In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that God will do a work in believers, helping them understand true strength and truth. He assures that with this understanding, believers will no longer need to make excuses and will be able to feed on the truth of God without fear. The preacher highlights the importance of trust in God and being unshaken by evil reports. He encourages believers to have a fixed heart and trust in God, as He will transform them and give them a new name. The sermon concludes with a challenge for believers to be the message for their generation, not just have a message. The preacher reminds them to not be afraid and to have a resolve in their faith, knowing that God is in their midst and will save and rejoice over them.

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, PO 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. Hallelujah. I'm bringing to you a prophetic word today, and it's a prophetic word for a certain type of person. It's a prophetic word for people who, we are living in a very decaying time. All you have to do is read the newspaper to be really aware that this is a very decaying time. The very fabric of society, especially tragically American society, founded on the word of God, seems to be just falling through the fingers of the nation. And we see an anti-God spirit, especially in much of the Western world, rising up. An indifference to God, a flaunting. My daughter was telling me last night that she was walking home this week and saw a derogatory t-shirt about Jesus Christ that shocked her. She said, I never would have believed that anybody would have the audacity to say this type of a vulgar thing about the Son of God. Open rebellion now to God, open hatred of Christ. And in the midst of the decay, this message is to those who are struggling. You're a struggling Christian. You do want God. You do love God. Yes, it's so hard. We're in the midst of a society that is inundated with false religious practice and even a lot of confusion, even in the Christian community. But you're hungry for God. You want God. The word that the Lord's given me, and it's come through the time of prayer and fasting this week, is that he will soon rejoice in his love over you. He will soon rejoice in his love. You're going to see that day. It's not too far away for you. We're going to go through some things about Zephaniah's writing. I pray that you hear the tenderness of the Holy Spirit in me calling you to him. I'm believing God to demolish strongholds and lies of the devil. Every lie of the enemy trying to tell you you can't come back to God or you have to settle into some form of struggle and you can't get free. That's a lie. The devil is the father of lies. And when he speaks a lie, he just speaks of what he is. He cannot tell the truth. He's a liar. And so if the devil is accusing you, then you know it's a lie. If you are smart, you know it's a lie. Hallelujah. Let's pray together now. Now, Father, we thank you. God, thank you today for your presence. Thank you for your power. I thank you for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, God, that you are doing something in this church. God, you are doing something among your people. Lord, that heaven is aware of. God, make our hearts aware of it today. We ask you, Lord, to open our hearts to the truth of what you're doing. I ask you for an anointing of the Spirit that transcends all natural ability. I ask, oh God, that you speak to the people. Lord, it's got to be your voice. My voice is worth nothing. It's got to be your voice. And Holy Spirit, I'm asking you to quicken the words that you put on my heart and let there be freedom. I ask that every demonic oppression be broken. I ask that strongholds of the enemy be absolutely devoured by the word of God, by the presence of Jesus Christ. Lord, you said the anointing. The mark of the anointing is that every prison door had to open. And those that were weak were given strength. Those that were blind were given sight. Those that were bruised were healed. You said the poor in heart would have the treasure of Christ in heaven preached to them. God, I don't want any other anointing but that one. I ask you, God, for the anointing that causes the kingdom of God to advance and the kingdom of darkness to suffer great violence. Father, I thank you for this. I yield my body to it. I yield my mind to it. I yield my heart. I yield everything I am to it. I ask only Jesus that you be glorified. You be glorified in this house. Animate me, Holy Spirit. Give me the passion that I need or give me the tenderness that is required. Whatever you need, whatever you want. Let your voice, let your very heart be animated through me today. God, I back away and I ask for the grace to disappear. I ask, God, that you come, you appear. You speak to your church. Lord, this is too late an hour for any carnality. It's too late an hour, God. We need to hear from you, Jesus. We need your voice to overwrite every other voice. We ask you to come, Holy Spirit. Cast down every imagination. Cast down everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I ask you, God, to cast down the banks of the enemy that have been built against people's lives. False concepts of God. False ideas about future security. Lord, cast them down. That truly your people that you're calling to may come and find you to be a high tower and a refuge in times of trouble. Lord, you want to rejoice over your church today. You want to rejoice over us with love. Help us to understand what that is. Help us to enter into it, oh God. Help us in our pursuits not to miss this. God, it's so simple. Just open it to our hearts today. Father, I pray, God, that I may speak it clearly in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Zephaniah is one of the final prophetic voices raised up of God before the final stages of captivity and judgment that came to Judah, which was the southern kingdom of Israel, when the Babylonians came in and began to take them over. Hard to fathom. Hard to believe that God's own heritage, these are the same people that came out of, or at least the descendants of the people that came out of captivity in Egypt, had the history of victory and power just like the Christian church does today. We've got wonderful histories and stories of God's marvelous delivering power, yet there is a deep encroachment of other loves and pursuits, other concepts of God began to get a hold of the nation, and finally brought the nation in general, now obviously there are always a people who are true to God, but the nation in general was brought to a place where they were virtually rejecting Jehovah God's lordship over them. A whole form of worship had been created, which ultimately God had to do away with. And he did away with it by basically sweeping away the society of that time. And we'll find that throughout history continuously. God will come, a society in itself begins to, it may have been founded even on truth, but that society begins to reject that truth and curse the God of that truth. And God in his mercy comes and just sends that society into a very difficult place. He did not judge Judah by eliminating them from the face of the earth, which he could have done. He judged them by removing them into another place. Took away