In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the need for a change of heart and surrendering to God. He confesses his failures and expresses his determination to hold on to God. The congregation is encouraged to repent and thank God in their own words. The preacher warns against the invasion of false gospels and urges the congregation to be aware of teachings that preach another Jesus and another spirit. He references 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 as the basis for his message.

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 P.O. Box 260, Lindale, 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. Just down a little bit. Alright. Are you hearing? Is everyone hearing? Are you hearing in the balcony alright? Alright, very fine, thank you. Another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Why don't you go to 2 Corinthians 11th chapter, please. 2 Corinthians 11th chapter. I'm going to read verses 1 to 4. And this will be the basis of my message tonight. Another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. We do have a very fine staff nursery. If your children cry, it'd be good for you to take them to the nursery and they'll help you there. There's been a lot of walking around in the balcony. We'd appreciate it if you find a seat and stay in that seat, please. It disturbs if you're walking around. We appreciate it so much. They're in the balcony, thank you. Aren't you glad to be in God's house tonight? Praise the Lord. The Lord's been meeting us in every service. This church is just 8 months old. And all afternoon I was thinking of this time last year. I was down in Times Square before the church even started. And I said, well Lord, where are the people going to come from? We have no musicians, we have no building, there's nothing. You just said, come. And folks, look after 8 months, how the Lord has brought people from everywhere and sending a revival and doing such a work. What wonderful musicians the Lord has sent to us. We love every one of them, they're precious to us. The Lord's put together a body. This El Shaddai that's coming to the church is a musical on repentance. It's based on the message we preach. And we need intercessors also that will pray because people will come. We're inviting even show people from Broadway here who will come and hear a message of repentance. They may not come to hear any of us as preachers, but they'll come for the musical. And folks, it's one of the strongest messages I've ever heard. There's a breaking, there's a melting. We're not going into theatrics here at this church, not at all. We are putting on a musical that brings people to the altar, bringing people to repentance. It's El Shaddai. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1, You would bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit which we have not, which you have not received, or another, what? Gospel, which you have not accepted, you might, well, bear with them. Now, you see verse 4, the introduction of another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Look this way, if you will, please. This has been burning in my heart all week long, and I've asked God to give me a loving shepherd heart to preach it, but I feel what Paul felt, this need to warn this congregation of an invasion of other gospels that are coming, based on another spirit preaching another Jesus. A minister called me this past week, and he was really disturbed. Now, the man preaches the crucified life, he preaches holiness, and he appeared to be, he sounded like a real man of God, and he said, Brother Wilkinson, some of my people are leaving. They've been to conferences, they've been to seminars, and they come back, and he said, they tell me that they thought they were saved, and now they know that they're not saved. They say, Pastor, even though you thought you preached holiness, you don't know what holiness is. We found something new. We found a revelation that's changed our life. We thought we knew something about the future and about prophecy. God's changed our whole concept on prophecy. We see something entirely different, and we don't even believe, Pastor, that you're preaching truth. You're in error now. And he said, Brother Wilkinson, what's happening? He said, it's happening all over. He was calling from New England. He said, all over New England. And it's not just New England. I hear it from all the United States. Letters and calls from pastors and churches everywhere. What is happening? There's so many new doctrines, so many new things coming down the turnpike, and people are suddenly saying, I didn't know anything. Everything that's coming at me now is brand new, and people are not discerning between what is of God and what is of Satan, what is foolishness and what is righteousness. Now, this pastor is so right. There are new doctrines, there are new revelations, there are new gospels that are coming up almost every day. And, folks, I'm telling you, it's going to get worse, according to the Word of God. It's going to get much, much worse. Paul called the elders of the church of Ephesus. I remember he was going to be leaving. He was heading toward Jerusalem, and he said, You shall see my face no more. He was saying to his beloved saints, This is my last time with you. You won't see me again. The Holy Spirit had revealed it to him. And so, what Paul says now has great bearing, because it's the last thing he's going to say to the church at Ephesus. And you know what he said to these people? And, of course, they fell on his neck and they wept, and it hurt them that their beloved shepherd would not be seen again, and it hurt them deeply. But his final words to these beloved saints at Ephesus said, I know this. Now, think of this, his last words. I know this, that after my departing, after I'm gone, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves. And do you know, the whole time that Paul ministered to the Ephesians, and the whole time he ministered to all the churches that he established, he had a fear in him that would never leave him. He had it to his dying day. It's a fear that any true shepherd has to have in him. I have it tonight, and that's the reason I preach what I'm preaching tonight. I know Bob has it because of what he preached this morning. I know Gary shares it, and I know Pastor Boutte, all our pastors share this. You can't be a true shepherd unless you have this kind of fear that Paul said he had. He said, by the space of three years, I cease not to warn you, every one of you, night and day with tears. I warned you that there would be wolves coming among you, that there'd be perverse doctrines coming into the house. He said, for three years, that's all I did. I warned you time and time again. And