In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of taking steps and learning from God's guidance. He uses the example of David and Goliath, highlighting that David didn't just rely on his faith alone, but also used the stones effectively. The preacher encourages the audience to prove God's promises by doing their part and learning what God requires of them. He also addresses the moral decay in society and the need for Christians to stand firm in their faith. The sermon concludes with a mention of David choosing five stones, possibly to prepare for any potential threats, and a reference to the preacher's father-in-law's sermon about Goliath having four brothers.

In the name of Jesus, from the New Covenant Christian Fellowship. Here at St. John's, Michigan, we are a non-profit tape ministry, and are dedicated to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. This tape is not copyrighted. Please feel free to make copies for your friends and neighbors. We only ask that you would not add to, subtract from, or in any other way alter any part of this message. If you would like additional tape messages, or more information about the local body here, please call 989-227-1237. Our prayer is that this message would have a lasting impact on your life, so as to draw you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10, verse 17. So faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I've been blessed being here, and honored, and thank you for this joy that God has given me, and that somehow He put in your heart. Bless you. I just want to take a moment to mention, my wife sends out a newsletter to many thousands of homes, and I think quite a few of you will get them, and people pray following our program. She puts about two months, two to three months of meetings, and many times it's just about every single day. It's month after month. So to pray soberly, people want to know the name of the place, the town, or the city, or the facility we're using, or movement we're involved with at that time on the day. So if you would like to follow soberly, and pray earnestly, just bringing us before God, my family that I leave so often, and also for the place that I'm preaching. I'd be deeply grateful. My wife's poems are put here. They want to publish all her poems in a book. Well, we're waiting for all that, as God helps. But God has really used these poems wonderfully. Then they put little testimonies of folks who have really deep workings of God in their heart, that send emails, or letters, or testify in meetings, and I just take a knee to the side, and put them in Jenny and others, and just give it them to make sense, and good English, and to bring it down. But many folks are deeply spoken to by God, through the newsletter, and I have been reluctant to do this for many years, to put testimonies of people who've met with God in the meetings, but with a lot of pressure from people over me, I've decided, well, let's do it. So we just put these things aside, and it seems God is honoring it. On the first level, in front of our good brother, is a number of copies. If you don't receive this, to be able to pray for these, um, how many weeks am I here in this town? Oh, I think it's eight weeks, nine weeks of preaching. It's actually three months, with the traveling, and being in London, different places we've got to do on our way back. It's about three months from our country, that we do every year, at this time of your fall. But this is the program that's left of about eighteen, seventeen towns in fourteen states in America over these eight, nine weeks of preaching. So if you'd like to just take a copy, you can contact friends, there are about fifty copies there, I'd say, that were over, that our brother Don Corvell, who coordinates this tour, as people invite, he just puts it all together in love, and does it for God. So please take a copy if you'd like to pray, and to hold us in your prayers. My wife is in the states with me, and my children, two of them anyway, at the moment they're in Wisconsin, in a place called Rhinelander. And she addresses the ladies, in the afternoon, in the morning she has in Missouri, address the ladies, and down in Loughlin, Colorado, she's going to be addressing the ladies in the day, and my one son, Lord, he's a missionary, he's an evangelist, the blade for God. He addresses them all, and the boys, and then I speak to everyone in the night, in their gathering, and on the Sunday mornings. So, I'm going to join them on Monday, down at Rhinelander, where we've been for a number of years. I heard you had a lady, speaking to the ladies today, well, my wife also speaks to the ladies. So if you want to see why I'm such a happy man, invite her next year. It doubles the cost of flying this year, or whatever it goes to, and your cost of paying for the flights, etc. But the whole thing is, it would be a joy if God does ever put that in your hearts, if you ever ask me back again, if you don't ask me back again, and I'll know you didn't want us to come back again. All right, sorry, let's not get diverted. Don't worry, brother. I think you and your wife are wonderful. God bless you, and thank you for letting me just hear about that. If you'd like to receive this newsletter, put your name and address down there, on a list that the Crevels have lovingly typed out, very nicely, and you'll receive it, and it'll be an honor for us to send it to people who honestly will pray. Don't please put your name down, please don't, unless you pray, unless you know you do look for fuel, for ammunition, in the real warfare that God wants us to be involved in against the powers of darkness, and to pray for people who preach and their families. I'd be deeply honored if you know you will take that and pray. I'd be deeply grateful to all my wife and children, and our mission in Africa. So God bless you now, as you pray about that. Can we have a moment of prayer, please? Can we just bow before the dear Lord, in a moment of prayer, and quieten our hearts, before our God. Father, keep us under the blood of Jesus Christ, from all the powers of darkness, and their influences in any way, to keep the minds of those who would seek God, and hear God's voice, through this thy word. We're here for thee, and all of us bow before our God, and ask thee by grace to open our hearts, take away the crush that sometimes, somehow comes in. We don't even know how. It makes us almost immune to open our hearts to God and sincerity. Hopelessness comes in so many hearts. Even if they walk through a church door, there's no hope or no thought that they could be changed by God, lifted up to a higher realm. Oh, take away the crush, the hardness of the hearts. Help us to break the fellow ground, and to seek the Lord. It's time to seek the Lord, so that he come and reign righteousness upon us. So in mercy upon all of us, filter us under the blood of the Holy Christ, thy Son, thou Savior, who we live for, and would gladly die for. Come in mercy, and by the Holy Spirit, minister to our hearts through thy word, and do something of eternal value in every