In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being a living testimony for God in our generation. He encourages believers to go where there is difficulty and opposition, boldly proclaiming the testimony of Jesus Christ. The speaker also expresses a belief in a future revival in the nation of Burundi, envisioning it as a role model of God's glory in Africa. He warns against being blinded by scriptural knowledge without a true relationship with Jesus Christ. The sermon concludes with a plea for supernatural love and a testimony of God's grace and glory in the last hour of time.

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 timessquarechurch.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. I want to talk to you today about the things which must be hereafter. There are things which must come for you, for me. If you are in Christ, you have a future. No matter what the devil has tried to tell you all week and the week before and the week before that, if you are in Christ, you have a future. Not just a future, you have an incredible future. You have a supernatural future. You have a glorious future. You have a future that nobody in this world, irrespective of what kind of a worldly throne they sit on, if they don't have the life of Christ within them, they don't have the future that you have. Now, I'm not talking just about eternity. I'm also talking about time. You have an incredible future ahead of you. Revelation 1, verse 9, he says, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now, stop right there for a moment. Most often when this is read or preached, quite often we will see it from a perspective that perhaps is not complete. We look at John's exile to the isle of Patmos as a punishment. In a sense, he was living for God, and the society around him obviously took issue with the things that he was saying, and subsequently he was sentenced by the powers of that day to isolation on a very lonely, very cold, very distant island. The world, of course, thinking that we can take this testimony that's in this man and somehow isolate him and rid ourselves of the words of this man who claimed to be so close to Jesus Christ. Now, there are people here today that's happening to you on the job right now. You've been stuck on a desk in a corner somewhere. You're without recognition. People have kind of pushed you out of the inner circle as they see it. Only they don't realize that you are in the inner circle. They are in the outer circle. They don't have heaven's view yet. And so John says, I'm in this island for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now, if you read this, you can look at it as a punishment. That's how a lot of people see life. Every hard circumstance that comes along. Well, I'm in the corner here because I was living for God and because I had a testimony for Christ. And that's, of course, in some measure true. But I see the word for here in a different sense. You see, the revelation most probably would not have been given to John in the measure it was, had he been involved in active ministry, had he been traveling with an entourage, preaching, teaching, publishing, defending the things that he knew about Christ and the great truth that God had revealed to his heart. The Lord wanted to give him something that nobody in his generation had. And that's undeniable. You read the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ to John. There's nobody in his generation, perhaps nobody in any generation, that ever had this kind of an open heaven given to them. Now, God says, John, I have to take you just for a while and I've got to put you on this very lonely place for the word of God. You see, John is writing this after the revelation has come. He may have wondered, why am I in this trouble? Why am I in this difficulty? But after the word came to him, after heaven was open, then John, writing back in retrospect, says, I was in the Isle of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. God wanted to show me something of himself. Folks, there is a depth in Christ that is not found on the mountaintop. Now, the mountaintop is a great place to be, and I love being there as much as you do. But I'm telling you, there's a depth in Christ that you only find in the valley. You only find it in loneliness. You only find this depth in times of trial and difficulty and tribulation that come to everybody ever born on planet earth. The Hebrew boys only had this revelation of the fourth man in the fire when they were in the fire. The revelation didn't come before, it came in the fire. The king only got the revelation that God was able to shut the mouths of lions after he rolled the stone away and Daniel had kept a very sleepless night, I'm sure, in a den of lions. But the revelation was given that there is a God who's able to keep those who are in the fire. He's able to shut the mouths of lions. There was a revelation given in the midst, and that's what John is saying. Now, folks, many, many people have fallen prey to theologies that are very shallow in a sense that every time we come into trouble, let's just confess our way out of it. Imagine John just sitting there with his eyes closed in Patmos saying, I'm not here. By faith, I'm not here. By faith, this is not happening to me. And spending his whole time doing this. Can you imagine what kind of a book he would have written? It would have been nonsensical, really. But in this place, God put his hand upon him, and in Revelation 1, 17, the beginning of this revelation that Jesus was giving John of himself, John says, Fear not. I am the first and the last. Now, Jesus is saying to John, John, don't be afraid. I was here before you were born, and I'll be here long after you're gone from this present circumstance. You are with me. You are in me. You live. You move. You have your