This sermon delves into the urgency of awakening from spiritual slumber, emphasizing the need to cast off works of darkness, put on the armor of light, and walk honestly in the day. It highlights the consequences of resisting God's will, falling into sorrowful sleep due to intense battles, and pursuing pursuits not aligned with God's calling. The message challenges listeners to consider what they would do differently if they had only six months to live, urging reconciliation with God and man, seeking the power of the Holy Spirit, and making right choices aligned with God's values.

My message title this morning if I had six months to live Romans chapter 13 Now father, I thank you God Almighty for the anointing of your Holy Spirit Lord this is a late hour and there's much to do Give us the grace to hear this the strength to want it and The sense to walk in it Father I thank you for the touch of heaven of my life For giving me the strength that I need Lord to speak this word to your people Lord I thank you for this in the mighty name of Jesus Amen, if I had six months to live Romans chapter 13 beginning at verse 11 and That knowing the time Now it is high time to awake out of sleep For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed The night is far spent The day is at hand Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light Let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness Not in chambering and wantonness Not in strife and envying But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Now we studied last week the life of Jonah and we saw that even though Jonah was a Called man of God. He was a genuine man of God. He was a prophet of God. He could actually hear the voice of God Yet Jonah fell asleep and We studied the reasons there are several reasons why a spirit of slumber can overtake a true child of God in the life of Jonah We studied that overtly resisting obeying God in Something, you know, he has asked you to do will bring a spirit of spiritual slumber on you for those that are here This morning and you're looking for a fresh touch from God you're looking for a strength from God You're looking for encouragement from God, but yet there is something that you know that you have to do but you steadfastly resist God And that's exactly what Jonah did he he went in exactly the opposite direction of the direction that God was asking him to go and subsequently in the time of storm and crisis that Developed all around him. He was found asleep in the lower parts of the vessel that was carrying him Proverbs chapter 6 verses 10 and 11 says yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep So shall thy poverty come as one that travels and they want as an armed man now That's complicated in the King James language, but really what it means is Those who fall asleep spiritually Are like people who are traveling on a journey and they are spending constantly what they were given, but there's no source of income and So eventually there's a there's a poverty that that is deep It's dark and it's a despairing poverty comes upon them. Think of the prodigal son for a moment He didn't head out away from his father broke the scripture says he received an inheritance And so he probably had a significant amount of money with him and he headed out with this Inheritance and he started spending it lavishly everywhere and he denied himself. No pleasure and he associated with friends that he shouldn't have been and It was only I think I don't know how far down the road he got before he ran out of money and the scripture says a famine came into the land, but he himself was in want and God forbid that when This world is spinning into times of Crisis and hardship that you and I should be found ourselves starving that we should be found Unsatisfied without a word with no direction the people he was associating with were in the same hardship He was in but he had no direction for them because he had gone far away from the heart of his father and he had spent his inheritance Without replenishment because he was doing the wrong type of work So we see that resisting the will of God Resisting something that you know, God has asked you to do can bring about a spiritual slumber Which is not a condition that any of us want to be found in in this time that we're living in There's a second type of sleep that can happen and perhaps some are experiencing this today in Luke chapter 22 and verse 45 Let me just read it to you It's talking about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane Says when he rose up from prayer and he was come to his disciples. He found them sleeping for sorrow Now that's the type of person who the intensity of the battle is too great. And although your intentions are good There's there's not enough strength to follow through Peter said to Jesus Everyone may deny you but I won't They all might run but I'll fight to the death Wherever you go, I'm going to go and you know, we all from time to time make those kind of Suggestions to the Lord, but when it came down to it He found himself in a battle. It was too strong for anything of human nature Paul says in Romans 7 18 for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I don't know how I can't find the strength. I know what to do. I Know what I should be doing And I've tried to do it Peter took out his knife or sword and he cut off a high priest here he really gave it the best as it is of what of what humanity can can Conjure up to advance the kingdom of God But it only left him in sorrow and confusion And there are people here today. You're asleep for sorrow. You've tried you've wanted to try You've you've gone to prayer meetings You've you've done what you think you need to do as much as you know How and a sorrow and a slumber has come upon you because you've come to actually a wrong conclusion that there's no hope You'll never change. You'll never get out of this way of thinking or believing or doing or the frailty or weakness It's on your flesh. It'll always be part of you and it has taken away your thirst for the Word of God It's taken away the vibrancy and prayer It's taken away from you the excitement of waking up this morning looking forward to a new day in God all of that is gone and now you're just coming to church and just more or less hoping for some kind of Peace and some kind of reassurance even though you don't see a lot of personal hope