonah off your ship and the storm will settle. Reason Five: Our Prayers Can Be Aborted by Not Expecting Much to Come of Them. He who expects little from prayer will not have much power and authority in prayer. When we question the power of prayer, we lose it. The devil is trying to rob us of hope by making it appear that prayer is no longer effective. How clever Satan is, as he tries to deceive us with lies and unnecessary fears. When Isaac was brought the false news that Joseph had been killed, it sickened him to despair, even though it was a lie. Joseph was alive and prospering, while all this time his father grieved in sorrow - having believed the lie. So Satan is trying to deceive us today with lies. Unbelieving fears rob the believer of joy and confidence in God. God does not hear all prayer - He hears only believing prayer. Prayer is the only weapon we have against all the fiery darkness of the enemy. That weapon must be used in great confidence, or else we have no other defense against Satan’s lies. Gods’ reputation is at stake. Our lack of patience is proof enough we don’t expect much from prayer. We leave the secret closet of prayer, ready to go on muddling our way through - and we would even be shocked if God did answer. We think God has not heard us because we see no evidence of an answer. But of this you can be sure - the longer a prayer is delayed, the more perfect it will come forth at last. Also, the deeper the silence, the louder the answer. Abraham prayed for a child, and God answered. Yet, how many years went by before he held that child in his arms? Every faithful prayer is heard the moment it is prayed, but God chooses to answer in His own way and in His own time. Meanwhile, God expects us to rejoice in the naked promises and feast on hope while we wait for the fulfillment. Also, he wraps His denials in the sweet package of love, to prevent us from falling into despair. Reason Six: Our Prayers Are Aborted When We Ourselves Attempt to Prescribe How God Should Answer. The only person we lay down terms to is the one we don’t trust. Those we trust we leave to themselves to do what is right. It all boils down to a lack of trust. The believing soul, after he has unburdened his heart in prayer to the Lord, resigns himself to the faithfulness, goodness, and wisdom of God. The true believer will leave the shaping of the answer to God’s mercy. Whatever way God chooses to answer, the believer will welcome it. David prayed diligently for his household, and then committed all to God’s covenant - "Though my house be not so with God, yet He hath made with me a covenant" (2 Samuel 23:5). Those who prescribe to God how and when to answer actually limit the Holy one of Israel. Since God will not bring the answer in the front door, they are not aware of His coming in the back. They trust only in conclusions and not promises. But God will not be bound up to time, manner, or means of answering. He will forever do exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or think of asking. He will answer with health, or grace that is better than health. He will send love, or something beyond it. He will deliver, or do something even greater. He desires that we simply leave our requests lodged in His powerful arms, cast all our care upon Him, and go forth with peace and serenity to wait His relief. How tragic to have so great a God and so little faith in Him. No more of "Is He able?" Away with such blasphemy! How that must grate on the ears of our almighty God. "Can He pardon? Can He heal? Can He work a work for me?" Away with such unbelief! Come, rather, to him "as unto a faithful Creator." When Hannah prayed through in faith, she "rose from her knees to eat, and her countenance was no more sad." A Few Encouragements and Warnings Concerning Prayer. • When You Are Down, and Satan Whispers In Your Ear That God Has Forgotten You, Stop His Mouth With This: "Devil - it is not God who has forgotten, but it is me. I’ve forgotten all His past blessings, or else I could not now be questioning his faithfulness." You see, faith should have a good memory. Our rash and hasty words are results of our forgetting His past benefits. With David, we should pray: "This is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High, I will remember the works of the Lord, surely I will remember Thy wonders of old." (Psalms 77:10-11). • Reject That Secret Whisper In The Soul That Says, "The Answer Will Be So Long Delayed, I Will Not Enjoy It Should It Come." You can be guilty of spiritual mutiny by not trusting God to answer at the most opportune time. You can be sure that when the answer comes, it will come in a way and in a time it will be most enjoyed. If what you prayed for is not worth the waiting, it is not worth the asking. • Stop Fretting About Receiving, and Learn to Rely. God never groans or complains about the power of His enemies, but rather the impatience of His own people. How unbelief does break His heart, with so many wondering whether to love Him or leave Him. God wants us to rely on His love. Love is the principle He constantly acts from, and from this He never swerves. When He frowns with His brow, rebukes with His lips, or strikes with His hand, even in all this, His heart burns with love and all His thoughts toward us are of peace and goodness. All hypocrisy lies in distrust, and the soul that cannot rely on God cannot long be true to God. When once we begin to question His faithfulness, we begin to live by our own wits and care for ourselves. Like the backslidden children of Israel, we are saying, "Up, make us gods...We know not what has become of Moses..." (Exodus 32:1). You are no company to God unless you rely on Him. • When You Are Down, You Are Allowed To Groan, But Not To Grumble. How can love for God be preserved in the heart that grumbles? The Word calls it ’contending with God’. What a foolish person to dare find fault with God - He will challenge such a person to lay his hand upon his mouth or else be consumed with bitterness. The Holy Spirit within us groans, with that unutterable language of heaven that prays according to the perfect will of God. But the fleshly grumble that proceeds out of the heart of the disenchanted believer is poison. Grumbling kept an entire nation out of the Promised Land, and it is today keeping multitudes from the blessings of the Lord. Groan if you must, but God forbid that you should grumble. • Those Who Ask in Faith Go Forth Praising in Hope. "His words are pure as silver tried seven times in a furnace" (Psalms 12:6). God will not permit a liar or covenant-breaker to enter His presence or set foot on His holy hill. How then can we conceive that such a holy God can ever break His word to us? God has made himself, a name on earth - a name of ’Everlasting Faithfulness’. The more we believe that, the less troubled our souls will be. In the same proportion that there is faith in the heart, there is peace also. "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15). God’s promises are like the ice on a frozen lake - which He says will hold us. The believer ventures out on it with boldness; the unbeliever with fear, lest it should break under him and leave him floundering. • Never, Never Question Because You Don’t Hear From God Presently. If God is delaying, it simply means your request is gaining interest in God’s bank of blessings. So assured were the saints of God that He was faithful to His promises, they rejoiced before even seeing any conclusions. They went on merrily, as if they had already received. God wants us to pay in praises before we receive the promises. The Holy Ghost assists us in prayer - and is He not welcome at the throne? Will the Father deny the Spirit? Never! That groaning in your soul is no less than God Himself - and God will not deny Himself. Conclusion Saints of God - we alone are the losers if we do not get back to watching and praying. We become cold, sensuous, and playful when we avoid the secret closet of prayer. What a sad awakening there will be for those who carelessly harbor secret grudges against the Lord for not answering their prayers, when all along they have been slothful. We have not been effectual and fervent. We have not shut ourselves in with Him. We have not put aside our besetting sins. We have asked mostly to consume it on our own lust. We have been materialistic, lazy, unbelieving, doubtful - and then we wonder why our prayers are not answered. When Christ returns, He will not find faith on the earth, unless we get back into the secret closet, shut in with Christ and His Word. Time is short; the day of the Lord is at hand. Should we not then be watching and praying? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 53: PRE-055-52. GOOD NEWS FOR BAD PEOPLE ======================================================================== 52. Good News For Bad People Good News for Bad People by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1981 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I stood in the middle of Times Square in New York city, watching the mad parade of sinners flaunting their wickedness, and my spiritual blood began to boil. It was just after midnight and the sin–crowd was coming up out of the subways, converging on Times Square and 42nd Street from all over the city. The underground crowd actually takes over the heart of New York after dark. Pale, sickly looking homosexuals pour onto the streets from their little one–room flop houses and cheap hotels. Teen–age junkies hang around in the theater lobbies, exchanging their stolen dollars for drugs of all descriptions. Others roam the streets aimlessly, stoned out of their senses. Scantily–clad prostitutes boldly grasp the arm of every passing man, trying to latch onto their next trick. Dirty old men and sex–crazed students drift in and out of x–rated theaters and peep shows. Sadomasochists parade around in drag — some with purple hair and cheeks pierced with safety pins. Cadillacs and sports cars pull up to the curb and the drivers brazenly purchase their drugs. The cops look the other way. Lesbians walk along arm in arm, flaunting their perversion. Poor, sad–eyed perverts slouch in theater seats to gape at films that feature blood, violence, mutilations and sadomasochist tortures of all kinds. It is so hellish, you have to pinch yourself to make sure you are not in a dream about Dante’s inferno. And even though I’ve been ministering on these same streets for nearly 23 years, this time it finally got to me. The wickedness is overpowering; the demonic spirits so numerous; the true lovers of Christ feel a kind of spiritual suffocation while walking in the midst of it all. My heart began to cry out, "Oh God, what do I preach to this insane multitude? What is Your message to these whose eyes are so full of lust and perversion? Is there any help for them at all?" The Prosperity Message? Never! I knew in the deep of my heart that the message of Christian prosperity and success so prevalent in the nation today will never help these poor lost souls. I don’t believe in a "welfare" Christ, who puts cash in your pocket, gives you a new Cadillac and a suburban home, success, and immunity from all suffering — if you only learn to master a certain quality or quantity of faith. These street people are already suspicious of religion now being only for the rich and successful. Most of the young people I talk to who live in the ghetto tell me they are convinced the Gospel is now a "racket" with rich preachers who love Rolls Royces. One Black teen–ager said, "I’ve tried everything to make it and nothing works. I’m tired of being poor. I guess I’ll have to try religion; it seems to be the only way nowadays to make it big." I refuse to preach a gospel that exempts people from suffering. Paul the apostle said, "Thou hast fully known my doctrine…one of longsuffering, persecution…afflictions…which came to me…and I endured them…but out of them all the Lord delivered me" (2 Timothy 3:10-11). It was Paul who said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…" I once believed that meant, "I am not ashamed to stand up for Jesus. I am not ashamed of the stigma of the Gospel." But that is not what it means. It has nothing at all to do with boldness, but rather suffering. Paul said, "Let our Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he has often refreshed me, and he was not ashamed of the chains of my imprisonment" (2 Timothy 1:16). Paul was thanking God that his student was not ashamed that his teacher was in jail — and that a great faith preacher was suffering in chains. Yet we have ministers today who are ashamed of Paul’s suffering. I heard one say recently, "If Paul would have had revelation knowledge such as we have today, he would not have suffered. It was his own lack of knowledge that kept him poor and sickly." What horrible blasphemy! They are ashamed of Paul! They make light of his poverty and suffering. How unlike the Galatian Christians, who so respected this suffering man. Paul wrote to them saying, "You know how, through infirmity, I preached the gospel unto you…and my temptation which was in the flesh, you despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an angel of God…" (Galatians 4:14). I believe the Holy Ghost is about to vomit this "Christian humanism: out of His church. God will not much longer permit rich Christians to justify their affluent lifestyle with a prosperity theology. The so–called prosperity gospel is producing an arrogant, selfish, grasping, materialistic kind of Christian. Armed with prosperity Scriptures from the Old Testament, and a few taken out of context from the New, they shamelessly pursue a life of endless accumulation of worldly goods. It is causing people to set their affections on the things of this world. The starving masses of the world are ignored by them because they are too wrapped up in their whirlwind pursuit of success, wealth, and perfect health. They want a fantasy world free of all struggles, beds of ivory, the sweet smell of roses and success, where no sickness or sorrow is permitted. There is nothing sinful in being prosperous or successful — the sin lies in making material things the object of faith. It is not sinful to enjoy the good things in life — but it is sinful to become selfishly involved in the pursuit of things. There is no such world! It’s a lie! And one day when the fiery test of faith comes, those who are not prepared by the Word for tribulations and testings will turn on these teachers with bitterness, crying, "You deceived us." I knew, standing there at Times Square, that I could never win a single soul through such a deceptive message — because I know that soldiers of the Cross do endure hardness, as they partake of the fellowshippartake of the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. What About Starting a Moral Crusade? After all, crusades against immorality are quite popular today. The majority of Christians today are fed up with the sinful flaunting of perversion and corruption. So the recent moral crusades are an outgrowth of an inner rage against the boldness and audacity of wicked men. In our feelings of helplessness, we don’t know what to do — so we curse the darkness. That night in Times Square, my blood was boiling because of what I saw. San Francisco had the same effect on me. I sat dumbfounded in a homosexual church there, as the minister closed the meeting by saying, "I hereby absolve you of all your sins." He claimed to be forgiving all their sins. Their church bulletin angered me deeply. I quote their announcements: Monday night — Wine tasting party in church basement. Tuesday — All night drag party: bring your lover. Wednesday — Prayer meeting, followed by disco and beer bash. Thursday — Gay Rights caucus. Friday — Gay cruise — moonlight dancing, drinking. Saturday — Gay Pride dance: fund raising for gay rights. Certainly this kind of flaunted sensuality offends any normal Christian. But even though I was angry at these brazen sinners, Christ Jesus was not. The thought hit me so hard — "Jesus still loves hostile, alienated sinners. He died for them all — no matter how evil or bold in sin they may be." Good News For Bad People! Suddenly, the truth broke through to my soul — the message God wants delivered to these lost sinners is GRACE! Grace means God’s favor and forgiveness to sinners — freely given, undeserved, unmerited, unearnable, unrepayable. I argued with the Lord, "But I can’t preach such good news to such bad people. It doesn’t seem fair! They are evil — they need to hear about your wrath and judgment against their sins." But instead, the Holy Spirit prompted me to tell them God still loves them. Listen to the language of faith: "You sinners who are hostile, alienated, strangers to the Gospel, without hope, without God, living in darkness, bound by the chains of your iniquity — God is not mad at you! He wants you to be reconciled to Himself through Jesus Christ." • "For God was in Christ who has reconciled the world with his majesty — not counting their sins against them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19 ancient Manuscript [A.M.]). • "God has manifested his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son — much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:8; Romans 5:10). • "At that time you were without Christ…alienated…strangers to the covenant…without hope and without God in the world. But now through Jesus Christ, you who were sometimes far off are brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12-13). We simply do not understand how God can still love the sadomasochist, the addict, the lesbian and homosexual, the prostitute, the massage parlor people, the pornographer, yes — and even the rapist and murderer. We don’t comprehend this marvelous grace of God that offers forgiveness and reconciliation to anyone who repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ! But it’s true! We can boldly go out where the sinners are breaking loose — and tell them with all assurance that God is calling them back to Himself. Even Christians Need This Message of Grace! Martin Luther, the father of the protestant reformation, said, "I fear lest this doctrine [of grace] will be defaced and darkened again, after we are gone." That is exactly what has happened — the church of Jesus Christ has, for the most part, forgotten Luther’s message of full and free forgiveness and righteousness by faith. His battle cry was, "The just shall live by faith." He said, "Satan loveth such saints, who try to earn this righteousness — who destroy their own bodies and souls, and deprive themselves of all the blessings of Christ’s grace…Outwardly they seem to excel all others in good works…" We do take sin too lightly! It’s true! We have no shame about sin; we’ve grown too loose in our morals. We sin nowadays without much guilt, if any. We have mostly abandoned the fear of God and concern about the Judgment Day. I’ts a laid back society, a church at ease, with sin and pleasure and pursuit of happiness the goal. As a minister of Christ’s Gospel — I’m alarmed! I’m alarmed by all the sin and lust so freely indulged in; by the apathy and compromise in the church — the fading moral standards — and by the liberal bend of my own mind about what is right or wrong. Things I once deplored and preached against now seem tame and innocent. So I want to do something about it! I want to scream aloud, "Hey, we aren’t feeling guilt like we should! We don’t condemn sin in our society and in our personal lives. We don’t seem to regret it when we sin; it’s getting too easy to do what the crowd is doing." Yes! I want to see more guilt for sin. I want to feel condemned. I want to cry it aloud from the pulpit, "Shame on you! Shame on me! We’re too soft on sin. Where’s the old fashioned guilt for sin?!" I want to see more of the fear of God! I want to thunder against the nudity, sensuality, drunkenness, adultery. I want to cry out, "The eternal fire of a godless hell upon all who sin and grieve God!" I want to see more self denial! More separation and withdrawal from the world. I want to cry aloud, "We are too much like the world. Our music is the same; our habits are becoming alike; we go where the sinner goes; we do what he does. We are no longer a peculiar people!" It sounds so much like the Old Testament prophets — to denounce sin and bring down the judgment of God on compromisers! But Jesus works on a higher law! A law so awesome it is more powerful than guilt, condemnation, or fear. It is love! Christ refuses to put a weight of guilt upon anyone. He said He did not come to condemn the world, but to save men from their sins. The Cross was meant to let the guilty go free and allow Christ’s followers the peace and blessedness of forgiveness. No yokes of bondage! No condemnation! No thundering fear! But access — free and simple! Is that too good to be true? Do you find such goodness and love hard to accept? Here is proof: • "Despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). • "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are wiped away. Blessed is the man whose sins God will not hold against him" (Romans 4:7-8 A.M.). •"For the heart that believes in him shall be declared righteous" (Romans 10:10 A.M.). But isn’t that just what compromising Christians want to hear? If we tell them God doesn’t put guilt on them — if they don’t feel condemned — if they don’t live under the fear of His wrath — won’t they just ease their consciences even more and sin to the limits? Isn’t it a mistake to preach the love of Christ to a failing Christian? Won’t he take it as a sign that God is easy on sin? If God loves us so much and is so forgiving — why not just go on sinning? But love is a burden far greater than guilt, fear, or condemnation! We have only our bodies to give back to God to show our love. In eternity, the choice will have been sealed. Only in time does a person have the right to choose to love God. We were born to love Him. We are redeemed because we accept His love! The rejection of God’s love, through Christ, is the damning sin. Think of it. Jesus is saying, "Go to the world. Don’t put a guilt trip on anyone. Don’t condemn. Don’t try to make anyone more fearful than they already are. It is a world of fear and torment already. Tell them they are loved. They are forgiven, if they will simply accept My offer!" Christ gave His life because He loved! Not because He was angry! Or vindictive! Or seeking retribution! Christ’s Cross is reconciliation [peace with God]! But what happens when a soul turns down this great and marvelous love? Talk about guilt! Shame! Condemnation! Fear! That’s what the whole world sits in fear of right now. God says: "I have made it so simple. I want to love you, forgive you, save you. How can you expect to get away with turning such an offer down?" Not guilt for sin! Not condemnation because of compromise. But guilt for rejecting Christ’s love! Rejection of God’s offer of complete forgiveness and grace is the sin that will draw the unbelieving. Holiness has its roots in love! No commandments. No rules. No law. No heavy burdens of ordinances. But love! He says, "I love you! I forgive you! I want you as My friend — no strings attached! No works! No personal obligation! Take it by faith!" How can anyone not feel guilt, shame, and condemnation for turning down such an offer? So guilt is not the key! Shame, fear, or condemnation won’t work. So what is the key? To accept the unsearchable love of God in Christ Jesus. It is a love that pities our frailty, a love that is longsuffering, merciful, and kind. Even when we don’t pray asa we should — or witness, or study, or worship. He love us even when we are cold, lukewarm, living in failure, despair, and doubt. He still loves us as His dear children, so much so, He disciplines us to prove that love over and over again. • "Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" (Hebrews 12:5-6). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 54: PRE-056-53. THE TRUTH ABOUT FAITH ======================================================================== 53. The Truth About Faith The Truth About Faith by David Wilkerson | June 1, 1981 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Is your faith weak? Are you perplexed because your faith doesn’t seem to get results? Have you diligently prayed about a request and believed for it with all your heart and it didn’t happen? Even worse, the very opposite happened? A loved one was not healed. The desire of your heart was not granted - at least, not to your satisfaction. The miracle you needed has not yet come. Time drags on, and the problems are still there. The worst part of it all is that the Word of God tries you in such times. You read all the glorious promises: "All things are possible to them that believe." "Ask, nothing wavering, and it shall be done." "All things whatsoever you shall ask in faith, believing, you shall have them." You set out to claim those promises. You know God is not a liar, and He would not tease you with unreachable goals. Yet, try as you may to believe - really, truly believe - you often are left confused, because the answer is either delayed or not in view. According to the theology of some, there are only two reasons why you did not get what you asked for. Either your faith is faulty or there is sin in your life. You are made to believe that God had to withhold the answer until your faith improved enough to satisfy Him. Either the quality or quantity of your faith did not come up to God’s criteria for answered prayer. You are made to believe that God is obligated by His Word to answer every request - the moment you reach the proper pinnacle of faith. That includes removing from your vocabulary any negative thoughts, words, or confessions. You see, you dare not offend God. He may have been almost ready to grant your desire - but, oops! You made a negative confession. You said the wrong words, so God’s taking it all back! Now you have it - now you don’t! My friends, that kind of theology is silly, and it’s a slap in the face of an intelligent, loving Heavenly Father. Everywhere I go today, I meet Christians living in fear of saying the wrong thing and thereby blocking the flow of blessings - as if God is hanging on every word His children say, tiptoeing around, ready to slap a penalty on everyone who speaks out of line. I am meeting Christians throughout our nation whose faith is shipwrecked because they are disillusioned and hurt. They came upon a "faith" teaching that made them believe that getting every desire of the heart depended simply on getting their formulas correct. They were challenged to launch out in God for prosperity, perfect health, and whatever else their minds could conceive. "Conceive, then believe," they were told. They were urged to blot out of their thinking all thoughts of suffering, pain, poverty - or anything negative. They were carried along by the testimonies of those around them who were getting new cars, homes, jobs, fur coats, diamond rings - whatever their hearts desired - all through positive faith. But when none of these things happened for them - when, instead of prosperity, there came accumulating bills - when, instead of healing, there came a time of testing, tears, sorrow, and all - they ended up confused! What happened? It worked for the teacher. It worked for the evangelist. He prospers. He gets anything he wants - right when he wants it. Then comes the questions, "It works for others; why not for me?" "What am I doing wrong? It must be in me, my faith must be weak, imperfect. There must be a secret sin blocking the answer." Let me share with you some very healing thoughts about faith and love. I believe God works miracles in answer to the prayer of faith. I believe every promise in God’s Word as is! But, through much suffering and tears, I’ve discovered something wonderful about the way God works. What you are about to read should help renew your confidence in the Lord and set you free from the bondage of trying to figure out faith. Lesson One: God is not motivated to act for us as a result of our faith alone. God is love, and that is what motivated Him to act. Suppose my son Greg was caught in a bear trap in the woods near our home. I hear this cry for help. He is hurt, bleeding, and calls for me with all his might. As his father, do I stop first to analyze the quality of his faith? Do I ask myself the question, "I wonder if Greg believes I’ll answer him? Does he have faith enough in me trusting I’ll come to his rescue?" No! A thousand times no! I run to my boy’s side - no questions asked - no faith involved - because I am motivated by a father’s love for a hurting child. His faith doesn’t motivate me. It is not anything he does at all. It is simply my love for him. What kind of an earthly father would leave a child bleeding and hurt in some forsaken woods simply because the child didn’t voice some kind of faith in him? And God will never leave one of His children to suffer alone. He will never shut His ear to their cry - simply because their faith in Him is weak. "Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself; and he will always carry out his promises to us..." (2 Timothy 2:13 LB). My faith, your faith, all faith - must rest on the loving kindness and concern of our Heavenly Father. We are commanded to glory in the love and everlasting kindness of our Father. "But let him who glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight..."(Jeremiah 9:24 RSV). God so loves His children, He hears before they call, like a mother who anticipates her baby’s cry. That is why David prayed, "Because you are so loving and kind, listen to me and make me well again" (Psalms 119:149 LB). He loves me and comes to my rescue when my faith is weak, when I don’t deserve any answer from Him all because of His tenderness and kindness. "He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it - He is slow to get angry, and full of kindness and love...He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever..." (Psalms 103:8-9 LB). The greatest peace has flooded my life since I have convinced myself that God loves me. So much so, He will come to my rescue and do what is right in every situation of my life. Weak faith or not, He still loves me and nothing can hinder that love. Lesson Two: A right confession is no guarantee of an answer - a wrong confession alone does not hinder an answer! Job’s wife confessed the world’s worst confession. She said to Job, "Curse God and die!" Yet, in spite of it, she participated in the very same blessings of her faithful husband. One theologian asked, "Why didn’t God take his wife, since He took everything else from Job?" Read almost any commentary and you detect that same kind of disrespect for Job’s wife. But lately I’ve had a new appreciation for that suffering woman. I think we’ve been too hard on her. After all, those ten children who were killed were hers, too. No wonder this woman was staggered in her faith. The devil wasn’t after her; yet she suffered as much or more than Job. A woman usually suffers more than a man over the death of children. She had the added sorrow of watching her husband slowly die of elephantiasis, a terminal disease. Job’s wife had stood weeping over ten caskets - all in a row. No more grandchildren. No more holidays together with the family. The only family left now was Job, and he, too, was dying. Elephantiasis is described as a disease causing intense heat; a burning, swelling from ulcers, and cancerous sores; covering the skin with knotty bar-like texture, such as the skin of an elephant. The disease grows progressively worse and affects the genital organs. This meant Job could have no more children, in his diseased condition. His wife could not even look forward to raising a new family. What despair must have come over her. I’m sure she lost all hope. She had to have been mad at God. I don’t excuse what she said, and I think it is tragic that she did not yield to God’s love and hold on to her faith. But I can understand the kind of grief and pain that staggered her so. I can understand how, in her human sorrow, she could not fathom what was happening. All she knew was that all was lost. She thought there was nothing left to live for. And that is why she suggested Job commit suicide and abandon his faith in God. Did God hold a grudge against her? After the troubles passed and Job was healed, did God hold her wrong confession against her? Did He hold back any blessing from her because of her very human outburst of fear? No! God blessed that lady! I believe God understood her. He knew she didn’t mean what she said! He looked beyond her frailty and saw the cry of her heart and He blessed her in spite of herself. "Lord, if you keep in mind our sins then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is..." (Psalms 130:3-4 LB). "He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins...he is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him...for he knows we are but dust..." (Psalms 103:10; Psalms 103:13 LB). "You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercies..." (James 5:11). "He feels pity for the weak and needy, and will rescue them..." (Psalms 72:12 LB). Don’t ever be condemned by the things you said in haste or in fear. We serve a Father who forgives and forgets every doubting, fearful word that has been spoken in despair. Be honest with God. Job’s wife was. Don’t fake it. If you can’t understand why your prayers aren’t answered, or why you have to suffer if your heart is full of questions, fears, and confusion tell it to God! Spill out your innermost feelings, negative or not. Our Father will let you cry it all out, listen patiently to your complaints and fears, and not once will He condemn you for it. All you need to is turn to Him in love and cry out, "Now Lord, heal my unbelief. Take away my fears and confusion. Show me Your love, now that I need it so. Help me submit." The God I serve holds no grudges. Lesson Three: If you have confessed and forsaken your sins they can in no way hinder God’s work in your life. I hear it said, "You have sin in your life; therefore God is hiding from you." What a clever Satanic tool to keep God’s people in fear and bondage! And surprisingly, multitudes of God’s dear children have convinced themselves that God is either mad at them, hiding from them, or at least holding back answers to prayer - because of sin. Doesn’t the Bible say, "Your sins have separated you from God, and caused Him to hide His face from you"? Yes it does! In the Old Testament, before the Cross, before the shedding of Christ’s blood for the free remission of all sins of the world. How can God hide from sins already paid for by the blood of His own Son? And, if any man sin, Christ the advocate will forgive all those sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness. If you have truly confessed the sins of yesterday, they are forgiven, under the blood, and no longer counted against you! For the Christian who sins are blotted out, delayed answers, suffering, tests, and trials are usually the result of loving chastisement and not sin. The Bible says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to chasten him..." (Proverbs 13:24 ML). "And have you quite forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his child? He said, ’My son, don’t be angry when the Lord punishes you. Don’t be discouraged when he has to show you where you are wrong. For when he punishes you, it proves that he loves you. When he whips you it proves you are really his child.’ Let God train you, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. Whoever heard of a son who has never corrected? If God doesn’t punish you when you need it, as other fathers punish their sons, then it means that you aren’t really God’s son at all - that you don’t really belong in His family. Since we respect our fathers here on earth, though they punish us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to God’s training so that we can begin really to live? Our earthly fathers trained us for a few brief years, doing the best for us that they knew how, but God’s correction is always right and for our best good, that we may share his holiness. Being punished isn’t enjoyable while it is happening - it hurts! But afterwards we can see the result, a quiet growth in grace and character. So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs...! (Hebrews 12:5-12 LB). I hear people say today, "Yes, the Lord chastens and corrects. But not by way of suffering or pain. God wouldn’t do that. Proper faith wouldn’t allow it." The truth is, my friend - all through history, to this very day, godly people have suffered and are even now suffering. To deny that is to deny the truth. Paul tells of the suffering of the early Christians. Shall we accuse them of not having faith? The truth is that some of the saintliest people living today suffer from cancer, ulcers, rheumatism, heart trouble, etc., etc. I cringe when I hear people say, "They didn’t have to be sick. Their faith was weak." None of these saints who have suffered would trade places with those who have not. Oh, the growth, the depths of God’s love discovered, the true values and rearranged priorities that have resulted from suffering. Those who have not suffered with Christ are shallow, self-centered, and they lack the compassion that only comes from having met the Lord in the midst of some fiery furnace of trial. There is also an impatient kind of arrogance about people who have never suffered. I once refused to accept the term, "chosen to suffer." I was appalled by the idea that God allowed some to suffer more than others, to help bring them into a deeper knowledge of Himself. But then I look at those who suffer - and often they are the most faithful, trusting, loving of all God’s children. Truly, they are chosen vessels. I know some will be offended by what I’ve just said. And that is because we have strayed so far from the realities of Christ’s Gospel. We are so spoiled, so self-pampering, we forget that the call of Christ is to separation, tests, trials, yes - and even suffering. Proof? Yes! Much proof! "But the Lord said, Paul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the nations...And I will show him how much he must suffer for me..." (Acts 9:15-16 LB). "Moses...thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Christ than to own all the treasures of Egypt...he chose to suffer with God’s people...rather than enjoy pleasure..." (Hebrews 11:26 LB). "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake..." (Php 1:28). Here are my conclusions: 1. If you can’t give God perfect faith, give Him perfect love. "Perfect love casts out all fear." Not perfect faith - but perfect love. Perfect love is the rest God has for His people. He wants us to rest in His love, trusting that He will always come to our aid as a father to a hurting child in spite of our inadequate faith. Stop evaluating or grading your faith. Quite trying to figure out faith. The Bible says, "There are three things that remain - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love...So follow after love (1 Corinthians 13:13, 14 LB). If you are going to "specialize" in anything - make it love. The Bible says, "Faith works by love." Without love, all faith is in vain. 2. If God does not answer certain of our prayers, you can be sure He has some great eternal reason for not doing so. It boils down to this: God has all power and can do anything. Nothing is impossible to Him. He has promised to answer every prayer in Christ’s name. So we must ask, in full assurance of faith - expecting an answer. But should God delay that answer or choose another path for us - He must have a mighty good reason for it all. And we must believe that whatever God permits in our lives - it will one day all work to our good. "All things work together for good to those who love him, and who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Our Heavenly Father knows exactly where we are going, what we need, and He will give us what is best - in proper Holy Ghost timing. "If you being earthly know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). We live within the shadow of the Almighty sheltered by the God who is above all gods. This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. For he rescues you from every trap, and protects you from the fatal plague. He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor. Now you don’t need to be afraid of the dark any more, nor fear the dangers of the day; nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning... For the Lord says, "Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name. When he calls on me I will answer; I will be with him in trouble, and rescue him and honor him. I will satisfy him with a full life and give him my salvation" (Psalms 91:1-6; Psalms 91:14-16 LB). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 55: PRE-057-54. THE CRIME OF UNBELIEF ======================================================================== 54. The Crime Of Unbelief The Crime of Unbelief by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Unbelief grieves the heart of God more than any other sin committed on earth. He considers it a crime to doubt His word or to question His faithfulness. We Christians cry out against the sins of the flesh - homosexuality, alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery. We call them vile abominations, and they are! But God is mostly concerned about the sins of the heart. The real issues of life and death have to do with how a person thinks - with what goes on in his mind. Unbelief is the sin of the heart - the curse of the inner man. I have known Christians who forsake every besetting sin of the flesh. Some quit their secret affairs. Others stop smoking, drinking, or using drugs on the sly. But in spite of cleaning up their act, they are still restless and dissatisfied. They thought God would be so pleased they had finally forsaken their secret sin, that the blessings would flow automatically. But at times it does not happen that way. Instead, problems continue and the heavens seem brass. The reason is that sins of the flesh are only part of the problem. They have not yet struck at the root of their discontent. They are unaware of a deep-seated sin - unaware they are guilty of a far worse crime in God’s sight. They learned only to fear the Lord - but not to trust Him, and fear nearly always gives birth to unbelief. God’s people engage in a continual battle against the sins of the flesh. They fast and pray, calling on God to deliver them from satanic flesh traps. But most are totally blind to the dangers of unbelief! They don’t even consider it in the same category with adultery, fornication, lying, drunkenness, etc. Yet God’s Word puts the sin of fear and unbelief above all other crimes! "But the fearful and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, adulterers, liars - shall all have their place in the lake of fire..." (Revelation 21:8). God gave the prophet Ezekiel a vision of the abominations of the house of Israel. The Spirit took him to the door of the temple court. Inside that door, seventy elders of Israel were going through their priestly motions. "Go in," the Spirit said, "and behold the wicked abominations that they do here..." "So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the walls. And there stood before them the seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel... with every man his censer in hand...and a thick cloud of incense went up... Then said he unto me, son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of Israel do in the dark?" (Ezekiel 8:9-12). And what were these venerable old elders of Israel doing that was so wicked and abominable? Were they smoking opium? Were they having a sex orgy? Were they gambling? No! The abominable crime was committed in their minds: "...what they do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagination?..." What were they thinking that so grieved God? What was this terrible abomination of their minds? They were indulging in unbelief - turning to their own ways, to idols - because they had completely lost faith in God. "For they said, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth..." (Ezekiel 8:12) Think of it! These were priests, holy men of God - who for many years had seen miracles. God had revealed Himself to them time and again, but now their faith in Him was shattered. They no longer believed their prayers were being answered. They could no longer sense His presence, and had given up hope of any divine guidance. Oh, they still hoped God was there, but they no longer believed He was involved in their lives! "He doesn’t care!..:" they surmised. "He is not at work with us! He has forgotten us. We give up. Why serve Him when there is no evidence of His working? We have been neglected, yea, forsaken by God." Are we too becoming unbelieving priests of the Lord? How it must grieve the heart of God when His enlightened children still doubt Him so! Unbelief not only grieves Him, but it provokes Him to anger and wrath. It is to be expected that the enemies of God will disbelieve Him, but how tragic when unbelief turns God’s chosen people into enemies as well. Micah laments: "Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy..." (Micah 2:8). There was a time the children of Israel believed God. They once trusted their Lord. They had just been delivered from Egypt and Pharaoh after crossing the Red Sea. "And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did unto the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord..." (Exodus 14:31). Yet in spite of all God did for His people, their confidence did not last. In crisis after crisis, their faith failed! Moses grew weary of reminding them of God’s faithfulness. When eight of the ten spies brought back an ominous report, immediately the people fell into unbelief. They murmured and complained, crying, "Oh, that we had never left Egypt!" Moses cried out in frustration, "I said to you, Dread not, neither be afraid...the Lord your God goeth before you, he shall fight for you...Remember in the wilderness, how he bear thee there, as a man carrieth his son?... Yet in this thing (in spite of all this), ye did not believe the Lord your God...and the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was angry..." (Deuteronomy 1:29-34). One could ask, "Why did God get so angry? The Israelites were just scared. It was a temporary outburst of fear. They didn’t mean it. They were just confused!" Oh, no! God hears every complaint, every murmur against His faithfulness. He hears every accusation that He is not concerned. Every thought that even suggests He is unfaithful, angers God! It angered Him then, and it angers Him now. And it provokes His wrath. Let all who preach only the love of God hear well the warning of David. "And they tempted God in their hearts by asking meat for their lust...yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Can he give bread? Can he provide flesh?... Therefore, the Lord heard this and was angry...because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation..." (Psalms 78:18-22). Let me show you how seriously God takes this matter of unbelief! 1. It caused the Lord to reject the entire house of Israel. "And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hands of the spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight..." (2 Kings 17:20). And why did He do such a drastic thing? "Because they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the necks of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God..." (2 Kings 17:14). 2. Unbelief brought upon them a flood of oppression and trouble. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the anger of the Lord was hot against them...therefore, the children of Israel were troubled and oppressed..." (Judges 10:6-8). 3. It caused a "breach of promise". Unbelief voided all God’s precious promises to His people. "(Israel) hath tempted me now these ten times...how long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?... I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me... As you have spoken in my ears, so will I do unto you...each day for a year...forty years...shall ye bear your iniquities, and ye shall know my breach of promise..." (Numbers 14:22-34). 4. Unbelief brings on a curse of dumbness. According to the New Testament, the Lord spoke clearly to Zechariah, a priest of the holy temple, promising him a son who was to be called John. The angel of the Lord told Zechariah marvelous things about John becoming a mighty man of destiny. None of which this great man of God believed. So God said to Zechariah, "Thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things be performed...because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time..." (Luke 1:20). Later, when Zechariah’s faith returned, his dumbness left! "And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying His name is John. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God..." (1:63, 64). 5. Unbelief causes leanness (emptiness) of soul. "They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel...and he gave them their request, but sent leanness to their soul... Thus they were defiled with their own works...and went a whoring with their own inventions..." (Psalms 106:13; Psalms 106:15; Psalms 106:39). Israel Limited God Do you remember the great faith of Israel at the Red Sea? Do you remember their song of confidence and trust in the Lord? They sang, they danced, they shouted the praises of God for revealing His mighty arm of deliverance. "The Lord is my strength and song...he is my salvation...I will exalt him...his right hand is glorious in power...he has dashed the enemy to pieces...who is like thee in holiness?...fearful in praises, doing wonders...you led forth thy people...guiding them with strength...The Lord shall be our King forever and ever..." (Exodus 15:1-18). But how soon they forgot His works! How soon they turned away from His guidance, limiting the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not how He delivered them, and reverted to doubt and unbelief. Listen to the dismay of an incredulous heavenly Father - "And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle, before all the children of Israel...and the Lord said, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be before they will believe me, for all the signs (miracles) which I have showed among them?..." (Numbers 14:10-11). What a profound cry from the heart of God! "When? What will it take? What do I have to do - to find a people who will fully trust me?" We have learned nothing from the tragic unbelief of Israel! We see it destroy an entire people of God. We see them lose all the promises, and waste away in the wilderness - a confused, depressed people. Yet we trudge blindly on in our unbelief! We seem to believe the grace of God exempts us from the penalties of this abomination. We have before us one of the most detailed examples in all of history, showing us how unbelief alienates us from God. How it provokes and angers the Lord. How it causes emptiness, fear, depression, and total confusion, opening the door to every kind of evil known to man! Furthermore, we have a New Testament warning to avoid these same mistakes! "But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness...And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not. So you see they could not enter in because of unbelief... Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fail after the same example of unbelief..." (Hebrews 3:17-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 5:1-14; Hebrews 6:1-20; Hebrews 7:1-28; Hebrews 8:1-13; Hebrews 9:1-28; Hebrews 10:1-39; Hebrews 11:1-40). The Spirit today is focusing on this sin because the Word makes it clear that only an evil heart is capable of unbelief. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God..." (Hebrews 3:12). Paul is not talking here to reprobates, drunkards, or addicts! He is speaking to born-again, Spirit-filled believers! "Beware, brothers, of an evil heart of unbelief - in you!: Saints of God, are we holding onto our confidence in the Lord? Are we clinging fast to our trust in His faithfulness? Listen to what the Scriptures say: "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end..." (Hebrews 3:14). Sad but true, many of God’s people today are losing the steadfast confidence they once had. We are in the midst of severe end-time testing - and many have not kept the faith. Jesus warned of fiery trials of faith that would immediately precede His coming. "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold...though it be tried with fire...might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 1:7). This young generation is being tested by the hottest fires in all of history! The future is absolutely hopeless, humanly speaking. The world faces unemployment, poverty, depression, and hunger. Careers are getting expensive and complicated, and no one seems to be able to answer the important questions. Much of the rebellion, drunkenness, and drug-taking among our youth is the direct result of fear and confusion. Even Christian kids are getting scared! Everything seems to be spinning out of control. Many young people want to give their futures to the Lord in full time service, but it’s getting so complicated. More than ever they need to know they serve a God they can fully trust. Those of you with secure jobs and homes, and with a certain amount of fulfillment - how would you like to change places with teenagers today? They go to schools that are mostly drug-infested. Their friends party and get stoned because they are afraid of the future. Government is corrupt and the politicians are mostly liars. Their families are breaking up - they watch their parents cheat and drink and lie! What kind of abominable unbelief would the Lord find in certain of His saints and ministers should He pull back the curtain and look deep into the heart? Do not think He spoke these words lightly - "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on earth?..." (Luke 8:13). Jesus warned us that some would believe for a while, but in time of testing and crisis, they would fall back into unbelief: "They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy...And they have no root in themselves...which for a while believe, and in times of testing fall away..." (Luke 8:13). How long have you believed? Five years? Ten? Forty? What happens to you in "times of testing"? Do you fall back into fear and unbelief? How many teachers, missionaries, evangelists, and pastors have stood in the pulpit calling on the saints to believe, trust, and have confidence in God, only to fail when they faced their own time of testing? The most important question facing God’s people in these last days is this: "Do you believe God is able to see you through? Do you believe he can do all that is necessary to answer your prayers and meet your needs?" This is the same question our Lord asked the two blind men who begged Him for mercy and healing. "And Jesus said unto them, Do you believe I am able to do this? They said, Yes, Lord...and their eyes were opened..." (Matthew 9:28). To you, to me, to the church - the Lord asks, "Do you believe I am able to direct and guide you, and perform my perfect will in your life? Do you believe I am still at work on your behalf? Or do you harbor secret thoughts that I have forsaken you and let you down?" He says to us what He said to Mary and Martha - "Said I not unto you that if you would believe, you will see the glory of God?" (John 11:40). God is not primarily interested in our doing some great work for Him. Rather, He desperately wants us to simply trust Him! I am amazed at the number of restless Christians I meet who tell me they want to "forsake all and get into some kind of full-time ministry." Some are actually selling their homes and businesses, and packing the family off to some sacrificial, poverty-type ministry. Occasionally God is in it, and it becomes fulfilling. But in most instances, nothing is solved. The emptiness and restlessness linger on - because doing something for God does not guarantee that one truly believes Him! Often it is unbelief that keeps driving us on! Beloved, God doesn’t want anything you possess. He is not after your house, your land, your car, or any other worldly possession. No! He wants your trust! He wants you to be firmly established in your confidence in Him! An American soldier in Germany wrote to me last week, offering me his coin collection. He called it an idol. I wrote back to him, saying, "God wants more than your coin collection - He wants your trust!" We keep wanting to do things, to give up things, to sacrifice, work, suffer. And all the while what He desires most is our obedience and trust. His Word is clear. God will be pleased with nothing short of our faith - "For without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.." (Hebrews 11:6). God has provided us a sure way to rise above this crumbling world - through absolute confidence in Him! • "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet... • "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh...for the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep they foot from being taken..." (Proverbs 3:24-26). • "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward..." (Hebrews 10:35). If we have confidence in our Lord now, we can have confidence before the judgment seat! • "And now, little children, abide in him, that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed at his coming..." (1 John 2:28). • "And this is the confidence we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. •"And we know if he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition we desired of him..." (1 John 5:14-15). So - fix your heart to trust in the Lord! Don’t give in to fear or doubt! Deal with unbelief as you would any other abominable sin. Remember the words of the Psalmist: • "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord...his heart is established, he shall not be afraid..." (Psalms 112:7-8). Isaiah predicted that in the last days the redeemed of the Lord will sing and praise God for a new spirit of trust and confidence: • "In that day this song will be sung in Judah...thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee...because he trusteth in thee..." (Isaiah 26:1-3). There you have it, beloved! While all the foundations of the world are shaking; while Satan roars like a maddened lion; while everywhere there is confusion, violence, and uncertainty - those who trust in the Lord, fixed and established in their confidence in Him - will stand still to see God’s salvation with hearts and minds at peace. They will enjoy rest, sleep sweetly, unafraid of conditions around them, untouched by violence and fear - unashamed in the final days and rejoicing in hope! In Conclusion I give you some glorious promises of God to all who trust in Him! • "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler [shield of protection] to all them that trust in him..." (1 Samuel 22:31). • "Show thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them..." (Psalms 17:7). • "Oh, how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust thee before the sons of men... • "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of men; thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavillion from the strife of tongues..." (Psalms 31:19-20). • "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord..." (Psalms 31:24). • "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass..." (Psalms 37:5). • "The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in time of trouble...and the Lord shall help them; and deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him..." (Psalms 37:39-40). • "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me..." (Psalms 56:4). • "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us..." (Psalms 62:8). • "They that put their trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever..." (Psalms 125:1). • "Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe..." (Proverbs 29:25). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 56: PRE-058-55. JABBOK � A PLACE OF TOTAL SURRENDER ======================================================================== 55. Jabbok – A Place Of Total Surrender Jabbok A Place of Total Surrender by David Wilkerson | December 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Jabbok! It may not have meant anything to you before now — but after you hear this message it should become one of the most important words in your spiritual vocabulary. Jabbok is the place where Jacob wrestled with the Lord. It is where he made his total surrender to God. It is where he got his new character, and new name — Israel. It was the place where he cast down his last idol, and won his greatest victory. "And he rose up that night…and passed over the ford Jabbok…" (Genesis 32:22). Jabbok means "a place of passing over". It also stands for struggle; to empty and pour out. What a glorious truth is revealed in this place called Jabbok. It has everything to do with us today. It is the place where God’s people discover the secret of power over every besetting sin. It represents a life and death crisis — one that leads to absolute surrender. There can be no glorious victory over self and sin until you go to Jabbok. There comes a time we must "have it out with God". We must face ourselves and be emptied of all evil desires and selfish ambitions. In the past believers have been taught there are two crossings in the life of a Christian — the Red Sea and the Jordan. The Red Sea crossing represents coming out of the world. It speaks of a new start. It symbolizes "getting saved". A lot of God’s people come out of Egypt, but they never get into the Promised Land. They get stuck in the wilderness of unbelief, fear, and confusion. They leave the world but never enter the joy of the Lord. Another crossing is required — the Jordan! The Jordan represents a commitment to go on with the Lord. Water baptism! Bible reading! Witnessing! A desire to grow in Christ! It is a passing over into a life of praise. For many, the Promised Land represents the fullness of the Holy Spirit. A baptism in, and with, the Holy Ghost. Isn’t that all there is? A Promised Land? A spiritual Canaan for the children of God? Saved, baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost? The children of Israel entered their Promised Land. They got their inheritance. But they never did enter into the rest God wanted them to have! These God–fearing children of God, Spirit led, still had sin in their hearts! They had hearts that held onto secret lust and idolatry. How tragic that the same is true today. Multitudes of Spirit–filled, Spirit–led believers have never known the true rest of God! Their peace is disturbed by a troubled conscience. God said Israel "…could not enter in because of unbelief…there remaineth yet a rest to the people of God…" (Hebrew. 3:19 — 4:9). It is possible to be saved, Spirit–filled, totally dedicated to the work of the Lord, and still be hooked by a secret sin! It is possible to cast out devils in Christ’s name, heal the sick, perform miracles, discern, do great works, all in the name of Jesus Christ — and still be a sin–hooked worker of iniquity. Only God knows how many Christians carry the burden of a secret sin or overwhelming lust. Multitudes have never experienced total victory and deliverance from besetting sins. Many dedicated Christian young people fight a losing battle against a habituating sin. They fight a craving for drugs, alcohol, sex. They dearly love the Lord — but there is "this one thing in their lives." They hate it but keep doing it. They don’t want to give up on Christ or go back into the world. But there is still one idol they can’t seem to surrender. And, oh, the men and women of God — including ministers of the Gospel — who struggle with a besetting sin! They have a hunger for God. They never once think of turning to the beggarly elements of the world. They long for the fullness of Christ. They cry for holiness! They are truly dedicated children of the Most High God. But there is still this one thing. This lingering problem. This little idol! It causes them grief and tears. They are torn with guilt and condemnation. They feel helpless, unworthy, and confused. They fast, they pray, they make promises — but suddenly they are overwhelmed and are led forth as a lamb to the slaughter. For years I have struggled with the theology of total victory over sin! I do not mean " sinless perfection". I mean freedom from slavery to any besetting sin! Few men have studied more than I have about the doctrine of sanctification. I have studied and read about holiness for years. I’ve worked with some of the worst sin slaves on the face of this earth. So I needed answers. I needed a clear and simple message on how to get and maintain victory over the sins of drugs, alcohol, violence, smoking, gambling, illegitimate sex, and various other kinds of addictions. Until the Spirit showed me Jabbok, my understanding was incomplete. What about all those Christians, including ministers who carry on secret affairs? What about husbands and wives who are giving up on their marriages, hoping to find someone else who will please them more? Often they lie about how horrible things are at home — to excuse their secret love affair with someone else. They often become helplessly involved with another. Sexual lust — adultery, fornication — is sweeping through the church today like the black plague. Is there no victory over all this runaway lust? Must a true child of God go through life always a slave to a besetting sin? Is there no place of absolute victory? I do not mean freedom from temptation, but freedom from giving in to lust. There is a third crossing — Jabbok! Jabbok was a tributary of the Jordan. It was a lonely place. Our Jabbok must be faced alone. You can cross the Red Sea with a mighty host of the redeemed who leave Egypt. You can cross the Jordan with the victorious army of the Lord all about you. But you will cross Jabbok alone! No counselors, no friends, no helpers. This is your private war — between you and the Lord alone. "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day" (Genesis 32:24). Jabbok is where the Jacob in us is given its final death blow. It is where God deals with us not only about our sin, but about our very character. Jacob was a troubled, desperate man. God had put his back up against the wall so to speak. He was returning after many years, to claim his inheritance. Esau, the brother he had swindled the birthright from, was coming in his direction with an army of 400 men. Jacob had matured in many ways. He was now a loving father. He was obedient to the Lord, following the Lord’s command to return home. He loved truth. He was a humble, praying man. Listen to his prayer: "O God, I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…" (Genesis 32:10). But this humble, obedient, praying, God–fearing, truth–loving servant of God was still into appeasement! That means, "giving in to a dangerous power to avoid trouble." Peace at any cost includes compromise! Instead of trusting God in his crisis, he worked angles. He tried to think his way through his problem. He divided his cattle into separate droves, sending them on ahead to soften his brother’s heart. He would bombard Esau with wave after wave of gifts of goats, camels, bulls, sheep, donkeys, and rams. "For he said, I will appease him…" (v. 20). Appeasement! That is what multitudes of Christians are into! They give in to a dangerous power, because they are afraid they are helpless! You hear it everywhere nowadays "I just can’t help it! I don’t want to do it. I hate my sin. But in spite of all my super efforts, I give in and fail! So over and over again, we appease! We sin and confess, weep and confess, try to think our way out. Oh, the angles, schemes, justifications, excuses, plans — all in vain. We seem powerless against overwhelming needs and desires. Obedient! Praying! Seeking the truth! Humble! Loving! Kind! God–fearing! But there is still that fly in the ointment! There is still a secret holdout deep in the heart. There is still appeasement, scheming — one idol still standing — not yet totally yielded. Not yet under the total Lordship of Christ. Let Me Show You What Must Happen at Jabbok! 1. At Jabbok — Religion Gives Way to Spirituality! One can be very religious and not be at all spiritual. Jacob had had a very religious experience at Bethel. On his way to Padan — aram to find a wife among his own people, he had an amazing religious experience. "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of God ascending and descending it…" (Genesis 28:12). God appeared and made a covenant with him! It was a promise of material blessings — "I will give you the land whereon thou liest…I will bless thy seed…"(v. 13,14). Jacob cried out — "How awesome — the Lord is in this place" (vs. 16,17). Jacob called the place Bethel, and proceeded to make a deal with God. The blessing part sounded very good to him! "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God…If you bless me, I will surely give you back the tenth…" (Genesis 28:20-22). Does this deal have a familiar ring to it? Bless me, Lord! Prosper me in all my ways! Give me plenty to eat! Clothe me well! Take good care of me, Then I’ll serve you! Then I’ll pay my tithe! Give it to me so I can give it back to you! Think of it! God is in the place — the heavens are open! Angels appear! God speaks! What a supernatural, religious experience! And all Jacob can see out of it is a deal for land, food, clothes, prosperity, and success in all his ways! It was strictly a religious experience. Bethel is the popular religion of our day. Like Jacob, our covetous spirits interpret God’s promises in materialistic ways. We go so far as to desecrate the precious atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ! In high sounding religious words we talk about the power of Christ’s shed blood. But what we are saying is a tragic misinterpretation of what His sacrifice really accomplished. All some can see is what they can get out of it. To them, the atonement means merely health, wealth, prosperity, and deliverance from the curse of poverty. They are blind to the true meaning of Christ’s victory on the Cross. His power over sin! The freedom to sacrifice, suffer, and serve willingly to advance His kingdom on earth! To endure hardship, and suffer the loss of all things, if necessary, to gain an incorruptible crown. What about the multitudes who worship at Bethel? What about all the preachers and teachers who are stuck at Bethel — claiming the Bethel promises? I say they are religious people. Some may be very religious. Like Jacob they may have experienced great revelations, seen angels, and perhaps have heard from God. But at Bethel — the flesh is still in control — It is a place of religion — but not true spirituality. It is a partial revelation. It goes for all the blessings while ignoring the deep inner struggle! It is being in the presence of the Lord without dealing with the Jacob nature! That comes only at Jabbok. 2. Jabbok Is a Place of Absolute Surrender! It is a place of total victory over every besetting sin! You are not ready for Jabbok until you are desperate! You have to come to the end of yourself. Your burden of sin must bring you to a life or death crisis. What a crisis Jacob faced. On one side, Esau was closing in on him. On the other side stood the Lord Himself, and a host of heavenly witnesses. He could go no further. It was the absolute end of the line! Outside of a miracle, he was a dead man. His sins had caught up with him. For over twenty years he had been able to bluff his way through. He had survived on his cunning cover ups. He could not go on — even one more day — as in the past. Jacob was forced to expose himself before the awesome presence of the Lord — and see himself for what he was! All night long the battle raged. This time Jacob meant business! He wanted to be free. He wanted to look the Lord and the world in the eye and know he was honest and holy. He wanted his reproach removed. He wanted deliverance. "And He said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob!" (Genesis 32:27). Jacob knew what his name stood for: "heel grabber" One who cheats his brother, himself, and tries to hide it from God’s flaming eyes. What the Lord was saying to Jacob was this: "Look at yourself — what you’ve become! No excuses now! For once in your life, face reality! Face the truth — be deadly honest — or there will be no victory!" Out it all comes — all the pent–up fears and confessions: "Oh, Lord! I’m a phony! I’m so religious outwardly, but inwardly I’m a cheat! I’m a grabber! I’ve played with fire too long! I’ve been excusing my actions, justifying my sins. Forgive, O Lord…" There can he no victory over any besetting sin without facing a final deadline at Jabbok! The fear of God’s justice and judgment against your sin must grip you with finality. You must face the reality that you are not a special person, immune to exposure and judgment. You must face the fact that God, in His love, must give you a deadline — alast chance to obey completely! Not that His grace is withdrawn, or His love and mercy limited. But there comes a time when God can no longer keep back the wages of your sin! There is a law that states "Conceived lust brings death!" Your sin must find you out! You must face the reality you cannot go on living a lie. No matter how blessed you are, no matter how anointed, no matter what great things are accomplished in His name — God will not permit an open–ended license to go on sinning! You must obey or be exposed — and begin to reap what you have sown. Face the truth! Confess it in all its ugly details! "Oh, Lord, I’m an adulterer, a fornicator. I’m no better than the harlots and homosexuals who walk the streets hustling! I’m the worst liar in your church! I’ve been cheating on my family. I’m not what people think I am. I know I’ll be exposed. I know I’ll have to pay the price for what I’m doing — so take it, Lord! Take it now! Not one more day of carrying this terrible burden! Set me free! I’m tired of playing a role!" At Jabbok, Christ delivers us from our besetting sin by changing our very character. "And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed…" (32:38). Prevailing power through a new character! Prevail means, "to gain the upper hand, the victory, superiority." Jacob now knew it was in his power to obey, because the Lord accepted his commitment to surrender. Our Lord is not interested simply in our getting victory over certain sins. He wants to change us into new people with pure hearts and clean hands. We need a character change. It took only one desperate night of facing the truth. One night of struggle with the old nature! Jacob had a profound change in his body and soul, He had had it out with the Lord and prevailed. The Lord saw his desperation, heard his pitiful plea — and touched him! The Lord purposely weakened him! He put his thigh out of joint! One of the greatest miracles the Lord can perform in our behalf is to cripple all our human efforts and make us totally dependent on Him. You will hobble away from Jabbok, humbled and crippled — crying out, "Oh, Lord, I’ve made my total surrender. I’ve laid down all my sins. My idol has been crushed. But I can’t keep in victory without supernatural help. You brought me to this place of absolute obedience now sustain my commitment supernaturally. Cause me to both will and do of your perfect will." 3. Jabbok Is the Place of an Open Heaven God reveals Himself only to those who "get rid of their guile." Guile is deceit, dishonesty, secret sin! Listen to the glorious promise Jesus gave to Nathaniel, one of the twelve: "Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile…Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believe thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these…" "Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man…" (John 1:47-51). He alone was given this glorious promise — Nathaniel, there is no deceit or dishonesty in you. You are an open book. No hidden works of sin! Nothing to hinder in your life. You will be given an open heaven! You will see things few others see. A full revelation is yours because you have no guile in you! Our Lord desperately longs to open His heart to us, and lead us into all truth. But our guile hinders it. That is why Jabbok is so necessary! A place to lay down all the final remains of guile, deceit, dishonesty! So the heavens will stay open to us! It is true our sins hide His face from us. Jacob renamed Jabbok "Peniel". Peniel means "the face of God." "Because I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved…" (Genesis 32:30). Jacob is now a spiritual man. No more talk about material blessings — lands, food, clothes, success. He had seen God and he had been touched. It is not cattle now; it is Christ. The heavens once again opened. The ladder reappeared, with angels ascending and descending. But now he understood the deepest meanings of that open heaven. It means access to the Father! It means getting to know Him. It means sitting in heavenly places. Unspeakable joy. The glow of His presence. The sound of His voice. All spiritual values now! Jacob had wasted over twenty years. He could have enjoyed years of an open heaven. He could have had unity with his brother and Laban. But the heavens had closed to him — because of his guile. I know I, too, have wasted precious years, with the heavens sometimes like brass. My inner idols — my unsurrendered guile — closed the heavens. It shut out the revelation of Christ’s fullness. I had but a partial vision. But at Jabbok the Lord heard my cry, and delivered me! I made a commitment to follow Him in total surrender. And then the heavens opened to me again! I am still tempted — at times I fail. But I know that obedience will again open heaven to me. "…if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine…" (John 7:17). Is heaven open to you? Is the Lord revealing Himself to you in truth and holiness? If not, you may be shutting it all down by holding on to an idol! Secret sin may be the cause of your spiritual dryness and blindness. And there can be no love and unity in the church until God’s people live pure, obedient lives. Yes, we are loved! But we are also going to be judged! Judgment is beginning in the house of the Lord! The whole church of Jesus Christ is being led to Jabbok! None of us shall escape this crisis. "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer [more severe] punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, and unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense saidth the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God…" (Hebrews 10:26-31). Before you go to Christ’s Judgment Seat — go to Jabbok! Judge yourself at Jabbok and you will not be judged! Hear what the Word of the Lord says about obedience: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness…" (Romans 1:18). "Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you anymore, except you destroy the accursed from among you…" (Joshua 7:12). "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God…" (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…" (James 4:8). "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath…"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls…" (James 1:19; James 1:21). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 57: PRE-059-56. I WILL BE THY MOUTH ======================================================================== 56. I Will Be Thy Mouth I Will Be Thy Mouth… by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] God met Moses at the burning bush and gave him a mandate to lead Israel out of bondage. He told His servant, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people in Egypt... I am come down to deliver them... I am sending you to Pharaoh... you will bring my people out of Egypt..." (Exodus 3:7-10). "And Moses said unto the Lord, I am not eloquent, neither have things changed since you have spoken to me... And the Lord said unto him, ’Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say’..." (Exodus 4:10-12). But Moses persisted."Send someone else!" Here, along with Moses, is where most of God’s anointed stumble. We, too, limit God in ths one area - control of our mouths. Over and over God proved his power to Moses. He showed this timorous man he could turn water into blood. Cause plagues to cover the land of Egypt. Part the Red Sea by simply lifting his rod. Yet he would not believe that God could "be with his mouth, and direct his speech. He believed in the miracles he could see - but not in God’s power over his tongue! Moses stubbornly pleaded, "Lord, send another person, whomever thou wilt..." (Exodus 4:13). God became exasperated with such lack of faith, "...and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses..." (Ex. 414). He finally compromised by permitting Moses’ brother Aaron to be the spokesman: "I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do..." (Exodus 4:15) Moses felt he had good reason to doubt God’s promise. How well he knew his own weakness! He confessed to having "uncircumcised lips" (Exodus 6:12). Ultimately this proved to be the very thing that kept him out of the Promised Land. An unyielded tongue! He maintained weak lips till he died. The Psalmist says. "...it went ill with Moses... he spoke unadvisedly with his lips..." (Psalms 106:33). What a powerful warning to us today! Here was a great man of God, a man of miracles and power, a man who truly knew God. He had just one flaw. But it was a flaw so great it angered God, and finally cast a shadow over all he did. It is recorded for our benefit. God expects us to learn from Moses lack of faith. This isn’t just an Old Testament principle. Matthew tells us Jesus sent forth His disciples as sheep among wolves. They were warned to expect opposition and persecution. But they were unafraid, because along with the command to spread the gospel, was a promise that he would "be their mouth..." "When they deliver you up, take no thought of how or what you will speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall say... for it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaks in you..." (Matthew 10:19-20). They were not to preach the gospel, or answer their critics, in their own words! Supernatural words of power were promised! Spirit words, falling from Spirit-directed lips ! There is another, spectacular incident in the New Testament when the Spirit was "with the mouths of his disciples". On the day of Pentecost, it was "given to them what they should speak." For it was not they who spoke, but "...the Spirit [who] gave utterance..." (Acts 2:4) in other words, the Spirit took full control of their mouths so that they said not one word except what He wanted spoken. And He wanted only one thing said: "...they spoke the wonderful works of God..." (Acts 2:11). Unknown tongues was not the centerpiece of Pentecost. Instead, it was the miraculous sight of 120 God-filled saints discovering that God was "in their mouths." It was the glory of Christ’s disciples experiencing the ecstasy, not of tongues, but of the Spirit of the Father speaking through them. The Spirit could have spoken with old or new tongues, with the tongues of men or angels, with known or unknown tongues. That was not the significance of Pentecost. Not the language He spoke, but how He spoke - using the lips of the gathered saints! My heart cries out, "Let Him speak what He pleases! Just let me experience the divine glory of knowing He has control of my tongue!" This Brings Us To The Heart Of My Message Study the New Testament and you will see that both Jesus and James propounded an impossible moral condition. Jesus put it this way: "How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh..." (Matthew 12:34) Here is how James said it: "Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree... bear olive berries? Can a vine bear figs? So neither can a fountain yield both salt water and fresh..." (James 3:11-12). The impossible moral condition is this: a truly spiritual person cannot speak evil! Yet James insists, "The tongue can no man tame... it is an unruly member, full of deadly poison..." (3.8). He is not suggesting the tongue has a mind of its own. To the contrary, he knew the tongue is controlled by the heart! He was speaking of Christians who still have "uncircumcised lips" because their heart has not yet believed for deliverance. They bless God, praise the Lord loudly, and yet still speak against a brother or sister. James says, "...those things ought not to be..." In other words, it happens, but it is not scriptural. It proves there is a problem at the fountainhead. Clearly it is not God’s plan that our tongues be unruly. It is not His intention that we offend with our mouth - ever! "Woe to him that offends... better a millstone be hung around his neck and he be cast into the sea..." (Matthew 18:6). We are not left without an escape. The solution to the impossible moral condition is simply this: you have to be turned around! "We put bits in the horses’ mouths... that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body... Ships, driven by fierce winds, are turned with a very small helm..." (James 3:3-4). The Holy Spirit longs to reveal to us that He is the horse’s bit, He is the helmsman who turns the rudder of our ship! If you don’t yet know what it means to have the ’Spirit bit’ in your mouth, you are still wild and unruly as far as your speech is concerned. Your Pentecost has not yet "fully come". For months the Holy Spirit has been trying to show me how serious this matter is. I want to share with you three things He has impressed on me. I. If There Is Any Defilement At All In My Tongue - My Whole body is Defiled! "...so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body..." (James 3:6) There is no such thing as a ’slip of the tongue’. Not a word goes forth innocently. Christ Himself said our words overflow from our hearts. He did not say out of the last remains of the flesh, the mouth speaks but, "out of an abundance of the heart"! What we say is not accidental - but predictable! That is serious! You and I may think we are full of God’s goodness and love. We may think that when we speak ill of someone, it is accidental. But God tells us it was spoken because it was in our heart all along. James says any kind of quarreling, any kind of envy, is a direct result of strife in the heart! Strife is defined as "a fighting or contentious spirit." Gossip, envy, dissension, bitterness, rebellion - all are the overflow of a "fighting spirit." And they originate in the heart! It is impossible for a Spirit-directed believer to speak anything but goodness, mercy, and righteousness. As impossible as fig trees growing olives. Or vines bearing figs. Or salt and pure water flowing from the same fountain. The Bible does not say salt and clear water ought not to flow from the same source - it says it is impossible! These words must take hold of us! We must acknowledge that we cannot walk in the Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, and at the same time speak unholy words. Otherwise, we are still like the ungodly man who "...digs up evil... in whose lips there is a burning fire..." (Proverbs 16:27). Don’t think for one moment those disciples on the day of Pentecost spoke under the Spirit’s influence only when touched by ecstasy or high emotion. No! From that day on, they spoke words that were edifying - sanctified, holy, pure. Paul said that when they learned Christ, "They put off concerning the former conversation the old man... they put away lying ... they spoke the truth to every man... and let no corrupt communication proceed out of their mouth - but that which is good to the building up... that it might minister grace to the hearers..." (Ephesians 4:20-29). Paul did not say an unruly tongue was a weakness to try to conquer, or a frailty of the flesh that one must endure. He said it is inexcusable under any and all circumstances! II. Without Purity, There Can Be No Power In A Single Word I Speak! "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times..." (Psalms 12:6). "The words of the pure are pleasant ones..." (Proverbs 15:26). "...They are sweet to the soul, and health to the bone..." (Proverbs 16:24). Why did the words of Christ have such power? Why did men say, "He speaks as no other man ever spoke - with authority! Because, according to His own confession: "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works..." (John 14:10). These holy words are part of the inheritance Jesus left His followers: "I have given unto them the words my Father gave to me..." (John 17:8). We are not walking in the light of this glorious truth - the Lord is not "with our mouth" - until all around us can also say. "He speaks as no other speaks! There goes one who speaks only those words that glorify God!" When we give ourselves to the Spirit, He will cause us to speak only those words that are from the Father. There will be no struggle, no legal battle. All it takes is a yielded heart willing to be disciplined by the Holy Spirit on this matter. Unconfessed sin pollutes the Christian’s tongue. Any minister or believer who harbors secret sin in his heart, has nothing to say to anyone! Every word he speaks is in vain. Words may pour out of a double-minded soul and seem sincere. They may sound pious. They may be absolutely scriptural. But they are meaningless if the vessel is unclean, because sin depletes our words of all authority. It is not how intelligent your words are, or how well- executed or forceful. What really matters is how pure they are! Only pure words give health. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things..." (Matthew 12:35). Here is a sobering thought: every idle word we speak will be noted on the day of judgment! "But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment..." (Matthew 12:36). The root meaning of the word idle is "not accomplishing any purpose, doing nothing; empty, useless, ineffectual, irrelevant". This is more than the incidental banter we all speak in the course of a day. This has to do with ineffectual witnessing. Irrelevant counseling. Preaching that accomplishes nothing. Words that do nothing to help God’s kingdom. God help us take this matter seriously, and begin listening to ourselves talk! I am asking the Holy Spirit to put the fear of God in me about my mouth - my words - so I will put a watch at my lips and speak carefully. Not just in the presence of others, but even privately - when all alone. Does it sound complicated? Legalistic? Impossible? Here is the good part! III. God IsYearning To Be With Our Mouths, Too! God is about to raise up a new generation of pure hearts and clean lips. In order to speak to the world again, He must have clean lips. So He is bringing His people back to a glorious vision of His awesome holiness. Like Isaiah. God’s people are realizing how wicked we have become, how backslidden, how loose-tongued and undisciplined. "Then said I, woe is me! For I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips... for mine eyes have seen the King..." (Isaiah 6:5) I must confess that I have experienced, in a real way, the terror Isaiah is talking about. I have been catching a new vision of the Savior’s holy lordship! And the clearer the vision, the more I am aware of the sinfulness still in my life - the unruly tongue, the uncircumcised lips. If a holy prophet of God such as Isaiah confessed his lips were unclean, where do you and I stand? In recent weeks God has taken me into His royal woodshed and spanked me severely for speaking unadvisedly too often. God said to Moses, "No man can see me, and live!" (Exodus 33:20). Isaiah saw Him and cried, "I am finished... I am undone! The old Isaiah is dead" (6:1-3). Therein lies the clue - "See the Lord, and die!" Let the old you go up in smoke. A sacrifice. When you see Him as Lord, you die! But that’s only the beginning. From there, you enter into resurrection life! See how beautifully the Lord was with the mouth of Isaiah from that moment on: "Then flew one of the seraphims to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken from off the altar... and he laid it upon my mouth, and said - Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged... Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Go and tell..." (6:6-9) We are invited to quit the struggle to do or say the right thing in our own power and strength. We are asked to die by faith - to be raised by faith - to be holy and acceptable by faith - and to live and speak by faith, as blood-purchased saints. The Spirit promises to circumcise our hearts and lips, so we can speak the words of our Father, even as Christ did. Mark this well: Not in a million years can Christ come to be with your mouth through anything you can do! Go ahead. Make your vows. Tell God you won’t ever lie, or gossip, or be envious, or say anything idle or foolish. Mortify yourself. Get deeper into discipline. Say to yourself, "From now on every word I speak will glorify the Lord." But you are doomed to failure and despair if you think will power or resolve will get you there. I’ve played the game - and it doesn’t work! No! A thousand times no! We are purified by faith! Our human will must be rectified so we can obey His word. Conclusion: A Prophetic Word All the while God was pouring this message into my soul, burning in my mind the need to have circumcised lips and a pure heart - I had a growing sense the Spirit was leading me to a glorious prophetic truth for these final days. I knew it had to be more than just a lesson on pure speech. Why a new purging in our hearts and lips? Why a renewed vision of holiness in heart, tongue, lips, and mouth? God showed me why. Our lips are the sluice through which the Spirit must flow! God is about to restore Zion and rebuild the tabernacle of David. He will do it with a mighty floodtide of the Spirit. A mighty river of living water to heal, cleanse, and restore. This river will flow from inside the body of Christ here on earth - from the hearts of His people! God does not need to call down some unknown, mystical power. Everything He needs is already available. The fountain is there; the water is there - a bottomless ocean! Only one thing remains: The Spirit cannot flow in unhindered power and strength until all things are ready. The fountainhead (which is where our flesh taps into the Spirit) must be spotless. No purity - no flow! The sluice must be clean, and ready. All the debris removed. All obstructions gone. The channels deepened. What are the channels? The consecrated tongue, lips, and mouth of purified saints! At the exact moment when the Spirit has accomplished this work, nothing will remain to be done. There will be nothing to turn on. Nothing to prime or force. All the pent-up power will cause the living water to "spring up" of its own accord. It will be "a well of living water, springing up..." In the original it reads, "leaping up". Imagine - a gusher of Holy Ghost Power! The Holy Spirit is going to leap up within us. A river will flow out of each opened sluice. River will be added to river, rivulet to rivulet, and the waters will swell beyond anything every witnessed by man. Then we will experience the last-day outpouring which God promised - an outpouring from on high, that originates within us! The question now becomes, Shall I pray for circumcised lips, just to be clear at the Judgment - or, Do I want to be a channel for this last-day outpouring? Do I want to go beyond forgiveness - to usefulness? For me, the answer is obvious. I want the Holy Spirit to "come to my mouth" and prepare me for a gushing river of His love - flowing through me, to the world! Who would dare hinder this river? Who would dare take the matter lightly? The judgment could be beyond imagination for anyone hindering the flow. Denying others the healing that should have sprung forth from our very own lips. It is so important to have the Spirit flowing through us. And not just for others. We drink from our own flow. It is living water for us, too. All we need is in that river: healing, revelation of Christ, spiritual wisdom and knowledge, peace of mind, hope, joy - everything necessary to produce all kinds of fruit. James said, "Does a fountain send forth at the same place, sweet water and bitter?" But you can stop at, "Does a fountain send forth...?" It cannot send forth at all - until it is uncapped. Do you want your fountain uncapped? Do you long for the Spirit to flow through you, consecrating your mouth? Here’s how simple: Lay aside every besetting sin - Move into the realm of godly reverence Confess your weakness and helplessness - By faith, picture the blood of Christ running through the fountainhead, through the sluice, past the gates of your lips cleansing and sweeping aside all hindrances. Then - you will taste the sweet water that wells up within you. Then - the Spirit will flow! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 58: PRE-060-57. A CHRIST-LESS PENTECOST ======================================================================== 57. A Christ-less Pentecost A Christ-less Pentecost Is Christ Becoming a Stranger in Our Midst? by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The following is a prophetic warning from Azusa Street 75 years ago, concerning the dangers of a Christless Pentecost! Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless Pentecost. He warned: "We may not hold a doctrine, or seek an experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek power in order to perform miracles, draw attention and adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the flesh. The greatest need would seem to be for true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so predominates the show-off, religious spirit. But we must stick to our text - Christ. "Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or ’gifts’ above Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism. Whatever causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light, but focused on Jesus always for His revealing. "Where the Holy Ghost is actually in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head - the Holy Ghost, His executive. " In another place, Brother Bartleman warned: "The temptation seems to be toward empty manifestations. This does not require any particular cross, or death to the self-life. Hence it is always popular. "We may not put power, gifts, the Holy Ghost, or in fact anything ahead of Jesus. Any mission that exalts even the Holy Ghost above the Lord Jesus Christ is bound for the rocks of error and fanaticism. "There seems to be a great danger of losing sight of the fact that Jesus was ’all in all.’ The work of Calvary, the atonement, must be the center for our consideration. The Holy Ghost will never draw our attention from Christ to Himself, but rather reveal Christ in a fuller way. We are in danger of slighting Jesus - getting Him ’lost in the temple,’ by the exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus must be the center of everything." I do not take Brother Bartleman’s warning lightly. The danger of a Christless Pentecost is very real today. I say to you it is possible to gather Spirit-filled people in one place, praising and lifting up their hands - and still have Christ walking among them as a stranger! It’s true He said, "Where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst." (Matthew 18:20 NASB) But He can be in our midst as a stranger! Ignored, unrecognized - even by those who meet in His name! The Jews gathered every Sabbath in the synagogue to speak of His name, and to prophesy of His coming. They praised the name of the Father who promised to send Him. They spoke the Messiah’s name with awe and reverence. Then, when He came and walked among them - He was not recognized! He was a stranger to them! Christ, a stranger in the midst of a Spirit-filled congregation? A stranger in the midst of those who speak His name - who worship the Father who sent Him? A stranger to those who sing His hosannas who call Him "Lord, Lord"? Yes! Absolutely yes! It is not only possible - it is happening among God’s chosen people today! Let me show you three ways in which we are making Christ a stranger in our midst! May the Holy Spirit take away our spiritual blindness so we can once again see Him as He really is - LORD OF ALL! I. We Make Christ a Stranger - by Giving the Holy Spirit Pre-Eminence Over Him! Christ, and Christ alone, must be the center of life and worship! "And He is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell... " (Colossians 1:18-19 KJV) "That in all things He might have the pre-eminence... " That is - distinguished and spoken of above all others. Having first place in all things. Not even the Holy Spirit is to be exalted above that name! The upper room must never overshadow the Cross! We dare not think of Christ as simply the one who sent the Holy Spirit. In other words, "Thank You, Jesus, for sending someone better." Christ sent the Holy Spirit to reveal His own fullness within us. When the Holy Spirit becomes the center of our attention, the church gets out of focus! The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ as He came out of baptismal waters, and the Father said of Him: "This is My beloved Son - in whom I am well pleased . . . " The Spirit descended bodily like a dove, but the focus was on the Lamb of God - who taketh away the sins of the world. Not the dove, but the Lamb! Christ told His disciples of a coming Pentecost, when the Spirit would be outpoured for a single purpose: It was to be a power given to lift up the name of Christ! "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth... " (Acts 1:8 KJV) Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on Christ’s words. He will exalt Christ. " . . . when He, the Spirit of truth, is come . . . He shall not speak of Himself . . . He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you." (John 16:13-15 KJV) Jesus said, "He will show you My glory, My power, My Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words." The primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship, although He does bring believers together as one in Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought us close to each other - He must bring us closer to Christ! The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ. If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer, sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His power to be abused by those who want only the gift and not Christ, the Giver! What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed? Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are prophesying? More - much more than that! It is where Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne, broken, humbled crying, "Holy, Holy." The moving of the Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship! II. Christ Is Made a Stranger When People Praise Him, but Will Not Pray to Him! We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have become a praising people, but not a praying people. For many of God’s people the prayer closet is a relic of the past. "Why ask God for what He has already promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply command deliverances!" We no longer want Christ as much as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse crosses and losses - no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don’t even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ! We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this earth’s goods. We want His happiness. But we really don’t want Him alone! The Church once confessed its sins - now it confesses its rights. How many of us would serve Him if He offered nothing but Himself? No healing. No success. No prosperity. No worldly blessings. No miracles, signs, or wonders. What if - once again we had to take joyfully the spoiling of our goods? What if - instead of clear sailing and problem-free living, we faced shipwreck, fears within and fightings without? What if - instead of painless living, we suffered cruel mockings, stoning, bloodshed - being sawn asunder? What if - instead of our beautiful homes and cars, we had to wander about in deserts in sheepskins, hiding in dens and caves? What if - instead of prosperity, we were destitute, afflicted, and tormented? And the only better thing provided for us was Christ? Very few of God’s people pray anymore! They are too busy working for Jesus to talk to Him! Ministers especially have become so busy doing kingdom work, they have little or no time left to pray. There is time to visit, to build, to travel, time to vacation, to attend meetings, time for recreation, reading, counseling - but no time to pray! Preachers who do not pray become promoters. They become frustrated building contractors. When they lose touch with God, they lose touch with their people and their needs. Preachers who don’t pray have egos that spin out of control. They want their own way. They substitute sweat for unction (anointing). Evangelists who do not pray become stars, storytellers. They lack humility, so they manipulate crowds through emotional gimmicks. The cry of many pastors is, "Oh, God, where can I find an evangelist who doesn’t care about money, or who is not promoting something? One who can bring heaven down and make Christ real! Oh, God - give me a praying man to bring my congregation to its knees! " The shame of this generation is that we have too many talented men of God and only a few who have touched God in prayer. There is even less praying in the congregation! I’m 100% for getting prayer back in our public schools! But that’s not God’s real problem! His problem is getting prayer back in our homes! His problem is to get His own chosen people to pray! And you are a phony if you fight for school prayer and neglect secret-closet praying yourself! Do we pray? Oh, yes! When we need something. We have the formula down pat - "in the name of Jesus." All we need Him for is to countersign our petition checks before the Father. I am weary of hearing people say, "This is such a busy age - l have no time to pray. I’d like to, but I don’t have time. " No! It’s not lack of time; it is a lack of desire. We make time for what we really want to do. Look at our Christian young people! Wasting hours of time playing Pac-man, Galaxy War, goofing off, bored, restless, looking for some action! But no time to pray! No time for Jesus! Oh, God! Somehow! Some way! Get this generation on its knees. Not just the Lord’s Prayer, but a daily communion with Christ. Our Savior, who has the care and concern for multiplied universes, has the time to pray just for you! He takes the time to intercede for you before the throne of God (Hebrews 7:25), and you say you do not have time to pray to Him! We work feverishly for a Christ we ignore. We will go anywhere, do anything, in His name. But we will not pray. We will sing in a choir. We will visit the sick and the prisoners. But we will not pray. We will counsel the hurt and needy; we will stay up all night to comfort a friend, but we will not pray. We will fight corruption! We will crusade for morality! We will stand up against nuclear weapons! But we will not pray! Most of all, we don’t pray because we really don’t believe it works. Prayer is a bloody battleground! It is where victories are won! A place to die to self! A place where a holy God exposes secret sin! No wonder Satan tries to hinder prayer! A praying man sends a shudder through hell. That man or woman is marked because Satan knows prayer is the power that crushes his kingdom. Satan is not afraid of power-hungry saints, but he trembles at the sound of a praying saint! III. Christ Is Made a Stranger in Our Midst When We Want His Power More Than His Purity! Reader Harris, an Englishman and director of The Pentecostal League of Prayer, once challenged a congregation on this matter of power and purity. He said, "Those who want power, line up to my right. Those who want purity, line up to my left." The congregation lined up 10 to 1 - for POWER! In the book of Acts, Pentecost was synonymous with purity more than power. Peter told the council at Jerusalem what God did at the house of Cornelius, "God...giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us...purifying their hearts by faith... " (Acts 15:8-9 KJV) Who is the man or woman of God who has power? Is it the one who can heal the sick and raise the dead? Is it the one who can best talk in tongues and prophesy? Is it the one who draws the most people and builds the greatest church? No! The one with the power - is the one with the purity! "... the righteous are bold as a lion.. " (Proverbs 28:1 KJV) The prophet Malachi prophesied of a supernatural purge coming to God’s house. " . . . the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple. .. but who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3:1-3 KJV) This is a dual prophecy. He speaks of Christ’s first coming, and also of His second! He will come again suddenly, as a thief in the night. But first, He will purify His Church. We are not ready for the coming of Christ! Is this the Church triumphant? Covetous. divorcing, depressed, worldly-minded, grasping for materialism and success, competitive, lukewarm, adulterous, rich and increased with goods, unaware of spiritual blindness and poverty, pleasure-loving, recreation-minded, consumed with sports, politics, and power - is this the Church Jesus is coming for? Simply coping, filled with fear and anxiety, satisfied only to have good health and happiness? My Bible says He is coming back for an overcoming Church! A Church without spot or wrinkle! A people whose affections are on things above! A people with clean hands and pure hearts. A people who are looking for His coming! A people with a "new Jerusalem state of mind." The question is no longer, "What can my faith get me? What miracle will He perform for me?" The question now is - "How shall I stand before Him? How shall I make it at the Judgment?" " . . . who shall stand when He appeareth?" (Malachi 3:2 KJV) The question is no longer, "How do I feel - how do I get happiness? How do I get the desire of my heart?" The question is - "Can I withstand that moment when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ? How can I withstand when I’ve lived so carelessly, so selfishly, so neglectful of His great salvation?" The central issue now has nothing to do with this world at all. At issue is - "HAVE I NEGLECTED CHRIST IN THIS MIDNIGHT HOUR?" The purge is going to begin in the pulpit! " . . . He shall purify the sons of Levi... " (Malachi 3:3 KJV) God is going to accomplish that by "turning up the heat." God is going to make things so hot, so fiery, so intense, God’s men will be driven to their knees! This is the fire of the Holy Ghost! It is the fire of persecution. It is the fire of tribulation. The fire of unbelievable hardships, ridicule, gossip, financial problems. He is going to shake everything that can be shaken! He is going to shake, and scrub, and burn, and purge - and purify! No man or woman of God will escape the purging! God is determined to get all the dross and filth out of us. The purge will spread from the pulpit to the pew! Get ready, saints! God is getting ready to expose all sin, all adultery, all foolishness! The Holy Ghost is going to reprove us of sin. How can you play games when God puts you in His crucible and turns up the fire? Your Holy Ghost baptism is going to have some fire put to it now! Malachi said - "...the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up..." (Malachi 4:1 KJV) God also promises to bring down the strongholds of the enemy! He is going to once and for all let the devil and the world know who has the power! If God is about to do all that the prophets predicted He would - WHAT A GLORIOUS FUTURE JUST AHEAD! • A purged, purified ministry! • A Church that God is calling back to repentance and holiness. • A people washed, cleansed - offering praises in true righteousness. • A revival among our young people! Drug strongholds coming down! Alcohol and divorce no longer prevalent among God’s people. • The sound of prayer - intercession! • A people of God who will discern between the holy and the unholy! • Everywhere, God’s people turning again to the Word. • A tested, tried people, once again devoted to the Person of Jesus Christ! • His Person being lifted up to draw all men to Him! • Christ no longer the stranger in our midst, but CROWNED - PRE-EMINENT! • A Pentecost that truly exalts the name and power of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all. --- Scripture quotation(s) marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation 1977. Scripture quotation(s) marked KJV are from the King James Version. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 59: PRE-061-58. THE REDEEMER IS COMING TO ZION ======================================================================== 58. The Redeemer Is Coming To Zion The Redeemer Is Coming to Zion by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I bring you a prophetic word from the Lord. The Redeemer of Zion is about to appear in His glory, in our day, in His church! "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord..." (Isaiah 59:20). The vision of Isaiah the prophet is about to be fulfilled. God is about to move with vengeance toward all who have twisted the truth, and all who have turned to covetousness. Isaiah spoke to the conditions in the church of the last days: • "...Truth is fallen in the street... yea, truth faileth; and he that departed front evil maketh himself a prey..." (Isaiah 59:14.15). • "...and the Lord saw it and it displeased him that there was no judgment. .." (v. 15). Isaiah is saying to us, "Let it be known that truth is being twisted and trampled upon. The church of Christ has become victimized by those who preach false doctrine. God is displeased because no one will stand up and judge the perversions of truth and righteousness." God’s ministers sit idly by while truth is thrown to the ground. Lying spirits have found a voice in the church, and no one stands against it! The true men of God refuse to judge it. Therefore, the Lord Himself will judge it! The Redeemer of Zion is now going to arise and judge the carnality, wickedness, and covetousness - the mockery of truth! "And he (the Lord) saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor..." (Isaiah 59:16). Where are those with discernment? Where are those who will show the people the truth? Truth is falling, and few seem to care or understand. The Lord wonders why! The Redeemer is about to clothe Himself with vengeance and zeal. He will soon move quickly through the church with fury and holiness! "For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds... he will repay, fury to his adversaries..." (Isaiah 59:17-18). He is coming, church of Jesus Christ! He is coming to us wearing His breastplate of holiness and His helmet as Savior. And vengeance, fury, and judgment will soon begin in the house of the Lord. "...the Lord shall judge his people..." (Deuteronomy 32:36). Believe it, saints of God! Something new - something awesome - something eternal - is about to take place in God’s house! It will be sudden and glorious! You have heard that He is going to shake all that can be shaken. Now, let us ask God for understanding as to why the shaking. Why the vengeance and fury. And why the Lord Himself must return to Zion. Why will the Lord take the matter out of the hands of His servants and ministers, and do the work in His own sovereign power? It is all clearly set before us by the prophets. I. First, The Redeemer Is Coming to Zion Because the Enemy Has Come as a Flood Against His Church. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood..." (Isaiah 59:19). Satan has in the past few years flooded the church with one new doctrine after the other - with a spirit of covetousness and carnality. He has poured out a demonic flood of adultery, immorality, and filth! John saw it coming. He warned, "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child... And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood...." (Revelation 12:13-15) This is Satan’s final attack against God’s holiest, most consecrated people. He is now determined to deceive even God’s elect, His chosen few - the remnant who call upon the Lord in truth. "...to seduce, if possible, even the chosen..." (Mark 13:22) Daniel suggests Satan will prevail for a short while: •"...the horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them...until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom..." (7:21-22) Is Satan prevailing for a season? We know the gates of hell will not prevail against the church in the end - but is he prevailing now? Satan has established a beachhead, a stronghold - in the church! Many of God’s elect are deceived right now! Satan has come with another gospel. Paul told us exactly how he will come against God’s holy people, to deceive: • "For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness..." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). • "Many will come who are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ..." (2 Corinthians 11:13) Satan’s stronghold in the church is a host of teachers and ministers who have been transformed by a gospel of the flesh! They come as the Lord’s most enlightened ministers! They sound like preachers of Christ. They come as preachers of righteousness. They use the Scripture. They cast out devils, heal the sick in the Lord’s name, and do many wonderful works. But their message is another gospel! It is a deception of Satan! It is of the flesh - not the Spirit! These teachers have been so deceived by Satan, they are blind to what they preach. They preach lies, believing it to be the truth. They are not even aware they are tools of Satan. Right now, these false doctrines of Satan are prevailing in the church. Multitudes flock to conventions and meetings to hear this other gospel - this gospel of self and success. The gospel of the flesh is riding high - for now! Wake up, saints! Are you being deceived? Have you been trapped in the teachings of an angel of light from Satan? Have you been swept away by the flood? Get into God’s Word. Hear the gospel of Christ, and judge what you see and hear. Compare what Jesus said to what they are saying. The Scripture proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Satan’s new gospel is, "Gain is Godliness"! It is a compromising message without repentance or godliness. It is a gospel of gain. it is based on the supposition that the godlier you are, the more gain you will have. Listen to Paul’s warning: • "If any man teach otherwise... even the words of our Lord Jesus, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness... he is proud, knowing nothing... destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness..." (1 Timothy 6:3-5). Paul cries out, "Turn away from them!" Away from this other gospel! Listen to the words of Jesus. This is the true gospel! "Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake..." (Luke 6:20-22). Here is what the gospel says about seeking, material things. It is from the lips of the Lord Himself - "Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep! Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets..." (Luke 6:24-26). This gospel of gain despises poverty. It rejects and despises the poor. "But ye have despised the poor..." (James 2:6). James exposed this hypocrisy. He said of them: • "You say unto him that is most prosperous and dressed best (with gold rings and fine apparel), Sit here in the good place... And to the poor you say, Sit here at the low place, the footstool..." (James 2:2-3). How blind can we be, saints of God? Is this the gospel to a dying world? Gain is godliness!? Faith is for prosperity!? Poor people lack faith!? Christ became poor so we could become rich, in goods? Take - use your faith to get all you want!? One billion people on this earth are near starvation. The heart of God breaks over the sight of weeping mothers who cradle starving babies with bloated stomachs. Millions are unemployed. The ends of the world are coming down upon us. The world is headed for Armageddon. Cities are about to explode into riots. Persecution and tribulation are coming. The elements will soon melt with fervent heat. The world is on fire! God’s people around the world are being jailed, persecuted, losing all they possess. Am I to believe that the Spirit of God is going to send His true servants into this desperate, hungry world to preach success and prosperity? When people don’t have enough to eat, is God going to send me a message that I have the right to claim a bigger house and a better car? Will it be a man sent from God who tells me that? Only false teachers would promise me health and wealth - and let the rest of the world die! Oh, no - brother, sister. We have it all wrong. The rich man landed in hell! It was the poor man who went to heaven! Jesus Himself became poor, that we might become rich in faith. Listen to Paul, and flee from these preachers of success and prosperity: "From such... turn away..." (2 Timothy 3:5). They have no burden for repentance. They do not preach against sin. They offer blessings without godly sorrow. They are accumulators of this world’s goods. How can they care for the poor when they preach that gain is godliness? Their theology doesn’t produce love for missions and a care for the poor of this world. Amos the prophet cried out: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion... unconcerned about the evil days ahead... that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs of the flock ... that drink wine in bowls... who are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph..." (Amos 6:1-6). I shudder to think what it will be like to stand before God and answer for accumulating, rather than selling and giving to the poor. II. The Redeemer Is Coming to Break Down Every Satanic Stronghold and Bring Back the Standard of Truth to Zion! "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19). What is this standard that will resist this flood and swallow it up? What kind of sovereign fury is to be released in the church? What is this vengeance the prophet talks about? It is a revelation of the very presence of God Himself! The church in these last days is going to experience God appearing in their midst! "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion..." The Judge Himself is coming this time! The General of the armies of God, in person, among His people. In power, authority, and awesome glory! We know that where two or three are gathering in His name, He is there in their midst. But just as the sun grows hotter and brighter the closer it comes, so it will be when He leaves His chamber and comes forth in actual presence. How hot it is going to be! How bright! "... the Lord will come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will expose the counsels of the heart..." (1 Corinthians 4:5) There will not be a prophet raised up to bring the church back to truth and repentance. No new doctrine. No new revelation. The Redeemer Himself will appear and with the power of His holy presence, he will devour all carnality and flesh in His temple. We are going to witness a revival of the actual presence of God! ".... the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God..." (Psalms 68:8). ".... and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple... Who may bear up in the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appeareth?" (Malachi 3:1-2). All Idolatry, all the preaching of "gain is godliness", all the pride of success, all the secret sin - will melt like wax before the presence of God! "As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God..." (Psalms 68:2). "For he is a refiner’s fire... He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold.., that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness..." (Malachi 3:2-3). Micah the prophet also prophesied a glorious revelation of God’s holy presence that would melt everything in its way: • "For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire..." (Micah 1:4). Jeremiah cried, "Will you not fear the Lord? Will you not tremble in His presence?" (5:22). God told Ezekiel, "...and all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down... and every wall shall fall to the ground..." (38:20). If the ungodly are going to shake and tremble before His holy presence, how will anyone be able to stand before that presence in the house of God? Down are coming all the boastings! Down all idols of self! Down with self-promotion! Down with the merchandising of the gospel! Down with all the thieves in God’s temple! No more dens of iniquity! No more seeking after things of this world. No more squandering precious faith on temporal things. No more competition in God’s house. No more tearing down barns to build bigger ones. No more lusting after the things of this earth. No more trying to make a name for self. Judgment will begin in His house! His presence is going to frighten and melt all that exalts itself in His sight. The Lord is going to humble all His servants. No minister of the gospel will be permitted to boast in His presence. Those who refuse to repent will be cast aside, consumed by His wrath. When the presence of God breaks forth, it becomes fatal to harbor secret sin! All adultery will be exposed, all eyes full of lust, all evil imagination! His flaming eyes of fire will expose all hypocrisy! We are going to see many servants whose bodies will be destroyed that their souls may be saved. God is going to either humble us - or remove us! "...that no flesh should glory in his presence..." (1 Corinthians 1:29). Not all who die young are removed because they have sinned. Some of us have had a sentence of death from the Lord - who know their time is short. But a lot of people are going to die when His presence is fully revealed, because sin cannot stand before Him! They will be forced to forsake their sins, or be destroyed. Like Jonah, they are going to "...flee from the presence of the Lord " (Jonah 1:10). Ministers, teachers, and evangelists all boast about the presence of the Lord in their midst! But we don’t know what we are talking about. Let me tell you what happens when God’s presence fills the house. 1. Men are convicted of sin and fall on their faces to repent. Even God’s chosen see their iniquities. None can stand in His presence. All must fall on their faces. "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple... And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke... Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts..." (Isaiah 6:1.5). 2. All success, self-esteem, secret sin, human abilities and strength vanish. It turns to corruption! "Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body was like the beryl and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude... "And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. "Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned to corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground... "And when he had spoken such words to me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb." (Daniel 10:5-9; Daniel 10:15). 3. The entire audience would be on its knees, melted, broken, confessing, making restoration and turning over all their worldly goods at the feet of Christ. Men would cry, "Woe is me. I am not a success. I am not a winner. I am undone! I am a worm. I am proud, I know nothing. But for His blood, I am damned." And heads would be in the dust, not in the air! They would cry as did the apostle Paul, "He hath chosen the weak, the foolish - the nothings - that no flesh should glory in his presence..." (see 1 Corinthians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 1:29). III. The Redeemer Is Coming to Prepare His Bride for the Wedding! "Blow a trumpet in Zion... gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and infants that suck the breast... Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of the closet..." (Joel 2:16). Our Redeemer is coming to His bride out of His chamber! The bride is now coming out of the closet. The wedding is at hand! He has come to call out His bride from the world, to set her apart, to strengthen and purge her - to make her ready! "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb..." (Revelation 19:9). John said, "His wife hath made herself ready... arrayed in white, the fine linen of righteousness..." (Revelation 19:7-8). Saints of God, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ for these last days - "Put on righteousness! Lay aside every weight and the sin that easily besets you. Do not become entangled. Go forth to meet Him. Get your lamps burning. Get your oil supply. Lay no more treasures up here on earth!" The Redeemer must come to Zion, because multitudes are not ready to meet Him in eternity. Do we really understand - do we really believe — we (God’s people) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ? "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ... every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God... so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God..." (Romans 14:10-12). Paul spoke of that day as "the terror of the Lord". To him it was a frightening, sobering thought. It chilled him to the bone that all God’s people must appear at the judgment seat, to "give an account". "...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ... Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..." (2 Corinthians 5:10-11). God wants us to be "presented before the throne, unblameable, with exceeding great joy..." Our Redeemer is coming to His church to prepare His people for judgment. To melt down our flesh. To consume all the hay, wood, and stubble. To burn out all the secret sins and hidden motives. Finally, and most important of all, the Redeemer is coming to restore His glory in His church! The Lord’s greatest desire for His people is to share with them His glory! "...that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me..." (Luke 17:24). God said, "I will glorify the house of my glory..." (Isaiah 60:7). The prophets saw this coming glory and rejoiced in it! Isaiah writes, "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it altogether, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it..." (40:5). "Arise and shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is even upon thee... his glory shall be seen upon thee..." (60:1,2). Hear these prophetic words: Revealed Glory - All Flesh Shall See It - It Shall Be Seen Upon You! We are going to glory, with the glory upon us! The glory that is ours in eternity - will be foretasted now! Jesus said to Martha, "Said I not unto thee, that If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God..." (John 11:40). What is His glory? What are His riches? It is that glory Mary and Martha beheld! Resurrection Power! A revelation of eternal life here on earth! The Bible says our Redeemer is "bringing many sons into glory..." (Hebrews 2:10). That means Christ is bringing His church to recognize their true inheritance - everlasting, resurrection life! God is going to give His people a new heart for eternal values. Eternal values will drive out all temporal values. When I say resurrection glory, I am not referring to the day we will come forth out of the grave. I am talking about the transforming power of resurrection now! Raised from the death of self - to new life now! It is the power of God that takes us away from living to ourselves, to living every moment unto Him. It is the renewing of our minds, raising us out of worldliness into godliness. According to Paul, "the enemies of Christ glory in their shame... they have a mind for earthly things..." (Php 3:18-19). But God’s people have a different glory! Their conversation, all they talk about, is heaven - "our conversation is in heaven..." (Php 3:20). They yearn for resurrection glory: "...that I might know him, In the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering." (Php 3:10). Beloved, that is where my faith is being spent now - on revelation of His resurrection glory: "Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God..." (see John 11:40). Let the blind squander their misguided faith on the things of this world. Let them cry for health, wealth, and success. I want to see His resurrection glory! "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory" (Psalms 24:7-10). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 60: PRE-062-59. JEREMIAH OR JESUS ======================================================================== 59. Jeremiah or Jesus Jeremiah or Jesus Does the Church Need the Thunder of Jeremiah or the Grace of a Merciful Jesus? by David Wilkerson | August 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Jeremiah was a thundering prophet of the Old Testament. Every word he preached was like a sword cutting into the flesh. He angered politicians and church leaders so much they threw him into prison. I wonder what Jeremiah would preach if he lived today! Probably the same message he preached to backslidden Israel. He would stand in our churches today and cry out: "Woe to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep…behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings…I have discovered the wickedness of both prophet and priest…Therefore, they shall be driven out, and fall…I am against these prophets…I will punish them…" (Jeremiah 23:1-40). To the compromising, lukewarm Christians, Jeremiah would cry: "For the land is full of adulterers…their ways are evil…their force [might] is not right…My people are now profane…they walk in lies…they are friendly with ungodly…there is deceit…false prophecy…The children of God have become light and foolish…they have perverted the words of the living God… "Therefore, I the Lord, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring on you an everlasting reproach and a perpetual shame…" (Jeremiah 23:1-40). These were the words of Jeremiah to God’s people Israel, and in spite of this kind of preaching, God’s people backslid. They turned to idols. They mocked at sin. They rejected the alter of sacrifice. They went chasing after heathen gods, idolatry, fornication — all kinds of wickedness. They became vile and sinful, God allowed the Babylonians to take them captive for 70 years. But all the time, this weeping prophet looked forward to a day when God would visit His people and change their hearts. Jeremiah knew that God pitied His people, and loved them with an everlasting love. He prophesied: "For God will set his eyes upon you for good, and will bring you again to the land. I will build them up and not pull them down…I will give them a heart to know me…They shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart…" (Jeremiah 24:6-7). Jeremiah was right! God did bring Israel back. And for a short while they served Him with all their hearts. But once again they turned their backs on God. They went back to idols! Back to their heathen ways! God’s people became perpetual backsliders, stiff–necked, set on mischief. God realized Israel could not keep the Law. They repeatedly broke the covenant He had made with Abraham and Moses. Their unbelief destroyed them. God said: "Because they continued not in my covenant…I regarded them not…" (Hebrews 8:9). From that day on, God began to look for new people. He would raise up a new House of Israel, a spiritual people. He would make a New Covenant with a new Israel. "Behold, the new days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them out of Egypt, which covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them…But this shall be the covenant that I will make: I will write my law in their inward parts…and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. I will forgive their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more…" (Jeremiah 31:1-40). " I will not turn from them, to do them good…but will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me…As sure as I brought evil upon them…I shall bring upon them all the good I promised…" (Jeremiah 32:40-42). A covenant is an agreement! God agreed to do a new thing, for a new people. God no longer regarded Israel, the Jewish nation. Now He turned to the Gentiles — and to all who would accept Him by faith. Paul explains, "They are not Israelites, which are of the nation of Israel…neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children…That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed…" (Romans 9:6-8). Also, "He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly…but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly…that which is of the heart…" (Romans 2:28-29). All true believers are now the spiritual seed of Abraham! We who are of faith possess the inheritance now. We have been adopted as the new Israel, and now all the covenants and promises being to us. The New covenant was meant for believers — children of Christ by faith alone. We live in the day Jeremiah dreamed of — the dispensation of the New Covenant. How he would have loved to live today, and see his prophecy fulfilled! As predicted, Christ was sent by the Father to fulfill the New Covenant. He sealed the agreement with His very own blood. He put it into effect the day He died. This means God is not dealing with our generation as He did with Jeremiah’s. We have new agreement based on better promises. Jeremiah’s message of Law has been fulfilled now in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And what a difference between the thunder of Jeremiah, and the mercy of Jesus. Jeremiah Condemned — Jesus Did Not! "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved…" (John 3:17). The church today is becoming so unlike Jesus. And many ministers are becoming more like Jeremiah. I, too, see the compromise in the church today, and I want to thunder against it like Jeremiah. I see Christians strutting around, showing off their bodies in bikinis. I see their spiritual laziness, absorbed with sports, fun, parties. No burden for lost souls. Very little praying; very little Bible study. I see the young people messing up their spirits on rock music, lying around indulging in sex, cruising around in nice cars, playing Pac–man, loafing. Not even thinking much of the coming of Jesus. Some of them are two–timing the Lord. They claim to be Christians, yet they still drink, they drag pot, they run with fast crowd. Thousands of Christians are absolutely unconcerned, halfhearted. No weeping! No fasting! It makes me want to cry! I get alone with Jesus, shut up with the Bible, and I pray: "Oh, God, give me a red–hot sermon! Let me blast them away! Let me shake them up so badly they’ll fall on their knees and repent. Lord, I’m angry! I’m grieved! It upsets me…I want a Jeremiah message…put a prophet’s thunder in my mouth…" I believe a man of God ought to cry out against sin wherever he sees it. I will not compromise in calling sin by its right name. But at the same time, it must not be condemnation, We must keep in mind that God loves His people, and that He has made a covenant to heal and save this generation, A man who thunders against sin like a prophet needs to know a lot about God’s mercy, too. The 17th Chapter of John is a beautiful picture of the message of the New Covenant — the message of Jesus. It was our Lord’s final hour. He was in the Garden praying to His heavenly Father about His disciples. Please remember, Peter would betray Him within hours. Thomas would doubt Him. All the disciples would forsake Him and return to their homes. The 120 who would later come to the upper room, would all leave Him, too. But Jesus did not condemn them. Listen to this fantastic prayer! "Father, you gave them to me, and they have kept my word…they received the words you gave me. I am glorified in them…they are not of this world…the glory you gave me, I have given to them…let them know you love them, even as you have loved me…" (John 17:1-26). We say, "But Jesus, don’t you see what is in Peter’s heart? He is a coward! He is going to betray you! How can you say that doubting Thomas has been given your glory? Those disciples are full of fear and trembling! How can you think of them as having accepted your words? How can you pray they be loved, when they are so weak? Oh, yes! Their sin would grieve Him! But the New Covenant was being ushered in — it would feature forgiveness, mercy and grace. "I will forgive their iniquities…I will remember their sins no more!" Jeremiah, under the old covenant, preached: "Your sins have cut Him off from you. God will forsake you and make you a reproach!" But Jesus said: "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more…Come ye heavily laden and find rest for your souls…" Things have changed now. Sin still is hateful to God, but we know have a living Savior, seated at the right hand of the Father, praying for us. He prays: "Father, keep them from the wicked one. Love with the same love that you gave me. Forgive their backsliding…keep them by the power of your name…" Look at the Difference Between the Message of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant Jeremiah, when rejected by the people, prayed: "Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sins from they sight…but let them be overthrown…deal with them in anger…" In other words, "God, get those compromise’s! Send judgment and damnation! Show your anger against sin, O Lord!" Now listen to Paul, under the New Covenant. He was writing to the Corinthian church that was carnal, full of dissension, selfish, worldly–minded, and weak in moral standards. Yet Paul addresses his letter to them like this: "Unto the church which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…grace be to you, and peace, from God our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the grace that has been given to you…The testimony of Christ was confirmed in you…who shall confirm you to the end…" (1 Corinthians 1:1-8). In the very next breath, Paul says, "I’ve been told there are contentions among you…" (verse 11). Saints in Christ? Why they act more like a bunch of rebels! They were still "babes in Christ". Paul was not writing only to a few of their best saints, he was writing to the entire church. But they were still loved. Paul did not condemn them or preach the law at them. Without compromising with their sin, he instructed them in the grace of God. Jesus does not give up on us because we are still carnal, or immature, or weak. And God’s people today need less spanking, and more of His mercy and love — even though there is still much carnality. I interpret it like this — now that we are in Christ Jesus, secured by His, let us cooperate with the immaturity and carnality that still remains in us. Jeremiah Preached Obedience by the Law — Jesus Preached Obedience by Love! The message of Jeremiah and the old covenant was, "Fear God, obey His commandments, and be blessed — or disobey and be rejected." The message of Jesus and New Covenant is: "If a man love me, he will obey me…he that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings…" (John 14:23-24). You can put away all the sermons about why God’s people disobey. Why they continue in their sins. It is simply because of a lack of prayer or Bible study. It is not the "spirit of this age". It is not overwhelming temptations. It is not a lack of witnessing or fasting. It is primarily because of a lack of love for Jesus. Paul warned, "because sin will abound, the love of many will wax cold. Jesus is trying to say to us, "You do not need a thundering Jeremiah to keep you from sin and the world. You need only to awaken and draw closer to me. No condemnation. No guilt. No fear. Simply love me completely, and you will forsake your sins." Paul asked the Corinthians, "Do you want the rod, or love in the spirit of meekness…?" (1 Corinthians 4:21). It is so difficult to learn that, under the New Covenant, Christ loves us in spite of what we are and what we do. Think of it! He loves sinners, while still in their sin. But you can flaunt His love, reject it, and be lost — even while He loves you! The Prophecies of Jeremiah Are All Fulfilled in Jesus! Please remember the most glorious promise of the New Covenant: "They shall not depart from me…" (Jeremiah 32:40). The old covenant had no promise like this. It was an agreement between God and man. Man was required to keep his part, or the covenant was breached. God said, "They kept not my covenant, so I will make a new one…" But this New Covenant is not between God and man! God knew we could not keep our part. He must do not only His part now, but ours as well. He made a one–sided agreement on His own part. We do nothing but believe and obey by love. He promises to keep all believers from departing from Him. God said, in essence, "You cannot stay true to me. Your promises are empty. Your human efforts will fail. From now on I am going to keep you supernaturally. I will do your part. You will no longer depart from me — I will see to it!" But — It’s true! Read it! "They shall not depart from me…" You say — "Oh, but at all the wickedness. There is an epidemic of drugs…drinking…promiscuous sex…" God says — "I will keep you from the hour of temptation that is coming to try the earth." You say — "But television is getting so filthy! Movies are now made in hell. The seductions are coming at us from all sides…" God says — "You will not forsake me…I will keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the throne of God with exceeding great joy." You say — "But I’m afraid! People are backsliding. Satan is trying to discourage me! I’m lonely, confused! The future looks so dark! There is divorce everywhere. Homes are breaking up. I don’t know what’s happening to this world…" God says — "You will not forsake me…I will hold you in the palm of my hand — fear not. I will restore to you all the years the cankerworm has eaten. You will be reconciled and revived." You say — "What if I fail in the end? What if I get tripped up and fall back into sin? What if the spirit of this age seduces me, and I slip and become a castaway?" God says — "You shall not depart from me. I have not given you the spirit of fear. When the enemy comes in like a flood, I’ll raise up a standard against him! I will bring you for myself." Now, We Come to the Prophetic Part of This Message! The prophets predicted God would raise up an end time army of holy, consecrated people. Christ is not coming back for a sick, diseased bride. He is not coming back for a church that is defeated, broken, and crippled by sin. He is not coming back for a people with filthy garments, spotted with the corruption of this evil age. No! Christ is coming back for a holy people — overcomers — believers who have gotten victory over all the power of the devil! How is God going to raise up such a holy, pure, powerful army? 1. He is going to send an awakening to the ministers. "And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold…that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness…" (Malachi 3:3). 2. He is going to restore marriages, heal families, and take away bitterness — by sovereign acts of grace. "Behold, I will send you (the spirit of) Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the Lord…"And he shall turn the heart of the children to the fathers…lest I come and smite the earth with a curse…" (Malachi 4;5,6). 3.He is going to cause the Holy Spirit to send upon us, a great turning around! "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn not ye into me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning…"And tear your heart, and not your garments…and turn unto the Lord your God. He will be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness…" (Joel 2:12-13). A lazy, haphazard, sports–minded generation turning around? Weeping? Fasting? Rending their hearts? Turning to the Lord with all that is in them? YES! A merciful God has promised to do it. The only thing that can hinder God’s is unbelief. If you will reach out in faith, the promises of restoration are yours and mine. We are not going to get stuck in some dry wilderness like Israel did. We’re going on into the Promised Land! You can sense God wooing back His people all over the world. The Spirit is doing His sovereign work, calling people out of their coldness, sinfulness, and spiritual bondage. If we won’t surrender, if we won’t love God — the Spirit will go out into the streets and raise up a new people, overnight! Drug addicts, harlots, alcoholics, gangsters — they will take the place of all those who refuse to yield to the Spirit’s moving. We do not reject Jeremiah, nor his message. He declared God’s word to his generation. But now, we see Jesus making it possible to fulfill all God’s demands by faith in the blood sacrifice of the Cross. Today is the day of mercy, not wrath. Thank God for the new covenant of mercy, love, and grace. God help those who reject such an offer! They will die in their sins. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 61: PRE-063-60. END TIME VALUES ======================================================================== 60. End Time Values End-Time Values by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] God is doing a secret work in our day. He is raising up a hungry people who are growing more and more dissatisfied with the fleshly, worldly system as it now exists — even in the church. These God–hungry people are saying among themselves. "This is not it. There is something more. The bigness and the sensationalism of it all has left us empty and dry. We want more. More than entertainment. More than big, showy buildings. More than a shallow celebrity gospel. We want deeper values. We want to see Jesus. We want spotless robes of righteousness. We want to go back to doing things in total dependence on God." I see it all over the nation today — disillusioned Christians searching for reality. The people in the pew are beginning to fast and pray. They are the ones who now weep between the porch and the altar. And, they are crying out for more depth and more of eternal values from the pulpit. If the minister of their church goes on in some egocentric way, pursuing expensive dreams, they will go out looking for a place where their deepest spiritual needs will be met. I know it to be a fact that numerous ministers share my own desperate hunger for a deeper work of God in the church and ministry today. There seems to be a secret underground network of men of God who are stripping themselves down, humbling themselves, and getting back into the secret closet of prayer. Recently I have met a number of ministers, of various denominations, who are prayng up to 6 and 8 hours a day. They are fasting. Some of these dear men of God grieve over conditions in the church today. God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth. God is going to shake everything that can be shaken. He will tear down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system. He will disown the formal, super–church structure. He will chase out of His presence all who are engaging in self–promoting ministries. Be honest, saints of God. Are you really satisfied with the religious system today, and especially in your church? Some are. But most are not getting their needs met. I believe we have gotten off the track of true spirituality. The spiritual leanness of so many Christians today is a direct result of getting into the flesh — trying to do kingdom work in our own power, with worldly methods. Our values are becoming perverted. Shame on us! We are substituting temporal values for eternal ones. We have evangelists and teachers who specialize in telling belieers how much God owes them. Material blessings are magnified, spiritual ones minimized. According to some, it is our right to be rich, successful, and immune to all pain. These teachers point to themselves as examples of prosperity faith. "Look at me," it is said, "I have proved the promises. I live well. I am never sick. I have no unpaid bills. I drive the best cars. I live in the finest home. It works for me, so believe as I do and you can have what I have." Eyes As a Flame of Fire Beloved, how much of that teaching will stand up before the judgment seat of Christ? There is a growing inner knowledge in me that most of our modern, self–centered teaching is going to be consumed before the flaming eyes of the Son of God. John, in his vision of the Son of God, saw an awesome sight. "…his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire…" (Revelation 1:14). John goes on to say, "…I fell at his feet as dead…" (v. 17). Will any of us, as teachers and evangelists, be able to stand before those piercing eyes of flaming fire? Can any Christian look Him in the eyes? No ego can withstand His gaze. No self–centered dreams can be unexposed. All secret sin will be exposed as a terrible abomination in His sight. All the things we have accumulated will burn. All the great works we have done for Him, with such zeal and sweat — will they also burn? How important is what you are doing to God’s kingdom? God can give you the desire of your heart, but send leanness to your soul. God assisted Israel in their desire to have a king. but He later disciplined them for their selfish motives. Are you in some kind of competitive race? Are you doing things for God just to keep up with others? In eternity, looking back — how really necessary will it all be then? Children of God, what is the good of what you and I are doing? Do we have motives based on eternal values? If we truly believe the end of all things is upon us, what should we be doing about purging our values? What is it going to take to wake us up and get us out of the drift toward ease and comfort? I confess to you that it has taken years for me to live only for eternal values. I grieve when I think back of the time and money I wasted trying to build somethng tangible for God. I wanted something people could see. How important I thought those buldings were to God’s kingdom. I convinced myself, "God deserves the best." He does — but not in bricks, mortar, and steel. He deserves the best of our time and yieldedness. Thank God for the day the Spirit revealed to me how shallow my values were. I spent 20 years planning programs, building buildings, running all over the world trying to show God how important to His kingdom I was. All the while my reputation grew as a minister of faith and vision. Yet, after each new project, I felt a letdown. No sooner was one building finished, and I was already planning another. I was an idea–man for God. I had more ideas than any preacher in America. Ideas on how to evangelize. How to organize New Testament programs. The programs and ideas were successful enough to entrap me and keep me on the treadmill of busy–ness. But all along my heart yearned for more. I knew the blessing was not in building. Not in some well–planned scheme to reach the lost. Not in bigness, and not in activity. I discovered the hard way, that the glory of God, the peace and joy of the Spirit, was in being stripped down, emptied, and made totally weak. God had to expose all my values. He turned His flaming eyes on my soul and showed me I had better reject my old way of doing things, or be lost in a maze of self–imposed activity. Now, my greatest joy is waiting upon Him for direction. I have made time to be alone with Him, and have prepared my soul to abide in His quiet presence. He is letting me sense what the Spirit is saying to this generation. The more He empties me, the more He fills me with a desire to depend only on Him for everything. I see now that all along the Lord was waiting for me to lay down all my plans, all my ambitions, and be given over to Him as a bondslave. The sweat is now gone — the pressure is off. He is recreating all my values. The Final Shaking What will happen when God begins to shake everything that can be shaken? When all false values tumble and earthly dreams and plans lose their meaning? Sadly, many of God’s children are going to end up bewildered and confused. As the world moves into the era of economic collapse — when persecution falls even upon civilized nations — when governments are convulsing and tottering on the brink of total collapse — how many Christians will survive the test? A lot of God’s people are going to wonder where they are. Ministers who are caught up in the trap of human vision will leave the ministry confused, all their work to no avail. Multitudes will be asking, "What’s it all about? What’s happening? What does the future hold? Where are we? Who can tell us the mind of God?" We are not moving swiftly into what we know as the end time.We had better be in possession of a heavenly vision of holiness and humility. The testing time is coming down upon us with lightning speed. It is going to take more than a doctrine or a particular teaching to see us through. We are going to have to really know the Lord in His fullness. We had better have our eyes on eternal values. Only spiritual things are going to remain. Only spiritual people will understand what is happening and not faint. We must be linked up with the mind of the Spirit so we will not be thrown by the radical thanges that are coming. We must bring ourselves to the place we have nothing to lose. We need to walk away from all the junk in our lives — we are going to lose it all anyhow. How much of God do you possess in this final hour of disintegration and fear? How earthly are you? How transitory are your desires? Have your values been sifted and purged by the Spirit of almighty God? How much of the world interests you — how much time is consumed in chasing after things that don’t matter now? End–Time Restlessness You will know when the Spirit is calling you out of the shallow Christianity about you. You will know when the Lord is wanting to touch you in a supernatural way. You will know when He is calling you out of the ordinary. He will stir your nest. An unexplainable divine restlessness will come upon you. You will become disinterested in what you have been doing. All your successes will leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled. Nothing that you have or do will meet the need in you for reality. You will sense that a very deep need in you has not yet been met — questions that have never been answered. A shadow of dissatisfaction will be cast over your entire life. That is a mark of God’s dealing with you in a supernatural way, trying to get you to turn loose of all that you hold dear. It is His way of showing you that your needs are really spiritual and not physical. Saints, the key word is hunger. He has promised to fill the hungry heart. I have never been so hungry for God. That hunger almost overwhelms me at times. Every waking hour my heart reaches out to Him. Because His thoughts are always on my mind, the things of the world have lost their value. I see material things as Paul did — nothing but the dung of this world. I am becoming a nobody — and it feels so good. Do you also sense this call to a deeper walk with God? Is your soul hungry for more of the Spirit in your life? If so, end the civil war in you by yielding everything you have to the Master. The misery goes the very moment you surrender all to Him. You can know true peace and happiness the moment you quit trying to be sombody. Want nothing but Jesus, and your life will take on a new meaning. Don’t Waste Another Hour My greatest grief is that it took so long for me to get out of God’s way. I wasted years doing things simply out of compassion. I was spiritually blind, not knowing that God must clearly direct every step I take. I had an international pulpit — preaching to thousands — with crowded altars. Thank God He showed me there was much more. The numbers and the crowds meant nothing. I wanted to see people get deeper into the Lord. I wanted nothing more to do with shallow decisions. God had to totally change my way of thinking, and now, like Gideon, I know that big is not always best. Don’t let it happen to you. Take stock of your life and values. Shut yourself up with God alone in the secret closet. Pray diligently for spiritual hunger. Ask God to give you a spirit of sorrow for wasting so much time. Pray for a greater desire for His Word. Pray for a broken heart. Pray for a purging and a purifying work in your life. Then get ready to be cast into the fire of testing. "…I will purge the sons of Levi…" (Malachi 3:3). I can tell you it’s worth it! The purging will not seem joyous but rather grievous. But you will soon glorify the Lord for the results in your life. All the anxiety will be gone. All worldly ambition will die. Your spiritual eyes will be opened to truth. The Spirit will give you revelation knowledge. You will exchange the riches of this world for the true riches in Christ Jesus. You will wake up each morning with an overflowing joy. Your soul will cry out — "I found what my soul has been longing for. Rest — beautiful rest in my Lord." You can say with David, the Psalmist — "In his presence is fulness of joy; at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore…" (Psalms 16:11). Proof Scriptures * "…for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…So then everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God…" (Romans 14:10-12). * "…the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer…" (1 Peter 4:7). * "…The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light…" (Romans 13:12). * "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire…" (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 62: PRE-064-61. RESTORATION ======================================================================== 61. Restoration Restoration by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1982 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The days of the Gentiles are almost over. God has given us plenty of warning that the Spirit will not forever strive with the rebellious. But before this generation comes under the retribution of almighty God - a great restoration is prophesied. The prophets predicted the end could not come until first there was "A Great Day of The Lord." Joel cried, "The day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand" (Joel 2:1). The very heavens will quake at the sound of His voice, as our Lord awakens to pull down satanic strongholds. "Just once more," the Scriptures say, "He will shake not only the earth, but also heaven." No wonder the prophets wanted to sound the loud trumpets and call a solemn assembly. The prophet Joel is the messenger of this great promise of restoration in the last days. He foresaw "floors full of wheat and the vats overflowing with wine and oil" (2:24). He saw, in his prophetic mind, God’s famished people once again "eating in plenty, and fully satisfied - with God dealing wondrously with his people." The shame was to be lifted from God’s house (2:26). Before Joel outlined what God was going to do, he reminded the church that "the Lord’s camp is very great, and he is strong that executed his word" (2:11). God is about to execute His "great and terrible day," and none shall be able to withstand it. Here Is the Promise "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you..." (Joel 2:25). The psalmist David said the righteous shall "be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit... with leaves that do not wither... fruitful and prosperous..." (Psalms 1:1-3). But that promise is only to those who have totally separated themselves from the wicked, and who refuse to walk in the way of sinners. It is only for those who are devoted students of God’s Word, meditating in it day and night. "The ungodly are not so," said David. They become weak and withered, blown about by every wind and wave of doctrine. The compromisers are likened to withered trees, diseased and corrupted with every conceivable kind of worm. This is a picture of many professing Christians in God’s house today. They neglected their Bible reading; they became too preoccupied to pray and build themselves up in the faith; they became cozy with the ungodly and took their seat among the scornful. Joel cried, "All the trees of the field are withered, for their joy has dried up..." (1:12). This weeping prophet was heartbroken over the sad condition of so many of God’s chosen people. The enemy was destroying the vine. The harvest was perishing. The blessing and joy of the Lord were being stripped from Israel. The enemy had become very bold: "...he hath the teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree [chewed off the bark]; the branches thereof are white..." (Joel 1:6-7). Think of it - a forest debarked, clean bare, blanched white with disease. What vivid language Joel used - "languished... dried up... withered... wasted... desolate... broken down barns... rotten seed... trees aflame." He is describing the spiritual condition of the Laodicean church of the last days. The Spreading Cankerworm An army of cankerworms has been eating away at the lives of multitudes of backslidden Christians. Outwardly they appear as trees planted by living water - but inwardly they are corrupted, weak, diseased. They no longer bear fruit! They are drying up spiritually. Divorce is a cankerworm. So is adultery. So are drinking and drugs. So is worldlimindedness. So are dirty television and filthy movies. So is prayerlessness. So is neglect of the Bible. So are gossip, and rebellion, and fear, and doubt, and carrying grudges. And the cankerworms have ben wreaking havoc in God’s house, leaving so many Christians stripped and spiritually diseased. The cankerworm did its destructive work within the bark of the tree. So it is with sin. It is eating away deep within those who have gotten away from the presence of the Lord. The cankerworm only attacked trees that were weak and unhealthy. Satan is having a heyday because he knows he can get at Christians who are spiritually weak and frail. This explains why there is so much depression and despair among Christians today. Prayerless, half-hearted Christians have become so weak, sin has overpowered them. Joel became that the enemy should be getting the upper hand. "O Lord, give not thine heritage to reproach... that sin should rule them.... Why should people be saying, Where is their God?" (Joel 2:17). That has become the prayer of my heart, too. It should be the prayer of all the holy people of God. We should be weeping, prostrated before the Lord and crying, "How long, O Lord, will you permit the sham, the worldliness, the divorcing, the cheating, the hypocrisy - to continue in the holy place? When will you move to wake up the entire congregation and bring them back to repentance and holiness? Why should the enemy run roughshod over so many of God’s people? Do something now, Lord." Restoration Power Is Coming God is going to do something about spiritual deterioration. He is going to build again the house of David that has fallen down. He is going to destroy the locusts and the cankerworms - and restore the damage done by sin. What a glorious promise has been given to every child of God! On His own, by His own decree, the Lord has promised to pour out restoration power upon the church. "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, and the cankerworm..." (Joel 2:25). God cannot undo all the damage done by our modern-day apostasy and wickedness, but He can - and will - make a new beginning. I tell you, in the Spirit - we are even now beginning to witness this predicted New Beginning. Let the ministers of the Lord fast and weep - repenting of their sins - and cry aloud that our Lord is again coming to His temple to cleanse and purify - and restore! I have never believed that our Lord would sit idly by and permit a flood of adultery, alcohol, drugs and wickedness to break up our homes and claim an entire generation of young people. Don’t you understand, saints - that without this sovereign act of God in restoring and healing, this generation is lost. You had better believe it! Your children face an angry devil out to drown them in a flood of promiscuous sex, alcohol, drugs, and rebellion. It’s a supernatural, demonic last ditch stand by Satan because he knows his time is short. I tell you, God will not permit Satan to destroy our youth. God is about to do a new thing. God is about to do something about the pandemic divorce rate, even among ministers. God is about to do something about the fear, depression, and loneliness spreading throughout His kingdom. Our all-powerful God is even now shaking Himself as one who awakens, and He is beginning to roar against the enemy. It is as if He is putting Satan, the world, and all humanity on notice - "I will arise - I will bless Zion - I will shake everything - I will restore!" Restoration Through Bible Truth God has told us how He is going to bring about this great restoration. First, He will pour out His Holy Spirit in such copious ways, it will bring health and strength back to all the trees in His forest. The worm of sin will begin to lose its power as God’s people get back to Bible reading. A powerful revelation of the Lord’s new covenant will make God’s people as bold as lions. Yes - believe it - a revival of spiritual strength and divine health is going to be poured out from on high. A new emphasis on in-depth Bible study is already at work in the land. This renewed thirst for God’s Word is destined by God to be the river of power and strength that will bring about a restoration of faith and spiritual power. God has declared He will once again put His Sword in the hand of His beloved. The church is going to turn whole-heartedly back to the Word of God - back to honest Bible preaching - and God’s people are going to once again discover the power available to them to cast down every satanic stronghold. Away with the light, frivolous preaching of God’s Word now! Away with the cliches, the stories, the headlines - and back to preaching only the Holy Word. Saints - get into the Word! Restoration power has been promised to you! Your home can be healed. God can restore to you joy, peace, and glorious victory - through the power of His Word. The Spirit and Power of Elijah! We have been given another great and precious promise, whereby God will restore. The prophet Malachi bore the good news. The Old Testament closes out with this glorious prophecy - "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord! And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse..." (Malachi 4:5-6). It is true Jesus said of John, "If you will receive it, this is Elijah, which was spoken of..." (Matthew 11:14). What Christ was saying is this: "John the Baptist has upon him the spirit and power of Elijah - if you could just see it." We are told the angel of the Lord prophesied to Zechariah that his son John would "go forth before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the heats of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to their fathers... to make ready a people prepared for the Lord..." (Luke 1:17). I believe Malachi’s prophecy is for today also. I believe that once again God is going to put upon many of His chosen servants, the spirit and power of Elijah. And these men and women of God are going to be mightily used to bring about a restoration of families. Divorces will be canceled! Children will be convicted of their rebellion and be restored in love to their parents. Healing for our families is clearly predicted. This prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes - right now. Recently, in a Texas town, an unassuming young pastor began to pray for the salvation of the youth in his local schools. God put on him that dynamic spirit and power of Elijah. Not only have hundreds in his local school been saved - the restoration is spreading to schools wherever he goes. Not hundreds - but thousands of high school students are being convicted of their drugs, alcohol, sex and rebellion. In my own meetings, it has been something to behold. Young people are hurrying home from our outreaches to "make-up" with their parents. They have been confessing deep hatred. But now they weep! They repent! And, it will spread all through the land! Because God has promised to restore parents and children. Drug pushers - beware! Pot-heads and boozers - beware! The Holy Ghost is taking over - and an army of Elijah-type teenagers are going to claim their schools for God! I am so excited I can hardly write these words - because of what I see coming! Unknown, unassuming, humble young men and women of God are being miraculously touched, anointed - and they have been given a supernatural mission. They have been told - "Go forth - and restore! For the day of the Lord has come. The cankerworms of drugs and alcohol are no longer permitted to eat away at the life of the youth. God will destroy the cankerworms." The Last Outpouring The outpouring of the Holy Spirit follows restoration, according to Joel. God has to heal and restore His people to prepare them for the miracles and wonders about to come. I know many will not receive what I am about to say - yet many will. I do not believe we have yet seen the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in all its glory and fullness, as prophesied by Joel. What we have seen are just a few sprinkles! We have been given just a foretaste. We have had a worldwide charismatic renewal. Protestants and Catholics alike now testify to having been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Love has brought many together. It has been an experience shared worldwide. Yet it is just a foretaste. God will permit nothing to hinder what He plans to do! The enemy is in for a surprise. Just as it appears the church will be inundated by a satanic flood - the Spirit will raise up a standard. Understand what that standard is, and you will understand what God is about to do! The standard is a holy people, pure, undefiled, delivered from the corruption that is in the world. That standard is a new breed of sanctified Christians, who will shine forth as lights in the midst of a wicked and perverse generations. It will not be just a renewal of love and praise. It will be a restoration of holiness unto the Lord! The charismatic renewal must now flow into this restoration stream of holiness and purity - or be left out of what God is going to do. There will still be shouting and praise - but it will be the shout of victory over sin and compromise. This fulfills to the letter the purpose of the last outpouring - "that all who call on his name shall be delivered..." (Joel 2:32). Delivered from what? From sin! From the spirit of the world! We have not had the fullness of the Spirit’s outpouring until we see baptized people separating themselves completely from the world. There must come an emphasis on separation and purity of heart. The purpose of the Spirit’s coming is to sanctify and prepare a people for the Lord’s return. He is coming for those without spot or wrinkle. What kind of baptism is it that allows such coziness with the world - such as we have been witnessing among those who claim to be filled with the Spirit? Where is the heart searching, the weeping, the fasting, the burden for lost souls, the broken-hearted cry for holiness and purity? When the fullness of the Spirit’s outpouring comes upon all flesh - we shall see conviction for sin everywhere. "He will convict the world of sin... judgment and righteousness - that is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Tragically, too many speak with tongues, then live like the devil. Sin was never uprooted. All they received was an experience of ecstasy. God blessed them just enough to call them into a deeper life of yieldedness and holiness. But they stopped and went about saying - "I got the Holy Ghost." Oh - there is so much more. I thank God for the privilege of praying in an unknown tongue - it is my way of releasing all the pent-up praises to God in a communication beyond my understanding. But you can speak with the tongues of men and even angels - and have received nothing - without charity. But I say it goes even deeper. You are not truly baptized with the Holy Spirit until every hidden part of your soul has been exposed - and every sin confessed and forsaken. I don’t listen to men who go around telling people how to receive the Holy Ghost - while all the time they leave their wives and pick up with someone else. Others speak in tongues, then soak themselves in beer, wine, and even whiskey. That’s all coming down, folks! God is going to clean up His church. He is going to pour out a spirit of conviction for sin unlike anything the world has witnessed. It will touch not only our churches, but high schools, colleges, and everywhere people congregate. The spirit outpoured on all flesh means - conviction for sin and a hunger for righteousness - upon all. Spend just one full day in praying and fasting - shut in with God and your Bible - and you will understand this message. You too will begin to experience the restoration of your soul, spirit, marriage, and family. Ask Him to destroy all your cankerworms. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 63: PRE-065-62. GOING FISHING ======================================================================== 62. Going Fishing Going Fishing by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I want to speak with you about a unique experience that is shared primarily by those who yearn to go deeper in Christ. It has to do with a tremendous spiritual letdown that usually follows periods of fresh anointing and divine revelation. Only those men and women of God who have had a unique touch from Him can understand the deadlock and dark plunges that follow spiritual highs. It is the testimony of spiritual giants in all ages, that the most severe temptations, the most oppressive battles — follow soon after the greatest spiritual experiences. Paul’s thorn in the flesh came after his greatest revelation — soon after he had ascended into the third heaven and witnessed things too awesome to describe. Daniel set himself to pray, and in a spirit of intercession he was given wisdom and revelation. Freshly anointed with the Spirit of Almighty God, he was cast into a lion’s. The three Hebrew Children entered into a pact to live holy, separated lives. They became spiritually and physically wise and enlightened beyond all their peers. It got them a fiery furnace. Their spiritual hunger resulted in revelation, which in turn brought on an even deeper spiritual test. Christ Himself could not escape the inevitable test that follows great anointing. He was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil immediately after the Spirit descended upon Him as He came out of baptismal waters. He went directly from revelation to temptation. A Personal Experience I have just recently come through a nearly indescribable experience. It started about 6 weeks ago at a convention in Dallas, Texas. At the conclusion of my message concerning the sufferings of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord came upon me in a mighty way, literally taking possession of my entire being and through my lips began to exalt the Lord Jesus. Only three words were spoken — "Glory, Honor, and Praise." Over and over, higher and higher, the words poured forth like a rushing river. I was suddenly swept away in that river of praise, and I felt my spiritual man leaving the auditorium. My praises were now joined to those of angels, of heavenly hosts around the throne. Hundreds sat in silence as I collapsed in the pulpit. Although my physical body lay prostrate in that auditorium, my spiritual man was no longer on this earth. I was with the worshipping hosts near God’s throne. What freedom I felt to praise. What marvelous light — so warm and comforting. I thought, "This must be what saints of all ages have seen of the heavenlies." In the spirit, I was rejoicing, falling down before him crying out, "Glory, honor, and praise. Worthy is the Lamb." I cannot describe that experience fully. I do know I will never be the same. In His presence there was no thought of seeing Moses, or Abraham, or any of the patriarch, not even Paul. There was no desire to seek out family or friends. I saw clearly why there would be no marrying. I saw how unimportant the question is, "Will we know each other in heaven?" None of these things mattered. There was no concern for streets of gold, or mansions, or even reward. Christ was everything — all–consuming, all fulfilling, all–satisfying. There was no room for no more. No earthly memories. No human attractions. In His presence there is fullness of joy, at His right hand there are pleasures evermore. It was the revelation of Christ in eternal glory that was so overpowering. Truly, in Him is the fullness of the Godhead. I knew at that moment that the joy and ecstasy of heaven is not static or level. The joys, the revelation of who Christ is will be ever unfolding, all through eternity. We will have an ever–expanding capacity to enjoy His glory throughout eternity — with newer and greater joys and revelations. We will grow in the knowledge of Him, and that revelation will give us an ever–growing sense of joy and peace. There is a peace that truly passeth all understanding. I did not want to leave that glorious scene. My praises had become one with the eternal voices of worship — while multitudes worshipped, it seemed as but one grand and glorious voice. It was awesome! I began to realize how little we know of the glory of praise, and how our praises blend with the praises of all saints of all ages — into one glorious, eternal chorus. And what glorious light! It permeated everything! Christ radiated, not rays of light, but diffused light that brought life, comfort, joy, and a sense of nearness to Himself. I knew that what I was experiencing was not a result of any personal holiness or spiritual goodness on my part. It was simply God answering my desperate hunger and my inner cry to know Him better — that alone was allowing me to taste just a little bit of His glory. When I awakened and sat up, my wife was relieved. People thought for a moment I may have had a heart attack. But she was at ease when she saw the glory of the Lord on my face. The afterglow was so powerful, it was a long time before we spoke a word to each other. That night I thought I could never again go down into a valley of despair. Hadn’t I seen a glimpse of His glory? Was it not the greatest single revelation in my lifetime? Had I not set my heart to abandon all fleshly ways, to go all the way with God? Certainly some would think such an experience is emotional, too charismatic, or even unscriptual. But no one can take from me what I experienced — it was too sacred and awesome. It was less than a week later that I entered into the driest six weeks of my life. I seemed to go from the heavenlies, to agonizing emptiness. Not that I once doubted His love for me. On the contrary, I loved Him more than ever. My salvation was never in question. I had thought tremendous growth would soon follow. I would increase in spiritual revelation by leaps and bounds. My hunger for Him would be answered by ever–ncreasing divine wisdom and biblical revelation. The Scriptures would open more easily. Prayer would be more glorious. Instead, the heavens seemed to shut on me. My prayer life became stifled, and a spiritual dryness crept in. I felt like I was stymied, as though I was losing spiritual ground. One brother explained to me that my present letdown was God’s way of getting me down to earth, and to avoid all such further emotional experiences. But in my heart I knew his remarks came out of his own spiritual deadness. He was letter perfect, spirit bankrupt. Certainly God was not in hiding, for He has promised to never leave or forsake us. Yet He seemed to have stopped the flow of spiritual energy. But deep within me I could sense a purpose in the trial. I knew I was experiencing a trial common to many others. T. Austin–Sparks was a pious English minister who had received tremendous revelations concerning the indwelling of Christ. He is one of my favorite authors. A dear lady wrote to me this week, telling how she first discovered his writings. It touched her so deeply, she sold all of her possessions and went to London to sit under his teaching. She personally heard him confess to his students that every new revelation he received of Christ’s glory was followed by satanic attacks on his physical body. He would experience terrible gastritis and stomach pains, sleepless nights, and extreme loneliness. Few of his students knew the price he paid for such deep revelation. In one of his writings entitled HIS GREAT LOVE, Brother Sparks shared some of his insights on the subject. He wrote: "We have a lot to say about the fullness of Christ, of the church which is His body, and of identification with Christ. All these are great truths, great conceptions. But what I find is this, that we have not come to an end of God’s thoughts yet. I am very glad of this; but it is the most painful thing we can know, that we will never come to an end here, and in order to go on into a further stage something has to happen to us, get down to the bottom and clean out of all that has gone before us. We go through a new experience of death and desolation and emptiness, of hopelessness, in order to come to something further on in the divine revelation. "We thought, ’Now, we have come into the fullness of God’s thought. Now at length we are seeing what God is after. We are expanding.’ We get on with that for a time and it fills our whole vision; and then everything is as though it were nothing, and we go through a terrible time. Oh, yes, it was right, it was true, but it was not God’s whole end. "My experience is that it is through just such a history with God, of repeated desolation and emptyings and sparings after wonderful unveilings and times when you feel there cannot be anything more, that you are brought up again into something further on, with your vision enlarged." Peter Went Fishing The greatest revelation the disciples would ever receive focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was the first day of the week, and the disciples were hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. Suddenly, there He was, in full resurrection glory — victorious over death, hell, and the devil. He showed them His hands, His feet, His pierced side. Then He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." What glorious truths were coming forth. Revelation upon revelation. A new anointing, a new commission to go forth in His name, power to bind and loose, victory over the power of sin. It was too much for the disciples — especially Thomas. He reacted with passive despair. Peter said, "I go a fishing." Other disciples went with him. It was as if Peter wanted nothing more to do with the high cost of revelation. Had he not failed one test already? From that proud boast that he would never forsake his Lord, to despair of denial. Peter could not take it all in. I think I know nearly exactly what he said to himself as he headed back to his fishing nets — "I’ll never make it, I’m too dull to understand the way God works. I can’t comprehend the cross, and how will I ever understand His resurrection? I’m making no spiritual progress — after all this time I’ve spent with Him, I have understood so little. Let those who are brighter than me go on with Him. I’ll always love Him, but no more delving into the deep thoughts of Christ. I just want to do my own thing, in my own quiet way." In one way or another most of us react to spiritual letdowns in the same manner of speaking. In our frustration we mope about, getting lazy about spirituals — neither hot nor cold. We move into spiritual vacuum. We end up wanting to pray, yet with no motivation to do it. We are pricked in our conscience because of our neglect of His Word, but the desire to dig in has gone. It is a fretful condition to be in. We know the Lord has called us to go on in Him, to go deeper — but because we do not understand our despair, we fall back into our old ways. We get stagnant. Worst of all, we begin to feel guilty for our lethargy. Our fears mount that we will never measure up to what God wants for us. So we will go back to busyness — some to shopping sprees, others to their hobbies. Some seek release in building something or starting a new project. The time once spent with God in growing, is wasted on some form of "fishing" — and in an ever–increasing bondage to details. We become frivolous and indecisive. How many times I’ve told the Lord and myself — "I’ll never understand the things of God like I should. The more I read, the less I seem to comprehend. I am so dull, so spiritually blind, I can’t seem to retain what I read and hear. The hungrier I get, the less I seem to grow. I seem to take two steps back for every step forward. Why is it that other men of God get such clear revelations and they know so much about Christ — and I struggle, fast, pray, and see so little. Lord, am I making any progress at all?" Brother Sparks has an encouraging word along these lines. He wrote: "We may adopt different courses in our perplexities, in adversity, under trial. When the Lord hides Himself and we cannot see Him, or hear Him, and we do not feel that He is with us, He seems to be so far away and to have gone right out of our world. All we were expecting seems to have come to an end, and we do not know where we are, then we are prone to go some way that we choose for ourselves, and begin to take alternatives to steadfast love. "It is a positive challenge, because these are experiences, these are tests, that the Lord allows. It is not a wrong thing to say that there are times when the Lord hides Himself, when the Lord lets us feel that we are left alone, when the Lord seems to close the heavens to us so that there is no to–and–fro communication. Everything that we had looked for, expected and preached, seems to have come to an end and to have broken down, and we are just left in what seems like the ruins of everything. "The Lord just does do that, and particularly does He do that sort of thing when He has people in view who are going to count. People who are going to count for Him go through deep experiences like that, and the object is to get them onto a basis which will make it possible for Him to use them. We will never be used unless we can stand on our own feet in the storm. We are useless to the Lord if we go to pieces when everything around us, and in our spiritual life, seems to have come to a deadlock. If then we give it up, we are of no use to the Lord. The whole question of future usefulness to the Lord is based on upon a love for the Lord which does not give up and say, ’I go a fishing.’ ’I take an alternative to following the Lord, I take an alternative to going on with the Lord because of this situation.’ "This is why the Lord came back, once, twice — ’Follow Me,’ ’Follow thou Me.’ ’You went back under trial, under testing — now follow thou Me.’ And you have got to follow and go on following when you cannot see Him, when you do not know where He is, you have got to go on. These are the kind of people, and these alone, who will be used as Peter was. The basis of everything was that kind of personal love to the Lord Himself, not for what He was doing for Peter at the time, but for Himself. Oh, that is difficult — God only knows how difficult it is — to love Him for Himself when He does not seem to be doing any thing for us at all. That is the challenge of love." Conclusion Peter did go fishing, and at the Lord’s command he cast his net on the opposite side and gathered a tremendous harvest of fish. Later, while Peter separated his catch, Jesus said to him, "Lovest thou Me more than these?" In other words, "Peter, if you love Me, get back to where you were. Follow ME — Feed My Sheep. Stop doing your own thing — wake up! If you love Me — that love will turn you around and get you back on the road of growth and usefulness." Are you going through a most difficult right now? Are you spinning your spiritual wheels, in the doldrums of dryness? Are you finding it hard to even understand or explain what you are going through? I have one question for you: do you really love Him? That is all He asks of you, a love that obeys. You are experiencing growth pains. It’s all a part of becoming mature in Christ. God has His hand on you more than ever. Satan knows it, and is trying everything within his power to sidetrack you with lies and distortions. Move on in blind faith until the joy returns — and it will. Ride out your storm, and don’t worry about measuring up. You will come through on the other side realizing how much you have grown. Don’t ever again let your own deadlocks or dry spells bring you to despair. Rejoice in them — they are part of God’s plan to bring us into His purpose and thoughts. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 64: PRE-066-63. THE SIN OF MIXING ======================================================================== 63. The Sin Of Mixing The Sin of Mixing by David Wilkerson | August 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] How many churches do you know that are flooded with the awesome presence of Jesus Christ? Where believers are so awed and reverent, they gather in holy silence. Where no one dares be flippant or silly. Where the singing is so filled with Christ’s presence, sinners weep. Where the backslider and the wicked sinner become so miserable they either run to the altar, or out the door. Where the preacher is so anointed his face seems to shine with supernatural glory, and his words have convicting power. How many Christians do you know who live in the glorious victory that comes from spending much time in the presence of Jesus? Who do you know that is exciting to be around, because you can sense victory and peace in them? Where are those who rejoice in pulling down strongholds — casting down evil imaginations — victorious over lust and passion — who have found and appropriated the strong arm of the Lord to all their hurts, problems, and anxieties? How few churches, how few pastors, and how few Christians there are who are alive and vibrant with the power of Christ’s presence! Why? Because this generation of Christians is guilty of the sin of mixture! We have been shutting out the actual presence of Christ because we no longer want to be a separated people. We want to mix. We do not want to be different. Mixture means "to combine or blend into one mass so that individual characteristics are gone." It is the intermingling of two elements causing them to lose their separate uniqueness, and take on a new, singular character. Doesn’t this describe exactly what is happening in Christianity today? God’s people want to blend and intermingle — and soon they lose their unique, different, special character. They lose their godly character, and take on the character of the world. From the Beginning, God Chose to Reveal His Presence Only Through a Special, Separated People. He chose to reveal Himself through Israel — if they would avoid the sin of mixture: "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special (called out) people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth…" (Deuteronomy 7:6) Moses knew there was only one thing that made them special, or different, from all other people on earth. It was not because they were in themselves worthy, or holy. It was the presence of God revealed in their midst! They alone had the actual presence of Almighty God. "And God said to Moses…my presence shall go with thee…and Moses answered…if thy presence go not with me, let us go no further… "For how shall it be known here that I and my people have found grace in thy sight…Is it not that thou goest with us? So in this way we shall be different from all people upon the face of the earth…(Exodus 33:14-16). Here is conclusive proof that God’s people are special and different because of the actual presence of the Lord in their midst! Take away His presence, and there is no difference from the rest of the church world. Any church or people can boast they are Spirit–filled and full gospel — but if there is no overwhelming presence of Christ at work in their midst, they are just as ordinary as any other dead, dry church. We are special, different, only when Christ’s presence is in full revelation among us. God warned Israel that any mixture with the world would cause Him to withdraw His presence, and He would reject them as the special channel of revelation. They were commanded to deal unmercifully with the ungodly, heathen spirit of their time: "Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no agreement with them, nor show mercy upon them…neither shalt thou intermingle in marriage with them…for they will turn thee away from following me…" (Deuteronomy 7:2-4). Joshua had also warned the children of God — "…they shall be snares and traps unto you, and the cause of widespread affliction (scourge), and in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land the Lord your God hath given you…" (Joshua 23:13). The warnings of Joshua are needed today just as much. To me, this explains much of the hurt and pain in the lives of some Christians. Think of it — widespread afflictions and thorns, all caused by affinity with the world. The direct result of the sin of mixture. Israel loved to mix! God’s people were determined to do away with everything that made them different from the rest of the world. They despised the reproach of being separated. They wanted kings, like the rest of the world. They wanted sexual freedom, like the rest of the world. They wanted to flirt and indulge in adultery and still cover the altar with tears; they wanted the lust, the passion, the immorality, the pornography, the fornication, and the idols — of the rest of the world. So they rejected His commandment to be separate and special to Himself. They sinned and became proud and vain, and made themselves molten images and worshiped all the hosts of heaven — to do evil in the sight of God "as did the wicked." "And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight…" (2 Kings 17:20). There was no need for Israel to seek after counselors, or spiritual advisors, or prophets — to find out why they were so harassed and filled with despair. They knew why they were being afflicted. They knew why troubles were piling up on them — the presence of the Lord was gone! God had rejected them as the channel of His presence and had turned them over to spoilers! Of course, not all who suffer have been rejected as channels of Christ’s presence. Many are sick and suffering because, like David, God is seeking to reveal more of His presence to the sufferer, or those who are near them. But the context here speaks of a people living in mental and spiritual torment because of rejecting their place in God. The Predominant Message of the Prophets Was "Your Iniquities Have Turned Away the Presence of God." Jeremiah asked Israel, "Why do you think the Lord God has done all these things to you?" Then he gave them the answer: "Because you forsook the Lord and mixed with the worldly and wicked among you…" (Jeremiah 8:19). God spoke to His people through His prophet, saying, "Do you fear me? You will no longer tremble in my presence…but you have a rebellious and revolting heart…your sinful heart has turned away God’s presence, and your sins have withholden good things from you…" (Jeremiah 5:22-25). Listen to God’s indictment against these mixers! "You have grown prosperous and bright — you overlook the deeds of the wicked…" (Jeremiah 5:28). Isaiah wept because "Zion was a wilderness, the people desolated, the holy house of God lying in ruins, and sore afflictions in the hearts of God’s people…" (Isaiah 64:9-12). He cried out, "And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities…" (Isaiah 64:7). Was that unmerciful of God? Was there no grace shown to them? Oh, listen to the loving appeal God had made to them: "I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walked in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts…" (Isaiah 65:2). Isaiah goes on to describe the results of their mixing. They began to — "sacrifice to idols…eat swine’s flesh…burn incense upon altars of brick…" Israel had mixed, lost its unique character, and had taken on the character and identity of the world! So God hid His face from them, rejected their new character, and withdrew His presence. Are we so blind as to miss the point God is making in the Old Testament! How much clearer could it be that God will not put up with our mixing with the unholy, the unclean! Why such a separated priesthood in the Old Testament? To give us an example of God’s firm commitment to revealing Himself through a holy, clean, separated people. • "Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generation… • "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean…" (Leviticus 10:9-10). •"And you shall be holy unto me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine…" (Leviticus 20:26). That is the special message of the Old Testament — aspecial, severed, separated, different people who would maintain God’s cause on the earth, through a manifestation of His presence! Ezra asked his people: "Shall we break God’s commandments, and join in affinity with the wicked?…that is why we can’t stand before our enemies… "The people of Israel, and the priests, and Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the land, and are doing according to their abominations… "For they have mingled the holy seed with the people of those lands…" (Ezra 9:1-14). The New Testament is Even Stronger in Condemning the Sin of Mixture! There is nothing in the Old Testament quite as strong as the warnings of Paul against affinity with the world: "Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together? How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? How can God’s temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said: ’I will make my home with them, and live among them, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ "And so the Lord says: ’You must leave them, and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you. I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty…" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Greek N.T.). In the Old Testament, when God wanted to reveal the power of His presence before the wicked Egyptians, He first drew a line of separation, dividing God’s people in Goshen from the rest of Egypt. "And the Lord shall sever between…Israel…and Egypt…and I will send plagues upon thine heart…that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth…" (Exodus 9:4; Exodus 9:14). God wants the world to see the difference between His people who love Him and the rest of the unbelieving world. He wants us to be an example of a delivered and victorious people, trusting in His mighty arm to deliver us from all harm and evil. The demonstration of God’s terrifying presence at work among His children smote the heart of Pharaoh with mighty conviction — "And Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron…I have sinned, and I and my people are wicked…" (Exodus 9:27). The reasons for separation from the world (Egypt) today are the same. God is once again drawing a line between His people and this wicked age, so that this generation can know there is none like Him to deliver in all the earth. The wicked of this age must have an even greater manifestation of the Lord’s presence; nothing else will get their attention. Nothing else will smite them with conviction for sin. The Holy Spirit has been outpoured, so that all flesh could come under the power of Christ’s presence — and be convicted of sin, righteousness, and judgment! Whatever is mixed with the world can never be of God. It can never be a channel of Christ’s actual presence. Our Lord is going to write "Ichabod" over the house of every minister who is leavened with the spirit and methods of this age. He will burn out and cast down every minister of the gospel who looks toward Sodom. He is going to withdraw His presence from every confessed believer who yearns for the pleasures and seductions of this world. They will be left dry, empty, and confused. He cannot — He will not — trust His Holy Presence to anyone who is not wholly separated from the world and yielded only to Him. Disobedient servants will not be able to stand against the devil and the moral landslide of this final age. They will once and for all lose the touch of God, and though some will be saved, they will be counted unworthy of the anointing. If you are of "this world" you are not of His! Jesus said, "I am not of this world…" (John 8:23). Speaking of His true disciples, He said,"…they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world…" (John 17:16). Again, "I have chosen you out of this world, therefore the world hateth you…" (John 18:19). Do we really understand what Jesus is saying to us? "I have put a difference between you and the world. They will hate you because of My presence in you." If that is true, why are we trying to cozy up to the world? Why do we mix their music with ours? Why do we seek their good will? Why do we bend our morals to accommodate them? Why do we seek their applause or blessing? We are not of this world! We ought to accept our difference, and quit trying to be like them. The world loves its own — but we are not of it. God, help us to joyfully accept our special character of separation and difference, and give up on the world. Only those who are truly unmixed with the world, separated unto Christ, have any power to save it! "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him…" (1 John 2:15). The Father loves the lost. The Christian who is mixed, or the ministry that is mixed, cannot know or share in that love for the unsaved. The love of the Father for the lost is not in them. The mixed Christian shows dishonor to the very Cross of Christ, for if He gave Himself that He might deliver us from this present evil world — how can we have any part with it? The Holy Spirit is even now calling out the true followers of Jesus Christ, separating them — purging, winnowing, getting them prepared as a special people to bring back His glorious presence to shake the earth. A people crucified to the world! Ready to wrestle with the principalities and powers of darkness, and against all spiritual wickedness in high places. There is only one sad alternative for those who mix with the world: "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God…" (James 4:4). In these final days, His friends and enemies are going to be determined by whether or not they are mixing, or separated. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 65: PRE-067-64. THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS ======================================================================== 64. The Fellowship Of His Sufferings The Fellowship of His Sufferings by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings; being made conformable to his death" (Php 3:10). Fellowship is the union of friends sharing similar interests or problems. To suffer is to feel pain or distress. Paul yearned to share the pain and distress that Christ experienced. Did he not have enough suffering in his own life? Did he not have the hurts and cares of all the churches heavy upon his heart? Yet still he prays — "Oh, that I might know how to share Christ’s pain and hurt." Soon after Paul’s conversion, Ananias delivered a word from the Lord to him "concerning the great things he must suffer for the sake of Christ’s name" (Acts 9:16). It was to be more than the personal distress of shame, rejection, persecution, and hardships. He would suffer through shipwreck, stonings, beatings, and afflictions of body and soul. He would joyfully suffer the loss of all things. In triumph over all these personal sufferings he would proclaim, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18). Paul suffered as few other men have suffered. Yet still he considered it all nothing in comparison to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, his Lord. Peter, too, spoke of being both a witness to and a partaker of Christ’s suffering: "I…who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ…" (1 Peter 5:1). "Rejoice…inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…" (1 Peter 4:13). Who, in This Day and Age Yearns to Share in the Sufferings of Jesus Christ? The church now focuses inwardly, spending most of its spiritual energy on the pain, distress and hurts of its members. In nearly all communities, there are numerous intimate prayer groups reaching out with compassion to share in the hurts of suffering neighbors. We have entered into the fellowship of our brothers’ suffering. That is all commendable. It is true that when one member of the body suffers, we all suffer. I see nothing wrong with Christians getting together to share their hurts and to lift one another’s burdens. That is absolutely scriptural. The problem is — we are becoming selfishly consumed by our own hurts, and the hurts of other suffering brothers and sisters. It has left us with little or no time to think of Christ’s sufferings — let alone share in them. I’m a bit ashamed as I look back over the past 25 years of my preaching. I preached so many sermons about human suffering, and so little about Christ’s sufferings. I wept over the hurts of multitudes, and never shed a tear over Christ’s pain and distress. I knew the pain and sorrow of people from all walks of life, but I knew nothing of His sufferings. Look about us and see if this is not the problem with nearly all Christendom today. Go to any bookstore and count the number of books dealing with human hurts — such as depression, fear, rejection, divorce, remarriage, loneliness, etc. Attend nearly any seminar or crusade, and you will hear much insight on how to cope with personal pain and distress. Yet how little is written or taught about sharing the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the Lord. I am not putting it all down. We need all the help we can get. But, we desperately need to pray with Paul that we may understand and share in Christ’s sufferings. God help us get our eyes off ourselves and our own hurts, and focus on fellowshipping in His sufferings. The Sufferings of Christ Are Not to Be Found in His Human Body — They Are Spiritual! We get sentimental about Christ’s human pain at Calvary. We are deeply moved by the hurt He suffered from the crown of thorns, the driven nails, the piercing spear, the leering crowds, the mocking soldiers. But you can never enter into His sufferings if that is as deep as you go. It is so much deeper than that! Paul also knew what it was to be beaten, mocked, and scourged. Paul bled. He too was despised and rejected by men. If you use a human scale, this apostle could have nearly balanced the Savior’s physical pain and suffering. Nor was it cosmic suffering Paul desired to share with Christ. No one can share in Christ’s divine, universal suffering. He alone took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. He alone was wounded for our transgressions. The agony of His redemptive act was uniquely His. The sufferings of Christ that Paul and we can fellowship in have to do with the spiritual sufferings He endured while in human form. He suffered far more in His spirit, before the Cross. It had to do with a backslidden church, unbelieving loved ones, and what it cost Him to move from the earth back to the heavenlies. I am sure no man can fully understand all His sufferings, and certainly my vision is very limited. But I have been led by the Spirit to fellowship in three special aspects of His sufferings. Most of it can be found in the book of John. I. Christ Suffered Grievously at the Sight of His House Being Turned Into a Den of Thieves. Jesus went up to Jerusalem at Passover and entered the temple. What He saw appalled Him. Merchandisers had taken over the house of God! He came seeking a house of prayer; what he found was a total preoccupation with the promotion, display, and sales of religious merchandise. The religious leaders were counting their profits. God’s people were not reading or studying or hearing the Word — they were too busy selling religious articles. What busy–ness! How these religious promoters ran about, thinking they were doing the work of God. Men of God had become hucksters of religious merchandise. Tables had been set up everywhere in God’s house, to promote and sell sheep, oxen, doves, candies, incense, and various other merchandise for religious purposes. The cash register made the loudest noise in the house. Money was being made on God and religion. Talk of suffering? What terrible pain did our Lord suffer at such a sight to cause His compassionate heart to boil with holy anger. His meek spirit raged with righteous indignation. Can you picture that moment? With whip in hand, our Lord stormed into the temple and began flailing in all directions, overturning the tables piled high with merchandise. He scattered the promoters, the pitch men, the hucksters. "Out," He thundered, "out of my Father’s house! You have desecrated this holy place, turning this house of prayer into a commercial enterprise!" Not anywhere else in all the Scriptures will you find such outrage in the Master! It was one of the most painful, suffering experiences in all His ministry. He could not stand by and permit His Father’s house to become a den for religious thieves. Are we willing today to fellowship with Christ in this aspect of His sufferings? Do we share His hurt at seeing God’s house once again being turned over to merchandisers? Will we be outraged by the horrible commercialism of the gospel? Will we feel His rage against spiritual hucksterism enough to withdraw from all such activities? Do we feel His hurt enough to renounce all ministries that grind out merchandise just for the sake of making money? Can we share His suffering at this point enough to stand against those who would turn God’s house into a theater or entertainment center for promoters? Can we grieve over all the profiteering on the name of Jesus? Can we get our eyes off the cash and back on the Cross? Peter warns of the coming of false prophets who will steal in among us, and because of covetousness, "they will with phony words make merchandise of you…" (2 Peter 2:3). In other words, these men will come with sales pitches — seeing nothing but dollar signs. They will put the name of Jesus on anything to get your money to enrich themselves. These merchants need to quit preaching, and go into business. How the heavens must rage against all the buying and selling of modern Jesus merchandise. How it must hurt our Lord to see evangelists more concerned about record, tape, and book sales, than reaching lost humanity. What small fortunes are being made through the promotion and sale of religious merchandise in church circles. We have done far more than commercialize Christmas — we have commercialized the very Godhead! God gives us a message, a talent, a gift — and we package and sell it! We freely receive; we expensively sell. We are afraid to trust God to support our ministries, so we develop a side business out of what God freely gave us. We incorporate our talents to turn a profit. Are there no evangelists or ministries left in the world with nothing to promote but Jesus Christ? The issue goes beyond selling religious merchandise in God’s house. It includes all secular promotion of the things of God. The average Christian would be shocked if he knew how many popular ministries are promoted by secular agencies who "sell" the man and his message. They package and sell the gospel like soap and cereal. The result is cutesy little songs and sermons with much hype and little life. Just this week I received a formal notice that a certain ministry had hired a Madison Avenue public relations man to promote them. They felt they needed more exposure and a better public image in order to meet their budget. The prophets of God are being replaced by PR men! I want nothing to do with the professional hucksters and promoters. They have no right to touch the anointed things of God. They compromise men of God, they rob them of their anointing, and substitute a slick, lifeless professionalism. They take powerful men of God and turn them into proud celebrities who build reputations on the gospel. They take spiritual, humble singing groups, dress them in sequined jackets, rewrite the songs so no one will be offended, and try to be so professional they can make the secular charts. I see singing groups everywhere being seduced, losing God’s anointing, and ending up just another lifeless group. Not only will God not bless this modern trend toward secular professionalism, He will thunder against it and drive it out of His presence! Heaven didn’t put up with it in the temple at Jerusalem, and it will not put up with it in these last days. The days of the merchandisers in God’s house are numbered. II. Christ Suffers When Those He Loves Most Doubt His Interest and His Power! Jesus loved Lazarus. He also dearly loved his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Their home was an oasis for the Master. We know Lazarus and his family loved Jesus, but the Scripture is most emphatic in pointing out Christ’s love for them: "He whom Christ loved was sick…" (John 11:3). When Jesus heard that, He sent them a message: "This sickness is not unto death; but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby…" (John 11:4). Jesus knew that His Father intended that this miracle among His most beloved friends should give Him glory and hopefully, give them confidence and faith! But what an experience of deep suffering it turned out to be for Jesus. The disciples doubted Him. Mary and Martha doubted Him. So did the weeping friends of Lazarus. Did Mary know how deeply she hurt Him when she accused Him of being preoccupied and disinterested in their problem? "…Lord, if you had just taken the effort to be here on time — it’s too late now…the damage is done." Did Martha know how it hurt her Master when she questioned His resurrection power? He had plainly told her, "Thy brother shall rise again." But His word was not enough: "Oh, yes, on resurrection day he will arise — but what about now?" How painful it must have been for Christ to have His dearest friends doubt He had all the power they needed. "Don’t you know who I am yet?" is what the Lord was seeming to say. "I am the resurrection, and the life…believe in me. I have the power, the life…" I don’t think we know how deep the pain was for Him at that moment. His own disciples couldn’t grasp the concept of who He was. It was awful enough that His own nation of people knew Him not, but those He loved dearly — how could they not recognize His power? Could He have said to Himself, "Not even my dearest friends believe — who then will ever believe?" It is the ignoring of His power that causes such pain and distress to our lord! If we, His dearest friends, will not trust His power and faithfulness — who ever will? We call Him friend, Lord — but we do not live our lives as though He had the power needed to keep us victorious and joyful. In recent weeks the Holy Spirit has been asking me repeatedly, "Is He really Lord? Is He truly Lord to you?" I testify to others that He is Lord! I tell myself that He is! But there are times I must cause Him so much hurt because I doubt Him in the times of need and crisis. If He is Lord, why do we live in such fear? Why do sickness and death so frighten us? Why do we live so down, so empty, so dry — when our Creator Lord has all power, all might, all wisdom! No wonder Jesus wept! Let me tell you what truly satisfies the heart of our Lord. It is the child of His who completely rests in His love, His power, and His wisdom. It is the child who can say, "I know He has all power, He can heal and save by whatever means He chooses — but He also is all wisdom, and I will trust completely even when I don’t understand His workings." The church is full of people who believe in His power. That is all they know; it is all they want. Oh, how they trust when they see miracles and blessings. But let God in His wisdom take a loved one home to Himself, and those same power brokers either pout, or they go into a tailspin of fear and unbelief. They end up accusing God of unfairness or unconcern. I believe in miracles! I believe in healing! He can heal cancer or any other disease. I believe my great God has a mighty arm that has authority over all the universe, all of nature, and all kingdoms of darkness. But I don’t trust Him at all if I cannot believe He will do what is right — through good times and bad, through sickness and health, through life or death. I refuse to push God — Iprefer to rest in His power, mercy, and wisdom. I fellowship in Christ’s suffering when I grieve over Christians who believe God can get glory only in miracles, signs and wonders. Jesus Himself said, "This sickness of [Lazarus]…is for the glory of God…" Not just the resurrection from the dead, but the sickness also. Some Christians cringe at the thought that God can get glory out of any illness. But I’ll go a step further and say that God can even get glory out of the death of His saints, as He did with the suffering and death of His own Son. I repeat my concept that death in Christ is the ultimate healing. It is not doubt to rest in the wisdom of God to overrule our prayers, even our faith. Job could say, after seeing no relief — "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). What Mary and Martha should have done was to rest in Christ’s love and power — telling Him, "Lord, we know you are well able to raise him up. But, if not, you must have supernatural reasons, backed by holy wisdom — so we accept joyfully your ways." I know a dying family in Ohio who is bringing more glory to God than most healthy Christians in that state. The singing Sigrist family suffers a rare form of cancer. Two daughters have gone to be with Christ — another is stricken. The father has a large tumor in his stomach. They live on the brink of death. But, oh, the victory in that household! They rejoice in God’s love and faithfulness. Newspapers have carried the story of their faith throughout the state. They have such great faith in Christ’s healing power — but also a complete confidence in His wisdom and love. They rest in God, preferring His will to their own. People who hear their story say, "That’s the kind of faith I want! That’s the kind of God I want to serve. One who can give such peace and rest in the very face of death itself. A God who keeps you from coming apart in a crisis." "Blessed are they who have not seen, yet believe…" (John 20:29). I believe God can get glory out of any and all situations. He doesn’t need a miracle to get Him glory. He can cause even the wrath of men to praise Him. The sweetest grace of all is that which Christ gives to those who are led through the valley and shadow of death. They are the ones who know the glory of His comfort and the beauty of His rest. They look death in the eye and feel no alarm. Even pain and sickness can bring forth the most glorious revelation of the actual presence of Jesus. He makes our bed, in sickness (Psalms 41:3). Our family can vouch for that also. Through Job — like trials, Christ revealed Himself in ways beyond the glory of miracles. We discussed supernatural comfort, grace and rest. III. Christ Suffered When He Gave Up That Which on Earth Was Most Precious to Him! Could Jesus love Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and not love His own mother dearly? Did He love His disciples more than his mother? I can’t believe that. In His earthly form, He was "The son of Mary." That one line in itself tells us something of God’s loving attitude toward this blessed woman. He was the fruit of her womb. She cuddled Him as a baby. She taught Him. She was like any other loving, caring mother who has a close relationship with her child. How she worried when He was lost in Jerusalem. How she grieved when neighbors and friends spoke against her dear son. She must have wept often to hear the slander, the lies, the accusations. And who can know her pain at the foot of the Cross. She knew He was God in the flesh — but He was also her dearly beloved son. If Christ was tempted at all points as we are, then certainly He suffered deeply when He gave up His earthly relationship to His beloved mother. What a touching human scene in John 19:1-42 : "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister…and Mary Magdalene… When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home…" (John 19:25-27). In His very last hour, He is thinking of his mother. Evidently Joseph, His father, was dead — and Jesus wanted to leave her in the loving care of one He trusted. John, that very day, took Mary into his own home, to be her provider and protector. It’s so easy to skip over those seven little words and miss their significance: "Woman, behold thy son…behold thy mother." Jesus was at that moment giving her up! He would now be more than the son of Mary, but her Lord and Savior. He was going back to His heavenly Father with great joy and expectancy, but He had known the glory of human love — of a son for his mother. How hard it must have been, humanly speaking, to say in essence — "Woman, I am no longer yours. John is now your son. I must give you up and give you to another. Another must take my place in your daily life." It is not that Christ wanted to remain in human form. His work on earth was over. Redemption was about to be completed. But He shared the suffering of giving up something most precious in His life. We too share in the pain and distress of giving up that which Is most precious to us. Right now, somewhere, godly saints are having to give up to death their most precious loved ones. What sweet suffering to say goodbye! What lingering pain when a loved one passes from the earthly to the eternal. Christ felt that pain, and you can be sure that when you are called upon to make that sacrifice, He will give you all the grace you need to handle it. I’m so glad He suffered with us in such a personal, intimate way. I may not relate to the pain of the driven nails and the crushing blow of the spear — but I can relate to the pain He felt when He gave His mother over to another. We must all one day go through that particular pain. What a sweet, loving Savior who felt our hurt at this very point. The Way of the Cross Is Surrender of All That Is Dear to Us in This Life! My wife and I felt the lonely pain of giving up all four of our children to the streets — as evangelists to the lost. How we hurt the day the last one left. There was such an empty feeling. The house was deathly still. We cried at night. But thank God we gave them up to God’s work. We have now known the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. And His joy and comfort now flood us every waking hour. I have an associate who had to give up a pastoral ministry because of a brain tumor. That work was dear to him. Yet in that surrender he has grown by leaps and bounds — to spiritual heights he could never have reached had he not known the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. It must come finally to this — whatever suffering it takes, we must give up everything that would keep us from doing the perfect will of God! • That means coming to the place where Christ alone is sufficient…where He is everything, even more than life itself. • It means loving Christ above all other human love. More than family! More than husband, wife, children, brother or sister. • To love them all, yet inwardly give them up to Him as a sacrifice to your great love for the Lord Jesus Christ. •Do that, and you will break through to the glory of His resurrection power and will conform to his death. The Corn on the Top of the Mountain A Prophetic Message by David Wilkerson | June 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon..." (Psalms 72:16). The 72nd Psalm is a prophetic vision of the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the corn, in the earth, upon the hill. Except the corn fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit (John 12:24). The fruit of His death has produced a mighty harvest of spiritual trees, whose branches spread like the forests of Lebanon that sway in the wind. Christ now has "dominion from sea to sea…" (Psalms 72:8) The Cross was planted in the earth on a mount called Calvary. The prophets called it "the holy hill of God." Here, on this holy mountain of God, a handful of corn was placed into the grave. That seed died and took root out of dry ground, and a resurrection blade sprang forth. Today, we see the full corn, as resurrection power continues to bring forth a glorious harvest. Surely, the fruit of His death, burial and resurrection has become like the "fragrant wine of Lebanon" (Hosea 14:6-7). We, the children of God, are also that handful of corn, in the earth, on the mountain. We must go with Him to Calvary, die, and be raised with him in dominion power. This prophecy deals with seed that is taken to the heights to die, that it might bring fourth much fruit. It is a glorious vision of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and its effect on those who understand its workings. You can understand this prophecy if you keep in mind: corn - in the earth - on the mountain - much fruit. I. The Mountain Represents "The Holy Hill Of His Presence." "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or, who shall stand in His holy presence? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart…" (Psalms 24:3-4) From the very beginning God has been calling holy men to the mountain of His presence to hear from heaven and to prepare them for a great new work. God called Abraham to a mountain to prove him, to prove in his spiritual eyes and bring him into close union with Himself. It was there that Abraham received the knowledge of who God was: "And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah - will provide" accordingly they say to this day, "on the mound Jehovah will provide’" (Genesis 22:14, Hebrew Bible) How simple the revelation he received - that the secrets of how God are revealed only in His holy Presence, to obedient servants who are willing to put the knife to all that is dear to them in life. Moses was drawn by God to Mount Horeb, where he received his call to lead Israel out of bondage. And every time God wanted to speak to his people, Moses was conducted back to the mountain of His holy presence. "And Moses went up the mount to God, and Jehovah called for him from the mountain." (Exodus 19:3, Hebrew Bible). It was on the top of the mountain where the Lord first met Moses, it was on the same heights the Law was given to him, and it was there God brought him into the full fellowship of eternal life. Moses walked with God on the top of the mountain. He lived in the very presence of the Lord, on His holy hill. And when he came down to labor among men, his face was aglow with the very presence of God. John was carried by the Spirit to a great and high mountain to commune with God and it was there he was given a glorious vision for the church of the last days. John said, "The spirit carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10-11) Peter was on the mount, in the presence of God, when hear heard the voice of the Lord. "And this voice which came from heaven was heard, when we were with him on the mount" (2 Peter 1:18) Elijah was on a mountain when he heard the still small voice of God, and caught a vision of His holy presence. Here is overwhelming evidence that man must shut out the world and go to the holy hill of His presence to hear from God. Peter heard from God when he was "with him on the mount" That mountaintop is not easily reached. You enter through the secret closet and you stay, willing to risk everything to be alone in God’s holy presence until your soul is on fire. It is reached by coming back every day, going higher each time, over rocks and precipices of opposition - and there is no turning back until the summit is reached. No one gets to the summit of God’s presence with one hour devotions. It must become a way of life. The soft and lazy never do get there - it is only for the devoted and determined. The revelation of Christ is too vast to ever be fully comprehended. But those who are shut in with God in prayer gain an ever-growing apprehension of Christ as the Holy Spirit reveals Him in the heart. Where is the burning bush of revelation? Where is the power of Jehovah manifested? Where is the place of vision for the church in these last days? It is on the mountaintop of his presence. It is where men and women of God go who have gotten so desperate to hear from heaven, they have shut down all human activities to seek His face, and they refuse to come down to minister until they are under His divine glow. II. God is Wanting to Plant Us All on the Mount of His Presence. "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of His ways..." (Isaiah 2:3). "I will conduct them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer..." (Isaiah 56:7, Hebrew Bible). The message of the Holy Spirit to all men of God today is, "Get back to the Mount - get back into His holy presence." Many are now hearing that call and are making time for prayer and seeking after God. Others go about their covetous ways, too busy with kingdom details to climb the holy hill. Isaiah saw both the glory of an awakened ministry and the tragedy of blind watchmen, asleep. While some watchmen shake themselves and go back to the mount of God to hear a fresh word from heaven, others will be lost in the stupidity and dumbness of endless activities and self-advancement. "His watchmen are blind; they are ignorant, they are dumb dogs that cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber…yea, they are greedy, never getting enough; shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one to his own gain, from his quarter..." (Isaiah 56:10-11). Isaiah said they got that way, so self-centered and preoccupied with the works of their own hands, interested only in what they are doing, spiritually dead - because "they forsook the Lord and forgot his holy mountain" (Isaiah 65:11). Ministers of God - we had better listen to the warning of the prophet Isaiah. He warned, "The Lord…shall call his servants by another name" (Isaiah 65:15). He will burn out and cast down all who refuse to return to the secret place, and He will raise up a new people. The Spirit is raising up and army of "mountain men", who will spend time alone with God, shut up in His holy presence, eating and drinking, hearing His voice, getting new vision, and returning with joy to deliver "those who wail because of broken spirits" (Isaiah 65:13-14). Oh, yes! They shall return - but with power and dominion. Certainly, God’s heart must be gladdened by those who have set themselves to fast and pray and spend time in His presence. Yet how grieved He must be at the sight of so many prayerless, unsanctified, self-centered ministers who have little or no time to be alone with Him. I meet some of these busy ministers in my travels, and my heart too has been broken. Not that I am one step ahead of them in spiritual maturity, but what is happening is so obvious to congregations, something must be done. And God is about to do it! The late Austin Sparks wrote: "Oh the horrible display of human flesh in the realm of divine things! Oh, the reputations made in the realm of what is of God! Oh, how men delight to have a place in the church!" He added, "There are two classes of Christians in the church now. Those who have so organized Christian activity as to have made it all a matter of tremendous business to be maintained by drive and its own momentum: which unceasing activity is itself thought to be life and power: with the result that there is little time or interest in the matter of spiritual depth. "Drive and ambition for God rides rough-shod over quiet waiting upon the Lord. They are so involved, so committed, driven - that the unhurried still small voice of the Spirit has no chance of being heard. Their fury and zeal for Christ has not come under the flaming eye of his presence. "The other class is comprised of those who are so settled in tradition and a fixed position in doctrine and practice they make it almost impossible for the Holy Spirit to lead them into a fuller revelation of Christ." Jesus was a busy as any modern day preacher or evangelist. He ministered to thousands, and was available to all of them. Yet He took time to forsake all the activity and get alone on the mount with His Father. "And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went into a mountain apart to pray, and when evening was come, he was there alone..." (Matthew 14:23). And you tell me, dear minister friend, you don’t have time to walk away from it all and get alone with God. But you must get away! Away from the people! Away for awhile even from family. Get alone, shut in with God, and once again hear from heaven, or be left to your own devices. Christians, the prophets warn that trouble and despair will weaken the hearts of those who forsake Mount Zion. We must cry out, "Bring us back, O Lord; turn us, give us a heart to once again fast and pray. Make us intercessors - reveal Yourself to us." It is on the mount, Ezekiel said, that you will see the sin of your heart exposed, and be humbled. "And there, ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed…and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen..." (Ezekiel 20:41-43). Beloved, our Lord is going to require humiliation, and the deglamorizing of ministers and evangelists. All self importance must go. The corn must die, He must bring us back to His mount to break down everything that is of self - our reputations, our own dignity, all desire for recognition. He must sanctify us before the eyes of the world. His refining fire is going to awaken new and godly principles in us. We have been too long dead to the godly principals needed to save the church from chaos. No longer will the Lord be satisfied with a general goodness in His house; He now seeks the fire of holiness in the heart. The Only Criterion For God’s Continued Blessing On Any Minister Or Ministry Is the Actual Presence of Jesus Christ. Most of us started out with God on the holy mount. We exulted in His presence and were fruitful. But the affairs of this life entered in, drawing us away from that presence, leaving us dry and unfulfilled. We came down from the mount to merely exist in the valley of depression. Most ministries began as a handful of corn, In the earth on the mountain. It was a small beginning, and its founder was one who, like Paul, died daily. The presence of the Lord was more important than the work itself. Much time was spent alone with God in the secret place. Direction came mostly by hearing the voice of God in prayer. It was a ministry born in prayer, fasting, humility, and faith. But now, when the fruit of Lebanon fills the hillsides and all the valleys, and all the fatness, and the wine vats are full and overflowing - and all are rich , increased with goods, in need of nothing - boredom, restlessness, dryness, sets in. The mountain of His presence is ignored and the ministry that started out as a small handful of corn on the mountain, loses reason to exist. A ministry may have a history of devotion to God, and can be a true expression of His grace and power, yet God is not obligated to preserve it if it is no longer and instrument of His actual presence. God has raised up many works that later passed out of His divine purpose. The Lord removed the candlestick of his presence from the churches of John’s Revelation, because of a loss of fresh love for Himself. God will not support an abstract presentation of his holiness. If the man at the top is not shut in with God, drawing on the energy of his actual presence, that ministry is a contradiction at its center and cannot continue as the instrument of God to deliver His message to the world. How important it is that all ministries and leaders get back to first love, intense prayer, and fasting. III. We Must All Get Back To God’s Presence or Fall Into Moral Decay. "The corn is wasted…the seed is rotten under the ground…the corn is withered..." (Joel 1:10; Joel 1:17). Joel foresaw the moral decay of those who forsook Mount Zion. Rotting seed speaks of moral decay, a spirit of degeneration. Whn the seed won’t die, it rots away. If we refuse to die to sin through the power of the Cross, it will leave us in a condition of progressive immorality. I find it appalling to sit through a charismatic worship service where hundreds lift their voices loud in praise, and dance and shout in the name of the Lord - only to find many of them in my prayer line after, confessing they are hurting, perplexed and hooked by the power of a secret lust. In the midst of a revival of exuberant praise, there is still a passive attitude regarding sin, an accepting of compromise, a consenting to a life without victory and total dominion over evil. Too many saints are standing up to praise but not standing up to take authority over Satan and the evil lusts that still bind them. We become increasingly immoral the longer we are out of His presence. We can become so preoccupied with the demands made on our time, we backslide. We lose our joy, we become irritable and restless, and lose our sense of direction - because we put off our appointment to get back to the secret closet and be renewed by our Lord’s glorious presence. Satan will attempt to weaken us by keeping us out of the Lord’s holy mount. Unless we all soon get back to the mountain and come into His glory and presence, we will grow increasingly disobedient and sinful. Worst of all, we will be stripped of all opportunities to be fruitful in God’s work. And once we ware barren and out of His presence, Satan can more easily convince us we are lost, or worthless. The church and the ministry today lack a true inward revelation of Jesus Christ. We have been focused on "our work" rather than on Christ. We preach almost everything but Him. We preach truth, without life. When Christ is truly unveiled to the heart, all interests are changed and purified. The man or woman of God who spends time on God’s holy hill begins to realize, as did all who were shut in with Christ - that no ministry, no church, to fellowship has a right to exist before God except as it is a true expression of Christ’s presence on earth. Nor do we have a right to call ourselves Christians if we refuse to spend time in his holy presence each day, seeking not a anew revelation, but a full revelation of Christ. Otherwise, it is some "thing" we are devoted to - some work for God - some testimony - rather then to Christ Himself. It is because Christ has been too ill-defined that so many Christians have not come to a fixed place in Him. They have been evangelized, but not taught to stay in the presence of Jesus until they become Dominion Saints. We are devoted to the idea of faith but not to the prayer and Bible study that produces it. No wonder so many are divorcing. No wonder so many are tossed by every wind and wave of false doctrine. No wonder there is so much immorality and complacency among God’s people - so much hurting - so much despair. We have denied ourselves the knowledge and revelation of who Christ really is, simply by not stepping aside to listen. We have Christ in us as a lodger, but unknown to us is His power and dominion. How desperately we need a new unveiling of Christ to our inner man. Here is the rest of the prophecy of Psalms 72:1-20 concerning what God will do for those who return to the mountain of His presence. He will reveal the glory of His peace. "The mountains shall bring peace to the people..." (Psalms 72:3). He will fall upon our souls like soft rain on newly mowed grass, taking away all dryness. "He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth..." (vs. 6). He will empower us to take dominion over all the powers of darkness. "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea…his enemies shall like the dust..." (vs. 8,9). He will deliver us from pressing needs and physical burdens. "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper..." (vs. 12). In His presence, we shall die to self, and be raised in newness to be fruitful and joyful! "In His presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures evermore..." (Psalms 16:11). "I will save you from all uncleanness, and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine on you… And I will multiply the fruit of the tree…and increase the field..." (Ezekiel 36:29-30). "I will heal their backsliding…his fragrance shall be that of Lebanon…his branches shall spread…they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine..." (Hosea 14:4-7). Ye shall utter a psalm, as in the night when the feast is solemnly proclaimed…with the exultation of heart, as one steppeth to the notes of a flute...Ascending Jehovah’s mountain unto Israel’s Rock [Christ]" (Isaiah 30:29-30). "O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto the holy hill, and to thy presence…then will I got unto the altar of God my exceeding joy..." (Psalms 43:3-4). So then, brothers and sisters in Christ - flee like Lot who "escaped for his life to the mountains," from this wicked world (Genesis 19:17). Flee to that high Rock, which is Christ. The banner is lifted on the mountain, calling all God’s chosen to a feast of good things in His presence. Don’t miss what God is about to do. The veil is coming off and a glorious revelation of Christ is near. "And in this mountain shall the Lord make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines... And he will destroy in the mountain the face of the covering of all people and the veil that is spread all over all nations…and he will swallow up death in victory and the Lord will wipe away tears from their faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away... For in this mountain shall the head of the Lord rest..." (Isaiah 25:6-11). What has stripped the seeming beauty From the idols of the earth? Not a sense of right or duty, But the sight of His matchless worth. Not the crushing of those idols, With its bitter void and smart: But the beaming of His beauty, The unveiling of His heart. ’Tis that look that melted Peter, ’Tis that face that Stephen saw, ’Tis that heart that wept with Mary, Can alone from idols draw- Draw and win and fill completely, Till the cup o’erflow the brim; What have we to do with idols What have companied with Him? Anonymous ======================================================================== CHAPTER 66: PRE-068-65. LOVE YOUR WAY TO FREEDOM ======================================================================== 65. Love Your Way To Freedom Love Your Way to Freedom by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] A beautiful young couple, both spiritual children of mine, recently fell into sin and were forced to resign their ministry. For nearly a week they hid away in a secluded motel room, weeping, anguished and despairing of life. They felt abandoned by God, betrayed by friends, and useless to themselves and the kingdom of God. The young minister had nearly convinced himself that suicide was the only way out. He was overcome with guilt and grief - wondering if God could ever forgive him for bringing reproach on His name. By the time they called me, they were completely swallowed up by despair. I could hardly control my emotions when she asked, "David, do you still love us? We failed God - we failed you, and my husband is wanting to take his life. But if you can assure him you still love him, it will save his life." Love him? Love them? Oh, how my heart ached for them. I had always loved them, but now in their hurt I loved them even more. They are now with me, being restored to spiritual and physical health. Yet my love for them could not heal them. They were still wounded inwardly. Even though they knew in their hearts that God had to move against them because of sin and continued disobedience, still it hurt them deeply to be suddenly cast aside - unemployed, unneeded, unwelcome. Friends, who sincerely thought they were defending God’s holiness, asked them never to come back. The suddenness of it all, the harshness, the apparent lack of compassion, left them full of bitterness and resentment. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that the young minister’s sin of returning to heroin was not the problem. Drug abuse was the fruit of something much more grievous in the sight of God - and that was bitterness. All the counseling in the world cannot help a person held in the grip of bitterness. Prayer cannot break it. Bible study cannot in itself cure it. The root of bitterness must first be recognized, then plucked out. And this young fallen minister knew he could never be restored until all his hatred and resentment was gone. The word that came to me for him was simply this - "Son, you can love your way back to freedom." I implored him to fall on his knees - immediately - and call on God for supernatural power to love and forgive everyone he was bitter against. The Holy Spirit lovingly warned that he must quickly forgive, and learn to love those he considered enemies - or lose his ministry and his marriage. Unless the bitterness was plucked out, on the spot, he could end up divorced, back on the streets as a helpless junkie. What a joy to see him fall on his knees, with his dear wife at his side, and cry out to God for supernatural power to love and forgive all whom he had grudges against. It had built up in him over a period of seven years, and now it came gushing out in torrents of tearful repentance and godly sorrow. He hugged me, as the joy of the Lord flooded back into his being. Their marriage experienced a tremendous healing as the wall of bitterness crumbled. But still the healing was not complete. The freedom was not yet full and final. Restitution had to be made. Willingly, he called everyone he had ever been bitter against. In true humility, he asked their forgiveness and told them he would for this time on love and pray for them. With each call, his spirit was quickened. He was amazed by their response. They still wanted his friendship. They freely forgave and offered their continued love and support. The healing continues, as both of them learn to love their way back to freedom. What an unnecessary burden they had carried for so long. And all that time, glorious, sweet freedom and victory could have been theirs - had they only understood the power of love. I have learned some important lessons observing God’s healing work in the lives of this restored couple. I can see more clearly now why Paul, the apostle, spoke so eloquently about being "rooted and grounded in love." Also, how love is the goal of the Law and the commandments. Christ himself told us that all the Law and the prophets hinge on loving God completely, and our neighbor as ourselves.More importantly: We must love our way back to obedience! Sooner or later this generation must come to realize that most of our troubles are brought upon ourselves as a result of our own disobedience. We are blind to the grief our sins bring to the heart of God. Our view of sin is too flippant and light, and we still don’t understand that our disobedience is a result of not truly loving Christ. Jesus makes it so clear that we could obey Him if we loved him. It is because our love for Christ has grown cold that we go on sinning and disobeying. When we do get caught in the web of our sins, we are more concerned about our reputation than how much we have wounded the Savior. Instead of grieving over the way our disobedience broke His heart, we worry about what others will think of us. How selfish. The Holy Spirit has been helping me love my way to freedom by showing me critical realities I must deal with. I - Misery and trouble are most often the fruits of disobedience. Think of all the hurting people in the land. Marriages are crumbling, causing terrible misery and pain to so many involved. Multitudes are living under a cloud of guilt and despair. There are Christians today whose lives are flooded with trouble and sorrow. Never have there been such heartbreak, emptiness, loneliness, and rejection. Only God knows how many Christians cry themselves to sleep, or who can’t sleep due to depression, anxiety, loneliness, and despair. Even the ministry is hurting. Pastors and evangelists are suffering "burnout". They confess to feelings of weariness and spiritual dryness. Faber describes their dilemma best. He said of certain ministers - "They run around, they run down, then they want to run away." Thank God, many of them are returning to the prayer closet, back to obedience and holiness. But for others, their troubles and hurts are so great they would run from it all, if they could. What’s causing all this misery and trouble? Is it just the times we are living in, or is it something much deeper? There are two reasons for the prevailing flood of misery and trouble. It is possible Satan is "dumping" on those most holy and precious in God’s kingdom. The scripture warns, "...the adulteress (Satan) hunts the precious life..." (Proverbs 6:26) A Christian’s holiness and purity can attract Satan and cause him to persecute and rail against them. He can taunt the righteous, and raise up persecutors to afflict them. Satan rose up against devout Job and the God-consumed apostle, Paul. Yes, it is possible to suffer for righteousness sake. But most often it is just the opposite. Our disobedience forces God to raise up adversaries to teach us the terrible wages of sin. God in His love for us must take drastic action to keep us from destroying ourselves. God never acts through vengeance, but always through love. But oh, how severe it can be at times! And, we had better understand this truth, or end up given over to our sins. Any student of the Old Testament can readily see how quickly God tribulates those who persist in disobedience. King Solomon had decades of peace and prosperity while obeying God. Then he disobeys, falls into sin, and the Lord suddenly raises up adversaries against him. One of the wisest, most prosperous men of all times disobeys and brings on himself misery and grief. • "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord..." (1 Kings 11:6) • "And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord...and kept not which the Lord commanded..." (1 Kings 11:9-10) • "...the Lord said...forasmuch as you kept not my covenant...I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to another..." (1 Kings 11:11) • "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad, the Edomite..." (1 Kings 11:14) • "...And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah...and he was an adversary all the (rest of the) days of Solomon..." (1 Kings 11:23; 1 Kings 11:25) Think of it! When Solomon obeys God, walking humbly and holy before him - all is well. There is peace, there are no enemies that can rise up and touch him. Then his heart is seduced, he sins, he settles into a lifestyle of indulgence and disobedience - and suddenly, adversaries appear. Wicked enemies, who abhorred God’s people, began to persecute and hassle Solomon and all who were around him. Take note - "God stirred them up", arousing them to come against his disobedient servant. When Solomon did that which was right, God made all his enemies to be at peace with him. He never repented apparently. He had become too confirmed in his disobedient ways, and spent the rest of his life fighting off all the enemies God brought against him. So it was with Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Abijam, Nadab, Baasha, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Jehoram - and many other disobedient, wicked kings who "provoked the Lord God of Israel with their vanities (disobedient ways)" (1 Kings 16:13). When the kings were obedient and righteous, God prospered their kingdoms and gave them only peace and rest. Yet without exception, all who disobeyed lived in constant fear and were always terrified by powerful enemies. I have read and reread the tragic stories of all those kings who "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", and a holy fear gripped my heart. I know it to be a fact that much of my own hurt and trouble over the past years was caused by my own disobedience. There were things I knew God had dealt with in me - things I knew were wrong - things I should have surrendered and forsaken - yet I continued in disobedience, thinking I had no power to resist. And, I suffered the terrible consequences of a weak heart, fear, spiritual dryness, anxiety and trouble on every side. God seemed to be saying, "Since you will not surrender willingly, and forsake all that grieves Me, then I must chastise you, in love, so that you will understand my severity against sin, and yield...even if it be through godly fear." The young couple who lost their ministry went along happily for years, blessed, prospered, and respected. They sinned and quickly brought down upon themselves tragedy and sorrow. Note: The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. You may be unemployed or troubled otherwise - a victim of hard times. Still, loving trust and obedience will soon turn your trouble into victory. God’s very reputation is at stake - He cannot lie! II - Obedience opens the floodgates of all the glory and spiritual riches of Christ! It was said of Christ that He endured and was obedient to His heavenly Father, not because of fear, but because of the joy that was set before Him. He laid aside all weights, He ran the race with patience, He endured shame, He never fainted or wearied in His mind, because He saw the glorious rewards of obedience. Unspeakable Joy! Holy peace! Rest! Freedom! Fullness! Revelation!! Saints of God - shouldn’t we be getting weary of all the trouble and hurt - enough so that we would begin to hunger after the glorious riches promised in Christ? Oh, beloved, fear is not the best motive toward obedience - Love is! Divine threats were finally ignored by the children of Israel. Even God’s audible voice, His frightful thunder and awesome presence, could not keep disobedient Israelites from dancing around the golden calf. Only a deep, abiding love for God could have kept them from disobeying. It is sweet surrender to the will of God that opens the heavens to us. It is the yielding of every sin, every act of disobedience, that allows us the revelation of who Christ really is. The scripture says, "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him" (1 John 3:6) Could it be possible that we, through living in disobedience, no longer know Him? Could it be that we go on indulging our lusts because we have never had a revelation of Christ, His hatred of sin, His absolute holiness, His glory and mercy? In plain language, "He who lives in disobedience has never truly seen Christ or every really known Him." Jesus said, "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will show myself to him..." (John 14:21) What greater reward for loving obedience could we want other than having Christ reveal Himself to us? What a simple formula for such a great revelation. "Love Me enough to obey Me - I will then love you and show you who I am!" Read all you can about Him, study His nature, His historical background - but you will never get to know Him until you do such a simple, basic thing as obeying Him completely in all things. Jesus said of Nathanael, "...behold and Israelite in whom there is no deceit...the heavens shall be opened to you..." (John 1:47-51). The very moment we surrender, and commit ourselves to absolute obedience, a marvelous healing power is released in our inner man. No more dread of God, or hell, or retribution. No more fear of what men can do to us. Instead of hurt, pain, trouble and anguish - the Spirit of God begins to flood us with new light, new hope, great joy, glorious peace and abounding faith. We are ready to look God and the world in the eye and cry aloud - I am clean! His blood cleansed me. His cross crucified my old nature. I choose now to obey! I choose to forsake all idols and by faith pull down all satanic strongholds. I want God’s best - the revelation of Himself. Conclusion: I am convinced that most Christians know exactly where their problem lies. They know what God had been saying to them. They know what they should and must do. God long ago put his finger on their disobedience, and commanded them to forsake sin and yield. The spirit’s message to the church in this midnight hour is - OBEDIENCE! Through obedience He wants us to come into fullness, peace, and rest. And only through love can we obey and find such freedom. On May 3, 1982, at 3:30 in the morning the Holy Spirit gave me the following message. It is from my diary, but it may be for you also (from Psalms 19:7-14). 1. Obey God at all costs, surrender all dreams and plans (v. 7). 2. His testimonies (warnings) are sure (v. 7). 3. By these you are being warned (v. 11). 4. Your sins are errors God cannot permit (v. 12). 5. You can be cleansed from all secret sins (v. 12). 6. Sin must no longer have dominion over you (v. 13). 7. Obedience will bring you a great reward (v. 11). 8. All you do and say will then be upright and acceptable to God (v. 13, 14). 9. He will become your strength (v. 14). 10. God will enlighten your eyes, making you wise in His ways (v. 8). We are not justified by obedience, but only by grace. Obedience is not merit, but a loving response to God’s mercy. Obedience simply prepares us to receive the full revelation of all that Christ can be in and through us. It is something we do to show our love and gratitude for Christ’s atoning work. A commitment to total obedience has wrought a great healing in me. The spiritual rewards have been so glorious, I want everyone to experience this loving way to freedom. "But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good (obeys)..." (Romans 2:8-10). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 67: PRE-069-66. FAMINE IN THE LAND ======================================================================== 66. Famine In The Land Famine in the Land by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "And there shall be famines, and troubles, and these are the beginning of sorrows…" (Mark 13:8). There is a terrible famine raging in the land today. It’s not a food famine. In fact, the United States has been producing such an overabundance of food the government is currently devising a number of incentives for farmers to take some of their land out of production. It’s not a famine of the Word of God, the kind mentioned by the prophet Amos. Never in all of church history has there been such a full revelation of the Word of God. Prophets, young and old alike, are being raised up, bringing true revelation to our hearts. The famine is one of human need. It is the multitudes of people who are are starving for love and affection, longing to be fulfilled and needed by somebody. The word famine actually means "extreme scarcity, unfulfilled hunger, starvation of any kind." That pretty well sums up the terror so many are experiencing in these last days. I recently witnessed that terror firsthand at a hotel in Dallas, Texas, where a singles banquet was underway. I watched the guests as they mingled, cocktail glasses in hand, and thought how lonely they looked — such starved, pinched faces; such empty eyes. Later that evening I went down to the sandwich shop for a bite to eat. The party was just breaking up. I saw them coming out, and it broke my heart. Those people had been drinking and partying for four hours, searching for something to give life meaning. And there was an emptiness, a look of genuine terror in their eyes. It was the terror of loneliness, and it was saying, "I don’t want to be alone! Please, somebody, help me make it through the night!" This scene is being repeated all across America. Absolute fear and terror of famine; thousands starving for something they can’t even put their finger on. It’s never been quite like this before. Drive by any restaurant with a "Happy Hour". From 4 to 7 every day, it will be jammed with lonely people who have just made it through the day. They drink to make it until dinner. Then after dinner, they head back to some bar. They are searching — seeking — trying to find something to satisfy the famine of their soul. Not only will you witness this desperation in the bars; you can see it in congregations as well. I’ve stood outside churches and watched the faces of people as they file in. I think the greatest grief in my ministry is to listen to the untold tragic stories of God–fearing, dedicated Christians who are lonely and hurting. Most often they are singles. They come to me and say something like this: "David, what’s so wrong with wanting to be loved? There’s nothing sinful about it, is there? Just to be needed? I’m not looking for sex; I’m looking for a friend, someone to share with." One lady wrote the following note: "Am I condemned to a life of loneliness? Am I not worth anything to anybody anymore? The nights terrify me. I love God; I’m full of Christ, and I love Him. But on the human level I hurt so much I can’t sleep. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it! When I go to church and see other people happily married, it really hurts. Am I doomed to live like this the rest of my life? Will my needs never be met?" Then I get letters from married people who are locked into a hopeless, loveless marriage. Some with a husband or wife who cheats on them; others with a homosexual mate; or those with a spouse who is little more than a stranger to them. They say, "You talk about loneliness — single people don’t know what loneliness is! You can’t know, until you are in a position where everyone thinks you’re happy and have everything in order. You put on a front, and they don’t know that the worst kind of loneliness can be when you’re locked in with somebody in your house who doesn’t love you!" I listened to story after story, and I wept. I prayed for the Lord to give me His answer to this famine of loneliness. I didn’t want any psychiatric theories — no Freud or Jung. So I went to the Word of God and found the heart cry of the Lord. Let me share some beautiful truth with you. If you are hurting, if you are in the midst of personal famine, God has an assuring word for you. I’m not just talking about love per se. I’m talking about the sense of being needed and fulfilled. Consider Joseph. The Lord led me to the story of Joseph. Joseph saw his beautiful dream come tumbling down, and what a dream it was! He dreamed that his sheaf stood, and all the others bowed down. That even the stars and the moon fell down before him! It meant he was going to reach the very top of fulfillment, the pinnacle of success. I don’t know of any other man in the world who has dreamed a dream like that! When I speak of "reaching the top", I’m talking about joy, peace, personal fulfillment. Not material things — because they do not satisfy. That’s not a dream: that’s fantasy. Not reality. The real dream has to do with joy and fulfillment, and feeling needed. If you study Joseph’s story, you see that for awhile everything went fine. His dream started unfolding right before his eyes. He loved working for his master. Everything he did prospered; he was in control of his destiny. Happy, blessed, needed, respected, and loved. But suddenly, it all came crashing down on his head. Just when his dream seemed to be coming into focus and he was experiencing the kind of happiness he thought life should bring, disaster struck: "Joseph’s master took him, and put him in prison…a place where the king’s prisoner’s were bound…" (Genesis 39:20) The irony was that he was thrown into this predicament for not compromising! This was not a result of sin. It was because he would not give in to his master’s wife and commit adultery with her. One day, he was in control and everybody respected him. The next day, he was tied up and bound in a dark dungeon of despair! Now when Joseph went to prison, God was still with him. The Bible says that everything he did there also prospered (Genesis 39:23). But what a trial for this man of God! He had a dream in his heart. He evidently was a man of great need and great hunger because he couldn’t have reached such heights unless he was driven by these needs. He was capable, talented — but now sat wasting in prison, wondering if the door of usefulness would even open to him again. The account continues, "…until the time that his word came, [the word of his deliverance]…the word of God tried him…" (Psalms 105:19). If you had been with Joseph in that prison, during those long months of agony, remembering the dream, you would understand his desperation. Keep in mind that the dream had to do with godly, spiritual things. Joseph had a dream to be useful — needed! Isn’t that what we all really want? To be useful? Isn’t that the cry of our heart: "God, am I not worth something to you? Can’t I be used? Is there no place for me? Nothing for me to do?" It was the cry of Joseph’s heart as he sat, apparently forgotten, in prison. If we had been with him, I think we would have overheard him saying, "It’s not that I don’t believe God is real, or that I don’t believe His Word. I do. And I love Him. But I need some evidence that He’s there — that my prayers are being heard. I go on week after week in the same dungeon of despair. Nothing changes. God, please do something — anything — to get me out of this terrible predicament I’m in!" Does that have a familiar ring? Does the Word of God try you? You pick up your Bible and read the promises, and they seem to taunt you. Prayers for deliverance go unanswered. Oh, what a test for this great man of God! You see, God still loved Joseph; He was still with him. But on the human level, this servant of God was in great pain and distress. Oh, how he did hurt! Needed — a Friend! The butler and baker had also been thrown in jail. They both had a dream, which they asked Joseph to interpret. Joseph told the butler, "You’re going to get your job back — you’re going to be restored to your former position!" Then listen to what Joseph to him: "Get me out, for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews…and I have done nothing that I should be in this place…" (Genesis 40:14-15). Doesn’t your heart go out to Joseph? An ungodly man gets out of trouble, while the man of God who truly believes is left behind in bondage. It didn’t seem fair. He is left in prison; his dream destroyed; lonely and hurt. And worst of all, he didn’t even know why it was happening to him! Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever cried out in desperation, "Somebody, anywhere! Is there anyone who can feel what I’m feeling? Help me! God, I want out!" And it seems all the worse when others who are less deserving have things going right for them. Two more years went by while Joseph languished in that dark hole of despair. Can you imagine how forgotten he felt? Those he had hoped would help, gave up on him. He had no friend to talk to, to share his deep hurt and loneliness. His family was not around to help him. The Word of God was testing his heart. Your heart goes out to this holy man of God as he reaches out for a human touch, trying to comprehend why he was not being delivered. I believe there are many Christians today who can honestly say, "I really don’t think I deserve the circumstances I am going through right now. Not this kind of despair!" Like Joseph, they are innocent, and are suffering through a severe trial. What About the Guilty? But maybe you’re not innocent. Perhaps you are the one who did the injury to another. You are the one who made the mistake. You say, "It’s all right for you to talk about the love of Jesus for a man like Joseph, who could say honestly, ’I’m suffering for no just cause.’ Anyone can offer hope to that kind of person. But I deserve what I’m going through. It’s all my fault I’m in this mess! I failed God and hurt a lot of people." Most of the time the church doesn’t have much patience with the one who is in the wrong — such as the man who runs off and leaves his family, and commits adultery. We despise that man. When the Ayotollah placed our American citizens under house arrest, how many Americans believed that Jesus loved the Iranians? How many of us would have sent our sons or daughters to Iran as missionaries? Instead, we wanted God to call fire out of heaven and consume them! We didn’t feel much love or compassion. Let me tell you something that is hard for us to accept: If a guilty one repents, humbles himself, and is broken before God — he has as much right to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ as those he has injured. In the Old Testament Jeremiah speaks of people sick with famine — an inner starvation. They look for peace, but all they find is trouble; for a time of healing and release from their problems, but all they find is no good. There is terror both in their mind, and in their spirit, and in their body: "…our skin is black like an oven because of the terror of our famine…" (Lamentations 5:10). Anyone going through the loneliness of guilt will tell you what it’s like to feel suffocated, to feel their soul is drying up and turning black with despair. Absolute terror in their heart! I can’t begin to estimate how many have cried about this guilt at the altars in my crusades. They tell me they can’t sleep at night. They say, "It’s not that I’m afraid I won’t be ready when Jesus comes — it’s on this human level that I’m terrified! I’ve brought upon myself such fear and loneliness." Some weep over abortions, unable to cope with overwhelming guilt. They cry out, "I murdered my baby. I took an innocent life — can God ever forgive me?" One poor girl was on the verge of a nervous breakdown after having three abortions. She was overcome with a godly sorrow, yet hysterical with guilt. There was no peace in her troubled mind, and she felt such emptiness and dissatisfaction. Our Sins Do Catch Up With Us. There are times when God sends arrows of famine against the disobedient and rebellious. Ezekiel spoke in God’s behalf to the disobedient children of Israel, who were defiling the temple of God by marrying heathen wives. Living in open, flaunted sin! Ezekiel, under the thunder of God’s anointing, cried out, "God will execute judgment on you, in anger and fury and furious rebukes…he will send upon you evil arrows of famine…the famine will increase day by day…Your sins have brought this on you, and when you sin, you must pay for the mistake!" (Ezekiel 5:1-17) Many of you are paying for a terrible mistake you made. You can go ahead and try to pull something over God’s eyes, but you’re going to reap what you sow. There’s no question about it: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap…" (Galatians 6:7) Many are in the midst of depression. They are down, lonely — because they made a mistake and they are paying for it — dearly. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." And the misery, pain and rejection we feel, is because somewhere down along the line we failed God. We were disobedient, stubborn, and self-willed. And the cost of disobedience is very high. But I have good news for you! God has been opening my eyes in the past few months to His great marvelous love and His power of reconciliation. Sometimes I can hardly contain it! There is a beautiful truth in Ezekiel, in the same passage where God is shooting arrows of famine against wrongdoers. Ezekiel tells the people in essence, "It’s not that God is doing it; rather, this is the consequence of what you are doing! If you go ahead in your own way after I have loved and begged and pleaded, you will pay the price. You are going to have loneliness and fear, because that is the natural consequence of your sin!" It’s not that God purposely hurts people. But you are paying the natural consequences of sin. Yet listen to this glorious word: "Oh, house of Israel [God’s people], you were defiled by your own ways, doing your own things, so unclean that I had to pour out my wrath on you. But I have pity on you, for my holy name’s sake…not for your sake…not because you deserve it, but because my name is holy, and I can be merciful on whom I choose to merciful. I have such pity for you…" (Ezekiel 36:17 ff). When God Speaks of "pity" — that’s not sorrow. No! Because whom God pities, He rectifies. He doesn’t pity anyone without doing something about it. He never wastes His pity. He always remedies those He pities: "…I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness…I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit…I will give you a heart of flesh, and you shall no more carry your reproach of famine…" (Ezekiel 36:25-30). I believe there are some people who won’t repent and come back to God because they think they have sinned too grievously, and God can’t forgive them. I have had hundreds tell me over the years, "If you only knew what I did!" They feel their life has been absolutely demolished. Their dream is gone, dead! But God says to them, "I have seen all you’ve been doing, and I still pity you. I can sprinkle you with clean water; I can give you a new spirit and a new heart. I will make you a new man — start you over as though it never happened." We serve a God like that! Think of it! The pity of God for hurting people — including those who do the wrong! You don’t have to go through life paying for your mistakes. If you are doing that, you don’t believe that He paid of your sins. Why did Christ go to the Cross? To pay for our mistakes — if we repent and forsake them, and are willing to come back to His gracious love. There Is a Way Out of the Famine. Often, the more complicated a truth sounds, the less truth it is! The thing that makes the Gospel so profound is its simplicity. So often we go all over, looking for a way out. We run to people; we pick up the telephone; we read books and listen to tapes. We become desperate in our alarm and terror, reaching out in all directions. Then, when we do hear the answer, it’s so simple — we don’t get it! It would be a good idea to put away all the Christian psychology books and tapes and records for awhile, and just focus on one simple word. The way out of the prison you are in comes down to just one word. There is a simple, biblical way out — Hope! I have been searching for years for a simple solution to the deep problem of loneliness and depression. Sometimes, after a citywide crusade, I’d go home and punch my fist in the pillow, weeping over the many needs of hurting people, I couldn’t even process all the problems I had heard; my head was swimming. I would pray, "Oh, God, there are so many problems, so many hurting people! Lord, is there really an answer for everybody? Or is it like Zerephath — so many starving, suffering people, and relief given to only two (1 Kings 17:1-24). But that is the Old Testament. Under the New Testament, it doesn’t work that way. In the New Testament, "Whosoever will may come." It’s to all who believe. God doesn’t exclude anyone. It’s not that He cut anybody out in the Old Testament — but Israel had become so dark, only two people could see the light! Now we have all been given the glorious light; it’s been shed abroad. God is no respecter of persons; He has no favorites. This glorious hope is for every person who is lonely; for anyone who is seeking love or has a need. That need can be met! God won’t exclude anybody! I asked the Lord to show me what this word hope means. There are five things I want to share: 1. Hope — is the knowledge that what you need is possible. It is a growing inner faith that what you need is possible. I have boiled it down to this: what is possible with God? And that leaves us no excuse — because we know "all things are possible with God." You’re not going to have any faith if you don’t believe it is possible for God to turn your life around and start you over again; turn your tears into joy — and open up a whole new world to you. If you don’t believe that it is possible, you might as well drop out of the struggle and give up. You can’t go on. This is what hope is: to be able to say, "I believe in my heart that what I need in Christ is possible." 2. Hope — is the assurance that all things will turn out to my good in God’s time. What does the Scripture say? "All things work together for good to them who love God and are the called according to his purpose…" (Romans 8:28). Perhaps you think you’re one of those chosen people, doomed to despair; God has picked you out to suffer despair and loneliness. You think the heavens are shut to you, His promises null and void. That’s not what God’s Word says — Idare you to show me that in the Scripture! God has promised to do right by you, in His time, in His way. It will be perfect when it comes. 3. Hope — is an absolute conviction and insistence that the solution is already on the way. "Until his time came, the Word of God tried him…" Aren’t you glad for that word "until"? That means your deliverance is coming! What you are going through right now is the "until". Don’t think it’s strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as if you were going through some strange thing (1 Peter 4:12). There is nothing you can tell me that I haven’t heard a dozen times! You may suffer in a very special way; but Christ said that all temptations are common to all men. Yours is not unique. There are many in the same boat with you. This word hope means that you believe God has already started working. he’s doing things you can’t see, but you say with confidence. "God, you are working things out. You’re going to do it — and do it right!" 4. Hope — is a confidence in the face of no visible evidence. This is the confidence which says, "I don’t see it yet, but I’m going to start thanking and praising God now. I know that in my hour of trial, He has already made provisions for me." It’s also a complete trust that in spite of all the odds, God is going to work in your behalf. It’s not a flimsy hope — but one built on a sure foundation. Look at what God promises He will do: • God is going to hold you steady as long as this ordeal lasts. You are not going to fall. You won’t have a nervous breakdown or lose your mind. Listen to what the psalmist says: • "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in their famine…" (Psalms 33:18-19). God tells you He will keep you alive as long as the famine lasts. Now you tell that to the devil, too! • You are going to experience abundant divine satisfaction until you reach the human satisfaction you need. God is going to maintain your divine satisfaction: "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; they shall not be ashamed in their hard times…and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied…though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down…" (Psalms 37:18-19; Psalms 37:24) The Lord is going to uphold you with His hand — through everything! You will be given a divine, godly satisfaction that will be far more glorious than all human needs. • Not for one minute will you be out of His will, out of His sight, or out of His love. "The Lord forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever…none of their steps shall slide…" (Psalms 37:28; Psalms 37:31). Did you know He will even make your bed in your trial! "The Lord will strengthen you upon the bed of languishing; he will make your bed in your sickness [suffering]…" (Psalms 41:3). He says to you, "Lie down; leave it to me." • Your day of deliverance is coming if you will just keep your hope steadfast in His Word. Don’t hope in men; don’t hope in yourself. Trust only in the Word of God: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why are you so disturbed inwardly? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance…" (Psalms 42:5). "Wait on the Lord, keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit…" (Psalms 37:34). That means He is going to make you come into the promise! He will cause you to inherit! 5. Here is the flagship of hope — the blessed hope of deliverance out of all the despair in you heart: Memorize this reference, Romans 8:35-39 : "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation? distress? famine?…" Will that famine you’re going through keep you separated from Christ’s love? No! "…for in all things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us…" (Romans 8:37). Paul said, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present [in other words, the things you are going through right now], nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus…" (Romans 8:38-39). Now if He loves you so much, whatever made you believe He would let you down or fail you? If you are not separated from the love of Christ, how can you be separated from your deliverance? You can’t be! You cannot serve the Lord — you cannot come to God’s house honestly, without having this hope in you: "God is going to see me through; He’s going to deliver me by His power. He is going to do right by me!" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 68: PRE-070-67. THE HUNTER ======================================================================== 67. The Hunter The Hunter A Message of Hope For All Who Are Being Tempted by Satan by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] You have heard of the hound of heaven. This is the Spirit of God who tracks a man down and never quits on him. He never gives up until He finds him. What I want to talk about now is the hunter of hell, who hunts down the most precious children of God to seek and destroy them. That is the Devil himself. At one time his name was Lucifer, and he was a chosen, powerful ruler with God. This Morning Star, as Isaiah called him, was a bright star in God’s firmament, a mighty angel, highly arrayed and chosen. But he became lifted up with pride. The Bible says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Before Lucifer was cast down from his high place, he went throughout God’s kingdom and hunted down a third of God’s angels. Those he captured through pride or deceit were cast out of heaven with him. Don’t think for a minute he hunted down and deceived the least among them. I believe the majority of them were just as himself — chosen, like the Morning Stars. He hunted down to deceive the most talented, the most useful of these flaming, fiery ministers of the Lord. "How hath thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave…" (Isaiah 14:12). Lucifer became known as Belial, or Satan. In the Old Testament Satan became a type of an adulteress. He was then and is now a seductress, seducing people into sin and slavery. Recently, the Spirit of the Lord directed me to Proverbs 6:26 : "The adulteress will hunt for the precious life…" The adulteress — Satan — will hunt for the precious life! In other words, he goes after those who are the most beloved, the most valuable to God. He hunts down the good children, the innocent ones, the most important to the kingdom of God. That is why sexual perverts who have been given over to their sins go after innocent children. It is Satan working in them to hunt down and destroy the precious lives. Why are so many innocent Christian girls being seduced by the most wicked, vile gangster types? It is because the devil himself is hunting the precious ones. Satan leads an army of demonic hunters, who go about seeking the most precious of lives, to seduce, trap, and enslave. The word "precious" means "valuable, beloved, highly esteemed. The dearest to the heart. Those most highly regarded because of a spiritual or moral quality." Satan comes as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he seeks most of all to devour the precious ones. I sat in a room in Spanish Harlem and wept as I watched five teenage deaf and dumb mutes stick dirty needles in their veins. They were drug addicts — mainliners. I was waiting for a chance to witness to them, and they forgot I was in the room. As I watched, I thought, "They don’t have enough problems? They can’t hear; they can’t speak. They share this inner hurt, and look at them!" They were like animals! Yet God has a special love for this kind. These deaf and dumb mutes were God’s special ones, and Satan had gone after them and deceived them! They had been trapped and made slaves by the adulteress. I remember two small children, a boy and a girl perhaps four and five years old, sitting in a dilapidated third story tenement in Brooklyn. I had gone there to pick up a junkie who had been saved, to take him into the program. The mother was a prostitute, out hustling on the streets. The father was a drug addict, in jail. Jose and I were about to leave when I looked back at those two frightened children sitting alone on the couch. I said, "Jose, your mother is out on the streets; your dad’s in jail. If we leave, who is going to take care of your brother and sister?" He nodded toward a stale carton of milk and some Oreo cookies on the table, and said, "Oh, there’s food. They take care of themselves." I couldn’t leave! Just about that time the mother returned. She wouldn’t let us take those children because she needed them to continue receiving welfare checks, so she could get drugs! As we left, I looked back at those two precious lives and thought, "Oh, God, those are the precious ones that Satan is after!" I can’t tell you how my heart was grieved! An Assembly of God minister from Brooklyn brought his two teenage sons to my office — 15 and 16 years old. They sat across from my desk. This minister put his head on my desk and began to weep. "Brother Dave," he said, "I’ve read your book, The Cross and the Switchblade; I’ve preached from it. I’ve gone to prison to stand up for the children of parents in my congregation. And if you had told me I would discover what I found out yesterday, I’d never have believed it! The sergeant called me down to our precinct. He had my sons in custody. He rolled their sleeves up and showed me their arms. `Don’t you know your boys are mainliners?’, he asked. We had noticed their grades were failing, and their eyes were often glassy, but I never dreamed it could be drugs. I couldn’t believe it could happen in my own home!" I watched that father kneel down and put his hands on his sons. "Boys," he begged, "if you’ve got any love left at all for me or your mother, please let Brother Dave give you a bed. Please come into Teen Challenge and get your life changed! Please! I can’t take it anymore!" They just looked at him with a stony glare, hard as nails. The father fell prostrate on the floor, overtaken by his remorse. I saw those sons get up, walk over their dad — laugh at him — and go out the door. I could not console that pastor. He got up, shook his head and walked out the door. All these years I’ve thought of those two precious preacher’s sons — how Satan came after them. Two precious live that the adulteress came to hunt down. What did Satan see in those two children that so frightened him — forcing him to throw all the powers of hell against them? A reporter once asked, "Mr. Wilkerson, what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? The worst experience you’ve ever had?" I always think of the following encounter. I had just dismissed a service in a big gymnasium and was about to walk off the stage when a teenage girl came forward, leading a young man who was evidently blind. He was about 6’2"; skin and bones. His hair was falling out; his eyes and cheeks were sunken. I thought he had terminal cancer. It looked as though he had gone through chemotherapy. They stood before me, hand in hand, and she said, "This is my boyfriend, Jimmy. He’s seventeen." Then she told a pitiful story of how he had been a healthy, robust football player on his high school team. Not the rowdy kind. He was one of the good boys in the school and in the church. He just happened to go to a party where most were dropping acid and crank, and blowing pot. They urged him to try it, and out of curiosity and peer pressure, he sucked a tab of acid. Someone had added strychnine. He spun out into a horrible crash period and had to be rushed to the hospital. The young lady told me, in fact, that he had just been released from the hospital two days ago. His mind was still shattered, his sight gone. She said, "He read your book, The Cross and the Switchblade, in English class months ago. I’ve brought him to you because I still love him. I want him back!" I looked at that bombed out creature, and I got mad at the devil. I went behind the curtain and had a cry, then I came back and prayed with that boy. "Oh, God, deliver him!" I prayed earnestly but when I opened my eyes, I realized he wasn’t hearing a word I said. He was gone, absolutely gone! I don’t know what ever happened to this young man, but I believe with all my heart in the healing power of God. The best I could do was to introduce him to a pastor friend of mine and a group of young people who adopted him. I knew he would be bathed in prayer. I have a feeling that one day I’m going to meet him, and he’s going to be in his right mind. I will never forget Jimmy — that good, choice young man whom Satan went after to deceive and destroy. How true, the adulteress hunts down the precious life. Multitudes of innocent, clean young people are hunted down by Satanic forces, seduced into drugs and alcohol — with the sole purpose of bringing to shame and ruin, the most beloved, precious of God’s children. Recently the Holy Spirit has been guiding me into a healing truth. He has been leading me into a ministry of reconciliation and restoration, showing people that God is not to be dreaded like some kind of ruthless judge. Instead, He is longing for the love and friendship of all His children who have gone astray. First of all — some of the most wicked sinners on earth today, at one time were the most precious lives in the sight of God. At one time they were innocent children, full of the gift of life. Jesus said of children, "…of such is the kingdom of God." Satan begins hunting and seeking the most precious among the children to deceive, wound, and turn them away from God into the slavery of sin. He goes after the precious life! In a recent crusade, a young man about 25 years of age confessed he was a witch and wanted to receive Christ into his life. "Why," I asked him, "would a witch want Christ?" He then told the audience of a nightmare he had experienced the night before. Demons were coming toward him, dressed in grayish, ghoulish clothes. Frightened, he called out the name, "Jesus!" They shrank back. Again they rallied forces to possess his body. Louder than before, he cried out the name of "Jesus!" They all fled. What a glorious sight, to witness the conversion of this young witch. Jesus drove away the devil and all his imps. Did Satan come against this boy and try to possess him because he was inherently bad, because he had an evil seed in him? Was it because of the sins of his parents? Was he predestined to be a child of Satan? What was there that attracted the devil to this particular young man, that made him come against him with all of his demonic forces and try to destroy his mind? This young man at an early age was such a precious soul with so much potential to do something for the kingdom of God, that Satan came after him! The adulteress, Satan, hunted him down and led him into deception, because as a child he would take his Bible out into the open fields — calling on God to let him preach the Gospel. Nicky Cruz, former Mau Mau gang leader, was born into a house of witchcraft. His mother was involved in the occult. Nicky was one of 17 children and when he was just a child, he overheard his mother say that he was an unwanted child. Nicky wound up on the streets of New York, full of hate and deceived by Satan. The newspapers once described Nicky as a lost kid with the "heart of a killer". Before I met him, he had already stabbed a number of people. Now let me ask you a question. Was it because he was an evil seed that he wound up on the streets with a killer’s heart? The first time I met him, he spit in my eye and said, "Go to hell!" He was so full of bitterness, hate, and anger. I thought he was the last one in the world who would be saved in New York. What was there about Nicky that the devil went after? There must have been something at an early age! Was it because Nicky, after hearing his mother say he was unwanted, went into a room and cried to God, and God heard his cry? God saw the potential of a flaming evangelist who could shake the kingdom of the devil. And the devil saw it too! So he went after that precious life! Moms and Dads with wayward or ungodly children living in sin, what terrible kinds of trauma Satan would like to put you through! Trying to tell you that somewhere in your family tree there was an evil seed that finally came out in one or two of your children. Have you ever asked, "Why did it have to be my children?" A couple came into my office, crying so hard they couldn’t even talk to me. When they had calmed down, they told me a heartbreaking story. Two weeks earlier they had discovered that their son, who was studying to be a schoolteacher, was a homosexual. In their despair and brokenness, they decided to share the family’s problem with their daughter. When she had heard them out, she replied, "Well, as long as he’s told you the truth, I might as well, too. I’m a Lesbian." Now they sat before me, broken and weeping. That’s why I have such love for homosexuals and Lesbians, and all who are bound by Satan. Because somewhere behind all that, there are mothers and fathers weeping, condemning themselves. Asking, "Where did we go wrong?" I want to share what the Holy Spirit gave to me in answer to this dilemma. Is it the parents’ fault? Was there a latent seed of evil that just came out of them all of a sudden? Not always. Let me give you the glorious news of Jesus Christ — that child was precious! A precious one beloved in the sight of God. And whether you know it or not, dear parent, that child is still beloved by God because He doesn’t give up once He says, "I see the potential!" He won’t give up until that child totally turns Him away. He will keep corning and coming and coming. That’s why it’s so important to hold on, to keep praying. They’re still precious in the sight of God, no matter where they are or what they’ve done. The adulteress, Satan, came to deceive your child who is so precious in the sight of God. If they had not been so precious, why would Satan go after them with such demonic fury? Those of you caught in sin, have you ever wondered why of all people you’re like you are? If you are into drugs, have you ever wondered, "Why me? What did I do that I had to end up a drug addict?" Are you drinking and can’t lay it down? Are you a homosexual or a Lesbian? The devil will come at you with his lies. He’ll say, "You had to be evil when you were a child!" He tells the homosexual, "You were born this way! You couldn’t help yourself. You were destined to be like this. You are a freak! You are no good! Worthless!" But these are all lies! The truth is, you were hunted down by Satan because your life was precious. You were a chosen vessel, dearly loved of the Lord. He saw your potential, and He sees it even now. Here is a powerful word from the Lord: "His eye seeth every precious thing…" (Job 28:10). If this is true, then you and I should be looking at the lost through the eyes of Jesus. When you see somebody staggering down the street, know that the main reason Satan went after them is because of their potential. It was a precious life, and the devil set out to deceive and try to destroy it. Satan knows if they ever come into God’s kingdom, they have great potential for God! God sees you not for what you’ve become but for what He knows you can be, by His grace. God has made it clear to me that there are sinners who need to hear this message. They need to know they can stand up and say with confidence, "The only reason the devil has come down on me so hard is because he saw something in me that scared him. He wanted me only because I was a precious jewel in God’s crown. And I’ll not be deceived anymore!" Another Fact — The Holiest, Most Saintly Children of God Are Tempted The Most Severely. The Bible says, "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth…" You can add to that, "Whom the Lord loveth, Satan hunts down!" We’re not to think when we’re tempted that some strange thing has happened to us. It’s not strange at all. There’s a reason for it. Think of Joseph. What a godly, moral man. The Bible says of him, "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in the eyes of the Lord…the blessing of the Lord was upon everything he did…" (Genesis 39:2-5). And you no sooner read that, than your eyes fall on the following verse: "And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, ’Lie with me’…" (verse 7). Why Joseph? There were many men in this household. She could have had any man she wanted. When Joseph fled her grasp, she called for "the men of the house" (verse 14). But there was only one she was after, the most precious one of all — Joseph. The adulteress wanted only the precious life! Christian, Satan will throw the most severe temptations at you at the very peak of your usefulness to God. One minute you will be calling on God in righteousness, holiness, and hunger, and then suddenly you are cast into dire temptation. Is it because you’ve grown cold of heart? Or developed an evil streak? Are you backslidden? Not always, though sometimes this is the cause. Often, it is because Satan, the adulteress, comes after the precious one! And the worst thing that can happen is for you to think when this occurs, that you are less holy, less anointed, less beloved or valuable to the kingdom of God. Can’t you see that Satan is simply going after the choicest of God’s servants? It is true that we are drawn away by our own lusts, and enticed — but it is Satan who fans those flames with bewitching image. The godliest, most precious of God’s people will testify to the crushing temptations and trials thrown at them during their most intense spiritual times. Oh, how the adulteress hunts down the godly, precious life! Consider Job. Why was this man tempted as no other man in his generation? Because his holiness attracted the enemy! Not because he had sin in his life or because he was leaning toward the world. Job was put into a fiery furnace of trial simply because he was such an example of a precious, godly life — and Satan could not be satisfied until he had a chance to go after him. Think of God’s only beloved Son, the most precious One of all. He comes out of the baptismal waters, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and God says, "This is my beloved Son. This is the most precious One from the foundation of the earth." And what happens immediately? He is led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil! Satan came after the most precious life! Through Jeremiah, God said to the Israelites, "You’ve backslidden! You’ve turned your heart against me. But I’ve written you in the palm of my hand! You’re still precious to me!" God was grieved by their sins, but as His children they were still deeply loved. God Has Provided A Very Simple Way For All His Precious Children To Come Out Of The Snare Of Satan. It’s the advice I’ve given to my four children: "For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth…" (Psalms 72:12). I’ve told my children, "When you’re in need, when you’re hurting, just call me. I’ll be there! I don’t care where I am, I’ll come!" I’m just an earthly father. How much more the heavenly Father cares! The Word of God says, "…he shall deliver…the poor also, and him that is helpless. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit of the devil and from violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight" (Psalms 72:12-14). God says, "All you who are poor, all you who are needy, who seem helpless — the enemy has been attacking. You have fallen into his trap! Don’t you know your very blood is precious to Me! All you have to do is cry out, and I will deliver you from the trap of Satan!" David said, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him…" (Psalms 34:6). You don’t have to know a lot of religious terms, or know theology, or much about the Bible. That can come later. The one thing you must know is that no matter what you’ve done, how wicked you may have been, or the ugly things you have committed, you always have been and always will be precious in His eyes. Christ said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open the door, I will come in…" (Revelation 3:20). Why is He standing? Why is He knocking? Because it’s a precious life, and He won’t let go. He doesn’t come to push anyone around, but time and time again He’ll come and speak to your heart. "Call on me now in your need;’ He whispers. There are so many who are precious in His sight. If you are a sinner, you may have been in churches where people condemned you and put you down, made you feel dirty and unclean. But all they did was judge you by what you look like on the outside. God doesn’t do that. He sees your potential. What He could do in your life, what a life of fragrance you could be. He’ll give you joy and beauty in place of the dirt and filth and ashes. He’ll set you free. I am reminded of Israel, one of the characters in my book. He went back to his gang and was caught with another young man who shot a boy through the head. Israel was given eight–to–ten years as an accessory to murder. All those years he was in prison, I wept and prayed for him. When he got out of jail, Nicky found him and prayed with him. And Israel said, "Nicky, I remember the day I knelt with Brother Dave. I can’t get away from the Holy Ghost. God called me back then, and I know He still loves me!" Right now Israel is preaching, just like Nicky. He is another precious soul delivered from the snare of the devil. I believe that before Jesus comes, those traps are going to open all over the world. God is going to show people that they are loved by Him — precious in His sight. I read the testimony of a young man who was a drag queen. He had had a sex change from a man to a woman, but he got saved. And when he did, he went back to being a man. God gave him back his masculinity. A few years ago if you had seen him, you would have said, "There is a son of the devil for life and eternity!" But somewhere inside that heart God saw something. There was a precious life hidden there. Now that man is preaching the gospel. There are so many precious souls God wants to save. All it takes is admitting, "I’ve become a wicked, evil person. I’ve been deceived by the devil. Yet deep in my Heart I know what you have been saying is true. I’m not really filthy, ugly, hateful. That’s not the real me, because there are times when I know I could be a new person." That’s the Lord trying to show you how precious you are in His sight. You repent the moment you ask God to make you hate your sins. He will respond, the very moment you take a step of faith. The Spirit of God Himself will come upon you, releasing your will from the power of evil. It is faith alone that saves and keeps anyone from the power of sin and Satan. Don’t believe the devil’s lie that you are too far gone, too sinful — to be a child of God. You must — right now — accept the fact that Satan wants to keep you in slavery and hardness because you are such a "big fish". In other words — really precious to God. You can be free — right this moment! In your heart, cry out to God! Believe God’s Word when it promises He will pour faith into you if you ask Him to. Then the real you — the godly you — the precious, regenerated you — will be set free! You are precious to God — don’t forget it! Whatever Happened to Joy by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The Holy Spirit yearns to bring God’s people back to serving the Lord with joy and gladness. How grieved heaven must be to witness the wet blanket of despair and sadness that has fallen upon multitudes of believers. The Word of God commands: "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands…serve the Lord with gladness…" (Psalms 100:1-2). "The hope of the righteous shall be gladness…" (Proverbs 10:28) "Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yea, let them exceedingly rejoice…"(Psalms 68:3). "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation…"(Isaiah 12:3). "Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them…"(Psalms 5:11-12). Jesus said to His disciples, "…if you loved me, you would rejoice…"(John 14:28). The Psalmist declared, "Happy is the people, whose God is the Lord…" (Psalms 144:15). JOY means "pleasure, delight, exhilaration of spirit, excitement caused by hope." REJOICE means "joy in the highest degree, to be intensely glad." HAPPINESS means "fully contented, extensive pleasure." How many Christians do you know today who are exhilarated, excited, intensely glad, fully contented, experiencing joy in the highest degree? Listen to the words of our Lord: "…when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil…rejoice in that day; and leap for joy…" (Luke 6:22-23). If Jesus had not said it, it would sound absolutelyridiculous — but there it is in black and white and ivine: "When you are rejected, persecuted, kicked about — jump up and down with excitement! Let it give you the highest degree of joy! Delight in it!" When the Holy Spirit first began to deal with me on the matter of serving Him with joy and gladness, I had a difficult time facing the seriousness of the subject. I did not fully understand God’s attitude. I wondered how important it could be compared to all the heartbreaking problems in the world today, such as drugs, alcohol, divorce, violence, and corruption. I never gave much thought to how much joy and gladness I had. "So what?" I thought. "So I do not always experience happiness in my Christian walk. I get blue! The problems of life sometimes get me down. The future is so bleak it makes one feel depressed and fearful at times. The joy is there — Iguess I just don’t show it. I’m only human. God isn’t worried about my down periods." That is not good enough! This matter of serving Him with joy, gladness, excitement, and exhilaration is taken most seriously by God. Under the old covenant, we get a very clear picture of just how seriously God takes this matter of serving Him with a spirit of rejoicing. At Mount Ebal God pronounced a terrifying curse that involved six tragedies: slavery; hunger; thirst; nakedness; lack of all things; a yoke of iron upon the neck until destroyed! And what terrible sin could Israel commit that would bring about such a horrible curse? A sin that could destroy them? First, of course, was disobedience to the Lord’s commands. But also this: "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things…" (Deuteronomy 28:47-48). You ask, "Is God really that severe about joy in these New Testament days of grace?" The answer is that God will not judge us on what we show on our faces, but by what He sees in our hearts. It is possible to have a drawn, tired face and still be overflowing with joy in the inner man. But it is difficult to hide the genuine joy of the Lord. Whenever the glory of God touches the soul, it affects the outward countenance. In Old Testament times, the anointing caused the face to shine! The prophet Joel predicted a day would come when joy would wither in the house of God. "Yea, joy and gladness is cut off from the house of God…joy is withered away from the sons of men…" (Joel 1:12; Joel 1:16). This drying up of the joy and gladness in believers is evident everywhere you look today! So many of God’s people look sad and defeated, because they have lost the joy of the Lord. Many Christians seem just as lonely, blue and fearful as the unbeliever. It has become a disgraceful testimony to the world, and it is high time every Christian asked himself, How am I serving the Lord — with what attitude? Do I serve Him only through fear or obligation? Is it a half–hearted service? Have I taken Him for granted? Do I have that unspeakable joy or have my joy and gladness withered? Am I truly excited and full of ecstasy in knowing Him? Am I a worthy testimony to the lost that Christ can fill the heart with the highest degree of joy? Or have I become another depressed, worried Christian? Is there enough joy in my soul to overflow in my actions and my conversation, or have I become a murmurer and complainer like the children of Israel? How rarely do I smile anymore? Let me give you some of the reasons why joy is withering. I. We Have Grown Weary of the Way. "Thou has been weary [bored] of me, O Israel…thou hast made me to serve with thy sins; thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities…" (Isaiah 43:22; Isaiah 43:24). [brackets mine] The prophet Malachi grieved over the tragic condition of God’s house in his day. God’s people were bored, and the worship had become monotonous and mercenary — "Ye have said, Behold, what a weariness it is! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts…" (Malachi 1:13) In other words, "My people have become bored with me. So they drag their feet in monotonous service at the altar." God’s children were simply going through the motions. Their heart was no longer in it! They were dragging unwilling offerings to the altar — diseased, weak, lame sacrifices. The priests would do nothing without pay, not even shut the temple door or kindle the altar fire. They used the ministry to feather their own nests. What a sad condition! Covetous ministers of the altar who were nothing but hirelings! The temple worship was a farce! How slowly they moved, how sad they looked! There was no life — no excitement — no joy or pleasure. The choirs, the musicians, and both priests and people were all playing a dangerous game of hypocrisy! They were in a religious rut. They sang their half–hearted songs, gave their half–hearted offering, listened to a half–hearted word from a half–hearted minister — and rejoiced at the thought of getting it over with. They hurried to their last Amen and quickly fled the house of God. These people were sad and bored because they had given in to a sense of futility and helplessness! "Ye have said, it is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?" (Malachi 3:14). In our terminology, they were saying, "What’s the use? What good is it to work so hard at pleasing God and doing right, when it doesn’t seem to pay off? Why sacrifice, fast, and pray; why be so rigid and religious? It’s useless — it’s boring! Nothing changes. My prayers aren’t answered…I’m still flooded with problems." Since there was no life in God’s house, and since the altars were so monotonous, the people simply gave up! They went through the motions only because they were afraid of God’s wrath. They kept going to church because it was the thing to do. And they dreaded every minute of it. What a picture of conditions today! From across the nation people write, telling me of the sad condition of their church. They tell of pastors without a burden, who can’t preach. They complain of dead, dry worship services that are monotonous and boring. Their churches are dead. Yet they go through the motions! They drop a little money in the basket! The choir sings drearily on. The church functions and programs keep dragging on. But there is no joy — no excitement — no gladness. No shout of victory! I believe one of the rarest things in the world today is a red–hot, joyful church with a man in the pulpit who has something worthwhile to say. So often I’ve heard this: "I’ve given up trying to find a church that really meets my need and that of my family. I get up every Sunday dreading the thought of sitting through another boring worship service. Where, oh where, can I find a church that is on fire?" And of this you can be sure: wherever there is a church that has the joy and liberty of the Spirit — Satan will be busy trying to bring that church and its pastor under some kind of legalistic, mournful bondage. Satan would love to get to that church and kill the joy and happiness! As important as the role of the church is — serving the Lord with joy and gladness is a personal responsibility! "Let us not be weary in well doing…" (Galatians 6:9). God will allow none of us to blame our loss of joy and gladness on a boring preacher or a poor church situation. It is our privilege and responsibility to get and maintain the joy of the Lord through our own personal dealings with Him. God will accept no excuses on this matter! Paul had to stand alone on many occasions. Writing to Timothy, he said: "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me…" (2 Timothy 4:16-17). The Bible abounds with the glorious stories of those who maintained joy and gladness through all their trials — even when everyone else had given up! All Israel murmured and complained — except for two men of God, Joshua and Caleb. They never once wavered in their faith and joy, even though all others around them had given in to mournful despair. When the leaders of all nations, along with the church leaders and congregations, were bowing down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image — Daniel and the three Hebrew children rejoiced in the Lord, immovable in faith! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego leaped for joy through the fiery furnace! Let everyone else cry the blues, saying, "You can’t fight the system, you can’t resist the spirit of the age." But not these young men! "As for us," they declared, "We will serve our God with trust, joy, and gladness!" There was no boredom or monotony for them! Even today the Lord has a people who won’t bend! They lift up their heads, through all tribulation and testing, and they glory in the Lord! They shine forth as beautiful examples of how the joy of the Lord is possible in any trial. They are the Lord’s best testimonies of His faithfulness. God says of them, "They trust Me; that is why they have such joy and gladness." Our joy and gladness must be the result of one great foundational truth: WE ARE UNDER HIS PROTECTIVE WINGS! "Because thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice…" (Psalms 63:7). No wonder Paul could say, "I am exceeding joyful in all my tribulations." (2 Corinthians 7:4)! How can anyone under God’s protective wings allow their joy and gladness to wither? It is an affront to God, an insult to His faithfulness. And it is only because we no longer trust His protection and care that we allow despair and sadness to replace our joy and peace. II. Joy is Lost When Fear Takes Root! "There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love…" (1 John 4:18). The result of disobedience and hypocrisy is always fear. It is unforsaken sin that causes the people of God to tremble in His presence, and lose all joy and peace. Isaiah said, "The sinners in Zion [the church] are afraid; fearfulness hath seized the hypocrites…" (Isaiah 33:14) [brackets mine]. Luke tells us the unconverted are afraid, and their hearts fail them for fear — alarmed by the terrible things coming upon the earth (Luke 21:26). But the fear that alarms the Christian is the direct result of harboring a secret sin! "If thou do that which is evil, be afraid…" (Romans 13:4). When Adam sinned, he could no longer face God. He hid himself, clothing his body with sweat and tears! What a sad day when sin entered man’s heart. Joy was lost! Serving the Lord with joy and gladness is absolutely impossible if sin lies at the door of the heart. Paul warned, "Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile…" (Romans 2:9). No wonder so many are always depressed and sad! Show me a minister with unforsaken sin in his life, and I’ll show you one of the saddest, most miserable man on earth. His sin destroys his joy! Show me any believer with disobedience in his life, and I’ll show you a bundle of nerves — racked by guilt, condemnation, shame, and sorrow! Joyless! Sad! Could it be we are bored and fearful — because we are being dishonest with God? Another reason fear takes root is because of a present unresolved tribulation or sorrow. Like David, there are numerous Christians who cry. "…trouble and anguish have taken hold on me…" (Psalms 119:143). How painful to watch a beautiful child suffer! How saddening to stand helplessly by while a loved one wastes away with cancer or some other dreadful disease! Or worse, to see them grow bitter toward God! How unsettling to look into an uncertain future. One person needs a home; another desperately needs to sell one. Some are unemployed; others live in constant insecurity, wondering if they will be fired next. Everywhere, there are problems. Health problems, concerns about business, houses, jobs, education — all conspiring to rob the people of God of their confidence in the Lord, and of their joy and gladness. We are warned against failing to rejoice in times of suffering. We must not let our pain rob us of Christ’s joy! "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy…" (1 Peter 4:12-13). Paul goes further: "…as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…" (2 Corinthians 6:10). And even more to the point: "Wherein you greatly rejoice, although now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold…might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen…yet believe…ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory…" (1 Peter 1:6-8). This is strong stuff! It is written to those who are right now experiencing a season of grief and anguish! If need be…for a little while…grieve! Get it out of your system! But — you are being tested by this fiery trial. You cannot linger in sorrow! God’s plan and desire for you is that His joy and gladness be your strength now. "For the joy of the Lord is your strength…" (Nehemiah 8:10). If you can simply trust God, believing He knows exactly what is happening and that He will bring glory out of it all — then joy returns! Saints — we are all going into the furnace! The Bible paints a bleak picture of the last days. We have seen nothing yet, compared to what is coming. The future, humanly speaking, is hopeless. Christ warned of violence, war, earthquakes everywhere, famines, pestilences, fearful sights and great signs from heaven. There will be persecution, betrayal, hatred, perplexity on all sides. "Men’s hearts failing them with fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken…" (Luke 21:26). This trouble coming upon the earth is a trap! A snare! "For as a snare it shall come upon all them that dwell on the face of the earth…" It is in this snare, this beginning of sorrows, that many of God’s people will be caught unprepared. They will fall as weaklings before the onslaught of trouble and sorrow! If we have no joy — we have no strength! And believe me, brothers and sisters, we are going to need a lot of strength to withstand these evil days. That is why the Spirit of God is calling us to renew the joy of our salvation. III. Joy is Withering Because We Are Ignorant of the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God! "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty…" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Few Christians have the knowledge of the truth about liberty and the life–freeing sacrifice at Calvary! They have never allowed the Cross to set them free from all fear and bondage. We cannot rejoice and be exceedingly glad in our relationship with the Lord when we have a poor or limited knowledge of what happened at the Cross. Paul saw the glorious revelation of a liberating Cross! It meant freedom to him: "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty…Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled gain with the yoke of bondage…" (Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:13). It is not only what we have been saved out of that causes rejoicing — it is what we are brought into! "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God…" (Romans 8:21). Liberty means "Freedom or release from slavery". It means power to choose, independence from all oppressive powers! In Isaiah we read that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Christ, "proclaiming liberty to all captives…liberty to them that are bruised" (Isaiah 61:1). No longer does Satan control our will! No longer can we say, "I just can’t help it!" No! We are free to forsake every besetting sin! All bondage, after repentance, is self–inflicted. Joy is gone because we do not fully accept Christ’s full and free grace!It feels more holy to go on repenting and confessing…repenting and confessing…working and slaving to prove our love for Him! We seem to forget that once we have confessed our sins, "…he is faithful and just to forgive them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness…" (1 John 1:9). We simply cannot grasp the truth that God is not angry with His repentant children. We just can’t believe that "the Lord taketh pleasure in his children…so let the saints be joyful in glory…" (Psalms 149:4-5). Yes, there is a time to repent. But there is also a time to rejoice in forgiveness! This is clearly demonstrated at Ezra’s Water–gate! That’s right — Water–gate! Ezra and Nehemiah took on the task of rebuilding Jerusalem and restoring law and obedience in Israel. Jerusalem lay in ruins, it’s gates burned with fire, and its walls decayed and crumbling. The people had become lawless, disobedient, and wicked. The wealthy were charging high interest and bringing the nation under bondage and debt. Worst of all they were intermingling with idol worshipers, marrying heathen wives. God was about to revive Zion. A spirit of sorrow and true heart repentance would soon be poured out on the people. "And all the people gathered themselves together as one man, into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel… And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood…and he opened the book…and when he did the people stood up…So they read the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading…" (Nehemiah 8:1-8) The Word of God went forth, the people gladly heard — they understood! They repented! The Scriptures record, "The people wept when they heard the words of the law…" (Nehemiah 8:9) They mourned for their sins! They wept over their backslidings! They grieved and sorrowed to repentance. And even though there would still be other times to weep, and though there was still much the Holy Spirit must do to bring them to a place of complete obedience — in their hearts they had truly repented, and were willing to go all the way with God. They longed for holiness and purity. After Repentance — It Is Time To Rejoice and be Glad! Nehemiah and Ezra stood before those weeping, mourning children of God and proclaimed a day of joy and gladness: "This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep…neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength…" (Nehemiah 8:9-10). No more depression! No more grief! No more guilt or condemnation! They had truly repented. Now it was time to sing, rejoice, and be strong in joy. Now was the time to accept forgiveness and be exceedingly happy: "And the people went their way…to make great mirth [happiness], because they had understood the words declared unto them…" (Nehemiah 8:12) [brackets mine]. Our joy and happiness must also come from understanding God’s message of freedom. You need not understand all the doctrines of atonement, reconciliation, propitiation, grace, sanctification, etc. All you need to know in order to live joyfully unto the Lord is this one foundational truth: God Was Completely Satisfied With Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross! You don’t need to explain it, or fully comprehend it. But you must understand that it was sufficient. It was all that was needed! God now willingly — joyfully — forgives all who repent. We are reconciled! Christ made peace! He took away God’s wrath against repented sin. To not rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness is to doubt His full payment of our sins!That is a worse sin. Let the Spirit give you an understanding of this truth — we are called to liberty. God wants us to have an abundance of joy. A joy that is full and complete. Pressed down and running over! God’s Word makes it perfectly clear that He yearns to be enjoyed by His saints — "That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves…" (John 17:13). "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away…" (Isaiah 35:10). Please — do not despise the grace of God! Accept your forgiveness. Don’t try to invent new things to repent. It’s time to enjoy what Christ has done for us. REJOICE! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 69: PRE-071-68. THE POWER OF HIS PRESENCE ======================================================================== 68. The Power Of His Presence The Power of His Presence by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "And all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." (Ezekiel 38:20). There is an ominous Scripture in the Bible that is a source of comfort to many Christians. It is Matthew 7:22-23 : "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." This comforts those who can say, "That cannot be me, I have never prophesied, I have never cast out devils, never done many wonderful works." In fact, I don’t know of a single Christian who has ever felt this warning was meant for him. But there is a warning from the heart of Christ that no believer can put aside. It has to do with everyone who has ever eaten the Bread of Life or drunk the wine of the Spirit. It is directed to all who have ever taken communion or sat under the teaching of God’s Word. Hear Luke 13:25-27 : "When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." Was Christ speaking primarily to corrupt healing evangelists or charismatic hypocrites in this passage? No. Those who are denied entrance into the Master’s house are among the well–fed, the well–taught — those who have eaten spiritual bread and drunk spiritual drink in the very presence of Christ. These warnings are proof enough that it is possible to heal the sick and cast out demons and still not be intimate with Christ. It is possible to raise up great works in His name, to build churches and ministries, to evangelize and sacrifice, and still not know Him as He should be known. It is possible to feast on His Word, to drink His living water, to hear revelation truth, and still not enter into the power of His presence. What was the iniquity of those denied entrance into the Master’s house (because Jesus did call them workers of iniquity)? Here it is: They did not tremble in the holy presence of Christ! Devils trembled, but they did not. The earth shook, the hills melted like wax, walls crumbled — but they stood in His presence unbending and unbroken. They refused to be melted, smitten, or convicted. David, the psalmist, cried, "Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord…" (Psalms 114:7). When Israel lost her fear of God and no longer trembled in His presence, she became brazen, self–centered, and wicked. Her preachers became bags of wind. The prophet Jeremiah recorded God’s indictment of His people. "Israel has dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord…They say, evil shall not come upon us; we will not suffer sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them…They have a rebellious spirit…As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become successful and grown rich…They are waxen rich…they overlook the deeds of the wicked…they care not for the poor or fatherless; yet they prosper. The prophets are lying…and my people love to have it so" (Jeremiah 5:11-31). The Lord God asked them, "Why will you not fear Me? Why will you not tremble in My presence?" (5:22). They did not tremble because their hearts were fixed on prosperity, and not on His presence. I will not rail against God’s people, but I must comment on the flippancy and lightness now so prevalent in God’s house. Where is the awe, the majesty, the trembling in His holy presence? How dare we call the almighty King of the universe "daddy"? Why do we come into His exalted presence with our filthy rags of flesh, applauding Him rather than falling at His feet? When Isaiah came into His presence, he was humbled and smitten. When the Lord’s glory filled the temple, even the seraphims covered their faces with their wings. One of them cried out, "Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts…" (Isaiah 6:3). The posts of the door moved at the sound of His voice. Isaiah cupped his face in his hands and cried out, Woe is me! for I am undone…unclean…God’s people are unclean!" (Isaiah 6:5). What does this say to you and me, when a holy prophet of God is brought into the Lord’s brilliant presence and must confess the sin in himself? For three weeks Daniel mourned, fasted, and prayed — confessing his sins and the sins of Israel. Then the Lord appeared in His glorious garments. His face had the appearance of lightning, His eyes were as lamps of fire, and His arms and feet shone like polished brass. His voice shook the earth. This was not "daddy" standing before him! Daniel was not a King’s kid asking for blessings. No one was applauding, "…but a great quaking fell upon them…" (Daniel 10:7). Daniel’s knees buckled. He said, "There remained no strength in me: my vigor was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength…my face was toward the ground" (Daniel 10:8-9). What does it say to you and me when a beloved man of God sees the Lord’s flaming eyes and cannot even stand or hold his head up? How different it is today. We hear our well–known speakers preaching their powerful sermons, and we applaud. In one meeting, a charismatic conference gave an evangelist a five–minute standing ovation at the conclusion of his message. Shouldn’t that audience have been on its face before God’s holy presence? Shouldn’t we be quaking when He appears to judge sin? Shouldn’t our self–righteous vigor be completely drained, and shouldn’t our human strength go right out of us? But where — in what meeting — do you find knees buckling and Christians crying out, "Woe is me!"? Where is the church or conference where the speaker is no longer seen, but instead the flaming eyes of Christ appear and His voice causes hearts to tremble? Where God’s people see their corruption and fall prostrate, smitten by His presence? It is true we are to come boldly into His presence with praise and thanksgiving. But that does not mean frivolously or presumptuously. Darius, a heathen king, had more respect for the Lord than many modern Christians. He declared, "All that dwell on the earth…that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God…having dominion…" (Daniel 6:25-26). We should tremble and fear before His almighty majesty and greatness — not because it is arrayed against us, but for us! We tremble in the presence of so great a power revealed on our behalf to support and deliver us. The child of God who truly knows Him develops a growing sense of His majesty and grandeur. He becomes less concerned about rights and blessings and more enthralled by His presence. Casualness gives way to dignity. Haphazardness and informality give way to reverence and holy esteem. I want to make three important statements concerning the power of Christ’s presence — one negative and two positive, 1. God’s People Become Powerless When They Get Away From the Presence of the Lord. The believer who is out of the Lord’s presence puts himself in a position to be swallowed by adversity. He becomes a coward — he runs even when he is not being pursued. He lives in constant fear of "…the lion without, who will slay me in the streets" (Proverbs 22:13). Our example is Jonah. This prophet must have enjoyed the presence of the Lord, otherwise, he would not have been in a position to hear such a clear word of direction: "Arise, go to Nineveh, and preach to that great wicked city" (Jonah 1:2). In the past, being in the Lord’s presence had been an exciting, exhilarating experience. Jonah had enjoyed hearing of the restoration and healing of God’s people. It was glorious to share God’s secrets concerning the future. But now the presence of the Lord was making a personal demand on him. He was to rise up and preach against sin. He was to threaten an entire society with immediate judgment unless they repented. Instead of obeying the Lord’s direction however, "Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." (1:3). No doubt he would have accepted a call to preach prophecy to some remote Israeli tribe — perhaps even a call to preach about the prosperity of Israel to the heads of state. But to preach hell fire, to denounce sin, to threaten people with divine judgment — and all that to a corrupt and godless society! Not for Jonah. He refused the call. Please keep in mind he was running from Him whose train of glory fills the temple. From Him whose face is as lightning. From Him whose eyes are a flame of fire, whose mighty arm is as polished brass. He was running from Him whose gaze buckles the knees, whose voice shakes the earth, whose visage smites all flesh. Why does a man of God flee from the One he loves? Was Jonah afraid of the Ninevites? Was he too proud to go? Too stubborn? If you really want to know why Jonah fled the presence of the Lord, just take a good look inside your own heart. Why does any Christian avoid the presence of the Lord? Why do we not want to look into His flaming eyes? Just like us, Jonah couldn’t face the demand that holy presence made on him. It was not the sins of the Ninevites that scared him — it was the sin in his own heart he could not face. He had a controversy with God in his inner man! How many ministers of the gospel will not pick up the trumpet of God and cry out against the sins of the people because they themselves cannot face Romans 2:21-22? "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?" How many Christians do not dare raise a voice against corruption or lust in God’s house because the lust of their own hearts condemns them to silence? They are cowards about sin because they are not victorious themselves. Many parents see their own sins breaking out in their children, and they are helpless against it. Dad smokes, so he can’t condemn his kids when they are caught smoking pot. Mom drinks, then watches in horror as her daughter becomes an alcoholic. I grieve over the times in past years when I refused God’s call to prophesy against the sins of saints and sinners because I was terribly condemned by a fox eating away in my own vineyard. I knew I would be dishonoring God by preaching a message of holiness while my own garment was spotted. My thunder turned to a whimper; my sword became a stick. There was a time I could not look the Lord in His flaming eyes. A time I was uncomfortable around a holy man for fear he might see through me. A time I simply had to be satisfied with devotions and Bible study because I knew very well that once I committed myself to go into the holy of holies, I could not stand. There would be a purging. Demands would be made on me that I didn’t think I could fulfill. Thank God the Spirit purged me. Thank God He stripped away all the dross and sin and made me fit to come into His presence, faultless and accepted in the Beloved. You can be sure of this: The man out of God’s presence ends up in a crisis of adversity, a captive of the Lord. Did I say "captive" of the Lord? Yes! Listen to what happened to Jonah. "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17). Scripture tells us it was the Lord who prepared the fish! It was the Lord who had the sailors throw Jonah overboard! To Jonah it was "the belly of hell" (2:2); to God it was the woodshed. God was not about to turn His man over to the devil. He seems to have said to Satan, "It’s My fish; Jonah’s My servant. You can give him a ride — take him down and give him a glimpse of hell. But you can’t hurt him. And when I know the sin question is settled, you will drop him off on the shore of obedience. He has work to do!" It was in the crisis that Jonah dealt with the sin in himself — once and for all. All along it had been a lying vanity. He had been living a lie. The Word says, "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy" (Jonah 2:8). God saw in Jonah a spirit of lying pride. He was under deception, ignorant about his own spiritual condition. There were blind spots in him, unexposed until now. He had been walking as the Gentiles of Ephesians: "…in the vanity of his mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that was in him, because of the blindness of his heart" (Ephesians 4:17-18). Why are so many sincere men and women of God in crises today? Why is there such adversity? Why such deep spiritual exercises? Why such exposure to enemy forces? It is God at work! He has permitted these crises to get us back into His presence. To produce obedience in us. To show us how blind we have been to what is really in us. To expose the pride, the lying vanities, the double life. The Lord told us to go into all the world and proclaim His righteousness. We looked inside ourselves and withered. The people of God became cowards. Ministers became weakened by sin. So the Lord prepared a great whale. Multitudes are even now in its belly. There is loneliness, fear, restlessness, doubt. It’s a time of seaweed and swirling dark waters. But even in the midst of crisis there is great hope for the Christian. It was by reason of affliction that Jonah cried out to God, prayed and confessed, and was renewed. If you are truly God’s child, He will not turn you over to Satan. He will not leave you nor forsake you in your crisis. Let the Spirit melt you. Let Him reveal the ugliness in you. Let your sins humble and crush you. Then reach out and come back into His holy presence to be restored. 2. It Is in God’s Presence the Power of Sin is Exposed and Expulsed! "…As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God" (Psalms 68:2). "The enemies shall fall and perish at thy presence" (Psalms 9:3). The heart cry of the church today should be for a supernatural manifestation of Christ’s presence. A manifestation is "a display, a revelation, a demonstration, a presentation." Consider what happened to Simon Peter when Christ supernaturally manifested His presence before his eyes. "Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught" (Luke 5:4). Keep in mind that Simon had been in Christ’s presence all through His discourse. He had obeyed His command to cast out, even after a fruitless night of fishing. He had seen Christ, heard Him, perhaps even touched Him. He was within sight — arm’s length — yet the Word did not convict him, because Christ had not yet revealed the power of His presence. But suddenly Christ displayed His presence. He made Himself manifest. He was suddenly there in supernatural power. "They enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship…and they filled both ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it [the manifestation of His presence], he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:6-8). Peter, along with his partners James and John, were all exposed in their sins, because they were witnessing the supernatural power of His presence. Christ committed Himself to them. They did not respond by dancing, applauding, shouting, or laughing. They were smitten with conviction over their sins. They were on their knees, unable to stand before that holy presence being displayed. What would happen in our churches today if Christ supernaturally manifested His holy presence — perhaps through anointed prophecy from His very throne? Would not all our secrets be brought to light and exposed? And so, falling down on our face, we would worship. The apostle Paul told us that is what should happen (1 Corinthians 14:25). Could any of us remain unbroken? Could any of us conjure up our sins and justify them in His presence? Would we not join in a thunderous voice, all as one, crying out, "I am undone! Unclean! I cannot stand in Your presence! My lips are defiled!" It is not just a matter of being clear in God’s eyes. It’s a matter of seeing how short of His glory we have fallen. How terribly we have missed the high calling of God in Christ. How lazy and foolish and weak we have become. It is what we see about ourselves that brings us down. John, the revelator, saw a day in which the whole world will witness a mighty, supernatural manifestation of Christ’s presence. It will begin with a great earthquake. The sun will become as black as sackcloth. The moon will become as blood. The stars will fall like figs shaken in a mighty wind, and the heavens will open like a scroll. Every mountain and island will move out of its place. And there, before the eyes of all mankind, Christ will be manifested, sitting on His throne (Revelation 6:12-16). "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:15-16). The Old Testament prophets tell us our Redeemer is coming to His church in the last days in supernatural manifestations of His presence, to purge His people and ready them as a bride. We hear the same word from both Isaiah and Paul. Isaiah prophesied, "and the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression…" (Isaiah 59:20). The apostle foretells of a time when "there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…He shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27). Another Old Testament prophet, Malachi, described the manifestation of Christ in this manner: "And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple…and who will abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness…And I will come near to you in judgment…" (Malachi 3:1-5). Christ is going to come near us with supernatural manifestations of His presence! He will, with the power of His presence, judge sorcery, adultery, false witnesses, and all sin in His house. All shall melt like wax before His presence. He will lay the ax to the root, blow away all the chaff, and root up all wickedness. He will expulse the enemy and purify every child. Sadly, many believers are going to miss out on these supernatural manifestations of His presence. Christ will not commit Himself to those who seek only signs and miracles. "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men…he knew what was in man" (John 2:23-25). He knew they were enthralled only with miracles, and not with Himself alone. He sees this in all mankind. Mark this well: There will be very little manifestation of the Lord’s awesome presence where Christians focus on power rather than on Christ. 