This sermon emphasizes the importance of unwavering faith in God, drawing parallels to the Hebrew children in the fire with the fourth man, Jesus, always showing up in the midst of trials. The message urges believers to move from being taught to becoming teachers, living out their faith as examples to others. It highlights the need for constant communion with God, laying a foundation of faith in His forgiveness and grace, and never limiting God's power in answering prayers.

I'll tell you a reason I want to be in New York, because the Bible talked about the Hebrew children going into the fire, and we're going into the fire, but the fourth man is going to show up. And he's always showing up in the midst of the hottest fires, and I want to be where Jesus is. Amen. I don't think it would be a better place than all the United States to be than right here in New York City. I said, did anybody hear me that lives in New York? All New Yorkers. Fourth man's going to be walking these streets. He is now, but he's going to be making himself known in such powerful ways. My message is by now you ought to be teachers. Let's go on down now to verse 10. Called of God, a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing, for when, for the time, in the New American Standard, it reads, it reads in New American, by this time, by this time, or for all this learning you've gotten, you ought to be teachers. For when, for the time, or in light of all that you've learned, you ought to be teachers. You have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Now Father, you're going to have to help me. Lord Jesus, it's not in style, it's not in the fervor of my voice, it's in what I've received from your heart. Now Lord, come now and convey it through me. Lord, sanctify this vessel and let me speak your mind. There's no other purpose to this. There's no reason why I or anyone should stand in this pulpit, except to have been with you and bring the word that God himself has ordained. Now humble myself before you, reach into my heart and pull this out, Lord. You've just been burning this in my heart now for so long, and I want this people to hear it, that we do not come just to get another fix, a gospel fix. We come, Lord, that we would begin to hear, and so mix what we hear with faith that it changes us, and it works itself into our very being. Lord, work this into my soul, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Now who is the Hebrew writer addressing? These are strong words. Now, the best I know from some of the modern translators and commentaries, this was written, we don't know who has written this, it's certainly not written by Paul the Apostle according to what I have found in all my studies. It's around 62, just not too prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, and it's written to the Hebrew Christians, Hebrew believers around the world, even in Rome, and they were entering at a time not too unlike what we are entering into this very day. There was going to be great destruction in Jerusalem, in fact, there were going to be a million people killed in this Holocaust, and the writer of the Hebrews comes forth with a very strong word. Now when you read the first four chapters of Hebrew, you understand what the writer is saying, and why he is so strong, why he is saying, after all of this, you ought to be teachers. After all of what? In these first four chapters, you read that they had heard from powerful ministers and evangelists. This was the end of the apostles, Paul, they say, who had already been killed. They had learned about the priesthood of Christ, about the throne of God, coming boldly to the throne of God to obtain mercy and find grace in the time of need. They were talked about an intercessor that stood before the Father interceding for them. They had heard about the coming of the Lord. They had heard about the ministry of angels. In fact, this is exactly what they were taught. Are they not, speaking of angels, ministering angels sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation? They had been taught to hold fast their confidence in the Lord. They had been told and warned of the dangers of unbelief, how it could destroy and damn the soul. They had been taught all these things. In fact, if you go through the first four chapters of Hebrews, you're going to be a well-taught believer. If you take it to heart and mix it with faith, they were admonished, brethren, take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. Hold fast the beginning of your confidence, steadfast to the end. And after all of that, he said, you're still dull of hearing. He said, you have heard so much gospel. You've heard teaching. You've heard of covenant. You've heard of all of these things. And he said, you're still wanting milk. He said, by now, you have heard enough to teach. You should be a teacher. Folks, if you've been coming to this church for any length of time, you have heard of covenant. You have heard of the coming of the Lord. You've heard of repentance. It's barely one stream of the gospel or one dot of the gospel you've not heard over and over again, the coming of the Lord, about holding faith, about being steadfast to the end. He said, by now, you should be an example. You should not be murmuring and complaining in your hard times. He said, you've been so built up in the faith. By now, you ought to be an example to your family. By now, you ought to be an example to those that you work with. You should be an example to those in the church. It doesn't mean you're going to be standing in a pulpit. The teachers referred here by the Hebrew writer may have never spoken in church, maybe never taught a Sunday school class, but he said, you ought to be teachers. You should be teaching by your lifestyle, the way you live, the way you believe God, the way you stand firm. It doesn't mean you're not being tested. In fact, when you take your stand, when you set your heart to believe