In this sermon, the speaker shares a personal story about his grandchildren and the importance of intercessory prayer in bringing our loved ones to Jesus. He emphasizes that there is no other way to bring our families to Christ than through prayer. The speaker also highlights the power of God to heal and transform lives, using the story of Jesus healing a deaf man with a speech impediment as an example. He encourages the congregation to seek the anointing and presence of God to bring about supernatural change in their lives.

This message is one of the Times Square Church pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, PO Box 260, Lindell, Texas, 75771, or calling 903-963-8626. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. I want you to turn to Mark, the 7th chapter, please. Mark, the 7th chapter. Let's begin to read at verse 31 through 35. My message this morning, a cry without a voice. A cry without a voice. Mark 7, verse 31. And again, departing from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee through the midst of the coast of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had impediment in his speech. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, put his finger into his ears, and he spit and touched his tongue, and looked up to heaven and sighed, and saith unto him, Efphata, that is, be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. Hallelujah. Lord Jesus, do it again today. God, open deaf ears and loosen our tongues, we may praise and glorify your name. Lord, I need your touch. I need your anointing. I need that something from your presence and your touch that takes the word and drives it into our hearts and changes us. Lord, we hear something from the throne of God and we say, oh God, my heart is so warmed that I want to change. God, do something supernatural or mix through your word, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, here's a great miracle and it's told in just four simple verses. They bring a man to Jesus who's deaf and he has an impediment in his speech. He can't speak. He gutters, or he utters something that is unintelligible. And they bring him to Jesus, and Jesus takes him apart from the crowd, or from those who brought him, and he puts his hand into his ears, doesn't say put his hand in the deaf man's ear, and he spits and then touches his own tongue. And the man is healed. It's an amazing miracle. In fact, in the same chapter, just prior to this, there's a woman who comes, a Gentile woman comes to Christ and asks that her daughter be healed from demon possession, and Jesus speaks the word because of her faith, and her child is delivered. Now, why are these stories told in the Scripture? Is it simply to validate the godness, Christ being God in flesh? Is it to increase our faith in Christ because we know He has power to work miracles? All that and much more than that. Jesus said He never did anything without His Father. He never did a miracle. He never spoke a word without checking with His Father. Everything He did had a purpose. There's not a word Jesus ever spoke without a meaning for us today, upon whom the ends of the world. He said these things were spoken for our benefit. Every miracle, everything He did had a hidden truth. There was something in it for us today. Now, the healing that you've just heard about is not just about one man in the shores of Decapolis who was healed. One deaf man whose tongue was open, his ears open. No, this has to do with us today. It has to do with the marvelous hidden truth, and we have to pray and dig it out. That's what the Lord said. There were eternal truths hidden in the Word. Remember, these treasures were hidden in the field. The digging, they found this treasure and sold everything to possess it. There's a marvelous truth hidden here. I want to start with the man who couldn't hear and who couldn't speak plainly. And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. Impediment in his speech. Now, who is this man? His name is not given. We don't know whether he was born blind. We don't know whether there was an accident or trauma that happened in his life. The man was deaf and he was tongue-tied. He could not speak. He uttered. He had a sound, but there were sounds that were unintelligible. His name is not given, but I know who he is. This man represents those today having ears, but still they cannot hear. They have ears, but they can't hear. You see, we're talking about a spiritual condition here. We're talking about a spiritual deafness, an inability to comprehend the Word of God. Thousands upon thousands come to churches on Sunday mornings like this and they hear a clear Word, an anointed Word, a loving Word, a correcting Word, whatever it may be, and they don't hear it. They may applaud it. They may enjoy it, but it does not change their lives. They have no capacity to hear the Word of the Lord in the inner ear, in the spiritual ear. And they cannot praise the Lord because they're tongue-tied. They've never had their tongue loosed by the Holy Spirit. And I have been deeply impressed by the Holy Spirit that this deaf man, tongue-tied, represents a great majority of the young people in the world today, and especially the children of Christian parents. Christian parents. God has really impressed this