Carter Conlon emphasizes the importance of remaining steadfast in faith and obedience to God's calling, warning against the dangers of compromise and the influence of those who live in a state of spiritual lukewarmness. He recounts the story of the prophet from Judah who, despite his initial zeal and commitment to God's command, was led astray by an older prophet's lies, resulting in tragic consequences. Conlon urges the church to reject the 'halfway altars' of the world and to fully embrace the path of righteousness, encouraging believers to seek a deeper relationship with Christ and to be vigilant against distractions that lead them away from their divine purpose.

Would you help us not to turn back or to turn aside or to lead be led down another path But Lord, I'm asking in this last hour of time that as your church as your consecrated Holy Bride Lord We are we are Set apart for Christ and for Christ alone And I ask that that testimony may be evident upon every life in every home in every family in everyone who's called by your name Oh Lord God, I'm asking for sovereign protection from the wiles of the devil From every influence of the world from every voice That's not of you Oh God And you would sovereignly protect us as your church and lead us to that path that leads to life everlasting would you keep our feet on that narrow path and our eyes transfixed before us as Christ who for the joy that was set before him Endured the cross and despised the shame and is now sat down at the right hand of the Father Lord God may we not turn aside in trial and affliction May we not turn aside looking for passive ease and comfort in this last hour of time But remain faithful to the commission that you've given to each one of us to lift up and to glorify the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we magnify your holy name. We bless your holy name. We worship and glorify your holy name Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Lord I asked that we would be a bride in this last hour of time that would bring honor to your name That you could point down to from heaven and say look, there's my bride. There's my body. There's my people There's the one that I'm betrothed to hallelujah Then we bring honor to your name and glory to your name in our homes in this last hour Oh Jesus, I ask for the anointing of your Holy Spirit upon this message today. He ain't not only this service Oh God, but at six o'clock tonight Lord I ask for the anointing of your Holy Spirit that breaks every yoke of hell and darkness and bondage every lie of the enemy Sent to snuff out and diminish the testimony of Christ within your church Satan I stand against you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ And I say unto you the Lord rebuke you the Lord rebuke your lying spirits The Lord rebuke your plans and schemes against the testimony of Christ in this last hour of time The Lord rebuke you the Lord stand against you and cause your plans not to prosper in this place and in every other place When the name of Christ is lifted up and exalted Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Hallelujah I thank you for your strength. I thank you for calling me to preach the gospel I thank you for looking down years ago into a place and seeing somebody that really needed a Savior weak and without knowledge Oh God and Lord you touched my life and now by your glory a sovereign divine glory You would allow me to stand and speak your name. Oh, Jesus may never do violence to your word Oh God may never cause grief to your heart. I would rather die than bring dishonor to your name Lord God father father father Would you touch this frail body this day? Oh God, would you touch this congregation? Would you open every door to the inward man? Oh God Lord that we may be wary of the traps of the enemy of God We may be wary of the schemes that are laid for our feet and never never turn aside From the path that you have called us to walk on Oh God Oh Lord, I ask that the softest spoken word this day would be like cannon fire into the ranks of the enemy I ask that the plans of darkness would be exposed up and and made visible at high that they could not hide in secret places And destroy those who are called by the name of Christ Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh Lord God send your spirit in great measure in these coming days Lord Send your spirit in great measure and lift up and exalt Jesus and make him known in our hearts Oh father make him known in our hearts and in our lives. Oh God set us aflame for the purposes of Christ Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah Lord, I ask today that you would sow in us a determination a determination to walk your way a determination to walk in obedience and do what's right in your sight Oh God a Determination not to the listen to the lies of the backslidden not to listen to the lies of men who have lost touch with God Father that we would walk in your way Then we would walk according to your spirit with a yearning burning love in our hearts for you That compels us to go forward. Oh God Lord for your honor and for your namesake Hallelujah, Jesus Jesus touch this message today Lord touch the service today touch every church member every member of your body That's come in to the sanctuary today and everyone who will hear this message in the coming days touch them Oh God protect us from the wiles of the enemy Oh God Lord Give us a straight path before us and strengthen the knees that are weak and lift up the hands that are feeble But I ask for that kind of an anointing those that are wanting to turn aside and look for an easier path Lord God I ask that I may through the spirit pull out the chair from under them father and cause this place of ease to cease and Get them back on their feet again moving towards heaven moving towards that only path that brings us to eternal life Hallelujah. I thank you for this Lord God. I bless and praise your holy name I asked Lord that in this last hour of time that we would cherish the cross of Jesus Christ More than anything that this world has got to offer. We would cherish the suffering We would cherish the hardship as well as the good times and the blessings Lord God If you would be able to release everything to us as your people and we would not turn nor cease from following you Father I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus Amen Thank you may be seated first Kings please chapter 13 in the Old Testament First Kings chapter 13 This message is called the prophet from Judah first Kings chapter 13 I'm going to speak to you today About What is potentially the greatest? Enemy, we forgot to dismiss the children looks like they're dismissing themselves Hallelujah, thank you folks for being understanding today All the children that need to go to their classes, please feel free to do so Want to share with you but one of the greatest enemies That you'll ever face in your walk with Christ and I'm speaking to those who hunger for the Lord You want to live for God you want to serve God with all your heart. That's why you're here You want to walk with him you want to bring honor to his name? You want to see souls converted through your life If that's the case, you're going to have to face an enemy. This enemy is not necessarily a roaring lion That you would this enemy is a roaring lion, but it's not one that you would see