In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of walking in the Spirit and not being self-righteous complainers or gossipers. He refers to Jesus' announcement of a new work in the 5th chapter of John, where the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and live. The preacher warns against finding fault or speaking against God's ordained leadership, as God will lift His hand against those who do so. He also mentions the story of the Israelites in Numbers 14, where their complaining and doubt led to their punishment and death in the wilderness.

It's 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. Ask God to give me a lot of love when I preach this tonight and I'll tell you why a little further in my message. You see, those who find fault or who gossip or speak against God's ordained leadership are going to learn this. Therefore, God lifted up His hand against them to overthrow them. God lifted up His hand against His own people to overthrow them. And that's the lesson that we've got to learn tonight. I'm going to ask this body of Jesus Christ to realize what Satan is going to try to do before the great flood of revival comes in its glory. The devil will try everything he can to get us outside. And when he can't do that, he'll try to move inside. And he always finds the grumblers first, the murmurs, the complainers, and he works like that to try to infect the whole body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you see, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up the standard always. Now, why a message on murmuring and complaining? You say, Pastor, have you pastors uncovered some kind of hornet's nest of rebellion in this church? Is there a wave of gossip somewhere? Are you trying to get at somebody here tonight? I can promise you right now, I don't have anybody in mind, but I know when I pray in the Holy Spirit, God has shown me something. He's shown it to Brother Bob, I know He's shown it to Don. I know He's shown me that as clear as anything, that in this church tonight, God, by His Spirit, must deal with grumbling, murmuring spirits. I see it, in fact, I don't know who you're facing, but I saw God's people attend this church, sitting, gossiping among themselves, not maliciously, not against the pastors necessarily, but against things in general, not realizing the danger of it. Are there people in this church who sit at home with their husbands and wives grumbling? Grumbling about the worship? Grumbling about the ushers? Grumbling about this... You know what grumbling means? If you get the Hebrew out and look at the word grumbling, it means, or murmuring, it means a long, constant muttering, non-stop, like a stream. Have you ever been around people like that? I'm a grumbler, grumbler, grumbler, grumbler, grumbler. I wouldn't want to live with a grumbler. I mean, everything is wrong, nothing is right. You can't please a grumbler. You can't please a murmurer. God couldn't please them. Ten times God said, I've put up with this, and finally God said, that's enough. And God's going to say enough to a lot of us tonight. I think I'm going to smile through this tonight, so you won't think I'm angry. Do you know we can avert the blessing of God? We can bring it down upon our marriages and our homes, the judgment of Almighty God. We can miss what God has for our own ministries, our own families, if we don't face it and deal with it in our own lives. You see, it's being done by many people without realizing what God says about it. The great God took me through it. You see, when I was a young, inexperienced pastor, I always took grumbling and murmuring personally. It gave me an ulcer just like did my father. My father was a pastor, and my father couldn't handle grumbling at all. In fact, it went for my dear wife. I don't know where I'd be right now. I think I could have been dead because she helped me so much. Because I grew up thinking the only reason there were deacons and elders in the church is to give pastors ulcers. Because my dad pastored a country church. One of the country churches where I grew up, it was full of murmurs and grumblers. My dad couldn't do anything right. And he had a deacon board. I mean, they hounded him night and day. They were always on him. I remember when I was a little boy, overhearing my father talk about going to a board meeting that night, and he said, Mom, they're out to get me. I mean, they're going to destroy me. And I pictured they had guns and knives. And I remember our uncle had given us an old surplus army helmet. And there was a little toy sword. And you could rock the church. So Dad went to the meeting. I remember, I don't remember vividly, but I remember faintly going to the basement of the church with that helmet on, that little sword. And I was going to listen through the vent, that furnace. And if they touched my dad, I'd go up there and I'd go to deliver him. My dad had bleeding ulcers. Don was telling me about a time that one of the church's dad pastored a deacon cane and started chewing my dad up. And my dad was so overcome by it, he passed out. Just literally passed out. I'm glad I wasn't there. I was older, and that sword might have been handy for me then. But you see, when I pastored, I had a prejudice, a building prejudice, against murmuring and complaining. And I'll tell you what, if I ever heard it in my church, anyone, I used to get up, one person, I'd get up and spank everybody. Because one or two people were murmuring. Now, I'm not doing that today, because God's done something very precious in my heart about that. I don't have that in my, I can see it before a holy God, I don't have that in my heart today. He's put a love and compassion for people in their heart. And God's beginning to help me understand that it's not always malicious. Sometimes it's a lack of knowledge of what God says about it. We don't understand the danger of it. My grandfather was an all-holiness preacher. And I'll tell you, if he heard of murmuring in the church, one time he lined a whole church, he drew a matznah line right down the middle aisle. And he said, I want all the people who love me, who believe God's with me. And you are not a murmuring complainer, I want you on this side, which is God's side. All the rest of you, over here, all you murmurers, complainers, on the devil's side. And I'm going to turn you all over to the devil, just watch this message, your soul can be saved. That's what I grew up with. They did that in the old days. You didn't murmur in a Pentecostal church in the old days. Because some old prophet stick a bony finger in your eyes and say, that's it. No, you