heart. By grace, come and wash me in the blood in mercy. Should there have been the smallest reaction that was not utterly Christlike, that I overlooked in my patience to confess, the smallest thought, the smallest word, that was not holy and Christlike, forgive me. I look to the blood, and ask thee to cleanse me, and fill me now with the Holy Spirit. Anoint me, anoint me, and in grace, take this place in weak and despised man, and speak, in grace through me, and in spite of what I am, my baseness, and unworthiness, and at my best, a profitable servant. Come God, in mercy to all of us, for without thee we can do nothing. We acknowledge it, we've tried, nothing of any value, spiritually, without God, Himself. Come therefore, and visit us Lord, in Jesus, the Christ's name, in Jesus, Christ's, holy, name, and for His sake, we all unitedly agree and ask these things of our Father in Heaven. Amen. In 1 Samuel 17, from verse 32, in 1 Samuel 17, from verse 32, we read of one of the greatest events in history. We read of one of the greatest events in history. There was a occasion in Israel, in the valley of Elah, a great, mighty valley in the heart of Israel. A scene of many battles between the Israelites and their enemies, the Philistines. A scene of many battles, where much blood flowed, much hurt happened, the valley of Elah. On this particular occasion, though, on the one side of the hill of this mighty valley, a few miles in breadth, it's so wide, so broad, that is why it was where the scenes of the battles took place. On one side of the valley are the armies of the people of God, the Israelites, with King Saul, with King Saul as their head. The other side of this valley and the hill facing them sprawled across the hill the Philistines, the enemies of the people of God, with Goliath, Goliath as their champion, an instrument of the devil, an instrument of the devil, sent by the devil for one reason, to try and get God's people to take their eyes off from God, to try and get God's people to take their eyes off from God, for he knows that if he can do that, he's won the battle, whether collectively as the people of God, in your circumstances, or place in your circumstances, anything, it will take your eyes off from God. He's won the battle. He's won the battle. And it worked. The instrument of the devil accomplished the purposeless for which it was sent. Every man had their eyes taken off from God. From the king, to the last man in the army, all eyes were on God, all eyes were taken off from God, all eyes were on the devil's instrument. All eyes were on faith. In any heart, from the king to the last man in the army, all faith was God and God, but no one's eyes were on God. No one was looking up to God in faith. Faith was God. That's the fruit of fear. But God knew of someone. A youth. Oh, I love that word. God knew of a youth, the Bible says. Hanging his father's seat. Hanging his father's seat. A youth who had cultivated in God a trust, a faith, that refused to accommodate any thought, any possibility of God ever being able to fail him. No matter what circumstances he faced in life, he refused to accommodate any threat of God being capable of failing him. He had cultivated this trust in God in circumstance upon circumstance, proving God's faithfulness as he looked to God and God only, even though he was a boy, no matter what he faced in life to deliver him. God could not fail him. There was no possibility in his way of thinking of this happening. And God, God brought this youth onto the scene of the battle. Before the people of God, before Saul, their king, before the enemy, the armies of the Philistines, the enemy, and before the instrument of the devil. And we read in verse 32, and David said to Saul, David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will come and fight with the Philistines. And Saul said to David, Why art thou able to go against the Philistines that fight with him? For thou art but a youth. And he, a man of war, brought his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant took his father's sheep and took a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And Saul delivered it out of the rock. And when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard and slaughtered him swiftly. Thy servant slaughtered the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be of one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. David said now to the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear. And Saul said unto David, Go. Go. And the Lord be with thee. And the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armor. And he put a helmet of brass upon his head. Also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword and said, O son of Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took a staff in his hand. He took a staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones. Chose him five smooth stones out of the brook. And put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a script. And a string was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. And he drew near unto David. And the man that there was sealed went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David. When the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him. For he was but a youth and rubbing of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, And the Philistine said to David, Come to me. And I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand and lift thee from me. And I will give the carcasses of the host unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth. And all the earth will know that there is a Lord's assembly so will the Lord save it not with sword and spear. For the backer is the Lord's. The backer is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands. And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came in June night and went toward the army to meet the Philistine and David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slammed it and smote the Philistine in his forehead that the stone sunk into his forehead and he fell upon his face to the earth. He fell upon his face to the earth. So David prepared for the Philistine with a sling and struck the Philistine and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword and threw it out of the seat thereof and slew him and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead they fled and the men of Israel threw their robes and sought and pursued the Philistines. Hallelujah! Dear beloved, it is very likely it is very likely that the Apostle Paul was considering this great event in history when he wrote when he wrote in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10 from verse 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His right. Put on the whole armor of God. Put on the whole armor of God. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil days and having done all. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. Stand therefore with righteousness, righteousness, righteousness and your feet soft with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, above all, above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Praying always, always, praying always with all prayer, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. And watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all sins, supplication for all sins. There it hath the above all that Paul speaks of here. Above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all Satan could try to do against you. All Satan would hurt you. All that will hurt above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Now beloved, David throws five smooth stones out of the brook. David throws five smooth stones out of the brook, out of the river, out of the stream to be able to face this giant that the enemy hath placed before the people of God. Five smooth stones that he had proved he could use. He had proved he wasn't going there now but had improved these stones for what he needed. He had proved these stones he could use effectively. But beloved, the stones that you and I must carefully select are to be taken from the streams of God's Word. They are to be carefully taken from the streams of the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit, God says. Anything God is going to do to help you and what Satan comes and does against you are promises of God. The stones that we ought to carefully select as our enemy the devil places before us giants in his life. The things to take our eyes off God, to fill our hearts with fear, to work unbelief and hopelessness and circumstances he will create all through your life. The stones that we must carefully select as we face the giants, our enemy the devil will place before us till the day we die. They are to be taken from the streams of God's Word, the sword of the Spirit. The promises of God and the faith in the God who promised. We have to carefully select the promises of God, promises no matter what we face in life concerning His deliverance, concerning His heart that fulfills the faith. The faith comes by the Word of God. God says, Thou sling, Thou sling, Thou sling is prayer and we hunger for God, the God who gave the promises, with the promises and crying, Remember the Word unto thy servant upon which thou hast called me to hope. Remember the Word unto thy servant upon which thou hast called me to hope. For Thou sling to the promise of God Thou sling is prayer and we hunger in faith for God and we come in faith for the God who gave the promise. But now, beloved, I'm going to shock every one of you. I'm not going to preach what you will hear in sermon upon sermon and sermon upon sermon till you die concerning us taking hold of the promises of God, looking to the God who gave these promises and what we face in life when fearful circumstances are created to look to the promises, to look to the God who gave. I'm not going to preach that. Putting your faith in these promises is no good, sir. You know why? Because written across every single promise in this book concerning God honoring your faith and prayer, concerning God answering prayer, written across every promise in this book concerning God answering your prayers are conditions, staggering conditions. He cannot deny himself, sir. He has a holy obligation of honoring your faith when you come to this. But you cannot deny the conditions God places in this book on every promise concerning Him answering prayer. Listen, 1 John 3, verse 20, For if our hearts condemn us, if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, if our hearts condemn us not, then, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him. Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments. Because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. His conditions, the effectual fervent prayer. Have you ever prayed like that? Will you ever pray like that? But God requires. When you get to grips with God, sir, and the only warfare God wants us to be involved in, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, accomplishes staggering things. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, His ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them even if you say you've saved. The face of the Lord is against them. It's too evil. Oh God, that we will lift up holy, holy hands. Tell me, do you fulfill the condition when you come before God? Lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting? You can't come before God without wrath or doubting unless you have holy hands. You cannot have the confidence of a heart that doesn't condemn you, but that makes you able to take hold of liberty because the conditions are fulfilled. He that wavereth like a wave of the sea, James says, driven with a dwindling toss, for let not that man think that he receiveth anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Listen, you can't come to God in confidence unless you have a life that corresponds, that has fulfilled the conditions written in the very verse. Just look at the verse before or the few verses of the passage. You'll just see those radical, staggering conditions. God waits for you, and he is not held in any holy obligation until you fulfill that which he requires of you for him. You'll not be able to deny what he's promised. You must not deny what he demands when you come with the promises. You cannot. Without doing your part. Beloved, David didn't just take five small stones and put them on the ground. He didn't just take these stones and put them on the ground and then put his faith in God and expect the stones to suit up into the air, you know, into the pool of Goliath. That's not how it works. He has to do his part. He has to learn how to use the effectiveness that it works. He's circumstantial in the whole world with watching at their hand, look back now, staggered. Step by step, this boy, they circumstantially prove what could work. And you and I have to come step by step and circumstantially that God will allow such things to face us that will stay in the world and we'll not see the end. And what can we ever say? He didn't just throw you there. We have to prove these promises. We have to do our part. He has to do his part to prove these things work. So, I want to look at five smooth stones here tonight. Five promises on this book. But I want to look at the conditions. I want to be honest and don't say, look, God promises and you do it. Just believe. No! You do your part and watch how God honors you. But until then, don't pray. Don't pray in faith in the promises or the God who gave the promises. Pray if you will pray. It's written. Listen to any conscience that's always before God when they read this book. Pray, yes, only if you will pray, child. But don't pray at all. You'll grieve God. You'll grieve God. Stone number one. An amazing turning point came in my Christian life. An amazing turning point came in my Christian life when I, for the first time as a Christian, looked at these words honestly, honestly, and diligently. Listen to these words that turned my whole Christian life upside down. One promise. Delight thyself also in the Lord. Delight thyself also in the Lord. And