In this sermon, the preacher discusses the reasons why God rises up to deliver His people. The first reason is that God waits for us to forsake our confidence in our own power and strength. The preacher emphasizes that the Israelites did not obtain the land by their own strength, but by the favor and power of God. The second reason is that God commands deliverance through His word, which is His strong arm. The preacher emphasizes that God's word has the power to defeat the enemy and bring deliverance. The sermon concludes by highlighting the current struggles and brokenness in people's lives, offering hope that God can stop the devil from plundering marriages, homes, and lives if we turn to Him.

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 WORLDCHALLENGE PO BOX 260 LINDALE, TEXAS 75771 or calling 903-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. Please, Isaiah 33. Verses 7 to 10, follow me if you will, please. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without. The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways light waste. The wafering man seetheth. He hath broken the covenant. He hath despised the cities. He regardeth no man. The earth mourneth and languisheth. Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down. Sharon is like a wilderness. And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I rise, saith the Lord. Now will I be exalted. Now will I lift up myself. Now, folks, don't get alarmed by what sounds like a very confusing text that I've just read to you. It's not. It's very, very simple. That'll be open to us now. If you have a baby that cries, by the way, we, we, we, I, I preach loud, but not as loud as some of the babies. So you can escort them through Exit 7 and that'll help me tremendously. When God stops the plundering. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the word that you have placed in my heart. We come to you now. Holy Spirit, I need your help. Without your help, without your unction, your anointing, I can't penetrate anybody's heart. I can't get into the mind and the heart. Lord, I can't even preach. My words will fall right in front of me. They have to be anointed by you, Holy Ghost. I thank you for clean hands and pure hearts by faith in the finished work of Jesus. Hallelujah. Lord, let us have ears to hear what the spirit has to say tonight. God, we thank you for what we've heard today. Now, Lord, finish your work in our hearts for this day, I pray. Amen. When God stops the plundering. Now, this whole chapter is God's promise to stop the devil from spoiling and plundering our homes and our marriages and our lives. It's what it's all about and we'll show that to you in just a moment. Now, to plunder means to rob and steal valuable goods forcibly. It's as a thief or somebody comes in and overpowers you forcibly, takes everything that's good and valuable away from you. That's to be plundered. Now, everywhere you look in God's house today, everywhere you turn, you see the devil at work plundering and spoiling homes and marriages and lives. It's not just out in the world. It's in the house of God. It's in the church of Jesus Christ. Amazing things that are happening today. Satan is spoiling marriages. He's looting good families. He's stealing their peace. He's robbing everything that's good and pure from so many, many Christians. Armies of demonic principalities and powers have invaded the lives and the homes of multitudes of God's people. I have to tell you, in all my years of ministry, I've not seen so many homes and marriages and lives and young people and ministers who are plundered by the enemy, absolutely being overtaken and everything good and precious and valuable being stolen from them. Armies of these demonic powers have invaded marriages especially. There has never in history been so many troubled, broken marriages. Here in the United States, one of every two marriages is now in a divorce. Fifty percent divorce rate. One out of every two marriages now. It's absolutely incredible that in evangelical circles, now we have the highest rate of divorce in the country among Christian evangelicals. Not wicked sinners, but Christians. Divorcing, marriages that are broken, marriages that are in turmoil. It's affected the children, our children who deserve to have had quiet homes where both mother and father are at peace. They are living in turmoil with screaming parents. They watch parents hitting one another, striking one another. Let me tell you, sir, you hit your wife and you were in trouble with God. I'm telling you, you were in trouble with God. You lift your hands, and sister, I'm going to tell you, you lift your hands against him. The same thing. You say, well, he's a big, strong guy. He can take it. Now, it may sound a little funny, but it's not funny in the sight of God. And it's devastating when children see it. That's the devil coming to plunder, to destroy. I see a whole generation of young people that are confused today. Literally, their lives being plundered. Satan seems to be able to tempt them at will. They'll last for a while and just begin to fall and just begin to crumble and wither away. You see it everywhere you turn. I think my mailing list now is up close to 900,000 from all over the world. And the letters, my wife is here tonight. She reads thousands and thousands of letters. And the troubled homes and the young people who have no sense of direction. They say there are no heroes. There's nobody to look up to. They don't respect. Even worse among them are ministers' children who have lost all respect for their fathers. You see devastated ministries. The enemy coming and plundering and spoiling and looting. Taking everything precious and holy. I told, I think last week, of