see, that's not where I'm at tonight at all. Let me tell you where I'm at. You see, it doesn't hurt me anymore, but it hurts God. And that's my whole point tonight. I may be able to take it, but God won't. And I'm going to show you what that means. I'm going to take your scripture and show you that tonight. First of all, I want to say this. We're going to hinder God's revival. We're going to hinder His work in our own homes, in our own lives. Unless we understand tonight that God hears all murmuring and complaining, and He hates it. He hates it. The Word of God has convinced me that though it may not hurt me anymore, I have to preach it tonight because I know God's attitude about it. And I know what murmuring and complaining will do to you, to your home, your life, your ministry, your children. And I know the judgment of God upon it. So I couldn't go to sleep tonight if I weren't faithful to God and deliver my heart on it. Israel, remember, was camped in the wilderness between Elam and Sinai. They had just come out of Egypt. And they were hungry. There was no food. And God tested them to see if they would trust Him to be their everything. And they failed the test. The scripture said that the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron. Murmured against Moses and Aaron. And Moses replied. In fact, listen to what Moses said. This is Exodus 16.8. The Lord has heard your murmuring, which you murmur against Him. Now, why don't you go to Exodus with me, 16th chapter. Now, here at this new theater we've just moved into, the lights are very dim, and we're going to try to improve the lights in a few weeks. So bear with us in the reading of the scripture until we get some more lights for you. We're working on that. I hope you'll be able to follow me. Look at chapter 16 of Exodus. Verse 2. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against who? Moses and Aaron. We go to verse 8, please. And Moses said. This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full. For the Lord heareth your murmuring, which ye murmur against who? Now, didn't you just read that they murmured against Moses and Aaron? And now listen to him. For the Lord heareth your murmuring, which ye murmur against Him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us. Which is against? But against the Lord. Read that about three times until it sinks in, will you? Take a look at that and read it. Real good, let it sink in. Holy Spirit, make that real to me right now. Church, please, we're going somewhere with the Holy Ghost tonight. Please, if Times Square Church is your home, please hear it. We plead with you. You heard the pleading heart of God this morning. Hear it again tonight. Ten times. Listen to what the Scripture says. These who have seen my glory and my miracles have tempted me now these ten times. Look at me, please. When they got hungry, they murmured. When they got thirsty, they murmured. When Moses and Aaron were not leading them as they thought they should be led, they murmured. They kept murmuring. A continuous, repeated complaint. A constant lull, muttering. A non-stop grumble. They grumbled and complained and complained. They didn't name God. They named the leadership. But you see, when they grumbled against the leadership, God had Moses stand and said, No, you're not grumbling against us. You're grumbling against the Lord. Now, listen. God is patient. And God is loving. And ten times he listened to their grumbling. He listened to their complaining. But it became so deeply ingrained in the people. They became set in their complaining ways. And God said it's enough. God said that's absolutely enough. God literally, listen to me. God literally disowned and dispossessed the whole congregation of those who murmured. He said they are not going to go on with me. They are going to be turned out to the wilderness for 40 years. They're going to die in their doubt. They're going to fall under the weight of their complaining spirits. I want you to go to Numbers, the 14th chapter. Numbers 14. 14th chapter of Numbers. Numbers 14. I'm going to start reading the first verse. And please follow me now because this is very, very serious before the Lord. Numbers 14, verse 1. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried. And the people wept that night. Now, why were they weeping? The ten spies had just returned. Just when Caleb gave a good report, the other spies brought up an evil report. And they discouraged the people. And the Scripture says they wept all that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! Would God we had died in the wilderness! Please look at this verse for just a moment. That was some busy night. They did more than weep all night. They went from tent to tent. They went from dwelling to dwelling. And they began to share. They said, What do you think about what's happening? This is no better than what we came from. And all night long, all over Israel, you could hear it. God said, You did it before me. You did it before my ears. And I'm going to show that to you in just a moment. The Scripture said there was an evil report being spread all through the congregation. They brought up an evil report. And here's what they were saying in essence. This is worse than what we came out of. Moses and Aaron are moving in the flesh. They are not moving in the realm of the Spirit. In essence, that's what they were saying. And God said, and look at verse 12. Look at verse 12. Or verse 11. The Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have showed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them and will make of thee a greater nation and a mightier than they. But beloved, here's what the Scripture is saying. Hear it in the Spirit. God's saying, I'm going to move on with the people. There's a promised land of milk and honey. There's a promised land where your family will prosper in the Spirit. There's a place where your seed will be kept from the power of the devil. There's a place where your children will dance in the streets. There's a place of victory and joy and fullness. But I can't take the people in who are going to murmur and complain. I will not work with the people like that. I will not do it. And the Scripture says, Oh, I wish I could have the heart of a Moses like this. This man fell on his face and began to appeal to the mercy of God. He said, Oh God, have mercy. Pardon these people for their complaining. And I read it to you in verse 19. You can see it there. Moses praying. Oh, look at verse 18, how this pastor, this shepherd is pleading. They're about to stone him. The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. By