In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the power and guidance of the Holy Ghost. He tells the story of Philip, a man of God who is led by the Holy Spirit to preach Jesus to an Ethiopian on a chariot. The preacher highlights the importance of having a heart that is wholly given to God, as it attracts the attention and intervention of the Holy Ghost. He emphasizes the need for the truth of God's word to be deeply rooted in the hearts of believers in order to experience true freedom and transformation. The sermon concludes with a call to thank the Lord for his faithfulness and a reminder that it is the truth that sets men free.

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 WORLDCHALLENGE PO BOX 260 LINDALE, TEXAS 75771 or calling 903-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. ...power of the Holy Ghost, releasing the overcoming power of the Holy Ghost. This is a covenant message and we're going to believe the Lord to open our eyes and our understanding this morning. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the Word. Lord, when I see people running all over the world looking for someone to lay hands on them, looking for some kind of emotional experience, I thank God that in New York City you've raised up a people that hunger for truth because it's truth alone that sets people free. It is only the truth. It is knowing the truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. God, without that hunger, we will not grow. There will not be a people able to withstand what's coming in these last days. And I pray, Lord, that you give us truth in this house, the truth of the living God. Lord, do something in our hearts by the power of your truth today. Sanctify this vessel. Let me speak as the oracle of God and not of man. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit has to say this morning. I humble myself. I plead nothing but the covering of the blood. No other gift, no other blessing, no other claim, no other plea but the blood of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord, for your Word. Now sanctify it and meet us, I pray. Amen. Releasing the overcoming power of the Holy Spirit. I want to talk to you about two men in this church. They're not here this morning, so don't look around. They're both drug addicts at one time. Both married with children. They came to this church and gave their heart to the Lord, and we took them into our rehabilitation program. And I watched them because they would sit here in the church, and I was aware of them. In fact, I had talked to them privately, both of them. They had both lived horrible lives, addicted to lust, to pornography. They were adulterers and fornicators and drugs and alcohol and everything. And the Lord saved them. He claimed both to be saved. They had lived as con artists. They tried to con their wives. They conned everybody. They tried to con us when they first came in, and it didn't work. And I watched them. And there was one of them, especially, I thought, this brother, he was so cooperative. He was so kind and obedient, and he'd sit here in the church and worship God and praise the Lord so beautifully. And I thought, man, he's bypassing the other man by leaps and bounds because the other brother that was saved, he had such a battle. He was always crying, always seemed depressed, and he never lifted his head highly in worship, and there seemed to be a burden on his heart. He struggled with the rules. He struggled with so many things. And I thought, man, he's just not making any progress. But you see, man always has a tendency to look on the outward appearance, but God looks in the heart. And this man that I thought was making so much progress was not making any progress at all. The other man, God bless his heart, he began to start confessing everything God was dealing with. He had his head down because he was repenting, and the Holy Ghost was showing him things in his life. And it burdened him. He couldn't be happy because he was under great conviction. And I watched these two men, and I saw the Holy Ghost not on the one that I thought. You see, we get our eyes, we look on the outward appearance because, you know, one looks a little more handsome perhaps and the other's got buck teeth or something. But you see, we judge by appearance. We judge by what people say. But God looks past it all into the heart. And he saw in this young man's heart something. In fact, the young man I had my eye on left. In fact, I don't know where he is now, but the other brother's still going on strong with the Lord and God's dealt with him. And I began to question, God, what did you see in him? What was the release? He has power in his life. The Holy Ghost is working. He has power and victory over his habits. He has power and victory over his gambling. He has no lust problem now. And the Holy Ghost power has been released in him. What is it that you see in a man that qualifies him for release of Holy Ghost power to overcome sin? The Bible says, The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. And the original Hebrew reads, To show himself mighty on behalf of those whose hearts are entirely toward him. Now, we preach in this church, If you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you give him your heart, then the Holy Spirit will come and give you power to live a victorious life. We preach that