God with everything in you, and you pray for the Holy Spirit to endure you with unwavering faith, you're going to get more attacks than anybody on the face of the earth. All hell will come against you. But you've learned something. He said, in spite of this, you ought to be teachers. How many sermons, in fact, this writer is saying, how many sermons do you have to hear? Is it just episodal faith? In other words, you have to have another episode. You have to have somebody build you up. Now, I believe this. We should be built up in the faith, and I believe that it's through the preaching of the word that we build our faith. But there comes a time, there comes a time that we can become gospel-hardened. And this term, sermon tasters, came out of London, England, back when Spurgeon was a preacher. You could go hear Dr. Parker, and they lined up in their beautiful carriages, the rich, especially, and went from Parker to Spurgeon, and they called them sermon tasters. And these were cheaters who cheated in their business, and they were not teachers. They were just drinking milk. And there are sermon tasters, there are those who never actually take it to heart and never really stand in the time of darkness, in this time of testing and turmoil. You ought to be partakers of the suffering of Christ, the Hebrew writers. You should be willing to be partakers of it. You shouldn't be asking why anymore. Well-taught, full of Bible truths, veterans of the faith, teaching by example, according to the writer. I can bear this out a little stronger in Deuteronomy 11th chapter. Let me give you the setting. They're about to go into the promised land, and they're on the edge right now of the Jordan, ready to march in. They've been, all those who had disobeyed and lived in unbelief, they're all gone, all but Joshua and Caleb. And there's a new generation with their own children, the really three generations. The generation that came through the Red Sea, those were little children, maybe up to teenagers, and now they're 40 and 50, and they have their own children, and some of them would be in their 20s and 30s. He calls a gathering of the children of Israel before they go into the promised land. Now I want you to picture this multitude. It's not the doomed generation, they're gone, they're dead, and they're buried. But this is a generation now that are in their mid-50s to 60s, 65, that they had seen some of the miracles of God, but their children, their children, this is the third generation, they knew nothing of the miracles of God, they knew nothing of the Red Sea. Now that's all stories that have been told by their parents and grandparents. And Moses calls them together, and he begins like this, know this today, I'm not speaking to your children who have not known, and which have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God, or his greatness, his mighty hand, or his outstretched arm. Moses said, now I want to make this clear, you're going into the promised land, there's going to be warfare, there are going to be giants, there are going to be high walls, there are going to be situations that are incredible, no other generation has faced. He said, now, I'm not talking to your children, I'm not talking to these who don't know miracles, I'm not talking to these who really don't have the experience with God that you have. They've not been tested and tried, they have not gone through the persecution. I'm speaking to you, I'm speaking to you who know, who have been taught, and you've seen the miracles of God, you've seen a cloud by night, and you've seen a fire by day, and you've seen God's hand. He said, I'm not talking to your children. They're going to learn, but you see, they need teachers. They're going to have someone they have to look up to. Where's your generation going to, where are they going to look to, who are they going to look to? Not those that are fighters in the flesh, let them have their sword, let them kill as many as they can in battle, but that's not what Moses is talking about. He's talking about teachers that are going to buy their lifestyle daily by the way they live. In fact, he puts it like this. Now, this day, I speak not to your children who have not known and have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God. They've not seen his greatness, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm. He said, I want you to write this down. Your eyes have witnessed all the mighty acts of Jehovah, which he performed, Deuteronomy 11 7. He said, look, you have a generation now, and think of this in light of today's situation and climate. We have a generation going to see and hear things they've never seen or heard before. Giants, walls, incredible things. Who are they going to turn to? Who are they going to talk to? Some kind of evangelist on television trying to raise money? Are they going to turn to politicians who failed them? Last week's Wall Street Journal headline says, nobody trusts anybody anymore. Where does our generation look to? One of my sons-in-law came to me this past week. I almost had tears in his eyes, and he said, Dad, I want to tell you something. We don't know what's coming. You won't tell us, because God told me long ago, after I've prophesied for 20 years, when these things begin to happen, I want you to be one of those who preach faith. So I preach nothing but faith now. Now, listen to me, please. He looked at me and said, Dad, we're looking to you as an example. It's your faith we're looking at. I've had a dear man from this church, a godly man, come to me a few months ago, and he said, David, I watch your life. Now, folks, I have not arrived. I have not arrived. And I'll tell you, probably being tested more in my family than any time in history. But I know one thing. I want to be an example. I want to be a teacher. Not from this pulpit, but I want people around me. I want my neighbors. I want my children. I want my family to see an example in me that