In this sermon, the speaker begins by expressing the strong presence of God in recent church services and the abundance of blessings received by the congregation. He shares a testimony of a young man who prayed for God's presence in his workplace and witnessed the transformation of his colleagues. The speaker then references the story of King David in the Bible, highlighting how David recognized that all his blessings and success came from God. David's response to God's mercy was a desire to do things right and establish justice in his kingdom. The sermon concludes with a prayer for God's continued blessings and guidance in the lives of the listeners.

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. None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. His presence has been so strong here the last few services, in the worship and in the word, and we are a blessed people. We are richly fed. We're spoiled children of the Most High. He just gives in abundance, and I know today he's going to do that again. I heard an awesome testimony on Friday night in Friday night Bible school when I was in one of the classes. And a young man shared how he was at work, and it's a hard place where he is in terms of witnessing. And nobody, when he first went there three and a half years ago, he prayed a very simple prayer. And he said, Lord, you are the Lord God over this business. You're the Lord over this store. And it was a simple prayer, but a heartfelt prayer. But no one wanted to hear the gospel in that store. He seemed alone, except one lady had cancer. And he prayed for her, and God healed her. Then the next thing, there were Bibles all over the place. And he is now having a community lighthouse in his place of business. And he's not high up in the hierarchy. He's just a small guy in that organization. But I thought, what a precious faith. Just a simple prayer. And God heard it, because it came from a heart believing that God really was the Lord over that store. And the Lord God Almighty over that business. And God proved himself to be so. And today I want to talk about his story. It's kind of an illustration of what I'd like to talk about this afternoon. And my message today has been called, Fulfilling Your Destiny. Fulfilling Your Destiny. If you would turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. And that's after Samuel, and then Kings, and then Chronicles. 2 Chronicles. And while you're turning there, I'm going to pray. Lord God, you are the Lord God over your church. Over this service. Over these that have gathered here. That have given their hearts to you. Lord, we just pray now that you would come and be the teacher. Holy Spirit, you would bring forth the truth. That this, your body, you know needs to hear. Lord, I just pray that you would be heard clearly. And Lord, that your words, oh God, would create what you intend them to do. Is to bring life, and light, and faith, and hope. In the hearts and the ears of your children. Lord, if there are any here that don't know you. I pray, Lord, in Jesus' name. By your love and your power, you would draw them into a relationship with Jesus Christ. And Lord, we'll be careful to give you all the praise and all the glory. For it's your work, your love, your sacrifice, your word, your spirit. That we deal with today. And we thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Fulfilling your destiny. I believe that we were created for a purpose. And there's a reason for your existence, for my existence. We are not a number to God. We may feel like we're in a crowd today, but God doesn't see us that way. We are individuals. He knows you, He knows me, our name, our histories. He knows us before we were even brought forth. He knew us in the womb. He knows what our life course will look like. And He knows eventually how we're going to end up. But the fact that God knows all that. Does not change the fact that you and I have a part to play in choosing what kind of destiny that we will have. To know your highest calling and to realize your fullest potential for the life that has been given you by God. First of all, we need a relationship with our Heavenly Father. In other words, we will not know the highest purpose for our existence unless we come into relationship with God Almighty. And we come the only way we can through His Son, Jesus Christ. And when we come into the body of Christ, when we by faith accept Christ into our heart. And believe now we have forgiveness of sin and a relationship with the Father. And it's sealed because a Holy Ghost now lives in us and gives us a new mind and a new heart. When these things have taken place in us, the Scripture tells us that we are freely now given spiritual gifts. In addition to natural gifts that you may possess. And so you've been added unto. You have been given from a heavenly source additional gifts and a calling on your life. That calling can be summed up by the words that we are called with our life to glorify God. But how that looks, how it plays out in each of our lives is as individual as we are. We are given a new heart and new desire. But then by faith Christ comes and He takes us on a journey. And the best way that I can describe this is that you know in God, our hearts are desire factories. Our hearts are constantly manufacturing desires. And things that we think will fill us and please us and ultimately fulfill the deepest needs of our heart. Our heart feels it knows what that is. But when we ask Christ into our life and He gives us a new heart and new desire. He is now going to take us on a journey to teach us that our highest fulfillment, our hearts desire will truly be found in the more that we know Him. But we have to be trained