Hear Or Forebear

And so we want to I want to come with a word now of warning and Brother Edgar did that this afternoon so so well as he preached on repentance and judgment beginning at the house of God. If you take your Bibles and open up and I'll begin here in a moment. Ezekiel chapter two and three Ezekiel chapter two and three and I will turn to that passage and read all chapter two here in a moment and just the last section of chapter three. But let's just go to the Lord in prayer right now for one the words that Brother John had presented to us prayer points secondly as well as all the other speakers that have poured out into us this day and three that I know that for a lot you're you're probably submerged right now with all that was presented. It's been a full day I understand that it's taxing mentally and physically and so it's hard because we're not used to it but one of the reasons that we decided to do the full weekend was that one of the things that I believe in is that and one of the things that I believe is missing from prayer today in the North America churches and individual Christians is that term protracted stretched out long long durations all night prayer meeting a whole week 10 days like the day of Pentecost and one of the things that I've found you know when someone says I remember one such prayer gathering that I went to down in in Texas and they said oh we're going to pray for for three days and I and I've been looking for protracted meetings I've been looking for longevity in that and never was I so disappointed I went down there they had a host of speakers and again proclamation of the word to me is essential to a solemn assembly you must know what the word of God says because most are in ignorance and most just don't do not know and most have not studied to show themselves the proof bring the word and then pray the word and I believe that they go simultaneously in that and so I went down there and the speakers spoke and there was good word good messages but what I found was was that worship and fellowship the prayer time was exactly about 25 percent of the entire actually a day and a half was what it ended up a day and a half of three days that they that they were touting of prayer it was actually a day and a half of meetings and that only 25 percent of that was spent in prayer well over 30 to 40 percent was music and then the remaining part of that was preaching or the sharing of testimonies or devotions in that and so again when you go through things you you glean what what what is it that is that agrees with your spirit and what is it that you say I just don't agree with that that that doesn't that doesn't satisfy me with what I'm hungering for so again you go you learn the goods and the bads with that when I set up Broken Before the Throne uh 14 15 years ago the first one that I did up in Hampshire County in Romney I brought brother T.W. Hunt in and Huntley Brown and we had a full weekend we had Friday night Saturday Sunday and oh we had all these people going to come and so we had that all laid out I had it set up and brought them in picked them up brought them up housed them all all that went on with that and uh it just wasn't enough and so I said well I can't actually do 10 days like they did for the days of Pentecost in the book of Acts but let's do a full week Saturday Saturday Saturday Sunday to Sunday and uh that was the first Broken Before the Throne in 2007 we um we we went into that uh with not knowing how that was going to play out many people saying it'll never work it'll never happen uh but again God met us there and what a great testimony come out of that and uh we had three sessions a day each speaker was given three hours uh we did have music we did have devotions and the Bible hymn that I opened up with tonight segments of that so again it was one of those things of learning and that we patterned that off of the Kissing Convention and we the four principles that they had which again is salvation consecration and again the outpouring of the fullness of the Holy Spirit um confession and uh those four principles of Kissing we introduced into Broken Before the Throne uh Silcock Convention under Praying John Hyde which again was day and night day and night uh that they they came together and stayed seeking God and how God blessed them in those conventions um and the principles that came out of that of the Punjan uh Punjab prayer meetings uh the principles that they ordered in their life and so you that those are historical moments that have come and gone now there are many Kissing Conventions still going on uh but not of the same nature of the into that and so somebody says why me uh somewhere in me God has birthed that desire for protracted meetings and to get before God and not get up till we prevail and uh one of the things of how God started you know a lot of these speakers when I have the opportunity to talk to them one and if you'll just allow for me a moment to share um it was early part of 2000 2002-3 um I've always been in for the ministry and the pastorate I've been since I was 18 years old um I was taught how to preach I was taught how to witness and visit and um you know I learned piano so I knew music new hymns a new contemporary music um but I was never taught how to pray and there was even though I I was given examples most of the prayer that I heard was the banter that I heard in Baptist churches of the same prayer being prayed over an auditory or opening prayer closing prayer I didn't know what what prayer was and somewhere within me God and by biographies which I love to read historical accounts of revival that Bob Bakke was talking about I too have gone and studied and researched all that love to talk about and love to share but I can't go find those men anymore I can't go sit down with Ian Bound I can't go down and sit with Andrew Murray I can't sit with Charles Finney and pick his brain and uh listen to listen to his heart and uh I read their books and they're they're these men being dead still speak praise God for it but there was something within me saying boy I'm telling you if we could just have gotten him together and had a prayer meeting now what power would have came out of that what prevailing would have came out of that but there didn't go on somewhere in in my soul God spoke and he said well then go get those who have seen revival and bring them together well I didn't know who had experienced revival and so I went looking for them and I was taking him revocably and I was uh supposed to meet him at heart cry for revival and I was supposed to meet Jim Cymbala uh at that same meeting and so that was 2004 2006 uh that was a protracted meeting and I went down there and one day standing in the cafeteria line standing behind me uh was or standing in front of me was