message. This message has made an indelible impact on my life. And I want you to hear my heart this morning. Our young people today, even Christian young people, do not seem to have the capacity to hear and digest the Word of God. There's a passivity that I have never seen before in all my years of ministry, and I've been preaching for over 50 years. I've never encountered the passivity among our young people today. The non-involvement. Now, there are many young people in this church that are different than that. God has laid hold of them. They've had their encounter with Christ. And they are hearing the Word of God, and they're speaking His truth. But the great majority, I meet them all over the world, the man is not like that man that Paul spoke of having itching ears who turned their ears away from the truth. And there are people like that. But that's not this man. This man wanted to hear. This man wanted to be healed. This man was not one of those who had a spirit of slumber, ears that they should not hear. He's not like that. He wanted to hear. This man they brought to Jesus was not like those described in Acts 28-27. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they've closed that they should not see and hear with their ears. They're not like those who stood by when Stephen was preaching and being stoned who stopped their ears. They're not stopping their ears because their ears are closed. It's not said whether he's born that way or not. And for years I've questioned how so many young people, good young people, you see, not all young people have gone to the devil. There are a lot of good young people who respect their parents. They don't drink. They don't use drugs. And there are numbers of them in this church and they're in churches all over. They have Christian parents. Their parents are believers. The parents have done everything they know how. But, you see, they can sit in church. And, folks, some of the greatest grief I've ever had to bear. I have, as you know, 11 grandchildren. And they will tell you they love Jesus. And these are good kids. They don't use drugs. They don't smoke. They don't drink. They respect their parents. They respect their grandparents. They are kind. They are generous. They're just wonderful kids just like many of yours. They're wonderful kids. They'll do anything for you. But it's been the grief of my heart to see them sit in a church service like this. And I can preach my soul out. I can preach my heart out with tears and spiritual authority. And I'm thinking in my heart, maybe today is the time that that lukewarmness, that coldness and that passivity will be dealt with by the Holy Spirit. I'll see them walk down the aisle. I'll see a tear or something to show evidence that it's touched the heart. And they walk out untouched. Good kids. Same with husbands that wives bring into this house. These wives have been praying for their husbands. Their husbands are good husbands. Good fathers. Don't cheat on them. Good providers. And come to church occasionally with their wives. And the wife prayed, oh, God, get a hold of them today. And they'll go home and say, hey, I enjoyed that. I'll go back again sometime. And they hear a word as clear as God can give it, anointed by the Holy Spirit. They are not Christ rejecters. They don't hate anybody. They're really good people. But good people are going to go to hell without Christ. They admire Christ. They flatter the preaching. I've got friends like that. Acquaintances from all walks of life. I meet them and we become friends and acquaintances. And I invite them to church. They come to church. And some of them come quite often. Again, you can sit and talk to them all. I know about Jesus. I know He died on the cross. I know He's raised again. He's in heaven. They can tell you all about the Jesus who walked this earth. They know theology because they've heard it over and over again. And they think everything is okay. Honestly, most of them think they're going to heaven. But they're passive. There is no evidence they're involved in any work of God whatsoever. And they are really deaf because what they hear does not change their lives. It does not put fire in their soul. They don't witness. They have no tongue to speak forth His praises. You don't see or hear them praising God. They talk about business. They'll talk about their wonderful children, their wonderful wife or husband. But they don't talk about Jesus. There is a passivity. They are not involved in the things of God. There is only one hope on earth that I see for this man to hear and to speak that they brought to Jesus. There's only one answer. You can't condemn him into hearing. How foolish it would be. I would imagine this could have been father, mother, brother, sister, whole family that brought the brother, brought a young man to Jesus. We don't know who he is. But I can speculate it's a whole family and they bring this son to Jesus. And it says they beseeched Him. That word beseeched means to pray. They prayed. They implored Him. They said, please touch Him. Touch Him. Put your hand on Him. And they bring Him unto Him. They bring Him unto Him. See, the only hope is that he gets to Jesus. You see, he wasn't blind. He can walk. He can walk. He knew how to communicate evidently by sign