In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of living a consistent Christian life. He warns against the hypocrisy of attending church on Sundays but living contrary to God's word during the rest of the week. The foundation of the believer's life is God's mercy, and the preacher encourages gratitude for this mercy. He also addresses the challenges and difficulties that believers may face in society, particularly the negative influences on young people. The preacher calls for believers to be a testimony of God's truth and to walk confidently in the supernatural power of God.

You will soon be released from the wilderness. Luke chapter 1, if you go there please with me. You will soon be released. Notice I didn't say you will escape because you can't escape it. You'll be released from the wilderness. Now Father, I know that you put this on my heart and you spoke to my heart that you would accompany this word with the weight of your presence. And Lord, I thank you for the weightiness of Christ, the manifested life of Christ in this house today. I pray God that you help us all to take seriously what you speak through your word. Give me the ability to clearly and simply convey this, but give our hearts a largeness that we can receive it. Help us to look away from circumstance and to look to your promises to us. For Lord, you have determined to have a testimony in this final hour. God, thank you for this. And I pray today that there will be many that step out of their places of wilderness and realize the invitation to freedom and begin to walk towards it. And Lord, I see it. I see it in my spirit and I thank you that you're going to accomplish it. It cannot be done by any amount of human effort. It has to be a divine work. I thank you for it with all my heart. Give these words weight, O God. I ask it in Jesus' name. Luke chapter 1, verse 21. And the people waited for Zacharias and marveled that he carried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them. And they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. Now, Zacharias was a priest in his time who was given the responsibility in certain seasons and times of going into the presence of the Lord. The people outside, in verse 21, says they waited for him to come out. Just as you see it says in this verse, they perceived that he had seen a vision and they waited and they marveled that he carried so long in the temple. Now, there's many of us here today that your family, your neighbors, people you work with, they're all waiting, waiting for something that perhaps God is going to do. Some revelation he's going to accomplish in your life and through your life. And they marveled that he'd been so long in the temple. And I remember when I first came to Christ that I would tell my co-workers, they would say, how did you spend your weekend? And everybody would talk about how they spent their weekend. And I'd say, well, I spent my weekend in the house of God. And I literally did. Sometimes we'd be there Saturday night and surely all day Sunday, whenever the doors were open, we were there. My children were there. My wife was there. I was there. Loved to be in the presence of the Lord. And they marveled that I would spend so long in the temple. And that's the way it is with many here. You spend a good portion of your week coming to the house of God and people are, in effect, waiting outside and marveling that you're here so long. Now, inside this meeting that Zacharias had with the Lord, incredible promises were given to him. He was told that in spite of the barrenness of your wife, Elizabeth, and yourself, that you're going to have a son and your son is going to be new life come from you. And not just new life, but this new life is going to have an effect on the society around you. Now, I'm paraphrasing, but in essence, this is what the angel of the Lord told him. He had these incredible promises, but his heart was gripped with unbelief. And that's the way it is that the people perceived that he had some kind of a revelation, but he returned speechless to his house. And that's the way it is with many, many, many of God's people today. I think of the disappointed thousands who live in America today in some form of proximity to people who profess to know Christ. Think of all the people in your neighborhood. I think in some cases, the people in your own home, the people in your apartment building, the people on your job who know that you are a person who spends time in the temple as they see it. You are among those who appear to be at least invited into the presence of God and you profess to know Christ. But your life is a speechless testimony. You come out of the temple on Tuesday night or Sunday afternoon, whatever it is, your neighbors see you get off the bus, they watch you walk out and don't think they're not watching you. And the same kids that are standing on the street corner, perhaps making drug trades and such like are watching you. They know, in effect, even the time that you come out of the subway, your face is not unfamiliar to them. And they know that you live in or are invited into this presence of God, but you walk away and your life is a speechless testimony. Instead of this glory of God, I think of Zechariah should have come out of this invitation behind the veil as it is with his hands raised and his voice raised. I've got to tell you what God has told me. God told me I'm going to have life out of barrenness. God told me that in spite of my frailty, a son is going to be born. God told me this is not going to be an ordinary son. He's going to be anointed with the Holy Ghost right from the womb. He's going to turn a multiplicity