This sermon from 1 Peter chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of faith and trust in God, likening it to pure gold that endures trials and remains valuable. The speaker encourages believers to focus on eternal treasures and the promises of God, rather than worldly securities. Through various biblical examples, the message highlights the significance of faith, endurance, and vision in the midst of challenging times, urging listeners to invest in the unchanging currency of faith in God.

1 Peter chapter 1, please, in the New Testament, if you'll go there. Many will soon be buying pure gold. Wish I could, somebody says, I could feel that thought. I said many, not everybody. Many will soon be buying pure gold. And contrary to what you think, this is not a message on investment strategies in our time. Now, Father, thank you, Lord, for... Thank you, Jesus Christ, for wisdom and strength and power. A way. God Almighty, you promised us that you would be our strength, our high tower. You'd be the oil in our lamps. You'd be the voice behind us and the guide before us. You promised that we'd be a church living in victory. When we turn to you, that there's nothing to fear. Lord Jesus, make these words real, make them live by the power of the Holy Spirit. I ask you, God, that you take this frail body. And I ask you, Lord, to overshadow my frailty and speak to your church and feed your people. Feed us with knowledge and truth. Make us ready for the days that we're entering into. And we thank you for it in Jesus' mighty name. Many will soon be buying pure gold. 1 Peter chapter 1. And I'd like to read to you verses 3 to 7. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled. And that fades not away. Reserved in heaven for you. Thank God for that verse of scripture. I have an inheritance. It cannot be corrupted. Nobody can change it. It is not an illusion. It is reserved for me and for you. And it is forever. Thank God. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein you greatly rejoice. Though now for a season. If need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations. That the trial of your faith being much more precious than a gold that perishes. Though it be tried with fire. Might be found unto praise and honor. And glory. At the appearing of Jesus Christ. Let me read that verse again that the trial of your faith. Being much more precious than a gold that perishes. Though it be tried with fire. Might be found unto praise and honor. And glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. We live in a kingdom that stands by faith. Moves by faith. Not in our abilities but God's ability to perform his word. We stand in this truth. Paul says we live in it. We move in it. We have our being in it. We are given a source of strength and a value system that this world cannot see. And never will understand. But thanks be to God. That you and I will not be taken off guard in these days that we are living in. The scripture says conclusively we are not children of darkness that these days should overtake us as a thief. I'd like to read to you some excerpts from a book that was written, a vision that was given to our founding pastor, the late David Wilkerson. It was given to him in the early 70s. It was published in 1973 in a book called The Vision. In a season of seeking God and prayer, the Lord began to unlock before Pastor David the future. The future of this country, the future of our societies around the world as we have known them. He battled with publishing this because he was just rising in popularity. It had been a great triumph, you know, in the early years of his life in ministry. Teen Challenge had been formed. A book had been written that was an international bestseller. A movie had been made about the cross and the switchblade. And he was, in a sense, riding high in ministry when suddenly in a season of seeking God, this vision was given to him. He grappled deeply with publishing. He and I had opportunities to speak about this from time to time because he knew it was going to bring him into somewhat of a sense of reproach among people in the Christian community who couldn't hear these things. He'd be laughed at. He'd be mocked. And no man or woman willingly wants to go there. Nobody simply wants to be put out and thought of in a sense as off track or off base. But he weighed carefully what God had given him and he put it into print in 1973 and did pay a price for it. He was a lone voice for almost 40 years in the Western world. When everything seemed to be moving in another direction, all of society was going far away from this voice more or less standing in the wilderness warning. The church age, the four decades that followed almost this vision that was given Pastor David seemed bent on moving in another direction, giving somewhat of a pausing thought to the warnings, but in many cases not taking it seriously and moving into something that Brother Dave often warned was going to bring spiritual blindness to the people. I want to read to you some excerpts from the vision. As I read it, you would swear today that I'm reading from yesterday's New York Times. There's a worldwide economic confusion just ahead. In my vision, this is the clearest thing I have seen. Not only is the American dollar headed for deep trouble, but so are all other world currencies. I see total economic