This sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering to God completely, highlighting the need to abandon human ways and embrace the life and power that comes from Christ. It recounts personal encounters with the Lord, urging listeners to repent, seek righteousness, and live in humility to prepare for the coming days of trial and judgment. The message stresses the significance of overcoming sin, especially immorality, and returning to a deep relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

Where we're going is that the Lord, some years ago, as he was a devout man of prayer and committed to the deep things of God, the Lord visited him in a surprising way, in a supernatural way, and spoke audibly to him and literally stood before him. And he was just immobilized under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and he'll tell the details of it. And he was known as a man devout and godly and fervent. And the Lord spoke to him and the Lord's love was towards him and his tenderness was towards him, but his message in essence was, John I love you, you're mine, you're sincere, but I can't really use you in the way I want to. I can use you some, but there's much more I want to do through you. But we're not in agreement with each other in a number of ways. And John was devastated by this. He said, Lord, what do you mean? And these are not his words, he'll get his words in a moment. We're not in agreement at the level you think we are. And there's so much I want to do to you and through you, but you must come to me on my terms. And so the Lord spoke to him in a very, and visited him in a way that was really gloriously devastating. Because at first he was confused, because he had no grid for what the Lord was saying to him, but the Lord was literally standing before him and speaking audibly. And the blinding light was blinding his eyes. This was not a dream, it was not a vision in the mind, it was an encounter with the Lord, a actual face-to-face encounter to the Lord. But the blinding light was such that you couldn't actually see the Lord. But the Lord was right there. I had the chance to actually be in Uganda at that time, and it was like a war zone what happened in Uganda. It was like the killing fields, part of what was happening, devastating beyond what you could imagine. And he was known as one of the most dedicated and abandoned men to God, but the Lord says, we don't exactly have the same opinion, John. That's what people think of you, and I love you, and I see your sincerity, but you're not as in agreement with me as you think. Even though you're in devastation all around you, in desperate situation, there's more I want to say to you and through you. And then the Lord spoke to him in his visitation, and said, the day of the Lord is at hand. That I'm about to shake the nations in a way that even those that believe that God's about to shake the nations, they don't really grasp it. And I want him to go into detail on that. That, the fear of the Lord came on us. We believe that. We're seeing territories open up. We're seeing captives being set free. We're seeing people delivered and healed, even without our praying for them. The Lord would visit people in their homes in the night, and they would be healed. They come in the morning and say, I want to give my life to the Lord. So we were seeing so many of these things, and was very excited. Some people would come and say, you know, I went to this pastor. I went to this crusade. I went to this, and I was not healed. But just as you came in, I was healed, and we just felt so good. Things were working out wonderfully. Then we began getting, every time we'd come to pray, we would get someone say, I got this scripture. I got this vision. I got this word. I had this. And all of them were consistently speaking to us to repent, and to walk straight with the Lord, and to take away our hypocrisy, to take away our lack of sincerity. And I was disturbed. I said, there must be someone here who is not walking right, because God is working with us. He's wonderfully moving forward, and yet he's bringing this word. So I would sit everybody down. We had about 12 people by that time, and I would say, please everybody examine yourself. That went on for about a week. Then one day, it was a Monday, I was away going to visit with some new believers. When I came back, one of the sisters called me and said, John, I was praying, and I had a vision. I saw myself walking on a long straight path, and I was so tired. I wanted to turn back. Then I saw someone dressed in white glittering robe, and he came and said, be of good courage. You are on the right track. Keep going, and you will get where you're supposed to get. But permit me to ask you to go back where you left John, and take him this letter. And he gave her an envelope, and in her vision, she turned and looked at the envelope, like you would look at a name on the envelope, but instead of a name, there was a scripture. And she came out of the vision. So she came and brought me this message, and the scripture was in Jeremiah chapter 7. I would like us to read that together. Jeremiah chapter 7 from verse 2 to verse 11. I'm going to read it slowly. I hope you'll follow. It says, stand at the gate of the Lord's house, and there proclaim this message. Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. If you really change your ways and your actions, and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave to your forefathers forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Will you steal, and murder, and commit adultery, and perjury, and burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods you have not known. And then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my name, and say we are safe. Safe to do all these things, these detestable things. Has this house which bears my name become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, declares the Lord. Now, it's one thing to find a good scripture, and read it. It's another thing when the Lord sends you his word. I was under heavy, heavy conviction. But I was saying, what did I do that is different? I couldn't find anything that I had done in my life, or allowed in my life that was different, or inconsistent with my normal life. And I was convinced that in my normal life, I'm walking right with the Lord. So, I called the team, and I say, we really, really need to deal with this today. We need to examine our hearts. We need to come open. If possible, let's confess to one another, because the Lord is definitely speaking to us. Now, I couldn't put the works of miracles, and signs, and wonders that God was doing through our hands, and the visions, and the revelations he was giving us, in sync with this kind of word and message that was coming, constantly calling us to repentance, and to come back to him. Somehow, I didn't see how they connect. So, I really used some stronger language than usual, and tried to make it clear. Really, we cannot go on like this. You've got to put your act together. So, everybody felt like trembling. We went to bed that night. I used to wake up around 4 a.m. to pray. I got up, and tried to pray, and I couldn't pray. My heart was like, it's closed. It was cold, and hard, and closed. I couldn't bring prayer out of my heart, however much I tried. Even when I persisted, it felt like the door was closed before me. It felt like there was a door closed before me. I couldn't get into the presence of the Lord. I tried to worship. It didn't work. At 5, everybody woke up, and we joined together. They went into worship, deep, rich worship. I was there, cold. I couldn't worship. I couldn't even find joy in singing to the Lord, and I was like that for the next two hours. They didn't seem to have a problem, but I had a problem. When it all ended, I thought, is God closing me out? What is the meaning of this? I called the other sister who brought me the scripture, and I said, look, since you brought me that scripture, I've not had peace, and now I can't pray. Can you explain more to me how you got that scripture? But she didn't have any more to explain. So, I left them preparing breakfast. I went away. I tried to walk and pray. I tried everything. I came back, and I hadn't had any success yet. But I was saying, God, if you really are saying this to me, please be specific. What did I do out of the ordinary? What is it that I've done? Maybe I didn't even notice it, but I didn't know what to repent of. So, as I was still trying to reason it out, again, that wave came over me, and the scripture fell on my heart. Romans chapter 2, verse 1 to 5. And it says, you therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. For at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgments against those who do such things is based on truth. So, when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them, and yet you do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you towards repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you're storing up wrath against yourself, for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. I have to confess to you, at that moment, my whole being was gripped with fear. I thought, God, whatever is wrong, is big. But I don't even know what it is. Something gave way in my heart, and suddenly I felt I could pray. So, we got into prayer, and I cried, I repented everything I could think about. I said, God, I repent of this, I repent of this. And I think it took about an hour, then I started feeling. The Bible says, it's true when we confess our sins, it's true to forgive us. I started thanking God. I said, thank you, Lord, thank you. But I didn't feel peace, and I didn't feel anything lifting. I didn't feel like I've dealt with the issue. Now, let me just drop this. I was trying to deal with an act, and he was trying to deal with my ways. He was not dealing with something I have done. He was still dealing with how I walk, and I thought my walk was okay. So, he was not trying to say, you did this, repent of it. Let me give you an example. Saul and David, they both had the same kind of background. They were tenders of animals. They were both called to be kings and prophets. They were both anointed by the same prophet, Samuel. They both sinned against God. They both confessed their sin. David was forgiven. Saul was rejected. What was the difference between these two men? If you look at the life of Saul, the first time the Lord said to him through the prophet, prepare an offering. I'll come tomorrow and give the offering. The prophet delayed a little bit, but because the people were scattering for the sake of the people, Saul emboldened his heart and gave the sacrifice, whereas he was not supposed to. As soon as he finished, prophet Samuel came, and he said, what have you done? The Lord would have confirmed the kingdom in your household, but now he has taken it away to another man. What was his problem? He said, the people were scattering and leaving me, so I emboldened myself and gave the sacrifice. The people. The next time the Lord sent him on a mission, it is to kill the Amalekites, and he went on the mission. He didn't disobey. He came back, but the Lord said to Samuel, I repent that I sent him. I repent that I even made him king. Look what he has done. When Samuel comes to Saul, Saul says, I have done the mission of the Lord. Samuel says, but what about this mauling of cattle and bleating of sheep that I'm hearing? He says, oh, the people. The people wanted to bring them back, so I allowed them. Samuel says, is sacrifice better than obedience? Because they were going to give sacrifice to God. He says, is sacrifice better than obedience? Later on, Saul says, I wronged the Lord, and I wronged you. I feared the people. The people. Do you realize Saul lived his life before the people? He did things because of the people, and he confessed and said, I have wronged God. I've done evil. Please go with me now to worship the Lord, and Samuel said, I will not go with you. So Samuel turned to leave him, and Saul took hold of his garment, and it tore. When it tore, Samuel turns around and says, even as the garment has been torn, the kingdom has been torn from your hands. What did Saul say? He said, hey, I have sinned against God, and I've sinned against you, but give me some respect before the people. Honor me before the people. Even in that moment of