In this sermon, the preacher shares a personal story about his father's struggles and how the devil tried to tempt him with thoughts of financial success. The preacher emphasizes the importance of not compromising one's faith and values for worldly gain. He warns against the devil's tactics of offering attractive opportunities to those who are down and out. The preacher also highlights the power of prayer and seeking God's guidance in times of temptation.

This message is one of the Times Square Pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge PO Box 260, Lindell, Texas 75771 or calling 214-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. Chapter. 2 Kings, the 19th chapter. 19th chapter, we're going to read verse 14. And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers and read it. And Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwelleth between the chariots, thou art the God even thine own of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord God, down thine own hand, earth and water, your ears will see you, and hear the words of Seraphim, which have sent him to repulse the living God. He's the one who wrote the letter, Seraphim, of the truth, Lord, that kings of the sea have destroyed the nations and their lands. All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we stand at this time in history, in this pulpit in Times Square, at the crossroads of the world. We believe, Lord, we're caught up in a prophetic stream. We see you, Lord, causing things to happen that we've read about, we've heard about all of our lives. And now we stand here amazed as we see them begin to unfurl right before our eyes. We're amazed, Lord. And you said that things are going to happen so fast that men's hearts are going to fail them for fear watching those things that are coming on the earth. Oh God, even this day today, we see here in New York 500,000 gays and lesbians parading. We see cars decked out, the parents of gays. And pastors for gays. Ministers that are gay. Churches that are gay. Oh Lord Jesus, we don't put down these who have this problem, that we see it being flaunted before our very eyes. Thirty years ago it couldn't have happened in this nation, but now it happens. And all these things we see exploding. Everything's shaking. There are mountains emerging and falling into the sea. Mountains of society. Institutions that are crumbling. Lord God, we have a sure rock. We have a foundation upon which to stand in this last day. You are the rock, Lord. And we turn to you to make it out of our hearts. We cry out to you. We've been saying, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Come, Lord, in these days. But Lord, now we pray. As we wait for you, Lord, help us not to be deceived. Help us to be aware of the devil's devices. We will not be ignorant of how the devil works. We will not be caught unaware of his ignorance. God, open our eyes tonight. Lord, many that are here have received a letter from the devil, designed to make them afraid. God, give us holy authority tonight. The dominion of the Holy Ghost. Rebate every demon power. Every principality in power of darkness. With the word of God, let there be a free and clear tonight. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, this entire guy got a letter from the devil. Now, I know it was signed by King Sennacherib of the Assyrian army, but that letter came directly from hell. Now, the Assyrian alliteration of the name Sennacherib means man of sin. His name also means new God who magnifies brothers. In other words, he represents the devil, the God of this world, who is trying to build a vast brotherhood of God-haters. Now, this Old Testament story that I'm about to unfold to you tonight is for our own learning. How many times I've heard preachers say, forget the Old Testament. But then they get rid of the New Testament. I don't know how anybody could say that. But it's just that this is where character comes from. This is where our lessons come from. Paul said, all these things happened under them for our example. And they're written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the world will come. You can find it 1 Corinthians 10-11. Now, at the time this demonic letter was received by Hezekiah, Jerusalem was under siege by the Assyrian army. I mean, they had hundreds of thousands completely surrounded the city of Jerusalem. And they had cut off all supplies. There was a shortage, there was famine in the city. And King Sennacherib and his Lincoln army had already taken captive Israel. Now, remember, Israel used to be 12 tribes. It was divided, two sticks. It tore it apart, the Scripture says. Judah and his capital Jerusalem represented the true Roman church. The ten tribes of Israel, the Bible said God let Israel from the house of David. He tore it apart because the apostasy, the sin, the idolatry, God tore them apart. The Scripture says that the children of Israel walked in the sins of Jeroboam. The Bible says the Lord removed Israel out of His sight. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria. They were taken to Nineveh, they were taken to Babylon, and they were taken to other Assyrian cities. The Bible said they sold themselves to do evil. Now, Israel was a type of a backslidden higher church. And its leadership is backslidden, it's into idolatry, and God is not concerned about that church. God's concern is with Judah. His concern is with Jerusalem. His concern is with this people that are being attacked by the devil and surrounded. Now, there's a powerful truth here. The Bible said these things happened again for our instruction upon whom the ends of the world have come. Judah represents the Lord's one-lipped holy church on earth. It's a church that's under covenant with the Lord. But it's the target of the devil. It's a threat to the kingdom of Satan. Now, King Hezekiah in Jerusalem at this time is a very godly man. The scripture says, he did that which is right in the sight of the Lord. He broke the idols. He cut down their groves. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. So that after him, there was no king like him, and the Lord of kings in Judah, there was no one after him like him. Hezekiah claimed to the Lord. He departed not from following him. And he kept his commandments. And the Lord was with him. And prospered with whomsoever he went. Now, listen. Here's why Sennacherib, the man of sin who represents the devil, comes and surrounds this city. It's because this man prayed to the Lord. He departed not from his commandments. He obeyed the Lord. And that's the same reason the devil will come against you. And this is the reason he's against some of you right now. Because you've decided to cleave to the Lord. You have set your man not to depart from his commandments. And you have set your heart to obey him in all things. And that thing in the moment you set your heart like that, you can believe that all hell is going to come against you. Now Judah, up to this time, had been giving praise to the flesh. They saw the kings of Babylon. They saw Sennacherib making his move toward them. And up to this time, they had been sending down to Egypt for help. They had been sending gold and silver trying to purchase the Egyptian army to come and stand. Now, I'll tell you what. They were not only depending on the flesh. The scripture says they were giving praise to the devil. Sennacherib had put them under tribute. He said, I want you to pay your taxes to me. Now, they've been a tributary up to this time. In fact, the Bible said they were paid 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. Which was, in our money, billions of dollars. They were paying tax to King Sennacherib. Now remember, he was a holy man. The people had a heart for God. But they still had a place. The enemy had a foothold in Jerusalem. And finally, Hezekiah was moved on by the Holy Spirit. And he said, no more tribute money to this devil. Not to Manasseh. No more going down to Egypt for deliverance. We are going to cast ourselves on the mercy of God. We are going to have nothing else to lean on but the Lord himself. Now, you say, well, if someone makes that kind of a commitment, surely God is going to deliver. Yes, He is, but not until they test Him. Not until there is a tremendous test. The Bible said, Hezekiah had given the king of Sennacherib silver that was found in the house of God. And in the traces in the king's house, he cut off the door from the doors of the temple of the Lord. Now, let me tell you what I believe that represents. That represents just exactly what we see happening in the church of Jesus Christ right now. We have been going along for years with the church that really wanted God, but the flesh had crept in. It was still leaning on the flesh. Still allowing rock and roll. Still allowing entertainment. It was a church that was impenetrable. It had leaders that had a heart for God and were afraid to call sin by its name. And suddenly God began to know. And I believe that's happened in the last 5 or 10 years. Especially in the last 2 or 3 years. God is calling out to that holy church. He's calling out a pure, spotless bridegroom. He's calling out a people saying, no more leaning on the flesh. No more going down to Egypt. No more tribute to the devil. You're going to keep the devil out of the house, and you're going to cast yourself in my care. Hezekiah said, no more tribute to the devil. No more leaning on the arm of the flesh. This is going to be a house of God. This is going to be a city of the Holy Ghost. Now please look at the big picture. As long as they were paying tribute to King Sinatra, he left them alone. And he's the man of sin. Remember that's what his name is. Man of sin. He represents the devil. Now as long as they're making a deal with the devil, as long as they pay his dues, he's left alone. But soon, he comes with no more tribute. The tax collectors come and say, ah, the man of sin rents his money. And they don't even let him in the gate. And they go back and tell him, no more tribute. That's all over. We are separated under God. Not another dollar. Not another dime. It's all over. And they go back to America and say, who do you think they are? You say, well, wouldn't God, after they make that kind of a commitment, keep that honor and even trade them off totally? Well, suddenly, they leave the stand, and now they look out the gate, they look out the wall, and they are surrounded by an army. The devil is on every side. Tell you what, you make your stand for God. You say, Jesus only. No Jesus in the world. We've got a lot of Christians who have beans in their ears. Let me explain that. They don't hear. They don't hear what is preached from this pulpit. They've got something in their ears. When I was about eight years old, I lost a hearing in my right ear. And my mother took me to a doctor. And he stuck a light in there, and he said, I don't believe this. How in the world