all the comfort, took away everything that was familiar. In other words, he pulled the spiritual carpet out from under his own people. Allowed them for 70 years to go into Babylonian captivity, and in that place began to reckon with them, began to reason with them. And of course we know that years later they began to return under Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and Ezra, to rebuild one more time the kingdom of God. Zephaniah had a cry from the heart of God. It was not only for his generation, but when you study the book of Zephaniah, there's an agreement among those who study it as scholars that it was a cry right down to our generation. And in a day that is soon to come, when God comes in Christ to judge the whole earth, the day of the Lord is quite frequently referred to in the book of Zephaniah. And this is a day of reckoning. It was a day of reckoning in Zephaniah's generation. But there is a day of reckoning coming, beloved, for all of the world. The Bible tells us that that day is going to come suddenly. Let me just read to you 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 1 to 6. Paul says, But of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. The day of the Lord will come suddenly, when they shall say, peace and safety. In other words, there's going to be a sense that we're winning the battle, that finally we're finding peace. Of course, that peace is without the knowledge of God. Then sudden destruction comes upon them, as prevail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You're all children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night. We're not of the darkness. It'll come suddenly. I remember seeing some of the film footage of September the 11th, before the towers were attacked, and there was a news commentator who was on at the time. And he was saying, this is a lovely day, a wonderful fall day. Everything in the city seems to be going on normally, just as it always has. And people are heading to work. Others are on their telephones. People are preparing for the business, the order of the day. And all of a sudden, suddenly, everything changes. The suddenness of it was shocking. The suddenness of it caused even news commentators to blurt out sometimes even profanity. They were so taken aback by the suddenness of this calamity and the sudden destruction that came to institutions, for example, in America that were considered such bastions of safety. Who would dare even attempt to touch the Pentagon? Who would dare even attempt to infiltrate or cause damage or destruction? And it was almost inconceivable to the mindset of this country, as it is with many people in the world, that there could be a sudden destruction come. Fortunately, the scope of that destruction was limited. But it was a foreshadowing of a day that is to come, when the whole world, Isaiah said, is going to be turned upside down. There's going to be a shaking. Peter, the apostle, said that the elements are going to be on fire. I remember seeing a documentary by a Mr. Oppenheimer who was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb. And the very first time they set it off in a specific desert area, he said we were terrified that when we would explode this nuclear, this atomic device, it was not even nuclear, it was atomic. He said that we knew that it had the capability of setting the very heavens on fire. And if the elements were set on fire, we weren't sure exactly where that would lead to. We had created in our hands, he said, a device that was capable of destroying life on the planet Earth as we now know it. And, of course, now the tonnage and the explosive power of the weapons that are all over the world today, and who knows even in what hands in some instances, now have a much greater capability. Peter said a day, a sudden day comes when even the elements are on fire and everything as we know it begins to be burned. The scripture seems to bear witness to an incredible heat coming and touching the Earth as we move into the last days of time as we know it. We're not in darkness. Now, a person who's in darkness has in his heart that Christ is delaying his coming. Christ is, and Jesus himself warned about it. They're going to say it while he's delaying his coming. And they will just begin to carry on with life as it is and not be concerned that there is a day. There's a day coming. It's a sudden day. It's a day of reckoning. It will come and try the whole Earth and everybody that lives on it. Zephaniah spoke prophetically about the social and the spiritual conditions of his day. And he also spoke about the spiritual and social conditions of our day because the tendencies of humanity to fall away from God are common. It doesn't change because one generation changes into another. The heart of sin is still the heart of sin. Indifference to God is still indifference to God. It may take on various political or cultural additives to it, but it's still indifference to God. And Zephaniah talked about a condition. And as he was speaking about this condition, he was speaking right through the court of time, right into our generation, perhaps into New York City in the year that we're living in today. And these are conditions that preceded the judgment of God in his day and will be prevalent when Christ judges the nations of our day. They will be prevalent. Peter, not Peter rather, but Paul says to Timothy, perilous times are coming. Men are going to be engrossed in a self-love. There's going to be a self-consumption come upon society, upon the world. They're going to be writing off family as God has defined it. Natural family affection is going to be gone. The affection of a husband, a wife, a child, the family as God defined it is going to come under incredible attack and the natural affection will be put away. There'll be a despising come into the hearts of people towards those who are truly righteous in Jesus Christ. A Jesus revulsion will begin as it is in the last days. You'd be hated, Christ said, for doing good. He said a man's enemies are going to be those of his own household. It's going to be difficult days ahead as nations begin to turn away in an incredible lawless rebellion against the word of God. We're living at that time. Remember that the scripture says we're not children of darkness. This should not overtake us as a thief. We should be aware of the hour that we're living in. It's not just coincidence that television is becoming more vile, more violent, more sexual, more in your face, more anti-God. It is not just a happenstance. America is on a horrible moral slide away from God. A terrible, terrible rejection of the truth that founded and made this country one of the greatest that the world has ever known. It is atrocious to see what is happening now. But I thank God with all my heart that even in the midst of this, there will always be a remnant people. There will always be altars filled with young people. And as I'm told, the literally thugs coming to Christ on Friday night. But thanks be to God, Paul was a thug and Paul came to Christ and became a mighty man of God. There will always be a remnant. There will always be. Christ will never leave himself without a testimony. There will always be people. When you least expect it, that God will touch and they have