in this church. We preach that you can be free from the power of sin. The Holy Ghost will enable you to defeat every lust and temptation. But folks, God's been dealing with me. God helping me. I will never again in this church or any place I preach make that offer to everybody who comes to the altar. Because that offer is not good to everyone who comes and says, Lord, Lord. It has to be qualified. In fact, this release of Holy Ghost power to overcome sin is given only to a select people. And I want you to see this. And this explains why so many Christians can serve God. They come and claim to be saved. And they go year after year and there's no victory in their life. They still fight a lust problem. They're fighting sin all their life. And they finally come to conclusion that's the way the Christian life is lived. And they carry this body of sin around the rest of their life. They drag it around. And they say, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? They come to a conclusion because they have no victory. There is no power. They've been told by pastors and churches and they've heard it. The Holy Ghost will enable you. He will give you the enabling power to conquer sin. And they don't have that enabling power. They're still weak after 10 years, 5, 15 years, 20 years. They're still indulging in the same things and they have no victory. Certain of the people came to the disciples of Jesus and said we would see Jesus. And Jesus, the Bible said, wouldn't commit himself because he knew what was in their hearts. And this Holy Ghost power is not committed to everyone who starts out for the kingdom. Not at all. I tell people when they come to this altar, I say, now you've given your heart to Jesus. Now will you just go out and trust him for the enabling power to give you authority over the dominion of sin? I was mistaken. I was wrong. Because I can't make that promise anymore because of the light that I've received from the Holy Ghost and the covenant, the new covenant. And I want you to follow me very closely. I believe that there are three prerequisites. There are three conditions that are necessary before the power of the Holy Spirit is released in any believer. And we're going to consider all three of them. You know, I have preached this for years, that you can't fight sin in your own power or your own ability. You have no human energy that is a match for the lust and the temptation that comes out of the pits of hell. And I've said God by his Spirit can deliver you. And there are many that are in this building right now that you've confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But in all honesty, you do not have the victory in your life. You are still indulging. You sin, confess, sin, confess. There is no victory. You may have been saved out of a, you say, I was saved as a homosexual. And here you sit in this church now and you still are battling that. You are still falling into that sin. You may have had a problem with adultery. And you go so long and you fight it in your human power and your ability. And then you fall back into it. There's some of you that are sitting here listening to me now, those who hear this tape, that are absolutely indulging in sin and they don't have the victory. They can sing, they can shout, they can raise their hands in church and say, I am delivered. And in truth, they are not delivered. They're not delivered. The power of the Holy Ghost has not been released. The power of the Holy Ghost is not at work empowering them over sin. I've had a deep burning hunger in me for months to understand what the Lord is looking for in a vessel. What kind of a heart is He looking for that He may release this power of the Holy Spirit? We know that that power has been given. God has said that it's through the power of the Holy Spirit. If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. Through the Spirit. So everywhere you go in the New Testament, all the epistles, Paul makes it very, very clear that there is an enabling power, that there is no sin that can't be conquered. There's no limitation, whether it's homosexuality, lesbianism, drunkenness, gambling, covetousness, anger, bitterness, depression, whatever the storehold may be. The power of the Holy Ghost is more than able. There is an all-conquering power in the Holy Ghost that is offered. Let me tell you, first of all, what these prerequisites are to qualify you for release of the power of the Holy Ghost in your life against sin. And then we'll take them one by one. Number one, the prerequisite of release of the Holy Ghost is a heart that's set holy upon the Lord. Number two, a desire to obey God in every area of your life. Number three, a stepping out in faith, and the willingness and the power of the Holy Ghost to work in your life. Let's start with number one. The first prerequisite to having the power of the Holy Ghost released in your life. Do you want this incredible, all-encompassing power of the Holy Ghost in your life? Do you want it released in your life? Now the Holy Ghost abides in you, but that Holy Ghost power will not be released until you meet these three qualifications, these three prerequisites. Nothing can be clear in all of Scripture. First of all, a heart set holy upon the Lord. I want you to go to the eighth chapter of Acts, and I'm going to show you a man who met all three qualifications, and