did that happen? I didn't know what he was talking about. He got a syringe in him. When he came home, he started syringing. And out came a bean with spouts. My mother had made some beans on the couch, remember, months before. And I've been laying on the couch, and it all got in my ear. That man told me my ear was dirty and had a lot of stuff to go in it. I don't know. It was the darkness. It was the dampness. It had three spouts on it. They've got Christians with beans in their ears. They're not hearing. The moment you give up the Word, you put your life in the hands of the Lord. Watch out. All hell's going to break loose. You're going to come under the siege by the man of sin. You're going to be more tested than you've ever been tested in all your life. You're going to have a satanic attack against you. You know what the Assyrians mean in Hebrew? Prosperity guides. Guides to prosperity. You see, we make you stand for Jesus, and suddenly you're being tested, and the devil makes you look outside the window and say, but you see these Assyrian horses. They were gorgeous. They were strong. They had their way. Nothing could stand in their way. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh to Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. I want you to look at this for just a minute, because we're going to see, oh, it's powerful with gospel truth. We're going to see the tricks of the devil, how the devil works against Christians who decide to go out of their way and hate us. We're going to just lay it all out to you. We're going to expose the devil. We are not ignorant of his devices. God wants you and I to be trained in these devices so that we can stand against him. We don't go out against the devil, but we can stand and say, we are not ignorant of his devices. All right. First thing the devil does, the first trick he plays, the first trick of the man of sin, is to question your commitment to fully trust the Lord. You say, I'm going to trust God with all my needs, with my future, with my life, and you set up, I'm going to trust God. Well, here comes Sennacherib's envoy, or his ambassador. In fact, Rabshakeh is the king's ambassador. His name means a drunken envoy, a drunken soldier. And you know what that means? Someone drunk with the wine of hell. Someone drunk with the spirit of this world. And he stands up against the city, and the king, Hezekiah, sends out three representatives to meet Rabshakeh, the ambassador at Kinsenacherib. And Rabshakeh said unto them, the three representatives of king Hezekiah, what confidence is this wherein you are trusted? Now, on whom is our trust that you should be done against me? He's speaking for Kinsenacherib. The man of sin is saying, what is this thing called trust? Who are you trusting? And that's the first thing that's ever going to come, the first thing that he's going to say to the representative of hell. Who is this that you are trusting in? Tell me something about this faith that you're talking about. You're surrounded. You're in a mess. We are going to get you. And you are hiding yourself. I trust God. And that's the first thing that's ever going to trust you. He's going to haunt you. He's going to harangue you about your confidence in God. Now, here's the accusation in this statement. God's not going to get you out of this mess. You're going down, man. You're troubled, and your faith isn't going to work. I'm going to ask you, are you in a mess? Nobody in a mess? Anybody here in deep trouble? Has the devil told you that God's not going to rescue you this time? That your faith is too little or too weak, and you're dead? You're unemployed. Your bills are like mountains. Pile them up. You're getting scared because it all looks so hopeless. I'm telling you, I wasn't going to preach this mess. I had almost finished my pudding, so I said, nobody needs that. And I had another message, and the Lord said, no, you get back to that, because I'm going to have people there that need this. They've got a lot of them together, and they've got to hear it. And the Lord just impressed upon me to know that there are people that must have this word. So I'm going to go with it. Do you hear in your ears the devil laughing at you in spite of all of your love for Jesus? In spite of your giving up the world? In spite of doing the right thing? In spite of trusting in God it's not going to work for you? You're destined to fail? You're going to end up broke? Hounded by your creditors? You're going to end up thinking of suicide. Listen to the devil talk. How then will you turn away the face of even one captain of my master's service? In fact, he made fun of me. He said, I'll give you 2,000 horses if you can even put 2,000 riders on them. He said, you don't even have 2,000 men. You've got nothing. How can you believe that you're going to stand up against this whole army if you can't even put 2,000 riders on 2,032 horses I give you? In other words, how are you going to stop the trouble? You don't even know what you're going to do in life and not let alone with your life. You can't even handle this trouble. And there's a whole mountain, there's a whole world of troubles behind this. You can't even get through to God on this. If you can't get to victory now with this little problem you have, what are you going to do when the whole army of problems comes in on you? You see how the devil's taunting and laughing and mocking? How are you going to make it? He said, come on, let's make a