In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of relying on God's power rather than our own. He uses the story of Gideon and the Israelite army to illustrate this point. Despite being vastly outnumbered and lacking weapons, the Israelites were victorious because they cried out to God in desperation. The preacher urges the audience to seek revival by coming together in unity and fervently praying to God. He also highlights the need for a genuine burden for the lost and a shift from relying on human strategies to seeking God's intervention.

My message, Iron Chariots, the prophetic message the Lord gave me about what I believe God wants to do. And the Lord was with Judah, and He drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. Isn't it amazing? They could drive out the mountain people, but they couldn't drive out the valley people, because they had iron chariots. I want you to turn also to Joshua. Turn left to Joshua 17. Joshua 17, and let's read just one verse there also, verse 18. Do you have it? Joshua 17, verse 18. By the way, how many of you love the Word? Do you love the Word of God? Do you tremble at it? Okay, we're going to see it tonight very clearly. 17th chapter of Joshua, 18th verse. But the mountain shall be thine, for it is a wood, that means a forest, and thou shalt cut it down, and the outgoings, or the borders of it, shall be thine, for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. God says, don't look at those iron chariots, doesn't matter how strong or how mean they look, drive them out. You've got the power. And then I just read you, the Lord was with Judah, He drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but He could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that Your Spirit would come upon me tonight, that I could minister Your Word with the unction, the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We pray, Lord, that we would hear a sound from heaven. We pray, dear Lord, that You would strike our hearts with a knife of conviction. Lord, bring forth the burden that You put in my heart. It's there, Lord, bring it out. Bring it out among us, Lord, that we may see it, we may hear it. Oh, God, speak loud and clear, because we believe You're about to do something. We hear the sound of rain, but it will not come until we seek Your face. Lord, convict us, touch us, do something in me tonight as I preach, and every ear of the world we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let me ask you a question. Why do you think that America is being plagued with AIDS? Of all the nations in the world, why this great civilized nation with, in New York City now, an estimated 10,000 victims of AIDS and spreading? Why are our streets unsafe to walk in? Why don't our children play on the streets like they do in Poland? When we're in Poland, you go to a grocery store and all the baby carriers are lined up. Nobody touches them. The children are playing on the streets under communism, and yet here in our country, they can't. Our cities, our streets are not safe. Why are our borders defenseless? We have drug pushers coming in from Colombia, we have them coming in from Hong Kong, we have them coming in from Canada. Every one of our borders are defenseless. They're bringing in tons and tons of narcotics like a tidal wave. And our government can't do anything about it. Why is it that all these things are happening to us? And I'll tell you what, I want you to turn to Isaiah. In Isaiah, the first chapter, you have a picture of what the United States is becoming. A nation of slaves. Isaiah, the first chapter. And if you want to, if you don't know where that is, fellas, and by the way, did you hear all this shouting and clapping for the Lord? We've got Teen Challenge guys up here. Safe from drugs and alcohol, they've got a right to shout and praise the Lord. Amen. That's my amen corner. My amen corner right down here. Okay. Look at chapter 1, verse 4 to 7. All sinful nation of people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors. They have forsaken the Lord. They provoke the Holy One of Israel with anger. They are gone away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? Why will you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick. The whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there's no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises, putrefying sores. They've not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified. That means softened with ointment. And this is a picture. A cage of unclean birds. And don't turn there, but Deuteronomy 28, 68. God warned Israel that because of their wickedness, they'd be sold as slaves. They'd become a nation of slaves. The Lord shall bring you into Egypt, and there you shall be sold as slaves to your enemies. You'll be sold as slaves. Because that thing that's in your heart, that lust, that wickedness, they're going to drive you to slavery. I'll turn you over to it. And America, the United States of America has become an evil, wicked nation sold to slavery. We are a nation of slaves. We're slaves now to lust, to alcohol, to drugs, television, money, sex, pleasure. You name it. We have become a nation of slaves. I love America. I've heard people say, you preach too much doom and gloom, Brother Dave. You don't, you're not patriotic. No, the patriotic man that loves his nation holds up their sins so there'll be repentance. We've been warned to study God's Word and learn from the examples of Israel because their wickedness is a type of what we see today and how God judged Israel is how He's going to judge again because our God doesn't change. If He's going to deal with sin in the Old Testament, we have the same principles. We have the same set up. He's going to deal just as severely with us. Now, all these things happen to them, to the Israelites, for examples. And they are written for our instructions upon whom the ends of the world have come. In other words, go into the Old Testament. See what happened when they sinned. See what happened when they became slaves. And you can know without being a prophet. You don't need some new revelation. Look at the Bible principles and you learn from their instructions. And probably one of the most powerful, detailed instructions of what God wants to do in New York City is found in the first few chapters of Judges, 4th and 5th chapter. I want you to turn to Judges 4 and I want you to read with me the first two verses. Judges 4, verses 1 and 2. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Jud was dead. Now look at it for just a minute. Jud was the prophet of God who cleansed the land, took a stand for righteousness, that had 80 years of peace. 