In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of not getting caught up in worldly trends and fads, as they will lead to being left behind. He speaks about how God will eventually overpower and overwhelm those who resist Him, and how He knows how to judge a community while still taking care of His people. The preacher reminds the audience that God is a saving and keeping God, able to protect and provide for His followers. He encourages them to trust in God's promises and to seek His presence through prayer and holding Him accountable to His word.

This recording is provided by Times Square Church in New York City. You're welcome to make additional copies for free distribution to friends. All other unauthorized duplication or electronic transmission is a violation of copyright and other applicable laws. This recording cannot be posted on any website, however written permission to link to the Times Square Church homepage may be requested by emailing info at timesquarechurch.org. Other recordings are available by calling 1-800-488-0854 or by writing to Times Square Church Tape Ministry 1657 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. Praise God. It is a wonderful privilege, my brothers and my sisters, to serve you this afternoon. Would you pray with me, please? Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you. We know that you are a faithful God and that you didn't call us to this place so that we would be left to fend for ourselves. Lord, you are enough for us. We ask you to cause your name to be glorified in the midst by opening your word to us, opening your heart to us. We don't simply want to know information about you. We want to know you. We ask us, would you trust us with your heart this afternoon? We thank you for that, oh God, and we believe you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Praise his holy name. I want to talk to you this afternoon on the topic, the zeal of the Lord. The zeal of the Lord. And I want to consider with you a passage of scripture. Very few passages of scripture in the Old Testament, in particular, that are mentioned in more than one book of the Bible. Very few specific stories are rehashed in more than one particular author. But there is one story that appears in three books of the Old Testament. In the book of 2 Kings, of 2 Chronicles, and of Isaiah. And it is a very specific story. It goes into great detail. It is the story of King Hezekiah. The Bible says, with regard to this man, that he was, in essence, sandwiched between two very evil kings. His father and his son were very wicked kings, Ahaz and Manasseh. But Hezekiah was a good king. So good, in fact, the Bible says, that of all the kings of Judah, remember after the days of Solomon, the kingdom was split in two. And one group of went to the north, and they began to call their kingdom the kingdom of Israel. And it basically consisted of 10 of the tribes of Israel, including some Levites. And then, of course, there were the Benjamites and the Judahites that were in the southern country. And they called that land the land of Judah. The Bible says about this man, Hezekiah, that of all of the kings of Judah, there was no one like him. No one like him before or after. Because when he came into power at about the age of 25, there was rampant idolatry and all kinds of ungodliness. And he came into power, and he began first and foremost to break down all of the high places that were in Judah. These high places had been left there by king after king. Even good kings had left the high places intact. You remember, initially, the high places were set up before there was the temple. Somewhere between the tabernacle and the temple, people would set up these high places, and they would offer offerings there, or they would pray there. And God even met Solomon there at a certain point. But whenever the temple was built, there was no more room in the economy of God for any of these places. But certain kings would come, and even godly men, but they would not break down these images. And after a while, these things went from places where there were just green trees and so on and so forth, to carved idols and so on. And when Hezekiah came on the scene, one of the first things that he did was to destroy these high places. And every idol that was to be found in he crushed. The Bible says that after a certain point, the children of Israel had even begun to take that bronze serpent that Moses had formed in the days when the children of Israel had rebelled against the Lord. And the snakes of the land became very venomous and dangerous, and began to bite the people at the behest of the Lord. And God told Moses that he ought to make a golden or a bronze serpent and put it on a stick and lift it up, and any person who would look upon that serpent in brokenness and in repentance, God would free them from the attacks of the various serpents. And after a certain amount of years, even centuries, the people had come to a place where they began to venerate that golden serpent. And so Hezekiah took that, and he dashed it to the ground. And the Bible said he called it nihoshtan, which basically means simply a piece of brass. And what he was doing was bringing everybody's attention back to the way of the Lord. He even incorporated, according to the Holy Scriptures, a Passover, one that had been unlike anything done in its previous or even in its past or even in the future times. Nothing like it had ever come to pass. The people of Israel were drawn not only from Judah, but even from the northern country. And you remember, there was war constantly between the northern country and the southern country. But people were