========================================================================
  THE CURE FOR CHAOS – CALL A SACRED ASSEMBLY
  by Shane Idleman
========================================================================

Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of repentance, fasting,
and unity in the church. It calls for a return to holiness, humility,
and seeking God's presence through worship. The message highlights the
need for spiritual revival, addressing critical spirits, and focusing on
the essentials of faith. It also stresses the power of fasting as a
spiritual weapon and the significance of consecrating oneself before
God.

Topics: "Repentance", "Spiritual Revival"
Scripture References: Joel 2:12, Psalm 51:17, Joel 2:15, Hebrews 12:14, Joel 2:13, Philippians 2:10

------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This sermon emphasizes the importance of repentance, fasting, and unity
in the church. It calls for a return to holiness, humility, and seeking
God's presence through worship. The message highlights the need for
spiritual revival, addressing critical spirits, and focusing on the
essentials of faith. It also stresses the power of fasting as a
spiritual weapon and the significance of consecrating oneself before
God.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pulpit is not God's pulpit. You didn't come to hear. You did not come to
hear a man You came to hear a message and we need to let God speak again
boldly through our Our pulpits and pastors should not be scared to say
listen This person stands for this this person stands for this these
people want to murder children These people don't it's okay to speak
truth into the life of people And we and we put we put people in
positions of leadership.

It really matters We're done being politically correct We never really
were but we've got to take a stand and say listen God has given us a
republic god has given us a voice and we need to put people in positions
of office That want to honor his word and people say shane. We can't be
political. I'm really not being political I'm being biblical the bible
has something to say the bible has something to say about murdering
children It has something to say about gay marriage it has something to
say about teaching our children perversion it has something to say About
these foundational issues see we're not pushing we are holding the line
They crossed the line many years ago when they begin to remove god from
the schools and begin to remove prayer from the schools Did you know
that the schools began in the 1600s to teach kids to read the word of
god? Talk about how far we have drifted don't even get me started on
that topic I'll get back on track or we're going to be in trouble So the
title tonight as many of you know is the cure for chaos call a sacred
assembly The cure for chaos what's going on around us god gives us a
remedy primarily in the old testament to call a sacred assembly And you
might say well shane why preach this now? If the sacred assembly Is next
weekend and the answer is really simple.

It's because we need to sanctify ourselves beforehand the bride prepares
for the groom And many times a couple times throughout the old testament
god would say sanctify yourself today for tomorrow I would do great
works among you and there's there's something special when we come To
church when we come to a sacred assembly and our hearts are already,
right? We've been praying we've been fasting We've been seeking the
heart of god and then the spirit of god will fall upon that atmosphere
And I believe you can create an atmosphere that is pleasing to god or
create an atmosphere that where his spirit withdraws Think about our
homes. We begin to put on ungodly entertainment and things like that and
and god's spirit is quenched and grieved Can you feel a difference and
then when you put on worship music? And you begin to pray in your house
Can you feel a difference or just me I can walk into houses and I can
feel the heaviness I can feel the demonic oppression and I guarantee
that they have been fostering an air an atmosphere of darkness Or I can
walk in a home and you feel the life there Because there's something
about the atmosphere of holiness And so i'm going to look to joel
chapter one. I'm going to be a little bit throughout joel chapter one I
looked at this when the covid, uh, uh plandemic.

I mean pandemic started I'm, sorry, there might be some freudian slips
in there, but When this when this started I looked at joel and we talked
about this a little bit But I think it's important for you to hear
because many of you probably didn't hear that message And god says in
chapter one through the prophet joel And what's interesting about the
prophets joel? amos Obadiah, you know jonah and you have micah and nahum
and the minor prophets and you have what's called the major prophets
ezekiel jeremiah And uh daniel and some of the major prophets and what
these people would do Is they would go to the children of israel and
what would they do? They would call them back to god They would call
that to repentance And so the god still uses prophetic voices today and
you can usually tell when a voice is prophetic because they're not
popular I thought of giving a message entitled unpopular prophets Or a
prophet is not popular. They aren't are they? Because they go against
the grain They they take it's like taking that sandpaper and and they
get to the heart of the issue and they were never called to be Popular
they were called to be powerful and speak god's truth and god actually
told jeremiah Jeremiah was just a young man and jeremiah said I can't go
i'm too young and god said jeremiah Go to who I send you speak what I
speak to you Would you pull down and you will root out you will build up
and you will destroy and you will replant Let the word of god go forth
and convict the heart and that's what we need today We need that
conviction again that draw to holiness and and righteousness and and
being filled with the spirit of god I don't know about you, but I don't
want to play church We didn't come to play church. We came to hear from
the living god The power of the holy spirit Have you ever experienced
that when god breaks you when god humbles you when he removes your pride
and now you're full of the spirit Of god and there's joy unspeakable
There's boldness and adversity There's there's peace that that you just
cannot describe because the holy spirit of god is moving through you
That's what we need He said hear this you elders Hear this you elders
and give here give an ear It means listen all you inhabitants of the
land has anything like this happened in your day Or even in the days of
your fathers.