deal. Let's make a deal. Do you really believe God's going to work a miracle for you and get you out of this mess, out of this trouble? You have no future at all. You don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow. And I'll tell you what, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Every tomorrow is in His hands anyhow. Never doubt where the Lord is. I want you to go to 2 Kings 18. Turn back to the 18th chapter. Now, hold it. I want to show you how the devil works. He's going to come to you and he's going to question your faith. Then he's going to mock you saying, it's not working with my little problems. What am I going to do with the big problems? And he's going to try to put fear in your heart. Then he's going to put a knife in you and twist it. Here's the knife. Here's the real twist. There is the devil's lie. Look at verse 25. He's going to tell you that God's behind all your troubles. Not the devil. God's going to come and try to tell you that God's trying to get even with you. God's mad at you. Look at verse 25. Am I come up... This is logical speaking. Am I come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, go up against this man and destroy him. Now, that's a bald-faced lie. God didn't say anything at the time. God doesn't even speak this in Athens. He's a devil. And he says, you think that this army here around you is an accident? You think this is God? Tell the truth. Tell all your people. I'm serious. And I tell you, there's somebody right now, sitting here, signing out verse. The devil's been lying to you. He's showing you the future looks so black, it looks so helpless. He's just lied and lied to you. And he says, all of this trouble you have, all of this difficulty, everything you're going through right now, you're paying for some past sin. God's mad at you. And he's out to get you. And you just look around you. If God was really with you, you wouldn't be going through this. You'd be prosperous. You'd be happy. The devil'd be long gone. Where's your authority? You sit there, and you don't even think about that. And I know some of you have already said, no, God, you're the one behind this thing, you're trying to say something to me, and I'm not hearing it. And I'll tell you what, that's a dangerous place for the devil to push you into. I want to tell you something about my Jesus. I want to tell you, say something about my Lord. See, the devil comes to destroy. But not our Heavenly Father. Never. Our Lord is a deliverer. He's a focus. Here is Isaiah's picture of our Lord. He has sent, and this is the prophet Isaiah saying what Jesus would be when he came. Jesus has been sent to give unto those who mourn and mourn, beauty for asses, royal joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called the trees of righteousness, the planet of the Lord, that he may be glorified. No, it's not the devil coming to destroy you, the devil's coming to lie to you, those troubles around you, you're being tested, you're being tried to see if you're going to hold fast, but my God sent his own son into this world to come to those who are mourning, those who are downcast, and he says, I'm going to take from you that spirit of heaviness, I'm going to give you a spirit of joy. I'm going to take that mourning spirit away from you and cause you to dance. Royal saints, you're not going down. You're under attack. You're listening to a bunch of lies, and one reason you're under attack is because he's so absently to trust the Lord. He's against your faith. He's trying to destroy and strip away your confidence. That's why I say, what is this about your faith in God? Hold fast. Hold fast. They're not doing what he does. Here's the next step. Then he's going to step up his attack by trying to focus your attention on his victories over others who seem to have failed. Oh, yes. Hath not God, or hath any God, delivered at all? Where are the gods? Have they delivered anyone? And they answer, no one's been able to stand before me. I've mowed everybody down. No, no God that has stood before us up to this time. And Satan's going to boast to you, saying, I'm more powerful than God. I've brought down your biggest evangelist. I've subduced them into gross sin. I've turned them into money-crazed liars. What makes you think you're going to stand? They were supposed to be holy men. They preached the gospel. They thought they had this all figured out. And he's going to focus and say, they didn't get the victory. What makes you think you're going to make it? Has that ever come to you from the devil? Hey, look, these men are supposed to have known the Lord. They preached with fire and unction. And they were all of this time, someone confessed they were living in sin. And the devil gets you fought to stand up. He'll point out to you a Christian who you thought was really spiritual, trusting in the Lord. And they'll say, look, they trusted. Look what it got them. These evangelists are supposed to be so close to the Lord. Look how they've ended up. If preachers can't make it work, what are you going to do? They'll point out some girl with an old shirt, 70, 75 years of age. And she's just got a hard enough money to live on. She lives very meagerly. And she has pain in her body. She comes to church crippled and hurting. And the devil will have you look at her and say, look, she served the Lord for 50 years. Look what it's got her. She doesn't have much money in the bank. And she's crippled. And she's in pain. What