then we'll go through it, please. Acts, the eighth chapter. Oh, beloved, I am so glad, I'm so hungry for truth. Don't you? The truth that sets men free. Hey, look at me for just a minute. You can get on a bus or a plane or train and go to some meet and get zapped, and somebody knock you out, and you can shake until you can't shake anymore. But if you don't have the truth in you, you cannot come out of it and be free. You'll go right back to your sins. You'll go back to your lust. That's not what I want. I told the Holy Ghost, and I said, Lord, you can do anything you want. You can come down and knock everybody in this church. You can just absolutely knock everybody out in the power of the Holy Ghost. You can do anything you choose. We don't have control of this service. You do. But, folks, before anything else and above everything else, it is the truth that sets man free. You have to have the truth. I want this truth in you today. This truth will deliver you. Acts, the eighth chapter. You find a man who qualifies all these prerequisites. There's an Ethiopian gentleman, a statesman, who went to Jerusalem to worship. He's heading home now from that worship gathering, and he's in the desert of Gaza heading back to Ethiopia. I'm sure he has a drive of the chariot. He's in the back of the chariot, and this man is a student of the Word of God. He's studying the book of Isaiah. He's been to Jerusalem, and he's puzzled by the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the same chapter that puzzles every unconverted Jew on the face of the earth today. They can't understand their own prophet Isaiah about this lamb that was going to come and be slain. And he goes to Jerusalem. I'm sure he went from scribe to scribe to Pharisee to Sadducee, and he's asking, Who is this man that's going to be slaughtered, a lamb slaughtered? Who is this man that's going to die for sins? And he couldn't get his answer. He couldn't satisfy the question of his mind. He's a hungry man. He doesn't have the light. He doesn't know about Jesus. He's hungry. He's thirsty. There was an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority. Chapter 8, verse 27. Acts 8, verse 27. Are you there? Let's go to verse 27-28. He arose and went. Behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candacy, queen of the Ethiopians who had charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was returning and was sitting in his chair and read Isaiah as the prophet. Now listen to me, please. Here's a man who's spiritually blind, but he's deeply hungry for truth. He's a religious man, but he has such a heart set on God. I can say absolutely emphatically that this Ethiopian had a heart that was wholly given to God, that was set on God. And how can I make that statement? How can I look at a man in a desert and there's only a few scriptures given about him, but how can I declare to you that he had the kind of heart that God is looking for to release his power of the Holy Ghost? Emphatically I can say to you he had a heart that was set on God because he loved God's Word. He was a student of the Word of God. He studied. He was probing. He was looking. He was searching. He was searching after the Lamb. What are you searching for? Are you going about the land? Are you going about searching for an experience? Or is there something in you that has neglected this Holy Scripture? There can be no release of Holy Ghost's power in any life until you develop a sincere desire for the milk of the Word of God. There has to be a sincere desire for this milk. I heard a statement by a man who was leading a revival in the land where many people are flocking. And the statement was because he sensed that the people were restless. He said, Just hold steady. We'll get to the good stuff in just a bit. The good stuff was when the preaching was over and when people were invited to come up and have hands laid upon them and people began to fall on the floor and people began to shake. That was the good stuff. The Word of God is boring to some people because they don't have that love. They don't have that heart. They don't have the heart for the Word of God. When people come to this altar, we're going to tell them from now on that power cannot be released until you go from this altar and you go home and you get this Scripture out and you pray, Oh God, by your Spirit, open this to me. I want to know about the Lamb of God. I want to know who this is that made a sacrifice for my sins. I want to know how he delivers me. Folks, you have to not just do it because I tell you or a pastor tells you, but you pray, Oh God, I want the power of the Holy Ghost released in me. The power of the Holy Ghost comes through His Word. That's where faith comes from. That's where the power comes from. The Word of the Living God. This is positively the number one mark of a believer who has a heart that's set on the Lord. An ever increasing hunger to study and to know the Word of God. You can tell me this morning that you love the Lord. You can tell me that you've given your whole heart to Him. You say, Jesus is my Lord. I love Him with all my heart. I know where I stand and I know I'm saved. I have a heart for God. And I'm going to come back to you and I'm going to ask you, if that's so, how much time have you been spending? Are you a student of this Word? This past week, how many chapters