language. He could write a message. He could take a scroll and a pen and get his way around. He did not make his own way to Jesus. They brought him. Now, who is they? They brought him to Jesus. See, he never made an effort on his own to come. You know, we have many young people just like that. Their parents bring them to Jesus through prayer. And that's the only way you can bring your family to Christ. Because you can't love them into the kingdom. You can't love them into hearing and speaking. You can't condemn them to it. You can't counsel them because they're deaf. How foolish it would have been if these were parents to approach this boy. And how senseless it would have been to berate him and say. And how kind it would have been to make that son feel condemned because he couldn't put into words what he feels in his heart. And how unkind we are many times to those who are blind or deaf and can't speak and express the cry in their hearts, sons and daughters and loved ones, when we get upset with them because they can't tell us why they won't surrender fully. They can't express it. They can't talk. They're tongue-tied. They're deaf. You can't love deafness out of anybody. You go to a deaf man and say, I love you so much. I'm going to love you till you can hear. I'm going to counsel you till you can hear. I'm going to counsel your mouth open. No, no, no. We have a generation so far beyond that. We have a generation now, a 9-11 generation, that's been through everything. They've seen from the White House to the CEOs in business. They have seen cheating and sexual immorality beyond description. And they are confused. They have seen a church, one church full of pedophiles, or raging with pedophilia. They have seen even in Pentecost, they have seen evangelists exposed before the whole nation, and there is confusion. Who are they? It's you. It's me. It's the Body of Christ, who bring their children and their loved ones to Jesus through daily intercessory prayer. And they bring Him, and they beseech Him to put His hand upon Him. They bring Him. I'm going to tell you, if you've got some child that's passive, you've got some boy, girl, husband or wife, I'm going to tell you, there is no counselor. There is no place you can take them to get their ears open and get their mouths open to praise the living God. No way. That will never work. I have cried with people, especially young people. I have wept with them. And then they look at me with that, Look, I don't understand. It doesn't register. It's not getting through. There's no purpose at all either to spend time trying to understand how they became deaf and tongue-tied. How did my boy, how did my girl, my husband, my loved one become so passive? Some of you say, I prayed my boy, my girl, my family through once. I saw them and all, I saw them give their heart to Jesus. But now they're cold and they're passive. What happened? You sit down with them and try to explain it, have them explain it, and they can't tell you why. They can't speak it. They are tongue-tied concerning why they are not zealous for Jesus and why they're going their own way now and leaving you with the impression that they are either Christ rejecters or they're blind or they're hard at heart. Which is not the case. Serves no purpose to find out what made him, why he was deaf. It serves no purpose for you to sit here and try to figure out what you might have done wrong or said wrong earlier in their lifetime. That serves no purpose whatsoever. The Bible makes it clear to you not to look back, you're not to second guess, and you're not to put a guilt trip on yourself. Now, what's the first thing Jesus did when they brought this man to Him? Scripture says, and He took him aside from the multitude. He took him aside. And way out of earshot, probably out of eyesight, takes him along because Jesus said, I know what this young man needs. Know what he needs. This young man wants an experience of his own. He doesn't want what they told him. He wants nothing to do with what they are trying to impress upon him. He doesn't want to hear about it. Jesus, they found. He wants a personal encounter with me. Jesus knew his heart. I know what he wants. He doesn't want to be made a spectacle. You see, you don't have to walk down this aisle here to have an encounter with Jesus. You can find that anywhere in a secret closet, in your bedroom, anywhere. You don't have to walk down an aisle. You don't have to be a spectacle. That's not what Jesus is interested in. His best work is done in secret. And so He takes this young man aside. And Jesus is saying, He wants His own touch. He wants it to be real. He's seen so much hypocrisy. He wants to hear it from Jesus Himself. He wants His own personal encounter. You say, why are they so passive? Why are my loved ones so passive toward Christ? I'll tell you why. They have never, ever in their life had that personal encounter with Jesus. That one-on-one revelation of who He is, and that miraculous touch. They have come to an altar or they've said a sinner's prayer because dad and mom wanted to do it, or because a preacher preached such a hellfire message they got scared and ran to Jesus, and it lasted a month. You see, you can't stand. You can't live for Jesus. You can't last the pressures of this generation