makes you think you're going to make it? I had a Pentecostal preacher come to me and call me on the telephone and ask him to bear. And he was the only one-man preacher in his area. Very highly regarded. And I'll tell you what, he was under the bondage of the devil. He had a living spirit of incompetence that was in his heart. He said, I can tell you the day it happened. He said, my father has been a minister for years. He was in his late 70s. And he lives in a mobile home. A little mobile home. He's retired. And I went to see my father one day. And I sat there listening to my father talk about how he was hurting. He said, my father was a true man of God. He spent his life in the ministry. And I looked at my father. He can hardly make it financially. And he's in pain. And the devil spoke to me. He said, I remember the moment it happened to me. The devil spoke to my heart. The enemy came right in the room. And came and said, you see what happens? Here's a man who's given everything. Here's a man who prayed and preached with holy ghost fire. Look at your father. Poor and sick. He's going to die a poor, unnamed man. He said, something came over me. And I heard a voice say, You don't have to die like your dad. You don't have to go out poor. You must make sure that you make as much money as you can so you don't die like your father. He said, I walked out of that place with an anger. He said, from that moment on, I've been a driven man. That man started investing money everywhere he could. He was making, he was dealing with this demonic spirit possessed him. He acknowledged it. That time he was talking to me, he was still under the control of this demonic spirit. Now let me tell you something, folks. This is exactly what I'm talking about. The devil will come right to you and say, uh-huh. Look around you. Look at those who are not looking. Look at those who appear to be faithless. Now what do you think? That man's father may die poor. But he's going to die in peace because his heart's right with God. He's going to, listen. He's going to die. He's going to enter the riches of the glory of God in Christ Jesus. He's going to get a new body. He's not going to need a dollar where he's going. But this future son, this brother, do you know how he's going to go out? He's going to go out bitter. He's going out with no confidence in God whatsoever to keep him. None at all. And that's exactly what's happening to some of you now. You're afraid of the future. You're afraid. I had a precious young lady explain it this way. She said, you feel like you're on the edge of a table and your daddy's there saying, jump! And then you think you're going to walk away and down you go. Have you ever felt like that? When it says jump? Faith? Listen, I've had four children, and I have seven grandchildren, and I've played that game with every one of them, and I loved it. Jump! Do you think for one minute I'd walk away and let them crash their head on the concrete? Never. God doesn't play games. You're standing there when you're on the precipice of danger. And you're about to jump, and you're about to fall. And he's always there, his arms stretched out. Hallelujah. Glory be to Jesus. Hallelujah. All right. Let's keep going. Here's the next trick. Satan, then, is going to paint you a fantastic picture of what your life could be like if you make a deal with him. You just make a deal. Look at chapter 18, verse 31. 1831. Harken not to Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria, make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me. How many of you have heard that? The devil said, come on out. Make a deal. Make a deal. Come out to me. And then eat ye every man in his own vine. Don't you want to listen to a slick salesman? And every minute it's a pack of lies. Then eat every man in his own vine, and every man in his own tree, and drink ye every one of the waters of his system, until I come and drink you, and make a land just like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of air, olive, and of honey, that you may live and not die. And harken not to Hezekiah, when we persuade as you say, the Lord will deliver us. Oh, what a liar he is. He says, make an agreement. Come on out to me. You don't have to be a male body. You've got thousands of Christians that say to be male bodies. And I tell you, heaven's going to be crowded with male bodies. And I'm going to march them all in. The devil comes and says, there's no need to suffer. Just come on, get out of your narrow, street-laced way. I'm going to fix things for you. You're going to live if you make a deal with me. And don't let anybody tell you serving Jesus is that hard. Come out of that narrow box. And I'll give you life. I'll prosper you. I'll give you all the money you need. Corn, oil, wine. No more bills. No more reports. No more just making ends meet. I'm going to put the bag for you. Now, okay, every little compromise you make, every time you come out and you make some kind of a deal, you compromise when you know the Holy Spirit's told you not to. Then you're making a bargain with the devil, and you're selling your soul in the process. And what a crooked salesman he was. When he said, look, it's your turn to make it. You have suffered enough. It's your turn to make it. And I'll tell you, if you're down and out, that's a very attractive offer. He says, no, look, you have suffered enough. It's not going to take much. And I'll tell you, you won't change anything. I'm