no means clearing the guilty. This is the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. Now listen to this prayer. Pardon, and I beseech thee. The iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your mercy. With thou has forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. Here's this man of God, this shepherd, this pastor. He said, Oh God, I've heard that grumbling. I hear the murmuring of the people. He was not trying to be justified. He's not trying to say, Oh God, let me look good before the people. This man got on his face and I'm praying for that kind of heart. I pray to God, put it in all the pastors. This kind of burden for the people, even though they murmur and complain. He said, Oh God, pardon them. Forgive these people for complaining, for their arguing. The Lord said, I have pardoned. Look at verse 20. The Lord said, I've pardoned according to thy word. Look at the next word, but. But. Beloved, we can pray that God forgive the murmuring, complaining of God's people. We can pray, Oh God, forgive. It doesn't hurt us. It doesn't bother us. But God says, Yes, I'll forgive. But I will not take that person with me. I will not let them go on to glory and victory. I've got a plan for a people I'm going to take in. I've got a people I'm going to bless and honor with my spirit and glory. I'll forgive them, but I'm going to chase them back into that awful, deadly wilderness. And I'm going to let them be consumed in their own doubt and their own wrath. I'll forgive them, but I won't move on with them. Yes, they're forgiven, but they're going to be abandoned. They're going to be abandoned in their doubt. They're going to be abandoned in their murmuring and complaining. Beloved, God is moving on. But He's going to move on with the people who have cleansed their lips before a holy God. And have seen what God sees about their sin. The Lord said, I've pardoned, but. Look at, I'm reading verse 23. They shall not see the land that I swear unto their fathers. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Listen. Listen to me good. God doesn't linger with His sin. God doesn't toy with it. He said tomorrow. And I'm going to show you where God does that in another place. Tomorrow. In fact, Moses. Moses. When Nathan, Abiram, Korah complained and murmured. He said tomorrow God's going to deal with this. It's always tomorrow. God doesn't play with this. I mean, God won't wait. This is serious business in the sight of God. Thou shall not see the land. You're not going with these people who are going on to fullness. You're not going to go on. You're headed for trouble. In fact, tomorrow, turn back. Look at verse 23. I want you to see it in black and white. Surely they shall not see the land that I swear unto their fathers. Neither shall any of them that provoked me see it. Look at verse 27. Verse 26. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel which they murmur. Against who? Against me. Oh, I'd like to come down and just put my arms around you and look you right in the face and say, with all the love you can give me, Do you understand that we're not talking about someone sitting behind you or in front of you or behind you? That he's speaking to you, he's speaking to me? That he's speaking to his church today, saying, You come here, you cry out for holiness, you want my word, you want to walk with me in righteousness, you don't want a part of the hype and foolishness of the world, you want to go on, you want to see my blessing in your home, you want to see me heal your marriage, you want to see me save your family, you want to see the fullness that I've prepared for you, God said I've got something good for you and your family, and I want to take you through. But you have to face this tonight. I'm facing it while I preach to you. I don't think I've ever in my life felt more of an awesome sense of God speaking to my own heart, as I do right now. How long shall I bear with this people which murmur? Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord, look at verse 28, as you have spoken in mine ears, whose ears? What you said to your wife, what you said to your husband, what you said, could it be our leadership is not walking in the Spirit? Brother and sister, that reading does not hurt us, because we're moving on in the Lord. God's sending a revival, and God has a people in New York. And if there are those who don't want to go on with Him, beloved, the one thing that God wants more than anything else is that we all repent, and that we can pray that prayer that Jesus prayed, Oh Lord, not one that you've given to me has been lost. Not one. That we don't give up on anybody. That we pray, God, let us all see it, let us all deal with it, and take us on to what you've prepared for us. But as you've spoken in my ears, so will I do to you your carcasses, verse 29, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you according to your whole number, from 20 years old and upper, which have murmured against me. You've spoken in my ears, so I will do to you. Now don't turn there, but Deuteronomy 1.34 says, And the Lord heard the voice of your murmuring, and He was angry. He heard the voice of your complaining, and He was angry. Listen to me. Israel is right on the border of Canaan. One more climb, one more hill to climb, one last battle, and they're about to break through to everything God has ever promised them. They're right on the brink of victory. God's about to fulfill His promises to them. They're about to break through the tissue into glory. They're going to see God work like He's never worked before. They're finally going to have peace in their hearts. They're finally going to be fulfilled. They're finally going to reach the place they've always thought God was taking them. They knew it. And they're right on the brink, and they should have moved on, but the Spirit hits them again. The Spirit comes on them again. And they begin to complain because an evil report's brought to them. And they listen to this evil report. And it discourages them, and makes them question the leadership of God and His holy men. Moses was one of the meekest men on the face of the earth. He was walking with God. He talked face to face with God. And yet, there were people in this congregation so full of doubt, so bitter with such a complaining spirit, it had disheartened the whole congregation and made them unmanageable in the sight of God. Unmanageable. You say, that's Old Testament, Brother Dave. I turn to the New Testament, 1 Corinthians, the 10th chapter. 