In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the concept of time and how it is divided into three categories: time passed, the time of our sojourner, and the time of departure. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not wasting time and reflects on what could have been achieved if time had been used wisely. He addresses the audience, particularly young people, urging them to take their present time seriously and not assume invincibility. The sermon is centered on the eternal purpose that God has for each individual, with a focus on Jesus Christ.

It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge, P.O. Box 260, Linnville, TX 75771 or calling 214-963-8626. Many of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. First Peter, please, the fourth chapter. First Peter, the fourth chapter. And then just leave it open on your lap and then give me a good eye on your video. If you'll just look this way then. The apostles divided time into three categories. Listen closely because you have to catch this to understand what I'm doing tonight. The apostles divided time, especially Peter, into three categories. Time past, the time of our soul journey, and the time of departure. Three areas. The time in the past that you wasted, the present time that you have left to serve the Lord, and your time of departure. Without any fanfare, I want to get right into these three categories and talk to you about the time and what you're doing with it. And I'm sure that there are many here tonight that have been praying, God use me, I want my life to count. And that's where I'm going with this message tonight, the Lord willing. First Peter, the fourth chapter, verses three to five. First Peter four, verse three. For the time past. The time past. Now that's the first category the apostles dealt with. You'll find it also in the writings of Paul. But very strongly here in the writings of the apostle Peter. He said, for in the time past. Do you see that? In the time past of our life, may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we've walked in lasciviousness, lust, excessive wine, revelings, darkenings, and abominable idolatries. Wherein they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excessive riot, speaking evil of you. He said, give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Straight up, look at me please, straight up. Peter said, and he's speaking to the children of God. He said, you wasted your past. In time past, you gave yourself to the Gentile lust. You had a lust that was ready to rampage. He said, you wasted your life. You wasted everything. You didn't give anything to God. You were self-centered. Now does that strike a chord with some of you here tonight? You wasted your past. You have a time. It's past time. It's that period of your life that you look back now and you blush and you say, how could I have been so blind? How could I have been so stupid? The things that I did. The things that I said. The grief and the hurt that I caused people. I'll tell you what, folks. Do you ever have embarrassing moments that you like to forget? I've got some moments that are so embarrassing, and I'm not talking about outright sin. I'm just some dumb, stupid things that I've done. I'm glad it's all in the past. But there are some of you sitting here right now. You have wasted, absolutely wasted a whole segment of your life. It could be that you loved the Lord when you were a child, but some way, there was a whole segment of time cut out that you absolutely flitted away. You just absolutely gave it up. Now, forgiveness is no problem. Paul said, in time past, and this is Paul speaking of the same category of time. In times past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the principle of power of the air. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. And he said, if you want to see how you were and the way you wasted your time, take a look at the people you work with. Take a look at the people around you. Just go out in the street there and look at the people. Look at the greed. Look at the cursing. Look at the self-centeredness. Look at the people around you, and the very same spirit that's working in them, the Bible said, was once working in you. That was the way you were. You don't like the way some people around you act? You know it's the devil working in them? They're ruled, controlled by the devil? So what now? I mean, you want to see what you're like? Just look around you. Especially on the job. Look at those that you don't like. I mean, you were just like that. You were devil-driven and held down, ruled and directed by evil spirits. And that's why you did what you did. You did it because you were full of the devil. And you wasted it because the devil's a waster, especially in time. But thank God, he sent his Son to deliver us from all past sins. I'll read it to you. He came to be a propitiation for the remission of the sins that are past through the forbearance of God. Now, beloved, that's the miracle of grace. That God doesn't hold your past against you. Oh, I'm so glad He doesn't hold my past against me. There are times that you come to this church and you try to sing and praise the Lord, and the devil tries to bring up something of your past. And he'll parade it right in front of your eyes. And he'll try to condemn you out of your blessing. He'll