the letter we received. And we received many like them from the minister's wife. I said, we decided to bring a satellite dish into our home. And my husband and I started watching porno movies. And we started lusting after awful sinful ways in our marriage. And she said, my husband became so obsessed with pornography, he quit the ministry. It just dropped out. And he had just walked out of them. She said, now he's left me. And she said, our home is in ruins. The church is in ruins. My husband who was successful as a pastor for so many years, his life is in ruins. The church is in ruins. Everything is in ruins. They had been plundered and looted by the devil. Absolutely wiped out. Other ministers that write to us, they're quitting the ministry. Not by dozens, but by hundreds. Are quitting the ministry in total despair. That's why when there's word of revival somewhere, they get on a plane or a bus or just drive. They'll drive all night to get some place where they can. They want somebody to solve their problem. Just lay hands on them or get zapped and suddenly get back to God. And it doesn't work that way. There's a price to pay and they're not willing to pay it. They've been looted by the devil. And somebody just going to a revival meeting is going to not put the devil to chase. It's not going to solve the problem. It'll last for a few weeks of emotional high, but that doesn't solve the problem. Now Isaiah lived here in the 33rd chapter. He's living in a similar time as this. Where the devil was absolutely plundering the people of God. Plundering Israel at will. King Sennacherib had come with an Assyrian army. A huge army and demanded that Hezekiah hand over Jerusalem. And he'd already plundered many of the cities of Judah. In fact, the prophet says that Lebanon, Sharon, Carmel, and Bashan had been absolutely ruined already. He'd gone through four of the most fertile, wonderful, fruit-bearing provinces and regions of Israel. And he had plundered it. He had gone through all the cities, taken everything valuable, all the cattle. He had stripped all of the vineyards of all the grapes. He had milked every cow. He had taken everything in sight. And now he's in Jerusalem and they've had to open the gates. And this is an amazing moment in time. This plundering army coming against Israel and against Jerusalem especially is a type of the devil himself. Sennacherib is a type of the devil. It is an army, a type of the demonic forces. And coming, looting, and lusting after everything that's precious and pure and valuable. And demanding interest. Now at this time, nothing has been able to stop Sennacherib and his army. He has moved at will. The plunders in the 33rd chapter are already inside the walls of Jerusalem. This had to be an awful time for King Hezekiah and the children of Israel. Because the scribes were going all through the city, taking inventory of everything they planned to possess. As soon as they marched in, they were going to take everything. They went into the vaults of the state government. And they took inventory of every gold bar, every piece of silver, every piece of brass. They went into the palaces and took inventory. These scribes and these monitors were literally monitoring everything. Now, the Bible says that they spoke a foreign language that the children of Israel didn't understand. Can you imagine what it was like? How would you like to have somebody come into your home? Another government, a communist government for example, is coming in. And they say, we're going to take everything that you possess. It now belongs to the state. It belongs to us. We're going to ship it all to another land. And they send in monitors and scribes. And they go all through your house, listing everything that's valuable. And though you don't understand the language, you can hear them excitingly jabbering. Because they have their eye on this. This will fit very well with my wife. This fur coat goes on my wife. This piece, that watch, everything. They can tell from the excited talk that these people are lusting after it and they're drooling. Everything is precious and holy. In fact, they had scribes and monitors that were up on the towers, counting the towers. Pushing aside the watchmen. And they are excitedly talking about, look how far you can see. This is ours now. We're going to possess. This is going to become our stronghold. The city of Jerusalem on a hill. They were going to push God out. And the devil was going to come in and take over and make every strong place they had to be his stronghold. His stronghold. What a picture. And that's what the Bible says. These things happen unto them as an example. Unto us upon whom the ends of the world have come. You have the greatest Bible truths and lessons in these Old Testament truths. I love to read these Old Testament stories. Because they're not just stories. They're about me. They're about you. And you learn the secrets. What God is saying. It's there. If you just dig for it. If you'll listen. God will give you a secret right now. God will give you a secret. He'll give you a plan to stop the devil from plundering your marriage, your children, your home. It can be stopped tonight in this house. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You see, the devil has sent his scribes already. He's gone through your house whether you know it or not. And I want you to know that he's monitored and he has taken inventory of every peaceful moment you've had. He goes after every happy marriage. He sees you happy in the Lord. I want you to know that everybody in this house that has a good marriage. I'm not trying to scare you. But I want you to know the Bible said the devil as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour. That is scripture. And you can't be lazy about it. You have to be on guard. You have to know of his devices. And everyone that's happily married. Everyone that is happy with your children. Everyone that has people, children around your table and you are blessed. The devil has taken inventory and his scribes have been there. And he is lusting after everything there. He's after the gold in your life. Your faith that is more precious than gold. Everything that's precious and holy and pure. He has his eyes on it. That he may loot it from you. He's after every watchman on every tower. To come in and say I'm taking over. This is going to be my strong tower. He's after everything that's pure and holy and godly in this church and in your life. Believe me. Satan sees young alcoholics, former alcoholics and drug addicts sitting here in the front seats. When they're not here tonight when they sit over here. And then our bible school students that are sitting over here. Many of you that are sitting in congregation up in this balcony and behind me. The devil saw the day you got saved. He watched as you began to grow in the Lord. He watched as so many beautiful valuable things were given to you. A robe of righteousness. A faith that's more precious than gold. He saw the wonderful things God was doing in your life. And he began to lust after it. He began to come against you with all the forces of hell. The whole Sinacron army so to speak. And he says he's written it all down. And he's told his demon forces this is all ours. We're taking over. And he wants nothing more than to take everything that God gave you. Take it from you and put you back on the street. Put you back where you were. Be sober, be vigilant. Because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion. Walketh about seeking who he may devour. In fact in this time in the 33rd chapter of Isaiah. Things became so bad. It looked like the devil had, Sinacron had literally taken over. Everything was devastated and everything was in ruin. If you turn to Isaiah, do you have Isaiah 33 open? Look at verse 7. Even the strongest among them began to whimper and weep. Verse 7. Let's see. 33, chapter 33, verse 7. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without. The ambassadors of the peace shall weep bitterly. The original Hebrew reads. Even the lion hearted of God shall cry in their midst. And those messengers of those who desire peace will weep bitterly. Look at me please. There are some that are sitting in our midst tonight. That at one time were so strong. You looked at your home. You looked at your marriage. You looked at your life. And you were so peaceful. You were so at ease. That's the way it was prior to this. Israel had been blessed of God. But now the plunders had come. Plundering and ruining everything in sight. And the strongest among them. Those who never thought they could weep as they did. Strong hearted men who had never wept in their life. People who had strong wills. They begin to weep. Men were weeping now because it looked. And all peace had been taken. There was no more peace. The ambassadors of peace are weeping. The strong lion hearted ones are weeping now. I wonder how many there are listening to me right now. You never thought it would come to the place. Now in your life where you look over some ruin and devastation. That the enemy has wreaked in your life. And in your home. And now you cry yourself to sleep. There is no peace like you once had. The enemy has come and disturbed. And there is no peace in your home or in your life or your marriage. The peace is gone. And you were so strong at one time. You were unmoved by things. But now you break down. You have absolutely broken down. You say I don't know how it got like this. I don't know what happened. It's all broken down. Everything is upside down. Everything is messed up. There are people sitting among us here tonight right now. You didn't know. There would come a time that you would weep. Over your life as you do now. And you wake up in the morning. You have that heavy cloud hanging over your head. You wake up and there is no joy. Because the enemy has come and plundered. He has done a job on you. He has done a job on your home. And you say how did things get so ruined and so messed up. What happened? There are some of you here now that have been divorced. I'm not here to blame you. I don't know how it happened. I'm not putting you under any guilt trip or anything else. But I know there are many of you hearing me tonight. And you have, you are just like this. The valiant ones. The lion hearted shall cry. They shall weep. Because of the ruin they see all about them. The Israelites cried out the highways lie waste. In verses 8 and 9. And the earth mourneth and languisheth. And what is saying life has become so messed up now. Everything is turned upside down. So I'm mourning all day long. And my work and my coming and my going seem so empty now. There are so many troubles in my life. I am so dull and lifeless. Languish means to be dull and listless and lifeless. I've become lifeless. I don't even feel like getting up in the morning. I can't sleep at night. And this was the devastation. This is what happened when the plundering was in full sway. And Isaiah is looking at this and he's grieving over it. It seems to him as though the enemy is going to prevail over Jerusalem. Jerusalem is going to be overrun. Devilish powers are going to be in control. The strongholds of God are going to become the strongholds of the enemy. God's strong men are becoming wimps. Peace is taken from the city. It's gone. The presence of God has departed. There's only going to be shame and broken lives. A whole generation left in ruin. And that's the setting of this 33rd chapter. A