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The Peril of the Successful Church
Carter Conlon

Carter Conlon (1953 - ). Canadian-American pastor, author, and speaker born in Noranda, Quebec. Raised in a secular home, he became a police officer after earning a bachelor’s degree in law and sociology from Carleton University. Converted in 1978 after a spiritual encounter, he left policing in 1987 to enter ministry, founding a church, Christian school, and food bank in Riceville, Canada, while operating a sheep farm. In 1994, he joined Times Square Church in New York City at David Wilkerson’s invitation, serving as senior pastor from 2001 to 2020, growing it to over 10,000 members from 100 nationalities. Conlon authored books like It’s Time to Pray (2018), with proceeds supporting the Compassion Fund. Known for his prayer initiatives, he launched the Worldwide Prayer Meeting in 2015, reaching 200 countries, and “For Pastors Only,” mentoring thousands globally. Married to Teresa, an associate pastor and Summit International School president, they have three children and nine grandchildren. His preaching, aired on 320 radio stations, emphasizes repentance and hope. Conlon remains general overseer, speaking at global conferences.
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The sermon transcript emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of God. It urges individuals not to become casual or familiar with God, but to approach Him with humility and reverence. The speaker shares a personal experience of witnessing the worship of the Traw people in Burundi, who despite their extreme poverty, displayed a profound and pure worship of God. The sermon encourages listeners to cultivate a similar level of awe and reverence in their own lives, recognizing that every opportunity to glorify God should be cherished.
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This recording is provided by Times Square Church in New York City. You're welcome to make additional copies for free distribution to friends. All other unauthorized duplication or electronic transmission is a violation of copyright and other applicable laws. This recording cannot be posted on any website, however written permission to link to the Times Square Church homepage may be requested by emailing info at timesquarechurch.org. Other recordings are available by calling 1-800-488-0854 or by writing to Times Square Church Tape Ministry, 1657 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. Revelation chapter 3, the peril of the successful church. Unto the angel, that's the pastor, Revelation 3, 1, of the church in Sardis, write, These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars. I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I've not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast perceived, and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Now this is a church that, folks, is barely a stone's throw in history from Christ. This is a church that still has one of the original apostles. This is John, who's alive. This is a church that the history is fresh. They've received a word, no doubt. They would have heard the preaching of the apostle Paul. This is a church that knew God, but it's a church that had learned to do religious things, and these things were so close to the real that the unwary observer was fooled. In fact, among their community, they said they had a reputation of life in the town. Now Sardis was a trade center. Sardis was a very prosperous city. There are names throughout history that were associated. Big names, as it is, lived in Sardis. Sardis was a city of wealth, commerce, reputation, and of course they had a church that had been founded through the ministry, and this church had a reputation of life. People could go to this church and say, man, that place, oh, you've got to, their worship is incredible. The preaching will touch your heart. So they had a reputation of life, but then Jesus comes to them and says, you have a reputation of life. But in verse one, he says, I know your works. You have a name that lives in our dead. Now the word dead in the Greek is necros, and it means you're cut off from the vivifying or the enlivening influence of the Holy Spirit. Now what he said in verse four, he said, this is so serious. He said, there's only a few left that have not defiled their garments. And in verse three, he said, the matter is so serious that if it's not checked, now Jesus inferred, said, I'll come upon you as a thief. And he said, I'll remove all of myself that remains, and you'll not even be aware that I've left. Now folks, this has happened throughout history. Incredible movements of God, glory, grace. You think of the Wesley, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, the Whitfields and many, many, others through history where God came in such power and such glory. And they knew the very moments that we're living in right now. Christ is among us and heaven is open. And it seems like nothing is impossible. There's a, there's a realm of faith that's been open to us. And God says, I'm, I'm willing and wanting to use you, but there are, there are pitfalls. People in the past have fallen into these traps when God has used them. And here's a church that he says, you've, you've now moved from the supernatural to the natural. And if you don't catch this, a hold of this, he said, I'll end up leaving. And you're not even be aware of it. Now, now how, how does this happen? Sardis, you see, had access to more talent and more resources than, than other churches did. And I can see it now. As I began to read this, I saw what the Holy spirit was speaking, the musicianship, the ability