Paul said to the Corinthians, he said, I'm jealous over you, with a godly jealousy. Now, Bob covered this very well this morning, about the jealousy of God. He says, I'm not thinking of somebody stealing my sheep. I'm not jealous that somebody will come that's a better teacher, and I'm not saying these are my sheep, I'm their teacher. Leave them alone. We've got enough of that in New York City. We have it all over the country. Shepherds are afraid they're going to lose some sheep. In fact, someone came to me last week, telling me a report of a pastor's family that was absolutely enraged because a few of their people were coming to Times Square Church. I mean, they were losing a few of their sheep, and absolutely enraged at us and this church, for which we can't help. I don't know what's being preached there. I don't even want to judge it. He's not talking about that. He's not saying they belong to me. No, there's another kind of jealousy. He said, I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste or pure virgin to Jesus Christ. Paul was not indignant that somebody would steal those people. He said, I have one purpose and my one goal. There's only one thing I want. There's only one reason I'm your shepherd. I want to be able to stand one day and present you to Jesus, pure and holy and righteous. And this is the desire that I have in my heart, burning. And I know these shepherds behind me have this burden to me. To one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And to hear your name called. And to see every one of you that sit under the sound of this ministry, stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. Knowing that you stand there not being swayed by every wind and wave of doctrine. Knowing that you have come through the test and the trial. And the word of God is hidden in your heart. And that you have the fullness of Jesus Christ. And that you have not been tricked by the enemy. But we were able through the grace of God, and the power and the unction of the Holy Ghost, to instill in everyone who comes to this house, something of the Spirit of God that would convict you of sin. Turn you away from your unrighteousness. And have you stand strong and true, up to the last hour of your days. Hallelujah. Paul's greatest glory, and the greatest joy of every true pastor, should be to stand on that day, and to see the sheep come one at a time. And hear, Well done. Well done good and faithful servant. Not speaking to the shepherds, but speaking to you as the sheep. And I can look you right in the eye tonight, and tell you that's the one desire of my heart. And that's why I preach with the fire and the burning zeal in my heart. And that's why God's established this church. So that out of New York City, before the judgment day comes, there'll be a holy people rise up, full of the Spirit of the living God, walking pure and righteous before Him, that we may present you as a pure bride. If Paul were living today, and he came and preached in Times Square Church, he'd be saying the same thing he said then. He'd stand up here and he'd say, Beloved beware, there's going to come an invasion of false teachers. False doctrines are going to come and bombard you from all sides. They're going to introduce to you another Christ. There's going to be another Spirit that's not the Holy Spirit. There's going to be another gospel that won't be the true gospel. And this is the fear Paul confessed to. Listen to it. It's in verse 3. Look at verse 3. But I fear. He said, I'm afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve, through his craftiness, or his deception, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ. Do you know what Paul is inferring? He said, I'm afraid that some of you are too susceptible to false doctrine. Some of you. He said, You bear with it gladly. You put up with it. Now listen. I had people hand me tapes of books. And they said, Read this. This is fantastic. I've never heard anything like this. This is really something. And everybody's talking about it. And I take it home and put it on my little tape recorder. And I listen to it and it sounds good at first. I've always learned that if there's anything false, if there's error, if there's anything unlike Jesus, if you listen long enough and you have discernment, you'll find it. It'll come out. It'll come out. And you sit. In the first half hour it sounds pretty good. You say, This is not so bad. And then suddenly there's a restlessness hits you. And then something starts turning inside. You say, I'm not hearing anything that's really wrong yet. But something is not sounding right. And if you just stay with it a little while, suddenly there it is. There it comes out. The error comes out. There's something there unlike Jesus. There's something there that you know is wrong. And Paul is saying, There are some of you that are susceptible to this. In fact, he said, I'm amazed at some of you. I'm marveled that you're so soon removed from Him that called you to the grace of Christ unto this other gospel, which is not really another gospel. But there'll be some who trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. He said, Don't be so gentlemanly about it. Don't be ladylike about it. If it is not of God, it's accursed. If it is not the gospel you've heard here, it's accursed. Paul is warning us, perversions are coming. They're born of another spirit and they're going to trouble you if you get caught up in it. Folks, do you realize how dangerous it is to just pick up some book, some tape, something and just listen to it without having someone else with you listening to it? Oh, you can listen to it, but don't accept everything that you hear. Don't accept every book that's put in your hand. In fact, some people love it because it sounds new. It's not right just because it sounds new. In fact, sometimes the more complicated, the more new it sounds, the more dangerous it is. I'm not telling you you can't listen to tapes or books and we don't put down the wall here. If we present everybody here mature in Jesus Christ, they can recognize what is false. But how susceptible... Paul said, some of you, you're so gullible, you're looking for something new all the time. You're looking for something sensational. You're looking for something mysterious. You're not satisfied with Jesus. You're not into the Word of God. You're not growing in the Word of God. You're looking for something new. And that's dangerous, folks. It matters not if an angel appears and tells you it's of God. It doesn't matter if all your friends discern with you that it's all right. Folks, there's sometimes I don't trust my discernment. I don't trust my discernment when it goes against this book. If it doesn't line up here, I don't care what