try to condemn you out of your praises. But my Bible says that when God forgives, He truly forgets, and He buries it. Your past is forgotten and forgiven. The only one who doesn't forgive your past are your friends. Now, if they're not working with God, I presume you know and understand what I'm talking about. See, your past cannot be used against you because all of those past deeds were written down. And they weren't applied to blood. And those words or those accusations against you can't bleed through the blood. They don't come through the blood. The blood, absolutely, if you have repented of your past, it's gone. In fact, there's no use going back and crying over the past. There are some times I think I can crumble when I think of the wasted time. There are times that I have literally crumbled before God, thinking of the stupid things, the wasteful things, the sinful things way back. And I've often said, man, where could I be today in you if I had applied myself? If I had really given you quality time, if I hadn't wasted it, where would I be? Some of you that are on drugs and alcohol, you wasted it. And I'll tell you what, you've never smoked, you've never drank, you've never done any of these things. You wasted it just as bad. You sat for ten years and not said I love Lucy and anything else when you should have been married. You sat there for hours. Thirty-five hours a week now our kids are spending watching television. And that's not my message. But that's not my main point. I want to get to my main point. There's another category of time. And you'll find it in the fourth chapter again, 1 Peter, the fourth chapter. I'm going to read the first two verses. And I wonder if you can pick up. When I read it, it was a thunderclap. It was like a flaming sword that just went through my spirit. And I've not been able to shake it off. This segment of time that we progress through now, it's found in these first two verses. For as much men as Christ hath suffered wrath in the flesh, armed themselves, and staking themselves likewise with the same mind, that he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. How many see it? The rest of his time in the flesh. Oh, that hit me. What are you going to do, the Spirit said to my heart? What are your plans for the rest of the time of your life in the flesh? And that's the question I want the Holy Spirit to pierce you with now, because it shall go right through your heart. Forget the past. In fact, the apostle says, suffice, it was sufficient. And I think the New American Standard brings it up even a little bit better. In other words, you've wasted enough time. It was sufficient that you weren't wasted in lasciviousness and wrath and excess. You lived in excess. You had enough wasting of your time. Now that you're a child of God. Now that you're a child of God, what are you going to do with the rest of your time? What are you going to do? Are you still going to be a waste of your time? I looked at that. That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for lust of men, but to the will of God. Peter said the time past was sufficient for you to have carried out your Gentile desires. In other words, you should have had that out of your system. You should have seen the penalty of wasting time. You should not have to live with regrets anymore. You've had enough regrets. Why waste it now in this present day? In fact, the rest of your life, this segment of time, they're called the time of your sojourner, or our sojourner. The time of our traveling on with the Lord. That was the time in the wilderness when we became a man. And that's the picture of our very present state where we're at right now. The Scripture says, in fact it's in verse 5, We shall give an account to him who's ready to judge the living and the dead. You see, the Scripture says, look, there's a key. I don't know if you saw it or not. I asked you to listen very closely to verse 1 and 2. But here's the key. Arm yourself likewise. Peter gave two options to the Christian, only two options. He said, your present time, the time that you have left on this earth in the flesh, you have two options. You can live for yourself, to the will of self, or to the will of God. You've got to live it one way or the other. You can't have it both ways. You're either going to be self-centered, or you're going to give yourself wholly to the Lord. And you're going to look at the time that's left to you. And you're going to say, I give it all. Now that's hard to talk, that's hard to administer to young people, that truth. Because most young people think they're invincible. They think they're immortal. You try to tell a 21-year-old kid that he's got to be serious about this present time that he has left on earth. He says, I've got forever. No, you don't, because you can walk right out that door, and time will be no more. It can come at any moment. So I think we should all consider it as the Holy Spirit is laying it out to us tonight. Arm yourself. Beloved, that's a military call. That's a call to arms. That's a call to warfare. I want to make a statement, and it's the foundation of what I'm trying to convey in the Spirit tonight. And listen closely, because I know it can help us. God has an eternal purpose for every one of us in this place tonight. And that eternal purpose centers on Jesus Christ. He's got a plan and a