like 9-11. And all the things that are coming down on the earth now, men's hearts fending them from fear, unless you've had a personal encounter with Jesus. And He has touched you personally. Where it's your testimony. It's not something of your father's religion, your mother's religion. They brought it, yes, but they didn't see it, they didn't hear it, they weren't even there. You see, your son, your daughter, your husband, wife has never had that isolated time with Jesus. That revelation that comes shot in along with Him. Let me ask you a question. Those of you who have been serving the Lord for a long time, you're in it for life and eternity. I'm going to tell you, you can point back to a time when you had a personal encounter with Jesus. Right or wrong. And you know what you have. You didn't get it from somebody else. You didn't get it instilled in you because somebody just preached it at you somewhere, sometime. And I remember my time alone at a camp meeting. I remember when I was touched with God, straw floor, and it was late at night, most of the crowd had gone, and I'm alone! One preacher there beside me, a great old man of God. And I'm alone! For three hours! And I had an encounter with Jesus. When I heard, not a literal voice, but I heard it blasting in my inner man, David, I want you to preach the gospel. I'm touching your life tonight forever. I know the day, I know the hour. I've gone back there and knelt at that place. And it still warms my heart. Because I had an encounter. Away from the multitudes. Personal touch. Jesus spoke to this deaf man in sign language. He put his finger into his own ears. Now, I wish I had talked to our sign people. But here's the way I picture it. Jesus puts his hand in his ears to signify, you can't hear? I will open, is that open? Your ears. And then Jesus, because a man that can't spit, he's tongue tied. He didn't spit on the man's tongue. He touched his own tongue. He said, you're going to be just like every other man. You're going to be able to spit. Because your tongue is going to be listened. You're going to be just like every other man. You're going to be able to express yourself. And he's using sign language. Tucked his tongue and then pointed to the other man's tongue. To the deaf man's tongue. Is this it? Open. He used sign language. Can you imagine what's going on in this young man's mind? He can't hear yet. Jesus hasn't healed him yet. And he said, this man has asked me no questions. He doesn't condemn me. Didn't ask me how I got this way. He's speaking my language. He's not accusing me. He knows I'm going through something so deep. He knows I'm not a rejecter of Christ. He knows so much that I want to hear his voice. I want to speak to him. I want to praise him. And he knows I can't hear. I can't speak. Because I have to have a miracle. I have to have a miracle. And this man knows it. Think of how... You know, he said, this man is not making a show out of me. He's not making me a spectacle. He knows how shy I am. He didn't want to do this in front of my friends and family. Because that's the one thing I dreaded more than anything else. He's taking me apart. I feel his love. Do you understand how patient Jesus was with Saul? You see, when Saul was holding the coat and they were stoning Stephen, this man was destined to have a personal encounter with Jesus. Jesus was going to smite him off his horse, smite him to the ground. He could have done that in front of that crowd, his own Pharisee friends. He could have smite him and made him a spectacle in front of the whole crowd. But he waits until he gets in the desert alone. And smites him. Takes him down. The love and patience of Jesus. And I want you to know that your unsaved loved ones are right now under the same kind of love and compassion of the blessed Savior. Not wanting to make a spectacle out of anybody. In secret, alone with the man, Jesus does something most unusual. He hasn't healed the man yet. He's signed to him that he will. And the Bible says, and he looked up to heaven and he sighed. In other words, in Greek, he groaned inwardly. You see, he's in communion with the Father. And the man can't hear him. But he sees Jesus standing there, grimacing in his face. And a groan comes out of the heart of Jesus. A groan. What's he groaning about? Two things. He's groaning about a cry he hears of this man that could never be voiced. He hears a cry, not only of this man, but he's looking down through eternity now. Looking right now from this very moment to all of those until he returns again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Who are going to go through life. He's talking about those in this church tonight. He's grieving and groaning of your sons and your daughters who have a cry all bottled up in them. How many nights did Jesus see in his mind of this man, say, if I could only speak once. If my tongue could be loose for one minute and I could just tell somebody what's going on in my soul. How many nights he cried himself to sleep because he tried to get his mother, his father, his friends. He can't talk. He's bottled up, he's got a cry and Jesus heard the cry. But it had no voice. And Jesus is groaning over the time because this man, if he could speak, would cry out. One time I want to scream, I'm not a