to think this way. And we have to be brought in by experience that it truly is true that Christ does fulfill the deepest desires of our heart. And I see a picture when we start on this journey. That Christ desires to take us to a mountain. Like going to a top of a mountain. And the closer we get to the top of that mountain we realize the full beauty of this truth. That thy loving kindness is better than life. That it is a life that glorifies God the most is the one that is most satisfied in Jesus Christ. That is who glorifies God the most. The one that is most satisfied in Him. And this call to go up the mountain and get an increasing revelation of Jesus Christ. And His fullness, His glory, His truth being revealed greater and greater in our heart. Releases us because we know Him. The higher, figuratively speaking, this mountain. The more we know of Him. The more that we possess Him. The greater our usability will be. The clearer our path is of what our true destiny and calling is in Christ Jesus. But if we want our heart to lead us. With a human and natural understanding of how our lives, what shape it should be taking. What direction it would be going. With an occasional, God have your way. But deep down we have not released what we feel we want most desperately. Or that we desire the most. We will end up on a journey with Christ and we are walking around the base of the mountain. And we could say, well I'm walking with Christ. But we're not getting anywhere. We're just walking around the base of this mountain. It's a long trip. And over time we begin to realize we're not going anywhere. But when we release ourselves to Christ and say, Lord you take me up. You lead me. We will find that in Christ He will start to lead us. In a path that many times goes across our natural or fleshly desires. And the path will look all of a sudden as if it's going straight up a mountain. Our flesh and sometimes our desires will want to take a more level path, an easier path. But if we will set our hearts to follow Him in how He wants to lead our life. We'll follow Him. And we'll find going up a steep mountainside. That we will have to release the burdens and the cares that we are clutching on so strongly. And grasp onto Him in order to make it up that path. And that's where we find out that He cares for us. That when we release things to hang on to Him. And trust Him to take us to a place only He can take us. In Him. To this high revelation of who He is. There is an incredible call and destiny on those that will do that. God's heart is to show us Himself. God wants to make something beautiful out of your life and my life. He wants to fulfill the call He has placed on your life and my life. There is a work ordained that only you can do. The Bible says, it tells us that there were good works ordained. That you were called to walk in. That were designed for you. That no one else can do. That no one else can fulfill. And God's got a calling on your life. And a purpose in your life. As we walk His way, we are going to understand and know this. In more and more. So there's a call. There's a work. There's a destiny. There's a passion. And there's a purpose. For those who say, Lord Jesus, lead me on. Lead me into the path and into the life that you have for me. It's a life that will not be destroyed by regrets. It will be a life renewed by grace. Convinced of the love of God. As it becomes our meat and drink. Now beloved, many, many saved people will never know an ounce of this glory that I'm talking about. Till they pass through the gates of glory into heaven on graduation day. And we will have missed out on an incredible life. We will have missed out on a most incredible, beautifully fulfilled life this side of eternity. A place where a man or woman that fully surrenders to Christ. God can trust that life with anything. He can trust that life with fame. He can trust that life with riches. He can trust that life with sorrow. Knowing that sorrow in the end will be turned to a beautiful flowing river of life for others around. To partake and be strengthened. I would like us to look in 2 Chronicles into the life of a king. Jehoshaphat. A king of Judah. I want to look at three episodes in this man's life. And I believe he's going to speak to us very clearly today. About a life that had a calling, a destiny and a purpose. In chapter 17, it begins and starting at verse 1. It talks to us about this king of Israel. I'm sorry, the king of Judah. And he was a great king of the southern kingdom. And the southern kingdom, of course, as you know, is a kingdom that God had his hand on. The northern kingdom was a kingdom that was released to idolatry. And to a foreign worship that God had to reject. But the kings of this nation, the priests of this nation, were in touch with God. And the Bible tells us that this king, Jehoshaphat, had a father, Asa. And as the Bible goes, they called him a good king. But that father did send that son, Jehoshaphat, a mixed message. And when you read the life of Asa, if you want to at some time, it's chapter 16, summarized there. Really, that mixed message that that king gave his son is that God is there for the big things. But the small, easy things, you go ahead and decide. God is there for the tragedy. God is there for the crisis. But there are times that this king, Asa, sought help outside of God. Ignored the God that had blessed him tremendously. And in the end, gave a very mixed message to his son. I think there are many here that could honestly say that they too have received a mixed message from spiritual fathers. The scripture says here that in chapter 17, verse 1, And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead, Asa, that's his