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I want to talk to you today about
the things which must be hereafter.
There are things which must come for you,
for me.
If you are in Christ, you have a
future.
No matter what the devil has tried to
tell you all week and the week before
and the week before that, if you are
in Christ, you have a future.
Not just a future, you have an incredible
future.
You have a supernatural future.
You have a glorious future.
You have a future that nobody in this
world, irrespective of what kind of a worldly
throne they sit on, if they don't have
the life of Christ within them, they don't
have the future that you have.
Now, I'm not talking just about eternity.
I'm also talking about time.
You have an incredible future ahead of you.
Revelation 1, verse 9, he says, I, John,
who also am your brother and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of
Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is
called Patmos for the word of God and
for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Now, stop right there for a moment.
Most often when this is read or preached,
quite often we will see it from a
perspective that perhaps is not complete.
We look at John's exile to the isle
of Patmos as a punishment.
In a sense, he was living for God,
and the society around him obviously took issue
with the things that he was saying, and
subsequently he was sentenced by the powers of
that day to isolation on a very lonely,
very cold, very distant island.
The world, of course, thinking that we can
take this testimony that's in this man and
somehow isolate him and rid ourselves of the
words of this man who claimed to be
so close to Jesus Christ.
Now, there are people here today that's happening
to you on the job right now.
You've been stuck on a desk in a
corner somewhere.
You're without recognition.
People have kind of pushed you out of
the inner circle as they see it.
Only they don't realize that you are in
the inner circle.
They are in the outer circle.
They don't have heaven's view yet.
And so John says, I'm in this island
for the word of God and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
Now, if you read this, you can look
at it as a punishment.
That's how a lot of people see life.
Every hard circumstance that comes along.
Well, I'm in the corner here because I
was living for God and because I had
a testimony for Christ.
And that's, of course, in some measure true.
But I see the word for here in
a different sense.
You see, the revelation most probably would not
have been given to John in the measure
it was, had he been involved in active
ministry, had he been traveling with an entourage,
preaching, teaching, publishing, defending the things that he
knew about Christ and the great truth that
God had revealed to his heart.
The Lord wanted to give him something that
nobody in his generation had.
And that's undeniable.
You read the book of the revelation of
Jesus Christ to John.
There's nobody in his generation, perhaps nobody in
any generation, that ever had this kind of
an open heaven given to them.
Now, God says, John, I have to take
you just for a while and I've got
to put you on this very lonely place
for the word of God.
You see, John is writing this after the
revelation has come.
He may have wondered, why am I in
this trouble?
Why am I in this difficulty?
But after the word came to him, after
heaven was open, then John, writing back in
retrospect, says, I was in the Isle of
Patmos for the word of God and for
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
God wanted to show me something of himself.
Folks, there is a depth in Christ that
is not found on the mountaintop.
Now, the mountaintop is a great place to
be, and I love being there as much
as you do.
But I'm telling you, there's a depth in
Christ that you only find in the valley.
You only find it in loneliness.
You only find this depth in times of
trial and difficulty and tribulation that come to
everybody ever born on planet earth.
The Hebrew boys only had this revelation of
the fourth man in the fire when they
were in the fire.
The revelation didn't come before, it came in
the fire.
The king only got the revelation that God
was able to shut the mouths of lions
after he rolled the stone away and Daniel
had kept a very sleepless night, I'm sure,
in a den of lions.
But the revelation was given that there is
a God who's able to keep those who
are in the fire.
He's able to shut the mouths of lions.
There was a revelation given in the midst,
and that's what John is saying.
Now, folks, many, many people have fallen prey
to theologies that are very shallow in a
sense that every time we come into trouble,
let's just confess our way out of it.
Imagine John just sitting there with his eyes
closed in Patmos saying, I'm not here.
By faith, I'm not here.
By faith, this is not happening to me.
And spending his whole time doing this.
Can you imagine what kind of a book
he would have written?
It would have been nonsensical, really.
But in this place, God put his hand
upon him, and in Revelation 1, 17, the
beginning of this revelation that Jesus was giving
John of himself, John says, Fear not.
I am the first and the last.
Now, Jesus is saying to John, John, don't
be afraid.
I was here before you were born, and
I'll be here long after you're gone from
this present circumstance.
You are with me.
You are in me.
You live.
You move.
You have your being in me.
I've got you safely in my Father's hand.
You will not be overwhelmed by this temporary
circumstance in your life.
I'm he that lives, verse 18, and was
dead.
And behold, I'm alive forevermore.
Amen, and have the keys of hell and
of death.
You see, when Jesus touched him, he said,
Fear not, John.
You see, if you're honest and upright today,
first of all, you don't have to be
afraid of your circumstance.
Circumstances will come, but there is not a
circumstance that comes your way in this life
that Christ has not already overcome.
He's already won the victory.
He is in you.
You are in him.
In Christ, you are already seated, according to
the book of Ephesians, at the right hand
of Almighty God.
He is the head.
You are the body.