Well, what is happening? Well, guess what? It's pretty similar to now
Pestilence locust swarming locusts all kinds of locusts came and they
devoured the crop So the provision was gone and then fire was scorching
the land And the people were in There was distress and there was chaos
and confusion and talk about a parallel Today and so god said tell your
children about it Let your children tell their children and their
children another generation. So god is saying don't be embarrassed Let
them know what happens when the judgment of god falls upon a nation that
there is a judgment that can happen But god's call is not to the to cry
about it's called the call is to come back to him And I want to
encourage you before revival ignites a nation it first ignites a group
of people Before god brings revival fires. He's going to ignite a group
of people.

He's going to Ignite certain leaders and they bring that refi the
revival fire of god's Of god's a fire into the church and into the
community And so he's saying here pass down god's words to your kids let
them know about the goodness of god, but also The judgment of god, I
know that's not popular but it's powerful Do you know jesus spoke about
judgment? He said do not fear him Who can kill your body? But fear him
who can cast both body and soul in hell Jesus wanted us to warn because
in that warning you can wake people up And what we're doing instead is
we're lulling them back to sleep Right, like you put a baby back to
sleep Have you ever done that moms, you know You don't jump up and down
and wake it up you Lull it back to sleep and that's what many churches
are doing pastors are doing and what we're in america Go back to sleep.
Just go back to sleep. Let me lull you back to sleep But at some point
you got to wake them up and and throw some water on their face or
something and get the church Wake awoke again and to get up and
strengthen themselves in the lord and begin to get back on the right
track We cannot dumb down god's word to make it taste better.

It's not supposed to taste good. It's supposed to convict now in case
you think i'm just being mean spirited i'm not because At the end of the
day, it's not about condemnation and judgment. It's about hope and
redemption But how do you appreciate the see what i've noticed is Have
you ever seen maybe you've done this have you weeped during worship?
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me and you've
experienced god and and you begin to Just weep before worship and thank
god and it's often those people Who understand what they've been saved
from that worship the most? They understand the bad news So they more
appreciate the good news That's why we're to to deliver hard topics and
talk about the bad news is to give people the good news So god paints
this grim picture look at what's going on.

Then he says there's only one answer There's only one remedy. There's
only one cure one cure for chaos. He goes on to say awake awake you
drunkards Boy, oh boy Basically awake you who are comfortable you who
are lazy you heart who are asleep awake get up and weep Consecrate a
fast call the sacred assembly gather the elders of all the inhabitants
of the land and come into My house says the lord and cry out to god and
there's a desperation.

You see desperate people do desperate things I talked about that. I
think last week or the week before that when you're desperate you do
desperate things So in a nutshell, he's calling people to repentance and
i've used that word a lot and I want to give you a definition It's it's
used over a hundred times in the bible if something you it's used over a
hundred times in the bible It's probably pretty important And the
strong's exhaustive concordance says when one repents he exerts strength
to change And he regrasps the situation and he takes a different course
of action in other words He wakes up. He sees listen.

This is not the right direction I need to foster the strength to change
with the power of the holy spirit and I Regrasp the the gravity of the
situation and I take a different course of action So the actual
definition of repentance is i'm walking this way. I see the danger I
turn I repent and I walk this way It's turning from that sin and that's
what god is saying here consecrate a fast call the sacred assembly So
what's he trying to do here? I believe the whole point is to get the
heart right first Let's talk about this for a minute This might not be
popular for many people, but it's going to be very powerful if you grasp
it. He says consecrate A fast who's already turned off What about if it
said call us a fellowship a potluck with fried chicken And In and out is
catering and so is chick-fil-a And then come into the house of the lord.

