In this sermon, the preacher discusses the state of God's people in Israel during a time of rebellion and turning away from the truth. He references Jeremiah 5:1-3, where God challenges the people to find someone who seeks truth and executes judgment. The preacher highlights the superficiality and lack of true brokenness among the people, as they camouflage their hurts with fake repentance and healing. He also mentions the loss of shame and grief for sin in society, the church, and in people's lives. The sermon emphasizes the importance of heeding the warnings of true pulpit messages and standing against rebellion and rejection of God's word.

We have forgotten how to blush. Jeremiah 6, look at verse 13. I'm going to read verse 13, beginning, For from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness, and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deal falsely. For they've healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people, slightly saying, Peace, peace, when there's no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore, they shall fall among them that fall. At the time when I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Now, in this church, you're allowed to say amen any time during the preaching. Just be careful you don't shovel it off on somebody else. Now, Jeremiah, in these chapters, sees a horrible condition, condition falling upon God's people. They were living behind a facade of superficial peace and security. They were saying peace, peace, security, but covetousness and greed had overcome their hearts, and they were camouflaging their hurts by a phony brokenness. There was no true brokenness, a lot of tears, but no real brokenness. They had superficial tears, superficial repentance, superficial healing. God's people had lost their sense of shame and grief for sin. A sense of a loss of grief for sin in society, in the church, and in their lives, in their homes. They no longer felt God's hatred or wrath against sin. Sin became just another one of those things, just one of those things, a weakness. Were they ashamed when they sinned? No, they were not at all ashamed. Neither could they blush. Now, Holy Ghost blushing is not simply red cheeks. It's not just modesty. You look up the word and it's very powerful. It means to feel wounded, to feel ashamed, devastated, grieved, and not for self, but because the name of Jesus and the honor of the Lord has been trampled. It's a wounded spirit, not because we have been hurt, but because God has been hurt. That's what blushing is all about according to the Scripture. Now, there was a terrible moral breakdown in Israel in the house of Judah at this time. God's people were turning away from the truth. They sat under a searing message. I want you to go to Jeremiah 5, and I want you to read with me verses 1 to 3, Jeremiah 5, 1 to 3. They heard this searing message and they began to rebel against it. Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executes judgment, that seeketh the truth, and I'll pardon it. And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, that they've not grieved. You've consumed them, that they've refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They've refused to return. Not only were they beginning to harden themselves under a searing message of truth, the Scripture said, they, in spite of this hard message that was coming, they were still committing adultery. They were romping with harlots. They were neighing as horses after each other's wives. In fact, you can find that in verse 11, chapter 5. It's very clear. For the house of Judah and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me. Verse 7, how shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken me, sworn by them that are no gods. I fed them to the fool. Then they committed adultery. I prospered, I blessed them. Then they started committing adultery. They sat under a powerful word, in spite of the word coming forth, they still sinned. They assembled themselves by troops at the harlot's houses. It's all there in that verse. There was a revolting, rebellious spirit rising up in the hearts of multitudes of God's people, and the fear of God that once had began to wane. Look at verse 23 and 24 in chapter 5. Verse 23, this people have, in other words, developed a revolting, rebellious heart. They're revolting, and they're gone. Neither say they in their heart, let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rainbows to form in the latter in a season. He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. The iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins are withholding good things from you. It's all there, a revolting spirit. Now, believe me folks, during the time of these prophecies of Jeremiah, there was a time of great prosperity. I were being blessed just like in America today, but it became a snare, became a trap for them, and their very prosperity caused the spirit of greed and covetousness to overcome them. Not only in the pew, but in the pulpit. The pulpits were greedy, the scripture says. In fact, once you look at verse 27 and 28, it's so much so that the houses became cages of iniquity. The Bible called, the prophet said, the cages of sin. A house is a cage of iniquity. Divorce, fighting, rampant throughout Israel at the time. Look at chapter 5 verse 27, beginning to read, As a cage is full of birds, so are the houses full of deceit. Therefore they become great and waxen rich. They're waxen fat, they shine. May they overpass the deeds of the wicked. They judge not the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper in the light of the needy. Do they not judge? All right, follow me very closely, please. God warned Israel and Judah to heed the instructions of the word that was coming forth, said no matter how searing, no matter how hard God says, you must heed it or I'll depart from you. There's a strong word here, Jeremiah 6 verse 8. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Lord God is saying, I'm speaking clearly. Nobody can doubt what I'm saying. It's coming forth with anointing, it's coming forth with power, it's coming forth with holiness. But who's listening? Who is obeying the truth? Look at verse 10, chapter 8, or chapter 6 verse 10, To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised. That means they're closing their ears and they cannot hearken. Behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach. They have no delight in it. Now look this way, please. In Hebrew, it means they have become weary of rebuke. They are tired of being exposed and stripped by the searing word of God. A people who once sat under the prophets and saying, I delight in the word, it's honey to my mouth, it's strength to my soul, they rejoiced in it, they wept over it, and now they don't want to hear it anymore, they won't heed it, they won't listen, and the scripture makes it very clear, they have no delight in it anymore. I'm going to read to you, don't turn it, but I'm going to read Jeremiah 9, 25 and 26. So they did eat and were filled. Just like in this house, the word of God goes forth and there are multitudes that eat to the full. They eat the word of God. They become fat and delight themselves in the great goodness of God. Nevertheless, they're disobedient and rebelled against the old God, and cast from all behind their backs, and they slay their prophets, which testify against them to turn them to thee, and they bring about great provocation. You know, we're still killing the prophets today, and we'll show you how in just a moment. We kill them with gossip. We try to take away their soul by demeaning what they say. I've never admitted to being a prophet. I'm one of his many watchmen. So are these gentlemen that minister with us here in this pulpit. We're watchmen set on the wall by the Holy Ghost. Why did they turn away from these hard warnings of the watchmen? It's because the watchmen were touching a nerve. They were exposing secret sin, idolatry, greed, covetousness, materialism. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them everyone is given to covetousness, from the prophet even to the priest. The pulpit, the pew, swept away by a spirit of covetousness, and then they begin to excuse and justify it. There was nobody that had shame over it. There was no blessing in the house of God. There was no blessing in the pulpit. Folks, we don't have the blessing against sin in the pulpit anymore, and that's why preachers don't preach against sin. A majority of them do not preach against sin, because they don't know how, because there's no blush. There's no grief of God. God's people turn from the warnings of their prophets and their watchmen, and they begin to walk in the imagination of their own heart. Also I've sent watchmen over you saying, hearken to the sound of their trumpet, that they said we will not hearken. Now why would a people who fully understood that God had appointed these watchmen and prophets, they acknowledge God's hand on them, they never once doubted, they never once doubted that God sent them, that they did not heed, they began to turn away from their prophets and walk in the own word they heard from God. Now let me tell you about how that happens. There's something in common with everyone who turns away from the word of the prophet sent by God. There's a very clear word in number, yes you turn to number 16. Go to number 16 with me please. I'm going to show you something profound, frightening. 16th chapter. I want to show you why people in America today are refusing the word of their watchmen. Beloved, I'm going to tell you something. The more I prophesy, the more I sense the isolation, the more God tells me to prophesy and these others prophesy, the more we realize even some of God's people that come to this church will not come back again because they rise up against it. They don't want to hear it. Thank God for you that's still delighting it. Hallelujah. Numbers the 16th chapter. I'm going to read, start verse 1. Now Kohath, son of Kohath, Dathan, Abiram, and On. These are four principal men of the congregation and they rose up, verse 2, they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown, and they gathered themselves together against Moses. Now the Bible calls Moses a prophet, very clearly a prophet, and against Aaron and said unto them, you take too much upon you, saying all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then do you lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. Now look at me please. This is the spirit behind all rebellion and rejection of the true prophet warnings of men sent by God, and it's this that rises up in the heart. Wait a minute, and this is said among people in their little gatherings, it's said in little cliques, it's said publicly, it's said privately, it's started in the heart. Wait a minute pastor, wait a minute evangelist, wait a minute prophet, wait a minute watchman. You are not the only one that God speaks to. We also hear from God. We too are holy people. We get God's mind for ourselves too. You take too much upon yourself, you intrude into our lives, you are lifting yourselves up above the congregation. That was what they said. And Moses fell on his face, grieved. He was not grieved because his authority over them was being questioned, because this was a meek man, he could care less who led. In fact God had to absolutely capture and corral him to get him to lead this people. At first he didn't even want to go, but when he went he knew, he knew in his heart God placed him. He had nothing on his heart but to bring this people into the land of inheritance, and that's the heart of any true watchman or shepherd of God, not to seek submission from people. I don't want authority over anybody's life in this church. I don't want you to submit to me. Our pastors are not wanting you to submit to them. We can care less about authority. I'm not trying to frighten anybody to try to bring them down under authority. Some of you have been in churches where you were about beaten with that kind of thing. We're not even talking about that. That's not even in the same ballpark. We're talking about something deeper in the spirit. Moses fell on his face. They began to grieve, because he knew that it was not his authority being questioned. He knew that they had come and gathered themselves against God himself, because he knew he had that sense of destiny. God put me here. God sent me. I've walked in covenant with him. These people know I have not touched anything of theirs. I've not hurt one. In fact, he said, I've not taken anything from this people, O God. I've not hurt one of them. Verse 15, Moses could say, O