He has crossed the finish line.
You are just on the way over the
line yourself to joining him, where you will
rule and reign with him for all of
eternity.
You don't have to be afraid of whatever
storm comes your way, whatever difficulty is arising
against you, whatever voice is coming against your
mind and against your spirit.
You don't have to be afraid of it.
Jesus said, John, don't be afraid.
I am the first and the last.
I was here before it all began, before
your troubler was able to trouble you.
I am.
I was there, John, before any weapon that
was formed against you was even able to
be formed against you.
I allowed it to be.
I am the one who allows these weapons
to be formed in the fire that are
even being used against you.
And all things work together for good to
those who love God and are called according
to his purpose.
You shall not be overcome.
You shall overcome, because I am in you.
You will not be overpowered by your enemies.
Revelation chapter 1 and verse 3, John said,
Blessed is he that reads, and they that
hear the words of the prophecy, and keep
those things which are written therein, for the
time is at hand.
John had an understanding that I'm not sitting
somewhere in isolation.
I'm part of a very active and ongoing
kingdom called the kingdom of God.
And Jesus is very much real and alive
and he's very much involved in every situation,
irrespective of what your enemies try to tell
you.
John saw that the proper judgment of all
that claims to be the testimony of Christ
is taking place right now.
John saw it.
He saw the candlesticks which represent the testimony
of the life of Christ having been placed
within various groups of people throughout, of course,
Asia Minor, but it represents the church of
Christ all throughout the world in our generation.
He saw Jesus walking in the midst of
the candlesticks.
If you can hear it today, he's walking
in the midst of this candlestick called Times
Square Church that has been set up to
honor him at this time, in this location,
and in this generation.
But there's a greater candlestick, it's the life
of Christ himself that is within you.
If you can hear this today, Christ is
walking in the midst of the testimony that
he's establishing right inside of your own heart.
You are the temple of the living God.
You don't come to the temple, you are
the temple.
This is only a physical building.
This building one day will be no more.
It will be ground to powder, it will
be gone, but you will still live, you
will still be alive.
You are the temple of the living God.
He saw Jesus Christ walking in the midst
of that temple, giving a supply, more than
willing to give supply to a testimony which
is becoming dim.
He saw the church of Ephesus, and he
saw Jesus walking in the midst of the
candlesticks of that testimony.
And he saw him saying, listen, you're working
hard for me, but you've lost your first
love.
I am willing to come back to you
again, and I'm willing to give you all
the supply that you will need, that you
might love me first and foremost above everything
else.
Folks, because really this is the basis of
a true Christian testimony.
It's not so much that we know everything,
it's that we love the one who knows
everything.
We love him.
We just allow his life to be lived
within us.
We walk with him, we talk with him.
He changes us morning by morning, and it
creates this incredible relationship of love, which on
this side of eternity we only have a
foretaste of it.
There's going to be an explosion of love
in your heart the day you leave this
physical body and leave this earth and appear
again in the presence of Almighty God.
You and I are going to finally understand
the depth of his love, and we will
be released as it is from the confines
of this natural body to love God the
way we were intended to love him in
the beginning.
He saw Christ walking in the church of
Philadelphia, willing to give power to those who
are facing adversity.
He said to this church, you have a
little strength, and you've not denied my name.
And folks, that's where most of us live.
We gather on Sunday here in this church,
and that's our testimony.
God, I have a little strength, and I've
not denied your name.
And Jesus says, behold, I've set before you
an open door that no man can close.
Hallelujah!
Now, that open door is himself.
He said, I am the door in the
gospel of John.
Whoever comes through me will go in and
out, and he will find pasture.
I've set before you an open door.
It was not opened by the hand of
man.
It was opened by the hand of God.
And the hand of man cannot close this
door.
I've set before you an open door in
your workplace, in your community, your home.
You can go through that open door any
time you want, and you can find all
the supply you'll ever need to live a
life that brings honor and glory to the
name of Jesus Christ.
He saw him walking amidst a candlestick called
Sardis.
And this was a church that was playing
a very foolish game with God.
He said to the church of Sardis, there's
only a few of you left that haven't
defiled your garments.
They probably embraced a theology that essentially would
say you're free now because you're a Christian
to live in any kind of sin you
want, and there'd be no price to be
paid for it.
What a foolish way to have a living
relationship with the one who saved us.
He said, if you don't turn from this,
I'm going to come upon you as a
thief, and you'll not even know what time
I've come.
Folks, this has been tragically fulfilled time and
again, even in our lifetime.
You see entire churches and denominations that have
had the candlestick taken away from them, and
they don't even know it.
They'd be highly offended today if you walked
into the midst of what used to be
a glorious tabernacle, as it is, of the
presence and life of Christ, and you shared
with them about their present condition.
They would be very, very offended.
Many of them have lost the gospel completely,
but still are holding to a self-image
that they are part of the body, the
living testimony of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, I'll come upon you as a
thief if you play these games, and you'll
not even know that I've taken the testimony
of my life away from you.