purpose for every single one of us. I know most Spirit-filled people are crying and praying and saying, God, I want my time to count. There are multitudes of Christians that are getting weary. They go to the job, and it's only one day, and they're sitting one day in the job, and they're weary, they're tired, and they say, is this how it is today? Am I going to live from paycheck to paycheck? Am I just going to sit here and weep after weep and moan after moan, year after year, looking at pile of bills that can hardly pay? And the housewife looks around her at the children crying and the needs that can't be met and so many problems pressing in. Is this how it is tonight? And that's why now there are more wives leaving husbands than husbands leaving wives. They're just fleeing. They're just walking away from their responsibilities. But even in the church, there are many people saying, look, I'm not amounting to anything. My life is not really connected. All I do is go to church, worship, praise the Lord, but I'm not doing anything. I'm really not accomplishing anything with my life. But you know, there's a need in all of us to count. There's a need in all of us to get our hands on some vehicle, some cause or some purpose to give us meaning to our life. And I know that the Holy Spirit's put this in their heart to deal with it tonight. I want you to listen very, very closely. Hang on to what the Holy Spirit's saying. Because some of you right now can make the worst mistake in your life. Because we have right now, not hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of Christian vagabonds. They have decided that they didn't want to have an 8 to 4 or a 9 to 5 job anymore. They didn't want those responsibilities. It got so boring. It got so useless. It looked like there was no hope. So they said let's just pack it all in. They sold everything. They got into their Volkswagen or they got into their van. And they took off. They don't trust the Lord. And they're living as vultures from the body of Jesus Christ. Some of them have been caught. There's no question about that. And I'm not putting that down. But there are many, many who think if I can just get my hand on some ministry, if I can just get a hold of a cause. I've had young ministers look me right in the eye. They said that's easy for you to say, Brother Dave. You've been a part of a cause. You've been a part of something. God is using you to help create something. You've been all locked up in some big cause. I'm going to give you a few confessions tonight to knock that out of you. Before I'm finished, you'll see that that's not it. By the way, I want you to know that all the causes have been taken. All the causes have been taken. There are not enough causes to go around. The girls have been taken. The minx have been taken. We'll save the minx. They went all around New York and they were spayed, transplanted, ran in on a red paint on women's fur coats. They said, Same, same, same. Spayed, spayed, spayed. Endangered species, rainforest, greenhouse effect, ozone, air pollution, polar bears. Save the polar bears. I mean, they've got causes for lungs and heart disease, for everything. They're up for diseases. And that's not what some of the Hollywood people, in all these causes, why are they doing it? Because their life has no meaning. They're looking for some meaning. They're looking for some vehicle to satisfy this craving inside. I've got to get a hold of something so that when I die, there's a purpose for my having been born. I don't want to just be a blob. I don't want to just have a period. And what is the purpose? Because money doesn't satisfy. I'll tell you one thing. The most dissatisfying, the most morbid time in my life was after I had written two or three books. This has been a good 15 years ago. Written a number of books. And royalties were coming in. And I appropriated those royalties. It was legal. And I wound up with a house with a swimming pool. I wound up with a couple of old Mercedes Automobiles collecting cars and going to these things. And I was wasting time. And I was still preaching. Preaching to thousands. But you see, I was starting to go off in this direction. And I will tell you, that's the most despairing thing. If you think money's the answer to your problem, if you think a big house and a swimming pool is the answer, you just talk to those who've had it and got sick of it. It is not the answer. It's the most discouraging. It's the most debilitating thing there is. Spending money only makes you sick. Unless you spend it rightfully well. But you see, we get a causal project. And I'll tell you that no matter how worthy that causal project may be, it won't bring you satisfaction in itself. Multitudes right now are walking away from some of the most worthy causes on the face of the earth and they're leaving the damned doubt, disillusioned, despairing, hurting. They thought, if I can only get into this. Oh, I've had so many say, if I can only be a part of the ministry, if I can only... I'd like to be like you fellas, you boys. I'd like to be a part of that. Some cars get their hand on it because there's driving me inside. And yet I can tell you now that literally thousands have found no satisfaction whatsoever because they're burned out, disillusioned. They thought that that was the answer, that would satisfy this enemy, but it