80 years of peace. And now, the children of Israel, the prophets, dead. And God's word says the children of God are always bent on backsliding. Now look me right in the eye. You may not know that, but we're all bent on backsliding. That's why God has to raise up voices that provoke us to righteousness. Because there's something in our nature that when we don't hear the sound of thunder, when the word isn't coming at us, we have a tendency to gravitate to our sins. And God has to keep the pressure on. That's why you should rejoice if you go to a church where the pressure's kept on you. Where there's constant reproof. Thank God for that. There's going to be constant Holy Ghost reproof in this church. Provoke you to righteousness. My granddad was white. Make him mad or glad, but nothing in between. Verse 2. The Lord, they did evil in the sight of the Lord when He was dead. The prophets gone. They began to play around with sin. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazar. The captain who was host was Sassara, which dwelled in Hereseth, of the Gentiles. Alright, now look at this, please. Here's a once holy nation. An example of the righteousness of God. And they were relying only on the power of the Lord at one time. They were afraid of nothing. Their cities were so powerful, the fear of the Israelites was upon all the nations around them when they walked in holiness. Nobody could stand up to them. No one dared raise a hand. No one dared raise a hand against Solomon all these years until he sinned. And then enemy after enemy was raised up against Solomon. No one could touch Jabin until he sinned. Israel has sinned. Being sold now into slavery. And now they become cowardly. They become craven. They become weak before their enemies. They're sold into slavery because of their lust and compromise. And for 20 years now, Israel has been in bondage to Jabin and the Canaanites. And the way they were held in captivity was 900 iron chariots. And look at verse 3. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord for he had 900 chariots of iron, and 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And the Bible goes on to say, if you turn to chapter 5, you'll get a picture in the song that Deborah sang after the victory. You'll get a picture here now of what the conditions were like. There was war in the gates. Look at verse 6. The highways were unoccupied. Travelers walked through the byways. They wouldn't take the main roads because they weren't safe. Now look at me please. Get the picture. The children were living in fear. People were not walking the streets or the highways because of the rumbling of the chariots. These 900 awesome chariots. Armored cars. It would be like 900 tanks roaming down Times Square. 900 of them. Think of it. This way it was in Budapest when the Russians came in with their mighty tanks and crushed the rebellion in Hungary, especially in Budapest. The people lived in fear. And within a week, they crushed that great rebellion of the Hungarians. Same thing in Czechoslovakia. And you see, they looked at these and they trembled. There was a time that an Israelite who walked in holiness would see it as a pile of junk. Nothing but straw before the wind of God. But now, because of sin, they are cowards and they run cravenly to hide in their homes. And Israel, the Bible said, fled the villages. They began to hide in the hills. They had become a groveling, powerless people. Why? Because of sin. They did evil in the sight of God. Now, you say, what's your point, Brother Dave? Are you going to suggest that we're like that now? That the church is in this condition, groveling before the enemy? Don't you know? People will say to me that we're having great conventions. We've never had as many seminars. We've never had more people calling for prayer conferences than we have right now. What about all the Jesus marches and all the Jesus balloons that they're flying up in the sky and the aprons that say, turn to Jesus or Jesus loves you? I'm not making fun of that, but they say, look at all the religious activity. You can't tell me that we're not in some kind of revival. What about all the megachurches? Five, six thousand people coming, raising their hands and praising God. Are you going to put that down? Aren't you excited about what God's doing? What about all the Christian ministries now that are springing up? All the ranches and all the jail ministries and all the parachurch ministries? Everywhere you turn, there's a new ministry springing up. Aren't you rejoicing in that? What about all the mass literature distribution? Everywhere you go now, people are passing out literature talking about Jesus. Isn't this revival? Isn't God with His church? What's your point in all of this? Are you saying that we are afraid of something and we're not accomplishing what God has called us to accomplish? The answer to it's right outside the door of this building. The answer to that is right here in Times Square and 42nd Street. You don't have to go very far to find out that we're not in the kind of revival God wants to bring. Not at all. We're talking about chariots now. We're talking about iron chariots of the devil. There's wicked chariots that roam up and down these streets unchallenged. Every American city with drug pushers. Our kids are being damned to hell because these chariots, these iron chariots, are not being challenged by the church. I'm standing here tonight in town hall and you can put all the churches in New York City together and you're writing more than a powder puff. And not more than a powder puff as far as the devil's concerned. Last week we brought in about 500 Christians from around the country. And many, many of them got the burden for New York City. They went out there with boldness and faith and they have a burden of the Lord. They went home to weep. But I know a great number and I heard them and overheard them. They said, I can't wait to get home. That's a slime pit. Demons are loose out there. And they were so anxious to get back to their safe little haven of rest. But New Yorkers, many Christian New Yorkers are the same way. They don't want to go down to Slime Square anymore. They ignore it. They don't want to hear the news anymore. They see so many bad women, they just pass without even looking anymore. They see so many beggars, they're prying to it. And it's almost as if I've drawn a line here. We give the devil Time Square. We give the devil 42nd Street. We give him the drug territory. We give him these territories. And we let him go completely unchallenged. How dare we boast that there's an awakening in America, anywhere in the United States, when Satan's strongholds are not being challenged by the church. What do you think the attitude is out there on the street about the church? What do you think? You go out there and ask the people. Some of