In this sermon, the preacher discusses the sin of King Asa, who had a perfect heart but made a grave mistake by relying on his own plans instead of trusting in God. Despite his previous faithfulness and victories, King Asa sought the counsel of his advisors without seeking God's guidance. As a result, God rebuked him and warned that he would face wars and chaos in the future. The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God and seeking Him through prayer and reading the Bible, warning against neglecting these spiritual disciplines.

Open your Bibles to 2 Chronicles, the 15th chapter. My book, America's Last Call, we're going to the printers shortly, and the subtitle is America on the Brink of a Financial Holocaust. We'll be making those available to this congregation and to our mailing list throughout the United States, and around the world, hopefully in the next 30 days or so. This morning, the shocking sin of a perfect heart. Now, Heavenly Father, I know that when I spent time with you this week, you put this on my heart. I didn't invent this message. It didn't come out of my own thinking. Something birthed in your own heart, and I pray, Lord, you sanctify my vessel that I delivered from a righteous heart, righteous only through Christ Jesus, and that it fall upon hearing ears. I pray for a special unction anointing of the Holy Spirit upon this word, I pray. Let everyone hear it, and Lord, let us apply it to our hearts, I pray. But quicken me by your Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can make this truth come alive. Otherwise, it's dead letter. So, Father, I turn to you for the moving and the quickening of the Holy Ghost. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I'm going to talk to you about the shocking sin of a man in the Bible who it was said of him, he was perfect all his days. He was perfect all his days. Yet this godly, praying, obedient man of God fell into a shocking sin after years of seeking the Lord. Now, the whole premise of my message this morning is simply this, and listen very closely if you will, please. It's possible to walk for many years with the Lord, to be a praying man or woman, to be obedient, to hate evil, to pull down satanic strongholds, and be blessed and highly honored of the Lord, and be known as one who lived for holiness and hated sin, and a crusader for holiness. And after years of such blessings, it's possible to fall into the shocking sin that I want to talk to you about this morning. I call it a shocking sin because it should not be expected of somebody who's had such experience with the faithfulness of God. It's shocking in view of the past experiences with God and that he was such a righteous man. The man who committed this sin is Asa, king of Judah. Now, Asa in the Bible comes on the scene with these words, and Asa did that which is right and good in the eyes of the Lord. That's chapter 14, verse 2. Asa did that which is good and right in the eyes of the Lord, his God. What a wonderful start this king had, incredible. Verses 2 to 5, look on down verse 3. He took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places. He broke down the images and cut down the groves. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to do the law and the prophets. He took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places, the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. The kingdom was quiet. Now, Asa was brought up in a home where a father's name was Abijah. And Abijah, though he didn't have that perfect heart, he never turned away. He did rely on the Lord. It's amazing how God moves for those who trust him. You may not be where you should be in the Lord, but God still responds to trust and confidence. And a huge army, 800,000 Israelites, came down against Judah. And the Scripture makes it clear because they kept the charge of the Lord and did not forsake him, and they relied on the Lord God of their fathers that God delivered this huge army into a smaller army of Judah and gave them victory. And Asa had watched as God honored his father because he trusted him. And the Scripture says that his father Abijah grew mighty. He was raised in this. Now, when Asa came to the throne, he started incredibly a righteous man, doing away with idolatry, full of hatred for sin. Now, Asa said in his heart, the Scripture said, For the land had rest, and he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Chapter 14, verse 7, Because we have sought the Lord, Asa said, we have sought him, he had given us rest on every side, so they built and prospered. Now, I want you to listen very closely. Look this way. When you read the Old Testament, the first thing that's going to strike you, if you have an open heart and open mind, is how God absolutely favors and blesses those who seek him with all their hearts. He gives them favor, he blesses, and he takes disorder and turns it into order. He brings order into homes, nations, and families of those who seek him with all their heart. You find that with Abijah. You find it now with Asa. You find it with all the kings, all through the Old Testament. It's so clear. I love reading Kings and Chronicles. I love 1 and 2 Samuel. I read all of these to look at these incredible patterns, and you see it. You can't miss it. The Bible speaks of King Uzziah, for example. As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. And Isaiah tells us, explains the kind of prosperity that the Bible is talking about. In fact, Isaiah, in Isaiah 65, 10, spoke of those, my people who seek me. And he goes on to explain that they are given peaceful pasture to lay down in, green pastures by still waters. He said those who seek God wholeheartedly are given peace, rest, and a quiet heart, and the ending of chaos and confusion in their lives. Now, that's where I'm headed in this message this morning. The Scripture, David said in Psalms 46, 9, He, God, makes all wars to cease from the ends of the