dummy. I'm normal. And I feel like everybody else, but I can't talk. I can't speak. I'm confused. I don't know what's going on. But I'm not against Jesus. I love Jesus. I want to serve him. I know my own will, but I can't talk. I don't know what's going on. I'm confused. Groanings that couldn't be uttered. And Jesus felt that pain. The Bible said he's touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And deafness and speech impediment are spiritual infirmities in this story. Spiritual infirmities. And that inner cry that our young people have, what's wrong with me? Why can't I respond? I'm not mad at God. I mean, very few people, even on the street, they could be drunk, they could be party goers, everything else. I'm not mad at God. I know Jesus is real. Many of them curse because they're putting on a front before their kids and before their peers. You get them alone, though, and they talk normal. And he sighed. I told you, I have 11 grandchildren. I'm very proud of them. I'm sorry, I have to use personal strength. It's the only way I know how to get this out of my gut. And they all have a heart for Jesus. Most respectful. I don't know anybody who respects me more than my wife and my grandchildren and my children. I got a note from one of my granddaughters two weeks ago when they were visiting here for our 50th anniversary. She sent me a note. She said, Dear Grandpa, all these years I couldn't figure out when we would visit you and we'd be playing games, you wouldn't play with us. You were always up in your room. And I got mad. I said, Why does Grandpa not take time with us to play games? And I do spend time with him. But she said, When you were at the banquet, you got up and you said, I know you want me to be playing games. I spend time with him. While you're playing the games, I'm up there in my study. She said, I understand now when you said you had to put a wall around the family. She said, I understand now why you're up in that room. She said, Please forgive me. I didn't know. And she said, Grandpa, please stay there. They had a little movie of all the family. This broke my heart. I mean, in a good way. Showed all the family, all the things we've done over the years, the laughter, the tears and everything else. And then it closed in a black picture late at night with a picture of Grandpa, the light on late at night in his study. And they said, This is how we remember Grandpa. Because, you see, I am bringing them to Jesus. And that can't be done other than intercessory prayer. That's the only way you can bring your family to Jesus. There's no other way. But, you know, I have four of my grandsons that I'm especially praying for now. Good kids. I love them dearly. I won't name them so they won't be embarrassed. But I've made time recently. I take time. I ask God to help me to do it naturally so I can just walk in naturally. And I'll walk in on them when they're doing something and just sit down and talk. And here's how it goes, son. You know your grandpa's a praying man. You know I hear from God. And I've been praying for you. And I know deep in your heart you love the Lord. But why are you so passive? I never see you read your Bible. I don't see you pray. And I don't see you involved in the work of God. And I know you love me. But I ask you, Why? When you hear me preach, I don't see it moving you. And why this passiveness toward Christ? I said, That's not going to do in these days. There has to be more than that. There has to be a full surrender of your heart and everything that's in you. You are good, but that goodness is going to not save you. You've got to be in His Word. You have got to have a touch of God. Why? Please tell me what you're going through. Tell me what's holding you back. And one after another, I hear this, the shrug of the shoulders. Hey, Grandpa, I love you. I'm not mad at God. I love Jesus deep in my heart. But I don't know. I'm confused. I get to a place where I don't know. I just can't tell you. And I get in my car and drive away. And my heart sinks. And I said, Oh, God, what is this? What is this? There's not an ability to hear. And then I realized I've heard a cry. And I can't voice it. Everyone might hear that cry. Oh, Grandpa, that's what I want deep inside. But it's a cry. I don't want to get it the way you got it. I don't want to go the way you did. Because what they're going to tell you, I've seen so much hypocrisy in Catholic church, Protestant church. I've seen it in business. I've seen it in school. I have it bombarded on all sides. And I've got girlfriend problems. And I've got all these things piling up on me. And nobody seems to understand. I can't talk to anybody even though I know their parents are open to them and ask them to speak. But they can't get it out. They can't get it out. It's all bottled up inside. What can I do? Folks, there's only one option. The only power and authority I have is to get on my face before God and name their names and say, Oh God, now you send the Holy Ghost to them. You send the Holy Ghost and woo them. And you stir their heart. And Father, get them alone. Isolate them. If it's in their room, you don't even have to send somebody. Just send the Holy Ghost. Send the Holy Ghost to my children and to my grandchildren. And God, in Jesus' name, give them their