In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of not acquiring money through evil means such as deceit and false balance. He shares a heartbreaking story of a girl whose mother earned money through abortions, highlighting the lack of blessing that comes from such wealth. The speaker then discusses the condition of the heart when receiving the word of God, cautioning against being like those who receive it with gladness but have no root and are easily offended when faced with affliction or persecution. He also addresses the issue of shallow and insincere prayer, urging believers to engage in secret prayer led by the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to the Lord's Challenge, our weekly quarter-hour broadcast, bringing the reality of God's Word to all people everywhere. Stay tuned as Joshua Daniel challenges us to a walk with God and the corresponding impact that will have on our lives, families, and society today. Soulish religion and spiritual religion. What is the spiritual religion that you learn when you come to Jesus? You see, when thou prayest, go into your closet, shut the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Now this secret prayer has become a casualty today. You see, no secret prayer. It's just a little warble or a little stereotyped prayer. No prayer led by the Holy Spirit. Oh, when I say the Holy Spirit, of course, some people will not even listen to your prayer, because they are saying under their breath, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. What do you mean? Are you partaking in the prayer? All right, praise the Lord for what? For your idleness. You know, when you say praise the Lord, there should be a reason given. Praise the Lord and a reason given. But you see, this has all become a religious cant. You know, when I first saw, you know, one of the leaders of the charismatic movement, he was a Presbyterian minister, and this is how he put it, nothing moved in my church, nothing moved. And I said, I would rather become a tractor driver, because if I pushed a lever, something would move. Nothing moves here. And so, when he met me, he was very happy. And I tried to bring that movement back to holiness. I said, the Holy Spirit is holy. That's what you need. The Holy Spirit is holy. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. You see, when that doesn't happen, it's not the Holy Spirit. It is some strange spirit. And you know, some of those leaders and the early founders of the movement that has gone around the globe, they listened to me very carefully and humbly. Some of those men were humble people. They had big churches in New York, but no life, because there was no life, they started exploring. Now, my dear friends, when we turn to the Word of God, all these satanic works and practices, we must repent of very deeply, you know, confessing our sins and the sins of our fathers. That is something which, you know, is completely new to many people. There are certain generational sins. Generational sins, some old superstition that ruled your grandfather continues to have dominion over you. What's that? Or some sin which your grandfather or your forefathers partook of, and you inherited their money, and there is no blessing in that money. Oh, my cursed money. There's a lot of money for going around, which has no blessing in it. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, be it millions, be it billions, you know, money that is acquired by evil, lies, deceit, false ballots. And what blessing does it bring to your family? No, it does not bring blessing. You know, one of the persons whom I saw so sad and miserable is a girl who said, my mother earned most of her money through abortions. It was so sad. You know, I've been trying to lift that girl out of that gloom. It's been hard. We're getting somewhere by the grace of God, but it has been a hard battle. Now, my dear friends, we go on to the next condition of the heart, 16th verse, 4th chapter, 16. And these are they likewise, which are sown on stony ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness. You know, that's what we generally see in these big campaigns and so on. Everybody seems to be happy, you know, all right. But how long does it last? Do they really take that happiness home? Do they make their little homes, little heavens? Or is it just a fusion of emotion? What good does that do? Out when you're under stress, to maintain your calm. Great peace have they that love your law, and nothing shall offend them. Think of the various things which offend people today. Ridiculous things offend people. There was a friend of mine, a great preacher, Duncan Campbell, who saw revival in the Hebrides. I followed him there to one of those islands. And he was called the mad preacher or whatever, with brown shoes. So, brown shoes were an offense up in the highlands. Anybody here with brown shoes? Well, well, well, well. You know, but what I discovered was, they had no offense about tobacco and the use of tobacco. They would all be on fire. And when I saw that, I was aghast because I saw in revival how chain smokers were just freed, people freed from all kinds of addictions. You know, my dear friends, we hear, we see people receiving the word of God gladly. Jesus makes a note of that. They're received with gladness, 17th verse, and have no root in themselves. No root. Can you think of a tree around here without any root? It will come down on your head. No root. And so endure, but for a time afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth, for the word's sake, immediately they're offended. What, how would you describe our Christians? How many of you receive loving spanking from your parents? Did it hurt you? No. Did it mend you? Not always. But the scripture says, use the rod. All right. Hey, dare you use your rod? The little child can pick up and dial, what's the number here? I don't know. 999? Is that right? 999. And my teacher told us in the kindergarten that should such an eventuality ever happen, I should remember 999 and be sure to ring. And what happens? The police turn up and take away the child. What absurdity. They should take away some of the boys from our legislature. What a sad thing. They endure, but for a time afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth, for the word's sake, immediately they're offended. I don't know what the present laws are, but it is sometime since I have preached out in the street. I used to go and preach on Sunday evenings where the gospel was not known. And depending, I suppose, upon the attitude of the police, who may permit you to do so or say, get out of this place. You're holding up the traffic. So many laws are coming into the law books, which are contrary to the word of God. I do thank God for those people who stand watch and pray against the promulgation of those laws. Let's pray. Loving Father, let not any hidden sin keep the blessing from us or from our families. Thy word says, and you went on to say in the same chapter, for there is nothing hid which will not be revealed. Oh, God, we can't hide anything from you. We need the cleansing blood. Hear our humble prayer in Jesus' holy name. Amen. The speaker on this program was Joshua Daniel. He would like to know what your response has been to the Lord's Challenge and would be delighted to hear from you. Please write, and if you have burdens you want to share and want prayer, do let us know. 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