them walked in here tonight. And by the way, there were some alcoholics who walked in here tonight while they're singing. They're singing, you know, we got Christians we're going to get upset about. I'm going to tell you, there are going to be a lot of alcoholics and drug addicts coming in here, singing, even raising their hands in mockery. And the Holy Ghost will get a hold of them and save them before the meeting's over. So don't sit there and judge at all. God doesn't want you to judge it. But what do you think the man out on the street thinks about it? The church? Well, those are those people down there with the megaphone saying, Hey, you're going to hell. Get right with God. Those are those people that interrupt you when you're walking down the street and stick something in your hand, a piece of literature. It's those old ladies that go to church. All the little old ladies. It's a bunch of people that gather together just to sing and shout and talk in tongues. Doesn't mean anything out there. Doesn't mean a thing. Nothing changes here. They don't have any power. They don't have any spiritual authority. Tonight, there are a few hundred Christians in all of New York City. I don't think there'd be more than 2,000 or 3,000 Christians gathering tonight. Maybe more up in Harlem. I don't know. There may be some, but Sunday nights you can't get a handful. I'll tell you where they're at. They're out laughing with Bill Cosby right now on television. Sitting right in front of a television set, letting the city go to hell, letting the devil's iron tracks go where they please. You've got no right to call yourself a Christian. You've got no right to say you're going to pray until you can say, I will not sit still and let this happen anymore. I want to challenge the devil. We've got people lounging on their beds of ease. They want to go to church and hear some soft organ music. They sleep half the way through. And they go to church just because they believe God expects it. And they're convicted if they don't go at least once a week. I'll tell you what. If you come here, you're not even going to be considered a righteous person. Not by us. We won't judge you. But the Holy Ghost won't even consider you righteous until you get so hungry to get there you can't wait. And please don't worry about it. The truth is the church has settled for the mountaintops and left the valleys to the devil. Like the Israelites in this story. Look at that scripture again. Go back to Judges 1. Look at 19. And the Lord was with Judah. Now look at that. How can God be with a people and they're powerless? How can it be said God was with Judah? Well, look what they did. They took the mountaintops. You know what the mountaintop represents? That represents the inner battles, the inner struggle against lust. That's the battle you have in your own home. It's the battle with the flesh. And you win that victory. And that's what most people consider the church. That's a place to go to get victory over your habits. That's a place to go when you need healing. That's a place to go only when you've got some secret battle raging in you. You go to get straightened out. No, folks, that's not all. That's it, but that's only half the story. There's much, much more to it than that. Thank God for the victories on the mountaintops. But you see, when Israel refused to go against those chariots, they created a false image in the eyes of the heathen about God's character. You know what those chariot drivers said? He's the God of the hills. That's all. Those people up there have looked down on us and they're powerless. Look at them up there singing and shouting, building their homes up on that mountain. They don't dare come down here. They would dare to come down. He's the God of the hills. Weak, powerless. And, folks, that's exactly what's happened. We have relinquished certain sections of society, certain places of our city, certain levels, and we've just ripped it off. He's the God of the world and that belongs to Him. Our God has His territory. The devil has his territory. We'll walk in the mountaintop and we'll let the valleys to the devil. That's the way it is right now, this image of a sick, weak church. There can be no revival until God's people go out by faith to challenge every inch the devil has taken. And I believe that, and I'm not preaching hype. I'm not trying to be a cheerleader. I'm believing what I'm preaching tonight. God's taken a long time to get me to the place where I'm preaching the message I'm preaching tonight. It's taken a long time. Out there, the image is Christianity, the church, money-grabbing television evangelist. Or women. Occasionally, someone will see a converted drug addict. They'll hear testimony. Occasionally, something will drift into their subconscious mind that the church is doing a little bit. But they're not a person around here believes that this church or any other church has any power with God. And I'll tell you what. When the revival comes that God wants to send, nobody can ignore what God is doing. Nobody can ignore it, especially the devil and all of his iron chariots. And so, now, the man on the street, all he can judge is by PTL. And all the rich preachers up in Harlem driving their Rolls Royces. There's a black preacher up there, a Rolls Royce. He's got 15 Rolls Royces and he has a couple of black boys out there signing them for him. In other words, that's what God does for you. He gives you a Cadillac, gives you a Rolls Royce. That's garbage. Fellas, that's not the gospel. Jesus didn't say, save you to make you rich. He said, he'll make you a witness and give you power to go out and drive away all the power of the devil and be a conqueror for Jesus' sake. Hallelujah. I'll tell you, when the revival that God wants to send comes, no demon on earth is safe. There's not an inch that is written off. There is no coexistence with evil. There's not a principality or a power of hell that is immune to the moving and the work of the Holy Spirit. None. In the Welsh revival, years and years ago, a young man by the name of Evan Roberts, just a young preacher, a young man, he got about 15, 20 teenagers together, and he began to fast and pray. Lord, we're tired of our alcoholic fathers beating our mothers. We're tired of our little babies, brothers and sisters, going without food, without shoes. And they had a burden for their families, and they began to pray because the Welsh miners, they'd come right out of the mine, go right to the bars, and Wales would become a drunken nation. And Evan Roberts and these teenagers began to pray, and after six weeks of prayer, the Spirit of the Lord began to come down. A miner was walking by on the way to the bar. He wasn't even in the church. Something drew him in. He got right to the