with the natural eye First Kings chapter 13 just while you're finding that and the children are going a little bit of background Through Solomon's disobedience to the Lord and subsequently losing out with God The kingdom is split in two of Israel Between his son and the legal heir Rehoboam and a servant called Jeroboam and Jeroboam Ruled the greater percentage of greater part of the kingdom of Israel and Rehoboam had that part which is closest to the heart of God which is near Jerusalem and Jeroboam was concerned or afraid that the people if they went down to Jerusalem to sacrifice and to offer Prayers and praises in the temple would they was afraid that their hearts would turn away from him and turn back To Rehoboam and so Jeroboam built an altar halfway to Jerusalem. I call it a halfway altar an Altar that he said to the people. You don't have to go all the way up to Jerusalem to worship You can stop right here. It's far enough a Halfway altar that was there that generation and is still very much with us here today in the nation first Kings chapter 13, we're beginning at verse 1 a story of victory and a story of tragedy and And behold there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense and He cried this is the man of God against the altar and the word of the Lord and said Oh altar altar Thus saith the Lord behold a child shall be born unto the house of David Josiah by name and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee and Men's bones shall be burned upon thee. You see God will never sanction a halfway altar to anything and He gave a sign the same day saying this is the sign which the Lord has spoken Behold the altar shall be rent or in other words broken in two and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out And it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God which had cried against the altar in Bethel that he put forth his hand from the altar saying lay hold on him and His hand which he put forth against him dried up So that he could not pull it again to him the altar also was rent and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord and The king answered and said unto the man of God Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God and pray for me that my hand may be restored Me again and the man of God besought the Lord and the king's hand was restored him again and became as it was before And the king said unto the man of God Come home with me and refresh thyself and I will give thee a reward And the man of God said unto the king if thou will give me half thine house I will not go in with thee neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord saying eat no bread nor drink water nor turn again By the same way that thou camest so the Lord had given this man an instruction You're not to eat in this place You're not to drink in this place that I'm sending you to and you're not to go back by the way you came So he went another way and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done That day in Bethel the words which he had spoken unto the king Then they told also to their father and their father said unto them which way went he For his sons had seen what way the man of God went which came from Judah And he said unto his son settled me the ass so they settled him the ass that he rode thereon and went after the man of God and Found him sitting under an oak and he said unto him art down the man of God that came from Judah And he said I am then he said unto him come home with me and eat bread Now the man of God again replies in verse 16 And he said I may not return with thee nor go in with thee neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this For it was said to me by the word of the Lord Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest So that's the second time he repeats the Commission that God had given to him He said unto him now, this is the older prophet I am a prophet also as thou art and an angel spake to me by the word of the Lord saying Bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread and drink water But he lied Unto him So he went back with him and did eat bread in his house and drank water And it came to pass as they sat at the table That the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back and he cried unto the men of God that came from Judah saying Thus saith the Lord for as much as thou has disobeyed the mouth of the Lord and has not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee But came back and has eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which the Lord did say to thee Eat no bread and drink no water Thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy father's in other words You will not be buried in a place of honor. You will not go back. You will not continue on the path that you're going and It came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk that he saddled for him the ass to it for the prophet Whom he had brought back verse 24 says and when he was gone a lion met him by the way and slew him and his carcass was cast in the way and The ass stood by it and the lion also by the carcass and behold men passed by and saw the carcass cast in the way and the lying standing by the carcass and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt and When the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof He said it is the man of God who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord Therefore the Lord has delivered him unto the lion which has torn him and slain him according to the word of the Lord which he spake unto him a Story of victory and a story of tragedy Here we see in this story a man who set apart for God Apparently wholeheartedly intent on following and obeying him This man from Judah this prophet from Judah is sent by God to curse an abominable halfway altar to Jerusalem That's set up by Jeroboam as I said earlier to keep the people from going to sacrifice in Jerusalem The Lord is able to cry through this prophet in verse 2 that he is going to Destroy this altar and raise up a righteous leadership that will Lead the people in the ways of truth in verse 2 He says he cried against the altar in the Word of the Lord and said Oh altar altar Thus saith the Lord behold a child shall be born into the house of David Josiah by name and upon thee shall he altar offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee and men's bones shall Be burned upon thee and so he pronounces a curse and it must have taken courage because Jeroboam is a king And obviously a king has the power and authority to put this man to death But God has sent this man for one reason and one reason alone That he has a job to do and God is full control at this point over this man's heart It's a wonderful thing that God can do through any man or any woman or any young person that has decided to give your whole Heart to the purposes of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There's nothing that's barred to you There's no place you can't go There's nothing that God won't commission you to do if he knows that your whole heart is set apart for him This young man obviously had come through trials and difficulties to get to a place of obedience Where he's willing to cast his life down literally as a living sacrifice for the purposes of the Lord This young man is and I'll call him a young man from this point onward because he's he's set up in