This sermon addresses the tragic events of September 11, 2001, focusing on the need to heed God's message in times of calamity. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing God's sovereignty and control over all things, urging believers to listen to the message God is trying to convey through such events. Drawing parallels from the Old Testament, particularly the prophet Isaiah's warnings to Israel, the sermon highlights the consequences of ignoring God's call to repentance and the danger of missing His message.

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. I was in Denver, Colorado in meetings when this happened. We got up Tuesday morning packing our suitcases, Glenn 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. Pastor Carter, Pastor Neil Rhodes and his staff, their staff have been supernatural to the Lord to minister to those in need. 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 has 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. 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 to 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 and 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 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 the 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 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. And 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 was 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 pastor 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 and 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 and grieved 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 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 invasion 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. In the midst of all of this turmoil and chastening by the hand of God,