door, ran to the altar, and fell in his face and called on the name of the Lord. Nobody was preaching. The Spirit of God was moving. He went out and told another man, and soon it was spreading. And I want to tell you, folks, within a year, revival was sweeping all over Wales. And within a year and a half, most of the bars in Wales were shut down because the bartenders were getting converted. The police officers were forming quartets to sing in the revival meeting because there was no more time. If you wanted music, you called the police precinct. I serve the same God. Those young people served notice on the devil, and every bartender and everybody else, we serve a God that can shut you down. We serve a God that has power. They weren't afraid of the devil's iron church. You say you're yelling. Yeah, I guess I am. But the revival that God wants to send, I'll tell you what happens. The idol makers begin to cry out, our very livelihood is at stake. The jailers fall on their face and say, what must I do to be saved? The magistrates begin to tremble. And the cities are filled with the knowledge of God. Everybody knows God's at work. Hallelujah. Glory to God. I'm just getting started. There's only one way to bring about the revival God wants to send to New York City. And you'll find it right here in the second verse, chapter 4 again. And the Lord sold them into the hands. Look at verse 3. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. Is that what it says in your Bible? The children of Israel cried unto the Lord. Now, in the original Hebrew, it's stronger than that. In the original Hebrew, it says, and they gathered together in one accord and began to shriek at God. Shriek. You know what that means? At the top of their lungs. They were so desperate. So tired of the slavery. So tired of hearing those iron shepherds rumbling down, sending fear in their families. So tired of it. Being under the thumb of the devil. The Bible says they began to shriek together unto God. It wasn't privately. They were corporately gathering together. They began to receive. Shrieking out to God. Oh, where is that kind of desperation now? What kind of, you know, someone said, I heard it the other day. A.B. Simpson, the great preacher, used to preach in New York City. Great man of God. And someone was going by his office early in the morning, about 7 o'clock. And the door was open. And they saw A.B. Simpson on the floor. And he had his arms around a globe of the earth. And he was weeping tears all over the globe. And he was calling out, oh God, must they all be damned. Where is that kind of burden of the Lord? The church has lost it. No, we want to go and learn how to be a success. How to be prosperous. Because I'm telling you right now, here's one preacher who believes that that's a doctrine of demons. And I'm not afraid to tell the whole city. That means everybody who's preaching it is demon possessed. It's just that they're blind. And one day if they start seeking the face of God with all their heart, they'll drop them like a hot potato. And start preaching the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That burden of the Lord. But I'll tell you something, in the midst of all this apostasy, God had a praying body. He had a Deborah company. There was a prophetess by the name of Deborah. Oh, hallelujah. God always has somebody. I'll tell you what, if the men go to sleep, God will raise up a woman. And I'll tell you what, with all these big shot TV evangelists going around the world, God's going to have to raise up a woman before it's all over. He's doing that right now. You see, there was a place called Ephraim. They were hiding out, you weren't safe anywhere else. So she went to the hills. She went outside the camps, so to speak. Ephraim means double fruit. Well, everybody, everything around her is dry and barren. People are not bearing fruit. Up on the hill, there's a woman in touch with God, getting to know the heart of God, hearing from God on her face before the Lord, prophesying. She's all by herself under a palm tree on Mount Ephraim. It's overlooking the Valley of Acre. And in the Valley of Acre, there's a door of hope. That door of hope is at the palm tree up on top of the mountain of double fruit. Much fruit. You know God's going to have a people going to bear much fruit in these last days. And I don't know how it must have started as a little trickle at first, but somebody found out, hey, there's a place where there's a clear word coming. There's a place where your soul's set on fire. There's a woman that's preaching something I've never heard. It makes my heart burn. There's a word coming forth. Where is it? It's a woman. Her name is Deborah. You've got to go way up this path. You've got to climb and climb, but way up there, it's under a palm tree. It's nothing fancy. But boy, did she know God. And there was a trickle at first. And then soon they came from everywhere because the fire was burning. God was answering the prayers of His people. And God was stirring hearts. And I'll tell you what, when people begin to pray, He brings forth shepherds after His own heart. You go to a dead church, you do one of the things, either get out or get a group of people around you and fast and pray until the preacher either gets fired up or gets out. Ship him out on your knees. Get on your knees and ship him out. I say that lovingly because your children are at stake. Your teenagers are going to hell if you sit under a shepherd that's not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. But look at the people that come here. Look at this, it's amazing. Chapter 5, look at chapter 5 there. The upper class, the rich people came, riding on their white horses. You can see that at verse 10, chapter 5, verse 10. Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment. Look, they were coming in their white steeds. In fact, Josephus said, or rather one of the writers said that they covered them with their beautiful rugs or saddles, these fancy saddles. And they were making their way up to hear Deborah. Think of it now. You know, when I first came to New York City, I thought there are no people here of the upper class, there are no people in New York that have a burden for the lost. And the first people I met that had the greatest burden I ever saw was Walter Hoving, who had the greatest shares of Tiffany. He was major stockholder of Tiffany's. And you know how, you know where most of our support team when we started? From Walter Hoving and his friends. Walter Hoving got a hold of some very wealthy friends, and I had to borrow a quarter to get to the meeting, but it was at the United Nations building. And I was 115 pounds then. The Lord just called me out of the country. I didn't even know a rich person. I didn't know that