Oh, what a tragedy that is.
There's nothing darker than people who once had
the knowledge of Almighty God in Christ Jesus,
and they'd walked away from Him.
And they have just enough scriptural knowledge to
keep them completely blind.
There's no darkness like scriptural darkness when it
has not led the person who has studied
the Word into a living relationship with Jesus
Christ.
Now, it was undoubtedly a lonely walk for
John.
And Jesus comes to John and gives him
comfort by giving him a revelation of things
which must be.
Now, look at this, Revelation chapter 4 and
verse 1.
He says, After this I looked, and behold,
a door, remember the door we spoke about,
to Philadelphia, was opened in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was
as it were of a trumpet talking with
me, which said, Come up hither, and I
will show thee things which must be hereafter.
Now, folks, this is where the victory really
is.
It's not so much escaping our circumstances.
Because realistically, there are some people here today,
you're not going to escape your circumstances.
Your circumstances are going to be with you,
and in some cases, for the rest of
your life.
You're not going to get out of the
marriage that you so desperately want out of.
You're not going to achieve some of these
great and grand ambitions that you thought are
going to bring you into a place of
fulfillment.
But you see, if you are a genuine
Christian, there are certain things which must be
hereafter.
And this is how the Lord Jesus Christ
begins to comfort John.
He draws him up and says, I'm going
to show you now some things that are
going to happen.
They must be.
Irrespective of where you are, John, or what
kind of a prison you're in, or what
people have said about your life.
And no doubt there's people all around and
voices saying, well, you know, some fine testimony
you are of Jesus Christ.
The one you say that was raised from
the dead.
And you're in the same prison that we
are.
And you're under the same authorities that we're
under.
And yet, John is comforted because the Lord
comes to him and says, no, you are
not bound in this place.
There are others who are, but you are
not.
There are things coming, and you're going to
be part of these things which must be
hereafter.
Now, John saw first that evil must run
its course and the course of its own
increasing judgments.
John had an incredible panoramic view, I think
only perhaps rivaled by Isaiah and the Old
Testament.
But he saw right through the course of
time and right into eternity.
He saw the wickedness of men increasing and
abounding in the earth.
He saw incredible judgments coming upon this world.
And folks, we're living right now at the
threshold of the very things that John saw.
And John saw the rebellion of men and
where it's going to take all of created
humanity that have tried to be their own
God and refused to bend their knee to
their own Creator.
He saw the stubbornness of men.
He saw the rebellion of men.
He saw the accumulation as it is of
weaponry.
He saw nations rising against nations.
He saw men even plagued by some of
the weaponry which I believe is in here
that's going to be released in the world.
But still, even while their tongues are swelling
in their mouths, they're cursing the Lord God
who loves them and redeemed them.
And how it must have produced in him
a cry.
I can see John sitting in the prison
saying, Oh God, forbid it that men and
women should end up this way.
I must do something.
You see, one of the first things that
happens when you have a revelation of heaven
that all of a sudden your desk in
the corner does not look to be the
kind of a punishment that the people around
you meant it to be.
You're looking and saying, Oh God, I see
their future.
I see where they're heading.
Lord, what a tragedy awaits them.
I am secure in the hand of God.
They think for a moment they can isolate
me, they can cause me grief.
But God, it's not me who's under the
justice of God.
It's them who's under the justice of God.
What a tragic future awaits those that have
rebelled against the love of a wonderful Savior
who died for them.
He must have had a cry saying, Oh
God, I must do something.
And you see what John did with this
revelation as he wrote it down and he
left a testimony of what he saw.
Now folks, this is really the call of
God on your life and mine.
That no matter where you have to live
or what trial you have to endure, Jesus
Christ is willing to write within you a
testimony that when you're gone, that testimony will
be left behind.
You might be gone ten years from now,
but people that you used to work with,
when everything starts turning into upheaval around them
will say, Do you remember that guy, that
girl used to work in the corner over
there?
Remember the grief we put them through, but
yet there seemed to be such a peace
within them.
And all they could talk about was Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, day in and day out.
Open their Bible in the lunch yard, tell
us that she was praying for us in
spite of all of the hard things that
we sent her way.
Now you could be long gone, you could
be already at the throne with angels casting
whatever crowns appear on your head at the
feet of Jesus Christ, giving God glory forever
and ever, and not even aware that the
testimony you left behind is already turning others
from sin to the only Savior that can
cause them to inherit eternal life.
John wrote it down.
What can a man in prison do?
Just write down what Jesus Christ is speaking
to his heart.
And I can't help but think of how
many countless thousands have been turned from hell
to heaven because they saw their own future
through the testimony of John.
Folks, that's what we're to be, a testimony.
I pray God to give you the grace,
if God's doing something and you write it
down, write it down, folks, leave it somewhere
where your children and grandchildren can find it,
where your neighbors can find it.
Go to a photocopier, photocopy it a hundred
times, leave it everywhere you can.