1 Corinthians, the 10th chapter. Paul, the apostle, takes this very scripture. He takes this very chapter, and he says, no, it's not just God speaking about murmuring to the children of Israel. He's talking about us. You think God doesn't deal severely in the New Testament? You say we're in the day of grace, God doesn't deal with murmuring like that now? I want you to mark this scripture. If you have the fear of God in you, you'll mark this scripture. You'll read it daily. 1 Corinthians, 10th chapter. Start with verse 9. Do you have it? Are you still wanting to hear what God is saying, saints? If you really want to say amen, really. I may have scared you from saying amen. Verse 9. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and he's quoting right out of Numbers, the 16th chapter, or 14th chapter. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and what? They were destroyed of the destroyer. Now, all these things happen to them as what? Examples? And they are written for whose instruction? Our instruction. Upon whom the ends of the world are come? You say, well, no, that's not me, Brother Dave. I'm not guilty of that. What's the scripture say? Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. You say, no, saints. Face it. Look it in the eye. You say, oh God, am I guilty? If I've been doing this, not maliciously, but if I've just been doing this without really understanding what's been happening. The sober warning that we have here in 1 Corinthians chapter is this. Do not murmur as they did, lest you also be destroyed by the destroyer. Now, how does that happen in New Testament times? Oh, I've seen that happen to many people. I've seen God actually, in years I've been in the ministry, I've seen God actually turn people over to their murmuring spirits and allow them to be absolutely devastated. Most of them end up divorced. Most of them end up with not even knowing where to find the joy of the Lord anymore. It's incredible what happens. Absolutely incredible. I don't even want to get into, if I told you, it'd sound like I'm trying to scare people. I wish I could. Yes, I've seen many die as a result of it. Brother Bob, you've seen many people die of it. There's not a pastor yet that hasn't had the fear of God put on him because you see what God has to allow in the lives of those who have a spirit of murmuring, complaining, and it's constant, it's habitual. It's a spirit. It's a spirit that's upon them. Take heed. Don't think you're not guilty. Because you see, we have people, and Bob mentioned this morning, they think their murmuring, their complaining is holy concern. They'll come to you as though they have, Oh, I'm so burdened. I'm not gossiping. But I've got to share this with somebody because I'm so broken over it. I've heard more gossip tidbits in prayer meetings than anywhere else. Please pray for Brother So-and-So. They're having problems in their home. You can request prayer for somebody and be the juiciest tidbit of gossip there is. Brother Bob was bringing that out. That subtle, subtle... It's so tragic in the sight of God. Take heed. Now if you choose to murmur and complain, don't try to minister to anybody. Don't try to counsel. Don't try to sing in a choir. Don't try to be a musician. Don't try because God's not with you anymore. I'm going to tell you, God is not with you anymore. Oh, listen, it's there. Look at verse 42. Are you still in Numbers 14? Look at verse 42. Well, let's look at verse 41. Verse 40. That's as far back as I'm going to take you there. Numbers 14, verse 40. And they rose up early in the morning. You see, God's judged them all. He says, Oh, no, no, no, we're sorry, Lord. We're going to go up. And God says, No, it's too late. They rose up early in the morning and got them up to the top of the mountain, saying, Lord, here we are. We're going to go up into the place where the Lord's promised, for we have sinned. Moses said, Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord, that it shall not prosper? Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your enemies. Don't go up before... Listen, folks. Give me your good ear. God is not with any grumbler. I don't care how pious they look. I don't care how many hours they pray. I don't care how they fast. I don't care what they do. God is not with grumblers and complainers. He's not with them. I don't care. I'll stand up. I'll look any grumbler, complainer right in the eye and be able to say, God, brother, God's just not with you. I don't care what you say. I don't care how you minister. You can minister to the whole world. God's not with you. God is not with... Moses, don't go up. Don't go up. You're presuming against God. God left you. You're back to the wilderness because you refuse to deal with this spirit of murmuring and complaining that's upon you. Is it got to be this quiet? Number two. There's a false holiness that's haughty and no love of God to it. Did you hear it? There's a false kind of holiness that's haughty, proud, with no love of Jesus in it. You know, most murmuring comes from a lack of love. We criticize because our spirits have become narrow and legalistic. Very narrow. And there is nothing meaner than an unloving Christian. Religion without love is legal murder. It's murder. It's a spirit of murder. Illegal murder, rather. It's a spirit of murder. You know, in the name of God, in the name of religion, the Ayatollah Khomeini has ordered the destruction or the execution of the author of satanic verse because he mocks Mohammed in satanic verse. That's in the name of God. Most Islamists believe that they're acting on God's behalf. They're acting in holiness. They're acting in righteousness. They say, kill a man. And they believe that's for the honor of God. You look at church history. The crusaders, they got on their horses and marched through Europe and down to the Holy Land, murdering and plundering as they went. Anyone who disagreed with their theology were murdered. It was all in the name of God. Millions have been murdered and gassed and hung and crucified. All in the name of God. And believe me, listen closely. I'm going to make a statement. I don't see anything worse than holiness preaching or a holiness church without a baptism of true love. Now, we preach holiness in this church and we preach it strong. But we stay on our face before God that it be preached in such love and that there's no narrow legalistic approach to it. It's only because we want to see Christ formed in our saints. We want to see Jesus brought forth in our people. In our own lives first and then in all the people. But I want to show you something in John 5. Go to John 5. This is the end of side 1. You may now turn the tape over to side 