brokenness, his heart was more concerned about his appearance before the people. Samuel went with him, but from that day, he never went back. He prayed for him daily, until God said, how long will you pray for a man I've rejected? But David sinned also. He committed adultery, then he killed the man, then he hid it all, and Nathan came and confronted him, and David passed judgment and said, that man is to die, and Nathan says, you are the man, and he said, oh, I have sinned against God, and Nathan says, the Lord has forgiven you. What was this difference? It is not so much about the act, it is the way. David, the Bible says, his heart was, he had a heart after the Lord's heart. His way was after the Lord. He fell like any other man could fall, but that, but his way was desiring all his life to live for the Lord, and that's a big difference. That's what the Lord was confronting in my life. He was not confronting an act. He was confronting my way. He was calling me out of my ways, into his way. I was serving him. I was seeing people getting saved. I was seeing churches being planted. I was seeing people healed and delivered, but God was saying, I want you to come out of your ways, into my way. That's what living by faith is. You remember when they say to him, what shall we do that we may work the works God requires? He said, this is the work God requires. Believe on him who was sent. When we believe on Jesus, what happens? We believe that our lives are futile, are hopeless, are vanity. We are condemned to death. We give up our lives to him to receive his life, and from that moment, we speak like Paul. I am crucified with him, and I no longer live. The life that I live is no longer mine. The life I live is of Christ, and I live it by the faith of Christ. This is what the Lord was calling me to say. Stop living in your human ways. Stop living in your human wisdom, in your human effort, in your human will. Drop that. Die to that that you may leave to me. Take on my life. Let your mind be convinced your old life is given up. You can no longer live for yourself. You know, the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord compels us that one died for all. They are for all died, and because all died, they can no longer live for themselves, but they can only live for him who died and rose again for them. And it says every now, whoever comes into Christ Jesus has become a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, everything has become new, and that new identity is from God who has reconciled us unto himself, and has given us the minister of reconciliation, to wit that Christ, that the Father was in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto himself, and he has given us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are Christ ambassadors, as though the Father was imploring the world through us to be reconciled to him. He was calling for an identity change, to come away from my human ways, my identity, my ability, my effort, my wisdom, and to lay down all of that, to come and take on that life that came from heaven. It came into the world. It had a mission. It didn't come to make money. It didn't come to make a name. It didn't come to make an impact of human fame or prestige. It came for a mission. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have everlasting life. He did not send him into the world to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through him. He was calling me to live his life, his identity, his cause, his mission, to give up my ambitions, my dreams, my desires, my rights, that I may take on his, and I may therefore lay claim upon the inheritance that is in his name, the identity that is in his name. That's what he meant. Believe on him who was sent. That's the work of the Lord, and I had never connected the two. So that day as he spoke to me, as we were praying, I prayed and I felt I have prayed enough. I'm sure he has heard my prayer. By now he has forgiven me, but I didn't feel peace. I felt that same guilt still upon me. So I said, look, give me a word to comfort my heart. Give me a word to bring back joy into my heart, please. My sister there was still crying and travailing before God, but I was feeling I've prayed enough. So because I was not getting any word coming to me, I said, let me do this. Let me just put my Bible like this, and I'm just going to open it wherever my eye falls. That's what I'm going to take as his word for me. And incidentally, very close, I was very close. This is what the, this is where my eye fell as soon as I opened. It was in Jeremiah chapter 6, verse 14 to verse 15. It says, they dressed the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all. They do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen, and they will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord. That's the word I received. That's the word I sought out. That's the word that came. My eye fell on that. I was so frustrated, I took my Bible, threw it away. And I began to say, God, I am a sinner beyond what I understand. I don't even know how to repent. And I began to cry out, have mercy upon me. Give me the grace of repentance. Give me the grace of repentance. As I was crying like that, I felt the presence of the Lord come upon me. Now being a preacher, there are times when you start preaching, then in the middle of the preaching, you feel the presence comes upon you. That's exactly what I felt. And I felt, ah, he's coming to me. But then it increased, then it increased to levels I had never, never experienced before. And soon my heart was scared. I could feel it, it was like a heavy, heavy blanket coming upon me. Then my whole body was trembling, I was sweating. Then I felt like my tongue was swollen within my mouth. I could no longer use my tongue to speak, it was like stuck. I tried to move my body, it was, I could not move any part of my body. It was like I was inside the body, but the body was no longer mine. Then suddenly, a bright light hit my eyes. My eyes were closed. I was on my knees with my head on the ground, but the bright light hit me. And I lifted my eyes to try and see, what is this? I opened my eyes, I couldn't look in the light, it was too bright, even