Ralph Satare now I was down there by myself I didn't know anybody um I didn't know any of the prayer committee or life action or any of that and Ralph Satare standing in front of me turns around to me and introduces himself but I had no idea who he was and I had no idea about the Canadian revival that had taken place and uh he took me took me aside and and began to talk to me and uh the the conversations uh of again Gleen from uh that uh oh lost his name Dennis uh Kinsh uh Kinlaw Dennis Kinlaw from uh Asbury Seminary and Henry Blackaby and those ones again that have sat through the outpouring of God and listened to them tell me how did it happen tell me what was in play and again from historical accounts to to these modern day accounts that uh again 15 years ago of these men that were living and experienced and were still available and active all that consisted one thing somebody prevailed in prayer God birthed within someone that this dogmatic desire of not being satisfied with anything else but getting before God because again there's a lot we've preached and presented throughout the last day and a half of the urgency of the hour and crisis and someone someone prayed someone prevailed and God honored them and I went to these people and I sat down with them and I gleaned from them and I learned from them what they did how it happened I I talked about their prayer lives I talked about their walk with God uh and again I don't agree with everything but that was akin was akin with my spirit my soul what God was doing within me I took I've made it my own that which I don't necessarily understand or agree with I I don't just I don't throw it out I just I don't incorporate it into mine and God takes all of us like that almost everyone that I know that's on here somewhere God has birthed within you this desire to pray and prevail for revival and spiritual awakening you have burdens on you you have a desire of the Holy Spirit within you that just you are not satisfied with what you see happening and you know that the one answer that the church has is prayer it is our weapon of choice our weapon of warfare it's where we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world and we prevail and God has given that to us how well we will wield that that sword of prayer our weapon it depends on our usage of it it's just like any other thing the more you do it the better you get at it and so prayer is much like that you have a beginning saint who learns the elementaries you know again our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name they begin to learn the prayers of the bible they begin to learn the prayers they begin to listen to other people in the prayer meetings and start to gain phrases and well I like the way they said that I boy I agree with that I want to take that boy I love that verse that promise verse you know brother John just gave his promise verses boy I always that's my verse that's my promise verse and they begin to build their prayer line and so we come to a point like this where now all that God has given to you what will you do with it and we are in such a crisis such an emergency that we cannot afford to have anything less than an outpouring of God's and so that appeal for a call for a solemn assembly that I make tonight that the word that I'm going to bring to you tonight why we did this why this has happened why the speakers all the speakers have the same same unction within them the same drive you've heard it consistently at one after another and all of them from different backgrounds many of them don't know each other some of them do some of them again like I said was with me and broke them before the brother John was with me brother Sammy was with me brother Edgar and brother David Ford we've had other experiences together in revival conferences with Greg Gordon sermon index but again it is that same thing and you cannot help but understand that God is orchestrating for his purposes but there is one of them I think it was brother Bob this afternoon presented in coming together and praying in unity and having the concert of prayer is that they're your prayers matter and that they God is waiting for our prayers and one of the things over these 15 years 20 years that I've been in this pursuit and broken with the prayer conferences that I've done and been a part of come back to this question what is your prayer life like for the vast majority of the church in North America for the vast majority of pastors there is a very very little prayer life and that's part of the problem to answer the question why have we not seen revival those of you that are invested in prayer you're what we call the remnant you are deep seated God has birthed it within you and you're like me you are dogmatic and defined I will not be I will not be turned away no I there's a grit of resolve within the mind and spirit of persevering knock me down I'm going to get backed up tell me I can't come I'm going to come Lord I will not be the none and so many of you are like that you've been at it a long time and praise God for that it takes all of us but that voice that prevails it can be the one it can be the individual it can be the dozen but again how much more if we have the hundreds and the thousands coming together as Brother Bob shared with us is that that there were many many prayer groups that were gathering and petitioning for a long period of time and God honored that literally saturating the ground and God came and did it and so this is the objective that we're going to where you're at where I'm at start prayer groups cause them to pray for these things that are presented these prayer points and topics that have been presented by these speakers and write them down hold on to them don't don't let go of them and be consistent and be faithful to it and some of you are going to make that draw that line and say I tell you I started but I faded away I had my heart was there but over time I've backslidden but I've reclaimed my ground tonight I am going to be a man or a woman of prayer and I'm going to invest in this thing because my prayer matters you know how they talk about your vote matters my prayers matter for the kingdom of God and it is need for all the body of Christ to respond and if all the body of Christ would respond we would have long ago experienced revival the word I'm going to bring to you tonight is that there is a issue there's an issue at hand and I'm going to address that tonight so in the book of Ezekiel chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 1 again for those of you that know your bibles and you've read through this and the marvel of this I have never seen or heard a depiction of this in a graphic that way if you have tremendous wonderful it is a mysterious revealing of God here in Ezekiel chapter 1 