This sermon emphasizes the importance of faith in God's covenant promises rather than relying on feelings, works, or outward signs for salvation and spiritual growth. It encourages believers to trust in God's love, seek Him in times of trouble, and reject prejudices or doubts, focusing on loving others and standing firm in faith amidst worldly conflicts and tensions.

The very fact that you are concerned about falling back is... You examine your heart about growing in grace as evidence, but it's a terrible sin to doubt God's love for you and get down on yourself because your feelings tell you that you're not what you used to be. I hope you're not what you used to be. Paul the Apostle said, forgetting those things which are behind me, reaching forth unto those things which are before. Forget what you once were. I want to tell you something now and get this and get it good please. Your position in Christ has nothing to do with tears, with mourning. It has nothing to do with something you did in your past life of works, because you're not saved by your works. You're not saved by feeling intense. You're not saved by zeal, ambition. None of those things save you. You are saved by faith in the covenant promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not by works least any man should boast. You can look back on all the past good things you've done and say, I felt so good when I was doing that. I had a preacher. I know of a minister who said, he was so happy, he said, I've gotten back to where I was when I was a young man. Man, I used to preach the fire and I prayed and I'm back into the word and getting red hot messages from the Lord and he's telling me all these things he was doing didn't last very long. You see, a lot of people live on renewals. They'll go for 30 days red hot. New touch from God, a new anointing. There are renewals. There are fresh anointings. But folks, that's not what you live on. You live on a constant faith in the covenant promises of God. Unshakable, no matter how you feel, no matter how many lies the devil tells you or anything else, you know that God's going to keep His word to you. He said, I'll keep you from falling and present you faultless before His glory with exceeding great joy. And you lay hold of all of these promises. I will cause you to walk in My ways. You lay hold of those promises of God. It doesn't matter how you feel or what you have done in the past because right now you are walking in faith and standing on the word of God. Forgetting those things that are behind me. Boy, I'm so glad I can forget some of those things that are behind me. He said, I forget the past and I move on now. Don't let your past hound you. Don't let your feelings of what you once were Don't judge your present condition by what you once were and try to measure if you are as red hot or as tearful or as prayerful as you once were. You look on to what God has promised to make you. If you'll stand on His promises. Whereby we are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might partakers of divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world. Did you hear what I just said? How do we get His divine nature in us? By appropriating the covenant promises. Whereby given unto us exceeding great and precious promises whereby we become partakers of the divine nature and learning how to escape the corruption that's in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Now, I've got to move on quickly. Oh my. There are many evidence of spiritual growth, but I'm going to give just a few please. How can you tell if you're growing? Evidence number one. When you find yourself in a crisis or temptation you quickly run to the Lord for answers and comfort. The surest sign, one of the surest signs that you're growing is that when you get in trouble and difficulties come or crisis you don't get on the telephone, you don't call somebody, you don't sit around talking about it, you run to Jesus. You go immediately to the Lord. You have learned that you have a place to go. Those that are growing in the Lord, tell it all to Jesus first before you tell it to anybody else. You know, there are some people that are professional complainers in the church. They are pros. They wouldn't have anything else to live for if they didn't have a trouble to talk about. Now folks, there are a lot of people that are really, truly suffering. We received yesterday in the mail, a lady from this church, a daughter with a lump on her breast, another son-in-law that just died, a child with AIDS, and a husband just diagnosed with bone cancer. A whole letter full of these. There is a lot of grief, there is a lot of pain. And this sister said, but we have found God's grace sufficient. She was just asking for prayer. That's a different story. But there are some people you meet, every time you meet them there's another problem. They live. I mean, it just gets incredible. Every time, you know, Jesus will say, Have you heard? I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't take it anymore. So help me if anything else happens. It's just over my head. Just when I thought... You want to say, where's your God? You don't have a God? You hear every time, they just