2. John, the fifth chapter. Jesus, in this chapter, is exposing a hypocrisy. It's a zeal for God without love for people. A zeal for God without love for people. Now, just leave John 5 open and look this way for a moment. In this chapter, you're going to see Jesus exposing a whole religious system. Because while the religious people are in the temple arguing over points of law, for example, they argued over washings of the hand. They had over, I think, close to 300 different rules and regulations and they argued every one of them for hours. They sit in the temple. They sat in their areas of discussion for hours, determining whether you wash your hands to the wrist or to the elbow, how long the phylactery should be. They argued over the most senseless things while outside the doors, the scripture says, there were impotent folk blind and halt and withered waiting for the moving of the water at the pool of Bethesda. Outside the door of the religious system, there was a withering people waiting for God, waiting for hope, waiting for help. And Jesus doesn't go to the religious crowd. He goes to the human need. And He sees a man that's been there for 38 years, withered and impotent. And He said, will thou be made whole? And the man gets up. Jesus said, rise and walk. And that impotent man stood and weeped and praised the Lord. And Jesus said, take up your bed and walk. Take up your bed and walk. Now, evidently, the synagogue was just dismissed, and here comes all of these defenders of the faith. These holy, self-righteous priests and scribes. They came out and they see this man. It's the feast. It's five days, and the whole feast was considered a Sabbath. And they see this man. They know he's been healed. Everybody's talking about it. There must have been a crowd around. And this man, they've surely seen this man for 38 years. You can't miss a man who's there, impotent. Nobody's been able to help him. Waiting, withered. Now he's made whole. He's carrying his knapsack. He's carrying his bed. Probably just a mattress rolled up. And here come the pious, holy Jews. Of the day, who'd been arguing the points of law. They come up to this man. The Bible says, the Jews therefore, verse 10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured. It's the Sabbath. It's not lawful for you to carry your bed. Forget the miracle. Forget that the man's been crippled for 38 years and Jesus has healed him. They said, the Bible says. The Bible says. Have you ever heard people say, the Bible says. We say it here, but we say it not out of a legalistic spirit. There's a way to use the scripture. Yes, the word is a hammer, but it better be in a velvet glove. It's not lawful for you. And by the way, they were right. I can show you, in Leviticus, I can show you numbers that you're not to do any work on the Sabbath. They considered this work. In fact, there's a man who was out picking up sticks and God commanded that on the Sabbath he'd be stoned. That was the law. They were correct. But Jesus said he had mercy above sacrifice. Jesus said to some other pious Pharisees, If you had known what this means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. You would have condemned them. You see, they couldn't rejoice in the miracle, because their eyes were on more being spiritually or rather scripturally correct. They wanted to be scripturally correct, but you can be scripturally correct, and without love, you can kill people. You can destroy them. You can absolutely destroy them. We have young preachers say, We preach holiness like you do, brother David, brother Bob, brother Doug. We preach holiness like you do, and the people are leaving us. And I've often wondered, now some people will leave because they're not ready to receive that message. But sometimes I wonder, I've told young men, But are you weeping before you go in the pulpit? Do you really love those people that you're standing before? Would you give your life for those people? And we've told young pastors who preach holiness, Your people will listen to anything you say if they know you love them. If you have the love of Jesus Christ in your heart for them. And I believe that. I believe that's why people are not walking out of this church. You sense the love that comes from this pulpit. You know we're on our face before God weeping over you. But you see, they couldn't rejoice. Jesus said, you search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they which testify of me, but you will not come to me that you might have life. He said, you're just going into the word of God to back up your legalism. You're not coming to see Jesus. This word brings us to Christ. Jesus said, that's what the scriptures are for, to bring you to me. It's a revelation of me. He is the word. But you see, they're so jealous for the word of God, yet they don't see Jesus. And Jesus said of them, look at verse 42, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I know you. You search the scriptures. And they did. They spent days and hours. There's nobody in this church that studies scripture more than these Jews did. And I mean, they're going to have every jot and tittle. They're going to have every odd dot and every T crossed. And you better not cross it. I mean, they could tell you where you went wrong. But Jesus said, I know you, you scripture searchers. You have not the love of God in you. That's verse 42. Now, let me illustrate it. Can I illustrate it? I'm going to get very, very personal now. I'm going to talk about last Sunday night. We had a long-haired boy, a very long-haired boy, a young man, standing in his pulpit and delivering his heart. And I know, first thing I thought, and I know a lot of you, this scripture came up, 1 Corinthians 11, 14, that not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it's a shame to him. And I know when he walked out here, a lot of people gasped. Some of you said, he looks like a woman. And that scripture, to be scripturally correct, how can I listen to this man? Some of you prejudged him before he even said a word. But did you ever, did you stop to read verse 16? If any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither us or the church of God. And by the way, did you read verse 13? Women, is it proper that a woman pray with her head uncovered? Did you, were you here, sister, without a little cap on your head Sunday night? It's in the same, I mean, it's the verse before. Look at it, it's there. Look at it. How many of you went home and said, I didn't like that? How many of you got on the telephone and compared votes? How many of you got little groups? I'm going to show you something else