confusion striking Europe first and then affecting Japan, the United States, Canada and all other nations shortly thereafter. A recession of such magnitude is coming that it will affect the lifestyle of nearly every wage earner in America and around the world. Countries that now control huge amounts of Western currency are going to be in very deep trouble also. Arab countries will be especially hurt. The world's economists will be at a loss to explain the confusion and an international crisis of fear will develop. A false economic boom will precede the recession, but it will be short-lived. Now keep in mind this is written in 1973. The next few years will be among the most prosperous in the history of mankind. Sales will continue to break records and people will spend more than ever in modern history. Credit debt will become nearly uncontrollable. I see very clearly just a few years of tremendous affluence and continued economic prosperity. Inflation, costs and wages will spiral higher and higher. I believe we're going to witness the bankruptcies of some of this nation's major and most popular corporations. I see tremendous difficulty arising for credit corporations. There are going to be many people unable to pay off their heavy obligations to major credit card companies, causing near chaos. Thousands of small businesses will also be forced into bankruptcy. The United States government is going to overreact to the confused economic developments. I see a flurry of near panic decisions being made by various government agencies, but these hasty efforts to shore up the economy will backfire. The auto industry is going to be badly hurt. Makers of recreational vehicles are going to get hit very hard. The building industry is going to face many setbacks. Housing starts will level off. There's a terrible squeeze coming to the building industry. The price of gold is going to rise astronomically, but it will not be sustained over a long period of time. Neither silver or gold will offer real security. Gold hoarders are going to get hurt very badly. This is one of the most significant predictions in this book. When it was written, by the way, in 1973, gold was at $65 an ounce. I think we're approaching somewhere in the vicinity of $2,000 an ounce at the moment. There will develop a call for revamping all world monetary systems into one uniform system. And if you're following the news, you're probably aware that that call has already begun. Social aid programs are going to be cut back and curtailed, and many groups are going to be affected. These will cause widespread unemployment among many groups. There will be drastic weather changes. They will eventually far surpass anything yet we've ever witnessed. Famine is coming to the world in our generations, and millions will die of starvation. Disaster and relief funds will become nearly depleted. Insurance companies will face huge losses. In the aftermath of famine, floods, and earthquakes, mankind faces the threat of new epidemics. There will be a major cholera epidemic sweeping through various underdeveloped countries. India and Pakistan face the threat of untold thousands dying from epidemic and starvation. Be warned, in the not-too-distant future, X-rated pornographic movies will be shown on select cable networks after midnight. Also available will be the same triple X-rated videotapes for private home use. These videotapes can be played on any TV set with an electronic attachment. Keep in mind, when this was written, there was no internet, there were no VCRs. Suicide and alcoholism are going to become rampant problems in our society. Amazing, isn't it? You'd swear you're reading today's newspaper. A vision given to a man of God in 1970 or 71, published in 1973. We're probably coming to the 40th year since this warning was given. And I see time and again in scripture the Lord will allow a season and a generation that we might consider our ways. We might think about how we're living. We might have a chance to focus on what we're truly investing in. One of the most significant predictions, he says, of this book, and these are the words of David Wilkerson, the price of gold is going to rise astronomically. In other words, it's a last effort to hang on to whatever we have achieved or are looking for sustainability in this world. But we'll not offer real security and gold hoarders are going to get hurt real badly. This is one of the most significant predictions of this book. And so hence my title. Many will soon be buying pure gold. Real gold. The only true currency that will be left standing and be of any value in this world in the days ahead, the only thing left that will offer real hope and security is the word of God. The bank vault of that word is found in the hearts of true believers. People like you and me, hopefully, who have believed the promises of God. We've gone through the fire. And we've come out the other side with a trust. If you wonder why you're going through the fire now, the Lord in his mercy will have a people in every generation who can stand as lights in the darkened world. Who have walked through the fire, who have gone through the flood, who've had to face impossible situations. But they have trusted in the word of God. And the word of God has been faithful to them. God's spirit has brought alive in them the promises of God so that they can