going to take you to land just like you did. I'm going to take you to place. You don't have to change. After all, you'll be what you are. Nobody can change you but yourself. You'll be the same. Come on in with me. Just a little bit of compromise. Do what I tell you. I'm going to lead you down this land. This land that's just like, there's milk, there's honey. Oh, it's wonderful. You can take Jesus with you. And as soon as you say yes, as soon as you come out and produce Him, out of Zion, and you say, all right, I'm going to do it, but I'm not going to change as a person. I'm going to be just what I am now. Jesus, you know I love you. Jesus, I'm walking with you now. As soon as you get up, Madison's waiting. You know what he does? He tears up your contract. Slaps the chain on your wrist. He says, ha ha. And I'll tell you what it gets you. It gets you a father who's a slave prophet. It gets you thirty-five hospitals. With drugs and alcohol. It gets you a John Lennon symptom for the last five years of his life. With his wife in a broken stupor right up here on this side. It gets you Elvis Presley dead. Before he's thirty-one years of age, laying on bathroom floor. It gives you Elizabeth Taylor. God bless her heart. Who has all the money, all the fame, and everything else. One drug hospital after another. Alcohol after another. You get the whip, you get the chain, you get the broken promises. You get the spare. You get a slave driver. And you get water to drink that's full of poison. He said, I'm going to come and take you to land. And you just like your own land. You make that compromise. You're a slave. Now, I'll tell you what he does then. Finally, because the last resort, St. Vinicius wrote me a letter. Looked it again at chapter 19, verse 14. Just the one verse, read it with me now. I'll read it, you just follow me. Chapter 19, verse 14. And Hezekiah received the letter and the hand of the messengers and read it. And he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord and Hezekiah prayed before the Lord. Now, look this way please. The Bible says that He called this letter a letter of reproach to the living God. It was designed to make God's people afraid. It was the devil's laughter. It was his mocking. It was the devil said, I'm going to cut you down. I'm going to make you a reproach. I'm going to destroy everything in your house. Everything that's dear to you, I'm going to take it. I'm going to hurt it. Look at me. Have you received your letter from the devil yet? What do you think those divorce papers were? What do you think those divorce papers were when you were served? What if that was, that was the devil, literally, I'm talking about the devil literally has sent you some kind of a message, a letter. Divorce paper. And the devil is here to say, read it, follow it. Read it, follow it. What good is it to serve God and deny yourself it didn't save a human being? It's all your fault. It could have been a baby. Family. Failure. Read my lips. I've not been there. I don't know what it's like. But I've heard people that are divorced say, David, it's worse than dying. There's no words to describe the terror. The sense of failure. The hopelessness. And then the devil comes and says, it doesn't have to have been that way. Your fault. It could have been a baby. Where was your God? Where was your faith? You followed Jesus and yet he serves you and she serves you papers. You got a letter from the devil. You got that pink slip from the job. It could have been, someone just came to you and blurt right out, that's it. We're done. Pack your bags. Clean your desk. And now comes the devil and says, ah. So you're going to be serving the Lord, but it's real quick. Nobody wants you now. You're too old. You're a has-been. You're going down. You're going to lose everything you have. You're not going to be able to pay your bills. You're not going to be able to pay your rent. You're finished. You got a letter from the devil. What about that letter from the attorney? This bill is long overdue. Pay now or face criminal charges. Time is up. Did anyone make that? And you feel ashamed. You feel reproached. Fearful. Alarmed. What about that x-ray? That isn't black and white. A letter from the devil. And the doctor says it's incurable. It's hopeless. You've got a life-long disease. And now you've had more than one. In this church, get that report back from the doctor. That one test aids. Aids. It's a letter from the devil. Lupus. Cancer. A letter from the devil. Have you ever had a letter from the devil? My wife had five of them in a row for cancer. I thank God I found the Lord's letter. We have a dear businessman friend. He got a letter from the devil. It was an accountant's report showing that a trusted employer had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company. A trusted employer. And I could almost hear the devil saying, There it is. Read my letter. It doesn't pay to be righteous. So you gave to the Lord your heart. You gave your money to the Lord. And what you get in exchange? Embezzlement. Did you get that kind of a letter? Have you ever gotten a letter from somebody? Like the young preacher who came in this morning who's just received the letter? Someone got a tape of this preacher and they critiqued it and sent him a long letter telling him everything is wrong with it? Who do you think that letter came from? It didn't come from the faith of God. Now I don't know if it's going to be in the front of the telephone call. I don't know if the enemy is going to send somebody up to you and say, I don't like you. I don't know if it's going to be your husband or wife. I don't know if it's going to be a child. I don't know what it is. They're never going to send a ransom to you and start telling you everything that's going to try to send fear and anxiety to your heart. You're going to get a letter. Now tell you what to do with it. Spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord and he prayed. And he said, Lord, read it. Lord, I'm not saying that the Lord read it. The first thing he did was laugh at it. You don't believe that? Look at chapter 18, verse 36. Chapter 18, verse 36. And they're just chuckling at it. I'll read it to you. I have it written down here. I don't know if I can find it. Here it is. 1921. 