time just like today. But something happens to this prophet. He looks at this and he's not willing to let it go. He's not willing to stand by and allow the devil to take over. The Spirit of God came on him. And in a holy indignation, he said, This plundering has to stop. So he goes to his knees and to the promises of God. He goes to his knees. You find that in the second verse. Chapter 33. Oh Lord. And when it's saying, Oh Lord. This man is crying out to God. He's on his knees now. Oh God. Lord. He's not gathered with the princess. He's not with the king. He's not with any other human being. He's not turning to the flesh. Lord, you're our only hope. Oh God. There's ruin. There's devastation on all sides. Be gracious to us. We have waited for thee. Be thou their arm every morning. Our salvation also in the time of trouble. In prayer, the prophet's faith begins to soar. The Spirit of God reminds him. And he wants him to remind all of Israel. You're not alone in this. It looks like it's hopeless. It looks like there's ruin on all sides. But you have a God who still has a mighty strong arm. He has all power. He has all might. He has all strength. You find the first reference in the Bible to the strong arm of the Lord in Exodus 6, 5, and 7. And the first mention of the arm of the Lord is that it's mighty. It's all powerful. And it's stretched out. You look at your concordance. You'll find out his arm is stretched out. Stretched out. Stretched out. His power and authority is offered is what it means. It's freely offered. God said, I am willing and I'm standing by to stop this plundering. To end this devastation in your life. This ruin. I have all that you need. All the power. You know that. I know that. You can't. You could be a baby in the word of God. You could be almost an illiterate in the word of God. In a little bit, you heard, you know that God has all the might and all the power in his strong arm. In Exodus, the 15th chapter, don't turn there. But Moses in his song began to say, then the dukes of Edom. Who are the dukes of Edom? The devils, the demons that harass you and me. The dukes of Edom. He said, they shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab. Trembling shall take hold of them. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness of your arm, they shall be as steel as a stone. God says, I'm going to so deal with your enemies that harass you. That they're going to be as silent and shut up like a stone. Hallelujah. Now, folks, Isaiah was no Pollyanna preacher. He was no sweet, soft-talking teacher. He knew how bad the crisis was and he wasn't about to whitewash it. Now, folks, I look at the devastation in the house of God and the broken homes and marriages and children. I see all of this. And it's very, very easy to just say, I can stand here and say, bless God. He's going to stretch forth his arm. He's going to deliver you and set you free. Now, that's true. But there's a problem. And Isaiah lays it out very clearly. He said, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened. It's not a matter of God not having the power or the willingness to move on our behalf. He said, that's not the issue. It's not short that he cannot save. Neither is his ear heavy that he cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God. And your sins have hit his face from you that he will not hear you. Isaiah said, now look, Israel. Look, Jerusalem. Hezekiah, listen to me. God wants to show his power. He wants to stop this invasion. His arm is ready. He's stretched out, ready to move. But there's a sin problem. He said, we are not in this nation ready to do what he commands us to do. We're not ready to do what he's asked us to do. We're not walking according to truth. He said, you're living a lie. Your lips speak falsely. Your tongue speaks error. In fact, another prophet put it more strongly. He said, you come and cover my altar with tears. And your treacherous towards your mate. He said, you weep and you cry. You cover my altar with tears. But you have treachery in your heart. You want me to stretch out my arm and deliver you. But I can't do it because of the treachery that's in your heart. It's not that I am not willing and ready or that I lack power. I want to move on your behalf, but I can't because of this thing in your heart. Isaiah is actually saying there's some mischief in you. Your thinking's been perverted. You can pray. You can tell people you want to obey God. You say, I want to obey God. But you've spun a web. You've hatched a scheme. And now you've made excuses around that web and alibis and you've built your own case. You've placed the blame on somebody else. You really don't want to obey God's word. You want out. You don't want to be saved from your condition. You want God to save you while you keep your present position. And God told Isaiah, he says, now I will arise. Look at verse 10. Now will I arise, saith the Lord. Now will I be exalted. Now will I lift up myself. And Isaiah is actually saying this. There's going to come a time that God's going to rise up. He said that's enough. And God's going to act. And then the Bible says, oh, woe to the devil. Woe to the powers. Look at verse 1. Woe to them that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled, and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee. When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled. And when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. God says, I'm going to send my heavenly host. And now, devil, you're going to be the one that's terrorized. You will not terrorize my people anymore. You'll be the one that's terrorized. In verse 3, God says, I'm going to come forth and make a noise. At the noise of the tumult of the people, at the