pour out one crisis after another. And they're really not big crises. And you know they haven't been to the Lord. That's why they're coming to you. You just want to scream lovingly. You have no resource. You don't know where to go. Have you been to your knees? Have you been to the secret closet? That is the site of growth. You take everything to God. Your family, your children, your grandchildren, your job, your career, everything, you take it to Jesus. And if you don't have any other place to go, it's because you have not really focused on where you should be. Run to Jesus immediately. Hallelujah. Here's another sign. You're growing spiritually when you depend less and less on outward signs, physical evidence and inner voices. This is a sign of maturity in Christ when you no longer challenge the Lord to produce or prove himself to you with visible evidence or some kind of a sweet, still voice. No, God does speak. He said, my sheep know my voice. They hear when I call. Yes, I do believe that He speaks. But He speaks to us, the Bible said, these last days through His Son. The Scripture says, God who at other times, at various times and in different ways spoke in time past unto the fathers by prophets. Now, He has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. Now, those words are recorded here in this book. And then the Bible says and promises, the Holy Ghost will come and He, the Holy Ghost, shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance whatsoever I've said unto you. He said, He's already spoken. Here it is. Here's the spoken word of God. And when you depend on inner voices or you have to have God give you signs. Now, see, that's all right under the Old Testament. You can ask for a fleece in the Old Testament. You know, like Gideon did. But see, we're in the New Testament. We don't need the fleece now. We have the Son of God who is speaking clearly and we have the Holy Ghost abiding in us. Bringing that word to life. Now, we open ourselves to incredible seduction when we listen to those little voices without having gone first to Jesus, having searched His Word and allowed the Holy Ghost to speak to us through His Word. Now, I'll illustrate it. I just came back. And I'm not going to preach too much longer. I just came back from two ministries conferences. Detroit and Indianapolis. And I told Gwen, all the way up, I said, I don't know whether God wants me to preach to preachers or not. I said, I love preaching at Times Square Church and that's enough. I don't like to travel. And if God wants me to do that, He's going to have to give me a sign. He's going to have to give me evidence so clear. And I don't know what I was looking for. But I challenged the Lord. I said, you have to prove to me, Lord, if I see evidence that you're blessing what I preach, then I'll go anywhere in the world. I'll even fly in airplanes. How else do you get to Europe? I mean, I went to Detroit. And God did bless. The Word was preached. And I saw preachers come and fling themselves on the floor and cry out to God. But that wasn't enough. So I went to Indianapolis. And all afternoon, in fact, I sent Gwen out with an associate couple to shop while I prayed. And in the afternoon, I poured more honey. I said, Lord, I'm going to tell you, I challenged the Lord. So help me. And I was weeping. I was crying and praying and walking in the room. I said, Lord, you have to give me evidence tonight or I'm not going to do this. This is going to be my last. I am not going to go out preaching unless I know I'm being effective, unless I know the Word is piercing and getting in the hearts. Now, who do you think heard that prayer beside the Lord? Because you think the devil wants any preacher to preach to preachers and stir them up and get them on fire for God? So the sweetest voice I've ever heard. Tonight, David, you're going to see the greatest evidence you've ever seen in your whole lifetime. It'll be so clear. It'll be so overwhelming that you'll know. You don't have to do anything. You just stand there, and I'm going to just sweep over that house and give you evidence on every side. Glory to God. Wonderful. That's what I've been praying for. And I went with that voice. Now, folks, God was there. The Lord anointed me to preach. There was a true anointing. I felt the prayers of a lot of people. And God was there. And God was moving. But when I was done, I just closed my Bible, and what I did, I bowed my head and said, Now, Lord, it's your turn. Do it. I'm going to stand here, and I said, Do it. Nothing happened. People wondered what was going on. I said, Folks, please, I'm just waiting on the Holy Ghost. I don't know whether I expected fire or whether I wanted to see everybody laying on the floor or the Holy Ghost just come and sweep everybody. I don't know what I was looking for. But I had this sweet voice. It said, I'm going to show you something. And nothing happened, so I thought, Well, I'm going to have to do something. So I didn't know what to do. But I said, Let's just, everybody, raise our hands and love Jesus, and let's just praise the Lord. And I began to praise the Lord. Wonderful spirit, quiet, gentle spirit of the Lord. And I saw some pastors' wives. I just