Lightly edited for readability while preserving the speaker’s meaning and substantive statements.
Hallelujah We Worship You Lord and Worship You Lord we praise the name of Jesus this morning we lift you up Lord God does what you desire you long for your church to love you to love your presence to love your word to love your truth to love your Holy Spirit to love each other Lord I believe we still don't have a grasp on those things Lord we need to get a hold of Lord what it means to love you with all of our heart soul mind and strength what it means to love each other what it means to be people a prayer or people of sacrifice the people a people Lord who won't try to offer you things that cost us nothing although we want to hear your voice we want to be led by your spirit we want your your gifts and your power to flow but we want to walk in truth we want to walk in humility we're going to walk in conviction we want to walk in boldness so Lord we ask for Grace we ask for help we ask you to convict us and to help us change in Jesus name we pray amen I know we have quite a few out today but we also have people listening from all over the country and even different parts of the world so we're going to dig into this this morning um you know I'm just realizing that even much of the so-called Pentecostal and Charismatic Church the Spirit-filled church we still lack so much you know what's been on my heart lately and I almost got on it last week but even this church with the kind of preaching that I do you know I don't hold back and we still fire and Grace Church is not a House of Prayer we're not a house of sacrifice we're not like you know I was telling my wife the old Pentecostals knew you had to pray a lot you know Leonard Raven Hill I'm holding a book this morning by Leonard Ravenhill I guess when was it written 1962 his first book I think was why revival Terry's was in 1959 but this is called Revival praying by Leonard Ravenhill every Church in America ought to read this book through two or three times it's been a long time since I picked it up my wife picked it up again recently and she started reading
it and quoting things out I read it 20 plus years ago and still remember things that are in it um we we really don't have a grasp on what it takes in prayer and let me just say this and I'm going to say this very clearly this morning I am not down on the church because much of what is called The Church world is not the church anyway we talk about this Episcopal church now you know in the Presbyterian USA and whatever now proving homosexuality and homosexual America they they they're not part of the church anyway they call themselves The Church they call themselves part of Christianity but so does Roman Catholicism and it's no more part of the church than anything else just because you claim to be a Christian doesn't make you one just because you claim to be a church doesn't make you a church just because you you claim something or say something in fact most Christians even they claim to be Christian are more talk than they are due especially Pentecostals and charismatics and I can say that because I am one we talk a lot but we got little power we boast of power but we really have very little power now we can change that that's the good news amen we can have as much of God as we want but it's going to take praying amen and you know I like what Leonard Ravenhill said in this book because I was going to share this a minute ago one of the things that's on my heart is and why I'm going to talk about this you know for the last six years of this church I have tried to just have Wednesday night to be a prayer meeting one one and a half hour maybe two hours of Prayer and I can't even get our church to make it a priority and Leonard Ravenhill said in this book Revival praying no church will survive on a one hour a week prayer meeting but it's not a priority it's not even a priority here now let me also say you've got churches out there Ministries that focus on prayer and they still have no power and that's because they're void of Truth and holiness some of them are into contemplative prayer like IHOP the International House of Prayer they're in the contemplative mysticism in Roman Catholicism and that that's why they can have and I've been to their conferences so I can speak this with authority I've been to their conferences and you say you know a Ministry that focuses on prayer ought to have some anointing in the presence of God on it it does not I've been there I tried it now back in the back in the late 80s when Larry Lee had his Prayer Ministry
and his large Church before he fell that man's Church prayed and they walked in truth and they had people there praying every morning at 5am and they had people praying all through the week and and prayer was a focus and let me just tell you I went to that church several times matter of fact I attended there for six months Dr Larry Lee's Church Rockwall Texas Church on the Rock large church at the time I think they had three churches in Dallas at the time about 12 000 members but what was different about that church and that Prayer Ministry was when you sat in the parking lot before service you could feel the glory in the presence of God and when you went in the anointing and the presence of Jesus was so strong you were like wow and the altar call would be filled with people getting saved and rededicating their lives I was there I saw it I know why Larry fell I know what went wrong but I'm not getting into that this morning but he was a man of prayer his church was a place of prayer they walked in truth they had a Deliverance Ministry that cast demons out of folks it wasn't watered down I go back to the old days I remember the old time Pentecostals my my great-grandmother great aunts that got saved in a little Pentecostal brush Arbor meeting in the 1930s out here people that came from Azusa Street were touched by Azusa Street and they were saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit the evidence of speaking in other tongues and I remember my aunt Zola you know what her favorite book was she wore the book out was a treasury of Prayer by Ian bounds I still I have it to this day she passed away in 2002 but I have that book it is it is falling apart but and because she read it all the time and reread it and I would find that woman up in the woods I'd go visit them and where is my where is Aunt Zola and you'd find I'd walk out in the woods and I'd find her on her knees and tears running out of there the old Pentecostals knew that you had to have a powerful real private prayer life and you also had to join in church with your brothers and sisters and that prayer should be a focus of the local church and it was a priority my great aunts my great grandmother they went to First Church of God way back after the brush Harbor days and then they went to the First Assembly of God and they took me there when I was five years old in those days that little church was full of people but I remember the presence of God touching me when I was five years old I remember hearing tongues and interpretation in the service when I was five years old I remember the preacher I knew brother Hart was his name he was a man of prayer he was an old-time Pentecostal but now we we can't even as individuals