was not satisfied. But there is an answer, beloved. And I believe it's the only way to find true satisfaction and peace with the Lord. I've been praying, Lord, this year help us as pastors to bring a congregational remnant into the image of Jesus. We want to stand before the judgment seat on that day and present a body from New York City and this metropolitan area. And we would like to be able to march not in front of you, but maybe behind you. And say, Lord, you're the true shepherd. Look what we've got. We gave them as much Jesus as we could. We ministered Christ. And we bring to you, Lord, your sheep. We were faithful to the best of our ability and the knowledge and the knowledge that you gave us to bring a people into the firmness of Jesus. But you see, there's an answer to this. And I'm telling you now, you don't have to go to China to find that satisfaction. You don't have to be a missionary to Cuba. You don't have to go to South America. You don't have to go to any other city. You don't have to move out of your seat. People have the idea that we missionary butts off. I can only do that. That would do it. Ah, beloved, the mission field is crowded with missionaries that are disillusioned because they never really did have that burning call. They went out to satisfy a need in themselves. Here is the answer as far as I'm concerned. You find out what God's original purpose in creating us was all about. You find out that eternal purpose and then you embrace it and you go with that eternal purpose in mind. You live it. You breathe it. God, why did you create me? Why am I on this earth and nothing else matters? I want to know why I'm here. I want to know the whole thing. If there comes a time, that question has to be asked. Now, he's talking to the people. Peter's been talking to people. If you aren't separated, if there comes a time, why did you save me? What do you really want out of me? How can I reach a place where I know my time is being well spent? What can you do in me if you're me? And what can you give me in that revelation that I know that I can stand before you on the judgment day and I'll stand before you and I won't have to hold my head and say, I know that I have redeemed the time. That I've used it properly to your glory. In the first place, don't look for a vehicle. Don't look for a ministry. Don't look for a cause. You're looking to him. It's a person. It's a person. God's eternal purpose is a person and it was Jesus. It's always been Jesus. God's eternal purpose is very simple. He created us for his own son. He was looking for God for his son. The scripture makes it very clear. By him were all things. Speaking of Jesus, by him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth. And all things were created by him and for him. All things. You and I were created for what? I've heard people say that it's been proof even in this purpose from destiny. It's partly true. That we've been born to praise God. But that is only, that's not the purpose. That leads us into the purpose of God. That's only a part of the purpose. We praise him for that reason. He's preparing us as a bride. We are not living just for this earth. We're not living just for today. God had an eternal purpose. He wanted fellowship with this created being. His own begotten son. He wanted a bride. And it's a daughter. It's not one individual. And by the way, God only sees one man. It's a manhood. He sees Jesus. And anything he sees in you, he sees it only through the person that is in you. There's one man, one head. That's Christ. He's the head of this church. He's the head of the body. And we're all a part of that one body, which is Christ. We're all members of that one body. But his eternal purpose, as Scripture says, was to gather. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. He's the head and the body. For please the Father, that in him all things should dwell. And God's plan was that everything be gathered up in Christ. Everything would be centered on Jesus. That Jesus would not just be someone to be studied. Would not be someone just to be praised. But that Jesus would be our very life. This is what the apostles tried to convey to us. The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Not all but Christ lives in me. And I wanted to go beyond just theology tonight. And I don't know if I can do that. The Holy Spirit has to do that. But you see, we're so focused on our behavior, we're missing something. In fact, a lot of people think holiness has to do only with behavior. As if God's looking down and saying, well, what did you give up for me today? What did you lay down? What bad thing didn't you do today? Now, I want you to know that we preach in this pocket and we preach at night and clear. But when you walk in the street, you modify the deeds of the flesh. You modify them. Those who love Jesus, they're those after a while you can't just go through life focused on behavior. Am I behaving? Lord, are you pleased with the way I walk today? God, when I stand before Him, He's not just going to say, well, you behaved yourself, you were a good boy. The real question God's asking this church right now is, how are you preparing for the marriage supper? How are you getting ready for my son? Are you involved in the interest of my son Jesus? Are you involved in your own interest? Are you prepared and adored? Are