In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of having pure hearts and minds, which can only be achieved through the work of the Holy Spirit. He urges believers to let their conversation be worthy of Christ and his gospel, highlighting the power of words and the impact they can have on others. The preacher warns against covetousness and the dangers of allowing material desires to consume one's thoughts and conversations. He concludes by emphasizing that Satan is using conversation as a tool to ruin lives, both in the world and in the church. The sermon is a pastoral message aimed at the congregation, but it is also intended for a wider audience through video and audio recordings.

My message, Conversation Worthy of Christ, Conversation Worthy of Christ. I know God put this on my message. This was not what I was working on, but the Holy Spirit was dealing with me, and I must assure you that I'm preaching to myself as well as to the congregation, and I take this word very, very seriously this morning. This is a pastoral message to the congregation. There will be many people that see and hear this on the videotapes we send around the country and the world, and also by audio tape, and we trust and pray that the Lord will accomplish His purpose in delivering it. Will you pray with me now that the Lord anoint us? Heavenly Father, we thank you for the word of the living God. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that you know exactly what we need and when we need it, and you will bring it to us, Lord. I didn't know who would be here this morning, but you did. You knew every person that would be here at this time, in this seat, in this place, and we pray, Lord Jesus, that you help us to receive the word. If we receive it, it will work changes in us that are so necessary to keep the anointing, necessary, Lord, to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, necessary, Lord, to have the favor of God in our lives. Lord, it's the little foxes that spoil the vine. Lord, expose those little foxes this morning. Let us take seriously what we hear this morning, and I pray for an unction, anointing of the Spirit of God beyond anything that my flesh could accomplish. I put my flesh aside by faith, and I come now to the anointing of God in the Holy Ghost in Jesus' name, amen. Conversation worthy of Christ. Now, Paul considered it sound doctrine to speak about specific behavior of God's people. He said that sound doctrine, deal with behavior, speak clearly about it. In fact, in Titus chapter 2, don't turn there, but Paul admonishes the aged women in the church of Jerusalem about a particular behavior in the house of God, and he began with their conversation. He said in Titus 2, 3, to the aged women, that you be in behavior as becoming holiness, not false accusers. He said, I'm going to talk to you about a certain area of your behavior, I'm going to talk to you about your conversation, I'm going to talk to you about false accusations that have been going around in the church in Jerusalem, and we want to deal with that. And of all of the areas of behavior that I could address this morning, I want to focus in on just this matter of conversation. What comes out of our mouth? The things that we speak, and the things that we speak and take so lightly, and think that God is not aware of it, or that God doesn't keep records. Paul, writing to the Philippians, said, let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ. In other words, whatever comes out of your mouth, let it be conversation worthy of Christ and His gospel. He's saying, let every word that you speak, let it be a word that is worthy of what you claim to believe in Christ Jesus and His word. And it's this area of conversation where Satan is doing his most damage today, not only in the world, but in the church. He is ruining lives, he is destroying marriages, and it all has to do with what comes out of the mouth. And you can judge a man or woman, you can judge the depth of their spirituality by their conversation. I always know when I'm around a righteous man, because he's not a jokester. I know a righteous man because you can't be around him very long before he's going to talk about Jesus or some word that God's been given to him. You're not going to hear gossip, you're not going to hear anything else. This man is shut in with God, and you know that out of his heart flows, out of the abundance of the heart is flowing something from the heart of God. And I know when I'm around somebody that's dealing in sensuality secretly, because somewhere along the line it's going to come out as a dirty joke, it's going to come out, something is going to come out that betrays what is in the heart. You judge a person by their conversation very clearly, very easily. Paul speaking to the Colossians, Christians warned, but now ye also put off all filthy communication out of your mouth. You know, there was a time when you didn't have control over your mouth. There was a time your tongue was not tamed. Remember before you were saved how you talked? Trash talk, filthy talk? Now maybe not all of you, but I would dare say nine out of ten of you that are saved now would not like to have God rehearse it here publicly, how you used to talk. You would be terribly embarrassed. Do you remember how you used to talk? There was no guard at your mouth, lips, your tongue was untamed. You spoke as you pleased, and it came out of a heart of lust, the Bible says, wherein in time past you walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all have our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh. Any Christian who engages in filthy conversation is still bound by lust and sensuality, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth does speak. Now, Satan and his crowd hates to be around a Christian who speaks uprightly, pure language. When you speak uprightly