to sing, the, the, the ability to speak. Maybe they had access to better, uh, more polished perhaps, or just people who once knew God. And they had access to things that other churches didn't have where other churches had to be dependent on every step and every song. This church was polished. There was a degree of professionalism in it. And slowly, very, very slowly, they began to know how to pull the strings. The band knew what song to play. If the crowd was restless, the choir knew what notes to hit. They knew at what part of what song the people would rise to their feet and begin to clap their hands. And very, very soon they started to move out of the supernatural because they knew how to do things. And this is the greatest peril that you and I will ever face. You see, God is the one who initiates the ability to do, but we have the capability of learning what God is teaching us. And in the long run, we can end up knowing exactly what to do. We know exactly how to do it. We can lead a prayer meeting. We can pray in a certain way that everybody will rise to their feet and begin to shout. We know all the levers to pull and all the whistles to blow. And it looks like life. But Jesus says, you're now moving out of the supernatural and you've moved into the natural and you know how to do things. This is, this was the peril of Sardis. They knew how to do things. There was a lot of talent in that church and very soon they didn't need God anymore to do it. And there'd be perhaps a casualness coming into the sanctuary, casually coming onto the platform, casually. Perhaps the choir started coming onto the platform and people are talking about clothing and groceries. And there's this loss of the sense of all of God. The sense of the supernatural is gone. The sense of the dependency on God is beginning to leave because we've known too much success. Folks, this is the peril. These are the days that we have to be aware of in the future because God has used us. We're not standing here. There are none of us that are qualified to be here and do anything that we're doing. And God forbid we should ever start learning how to do it and forget that we need him every step of the way. We need his grace. We need the touch of his hand. God forbid that you and I should ever forget our dependency on him and become casual in his presence. Think of what happened to Israel coming through the seas of impossibility, having the glory of the Lord, leading them every day, coming down on the tabernacle. They got too familiar with the presence of God. They got too familiar with the supernatural and the natural began to take over. And before you know it, there are 250 men of renown with their clinking censers in their hands, standing before the tabernacle, challenging the very authority of God, saying, we know just as much as God does. We know how to do things. This is exactly what happened in the days of Moses. Oh, folks, if ever there was a time to be aware, it's now. We must be very careful now. We must not lose our dependence on the Holy Spirit. God's spirit will not strive with man. He will not strive. He will not share the glory. We must be careful that we don't learn how to do things in Times Square Church. Jude chapter 23, Jude speaks of these defiled garments and he refers to them. This is the book right before Revelation. In verse 23, he refers to them as garments that are spotted by the flesh. And this is exactly what he's speaking about. He says to Sardis, it had gotten to the point where there's only a few left whose garments were not defiled by the flesh. This is the issue. We're not walking in their natural, through the power of their natural resources. In verse 19, the scripture tells us if it's left to run its course, it produces a people who are separated from the spirit of God who are walking in their own natural senses and they don't have the spirit of God anymore. How many churches does this describe today? They're separated. It says in verse 19, they separate themselves sensual. That means they operate in their natural senses and they have not the spirit. They don't need the Holy Spirit anymore. They've got it all figured out. Folks, we're living in a generation like that right now, where committees and degrees are now running the church of Jesus Christ. They don't need the Holy Spirit anymore. They have it all figured out. If we go out and do surveys and we can bring the people in and if we cater to them, we can keep them in and they've got it all figured out. They don't need the Holy Spirit anymore. God forbid that should ever happen in this house. God strike me dead if it ever happens under my watch and just take me home to heaven now. The Holy Spirit will govern this church. The Holy Spirit will guide this church and lead this church. Jude says in verse eight, he says, likewise, these filthy dreamers defiled the flesh, despised dominion and speak evil of dignities. A church people that begin to move in the natural begin to resent authority. Remember Romans 13 verses one to two tells us that all authority that exists is allowed by God. And those who resist authority, this authority bring damnation upon themselves. It goes again in verse, it says, and they begin to speak against it without fear of spiritual repercussion. He says not even Michael the Archangel would bring against particular authorities. I won't get into the case scenario, but he would not even speak against it. He knew that there's some things you just don't touch. Verse 10 says, tells us they are emboldened. They don't see the immediate judgment and they are boldened to go deeper in the flesh. They speak evil of those things they know not, but what they know