God, these are not my people. This is your church. I have not done any of these works of my own mind. I've not once stood before this people and just spoken my mind. Every time I stood before these people, I've heard from you. I've been shut in with you. I touched the glory. I was on the mountain. I came from your presence. I spoke your mind. They are all gathered as a company together against the Lord. Look at it in verse 11. Read it. For which cause both thou and the company are gathered together against the Lord. Against the Lord. Now look at me, please, right in the eye. I don't think the church of Jesus Christ realizes the danger, the absolute danger of not heeding the Word of God that comes forth. I speak against television, for example, in those who want to go on with the Lord all the way. And there are people who walk out and say, well, that's not the final word. That's not the word I received from God. I don't want to tell you something. It's not even judged. You see, hearing the Word of God from a true prophet or pure watchman is not going home and praying and getting your word and then coming to the house of God and compare it to the prophet, compare it to the priest sent by the Holy Ghost and say, ah, that lines up with what I heard and I'll receive. If it doesn't line up, I don't receive it. That'll send you to hell quicker than any kind of adultery. Because God sets his men in their place. First, I didn't want to come to New York City. I despise the thought of coming back to this city. God had to break my heart again down at 42nd Street. I didn't want to go alone, so I began to pray. Brother Don and Brother Bob were working with us in some other missions, projects, and things, and ministries, conferences. Bob got his burden on the street. Don broke his heart on these streets. God set us together as a team and said, go to New York. We didn't just get together and dream this up, folks. The Holy Ghost birthed it. The Holy Ghost put it all together. There wasn't a soul, there wasn't a person, there wasn't a church, there wasn't a dollar, there was nothing. And we had a few dollars that we would have been saving on another project that we put toward this project. But God sent us as watchmen to a body of believers he's going to raise up in this house. So I sent watchmen over. You sang hearken to the sound of the trumpet, but they said we will not hearken. You know, God always stands before his God-ordained authority. God always on his nose, he sets on the wall. He'll stand against the whole world with his shepherds who stand in holiness, who proclaim his true word, though everything come against it. The whole congregation came and stood against Moses and their 250 of the renowned men, along with these four princes, came and stood. The whole congregation stood before Moses. There was a holy anger rose up in his heart. God said, get away from them. I'm going to wipe them all out. I'm going to kill them all right now. And Moses said, God no! And he said, Moses, get your censer. Quick, stand between them and God. The earth opened up and swallowed of Dath and of Birim, swallowed that whole company, fire fell from heaven, and 250 of these who stood against Moses were suddenly consumed by the fire of God, and Moses falls on his face and said, God spare Israel! Spare them! Lord, this is not a matter of my authority, this is a matter of your honor, it's a matter of getting a people into a promised land. Folks, we're here to bring you into holiness, we're here to see Jesus formed in your heart and nothing else! We've not preached our own mind, we've not taken anything from this people, we've not hurt anyone, we know that God sent us in this place. I'll tell you something, when I hear Pastor Don preach like I heard Tuesday, I sit there and tremble. When I hear Pastor Bob preach, I sit there and tremble because I'm under the prophets and the watchmen and the shepherds, I know their lives and I hear a sound from heaven and it touches my heart, and I hear it and I obey the living word of God, because I'm under authority. I don't measure what they say by what I have heard, I'm measured by the word that they preach. Why are we here? Why this church at this time in this place? We're here to find a body who wants to go on as a holy remnant into the image of Jesus. We're here to tear down all your idols, we're here to see if there's any fusion in the world with you, and we're there to tear that fusion apart! For the sake of your own soul, we're here to weep over you, we're here to guard your soul, to call you out of this wicked world, we're here to uphold the dignity of the cross of Jesus Christ, and if there's any place where that dignity is not being honored, it's our purpose, it's our job before God, it's our calling to stand up and cry aloud. No! There's no dignity to it! And that has to do with walking in sin, that has to do with the things of this world, it has to do with every place you touch death. There's a dignity to holiness, there's a dignity to righteousness, there's a dignity to men and women who walk with God separated from the world. You can see it in their walk, you can feel it when they talk. There's a dignity to it! You can't produce it, the Holy Ghost emanates it. I want you to go with me to Ezra, the ninth chapter, please, Ezra. If you get to Chronicles, keep going right. Ezra, the ninth chapter. You may think I've gotten off my message brushing, but I'm not. You know what I'm trying to say? Listen to me now, please, hear it good. You can't blush against sin until you're willing to hear a message against it and receive it and delight in it. Receiving that word puts the blush in your heart. The ninth chapter. Beloved, we're not going to make it, what's coming to this earth, the judgments that come, we're not going to make it unless we blush over sin. We're not going to make it and there's got to be some changes. It's the duty of the watchman to expose all the hideousness of sin and try to bring forth a blush in the church of Jesus Christ, a holy blush for sin. Ezra had that kind of ministry. I want you to go to the ninth chapter and I want you to read with me verses five and six. Ezra, the ninth chapter. And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness and having ran through my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, I spread up