earth. That inner war, that war in your family, that war on your job, God causes it to cease for those who seek Him with all their hearts, completely. Do you want God to bring order into your home, into your life? Is there disorder? Is there confusion? Are things not the way they should be? And you know it in your heart. The Scripture says, As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. Because he sought the Lord, God gave him rest on all sides. David said, I sought the Lord. He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. He delivered me from all my fears. I was counseling somebody who'd been in the ministry, and this dear man of God began to pour out an incredible story of confusion and chaos and disorder in his life. His marriage was about to fail. His job was in jeopardy. He was in financial chaos, about to lose his home. Everything was going wrong after serving the Lord for such a long time. He'd been a sacrificial person, but something had happened and everything was going wrong. And I sat there for about an hour listening. I have never heard such an incredible tale of chaos, disorder everywhere you turn. There was not one single thing, not his children, not his family, not his job. There was nothing in order. Everything was chaos. And all of a sudden the Spirit of God came on me and I just stopped him and said, wait a minute. I said, I have something the Holy Ghost is saying to me about you. You're here in my office expecting me to give you some kind of supernatural advice that's going to suddenly solve all your problems. And you're expecting that when I pray for you that I'm going to prevail in prayer and God's suddenly going to bring order out of all of this chaos. I said it won't work. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to pray for you when you haven't prayed in months. I'm not going to take your burden when I know that you sit in front of a television set half the day because you're in despair. You don't read your Bible. And I said it lovingly, but I said I know what God is saying to me. I get letters from people all over the United States and around the world who laid their heavy chaotic conditions out on paper and say, please pray. Get Times Square people to pray for my problems. And the Holy Ghost has so often said, I know they are not praying. They forsake me and neglect me days on end. No wonder there's such disorder and chaos in so many homes and jobs and everything going wrong because they don't take that quality daily time shut into the secret closet. They are not into this book, learning about God's faithfulness. I'm not saying that the seeker after God is going to have everything in his life in order all of a sudden. I'm not saying that there aren't going to be problems. There'll be children that'll be out of order perhaps. There'll be situations that are chaotic around you. But what happens is that the chaos is gone from your heart. The disorder is removed from your mind so that you are lifted above it. You are in order when everything around you may be in disorder. The Bible says the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. That's chapter 15, verse 17. Now, that word perfect in Hebrew. Now, wouldn't you like to have a perfect heart? Oh my, my, what a powerful statement. He had a perfect heart. Now, that didn't mean he was sinless. Doesn't mean it was without blemish. This man probably had as many problems as you and I do trying to keep our temper in control and all these other things of human nature. No, the word in Hebrew means full, complete, at rest, friendly, quiet. In other words, the Lord had given him a quiet peace. He was trusting in his God because he'd been shut in with God. He's a seeker after God. And those who go into the secret presence of the Lord are gifted with peace and rest and confidence in the Lord. When it says he had a perfect heart, it means he had a trusting, quiet, friendly heart as compared to an angry, upset spirit like I see in many so-called saints who ain't. You seek Him with all your heart and the Lord gives you this kind of a perfect heart, a heart that is shut in with God, is soon put in order. It's lifted above the crisis, above the turmoil. It's strengthened. And you come out of your prayer closet with a quiet confidence in the Lord. I had a letter this week from a sister in the Midwest. And I thought it was going to be an awful tale of problems again, incredible, because her son had just gotten a divorce. Her daughter just found out her husband had cheated on her and she's going to file for divorce. And she'd just been notified. She'd just found out her husband had cheated on her and he had just come that day and asked for a divorce. So there were three divorces in her family within a few weeks. And I thought, oh, my. And then all of a sudden, the last few paragraphs, she said, but praise the Lord. I have wonderful times in prayer. I seek God with all my heart. And I am being strengthened, Brother Dave. I am being encouraged in the Lord. And God's holding me tight. This woman, everything around her is in disorder, but her mind is in divine order. There's a peace, there's a rest in her because she has her bad days, she said. But she said, I always run to Jesus and He makes it all right. Now, Asia had enjoyed years of peace and tranquility until one day there came a million-man Ethiopian army against him. Now, folks, let me tell you something. Bad things do happen to good people. This man wasn't being chastened by the Lord because he was not living sin. He's a seeker after God. He was not being judged, but he was being tested. Why do bad things happen to many good, holy, godly Christians who pray? Because God will test your faith. Whom the Lord loves He chastens, yes, but also He said He's going to try our faith to bring forth this pure gold. Now, the Lord's looking at this man now. Here's a man who, for a number of years now, he's trusted the Lord faithfully. There's been quiet