noise of the tumult, the people fled. At the lifting up of thyself, the nations were scattered. God says, I am going to roar against your enemies. I am going to rise up and shout like a man that's just awakened from sleep. I am going to make a roar. And when the enemy, the Bible talks about the roaring lion. The roaring lion doesn't know anything about a roar. This God of ours is going to roar and shake the heavens and the earth. Every demon in hell is going to hear it. God says, enough. Deliver my people. God says, then he's going to let you take back everything the devil's plundered from you. Verse 4, and your spoil, or your loot, shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar. As the running to and fro of locusts shall they run upon them. I'll tell you what, this is exactly what God did to Sennacherib's army. You remember that angel, Lord, came down and swooned in the middle of the night. And they don't know why, but what, 185,000 were slain by one angel. And they go out and it takes them days just to collect the loot. Everything that they had stolen from all of Judah, from Bashan and Lebanon. Everything that they collected, Israel got it back. Plus everything, Sennacherib. They took it all back. You say, brother David, that's what I want. I want God to act on my behalf. I want God to rise up for me. How many want God to rise up for you? Against the devil and everything it's come to rob and steal. Everything that's good and holy and pure in your life. All right, there are three things. You say, well, God rose up here, didn't He? Yes, but there are three reasons why God rises up. And He's not going to do it until... Well, let me explain it to you, all right. First of all, God waits to stretch out His arm of deliverance. Only when we forsake all confidence in the power of our own arm. Now listen closely, please. For they got not the land by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them. But the right hand and thine arm, O Lord, and the light of thy countenance, because thou didst favor them. This is the end of side one. The Lord commands deliverance. All God has to do is speak the word. That's His strong arm, His very word. God just has to blink at the devil and it's over. God just thinks the thought and it's over. God commands deliverance. He says, do it. Move. Now. I don't believe God ever wastes a word. Through thee will we push down our enemies. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my own sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies and put to shame them that hated us. You're never going to have God rise up in your defense if you are trusting in flesh. If you're trusting in man. You're taking your problems to somebody. Almost every wife or husband that's in trouble, rather than running to the Lord and trusting in them. They look for sympathetic ear. See, they built their own case and they'll talk and talk and talk until they'll find somebody. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you. I hear you. Because every big tongue is going to find a big ear. Some psychologist, you can sit down there and just spill your guts. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Do you know what mm-hmm cost you? A hundred dollars. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Ask anybody a good psychiatrist. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes, yes, yes. That'll be $175. Good for you. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, And maketh flesh his arm, And whose heart departs from the Lord. You don't believe that. By the way, you know what the Lord's name is? Counselor. How many have that in your Bible? Counselor. You don't pick up the telephone and turn to the flesh. You go to the secret closet of prayer, and when somebody comes to me week after week, week after week with the same problem, and I've told them go to prayer, and a week later, a month later, a year later, they're telling me the same story, I know exactly what the problem is. They're leaning on the flesh. They're looking for somebody to give them an answer. They are not shut in with God. They're not hearing from Him. They're not trusting in Almighty God. God will never stretch out His arm. God will never work on your behalf. Never! Until you're looking for somebody, until you step all night trying to figure it out. You've got it all figured out, wife. You've got it all figured out where the problem is in your marriage. You know exactly what your husband's doing that's wrong. And same with the husband. I know if he would do this or she would do this. I know if we get the right counselor. If we just do this, we do that, you've got it all figured out, and you build this case in your mind. And I'll tell you what, when you lean on the flesh, you will never in a million years figure out how to get out of the mess. Never! Oh, how many staying up half the night figuring it out. If you go to the Lord and trust Him, He'd give you a good night's sleep. It's not a matter of saying, well, okay, pastor, I'll go back into the battle and I'll try harder. I'll try. I'll do my best. I really believe it's too late, and there's no hope, but I'll try. No, no, no, no. That's not what he's looking for. It's a matter of saying, no, Lord, in myself, in my strength, I can't do it. It's hopeless. In the flesh, it looks hopeless. But I believe that you're God, and you're a God to me. You promised to be a God to me, that nothing's impossible with God, and I believe with all my heart that you are able to do the impossible. Lord, I can't do it, but I'm going to trust you. I'm going to seek your face with everything in me. I'm going to turn away from all flesh. Then I'm going to put my absolute confidence and trust in you. Here, ye that are far off