my hands unto the Lord my God, and I said, oh my God, I'm ashamed and blush. Now a new American standard says embarrassed, but the same thing. I'm ashamed and I'm embarrassed. I'm ashamed in King Jesus and I blush to lift up my face to thee my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespass is grown up into the heaven. Why is this watchman so devastated that he falls on his face and he can't even look up at God? What's devastated this prophet? Tell you what, he was overcome with a sin that was creeping in to the only remnant God had left on earth. Now remember they've been in captivity, they came out of captivity. Remember there was almost three million Jews that came out of captivity and now only a remnant is left to go back. In fact the scripture said there were only 42,337 of them and with children no more probably than 50,000, which represents less than two percent of those that came out of Egypt. A small remnant has gone back to establish the testimony. That little remnant of under 50,000 represents God's testimony on earth and God's light and that light is being thwarted. That testimony is being attacked by the devil and there's a sin creeping into the remnant. Now even the remnant and the reason this man is on his face. Israel, the remnant had gone back and they had began to mix with the world. They began to intermingle with the heathen. They married strange wives. In the scripture strange wives represent anything that can take your heart away from God. A strange wife means anything that has the potential to seduce you away from holiness and they had intermingled. The holy seed had been mixed. This man had just received a report. In fact if you look at verse 1, now when these things were done the princes came to me saying the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the land. I want you to look at verse 2, for they've taken of their daughters from themselves and their sons so that the holy seed of mingled themselves with the people of those lands. You wonder why we preach holiness? Well put me in the eye. We stand here without fear and we love you and we we weep and we call this our congregation, but God has told us to preach separation of the world without fearing the consequences. Don't fear the consequences. Just preach my word. And this man saw the intermingling with the world. Look at verse 3, when I heard this thing I tore my garment, my mantle, I plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard and I sat down astonished. These people had no blessing. Everybody was doing it. Intermingling was just one of those things. There was no sense of sin. There was no sense of the wrath of God. No judgment against him. No preaching against him. Suddenly a man appears, a prophet of God appears in their midst and he doesn't even preach. He hears this message and he sits in front of the house of God in that wreck and he begins to weep. He begins to moan. He tears his clothes and he starts plucking out his hair. He starts plucking out his beard. I believe you can't do that without it bleeding. What a bloody sight! And he's crying, oh God I can't even look at you, I blush. He said this has become so wicked we cannot stand before God because of these sins. Brothers and sisters, if we're going to stand before God in these last days, if we're going to have what God has for us, there's going to have to be some changes made. In all of us. In me especially. I'm not preaching down at you, I'm preaching at my heart, at your heart too. I want to talk about some of these changes. Stick with me please. First of all, we're going to have to get much more serious about the things of God than we have been in the past. We're going to have to get serious about the things of God. Folks, God means business. We've been too complacent in America, in the church, too nonchalant, too easygoing. We've become spiritually lazy. But I'll tell you something, when God begins to do a work, when he determines he's going to raise up a remnant to represent his testimony and his ultimate purpose on the earth, he raises up the people with a sense of intensity. And that word intensity means full of heat and passion to feel deeply and seriously about the work and the walk of God. God is raising up people these last days who hate sin. People who tremble at his word. They hear from the holy prophets and watchmen, and they don't vacillate. They don't grow lukewarm. They grow more and more intense as the day of the Lord appulses. Consider this intensity. His passion against hurting God, his utter hatred for this mixing with the world. Verse four, then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel. Until you show me somebody who blesses against and you show me somebody on their feet before God, and it'll attract every other praying person around them. It will bring in, there's a magnetic pull. Look at in verse four, they then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the transgression of those that have been carried away. And I said astonished until the evening sacrifice. What a sight! There's a man, he suddenly appeared in the scene, heartbroken over sin, pulling his beard and pulling his hand, saying we've sinned and we've not been ashamed. There's been no shame for sin. And everybody that had been secret believers, everyone who had felt the pain inside their heart and had been silent, they come out of the closet. And they gather around, one, two, three. I can see them sitting in the circle, grow some standing, and another starts weeping, and another starts weeping. And they say, what's he crying about? And others say, what's the weeping? And it is said, the word came forth, now oh God, what shall we say? That we've forsaken your commandments? You've commanded your servants by the prophet saying that you go to possess the land. It's an unclean, filthy place. There's abomination everywhere. It's filled from one end to another with uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters unto their sons. Don't give your daughters unto their sons. Neither seek the peace of their wealth, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land. But for all of this, since we have trespassed, seeing that our God has punished us less with our iniquities, less than we deserve. He's trying to bring deliverance. That's what the word was spread. He's trying to