own experience. Give them their own encounter with Jesus. Jesus, reveal yourself to them. Whether they're on the job. Whether they're at home. You have to pray that to pass. That's why we're fasting. One day a week at least. We call it raising the dead fast. And we want it to go all summer. I have so enjoyed this time of fasting for weeks now. And I see God. I'm looking. All my grandchildren. And I can't tell you. It's so secret. And it would be gossip. But I'm telling you, I've prayed girlfriends out of their life that would have driven them to hell. And for my granddaughters, I'm going to pray every ungodly boy out of their life, along with their parents. I know a backslidden preacher in this city that I'm praying for. I'm going to pray, God, give him a new resurrection. I'm praying that the Holy Ghost will stir his heart again and restore him completely. That's the work of the body of Jesus Christ. Our job. We are they who must bring them to Jesus. And we can't do it. We can't beg them. We can't plead. It has to be done on our knees and no other way. Well, you can't tell me when Jesus simply raises his hands and says, Be healed. Be opened. The first man he hears is Jesus. Now, Jesus had to talk to this man to prove that he could hear. He didn't vacuate. I'm not making fun. I'm not mocking anything, but I'm telling you right now. Jesus, it was natural. Very natural. Jesus does his greatest work in secret. Not through star people. And you can't tell me this man didn't fall on his neck and begin to pour out everything that had been pent up in him. And God opens his ears and he begins to speak. And the Lord is there. Yes, yes, yes. He's listening. And something the crowd must have been able to see or those who brought him there. There must have been some rejoicing because they see this give and take. Now, can you imagine what this man is going through? The love he has for Jesus now because he got it himself. He had an encounter with Jesus of his own in private. You see, I don't understand that cry. And you will never understand the cry that's in them. And I want to tell you something else. I'm going to stop asking anybody why they're passive. No more whys. I'm going to pray because I can't understand that cry. I can't fathom that cry. It's so deep in their hearts. And let me tell you something about Jesus. And this is a caveat. And this is the warning. And I'm going to close in just a minute on this. If you're one of those who sit under the gospel and you can't hear, it's not changing you. And your tongue is not loose that you can praise the Lord. Let me tell you, you're without excuse because you know how to get to Jesus. You've been told how to get to Jesus. And this man wanted to hear. This man had the desire to hear. And if you don't have that desire, you ask Jesus, you ask the Holy Spirit to put that desire. He said, I will cause you to come after me. I will cause you. If all you can do is give Jesus sign language. Well, that's what happened in the Scripture. The Scripture, you'll find it in 18th chapter of Luke. There's a sinner that goes into the temple to pray. The Bible says he went far off. He stood far off. The same thing that Jesus did with him. He took him away from the crowd. He's far out. And he doesn't know how to talk to Jesus at first. Doesn't know how to talk to the Lord. So, sign language. I don't know what this means. What does this mean when you pound your chest? What does that mean? Anything? Anybody tell me? Huh? Nothing special. I'll tell you what it means to me. God, I'm desperate. Oh God, I'm desperate. He said, I'm a poor sinner and he's pounding his chest. You're talking about sign language. God saw it. If all you can do is get along with God somewhere. You don't need your dad, your mother, or your wife, or your husband, or anyone else. Get along some place. I don't care if you're in a bar. He said, don't get sacrilegious. God can meet you in a bar as well as anywhere else. You pound your chest and say, God, I'm sick of this. I'm tired of this emptiness. I want an encounter with you, Jesus. I want to know who you are. And only you can talk to me. Only you understand me. Only you know what I'm going through. The Bible said that man went. Then he cried, oh God, help me. I'm a poor sinner. There's no good thing in me. He said he went down to his house just to find. The fast that we're calling for is the Daniel fast. Daniel said for 21 days, in the Hebrews, no exotic food touched my lips. We're asking you, and this has to do with the salvation of your family. Now, folks, time is slipping. I don't mean it's 10 to 12. I mean eternal time. Earthly time is slipping away. Do you have any concern anymore about whether your children go to hell or not? Don't examine yourself. Don't look for your failures. That doesn't solve anything. It's a waste of time. But you, every day, when you get up in the morning, and it's not enough just to pray. You've got to fast. This time cometh forth by fasting and prayer. And the Lord knows that the majority of most of you have to go to work, and you work hard. And in the heat, your body has to have liquids. You take, you get up in the morning, and you take just a piece of dry toast and a glass of juice. And you pray. Pray on the way to the job. Name their name. Say, Jesus, send