God could move in the upper class. And I had to borrow a quarter. The subway was a quarter at the time. I had to borrow a quarter to get there. And I went to the United Nations. Mrs. Norman Vincent Pill was hosting it, and there was Mrs. Hoving and all her wealthy friends. And I looked at them very suspiciously, and one of the dear ladies, she said, My dear, are you going to tell us something about the need, please? And I watched as I told about the need, and watched them weeping and crying. I remember going to Walter Hoving's home one time for lunch, and on the way, on the subway, all of these appeals, I mean, one appeal after another for money. And when I got there, I was just about to say, I told him, I said, you know, I came up here and I saw all those subway appeals, and I was about to say, isn't that awful? Everybody got their hand out for money. And before I could say it, and I'm so glad I didn't say it, because she said, isn't it wonderful to live in a country where people can present their needs like that, and we can respond? I wanted to crawl under the table. Those wealthy people knew more of God than I did. They were so open to the Lord. And those iron white horses came to hear Deborah, and they heard about those iron tracks, and that they should not be under bondage, and their hearts began to bloom. And in this revival, the end is sad for one, just like they finished great revivals, some of the wealthiest people in New York were dire. Their money didn't mean anything to them. They had a heart after God. Since we've been in New York, we've got telephone calls, two in particular. Brother Dave, don't forget the wealthy class. They need Jesus just like everybody else. They came to hear Deborah. Then you've got the middle class, those who walk, it says. These are the subway crowd, like you and me. Buses, subway, they're whacked. They didn't come on white horses. They labored. They lived from day to day, paycheck to paycheck. But now they are sitting down with the rich, nobody in preference, because at Deborah's prayer meeting, nobody could shine but God. Then, of course, you've got the middle class, those who walk, then you've got the poor, verse 11, those that are delivered from the noise of the archer in the places of drawing water. I mean, these people had arrows shooting at them all the time. They lived from moment to moment. They had to draw water. They lived from one drought to another. And the Bible said they came. And the scribes came. Look at 5.14, out of Zebulun. They that handled the pen of the writer. Look at me. They that handled the pen of the writer. There were writers, professional people coming up to hear Deborah. And see, we're saying something's about to happen in the land. Get ready. And I'll tell you, I believe this. Love my heart and listen. There is a hidden body of scribes in New York City, mighty with the pen, and other professionals in the media. And this represents the media. This represents these that are hidden away. Many have been praying and seeking God. And in this revival, God is going to release them with Holy Ghost energy and power. And that pen is going to become a piercing knife. In every revival, there's been the same thing. God has always used the scribe. And we're going to see it again. I've already met a few of them. I believe there are probably one or two of them here tonight. And by the way, this great move of God was not a macho thing. When God begins to move, no macho business. All you Spanish guys hear me? I'm a macho man. Not in a revival, but Deborah and Barak. And by the way, she came to Barak and she said, now you can go alone, but if you insist that I go, you won't get the glory. God will give the glory to a woman. And she'll get the credit. But Barak, he was of a different nature than some of the ministers today. He didn't care about getting the glory. He wanted that divine guidance with him. He wanted that spiritual authority with him. He wanted that praying woman at his side. I don't care about the glory. And when the revival comes, there's no ego tripping. There's no flesh anywhere. You can't snatch flesh. Do you believe that? Glory be to God. Boy, I'll tell you what you see when the revival comes that God wants to bring. Oh, you'll hear. You don't hear. Oh, you come here, my favorite teacher. You don't hear. Why does he have power? No, you're going to hear, Jesus is there. The Holy Spirit is at work there. There's a holiness there. God is speaking there. That's what you hear. You don't hear a sound of a man's name. Now, the victory against these iron sheriffs was really won on Mount Ephraim under that palm tree. And by the way, Barak's name means lightning. And Deborah, this praying clan this praying people of Deborah needed the lightning movements and action of Barak. And it's that willingness to strike when God says move. And move when God says move. Because out of this intercession came the clearest direction you could ever see in the Bible. How clear it is. Look at verse 6, chapter 4. Chapter 4, verse 6. Look at this. Have you ever wondered about does God really direct us today? Can we get clear guidance? Alright, look at it. It can't be any clearer. Go to Mount Tabor. Gather 10,000 men. And the enemy's going to come up to you with iron sheriffs at Kishon River. And God's going to deliver those iron sheriffs and the whole army into your hands. And God's going to go before you. In fact, Deborah was walking so close to God she'd been so on her knees so in intercession she knew the very day that God wanted to move. She knew the when and the how and the why. Because she had been on her face and God was speaking to her heart. Why is it that so much that we do today for the Lord is not in confusion? Why is so much Christian activity so powerless? Why is there so little to show for so much activity? You know that since we came here in 1958 Team Challenge we have dumped in World Challenge we have dumped tons and tons of literature on New York City. I mean, I can show you pictures way back in 1958 and 59 1959 and 60 where we had a newspaper about the coming of the Lord. It was called the Rapture Journal. And we've got a picture of tons of it there. The pastors stand behind it and we're praying over it. I look back at all the things I've tried to reach New York. I've tried every gimmick there is. I found out, you know, a number of years ago that Oral Roberts had a great big cathedral cruiser. It was a huge bus that was built for the cost of $250,000 by General Motors. I found out it was in Mexico. The sides opened up like a clam. It looked like it was from Mars. It was an incredible machine. I thought, boy, that'll draw a crowd. I'll just pull it right down the slums and open it up and the choir will be there with musicians and I'll preach