Well, have you ever tried to pray really pray after thanksgiving dinner?
It's not possible Because you have two competing appetites The flesh and
the spirit And I discovered something amazing many years ago the power
of fasting And this is this was a jewel in the church for about 1700
years You read the early church fathers Such as iranius or polycarp or
ignatius Justin martyr augustine You and you go into the reformation
period or even before that people like john huss who was burned at the
stake for simply Translating the bible william tyndale the tyndale bible
these people gave their life often for the bible that we have and they
would fast martin luther would fast and john calvin and And fasting was
was a great great spiritual weapon And sometimes You have to apply extra
pressure to the demonic realm Sometimes just just regular getting
through the day isn't going to cut it Sometimes you have to apply extra
pressure. You have to bring in that right hook and and hit the enemy a
couple times And and just keep keep attacking the enemy and somebody
named jesus christ said this kind does not go out except by prayer and
Fasting and I know some translations don't have that in there others do
I don't want to get into that but it is a biblical Principle that this
kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting and I want to talk
to you About this topic for a minute because it's so important
Consecrate a fast it means to dedicate something to a higher Purpose and
our hunger for food often outweighs our hunger for god, correct? Often
there there's so there's nothing wrong with food God has given us an
appetite for a reason but it's when that appetite begins to control us
And begins to pull us in a certain direction We begin to allow the
fleshly appetites and if you give in to these appetites, it's easier to
sin Anytime we get in trouble. It's often because of the flesh.

Amen So what by feeding the flesh and constantly feeding the flesh and
never starving it we are actually empowering it and giving it more
strength Now I know many of you cannot Cannot relate to this i'm sure
But let me tell you how my flesh works. I get up early in the morning
And I want dunkin donuts and a big coffee And then a couple hours later.
I want to I want to a chicken or a egg mint muffin And then a few hours
later.

I want in and out burger and then later dominoes and then baskin robbins
It's just constant the flesh is constant and many people cave into that
and cave into that and the flesh begins to Control them what fasting
does it rips that strength from the flesh? And it begins to allow you to
be filled again with the spirit of god because anytime you can tell the
flesh No, it begins to lose strength I'm not talking about this idea of
a monk in a monastery And you're you know, you're you're you're starving
yourself and it's self It's it's this weirdness it's actually very
biblical very biblical moses fasted For that he received the ten
commandments Elisha fasted and went 40 days on the strength of the food.
He consumed david fasted Esther esther fasted and said if I perish I
perish for such i've been called for such a time as this Call a fast
joel says call the sacred assembly begin to starve the flesh. Jesus went
out.

It's interesting He was baptized in the jordan river and the the bible
says the holy spirit came upon him very clear direction The word is epi
in the greek epi upon Overwhelming power of the holy spirit came upon
him and led him into the wilderness And he began to fast for 40 days and
40 nights and the devil began to tempt him and jesus came out It says in
the power and in the fullness and in the filling of the holy spirit, and
then he begins to his ministry Isn't that interesting we don't even hear
of jesus doing anything Until that endowment of power until that filling
of spirit until that starving of the flesh and fasting Our hunger for
god often outweighs our hung i'm sorry hunger for food often outweighs
our hunger for god and what fasting is It's a disruption to our normal
life. It disrupts it and we can see what's really important And what you
want to you want to know how strong? The flesh is I challenge any of you
Any of you try to give up coffee all day tomorrow Go just go 24 hours
You will turn into a monster Try to just get i'm not gonna eat sugar.
I'm not gonna just eat watch what that flesh is.

It just it just begins to pull It begins to dominate everything Fasting
also there represents mourning That's why I believe he said call a fast.
There's there's mourning fasting would often be a sign of mourning and
repentance But don't be discouraged because after the morning there's
great. Hope god says humble yourself and that's really what fasting is
It's humility.

It's humbling ourself god. Our nation is in this predicament Our
children are being used and abused your word is being ridiculed You're
being mocked. Jesus is being scorned and i'm going to go on a fast and
i'm going to mourn for our nation I'm going to pray for our nation when
that hunger comes i'm going to do a hunger strike against hell And i'm
going to begin to pray and be filled with the spirit of god and the more
I tell the flesh No, and you yes, I go out in the boldness of the holy
spirit You know, it's funny the the critics the critics of fasting are
those who have never missed a meal You'll die You'll die if you don't
eat in a day or two Now granted there's a lot of practical steps that
need to be taken if if god is calling you to that do that But a lot of
times that's why I want to give you my book on fasting free when you
leave here because there's practical steps too, you know why fasting is
so hard because 99 percent of you will be Weaning off of withdrawing
from caffeine nicotine alcohol processed foods and sugar.