father's stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. And here's a man who knows that the kingdom, though they were blood brothers, though they were brothers, he strengthened himself against that kingdom because he knew of the spiritual danger they represented and the physical danger. And as you begin to read chapter 17, you begin to see all that God did for this king. Verse 3, And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father David and sought not unto Balaam, that's idol worship, but sought to the Lord God of his father and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat's presence and he had riches and honor in abundance. And here we see where this is a king who has set his heart to follow God and God does what he always does with those who set their hearts to him. He blesses, he strengthens, he gives discernment, he gives wisdom, and he gives understanding. Verse 6, And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Moreover, he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. Also in the third year of his reign, he sent to his princes, names them, to teach the cities of Judah. Verse 9, And they taught in Judah and had the book of the law of the Lord with them and went throughout the land, all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. And verse 11 tells how the Philistines rose up and that they were, I'm sorry, the Philistines themselves, the enemies, brought Jehoshaphat's presence. Verse 13 and 12 says, He built castles, cities of store. Verse 13, He had much business in the cities of Judah. And then to the end of the chapter, it talks about how mighty men of valor began to group around this king. I'll tell you something, beloved. He is such a picture of a saved man or woman who begins to understand covenant. A person who has given their heart to Christ and says, Lord, all I have is from your hand. You have blessed me. Lord, all I've done is offered you a poor heart with a little bit of faith. But that pleased you and you took it. And the more that God blessed him, he did not take it as, Aren't I doing something great? It was a full recognition in him. It is the Lord God whose hand is upon me, upon my kingdom. And so with that knowledge, he began to commission teachers throughout all the nation. We will learn the book. We will learn the law. We will find out this God that so blesses us. This God that makes even our enemies pay us tribute. And there was order and security in the land. And the people, as they saw mighty men of valor, men who loved the word, group around their king, there was a feeling of stability and security in the land. Now the scripture goes on to tell us in chapter 18, Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance and joined affinity with Ahab. Now beloved, that is a shocking statement. Affinity means a relationship with, an attraction to, a sympathy for, a close relationship with, a likeness implying common origin. Scripture clearly tells us this blessed king had riches and honor in abundance, gives us it in detail in chapter 4, and then says he went and had a relationship and attraction to, a sympathy for Ahab, who was, up until that time, the most wicked king that ever sat on the throne of Israel. Why? Why would a king so blessed have an attraction to, a relationship for, a sympathy with, such a wicked king? The Bible tells this story that after certain years that Jehoshaphat went down to Ahab, and Ahab asked him to join him in war. And verse 3 of chapter 18, And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat answered a true man that has an affinity or a relationship with. He says, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in war. But beloved, there was something stirring in Jehoshaphat, because you see, God was with him. And God now knows that this king that he has loved and he is blessed, God knew all along that there was an attraction to and a sympathy and a relationship with something wicked and evil in his life. And he says to Ahab, well, you know, I'm with you in this. But then he gets a little shaken and he said, is there a prophet that we can ask? Who says we should do this? And the scripture tells us in this chapter that Ahab trotted out all his prophets that spoke lies and said, go up, go up, you'll be victorious. But Jehoshaphat pushes the matter because you see, there's a faithful holy ghost in his life. And he's feeling something here and he says, is there another? And the scripture says that there is another prophet brought before these two kings. Verse 8, and the king of Israel called for one of his officers and said, fetch quickly Micaiah, the son of Imla. And this prophet that's going to stand before them is a true prophet. And verse 9, and the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place. And they're sitting in this empty place waiting for the word of God. And the scripture tells us that this true prophet, Micaiah, comes and stands with them. And Micaiah begins to speak the word of the Lord. And in verse 12, he says to these kings, verse 13, and Micaiah said, As the Lord God liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. And so he does. And starting in verse 18, he said, before these two kings, Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab, king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead, the place where they're going to war? And one spake, saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go out, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail. Go out and do even so. Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. Beloved, Ahab, being a wicked king, was never going to listen to truth. That's why truth, even though spoken to him, was not for his sake. It was for Jehoshaphat's sake. And the Lord was clearly showing his servant what this evil king was about. The Lord was clearly showing Jehoshaphat, his man, that the one that he had made an affinity with was animated by a lying spirit. And that the Lord had spoken against him. The Lord was clearly showing this man, this king, that he loved and that he blessed. That the man that you have made an affinity with, I have set my hand against. And know that he will lie to you. Know that everything he says to you will come forth from a lying spirit. And then the Bible tells us that Ahab is furious at this word, but he's shaken up. And farther down in the verse, verse 28, So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-Gilead. In spite of the clear warning given those two kings, they go to battle. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and will go into battle. But put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself and they went to battle. And now here, what an odd thing. What an odd thing for this king to be sitting there and Jehoshaphat, God's king, and this man's going to say, I'm going to go into battle, but I'm going to disguise myself. And here the Holy Spirit is again giving him insight to Ahab. Not only is he animated by lying spirits, but he's a man of disguise. You have made affinity with something that will disguise itself. That you will not be able to discern the true when you deal with this man. And the Scripture says that they go into battle, and their enemies were told that they were to fight with no one but the king of Israel. And so Jehoshaphat goes in and he's still wearing his royal robes. And now he goes into this battle vulnerable before his enemies. Ahab goes into battle completely disguised. He looks like a common warrior. The Bible tells us that a random arrow flies, finds itself into the body of the wicked king Ahab, and he dies. The Scripture then tells us that the enemies of Jehoshaphat surround him, he in his kingly robe, and they begin to attack him. And then Scripture tells us in verse 31, halfway through verse 31, But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God moved them to depart from him. Scripture is very clear that here is a king, I'm sure, riding into battle having a sickening feeling, beginning to see what had he allied himself with, goes into battle and begins to think, Oh God, I am in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am defenseless. I feel so vulnerable here. And when they begin to attack him en masse, he knows he's discerned it correctly. And yet probably feeling in his heart that he deserves punishment, God gives incredible mercy to the king he loves. The Lord helped him. The Scripture says God moved his enemies to depart from him. And I believe a chasten Jehoshaphat leaves the battlefield, and in verse 19, a true prophet comes to him and says to him in verse 2, Should you help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord? And that was a question really that needed to ring in his ears a lifetime. Now Scripture tells us in chapter 19, the life of Jehoshaphat after this encounter with Ahab and this war. It tells us in chapter 19 that Jehoshaphat again appoints just judges throughout the land, responding to the mercy of God in his life. Start to produce in him a longing to do things right. He deserved judgment. He got mercy. And so he goes throughout the land again in chapter 19 and 20, and it tells us that he began to set up judges. And once again, it was like, God, I see something I never saw before. I see that there can be enemies of my life that are disguised themselves, and there's a lying spirit, and maybe that encounter shook him up. But now he goes and he sets up these judges. And in verse 20, there's another episode where an enemy rises up, and the Bible says in verse 3, no, starting verse 2, Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea. And here, Jehoshaphat, after setting his kingdom in order, being chastised after his encounter with Ahab, is now facing another enemy. And the Scripture tells us that Jehoshaphat feared, verse 3, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together to ask the help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. Do not be afraid. It tells us the word of the Lord comes to Jehoshaphat in verse 15. Be not afraid nor dismayed by the reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. That is the word that the Lord sends to this king. Be not afraid, the battle is not yours, it's the Lord. What a living word that must have been to that king who was afraid. A king who said, Lord, I've had a checkered experience dealing with you, but one more time, you are saying that when I stand before my enemies not to be afraid. In verse 17, it says, Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you. Fear not, for the Lord will be with you. And the Scripture tells us in this wonderful chapter, how early in the morning, singers went before the army of God. That Jehoshaphat took this word to heart. That is a very hard word to take when an army is facing you down. Stand still, the battle is not yours, it is mine. But in faith, believing that word, the Scripture says, Jehoshaphat sends the singers before his army. And early in the morning, they went before the army as they were meeting this enemy. And they started to sing in verse 21, Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever. And these singers began to declare that word as they marched before the army. And I believe how that word was sung. It began to cause a faith in God. Lord, no, we have not always served you the way we wanted to. We have not always served you the way we should. But here you are declaring your mercy over us, to