on that stage. I've got to do something to get the crowd. They didn't tell me it took ten gallons to move it a mile. That big monster rolled up. I remember it was down here by the pier, over here on 42nd Street. The pier. And I drove up and I walked around that and already a crowd was going. See, the crowd's there already. And I thought it was very ironic, significant that my first meeting with that bus would be in front of a church where Finney had a revival. So I pulled it in front of Finney's old church or at least where he preached down in Brooklyn. And we wound that thing up. Don, were you there that first night? I mean, we got a crowd opened up, lights were on, the loudspeaker blaring, the music was on and suddenly a crowd gathered around and looked and looked and looked and walked away. We wound up with Camp Danville! Never used it again. Used it one night. Fortunately sold it to somebody up in the Yonkers who charged 50 cents to tour through it. Then I thought, well, if that doesn't work I'll make some of these street desks with microphones and flags and I designed everything. There's not a thing that a preacher's tried that I haven't tried. And why is it that so much that we do is not having effect? Why is the devil still laughing? Why is the Iron Church just go prancing on their way not even moving it? Because we're standing out there with paper swords. And I'll tell you what, that's all it is. I thank God nobody's breathed in literature more than I have. But I've come to a place now where I believe that not one piece of literature should go out because you can't stand in front of a tank holding a piece of paper and say, stop in the name of the Lord! You've got this little paper sword in your hand. Not unless it's backed up by the Holy Ghost and intercessory prayer and then God turns it into rapier steel that nothing can stop. And passing literature promiscuously it's going to wind up in the garbage heap. Why is it that all of the activities now are laborious and confusing they don't satisfy the heart is not satisfied because we have not spent time as Deborah did under the palm tree on the mountain alone seeking the face of God hearing from God knowing where to go when to go and how to go. And I believe if we had a praying people if we had young men ready to get to burden of the Lord they could get on their face God could tell them the very block to go where there's a people that are prepared. I'm sick and tired of just going out on a street corner setting up. I want to know that when I go there there have been a praying people and I've been on my face and there's a spiritual authority that no drug addict can stand up against no alcoholic no drug pusher they'll either run or repent. You know if you live in New York City it's going to take more than we've had. It's going to take a lot more it's going to it's going to cost something. Now what they really did here by the way you know when they prayed down a rain storm? That's how they got to victory? I mean God answered prayer so marvelously here. Look at chapter 5 verse 20 and 22 I want to I've got to get to this right away. This is Deborah after the victory she's singing the victory song. They fought from heaven the stars and their corpses fought against Sisera the river of Kishon swept them away that ancient river the river Kishon. Look at me up here you know what happened? In the middle of the night they began to pray Oh God you promised us the victory do it! They didn't they had no idea how God was going to do it but the rains came there was an outpour there was a thunderstorm in the middle of the night and all these 900 chariots they'd already come down and parked around the river Kishon I don't know whether they'd crossed it I don't know what side they were on but they were ready to fight the Israelites and what a what a powerful looking army that was can you imagine the Israelites up there they know Deborah's right there don't be afraid I've heard from God they're saying I hope you have you had better have heard from God look at those 900 on chairs look at those charioteers look at their swords and you know that there wasn't even a weapon among all the 40,000 fighting men there wasn't a weapon in Israel they didn't have a weapon in their hands not a single weapon can you imagine going out against this army without a weapon where were we going to get the weapon they're going to take them out of the hands of the enemy the enemy had their weapons they were going to take it right out of their hands and in the middle of the night the rain came down you know what God you know what revival is the rain send the rain Lord send the rain they prayed down the rain the river Kishon began to overflow its banks and turned the whole valley into a mud puddle into a marsh the soldiers got up in the morning to see the captain says march and you can hear the whips cracking and the wheels spin in the mud deeper deeper and deeper and they can't move and suddenly Israel army 10,000 men said they can't move look at them the chariots are stuck I see see they were on high ground when the rain came its a good place to be and they go down in that valley and I mean they hand wrestled that army and they're climbing over those chariots I mean they had feared those things so long can you just see them like everybody looking at those chariots and taking the axe of those people their swords and knocking off the wheels cutting off the reins they're so angry at those chariots and they look and those chariots are muddy and filthy and dirty and I bet there are 10,000 Israeli soldiers that said we were afraid of that is this what we've been afraid of for 20 years hunks of junk and see when God sends the rain in answer to prayer He takes away the fear He takes away the fear and that's one thing about the revival that God wants to send it's going to be a revival of holiness because when there's a revival of holiness it's always accompanied with a hatred of sin a hatred of sin an anger against the devil an anger of everything that Satan has taken and it's a cry for holy dominion not to establish some righteous kingdom here on earth but that the honor of God at stake that His glory may be exalted on earth hallelujah the Lord discomforted Caesarea and all his chariots and all his hosts hallelujah alright I'm not going to preach long tonight but I want to get to the heart of this in just a few more minutes I'm telling you now that when God begins to move on a people when He begins to show that a spiritual awakening is about to dawn when He begins to raise up a clear message against sin and against slavery it's dangerous not to get involved it's very, very dangerous now I want to show you something very important now well the praying band this awakened band are praying and going