you ready to be adored? Are you going to submit to me? And I'll tell you something. John saw a city coming down from heaven. Adored as a bride. Prepared and adored as a bride. I heard a prophet who preached who said, well, that's the generous gift of God. It's a great big Jewish city. And it materialized the whole thing. I believe there's a little heaven. I believe there's a great city of God. But what John saw coming down out of heaven was a people. A people adored for Christ. This was a people who lived their lives. They came down from God. They were set in regard. They came from the heavenly place. They were seated. They were going to preach the one they hear so eloquently. They're not going to be seated in Christ in the heavenly place. This people in that last day are going to come out from God. They're not going to come out from the world. They're not going to come out from flesh. They came out of that. They've been set in regard. They're coming down out of heaven. Ephesians 1. Can you go to Ephesians? First chapter. Holy Spirit make this real to our hearts. Verse 9. I'm going to read verse 9 through 12. Ephesians 1. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that's our time, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, which are in earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counts of his own will, that we should be the praise of his blood, who first trusted in Christ. There you have the eternal purpose of God. We were predestined before we were born. We were predestinated. We were predestined to be confirmed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. We were predestined. God sent his own son to redeem God, to redeem abroad, to bring back to himself a people that from that time on, this present time would be spent wholly given to him. Then, finally, there's another segment of time. It's called the time of departure. Paul said, I'm not ready to be offered for the time of my departure is at hand. I've fought a good fight. I've finished my course. Do you hear these words? I'm ready to be offered. I wonder how many listening to me right now can say that. How many of you can say, right now, Lord, I'm ready. And that word offered there is very, very strong in the Greek. Here's the interpretation. I'm ready to embrace eternal devotion to my Lord. Eternal devotion is Godhood. I'm prepared now to step into my eternal purpose that God ordained when he created me. He created me and brought me forth on this earth for the interest of Jesus. I was not to live to my own interest. Yes, I had a job. He worked with his own hands. But you see, he never made peace with this earth. He never was at rest with the things of this world. He knew that he was called to undertake and embrace the interest of Jesus on this earth. Are you locked up in the interest of Jesus? Or does your job come first? Now, God wants everyone, he said, if a man doesn't work, he's not going to eat. If a man provides not for his own household, he's worse than an infant there and he's denied the faith. But your job is secondary. In light of the fact that we're saying the Bible said the end of all things is at hand, and you'll find that in that same chapter in 1 Peter 4, the end of all things is at hand. The end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. Paul is trying to say to us, my whole reason for living is not some great cause. I have no other cause but Christ. I have no program but Christ. People can't understand this church. They come here and they say, what's your strategy to win New York? We don't have a strategy. We have Christ. They say, what's your plan? We have no plan but Christ. Where's your membership? We have no membership but the body. It's got to be centered in Jesus. And let me tell you something. If you just come here and you call this your church and you're proud of this church, that's the wrong attitude. What should attract you here more than anything else? It's a place where you can invest your interest with Jesus. It's a place where you can join others who have the same mind. They are armed as Scripture says. You can't just drift. You've got to arm yourself with this mindset. You've got to arm yourself saying, I'm here for a purpose. I don't need some big cause to satisfy me. I don't have to be some big evangelist. I have to know that God is preparing me as a bride for His Son. And He wants me to grow in the image of Jesus, become more Christ-like, that my whole life could be spent on the interest of Jesus and everything else I do is secondary. Look at verse 7, 1 Peter, go back to 1 Peter 4. Verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. Look at me please. Do you know Paul, the apostle wrote to Christians, he said the time is short. And yet two millennia went by. In fact, you go right up here to some of these cemeteries. I didn't mean to even play on that. You go to these higher schools of higher learning, and they'll tell you that Paul and Peter didn't know what they were talking about. They kept warning and said, you preachers that are warning about the coming of Jesus, you know better than Paul and Peter. They kept saying the time is short. They stood in that room and said these are the days prophesied by John, the last days. They forget the scripture says the day of the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. And every day has a dawning, a