praise you, because your mercy endures forever. And Lord, going into this battle, facing this enemy, your mercy is going to go with us. The battle will be yours, Lord. And it would create such a faith in them. And they sang what was in their hearts. Praise Him, for His mercy endureth forever. And when they got to the battlefield, their enemies had turned on each other and were killed. And verse 25, it tells us what that army had to do. They were the spoil. They were three days gathering it. They were blessed beyond measure. Verse 25, it says, They found among them in abundance, both riches with the dead and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. And they were three days in gathering of the spoil. It was so much. This is what the army had to do. They weren't called to fight. They were going in to take a spoil. The abundance, the blessing upon this army, upon this king, you have to read these verses, because if you try to describe it in your own words, it falls short of how God was dealing with this king, Jehoshaphat. And now we have a summary of Jehoshaphat's reign. Starting at verse 31. And it tells us the king, his life, how long he reigned, his parents, this blessed king's life in ministry. And then it ends this way, starting at verse 35. And after this, after this is all that we've just talked about in his life and ministry, the Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahazziah, king of Israel, who did very wickedly. That means after all that I've described to you, Jehoshaphat made another affinity with Ahab's son. After all that had happened in his life, this king joined himself, had a relationship with this wicked king's son. Jehoshaphat had an affinity. He joined himself. Verse 36 tells us, he joined himself in an ill-fated shipping venture. In verse 36, he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. And they made ships. Verse 37, then Eleazar, another prophet, prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahazziah, the Lord hath broken thy works. Beloved, there's a call and there's a destiny on this man's life. And that man made an affinity. That man loved what God hated. And in spite of a repeated blessing, unbelievable mercy when he deserved judgment, unbelievable blessing that came into his life, in other words, a God to whom there was no doubt what was in his heart was he longed to bless and use this man. Takes all the blessing, takes all that was given him, and continues to love what God hates. And finally at the end of his life, God says, The Lord hath broken thy works. That means that the call on your life, the influence that you were to have, the way that I longed to use your life, the way that I wanted to use you in future generations, the testimony that I wanted to give you that would be a praise on the earth and a strength to Israel is broken. You chose in spite of all that I did for you, you chose to love what I hate. Beloved, did he make this affinity with Ahab's son because he lacked wealth? Did he make this affinity with Ahab's son because there was something missing in his kingdom? Why would he do that? After the father being exposed as animated by lying spirits, a man who disguised himself right before his eyes, who knew that he was not a man could be trusted, he would give himself to that man and then he would give himself to his son. Beloved, a man that knows the blessing of God like that, what animates a man to do that? I wish I knew. But I do know that he never dealt in his life, he never dealt in his heart with what God was trying to tell him. Beloved, there are areas in our life where we have never had victory before. There is a constant battle and a constant oppression. There may be things in your heart and my life that we have tried to give to the Lord and have made no headway. It could be bitterness, it could be pornography. Beloved, it could be the newspaper and the remote control. That is a constant misuse of time. I am not talking about the good things of God. I am not talking about religion. I am talking about an issue that God is dealing with. A constant misuse of time. A deep embedded laziness or preoccupation with things. Fears and anxieties. Whatever. Places that we find satisfaction in the things God hates. An access point for the enemy. There is an incredible and awesome call on your life and mine. And Jehoshaphat's affinity to Ahab, beloved, canceled out. Never came to fruition what God's call on his life was. Will we learn from his life? Beloved, I want us to turn to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Written by a man who equally had a call on his life. Written by a man that there was a destiny on his life. That God longed to bless this man, King David. God longed to use him and his influence to continue way past his generation. A man that blew it royally. A man that could actually murder and commit adultery and did not stop the plan of God in his life. Did you hear me? He could commit the grossest sin. Psalm, if we are going to totem pole sin. My husband says the grossest sin is religious pride. But a lot of people like to totem pole sin. And they would like to put murder and adultery right up near the top. But that did not stop the plan of God in his life. It did not hinder the destiny on his life. He fulfilled it to the end. It did not limit his influence over future generations. There was something that David learned that Jehoshaphat did not. And it tells us in Psalm 139 verses 21. Do not I hate them O Lord that hate thee. And am I not greed with those that rise up against thee. I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. Search me O God and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way of everlasting. Here is the cry