take an hour a day in private prayer with the Lord and we don't go to church prayer meetings and we barely get people to come to church on Sunday but yet we talk we Yap about we're Spirit-filled we're Spirit-filled we're anointed we have the gifts of the Holy Ghost really now this morning what the lord gave me this message I'm just going to call it a house of sacrifice because there's two aspects to our lives we are supposed to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost amen and then there is the local church that is the temple of God on Earth it is a representative of his place where he wants to dwell with his people now there's a lot of people out there that's anti-church these days they're anti-church they're anti-leadership they don't understand that the church has Apostles and Prophets evangelists pastors and teachers that they're Elders that there's a there's an order there is leadership and and if you're not one of those you should be submitted to one of those places you need a local church now I know I get the emails all the time of how hard it is to find one that's preaching the truth these days I understand that we're in the great falling away in the last days we're in the great deception and I know it's hard but it should be a priority of your life to find a true Pastor a true Elders a true body even if they meet in a house even if it's three or four people but somebody that's truly called to the fivefold ministry somebody that's not afraid to preach somebody that's an elder been in this thing longer than you and you need to be submitted and part of that group I got people all the time they just I'm telling you they're they're down on the church I'm not down on the church the church is important the local church is an important aspect of the kingdom of God and you need to be in one amen if you had a view at all possible I mean again I know there are situations where it's just not possible but once you're in one you got to ask the question am I there to contribute to make it a better place or I'm am I just there to get you know I talked about this one time Jesus said my house should be called a House of Prayer right but then he looked at the the Pharisees and the Sadducees and he said you've made it a den of Thieves and I've pointed this out to this church I said you know a thief comes to see what he can take without having to pay for it or work for it amen you want a better Church you want a better pastor you want better services what are you doing to make it better do you pray an hour or
two a day do you take that time do you fast do you pray for your pastor do you pray for your church do you pray for your church family is it more than 15 minutes that when you're on your way to work this is that's not a prayer life you hear what I'm saying we are to be a house of sacrifice and I'm going to read this scripture here everybody turn to Second Chronicles 7. everybody talks about verse 14 but the verses before are actually more important let's go to Second Chronicles then we're going to come back the first Chronicles and I'm going to talk about a story I bet you've probably never heard preached at home before especially not in the way that we're going to look at it second chronicles seven let me get there I wasn't sure how we were going to do this this morning now this is when God's glory fills the temple amen isn't that what we want we got want God's glory to fill his house to fill his people now we say we want it but there's things we got to do to get it oh I guess I'll just start reading it verse 1 and we'll just read through now when Solomon had made an end of praying the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the house and the priest could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's House and when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down and the glory of Lord upon the house they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement and worship Him Praise the Lord saying for he is good for his Mercy endures forever then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord and King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 20 in 2000 oxen and 120 000 sheep so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God and the priests waited on their offices and the Levites with instruments of music of the Lord which David the king had made to praise the Lord because of his Mercy because his mercy endureth forever and when David prays by their Ministry and the priest sounded trumpets before them and all Israel stood moreover Solomon hallowed are made holy or Sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the Brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings and the meat offerings and the fat also at the same time Solomon kept the fee seven days and all Israel with him and a very great congregation from the entering of hamath Unto the river of Egypt and in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly where they kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days and on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents glad and Mary and heart for the goodness