on the job, the Bible makes it clear that the devil's out to get you. Let me quote it to you from the Scripture, Psalm 37, 14, the wicked have drawn out the sword to slay such as be of upright conversation. They've got a name for us. Holy Joes, Holy James, Mr. Perfect, Miss Perfect, preacher boy, preacher. I got it all my life. Preacher boy, not just because my dad was a preacher, man, didn't know my dad was a preacher. I got it all my life. If you want to be with the crowd, just listen to one of their dirty jokes or tell a joke or just salt and pepper your conversation with a few bad words and you'll be accepted. Talk uprightly, speak uprightly on the job wherever you are and you're going to be a marked man or woman. Put it down, you'll be marked. But God makes it very clear that we don't speak uprightly as an example primarily to the wicked. We speak uprightly and purely as an example to the body of Christ, to the believer. First Timothy 4, 12, be down example of the believers in word, in conversation, charity and spirit and faith and purity. Be an example to the believers in the way you talk and the way you speak. I ask you and I've asked my own heart, does your conversation, the kind that is worthy of Christ at all times, at all times, in all manner of speaking, is it worthy of Christ? Or have you been disqualified this past week to be an example because of things that have come out of your mouth? I wonder at your home, let's talk to married couples. I wonder how it would be. Would you mind if the pastors dropped in at any time? I mean, normal hours of the day. What would it be like in your home? What would we hear? Would it be godly conversation, would it be upright? I've known what it is as a pastor years ago to knock on the door of some of the saints and all of a sudden I would hear the screaming and the fighting. I mean, do you know what you do in a case like that? You just turn around and walk away and wait for Sunday morning until they come in lovey-dovey sweet-talking every other minute. Yes, honey, yes, dear, and I just heard them the day before screaming at each other. Could you invite me, Pastor Carter, by the way, is in Macedonia. We sent him out yesterday. He'll be back next week, but could we as pastors just drop in on you? What would we hear? Forget it. Let's talk about couples that are in a rocky marriage and talk about couples on the brink of divorce. Let me tell you something. There is no crisis in life that justifies ungodly language. I'll say it again. There is no crisis in life, none. Not the crisis of being on the brink of divorce, not the crisis of any affliction, not the crisis of any kind, unemployment. No matter who hurts you, how wounded you may believe that you are, there is no crisis in your life that justifies speaking anything but what glorifies the name of Jesus Christ that's worthy of Christ. Character assassination among husbands and wives, name-calling, hateful accusations. That's all in the realm of Satan, and the Bible makes it clear that it opens you to demon possession, harassment and possession. It is un-Christlike language that was your problem in the beginning. Honestly, folks, there are many, many marriages in this church. I have to deal with this one. The Holy Ghost laid this on my heart. He wouldn't give me anything else. I begged for a whole week and pleaded and prayed. The Lord said, I've got something, you've got to speak to this church and to yourself. And God's been dealing with me and I want him to deal with us now. There are many in churches where the gospel is not being preached, divorce. Divorce is rampant. It should not be rampant in a Holy Ghost church. Where the word of God comes clear and powerful, there shouldn't be any divorcing. Now, there are exceptions, but there should be, that should be at a very, very minimum. And there should be no marriage in this house that is rocky, that is on the brink of disaster. This matter of justifying ourselves, this matter of lying to one another. This is the kind of talk that ought not to be in any marriage. The Scripture says the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. It's this deadly poison. It's deadly poisonous when it spews out of the same mouth blessings and cursing. When you can come to church on a Sunday morning and sing and praise the Lord and your wife and your husband sitting there and knowing that you're going to go out in the car or you're going to get on this subway and you're going to go home and you're going to argue and out of your mouth you're going to spew forth filthy language, bitterness and wrath and anger. Out of the same source, the Bible said that's impossible. So there's something wrong in the heart and usually it's not a marriage problem, it's a heart problem. There's something wrong in the heart, there's something that's taken possession of the heart. The Bible makes it very clear that there's a wisdom of the world that descends not from above but it's earthly, sensuous and it's devilish and it's a lie. Many husbands or wives are caught in the web of a lie and they're under a delusion, a sensuous devilish delusion, the Bible calls it. For where there's envying and strife, there's confusion and every evil work. Folks, if there's something going on in your house of strife and confusion, there's some evil work someplace, there's something devilish going on, there's something of filth and it's going to come out the mouth. If it's in the heart, it's going to come out. If your conversation is salted with bitterness and if you're embroiled in strife, you can mark it down. Somebody is under the delusion of a lie and they're believing that to be the wisdom of God. But the Bible said it's not the wisdom of God, it's devilish, it's from the devil, it's from the pits of hell. The result of flirting with something sensual in your life is always an outbreak of confusion, an