of people away from sin and create a clear pathway to those who want to come into relationship with the one who's going to come after him, which is the Messiah himself. But instead, he walks out from behind the veil and he's speechless. He's making gestures. The people assume the scripture says that he's seen some kind of a vision, but he's speechless. He has nothing to say because his own heart has been gripped by unbelief. He looked at the promises of God that were given to him and then tragically, as many do, he looked within his own inability to see these promises realized in any amount of human effort. And then he began to question as it is the integrity of God. And because he began to question the integrity of the word that God had sent to him through the messenger, God himself took away his speech. He had no testimony. All he did was go into the temple, be invited into this presence of incredible promises, but then leave with no testimony. And I think that's the measure of what's happening in much of religion today. Certainly in this country, people are coming in and in some places promises, great promises are being opened to them. They are given virtually the same revelation that Zacharias was given. God opens his word to you and to me and says, this is what I'm going to do for you. Even what we're saying today, gross darkness is on the whole world and this world is lying in ignorance. But God said to Isaiah, the Lord is going to rise upon you. Now we can sing it and that's fine. But there comes a measure of having to believe it when we leave the temple as it is with this place of gathering. We walk out into this world. There are thousands and thousands that are waiting for a testimony, this living testimony that only God can give to those that are his. We ought to be walking out of this house with our heads high, our hands extended in a figurative sense. There's this deep sense that God is doing something supernatural within us. This sense that the boundaries of the natural abilities that we have or don't have are completely broken. We're no longer victims of culture or education or language or any other social condition we find ourselves in. The living Christ of the house and the limitations within us now are as immeasurable as the God who lives within us. The very God who said, let there be light now lives within our hearts. And so many of God's people, even in this house, you will leave the service today if you can't hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart. And instead of looking into the heavens, instead of walking in the realm of the miraculous, instead of a spirit that is open to everything that God wants to speak, speaking about young children in the streets. Folks, let me tell you something right from my heart. If there's going to be a burning in this city one way or another, either this young generation are going to burn for the glory of God or they're going to burn the city. One way or another, something is going to happen. There's a generation standing on every street corner who are waiting for a testimony. And it's not going to fall out of the sky. The testimony is something that God has established in you and in me. Now, I want you to consider for a moment the incredible invitation in 2nd Corinthians, chapter three, if you'll turn there, please, with me. 2nd Corinthians, chapter three, verses 17 and 18. Scripture says now where the spirit of the Lord is. Now, the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and the word liberty in the original text means generosity where God's spirit is. There's a generosity of God. But we all with open face beholding us in a glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. Now we are invited as Zacharias was. We are in a place where we begin to have an open heaven. We see this glory of God, which really means God's image and character. It means the excellence and perfection of his own divine nature. And as we begin to look and as God begins to open up to our hearts who he is, as we begin to believe what he speaks to our hearts, the scripture says clearly we are changed. That's by the power of God's Holy Spirit within us into the very image of Christ as it is that we are looking at. That's why the scripture tells us clearly that we're not to set any form of abomination before us in our houses, in where we dwell, how we interact, what we long for. We're not to set it before us or we will become an abomination just like it. So many people feel that they can play that game, come to church on Sunday, but then look upon other things the rest of the week and somehow feel that they're going to be recipients of this glory of God. And folks, it just doesn't work that way. Chapter four, verse one tells us that they're foreseeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy. We think not. Now, the foundation of everything that God does in the life of the believer is mercy. Thank God for his mercy. That's all I can say. That's why David said, Lord, if you marked iniquities, who could stand? Thank God for his mercy that he is to be feared because of it. Now, the end result is the second half of verse two. But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. The end result is a manifestation of truth, this truth that we embrace of Christ, of who Christ is, of what Christ is speaking to us, of what Christ wants to accomplish through our lives. And this manifestation of truth begins to open the consciences of men and brings them to the reality of God. This is the purpose of my life. Beloved, it's the purpose of your life. Some difficult days await all of us. Society, as we know, it seems to be spinning out of