that the Lord has showed unto David and to Solomon to Israel his people thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the King's house and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house he prosperously affected now look at verse 12 here's where we're getting to and the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said unto him I have heard thy prayer and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice now if I shut up Heaven that there be no rain or if I command the Locust to Devour the land or if I send pestilence among my people If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their Wicked Ways then I will hear from heaven will forgive their sin and will heal their land now my eyes shall be open and my ears a tent unto the prayer that is made in this place for I have chosen and Sanctified this house that my name might be there forever and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually now Solomon had obeyed the Lord and he had built the temple just the way God has showed his father David in the place that David purchased now we're going to go back to that in just a second but we forget when God appeared to Solomon what he said to him remember the temple now we don't have that Temple anymore and we don't offer sheep and oxen and bulls and goats anymore as offerings now we are the temple and the local church is the temple of God Amen but he called that Temple God did not Solomon not David God called that place a house of sacrifice see that's why the Prosperity Gospel the self-help Joel Osteen Rick Warren gospel Robert Schuler that's why it's so awful because instead of deny self and take up your cross deny self and follow me instead of becoming a house of sacrifice it you become what can I get what what can what can I get out of this isn't that it we become a house of self-satisfaction we want the blessings of God we want the material things we want the prosperity we want the health and those things God can provide he's not against those things but those things when they become the priority and we're not a house of sacrifice and self-denial we begin to miss the whole thing and there's nothing more sacrificial
than giving up your time what you want to do to give yourself to an hour or two of True fervent prayer and intercession in fact prayer itself real prayer prayer in the spirit prayer that is effectual prayer that will move things prayer that will will move God and move mountains that kind of Prayer whenever you really do it you are really denying self and killing the flesh see the word sacrifice here if you look it up in the Hebrew you know what it means to kill flesh and prayer real prayer is a flesh killer because all your flesh and your soulish mind does not want to truly pray and sometimes prayer is difficult it seems like God is a million miles away it seems like the devil every demon in Hell Comes to distract your mind and to get you off or to send interruptions or constant constant distractions prayer is a fight it's a fight to get to the place of prayer it's a fight to stay there until you break through you know what we saw listen prayer prayer is always an Act of Faith as well because you have to just start out in faith at some point though I love what Leonard Ravenhill says we got to get beyond words into the groanings that cannot be uttered we got to get to the place where we're broken and we're weeping and we're hurting and we're feeling what God feels for this lost and dying world and the lost people around us when's the last time you shed tears in prayer over someone you knew was deceived and going to hell and bound up by Satan and you tried to talk to them and you tried again and again and again to talk to them but you're not getting through to this does that break your heart enough to get in prayer because that place where you finally break through and the spirit of God is praying through you is when God will break through then to them that's why Paul talked about it in Romans 8. the spirit helps our infirmities what is he talking about our weaknesses our inability we don't know how to pray as we ought to pray but if we'll spend the time there finally when the Holy Spirit is ready you know it might happen in 15 minutes it might happen in 30 minutes it might take an hour you might be there for two hours and finally the Holy Spirit comes and he begins to help you pray and you know it when he's helping you to pray as you know I'm not talking just about praying in tongues that's an important part of it too I'm talking about when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you know that you are praying with him
but see the reason we don't find that place of prayer an intercession and breakthrough and power is because we're not willing to sacrifice the time that it's going to take to do it this book Revival praying Leonard Ravenhill says to be much to be much for God we must be much with God the old Pentecostals used to say all the time little prayer little power a lot of prayer a lot of power and let me just say this Leonard Ravenhill says it in this book I just can't I'm gonna give him credit prayerlessness he says is sin then I'll always to pray and not to faint that's what Jesus said but we spend most of our time fainting in weakness bowing down falling down to what's on the TV set listen for a lot of people and let me tell you let me just say this I am a father I've raised kids to grown and now I've got another little one I work a real job I'm a pastor of a church I'm a husband trying to balance all that is tough sometimes to give your wife enough time to give your kids enough time to give you know you got to work make a living and put food on the table listen I'm just saying this being a man is not easy and I know we won't talk about I know you females do but far more work than we do but understand trying to balance all that and then you add into that trying to give God adequate time see some people say well I give God time but is it is it adequate time see for some people and I mean some people even in this church I ain't afraid I'm gonna say it family time is more important in time with God oh am I saying you shouldn't spend time with your family no we had a great weekend but did I take time to go pray yes the older I get the harder it is to rise up a great while before day I still do it sometimes I can't say I do it every day when I was a young man every day I was up at 4 45 in the morning whether I went to bed at one or two or twelve I was up at 4 45 I was at the church praying with a group of guys and then I went to work now I passed out for a little while when