He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Delight, Joseph. I'm going to be honest. And this is going to stagger a lot of people, but I've learned something. Be honest, Keith, or get out of the pulpit. Be honest. Before I applied my life diligently, desperately, and honestly, with integrity, to what God was saying, to make it a discipline of life, a great discipline, daily, in circumstance upon circumstance, to do what God was saying here. At least 80% of every prayer I ever cried earnestly and fervently to God, at least 80% of every prayer I answered was never answered by God. But since I applied my life in honesty, my integrity before God to what He required, seeking from my conscience and heart what God was expecting of me in the light of all Scriptures concerning what He was saying here, at least 80% of every single prayer I uttered was answered by God immediately. And mostly above what I was asking or believing. Many times for long stretches, 100% every prayer God just answered fully above what I was asking or believing, at least 80% though, from the time that I started offering the sacrifice of praise, when negative circumstances were created by Satan. Many of us are perfect murderers. You think it's a curse to be saved. We're not perfect worshippers. We're more ingrown in what God said of His people, the thing that really grieved Him the most in the Old Testament. You read carefully, the grief of God, the wrath, the wrath of His people, because no matter what He did to them, it didn't take much for them to start murmuring. And He says, because you serve the Lord thy God with a heavy heart and not with joy, God's anger is kindled against thee. You say, oh, will I go into some wickedness, some filthy, defiant sin that I hope my children or wife never finds out about me, because of the staggering degree of what He did then against His people it was such grief. It was such sin in God's eyes because He served the Lord with a heavy heart and not with joy. Tell me, is that the testimony your children will give of you when you're dead, sir, lady? In truth, the testimony your child gives you when you're dead, is what you really were if they're honest about what they're saying. Is that what they will remember? Serving God with a heavy heart? I know a preacher in South Africa, a good boy. He shook me, he said to me that his sister would always complain, always moan about being a Christian. Oh, moan with me, I'm a Christian. He got so exasperated because from all the times, oh, the terrible horror of being a Christian. Look at the devil's children, she said. Look at the suffering, look at the conflict, look at the way they're forced to live. Look at the church of God, look at all the sufferings they're going through and the problems that come, everything goes wrong. Well, look at the devil's children. But you know what he said? He looked at her in exasperation one day and he said, all right then, go and serve the Lord. Go on! Because they are so good to these people. Go and serve! And see how good he is to you when you're there. You're serving God with such a grief and God is so horrible to his people, so terrible to his people. It means war. It means war. Go and see what happens. Go and serve! Well, that shocks, doesn't it? That's shocking. I don't suggest you do that, by the way. But it worked. She stopped murmuring. Sometimes you've got to be a bit radical. She stopped murmuring. She really was shaken. Are you a perfect murmurer? Or a perfect worshipper of God? Do you offer the sacrifice anyone could praise? Even an unsaved person can praise God when everything goes right. But in the school of God, and God hasn't got much time, he has to put us through crash courses because there's very little. That's why we've got to redeem this time. We're not doing anything. In the school of God, things go wrong. Heaven's coming time. In this world you shall have tribulation. God didn't promise anything else. Heaven, there won't come things against you here. Tribulation is total onslaught from Satan and demons. God says, through any evil person he can get on afterwards. Undermine you. Offend you. You don't praise God if everything goes right, but when things go wrong, do they pray? Are you a child of God? When things go wrong? Oh, it's easy to praise, but when you have to offer the sacrifice of praise. But it's not easy to... You don't praise God for everything, in everything you thank, but not for everything. You don't praise God for everything. That's obnoxious. But in spite of anything that comes upon you, you do praise him. You continue, you don't cease to praise him when things aren't perfect. Yet when you offer the sacrifice of praise, when you refuse to allow negativeness and moaning and murmuring to flood your heart, then you come and you sacrifice to God. Whoso offers praise glorifies me, God says. Do you? Or do you bring shame on God in your home, beginning in your home, in your church, by becoming the most perfectly negative, self-destructive and undermining God's faithfulness by your whole attitude? It must be that people wouldn't want Christ. This is a terrible thing living as you to be a Christian. Listen to these words, Philippians 4, verse 6. Be careful for nothing. Don't get fearful or anxious or fearful about anything that comes against you in this life. Be careful for nothing, no matter what comes in your circumstances, in everything, no matter what you need, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, Philippians 4, with thanksgiving, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, that your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and souls and minds through Christ Jesus. You don't know God's peace, sir, until you praise. It's only a man or a woman or a child who has learned to offer the sacrifice of praise, no matter what comes, to still come to God with all the things we can praise for, rather than to come and murmur about the one thing taking place is there, and we forget to say thank you to God for all the great things He's done. It could take us 24 hours in sincerity of honestly finding time to thank God for every kindness He showed us, that millions would pull on grass to have half of what you've got, tenth of what you've got, hundreds of thousands of the things you have, and you can't praise for the help God's given you, the clothes, the food, where millions starve. Sir, right now, millions are in pain. Do you know why? No sickness, but just no food. Sir? To watch your child whimpering and crying, not because he's got a disease, but because there's nowhere to give him food. There are millions right now, and you murmur and moan, and your children have got every goodness, a home, a roof over their heads, where there's millions who've never had a roof over their heads and will die never having lived in a home. Where the Calcutta, in one square over a million people, just one, that have never slept on a bed, or on the ground, a million, nearly two million, in one square. They burn the ground, they die, they never had a roof. You wonder, remember, when you've got a home, a car, clothes, where