the Holy Ghost. My husband, my wife, my father, my mother, whoever it may be, and especially your children. Go to them. God. I used to pray, God, whatever it takes. And what I was thinking, put him in a hospital and do anything so you can talk to him. You don't have to pray like that. Just pray, Jesus, out of your great love and your mercy. Because if you... See, when he was groaning, he wasn't groaning just for that man. He was groaning for your kids and mine. He was sighing over the deep hurt and the cry that can't be voiced. Can you imagine what it was like when that boy went back and hugged those who brought him? And he could speak. And what a rejoicing that was, and how he was praising the Lord. One day, your son, your daughter is going to come. So unexpectedly, in a moment, hug you and say, Dad, you'll never believe what happened. Mom, you'll never believe. God has touched my life. Jesus has come into my heart and changed me. And your prayers will be answered. I believe that with everything in my soul. But folks, you can't sit... You can't just sit in front of television and laugh. And just have a good old time doing your thing, going your way with your kids, your children. They are not Christ rejecters. They're not mad at God. They're not mad at the church. They're not mad at you. They don't understand. And one of these days, you're going to hear them speak of all the hurt and all the things they went through. And how, during their darkest times, they said, Oh, I just wish I knew how God's going to give them that personal encounter. And when that happens, you never have to be concerned about it again. You're going to stay with Jesus. Hallelujah. Will you stand? No clapping, please. Let me speak to those who make Times Square Church their home. In the annex, the overflow rooms, and here in the main auditorium. We want your help. We want to raise the spiritually dead. We want those who've been backslidden. Folks, the minister that I'm talking about, I know he's not mad at God. But he's confused. And he can't begin to tell you what's going on in his life. And he said, If I did tell you, Pastor Dave, you wouldn't understand it. And probably not. But every day now, I pray for that man. And by praying for him, I'm bringing him to Jesus. I'm bringing him to Jesus. All right. I'm going to go over this fast one more time. Morning, a piece of dry toast, juice. You have a cracker or two or just some piece of toasted bread for lunch and juice. And that's your supper. If you can go 24 hours, that's fine. If you want to do it in two days, because you may have a health problem or whatever. Or maybe you just can't do. You know, by the time you get to 8 o'clock, you may see this is distracting me from my prayer time. Go ahead and eat. Folks, it's not to condemn you. You are not to condemn yourself. If you eat, so what? Start again in the morning. Go ahead and get next to day. So that in two days, you fasted a whole day. Put it together. And folks, it can't be by rote. We mean business about this. Already, people who have been in this fast for three weeks are seeing changes in their home. Changes in their children. And you're going to see the same. We've got to mean business about this. Hallelujah. Nobody working you up into a frenzy. Nobody getting you to sign a paper. We're not going to sign anything. We're not going to ask you to be committed verbally. We're going to ask you to do it before the eyes of the Lord. Father, I pray right now that you put it on the hearts of all who have unsaved loved ones in their family. Especially children. Especially those who are closest to them. Lord, I believe you want us to get serious about this. You want us to get desperate about it. We're going to bring them to Jesus through intercessory prayer. And Lord, we're going to trust you with them. We're not going to fret. We're going to believe you. And Lord, expand it beyond our own family. Let us put on our hearts those that... Even an evangelist that's falling. Maybe somebody here will get a burden to pray for some evangelist that fell. And just name his name and bring him back through prayer. God, have his eyes and ears open that he will speak once again the glory of God. Lord, do something supernatural for us this morning. Not through some emotional workup coming from me or from this pulpit. But something to go deep in our hearts because we're hearing it from the Holy Ghost. We're hearing it from the Holy Spirit. I pray in Jesus' name. Friends, I'm going to open this all up. Listen very closely. I'm opening this now and we'll pray with you up here. There's no more power up here than there is where you're at. But sometimes you have to take a stand. And if you're here now and you're one of those who say, Brother Dave, I've not really been able... I guess I'm that deaf man and I've not been able to speak for the praises of God. I've been tongue-tied about the things of God. And I'm that passive man and that passive woman you're talking about. You're not mad at him. You're not a Christ rejecter. But you're passive toward Jesus. And I have to tell you the truth. Jesus said, because you're neither hot, you're neither cold, but you're lukewarm, I'll spew it out of my mouth. God said, I can't handle that. He'll come to you mercifully. He's a merciful