coming even from the northern country, which had been made illegal, if you remind yourself, by Jeroboam. Remember, he built the two idols, one in Dan and one in Bethel, and he decided that the people of the northern country could no longer go to Jerusalem, which was in the south. But whenever Hezekiah began to make this Passover, so that people could remember the great deliverance of the Lord and how God had freed them from the hand of Pharaoh and from the house of bondage, whenever he began to make this Passover, the Bible says that people were coming from the north and from the south, from the east and from the west. Wherever they could come, they would come. Not a whole lot of people came from the north, but people came. They were invited and they came. He consecrated the priests who had, for many a year, gone their own way. Many of them were offering to idols, and many of them were living in ungodly ways. And He brought these people back to a place of consecration and sanctification and made them a clean people, a holy people, a pure people. He began to do all of these things, bringing, by the grace of God, true revival. God was moving in his life. God was moving in his situation. God was being glorified in his kingdom. There was not a time like that in the history or in the memory of any of the people at the time. And the Bible says that while this was going on in the land of Judah, something else was going on in the world in general. There was a great power that was beginning to rise, the land of Assyria. And this land was engulfing every land and every people and every kingdom and every province within its vicinity. It was moving hither and yon. And everywhere the kings of Assyria went, they conquered. And the Bible says that they conquered even the mighty lands such as Egypt. And they went and took whatever they wanted. In fact, the Bible suggests that after a certain amount of time, they even came in and engulfed the northern country of Israel. But not only that, while this great revival was going on in Judah, this king of Assyria, Sennacherib by name, came into the very land of Judah and began to lay siege there, began to surround the land or the city of David, the city of Jerusalem, the temple of the Lord, to lock the house of Israel, in this particular case, the remnant of Israel, the house of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, to lock them up behind their walls and to say to them, yes, I understand that you've been talking about revival because one of the things that Hezekiah did was he decided that he was no longer going to serve Sennacherib. He was no longer going to serve Assyria the way his father had done. And so he broke the bands of the enemy and decided that he was going to serve only God. And the king of Assyria came and actually he sent a few messengers and said, I understand that you are experiencing something that remotely resembles revival, but don't you recognize that you are like a tiny island surrounded by an ocean of evil? Don't you recognize that I'm running things around here? Don't you recognize that I am engulfing every little province and every great country, taking anything and everything that suits my fancy? Don't you recognize that everything belongs to me? He sent his messenger in to mock this man, to mock this faithful young man and those people that were round about him saying, you cannot have revival if I don't allow it. You can't move outside of the four walls of your little church, he might have said, if I don't allow it. You see, he said, I have laid my siege mounds all around you. He might have said something like, you might have a nice little church in Times Square, but I got all the theaters round about. And he might have said, you might have a nice little revival in there, but I'm going to lock you up. You're not getting out of here. You're not going to affect the world. He said, I'm affecting the world. That's the way the enemy came to him. And at first, the Bible says, whenever he heard about this man coming closer and closer to the thing that God had given him and this kingdom coming in more and more. At first, the Bible said that he was a little bit worried. He was a little bit afraid. The Bible actually says that in his haste and in his fear, he took some of the things that he had dedicated to God. And he began to give it to the king of Assyria and began to say, just, just let me alone. Just leave me alone. He said, he actually said, according to what we read in the holy scriptures. And remember, we're in the book of second Kings. We're around the 18th and 19th chapter, or you might read it from the book of Isaiah. You would be around the 36, 37, 38th and ninth chapter, or you might read it in second Chronicles, wherever you read it, recognize that in this particular case, and we'll go deep into the text in a moment, but in this particular case, this was the issue. There was a man who chose to live for God. Revival began to break out in his community. And the enemy came to him two times. The first time he said, according to the scripture, I was wrong. I was a bit too zealous. I was trying a little bit too hard. Maybe you're right. Here's what I'll do. He began to take some of the things, some of the golden vessels that he had dedicated to the house of the Lord and some of the gold that he had placed upon the doors of the house of the Lord. And he began to strip these things bare and give it to this man. But you see the thing about the enemy is he is never placated. He is never satisfied, no matter what you give him so that he might back off a little bit. It's just a matter of time. And then he comes back even harder. And this is what