the little voices say here. It's a curse of God, the Scripture says. How do we know what's the true gospel and what is accursed? Let me say first of all, even the most demonic false teacher always begins by warning you against false teachers. Oh, I've heard some of the most demonic teachers spend the first half hour saying, there will come false prophets, there will come false teachers, and they'll get you all set up as if they are not a false teacher by warning you against false teachers. Has anybody heard anything like that before? Oh, they'll say in the last days, there'll come false doctrines and false teachers, and they'll scream loudly against false teachers. I've had more false prophets in my office in Texas in the last three or four years. I mean, they prophesied everything against us. I had one, I told you, he got so mad he left his shoes outside my door. It's supposed to have been a curse. But you know, the first half hour in my office, all he did was say, Brother Wilkes, you know there are going to be false prophets coming in the last day. And I was sitting there saying, I am listening to one. But all he did was warn me of false prophets that are coming. He was setting me up to hear his message. And they'll set you up to hear the message. It's not going to be the right thing just because someone said false prophets are going to come. Secondly, doctrine is not always right simply because the teacher appears to be holy, godly, pious and sincere. In fact, that's what makes false doctrine all the more dangerous. The outward appearance of piety and holiness. A Christ-centered teacher must be holy, sober and sincere. But the Bible said the devil is going to come as an angel of light. And light means revelation. It means truth. He's going to try to come with new revelation. And Paul gives the key to knowing how Satan is going to deceive with false teachers and false doctrine in the last day. He said, just as I fear this by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety or his deception, so in the same way, in other words, he's not going to change his tactics. He's going to come against us in these last days just as he came against Adam and Eve in the garden. And I want to talk about that for just a moment. Nothing has really changed. The false gospel introduced in the garden of Eden is the same false gospel that's being preached today. Listen, this is so important, not my message, but what God is trying to say to us about false doctrine and false shepherds and teachers coming in the last day, God didn't leave it to guesswork. I mean, this is as clear as anything he's ever made in his book in the Word of God. Alright, first of all, any teaching, and listen closely, any teaching that undermines the fear of God in you is accursed. Any teaching that undermines the fear of God is of the devil. Now, all false teachers have this one thing in common. Relax. God can't be that hard. Relax. Jesus loves you. Now, that's the message of the gospel. There's no question about the fact that Jesus loves us. But you see, the trick of the enemy is to get you to be totally moved away from that awesome reverence and fear of a holy God who judges sin. And all false doctrine has this one aim to undermine the fear of God in you. Now, what was it that kept Adam and Eve from touching the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? It wasn't their love for God. It wasn't their communion with God. Not at all. Because they had not yet even learned. They hid from God when they sinned. But what was it that kept them from touching this thing? What kept them from rebellion and disobedience? It was this. God hath said, You shall not eat of it. That's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you... There was something in Eve that resented that. There was something that says, I don't like these parameters. I don't like to be restricted like this. And the devil comes along and he appeals to the lust that's in her heart, that lust to shake off the yoke. And friends, there is a yoke. Whether you want to believe it or not, there's a yoke. You cannot serve Jesus without his yoke. He said, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. In other words, if you're going to walk and live in the fear of God, the yoke becomes easy. If you rebel against it, it becomes hard. But there was something in Eve. She didn't like this restriction. And Satan knew that. And he came to Eve. And he said, hath God said? No, he said, you surely shall not die. In other words, he's saying, God is not like that. What kind of a God do you have? You have the wrong concept of God. You mean to tell me that God is going to deny you knowledge and wisdom when he is wisdom and knowledge himself? You mean to tell me that you have in your mind the picture of a God of judgment and wrath? You're going to touch that fruit and you're going to die? What kind of a God do you think he is? You surely will not die. This is exactly what she wanted to hear. The devil began to undermine the fear of God in her immediately. And I can just picture her getting closer and closer to that tree. And she keeps playing this in her mind. And she begins to shake off that yoke. Do you know there are some of you sitting here right now that have heard the strong word that comes forth from this pulpit? You hear of the judgment of God against sin. And it's a yoke. You chafe under it. You say, I don't like it. You don't understand, beloved, that this is the very thing that brings freedom. It's the very thing that brings peace and joy. But you see that cry inside, I can't serve God like that. I want liberty. We've got a whole teaching in the charismatic movement now about a new liberty, about a new freedom. And people can come now and sing and shout and talk in tongues and live like the devil. Absolutely live like the devil. They call it freedom. No, it's not freedom. It's Satan saying, you shall not die. God is not hard. God is not like that. God is too loving, too merciful. And he found a gospel that suited the lust of her flesh. And she's saying, I can't serve God with these restrictions. And so, her whole attitude is, I'll still visit with him. He's still my heavenly father. But I'm going after it. I can't live like that. And what it is, she wanted her lust and her father too. And there's a saying out in the streets, now all this in Jesus too. And it can't be. I've heard from a number of pastors in the past month or two. These are youth pastors. Some of them have been fired from their church. I'm thinking one now who called. He's ready to leave this very famous ministry. He told my son, he said, look, even if you had a place, even if I had to come up there and sweep floors, I'd like to come. He's so sick and tired. Because he started, he