Of course, you feel like garbage Because we've been on all of these
things and that's why fasting is so hard So you have to get your body
ready for these things and I believe god has given us our health for a
reason I believe he is I realize this is all I got when this goes i'm
done When this goes i'm done And I begin to fast about eight years ago
and I wouldn't eat all day and I would come and I could just feel I felt
the spirit of god more heavily because I was denying the flesh
throughout the day. That's a biblical principle I'm, not talking about
works-based and pleasing god and and I found and I know and you know god
doesn't love me more when I fast But I sure love him more Because i'm
denying these appetites because I want the feeling I want to be closer
to god Now it's okay to eat and of course and god designed us to do that
But when it begins to control us and we can't stop that's why he said
awake you drunkards What often went when drunkenness in the old
testament Gluttony, they run hand in hand because you give into one
appetite Here's another and this image is you comfortable and you're
lazy you're asleep You're gluttonous god says you need to come out of
that awake and consecrate a fast the mightiest weapon we have Did you
know the white mightiest mightiest weapons we have as christians? Are
our humility prayer and worship, did you know that and all of those are
fulfilled in fasting so i'm going to i'm going to Throw a challenge out
there today. My wife came up with a great title called fasting for
freedom Fasting for freedom.

It's what we're going to fast. We're calling a church fast between now
and november 3rd Between now and the election our elected officials are
under attack like never before Darkness is starting to rear its ugly
head and just now losing a supreme court justice they're saying there
will be burning and riots in the street if if our president appoints
someone too soon and And there's just this upheaval You can you can tell
that things are tense and this is the time to fast for freedom So I know
a small minority of people will only listen But i'm talking to you Even
if it's a meal even if it's changing your diet completely even if it's
going on water only or juice Whatever god calls he doesn't gauge. He
doesn't measure success by perfection He wants to see the condition of a
heart and say lord.

I'm willing to give this up for you There is a price to pay when seeking
god fasting pays that price Basically what i'm saying is lord my my
hunger for you is greater than my hunger for food When I when I feel
that desire coming lord, i'm going to take it to prayer and fasting This
is not a weight loss program. This is a spiritual weapon program when
you're calling down heaven You're praying for your children. You're
praying for your spouse.

You're praying for what's going on God wants to know how bad do you want
it? Do you want it bad enough to deny yourself so that the spirit of the
living god can work through you I love what aw tozer said. I want the
presence of god himself, or I don't want to have anything to do with
religion Can you imagine if our kids at 12 13 14 or 15 were filled with
god's spirit Oh in that day, I will pour out my spirit your sons and
your daughters will prophesy Your old men will dream visions and or have
visions your your young men will dream dreams or vice versa I'm, not
sure on that one But he says I will pour out my spirit On your men's
servants and on your maid's servants and they will prophesy in that day
Why because the spirit of god is being poured upon a broken and humble
vessel And fasting is one of those mechanisms. It's a great treasure One
of the shocks of my life was 20 years ago when I started to read books
John, wesley prayed And fasted he actually wouldn't ordain people to the
ministry unless they fasted on wednesday and friday I thought of that,
but I don't think i'll be able to get away with it If you want to be I
won't go there But but there was a desire for their david brainerd who
ministered among the native americans in his journal tons of fasting and
prayer Robert murray mcshaney He died at age 29 But he was scotland's
one of scotland's most anointed preachers when he would walk to the
pulpit people would begin to weep They said where is that anointing
coming from? Oh, just read his journals the day spent in prayer and
fasting because see that's when you're loading the gun We've got we've
got people straight as a gun barrel theologically, but they are empty
You need to put a shell put around in that chamber and be filled with
the spirit of god through the power of prayer and fasting and I want to
just share this for a minute, but Anytime god calls you to do something
spiritually there are physical benefits as well There's enormous
physical benefits of fasting God might speak to you right now to some of
you in this message just from this part Fasting has been known fasting's
not a cure what it does.