said, I wasn't lettering. I said, I want all the pastors' wives to get out and come and just stand here, and I want to pray for you. And I want you to take hands and pray for one another. A sweet spirit. People were, God was healing and touching. A sweet, gentle spirit was there. And it lasted quite a long time. But there was no lightning. There was no thunder. There was no evidence, supernatural type of evidence. It was just so quiet. Just an ordinary, beautiful work of the Holy Spirit. And before I asked them to raise their hands, I got peeved at God. I really, inside, I was peeved. I said, Lord, this is a big thing with me. If you, I don't plan, I'm staying here as a pastor, but occasionally I'm going to be going out preaching to preachers. Now, folks, I just have to tell you this, because this is the way a lot of you, many of us are, and how dangerous and how seductive it is to listen to still, small voices. And I went home, and I went back to the apartment, and I was downcast. The next morning, in the elevator, a woman's there, and she's just glowing that her life had been changed. The pastor's wife. And then the testimonies of how lives were being changed, and I began to see what the enemy was trying to do, because, you see, the enemy was trying to stop me. Then he was trying to say, that's it. God spoke to you. He didn't meet your requirements. He didn't give you the evidence. Take that as a sign you don't go out anymore. That's it. And, folks, that's why I'm preaching this message this morning. God dealt with me all week. Ever since, he said, no, you opened yourself, because you're challenging me. I already told you to go into all the world and preach the gospel. I opened a door for you, and I gave you the message. All you had to do was deliver it and leave everything in the hands of God. Just leave it. Don't look for evidence. Don't look for signs. You just obey me. You do what you're commanded to do from the Word of God, and that's it. Are you waiting for a voice? Are you waiting for a sign? Are you going to get on a bus or train and go to a meeting where you can see signs that you would challenge God, and you want some prophet to lay hands on you and speak a word into your heart, and you're not going to pray and seek the Lord and get into his Word and get it right here? Folks, you are mature when you don't have to challenge God anymore. You don't have to have God prove anything to you anymore. You don't have to have a still small voice in you anymore. You believe that he's going to see you through no matter what, because you're in his hands. Folks, there's more I wanted to say, but I want to close just for a moment here. I have to mention this before I close because of the Middle East crisis. I don't like to preach more than 45 minutes, but I'm going to go over a few minutes today. Still with me? All right. Here's where we're going to be tested, and here's where only mature Christians are going to be able to survive and to grow as God wants us to grow. This has to be that we never allow the headlines to inflame our passions or prejudices. Only a mature Christian, only one who's growing, can see the headlines and listen to news reports when you see Palestinians dropping stones from the top of the wailing wall on Jews that are praying at the wailing wall, and when you see Israelis shooting and killing 2,000 Palestinians. Here's the Serbs moving into Kosovo and killing hundreds and even thousands, and now Kosovo retaliating, doing the same thing. All over the world, you see these racial, ethnic uprisings, and now we have it here in New York. The Palestinians have been marching, the Israelis have been marching, and, folks, there have been threats now all over Asia. The Muslims are threatening Christians and Jews. If you look at New York Times today, it's incredible what is happening. The Time Magazine, it's today, in fact, this week's issue. The Jews, it says, are convinced that the 35 acres where the mosque is located belongs to Israel and that God has prophesied, this is an October 16th issue, entitled, A Bloody Mountain, The Bloody Mountain, referring to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Palestinians call it the Noble Sanctuary. It's holy ground to the Jews and to the Arabs. And there is the golden dome of the rock, that golden dome of the mosque. Jesus called it the abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not, standing where the Temple of Solomon was built. The Jews are convinced now, and I'm reading, the Old Testament prophesies that the Third Temple will be rebuilt on the very spot that the mosque now stands. Time Magazine reports that the young mullahs and rabbis say God told them it's going to be retaken only by blood. Rabbi Chaim Richman's researchers have recreated all the priestly garments, the tools that will be needed for the Third Temple. They've also produced a silver mizrach to collect the blood from sacrificial animals. They have produced a million dollar menorah, golden candlestick. Rabbi Richman points to the dome of the rock and says, the Temple will be built right here and nowhere else. And another account of final plans already in place for the building of the Third Temple, fears of