Leave a testimony of what Jesus Christ has
been to you for your future generations.
John saw that many for the testimony of
Christ would have to endure great suffering.
And that's the way it is, that's the
way it's always been.
That's the way it very well might be
for many of us in the days ahead.
But in his own suffering, he left a
testimony of victory in something he lived and
he saw in Revelation 7, 14.
He said, Now
here's a man in jail and here's a
man who's suffering.
It's no doubt not a very good circumstance,
but he saw something, he saw his own
future.
Folks, you've got to live there.
You see, where you are looking will most
often determine the outcome of your journey.
So many people, having the Spirit of God
within them, live in only the moment.
And if you would ask them what is
happening in your life, then all you get
is this gloomy report of how difficult and
hard the present circumstances are.
And I'm not negating that.
But John had difficult and present hard circumstances,
but he was looking beyond it to a
day when he was no longer going to
hunger, when he was no longer going to
thirst, there would be no longer cold or
heat, and the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne would feed him and
bring him to fountains of living waters and
wipe away all tears from his eyes.
Thank God that the book of Revelation is
not all about the cracks and the cockroaches
on the walls of John's prison cell.
Could you imagine?
Could you imagine if I said to you
today, would you open your Bible and turn
to the book of Cracks and Cockroaches, written
by the beloved Apostle John, where he describes
the dankness and darkness of his cell.
He describes every crack in the wall.
He describes the time of day when the
cockroaches go out and when they go back
in to hiding.
Could you imagine if that's what this book
was about?
But folks, many, many people who are able
to receive this incredible revelation of Jesus Christ
never do because they never look above their
circumstances.
They live in their circumstances.
Oh, if only I could get out of
here.
Well, you might get out of there, but
there's another one of those there's coming just
down the road.
It's got to be more than just get
out of here.
It's got to be going to somewhere.
It's got to be an open heaven seeing
something of Christ that gives a testimony to
this generation.
Can you imagine the surprise as John begins
to point people in the prison with him?
Not to his present suffering, but he begins
to point them to a not-too-distant
shore.
Can you imagine what it must have been
like to be in the lunchroom with John
as he begins to tell others what it
is that God is showing him?
This incredible revelation of Jesus Christ, where the
Apostle Paul says he's made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ.
Can you imagine the surprise of the people
in that prison when John would say, well,
I'm physically here, but I'm not really here.
I'm in another place too as well.
You see, God has shown me that in
Christ I am at the right hand of
all authority and power in him already.
Oh, yes, I'm here, but only for a
season, only a vapor of time, only a
moment.
And I'm only here that I may show
you something of Christ, that you may see
through my life that there is security, there
is life, there is a hope for the
future, there is joy in the midst of
tribulation, there is hope in the midst of
hopelessness.
I'm only here to show you that there's
nothing of this world that can captivate the
true man or woman of God.
I have something within me that cannot be
captivated by the princes of this world.
John saw the judgment in Revelation 18.4
of this world system and all its man
-made and self-focused and corrupt religion.
And John heard the voice of the Lord
saying, come out of her, my people, come
out that you be not a partaker of
her plagues.
How many people today settle for bankrupt theology,
they settle for powerless religion when they could
have a living relationship with the living God,
when they could walk with Him, they could
talk with Him, they could know Him, they
could get up every morning and see things
before them that must be.
Jesus said, when the Comforter comes, He's going
to take what is mine and He's going
to show it to you because it is
also ours in Christ.
We should be as a people rising up
every morning and seeing things that must be.
I might be an angry man, but I
must be a loving man not too far
down the road.
I might be fearful, but I'm going to
learn to stand not too far down the
road.
I see things in here that must be.
Many, many people say, well, I appreciate the
sentiment, but how do I get out?
In Revelation 19, I'll show you the way
out.
If you're living in this environment that you
can't see beyond just the walls of this
place of difficulty.
In Revelation 19, you see, John had around
him stone walls and barred windows.
And everything around him seemed to be closed.
But in verse 11, he said, and I
saw heaven open.
You see, here's the way out.
You have to have a vision of an
open heaven, folks.
And God is more than willing to give
it to you.
He's more than willing.
If you will just lift up your head,
look away from the circumstances.
And he said, I saw heaven open and
behold, a white horse.
And he that sat upon him was called
faithful and true.
And in righteousness, he does judge and make
war.
Now, who does he make war against?
He makes wars against all of my enemies.
He makes war against every captivator that would
put me into captivity.
He says his eyes were as a flame
of fire.
You have to see that today.
When God looks at you, he's more angry
with your enemies than you are.
And it's only his mercy that keeps him
from demolishing everything that steps against you.
And on his head were many crowns.
In other words, he's the victor over every
king of evil that would come against you.
Every depression, every suicidal thought, every despondency, every
sense of worthlessness, every sense of powerlessness, every
sense of hopelessness.
He has a crown.
He has already defeated it when he rose
from the dead.
And he had a name written that no
man knew but he himself.