and peace, and now this million-man army with 300 iron chariots, nothing frightened armies in those days had nothing but spears and swords than iron chariots. That's like tanks today, 300 tanks, 300 iron chariots coming. Now, is Asia going to panic? Is he going to say, well, I remember how the Lord's delivered me here and he delivered me here and he delivered me then, and he goes over and recounts all of the ways that God has blessed and kept and prospered and delivered him from fears and from his enemies? Is he going to remember how God delivered his father Abijah from an 800,000-man army with just a small army on their side? Does he recount all of that? Oh, thank God Asia didn't panic. I thank God that his faith held true. The Scripture said King Asa turned to prayer, chapter 14, verse 11, and Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it's nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. What do you say? Well, I don't know what to do. Well, that's a wonderful place to be where you don't know what to do. You don't know what to say. You can't think it through. You know what? I'm going to get to the place where I'm going to tell you it's a sin to even try to think it through when the Lord's just saying you're to rely on me. Remember what his father's testimony says because God delivered us because we relied on him. We trusted in him completely. And the Scripture makes it very clear here that he said, whether with many or with them that have no power, help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let no man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerah. The Ethiopians were overthrown that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host, and they carried away very much spoiled. Now, you see again what happens for a man, for a people, for a nation that totally relies on the Lord. This mighty king says, Father, we have no power, we have no might, we don't know what to do but pray. We don't know anything but to seek God. And God marvelously, this million man army was turned into confusion and chaos. You talk about disorder, they were running everywhere, those chariots, the wheels came off. There was an incredible victory. Incredible victory. This was a powerful faith this man had. And God was answering. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before him and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Victory. Order. Blessing. Favor. Now, Asa and his victorious army are now returning from this battlefield, and Asa's leading this marvelous procession back into the city of Jerusalem. He comes to the main gate, and they are loaded down with spoil, with gold and silver and jewels and cattle. It was an incredible, the Bible said there was great spoil. Tremendous riches that they picked up from this army that they had spoiled the enemy army. Now, 2 Chronicles 15, first seven verses, I'll read to you from King James. A prophet comes. Now, this man's just had victory. This man's greatest victory in his life. A million man army's been destroyed. And they're loaded with spoil. And I can see Asa just beaming with joy. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa. Now, Asa's coming back from the battle. And he said unto him, Here ye meet Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while you be with him. And if you seek him, he will be found of you. But if you forsake him, he'll forsake you. Now, for a long season, Israel has been without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But when they, in their trouble, did turn unto the Lord God of Israel and sought him, he was found of them. In those times, there was no peace to him that came out nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all in the habitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of nation and city of city, for God did vex them with all adversity. Be strong therefore and let not your hands be weak, for your works shall be rewarded. Now, look this way, please. What is this prophet saying to Asa? Now, in verse 3, notice that in the King James, in verse 3, says, For a long season Israel hath been. Now, that's in italics. That means it's not in the original. There is no verb, no Hebrew verb in verse 3. And what that means, that that could be applied not only to the past, but the present, Asa's time, and to our time. Past, present, and future. What he's laying down is a principle. It's a principle. And that principle is that when people are not walking in the law of God, they're not hearing good gospel preaching, they're not living according to the commandments of the Lord, every man's a law to himself, they're in trouble. The scripture said in that time there was no peace. He's talking about any time in history. Now, there is no peace to those who go out and come in, but great vexations upon all nations, destroyed vexation, adversity, all of this, all of this, because they're not seeking the Lord. Not just, he's saying, Asa, I'm going to give you a Bible principle. This is the way it was before you were born, this is the way it is for you now, and this is the way it's going to be until the end of time. Any people who will not seek to face God, any individual, any nation, any society, that will not seek God with all their heart, if they'll seek Him, they'll find me. I'll be faithful, I'll bring favor and blessing, but if they will not seek me, there's going to be chaos, there's going to be nation, there's going to be war, there's going to be turmoil. He's giving a Bible principle, but he said to Asa, up to this time you have been blessed because you sought the Lord. Now, make sure you don't stop seeking Him. Make sure you keep on getting the victory the way you've been getting the victory. Not in your own strength, not in leaning on the flesh, not in trying to figure things out, but you have sought God. Now, Asa, you're being warned by the Spirit of the living God. Don't depart from that. He's describing and explaining what happens