In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of finding hope in God, even in times of despair. They share a personal experience of being in Denver during a crisis and witnessing the church's response to help those in need. The speaker criticizes the belief that God had nothing to do with the calamities happening in the world, stating that it causes people to miss the message God is trying to convey. They draw parallels to the biblical story of Israel, who ignored God's warnings and faced severe judgment. The sermon concludes with a reminder that God understands the pain of innocent suffering and urges listeners to turn to Him for salvation.

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. 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 was in Denver, Colorado in meetings when this happened. We got up Tuesday morning packing our suitcases, Gwen and I, and suddenly the news came, of course the Denver airport was shut down, so we got in a car and drove three days to get here, and Pastor Carter, Pastor Neil Rhodes and his staff, their staff have been supernatural of the Lord to minister to those in need, and we're very, very grateful. This church is grateful. I'm grateful and continue to pray for them. This morning, I have to preach probably one of the most difficult messages the Lord's ever asked me to deliver. I'm not a prophet. I've said that over and over again. I'm one of many, many watchmen, and I tremble at what I have to say, but we have to hear His Word. My message this morning, the towers have fallen, but we've missed the message. We have missed the message. Lord, You have to help me. Lord, You have to come upon me, and You have to speak. We have got to hear from heaven. We can't hear from men, not even from me, or any other watchman. We pray, Lord, not our words, but the words that come from the throne, and from Your holy book. Now, Lord, monitor every word, and let every word come with mercy, and let it come with grace. Lord, how we've wept, and how we've prayed, and how we've grieved, but oh Lord, there's a message that You're trying to deliver to this nation and the world, and we dare not miss it. God help us. Lord, I just plead with You. Let me not speak one word of my flesh. In Jesus' name, Amen. Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers of New York City were destroyed. Five days later, right outside the door, you can still see the smoke pouring out of the ruins. It's reaching out over. I looked out my window, because when I prepared this message in my study, I overlooked the whole scene in the smoke this morning, drifting over the Statue of Liberty and all over New Jersey. I stood there last night, weeping and begging God for mercy, mercy for the grieving families of lost loved ones, mercy for those still digging in the ruins, retrieving bodies and mostly body parts, mercy on the workers, the police, the firemen, the volunteers, who openly weep at the indescribable destruction. Times Square Church was given a site at Ground Zero, and Pastor Carter tells me that the tents were put there. This church was the closest to Ground Zero and to the disaster, and that workers working 24 hours a day around the clock and still working, feeding and ministering and being there in this time of horror. But you see, Times Square Church was warned a calamity was coming. We are now in the seventh week of the visitation of the Holy Spirit, and if you have been coming to this church, you know that even weeks before that, the Holy Spirit moved on the pastoral staff here to cancel everything. We canceled Missions Conference, we canceled the youth conventions, we canceled every speaker, we canceled everything to come and call this body to prayer. And we started with two weeks of prayer, and those weeks of meetings continue. This week again, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and stopping when God says stop. But something indescribable has been happening in this church in this past seven weeks. Every service, as you witnessed today, a holy hush, a silence from the throne has come to this auditorium, and there was one night we sat for one hour in total silence, and nobody could move. I remember putting my hands on my knees to stop them from trembling because of the awesome presence of God. And as the pastors began to pray, and you remember if you've been here, you've seen the pastors weeping and wailing. I've seen Pastor Neil laying here, crying out to God, we were repenting, we were repenting, we were crying out to God. And then the Holy Spirit spoke clearly that it was happening because a tragedy was coming, a calamity was coming to the city and to the nation, and we didn't know what it was. Suddenly a calamity struck the nation, and especially here in New York City. One network anchorman said this, and I quote him, he said, just think of it. Our two symbols of power and prosperity have been smitten in one hour. He didn't know he was quoting from Revelation 18.10. Alas, alas, that great city, Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour that judgment has come. One of the priest officers from this church who's working at this site spoke to the pastors with us on Friday night, and he said his fellow officers who knows he's a Christian are