as hard as things get, and as black as things can get, I still have an unwavering faith. Yes, I may hurt inside. I may shed tears. I may be taken back in a gas suddenly because of a sudden calamity or a telephone call. But you see, what have we learned all these years? I look at all my notes. When does it work? When do I stop having to be blown up and prodded? And when am I going to get something and I'm not deflated by the time I get home? Because you're going to be teachers. Folks, I'm not correcting anybody. I'm trying to show you something in the spirit. Therefore, you shall lay up these words in your heart and in your soul. You bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they be frontless before your eyes. You shall teach these things to your children, speaking or teaching to them when you sit in your home, when you take a walk with them, when you lie down at night, when you wake up. So you should be teaching your children, teaching those around you. And folks, there is never a time like this when people are so open. I had a millionaire call me last week, a multimillionaire, and he's a Christian. And God had taught him to invest wisely and to stay out of the stock market. And he's not lost anything. And he said, I went to a meeting of high-ranking business people and everybody was so down and discouraged and beaten. And I was sitting there in quiet, just quiet confidence and rest in the Lord. And he said, I've never seen anything so open in my life. They kept coming to you. Why aren't you afraid? What's happening? What's going on in your life? And he told me, he said, Brother Dave, I have been able to witness like I've never witnessed to some of the wealthiest people in the country now. You see, there are people in this audience hearing me here in this building and maybe streaming in to the program. And what you have been through, you could probably write a book. You know, a lot of books. You see, Bible, the scripture calls us epistles, read and known of all men. Epistles read and known of all men. And mother writes to me this past week. And she said, Pastor Dave, I'm a caretaker in my house of a demented mother-in-law in the worst stages of dementia. And I have a mentally challenged son. And she said, that means 24 hours a day. I have to watch lest they run away or burn the house down. She said, there's not a moment at night that I'm not aware and alert. And I can't sleep much. She says, it's 24 seven. And I thought, what is she going to say next? But boy, that letter just opened up. And she said, I pray and I stay in communion with the Lord. And I have learned where I can get a special infusion of strength all day long as I need it. There's an infusion of strength. She began to witness to me. There was a strengthening in her. And she's become a witness. She's become a teacher to those around her, to her husband and to others all around her. She's teaching by her life, the way she lives, the way she reacts to tragedy and calamity and affliction, the way she reacts. Folks, it's not a silly grin. It's not putting on a false face. No, it's a quietness and rest in the Holy Spirit because you've proven God over and over again. There's not a person here in me now that hasn't had a miracle. You've had more than one miracle. God has pulled you out of one mess after another. You still have a roof over your head. You can still go to the grocery store and buy foods, whether it's food stamps or what, you're still going to have food in your mouth. And God has made these promises. And I received a letter this week also from a dear brother. He's a pastor. He can't preach now. He's a living time bomb. His heart is so bad, and he's on the list for a heart transplant. He can't work. It costs $500 a month for his heart medication, and he was behind. He's not now, but he was behind in his payments for his medication. And he can't work. He can walk a little bit around the house. And another couple that was in deep physical affliction themselves found out about this man and learned about his case and became friends with him. And the letter I received were these friends of this pastor, and they were telling me how much faith this man has and how encouraged they were and how they're learning how to walk in faith from this man in their affliction. And folks, I got a letter from the man, and I heard nothing but faith. His wife is working hard. His son got a job, and they're all working together. We were able to help some. But you see, he's teaching me. I'm learning something from that man of faith and endurance. He could die at any moment, but he talks faith. He has come through the valley in the shadow of death, and he's a teacher. He's teaching others around him. One of my favorite writers is Dr. John Owen. Now, he's been dead over 250 years, one of the great Puritan writers, my favorite Puritan writer. And much of what I've learned about doctrine, I've learned from Dr. Owen. I've learned about the covenant. I've learned about repentance, about righteousness by faith. I've learned so many things from Dr. John Owen, 15 volumes of pure doctrine. And I've got those pages marked, and I thank God for what I learned from his pen. But that's not really how, what really impacted my life from Dr. Owen. He had 10 children, 11 children, I'm sorry, 11 children. 