being in me. I've got you safely in my Father's hand. You will not be overwhelmed by this temporary circumstance in your life. I'm he that lives, verse 18, and was dead. And behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death. You see, when Jesus touched him, he said, Fear not, John. You see, if you're honest and upright today, first of all, you don't have to be afraid of your circumstance. Circumstances will come, but there is not a circumstance that comes your way in this life that Christ has not already overcome. He's already won the victory. He is in you. You are in him. In Christ, you are already seated, according to the book of Ephesians, at the right hand of Almighty God. He is the head. You are the body. He has crossed the finish line. You are just on the way over the line yourself to joining him, where you will rule and reign with him for all of eternity. You don't have to be afraid of whatever storm comes your way, whatever difficulty is arising against you, whatever voice is coming against your mind and against your spirit. You don't have to be afraid of it. Jesus said, John, don't be afraid. I am the first and the last. I was here before it all began, before your troubler was able to trouble you. I am. I was there, John, before any weapon that was formed against you was even able to be formed against you. I allowed it to be. I am the one who allows these weapons to be formed in the fire that are even being used against you. And all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. You shall not be overcome. You shall overcome, because I am in you. You will not be overpowered by your enemies. Revelation chapter 1 and verse 3, John said, Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. John had an understanding that I'm not sitting somewhere in isolation. I'm part of a very active and ongoing kingdom called the kingdom of God. And Jesus is very much real and alive and he's very much involved in every situation, irrespective of what your enemies try to tell you. John saw that the proper judgment of all that claims to be the testimony of Christ is taking place right now. John saw it. He saw the candlesticks which represent the testimony of the life of Christ having been placed within various groups of people throughout, of course, Asia Minor, but it represents the church of Christ all throughout the world in our generation. He saw Jesus walking in the midst of the candlesticks. If you can hear it today, he's walking in the midst of this candlestick called Times Square Church that has been set up to honor him at this time, in this location, and in this generation. But there's a greater candlestick, it's the life of Christ himself that is within you. If you can hear this today, Christ is walking in the midst of the testimony that he's establishing right inside of your own heart. You are the temple of the living God. You don't come to the temple, you are the temple. This is only a physical building. This building one day will be no more. It will be ground to powder, it will be gone, but you will still live, you will still be alive. You are the temple of the living God. He saw Jesus Christ walking in the midst of that temple, giving a supply, more than willing to give supply to a testimony which is becoming dim. He saw the church of Ephesus, and he saw Jesus walking in the midst of the candlesticks of that testimony. And he saw him saying, listen, you're working hard for me, but you've lost your first love. I am willing to come back to you again, and I'm willing to give you all the supply that you will need, that you might love me first and foremost above everything else. Folks, because really this is the basis of a true Christian testimony. It's not so much that we know everything, it's that we love the one who knows everything. We love him. We just allow his life to be lived within us. We walk with him, we talk with him. He changes us morning by morning, and it creates this incredible relationship of love, which on this side of eternity we only have a foretaste of it. There's going to be an explosion of love in your heart the day you leave this physical body and leave this earth and appear again in the presence of Almighty God. You and I are going to finally understand the depth of his love, and we will be released as it is from the confines of this natural body to love God the way we were intended to love him in the beginning. He saw Christ walking in the church of Philadelphia, willing to give power to those who are facing adversity. He said to this church, you have a little strength, and you've not denied my name. And folks, that's where most of us live. We gather on Sunday here in this church, and that's our testimony. God, I have a little strength, and I've not denied your name. And Jesus says, behold, I've set before you an open door that no man can close. Hallelujah! Now, that open door is himself. He said, I am the door in the gospel of John. Whoever comes through me will go in and out, and he will find pasture. I've set before you an open door. It was not opened by the hand of man. It was opened by the hand of God. And the hand of man cannot close this door. I've set before you an open door in your workplace, in your community, your home. You can go through that open door any time you want, and you can find all the supply you'll ever need to live a life that brings honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ. He saw him walking amidst a candlestick called Sardis. And this was a church that was playing a very foolish game with God. He said to the church of Sardis, there's only a few of you left that haven't defiled your garments. They probably embraced a theology that essentially would say you're free now because you're a Christian to live in any kind of sin you want, and there'd be no price to be paid for it. What a