Let me just tell you let me switch from preacher to teacher for a minute
fasting What your body does throughout the whole day is it takes 50 60
percent of your energy to convert food and and to Convert food. It's
called Your metabolism your metabolic rate the process of converting
food into energy and it's exhausting and it's doing that all day long
there's it's you're it's just exhausting and converting energy and
converting energy you add to that all the junk food all the processed
food all the dead food that Does nothing for your body and there and you
we begin to gain weight we begin to get disease and issues and so
fasting Withdraws the poison and allows the body to begin to cleanse
itself. That's why it's so hard at first because it's called
detoxification and your body switches from burning glucose now to
burning your stored fat tissue and in that is a lot of toxins and And
that's where your energy becomes it comes from and as people begin to
fast it begins to heal their arthritis It begins to help their ulcers
their high blood pressure heart conditions gallstones tumors colitis and
neuromuscular diseases overfeeding is killing us and Fasting fasting can
help with that.

I Know it's really Convicting but we need to be convicted from time to
time and because of this I believe there's a mighty filling of the Holy
Spirit So I believe that's why one of the reasons God says first
Consecrate a fast call a fast get the flesh into submission if what
happens if we come next Saturday we've been watching Netflix all week.
We probably saw some things on the internet. We shouldn't we've been
will listen to music That's not edifying.

We've been eating too much. We've been gluttonous We've been drinking
too much and we come here next Saturday and we expect that the spirit of
the Living God is going to descend Upon us and changes from the in the
inside out when we haven't been consecrated and set apart for him first
Call the sacred assembly, but first consecrate a fast and then he says
call the sacred assembly So he says now once you're set apart once
you're fasting once you're once you're maybe hungry for food But more
hungry for God. He said call the sacred assembly and begin to cry out to
God.

Is that interesting? Cry out to God. There's a there's a passion. Like I
said desperate people do desperate things We read about the blind man.

I love that story. He cried out Oh son of David have mercy on me. And
what did the crowd say be quiet be quiet And he said he cried out all
the more.

Oh son of David have mercy on me I'm a blind man and I need your
redemption and he began to cry out and the woman would go after Jesus
Fighting through the crowd moving people all the way and if I could just
touch the hem of his garment I would be healed or they lowered the man
down through the roof and they removed the shingles and lowered him down
if we can just Touch Christ or the weeping the weeping prostitute that
came before Jesus and began to clean his feet with her tears Oh
desperate people do desperate things where they want to find the heart
of God. They might fast they might remove godly Remove ungodly
entertainment They might seek God with all their heart with all their
strength and begin to move things that God is convicting them about
Because I must find God desperate people do desperate things I'm sure
there's people saying I wanted to hear a teaching tonight. Well, you
needed to hear a preaching tonight Listen, I'll never forget this and I
kind of hope this person here's here's me when I tell this story But
we're in Lancaster five six years ago And I tell it often when it fits
things like this it just blew my mind the the Spirit of God was so thick
people were at the altar people are weeping and crying and And the
worship is just it's incredible one service Our first service actually
flowed into the next service without any interruption and I came up
there I felt the heaviness of God.

I felt just the weight and I said guys we just got to keep worshiping We
just got to keep worshiping I'm not going to give a message tonight and
a man left upset He walked out. He told the usher. I came here to hear a
message.

I Thought that poor man the very thing he needs is the very thing He's
running from the very thing he needs is the very thing is running from
he needs to find himself on the altar Broken and humble before God
because of worship upset you there's something going on with your heart
If you're not a worshiper, there's something wrong in your heart. Oh,
I'm a lover of his presence I'm a lover of his presence 25 years ago. I
would have laughed at you worshipers Until God fills you with the Spirit
that changes everything.

Oh God. I'm a lover of your presence The proud Bible thumping critical
heart must become a lover of God's presence Examine their hearts and
then after that it says something interesting then come together
Consecrate a fast Call a sacred assembly like we're doing now, but I'm
glad he didn't forget this then come together Do you know he's talking
about their unity Unity gather all the inhabitants of the land into the
house of the Lord your God You know what I've noticed when all hell is
breaking loose like now not too many people are debating non-essentials
Not too many people are poking fun at this ministry or poking fun at
this or you're not a Calvinist So you're not Armenia's or you believe in
this or you know, no, there's now we're in battle together We are in
battle together and the small little battles the small little essential
things need to fall to the side and we need to Come together in unity
because often what is behind division is pride Let's call it out Let's
call out those people who like to debate and like to put down others and
like to highlight non-essentials And they have a critical arrogant
spirit They are haughty that propulses that they are proud and
unteachable and eager to dispute that kind of person will never
experience spiritual revival Hebrew says pursue peace with all people
and holiness without which no one will see the Lord and that word see is
to see Spiritually to perceive there's an inward spiritual perception
When you're desperate trivial things don't matter does it? Listen when
I'm in battle with you, I'm not I'm not real concerned what denomination
you're with I'm not concerned with what church you're with. I want to
know do you love Jesus? Do you believe in the inerrancy of Scripture? Is
he your Lord and Savior? Do we agree on the essentials great? Let's go
into battle That's what God wants.