where Ezekiel the prophet is out and God comes down and you have the angels and what is called as the heavenly creatures and the description of them and the symbolism of them that it says as so often not able to put it into words but a description of the angelic host and then here comes God God comes down and there are wheels and there are circles and there is movement and motion that is very descriptive of what God is doing and how God presents himself far different from other examples that we see in the scripture that preceded this go back to Genesis I believe chapter 12 and God spoke to Abraham and later on and I think in chapter 18 and God came down and visited him and that that appearance of him was more like a man showing up at the door of a visitation or running into someone because it says and three men came and yet it was God it wasn't men it was God and two angels and so this divine visitation in Genesis is there you have the glory of God that that Adam saw in the garden of Eden and fellowship with God and again yet he was hiding in the bushes after sin entered in you have Isaiah chapter 6 where the heavens were open and Isaiah saw the saw the glory of God and cried out that famous verse woe is me so we come to this in Ezekiel it is different by far than anything else and then you have over in Revelation chapter 1 where the glorified Christ not the risen Christ the glorified Christ comes to John on the island of Patmos and that description uh that John gives us of Christ is unique and exquisite and uh what a vision what a sight and things that again perhaps you long for uh Lord let me just see your glory you know again Moses prayed that prayer we use that in our revival praying Lord show us your glory show us your glory and this here in is different but the word that he gives to Ezekiel is not different and it is just just as true for us today so I want to read chapter 2 is very short after this divine visitation this divine appearance God speaks in chapter 2 and then in chapter 3 it is a continuation of this it is a consistent message that goes forward with that so pick your bibles right now and let's look at this chapter 2 of Ezekiel starting in verse 1 10 verses I want to read all of them and then in chapter 3 I want to jump over to verse 22 follow with me here as we begin for our last session of the day and he said unto me son of man stand upon your feet and I will speak unto you and the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me and he set me upon my feet and I heard him that spake unto me and said unto me son of man I send thee to the children of Israel to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day for they are impudent children stiff-hearted and I do send you unto them and you shall say unto them thus saith the Lord God and they whether they will hear or whether they will forbear for they are rebellious house and yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them and thou son of man be not afraid of them neither be afraid of their words though briars and thorns be with thee and thou dost dwell among scorpions do not be afraid of the words nor dismayed at their looks though they be a rebellious house thou shalt speak my words unto them whether they will hear or whether they will forbear for they are most rebellious but thou son of me hear what I say unto you be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house open your mouth and eat that that I give to you when I look behold there was a hand sent unto me and low roll the book was there in and he spread it before me and it was written within and without and there was written there in lamentations and mourning and love now chapter number chapter three verse 22 to the close of the chapter only a few more verses and the hand of the Lord was there upon him again God's hand you see it outstretched you see it setting upon him now whether again it was upon his shoulder upon his head God's hand stretches out and touches again the imagery of this so so important his voice sounds a certain way his appearance is a certain way his motion and his activity is a certain way and we ought to pay attention to this because again I believe is that again for the fullness of God's revelation to the church in this age it's going to be a mirror reflection of this in a lot of ways so his hand was outstretched and there upon me and he said unto me arise go forth into the plain and I will there I will talk with you so then I arose and I went forth into the plane did we not see this last night Hannah arose and went the two two responses and actions that arise and go and she arose and went to the temple when she was vexed and here is Ezekiel and he arose and went obedience arise and go to the Lord do what God asked you to do go forth into the plain and behold the glory of the Lord stood there as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebor and I fell on my face and spirit entered into me set me upon my feet spake with me and said unto me go shut yourself within your house but thou old son of man behold they shall put bands upon you and they shall bind you with them and thou shalt not go out among them and I will make thy tongue clean to the roof of thy mouth that thou shalt be dumb and you shall not be to them a recruiter for they are a rebellious house but when I speak with you I will open your mouth and thou shalt say unto them thus sayeth the Lord God he that hears let him hear he that forbears let him forbear for they are a rebellious house brother sister I read that word to you because again it speaks to me for this hour that we're in call for a solemn assembly spiritual leaders have been time and time again urged prompted again I've been very dogmatic in my approach to church leaders across Southern Baptist Convention prayer leaders sat down with them discontent with response and again this whole thing of where we've been coming from for all these years and where we're at now we've heard a encouraging word from brother Bill Ellis this morning about all the prayer activity that Dave Butts is declaring that there are more people praying for a spiritual awakening and revival now than ever before I'm not going to discredit that I'm not going to dispute that heard from brother Bob about again the things that they are hearing and seeing and rejoicing all that do you know the bottom line of it comes down to these passages that we've looked at tonight and it comes down to a response and again this is always the way that it is isn't in the times of God appealing to a nation and appealing to his own people and appealing to an individual God comes and speaks now I saw it twice to you back to back and there was a consistency in chapter two and chapter three two separate events but the same response and the spirit of the Lord entered into him and he