have you read? How much have you gone into this book to study the Lamb of God? What kind of a hunger has there been in your heart for His Word? I'm telling you now, if you do not have a hunger for His Word, if this is not your daily bread, if you're not in here getting life, you have no heart for Him. You have no heart for Him. And the power of the Holy Ghost will never, ever, ever be released in your life. You can never be able to battle against any sin. You can't battle against any kind of depression. You can't battle against fear. You can't battle against covetousness. You cannot face any lust. Nothing. That's why so many Christians are weak. They are frail. And they're falling on the left and the right because they are illiterate about the Word of God. The entire charismatic movement today is primarily illiterate about justification by faith. Illiterate about the victory of the cross. Illiterate about sanctification and mortifying the flesh. Illiterate about the new covenant. Why? Because they want somebody to spoon feed them. We don't have Christians digging into these last days. Folks, dark clouds are coming. All hell is going to be released if you are not into this book. If you are not a student. If you are not praying, Holy Ghost, reveal your Word to me. You are not going to make it in these last days. You're not going to make it. And you say, Brother Wilkins, isn't that strong? Oh, that I could make it even stronger. That I could make it even stronger. David said, our steps are ordered by the Word. Psalm 119, 133. David said, my heart standeth in awe of thy Word. You're not in awe of that Word if you don't pick it up. You're not in awe of that book if you don't read it. You're not in awe of the book. You're not asking God to direct your steps. Tell you how to get out of your bondages. The scripture says, David said, Thou hast magnified thy Word above thy name. We see so many today still bound and chained by sin and able to come into freedom. But you see, it's because people have neglected this book. They've absolutely neglected the living Word of God. In this 8th chapter, you see the story of another man by the name of Simon. Philippus has been having a great revival in Samaria. And he sees the signs and miracles. And the scripture says, Simon himself. Now, this man was into witchcraft. Simon himself believed also. When he was baptized, he contended with Philippus and wondered, beholding. In other words, his eyes were on the miracles and signs which were done. This man is not into the Word of God. This man is marveling at all the signs and wonders. He stands there amazed. This is something. He's excited. And then when the Holy Ghost is given by the laying on of hands, and there's people speaking in new languages, he even offers money for it. But you see, Peter comes along and he said, Your heart's not right, Simon, in the sight of God. And then listen to what he added. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter. He said, You have no part. You have no right to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. This is the work of the Holy Spirit that's happening here. The laying on of hands. You have nothing to do with the work of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, because your heart's not right. You have your eyes on the signs and wonders and miracles. And as wonderful as all of that is, you have no foundation of the Word of God. You have no love for the Word of God. Philip is preaching it. Philip gives himself to prayer and the study of the Word of God, as all the apostles did, and those who were assigned at Jerusalem to wait on tables. This man is given to the Word. He's given to prayer. But this man has his eyes only on the excitement of the signs and the wonders and the miracles. The Ethiopian is a different kind. He's not seen any miracle. He's not seen any sign. He knows nothing about gifts. He's got a hungry heart. He has a hungry heart. I know charismatic Christians who all they talk about is power. Oh, I've been to such a meeting. There's such power there. Brother so-and-so is such a man of power. I've had people come to me backstage and say, Brother Wilkson, we need more power in this church. And they talk power, power, power, power. But my Bible says unless you know the Word of God, you're going to make an error and you don't know. You don't know power till you know the Word the Scripture says. Jesus said to the Sadducee, You do err not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. You don't know the Scriptures so you don't understand what real power is. The real power is to overcome sin, flesh, and the devil. The real power is to preach under an unction, and people are broken from the chains of sin. Hebrews 4.12, For the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He said that's power. When the Word comes and discerns your heart. Hallelujah. A minister friend told me that he spent hours and days and weeks and even months praying to be delivered from a lingering lust for heroin. He'd been saved, but that lust was still there. In fact, he's the gentleman who said he rubbed his face in the carpet. He was so desperate. He cried and wept for weeks, hours a day for freedom. And I stopped and I said, let me ask you a question. He was a minister, a fallen minister. I said, in the last two years, my brother, in all honesty, how much time