stand. When darkness comes into our society, perhaps deeper, thicker, more fearful than we've ever seen or thought before, they can stand and say, this is the way to Christ. This is the way to safety. This is the way to the things of God. Philippians 2, 15 and 16, Paul says, we're to be blameless and harmless. That means sincere. The sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. The word of life, holding forth. Not just speaking about, but a visible demonstration, a tangible example. A deposit place, may I say it, of faith in God. Remember that Peter said, the trial of your faith be more precious than gold that perishes. Might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 25, Jesus refers to the wise having oil in their vessels in the last hours of time. But the testimony of the foolish is that our lamps have gone out. The wise could not only see, but also that which was within them enabled them to point the way to that which is eternal. That which does not fade. That which is not corruptible. That which is alive. That which offers hope. They had taken time to cultivate a living relationship with the living God. They had taken seriously that this is the gold that men and women are looking for. This is eternal. This is what is reserved. This is the gold reserve of God. This is about heaven. This is about a reason for living on earth. This is about freedom that can only come from God. This is about the supernatural that God promises to do in the hearts and lives of those who turn to Christ in truth. This is about having oil in your lamp in a darkened time. In Revelation 3, the last church that Jesus spoke to at the beginning of this final book of the New Testament. Jesus spoke to them at the peril of not fully living for the truth. They had truth. And maybe even to some measure loved truth. But somehow we've got to make the step from loving it to living it. You can love truth. You can walk into the house of God and you can agree every week this is right. This is true. I love this. You can even bring your friends here. But there's a point where you and I have got to live this. We've got to live it by the power of God and realize that if we are focused on the things of this world, our faith is going to be shaken. We're going to find ourselves as a church terrified by the things coming into the world. But if our focus is on heavenly things, if we are focused on the honor of God and the souls of men in this earth, if we see things the way Christ sees them, we'll have vision in our generation. Jesus said to this church, he said, I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire. Buy that which is proven. You know, I believe it's Isaiah, the prophet says they're going to cast their gold and silver to the moles and bats of the earth one day. Realizing there's no stability in this. There's no future. And this is not what is going to get us through. I'm not suggesting that we should not think about some form of physical provision. But the word of God tells us clearly our dwelling must not be there in our hearts, our minds, our trust must not be there. Because believe me, I know it can be gone in a day. I've lost two homes now. And the Lord, in his mercy, has just showed me through my journey that I can take it away and I can give it all back. Everything is everything. If I seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he says, all these things that you need to get through life will be added to you. I counsel you, he said, to buy of me gold tried in the fire. Proverbs 23, 23 says, buy the truth and sell it not. Buy the truth and don't let it slip through your fingers. It's one thing to own this book. But it's another to have this book own you. Buy the truth. Read this book and say, God, this is life. And let it form my thinking. Let it recreate the value system of my heart. Let it be the essence of who I am as a believer in Jesus Christ. Let the oil of this life of God be mine. Give me the heart of God, the mind of God. Give me faith. Because one day soon, people are going to come running to you and I. Looking for hope. And the scripture says you have to be ready to give them an answer for the reason of the hope that is in you. You've got to be ready. You've got to be prepared. The reason for your hope can't be that your 401k is surviving while theirs is falling through the cracks. That can't be the reason. The reason has to be deeper. It has to be something birth of God within your heart. Faith in the faithfulness of God. The promises of God. The purposes of God. Faith in these things is the only deposit. It's the only gold that's going to be left. It's all that will shine. It's all that will be of any value in the coming days. We're going into calamitous times, folks. And we're going there very shortly. You've been warned in this church for years. And I suppose the danger of being warned of it is that we can become somewhat dull to it. But we're there. We've come to that season. We've come to that time. We've come to that moment. Such as Paul who was on the ship in Acts chapter 27. And everybody has ignored the word of God. There's been somewhat of a casual giving regard to it. But it's been basically relegated to the belly of the ship. While the merchants and the centurions and those with agendas have more or less driven the society to where it ended up in a storm. Trying to hold the boat together with helps or ropes. Trying to find a way to safety. Eventually hoisting the sails and being driven by the wind. And that's exactly where we are right now. We've hoisted the sails and the wind is driving us. Nobody knows how to get through this time that we're living in. And finally in the midst of it all the apostle Paul rises to the fore again. And this man's treasure is not in the hold of the ship. And he doesn't care about the wood except that it's going to help people to float. It's not about the social journey of the vessel. This man has something in his heart. He has treasure. He has oil. He has vision. He can see. He knows the way out. Yes he knows the ship is going to be lost but he knows how the people can make it to shore. He doesn't hesitate to share what's in his heart. And breaks bread in one of the most profound communion services in the New Testament next to the Last Supper. Breaks bread in the middle of a storm and gives thanks to God for the ability to see and have vision. A man of faith and a man of vision. A man whose focus is not on his own safety. It's not on his own retirement. It's not on himself. It's on people. And it's on the glory of God. And God not only allows Paul to glorify his name but gives him the 276 people who are on the ship with him. And it doesn't say they were saved spiritually but at least they're given an opportunity. And you better believe on that shore. Especially after they saw the snake bite Paul's hand. They must have been listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith. Buy gold that has been tested. Buy pure gold. There's been a history of thousands of years. Before the birth of Christ and after the birth of Christ and after the death of Christ. And the resurrection. There's gold available to anybody who wants it today. It has incalculable value. It never loses value. You don't have to worry about it going up or down. It's as high as it's ever going to get and it never changes. You get a thousand fold plus return on a simple investment of a heart that says, Jesus, be Jesus in me. Jesus, live in me. Live through me. Let your heart be mine. Let your eyes be mine. Let your ways be mine. The book of Hebrews tells us these things. By faith Enoch was miraculously transported from one place to another. And by faith you can do that too today. No matter where you are you don't have to stay there. By faith you can be miraculously. He baptized an Ethiopian eunuch. And the scripture says when he came out of the water he just disappeared. Now that was a baptism service. It must have been. If anything the Ethiopian eunuch must have really got it. This is a supernatural kingdom I've come into and become part of. And he appeared in another place. And by faith today no matter where you are or what you're stuck in or what prison door is telling you you can't get out or what wound of the past is trying to drag your face into day after day or what words have been spoken over your life that you're nothing, you're nobody, you're an idiot, you're foolish, you'll always be like this. No matter where you are you can by faith be moved by God into another place. It is a marvelous thing when that understanding comes into your heart. When suddenly you realize hey I'm not bound by anything I see. I'm not bound by anything of the natural world or the natural I. I have the life of God within me. The God who created the universe by the power of His spoken word now lives inside of me. And where He says I'm going I'm going. And where He says I'm going to finish that's where I'm going to finish. And what He says my life is going to be that's what my life is going to be. I don't live by what I see I live by faith. By faith it says that Noah built an ark for his house not fearing as it were the ridicule of the society around you. And society has kept much of the church of Jesus Christ. As many of God's people their mouth is closed to the testimony of Christ simply because of the fear of ridicule. Goodness sakes man people are ridiculing you that are about to go off a cliff into an eternity without God. You and I can't be governed by that anymore. There's a season where we simply have to build this kingdom of God. We know it's an eternal kingdom we know it's true. And we simply have to do what we know is right and we do it by faith. We begin to build we live honestly we do right. We trust God for the power to live a Christian life in spite of the fact that we live in the midst of a crooked world. By faith Abraham followed not knowing where he was going but trusting God. His journey was not without struggle just like yours and mine. It was not without failure just like yours and mine but he got up and he kept going. Because he knew God was calling him by faith. By faith and he's actually referred to as the father of faith. Thank God for that. Thank God these men in the Bible weren't perfect. I hope you're thankful for that. Because it would set a standard for us that we couldn't follow. They more or less got up and fell down and got up and fell down but they kept getting up and they kept going forward. Because God was leading them. So you can't let the devil tell you that you can't go forward. No matter how many times you've fallen down. The mercy when we get to heaven and we stand before the throne of God. We're finally going to understand the depth of