fell flat now this is this is the one thing that is consistent with revival histories when God shows up God's people go down we see in a day in an age get up get up everybody stand up clap your hands dance around that is not that is not the manifest presence of God even in that Duncan Campbell is that when the revival and the Holy Spirit came down people were laid prostrate like they had been killed slain laying their lamb and crying out to God for mercy upon them not up dancing around not up prancing and pacing prayer walking not not they were down prostrate it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God we've forgotten that we've got this connotation in our mind about what we think of approaching God and what we think revival is going to be looking like and what we think and God has already declared what it is you don't get up you get in you don't say a word he speaks we listen now note the directive here of the response here or forbear I I'm King James read out of King James I preach out of King James I'm memorized out of King James I pray the King James I will be a King James till the day I die but other translations says hear or refuse to hear that's the other translation then there's no no no biggie here with this but that word forbear and the King James sticks with me it's got a little bit of substance there you either hear and obey or you will forbear and not obey forbear meaning literally to reject that which has been spoken and this is a consistent message throughout all the scriptures you have ears to hear but you won't listen now Christ comes along and says this repeatedly having ears to hear let him hear what the spirit is saying revelation two and three to the seven churches old testament again when God shows up and he gives a word of warning to the people it is is to say I I have spoken I've sent my prophets rising up early and sending them but you would not listen to them you have those conflicts where the prophet speaks and you have the people of God Israel standing there just in defiance you know you can see them as a defiant little child with their arms crossed and shaking themselves I will not listen I will not listen and they put their ear hands upon their ears and they refuse to hear the word same image in the scripture of what was it Acts chapter 8 where they stoned Stephen he says I see the son of God standing at the right hand waiting for him it says and they put their hands over their ears and they trod him down stoned him kicked him trod him down bit him because they couldn't stand what they was hearing having he that has ears to hear let him hear what spirit is saying or forbear to listen I want to walk through that tonight because again I believe is that when we're talking about prevailing prayer we're talking about a solemn assembly proclamation of the word prevailing prayer ushered from God's people they have this denouncement of God in Ezekiel chapter two and three you do you go back now one of my I am always caught up in in my word studies and phrases that I have dissected in the scriptures and the one I'm going through right now and I'm about 10 days away from finishing my Bible readings but this time coming through one of the word studies that I did was the every word that begins with the letter r and they speak to I I really get so I have a royal blue pen and I put a square box around the r and then I write the word out into the side of my Bibles every word that begins with r now you go back in chapter two and chapter three and you put it r a mark around or underline every time that God said rebellious I mean every verb saturated with the rebellion of these people for I am sending you a rebellious people if they hear or forbear but they are a rebellious house over and over God is saying this now we are at the point of judgment now again the understanding of this when you look out in our world in our nations tonight and you see what's happening not just not just for the United States one of the things about that we are centered on the United States because many of us live there are many in front of John others that are Canadian that have joined us I don't know whether the people from the Netherlands have joined us or not but when you internationally looking it is the same judgment that is happening and it's just more severe in the United States right now with the natural disasters the drug alcohol crisis these are all the epidemics the homicides the murder suicides the suicides the death rate that the cases of the COVID-19 on and on you get it is happening here in the United States four times more than any other nation in the world and it is simply because of this message you have the choice and the option I'm sending you to them and whether they will hear or whether they will forbear they are rebellious how now looking in the context of this in Ezekiel chapter two and three for those of you that want to be strict and say well this is talking about the children of Israel you're absolutely right Israel has already been condemned judged and sentenced and God sent the Assyrians in because of the same thing they had ears to hear but they wouldn't hear and he sent the prophets and they wouldn't listen to him and so in the early part of the late part of 700 BC is that God sent the Assyrians and they ransacked and they just decimated and they carried the remainder of that remnant into captivity back over in Syria and they replaced them with the people from their land and they brought in all their false gods and it was was that because they did not know the Lord God nor did they respect his promised land that he'd given to Abraham Isaac and Jacob well here we have our first uh major technical issue there so apologize for that but uh how to get back underway here and get going as we had to refresh the uh signal with that so left off in the middle of that talking about where God uh judging Israel and taking them away into the land of Syria and the Assyrians brought back uh some of their people who brought their false gods and God judged them he sent lions among them and so they said well bring one of the priests that will teach these people these heathens uh who the Lord God is and so they would it says in the book of Kings it says they worship their false gods and at the same time they worship the Lord God and you can't do that and so again but they were taught they had ears to hear the right way but they forbear because again it was not suitable to them they were not going to give up their gods they were not going to forfeit their way of life and so they forbear to do that which God sending his prophets to say is that I will have no other gods don't worship any other gods don't make unto me any graven image thou shall worship the Lord God and he alone shalt thou worship they refused to do