nothing to lose. They're aware of the rot that's all around them. They know what it's done to their lives. They let go of all of it. They begin to embrace Jesus Christ. They begin to walk in the power of his love and strength. God does in them the miraculous. The absolute miraculous. Transforms their mind. Transforms their heart. Puts within them abilities that they have never possessed and could never possess apart from the spirit of God. The scripture says, when they looked on these men, they were amazed because they were ignorant and unlearned men. But they had to take note that these men had been with Jesus Christ. They could not understand the wisdom and the power by which they spoke because the touch of God had come on their lives. Zephaniah was prophesying to Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Israel. A nation founded on the principles of obedience to and worship of the Lord God. And now idolatry and mixture were rampant. Chapter one, verse five. Talking about the coming day of judgment. Scripture is telling that God is going to judge those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops. And then that worship and swear by the Lord and that swear by Malcolm. So there was rampant idolatry. But there was also this horrible mixture, even among those who professed to be people of God. They were swearing by the Lord, but they were also swearing by Malcolm. Now, commentators tell us that Malcolm, in this case, was a pseudonym for Baal. They were swearing by God, but they were also swearing by a love of prosperity. They were worshipping the gods, as it is of the people that were all around them. And verse six says, and them that are turned back from the Lord and those that have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him. So here are God's own people by name, at least. And there's a horrible mixture among many of them. And many have turned back and they're not seeking God anymore. I pray, God, that is not your testimony here today. I pray, God, that it can't be said in heaven that you are a church attender, but there's nothing in you that really seeks God anymore. God says, no, I have to I have to pull the carpet out because I love you. I'll have to pull the carpet out from underneath you. I've got to take your security away. It's the only hope that you will ever call out to me again. Again, in chapter three, verse one, he says, woe to her that is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city. He's now talking about Jerusalem. She obeyed not the voice. She received not correction. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God. She not her princes within her are roaring lions. I talk about leaders, secular leaders that are supposed to look out for the the welfare of the people have become greedy. He called them evening wolves and they know not. They're so insatiably greedy. They don't even leave anything for the morning. They devour everything that comes their way. Verse four, he says, your prophets are light and treacherous persons. Your priests have polluted the sanctuary and have done violence to the law. The likeness here in Hebrew means they have no weight and they have no weight of God in them. They're carried by every wind. We have prophets today that boast about being carried by wind and they stand in pulpits and say we can hardly wait for the next wave. In other words, they're actually giving by their own testimony their likeness away. We have no direction. We're just waiting for the next wave and we're just enjoying the ride. They're light and they claim to speak for God and they're misleading the people of God. And her priests have polluted the sanctuary and they've done violence to the law. My prayer constantly and I prayed last night, oh, God, please don't ever let me do violence to your word in this pulpit. Violence means dealing treacherously. They take my word and they treacherously deal with it. They ignore the parts that require obedience and they speak about only the blessings. They ignore sacrifice and hardship and only talk about health and success. They're treacherous dealers with the word of God, treachery in the house of God. God does not call it misguided. He calls it treacherous, treacherous. They're light. They're carried with winds. They don't open the book. They don't give the people the full counsel of God. The prophets in the Old Testament say they say to him that despises me, it shall be well with you. They tell people we are delivered to commit these abominations. It's amazing. They make people comfortable as they're backsliding and turning deeply and more farther away from God. Oh, beloved, you make sure I don't know where you're from if you're visiting today, but you make sure that you're in a church that opens the book in its fullness. Talk. We talk about the grace of God as much as any other church does in America. But we also talk about the justice of God. You have to have the full counsel of God to begin to understand. You can't even lay hold of the covenant until you understand the fear of the Lord. Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. There is no wisdom, no understanding, no Christian growth until you and I understand the full balance of the word of God. Verse five says the just Lord is in the midst thereof. He will not do iniquity. Every morning he brings his judgment to light. In other words, God's been there all along. He always has a voice. There is a voice. It might be in the in the minority. Zephaniah was there in a day of a nation going into judgment. Isaiah was there in a day of his nation at that time going into judgment. So was Jeremiah. So was Daniel. So was Ezekiel. And they're always a voice. There's always a voice. And if there isn't a preacher, there's an inner voice. There's always a voice. God will always speak to you when you open the Bible and say, Jesus, I want to know you. God, come and help me to understand my life and where I'm going. There is always a voice. God says, I rise up in the midst. I will not do iniquity. I will not mislead you, the Lord says. I will not do you harm. I will guide you. But the unjust knows no shame. Zephaniah said, a day has come when there is no ability to blush over sin anymore. It doesn't matter what is preached. And even among the many people who come to the house of God, there is no longer an ability to blush. The adulterer can sit there in his adultery and praise God and lift his hands. The thief can raise his hand and say, oh, how I love the Lord. There's no ability to recognize sin. The whole standard of God, the whole concept of God has become perverted. And you see people in the house of God incredibly debauched lives, lifting their hands to the Lord. And that to me is more tragic than any naked billboard I'll ever see on Broadway. You want to see evidence of the judgment of God is when people are living in willful sin, can raise their hands and be under the misconceived idea that they are in God's favor. Chapter two, verse 11. The Lord says, I'm going to starve the gods of the earth. I'm going to famish all of the gods of the earth. And men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. The Lord says something is going to happen and all false gods are going to be proven to be powerless. And I thank God for that with all my heart. I remember