when I closed, it pierced into my eyes. I bowed my head again, I was trembling, I was thinking, what on earth is going on? Then I heard a voice, deep and calm, and he called my name three times. I couldn't answer, there was no strength in me to answer, but in me I was wondering, I was saying, I'm here. He called me John, three times. Then he said to me, I knew you before the creation of the world, and I chose you and set you apart to solve me as a weakness in these last days, but I want to say to you, if I had come today to take my bride, you wouldn't be part of that. I wouldn't take you. I can't describe the shock that came upon me. I think I was in shock, I didn't even respond, it was like, it hit me. And he repeated it, said I wouldn't take you, for it is written, he will appear to those who wait upon him, and said you are not living your life as a person waiting upon me. You are allowing all kinds of filth to come into your life. You are living like one who cares not. At that moment in my heart, as I said, I couldn't speak with my lips, I was feeling, this can't be happening to me. I thought I gave up my job to serve the Lord, I gave up my house which my father had given me, because I wanted to go to the mission field. I gave up this, I gave up that. This can't be God saying to me, he wouldn't take me. And all my theology and all my teachings could not accept that. And he spoke to me these words written in the book of 1st Corinthians, chapter 6. He just quoted them, I found them later, I couldn't even remember that they were in the scriptures, but when later on I found them in the scriptures, and it says in verse 9, do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And he went on to say to me, your life is so full of filth, you walk with an outward appearance, and you cover a lot of things in your heart. You forget that I'm the Lord who examines the heart. And you are not ready, you are not ready to meet me. And he began to say, your life, if your life is full of this, and this, and this, and this, and this, then are you ready for my appearance? And as he mentioned those things, I could, I could say, okay Lord, have mercy. Then he mentioned one thing that my heart rejected, because in my understanding, I had never turned into that. He said, if your life is full of fornication, and everything in me said, oh no, that can't be. I said it in my heart, and the voice stopped, and for a moment there was silence. Then he said to me, there's no crooked word that comes out of my mouth. Do you call me a liar? I said, but because you don't even know your heart, I will show it to you. Remember this day, when you're in this place, at this hour. And brother, sister, I didn't remember. I practically saw myself back in that very moment, not as a memory, as a reality. I was back in that moment. I saw myself seated in the taxi, waiting for the taxi to be this, like a cup to be filled. And then I was looking out at some lady, with all kinds of filthy imaginations. And the moment it came back, I said, oh God, I have sinned against you. He said, no, you have not sinned. You live in sin. You live in that. You live from morning to evening, in such imaginations. Even in your bed at night, you indulge in the same. I know every moment of your private life. I know your thoughts. You don't even fear. Even in church, seated in church, someone steps up on the platform to serve me, and you strip them naked in your imagination. And you imagine all kinds of things. Says, I am the Lord which serves the heart. Haven't you read, that even he who looks upon a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her. And pictures began to pass before me, of how my imagination works. And I could see, this is not something I could say, Lord, I fell in sin. Lord, I was weak. It was my way of life. It was my, it was a constant way of life. I was comfortable in it. And I was comfortable that nobody else could see it, but God was saying, I see it. I am the Lord which examines the heart. I was so ashamed, but then he said, that's not the worst of all. You still live in this. And he began to mention things that appear humanly small. The envy, the manipulation, and undercutting one another, so that you remain appearing. You are the best. You do the best. You preach better. You do more miracles. You are the more anointed. And all the manipulations and self-promotions, all the grudges that we hold in our hearts, when we see somebody else being promoted or being recognized before us. But the way the Lord brought it out, it was so filthy. So filthy. And I cried. And I cried. And at some point, I was so intent on just my grief, that he said, he raised his voice and said, keep quiet and listen. And I kept quiet. And he went on and on and on, just unveiling more things, unveiling more things. Even the things which appear so small, at that moment they get so rotten. I felt like I was standing before the judgment seat, with everything being thrown out. And I wanted to say, stop. Stop. I accept it all. But he was not stopping. Actually, at some point, I was just saying, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He said, keep quiet. And I was not speaking loudly. I was speaking in my heart. I said, keep quiet and listen. And as he continued, I thought, I must have been deceived. All along, I thought I was serving God. And yet, I'm so filthy inside. I must have been deceived. The devil must have taken my life captive long time ago. And at that moment, I thought of the miracles we were witnessing. I thought of the healings. I thought of all those wonderful things. And suddenly, my heart sank. I thought, the devil has so deceived me that he could even use me to produce counterfeit miracles, to produce things I thought God was working. And yet, it was the devil all along. And the voice kept quiet for a moment. Then he said to me, why are you imagining such thoughts? I said, I don't do miracles because you are worthy. I do miracles because I love my people before whom you stand to preach. But haven't you ever read, when they will come to me on that day and say, in your name, we work miracles. We cast out demons and prophesied. And then I'll say to them, get out of my