I got home from work but then you know what we did in the evening had a little more prayer time and bible stuff that was my life and that's when I was working at the Christian radio station so I was on the air preaching all day long that's how I lived for years I know a little bit about this can I say that I'm convicted that I don't pray like I did when I was a young man yes because I'd spend whole days in prayer I spent weeks in fasting now if that was easier being single and Young because you had the energy and the time yeah getting married is going to cut into that that's just having kids that's normal but I'm still saying you know what they're men of God down through the century John Hyde Charles grandison Finney John Wesley who were men of Prayer and also gathered other men of prayer around them we talk about the great evangelist Charles Finney and how people would get saved in his meetings and sometimes he would he would have a three-day meeting plan and he ended up being in the same town for six months Rochester New York 1831 100 000 people got saved in six months with no TV radio or advertising but the secret to Charles Finney's Ministry Was Not only was he a man of prayer himself and he was he was a man who who preached the truth and was unafraid to preach what was in the scriptures but he had two men father Nash and father cleggy I guess it was who would go ahead of him wherever town he was going they would rent a room and they would pray in 12-hour shifts until they felt a breakthrough that is completely foreign to particularly The American or western church anymore of what it takes you know we think is if we have we have a fancy light show and great music and and you know skinny jeans and tattoos will attract them or let's water it down let's water down the message make sure we're not offensive let's be secret sensitive and that was not the way of Charles Finney in fact Charles Finney sometimes would go into a place to hold a meeting people would come and he would make them so mad all of them they would end up walking out you know what he'd say they'll be back because he'd go and pray with his two friends until all those people would be under such conviction of sin and of their rebellion and of their lukewarmness and their false Christianity and everything else that they would come back to the meeting and people start getting saved we can talk all we want to let me ask you this
do you spend much time with God if you do if you do you will see his power running to you to make a truth to make some true convert you want Power To Be A Witness and not just have words coming out of your mouth you might even have the right words coming out of your mouth but because you don't pray and you don't fast no no power with it you know the church the Church of Sardis in Revelation we're in Revelation chapter 3. I didn't really plan on going here this is what Jesus said to this church and some people think that these messages these prophetic messages from Jesus to these seven churches were seven Church ages no it's not there's each one of these churches still with us today local church and individuals remember Temple now stick with me we got somewhere we got to go in just a second but this verse right here this message to the Church of Sardis notice what he says here and this is much of the Pentecostal and charismatic world that claims to be filled with the spirit I know the Baptist Church they think they're filled with the Holy Spirit that's what he says he says unto the angel of the church and Sardis write these things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the Seven Stars I Know Thy works that thou Hast the name that thou livest and are dead Be watchful and that word watchful is what he was talking about Watch and Pray Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die where I have not found thy works perfect before God remember therefore how thou has received and heard and hold fast and repent if therefore Thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief and I shall not know what hour I will come upon you there are asked a few names even in Sardis that have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy he that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raim and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches notice even though he's speaking to one church he said Let the church is here right that church has said they had a name that they were alive had a reputation oh they're Pentecostal they speak in
tongues they believe in healing they believe in casting out demons they're alive fire and Grace Church boy they got a fiery preacher he scares me that's why I don't go there have a name that we're alive I fear that we're dead at least this much there are things that are ready to die you wouldn't believe the issues we have in this little church sometimes I get frustrated because I wonder when when will our church grow up when will we wake up you know turn to First Corinthians 8. I give you guys a bunch of knowledge I preach on things and teach on things that a lot of preachers won't even touch that's good you need knowledge you need to know what's going on let me show you something though knowledge is good truth is good the world says knowledge is power and for some degree that is correct the truth knowing the truth will make you free that's that's all good right there's also a negative side to Knowledge Learning information Revelation knowledge understanding things seeing things that people don't other people don't see that's what he said First Corinthians 8 verse one now it's touching things offered into Idols we know that we all have knowledge knowledge puffs up but charity edifies and if any man think that he knoweth anything he knows nothing yet as he ought to know but if any man love God the same is known in him now let's let's look at this he said that knowledge puffs up meaning it will make you proud and haughty I really fear that that's a big problem in our church and with a lot of people out there because you know now there's a lot of young men out there they're 20 something years old and because of the internet and because they can Google something they think they're experts at everything knowledge does not make you full of the Holy Ghost knowledge does not give you the anointing knowledge and knowing information and facts and history and truth and reality all that's good the more truth you know the better but it can make you prideful