when the towers came down in New York City, I was shocked by the number of preachers who just didn't have an answer. They're God. What God had they been serving? What God are they listening to? What gospel are they embracing? When a nation comes into such distress and they're not able to stand and give the people an answer. They're not able to say this is what the Lord is doing. This is what God is saying. To stand and just shrug your shoulders and then say to the people, well, follow me, I'll lead you to Christ. But they have no answer in times of their God is their concept of God is starving and powerless to help anyone. Verse 12, he says, the Ethiopians also shall be slain by the sword. Now, the Ethiopians were never the enemies, the direct enemies of Israel, but they were allies to Egypt. And God spoke through this and said, you may not be a fornicator, you may not be a thief or a murderer. But if this is your entertainment night after night, if this is this is what you sit before, you are an ally with that which I hate. And there will be a justice of God have to come into your life because of it. Verse 13, he says, I'll stretch out my hand against the north and destroy Assyria. I'll make Nineveh desolation and dry like a wilderness and flocks will lie down all the beasts of the nations. And actually, Nineveh today, the name Nineveh means fish port or fish city. It was a place of water and abundance. God said, I'm going to make it a desert. And archaeologists today was reading a report on this area of the world, say Nineveh is exactly what God said it was going to be. Nineveh is a desert. There are just heaps of sand where these mighty cities once stood. And in the few ruins that are left of that part of the world, there's a bird that God said would lodge in the windows. And it gives a mournful cry. One commentator said that is only exceeded by the cry or the laugh of the hyena. It is a mournful, plaintive, almost a cry that speaks of judgment that has come to this place. You see, the point is just this. What God says he will do, what he says he means. God says, I'm going to dry it up. God will dry it up. God says there's going to be these plaintive mourning birds sitting in the windows forever. It will never be inhabited again. That's exactly what happens. One commentator said he was shocked, an archaeologist rather, as he stood on the borders of all these mighty towns that are listed in chapter two that were the enemies of Israel and saw the utter total devastation and read the scriptures and tried to picture in his mind what these cities must have looked like and how they must have stood and how they exalted themselves against the knowledge of God and against the people of God. The sin that they committed in verse 15 says, This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly and said in her heart, I am. I am. There's only one that can call himself I am. There's only one that always was, always will be, and always will be involved in the lives of those that are his in the future. Always will be in control. This is the city that dwelt carelessly and said, I am. I have the power of God. I have the right to select and choose my own destiny. I have been here. I will stay here and I will be here. They took the place of God. And God says, no, that's not going to happen. I'm going to take this pride and I'm going to debase it. And I'm going to turn this place into a wilderness. And the only thing that will be found there are mournful birds. And he said, and shepherds that feed their flocks in the caves at night. And today it is exactly the way God said it was going to be. Now, in Zephaniah chapter one in verse ten, the Lord says, here's how the judgment is going to come. This was a careless city. He said it will come to pass in that day that there should be a noise of a cry from the fish gate. This was the first sign the judgment had come. The whole city was ignoring the word of God. There were light treacherous prophets that were saying, God, there will be no judgment. There's just wonderful days of prosperity ahead. But the first sign was the fish gate. Now, the fish gate was the place of commerce. This is where this was a fishing area. This is where people brought in their fish from the sea. This is where money was exchanged, where the value of their currency got its meeting, where some national or international trade took place. And he said the first thing that's going to happen is there's going to be a cry in the fish gate. I can't help but wonder if there's a cry in the fish gate in America today. We've been hearing it. Something is wrong. We're doing everything to bolster our courage and prop up our towers, but something is wrong. There's a cry in the fish gate. And he said, and then everything and a howling from the second. And that means everything is associated. First, God says the economy is going to be touched. And then everything associated with the economy is going to begin to falter. And there's going to be a cry, a cry from the financial sector. Then a cry from all the people who lose their jobs because of it. A cry for the distress that comes because of the difficulty coming into the city. And there'll be a howling from the second. And a great crashing from the hills. And what the commentators describing the battle that began to take place when Babylon invaded Jerusalem. Talked about the first bits of the army coming to the fish gate and the noise that was created there. The howling in subsequent gates knowing that the time of prosperity and peace was gone. Remember when they say peace and safety, then comes on them sudden destruction. And then a great crashing from the hills. In other words, they were using catapults from the mountains and casting great stones against the walls. The security, the whole concept of security is now under attack. And the people in the midst of the city are beginning to panic. And in verse 8, he says, in that day of the Lord's sacrifice, I will punish the princes and the king's children. And all such that are clothed with strange apparel. The word in the original text means one who comes from another family and is not a lawful heir. Remember that Jesus gave the parable of the wedding feast. And there was a man that came to the feast and he said to him, friend, how did you get in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. People who have professed, perhaps, to know God. But there's been no relationship. They have a righteousness, but it's not God's righteousness. They have a church attendance, but they don't have a life that is governed and guided by the inward presence of Jesus Christ. They've never received the covering of their sin by faith. They're strange children. They were singing the songs of Zion, but they really don't belong there. They have no heart for God. And God's heart obviously is not in them. And then he said they will go through Jerusalem, verse 12, and search it with candles. And punish the men that are settled on their lease that say in their heart, the Lord will not do good and neither will he do evil. Now, settled on the lease is a term used for winemaking. Winemaking, for example, when they made wine in the Old Testament, they put it in a bottle, left it to sit for a while. And all the impurities in that wine would settle on