militant Orthodox Jews digging through underground tunnels that Solomon had built to blow up the mosque. Folks, one of these days, don't be surprised if you turn on the radio, and you hear the news there's been a great explosion in Jerusalem because the Palestinians are about to announce Jerusalem as their capital. There may be a temporary peace, there may be a truce, but the Bible predicts there's going to be a war in Israel. It's clear as anything in the Bible. The Bible does talk about the rebuilding of a Temple. And if it's going to be rebuilt, it's going to be rebuilt right there. And if there's a war, you notice the Palestinians were here with rocks and the Israelis were there with helicopters and machine guns and so forth, and there's no question that Israel would win the war. But what do I do as a Christian? What is our position now? We're going to have racial tension here in New York City and in the United States between blacks and whites, Arabs and Jews, and all the ethnic groups. The Bible said that this is going to happen. What is the attitude? Jesus said, Love your enemies. Pray for those who misuse you. He said, If your enemy hunger, feed him. Are you and I going to be able to keep our prejudice from being inflamed by the headlines and the news reports? Are you going to be able to say, Oh God, keep that out of my heart? Would you be willing, if you're a Jew and you're a Christian, would you be willing to go into a Palestinian camp where they set up an army field hospital and minister and nurse soldiers who were shooting Israelis? If you were in the medical profession, could you do that? Could you go there and pray, Lord, save him, minister to him? Could you have that kind of spirit that was in Christ, that he said even to those who crucified him, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they do. We have got to look at the world. Everyone, black, white, no matter what color, what race, they are lost and without Christ and Jesus died for the whole world. And you can know whether you're growing in grace. You can know if you're becoming mature in Christ. When you can look at all of this and hear all of these things, and you can rise up against every passion that tries to rise up, every bit of prejudice and say in Jesus' name, I reject this. I take Christ's authority over this. I will love all mankind. I will preach against, I'll preach against adultery, but I'll love the adulterer. I'll preach against homosexuality. I'll love even the militant homosexuals and even murderers and rapists because you understand in prisons all over America and around the world now, those who are murdered and maimed and raped have been saved and baptized with the Holy Ghost and are serving Jesus because somebody loved them in spite of their sin. And God, help us. I am not a mature preacher if I allow anything to come in. I'm not a mature Christian if I allow any racial prejudice in my heart or anger. I have to keep it up. The same thing goes for Republicans and Democrats. I'm not joking about it. You can get so riled up about Hillary or Lazio or whoever. You can't do it. You keep that out of your mind. If you go to vote, when you go into the voting booth, you say, Lord, why don't you just bow your head and pray for both of them? Both presidential candidates. Why don't you pray? Just pray. The only way I can keep prejudice out is to pray for people. Pray for those. If you can love those that others hate, you're growing. You're becoming mature. Mature in Jesus Christ. Will you stand, please? Heavenly Father, we don't want to live by our feelings. We don't want to judge ourselves by our feelings or our spiritual condition anymore. Let this word take root. Let the word take root in the hearts of the people that are gathered in this house today. We love you, Jesus. We've been planted in good soil. And that life is flowing. Help us, Lord, to get our eyes off our feelings. Help us to reject our feelings. And simply rest in what God has said he will do. And that is doing because we are rooted in him. We are planted in him. The Bible says that we shall take on wings as eagles. We'll run and not be weary. We'll walk and not faint. That's your promise. And I stand on that, God, no matter how I feel. You said I'm going to mount up as wings, as eagles. I'm going to run and not be weary. Walk and not faint. Thank you, Jesus. That's one promise that will take us right to glory. We thank you for it in Jesus' name. There's a wonderful spirit here all day, all this morning. We have service at 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock, but now we're going to open the altars. Will you come? I'm going to have a no-invitation invitation. If God's speaking to you through this message and you want me to pray for you, just come. If you're in the annex, just go and stand between the screens. If the Holy Spirit's speaking to you, I don't know what it's about. Maybe you're not right with God. Maybe you are one of those who have grown cold and indifferent. It's no-invitation invitation. In other words, I'm not going to describe your condition. You know what it is. The Holy Ghost is dealing with you. Come. Especially if you've allowed anything in your spirit that's