have you spent in the Word of God? In this past month, this past week. He just shook his head. He said, I'm not into the Word. But he's been going to revival meetings every night. Feeding his soul on revival. I said, you're not going to make it that way. And that's the reason you fell in the first place. You had no power. Because you didn't have a heart for the Word of God. And God's not going to release His power to you until He sees you diligent in this Word. Enabling power of the Holy Spirit to break sins. Power will never be released in those who don't desire the sincere milk of the Word of God. If your heart's not right with God in this matter, you cannot have that power released in your life. Let's go to the second qualification or prerequisite. And this is a desire to obey God in every area of your life right now. To obey right now. Not when the Word of God comes to you. When the conviction comes. You don't wait. You say, I want to obey right now. We preach that we don't have the power to fight sin in the flesh. But we also preach that a heart that is wholly given to God is one that desires to obey the Lord in all things. The Ethiopian did not have a revelation of Jesus Christ yet. But one thing he had. When he got the Word, when he heard it, he was ready immediately to obey. God's looking over the whole earth. Remember the Bible said His eyes broke to and fro through the whole earth. Seeking a heart like this, that He may show Himself mighty to those who are wholly set upon Him. It's an amazing thing to look at this man in the wilderness. Here is God, Creator God, the One who numbers every hair on every head. He who knows every sparrow that falls to the ground. He who hung the universe and all the cosmoses and all of the worlds and the planets and hold them in their orbits. He's looking over the whole earth for a heart that's wholly set on Him. Ready to obey. Loving His Word. He looks into a wilderness. It's almost as though the whole world, God says, yes, it's kept by His Word. But He turns away from all of creation. He turns away from all of the planets. And He looks at a man. He's looking at a heart in that desert. In the back of a chariot with His Word open in His lap. And a man who's saying, if You'll reveal this to me, Lord, I'll do everything You tell me. I want to please You. I want to know You. Here's a man that's hungry and thirsting after the Lord. And when God saw that kind of heart, He dispatches the Holy Spirit on a special mission. And He's told, the Holy Spirit goes and brings Philip, breaks him away from a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Samaria. And He says, now go down into the desert. There's a highway to Gaza, through the Gaza Strip. Go down there. The Holy Ghost sends this prophet. And here he is walking down the road, not knowing why he's there. Folks, I want to tell you, God is saying something to us in this. This is not just a story. He's trying to tell you how quickly the Holy Ghost responds to a heart that is wholly given to Him. How God almost seems to put away the details of the whole universe because He finds a heart. And here comes a chariot. That Ethiopian. The Holy Ghost has arranged all of this. Think of it. The Holy Ghost arranges it. You talk about a release of Holy Ghost power? He released this prophet. He sends him down the same road, and here comes the chariot. And the Holy Ghost says, Philip, get in the chariot. Introduce yourself. And that scene, this man of God, Philip, is preaching Jesus to this Ethiopian. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. What a wonderful thing the Holy Ghost is doing here. And folks, He will do that for you. He will do it for me when He finds the Ethiopian type heart. God sees this little hungry black man. The statesman, treasurer of the queen. A man of dignity, a man of authority, but a man who is willing to say, I don't know anything. Because Philip says, do you understand what you're reading? He says, how can I unless somebody shows me? He didn't have that proud religious spirit. He says, I don't know anything. Can you show me? He said, oh, can I show you? Now he knows why God sent him. He preaches Jesus. He said, that's the Lamb of God. That's Jesus. That's Jesus that they crucified. He was buried. He's raised from the dead. He ascended to the Father. And those who repent and believe and are baptized in water shall be saved eternally. He says, the Lamb who died for me. And if I obey Him, I'm saved if I believe. There's water right there. There's a pond. What hinders me? He's turning to the prophet. He says, is there anything in my life? Expose it. Is there anything that would hinder my blessing the Lord and being pleasing in His sight? What would hinder me? I want to go all the way now. Right now. That's what God's looking for before He releases His power. He's not praying. He's not coming to somebody that's got a habit or a lust. They said, well, Lord, a little at a time. I'll break away a little here and a little here. I want to tell you something. You can't put channels to sin. It overflows its banks all the time. You cannot channel sin. You can't channel lust. It always overflows its borders. You cannot channel it. You cannot put borders to your lust. It will flow over. And He's saying, now. I want to obey my Jesus now. He's my Lord now. I believe I'm going down into waters. Glory be to