for the future Proverbs 10 and verse 5 says that he that sleeps in harvest is a son That causes shame now There's a second third type of slumber that can come to a person's life and it's when the longings and pursuits of our hearts are not in line With the one who has called us to walk with him and work with him on the earth We're doing things But it's not it's not what God has for us Now we're towing God along as if we've got him on a cart with a rope and we're kind of pulling The knowledge of Christ with us through this city and through this world, but realistically we're leading him he's not leading us and We're not doing the work that he's called us to do. This is a day of harvest This is a season where people have an inner cry for truth. This is a time when God wants to revive a city But we are we're not Yet ready to do What he has asked us to do and It can cause us to fall asleep in one of the greatest moments of history And I do believe that we have come Now my question today for you is that if you do today that you had only a few months left to live What would you do differently? Well, I mean just think about it for a moment If if you got the news on Monday You had gone to the doctor and the doctor called you in and said you I'm sorry to tell you this But at best you have six months left to live and you found yourself here this morning having gotten That bit of news What would you and I do differently than we are doing today? I remember Having been invited to speak to a group of businessmen Just about a few months before the Twin Towers were attacked and came down and I was supposed to be it was not a Christian Event. I was supposed to be there to ask them to consider giving to the cause of feeding children in Africa. I Remember getting up and the burden of the Holy Spirit came upon me and instead of asking them for money I talked to them about a debt that they owed that they could not repay they allowed me to speak to them for about 25 minutes and at the end of the message an Urgency of the spirit came upon me and I said to this group of business men and women who are very successful In the financial world. This is what you must do and kept saying it again. It just kept coming into my mind This is what you must do. I didn't ask them to pray the sinner's prayer I didn't it was not a an event where they were expecting to hear the gospel, but I kept saying this is what you must do And it was only a few months later that 17 of the people in that room found themselves inside the towers and 17 of those people died now some of them had a moment to get right with God and Those words that my prayer is that as they looked out the windows Into what was going to be eternity? There were an hour away in many cases from eternity that they would remember those words. This is what you must do This is what you must do and I can't help but wonder You know, most of these folks were second and two and three rungs from the top of the ladder. They were wealthy They were successful But I can't help but wonder looking out that window at that last moment What did it matter then all of a sudden that promotion or maybe they're on the 97th floor? And what does it matter if they didn't make it to the 99th floor? everything changes in a moment of time when the realization hits that James the Apostle said this life is a vapor It is it is here just for a moment and then it vanishes Just like when you go out on one of our cold winter days lately and if you see two people in conversation when they speak to each other you'll notice a vapor come out of their mouths and When you and I get to eternity and we look back from eternity upon our lives We'll realize in the scope of eternity What we thought seemed to be forever was just a vapor It was only just a moment. It was it was just an expression It was just something which could represent evil or it could represent good It could be selfish or it could be loving it and my prayer is lately God make my little breath as it is of a life count for something in your kingdom Help me. Oh God that I can represent you among men in my generation We are all on borrowed time. I was thinking this morning as I was praying that I Can remember as clearly as yesterday when I was five years old used to go out in my parents backyard and they had a little patio there and I'd lay down in the patio and I'd stare up at the heavens and and everything seemed so majestic and so wonderful and so awesome and so grand and so far away and it seemed like life was going to Go on forever. And yet I'm 57 today and and as God lives it's like I've snapped my fingers and I've come from 5 to 57 and The next time I snapped my fingers are going to be in heaven folks. I just realized it as I was praying It all goes so fast it all and periodically, I like to visit cemeteries around New York City or in various places and just walk through the cemetery and because I Don't know who these people are But I know a lot of them thought they were really important a lot of them have dreams Aspirations and goals that may not have been in line with God a lot of them in times past were churchgoers Some of them have really nice tombstones. Others are relatively mediocre, but I guarantee you they're all in the same They're all in the same place It's it's all level underneath whatever looks to be really good on on the top of the ground. I Have I bought a grave plot for myself a few years ago, I got it on sale actually and I Was actually getting a great plot for somebody else and they were just so cheap I just couldn't resist about one There's a stone on it's got my name on it And so I go visit it once in a while and I stand on my own grave and I say listen you Lest you get proud unless you start thinking you're something or not. You're standing on your own grave right now So just remember this is where you're coming Holland not a bad idea. Some of you may want to consider that If there's something different that you would do if you knew you had six months to live I guess the question begs itself. Why are you not doing it now? What prevents us? now I Asked this question to my own heart and I asked it honestly If I knew I had six months to live What? What would my value system be? What would be really important to me and I listed it down as as honestly as I can Number one people would become very important to me that that is happening. I thank God for that The thought