bring the law. Here's what God said, and we're not doing it. Here's what the law said. Here's what the prophets have preached. Here's what the watchmen have been saying, and we're not going to obey. And they begin to weep, and it began to spread in the house of God. I tell you what, these are the blessing believers now. They have a sense of danger. Whole households of God were cozying up to the world. Strange wives are now standing before the altar. Nobody's blinking an eye about it. And this man of God knew that the devil's trying to assimilate. Listen, if you're going to cozy to the world, be sure the devil is going to assimilate you. He'll swallow you up. The Bible calls it, he'll carry it away. You think you're strong enough? You're going to go and be a testimony? No, the Bible said you'll be assimilated. That's why the prophet tore out his hair. What I see, because of the transgression of those who've been carried away. Look at chapter 10, verse 1. Now when Ezra had prayed, when he'd confessed, weeping and castling himself down before the house of God, there assembled him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children, for the people wept very sore. You know that's what drew many of you to this church? Let me back up. He began to weep and cry with sin. The Bible said a whole congregation gathered all over Israel. This is the end of side 1. You may now turn the tape over to side 2. In just a year and three quarters now, God has drawn hundreds and hundreds of people. That's why some of you came. There was a grief in your heart. God put it there. You wanted to walk in holiness and you wanted to hear it. You wanted to hear a message that was straight. You didn't want to compromise. You heard enough of that and that's why you came to this church. You wanted to share God's grief for sin. Turn right to Nehemiah. I'll show you his intensity. Here's a man who learned to blush. His intensity is found. Nehemiah 1, look at verse 4. It came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept, and I mourned certain days. Nehemiah 1, verse 4. I heard these words. I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. And I said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. Let your ear now be attentive, and thine ears eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I prayed before thee now day and night for the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee, both I and my father's house have sinned. Oh, the intensity of this, of these men. Listen, look at me, please. Where did he get that burden? Where did he get that broken heart? It wasn't as though God came down and dumped it like a bomb. It wasn't Nehemiah just doing his duty and saying, I'm going to be thankful to you, God, if there's anything you want me to do, you show me. No, I'll tell you where he got that burden. He asked for it. He asked for it. Nehemiah, look at verse, chapter one, verse two, and had an eye at one of my brethren, Cain, he and certain men of Judah, and I asked them, I asked them concerning the Jews that escaped, which were left in the captivity and concerning Jerusalem. He said, I asked. And that thing that he asked about so gripped his heart. I tell you what, there are some people that believe that burdens of the Lord, burdens for Jews, burden for college students, burden for cities, burden for a church, a burden for a family, burden for lost people is something God has to somehow drop down just because you're good, just because you walk in holiness. No, these were all holy, godly men, pious, walking in covenant. But not one of them got the burden without nurturing it. You don't get a burden unless you birth it and nurture it. I want to prove it to you. Go to, go to Daniel. Are you still with me? Do you want a burden from God? Daniel, the ninth chapter. Ninth chapter of Daniel. Now, you know that Daniel comes right after Ezekiel. Daniel, the ninth chapter. Where did Daniel get his burden? Look at verse 3, 9, verse 3. And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and I made my confession and said, O Lord, the great dreadful God, keep in countenance the mercy of them that love him, to them that keep his commandments. Now listen closely please. Let's go to chapter 10, and I'll show it to you. Beginner eat verse 2. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came fresh nor wine to my mouth, neither did I know it myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. Three whole weeks were fulfilled. Look at verse 8. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. But, beloved, look at verse 12. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that God did set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself. Look at that word, chasten thyself. God didn't chasten him, he chastened himself. You know what that means, that word chasten? In the context you see, I'd browbeat myself, that's what it means, and in Hebrew, I'd browbeat my body. Paul said I'd bring my body under subjection. He said my body didn't want to do this. There was no burden I would have received. Look what it says, I chastened myself, you chastened yourself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I'm come for thy words. Oh, hear it please, look this way. God's been showing me, David, you're never going to get a burden if you're just going to wait for God to drop it in your heart. You're not going to see, here in New York, you're not going to see what God wants to do, until there's a certain kind of chastening, there's a certain kind of discipline, where you shut yourself out, and you say I don't care how my body feels, I don't care who calls, I'm going into the closet. I'm going to stand, he went into the closet. Nehemiah asked, and he subjected himself, he submitted himself, he began to weep and mourn. All of these men, they saw something of the Spirit of God, they saw something of the burden of the Lord, but every one of them birthed it, every one, I'm going to tell you what, you want God to use you, start weeping, start praying, start seeking God. Ezra started weeping, God sent him to Jerusalem. Nehemiah started weeping, God sent him to be the answer to his prayer. Daniel started weeping, the Word of the Lord came to him. Years ago, I saw a magazine article, seven boys indicted for murder, I wept over the picture, I had an experience like these