contrast to the other Prophet who's called an older man or an old prophet and he goes out and he's so set apart for God that God's able to Use his life to stand up against an abominable practice That's set up in the nation of Israel Causing the people to turn away from the place that God has appointed where they should offer sacrifice and praise unto him And so this young man cries against this altar and God moves through his life and destroys this altar and the ashes are poured out And even when the king goes to move his hand against him God moves against the king and dries up his hand to the point where he has to ask the young Prophet from Judah to pray for mercy When the king then sees that he cannot prevail in verse 7 against this this prophet from Judah, he offers him a reward But even in offering a reward and folks I tell you if you're going to serve God with all your heart Once the devil knows that you're not going to stop once he sees that you're willing to lay your life down even unto blood He will try to buy that anointing off your life He will try to put a bribe in your hand and cause you to turn from the path that's before you But this young prophet was so determined to follow the instructions of God God said don't stop in that place Don't eat what those people eat don't drink what they drink and the places you've come from just keep on going never turn behind you Keep on going forward. That was his instruction Don't go back by the way you came and I tell you young people if you're set apart for God today Don't go back by the way you came and don't eat the bread and don't drink the water that the people in this land are Drinking lest you die in this place hallelujah the prophet of Judah Remains faithful to his call and he says unto the king He says the man of God said unto the king in verse 8 even if you give me half your house I will not go in with you. There's such conviction in this young man. He is there for one purpose just like David He's there for the honor and the glory of God and for no other purpose He said even if you give me half your house King, I won't go in with you I won't eat bread and I won't drink water in this place for God told me verse 9 It was charged me by the Word of the Lord saying eat no bed drink No water don't come again turn again by the way that you came So he turns down this this offer of a bribe come home with me and I'll give you a reward I challenge you with all of my heart if God begins to use your life watch out for the bribes Watch out for the devil attempting to buy that anointing from your life and put you in a place of compromise Watch out for it. The gospel of Christ is not for sale It was freely given to us and we're free to give it to others. Hallelujah hallelujah The devil's tactics never changed just like in Matthew 4. Let me read it to you it says again the devil took him meaning Jesus up into an exceeding high mountain and Showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and he said unto him all these things will I give thee if You will fall down and worship me then said Jesus unto him get thee hence Satan for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve. Hallelujah We're here to serve the Lord and we're here to serve the Lord alone. Nobody else no money and nothing Don't ever let anything or anybody buy that anointing that God puts upon your life Hallelujah Hallelujah such conviction such determination. Hallelujah I would like to have known this man and I I believe someday hopefully he made it to heaven and We can meet and talk But such a life that started out with such a zeal ended up in such a tragedy and so many people today end up in a heap who start out with such a burning drive to live for God a Seal to serve him a desire to bring honor to his name and to cast down those phony altars that are erected all over the land Now halfway alters to holiness and halfway alters to prayer and halfway alters to serving God and their very life If you're set apart for God your very life becomes a testimony against this thing that God has issued a curse against this kind of an Altar, he will never sanctify a halfway altar to anything But this young man, he was ready for the weapons of darkness He was ready for the king when the king turn and put his bony finger in his face He was ready for God to defend him and he was ready when the king offered to bring him into his house and offer him A bribe he had probably spent time and and knew what things he was going to be facing in this land that God had brought him To but he was not ready for the third thing the enemy sent at him He was not ready for an old prophet Living in this place of mixture with its abominable altar He comes and lies to the man of God from Judah and convinces him to come to his house and eat bread and drink water we don't know much about this old prophet other than he was living in this halfway altar place and God was not able to use him to curse Jeroboam's altar It is possible that he had lived there so long in that place that he didn't even see the evil anymore He didn't know what it was and said well, why should the people have to travel so far? Why can't they just worship here? He had lost touch with God He's a man that was far far away from God yet Probably still very highly respected in the community as a prophet by those who are living in that same place of compromise He convinces the man who set apart for God to come under his roof and eat his bread and drink his water And I challenge you as the bride of Jesus Christ in this last hour of time to beware Beware of those who claim to know Christ as you do but their place of dwelling in him is halfway to the cross It's halfway to separation from sin halfway to laying down their lives for his eternal purposes This young prophet of Judah knew his direction the king couldn't intimidate him or turn him away with bribes But confusion set in when he was confronted by a man who claimed to be his peer. That's where he got confused When he was confronted by a man who said I am a prophet just like you are I serve the same God that you do I have the same desires that you do. I'm going to the same place that you're going to that's where the confusion began to set in brothers and sisters in Christ if you are Wanting to live for God if you're wanting to serve God with all your heart. There's no way you're going to get around this this test That's where he fell It's The young Christian who comes into church and get saved and filled with the Holy Ghost like we sing about Like we was preached about this morning It's the young Christian who gets on fire for God and wants to give his or her life for the purposes of God And then as they set out to serve God and set out to with such a holy desire to know him It's such a holy desire to bring honor to his name. They run into those that have gone on before They run into those that have become carnal and cold and lukewarm in their experience with Christ And they turn them aside and say listen you can come in and eat in this place You can come in and live in my house You can eat the bread that I'm eating and drink the water that I'm drinking look at I've been doing it for years And I'm fine. I still love God. I still have the presence of God in my life turn in and eat here where I'm eating It's the one who comes out of this church after sitting here on Sunday morning and God's spirit begins