asking, what's this all about? Priest officers and firemen are sitting down and just weeping and crying like children, and others are being asked now, where is God in all of this? Where is God? There's a lady from this church who moved to California. She was active in this church. I know her by name. She's been gone about two years. She attends a church in California. She called this week, yesterday I believe it was, to a sister in this church who called me and said, please tell the pastors of the church to keep on warning and preparing the people because I sat under ministers who warned, I was prepared and ready, and everybody in the church that I attend now is losing it. Everyone is weeping, and they are going to the pastors saying, why didn't you warn us? Why didn't you prepare us? She said, please don't stop warning. Now, to understand where God is in this calamity, you've got to absolutely believe in this book. You have to put every faith you have, everything in what God says in His book. Not experts, not those who are called the talking heads on television or radio. No, what God's Word says. And if you're ready to hear that, we'll begin to understand where God is in all of this. I can assure you God wasn't taken by surprise. I can assure you that every thought of man is known by the heavenly Father. He reads every thought. Every ruler, every despot, every terrorist God knows when he sits down, he rises, he knows where they're at, and very soon they're going to be in hell because God deals with them. He knows every thought. Nothing on the face of the earth is done without His knowledge, without His permission, and even sometimes by His doing. Years ago, in 1973, God gave me a prophetic word called the vision, and I distributed it in a book. And when the Lord gave me that vision, it was so frightful I begged with God, please, I can't deliver this word without some hope. You've got to give me some hope. I feel hopeless what I see coming, and if you want me to say it, you have to give me something. And the Lord did, and it was five words. God has everything under control. God has everything under control. And having received that word, it was the only way I could release the message. And I say again, today, God has everything under control. Now if you're a praying Bible believer, you know instinctively in your heart that God is trying to speak to this nation and the world through this. God is trying to send us a message. Theologians and pastors all over the country, even around the world, are saying to their congregations, God had nothing to do with these calamities. God would not allow such a thing to happen. And because of that thinking, and because of that preaching, we are quickly losing the message and missing what God is trying to say. We're missing it. Beloved, we need a word from heaven. I've wept in grief just as others have, but deep within, I've experienced this week a deeper grief than just those who have been lost in this catastrophe. I'm going to show you how God weeps. I'll show you how God grieves over it. And I'll show you how God has no pleasure in the death of anybody. It's the grief that if we miss the message that He's trying to proclaim to us, we turn a deaf ear to what God is loudly proclaiming much worse is in store for us. And I found the word of God in Isaiah. I won't give it to you now, but we'll go into it in just a moment. The prophet Isaiah spoke directly to what is happening today, right now. He spoke clearly to this experience. And if anyone here objects to my using an Old Testament story as an example of God's work today, then you need to be reminded of what Paul the Apostle said. Now all these things, in other words, everything that happened in the Old Testament, happened unto them for examples. And they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Isaiah went through a similar experience in his nation. So similar that it's frightening. And yet, we get from it the truth of how God moves in times like this. For nearly 250 years God patiently dealt with Israel. Patiently wooing and sending light afflictions they were called at first. Light afflictions trying to woo Him back into His blessing and into His favor and into His love. They were called to humble themselves before the almighty hand of God. All the prophets came to them speaking the same word. Humble yourself. Turn from your wickedness. Turn from your wicked ways. But the scripture said instead they served idols. Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah by all the prophets and by the seers saying, turn ye from your evil ways. Keep my commandments and my statutes. They would not hearken, but they hardened their necks. This chosen nation, this so blessed nation of God, a nation called to repentance. Instead they began to mock their prophets. And they began to follow vanity. They became vain. They left all the commandments of the Lord their God. They sold themselves to do evil inside of the Lord. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel. God sent wake up calls to Israel. One of the first was the Assyrian evasion of two provinces, Zebulun and Naphtali. Only the coast were touched. In two places. This was the first wake up call God gave to Israel. Suddenly Israel lost its sense of security. It had never happened in this measure before. But it was limited damage. The heartland wasn't touched. It was limited to two places. But in it God was speaking to Israel. And Israel missed the message. Israel was given a second wake up call and this one was very damaging. Very severe. The Bible makes it clear. Isaiah makes it very clear and I'll show it to you in just a minute where it's located. That the enemies of Israel, they were called the enemies of Israel, Syria and the Philistines combined their forces and suddenly attacked Israel. The attack is said to have come from before and behind. From the east and from the west. And now we come to the heart of what I want to talk to you about. Where was God in this sudden invasion of his chosen land of Israel? Now I'm going to go to the word and I want to show you from the prophet Isaiah. The ninth chapter of Isaiah if you will please. I want you to look at verse 8 with me please. In the midst of all of this turmoil and chastening by the hand of God. Verse 8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob and it lighted upon Israel. Look at me please. Never in the history of mankind has God ever left his people clueless during a time of disaster. Never. He's never left us clueless. He's never left us trying to figure it out on our own. He's always given an understanding. God spoke to his people in time of calamity. And even now while I stand here. God is raising up prophetic messages today in pulpits all across America and around the world that are preaching just what I'm preaching to you this morning. I received a call from a pastor, a friend of mine from the west last night. He said Pastor Dave I have to deliver a message tomorrow to my people and I'm scared to death. Because it's so against what everybody seems to be telling people today. And I'm scared to death and I want to run it by you. And when he ran it by me I said well my friend that's what I'm preaching tomorrow. And all over the country because these men have heard from God and they weep and they grieve. They repent. But still they know they have to proclaim what God's word says and to bring the message home to our hearts. I'm going to give you a word that I don't think, I really don't want to hear in my flesh and most of you don't want to hear. It's going to sound heartless to some and cruel and untimely and unkindness in a time of grieving. But if we don't hear it, if we don't face it the nation is doomed. Absolutely doomed. Therefore the Lord, look at verse 11 Isaiah 9 verse 11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries who have risen against him and join his enemies together. Verse 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither they seek the Lord of hosts. The Lord himself set up the adversaries. The people did not turn unto him that smiteth. Now let me tell you that God uses, God for Israel during Isaiah's time used the enemies of Israel as a rod to chase and warn them to repent. God had to use it as a last resort to bring them back into his heart. To bring back the blessing and to destroy their enemies. And to put up walls of protection. You read Isaiah 5 he said because of the sin God let the walls down. God let the walls down. God used Assyria let me read it to you, as a rod to correct Israel Oh Assyria the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is my indignation. The weapons in their hand are my indignation. I will send him against the hypocritical nation and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil to take the prey and tread them down like the mire of the streets. Isaiah 10 verses 5 and 6 it's the next chapter verses 5 and 6 you'll see it. He said I'm going to take an evil nation and I'm going to use it as a rod as a last resort to bring my people to repentance and to my heart that I may make provisions and provide for it and protect it that they turn their backs upon me. Now folks let me tell you God is going to do it. As soon as he was finished with Israel or with Assyria he destroyed it. Now let me tell you what's going to happen to the terrorists. Please go look at chapter 10 Isaiah 10 verses 12 through 15. Wherefore it shall come to pass when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria. Now verse 8 says Assyria is his rod. Assyria has already attacked. Assyria has done its work against the nation and now God says now I'm going to deal. I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria and the glory of his high looks for he saith by the strength of my hand I've done it and by my wisdom for I am prudent and I've removed the bounds of the people and I have robbed their treasures and I've put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. My hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people and as one gather eggs like are left and I've gathered all the earth there shall none that move their wing or open their mouth or peep but shall the axe boast itself against him that he would therewith or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up or as if the staff should lift itself up as if it were no wood. For God is saying yes now you've lifted yourself to pride and now I'm going to destroy you and I can assure you that it won't be long until everyone are in