men, I wept for days, I wept at the store, I said, oh God, what's going on in New York? Twenty-six boys had been murdered by gang fights, three hundred gangs in the city in 1958, and I'm a little country preacher, and I began to weep, I'd fall on my face and crawl under the bed, I couldn't even preach in my church, I'd break down and cry, I rolled in my aisles in the church. You say, well, the Holy Ghost dropped it there, oh, He gave me the first tears, but I began to nurture it, I began to pray, break my heart, God, break my heart, and it was that brokenness that God sent me to this city. You talk about intensity and blessing and mourning, He mourned three whole weeks, we become like little children with short attention spans now, we're so spoiled, we chafe under the burden of intensity, we're always backsliding into our old ways of indulgence and spiritual laziness. You consider Noah, can you imagine a man living a hundred and twenty years under the intensity of a burden of judgment, when the whole world is laughing at him, for a hundred and twenty years he has to stand against the whole world with this burning fire in him? I hear people say, I've had that said about my ministry, you're too serious, you're too gloomy. I'll tell you what, not anybody had more joy than I do in my heart, but I'll tell you something, God's been saying through these pastors, all of us, about getting serious with God, about an intensity, He was moved for a hundred and twenty years, He was moved with fear. The building of the ark, let the world laugh, let everybody else say the message is too heavy, let them say I can't live like they lived down there at Times Square Church, it's too heavy. Well folks, we're nurturing a burden, and out of that burden is going to come revival, and out of revival comes workers. There's never been a revival without producing workers for God. You can have all the seminaries, all the books, and you can whip people and everything else, try to get them out to work, but that doesn't come until the heart's broken before a holy God. I'll tell you what, God's been exposing to me my own lack of intensity, and my own tendency to make very solemn promises and then renege, and get lazy. I'll tell you what, a number of years ago, I was one of those outstanding evangelists, they called me, traveling preaching to 10,000 a night, and I traveled with a big entourage, and did at one time over 120 workers, and did, you know, big time evangelism. In the middle of all that, I got busy, and when you get busy, you turn to hobbies more than anything else, and to recreation, and I developed a hobby, classic cars. I would buy old, beat up Mercedes, and get them, I can't even screw in a light bulb, let alone work on mechanics, so I had to pay for everything, and I was putting up all kinds of money, and all kinds of time on these cars. And it was my hobby, and my excuse was, well, it's better than playing around with women, playing around with cars. I'll tell you what, when God began to get a hold of my heart, and break me, He said, David, you don't have time. That's not evil in itself, but it's taking your heart, and your time, and your money, and your money that belongs to God's work. You're playing with toys, and I'm going to tell you something, folks. I owe it to you as a man of God to tell you to lay down your toys, or God will never use you. No clapping, please. I'll tell you what, two weeks ago, two weeks ago, just when God's, you see, when you start saying, God, I want that bird, and I'm going to nurture, you start nurturing, I'll tell you, all hell is going to come at you. Bob said that this morning, all hell is going to come at you. And it got in my mind, you're too tired to take a couple days off, so I took a couple days off, and went to Motel, and just relaxed, and got out an old car magazine. And I found an advertisement in Kentucky for a 1971 280 SEL, only 45,000 actual miles. Cheaper than a Honda, a used Honda, very cheap, but I've got, I sent a friend down and got that stupid car. Two weeks ago. I saw it, he brought it up, it was gorgeous. Beautiful brown, classic. I got in there, I got my wife and her three friends visiting us. This is out in New Jersey about an hour, and I'm driving down Route 78, just feeling good. And Gwen looks in the back and said, hey, look out the back, it was smoking. A billows of smoke pouring out. And the car began to shake. And Gwen said, I smell fire. We got off on Route 78, and we ran out, we ran. I got about 50 feet away from the car, and I pulled down, and I opened the hood, whoa, billows of smoke. Gwen said, David, do you think God's saying something to you? See, God reminded me, I'd made him a promise. I made him a promise. I wouldn't play with toys. I would seek his face. I wouldn't waste my money anymore. I would buy what was needed. And I'm not trying to put you under a guilt trip. I used to think I'd give my car to God. I'd give my 10%, the 90%, I could do what I pleased. No, not at all. I'll tell you what, we had that thing, that pile of junk towed. You know what, it's at a garage now, and it's going to cost me a small fortune to even get it fixed. Anybody want to buy a 1971 280 SEL? 45,000 actual miles, it's for sale. I don't intend to touch it again. You say, oh, you learned your lesson. Probably not. Because we are better off backsliding. The Lord, in his love, will keep having to knock my wrist and reminding me it's an act of love. If God would have burned it down and exploded, then the most loving thing he could do to save me from my toys. Because you see, in these last days, we have to have intensity for God. You know, the Bible says there's going to be a shaking out. God's going to shake out of his skirt, he said, out of his apron. He's going to shake out everything that's not wholly given to him. Everything that's not passionate, everything that's not broken. Everything that's not given to him. Every spare hour should be given. Give your time to your family. Yes, there's time to run. There's time to run with your children. There's time to go out and eat. But oh, how many of us are not giving him time? Secondly, I've got to move on very quickly. Secondly, we're going to have to go beyond pointing our finger at the sins of other people and point at them in our own hearts. I'll tell you what, all of these morning blessing