explosion of every kind of evil happening. I would tell you something, if there's something evil that has your heart and you're a married person, it's going to explode on you, it's just going to hit the fan, so to speak, and there's going to be confusion, there's going to be strife, everything's going to spin out of control. The Bible said you're covering a lie, you're in delusion under the spell of a false wisdom. He said it's devilish, it's from the pits of darkness. Folks, there is only one reaction that is justified. The Bible said a soft answer turns away wrath. There's only one reaction that God permits, there's only one biblical reaction to any crisis in your life. It is not to react in anger, it's not to hold on to bitterness. It's to bring your heart and your thoughts and your conversation under the control of the Holy Ghost, bringing every thought of captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ. The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now let me talk to you, if your marriage is in trouble, let me speak plain and speak lovingly. God's trying to save your marriage today. You may have visited this church not knowing what to expect. God knew you would be here this morning. God knew about your marriage, and He cares about you, He cares about your marriage. Now you singles, just hold still, I'll get to you down the line. I know what the Holy Ghost is doing this morning, I know the Holy Ghost is confronting some things here this morning, and I want you to listen closely to my heart. It's burdened by the Holy Spirit, and I speak His mind. If your marriage is in trouble, I beseech you in the name of the Lord Jesus that you ask the Holy Ghost to tame your tongue. The Bible says, James said, no man can tame his tongue, but the Holy Ghost can tame it. The Holy Ghost can control it. Ask and plead with the Holy Ghost to release you from this poison, this poison that you spew out against one another, justifying yourself, telling lies about your mate, building a case against your mate. Folks, when I hear somebody trying to build a case against their husband or wife, I know there's something wrong in Tokyo. I don't know what that means, but you see, the Bible says, if a man's heart is right with God, he's going to want peace, he wants to be entreated. Folks, don't come to me if you're in marriage trouble and tell me, well, I really love him, I still love her, it's about to wreck, but you know, I still love him, I still love her. Don't come to me and say, I really want to make it work, if you don't want to make it work. I counseled a sister that was on our staff here at Times Square Church a number of years ago, and her marriage was crumbling, and her husband wanted it to go to work, and he really loved her, and for hours I counseled, I quoted every scripture I could find, I warned her, I pleaded, and I said, you're wrong, she said, no pastor, if you only knew how he abused me, if you only knew what I've gone, the hell I've faced, and she went on and on, and she said, I'm not going back to that hell, I'm not going back to that man, that my marriage is an impossible marriage, it's hopeless. And I mean, there was nothing I could say, nothing I could do to get through, and suddenly the Lord said, wait a minute, in my heart, he said, she's got something going, she's under the delusion of a lie, something has her heart, there is something sensual that has her heart. Nothing I could say, if you have something sensual, if you have something going on in your life, there is no hope for your marriage. There's no hope, it's going to come out, you're going to build a case, you're going to make it so impossible for your mate, that you're going to drive her away, just so you can get out. Now that's blunt talk, but that's the way it is. This woman, I found out a few months later, moved in with a man she had been comforting for a whole year. They ran off and got married. It had been going on for a whole year, and then she's telling me, I'm not going back to that mess. Not even an angel could have talked her out of it. God's dealing this morning with husbands and wives who have troubled marriages. It's going to come down, if it's not something sensuous that has your heart, it can be some sensual thing, it can be something that has a hold of your heart. God help a husband, if a woman said, oh I'm not going to get in, I'll get that later, I'll get to covetousness in just a minute, I don't want to get ahead. First pure, peaceable, easy to be entreated. While we're still on the subject of married couples, let me talk about conversation between godly mates, in godly homes, in good relationships. Now, I need to get very personal now, and I'm asking the Holy Ghost to help me approach this subject with purity and uprightness, and with language that's pleasing to the Lord. And I've measured every word here now in this part of my message. The Holy Ghost has spoken clearly to me that I had to deal with this subject this morning. I want to talk to you about the private conversation between married couples behind closed doors. The language used in times of intimacy. I've never heard any man ever preach this, but God laid this on my heart. The Bible said the marriage bed is undefiled, but that doesn't mean that anything goes. That does not mean Christian couples have a license to engage in filthy communication behind closed doors. Intimacy between Christian husbands and wives is a type of intimacy between Christ and his wife. We are married to Christ. Now, there is a language of intimacy, of godly love, of pure devotion, and it finds expressions in what is called terms of endearment. Can you imagine any terms of endearment between Christ and his wife would be anything but pure and holy? Words that could be spoken in the very presence of a holy God. But as he which is, hath called us as holy, be ye holy in all manner of