of being separated just from for a time would bring pain. I'm thinking my three grandsons. I think of my children I think of my daughters-in-law and my son-in-law and I think of my wife. I think of I think of my family The thought of being separated I'd want to hug them I'd want to love on them I'd want them to know I cared I'd want I would want to encourage them that we would see each other again The thought of being eternally separated would bring alarm into my heart The thought that there would be some perhaps you're not walking with God that I would never see again. I would do everything in my power And I'm talking about I'm talking about within the realm of being godly. I'd do everything in my power to see them Come to Christ so that I would not lose them for eternity The Bible says that Noah built an ark to the saving of his house and building that ark means persistence It means dedication you have to have a singleness He was a hundred years or so building this Thing and you have to have a singleness of the eye you have to be willing to endure the scorn of a degenerate society You you have to be willing to walk through what others don't understand, but he saved his house It is he built it to the saving of his house I would begin to understand how God feels about his children and Stop putting away from my mind the tragic day when sin separates the lost from God forever the way I feel about my children my wife my grandchildren the way I feel about my family is is only a Minuscule fraction of what God feels for humanity the day coming when the books are finally closed When the the last casket lid has come down when it's all over there. There is no more redemption There is no more chance to get right with God and the the ache the pain in the heart of God I can't even begin to touch that pain in God's heart Maybe perhaps have you ever thought it might be the only thing that actually holds back his hand From from just just closing it all now It's just the the thought in his heart that there are still multitudes in the valley of decision. There's there's still those that haven't Decided where they're going to spend eternity. There's there's still those whose hearts are open still those who can be reached through his church on the earth But there is a day There is a day and the scripture says the Lord descends He comes with a shout and part of that is a shout for the redeemed but part of it is a possible It's a cry of agony for those he has lost who are are destined for an eternity in a place where God is not and that's deeper and darker than anything in my mind can even begin to Fathom If I knew I'd six months to live I'd want to make right every known wrong Romans 13 Verses 12 and 13 Bible says the night is far spent the day is at hand Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness And let us put on the armor of light Let us walk honestly is in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envy If I was in a wrong relationship, I would get out of it Let me tell you that right now young people if you're in a wrong relationship Get out of it and get out of it now I'd walk honestly not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not chambering means Here's what chambering means chambering means somewhat as it sounds it means secluding yourself away in a room with a person who is not your husband or not your wife for the purpose of sexual intimacy and Wantonness means The desire to do it again This unbridled desire now, here's I want you to hear me on this young people I want to speak to you as a father. I want you to let me do that now I'm going to speak to you as if you're sitting in my living room and I was your father And I want you to hear me very very clearly on this Now a lot of young people in New York City You want to be single? And that's understandable and the Apostle Paul said if you're able to contain yourself, there's nothing wrong with that But you have a career in mind you have a certain worldview and for whatever reason maybe it's a bad family experience That family is and marriage is really not part of your thinking at this time But you also want relationships with other people and those relationships quite often are sexual relationships And so your Christian life looks something like this have sex as forgiveness Have sex as forgiveness Have sex as forgiveness and now it's down to have sex go to church Because the the longer you do something wrong It starts to become right Because the judgment of God doesn't fall You think just like Samson did Have sex wake up your strength is still there have sex wake up your strength is still there not realizing one day He just went too far when he woke up and his strength was gone If I was in a wrong relationship I would get out of it And I want you to hear me on this because it's for your life Samson didn't know that she was playing for his life This was a dangerous game that he was playing and the Spirit of the Lord will not strive with man forever If I was in a wrong or a doubtful practice I would get out of it Now there's some things Paul says are lawful, but they have no profit to them For example, you will not find me skipping church to watch a football game today You would not find me skipping church to watch a football game if I was not a pastor I would still be in the house of God Some things are lawful But they're of no profit you go ahead if you want you watch a bunch of grown men chase a piece of pigskin around a field And then give their interviews at the end they're all the same you can record one and play it for the rest of your days They'll all sound the same But I will not be found outside of the house of God There's some things are lawful there are there are doubtful practices There are a lot of Christian people are seeing how far they can push the line with alcohol. They're quoting the scriptures They're they're getting sermons online that talked about how Jesus turned water to wine So obviously this must be a great thing to go out to a bar On Saturday night and they're trying to push the envelope on these things But I want to remind you that those that were used of God in the scriptures there was a definitive mark especially on the Nazarites and on those that were set apart for God and that was the Alcohol and strong drink did not touch their lips And folks, I'm telling you if you want to be a voice for righteousness, there are