the bottom of the glass container. Then the winemaker would come and he would pour that out into another container, leaving the lease, as it's called, in the sediment. Those impurities, leaving them in the bottom of that bottle. Then he would pour it into the next, and the procedure would just simply continue. Sometimes for a very lengthy amount of time, until that which was left was virtually 99% pure. And he's talking about a people who have settled on their impurities. A people who have just, they're no longer wanting the dealing of God. They say, well, I'm just a, I'm immoral, that's just what I am, that's what I'll always be. God has to understand that. Well, I'm a thief, that's what I've been, that's what I'll always be. I have a gossiping tongue. Well, I'm given to anger, that's just who I am. And people around me are just going to have to learn to live with it. That God loves me anyway. And all these impurities in this earthen vessel that now is the spirit of God are settling down where God wants to deal with them. But rather than being poured out, they're settling on this, the corruption. And they've made peace with this corruption. And there's no desire to have this corruption dealt with. And Jesus said this false security produces a wrong theology that says he will neither do good for me, nor will he punish me. He hasn't delivered me. Well, he won't punish me either. It's up to God to do whatever he wants to do. And I want to tell you the reason why they're settling on this evil. They're settling on this evil because they are not being poured out for the kingdom of God. Beloved, the kingdom of God is a continual process of God's life being infused into us and then poured out to us, to others. When we are Christ, we begin to do the work of God. We begin to walk as God would have us walk. We begin to touch our society as God would have us touch it. We are poured out. If you're not being poured out, there's a great danger that you're going to be settling on your own internal corruption. Jesus said in Matthew 4, 24, he said, Take heed what you hear. In the measure that you give out or that you meet, it will be measured to you again. And to you that hear, more shall be given. Jesus said, take heed what you hear. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel about yielding our bodies as a living sacrifice for the purposes of God. It's about the pleasure of allowing the life of Christ to be poured through us. And as that life is being poured through us, we're constantly praying, Jesus, I don't like the kind of love that is coming out of me. I ask you, God, to pour that, let that be removed from my life and let it be purified by your love. Change me, God. Transform me. Beloved, that cry never goes away in the true child of God. That is the mark of a child of God. Our lives are being poured out for God's purpose and for God's glory. And as we're being poured out, the purity of Christ is starting to override all of the inconsistencies and all of the sediment, all the unchristlike things within us are beginning to pass away. That's why the scripture says, he becomes a new creation. The old things pass away and all things become new. I become like Christ as I choose to be poured out for the purposes of God. That's how the life of God comes into me. It doesn't come just through Bible study and prayer. That's a wonderful thing. But if you don't, if you're not poured out, all you become is aware of how evil your own nature is without God and then make peace with it and let it settle in. It becomes part of the very fabric. God says, I'm coming into Jerusalem and I'm going to search it with candles. Proverbs says the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. The historians tell us when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, that the priests and prophets were hidden in sewers and caves and they went in with lanterns and they hauled them out and they slew them mercilessly. And I believe that should be our cry. Oh, God, whatever found a lodging place in me that is rotten and religious and has no light. Search it out, Holy Spirit. Search it out of me, oh God. Get it out of me. That's why David cried. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me. Know my ways and see if there be any wicked way in me. God, it's our desire that our lives be poured out for you. It's our desire that we represent Christ in a darkened time and see a generation without hope come to the life and to the light of Jesus Christ. It's our desire that our words represent the power of God. Our eyes walk with the purity of Jesus Christ. Our hearts embrace that which pleases the heart of God. It's our desire to be the church of Jesus Christ in our generation. The true Christian has no other desire. Settles it in no other place. Wants no other love. Wants no mixture on the housetop. Wants nothing but Jesus and Christ himself alone in his heart. Now, God gives a prophetic promise to that person. I started out by saying this was a prophetic word to the struggling man, the struggling woman, the struggling person that is just seemingly overwhelmed by all of the stuff that's going on inside of you and outside of you. But you have a cry for God. You have something that is precious. Don't ever lose it. Lose anything, but don't lose that. The moment you've lost that, you'll find yourself settling in for putrid religion that does nothing for people and nothing for the heart of God. Don't lose the cry. But remember, the cry has to be a cry of truth. It's got to be a cry that says, come, God, and search me. Come, establish your kingdom in my heart. Come, let your ways be my ways. Let your thoughts be my thoughts. Let your purposes for my life be found out. I'd rather die preaching on a soapbox than live in a palace without God. God, come, come, Jesus, come touch my life. We're living in an age of the miraculous, and yet so many are choosing to live in absolute poverty, spiritually speaking. We're living in an age when God is willing to pour out his very life to his people, transform us and make us into something that will get him a name of praise throughout all the earth. Verse eight, he says, though, therefore, wait on me. And this this is FNI chapter three. This final part is for people who are waiting on God. You are waiting. You see what's going on around you. You you're aware of the decay, but you don't want to live there. You know, there's going to be a carrying away of society. But in your heart, you're saying, God, all may be carried away and fear may come and touch every heart. But Lord, you said that those whose hearts are stayed on you, you would keep us in perfect peace. Jesus, I want to walk with you your way for my life. He says in verse nine, for this people, then I will turn to the people of pure language. Now, if you look at that, as it seems to be written, it's as if God is saying I will bring a clean word that can be understood. But it doesn't mean that. And I was shocked when I began to really dig this passage of Scripture apart, because here's what the Lord is saying. The Lord is saying, I will give them a pure language to call out to me. I will come and do a work in them and I will give them a purity of tongue. I'll give them a pure heart. In other words, God says, here are people in the midst of all of