In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the importance of trust in Christ. He begins by referencing Hebrews 11 and emphasizes that trust in Christ is everything. The speaker then highlights the story of Abraham, who believed God and was accounted for righteousness. He explains that our righteousness today comes from believing God's testimony about himself through Jesus Christ. The speaker also emphasizes that as we believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit supernaturally changes us, molding us into the image of Christ and revealing the love and compassion of God in our lives.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, P.O. Box 260, Lindell, Texas 75771, or calling 903-963-8626. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. Hebrews chapter 11, please, if you'll go to the New Testament. Trust in Christ is everything. Trust in Christ is everything. Let's pray together. Now, Father, I stand before you, God, in need of your quickening power. You've never, ever caused me to stand alone. Lord, you have been faithful. And I ask you today for a quickening anointing of the Holy Spirit. I ask you, Holy Spirit, to make me more than I am. I ask you to open my mind and my heart. I ask you, Lord, to feed your sheep, O God. Speak through this vessel, Lord, words of life, words of hope and direction and encouragement. My God, I'm asking that you would be so glorified in this house today that there would be a shout of inner glory, God, in every person who's walked in the doors of this house. Lord, we recognize the hour is late. You are coming soon. We need to hear your voice now more than ever before. We ask you to take away from us the distractions of this life, all the things that want to crowd in and push away your voice. It's your voice. And you said your sheep will hear your voice. They will know it and they will follow you. Give us great grace today. Give me great grace, Father. And I thank you for it in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Hebrews chapter 11, beginning at verse 8. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whether he went. By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles or tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now the story of Abraham begins in Genesis chapter 12 where God told him to leave the secure and leave the familiar, leave his country, leave his family, his home. And he said to him, go to a land that I'm going to show you. And actually in the Hebrew text it means I'm going to take you to a place that you will inspect it, you will experience it, and you will intellectually understand it. And in this place God said to Abraham, I'm going to make of you a great nation. I'm going to bless you. And through you all the families of the earth are going to be blessed. What an incredible promise that was to this man. Think it through for a moment. He's actually fairly elderly even at the time that he is called by, of course, today's standards. He has no heir and God says I'm going to take you and I'm going to do something through you that will astound the world. Romans 4.3 tells us that Abraham believed God and was accounted to him for righteousness. He believed God. And the righteousness we possess today is because we have simply believed God's testimony about himself through Jesus Christ. He has told us that he has become a man, that he went to a cross to pay the price for our sins. We have believed that he was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit on the third day from the dead. We have believed that trusting in him we are forgiven of all of our sins and an access way is made as it is for the Spirit of God to come and now and dwell us. And so when we sing songs like this morning, let your glory fill this place, we're not talking about this sanctuary anymore. We're now talking about ourselves. The song is about me. It's about you. When I sing it, I'm not praying for some kind of cosmic glory in Times Square Church. I'm praying God, let your glory fill this place, this frail human vessel, this man that you've called and you spoke promises and I have believed them. And oh God, because of it, because I've trusted in Christ, you have declared me righteous. That means all the debt I owe is paid. My record is clear before the throne of God. God is not even mindful of my failings because he knows that my heart is honest. I've trusted in Christ. I'm not a game player with the wonderful grace of God. And I can stand here today with this incredible knowledge that I'm forgiven. This incredible knowledge that I have an inheritance that God says I'm going to make something out of you that you never could be in your own strength. I'm going to bless you and I'm going to pour a blessing through your life. And through your life, many people throughout the world are going to be blessed. Now, of course, he's speaking to Abraham in a larger context, which is obviously fulfilled through Christ and through the church of Jesus Christ. Now, Abraham couldn't have known this. There's no way he could have understood it. But he headed out on a journey. And the scripture says he didn't know where he was going. He didn't understand the end of his journey. And it's very much the same for you and I, isn't it? We come to Christ and we feel