and haughty and empty if you're not a man of Prayer or a woman of Prayer and acknowledging that all that knowledge is nothing without the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and reading the Bible and studying the Bible as much we're commanded to study to show ourselves approved we're we're commanded to to meditate in the scriptures day and night but if we don't have the anointing and glory and infilling and power of the holy ghost real in our lives it's just emptiness it just works it's just dead dead puffed up knowledge it just makes us prideful and arrogant nobody wants to be around and I know that I've been this way in my life I can look back at my some of the things I did and said when I was young and the Lord and I cringe oh we need the power of the Holy Spirit we need to quit thinking we have it just because somebody might get healed in church or because there might be a tongue and interpretation I don't even know that the gifts and the calling of God without repentance mean once God gives them they can flow and work it doesn't mean that you have intimacy and and that you're loving God see let me just tell you this right now you can sit here A person can tell me all day long I love God I love the Lord Jesus I love I love God with all my heart but if you don't pray if you don't want to spend time with him if you don't make him a priority you don't love him and just substituting Bible study or Bible reading or reading of a Christian book those things are fine that's priority you know I spend time with God do I spend time not just talking do I spend time listening see one of the fruits of the spirit is patience long suffering God is Not There to be on our timetable well Lord I got 15 minutes so if you're going to talk you better talk now what do you think of it bro you know I know it I've been around political figures former governors you know the governor's office of the governor's mansion I've been the governor today
you are not on your time frame anymore you're on here in fact if he really needs to talk to you and there's some important business your whole schedule is going to get wiped now we would do that for an Earthly leader an Earthly King a president a governor right yet we try to put God on these time schedules of ours we need to learn the art again of waiting upon God the old-timers called it tearing and I'm not talking about just tearing for the baptism the Holy Spirit they knew and sometimes you just had to wait you had to get in his presence you had to get in prayer and you just had to be there and not get in a hurry I think it's a problem with a lot of our services we get to her and I'm not saying I got it all figured out Lord I probably don't do it right most Sunday but I want to I'm tired I'm tired even of our church as usual we'll have the gifts of the Spirit operate we'll have somebody get healed or something once in a while we'll have a word of Prophecy sometimes we'll feel the presence of God come in here and it's wonderful you know wherever we meet when we're meeting in homes in different places we've we've had Services where people were weeping and the presence of God but we we still we can look at that and go well we we have something that maybe Church down the road doesn't have well you know what we're not supposed to compare ourselves to them down the road maybe God wants us to have that every Sunday that what they do is their problem they got to do what God wants them to do they gotta they gotta find their their plates and their purpose and their position with him and what they need to do we're not all going to be doing the same thing but we God has something he wants for us we gotta find it we got to do it amen let me show you something I saw this last night I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to this passage and I I'll try to make this the end this morning the first Chronicles chapter 21. and I really saw something here I've never seen before I've read this many times over the years we all know King David God testified of him that he was a man after God's Own Heart Right we know the King David was a man of prayer he talked about being all night
in prayer he talked about being in prayer and covering his his bed with tears everybody loves to focus in on King David's adultery and the incident with Uriah the hittite and that was a dark moment in David's life but that what that didn't characterize his whole life David paid for that dearly but he repented of that sin and he didn't keep on committing adultery and he didn't keep on having people killed at the front line and he lost a child over that sin but King David was a man of Prayer but this is an interesting story and I've never really understood it until last night fully well let's read it verse 1 St Chronicles 21 verse 1. and Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel and David said to joab and to the rulers of the people go number Israel from Beersheba even unto Dan and bring the number of them to me that I may know it and joab answered the Lord make his people a hundred times so many more as they be but my Lord the king are not they all the Lord's servants why then does the does my Lord require this thing why will he cause a be a cause of trespass to Israel now let me just go back in the law of Moses god commanded that the king's not number the people because God didn't want his King trusting in numbers or how many people he had he wanted the king to trust him regardless of who he had and who he didn't have okay so this is part of the problem but remember it says Satan stood up here and provoked or pushed David to do this now I'm going to show you why he was able to do it and some of you aren't going to like what you hear all right remember David was a godly man he was a man of prayer he loved God yet Satan was able to provoke him and push him to do something that was sin and that was going to affect all Israel now listen joab you know joab was not a uh joab was kind of what we'd call a Shifty mischievous Elder he wasn't exactly a man of honor and integrity but even he knew this was wrong look at verse four nevertheless the king's word prevailed against joab therefore joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem and joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David and all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that you sword and Judah was four hundred three score and ten thousand men that Drew the sword but Levi and Benjamin counted he