from a man taught to hate with a perfect hatred. Taught to hate. Affinities, his affinities beloved, with things that he should have hated in his life. They ran deep in him. Just like they run deep in us. And only the Holy Spirit can expose them. Because beloved, the affinities, the things that we join ourselves to. And the things that we have a close relationship with. They lie to us and they disguise themselves. They say it is just a choice. This preference God doesn't hate. This is just something who I am. But an honest heart will be shown the truth. A disguising tactic of the enemy is he will want to be the exposer of something in your life that God hates. Don't let him do it. Because there are things that are good and lawful and allowable and enjoyable. There are. And when he gets his hand on what God approves of. The good, the lawful, the allowable, the enjoyable. He will try to condemn you with them. He will try to tell you that life with Christ is a miserable affair. That everything is condemned. That he wants to take what God has given to bless us. To enrich us. To make us whole. Beloved, the scripture says it is for freedom Christ died. The gospel is good news. And there are many good things to be enjoyed. But in the Garden of Eden while a whole orchard of trees were there to partake. There was a forbidden one. There was one not allowed. So the enemy first and foremost in this searching out of what God hates. If we've made an affinity. If we've joined ourselves. If there is a relationship in our life with something that God hates. The first thing the enemy wants to do is he wants to be the exposer. Don't let him. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. But David said search me. Know me. Try me. Know my thoughts. And if there be any wicked way in me lead me out. And lead me into everlasting. Lord I'm going to trust you to do this. I'm going to open myself up to a God who wants to so bless me. So use me. So put a call in my life and a destiny that if I would walk with him. It's an incredible thing that he'll do in my life. To him I will open myself up fully. And whatever he tells me that he hates. I will agree. Because I know what he puts his finger on is destroying me. It's destroying the testimony in me. It's destroying the influence in me. It's not to hurt me. It is so that he can further bless me. And further use me. David said did I not hate them O Lord. Because you taught. David saying you taught me to hate it because of the blessing. And the way that you have blessed me. I know that you want my good. You don't have to convince me. David learned that. And could say this psalm. Because many times. God was taking him on a path. Straight up the side of the mountain. Not around. Not the easy way. And many times God did not make sense in David's life. But David still followed. David could be led down mysterious path. When he could be pursued by crazed kings. King. When he would live in caves. With miserable company. When he was forced to pretend to be mad. In the court of an enemy. But God brought him out victorious through it all. Even in his darkest moments of failure and regret. David was learning. The steadfast love of the Lord. Never changes. He had insight. Because he would let God lead him. He had insight. Because when God spoke into his life. He knew it was a purpose for it. Things he couldn't see. Things he couldn't understand. But he was learning. To say God. Teach me to hate what is destroying me. David would learn. When you don't know what God is doing in your life. You find strength in stability. In who he is. When you can't understand why you have to go through what you go through. We find strength and stability to know that the God we serve loves us. Beyond incomparable measure. That his call on us is for our good. That the destiny and the purpose that he created you for. Would not be marred. Would not be taken away from you. Would not be cut off in its prime. If we would listen to him and follow him. I read a very touching testimony of a woman. Who wanted to go and serve the women of India. And in her story she left on a ship to go to India. It was 1941. And on route to India on this ship. Pearl Harbor was bombed. And that ship that she was on had to take port in Indonesia. And while they landed there the Japanese came and invaded Indonesia. And she was thrown in a prisoner of war camp. While in that camp she developed these ugly sores. That quickly spread over her body. And they were ugly and disfiguring. And the only medicine that they had in the camp. Was this horrible ointment that ten times increased her disfigurement. She was so grotesque to look at. That they put her away in a cell all by herself. And she grew so weakened through this affliction. She couldn't even care for her own needs. Finally one had compassion on her and helped clean out her cell. Helped give her a little bit of nourishment. They found another medicine that able to help her. But she had been so reduced through this. That the camp doctor now told her that she had beriberi. And that's one of the first stages of malnutrition. And it looked like she was going to die. That she was not going to live long enough to be rescued. And when they told her that she was suffering from malnutrition. And from beriberi. There was something that rose up in her. It was like, Oh God! Did you give me life? And did you give me this calling for it to end this way? And in the deep dark part of her soul. The Lord brought light. And He showed her that if she wanted to go and minister to those precious destitute women of India. Being an outcast like she was. Disfigured like she was. And shut away. Would allow her to have such an understanding of these