this deep inner call to something of God that he has for us. We don't know what it is. But we do have this inner sense that it's much greater than anything we could ever be in ourselves or anything the world could ever offer us. He's taking us to a place that nobody outside of God can ever go to. Galatians chapter 3, verses 7 and 9 tell us that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And they will be blessed with faithful Abraham. In other words, those who have trusted in God through Jesus Christ will be supernaturally increased, just like Abraham was. In spite of our weakness, God says, I will come and I will indwell you and I will make you into another person. You'll be called a new creation. It's as if you're born all over again with the things that were lost because of sin no longer a hindrance to what I'm going to do in your life. I'm going to make you into another person. You're going to be supernaturally increased. I think if everyone here today could just get a hold of that, we could have an altar call right now. And an absolute shout of glory could come into our souls. It's, oh God, I'm not limited by my education, background. I'm not limited by what the labels I've been given and what words of the unsaved have been put into my life. And the restrictions this whole world puts on humanity because of these issues and the cultural and educational issues and social issues. I'm no longer restricted by these things. I now have the God who created the universe in me. The same God who said, let there be light is now in me. And every promise in this book that is spoken is now mine. So there's now no limitation to what God can do in my life. I'm supernaturally increased by the presence of God. Supernaturally changed, the Bible says, into the image of my Christ. Isn't that amazing? As I behold him, as I believe the things that he has revealed about himself, the Bible says the spirit of God supernaturally changes me. And I am every day molded more and more, assuming that my relationship is an honest one with God. I am made more and more into the image of Christ. It's amazing. More and more, the compassion of God is formed in my heart. More and more, the natural abilities begin to fall away and the indwelling presence of God's ability begins to take over. More and more, his thoughts become my thoughts and his ways become my ways. More and more, there's a tenderness that begins to come into the heart and in the life. More and more, the love of God begins to be revealed in me and through me. Oh, thank God, there's a yearning in my heart for Christ today like I've never had before. A yearning for him. Once you've tasted of him, like David says, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Once you've tasted, you simply cannot have enough. There's that inner cry that says, oh God, let your glory fill this place. That which you are, that which is the weightiness, the glory means the weightiness of God, the wealth of God. Let that which is only God's come and fill this place. Also, they who are blessed with faithful Abraham are supernaturally made into a channel of God's blessing to others. Supernaturally increased, supernaturally changed and ultimately made into a channel of blessing. One to another first, obviously, and then to the whole world around us. It has to be supernatural. When I came to Christ, I didn't care about anybody, not even myself. To have a heart of compassion, to stand and preach to wherever God would send me and have a heart of compassion for people is a supernatural thing for me. I don't know about you, but it's a supernatural gifting of God. It's a heart that is not my own. It was given to me by God. Morning by morning, I see new mercy. Morning by morning, I begin to understand some new things about God. And I'm promised, like you are, that one day I'm going to have an everlasting inheritance. One day, the Bible says, a new city is going to come down from heaven called New Jerusalem. And it's going to be brought to a place that will very shortly after be recreated by God. There'll be a new heavens and a new earth. And the Bible says, in this new heavens and new earth, there will dwell only righteousness. He tells us there'll be no sighing there. There'll be no sorrow. There'll be no liars there. There'll be no crying there. There'll be a holiness. There'll be an understanding, an explosion of understanding of God. The Scripture says, clearly we will rule and reign with Christ in this place for all of eternity. And I do believe this is a glory that is so far beyond our understanding that if God should even try to reveal it to us now, we'd have a meltdown in our minds. We would not be able to contain it. We couldn't handle this kind of knowledge. That's why the Scripture says, we see only through a glass darkly now. But one day we're going to know even as we are known. Well, I'm going home to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled. The Bible says it will never fade away. It's not illusory. It will never be dissolved. It will never be changed. It will be permanent. It will be forever. It will always be there. What an incredible day that is going to be. That's why Jesus said, in my Father's house are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. There is a place that God is