this that's about to come who still want me. So I'm coming to this people. I'm coming to them. And I'm going to give them a heart to cry out to me. I'm going to give it to them. It's going to come from me. It's not going to come from them. It will not be procured by any amount of Bible study or prayer or church attendance or any of those things. It will come because they want me. It will come because these are people who are waiting on me. They have a longing in their heart. God said, I'm going to come and do a miracle in them. I'm going to infuse them with my heart and they're going to know my heart. They're going to begin to cry out with my voice. They're going to cry to me with the thoughts that I'm going to plant within them. I'm going to turn to them and give them a pure language that they may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. Actually, the word consent in Hebrew means one shoulder. It's an odd scripture when you read it. And he says, I'm going to give the people one voice to come and walk with me in one strength or in one manner with one shoulder. That means they will take the yoke upon themselves and they will learn of me. They will find I'm meek and lowly in heart and they will find rest for their souls. They will find my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Here are people in the midst of all kinds of darkness and oppression who begin to walk in the supernatural strength of God. They begin to walk in unity. They're all pulling in the same direction. They're whispering, Malachi says, the name of the Lord one to another. In the last day they're gathering and they're saying, isn't God good? Isn't it amazing his power? Isn't it amazing what he's doing? Last night I was praying and I know God heard my prayer and answered my request. I just know it. I know it in my heart that God heard me and he answered me. Hallelujah. Hey, people beginning to walk together with Christ, their whole sense of identity and strength is Jesus Christ. The whole future is Jesus Christ. The source of their joy is Jesus Christ. Everything they are is Jesus Christ. Everything they ever will be is Jesus Christ. They have found him. They know his heart. They're calling out to him. They're walking together in the power of God. And the yoke is easy and the burden is light. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Verse 10, he says, from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughter of my disperse, shall bring my offering. In other words, he's saying it's for everybody. It's for any amount of distance that they are from me today. If they still have that heart, cry. If they are still wanting me, I will bring them from the north, the south, the east, the west. No matter how far they are, I will reach out. My arm is not short. My ear is not heavy. I will reach out and I will bring them home to me. Doesn't matter how far they've gotten, if they still have the cry. They still have the cry. Oh, God, if you still have that cry, it doesn't matter where you are today. If you still have the cry, you can come back to him. You can come back. He will touch you, bring you home and transform your life. And teach you what godliness is all about if you still have the cry. In that day thou shalt not be ashamed. Verse 11, of all thy doings wherein thou transgressed against me. I'll take away out of the midst of them, them that rejoice in thy pride. There shall be no more haughtiness because of my holy mountain. Doesn't matter, he said. I'm going to touch you and I'm going to take away the shame of what you have done even in my name. Talk about the grace of God. Yes, it's one thing to take away the shame of a willful sinner who didn't know God. But God is not talking to them. He's talking to those who were called by his name and yet brought shame to it. The way that they live, the way that they talk, they brought shame. God says, if you have that cry, I'll bring you home and I will take the shame away from you. Hallelujah. How could you not love such a savior? How could we be indifferent to him? How could we not love him and worship him and thank him and shout at him and dance before him? How could we not love him? I'll touch you, I'll take away your shame. Incredible love of God. It's like a husband whose wife or a wife whose husband ran off and fornicated with hundreds of people over a series of years. And the husband writes or phones or cries and says, come back to me. I'll take away your shame. I'll bring you into my house. I'll put the finest clothing on you. I will speak about you. I will be proud of you. I will boast of you everywhere we go. I will cause you to be a praise in the earth. Hallelujah. How could we not love him? He said, I'll leave in the midst of you an afflicted and poor people. That means a humble and a lowly people. They will call on the name of the Lord. I'll leave in the midst of you a people who know they need God. Hallelujah. Count me in. I need God. Count me in. The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity nor speak lies. Neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. For they shall feed and lie down. And none shall make them afraid. Here's where it begins. God said, I'll do a work in you. And you will begin to understand what strength is and where strength comes from. And I will work a work of truth in you. No more excuses will be necessary. You'll be able to feed and you will understand the truth of God. And that feeding will cause you to lie down. And nobody will make you afraid. Isn't that amazing? Isn't it amazing? Nobody. I believe what will mark the people of God in these last hours of time is the absence of fear. Remember the psalmist David said, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112 says, evil tidings don't move his heart. The righteous man is not moved by an evil report. He is fixed. He trusts in his God. He said, I will make you to lie down. I'll make you to lie down. No matter what happens, you're going to have a rest and a confidence that can only be sovereignly birthed in the heart of the man or woman who is living and knowing God. Then he says, sing, O daughter of Zion. Verse 14, shout, O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. God says, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do it. I'm not a God who speaks empty words to his people. I'm not a God who makes just vain promises and doesn't perform them. God says, I'm going to do it. So start singing about it. Start shouting about it. Be glad and rejoice. Let my words find a lodging place in your heart. Those of you who still have a hunger for God, let my words find a lodging place and it will produce an incredible shout and song in you. The Lord has taken away thy judgments. Verse 15, he has cast down the enemy, the king of Israel. Even the Lord is in the midst of thee and thou shalt not see evil anymore. Yes, evil will be all around, but you will not be led by it. You will not be shaken by it. It will not affect you because you're going to see something so far beyond this world. You'll understand the strength so far beyond the natural self-propping up mechanisms of the human heart. You will know the grace and glory of God that keeps all in times of difficulty. In that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear not thou and to