Hallelujah.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped
in blood.
And his name is called the Word of
God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean.
And out of his mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it he should smite the
nations, and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron.
And he treads the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God.
And he has on his vesture and on
his thigh a name written, King of kings
and Lord of lords.
John saw Jesus just as he is today.
Jesus Christ is more than a conqueror.
And he is willing to fight against everything
that fights against you.
He's willing to destroy every enemy that comes
to try to destroy the testimony of his
life within you.
Hallelujah.
Listen to this battle in Revelation 19, verse
17.
He said, I saw an angel standing in
the sun.
He cried with a loud voice saying to
all the fowls that fly in the midst
of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to
the supper of the great God, that he
may eat the flesh of kings and the
flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty
men, the flesh of horses and of them
that sit on them and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small
and great.
I saw the beast and the kings of
the earth and their armies gathered together to
make war against him that sat on the
horse and against his army.
And the beast was taken and with him
the false prophet that brought miracles before him
and which deceived them that had received the
mark of the beast and them that worshipped
his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword
of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeds out of his mouth.
And all the fowls were filled with their
flesh.
This is a type, John thought, of the
ferocity and intensity of the battle.
The Lord is saying this through this scripture
to us today.
You come to me.
In your circumstance, come to me.
And I'm going to open heaven to you
and you're going to see something.
You're going to see me ready with an
army to fight for you.
You're going to see that my name is
faithful and true.
You're going to see that out of my
mouth comes the word of God.
You're going to see that out of my
mouth comes a sword and no king, no
power, no principality can stand against it.
You're going to see that my name is
King of kings and Lord of lords.
Hallelujah!
He says, I'm going to take everything that
stands against you and I'm going to feed
it to the darkest places of this world.
Now, you think this is brand new, but
it's happened before throughout scripture.
You remember when the army of the Philistines
stood against the army of Israel and God
sent a young man called David into the
midst of the host.
And David came down and he willingly faced
this giant.
And David had an open heaven.
The rest of the men were looking at
their armor.
They're looking at their circumstance.
They're looking at their caves.
They're looking for false security.
But into their midst of them stepped a
young man who had an open heaven, just
like John had on the Isle of Patmos.
He saw something that nobody around him was
seeing.
Then said David to the Philistine, Let me
read it to you.
This is Goliath.
You come to me with a sword and
a spear and a shield, but I come
to you in the name of the Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel whom you have defied.
This day will the Lord deliver you into
my hand, and I will smite you and
take your head from you.
And I have given the carcasses of the
host of the Philistines this day to the
fowls of the air, to the wild beasts
of the earth.
And all the earth may know there is
a God in Israel.
You see, this is exactly what John saw
in the book of the Revelation.
That having this open vision of who God
is, it's for the honor of God that
we fight.
And God has duty-bound His name and
interwoven His very nature in those that He
has redeemed and called by His own name.
And all this assembly, he says in verse
47, shall know that the Lord saves not
with the sword and the spear, for the
battle is the Lord's, and He will give
you into our hands.
John saw his tormentors tormented forever.
He saw it.
He saw that captivity has already taken captive.
He saw that he's already living on the
victory side.
He saw the whole future, the whole panoramic
future of rebellious mankind without God.
He saw the futility of standing against the
Christ of the universe.
He saw that he was securely sealed in
the hands of God.
He saw that one day, one day, he's
going to be in a place of victory
for all of eternity.
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God.
Now, lastly, Revelation chapter 22.
Here's how it works for you and I.
Revelation 22.1 says, And He showed me
a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it,
and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bared twelve
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month.
And the leaves of the tree were for
the healing of the nations.
You see, what John saw was the pure
word of God.
He saw that God's word is faithful, God's
word is clear and clean.
He saw that God's word comes from the
throne.
And it comes from a throne that is
there because those on it live in absolute
victory over all that will ever stand against
the testimony of Almighty God.
He saw all around it there was life.
He saw all kinds of fruit.
And he saw that there was a tree
in the midst of it.
And the tree had branches.
Jesus himself said, I am the vine, and
you are the branches.
He saw on these branches leaves, which is
a type of the life that can only
come from Almighty God.
And he saw the life that was on
these branches was for the healing of the
nations.
Oh beloved, we are not here just to
abide.
We're not here just to make it through.
We're not here just to escape our prison
cells in our difficult times.
But we are here to be a living
testimony of the fact that God Almighty is
alive in Jesus Christ.
We are here to let this life-giving
virtue of God flow through us, bringing healing
to the nations.
That's why we're going to Burundi.
Burundi is an area where the Tutsi and
Hutu massacre started before it moved into Rwanda.
300,000 people were slaughtered.
The UN has brokered a peace in Burundi.
And as I understand it, it's going to
be pulling out next December.
Government officials in Burundi expect a slaughter if
there's not a revival.
You see, but there are leaves.
There are trees.
There is a testimony.
There is a river of life.