to touch your life You want to get set apart for God you want to be holy you want to do everything that God's Word says to do you? Understand the necessity of obedience your heart's wide open to live for God you go home and you turn on your television set and there's a Gray-haired old prophet telling you lies telling you you can live in the place where he's living in and you can do the things that He's doing and somehow you're still going to know the blessings of God. I'm hardly aware matter of fact. I'm not aware Maybe I stand to be corrected But other than Billy Graham I'm not aware of an evangelist or preacher. It's worth listening to on television And I mean that sincerely I've yet to run across one. Maybe I haven't seen them all I don't have a television But what I have seen is such an abomination men living in compromise halfway to the truth Halfway to holiness there. They're just like they're so smooth a snake couldn't climb them You turn on this. I've seen some of these things from time to time and I shiver I shiver inside My God my covenant God what happens to the people that listen to these men Turn aside from this path that you're on young man. Come and sit with me and eat my bread and drink my water Live where I'm living But he lied to him He told the young man Verse 18. He says I'm a prophet just like you are and an angel spoke to me by the Word of the Lord How many it's interesting how many of these people claim to have had visitations from angels? It's a fact an angel told me By the Word of the Lord saying bring him back with thee into thine house in other words They've got to stop you from serving God They've got to stop you from living for God because it's a danger to their kingdom every man or woman every young person It stands up for the Lord who brings the Holy of fire of God with them Every place they go is a danger to their tensile kingdom. It can't stand because there's nothing in it It's a kingdom of compromise. They're halfway to everything halfway to understanding God halfway to holiness halfway to prayer He said to the young man, you can come back. You don't have to do what God's telling you to do You can eat my bread and drink my water I've been living here for years and look at I'm still a prophet just like you are but he lied to him And the young man was not prepared for this and he went back with him and eat bread in his house and drank water. I Asked myself a question as I was preparing this message What kind of bread was this old prophet eating I Looked up some types of bread in the scriptures and one was the bread of idleness Proverbs 31 27 speaking of a virtuous woman says that she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness Proverbs 19 15 says that slothfulness cast into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger We remember David the beloved psalmist of Israel who loved the Lord At a season when he should have been out doing battle He got idle and started eating the bread of idleness and it was in that place of idleness that his eyes fell upon Something they shouldn't have fallen upon and he brought great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme against the name of God because of it he had a saw a son called Solomon who had a weakness for women and Solomon fell away from the Lord and died. There's another tragedy died a disastrous Spiritual condition in his in the last part of his life the kingdom of Israel is split because of it and now we're in a situation where Jeroboam has set up this altar and this young prophet comes in and now he's losing out with God It all started way back when David was eating the bread of idleness I often wonder what would have happened and what would have been the scenario had David stayed faithful to God all the way through And perhaps had a son that that would have taken the place of Solomon I I know we shouldn't speculate on these things but I I see such tragedy coming because a man chose to eat the bread of idleness and I Challenge you people for your son's sake your daughter's sake for the sake of your church for the sake of your neighborhood and family Don't be found eating the bread of idleness in this last hour of time. We're living in a society that lives for leisure Everybody lives for leisure we're so less bound for entertainment and and there's always continuously conjuring up new forms of entertainment because the whole of society just wants Peace without Christ at the center of their lives And so we become entertainment bound even in churches now without the Spirit of God If the preachers don't keep the people entertained they leave and go to another church I was in a church in Canada one time when I was visiting and they were setting up all of these magnificent structures for the Easter cantata they called it Incredible expense to set up all this stuff and I I said, why do you go to all this trouble? It was just for one night and the pastor told me says if we don't all of our people will leave that night and go somewhere else where they do Think about that for a minute What he was saying is if we don't entertain the people they'll go where they're entertained I Challenge you don't eat the bread of idleness Get into this word like you've never been in this word before Don't be afraid of a little bit of pain on your knees If God calls you and if you're not comfortable kneeling then walk when you pray or sit or do something But don't be afraid of some communication with God don't eat the bread of idleness or you'll wind up at that halfway altar you'll wind up listening to a voice that you shouldn't listen to you'll wind up turning to a message that will just bring you to a Place where the enemy will get a hold of the interior and pieces on the side of the road Perhaps this old prophet was eating the bread of hypocrisy Jesus and warned the people in Luke 12 1 he said beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy Pretending to be set apart for God but giving place to the flesh and so many of these ministers will get up and they will look so pious when they You turn on the television or different things like that And I hope nobody here is doing that if you are would you shut it off and shut in with God? Would you get away from these voices turn away from them? There's hardly one out there if there is send me a note, but I'm not aware of anybody that's worth listening out there So shut it all off and shut yourself in with God You stand the danger of embracing a message that's going to pull you out of the place where God called you He said don't eat in this place Don't eat the bread that the people eat in this nation right now Don't eat the bread of idleness and looking for entertainment and seeking self-awareness and prosperity turn from it Don't be found drinking the water that they drink drink the pure water that comes from Christ alone There's a well spring of everlasting life for those who will turn to him and drink of Jesus and Jesus alone in this last hour of time Pretending to be set apart for God but giving place to the flesh haven't we seen enough of it in the last decade Haven't we as a church seen enough of these men that have stood up and be Pretend that they were set apart for God that they were living in deep sin deep personal sin. It was all hypocrisy Samson is a classic example of that a young man set apart for God a Nazarite Having taken a vow to the Lord to live