some decisions you have to make Yes, there it might be a cultural thing to have a glass of wine with your meal And I'm not anybody's judge over these things, but you're not going to find me at that table. I'm not going to that table I want these lips to be unhindered. I don't want anything to hinder the Word of God There are practices that are just doubtful and there's just something inside when you're involved that always pricks your conscience It doesn't matter like how many times you go to a counter scratching some lottery thing telling yourself how much you're going to give to charity if you win the 145 million dollars one day to pacify. There's something inside of you that says it's not right There's just something that never goes away. That's why you have to justify it Constantly if what you're doing is right, you don't have to justify it There's a peace. You don't have to look over your shoulder wondering if the pastor is going to walk in while you're doing it There's a peace in the heart If I were involved in anything doubtful, I would put it away Psalm 1 let me read it to you says blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly Nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law He meditates day and night and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water That brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf shall not wither and everything he does whatsoever He does so prosper the ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind drives away Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish Thirdly I Would be reconciled to God and man As much as is humanly possible now, there are some cases it's not and I understand that But I would be reconciled to God and man I'd want to go out of this life with a clean slate. I Would at least want to say I tried to make peace even if peace wasn't possible I tried I would not want to be in the seat of the scornful It takes no strength to scorn it takes strength to build up and to hope for the best and Just as Peter did I would give up trying to walk in my own strength. I Would seek Jesus until his promise of strength is mine Paul says put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof I Would give up Trying to walk in my own strength Why should I walk in my own strength? I mean Jesus Christ promised me the power that I need To be it but you see the power of God doesn't come to those who won't make the break We have to make the break It's so pointless to ask for the power of God if you're simply going to go back to your old way of doing things The power of God came to people in an upper room who had made the choice To be witnesses for God even if it killed them They made the choice to make the break from a religious society They made the choice to walk through the scorn of those that had just crucified their Savior They made the choice to love people even though people were not very lovable at that time They made a choice that that only God could make Only God could give them the strength within them to follow that choice They had just seen a Savior that had gone to a cross and he'd gone there with mercy in spite of the treatment that fallen Humanity had given him They made the choice to follow him And having made that choice to gather together in an upper room With this promise You shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth I Will give you power the Lord said For those that are separated to me for those that are willing to walk my way For those that are willing to enter into my work for those that are will choose not to resist The things that I've asked you to do For those who will adopt the value system of heaven for those who begin to see people the way God sees them for those that Make the choice to walk away from sin and everything that hinders the life of Christ From flowing within us to reach a fallen and darkened humanity For those whose value system falls in line with the heart of God says I will give you power The promise is as real today as it was over 2,000 years ago I'll give you power. God has not changed the same yesterday today and forever Not everybody got the power of God, I'm sure there's a multitude of religious people everywhere in that generation But a hundred and twenty that were serious Received the power of God for the purposes of God many of them died For having the power of God in their lives, but they changed the whole known world 120 people You imagine in Times Square Church of 8,000 people got serious with God If 8,000 people went into the presence of the Lord and said I will not come out until I have the promise of your power Now speaking in tongues is part of that thank God for that, but that's only an evidence. It's all that is an evidence The power is evident in a holy life a transformed life the ability to walk and do Everything that God calls us to do and to be And I was a young Christian I walked for about two years in mixture Until I got sick of it Till I realized I've got to put both feet on one side of the fence. I Got so tired of the powerlessness so tired of singing the songs in church and singing very few outside I The desperation came into my heart Said Lord Jesus Christ. I want to live for you. I want to honor you, but I don't have the strength But I will serve you if it kills me and I remember praying that specific prayer I'll serve you God if it kills me now, I was heading out to do it in my own strength. I didn't know any better But God in his mercy just sovereignly met me I had a sovereign encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed my life forever He saw the cry of my heart Saw that I wanted to live for God. I wanted it with everything. I wanted the power to do right To act right to think right to to be godly to be an honest and godly man I wanted the power and I knew I needed something outside of myself because the deepest resolutions of my heart were worthless I couldn't I couldn't do it. I knew what to do, but I couldn't do it but he came and I want to Implore you today that you must be filled with the Holy Spirit Not just for the sake of walking out of the church and saying wow, was that ever fun? But you walk out of the church and you are transformed man Transformed woman you you have within you the power to do right to think right to walk right your priorities are right Yes, you still have to work and pay the bills and have an apartment. I understand