preparing for me. I don't know what it is. I don't understand it. And my understanding is so small. How can I even begin to describe it? All I can say is I know it's real. It's more real than this theater I'm in right now because this theater is going to be dissolved one day. There will be not a trace of it left other than perhaps the molecular fragments of it floating through the cosmos somewhere. But it will be gone. But I have an inheritance that will not fade away. I have a home being prepared for me. I don't know what it looks like. My natural mind wants to think it looks like a house, but I don't think maybe it does. John called it a mansion. Jesus called it a mansion. I don't know how else he'd say it. I mean, here are people that are dwelling in little brick huts. And he says, in my Father's house are many mansions. Now, they can only dream about one day living in a mansion. And I think the mansions of this world are not even worthy to be remotely compared with a brick in what God is preparing for those who love him. And he said, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. I'm coming again, and I'm coming for you, and I'm taking you home to this place. Hallelujah. You see, this is not my home anymore. I live here. I travel here. Hopefully, I'm a testimony for Christ here, but this is not my home. The Bible says clearly that nothing of this world is to own me. If riches increase, I'm not to set my heart upon them. These things are going to all pass away. But I have an inheritance that will not pass away. This city is going to be gone one day. New York City, with all of its tall buildings and all of its fancy lights and all of its illusory happiness, is all going to be gone. It's going to be dissolved, the Bible says very, very clearly. But I have an inheritance, and so do you if you've trusted in Christ. One day, I'm going to take a trip down to maybe Golden Avenue and visit Mama May and her mansion, and we're going to get together and talk about old times down on planet Earth, and I'll go and see David down on Emerald Crescent, and we'll maybe get together and sing one of the old-time songs of when we lived here in New York City and sing songs about, thank God that we're in the city, but the city was not in us. We lived in the world as it is, and you cannot live outside of the world, but the world did not live in us. There was another city being formed in us. There was another value system. We found something of God that caused us to be able to walk through the midst of it. In whatever walk of society we live in, wherever we're called, and even if we held position, power, or influence, these things did not become our gods, and none of them satisfied, because there was something much deeper, much greater that awaited us. And we were among those who said, I will not be snared by the things of this life. I will not be captivated by the passions of this planet. Oh, God has called me. God has blessed me. And He has promised me an inheritance that is so far beyond anything I will ever find in this world. Hebrews 11, 9, and 10 tells us that Abraham sojourned in the land of promises in a strange country. Actually, the original translation says it this way. He dwelt in this place as a stranger, in the land of promises, as if it was a strange country. A land seemingly owned by someone else. He dwelt as a stranger in a land that belonged to somebody else. And isn't that the way it is for you and I who walk through the middle of this world? We acknowledge that God created it, but it fell from grace. And we walk through the midst of it, and we are strangers here. I don't know how you feel, but I feel like a stranger here. I don't really belong here anymore. My heart is somewhere else. And other people can grasp to own it, and all the more to them. If they want to own some sand castle, it's going to dissolve one day, let them. But I'm moving on to something a whole lot better than anything that is found here. It says, He looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He expected to receive a permanent and satisfying place that has foundations. He expected that God was going to be true to His word, and one day He was going to live in a place of permanence. That's what it means, a place of foundations. He looked for the city. He could have no way of knowing how that was going to unfold. But He became the father of those, in a sense, who follow Christ by faith. We look for a city. We walk through the midst of this life, and we look for something much greater than anything this world will ever offer Him. Not only Himself, but His son Isaac and His grandson Jacob became heirs with Him of the same promise. It's amazing. In the eyes of the world, this is foolish. Can you just see the people in Canaan land saying, it's as if this man has nothing. And he's saying, son, I own nothing, and I'm passing it on to you. Cherish it. Really, that's what the scripture says. He dwelt like a stranger. He didn't own anything in the promised land. That's amazing. And He says, son, here, now, what I have is yours. And people would be looking and saying, and that's how they look at the Christian. The whole world clamors for position and power and wealth and influence. And they see the Christian just walking through, enjoying the day as it