millions, sir, if you don't know about them, come to Africa, have never once in their life had a new pair of shoes, a new shirt, a suit, never once, and you murmur, when you've got vehicles, cars, woods, and God's salvation. It doesn't take much off, sir. You write thy service all the time, in the hands, and then he, sir, gives thee the desires of thy heart. I dare you to try and prove God who grieves over you and you're murmuring and still daring to ask him without fulfilling the conditions that he waits for and longs for in your life. David didn't just choose one stone. Why? Have you asked yourself, why did this boy, that's all he was, why did he choose five? Was he a bit staggering that one more than the other he might lose, you know? So he better have more. That's human. My father-in-law, he's a father, but he's also a preacher. My father-in-law says staggering things, you know, as he preaches all over our land. People just flock to hear him, especially preachers of all denominations. They want to hear a man who's never been to any theological seminar. He's just learned in the school of God when he can just draw, God just draws the throngs of preachers to hear this man of God who's learned the school of God and the practical artwork of hardships of life. My father-in-law said to me that he heard a sermon once as a boy, a young Christian, that Goliath had four brothers. So just in case those brothers rose up, you know, and advancing near Prophet Goliath, he had one for each of them. My father-in-law, you never argue with, by the way, you're finished. So you don't do, you just smile and say, well, that's a good thought. And let's face it, it is. But, I suppose we could rightfully say, well, he was human. It's possible he, that in the circumstances, or just in case he kept to make sure he could just in case something happened. That's just human, it's not sin. But I would say in our circumstances, here tonight with this sermon that we're looking in the light of all scriptures as to how to apply everything because nothing written, nothing in this book was written for history. Everything was to get the heart of God. Look in the light of the rest of the scriptures, every statement David made, you'll be stunned how everything cries out a message to give us the throbbing heart of God, the pulse of Christ, the mind of God for you and me to be able to live with him. Nothing was history. It's the living vital word of God. So to you and I, with the five stones, why do we have to have five stones in this sermon? I believe because it's possible that the first conditions attached to that particular promise are not all the conditions God's waiting for. There's other things he wants you to get earnest about, about inconsistencies in your life, things that you know grieve him, but you never got desperate. So we need to look at other promises and the conditions attached to those promises concerning God answering prayer. So here comes my second stone. For those who are preachers, in case you're wondering what I'm talking about, my second point. I don't know of any promise in the entire Bible more staggering than this concerning God answering prayer to this degree that he promises. And I've been through this book many, many times, diligently, diligently seeking the heart of God. Every page I read, I read with that motive. I don't know of a more staggering promise that God ever gave Christians than this. Nothing shall be impossible to you. Now think who's saying this, not me. It's what God almighty said. Nothing shall be impossible to you. Albeit this time goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Of course we know the circumstances of demonically possessed people who the disciples couldn't deliver this man from demon possession. So they look to God now a bit staggered. And he says nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. But apart from the fact that this was a demonically possessed person, what God in essence was saying is literally nothing shall be impossible to you. Look at that now. Not just when you come to demon possession. Because this is what God was saying in its context. Nothing, nothing, nothing shall be impossible to you. Of course you don't come to God with things that are not his will when you're right with God. You have the mind of Christ. The more you devour the scriptures, the more you're ready of walking with God. You won't ask for things that are not God's will. But nothing shall be impossible to you, child. Nothing. Albeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Have you ever fasted? When God doesn't answer your prayer. There's times we have to. There's times that honestly, I stop life and stop eating. I don't suggest you all do that. My wife is a lady who I've nearly lost twice through her help. Pray things through. And when I have to fast, when circumstances in our nation and other nations look to me where it can be the end of all denominations. Misery societies, such crises and people somewhere look to me or families where there's crises that could bring such grief that it would be in the front lines of the papers and if God intervenes with the terrible things that are going on. Sometimes I've got to fast. I know. I'm responsible. God just puts it in my hand. The privilege He gives me to know so many things. But I forbid my wife to fast. I said no. I don't care how condemned you feel about that now, Jim. God doesn't expect it of you. We've nearly lost you. You leave the fasting to me. You just pray. You've got to be careful. I know many missionaries in Africa who lost their health through fasting. They became a burden to the missionary society that sent them and that tries to maintain them financially. It is a burden. And their motives were pure but you've got to use your common sense. Being a fire for God doesn't mean you haven't got to have two feet on the ground. The only safe person that plays with God is the most sober-minded Christian walking solidly down with his feet on the ground and his heart soaked in the word of God to know that he has the mind of Christ. A man that's sober. You've got to use your common sense. God gave it to you and if you have a weak constitution, ladies, don't you go fasting. But fasting doesn't necessarily mean total abstination from food. When Daniel fasted for three weeks he ate. He ate to heaven. Because he didn't eat anything other than necessities. He didn't go to anything that they would call a luxury or a presentry. The UNI Capes etc. like a David Raleigh set himself aside to fast but he did eat. But in God's eyes it was enough to make war break out in heaven. To reach this man is all he was crying for. So sometimes fasting is not eating a meal perhaps doesn't mean total abstination from food for 10 days. We drive off and down and up and more until God comes. But be careful now. Don't go and ruin your health. You're not using your common sense if you're too weak. Leave it up to those who can face such things that God waits for. But now I'm going to shock you again. Fasting many times has nothing to do with food in this book. Fast