Oh God, help us that we don't just
live in our own little environment and say,
well hey, we've got it good here.
Why don't we just stay here?
Why don't we just experience the glory every
Sunday, Tuesday, when we get here, Friday, Thursday.
Why don't we just stay in this magnificent
sanctuary and just soak in the presence of
God?
No, folks, it's not what it's about.
We are to be a living revelation of
the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the
dead.
We are given inward living water, which brings
healing to nations torn with strife, living under
the defeat and dominion of darkness.
We are called to be this active and
living testimony for Jesus Christ.
You and I are called to be a
revelation of Jesus Christ.
It's as simple as that.
John could only do it with a pen
at this moment, but you and I have
an opportunity in him to be a living
testimony in our generation, to go where difficulty
is, to go where people are violent and
even opposed to the things of God because
they are ignorantly opposed to their own salvation,
to stand and boldly proclaim the testimony of
Jesus Christ, witnessing before us prison doors opening,
blinded eyes seeing, deafened ears being unstopped, the
wounded in heart being healed.
We are called to believe, for the nation
of Burundi, that God will send a marvelous
revival, turning this tide of evil and making
this nation an absolute role model of the
glory of God right in the heart of
Africa.
Folks, you have to see beyond your circumstance.
We have to see beyond just our own
lives.
There's got to be something of God revealed
in us and through us to our generation.
We must not, we cannot, we cannot be
a people of just mediocrity in our generation.
There have to be living testimonies.
There has to be a candlestick in New
York City.
There has to be, there has to be.
You have been brought here to this isle
of Manhattan for the testimony of God, for
the word of God, the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
There is no other reason.
Oh God, be glorified in us.
God, be glorified in us in this generation.
These things are for you.
If you'll walk in God's truth.
The Lord said to John, these are things
which must be hereafter.
The only thing that keeps you mediocre, beloved
brother and sister in Christ, is the thought
that you are mediocre.
Once you lift up your head and heaven
is open, you begin to see that there
is an endless possibility of the life of
Christ, that he will write within you a
testimony that he will give you.
We're called to be a living testament to
the things which will be hereafter.
You and I are called to walk in
our marketplace where we live and say to
people around us, the things you've seen in
me are also for you.
The things I've told you God has done
for me, he will do for you.
He does not respect your persons.
Oh God, I pray that you help us
now.
This is such an evil generation.
It's such an incredibly dark time.
But if I read my Bible correctly, this
is where you excel, Lord.
This is where you truly shine through your
people.
This is where your testimony truly comes alive.
I pray, Father, in America, for an incredible
testimony of God's grace to be not only
confirmed, but to be furthered.
All over this country where people are wanting
to live for you, Jesus, come and be
the source of supply to those who need
strength.
Come and correct those who are weary and
in need of correction.
Come, Lord, because you never put your hand
upon your church for evil, but only for
good.
Open our eyes again.
Give us an eyesalve anointing that we may
see this incredible greatness of Jesus Christ, the
incredible inexhaustible supply of the life of God
that is within us through the power of
the indwelling Holy Spirit.
My God, help us in the coming days.
Lord, send revival to London.
Let London come alive with the glory of
Almighty God.
I pray that as you send Pastor David
and Gary out through the world, Lord, that
you rekindle the fire in the hearts of
countless thousands of pastors.
I pray, God, in our meetings when we
gather to pray, that you open our eyes
to see that our prayers are having much
effect, not only in the kingdom of heaven,
but on the kingdom of this earth.
God Almighty, I pray for Mount Zion School
of Ministry.
I ask you, Lord, today that you come
down with incredible power and raise up a
testimony that cannot be extinguished in this generation
of the glory and revelation of Jesus Christ.
O God, O God, O God, let the
songs of praise in this house always be
true.
O God, lift up our heads.
I pray that this not be a sanctuary
of people staring at their feet through the
whole service, but we lift our heads up,
O God, and we have an open heaven
and begin to realize that with God all
things are possible.
O Jesus, O Jesus, O Jesus, O God,
write your testimony within us.
Take away our gloomy song and give us
a song of joy.
Give us a testimony of victory.
Give us faith, O God, that is willing
to stand against every giant and say they
are bred for us, their defense is gone
from them.
My God, give us supernatural love for a
generation that are parading rapidly into hell.
God, give us a supernatural love for them
that cannot be resisted by even the hardest
of hearts.
O Jesus, O God Almighty, have a testimony
in New York City.
Lord God, all around New Jersey and Connecticut,
the surrounding states and areas, have a testimony,
O God, of your grace and your glory
in this last hour of time.
Father, I thank you with all my heart.
O God, O God, O God, I pray
you touch the soldiers in Afghanistan and in
Iraq that are receiving the testimony of your
love for them on DVDs.
God Almighty, God Almighty, God Almighty, send a
revival to our troops, O God, overseas.
Let the glory of the Lord be shouted
in our military barracks, O God.
O Jesus, O Jesus, we are not crying
out to you in vain.