that that was the heath so now we come 100 years later and here's the children of Judah and here's these these kings and from right after uh Josiah had passed away you have all these descendants of his and they all did evil beside the Lord and for over 20 years from the death of Josiah to the time that Nebuchadnezzar came in roughly around 603 BC they did nothing but provoke the Lord to anger they God sent his prophets God sent the warnings you had Isaiah the prophet you had Ezekiel you had Jeremiah and they would not listen he said whether they hear or whether they forbear they are a rebellious house God knows his children and this is not the first example this has always been the way of men you go clear back to the scripture found in the book of Genesis where where men began to multiply upon the face of the earth and you come to the conclusion on that where it says and they began to call upon the name of the Lord and a couple generations go by and it says uh I think it's in verse chapter six verse nine it says and God looked and he knew because God is omniscient he knows all things and he says and he knew that the minds of men were continually evil and God makes a decision and he says whether they will hear or whether they forbear I'm going to bring judgment on the world because these this is my creation I agree that I ever made man and so he finds Noah and Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord God always looking finds a man with grace Ezekiel is our man here that finds the grace of God Daniel was down in Babylon Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they had found the grace of God it's there are few and you know that context you know that scripture few there be that find that God finds them he raises them up and he says you go speak to them now whether they hear whether they forbear that's upon them their choice choice is all but they are a rebellious house obstinate in their minds rejecting in their hearts and rebellious in their soul and so here here's our predicament this was the children of Judah and here is Ezekiel who's sent to them and he says I'm not sending you later on in the chapters I'm not sending to a people of a strange language that don't know what you're saying he said I'm sending you to your own people and they know full well what you're saying and they know full well who I am but whether they hear or whether they forbear this is what's going to happen and it was set into motion and in one little portion of scripture in Ezekiel there it says is that they say let's go hear what the prophet has to say let's be entertained by Ezekiel we just love to sit and listen to him you churches are filled with many people that are like this today you have many of those that have jam churches and pack churches and some of our mega churches in the United States are those who are sitting there tickling the ears but they are not pronouncing thus saith the lord you know I had a person ask me one time and it wasn't too far away from here and they said hey let me ask you a question and I always I almost cringe when I hear that because I know something's coming and they said my mother's going to a church right now and they have a woman pastor and the woman pastor got up and she said that Jesus Christ was not the only way of salvation what would you tell my mother to do I said I'd stand up and say Ichabod and walk out the door and wouldn't go back until they repented I just have one quick answer for them but why would you stay and listen to that when you know it to be directly in conflict of know that it's heresy know that it's blasphemy why would anybody sit and I and I've heard most recently those that were talking about uh Andy Stanley's comments and uh those kind of things why would you go sit and listen to that man who says throw away the Old Testament has no reference to us don't listen to these people whether they hear or whether they forbear speak thus saith the lord that's what we need to hear many of you search that out you look for that the commonality of those that are on this on this call tonight because of this desire that again we we cannot go on without God we're not going to survive without God and God is sending his prophets and saying whether they hear whether they forbear they will know that my the prophet has been among them and so God is speaking loudly to us and he has been speaking to us someone touched on it earlier today but I I resounded again uh for the most part as we've gone over these things for years God has been speaking to our nation to repent for a long time we had 1999 our first episode of a mass mass shooting school shootings in Columbine we had 9 11 hurricane Katrina we had episode after episode the financial crisis in 2007 and 8 2012 Sandy Hook uh you know again right on down the line you can go from the mass shootings in Las Vegas a couple years ago to all the natural disasters right down the line you see that within the last 20 years God has been warning us speaking to us and saying whether you hear whether you forbear that's the choice and our nation largely been on the side of forbear you and I cannot afford to be that he that has ears to hear let him hear let's listen and this is that part of us of understanding the voice of God and drawing before him and saying Lord here I am speak Lord for that servant is listening David said it over in the Psalms where he writes that and said I'm gonna speak Lord you speak to me and I'm gonna listen and I will speak to you it's that dual communication going forward prayer is not that just us going before God and dumping our list of needs and wants and those kind of it is listening being still speak Lord and what are you saying to us call for a solemn assembly gather the elders together gather the people together the sin has put you now in jeopardy of me wiping off the face of the planet my remedial judgments have been being sent to you and they are pushing you to a point of of final judgment which we will not come back from and again the warning that comes out from all this is that where Ezekiel is at this particular point from here on out what he pronounces to the children of Israel is that God is going to judge all the wrongs that his people have done against him he's going to reveal uh in the temple in in the priesthood all those that bow and worship the false gods all he's going to show the homes in the streets where all there's a family where you know again it talks about the husband and the wife is that they she makes the cakes the father makes the uh fire and the child children the sons and the daughters go out and gather the sticks and they worship the false idols and the false god and he says that it's on every roof it's on every street corner he says you have defiled the land polluted the land and it is unclean he