conversation. For it is written, be holy for I am holy. First Peter 3.12, 3.2, Peter calls for a chaste conversation. He's talking about married couples, a chaste conversation coupled with fear. Chaste in the Greek here is clean, a clean conversation, language that's respectable, behavior behind closed doors that is pure. Now, I can publicly speak, I can publicly use the word marriage bed because that's a pure biblical term. I'm quoting right from the scripture. I've got to ask you bluntly but lovingly, is the conversation between you and your mate behind closed doors worthy of Christ and his gospel? Lot vexed his soul by the filthy conversation of Sodom, the scripture says in 2 Peter 2.6. He vexed his soul, he heard all this filthy conversation, we hear it in folks, it's everywhere. And sadly, many Christian marriages now, the sanctuary of the marriage bed, it's a sanctuary. And that sanctuary has been opened, the doors have been opened, and in has come the filth and the wickedness and the conversation of the world, the conversation that's picked up here and there, even from movies and from television and other places, and vile, unthinkable things are happening now behind closed doors among Christians. And they wonder why their marriage is troubled. They wonder why there's no peace. They wonder why the Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be blessing the relationship. Jesus said, those things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man. And that word defile makes them dirty, makes them filthy. For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, these are the things that defile a man. And I'm not going to say much more, but I'm telling you, I believe the Holy Ghost is saying it's time to clean up our conversation, not only on the job, not only in church, wherever we are, but behind closed doors. This goes for married couples, it goes for singles who meet together in conversation, whether it's in a restaurant, wherever it may be, and nobody's around, it's that conversation that's behind closed doors. That's when nobody else can hear you but the Holy Ghost and those around you. Now, it ought to be obvious to all of us that no Christian ever ought to gossip. The Bible makes it clear that God abhors it. He hates gossip, He hates slander, all of these things. We shouldn't even have to be reminded of that. We've preached enough about that in this church. That shouldn't even have to be a consideration this morning. But if you want the full blessing of God in your marriage, you want to be constantly in the favor of God, you want the anointing of the Holy Ghost to continue in your life, God's going to hold you and He's going to hold me, He's going to hold all of us accountable about how we speak behind closed doors. At all times, there can be no time, there can be no moment in any day that out of our mouth produces anything. Nothing proceeds out of our mouth but that which is worthy of Christ and His gospel. There's another kind of conversation that believers are not to indulge in. It's called the conversation of covetousness. Hebrews 13, 5. Now, folks, I knew there'd be no shouting or clapping here today. So I don't expect it. I do expect you to open your heart and say, Lord, I receive. If you love the Word of God, you want to be, you want to receive it, you want it to change you. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I will never leave thee, I will never forsake thee. Now, this is a strong warning against greed in the heart of a Christian. The word greed is excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves in the area of food and wealth and power. There's a greed that is captured in the heart of America. Everyone's out to get their piece of the pie. Everybody wants to get ready for what is coming. They know hard times are coming. Everybody wants their golden parachute. Everybody wants their money. There's a money-grabbing spirit, and that should not enter the house of God. It should not enter the heart of a Christian. And, folks, this is one sin I fear more than any other sin in the world. I pray against it every day of my life. I've seen this destroy marriages and homes and Christians quicker than adultery, fornication or drugs. This is the most damnable sin that you can think of, the spirit of covetousness. And it's dangerous because Christians take it so lightly. It's so damning. I repeat it again. This is the one sin I fear more than anything else that I don't ever... I pray against it. There's not a day that goes by that I don't ask the Holy Ghost to cover me in this matter. And if it makes a single inroad, pluck it out of my heart. Oh, God, don't let the spirit of covetousness get a hold of my heart. Anything of greed. Because, you see, the danger point comes when God starts blessing us in some way and prospering us. And the blessings start flowing. And then, folks, it's never enough. We want more and more and more. Jesuits waxed fat, the Scripture said, and turned their heart against God. The more God blessed Israel, the more they turned away to idolatry. And the Bible calls covetousness idolatry. How many Christians I've seen pray for the blessing of God, and they say, Lord, I want money so I can give more to missions, so I can give more to the work of God. And God blesses them. He starts giving them money. But then they start counting it and counting it and building it and building it. And God gets just his 10% and no more if he gets that. And their heart is suddenly drawn away. I heard about a very wealthy man this past week who had a yacht. He had a number of inventions. And some of the inventions that you and I enjoy today, a very wealthy man. But you couldn't talk to him about God. You couldn't talk to him about the things of God. He wouldn't even listen. He'd turn you off. But he went bankrupt. And he will tell you, I thank God that he bankrupted