not among them for the king's word was abominable to joab so joab didn't even give David the real number he just I'm not doing it think about that he knew he knew this was bad news and God was displeased with this thing therefore he smote Israel and David said unto God I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing but now I beseech thee do away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly and the Lord spake unto God David Seer the prophet saying go and tell David saying thus saith the Lord I offer thee three things choose thee one of them that I may do it unto thee so God came to David and said on him thus saith the Lord choose choose thee either three years of famine or three months to be destroyed before thy foes while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee or else three days of the sword of the Lord even the pestilence in the land and the angels of the Lord destroying throughout all the coast of Israel now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me and David said unto God I am in a great straight or difficulty let me fall now into the hand of the Lord for very great are his mercies but let me not fall into the hand of man now before I read any further let me just understand this is a foreign concept to the modern New Testament Church we we've got the idea that God doesn't judge and chastise us oh yes he does he even said in the book of Corinthians he said if we take the cup of the Lord unworthily some of us are sick and some of us die before our time oh yes let's remember ananias and Sapphira let's remember Herod the angel struck him down no God still chastises his people and David instead of getting angry at God and rebellions like most Church Folks and either run from the church when they get corrected or they get start going through chastisement or difficulty or run from God altogether David submitted to it he said you know what I know I've done foolishly I know I've sinned okay I deserve he didn't argue with God about his punishment but he said I know who to pick I'll let God chastise me I'll let God do it because he's merciful but let's look at this let's keep reading so he chose that the Lord's pestilence would run through the land of Israel so verse 14 so the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel and there fell of Israel 70 000 men just remember that 70 000 men no women no children seventy thousand men we'll get to that in a second and God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it do you hear that the city of the great king the home of Melchizedek
this blows my mind God was ticked off you think he is now oh yeah God sent an angel into Jerusalem to destroy it and as he was destroying the Lord beheld and He repented him of the evil and said unto the angel that destroyed it is enough stay now thy hand and the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of ornam the jebusite and David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the Earth and Heaven having a drawn sword in his hands stretched out over Jerusalem now look at what was happening though then David and the Elders of Israel who were clothed in sackcloth fell on their faces these men had humbled himself sackcloth was an act of humility and they were praying and interceding that God would stay his hand look at verse 17. David said unto God he said is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed but as for these sheep what have they done let's let's thine hand I pray thee O Lord my God be on me you know my father's house but not on the people that they should be playing so here's a true Shepherd step it up and go I sin it's my fault but I'm gonna show you what all his fault God's not unjust Verse 18 then the angel of the Lord commanded God to say to David that David should go up and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of ornam the jebusite and David went up at the saying of GAD and spake in the name of the Lord and ornam turned back and saw the angel and His Four Sons with him hid themselves now ornam was threshing wheat and as David came to ornan ornan looked and saw David and went out of the threshing for and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground and David said to oronin grant me the place of this threshing floor that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord now so granted to me for full price that the plague may be stayed from the people and or that said unto David no take it to thee let my Lord the king do that which is good in his eyes lo I give you the oxen also the burnt offerings for the burnt offerings and the threshing instruments for the wood and meat for the meat offering I give it all this man was just going to say here you can have it King right good guy but King David said this he said to ornan now but I will barely buy it for the full price for I will not take that which is dying for the Lord nor will I offer burnt offerings without cost I like how he said it in Samuel he said I will not offer the Lord but cost me nothing now when I was reading this I walked with the Lord now a long time
I said now Lord I know leadership bad leadership can hurt your sheep they see it all the time I said but you didn't kill these seven thousand men just because David numbered the people he's like no no I didn't I like it when the Lord does this too because he's like you're figuring it out son let's go back to verse one we see it Satan stood up and provoked why was Satan able to provoke David take it or leave it you can agree with me not agree with me but here's what the Lord told me is what he showed me these seventy thousand men these 70 000 of David's I believe of David's soldiers of David's men I believe God took the opportunity to purge them from the Army because they were not men of Prayer and had they been praying for David and fasting men and Godly men Satan wouldn't have been able to get to David so you would like to point our fingers sometimes when church leaders fall and pastors fall and they struggle but I'm going to tell you something not all their fault all the time yes pastors are human leaders are human they make stupid mistakes they do things that are wrong but I can tell you this much you don't want Satan to be able to provoke your pastor or your elders are you a man of prayer are you a woman of prayer and fasting are you praying for them to keep Satan off of them because let me just tell you this the principle of Satan is Smite the shepherd and the Sheep will be scattered the principle of Satan is if I can take down leaders I will take down sheep as well but no man no no woman that's called to leadership in the church can stand in that place and do their job unless people are standing in the Gap and praying and interceding and fighting the devil for them and with them and so let me just say this to you not only does prayerlessness and lack of prayer show that you really don't love God it shows that you really don't love your pastor it shows you really don't love your church family because if you did you would understand Satan is after them and you've got to be the man the woman of God to stand in the Gap to intercede to pray to spend that time in prayer and fasting to keep the devil off of your pastor off of your brothers and sisters you got to be that person somebody's got to step into that place so many I believe there's so many leaders fall and I believe why we've