happened in this particular case. But you see, in this particular case, a man forgot to pray. See, the enemy is saying to him, you're not going to have any impact outside of these walls, or you're not going to have any impact outside of your own heart, or you're not going to have any impact outside of your own family or whatever the case might be, because I have too much power. I have too many numbers. I have too much influence. My philosophy pervades the air and so on and so forth. And it might be a time where sometimes we tend to believe that kind of thing. And we tend to think, well, maybe if I give what I ordinarily dedicate to the Lord, so we might say, we always have to remind ourselves here, even as a church that's been moving in the power of the Holy Spirit for decades, we still have to remind ourselves that we must never, ever believe the lie of the enemy, or we must never take what's been, for instance, the music ministry that's been dedicated to the house of God, and never, ever, ever, ever, ever give it to the enemy so that he might think, well, I've been placated to some degree, singing the songs of the world, as opposed to the songs of Zion, hip-hopping and rocking and rolling and things of that nature. No, no, no. God has given us a trust. And what happens is the enemy begins to back off just for a little bit so that it doesn't feel so tight and so congested, because basically that's where he had them. But he only backs off just for a little bit, just so he can get a running start, you see. And so he backs off a taste, gets a running start. But at this particular time, Hezekiah reminds himself of something, that no matter what lie the enemy tells him, because remember, the enemy came with a boatload of lies. He began to say things like, you know, the reason why I'm coming against you is because the Lord is mad at you. God sent me, he said. The Lord sent me to war against you, because you refuse to lift up any idols. You refuse to lift up. He said, Hezekiah broke down all the high places and God is upset. He might have said something to the effect of, you're not holding on to ritualistic religion anymore. You're not holding on to legalistic tendencies anymore. You're not allowing yourself to be swept up by this river or that river that happens to be flowing through this church or that church anymore. You're not allowing yourself to get caught up with this trend or that trend or this fad or that religious thing. And as a result, the Lord is coming against you. And so many ministers here and in so many churches and so many people in their homes, that unless you get caught up in this river or if you get swept up in this fad, you're going to be left behind. The Lord sent me to come against you. Later on, he said to him, now I have come against nation after nation. So many people have tried to hold out. So many people have tried to take a stand and to stand their ground. But little by little, I will overpower. I will overwhelm. It just takes a little bit of time. In this case, maybe a little bit longer in that case, but just a matter of time. And it's going to get too hard. It's going to get too cold. It's going to get too difficult. It's going to get too dark. Just a little bit of time and I will eventually get you. That's the thing he tried to say to this man. He said to them, what about this land? And what about that land? And what about the other land? But it didn't stop there. He went on to say, and what about Israel? Didn't Israel call on the name of Yahweh? Didn't Israel believe in God? Didn't Israel, wasn't Israel a real church that was moving into power at a certain point? It was. But now you, you know, the stories you've read your scriptures, Israel had gone deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper into idolatry. He came with lie after lie after lie. And as I said, initially Hezekiah gave into some of those lies and he began to fear. He began to worry. Even as we heard this morning, he began to take what was dedicated to the Lord and he began to give it over the things. And basically what that ultimately means is our heart, our trust, our faith. But now when the enemy encroaches, when the enemy sets up its siege mounds around the walls of Jerusalem, when he burns their fields and when he scorches their land and when he does everything that he can to snatch up any food that they might try to eat, when he tries to close off all their conduits so that no water enters into the land, as he tries to do with the Christian person trying to cut us off, as we heard again this morning from the word of God, from the truth of the scripture, Hezekiah did that one thing that would help him. Hezekiah took the words that were written down by Sennacherib and he spread out that scroll in the house of the Lord. Hezekiah went to God, not to his resources now, not to what he thought he had dedicated to God or what he thought he had given to God. It was no longer about his dedication. It was no longer about his loyalty. It was no longer about his zeal. It was no longer about his willingness to obey. It was no longer about Hezekiah. His name, by the way, means Yahweh is my strength. No longer about me. It's about the God that I serve. So he went to God and he began to pray a particular prayer. It appears in the book of Isaiah in the 37th chapter. You can follow along with me, Isaiah 37, beginning at verse 15, Isaiah 37, 15. Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. I like that little word right there, then. Because if we just got into this text and just started reading it right there, we wouldn't know what in the world is going on. But because we understand the background, we see that this person basically had to be between a rock and a hard place. He pretty much painted himself into a spiritual corner. There was nowhere to go. He had been boxed in by his enemy. He was congested. He was constricted. And now he goes where he knows he needs to be. He goes into the house of the Lord and he begins to lift up his voice. Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, Oh, Lord of hosts, remind yourself. The enemy comes against Hezekiah and he comes to him with lie after lie about the nature and the character of God. God is angry at you. God was represented by those idols. God was represented in those high places. And you broke those things down. God was represented in that brass serpent and so on and so forth. God is represented in ritualistic religion. God is represented in legalism or in license. God is represented in this river or that river, in this side or that side, in this thing or that thing. God is represented here and there. And you've turned your back against all that and fixed your gaze upon the word of God and upon the Holy Spirit. He said, and God has been displeased with you. And now you hear Hezekiah beginning to do something that every Christian needs to do. When the enemy comes in, as we heard this morning, like an eclipse, as we began to open our heart and our mind to the word of God and into the way of the Lord, that moon begins to move and little by little, the sun begins to peer through again. He said, O Lord of hosts, that word in the original language, the Lord of armies, the Lord who fights my battle, the Lord who comes in like a flood, no matter what kind of enemy will try and raise himself up against me. The Lord who sits as king of the flood, who, as it were, lifts up his banner, who says to you and to me, no battle that comes against you will overwhelm you. As we heard read earlier today, that God has chosen to set up his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Hallelujah. God has chosen to cause his name to be glorified and there is nothing that the devil can do about it. The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, he said. Sennacherib is coming in and saying that we've been left to our own devices, that we have no strength, that he's overwhelmed even Israel, but we know what the Bible tells us, no matter how dark it looks, no matter how bleak the time, God has chosen to glorify his name in his holy community. God has chosen to glorify his name in his church. And again, there is nothing that the devil can do about it. He might boast and he might brag, he might bark and he might sneer, but God has chosen to glorify his name in his church, which is called by his name, which is created for his glory. He reminded himself of that when he called him the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the one who dwells between the cherubim. He's reminded of the ark of the covenant and the devil is trying to come in and say, God is exasperated with you. He's tired of you. He's tired of the same old thing, tired of the same old line. God has left you flat, but he says, no, I know you. You are Yahweh, the one who dwells above the cherubim. You're the one who dwells over that ark and you keep it. You are the one who overrides and overshadows the covenant. You're the one who keeps covenant. Oh God, you are the one who's invited me into the covenant relationship that you have within the Godhead. You drew me into this thing. It is your covenant. It is your name. It is your glory. God, if I fail, you fail. It is your name. Ultimately you keep me. I cannot keep myself. If I believe in God and I put my faith in him and I put my trust in him and I allow him to draw me into covenant relationship, then all success is his and all failure is his and God doesn't fail. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You are the God of covenant relation. And when he thought about the cherubim, when he thought about these angelicals, when he thought about them, he was reminded of what they were. They were called, they were a part of a slab of gold that would be on top of the ark of the covenant and that was called the covering. The kafar in the original language, sometimes it's translated the propitiation and basically what it means is the forgiveness, the mercy seat it's called sometimes. So God has drawn us into covenant relationship with him and made it so that as long as we put our trust in him and we come to him, when we fail, when we fall, we come to him and we call it, we say, God, I confess my sin. He said that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is in that sense, no failure in the children of God because we're a people under God's mercy, a people under his faithfulness, a people under his tender love, a people under his kindness. And see, he reminded himself of this in the midst of every lie that the enemy was trying to tell him. He said, you are God, you alone over all the kingdoms of the earth, you made heaven and earth. See, this is what he's doing in his prayer closet because the enemy came and said, I own this thing and that thing and the other thing and so on and so forth. But you see, he got back to that scripture that says the earth is the Lord's and all they that dwell therein that the world belongs to the great God, that there is nothing outside of his jurisdiction. There is nothing outside of his power. Ultimately speaking, everybody has got to stop by and say hi to God. Everybody has got to give an account. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Everything belongs to God. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein. It doesn't matter what the enemy likes to think. It doesn't matter what he tries to say. Sometime ago, somebody said that this was their house. They decided that they would mock the name of the Lord Jesus Christ on this particular stage. Sometime ago, they thought that they would do all kinds of drugs in the back and then come out here talking about Jesus Christ superstar. Sometime ago, people thought that whatever they claimed was theirs. But you know, years even before they came, there was some sculptor in this particular place and he was whittling around on some of the plaster of Paris and there was some painter in here and he was painting some mural over there and doing some of that. There was some electrician that came in and he ran some wire here and ran some wire there. There was this plumber or whatever the case might be, that carpenter or whatever and they didn't know what was going on. They were simply doing their job. They were simply earning a paycheck and then this person came in and they signed this thing. That person came in and they signed that thing and they said this is mine, lock, stock and barrel and I'm gonna bring in whoever I want, whatever the case might be. But don't you know that even in those days, God foresaw what he would do. He knew that he would have a people that would give glory to God, that would bless his name. Everything that God did in this place, he did for his glory, for his honor, for his praise. This is the way the Lord deals. Somebody said Times Square. Yeah, Times Square church might be yours but Times Square is ours. I'm not quite sure that they, I don't know, maybe they weren't there on on September, what was it, September the 9th? Maybe they weren't there on September the 9th when thousands of people chose to gather on Times Square and to lift up their voice in prayer to God and to believe God for great things. To believe God to move in this community. The earth is the Lord's in the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein. He said, truly the Lord, or truly Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire for they were no gods but the work of men's wood and stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them. He said, God, I know that you are a God of judgment, that you judge idolatry. This man Sennacherib had no power in himself. He was like a horse that God rode into town. He had no strength in himself. The Lord even said that. He said, I'm going to put my bit in your mouth again and I'm just going to move you back the other way. And sometimes the devil thinks that he has power because every now and again he has the capacity to do some destruction. But only when God allows a certain thing and every now and again God will bring judgment into a community that's chosen to turn its face away from him, that's chosen to hate him. But you see what Hezekiah was understanding is, God, you have really good aim. And even when God brings judgment into a community, he knows where his children are. And you can be standing right beside. The Bible says in those days, two shall be in the field and one shall be taken the other left. God has really good aim. And God knows how to judge a community and still keep his people fed, still keep his people healthy, still keep his people strong in him. He said, now therefore, oh Lord, our God, save us. He remembered that the Lord is a savior. Our God is a saving God. He is a keeping God. He is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the pleasure of his glory. For with exceeding joy, there is nothing, nothing that God cannot do. God made a promise to Abraham and to Sarah, said, I'm going to do a thing in you. And even when everything around seemed like it would never allow for it, God asked the very simple question, is there anything too hard for the Lord? Is there anything too difficult for God? And even as we heard this morning, there were times when godly people go through serious times and serious trials and times when we have to say, God, I just can't anymore. But you remember Jeremiah, as he began to write, he asked, basically answered the question that God had asked. God said, is there anything too hard for the Lord? And Jeremiah said, oh Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth by thy great power. And there is nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing too difficult for God. No matter what you're going through, no matter what the circumstance, no matter how the devil lies, there is nothing too difficult for God. You're a savior. You know how to keep me. You know how to help me. You know how to hold me. God spoke back to Isaiah and God said very simply this, and we'll close. Got a lot more to say, but you know the text, God will speak it to you when you go home and do your reading. This will be a sign to you, he said. And sometimes we would like it to say this will be a sign for you that the heavens will open and the thunders will roll and the lightning will crack and God will send this great powerful victory right into your life and so on and so forth. But you know what he said? This will be a sign to you, a sign that Sennacherib is not going to overrun you no matter how he boasts. That the devil is not going to have you no matter how he lies. He said, this is going to be the sign to you in Isaiah 37 beginning at verse 30. You shall eat this year such as grows of itself and the second year which springs from the same. Also in the third year sow and reap. Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. Now understand what's going on there. They're being besieged by this massive army and this massive army is coming like locusts and just taking up every kind of food from the land. But God said this is going to be the sign. The devil has come in and he looks like he's completely ravaged your heart. Looks like he's taking every ounce of food from you. But God knows something that the devil doesn't know. You see somewhere under the surface, see looks picked clean sometimes on the surface. But somewhere under the surface at the root there is life. Because as a Christian person Christ is the root of our life. And no matter what the devil has tried to take away, no matter how he's tried to lie, Christ is still there. The Bible says about Jesus that he is the root and the offspring of the house of Jesse. That is of the family of David. That no matter what it might look like, no matter what the locust and the kangaroo worm and the pommel worm seems to have taken, there is life. If you are a Christian person you put your hope and faith in Jesus Christ. You allow him to take you by your hand and walk you through this life so that you can live according to his will. There is life no matter what the devil has tried to do. No matter what kind of lie he's tried to tell. He said first thing is that no matter what the enemy has tried to do, there is life that's going to begin to sprout up from you and you will be provided for. And then he says after that, now the next year was going to be the Sabbath year. He said this is going to be the sign. No matter what your struggle, no matter what your difficulty, no matter how hard it gets, there will be a rest. This is what we heard this morning, a rest. There will be a peace that passes understanding. There will be a rest that says God has everything under control. There will be a rest that says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Even in times where it seems like the crops have been picked clean, God said you just wait for me. I know your first instinct is to do everything you can to plant as quickly as you can. Just wait, just trust me. I'm going to give you a supernatural peace and that supernatural peace is going to be your sign that God has not left you, that you will not be fruitless in this generation, that you will glorify the God in this time, that you will bless his name in this time. He said I'm going to give you a peace that passes understanding. A peace that you can't define by the circumstances. A peace that transcends anything that you and I could explain. Somehow or another God just touches our heart and says don't worry, everything is going to be all right. He says I'm going to take care of it. He said it's about me, it's about me to take care of this thing. In verse 31 the remnant who has escaped from the house of Judah shall again take root downward. In other words they're going to be an established people and they shall bear fruit upward. He said for out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant. And those who escape from Mount Zion and then he gives the reason. Basically the bottom line is this. He says the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Understand what he's saying. The devil's trying to tell you that yeah you can have a nice little revival as long as you do it you know in your own little room. Right? That's what the world is trying to tell us. Don't impose your views on us. I don't mind if you're a Christian, just don't talk to me about it. You can enjoy a nice little revival, just do it in your own house. But here's what the word of the Lord said. He said that remnant that's in Zion, that remnant that's been here through this battle, through this struggle, through this time, they're going to begin to pour out into the streets. They are going to be living, breathing revival. They are going to be revival in their workplace. They're going to be revival in their schools. They're going to be revival on the train. They're going to be revival in the street. They're going to be revival on the buses. They are going to be revival. They are going to pour out into this community. See the devil can't keep you locked up. No matter what he's tried to do with us as a community or every other church in this society as a community, God is going to be glorified. There are churches around the world that have to have clandestine meetings, meetings in cellars and so on, but God is going to begin to pour out in those communities as well. You see it happening around about the world. Communism at one point said, no, God's church is going to be locked up. God's church is going to be bound. But now, who has the last laugh? Who has the last word? God's church is on the move once again. And the devil might be trying to say to you in your seat, I got you backed up against the wall. You're just barely getting by because you're constantly struggling with this thing or that thing. You are never going to have any impact. You are never going to have any real say-so in this generation. But I'm telling you what the Lord has said, that that remnant, that people who put their trust in me, they're going to have impact all over the world. They are going to move out from where they are and they are going to glorify God. God has chosen to glorify his name in this final time. He's chosen to cause his name to be lifted up and he's chosen to do it through you. And the devil has no say in that. There is nothing, hallelujah, there is nothing that the enemy can do. Let's stand together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to open this altar. The devil's been lying to you. He's been telling you that you have no impact. And he caught you in a time when you never expected to be caught. In Hezekiah's case, he was right in the middle of revival. He was having some of the best times of his life, probably some of the best prayer times of his life, probably some of the