hell. God is going to do it. God himself is going to deal in some miraculous way. He will deal with all these adversaries and the terrorists. You can mark it down. God will deal with this. God will deal with it. Suddenly as the Assyrians come and God in his love is chasing Israel. Suddenly the buildings are collapsing. The Bible says in verse 10 the bricks are falling down. Look at it. Verse 10 chapter 9 and the bricks are falling down. The sycamores are cut down. In fact the forests were on fire. Buildings were on fire. Israel was in flames. But I ask you a question. Now listen to me closely please. Did Israel repent? Was there any national acknowledgement that God was warning? Did any of those who were rulers see God in the calamity? No, because it's very clear from the Scripture the initial fear gave way to a flood tide of national pride. Look at verse 8 and 9. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria. And see this is the heartland. That say in the pride and stoutness. The word stoutness there in Hebrew is a sense of greatness. In their pride and a sense of greatness of heart. And they are saying the bricks are falling down, but we will build with hewn stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Here's what they were saying by their actions. And listen closely please. These calamities are just fate. Unfortunate disaster that can't be explained. Oh, but we are a great people. We're a mighty nation unbending. We are proud people. Let the world know we will build it up bigger and better. Where there were bricks, we will rebuild with impregnable stone. Where there was cheap construction destroyed, sycamores, we'll build with better materials. We'll build with cedar. We are a blessed nation proud and powerful. We will come through this trouble better than ever. But you see, no one was asking, is God saying something to us? Is God trying to speak to us? Does this sound familiar? God himself sent a covert chastisement on Israel to wake them up and to bring them back to himself to protect them. But they don't even once acknowledge his working in it. They don't heed the message. But they use this disastrous occasion to defy the very thought that such a proud great nation could ever be humbled or chastened by God. Now, folks, I thank God for a moral president. We prayed for him before this happened. We were praying. Remember, we were pleading and interceding, God, give wisdom to this president. God, something is about to happen. Give him wisdom. We have prayed and interceded for him. Thank God for the Christians in high places. Thank God that at least temporarily there's a turning to prayer around the nation, around the world. Do you remember the Gulf War? Do you remember how packed all the churches were in New York? Do you remember a whole three days of prayer? And the next week, New York City came apart with parties. Do you remember it? The whole nation called to prayer. Thank God President Bush Senior spent the night with Billy Graham on his knees. And that's probably why we were successful in that occasion. Thank God for people that are sober and beginning to rethink their lifestyle. And we're to pray for our leaders. And thank God we live in a land of freedom. But still we're missing the message. We have moments of silence. And we call that repentance. We see politicians in the steps of the government buildings singing God bless America. And we call that turning back to God. We applaud the NFL for calling for a moment's silence at halftime. And we call that a spiritual experience. Is that all that's going to come out of it? One moment of silence and back to the painted faces, back to chugging beer and streaming for their favorite team. Back to sitting in front of the television laughing with Leno. This morning I turned on the radio to see what was happening. And they were replaying the senators and congressmen on the congressional building steps. And they were singing God bless America. Stand beside us. Lead us. Guide us. And I wept and cried. I could hardly stand it. Because God was saying David don't you understand there's only a handful that believe that these are the same men that have ruled me out of their society. They're trying to remove my name from their school books. They have aborted babies. And now they're singing God stand beside us. What hypocrisy. These politicians pontificating about God now. The very ones that are protecting abortion rights. Now see when a nation's under divine correction, it'll do one of two things. It'll humble itself as did Nineveh. Or it will give God lip service and then turn to its own strength and power to rise above the correction. The cry is rising now. We have the strength and the power and the might, the ability, the resolve to endure any disaster. Because we're a proud and great nation. Now thank God for patriotism. Thank God for the American flag. I thank God for the temporary national unity and folks that's what it is it's temporary. I thank God for the incredible heroic efforts and sacrifices we've witnessed. The world wonders at the fortitude and love of the New Yorkers in this time. And the Americans in general in Washington D.C. and everywhere. But folks we face now the same danger of missing God's message as did