Zion, let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God. Don't be afraid and don't let your hands hang down anymore. Oh, I tell you, there's going to be a resolve in the people of God. A sense of where we're going. A sense of why we're here. A sense of who we serve. An understanding of what our commission is in life and who carries us to its fulfillment. The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee. He 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. This is God. Do you see this? Do you understand this is today? Do you know this can be today? It is for many, but it can be for others. Have you ever seen God this way? So many here today, all you see is the throne, God, with the scepter in his hand. You know, build it right today. Build it wrong today. The scepter moves when you do right. It draws back when you do wrong. You live under this constant condemnation. You don't have a right view of God. God says, no, all I want is a cry. And when I get that cry from your heart, it's a cry for truth. I come to you. And I begin to work in you that is not yourself. It's me. I begin to speak promises into your heart. And by these promises, you become everything that I've destined you to be in Christ Jesus. He said, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to be in the midst of you, and I'm going to be mighty. Mighty God is my prayer lately. Mighty God. Mighty God. Mighty God that shakes the earth and heaven. Mighty God is my God. He's with me. He's in my home. He stands with me against the powers of darkness. No power of hell can stand against the child of God. I have a mighty God who stands with me. A mighty God who is my God. He will save. He is mighty to save. You have to see this when you begin to pray for your children. You pray for your families. You pray that God begin to move in high schoolers throughout New York City. I've quite often prayed, oh God, you are the father of the fatherless. There's nobody else left to defend these children. You are a mighty God. Tear down the strongholds. Remove the barricades, oh God. Make a way for the gospel of Jesus Christ to touch this generation. Let them hear, God. Let them hear. And let them respond. He is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. When's the last time you felt God rejoicing over you? Even in your struggle, He rejoices if you have a heart for Him. He will rejoice. He's all around you today. You're sitting in this sanctuary. Your hands are half raised because you've got a lot of struggles in your life. But you've got to cry, God, I want this thing to be real. Have you seen yet? Have you felt? Have you understood that God is rejoicing over you with great joy? He's dancing all around you. Just as you're lifting your hands even if they're only halfway. He's rejoicing. This one's mine. This one is crying out to me, oh God. Oh, Father, thank you. This one is mine. This one is trusting in the life that I will give Him because of Calvary. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. You know, that's talking not about you and me. It's talking about Christ. Christ will rest. He's always wanted to rest. And He finds His rest in a believer who opens their heart and says, Jesus Christ, I trust you. I trust you to purge me, cleanse me, save me, defend me, lead me, guide me, protect me, help me. I trust you to make me into whatever you want to make me. I trust you to use me for your glory. He says, when I find a heart like that, I'm able to rest because He's received my love. And it's been my desire from before the foundation of the world to find a people who will receive my love because that's where I find my rest. Hallelujah. I know it sounds a little complicated, but when you think about it, He will rest in His love. He, God, will rest in His love. Because His love has found a dwelling place in your heart and in mine. And it brings God into His rest. He will rejoice or joy over thee with singing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. When I get to heaven, it's going to be awesome just to hear the songs that God sang over us. We fight so hard to kind of crank it up sometimes and to get ourselves in the singing mood to worship God. And the whole time He's been worshiping over us. He's been not worshiping us, but He's been rejoicing over the fact that we're trusting Him. He's been singing songs. Have you ever heard that song? I have a few times. He's been rejoicing over you with great joy, with singing. He says, I'll gather them that are sorrowful to the solemn assembly, who are of thee to whom the reproach of it was a burden. I will gather together those who are so weary because they've not been able to find true Christ-centered fellowship. They're so tired of endless meetings that don't represent God. They're so hungry for fellowship. They're so hungry for worship. He said, I'll gather those who long for those special festive times in the presence of God and living in a generation when it seemed that this thing is under reproach and you carried it with so heavy on your heart. He said, I'll gather you and you will find like-minded believers and you'll be able to fellowship again. At that time, He says, I'll undo all that afflict you. All. I will undo all that afflict you. I think of Exodus 14, when the children of Israel are heading into the promised land and Pharaoh and his chariots are pursuing them. And God sent angels down, I suppose, and just said, take the wheels off the chariots. I undid them. And God said, I will undo all that afflict you. I will save her that is halting. Those that are weary and about to fall over. God said, I will save her. I will gather her that was driven out. Those that are under the impression you can't come back to God, but you still have to cry. God says, no, I will gather you. I'll gather you. Even if you were driven out. Even if you've been excommunicated from a church or put out of a fellowship. If you still have to cry, God says, I'll gather you. And I will get you praise and fame in every land where you've been put to shame. This is the promise of God. God says, I will do such a work in you. That people will have to stand up and notice and say, this has to be supernatural. Everywhere you've been put to shame. Everywhere. I will get you praise and fame in every land where they've been put to shame. He says, at that time, I will bring you again. Even in the time that I gather you and I'll make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth. When I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord. God said, I'm going to take you to myself. I'm going to give you a voice to cry out to me. I'm going to begin to do a marvelous work in your life. I'm going to turn back your captivity right before your eyes. Right before your eyes. I prophesy that to you today. Those that are struggling in this house. Those that are dealing with besetting sins. Those that are falling behind because you have bought a lie of the devil that you can't change and will never change. I declare to you, the devil is a liar. Jesus Christ is God. He is truth. He said, I'm going to receive you and do something in you that will bring fame to the name of God in the places where you were formerly put to shame. And he says, I'm going to turn back your captivity right before your eyes. I'm going to turn it back. I'm going to give you the victory. Hallelujah. I believe that with all my heart. I believe that's the God that we serve. I believe that God we serve can still call Lazarus out of the grave. I believe it. He can still calm the storm. Still send a thousand devils into the sea. I believe it. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has not changed. Don't ever buy the lie that you have to stay the way you are. If Christ is in you, you have the hope of God and glory. You have a God that says, these are the things I want to do. The choice that we make is do we get up or do we stay in unbelief? What do we do? It seems too good to be true. I remember when I was a young Christian, first got saved and read the promises of God and read some testimonies. I remember the thought came to my mind, this is too good to be true. Could it be? Could God use me? Could he set me free? Could he take away the shame? He has done everything he said he would do. There is not a single person here today, if you have a cry for God, has to leave this house unchanged by the power of God. You don't have to go the way of this generation. You don't have to die with the wicked. You don't have to run fearful with those who are without hope. You can stand in the storms. And beyond stand, God says, I'll give you a name. I'll give you a name. You could have been the worst lying, sneaking, cheat, swindler in your neighborhood. Six months from today, you'll walk down the street, young people, neighbors will say, there goes a wonderful man. That man has so changed. God says, I'll give you a name. That man has so changed, it's stunning. Have you heard the way he speaks lately? What happened to him? Well, he says he's met with God. God says, I'll give you a name. I will do it. I will do it. This is a God thing. I get up with my pitiful little cry and God does everything else. Isn't it amazing? I have as much strength as a bird in a nest. And God comes and does everything else. That's why the joy of the Lord is my strength. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. I want to conclude this with a challenging thought. We don't have a message for our generation. We are a message. We are. If the Holy Spirit is drawing you today. You can say, Pastor, you've just preached right to my life. You've preached right down the alley of where I'm living. I'm going to ask you to get out of your seat. Come to this altar and we're going to pray. And I believe we're going to do what the Bible says. Sing, shout, be glad and rejoice with all your heart. Would you do that? Would you make your way down here? Everyone that the Holy Spirit has spoken to, let's all stand together, balcony. You can go to either exit. Make your way down, main sanctuary, slip out, education annex. Stand between the screens. There's going to be a shout of God in this house. I'm believing for the miraculous today. I am believing God for the miraculous. I'm believing that you're going to be changed. I'm believing that your enemies are going to be destroyed. I'm believing God that a new song is going to be put in your heart. I'm believing God that nobody's going to make you afraid. Believing God that you're going to be stable and solid and be given a heart to cry out to God. An understanding of spiritual things. I believe God because he would not send his word and then not perform what he said he would do. I believe God with all my heart. Everyone who's in sin and without God, you can come here and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And he will forgive you of your sins and cleanse you of all the things unlike God that are in your life. He'll cleanse you. Hallelujah. My God, we love you, Jesus. We love you, Lord. We thank you, God, for your mercy. My God, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your power. Thank you, God, that you have a church for New York City, God. You have vessels here. You have servants, God, that are willing to say, Lord, pour me out that your life may be poured back into me. Pour me out that your life may be poured in. Pour me out again that your life may be poured in. God, take the impurities out of this mixture of Christ and myself. Take the impurities out. Let it be all Jesus and none of the world. All Jesus. Nothing that hinders the testimony of God. Lord, I ask you to come and cleanse your church. Come and purify your people, O God. Come and do a marvelous work. A marvelous work. Make New York City stand up and take notice. God, make Queens and Manhattan and the Bronx and Harlem, all these places, make them have to stand up and take notice that God has a people in this city. O God, O God, we cry to you now. We cry to you, Lord Jesus. We cry out to you, God. We cry out to you, Lord. Give us hearts to seek you, God. Lord, give us hearts to receive your promises. Give us hearts, O God, to begin to trust you, that you will do, O God, in us what only you can do. My God, do miracles today. Do miracles, O God. Do miracles at this altar. Oh, God, do a miracle in me. Pray it. Do a miracle in me, God. God, take me. God, use me. God, restore me. God, forgive me. Make me aware, O God, of your working in my life. God, lift me up in an evil time. Hallelujah. Let the cry come from your heart. Let it come from your heart. You cry out to him. You ask him to do it. You ask him to do it. Thank you, God. Thank you for the victory. God, I praise you for the victory. I praise you. I praise you. We praise you. We glorify you. We thank you, God. We thank you for the victory. We bless you, God. We bless you, Lord. Marvelous victory. Wonderful victory. Glorious victory. Glorious victory. I praise you. God, I praise you. Hallelujah. I praise you. He will rejoice over you with singing. He will rejoice over you. He will rejoice over you. He will take away the shame of all that you've done. My God, thank you. I'm believing for miracles. I believe you God for miracles at this altar this morning. I thank you God. Thank you Thank you that your promises are true Thank you for forgiving us Oh God Thank you for becoming the miracle-working God that people need Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Hallelujah Hallelujah Thank you God Thank you Lord, thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you God. Thank you Jesus Mighty God mighty God mighty God everlasting father Mighty God mighty Savior mighty Savior. Thank you for victory. Thank you for the victory Hallelujah Pray with me now, would you please Lord Jesus? Thank you for coming to me and calling me and cleansing me and forgiving me and Showing me Who you are? How much you love me? I Open my heart to you. I ask you To rest in your love rest in your love for me as I open my heart to receive your love and to trust your love and to rejoice in your love and to let your love cast all fear Out of my life. I Thank you That no weapon No weapon no weapon that the devil forms Against me can prosper and I condemn every lying word He has spoken over my life I declare God loves me God forgives me God will cleanse me God will use me God has taken away my shame He will use my life for his glory and his name in me will be a praise and fame throughout all the earth I receive Oh God, thank you. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you Jesus This is the conclusion of the message