to believers who neglect prayer, who neglect reading their Bible. They disobey the Word of God. They forsake the Lord and His calling. And God said, then I will forsake you. He's saying, King Asa, you have learned how to receive the blessing of God by being shut in with Him and waiting upon the Lord. Now, King Asa was encouraged by that word. He launches a great crusade against sin. He goes and smites all the sodomites. He wipes out sodomy from the nation, destroys all the heathen temples and their gods, and he puts the bones of dead men on Baal's altar so that they're desecrated. He takes his own mother, the queen mother, from the throne because she has an idol. She's an idol worshiper. He removes her from being a queen for many years now. After this, a number of years, right up to his 36th year. He reigned for 41 years. Right up to his 36th year, this man sought the Lord, but something happened to this man. Something happened. In the 36th year of his reign, Israel invaded. See, he's king of Judah. Israel came down and invaded Ramah. Now, Ramah was a city. It was only 2 1⁄4 miles from Jerusalem. And what King Baasa was trying to do was to stop all of the Israelites from coming down to worship in Jerusalem because this was the main road from Israel to Jerusalem. It was also a main trade route to Judah. He's trying to cut off the trade route, trying to bring the economy down in Judah. So he has captured Ramah, which is in the center of the Benjamite territory, and he's fortifying it now. And King Asa knows the consequences. He knows what's going to happen. He knows that their trade and their economy could be affected and it could destroy the nation. But this time we come now to the shocking sin of a perfect heart. Here's the shocking sin. Here's a man who for 36 years in his reign has proven God faithful. Here's a man who's seen miracle after miracle, a praying man, a righteous man, who has hated sin and brought down idolatry in the land, zealous for the things of God. But now rather than trust God, he tries to conceive a plan. He lays up at night. He lays up in bed and he's restless and he calls for his counselors, he calls for his princes, he calls for his advisors, what are we going to do? And they devise this plan. They don't even pray about it. They don't even seek God about it. They do what they think is right. They do it just because this seems to be the only way out. And so he strips the treasuries of the temple and it had taken years to replace those treasuries that had been robbed by previous invasions. And he goes to the king of Syria, a heathen king, a heathen nation, and he says, I want you. And he bribed him. He gave him all the wealth, even his own personal wealth. And he sends ambassadors to the king of Syria. And he said, I want you to attack the northern cities of Israel. And I want you to preoccupy them so that they will have to take their army from my gates in Ramah and they will have to go up and defend their north border. And it worked. The Syrians attacked the northern cities, three major cities and other lesser cities. And Baasha, in panic, forsakes Ramah. Asa moves in with his army, tears it down, and rebuilds Ramah in another area. And he said, that worked pretty good. Figured it out. But in the eyes of God, it was a shocking, abominable sin because this man was not praying. Now, he's not seeking God. He's moving in the flesh. He's trusting in the arm of the flesh. Completely trusting in the arm of the flesh. Folks, I want you to know. In 2 Chronicles 16th chapter, you'll see. Go to 2 Chronicles 16th chapter, verse 7, beginning to read. See, God sends another prophet. I'll tell you something, folks. Look at me for just a minute. God loves you enough. If you've been a praying man or woman, if you've been walking with God, He ain't going to let you go easy, I'll tell you. He's going to send a prophet your way. He's going to send a word. You're going to get a word. It'll come from a pulpit like this. God, because He loves you, He's going to speak to you. I don't know who this is for this morning, but God's speaking to some people. Chapter 16, verse 7, And at that time Hananiah the seer, the prophet came to Asa, king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. What he's saying, they're going to come down and invade you one day, and you missed out this opportunity. You could have defeated them. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lupins a huge host with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because thou didst rely on the Lord, He delivered them into thy hand. Now listen to this. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect. That means trusting toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly, therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars, disorder, confusion, chaos, because you didn't trust God. You trusted in flesh. You did it your way. Oh, it worked. But you did it without me. That means you're going to spend the rest of your life doing it your own way. You're going to forget me. You're going to neglect me. You won't be in the secret closet anymore. You won't be in my word. You're going to backslide and go hard. God said, I'm going to lose you in the process. And He sends this prophet. I want to tell you something. Listen to me. We think it's no big deal to do things our own way. We think it's no big deal. Well, I have the mind of Christ in me. I can do. Surely the Lord will bless anything I put my hands to. No, my Bible says, in all your ways acknowledge the Lord, and He will direct your path. That word in Hebrew to acknowledge is to wait for instruction. That's what it means. He says, wait for instruction in all your ways, and I will direct you. My Bible says in Isaiah, Hear ye that are far off what I've done, and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. And He says, take instructions and then believe my power to do it. Folks, you and I do not, we have not yet come