sight, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Say, don't depend on the miracles to assess your worthiness. Your worthiness is not in the signs and wonders you witness in ministry. I do miracles because I love the people. And my name shall never be left without witness on earth. He said, haven't you ever read that without holiness, no one will see God. It's not the miracles, it is the holiness that comes from God. Then he said to me, the scripture in the book of Hebrews, when I just got saved, just like two days in salvation, he gave me the scripture. Hebrews chapter one, verse nine. It says, you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. And I was a new Christian and I had this dream and someone was saying to me, this is a gift from the Lord. And he gave me that piece of paper and there was the scripture in the dream. Then the Lord, as he spoke to me this visitation, he said, you started well. Why did you turn? You started with your eyes on me. But as you became more familiar, you turned your eyes on people. You stopped seeking my approval. You began to seek the approval of men because men don't know the secrets of your heart. They kept approving you and showing you how they marveled at your work. But you didn't care about me. I know your heart. You started well. What turned you away? Why did you take your eyes off me? I want you to know that men do not have heaven. It's only my father who has heaven and he will judge as a just judge and he will reward every man according to his works. He gave me the scripture in the book of Revelations chapter three. It says in verse one, these are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God, the seven stars. I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up. Strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard. Obey it and repent, but if you do not wake up, I'll come like a thief and you'll not know at what time I'll come to you. Now I say to me, I've looked at you from beginning to the end and I found nothing acceptable to my father. I give you counsel. Repent. Forsake everything that you call valuable. Give up your dreams. Give up your rights. Give up anything that you think is valuable and seek my face. Humble yourself. Come without any claims. Come without anything and just humble yourself. I tell you it is worthy to inherit salvation, eternal life. It's enough. It's beyond any other thing you can ever compare with it. He gave, he spoke about that man who saw a treasure in the field and he went and sold everything and came and bought the field. He said, this is what I counsel you. Give up, give up, give up everything you thought was precious and come that I may have mercy upon you. If you could truly repent, I will bring you back and I'll restore you and I will make you my mouthpiece. Then he said, but listen to this, your friends, I have got a case against each of them. Tell them to repent. Then he began to say, go and tell this one, this is what I see in their lives. He gave details. Then he said, go tell this one, this is what I see. I don't want to make these preaching issues because they belong to very specific individuals. But he gave, I had about eight partners and he gave me a message for each of them, including the sister who was there with me. When I went back, I called everybody. It was about time for dinner at that time. We were there the entire afternoon. My eyes were swollen from crying. My whole face was swollen. I called everybody and said, look, this is what happened to me. I told them everything concerning me. Then I began to speak to each of them and it was like hell broke out. It was wailing and wailing and wailing. Secrets that people thought no one else knew about came out. Suddenly they were confronted with issues that they never thought anybody would know about. They were well hidden inside of their lives and God just put them out there. Nobody ate dinner that day. Nobody had appetite to eat. Nobody slept in their beds that day. All night, it was like the whole world had become too narrow, too small. You would sit in one place to pray and you feel like I have no peace here. You go to another place and you feel, oh my God, crying loud at one moment, groaning at another moment, whispering at another moment. No one wanted to be near another. If someone came near you, you wanted to walk away. It felt like everything, everything was repulsive. For the first time in my life, I felt there is nothing in this whole world worthy of attention. Nothing, nothing. And I was just crying, God, if you just give me one more chance, I promise to live for you and for you alone. In the morning, I took my Bible and a small jerry can of water and I said, I'm going to the mountains. If anybody wants to come with me, come, but don't expect me to minister to you. I'm going to seek the Lord for myself. If you want to come, you go seek your God for yourself. So quite a number came with me. Two remained with one of our sisters who was sick. So we went up into the jungle. We didn't even know who owns the land. And we just went in there, found a place and settled in there. No roof, no shelter. We started praying until evening, until morning, until evening, until morning. We only gathered together in the morning and said, has anyone heard from the Lord? No. Okay, we go back and seek the Lord. I remember after two days of non-stop praying day and night, I was so tired, so worn out, I put my Bible under my head as a pillow to sleep. And I think I slept, I laid there for about five minutes. And I could hear others groaning, others pleading, and I thought, God, who am I to sleep when others are groaning and seeking after your face? I had to rise up, I had to keep walking up and down and say, God, have mercy upon us. On the third day, somewhere around midday, we all gathered without anyone beckoning. We came together and were praying and it began to rain. Everybody had to protect their Bibles and just stay there crying unto the Lord and just cry like little children, no words, just crying and crying and crying. And as the rain stopped, the Spirit of God just came upon us. And the Lord began to speak through one of us. And he was addressing us together, but