midday, and a midnight. They introduced the dawning of the last days. Then there was a midday, the Reformation, and now we're at midnight. We're at midnight of this last day. And he says the end of all things is at hand. Now, that could be the end of Jerusalem even, because it's only a few years later that Jerusalem is going to be sacked. It's the end of those he's preaching to. The end was coming to that particular society. It was the end for these men who wrote. Paul had this state of mind always. He has always had one foot in heaven. In fact, he had both feet in heaven. He just kind of slipped back once in a while on earth. He was more in heaven than he was on earth. He said, I have a desire to depart and be with the Lord. And that's the mark of a true holy person. That's the mark of those who go on with God. Their heart is in Jerusalem. Their heart is not here on this earth. They love their families. In fact, the man that's got his heart in heaven, he's a much better man on earth. Well, that's another sermon. I believe if Paul was here tonight, he'd preach the night as far spent the day as at hand. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what I should begin this year with in my role in this church. And the Holy Spirit just kept saying, you've got to convey to my people that it's later than they think. And David, it's later than you think. The end of all things is near. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. And then he proceeds to give us some sobering warnings. Look at 2 Peter. Go over to 2 Peter 3. If this doesn't sober you, nothing will. He said, be you sober and watch unto prayer. 2 Peter 3, begin to read verse 7. That the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord, and a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. But his longsuffering to us were not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And that's the only reason judgment hasn't fallen yet. It's the only thing. God's this patient. He's waiting for the last indelible harvest. But the day of the Lord, verse 10, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. The heavens will pass away in a great noise. The elements shall melt with a fervent heat. The earth, also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved. What's going to be dissolved? Does that include your house, your apartment, your furniture, your car? Does that include the job where you work? Does that include everything? Includes this theater? Includes everything, doesn't it? Seeing all these things are going to be dissolved. In other words, he said, stop and think about it. He said, brethren, hold on. He said, do you want to know what motivated the apostles? Do you know why we live for the eternal purpose of God? Oblivion only for the interest of Christ. He said, because we know it's all passing away. I'll tell you what. I look out time after time from apartment 22B, up in West Side. I look out over the skyline of New York. And I look at those buildings. And time and time again, the Holy Spirit said, baby, that's not the real world. That's all a facade. That's just like a Hollywood stage set. You know, where they just have fronts and there's nothing behind it. That's all going to burn in a moment of time. It's all going to... New York will vanish in just a moment of time. It's all going to be dissolved. All right? Having that in mind. Why are you looking for a project? Why are you looking for something to get your hands on? Why are you looking for something outside of Christ? It's not a cliche that Jesus is everything. It's not a cliche that he saves and keeps inside his lives. Look at it. It says, seeing that all these things will be dissolved. What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness? What kind of people should we be knowing that the time is so short? Paul said, no man but worth entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who chose him to be a soldier. Now, listen to me, preach. If you're going to stand at your time of departure, I don't know when mine will be. God and I faced a moment where our father, dad was 54, wasn't he? 54. I was preaching when I got the call. We're going to stand in the pulpit for the telegram. For mother, dad's been glorified. Moment of time. When that day of departure comes, that time of departure comes, I don't want to be entangled. I don't want to be... I want to be disengaged from this earth. I want to be weaned from the earthly things. And I think that's the biggest battle we fight as Christians. Because these things have a way of wrapping themselves around our hearts and we keep saying, oh, it doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean anything. It does. It takes our heart. It robs us without reason of the interest of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that he may please him. He said, no man but worth entangles himself. You believe God's called you to a warfare? Then he said, you will not become entangled with the affairs of this life. That means you don't get settled down. You don't make peace with this work you do, but that's not your call. You may work anywhere in this city, but your call, eternal purpose, the call that you have was to him. To the Godhood of Jesus Christ. I'm going to close in just a few moments, but I want to talk with my heart. Well, I'm 58 now. We've joked a little bit about