We got to get back to that part of that point of unity. I Mean, I'm not
I'm not for or against division denominations. I'm not sure where God,
you know, I Biblically speaking of a hard time with them sometimes
because most of the times, you know We're denomination spring up because
people leave and think I'm gonna do it the right way I'm gonna be this
denomination and we believe this and we're the right denomination this
this this denomination believes this and this is the right Domination
you got you guys I promise myself.

I wouldn't say so forgive me if it's wrong I'm just asking for
forgiveness now, but the guy in the corner the heckler right the guy in
the corner He's mad because I don't use the King James only my lord is
There anything more important? Yes the salvation of souls Have you ever
led anybody to the Lord that have you ever led anybody to the Lord
screaming at them? Of course not you have to be broken and humble and
all this bickering and complaining over what translation do you use
brother? And I've had emails to say you don't wear a suit and tie.
You're not a real preacher. Really? I didn't know that I'm sorry.

Let me go to the go check my wardrobe next time Did the arrogance is
amazing the critical spirit in the church is amazing. Oh, I don't like
those songs. I like these songs Why are they doing that? Why are they
standing? Why aren't they standing? Why are they sitting? Why aren't
they sitting? Why are they raising hands? Why aren't they raising their
hands? They're too charismatic.

They're not charismatic enough. Why did they act like that? Why do they
get all sappy? Why are they crying critical spirits? And we wonder why
we're not experiencing revival. I'm trying I'll never forget there was a
guy At the church in Lancaster's what a lot happened Lancaster praise
God for that But he was he was at the altar and weeping uncontrollably
And I could tell people like a little bothered by it, you know, you know
the people in church like this What's a Laker game? You know, they're
just people emotional people bother them And I went up to pray for him
and I just I started weeping I don't know why And come to find out he
found his son who hung himself into the garage.

Oh Folks we got to be careful We got to be careful to judge others. You
don't know what they went through. You don't know the pain they're
carrying Many times those who are emotional and worship it's because
they've they've met the risen Savior They've experienced God And I love
when guys tell me Shane I'm just not emotional I'm just not emotional
while you express anger very well is anger not emotion You can yell at
your kids and throw the cat and kick the dog and punch a hole in the
wall You're very emotional Sir The problem is you have not been humble
and broken by Almighty God and begin to worship him and it comes out Oh
God, and that's why I cannot even that song amazing grace How sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me if that doesn't penetrate your heart
He says I was blind But now I see spiritually blind on my way to hell if
it was not for the grace of God To reach down to grab me there go I but
by the grace of God there go I I was lost But now I'm found and God
found me.

He saved me. He set me free You might get a little excited You might
want to worship. You might not want to be in a hurry If you're a clock
watcher be careful And then I love what God does he shouts it again in
case I'm not clear Blow the trumpet and Zion and sound the alarm on my
holy mount in other words call a battle call Call believers to the
forefront call them to boldness tell them to come out of their
complacency shame when I've given you a voice wake them up and that's
why I said you didn't come to hear a man you came to hear a message and
that message is God trying to Trying to wake up the sleeping giant no
one is a church of Jesus Christ Can you imagine if the church would wake
up and come back to holiness and righteousness? And love and unity and
being filled the Spirit of God you cannot stop the move of God's Spirit
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble before me for the day of the
Lord is coming now Therefore says the Lord turn to me with all your
heart with fasting there.

He goes again Just when I was looking for it in and out afterwards With
fasting with weeping with mourning so rent your hearts and not your
garments I love that picture because that what they would do in Israel.
They would take the shirt and rip it They would all look how sorrowful.
I am look how broken.