God. Believe and be baptized and thou shall be saved. This is the heart that God is looking for. Do you know something? God has a unique plan of deliverance for every single believer. He's got a unique plan to bring you out of bondage, all kinds of bondage. He has a readiness to show Himself mighty to you. And you show me a brother or sister that is ready to dig into the Word of God and give themselves to this book and to the Christ. This was the Word and the Word was God. The Word was with God. This is Christ Himself. The revelation of who Jesus is and a heart that's obedient, ready to obey right now when the Holy Ghost convicts, right now when He's at work. And I'll show you somebody's going to start having the Holy Ghost released in power in their life. You know, it's amazing. The Scripture says they went down in the water and they come out. And the Scripture says that Philip was carried away and the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. And I say, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. There's two men and a driver and nobody in sight anywhere. And they go down into the pond. He's baptized and they're coming out of the water and one of them disappears. And all the Bible says, he went on his way rejoicing. And I'm thinking, I'd be standing around, where'd he go? Where'd he go? I'd be running to the driver and say, did you see him? Is this a dream? I'll tell you what, you know why the Lord doesn't go into detail on that? Because you see, Philip's not the main character here. He's not the figure that God's talking about. He's talking about the Ethiopian. He's talking about a heart that He's looking for. And He's not one you get your eyes on Philip. The whole thing is about, yes, it's about the minister of the Holy Spirit. Philip is there to show you to the extreme the Holy Ghost will go to answer you when your heart is right. You understand that? The Spirit of the Lord took him away. And the third prerequisite for release of the power of the Holy Spirit is a stepping out in faith. He commanded the chariot to stand still and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. I've been so thrilled in recent weeks as the Holy Spirit's been opening to me and showing me how the Holy Ghost comes to give us power, enabling power over sin. The Lord showed me years ago that in my last days, the time that I had my last days, that He would allow me to go to ministers' conferences and share my heart. And I said, Lord, I don't have the message yet. He's just beginning to give me the message. And it's along these very lines. But I've been thrilling to see how the Holy Ghost is so wanting to deliver. And let me tell you how He does it. Let me show you right now. If you are ready to go into His Word, and if you are praying, God, I want to obey you now. I don't want to live with my sin. You have to have the place where I say, I hate my sin, I hate whatever is holding me back, and I want deliverance. I want to obey you now in every area of my life. I don't want anything in my life that is not open. I want to be able to look any prophet in the eye. I want to be able to sit in any kind of message and rejoice in it and not have to say, oh boy, that's me. Yes, I receive it, but I don't want to have to point to any sin in my life. I want power over every sin, every lust, every temptation. I want the power of God's Holy Spirit enabling me, delivering me. Because the Bible said, God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, 2 Peter 2.9. He knows how. God has a plan. Now let me take you back to Pharaoh. The children of Israel, follow me very closely now. The children of Israel are told by God to encamp on this side of the Red Sea, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. And he encamps there. Now the Lord knows he's going to take them over. He's going to open the sea. He knows that. Why didn't God do that the night before Pharaoh comes? Why does he wait? Why does he wait? In fact, he won't let Moses move. He won't let him move. God's already given the plan. Moses knows they're going to cross that sea and they're going to go on dry ground. But God waits until they hear the roar and the snorting of the horses and the rattling of the chariot wheels and the loud war cries of the soldiers of Pharaoh. They're able to stand on the mountain and see that cloud of dust coming. Why does God wait that long? Because God has a score to settle. God says, I'm not just going to take you across. I'm not going to just give you the victory. If I take you across and I don't deal with your enemy in a definite way, if I don't make a statement in hell, so to speak, you're going to be afraid the rest of your life. You're afraid they're going to build a bridge. They're going to come after you. And so God says, No. I'm going to be honored on this. They're going to know who I am. Pharaoh's going to know. Pharaoh's the type of the devil. His army is a type of the host, demonic host of hell coming against you. God says, No, I'm not just going to set you free from your sin. I'm going to let devil know and hell know. I'm going to make a statement that you are mine. He can't have you. His battle with you is over. He brings the enemy into the battle scene, right into the scene of deliverance. And while he's clouded his hanger, he always secures his people while he's making a statement in hell. And he secured