the fast of righteousness. But fast themselves God requires it many times. You won't see many prayers answered until you learn to fast but it's not necessarily just food where God has done staggering things since I've done this. Things I have never ever mentioned one thing in the perfect or publicly what God because most people would not accept that God would answer prayers to that degree so I'm waiting until I'm dead before they can publish books. I think they'll kill me before my time. But God does staggeringly wonderfully answer things people most people say God wouldn't answer a man who prays such things to that degree but he does but here now you've got to really get to grips God says there's no requiring it isn't just food I want you to fast the fast of righteousness stop all this inconsistency stuff the things you know grieve God the things you know are inconsistent to this book are inconsistent no keep God to making you walk with God be all God's requiring concerning answering prayers you can stop but dare you look earnestly to God for grace to stop all the inconsistencies young man with as the smallest music that's of the world for books for friends you need to lose oh lose your friends for God's sake but don't lose in this short moment the possibility you had of walking with God's forget about walking with men if you can walk with God don't walk with walking with God the whole world it comes near your nose walk with God's has anybody ever said that about you yet oh I saw him walking with such and such as his friend has anybody will anybody ever look at you and say oh that boy walks with God's many of us are fast from sin and to us there are small sins and big sins to God the smallest lie throws a man to hell not just when he goes and commits murder or adultery or profanity in God's eyes sin is sin there is no big sins apart from bless you against the holy gosh which we won't go into tonight which is unforgivable and so I want to come now to my third stone my third point just to keep some of you in check that you know I'm still homiletically in control and not just aiming at everything going to hit nothing my third stone the conditions attached to the promises that God promises he will answer prayer to listen carefully here because this is staggering 1 Peter chapter 3 likewise ye wives be in subjection to your own acts if any obey not the word they also may without the word be wiped by the conversation of the wife by your life while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting out of a cow but let it be the hidden man of the heart at one time the holy woman also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands even as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord Lord whose daughters he are as long as he do well and are not afraid of any amazement likewise ye husbands cry with them cry with them when they are not perfect when they are weak a vessel oh God they want to see don't get bitter against them if they haven't got the strength you have the ability that they need you so much for survival we'll thank God for that because the day a man knows he's not needed his wife's got no ability thank God she needs you to thank God don't get bitter against her see how bitter against your wife when she's not the weak vessel yes she is God made her weaker so that you won't well she's not allowing it to be likewise ye husbands cry with them don't get bitter don't leave them if they're not perfect if in their weakness they don't do everything you've got to help them to survive you've really got to in every aspect of life only with them cry with them this is what the context and the extroverses say don't leave them cry with them and make comfort to them cry with them according to using your common sense God gave you quicken by the Holy Ghost you have a hundred thousand million times headlong stop on the unsaved man trying to work at marriage to keep something of happiness in that home and no wounds you have common sense quicken by the Holy Ghost to tell you how to keep the testimony you don't have to by giving God because you keep Christ likeness and the testimony by your strength in not having to always have the last words sir use your common sense cry with them rather than according to knowledge giving fear unto the wife and unto the weak will your children remember that of their father of father that no matter how weak she was and how much she needed him you honored her you didn't scowl down at her and hate her and become bitter against her because she couldn't cope with everything she had to remind you oh giving honor unto the wife and unto the weak of their soul and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered that your prayers be not hindered you know what the word means in the Greek that your prayers are not cancelled out as worthless basically I add the word that they become not cancelled out by God that your prayers be not hindered so hear God saying to the wives do what I say so that your husband can be the head of the house and if he is unsaved you can win him but in the other four instances where God speaks about a woman being submissive to a man is still a man of God who will die for her who will give his life to be this and every aspect apart from one Peter where he says even a godless husband try don't leave him will you love him some great picture comes but through your life like the world maybe one or by the world as he watches your life he might be wiped by your life your godly life but whether it's an unsaved husband or whether it's a godly husband do you obey God is what Peter says in all passages like Ephesians 5 etc even though it costs even if it means dying for her as Christ died for the church that's why you should love your wife give your all for her good that's how God said wouldn't you love her and she must know it you wouldn't hesitate to die for her good you shall love her that only God can give now let your prayers be not hindered how can you pray for your children sir when you're the reason they won't come to Christ when you are so ungodly when you are so inconsistent to what God requires to be able to honor you how can you be the one not to pray and expect God to answer those prayers you get right with God you obey God it means that your prayers be not hindered do you woman do what God says with a heavy will Jesus smile do you sir obey God no matter how weak a vessel she is honoring her loving her cherishing her giving yourself to her that everyone knows you would die for her good and survival and dignity and never to humiliate her that she's not as strong as you but to honor her in spite of it and never become bitter against her because God wanted it that way do you because then your prayers when they gonna go to hell how can God answer your prayers it's obnoxious to expect him until you obey him well my fourth stone my fourth point he openeth not his mouth this was said of Jesus as I 53 he was oppressed he was afflicted he was oppressed he was afflicted staggering yet he do you do you honestly think this was this written about Jesus for us