women. To have suffered to the point of starvation. Was to enter into the life that so many of them lived. And she saw that she was being uniquely prepared to minister to these women. And God was fulfilling the call on her life. She was rescued at the end of the war. She came back to the United States. Spent one year recovering. And in 1946. Sailed and reached India. And ministered to those women for 20 years. When you don't know what God is doing. We find stability in who He is. By saying, teach me to hate with a perfect hatred. What you hate. David left a lasting legacy. He left a lasting legacy. What had the potential to destroy his testimony. Mar his influence. Cut short the work and call on his life. Was exposed because he had an honest heart. He said, God if you've got something to say to me, I do. God said, I do. And He sent a man, Nathan, to put his finger into his face and expose his sin. And David's response was, have mercy on me, oh God. According to thy loving kindness. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Beloved, he knew. After all God had done for him. After all God had blessed him. After all how God had taken him from a dung hill and a sheep hill. And made him king of Israel. Made him a psalmist of Israel. Made him a warrior king. Made him a king of abundance and fame and blessing. That he would turn around and sow sin against God. But David had learned his lessons. And he knew that when convicted of his sin. He said, oh God, I want to hate it like you hate it. And he threw himself on the mercy of God. And beloved, it is the mercy of God that causes us to hate sin. It is the mercy of God in our lives that causes us to hate what he hates. There may be something that walks with you. That walks so close to you. And you know that times when you go there. You indulge in it. You partake of that. You do that. And oppression comes in. And like Jehoshaphat, you have that discernment. You're in a void place. You're in a place that wants to lie to you. And disguise itself. And say, I'm not God's enemy. I'm your friend. But beloved, Jehoshaphat only knew mercy. David only knew mercy. But Jehoshaphat did not take that mercy to heart. Jehoshaphat did not take that mercy that God would lavish out. And the blessing that he poured out upon him. And humble him. And say, God, now I know in the depths of my soul. You long to bless me. You long to make my life beautiful. You long to fulfill the call of my life. But David did. And David knew that it was the mercy of God that was going to cause something to rise up. And say, oh God, I long to hate what you hate. And he did. But beloved, the last thing that I want to say. About our affinities. That we all have. If a king like Jehoshaphat had them. If David had them. They are in the body of Christ. We sit here with alliances and friendships that have woven itself into our life. That God has been saying, I hate. But we've not wanted to hear that. We have felt, you know, if I take that on, I'm going to fail like I've failed in that area so repeatedly. And I'm afraid I'll even lose my faith if I tackle it. There are times that we love what we do. And we could never imagine ourselves beginning to hate it. It's disguised itself. It's told us that with a friend we need it, we love it. What harm will it do? But beloved, if we are like David and we open our hearts up to hear what God would say. So that he may fulfill the destiny on your life. But the last thing was that I want to tell you what that affinity was that Jehoshaphat made with Ahab. Jehoshaphat gave his son to be Ahab's son-in-law. In other words, Ahab had a daughter. Jehoshaphat had a son. And those two houses were united through marriage. Now Jehoshaphat died and he went to heaven. But I want to tell you about his children. I want to tell you about his posterity. When Ahab's daughter married Jehoshaphat's son and she moved into the royal palace in Judah. When Jehoshaphat died and now her husband ascended the throne. He was on that throne a very short while. That woman Athaliah rose up, murdered all her sons and took the throne herself. And for six years Judah was ruled by a wicked queen. She destroyed her own seed. But one son was taken away from her, hidden. And at the end of six years, her son was put back on the throne, the rightful ruler. Beloved, Jehoshaphat went to heaven. But where did his children go? Jehoshaphat had a name. In fact, the commentators tell you it was like he was the heir of David. Although kings separated between the rule of David and the rule of Jehoshaphat, he had the same spirit as David. He had that same zeal for God. He had that same heart that seemed to pursue him after everything. And yet his works were cut off because he would not deal with the affinities in his heart. He would not hate what God hated in his life. But when David turned and said, God, teach me to hate what you hate. Let your mercies, God, work in my life that I will open myself up to agree with you. The Bible tells us that David's influence did not end with his son. But you begin to read the Old Testament and it will tell you that God's favor was on the house of Judah for David's sake. For David's sake. For David's sake. And the influence of that man went unbroken right down through the lines of Judah until Jesus Christ stepped into that lineage. Beloved, affinities lie and say to the next generation, God was not enough for them. Affinities that remain unbroken in our lives tell our children because they know things without us ever saying. That we're finding satisfaction in two places. That we're looking for a heart's desire to be satisfied in two places. But, beloved, that is a lie. And everyone that will stand up and say, Lord, I would