and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. It's right there in verse 13. There's the secret. Acknowledge my might. Deal with it. Go to God and say, Lord, I'm not leaving here until I acknowledge before you and the whole world that you have all the might and power to do the impossible. Now, secondly, God will not rise up and bear his mighty arm for you until he knows you're prepared to obey his word. Until you're ready. Most Christians say they're willing to obey the word of God, good or bad. I'll do anything he tells me. I am set. You ask most people, most Christians, if God speaks to me and gives a word for you, you know, I'm a pastor. They say, pray for me. And God gives me a word. And I say, well, I'll go prayer. In two weeks, you come back and see me. See, this is what they did clearly in Jeremiah 42. Remember when Israel was overrun by the Chaldeans and only remnants left and the princes that are left and all the people. There's still many, many hundreds and part of this remnant. And they had a thought they're going to run off to Egypt and they're going to escape this and they're going to have peace down in Egypt. Egypt represents the world, of course. And they go to the prophet Jeremiah swearing that they would obey. They say, you go to God. Go to the Lord. Seek his direction for us that the Lord may show us the way we're in. We may walk and the things that we may do. And they said to Jeremiah, the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us. If we do not, even according to all things for which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us, whether it be good or evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send thee that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord. They said, you hear from God, you bring us the word, we'll do it. Whether we like it or we don't like it, we will obey. I have heard that over and over. I know, brother Dave, I know I've got to obey the word. I've got to walk in truth and I'll do whatever God says. So, Jeremiah prays and he comes back with the word. And the word is, don't make a move that you're going to regret. Don't do something foolish. You stand still now and see the salvation of the Lord. God's ready to help you. His arm is stretched out. If you'll stand still and believe God, don't make a move, don't do anything. Stand still right in your position, right where you are. Don't do anything but trust. And God said, I'll work a miracle. The word of the Lord came. But you see, Egypt already had their heart. They're already set in their own way. And you know what they said? No. We don't think that's what God said. That's not what God's saying. God's not saying that to us. How many times I've heard wives that had left their husbands, even in this church. Brother Dave, I know what you say. I know what you preach. But I know what I heard. I heard the Lord tell me that he's not a hard taskmaster. And I have all kinds of scripture to prove it. And God doesn't expect me to live in a loveless marriage. God does not expect me to see this thing through because I feel like this man will never understand me the rest of my life. I've tried everything under the sun and God doesn't expect that because I serve a loving God and I've heard the still small voice that has said, It's okay. It's okay. You see, if something of Egypt has your heart, you can say all you want. Yes, I will obey. You will obey as long as it agrees with your little idol. But the moment the Spirit of God comes against it and exposes it for what it really is, deception. They say, Don't make a move. You're going to regret it the rest of your life. They say, No, no, no, no. That's the only way I'm going to find peace. We want peace. Folks, it was... We're going down there for peace. Jeremiah said, You're not going to get peace. You're going to die in your sins in Egypt. You're going to die in your sins. They were not ready to obey God. And I'm going to tell you something. God will never ever tell you anything as contrary to this book. Why would God speak a sweet word to you when you won't believe the pure black and red word right here? God has already spoken. He doesn't have to speak again. God says, I hate divorce. That's his word. I'm not talking about you dear wives that are here and your husband turned to drugs and alcohol and beat you and left you. I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about the man that's here and your wife is out on the street somewhere, a prostitute, and left. Apostle said, Let them depart. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about those who don't want to deal with sin. I'm talking about those who are not even willing to try because they want out. They want to go their own way. I'm not talking just about marriages. I'm talking about those things that have captured our heart. You say, I want to be delivered. Listen, God is ready to send the Holy Ghost with all the power and authority that we need. It is all in the Holy Ghost. It's not in us. He stands by waiting, but God will not override a stubborn will. He will not override. You say, Well, God will even put a will in our heart. Only if you say, Lord, I don't have the power and I don't even know if I really want this, but make me want it. I want to be pleasing to you in your sight. I want your blessing in my life. Put it in my heart. My will is not broken, but break my will. Woo me till I see it. God, he's looking for that kind of heart. Oh, God rush in. His arm will rise immediately. His arm will come. Finally, yes, finally. Number three, God rises up to reveal his mighty arm at the very peak of the devil's power. When it seems most hopeless. In fact, King Sennacherib and his army was at the very peak of power. No one could withstand. This