We are crying out from hearts that believe
that you are more than willing, you are
more than willing to give a revelation of
who you are.
Let the glory of the Lord come again.
My God, my God, my God, cover our
streets.
Lord, give hope to our children.
My God, give strength to those that are
without strength.
My God, give direction to all the single
mothers in New York City.
Give help and strength and hope.
Father God, give strength to pastors who want
to preach the truth and are afraid.
God, give them strength.
Give them strength.
Pastor, come lead us in prayer, please.
Let's go to prayer just for a moment.
O God, stand with us, beloved.
Hallelujah.
Raise your hands towards heaven.
O God, O God, my God, my God,
my God, my God, you're speaking from heaven
to us.
My God, you're declaring something to us in
our spirit.
You're speaking to us today.
Lord Jesus, we are hearing what you're saying
to us.
As a congregation, we're hearing.
In New York City, we're hearing it by
the spirit.
We're hearing, God.
We hear what you're saying to us.
That Lord Jesus right here in this place,
you are going to bring a revival in
New York.
Hallelujah.
Lord, it's going to come through men and
women.
It's going to come through your people.
Lord Jesus in the workplace.
God, we hear what you're saying.
Lord God, we raise our hands towards heaven.
We are not going to let the devil
dim our minds.
We are not going to let the enemy
shut us down.
We are not going to be, Lord, mediocre.
We are not going to let the devil
dim our hearts and our minds.
Lord Jesus, you're speaking a clear word into
our spirits.
We receive it this day.
God, we call down revival on our children
that have gone wayward.
Our homes that have gone wayward.
Lord, we see beyond ourselves right now.
We see beyond the misery.
And we begin to proclaim liberty to those
that are captive in the name of Jesus.
My God, those who've got no power, we
begin to pray for them because you've given
us power in the name of Jesus.
Hallelujah.
We see it.
We see beyond the misery.
We see beyond, Lord, the mediocrity right now.
We see beyond, Lord, that which has held
us captive.
And we begin to say to our brothers,
our sisters, those in pornography, those in homosexuality,
those in drugs, we proclaim to them right
now, be loosed in the name of Jesus.
Be loosed in the name of Jesus.
My God, you've given us authority in your
name.
We see beyond.
And we say, God, thank you right now
for great liberty in the house.
Great liberty.
Lord, revival in the city.
Bring revival to the city through us.
Oh, God.
Oh, God, our homes.
Our homes.
We cry for our homes.
We cry for our homes right now.
That God, you're going to visit every single
home in the name of Jesus.
Hallelujah.
Oh, God.
Lord, we're hearing a word.
Lord, I see it so clearly.
You've spoken it into our spirit.
You've given us eyes to see beyond.
And, Lord, your Holy Spirit is showing us
what can be and is and is taking
place through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hallelujah.
Give him praise today, beloved.
Oh, God.
Hallelujah.
Oh, God, we cry out to you today.
God, we cry out to you today.
Jesus, we're asking for an outpouring of your
spirit, Lord, in this city.
An outpouring of your spirit in this generation.
God, we're asking you to visit us.
Oh, God.
Lord, we're not going to be silent.
Oh, God, we're going to stand in the
gap.
We're going to make up the hedge.
Oh, God, let this generation be destroyed.
Oh, God.
Lord Jesus, we're asking for an outpouring on
our young people.
God, we're asking that you would visit this
city.
God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would
touch our young people.
God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would
touch our young people.
That you would touch the youth of this
generation.
God, we're asking that you would visit, Lord
Jesus, the young people.
God, we're asking, Lord, that you would set
them free.
Lord, that you would grant it, Lord Jesus.
Lord, as they come into your house, as
we meet them in the highways and the
byways.
God, that we would have a word for
them.
Oh, God.
A word in season.
Oh, God.
Lord, a word spoken by you in our
hearts.
Lord, that burns with fire.
Oh, God, I'm asking Jesus, Lord, that you
would cause us to have a word from
you.
I'm asking, Lord, that you would deliver us
from dead devotions.
Deliver us from going through the motions.
Deliver us, oh, God, from passivity.
Deliver us from carnality.
God, deliver us from materialism.
Deliver us from the love of this world.
God, we're asking, oh, God, that you would
give us a passion for you.
God, a passion.
Awaken us, oh, God.
Cause us to arise, oh, God.
God, we're asking that you would stir us.
God, we hear you speaking.
God, we hear you calling.
God, give us the grace now to arise.
God, give us the grace not to be
silent.
God, give us the grace, God, to receive
from you.
We ask that your word would produce a
faith in our hearts.
God, let your word produce a faith.
Let faith arise in our devotions.
Let faith arise, oh, God.
Lord, we sing our songs.
Let there be a faith in our hearts.
God, smite all unbelief.
Expose every work of iniquity in us.
God, we're inviting you, God, to be glorified.
God, walk within the candlesticks of Times Square
Church.
Walk within our pews.
Walk within our hearts, God.
And move us, oh, God.