seen the rash of pastors of big churches over the last few decades fall is because there's been a loss of true intercession and spiritual warfare in the church among among each other so you don't rejoice when a true Pastor or leader Falls you better not be rejoicing even if he's picked you off even if he's done you wrong don't Rejoice at his fall or his struggle there are pastors right now in this area who hate me they they would never admit that they hate me but they dislike me strongly I know it but you know what I do for them I pray for them I pray for them regularly even the ones I know who have who have spread rumors lies and negativity about me to keep people away because you know what I know is going on with them Satan is there provoking and I know we've all let Satan provoke us to do things we shouldn't do so I'm no better than they are amen so instead of getting angry at them I pray that God will speak to their hearts that God will strengthen them that God will anoint them that their eyes will be open to see things that maybe they don't see that they will be blessed I Barn the demons I break the curses of witches and warlocks and satanists off of them because some of them don't even believe they should do that so are you you're going to ask the question are you an intercessor or a freelo oh see people think coming to church on Sunday mornings or coming to one prayer meeting a week that's a sacrifice I think about the Brownsville Revival and what they did most churches could never have Revival because their people wouldn't be there six days a week clean the toilets and put the toilet paper on the toilet rolls to vacuum the carpet so many people came through the doors of the Brownsville Assembly of God that the
that they would wear out the hinges on the doors the doors had to be replaced regularly the carpet had to be replaced several times but they had people there to man all the Children's Ministries to man uh you know just it was a it I I was blown you know what blew me away I went there night after night sometimes I would stay a whole week I drove down regularly to the Brownsville you know what blew my mind as a pastor I watched all the people who were there every night on the praise and worship team on the prayer team ushers who didn't get paid more paid to be there every night they let their entire lives and schedules be disrupted so they could host the presence and glory of God in Revival so people could get saved in prodigals and backsliders could come home people can say what they want about the Brownsville Revival it was a house of sacrifice I watched from behind the scenes I had friends on staff there I saw behind the scenes and that I have never seen it before in a church setting so many people sacrificially giving of their finances their time their energy their strength night after night after night to let God continue to move in that place we will not the church will not have a Revival a local church the church in America the church as a whole we will not have Revival true Revival until we become a house of sacrifice which is a House of Prayer which is a house of fasting which is a house of giving of everything we we talk about tithing New Testament giving is everything Tech tithing ain't even half of it they sold land they would drop anything whatever was necessary to get the job done to build the kingdom of God don't tell people they want to fuss about I don't even preach about tithing but I say you want to fuss about tithing let's go to the New Testament give me New Testament givings everything they'll sell everything you have I remember something Jesus saying that one time right remember the true the the early church so land sold this sold houses so why you know what I'm not even talking about that I mean that you guys know I don't care about money if if I did I wouldn't preach what I preach if I was trying to make money but I'm just saying you know what money shows
well your treasure as your heart is isn't that right what time more than anything time is what's most precious can't get that back you can go make some more money can't get that time back well Leonard Ravenhill talked about it in this he said he thinks that well we're going to be most embarrassed about the Judgment seat of Christ is our prayer log and what we could have done don't worry I don't trip on the doors see turn to one more Passage First Corinthians 13. we always think about this love chapter is talking about loving people let's put it in the context of first loving God they never don't we don't love your neighbor right but that's the second commandment about love right the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength so let me show you let's look at this one this will confirm everything I've preached this morning verse 1 though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not and I'm going to say it love for God and become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol remember to love God is two things to obey him and to be with him so if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but I don't spend time with God and obey God I don't have love and I am nothing but a sounding brass and tinkling symbol and though I have the gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all Faith so that I could remove mountains that I do not have love for God by spending time with him and obeying him I am nothing you can be very active in Ministry work and be empty and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not loved for God by spending time with him obeying him