that. We've made remarks about age and good nature. But you see, I'm 58, and if by reason of strength I'm given my allotted 70 years, that means I've got maybe 12 years. Now, my wife can relax. I don't have a premonition of death. Not at all. I look over how much time I've got left, and there's a cry in my heart, oh God. I look back, and even though I'm forgiven, I still grieve over the waste and the excess. I grieve over it. I can't stop. I'll do that until Jesus comes. And I'm not asking God to take it away from me, because I think it's good to look back and see the pit from which God has dug us. And I don't ever want to get away from that, but I look out ahead, and I see 10 or 12 years there of promised life, of reasonable strength, my walking covenant with the Lord. He could take it any moment, because I often say tonight, I'm ready to be offered. I don't know if I can say I've fought a good fight. I've been in the fight. I would love to be able to say with Paul the Apostle, I've fought a good fight. But only in the last probably 8, 10 years have I been coming into the light of his eternal purpose, and why I'm here. Folks, I came to New York City in the height of the gang warfare in 1958, and we started Teen Challenge in 1958, and it became a worldwide ministry. And then the book, The Cross and Switchblade, came out. That was another cause. And I was wrapped up, and these centers started all over the world, and I was traveling everywhere. My wife, I was gone half my married life. I was traveling in these great causes. Started with center here, 40 days touring England, two weeks touring South Africa, and crusades, rain and mist. And in the middle of all that, I used to, young preachers that were younger would envy because I was all wrapped up in this great cause. And in that great cause, I nearly backslid. And in that great cause, the time came that I was the most miserable man probably in America, in the ministry. Involved in a great cause and giving myself night and day. I went down to 115 pounds. I weigh 158 now, so you can imagine what I look like. 115 pounds. At one point, ready to quit the ministry. Loving the Lord, but not satisfied. Because I would not come into the eternal purpose. I was trying to scratch some itch inside of me. God truly called me. God called me, and I thank God for that. And we're involved now in another wonderful great cause that the Lord has raised up here on Broadway, right here in New York. And it's a wonder, I thank God He's entrusted me to be a part of it. But that's not where my satisfaction comes from. It doesn't come from being a pastor of a church on Broadway. As much as we love you, that's not the satisfaction. The true joy, the true satisfaction right now, is that I can come into the eternal purpose that God created me for. And that's to become more like Jesus day by day. That I can say, Lord, I want your purposes to be my purpose. I want your mind to be my mind. I don't want to live for self anymore. Lead me, God. Holy Spirit, lead me. And I'll tell you what, to pass this church, we've been praying and seeking God that this year the Holy Ghost fall on this church, and that God would lead us more than He's ever led us. It's not a time to let down. It's a time to pass on and say, Jesus, we want you glorified in this church. We want you in the bride. Hallelujah. God has called us not to do something for Him, but to be something in Him. And I'll tell you what, once you become something in Him, He'll tell you what to do. And when you do it, it'll be done right. Hallelujah. I feel presented very weakly, but some of you are beginning to see just a little bit about it. That doesn't mean you just relax and say, all I've got to do is just let Jesus come and do it. No. You should arm yourself. Arm yourself. Get a mindset. And say, oh, Jesus, I'm going to find my satisfaction in You. Hallelujah. Will you stand, please? Beloved, I'm going to ask you a question. There's a lot of love in this church. Flowing from pastors to flock and flock to pastors and staff, there's a lot of love in this church. That's one of the great blessings, a by-product of what God's doing in this church. But I've got to ask you a question in love. Has this been on your mind? Lord, my life is not counting. I'm not accomplishing anything. Let me make a statement. I want you to listen closely. You can do no more for God. You can be of no greater service to the Lord than when you're seeking Him with all your heart. Did you understand that? If you have so focused on Jesus, you say, He's going to be my life. I'm going to look to man. I'm going to look to the world. And I'm going to look at my heart. And I'm going to find out His interest. And I'm going to live my life to His interest. And I'll tell you what, you become more faithful on the job. You become more faithful in all the personal things. When it's a search, when it's a call, you've got it straight. That God had an eternal purpose. The reason you were born, the reason your entire square church tonight is to be a part of something that God is doing. And that's bringing a body to His Son to present. He's going to... There's a marriage supper of the Lamb. And that's why He sent them out. He said, I want every seat full. He said, I want a full house. He said, there's still room. Go out and get some more. Get some more. Hallelujah. And He's bringing