also addressing us individually. And again, speaking deep, deep things concerning his calling and destiny on each of us. Reminding people of things that happened when they were still infants. Saying, remember this when it happened. Remember when this happened. That was me. Remember when this happened to you. That was me. And suddenly we all realized, we may have got saved when we were grown-ups, but God was showing us, I was with you, even when you're a kid growing up. Remember this. That was me. Remember here. I protected you from that. Why would you turn away from me? And that day, in tears, we recommitted ourselves to the Lord. We recommitted ourselves to the Lord. And we just felt the peace of the Lord come upon us. The joy of the Lord returned. And we began to praise the Lord and shout to the Lord and just feel the joy of the Lord all over us. But the Lord spoke to me and said, don't stop fasting. Stay in this mode. I'm going to talk to you about my church. Now, about four, five, I think about five days later, I used to go every day and spend like six hours alone in the banana plantation. And one of those days, around 3pm, I was alone, praying and just pleading, mainly about my life. And the shock was still in my life. And as I was continuing, suddenly I felt that presence come upon me again, just as it had happened the previous week. And I began to tremble. I was so scared because I didn't know what to expect. It continued growing and building up and building up and building up. And my whole body was trembling. Soon, I could no longer move any part of my body. I could no longer speak with my lips. It was like my whole body was paralyzed. This time, I was just worshipping and worshipping. I said, Lord, have mercy upon me. Then, I felt like somebody close to me gave a very, very big sigh, like heaving, oh. Then he spoke. And it began with his words in the book of Isaiah chapter one. In verse two, it says, hear, oh heaven, listen, oh earth, for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master and the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know me. My people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, the blood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. And that's the way he started. When he finished his words, there was a pause. I wasn't sure at first, but I felt like somebody's sobbing, somebody's crying. And then he began to speak and said, I will tell you about my people, my church. And he began to talk about the church, began to talk about how he paid the full price, how he was our atonement, how he paid everything, and how we are set free, how we are supposed to live a completely liberated life, redeemed and fulfilled. I said, but my people, my people have turned away from that. My people have chosen to go back to live in their human lives, a human effort, human desires, human wisdom, and human will. And he just went on describing the things we do in his name, but in our human ways and human effort. And I said, my, and my servants, the preachers of the word have treaded their souls for worldly things. So they speak from the worldly spirit. They comfort my people in their sins. Instead of calling back my people to me, they tell them it's okay. It's okay to live the way they live. He says, many of my people do not know the joy of forgiveness because it has never been, they've never been led into deep repentance and total surrender to me. They've been told it's okay to live in self-will and to do whatever they want. And my heart grieves because I see what the enemy is doing to them. He was recorded as, why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, the heart afflicted from the soul of your food to the top of your head. There's no soundness, only wounded wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. And I say, my people are living in selfishness because of the pain of their lives. And my heart, because my healing is complete, my stripes are able to heal. But my people have, that is all that salvation is about. He said, I paid for everything. It's a finished work, but they have chosen to live below it. And he went on and on and said, but my heart is grieving because the day of the Lord is near. The day is coming. And he began to describe that day and says, it's a day, for the sake of time, I just want to say, I don't know what that can describe this. You are hearing a voice very clearly speaking, but now it's like you're hearing somebody who is speaking at the same time as crying and saying, the day is coming and my heart grieves for my people, that people are not ready. My people are not anywhere near readiness and my heart grieves for them. I need any other thing but that which was done. Please go with me to the book of... It says in Zephaniah chapter 9, chapter 1 verse 10, on that day, declares the Lord, a cry will go out from the fish gate, wailing from the new quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. Wail, you who live in the market district. All your merchants will be wiped out. All who trade with silver will be ruined. At that time, I will set Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think the Lord will do nothing, either good or bad. Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. They will build houses but not live in them. They will plant vineyards but not drink the wine. The great day of the Lord is near, near and coming quickly. Listen, the cry of the day of the Lord will be bitter. The shouting of the warrior there. The day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner of the towers. I'll bring distress on the people and they'll walk like blind men because they are sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their God will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy, the whole world will be consumed for he'll make a sudden end of all who live on the earth. Now, this is just one description of the day of the Lord. When God, when he was describing, sometimes I would see visions. The voice was speaking but I would see visions. I saw one when he said the time is coming. You know, when the Lord talks about the day of the Lord, he talks about that final day, that final day of judgment, that final