10 died in their youth. His daughter, the 11th, her husband left her. She went home to live with Dr. Owen's wife, and she died. Then his wife died. And then I pick up his book, and I read nothing but faith. That man did not break what he taught, what he preached, he practiced. He was a testimony to my heart. When I start reading his biography, this story written by a close friend, and I said, I didn't know about this man. Suddenly, all the truth that he had taught, everything I'd read comes to life. And when you get a hold of that faith, and God has to have lights that are shining in this darkness, there has to be people from this church, and those who are hearing this message, God is saying to you now, I want you to lay hold of the truth. I have been faithful to you. Now, you ask the Holy Spirit to give you, and folks, let me tell you what I learned from Dr. Owen. He saw there were three things that are common to all who've overcome in faith. Three things that those who are strong in faith and unwavering like Abraham, and you can't do it in your own strength and power. It's through the work of the Holy Spirit, but you have to ask him, and you have to believe that he will help you. Number one, he said, you cannot have faith in any other area in your life. You can't believe God for anything to establish, first of all, that the wrath of God is not on you, that by faith that you are forgiven. Your sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the judgments that come upon the world are the darkness and wrath that comes on nations. That sin against God is not on me. It's not on you. There is no wrath of God. I can believe God for everything else if I am sure that I am right before God. I'm in right standing, and the devil can't lie to me that I'm suffering because of some past sin. That's under the blood. It's gone. Forgiving can never be dug up against me again as long as I live. Until you get that and get it strong, saints, here in Times Square Church or wherever you're hearing this message, make sure you know, make sure you understand, and take a step of faith. You haven't arrived yet. You may have failures in your life, but you have a throne of God, and the Bible said you can go boldly to the throne of grace. Listen, to obtain mercy, to obtain it, to get it, get it, and to find grace. Some people seek and never find it. They never obtain it because they're full of doubt and fear, and allow the devil to come and bring past lies, and you may still be in a battle. You haven't won the victory, but God has never turned anybody that's in the fight. If you're still in the fight, and you believe the power of the Holy Ghost, and you believe this word of God, and you believe there's power in the blood of Jesus Christ, get that, and then, folks, you've got the foundation upon which to build all other areas of faith in your life. But if you don't have this, believe anything you want to believe, and say, I'm going to stand, but you can't stand until you get on this rock. Then the floods come, and the waves beat upon it. It's not going to shake you. Did you get that, my friend? Everyone that writes to me, and I discern overcoming faith, they have this also that they're in constant communion with the Lord, communion. Dr. Owens wrote a whole volume on communion with God, communion with God, and he said, you come to a place where you do pray unceasingly. If you believe that God is with you, that the Holy Spirit abides in you, He's available at any moment of the day, middle of the night, middle of the day, a subway or a bus, always there. And in my latter years now, I don't find I have the strength to scream at God much. Now, there's a time to cry out. There's a time to bellow out before God. There's a time to intercede with weeping and tears. But along with that, there comes a time also that there's a walk of communion where you don't consider, well, He's always there. He's always there. And He's always, before you were born, He was yearning for communion with you. While you were in your mother's womb, the great delight of God that He was going to have another one to commune with Him. Can I repeat that? While you were still in your mother's womb, He yearned for communion with you. How wonderful it is in these days to have somebody to talk to, somebody to go to in hard times, the throne of grace. Finally, Dr. Ode said what the third thing is common to those who are coming into an overcoming faith is they never limit God. And when I talk about limiting God, it's in this manner. It's in this phase. They never limit God in how and when He's going to answer our prayers. I'm going to close shortly. I got a letter from somebody. He said, Pastor David, I want you to pray for a dear man that I know. This man was known to his neighbors as the walking Bible. He's a precious man. Two years ago, his wife got very sick and so sick, doctors gave up. She had over 30 tumors. And he preached such faith to his church. He told the doctors his wife was going to be healed. He told neighbors in the Catholic family. He said, when she gets healed and walks out of that sick bed, you'll know what I'm preaching to you is true. No possibility that God had another plan in his mind. She died a horrible death. I heard about him and I got his phone number and I called him. He'd lost his faith. He said, Brother Dave, I prayed, I fasted, I interceded. I quoted every healing scripture in the Bible that I could find. I did everything right. I had faith. He said, God didn't show up. God didn't hear me. His son, I suppose by discouragement, young son, wouldn't leave the house because for two years now, this dear man has been in a cloud of unbelief and despair. He said, Brother Dave, it's not right. I did everything. How many times I've heard this. I prayed about something and it didn't happen. I don't see any evidence of God answering my prayer. So where is God? Where is God? And that's the question. I called him up and he said, Brother Dave, I've been getting your messages for 30 years. For 30 years, I followed your ministry. I respect you as a man of God. I can't believe you're on the phone with me. I said, well, I don't consider myself anybody. I want you to know something. If I had hundreds of thousands of letters a year, God puts your letter on my desk. The Holy Ghost won't let me go till I call you. I said, something is happening. He said, Brother, I'm just, he told me the story and I was feeling his grief and I felt so sorry and such pity and compassion. I said, you know, if I feel like I do, this pity and this sympathy in my heart and loving you, how much more is the