for him and to bring deliverance to the people of Israel But Samson has got a weakness and keeps turning into places He shouldn't go to eating the bread of the people of the land and drinking their water And eventually it consumes him and he ends up a blind man going around in circles grinding somebody else's wheat This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two Of a drinking For sure. I can tell you he was drinking a water of mixture So many of God's people folks If you're running to this conference in that conference and getting a hold of these tapes and those tapes You're drinking mixture and be careful of it. Be careful of it Aren't you better just to just to go to church and where you know The Word of God is being preached and you can come under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit Aren't you better that shut these things off these tapes off and get into the book yourself and ask the Holy Ghost to speak to you And say Lord Jesus, would you take this this this this word and by the power of your Holy Spirit? Would you make it an x-ray machine and shine through my heart? Help me to discern by the Holy Ghost the thoughts and intents of my heart as you see me Oh God, I want to see my life that way Lord Would you speak to me through your word and shut these things off? Shut them off people over the years have handed me tapes and most of these things I can't even get about three or four or five minutes into them and you got to shut them off It's a water of mixture one day the back of my farm years ago. I was Wanting a message for Sunday morning Just God to speak to me and I went to the back of my farm And at the back of the farm there was a wooded area and there were two streams that I had never I always thought there Were one I didn't realize there were two And I was sitting at a place with it on a hill where the two streams intersected and I saw An interesting thing that one stream was coming from from another source and it was pure waters as clear as this as clear as this Pulpit just like glass was nice fresh pure water and the other stream coming was dirty It was it was muddy and where the two streams met They eventually met and they flowed together and when they flowed together, they both didn't get clear. They both got dirty And it became one continuous muddy stream when the two met and when you're if you're living in a place of mixture Even though you have some of the truth when you begin to combine that truth with lies Lies generally intended to pull you back into the world and to cause you to live in a way that is displeasing to God even the light that's within you will turn to darkness and If the darkness if the light that be in thee Jesus said be darkness How great is that darkness you can't serve two masters. You've got to make a choice You can't serve this world and all of its lusts and all of its money and serve Jesus Christ at the same time and there Are so many preachers supposedly of the gospel that are standing up in this hour trying to tell you that you can serve both That you can live through yourself that you can seek out the comforts of this world that you can lay down the convicting power of The Holy Ghost and that you can just your whole existence is to better yourself And it's I tell you it's a dirty stream and you mix that with the Word of God and both get dirty and you get Confused that's the trap that the young prophet wasn't ready for He was ready for everything else, but he was not ready for this old prophet with his mixture message Perhaps he began to listen to the lies of the old prophet who'd long ago justified living in this place of mixture Just like lot Living in Sodom and Gomorrah There was a place that vexed his soul, but it obviously didn't vex him enough to get out of it and get his family out of it This old prophet knew enough of the Word of God, but he had justified living there. Can you hear his lies? Go ahead son drink. It's okay. You won't die here God won't be angry. He understands. Look we live we've lived here for years and we're okay. I Want to take you back for a moment. Keep a finger in first Kings 13 and go back to Genesis chapter 3. I want to show you the first lie recorded in the Bible Genesis chapter 3 I Call it the eternal life. It's a lie that was spoken by the devil and it continues to be spoken Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast to the field which the Lord God had made and He said unto the woman. Yea hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden I want you to think of this. I want you to think of this young prophet from Judah He has such a clear mandate from God keep moving Don't retrace your steps. In other words the things that you've left behind leave them behind. Keep going forward. Don't stop and eat in this place In other words, don't do the things that the people are doing in this place that I'm sending you to and don't stop and drink In this place keep going. I've got food for you and I've got drink for you But you don't stop and eat and drink in this place and folks before I go any further That's that's exactly what the Lord would have me to say to you this day You're living in the midst of New York City and you go out of these doors and it's an it's one of the most absolutely self-seeking lust-laden societies that I've ever seen with my natural eye and spiritual eye and there are you go down Broadway and there are all kinds of theaters putting on all kinds of plays and Master Dave was telling me one time of the number He's the shocking number of preachers that come to visit here and and ask if if they can get tickets for some of the Broadway shows Think about that Think about it and wonder why their congregations are dying wonder why there's no discernment in the body wonder why there's no unction in them When they stand up and preach the Word of God You can't eat and drink in the same place that the people you're preaching to are eating and drinking in You've got to go another way and you've got to get some other food than what they've got You and I must never be found in these places We're called to come out from these things and to bear testimony Against them that even if you entertain your soul from now till the day you die without Christ You're going to go to hell and there's no life without God within you The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field What's the Lord God had made and he said unto the woman? Yeah hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden the woman said unto the serpent we may eat of the fruit Of the trees of the garden But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has said you shall not eat of it and neither Shall you touch it lest you die? now listen to the lie and The serpent said unto the woman you shall not surely die You'll not die And can you hear the old prophet as the devil having gotten a hold of his heart saying to this young man from Judah? You'll not die. You can stop here and you can eat in this place and you can drink in this place You'll not die you everything will be fine. I want to tell you this day that the place of mixture is a seductive place It's a seductive place. It will lure you in an unsuspecting moment It will find you on the street corners as a matter of fact turn to the book of Proverbs, please The book of Proverbs talks about an undiscerning young man Walking the streets not wholly