that I know some of you got very queasy when he said, well, you don't have to give up your cigarettes and have to come to Jesus. And I'll show you the scripture where he was at, I understood it. It's very clear in the scripture where he was going. But you see, the problem is, I'm trying to show you what happens to us. You know, I learned it the hard way, during the hippie revolution. Remember the Jesus revolution? When all those long-haired hippies start getting saved? Oh, I'll tell you what, they used to flock to my, I was in youth crusades, and sometimes I'd have a thousand, two thousand of them in my meetings, and they were barefooted, they came with their, I mean, they had their filthy Levi's all split up, long hair, some of them hadn't bathed in weeks. And I used to, oh, I got mad in my crusades, and I'd say, don't come back tomorrow night until you get a bath and get a haircut. I mean, and I quote that scripture, I forgot, I conveniently ignored the next verse, that if anyone's contentious about it, we have no such rule. And by the way, I had two hours with that young man the next day, and he said, well, Dave, this is because I'm in prisons, and it's the only way I seem to be able to get through to these guys. They don't believe what I was. And I relate to these kids, he said, if the Holy Ghost told me to cut my hair, I'd cut it right now. And we judge people by their appearances. Man looks on that one appearance, but God looks on the heart. I was preaching one night to hippies, and I got, oh, I'll tell you what, I had dads and moms, literally get up in my meetings, clap, say, give it to them, brother, give it to them! Those dirty hippies, give it to them! And I prayed to the crowd for a while on that, till one night backstage, and I think I've told this audience before, I went backstage, and I had a beautiful blue blazer, I had beautiful gray pants and a polka dot tie, and a handkerchief, and I was cool, man. I went backstage after having a, I ported on those hippies saying, you're going to come to Jesus, get your hair cut, get a shave, and come back looking like a Christian. And after the meeting, a delegation met me, and there were tears streaming down their cheeks, they wouldn't correct me, and one of the men rubbed his, one of the barefooted young men rubbed his hand up my lapel, and he said, Brother Dave, we couldn't see Jesus tonight. I said, why? Your clothes were in the way. You're a Holy Ghost dude. You're a Holy Ghost dude. I was a dude. You know what really cured me? I went for crusades to London, and I'm at Royal Albert Hall, thousands of people, and a new fad had hit England, they're called skinheads, black jackets and bald as eagles, and I come out of California, where they're all long hair, I go to London, and a new fad now, all the long hairs are bald. Called skinheads. And I said, oh boy, what am I going to do now? Am I going to say, go get some hair? I was cured. You know what I did from then on? I tried to put moms around these kids, and try to look beyond the bed, and the baggage, into the heart. Do you know what Jesus did to this young man? He didn't even preach holiness till he healed him. He healed him and let him go, and he didn't say a word about his sins, and yet he went after him into the temple, and he found him, and then he said, go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. But he'd already healed him. He'd already healed him. But you see, we don't do that. We want to go out there and say, hey, you conform to our standard, you conform to us, you look like you, we think you should look, and then we'll look with you and heal you. No, this church has to expand its vision. We have to have a heart that's open. We're going to see people coming in here, that we may not think, sit, or stand, but God, open our hearts to them. Do you remember when there was a village in Samaria that wouldn't receive the Lord, they wouldn't even let him in? Do you know what the disciples said? Lord, shall we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did? Oh, folks, I've had that spirit upon me. I've seen people so grieve the Lord, and do things that I thought were so inscriptural, and I wanted to thunder and call, fire out of heaven! But he turned and rebuked them, and said, you know not what man or spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Listen to me. Not every spirit that comes upon you is of God. That queasiness in your belly, that sense of, hey, something's wrong here, it's not always of God. It can be brought to you because of some of your background, your training, it could be almost anything, but brother, sister, listen to me now, please. The Holy Spirit's saying something very, very important to this church and to all of us. Jesus could go into the temple and whip out the money changers, and they'd go weep over them and die for them. I want that. I want to be able to have that zeal for God, to be able to take His whip when it's necessary, and take that stand for righteousness. But then turn right around and stand over the hill, so to speak, and say, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Those very words He whipped out. How I grieve for you, how I wanted to gather another hand, gather the chicks under her wings. And then He gave His very life for these very people who came under His scathing tongue. You see, I know I've hurt a lot of people in my preaching over the years. I've hurt a lot of people. Because the Spirit that was upon me was not truly of Christ, like He's saying here. Those disciples are probably congratulating themselves, Lord, we're going to defend you, we're defenders of your faith. Lord said, you don't even know what spirit you're at. You don't know what's happening to you. That's not my spirit. I'm not coming to judge people. I'm coming to save. I'm coming to heal. Brothers and sisters, that should be the burden of this church and the pastors and all of us. We're here to save and to heal. We're not here to just say, we have a scriptural standard here like nobody else. This church doesn't have it all. This church doesn't know it all. These pastors don't know it all. None of us do. We're here to heal and to save. And then He will give us the message. He's given us that message against sin. You've heard it. You've heard it strong. And He will continue to do that. What about some of you dear folks that have come out of a church where you've been hurt? Isn't it time to forget it? Have you been guilty of murmuring about that pastor or that group? Have you been talking to other people? Are you kicking around? You know what the scriptures say? You know what Paul said? Forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth to those things that are before. Why don't you just forget it now and move on to the Lord? Because that can hinder you. I'm telling you, that can hinder you. I don't get any joy out of hearing... You say, well, Brother Rooks, I so enjoy the Word here and God is blessing me. And all where I came from, it was awful. It was terrible. God's not with them. God's going to... Alright folks, forget it now. Move on. Don't talk about it anymore. Pray about it. Love them and forget it. Move on in the Lord. He's got something great for us. Hallelujah. The Lord said, you don't know what spirit you're of. I'm going to come down here very quickly. Give me about five or ten more minutes. You know, these Jews were ready to kill for what they believed was the truth, yet they entirely missed what God was doing. Therefore the Jews sought the Lord to kill Him, because not only did He break the Sabbath, but He also said that God was His Father. You know, it was arrogance on their part. They said, we have the truth. We are right. This can't be of God because it doesn't line up with what we see in the scripture. It doesn't measure up to our standard. We can't touch it. Away with it. But oh, how many things we miss. How many things we're going to miss, because many are not walking in the spirit. Jesus looked at these self-righteous complainers and murmurs, these so-called defenders of the faith, and He began to show them what they're going to miss. And I'll tell you what, you go home tonight and you study the fifth chapter of John, and you see Jesus announcing a new work that's going to come. He said He will show greater works than these. He's talking to these Pharisees. He's talking about these searchers of the scripture. He's talking about these judges. He said the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they which hear shall live. I believe He's talking about Pentecost. All the dead Jews are going to be raised. Five thousand in one day. A great revival was coming to Israel. God was putting a church together. And you know what Jesus is saying? He said to the Jew, He said, I'm going to do greater things that you may marvel. But here's the tragedy. He's saying, you're going to see what I do for my church. You're going to see miracles. You're going to hear about it. But you're going to have no part in it. You're going to marvel over it. But you're going to miss it. And that's the message. That's the heart of my message tonight. God is going to send a great revival to New York. He sent a revival to this church. It's already begun. And you're going to hear of whole families being saved. You're going to hear of young people, by the hundreds, coming to Christ. College students. You're going to hear of people lining up, trying to get in the house of God, and the glory filling the house. You're going to hear people slain in the Spirit of God through the preaching of the Word. You're going to hear and see of signs and wonders and miracles, and marvel at it, and have no part in it because of a murmuring spirit. Now, before I close, the Lord's asked me to give two warnings. First warning is this. Get as far away as you can from any brother or sister who has a spirit of complaining or murmuring on them. Unless you come under the... Listen closely. Unless you come under the fallout of their judgment. You can come under the fallout of another's judgment if you don't get away from them. I want you to go to number 16. Go back to number 16. I need just five minutes. I can't close without giving... I have to obey the Holy Spirit and give these warnings now. Number 16. Bear with me, folks. I'm just about finished. But here comes the biggest part. Verse 1, number 16. Now, Korah, the son of Izar, the son of Korath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram. Look at verse 2. They rose up before Moses, were certainly the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. What's it say in New American Standard there, Bob? Chosen in the assembly. They gathered themselves against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Therefore, then, lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. Now, look this way, if you will, please. Here are some of the most renowned men in the congregation. And I got to thinking about this afternoon as a pastor, a shepherd, what it would be like to have a delegation of those who are best known for righteousness and holiness, those who are famous in the congregation, in other words, respected, and they came with a message like this. We have a word from God. We've received the word from God. You're not the only one who hears from God. We have heard a word from the Lord. We've heard a word from the Lord. You're taking too much on yourself. Our talents are not being used as they should be. We are holy just as you are. And they come to Moses with this. And this meek man, look at this. And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face. Now, that wasn't like my dad who passed out. Now, my dad was a great man of God. Don and I had a father who was a real man of God. But he fell on his face not because it hit him, but he knew that God was going to deal with him. He knew the judgment was right at the door. He knew what was going to happen. And look at the next verse. And he's speaking to Corinth and to all that's coming, he's saying, even when, tomorrow, there it is again, even tomorrow, the Lord will show you who are His and who is holy and will cause Him to come near unto Him, even unto Him whom He hath chosen, whom He hath chosen, will He cause to come near unto Him, even tomorrow. Look at verse 16. Look at verse 26. Go to verse 31. It came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clathed asunder that was under them. Remember Moses had said, Now get your senses, fill them. 250 of the princes of Israel, 250 chosen people, stood before the servants of the Lord, the leadership that God had ordained, and said, We're holy. You're taking too much on yourself. And they're standing there, and Moses is grieved because he knows what's going to happen. And the earth opened up her mouth and swallowed them up in their houses, and all the men that appeared appertained unto Korah and all their goods. Then all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them, and they perished among the congregation. But I want you to look at verse 26. Before that happened, He spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of those wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. Is it there? I ask you, is it in your Bible? The Lord said, God came along and He