all of that But everything is in its right place now You're not looking at people as if they're just trees walking down the street You don't have a half of a spiritual vision. You now see people the way God sees them We're in the last Moments Of time as we know it Now, I don't know how long that's going to be and I don't think it's going to be as long as we think Maybe six months is not a stretch after all But irrespective of that we should live each day because as if it's the last And I want to give an invitation for people today who have heard this and in your heart you say I'm I'm weak and you just you just I could swear that you were in my living room listening to me and watching my life But I want to walk with God. This isn't a game for me. I Want to make a difference. I want my little vapor of a life to count for something in eternity I don't want to look back and be ashamed of what I thought and didn't where I went. I want to walk with God. I Don't want my Christianity to be confined to church on Sunday. I want to be a Christian seven days a week Hallelujah We're going to tarry we're going to wait in the presence of God today We're going to just I'm going to invite those who want to to come forward if this is Something you really feel that God would have you to do in the annex. You can step between the screens But we're going to take about 20 to 25 minutes and just worship Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit Ask him for the power to do right Confess your sin Ask for forgiveness get that out of the way and ask him for the strength not to return to it To be a different man a different woman There's not there's no religion can reach this city now it has to be Jesus Christ in a church in a people There's nothing else will touch the city This is serious. I'm as sober and serious as I've ever been in this pulpit. This is a serious moment it's for those who just say and You don't have to be strong you can be weak, but you want to be strong you want that strength God promises to give that to you For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence It's not for you to know the times or season which the father has put in his own power But you shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me Both in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth Let's get up and make your way down to this altar, please do it now Father Lord we ask you that you have mercy on New York City and Send us to them send us to the people send us into the marketplace the workplace All the boroughs all the five boroughs of the city Lord you you said we were to be salt and light You know and we know we can't do this without your power And so we ask you to be merciful to New York City Be merciful by coming to your people Giving us the power that we need to stand and to make a difference in our generation We can't do it Lord in our own strength. The forces against us are too strong But we know Lord we have the history God We know the miracles and exploits that you've done through people and times gone by But more this is another day. This is our time of God and we know that you have all power and authority Everything is in your hand We know that we can't live this Christian life without the Holy Spirit and so God we give you the right We invite you we say blessed to see who comes in the name of the Lord and we open the gates wide to our hearts to our homes Lord to our minds to our practice to To what we are and how we think and where we go and we said blessed to see who comes come Holy Spirit Come Holy Spirit Come Holy Spirit Come Holy Spirit come Oh Holy Spirit come Fill the temple. Oh God Fill the temple Lord Your body your dwelling place on the earth. Oh God Almighty Fill every part of these temples Lord And carry us sustain us Lord and be glorified through us be glorified Jesus Christ Son of God be glorified. Oh Lord We thank you for forgiveness we thank you for your love we thank you for your willingness to come to us in our struggle and To be God to us and to be a friend to us to be strength to us We come to you all we can bring to you as a desire to be honest And to walk right and to do your will that's all we have Lord But we bring it to you Lord who we ask you to multiply it God and feed thousands of people with it Lord. I Pray today that some of the weakest at this altar become some of the strongest in New York City Not by might nor by power But by your spirit We ask you today Oh God to ignite your churches in the city Lord Let prayer meetings erupt everywhere everywhere every block let there be a prayer meeting Let there be hardly a place in the city where you can't find one God Almighty in your mercy Lord in your mercy in your mercy visit this city. Oh God Visit this city Lord Jesus Christ We can't make it happen Lord, but we can call out to you Lord We know you're able Heaven is your throne and the earth is your footstool The nations are a drop in the bucket in your sight the hearts of kings are in your hand. Oh God With you all things are possible Lord so all we do is cry out to you Lord come and do the impossible again Lord we won't touch the glory it doesn't belong to us Lord it belongs to you We know what we are without you Lord, but we believe that in you all things are possible. Oh Jesus Christ the Son of God salt the streets of the city today with this church salt the streets. Oh my god Salt the streets Lord bring light into darkened places Hallelujah to the Lamb of God hallelujah Hallelujah, thank you Jesus bless God bless God bless God Bless the Lord, oh my soul Jesus said If if you know how to give good gifts to your children How much more how much more when your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? now ask for the right reasons and You can't expect God to answer you. You can expect him to answer you speedily It can happen to you when you least expect it You wake up in the middle of the night to draw you into his presence But you know that God's going to answer this cry of your heart if you have a heart to walk honestly God is going to meet you. I want you to know before you go today You are greatly loved of God and let that love draw you to him Let that be the reason why you come and say Lord I want to serve you because if you're willing to love me in my pitiful condition You're willing to love this whole city and I have to be a witness of that hallelujah. Thanks be to God