foolish way to have a living relationship with the one who saved us. He said, if you don't turn from this, I'm going to come upon you as a thief, and you'll not even know what time I've come. Folks, this has been tragically fulfilled time and again, even in our lifetime. You see entire churches and denominations that have had the candlestick taken away from them, and they don't even know it. They'd be highly offended today if you walked into the midst of what used to be a glorious tabernacle, as it is, of the presence and life of Christ, and you shared with them about their present condition. They would be very, very offended. Many of them have lost the gospel completely, but still are holding to a self-image that they are part of the body, the living testimony of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I'll come upon you as a thief if you play these games, and you'll not even know that I've taken the testimony of my life away from you. Oh, what a tragedy that is. There's nothing darker than people who once had the knowledge of Almighty God in Christ Jesus, and they'd walked away from Him. And they have just enough scriptural knowledge to keep them completely blind. There's no darkness like scriptural darkness when it has not led the person who has studied the Word into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, it was undoubtedly a lonely walk for John. And Jesus comes to John and gives him comfort by giving him a revelation of things which must be. Now, look at this, Revelation chapter 4 and verse 1. He says, After this I looked, and behold, a door, remember the door we spoke about, to Philadelphia, was opened in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Now, folks, this is where the victory really is. It's not so much escaping our circumstances. Because realistically, there are some people here today, you're not going to escape your circumstances. Your circumstances are going to be with you, and in some cases, for the rest of your life. You're not going to get out of the marriage that you so desperately want out of. You're not going to achieve some of these great and grand ambitions that you thought are going to bring you into a place of fulfillment. But you see, if you are a genuine Christian, there are certain things which must be hereafter. And this is how the Lord Jesus Christ begins to comfort John. He draws him up and says, I'm going to show you now some things that are going to happen. They must be. Irrespective of where you are, John, or what kind of a prison you're in, or what people have said about your life. And no doubt there's people all around and voices saying, well, you know, some fine testimony you are of Jesus Christ. The one you say that was raised from the dead. And you're in the same prison that we are. And you're under the same authorities that we're under. And yet, John is comforted because the Lord comes to him and says, no, you are not bound in this place. There are others who are, but you are not. There are things coming, and you're going to be part of these things which must be hereafter. Now, John saw first that evil must run its course and the course of its own increasing judgments. John had an incredible panoramic view, I think only perhaps rivaled by Isaiah and the Old Testament. But he saw right through the course of time and right into eternity. He saw the wickedness of men increasing and abounding in the earth. He saw incredible judgments coming upon this world. And folks, we're living right now at the threshold of the very things that John saw. And John saw the rebellion of men and where it's going to take all of created humanity that have tried to be their own God and refused to bend their knee to their own Creator. He saw the stubbornness of men. He saw the rebellion of men. He saw the accumulation as it is of weaponry. He saw nations rising against nations. He saw men even plagued by some of the weaponry which I believe is in here that's going to be released in the world. But still, even while their tongues are swelling in their mouths, they're cursing the Lord God who loves them and redeemed them. And how it must have produced in him a cry. I can see John sitting in the prison saying, Oh God, forbid it that men and women should end up this way. I must do something. You see, one of the first things that happens when you have a revelation of heaven that all of a sudden your desk in the corner does not look to be the kind of a punishment that the people around you meant it to be. You're looking and saying, Oh God, I see their future. I see where they're heading. Lord, what a tragedy awaits them. I am secure in the hand of God. They think for a moment they can isolate me, they can cause me grief. But God, it's not me who's under the justice of God. It's them who's under the justice of God. What a tragic future awaits those that have rebelled against the love of a wonderful Savior who died for them. He must have had a cry saying, Oh God, I must do something. And you see what John did with this revelation as he wrote it down and he left a testimony of what he saw. Now folks, this is really the call of God on your life and mine. That no matter where you have to live or what trial you have to endure, Jesus Christ is willing to write within you a testimony that when you're gone, that testimony will be left behind. You might be gone ten years from now, but people that you used to work with, when everything starts turning into upheaval around them will say, Do you remember that guy, that girl used to work in the corner over there? Remember the grief we put them through, but yet there seemed to be such a peace within them. And all they could talk about was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, day in and day out. Open their Bible in the lunch yard, tell us that she was praying for us in