set apart for God and what happens to his life Proverbs chapter 7 Look at this. I Don't I couldn't say it any more clearly than this is going to say it right now Proverbs 7 7 and beheld Now let's go to 6 For at the window of my house, I looked through my casement and beheld among the simple ones I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding. My Bible says it having no common sense Passing through the street near her corner. He went the way to her house Now this is a house of compromise. You got to understand what the Word of the Lord is speaking about It's talking about false peace in a false religion in the twilight in the evening in the black and dark night And behold there met him a woman with an attire of a harlot and subtle of heart She is loud and stubborn and her feet abide not in her house Now is she without now in the streets and lieth and wait at every corner Verse 13 think of this young prophet now She caught him and kissed him and with an impudent face said unto him. I have peace offerings with me this day Have I paid my vows? Therefore came I forth to meet thee and diligently to seek thy face and I have found thee I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry and carved works with fine linen of Egypt I have perfumed my bed with myrrh aloes and cinnamon come verse 18 Let us take our fill of love until the morning. Let us solace ourselves with loves in other words stop young man You don't have to go any farther stop right here Let us let's just partake of what the people here partake up For the good man is not at home and he's gone verse 19 on a long journey He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home at the day appointed Verse 21 says with her much fair speech She caused him to yield just like the old prophet did to this young man from Judah with much fair speech She caused him to yield with the flattering of her lips. She forced him He goes after her straightway as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks Till a dart strikes through his liver as a bird haste to the snare and knows not that it is for his life You see the devil plays for keeps. This is not a game brothers and sisters in the Lord This is not something where you can step into the devil's kingdom and think well I can slip in here for the night and slip out in the morning and there was got going to be any problem with my Life. Oh, no, it doesn't work that way The devil plays for keeps this young man was set apart for God and be caught unaware in a moment. It cost him his life Verse 24 says hearken unto me now therefore all you children and attend unto the words of my mouth Let not thine heart decline to her ways go not astray in her paths For she has cast down many wounded Yea, many strong men have been slain by her her house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death The place of mixture is a seductive place. It's a dangerous place. That's why the Apostle Paul Said I keep under my flesh and bring it into subjection Lest after I have preached the gospel to others I myself should become a castaway 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 27 In other words the Apostle Paul saying I'm through the Holy Ghost in the Word of God I make sure that my steps are ordered of the Lord and the places I'm going to and the things that I'm hearing are birthed In God lest I myself after living for God and preaching the gospel should wind up a castaway The Apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians chapter 4 verse 15. He says though you have 10,000 teachers Yet you have not many fathers in the Lord. I therefore he says I urge you be followers of me Hallelujah this young man He thought that he could get away with this thing. He got confused and listened to the wrong voice But listen to the curse that came upon him Finally the old prophet hears from God probably the first time in a long time The Word of the Lord comes to him He said in verse 22 says but you came back And you've eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which the Lord did say to you eat no bread and drink no water He says therefore your carcass will not come to the sepulcher of your father's In other words, you will not die in a place of blessing You will not go to the place of those that have gone before you and been buried in honor You're going to die by the roadside in verse 23 We see now it came to pass after he'd eaten bread and after he had drunk They settled for him the ass for the prophet whom he had brought back And I see so many people of God in this and every other generation who have thought that they could live with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom of God and you get away with it for a season, but eventually it's going to catch up to you and When he was gone first 24 It says a lion met him by the way and slew him and his carcass was cast in the way And the ass stood by it and the lion also stood by the carcass and behold Men passed by and saw the carcass cast in the way on the landing the lion Standing by the carcass and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt the lion devours his prey first Peter 5 8 the Apostle Peter says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a Roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour There are many of you here today that have been set apart for God but the lure of things that you have left behind is pulling and a confusion is beginning to set into your spirit and Those around you who are living in a place of mixture who are worshiping at halfway altars to wholehearted Consecration in Christ are adding to the confusion when they say see you could eat and drink here Just like we do and everything will be okay. You don't have to be so radical in your obedience to God You don't have to present your body before God is a living sacrifice Look at where we are. Look at what we're doing We're eating and drinking and being married isn't God want to bless us and just prosper us and make us Wonderful going from meeting to meeting and and doing this and all this talk that you're hearing about the cost the cost the cost Son doesn't God want you to have just a little bit of fun Why don't you stop in here and eat and drink with us? We've been here for years and everything is fine with us folks the greatest danger you'll ever face Young people I speak to you today and I I trust God will open your ears and heart to hear me the greatest danger You'll ever face in setting out to live for God are those that are 20 years older than you and the Lord who have settled in somewhere along the way and have chosen not to go wholeheartedly with Christ and you'll have to get by them because they'll come to You and say don't be so radical tone it down. You don't have to live like that You don't have to take the promises and the conditions of God so seriously in this book Stop talking about the mission field all the time Stop talking about giving of yourself and sacrificing your life for Christ settle in right where we are We're going to heaven just like you are don't be so radical in your obedience to God But he lied to him He lied and they are lying to you Jesus said these words if you're lukewarm I Would spew you out of my mouth The old prophet was lukewarm Jeroboam was lukewarm the people following Jeroboam were lukewarm He said I wish you were hot or cold. It would make it easier But because you