control. And I'm not suggesting in any way, shape or form that young people take any form of action into their own hands in this city or in any other place. But, folks, I want to tell you something. You cannot take a young generation and deny them the reality of God, tell them there is no God. You literally take away their hope and then feed them on pornography and feed them on music that is full of violence and anger and then somehow act surprised when they start manifesting what they've been taught to manifest. The very essence of what's been planted in them starts to come out. God says, I want a testimony through my people. You and I are to come into the presence of God and we are to become a manifestation of the truth that we are learning, the truth about Christ, about what he has done, about who he is, about the victory that he wants, the very nature of Christ that God, through the Holy Spirit, is willing to impart to us. We are to be changed into the very image of our Christ. Now, I'm not saying that we are equal with Christ. That would be ridiculous to even infer that. But the nature of Christ, the life of Christ, the attributes of Christ, those things that are pure, those things that are holy, those things that represent God are to be manifested in our lives. And as we walk through this generation, we are called to open men's consciousness to the reality of God, not just theories about God, not just stories about God, not just hand signals about God. That's all that Zacharias could do is give hand signals, point the way perhaps to the temple where he had this vision or point the way to the church or point to some scripture. It has to go beyond that. Now, Paul says before these things can happen, there has to be a decision. In chapter two, four, verse two in second Corinthians, he says, But we have denounced, renounced rather, the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully. We've renounced dishonesty. So many people come to the house of the Lord and want the fullness of Christ. Oh, God bless me. God help me. But they're not willing to renounce dishonesty. They're not willing to put away things that they know are not right in the sight of God, practices which the scripture clearly says are dishonest in the sight of God. They're wrong, but they're not willing to put it away and wonder why they leave the house week after week instead of looking to the heavens with a revelation of this incredible treasure. Their testimony is like a man walking down the street looking for nickels and dimes on the sidewalk. It's as if their eyes are absolutely closed and they have no voice for the things of God simply because they have refused to renounce dishonesty. They've refused to stop lying to their people that are close to them. They've refused to allow things into their lives that are coming with them into the workplace, that declare their lives to be a fraud, even though they're saying on one hand, Jesus Christ is Lord. Paul says not walking in craftiness. That means a subtle twisting or distorting of the image of God, not walking in craftiness. You know, the man or woman who doesn't want to walk in truth will form eventually their own image. They'll form their own Christ in their heart. They'll form him. They will worship him. They will call him Jesus. They'll come to the house of the Lord and they'll bow down before him. But this is a Christ that they've created of their own distorted image. Folks, we have people in this very sanctuary that are living in adultery. And the Word of God says it very, very clearly that no adulterer is going to inherit the kingdom of God. And yet there are some who stand and they dance and they sing and they give God glory. You see, they're walking in craftiness. They have fashioned their own God. They've fashioned their own Christ who somehow is blind or has given them this unprecedented and unique mercy that's not been given to anybody else at any other time, nor will be given to anybody else. But they've crafted this God of mercy who somehow just overlooks their sin. And so they can dance and shout in the house of God. And they're walking in craftiness. They have a subtle or distorted image of God, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully. That means twisting and manipulating the Scriptures for ends that do not line up with the ends or the objectives of God. Folks, I want to tell you something. We're living in a day. You turn on Christian television if you have it, and there's hardly anybody. There are a few maybe, but there's hardly anybody in the masses that are not handling deceitfully the Word of God. They're using God's Word for personal gain. They're using God's Word to condemn the poor and condemn the sick and condemn the afflicted. They're using God's Word to feed the people straw and send them out to send in bricks so they can build monuments to their own image. They're handling the Word of God deceitfully. And subsequently, there is no lasting testimony there. There's no evidence of the glory of God. There's no ability to walk out of God's presence as they did on the upper room in the day of Pentecost, standing out in public, making a declaration of these glorious works of God that were anticipated because of the inward presence of the Holy Spirit within them. There's no outside testimony. It's simply a testimony that lives within its own house, its own structure. Handling the Word of God deceitfully means embracing a lie instead of truth. It means distorting the image of God. It means embracing dishonesty while still accepting the invitation into God's presence. And the end result is coming out from behind the veil speechless. No real