3. The Power of His Presence Will Transform the Beholder Into His Own Image! "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). We become what we behold! The focus of our attention spreads its influence all through our lives. What we behold with our spiritual eyes obsesses us! It takes over. Paul chose to be obsessed with Christ. The Savior alone became the object of his thinking, his preaching, his doctrine. "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). He kept his eyes on the Head of the body, and not on the disease in the body. He called it…holding the head…coming into the fullness of Christ…that we may grow up in all things, which is the head, even Christ…that he might fill all things…Unto him be glory in the church." A true Pentecost is the lifting up of Christ! I fear we are not holding the Head. To hold means "to stick fast to, to cling to, to lock into." Preach Christ! Hold onto the doctrine of Christ. Cling to it, stick fast, lock into it. We have so few living for Christ today because there is so little preaching about him. Pastors and teachers must hold Him up so that people may look into His face and become like Him. God’s desire for us is that we be clothed with Christ’s presence. Do you want victory over sin? Do you want total freedom and deliverance from all the power of the enemy? Then pray diligently for a supernatural manifestation of Christ’s presence to you. I have had such an experience in recent months. If you are serious about it, you will break. You will face your sins. Those flaming eyes will pierce you! Then stay for cleansing. That same fiery presence of the Lord will then become the very heart and life of your soul. You will not want to leave His presence. It will become your joy and pleasure forevermore. His eyes will become bright with love and mercy. You will rejoice at the sight of His face. You will lean on His arm of brass. All fear will go. Perfect peace and rest will flow. You can face sin and Satan clothed in the glorious power of His presence. God’s Word promises, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father, and before his angels" (Revelation 3:5). The church goes into the last days as "a woman clothed with the sun…" (Revelation 12:1). This is Christ! He is our white raiment. We have put on Christ; we are abiding in His presence, above all principalities and powers. It is not really complicated. It can be summed up simply like this: STAY CLOSE TO CHRIST! Live in His presence. Take your seat beside Him in heavenly places. Behold Him standing at the right hand of the Father. Then, like Stephen, the stones of Satan cannot hurt you. Nothing can hinder you. You will be above it all, beholding Him in heaven. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 70: PRE-072-69. I WILL NOT GO OUT FREE ======================================================================== 69. I Will Not Go Out Free I Will Not Go Out Free by David Wilkerson | March 15, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] God’s ways seem like paradoxes to the human mind. He says, To live, you must die. To find your life, you must lose it. To become strong, you must first become weak. One of the greatest paradoxes of all is this — to be truly free you must become bound. To gain the greatest liberty in God one must give up all rights and become a lifelong bondservant to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a glorious love–slavery that leads to the highest form of freedom and liberty. It is a voluntary surrender born out of love and affection, causing one to consider servitude even greater than sonship. In a time when God’s people are so obsessed with claiming their rights, so taken with the Lord’s blessings, benefits, and promises — it would profit us all to allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to a place in God beyond anything we’ve yet discovered. I will show you that it is in perfect divine order to receive all the good things from the hand of God — and that no child of the Lord should feel guilty about the blessings and benefits poured upon him. The purpose of this message is to expand your spiritual mind to comprehend something better than blessings and prosperity. Something far more rewarding than healing of the body and all the other manifold benefits He daily loads us with. Something better than freedom itself. A Bondservant is the Highest Calling of God in Christ Jesus! A bondservant is one who has entered a sacrament of service with his master. It is beautifully outlined in Exodus 21:1-36, verses 2 through 6. "If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul [awl]; and he shall serve him forever." This is much more than a picture of God’s humane concern for slaves and servants. In type and shadow it clearly portrays the bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the Master in this account, and we are the servants whose freedom has been purchased. The Cross is God’s sabbath, the year of release for all prisoners, captives, slaves, and servants. We who were sold under the Law have been set free by grace. We Are Talking About Freedom "…He shall go out free for nothing…" (v.2). A Hebrew could be sold into slavery on two accounts: poverty or crime. If a thief was found breaking in, he had to make full restitution for all losses. If he could not pay, he became the chattel of the victim for six years to work off the debt. "He shall be sold for his theft" (Exodus 22:3). More often it was poverty that led to servitude. As with the Hebrews, so with the Egyptians. During the last year of famine, Joseph ’bought’ all the inhabitants of Egypt for Pharaoh in exchange for grain. "Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day…for Pharaoh.…here is seed for you…And they said…we will be Pharaoh’s servants…" (Genesis 47:23-25). Praise God forever! We who were once servants to sin, under bondage to the law of sin and death, have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God. Whom the Son sets free — is free indeed. We are free to "go out for nothing" — meaning, with no strings attached. Free to go forth without guilt or fear, to do whatever our hands find to do — hopefully in consultation with the Master. The master was to release the servant without regrets. "It shall not seem hard to thee, when thou sendest him away from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee…" (Deuteronomy 15:18). The emancipated servant was not to leave empty–handed. "And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty" (Deuteronomy 15:13). He was to be furnished liberally with all his hands could carry, out of the flock, the granary, and the winepress. It was meant to be a stake sufficient to begin a new life. The Servant Who Chose to Go Out Free and Begin a New Life Is Not to Be Blamed. It is most important to keep in mind that he had every right to leave. He was faithful, working better than two hired servants. To go out free was actually commendable. He could lawfully accept all the benefits heaped on him to help him enjoy his freedom. He was doing nothing wrong; he was to feel no guilt. And he could go forth happy and contented. He was now chargeable to no man, and at liberty to live the life he preferred. He was free to go where he wanted, when he wanted. This is where a majority of God’s people are today. I used to condemn servants of the Lord who "went out free," claiming their rights to prosperity and heaped–up blessings. I see now that some servants joyfully accumulate all that the Master offers. It’s all in the Word — the blessings, the promises of daily benefits poured out, prosperity for those who seek it lawfully. Christians need not come under bondage or guilt because of the Lord’s bounty they receive. Christian, the truth is you are free in Christ. You are free to go and come as you please, within the bounds of Christian morality. You are not to condemn yourself if the Master sends you out with all the blessings your hands can carry. Perhaps the more He gives you, the more it testifies to His gratitude for your faithful service in the past. You have a right to enjoy every great and precious promise. You are told to ask largely that your joy may be full. The emancipated servant is not required to go to some far-off mission field. You are not legally obligated to sacrifice or suffer, if you choose not to. And the Master will not condemn you for using your freedom and resources to provide for your future. Remember, the Master was not to regret the servant’s going out free to serve his own needs. I think it is commendable that God has so many who have "gone out free," who are "fruitful under their own vine and fig tree," and whose main concern is to "do justly and walk righteously" before the Lord. The church is filled with servants who are contented simply to enjoy their rightful blessings, receive answers to prayer, love the Master, and do the very best they can for Him. They are not living in sin, they are good and even faithful. And they are not under condemnation, but will stand before Christ and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." For most, that is enough. What more could any child of God want, if he has happiness, success, health, heaven and eternal life in the end? What greater freedom can a released soul enjoy than to receive with gladness all the loving kindness of the Master? Has He not encouraged us to appropriate by faith all the glorious promises of His Word? All of this is true, but there is still a more excellent way. It is a way that is not required by the Master. He cannot even ask that we take this peculiar way. He must stand aside and let us make our own decision, and if we choose to "go out free" — to our own way, He will not chide or hold it against us. He will send us forth with blessings and good will. There is a Kind of Servant Who Will Not Go Out Free. He Chooses Bondservice As His Way to Something Greater Than Freedom. "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free…" (v. 5). To this servant there is no dilemma, no choice. His decision was never in doubt. His master was his whole world; he was bound to him with an eternal bond of love. He could not possibly leave his master or his house. Like Paul, this servant considered all else as ’dung’, that he might win the master. He was the kind who would be willing to be accursed if others could thereby come to know the love of his lord. His life revolved around his love for the master. This servant valued intimacy with his master more than any earthly blessing. Who cared for flocks, for corn, or for wine and oil — when you could have endless communion and fellowship with the master? His heart overflowed with affection for him — it was home, it was heaven, just to be with him where he was. He made it very plain: "I love my master….I will not go out free." Can you see this bondservant standing by as the master bestows gifts and benefits on all the servants who were going out free? His heart rejoices, yet grieves. He is thinking to himself, "Don’t they know this is the best life, serving the master in total yieldedness? How can they be satisfied to run their own lives, to simply receive his benefits and be satisfied with life on a lower plane, living on a lesser level of intimacy with the master?" Do they not know that bondservants "shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house, and that he shall make them drink of the river of his pleasures. For with him is the fountain of life, and in his light shall one discover light and life…" (Psalms 36:8-9). What this servant is saying to us is simply this — Christ is enough! He is saying there is nothing in this world worth losing the sense of his presence. All the wealth and prosperity of the entire earth is not to be compared to a single day spent with Him. The pleasures at His right hand far exceed any ecstasy known to man. To know Him, to be with Him where He is, seated together in heavenly places is more than life itself. To serve Him, to be led by Him, to come and go as He alone commands — that is life on the highest plane. Would you remind me you are a son, and not a servant? Then I would kindly remind you that Jesus, a Son who "thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, and took on the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man…" (Php 2:5-7). He could have come as a powerful Prince of the Almighty, trampling every foe — yet Christ chose to come as a bondservant, fully committed to His Father’s interests. Paul said, "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself a servant unto all…" (1 Corinthians 9:19). We also read, "Simon Peter, a servant; Jude, the servant of God; James, servant of Christ." All were sons who took on the form of a servant. Jesus as a bondservant to His heavenly Father would say nothing, do nothing, without direction from above. He said, "My meat is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work" (John 4:34). He said, "I do nothing of myself…I do always those things that please him…" (John 8:28-29). This dedicated bondservant believed he had one mission in life, and that was to serve his master. He was not in it for an inheritance, even though it is written, "A wise servant shall rule over a son that causeth shame…and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren…" (Proverbs 17:2). From morning to night, every waking hour was given in willing servitude to his master. Love made it easy to obey. He was not driven by guilt or a sense of obligation — he was motivated by love only. No wonder Jesus could say, "If you love me, you will obey me." Beloved, it is not that the bondservant belittles the master’s benefits, nor that he despises his rights. It is simply that he is so affectionate toward his master he is fulfilled, needing nothing more. He draws from that intimacy all the richness and fullness to satisfy his deepest needs. It is his relationship to the master that gives meaning to his life. He can say, "My master is enough. His house is home to me. My security, my family’s security, is in the hand of the one I love and trust. I commit my all to him." The Bondservant Who Refused to Go Out Free Gave Himself As a Living Sacrifice to His Master He stood before witnesses and had his ear pierced to his master’s door post as a public sacrament of service. "Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul [awl]; and he shall serve him for ever" (Exodus 21:6). The Hebrew word for "judges" is elohim, or "God’s representative". I see this as the Holy Spirit who seals our commitments to the Lord Jesus. What a beautiful picture of love. Many have gone out free, having left their master’s full–time service. But here stands one up against the door post, not even whimpering as the master drills a hole in his ear, into the wooden post. His glowing eyes are fixed on his master, his heart wells with humility that the master would permit him to stay and become his lifelong servant. This was no light sacrament — it was a lifetime commitment. What must have been the response of the master? What love is this, that a servant would be willing to give his very life for the one he loved? He could say with Christ, "No one forces me, I lay down my life willingly." And suppose that bondservant was one of his own sons? What love must the master have felt from such a commitment? David, the psalmist, said, "Mine ear hast thou digged." In other words, "There is a hole in my ear that marks me for the Lord, for life and eternity." Have You Allowed The Holy Spirit to Dig in Your Ear? Do You Want a Pierced Ear? There is nothing mystical about this way of living. It is worked out practically in our everyday life. It begins with a commitment to give the Lord the best of our time! This is what marked the bondservant — he pledged himself to giving wholly of his time in service to his master. This is not to suggest we should all quit jobs and careers to enter full–time ministry. Too many nowadays are getting out of God’s will, leaving the responsibilities of raising a family and pulling up roots to ’go out by faith’. Most are going out presumptuously. The greater thing is to stay put and give the Lord more quality time where you are. It is a matter of putting Christ at the center of everything, so that family, job, and all things revolve around Him. Christ becomes the focus of our thoughts. It means that time is found to be often and long in His presence, hearing His voice, obeying His commands. The bondservant is more a giving, rather than a taking soul. With Paul he can say, "I have determined to know nothing among us save Christ and Him crucified." This servant is not interested in serving for reward or personal gain. His wages are the glory and honor he bestows on his Master. There is no need to seek out some deep and mysterious meaning in the pierced ear, or in the process itself. All we need to see in it is that true bondservant who is committed to lifelong service is marked by the Lord in some special way, You can’t miss him — he bears in his body the marks of his Master. What marks the bondservant in this day and age? It is clearly revealed in the Word, and is unmistakable. It is the mark of a broken, contrite spirit that sighs and weeps over the abominations done against his Lord. It is the mark of the reddened eye that is grieved that the honor of the Master has been trampled in the sanctuary. Our Master does not drill the ear with an aul [awl], but breaks the heart with His hammer. "…And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof" (Ezek. 9:3.4). Another mark on this bondservant is a circumcision made without hands. This speaks of total separation from the world and unto Christ. It means that all self–made plans, schemes, and dreams are abandoned, and the concerns and burdens of the Lord become supreme. Have you seen any such servants — those marked by a separated life, given completely to the glory of Christ, who weep and sigh because of the coldness, the deadness, the unconcern of those who once were His servants? You can be sure that kind of servant has found something in God beyond freedom — he has discovered supernal joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. Do you yearn to become the bondservant of our Lord Jesus Christ? Does your heart tell you that there is something glorious and liberating if you could just go deeper in Christ? Do you desire to spend more time in His presence, and His service? Do you sigh and grieve over the shallowness and lightness you see in the lives of Christians all about you? Are you sick of the loose morals, the growing apathy among God’s people? Do you dare step out and say, "Let me be one who is fully given to the Lord! Let me not condemn the freedom of others, but let me be the Lord’s bondslave! Let me be so filled with Him — so reflective of who He is — that when all is crumbling in the world, people may see one who stands unshakeable because of intimacy with Him." I have just begun to discover the glory of such a life. I am convinced that the greatest joy a human soul can find is in total yieldedness to the Lordship of Christ. We need not worry about how this commitment works out in us in practical ways. It is His part to tell us what to do, how and when to do it. Our part is to simply love Him, stay with Him, and offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices for now and eternity. He will respond to that kind of love. He will give us of Himself — He will guide us even through death. I see a remnant arising made up of committed bondservants who share a growing affection for the Lord Jesus Christ. They are not mystics or fanatics — they are simply so absorbed in loving and serving the Lord, the things of this world lose their charm. They refuse to "go out free" because they have tasted of the glory known only by those who lean on the Master’s bosom. They refuse to "go out free" because they have discovered something so far beyond freedom — and that is ascension life in heavenly Zion. They have heard their Master say, "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice…And the heavens shall declare his righteousness…" (Psalms 50:5-6). How true! The Lord will reveal His holiness to all who have gathered to Him to be His bondservants. Best of all, it is in the Master’s house, in His presence, that the bondservant discovers beauty, glorious guidance, and rock foundations. "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me upon a rock" (Psalms 27:4-5). "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" (Psalms 73:25-26). "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing…" (Psalms 92:13-14). "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart…Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Psalms 119:2; Psalms 119:17-18). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 71: PRE-073-70. ASCENSION LIFE ======================================================================== 70. Ascension Life Ascension Life by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a placed for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him" (John 14:1-7). This is one of the most profound revelations Christ ever shared with His disciples. He was trying to show them a new way of living, in a new dimension they did not know existed. Here in this passage He introduced the reality of Ascension Life. In essence, Jesus told them, "I am leaving you to prepare a place for you in another realm. I am going to bring you into that realm -- My ascended, resurrected realm. You are going to be united with Me in the power of ascended life." Did it register with the Lord’s disciples? Not any more than it has registered in our spiritual minds. Look at the incredible blindness of these men who had spent three years hearing about abundant, eternal life. Our Lord had tried to make them understand there was to be no break, no breach in their intimate relationship with Him. "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be" (John 12:26). But wasn’t He going to heaven, to His Father, to be seated in the heavenlies? Yes! And He said. "Follow Me there! You can be with Me where I an going." God help us to see what the disciples did not! Christ opened the way for us into life in a supernatural realm. He ascended to heaven -- to the right hand of the Father -- to prepare us a place there with Him. He yearns to seat every believer with Him in His heavenly place, and bring them into the full riches of His glory. The Lord meant it when He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He meant He would bring us to Himself -- united with Him in glory -- right now, while on earth. When He said, "Take up your cross daily and follow me," where did He intend you follow Him to? He is no longer here on earth. He is a flesh-and-bone Man seated in heaven. If you follow Him, you must go to where He is. He is outside of all that is of this earth. He is outside of all that is fleshly. He is outside of all that is visible. He abides in the realm of spirit. And only the Holy Spirit can take us to where He is. The disciples heard Jesus’ promise: "... that where I am, there ye may be also...." But like so many of us today, they could only see it as a future blessing. "He will come someday, rapture me, and take me home to His house," they were thinking. To them, it was all future, But Christ meant it to be an immediate blessing. He longed for them to understand that by faith their eyes could be opened to see the kingdom of God within them. He wanted them to ascend with Him immediately!’ The Lord’s intention all along had been to go up as the firstfruit and prepare for a great ingathering of His children into kingdom life. How can we miss this intention? How clear can He make it? "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also...." I am not trying to take away anybody’s blessed hope in the Lord’s soon return. I am saying that there is a realm in Christ in which He does not have to come and sneak you out. It is a place of union, a place of such intimacy you can say right now, "I’ve been enraptured!" My hope is not the rapture -- my hope is Christ and His complete fullness now. I am not longing for His coming at some future date. I’m not fretting whether or not I’ll be ready or worthy to go. He has already come to me, and I’ve gone up to Him. I can’t get any higher in Him than I an right now. I don’t have to worry about whether or not He will take me because I’m already with Him in heaven! My Bible tells me I am already in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. That is my blessed hope. While multitudes of Christians sit around waiting to see Jesus face-to face -- waiting to see Him in His glory -- I am right now looking into His lovely face. I an even now seeing and touching His glory. Do you believe we are above this world, seated right now with Christ in the heavenlies? Hear it: "But God... hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." (Ephesians 2:6). What did Jesus say He would do as soon as He went to the Father? Prepare a place for us! We discover we are even now seated in that place He prepared. It is said of Christ, "God ... raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places..." (Ephesians 1:20). Where is our blessed Lord? Seated in the heavenlies. Where are we if we are in Him? Seated in the heavenlies. If He is the vine and we are the branches, we cannot possibly abide in Him unless we are connected to Him where He is. He is in the holy of holies, a spiritual realm, a kingdom within us that is not of this world. We are not to live in the earthly realm, conformed to the world, a victim of it’s lust and evil. We are to move into the glorious place He prepared for us -- in His very presence. Christ intended we live our life in His full presence at all times. We were intended to know nothing among men but Christ and Him crucified; We were to lose our earthly life and find it in His presence, to go out to meet him as a bride adorned..." (Revelation 21:2). We were not to set our affections on anything on this earth, but be captivated with our heavenly life. We were to awake from sleep, trim our lamps, and live as one always ready. Jesus was saying to all disciples, "You need Me now -- not after an evacuation. You need My supernatural power and strength to live a full, abundant life now. I was with you -- I now give you something better. By My Spirit you will be linked to Me. I will bring you to where I am. You will ascend with Me and go back to live the ascended life in the flesh." Incredibly, The disciples did not know where Christ was going or how to get to Him there. Jesus suggested they should have known what He was talking about: "...and whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know..." (John 14:4). It is as though He said to them, "I have made it all simple and clear. I am going back to My Father. When I get there I will prepare a place for you also, so that where I am you will also be. I am going to Ascension Life -- and so are you! You see it, don’t you?" But they did not see it! They simply could not comprehend how Christ could move into a supernatural realm, in flesh and bone, and bring them into it also, in flesh and bone. Thomas expressed their confusion: "Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?..." (John 14:5). Isn’t this where the church is today? The Lord tells us to come by faith and be seated above this world with Him in the heavenlies, and we don’t know that He is talking about. We keep living our lives as spiritual beggars and paupers. We allow ourselves to be swallowed up with fear, loneliness, worry, despair. We live as victims to lust, to sin, to the principalities and powers of this world. The little bit of abundant life we get comes in spurts, and soon we are again cast down into the realm of fear and emptiness. We love the Lord, we know we are forgiven -- but we are not really enjoying fullness, completeness, total joy and satisfaction. Occasionally we will feel a pull to something deeper, something more fulfilling, but we have not dared to believe what Christ said is true -- that there is a life here on earth that can be lived in glorious fullness, united with Him where He is. Ascension Life! This is the one great truth the Holy Spirit is now restoring to the church: The Truth of Christ’s Supremacy -- The truth that He has provided in these last days a life of glory, fullness, and victory. No wonder Satan tries so hard to hinder this truth. Our Lord said He is coming back for a glorious, victorious, overcoming people. The devil prefers to keep victory truth from us. Everywhere you go now Christians hunger and thirst for a deeper walk with Christ. Saints of God are tired of the husks, the shallowness. The famine of God’s Word is about to end. God is revealing His Son in the hearts of those who seek Him. This generation has been in spiritual famine. There is soul emptiness, but there is also a growing appetite for truth and reality. Pastors and evangelists who do not go out to meet Him -- who get too busy to be with Him in heavenly places -- will be left out. God will pour out upon young men and women a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Those who will sit in the pew will either run after Him to the high calling or end up in a far country, conformed to this world. There Is Only One Way To Get To Where Christ Is-- You Have To Die First! You must die to sin and the world. This is illustrated when Peter asked the Lord, "Where are you going?" and Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now: but you shall follow me afterwards..." (John 13:36). Peter argued, "Why can’t I go with you now? I’m ready to die for your sake!" (verse 37). Jesus made His point! "The only way to follow Me is to die! If you want to be seated with Me in the place I have prepared for you, you must die." But Peter was not yet ready for Ascension Life. He was still too earthbound, too wrapped up in himself and his own security. He would finally come to the end of himself. He would return to the Father’s house, be kissed, forgiven, and taken into the feast of the fatted calf. Then he would minister the rest of his life as a man come from God. You cannot ascend into His holy hill until your hands are clean and your heart is pure. You must, with Paul, count all things as loss in order to win Christ where He is. There is evil to forsake, a purging to submit to, a breaking that is necessary. Many Christians won’t go out to meet Him because they are not willing to drop their idols. They want relief from Christ, but not intimate relationship. They want to be saved, but not too close. They want to be loved, but only from a distance. Not until a man calls on God, gets honest about his lust and weakness; not until he lays all down and sets his heart to live in the real presence of Christ -- will heaven open to him. Dying is not really complicated. Just get sick enough of sin, and it will happen. Here is the glorious truth: Those Who Die To This World Get An Open Heaven! Once you see the door of heaven opened to you and know that you have access -- you will never again live the way you did before. Stephen got Ascension Life before he died. They cast him out of the city and stoned him. "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly onto heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened!" (Acts 7:55). Once he got a vision of the Man in glory, he was above this world. He was suddenly there, in His actual presence, by faith. The stones could not hurt him; the pain meant nothing -- he had access to an open heaven! A few months ago I buried my 33-year-old associate. He was business manager of our ministry, and like a son to me. Before he died we spent many glorious hours talking about eternal life and the vision of Jesus Christ we were both receiving. Even though his body was swollen with cancer in the liver, he was enthralled with the presence of Christ. He had a glimpse of heavenly life and longed to be in the actual presence of the Lord. He had been an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboy football team. But now, what mattered if they did or did not go to the Super Bowl? He was dead to all sports. It lost all meaning to him. His little blue sports car lost its value; it was a piece of junk now. He was going to the city of God on a chariot of fire! His closet full of clothes was now only rags. How could they compare with the robe he was being fitted for? His comfortable home was now nothing more than a pile of material bricks, just a fading memory with no meaning at all. His work, as rewarding as it had been, meant absolutely nothing now. He was scanning the horizon for his Beloved. Even his devoted wife and two lovely little girls were no longer the focus of his attention. His heart was now given over completely to the Lover of his soul. He had been weaned away from every earthly thing, and Christ alone became everything to him. All else lost its meaning. His last words to me were, "Brother Dave, if I had to do it all over again I would live every day, all my life, just as I’ve lived it on the brink of death. I would live my life focused only on Jesus. My work, my home, my family, would all be secondary. Christ would be my whole life. I would not live in fear, or worried, or earthly-minded. I would enjoy the fulness of Christ as I’ve enjoyed Him these final days. Oh how much I’ve missed. My life should have been lived like this all along. Please, brother, don’t waste time. Press in and live like a man from heaven. Live dead to this world and alive to Him. Enjoy Him!" I believe the Lord when He tells me "I am begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible inheritance, and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for me." (1 Peter 1:3) -- now. Think of it! A life reserved in heaven for me right now, abiding in His presence, where He is, presented right now by Christ in the presence of the Father, without spot and with exceeding great joy! As for this world, here I have "no continuing city, but I seek one to come" (Hebrews 13:14). I have my affections set on those things in my heavenly place in Christ, and not on the things of this world. I am dead to the world, alive to Christ. My conversation is in heaven. Now "I desire a better country, that is, an heavenly... for he hath prepared for me a city..." (Hebrews 11:6). Earthly blessings -- materialism -- are no longer to be compared with "being blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ..." (Ephesians 1:3). I give up the visible for the glory of the invisible. I am above this scene down here because I am with Him, ascended. The fact is, God never intended that His people live as victims to anybody or anything. Not to fear, nor to doubt, nor devils, nor demons, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things seen or unseen, nor any weapon formed against them. We have been promised Ascension Life. A place in Christ in the heavenlies. A life of joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. But we have settled on this side of Jordan, still on the fringes of the dreaded wilderness. We have deceived and cheated ourselves. John, the revelator, said, "I looked and, behold, a door was opened in heaven... and a voice like a trumpet said to me, Come up hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit" (Revelation 4:1-2). There is not a doubt in my mind that God has given us an open heaven and that He must gather a remnant of devoted disciples to come into the heavenly realm with Him, to discover God’s mind for the future. The Holy Spirit has been outpoured to bring us all back to Christ, the head! God fully intends to raise up a holy seed, a heavenly race, who will receive a full revelation of His glory and come down to minister from the throne. These will be ministers and lay people who have become totally detached from this world -- who have given up all desire for place or honor before men -- who have answered the high calling of God in Christ and are living in the light of His holy presence -- who are bold because they are pure -- who know how to feed the hungry -- who can pull down strongholds because they are united to Christ. The Lord is even now setting up His eternal kingdom. He is purging His remnant. This is not a time for toys, or materialism, or foolish lust. Not Of This World We are not taken out of this physical world, but in our spiritual man we are not of this world: "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world..." (John 17:11). Where was Christ when he prayed like this? He was still in the Holy Land, in an earthly garden. Yet He says, "I am no more in the world..." The disciples were still in the world" because they were not comprehending -- they were asleep. But Christ had already broken through into the heavenly realm! "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of this world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (verse 15). We are not out of the physical earth, but as Jesus went on to say, "They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world..." (verse 16). Then comes the amazing prayer for Ascended Life for His children: "Father I will that they also, who, thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given to me..." (verse 24). Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I see? "Not of this world, just as I am not of this world... I go to My Father ... Father, I want them to be with Me where I am so they can live in My glory." Paul saw His glory. Stephen saw it. I’ve seen it! Why not claim your place in heaven, now? Jesus said, "And you shall be witnesses unto me... beginning at Jerusalem..." (Acts 1:8). How many of you went to Israel to start witnessing? How many took a tour and started in the Jerusalem of the Holy Land? You say, "That is just a figure of speech meaning "Begin where you are.’" No! I say it is much more than that! It is the New Jerusalem -- Zion -- where Christ is seated on His throne. You go to where He is, and come out from there! You begin from your heavenly place, as a heavenly man, coming forth from His presence in the Jerusalem which is above. "Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth... For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant... to possess all these things" (Zechariah 8:3; Zechariah 8:12). Christ has returned to the Jerusalem which is above -- Zion -- and from there the remnant shall send forth the truth. It will prosper, and His people shall possess life abundant. Isaiah 2:3 says, "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Again, in Galatians 4:26, we read, "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." We come out of this womb -- in New Jerusalem! Christ left us with a secret for overcoming the world -- and the church is not seeing or hearing it! There is a one-verse revelation on how to be unaffected by anything Satan or the world throws at you. It is recorded in John 3:31 : "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he talks about, and no man will believe what he says." You can easily discern the man who has come out from Christ in the heavenlies. He speaks only what he sees and hears: Christ, Christ Christ! He talks of abundant ascending life -- and no one will believe him. Preach the flesh... weakness... failure... prosperity -- they believe. Preach resurrection life -- they won’t. Let Me Show You What Happens When You Ascend To Him And See Him In His Brightness And Glory! Paul -- after Christ had died and ascended to heaven -- said, "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (1 Corinthians 9:1). Later on he reiterates, "He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve... And last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of season..." (1 Corinthians 15:5-8) Where did Paul see Christ in the flesh? Our Lord had already gone to heaven. So did Paul! When he was taken by the Spirit into the heavens, he saw Him where He was. And from that time on, he never left the heavenlies except to minister! Here is the secret: "I labored more abundantly than they all..." (1 Corinthians 15:10). Listen to the apostle’s claim: "I was born out of season, but I labored more than all those who were with Him before the resurrection." In other words, "My heavenly vision produced more love and devotion and evangelism than their earthly vision." This should give us hope. Like Paul, we are all born out of season. We were not here when Christ walked this earth. But we have something better. We can go where He is! We can go forth laboring, evangelizing, working -- more than all the Lord’s earthly disciples. Why? Because we come from the throne! Because we have been given special grace. The heavenly place is better than the earthly. It will endure. It is eternal. The man who lives in the heavenlies with Christ does more for God because Christ supports everything he originates. The one in heaven knows the mind of God. He doesn’t sweat. He knows what to so. He is simply doing what he heard was the will of God. He was in on the counsel of the Godhead. You cannot sit with Christ in the heavens and not hear divine conversation The Bible says, "Our conversation is in heaven" (Php 3:20). This being the case, the true servant of God would be able to say with confidence, "I have heard God speak, and I do what I heard." A New-Name People "Thou shalt be called by a new name..." (Isaiah 62:2). We are moving from the miraculous to the glorious. The glory of God will now be the focus -- not the blessing of God. We are moving from the supernatural to the eternal! The natural has no place where eternal values are in bloom. This is far beyond supernatural -- it is supernal! God’s fullness. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 72: PRE-074-71. THE MAN WHO MISSED CHRIST ======================================================================== 71. The Man Who Missed Christ The Man Who Missed Christ by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I want to show you the most tragic man in history. He is not Judas; he is not Herod; he is not even a hater of God. He was a son of David, a king in Jerusalem, and in type the saddest, most pathetic man on earth. Please hear me out when I tell you that an Old Testament king, years before Bethlehem and Calvary, missed Christ. How can a man miss Christ, centuries before He was born? Christ is revealed all through the Old Testament. In fact, that is the prime reason for its being given — it points us to Christ. It was on the road to Emmaus that Christ revealed to two of His disciples the truth about Himself in the Old Testament: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself…" (Luke 24:27). From His own lips Christ declared He was to be found from Moses right through the prophets. The children of Israel "did eat the same spiritual food, and they drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). Christ, the Rock, was in the wilderness. He followed them, and they ate and drank His spiritual food. Solomon also drank Christ’s spiritual drink and ate His spiritual food. For a time this king brought his Beloved into his chambers and rejoiced in His love. Solomon had been to the Lord’s banqueting house. He sat under His banner of love. He had great wisdom, and in his spirit he touched the Rose of Sharon and saw the Lily of the Valley. He sat down under His shadow with great delight. He felt Christ’s hand under his head, and His right hand embraced him. His greatest delight had been the very sound of His voice. But there came a time the Beloved’s voice was heard to say, "Solomon, my beloved…rise up, my love, my friend, my fair one, and come away…" (Song of Solomon 2:10). There is no mistaking the message. I see it so clearly! Solomon was hearing the high calling of God in Christ. A call to satisfy his soul with nothing but that spiritual drink, that spiritual bread. It was a call to go beyond wisdom to rapture, to behold the lover of his soul and be transformed in the inner man. It was a call to rid his vineyard of every little fox that was spoiling his vines. It was a call to reach out into the deep, to spiritual green pastures of divine revelation and behold a Lord high and lifted up. He was called to a feeding ground among the lilies (Song of Solomon 2:16). Solomon was told, "Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young deer upon the mountains…" (2:17). Come and pant after the Beloved as the deer pants for water on Mt. Bether. Does Solomon hear God calling him to a life of absolute devotion and separation? Will he rise, shake himself, and forsake all that binds him to earthly things, and escape to the mountain with God? Will he answer the high calling and "come away"? Twice the call came — "Arise and come with me." Will Solomon turn away from the queen of Sheba and sit at the feet of his Beloved? Will he forsake all the good things God gave him — the applause, the center stage, the pomp, the wealth — and consider it all as vanity and vexation? Will he answer the high call and seek Him whom his soul loved? Will he recognize that even good things can dim our vision of Him? Is Solomon’s heart truly ravished with his Beloved? Will he stay up through the night yearning after Him? Will he get himself to the mountain to answer the high call? There is a problem! Solomon is a man full of lust! This man of God had a controversy raging in his soul. He had a thousand little foxes in his vine, eating away all the fruit — seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines: "But King Solomon loved many strange women…of the nations which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them…for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love" (1 Kings 11:1-2). God will not be mocked. No matter that this man of God was the most gifted on earth — he was trying to have the best of two worlds. He would have his beloved Lord — and his little foxes. But sin always finds us out. "It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God…And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord…" (1 Kings 11:4; 1 Kings 11:6). There it is, in all its ugliness. The Beloved said, "Come away." and Solomon "…went not fully after him." Let me show you what happens to the man who misses the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! These vivid lessons should shake us to the spiritual bone and marrow. God is saying something to us in this tragedy. Watch the steady downward steps of a man who surrenders to the flesh. 1. God Stirred His Adversaries Against Him! "And the Lord was angry with Solomon — because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which appeared unto him twice…(1 Kings 11:9). He had jeopardized everything he had. God was now his adversary. The kingdom would slowly be rent from him and given to another. God in essence told him, "I will not take it all away, but you will be just a shadow of what you once were. People will not see any difference outwardly. You will go your way with the outward shell intact, but inwardly, you will slowly disintegrate. You will know I am no longer working with you. You are on your own. You have lost the anointing because of sin." God lifted his hand from Solomon — and from that day on the hedge was down, and God stirred up enemies to harass him. "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite" (1 Kings 11:14). Again in verse 23, "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Elladah." It is tragic to mistake Judgment on sin and chastisement for the work of Satan — if God is behind it. God still loved this man, and He Himself stirred up these enemies. Satan may have been the tool, but God was the moving force behind it all. God hoped to bring Solomon to his senses and restore him to fellowship and communion. King Hadad woke up one day with a vendetta in his heart against Solomon, perhaps even surprised by his sudden urge to make things difficult for him. His thoughts must have run something like this: "Who does this man think he is — aiming to be such a great man of God, living in splendor, people flocking to hear his wisdom, bringing him their gifts, treating him like a god! Let’s go after him, expose him, find his weakness!" For years Rezon dared not lift a voice against Solomon. But on a certain day his spirit was strangely stirred. He called his counselors and they, too, were stirred against him. "Why, he’s no man of God," they said; "he’s a politician. He has the ear of the queen of Sheba; world leaders receive him and hear his counsel. Let us stir up trouble and make things hard on him. He is now our main target. Let’s try to bring him down!" The worst blow came from Solomon’s own household when Jeroboam, the son of a servant, "lifted up his hand against the king" (1 Kings 11:26). Solomon had grown to love him, making him his trusted associate. He was put in charge over the house of Joseph. But the young man stabbed him in the back, so to speak. He rebelled and turned on his benefactor, Solomon. Now Solomon had enemies within as well as without. Please understand, it is possible to suffer for righteousness. It is possible to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, to preach the gospel so powerfully all hell is engaged to shut it down. But much of what we are seeing today is the work of God — and it is being attributed to Satan. If God’s men won’t humble themselves and forsake the flesh and the world, they need adversaries to wake them up. If God’s men will not lay aside politics and get back to preaching Christ, if they will not allow the Holy Spirit to humble and purge them — God has every right to stir up their enemies. This was God’s man we are talking about. The Lord had appeared to him twice. He was mightily anointed. But Solomon had to deal with God — not Satan! It is not nearly as fearful to fall into the hands of the devil as it is to fall into the hands of an angry God. And God was angry with Solomon. We are so blind. We cannot recognize God at work, rending the kingdom from the disobedient and the proud, using adversaries to bring men of God to their spiritual senses; putting a stop to sensuality and compromise in the ministry; chastising those who have turned a deaf ear to the high calling of God in Christ for repentance and holiness. You may know of some righteous servant of God under great persecution, and you have the witness that Satan is behind it. This man is not seeking the spotlight. He is shut in with God and his message shows it. He is totally devoted to Christ and he lives a humble, spotless life before the world. You hear his awakened voice calling for repentance. He lovingly presents the demands of the gospel, and he stirs up the enemy’s nest. Satan goes after him physically, mentally, and with every device in his arsenal. The press crucifies him; preachers laugh and ridicule. But that man knows he is pure and clear in God’s eyes — and you know it. He needs our prayers and support. The Lord will bring him out to higher ground. But here is another man of God, under severe fire and persecution. The press holds him up to public ridicule. His lavish lifestyle is paraded before the world. It seems like a conspiracy to bring him down and end his ministry. One enemy lays off, and another is raised up. He is accused, maligned, and misquoted. So the man runs about looking for sympathy and love. The applause from friends keeps him temporarily encouraged. Yet deep in his heart there is a suspicion that God is behind it all. Somewhere, this man missed it. He got too busy, too famous, too self–centered to answer the high call of God to go deeper in Christ. And all truly discerning overcomers can sense it. They know God is trying to bring him back to his spiritual roots. If I am being harassed by ungodly enemies, I had better find out who sent them: God, or Satan? And if there is sin in my life, I know where these enemies come from! I don’t need to send out any mail asking for money to help fight the devil. I dare not tell people the devil is mad at me if it’s been God who is angry all the while. 2. Another Step Downward — the Loss of the Beloved’s Presence. Listen to this pitiful cry — "I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer" (Song of Solomon 5:6). You begin to feel sorry for this man, because he still hungers for the intimacy he once knew, but he is not willing to pay the price to be restored. He is on one side still playing with the little foxes, still lusting — but on the other side, he wants to continue enjoying the presence of the Beloved. He comes stumbling out of his royal brothel, drunk on the forbidden wine of lust, and he goes out seeking the Beloved. "Whither has he gone? If you find my beloved, tell him I am heartsick for him…" But the substance is not there. It is now a shadow, a memory — on the other side of the window, beyond the lattice. The Beloved will not be intimate with an unfaithful lover. No wonder Solomon lost the vision of his Beloved. No wonder the Lord did not answer when he called. No wonder loneliness and despair had set in. He was lost to his lust! Through tears of sorrow and awful foreboding, Solomon was drawn back to his sin, time and again. He was torn between two loves. It was indulge, repent, indulge, cry, indulge, regret. indulge, hunger for God, indulge, pray. But always the flesh prevailed. I see Christians who have missed the high calling of God in Christ because of lust and sin, and inevitably they are remorseful. The joy of the Lord is gone from them. Where once they spoke boldly, they now ask questions. They talk about their spiritual hunger, their need to know Christ better, but there is more shadow than substance to it. You can see that wistful look which says, "Yes, I really do love Him — need Him — but I just can’t break this thing that has a hold on me! They can’t look you in the eye. I can think of nothing worse on earth than to lose the sense of Christ’s presence. We look back on this sad picture of Solomon and wonder how such a blessed and gifted man could trade his good name, his place in history, his kingdom, and his place in God — for the right to indulge his uncontrollable passions. Is this the same man who once stood before Israel and admonished, "Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee…who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart…who shuts the heavens when thy people sin against thee…And when a man shall know the plague of his own heart, and shall call on the Lord…he will forgive…If a man sins and God is angry…if he return with all his heart and soul…God will hear and forgive…Then the Lord will never forsake or leave him, but will maintain the cause of his servant." (1 Kings 8:1-66). What a powerful preacher Solomon once was! What marvelous light flooded his soul. But he had missed the high calling. He had chosen not to pursue the heart of his Beloved, in order to chase after pleasure. In his final days, he went about warning the young, "Remember the Lord while you are young, for the day will come when you will find no more pleasure in anything" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). 3. Finally — Solomon Was Left With Nothing But Empty Dreams. Having turned away from a heavenly vision, he became absorbed with an earthly one. Solomon became a builder, spending most of his time with architects and contractors. To the carnal mind, he was a man of great vision and daring — aventuresome spirit doing big things. His projects were mind–boggling. The man who had no time to "come away" with the Beloved, found the time to "build me great works" (Ecclesiastes 2:4). Solomon was gripped with a passion to build magnificent buildings, pools, vineyards, gardens, and orchards. He built the greatest temple in the world. He spent 13 years building himself a magnificent palace. He designed a most unusual summer house in the forests of Lebanon. He constructed a hall of judgment, fortresses, stone cities, chariot–towns, and built new cities in distant lands. Six miles east of Jerusalem, at Ain Karim, he designed and planted great gardens and orchards and magnificent parks. He built reservoirs, pools, and aqueducts to carry water to Jerusalem and his sprawling nurseries. The king became a cattleman, breeding great herds of cattle, sheep, oxen, and exotic horses. He had 1400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Josephus said his chariot drivers had long, flowing hair powdered with gold dust and wore tunics of Tyrian purple. Solomon built a navy. He dabbled in gold, ivory, silver, fine cloths, lumber, spices, peacocks, and other exotic animals. He built himself a great throne of ivory and covered it with gold. His drinking cups were gold. There was such affluence no one kept account. He lavished jewelry on guests and wives. He hosted great banquets featuring his own private choirs and orchestras. He delighted his guests with music, wine, and dancing. The queen of Sheba was left breathless when she beheld Solomon’s royal cavalcade in all its magnificent splendor. His golden chariots, his huge contingent of bodyguards, cavalrymen and attendants — what a sight as they headed for one of Solomon’s "paradises". But what the queen of Sheba did not know was that Solomon was to become the loneliest, most disillusioned man in the kingdom He was only going through the motions toward the end. Each new building project, each new acquisition, left him all the more inwardly shattered and disenchanted. His success in the natural realm made him self–reliant, a man of determination. He was so buoyed by his visible success and possessions, he disregarded his spiritual decline. He felt self–confident and superior in himself when he surveyed his empire and sensed no need to examine himself. His influence and holdings emboldened him to chart his own course, listen to no counsel, and follow his dreams. When visible things are the attraction and center of attention, the heart grows cold. Solomon backslid and became a slave to the visible. For a short while he enjoyed his projects. He could say, "My heart rejoiced in all my labor" (Ecclesiastes 2:10). But before long we hear him confessing, "Then I looked on all the work that my hands had wrought, and all I had accomplished: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun…Therefore I hated life…the work that I did became a grief to me…I was left in despair" (Ecclesiates 2:11–20). How very sad! He was admired as a man of vision and drive. But little did the crowds know he was a deeply troubled man. He surveyed all his projects and it made him sick! In essence, he said, "What a waste! What good are all these material things? They have brought me no happiness!" I have been there, in small measure. I know that sinking feeling, that sense of futility. I have planned and schemed and built — spending weeks on building projects, pouring over plans, telling myself I was doing it all "to the glory of God." I was building for Jesus — or so I told others. But none of it brought me happiness, but rather depressed me in the end. I used to think, "I’m so sick of buildings — so tired of raising money. I wish someone would come along and take it all over." Then one day I heard the high calling of God to go deeper in Christ. It was only then I realized I was engaged in all that busy activity because I was losing touch with my Beloved. I had to give it all up. I couldn’t spend my time any longer on such empty dreams. My dream ranch had to go. My dream Bible school had to go. My Black Angus herd had to go. I heard God calling me, loud and clear — "David, you’ve been going the wrong way. Come away with Me. Meet Me on the mountain. Come to the valley of the lilies. Come discover the Rose of Sharon. Come, embrace Me, and I will satisfy you with spiritual life, peace, and joy." Look at everything Solomon built, and you will discover he tried to recreate materially what he lost spiritually. • Aqueducts and pools, instead of living water. • Green pastures and cool waters at Ain Karim, instead of the Beloved’s green pastures and cool waters of Psalms 23:1-6. • A gold–plated temple in Jerusalem, instead of a spiritual temple of the Holy Ghost. • His own cattle on a dozen hills, rather than all His cattle on a thousand hills. • Choirs of men, rather than choirs of angels. • A throne here, rather than a throne there. • The chariots of Solomon, in place of the chariots of the Lord of hosts. • A palace here, rather than a mansion there. • Gold–paved streets in Jerusalem, rather than gold–paved streets in the New Jerusalem Isn’t it obvious that Solomon was trying to build with his hands what he had lost in his heart? Do you think that a man of God who is pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ has time to piddle with earthly dreams? The man of God should be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, spending all his time hearing God’s plans, conversing with the Almighty, so he can come down and build a spiritual house! Why are so many sincere men of God bogged down in so many projects, massive building programs, and time consuming dreams? This is not to suggest that all building projects are vanity. I don’t doubt that many of God’s servants are truly interested in building only for the glory of the Lord. God has His builders and pioneers — these are the men who build only out of necessity. They deserve encouragement and support. On the other hand, there is no doubt in my mind that a lot of the religious building and planning today is the result of men of God who have missed the high calling. They have missed the spiritual, so they turn to the material. They build with their hands, because they are stalled in their pursuit of Christ. And the busiest man lays the biggest plans — "The more parade, the less depth." This applies not only to preachers. The man in the pew is going in the same direction. Why are Christians so enthralled with houses, lands, and prosperity? Why the pursuit of luxury, ease, and pleasure? It is because the high calling of God is being refused. Self is in control. Security and pleasure have replaced the burden of the Lord. Conclusion: Paul Was the Man Who Won Christ! "Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Php 3:8). Like Solomon, Paul was visited by the Almighty twice — once on the road to Damascus, then at the house of Judas in Damascus when he received the Holy Ghost. Paul could have gone forth on the strength of those two initial visitations and traveled about, giving his supernatural testimony. How thrilling it would have been. But Paul heard God calling him to something higher. He heard the same call Solomon heard — the Beloved saying, "Come away. Come to My garden and learn of Me." Paul ran after his Beloved to Arabia. He was mad — by all evangelical standards — to give up immediate acceptance and recognition. Souls were dying, he was anointed. Why not get quickly to the whitened harvest fields? Instead, he went into isolation, leaving all religious demands behind him. Forgetting all, he pressed now toward a prize. Christ was all! Arabia was to Paul the green pasture, the valley of lilies, a banquet hall of love, a feast of living bread — where the Rose of Sharon could be seen in full bloom, in all His glory and majesty. Thank God, there is a stirring among God’s people. His high calling is being heard by many hungry servants of the Lord. There is an urgency I find in many hearts — to get shut in with God, to go further, deeper in Christ. Dissatisfaction is bringing many to the end of themselves. I hear it everywhere I go now — "There has to be more! I want to see Jesus! I want to go out to meet Him. I want a fresh revelation of Him. I’m hungry for His fullness. I’m sick of the shallowness, the busyness, the hype, the showmanship. I want to see Jesus!" Time is running out — the high calling will soon be heard no more. Will you "Come apart…and go out to him?" I do not want to stand before Christ’s Judgment Seat and hear Him say to me, "I called, but you refused." To be judged for nonchalance, for lightness, for apathy — what a horror! Christ must now be Lord of all, or He cannot be Lord at all! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 73: PRE-075-72. GOD�S INTENTION FOR THIS MIDNIGHT HOUR ======================================================================== 72. God’s Intention For This Midnight Hour God’s Intention For This Midnight Hour by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. "Why are you here? Just what is God’s intention for you in this crisis hour? Do you know what God expects of His church in these times? What is God’s one great purpose?" How sad that so few today can answer these questions. There is only a remnant left today who understand God’s purpose for His children in the last days. A majority of ministers today are blowing trumpets that make uncertain sounds. The uncertainty in the pulpit has spread a cloud of uncertainty over the congregation. Multitudes of Christians who profess to serve a mighty Lord, live in bondage and despair. There is so much ruin! Emphasis on various doctrinal issues by evangelists and teachers has only added to the confusion. Many hungry souls are asking, "Who is right? What is God’s purpose for today? What is the Lord’s intention in this midnight hour? Is it miracles? Casting out demons? Discipleship? Church growth?" I believe that God has had but one great intention for His people ever since the Cross. It will not change until Christ returns in glory. God’s intention has to do with understanding the mystery of the gospel, revealed first to Paul the apostle. It is a mystery no longer. Paul said, "…By revelation…God…made known to me the mystery…which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed…by the Spirit…And to make known to all men what is the fellowship of the mystery…" (Ephesians 3:3-9). The mystery revealed is simply this: Christ’s body is still here on earth! Only the head is in heaven; the rest of His body is right here on earth. We who love and serve Him are His body. We are the visible part, that which men see of Christ on earth. "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones…" (Ephesians 5:30). "And he is the head of the body, the church…" (Colossians 1:18). God’s full intention for these last days can be summed up in this one sentence: Being that we are Christ’s body on earth, God’s intention is that every member become a true expression of who Christ is! God intends that we express such a complete fullness of Christ, any sinner on the face of the earth could see in us the Lord Jesus Christ as surely as if He once again walked here in the flesh. We are to appropriate so much of His fullness, His glory, His completeness — the world will see in us the hope, the answers to all their needs. If we cannot live out Christ in us as the solution to all life’s problems, we have no right to preach Him. It is not enough to know Christ. We must be a full expression of who He is! We must look at everything we say and do in the light of this: "Does this represent who Christ is? Is this what I want the sinner to see of Him, through me?" Would Christ, in His physical body, walk into an X–rated theater? Would He linger around a pornography counter? Would Christ abuse His body in any way? Would He indulge in adultery, fornication, drinking? Would He cheat, gossip, tell dirty stories, or lie? Would Christ live a lie, then attempt to preach the truth? Would He try to spread the light, if there was a pocket of darkness in His own heart? Would He tell others not to commit adultery, then do it in secret Himself? We must continually keep before our eyes this one great intention of God — that we His body reflect honestly and purely who He is! Set your heart on being a true expression of who Jesus Christ is, and you will stir the very wrath of hell. Satan will leave you alone until you are set on truly expressing the holiness of Christ. He will not trouble the miracle worker or the moralist. Would you build an orphanage for Christ? Would you go into the jungles of the Amazon to preach the gospel? Would you go to our American city slums and spend yourself in reaching human needs? Would you heal the sick and cast out devils? Will you call your friends and neighbors to repentance? That is all very commendable, but it is not our Lord’s first and great intention. If you are not becoming a true expression of Christ on earth, that is all human works — and it will burn at the Judgment! Scripture says many will come to Him on that day and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" (Matthew 7:22). But Christ will answer them, "I never knew you" (v. 23). Who is the one with vision? Is it the one who builds great churches, who has the biggest budget, or who speaks to the largest crowds? No! It is the one who reflects the presence of Jesus Christ. Vision is knowing Him. Then whatever is done is born out of a relationship, and it truly reflects the heart of God. I don’t see much today that is a true expression of Christ on earth. There is much of ego, much of bragging, much of competition and struggle for recognition. But so little of Christ. I switch on my TV set and cringe as I listen to much of the Christian programming. The pitiful appeals for money, the spectacular, expensive sets, the endless small talk…And I ask myself, "Is this the best expression of who Christ is that we can offer the world?" The time is not far off when things are going to start unraveling, coming apart. The daily news will be terribly frightening. The economy will be in complete disarray. And the nations of this world will tremble with fear. We are about to enter the most ominous time in history, when everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. What will count then, when everything around is crumbling? Some men of God will stand in the midst of their projects and weep and howl! Massive buildings will sit idle; cobwebs and bats will take over. And the monuments to self achievement will haunt those who built them. Those who chased after success and prosperity will be left empty and desolate, having no inner strength to face the horrors falling everywhere. Those who took the things of God lightly, who never broke away from this world, who were unwilling to forsake their old ways — will have nothing to see them through the evil days. Only one thing will matter then — Do I know Christ intimately? Am I an expression of Him here in this dark hour? Will I be one of the few who will witness to a crazed world that Christ is above it all? Will I be Christ’s shining light when all goes dark? Is there something in your heart that responds to this call to fulfill God’s intention for this hour? Do you yearn to become a true expression of the Lord Jesus Christ to your generation? There are two things that must first be understood. One of these things is the work of God; the other is something we must do. 1. We Cannot Be an Expression of Christ Until We Are Convinced All Is Clear Between God and Us! We must once and for all understand what Christ did for us at the Cross — by satisfying the heart of God. Christ forever took away the thing that offended God’s holy eye, so that we will always have a right to His presence. We are accepted in God’s sight. There is not a single thing in God’s heart against us! You dare not go a step further, until you learn the efficacy of Christ’s blood — that you are fully pardoned! God does not need to be appeased. He is fully satisfied! The Cross cleared us in God’s eye. We may forget that, but God never does. The veil was torn to allow us entrance. It was God saying "You are accepted! Come boldly to My throne, for you are now Mine in the Beloved." If God is satisfied, why shouldn’t I be? This is the one issue that must be settled once and for all. Is there anything — any cloud — between me and my Father in heaven? You say, "But my heart condemns me! I’ve said and done things that would grieve the Spirit. I feel unworthy. The heavens seem brass." To all this you can answer, "But God is greater than my heart!" Do you repudiate your sins? Do you hate them? Have you confessed them? Do you believe that through this man Jesus, "forgiveness of sins is preached" (Acts 13:38)? Here is where most Christians fail. They live with unnecessary fear and bondage, not understanding the victory of the Cross. They are clear in God’s eyes, but they don’t know it. God is satisfied totally by Christ’s sacrifice, and the way cleared into God’s presence. There is nothing blocking access except our fears and lack of knowledge. When the veil was split, God came out to Saul — and to you and me! We go in — He comes out! How incredible! We offend God, yet He is so anxious to clear us in His own eyes, He sends His own sacrifice for our sins. He Himself cleared the way back. Sin was judged, the offense removed. Now God can say, "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). He Himself removed the distance! God is not wanting to impute sin against us. Instead, He seeks to reconcile us to Himself. He desires that we live in the blessedness of knowing the sin question was forever settled at the Cross. What is there in us that attracts the grace of God in Christ? What is there in us that attracts such marvelous grace, such mercy and pardon? Is it some kind of beauty, goodness, or strength? Is it some kind of potential in us? No! It is our great need that attracts His grace. It is our utter helplessness. It is our weakness that attracts His strength. Misery attracts grace! Our greatest attraction to God is that we are poor, helpless creatures in need. What attracted Jesus to the Syrophenician woman? To the blind, the infirm, the widowed and fatherless? What they all had in common was their helplessness. What is it in us that attracts the power and grace of God? It is our helplessness. Our helpless condition is exemplified by the palsied man in Mark, chapter two: "And they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy…" (Mark 2:3). Here is a picture of absolute helplessness, a man having not one iota of strength or power. He cannot even bring himself to Christ. Look again at that trembling, weak, helpless creature — aprisoner to his own bed. That is you, it is me, before we knew anything of Christ’s power. Jesus stood before this helpless man, let down to Him through the roof, and did not even mention his physical condition. First, the Lord chose to clear him before God. He would bring him into the Father’s presence first — clean, cleared. He would be accepted, before healed. "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee…" (Mark 2:5) What a beautiful picture of the love of God in Christ Jesus! Here is a helpless man, too overwhelmed by his infirmity to even whimper. He cannot even muster a weak confession. He has nothing to offer Christ — he is too weak. It is not of works, lest any man should boast. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:10) The Pharisee, with all his good works, his boasting, never did attract the grace of the Lord. "The more parade, the less depth," said J. B. Stoney. But see how the weakness of man attracted Christ’s sympathy! Show me the child of God who struggles against a hated besetting sin, one who is crushed beneath a load of guilt an despair, one who feels helpless and weak — and I will show you the one who is the object of abundant grace. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20). Satan will come against such a one and suggest that God is angry at him, that the right to God’s presence has been lost, that wrath and judgment are at the door. Not so! All we have to do is look up to the Lamb of God, and in our utter helplessness, we hear these comforting words: "Son, daughter, thy sins be forgiven thee." Stand by faith on the finished work of the Cross! Through faith in Him your sins are under the blood. You now live on the other side of the veil. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places, accepted in the beloved, one with Christ and the Father! God’s wrath against your sin has been satisfied. You have been given an inheritance; you are now more than a conqueror — you are living and moving in the Spirit. There is a blood line between you and Satan; your accuser has been cast down and put to open shame. You are filled with the fullness of Christ. You have power in you to meet everything having to do with life and godliness. You are the apple of His eye, in the hollow of His hand, purged from all iniquity. Renewed in your mind, reconciled, justified, sanctified, and made ready as a bride. Translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light — and made an heir to all that belongs to Christ the Lord! You are no longer condemned — for there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). Christ abides in you — He reveals Himself to you! No height, no depth, no principality, no power — not man, not angels, not things on earth nor heaven — can ever separate you from God’s love for you, through Christ! You are feeding on Christ, the manna. You are living in Zion, God’s presence. He is your friend, your priest, your advocate, your Lord, your guide. Do you believe these things are true? Do you believe God gave these glorious promises to weak, helpless creatures, such as we are? Are you forgiven and clear in God’s sight, and do you really know it? Do you accept your acceptance? You can become the true expression of Christ only as you take your place with Him at the right hand of the Father — accepted! All hindrances removed — not by us, but by the sacrifice of Christ! This is what He has done for us. You can love Him and still be miserable — because you don’t know acceptance! 2. To Become a True Expression of Christ, We Must Take Up Our Bed and Walk! This is our part! The palsied man was forgiven and cleared in God’s eyes, but he was still a prisoner. He was relieved of all his sins, but still impotent. He knew Christ as a Relief — but not a Resource! It is not enough to be a forgiven cripple, a relieved prisoner. There is something we must do. Christ’s part is to clear us before God; our part is to get up and walk. We must go beyond relief from sins — to the freedom of His resources. "…Is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…I say unto thee [the sick of the palsy], Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house…" (Mark 2:9-11). That man did not get up on his own strength. Christ imparted His strength to him. Without Christ we can do nothing. It is only in His strength we can overcome. We know it as the power of the Holy Spirit! Christ was saying to this man, "I am going to make you an example of My power over sin! You are going to become strongest where you were the weakest. The thing that made you a prisoner, you will pick up and carry. You will overcome the very thing that held you down." A spiritual cripple cannot be a true expression of Jesus Christ. We must be living in the full power and victory of a life free from the bondage of sin. Every Christian knows his or her weakness. We all know where we are most vulnerable. Satan would suggest to us that we will always be weak at that point, and one day be overcome by it. Not so! By His glorious power God can make us strongest at our weakest point. That is what the Scripture means when it speaks of His strength made perfect in our weakness. Is there something that hinders you — abesetting sin, a weakness, an inner controversy still unresolved? The hindrance must go! The prison doors must open. You can no longer be chained to a bed of failure. You must be not only forgiven — but set free! What will the Lord do? How will He get us up out of that bed? He will give us all the power we need to overcome, and walk in total deliverance! We must quit talking about this power as if it were some mysterious, incomprehensible thing, it must be understood. We are engrafted as a branch into Christ, the Vine. The very same power that enabled Him, enables us. The very same Spirit that quickened Him, quickens us. The very same place He is at the right hand of God, is the same place we are by faith, in the spirit. How do we know our sins are forgiven? By faith alone! We must take God’s word on it. And when we do, we are given great peace of mind. So it is with His power. We must take His word for it, that His power is now at work in us, causing us to will and to do of His good pleasure! It can be appropriated only by faith. We must face our weakness with faith that He will help us do what He has commanded. The delivered palsied man who gets up, walks, and carries his bed, is a type of the believer who is in mastery over sin! What an expression of Christ’s power he was. What hope he must have given to all who were helpless and in need. Isn’t this what God is after today? Is He not seeking for overcomers who will set an example for the world, showing an evil generation how Christ completely delivers from sin’s dominion? That sinners could see believers who live above the lusts and pleasures of this world? Men who love their wives and are faithful; wives who do not cheat and are good mothers and keepers at home; young people who practice purity and separation from all that defiles. We have enough "fastest growing churches in the country." We have enough busy Christians doing exploits. We have enough gospel radio and television. We have enough crusades, concerts, and outreaches. We have enough abortion fighters and moralists. We have more than enough plans, projects, programs, seminars, books, records, tapes, magazines, and newsletters. What we do not have enough of are Christians who truly express the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a shortage of those the sinner and the church can point to and say, "There goes a Christian who really expresses who Jesus Christ is! There is one who has nothing to sell, nothing to promote, nothing to prove — but Christ, risen and glorified! There stands a brother, a sister, who shines with the beauty and simplicity of Jesus Christ, the Lord! There is one who has what I’d like to have — areality that cannot be denied!" This should become the one and only goal of our lives! To fulfill God’s intention — to be a witness who expresses the fullness and completeness of Christ! When I stand before Christ’s Judgment Seat, I will be judged by one criterion: "How did I express Christ to the world? What did my life say to the world about who Christ was? Did I show forth Christ through defilement, compromise, shamefulness? Could the sinner see an overcoming Christ in me? Or did I show them nothing of the fullness, the joy, the victory of Christ the Lord?" Will you stand before Him and brag about how many souls you’ve won? Or what tremendous projects you were involved in? How many you have preached to? How you fought abortion? God cares more about what you have become, what you are — than what you have done. Has there ever been a day with more works, more great things done — but so few in real union with Christ? You have been promised power from on high. Appropriate it! You can be that true expression of Christ if you will believe the following. 1. Christ’s shed blood washes you completely before the eyes of a holy God. 2. Everything that could rise up against you and condemn you has been removed. 3. God has never lost His satisfaction in Christ — and He will never lose His satisfaction with you, in Christ. 4. Through His Cross, Christ has removed everything that stood between you and God, and nothing can separate you again. 5. His divine power has been given to you even more surely than it was given to the man with palsy. 6. God has seen your weakness, your helplessness, and He says, "I will snap it, crush it, overpower it — and do everything necessary to put it away, and make you superior to what once crippled you." 7. His strength will be applied where you are the weakest, and you will become strongest at that point. You will carry what once carried you! 8. Christ’s one great desire for you is that He Himself will shine through you, making you a beautiful expression of who He truly is! 9. We must live in total dependence on Christ. The good Samaritan put the wounded man "on his own beast." This is the hardest thing for us to learn — Christ must get us off our own legs, and onto "his own beast." Most of us like the wine and oil poured out — but we won’t ride the beast! We’d rather walk in our own strength! 10. There is only one choice — not two! We must be in constant communion with Christ! It is often misquoted, "Mary hath chosen the better part" — as if there were two choices. No! It was "Mary hath chosen the good part" — the rest was Martha’s idea! 11. If we are His bride — and He is soon coming — shouldn’t our greatest object now be affection for Him? Not power, but love! Christ must be able to say, "There is a friend of Mine." "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her…" (Proverbs 31:11). Can the Lord safely trust in you — to be His expression, to do His will? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 74: PRE-076-73. ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN THE LORD ======================================================================== 73. Encourage Yourself In The Lord Encourage Yourself in the Lord by David Wilkerson | December 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "…But David encouraged himself in the Lord" (1 Samuel 30:6) We begin our message with these familiar words: And David was greatly distressed" (1 Samuel 30:6). He had just returned from Gath, where King Achish had said to him, "Thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God." With those praises ringing in his ears, David and his men returned to Ziklag, anxious to be reunited with their wives and children. They found their city burned to the ground, their homes destroyed, and their children and wives gone. The Amalekites had invaded while they were in Aphek and had taken captive all that was precious to David and his men. What a horrible day of infamy in the life of this anointed man of God. "Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep…" (1 Samuel 30:4) The people rose up in anger, and there was talk of stoning David, because of their overwhelming grief. David himself was torn with grief, with not a tear left to shed. "And David was greatly distressed." They had come to the end of their rope, all hope gone and swallowed up in grief and despair. Did all this calamity fall upon David because he was living in sin? Was he running from God? Far from it. If anything, David was running with God, but not understanding why the path led through such hard times. Samuel had already anointed David king over Israel. He was declared to be a man after God’s own heart, chosen and set apart to lead God’s people. After a short time of acceptance in Saul’s court and a glorious ministry of victory upon victory, he was forced to escape for his life. The giant killer ended up hiding in a cave, wondering what he had done to endure such rejection and difficulty. Tearfully he had inquired of Jonathan, "What have I done? What is mine iniquity? And what is my sin…that my life is threatened?" (1 Samuel 20:1) The high priest called David "the most faithful servant in all the kingdom." Even Saul recognized his goodness and anointing, saying to him: "Thou art more righteous than I…I know well that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand…" (1 Samuel 24:17; 1 Samuel 24:20) Is This the Way the Righteous Are Rewarded? When Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13). You have to begin here to understand David’s terrible distress at Ziklag that day. He knew he was called, specially chosen, destined to the throne. He had a daily visitation of God’s Holy Spirit. He had a cause, he had zeal for the Lord, he was holy and burdened for the poor and needy. He lived a circumspect life that caused even his enemies to respect him. Think of what must have gone through David’s mind as he stood over the burning ruins of his home, not knowing whether his family was dead or alive. He must have asked the question. Why? when thinking over the past few years, up to this very moment. "Why, if God is with me, did Saul try to kill me? Why was he so insanely jealous over me? Why, if I have been anointed, did I have to escape to Gath and pretend madness, acting like an insane fool? Why, if God’s Spirit is upon me, guiding me, did I have to hide out in caves? Why, if I’m a man after God’s heart, did I have to live in the wilderness, hunted down like a wild animal? Is this the reward of the anointed — sleepless nights fearing for my life, harassed on all sides, living on handouts, and outcast?" Now, after finally finding a home and enjoying a few months of peace, it all crumbles in unbelievable disaster. Ziklag is in ruins, all is lost. To make matters even worse, David’s closest associates were blaming him for the tragedy. What a shoddy way for God to treat His anointed servant — at least that is the way it appears on the surface. He is no longer the giant killer whose praises are being sung by admiring crowds. He is no longer the mighty man of faith and vision, looked upon with respect and love. Now he is in total rejection, on the verge of being stoned as a failure. David stands alone, stripped and confused — in total despair. What does a child of God do when discouragement sets in and he feels useless, like a complete failure, abandoned by God and rejected by those who once cared? His beloved friend Jonathan was nowhere in sight. How refreshing it might have been had he been able to talk to the one friend he knew would never let him down. Abigail had been taken from him. His parents were far away. Where shall he go for comfort? To whom shall he turn for encouragement? God Brought David to This Dead–End Believe it or nor, God was in this apparent tragedy. If David is to become the man God uses, he must be stripped of everything, including his reputation and self–will. He must cry out of his system the last tears of self–pity. He must face the full fury of loneliness and overcome it. He must put away all memory of applause and praise for what he had accomplished. He must not look to others for guidance, for comfort, for strength — not family, not friends, not associates. There would be no prophet to warn him, no priest to encourage him. Not even a child to hold his trembling hand. No brave soldiers to place a cup of cold water in his hand. God fully intended that a crisis be allowed in David’s life that would force him to seek an answer within himself. For sixteen months David had lived with the Philistines, and he had been leaning too heavily on King Achish. God wanted to give David the kingdom; he was about to settle for Ziklag. In no way would God permit David to settle down in a place that depended on the flesh for survival. Could it be that David had grown tired of the struggle, weary of so many battles, so many hardships? Was he thinking he had earned the right to an easier lifestyle? Was he about to trade his crown for ease and security? Thank God David was made of better stuff. There was something in him, springing up, bringing new hope and assurance of God’s leading. "And David encouraged himself in the Lord…" This was God’s intention for David all along. This was the purpose behind all the hard times, the loneliness, the strange leadings of the Lord, God wanted David to get his eyes off all his enemies, off all his friends — and draw out of his own well the strength and encouragement he needed both now and in the future. David must learn to stand alone, dependent on God only and finding all he needed through personal communion and affection for the Lord. What a victorious sight — David standing amid the ruins of his life — rejoicing in God’s faithfulness and encouraging himself in the presence of the Lord. He came to see that all that really counts in the face of death and despair — is a personal knowledge of God. Once the lesson was learned, God opened the heavens and spoke clearly to David. Directions came loud and clear. David inquired, and God answered. "Without fail you will recover all." There was nothing lacking — David recovered all. From then on, David could look back and boast in the Lord, "In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul…" (Psalms 138:3). Where Do You Turn for Encouragement? Are we willing to learn from David’s experience? Will we recognize the reason for our hardships, and the strange leadings of the Lord in our lives? I dare you to show me a single Christian who is wholly devoted to the Lord, who has an easy, trouble–free life. Show me a Spirit–led, God–filled, anointed servant of the Lord, and I’ll show you one who is chased, chastened, often baffled, and familiar to deep waters and fiery furnaces. Tell me your Christian life allows for no distress or hard times, and I’ll have to believe God has no great purpose for your life. Those who seek to avoid the difficulties seldom get the revelation of God’s fullness. They attempt to use faith to exempt themselves from crisis, not realizing they are robbing themselves of the greatest opportunity to find out what is really in them. Then one day when trouble can no longer be avoided, they cave in, having no proven source of inner strength. Paul wrote, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16). We are living in a day in which the Lord needs Christians who are not tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine; who are not being made merchandise of; who have discernment and are not being deceived; who need no special human teacher with some new revelation; who do not need a human shepherd to guide their every step; who do not have to depend on someone else for their happiness or spiritual strength — but who have been tested and tried and have proven that the very life of God is in them, providing grace and mercy to help in every need. Christ has been revealed not only to them, but in them. They are drawing on the strength of their inner man, according to the riches of His glory. Perhaps you can look back to a time when God did something truly special in your life. He separated you unto Himself, and filled you with His Holy Spirit. He called you, touching you with an anointing to do a special work. You started out like David, blessed, happy, and successful. People admired your sincerity and godly zeal. You were hungry for the deeper things of God and you were little in your own eyes. You set your heart to seek the Lord and desired to yield completely to His perfect will. You had friends who looked up to you and family behind you. Everybody recognized you as a man or woman of God. In your field of endeavor, you were fruitful. But then God began to lead you in mysterious ways. In spite of your hunger for God, a spiritual dryness settled in on you. You wanted to pray, but the heavens seemed brass. There was not a word from heaven — communication was strained. The accuser had you searching your heart for sin, and you became introspective, wondering what you did to grieve the Lord, causing Him to withdraw. Your heart began to cry out, "Speak to me, Lord! Give me a new touch! I feel so useless — so cold!" It is then we think to ourselves, "This dry spell, this coldness, this silence from heaven — can’t be God. There must be something terribly wrong in my life. God must be grieved with me." It makes it all the harder when you can’t find sin. You can only say in all honesty, "Why, Lord? Name my sin! Show it to me! Where did I fail? I thought I was really pleasing you. Why am I not making progress? Why can’t I break through?" What will you do? How will you escape from your spiritual doldrums and get back to rejoicing in God’s love? You will do as David did — encourage yourself in the Lord! You can do that only after you recognize God’s hand in all you are going through. Don’t blame it on the devil or demon activity. God has permitted the hard times to cast you wholly on Himself. To wean you from all confidence in the flesh, to help you get your eyes off people, off books and sermons, off well–meaning friends and associates — and on the power of God that worketh in you. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…" (Ephesians 3:20). We Must Learn to Encourage Ourselves in the Lord Because of the Troubled Times Just Ahead Frightening, dark days are just ahead. Men of God can already feel the hot breath of God’s wrath against the wicked. Peace will soon be shattered throughout the earth. I can find no Scripture in all the Bible that proves this country will be immune to nuclear bombs. Would God send fire on the Sodomites of Sodom and overlook the homosexual masses of America? Every day the news gets worse, a little more ominous. There is a growing sense that something is about to trigger a world conflict. People are nervous, fearful, and distressed. Where do the masses go for comfort? Who will encourage the ungodly? For them there is no comfort, no hope, no encouragement when the final calamities begin. What if all radio and television evangelists are silenced? What if persecution or calamity makes it impossible to gather with friends and believers? What if we are all alone in some condition of ruin and rejection, as was David? Will you be in a position to encourage yourself in the Lord? Will you be able to rejoice and be at peace even when everything around you is crumbling? Brothers, sisters in Christ — Ibeseech you in the name of the Lord, to open your eyes to the mighty power of God at work in you, and to appropriate the fulness and completeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what fiery furnace we may be cast into, our supreme Lord will walk us through it. The prophet Habakkuk was alarmed by the vision he received of the impending wrath of God on Judah. What he saw coming made his belly tremble, his lips to quiver, and he shook to the bones (Habakkuk 3:16). He saw a time coming when all the trees would be stripped, work would fail, there would be no more cattle, and the fields would be without grass. A whirlwind would devour, and the earth would be stricken and devoured. Habakkuk declared, "He will make my feet like hinds’ [deer] feet, and he will make me walk upon mine high places…" (Habakkuk 3:19). Stephen proved that prophecy to the letter. He stood before a mad mob of fanatics with stones in their hands, poised and ready to kill him. The end was near for him. Soon he would be glorified and his work finished. Suddenly he looked up and saw an open heaven, and the Man Christ Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. He needed no other encouragement. He needed no other apostle to stand with him. He had seen the Lord on high and now he was above all the conditions on earth. The stones could not rob him of this vision. He had been given hind’s feet — and he would walk right into his high place in Christ Jesus. No matter how dark and hopeless the future, God’s people are to encourage themselves in the Lord and rest on His great and precious promises. We are to claim the prophecy of Habakkuk, and take our heavenly place by faith. Let us run like a deer, leaping over all obstacles — to our heavenly place in Christ. "But God…hath raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…" (Ephesians 2:6). "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). Conclusion David could have allowed himself to be crushed and overwhelmed by his distress. He could have gotten bitter and angry at God. There is a possibility of losing faith and never recovering. But he did recover! He recovered everything and soon came into his full inheritance. Once again the heavens opened, God was speaking and he was back on the front line of spiritual warfare. Are you distressed at present, desperately needing a fresh anointing? Reject all satanic lies, put away all despairing feelings — look up and rejoice — claim the promises of God’s presence and faithfulness — accept His love — and be embraced by your loving Lord. That is the word of the Lord to all who seek encouragement — Be embraced! You are going to recover — everything! THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST! D.R.W. When we speak of the Lordship of Jesus Christ we are talking about supremacy — highest in authority, rank, power and dominion. He cannot truly be the Lord of our lives until we understand and acknowledge Him as having all power in heaven and earth. To do this we must simultaneously believe that all other powers in heaven, earth or hell are vanquished, defeated, and ineffectual before the awesome dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. We Live Defeated Lives, Not Because of Satan, but Because of Ignorance Concerning Christ’s Supremacy! "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the emptiness of their mind…Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…but ye have not so learned Christ…" (Ephesians 4:17-20) Paul is addressing Ephesian Christians, warning them not to live empty, confused lives. He makes it very clear that the emptiness and darkness in them was not caused by demonic activity, but rather it was the result of ignorance concerning God’s great provision for them. They had not learned the supremacy of Christ. Paul said, "Ye did not learn Christ that way." In other words, "I taught an all–sufficient, all–powerful, complete Christ." Yet how few of them comprehended it. Many were still being tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine; some were still giving place to the devil; others had bitterness and malice; some were involved in fornication, covetousness and all manner of uncleanness. We know this is true because Paul had to warn them against these very things. Think of the multitudes of Christians today who live defeated, demoralized and broken in body, mind, and spirit. They confess that Christ is their Lord; still they are empty, fearful, and tentative. They have no joy, no spark, no exuberance in the Lord. Is it because the devil has gained power? Have the demon powers invaded the kingdom of almighty God? Have the principalities and powers of darkness succeeded in deceiving God’s elect? I say no. The darkness is in our own minds. It is the result of our own spiritual blindness because we have not opened our hearts to the knowledge of the supremacy of Christ. We are alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in us. We have before us a Bible filled with glorious truth about God’s dominion and fullness invested in Jesus Christ, but we never do comprehend it, let alone appropriate it. It is not what satan is doing to or in us, but rather what we have refused to believe about Christ. We should spend all our study time searching out what the Word declares about Christ’s victory, his glory, His absolute power and authority. Otherwise we can end up as experts on satan’s power and still be alienated from the life of God through ignorance of Christ’s supremacy. That is why Paul focused on no other truth but the lordship and dominion of Christ. He said, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…" (Ephesians 1:17-19) We do not need a new revelation about satan’s power, we do not need to study darkness or demons. I believe as Paul did, that we desperately need a new and liberating revelation of the riches of Christ, the glory of Christ, the greatness of His power, His absolute dominion over all. We will never be ignorant of satan’s devices when our eyes have been opened to the supremacy of Christ. By learning of Christ’s dominion, we more easily recognize the weakness of the enemy. Are you seeking the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, or of another? Christ Is Supreme Because He Cast Down Satan and Every Other High Thing That Exalted Itself Against Him! "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it…" (Colossians 2:15). "…Now shall the prince of this world be cast out…" (John 12:31). "…That through death. he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil…" (Hebrews 2:9-17). Christ destroyed the power of the devil. The Greek word here means "to make of none effect" or "useless." Why should any Christian be nervous or intimidated by the fictitious powers of the one who has been stripped and made totally ineffectual? Christ has drained satan of all power — He has cast him down and held him up to open shame. The "god of this world" has been crippled, and we dare not overestimate his power. The children of the Lord are not of this world. They are not under any dominion from sin or satan. Christ took from satan the keys of death and delivered us from the bondage of the fear of it. Now, through the victory of the Cross we fear neither death, sin, nor the devil. Our glorified Christ declared, "I have the keys of death and hell" (Revelation 1:18). It is time to look at satan as God sees him — defeated, useless, without power or strength. Satan fell as lightning from the heavens and he has never regained power. When we recognize that the flesh is his ally, we will spend more time seeking the power of the Cross to effect victory in those areas and less time occupied with demonic activity. We hate to admit that our flesh is inherently evil and capable of gross sins. It is far less humiliating to blame it on demon activity. "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your own lusts that war in your members?" (James 4:1) I fear that many well–meaning people are attributing power to the devil that he never claimed for himself. Satan is not omnipresent (everywhere at the same time). No created being has ever been so deified. He did not have that power when he was the anointed cherub. Did he gain such power after being cast down? No! I, for one, prefer to speak of the supremacy of Christ and the total defeat of satan. The Spirit–filled Christian can say with Christ, "Satan cometh and hath nothing in me." Christ is not locked into a deadly struggle with satan. The war was won at the Cross. Our adversary, the devil, is a dethroned adversary. To suggest that a dethroned power can inhabit a temple of the Holy Ghost is unthinkable to me. The Blood of Christ has never lost its power, and satan will never be able to cross that line. Others may choose to engage in a war with satan, but as for me, I have claimed the victory of the Cross and have reckoned my flesh dead by faith in His resurrection power. Now, by faith I am seated in a heavenly place with Christ Jesus where no devil or demon dare enter. It is all a matter of revelation. It is a matter of understanding the victory of the Cross and our Lord’s supremacy over satan. I believe it when the Lord tells me that no weapon formed against me shall prosper; that I am more than a conqueror; that I am free from the fear of the enemy, even death itself; that I have entered through the veil which is His flesh through which no demon can follow; that I am a member of His body with His life flowing through me; that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit have made their abode in me — and having done such, no demon power would dare seek entrance; that the Holy Spirit has come upon me, giving me power over all the power of the enemy; that I am in the Father’s hand, a place no demon could share; that the light in me has dispelled all darkness; that no principality or power can separated me from the love of God; and best of all that no demon or devil or dominion or power can come anywhere near a cleansed, blood–washed, Spirit–filled, resurrected, heavenly man who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Could God possibly provide any better protection than this? We had better get back to the Cross quickly and open our eyes to the supremacy of Christ. Otherwise, we will be ministering death rather than life. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 75: PRE-077-74. THE GLORY OF GOD ======================================================================== 74. The Glory of God The Glory of God What Is It? — Do You Possess It? by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1983 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "…glorify thou me with thine own self…" (John 17:5). No man can rightly define glory, any more than he can define God. Glory is the fullness of God, and that is a subject too high for our finite minds. Yet, we do know in part. When God gives His glory, He gives Himself. He cannot parcel Himself out in pieces — no man receives a portion, but all. The one who receives His love also gets His mercy, His holiness, and His strength. The one who receives His mercy also gets His love and all else that is the fullness of God. That is the glory of God — that He gives Himself in fullness and never partially. And those who seek the glory of God must learn that God truly desires to give Himself to us, which means He wants us to enjoy fullness. Jesus, before He left the earth to return to His heavenly Father, prayed, "O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was…" (John 17:5). Jesus was not seeking more power, or honor, or might, or majesty! He yearned for the Father Himself. It was as though He prayed, "My Father, I cannot exist without Your intimacy any longer. I hunger for oneness, closeness! That there be no distance, though You fill all." Jesus was in the bosom of the Father before the world was. He was one with the Father, and that was glory. It was union with Him that was the delight and glory of His being. He had INTIMACY, UNION, and ONENESS. We know so little of His glory. We think only in terms of cosmic power and splendor. We are such strangers to the real meaning of God’s glory, we don’t even understand what Jesus meant when He said, "I am glorified in them" (v. 10). Did you not know that Jesus Christ is glorified in His saints — now? Meaning that He acknowledges He abides in us in all His divine fullness. We do not have but a slice of His fullness — we are complete in Him. We have in us all He is! When He comes to abide, He comes in all His glory, might, majesty, holiness, grace, and love. We have received the glory of a full and complete Christ. A Lord in all His glorious attributes. Do We Want the Glory of Him? How many of God’s people today can pray such a prayer as our Savior prayed? Can we sincerely cry out to our blessed Lord, "Glorify me with Thyself! Bring me into oneness. I yearn to be closer, more Intimate. Master, it Is You that I want. More than love, or mercy, power, signs or wonders — I must have the glory of You. I must have Your presence!" The glory Jesus is talking about has to do with a very intimate kind of love — a love that permits no distance or separation from the object of its affection. It desires a complete oneness, an eternal union. This divine love between our Lord and the Father was so all-important to Him, He eagerly longed for the day all His children could behold it with their own eyes. Hear His exalted plea: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world…" (John 17:24). Glory be to the hallowed name of Jesus Christ for such a glorious thought! Christ is so overjoyed with the glory of His intimate relationship with His Father, He yearns to bring all God’s children to heaven to behold it. Actually, our Lord was praying, "Father, they must see this glorious love We have. They must see for themselves how fully You give yourself to Me. I want them to know how greatly I am loved — from before the world was created." Won’t that be something when we, the redeemed, are brought into God’s great banquet hall, to the heavenly feast, and we are permitted to behold the love of the Father for His dear Son and our blessed Savior? I see on that glorious day our Lord’s prayer answered, when He looks to His blood. purchased children and joyfully proclaims, "See, children, is it not so? Did I not tell you the truth? Does He not love Me so? Have you ever beheld such great love? Is it not truly perfect love? You now see My glory, My Father’s love for Me and My love for Him." Do you not see, saints of God, that beholding the glory of Christ on that day will be the revealing to us of God’s love for His Son? What a joy to know we serve a Savior who is loved. And is it not terrifying to contemplate that Lucifer cut himself off from such glory? He is without love. He has no father. Surely, this was his greatest loss. It is the great loss of all Satan’s children, to exist without a witness or sense of a heavenly Father’s love. He Gives Us Glory by Giving Us Himself I can scarce take it all in when I read these words — "And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one…"(John 17:22). Think of it We have our Lord’s word, confessed before His own Father, that He has given Himself to us as fully and completely as His Father gave Himself to Him. He has given us the same intimate love His Father gave Him, and that is His glory manifested in us. We have been brought into the same kind of special love relationship He shares with the Father. More than that, He opens up the circle of love between Him and His Father, and brings us into it. We are made partakers of a glory beyond comprehension. That Christ should bring us to the Father and plead, "That they may be one with us!" How incredible! We share completely in the fullness of God’s love for His Son by being in Christ. In a true sense, it may be said that God so loved His Son, He gave Him the world. We know He gave Him those who are in the world, because the Lord said, "I have manifested thy name unto the men thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me…" (v. 6). Did you not know we are God’s gift to His Son — a gift of love? "They were Yours; You gave them all to Me." Yet Christ was so in oneness with the Father, He brings the gift back to Him and says, "All mine are thine, and thine are mine…" (v. 10). This kind of love can take nothing to itself — but gives its all. Is it not comforting to know we are the object of such a love between Father and Son? What honor, to have Christ place us in the palm of His great and loving hand, and present us to the Father and say — "Behold, Father! They are Ours! They all belong to Us! They are the object of Our love! I will love them, Father! You will love them! And We Will make Our abode in them and show them how much they are loved." How can our minds grasp it all? Here is our Lord saying to His Father, "I am going to make known to them your love to me, that the love you have for me may be in them" (v.26). Jesus, speaking to the Father, said, "…I am glorified in them…" (v.10). This is a great revelation, and, we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us into its full truth. This represents more than a praye — it is a commitment the Lord told the Father He made to us. In other words, "I have given Myself to them completely! I have committed all that I am to them. As surely as Your fullness is in Me, I have given them all the fullness that is in Me. They have the right to appropriate Me as I have appropriated You! They can be as close to Me as I am to You!" That is what it means to have Christ glorified in us. He is as much to us as the Father is to Him. As surely as God was glorified in the Son, Christ is glorified in us. That means fullness! That means we really are complete in Him. Jesus told the Father, "In the same manner and glory you sent me into the world, I send them out into the world…" (v.18). In this way, He "shows us plainly of the father." The thought is glorious, that we are to be as totally dependent on Christ, as He was dependent on the Father. We are to do nothing outside of Christ, as He did nothing but as led by the Father. I find it to be one of the most comforting joys to know that God so loved me He sent His own Son as man to show me the glory of it in practical ways. God’s love for us is not mystical. All you have to do is keep your eyes on Christ and witness how that great love works. You have before you a visible, practical example of what intimate love is all about. Depend on Christ in the same way He depended on His Father, and you will get the same results. The Glory Must Be Appropriated If Christ is glorified in the believer, what effect should it have? How is it demonstrated in everyday life? Surely, such glory in the soul will have an impact on lifestyle! The outworkings of this glory has to do with living up to what Christ says He is to us. We are to live according to the power that worketh in us. Few of us who profess we love Christ ever appropriate the fullness of who He is in us. He tells us He is committed to us, with all the fullness of the Godhead that is in Him, so that we may have all we need to live joyfully and victoriously — and we go about our ways either ignorant of this truth or unwilling to use what we have been given. It is as if our lord is saying to us, "You have seen how My dependence on My Father wrought such miracles and usefulness — you know He never failed me — you saw how My confidence in My Father’s faithfulness to Me brought about constant victoy — why will you not depend wholly upon Me and trust My faithfulness to meet your every need?" The glory of God is more than His fullness — it is His fullness offered! It is His fullness placed at our disposal. It is an all-powerful God giving His fullness to His Son, who brought it to man as a Man, who in turn showed us how to appropriate it. This is a very sacred thing, to enter into our Lord’s private and intimate prayer to the Father. I will forever be grateful to the Lord that He permitted us to eavesdrop during this most intimate conversation with the Father in John 17:1-26. We hear the intense unburdening of a loving Son’s heart to His loving Father. We hear Him remind His Father that He had given Him power to give eternal life to "as many as thou has given me." Then we hear these powerful words, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent…" (v. 3). What is eternal life? IT IS KNOWING GOD — KNOWING JESUS CHRIST THE LORD! No wonder He strove so mightily to "show them plainly of the Father." It was the secret of eternal life. How simply this explains what eternal life is and how one enters into it. When we discover the glory of God’s loving presence through Jesus Christ, we are given the very resurrection life that is in Him. We enter into eternal life, here and now, by way of glorious truth. Get hold of this truth, and you are in. You are possessor of resurrection life, while still in the flesh. And here it is further expounded: "I have glorified thee on earth." Meaning, Christ has shown us God’s great love and invited us to sit with Him in His heavenly place. That takes us right past the grave, without even a sting from death, and permits us to breathe divine, spiritual air right now. If I am led by the Holy Spirit to pursue the knowledge of who Jesus Christ is, and have been given my heart’s desire to know God in all His fullness — I become a heavenly man seated in high places in Christ Jesus. I am no more a man of this earth. I die to the world long before I leave it. I live by the glory of who my Lord is. I seek not His ways or His miracles; I seek only Him. He is glorified in me by giving Himself to me. He gives Himself to me, and since He is resurrection life — I already have it. My spirit is already with Him, and this earth holds no attraction. I labor here to proclaim His love for all mankind, but my heart is with Him. I can go about witnessing to others of His everlasting love, but at the same time, I can stand outside of it all and say, "I AM NOT HERE — I AM RISEN! I am a heavenly man already enjoying my heavenly place." The old-timers called it "a taste of glory to go to glory in." Praise God forever — if Christ is glorified in me, that means He has given Himself to me, and that includes resurrection life now. It can become painful to have such a treasure in an earthen vessel, but one day soon I’ll gladly discard this corrupt one for an incorruptible one, made in His likeness. Still, it will be but a vessel to be filled with what I already possess. It will be poured from a human vessel into a glorified vessel, without missing a single divine breath. When you come into the fullness and beauty of the Lord, you become overwhelmed by His great love, and once you feel His mighty arm around you, the world loses its hold. You are gone to the world from that moment on. You have experienced true glory - ONENESS WITH CHRIST WHERE HE IS! Our Glory Is in Zion Saints of God — He is not here. He was rejected down here. Why should we hold so tenaciously to a place that cast Him out? Shouldn’t we be yearning to claim our inheritance, which is a place in Zion, where He is? It is not, "Someday I hope to see Him face to face" but rather, "He has invited me to be with Him now where He is — Ican stand no distance between us, I choose to see His face every day now, and be changed into His image, one glimpse of glory after another." Did our Lord not say, "They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world" (v.14)? What does He mean? Simply this — Even as Christ walked this earth as a heavenly man, so may we. With Abraham, we have our citizenship in Zion, the city whose builder and maker is God. We are not eating from the fleshpots of Egypt, but are already feasting on heavenly bread. Day by day, we die a little more to everything down here, until like Paul, there is a greater pull in us to depart and be where He is, than to stay. By becoming attached to Him in glory, we become detached to the world. No wonder our forefathers’ favorite song was, "Take this whole world, but give me Jesus." If Christ is preparing me a mansion in heaven, I don’t read anywhere that I am to seek that, rather than Himself. No, the glory is not a mansion, not gold-plated streets, not fellowship with redeemed patriarchs. The glory is that whether in heaven or on earth, He gives Himself to us as fully as the Father gives Himself to the Son. And the tragedy of all ages is that no one in earth’s history but Christ has appropriated what was freely given. We will all die in some form of spiritual poverty, while all the while the fullness of His glory was available. Some will appropriate a bit of that glory, but sadly, the inheritance that was meant for us will still go unclaimed. Where we ought to be pulling down satanic strongholds, we merely cope. When we should be experiencing victory upon victory, as being more than conquerors through Him who loves us — we go on in our weariness and faithlessness. We are like the lepers of Samaria, who nearly died of hunger while wagonloads of provisions lay unclaimed within a stone’s throw. We must once and for all grasp the truth that Christ abides in us and He begs us to appropriate His fullness. Could He be saying to us, "Why am I here? Why am I needed — if you won’t depend on My fullness? Use Me!" May the Holy Spirit remind us constantly that "of his fullness have we all received" (John 1:16). "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ, throughout all ages, world without end…(Ephesians 3:20-21). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 76: PRE-078-75. THE SIN THAT MAKES GOD CRY ======================================================================== 75. The Sin That Makes God Cry The Sin That Makes God Cry by David Wilkerson | November 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] No beating around the bush and no soft-pedaling. Let me give it to you straight. The sin that makes God cry is being committed daily - not by pagan workers of iniquity, but by multitudes of Christians! It is the sin of doubting God’s love for His children. Do you think it makes God sound too human and too vulnerable to say that He cries? Then ask yourself, how could a God of love not cry when His own people doubt His very nature? How could He not be grieved when His own children act as though He has forsaken them and left them to their own devices? Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, and according to the book of John He wept when those closest to Him doubted His love and concern. That was God incarnate at the tomb of Lazarus, crying over friends who would not take Him at His word. Crying because their unbelief caused them unnecessary grief and sorrow. Crying because they failed to recognize who He was and rest in His promises. Time and time again Christ’s dearest associates on this earth doubted His love for them. Think back to the story of the disciples in a storm tossed boat that was apparently taking on water. Jesus was in the stern of the boat, sound asleep. Fearing for their lives, His followers shook Him awake and then accused Him of outright unconcern. "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38). How their accusation must have grieved the Lord! That was almighty God in their boat! How could God not care? But whenever men take their eyes off the Lord and concentrate instead on their circumstances, doubt always takes over. Jesus was astounded! "How can you be afraid when I am with you? How can you question My love and care? Have you no confidence in Me at all" (verse 40)? Christians today grieve the Lord in this matter even more. Our unbelief is a greater affront to Him than the unbelief of Mary, Martha, and all the disciples, for our sin is committed against greater light. We stand on a higher mountain and see more than they could ever see. We have a completed Bible with a full and detailed record of God’s trustworthiness. We have the written testimonies of almost twenty centuries of Christians, generation after generation of godly fathers who have passed down to us unshakeable proofs of God’s love. And that is not all. We have countless personal experiences that testify to God’s tender love and affection for us. Is there a single Christian who dares to say he has not personally witnessed the Lord’s loving intervention in the details of his life many times over? Yet we continue to doubt His love. When difficulties arise and the Lord seems to delay in aiding us as we think He should, we pout. We think nothing of going about the business of our everyday lives filled with doubts about His loving kindness. We doubt He is hearing our cry. We doubt He will do what is right. We doubt Him at every turn - and never once see the exceeding sinfulness of our unbelief. We refuse to admit that our accusing heart could be making God cry. The Peril of Doubting a Father’s Love The story of Joseph and his brothers clearly illustrates the grief caused by unrequited love. This Old Testament story holds a potent message for New Testament Christians. Joseph is a type of Christ. His brothers are a type of God’s chosen people on earth. (Remember that God promised Jacob, "Kings shall come out of thy loins" [Genesis 35:11). Joseph’s method of dealing with his brothers is a clear type of God’s way of dealing with us today. This story of one man’s forgiving love for his sinful brothers is a beautiful picture of God’s love and grace for sinful man. To read the story of Joseph and his brothers is to recall one of the saddest tragedies in all God’s Word. Here was a generation of chosen men who never could believe they were loved. The devastating flood of sin and sorrow caused by their skepticism should serve as a solemn warning to us all. 1. Doubting Their Father’s Love Caused Joseph’s Brothers to Fall Into Deep Sin. Jacob felt a special love for Joseph, the child of his old age, and made special provisions to care for him. His older sons construed this extra attention to mean that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them: "And when his brothers saw that their father loved him [Joseph] more than all his brothers, they hated him" (Genesis 37:4). Now the fact that Jacob loved Joseph so dearly did not mean that he loved his other sons any less. He had faithfully cared for and blessed all his children. They had all received the same loving guidance and discipline. Yet they became jealous over what appeared to be one brother’s favored position. They thought there was inequity in their father’s love. Joseph seemed to get everything his heart desired, including a fancy coat of many colors. He appeared to have an easier time of it than they had ever had. He was more blessed, more favored, more coddled - and it made them angry and jealous. Have you ever been guilty of envying a brother in the Lord who seems to get everything he wants? His prayers seem to always be answered quickly. He never appears lonely, unloved, or unneeded. You see him cradled in God’s loving arms, while you feel forsaken and alone. The roots of bitterness and jealousy begin to grow. Beloved, this is dangerous ground. The moment we believe our heavenly Father loves us less than He loves someone else, we open ourselves to all kinds of evil. Whenever we complain about our circumstances - whether aloud to another or silently in our hearts - we accuse God of neglect. We say, "I try so hard to do what is right, but the desires of my heart are never met. Other Christians have such an easy life! Look at him; look at her; everything seems to go so well for them. They’re not one bit better than me. Why are they so favored, while I’m left out in the cold?" This is the very attitude that brought so much trouble to Joseph’s brothers! Doubting their father’s love opened the floodgates of wickedness. Bitterness and rebellion rushed in. Their hearts became saturated with hatred and jealousy. The desire for revenge built a fire in their souls. Please keep in mind that though they had sinned impetuously in the past, Joseph’s brothers had not been willfully evil men. These were the "kings out of Jacob’s loins’! - the fathers of nations. During their stay in Haran, they had been enticed into the ways of the world. Jacob came to them - and warned them, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments" (Gensis 35:2). Obediently they surrendered their idols and watched as Jacob buried them under an oak tree in Shechem. They then followed their father to Bethel and witnessed how God terrorized the wicked cities surrounding them, so that no enemy dared to pursue them. At Bethel they worshipped at the altar Jacob built. But deep in their hearts they were thinking, "We are not loved in the same way as others. Our father is not equal in his affections. We have been neglected and slighted." This feeling grew unchecked. Finally something snapped in them. They changed. Their language and their motives became perverted. An inner ugliness developed. They decided to take matters into their own hands. By this time they had lost all concern for the grief their actions would cause their father. Instead, they became totally consumed with the desire to avenge the wrong they thought had been done to them. What a small, easy step it is from doubting a father’s love to taking matters into our own hands - but what a tragic one! For the moment you force things according to your will - you expose your heart to an avalanche of evil. The first thing that changed in Joseph’s brothers was the way they talked. Listen to them - it’s unbelievable! "Come, let’s slay him.... No, cast him into a pit.... Better yet, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and make a little money for our trouble!" Listen to them haggling like slave traders over the price of their own brother: "Ten pieces of silver is not enough - nor fifteen. Give us twenty!" Their hearts swelled with contempt and betrayal. And out of those corrupted hearts burst a stream of wicked words. They now spoke the language not just of doubt but also of the world. Show me a Christian who begins to doubt God’s love and decides to take matters into his own hands, and I’ll show you a Christian whose conversation is becoming corrupted. Almost overnight there will be a noticeable change. The more he doubts, the more unholy his speech will become. It is absolutely shocking to hear the way some Christians talk. Once they spoke with godly awe and reverence. Once they uttered words of faith and joy. Once they spoke softly, with speech that edified. Now they speak bluntly, irreverently. Their words betray what is in their hearts - fear, unbelief, and despair. Unholy speech is a sure sign of a hardened heart. Joseph’s brothers became insensitive to sin! Corrupted conversation led to criminal behavior. First they talked like the wicked; then they began to act like them as well. Before long, they became cold, calculating criminals. They lost all sense of guilt for sin. Not only did they sin - not only did they cover it up - but they went about their business as though nothing had happened! After selling their own brother into slavery, after lying blatantly to their father, they calmly went back to tending sheep. For twenty long years they put their evil deed out of their minds and went on with life as usual. For twenty years they carried that dark sin in their souls. For twenty years they lived a lie. For twenty years they went about in a stupor, still doubting they were loved, still thinking they had a right to take matters into their own hands. For twenty years they sat at their father’s table watching his grief, yet not once did they feel the need to confess and make things right. Their consciences were seared. How low we go when once we doubt our Father’s love. How corrupt we become - how insensitive to sin! Malachi the prophet warned the children of Israel concerning the hardness of their hearts. Like Joseph’s brothers, the Israelites had fallen prey to doubt and had wound up calloused to their sin. The book of Malachi begins, "The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?" (Malachi 1:1-2). Incredible! They dared to tell God, "We see no evidence in our lives that You love or care for us!" Again, like the brothers of Joseph, their doubt led them into all kinds of evil and backsliding. God said to them, "You abhor my name." In other words, "You have changed. You have an inner loathing toward Me. You think you are not loved, so you secretly hate Me!" Worst of all - they were blind to their offense! God said to them, "You say, wherein have we polluted you? How have we despised your name?" (Malachi 1:6-7). These poor, backslidden creatures didn’t begin to realize how far they had wandered from their earlier devotion to God. They continued to give Him lip service but they were only empty shells. Doubting God’s love for them, they lost their love for Him and turned to materialism and worldly pleasures. They became weary of God’s narrow way, bored with worship, tired of service, disillusioned with God Himself! If only we could understand the heartache we cause God when we question His love! Perhaps you would not dare to voice such doubts aloud, but do you ever think, "Where is the evidence that the Lord loved me? Where is the answer to my prayer? Nothing changes. If You really love me, Lord, then prove it!. Wake up! Throw off all such evil thoughts. If you continue to doubt God’s great love, you will end up the very same way as Joseph’s brothers and the Israelites - disillusioned with the things of God, weary of serving Him, bored with waiting for His answers to your prayers. You will take matters in your own hands and end up in a disaster. 2. Neither Their Doubts nor Their Sins Could Stop Joseph From Loving His Brothers. God used a crisis to reveal to Joseph’s brothers how much they were truly loved. It was a crisis of hunger. "And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the store houses.... When Jacob saw there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons ... get you down thither, and buy for us .... And Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy corn" (Genesis 41:56; Genesis 42:1-3). Twenty years had passed since their crime. Joseph was now Prime Minister of Egypt. For seven years he had stored grain in preparation for famine. Jacob’s sons supposed they were going to Egypt just to get corn. But God had bigger and better ideas: He sent them there to get a revelation of love! They were going to learn what the grace of God is all about. They were going to experience mercy, pardon, and restoration. Deserving nothing but judgment, they were going to receive pure grace. Keeping in mind that Joseph is a type of Christ, I find it impossible to read this part of the story without tears. It is such a beautiful picture of the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ for all those who have failed Him. Twenty years of sin and subterfuge had kept the brothers out of touch with Joseph. They probably assumed he was dead by this time. When they arrived at Pharaoh’s court and came before Joseph, they did not recognize him, but he knew them immediately (Genesis 42:8). There they were, all bowing down before him just as he had dreamed. Was Joseph angry with them? Did he want to get even? Would he make them pay for their sins? Never! The Bible says his bowels yearned after them. His heart filled with compassion at the sight of the brothers he loved so dearly. Why, then, did he speak sharply to them (Genesis 42:7)? Why did he accuse them of being spies? I once thought Joseph was getting a bit of revenge. But that was not his motive at all. He was merely following God’s directions. These proud men were not yet ready for a revelation of grace and mercy. First they needed to see the exceeding ugliness of their sins. They needed to face their guilt and shame. They needed to come to an end of themselves - so that there was nothing left to help them but mercy. It is impossible to understand God’s grace until we come to the end of our own resources. God showed this truth to Joseph, and Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days - not to punish them, - but to give them a chance to face the truth about their sin. It was the law at work, showing them their evil natures. And it worked. "They said one to another, We are truly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us: And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter" (Genesis 42:21; Genesis 42:23). Joseph could not stand to see his brothers in such distress. "He turned himself about from them, and wept" (Genesis 42:24). Why did he weep? Not simply because of the long separation nor because of their predicament - but because his brothers were still consumed with deep bitterness. They still held a grudge against God, and until that was dealt with, they were not in a position to understand or accept love and forgiveness. Joseph discerned the state of their hearts and created a crisis to bring their bitterness and disillusionment to the surface. He told his servants to fill his brothers’ sacks with the corn they had come to purchase and to secretly put their money back in their sacks. Then, without revealing his true identity, Joseph released his brothers and sent them back home. On their journey, one of the brothers opened his sack and discovered the money. "And he said unto his brothers, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their hearts failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?" (Genesis 42:28). They went on home with double sorrow. Now it was all out in the open. "After all these years," they thought, "God is going to make us pay for our sins!" Not only did they believe they were unloved, but they were also convinced God was seeking revenge. Before long, their grain ran out and they were forced to return to Egypt once again. Trembling, they went back to try to explain their innocence. But they knew it was hopeless. They fully expected judgment and wrath at the hand of Pharaoh’s overseer. Why did these men expect the worst from Joseph? Because they did not know anything about who he was and what was in his heart. When we expect the worst from God, is it not because we don’t really know Him? Is it not because we have no revelation of His loving heart? Our fear is caused by ignorance of the sweet mercy and grace of our Lord. The brothers were taken totally off guard by what happened when they approached Joseph. Rather than accuse them or judge them, he invited them to "Come and dine." "He said to the ruler of this house, Bring these men home, and kill the animals for food, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house" (Genesis 43:16; Genesis 43:18). Doesn’t their blindness make you want to shout, "Foolish, silly men! Why are you so afraid? Why do you keep expecting judgment when all Joseph wants to do is shower you with love and restore your relationship to him?" I wonder if the angels and the mighty hosts of witnesses would like to shout the same thing at us - "Foolish Christians! How can you be so blind? Why are you always worrying about judgment? Can’t you see how much the Lord loves you? Can’t you hear His invitation to come and dine? Don’t you understand that there is no wrath in Him toward those who are His children? There is absolutely nothing to fear. All He wants is for you to trust Him and rest in His love!" Do you want to see a picture of the heart of our Savior - even toward the sinful chosen? Here it is: "And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there" (Genesis 43:30). The literal Hebrew says, "His heart passionately longed after them." A Contrite Heart - the Key to a Restored Relationship The brothers were now in Joseph’s house, eating and drinking in his presence. But "Joseph sat by himself, and they by themselves" (Genesis 43:32). We dare not pass lightly over the significance of this statement. These men were rejoicing in Joseph’s presence without being fully restored, without really knowing him, without a revelation of love and grace. Our churches today are filled with praising people who eat and drink in the Lord’s presence - but with a gap between. They have not yet received a revelation of God’s infinite love. The grudge - the sense of being unloved - still rages in their hearts. This is the case of all Christians who go to God’s house, sing, worship, and praise - and then go home to the same old lie: "God doesn’t show me any evidence that He loves me. My prayers go unanswered. He doesn’t really care about me the way He cares for other Christians." For Joseph’s brothers, there was one final step to take before they could be given a full revelation of love. Such a revelation is given only to those who are broken-hearted and contrite. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalms 51:17). The brothers were not yet broken-hearted. As they feasted at Joseph’s table, we read that "they drank, and were merry with him" (Genesis 43:34). These men had acknowledged their sin, but they were not yet broken in spirit - not contrite over their sin. Until they were completely broken, totally at the end of their bitterness and human resources, Joseph could not reveal his love to them. So Joseph put them to a final test. He commanded his steward to slip his personal silver cup into Benjamin’s sack before they returned to Canaan. The brothers were hardly out of the city when Joseph’s men overtook them and accused them of stealing the cup. They were so certain of their innocence that they said, "With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves" (Genesis 44:9). Can you imagine that moment when Benjamin’s sack was opened and the steward held up the missing cup? "Then they tore their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city" (Genesis 44:13). They came to Joseph’s house and "fell before him on the ground." At first reading it sounds as if Joseph was playing another cruel trick on his brothers. But that was the farthest thing from his mind. The motivation behind his seemingly strange actions was nothing but love. He created a crisis in order to break their spirits, humble them, and empty them of all bitterness and hate, so that they would be made ready for the revelation of who he really was. Listen to the change in their attitudes: "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants" (Genesis 44:16). There was no more fight in them. No more pride. They were exposed, humbled, broken - ready to do whatever had to be done. In other words, at last they cried out from the depths of their hearts, "We give up! We surrender!" Now comes the revelation of what it means to be FAMILY! "Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me, and there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren" (Genesis 45:1). The world knows absolutely nothing of this revelation of love. It is reserved for family only. "Out, all you Egyptians. Out, all you worldly. This is just for family!" Scripture tells us that Joseph "wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard" (Genesis 45:2). The world can hear about God’s love but only family can experience it. Only the family of God is dealt with in such love and mercy. What was the response of Joseph’s family when they saw him openly weeping? "And his brothers could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence" (Genesis 45:3). Take a good look at those troubled, trembling men who can’t even look their benefactor in the face - and you will probably see a reflection of yourself as you stand troubled in the Lord’s holy presence because of past sin. I hear the loving words of Jesus in what Joseph said to his distraught brothers: "Come near to me... and I will nourish thee... lest you come to poverty" (Genesis 45:4-11). Then "Joseph kissed all his brothers, and wept upon them" (v. 15). What a glorious scene! I love it because I’ve been there. I’ve stood where these men stood when my "Joseph" revealed His love to me. I, too, know what it means to sin against my Lord. I know what it’s like to feel forgotten and unloved. I’ve been perplexed by the way God works. I’ve sinned by doubting His love. At times I’ve taken matters into my own hands when I thought God was too slow or unconcerned. I’ve hidden things in my heart and covered up sin. I’ve known what it’s like to think God was angry with me and that when things went wrong, I was paying for sins. I’ve looked into the future and feared wrath and judgment because I felt so sinful and unworthy. But thank God for the day the Holy Spirit broke me and showed me the loving heart of God! Instead of the judgment I so deserved, I heard Him say, as He said to betraying Peter, "Come and dine!" He invited me to come and feel His arms around me, His tears on my neck, and His tender kiss on my cheek. I heard Him say, "I am Jesus, your Brother. God sent Me before you, to preserve you and save your life by a great deliverance. God has made Me Lord of all. Come to Me; tarry not!" Now I know He loves me, failure and all! Now I know He will take care of my future. He forgave all my sins. He put no guilt trip on me. He never spoke a harsh word. His bowels yearned after me from the moment I strayed from Him. He wept because of my blindness and my needless sorrow and despair. Beloved, neither our sins nor our doubts can hinder God’s love for us. Praise Him for the revelation of Christ’s love for His own! Unfortunately, the story of Joseph’s brothers has a sad ending. 3. These Men Never Did Believe They Were Loved! In spite of everything that happened, Joseph’s brothers continued to doubt his love. It broke Joseph’s heart. For seventeen years they lived with Joseph in Egypt and he provided for all their needs. Then Jacob their father died. No sooner were they home from the funeral than their old doubts came rushing back. "And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will probably hate us, and will certainly retaliate against us for all the evil which we did unto him" (Genesis 50:15) How could they talk like that, after all Joseph had done for them? Hadn’t they learned anything about his love? Fearfully they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Forgive us our sins, for we have done thee evil.... And Joseph wept when they spake unto him" (Genesis 50:17). Can you imagine how it must have crushed Joseph to know that in spite of all his efforts his brothers still doubted his love? I can almost hear him saying, "Could it be that they have never really believed? Have they carried a load of guilt and sorrow all this time? How could they see me in such a terrible light? How could they ever think I would hurt them? What more could I have done to let them know how much I love them?’ This is the same sin that makes God cry. In spite of all He has done for us, we refuse to believe He really loves us. Christ died to pay for our sins. He freely forgave us, yet we keep begging for forgiveness. He offers mercy, love, grace, provisions, security and still we harbor lingering doubts. Still we dig up our past sins. Still we imagine God will retaliate - maybe even hate us. How tragic! It is a solemn thing to hear Jesus say, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to believe that He loves us - to believe that He cares - to believe He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. It is to know that He ever lives to make intercession for us, that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that He came not to condemn us but to save us. Do not let it be said of you, "There is a Christian who never accepted or understood the love of Christ" What could be more tragic for the brothers of Joseph than this: After a revelation of Joseph’s perfect love and forgiveness, after being totally reconciled - they still think of themselves as their brother’s enemies. In Joseph’s mind they were faultless; in their minds, they were still enemies! We can hardly imagine anyone being so dull! Dear hearts, hear the loving Word of God: "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled [accepted] in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" (Colossians 1:21-22). "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). That is God’s heart toward you. A heart of mercy and forgiveness and love. If you cannot believe that and rest in it, you are even now sinning the sin that makes God cry. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 77: PRE-079-76. WALL OF FIRE ======================================================================== 76. Wall Of Fire Wall of Fire A Prophecy by David Wilkerson | October 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Let me tell you how this prophecy came about. Gwen and I had just returned to our motel in Sacramento, California, after a crusade meeting. I turned on the TV, scanning the dial to find a news program. One of the channels was playing a video musical of a famous — young rock singer. It was so diabolical I could not turn it off — Iwas too stunned by what I saw. I called Gwen and she, too, was horrified. Demons were caressing the young singer. Skeletons rose from graves. Sadomasochists were beating victims, hideous occult creatures danced with humans; blood spurted, and there were overt displays of violence. It was a vision right out of hell. We simply could not believe television would show such demonic filth. I turned it off in holy anger, went into the bathroom and knelt, weeping. A terrible, dark foreboding swept over me. I thought of my grandchildren. What will it be like when they are teenagers, if it is so devilish now? My mind was flooded with tragic images of the moral decay in American society: a nation given over to sex, violence, bloodshed, satanism, sadism and godlessness. The same week there were news reports of little children being molested in day–care centers all across the nation. An 85–year–old operator of one day–care center was indicted for sexually molesting both boys and girls. Even parents were being jailed, accused of sexually abusing their own children. The stories seemed too dreadful, too frightening to be happening in America. That very day I was informed that the police in a small northwest city broke up a big drug ring being operated by the most respected doctors, lawyers and businessmen in that town. They were sending teenagers to hell for the almighty dollar. An elderly woman in Chicago lost $44,000 — her life’s savings — to rid her house of "brick cancer." Nation–wide, thousands of elderly people have been embezzled and cheated, leaving them heartbroken and penniless. The criminal contractors and con artists get off scott free and live like kings on their stolen money. Every day the headlines tell of the growing numbers of the elderly who are beaten, robbed and killed in their homes. What kind of perverted minds can perpetrate such violence on helpless, infirm grandparents? I thought of the millions of children victimized by divorce and separation of parents. What will it be like a decade from now when these angry children take out their hostility on society? What of the three year–old girl in Harlem I saw sitting on the stairs of a dilapidated tenement, trying to stick a toothpick in her arm, pretending it was a needle? She wanted to be like her big junkie brother. And what about the flood of homosexuality? Will our grandchildren be forced to sit in classrooms where it is taught that homosexuality is a respectable way of life — or even a preferred lifestyle? I wonder if God could take it no longer and sent a curse upon this whole group? AIDS has at least a two year incubation period, just as leprosy. This modem leprosy will eventually destroy more homosexuals than the fire and brimstone did in Sodom. After what I had just seen on television, and the mental visions of the moral landslide in America, I cannot remember a time when I felt so depressed, so hopeless about the future, so worried about what my children and grandchildren must face. But the Holy Spirit came upon me, stood me on my feet and poured an encouraging prophetic word into my heart. It was a marvelous experience. I heard no voice, except in the inner man — and it was clear and divine. What I heard from the Spirit took away all the foreboding darkness and dispelled all my worries and fears about the future. Let me share what I saw and heard. The Prophecy This clear prophetic word sounded in my soul — "GOD IS GOING TO SAVE YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND ALL HIS PEOPLE BY BECOMING A WALL OF FIRE ABOUT THEM." This Wall of Fire will grow higher, wider, more intense as evil increases. God is going to raise up a holier, more righteous, more dedicated, more devoted generation than in any time in history. Where sin abounds, grace will much more abound. God is going to secure to Himself a holy people, protected by a Wall of Fire — so intense the devil and his hordes will be thrown into chaos, unable to get to those behind God’s Wall of Fire. •I was reminded that God has not been caught unaware of present deteriorating conditions in the land. Has God not warned us in His Word that evil men would grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived? There would come a great falling away; men would become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. God would be mocked; leaders would be ridiculed. Men would be given over to reprobate minds, men turning to men and women to women for sexual pleasure. Men would become heady, high–minded, self–willed, drunken; children would become disobedient to parents. Adulterers and fornicators would flaunt their sins; even Christians would turn to adultery and fornication, while still covering the altar with their tears. Men’s hearts would fail them for fear as they watched the calamities falling upon the earth. •When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord raises up a barrier. That barrier is a WALL OF FIRE. I was directed by the Spirit to the prophet Zechariah. How glorious it was to find there these amazing words. "For I saith the Lord, will be unto her [God’s people] a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zechariah 2:5). This prophecy clearly tells us what God is going to do for us, for our children and our grandchildren. As long as the Lord tarries, He will protect His children with a Wall of Fire that Satan and his demon hordes cannot penetrate. Never again will there be but two over-comers who enter the promised land, as Joshua and Caleb. God is going to secure and protect a certain group of believers. Not all who cry Lord, Lord, will enter that Wall of Fire. • Who are these who will be protected by this great WALL OF FIRE? There can be no mistake about who they are. An angel was sent to mark them and take inventory of those who grieved over sin, personal and national. Zechariah said, "I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Where are you going? And he answered, To measure Jerusalem" (Zechariah 2:1-2). Ezekiel tells us more of the angel’s mission "And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof" (Ezekiel 9:4). The church is the New Jerusalem, the city of God. God is right now taking its measure, setting apart those who have a dread of sin — those who deplore evil in the land and who weep over it. • The angel was given two other instructions. God, in His determination to raise up a holy city (people) and populate it with a holy multitude, sent forth this message in two parts. I. Flee From the Land of the North! "Come forth, and flee from the land of the north" (Zechariah 2:6). The north is symbolic of evil, of communism, of its stepchild humanism. Out of the north will come godless armies, marching on Israel. • Zephaniah warned, "He will stretch out his hand against the north"’ (Zephaniah 2:13). • Jeremiah prophesied, "The Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land" (Jeremiah 1:14). • Isaiah cried out, "Howl…cry…for there shall come from the north a smoke [or evil influence]" (Isaiah 14:31). • Jeremiah, speaking for God, said, "Set up the standard toward Zion: delay not: for I will bring evil from the north" (Jeremiah 4:6). What is this evil wind from the north the angel of God warns us to flee from? It is more than communism. It is more than secular humanism. Those are not the evils that have infiltrated God’s house. God’s greatest concern is the man–centered gospel now propagated by ministers and, evangelists who are under the influence of this "wind from the north:" There is an evil wind from the north blowing into God’s house, deceiving multitudes of God’s chosen people. It is a kind of humanism wrapped in scriptures. It is a scriptural take–off on Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich. This perverted gospel seeks to make gods of people. They are told, "Your destiny is in the power of your mind. Whatever you can conceive is yours. Speak it into being. Create it by a positive mind set. Success, happiness, perfect health is all yours — if you will only use your mind creatively. Turn your dreams into reality by using mind power." Let it be known once and for all, God will not abdicate His lordship to the power of our minds, negative or positive. We are to seek only the mind of Christ, and His mind is not materialistic; it is not focused on success or wealth. Christ’s mind is focused only on the glory of God and obedience to His Word. No other teaching so ignores the Cross and the corruption of the human mind. It bypasses the evil of our ruined Adam nature, and it takes the Christian’s eye off Christ’s gospel of eternal redemption and focuses it on earthly gain. Saints of God, flee from this wind from the north! It will lead you to despair and emptiness. Another wind from the north is pornography and sensual television viewing. I now hear so many confessions from Christians and ministers who have become habituated to pornography, X–rated movies, cassettes, and filthy television programs. Years ago, in my book THE VISION, I warned that our American homes would become porno palaces where God’s people could vex their souls on filthy X–rated TV. Soon, rooftop discs, costing less than $500, will bring into homes all the Playboy satellite programming. I prophesy here and now, the time is not far off when Christians who are truly devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ will not be able to have a TV set in their homes. Soon, only backslidden Christians will be able to keep one in their homes — and those who sit and watch such filth will become as Lot in Sodom — vexed, immoral and insensitive to all that is spiritual and holy. The angel of the Lord cries out "Flee, from the spirit of the north — come forth and breathe only the pure air of holiness and separation." II. Separate From Babylon! "Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon" (Zechariah 2:7). Zion is the church; Babylon is the world. God will no longer permit the daughter of Zion to walk hand–in–hand with the daughter of Babylon. Israel was told to possess the land from the Jordan to the Euphrates. God closed the Red Sea so they could not go back to Egypt. But their problem was not going back — but going too far! When the Lord revealed this to me, I saw that the problem in the church today is not backsliding — going back to the bold and outrageous sins of the past. The problem is going too far, presuming on God. You see, Babylon was just beyond the Euphrates, near the border of the Holy Land. The Israelites were crossing over into Babylon, indulging with harlots, and returning to God’s house to cover the altar with their tears. God said to them: • "When I had fed you to the full, then you committed adultery, and assembled yourselves by troops in harlots’ houses. Everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife. And that is why your children have forsaken me" (Jeremiah 5:7-8). • "When you were chastened, you did not grieve…you have refused instructions: you have made your face harder than a rock; you refuse to return" (Jeremiah 5:3). It doesn’t take much discernment to know that America is becoming one great House of Harlotry. But do you know that God’s house is now polluted with adultery, homosexuality and fornication? Men of God, well known, now leave their wives and families, pick up with another woman — and they never miss a beat. They go on as heroes — loved and applauded. Thank God for the growing number of Christians and ministers who have rejected the siren call of the flesh and who are growing in holiness and purity. But God is even now exposing those who are carrying on secret affairs. I prophesy that soon all homosexual pastors and evangelists who claim to be Spirit–filled will be exposed and cast out of the ministry. Some of them have lived a lie for so long they are now spiritually dead. They may have crowds, they may make a lot of noise and appear to be so spiritual — but soon the Holy Spirit of God will bring their secrets all out in the open. The prophet Malachi speaks of a refining fire coming to purge the sons of Levi — the ministry. Why are the children rebelling? Why are they forsaking the Lord? Zechariah said it is the result of adultery and cheating. Pastor, evangelist, Christian — Beware! Your sin is soon going to find you out! The daughter of Zion will no longer be permitted to be cozy with the daughter of Babylon. You are going too far! Forsake it! Walk away! If not, the Wall of Fire is not for you. Rather than God’s holy mark on your forehead, you face the mark of the beast. A Further Word on the — Wall of Fire •God is going to fight fire with fire! When fire fighters fight a forest fire, they go ahead of the fire and burn out entire sections, creating fire breaks. The fire dies because there is nothing left to consume. Our God is a consuming fire. For those willing to walk into that wall of fire, all sin and self will be consumed by His holy fire. When the worldly sins of lust, adultery, sensuality come roaring down, it will find nothing in you to consume. You will be able to say with Christ, "The wicked one cometh and hath nothing in me." The prayer of all God’s devoted people should be, "Oh God — consume me. Let Your holy fires rage through me, burning out all worldly lusts, all pride, all earthly desires that are unchrist like. Prepare me for the troubles and testings that are soon to become so intense and powerful. Refine me in Your blessed fire" • The Glory of the Lord is within the Wall of Fire! "And I will be the glory in the midst" (Zechariah 2:5). Satan will rage with anger. He and the demons of hell will be confused and thwarted because they do not know what is within that Wall of Fire. They cannot touch it, see it, or stop it. Those within that Wall of Fire are not only safe, they are in the glory. God’s interests are within that wall. Outside the Wall of Fire, there will be confusion and growing chaos. And the worse conditions get, the higher and more intense the Wall of Fire will become. Christ will become to His devoted ones a surrounding wall — aWall of Fire that will never die. Let the homosexuals and sadists flaunt their evil ways! Let the punkers rock and ridicule society with their silly, evil manners! Let the devil come down to earth with great wrath, knowing his time is short! Let the wicked rage! Let the communists and humanists preach and practice their atheistic doctrines! Let the nations prepare for war! Let society indulge like fallen Rome! Let the mad masses be consumed with the cares and riches and honors of this doomed world! None of this matters now to those within the Wall of Fire! All that matters to those within the Wall is the glory of God. Those who see and touch that glory will go forth into all the world — still within the Wall of Fire — and they will bring true life to all they touch. Ten men, from all nations and languages, shall take hold of them, saying, "We will go with you for we see God in you" (Zechariah 8:23). What irresistible witnesses they will be who live within the Lord’s Wall of Fire! Men of stature shall come to them; they shall fall down before them seeking help and consolation, making supplication to them, because, "surely God is in thee" (Isaiah 45:11; Isaiah 45:14). "Even to him shall men come" — to him who has found in Christ righteousness and strength (Isaiah 45:24). The man within the Wall of Fire will be sought out by those in need. He will not have to seek out those who are in despair — they will instead seek him out. • The future is bright and glorious for those who claim His promise to be a Wall of Fire! God has forever dispelled from me any fear or concern about my children’s future. Should the Lord tarry, our children and grandchildren will have about them a wall higher, wider, hotter than in any other generation. There is coming a new pioneer spirit for the work of the Lord among the young generation. Even now young married couples are flocking back to the inner city to raise up churches. One of my own sons now pastors an inner city church in downtown Detroit. In nearly every major city now dozens of house churches are springing up. Bold, fearless, devoted, Christ–consumed young couples are giving their all for the gospel. I marvel at what is happening. The churches once fled to the suburbs — now God is raising up modern day street evangelists who are putting the devil to chase in our corrupt cities. They know what it means to be surrounded by God’s Wall of Fire. A Final Word "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If you will walk in my ways, and If you will obey my instructions, then you shall judge my house, and keep my courts — AND I WILL GIVE YOU PLACES TO WALK AMONG THESE THAT STAND BY" (Zechariah 3:7). This Wall of Fire is not stationary. God promises the obedient a place to walk among those who stand by. The Wall of Fire is that invisible force round about those who walk in the holy fear of God and who live in obedience and total dependence upon the Lord. Look to the Lord today, and claim His promise to be to you a Wall of Fire round about. Expect His glory to be revealed. Pray for your children! Believe and claim this promise for them. That is exactly what the Holy Spirit has led me to do. I, by faith, will see my posterity behind that Wall of Fire. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 78: PRE-080-77. AWAKE AND SHAKE ======================================================================== 77. Awake And Shake Awake and Shake by David Wilkerson | September 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem,the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck. O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord: You have sold yourselves for nothing. And ye shall be redeemed without money" Isaiah 52:1-3, New KJV) Revealed here is Isaiah’s sad and pitiful vision of what the church had become. (Keep in mind that Zion is more than ancient Israel; it is also the redeemed of the Lord in this midnight hour.) Listen to his horrible description of the state of God’s people: The daughter of Zion, a once pure and beautiful woman who gave birth to many sons, lay like a slave in the dust, abused by the uncircumcised and the unclean. Her garments were torn and filthy, and she was howling in despair, clutching at the chain that choked her neck. She pleaded for 3 things: (1) to be set free quickly; (2) not to die in slavery; and (3) not to be cut off from her spiritual food (Isaiah 51:18). Her enemies stood by, mocking and blaspheming God - taunting her that her God had no power to set her free from slavery. Two terrible things had come upon her: first, no one was sorry for her; second, no one could comfort her. Her own sons had "fainted and lay...like a wild bull in a net:" According to Isaiah, she was absolutely alone, with no help in sight: "There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons she hath brought forth" (51:18). In her hand was a cup of trembling! There she lay in her disgrace, trampled in the dust by the enemy, who walked over her at will. The one who had borne the vessels of the Lord was now polluted and unclean. In her pitiful slavery, her unsatisfied hunger, her helpless condition, she had fallen into a stupor. Her sensibilities were gone. Lethargy gripped her soul. She was so mentally confused she could only lie in the dust, stunned and defenseless. Unless something happened soon, she would surely fall into a coma and die like an animal in chains. The tragedy of it all is that this poor, enslaved daughter of Zion had sold herself into slavery for nothing! No satanic slave-trader had captured her and carried her away against her will. She had not been overcome by some great, unseen power. She had sold herself into slavery - for nothing! Listen to the somber words of Isaiah: "You have sold yourself for nought!" (52:3). Now let’s get down to business. Who is Isaiah really talking about? Who is this slave daughter who has been chained like an animal and is being so disgracefully treated? The Captive Daughter of Zion Is Any and All Who Number Themselves Among the Redeemed, Yet Live in Sin. This pitiful creature is the believer who is chained to a secret sin. It is the one who brings reproach on God’s house by living a double life. It is the adulterer who takes a break from his sin to cover the altar with tears. It is the man or woman who has won many souls to Christ but whose spiritual life is being drained by lust. It is all who are chained by an unforsaken sin, face down in the dust of despair, writhing with guilt, and walked upon by the enemy who gets them to indulge at his will and whim. There can be no true deliverance from the binding chain of sin until we see ourselves as that daughter of Zion - in the dust, chained, trampled on, slowly sinking into a spiritual stupor. We must look at this vision of Isaiah and cry out, "O God, that is a picture of me! I’m bound! The devil has been walking all over me. I’m unclean - my pure robe has been splattered and torn, and no one has been able to show me how to get free!" Through the prophet Isaiah God tells us exactly why we can’t get free - why we do not get deliverance from our besetting sins: "You have sold yourself for nought!" Brother, sister, isn’t it time to take an honest look at that one ruling passion, that one sin that still enslaves us, that one sin we keep going back to, time after time? Most Christians, ministers included, could become mighty and great in God, except for ONE remaining, unforsaken sin. A tragic example is David Berg, founder of the Children of God. He began as our Teen Challenge associate in Huntington Beach, California. He was a powerful teacher and preacher. He had charisma and a good knowledge of God’s Word. At first he was dedicated: he wept for lost souls; he preached the gospel faithfully. But David Berg (who later changed his name to Moses Berg) had a secret lust raging in his heart. It finally erupted in incest with his seven-year-old daughter. It drove him to abandon his wife of many years and cohabit with a long string of young women. He became demon-possessed. His guiding demon, Abrahim, directed him to start what he called "flirty evangelism" - another name for prostitution. He ended up leading over 6,000 innocent girls into prostitution. Today he produces and distributes horrible pornographic cassettes. He has confessed to being haunted night and day by demons of lust. Now totally demon-possessed, he is never satisfied. He has tried adultery, homosexuality, sadomasochism, incest. His craving is insatiable. May this heartbreaking story serve as a somber warning to all of us! We must take an honest, God-fearing look at our sin and admit the truth: "I am getting nothing out of this! This slavery, this continual indulgence, is adding nothing to me. It’s a bad deal all the way around!" How deceived we become by our sin. What good does it do us? What possible benefit is there? A few moments or hours of pleasure? But at what price? Sleepless nights; unbearable guilt; a devastating physical toll on our bodies; the fear and horror of grieving a loving Lord; the chilling realization that we may become hooked, insensitive, and end up in a stupor - unable to get free! Compare the pleasure your sin gives you with all the pain it costs you. You end up with nothing on the plus side. Until this truth touches your soul, you will never find deliverance. The prophet Isaiah spoke for God Himself: "You are enduring this slavery for absolutely nothing. It is all in vain. You are selling out worse than cheap - for nothing!" You are on the road to victory when you can wake up to the truth that your sin is not worth it. The way of sin is a senseless, useless dead-end. Don’t blame Satan for your predicament. He cannot sell what he does not own, so he is not the one who sells us for nothing. We do it to ourselves. When the Bible speaks of "selling out for nothing," it implies the loss of everything. It suggests that to go on indulging will eventually cost you all you now have. The daughter of Zion lost everything: her reputation, her purity, her family, her hopes, her future, her communion with God. What a truth to face and deal with - "My sin adds nothing to me. I’m selling out for nothing. And, on top of all that, if I continue in my sin it will take everything I have. It adds nothing - and takes all!" The Hebrew word for nought is chinnam, which means: "Devoid of all reason or cause" or "to bend or stoop low to an inferior to favor him; to deal favorably with an inferior." Some time back a minister friend confided in me, "My marriage is a prison. My wife doesn’t understand me; we have no communication. I have to get out of this relationship if I’m ever going to find happiness! I’ve met a beautiful young lady who is spiritual, kind, and understanding. She meets my every need and fulfills me completely." This man divorced his wife, forsook his two lovely daughters, and married the younger woman. The decision cost him his ministry. Not long afterwards, his new marriage turned to total bitterness and dissolved. He is now all alone, selling insurance. He grieves over the memory of his lovely family and his once flourishing ministry. He sold out for nothing... and was left with nothing. Please keep in mind that the polluted daughter of Zion, lying chained and broken in the dust, is not Jezebel or a child of the devil. Rather, she is one who "swore by the name of the Lord, and made mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness" - one who "called [herself] of the holy city, and who trusted in the God of Israel" (Isaiah 48:1-2). Think of it! Could God be seeing us in such a light when we persist in our sinful obstinance? "Yes, you are (still) My child. I will always love you, but you are dealing treacherously with Me! You have closed your ears and stiffened your neck. You have become that slave daughter, chained and groveling in the dust...." Do you hear His words ringing in your ears: "Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11)? Do you see what you have come to - how low, how unclean, how hardened, blinded, bewildered, and close to falling into a drunken-like stupor? There Is a Way Out of Sin - and a Way Into Total Deliverance Before we are ready for deliverance, two things must happen: We must admit we are that unclean, chained slave; and we must acknowledge the utter worthlessness of our sin. Then we are ready to be delivered. Isaiah 52:1-15 is really all about the deliverance of this pitiful, captive daughter of Zion. It is a picture of our deliverance from the power of sin. In this chapter we have God’s answer to all our bondage, all our besetting sins, all our slavery. We begin with this: I. God Loves Even His Most Disobedient Children - and He Is Set Not on Condemning Them, But Delivering Them. Listen to the loving words of our Father as He comes to redeem His captive daughter of Zion: "Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments" (Isaiah 52:1). There is no rebuke here, no condemnation, no retraction of His love and mercy. God never forgets or abandons His hurting, enslaved child. When the afflicted daughter of Zion cried out, "The Lord hath forsaken me," God responded: "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" (Isaiah 49:14-16). How alone we feel in our personal struggles to wrench ourselves free from all besetting sin. How often we think God has shut us out in anger and left us to battle the enemy in us all alone. We think He is bent on wrath and judgment. But we have God’s word to the contrary! We are given a profound and glorious promise: "I will not forget thee...thy walls are continually before me.... " The word for walls here is chowmah, which literally means "joined to a wall." Do you understand what this signifies? God is telling us He is joined to us in our captivity. The walls closing in on us are His walls, too. He feels what we feel. In New Testament language, He is "touched with the feelings of our infirmities." All through the Word we see God joining Himself to the struggles of His disobedient servants. It is one of the most comforting and encouraging pictures we have of His care. Consider Jacob - a very disobedient child of God. He was an anointed servant whose sins brought him and his family to rock bottom. It was at Bethel God appeared to Him supernaturally. It was here he saw a ladder reaching into the heavens and angels ascending and descending. He saw the Lord and heard Him speak audibly: "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (Genesis 28:15). God joined Himself to Jacob, His enslaved son, and pledged He would never be dissuaded from fulfilling His word to keep him. "And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [awesome] is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:16-17). Twenty long years went by following this marvelous experience - years of trial and sorrow. But God was always joined to Jacob. After leaving Bethel, Jacob had settled down in apathy, having forgotten the glory of his night with the Lord. He had become cold, backslidden, lustful. Again God appeared and spoke to him: "I am the God of Bethel...where you made a vow to me; now arise, get thee out of this land, and return... " (Genesis 31:13). This was God saying, "Remember how I touched you. Remember all your promises to Me. Go back to the altar - back to Bethel." Instead, Jacob settled down in Shechem (Genesis 33:1-20). In Hebrew, Shechem means two things: "going back" and "a place of burdens." At Shechem he got into all kinds of trouble. His house was dishonored: one of his daughters was raped and his sons committed murder. What horrible burdens! Yet not once did he relate his troubles to being out of God’s will - to being in the wrong place because of disobedience. Had we been there, how we would have straightened Jacob out! "Sir, you are in this mess because of the disobedience of your heart. You have disobeyed God! Look at the shame and sorrow you have brought on yourself and your family!" How differently our patient God handled Jacob. Not a single word was spoken to him about Shechem or about being out of God’s will. Not a word about all the pollution, murder, and uncleanness. No reproof. No guilt trip. No condemnation. Instead, God showed Jacob a positive way to deliverance and freedom. "Arise...go to Bethel" (Genesis 35:1). He had every right to scold him: "Why did you ignore My instructions? Why are you so disobedient, so weak? Why do you refuse to listen and obey?" But He didn’t. He simply said, "Get up and go to Bethel." In other words, "You know what to do. Go back to the altar - back to your first love:" This time Jacob responded. He got rid of all his idols, gathered up his family, and went back to Bethel. There he was restored, and God was joined to him until the victory was won. We, too, are called to lay down all our idols, put on new garments, and get back to the altar of repentance. Jacob is not the only example of God’s persistent faithfulness to His children. Consider Peter’s restoration after his grievous sin. What could possibly be worse than denying our Lord? Poor, stumbling, failing, cowardly Peter - out in the boat fishing, trying to soothe his troubled conscience. On the shore was the One he had denied. Jesus did not condemn him. He built a fire, cooked some fish, and called to Peter, "Come and dine." Without hesitating, Peter jumped out of the boat to go to Him. He did not think to say to the others with him, "I’m too ashamed for what I’ve done. I don’t deserve His love so soon. Someone else go." The heart of Jesus had not changed toward Peter. He wanted first to feed him, to satisfy his personal hunger. How touching. It was not, "Come and be judged"; rather "Come and dine - feast with me." Jesus Calls Us, "Come and Dine" Beloved Christian, have you failed the Lord? Have you done despite to the grace of God? Have you been living like a slave in the dirt? Are you afraid of God’s wrath? Are you in turmoil because you think God wants revenge? Then look at the Savior’s example here: "Come and dine." After the Lord fed Peter, He lovingly showed him the root of his problem. It was as though Jesus said to him, "Peter, I delight in your fellowship. I’ve already forgiven you. I have no guilt to put on you. But I am concerned about you. I want to make your deliverance complete. Let me show you the root of your sin." "So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter... lovest thou me more than these?" (John 21:15). This was the axe being laid to the root. Peter’s real problem all along had been pride. Before he fell, Peter had thought of himself as someone especially holy, pious, strong in wisdom, and full of character. Remember his boast: "Though all others fail - not I!" He genuinely believed he loved the Lord more than any of the other disciples. He considered himself a bit more sober, more sincere, more zealous, more concerned with God’s kingdom. It is in such a circumstance that God allows sin to serve His holy purpose. He will let a Christian’s pride be severely tested by overwhelming temptations. Human pride gives us a false boldness in the face of testing. "This can’t hurt me;" we say. "I’m above doing such things. No problem." When our confidence is in ourselves rather than in our Lord, we are bound to fall. Peter fell - deep and hard! Worse than all the others. Believe it or not, Peter was closest to victory that moment after he failed, walking those Judean hills, weeping in remorse and humility, saying to himself, "Oh, yes, I’m the great Peter - the rock. I was that holy man of God who thought he could do no wrong! Purer, holier than all my peers. Now look at me - I’ve committed a sin blacker and uglier than the sins of all the prostitutes I’ve won to Christ!" God had gotten to the root! Now Peter could quit trusting himself and get on with the business of feeding God’s sheep. In this time of testing Christ had joined Himself to Peter and stood with him behind his walls, and in pure love and mercy had won him back. What message does the Lord want to deliver to His captive daughter of Zion? Revenge? Wrath? Judgment? No! He will add no sorrow to that broken-hearted, howling, hurting woman lying in the dust. Rather, He chooses to comfort her with these words: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth" (Isaiah 52:7). There, people of God, is our message to all the bruised, broken, captive children of the Lord. "Thy watchman shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem" (Isaiah 52:8-9). Poor, captive daughter - wake up! You are still loved. You sold yourself for nothing; you will be redeemed at no cost to yourself - freely - by grace alone. What good news! Your chains will fall off. You will again sing and shout for joy. You will be given a new robe. You will be restored. God is bringing you back as a bride for His Son. II. The Captive Daughter of Zion Will Never Be Delivered Until She Herself Takes Dominion in the Name of the Lord. The enslaved daughter of Zion must shake herself, rise from the filth, cast off the chains, and take her rightful place, seated with Christ in the heavenlies. "Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (Isaiah 52:2). Awake, shake, and put on His strength. Strength here in Hebrew is "owe", meaning "self boldness," with an impudence that suggests a lion rising up to roar, shaking its mane, and stirring to reveal strength. This sinful, enslaved daughter is greatly loved by her Lord. But she will die as a slave unless she herself does something about her condition. There is every indication that the chain is not locked. There is no invisible power holding her down. She is free at any time to walk away from her slavery, put on a beautiful garment of holiness, and return to her rightful place with Christ on the throne. God pleads with His enslaved children, "Wake up to your responsibility! Shake off all those false ideas that you can’t walk away from your sin!" God never asks us to do the impossible. Would He tell us to put off a chain that was locked or unbroken and impossible to escape from? Would He tell us to get up and get out of the filth if we had no power or strength to do it? God says we are free - sin has no dominion over us! If we stay in bondage to a besetting sin, it is simply because we refuse to get up and walk away. Don’t say, "I’m helpless. I have no power or will to resist." That’s simply not true. You have all God’s power and all of heaven’s forces at your disposal. The revealed arm of the Lord is within you. Here is the truth - and you must face it: "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20). Get Up, Walk Away From Sin - and Into Joy The redeemed of the Lord must return and abandon all idols before there can be any rejoicing. "Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon her head" (Isaiah 51:11). God said, "You went down in your own strength to Egypt. You sold yourself for nothing. Now shake yourself, rise up, and return: "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing, go ye out of the midst of her" (Isaiah 52:11). This is the key to victory - and it cannot be avoided! I am responsible, by the power of God in me, to walk away from my sin. No excuses. No putting it off. I must move! I must return! This is the point of death - the death of the Cross. Christ has gone before me; He broke the power of sin. I cannot reckon myself dead, resurrected, and ascended until I cross over to obedience. The breakthrough into the glory, into the joyful singing, into healing and restoration, comes only after I make a final decision to leave all my idols and go after Christ. "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Are you waiting for someone to wake you up - to shake you and pull you miraculously out of the dust? God did not take Israel out of Egypt on angels’ wings. He weakened their enemies - took away all of Pharaoh’s power and authority - then told them to get up and walk out! It was not so much God making them strong as it was God making all their enemies weak. At the Cross, Christ stripped Satan of his power over believers. His heel bruised the serpent’s head. We were made free - it is up to us to appropriate that freedom and walk! The daughter of Zion belongs in the heavenlies, seated with Christ in a robe of holiness. What is the greatest hindrance to her freedom? It is not the devil. It is not the chain that holds her. It is something almost unbelievable. She has been held in her slavery because she has been waiting for someone else to lift her up - dust her off - remove the chains - and dress her. That is why so many Christians will never be delivered from their chains. They are waiting for someone to lay hands on them and cast out their weakness. They want God to supernaturally lift them out of their bondage, with no effort on their part. You can pray all you want to, "Lord, set me free! Break off my chains! Get me out of this horrible pit." But nothing will change until you wake up, stir yourself, rise up, and walk away from your sin! Your chain has no demon holding it. The Lord stands ready, holding out to you a beautiful garment of purity. All He asks of you is this: "Get up! Shake yourself! Walk away free - it’s within your spiritual strength. Come and take your place beside me in the heavenlies. Come back and be healed. Come and rejoice, sing, be reconciled." III. The Breakthrough to Full Deliverance Comes the Moment We Wake Up to Who We Are in Christ! God is saying to us, "Wake up - to your strength." Take another look at the captive daughter. How will she be set free? Simply by a revelation of who she is. Nothing else. She will be free the moment she stirs up the gifts that are in her. She is lying there, bleeding, hurting, in chains - when a voice from heaven comes: "Wake up, child. You are strong in the Lord. You can walk away!" Don’t tell me you are just a weak little lamb. You are a lamb with a lion’s nature, a lion’s roar, a lion’s power and strength. No wonder Satan flees. Picture a legion of demons approaching one of these power-endued lambs. "Watch out! One of them can put a thousand of us to flight. Ten of them can chase ten thousand of us." Stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit! You were given power over all the power of the enemy. This is the tragedy of those Christians who continue to live victimized by sin: They are blinded to the power and strength in them. Satan would have them see themselves like Samson - stripped and shorn of all power and strength because of some compromise. That is Old Testament theology. This is the lie that keeps so many Christians in bondage. They see their lusts leading them about as though they were blind, helpless servants. Not so! You may be right now in the clutches of a binding sin, but if you repent and trust Him fully, you are still mighty in Holy Ghost power and strength. Oh, that the church of Jesus Christ could hear and understand what God is saying through Isaiah: • "Wake up! Use the strength you have! • Get up out of the dust! You are redeemed! • No more uncircumcised or unclean persons will touch my holy things! • Shake yourself from your weakness and apathy! • Remember who I am - remember who you are!" Get up, and be seated by faith in the victory of the heavenlies! You need not be chained another hour! You have been freed - Take your freedom! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 79: PRE-081-78. THE LORD IS THY KEEPER ======================================================================== 78. The Lord Is Thy Keeper The Lord Is Thy Keeper by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] There is a thrilling Old Testament story that best illustrates what it means to be kept by the power of God. It is found in 2 Kings 6:1-33. Benhadad, King of Syria, declared war on Israel and marched against them with a great army. As his forces advanced, he often called his war counsel into his private chambers to plan the next day’s strategy. But the prophet Elisha kept sending word to the King of Israel, detailing every move of the enemy troops. On several occasions, the Israelites escaped defeat because of Elisha’s warnings. Benhadad was furious. He called his servants and said, "Show me who the traitor is! Tell me who is revealing our plans to the King of Israel!" The servants told him, "It’s not what you think, my lord, O king. There is not traitor in thy camp or in thy court; we are all true (loyal) men. The man of God (Elisha) telleth the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchambers." (2 Kings 6:12) Benhadad immediately dispatched a host of horses, chariots, and soldiers to capture Elisha. "Go to Dothan; bring him to me," he demanded. They went by night and surrounded the city, intending to take the old prophet by surprise. But Elisha’s servant awakened early and saw that "an host encompassed the city both with horses and chariots." Terrified, he ran to Elisha. "Alas, my master, what shall we do? We are surrounded." Confidently smiling, Elisha said, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them...And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:14-17). Elisha, like the psalmist, could stand in the midst of crisis and say with absolute assurance: • "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about" (Psalms 3:6). • "Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident" (Psalms 27:3). •"He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me." (Psalms 55:18). My prayer is that of Elisha: "Lord, open our eyes that we may see and behold the mountains filled with the horses and chariots of fire - of the Lord of hosts..." Kept by the Lord of Hosts Old Testament saints knew God in a way we New Testament saints know very little about. They knew Him as THE LORD OF HOSTS! Over 200 times in the Old Testament - from Samuel through Malachi - God is referred to by this name. We read that "David waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him." This majestic title is found repeatedly in the Psalms: • "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge" (46:7). • "O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong tower like unto thee? Or to they faithfulness round about thee?" (89:8). • "Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer" (84:8). •"The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory" (24:10). The Hebrew word for "hosts" is tsbaah. It means "an army ready and poised for battle." Soldiers, horses, and chariots ready to do to war at an appointed time. An army assembled and mustered, waiting for instructions. To Elisha, God was the Lord of tsbaah - the Lord coming to his assistance with an army poised for battle. An army of multiplied thousands of soldiers, horses, chariots - assembled and waiting for instructions. On another occasion, the Assyrian army came against King Hezekiah and Judah. No wonder this king was unmoved when surrounded by a ferocious army. He said to God’s people: "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh: but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested on those words" (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). The Old Testament saints rested in their vision of an Almighty God whose all-powerful, unseen army was assembled for their protection. David boasted, "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: and the Lord is among them..." (Psalms 68:17). According to the psalmist, they are enlisted for us: "The Lord is thy keeper" (121:5). Peter said, "We are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). I see in this a prophecy that God is once more, in these last days, going to reveal His keeping power to the saints. Christ prayed to the Father concerning His disciples: "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those thou has given me I have kept, and none of them is lost" (John 17:12). The disciples did not keep themselves in the will of God. They were kept by a mighty power, outside of themselves. They could not have made it a single day without Christ’s keeping power. What a glorious prayer Christ prayed on our behalf: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (John 17:15). I want to show you what an incredible thing it is to be kept by the power of God through faith. KEPT, in English, means: • To retain possession of - to take into one’s charge. • To provide all necessities - to raise and feed. •To protect and preserve - to have in control. But in the Greek, the work KEPT is very expressive. As used in 1 Peter 1:5, it is phroureo, meaning: • To establish a military outpost. • To guard, hem in, protect with a garrison. • To establish a fortress with a full military line, with full military apparatus. •To discern the enemy far in advance and protect from danger. Not only is the Lord a strong tower - He establishes in us a military outpost, manned by a fully-equipped army. We actually become a powerful military out post with armies of soldiers, horses, and chariots ready for combat - and with a sentinel that sees the oncoming enemy far in advance. Jesus prayed, "Keep them from the evil..." The Greek word for keep here is poueros, another comprehensive word. It means: • Deliverance from the effect or influence of anything bad, evil, grievous, harmful, lewd, malicious, or wicked. • Deliverance from Satan himself and all that is corrupt or diseased. Put it all together and it seems almost too good to believe. We are God’s military outpost, protected by a fully-equipped spiritual army of innumerable horses, chariots, and soldiers in full battle array completely informed of every enemy plan and device - wholly defended against Satan and all the evil powers in the universe. Now maybe we can understand what the Scripture means when it says, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Also reconsider these verses in light of this revelation: "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer - and my high tower" (Psalms 18:2). "Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Psalms 61:3). We do not keep ourselves from evil. We do not do battle with Satan. The Lord of hosts must do the keeping. Hear what the Bible says: "He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy... for they were too strong for me" (Psalms 18:16-17). In Jude we are promised, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). The enemy without and the enemy within We are kept from the enemy without as well as within. The enemy without is suffering, caused by manifold temptations and fiery trials. "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6-7). The key words here are "heaviness" and "fiery trial." In the Greek, "heaviness" signifies grief, sorrow, or trouble: "fiery" suggests lightning-like test or trial. Are you in a season of grief because you failed God and gave in to temptation? Are you sorrowing because of a sudden lightning-like disaster that struck your life? Are you experiencing a worrisome financial crisis? Do you see it as a test of your faith? Can you rejoice in spite of it? Will you rise above it by faith and glorify the Lord through it? Will it all end in praises to the Lord? Those who believe overcoming Christians need not suffer do not really know God or His Word. Suffering in the lives of believers is not always the result of sin. Christ was sinless, yet He suffered. And in His suffering, He set an example for us. "For even hereunto ye are called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:21-22). How long has it been since you heard this kind of gospel preached: "Here is what you are called to! Here is how you follow the example Jesus set - through suffering! And that includes those without sin!" The enemy without is formidable, but it is the enemy within that causes us the most distress. David said, "In my distress I cried" (Psalms 120:1). Here is a great and holy man of God crying out his heart to the Lord - desperate to be delivered from himself. "Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue," he pleads (Psalms 120:2). David sought God to keep him from the evil and deceit of his own heart. He looked at the sin and weakness in himself and saw only that he deserved the wrath and judgment of God. "What shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper" (Psalms 120:3-4). "Woe is me!" he cried, when he saw the exceeding sinfulness of his soul. He knew he should be punished. Arrows are synonymous with judgment; fire, with wrath. "God is after me now," he thought. God has a divine purpose in allowing his servants to experience such distress. We can never understand grace until we see the total wickedness of the flesh. We cannot know grace until we see the exceeding sinfulness of our sins - that by all rights we deserve God’s arrows of judgment and His fires of wrath. We must feel the total wretchedness of our humanity. We must come to the end of ourselves and in our distress cry out, "Oh, God, it is your mercy and grace, or there is no hope for me." It was in his worst hour of distress that David caught a vision of God’s grace and of His keeping power. I am sure he came to the place of resignation, knowing that only the Lord of hosts could deliver and keep him from the power of evil. His eyes, cast down by failures, now looked up: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord...He will not allow thy foot to slip: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper" (Psalms 121:1-5). Oh God, open our eyes. Let us by faith lift them up to the hill of God. To the unseen armies of the Lord of hosts. To a loving Father who never slumbers. To Him alone who can keep us from falling. One translation of the Psalms describes God’s keeping power this way: "He will hedge you about with thorns, keeping you safe from all evil" (Psalms 121:7). We are preserved in every situation David’s faith in God’s forgiving, keeping power brought him to a glorious conclusion. It is perhaps one of the most encouraging insights in all Scripture: "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and for evermore" (Psalms 121:8). Going out here is synonymous with failure and sorrow. The prodigal was preserved during his going out and was brought back to a coming in. We are forever going out on the Lord. We go out of His will, out of His presence, out of His love, out of His holiness. We go out into despair, into fear and doubt, into lust and sensuality. "How," you ask, "does God preserve me when I’m going out on Him?" By constantly reminding you that He is standing by. The Spirit keeps you under conviction. You sin but you can’t enjoy it. You grieve over it; you cry for deliverance from its power. Even while you are sinning, you hear the voice of the Lord whispering, "This is wrong. This is not what you really want. This will not satisfy." And in your weakest moment, you still feel His love and mercy flooding your soul. You sense His forgiveness and grace. Your loving Father welcomes you back with open arms, kisses your neck, and brings you into His house. We need just as much delivering, keeping power in our coming in. We come in to a glorious place of peace and rest. Our sins are forsaken and our shame is gone. We see others about us failing the Lord, but we are high in the Spirit, praising His name. All seems pure, sweet, and holy. This is the very time we need to be kept and preserved - from pride! From judging others! From a holier-than-thou attitude! From a sense of having "arrived" in God. From being a spiritual bore. The going out publican is nearer to God than the coming in Pharisee. It has been during my going out times that the Lord has so marvelously revealed His loving grace to me. He came to me recently when I felt so down, so alone, so sinful and unworthy. I had come to the end of my patience and endurance. I felt I had let the Lord down. Like David, all I could see were the lies and deceit in my heart. I picked up my Bible and opened it to a passage declaring God’s judgment and wrath against sin. I quickly closed my Bible, wept like a child, and cried out, "Oh, Lord - no wrath! No judgment! I can’t take that right now! I know what I am - but I know You love me. Please, Lord, love all the hurt out of me." And for an hour I lay there, letting Him love, feeling His grace and mercy. He healed me! Have you sinned? Have you gone out on Him? Do you feel unworthy, unclean, destined to wrath and judgment? Lift up your eyes to the hills - to the loving Lord of hosts. He is not out to hurt you or to send wrath into your life. He is even now preserving your going out. He is loving you, sheltering you with Christ’s precious blood, yearning for you to run to His open arms and be kissed. He desires only to set you in heavenly places and feast with you. In one of David’s goings out, he felt he had gone so far that he was forever lost. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep," he said. Then he pleaded, "Seek thy servant!" (Psalms 119:176). He was saying, "Lord, come to me in my sin and failure. Bring me back. Keep me from going astray. Keep seeking me!" I don’t care how far you’ve fallen or how lost you may think you are. It doesn’t matter what you have done. All you need to do is cry out, "Lord, I’m lost! Seek me. Come after me." He will! Finally - A word of caution to all who suffer When you are suffering, don’t threaten! Here is an amazing truth connected with Christ’s suffering: "When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not" (1 Peter 2:23). What a tremendous statement: "When he suffered, he threatened not!" He never once defended Himself against those who mistreated Him. He punished no one - never retaliated against any. How unlike us! We threaten when suffering gets unbearable; we defend ourselves; we constantly protect our rights and reputation. And we withdraw from those who mistreat us. We hope the Lord will get even with them on our behalf! Worst of all, we threaten God. It’s a very subtle thing, and most of us are not aware of what we are doing. When our prayers go unanswered - when help or deliverance doesn’t come - when we fall into the clutches of temptation - when trouble and disaster strike our lives - when it seems like the Lord has let us down and we end up lonely and in pain: we pull back on God. We slack up on prayer and Bible reading. We still love God, but we let go of our zeal. We begin to drift. Our faith becomes dull, inactive. Those responses are all threats against the Lord. Every time we back off from seeking the Lord with all our hearts, we are threatening Him. It’s a subtle way of saying, "Lord, I did my best and You let me down." Multitudes of Christians live in a stunned state of mind. They are not evil, backslidden, or rebellious; they are simply overwhelmed by the problems and trials thrust upon them. They go about in a kind of spiritual and physical fog. The Lord has infinite patience with those of us who hurt. He waits lovingly until we return to His tender care. But it can become a way of life, a threat to God’s faithfulness, if we refuse to wake up and renew our faith and hope in Him. Some become so disillusioned, they give in to their lusts and passions. They indulge their desires because the battle seems so hopeless. It’s their way of saying, "What’s the use? I try so hard, and I can’t seem to get victory. I call on God to help me, to deliver me - but help never comes. I’ve still got this thing in me, after all my tears and prayers." It finally comes to this: "I have a right to do it - because I’ve been hurt so badly." It’s a threat to God, a way of getting even with Him for not answering prayer on schedule. Beloved, there is hope! The Lord of hosts is with us! He alone is our keeper. He will not let His children slip or fall. We are held in the palm of His hand. Let us do as Christ did. He "committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). "To commit" is to place your life completely in His hands. Give up your struggle, quit trying to accomplish anything in your own strength, and commit the keeping of your body and soul to the Lord of Hosts! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 80: PRE-082-79. HE MAKETH WARS TO CEASE ======================================================================== 79. He Maketh Wars To Cease He Maketh Wars to Cease by David Wilkerson | July 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "He maketh wars to cease..." (Psalms 46:9). What welcome news to the child of God shattered and torn by warfare in the soul: He maketh wars to cease. Blessed relief; the battle in my soul is His battle, and He alone can end it. My loving Father will not permit the flesh or the devil to bully me into defeat. My war is clearly defined by James, who wrote: "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?...Ye fight and war..." (James 4:1-2). Throughout the ages holy men of God have asked the same question, "Will the lust-war in me ever end while I am alive?" Is that not the same question being asked today by those who love the Lord wholly? The answer of course is that the war must and will end, and it will inevitable be followed by the greatest peace ever known. But how does the war end, and who ends it? If it is my battle and my obligation to end it, God must show me how. If it is truly His battle, then He must end it in His time and way - and give me patience while the fighting goes on. The Greek word used by James is "stratenomai" which suggests: A battle against carnal tendencies; a soldier at war. It is derived from "Stratia" which means: A host, an army encamped. Didn’t David speak of hosts encamped against us?" Our lusts and carnal inclinations come against us as an army, an evil host determined to undermine us and keep us in turmoil in hopes of shipwrecking our faith. If you study the Hebrew word for war used by David in Psalms 46:9, it becomes a cause of great rejoicing. It is "Milchamah" which means: To feed on, consume, devour, eat, overcome. It is derived from a root word that suggests food or bread for a beast. What the word is actually saying to us here is simply marvelous: God is going to stop the enemy from consuming us, from devouring us. He will help rid us of that which eats at us. He will no longer permit lust to feed on us or overcome us. We will no longer be food for the beast nature. God will cause our lust-war to cease. God’s goal for us is peace and rest from all struggles God’s ultimate goal for all His children is abundant, full life. He never intended we go through life focused on our sins and failures. The good news of the gospel is that we serve a God of absolute love - a God of mercies who desires to bring His beloved ones into a place of ascendancy above all turmoil. But we cannot take our place, seated with Christ in the heavenlies, until we are fully identified with His death and resurrection. There can be no breakthrough into ascension life without experiencing death at the Cross. The Holy Spirit has put within us a knowledge that we can never truly live until we truly die. We seem to know we have a date with death, a destiny relating to the Cross of Christ. Take a good look at where you are, with all the fears, the emptiness, the loneliness, the failures, and the compromisings with sin. Consider how little of the Lord’s promised peace you really possess. You have come up far short of what you know an overcoming Christian should be. Yet you know God’s Word speaks clearly of victory, of rest and peace, of freedom from sin’s dominion. You have seen some who have broken through to that beautiful life of assurance and ascendancy over evil forces. How did they arrive at such victory? How will you break through? The Holy Spirit must bring us to the Cross and make us face the reality of dying to the world and sin. The moment you begin to seek the Lord diligently and you are desiring to come under His Lordship in all things, you will be irresistibly drawn by the Spirit to the Cross. You will be wooed to the precipice of death. You will be brought to the end of yourself. You will come to that place, stripped, weakened, and with no more confidence in your flesh. The final fling I am convinced the Holy Spirit is bringing His church back to the glorious truths of identification with Christ in death, resurrection, and ascension. Too many have become legalistic, and we have too often substituted a program of sanctification by works rather than by identification with Christ’s finished work on the Cross. I have often said the upper room must never overshadow the Cross. I believe the entire Charismatic movement is being brought back to the Cross and all it implies. I can’t speak for others, but I know God has had a terrible time getting me to face the Cross. Death is a frightening thing, especially if you cannot see the glory on the other side of it. We come to the Cross kicking and screaming, grabbing at every little comfort or earthly pleasure. We know the Cross is inevitable, so we take our last steps by indulging every sense, enjoying one last fling. It seems we are saying, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow I die." We want victory; we want the peace and joy of resurrection life - but we also want to get everything we can into one last fling. That fling may last quite a while, and one may fall quite deep into compromise. If the heart is not kept turned toward the Cross during this time, there is a risk of spinning out into lawlessness and despondency. It could then be a long road back. In the natural, disease does its worst work in the body just prior to death; so it is in the spirit. You may be at your very worst just prior to dying with Christ. Hell will assail you with every device in its arsenal. You will face trials and temptations coming at you with hurricane force. You will wonder at times if you are lost, rather than headed for the Cross. Harry Foster, a pious man of God, wrote, "There may descend upon you a kind of darkness, a kind of apathy; more than that, a despair, a heaviness, a sense of the unreality of things, and that becomes a great testing ground." God does not wink at sin, but He is ever so patient with those who are on the threshold of crucifixion with Christ. How often lately I have experienced that marvelous patience of the Lord as I move closer and closer to the Cross. I know the only way to glorious victory is by way of a breakthrough at the Cross through crucifixion of self. Yet, the closer I get to being fully identified with His death, His Cross, the more failure I’ve seen in my life. It seems as though Satan himself heard me cry out in my soul, "Lord, I want a breakthrough." The furnace of affliction and temptation was heated several times hotter. And yes, I’ve failed the Lord in grievous Ways during these severe assaults. Yet all through it I have felt, as never before, the Lord’s presence and the Spirit’s wooing. He has quietly assured me of His everlasting love, in spite of any failures. He has assured me that He will take me all the way through - and that the enemy may assail me, but He cannot stop in inevitable. I am going to come, by way of revelation, to the full knowledge of what it means to be crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised in newness and power. We cannot end our war - nor can we crucify ourselves There are several scriptures that suggest we must mortify - put to death - crucify - our members on the earth. We are told to take up our cross and follow Christ. But this does not mean that we must do it in our own strength. Suppose a surgeon discovered a lump on my neck that concerned him, and he said to me, "That needs to be operated on immediately." He is not suggesting I do the operation - that’s his work. Christ, our Great Physician, tells us we need to be mortified, crucified. But it would be fatal for us to perform such an operation on ourselves. As surely as "we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" - so are we crucified by faith. Dr. Donald Barnhouse, in a message entitled "Heaven Now, " wrote, "A man may hang himself, drown himself, shoot himself, stab himself, throw himself down from a high place - but he cannot crucify himself. Nail one hand to the cross, and the other is free. Crucifixion must be done by someone else. And our crucifixion and death must be done to us by Christ." Dr. Barnhouse had a unique experience of "Breaking through" while aboard ship crossing the Atlantic. He testified, "I remember so well the day I first went to heaven. I was on shipboard, travelling alone. I had set myself to read the book of Ephesians a hundred times on the Atlantic crossing. I had known it by heart since the days of my youth. I had my Testament in my hand, but was lying in my deck chair, poreing over its meaning. Suddenly I saw the great truth I have been expounding to you. My heart leaped in a joy that is totally inexpressible. I saw the whole new and living way, from myself all the way to the throne of God, with the Lord Jesus Christ seated there, desiring me to join Him. It was like looking at a castle through a long lane of trees. Fortunately I was almost alone on my section of the deck. I lifted my testament in a sharp gesture, as though it had been the hilt of the sword, which it really is, and with the whole of the Ephesian truth aflame before me, I shouted - in utter silence as far as human ears were concerned - ’Lord, I’m coming through!’ I believe that shout roused all the forces of hell. I felt their angry, hateful stares. But I knew then that they were absolutely defeated. They had been overcome by the Lamb and were about to be overcome by the word of my testimony that I was completely joined to the risen, ascended Lord. Back, you slavering dogs of hell! Lie down in your kennels! Your fangs have been drawn for those who identify themselves with the ascended Lord. And I cried, ’Lord, I am not sufficient for these things; and if he brings out forces that are beyond my powers, deal Thou with them. Even Michael, the archangel, called Thee to deal directly with Satan. I must be nothing in myself, but everything in Christ,’ and suddenly I saw, far below me (a passer-by would have said there was a passenger half-asleep, leaning over one knee) a ship, a tiny dot on a blue sea. And I knew that I was one of the specks on that ship; but I knew that henceforth that ship and that ocean and that world were for evermore unimportant. I was in the heavenlies, joined by faith to my Lord. He was nearer than when I had seen Him at the Cross. The eternal life which He gave me when I was saved was now realised to be the life of eternity which I was privileged to live in time. I was to spend the rest of my life seated in the heavenlies with Christ." I agree with Barnhouse that Easter day was my resurrection day also and that when Christ died I died; when He was raised, I was raised. How well he phrased it, "When Christ ascended into heaven by the power of the father, I was raised from earth to heaven with Him; when the Father enthroned His Son far above all, there was also a seat prepared there for the Bride. Then keep me not back from my rightful place! Make not of the Church an exiled Bride. Then keep me not back from my rightful place! Make not of the Church an exiled Bride! Hold me not at walls of partition which Christ has cast down. Stop me not at gates which Christ has unlocked. Stay not my steps at a sea which He turns to crystal before me. Forbid me not to enter within the veil, where my Bridegroom has gone before me. Christ has died: Christ has risen: Christ has gone on high: Christ has taken us with Him! "Believe it! Accept the boldness which He gives, and enter into the holiest of all and take our rightful place. Heaven wants a triumphant Bride now! and while it does not yet appear what we shall be, yet even now we are far short of that which God wants us to be. Let us know be where we would be; let us now be what we should be. So many things which are not now, really could be, if we would take our seat upon the throne of heaven." One of my favorite writers is C. H. Mackintosh. His view of the Cross has caused me to shout and rejoice on a number of occasions. I share with you a few portions of his exalted view of the Atonement. "The Cross is the divine remedy for all the ruin, and by that Cross the believer is introduced into a place of divine and everlasting privilege. Christ has met all the need, answered all the demands, discharged all the responsibilities, and, having done so by His death upon the cross. He has become, in resurrection, the basis of all the believer’s privileges. We have all in Christ, and we get Him, not because we have fulfilled our responsibilities, but because God loved us even when we had failed in every thing. We find ourselves, unconditionally, in a place of unspeakable privilege. We did not work ourselves into it; we did not weep ourselves into it; we did not pray ourselves into it; we did not fast ourselves into it. We were taken up from the depth of our ruin, from that deep, deep pit into which we had fallen, in consequence of having failed in all our responsibilities; we have been set down, by God’s free grace, in a position of unspeakable blessedness and privilege, of which nothing can ever deprive us. Not all the powers of hell and earth combined - not all the malice of Satan and his emissaries - not all the power of sin, death, and the grave, arrayed in their most terrific form, can ever rob the believer in Jesus of that place of privilege in which, through grace, he stands. "We do not reach our place of privilege as the result of faithfulness in the place of responsibility. Quite the reverse. We have failed in every thing. ’All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,’ We deserved death; but we have received life. We deserved hell; but we have received heaven. We deserved eternal wrath; but we have received eternal favour. Grace has entered the scene, and it ’reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.’ "Oh, the profound mystery of the Cross! - the glorious mystery of redeeming love! I see God Himself taking all my sins - the black and terrible category - all my sins, as He knew and estimated them. I see Him laying them all upon the head of my blessed Substitute and dealing with Him about them. I see all the billows and waves of God’s righteous wrath - His wrath against my sins - His wrath which should have consumed me, soul and body, in hell, throughout a dreary eternity; I see them rolling over the Man who stood in my stead, who represented me before God, who bore all that was due to me, with whom a holy God dealt as He should have dealt with me. I see inflexible justice, holiness, truth, and righteousness dealing with my sins and making a clear and eternal riddance of them. No one of them is suffered to pass! There is no connivance, no palliation, no slurring over, no indifference. This could not possibly be, once God himself took the matter in hand. His glory was at stake; His unsullied holiness, His eternal majesty, the lofty claims of His government. "All these had to be provided for in such wise as to glorify Himself in view of angels, men, and devils. He might have sent me to hell - righteously, justly, sent me to hell - because of my sins. I deserved nothing else. My whole moral being, from its profoundest depths, owns this - must own it. I have not a word to say in excuse for a single sinful thought, to say nothing of a sin-stained life from first to last - yes, a life of deliberate, rebellious, high-handed sin. "Others may reason as they please as to the injustice of an eternity of punishment for a life of sin - the utter want of proportion between a few years of wrong-doing and endless ages of torment in the lake of fire. They may reason, but I thoroughly believe, and unreservedly confess, that for a single sin against such a Being as the God whom I see at the Cross, I richly deserved everlasting punishment in the deep, dark, and dismal pit of hell. "I am not writing as a theologian; if I were, it would be a very easy task indeed to bring an unanswerable array of Scripture evidence in proof of the solemn truth of eternal punishment. But no; I am writing as one who has been divinely taught the true desert of sin, and that desert, I calmly, deliberatley, and solemnly declare, is and can be nothing less than eternal exclusion from the presence of God and the Lamb - eternal torment in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. "But - eternal halleluiahs to the God of all grace! Instead of sending us to hell because of our sins, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for those sins. And in the unfolding of the marvelous plan of redemption, we see a holy God dealing with the question of our sins, and executing judgment upon them in the Person of His well-beloved, eternal, and coequal Son, in order that the full flood-tide of His love might flow down into our hearts. ’Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins’ (1 John 4:10). Now, this must give peace to the conscience, if only it be received in the simplicity of faith. How is it possible for a person to believe that God has satisfield Himself as to his sins and not have peace? If God says to us, ’Your sins and iniquities I will remember no more,’ what could we desire further as a basis of peace for our conscience? If God assures me that all my sins are blotted out as a thick cloud - that they are cast behind His back, forever gone from His sight - should I not have peace? If He shows me the Man who bore my sins on the Cross, now crowned at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, ought not my soul to enter into perfect rest as to the question of my sins? Most assuredly. "Blessed forever be the God of all grace, it is not only remission of sins which is announced to us through the atoning death of Christ. This in itself would be a boon and a blessing of the very highest order; and, as we have seen, we enjoy it according to the largeness of the heart of God, and according to the value and efficacy of the death of Christ, as God estimates it. But besides the full and perfect remission of sins, we have also entire deliverance from the present power of sin. "This is a grand point for every true lover of holiness. According to the glorious economy of grace, the same work which secures the complete remission of sins has broken forever the power of sin. It is not only that the sins of the life are blotted out, but the sin of the nature is condemned. The believer is privileged to regard himself as dead to sin. He can sing, with a glad heart, For me, Lord Jesus, Thou hast died, And I have died in Thee Thou’rt risen, my bands are all untied, And now Thou livest in me. The Father’s face of radiant grace" Shines now in light on me." Conclusion It is impossible to understand what it means to be dead in Christ and raised with Him in power without a revelation from the Holy Spirit. But as surely as God Himself must end our wars, He must show us what it means to be crucified with Christ. Without that revelation, the reckoning of ourselves as dead in Christ is so many meaningless words. I rest on the advice of my deceased father. He summed it up like this: "Stay close to Jesus. You may never fully understand how it all works, but you will be in the full enjoyment of all He has provided by simply being near Him." After the Word tells that it is God who makes wars to cease, there is added this: "Be still and know that I am God..." (Psalms 46:10). The Hebrew word for "still" is "raphah" which means: Cease; let alone; become weak, feeble. It is from the root "rapha", which is: To mend and be made thoroughly whole by the hand of a physician. How thoroughly consistent the Word of God is, God makes the wars to cease and, until He finishes His work, we are to cease our self-righteous efforts, leave it in His hands, admit our weaknesses and feebleness, and trust our future and restoration into the hands of Christ, our Great Physician. A final word of comfort to those who are in turmoil of soul To you - pastor, teacher, singer, church worker, loving believer: Is your inner conflict tearing you apart? You may be buffeted by Satan, but he cannot hurt or destroy you. Most likely, you are being stripped down in preparation for a glorious revelation of the Cross - so you can be made ready for greater service for God. You are like Peter who was stripped of everything before going to Pentecost. See this great man of God wandering aimlessly over the Judean hills - at rock bottom. Here is a man of God who once walked on water, who helped feed multitudes miraculously; who visibly experienced the actual glory of God; who is a blessed, prominent, useful, Christ-loved servant. But he sinned grievously. He failed the Lord as few others did. Now he weeps and grieves, thinking he has lost his salvation and his ministy. "What is wrong with me?" he must have asked himself over and again. "Why did I have no power or strength when temped? Why no moral reserves - no will to resist the enemy? Why did I have to be the one to fall? How could a man of God do such a horrendous thing to his Lord? How could I have preached to others when I have no power myself in a crisis?" God did not cause Peter’s failure, but great good came out of it. It was a part of the stripping of God’s man - permitted to reveal what was rooted deeply in the inner man. Only failure could expose the pride and self-sufficiency. Failure broke Peter down and revealed to him his need of absolute dependence on his Lord for everything - including his purity and righteousness. We must be stripped before we are crucified. We must come under the shadow of death before we experience death. It is in the shadow of the Cross, prior to our breakthrough to resurrection, that we endure our greatest temptation and failures. Praise God! Like Peter, after our sifting at the hands of Satan, we will stand in our upper room and be endued with new power and strength. Last week, after enduring months of intense suffering in my family, my son was in a head-on collision that totaled his car. I was called to the scene. All the way to that crash scene I cried out, "God, it’s Satan again - trying to shipwreck my faith. But he cannot kill me or any of my children." When I arrived, my 20 year old son Greg came running to me, unscathed by it all. We wept and thanked God that once again He caused another war to cease. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 81: PRE-083-80. A VOICE, A MIRROR, AND A STEP OF FAITH ======================================================================== 80. A Voice, A Mirror, And A Step Of Faith A Voice — A Mirror — And a Step of Faith by David Wilkerson | June 15, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] There are three great truths I would like to bring to your attention. Each is a definition of what a true Christian ought to be. Three anointed men of God best exemplify these truths and they are John the Baptist, Stephen, and Peter. John was the voice, Stephen mirrored the glory, and Peter took the daring step of faith. Their examples should be the goal of every true believer who is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. What marvelous lessons can be learned from their lives and ministry. We can learn what God desires for us in the way of service, how we can reflect His glory, and the kind of daily walk most pleasing to Him. 1. John shows us the kind of service most pleasing to the Lord! John’s definition of his ministry was blunt and simple. He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23). Here is a servant of the Most High , who according to the Scripture was the greatest "among them that are born of women" He was the greatest, most blessed of all the prophets and a revered preacher of righteousness. The crowds flocked to hear his scorching messages. Many were baptized and became his disciples. Even royalty came under his mighty influence. Some thought he was Christ; others considered him to be Elijah raised from the dead. John refused to be exalted or promoted. He was emptied of self-serving and he continually withdrew from center stage. The greatest of all prophets was in his own eyes not even worthy to be called a man of God - but only a voice. A wilderness voice, modest, retiring, and unconcerned about honor or usefulness. He cared not about having a ministry or about being "mightily used of God" He considered himself unworthy to even touch his master’s shoes. His entire life was devoted to "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." What a powerful rebuke to us, in this age of self occupation, promotion of personalities, influence-grabbing, ego-tripping, and seeking of honors. John could have had it all, but he cried out, "I must decrease - He must increase" (John 3:30). And to reach that goal, John kept reminding all who heard him, "I am just a voice." Who among us today are willing to own up to their nothingness and be satisfied to be "just a voice" crying in the wilderness? How many who are in the limelight today are prepared to lose their following - to be set aside and out of sight - to no longer be the center of things - to be placed on a path of decreasing popularity and usefulness? All around me I hear Christians saying, "I want God to use me. I want my life to count for the Lord. I want to serve Him in a full-time capacity. Preferably, some kind of ministry." That’s all very commendable, but are you willing to be "just a voice"? Are you willing to find your joy and fulfillment, not in service, but in devoted communion with the blessed Lord? The greatest rewards will probably go to those who were hidden and unknown, but who glorified the Lord mightily by their simple witness to His faithfulness in their struggles. The secret of John’s happiness was that his joy was not in his ministry or in his work, not in his personal usefulness or widespread influence. His pure joy was to stand in the presence of the Bridegroom, hear His voice, and rejoice in it. His joy was in seeing others, his own disciples included, flocking to Jesus, the Lamb of God. The greatest fulfillment a child of God can know is to lose self and all desire to be somebody, and simply rejoice in being a son or daughter who lives in the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being totally occupied with Christ is what satisfies the heart. John could stand there, in the Jordan, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, and be delighted by His presence. He fed his soul on Christ - his heart was always going out to Him in adoration and awe. Such a person, so given over to the glory of Jesus, is elevated above all need to be seen or heard. What can be added to one who is fully occupied with the glory and presence of Christ? With John, that one can say, "My joy is full; I have found all I want or will ever need in Him" The passing currents of restlessness and despair cannot touch the child of God who is obsessed with the presence of the Lord. By faith he can find a place above it all. The world, the church, does not need more "name" evangelists or miracle workers or great orators. The real need is not for more pastors or teachers. Nor is there a need for more founders of great charitable works. As important as these may be, the real need is for humble, unknown, unheralded VOICES! Voices that will testify to a doubting world that Christ is enough to see everyone through any crisis - that He is a tower of strength. God needs voices - those who will stand up - in the midst of all the raging trials and temptations and cry out, "God is faithful". The Lord is seeing me through triumphantly. In sorrow, He is comfort. In trouble, He is a strong arm." There is a need for voices who can look sickness and death in the face, and proclaim, "He is all He said He is! He has proven His love to me in my darkest hour. He has been strength to me in my time of weakness. He has been a friend, a hiding place. Serving Him does make a difference." There are enough good preachers declaring doctrine, preaching prophecy and morality. Many, many are going about doing exploits, casting out devils and healing the sick. Praise God for it all. But I think John has something to say to this generation. And that is there is a desperate need for some who will forsake all thoughts about doing some great or important work for God, and instead fasten their eyes only on Him and become a voice proclaiming His overcoming love. To simply be a daily witness to all around that Christ fills all things and is worthy of our love and devotion. Sadly, most of what I hear today is about power, usefulness, a need to be needed, doing something important, getting involved in a cause, being a part of a thriving ministry, the need to no longer feel unworthy or useless. Yet so few are willing to be out of sight, quietly testifying to the Lord’s faithfulness to neighbors and friends. We want to be incorporated for Christ with an office, a budget, an assigned ministry. There are some called to that, but the high calling of God in Christ includes faithfulness in telling the gospel to everyone in our circle of friends. Maybe we should think more about this - "That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). Christ was telling the highly regarded religious Pharisees that popularity and human esteem would not hold up in the Judgment. God is looking for humility, sacrifice, self-emptying, and an abhorrence of all that is of self -- less of gathering people around ourselves, and more of pointing them to the Lamb of God. Oh, God - give us more voices and less promoters. More voices and fewer self-seekers. More voices and less of greatness and bigness. Give us more who seek only Him, and not just His gifts, His blessings, and His promotion. 2. Stephen shows us what we should be to His glory. Stephen saw an open heaven and a glorified Man on the throne whose glory was mirrored in him to all who stood nearby. "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55-56). Stephen represents what a true Christian is supposed to be: one who is full of the Holy Ghost with eyes fixed on the Man in glory. He is one who mirrors that glory in such a way that all who see it will be amazed and filled with wonder. He is one with a steady gaze fixed on Christ, always looking up to Him, fully occupied with a glorified Saviour. Look at the hopeless condition Stephen found himself in. He was surrounded by religious madness, superstition, prejudice, and jealousy. The angry crowd pressed in on him, wild-eyed and bloodthirsty. Death loomed just ahead of him. What impossible circumstances. But looking up into heaven he beheld his Lord in glory, and suddenly his rejection here on earth meant nothing to him. Now he was above it all, as seeing Him who was invisible. One glimpse of the Lord’s glory one vision of His precious holiness and Stephen could no longer be hurt. The stones, the angry cursing, all was harmless to him now because of the joy set before him. One glimpse of Christ’s glory places you above all your circumstances. Keeping your eyes on Christ, consciously reaching out to Him every waking hour, provides peace and serenity as nothing else can. Stephen caught the rays of the glorified Man in heaven and reflected them to a Christ-rejecting society. He, "with open face beheld as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and was changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Lord the Spirit.." (2 Corinthians 3:18). How true that we become what we behold. The proper translation should read, "We all, with open face mirroring the glory, are changed! The idea is that the Christian reflects, like a mirror, the glory on which he gazes continually. It is we who are "in the glass" - a mirror - looking on Christ, the object of our affection and becoming like Him in the process of beholding. Is it possible to catch such a vision of the glorified Man in heaven that it will place us above all our circumstances and troubles? Stephen proved it possible - so much so that while being above it all, he prayed for those who were killing him. His murderers had to look on a face that truly reflected what Stephen had seen of Christ. We all have the privilege of claiming the fullness of the Holy Spirit and becoming so riveted on Christ that we can live above everything thrown in our pathway by the enemy. The direct result of being totally occupied with Christ is a practical outworking of His nature in us. We are not just to talk about His glory, but we are to reflect it. There is nothing in our lives worthy of the attention and respect of others. Only in reflecting the life of Christ can we influence the world for Him. Flesh, when reflected to the world, ministers death. Christ reflected through us ministers life. J.N. Darby wrote, "A Christian is a person upon whose heart the Spirit of God has engraved Christ, just as truly as God wrote and engraved the Law upon the tables of stone; so that the world may read Christ in the man, as an Israelite might read the Law on the stones. "It is the Holy Ghost taking of the things of Christ, and revealing them to the soul, that is the power of present practical conformity to Christ. I delight in Christ, I feast upon Christ, I love Christ. It is the very model and forming of my soul according to Christ, by the Holy Ghost - this His revelation of Christ. I not only get to love the glory, it is Christ Himself that I love; Christ, that I admire; Christ, that I care for; Christ, whose flesh I eat, and whose blood I drink - what wonder if I am like Christ? The Christian thus becomes the epistle of Christ; he speaks for Christ, confesses Christ, acts for Christ. He does not want to be rich, he has riches in Christ - unsearchable riches. He does not want the pleasures of this world, he has pleasures at God’s right hand forevermore. "It is not my looking at myself, but it is my looking at Christ, that is God’s appointed means for my growing in the likeness of Christ" Stephen became a living mirror in which men could see the glory of Christ reflected. So should we. When the enemy comes in like a flood and troubling circumstances get us down, we need to both amaze and condemn the world around us by our sweet, restful repose in Christ. Since we see by our spiritual mind, this is accomplished by keeping our minds stayed on Christ. You won’t see Jesus until you start looking for Him, and you won’t find Him until you go to where He is revealed. He is fully, totally revealed in His glory in the Holy Scriptures. It is the happy work of the Holy Spirit within us to show us from the Word who He is. "He [the Spirit] will take of mine and show it unto you" (John 16:14). Do you daily call upon the Holy Spirit to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? You should. It is an awesome thing to consider reflecting Christ to a lost world in all His holiness and perfection. None of us have ever yet given forth a true and perfect reflection. What a great relief to know that we can neither mar nor improve the One whose image is reflected. He is changelessly perfect, holy and beautiful. We do not change the image - the image changes us. Each time we look into the Word and see a new ray of truth about His life, death, resurrection, and ascension - we are changed by it. We become more and more like the One who is the center of our attraction. We don’t change ourselves - the revelation of Christ changes us. When the pangs of trial seize us, When the waves of sorrow roll, I will lay my head on Jesus — Pillow of the troubled soul: Surely none can feel like thee, Weeping one of Bethany! "Jesus wept!" — that tear of sorrow Is a legacy of love. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, He the same doth ever prove. Thou art all in all to me, Living one of Bethany! 3. Peter shows us the importance of taking a bold step of faith. It is one thing to have the Lord come to us in our trials and circumstances to calm our troubled souls and hush our fears - but it is something altogether different to step out in the midst of turmoil and go after Him. The disciples who stayed in the boat were no doubt thinking, "It is enough to have Him nearby and to know He cares for us in this storm. Let’s just sit still and wait till He comes to us." But Peter left the ship, a very bold step of faith. One glimpse of his Savior was enough. He cried out, "If it be thou... bid me come to thee ... on the water..!" (Matthew 14:28). The key to this important lesson is, "unto thee... on the water..." Jesus said "Come." So keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, Peter took that great step of faith and for a while walked on the water. It was devotion that drew Peter out of that storm-tossed boat. He was not showing off his faith. He was not trying to belittle those left in the boat. He simply wanted to be nearer his Lord. He prized his Lord for who He was, and not because of the gifts and blessings He bestowed. It’s true that Peter sank when he took his eyes off the Lord - but so do we all. The truth is that Peter did walk on the water. By faith he had discovered a place in Christ above the stormy, raging sea. He was walking over what threatened him. The storm kept the waters boiling - Peter did not walk on a sea of glass. Yet he did walk on or above the turmoil; that is the real lesson. "When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ’Lord, save me’.. " (14:30). The faith that had kept him above it all for a while could have kept him indefinitely. But he took his eyes off Christ, and permitted the turmoil around him to cast down his confidence. Aren’t we all a bit afraid when strong, - dark winds gather round us. Haven’t there been times in your life you thought you were sinking - for good? In a way I’m glad Peter failed, because that relates best to my condition. Often I’ve had that sinking feeling - wondering how I could ever stay above it all. Then I remember something my grandfather told me years ago: "Keep your eyes on Jesus. Get as close to Him as you can. That is the secret to victory, to holiness, and to peace." In recent dealings in my life, I have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to "make a move toward Him when the storm hits." Rather than sit down in pity, questioning why God allows such deep trials - I now seek to rise up in diligent prayer and steadfast faith, and go after Him. You and I do have that same invitation to "Come." Come, rise above all your hurts and grief; Come, by faith you can walk above your circumstances. Come, appropriate by faith the same resources that kept your Lord above it all. What kept our Lord above all the circumstances in His life? Jesus wept, He hungered, He hurt, the sun burned Him, He grew weary, He was like any other man in the natural who is affected by conditions. Yet He was always above it all - because He was never doing His own work or fulfilling His own will. He did God’s will perfectly - He was totally dependent on His Father - His eye was fixed only on the glory of His Father. It was that focused "single eye" that was His secret of victory in every crisis. Why was this story about Peter recorded in Holy Scripture? I believe it shows us how a Christian needs to pursue Christ the most diligently during the worst crisis. How often I used to sit back and wait for the Lord to show me how to be delivered from difficulties. I thought it was rest. But instead too often it was a passive fatalism. I didn’t realize that trouble or difficulties could be the strong wind to drive me into my desired haven - rest in Christ. God’s way of escape is to put us above all our circumstances by the energy of a faith focused on Him. When the enemy comes in like a flood, we are to consciously reach out to the Lord draw nearer to Him. The purpose should not be to experience the miracle of walking above the waves, but to get to Christ in ever more loving and intimate ways. All who pursue Christ, all who keep their eyes fixed on Him, all who by faith step out to go after Him - will soon be unaffected by their circumstances. They will become so enraptured with their vision of Him that they will discover they are in reality walking above it all. Walking on the water is the by-product of looking unto Jesus. Isn’t it sad that so many Christians today, including some ministers, think of a bold step of faith as taking on some great earthly challenge or a plunge into debt to reach a goal. To me, a bold step of faith is to plunge right into my stormy trials and circumstances and learn to rise above it all in His presence. I want to learn more about Jesus in the midst of what I am going through. I am building up a history with my Saviour, and each new revelation of Himself is sweeter and more soothing than the one before. I don’t want to ask my Lord "Why?" anymore. I don’t want to harbor any subtle thoughts that my Lord is punishing me, or has forgotten me, or is behind schedule in helping me. NO! I want to look into the face of all my grief, my sorrows, my difficulties -- and say -- "Closer, Lord draw me closer to You! Let everything in my life drive me to You!" Perhaps when the enemy realizes that all he is doing is driving you closer to the Lord, he will have to let up - lest he drive you right into the full glory of Christ. Suffering and the Cross cannot be separated! Suffering and the Cross are inseparable - you cannot have one without the other. When Christ warned His disciples that He would suffer and die, Peter protested. The very notion of suffering was rejected by many of the early church fathers. Any attempt to separate suffering from the Cross is a work of the enemy. It is said in the Scriptures that Christ "learned obedience by the things he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8-9). "We see Jesus... for the suffering of death... tasting death for every man... to make the captain of our salvation perfect (complete) through sufferings..." (Hebrews 2:9-10). Any child of God who tells you there is no suffering for believers who walk in Spirit and faith, does not know the Word of God. I don’t think any Christian can be "made conformable to his death" without suffering. There is a fellowship of His suffering. Paul said, "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ..." (2 Corinthians 1:5). "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you - and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for the body’s sake, which is the church..." (Colossians 1:24). "If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together..." (Romans 8:17). "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us..." (Romans 8:18). " ...as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation..." (2 Corinthians 1:7). Peter preached the same message. It was only after his own identification with Christ and the Cross that he could say, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy..." (1 Peter 4:13). After that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect [complete], establish, strengthen, settle you..." (1 Peter 5:10). "...because Christ also suffered for us, leaving an example, that we should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21). There are many other convincing Bible verses that verify the sufferings of those who take up the Cross and follow Christ. Suffering is offensive to those who believe power renders it useless. This was what made Christ’s suffering so very reproachful to Peter. He wondered - why the Son of God needed to suffer, in view of His abilities to call down legions of angels and destroy all His enemies. Peter saw no value in suffering, like so many today who consider it offensive to a believer "filled with Holy power." How can we face this Scripture without wincing, if we don’t accept the truth that godly people suffer: "For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. (1 Peter 4:1). I am amazed by the reaction of some Christians when I speak about the sufferings of the Lord’s people. One dear soul wrote: "Why so much talk about suffering? It gets me down. I don’t like to think those kinds of thoughts. Suffering is not for me. I think only those thoughts that are positive and creative. You probably suffer so much because you have no revelation of God’s promises. I’ll pray for you..." I’ve had ministers look at me pitifully and with condescending voices say, "Poor Brother Dave a modern-day Job. He sure needs our prayers." I can tell by the way they look at me they are asking themselves, "What terrible sin is hidden in his life? Or what weak faith he must have - if any! Why do his wife and family suffer so?" But, oh, hallelujah! I and my family know the sweet taste of victory because we’ve been in the battle and have come forth every time with purged lives and strengthened faith and courage. The fire of affliction purifies; it filters out all dross and leaves but the gold. If Paul gloried in the Cross he also gloried in its sufferings. Was Paul mad when he said "...we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience..." (Romans 5:3-4)? How many congregations or preachers today would permit Paul to stand in their pulpit and cry out, "If I must needs glory, I will glory in mine infirmities..." (2 Corinthians 11:30). Compare the Cross-less preaching heard from many pulpits today with Paul’s message. He preached "...the Lord said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong..." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Need attracts grace; suffering attracts mercy; weakness attracts His strength. The strongest believer is one who has been thoroughly tested and put through the fire - and who has been strengthened and matured in the process. At the risk of sounding really negative, I believe there is too little preaching of the Cross in churches today. I’ve actually had Christians walk out on my preaching when I’ve tried to show them from the Word that the Cross includes physical and spiritual suffering. The Cross represents reproach, rejection, denial of self, mortification of the flesh, surrender of the will and that is offensive to those Christians addicted to ease, pleasure, and prosperity. Almost everybody is hurting in one way or another. But believers who are enduring severe trial and affliction and who can see God in it all, supplying mercy, grace, and strength - are building up a history with the Lord. Does your history with the Lord include grace in your worst hours of fear and pain; heaven-supplied strength when you were at the end of all hope; soft spiritual rain when you were parched and dry; supernatural peace when all was in turmoil - rest and assurance in the face of death? Those with such histories are more patient and understanding than those who have never been put to the test. There really is only one Cross - His! He tasted death for us all; He suffered and bled once for sin; He drank the bitter cup. Our suffering and pain are not meritorious - they add nothing to grace - but they are the cost of discipleship. When we become a true reflection of a holy Christ, we will suffer. There will be persecution from sinners and rejection from carnal Christians. You will suffer when the Word tries you, as you appropriate the promises, and deliverance is delayed. You will suffer when you sin or grieve the Holy Spirit. You will suffer when excruciating physical pain comes on you or a dear loved one, and it seems no relief is in sight. You will suffer when a godly saint is suddenly taken, perhaps in an accident. I strongly believe in divine healing. I believe God wants to bless and heal His children. I believe God gives us authority over demonic powers. But I also believe in taking up the Cross and following Christ - and that often includes suffering. It also means resurrection power through it all. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 82: PRE-084-81. THE LORD�S LITTLE TURTLEDOVE ======================================================================== 81. The Lord’s Little Turtledove The Lord’s Little Turtledove An Encouraging Message for Those Who Are Suffering by David Wilkerson | June 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Please forgive my references to personal struggles, but I must tell you of some recent troubles we’ve endured to share with you the lessons learned from it all. My family and I have just gone through the most severe testing of our lives. Sickness came at us from all sides. Our oldest son had to come home from Detroit to recuperate from a debilitating illness that left him with a very low white blood count. His baby son Ashley, our grandson, became ill also and was bleeding slightly from the bowels. Brandon, another grandson, cried violently for hours until the doctor discovered an inner ear infection. It was heart–rending to see him suffer and not be able to tell us where he hurt. Our two daughters also were afflicted. My brother, who works with me, discovered he had a spot on his lung and was taken to surgery. Gwen was rushed to the hospital in severe pain and was diagnosed as having Lupus disease. In the midst of all the pain and suffering, a maniac con–artist attempted to swindle our ministry. In our continuing efforts to cut back, we offered a house for sale. Boasting he was a multimillionaire, this swindler gave us a down payment check on the house. He told us he was a former CIA agent from the narcotics division and needed to move his family in immediately to "safe house" them. Out of compassion we permitted then to move in. His check bounced. A replacement check bounced also. Meanwhile, he filled the house with expensive furniture, and all those checks bounced. We discovered the man was swindling people out of homes and savings accounts — and was possibly dangerous. We learned that the FBI knew of his devious activities. It was very traumatic the next week as we attempted to evict him and recover the furniture for dealers who were furious. Fearing for my family’s security, I secluded them in a motel while we moved the swindler out. It was a frightening experience. The man was never with the CIA; he was a pathological liar, cheat, and big time swindler. Also, he was penniless. We had befriended him, prayed for him, and had shown him great kindness — and he was mocking us all the while. He is now facing federal charges and will most likely spend a lot of time in prison. God delivered us from his schemes. In the midst of all the sickness, the suffering and mental anguish, I shut myself in my prayer closet, fell on my face before God and wept. I found myself crying out — "Oh God, I’m in a mess! What’s happening? What’s going on?" I was confused. I thought to myself, "I take a year off to pray and seek the Lord with all my heart, and end up in the biggest mess in all my lifetime." So Many Are Suffering Today I know my family and I are not the only ones suffering and enduring great afflictions. From all across the country I receive heart–rending letters from godly Christians who are right now going through the greatest testing and trying they’ve ever known. Never have so many come down with cancer. Never have there been so many hurt by divorce, with mates abandoning homes and giving up on marriages. Never have so many been burdened down with financial problems. Never has there been such a time of trial, confusion, pain, and deep hurt. God’s most beloved children are going through refining fires. How true it is that "many are the afflictions of the righteous." Also true is the fact that "the Lord delivereth them out of them all." "Oh, God, We Need Mercy — And Grace" I began to pray that very prayer — "God, You told us to come boldly to Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help in our time of need. We need mercy." Is there any hope for any of us in these trying times without mercy from the Lord? It was my own carelessness that brought on the difficulties with the swindler. I should have been more prudent and cautious. Much of the suffering could have been avoided. Still I knew God was somehow using the experience to teach me more of His loving mercy and grace. For a fleeting moment I questioned the Lord about the trouble and turmoil. Why did He allow a swindler to put me through such a trial, when I had prayed so fervently for divine direction? Why so much sickness and pain in my family? Why the physical pain in my own body? What do we do as believers when the enemy comes in like a flood — when we find ourselves in a terrible mess? Why do those who are so deeply devoted to Christ have to endure such unusual testing? I don’t have all the answers. I do know that the righteous do suffer. I do know that many godly people who are reading this message are hurting and maybe wondering why they must endure so much pain and suffering. It is when you take your place in the holy of holies that you discover testings unknown to those in the outer court. Turtledoves! God kept me through all these sufferings by showing me David’s secret hope. He was lamenting and complaining, wondering why God’s anger was smoking against him. He called on God to "pluck out thy hand from thy bosom." It appeared to him that the enemies of God were taking control. In his despair David prayed, "O deliver not the soul of the TURTLEDOVE unto the multitude of the wicked…" (Psalms 74:19). Like David, I began to see myself as a little turtledove — surrounded by the snares and traps of the wicked. I prayed, "O Lord, I’m just your little turtledove, a frail, tiny bird — Don’t turn me over to he schemes of the wicked. Deliver me from all these traps Satan has surrounded my path with!" How it did encourage me, in my most trying, hurting times, to see myself as His little love bird — his devoted turtledove, resting on His promise to keep me out of the hands of the wicked. Like turtledoves do, I mourned for the presence of my Beloved. I pictured Christ coming to me in the form of a dove — aturtledove — His Holy Spirit — revealing to me His constant love and continual care. How unspeakable that such a great and majestic God should condescend to relate to my needs as a turtledove. Did He not descend on Christ at the baptismal waters as a dove? A turtledove. Turtledoves have been noticed by poets in all ages as emblems of love and faithfulness. Shakespeare wrote: "When arm in arm they both came swiftly running, Like a pair of loving turtledoves" (Henry VI. Part I). Also, "So turtledoves pair that never mean to part…" (Troilus and Cressida, Act III). Turtledoves have but one mate, and they are faithful to each other. They mourn the absence of one another. So it is most comforting to discover David likening us to these devoted turtledoves. Child of God — are you going through difficult times? Is there suffering in your home? Do you hurt? Are you confused at times because of the severity of it all? Remember — you are the Lord’s little turtledove — and He will never turn you over to the wicked one. He will deliver you from every snare of the enemy. He will show you how devoted He is to you in your hour of need. He is there beside you, at all times, as a dove — whispering, sharing His love with you. Christ and you! Christ and me! Turtledoves! Let the floods roll in! Let the pangs of death and pain prick me! Let the snares and traps surround me! I am the Lord’s little turtledove and I have His loving promise to keep me — deliver me — and forever love me. Solomon, speaking of Christ, said, "His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, beautifully set" (Song of Solomon 5:12). And of the church, the Lord’s beloved, it is written, "My dove, my undefiled one is but one…" (Song of Solomon 6:9). We are but one in Christ — His Dove — a turtledove. The sparrow falls to the ground, but not the turtledove. His little turtledove is the apple of His eye, kept in the hollow of His hand — safe and secure in His love. Best of all, the Lord has delivered us out of our troubles and proved His everlasting faithfulness to us. We have come through it all rejoicing and in full rest and trust in His power and love. The enemy could not hurt us. Violence — Key to Judgment (A dream about the security of God’s people when violence erupts) I wish to relate to you a vivid and frightening dream I had recently. Although I do not put much stock in dreams, and certainly do not see any theological meaning in them, nevertheless the Bible does speak of old men dreaming dreams. This dream so affected me I awoke dazed and shaken. It remains with me and has caused me to search God’s Word about its meaning. Before I share my dream I must warn the reader that no vision or dream can have any meaning whatsoever if it is contrary to the Word if God. If there is any meaning at all to a dream, it could only be in conjunction with what is already revealed in God’s Word. Most of my dreams, most of all dreams, are meaningless. This particular one, for me at least is an exception. The Dream I was walking the streets of a large city during twilight hours. All who passed by seemed to be dressed in punk rock clothes and appeared to be swishing about as homosexuals and lesbians. Suddenly, violence erupted everywhere. The entire city went berserk. Everyone was armed with clubs, knives, chains, baseball bats, guns and every other conceivable kind of weapon. People went wild, swinging at each other, knocking each other down with bats and clubs. Motorcycle gangs were speeding about, swinging heavy chains, knocking passersby to the ground. Not a person stood by. All were enraged, all were cursing, fighting, kicking, swinging. Their eyes were on fire with hatred and fear. The animals were caught up in the spirit of violence. Dogs barked and began to bite one another — cats were screaming and scratching. A dozen or so police horses began to prance about, kicking and neighing, and ran pell–mell toward me. I jumped over a fence narrowly escaping their oncoming charge. I stood behind the fence, hidden, watching in horror at the unbelievable scenes of violence, blood and killing before me. No one was gambling or drinking. No one was committing adultery or fornication. There were no drugs, no homosexual cruising. It was all violence — everybody was swept away by a spirit of wild abandonment. I remember crying out to God — "Oh, Lord — this is Sodom! Everyone has gone berserk! You destroyed the earth for this once! Judgment must come now — soon!" The sense of impending judgment was overwhelming. The demonic spirit of violence was so oppressive I could hardly breath. I began to run out of the city, as fast as my feet could carry me. I was thinking, "I’ve got to get off Satan’s territory. This is his final hour of triumph among his slaves. Satan is in full control of his people. The devil has finally exposed himself and his spirit has erupted in the hearts of his children. I must get out!" Once out of the city I felt like Lot escaping from Sodom. The city was being burned down, sacked by violence, murder, and bloodshed. The screaming, the shrieks of hate and pain became dimmer as I got farther away. I came to a ledge and realized I was on a high plateau. Looking down, I saw a great valley with a river running through it. To my amazement I saw the valley and surrounding hillsides covered with an army of robed people — all in perfect rank — marching toward and into the river to be baptized. My first impression was, "Lord these must be Moonies or some other cult because they are not dressed in white." But then I heard the sweet refrain of a multitude humming the tune — "Hallelujah." Then I knew they were God’s people — not yet glorified, but preparing themselves. What a contrast it was. Behind me was chaos, confusion, fear, violence, hopelessness, satanic havoc. Before me, a confident quiet, assured army in perfect order — going into the waters of praise and worship. This quiet, restful army was so at peace — so unmoved by the violence and hell nearby. Not one soldier broke rank. Not one moved from his place. It was all perfect order — total peace — and heavenly quiet. It was an awesome sight. I looked back at the burning, seething city and felt a hand pushing me. A small voice said, "Go down to the river and cry aloud, "Violence is the key to judgment. Violence is the key to His coming. The hour has come. This is it!" I awakened with that cry on my lips — "Violence is the key to judgment! Violence is the final sign of His coming. It’s all about to come to a head. Violence in full fury is about to erupt." I sat up in bed and could not get my bearings. Was I still dreaming? Where was I? How real it was. Unlike any other dream in my lifetime. I staggered out of bed, still not fully conscious. I shook myself — awakened — but could not shake off this dream as I had so many others. After two weeks, I still cannot shake it off. The sights and sounds of satanic violence will always be with me. The sight of an army secure and at a peace in the midst of an outbreak of violence and confusion will never be forgotten. What Does It Mean? A lady heard me share this dream and came up to me later with what she called "an interpretation." I stopped her. It needs no interpretation. It was simply God’s way of waking my heart to the reality of what is happening right before our eyes. Violence is the key — the final sign — just before divine judgment. So it was in the days of Noah, just prior to the flood. "The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them: and behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:11-13). With the exception of Noah and his family, the entire human race had corrupted itself and was given over to licentiousness and lawlessness. Mankind had become cruel, uncaring, and coveteous. Wicked men became exhibitionists, flaunting their degeneracy and corruption before the very face of God. The more God by His Spirit warned them, the more they intensified their violent appetites. The end of all flesh came the moment lust and passion broke out into the full flame of violence. Violence Is Lust in Full Flame Every work of the flesh, when it is in full flame, breaks out into violence. Consider the seventeen works of the flesh mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:19-21. What is adultery and fornication in full flame — but sado–masochism, a horrible form of violence. Witchcraft in full flame is murderous sacrifice and bloodletting such as witnessed around the idolatrous altars of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Wrath, strife, seditions, hatred, drunkenness, and such like, are all forms of violence — all of which are uncontrollable when in full flame. What about abortion? Is that not violence in its most hideous form? What about the 55 wars in progress worldwide? What is it in Ireland, Iran, Lebanon — but violence? It is religious hatred in full flame. Consider Sodom. God did not send judgment when sodomy was rampant. Nor did judgment fall when the wicked crowds lusted after the visiting angels. Judgment came when the lust of those Sodomites broke out into the full flame of violence. They went wild, trying to tear the house of Lot apart — preparing to violently rape and kill. It was at that moment God moved in to destroy. Where would you say America is right now? Would you say that our lusts and passions have burst out into full flame? More than one million children were murdered last year in this country. The day is not far off when those who truly love the Lord Jesus Christ will have to rid their homes of television because of the unspeakable violence and bloodshed. Most Hollywood movies being produced today no longer feature sex and infidelity — they’ve gone far beyond that, to senseless violence. A movie starlet told an audience that she was "turned on not by sex, but by blood and violence." The audience wildly applauded. Right now, in major cities, porno theaters feature violence almost exclusively. Jaded men and women sit in these filthy theaters getting thrills watching animals being mutilated. The big underground sensation throughout the nation is human sacrifices and mutilations filmed in Africa and Asia. One who knew told me that well to do people pay high prices for private showings of these murderous films. They are sexually excited by blood and death. Beloved, what has happened to this society, that multitudes now flock to movies that glorify bloodshed and violence? What happened to decency, to old–fashioned values, to tender love scenes, hand holding, walking in the moonlight? The crowds now hiss and hoot at such things — they now thirst for the demonic, the ugly, the macabre. It has to be demon possession, or else how could so many be turned over to such hellish, bizarre activities? Do You Turn Off the Violence? Do you sit before your TV set and drink in the shootings, the knifings, the bloodshed and murder? Are you growing accustomed to it all — is it slowly wearing you down? Or do you put your foot down and say — "Enough! My eyes will no longer be polluted with such demonic filth. No more viewing of violence in this House!" Sadly, most Christians are no longer turning it off. They are growing hard to it. That is why so many of God’s people are becoming insensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit — they no longer feel the Spirit’s grief over violence and cruelty. Could it be that the spirit of Sodom is already upon us, blinding us — putting us to sleep so we will not discern that last hour before judgment? Are we getting calloused, hard to it? We are becoming more and more like Belshazzar and his crowd, who partied and drank through their last night on earth. While the Medes and Persians crept in unawares to violently plunder and kill, the king and his court drugged themselves insensitive with alcohol. Judgment was right at the door and they knew it not. Are we also unaware? Have you seen any of the video tapes now being produced by rock groups? It appears mostly on cable stations and it is unbelievable. It is a montage of sick violence, senseless bloodiness, demonic costumes, weird and bizarre actions — incubated in hell itself. John Denver, the singer, warned in so many words, "Don’t people realize what is happening? Don’t they realize it is all violence and injurious rage? Why aren’t the Americans people doing something about it? It’s getting out of hand." I dread to think what it will be like a few years from now, when all the children who have flooded their minds with all these violent sights and sounds become adults. Violence is becoming a way of life. There is a loss of any sense of right or wrong — and there is less respect for life. Think of what our children now have to live with — aconstant barrage of killing, rape, child abuse, mass murders, suicide, and vicious hate. Without God’s mercy and grace, the future is hopeless. A Prophecy Soon the violence that is seething just below the surface will erupt into riots and much bloodshed. A horrible confrontation is inevitable between unconverted blacks and Jews. The black Muslim leader from Chicago has been enraging black people, calling on them to rise up and kill Jews and whites. He threatened to kill a Chicago reporter. The press seems afraid to stand up to all the threats. Mid–day soap operas will begin featuring violence, punk values, incest, rape, and murder. They will no longer be about broken marriages, infidelity and adultery. Instead there will be scenes of bloodshed, vicious killings, violent rapes, and knifings. It has already begun. Teenagers will rampage and give vent to their pent–up frustrations. Have you not been reading all the reports of children killing parents? And, in cities and towns across the nation, our teenagers are committing suicide in alarming numbers. I have been warning of this soon–to–come outbreak of violence, rioting and plundering for a long time. My warnings seem to fall on deaf ears. But mark my words — we are about to witness an eruption of horrible violence such as never before seen in this nation. Multitudes of godless Americans will be given over to a spirit of violence and will be driven to wild abandonment. The cup of iniquity is full. The full flame of violence will cause it to overflow — forcing God to send judgment, lest Satan destroy society. God will not permit Satan to bring total anarchy to the world until the judgment is set. Praise God for Peaceful Saints In my dream I saw an army that refused to break rank — for in the midst of all the wickedness and cruel violence, they were unperturbed. They were going down into the livings waters of praise and worship, coming out on the other side of the river with perfect peace and rest. They are the redeemed of the Lord who have been given a peace that passeth all understanding. "The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of grace" (Psalms 37:11). Joel saw an army of mighty men. He said, "And they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks" (Joel 2:7). God’s people will not break rank, nor run in fear, because they know they are secure under the precious blood of the Lamb. They know that in spite of all the violence and wrath of men the body of Christ on earth is in excellent health and is growing stronger every day. While all that is earthly is being shaken and world governments are spinning out of control, the true church of Christ is solid and unmovable. The specter of devastating violence and potential destruction has robbed mankind of it’s peace and security — while at the same time God is bringing His people into their greatest hour of rest and safety. While the ungodly cry for peace and safety and never find it — God’s chosen are now possessing great peace and perfect security. God’s people who rest in Him can say with David the Psalmist — "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now many Israel say; If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of fowlers: the snare is a broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalms 124:1-8). Beware! While hearing and seeing the daily news filled with horror and violence, do not for a moment let that mar your vision of a glorious church rising up in the midst of the ruin and confusion — to take dominance and authority. A holy, forgiven, rested body, holding to Christ the head, day by day is being revealed in clearer measure. It is coming into clear view, this victorious body, flexing its spiritual muscle, threatening the very powers of Satan. The prognosis for the body of Christ is unbelievably glorious! Nothing this ungodly world does can adversely affect it or change its purpose. The body of Christ is growing stronger in spite of all the violence and corruption. His body has a history all its own, apart from outside of all that is in and out of the world. You need not put much stock in my dream, but you do need to hear God’s word concerning the coming judgment. We are called to watch and pray, lest we fall into modern temptations. Be aware, alert, and shut off all viewing of violence. But still rejoice — be glad in the Lord that He has a people growing in holiness and love — unmoved and unaffected by the violent spirit of this age. The violent gates of hell shall never prevail against the body of Jesus Christ — His resurrected church. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 83: PRE-085-82. THE PRECIOUS BLOOD AND THE MIGHTY HAND ======================================================================== 82. The Precious Blood And The Mighty Hand The Precious Blood and the Mighty Hand by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] It is the night of the passover. The Jews are shut up in their houses, for God has warned that death is coming to Egypt this night! The blood of an unblemished lamb has been sprinkled on the transom and two side door posts of every home, according to the Lord’s command. "The blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:13). Furthermore, they were promised, "The Lord will not permit the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you." (Exodus 12:23). Picture two neighboring households. In the first, the family is huddled around the passover lamb, with the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs. All are frightened, ashen white and trembling. The father and mother look at each other, then at their firstborn son. The father grasps him in his loving arms and cries, "Pray, family, pray! Perhaps we have in some way grieved God... the death angel may not pass us by... pray!" For hours they huddle in fear, not enjoying the lamb, fearing the shadow of death. An overwhelming sense of insecurity pervades this home. In the very next house a family joyfully feasts on the lamb, excited about leaving Egypt. There is an unmistakable sense of security here. The father looks into the inquisitive eyes of his firstborn son and says, "Safe! All of us! Remember the blood? Didn’t God say He would not permit the destroyer to enter the house? Be at peace - all is well - we are safe under the blood of this lamb." Which house do you suppose was safer that night? Which family was more secure? The answer is, They were both safe! They were equally secure - because they were both under the blood. God was not about to trust deliverance to the feelings or fears - or even to any inherent piety - of the Jews. Their part was to apply the blood of the lamb to their dwelling places, believing God’s promise that it had the power to secure them. They had not as yet come to the Red Sea, when God admonished Moses and all of Israel. "Remember this day, in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place" (Exodus 13:3). The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is a clear type of our deliverance from sin and its slavery. Most of us know that. Scripture makes it clear: "Now these things happened unto them for examples: and they are for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). "For our admonition" means that we can see in their struggles a shadow of our present battles with self and sin. Their Egypt is our ungodly world. Their bondage to the Egyptians is a type of our slavery to lust and sin. Their house is our temple of the Holy Ghost; their lamb, our Christ. The blood of the unblemished lamb is a type of the blood of our unblemished Savior. We can learn much about our own deliverance from sin’s power by studying the Israelites’ deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. Let me show you three marvelous lessons few Christians have learned. 1. The Blood Removed Israel from Judgment! "For I will pass through the land of Egypt.... I will smite, I will execute judgment: I am the Lord" (Exodus 12:12). Then comes the great promise to His children: "When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you" (v. 13). This was judgment day for Egypt! And it struck suddenly at the midnight hour. How frightening, death everywhere. What weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth could be heard throughout Egypt that night, for "... there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exodus 12:30). Yet this same midnight hour of judgment did not touch a single Jewish home. God’s children were completely, securely out of the path of judgment. Though some did not enjoy or appropriate the truth of it, still they were safe - removed from God’s judgment by the blood. Yes, obedience was involved, but it was the blood alone that placed the Israelites out of judgment. It was certainly not any inherent goodness. Their packed satchels included Egyptian idols. They were an unworthy, backslidden, earthly-minded, gainsaying, disobedient people. In fact, if God had waited for them to give up all their idols, repent, and turn from their evil ways, they would never have been delivered! They would have all died in slavery. Their deliverance was completely outside themselves - outside of any goodness or faithfulness on their part. Surely God must have known these same people would soon be dancing around a golden calf, drunken, sensual, and ungrateful. Still, He loved them. Still, He chose to deliver them. Still, He secured them under the blood. David said it was because thou hadst a favour unto them" (Psalms 44:3). Here was God longing to take a people to His own heart and reveal His power and glory, in order to raise up a holy, consecrated body. It was all of mercy and grace! The Word teaches us many things about the blood of the lamb, but the first lesson to be learned is that it secures the child of God against judgment. Israel would soon have a wilderness tabernacle with its many sacrifices. There would be the shedding of blood for sin. There would be a day of atonement. But the first lesson for Israel and for us is clearly - The Believer Is Completely Safe From Judgment Under The Blood. Yes, the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. Yes, the blood was our atonement. But first of all, it is our security. It is God’s way of securing to Himself a people ready for a full deliverance. Remember, on the night of the passover the Israelites were safe but not yet delivered. They still had to face a Red Sea, a wilderness, warfare with giants, imposing walls, and enemy strongholds. I am convinced that before I can do battle against principalities and powers, before I can resist lust and temptation (our modern-giants) - I must have the knowledge that under the blood I am secure! Though I am not yet fully delivered. I am out of judgment. The fleshly enemies loom ahead, but the blood has made me a ’safe soldier’. Listen to this word: You cannot fight giants, pull down strongholds, or stand against overwhelming odds unless there is an assurance of absolute security under the blood. No matter what my heart says, no matter how guilty or condemned I feel, no matter what little voices may whisper - I must know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that I am safe! I am not going to judgment! The blood on the door of my heart secures me in His sight. I doubt there are a handful of believers today who are resting in the security of Christ’s shed blood. How tragic! Most of us cannot believe that God would secure a people so unworthy, so bent on disobedience, so spiritually depleted by the spirit of the age. We refuse to acknowledge such marvelous love and grace; we would rather earn our security and deliverance. We are always questioning our safety. If God based our security on our love for Him or on personal goodness, we would be in more danger than those who broke the Law, for under grace there is a higher claim. God must take security out of our hands so that it stands on His pure mercy and grace alone. Not our devotion, or our obedience, or our goodness - but only on His mercy. Obedience, devotion - are the results of our love for Christ. It was not the unleavened bread that saved the children of Israel, but the blood. Not one Israelite moved "in and out" of safety because of some personal fault. They were all safe until judgment had passed. I am not preaching eternal security. I believe it is possible to do despite to the blood - to trample it - and be lost. The blood must be revered, trusted, appropriated. There are those who trust it; others who trample it. Christians who abuse the blood open themselves to all kinds of demonic activity. But God never intended for His children to live under fear, anxiety, or guilt. He prepared a rest for them - the perfect, absolute security of the blood of His own dear Son. Not by works, but by the precious blood! By His gracious act God was saying to Israel, "Now that you see I have secured you and removed you from fear of judgment, let Me deliver you bodily. I secured you to make you holy." John Wesley and George Whitefield argued over the question of whether or not the Christian works from security or toward security. Let’s look at our example. Israel worked from security. It is as if the Lord is saying to us, "Now that you are secured by the blood, let the Holy Spirit bring You into a full and glorious deliverance from all Your fleshly enemies." The inalterable fact is, not one thing can be added to Christ’s blood to make us more secure! The blood perfectly shelters us, makes us acceptable to God, and saves us from wrath. The Apostle Paul states, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him..."(Romans 5:9). Do you believe you are saved from wrath by His shed blood alone? Or do you have something to add to His blood to better assure Your safety? Works? Law? Penance? How dare we think for a moment that God would entrust our security to the hands of our own flesh! Yet we keep attempting to add to the blood. The blood plus discipleship. The blood plus self-denial. The blood plus obedience. The blood plus mortification of the flesh. The blood plus feelings of holiness. And so on. No! A thousand times No! Nothing must be added. The blood alone can secure us from wrath and judgment. It redeems us. In theology, redemption means "rescue from sin and its penalty." God’s Word says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). How are we rescued from the penalty of sin? Not by anything we have or have not done, but all as a result of His grace. It is the desire of God’s heart to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). Our loving Lord is not bent on condemnation, wrath, or judgment. Just the opposite - He offers deliverance from wrath and judgment. The blood is not an act of appeasement to an angry God, but a testament of His love for a lost humanity. It is the gift of a loving Father whose heart yearns for all His prodigal sons. "For God so loved... that he gave his son..." If you are sheltered by His blood, it is no more possible for you to be judged by wrath than for Christ to be so judged by the Father. You are safe and accepted by God - as is Christ, His own Son. By the blood, we are accepted - approved in the Beloved. Christ’s blood fully satisfied God’s heart with respect to our sins, removing the offense and reconciling us to the Father. If you doubt the efficacy of His blood, consider this: Is it more important to look at the blood as your own feeble eyes perceive it - or as God Almighty sees it? God sees in the blood of His Son a full and complete removal of all that required judgment. In His sight, the work of Christ is a finished work of rescue from that which deserved wrath. God. did not say, "When you see the blood" - but, "When I see the blood" If, then, God is satisfied - we should be satisfied. If God says the blood accomplished everything needed to secure us, we should rest in that. It is all by faith alone - faith in His blood! "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus... whom God has set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:24-25). Let my heart condemn me! Let the demon powers rage! Let the conscience accuse or excuse! Let the nations bring down destruction on this earth! Let everything shake that can be shaken! I am safe and secure under the shed blood of Jesus Christ my Lord. What a joy to feed on Christ, the Lamb, in perfect safety. Blessed thought: if God passed over the blood of a mere lamb, will He not much more pass over the blood of His own dear Son? If God would not pass over the blood line, will He let demons cross that line? I think not. II. The Israelites Were Delivered From Egypt’s Power by the Mighty Hand of God. We are not speaking now of security, but of deliverance. "For with a strong hand the Lord brought thee out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:9). "By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage" (Exodus 13:14). "How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and planted them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me..." (Psalms 44:2-6). Some Christians have a sense of being forgiven and safe, but they lack a sense of power against the flesh. They have not come into the knowledge of "full deliverance" from their evil nature. Christian, know that by His blood He secures us, then by His mighty hand He breaks the power of sin in us. Sin still dwells - but it does not rule! What an incredibly encouraging word in these days of dis-illusionment and super-human efforts to be free of sin’s power. "Delivered... from slavery... by the strength of his hand." Yet we are so reluctant to acknowledge the work of God’s hand. It goes against our pride, our sense of justice, our theology, to accept the truth that our deliverance from sin’s dominion comes from a power other than our own. But look at our example: Israel went out armed, but all the battles were the Lord’s. "...the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:47). It is recorded in Exodus that "...the children of Israel went out with a high hand" (14:8) And after passing safely through the Red Sea, they sang this song - "Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power; Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy..." (Exodus 15:6). The blood secured Israel from divine judgment, but the high hand of God delivered them from the power of the flesh. They had experienced security and rejoiced in it; now they needed power! Power to once and for all do away with the old enemy, power to arm them against all the new enemies to come. That power is in the Lord’s high and mighty hand. God had but one commandment for Israel regarding their enemies: "Drive them out!" "Ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.... But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which you let remain of they shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein you dwell..." (Numbers 33:52; Numbers 33:55). What is the Arab mosque standing in Jerusalem even today? It is a thorn in the side of the Jews, a prick in their eyes. The Jews still weep over it. It goes back to the disobedience of Israel. "And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin unto this day" (Judges 1:21). Judah had once defeated the Jebusites, but they regained control. The victory once won was not maintained, the cancer not totally removed. The Jebusites were non-Semitics, and their name in Hebrew suggests, "trodden down, immoral." Jerusalem was at that time known as Jebus, "a city of strangers, not of the children of Israel" (Judges 19:12). It is still a city of coexisting strangers, not of the children of Israel. Even after David’s capture of Jebus and setting up Zion, a remnant of the immoral Jebusites were absorbed into the culture of Judah. There is a lesson the Israelites had not yet learned: We will never get victory over the flesh until we share God’s hatred of it. Israel never did share God’s hatred of their dreadful enemies. They kept sparing an enemy here and there, making peace with them, foolishly signing covenants and agreements. They had been given a promise of a full and complete deliverance to a place of rest, a land flowing with milk and honey. "And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day..." (Deuteronomy 4:37-38). We have been given great and precious promises surpassing those given to Israel. God has promised to deliver us from all evil and seat us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We have been promised freedom from the dominion of sin. But first we must learn to hate sin. We must hear the Spirit saying, "Spare not! It must be driven out!" We must never learn to live at peace with an enemy in the flesh. No agreements, no compromises, with an entrenched stronghold. Coddle your sin, play with it, let it remain, refuse to demolish it - and one day it will become the most painful thing in your life. You need not pray about victory over the sins of the flesh until you have cultivated a hatred for them. The only way pleasing to God is to hate our besetting sin as strongly as He does. He will have nothing to do with our excuses and appeasement. Are you enslaved by a secret sin? Has it caused turmoil and anguish, both physically and spiritually? My question to you is - Do You Hate it with a Passion? Do You Feel God’s Holy Wrath Against It? Until you do, victory will never come. But once you share God’s wrath and hatred for your sin, once you are truly convinced you are commanded to drive it out and spare not - you are ready to call on the high hand of God for delivering power. "And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you... he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites" (Joshua 3:5; Joshua 3:10). Who will drive out all the enemies, with a wondrous demonstration of power? He will! Without fail! It sounds like a paradox to hear God say He will destroy the enemy, that the battle is His, that He will put the enemy to flight, not with man’s sword and spear - and yet to read that Israel at times fought bloody hand-to-hand combat with these enemies. You will recall that even though faith and obedience brought down the walls of Jericho, the Israelites had to go in with swords and spears and destroy the inhabitants. It is an age-old question: What is God’s part, and what is my part in getting complete deliverance from sin’s power? There are numerous scriptures about man’s hand getting the victory. "Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand..." (Joshua 8:7). "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai: I will give it into thine hand..." (Joshua 8:18). Scripture after scripture reiterates, "God... delivered into their hand...." This simply means that God put all their enemies at their mercy, under their power and authority. God first divested the enemy of all strength, then sent His children to battle an already-defeated foe! A recent newscast showed hundreds of Iranian prisoners of war huddled in little groups, heads between their knees, fear written on every face. Among the ranks were high officials of the spiritual hierarchy of Khomeini. An Iraqi soldier smiled into a CBS camera and boasted, "These are our enemy - defeated enemies!" They were still enemies, but stripped of all power. Principalities and powers, spiritual leaders in high places - the enemy - defeated and disarmed. This brings me to one of the greatest lessons the Holy Spirit has ever taught me: I am not at the mercy of Satan - or lust - or sin! I wept when I first saw the glory of this truth. Israel feared their enemies and seldom appropriated God’s power, refusing to rest in His promise of deliverance. How incredible, after all they had seen of His mighty hand at work! Yet time after time they feared they were at the mercy of the enemy. We have not changed much. How many blood-sheltered Christians today live in fear of demons; afraid some intense temptation will bring they down; afraid a powerful lust will shipwreck them, afraid a domineering sin will eventually damn them. Beloved, you and I - under the mighty hand of God - are no more at the mercy of our soul’s enemies than Israel was before her enemies. Was there a single hour the children of God were left to the mercy of their enemies - if they trusted God and walked in His light? When obedient, was there ever an enemy too powerful for God? Sin does not have dominion over the trusting, repentant believer. We need not cower before any giant. We need not run in fear from any lust or temptation. We resist the devil through God’s mighty hand. He alone can drain all the power from our lusts and temptations, making it possible for us to defeat every helpless foe. We are to hate our sins - but never fear their power. We are to mortify our flesh and all its lusts, but we must believe God has made that possible by His miraculous intervention, rendering sin weak. The battle is still His. Our enemies are, first and foremost, His. And God is like any loving father who wants to train a son by letting him help in some way. It was years before my little sons realized they were not actually driving their father’s car, even though they had their hands on the steering wheel, sitting in my lap. There was always my unseen hand on the wheel. If you could only believe it fully, there is a mighty, unseen hand that has already won you a victory. Your part is to do what He tells you to do, and to trust that His mighty hand empowers your hand as it wields the sword. III. Christ is God’s Strong Arm, Come to Deliver! "To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?... For he shall grow up before him.... a root out of dry ground...." (Isaiah 53:1-12; Isaiah 1:1-31; Isaiah 2:1-22). Christ is the mighty arm of the Lord revealed in us! We are to jumble ourselves and yield to Him as our deliverer: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). "To exalt" here means to be lifted to a higher plane. This is God’s promise to seat us in heavenly places, above all principalities and powers, above the dominion of Satan and his demonic forces, above all the fury of temptations and lusts. We have failed to see Christ in us as our mighty Captain of the hosts of heaven, with a mighty sword in His hand, sent to deliver us from the power of the enemy. Is "Christ in me" no more than an intimate friend, a kind of gentle tea-guest? Is "Christ in me" no more than some kind of benign, doting, rich brother? A thousand times No! "Christ in me" is an all-powerful King in full battle dress, ready and anxious to stand up for me against all my enemies. He has with Him innumerable chariots of holy iron, driven by mighty angels armed and ready to defend my cause. The chariots of the Lord are many - and they are mine! If we are not living the ascended life of total victory in Christ, it is because we have no exalted vision of the Lord’s majestic power and glory in us! Like Job, we sit on our ash heaps of defeat and fear, wanting just enough grace to die right. And all because we can’t believe what God has told us about His power - in us! "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue..." (2 Peter 1:3). "Wherefore I desire... that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God... Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." (Ephesians 3:19-20). "...That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power..." (Ephesians 1:17-19). Pray tell me, why all this power of God in us if it is not to be understood as His mighty hand at our disposal against our spiritual enemies? It is either true that He has given us all the power we need to overcome flesh and walk in glorious life and godliness - or God’s word is a lie! And God cannot lie. Paul said Christ was revealed in him, rather than to him. And where Christ is revealed in you, it will be a glorious revelation of His strength, His victory over all the forces of evil, and His commitment to use all that power to save and keep you. When God’s Word says "Christ in me", I take that to mean God puts His fist in me. And as He is in the world, so am I - strong in the Lord. Able to "do all things through Christ who strengthens me." In other words, Christ becomes the Lord’s strong hand in me! I reckon myself to be everything God tells me I am - Dead to sin - the flesh - the world Delivered from the power of sin Clean through His word Accepted in the Beloved Alive to God by the Spirit More than a conqueror Secure now and all through eternity Kept by His power Faultless before the throne Ascended with Christ at the right hand of God Christ is not coming for me like a thief. That’s the view from a Sardis church! He is coming for me as my Beloved - as the Joy of my heart. We are not to fear His coming, but to "love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8). The church at Sardis was threatened by the Lord’s coming, but we who love Him should be encouraged. Only the worldly need be afraid. What a rare privilege to be among those waiting - prepared - adorned as a bride - while all the while feasting on the Lamb. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 84: PRE-086-83. A SPIRIT OF SLUMBER ======================================================================== 83. A Spirit of Slumber A Spirit of Slumber by David Wilkerson | June 5, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day" (Romans 11:8). "For the Lord hath poured out upon you the Spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your leaders, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed" (Isaiah 29:10-11). One of the most heartbreaking of all Scriptures in the Bible is this: "Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7). Think of it! An entire race of people spent their lives looking for satisfaction, rest, and fullness; and they never did find it. Even to this day, only a small remnant of Jews have found the grace and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of them are blinded! Paul said, emphatically, "God hath given them the spirit of slumber." They are absolutely blind and deaf to the gospel! There is not an evangelist or teacher on earth who can penetrate their darkness! Very few of them are saved. Paul called them "a remnant according to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5). Paul speaks of a day when "all Israel shall be saved... and the Deliverer shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26). I don’t understand all of that, but I do know there are Jews dying right now-in total spiritual darkness about Christ-going into eternity under the spell of a deep sleep. They need not die in such blindness! Paul said, "And they also, if they abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again" (Romans 11:23). Has it never amazed you that many heathen can hear the gospel once, see it clearly, accept it, and be born again by faith in Him?! Prostitutes, drug addicts, the poor, and the illiterate-all have gladly received the message of Christ and have been gloriously saved. They have been awakened! Their eyes see it-their ears hear it! Yet the Jew is under the grip of the spirit of slumber! A deep sleep from the Lord has fallen upon them, and they simply cannot understand anything that is said or preached about the Lord Jesus Christ! Did God cast them away? Did God arbitrarily cut them off His vine just to save Gentiles? Were they predestinated to such horrible blindness? Absolutely not! Paul make that very clear! "Because of unbelief they were broken off" (Romans 11:20). "But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and stubborn people" (Romans 10:21). They were the natural branches; they were those who should have obtained what they were looking for. They should have accepted Christ. They should be the present-day preachers of the gospel. They should be the ones going as missionaries to the world, preaching the message of Christ! They should have found what we Gentiles found! Jerusalem should have become the Christian capital of the world. But they stubbornly held to their unbelief! They refused to yield to His lordship! They said, "This man shall not reign over us!" They hardened their hearts and provoked the holy One of Israel. They tempted God, proved Him, and saw His mighty works, yet they maintained an "evil heart of unbelief." What they heard was not mixed with faith. They would not hold on to a confidence in the Lord. They were so deceived by their sins, they purposely hardened their hearts. They preferred Moses above Christ! None of them could enter into rest. None could find or obtain what they were seeking, and God grieved over them. Paul wrote, "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19). What a tragedy-millions of spiritually hungry, searching, seeking Jews; and they cannot find what they are looking for. The Messiah came-He lives today-and they can’t see Him! They can’t hear Him! They are in the dark about Him! They are in a spiritual coma! But Paul is writing all this to Gentiles-Christians! His message really is: "Don’t say, Poor blind, slumbering Jews! No! But rather say, Poor blind, slumbering saints!" It is clear he is warning those who are in the faith. He said, "Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee" (Romans 1:20-21). Paul goes further and warns those in the faith of the severity of God. "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shall be cut off" (Romans 11:22). We hear much preaching today about the goodness of God! It is said, "Just believe; God is good; He wants only goodness and blessings for you!" Very ture-but that is only half the gospel. The other half of the gospel is this: God is very severe with those who harden their hearts through unbelief! There are those who preach, "Once in the vine, always in the vine! Once you are in, you can never be cut off again!" But what does the Word say? "Toward thee, goodness-if thou continue in His goodness. Otherwise, thou shalt be cut off. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He spare not thee." Let every drunken, sodden, adulterous Baptist hear it loud and clear! Let every lukewarm, backslidden Pentecostal open his ears! Let all playboy Christians hear it: "Take heed, lest He spare not thee!" They come to our street rallies, staggering out of bars, harlots draped over their shoulders, deacons and elders-some of them yelling, "Praise the Lord!" They stand up to us and reply, "We are saved! We love Jesus! We reckon ourselves dead with Christ. Jesus paid it all! See you in heaven!" So they stumble down the street, eyes full of adultery, minds closed, eyes closed, ears closed-going to hell in a deep sleep! Some preacher has made them believe they are going to be redeemed because, way back, they prayed a little prayer and made a public confession; but then they went back to their old ways. No power on earth can wake them up. They have been blinded by the deceitfulness of sin! They are under the spell of the spirit of slumber. I listen to street harlots, smiling in my face with a trick on their arms, boasting to me, "I am saved! I am just as holy as you are! Jesus loves me just as I am! I am on my way to glory!" And I say to myself, "What kind of blindness is this? How can one like this actually believe such a lie?" Then I realize they are asleep, in a spiritual coma, under the spell of a strong delusion! I. I am more concerned about the deep sleep that is falling upon believers in the house of God! In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus said, "They all slumbered and slept" (Matthew 25:5). This suggests the whole church is asleep just prior to the Lord’s return! All of them-asleep! The majority will be "caught unaware." When the midnight cry was made, all ten virgins awoke and went out to meet the bridegroom! Five of them had lamps that were going out! Those words send a chill up my spine-lamps going out! A fire that is dying! A vessel in which there is no more oil! The anointing is gone! A lamp that once burned so brightly-going out! At midnight, with Jesus’ coming at the door-going black, dark, empty! No joy, no faith, no confidence, no leading or convicting of the Holy Spirit! What it means is: The glory of the Lord is departing from some in this midnight hour! Preachers who used to thunder with unction and anointing are now squatting in front of the TV idol, getting fat and lazy, with no word from God, no fresh unction! Their lamp is going out! They are asleep! Christians who once were on fire for God, once full of love and joy in Jesus, once looking for His return-are now drifting, cold, full of doubt and fear. They are half asleep, but will soon fall into a deep sleep! They once had the glory of God, the power of the Holy Ghost. But now, their lamps are dim and dying! They now have adultery in their hearts; they play hard; they eat and drink; they act religious, but their hearts now grow cold and a hardness is setting in. Look at the wise virgins with their lamps ablaze. They are full of Holy Ghost fervor and excitement, and they are going out singing, marching into the marriage supper! Their eyes are only on their Beloved and they are ready to leave this wicked world. But look at the foolish ones-weeping, rushing about, trying to regain the fire! They are rushing about in circles, begging, pleading, "Somebody, help me! Oil-I need oil! My lamp is going out!" I look at multitudes in God’s house half asleep on to Lord, and I must warn loud and clear: Your lamp is going out! You have just a spark left! You are spiritually empty! You need a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost! You are living on an old anointing! It isn’t enough! You need more! You are in real danger of missing the marriage supper! You will be outside in the dark and He will say, "Depart, I don’t know you!" If we took God at His word, we would not be so lazy and half-hearted! We would not live another minute in doubt and unbelief! I don’t fear the Devil and all the forces of hell as much as I fear God’s curse of a spirit of slumber! I take it like it’s written, "God hath given them the spirit of slumber... For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep... You are blind, deaf; the word is sealed up." I refuse to shrug off this awesome warning to the people of God! These were God’s people-an unbelieving, rebellious, doubting people of the Lord; and God put them into a spiritual coma. I’ve seen Christians who are living under that deep sleep from the Lord. Their favorite expression is, "I don’t see it! I just don’t understand! I’m not convicted! I don’t feel anything." They are empty; they have no zeal, no fire, no commitment! They coast along! They are drifting with the spirit of this wicked age. You can preach like Paul to them; they can sit through precious Bible studies; they can be around other Christians who are growing in the Lord-but they go nowhere! They simply shrug it all off. They don’t believe it’s necessary to change anything in their lives. They are not hearing what God is saying! They have rejected the Lord’s Word for so long, they have wallowed in fear and unbelief for so long, they have complained and griped so much, they have lived for so long all to themselves-they are falling into a spiritual coma! Soon they will be numbered by the spirit of slumber. They will go around in a deep sleep and not even know it! They are deaf, blind, and dumb to the things of God! II. A spirit of slumber leads to two hopeless conditions -an inescapable trap and an everlasting burden! "And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them... and bow down their back always" (Romans 11:9-10). Paul quotes David from Psalms 69:22, "Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap." David said, "Thou preparest table before me in the presence of mine enemies" (Psalms 23:5). The table of the Lord represents worship; blessings of His Word; all that is intended to comfort us, make us grow, build us up, and make us rejoice! It is the house of God, good Christian friends, His holy Word, and the presence of the Holy Ghost! It is all part of the table He spreads! "Let it be a trap-a stumblingblock." It is almost unspeakable-too awful to contemplate-but so true that those who are overcome by this deep sleep, the curse upon their stubborn unbelief, enter a trap every time they get near the table of the Lord. For them, walking into God’s house is walking into a trap! Being in God’s holy presence is a stumblingblock! Here Is How It Works Every message now only hardens them. It is just another layer of hardness piled upon layer after layer of hardnesses, caused by other meetings and other messages sent from God! None of it registers! While they sing, they dig their graves even deeper. God called and called, so often, so long-and they rejected it all. Now they are trapped. They fear going back to the Devil. They know there is nothing for them back in sin, but neither is there anything for them in God’s house at His table. It bores them. They go through the motions, but they are trapped in a spiritual vacuum! They are trapped in a lukewarm, no-win situation. They enjoy nothing. They can’t enjoy the company of true saints. They simply endure worship. But they are just as miserable outside God’s house! They are uncomfortable with both crowds. And because they are neither hot, nor cold-but trapped in lukewarmness-God will spew them out of His mouth. "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16). I wonder why some even go to church. They don’t enter in; they get very little out of it, and if they are in a deep sleep, nothing in God’s house can help them. They are dead! They are like the man in the hospital-totally paralyzed, yet able to hear every word but unable to move-lost in coma! Every time the church doors open, multitudes walk right in, week after week, sitting there trapped! They are the walking dead! That which should have been for their welfare has become a trap! They should be getting blessed; they should go away comforted; they should be encouraged and set aflame! Instead, it adds to their sorrow! They become spiritual zombies-walking in their sleep. "Bow Down Their Back Always" David goes on to explain what this heavy burden is that bows them down. "Let their habitation be desolate" (Psalms 69:25). Let their homes be a place of emptiness, weariness, and joylessness! Let them become places of grief, misery, and ruin. Nothing could be worse than to be trapped in the house of God and in a home that is a desert-a place without love, peace, or happiness. When will the church wake up and recognize that the desolation in Christian homes is the result of a complaining, unbelieving, lukewarm spirit?! The home becomes a burden; it is no longer a place of refreshing and joy, but a place of death and gloom! That is why multitudes of Christian couples merely exist. They are in a deep sleep! A spirit of slumber has endangered their homes and they are trapped both in church and at home! David adds, "Let none dwell in their tents" (Psalms 69:25). There is such gloom there in that home, such desolation, no one will want to enter or stay there. Finally, a husband or wife leaves, and it ends up closed down-shut up! Up goes the "For Sale" sign. "Let them no longer live in that home! Let their habitation be desolate!" I look about and I see empty, bored Christians sitting in God’s house, trapped. Then I see their messed up homes, their sadness and lack of joy, their existing from day to day-and my heart cries out, "My God, how severe! How tragic! What horrible judgment You pour out upon the lukewarm and the doubting!" Then I ask myself, "Why can’t they see it? Why won’t they wake up and shake themselves before they are hopelessly lost in that terrifying deep sleep from the Lord?" III. God’s Word promises a mass resurrection of believers from the dead - in these last days! God took Ezekiel into a valley full of dry bones, and there gave him a revelation about what the Holy Spirit is going to do before Christ returns. "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry" (Ezekiel 37:1-2). What a vivid picture of the church right now-one big valley of very dry, very dead, bleached bones. "And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest" (Ezekiel 37:3). That is the question the Holy Spirit now puts to all godly shepherds-all true men and women of God! "Do you see how dead and dry My people are? Do you see death as far as the eye can see? Do you see evidence of life? Is there a sign of Holy Ghost breath anywhere? Do you believe that I can change all that? Do you believe I can breathe once again by My Spirit and raise up an army of live, vibrant worshippers?" "Don’t Give Up On My Church!" God is saying, "Don’t give up on my church!" There is a great shaking coming, a great breathing of God’s holy breath! New life is coming! An army of resurrected saints, once dead, are now being raised in power! "Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:4-6). It’s a day of judgment and destruction of this nation. The wicked and the violent will be cast down. But it is also a day of resurrection! It is a day of revival-a time of Holy Ghost activity. "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, and exceeding great army" (Ezekiel 37:7-10). "O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves... And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live" (Ezekiel 37:12-14). This is a dual prophecy from God; first, to Jewish Israel-and second, to Israel of faith-the believers. An exceeding great army is going to come walking out of their graves! Spiritual Lazaruses, ripping off grave clothes and breathing new life, will walk out of the valley of dry bones and join the ranks of the overcomers! Many who have been in that deep sleep, bound by the grave clothes of a spirit of slumber, will be breathed upon by the Holy Ghost and will spring to life! We are instructed in this passage to call upon the Holy Spirit to come and breathe! The prayer of all who walk with God should be, "Come, Holy Spirit, awaken the dead. Awaken the slumbering; open their graves; bring them up and out of death and dryness-to new life!" If the the Spirit of God be in you, you will live! He is the Spirit of life. There can be no death nor slumber where He abides! The remnant is "an exceeding great army." If only one-tenth of the world’s present population will be saved, that is one-half billion redeemed! It is a remnant only as compared to the great numbers of the unbelieving and damned. Get Ready to Be Shaken Are you dead? Dry? Get ready to be shaken! Get ready to be re-made, worked over! Get ready to be visited by the breath of almighty God! You have an appointment; you are chosen to live, to get out of your grave! God will say to you, "Live!" And you will rise up-and live! That is, you will live if you respond to the mighty breathing of the Spirit upon you. Saints of God, O holy remnant-rejoice! The wind of God is blowing! The breath of almighty God will rattle the gates of hell and send every demon into shock as the spiritual graves open and as those who have been very dry for so long come out of their bondage and become alive to holiness and worship in spirit and truth. As certainly as Satan could not keep Christ in the grave, he can neither hinder nor stop this great awakening from the dead in God’s house! Just before judgment falls, He will breathe upon all flesh in even greater power. The remnant will respond, rise, and walk in new resurrection life! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 85: PRE-087-84. GOD�S GRIEF OVER HIS PEOPLE ======================================================================== 84. God’s Grief Over His People God’s Grief Over His People by David Wilkerson | May 15, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] The final outcome of the church of Jesus Christ is glorious victory. In the end, the gates of hell shall never prevail against the true church, which is the invisible body of Jesus Christ on earth. It is supposed to be a glorious church, without a spot or wrinkle, washed and secured by the blood of the Lamb. But anyone with spiritual discernment can readily see that the church of Jesus Christ at this present time is not victorious over sin or the enemy. The sad and pitiful condition of many believers is a great grief to our Lord. Satan is trampling over multitudes of God’s people almost at will. The lives of millions of believers are in total disarray. Our ministry receives thousands of letter’s weekly from Christians all over the world. What my wife and I read is heartbreaking, and our workers weep with us as we read the pitiful prayer requests from multitudes of despairing Christians who are at the end of their rope. So many homes and lives seem to be totally out of control, with some wanting to escape by suicide. In one week we will hear from hundreds of Christian wives whose husbands have left or are in the process of leaving them. Many of these husbands were once on fire for God, but now they drink, they fool around with other women, and they are totally deceived by Satan. There are Christian wives who hate to wake up in the morning, and they go to bed each night crying themselves to sleep. Children are rebelling and backsliding. There is chaos and confusion in too many Christian homes. We even hear from ministers whose wives are leaving them. There are so many once radiant Christians turning their backs on the Lord, and the backsliding is widespread and getting worse. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold. We detect from so many Christians a sense of helplessness and despair. Many are giving up hope, and there is no joy or victory anywhere in their lives. They seem so defeated, cast down, defenseless, trodden down, wearied, and troubled. From the way many talk, the walls and gates are broken down, and Satan is having a field day without a challenge. We read these thousands of heartbreaking requests, and we are driven to our knees to cry out, "Oh, God - what is happening to your beloved people? How can the enemy walk over them and hurt them with such fury? Why are so many held captive by fear and turmoil? Why such havoc among Your dear children? Why aren’t God’s people rising up with holy indignation and crying out, "Enough!?" My Grief Only Reflects God’s Greater Grief Over the Pitiful Conditions in the Lives and Homes of the Lord’s People - Because It Need Not Be So! God does grieve over His people. He grieved for forty years over His people Israel because of the trouble and sorrow they brought upon themselves through unbelief. "But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?" (Hebrews 3:17). God has promised to carry them in his own arms through the difficult wilderness. He promised to be their guide, their keeper, their shelter, their strong arm, their covert from every storm, their deliverer from every enemy, and their high tower of protection. He promised that no weapon that was formed against them could ever prosper. They were to be the apple of His eye, the delight of His soul, the object of his tender loving care. Their enemies were to be their footstools; they were to be always more than conquerors. Had they believed what God told them, had they believed his promises were faithful and true, had they rested in his mighty power to save and deliver them, they would have been invincible! They would not have been victims of despair and trouble. They could have walked through that perilous wilderness well fed, without thirst, without fear or despair, with every need met, with a song and great joy. They could have had a life of peace, rest, and victory in a beautiful land of promises; and all spiritual and physical needs could have been met! That is what God had planned for them! That was what He promised! He so wanted them to be victorious, joyful, peaceful, and blessed. He wanted to make their bed for them in their sickness; He wanted to perform all things on their behalf to secure them and keep them a s a special people to Himself. But unbelief destroyed it all! Unbelief blinded their eyes to the ways of God! They missed God’s glorious plan simply because they would not believe his promises! "And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:18-19). It was not just their lust and immorality that brought upon them all their troubles and grief. God was gracious toward their sins, and the slain lamb provided all the forgiveness they needed. He provided atonement for sins of the flesh. It was their blatant unbelief that tied God’s hand so that He could not longer help or deliver them. Unbelief robbed them all their peace and rest and rendered all god’s promises useless and powerless on their behalf. The door to fullness, joy, and victory was open; but unbelief kept them from going in to claim it. They began to doubt God’s love and care for them. They began to question His mercy and concern, and they turned inward to seek help from the flesh. It brought them to a sad condition of hopelessness, and troubles broke upon them on all sides. We look over the pitiful history of Israel in the wilderness and we say, what a waste! What it could have been for them if they had simply believed God! They did not have to live in such fear and bondage! They did not have to fall into unbelief and bring upon themselves such trouble! It was self-inflicted! Why would they not choose the good way of faith and confidence, the victorious way, God’s preferred way? Why did they have to die such a sad, horrible, death, defeated, broken, and helpless?" God Grieves Even More Over This Generation of Believers Because We Have Better Promises and Still Won’t Believe! Our Unbelief is Inexcusable! "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" (Hebrews 4:1; Hebrews 4:11). Think for a moment of God’s grief as He sees what is happening once again in the lives of his people! God is saying, in this very text, "It should be different now! You have My promise to bring you into a place of perfect peace and rest - if you will only believe! You have an example before your eyes of the danger of unbelief! Take heed from the tragic example of My people in the past." Israel had no example of the destructive power of unbelief! They could not read a detailed, step-by-step account of a people who lost everything by foolish unbelief. But we can! We have the same promises - promises of a life of full and complete rest and deliverance in Him! We serve the same God! But even more, we now have a high priest in heaven who looks after all our interests. Ours is a better hope, built on better promises. We have a Man in glory who is touched, by personal experience, with the very feelings of our troubles, care, and needs. God say, "You have a reason to hold fast to your faith - a reason Israel did not have! You have a high priest who has passed into heaven - a priest who invites you to come boldly into his presence." "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). When Will There Ever Be a People of God Who Enter Into His Perfect Rest? If We Do Not, No Generation Ever Will Because We Are the Last! So often it is the Lord’s own people who bind his hands so that He cannot help and deliver. It is the unbelief of his chosen ones that hinders most His divine power. So it was when he walked this earth in the flesh. He went into His own country, among his own people, and they were offended by Him. "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, he cried out, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I would... but ye would not." Jesus wanted to take them under His wings and protect them from the coming storms, but they refused through their unbelief. Such dread blindness! They were in such dire need, and there He was having all they needed, and their unbelief could not see it or appropriate it. There is not a single reason for believers to live as victims to such horrible fear, anxiety, and torment. What is happening in the lives and homes of Christians today is as senseless as the self-inflicted bondage of the Israelites. It should not be - it need not be! In These Last Days Those Who Have Not Learned to Trust Him in Everything Will Be Consumed by Their Fears and Troubles! They Will Be Overwhelmed! All the Israelites who came out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, were consumed in the wilderness. They died out of God’s will, without hope, without peace or joy - they died alone and forsaken. And it should not have ended that way. They should have all been delivered and brought into the land of rest and peace. Before he died, Moses told them why they would be so dreadfully consumed. He reminded them, "God promised to fight your battles... He bore thee in his arms as a man doth bear his son... yet in all this you did not believe the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 1:30-32). Moses said, "And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware saying, Surely there shall not one of this evil generation see that good land... turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness... Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you... the Lord will not hearken... nor give ear unto you" (Deuteronomy 1:34-35; Deuteronomy 1:40; Deuteronomy 1:42; Deuteronomy 1:45). God told them it was their continual unbelief that damned them to such a horrible end. Do we think God does not hear us when we complain and when we doubt him? God says, "I heard what you said in your discouragement! I heard the words of your doubts and fears! You refused to trust Me! You even think doubts!" Oh, saints of God, beware of your language in your times of testing and trial! It may be you truly love the Lord, pray, you read His Word. But what about your thoughts and words to Him - He reads your mind! God takes this very seriously, and He must be trusted. Unbelief is the greatest grief you could cause him. Do you believe Him when His Word promises, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19)? Is the enemy coming against you, your home and your loved ones? Is there a flood of difficulty and trouble roaring down upon you? Do you despair, fear, and blame God? Or do you turn to the Lord, cleave to Him in the time of trouble and need, resting in his promises to bring you through, and give Him complete trust and confidence - no matter how bad things look? It Is a Great Evil in the Eyes of the Lord for His Children to Speak or Think Doubts About His Love and Care for His Own. Isaiah said, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression" (Isaiah 58:1). What was the great transgression? Amazingly, Isaiah was speaking to those who "sought the Lord daily, who delighted to know his ways... who did righteously... who forsook not the ordinances of their God... who took delight in approaching to God" (Isaiah 58:2). Isaiah was addressing genuine lovers and seekers of God. They were not wicked sinners - these were the very best of God’s chosen people - yet they were guilty of this grievous sin of unbelief! They served God without believing He was concerned about the details of their lives. They prayed to a God they really didn’t trust. They were coming to a God they did not believe was answering their prayers or working miracles for them. Listen to their unbelief! (Wherefore we have fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?" (Isaiah 58:3). Let me explain what this means, because many are being severely tested in the same way. You begin to seek the Lord with all your heart. You tear down all the idols of self and flesh. You get hungry for God and begin to pray and seek his face. You honestly want to please the Lord, trust him, and live a true and victorious life. For a while all goes well. But one day the enemy comes with his horrible lies to test you! He whispers, "It doesn’t pay to be so holy and pure. Nothing has really changed. There are no miracles happening for you. You try so hard, yet you are no better than you were. Look at all the trouble and pain in your life. God is no more at work in your life that when you were cold. It isn’t working for you." The devil will taunt you, "You are the same old person you always were - lonely, forsaken, hurting, a rug for others to walk on. God is not answering your prayers. The troubles and problems won’t go away. Even your fasting doesn’t get results. Why not relax, be like all the others? Why put so much effort into being holy when you don’t see much in the way of results? Why read the Bible, why pray, why live separated and pure lives when it doesn’t seem to change things?" Be very careful during those testing times! Don’t let thoughts continue in your mind that God is not at work in your life! Don’t relax and give in to the lying spirits of fear and unbelief. It is a grievous sin against God to doubt his interest in you! Prayer is changing you, and that is more important. God is at work, and what he is doing is hidden from our eyes - but every prayer moves His loving heart, and He still bottles every tear. We Are Approaching a Time When Only Those Who Fully Trust God Will Survive! If You Can’t Trust Him in the Good Times - What Will You Do When Judgment Comes? Jeremiah warns, "If thou has run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst though contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, where in thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling Jordan?" (Jeremiah 12:5). In other words, "If you can’t make it now, trusting God - in this easy race, when all is peace and prosperity - how will you ever make it when the floods of judgment come rolling in? The majority of God’s people are not ready for the judgments at the door. If they can’t trust the Lord in these good times, where will they find faith in the days of sorrow and perplexity? Brother, sister, we are in a race right now - but it is just a slow foot race compared to what is soon to come. We must soon contend with the horses of the apocalypse - with judgments falling upon a sinful nation on all sides. God is saying, "if you can’t trust Me in a time of peace, where you are not being persecuted or put to death for your faith, what will you do when it does come? If you can’t trust Me in times of security and relative prosperity, how will you trust Me when everything is shaking and coming apart?" Believe me, children of God - we face a swelling Jordan, a time of overflowing judgments and evil days. Those who can’t see that coming are spiritually blind, deaf, and dumb - and they will end up being shipwrecked in faith. The Spirit is making a cry to all sleeping virgins, "Awake, put on your strength, O Zion!" We had better start trusting our dear Lord now, in all things, while He is near and ready to deliver. I think of all the doubting, fearful, despairing children of God, living right now in such turmoil, and I say to myself, "What will happen to these poor, dear souls when real trouble comes? More trouble will only cause more doubt, more unbelief." God help us! This trend toward helpless doubt and debilitating unbelief must stop! God’s people must put an end to every single doubt - they must rise up in holy and righteous anger and cry aloud, "Devil, I am a child of an all powerful, all caring, heavenly Father - and you can no longer trample me into the dust of despair and defeat! I will trust my God! I will pray and believe God is hearing!" God is sounding his trumpet. He is making a midnight cry. He is trying to awaken His bride! He calls out a people who will cast themselves upon Him, who will believe in His saving, keeping, delivering power! Don’t look at conditions! Don’t look for evidence! Trust Him even if you see no visible results at all. "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe." Absolute faith and trust in God will lift you above any and all trials and problems! Faith will declare, "It may not happen the way I think it should. God may not do it my way, but He will do what is right for me! He will keep me! He will sustain me! His presence will go with me! He will one day wipe my tears away! He will be faithful!. We had better start "casting" all our cares upon Him - now! He wants to lift every care from our shoulders! He wants to be trusted with every single need and problem. It has been His grief that so few trust Him, but it will be His great joy to find a body of believers who have cast every care upon Him! Turn everything over to Him! Your home! Your children! Your work! Your needs! Your mate! Your future! Do you believe Him when He says, "I care for you"? God must weep for joy when He finds a people who are anxious for nothing because they are resting in His care! David said, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord" (Psalms 112:1; Psalms 112:7). Is Your Heart Fixed? Are You Fully Trusting in the Lord in All Things? Then no bad news will ever move you. You need be afraid of nothing! Let the economy fail, let the banks close, let the violence rage, let the world tremble with fear, let the hydrogen bombs fall. My heart is fixed - anchored! I trust my Lord! Live or die, I am the Lord’s. Those who put their trust in the Lord can shout with joy even when the floods of judgment roll in. "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, will bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield" (Psalms 5:11-12). His Word Calls Us to a Life of Trust. "Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of they wings" (Psalms 17:7-8)). "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psalms 31:19-20). "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him" (Psalms 34:7-9). "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3). "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed" (Psalms 28:7-8). "Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee" (Psalms 33:20-22). "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever" (Palm 125:1). "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 86: PRE-088-85. BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION ======================================================================== 85. Blow The Trumpet in Zion Blow the Trumpet in Zion For the Day of the Lord Has Come by David Wilkerson | May 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand" (Joel 2:1). O Zion, holy people of God, awake to the sound of the trumpet, for the day of the Lord is near, and our King cometh in glory with His armies to set up His kingdom. O ye slumbering saints of the Most High God, shake yourself, and put away the evil of your doings, and put on the whole armor of God; for the enemies of God have determined to war against the Lord and His saints. "A day of darkness is coming, and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness…a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them…Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness" (Joel 2:2-6). Zion, have you not yet heard that "the earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining?" (Joel 2:10). Seeing then that very soon the very elements are going to melt with fervent heat, why do the people of the Lord lounge on beds of ease and go on carelessly, eating and drinking and making merry? Have you not yet heard, O Zion, the trumpet sounding? Have you become so blinded by prosperity, so deafened by the lusts and cares of this world that you cannot hear? Can you not discern the times; know ye not the day of the Lord is at the very door? Is this a time to be at ease, to give all your time and energy to your own interests? Will you go days on end and not seek His face; will you keep on forgetting Him who called you out of bondage? Will you neglect His Word, His house, His secret closet? Will you comfort yourself by saying, "He is not coming! Judgment is not near! I will relax, enjoy my life and pleasures, and go to be with Him when I have finished serving my own desires"? The Spirit saith, Blow the trumpet in Zion and call my people to "turn to me with all their hearts, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him" (Joel 2:12-14). He is even now "setting a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst of them" (Ezekiel 9:4). "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children,…let the bridegroom go forth out of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet" (Joel 2:15-16). Where are the priests of the Lord who should be weeping between the porch and the altar? Where are those prophets who have been awakened and who cry aloud, "Spare thy people, O Lord" (Joel 2:17)? The priests are asleep! "And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities" (Isaiah 64:7). Already Christ the Bridegroom has left His celestial chamber, and He has set out to meet His bride. And even now the Spirit cries to the bride to awaken and go out to meet Him, whom her soul loveth. Should not the shepherds be on their faces before God, weeping, confessing their sins and the sins of God’s people? Should not the priests of the Lord be stirring the bride? My God, how blind Your shepherds have become. While the armies of Satan align themselves to do battle with heaven, while the armies and chariots of God march in rank to the final conflict, the shepherds play. "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock" (Ezekiel 34:2-3). They turn on their soft beds, feeding themselves on the fat of the sheep. They gather their male sheep to the ball fields. They go forth hunting and fishing, but not for men. They love to party, to socialize, to relax before their idols. "And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them" (Ezekiel 34:5-6). O blind shepherds of Zion, you have been called to gather God’s people to a solemn assembly — not to foolish fun and games? "Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished. It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth?" (Ezekiel 21:9-10). You have been commanded by the Lord of hosts to set your face to the ground in humility, brokenness, and repentance. Do you lament, O man of God? Are you ashamed, O ye husband–men of Zion? Awake ye drinkers of wine, for the enemy has come up upon the land and ye know it not. There shall be heard the "voice of howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled" (Zechariah 11:3). The vine lays waste; the seed is rotting under the clod; the cankerworms have eaten the fields; and no one mourns! Every man looks to his own interest; the love of many grows cold; and joy is withering from the sons of God. It is because there is no shepherd in the pulpit who is alarmed; none who has heard the sound of Zion’s trumpet; none who have purged themselves from all iniquity and who proclaim the day of the Lord with power! "Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law" (Zephaniah 3:4). He could have healed the backslidings of this nation if the Lord’s shepherds had been awake and watching. But the watchmen’s eyes have grown heavy with slumber, and the priests refuse to call mightily upon His name. His anger could have been turned away, had there been ministers in the house of the Lord who were on their faces, calling on heaven to forgive and heal the people. Why do the children forsake the ways of the Lord? Why do the young people cozy to the daughter of Babylon and run with the wicked? Why are they so angry, so faithless, so set in their worldly ways? It is because there is no clear and solemn word from the pulpits of the land. Ministers, burdened with their own doubts and sins, stand before the powers of darkness, cowering, for they have lost their spiritual authority. A holy remnant of faithful shepherds is still in the land. They weep for the flock; they grieve over the sins of God’s people; they have returned to the Lord with all their might — yet, they are a despised few. Many prophets have become bags of wind, and God’s people love to have it so. The congregation of Zion is spoiled! The day of the Lord is at hand; the land is perplexed; there is desolation and destruction threatening on all sides — yet, the Lord’s people do not take it to heart. The church is in the valley of decision; the Spirit has gone forth to awaken and stir the sleeping — yet, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Approaching judgment? Not until they see the end of their favorite television series. Not until the last dregs of pleasure have been wrung out. Not until the easy life ebbs and withers. Not until all fleshly desires and ambitions have been fulfilled. "Do not interrupt us, O God," they seem to be saying, "for the Lord’s coming or sudden judgment would deny us of all that our hearts are set upon." O ye backslidden people of Zion, will you never return to the Lord with all your hearts and put away the adulteries, the fornications, the pleasure madness? God Will Overthrow! Our King is coming to Zion to rule with a rod of iron. If His people will not humble themselves, confess and forsake their sins, He will come suddenly to His temple to execute judgment. Mercy and grace upon all who crown Him Lord and King. Peace and rest and joy to all who seek Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Green pastures, living waters, restoration to all the people of God who turn to Him from all that is of this world: its ways, its things, its spirit, and its seduction. "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 34:12; Ezekiel 34:14). But quick judgment and sorrow upon all who shut the ear and close the mind to the trumpet sounding in Zion! He will overthrow the seducers of mankind. He will overthrow the hypocrite and the cold–hearted. The lukewarm will He spew out of His mouth. He will release to Satan all who hold the truth in unrighteousness. He will give over to a reprobate mind all who knew God but glorify Him not as God, but become conceited fools who worship the creature more than the Creator. He will overthrow the lazy shepherds who have fed themselves and not their flocks. "Therefore ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them" (Ezekiel 34:7-10). He will overthrow all who changed the truth of God into a lie. It is a day of dread release! Millions who scoffed at the trumpet sound and who carried on in their foolishness and apathy will be given up to the wrath to come. "The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel" (Joel 3:15-16). The Redeemer Has Come! "The redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 59:20). "Arise and shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1). Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be upon thee. The people of the Lord, the overcoming bridehood, shall lift up their eyes and sing, "Our King cometh. He cometh to save us! To nurse us! To bring us into the abundance of His holy city!" And the overcomers will flow together; they shall be as one and be manifest to the world as the body of Christ on earth. But the body is soon to be united with its Head. The head of this glorious body is the Redeemer of Zion, and He will appear suddenly in His temple to set up His throne. Their hearts shall not fear who long for His coming. They shall show forth His praises till He comes. They will adore Him until the moment of resurrection. Their days of mourning shall pass. The glory of the Lord shall ever be upon them, and as they see the day approaching, their hearts shall leap for joy. When He breaks through the dark clouds of judgment, the redeemed remnant will shout mightily — for they will suddenly stand before His glorious presence; they will look lovingly upon His majestic face; and they will fall before Him with singing and with rejoicing, proclaiming, "We endured for the joy that awaited us! This is our joy! Christ, King of Glory! Hosanna to Him who brought us out of great judgments, who preserved us in the fires, who redeemed us with a high and mighty hand." Where once there was fear of death and destruction, there will now be only the excellency of His eternal joy. He will plant our feet in a glorious land, and He Himself will be our sanctuary. No more hated, no more pain-burdened, no more concern or worry about any tomorrows — for we will be home with Him! We will drink the milk of heaven and eat the food of angels. We will not look back at all; the fears and forebodings will be forever gone. Why do we fear dying? Why do we hold to this fleeting life so tenaciously? Why do we dread the leap into eternity? Who would exchange the city of gold and the eternal pleasures of His kingdom for the paltry, decaying, corrupted existence here on earth? Resurrection Life Did our Lord not tell us that He is the resurrection and the life? And that whosoever liveth and believeth in Him should never die, but have everlasting life? That everlasting life is to be enjoyed right now! The Lord seeks to bring His overcoming remnant into THE POWER OF AN ENDLESS LIFE. It is greater than Pentecostal power. Greater than power to heal the sick, cast out devils, and to perform great works. It is greater than witnessing power, and even greater than power to raise the dead. Soon, very soon, those powers will no longer he needed because a new world will be born. A world is coming where there is no limited measure of the Spirit. There will be no need to cast out devils, heal the sick, or raise the dead. No witnesses will be needed then. It is an eternal world where everlasting life will flow endlessly in all who are redeemed. We can only speculate what it will be like to be in the full power and glory of eternal life. God seeks to bring His holy remnant into the power of eternal life, even now. Not that we will not die, but that the power of everlasting life will be so appropriated in this life — there will be a full and complete severing from the world and it’s claims. God wants a free people, a remnant totally detached from all that is earthly and of time. It is possible to move into a resurrection realm that places us beyond time, beyond the thinking of this world, beyond the bondage of health, security, and death itself. There is freedom in appropriating the power of endless life. To live with an eye fixed in eternity, focused on the throne of God, is to live without fear of what men can do to this human body. To live in a resurrected state of mind is to hold lightly to all that is in and of this world. Is Jesus Christ more to His people than life itself? Yes — Oh yes — He is to us life everlasting! Cry it aloud, O saints of God; tell it to the world, the flesh and the devil: "I will never die! I do not belong to this lost and dying world! I am even now, in Christ, an eternal being. My spirit will ever live with Him, and He will restore to me a glorious new body in His very own image! Is that not the greatest power God can give mankind — to make him an eternal being, a never–dying soul who will live forever in His presence? The life I will experience in eternity even now flows in me from God’s throne. I have the earnest of that inheritance right now. I can look down on this old sin–cursed world and rejoice, "O world of wickedness and habitation of devils — you have no claim or hold on me! I have been released from your power. Even the grave in your dust cannot keep me imprisoned. I am even now endued from on high with an endless life, the life of God that has no beginning and no end!" Get hold on eternal life, overcoming remnant! The life you now experience in the flesh is but a vapor that will soon vanish and be gone. Everlasting life flows from God’s very throne, and it is also a fruit the redeemed will eat forever from the tree of life. But God seeks to reveal to us that it is possible to eat of that fruit now, in the Spirit, by faith. What unspeakable joy to be secluded with Him in the secret closet, and for hours drink of that fountain of everlasting life and eat of the fruit of the tree of life. You can come out of that prayer chamber already in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The world loses its charm. The heart is weaned from all that was once held dear. The affections and longings are transformed to the heavenly kingdom, to the resurrection realm. Hungering Hearts — Take Your Fill! The overcoming remnant will hunger and thirst more and more in the final days before destruction. The Holy Spirit will create in Christ’s bride an over–whelming desire for holiness, purity and revelation. Here and there, throughout the land, the deep hungerings and thirstings of the righteous can be seen. Radical separations from the world and all its idols and pleasures is taking place. The cry is for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. Material things are losing their value to this bridehood. Their hearts are being wooed by the Spirit to a life of prayer and brokenness before the throne. Selfish desires, self–centered plans are being abandoned, and the perfect will of God is all that matters now. The man–realm of success, ambition, and promotion has been dealt a death–blow, and the glory of God has become supreme. There is the sound of adoration and worship, and the enthroning of Christ and the yielding to His lordship. In these final days before the holocaust, the blessed Savior is preparing a feast of good things; not the beggarly elements of this world and the foolish materialism being sought by the undiscerning, but the blessing and joys of heaven itself. The overcoming remnant can face any furnace of fire with fully satisfied, restful hearts. Sound the TRUMPET IN ZION — God has a secured remnant, washed in Christ’s Blood, clothed with spotless garments, separated unto the King of Glory, with burning lamps held high, going out to meet the Bridegroom in the power of an endless life! Drink to the full, saints of God — drink of the fountain of everlasting life! Out of Her, My People "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). Come out of the sleeping, dead churches. Come out of the covetous, prosperity–minded cults. Come out of the luke–warm, socializing congregations who have lost the glory of the Lord. Come out of compromising, sin–laden, liberal temples. Come out of the Mary–worshipping Catholic church. Come out of any and all churches and groups where there is no Holy Ghost fire, no smiting conviction, no hunger for holiness. Come out of the legalistic churches and fellowships who preach salvation by works. "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed" (Jeremiah 51:6-8). Come out of the teachings that encourage lust for money, fame, and success. Come out of all the man–centered religious institutions that are twice dead and plucked up by the roots. "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord" (Jeremiah 51:45). Come out and forsake the false prophets whose eyes are on the gold and the glory. Come out and forsake any minister or evangelist who puts you at ease in Zion and who comforts Christians with false security. "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11). "For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Revelation 18:5). Whose sins? The sins of the backslidden, lukewarm church and the corporate sins of a nation whose cup of iniquity is full. How dare we believe that God has not seen our incurable wickedness! The men of Nineveh and Sodom cry out for justice. They are our accusers. Nineveh repented at one sermon — America rejected an avalanche of gospel calls and warnings. Sodom had no gospel; it had no armies of preachers; nor was its airwaves flooded with warnings of impending judgment. As with Sodom, as with Nineveh, as with Jerusalem and Judah, our sins have reached into heaven and God has set His judgments. They are all gone, and now we stand at His bar of judgment. Who will awaken, heed the Lord’s call to come out and separate, and cleanse themselves from all the iniquities of the church and society? Do not do as Israel did and think the days of judgment are far off. "Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord" (Ezekiel 12:27-28). Words of Comfort for Zion–God’s Holy Remnant "Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness. And the strong shall be as [tinder], and his work as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them" (Isaiah 1:27; Isaiah 1:31). "Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 12:6). "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for the redeemed: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon; they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:3-4; Isaiah 35:8-10). "The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the fields. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young" (Isaiah 40:6-11). "For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished" (Isaiah 51:3; Isaiah 51:5-6). "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isaiah 52:7). "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1-3). "Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction" (Jeremiah 4:6). "And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be A HREFuge unto his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel" (Joel 3:16). "But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions" (Obadiah 1:17). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 87: PRE-089-86. ONE WAY TO SAVE YOUR HOME ======================================================================== 86. One Way To Save Your Home One Way To Save Your Home by David Wilkerson | April 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" (Acts 11:13-14). Does your house need to be saved, literally or spiritually, or both? Is there a physical, spiritual or financial disaster looming just ahead of you, threatening your house? Is your house torn by strife, tension, an impending divorce, rebellious children, an impaired love or troubled relationship? Is your life, your faith, your marriage, your house in any danger? Is there a need for a genuine miracle of God for deliverance and salvation? From the mail coming into my office daily, I am convinced Satan is trying, with all the cunning of hell, to destroy Christian homes in any way possible. Children are being seduced and deceived by demonic temptations. Many marriages are in deep trouble, with divorce becoming a raging cancer in the church. I have been stirred and moved to prayer by all the reports coming in from Christians whose financial situation is desperate. Never have Christian homes been under more stress and pressure than right now. The very foundations of the Christian homes are shaking — adirect result of the moral and spiritual decay in our society. It is a cop–out to blame it all on a lack of faith or on ignorance of certain rights believers are not claiming. It goes much deeper than that, and it is a matter of greatest concern to out heavenly Father. There is one way to save your home. It is the only scriptural way I can see, and it is beautifully outlined in chapter 10 of Acts. You can save your house the very same way Cornelius saved his. In a single day, with one glorious miracle, his entire household was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. In the one day his house was transformed from spiritual blindness to marvelous light and life. God gave his house a private Pentecost that shocked the church in Jerusalem, upset the theology of Peter, and opened the door for the saving of the Gentile race. All because one man set out determinedly to save his house. Before I show you how Cornelius saved his house, let me ask you if you are really wanting to save yours? Do you want an open heaven and access to the throne of God? Do you want to be the one God uses to bring revival and supernatural transformation to your entire household? At times I wonder if many Christians truly want to see God do a new work in their homes. We receive thousands of prayer requests of all kinds, especially from housewives and grandparents, requesting prayer for their troubled homes. Recently while Gwen and I were praying and grieving over all the sad problems and heartbreaking requests, I found myself saying to the Lord, "Oh God, how many of these dear Christians are really desperate enough to be shut in with you in their own secret closet of prayer? How many are willing to just let us pray, without themselves spending hours before God’s throne in intercession?" I know many do pray earnestly, but not all. Too many believers today want shortcuts. We want to spend as little time as possible weeping before the Lord. We don’t want to fast and pray for hours, beholding the face of Jesus and gaining strength and faith to bring down strongholds. We don’t spend enough time in God’s holy Word getting our faith renewed. We spend hours glued to the television idol getting our spirits vexed and opening our homes to the power of darkness. We go to the Bible just long enough to pick out special promises we can claim. We want to simply name it and claim it, like the brother who said, "Why all this talk about fasting and praying? It’s all been done for us — speak the work of faith, believe, and it’s yours. It’s so simple." That is simply a lazy Christian’s way to bypass our Lord’s call to holiness, intercession, prayer and fasting. I can prove to any open–minded believer that it’s more than an exercise of faith. It is much more than a mental or word game. The life of Cornelius proves that God seeks absolute devotion, total obedience, and ceaseless prayer. Consider the ways by which this devoted man of God Saved his house and the miracles his devotion wrought. I. Cornelius Fasted and Prayed Unceasingly "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always" (Acts 10:1-2). When I say Cornelius fasted and prayed always, I mean that he was so determined that he and his house come into Godss fullness, it made him desperate to the point of neglecting food so he could seek God. Food was so secondary to his deep spiritual hunger and longing for God. Days of fasting without a corresponding hunger and thirst for God avails nothing — better to eat than use fasting as merit to extract blessing from heaven. Fasting a meal or two is the natural reaction of a heart in pursuit of God — hunger for Him takes the edge off any desire for food. It is simply a matter of losing one’s appetite because of deep inner craving for a touch from God. This man should put us all to shame. He had no teaching tapes or cassettes; he didn’t even have a teacher. He was not a Jewish proselyte; he was simply a man desperate for God, and what he had learned had come the hard way. No seminars, no conventions, no how–to–get–it–from–God books. He did not even have the Holy Ghost in him yet, urging him to pray and seek God’s face. Yet he fasted and prayed always. His prayer life made him a giver of alms. God had not yet answered his prayer for his own household, yet he gave generously to all in need. He was not so wrapped up in his own need that it took all his time, attention and money. Praying men always get God’s attention. He, going to God in prayer, and "God coming in to him, and saying" (Acts 10:2-3). The man praying hears God speaking. It’s been that way since Eden. There are not a handful of Christians today who hear from God directly. God’s people never change. The Israelites said to Moses, "Tell us what God says, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:19). And God’s people moved far back from God’s holy presence while Moses drew near to the thick cloud of darkness "where God was" (Exodus 20:21). "Let our shepherd hear from God," was their cry. "We can’t take His awesome presence," they said. So it is today. God’s people have strayed so far from the secret holy place of God’s presence, they have created a "star" mediatorship. Star preachers, teachers and evangelists, to whom you can write and ask for intercession, prayer and direction. People don’t seem to know that computers can’t pray. It is entirely scriptural to seek the prayer support of two or three praying, believing Christians. But not until you have come boldly to the throne of grace to receive grace and mercy to help in your hour of need. Let me tell you exactly why so many Christians are not getting their prayers answered and why their homes are in such deep turmoil. They have been numbed by their problems — so overwhelmed they just sit down and cry and grieve. In frustration many park themselves in front of television and hope to ease their minds of the pain. A stupefying lethargy comes over them and they become possessed by their problems. We all know where the answer lies! We know prayer is the only way to save our homes and solve all our problems. Not quickie prayer, not lazy praying, but the pouring out of the heart in broken contrition before His holy presence. We have the Holy Ghost continually groaning in us, wooing us, calling us to hide away in the secret closet to worship and adore the King of Glory. We know that in His presence is fullness of joy, grace and mercy to help in the hour of need, a hearing ear and an all–seeing eye. Then why — oh — why do we not pray? God’s people are running helter–skelter to big meetings and seminars to hear teachers offering simple solutions and easy formulas to produce miracles. I know people who can spend from two to seven full days sitting for hours to hear about God but can’t spend two hours a day to talk to Him. If we’d quit running around, heaping to ourselves teachers to scratch our itching ears and, instead, get shut in with God for a day, we’d be seeing true miracles and transformation of entire households. Marriages would be healed! We don’t have a people–to–people problem, just a people–to–God problem. We’ve become strangers to God; we’ve ignored and neglected the altar in our homes; and God has left us to our foolish devices. It is time to get honest, saints of God. There is going to be nothing but continual defeat, restlessness, and unending problems unless we ask God to give us back our hunger for Him; unless we again learn to pour all our problems out in secret prayer; until we again lean only on Him; until we stay in His holy presence; until we get our own answers from God. We are not going to save our homes with half–hearted praying or by some kind of pumped up carnal faith. Our covenant God does not work on the behalf of those with a divided heart, who toy with secret sin; He is availed only through the effectual, fervent praying of holy believers. Clear, Detailed Directions Through Prayer The clear and detailed directions Cornelius received from God is thrilling to read about. "Send to Joppa, and call for one Simon Peter: He is staying with a man called Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea: he shall tell you what to do" (Acts 10:5-6). At the same time, another praying man, Simon Peter, is getting a vision from the Lord to prepare him to go to the house of Cornelius to bring salvation. God works on all sides when His people get to praying in earnest. God has countless ministering angels; He has the chariots and hosts of heaven; He has the power and majesty in heaven and earth; He speaks the word and it is done; and nothing can withstand His perfect will. All God waits for is a heart set on Him. A heart that communes with Him; wholly devoted to Him; a heart that lays hold on Him, a heart not only set on Him, but set apart only for Him. Prayer warriors never have to abdicate their spiritual authority to another. They never have to go, hat in hand, begging others for direction. They are themselves in the realm of an open heaven, hearing daily from their Lord. When I was a child I remember saints of God talking about "laying hold of the horns of the altar" (1 Kings 1:50-51). By laying hold of the horns of the altar, Israelites placed themselves under the protection of the saving, helping grace of God. The altar was a place of sanctuary as well as offerings, and offenders who took hold of its horns were safe from all harm. Even King Solomon could not slay the usurper Adonijah when he ran to the house of God and took hold of the horns of the altar there. There is a place of refuge and security, a place of grace and deliverance. It is the altar! But as in the days of Elijah, our altars are broken down. The only altar in many homes today is an idol — atelevision set, to which they sacrifice many precious hours. Mother, if you really want your household saved, healed and delivered, why are you sitting there watching those evil soap programs? Why are you wasting God’s precious time watching such abominations as Dallas, Knotts Landing, Dynasty, and all the other horribly wicked shows? Dad, you say you want God to word a miracle of finances for you — you need something to happen soon. Why then, do you not get desperate before God? Do you have time for sports, recreation, rest? Why, if it is so critical, don’t you shut all else down, stop everything, and wait on God in secret prayer? Why can’t we realize nothing is going to happen, nothing will change, it will just get worse, unless we get back to God in passionate prayer and rededication. II. Cornelius Was Ready to Obey All That Was Commanded of Him. "Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God" (Acts 10:33). Not a word a word of what God had for him and his family in the way of blessings, riches, health, power or gifts. It was not, "Tell us what God can do for us. Tell us about all the gifts of the Holy Ghost poured out in Jerusalem. Tell us how to be successive, prosperous and healthy." No, all he wanted to hear was, "What does God expect from us in the way of obedience?" And, "What is commanded?" Saul, immediately after his conversion, cried out, "Lord, what will you have me to do?" These early New Testament saints were more interested in knowing their responsibilities to God than in learning how to get something from Him for themselves. Obedience was of great concern to them. The words of Jesus still rang fresh in their minds, "If you love me, you will obey me." Obedience was the fruit of love for him. How many of us could pray the way Cornelius prayed, for himself and all his family? Could we go into the secret closet of prayer, laying aside all promises, all requests for blessings and good things, and open up to God for a revelation of what our responsibilities are to Him? If He told us we are responsible as parents to tear down all idols, including television, so our homes could be saved from corruption, would we do it? Why pray for God’s protection over your family, especially your children, then set them down before such an idol and let their minds be bent toward evil, under your very own supervision? What if the Holy Spirit convicted you to quit all gossiping, all hearing and telling of the failures of others — and with the purging of you lips He would shine on your home with great peace and joy — would you obey? Cornelius set his family down, looked Peter right in the eye and said, "We as a family want to know what we are to do to save our house — what is commanded of God." How quickly God moves to answer that kind of prayer, so quickly in fact, Peter’s sermon was never finished — the Spirit of God fell in the middle of this message. Peter made it very clear that Jesus Christ was "ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and dead" (Acts 10:42). He said, in effect, "Christ not only judged the sins of Sodom and Noah’s mockers — but He is the judge of your sins. So repent and believe and be saved." The truth is, our sins have hindered our prayers from being answered. Sin in us has caused Him to hide His face. Isaiah warned, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). We have forgotten He is our judge to whom we must answer; we have chosen to see Him only as a benevolent giver of good things. We focus only on His everlasting goodness and mercy, while ignoring His ordination by the Father to be our judge. The Spirit seeks to humble us in the Lord’s presence, to show us the exceeding sinfulness of our iniquities, to reveal Christ as the holy, awesome judge before whom we will one day give account. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." We can save our homes by setting our hearts to obey the Lord at all cost. While others go to Him only to be blessed, you must go to Him to listen. With open ears and a willing heart, God will reveal His will, He will show you what is needed on your part, and you can obey and clear the way for true restoration and revival in your home. III. God Saved the House of Cornelius by Sending an Outpouring of the Holy Ghost! "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. They spake with tongues, and magnified the Lord" (Acts 10:44-46). Think of it, a private Pentecost, falling upon an entire household with everybody there lifted into the heavenlies. It was miraculous; the praises were thrilling; all the family, all relatives and children getting saved and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. All because one man set his heart to seek God until an answer came. And here we sit, in the day of the outpoured Holy Ghost, with little or no evidence of His workings and presence in our homes. Fearful but true, many of our Christian homes are now under the control of the spirit of the world rather than the Spirit of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is unity. Where he abides, there is rest and peace; there is unspeakable joy and a sense of victory over sin and the devil. We need to take back the spiritual authority in our homes. If a Christian husband and wife are not in total oneness, flowing together in the Spirit and love of Jesus, there is extreme danger ahead. One or both are not walking in the Spirit. When both are seeking God in private prayer and devotion to God, the Spirit works His wonders and brings them into the same resurrection realm. In recent months, the Holy Spirit has been awakening husbands, wives and grandparents and calling believers back to a deeper walk in the Spirit. There is a cleansing going on everywhere, with the Spirit brooding over homes, bringing back tears of repentance and a growing hunger for reality. People are getting tired of all the religious games, tired of being victimized by demon powers, tired of all the empty pleasures and unsatisfying materialism. Thousands of Christians, now on fire for God, are throwing out their TV sets and are back to seeking the Lord in earnest. They are casting down all their idols and are turning their homes back to temples of the Holy Ghost. God is doing something new in the land right now. Something so powerful, so supernatural, it is terrorizing hell. The Holy Ghost has come to separate a people unto the Lord. Being successful is now not nearly as important as hearing from God. Prospering, to these newly baptized saints, means seeing Jesus in a new and living way. Houses, land, furniture, cars, clothes — all these things have lost their charm to a people now in passionate love with the Lord of Glory. The Holy Ghost has come to reveal Christ as the Savior of homes — our homes. I have seen into the spiritual world, and I see demons fleeing; I see powers of darkness trembling; I see a bereaving devil — because God’s true church, a once slumbering giant, has been provoked by the Holy Ghost to shake itself and rise up and claim its place of power and authority. Entire families, entire churches, entire ministries are being turned upside down. God is saying, "Get serious! Get dead serious about spiritual things or be left out!" From all over the world I hear from ministers who say, "I’ve never been more hungry for God, more broken and in need! I’m seeking the Lord for total renewal! I want to be a part of what God is doing!" I call on every child of God who reads this message — PRAY! Pray for cleansing! Pray for new power over sin. Pray for a fresh anointing on you of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon your house. Pray for a great and glorious outpouring of God’s Spirit on your pastor and on your church. If we are ever going to save our homes, it’s now or never! God is giving us an ultimatum to get back to His altar, back to humility and repentance. We can save our homes only by prayer, obedience, and a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Hear the Voice of the Prophets! • Hosea — "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12). • Amos — "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" (Amos 3:6-8). • Obadiah — "But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possession" (Obadiah 1:17). • Nahum — "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him" (Nahum 1:7). • Zephaniah — "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good neither will he do evil" (Zephaniah 1:12). • Malachi — "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do his, saith the Lord of hosts: (Malachi 4:1-3). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 88: PRE-090-87. A CRY AGAINST WICKED YOUTH ======================================================================== 87. A Cry Against Wicked Youth A Cry Against Wicked Youth by David Wilkerson | March 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:2). "Behold the day cometh that shall burn as a oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" (Malachi 4:1). "The whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19). What does God have to say about the immorality and wickedness of modern youth? The same thing He had to say to Nineveh centuries ago, "I’ve had enough! Go to them and cry out against their sins! Warn them that my fiery wrath is about to fall on them! A great destruction is soon to happen, unless there is widespread repentance!" Nineveh was a great city; it took three days to walk from one end of it to the other. There were 120,000 innocent children living there. But it was so wicked, so violent, so corrupt by sin and evil habits — God could take it no longer. Just one preacher was sent — Jonah. He rented no auditorium, he had no musicians, he handed out no literature, he didn’t even have a loud speaker — let alone television or radio. He planned no follow up. Just one street preacher walking straight through the city, stopping to talk to no one, ignoring government leaders, walking right by the great temples and universities — past the bars, the brothels and the prostitutes — crying and shouting at the top of his voice. He was not preaching the love of God. He was not telling them God had a beautiful plan for their life. He told them it was all over! "You have just 40 days left. God has seen your wickedness, and He going to send judgment!" Jonah was not preaching repentance; he was preaching judgment. God fully intended to simply warn the people, then overthrow them for their horrible wickedness. When they repented, God changed His mind and spared them. It mattered not how many other prophets walked those same streets trying to pacify the people. If there had been ten thousand preachers of peace and prosperity, drawing multitudes to hear them, telling the Ninevites their country was too great and God too good to send judgment on them — it would make no difference to God at all. Only Jonah had the true message. While others were crying peace and safety, this prophet cried judgment. Many preachers and prophets are crying judgment. But if there was only one voice crying in the wilderness, "Repent, for the day of judgment is near." What kind of prophet would Jonah have been to ignore God’s hot passion against their wickedness and preach a soothing message acceptable to the crowds? It would have been so easy to grab the national flag of Nineveh, parade it pass the cheering throng and compliment their charity, their leaders, their founding fathers. That is the kind of soft, sweet preaching that is so loved in this country now. We wrap ourselves in he flag. We smugly prophesy that this country is too great, our leaders too moral, our God too good to judge us. Why would God spare America from fiery judgment? Are all the sodomites, lesbians, sadomasochists and rapists going to repent and turn to God in humility? Are our government leaders in Washington and in the state houses going to put on sack cloth and sit on ash heaps in godly sorrow for drunkenness, debauchery and corruption? Are the American people going to weep as a brokenhearted people confessing their hideous sins, covetousness and forgetfulness of God? Don’t tell me God will spare us because we are missions minded. We spend more money for dog food than missions. What is given is not given by the nation, but by a handful of believers. Some say He will spare us for our charitable works — our giving to poor countries. That is a farce! We have given less to starving children than we spend on a single battleship. We are good to Israel. We are equally good to some Arab nations. We sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Middle East nations — enough to bring on Armageddon. Wake up America! We are a wicked people. We are overrun with sodomites; we are reeling in the streets from drunkenness; we are the most drug–crazed nation on earth. God is not impressed by our Olympics. He will no be pacified with all the whitewash flowing out of backslidden pulpits. Ours is now a violent nation. A nation almost numbed by the horrible stories of child abuse, child beating, abortion. Not a street is safe to walk on, not a home is secure from robbers. Not a store that is not harassed by thieves and shoplifters. Our young people are making violence a way of life. Big city schools now install metal detectors to find guns and knives carried to school by teenagers. Teachers beat kids, and kids beat up teachers. Roving gangs kill, molest, push drugs, party and terrorize subways and neighborhoods. As one Detroit youth confessed, "We used to fight our enemies; now we just stab them or shoot them." Hundreds of youth are dying — suicide, knifed down, gunned down, overdosing. Millions of youth are fed up with cheating, unloving parents. Drunken dads and stoned mothers. The kids have become so confused by divorcing parents, dead churches, humanistic teaching — they turn sleazy to get even. They are so down they will try anything to get up. I’m a loyal American. I love my country. I salute our flag, I pray for our leaders. But I’m also a man of God, a man of prayer — and I hear the awesome sounds of a gathering storm. The Spirit cries out: The nation is wicked! The youth have filled the cup of wrath! He does not speak for God who predicts America will be spared war and fiery judgment. All the elements will burn with a fervent heat. In his Revelation, John wrote, "All nations are deceived, all have drunk of the wine of wrath," by their association with Babylon. Malachi prophesied, "The day cometh that shall burn as a oven…the wicked shall be as stubble…the day that cometh shall burn them up" (Malachi 4:1) "For by sorceries were all nations deceived" (Revelation 18:23). Zechariah gives a chilling description of a hydrogen holocaust. "Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet; their eyes shall consume away in their holes…tongues consume away in their mouth" (Zechariah 14:12). God has a very clear answer as to why He has pronounced judgment on this wicked age! It’s the same answer He gave Israel. "And it shall come to pass, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall say unto you, for what reason has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity; what is our sin that we have corrupted against the Lord our God?" (Jeremiah 16:10). The answer? "Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods…and have worshipped them…and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law" (Jeremiah 16:11). It is true that godless parents share the blame. They have sinned grievously before the eyes of the Lord. They have worshipped the gods of silver and gold. Their god has been their belly. They worship the idols of sex, sports and success. But listen to God’s indictment against the children of these wicked parents. "You have done worse than your fathers; for behold, you walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, so you will not listen to me…therefore I will cast you out" (Jeremiah 16:12-13). God said in effect, "I’m not blind — Isee what you do in secret." "My eyes are upon all your ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is your sin hid from my eyes" (Jeremiah 16:17). Then God explains why there was so much emptiness, boredom and restlessness. "I have taken away my peace from this people, even lovingkindness and mercies" (Jeremiah 16:5). Think of it! God is saying to this young generation, "Your fathers were bad enough! They forsook Me! They once loved and worshipped Me, but they turned to idols! They are godless and sinful! "But — you young people — you now out–sin your evil parents! You are pleasure mad! You indulge in anything your heart desires! You won’t even listen. You have hardened your hearts and closed your ears! You are becoming so corrupt, so wicked. I have to move against you! First I’ll warn you, then suddenly I will judge!" Are all our children wicked? Of course not! Thank God for the despised few who will not bow their knees to the idols of this world. They shine as jewels on a dark day. But masses of youth are becoming more wicked by the day. God must judge this generation of evildoers or submit to the power of Satan! This is the key to my message. This is the point of the sword of judgment. God cannot and will not permit Satan to overcome and rule entire segments of society! Nineveh represented a large segment of the world’s population of that time. Young people are a large segment of our society. God cannot sit idly by and permit the devil to take over the youth population without abdicating His power and authority. "Through the lips of Jonah, God was giving Satan notice, not just the Ninevites. God was saying to Satan, "You have 40 days left before I crush you under my heel! You can enslave this people for only 40 more days! Your time is up! I’ve had enough of your lifting up your hand against me. I will wipe your influence in this city out. I will erase it. I will leave not a trace of your evil work!" Spiritual warfare is not a cliché! The battle today is not parents against kids or vice versa. It is not a battle just between youth and God. It is a battle between God and the devil himself. Sinner, you are just a pawn of Satan in this battle. He is using you to get at God. You will partake of God’s wrath against Satan himself. How frightful! God will not sit idly by and permit the devil to damn the youth of this world. He will not permit Satan’s henchmen to drug them into destruction on his terms. Alcohol cannot claim this generation. This is what God says: "I will come near to you in judgment: and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers (drug dealers) and against the adulterers" (Malachi 3:5) If judgment does not come soon, we must all admit that Satan can steal whole segments of society, laugh at God and set up an everlasting kingdom on earth. Not a chance! God has already shaken Himself like an aroused lion, and He is already moving to cast Satan down and all who serve him. Nineveh repented at one sermon! The king got the message second hand. Someone said to him, "There is a man walking our streets saying we have just 40 days left! We’re all going to die!" The king didn’t laugh! Nobody laughed! In their hearts they knew it was true. They expected that God would not sit by and let them kill each other off and become like mad animals. He shut everything down! Every dog and cat, cow and horse, man and woman, boy and girl were made to fast. All government, all of business, all transportation shut down! No activities! No moving about. Everybody was sent to their houses to their knees! Humble yourself, was his cry. Confess your sins! Call on God to save us! Maybe, maybe there is still hope! Maybe God will be gracious. Compare that with what is happening in our country today! 24–hour–a day cable TV shouts the gospel from the rooftops. How many evangelists, prophets, pastors, teachers, street witnessing teams — how many are there begging sinners to repent, warning of soon coming judgment? They heard one man, one sermon, got one chance! We have hundreds of thousands of preachers, hear millions of sermons; we are flooded with cassette tapes; we are inundated with tons of bibles, literature, magazines and books. Radio, TV, and newspapers are all sounding an alarm. Who listens any more? God called Nineveh once! But He has called, and called, and called this nation! How long will He keep it up? When will His patience run out? God says, "Wisdom crieth in the street." Also, "Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one listened…You want nothing to do with my truth; you did not want to hear my warning…Your destruction is going to come like a whirlwind…your fear will come as desolation…You will then call upon me, but I will not answer…you will seek me but not find me…Because you despised my word, my warning…Your turning away will destroy you" (Proverbs 1:24-32). Those of us who preach like this are called "Doomsday Preachers." We are laughed at by so–called ministers of Christ’s gospel. We are accused of preaching law, of not understanding grace, love and mercy. We are told we just scare people and that we look only on the dark side. None of that kind of talk matters now. God is love, but He is also holy! He is also just! If Ananias and Sapphira can drop dead in God’s house, in a Pentecostal church, in a day of grace, where love was preached — what will happen when God pours out the wine of His wrath against all wickedness? Young person, if you were hanging over a fiery pit clinging only to a branch whose roots were about to be uprooted, who do you want to see? Someone who leans over the edge and smiles, "God loves you! Everything’s going to be all right! You won’t fall! Don’t let anyone tell you that you are in danger"? No! If you know how bad your situation is, you will want somebody to give you a hand or a rope and yell at you, "Grab on before it’s too late!" Young people — the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment to condemn you! Jesus said, "The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41) In the supernatural world, in the realm in which God moves and has His being, multiplied thousands of departed souls will cry out, "God, if You are just, destroy them. We heard only one man, one message; and we repented. They have heard too much! There is no justice in it! If You would judge us after one message, how can You not judge them after they turn away from an ocean of messages and warnings?" The damned souls of Sodom and Gomorrah will rise up in the judgment to cry out another condemnation! "We were damned for less! We had no preacher! No Bibles! No TV or radio! We had no Jonah, let alone armies of ministers! How can You be a just God and not consume them as You did us?" Hear Jesus: "They repented in Nineveh! You have a greater call! Any preacher in this kingdom age is greater in knowledge and anointing than was Jonah or John the Baptist." More than all of this — the Holy Spirit Himself, sent by Christ to this particular generation, has called everyone deep in the inner man! Sinner, you may turn off TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. You may turn off the poor street preacher. You can throw up all kinds of reasons for tuning out on all preachers and all religion. But you can’t tune out that Preacher deep inside your heart. He is the Holy Ghost — there right now — crying out, You are a sinner. God is Holy. Judgment is near! The Bible says, "He will convict you of sin and coming judgment." Where did our young people go wrong? How did they lose their way? What was the first step that brought on such unbelievable wickedness? The prophet Isaiah predicted a day in which the youths will faint and fall! He prophesied, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall" (Isaiah 40:30). This rock bottom fall, this giving up on everything, could be traced to a complete loss of faith. Isaiah asked, "Why do you say my way is hid from the Lord, and the justice due me is passed over by God?" (Isaiah 40:27). The prophet was actually saying, "You have no confidence or respect for God at all. You accuse Him of closing His eyes to your problems. You accuse Him of abandoning you in your hard times. You really do believe He is unjust." All the prophets agree that the shocking wickedness of the children of Israel was the direct result of abandoning their faith in God. They said, "God delays in helping us! God does not see our problems or our sins! He takes us so far than drops us." The very moment Israel lost faith in God, they corrupted themselves and started dancing nude and drunk around a golden calf saying, "This is our God." All their backslidings, all their fornicating, all their adultery, all their violence could be traced back to the time they quit trusting God. So it is today! Our young people are corrupting themselves because they have quit trusting in God. They no longer believe in a creator God who has all might, all power; One who sees all, knows all, and who can do all. God said to these fainting, falling youth, "Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His understanding is unsearchable. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength" (Isaiah 40:28-29). Finally God asked, "Who do you think created all this? Who brings out the stars in such massive numbers; who knows each star by name? Who sits on the circle of the earth, ruling in greatness and power?" (Isaiah 40:26). Humanism blames God for the famines in the world, then has the audacity to suggest that man has more compassion than God Don’t blame God for all the starving children. Blame the world governments. Blame the Ethiopian government for selling their food on the black market, for squandering it on their armies. Blame the bungling politicians, those who would not obey the laws of nature. Blame our government for spending trillions on defense and throwing a sop to poor nations. WE could irrigate most of North Africa for the price of our moon landing. It is sheer mockery, total dishonesty to blame God for the stupidity and the blindness of men. By the way, who acted to save the starving children? God’s people first! Young people — you’ve been listening to the devil’s lies! He has led you to believe God can’t help you or hurt you! The truth is, the moment you surrender all your doubts and get back to believing and trusting in God, the chains will begin to fall off. Your mind will be free! You won’t feel lost and helpless anymore! God will reveal Himself to you! The Holy Spirit will teach you love! He will give you rest and peace! God is not angry just about sex, drugs, alcohol, and all those sinful deeds. The damning sin, the one sin that must be judged, is unbelief! That is corruption! That is wickedness! That will bring on the fire of God’s wrath! Only a remnant will be saved! I don’t see anything in the Bible that offers this nation any hope, outside of 100% repentance nationwide. That is not going to happen. The Bible predicts, "Evil men will grow worse deceiving and being deceived." We have now gone too far to turn back. We are headed pell mell for Armageddon. God has given us hundreds of years to turn about, and we’ve only grown harder, more corrupt. There is corruption from head to toe! And there comes a time when even the prayers of a Noah or an Elijah can’t help. What does Jesus have to say to young people just before judgment? "Save yourselves from this wicked generation" (Acts 2:40). Peter preached this warning of Christ in the Upper Room. Repent and be baptized and save yourselves from this wicked generation! Those who heard it gladly received it and were saved. Will you? God poured out His Spirit 2,000 years ago. It was poured on all flesh. Our sons and daughters have been prophesying for nearly 2,000 years. There have been hundreds of revivals, awakenings, stirring and miraculous movements. But the Spirit will not always strive! One day soon God will say, "The night has been spent; the day of the Gentile is over. The Spirit’s work is almost finished. The hour of judgment has come." In closing, the most incredulous man in eternity must be Jonah! He will not comprehend it all! He preached one sermon and one entire society repented and turned to God! How will we ever explain the rejection of our youth to the gospel of Christ? The Ninevites won’t believe it! The Sodomites won’t believe it! But Jonah will be shocked the most. And especially since we had "a greater than Jonah." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 89: PRE-091-88. PILLOW PROPHETS ======================================================================== 88. Pillow Prophets Pillow Prophets by David Wilkerson | February 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Ezekiel stood alone against all the false prophets of Israel. These prophets would have nothing to do with the message of righteousness and impending judgment. Instead, they prophesied an era of peace, ease and prosperity. Ezekiel 13:1-23 is the very word of Jehovah against preachers and prophets who accommodate people with flesh pleasing words they said were from the Lord. Their words were designed to make God’s people comfortable in the face of impending judgment. In fact, they were not satisfied to prophesy good times ahead from their great houses and ivory beds of ease - they sought to provide a pillow for every elbow (Ezekiel 13:18). "Woe to those who apply pillows unto all elbows..." (Original Hebrew by Spurrell) "...Behold, I am against your pillows wherewith ye entice souls..." (Ezekiel 13:20). Ezekiel was horrified at the sight of prophets who had developed an art of making God’s people comfortable. The Lord had said, "My people have set up idols in their hearts; they are brazenly setting up stumbling blocks in iniquity; they are all estranged from me because of their idols" (Ezekiel 14:1-5). The true word of the Lord was, "Jehovah says - eat your bread with trembling, and drink thy water with grieving and fainting - and say unto the people, her land shall be emptied of its fullness, because of the violence - cities will be laid waste, the land made desolate - there shall be no more vain visions or flattering prophecies" (Ezekiel 12:17-24). While Ezekiel went about calling the people to humility and repentance, trying to prepare God’s people for the soon coming judgments, these pillow prophets went about prophesying the dreams and imaginations of their own hearts. God had not spoken to them, even though they prefaced their predictions with, "Hear the Word of the Lord." God said, "I did not send them: they do not speak for Me. They carried with them fancy pillows to place under every elbow for all who flocked to hear their false prophecies. They placed handkerchiefs on the heads of every one of their disciples, a statement to others that meant, "Nothing but good times ahead. I see nothing ahead but peace and luxury." They walked among the poor and sick, with a lace kerchief on the head, as a sign of their confidence in the message of the prophets of self indulgence and comfort. Ezekiel thundered the Word of God at them, as the masses congregated to hear their pleasant words. "You see for God’s people a vision of prosperity, when there is no prosperity, saith the Lord Jehovah" (Ezekiel 13:16, Spurrell). "You follow after your own imagination - when actually you have seen nothing." (Ezekiel 13:3). The pillow prophets are still with us! They talk about the Word of God, about prophecy, and they salt their soothing messages with a lot of Scripture. But there is a falseness in what they preach. They are not preaching the Cross or holiness and separation. They make no demands on their followers. They seldom speak of sin and judgment. They abhor the very mention of suffering and pain. To them, the heroes of Hebrews were faithless cowards and penniless losers who were afraid to claim their rights. Like the pillow prophets of Israel, their one supreme desire is to promote luxurious lifestyles and make people comfortable in their pursuit of the good life. They are not speaking for God. All they are doing is passing out pillows. One for every elbow of every follower. No wonder the crowds flock to sit under their message - it’s painless. There is not the call of Christ to deny self and take up a cross. What is the difference between pillow prophets and Jehovah’s true prophets? The preacher or parishioner who doesn’t know the difference is on dangerous ground. With so many going about gathering huge followings, it is imperative to have Holy Ghost discernment. The confused prophets must be exposed by truth. Most of them and sound like sincere, Bible loving men of God. But the Lord has given His people infallible tests to prove what is true and what is false. We are to test every man and every message - by the whole Word of God. Let me bring to your attention three characteristics of a true prophet of God. 1. A true man of God is consumed with a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been so overwhelmed, so mastered by that glorious vision, he can speak of nothing else. He preaches the whole counsel of God - as it relates to Christ. God said of the false prophets, "Woe unto the deceiving prophets who follow after their own imaginations... they have seen nothing" (Ezekiel 13:3). Yet of Moses, it was said "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible" (Hebrew 11:27). Jesus said of Abraham, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:5-6). Stephen had a glorious vision of Him. "And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:5-6). Ananias said to Paul, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth" (Acts 22:14). To His own disciples, Jesus said, "In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see Me" (John 14:17). The one thing every one of these men of God had in common was their life-controlling vision of Christ the Lord. Christ was the great and only cause in their life. They saw Him through the eye of faith. Moses willingly forsook the ease and prosperity of Egypt to suffer privation in a wilderness because he had been mastered by a vision of Christ. Nothing else mattered now, not even his dream of becoming a great deliverer He saw beyond all human ambition. He was weaned from all that was earthly because he had seen Christ. He could endure anything, for nothing on earth could compare with what his spiritual eyes beheld. Abraham became totally detached from this world and willingly became a foreigner on earth, for his eyes were fixed on a city whose builder and maker was God. But best of all, he had seen a vision of Christ on His throne in that holy city. Never again would he settle for things temporal or earthly. His faith was built upon his continual vision of Christ. He rejoiced and was glad, for he had eyes for the invisible, the eternal, Christ! The moment Paul saw Him everything else on earth became dung to him. The very moment Christ was revealed in him, he determined to know nothing else among men but his Lord. He gladly endured hardships, shipwreck, stoning, beatings, privations, imprisonment; none of these things moved him because he gloried in his vision of the Lord. Any man of God who is tied to this earth or the things of earth has seen nothing. If he had a vision of Christ, if he was in constant union with Christ, he could preach of nothing else. He would stand before the crowds, proclaiming, "I count it all loss - it’s all dung! It is Christ and Him alone. He is all; He fills all things. He is my very life." Like Isaiah, the true man of God who sees the Lord, high and lifted up, will fall on his face and weep over his sins and the sins of God’s people. Then he will be purged and go forth in the power of his awesome vision to preach Christ. God warned Israel, "The prophets are like foxes..." In other words, some have no single eye focused on Christ alone, but they have eyes filled with covetousness. They spoil the vine, taking the best for themselves. They go their own way, feeding their own egos! These self-seeking prophets claimed to have heard from God. Theirs, they claimed, was a prophetic word directly from heaven. "They say, Jehovah saith, when Jehovah hath not sent them, and they caused others to hope that their word would be verified" (Ezekiel 13:6). The multitudes of God’s people who run about to hear only soothing messages need to take a second honest look at what they are hearing and believing. "Have ye not seen a deceiving vision and spoken a lying divination when you said Jehovah saith whereas I have not spoken" (Ezekiel 13:7) "They have seduced my people, saying, Peace, when there was not peace" (Ezekiel 13:10). Their message was, "God told me all is well. No trouble ahead. Good times! No trial or tribulation. God’s desire is that all be happy, prosperous and at ease.... " Jehovah calls that deception! I don’t think ministers are taking seriously enough the tragedy of preaching the wrong message. How dare we preach peace and endless good times to a nation and a people on the brink of judgment! Israel’s sin was about to explode in unbelievable fires of divine wrath. Ezekiel did not want to preach such a disturbing message, especially to a people who had heaped to themselves pillow prophets who went about telling God’s people that all was well. Listen to what God was trying to say to His people. "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: like as the wood of the vine amongst the trees of the forest, which I have given unto the fire to devour, so have I given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them: from one fire shall they escape that another fire may devour them.... I have set my face against them.... I will make this land desolate, because they have trespassed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah" (Ezekiel 15:6-8, Spurrell). The people rejected the true Word of God. The masses ran off after their favorite teachers to hear the deceptive message - "God is not that kind of God. He desires only the best for us all. Great peace and good times lay ahead. Don’t listen to the old prophets of doom. God told me, right from His throne room that the best is yet to come." I ask you, what will those pillow prophets do when God begins to judge the sins of this nation and cut off its bread and its fullness? Think of the unprepared multitudes of sincere Christians who should be repenting of lukewarmness; who should be weeping because of compromise and covetousness; who should be forsaking all rather than accumulating. Thank God the Holy Spirit is raising up a holy people who are sick of all the self-centered ministries, and their cry is, "We would see Jesus" The man-centered gospel cannot last much longer. A time of purging is ahead. We are heading into refining fires. While the covetous lounge on their beds of ease and comfort themselves with luxuries, a remnant will break away and go out seeking the Bridegroom. Christ is going to reveal Himself to the humble, the poor in spirit, and the true Word of the Lord will flow forth with unction and power. Union with Christ will become the pearl of great price. 2. The true man of God preaches and practices self denial. Compare this with what the pillow prophets focus on! God said of them, "They pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley, and for morsels of bread... they lie to my people" (Ezekiel 13:19). A modern translation is, "These pillow prophets have money on their minds. It has made liars of them." Here is the full picture of a pillow prophet. He lets his imagination run wild. He operates on the idea that prosperity will last forever. He builds on dreams and schemes. To do it, he needs money - lots of it. His need for money becomes the focus of ministry. He ends up telling lies to God’s people to get it. Then he pollutes it all by saying, "God told me" The message of Jesus Christ is painfully blunt - deny yourself and take up your cross. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Self denial - what a foreign sounding concept in this day of self-pampering and ease. The pillow prophets have rejected it flat out. Self denial is the giving up and forsaking of all and everything that hinders the constant presence of Christ. There is no merit in self denial. We are saved and secured by grace alone. It is not to be entered into to earn benefits from God. But self denial removes hindrances to constant communion with Christ. Paul said, "I bring my body under... and bring it under subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27). We are not bringing our bodies under control; our passions and appetites are not under subjection. Sensuous television programs now whet the appetites among Christians for pornography. Lust is nearly out of control, even in the ministry. Almost daily I hear of ministers that are spending hours viewing X-rated movies and cassettes. Multitudes of God’s people, including preachers of the gospel, waste precious hours lounging before the TV idol. Like Lot, our minds are getting vexed by the things we see and hear. Food is becoming the narcotic of believers. We don’t need cocaine or alcohol - we have a legalized sedative - food. Never in all my ministry have I seen so many Christians with appetites out of control. The deepest truth about self denial goes beyond giving up material things. You can sell your TV, shun all erotic sights and sounds, and bring all appetites under control, and still not have denied self. What Christ is calling for is a kind of devotion to Himself that expels everything in the heart that hinders. It is a commitment to becoming absolutely nothing before God and man. It is being able to say with Paul, "I no longer live- it is Christ living in me. The world must lose its charm to us. We must die to all self ambition - to all attachments to earthly things, until we can honestly say, "I am dead to this world and all it represents. I no longer live." Physically alive, yes! But I must die to all that hinders my vision and love for Christ. Whatever it is - it must go. Lust? Self-made plans? Bitterness, grudges? Recognition, self esteem? I must die to it all. I must bring it all to the cross and execute self judgment. Why is it that Christians who are about to die become so detached from the world and material and physical things? Because eternity is in view. It all pales in comparison to the joy ahead. Why can’t we live like that all the time? Why not keep our minds fixed on Christ at all times? 3. A true man of God has a holy boldness against sin - he never whitewashes evil. The pillow prophets have no foundation of holiness upon which to build. Ezekiel said, "Their foundation thereof shall be discovered." (13:14). The pillow prophets were building walls with untempered mortar and painting the flaws over with whitewash. Worst of all, their message and manner "grieved the hearts of the righteous because of their falsehoods" (Ezekiel 13:22). And they "strengthened the hands of the wicked." God accused them of damning souls by ignoring sin. It grieved God that compromising children of God were being encouraged rather than exposed. Lightness about sin only confirmed them in their compromising. God will not let any minister of the gospel grieve or trouble His chosen and devoted ones without His express permission. But neither will He permit prophets of ease to call evil good and pamper backslidden Christians who need to repent. Certainly we are called to proclaim the gospel of grace, mercy and pardon. But the man of God is also commanded to "Lift up his voice, cry aloud, and spare not - showing my people their sins." Could it be we can’t lift up a holy standard because of corruption in our own hearts? Have our own sins robbed us of holy boldness? Do we wink at the sins of others because of besetting sins in our hearts? Do you know of a man of God who boldly thunders against sin? Does his message ring, not of legalism, but of deep personal purity? Then run to his feet - sit under his message, for he has the truth that will set you free. He is the true prophet of God, and he makes all other prophets tremble and fear. The pillow prophets despise him because he walks with truth in the inward parts. Seek out a man of God who makes Christ real! One who makes you sit up and take notice that he has been with Jesus. One who convicts you for wasting time and for becoming earthly minded. One who will point a finger in your face, discern sin, and cry out, "Thou art the man " He is the one who truly loves you and looks out for your soul. The pillow prophets are building their huge walls. They look very successful and blessed. But Jehovah says, "Your walls shall fall. I will bring it all down with my stormy wind. I will demolish your wall and level it to the ground" (Ezekiel 13:11-14). God has told us that in these last days our young men shall see visions. Not of success, of prosperity or of great achievements. There will be but one vision for all - CHRIST! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 90: PRE-092-89. A HIGHWAY OUT OF EGYPT ======================================================================== 89. A Highway Out Of Egypt A Highway Out of Egypt God’s Commitment to Bring Back Our Unsaved Loved Ones by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Isaiah 19:1-25 contains an astounding prophecy that concerns every lost child of God and every backslider in the world. This chapter contains a dual prophecy, directed both to literal Israel and to spiritual Judah — the church of today. Moffatt’s translation brings it out in its most powerful form. It is called, "A Prophecy On Egypt." It is so far–reaching, so incredible, we will hardly believe it. Yet everything Isaiah prophesies in this chapter is confirmed by Christ Himself in the New Testament. The prophecy focuses on a highway God has built out of Egypt, through Syria, to the promised land. It is a spiritual highway upon which multitudes of lost children will return to the Lord. Egypt is a type of the world and its bondage. Pharaoh and his many magicians and seers are a type of Satan and his demon hordes. Assyria is a type of discipline and God’s rod of correction. God said, "Assyria! He is my club in anger, the rod I wield in wrath…" (Isaiah 10:5). Please keep in mind that what happened between Israel, Egypt and Assyria were "examples and shadows of heavenly things." Paul said, "Now all these things happened unto them for examples; and they are written for our instructions, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11). Here Is the Prophecy: (1) The Spirit of God will roll in like a cloud over this worldly scene and shake every idol and melt the courage of the rebellious. "No spirit shall be left in Egypt; I will confound their plans, melt their courage…" (verse 3). What a powerful word. The backslidden, who have gone back to Egypt (the world) to indulge, will lose heart. They will be totally confused. Their stubborn spirit, their outward facade of rebellion — will melt. There is even now this great shaking of every idol — the melting down of haughty spirits and proud looks. The Spirit of God intends to make things very miserable for all who have drifted back to the world. God will take away their joy in pleasure, confound their self–centered plans and melt their pride — so they will be driven to thoughts of returning to the Father’s house. (2) God has unveiled a plan of spiritual terrors to strike fear in Satan’s kingdom and cause the wicked to tremble. "Then shall Egypt tremble in terror like a woman, as the Lord of hosts swings His hand over it; the land of Judah (God’s people) shall be a terror to Egypt the very mention of Judah will make Egyptians dread what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt…" (verses 16 and 17). Let us quit mentioning the power of Satan. Let us not fall for the lie that he and his demon hordes can harass the children of the Almighty at will. Let us not believe the world and the devil can keep our unsaved loved ones in slavery. God has a glorious plan — aplan to bring out of the devil’s clutches those who have gone astray. By the time God is through with His plan, the world will yield its stolen prisoners. Our unsaved will be brought back. This prophecy tells us that it is the devil who will tremble. He and his kingdom will tremble with terror at the mere mention of God’s holy people taking dominion by faith. The ungodly are going to shake and tremble in our presence, like a woman stricken with fear, as we appropriate the prophetic promises of Isaiah and Christ. The prophecy states that the world and the devil will dread and tremble over a plan of God designed against it. "The Egyptians dread what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt" (verse 17). What is this plan that will terrorize hell? (3) God’s Spirit is going to move beyond the walls of the church and send a Holy Ghost revival to the world — right on Satan’s territory. All the walls and barriers are coming down. No longer can the devil or the world say, "This is our territory. This is our realm — stay away!" Every barroom, every brothel, every gambling den is now under attack. The Holy Spirit has descended like a cloud upon every backslider, every drifter, every lost child of God. Whether it be junkies shooting drugs on rooftops; adulterers and fornicators in secret hotel rooms or in parked cars at drive–in theaters; alcohol and wine–bibbers in bars and restaurants; passion–crazed sex abusers sitting in dirty movie houses; wild parties; orgies; or race tracks — no one, no place is off limits to the wooing, brooding Spirit of almighty God. "I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not; I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name" (Isaiah 65:1 KJV). No backslider or lost child of God has to go to church to fall under Holy Ghost conviction. There is even great conviction where there is no preacher or witness. The prophecy is very clear — God is going to invade the world and brood over all of Satan’s territory — terrorizing demonic powers and convicting the fallen and backslidden. Listen to this incredible prophecy: "Then shall there be as many as five cities in the land of Egypt, speaking the language of Canaan, and loyal to the Lord of hosts" (verse 18). Think of it! Five cities, representing all five senses. Right in the center of the devil’s territory where the fallen are indulging their senses — God will begin to move and seek out those who, in their hearts, are still loyal and who inwardly speak the language of faith. Look at this: "In Egypt — speaking the language of Canaan — and loyal to the Lord" (verse 18). An Incredible Promise — An Altar in Egypt! "Then shall there be an altar to the eternal in the heart of the land of Egypt" (verse 19). Who will believe it? A revival in the world! Before they ever get back to the church — while they are still on the devil’s territory — an altar to the Lord, speaking the language of faith, and loyal to the Lord. Ezekiel prophesied that God would be a sanctuary to His people while in exile and captivity. Sin brought them into captivity; they were under the rod of God; yet, He promised to protect them, collect them, and put a new heart in them. It, too, is a dual prophecy. God is even more concerned about spiritual Israel, and He has pledged to bring back all the exiles and captives in these last days. "But I will be a sanctuary for them in their place of exile for a while, and then — says the Lord the Eternal — Iwill gather them from the nations and collect them from the countries where they have been scattered and give them the land of Israel…And I will give them a new nature and put a new spirit into them, I will remove their hard nature and give them a nature that can be touched, that they may live by my laws and observe and obey my orders; so they shall be my own people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:16-20 Moffatt). A New Development An ironic development is taking place, both in the church and in the world. You can now hear church–going Christians talking the language of Egypt — unbelief, murmuring, materialism, and sensuality. There are many sensuous Christians leaning toward the world. Amazingly, you now see the backslidden, the lost — leaning back toward the altar, talking in loving terms about the Savior; and deep in their hearts, still loyal to the Lord while they are still in the world. Don’t judge your unconverted or backslidden loved ones by outward appearances. Many of them cry themselves to sleep. I can’t begin to count the numbers of prisoners who confess to me they cry out to God from their cells. You can look at one who appears hard and unreachable, yet inwardly he may be calling out to heaven with desperation. I have known backslidden drug abusers who would get high on heroin, then huddle like helpless babies in a dark corner, praying aloud, "Oh God, don’t give up on me! I’m hooked; I’m so helpless — but I still need You; I still respect and love You. Please be patient — save me — bring me back." It may not fit into your theology, but our blessed Lord has Himself established an altar in Satan’s territory. No sinner, no backslider has far to go to get back to God. He can kneel by any bar. He can reach out in the midst of drugs, prostitution and ungodliness — and discover the Spirit of God and an altar — right there! Why this altar in the world itself? It is for the immediate rescue of those who call for help — in the world. "This shall serve as a reminder and as a witness to the Lord of hosts, within the land of Egypt; so that, when any who are oppressed cry to the Lord to send a champion, he will intervene and rescue them." (verse 20). "So the eternal Lord strikes Egypt, striking them and healing them; whenever they turn to the Lord, He will heal them; whenever they turn to the Lord, He will heal them, in answer to their entreaty" (verse 22). Now we see the Lord, by His Spirit, brooding over the whole world, and proclaiming, "The whole world is now under my beck and call. The altar is anywhere hurting mankind calls out for help. I will reach out, search out, any and all in the world whose heart still yearns for God." (4) Best of all — God has built a highway out of Egypt. It runs through Assyria, then on to the promised land. "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:18-19 KJV). "Then shall there be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. Egyptians and Assyrians alike shall worship the Lord. "Then shall Israel form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria — ablessing to the world around, and blessed by the Lord of hosts, who said, Blessed be my people Egypt, Assyria, whom I have made; and Israel my own possession…" (verses 23–25). The Egyptian here is the backslider, the straying child of God who went back to the world. The Assyrian here is the child of God who is crushed and spiritually immobilized by chastisement and correction from the Lord. It is not that he is worldly, but simply too overwhelmed by trouble, sorrow and loneliness. It has caused him to drift about in a stupor. We must tell the truth to those who are coming back to the Lord. The road back from Egypt goes through Assyria. You must come under the loving rod of correction; for those whom God loves, He corrects. No one can enter the promised land of peace and rest, except by the way of discipline. You can tell sinners and backsliders that it’s easy to travel that highway back to the Lord’s presence — but you aren’t telling the truth if you don’t tell them it’s not an easy road. Yes, you can escape out of the world and its habits, its bondage and fear. Yes, the road to holiness and happiness is open to all. Yes, the Holy Spirit bids the lost to come. But the road first leads to the rod of correction. That is not to be feared. It is a purging process to get the world out of you so you can enjoy the promised land of God’s presence. If you yield to His discipline, you will break through to joys never before experienced. The promise is that the backsliders and the broken and despairing will return and worship the Lord. What is this triple alliance God has so blessed? It is: First — going to the altar while still in Egypt — for deliverance. Second — returning to the Lord for loving discipline. Third — claiming the promised rest for God’s children. The Prophecy Confirmed by Christ I told you at the beginning of this message that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself confirms this glorious prophecy. The confirmation is given in two parables of our Lord in Luke 15:1-32. Here is even greater proof that our Lord has made a commitment to bring back our backslidden, straying loved ones. It confirms Isaiah’s prophecy that the world must give up what the Lord goes after to rescue. I. The Good Shepherd will not quit searching until He finds the lost sheep! "Which of you with a hundred sheep, if he loses one, does not leave the ninety–nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?" (Luke 15:4). How long will the Lord go out after our straying, lost loved ones? Until He finds them! We give up on our lost loved ones. We become accustomed to their lostness. It no longer bothers or concerns us. We seem to gloss over the horrible danger they are in. Thank God, our Shepherd never gives up on them. He is ever in pursuit; He never wearies, never slumbers nor sleeps. He keeps on their trail — yearning after them, saying, "Lost, but still Mine! I will seek and I will find." God’s Action Not Limited to Our Prayers The Lord has not limited Himself to our prayers. We should pray for lost friends and relatives, but we seem to think God quits pursuing them if we do not pray. When we do not pray for them, we come under a cloud of guilt. We are deeply condemned. God has given us these wonderful promises and prophecies, not to urge Him on, but to encourage our faith in His ability to find them and bring them back. We must pray with confidence, but only that our unsaved will be receptive when the Shepherd comes to them. Whether we pray for them or not, the Good Shepherd states emphatically, " I will go after them — until I find them…" It is a commitment He has made by grace alone. We ourselves are not saved by merit, nor can we reach our lost loved ones by the merits of our prayers alone. He has promised to pursue — by grace alone. If the Lord waited for us to pray, no one would be saved. God does not build on such flimsy foundations. It is not by works, including prayer, but by grace alone. Pray conviction upon the backslidden and lost. Pray for open hearts and melted pride. But never pray, "Lord go after them; seek them." That would be unbelief, since He has already pledged to do the work of a faithful shepherd. II. The woman who lost a silver coin will not give up until she finds it! "Suppose a woman has ten pieces of silver. If she loses one, does she not light a lamp and scour the house, searching carefully until she finds it?" (Luke 15:8). In this parable, our Lord puts a great worth on that which was lost. Again, the search goes on until she finds it! Perhaps the lost lamb could wander back to the fold, but what can a lost coin do to be found? Nothing! The coin is helpless! I believe our blessed Lord goes after even the helpless. Those without strength, totally weak and powerless. So many are weakened by sin, helplessly lost, and unable to reach out. To these I say — someone is earnestly scouring the place seeking after you. And, the Spirit will not stop until you are found and restored. "For when we were without strength…Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). Lost — in the House This is also a word of encouragement to those who are lost in the house! The lamb was also lost to the world. The coin was lost in the house. I believe I have met the most helplessly lost people in the house of God. They attend church; they are a part of a collection of believers. They are one of ten, so to speak. Still they have little or no faith. They have no power, no usefulness. They are not far off in some distant land like the prodigal son. They are near the altar, near the Lord’s table, near all the others. But they are as lost as the sheep and the prodigal mentioned in Luke 15:1-32. They no longer speak to God and He no longer speaks to them. Of them, Isaiah said, "It is your own iniquities that interfere between your God and you; your sins have made him veil his face from you, until he will not listen" (Isaiah 59:2). Yet His Word still stands to the lost sheep "of the house" of Israel. He will seek until He finds. III. The Lord is calling His people to rejoice with Him over the returning of those who were lost! "And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing…" (Luke 15:5). These are more than parables of the finding of lost sheep, lost coins, or runaway prodigals. It is the account of God’s rejoicing heart — His extreme joy in the restoration of the lost. He did not lash the lost lamb. The thought of retribution toward the lost coin is too foolish to think of. Even the returning prodigal was invited into the father’s house to rejoice and make merry. No guilt, no wrath, only reconciling love. God is revealing to us His heart. He is the yearning Father who waits with love for the lost son. Christ is the Shepherd who tenderly carries the wounded lamb back to the fold. There is even great rejoicing over the finding of the helpless coin. Rejoice With Me Not only does our Lord rejoice over the returning lost — we are commanded to rejoice with Him. "He calleth together his friend and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost…" (Luke 15:6). Is there any lamb too lost, too far astray, that our perfect Shepherd cannot find and restore? If He has committed Himself to seek until the lost one is found — is there any question about the result? None! "For he feeds his flock like a shepherd, and gathers them in his arms; he is carrying the lambs in his bosom, and leading the ewes gently…" (Isaiah 40:11). So we should begin to rejoice even now! For He who has promised, will fulfill his word. He has given us His great and precious promises to find and bring back our lost loved ones — so that we may look beyond all contrary circumstances and, by faith, rejoice in the fulfillment of His Word. Be no longer sad or downcast about our lost and straying loved ones. The loving Shepherd of heaven is even now in pull pursuit of them. He will scour the earth for them, if need be. He knows where they are — He waits only to lift them to His shoulder at the proper time. He has each one in view — but He wants the lessons to be learned first. At just the right time, the Shepherd will stretch forth His hand and rescue them. And, they will be ready — for He told us He WILL find them. He waits until they "lose their fight" and quit resisting. An Overflowing Highway I see, by faith, that highway of holiness — out of Egypt — overflowing with prodigals on their way home! If even one lost sheep returning with repentance causes great rejoicing in heaven, with angels ablaze with praises, what will it be like when multitudes of the lost come back to Zion? No wonder Satan has such great wrath. No wonder the devil and his demon hordes tremble. Enemy strongholds are coming down. The enemy’s hold is being broken. The deceiver is being exposed. God is being exalted among the heathen. The Spirit is at work at the very gates of hell. The saints are beginning to take dominion by faith. There is a new song to be sung — asong of the redeemed of the Lord being restored! "So precious are you to me, so honored, so beloved, I will sacrifice lands for you, and nations instead of you. From the far east will I bring your offspring, and from the far west will I gather you. I will bid the north lands give them up, and bid the south, Let go, bringing my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, all whom I claim as mine, whom I have formed for my glory…" (Isaiah 43:4-7). Some Final Promises From the prophet Isaiah — "Forsaken shall no longer be your name. Your land shall no more be called desolate…You shall be My Delight. As a bridegroom thrills to his bride, so shall your God thrill to you…" (Isaiah 62:4-5). "The Eternal recalls you like a wife broken hearted by neglect; ’But a young wife’ your God asks — ’how can she be thrown aside…?’ I did forsake you for awhile. But I will take you back right tenderly; I did turn from you in a rush of wrath, but with a lasting love I pity you: That is the promise of your Eternal Redeemer" (Isaiah 54:6-8). "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:8-10 KJV). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 91: PRE-093-90. THE TRUTH ABOUT CORRUPTION ======================================================================== 90. The Truth About Corruption The Truth About Corruption by David Wilkerson | December 1, 1984 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] We have developed a distorted view of what corruption really is. Not many Christians understand God’s definition of corruption, and few believers would admit they are guilty of it. We consider ungodly sinners as corrupt. According to our theology corruption is alcohol and drug abuse, adultery and fornication, cheating and gambling, promiscuity, homosexuality, murder, rape, incest and other such wicked deeds. We have narrowed down corruption to wild passions and life-controlling lusts. We have failed to understand how God looks at corruption. His definition of corruption goes much deeper than the lusts and passions of the flesh. The truth is that Israel, a chosen people, was accused by God of corruption surpassing that of their godless enemies. Israel woke up one morning to offer burnt offerings on an altar built to honor a golden calf. While they were eating, drinking and playing, the Lord said to Moses, "Go, get thee down; for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves" (Exodus 32:7). What a serious charge from almighty God. "They have corrupted themselves." What had they done to deserve such a rebuke? Was it their drunkenness, their sexual lust, their nudity, their frivolity and playfulness during such solemn times? It was deeper, much deeper than all of that. The corruption of Israel was so great in the eyes of the Lord, He threatened to consume them on the spot. "And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation" (Exodus 32:9-10). They had just been delivered weeks prior from the clutches of Pharaoh and his armies. They had stood amazed on the wilderness side of the Red Sea singing the praises of the Lord. They sang this song, "He hath triumphed gloriously... the Lord is our strength, our salvation.... Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy" (Exodus 15:1-27). Now they were corrupted and on the verge of being wiped out by an angry God. If what is written here is an example for our learning, a pattern or type for our admonition - we had better ask the Holy Spirit to teach us the lessons well. God’s Word warns us, "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any of you fall after the same example of unbelief" (Hebrews 4:11). Let us learn from Israel’s failure the truth about corruption. Let us try to see it from God’s side and face the truth that we may be as guilty of corruption as was Israel while dancing around the golden calf. Corruption is: 1. CASTING AWAY CONFIDENCE IN GOD BECAUSE OF DELAYS! "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him" (Exodus 32:1). What incredible blindness and stupidity! On the mount, all heaven was in motion making wonderful plans for their future. A law was being given to set them apart from all others on earth. A tabernacle was being unveiled to Moses whereby God Himself could come down and dwell in their midst. God was about to give them a glorious inheritance and bring them into a place of peace, rest and fullness. Their enemies were going to be routed and destroyed. Strongholds were coming down. Giants would be slain; there would be silver trumpets and a cloud by day and fire by night, all for their perfect guidance. The very Godhead was focused on their present needs and their future blessings. Yet, look at those silly, stiff-necked chosen people running about helter-skelter, complaining about delays! Listen to their foolish talk, "God has had enough time to make things happen. There is no evidence of His wrath or goodness - only silence. What kind of God would leave us in our loneliness and fear, without a word of direction? Enough of waiting! Enough of silence! Enough of delays! Let’s take action." They deliberately put out of mind all the miraculous things God had done for them in the past. It no longer mattered to them that God had manifested His glory before all Egypt by supernatural plagues. They so soon forgot the Red Sea miracles. They forgot the sweetened waters of Marah and the angels’ food they gathered each morning. Not even the thundering voice of God at Sinai mattered. They were now under the spell of UNBELIEF! Nothing could shake them from their conviction that God was no longer interested in them; that He was delaying because He was not really who He claimed to be - the great I AM! So they turned elsewhere. They turned to a fickle man who would do what they asked and tell them what they wanted to hear. They put God aside and struck out on their own. All fear of God was gone - and all that mattered now was to hurry up and produce something they could see and touch. Their human side cried out for evidence - something to satisfy inner craving for action. We find it nearly impossible to believe that a people, who had so recently heard God’s thundering voice and who ate supernatural food from heaven, could sacrifice to an inanimate golden calf. Were they that stupid to cry out, "This is the god that brought us out, of Egypt"? Is it possible that such unbelievable blindness is the curse that befalls those who turn away from God to seek help and direction from human sources? Perhaps this explains the explosive growth of cults in this nation - it is the curse of blindness upon the masses who have cast away their confidence in God. We become just as corrupt as Israel when we weary of delays and turn to other sources for strength and guidance. Just like the children of Israel, we forget all the past blessings and mercies God has poured upon us. We forget the many times He delivered us from the snare of the enemy. We forget the many times He spoke to us in a secret closet of prayer, and how He promised to guide us even until death. When we hurt, when we are lonely, when we are afraid, when we are overwhelmed by circumstances beyond our control - we quickly turn aside from our true source of peace and victory and turn to human ways and resources. Instead of fleeing to the secret closet of prayer to pour out our hearts to the Lord of glory, we rush to our telephone to seek help from a friend. We unburden our hearts to pastors, to counselors, to family, and even to strangers. We search everywhere for sympathetic advice or help. We will cry ourselves to sleep and languish in dreadful fits of loneliness. We will pout and accuse God of delaying or of not hearing and answering our cry. We will travel anywhere in an attempt to escape the inner despair. How tragic! Because we know where the victory lies. We know God is still on the throne waiting for us to call on Him. We know the answer to all our needs is to be found alone with God, shut in with Him. We will even confess to our spiritual friends, "I know I need to pray! I know God has the answer! I know I need to cry it all out in His presence! I know He can give me new strength and courage. He can heal my lonely heart; He can satisfy every longing; He can bring to pass the desires of my heart!" And knowing all this - and even admitting to it - we seem to be under a spell of doubt, restlessness and spiritual stupor. Something seems to hold us back. It becomes the hardest thing to do - to discipline ourselves to get alone with God and into His Word, and to approach His throne to find grace in our time of need. It is corruption of the worst kind to give in to fear and despair while ignoring the majesty and faithfulness of a loving Father. Here is corruption! God said to Israel, "... I have talked with you from heaven... in all places where I put my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee" (Exodus 20:22.24). But Israel answered, "God hath forgotten to be merciful... wherein hast thou loved us?" (Psalms 10:11, Malachi 1:2). "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me" (Isaiah 49:14). Are you a corrupted Christian? You are if you ignore the Lord’s majestic promises and doubt that He means what He says! He promised - "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" (Isaiah 49:15-16). You are corrupted if you go on carrying unnecessary burdens of guilt, fear, loneliness, anxiety, and turmoil - simply because you refuse to rest on the Lord’s great and precious promises. Is God mocking His children when He promises, "All things are working together for good to them that love Him, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28)? Is God lying when He promises, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles"(Psalms 34:15; Psalms 34:17)? When we get in trouble and cry out to God for mercy and help, all heaven goes in motion on our behalf. It would be an incredible sight for our human eyes, should the Lord let us see into the spiritual world to behold the good things He is preparing for those who call on Him and who trust Him. But because we do not have patience; because we live and act according to our feelings; because our flesh cannot endure delays; because we can’t see visible evidence of the secret workings of God - we do like the Israelites and turn away from Him to make things happen to please our flesh. We corrupt ourselves in the "eyes of God by falling apart emotionally, right before His holy throne and in spite of all His promised love and care. It is a slap in God’s face to linger in the pits of despair and loneliness, when by faith we should be calling on Him and appropriating unspeakable joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. Our continual sadness, complaining and ignoring Him is a corrupt statement we make to heaven and all of mankind which says, "I am lonely, sad, defeated, and in despair because I do not believe God loves me and I do not accept His promises as truth. I can’t wait for God to act, because my human side needs relief right now. I can’t handle delays - God or no God!" Corruption is: 2. STANDING NAKED BEFORE YOUR ENEMIES! "And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me" (Exodus 32:25-26). The Hebrew word used here for naked is PARA, meaning, to loosen, expose, dismiss. It also infers "a new beginning " A modern beer commercial admonishes this generation to "turn it loose tonight." It simply means, throw off the past moral inhibitions, shake free of all law, begin pleasing yourself. Do your own thing - do whatever makes you happy. Merely taking off their clothes was not corruption. It was the signal, the message they were sending to their heathen on watchers. Can you see the Amalakites on the surrounding mountains, far off, looking on this peculiar scene? These enemies, who had trembled when they saw God at work among them, now laugh and mock - "Look at them, they are just like us! Their God has no power - they don’t even trust in Him! They are throwing off their strict ways; they want to lust and party and play just like all the rest of us. Some holiness - what hypocrisy!" In that one act of nakedness they belittled their God in the eyes of the ungodly! They made God seem heartless, cruel, uncaring and helpless. They besmirched the honor and majesty of an omnipotent God. They were no longer an example; they were no longer admired or feared or respected. They had laid their armor down to play and party! They put in jeopardy God’s plans for their salvation. They were saying to the world, ’We do not want to fight any more enemies! We do not want to resist! We have had enough of rejection, of sacrifice, of future hopes and far-off blessings. We want to live now! We want to enjoy ourselves! We want the good times to roll now" The corruption was this - This was to be for them a new beginning. No more combat! If they were going to have to exist in a hard, cruel wilderness, then they would quit the struggle and make do the best they could, on their own. There are multitudes of naked Christians in the church today! They are tired of the struggle, tired of the hardships, the long delays, the lonely times, the pain and sorrow. They have no more fear of God before their eyes. They talk as though God had forsaken them. They yearn for a good time, some fun, happiness, laughter, and a release from the battle. They have laid down the whole armor of God. They have kicked off the shoes of the gospel of peace. They have made up their minds that they might as well make the best of their sad situation and live it up a bit. They turn away from the Lord’s promises; they reject the secret closet of prayer and the power of God; they lay aside God’s Word; they forsake the church; and they begin to drift off into a self-centered pursuit of happiness and fun. Lately I have listened to the pitiful pleas of ministers, their wives and laymen from across the nation who call me for counseling. To hear them talk you would think God was a tyrant; that prayer doesn’t work; that faith is useless; that Christians are just splinters of wood floating helplessly in a raging sea. They have lost their confidence in God! They are living in fear and doubt, thinking God has left them to work things out for themselves. They have forgotten that God has called them to represent Him before lost humanity. That is the worst kind of corruption - to close eyes and ears and heart to all God’s promises, and to live and act as though He were dead, or at least unconcerned. It comes to this - corruption is misrepresenting God’s faithfulness to the world by our doubting words and acts of unbelief. There is so much nakedness now among Christian high school and college students! I am alarmed by what I see and hear from Christian students when I speak at their campuses. Such spiritual nakedness - such rejection of old values such yearning for fun and pleasure. Thank God for those students who are growing in the fear and knowledge of our blessed Lord. And, God has promised to keep a wall of fire about all who trust Him. But the backsliding - the unbelief is causing spiritual havoc to many. The vibrant faith in God, the youthful zeal, the hungering and thirsting after righteousness - it is fading from them. There is a terrible lack of direction. There is a forboding fear of the future of a magnitude not known in the past. Few can say, "God talks to me." Even fewer can say, "I talk to God!" Their very lives often misrepresent God. Prayer and seeking God is almost unknown to many students. Since so many are living on emotions, they have not known or experienced the rest in God. They are becoming corrupt - not just because of eroding morals, but because they have not discovered or cultivated a deep confidence in the Lord. There is not a bedrock of loyalty. There is instead a sense that they must live for the moment, doing the best they can with what they have. So they turn from the Spirit of God to the music of the world; to its manners; to its dress; to its parties and frivolity and little by little they have thrown off what spiritual armor they have left. I believe Satan’s main thrust in the last days is to corrupt the entire Christian student population. He is bent on crushing their trust in God’s concern for them. He is trying to convince them that faith and prayer are no longer effective in this age of science. I do not fear drugs, sex or alcohol - much as I fear the corruption of faith and trust in God’s leading and presence. The church needs to fall on its knees and cry out to God for an awakening of faith and confidence toward the Lord among students. If we do not, and if the trend continues, some of our Christian colleges may become the most corrupt places on earth. I speak now of the kind of corruption God hates - the casting aside of childlike faith and the substituting of human resources. Let us intercede with God for the clothing of our students with the Lord’s robe of righteousness - lest they stand naked before their modern enemies of apostasy, humanism and libertarianism. May once again we hear the clanging of armor as the Spirit of God awakens our youth to get back into combat with the forces of hell and do battle against all unbelief and Gnosticism. I believe God has promised to do just that! He is going to raise up an army in full battle dress, full of faith - confident and dependent upon Him - victorious over all the demons and wicked powers in high places. Glory! 3. DURING TIMES OF CORRUPTION THE WEAKEST OFTEN BECOME THE STRONGEST! "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him" (Exodus 32:26). How will God crush the corruption in Israel? Who will He choose to be His instruments in a time of unparalleled evil? Will angels come down and execute righteous judgment? Aaron and his sons had already corrupted themselves - who will God raise up now to shine forth as His soldiers of holiness? Of all people! The sons of Levi! Sons of that murderer who, with his brother Simeon, had made Jacob’s family to stink before the heathen. Simeon and Levi each took a sword and slew Shechem for raping their sister Dinah. They also killed his father Hamor, took their sheep, oxen, donkeys, and their wealth, their little ones, and their wives. Oh, the matchless grace of God - to choose the most unworthy, the weakest of them all - to be His instruments. "And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And the children of Levi did according to the word Of Moses" (Exodus 32:26; Exodus 32:28). Perhaps there was something deep within them that said, "We will not fail God as did our father! We will not bring reproach on the name of our God! We will step out and take our stand with the Lord!" Moses had promised them, "God will reward you if you consecrate yourself and take a stand among your family, friends and brothers," And He did reward them with a semi-priestly order called the LEVITES who were given to the service of God’s house. Being on the Lord’s side is taking in hand His sword and using it to combat the forces of unbelief. Those Levites, with sword in hand (who slew even beloved friends and family) are a type of believers who stand upon God’s Word, who use it as a sword to put down all doubts, fears and unbelief. It means standing true to God and His Word no matter what the crowd does; no matter how faithless our friends become; no matter how worldly our dearest loved ones are. We must step out and declare, "I am on the Lord’s side! I come against all attacks against the majesty and faithfulness of our God! I will put down and cast out all fears and doubts about the Lord’s faithfulness! I will deal utterly and finally with all leanings toward worldly pleasure and idolatry! I care not whether my parents or friends have failed. As for me, I’m going to cast my lot with the Lord" The talk in the camp of Israel the next day was about those sons of Levi. Can you imagine the talk? "What came on them? Who would have known what was in them? What zeal for God! What fire, what faith! They didn’t seem the type to become so strong for the Lord!" God still chooses the weak to show forth His strength. Have you been grieving over weakness? Have you felt so insignificant, so frail and useless to God? Have you looked upon others who seem so strong, so perfect and thought of yourself in comparison as too sinful, too dull to be used of God in these last days? God is not looking for spiritual giants, but rather for ordinary saints of childlike faith who have lost all confidence in the flesh. God will again confound the strong and wise by anointing as His instruments those who were considered weak and foolish. The Lord will bypass those who lean on the arm of flesh - who trust in their talents, their knowledge, their background, their family reputation. He will instead raise up the broken-hearted, the weak and the weary. He will pour upon them a spirit of praise and a baptism of love. He will show them His greatness, His faithfulness, His covenants and they will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Is there a spirit in you that urges you on to new and higher places in the Lord? Is there a fire for God ignited within? Do you feel a drawing to a renewed faith and trust in God? Be thankful! That is the call of your Moses, Jesus Christ the Lord, calling you to come over and take a stand in this evil day. Conclusion: God rewarded their return to the fear of the Lord. He promised - "Behold, I make a covenant [agreement]: before all the people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in the nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible [impressive] thing that I will do with thee" (Exodus 34:10). His promises to us are even greater and more precious -"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psalms 31:19-20). "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor2: 9,10). Will you believe and appropriate it - or corrupt yourself by ignoring the truth and going on in fear and unbelief? Salvation in that Name is found, Cure for my grief and care; A healing balm for every wound; All, all I want is there. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 92: PRE-094-91. WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT ======================================================================== 91. Watchmen Of The Night Watchmen of the Night by David Wilkerson | January 1, 1986 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] We are living in a day in which the messages of the prophets must be understood and proclaimed. Jesus lived and preached, constantly under the knowledge that He was fulfilling the words of the prophets, "Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished" (Luke 18:31). Jesus upbraided the two disciples on the road to Emmaus for not believing what the prophets spoke. "Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25). Paul clearly states that the prophets speak to these last days, "Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days" (Acts 3:24). John the Baptist understood and preached the message of the prophets. He needed no new revelation, no new doctrine, no novel truth. He preached from Isaiah! "Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lords, make His paths straight!" (Matthew 3:1-3 NAS). We do not need new truth — present truth — or whatever novel thing itching ears now seek for. We need to hear what the prophets spoke about this, our day. They were accurate regarding Christ in every detail. They must also be right about their warnings and admonitions to us! All through the New Testament, you see events unfolding in order that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled. "And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon–possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases" (Matthew 8:16-17 NAS). "But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to make Him known, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled…" (Matthew 12:15-17 NAS). Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus centuries ago; and he preached Christ in his own day. Isaiah not only saw the future Lord and Savior; he also had a hard, devastating vision of the very days in which we live, His vision in Chapter 21 must be understood, heeded and proclaimed! It is a message for this time! Isaiah begins, "A harsh vision has been shown to me…" (Isaiah 21:2 NAS). The prophet does not give us the details of this horrifying vision; but his insight into the future was so devastating, it violently agitated him. Isaiah revealed the vision’s impact on him: "For this reason my loins are full of anguish; pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor, I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see. My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling" (Isaiah 21:3-4 NAS). What caused such convulsions in Isaiah’s body? Why did his heart beat wildly? Why such anguish of soul? He saw a storm roaring in from the desert. It was a massive enemy army — "riders, horsemen in pairs, trains of donkeys, camels…" The prophet sees the coming downfall of the Babylonian system. He hears in his spiritual ear — he sees in his spiritual eye — the downfall of all that is of this world. He sees the end of pride, ambition, wickedness and corruption. "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all her idols lie shattered on the ground" (Isaiah 21:9). Isaiah saw all the coming judgment and destruction, and he cried out, "Pay close attention, very close attention" (Isaiah 21:7). He calls out, "Rise up — oil the shields" (verse 5). But no one is listening! Instead, "They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink…" (Isaiah 21:5). Indescribable judgments are at the door; massive armies are marching outside the gate; the day of reckoning has come! The prophet is shouting, "Pay attention! Get ready! Oil the shields! Put on the whole armor!" But they ignore the warnings of the prophet! They go about their ways, eating, drinking, making merry — spreading out a feast table of prosperity, success, and entertainment. They are deaf! They don’t want to hear about the mounting gloom outside the gate! They have their own happy days prophets sitting at the head of their tables. While they sit with them on ivory couches, they prophesy smooth things, "This is a rebellious people, lying children that will not hear the law of the Lord…which say to the seers, "See not," and to the prophets, "Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits…" (Isaiah 30:9-10). What a vivid vision Isaiah had of our present day. Here are alarmed watchmen blowing a trumpet, begging the unconcerned to wake up, to prepare for a day of disaster! But the crowns spread their tables and sit down to dance and play! It is not just that they ignore him — they shout to him, "Enough of your doom and gloom! You’ve been on the wall too long! Why don’t you ever give us a good word? Why so rough, so harsh — so negative?" I ask you, if the watchman keeps quiet, if he gets weary of warning, if he does relent and ease up — will that change anything? Will that stop the destruction? NO! Whether or not the people will listen, God is setting His watchmen in place! "For thus hath the Lord said…Go, set a watchman — Let him declare what he seeth…" (Isaiah 21:6). God has set up faithful watchmen in these troubled times. They see the gathering storm of divine judgment; and they are appointed to warn the people. We know that the Old Testament prophets and shepherds were set as watchmen. Some were called seers because they walked with God so closely they could see what others could not. They could see the approaching enemy; they could see into the future — their warnings came from the very heart of God. God said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me" (Ezekiel 3:17). God spoke through Isaiah: "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day or night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence…and give him no rest, till he establish, and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7). This should greatly encourage the holy remnant! It should bring hope to all God’s people who sigh and cry over the abominations in the house of the Lord! God has set up holy watchmen who will never shut up! Night and day, they will blow the trumpet and warn the people until God’s house is cleansed and awakened! Some are saying, "This message of impending judgment by self–styled prophets will pass away! These ridiculous warnings, these awesome thunderings, these harsh visions will die out!" Not a chance! God has posted His watchmen! God has instructed them to "Keep not silent!" Call them self–appointed; call them misinformed; call them any name you choose — they will not be hindered in their mission. They have been set in place by divine authority. The New Testament is a call to every servant of God — to watch! "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. Far as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man" (Luke 21:32-36). Paul warns the present day ministry: "Watch ye! Stand fast in the faith — act like men — be strong!" (1 Corinthians 16:13). For three years, Paul stood watch over the Corinthian church, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears" (Acts 20:28-32). To the overseers, to bishops, to pastors — He said the same thing! "Watch — warn everyone–night and day — with tears!" Paul said of true minister, "They watch for your soul." That is the test of a true watchmen! Does he watch out for his own interest — his own dreams — his own ambitions? Or, does he watch for souls? If Paul had to preach to ministers today, he would deliver the same message he gave to young Timothy: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry…" (2 Timothy 4:3-6). Isaiah’s vision focused on a cry coming to his ears "out of the land of the lawless." "The oracle (burden or cry) concerning Edom…one keeps calling to me from Seir" (Isaiah 21:11 NAS). Genesis 36:8 says Edom is Esau. In Malachi 1:3, God said, "I hated Esau…and I laid his territory and mountains to waste." Malachi gives us God’s view of what Edom and Esau represents: " Men shall call them the territory of the lawless, and the people with whom Jehovah hath indignation against until times eternal" (Malachi 1:4 Rotterham, Original Hebrew). What is this cry coming out of the territory of the lawless? It is the very same cry arising out of religious America! We have become the land of the lawless. We are those who have rejected the Lord and against whom God is indignant! Here is the cry from the land of the lawless: "Watchman, how far gone is the night? Watchman how far gone is the night?" (Isaiah 21:11 NAS). The King James Version reads: "Watchman, what of the night?" But the Hebrew text is actually, "How far gone is the night?" There was no cry, "What must we do to be saved? How can we repent and turn to God? How can we prepare to meet the enemy?" The only question being asked by these deluded children of God was, "How much longer until the good times return? How soon will a new day dawn, so we can return to our feasting and drinking?" Mark my words, the day has already come — multitudes of prosperity lovers led by their success preachers share one great concern — to bring in a bright, new day of endless prosperity and bliss! When the darkness of recession and depression begins to fall all around, they cry out, "How long will it last? How soon until we are back in the sunlight of good times? How deep, how long will be the darkness?" They prophesy great and prosperous times just ahead. The Scripture that says. "The night is far spent, the day is at hand" means something very different to them. They see that as a promise that God is going to set up His earthly kingdom soon! No imminent return of Christ. No going to meet the Lord in the air! They have become so earthbound, they can’t see giving it up even to meet Him in glory! This is the cry of the new age people! It is the cry of the spreading gospel of the kingdom preachers: "A new day is dawning! A day of early peace and prosperity! They boast, "God is going to give us the wealth of the world; we will become kings — take dominion over all government, all science, all law and legislation." They are no longer "looking for Christ’s appearing in the clouds of glory" (Mark 13:26). They evidently do not believe the words of Jesus when He warned, "On this earth you will suffer and be persecuted" (2 Timothy 2:13). They reject Christ’s warning that the church will be "hated and scorned" among men (Luke 21:17), Christ is no longer expected to return "as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). They don’t believe Paul’s warning that "sudden destruction" is coming upon the earth (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Nevertheless, Jesus bluntly said, "My kingdom is not of this world". His reign is in the hearts of men. Hear the answer of the watchmen (Isaiah 21:12): "The watchman said, "The morning cometh and also the night…if ye will inquire, inquire…Return — come!" He is saying, "For those who return and repent, there is a new day coming — but for those who are living the land of the lawless, bound by the spirit of Esau, with its lust and evil — there is nothing but night!" Isaiah went on to describe what that meant. For the backslidden and unconcerned, "A day of confusing and downtreading and perplexity…a day of undermining of walls, and a cry for help" (Isaiah 22:5). Those who live for self, who lust for success and power and earthly dominion will awaken to a day of perplexity and unprecedented trouble. What makes this so frightening is that Isaiah is speaking of our time! Only a holy, separated remnant will comprise the holy Zion — the city coming down from God! While many preach about a new day of earthly might, glory and dominion — it will actually be that dreaded day of perplexity, sorrow, and cries for help! The preachers of Paradise Restored are deluded prophets. That is easily proven by God’s Word. Here is unshakeable proof God has not sent them, but that they are deceived and speak their own imaginations, "But, "Ah, Lord God!’ I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place." Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name, I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds" (Jeremiah 14:13-14 NAS). There are holy watchmen–and there are evil watchmen! We live in a day when many who were once mightily anointed are falling asleep in sin! Let me share with you one of the saddest indictments against evil watchmen in God’s Word. "By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, saw ye Him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth: I beheld Him, and would not let Him go, until I had brought Him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me" (Song of Solomon 3:1-4). Here is the bride — the church — the people of God truly hungering and thirsting for their Lord! They want Him! They yearn for His love and presence. It is a seeking people! The don’t know how to reach Him! There is a confrontation with certain of the watchmen! If anyone should know where to find Him, the watchman should. Who could miss this man so well described: "…His head is of the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set — His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers; His lips are like lilies — His hands are as gold rings — His legs as pillars of marble — He is altogether lovely…" (Song of Solomon 5:10-16). Of the watchman she asks, "Have you seen Him whom my soul loveth?" In other words, "Lead me to Him whom my soul longs for! You are the watchmen — bring me to Him!" How sad these words are: "It was but a little that I passed from them; but I have found Him whom my soul loveth…" The bride is confessing, "When I got away from the blind watchmen, then I found Him! They could not help me…" Isaiah said: "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark: sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber…" (Isaiah 56:10). Think of it! In Chapter 21 the watchmen awake; they are calling the people to action, speaking only the truth; faithful; watching day and night. Now in Chapter 56, some have fallen asleep; they are lying down like a bunch of lazy dogs. They refuse to blow the trumpet! They have left off warnings! Some are asleep on the wall! They have become spiritually blind, ignorant — with no discernment left. What happened? Isaiah said they became self–centered! Greedy! Filled with lust and sensuality! "They are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter…Come, say thus, ’I will fetch wine and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant…’ " (Isaiah 56:11-12). Isaiah lamented, "The righteous man perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart" (Isaiah 57:1). Instead, some became greedy, looking out for themselves, their own dreams and plans — having fallen into lust and love for pleasure. They have opted for comfort, acceptance and respect among men. They have been corrupted by a lust for power and position. Jesus described the condition of those in hell: Where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched ! It is the worm of lust! If that worm of lust is not destroyed in this life, it will eat away in the mind through all eternity. Look about today as many ministers fall into adultery! The worm of lust is eating like a cancer, destroying the love of many. So few now weep for the lost! Fewer yet are taking to heart the backsliding of God’s people! There is greed, self–promotion, self–seeking! What grief God must carry over the backslidden, blind watchmen! His grief goes beyond their spiritual blindness! Beyond the pride and greed! Beyond sensuality and self–centeredness! It is a two–fold grief! First, grief because God can never delight in the fall of a single created being. He laments the loss of their love! The loss of their communion! The loss of a chosen son or daughter! The loss of one so important to His work on earth. Saul falls and the prophet Samuel weeps for Him. Absalom rebels, is killed in rebellion — yet David laments, "Absalom, my son — my son!" Will not God lament over the loss of His rebellious, fallen watchmen? Second, it is the grief of having to turn corrupted watchmen over to their sins! I call it the dread release. You find it in Romans 1:1-32; but also throughout God’s Word. God never removes His offer of grace and mercy! His mercy is ever–lasting! But when men who once knew the truth, preached it, embraced it — then became bound and enslaved to creature lusts — and they refuse to let it go — refuse to walk in holiness before a holy God — then God must release them to their sins! You see this dread release in Ezekiel 20:39, "As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God…Go, serve everyone his idols…" God is also releasing this Christian nation to her idols. He is saying, "Go to your TV idol! Go to your secret lover! Go to your pornographic cassettes! Go to your filthy magazines! Go to your hidden sin! If you will have your idols rather than walk wholly separated in holiness, then go to the object of your desires." Let me show you the tragic end of the greedy, blind watchman. "I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me" (Song of Solomon 5:6-7). Can you believe it? The blind watchmen are beating up on the bride! They are wounding the bride! They are tearing off her veil! Her veil is her covering of modesty! Behind it she can blush! She can close her eyes to all others so she will not behold sin! Think of all the rock concerts in God’s house! The senseless choreographed dancing! The blatant entertainment! The emphasis on materialism, success and self–improvement. The cancerous growth of worldliness in the churches. The lack of grief over sin among believers. The acceptance of rock, punk and disco music in God’s house. The foolishness, the lightness, the off–color–joking — the drinking and fornicating. It is the fault of greedy backslidden watchmen who are tearing at the bride’s veil! Once again the blind watchmen are "taking away the veil…" The blind watchmen did it to the children of Israel, and they are trying to do it to God’s people today: "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 6:14-15). The blind watchmen become candidates as rulers of darkness and angels of light. They end up preaching another Jesus, another gospel! Listen to these very clear warnings, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him" (2 Corinthians 11:2-4). "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their words" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). I listen to the so–called Christian rockers and punkers as they talk so sweetly about loving Jesus and of their desire to take Him where the world is. They sound so pious, so humble, so sincere. They say the right words, but their hearts do not belong wholly to the Lord. God says of them. "And the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever" (Deuteronomy 5:28-29 NAS). Some blind watchmen in the Northwest have introduced dancing in their churches with others’ spouses. They dance for hours with the mate of someone else, staring intently into each others’ eyes — calling the affair a spiritual connection. An intricate and evil doctrine has been concocted to support it as a so–called "new move of the Holy Spirit." It is causing divorces, suicide among the adults, and terror among the children of those caught up in it. Many hundreds are involved, and adultery is rampant among them. The leaders of this diabolical doctrine preach so sweetly about Jesus, about the bride of Christ — and their words at times sound right. But they are the prophecies and doctrines of devils. Those involved are devil–inspired angels of light, come to deceive, if possible, even the elect. These are those referred to in the Song of Solomon who "wound the bride, smite her, and strip her veil!! God has promised to deal with them with His holy fire of jealousy. "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26-27 NAS). Thank God — The true and faithful watchmen on the wall will never compromise! They will not stop warning the righteous about the seductions and infiltrations of the wicked one among God’s people. No sincere Christian need be in doubt about who to listen to in these days of many voices. There are two very clear and unmistakable tests of all prophetic warnings: 1. True prophecy seeks to turn Christians away from sin. "But if they had stood in my council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds" (Jeremiah 23:22 NAS). Heed the voice of those who seek to turn you away from wickedness. Avoid those who speak soothing words with no reference to sin. 2. Prophetic warnings, from the beginning, spoke of judgments upon the wicked. "Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence" (Jeremiah 28:7-8 NAS). Those who warn of coming judgment are in good company. They speak the same word of all the prophets "from the beginning." I declare with all assurance that the warnings now going forth from God’s holy watchmen are the greatest evidences of His love to this generation. He loves His people enough to prepare them; to give them time to repent and prepare the way of the Lord in holiness! Those who love the Lord will be thankful. Those who are at ease in Zion will be repelled and indignant. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 93: PRE-095-92. KING JESUS REIGNS ======================================================================== 92. King Jesus Reigns King Jesus Reigns by David Wilkerson | December 1, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15 NIV). John the revelator saw a glorious vision of Christ being crowned King of the Universe. The Holy Spirit had quickened the dead body of Jesus; He had overcome the last enemy, death - and rose triumphant! The scene John now beholds is Christ’s return to heaven to claim His throne. It was our Lord’s coronation as King of Kings! There were loud voices throughout heaven, jubilant praises of angels, seraphims, cherubims, and all the hosts of glory. King Jesus, the glorified man, has returned as Lord of all. What a thunderous welcome that must have been - with all the heavenly voices crying aloud, "The kingdom of this world is now the kingdom of Christ - and He shall reign forever!" The twenty-four elders fell from their seats, laid on their faces, and worshiped - crying out, "We give thanks to you, Lord God almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign" (Revelation 11:17 NIV). We cannot crown Jesus Christ as King! He already is King! We cannot make Him Lord of all - He already is Lord of all. God the Father received Him back to glory - crowned Him King and Lord of all - and gave Him all the power of the godhead! "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. (Colossians 1:19). "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily...which is the head of all principalities and power" (Colossians 2:9-10). "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). Paul had the same vision - of Christ now sitting as King and Lord over all things. He spoke of the exceeding greatness of His power toward us. "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of the mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1:19-23). You can quit picturing a lowly, meek Nazarene standing at the door of your heart, hoping you will make Him Lord of your life. He is no longer the rejected man - He is King of Glory! He came out of the grave in full resurrection power - He ascended to His everlasting throne - He took all power and dominion - and He is at this very moment reigning over all the powers and kingdoms of this universe. The last enemy was death, and Christ made even that His footstool! If death was the last enemy, then all other enemies have been defeated. Christ is not locked in a hand-to-hand combat with Satan. The war is over - Satan was defeated, and Christ cast him down in shameful disgrace. The heel of Christ bruised the serpent’s head. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil" (Revelation 12:7-9). "And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15). "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ’Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night’" (Revelation 12:10). We still have people on this globe who are entertaining the thought of permitting Christ to come into their hearts. They may even go as far as thinking they might let Him be crowned as Lord of their lives. It is almost as if they are saying to Him, "Jesus, if You play Your cards right, I just might let You in! If You give me happiness, if You heal me, if You answer a few prayers, if You show me a sign or two, give me a miracle - You may just end up being crowned King of my life." How ridiculously blind we are! There He now sits, in all His awesome power and glory - with all the hosts of heaven worshiping at His feet - with the twenty-four elders lying on their faces before Him - with God having bestowed on Him all the powers of the godhead - with a bruised and defeated devil running from His presence - and all principalities and powers in heaven and earth bowing to His might and majesty! And here are a host of blind, carnal, lukewarm Christians and half decided sinners - thinking of doing Him a favor by letting Him reign in their lives. How foolish, when with just one breath of His nostrils, He can blow away kingdoms and rulers. "Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. All nations before him are as nothing; they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity" (Isaiah 40:15-17). What is Russia, with all her missiles and armaments? She is a drop in a bucket! What is China, with her numberless armies? Nothing! What is America? Who are the world leaders that make nations tremble? Nothing! They are dust - as nothing to King Jesus! "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say to him, ’What doest thou?’" (Daniel 4:35). The Church is Blind to the Present Glory of Christ’s Reign! I am saying that Christ will not only reign throughout eternity in Paradise, but that He reigns right now, having conquered all His enemies! Yet there is a veil over our eyes, keeping us from beholding and appropriating Christ’s present kingly glory. We fail to see Him as a reigning king - now! It is a veil of unbelief. It is the same veil that kept Israel from beholding the Lord’s glory that shone on the face of Moses. Moses had been on the mount once before, shut in with God - but his face did not shine. Then God called him up to the mount again - and this time He hid Moses in a cleft of the rock and said to him: "I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee... my glory shall pass by" (Exodus 33:19-22). The law could not make the face of Moses to shine, but a vision of God’s goodness, mercy, and grace did! The children of Israel could not stand to look on the reflection of the Lord’s glory in the face of Moses. They demanded he cover that glory with a veil! The glory on his face condemned their sinful hearts. It scared them! They preferred to worship at a distance. " But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament... but even today, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart" (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). The Jew is still behind a veil of unbelief. The saints are amazed, saying, "Why can’t the Jew see Christ, the coming King, in the Old testament?" We agree with Paul: "Yes, the Jew is blind to Christ in the old covenant." But what about us too? We, too, have a veil of unbelief upon our hearts. We are blind to the glory of God in Christ Jesus! Our spiritual eyes have cataracts - we are seeing so little! The veil is done away in Christ! When one turns to the Lord, the veil is supposed to be removed (2 Corinthians 3:16). Paul makes it clear that believers should be looking into Christ’s great and kingly glory - and be changed by it! "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are supposed to be changing every day! We are to be looking at the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ - the glory God gave Him as Lord and King of all-and be changed by that vision of who He is! We are all changing in one way or another. We are becoming more and more like Jesus - more and more radiant, trusting, and holy. Or, we are becoming more and more like the world. The Bride of Christ is changing every day - greater separation, greater hunger and thirst, greater love for His Word, greater desire for holiness. The fleshly, worldly-minded Christian is changing rapidly, too. More materialistic, more liberal, more sensuous, more like the wicked crowds about them. Not one of us has yet seen the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ! Our unbelief hinders us from seeing all the power and glory that is now His! We really do not approach Him, or acknowledge Him, or serve Him as King and Lord and potentate of all things! Our Unbelief Shows Up Most in the Prayer Closet! We do not ascribe to Him all the power, glory, and might that is His. We do not see ourselves as coming into the presence of a ruling King. This mighty King, with all power in heaven and earth, tells us that his eyes are upon us and His ears are open to our requests! He tells us that if He just hears us, we have the petition we ask of Him. But who really believes it? We have a difficult time even believing that the King of Glory is there in that secret closet, in all His splendor, seated as a majestic King, inviting us to come boldly into His royal court to receive all the mercy and grace we will ever need in our times of trouble. The veil of unbelief is upon our hearts! Show me one believer in this world who has the assurance and the awareness that the moment they are shut in with God in prayer and communion, the King of Glory is right there in actual presence to engage His eternal powers on their behalf. How many believe that such a glorious King waits for His people to come into his presence with praise - and that He delights in that communion - and that He manifests and reveals His presence in intimate ways? If we truly had no veil of unbelief over our hearts, we would approach Him as One who now reigns - as One who has the fulness of the godhead waiting to be used on our behalf! We would worship with the knowledge we were in His actual presence. We would praise, knowing he was right there to accept our offering on the spot. We would ask in faith, knowing it was done - because He heard us and has all the power to get it done. To walk out of His presence not believing He has heard us and will answer is to not believe He is there or that He is King of all! If He abides in me - He does so as King of all! When I surrendered to him, I did not make Him King! He took over my life - as King! God crowned Him - not me! He already had a kingdom. I was simply transformed out of my kingdom of darkness into His glorious kingdom of light. I had to die to get into His kingdom! When you die to sin - when you die with Christ - you are raised up into Christ’s kingdom where He already reigns! But Christ’s kingdom is within me! All His power as King is in me! It is always His power! "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20). That power is His - kingly power of God. We Prove the Veil Is Upon Our Hearts by the Way We Live! I’ve never liked the term, "King’s kids." It sounds too flippant and unmajestic to me. Also, it has been so misapplied, with the focus being on wealth and material things. Yet, we are truly the children of the King of Glory, but we live as though we were abandoned and helpless. So few of us have the sense of being the beloved child of a powerful Sovereign who rules on our behalf with a rod of iron. If we truly had the veil removed, and if we saw Christ reigning for us, we would become indignant over every satanic attempt to touch us! We would be rising up with a spiritual indignation and proclaim: "Devil, you cannot do that to me or to my family or to anyone belonging to me! I’m the child of the King of this universe, and He will crush you at my word. I bind you; I cast you out; I send you back to your darkness, in His all-powerful Name!" We would not be lying down like weak and confused children - and let the powers of darkness harass us, and walk over us, and confuse us, and wound us, and hurt our minds, our homes, our mates, or our children. We would, instead, rise up in faith, fully assured, resting in the glory and might of our crowned King! King Jesus would be our rest! King Jesus would fight our battles. He would put the enemy to chase! We would have perfect confidence of victory in all things, because we trusted fully in His almighty power. It comes down to this: Do you believe He has been given a kingdom? Do you believe with the hosts of heaven and the twenty-four elders that He has taken dominion over all - that all the kingdoms of this world are His, that He now reigns Lord of all? If so, do you believe He has all the power of the godhead in His heavenly body? Do you believe He has overcome the devil and all his forces? Do you believe He conquered the last enemy - death? If He is King - if He has all power - if the whole universe is His - if all in heaven, on earth, and beneath the earth bows to His power - and that same King has taken up residence in me - and now He is my King and Lord, reigning in me with glory and power - What could I fear? What could hurt me? All things are now possible! All things are under His authority and dominion. Why then are there so many Christians living in defeat, loneliness, desperation, fighting a losing battle against temptation - and having no direction, no peace, no security, no marvelous rest? It is because they have a veil of unbelief over their eyes and hearts! They have a reigning King, and don’t know it! They have all they need, but can’t see it. They have all power over all the devices of the enemy, but are blind to it! By the confused way Christians now live, we are saying to God and to the whole world, "We have no King! We are without power! There are no armies on our side! We are at the mercy of our enemies!" That’s an outright lie! It’s an outrage of unbelief against the King of Glory! We are standing in the very court of King Jesus - with the heavenly hosts falling before Him, proclaiming His rise to power. And while they shout, "He hath taken all dominion!" - we stand there like lost, helpless children with a hood over our heads, neither seeing nor hearing anything! David cried out, "The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble... let the earth be moved... The Lord is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people... Let them praise thy holy name" (Psalms 99:1-3). "The Lord reigneth, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he girdeth himself... Thy throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting" (Psalms 93:1). The testimony of every single believer should be: I believe King Jesus now reigns in glorious power! Isaiah said, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace... that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth" (Isaiah 52:7). David said, "Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth" (Psalms 96:10). The Veil of Unbelief Is Most Evident in God’s House When We Worship! The Holy Spirit must grieve at the sight of so many veiled saints coming to meet the King of Glory! He promised to be in the midst of His people, anywhere two or three gathered in His name. But our actions prove we don’t believe it! How many of us know anything of the power and might King Jesus wants to release in His house when saints gather in His Name? How many of us can see, by faith, the thousands of chariots round about us right now? How many see King Jesus on His great white horse, heading His victorious army? Elisha saw that army: "And, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). David said the chariots of the lord are thousands upon thousands. They are chariots of fire and they are driven by the world’s most powerful soldiers. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them..." (Psalms 68:17). Does the Lord encamp round about us or doesn’t He? He has not only surrounded our house with fiery chariots and armies of angels - He is sitting there among them on His royal white horse, as Commander in Chief of His army!" "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory" (Psalms 24:7-10). When He said, "I will be in their midst" - what form do you think He meant? As just a holy, glorified man? As one without a kingdom, without armies, without all might and power? No! He is in our midst as a reigning king! Isaiah saw Him in all His regal splendor and cried aloud, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isaiah 40:5). David saw Him riding across the heavens on His white horse, reigning in mighty power. "To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice" (Psalms 68:33). Isaiah saw this King of Glory riding about - casting down idols! "Behold, the lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it" (Isaiah 19:1). Do you see Him encamped about your house? Do you see the armies dressed in white? Do you see Him in the midst of them? His great white horse poised for battle? "And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer" (Revelation 6:2). Saints of God, I see Him! My veil is gone! He is here! He is right now with you! He is here to put every enemy to chase! He is here in power and splendor! He is here to conquer and pull down every enemy stronghold! Open your eyes! Get the veil off! Believe what He said: "I see Him, on His white horse, with a bow in His hand, a conquerer!" How can you be in His glorious presence and not be moved? We Have Been Invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God" (Revelation 19:6-9). What a sight that will be, when all the redeemed of all ages are seated at the Lord’s table! Multitudes dressed in white - with hearts ablaze with longing for the entrance of their Beloved! Moses is there! So is Abraham, Joshua, King David, Samuel, Noah, Ruth, John the Baptist, all the apostles, the martyrs, Luther, John Wesley, all the missionaries of all ages, the Blood-redeemed of every tribe and nation, and every overcomer of this last age - and you - and I! The loud and piercing sounds of many trumpets and cornets will sound! What anticipation! The bride is about to meet the Bridegroom! The Father is about to bring in the king to the banqueting hall - to the marriage supper! And, with a thundering voice that sounds mighty and victorious, the Father will cry aloud - "Behold, your king! The king of glory !" "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11). What a thunderous welcome King Jesus will receive! King David will be crying out, "Zion, be joyful in your King" (Psalms 149:2). That holy place will resound with praises! "Here He comes!" - the redeemed will cry with rejoicing. The bright and morning Star! The bells on His horse ring out, Holiness unto the Lord!" Armies dressed in white surround Him - armies beyond all comprehension. There are crowns on His head! He is arrayed in glorious white! His name is The Word of God! His eyes are a flame of fire! What a great white horse! What shouts of thanksgiving! What mighty Hosannas will be heard! Look at Him, Saints - our King rides in - such a loving, victorious smile! All enemies are gone! The King is united with His bride! If He is our king, if He now reigns in glory - then He commands us to lift our voices and praise Him loudly! "Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds" (Psalms 149:2-5). I say to you, on the authority of God’s Holy Word: King Jesus has surrounded your house with a host of white-robed, royal horsemen - and He is now poised majestically on His great white horse! No enemy in the universe dare come near you! Demons have fled in terror! Principalities and powers of darkness are in disarray - Satan trembles - for the King of Glory is here! Do you see him?! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 94: PRE-096-93. HATCHET GODS ======================================================================== 93. Hatchet Gods Hatchet Gods by David Wilkerson | October 30, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] O God, why hast Thou rejected us forever? Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture? Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old, which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance; and Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt. Turn Thy footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; the enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting place; they have set up their own standards for signs. It seems as if one had lifted up his axe in a forest of trees. And now all its carved work they smash with hatchet and hammers. They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Thy name. They said in their heart, Let us completely subdue them. They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land. We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, nor is there any among us who knows how long. How Long, O God, will the adversary revile, and the enemy spurn Thy name forever? (Psalms 74:1-10 NAS). David has given us an incredible prophecy about conditions in God’s house in the latter days. He prophesied that Gods anger would smoke against the sheep of His own pasture, against a purchased people, redeemed, a people with whom He dwelt. He prophesied that in Mount Zion (His church), there would be a spreading cancer of ruin. In his words, "The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary" He prophesied, "There is an enemy roaring in the midst of the meeting place." I see this to be the devil himself, who is seeking to set up his own moral standards in the meeting placed of the sheep. David also prophesied, "They have set up their own standards for signs." These are the standards of the roaring lion being perpetrated in God’s house. Demonic powers are setting up their own evil standards as a new direction for modern Christians. These are not the standards of the lion of Judah; rather they are demonic, devil inspired standards from the pits of hell. These standards are being set up right now. The enemy is saying, "These standards are of God! Go along with us! Come - enjoy new moral freedom!" David also prophesied that these adversaries who are setting up all these new standards are actually deceivers who carry about a hatchet in their hand. They are like one with an "axe in the forest of trees... Now all its carved work they smash with a hatchet and hammers" (v.5-6) David prophesied they have as their goal to tear down, burn, and destroy all the old standards. "They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of Thy name" (v:7). "They said in their heart, let us completely subdue them" (v:8). We do not see our signs" (v:9) In other words, all the old standards of boldness and separation are disappearing. We no longer recognize the old signs or standards that our fathers had. The adversary has determined to defile the house of God and to completely subdue our modern Christian youth with new and evil standards that he himself has invented. The hordes of hell come as hatchet gods to tear down all the old standards. Who are these stoogies of Satan who go about in the Lord’s meeting places with hatchets, hammers, and axes - chopping away at our moral standards? Who are these who are cutting down Christ’s demand for holiness and separation? David said, "They have damaged everything in sight." These are the angels of light and false prophets who have been deceived by Satan and who are now possessed by the spirit of the hatchet gods. They have been so blinded, they don’t even know that they are tearing down the very standards that Christ Himself raised. Many of them been duped into believing that their new standards represents a new kind of Christian morality, when in actuality they are doctrines of demons. As prophesied, the doctrines of demons have most certainly surfaced in God’s house in the last days. "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NAS). It is very apparent that God’s Word predicts that deceitful spirits will introduce doctrines of demons in the last days. There will be hypocrites seared in their conscience who preach and practice deceit in God’s house. "For I am jealous for you with Godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully" (2 Corinthians 11:2-4 NAS). "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NAS). Is it not apparent from these revealed truths that there will be those who disguise themselves as servants of the righteousness who are in actuality servants of Satan? These evil angels of light gush so sweetly about Jesus; and according to Paul the Apostle, they use evil methods to produce good. "And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say). Let us do evil that good may come? Their condemnation is just. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written. There is none righteous not even one: there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who understands, there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:8-18 NAS). Who is Paul describing here? Certainly not pure hearted Christians. God has always had a people after His own heart. He is talking about these angels of light who try to use evil to produce good. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Represented among these are some of the new Christian punk rock groups and worldly-minded musicians who, according to the Word of God, have a throat that is an open grave, and the stench of death is upon every thing they do. Their tongues produce a gospel out of deceived lips. Paul warned that the poison of the serpent is under their lips. And their standards lead to deception and destruction of multitudes. Who am I talking about when I speak of the hatchet gods? Who are these adversaries of God, going about tearing down and chopping away at God’s holy standards? The Bible is clear about the answer. "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4 NAS). I believe those who make a mockery of our Lord’s command to come out from the world and be separate and clean have upon them the spirit of the hatchet gods. There is one holy standard the hatchet gods want to chop down more than all others combined, and Satan will twist the Scripture in every possible way to cut it down. It is 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty" (NAS) This is a holy standard of the Lion of Judah, which I see Satan and his hatchet gods viciously attacking. God calls for separation, and there is no getting around this demand, no matter how many seek to justify mixture with the world. Those who seek to tear down the holy standards of Christ suggest that Jesus was a pal of sinners who not only ate with them and drank with them, but who lived and moved in their realm. Nothing could be further from the truth! When Jesus walked this earth, every Gentile was considered a sinner. If a Pharisee’s robe even touched the flesh of a Gentile, he thought of himself as unclean and proceeded to wash his garment as soon as possible. Jesus did communicate with sinners, and declared Himself to be their friend and savior. He did go into the homes of Gentiles to eat. But never once did He go into their dens of iniquity and partake of their spirit. Furthermore, Paul makes it clear that there was a wall between Christ and the wicked. "For it was fitting that we should have a such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26 NAS). Christian Parents Have Abdicated Their Authority Many Christians parents are being duped and deceived by the spirit of the adversary. An evil spirit is blinding the eyes of multitudes of Christian parents. Eli had two sons who became wicked and perverted and who became totally deceived by Satan. "In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning this house from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them" (1 Samuel 3:12-13 NAS) Apparently Eli never once rebuked his sons for their decaying moral standards. I find today that even the most devout parents are reticent about crossing their children for fear they will lose them. David lost his son Adonijah. His very own son, following in the footsteps of Absalom, exalted himself and tried to steal the throne from his father. Why? "And his father had never crossed him at anytime by asking, Why have you done so?" (1 Kings 1:6 NAS). Too many parents are deaf and dumb. Teenagers plaster their bedroom walls with posters of demon possessed, heavy metal rock stars. Seldom do parents demand of them, "What’s that doing on your wall?" Few fathers demand an explanation from their teenagers concerning their activities. Seldom do mothers and fathers walk into the bedrooms of their children, check their music collection of records and cassettes, and ask sincerely why they collect demonic records and listen to filthy lyrics. I ask you Dad, Mother, have you taken the time to check what your children are listening to? Have you ever called them to account? Have you ever asked for an explanation? Or do you turn your head and refuse to cross them? Have you just passed it off as something the young people go through and you say to yourself, "It’s just a stage of development. They will outgrow it. It’s this new generation and I don’t understand it, but I don’t want to interfere. After all, it’s only a temporary situation, and everybody seems to be doing it, so really can’t be that bad." Tragically the majority of parents today, including pastors, have no idea what their kids are into. Often, they are being conned by their children - duped - and many of the children seem incredulous at the lack of discernment in their parents . And, often there is very little interest by parents in what the children are doing. It’s time for Christian dads and mothers to take a stand against the flood of filth and immorality being pushed on our kids. Parents who take a stand may run up against a temporary spirit of rebellion, but in the long run, they will be saving their children from hell. How much longer will Christians parents stand by and permit the hatchet gods of this age to chop away at the morals of their troubled kids? I Blame Soft-Soap Preachers! I decry the fact that so many evangelists and pastors refuse to point out sin and show the people their iniquities. There are so few prophets today, so few fearless men in the pulpit, so few who stand in the breach and cry out against the enemy." O God, the nations have invaded Thine inheritance; they have defiled Thy holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the dead bodies of Thy servants for food for the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Thy godly ones to the beasts of the earth" (Psalms 79:1-2 NAS). Our young people today are falling - there is spiritual death all around - so many are becoming prey to demonic powers the beast of the fields (the powers of the darkness)devour them and there seems to be no human authority to chase the enemy away. "The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, but you shall flee seven ways before them, and you shall be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your carcasses shall be food to all the birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away" (Deuteronomy 28:25-26 NAS). Where, O where are the men of God with dominion and authority who will rise up and case away these powers of darkness from God’s people? "We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, nor is there any among us who knows how long" (Psalms 74:9 NAS). We have had quite enough soft-soap preaching in our pulpits. We need pastors and evangelists who are jealous with the jealousy of a holy God. God is love! He is also holy! We have a whole generation of young people who have heard only that God is love, and they have little or no concept of the frightening truth that they must one day stand before the judgment seat and answer for their actions. Thankfully in the past few months, God has been raising up many shepherds and evangelists who have heard God’s heart-cry for holiness and repentance and they are fearlessly thundering against the sins in God’s house. They are being mocked and scoffed, but God has given them courage, and these are those who are the watchmen of this final hour. A Warning to the Youth! Satan and his hatchet demons have two goals - two things that they must do to get full control over youth. First, they must put upon the young people a spirit of rebellion. Second, they seek to baptize the youth with a spirit of stubbornness. There is a demonic baptism. Satan is seeking to take down into the dark waters of rebellion as many youth as he can, and bring them out of those dark waters filled with his spirit of stubbornness. He cannot accomplish this goal until first he cuts down and chops away at the tender, willing heart for God. He has to cut down and chop away all the holy standards that have been proclaimed. That is why he is doing everything within his power to break down God’s holy altars and substitute idols of his own. Listen to these frightful words: "Why, O Lord, doest Thou cause us to stray from Thy ways, and harden our heart from fearing Thee? Return for the sake of Thy servants, the tribes of Thy heritage. We have become like those over whom Thou hast never ruled, like those who were not called by Thy name" (Isaiah 63:17; Isaiah 63:19 NAS) The danger in filling your soul and mind with the music and morals of devils is that you will become just like the hatchet gods themselves. Your own moral standards will be cut down and destroyed. You will slowly change and end up having the same spirit as those who seek to destroy the righteous standards in God’s house. I’m shocked by the stubbornness of Christian young people who are so addicted to worldly music and morals, even though they are clearly the spirit of this age. How stubbornly they will defend their standards. They despise anyone who cries out against their activities. This stubbornness worries me more than their compromise. What happened to the willing, pure heart which stood against rebellion and mixture with the world. Has the heart now become divided and rebellious? And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burned offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as quit and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:23; 1 Samuel 15:23 NAS). Centuries ago Moses prophesied of a latter day when God’s sons and daughters would turn aside to new gods of the new age. "Had I not feared provocation by the enemy, lest their adversaries should misjudge, lest they should say, Our hand is triumphant, and the Lord has done all this. Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future!" (Deuteronomy 32:27-29 NAS). They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; but they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you" (Deuteronomy 32:5-6 NAS). "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him. He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. The Lord alone guided him, and there was no foreign god with him" (Deut.. 32:10-12 NAS) But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked - you are grown fat, thick, and sleek - then he forsook God who made him, and scorned the Rock of his salvation. They made Him jealous with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread. You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth. And the Lord saw this, and spurned them because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. Then He said, I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end shall be; for they are a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness" (Deut.. 32:15-20 NAS). The Bible says that they sacrificed to demons who were not God - to gods whom they had never known before - to new gods who came up lately. God said, "They have made me jealous with their gods." What He is saying is simply. "O that you would love Me like you love your idols. O that you would spend as much time with Me as you do listening to your music. O that you would defend Me and be as stubborn for Me and My holy standards as you are in rising up in defense for your own newly developed standards." God is saying - "They are not faithful to Me. Oh, yes they are faithful to their idols. They are fanatically faithful to their musicians and groups. They are so faithful to their friends - but so faithless to Me." I was conducting a crusade in Toronto recently, and I was truly shocked by the attitude of so many Christian young people who verbally attacked me for calling attention to the growing immorality among Christian rock groups. No one would listen until the final day of my crusade. It so happened that on that day a so called Christian punk rock group from the United States has released a record in Canada that was so blatantly evil that even they were shocked. The title song included four-letter sexual curse words. Many of them came to the alter that night weeping and saying to me, "Brother Dave, now we know what you are talking about. It truly is of the devil now. We never knew it would go this far. It can’t be of God when they curse and use four-letter words like they are doing now." I love young people with all my heart, but I will not sit by while these hatchet gods go through the house of the Lord trying to tear apart every standard that God has raised up over the centuries. I call for parents and pastors and evangelists to take a stand now, before its too late! How far does it have to go? How evil does it have to become? How blatantly corrupt must it be before we see the hand behind it all? Wake up, church of Jesus Christ, and take dominion and authority through the power of the Holy Spirit, and let us come against these hatchet gods and drive them out while there is still time. Lately, I’ve been called every conceivable name. I’ve been accused of having a nervous breakdown and of being just an old, angry doomsday preacher. I truly don’t care what people call me anymore. I feel in my inner-most the very hot wrath of God against the corrupt standards that are creeping into the church of Jesus Christ, and I’m alarmed at the sheepishness and cowardice in so many pulpits. These new standards are not of God, and I don’t care how many Jesus-words they add and how many justifications they make for their moral standards - I see a serpent in it! I ask all young people the same question Jesus asked of Peter: "So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes Lord: You know that I love you. He said to Him, Tend My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon , son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes Lord; You know that I love you. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time. Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord you know all things; You know that I love you. Jesus said to Him, Tend My sheep" (John 21:15-17 NAS). This is the question of the hour! It goes beyond whether or not Christian rock music is evil. It goes even beyond the double standards and the idolatry of this age. It is simply, "Do you love Jesus Christ more than all of these? "Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey Me." I see in all the moral decay in the church today a lack of love for Jesus Christ. But I also prophesy that God is about to sweep all the filth out of His house, and He is even now raising up a holy remnant who are living in a state of repentance and are crying out to God as never before for renewal, for righteousness, and for a true vision of the heart of Jesus. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 95: PRE-097-94. THE ZADOK REMNANT ======================================================================== 94. The Zadok Remnant The Zadok Remnant by David Wilkerson | October 9, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says the Lord... Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel...? "Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. And you will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all that I do good for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever. Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar that your eyes may fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life... But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always" (1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Samuel 2:29; 1 Samuel 2:31-33; 1 Samuel 2:35). We find here a curse upon one priesthood - and the prophetic raising up of "an enduring" holy-remnant priesthood. Eli represents a cursed priesthood, a priesthood of at, self-centered servants of God. They are called priests, but lightly esteem the work of God. They do not like the ministry of correction. Their spiritual children become wicked because of their lazy life-styles and their refusal to cry out against sin. They "make themselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My (God’s) people" (verse 29). Eli saw iniquity in his sons who brought a curse on themselves, "and he did not rebuke them" (1 Samuel 3:13). For this God said, " I am about to judge his house forever." And his house was judged! The glory of the Lord departed from Shiloh, the ark was captured and he and his sons died. What was this everlasting judgment on the Eli priesthood? • First, it was to be a weak priesthood. "I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house" (verse 31). • Secondly, it would continually fall short of God’s fullness. Even in times of spiritual outpourings, this priesthood was doomed to come short of God’s glory. "And you will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all that I do good for Israel" (verse 32). • Thirdly, all in this kind of priesthood will fall in the prime of life - in the prime of spiritual life and blessing - because of a flawed walk with God. "And all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life" (verse 33). •And fourthly, this weak, flawed, self-centered priesthood would continue on. It is still with us today! "Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar" (verse 33). A Holy Remnant Priesthood Prophesied The unknown prophet who came to Eli prophesied of a new kind of priesthood God would raise up. "But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always" (1 Samuel 2:35). This is amazing prophecy! Here is the first prophecy of a holy-remnant priesthood, enduring to the end, enduring until Christ returns. It is a remnant, which God says, "I will build!" During the reign of David, there was a dual priesthood. Zadok and Abiathar fulfill this prophecy to the letter. "Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there?" (11 Samuel 15:35). Zadok in Hebrew is ’tsadog’, meaning "one proved righteous." Abiathar is ’ebyathar’, meaning "at peace with the Lord who is God!" These two priests represent the two priesthoods mentioned by the unknown prophet - one of the spirit of Eli, the other, a ministry unto the Lord. Let Us Look First at Zadok He was one of those who came to David in Ziklag. "Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish... For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God... also Zadok a young man mighty of valor, and of his father’s house twenty two captains" (1 Chronicles 12:1; 1 Chronicles 12:22; 1 Chronicles 12:28). Zadok and his entire house rejected Saul and gave their hearts and allegiance to David. Not once did he ever look back. He proved to be righteous because he proved to be faithful! He was there when David needed him! And when so many others were being carried away with the rebellion of Absalom, Zadok remained faithful through it all. "The king also passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness. Now behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him carrying the ark of the covenant of God... And the king said to Zadok, Return the ark of God to the city... The king said also to Zadok the priest, Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace and your two sons with you, your son Abimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I am going to wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me" (2 Samuel 15:23-25; 2 Samuel 15:27-28). Read it again: "Are you not a seer?" This meant, "Zadok, you have the gift of discernment! You know what is evil and what is holy. You are strong enough, faithful and committed enough to Me to go into that realm of rebellion and idolatry and save the kingdom!" The king said to Zadok, "Return to the city." God now had a holy priest to guard the house of God from ruin! A whole nation was in rebellion, but in God’s house there was a holy remnant. At the very seat of evil and disobedience, where Absalom committed lewd acts with concubines on the palace housetop before the nation, there was faithful remnant priesthood untouched! Zadok stayed true, holy, committed, blameless, and faithful! He knew God’s Word, he trusted his life and future to it - David was the only king! (Note, David is a type of Christ.) All the while, God was building Zadok an enduring house, a priesthood that fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God who prophesied to Eli. This is that "faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul." The holy remnant, the faithful priesthood of today, these servants of the Lord whose hearts are blameless and faithful - these are the offspring of Zadok! The spiritual sons of Zadok! Ezekiel had a vision of a spiritual temple. In it he saw remnant priesthood offering sacrifices to the Lord. "And you shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who draw near to Me to minister to Me, declares the Lord God, a young bull for a sin offering" (Ezekiel 43:19). These are "near to the Lord" who minister to Him. Ministry to the Lord is the mark of the Zadok remnant. Now Let Us Look at Abiathar He was pious, dedicated, at peace with God, and his very name suggests great reverence for His lordship. He is also with David and Zadok on the other side of Kidron. "And Abiathar came up... Therefore Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there... And are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests" (2 Samuel 15:24; 2 Samuel 15:29; 2 Samuel 15:35). Abiathar wanted nothing to do with Absalom’s rebellion. He and his son appeared to be just as faithful as Zadok. He appeared outwardly holy, blameless, and faithful. So why did the prophets ignore him, speaking of Zadok as the example of the holy-remnant priesthood? Abiathar had in him the seed of Eli! The lazy, indulgent, weak spirit of Eli laid dormant in his soul. It happened just as the man of God prophesied to Eli - that at the very peak of his usefulness, at the peak of God’s blessing, he would fall. His inner weakness would be exposed: he would go so far and then stop short of God’s glory. Abiathar’s heart was not right with God. "Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king... .And he had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah they helped him. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men, who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel" (1 Kings 1:5; 1 Kings 1:7-9). Here we observe that Zadok stayed faithful and Abiathar fell into a trap! All that the unknown prophet said to Eli was being fulfilled in his descendant Abiathar. Abiathar’s sin was self-exaltation! Listen to these tragic words: Abiathar the priest... following Adonijah... helped him." He followed the rebellious, compromising multitude all the way to the stone of Zoheleth, which in Hebrew means "the stone of the serpent"! Not Zadok, not Nathan, not Rei, and not any of David’s faithful men. This was a boastful bunch. They mocked the "old and worn out" ways of David. They were crying for a new kind of kingdom, a new kind of priesthood! There was rebellion, the spirit of adultery, a demonic realm of pride and self-esteem. A new wave of self-exaltation was sweeping through the land deceiving the masses, and Abiathar was one with them. Abiathar became caught up in this demonic realm. How sad! A pious, once faithful man whom, at the peak of his ministry, made a wrong move! He compromised! He turned against the true way and unwittingly thought he was doing God’s will. Now we see him so spiritually blind - with no discernment! He is doing the ministry of a priest at the stone of the serpent! Look at the difference between these two priesthoods. Abiathar was coming under the curse of the house of Eli because of the pride, sin, and rebellion that had suddenly sprung up in him like a wildfire. The self-exalting preaching of Adonijah appealed to something in him - and he cast aside his suffering past to be successful and accepted with the new wave gospel. Compare this with the Zadok priesthood - the holy remnant! "Then King David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came into the King’s presence. And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son. Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, Long live king Solomon! Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah... "So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethities went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, Long live King Solomon!" (1 Kings 1:32-35; 1 Kings 1:38-39). King Solomon knew all about the curse upon the house of Eli. And he recognized Abiathar as being of that kind of priesthood. "So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh" (1 Kings 2:27). What an amazing fulfillment of prophecy! A man, who once shared the suffering of his lord - now dismissed, rejected, put on a shelf. He was told to go his own way, for he was of no more use to God’s kingdom! Both Ministries Were Operating in Ezekiel’s Day - and He Prophesied That the Priesthood of Zadok and Levi Would Become More Pronounced in the Latter Days. Ezekiel saw the ministry of Zadok as a ministry unto the Lord, not unto man. He saw the Zadok remnant as a priesthood called out of a priesthood! "These are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to Him" (Ezekiel 40:46). The Zadok ministry is separated from the world and has one mission in life; to be at the Lord’s table to minister to Him! This priesthood is clothed in the pure, unmixed garments of holiness! They walk in absolute obedience to the Lord. They teach God’s people the difference between right and wrong. They are not afraid to denounce sin. "Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel 44:23). Their only true possession in life is the Lord Himself. "And you shall give them no possession in Israel - I am their possession" (Ezekiel 44:28). Ezekiel Warns: the Curse of the House of Eli Has Fallen Upon a Corrupt Harlot Church and it’s Idolatrous Shepherds! "And you shall say to the rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they made My covenant void - this in addition to all your abominations" (Ezekiel 44:6-7). Here is a house of God full of abominations - so bad that God can’t take any more of it! "Enough!" He declares. They had polluted His sanctuary with ungodly worshipers. They had a form of godliness with no power of holiness. God says, "No more!" These half-converted, worldly, corrupt, so-called believers have no place in My house!" Jimmy Swaggart once asked me, "Why does God allow these corrupt ministries to go on? They seem to go on, flourishing, seducing the masses." At first I thought God would wipe them out - bring them down. Now I see it differently. Now I know what Ezekiel prophesied and it makes me weep. God is cursing a corrupt people with corrupt shepherds. He is appointing them shepherds after their own hearts. Idolatrous shepherds are being appointed to shepherd idol-loving sheep! Read what the Word says: "But the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity... And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy... Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service, and of all that shall be done in it" (Ezekiel 44:10; Ezekiel 44:13-14). These backslidden, sin-loving shepherds have gone astray from the Lord in their hearts. They cling to secret idols; they look and sound like men of God, with all the outward ministry in the house. They themselves have become stumbling blocks, indulging in secret sins that God’s Holy Spirit has convicted them of. They know it is wrong. God says, "Enough!" Still they go on ministering with idolatry in them, stumbling over and over again because of an evil thing blocking their walk with God. What a curse. "They shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. And they shall not come near to Me... nor come near any of My holy things... .they shall bear their shame" (Ezekiel 44:12-13). They will not be removed from God’s house; they will "keep the charge of the house and of all that shall be done in it." What is their shame, their punishment? "I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your bothers, all the offspring of Ephraim" (Jeremiah 7:14-15). The worst punishment, the most horrible shame upon a man or woman of God, is to minister in the flesh with no anointing. Their houses are like Shiloh - "The glory has departed!" Their message is chaff and God’s holy presence has gone from them. Yet - they are still appointed to minister to the house but are also abandoned by the Lord. Think of it - appointed as ministers to a house of rebellious children even though they are idolaters. Horrifying truth! This is the offspring of Eli - the Abiathar priesthood! Isaiah called them dumb dogs who are greedy, dreamers who love to slumber, shepherds with no understanding (Isaiah 56:10-11). God wanted to raise up shepherds for the people after His own heart. If God’s people had been repentant, if they had cast down their idols, if they had sought Him with all their hearts - He would have given them faithful, holy shepherds. "Return, O faithful sons, declares the Lord; For I am a master to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:14-15). But a majority of God’s people seem to prefer the Eli priesthood! "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priest’s rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?" (Jeremiah 5:30-31). Compromising, idol-loving, indulgent, sensuous Christians have been appointed shepherds just like themselves. There is a whole priesthood; the offspring of Eli, appointed to feed the idols enthroned in the hearts of Christians with divided hearts. In These Last Days, We are All Priests Unto the Lord. Which Priesthood Do You Belong To - Zadok or Abiathar? God is even now raising up the royal priesthood - sons of Zadok! "You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ... But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9). We are called to a ministry to the Lord. All direction comes to this priesthood while we minister to the Lord. "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2). There is a sure word that will come forth to all those who love the table of the Lord and who know their one ministry is to the Lord. All other ministry springs out of that ministry to Him. Is the Spirit purging you? Are you being refined by fire? Do you sigh and weep over the abominations in the land? Do you hunger for Christ’s holiness? Do you sit often now at the Lord’s table? Are you casting down idols? Are you sick and weary of all the self-exalting ministries in the land? God Is Seeking to Get You Out of One Priesthood Into Another - Out of Abiathar’s and Into Zadok’s Offspring! In the midst of all the ruin, the apostasy, and the great falling away, the Zadok remnant is coming forth - visible and anointed. Those of the Zadok remnant all speak the same language: faithfulness to King Jesus, repentance as a way of life, separation from all that is touched or represented by the world, an intense hunger and thirst for righteousness, purging, and refining, and a pure heart wholly given to Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 96: PRE-098-95. HE HAS SMEARED OVER THEIR EYES SO THAT THEY CANNOT SEE ======================================================================== 95. He Has Smeared Over Their Eyes So That They Cannot See He Has Smeared Over Their Eyes So That They Cannot See by David Wilkerson | September 18, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] "Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them standup, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame. "The man shapes iron into a cutting tool, and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers, and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. "Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes, and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. Surely he cuts cedars for himself and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself, he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down before it. Half of it burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire. But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, Deliver me, for thou art my god. "They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. And no one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, I have burned half of it in the fire, and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood! "He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah 44:9-20). Incredible Blindness You have just read a story of the most incredible kind of blindness in all of God’s Word. Here is a backslidden son of Israel who cuts down a tree, puts part of it in a fire over which he cooks a meal, and fashions the other part into an idol and calls it his god! How could any intelligent human be so blind, so ignorant, so undiscerning? It was because of something God did to this man. God smeared his eyes over so he could no longer understand or discern. This man fed on ashes, his eyes were blind, and his heart was deceived. He was living a lie; he saw no need of help, no need of deliverance - because he was not aware of his pitiful condition. We look at this mindless man and see a blindness beyond comprehension. Yet, God said no one is more blind than some of His very own servants: "Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but my servant, Or so deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; your ears are open, but none hears. The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake to make the law; great and glorious. But this is a people plundered and despoiled; All of them are trapped in caves, Or are hidden away in prisons; They have become a prey with none to deliver them, And a spoil, with none to say, Give them back! Who among you will give ear to this?. Who will give heed and listen hereafter? Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not obey? So He poured out on him the heat of His anger and the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention" (Isaiah 42:18-25). Isaiah depicts the condition in God’s house today! There is almost no discernment left! Hear the prophet again: "My messenger - My messenger whom I sent - BLIND!" He says, "You see many things. (You run to one seminar after another. You read endless numbers of books. You hear so much about truth and revelation, but it doesn’t change your life.) But you don’t observe it.!" God’s people are being plundered and despoiled by fierce winds and waves of doctrine. Doctrines of demons have trapped multitudes in caves and prisons of despair. Converts become a prey to new teachings and are becoming a spoil of Satan. There are so few ministers with enough holy discernment to say, "Enough! This is wrong." So few to cry out, "Give them back!" So few with enough divine wisdom and understanding to deliver the deceived and trapped ones. Where did this blindness in God’s servants come from? It is sin in the hearts of shepherds, and it is sin in the lives of believers, that is causing a famine of discernment in God’s house. Isaiah said, "In whose ways they were not willing to walk, and whose law they did not obey." John prophesies of a last-day Laodicean church which is totally blind without knowing it: "You say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked" (Revelation 3:17). The Charismatic Church Does Not Know That In Spite of All Its Blessings A Blindness Is Setting In! The world is touching and tainting almost everything in God’s house and few are alarmed. Why? Isaiah said, "And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention" (Isaiah 42:25). We are learning to justify our sins and accommodate them. Choreographed dancing in many Charismatic churches today seems so novel, so innocent, but now, in some areas, it is ending up with ballroom dancing on Saturday nights - sponsored by the church. It is another step of the blind stumbling toward the world. And appetite for pleasure is being incubated in God’s people right in the sanctuary. Spontaneous dancing in the Spirit can be a marvelous offering of praise, but choreographed dancing in God’s house smacks of fleshly manipulation. Literally thousands of ministers and Christian laymen have purchased TV discs which are now capable of pulling in pornography from playboy-type satellite channels. Men of God, in growing numbers, stand in their pulpits preaching the righteousness of a holy God, then sit before Satan’s vicious idol and drink in soul-damning porn. Who is able to discern that Satan is using these weapons to rob believers of their faith, to destroy peace, to disrupt holiness, to break up homes, and to ruin ministries? Where are the shepherds who cry out, "Give us back unpolluted homes! Give us back homes without idols, violence, and promiscuity!" Numerous Christian couples now drink, attend night clubs, and love to party You see them in God’s house with their hands raised, praising the Lord. What clapping! What loud hosannas! What a wonderful sound they make unto the Lord. Yet they can no longer discern what is right and wrong, sensuous or spiritual. Isaiah warned: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil: who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness: who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20) Sadly, there are so few discerning shepherds to call them back from their worldly lusts. Tragically, many sincere Christians are going to fall; they will perish because without discernment it will become nearly impossible to survive the demonic invasion which is even now accelerated. The Word says: "The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands" (Isaiah 57:1). Why are so many sincere Christians today being deceived by the self-centered teachings, which cater to the flesh? Because there is no understanding left no discernment! There is a form of Godliness without power, there is so little of true holiness. "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely. And the priests on their own authority; And my people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?" (Jeremiah 5:30-31). "Gods of a New Age" is a wrenching movie depicting the heartbreaking delusion of thousands of our youth as they give their minds and souls to Indian Gurus. I am appalled by the total lack of discernment among youth in this nation. Could it be a result of the blindness and lack of discernment in the church? Isaiah said: "His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are dumb dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one" (Isaiah 56:10-11). This lack of discernment among God’s people was the anguish of Jeremiah’s soul, too. Israel’s blindness overwhelmed him as he cried: "My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole Land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant. How long must I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet? For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children, And they have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know" (Jeremiah 4:19-22). Why Has Discernment Been Taken From God’s People? Why Has God Smeared Over the Eyes? "Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the understanding. My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them: For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God" (Hosea 4:11-12). Read it again: "A spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God." A man of God with secret sin in his life, an indulgent man, a sensuous man, will have his spiritual understanding smeared! He is blind, having been stripped of all spiritual wisdom or knowledge. "This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness" (Ephesians 4:17-19). Hardened, calloused, having given themselves over to sensuality - practicing every kind of impurity with greediness! Timothy warns of "the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron" (1 Timothy 4:1). These include men of God, deceived by lying spirits and doctrines of demons. The double-minded servants of God have no more discernment - yet they possess a false peace. "These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make... lest there shall be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations; lest there shall be among you a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. And it shall be when he hears the words of the curse, that he will boast, saying, I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry" (Deuteronomy 29:1; Deuteronomy 29:18-19). A Servant of God Who Holds to His Sin, Who Walks With Partial Darkness in His Soul, Not Only Becomes Blind and Undiscerning - Even Worse, He Begins to Counsel Rebellion! The church right now is overrun with these counselors of rebellion. "You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you" (Deuteronomy 13:3-5). Jeremiah shared God’s wrath against the counselors of rebellion. Hananiah was preaching peace and prosperity when God was calling for wrath and judgment. Jeremiah said to him: "The Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie... Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord" (Jeremiah 28:1-17 :l5-l6). The true prophets of God blamed the shepherds for the blindness in Israel. Jeremiah thundered: "For the shepherds have become stupid (dull) and have not sought the Lord; Therefore they have not prospered. And all their flock is scattered" "Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard. They have trampled down my pleasant field a desolate wilderness" (Jeremiah 12:10). "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:1). "My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains. . . And have forgotten their resting place" (Jeremiah 50:6). Satan Is Going After The Shepherds! If he can deceive a single shepherd, blind him to some kind of immorality, he will rob him of his spiritual discernment, and that man of God will end up counseling rebellion from the pulpit! I know! I was once one of those counselors of rebellion. I was offering comfort to the divorced, because at that time my own marriage was in trouble. I could not show God’s people their iniquities because of rebellion in my own soul. All this liberal, sensuous, easy going preaching today is coming out of the hearts of shepherds who are bound by sin themselves. Out of the abundance of their hearts, they speak compromise. They cannot honestly show God’s people their iniquities because of the deep-hidden sin of their own hearts. Hear God’s Word: "For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:11). "From the prophets of Jerusalem pollution has gone forth into all the land" (Jeremiah 23:15). "Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles" (Lamentations 2:14). The Holy Spirit is even now raising up a holy, sanctified remnant of shepherds and servants who are gifted with great spiritual discernment! They will lead God’s remnant with renewed understanding! There Is Arising a Zadok Priesthood - Those Who Minister to The Lord in Holiness, Who Sit Daily at the Lord’s Table, Filled With Wisdom and Righteousness, Having Clean Hands and Pure, Undivided Hearts! Here is what this ministry will be: "But the Levitical priests, the sons Of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge. Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel 44:15-16; Ezekiel 44:23). God Is Raising Up Discerning Shepherds Who Will Sound a Trumpet, Show God’s People Their Sins, and Call The People Back to Purity, in Obedience to His Word. "Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet. And declare to my people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah 58:1) God’s true shepherds have heard the call to repentance and are responding. I rejoice to read the many letters now pouring into our office from ministers and Christian workers who confess they had fallen away and were cold and without fire and unction. Now, they desperately hunger for true holiness and cleansing. They want to see a revival of righteousness in their churches and in their communities. The Mark of Discernment Is Exposure of Sin! True discernment leads one to see his own personal sin in the heart and to cast it out. It also leads us to see how far from purity we have strayed - and get back to the narrow path. "Thus says the Lord of hosts, Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth the of the Lord. "They keep saying to those who despise Me, the Lord has said. You will have peace, And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, Calamity will not come upon you. But who has stood in the council of the Lord, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. "I did not send the prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds." (Jeremiah 23:16-22). (The scriptural passages in this article were taken from the New American Standard Version.) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 97: PRE-099-96. WHEN THE HEDGE GOES DOWN ======================================================================== 96. When The Hedge Goes Down When the Hedge Goes Down by David Wilkerson | August 7, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] Satan himself acknowledges that God has a protective hedge all around the righteous and that the hedge protects not only themselves but all that they have — including their descendants. When seeking to tear Job down, Satan complained to God, "Hast thou not made a hedge around him, and his house, and all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land" (Job 1:10). Hedge, shield, and wall are synonymous in God’s Word. Shield is from the Hebrew root GANAN, which means to cover, surround, defend. These words are interchangeable — speaking of Christ covering, surrounding and protecting His righteous ones on every side. God was Job’s shield, a covering or canopy under which he was untouchable by any enemy. God’s presence surrounded him as a wall. Shield is a covenant word. God said to Abraham, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you" (Genesis 15:1). In other words, "I am a hedge and wall about you on all sides — you have nothing to fear from any enemy." How powerful were the final words of Moses as he blessed Israel. He sang out, "Blessed are you, O Israel; who is like you, a people saved by the Lord. Who is the shield of your help, and the sword of your majesty! So your enemies shall cringe before you, and you shall tread upon their high places" (Deuteronomy 33:29). David feared no enemy — no devil, no demon, no living soul! He testified, "I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me" (Psalms 3:5). Why could David sleep so well each night and wake up with such renewed strength? Because the hedge was up around him! He said, "But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me…my glory, and the One who lifts up my head" (Psalms 3:3). Behind that shield, that protective hedge, David was safe from every enemy attack. Nothing on earth or out of the pits of hell could touch him. He could say, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about…for thou hast smitten all my enemies on the cheek: thou hast shattered the teeth of the wicked" (Psalms 3:6-7). The demon hordes that came against him had to flee, having been shattered by the hedge about David. They could not penetrate that wall! A Protective Hedge Is a Covenant Right To All Who Walk Blameless Before the Lord Our almighty covenant God has placed a shield around all who walk before Him blameless and pure in heart! The hedge was not only around Job, it was around Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David — and is still round about all saints who walk in righteousness and fear of God! In making covenant with Abraham, God commanded him, "Walk before me, and be blameless, and I will establish my covenant between me and you" (Genesis 17:1). In other words, "Abraham, walk before me blameless, and you need never again fear, because I covenant with you to be your shield and hedge against all enemies that will ever come against you or against any of your descendants." David testified, "For I have kept the way of the Lord, and have not acted wickedly against my God. For all His ordinances were before me, and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless toward Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity" (2 Samuel 22:22-24). He added, "With the blameless thou dost shew thy self blameless (2 Samuel 22:26). Meaning, those who keep their part of the covenant will experience perfect and blameless shielding from all enemies. Just how safe is a man of God who walks in covenant with God — blameless and pure in heart? What effect does Satan or his powers of darkness have upon the righteous who forsake their iniquities? David makes it most clear that victory is certain for those who are pure. "Thy help makes me great…I pursued my enemies and destroyed them. And I did not turn back until they were consumed. And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise, and they fell under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength for battle: thou hast subdued under me those who rose up against me, thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs to me, and I destroyed those who hated me…Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth, I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the street" (2 Samuel 22:36-43). What a testimony of protection and victory. He could boast, "Satan and his evil hordes surrounded me, but God’s shield made me invincible. I pulverized the enemy. I trampled him to the ground. I sent him running — Idefeated every foe. The powers of darkness hate me. They tried to come against me, but they couldn’t lay a hand on me — I crushed them with God’s help! The enemy is shattered and I am safe and sound behind the hedge." God is a hedge about every child of His who walks in integrity and purity. "He is a shield to those who walk in integrity" (Proverbs 2:7). "For the Lord God is a sun and shield…no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalms 84:11). "He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him" (Proverbs 30:5). There is No Hedge About Christians Who Live in Sin and Rebellion Those who are wicked and divided in heart have broken the covenant, and they are defenseless against the principalities and powers of darkness. "But to the wicked God says, What right have you to tell of my statutes, and to take my covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you…You associate with adulterers…you let your mouth loose in evil, and your tongue frames deceit" (Psalms 50:16-21). Israel broke their covenant with God. They had been clearly warned what would happen to them if they disobeyed God. They knew they would lose the hedge and become an easy prey to every kind of enemy. "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy God; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou was afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought" (Deuteronomy 28:58-67). Israel was given a choice! Follow the Lord and be blameless — and be protected. Or, turn away and be overwhelmed by the powers of darkness. "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Incredibly, Israel chose to walk in disobedience — turning away from the covenant to follow their lusts. What horrible disasters followed! David cried, "Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; and our enemies laugh among themselves" (Psalms 80:5-6). Why did the enemy laugh now at Israel! Because the hedge was down! "Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the woods doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it" (Psalms 80:12-13). Satan is the boar who eats away in their vineyard. Demonic powers pass through at will, devouring the fruit — because the shield is gone! The hedge is broken down. And why? Because the people of God were walking in stubborn and willful disobedience to God. "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries" (Psalms 81:11-14). God Has Threatened to Remove the Hedge From His Vineyard and Lay it Waste I tremble at the prophetic word of the prophet Isaiah. It is not speculation — it is something God said He fully intends to do. First, hear the testimony of Jesus about the wall He has built around His people, His vineyard, "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country" (Matthew 21:33). But God said that hedge is coming down — because of sin! "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" (Isaiah 5:3-6). God is telling us what He is most certainly going to do. I believe He is doing it right now. There is a harlot church on the earth today that has become the devil’s playground. It is made up of deceived Christians who wink at sin. They are self–willed, lovers of pleasure, who no longer blush over their iniquities. They have divided hearts; they are holding to a form of godliness with no power. They have their idols; they refuse to give up their secret pet lusts; and they are blinded by a false peace. This harlot church is described in Deuteronomy 29:1-29 as blinded by a false peace. "…And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst" (Deuteronomy 29:19). God warns that He will break down their hedge and single them out for adversity and curses. "The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law" (Deuteronomy 29:20-21). David knew what it was like to break covenant and be singled out for adversity and trouble on all sides. God had told David, "My covenant I will not violate" (Psalms 89:34). But God did not violate it — David did. Even though God never breaks off his lovingkindness — yet He still visits transgressions with the rod. "Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail" (Psalms 89:32-33). Take heed as you hear David tell of a plundering enemy who brought ruin into his life because of sin. "But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou has been wroth with thine anointed. Thou has made void the covenant of thy servant; thou has profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. Thou has broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. All that pass by the way spoil him, he is a reproach to his neighbours. Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and has not made him to stand in the battle" (Psalms 89:38-43). Is not this the reason why so many Christians are being plundered by Satan? They are not able to stand up against demonic powers and principalities of darkness because God has removed their hedge. They were once His anointed, but now they are under siege by the forces of hell — because they have no godly sorrow for sin left in them. They refuse to repent and forsake their worldly ways. Disobedience has brought upon them an avalanche of adversity and troubles of all kinds. They hide and justify their sins. True — not all suffering is a result of sin. There is a discipline administered by our loving Father. Some, like Job, are being tested so they can come forth as pure gold. Yet sin always brings down the hedge. How terrible when God removed the hedge about Jerusalem. Jeremiah could hardly believe his eyes at the sight of swift and horrible disaster and unbelievable devastation at the hands of the enemy. He cried, "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer" (Lamentations 1:4-6). Jeremiah very accurately describes what happened to Israel when they broke covenant and lost their hedge. Speaking for them he said, "The enemy has come upon my neck…He has made my strength fail; the Lord has given me into the hands of those against whom I am not able to stand" (Lamentations 1:14). That is exactly what I see happening in the church today, as multitudes are being overwhelmed by satanic attacks. So few can stand up now and resist. So few have any spiritual authority left. Satan is coming against them like an overflowing flood, and their strength fails them. It is usually directly related to the sin remaining in them. They refuse to be searched by the light of God’s Word. They are not coming to the light to have sin exposed. They instead flirt about in adultery, fornication, and lusts of all kinds. They sit passively before their idols of TV, corrupt movies and pornography. There is much fear, unbelief, gossip, slander and cursing. Others do not pray, they forget the Lord days on end, and they are no longer intimate with the beloved Savior. Then they wonder why the enemy plunders their lives and homes. How blind can we be? Our sins have forced the Lord to remove the hedge from us. We have completely lost the fear of God if we do not tremble at this warning — "I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. And I will lay it waste…I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it" (Isaiah 5:5-6). God is speaking of the church, of our lives, and especially of our children and grandchildren. A famine of God’s Word — no revelation! A home trampled upon, laid waste. God promised to establish a covenant not only with Abraham, but also with all his descendants: with his children, grandchildren, and all his posterity. "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee" (Genesis 17:7). The importance of walking in covenant, blameless and pure in heart, is that it provides a hedge and shield for us and all our descendants. It is a safeguard for our posterity. Certainly God will visit the transgressions of our children and grandchildren upon them, but through all the troubles and adversity He will remember the covenant with the father and mother who walked blameless before Him — and He will remember mercy in wrath. We must command our children to walk blameless too so they can walk in security, protected by the divine hedge. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off" (Psalms 37:37-38). Saul broke covenant and God removed the hedge. How sad to read of the tragic end of this once mighty anointed man dying with his sons by the hand of the enemy. He and his posterity were cut off. When the Bible says the hedge is removed, it actually means the presence of the Lord leaves. Self–will and disobedience in Saul caused the Lord to reject him. "But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee" (1 Samuel 16:14-15). God permitted Satan to get to Saul after He took His spirit from him. Satan terrorized this troubled man. It was once said of Saul, "The spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them" (1 Samuel 10:10). Compare that with 1 Samuel 18:10. "An evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house." Preachers’ wives write to me telling of husbands who rant and rave and hit them. Others tell me of temper fits — wild outbursts, throwing them against the wall, hurting them — followed by remorse and tender apologies. It is the spirit of Satan himself. It is demonic. It happens because the Lord has departed from their lives. The wall is down, all is desolation — and the whole family suffers as a result. Ichabod is written on their hearts and mines. Saul’s sinful heart brought disaster upon all his house! "And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul’s sons. "So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his men, that same day together" (1 Samuel 31:2; 1 Samuel 31:6). "And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and went into the land of the Philistines round about to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people. And they put his armour in the house of their god, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon" (1 Chronicles 10:8-10). God Is Removing The Hedge From This Nation The cry of the sins of this nation has reached into the heavens. Our cup of iniquity is overflowing. I believe the prophet Ezekiel saw the kind of judgment God will pour upon us — He will remove the hedge and leave us "an unwalled nation." We will be vulnerable to every enemy. "After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates" (Ezekiel 38:8-11). This is more than a prophecy about Russia invading Israel. America too is a melting pot of people who are gathered from all nations. I believe it is a dual prophecy, directed also at this nation, the greatest of all Christian nations on earth. We have millions who claim to be "the Israel of faith" — all born–again descendants of Abraham — the true seed of promise. This nation was once God fearing, spiritual; and Christ was exalted in our midst. Now He is defamed, cursed, and cast out of our schools and courts. As many as 150,000 lesbians and homosexuals at a time parade our city streets, brazenly flaunting their perversions. Our courts legalized the murdering of millions of unborn babies — there is much blood on our hands. Yes, there is still a vocal Christian multitude — but so few of them walk in holiness and purity. There is much lip service to the Lord, but little of total surrender and separation. It is a nation corrupted by greed, materialism, lust, and violence. It is a church backslidden, weak, and plundered by Satan. A Laodicean stupor has come upon the harlot church. Church of God — wake up! Our walls have crumbled! The hedge is being removed. The shield is gone! We are that nation without bars and gates. That is why even the smallest and weakest of nations can badger and hold us hostage. Our enemies laugh at our impotence to act. America is now an unwalled nation! Each passing year the evidence piles up that God has removed the hedge He once had around this nation. Droughts get worse. Locust and grasshoppers destroy our crops. Floods are becoming more numerous and more destructive. Volcanos, long dormant, now erupt. Fires sweep entire states. Storms are becoming more sinister and threatening. Strange diseases are spreading, killing thousands. National and international debt keeps piling up. Trade balances are frightening. Everywhere you turn now people ask, "What’s going on? Why so much disaster? Why are so many things going wrong?" The hedge is down! The shield has been removed! The walls are crumbling! It is the Lord’s doing — because this nation has broken covenant with a holy God! I receive word now almost daily from dear believers who tell me, "Our pastor, our elders, don’t believe what you are prophesying. They say you are just a doomsday preacher trying to scare people. They say you have not received this hard message from the Lord." So the pastors (though they are few) and the elders get up before the people and give forth their soothing messages and glowing, comforting prophecies of peace and blessing. One elder prophesied, "American will not be judged because we are praying! We will not see trouble or adversity. Be not alarmed." And the crowd loved it — loudly applauding. I don’t need to answer that. The prophet Jeremiah already has. "And the Lord hath sent unto you all her servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt" (Jeremiah 25:4-6). This is the promise if we repent — all of us, and forsake all our idols and turn to the Lord with all our hearts. But there is a further word from God that these prophets of peace and blessing had better take heed to — or they will be held accountable for counseling rebellion and blinding the eyes of the disobedient. My Bible says there will be no peace, no blessing, but only adversity when there is sin and rebellion. I don’t care what they prophesy — the Bible says this: "To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish" (Jeremiah 6:10; Jeremiah 6:13-15; Jeremiah 6:17; Jeremiah 6:19; Jeremiah 6:21). "For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; where there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 8:11-12). Ezekiel makes it even stronger. Hear it — all you prophets crying "Peace, don’t be alarmed, all is well, God is not a God of judgment, but only mercy." "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar: say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall: and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be a overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; to wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord God. Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of my people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them" (Ezekiel 13:1-17). Read it and tremble, saints of God! "So I shall tear down the wall…The wall is gone…I shall spend my wrath on the wall" (Ezekiel 13:14-15). These are liars, Ezekiel said, who prophesy falsely because of monetary reasons. To keep money flowing! To promote giving! "And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: therefore ye shall see no more vanity, no divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 13:19; Ezekiel 13:22-23). God Has a Holy Remnant Who Are Walking in Covenant — Hedged About With a Wall of Fire! The Lord has a holy people in these last days — apeople who are forsaking this world and its lusts. A people separated, pure in heart, who prepare themselves as a bride awaiting her groom. This world is not their home anymore — they long to be with Jesus their Lord. This world has no charm for them — it has lost its hold. They are not wrapped up in seeking success, or money, or prosperity, or fame, or power! Christ is all to them. For these, Christ Himself has promised to be to them a wall of fire round about! "For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zechariah 2:5). The remnant who walk in covenant, blameless, pure in heart, will heed the words of the watchman the Lord has placed on their walls — and they will be delivered from all the powers of hell and darkness. "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their piece day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: but they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord: and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness" (Isaiah 61:6-9). I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies! God is still a hedge about the righteous. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 98: PRE-100-97. THERE IS A CRY OF REPENTANCE IN THE LAND ======================================================================== 97. There Is A Cry Of Repentance In The Land There Is a Cry of Repentance in the Land by David Wilkerson | July 16, 1985 [May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011] I want to bring you a report of what is happening as a result of the ministry of our book, Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth. We expected a lot of criticism and backlash, but we were not expecting to hear from so many thousands of beloved saints of God who wrote to us saying, "We have seen the same things! God has been saying to our hearts that judgment is near! Your warnings express exactly what the Holy Spirit has been saying to us!" There is a mighty wave of repentance, brokenness, returning to first love and rededication to the Lord. Pastors and evangelists have written and called, telling how their hearts were rekindled and set aflame. revivals of repentance are breaking forth in many parts of the country. The book is being used by God to precipitate a repentance that was already on the verge of coming forth. In some instances, the trumpet call is simply confirming the work of the Spirit already underway. We received a call from the northwest telling of an awakening among lumberjacks in the mountains of southern Canada as a result of reading Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth. We are hearing from many who have put aside their idols; they are back to prayer and intense Bible reading - and heart purity. Punk Rockers The chapter on "Music of Devils" has sent shock waves through the contemporary Christian music field. A so-called Christian punk rock band leader visited me recently; he was angry and defiant. The same day, the leader of another hard rock Christian group came to see me. What I heard coming from their hearts and lips horrified me. I am still in spiritual shock. They say boldly that they borrow their music from the secular hard rock and punk groups. They boast they are new "Rock Prophets" - using rock to become heroes, so they can use that hero standing to preach Jesus to the kids. They are so spiritually blind - so given over to their idols - so beyond reproof - it is frightening. They won’t talk to me about the warnings of judgment; all they want to do is vent their feelings on us for touching their hallowed idol. After what I’ve seen and heard, I am even more convinced that rock music is the most potent of all Satanic idols. I said in my book they were so addicted, they would wave off angels who warned them. Now I know they do more than that. They wave off angels, prophets, and the Holy Spirit. In essence, I was told, "I don’t care how much you pray or what God says to you, we don’t want to hear it!" They will go on resisting the warnings of God’s Word - twisting the Word and justifying their idols. I asked the Spirit to show me the root cause of the addiction to their idol of rock, especially since some Christian rock stars think of themselves as prophets to Christian youth. What they are doing is very dangerous. In fact, they are most dangerous to the kingdom of God because of their great delusions and influence over youth. Now I know the root cause. The Bible names the root cause of all forms of evil - and it is MONEY! If Christian rock was not selling so many records, if it didn’t pack the concerts, if it didn’t produce such idolizing of the performers - it would die almost overnight. Bookstores sell so-called Christian rock, punk rock - because kids buy the records - and they want this idolatry. IT’S ALL A MATTER OF BIG BUCKS! POPULARITY! CLIMBING THE CHARTS! BIG CROWDS! It’s really not a question of whether or not rock music is evil in itself - that is the devil’s smoke screen. The root of the evil is the love of money - the quest for popularity - staying on top - catering to the evil whims and desires of carnal Christianity. What grieves me most of all is the spiritual blindness of the shepherds regarding this kind of idolatry. These punkers and hard rockers have churches, ministers, and prayer groups behind them, encouraging them. One punk rock group attends a Pentecostal church - and the pastor recommends them for concerts. They all tell me, "It’s all right. We have a covering. We have the pastor behind us. Our church approves us!" How tragic! We are forgiving each other’s sins! We are approving abominations! We are losing the fear of God! We wink at sin! Anything goes as long as it gets results. Jeremiah thunders to us, "Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words...you walk after other gods...then come and stand before me in the house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered - that we may do all these abominations..." (Jeremiah 7:8-10). I will not let up! I call on pastors, parents, on youth who are bondslaves to Jesus Christ: Rise up in His name and expose and denounce these horrible abominations! Thank God for those who are examining their hearts and searching the Word - because I’ve also met some beloved musicians whose hearts burn with desire to please the Lord. They would do nothing to grieve the Spirit. Pray for them - that God will help them see the root behind these evil idols, so they will say to our Savior, "I would rather be a pauper, never be on the charts, take a secular job - than to minister and compromise for the sake of money or fame!" Television Idol Let me tell you what also really grieves me. It is having Christians say to me, "David, I know you are right - TV is an idol; it is vile, wicked, perverted, and it’s getting worse by the day! You sure spoke the truth; I believe every word you said." Then - they do nothing about it. They go on sitting in front of that stupid idol - wasting God’s precious time - getting brainwashed by demonic influences - and nothing changes! They let the warning verses about idols run off their minds like water. They say - but they do not do! It’s all words! I’d rather a Christian rebuke me and call me names than to agree with the message and do nothing about it. Saints of God, the Spirit is making it very clear - God will not put up much longer with our idolatry. He is going to judge it. Some are getting angry with me - some want off my mailing list - but I will not stop crying out against this idol. Thousands of Christians have cast it aside and now they tell of the freedom and blessing of God flowing in their hearts and homes. Is this idol still in your house? Is the furniture aimed right at it? So you can sit before it and feed your soul and mind? Do you fear God’s word? Does it make you tremble? It should! I have a powerful word from God’s throne room for those who refuse to forsake this and other idols - GOD WILL TAKE AWAY REJOICING AND THE VOICE OF GLADNESS. YOU MAY BE IN DANGER OF LOSING THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE! "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; and ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me" (Jeremiah 16:9-12). Please don’t get angry with me. I yearn over the sheep, that all idols will come down - that all divided hearts come to repentance - so you can keep the hedge of the Lord about you and your home! I am just one of the Lord’s watchmen; I beseech you to walk in the fear of the Lord and obey the Spirit’s call to separation. It’s a frightful warning to hear that you may lose THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE - that Christ may say, "Go to your idol - My voice will not co-mingle with the voices of darkness!" A Prophecy I see something coming that rejoices my heart. I see the Holy Spirit breaking forth among God’s people with such conviction power, such a spirit and urging toward heart repentance, such a soul searching, such a searing word from God - repentance and weeping, loud crying, holy prostration for sin will fall and smite everyone in the house. I see hundreds of ministers together being convicted by a word that is coming forth, so powerful, so holy that men of God will fall on their faces in repentance. Ministers will cry out of confessions of adultery, sexual sins, hidden sins of all kinds. I see hundreds of ministers and their wives with hands raised, crying out to God for cleansing and healing. They will be lying on the floor in the corridors; they will be weeping in the restrooms; they will hang on to the pews; they will stagger and fall under Holy Ghost conviction. A wave of repentance is already happening. It will spread. The Holy Ghost has promised to purge the sons of Levi (the ministry) and these wholly repentant, purified shepherds will GO FORTH AND GATHER THE BRIDE! Others will harden their hearts and run out of the house angry and defiant. They will mock and ridicule and wave of repentance because their hearts are divided and bound by an idol. The call is now so loud, so clear: REPENT! CAST ASIDE ALL IDOLS! PURIFY YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR HANDS! There is a promised curse coming upon those who are not taking the things of God to heart. The prophet Malachi warns, "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not layit to heart. Behold I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it" (Malachi 2:1-4). In case anyone would cast aside this warning as an inappropriate Old Testament curse, hear this: "Take heed therefore, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you" (Acts 13:40). ======================================================================== Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/a-large-collection-of-sermons-by-pastor-david-wilkerson-volume-1/ ========================================================================