Lord, we're asking, oh, God, Lord in our
young people.
God, that you would fill them with the
Holy Ghost.
God, we ask that you would raise them
up.
God, that they would not be ashamed.
God, we ask that you would grant it.
Lord, every time we meet, we pray, Lord,
God, as these young people come in with
all kind of issues, God, we pray for
the homosexuals.
God, I ask that you would deliver them.
God, I think of a young man who
has battled over and over again.
Lord, I'm asking that you would set him
free.
God, set him free, oh, God.
Break the chains that bind him.
Lord, set him free, oh, God.
Let there be a faith arise in his
heart.
God, I pray for gang members.
I pray for drug dealers.
God, I pray for the abused.
I pray for the oppressed.
I pray for the fearful.
God, in the name of Jesus, God, that
you would cause them to stand.
Lord, let your word, Lord, open their eyes,
that they would begin to see the grace
that is available to them in Jesus Christ.
God, I thank you, oh, God, Lord, for
what you're going to do.
God, we pray believing today.
Lord, that you are going to raise up
an army of young people.
God, that are going to stand for you
in the evil day.
That are going to stand for you in
the evil day.
God, we give you thanks and praise in
the name of Jesus.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
I have a word for you for an
altar call this morning, if you just hold
with me just for a second.
He says, I've set before you an open
door and no man can shut it, for
you have a little strength and you've kept
my word and have not denied my name.
He that overcomes, I'll make a pillar in
the temple of my God, and he shall
go no more out.
The Lord says, you've been coming in and
out of my presence.
You walk into faith and you walk back
into unbelief again.
He says, but I'm giving you a chance.
Your circumstance may not change, but I've set
an open door into my life before you,
and you will no longer step back out
into unbelief.
You can live a life of faith all
of your life.
And he says, and I'll write upon him
the name of my God and the name
of the city of my God, which is
New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven.
In other words, I will give you a
future that can't be taken away from you.
I'm going to put my name on you,
and I'm going to put the name of
New Jerusalem.
In other words, that's your destination, and you're
going to know that's your destination.
And you're not going to be driven by
your circumstance anymore.
And then he says, and I will write
upon him my new name.
And that new name, of course, is conqueror,
victor.
It's the one who sits at the right
hand of all authority and power.
And he says, I will write that upon
you.
You'll have an inner knowledge of who I
am that those who choose to stare at
their circumstances will never know.
I want to give an altar call today
for people to say, Pastor, you've just preached
my life.
Today I see an open door, and I'm
out of here.
I might have to come back here at
night, but I'm not living here.
I'm not being bound by this circumstance anymore.
I'm going to trust God for an open
heaven.
And I want to walk out of here
a partaker of the victory that is mine
in Jesus Christ.
You're going to go back into your workplace.
You're going to go back into your tenement
building.
You're going to go back into your family,
your neighborhood.
But you're going to go back as more
than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.
You're going to go back in victory.
You're going to go back with a song.
You're going to go back with a revelation
of Jesus Christ in your heart that has
nothing to do with circumstance.
Hallelujah.
If that's you today, and you say, Pastor,
I see the open door, and I'm coming
out of here.
I'm getting out of here.
I'm going to enter into this life that
Christ has for me.
I'm not even going to try to confess
my way out of here.
I'm just coming into the life of Christ,
and I'm going to let God live his
life in me right where I am.
If that's you in the balcony, you can
slip out to either exit, main sanctuary, come
forward, please, if you will.
In the annex, you can step out between
the two screens, and we'll pray with you
momentarily.
Hallelujah.
Now, beloved, his truth marches on through people.
It's not an independent concept in a sense
apart from a people called the Church of
Jesus Christ.
His truth marches in me, and it marches
in you, setting men and women free from
the power of sin and death.
Hallelujah.
God gives equal opportunity to every person who
comes to him.
Matter of fact, in Isaiah, he says it's
the lame who take the prey.
It's the people who know they need God
who far outstrip as it is those who
don't really understand the depth of their need
yet.
Hallelujah.
Thanks be to God.
Pray with me.
Lord Jesus, thank you today that you have
opened my eyes and you've lifted my head
to help me understand the purpose of your
life being lived out through me and in
me.
I believe today that in Christ I cannot
be captivated by any circumstance or any sorrow.
I cannot be overcome by any plot or
plan of the evil one.
I am more than a conqueror.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me
from the love of God which is fully
mine in Christ Jesus.
My Lord, thank you today you've opened my
eyes.
Lord, you've lifted my head.
You've shown me an open door.
And by faith, in the finished work of
Jesus Christ, today I walk through that door,
out of my circumstance, out of the captivity
of my circumstance, and into the life of
Almighty God, the never-ending life of Almighty
God, the all-powerful life of Almighty God,
the everlasting life of Almighty God, which is
mine.
It's mine.
It's all mine.
In Jesus' name.
Hallelujah.
Give Him praise.
Give Him thanks.
This is the conclusion of the message.