looked at his young people. And if I told you the name of it, you'd be so shocked, you'd weep. And he, in fact, Gary was supposed to be down there and speak, and they canceled him because they hear our messages now, and they say we don't want our young people to hear that stuff. And the young people, the young people in some of these churches, they see the rebellion, preachers, kids, especially living in absolute rebellion, sitting in church painting their toenails. They see young people living in absolute rebellion, knowing nothing but fear of God. And these youth pastors are calling, they're saying, I've never seen it like this, this total rebellion. And the pastor, many pastors go and upset the pastor, the parents, because the kids go home, because these young pastors start to preach holiness. They're preaching separation, they're preaching the fear of God. And it's shaking these kids up because they've never heard it. We have a whole generation totally devoid of the fear of God. They know nothing of the fear of God. They've never seen the judgment of God. They've never been through a depression. They've never been through a holocaust. They've never seen judgment on the land. It's always been money, money, money. It's been everything they wanted. They wanted rock and roll, so we say, don't upset them, bring the rock and roll to the church and give them Christian lyrics. They say, they're going to have sex in their house, so let's give them protection. They're going to shoot drugs, so let's give them clean needles. And all we've done, we've made God appear to be some great appeaser in the heavens. To appease, appease, appease. And our young people have been appeased. And these young ministers are saying it's enough, we've lost this generation. And folks, we have, we've lost a whole generation of teenagers. We've lost them mainly because the pastor's too weak to preach the gospel in the pulpit, and parents are living a double life and the kids know it. How do you expect, how do you expect your kid not to blow pot, dad, when you're blowing cigarette smoke? How do you expect your kids to stay clean sexually when you're drinking and running around yourself, when you're watching dirty movies on television? How do you expect your kids to walk in holiness? These young people, these young pastors are being taught, we don't want to hear that's upsetting the parents. I had a conference the other day with a young man who comes to this church, he was kicked out as a youth pastor of a church here in New York, and he's just heartbroken. Heartbroken because the parents don't want to hear it, the pastor didn't want to hear it. He said, but if all I wanted to do was see those young people conform to Jesus, and they didn't want it. There's only a small handful of young people left in America today walking in any kind of holiness. Our Christian kids are turning into punk music, into promiscuous sex and drugs and full of rebellion. Turn to Romans 3 and you'll see why. Just go to Romans 3. Romans 3. Third chapter of Romans. Look at verse 11 please. Start with verse 11. And I think this pretty well describes this generation. There's none that understand it, there's none that seek it after God. They've gone out of the way, they all together become unprofitable. There's none that do it good, no not one. Their throats are an open suffocator, their tongues they have used as seat, and the poison of snakes is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. There is what? There's no fear of God before their eyes. Why are they promiscuous? Why is there no peace? Why is there turmoil? There is no fear of God before their eyes. Satan has undermined that fear. Because, look at, you don't have to tell me, but Psalms 55.19 says, Because things do not change, therefore they fear not God. Because things do not change. They don't see judgment coming. Everything seems to be going along smooth. Everything seems to work out. So they lose the fear of God. I had a brother write to me this past week, and he said, Brother Dave, I get your takes from Times Square Church, and you preach so hard. He said, Do you preach like that every Sunday night, and do the people take it? You know what my answer is? Listen. We are called to preach the gospel of Jesus with such power and authority that it will produce the constant fear of God in every hearer. Until you're convicted of your sin, and you can't sit in this house and be comfortable. Until, if you're going to play with your sin, you're going to get out and find another church that's going to call your sin, that there'll never be a time, God helping us, you can sit here and be comfortable in your sins. And we'll do it with love. But those who don't want to forsake their pet sins, they'll not stay, they won't listen. Because they're going to be offended. They'll go back, they'll hit the road, going church hopping, looking finally to hear that sweet smooth sound, Relax! All is well. God's word says, By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Proverbs 16.6 By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. I want you to go to 2nd Timothy 4. 2nd Timothy. For the new converts, you turn right from Romans. Keep going through Thessalonians. We get to Timothy, 2nd chapter, 4th verse, 4th chapter, 2nd Timothy, 4th chapter. Beginning to read verse 1. 2nd Timothy, 4th chapter, verse 1. I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, it is appearing in his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, they shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall, what are they going to do? They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables, means fiction, lies. But watch thou in all things, endure affliction, do the work of the evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Do you see what it says? They're going to turn their ears away from the truth. They're going to seek out teachers to cater to their own lust. Their ears are going to itch for a happy, easy, smooth, bless me now ministry. Bless me clubs. I call them bless me clubs. Bless me, bless me, bless me Lord. In my sins, bless me. Let me tell you something. I believe if you're sitting under a true gospel, it's got to produce this, and I want you to listen to it. It's got to produce in you a hatred for sin, and pull down every excuse and alibi you've ever had. Secondly, it's got to produce a conviction, of spiritual laziness and compromise in us. If we become spiritually lazy, we're not reading God's word, we're not seeking his face, we're laying in front of that Babylonian idiot box, we are just relaxing, and there's no urgency about the coming of the Lord. Oh listen folks, listen close. Do you understand that the Bible makes it clear that we, God's people, are bent from