that has ears to hear let him hear and here we are in the midst of this of our nation from east to west and north to south street after street city after city filled with that which is pollution filled in the minds and the hearts of men women and children alienated from God seared consciences in all this and here we are where God is offering us this last almost like this last opportunity that if you do not prevail now there will not be another opportunity it will not be another time and the urgency of that is to say Dan you can't say that because you don't know putting it off as if you have plenty of more chances putting it off like we've got plenty of more decades or plenty of more years to get it right it's foolishness as fast as the judgments have been happening we will not recover from this on our current planet it is the understanding of the church and the consistency of God's standard is that he has sent remedial judgments to wake the people up to stir them when you see these things happen we have been seeing them happen but we have been forbearing the word of God and the actions of God we're much like judah we don't get it churches for the longest time have been saying i remember when we first started from 2005 to 2015 i cannot tell you how many times i called nashville tennessee the executive committee i cannot tell you how many emails that i sent i cannot tell you how many times that i sent uh calls out saying man we're in trouble man we gotta have a prayer man we gotta we gotta get serious only to be served with platitudes you know what the favorite phrase of those who like to serve me platitudes is really appreciate your heart man i tell you you might that's like putting that's like putting a knife in me because that's telling me really appreciate your heart man that's telling me you ain't gonna do nothing you're not gonna call for prayer meaning you're not going to get anxious about this you're not going to get serious about this and for 15 years this has been happening they had an option to hear or forbear and every time they chose forbear and they put it off i had i had leaders church leaders say well we really don't know whether this is the judgment of God or not i try to be as clear as i possibly can because God is clear in his word who sent the lions among the Assyrians when they were sinning against him God sent who sent the ten plagues to the Egyptians God sent who sent the natural disasters upon Israel God sent them and it is is that it has always been this way is that there is nothing that happens that is not ordained of God or permitted by God so the understanding of who God is so important in this in these days that he's speaking to the church and he's calling the church saying don't you understand you're out of time and if they will hear and respond wonderful but the choices they are rebellious house and they're going to forbear and they're not going to give time or place to this you cannot rise up in the anxiousness of this moment and run back and say well we'll cover this later we'll get around to this at some point you're out of time the reason of doing this at the close of August is because i have no idea what's coming the first part of September to get us where we're where we're shooting for September the 26th if we prevail now before we get to September the 26th glory to God so again your ears are open because you stopped to listen to this you've been a part of this you're supporting this you're you're in agreement with this so many of you you understand the consequences of all this that's going on but you have to look after the church for the majority of the church they are forbearing the message of God they're forbearing the warnings of God they're forbearing the remedial judgments of God and they are pushing us to the brink of disaster the part the brink of no return religious freedoms are removed conveniences are removed electricity is removed closed out Isaiah 66 and I just uh I've been preaching out of that to my people because that's where my contemporary that's where my commentary devotional blog is uh a word that I write out and in the end of the very last chapter Isaiah chapter 66 and God says when he judges the heathen for rejecting him and he says and they will bring them on carts and litters uh all all the old contraptions wheelbarrows uh you know not not modernized vehicles and and conveniences and things like that and I sat there pondering that saying you know again almost like is that every advancement that we have you're not going to be able to run carts because gas won't be available you're not going to be able to get gas because uh the businesses will be shut down you're not going so much that we have that again if we continue on this course we will not have the convenience of it thank God for the generation ago that knew what it was to live off the land but I dare say is that for the vast majority of this nation they're not they don't know how to do that and they're not going to be able to do that they can't even they can't even put their their mask on to walk around for the safety of other people over in London and Berlin I just just saw the pic here not this afternoon here as I was going down through is that they are having tens of thousands of people thronging the streets protesting uh the the stipulations put upon them for wearing masks they can't do that they're not gonna they're not they're forbearing the word that was given to them what a rebellious people and for the safety and for the hope of our day and age of where we're going the gospel to be preached the truth to be proclaimed is that we're left with an option here or forbear and again the prayer which again the proclamation of the word it goes out hear hear what the spirit is saying he that has ears to hear let him hear but again the the condemnation that God pronounces you have ears but you won't listen they have eyes to see but they won't look they have hearts but they're callous they have minds but their their minds are shut alienated to me and everything that has happened and everything that is happening pushes us away from the place that God wants us to be it is with us to be very very tender in this hour that we're sitting because of all that we're saying I mean these are the alarm bells sounding off and we understand that again God gives us eyes to see God gives us ears to hear and minds to understand these are repeat behaviors where God destroyed nations and empires and kingdoms because of what they did against him same things are happening in this same passage where God is speaking to Ezekiel and he says I'm sending you to your own people they have that option here or forbear but look at the consistency of men to be a rebellious house we're not going to listen we're not going to change you and I both know that