best study times of his life, and the enemy just came in like a flood. And he told you, look around you. You've seen people who used to be on fire. Look around you, he said. Tried to tell you every kind of lie. Tried to tell you that he's just going to lock you up in Jerusalem. It's all right for you to worship in there, but you ain't going to come out and you're not going to have any nourishment. You're not going to have anything to eat. You're basically just going to be doing what you can to hunker down until you get to heaven. But that's a lie from hell. There is liberty in Christ Jesus. There is freedom in Christ Jesus. If you're having a time where the enemy is lying to you, where you feel constricted, where you feel bound, where you feel like you just can't flow in the gifts that God has given you, you can't seem to touch God the way that you want to, God is calling you to the same place that he called Hezekiah, into his presence, into his prayer closet, into a time where you just begin to rehearse the truth of God back to him. As he pours it in your heart, you say what he said back to you, and you, as Pastor David reminds us, you hold God to his word. You hold him to his promise. He told you that he would keep you. He told you that he would use you. He told you that he would be glorified in your life. He told you that he would cause his son to be manifest in you. He told you that his spirit would move in your life and that you would be a blessing in your home and in your job. You would be a blessing in your school. You'd be a blessing in this community. You'd be a blessing in this house. The devil is trying to lie to you. God wants to speak the truth to you. If you want to pray, begin to come to the front of this auditorium. We're going to pray together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I'm going to read you a certain portion of scripture, and this is just what I believe God is saying to us as a community, what he's saying to you as an individual. In verse 33 of that passage of scripture, Isaiah 37, we hear the Lord saying, therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, concerning the devil, he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same way he shall return. And he shall not come into this city, says the Lord, for I will defend it to save it for my own sake and for my servant David's sake. Basically what that means is that the thing that the enemy thought was going to be that thing that overwhelm you, the same way that he came in, the thing that might be your weakness might be your struggle. He said, God is going to send them out that same exact way. In other words, an awesome thing is going to happen. The thing that used to be your weakness, God is going to use it to glorify his name. God is going to use it to bless his holy name. God is going to use it so that you wind up being useful in the hands of God to help other people as well. You see, he said he's not going to touch this city because it's the city of God. It's where God lives. You are where God lives. You are the temple of God. You are where he lives and the devil cannot touch that. Father, hallelujah, hallelujah. In Jesus name, we come before you acknowledging that you are that holy city. You are the one, oh Jesus, that the enemy tries to attack, but he has no power. He comes against your name, comes against your character, tries to tell us that you're not faithful, that you can't keep us. But Lord, he has no strength because you will always speak to our hearts by the Holy Spirit and through your holy word. You will always speak to us and remind us of who you are. Lord, in Jesus name, we ask you, would you protect your name? Would you protect your fame? Would you protect your reputation? Would you protect your character? Lord, the enemy tries to assassinate your character all day, but Lord, would you protect your character and Lord, would you protect your image? Lord, you created us in your image and after your likeness and you chose to form Christ in us. The enemy tries to attack your image the same way he tries to attack your name. Lord, would you protect your name and would you protect your name in us? Protect us against every lie of Satan, against every attack, Lord, and move us deeper into revival. Lord, you have chosen to make us instruments of your revival. So allow when these doors, even after this service, Lord, even as these doors open and we begin to pour out into the streets, Lord, let revival pour out into the streets. Hallelujah. Let your name be glorified in us, Lord, and we will thank you for that. We will bless you for it. We will give you glory and honor knowing that it is by your hand that these things come to pass. Lord, it's about your glory, Lord, even as Pastor Carter reminds us, when good things happen, we don't take glory and when we go through struggles, Lord, we don't touch any shame. We put everything in your hands and we say, God, you are God. Everything is in your hands. We come to you in times of victory and say it is because of the victory of Christ and in times of struggle, we confess and acknowledge, Lord, we have no strength in ourselves. Would you help us today? Now, Father, we thank you for building a true wall around us. Lord, now our walls are not our own strength and our goodness. Our wall is Christ. The Bible says that you would be a wall around us and you would be the glory within. Lord, we thank you for Jesus. Jesus, glorify your name now in us by the Holy Spirit for your namesake and for your praise. We love you. We thank you in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Amen. God bless you. God be with you. This is the conclusion of the message.