backsliding? That we have to have the word keep coming at us all the time? Because that's the nature of humanity. That's the nature of Adam. That we go along so far, we think we've arrived, and then when God starts blessing, and Bob was covering that this morning, and Jessalyn waxes fat, and then she gets lazy. Joseph gets fat and then lazy. And God has to have preachers who come along with enough of his holy authority to pick our balloons, put a fire under us. It's got to produce an inner knowing that God will not wink at sin. It's got to produce a conviction that we're going to reap what we sow. It's got to make you know that he's a righteous holy God. And also he's going to give you confidence that he'll deliver you from sin if you hate it, resist it. You know, there was a couple who came to Brother Bob. I've had others come to me saying the same thing. They were told by pastors and other people, don't go to Times Square Church. All they're doing down there is preaching fear and doom and gloom. Don't go. They're messed up. One lady, our pastor said, I don't know what's happened, Brother Dave, he's got all mixed up. Brother Phillips has messed up his mind. I heard a preacher say, Brother Phillips is the most dangerous preacher in America. No clapping, please. I said that about Don and every one of these behind me. It was said this morning, this Pope, it's dangerous to sit under a message that deals with the holiness of God. It's dangerous. Too many Christians today are not certain, they're not reading, well, listen. We're only preaching what Jesus told us to preach. You know what Jesus said? Don't turn to Luke 12, 5. I will forewarn you whom you shall fear. Fear him which after he's killed have power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him. Jesus said that. Do you know that Isaiah said of Jesus that he will come forth in the knowledge and the fear of God? Even Jesus feared mightily the reverence of his Holy Father. Too many Christians are really not convinced of this matter of the fear of God. They're really not convinced. And I want to settle for you once and for all. Listen, folks, if you don't get anything else out of my message, I want you to be absolutely convinced that it's the fear of God that keeps us from sinning. And I want you to know, God, it is scriptural. You've got to have it in your heart. And if you have not heard anything else from the beginning of this church, hear it, and I want it wiped out of your mind once and for all. I want to rob the devil of any chance to lie to you or any lying spirit. And I'm going to give it to you. Turn to Isaiah, the 11th chapter of Isaiah. And let's get it knocked out once and for all. Because we're going to see, I just talked to you about Jesus. And I want to show you something about our blessed Savior. 11th chapter of Isaiah. Boy, mark this. If you don't have anything in Isaiah, mark this. Mark it well. And verse 1, chapter 11, Isaiah. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Who is that? Hallelujah. He's the branch. The stem, the root out of Jesse. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. That's Jesus. Verse 3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. It's not as clear in the New American Standard, verse 3, but in King James it's clear. And he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. What's it say in New American Standard? Same thing. The fear of the Lord. Who is he talking about? Jesus. The very Son of God. Does that settle that for you in your mind? Are we not to be... Listen, if He walked that way, shouldn't we walk even more that way? Living and walking and moving in the fear of God? I've got to move on to the next one. Secondly, beware of any gospel which diverts you from single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ. Beware of anything that would corrupt you, Paul said, from the simplicity that is in Christ. That word simplicity, that means pure devotion to Jesus. Simplicity doesn't mean simple, it means pure. Pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Paul solemnly warns that Satan is going to come and transform himself into an angel of light. He's going to raise up ministers, false prophets, all of them posing as ministers of righteousness. And the Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 11, 13, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Transforming themselves into the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look this way for just a minute. Can you think of the terror of that for just a minute? Think of it. To approach the last days, the coming of the Lord drawing nigh, think of this now. The possibility of coming down to the last moment of time under the influence of an angel of light, under the influence of another spirit, another gospel, and sitting there thinking you are hearing the true gospel, when in reality there has come a satanic spirit, and he is an angel of light, he is an apostle, he calls himself an apostle of righteousness, and he is a Satan himself. Think of the terror of that. Well, folks, there are some safeguards against it, and we're going to touch on that before we close. But how can it happen? How can anybody be given over to this? How can anyone be sitting under this kind of gospel that Paul is describing here and not know it? Very simple. He's talking about those who have lust in their heart, and they heap teachers to themselves having itching ears. They refuse to lay down their lust. They refuse to lay down their sin. And the devil sees it, and I'm telling you now, hear it, sin is a magnet that draws you to false apostles. You keep your lust and I promise you, you'll come under false doctrine. It's inevitable. You will meet. You will find it and he will find you. And you won't know it, you won't believe it, you'll be so blind you won't know it. Over 150 years ago, a wonderful man of God, Bishop Masolin, he gave a very vivid description of false apostles. He was quoting from Paul, and I read it last night. It really gripped my heart. You hear of evangelists today that are falling and pastors that are falling, and I'm not calling them all false shepherds, not at all, but listen to this wonderful man, and this is over 150 years ago. Bishop Masolin said of false prophets and false apostles, he said every day he acts out the role of a hypocrite. Every time he speaks out against sin, he's testifying against his own sin. He publicly accuses others of sin without ever intending to correct himself. He constantly harps about sin from the pulpit, but carefully protects what's hidden in his own heart. He exhorts others to repent, but he imagines himself to be above what he preaches to others. He believes that his business in God's kingdom is all that matters. He's puffed up with pride. He's vain and loose in his conversation. He's full of slander. He spends his whole ministry as an imposter. He was once a pillar in the church, but he fell because of sin, and now he's become a stumbling block. He is salt which has lost its savor, which now corrupts what it should be preserving. They are physicians who carry to their patients infections instead of healing. They give out loose morality, and they puff up their followers with praise, and with a wisdom that's earthly, sensual, and devilish. 