his people with a cloud. And how did the Holy Ghost deliver his people? Place yourself there. You are at the Red Sea. There, facing the Red Sea. That is that hounding lust. That is your sin. That is the iniquity. That is the world, the flesh, and the devil standing before you and behind you. How do you get out? The Holy Ghost gives explicit direction. And if you will step out in faith on those directions, you have been into his word. You have a heart to be delivered and obey him in all things. And if you believe him for the instructions and act on it, one day at a time, one hour at a time, he'll give you instructions. And what were those instructions to Moses? Stop crying. Stop pleading with me. Pastor, get up off of your face. If you're going to trust me and get into the word, I'm going to tell you how to get out of this mess. He says, now, you march the people right over to the brink of the Red Sea. And you have the priest put the feet in the water. And when their feet are in the water, then you pick up your rod, listen to the directions. And then you stretch it out, I'll open the sea. And they'll walk over and dry ground. Now, I'm going to tell you something. I'm not preaching theory. I preach something I've experienced in my life. I have trusted the Holy Ghost. Whenever I'm in a tight spot or the enemy comes against me like a flood, I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost. I'm in his word. I'm ready to obey. He gives me direction. Do this, do this, do this, one day at a time. And if I obey, he doesn't give me directions for tomorrow, only for today. But if I obey today, I get them for tomorrow. You'll hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk you in it. You'll hear the word. The Holy Ghost has a voice. He's ready to talk. You don't have to live in your depression. You don't have to run to meeting after meeting and cry the same old tears year after year. You don't have to be a homosexual anymore. You don't have to be a drug addict, alcoholic. You don't have to be covetous. You don't have to carry your bitterness anymore. The Holy Ghost has a word. You don't need an instructor. You don't need the pastor to tell you. You don't need a counselor to tell you. You don't need a psychologist or a psychiatrist. You need the Holy Ghost. He gave it to Joshua. He said, you march around seven times last time, seven times in one day. And he obeyed explicitly. He told Hannah what to do. He told Gideon, you choose 300 men and you come down those mountains screaming like wild men. He told David, don't you move till you hear the rustling of the mulberry tree all through the book. Direction, direction, direction. Explicit detailed direction from the Holy Ghost. You can't read this Bible without being totally convinced that the Holy Ghost will give you every direction, every way out. The way he gives me won't be the same way he gives you. There's no blanket direction for the whole church. It's individual direction because everybody's got their own problems and difficulties. And God knows how to deliver the God and the out of temptation. Will you stand please? Hallelujah. Will you lift your hands to the Lamb of God? Lord, thank you for the Holy Ghost. Thank you for a Savior who is waiting and wanting to give us direction through the Spirit of the living God. Lord, forgive our neglect of your Scripture. Forgive our neglect for this Holy Book. Oh Lord, I can say with David, I love your Word. I know Pastor Carter, you put a love in his heart for this Word. It's his life, it's his food. The pastor of this church feed on it. Lord, let everybody in this house, everyone that calls themselves a part of this church. Lord, put a hunger by your Holy Spirit into their heart for your Word. Then Lord, they'll not be running after every wind and wave of doctrine. They will not be chasing around trying to find something to satisfy an inner longing. They'll be satisfied. They'll be living on this milk and the Word and the meat of God's Word. Hallelujah. Now Lord, there are people in this church standing here now. Lord, you have confronted them by your Word and by your Spirit. I'm asking you, dear Lord, to heal their broken, wounded heart. I'm asking you to deliver from the power of sin once and for all. Oh God, if that commitment's made, you'll look down and you'll see that heart today. And you'll send the Holy Ghost. Oh, how quickly you respond. How quickly, how miraculously you respond to that kind of heart. Now, the invitation. This is the only thing I get from the Holy Ghost. Up in the balcony here on the main floor. If the Word of the Lord has convicted you today, and you need to repent. If you have neglected Him or His Word. You're still bound by sin. You want to be free. And if you're not right with God, if you backslid and you've lost your first love for Jesus, you're welcome to. But if the Holy Ghost has dealt with you by His Word, I don't know who you are. That's His work in His ministry. We don't try to bloat numbers around here at this altar. You see, when the Holy Ghost comes powerfully with His Word, and He deals with your heart. And you don't respond to that at that time. It'll just cool off. You'll walk out, and you'll lose it. You're looking in the mirror, and you'll go out and forget what you look like. That's what the Bible says. You act immediately on the Holy Ghost impulse. The