there is not one argument that you can offer that I can offer that can persuade any man woman or child there is not one event or activity that could change people in their behaviors it is only if they and again when God comes as he does remember the parable of the soul of the seed and the seed was cast forth and three descriptions that the first fell and then the birds came and devoured it the second is that it began to take it brought bloom but it didn't take root and the sun dried it up and the third was choked with the thorns and the briars and it consumed by other affections and things and it was only the fourth that took ground and grew and was rooted and grew and was fruitful three failed one prevailed so it is in the same house not all the church is going to understand this nor all the church is going to get this but it is for us to do there are going to be those of that forbearing rebellious house that will throw them hands up and say we don't need to fast we don't need to weep we don't need a solemn assembly we're going to we're going to get through this time time or time changes everything we'll get back to all this what if we don't what if this is final judgment that we're getting ready to enter and somebody says well god god is merciful and god is gracious and god is loving yes he is and he has been somewhere along the line god draws the line and says no more he did it to israel he did it to every empire every judgment has come because they was a rebellious house against him so when we close tonight it is with that focus of that which is keeping us from revival and spiritual awakening in our land it is rebellion and it is the forebear to the church first brother edgar said it let judgment begin at the house of god at the church first because we ought to know that because we have the word of god we've been in the presence of god we've been in the house of god we've been before the man of god now again if any of those things are broken down that the man of god is not preaching the word of god that's an issue they have forebear and they've been rebellious if you're in the church and they don't have a prayer meeting they have forebeared and they have been rebellious against my house will be called a house of prayer you cannot have a church without without a prayer time and yet for the stat that i've shared among southern baptists who have over over 40 000 churches and 85 85 percent of them do not have a monthly hour of prayer within 85 percent out of 40 over 40 000 churches now i've not sat down and did the stat some of you could probably do it faster than i can in your head but you understand is that that is well over three quarters of southern baptist churches have no prayer life they have years to hear but they will not hear and they forbear and they are rebellious trying to do it in humanism trying to do it in their own arm not by might nor by power but by my spirit sayeth the lord and they're trying to do it without the spirit of god hear or forbear there is no other way that we can prevail in prayer except the way that god has instructed us hear what he has said you heard it quoted but i'm not going to quote it because the church don't want to do it 2nd chronicle 7 14 if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves we're not home we're proud we're still running around like we're calling the shots if my people humble themselves if my people pray we've already established that we're not a praying people seek my face we don't have time for that show me show me a video put it in a hollywood movie let's sit down and have popcorn and watch a movie and be entertained while we're seeking god's face you can't get alone with god and andrew murray said alone with god will make one holy for god and that's where we need to be but there is the hope i don't want to leave this with just that note of utter rejection there is that hope of revival that has been voiced today shared today that in the in the midst of this somebody will hear and somebody will prevail and you say how so because again god is consistent where he finds that individual that trust in him does it his way god honors that over in the book of kings we are introduced in chronicles we're introduced to the king jehoshaphat and jehoshaphat found he did it right you have that little phrase on him and he did that which was right in the sight of the lord and jehoshaphat but he did some things that he wasn't supposed to do one of them was was that again he was serving the lord god and he teamed up with ahab wicked ahab the king of jezebel and they went out to war together and as they were out in war together is that ahab had been told by the prophet of the lord is that uh you're not you're not going to come back from this battle god's going god's going to take you uh in the middle of this battle so ahab thinks he can outfox god so he disguises himself jehoshaphat's in his kingly robes and so the enemy thinks that jehoshaphat is ahab and so they surround him and in the midst of that jehoshaphat knows the answer says he cries out to god and god disperses the enemy and protects him he prevailed and was delivered another time jehoshaphat there's this great army coming against him up out of africa ethiopia and a bunch of them and jehoshaphat gets word that they're coming and he automatically proclaims a day of prayer and fasting solemn assembly and they gather themselves before the lord and jehoshaphat makes a statement in scripture which is where we're at and he says there is not one thing that we can do to counter this great massive army that's coming against us the lord you can do all things he put his faith and his confidence in god and god was entreated with that what's this all about a call for solemn assembly that god may be entreated with us and our prayers and our lamenting and our cries help us oh god help us and there goes out that word that god says i see you i hear you and i'm going to answer you because we did it right we had the option to hear or forbear and we heard it and we responded jehoshaphat did it right what would you do with david david goes out there's a ruddy young man and there's goliath defying the lord god and the philistines the heathenism that they are in their uncircumcised state of the evil and all the other children of israel are forbearing here comes this one man the anointed of god and david says i'm going to take his head off and god god god works wonders moses look at the egyptians here they come the egyptians are coming after us and god says pay attention hear me what i'm saying don't forbear hear me see all these egyptians you will see them again no more god took care of there is victory there is victory upon the man the woman that says god speak for your servants listen there's an old song that we'd like philip likes to play