testimony of God's life. Maybe describing the fire, and many are doing that today, coming out from behind the veil saying there was a great fire. There was this incredible image. I heard of a conference recently where the speaker's message was on a ball of light that appears everywhere he goes. And everybody just sat in awe of this testimony, of this ball of light. And I remember the man who was speaking to me about it. I said to him, the Lord just gave me one question to ask him. I said, tell me, what's the point? What's the point if a ball of light appears everywhere I go? Tell me, what does it have to do with the purposes of God? How is this leading to a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ? How is it leading into the work of God, which is the redemption of fallen man, the strengthening of the church? And he looked at his wife and he said, you know, that's been bothering me as well for a long, long time. What does it have to do with anything? First Corinthians chapter 6, Paul says it as clear as it can ever be said. And folks, let it never be said. If any of you here appear before the judgment seat of Christ and you realize that you have been standing and resurrected among the unrighteous dead, never let it be said that you didn't know, that you didn't hear, that the word of God and his fullness was not open to you. Paul says in first Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 9, know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators. Now that's people who are involved in sexual matters that are unlawful in the sight of God and sexual intercourse outside of marriage, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners. That's people who just use their position to gain, no matter who's said had lost or disadvantaged, shall inherit the kingdom of God. I think those are verses that would be good to memorize. Be not deceived, Paul says. Be not deceived by crafty handling of God's word. Be not deceived by subtle twisting of the very nature of Christ. These people who continue in these practices will not inherit the kingdom of God, period. You can never say again you've not heard it. If you end up in an unrighteous place on the day of Christ's judgment, you cannot say, I didn't know, I didn't hear, because today it's been plainly declared to you. Now Paul goes on and he says, and such were some of you, thank God for this testimony. Everyone, Paul was preaching to a Corinthian church that in a society that was virtually steeped in corruption and immorality. But there's an acknowledgement that to come into the presence of Christ means a change of heart. It means a change of direction. It means a new focus. It means a new set of rules. It means a new kingdom. It means a new foundation that governs my life. It means ultimately the power that God is willing to give to any man or woman who says, Lord, I don't want to live in sin any longer. I don't want to manipulate or twist the image of Christ. I don't want to deal deceitfully with the word of God. God, what it says is what it means. You're not a man that you can't lie, that you can lie. You can't go against your own word on the day of judgment. And so Lord, give me the power. And Paul says, such were some of you. There were people in that audience he was speaking to that had been fornicators and thieves and adulterers. They'd been involved in homosexuality and drunkenness. They had used their positions to extort money from other people. They had been people who reviled against anything good or lawful in society. And Paul says, and this is the testimony of the church. You were like this, but now you're washed. Now you're sanctified. Now you're justified in the name of the Lord, Jesus, and by the spirit of our God. You are justified. You are washed. You are sanctified. You are cleansed. You are changed. You walked into the presence of God. God has spoken promises to you and you have received it in your heart. And by the power and by the mercy of God, you are changed into another person. You're not walking out of the subway, looking at the sidewalk any longer. For Nicholson's arms, you give God glory with everything that's in your being. You give God glory. Your life radiates the glory of God when you are set apart for Him. There's a perfume, there's a fragrance that comes from those who belong to him. Hallelujah. In second Corinthians chapter four, Paul says, if our gospel be hid in verse three, it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world, verse four, chapter four has blinded the minds of them, which believe not. Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ, Jesus, the Lord and ourselves, your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God has shined in our hearts. This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not by human effort. He requires that I believe him. He requires, yes, that I put one foot in front of the other, but it is God who works in me both to will and then to do of his good pleasure. That's the good news of the new covenant. It is all God. My part is believe him. My part is get up in faith. His voice, his part is to call me. My part is to get out of the grave and begin to walk towards him. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. That's what makes it a level playing field. That's why the drug addict can far pass the person who's sit and study for years, but never understands what he's reading, can walk through. Isaiah said, the lame take the prey in this kingdom. Those who are always questioning God, those who have no hearts to believe God, are always standing on the sidelines trying to reason the scriptures, while harlots and prostitutes and drug addicts and blind and lepers and maimed people are coming into his presence. He is healing them and commissioning them. You say, I want to walk honestly, but I'm grieved that my life has so little testimony. I struggle and I seem to live in such a wilderness. Go to Zephaniah, please. In the Old Testament, go to Matthew and go back about four books, four small ones, and you're going to find Zephaniah. Now, Zephaniah is a prophet who's speaking to a people who are Judah, who are about to go into captivity. But then he goes to an end time. As most scholars see it, at least anyway, in chapter three, it's not only the regathering of Israel, but it's a regathering of all nations. It's a regathering of all peoples. It's a promise that God makes for all who want him in this day and every other day that we've ever lived in. Zephaniah chapter three in verse seventeen. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly who are of thee to whom the burden of it was a reproach. He says, I'm going to bring back to me. I'm going to gather them, those who are sorrowful because their association with God has come under reproach by the societies that are all around them. God's people were going to be or were in captivity at the time that Zechariah is speaking about this. And so many people among them began to get grieved and say, Lord, you've invited us into your presence. And that proximity produces is supposed to produce in us an awe of the societies around us. They're supposed to stand in a sense and be pricked in their conscience because they see the goodness that you have placed on a certain people. But now our association with you has come under reproach and folks were living in a generation like that now where the association with Christ is is no longer a thorn in the conscience of a fallen society. But so many now have so little voice for Christ that the very fact that we are intimate with him has fallen into reproach. And so many people are grieved. I don't know about you, but I'm grieved in my heart. God is my prayer constantly. Lord, you can't let this generation go to hell. You can't let the children in New York City die in the streets when you have 8000 people attending this church who claim to be intimate with you and know your power and know your promises. Lord, you can't let this happen. You can't let these children die without a testimony. You can't let this city erupt before it has known great grace, an infusion of God's grace, touching many thousands. Folks, would you be willing to believe with us in this church that every Friday night, this sanctuary be packed with young people seeking God and encounter with God to be filled with the spirit of God? He says in verse 19, Behold, at that time, I will undo all that afflicted. Remember when the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt and he undid the chariot wheels of those that were pursuing them? I'll undo them, God says, and I will save her that is halting or that is having a hard time going forward. I'll gather her that was driven out. I'll get them praise and fame in every land where they've been put to shame at that time. Well, I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all the people of the earth when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord. I'm going to turn back your captivity because you are tired of a speechless testimony. You are tired of coming out of church and having nothing to say to this generation. You are tired that your association with God has held in some measure in reproach in some cases, even in your own home. It's in reproach before your children because there's so little of any life and change that's come into you. But you say, then how will Christ be revealed through my life? How will this happen? Show me, Pastor, please. I want this with all my heart, but show me how is it going to happen? Well, it's going to be simple, really. Go with me just for a moment to Pharaoh's court. He's got the people in captivity all around him. He's got probably one of the most massive armies in the earth in his time. Sitting on his throne, his whole kingdom as a type of Satan, I suppose you could say, is completely intact. He's got the people sewn right in his pocket. This, in Pharaoh's mind, is a done deal. I have these people. Now, all of a sudden, somebody close to him maybe comes to him. Now, this is all conjecture. I mean, it's not in the Scriptures, but picture it with me. And they have a looking-glass, one of those old-fashioned telescopes that the fellow's looking out into the wilderness. And Pharaoh says, what do you see? He says, well, I see some people coming out of the wilderness. Of course, it initially might raise an alarm in his heart. And he said, who is it? Is it an army? What's coming out of the wilderness? Does it threaten our kingdom? Are we to be afraid of it? Should I gather the soldiers? Should I assemble the chariots? Should we prepare to fight? And I can see his servant says, oh, no, no, it's just a couple of weak old men. And one of them is leaning on a stick. Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing to be concerned about. Just a couple of old men, just like Pastor Neil and Pastor Carter coming out of the wilderness. And one of them is leaning on a stick. Can you imagine the shock when they gain an audience? Pharaoh would stand there. I think they were 80 and 83 or so at that time, standing there holding on to a stick saying, let my people go. Song of Solomon says it this way. Let me just read it to you. Chapter three, verse six. The question is asked, who is this that comes out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense with all powders of the merchant? In other words, who is this coming out of the wilderness? Who is this pillar of smoke? Who is this one that is perfumed with myrrh, which is a burial spice and frankincense, which is the spice of kings? Who is this one that led God's people like a pillar of fire? Who is this one that was buried and as a king rose on the third day? Who is this one that has an incredible manifested fragrance everywhere he goes? He cannot be taken or walk through any situation without making a difference in it. Then another question is asked in chapter eight and verse five. It says, and who is this that comes up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Who is this? Who's the one who's coming out, who rose from the dead, and who's the one who's leaning upon him? Hallelujah. That's how we're delivered from the wilderness. The wilderness is a place, folks, where we begin to realize that God, without your strength and power, this is never going to happen. If I don't deal with you honestly and in truth, I can't walk with you. But Lord, I hear you calling me. I hear the fact that you have a reason and a purpose for my life. I don't want a voiceless testimony in my generation. I want hell to tremble when I get off the bus and go back to my apartment building, when I come out of the subway. I want hell to tremble. I want every devil on the street corner that's dripping, every one of our young people to tremble as somebody weak and frail and foolish. God has chosen the foolish of the world to confound the wise, the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, base things and things which are despised and things which are not to bring to naught things that are. He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. Who is this that comes out of the wilderness? It's you, it's me, it's every person that can hear the word of God. It's everyone in this house today that says, Lord, I don't want just visions and revelation, as wonderful as they are. I want a living relationship with God. I want my life to count for your glory. I want to walk out with you, leaning on you. And all hell has to tremble. And every captivity of the enemy has to release its hold on this generation. I want a testimony of power, a testimony of authority. A testimony of the love and the grace of God. I want to do as the scriptures say, when I walk through a situation, the saver of Christ comes after. I'm called to leave a saver of Christ and so are you. It's long enough that our neighborhoods have been gripped in darkness. It's long enough that a generation has been held captive by the power of evil. God has an army in this city. God has a people who want to go farther than just coming out and making signs with their hands. But nothing to say with their voice. I wonder if Zacharias thought his testimony time would ever come around again. Zacharias lived in the wilderness. It would be an awful thing. You've got Mary and Elizabeth sitting at the table of your house, both supernaturally pregnant with life and you can't even speak. You can't even acknowledge because of unbelief. And then finally they brought this baby into the temple and opened up their ceremony and they asked Elizabeth, what is his name? And they wanted to call him Zacharias after his father and they made signs to his father how we would have him called and he asked for a writing tablet and he wrote on there his name is John. Folks, this is so significant because finally he's agreeing with God. His name is John and at that moment the scripture says his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke and praised God and fear came on all them that dwelt around about them. When you get off the bus tomorrow or tonight or this afternoon, when you walk into your apartment and people all of a sudden become aware that you've got new life within you and they'll say what is the reason for this new life? Where do you get such hope in the midst of a hopeless time? How come you've got such spring in your step? How come now you're dealing honestly in financial matters in the workplace? How come there appears to be such a change in your life? Why did you put away that unlawful partner that you had and such like things? And you're going to say clearly, quickly, his name is Jesus. His name is Jesus. Jesus changed my life. Jesus brought me out of the wilderness. Jesus has infused me with this divine power of his own life and changed me and is changing me from image to image and glory to glory. He can do for you what he did for me. His name, his name, his name is above every other name that is named. His name causes every knee to bow and every tongue to confess. His name will judge the nations. His name will raise the dead from the sea and the grave. His name is Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. His name is Jesus and we speak it clearly. We speak it loudly. We speak it lovingly. We speak it with authority. We speak it forcefully. We speak it in the workplace. We speak it on the street corner. We speak it in the subway. We speak it in our homes. We speak it in our prayer closet. His name is Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want hell to stand up and take notice today that there are people in New York City who are coming out of the wilderness leaning on their beloved. I'm not living in this place of voiceless testimony any longer. I'm not living in this place of distortion of the image of Christ and corruption of the Word of God. I'm going to obey God and God will do for me everything he's promised he's going to do for me and through me and my life is going to make a difference in this generation because of Christ Jesus inside of me. Hallelujah. All