me. I thank God he took it all away because now I turned to the Lord. I had turned to the Lord. This man is one of the greatest saints I've ever met. He's the sweetest man you ever met. He's in his 70s and the sweetest godly man you'll ever meet. Teresa Conlon's father, wonderful man of God. And he'll tell you, I'm so glad the Lord took it all away so that I could see Jesus. Now, you don't have to go through bankruptcy to meet Jesus. That's not my point. The Bible makes it clear that we're to provide for our households. He makes it clear that we're to leave something for our children. He makes it clear to rejoice in what he gives us and thank him. I thank him every day for the blessings in my home, my family, for me, my health, my strength, all of it. I thank him for that. But you see, he begins to bless us. He begins to meet our needs in a special way. And then something happens in our heart, the spirit of covetousness and drawing our hearts after the things of this world and turning us, turning our eyes away from the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ. For the love of money is the root of all evil, all evil. Now, you see, the Bible makes it very clear, or Paul was trying to say in this, that if you covet money, you're going to be turned over the love of it. And then all kinds of evil will break out for the love of money is the root of all evil, which, while some have coveted after they have erred in the original, they've been seduced from the faith. They pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, feed these things and follow after righteousness. And folks, every time I read these words, they explode in my head and in my heart. But thou, O man of God, free these things. O child of God, let the world go that way, but not you, not me. Free from this spirit, money madness. Wanting the things of this world. Now, folks, there's nothing wrong with wanting a better apartment. There's nothing sinful about wanting better furniture, newer furniture, a newer house, a newer car. There's nothing wrong with that. But you see, what is really wrong with it is that when it so possesses your heart, you have to have it at all costs. You just have to have it. And God helped a husband who has a wife who's got her eyes on something and she just has to have it. And she just harangues and harangues and harangues and talks and talks and talks about it. And the husband wants that new four by four vehicle. And she knows he can't afford it. She knows it's going to go in debt. She knows it's going to be a misery. And he said, well, I got to have it. It gets hold of his heart. It's all he thinks about. That's all he talks about. And I'll tell you, folks, there's a test of covetousness. You can tell whether or not it has your heart. A very simple test. The Bible said, for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart's not with you. And here's the picture. The word, the word think there is to act as a gatekeeper. That's the original Hebrew is there. Thinketh in his heart means keepeth, keeper at the gate. And the picture as if a man who has opened the gate of his mind, his thought like he's opened the gate and something has his heart, something that he wants so badly, it covers it so much. And he's lusting after it. He wants. I don't know what it is that there's something that has his heart. And he's opened his mind to it. And the Bible says he invites you to eat. And he's sitting there having conversation with it. But his heart's not there. He's not hearing the words you say. And that's what you can tell when covetousness has your heart, when you can think you laid down at night and you're thinking about it, how to get it, how to figure it out. It's on your mind. It's in your thought life. You sit at the table. You don't hear anybody. You say, yes, yes, you're shaking your head, but you're not there. You are out there with your thing, this worldly thing that has your heart. That that's what it is for. He think it in his heart. So is he. And he will eat with you and drink with you and say to you, everything's all right, but his heart's not with you. You have control over that gate to the power of the Holy Ghost. Folks, thank God for your blessings. But take them lightly. Hold them lightly. Don't let them have your heart. Rejoice in his blessings, but let nothing take your heart. When Jesus says, be content with such things as you have. He's talking about himself. He said, because I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. He said, no matter what you can't get in this world, you have me. He said, and honestly, here's the real issue. When you have Christ in his fullness, you have everything that's necessary in life because he's all in all. That sounds like a cliche, but it's not. If a man is fully satisfied with Jesus. Folks, when I pray, I look around at everything the Lord's given to me, and I say, I thank you, Lord, but there's no meaning to it. Think of anything you possess. Anything you have, anything God's given to you, house, car, land, furniture, everything. Folks, there's no meaning to it. It's all going to pass away. It's all gone. And I look around as I pray, and I said, Lord, you're the only meaning to life. There's something so deep inside that not husband, not wife, not children, not things, nothing, nothing can touch it. Nothing until Christ's soul becomes everything. You can say, take the whole world and give me Jesus. And that's where the Holy Ghost wants to bring his church. Now, finally, there's one area of conversation I want to deal with before I close, and that's the conversation language of doubt and unbelief. Now, I want to focus on just one area of unbelief where it is. The Holy Ghost wants me to deal with. There's so many areas where unbelief is prevalent, but I want to focus on just one area. I want to talk to some of the elderly and infirm here. Now, as