spite of all of the hard things that we sent her way. Now you could be long gone, you could be already at the throne with angels casting whatever crowns appear on your head at the feet of Jesus Christ, giving God glory forever and ever, and not even aware that the testimony you left behind is already turning others from sin to the only Savior that can cause them to inherit eternal life. John wrote it down. What can a man in prison do? Just write down what Jesus Christ is speaking to his heart. And I can't help but think of how many countless thousands have been turned from hell to heaven because they saw their own future through the testimony of John. Folks, that's what we're to be, a testimony. I pray God to give you the grace, if God's doing something and you write it down, write it down, folks, leave it somewhere where your children and grandchildren can find it, where your neighbors can find it. Go to a photocopier, photocopy it a hundred times, leave it everywhere you can. Leave a testimony of what Jesus Christ has been to you for your future generations. John saw that many for the testimony of Christ would have to endure great suffering. And that's the way it is, that's the way it's always been. That's the way it very well might be for many of us in the days ahead. But in his own suffering, he left a testimony of victory in something he lived and he saw in Revelation 7, 14. He said, Now here's a man in jail and here's a man who's suffering. It's no doubt not a very good circumstance, but he saw something, he saw his own future. Folks, you've got to live there. You see, where you are looking will most often determine the outcome of your journey. So many people, having the Spirit of God within them, live in only the moment. And if you would ask them what is happening in your life, then all you get is this gloomy report of how difficult and hard the present circumstances are. And I'm not negating that. But John had difficult and present hard circumstances, but he was looking beyond it to a day when he was no longer going to hunger, when he was no longer going to thirst, there would be no longer cold or heat, and the lamb which is in the midst of the throne would feed him and bring him to fountains of living waters and wipe away all tears from his eyes. Thank God that the book of Revelation is not all about the cracks and the cockroaches on the walls of John's prison cell. Could you imagine? Could you imagine if I said to you today, would you open your Bible and turn to the book of Cracks and Cockroaches, written by the beloved Apostle John, where he describes the dankness and darkness of his cell. He describes every crack in the wall. He describes the time of day when the cockroaches go out and when they go back in to hiding. Could you imagine if that's what this book was about? But folks, many, many people who are able to receive this incredible revelation of Jesus Christ never do because they never look above their circumstances. They live in their circumstances. Oh, if only I could get out of here. Well, you might get out of there, but there's another one of those there's coming just down the road. It's got to be more than just get out of here. It's got to be going to somewhere. It's got to be an open heaven seeing something of Christ that gives a testimony to this generation. Can you imagine the surprise as John begins to point people in the prison with him? Not to his present suffering, but he begins to point them to a not-too-distant shore. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in the lunchroom with John as he begins to tell others what it is that God is showing him? This incredible revelation of Jesus Christ, where the Apostle Paul says he's made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Can you imagine the surprise of the people in that prison when John would say, well, I'm physically here, but I'm not really here. I'm in another place too as well. You see, God has shown me that in Christ I am at the right hand of all authority and power in him already. Oh, yes, I'm here, but only for a season, only a vapor of time, only a moment. And I'm only here that I may show you something of Christ, that you may see through my life that there is security, there is life, there is a hope for the future, there is joy in the midst of tribulation, there is hope in the midst of hopelessness. I'm only here to show you that there's nothing of this world that can captivate the true man or woman of God. I have something within me that cannot be captivated by the princes of this world. John saw the judgment in Revelation 18.4 of this world system and all its man-made and self-focused and corrupt religion. And John heard the voice of the Lord saying, come out of her, my people, come out that you be not a partaker of her plagues. How many people today settle for bankrupt theology, they settle for powerless religion when they could have a living relationship with the living God, when they could walk with Him, they could talk with Him, they could know Him, they could get up every morning and see things before them that must be. Jesus said, when the Comforter comes, He's going to take what is mine and He's going to show it to you because it is also ours in Christ. We should be as a people rising up every morning and seeing things that must be. I might be an angry man, but I must be a loving man not too far down the road. I might be fearful, but I'm going to learn to stand not too far down the road. I see things in here that must be. Many, many people say, well, I appreciate the sentiment, but how do I get out? In Revelation 19, I'll show you the way out. If you're living in this environment that you can't see beyond just the walls of this place of difficulty. In Revelation 19, you see, John had around him stone walls and barred windows. And everything