Israel. We're at the same crossroads now that Isaiah spoke of. If you and I lived in Jerusalem and Judah in the time of this prophet I have a sense that many of us would have walked out on him. We wouldn't have listened. We wouldn't have heeded it because the nation refused to believe Jerusalem their favorite city or their nation of Judah could be brought low. And here comes Isaiah preaching while all the false prophets were preaching peace. He said, shall not God as he has done to Samaria and her idols so do to Jerusalem and her idols? He said what makes you think you're exempt Jerusalem? Don't you know that I have just destroyed nations all around you for their idolatry? The same idolatry you are practicing? And he comes now with this message, shall not God as he has done to Samaria and her idols do also to Jerusalem and her idols? What makes you think your nation is exempt? All across America now we hear of prayer and remembrance meetings. Prayer and remembrance. Now folks we've got to remember those who died. That's scriptural. That's honorable. Thank God for what's happening. But why do we find it so impossible to call for prayer and repentance meetings? Why is it remembrance and revenge? Yes, God will take care of it. There has to be, this has to be dealt with for that 100%. But where is the call for turning back to God in America? Where is the call? Where is anyone hearing the message? Let me give you the message. God is trumpeting. Time is running out. I've sent you prophets and watchmen. You've been warned over and again. I prospered you above all nations. I endured your worship of gold and silver. I endured your shameless sensuality. I endured your mockery, your continuous shedding of innocent blood and murdering of babies. I've endured your tireless efforts to eradicate my name even from your history books. And now I've stricken in hopes of saving you, that you repent and turn from your wicked ways so that I can heal your land and I will destroy your enemies. Now folks, show me where that's not scriptural. Prove to me from God's word that he will not judge America as he's judged Sodom, Rome, Greece, and now Russia. I've just returned from Russia a few months ago. And walking through St. Petersburg and Moscow, shocked at total depression. Average wage, $50 a month. Nothing but broken down infrastructures everywhere. Men laying on the streets, drunk on cheap vodka. Drug addicts now. Everywhere. Such devastation. I broke down in front of ministers and wept and wailed in ice arena and hockey arena in Moscow because they tried to outrule God out of their society. They went down the same road we're going down. And God said it's enough. And Russia is under severe judgment. It's turned it into a third world nation. Here's the message from the prophet Ezekiel. Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you've transgressed. Make you a new heart, a new spirit. For why would you die, O house of Israel? Why have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth? Sayeth the Lord God, wherefore turn yourselves and live? Folks, God knows the pain and sorrow of the death of the innocent. Who could be more innocent than his own son? Who is more innocent? And God laid the world of sins, the sins of the whole world on the back of his own son and let wicked man kill him. Shall you tell me that he's not a feeling God? That he doesn't feel pain? He said, I take no pleasure in this. And I'll tell you why God bottles tears, because they're his own tears he's retrieving. He weeps through those who are his beloved children. Every tear you shed as a believer in Jesus, a lover of Christ, those are the tears of God. Jesus is still man and he weeps, and he weeps through his children. It's the only evidence he can give. And I tell you now, Jesus has been weeping. God pities he weeps, but his justice and his righteousness force him to restrain his pity and carry out righteous judgments as a last resort. His justice demands His justice demands that he lay these sins on his son and that an innocent son of God would die. Oh yes, so many innocent people have died. Not that there was personal judgment on them, many righteous died. God's trying to save a nation. Now what's going to happen if this nation misses the message and we don't turn holy back to the Lord because the window of opportunity is very short now? What's going to happen if abortion continues and we end up killing born babies for research purposes? If we continue rubbing the precious name of Jesus out of our American history? That's what they're trying to do now. All the school books are being rewritten, the majority of school books are being written, removing God's name from American history. Now, what happens if we rebuild bigger and better only to enrich ourselves even more? And all the talk that I hear now is that somebody's going to build the towers bigger and better than ever. What's going to happen if we don't trust God now instead of trusting our armed might? Let me answer that question not out of my own heart, not out of speculation, but the Word of God. Isaiah clearly tells us what follows, rejection of his call to repentance and a turning to pride and boasting of greatness. Look at verse 18, chapter 9. The Bible says they'll be devouring