is. Enjoying the presence of their God. Seemingly listening to another voice. Seemingly possessing another set of values. Instead of about property, it's now all about people. Instead of about position, it's about those that are to be pitied, in a sense, who are outside the life of God. They're walking through, and the world is looking at this. Here's a man who seemingly owns nothing of what we feel and esteem is worth giving our lives for. And he's passing this nothing, as we see it, on to his son. And on to his daughter, and says, here, what I have is yours. But we don't see what he has. What is he passing on to his children? Hallelujah. Oh, folks, I would rather have Christ than all of New York City to pass on to my children. If all I have is this city, if I owned the whole world and could pass it on to my children, what good is it? What good is it to give an influence, to pass on an inheritance that's simply going to be dissolved? That has no real lasting quality to it. No, I'd rather have Christ. I'd rather have a trust in God in the midst of every circumstance than have that. Let the world laugh. Let them mock. Let them sneer. What they stand on is sinking sand that's going to pass away. What I have lasts forever. It's a trust. It's a confidence in God through his son, Jesus Christ. The natural man can't receive the things of the Spirit of God. The Bible says they're foolishness to him. He can't know them because they're spiritually discerned. The Scripture tells us that in reality, that the thoughts of men without God are in themselves foolishness. I just want to read to you from Psalm 49, where the Scripture talks about the inward thoughts of those who are without God. Here's what it says. Psalm 49, verse 11, it says, Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. And they call their lands after their own names. Isn't that amazing? As if it'll never pass away. Nevertheless, man, being in honor, abideth not. In other words, no matter how high he achieves, he has no lastingness in himself or in this world without God. He is like the beast that perished. This their way is their folly, yet their posterity have proved their sayings. In other words, this is their foolishness, but the generation after them pursue the same foolishness that they have pursued. Like sheep, they are laid in the grave, and death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. And their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. Actually, in the Hebrew, it says, their beauty shall consume in the grave far from their fine estates. Amazing. Passing on a perishing kingdom. Look around you today and see the people in this city grasping to stake a claim in a perishing planet. Grasping, clamoring for reputation that will rot, for real estate that is going to crumble, for positions that are going to turn to vapor, for security that will soon disappear, for eternity that will one day be hell. Look around and see the grasping and the clamoring in all of society. I remember one day a lady, I was at a checkout counter, and a lady picked up one of these magazines that you see in the grocery store about all the movie stars and all the trouble that's in their lives. And she looked at it and she says, oh, thank God I was born ugly. Look at what my life could have been if I had been one of these people. Peter says in 2 Peter 3, verse 11, he said, Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? In other words, where should our focus be as Christians? Especially at this hour that we're living in. Especially with the knowledge that Christ is coming soon. Especially concerning even this church that we're hearing a cry, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. And touch not the unclean thing. In other words, don't let that which is perishing so influence you that you lose the testimony of Christ. The Bible says we're always to be ready to give an answer to those who ask for a reason for the hope that is in us. Oh, folks, they should be asking. People in your workplace should be asking. As you come in every day and they're aspiring to that position they can't have. And they're trying to stab in the back those that have stabbed them. And they're murmuring and complaining against all authority. And you walk in and you have this light in your eye. You have this bounce in your step. There's just something in you that people who are unsaved see. You're looking far beyond this world. There's something in your eye. There's something in your voice. And the unsaved look at it and they marvel because you're doing the same job they are. But seemingly marching to another tune. And they're saying, what's the reason? Because there's nothing around us that gives us hope. We aspire but we cannot obtain. And when we do it doesn't satisfy. But you seem to have something. What is the reason for the hope that is in you? You see, that question can only be asked to the Christian whose value system has gone beyond this world. Whose value system has been translated as it is into another kingdom. Who sees life in the perspective of eternity. Who's working now for eternal things. Eternal perspectives. Hebrews 11, 13 to 15 tells us about the testimony of these early Christians. Believers, it says, they all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off. And