around him seemed to be closed. But in verse 11, he said, and I saw heaven open. You see, here's the way out. You have to have a vision of an open heaven, folks. And God is more than willing to give it to you. He's more than willing. If you will just lift up your head, look away from the circumstances. And he said, I saw heaven open and behold, a white horse. And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he does judge and make war. Now, who does he make war against? He makes wars against all of my enemies. He makes war against every captivator that would put me into captivity. He says his eyes were as a flame of fire. You have to see that today. When God looks at you, he's more angry with your enemies than you are. And it's only his mercy that keeps him from demolishing everything that steps against you. And on his head were many crowns. In other words, he's the victor over every king of evil that would come against you. Every depression, every suicidal thought, every despondency, every sense of worthlessness, every sense of powerlessness, every sense of hopelessness. He has a crown. He has already defeated it when he rose from the dead. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. Hallelujah. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. John saw Jesus just as he is today. Jesus Christ is more than a conqueror. And he is willing to fight against everything that fights against you. He's willing to destroy every enemy that comes to try to destroy the testimony of his life within you. Hallelujah. Listen to this battle in Revelation 19, verse 17. He said, I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God, that he may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken and with him the false prophet that brought miracles before him and which deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeds out of his mouth. And all the fowls were filled with their flesh. This is a type, John thought, of the ferocity and intensity of the battle. The Lord is saying this through this scripture to us today. You come to me. In your circumstance, come to me. And I'm going to open heaven to you and you're going to see something. You're going to see me ready with an army to fight for you. You're going to see that my name is faithful and true. You're going to see that out of my mouth comes the word of God. You're going to see that out of my mouth comes a sword and no king, no power, no principality can stand against it. You're going to see that my name is King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah! He says, I'm going to take everything that stands against you and I'm going to feed it to the darkest places of this world. Now, you think this is brand new, but it's happened before throughout scripture. You remember when the army of the Philistines stood against the army of Israel and God sent a young man called David into the midst of the host. And David came down and he willingly faced this giant. And David had an open heaven. The rest of the men were looking at their armor. They're looking at their circumstance. They're looking at their caves. They're looking for false security. But into their midst of them stepped a young man who had an open heaven, just like John had on the Isle of Patmos. He saw something that nobody around him was seeing. Then said David to the Philistine, Let me read it to you. This is Goliath. You come to me with a sword and a spear and a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and take your head from you. And I have given the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, to the wild beasts of the earth. And all the earth may know there is a God in Israel. You see, this is exactly what John saw in the book of the Revelation. That having this open vision of who God is, it's for the honor of God that we fight. And God has duty-bound His name and interwoven His very nature in those that He has redeemed and called by His own name. And all this assembly, he says in verse 47, shall know that the Lord saves not with the sword and the spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands. John saw his tormentors tormented forever. He saw it. He saw that captivity has already taken captive. He saw that he's already living on the victory side. He saw the whole future, the whole panoramic future of rebellious mankind without God. He saw the futility of standing against the Christ of the universe. He saw that he was securely sealed in the hands of God. He saw that one day, one day, he's going to be in a place of victory for all of eternity. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Now, lastly, Revelation chapter 22. Here's how it works for you and I. Revelation 22.1 says, And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bared twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. You see, what John saw was the pure word of God. He saw that God's word is faithful, God's word is clear and clean. He saw that God's word comes from the throne. And it comes from a throne that is there because those on it live in absolute victory over all that will ever stand against the testimony of Almighty God. He saw all around it there was life. He saw all kinds of fruit. And he saw that there was a tree in the midst of it. And the tree had branches. Jesus himself said, I am the vine, and you are the branches. He saw on these branches leaves, which is a type of the life that can only come from Almighty God. And he saw the life that was on these branches was for the healing of the nations. Oh beloved, we are not here just to abide. We're not here just to make it through. We're not here just to escape our prison cells in our difficult times. But we are here to be a living testimony of the fact that God Almighty is alive in Jesus Christ. We are here to let this life-giving virtue of God flow through us, bringing healing to the nations. That's why we're going to Burundi. Burundi is an area where the Tutsi and Hutu massacre started before it moved into Rwanda. 