flowers, mounting to the heavens, darkness over the land, national disunity, a stricken economy, every man out for himself to survive. Now, listen to this scripture, for wickedness burneth as the fire. It shall devour the briars and thorns and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest. They shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke, the whole land. Next through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened. It will be darkened by smoke of fires. And the people shall be as the fuel of the fire. No man shall spare his brother. It will be every man for himself. He shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry. God's going to touch the economy. They shall eat on the left hand. He shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied. They shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm. That means he's going to protect his little world and God help you if you try to get near the flesh of his own arm. Let me read to you a message, just a note, a message I delivered from this pulpit. It was September 7, 1992. It's entitled A Prophetic Warning to New York City. Some of you were here perhaps at that time, 1992. And let me read this. This was from this pulpit. Right now I believe God is speaking a warning to New York City and I wrestled with this severe word as I prepared this message and I prayed, Lord, is this really going to happen? Again and again I heard this still small voice preach it and warn the people. Those who want the truth will receive it. Dear Saint, this warning is not meant to scare you. It's meant only for you to take to the Lord and pray. This is what I believe the Lord has shown me. Thirty days of chastisement will fall on New York City such as the world has never seen. God's going to let down the walls. Unimaginable violence looting. A thousand fires will be burning at the same time throughout the city and its boroughs. Times Square will be ablaze and the flames that ascend into heaven will be seen for miles. Fire trucks will not be able to handle it all. Trains and buses will be shut down. Billions of dollars will be lost. Broadway shows will stop completely. It will cause businesses to flee the city in an unstoppable hemorrhage. The violence will be ferocious. It will shock the whole world. Our streets will be lined not with just National Guard but the militia. Los Angeles fires will be confined, or Los Angeles fires were confined to a few sections of the city, but New York will be ablaze in its boroughs. Such things are expected in third world countries but not in a civilized nation like the United States. Yet in not too long a time afterward, New York City will go bankrupt, the city's queen city cast into the dirt, a city of poverty. When will all this happen, you ask? All I can say is I believe I will be here when it happens. When it happens, no matter where we are, in our apartment on the job, God's people are not to panic or fear. And I've been asked so many calls in our Texas office. Brother Dave, the websites covering this all of the United States, is this what you saw? And my answer is no, it's not. Not at all. Because what I see is far more. Far more severe. The heartland won't be spared. Because you see, if we turn away from God now, if we don't have voices rising, then this is what happened to Israel. The whole nation came under economic collapse. I don't like to hear this. Folks, we didn't want to hear it then. And it's happened. And now we weep. You say, well, can any of this be avoided? Absolutely yes. Yes. If this president proves to be a Josiah, a man who sought the Lord with all his heart, according to God's pattern or the tracts of the Holy Spirit, we may be given a reprieve for as long as we have a godly man who not turns to the right or to the left, but completely trembles at the Word of God. Turn to 2 Kings, and I'll give you that hope, if you will, see 2 Kings. And if you want to know what to pray about, folks, this is it. Pray that God will cause President Bush to tremble at the Word of God, that he will stay on his knees and not be turned aside by advisers. Chapter 22. No clapping, please, in this message. I'm going to be completed in just a moment. 2 Kings, verse chapter 22. If you will, please. Now, Josiah has just read the Word of the Lord. They've read it to him. And there are prophecies of judgment upon the nation because of sin. And he sends representatives to hold to the prophetess. And she gives this message and sends it to Josiah. And this is the message. This is the message I believe God wants to send to a Christian president. And listen to it. And she said to them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Tell the man that sent you. Tell President Bush, for example. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read. Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore, my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. But to the king or to the president which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as touching the words which you have heard, Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse. Thou hast rent thy clothes, and you have wept before me, and I have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, and here's our hope. Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace, and that I shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And brought the king word again. God said, as long as you're in power, as long as you weep before me, as long as you don't turn the right or the left, as long as you tremble at my word, you will not see what is coming. It will not come under your rule. It will not come in your time. My prayer is that we would pray that desperately and even this morning before we close this service, to call this church to pray that God give us, that God give the spirit of Josiah in the White House. Our Attorney General Ashcroft is a Pentecostal believer full of the Holy Spirit. There are prayer meetings every day in the White House. We need to plead with God that the spirit of Josiah, the same spirit that rested on him, folks, not that we should be afraid of what is coming, but to give us some time to evangelize because there seems to be a visitation of the Holy Spirit that is running in parallel with these judgments. There seems to be God speaking all over the land. Churches in Dallas, churches in Denver are being packed with people. And this was happening even before prayer meetings were called. And these are the Christians, these are the believers that are coming together. There's a temporary pull and call among those who are not believers. But folks, this is a hope. And here's what the Prophet Zechariah said, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord, and I will turn to you. I will turn to you. The most profound word of all with this, I'm going to close. Go to Jeremiah the 18th chapter please. And with this I close. Could you stand with me while we read this? Jeremiah 18 verses 15 through 20. No, I'm sorry. Chapter 18 verses 5 through 10. Starting verse 5. Then the word of the Lord came to me. See, the Lord sends his word, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord? Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instance I shall speak concerning a nation, concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, pull down, and destroy it, if that nation against whom I pronounced, turn from their evil? What does it say? I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, concerning a kingdom built into a planet, if it do evil in my sight, that if it obey not my voice, and if we miss the message, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. And God said, if you'll just turn. I can't, we can't reach the world from this pulpit. But see, with this I'm closing. Yes, I pray that the nation repent. But my most intense prayer is for my own heart. Lord, let me be wholly turned to you. Let me have a repentant heart. And let me judge my sins that I not be judged before the throne. I'm not looking at somebody else. Folks, you can't find anywhere in this particular thing where God blamed sinners. He didn't blame homosexuals. He didn't blame those. He said it's because of your pride and your cry of greatness. Because in your troubled times and in your grief, you didn't turn to me with all your heart. You didn't come against your sins. But you turned to your own strength and you turned because you were wounded in pride. Your pride rose up. God says, if you will turn to me with all your heart, I'll repent for what I had in plan for you. You can't repent for the rest of New York. We can repent for ourselves. And our repentance this morning can rise to high heaven and touch the throne of God. Folks, listen to me please. We want to remember in prayer our President, President Bush, when he was a candidate, one of his first speeches was given at one of our Teen Sound Center in Lubbock. We have a copy of it. And he said, I was alcoholic and Jesus saved me not only from alcoholism but from sin. And I've given my heart to Jesus Christ. Now folks, we're to pray for our leaders even if they were evil. How much more for those that have been placed in power in such a strategic time. Would everybody in this building, please, we're going to pray for the President first and then, you may not agree with this in politics, but folks, you're a Christian, forget politics right now and let's lay hold of God. I want to lead you in this prayer and I want everyone in this house, everyone in the annex and all the overflow rooms. Folks, there are thousands here in all of our various auditoriums and I know right now that God will hear our cry. Would you lift your voice? I don't want to be the only one praying. Father, you pray yourself, Lord. I pray that you come now in a special way and sweep over this congregation. Lord, we tremble not at the disaster. We tremble at the Word of God. We tremble, oh God. We want to hear your message. We want to hear your voice in this. This nation must repent. God, this nation must turn back to you. We have such little time left. God, I pray that you give President Bush mercy, grace, wisdom. Oh God, continue to drive him to his knees. Josiah had a tender heart. Give him a tender heart toward you. God, don't let the counselors lead him to the right or to the left. Let him get his counsel from you, Lord. That still small voice. God, we weep for our nation, but oh God, we feel your tears. We have your tears, Lord, for the innocent. We have your tears for