to the understanding of how grievous and abominable this sin is to have a crisis in our life, to face problems, marriage problems, financial problems, all kinds of problems, family problems, and fret over it, and lose sleep over it, and try to figure it out, and make telephone calls, and run here and run there until we're run ragged. And God says, am I not your God? Have I lost my power, my might? Have I not told you that if you would seek me, I'd give you direction, I'd deliver you from your fears, I would make a way where there is no way? Oh, folks, don't get careless in this matter about seeking God. Don't get careless about it, in seeking Him in all things. Remember what the prophet said, the Lord's with you while you're with Him, and if you seek Him, He'll be found of you. Hallelujah. Asa spent the last two years of his life looking for doctors to heal his diseased feet. He got a very serious, grievous disease in his feet, the Bible says. Yet in his disease, he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. Now, folks, there's no sin in going to a doctor, but the Hebrew here suggests that this man gave his life over into the hands of doctors. He was looking for specialist after specialist, he went everywhere, every doctor in any nation he could find. He's not talking to God, he's not trusting God, he's not praying about his disease. Now, folks, my family, one of my best friends is a physician, Dr. Rice, he's on my board. I have no problem with people going to doctors, because any wisdom, anything the doctor knows, God gave it anyhow. And I'll tell you what, a doctor can cut and sew, but he can't heal. What would any operation do if God didn't coagulate the blood that lead to death? And how many doctors, how many, every doctor I know, there's not a doctor anywhere that hasn't at times given up on people and have to sit back and dumbfounded that God took over. But you see, this man is not trusting God. Folks, we trust God in our home. We believe Jesus is a miracle worker, he's a physician. And he uses doctors, he uses, but this man, he's not trusting God, he's not looking to God anymore, he's relying, if I can just find the right doctor. He had the right doctor all along, but he's still looking for another doctor. You know, you can be a Christian who has been faithful to the Lord, you prayed, you sought the Lord over the years, you've seen miracle after miracle, and God has done things, but now after all these years walking with God, folks, I have seen ministers like that, I have seen people, Pentecostals especially, some old timers I think about yesterday while finishing up this message, face after face came to me, some great old timers who were prayer warriors, intercessors, but they always lived in fear. They always had a distrust, there was always something was going to happen bad. They never had that complete confidence in God. And even to the dying day, I've been in some of their homes where near death they trembled, not even knowing if they were saved, not even knowing if trusting God enough to take them through into eternity, because toward the end they lost their faith, they lost their confidence in God. Now, I'm going to wrap all this up. I want you to go to 2 Peter, please. 2 Peter. Now for you new converts, you can go to Hebrews and turn right. Two chapters. You'll find 1 and 2 Peter. I want you to go to 2 Peter, the first chapter, verse 3 and 4. Now just hold that for a minute and let me make a statement first. Can you hold that with your finger and then look this way? How many are getting this so far? Are you getting this? How about in the annex? They're sitting in the annex, folks, thinking they're getting away with it, but they're hearing it right there. In this day of grace, God's prepared us something better than Asia could have ever had or imagined. This something better was made possible by the cross when the veil was rent and you and I were given access into the very holy presence of Almighty God where we're invited to come boldly because our sins are covered by our high priest. We walk right in. The Lord invites us, come freely boldly right into my presence. Hallelujah. And if something happens for those who take advantage of that, that's called seeking God. That's my message. That means somebody that's sitting here now says, I have made up my mind to seek God. Many of you have been seeking God with all your heart. You have a daily time, unhurried. You're in no hurry. You're seeking God. You're waiting upon Him. But let me tell you what happens. Let's read verse 3 and 4 first. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Now verse 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of this world through lust and beside this, well, let's just stop right there, corruption that is in the world through flesh. That ye might be partakers of the divine nature. Now look at me please. Those who seek the Lord and they have given priority having a quality time with the Lord. Something incredible happens in His presence. Something you can't see and sometimes can't feel. But something as absolute and positive as anything that you can know in this world happens in that place of prayer unheard with the Lord. There is an infusion into your body and into your spirit of the very nature of Jesus Christ. It's infused. Now the Bible says partaker of the divine nature. It means to share. And what happens, in the Greek you find the inference is that He plants a sprout. When you go to His presence there's a sprout or seed that's planted in your heart. And every time you go back into His presence He waters it. He's growing something. He's doing something in the heart. To partake means to share and to have some of the very character infused into us. In other words, the inference there, in fact the root word says to pour in is liquid. When you go into the presence He's pouring something into you. He's doing something in you. Now I want you to follow me very closely with