conviction, the pull, the tug of the Holy Ghost. You act immediately on that. Up in the balcony, go to stairs on either side, and come down any aisle. You that have come forward, look this way, please. How many of you standing here do not have a Bible? Raise your hand, please. You don't have a Bible. I presume then that every one of you have a Bible. I'm not going to put you on the spot and say how many of you neglected it. Only that's between you and God. You see, the whole thing, God will present you a truth. It's up to you to act on it. He doesn't force Himself on you. You have a will now to choose to obey His Word, to act on the Word that you've heard. Or to ignore it. Or to just let it die out. But if you want the power of God, the power of the Holy Ghost in your life now. If you want God to tell you how to live, how to get out of a marriage mess. That doesn't mean He's going to tell you to leave your husband or wife. He's going to tell you how to endure it, how to act. If you want these clear directions of the Holy Spirit, the leading. Because He said you can walk in the Spirit. It's possible to walk, live day by day in the Spirit. Under His direction and power. First of all, as I said, I will not offer that anymore until you make up your mind. You set your heart and you set your mind. Lord, I'll go in. I suggest you start with five chapters from the Psalms every day. And then go into the New Testament. And please mark it. If you have a Bible that can't be marked, you've got the wrong Bible. Mark it where it says Israel, put your name in it. Because you're the Israel from above. And pray. Now listen, just reading the Bible in itself without praying for an understanding is not going to work. Because Marshall Applewhite, who led 38 people and himself off into a spaceship, he said. Suicide. They were reading their Bible daily. They were Bible readers. But they were reading it only to see something about extraterrestrial. They were only looking for the supernatural. They were not looking for Christ. You have to have a hunger to know who Jesus is. To have a hunger for God Himself. Otherwise, and you have to pray, Holy Spirit, give me an understanding. Is that clear? And then, are you willing? Are you ready to obey the Lord when He comes to you and puts His finger on it and says, that has to go? Are you ready to do that? You know how you know that? Because when you read the book, you'll come across it. And the Holy Ghost says, wait a minute. Don't skip over that. Go back. Isn't that where you're at? Isn't that your sin? And the Holy Ghost will point it and see. He'll speak to you through His Word. And He'll put His finger on it. And you can't get away. And you close the book and say, well, I don't know. But all day at work, there it is. And He will burn it into your brain. He'll burn it there. And the Holy Ghost, because He loves you. Because God's loving you. And He's saying, now. Hallelujah. It's called Holy Ghost Miserables. He makes you miserable so that you'll hate your sin and say, Lord, I'm ready to deal with it. Not next week. Not until I make another call to my illegitimate friend. Not until I have one more round. No, no, no, no. Now, God. Now, Lord. Are you ready now to go all the way with the Lord? I want you to raise both hands. Raise both hands right now. I want you to pray this prayer with me. Jesus. Help me. By Your Holy Spirit. To set my heart. To seek You. Holy. With everything in me. Give me a love for Your Word. A desire to know You. A willingness. And a desire. To be free. In every area of my life. From every bondage. Every sin. I want every chain. Cut off my life. I want to be free. I want to enjoy Jesus. Holy Ghost. Tell me how. To get victory. Lead me and guide me. And I'll love You with all my heart. Forgive me, Jesus. All my sins. All my battles and struggles. I turn over to You now. I commit my life. Into Your hands. In Jesus name. Now let me pray for you. Lord. We hear this prayer time and time again. I've heard it, Lord, since I was a child. Hundreds of thousands have prayed it. And Lord, many of those are in glory right now. They're around the throne of God rejoicing. And Lord, I pray for every one of these that have come. It sounds so simple. Lord, You've made it so easy. You said that even a child need not err therein. Oh God, open our understanding. Help us to understand that You're reaching out to us right now. And says, I am wanting to help you. I'm wanting to deliver you. But can you not watch with me one hour? Can you not go into my book for an hour a day? Can you not talk to me? Can you not walk with me? Can you not even show interest in my ways and my work in you? How can I do it if you have no awe or respect for it? Oh God, put an awe in our hearts. A respect for the things of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. And we know, Lord, that we can't depend on our flesh. But we're going to depend on You, Holy Spirit. Come now. Lead and guide and direct this people, we pray. Let there be deliverance. I take authority in Jesus name. Every lying spirit who had tried to rob God's people of the truth. Let the truth go deep into the heart. Let it be a seed that bears fruit in Jesus name. Now I want you to raise your hands and thank the Lord. Just thank Him right now. Lord, I give you thanks. I give you praise for your faithfulness. This is the conclusion of the tape.