hell will mock your decision today. They'll laugh. Think of Pharaoh laughing. Well, he didn't get the last laugh now, did he? But think of him laughing and all hell will mock. Who do you think you are? As weak as you are, no culture, no background, no education, no nothing. No, your answer, don't even answer that kind of a lie. I'm just going forward and I'm leaning on the one who has all authority. He has all power. He's defeated the power of the enemy. He rose from the dead. He sits at a throne. He will return in glory with his saints and judge the nations forever. That's who I am. That's who I am. I'm leaning upon him by invitation. He's speaking into my heart. I'm not going to be subjected to unbelief any longer. I'm going to let God's promises get deep into my soul. I'm going to rise up and trust him for the strength to be everything that he's called me to be. And my life intertwined with his will be a testimony that has a voice in this generation. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's time to have some fight, folks. It's time to have some fight. It's time to get up. It's time to stop living in this wilderness place. The only way out is to lean on Jesus and follow him. And he will guide you out. And he will guide you into a new life that only he can give. Father, thank you. God, with all my heart, I know you're speaking. Lord, you have been here in incredible measure today. You have confirmed what you're God, we don't want to be a church that just has a reputation but has no actual life in it. Oh, God almighty, it's better to be reviled by men and to have the life of Christ in us. Father, I pray now that those that you've spoken to and you are about to release from the wilderness would have the courage to get up and begin to lean on you, have the courage to cast off this voiceless testimony and to begin to agree with what you say. We realize when Zacharias agreed, his tongue was loosed and he glorified God and great fear came upon the people. Father, oh God, I pray now, Lord, destroy this voiceless testimony, put it to flight, but let there be a clear evidence and a clear song and a clear testimony of your life intertwined with ours, your great mercy that you give to those who trust in you. Jesus, I ask you now to give courage to those who need to turn away from wicked practice and their lives need to begin to agree with your word. Lord, they'll have to lean on you, they'll need your strength to do this, but you promise to be a strength to those who trust in you. I pray for those who have a twisted image of God that you give them the courage to lean on you one more time and to be drawn out of this false religion and drawn into a living relationship with the living God. I pray for those who have manipulated the word of God to their own objectives and ends and have used it for personal betterment and satisfaction and have completely negated the purposes of God in Christ to rescue a fallen generation. Those who have not known or longed for this manifestation of grace that reaches out to the wounded and bleeding of this world. I pray, Father, give them the courage now to get up and begin to lean on you and you promised to bring them out of the wilderness. Lord, you spoke to my heart today and yesterday that you're going to have a multitude that you're going to bring with you out of the wilderness and they're going to have a testimony in this city and wherever they live. God, I'm trusting in this with all of my heart. I pray you now do, Holy Spirit, what only you can do. Lord, this cannot be a work of man's emotion or reason. It has to be something supernatural. It has to be an agreement in our hearts and you promise to do everything that you said you would do. Father, I thank you for this with all my heart in Jesus name. Now, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and you need to come, the beginning of leaning is just getting up where you are and making your way to this altar. That's just a symbol. It's just a type of the life that you desire to live in Christ. As we stand in the balcony, you can go to either exit, make your way here. Downstairs, you can make your way to this. As we stand together, you can make your way to this altar in the education annex. Please stand between the screens. Lean on him now. I want you to have a picture in your mind as you make your way down the aisle that you're not alone. Christ is with you and he's going to lead you out of this place of barrenness and emptiness and voicelessness and give you a testimony in this generation. Hallelujah. Now, listen to me. Those that have come to this altar, you're not a second class Christian. You have the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead living within you, the same Holy Spirit. God is able to give you as much grace as you need to be everything that he's called you to be. As you lean on him, he's going to give your voice a testimony. Thank God for that with all of our hearts. Let's pray together now. Lord Jesus, thank you for your promises that will draw me out of living in a wilderness place. Lord, put on my heart again your promises to me and give to me the power to believe everything you say will be a reality in my heart and in my life. When I leave today, I want my voice and I believe that my voice will be a testimony of your grace and your power that is free and available to everyone who calls on your name. Oh, Jesus, through my life, bear much fruit to the honor and glory of God the Father. I thank you for this with everything that's in my heart in Jesus' mighty name. Now, the beginning of faith is to thank him. Would you take a moment and do that right now? Just thank him.