this in. Hallelujah. He's bringing this in through the image of Himself. You keep saying here, I'm changing, I'm changing. It just dawned on me today how we're changing. We're coming into a final revelation of who Jesus is. We're falling more and more in love with Jesus. Hallelujah. He's becoming our Lord. More and more. Hallelujah. And it won't be some great theological, complicated preaching. It will be a simplicity of revelation of Himself. Jesus, right now, speak to our hearts. Satisfy those, Lord, who have not been satisfied yet. Lord, they've not yet learned to draw from You. They've not learned to rest in You and say, I just want You to submit. Jesus, that's all the Holy Spirit's asking now. You submit to me, and I'll abhor You. I'll prepare You. You submit to me. Lord, we want to submit to Your Lordship again. Satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. Folks, look at me as I give the invitation. God so created us that the only thing that can satisfy is to be in sync with His eternal purpose. If you're not in sync with His purposes, there cannot be any satisfaction. No way. Nothing you can try or do ever satisfies. The true satisfaction, absolute peace, no burnout. You fall into this place, and you'll have true satisfaction. And if you don't understand all the theology of it, just come down to this. It's falling more and more in love with Jesus. It's getting closer to Him and wanting to do His will. It's that simple. If that's in your heart, and there are some of you, I know, that are backslidden here tonight. You have slipped away from the Lord. You're not where you should be with Him. The Spirit of the Lord has driven something that was said tonight deep into your heart. He's absolutely changing the thinking of some of you right now. He's changing your thinking. He's trying to bring a certain peace to your heart. You've had restlessness. And I'll tell you what, you thought it was God driving you to go out somewhere to find satisfaction. It's not God driving you, it's the enemy driving you. The enemy is trying to drive you out. Now, the Holy Spirit does prepare people out into ministries. But He doesn't do that until you're ready. And many of you are not ready. You've been driven. Just driven. Something's driving you. I'm speaking extemporaneously from the Holy Spirit. I feel the Holy Spirit just speaking through me right now. Some of you have just been driven. Something's driving you. You love the Lord. It's a restlessness. And God wants you to have a rest in Him. There's a rest in Christ. An absolute peace and rest beyond anything you could know. You bring that restlessness to Him. You bring your sin. If there's something that was said tonight that was meant for you, while the choir is singing, get out of your seat, up to the balcony, go down to either side, and down the aisle, and move this right here to the front. We're going to ask God to change you tonight. Absolutely change you. To be like Jesus Oh, to be like Jesus Oh, to be like Jesus Just to be like Jesus Just to be like Jesus Just to be like Jesus Before we talk, the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart tonight. In fact, I'm not even going to try to put a label on it. If the Holy Spirit's dealing with you, that's all I'm asking. If He's dealing with you, we've asked the Holy Spirit to deal with people. If He's speaking to your heart, He's talking to you to come to prayer, you obey Him. We'll sing one more time. If you feel that prompting, you obey Him. To be like Jesus Just to be like Jesus Oh, I love you Just to be like Jesus Oh, I love you Just to be like Jesus Oh, I love you Just to be like Jesus You can still come while I'm talking. You can still come. The Lord bless you. Hallelujah. How many in this church tonight have armed yourself with this mindset? I have set my heart on the interest of Jesus Christ alone. Yes, Jesus. Hallelujah. Raise your hand. Raise it high. Right now. Lord, we lift our hands to tell you right now that you are our life. You are our strength. You are everything to us, Jesus. We have nothing else. We have nothing else, Jesus. We have no other place to go. We're totally dependent on you. Holy, totally dependent upon you, Jesus. We have no other place to go. There is nothing else, Lord, but you. We give ourselves. We give ourselves to you. Here at the front, just keep your hands raised to the Lord. Tell him what's on your heart. Tell him you're sorry for your sins. Repent. Tell him you need him. Come on, your own words. Just speak it right out. Holy Spirit, come and touch me right now. Speak it right out. Lord, I need you tonight. I came up here not to live for myself, but to live for you, Jesus. Tell him right now. Tell him. Lord Jesus, right now. Lord Jesus. We want to live for you. We want to live for you, Jesus, and not for self. Hallelujah. Holy Spirit, come and do the work that we can't do. Holy Spirit, come now and touch these who have stepped forward. Spirit of the living God, come. Minister to them. Open their eyes. Touch their bodies. Touch their spirits. Breathe upon them, O breath of God. Spirit of the living God, breathe on us now. Breathe on us in this house. Spirit of the living God, come and breathe upon us. Breathe on us, O Lord. Spirit of the living God, breathe on. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. This is the conclusion of the tape.