300,000 people were slaughtered. The UN has brokered a peace in Burundi. And as I understand it, it's going to be pulling out next December. Government officials in Burundi expect a slaughter if there's not a revival. You see, but there are leaves. There are trees. There is a testimony. There is a river of life. Oh God, help us that we don't just live in our own little environment and say, well hey, we've got it good here. Why don't we just stay here? Why don't we just experience the glory every Sunday, Tuesday, when we get here, Friday, Thursday. Why don't we just stay in this magnificent sanctuary and just soak in the presence of God? No, folks, it's not what it's about. We are to be a living revelation of the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. We are given inward living water, which brings healing to nations torn with strife, living under the defeat and dominion of darkness. We are called to be this active and living testimony for Jesus Christ. You and I are called to be a revelation of Jesus Christ. It's as simple as that. John could only do it with a pen at this moment, but you and I have an opportunity in him to be a living testimony in our generation, to go where difficulty is, to go where people are violent and even opposed to the things of God because they are ignorantly opposed to their own salvation, to stand and boldly proclaim the testimony of Jesus Christ, witnessing before us prison doors opening, blinded eyes seeing, deafened ears being unstopped, the wounded in heart being healed. We are called to believe, for the nation of Burundi, that God will send a marvelous revival, turning this tide of evil and making this nation an absolute role model of the glory of God right in the heart of Africa. Folks, you have to see beyond your circumstance. We have to see beyond just our own lives. There's got to be something of God revealed in us and through us to our generation. We must not, we cannot, we cannot be a people of just mediocrity in our generation. There have to be living testimonies. There has to be a candlestick in New York City. There has to be, there has to be. You have been brought here to this isle of Manhattan for the testimony of God, for the word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is no other reason. Oh God, be glorified in us. God, be glorified in us in this generation. These things are for you. If you'll walk in God's truth. The Lord said to John, these are things which must be hereafter. The only thing that keeps you mediocre, beloved brother and sister in Christ, is the thought that you are mediocre. Once you lift up your head and heaven is open, you begin to see that there is an endless possibility of the life of Christ, that he will write within you a testimony that he will give you. We're called to be a living testament to the things which will be hereafter. You and I are called to walk in our marketplace where we live and say to people around us, the things you've seen in me are also for you. The things I've told you God has done for me, he will do for you. He does not respect your persons. Oh God, I pray that you help us now. This is such an evil generation. It's such an incredibly dark time. But if I read my Bible correctly, this is where you excel, Lord. This is where you truly shine through your people. This is where your testimony truly comes alive. I pray, Father, in America, for an incredible testimony of God's grace to be not only confirmed, but to be furthered. All over this country where people are wanting to live for you, Jesus, come and be the source of supply to those who need strength. Come and correct those who are weary and in need of correction. Come, Lord, because you never put your hand upon your church for evil, but only for good. Open our eyes again. Give us an eyesalve anointing that we may see this incredible greatness of Jesus Christ, the incredible inexhaustible supply of the life of God that is within us through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. My God, help us in the coming days. Lord, send revival to London. Let London come alive with the glory of Almighty God. I pray that as you send Pastor David and Gary out through the world, Lord, that you rekindle the fire in the hearts of countless thousands of pastors. I pray, God, in our meetings when we gather to pray, that you open our eyes to see that our prayers are having much effect, not only in the kingdom of heaven, but on the kingdom of this earth. God Almighty, I pray for Mount Zion School of Ministry. I ask you, Lord, today that you come down with incredible power and raise up a testimony that cannot be extinguished in this generation of the glory and revelation of Jesus Christ. O God, O God, O God, let the songs of praise in this house always be true. O God, lift up our heads. I pray that this not be a sanctuary of people staring at their feet through the whole service, but we lift our heads up, O God, and we have an open heaven and begin to realize that with God all things are possible. O Jesus, O Jesus, O Jesus, O God, write your testimony within us. Take away our gloomy song and give us a song of joy. Give us a testimony of victory. Give us faith, O God, that is willing to stand against every giant and say they are bred for us, their defense is gone from them. My God, give us supernatural love for a generation that are parading rapidly into hell. God, give us a supernatural love for them that cannot be resisted by even the hardest of hearts. O Jesus, O God Almighty, have a testimony in New York City. Lord God, all around New Jersey and Connecticut, the surrounding states and areas, have a testimony, O God, of your grace and your