forth to take dominion in the name of the Lord there were a whole group in Israel who shut their ears who refused to get involved the first group I'm going to name three groups one of them was cursed and if you've never if you've ever listened to prophetic work listen to it now because it's everything to do with us tonight first of all the Reubenites refused to get involved look at chapter 5 verse 15 verse 16 this is Deborah she's crying out why a Buddhist or why did you sit among deceitfuls this is Reuben in fact look at verse 15 the last part of it for the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart let's the whole verse 15 and the princes of Issachar were with Deborah even Issachar and also Barak he was sent on foot into the valley for the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart why did you sit among deceitfuls to hear the bleatings of the flock for the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart you see that great thoughts great searchings of heart you know that the Reubenites are still with us you know where they're at they're at a convention a how-to convention they're having great thoughts on how to win the last they're in some great conference or seminar having their hearts searched out oh how they even go to meetings where they weep and they cry we have failed God we're not doing the job I'll tell you where the Reubenites are at right now they're in committee meeting and they're drawing up resolutions and they're drawing up strategy they've got more paper plans than you can believe they write all the books on how to very seldom do they do it but they know how to I had a writer friend who wrote one of the greatest books you've ever saw on door-to-door salesmanship I said I don't I didn't know you went door-to-door she said I've never knocked on a door in my life she wrote a bestseller if I told you which one she's here in New York bestseller on how to be a good door-to-door salesman never knocked on a door in her life all the books on how to raise kids are written by people who don't have kids the Reubenites resolutions, strategy you know when we came to New York City someone asked us what's your strategy? do you have a plan of attack? I don't want to be in any strategy meetings I want to be on my knees here's the strategy right here the Reubenites they've got it all figured out if 3.5 Christians witness to 6.2 in 7 years we'll win the world they've got it down to decimal points but there's no acts and no commitment there's no dirty hands there's no going up to the mountain to pray with Deborah they're all up to some convention how music and praise will bring down the iron chariots and I'm not making fun of that I'm just saying it's going to take just more than people saying you ought to come to our church there's such good music such good praise I want to know how many people are bending their face before God prostrate before the Lord we pay for the lost now Gilead the scripture said Asher and Dan were too busy look at verse 17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan why did Dan remain in the ships? Asher continued in the seashore and abode in his breeches look at that they abode in their breeches you know what that is? their own little struggle they had their own little breech they just had to take care of they stayed right there I've got enough problems of my own why should I get involved? it's not my problem I can't help it that so many are suffering I've got my own problems so they abode in their breeches others stayed on their ships you know they kept rowing their own little boat not even concerned no concern for anything other than their own family their own needs and the Danites the Asherites and the Gileadites they were all wrapped up in their own careers making a living taking care of their own business the Bible she said they didn't show up why did you Reubenites you sit there listening to the bleeding of the sheep and you have these big thoughts these big searchings of heart but where have you been? God is moving and I'll tell you what you know what the Reubenites do after the battle is all won they're listing 16 reasons for posterity how you can destroy they're the ones who summarize it all up and try to tell us how to do it the next time but you see they remain they didn't come now I want you to see something right now the Bible says that the Reubenites didn't come they weren't judged they weren't cursed Dan didn't come Asher didn't come they weren't cursed but there's a curse mentioned here I want you to look chapter 5 verse 23 in fact I was going to call this message the curse of Meraz and I didn't think people would understand that but the key to this whole thing is right here in this verse Curse ye Meraz said the angel of the Lord this is a curse right out of heaven the angel of the Lord spoke on God's behalf God had a bitter controversy with these people Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof because they came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord against the mighty is that in your Bible? Curse these people because they didn't come to the help of the Lord now look me in the eye please look this way this curse of Meraz has everything to do with us it's one of the most important one of the most important scriptures in the Bible not the most but one of the most important scriptures in the Bible because it clearly reveals God's attitude toward complacency there are so many people saying well brother Dave I'm just going to set myself in with God I'm just going to grow up by myself and there's an attitude I don't need all of this and you use this because you've been to a church where you've been dissatisfied you didn't get what you wanted and so there's a tendency to withdraw to be a long-ranger and we've all been talking about that from this pulpit but those days are over God will not permit that anymore because he's sounding a trumpet call he's rallying his people and I'm not trying to say go on go, go, go out in the street we've had enough of that I'm saying come to the table of the Lord bend before a holy God let him search you out you don't sit in conventions and get searched out by one another you're searched out by the Holy Ghost and it's not a matter of great thoughts it's a matter of humble thoughts it's a matter of not trying to have something big for yourself or establish a ministry for yourself it's to hear the heart of God to weep as God weeps to feel his heart so you can see out of his eyes but look at this Deborah's saying the age of the Lord says curse Meroz now, why is it that this particular people are cursed now, there's nothing in the Bible that clearly states why this was cursed we can only surmise and we know that Scripture answers Scripture isn't that true? if you