his mercy. And some of us will say God I wish I had taken more of it. I wish I'd invested in it more. I wish I'd have understood it more. How utterly merciful you are. That your call that you put into our hearts was not diminished because of our frailties. If we could have done it you didn't have to die. If we could have done it in our own strength you just would have sent us a list of things to obey that we could have done. But we couldn't do it. And you had to come and you gave us the strength. And now you call us to follow. And we don't know the fullness of our journey but we trust you. We trust as Paul did that all things you're working together for good. Because we love God and are called according to his purpose. By faith Sarah was given life within when the time of natural ability was gone. You know it's amazing. We can believe in our hearts sometimes that well I could have preached but that was years ago. I could have done this but that day has passed. Who are you to tell God what he can't do? At what point did you become God? In your own life. And how do you dare or I dare turn to the face of God and say well it's too late you can't do this. When pure gold in the scriptures told us and taught us it's never too late. He actually delights in taking the barren life and bringing it's the way his name has quite often been glorified throughout history. When he wanted a great prophet he quite frequently waited for a barren womb or somebody that went past the time of childbearing as in the case of Sarah. And when natural ability is gone suddenly something is born inside. How do you think we get faith? If we could do it why would faith be needed? By faith Isaac blessed his sons concerning things to come. You know I mean his sons one had deceived the other one was rather carnal the other one was not exactly honest. But he blessed them because he saw something coming and you and I can do that by faith in our families. Our children are not perfect. If yours are I'd sure like to know how you did that. They struggle like we struggle but he blessed his sons concerning things to come. Because it was not about his sons it was about the faithfulness of God to his family. And faith takes us into a realm where we're not speaking to our sons and daughters about the things that we are as we see them. But the things that we are as God has spoken into our hearts. Praise God. I just so thank God it's never over till it's over. I led a 60 year old man to the Lord one time in this church in the lobby. And I just felt something stir in my heart. I met him in the lobby and somebody introduced me and I looked at him and I was actually shocked at what came out of my mouth. I said to him do you not think it's time to give your life to Jesus Christ? And he said to me it's time. It is time. And so I prayed with him. I led him to Christ. And I found out later he was the son of a Pentecostal preacher. He had resisted God all his life. All his life. His father was long dead and gone. He had believed God for his son. And here's his son at 60 years of age. Finally bending his knee. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. He spoke into the lives of his children. Folks if I can ever encourage you to do something. Go into the prayer closet and get what God is saying about your family. Get it from God and speak that. And speak it into their lives and watch the shock come on their faces. But folks it's what God says that matters. It's not what people say. It's not even what our children say. It's what God says that really matters. Jacob blessed his sons by faith. By faith. By faith. Folks by faith he blessed his sons. It was by faith. He didn't see it in the natural. He saw it in the spiritual. By faith he blessed his sons concerning things to come. By faith he saw something. By faith. By faith. He reached into the future. By faith. He saw a nation coming through whom the Messiah was going to be born. By faith he saw a church. By faith he saw Arabic nations. By faith he saw Arabic nations turning to God. By faith he blessed his sons concerning things to come. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. We're living to see the fulfillment of it in our generation. Praise be to God. Thank God for the freedom coming into the Arabic world today. Thank God. Be it in your heart to believe God. That the gospel can be freely preached in all the world before the end comes. Scripture tells us that by faith Jacob worshipped as he was dying. Leaning upon his staff and he had a vision of the future. By faith he worshipped when he was dying. By faith. It wasn't all about how long you live and how many toys you get. By faith he was worshipping God in the last moments of his time. And God was still giving him a vision of the future. Praise be to God. Thank God for this. Hallelujah. He told his sons, I'm not staying here. When you leave you take my bones with you. Take my bones home. This is not where I live. I've been down here for a season. I've been ruling and reigning here. But this is not my home. I live in a place of promise. By faith he worshipped. That's been the cry of my heart. I prayed it again on this platform this morning. Oh God, in my last days I want to be able to put my feet up in my bed. Should you allow it. And I want to give a shout of glory as big as anything that God's ever put into my heart. I want to still be speaking about the future to my family. By faith. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. By faith. The scripture tells us that Moses walked with the people of God. He left the temporary comforts of sin. And was able to endure because God opened his spiritual eyes. By faith he walked out on the comforts of Egypt. By faith he walked away from the pleasures of sin that it offered to him. Because as a ruler everything and everyone was at his disposal. By faith he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. He saw something. The Lord God had given him a vision of the future. Of our day. Of the fact that his life would amount to something that would bring glory to the name of Almighty God. Daniel the prophet tells us that in the last of the last days at the end of the book of Daniel. They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. And they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. And many Daniel says will be purified and made white and tried. Now he's speaking about the last of the last of the last days. But there's a principle in this. That there's a season in every life. In every Christian, every believer. There are times in history and we're entering one now. When many will be purified and made white and tried. And Daniel said none of the wicked will understand. But the wise shall understand. None of the wicked will understand. They'll still be trying to tie the ship together. They'll still be trying to go on. They'll still be trying to grasp for something of this world. That allows them to be God. That allows them to chart their own course. That allows them to defy the lordship of Jesus Christ. And still reach what they think is somewhat of a utopia. Utopic end. And the irony of it all is that gold is just a rock. That's how sophisticated we are. We end up hanging on to rocks. And just because it's a shiny one it has a real value to it. Amazing. Just a rock. That's all it is. It's a heavy rock actually. None of the wicked will understand. The currency of God is faith. It's faith that has been tried, proven. And brought to purity because you believe God. And you've kept up winning in your trials. You've kept on winning. You believe God. And little by little, line by line, step by step, foot by foot, moment by moment you're growing in the knowledge and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not understanding. You know some trials are easy to back away from. Well let's just, this one is tough so let's skip this one and go to this one. No, I think the true child of God says no. Just like Caleb, give me the giants. Give me the mountains. Give me those things that everybody says can't be conquered. Those things that have turned many back before us. I want the challenge of seeing this brought down. That the name of Almighty God can be glorified. You've been well schooled and prepared for this moment in time. You're not novices in this church. Anyone who's attended here for any amount of time. You remember how the Lord drew us into a season of silence. And study in the book of Hebrews before the towers came down in 2001. And you were ready and prepared. We have been warned. We've been given a word from God. It's not a word to cause fear. It's a word that gives hope. It's not a word that should do anything but cause us to rise up. And believe God and walk into the victory that is ours. And store up pure gold. Faith. And you can't get faith until you've started winning victories. You don't get faith by memorizing scriptures. Nice as that is. That's just what you need to get through the trial. You get faith by walking through the fire. Walking through the flood. Walking out of prisons. Trusting God for healing to come into your heart. Asking Him for spiritual vision. That's how faith finds its fulfillment. In the heart. Faith without works, James said, is dead. Faith without an outworking of faith. It's good to study. But at some point, it has to direct us in our living. And we have to believe God for the impossible. That's why when the impossible comes to this world, we'll not be moved by it. We'll not be standing and mocking. We'll not be standing and laughing at people and their calamity. We'll be standing and saying, this is the way to safety. Here is something you can invest in that will not fail you. It will never go down. The dividends always pay the same. Eternal life. And abundant life here on this side of eternity. It gives you a new heart. It gives you a new mind. It gives you a new spirit. It gives you a new value system. It gives you a new reason to live. You become supernaturally empowered by the spirit of God. And you're no longer bound by the limitations of anything in the natural. You're brought into that which is God. You find yourself doing, saying, living, moving, walking in places that you never dreamed you would ever be. Doing things you never thought you would do. In a sense of glorifying God and reaching out to fallen humanity all around you. Very soon, people are coming to you. You're the last bank, actually, as it is. Maybe we should start a new organization called The Last Bank of America. Always open. The supply is endless. Your heart will be gladdened. Everything you need will be found there. In The Last Bank of America. Soon, people are coming to you, running, because there's nowhere left to go. And it's the mercy of God.