glory in this last hour of time. Father, I thank you with all my heart. O God, O God, O God, I pray you touch the soldiers in Afghanistan and in Iraq that are receiving the testimony of your love for them on DVDs. God Almighty, God Almighty, God Almighty, send a revival to our troops, O God, overseas. Let the glory of the Lord be shouted in our military barracks, O God. O Jesus, O Jesus, we are not crying out to you in vain. We are crying out from hearts that believe that you are more than willing, you are more than willing to give a revelation of who you are. Let the glory of the Lord come again. My God, my God, my God, cover our streets. Lord, give hope to our children. My God, give strength to those that are without strength. My God, give direction to all the single mothers in New York City. Give help and strength and hope. Father God, give strength to pastors who want to preach the truth and are afraid. God, give them strength. God, give them strength. Give them strength. Pastor, come lead us in prayer, please. Let's go to prayer just for a moment. O God, stand with us, beloved. Hallelujah. Raise your hands towards heaven. O God, O God, my God, my God, my God, my God, you're speaking from heaven to us. My God, you're declaring something to us in our spirit. You're speaking to us today. Lord Jesus, we are hearing what you're saying to us. As a congregation, we're hearing. In New York City, we're hearing it by the spirit. We're hearing, God. We hear what you're saying to us. That Lord Jesus right here in this place, you are going to bring a revival in New York. Hallelujah. Lord, it's going to come through men and women. It's going to come through your people. Lord Jesus in the workplace. God, we hear what you're saying. Lord God, we raise our hands towards heaven. We are not going to let the devil dim our minds. We are not going to let the enemy shut us down. We are not going to be, Lord, mediocre. We are not going to let the devil dim our hearts and our minds. Lord Jesus, you're speaking a clear word into our spirits. We receive it this day. God, we call down revival on our children that have gone wayward. Our homes that have gone wayward. Lord, we see beyond ourselves right now. We see beyond the misery. And we begin to proclaim liberty to those that are captive in the name of Jesus. My God, those who've got no power, we begin to pray for them because you've given us power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. We see it. We see beyond the misery. We see beyond, Lord, the mediocrity right now. We see beyond, Lord, that which has held us captive. And we begin to say to our brothers, our sisters, those in pornography, those in homosexuality, those in drugs, we proclaim to them right now, be loosed in the name of Jesus. Be loosed in the name of Jesus. Be loosed in the name of Jesus. My God, you've given us authority in your name. We see beyond. And we say, God, thank you right now for great liberty in the house. Great liberty. Lord, revival in the city. Bring revival to the city through us. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God, our homes. Our homes. We cry for our homes. We cry for our homes right now. That God, you're going to visit every single home in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Oh, God. Oh, God. Lord, we're hearing a word. Lord, I see it so clearly. You've spoken it into our spirit. You've given us eyes to see beyond. And, Lord, your Holy Spirit is showing us what can be and is and is taking place through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Hallelujah. Give him praise today, beloved. Oh, God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, God, we cry out to you today. God, we cry out to you today. Jesus, we're asking for an outpouring of your spirit, Lord, in this city. An outpouring of your spirit in this generation. God, we're asking you to visit us. Oh, God. Lord, we're not going to be silent. Oh, God, we're going to stand in the gap. We're going to make up the hedge. Oh, God, let this generation be destroyed. Oh, God. Lord Jesus, we're asking for an outpouring on our young people. God, we're asking that you would visit this city. God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would touch our young people. God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would touch our young people. That you would touch the youth of this generation. God, we're asking that you would visit, Lord Jesus, the young people. God, we're asking, Lord, that you would set them free. Lord, that you would grant it, Lord Jesus. Lord, as they come into your house, as we meet them in the highways and the byways. God, that we would have a word for them. Oh, God. A word in season. Oh, God. Lord, a word spoken by you in our hearts. Lord, that burns with fire. Oh, God, I'm asking Jesus, Lord, that you would cause us to have a word from you. I'm asking, Lord, that you would deliver us from dead devotions. Deliver us from going through the motions. Deliver us, oh, God, from passivity. Deliver us from carnality. God, deliver us from materialism. Deliver us from the love of this world. God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would give us a passion for you. God, a passion. Awaken us, oh, God. Cause us to arise, oh, God. God, we're asking that you would stir us. God, we hear you speaking. God, we hear you calling. God, give us the grace now to arise. God, give us the grace not to be silent. God, give us the grace, God, to receive from you. We ask that your word would produce a faith in our hearts. God, let your word produce a faith. Let faith arise in our devotions. Let faith arise, oh, God. Lord, we sing our songs. Let there be a faith in our hearts. God, smite all unbelief. Expose every work of iniquity in us. God, we're inviting you, God, to be glorified. God, walk within the candlesticks