Lord doing? But I couldn't find any. I said, I don't have any scripture for you. I don't know how to bring you out. And then the Spirit of God came on me. I said, wait a minute. You have a son who's grieving. I'm telling you something. You wake up. You've heard the gospel. You've preached the gospel. Now you practice it. You get a hold of faith. The Spirit of God came on me. I said, your son needs you. Don't tell me there's no hope. He needs you. He needs you now. And the Spirit of God came on that phone. Spirit of God came on that man. And God began to open up his heart. Because you see, I would challenge you. It's time to be a teacher. It's time to practice what you have learned all of this time. Some of you came into this. Now, folks, I'm keeping in touch with that man. And I believe he's going to be back on track. He's going to have an abounding faith before God is finished. God has not abandoned him. And he's not abandoned you and your eclipse of faith either. He's still there. You've been struggling with it. But I'm asking you to take a step of faith this morning and say, God, I've had enough of my ups and downs. I have enough questions. Help me, Lord Jesus, now to lay hold of that faith you promised. Will you trust the Holy Spirit this morning? Will you reach out to him and say, Lord, thank you. And then when you come, you're going to hear a lot of faith preaching from this pulpit. I hope that when I'm here, I'm preaching confidence and faith. It doesn't mean we abandon repentance or the preaching of the coming judgments or any of these things. Yes, we do build up your faith. But the Bible says, build yourself up in the most precious faith. Build yourself up so, according to the psalmist, that you need neither dread nor fear when bad news comes. When the bad news comes, you will not be afraid. You will not tremble. You will not go into panic. You'll say, God's helped me in the past. He's going to see me through this. Come what may, live or die, we're what? We're the Lord's. Will you say it? Heavenly Father, will you speak to our hearts this morning and remind us who we are in Christ. Remind us, Holy Spirit, of our place seated with Christ. Lord, will you remind us of your past faithfulness. And Lord, out of this still moment, while we're in your presence, deal with us in grace. I come boldly now to the throne of grace to obtain mercy for me, my family, for this congregation, for all who hear me, to obtain mercy and to find grace in the time of need. Oh God, thank you for the joy that you put in our hearts and the peace that passeth understanding. Let no one fear as they walk out these doors. Let them walk, O Lord Jesus, in the quietness and the peace and the rest of the Holy Spirit, for there remains a rest for the people of God. And I ask you, Lord, for a baptism of rest. Bring our souls and spirits and minds into the rest that is in Christ in simple faith in your keeping power. In Jesus' name, amen. One thing I want more than anything in this world is that when I stand before Jesus on that day, and I'm closer to that day than many of you here, there's one thing that's just predominant in my spirit, my heart. One thing I want. I know that I don't have much to offer him at that day. I can't offer many of my works. I can't boast of anything I have done. I really have nothing to give him, and neither do you, but faith. I want to come to him offering a faith, a steadfast faith. I want the Lord to say, you trusted me. Every hour of the day that's in my mind, Lord, that's all I ask of you now. Let me be one who trusts you. Let me be one that people can look to and say, he's holding on. He's not giving in. Aren't you excited about meeting people that you know are going through hell and being tested and tried to the limits, and you know by looking at them and being in their presence. I told you I haven't arrived, but that's where I want to go. But you near them, you know there's a strength. There's something wonderful, encouraging, and strengthening, because you see them holding on. You see them moving on in faith in spite of what they're going through. Lord, grant that now. If there's anyone here this morning, make it very personal. You are one of those who, going through something very serious in your life, maybe in your family, or having to do with a child, a child or teenager, someone that's gone astray, and you're burdened, heavy. Your faith has been so wavering. If you feel that the Holy Spirit to come, receive a touch, you're welcome. If you don't know Christ, you walked into this church, you really don't know him, or if you've known him, you've drifted away from him, this is your opportunity to come now and say, Lord, I come by faith. Renew my faith. Renew my confidence in you, Jesus, because you're going to need it in the days ahead. Alder is open, the area is open. If that's you, follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit. In the balcony, go to the stairs on either side, come down, Lord Bush. Look this way just a moment. I gave you the scripture. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. Boldly. You don't come mildly, you don't come meekly, you come boldly. Doesn't mean with pride, but you come with assurance that God's going to hear you, he's going to give mercy to you, and he's going to give you grace. That's the power that you need. Grace is everything you need when you need it. Everything you need when you need it. Some of you need that grace right now. You need strength to get through some kind of a struggle. Lord, I pray now, we come boldly, we pray this way. Dear Jesus, I come boldly to your throne of grace as you commanded me, and I ask you for mercy upon me and my family. Oh God, let me find grace and strength in your sight for my time of need. Cleanse me, forgive me, and heal me. Forgive my unbelief, and give me the confidence and the power of the Holy Spirit to trust you no matter what comes. Now just give him thanks. Give him thanks.