is B.C. 700. And up to this time, for the 50 previous years, no enemy could stand before King Sennacherib and his army, his Assyrian army. They overran everybody and everything. And you see, God, this principle I'm talking about, where God allows the enemy to appear like he has prevailed. The Lord just stands by. He's in no hurry. He knows what he's doing. Everything's under control. Oh, if we could just understand that God has everything under control. The devil's not in control. It may look like he's prevailing. He's already taken all of the inventory. They're already drinking and celebrating their victory. And God says, When? Now. At the peak of his power. You'll find it all through the scripture in Daniel 4. King Nebuchadnezzar is stricken down at the very zenith of his glory. He's standing and boasting and babbling all of the great things he's done. And the very hour, he's stricken down. You find it also in the story of Haman. He's just reached the very pinnacle of power. The greatest honor ever placed upon a man of his time. And just as he goes home and boasts of this great power and authority, this wicked man is hung by the neck. King Herod in Acts 12, he's just made a speech to those of Tyre and Sidon and the people gave a shout saying, It's the voice of a God and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him. Immediately. You go all through the scripture. You'll see the pattern. You'll see the principle that God waits till the enemy is gloating. Until you look around and say, Oh, the devil has won the victory. I am defeated. It's no use. It's over. But there's a cry in your heart. You say, I'm so tired of fighting. I'm so tired. I'm just going to sit back and let God take over. And that's what he's been waiting for. Lord, if you don't do it, it's not going to get done. Lord, it looks black. It looks hopeless. I don't know where to turn. I don't know what to do. The Lord says, Wonderful. That's what I've been waiting for. Now I will arise. You're not trusting in the arm of the flesh. And now you know that I want you to obey only because I love you. And it's the only path to victory. And it's the only way to release the strong arm of the almighty God on your behalf. Just say, Lord, I'll obey you. If it's bad, you'll give me the grace to accept it. If it's good, all the better. Hallelujah. God says, Yeah, it looks like the devil's controlling everything. It looks like the devil's in power. You look at the nation. It looks like the abortionists are in control. You see the in-your-face homosexuals gloating against the church of Jesus Christ. And you see these powers rise. It looks like they're in control. Communism thought it was in control, going to take over the whole world. Bang. God said, Enough. God smashed the iron curtain. He smashed the bamboo curtain. And folks, that iron curtain the devil's tried to put around you and fence you in and make you a stronghold of Satan. Just when it looks hopeless at the peak of the devil's power, God says, Now I will arise. I will arise and stretch out my strong hand. God says, You shall conceive. He's talking to the devil now. You shall conceive chaff. You shall bring forth stubble. Your breath, this fire, shall devour you. And the Hebrew says, My spirit, like fire, is going to consume you. I'm going to breathe on you, devil. I'm going to breathe on your principalities and powers. And the same breath of the Holy Ghost that inspires you is going to burn up everything the enemy has brought against you. Every weapon of the devil is going to be consumed and everything else. The same fire that comforts you destroys the powers of the enemy. Same spirit. Devouring spirit is our comforting spirit. Hallelujah. Will you stand, please? Hallelujah. When God stops the plundering, God of a congregation of people, most of whom love you dearly, a holy remnant, wanting to walk uprightly before you, O Lord, hungering and thirsting after Jesus, hearts that are set upon you, wanting to be faithful to husbands and wives, wanting to raise their children in the fear of God, those who stand here, most of them who grieve over sin in their own life and in the world. I stand before a congregation of people, Lord, that love you dearly. But, O God, that's the kind of people the devil wants to come and destroy and devour. He's not interested in the lukewarm and the cold-hearted. He's coming against the saints, the elect, the chosen of God. So, Lord, we're not ignorant of the devil's devices. We don't fear the devil. We don't glorify him. But one thing we do know, Lord Jesus, that he comes against us to destroy and devour. He's a devourer. He has come in many lives right now. And there are a number of people in this church tonight whose lives are being plundered and spoiled. The enemy has come in like a roaring lion, bringing fear, bringing destruction, trying to rob of finances, rob of peace and joy, and especially of faith, trying to take that golden faith. Lord Jesus, come with your precious love and bring healing. Stretch out your arm now. Cause us to want to obey you. Cause us to want to lay down our sins. Anything, any iniquity that would cause you, Lord, to stand by and wait. Lord, arise now in this church. Arise and heal. Stretch forth your strong arm against the enemy of those in this house. If the enemy's come against your home, your marriage, or your life, on your job or in your home or your personal life, I want you to come down here now believing that God's gonna, as I pray, we're gonna ask God to stretch out his arm against your enemies. And if you've lost your peace, your joy, the Lord wants to restore that. If you're not saved, or if you're backstabbed, or you're running from the Lord, up in the balcony, go to the stairs on either