of Times Square Church. Walk within our pews. Walk within our hearts, God. And move us, oh, God. Lord, we're asking, oh, God, Lord in our young people. God, that you would fill them with the Holy Ghost. God, we ask that you would raise them up. God, that they would not be ashamed. God, we ask that you would grant it. Lord, every time we meet, we pray, Lord, God, as these young people come in with all kind of issues, God, we pray for the homosexuals. God, I ask that you would deliver them. God, I think of a young man who has battled over and over again. Lord, I'm asking that you would set him free. God, set him free, oh, God. Break the chains that bind him. Lord, set him free, oh, God. Let there be a faith arise in his heart. God, I pray for gang members. I pray for drug dealers. God, I pray for the abused. I pray for the oppressed. I pray for the fearful. God, in the name of Jesus, God, that you would cause them to stand. Lord, let your word, Lord, open their eyes, that they would begin to see the grace that is available to them in Jesus Christ. God, I thank you, oh, God, Lord, for what you're going to do. God, we pray believing today. Lord, that you are going to raise up an army of young people. God, that are going to stand for you in the evil day. That are going to stand for you in the evil day. God, we give you thanks and praise in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I have a word for you for an altar call this morning, if you just hold with me just for a second. He says, I've set before you an open door and no man can shut it, for you have a little strength and you've kept my word and have not denied my name. He that overcomes, I'll make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. The Lord says, you've been coming in and out of my presence. You walk into faith and you walk back into unbelief again. He says, but I'm giving you a chance. Your circumstance may not change, but I've set an open door into my life before you, and you will no longer step back out into unbelief. You can live a life of faith all of your life. And he says, and I'll write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven. In other words, I will give you a future that can't be taken away from you. I'm going to put my name on you, and I'm going to put the name of New Jerusalem. In other words, that's your destination, and you're going to know that's your destination. And you're not going to be driven by your circumstance anymore. And then he says, and I will write upon him my new name. And that new name, of course, is conqueror, victor. It's the one who sits at the right hand of all authority and power. And he says, I will write that upon you. You'll have an inner knowledge of who I am that those who choose to stare at their circumstances will never know. I want to give an altar call today for people to say, Pastor, you've just preached my life. Today I see an open door, and I'm out of here. I might have to come back here at night, but I'm not living here. I'm not being bound by this circumstance anymore. I'm going to trust God for an open heaven. And I want to walk out of here a partaker of the victory that is mine in Jesus Christ. You're going to go back into your workplace. You're going to go back into your tenement building. You're going to go back into your family, your neighborhood. But you're going to go back as more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. You're going to go back in victory. You're going to go back with a song. You're going to go back with a revelation of Jesus Christ in your heart that has nothing to do with circumstance. Hallelujah. If that's you today, and you say, Pastor, I see the open door, and I'm coming out of here. I'm getting out of here. I'm going to enter into this life that Christ has for me. I'm not even going to try to confess my way out of here. I'm just coming into the life of Christ, and I'm going to let God live his life in me right where I am. If that's you in the balcony, you can slip out to either exit, main sanctuary, come forward, please, if you will. In the annex, you can step out between the two screens, and we'll pray with you momentarily. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now, beloved, his truth marches on through people. It's not an independent concept in a sense apart from a people called the Church of Jesus Christ. His truth marches in me, and it marches in you, setting men and women free from the power of sin and death. Hallelujah. God gives equal opportunity to every person who comes to him. Matter of fact, in Isaiah, he says it's the lame who take the prey. It's the people who know they need God who far outstrip as it is those who don't really understand the depth of their need yet. Hallelujah. Thanks be to God. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, thank you today that you have opened my eyes and you've lifted my head to help me understand the purpose of your life being lived out through me and in me. I believe today that in Christ I cannot be captivated by any circumstance or any sorrow. I cannot be overcome by any plot or plan of the evil one. I am more than a conqueror. Nothing, absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God which is fully mine in Christ Jesus. My Lord, thank you today you've opened my eyes. Lord, you've lifted my head. You've shown me an open door. And by faith, in the finished work of Jesus Christ, today I walk through that door, out of my circumstance, out of the captivity of my circumstance, and into the life of Almighty God, the never-ending life of Almighty God, the all-powerful life of Almighty God, the everlasting life of Almighty God, which is mine. It's mine. It's mine. It's all mine. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Give Him praise. Give Him thanks. This is the conclusion of the message.