day of reckoning and paying everybody what according to what they did. But the day of the Lord is not limited to that. The day of the Lord is also the very, very last days leading to the end. And those, I don't know how long that period is, it could be years, it could be a few decades, but he was saying the end time, those last days are going to come with a lot of trials. Most of them are going to come following the issue of money, coming following materialism, the whole issue of survival. He said, if my people will not anchor their faith in me, if they will not completely abandon themselves in me, they will not be able to stand the trials of the last days. They will compromise, they will yield to the pressures, especially the financial pressures. There will be a lot of betrayal both in the church and in the world and in the families. There will be lots of pressure that no human being will be able to stand. He says, this is why I'm grieving and hurting deep inside my people. I love them. I love them and I cannot stand by and watch when the enemy is laying a siege like this. And he went on and was crying about, if you read in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, where again he says in the second in the New Testament, he says, peace, peace they say. When there is no peace, when they are saying that, a great calamity will befall them and none of them will survive. He said, but you are not children of destruction. You have been called to the eternal life and you have been called to an eternal hope. Everything has been done. Everything has been paid. Why would you position yourselves where you would be compromised, where you'd be taken over? You remember the Bible? Jesus Christ came to John the Apostle, the Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 and he spoke the message to the churches and in each of those messages he said, he who overcomes, I will give peace. He who overcomes and the Lord said, there is overcoming to do. There is standing to stand firm and when everything has passed to remain standing. My people need to wake up, wake up and rise and stand in the full inheritance of what was done on the cross. There is power in the cross. There's power in the blood. There's power in the name to make us overcome. We do not need to stand in our own strength and wisdom and effort. But as long as we try to live this life in our wisdom, our strength and effort, human ways, we are going to be swept away. We are going to be compromised. We are going to be gripped with fear. One of the spirits of the end time that Jesus himself spoke, he said, men will be, will faint with fear. Fear and perplexity and he went on and said, on that day every hidden thing of men's heart is going to be revealed. And he said to me, did you see the secrets of your life come out? That's what is going to happen. Every secret thing is going to come out. And I said, this is why I have appeared to you. That I may make you a witness and a voice to the nations. Go into the nations to my people, those who are called by my name and say to them, repent and return. Come back to the Lord who died and rose again for you. Forsake the human ways and surrender yourselves completely to him. He spoke then, something that he's been speaking to us again in the last few months, about fruitfulness and unfruitfulness. He said there's so much being done in the church in the name of the Lord that is without fruit. So much effort, so much investment, very little fruit. He said it's because it's all being done in human effort and human ways. He says my power is sufficient. My spirit is sufficient. He said the greatest sin my people have done, the most painful of all, they have rejected my spirit. And they have created their own experiences that they call the Holy Spirit. They create their own sensations and they create impressions that they call my spirit. He says this is the greatest grief of my life. I know that in your power you cannot walk this way. That's why I sent you the helper, the gift of the Father. When you turn away from him, then you turn away from hope. Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 13 says my people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? This is basically what the Lord is saying of the church. Is the church supposed to be a slave to the powers of the world, the powers of the devil, the powers of sin and the flesh? Haven't we been redeemed? Hasn't he paid the price? Hasn't he released the power of the Holy Spirit to make us overcome us? Why then have we become plunder? And all God is calling upon us is not so much about repent of the actions or the wrong acts. He's saying come away from your human ways. Come away. Take my life. It is free. Live in my ways. Live like one who has ceased to live for himself and is now living for the one who died and rose again for him. Adopt the life that was sent from heaven so do I send you. And it says clearly we can no longer live for ourselves but to live for him who died and rose again for us. Brother, sister, there's no human effort that will ever fulfill the standard of the Lord. No, not even the most sincere effort. And when we surrender ourselves and walk in that covenant love of God, he does within us exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or even imagine. He makes us overcome us beyond our imaginations. Where we would fail and turn back when a heart is committed and God I am all yours. My life is no longer mine. My life belongs to Christ. I will live for no other reason but to fulfill the purposes of God. And I will live for no other law but the law of love. Unconditional love. When we commit ourselves to that and say every other consideration I'm dead to that. God sustains us even in our weaknesses. Where our faith would fail. Where our hope in our own selves would fail. Where I would think I can't do this. The grace comes around us and somehow we see ourselves being re-energized. Our faith renewed. We look back and we know if it was my own strength, my decision, I know I would have fallen there. But somehow his hand sustained me and brought me through. Sustained me. The Lord said to me, one of the greatest, greatest temptations of the last days is