naturally. In other words, here are people now walking in their own reasonings and they move deeper as it is into their own reasoning. And they're not afraid to speak against God appointed authority and God ordained authority. Their religion in verse 11, Jude says it takes them in the way of Cain. In other words, their religion allows them to live with deep inner resentments without consequence. That's one of the first warning signs that you're moving into the flesh, that you're battling and giving into deep inner resentments and not believing there's a consequence that comes from this. They run greedily after the era of Balaam. It allows people to serve God for personal advantage, not to take up a cross, not to ask God for his compassion for a fallen world, but everything internalizes now. We're now living in a generation where people have internalized. The church is moving in the natural folks in much of, not all, thank God, but in much of America today, the church is a natural church. It's not a supernatural church and many, many people now come into the house of God for personal advantage. And this, Jude says, is the end result of walking in the natural, coming in and saying, now what's in this for me? And you get halfway through the message and decide, well, there's nothing in this for me. And you get up out of your seat and out the back door, because it allows you now to serve God only for personal advantage, not to be giving your body as a living sacrifice for the purposes of God, as the scripture says, is your reasonable service. It allows now this, this running after reward and in the gains thing of Corrie, which is going deeper into rebellion against God all the time until the Lord says, finally, I've come down. I look at this and the end result of this blindness is that God will withdraw his presence sometimes from a person, sometimes from the whole corporate assembly. And they'll not even be aware that he's withdrawn his presence. And all you have left now is resentment, advantage, and rebellion, all in the name of God. Now, Sardis, as I said earlier, had an inner core of people that just knew how to do things with or without the Holy Spirit. And over time, the shift from the supernatural to the natural began to happen. Listen to me, choir, when you come on this platform, don't you ever forget where God brought you from? Don't you ever get used to singing your song? Don't you ever get used to musicians? Don't you ever touch those instruments with a presupposition that you deserve to be here in your heart? We're all standing here by grace. There's not one of us deserves to be on this platform. Not one of us. Paul said to the Galatian church, he said, Oh, in chapter three and verse one, Oh, foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you. Paul said to the Galatians, you knew it was by grace that you stood. You knew you don't belong in this kingdom. You remember that you were taken out. You started in a prison house. The first time you heard the word of God, you were released, not by works, not by anything of your natural thinking, but by faith in what you heard. You walked out of a prison house. Hope came into your heart. You began to know freedom. He said, this is only what I learned of you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, you're now made perfect by the flesh. Have you suffered so many things for nothing, if it yet be in vain or for nothing? Now this is my hope in this verse of scripture. Paul said, did God bring you this far only that you stumble over this? Now you stumble literally over the victory. Think about this. Many people think, oh, defeat is the thing that I really have to overcome. No, there's a much greater battle. Victory is where many, many people stumble, is where they fall. He says, he administers to you the spirit and works miracles among you. Does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. That ones who are of faith, who start by faith, who walk by faith, who continue by faith. Now I'll explain this in a minute. Revelation 3.2, Jesus says, now be watchful and strengthen the things that remain. Now here's the question. What am I to watch for? What am I to watch for? What am I to be careful about? First, that you never learn to become familiar with God to the point where you lose a sense of awe. There should be, you should never come into this house casually. There should be a sense of awe that I'm being taken and I'm being asked to, where I'm being taken and what I'm being asked to do requires much more than I had ever hoped to be in myself. There should be the sense of awe. God, take me deeper into this song than the last time I sang it. Oh Jesus, give me more authority to take my mind farther. Lord, living in you, there should be this progressive revelation of Christ. I should be diminishing and you should be increasing. Not only should I stand in awe, but people who know me should stand in awe. My family should stand in awe. My children should look at me and say, oh God, I, whatever's happening in his life or her life, I want this. This should be in my home. It should be in my family. And it starts with me. I must not lose the sense of awe. I must not become any different than those 120 that came out of the upper room and stood in the marketplace, professing with their mouths this incredible sense of what God who now lived within them was about to do through them. They stood in awe themselves and because they stood in awe, the people who observed them stood in awe and beat on their own chest and said, what must we do that we might be saved? Don't ever lose the sense of awe. This is one thing you should be watching for. Don't come casually into the