unlike Christ. We're going to pray for a miracle. In the annex, just move forward and stand between the screens. Please don't block the screen, but stand between the screens. Up in the balcony, come down this side, each side. There's an exit. You can come down any aisle. As we sing, if the Spirit's moving upon you, come and I'll pray for you. Believe God for America. You can walk out of here set free. There is no way I can make it without you. Lord, use my life as it pleases you. As it pleases you. As it pleases you. All I have you have given. All I need you will supply. There is no way I can make it without you. Lord, use my life as it pleases you. As it pleases you. As it pleases you. All I have you have given. All I need you will supply. There is no way I can make it without you. Lord, use my life as it pleases you. If you don't know the Lord, if you're not walking with Christ, you want to receive the Lord, just step into the aisles. In the annex, just go forward, wherever you're at. There's a wonderful spirit here. The Lord wants to touch you and change your life. You step and follow these. You can still step out and move. You that are here right now, look this way for just a moment. I'm not going to prolong this, but I don't want you to leave without a simple word from the Lord. Hallelujah. Are you hearing me? First of all, be convinced right now that the Lord truly loves you. You've got to have his arms around you. You can't fight the enemy. You can't do anything on your own. You have to just acknowledge, I am helpless. If you will believe that Jesus loves you in your present condition, no matter what it is, even in your present failure or your lack of obedience, whatever it may be, the fact that you've just taken a step toward him, there's such a love. He loved you when you were at your worst. He loves you now as you move toward him. And also acknowledge how helpless you are. I can't do this on my own. Holy Spirit, unless you come and quicken me, unless you come and infuse your life, will you believe what you've heard this morning? Will you believe that you're planted in Jesus and that, please, don't worry or talk about your growth or anything else. The increase will come. Just trust him. Just say, Lord, I believe you. You're going to see me through. You're not going to drop me. You're going to keep loving me right to the end. Will you pray this prayer with me, please? Lord Jesus, I've been troubled and sometimes worried, wondering if I was doing right, fearing you didn't love me, living under judgment, fear and condemnation. And I know now, Jesus, that's not the way you want me to live. You want me to have your peace. You want me to be at peace with you. So, Lord Jesus, I give my heart, everything I am, in trust to you. Cleanse me, forgive me, purify my heart. I do love you, Jesus, and I accept your love now. I know you love me, and I know how helpless I am in my own strength. So, I cast all my cares on you. I am by faith, rooted in Christ, and his life is beginning to flow through me. I rest in that. Now, let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, in the annex, and here in the main auditorium, you heard this prayer. We don't have to scream at you, or beg you, or plead with you. You said you're more willing to give than we are to receive. So, Lord, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth is spoken. I pray, Lord, you plant this seed, root it deep in their hearts, water it with your spirit, and bring forth fruit. Bring forth fruit, Lord. That fruit being confidence in your faithfulness, trust in the covenant promises of God, that the Lord will not fail me. The Lord will not fail me. He is life, and he is giving me his life. His power is flowing in me. I believe it. I receive it. I accept it. I will trust God all through the day with it. Day by day, week by week, and year by year. In Jesus' name, amen. Hallelujah. Just tell God thanks. Lord, I give you thanks. I give you praise. I thank you, Jesus. I thank you, Lord. Remain where you're at for just a moment, if you will, please. To all of our visitors, I remind you, in the annex, go through room 402, and here in the balcony, you come down the stairs, and through exit 8 and 9, upstairs into the ancillary building, we have a free sermon tape, a free book, and some refreshments, and some New Yorkers will answer questions, as they're able, about the church or New York City. Before you walk out of here, I'm going to ask you to shake hands, at least 10, 12 people, and smile, and say, God bless you, or just leave a blessing to somebody. 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock are other services today. God bless you. You did not ask me for sacrifice. Your precious blood, it has paid the price. I am delivered from sin and death. I worship you, Lord, in every breath. You have put in my mouth a new song, a song of praise for what you've done. You have put in my mouth a new song, my life was shouted all day long. You did not doubt of the fiery clay, planted my feet, it erects my way. Given my heart, risen to rejoice, and up to you will I lift my voice. You did not ask me for sacrifice. Your precious blood, it has paid the price. I am delivered from sin.