150 years ago. You know, in the 18th century, in the 18th century, another gospel was introduced. It was called antinomianism. That means anti-law. And that doctrine is here stronger than ever, and the whole charismatic movement is going into antinomianism. And what antinomianism is this, is that Jesus has done it all. There's nothing you do. He's made all of our sins. It doesn't matter what you believe on Him. You can do as you please. God will never judge your sin again, ever. That you're free. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are free. And Dr. Tobias Crisp is one of the early preachers of this doctrine. And do you know how it took over Germany? I wonder how could such a doctrine, the preaching of Luther, the Great Reformation, was destroyed by this other gospel. Do you know how it came about to be introduced into the church? Because they did exactly what Brother Bob was talking about this morning. They used Jesus, His name, as a byword. It was just a catch word. And here's the very introduction, I'm reading word for word the introduction from Dr. Tobias Crisp and all the antinomian preachers, and here's how this doctrine captured the heart of Germany, and it spread all over Europe, and it's here today, bigger than ever. And here it is, they said, there's too much talk today about grace and about heart searching. Don't tell me about heart searching, just tell me about Jesus. I don't want to hear about promises, I want to hear only about Christ. I don't seek for sanctification, I seek only for Christ. Don't talk to me about medication, don't talk to me about duty, talk to me about Christ. Now that sounds good, doesn't it? It sounds like here's a gospel that is centered on Jesus. But my Bible says not everyone that says, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of God. Not everyone that banters around the name of Jesus is going to be preaching the right gospel. And that's how so many people are fooled today, because they say, well, he's such a sincere man, she's such a sincere woman, she walks the life, she talks only about Jesus. But listen, well, let me give you the rest of it. And after they said that, let me tell you what they preached. And it's still being preached today, and the charismatic movement is falling for it, hook, line, and sinker. The assembly of God movement is falling for it now. I'm quoting Dr. Crisp, Tobiah Crisp. He said, A believer may be assured of pardon as soon as he commits any sin, even adultery or murder. God no longer stands displeased with him, though a believer sins often. There's no sin a believer can commit that can cause him any hurt now. Therefore, there's no reason to fear sin again. Sins are nothing but scarecrows to frighten children. Sin has been killed at the cross, and so there's no more terror to it. If we tell believers they must walk a holy life and do good works, or God will be angry with them, we're abusing the scriptures, and we are lying in God's face. God has done everything in Christ at the cross, so there's nothing to fear. That's the doctrine of antinomianism, and that's the doctrine sweeping the church today. I can't help myself. It's though all Christians are in some dark pit, and they're waiting for Jesus to come along and say, Lord, you know where I'm at? If you love me, come and pick me out. Now my Bible says, you resist the devil, and he'll free from you. And we've made Christianity, we've made Christians look like a bunch of helpless cripples. No power, no authority, live under the deception of the devil, live bound by habits and sin, and sit around waiting for that miraculous deliverance. No striving against sin, no holy fear of God, and I want you to know, there can be no devotion to Jesus Christ without a walk of holiness. You can't be devoted to Jesus without it. This is how all doctrine has to be judged. Does it conform you to the likeness of Jesus Christ? Does it conform you to the likeness of Jesus? Now, listen, you can't call a doctrine a right doctrine. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. ...the preachers against sin. I have heard absolute reprobates get in a microphone and scream against homosexuality and alcoholism, and you keep listening and everybody is clapping, oh, they stand and they clap and they yell, and suddenly you realize he's playing to the crowd. You suddenly realize, hey, this man's not really broken. This message is not really convicting. He's talking about somebody else's sin. And really, it's wonderful for a lot of Christians. They love to go to a meeting where they hear the evangelist talk about the homosexuality. They like to hear about prayer being kicked, you know, there's no more prayer in our schools. But what about when he comes down and he digs in you, and covetousness, and pride, and adultery, and those things are in our hearts. I have heard reprobates thunder against sin. But the longer you listen to them, the more you realize that they're just whipping up enthusiasm. There's no real conviction there. There's no consuming desire to conform the people of God into the image of Jesus Christ. And then if you listen long enough, finally there'll come out this soothing, relaxing thing that undermines the fear of God. So be careful, be careful. Just because a man... I've heard people say, well, I go to church and boy, they preach against sin. You know what usually is? It's makeup. Now folks, I don't like to see women look like prostitutes. I'm not saying everybody who has makeup looks like prostitutes, but I've seen some women who just look awful. I mean, my grandpa had a whole message on painted barns. Or it has to do with dress. And God's people should dress righteously. But holiness preaching goes far, far beyond that. It goes to those things that are deep in the heart, and we'll cover that in just a moment. But you see, here's the test. And you don't have to turn to 2 Timothy 2.19. Listen. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. Having this seal. Here's the way you know it. Here's the seal. The Lord knoweth them that are His, and that everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from all iniquity. That's the seal. Although I feel like Paul must have felt... I feel this wrenching cry inside of me that says there's going to come great theological wars. There's going to come all kinds of doctrines coming. There's going to be doctrines premillennius, postmillennius, allmillennius, dominion, Israel, prophecy. It's going to come. And we're going to have people joining this camp and that camp. And they're going to get their books and their tapes and they're going to line up behind their teachers. And they're all going to call themselves defenders of the faith. And there's going to be Christians fighting one another when they should be fighting the devil. And unlearned Christians are going to be in turmoil. They won't know which way to turn because they don't know the Word of God. But I want to tell you where God's putting me and what I feel burning in my own heart. I want to fight the real enemy. And that real enemy is right out here in the street. The real enemy is in our hearts. And I want to stand with any brother or sister who walks in the fear of God and who's devoted to the pure devotion of Jesus Christ. And they're not going to argue about the millennium. And they're not going to argue about prophecy. You see, to me, I want to see a people walking in the righteousness of Jesus. First of all, I want God to convict me. I want to walk with clean hands and a pure heart. I want to know that every time I stand to preach, you don't have to be sitting there wondering, is this man walking with Jesus? If you're walking in the Holy Spirit, He witnesses it to your heart. You know it. No one has to tell you. And you know it of every other man that stands in this pulpit. And I believe there's such a fear of God in this house that if any visitor comes here, anyone that's standing here and not walking in the Spirit of God... Here we've got all these pastors, and if they're not in the Spirit of God, we'll get up in the middle and stop them right in the middle of it. We'll set them down. Because there'll be discernment. But you see, to me, I'm feeling this so strong, and I want God to help me get it out. All I want to see is the people ready for the coming of the Lord whenever He comes. If He comes tonight. And I want to see the people living in expectancy of His coming. And I don't want everyone else to stand in their pulpit and just argue doctrine, or argue anything about prophecy. And I believe there's a place for that, and God's going to bring it forth in His time and His place. And it'll be a pure word, but when it does come, and if it's prophetic, it's going to do the same thing to conform you to the righteousness of Jesus. Hallelujah. Do you believe that? Study to show you're self-approved. Don't look for an approved pastor. Don't look for an approved evangelist and say, see what you're going to do, one man's going to fail, you're going to go to another until finally you lose all hope. Get your eyes off of all preaching. You've got to honor those to whom honor is due. There's no question about that. And you should honor the ministry. I honor my brothers and sisters in the ministry. But he said, study yourself. Let yourself be approved before God. A workman that needed not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. Hallelujah. I'm going to close with one last thought. The true gospel, you want to know when it's true? It concerns, it's concerned with your heart, which is the real issue, it's all the issues of life spring out of your heart. Brother Bob preached that this morning. In fact, I was praying with this, I'm going to close. I want you to go to Mark, the 7th chapter of Mark. 7th chapter of Mark. And I said, Jesus, please, if you've ever spoken to me, speak to me now. And I want you to reveal to my heart what the real thing is you're saying to me. What you're saying to the church. Let me just look this way for just a minute. Let me set the foundation for what Jesus is saying here. See, they came together with him, the Pharisees, certain scribes that came to Jerusalem. And they saw the disciples eat bread with defiled, that's to say with unwashed hands. They found fault. They found fault. They saw the disciples eating bread without their hands being washed. They found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, they don't even eat. They hold the traditions of the elders. And when they came from the market, except they wash, they don't eat. And many other things there be which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups and pots and brass vessels and of tablets. And the Pharisees and scribes ask him, why don't your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? Now look this way, please. You know what these Pharisees said? Master, why aren't your disciples walking in holiness? Why aren't they walking in holiness? Why don't they wash their hands before they eat? Why don't they wash their pots before they do? Why don't they do these things? They are eating corn without washed hands. They pick up bread without washing their hands. And all it was was a ceremonial tradition. You know, they were focused, not on the heart. It had nothing to do with the heart at all. It was all outward. It had to do with the flesh. It had to do with the outward body. And Jesus comes along. Verse 6, He said, Well, have Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Here it is, folks. Here it is, beloved. Here's the whole thing in a nutshell. Jesus is saying, Look, any gospel, any gospel that gives me nothing but lip service, any gospel that doesn't deal with the issues of the heart, don't waste time with it. It may not even be false doctrine, but it's foolishness. True doctrine has to get to the issues of the heart. That's all Jesus dealt with. That's all we preach about. You'll hear it from this pulpit time and time again. We talk about a pure heart, a pure heart, a pure heart. The Lord Jesus is concerned with the issues in your heart. He said, Howbeit in vain they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and may inside the commandments of God hold the conditions of men, like the washing of pots and cups and many other such things as you do. Look at verse 18. Even the disciples didn't understand it. Verse 17, He said, When He was entered into the house of the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. He said to them, Are you also without understanding? Don't you perceive either that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him? Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly. Verse 20, He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from where? And they defile the man. They defile the man. Look, with this I'm going to close. Please don't talk to me about your church's music program. Don't talk to me about its choir or its musicians or how good the preaching is or anything else about how the worship is. Tell me if there are people who are having their hearts convicted of sin. Tell me if their hearts are being moved to God. If those things like pride and covetousness are coming out and you see people growing more and more into the image of Jesus. They're becoming more like Him. They've not arrived yet, but they're being provoked in that direction. They're moving on in the Lord. The Holy Spirit deals with it. They see it. They open their heart. That's what true gospel is, folks. That's the gospel of Jesus. It's a gospel that changes the heart. Convicts the heart. Changes the heart. Deals with the heart. And if tonight while I'm preaching, while I've been preaching, if there's not been some kind of conviction in your heart, you're either blocked it off, because I know with everything in me tonight that God wants to bring forth a people at Times Square Church whose hearts are pure before the Lord. It doesn't mean perfection at this point. What it means is that everything God shows me, I deal with. And I want it out of my life. Hallelujah. Glory be to Jesus. Heavenly Father, come tonight and open our hearts to receive this word we pray. And I want to say as Paul did, beware brethren, for there will come in the last days false apostles. And Lord, there's going to be lust in their hearts. They may use the right words, but it will not convict. It will not produce life. Lord Jesus, produce life tonight. Convict us of our spiritual laziness. Convict us of our idols. Let everyone in this building know that the word goes forth in your love and your authority tonight. We don't have to try to convict, convince men that we're of God. Lord, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does that. Lord Jesus, send conviction for sin. I see, Lord, that the enemy has come against some of your people. Coming against them because he sees something that attracts him. And it's that last remaining bit that you've been convicting of, Lord. Take it. Deliver it in Jesus' name. All your heads are bowed. I want to talk to you for just a minute. Holy Spirit, please help me. Help me now to speak your word so that they get through to the heart. Folks, would you open up your heart to the Holy Spirit right now? Would you sit here in the presence of the Holy Ghost and let him turn his floodlight right in your heart and your mind right now? You heard the warning tonight that it's possible to come under the influence of false teaching and false doctrine. But that's impossible for those whose hearts are right with God. It's impossible. God will not permit it. He will hold you. But if there's something in your heart tonight that's unlike Jesus, there's something he's dealing with tonight, you say, well, look, I want to be delivered. I want to be free tonight. I want the last remains of this thing that's in me to be plucked out of my heart. Please, I don't want you to come tonight unless you've got a desperation in your heart. A total desperation to be free. Now, some of you are here for the first time. Some of you have been coming a few times. Now, you may think the preaching here is too hard. All of it is because we love. It's because we care enough to tell you the truth. If you're here tonight and you need deliverance from sin, from lust, and if the devil's been coming at you, and you wonder why, a lot of times it's because he sees something in you that's not being dealt with. I want you to deal with it tonight. Some of you dear saints are still smoking. Some of you are still drinking. You can't, you can't, you can't go on like that. Some of you are still bathing your minds with things that will destroy you. Do you know there's some of you, God love you, listen to me, there's some of you dear saints sitting here tonight, hear me, it comes from a broken heart. The sin of gossip, that rebellion, that tongue, it's not been sanctified. Why don't you deal with it tonight, and let Jesus come and bring you freedom, hallelujah. If you need freedom tonight from some bondage, let me ask you, please don't come unless the Spirit of the Lord is speaking to your heart. Please don't come unless the Spirit's drawing you. Up in the balcony, you go to that center aisle, and come down either side and stand here. We're going to come against Satan tonight, with power and authority in Jesus' name, and ask him to break every chain, to come and deliver and set you free tonight. The Lord's wanting to hold you and keep you by his love. The Lord doesn't want to let you go. He doesn't want to let you go. Up in the balcony, here in the main floor, that's it. Holy Spirit speaks to your heart. You feel a pull and a tug. You feel that desperation, so Jesus, tonight I want to be free. Tonight I've got to be free. I don't want to carry this any longer in my heart. Up in the balcony, that's it. Right down the stairs, wherever you're at. So just form a double line over here, please. The Lord is with you tonight. I want to ask her to break this call. She's fine. She's all right. She's fine, isn't she? Because by the time the evidence came, she was still hyperventilating, so the ophthalmologist was out there, letting some of the roads go. I guess you could go with the car, your car over there would be great. But he did a call in about 15 minutes. I don't know if she's still there. Could you all move this way, please? The third line right back here. Come on down the aisles there. Could you come in just a little closer? It would help us if you can come in closer These that are they're standing in the aisles here tonight. Lord. Bless your heart Hallelujah Glory to God And just just just come in a little closer there, please That's right. You can stand in the aisle too. That's fine You feel the time to pull the Holy Spirit's come and join these that are standing here right now the Lord is faithful How faithful he is? Brother tonight the Lord wants to so is this your first time here? Second third time God bless your heart Well, I just feel Lord. Let me tell you that he's going to change everything tonight. It's going to change everything. He's going to draw Look at me, please you to keep for it. How many please Lord's going to change things tonight. Raise your hand Keep it up. Keep it up. Raise both hands. Lord's got it. Say it Lord. Change me Lord. Change me tonight Change them sit right loud change me Lord. Jesus change my heart change me Lord. Jesus come Change me Forgive me Jesus I lay everything down Come Holy Spirit Come now Shake my heart Change my heart. I Yield to you. I confess I need you I failed you But I'm not gonna let go. I Will not let go Hold me Jesus Forgive me Cleanse me because I've repented Not just thank him in your own words everybody stand and let's thank him right now Lord we thank you everybody stand, please This is the conclusion of the tape