are lukewarm If you're cold, he's saying there's no there's no issue You're going into hell He said if you're hot there'd be no issue to that either. I know those who love me are hot That young prophet was hot for God when he walked into that place hot for God Hot for his honor wanting to live and serve him and he turned down half of the king's house If the king would offer it to him Hot for the honor of the Lord and to see this abominable altar cast down But he ran into a lukewarm prophet Who turned him aside and Jesus said it would be so much easier if you were one of the other But lukewarm this is the same as being cold You'll spiritually die living in this place of mixture The Apostle John says in 1st John chapter 2 love not the world Neither the things that are in the world If any man loved the world the love of the Father is not in him For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life Is not of the Father but it's of the world and the world will pass away and its lusts will pass away But he that does the will of God will abide forever hallelujah hallelujah Jesus came in John chapter 4 to a woman who was drawing water out of a well in a place called Samaria a Place of mixture. That's where she was living. That's the type of person she was But he said to her he said whoever drinks of this water will thirst again I'll tell you that halfway water is worse than no water at all It's a horrible thing to drink Folks if you're discontent if there's something wrong in your walk with God ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you while I'm speaking He's going to speak to your heart about things that you need to lay down You know you you really shouldn't be watching television if there's things on it that are not edifying to the Lord There's not a whole lot on it. That's edifying to God Put this thing away from you and reading books. You shouldn't read and going to clubs You shouldn't go to and participating in things How do you think that you're going to live there and live? It's not possible Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again But a verse 14 he says but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst The water that I shall give him will be in him a well of water Springing up into everlasting life in other words I will put a presence within you That will cause you to love me and cause you to walk with me That will cause living water to come out of your inward parts and everywhere you go Your life will be a reproach to those who are not living in wholehearted consecration to God The Holy Spirit will emanate from your your body from your from your very physical being and you will bring the knowledge of sin Where you go you will bring the knowledge of the coming day of God's judgment And you will bring the knowledge of the righteousness that can be imparted to those who wholeheartedly turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior Nothing worse than a person that talks to you in the name of Jesus and you're not sure what kind of water it is It's coming out of them in John 6 Jesus said I am the bread of life and he that comes to me will never hunger and he that believes on me Will never thirst in verse 38 He says I did not come down from heaven to do my own will But I came down from heaven to do the will of the one who sent me and so it is with those who are set Apart for God. So it is with those who are eating the true bread, which is Christ and drinking the true water, which is Christ There's another worldliness about them. We've not come to do our own will we've not come to sit in a place of compromise We've not come to go halfway to anything We've come with a testimony and a message that God has sent his son to redeem fallen man from their sins and to give life unto all who call upon his name Hallelujah Hallelujah, we are saved to do his will Folks we're not saved to sit and be blessed We're not saved to sit and eat and drink where the people eat and drink in this nation We're saved to do the will of the Father Jesus said even as the Father has sent me even so send I you We're sent to be a city that's set upon a hill a light that shines in the darkness hallelujah, we're set to do things like like the the praise band was doing the other day in the park in Central Park to sing praises unto the Lord and to glorify his holy name and to see a crowd of three four hundred people gather who can hear The saving testimony of Jesus Christ We're saved to call down the wrath of God upon these halfway altars that lead people nowhere and don't produce any consecration or holiness in their lives We're saved to bring honor and glory to his name in the midst of a crooked dark and perverse generation. That's why we're here Will you continue to serve him in obedience? Or will you be turned aside by the lies of this age and even the lies of those who profess to know him? Would you stand with me, please hallelujah In the book of Revelation chapter 12, let me read it to you it talks about the church the redeemed He says I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now has come salvation and strength in 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? Verse 11 says they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb by the word of their testimony And they loved not their lives Unto the death Jesus said if any man will be my disciple Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me We say that him today the old rugged cross. I will cherish the old rugged cross. I'll cling to the old rugged cross I wish to God with all my heart that this young prophet from Judah would have remained true to his calling And no matter what anybody tried to tell him no matter how many tried to turn him aside That he would have gotten up and kept on going and brought honor to the name of the Lord There's some of you here today that once you walk with God with a zeal you had a tremendous zeal for God But you know that as I spoke today that somebody came to you and discouraged you in your walk with God Told you that you were maybe a little bit too extreme now in some cases Maybe you were in the beginning that is that is sometimes the case But all you wanted was radical obedience all you wanted was to live for God all you wanted was to bring honor to his name All you wanted was to walk honestly before God and before men all you wanted was to love him with all your heart soul mind And strength all you wanted was to see your neighbors come to Christ And you were willing to pray you were willing to fast you were willing to sacrifice You're willing to do anything to see that happen you wanted to bring honor to his name until somebody came to you and Told you you don't have to be that radical. You don't have to give up all of that You can keep some or most of it for yourself Until you turned on the television set one day and a confusion set into your mind because you started hearing another gospel another message Until somebody came to your house So you met somebody in a church sitting or? Situation and they began to talk to you and they began to minister words of life Words of death and not life unto you And they started to tell you that you don't have to go as far as you were going and you don't have to do the Things that you were doing and they lied to you. They lied to you They lied to you the Apostle Paul says I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God