it profit is me nothing love for God suffers or is patient endures long it is kind charity Envy is not charity does not boast itself look at this it's not puffed up does not behave itself unseemly seeketh not her own now here's what I wanted to say this is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Rejoice is not an iniquity but rejoices in the truth I'm going to stop right there Jesus said if you love me you'll obey me right Jesus is the one that said man I'll always to pray Jesus is the one that told the story of The Woman by her continual coming Jesus is the one who said could you not tear me one hour you see what I'm saying our first responsibility as Christian is to be with God and that happens in your private prayer time that happens by attending church and worship and corporate worship and prayer meeting see I I really believe that's why people people don't take corporate prayer meetings church prayer meetings seriously because they don't take their private time seriously not a priority and that's what saddens me as a pastor because I know if a one-hour prayer meeting a week is not a priority I know what's going on at home everything else remember David Wilkerson years ago wrote an article one of his newsletters was a conspiracy of interruption you choose you know what we're saying all the time isn't it true we make time for what is important to us if church is important Fellowship is important learning hearing the word of God if you understand the importance of prayer being with God and the power you need from God if you understand your weakness you know you need strength that's why I've never understood people take Church attendance lightly they take prayer meeting attendance likely they take their private prayer time lightly they don't miss it at the drop that easy little little wind blows the wrong direction oh not going to church today little wind blows in a difficult Direction
well I'm not going to prayer meeting tonight oh a little problem at the house little Johnny skinned his knee well we can't have family prayer time oh well I need to do this I need to cut the grass I need to run here and run that no you need to pray well folks I will close with this I promise right here if we ever needed to pray in America that's right now you hear me things are going south faster than weekends keep up with sexual perversion Common Core mess the way this is running folks you do understand things coming that they're going they're going to say teaching your children Christianity is childhood and you know I'm all for I'm all for guns they're not taking mine without a fight but I know the real fight the power of prayer the place of being in God as your refuge in the secret place of the most high that's better than any 12-gauge shotgun or AK-47 or anything else because they can outgun you they can outgun me they can't outgun him I think of the stories in the Old Testament when he stopped entire armies from taking Elisha the prophet or he stopped those 50 Special Forces guys from taking Elijah a lot of Christians are going to find they have no protection because they haven't been in the secret place let's pray Hallelujah Father in Heaven I ask you Lord to forgive us all including myself Lord for our neglect of the place of prayer and time and prayer for letting everything else distract us and keep us away for being easily offended now we let ourselves be kept away from prayer from church from our prayer times from church prayer
meetings Lord in the old days your people would gather and pray every day sometimes every night as they knew they needed you they needed your power they needed your presence they needed your glory they needed the power of the Holy Spirit they needed you to empower the Gospel of Jesus Christ they were trying to preach to the world a helpless helpless humble ourselves and become men and women of Prayer and fasting a house of sacrifice houses of sacrifice and not houses please Lord I pray there's a change before it's too late you know as we pray that in Jesus name I'll say this I was reading that book last night I think about it in 1962. Leonard Raven Hill was saying people were saying oh if the bombs start falling on America they'll run to the church well you know they did in 19 well 2001 and in 1991. Gulf War and then 9 11. oh yeah some people ran to church but they didn't stay long and I think about where we are what's coming next the sixth trumpet War I think about that and it says at the end of that right after that war that kills one-third of mankind it says still the majority of men and women will not repent of their fornication and sorcery and murder because you know what it is a few will be convicted it's all on their knees when judgment Falls some will but the majority that's not that's not how people get saved people get saved because the people of God prayed until conviction and the light of the Gospel broke through Satan's blindness that's how people get saved and I'm talking about get really getting saved I'm not talking about praying a little prayer and keep living like you're living and going to the club every week I'm talking about that I got converted man when I got saved I really got saved it's a rare thing to see it now you know what I'm talking about you've been in a big church a lot of people go to the altar but how many of them really got saved how many of them really were converted how many really stayed how many really became disciples it's all from a like we can work up some
emotion now I can preach a message and get you under emotion and get you to an altar I can get folks to an offer I go to a prison and preach I get them all they'll all come in tears but I used to tell them I said you can pray you can pray this prayer with me you can you can say you want Jesus you can say you believe in Jesus all day long but on Monday Tuesday Wednesday will I find you loving him walking with him seeking him obeying him will I find you in a week doing the same thing will I find you in two months well I find you in a year strong in Jesus filled with the Holy Ghost living for God that's being converted that's being born again that's being saved did you change we need to see true converts again but we're only going to see true converts with two things the power of prayer and preaching of the truth I'm gonna quit I can preach on