going to be the spirit of immorality. He said the enemy knows every other sin. You can read this in 1st Corinthians chapter 6. Every other sin committed by men is outside their bodies. But the sin of fornication and adultery is inside the body. It makes you one with the adulterer. He said it destroys, it corrupts and defiles the temple of the Lord. He said but in the last days this is going to be one sin that is going to be pervading like a storm to go through the nations and it is going to become more and more accepted even in the church. Immorality, perversions and all kinds of sexual sin says warn my people. Warn my people. Flee from evil. Flee from wickedness. I'll read this last scripture. Zephaniah chapter 2. Zephaniah chapter 2 from verse 1 to 3 it says gather together, gather together all shameful nation before the appointed time arrives and the day sweeps on like chaff. Before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you. Before the day of the Lord's wrath comes upon you. Seek the Lord all you humble of the land. You who do what he commands. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. Perhaps you'll be shorted on the day of the Lord's anger. Beloved, the time is short. He who comes is coming soon and is calling us to himself. I remember he said to me the day is not a day of joy even to him. He says my heart is torn apart when I think of my people who will be pulled away on that day. That's why I'm crying out. Return to me. Return to me. He says I'm sending you. Don't judge my people. Don't condemn them. Tell them I am NOT condemning them. I call them to return to me. Flee from the wrath that is coming on the day of the Lord. Flee from the power of powers of darkness that are seeking to take you captive. Flee from your own self, your own carnal nature. Flee. There is refuge in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it. They are safe. I want to pray that God will bring revelation to your heart. Beloved, there is a responsibility to overcome. He said he who overcomes, I will give the seed in my throne just as I overcame and I sat in my father's throne. I'm going to ask you to do one thing. I don't know what you have taken from this sharing. I know one thing that there is a destiny in your life. You are not an accident on earth. You are not here just to drift along with the masses. There is a destiny. Before you were born, before you are in your mother's womb, he knew you. Before you were born, he set you apart. There is a destiny. There is a purpose to fulfill in the years remaining in your life. If you can be like Paul to say, whatever was precious to me, I called it loss and I called loss every other thing that I may pursue him, that I may win him, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering and be conformed even to his death. Let us come to that place of abandonment where you say, God, the rest of my life, I just want one thing, to lay hold of that for which you laid hold of me. I want to lay hold of that for which you laid hold of me. Forgive me for the past. Thank you that you don't condemn me, but today I turn around and lay down my human life, my human wisdom, my human endeavors, my efforts. I choose to live in the life of Christ. I choose to live in the faith that I am dead and he is alive. If you feel like that today, I'm going to ask you to rise into your feet. I'm going to ask you to just come before the Lord in humility and just say, Lord, I thank you that you even allow my ears to hear the words of God today. I thank you that you care to reach out for me, whatever the circumstances are. And I'll just ask you, if you just raise those hands to the Father and just begin to let your heart pour out before him, just talk to him like when a child would talk to his father. Just open your heart and just say, God, I'm here. I'm your child, redeemed by the blood, by the mercy of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I come because you love me. I come because you care about me. I did not know you, but you knew me. I did not seek you, you sought me. When I was an enemy, you gave your life for me, Jesus. You died for me when I did not even know you loved me. Just raise those hands to the Father and raise your heart to the Father and begin to call upon him who loves you. Call upon him who cares about you. Call upon him who says it doesn't matter what happened in the past. You can be changed. You can be redeemed. You can be restored. You can be renewed. In Jesus' name, Father God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we call upon your holy name right now. We call upon your name in the name of Jesus Christ. Let the blood of Jesus come upon us and bring cleansing, bring cleansing, bring cleansing upon us. The Bible says they overcame him with the blood of the Lamb and with the confession of their lips. Father God, let every yoke of the enemy, every violent scheme that the enemy has tried to bring our way, to hinder us from being fruitful, from being fruitful to the maximum, let it be broken today. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, just pour out your heart, pour out your heart and just begin to call upon him. Just begin to call upon him. I believe the grace is here to break, break free every yoke, whatever the enemy may have added upon your life, whatever weights they are, whatever veils he has brought, there is grace and there is a sufficient grace here to set us free. In Jesus' name, thank you Lord. Dear Holy Spirit, we just pray right now for the restoring power that comes from you Lord. You are our helper, you are our teacher, our advocate. Without you we can do nothing. Forgive us when we have turned away from you, turned away from the spring of living water to turn to pools and systems that cannot hold water. Forgive us, King of Kings, O God, where we have created experiences that are unbearable. Even now I pray in Jesus' name that you come, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come with your restoring power. Jesus, yes. God, yes Lord. I don't want to believe that I'm alive, if I'm dead on the inside. So wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up. Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up.