were persuaded of them. And embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Such foolishness to the world. When even to repeat what I'm preaching this morning when you go to work on Monday. Oh, God is preparing a place for me. And it's going to be so wonderful. Now let them accuse you of being an escapist. But you're speaking a higher reality than everything that is around you. I've chosen to believe God. I've chosen to believe that I'm saved through trusting in Christ. I've chosen to believe that the power of God is in my life to lift me out of my weakness. And bring me into the glorious strength of Christ. I've chosen to believe that everything God speaks to me is true. He is preparing a place for me. It is far beyond anything around here and anything this world has to offer. Noah, have you seen this house they will ask you? What does your mansion look like? Well, I'm not quite sure. It's quite a ways off. But I'm persuaded. And I embrace it. And I confess to you that I am a stranger to the ways of this world. I come here and I work hard because God says I should. But my sense of identity is not in what I achieve here. I have a different value system. I do what I do to honor God. I do what I do so that people around me may see the glory of Christ. And come to an eternal kingdom with me. That's why I live the way I live. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Hallelujah. Declare it. It's an open declaration that I'm moving somewhere else. Hallelujah. I'll never forget the time when I was a policeman and I was assigned to community relations. And I was warned by the police department that I had to stop sharing my faith. It was actually more than warned. I was threatened. You must stop. You cannot do this. You cannot be a police officer and be always speaking about Jesus Christ everywhere you go. I mean, I go to a domestic dispute and people are hitting each other with plates and pots and pans and sit them down and say, You need Jesus in your lives. You need Christ. And they told me I had to stop. And so they assigned me to community relations. It's a long story, but I ended up in this community group one night and I'm talking about locks, how to lock your house and how to watch out for suspicious people in your neighborhood and all this type of thing. And this lady raises her hand. I've just been warned just a few days before. And she says, Officer, I have a question. She said, You're talking about issues of robbery, prevention and break ins and locking your house and all this other kind of stuff. But she said, Everything in your body language is saying something else. She said, Your whole countenance is different than what you're speaking on. What is it that I am seeing in you? Isn't that amazing? Well, I'm seeking another country. I don't live here. All I had on my door was a latch and a stick to keep the cat out of the kitchen. That's the only thing I had on my door. What is it that I'm seeing? Hallelujah. Theresa and I were checking out at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and I had a tracksuit on and we really didn't look very holy. And we're just putting our groceries on the thing and we're talking to the cashier and we're talking to each other, just living our lives as we do. And the lady stops everything and she says, There's a majesty about you. I mean, I haven't shaved yet today. My hair is everywhere. I've got running shoes. And she said, There's a majesty about what am I seeing? What is it about you? Amazing. And there's people waiting in line and she's asking this question. And of course, it's amazing when that happens. I seek another country. There's a light in our eye, even when we're unshaven and have a tracksuit on. There's a light in us that people who are searching for truth can see. We don't expect it's going to happen. But they that say such things declare plainly they seek a country. And truly, verse 15 says, if they had been mindful of that country from where they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. And really what the Scripture is saying is if their minds had still been entrenched in that which God was calling them out of, they might have gone back to it. You see, when Abraham left the land of promise, he brought along a nephew whose name was Lot. And this is the two types of people who make the journey as I see it today. The two types of Christian. And there was a point where they could no longer dwell together. God had blessed both Abraham and Lot and they were increased in goods. And their herdsmen began to fight together. So Abraham says, Choose where you will go. And the Bible says that Lot lifted up his eyes. And he didn't quite lift them high enough. And we have a whole segment in the professing church of Jesus Christ who preach the gospel of Lot. They lift up their eyes and they see the fields of this world. And they see the riches of this world. And they see the fame of this world. And they preach about destiny. But it's all about this world. It's all interconnected with this world. And Lot lifted up his eyes and he saw the watered plains and chose what he thought to be the blessing of God. And headed off. And the scripture tells us he settled in right next door to Sodom and Gomorrah. When the time of crisis finally came, he had no