prophets and watchmen had one thing in common. They identified with the sins of the people. They identified with them. They were blessing, yes, over the mixture. The adultery, the tetrary, the compromise. But they were also saying, oh God, I'm a part of this body. I want you to hear it. It's clear. I don't see anything clear. Go back to Ezra, the 9th chapter. Ezra, the 9th chapter, verse 6. Ezra 9, 6. He said, I am ashamed and I must lift up my face to the man for whose iniquities? Our iniquities. Our iniquities. Look at verse 15. Verse 15. Oh God of Israel, thou art righteous. For we remain yet as scapegoats as they behold. We are before thee in our trespasses. For we cannot stand before thee because of this. He identified with the sins of the people. Look. There was not a more righteous man. There were no more righteous men than these that I speak of. No more righteous than Daniel. I want you to listen to it. Look at chapter 10, verse 1 again. When he had confessed weeping, casting himself down before the house of God. Weeping. For the people wept very sore. When he confessed weeping, casting down himself before the house of God. Nehemiah, the first chapter. I want you to go to Nehemiah, the first chapter again. Just skip over it. It's just a few pages. Chapter 1 again. Verse 6. Listen to it. Let now your ear be attentive and thy eyes open that you may hear the prayer of thy servants. I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned. We have sinned against thee. Both I and my Father's house have sinned. Daniel said, while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sins and the sins of my people. You'll find that in Daniel 9.20. While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people. Look at me. If we're going to follow in the paths of these holy men of God. And get the burden of the Lord and nurture it. And bring forth that spiritual revival that God wants to bring. You begin to blush and you begin to mourn. You begin to get intense before the Lord. And the same thing is going to happen. It's going to have the same effect on you. You will not have time to look at anybody else's sin. You won't have time to condemn anybody else. You'll be so focused on the holiness of God. And how it exposes what is in your own heart. The scripture says of Ezra. He cast himself down before the house of God. Bob mentioned our position before God. Be able to stand as did the seraphim. But before the house. We cast ourselves down. Tell you what I want to see God draw to this church. I don't want to see God bring to this church the thrill seekers. And the fun and game Christian. We don't want the prim and proper people. Yes there's a place for them. But that's not what our heart cry is. We want the sires and the criers and the blessers. Those who could admit I've not arrived yet. I failed God and I grieve over my failure. But I know God's hand is on me. He's going to bring me through. I believe in a holy God. And I believe he's going to bring me out. God send us more failures to this church. God send us more people with a sense of need. Bob said it once and I've got to say it again. I just don't enjoy being around Christians who have all figured out. It's all figured out. I've had people from all of the United States come back here and give me envelopes. And they'll stick it in my pocket and they say read it. I'll read a few paragraphs right away. Lord give me a scripture to refute it. Scripture says well you're not reading the Bible right. You're not interpreting it right. Get mad and walk out. They had it all figured out until one verse came. But that verse didn't fit their theology. God send us more failures. I want to preach to Corinthians. They'll say thank God I'm not like everybody else. We don't see that in this church by the way. It's one of the rare churches that I've ever preached in where I've not seen that spirit. Thank God we don't ever want it in this house. Praise God. Finally, you know what it's going to take now? It's going to take a night and day vigilance against the devil. A night and day vigilance against the devil. I'm going to try to wrap this up in just a minute. You see, after all of this happened, the blush returned to Israel. There was true repentance. There was cleansing. They got rid of the estranged wives. Now it was time to rebuild the temple to the walls and stand together against the common enemy. Well, brother and sister, that's where this church needs to be coming now. There's so many people fighting their own individual battle out here all alone fighting over this lust and that temptation. There comes a time you have to move into victory. And we all gather together against the common enemy of the church. That's the corporate stand that these were called to now. They were called to stand together. The scripture said, so we built the wall. I'm reading from Nehemiah. Don't turn to me. So we built the wall. And as the wall was joined together under the half thereof, the wall was joined together. For the people had a mind to work. You see, when you walk in holiness and pray before the Lord, He gives you a mind to work. You don't have to have somebody whipping you. The Holy Ghost puts that mind to work. But I tell you, when God's doing something genuine in a church or in a nation or in a remnant or in your home, Satan's going to conspire against it. If you're in Nehemiah, just go to, before I close, go to Nehemiah, the fourth chapter. Let me show you something quickly, please. Nehemiah, the fourth chapter, verse 7. Verse 6, so built we the wall. And all the wall was joined together under the half thereof. For the people had a mind to work. But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Asterites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, angry, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. Do you see the picture? When everything's coming together, when God's rebuilding, and the Spirit of the Lord has been there, there's been repentance, and the strangeness has gone, the compromise is being dealt with, what happens? The devil leaves you alone? No! He sees the progress. He sees the wall being joined, and he raises up all the enemies on every side to conspire against you. Right or wrong? Has that been your experience? Verse 9. Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and we set a watch against them, what? Day and night because of them. There's a vigilance that has to come. Brother and sister, we're in a war that's going to get more intense. And it's going to take intense Christians to fight it. Glory be to God. Let me show you before I close. The devil's plan is very... It's never changed. It's never changed. He said, now look, we can't come up front. These people... These people are aware. They have discernment. These people, they've been cleansed. There's something in that camp that won't... We can't come right out with our armies. They decided to send secret saboteurs. They're going to come in as angels of light to deceive, if it were possible, even the elect. They're going to send in seducers. Look at verse 10. Or verse 11. And our adversary... Who's our adversary? Our adversary said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. You look me in the right eye. Because I'm going to tell you something. You have no idea. We've never even shared it from this pulpit. How many of these sent... The devil sent into this church. And God's already kicked them out. God has... We have had charlatans in here. There was one man that deceived this congregation over $85,000. We have had all kinds... I'll tell you something else. There are some of them still sitting here tonight. Don't look around. Don't turn your head. You'll know them because they don't receive the word. You'll know them because they speak against the pulpit. You'll know them because they say... They're not the only ones hearing the word. We hear it too. We're holy too. It's all been clearly delineated for us here tonight. But the devil's trick is... I'm going to come in and I'll tell you what he does in your job. He'll do it in your work. He'll do it in your family. He'll do it all around. He'll try to infiltrate. And there'll be all kinds of deception come in. And it's a sign that you're making progress. And the devil is mad. And the devil is conspiring to cause you to give up the work of God. The mad devil represents a progressing church. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Do you know why God's put these shepherds here? To guard this flock. When we see the wolf coming to crowd. There's a wolf to the right. You're a strength. Come on a little closer. When we see a seducer out there, we're going to say, Beware! Watch out! Now you can go your way if you want. But you're going to be consumed. All the shepherd can do. Oh yes, I'll tell you what. He has the staff. But there are sheep that stray. Where are you tonight? Are you still delighting? In the word of God no matter how hot and heavy it comes and searing? Do you still love the word of God no matter how deep the knife goes to the bone? I'll tell you what. The knife has to go to the marrow of the bone before it can get the poison out. I want it driven deep into the marrow of my bone. Hallelujah. I got an idea you're going to hear more and more preaching just like that. In the days to come. Now, no clapping please. We preach love. We preach redemption. We preach reconciliation. For we also expose sin in the camp. And I'll tell you what. God's been alerting us. God's been alerting the shepherds of this congregation. He's been alerting. He told us to keep our eyes wide open now. Because we're making progress. The wall's being joined. God's healing. God's saving. And the devil, he's not going to come from Wall Street. He's not going to come from Hollywood. He's not going to come down here from Broadway. He's going to try to come right inside the house and send seducers right in. Watch out, saints. Get on your face before God. When anything doesn't have the dignity of the cross of Jesus Christ, watch out. If it does not have brokenness, if it does not have a mourning spirit behind it, watch out. Watch out. He, the words of your watchmen, not because they want you submitted to them, but submitted to this Word and to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to be able to walk from this pulpit tonight with my hands clean before Holy God and say, Jesus, I didn't spare. I love this people. Boy, you heard it from love this morning. Tuesday night, there was a searing message on stubbornness. I heard it. God dealt with my heart. I hope He dealt with yours. I hope tonight He's dealing with you about opening your heart to receive the Word of God. Lord, tonight, touch our hearts. Stand with me, folks. God, truly humble us. God, truly humble our hearts before you. Lord, you're trying to do something so supernatural in this city of Babylon. Lord, this is not just New York. This is Babylon. This is the sin capital of America. God, there's not a better place in America to raise up a standard. God, I pray for my heart. I pray for the pastors. I pray for the staff. Pray for all of us on this pulpit tonight. That you would break us. That we would ask for your burden and nurture it. Oh God, until we're broken. Until the angel of the Lord comes and touches us and says, God has sent me. God has sent me to tell you. Hallelujah. Help is on the way. Revival is on the way. Awakening is on the way. Hallelujah. Thank you for what you've already done, Lord. Oh Jesus, strike down pride. Strike down arrogance. Strike down everything unlike you, Jesus. Bring it down to the ground. I don't even know how to give an altar call right now. I don't even know what to say except if God's touched your heart tonight, something was said, was meant for you, and the Holy Ghost touched a nerve in you, you're invited to come here. You're invited to come and just stand here and say, Jesus, break me. While the choir's singing, I don't even know. God hasn't given me anything special other than to say to you, this altar is open. If your heart's been drawn away, you've been carried away with something, something's been carrying your heart away. You've been justifying or excusing it. Settle it with the Lord here tonight. If there's sin he's dealt with, if you've not obeyed the word of God and you want to obey, whatever the Holy Ghost whispers to your heart, Lord, do it right now. You have to do it. I can't do it. You bring to this altar those who need to come. In Jesus' name. Up in the balcony, you can go any exit and come down any aisle. Come and join us here at the front. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. This is the conclusion of the tape.