you. I want to explain to you the difference between a seeker after God and a lazy, lukewarm Christian who doesn't pray or read the Bible, but seldom. What's the difference? The difference is simply like this. Have you ever seen, you've seen, what a stupid question to ask, have you ever seen road construction in New York? Long Island Expressway. They'll be doing that until Jesus comes. We couldn't get in last night in the Lincoln Tunnel. We had to go all the way up George Washington Bridge because an hour and a half delayed because of construction. They've been constructing that for the last 11 years. I haven't seen them do anything. I go out and I see all of these roadblocks. And you'll go two miles before you see a man or a piece of machinery right or wrong. And usually when you do, they're poking around. And I think they just delight to sit there and say, it's three miles now. Look at it, five miles. We have power. Now let me give you my point. I haven't gotten off the track because a Christian who goes and prays is always under construction. The difference between the man who prays and the person who doesn't pray is that person, he's just like those roads who get no attention, no construction work. They just deteriorate. Bigger holes. I mean, everything goes wrong. It just falls apart. Family life, everything falls apart. But the man who prays is going to be under construction all the time until Jesus comes. You're under construction. God is working. And sometimes, I'll tell you what, when you are under construction, the devil knows. He sees when you pray. He sees when you read the Bible. He hears you praising the Lord. And he's going to send every imp in hell to provoke you. He can use members of your family, your children, husband, wife. He can use friends around you on the job. And he'll go in because you're under construction. And you're telling that you're a child of God. And yet, there comes a time on the job the devil, he's going to provoke you because you're under construction. He's going to provoke you as never before. Folks, the people who don't pray, who don't seek God, don't get provoked. Not by the devil. By the flesh, yes, but not by the devil. But the devil will put it into the hearts of people to provoke you. To lose your temper. To say things that you don't want to say that are unlike Christ. And then the devil, after you lose your temper, you say something that's not Christ-like. The devil will come right back to those people and say, nail him now. And they'll say something like this. No, that wasn't like Jesus. That was not Christ-like. And folks, how many times I've had to run to prayer and say, oh Jesus, am I ever going to be like you? How could I have done that? How could I have said such a stupid, dumb thing? It's like, I told you this guy who bugs me all over the... I've got so many people out there who curse my name. And we've had to put them out of the church because some of them are demonics. And one guy yesterday saw me coming and said, oh, you ruined my day just looking at you. I walked down to Worldwide Plaza and I go in to the plaza there and there's another one of them. You're a big phony. And I said, God'll get you, man. And he said, just like Jesus, huh? I went home and said, well, why did I say something stupid like that? Why did I do it? Folks, let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. Listen to me now. Don't get discouraged when that happens. Just say, pardon me, folks. I'm under construction. I'm under construction. I used to get so condemned. I used to feel so bad that I'm not growing in Jesus. And then the Lord reminds me, David, just listen. There are going to be inconveniences when there's construction. Just say, I'm sorry. Don't go around in guilt anymore, but run to Jesus and say, Lord, I'm sorry. Fix that hole, please. God, do something. The devil wants you to just feel so unworthy, so guilty, so condemned that he drops the joy out of your life. The thought just hit me. Next time I say something at home is not right, she said, David, is that under construction? Or she'll say, David, go back to the contractor. Don't lose your joy. If you're seeking God, don't let anything in the world rob you of your confidence that God's doing a work in you and you're being provoked as never before. You're going to get provoked. Understand that and rest in the hands of the Lord. Run to Jesus quickly. Repent. If you can say, I'm sorry to somebody, say it right then. And if you miss it, just say, Lord, let them know I'm sorry if I can't reach them and go on your way. Hallelujah. Are you wanting order in your life? The blessing and favor of God. Folks, I'm preaching something I have proven in my life. I told Gwen just yesterday. We're in a car. I said, how incredible God has been to my family, to us, to this church. I see God's blessing. Oh, there are problems, yes. Many afflictions of the righteous, but He delivers them out of the wall. How does He deliver? He takes you, raises you up above it all so that you're not in that turmoil. You can look down of it. You have an out-of-body experience. You're in the Spirit. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You're up here, touched by God's hand. Will you stand, please? Hallelujah. Beloved, there's not a person in this building or in the annex anywhere, not one of you, not one of us have been completed yet. Not one of you is a saint. Now, we're called saints, but I mean in the practical definition of that word, you and I have not apprehended it. We've not arrived, but I want you to rejoice in the fact that God's doing something in you. You're not what you were even a month ago. You're certainly not what you were a year ago, I hope. And I'll tell you what, if you're praying and seeking the Lord, I ask you again, do you have a time each day? I don't mean just time when you're going to work, but will you take quality time? You're going to take the time if you make it a priority to seek the Lord. How many times have the pastors come to this pulpit, time after time, coming from every direction from the Word of God, every conceivable kind of message to get us to pray and seek God with all of our hearts and to get into this book and get ready for what is coming. We heard even Friday night. God is speaking to us. I go to God every day and I say, Lord, I am not going to let go of you. I will not let go. You have to have that tenacity. You've got to get a fight in you and say, I will not let anything hinder me. And I'll tell you what, there'll be a conspiracy of interruptions. The devil will conspire to interrupt you. The phone will ring. Everything. You'll yawn like you've never yawned in your life. You'll do things. But the devil trying to keep you from prayer. That's right. The phone won't ring all day until you've set your mind to seek God. My family knows when I go in that closet, nobody, I don't care who it is, that phone never interrupts me. Let it ring. Let it ring. It's not the president calling anyhow. Just let it ring. And if it were the president, he doesn't deserve to interrupt God's time with you either. The Lord has given me a word about this invitation I'm about to give now. And this has to do with those who are in the annex. There are those that are listening to me right now, all through this message, God just kept digging and digging and digging into your spirit. First of all, if you have neglected your prayer time, if you are standing here in the presence of God, and you have to acknowledge, Pastor David, I've heard about this before, I've had God speak to me, but I still haven't made it a priority in my life. I am not a seeker after God. It doesn't mean you could be faithful in church, but that's not what I'm talking about. It has nothing to do with church. It has to do with your daily walk with God. And do you have a time every day where you are into this? You should be reading no less than five chapters a day from this book. And not, you're praying, Jesus, make it real to me. Holy Ghost, help me to understand. And Holy Ghost, let me be taught by this word. Getting sermons from church and tapes and books, not enough. This is the word. You'll find Christ in here. Now, if that's you, and you're here this morning, I want God to stamp this on your personality, on your mind. And you can make a pledge, you can make a covenant with God today that you're going to change your life, that you'll become a seeker after God. I'm determined, folks, to see this happen in the lives of those in this church, that every one of you be a seeker after God. I don't care how many sermons God gives me on this, to keep coming at it. And there's some of you here right now, your life is not in order. You have to acknowledge that, Brother Dave. When you talked about that, that convicted me, because I see such disorder in my... I'm talking about your own life, not just your family, but in your own heart. Things are not really in order. There's turmoil and there's confusion. I want you to get out of your seat, and I want you to come and stand here. We're going to believe God for a miracle today. Up in the balcony, go up the stairs on either side, and those that are in the annex, if you'll just go out to the lobby, I shall show you how to get to the door that connects with this building. Come down the stairs, down any aisle, and meet me right here at the front, and I'll pray with you wherever you're at. Now, if you're not saved, if you're backslidden, you're not right with God, follow these that are coming right now. The Holy Spirit's been dealing with you, talking to you. Come and join these that are coming. We're going to believe God for a miracle today. God wants to change you. He wants to absolutely turn your life around so that you become a true, powerful seeker of God, that the Lord changes your life. Now, I want you to bring that, if you're in a spiritual war, if you've got some warfare going on in you, in your heart, chances are that war has not been settled yet because God's still dealing with you about being faithful and seeking His face. Move in close, if you will, please, make room for those that are coming. Come while I'm talking. The Lord bless you. Now, folks, during Asia's time, when God began to send revival and awakening, they called the nation together, they called the people together, they made a covenant with God that they would seek Him with all their heart. And God answered through all the provinces, if you do that with all your heart, I'll honor it. I'll enter covenant with you, and I will help you. Now, making covenant with God here, right now, in His presence, means this. Look at me, please. Look very closely. Your prayer is going to be, and I'm going to lead you in this prayer, your prayer is going to be, Lord, I want to pledge to You that if You will help me and woo me and strengthen me and remind me, I want to set my heart to seek You. I want to set my heart today in this service to have a time every day. Now, if something happens and you miss the day, don't panic about it, but don't get into a pattern of doing that. Just run right back to Him. And even during the day, if you're just overwhelmed, then even when you're eating, even when you're walking, just begin to talk to Him and pray. I pray in the car. I pray everywhere I go. He wants to do that for you. Folks, this is not just for preachers. This is for every one of us. For every one of us. I'm going to lead you in prayer. Now, this prayer is not going to mean a thing if it doesn't come from your heart. They're just words unless your heart is ready to say, I want God to bring order into my life. I want God. That doesn't mean you won't be provoked. Yes, you're going to be provoked more than ever. But there'll be order in your life. There'll be a sense that God is with me. God is favoring me. God is touching me. God is blessing me with His peace and His joy in my heart. You won't wake up with