God. But there comes a time when you have to make a move toward him for your healing. Upstairs, here in the main auditorium, you can just come down the aisle. And in the annex, you can just step forward between the screen. And what you're doing, I'm not going to make a spectacle out of you. Nobody's going to lay hands on you. Nobody's going to try to push you down or do anything to you but love you. You can just step forward if the Holy Spirit's speaking to you. Here in the main auditorium while they're singing, I'll pray with you here. And we'll believe the Lord right now. You should walk out of this place having laid that spirit of passivity down. And say, Lord Jesus, I'm not going to live like this. I want you to give me my own experience. I want to have an encounter with you that nobody can take from me. While they're singing, come up in the balcony. Go to the stairs on either side. Come down any aisle on the main floor. And then in the annex, just go between the screens. Don't block the screens if you will. And I'll pray for you up there also from this stage. God bless. And here's what I want you to do. I want you to make up your mind while you're in this place right now while the Holy Spirit's so close to your heart and dealing with you. I want you to make up your mind that when you go home today, you don't put it off until tomorrow. Sometime today you find one half hour where you can get alone with Jesus and get a Bible and start reading Psalms. Start with Psalm 91 and just read it. And you'll see God's love and concern for you. And I'll tell you what. You don't have to make some fancy prayer or anything else. You say, Jesus, I want you to touch my life. I want you to reveal yourself to me. I don't want to get Brother Dave's experience or Pastor Carter's or Pastor Neal's, Pastor Patrick's. I don't want their experience. I want my own. Most of you that are here, if I were to talk to you, you would tell me that you're all bottled up inside. There's stuff in there that nobody knows, doesn't understand. And if you did tell them, they'd get embarrassed probably. And they may not want you as a friend. That's how some people are. But Jesus knows. And He cares. And He understands. And if you'll just spill your heart to Jesus, just tell Him what you're going through. Talk to Him, man to man or woman to man. Just as if you would talk to me if I were in the room with another pastor. And talk plain. Sit in a chair. Or walk around in the room. And say, Lord, here's what it's like. Here's what I'm going through. And I've got to get this out. I've got a cry in me that I can't voice. And I want you to hear it and get it out of my gut. Get it out. Lord Jesus, I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to live passive. I'm going to be red hot or nothing at all. I'm going to be all out for Jesus or nothing at all. Lord Jesus, I pray for these that have come forward in the annex and here in the auditorium. I pray, Holy Spirit, you begin to woo them to you. You call them away. You said, come unto me. You draw nigh to me and I'll draw nigh to you. But we have to do the drawing first. We have to come nigh. Lord, everyone that's hearing me now has the capacity to say, I will go. I will go. I know where Jesus is. He said, go into the secret closet and pray. Just get alone and call on me and I'll answer you. I'll be there. I'll be there. Morning, night, or noon, I'll be there. And I'll speak to you. I'll open your ears. I'll unstop your tongue. And you'll be able to praise me. And I'll fill you with the Holy Spirit. And I'll do a miracle for you. I will give you a miracle. I'll change you miraculously. And I'll change your family. I'll change everything in your life. I'll do it supernaturally. God, do what I pray. And I want everyone that came forward, I want you to pray this prayer with me now. It's not even a salvation prayer. It's something else. Pray this with me. Jesus. I know what I have to do. I have to get to you. On my own. Not depending on others. Because I know the way. Lord Jesus. I'm going to come after you. I'm going to come to you. On my own. In secret. And I'm going to tell you. Everything that I want to be heard. I'm going to spill my heart to you. And I'm going to trust you. To come into my room. To come into my place. Alone with me. And give me a touch. An everlasting touch. Now let me thank you for it. Jesus, I give you thanks. And I give you praise. For your faithfulness. Lord, because something deep is going to happen now. Something marvelous is going to happen. Because it's not just the noise. It's something the Holy Ghost is doing. These still waters are running deep. And I give you thanks. I give you praise. Would you just lift up your hands and love Jesus right now. Just love him. Say, thank you Jesus. I thank you Jesus for your presence in my life. Thank you for setting me on the path. Would you tell him again, I'm coming Jesus. I'm coming Jesus. I tell the Lord every day I walk into his presence. Lord, I'm going to keep coming. And keep coming. I'm going to lay hold of you. And nothing in the world is going to stop me. And I'm asking the Holy Ghost to put some Holy Ghost fight in me. To resist the devil in my life. To take authority over everything that would hold me back. This is the conclusion of the message.