I am look how humble I am I'm rending my hearts and all God says I see
your hardness. I see your callous hearts Don't just rend your heart rend
your garments branch your heart break your heart Let your heart cry out
to God Men who are arrogant look how you're hurting your family. Oh God.

We need you in our homes God our schools need you Spirit of the Living
God would you begin to minister to us tonight? So I want you to come
spiritually prepared on September 26th, and we're gonna worship I Don't
know what that sermon looks like if I'm gonna Service if I can give a
quick sermon at or a sermon or mainly just worship. I don't know I'm
seeking God in this I I will be fasting. I guess I should have told you
that earlier I'm gonna start fasting and this is a corporate call to
fasting for those who can if you're not sure how if you have questions
Again, we've got resources for that.

But the bottom line is say God I'm going to stop this that is I'm
addicted to that. I'm drawn to you I'm gonna take a season of fasting so
I can hear your voice clearly Worship is warfare. And that's what we're
going to engage in I love the scriptures that talk about worship come
worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness I desire all men everywhere.

Do you know the Bible says this? I desire all men everywhere to lift up
holy hands to lift up holy hands to God bless the Lord Oh my soul and
all that is with me. I will bless his holy name Come let us bow down to
God and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

I spread out my hands to you I thirst for you like a parched land and
like the Bible talks about a deer that pants after living water There
should be a desire in your heart to to draw more to Christ and if
there's no desire there say God I want that desire. I'm repenting of my
hardness and of my callousness and Then here's the blessing. Here's the
hope Return to the Lord your God Joel cried out.

It said Joel cried out for he is gracious. He is compassionate He is
slow to anger. He is abounding in love.

He relents from sending calamity. See that's the picture I know of God
That's why I don't mind talking about judgment because I know the loving
father's his son turned to me daughter turned to me Would you come home
prodigal son? Yes judgment full will fall but I can protect you. I can
hold you I can secure you I'm a compassionate loving father But people
say Shane if God's so compassionate, how can he allow this because he
let something out many years ago called absolute truth And when God
speaks truth, he cannot change So when he says choose life that you may
live or choose death you may live he can't change that He said I love
you enough to send my son To die on a cross to provide the way of
redemption just choose life Choose life and live.

I think Eric saying that's how I love that song. Hope has a name does it
not? Hope has a name Some of the lyrics I don't can't recall all of
them, but it says There's a melody that never fails whether it's
mountain high or valley low My hope rests in Jesus Christ in Christ
alone So I want to encourage you tonight as always two groups of people
Maybe three groups if you're a believer, you're on fire for God. Just
keep going.

God will see you through God will get you through this but if you've
grown cold and Callous and distant from God you'll go to church now and
then if God's, you know If it's not going to interfere with other things
your your heart's dead to worship. You don't like worship You don't like
going to church and I want you to be awakened tonight. I want you to
repent and say God I need you.

I need I need that again Do you have you ever been caught up in sin and
caught up in depravity how depressing that is? I think that's why
depression is skyrocketing because we're looking to everything else But
God and when we get trapped in sin, we feel like David He says all
blessed are the bones that you have broken. Oh God return the joy of my
salvation unto me God I look to you and after that moment God begin to
work in David's heart again Just like the prodigal son and he would work
in his heart again So if that's you I want to encourage you make that
decision tonight to turn back to God We are going into very difficult
times very trying times and if God is not your anchor your boat will
blow away my friends There is no other hope if you're trusting in the
government. I have bad news for you if you're trusting in your your 401k
and your retirement and all if you've got all these plans of how things
are going to work out There is only one sure foundation.

There is only wrong one rock in which to build your life and Jesus said
I am that rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not
prevail. The church is the anchor. It's the supports and Then obviously
finally if you do not know Jesus Christ if you don't have what I'm
talking about the Bible is clear It simply says confess that Christ is
Lord that he died for you that he took your sin He bore your sin on the
cross and you don't have to live with that weight and that shame and
that guilt anymore Bow your knee to Jesus Christ.

Listen, you're going to do it now You're going to do it on the other
side of eternity Because the Bible says every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that Christ is Lord every governor every United
States representative every president every national leader will bow
their knee to Jesus Christ and he will be Exalted he will be high and
lifted up. He will be on the throne. He will never be

========================================================================
Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/9O5CNffD5ME.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/shane-idleman/the-cure-for-chaos-call-a-sacred-assembly-9O5CNf/
========================================================================