spiritual authority. He finally realized that this whole society around him was going to be disintegrating. But he had no authority. And you see, this is the issue. When the success and prosperity Christian finally realizes or the Christian whose focus is in this world finally realizes that this whole thing is coming down. When the Twin Towers day comes again, but on a much larger scale throughout the world. And finally realizes the whole thing is coming down. He finds that he has no spiritual authority. There's never truly been the light of God in his eye. His focus has been here and on the temporal. And the scripture says when he found out that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed by fire, he went to his sons-in-law. But the Bible says that his sons-in-law considered him as if a man who was telling a joke. He tried to tell them this place is going to burn. It's going to be destroyed. But they said, oh, Lot, you must be joking. You see, because what do you mean this place is about to perish? Isn't this your promised land? You've loved it. So and you found your purpose here. Isn't it what you preached about Lot? We've watched you love it just as much as we do. Surely you jest. Where's the spiritual authority in the church that has been immersed in materialism? Where's the authority to warn a perishing generation that the judgment of God is going to come on the whole world? That everything around is going to be dissolved. And only those who truly know Christ and follow Him are going to be among those that are called into an eternity with Him. Where's the authority? The Scripture calls those who have not this light of Christ in them foolish. There's a day of difficulty coming and they're going to clamber. They're going to run. They're going to be full of terror and fear for that which they thought was the blessing of God has finally eluded them. It has fallen through their fingers. Abraham had tried to pull Lot out of Sodom. The Scripture tells us that Lot was once captured and Abraham rushed his whole house to get him out, only to have him get off the wagon as it is back in Sodom again. Can you hear Lot saying, Oh, Uncle Abraham, don't you know that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous? Don't you know, Abraham, that the blessings of the promised land are material? Don't you know, Uncle Abraham, that society and the world are ours now for the taking? Oh, Abraham, you travel so excessively, you declare your confidence in God so boldly, yet you possess nothing of the promised inheritance now. You possess so little. But I can hear Abraham saying, Not so. Not so. For in Genesis 23, 20, I bought a piece of land from the sons of Heth, and in that piece of land I buried Sarah. The world considers it irony that the only piece of land that Abraham ever owned in the promised land was a grave. The only legal claim he ever had in that place was the place where he buried Sarah. The place where he laid down next to God that which was the dearest to his heart. And so it is with us today. You and I have an invitation with Abraham. We have an invitation to trust God in the midst of our deepest sorrows. To trust God and to make a declaration when we have to lay down that which is dearest to our heart. I trust God. I have here no continuing city. I've not found my happiness. Yes, I've been happy in Christ and I thank God for it. But my sense of value and worth and purpose and destiny is not here. It's in Christ. While I live here, I live for Christ. While I exist, I exist to be a testimony of the living Christ. And even when I have to bury that which is the dearest to my heart, I have believed that all things have worked together for good because I love God and I'm called according to His purpose. It is our privilege today with Abraham to lay down our fondest dreams and ambitions. To lay them down and to take up another pathway. That's why Christ said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. It is my privilege that God calls me, says, I have in this world for you a burying place where you are to take your fondest ambitions and lay them down. Everything you think will make you happy or successful or prosperous or good, you lay them down and you take up another pathway that I give you. You take up the will that is my will for your life and you walk in my will because only there will you have the sight of eternity in your soul. Only there can you know the increase that I promise to give to those who are called by my name. We are invited with Abraham to believe that God is faithful to His promises even when circumstances seem against us. God is faithful. Even when the devil sets up an idol before us and says, bow down to it and we refuse, God still remains faithful. Even when we have to walk through the fire, God still remains faithful. Even when we have to go through the flood, God still remains faithful. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! It is our privilege today with Abraham to see with eyes of faith beyond our situation. Abraham, God said to him in Genesis chapter 15 and verse 1, lift up your eyes. I am your shield and your exceeding great reward. Abraham, it is not in a physical place, it is in me. I will not let you find comfort in the world. I will not let you settle in with the lots of your generation. Yes, I will bless you. Yes, I will prosper you. But Abraham, your heart is to belong to me. Your journey is to be led by my Spirit. Your strength is to be found in me. Your protection is to all be in me. And Abraham, when it is all over, I am your reward. I am what you have been seeking all your life. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Oh God, thank you! Thank you, Jesus! Hallelujah! To possess Jesus Christ is more than every world in the universe! To have Him, to trust Him, to love Him, to walk with Him. I have a house in Canada, but if I pass that, if that is all I have to pass on to my children, I am a poor man! I have seen that God can take these things and sweep them into the sea in a moment of time. I would rather be counted a fool in this world and walk with the Abrahams of my generation, who say, son, I may not have houses or lands, I have something much greater! I have a trust in the living Christ to give you! You may not have a nice house, you may never have a nice car, you may never have position or wealth in this world, but if you have Christ, you have everything to give your children! Hallelujah! Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6, I seemingly own nothing, but yet I possess all things. I am poor, but I make many rich. Hallelujah! There is an old hymn in the church that says, I would rather have Jesus. I would rather have Jesus. Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh come, let us adore Him! Oh come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! This morning there are people here who can say, I hear God calling me. I hear Him calling me to trust Him in the midst of my deepest sorrow. I hear Him calling me to lay down my fondest dreams. I hear Him calling me to believe that He is faithful even when circumstances are seemingly all against me. I hear Him calling me to see with eyes of faith beyond my situation and to understand that He alone is my protector and my exceeding great reward. I hear Him calling me to come out from among those who find their satisfaction alone in the things of this world. I hear you, Jesus. I hear you calling me. If that's the cry of your heart, I'd like you to make your way to this altar as we worship. Let's all stand together. Balcony, you can go to either exit. Education annex, please just move between the screens and we're going to pray as the Spirit leads us. Please just make your way here. You hear the Holy Spirit calling you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We hear you, Lord. We hear you, Holy Spirit. We hear you. Oh God, you're the only one that can give us the power to obey. You have to break the cords, Holy Spirit, that chain everybody to circumstance, ambition, sorrow. Lord, you're the only one that can break these cords. But we hear you calling us. Like Lazarus heard you, Jesus, we hear you. We hear you. And all we can say is, Lord, we come. Lord, we come. God, we come to you. We ask, Lord, that you give us the heart to see heaven. Give us the heart to see the end result. Give us the understanding that, Lord, this is a perishing kingdom. This is a perishing planet. And all who put their trust in it are fools. Oh God, thank you for blessing. But let never the blessing take my heart from you. Oh God, I thank you from the depths of my heart. Lord, this is your church, these are your people, this is your bride. You've called us, Lord, we've heard you. We've heard you, Jesus. We've heard you. And we cry out, Lord, let your glory, let your glory fill this place. Let trust in Jesus be the testimony of our hearts. Oh God, oh God, help us. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. We hear you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We hear you, Jesus. We hear you, Lord. Hmm. Jesus. I know, yeah. Pray with me now. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. Let the testimony. Let the testimony. Of your life in me. Of your life in me. Be clean. Be clean. And be clear. And be clear. To all. To all. Who are without Christ. Who are without Christ. Everywhere I go. Break from my heart all the cords that tie me to the value systems of a perishing world. Open my eyes and open my ears to see my destiny and to hear your voice calling me into a life that can only come from the presence of God. I yield myself as the temple of the Holy Spirit and I ask you, Holy Spirit, to glorify Jesus Christ in me and through me. Let not the testimony of Christ be hidden in me any longer. Lord, I'm not ashamed of you and I thank you that you are not ashamed of me. You confess my name every moment before God my Father. Give me the power to embrace and confess your name in all that I do, in all that I am, everywhere I go, every moment of my heart and my life while I live in this world. I believe that very soon you're coming to get me and you're taking me home to a wonderful place that you have prepared for me. Oh God, I may never see it on this side of eternity, but I believe it and I will pass it on to the next generation and they will believe it and we will be coheirs of the promises of Almighty God that are more than real through Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Saviour, forever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! This is the conclusion of the message.