presence of God. Don't saunter onto this platform as if you have a million tomorrows. This might be your last chance to glorify God. Don't become familiar with the presence of God. Step lightly, elders, pastors, step lightly on this platform. Remember, this is holy ground. We're not here to do our own thing. We're here to hear from God and we're to preach the word of God. We must watch for and maintain a determination in our hearts that all that we do, we do for the glory of God and for the testimony of his power, that our heart's desire is not to perform. It's the Jesus be glorified. It's the Christ be glorified. And so people hear our songs, they listen to our preaching, they hear our prayers and something begins to burn within their hearts and there's a cry that says, oh God, I want you to come and work within my life. I want you to take me. I want you, Jesus, to make my life what you want it to be. I want you to mold me and use me for your glory. We must be determined that what we do glorifies God everywhere we live, not living for our own betterment, but living for the glory of God and for the benefit of others. We are to watch and strengthen the bending of our knees to the sovereignty and the rightness of the ways of God. It will keep us from presumption. It will keep us from rebellion and from the flesh. We must bend our knee to what this book says, not what we think and what we feel, but what is written in the book. It doesn't matter how we think or what we feel. This is the guide the Lord sent to Joshua when he commissioned him to go into the promised land. He said, keep the law of this book before you continually and meditate in it day and night and then you will have good success and you will prosper in all of your ways. We're not to walk, this is not a think and feel kingdom. There's clear instruction given. We're to read it, we're to believe it, we're to yield our lives to it, bend our knee to it. Hallelujah. It'll keep you from grievances. It'll keep you from rebellion. It'll keep you from evil thought. It'll keep you. It'll keep you from pride. It'll keep you from the pitfalls of the enemy that he sets before a people in the church that have known his presence. Revelation chapter three in verse five, he says, he that overcomes the same will be clothed in white raiment. And to me, it's just that speaks of the righteousness of Christ. It will all be Jesus Christ, living, walking, not stained by the flesh, not a mixture of Christ and my own natural enthusiasm and ability, but Christ and Christ alone. And I will not blot his name out of the book of life. Now, this is incredible because when you look at the word life in the New Testament, it means those who are quickened by the spirit. It means it's a life given by Christ. And the actual definition is those who became the highest and best they could be because of the life of Christ within them. And he says, those who overcome this, the natural ability that will come because I've taught you how to do things, but you will overcome this ability to take over from God as it is. And you'll come and worship leaders, you'll be given the courage when things don't seem to be going your way, when you're leading worship or playing your songs to stop, just stop instead of pulling any levers and say, well, Holy Spirit, what are you doing? Where are you taking us? We might be trying to clap our hands and the spirit of God is leading us into worship. And we have the courage to say, God, I want to be the best that you will make me into because of your life that is being lived within me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The preachers in this pulpit would have the courage to quit when you're done speaking in 20 minutes, the courage to say it's over fold the book. Let the Holy spirit now minister to the people. Let them come to the altar. Let the spirit of God begin to touch his church again. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I had the privilege in Burundi of visiting a village of the Twa people. Now the Twa people are the poorest of the poorest of the poorest. Most of the children are dressed in rags. One little girl in this particular village of I think it was 29 families literally was dressed in rags. Her skirt was just hanging rags. And we arrived with a truckload of goats and chickens. And there was, these people have nothing, folks, they have nothing. I can't say it any other way than they have nothing. And we got there. And when we arrived, they were praising God. And they were singing a song. And we sat down, part of the ensemble was there with us. And some of our team, we sat down. And as they began to sing this song, people began uncontrollably sobbing in our team, because it was a holy moment. And we knew it was a holy moment. I was stunned sitting there because I knew something. They were singing a song. And here was the song translated by translated, translated, saying it for 20 minutes. And it was some of the, Ron Pierce from Empower Ministry has taken Bibles for the last 20 years into revival spots all through the world. He's been at the cutting edge of the breakout of the Holy Spirit in Cuba and China and many other countries. He testified one night. He said, I have never ever, ever, ever in my life sat in a place where there was such a purity of worship. He said, and he was broken by it, the purity of the worship. They sang a song. They clapped their hands. They weren't, it wasn't for us. It wasn't a show. This was pure worship. These people were Christians. God, and here was their song. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. We asked him to help us and help us come. Only God could do this. They sang it for 20 minutes. Only God could do this. I sat there on a bench looking at these people. And all of a sudden it dawned to me, God, when we get to heaven, these people will be, if there's such a thing as proximity based on purity at the throne of God, these people will be right at your throne. And I, all of a sudden I had a vision in my mind of there's a mansion being prepared for them now, and they're not even aware of it. They have no concept of these things. All they knew is that God who had just come with two goats and five chickens for every family was worthy to be praised. And they didn't praise Times Square church. They didn't praise America. They didn't praise us. They just sang and said, only God could do this. Only God could do this. So when I was in England, I began to meditate on this. I said, Oh God, I've never seen anything like this. And I was not moved folks by the emotion of the moment. There was something spiritual and supernatural happening here. And I thought, Oh God, where do we fit at your throne as a church? Where do we fit Times Square church? If there is an order, where will we be? And the Lord clearly spoke to me. He says, you could be right there with them. But you see, to be with them, you have to be singing the same song. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. We asked him to help us and help has come only God. He said, it's not an issue of whether you have material goods or whether you have a big church or whether you have a great choir. This is not the issue. The issue is what are you singing? And this was the song that will put these people at the throne. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. We asked him to help us and help us come. Only God could do this. Folks. I want this to be my song. I want this to be the song of Times Square church from now until Christ comes, or at least I have the privilege of handing it over to the next pastor. This has got to be the song of Times Square church. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Only God could keep this house in order. Only God, only God by his glory could allow us to baptize a thousand people. One year, several years ago, only God, only God, only God could give a theater like this on Broadway. Only God could open our prison doors and set us free. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Hallelujah. If we should live to see revival, if we should live to see the city greatly touched of God, if we should live to see this sanctuary filled with kids from the inner city, baptizing the Holy ghost, going to Bible school and heading out into the world, our song must never change. When people ask us, how did you do this? We didn't do it. Only God could do this. Hallelujah. Only God, only God, only God, only God could do this. Thank God. Pastor Dave says, we're the church that seems to do everything wrong according to modern standards. And yet God is here with us. Only God could do this. Only God could bring a hundred nations together in one sanctuary and we love each other. Only God could do this. You didn't figure out how to get free from thoughts of suicide. You didn't get yourself delivered from addiction to lust and pornography and drugs and alcohol. Your marriage didn't get put together. Your heart didn't get healed by any amount of human effort. Only God could do this. Hallelujah. Would you give him praise? Stand up. Give him praise. Give him glory. God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Only God could do this. Only God could do this. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Mighty God, Mighty God, Mighty God. Thank you Jesus. Only God could do this. Now listen to me, if you want that to be your song today in the annex, the main sanctuary, would you stop trying to work it out in your own strength? Those that are battling with besetting sin, those that are struggling in your mind, those that are wondering about the future, would you give it to God? Would you let him set you free? Would you let the blood of Calvary set you free? Would you let the anointing of the Holy Spirit open your prison door, heal your wounded heart, give sight to your blinded eyes? Would you come and let God do what God does? And would you give him glory with all your heart? Would you sing songs of faith to him and glorify his name? I'm giving an altar call today to people who are struggling in the natural, but you want this song. You want to be able to walk out of this sanctuary today and say, only God could do this. Only God could settle this issue in my mind. Only God could heal my body. Only God could set me free from all that I'm going through. If you want that as your testimony today, it gives the Lord delight to set you free. It gives him delight to bring glory to his name and he does it by releasing the supernatural into your life and into my life. Hallelujah. He'll take you where you can't go. He'll make you what you can never be. He'll let you out of prisons you can never open in your own strength and don't ever let your song change. Only God could do this. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The Holy Spirit is speaking to you today. Slip out of your seat in the balcony. You can go to either exit main sanctuary, slip out, come meet the Lord here. Come and meet him. Come and let him touch you today. Let the Holy Spirit do this. Let him fill you. He will do this. Just let God be God now. Let him be God. Trust him. Oh, he'll give you such a song. Annex if you please just step between the screens. Make way for those that are coming. Hi everybody who needs a miracle today. Bless the name of Jesus. Move in closely please. We're going to worship. I want you to let God to speak your heart as we worship. Look to him now. Look to him. Hallelujah. Oh, thank you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Just worship him beloved. Hallelujah. Just give God worship today. Give him praise. Bring the awe of God back into your life right now. Let the awe of God just fill you. God, we stand in awe. We raise our hands towards heaven today. And Lord, we bring back into our being and our mind that God, we are nothing without you. We are nothing without you. That everything we are, everything and every place we will ever go, it's going to be because you guide us and you take us there. And now we come and stand in your presence. Lord, we are in awe. We want to say God, we worship you. We bring back a pure worship into our hearts and we say God, we worship you. We worship you. Thank you for saving us. Thank you for delivering us. Thank you for putting our families back together again. Thank you for the job you've given to us. Thank you for those that live round about us. Thank you for the right neighbors you place around us. Thank you God that you have supplied every need. Thank you God that you are the one that is on the throne. Thank you today that angels bow their knees before you. Thank you today that no hell on earth can come against God's people. Thank you today that you have protected us and healed us. Oh God, we give you thanks. We give you thanks. Beloved worship him. Only God can do this. Only God could have brought us this far. Only God could have brought us this far. Only God could have brought us this far. Oh God, we worship you. Father, today we've heard expressly from your Holy Spirit. We've heard you standing here speaking to us. Lord, we've seen Jesus today bidding us come follow. Those disciples knew that they were nothing. They knew that there's nothing that they could do to affect change on a nation bound by a foreign power. They knew it, but they chose to follow you. And Lord, you turned men's lives around. We stand before you today. We ask you for a fresh baptism of your Holy Spirit. Give us a fresh baptism right now, Father. Just pour out your Holy Spirit. We stand as vessels saying, God, we need a fresh infilling of your Holy Ghost. We don't want to take another step forward unless your Spirit is leading us. We don't want to take one step, Lord, in the wrong direction in our own strength. Beloved, raise your hands towards him. Ask God to fill you right now. Ask God to fill you afresh with the power of his Holy Spirit. God, come and fill us. Come baptize us afresh. Lord, let your Holy Spirit animate us. Come touch our hearts and our minds. Lord, wash away all grievances. Wash away everything that is so unlike Christ. Holy Ghost, pour the water of your Word into us right now. Wash away. Cleanse us. Cleanse us, Lord, from things that have defiled us, arguments that we are clinging to. Lord, grievances that we won't let go. God, these are the things that defile the flesh, that cause us to say things that we shouldn't say. Lord, to resist people when we should be loving them. God, these are the things that we ask. Holy Ghost, cleanse us and wash us right now. Cleanse these things from our lives, family members that we resist because they annoy us. God, give us a baptism of love. Give us a fresh baptism of love. Oh God, only you can do this. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you for Pastor Carter and Teresa, Lord. Thank you for bringing them back to us. Thank you, Lord, that the touch of God was upon them in Perundian. Lord, we thank you that today everybody is safe. God, we want to just worship you. You've done such a mighty thing. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Beloved, are you grateful today? Are you grateful today? Do you have a grateful heart today of what God has done? Oh, all I want to say is thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for order. Thank you for the Holy Ghost. Thank you for divine order. Thank you for kindness and gentleness. Thank you, Lord. You speak to us. Oh, beloved, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. We've got to sing. We've got to worship God. Let's sing a song, Greg, as we just continue to say, God, speak to us. Let him wash you. I just sense God wanting to rid people today of things that have clung to you and you've tried desperately so hard. Let the word now and the Holy Spirit cleanse you as we worship God in his presence. In Jesus' name. This is the conclusion of the message.
The Peril of the Successful Church
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Carter Conlon (1953 - ). Canadian-American pastor, author, and speaker born in Noranda, Quebec. Raised in a secular home, he became a police officer after earning a bachelor’s degree in law and sociology from Carleton University. Converted in 1978 after a spiritual encounter, he left policing in 1987 to enter ministry, founding a church, Christian school, and food bank in Riceville, Canada, while operating a sheep farm. In 1994, he joined Times Square Church in New York City at David Wilkerson’s invitation, serving as senior pastor from 2001 to 2020, growing it to over 10,000 members from 100 nationalities. Conlon authored books like It’s Time to Pray (2018), with proceeds supporting the Compassion Fund. Known for his prayer initiatives, he launched the Worldwide Prayer Meeting in 2015, reaching 200 countries, and “For Pastors Only,” mentoring thousands globally. Married to Teresa, an associate pastor and Summit International School president, they have three children and nine grandchildren. His preaching, aired on 320 radio stations, emphasizes repentance and hope. Conlon remains general overseer, speaking at global conferences.