I said, these messages go out by video and they go out by audio tape. And there are going to be many, many that are listening to this and viewing it who are bedfast and they're in excruciating pain. And I want to I want to speak to those that are in this building and those are going to hear this outside of Times Square Church. And I know the Lord put this on my heart. I have been in the bed of afflictions. I've sat by the bed of those dear saints of God, elderly people who serve God faithfully all their lifetime. They have been so faithful to the Lord. They've just given everything. They're wonderful, sweet people, godly people, wonderful spirit filled people. But somewhere, somehow, at the end, the enemy succeeds in putting a lie into their hearts and their minds that they're not right with God. That they have failed the Lord and unbelief begins to creep in. It had there was a period in my own mother's life. My mother died at 90. Wonderful preach all of her life. Wonderful, pure, holy woman of God. But there was a period just about four or five years before she passed away. When the enemy came in, there was about a three year period that I couldn't get through to mom. The enemy tried to come in with lies, tried to come in and tell her she was unworthy. Coming to tell her that she wasn't even saved. I would sit there and Christ said, mom, can't you? Can't you understand the love and the tenderness of Jesus? He said, he'll make your bed in your sickness when you're old and infirm. Don't believe these lies. And I had to take authority time and time again over that. And I've seen Pentecostal saints, missionaries that come home from the mission field after 50 years and sit down and suddenly the enemy comes in with these lies and a spirit of unbelief and doubt comes in. And some of you are being afflicted. You're going through a period that you can't understand. It's beyond you. You can't explain it. The affliction. The crisis that you're in. I beseech you in the name of the Lord. God understands when you say, oh, Lord, you know, when you're so sick, you say, God, just get me out of here. God, take my life. We had a dear sister, friend of our family call last week. This sister has suffered more than anybody I've ever seen or known. I mean, all the, we've known her for years and years, and it's been one operation after another. I don't think she's known a day in 30, 40 years without pain. She has gone through one operation after another. Her last was colostomy, and now she has a broken back. And she has gone through so much suffering. I told Gwen the other day, I said, can you think of anyone we've ever known that has suffered like this sister? She says, no. And she called last week in tears. And she said, Pastor and Sister Gwen, I don't understand. I've been faithful to the Lord. They're wonderful Christians. Her husband ministers to her faithfully. But bed fast for so many years. And she cries, says, I just want God to take me home. Now, God understands that kind of language. And this dear sister is probably going to be watching this tape. And I would say I would have to say to her that she doesn't need a message on why saints suffer, why so many seem to suffer more than others. Have you ever realized that there's some Christians suffer more than others? Some go through life and don't suffer at all, and others suffer constantly. I can't explain that. I don't have a theology for it, and I'm not going to try. But I do know that God has the power to heal, and he can heal at any time. He can heal at any moment. I believe that with all of my heart. I will never doubt that. And I know this sister doesn't doubt that. But one thing you dare not do. It has to do with your conversation. It has to do with what you think in your heart. You dare not say God's forsaken me. You dare not say God's not concerned about me, or God has left me, or God's not with me. If God was with me, why would he allow me to suffer? Now, folks, this sister I'm referring to, she's holding on to faith. She loves the Lord, and she is not turning her back on God. The pain is just so excruciating, so horrific, that not even medication can get through to it, or any kind of pain relief. God understands that. But when you're in affliction, when we're in affliction, God understands Jesus at the cross said, Why, Father, why have you forsaken me? But he quickly turned. Jesus quickly turned and faithful his heart. Those fleeting thoughts can come, but they have to be dealt with where you say, Lord, I know you're able, but if not, I know you have the grace, and you have the strength for me to endure, to get through. The Lord has what you need to see you through. But don't ever come to a place where, down the line, you have to repent of something you've said or thought, this thought that comes from the pit of hell that God has forsaken. No, my God is in your room, dear sister. He's there. He makes your bed. And you're sick, as the Bible says. You may not be able to see him. You may not be able to feel him, but he's right there. And I say that to any sick person hearing the sound of my voice. No matter what you're going through, he has not forsaken you. It's not a result of sin in your life. The Lord knows what he's doing. The Lord knows what he's doing. Do you know that any moment, I told my wife this the other day, that any moment of any day you can have a telephone call, and somebody you know or somebody in your family, and suddenly there's a crisis. Suddenly there's the word of cancer. There's the word of an automobile accident. There's something that happens any day. My wife and I know that any moment you can get a telephone call, suddenly your life is changed. You're in a crisis. But be careful in that crisis. What comes out of your mouth, that if your heart, if you've committed everything to Jesus, there should be something comes out of your