1921. This is the word that the man has spoken concerning him. This is the man speaking to the prophet now. The prophet Isaiah. He's telling the prophet Isaiah what he thinks of the devil's letter. This is the word that the man has spoken concerning him. Now, here's my message back. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath espoused thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou repulsed and blasphemed? And against whom have you exalted your voice? And lifted up your eyes on high, even against the holy one of Israel. Yet God said, That letter not written to you is written to me. The devil wrote that letter to me. He that touches you touches the apple of my eye. Glory be to God. Let us just relax. That letter not meant for you. I'm glad you laid it out before me. And hasn't God just prayed before the Lord? Let's take it to prayer. The Bible says they didn't even answer one. The scripture says they kept their mouths shut. Until the... Oh, yes. They spoke not a word, for it was the command of the king that they should answer nothing and return. Answer nothing and return. Go talk to the devil. Let God talk to him. Glory be to God. God took that letter personally. What do you say when that's done? You ought to know the truth. You sent that letter to me. Whom hast thou repulsed and blasphemed? Whom have you repulsed and blasphemed? And against the holy one of Israel. When God told his people, He said, Children, you're safe. The devil can't hurt you. Look at chapter 19, verse 32. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant. Verse 31. And those that escape out of Mount Zion, the Lord of Hosts, shall do this. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria. He shall not come into this city. He shall not shoot an arrow into it. Nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bow against it. By the ways that he came, by the same ways that he returned. And shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. I will defend this city to save it. For my own sake and for my servant David's sake. Folks, look at me, please. I don't care if any demon is released from hell. I don't care if any mountain is shaken or an institution is shaken. The church is safe. The church of Jesus Christ is safe. He said, I'm not going to let the devil shoot a single arrow. He said, he didn't try to come against you. I'm going to put a hook in his jaw and send him back where he came from. God give us that kind of confidence in our God. God give you that kind of faith not to be afraid of the devil. He's not giving us this fear to fear that love and power is all mine. Now God will serve the angel of the Lord and trumps around about them to fear him. And delivers them. I'll tell you what. All God needs is one angel to restore whole heavenly abuse. Look at verse 19, chapter 19 verse 35. Isn't it something to wake up in the next morning when the victory has come? Didn't he say he's a person of hope in time of need? You're going to wake up one of these mornings and God's already answered. He's going to solve the problem. Hallelujah. You're going to wake up one day and the problem is gone. Look at verse 35 chapter 19. And a train had passed that night. Hallelujah. It's only one angel. The angel. He didn't say company of angels. He said the angel of the Lord went out. Isn't that something? The angel said he sees, he has a cow on his knees and the saints have done it then. And God says if they only move. Tomorrow. And the angel and the man just walks into the camp. And what's it say? There's smoke in the camp. It says a hundred, a hundred and fifty five thousand. It's a hundred and eighty five thousand. And when they raise the momentum ahead they are dead corpses. That angel. Against all the demon heads and the man of sin and they're dead. They're gone. Glory to God. Now. I told you. The Lord has sent a letter to the man. And I'm going to give you that letter. Martin Luther said it was his favorite chapter in all the Bible. And all the great men of God who walk like saints have claimed this chapter. It's been the lifeblood of them. And I'll tell you what. It's been my lifeblood. And I tell you you should read it every day of your life. I intend to read it every day of my life. Life and possibly death. I may forget it once or twice but I won't. Are you ready? And I want you to go home tonight and I want you to quote this. And I want you to read it. And I want you to know that God sent it to the devil. And he sent it to us so that we can stand against the devil and all the forces in hell. Hallelujah. Psalm 36. The hell chapter. This is God's letter to the devil. Word of God. Alright. I'm going to read it. I just want you to follow me and you tell me if this isn't a powerful letter. And I can just say, attention man of sin. Attention all the heads of hell. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore will not be feared. Though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. That's the people. There are people all around us who are troubled and worried. Though the mountains shaker the swelling thereof. That means all the institutions we've trusted been shaken. Where is the river? The streams where I've said may God the Son of God. The holy place of the tabernacles of the most high. Where is that holy place? Right here. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. With no river flowing in here. With no peace. Everything around us is going down there. So I'm going to flow this river of peace right through my tabernacle. Hallelujah. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. She is in the midst of hell. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that night only. The heathen are going to rage. The kingdoms are going to be moved. He utters his voice. The earth mourning. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come behold the works of the Lord. What desolation He has made in the earth. That's like me. Look at those 185,000 demons laying there dead. Look at the victory that God has done. Look at the desolation God has made against your enemies. He makes wars to cease. All they will come up one day and the battle is over. Hallelujah. End of the end of the earth. He breaketh the bear and cutteth the spear and thunder. He burneth the chair and the fire. That means the demons come against you with bear and spear and chariots. God said I'm going to chop up his chariots. I'm going to cast down his spears. I'm going to break every weapon formed against you. Number 10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. Here's what Brother Bob preached this morning. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Hallelujah. Let's stand. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Just raise your hands and thank Him for being a refuge to us. Lord, you are our refuge. You are our strength. You are our refuge. You are our strength. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Lord, you are our power. You have defeated our enemies. You have defeated our enemies. Hallelujah. Glory and honor and praise be to your holy name. Glory and honor and praise be to your holy name. We worship you, Jesus. We praise you. We give you glory and honor. Hallelujah. Glory to Jesus. Church, we're not going down. No, no, no. He said, I'm going to plant you deep and your sins are going to rise high. God's planted a church right in the middle of Sin City. God's planted a church right in the middle of Babylon. He's planted a church in the middle of Broadway, in the middle of Times Square. And He's raising up soldiers of the army of Jesus. They're not going to be afraid of the devil. Not going to be afraid of temptation. God is going to bring victory. Hallelujah. Bless you, Jesus. Bless you, Jesus. Bless you, Lord. Bless you, Lord. Is the devil still lying to you? Trying to make you afraid? You've been living under fear. I want to see God release that fear tonight. And if you're here and your back's livid and you're not walking right with the Lord, come. I want you to get out of your seat and come up to the balcony, window, main floor. Come and stand here and let's ask God to release you tonight. And give you absolute authority, freedom, and victory. But you can walk out of this place tonight delivered. Delivered. God is our fortress. He's our strength. He's our refuge. Lord, tonight bring people that need you. We're not trying to just fill up this front. We want people, Lord, that are honest. That say, yes, I've been afraid. The devil's trying to deceive, destroy me. But I know God has set me free tonight. This has been my day, this morning and tonight, to be delivered. To be set free. To have victory in Jesus' name. That same song you were singing before, the Lord is my strength. Come on and sing it. Take courage, saints. Up in the balcony, come on down the stairs to the main floor. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. And my salvation. The Lord is my refuge. I want everybody who came forward to raise both hands right now. I'm going to ask God to bind every lying spirit. I'm going to ask God to remove. Right now, I'm going to take authority of Jesus. Everyone of you, raise your hands and say, In the name of Jesus, I want to be free. All lies finished. I want that freedom tonight. And I lay everything at your feet. In total repentance. And I believe you. That you're my authority. And you're my strength. All right, now listen, I'm going to pray. Lord, we take authority in Jesus' name. Against every demonic spirit. Every lying spirit. Every principality of power of darkness. Which try to lie. To deceive. And to threaten. And to cause fear. And we cast that out in Jesus' name. And everyone who stands before us in the name of the Lord. Everyone who disgraces America seeks freedom. We shall not be under the bondage of sin. We will not be under bondage to the man of sin. We shall be connected with Christ's name. Now, I just want you to thank Him in the midst of this right now. Thank you, Jesus, for doing this. Thank you, Jesus. Good afternoon. I just need you to come here. Come to my field. 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