want to know it you look in the Scripture you know why? if you look in Revelations I'm going to close just a minute didn't God say because you're neither hot or cold but lukewarm I'll spit you out of my mouth that's about as big a curse as you can get he said curse Meroz and you know why I believe Meroz was cursed because the inhabitants of Meroz were the closest to the battle they lived there and remember when Jesus said to Chorazin, Bethsaida if they'd seen the works that you've seen they would have repented woe to you, woe to you he cursed Bethsaida and Chorazin because they had many miracles I believe that they had received the message of Deborah and Barak and they had mocked it they had ridiculed it they'd said I don't have anything to do with it there's nothing to me they'd watch the iron chariots go it had nothing to do with them they'd sneak their own way do their own thing totally unconcerned curse them because they didn't come to the help of the Lord now, I thought I thought the gospel was how God helps us isn't that about what you hear most of the time God will help you God will do this God will do that no, they didn't come to God's help they didn't come to God's help I'm going to tell you what God uses men He uses women He uses people and God's trying to save thousands in this city before judgment comes there have been many many people have the same vision I've had it's a vision of standing I'm on the 22nd floor of a high rise in our apartment and I'm standing there in this vision I'm looking out and you've heard me tell it perhaps and I see that cloud of smoke in the distance I said honey look it's a hydrogen bomb it must be Washington that's being bombed and there's another it's Baltimore and then a closer one it's Philadelphia I said honey we're next look at the people they're unconcerned they're going to Central Park with their picnic basket I'm saying honey it's all over and nobody's concerned and suddenly it goes black and then bursting into the light of His glory and many many people have written to me saying I've had that same vision destruction there's no question destruction is coming it's going to come in a time of great economic upheaval in America the Russians are going to move and I can prove from the scriptures it's going to come down over the North Pole there's going to be a rain of these missiles coming from the North Pole there's no question it's in the Bible you see that's a shocking thing to say how many scriptures it says that destruction is going to come suddenly look look at don't turn it out but Revelation 17 and 18 they're going to be out with ships and in one hour it's all going to be up in smoke and we hear that but we're unconcerned we try to block it all out but to the Christian those who know better those who've heard the trumpet sounding those who've heard the call to go against the chariots of the devil those who're called to prove that God's still at work in His church to raise up a testimony of His mighty strong arm I'm not talking about cleaning up Times Square Bob made that clear this morning I'm not talking about driving all the pushers out of here we're saying there's a testimony where people know that God's at work you know that the state and federal government and all the whole city our mayor and everybody nobody can shut that 42nd Street down they're powerless nobody in this city has been able to shut this smut down and the pornography and all the pushers out there nobody's been able to do it you know the best that the United States government can do just say no you've got a tank rumbling down there you say no say it's a movement no just say no that's foolishness and I'm not belittling Mrs. Reagan but that's what we've come to our paper swords that's not going to do it those who are not heed to call those who won't bend their knee those who won't make this commitment and come to the aid of the Lord because He does not work without human agency there's never been a revival in history that God doesn't use praying men and women I'll tell you something years ago 1927 I was just a country preacher and I began to seek God I spent months on my face and it was out of that prayer time that God mandated me to come to New York City and out of it came a ministry and none of you boys would be sitting here right now not one of you probably I doubt it and all over the world because God broke my heart and He's doing it again and I don't care if anybody else comes with me I'm praying that God will break all our pastors I want Jimmy and I want Gary and I want Steve I want all of our staff those who sing and everybody else those who want to be a part of this body to get the burden of the Lord and begin to seek His face and come to church having the fire of God having been on their knees the cleansing the purging that comes by being shut in with God and there's no other way we might as well pack it in because it's not going to be like it's been here anymore it's not going to be like that here why? because there's a commitment made there's a commitment that's been made and I'm asking God to do that in you not by hyping it up but by the Holy Spirit right now putting in your heart I'm not going to let the devil run over my family anymore I'm not going to give an inch to Satan we're going to rise and pray and seek His face first we're going to claim an upper room where we can meet we're going to meet right in Times Square and this is not a pep rally for upper room this is a challenge of the word of God there is going to come a curse and you know what that curse is? the whole thing is never heard of again it just melts away Reuben becomes as unstable as water the scripture says and it just flows away you never hear Reuben again and Bob made it clear all of these tribes didn't come in the book of Revelation those tribes are not even mentioned isn't that correct Bob? those tribes aren't even mentioned will you stand up with me? I'm in a fighting mood against the devil the wicked one come and have nothing in us oh God give us a people here that'll get on their face God give us a people that'll take there's no other you talk all you want about spiritual authority it's not going to come any other way but through intercession no other way how many bear witness to what I'm preaching tonight? raise your hand alright let's pray Heavenly Father I ask you to wake me up I ask you to wake us all up my Lord help us we've had enough preaching about what we're supposed to do we've had enough seminars we've had enough teaching it's time to pray it's time to seek God time to get the burden of the Lord Hallelujah this is the end of this tape for a copy of this tape or any other tape by David Wilkerson write to worldchallenge P.O. Box 260 Lindale Texas 75771 or call 214 963 8626 Thank you