to have interest to know what he did when men came against him unjustly wanting his death undermining him touching him his words evil men lying against him doing everything they could to destroy him he openeth not his mouth he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened his mouth he brought the lamb so he openeth not his mouth he openeth not his mouth do you leaving us an example that he should follow his steps when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatened not but committed himself to him that judged the right of it do you do you fight back when God speaking to him by hitting him back but he'll never ever forget you till the day he dies his conscience won't allow him if you just turn the other cheek win him if not to prove a point it's to win the souls that wrong you to stagger their consciences and to heap coals of fire upon them if they don't want to obey what their consciences are telling them that the evil they're doing but you must not open your mouth when people turn to God what very staggered the town was this the degree to which really broken lives were wonderfully healed in one moment as they looked at Jesus Christ to save their souls drug addicts boys with at the wrong their homes their families were destroyed by these boys waywardness and rebelliousness and drugs and and I bless God for that and the Christians of the town who have been the reason why God did that they went into fasting and praying when that happens there's no telling what God can do hallelujah but then I get a letter short while after when I go back to Cape Town the other side of the nation and this letter was so staggering it was that it was mind-blowing and I thought what is this man speaking about everyone else is praising God for what God did all he saw in those meetings and what he did was to attack me no matter what God was doing he didn't see the souls he didn't mention them in the letter he mentioned everything the devil was telling about this old man how can this man possibly but how can the devil have told him that he's actually accusing me of things he couldn't possibly know it was so obnoxious beyond convention that he somehow the devil who is the accuser of the brethren and he goes to do it through people who allow him he waits to find even when he's cast out of heaven he accuses accuses accuses accuses oh so I said well Lord I suppose the best thing to do now that I pray about this is should I go back to the town and get all the ministers of the churches and sit with this man and sort it out till he knows what I worked this thing out I get on the phone and say look sir go to the land to the slaughter there's a seat before you there's a seer that's dumb so he offered it not enough and I said thank you Lord I obeyed peace flooded my heart I took the letter threw it in the dead box the wastebin and I said bless him father anyway and then done with life I didn't start a war I didn't get on the internet and say alright sir we declare war what means we've got if we really want to start a war we can get the whole world involved and then you see blood and wounds beyond your imagination when you get others involved I kept quiet I committed to God I prayed and I kept quiet I obeyed him I'll tell you something I've done that in ninety nine percent of the circumstances where men are immune from criticism oh wait just try you won't believe the powers of hell that rise against you in America you think I just come here and get lovely godly people encouraging me and say oh brother oh I do thank God for those that do but don't doubt it I mean the devil the devil doesn't want him up anymore he was worried he wasn't looking up when things didn't go wrong on the other side of the road some old vain person started cursing him and blaspheming there's that crazy fanatic from where he looks at this man takes his top hat up and throws it and jumps in the hallelujah that must have shocked the people worried when things go wrong but somebody started screaming oh the devil doesn't sleep you know my word all movements closed their doors on me to one or two people I hope they hear this I'm not fighting you sir I just let you know what over the years happened you know the lord said to me and I could have gone and came to meet you just get on with life I walked into a room in some missionary house in New York in Manhattan and the first verse of all this was coming against me and I knew the whole movement was going to close its doors on me because of two or three voices two at the most and decided it was time to get this man out and his control so I turned because this was a blessing to me to my little heavy heart and I look at the next verse because maybe it's going to speak to me they meant it for evil God meant it for good when Jacob Joseph's brothers did all that evil against him God allowed it he allowed it because good was going to come I said I believe the lord and I'm going to well thank god I did because they didn't in any way affect me you know what happened we suddenly started going to other big movements and denominations and churches and that we would never have considered because I was so involved in this movement and I didn't lose the people happened you always think God can lose control unless you fight back and stop what these men are doing don't be careful that man loses control until you take control brothers 2022 saying that I will recompense evil but wait on the Lord he shall save thee hallelujah didn't God say that Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 4 being reviled we bless being persecuted we suffer being defamed we accept that we are treated we are made as the fruit of the world and the offscoring war thing but whatever you do child all you'll find is God crying out page upon page be still be still child know that I am God truly this strength was doing nothing that strength be still God cries out oh page upon page Exodus 14 13 fear ye not stands to see the salvation of the Lord the Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace you know what the Hebrew says the Lord shall fight watch everything get messed from his walls your name is destroyed your integrity gone the Lord will fight for you and you the truth will shine I think these words are the Word literally God speaking to my heart of suffering God and this I know the circumstance were historically nothing history. Don't open that book unless you expect God to speak. And wait for 30 days, and your quiet time will be dead. He will speak to the Sovereign God just when you're reading about your circumstances, and He'll tell you exactly in His sovereignty what He wants of you. But if you don't do it, you're in trouble. You shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves down still, and see the salvation of the Lord. 2 Chronicles, God cries out in verse 15, verse 17 of chapter 15. Take heed, be quiet. He says in Jeremiah 46, 47 verse 6. Take heed, be quiet, be careful to do nothing, the Hebrew. You too, you be careful now. Don't fight. You do nothing, and God will fight for you. Jeremiah 47, thou sword of the Lord, he calls the people of Israel, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself unto thy scarpet. Put back in thy sheath, thou sword. How long will it be you're still loyal? You only make a mess of God's plan and purposes, and whatever men do against you, God allows it. They may be evil, but it'll be for your good ultimately, in every circumstance. If you won't lose, my son, you'll get the mail in different venues, with three times more people to speak. Trust me, I will not control, because two men seem to be having their way. Right now, I think a calling is to my soul. The Lord is on thy side, there patiently, the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God, to order and provide, in every change, if faithful will remain. Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend, through thorny ways, lead to a joyful end. Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake, to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy calm, let nothing shake. All thou mysterious shalt be bright at last. Be still, my soul, the waves and winds still know, his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below. Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on, when we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. Be still, my soul, when chains and tears are passed, well safe and blessed, we shall meet at last. My final stone, the fifth point, the fifth promise, I was going to read this, is to bring the sermon to a brief sudden close. The great time we as Christians face today in our land is that our land has turned its back on God, and is being destroyed by an avalanche of depravity and moral decadence unprecedented in history, that even little children can't stay pure in their millions. They have no choice, but God can visit the land in revival, beloved, even if it's moments before his return. Don't blame God's second coming and the conditions he set with me on the earth at that time for us not looking to God's promises concerning what he will do to us, the salt of the earth. We've lost our effectiveness, our reality with God, become worthless, good for nothing. In that generation the church can be good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden on the foot of men which they're doing. But God says to this church, this generation is my people who are called by my name. This of course was written in the Old Testament, but nothing was written in the Old Testament, not one single verse, that God didn't have in mind for you and me, even collectively as the people of God to look at, to embrace. If my people who are called by my name to humble themselves, to pray and confess their sins, to turn from their wicked ways, to turn from their inconsistency, then will I hear from heaven to forgive their sins and heal their land. Don't blame the government, don't blame Hollywood, don't blame lack of sin, I blame the church of Christ. If a land is destroyed, the people get right with God so that their prayers and their lives, what they're getting with their prayers, the power of God, your country has one danger, not Islam. Your country has not any dangers concerning wars. Sir President Bush can have ten billion times more might in his military, he's not going to save your country. Your country's only hope is the Christians to get on their wars, and the only war I know about is to get on our knees, get right with God, and start doing battle with the real things, the powers of hell, to be taken away. Lord, please, and the Holy Ghost come. Lord, power of the Father, will He come and reign righteousness upon us, or I'll heal their land. Do you honestly think he's talking about economically? No! The things that you and I grieve and groan about, we'll be right with God. God will come and heal our land for us, beginning when we get on our knees. Right with God. But there's conditions. The only fear I have for America or my land is this. The Christians are incapable of so bowing before God and getting so desperate until He comes and reigns righteousness. And you will be scared to walk out your front door one day, for what's coming, if the Christians don't desperately seek God while there's time. Can we stand, please? Father, take this message and help us to apply our life, whether we're a child or an old man or woman. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen. One meeting left. I'm very tempted to bring just whole passages through the Bible that have staggered many multitudes of people. You'll have to let your children really come and somehow, even if you say to the very little one, just for this sermon, no further, you'd better take them out with this noise. Because it's almost impossible just to quote passages upon passages upon passages, if they're screaming or distractions. No preacher could concentrate on her, just in the Scripture. Unless God leads me differently, I'd like to just bring God's Word tomorrow in a way that I know is staggering multitudes of Christians. And a few times I've preached it across the world already. So pray for this poor old man who knows he's nothing, who can't live. God, have to remind me that, please. God, I know it. In case you think differently, there's no one that trembles more when I preach the things I preach than this man. He's preaching that I have to be faithful to God. What's the point of living if you're not? You've wasted life, even if you're a preacher. So tomorrow, 10 o'clock is the last service. And there might be some doctors in service in the afternoon over their lunch, while most of us have to go our ways to get back in time to be home before the night. Last night, they all had goodies or some little snacks down there after the service. Is that tonight or is that past? Is this for the youth or for everyone? Hot dogs, marshmallows, campfire, oh! I'm the only one that can't go. And I will be able to preach if I don't go now and start preparing. The hour you give in front of people, brother, means the whole day was consumed if you give your best. Preparing. You tell us all about that, brother. The campfire. Yes, I'm sorry I missed mentioning that earlier. There'll be a campfire almost right away. There'll be hot dogs and marshmallows and I guess everyone's welcome to be there. I'm thinking we have enough hot dogs if everyone shows up, but we'll at least roast until they're gone. And I also missed mentioning, some were asking, if you don't have cash and you want to give a check to help support the expense of the weekend, you can make your check payable either to Ludington Christian Fellowship or Michigan Camp Meeting. I guess either way would work. We have accounts for both. And the offering box is up by the sound booth. There's a container or box or something up there where the money can be put into. God bless you. Keep all of us. We can enjoy ourselves by the campfire, but let's not forget the message from tonight and the other messages. And to continue praying that God will keep working as I believe he already has. To know the Lord wants us to draw closer to him and he's doing that this weekend. Bless God. You're all dismissed.