a cloud over your head. You'll wake up with a joy in your heart. There's an expectancy. Lord, what are you going to do for me and with me today and in me? Hallelujah. How many are ready to go under construction? Keep your hand raised. Just keep your hand raised right there. Pray this with me right now. Jesus, forgive my unbelief and my doubts and all my fears. Lord Jesus, I come to You now. I give You my body. I give You all that I am and all that I have. I enter now in the name of Jesus Christ a pledge to seek You, Lord, with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength. But I need Your help that You would woo me and draw me into the secret place of prayer and meet me every time I pray. Help me, Lord, to exercise discipline and to do what I've told You I would do. The best I know how, I give You my pledge to follow You in prayer and the reading and study of Your precious Word. Now, Lord, by faith, I receive forgiveness for my sins because I've repented and I turn to You now with all my heart. Now, let me pray for You, Father. I'm asking You to accept this pledge. I'm asking You, Lord, that when these people walk out of this church, they would begin the first half hour they can find anywhere, Lord, even between services to get into the Word and to read. And, Lord, wherever they are, even walking the streets to withdraw in their minds, Lord, not that they become aware of things around them and be in danger, but, Lord, that You be the focus, that the heart always be in conversation with the Lord. And, Lord, when they get alone with You, I pray that You speak to their heart. Receive their praise. Receive their worship. Receive their ministry unto You. And then, Lord, minister peace and grace and rest and favor and bring order, Lord. I pray that You stop all the wars that are raging right now. We stand against those wars. God, end those wars, I pray. End this confusion. Bring peace and rest and quiet to these hearts. It will come to You openly and honestly, I pray. Amen. Now, let me give you just a little piece of advice before we close this service. When you go to the Lord in prayer, you say, Brother, I'd like to, but I don't know how. Don't make it a complicated thing. First of all, go into the presence of the Lord with your Bible. Take your Bible with you and start for the first 30 days. Stay in the book of Psalms, if you will. Read no less than five chapters. Now, if they're long chapters, read one or two of those chapters, but the smaller chapters, read at least five. And ask the Holy Spirit. Every time you read Israel, put your name there and put your own name everywhere you can and read that. And also, along with that, a little bit of Proverbs so you get Christian character. Read first. Take the first 10 minutes. Just read the Word. 10, 15 minutes. Then close the Bible and then just start loving on Jesus. Just set yourself... Jesus, I love you. I'm here. I'm in no hurry. Talk to Him like you would talk to me or anybody else. Don't make Him as being some great thou out there in the place somewhere. Don't use these and thous and therefores. Lord, You're my Savior. You're my Lord. Then thank Jesus for being your high priest. Thank Him for opening up the door that you're available to the Father. Then start quoting Scriptures to the Father. Lord, You invited me to come boldly into Your presence. I'm doing that. You told me if I shut the door and enter into the closet of prayer, You'd see me in secret and You would reward me. Lord, You see me now. I'm asking You to reward me with peace and direction. You speak to my heart. Tell me what to do and how to do it. And folks, you're going to need to know the voice of the Lord. That's what my book is mostly about on America's judgment that's coming. We're going to live by the voice of the Lord. If you don't know that voice, you're going to be in trouble. You've got to get to know that voice by just waiting on Him. If you come to Him honestly, don't try to get God's blessing on some sin or something you're doing. Be ready to say, I'll do anything you tell me, God. And if you have that in your mind, you will not be deceived. He'll not let you be deceived. He'll not let you be deceived. Spend the next 15 minutes just loving on Jesus, just praising and loving Him, giving Him praise. Anybody can spend 15 minutes just praising the Lord. And 10, 15 minutes reading the Bible, that's a half hour. And then for the last 15 minutes, just sit in His presence with your hands open and your heart open. The Lord said, I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens, I'll come in and sup with him. That means I'll have dinner with you. Now, He's the dinner. I mean, His word is that feast. And if you just say, Lord, I'm going to wait here. I want you to talk to me. And just wait. Don't try to invent a voice. Just sit quietly. Just say, I love you, Jesus. I worship You. I'm in no hurry, Lord. I want You to speak to me. Tell me. Now, if you have a problem, tell Him what the problem is. Lord, You know how my wife and I are not getting along? Well, tell me what I'm supposed to do. Tell me what changes You want me to make. Tell me how to work this out. Or You need a job. Lord, is there something I'm not doing? Is there something that I have to do that I'm not saying? And just wait. You know the first thing you're going to hear? Look at me now. The first thing you're going to hear the Lord say, He's going to call your name and He's going to tell you He loves you. Because you're entering in now to His inner circle of friends. Jesus Christ has an inner circle. And the Father loves that inner circle. Just like Peter, James, and John. And in great revelation came to this inner circle. And you become a part of His inner circle. Not to have any pride, but I'm going to tell you He will begin to speak. Just a still, small voice inside. He'll say, This is the way. And the Bible says you will hear a word behind just saying, This is the way. Walk in it.