it i like it georgie sings it i have heard your voice in the night god's speaking i hear your voice god is speaking one more time whether you will hear or forbear but they are rebellious hounders you and i have to rise up and to say i can't answer for them but i answer for myself here my lord speak here my lord send me here my lord fill me here my lord use me teach me how to pray lord teach me what it is to prevail in prayer that again that you would be glorified of all the times that they forbear the days of noah the days of sodom and days of israel in the days of judah all the times in our modern history that we have forbear of all the warnings that god has given he gives us an opportunity like this weekend to hear him and to find grace and mercy for such a time as this and it is your opportunity in his mind coming together for that same heart that same mind that same desire lord we're listening whatever it is that you're asking us to do lord we'll do it is there a sin is there a repentance confession that needs to be made has been addressed throughout this day then lord again we put it away die to self in order to live be spirit filled no room no room for self no room for sin because i'm spirit filled occupies everything and it's all about him so we conclude this long day and it has been i know it's been a long day we conclude it with this prayer tonight understand that god is giving us one more chance god's mercy is being lord thank you in wrath remember mercy lord you're showing us your mercy but lord you're just you have every right to be wrathful against our nation and against the church we understand that but lord again we beseech you for your grace and your mercy and i go back to the name of god that he pronounces over in exodus 34 oh the lord the lord god merciful and gracious long-suffering abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands giving the iniquity transgression and sin of his people but bob will no means clear the guilt so it is standing before him the church and the nation we are guilty so lord we cleanse cleanse us from our iniquity transgression and sin we plead mercy and grace we prayed loving kindness and again father you are able able to deliver able to set the captives free able to undo the wrong to make them right you oh god pour out your spirit upon us so again we honor god because it's all about him lord you've given us this this weapon of prayer you've allowed for us access to come boldly before the throne of grace thank you christ that you make a way for us as the mediator that we might come without you lord we couldn't come thank you christ that you intercede for us thank you holy spirit that you make groanings for us which cannot be uttered by men thank you for this venue of prayer and all the things that we have enjoyed with it of worship and petitions and prayers being answered and confessions and miracles and mercies and salvation all through this venue of prayer all honor glory and praise to you lord that you have established confession forgive us lord when we have not exercised prayer as we should forgive us too many prayerless nights forgive us oh god for just saying prayers and not being desperate in prayers forgive us for this rebellion of this rebellious house of the united states of america and the church house forgive me for my rebellion in my heart when you spoke i heard your voice in the night but i was too tired and i wouldn't get up and meet you forgive me that you you were convicting me to go witness to that man that woman that person that family member and i was too too busy or too ashamed and i wouldn't go do it forgive me for silence forgive me oh god for day in and day out of time 24 hours seven days a week 40 30 years 50 years 70 years 90 years and i've squandered squandered three quarters to 90 of them forgive me for neglect on and on the sins go but again the root pride and rebellion and we come into the midst of it where he puts us at this petition time oh god if you don't stand up and do it it'll never get done if you don't pour out your spirit on your house to bring revival we'll never know what power is if you don't pour out your spirit on the on the lost in the nation they'll never know what salvation is it's all by you god you must do it do what only you can do and be glorified for your name's sake do it begin with the individual begin with us corporately and go to the to the masses with the prayers and the petitions to be set before god to listen to see what he's saying speak i'm listening what is it that you want me to do grand opportunity is that we are at that cross that crossroads to hear our forebear we hear we're going to see revival and spiritual awakening like we've been talking about for the majority of this day forbear we don't get it this time we're going to see what judah and israel saw final judgment we're going to know what it is to be in despair like the rest of the nations be without praise conveniences technology we're going to know what it is to suffer we are at this crossroads i prevail or fail call for a solemn assembly that was what this was all built on we don't get this right this time we're out of time it all comes down to these moments for these next few weeks of what the church does and comes back to this message of ezekiel chapter 2 and chapter 3 i'm going to send you to them and you're going to speak but whether they hear whether they forbear it's going to be up to them god is waiting and bob bob and bill said that today god is waiting for the prayers of his children god responds to the prayers of his children that is how urgent it is that you and i that we make absolute effort to go into prayer and not stop pray without ceasing is the command in first thessalonians colossians chapter 3 or chapter 4 continue in prayer my theme verse that i like to use and share psalm 109 verse 4 i give myself unto prayer you be a man or woman of prayer you gather those that are around about you to pray and that again teach us to pray lord set these scriptures in front of us set these prayer points in front of us set these prayer targets in front of us and lord by your holy spirit lead us to pray that you might be entreated with us and pleased with us to spare a nation to protect your bride to revive your bride and to cause a spiritual awakening to come to the nation brother and sister this is a desperate hour it is an urgent hour it is need of us to be fervent in our discipline of prayer and i thank you that you have given time and attention to join on this call this live stream for this express my heart express what god has put within me and what god is saying to me of just how desperate it is and that again to be determined with that dogmatic result content with nothing less than to prevail in prayer because everything is at stake right now so