said, Now, you're going to go on with Me. These that now disturbed you claiming to be holy people and righteous, and many are caught up in that false righteousness. Many are... Something's wrong with their discernment here, for sure. They discern that these are men, so they fall in with these three men. These grumbling, complaining men. And God speaks. He said, Now, get away from them as far as you can, because judgment's going to fall on them. And He said, If you're near them, it's going to hit you. Get as far away as you can from them. And I'll tell you, they got us far away because the earth opened up. God was giving a testimony, trying to show His wrath against murmurs and complainers. But when I read this, God made it so real to me. I don't want to walk with grumblers. I don't want to work with complainers. Do you? Remember what He said? Neither murmur you, as some of them murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. He's talking about this very thing. And these things happen to them as examples, as instruction for us. Now, look at me, please. That's the last scripture I'm going to take you to. So you can look this way. One more scripture. And listen to this. Don't turn the computer on me. 32.15 But Jesserun waxed fat and kicked. Thou art waxed in fat. Thou art grown thick. Thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God and lightly esteemed the walk of his salvation. Now listen closely. Jesserun in Hebrew. Listen to it now. It stands for the good and righteous one who have been feeding on the Word. In fact, this whole scripture, you've read that before. Jesserun has waxed fat, has grown fat and kicked. Do you know what the picture is? It's oxen who are in a stall and being well fed. And this well fed oxen becomes unmanageable. This well fed feeding and feeding and feeding and growing fat begin to kick. And because they begin to kick, the Bible said, these people, and by the way, the term in Hebrew, Jesserun, stands for the righteous ones, the good ones, those who have been feeding on the Word. I couldn't believe it when God was being effective. He didn't give this to me until 5 o'clock this afternoon. I said, God, do you mean that we could have some who sat for a year and a half under the Word of God and got fat on the Word and are kicking? Complaining? Murmuring? When that Word should have brought the beauty of Jesus out in us? When we should have had the fear of God upon us, but instead of the fear of God, there's a fatness that's developed around the heart? Do you know you can sit and listen to Bob Teach on Thursdays and get as fat and lazy and begin to kick? Do you know what that word kick in Hebrew is? To despise and trample the truth and disregard it? I'm sorry folks. I've got to tell you the truth. God's not going to let us sit here and get fat and kick. He's not going to do that. He'll send persecution. He'll do anything to get us up because He loves us. And He'll not let us sit and kick. I listen to some Christians and I listen to their complaining and I go home and I think to myself, to listen to them, everything is wrong. The worship is wrong? I can't tell you how many letters we get about the worship in this church. We could start a file. Too loud, too soft, too fast, too slow. I mean, it's incredible. And I know some of you do that just out of love. You do it out of concern. I know that. But if you're not careful and if you're kicking that around and discussing it, you're guilty of this sin before God. And you're going to cut yourself out of the move of God. God's going to take the church on. The worship... I'll tell you what, the only thing wrong with the worship is the complaining about the worship. There's nothing wrong with the worship. If you feel that it's in your own heart, if you get your eyes on Jesus, you won't see anything wrong with the worship. You'll be so focused on Jesus, you won't worry about how loud or how soft or anything else. You'll have your eyes on Jesus. So... Oh, Brother Dave, don't spank us. I'm not... God's dealing with my heart, beloved. This is delivered in great love. In closing, can I tell you that there's another spirit? There's the spirit of Caleb. And I'm asking God to baptize this church in the spirit of Caleb. While everybody else is going around disheartening people and complaining and murmuring, Caleb stands up before the people. Hallelujah! Caleb stands up. He rent his clothes. He saw this. He said, I want no part of this. I don't want any part... Listen, if you're walking with God, you're going to have to say this. I don't want any part of that. I don't want any part of the complaining. I'm going to pray about it. I'm going to take it to God. I'm going to let God deal with it. I don't want anything to do with the complaining. Nothing to do with the murmuring. Beloved, this is His church. He's going to take it on to the fullness of Jesus Christ. He's going to fill these altars like He has. The glory of the Lord is going to come down in this house. And God's going to have a people who tear their clothes, so to speak, and sack off and say, Lord, I'm going to walk softly before you. I'm going to be careful what I say. Circumcise my lips, O God. And listen to the words of Caleb. Caleb said, We bail not against the Lord, people, neither fear the people. They're bred for us. The Lord is with us. Fear not. I want to see saints of God going around saying, God's with us. God's with us. God's going to see us through. God's going to give us victory. There should not be any complaining in the true church of God. There should be no murmuring. I'm not talking about the pastors. I'm talking about in your home, in your marriage. You shouldn't be murmuring about your wife or your husband or your children. Take it to God. Believe the Lord to answer your prayers. Speak the word of faith. Hallelujah. And you know what you get for that? You get this. None that provoke me shall see the good land, but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him. Him will I bring into the land and his children shall inherit it. Hallelujah. I honestly believe that the great majority in this church are Caleb's. They're of another spirit. But I'm asking you, shut your ears. Circumcise your lips. God, do that for me first. Father, do that for me. Do it for all of us in leadership so that this church can move on now to the fullness of the Holy Ghost. Lord, sanctify your church. There are a lot of people here tonight that are going to have to say, Lord, I'm sorry. We're going to have to repent tonight. We're going to have to repent. Will you stand, please? Will you stand? This is the conclusion of the tape.