mouth, something like this. Lord, I don't understand it. I don't know why. But Lord, I know you're only doing what's right because I'm your child. You're doing right by me. You're doing right by that person that's been afflicted. God will do nothing but what is right for you and for everyone involved. So you just give it over into his hands and say, Lord, live or die, I trust you. No matter what's happened, I trust you. Before I close, I'll tell you about another sister. She is a twin sister of a lady that's been connected with this church for a number of years. She developed cancer in the brain. Then it moved to her bones. And folks, there's nothing as painful as bone cancer, understand. One of the most painful of all cancers. Wonderful Christian lady. And at the first, there were the questions, why? Why me? We all go, everyone I know goes through that. But something happened in her. She allowed this suffering to draw her closer to Jesus. And the more she suffered, the more she turned to the Lord. And the more of Christ came out. There were times that the pain was so bad. She would tremble. And her sister had to crawl in bed and hold her. Even with the highest form of narcotic to try to kill the pain. She would tremble and shake the bed. And her sister, she would ask her sister to hug her. She'd crawl in bed with her and just hug her to hold her down. But never once did she question. After the initial, why? God settled it in her mind. And just before I went to Europe, I called her. And they'd given her just a few weeks to live. An excruciating pain. But everyone that came into her hospital room, everybody that came near her, they were ministered to. They heard nothing but about the faithfulness of Jesus. They heard nothing but Christ. She exalted the Lord in her infirmity. How she did it, nobody can explain. She became, her conversation was in heaven. She began to speak of heavenly things. And when I called her to pray for her, she said, Brother Dave, I know the Lord can heal me. He can do it at any time. She said, truthfully, I want to go home. I want to be with him. It's that magnetic pool that you reach where you're more there than you are here. And you want the ultimate healing. You want the new body. You don't want just God pats up the old one. You want the new body in his own image. She wanted that new body in the image of Christ. And I heard nothing but faith. She, I, when I hung up the phone, I prayed with her. And she had a sense, I agreed with her that the Lord was about to take her. And there was such a peace. When I hung up the phone, peace just flooded my heart. I said, that's, that's the way, Lord, I would like to go. I want to go when you call me. I want to go with confidence in you and trust in my heart that it's the right time. It's the right place. It's the right thing. And not question God about it and say, God, this is all a part of your divine will and receive it. Now, she passed away just two weeks ago and she's with the Lord now. But it was one of the largest funerals in that area ever known. People came from miles around and they, at her funeral, they glorified Christ because of her conversation in a time of crisis, a conversation that was pure. A holy stream just was flowing out of her. Folks, I've been in hospital rooms where people were dying of AIDS. I've been in hospital places where, where wicked, evil men, I'm not saying all who die of AIDS are wicked. That's not, not it at all. But I've been in rooms where wicked men were dying and I heard them cursing. I heard a stream of vileness come out and you could feel the demonic powers and you knew they were going straight to hell. But oh, what a wonderful joy. What a wonderful thing it is to be around somebody suffering and in affliction and all they can talk about is the faithfulness of Christ. Whatever you're going through, you may not be in a sick bed or anything like that, but whatever you're going through, you may be going through unemployment, you may be going through the hardest time of your life, of your lifetime. But oh, what a testimony, what an example. What a conversation that's worthy of Christ. When out of your mouth, out of your most being flows words of confidence. You're still speaking faith in Christ. You're speaking words of confidence and faith and you're building up others in spite of what you're going through. With this, I close. I've been around and I've been so embarrassed at times. I remember times being around some godly people. I'll be sitting in a restaurant with a very godly man and I'll be telling him all about my problems. I'll be telling him about all the things I'm enduring. And a lot of it's petty. And he didn't say a word. He said, oh, he'll take my hand and pray. Let's pray right now. God, lift these burdens from Brother Dave. Just lift them from him and give him peace and just lovingly. And he won't say anything. But before we're about to leave the restaurant, I remember a case in particular. I said, by the way, how's your wife and family? He said, well, I guess you didn't hear my wife passed away. Cancer. And how are your children doing? Well, I've got a child right now that's in an accident and crippled up, probably for life. And I'm sitting there thinking, here I am spilling my little stuff. And this man's going through something I don't even know far. Folks, I'm just giving you an illustration now, far beyond anything I've ever known. And he's speaking nothing but positive, loving, encouraging words. Boy, I hope God can bring me to that place. I pray God bring me to that place that in every manner of my life, every manner of conversation, be worthy of Christ and his gospel. Please stand. Now, I know this has been a heavy message. Appreciate if you stand and just stay put, please. Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to honor this word this morning by sending the Holy Ghost to speak. Lord, for those that needed this. Those, Lord, that were hearing in the spirit, had ears to hear, but the spirit had to say, God, I pray by your spirit now that you work the changes necessary. Lord, you told me it's time for all of us to clean up our conversation. That never a moment in the day, even if we catch ourselves saying something out of line, that we would immediately repent and ask for the Holy Ghost to help us and change. Oh, Holy Spirit, I pray that if there be those here this morning convicted by the word, that as we stand in your presence right now, we would say, yes, Jesus, I heard you. I heard you, Holy Spirit. Now work the change in my life. Give me a pure tongue out of a pure heart. Let there be no place dark in me, nothing hidden, nothing that I could not say or do in the presence of a holy God. Lord, touch my life in that way. Lord, I want everything that comes out of my mouth to be a blessing to your heart. I want it to be worthy of you, Jesus, and worthy of your gospel. Oh, God, forgive us for those things that we've said and done. Forgive us for words of bitterness, words of wrath and anger. Forgive us, Lord, for gossip. Forgive us for all these things that spew out of our mouths from a heart that's still unyielded to you. God, forgive us and cleanse us. Let there be a great cleansing of your Holy Spirit this morning. Now, folks, look this way, please. We're not looking for numbers up here. But I asked the Holy Ghost this past week when I was praying, and especially yesterday, pleading with the Lord about this moment, this time when the message is over and I'm talking to you about where we go from here. And I know he's given me a pastor's heart. And I know when God speaks to me about what I have to do, and I can assure you he dealt with me soundly and severely with this message first. And I have yielded my heart. I have opened up everything in me to receive his word. And I want those changes worked in me. I don't want to sit around and ever hear or talk gossip in my life again, God helping me. And if I fail, I'm going to immediately ask him to convict me and bring me back in line. But there are many here now in the annex and in this auditorium, front of me, behind me, all over. You're going to have to do what I've had to do as a pastor. Say, God, I open my heart. I'm not go like this. I don't want to be someone who's I don't want to walk around with an untamed tongue. God, bring my tongue under subjection to the Holy Ghost. God, if we have that, when we come, our worship will be as pure as can be. There'll be a purity. There'll be a holiness beyond anything we've ever known or understood, because there's no part dark here anymore. There's nothing hindering the flow of the Holy Spirit. I want to tell you something. God can get your tongue. If he can get this conversation straight, the way you and I speak, get the heart right. This mouth is going to straighten up. The tongue is going to straighten up of God. God's looking in the heart right now. Is there something in your heart that has a hold of you? Would you say, Jesus, I want it out. I want to lay it down. I want to pray this with me right now, wherever you're at. I want you to just look up to Jesus right now. And I want you to pray this in your heart. Jesus, I want nothing to hinder the flow of the Holy Ghost in my life. I come to you, Jesus, for cleansing. Lord, I acknowledge my sin. Lord, you know what's in my life. You know what has my heart. I ask you, Holy Ghost, to break every chain, break every bond that is unchristlike. Everything that's not right, everything that is filthy, everything that's unclean, remove it from me by the power of the Holy Ghost. Sin shall not have dominion over me because the Holy Ghost has said so. Lord, I have repented and I bring my heart to you. Cleanse my heart, cleanse my mouth, and in the power of the Holy Ghost, cleanse my heart. Tame my tongue that out of my innermost being shall flow nothing but life and nothing of death. Now, let me pray for you, Father. You heard this. You heard the prayer of your people. You heard the prayer of those that are here. Some, Lord, that are coming to you for the first time, perhaps. Some that have been backslidden. Others, Lord, have been bound by sin. Something that has the heart. Now, I pray against that thing, Father. Break every chain that binds. Break every bond that is unlike Christ. Everything that holds us in captivity, everything that brings the displeasure of God, remove it. Pluck it out of our hearts, Father, and set us free. Hallelujah. I want you to lift your hands and just thank the Lord. I want you to raise your hands and just thank Him right now. Lord, I give you thanks. I give you praise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I give you praise. Hallelujah. To husbands and wives here, if you see your mate go astray on what I preached, don't point a finger and say, uh-huh, you remember what Brother Dave said? No, no, no. Say, honey, do you remember the message? Let's do what God said and do it with love. And the Bible said, if two or three agree together in anything, it shall be done. If two walk together, how can anybody walk? You have two walking together like that, not accusing each other's language, but get some kind of a signal that, hey, let's deal with this. I expect changes to be made. I'll probably never hear about it, but I'll hear it in your conversation, and I'll see it in your countenance. And it'll be understood here when we come to worship and praise what a freedom it brings to our hearts. Now, Father, we want pure hearts and pure minds, and we can't work that out ourselves. So we give it over to you, Holy Ghost, to work these things out. If ye through the Spirit demortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live. We want to live righteously before you, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.