side and come and join us, wherever you may be. Folks, move in close. Make room for those that are coming. Make room for those that are coming. God bless you. Move in very close. Amen. Glory to Jesus. Hallelujah. God has a strong arm. In fact, this is for everybody, for me included. I've come to this conclusion after all my years of ministry. Listen, it's always a matter of sin that holds back God's work in our life. It's always a matter of a besetting, something that we won't let go, something that God wants, not because so much of... God hates sin, but it's more than His hatred for sin. He hates it because of what it does to us, how it robs us, and how it opens us to so many other things of Satan's kingdom and dominion. But now listen to me. Look at me, please, and listen closely. It doesn't mean that God doesn't give you His love. He gives you... There's a passive love. There's a corporate love that He gives. God so loved the world. But He loves the whole world. It's not a matter of God loving you. He loves you dearly. It's not that you've lost His love. You'll never lose His love. You'll go out and become the worst sinner. He'll still love you. It's not a loss of His love. It's really not a loss of His care and compassion. He's very compassionate. And it's not that God forsakes you. It's just that God is hampered. He is hindered. First of all, I said without faith it's impossible to please Him. And it stops the release of God's mighty arm working in your behalf. So it's not a matter of saying, Oh, Lord, please, You've forsaken me. God's not forsaken you. And God's not mad at you. But you need power. We've got to have power. We don't have the power. We don't have what it needs to conquer sin and to have victory in our lives. We don't have it. And you're not going to get it from anybody else. So how do I get it? I get it by coming to Him and say, Lord, I don't have what I need, but You have it. And the only way I'm going to get it is to believe You and to trust You. I don't even have the willpower to resist the enemy. I don't have the willpower. But God, You do. I come to You and I call on You. So I'm going to have time with You. I'm going to get along with You. I'm going to seek Your face. I'm going to call on You. That's what Isaiah did. He got on the Lord. Oh, Lord! God! Be our Savior. Be our deliverer in a time of trouble. And then he says, Oh, God, deal with our sins. Deal with our sins. Do you want God to begin to bless your life with peace and joy in the Holy Ghost and see God work here and God work here? And suddenly things that were trouble and piling up, instead of piling up, God's taking one thing off the pile and another thing off the pile and the pile's going down. And you look around. There's a little victory here and a little victory here. And God's doing something here. God's doing something here. God's changing hearts all around you. He's changing your husband. He's changing your children. He's changing your wife. He's changing things. Things are changing because the arm of the Lord that's been stretched out now is able to work because you have opened up your heart and said, Oh, God, I don't want anything in my life that's unlike you. Lord Jesus, I come to you now. I know you forgive me. But now I come to you asking, pleading with you in faith now that you give me your power because I want to be free. I want to be able to look you in the eye, Lord, and nothing hinders that fellowship and that relationship with you. I want to be. I want an open heart with you, Jesus. I don't want anything that's in the line, clogging the flow of your sweetness and love and blessings in my life. He said he's more willing to deliver you than you are to be delivered. Hallelujah. Now, what did he say? Acknowledge my might. Acknowledge my power. Let's do that right now. Pray this for me. Jesus, I can't do this on my own. In my flesh, I'm weak and I'm powerless. But I acknowledge that you have all the power and all the might and that you abide in me and that your power in me is greater than the power of the enemy. But, oh, Jesus, there's something in my life that's been hindering the flow. I want that out. If there's a black stone in my heart representing a sin, take it out of my heart and put the white stone of purity in my heart. Give me clean hands and a pure heart. Cause me to draw nigh to you. To seek your face. To spend time with you. That I get to know your heart. How much you love me and how much you want to deliver me. Thank you, Jesus, that you didn't give up on me. You didn't let go of me. And I know you love me and I accept that love. Forgive me, Jesus, and give me power now over all the power of the enemy. Rise up now on my behalf and stretch out your arm and be my deliverer. Now raise your hands and thank him for his faithfulness to you. Lord, I give you thanks. I give you praise. Hallelujah. I give you thanks and I give you praise. You alone have power and might and glory. We acknowledge your might. We acknowledge your power. We acknowledge your might and we acknowledge your power. Hallelujah. As Pastor Carter said, now be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. We've heard a word from the Lord. God delivers his people. You say, Brother Dave, I don't feel delivered. Well, your feelings always lie. They lie all the time. I want to tell you something. Sometimes when I have felt the best, I knew that I was at my worst. And sometimes when I felt my worst, I was at my best with God. Your feelings are upside down all the time. So don't trust your feelings. You trust the Word. He said, acknowledge and trust my might and my power. Hallelujah. We're going to sing a song now called Wonderful, Wonderful Jesus is to Me. Counselor. This is the conclusion of the tape.