those who have died. Your tears over having to judge for sin. Oh God, in Jesus' name, we repent before you. I repent. We all repent of our sins before you, Lord. We have neglected you. We have taken the things of God lightly. We have not been diligent, Lord. We've wasted our time in front of TV sets. Lord, we have turned aside in boredom. We've neglected you days without number. My God, forgive us in our churches. Forgive our pastors. Forgive me. Forgive all of us, oh Lord, for not warning the people, for not being in touch and hearing and knowing the voice of God, not hearing the prophetic word of the Lord. Oh God, have mercy on this nation. Have mercy, oh God, have mercy. My Lord, have mercy upon us. God, we pray for the Christians in leadership. We pray for Ashcroft. We pray for the Attorney General, Lord. They have mocked him. They've ridiculed him. Now, Lord, give them a voice in the land. Give them a voice in the land, we pray. God, touch him. Put your arms around him and direct him and guide him. Oh God, you want to have mercy on this nation. You want us to turn to you so that you can bring back your favor and blessing and protection. Oh God, in Jesus' name, spare your people. Protect your people in these hard times. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the holy name of Jesus. Blessed the holy name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Blessed be the name of the Lord. God, you have everything under control. You know what you're doing. You know what's happening. Lord Jesus, you'll hold your church. You'll hold your people. And you have purpose to protect your people in these last days. You will protect, oh God, and you will give us your mind and your will. We will hear a word from heaven. We will know it's from you and from your throne. We will receive it with joy and gladness and pain and sorrow. Hallelujah. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now, as we close, I want to bring this down very personal. See, it doesn't matter much whether you're angered by what you heard this morning. The real issue is this. Are you right with God? Are you right with Him? That's what this is all about. You can stand in this church and say, oh yeah, I agree with you, Pastor. I'd like to see America repent and turn from its wicked ways. But how about you? You're a part of it. It should begin right here, shouldn't it? It should begin right here. Our staff, ask those in room 206. Now, if you're in room 206 and you want to give your heart to Jesus, if you want to get right with God, if your back's slid and your heart's grown cold and God's been speaking to you, it's time to wake up. I've had parents call me and our officers call me and parents and even pastors are calling their unsaved children in the Midwest. Some of the calls are incredible. Some of their children are on drugs and so forth and their parents are calling them up and saying, you better get right. God is speaking. This is God talking to you. And God's message is heard loud and clear here now and His loving message has come because I want you to come into the ark. He's prepared an ark of safety. That's Jesus. Jesus is the ark of safety in these last days. He says, come in the ark before the flood strikes. And that's not just a message of fear, that's a message of hope. Anyone in room 206, the Holy Ghost is speaking to you. I address you first. These days are life and death days and I'm going to give you a sales pitch and I'm going to try to scare you. But I'm telling you now, I look you right in the eye and tell you God by His Spirit is speaking to everybody in this land and He's speaking to you. He'll not bypass you because He loves you. And the time to make it right, the time to come home, come home, come back to His love is now. Don't resist the Holy Spirit to not be a better time. You say, well I don't want to come when I'm afraid. Folks, it's not fear. But the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you have the fear of God and you say this is God at work and that's the kind of fear you have, that's a righteous fear. Now you move on that. Upstairs and downstairs. Pastor Carter, you sang that song, Come Home, that old-fashioned song. Could you sing that, lead us in that again, Come Home? I wondered far, some of you wondered far away from Him. Today's the day for you to come back. Now, just get out of your seat, wherever you are, add up in the balcony here and in the rotunda and go. As the Spirit told you, feel that pull and tug, that's the Holy Spirit. No one's going to bet you come because the Spirit is dealing with you. Hallelujah. I have wandered far away from God. Now I'm coming home. The paths of sin too long I have trod. Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home. Coming home. Never more to roam. Open wide thine arms of love. Lord, I'm coming home. I'm coming home. Coming home. Never more to roam. Open wide thine arms of love. Lord, I'm coming home. Hallelujah. Lord, thank you for the moving of your Holy Spirit. We pray that everyone in this house, even when we dismiss, when they walk out, Lord, touch them and say, go back. Go back. Let this be the day that the account is settled with the Lord. Let this be the hour. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.