unveil my spirit to you because I know that you would bless me. There's a call and destiny on my life. Teach me to hate what you hate. Not just for my sake. But for the lives that you want to touch through me. For the influence you want to give through my life. For the way that you want to touch the next generation through my life. For that those that live around me know I have the genuine and I am satisfied fully in Jesus Christ. And there's a glory in our lives that only that can bring. Otherwise, we cheat them. We block them from knowing that Jesus Christ in all his glory. Beloved, will we let God speak to us? Remember his mercy. Remember it is mercy poured out on us when we confess it that will cause us when we remember how good he is to us and how merciful he is to us. When we don't deserve it, all he is is mercy. That we may join in that throng that said, praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. When you read in the Old Testament that Jehoshaphat led that group. He led that group singing but it never entered into his spirit. Beloved, I am convinced of much greater things for us today. I believe that God many in this place, what you would not consider before coming into this meeting, you are open to it now. Because you know without a shadow of a doubt, the call on your life, the destiny in your life, and the influence through your life to so many that God wants to touch through you. When you will say, God teach me to hate what you hate in my life. Will you stand with me? For those that God has been speaking about, there is something, there is that affinity, attraction, a relationship that God knows will break your influence and your blessing. Beloved, never judge why people come to an altar. There is different levels in God. And what God is dealing you, if you have walked with Christ for a long time, what He is dealing about in your heart is totally different to what your neighbor's is. Whatever keeps us from realizing the fullness of Christ in our life, all that He longs to be, whatever that blocking is, it can be a simple thing. That would not be sin to your neighbor. It would not be a stumbling block to him. But God is speaking to you. It is to you, in your life, in the call He wants to do on your life. And in order to bring that forward and use you like He has destined to use you, that must be dealt with. Would you come forward as they sing? And we are going to trust God to do something. We are going to break affinities here today. In breaking affinities, that is not something we do. All we do is come to Him and say, Lord, I give it to you. He does the breaking. We can't. If we could have, we would have. But we can't. But the Lord will never forsake the work of His own hands. That is who you are. You are the work. You are His craftsmanship. And He is not going to forsake you. The Scripture says He will perfect that which concerns you. He is going to bring it to completion. As you offer it up to Him, He will break those bounds. He will be the one that will move in you and through you. Our cry is, God, teach me to hate what you hate. If your cry is, Lord, I love it, but I want to hate it, God will do it. If your cry is, God, I hate it and it overpowers me, help me. God will do it. If your cry is, God, I don't want this anymore, you know and you know the hot tears I have cried and how many times I have fell before it. But you've come today saying, God, I hear you. It's because of your mercy that you're extending me one more time. It's your mercy that's going to work in my spirit. I'm going to remember, God, how merciful you are. That's all you are is mercy to me. That's all you've ever been is mercy to me. That's all you'll ever be is mercy to me. Lord, that's going to break it, my beloved. He's going to do it because it's His mercy, His goodness and His blessing in your life that's going to cause what you used to love to turn to hate. He's going to perfect that good work in you. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. In the day when I cried, you answered me and strengthened me with strength in my soul. We thank you, Lord. I just want you to raise your hands, those that have come forward. You know why you're here. You know what it is by that offering of your hands up, what you are offering to Him. It may be your laziness. It may be your misuse of time. It may be a cold indifference at your core when it comes to people. It may be whatever God is showing you. It's that pornography. But I tell you, beloved, as we raise our hands, God is faithful. God is merciful. God is all-powerful. And those that walk with Him with an open heart will be able to say like David, Thy mercy, O God, is what strengthens me. It upholds me. Thy loving kindness is better than life. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The kindness that you show me is better than the life I have. The mercy that you show me is better than the life I have. So I give you this life. And Lord, your loving kindness is going to come into the core of my being and break those bonds. Lord, I thank you, Lord Jesus, that those that have raised their hearts to you and their hands, whether at this altar or sitting back, O God, it's the cry of the heart you hear in honor. So, Lord, we lift up believing faces, knowing, God, that you love us, that you bless us, that you will continue to bless us, that the call in our life goes on unhindered, unmolested, unmarred, when we walk with you in truth, when we bear our soul and say, Teach me, O God, to hate with a perfect hatred, that which you have your finger on. And I thank you, Lord, there is freedom. There is freedom for all those that walk with you in truth. Hallelujah. This is the conclusion of the message.