Paul is saying I beg you brethren if if everything I've said could be summed up in this one thing that you present your body a Living sacrifice for God holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service It's reasonable for what Christ has done for us that we should lay our lives down and turn for him It's reasonable then in the last hours of time There are going to be riots and revolts and all types of things happening in cities throughout the world But we're not going to run in this last hour time We have a message to this generation that Christ loves these people and died for them and will save all who call upon his name Hallelujah, it's reasonable. There were some that you remember the days of your zeal and God wants to give it back The young prophet didn't have a chance He was sent in and he listened to a lying message he came in and ate in a place He shouldn't have eaten some of you today are eating in places. You shouldn't eat You're drinking things. You shouldn't drink and because of it you're powerless and the enemy is getting sway over your life That's why the lion the lion couldn't have touched that man He could have walked if he would have walked if he would have denied that old prophet and walked out of that place He could have slapped that lion in the face on the way by The lion couldn't have touched him Because he was serving God And I'll tell you if the devil's coming in and he's hurting your home and he's robbing your mind and taking the peace of Christ Out of your heart and doing things in your life. You better check and see where he's got access What right does he have to be in your life? If there's an open door repent of it now and say Jesus close the door in my life close the door close the door We have an opportunity in this generation of the dead young prophet didn't have he didn't have a chance to turn around God decreed judgment against him because he had disobeyed the word of the Lord But in this season of grace that we're living under God has given us a chance if you're eating bread You shouldn't eat. He's given you a chance to lay it down if you're drinking in water. You shouldn't drink He's given you a chance to put it away Hallelujah, you can leave this order and they filled with the fire of God You can be a transformed person You can have the zeal and fire of God back in your life if you're just willing to do it Right and walk honestly before God and to consider obeying him Not a not a hardship, but a joy There's a there's joy in obedience and you can't get joy without obedience Everything else is substandard and fake and halfway halfway to the piece of God wants to put in your life You can see the people gathered around this Jeroboamic altar Always have to being convinced that God's with them always have to be trumped up to feel that there's some joy because it didn't come from within But I tell you when you come to a place where there you're willing to obey God at any cost There is a deep abiding joy that comes from Christ that the world can't give you and the world can't take it away God wants to set you a flame for him a flame Absolutely a flame It doesn't mean you leave this sanctuary and you're going to go out and just start screaming in the streets It means there's going to be a deep burning come within your body I yearning to do right I yearning to walk it God's way and not my way anymore Are you learning to say Lord? I'm not going to these theaters anymore. I'm not watching these things anymore I'm not eating in this place where these people eat I'm walking right through the midst of it and declaring it all to be a lie But Christ to be the truth the way in the life hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Hallelujah There's some you didn't say I'm purpose in my heart and when I leave this place Then when I open my mouth living waters is going to come out of me I'm going to be a catalyst for building the kingdom of God for tearing down these halfway alters and leading people to a true Relationship with Christ Hallelujah, I want to be a healer and a restorer not a destroyer Hallelujah, Jesus touched the lives of your people this day. Oh God Lord I ask for a release every place of imprisonment every false banqueting table every place that anybody is sitting Oh God where they shouldn't be I ask for a release now in the name of Jesus Satan I rebuke you in the name of the Lord. I rebuke your lies I rebuke your halfway places the holiness I rebuke your your dirty filthy water that you try to put in the spirit and soul of people who are serving God I stand against you in the name of the Lord and I declare that you will not prosper against the house of the Lord Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah Speaking to your heart these altars are open just come to this altar today the real altar of God Come where God will meet you come where? Holiness will come into your heart and a burning desire for Christ will be your portion in this last hour of time folks We're living in the last days It's time to be found at God's altar in a place of holiness and consecration to the Lord. That's where we need to be Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Slip out wherever you are of God speaking to your heart of God speaking to your heart And you want a pure word of God to be in your life and pure obedience to follow you just come to this altar today Hallelujah now have a second older call as we are going to sing the old rugged cross I thank God for those that are coming that have the courage to say Jesus. I want to live for you I want to go through the midst of this crooked perverse world Declaring it to be death and declaring that only Jesus brings life Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah From the balconies and from the sides God's speaking to your heart You want the zeal of God back in your life again? You want obedience back in your life again? You want the courage and strength to turn off these things and put away these false? Banqueting's that are going to rob you of the presence of God and give the devil sway over your life This is the last hour of time. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord. Thank you for your strength And power of God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah In this altar today as well for those who would say I I have a purpose and determination in my heart Now you may have already formed that and so that means you don't have to go anywhere if you may have formed that in your heart And that's between you and God but for those that are here and These folks who have come now are making a statement before God that I'm eating in a place of mixture and I'm living in a place and God Appreciates your honesty. He can touch on his people, but you need a determination today to say I'm getting away from this table I'm putting this lies of this old prophet away from me and I'm not going to live in the place of mixture anymore But I'm going to live for God Wholeheartedly, and I'm going to walk right through the midst of it. I'm going to do right in this generation I'm going to do what God has told me to do I'm not giving the lion any access to my home my life my mind my children my family or myself I'm not giving the lion access to me. I'm going to declare the triumph of Christ over him and walk in obedience to him Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah