My message this morning, these men have been
with Jesus.
These men have been with Jesus.
Go to Acts the 4th chapter, please.
Acts the 4th chapter.
Please, again, remember Pastor Carter and his wife
as they're on vacation, resting in Canada.
Pray that the Lord refresh them and give
them renewed health and strength.
Acts 4, first 13 verses, 1 through 13,
please.
If you don't have your Bible, peek at
somebody's next to you.
Folks, don't be afraid to share your Bible.
We may have visitors here that didn't remember
to bring theirs, so...
Verses 1 through 13, and as they spake
unto the people, the priest and the captain
of the temple and the Sadducees came upon
them, being grieved that they had taught the
people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from
the dead.
They laid hands on them and put them
in hold until the next day, for it
was now eventide.
Albeit many of them which heard the word
believed, and the number of the men was
about five thousand.
It came to pass on the morrow that
their rulers and elders and scribes and Annas
the high priest and Caiaphas and John and
Alexander and as many as were the kindred
of the high priest were gathered together at
Jerusalem.
When they had set them in the midst,
they asked, By what power or by what
name have you done this?
Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said
unto them, Ye rulers of the people and
elders of Israel, If we this day be
examined to the good deed done to the
impotent man by what means he is made
whole, be it known unto you all and
to all the people of Israel that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him does this man stand here
before you whole.
This is the stone which was set at
naught by you builders, which has become the
head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other, but
there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John, perceived that they were unlearned and
ignorant men, they marveled and they took knowledge
of them that they had been with Jesus.
These men have been with Jesus.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the word
that brings life and joy to our hearts.
Heavenly Father, you have gathered a people, a
particular people, a special people together, Lord, from
all over the world here this morning.
Those who come for the first time, you
have chosen this time and this place, you've
chosen the word to bring, and you know
exactly what every one of us need.
Those in the overflow and annex, those that
are here in the main auditorium and the
balcony behind me, wherever my voice is heard,
we pray Holy Spirit that you would quicken
the word, make it life, make it life,
speak life into us.
Oh God, quicken us by your Holy Ghost.
This word has no power unless the Holy
Ghost ignites it.
There has to be an igniting of it
by the Holy Ghost.
He has to make it life to us.
Holy Spirit, do so we pray.
Sanctify me to deliver it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
This is quite a story.
Peter and John go up to the temple
and there's a man that's been there, he's
been lame since birth, he's never walked a
step in his life.
Every day they bring him, lay him at
the gate of the temple and he begs
for money.
Peter and John come by, you remember the
story, they said, look, we don't have any
money, we have no silver, no gold, but
what we have we'll give you.
In the name of Jesus, get up and
walk.
He got up and walked, all right, and
he started leaping all over the temple, up
and down.
Jesus healed me, Jesus healed me.
And people marveled, they all knew him.
They recognized him as a decrepit, crippled man
that had been at the gate for years
and years.
Everybody knew him, the high priest knew him,
Caiaphas knew him, they all knew him.
He was a talk of, in fact, many
of them, I'm sure the ruler of the
synagogue would say, get him out, it looks
terrible, right at God's house to have somebody
begging.
The priest, the captain of the temple, the
Sadducees came upon the disciples being grieved.
Grieved at a miracle, grieved that thousands were
getting saved.
Can you imagine such backslidden preachers?
They took into custody Peter and John and
threw them in jail.
They spent the night in prison, and the
next day they bring them to trial.
Here is Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas,
and Alexander and John, these are also priests,
and all the relatives, and kindred, and the
rulers of the synagogue, and the Sadducees.
They're all gathered together in this courtroom, and
they're going to bring Peter and John, they're
in custody, and bring him before them and
judge them.
Hmm.
By what power, they said, by what name
have you done this?
Well, what a farce.
What a foolish question.
By whose name are you doing this?
Look, they had 5,000 people repenting and
crying all over the city, Jesus' name.
They had their own priest getting saved and
admitting to everybody that they helped crucify Christ.
They had a lame man that was healed
running all over Jerusalem saying, Jesus healed me,
Jesus healed me, and they're saying, by what
name?
The ignorance, the blindness, the purposeful blindness of
these high and mighty men sitting in judgment.
By what power, what name is this all
happening?
They're afraid to even mention his name at
this point as if, you know, it might
strike them dead to even mention it.
Peter cried out the top of his voice,
his name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that's
what's happening here.
They were stunned, the Bible said, at the
boldness of Peter and John.
They marveled, the scripture says, and they took
knowledge of them that they had been with
Jesus.
Now, took knowledge in the Greek means known
by a distinguishing mark.
There was something that distinguished these men from
all other men who'd ever appeared in that
courtroom before.
There was something so different, so marked, they
were marked by some influence.
That's what it means, they took knowledge.
There's some power that's gotten a hold of
them.
These men are different, something is distinguishing them.
And then they turned to one another and
said, these men have been with Jesus.
These men have been with Jesus.
And folks, at that very moment, these disciples
were fulfilling the great commission, beginning in Jerusalem
to be witnesses.
They were witnessing through the presence of Christ
in their lives.
This is the witness to the world in
the last days.
It's not going to be preaching in the
last days that brings the world to its
knees.
Yes, he said, go out and preach the
gospel.
But folks, there's a way to preach it.
It must be preached verbally.
But the most powerful way and the witness
to the world in the last days are
people who have been sighted with Jesus and
full of his presence and the world takes
note.
These men, these women have been with Jesus.
There's a difference, there's something distinguishes them from
everyone else in the world.
From all Christianity, they are distinguished.
There's a mark on them.
Glory be to God.
Marked by the presence of Jesus.
Now, what are these distinguishing marks on those
who have been with Jesus?
Now, I speak only of those who spend
quality time with the Lord every day.
I said every day they have time.
I get so discouraged when I hear Christians
say, I don't have time to pray.
I don't have time to go in the
secret cause and get along with Jesus.
I don't have time to be with Jesus.
And yet they can sit and watch that
singing group called Sopranos.
Folks, I've never seen the program.
Sopranos.
I hear it's exalting the mafia.
No time for Jesus.
But all the time they need to watch
TV.
To go shopping.
Oh, come on, you don't tell me you
don't spend two hours in the mall.
You have the time.
You have time for everything else but to
be alone with Jesus.
Many.
Let me tell you, you can't spend quality
time with Jesus without it marking you.
Without distinguishing you.
There are marks.
I know when people have been alone with
the Lord.
I know when people have been with Jesus.
And you know it.
There are marks that are left by that
experience.
Let me talk about some of these marks
that mark those who've been with Jesus.
First and predominantly, a hunger and thirst for
a greater measure of Christ.
Those who spend quality time in the Lord
can never get enough of Jesus.
You see, they're not ever satisfied with their
initial measure of Christ.
When you get saved, the Bible said you're
given a measure of faith.
Paul said that very clearly.
Given a measure of faith.
And every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
Then he added, God has dealt to every
man a measure of faith.
He's given you enough to bring you to
himself.
To get you saved, in other words.
And some people, that's all they want.
They want to be saved.
I'm not going to hell now.
I'm saved.
And they want enough of Jesus just to
keep a good reputation.
Just enough Jesus, you know, to endure one
hour of service on Sunday morning.
Because most Christians go to churches where they're
bored to death.
Like one preacher said, you start 11 o
'clock sharp and end 12 o'clock dull.
You see, there's some people just satisfied with
that initial faith that brought them salvation.
And they don't want any greater measure of
Christ.
But you see, the man or woman's been
shut in with the Lord.
They're marked by an insatiable appetite to get
to know Jesus better.
They don't want to be next month where
they are this month.
They don't want to be tomorrow what they
are today.
They want more of Jesus.
And the more they get, the more they
want.
There's an insatiable hungering and thirsting after the
Lord Himself.
Not after theology, not after new doctrines.
You see, a lot of people are in
what I call maintenance mode.
They're just trying to maintain what they have.
They're really not interested in going to...
Because they know if they get real close
to Jesus, He's going to make some demands
on them.
He's going to call for separation from the
world.
He may even ask them to go to
a mission field.
God forbid!
They have to leave their Cadillac here and
they have to give up so much.
Poor Christian, if I get too close to
Jesus, He's going to make me too much
like Himself.
Then I'm going to have to love my
enemies.
My mother-in-law.
My boss.
Don't want to make those changes.
Too much risk getting too close to Jesus.
Ephesians, the fourth chapter.
Please.
Fourth chapter of Ephesians.
Verses 13 through 15.
It started at verse 11.
And He gave some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors,
and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ.
Verse 13.
Until we all come in the unity of
the faith and the knowledge of the Son
of God unto a perfect or mature man.
That word perfect is mature.
Mature man unto the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ that we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro
and carried about with every wind of doctrine
by the slight of men and cunning craftiness
whereby they lay in wait to deceive.
But speaking the truth in love may grow
up into him in all things which is
the head even to Christ.
Now look at me please.
Let me tell you something.
Let me tell you why people run around
looking for some new fat gospel.
Let me tell you why people are always
looking somewhere else than their secret closet.
It's because they are strangers to the secret
closet.
They are not men and women who have
been shut in with Jesus because those who
are shut in with Jesus, they are so
satisfied in that relationship and it's growing more
and more satisfying.
There's more and more joy than they've ever
experienced before.
And you can't get them to run off
to some far off revival someplace because they
know where the revival is.
They know it's in the secret closet.
It's shut in with Jesus.
And their relationship, their intimacy with Christ is
growing.
And they are satisfied because the Lord's showing
them things in the word they've never seen
before.
And they go to church and the pastor's
preaching what Jesus already showed them and the
pastor's only confirming it.
I've got to quiet down a little bit.
You know, I was walking into the entrance
on Broadway over here and I heard somebody
preaching and screaming and I went up and
I said, who's that screaming?
He said, it's you.
And I listened and it was me.
I said, turn him down.
He said, all of these pastors, evangelists and
all this teaching is to get you, get
us all so that we're not going to
be tossed by winds and waves, adopted by
the slight of men and cunning craftiness, new
doctrines and being led astray by men who
are making merchandise of you, that you come
in unity of faith and that you grow
up into a perfect, mature person and to
the measure of the stature, grow up in
Jesus, that you become mature in Christ.
He said, that's what this is all about.
I want to tell you something, not every
believer is looking for a Holy Ghost-fired
church.
Not at all.
Not everybody wants to sit on a convicting
message that makes them uneasy in their sins
and compromise.
Some people who are satisfied with a very
small initial measure of Christ are not going
to come to a church like this for
very long.
Because you see, if you are going to
hold on to a sin here in this
church, you're not going to get just milk.
You're going to get some meat.
You see, the milk, according to the Scripture,
is for babies.
Not just according to Scripture, according to mama.
Who knows?
You see, Paul the Apostle said these initial
doctrines of salvation and eternal life and the
resurrection, those are basic gospel truths.
They are marvelous truths, but he said, that's
milk.
You go to some churches, all you'll hear,
there are multitudes right now, Sunday morning, all
over the United States and around the world,
and all they get every Sunday morning is
salvation, salvation, salvation.
That's very comforting to those who've been saved
for twenty, thirty years.
They've been saved.
But you see, if the preacher's preaching about
salvation, he's not talking about that secret in
their life.
He's not talking about the compromise.
He's not dealing with sin in them.
He's talking about the sinner.
But see, I'm saved now.
He's not talking about me.
Preach it, brother.
How do you grow in the fullness of
Christ if you're not willing to sit under
the reproof and under the correction that produces
it?
You can't grow.
There are among people who would come and
sit underneath and they'd choke on it.
There are some of you choking already on
what you've heard.
I've only given you one little scrap of
meat because you've been living on milk.
Hebrews 5.
You love the word?
Then follow me in it, please.
Hebrews 5, verses 12 to 14.
12 to 14, fifth chapter of Hebrews.
For when the time you ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again, which be the first principles of the
oracles of God.
And it become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskillful
in the word of righteousness, for he's a
babe.
You see, if you don't hear gospel preaching
that produces conviction leading to righteousness, you're living
on milk.
You don't want to look at the next
verse.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are
of full age, even to those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil.
You cannot have discernment without having the preaching
that brings it forth, that brings forth repentance
among believers.
Repentance isn't something you do once, it's something
you do all your lifetime.
That brings discernment between what is good and
what is evil.
And what the apostles say, Hey, look, folks,
look this way for just a minute.
He said, Hey, look, you've been in the
church so long, you've heard from apostles, evangelists,
teachers, prophets, by now you ought to be
a teacher.
Well, this is some morning, I'll tell you.
And he says, you ought to be teaching
by now.
He said, you're babies, you still want just
nothing but milk.
It's all you want.
You want the bottle.
And that's all you want.
You don't want to meet.
You don't want to grow up.
You see, those who are sudden with Jesus
are growing.
Every time you go along with Jesus in
the secret closet and give him your faith,
your confidence, your worship, your praise, you're reaching
out to him and saying, More of you,
Jesus.
I love you.
I worship you.
And you're just sudden with him.
You automatically grow.
There is growth.
You won't see it.
You won't feel it, but you're growing.
Hallelujah.
I told you before, one of the greatest
complaints we get in our vast mailing list
is this.
We can't find a church with life.
The preaching is bland and dry.
We're not growing.
We thrive on your written messages, and we're
so hungry.
And I feel sometimes that's very flattering, but
it shouldn't be that way that people would
get from a written message that we preach
here and get their spiritual life out of
that rather than church.
Folks, we don't boast here.
This is only one of many, many places
God is working and bringing forth the word.
We are just one, and God help us
if there's any pride in that.
God help us.
He'll lift his hand immediately.
God forbid.
Times Square Church is only one very small
factor in the work of God in these
last days.
Very small.
We thank God for it, but we never
boast of that.
And then people say, I can't find a
church that brings life, and everything's so dead
and dry anymore, and so many foolish things
creeping into the body.
And then others write and say, they tell
us that they've decided, because they can't find
what they're looking for, that they'll go alone
with the Lord.
And we get letters, and people have been
shut in with the Lord for two, three,
four, and five years.
And, folks, their letters, you can tell the
difference.
There's a mark on them.
There's a distinctive mark.
They talk about Jesus with such depth.
I get messages.
They'll say, I've been in prayer of the
Lord, asked me to share this with you.
Would you test it?
And they're not trying to be revelatory.
They're not trying to be very special.
It's just that God, because of their familiarity
with the Lord now and because of their
intimacy with Christ, they're seeing and hearing marvelous
truths.
They're being quickened by the Holy Spirit.
And, folks, everyone that's shut in with God
is prepared for any crisis that comes.
Every crisis that comes, you prepare.
You can't wait until a crisis comes and
then try to run to the secret closet
and suddenly get a touch from God.
You have to long before you get in
it.
Folks, I just came back from three weeks
overseas and preaching to multitudes and in Moscow
and Helsinki and in St. Petersburg, Russia.
And, folks, I tell you, it was months
on my knees, months shut in with Jesus,
asking God to put a love in my
heart and asking the Lord to prepare me
that I would go in the fullness of
His blessing, the fullness of the gospel, the
fullness of Christ, the fullness of the blessing
of God Himself and the Holy Ghost.
And He answered that prayer.
But, folks, I couldn't just run over there
and get on my knees the night before
and pray, Oh, God, prepare me for this
task ahead of me.
No way!
You can't be shut in with Jesus and
then come out and talk about anything else
but Him.
What's in you is going to come out
of you.
You bump a cup of coffee and see
what comes out.
What?
Not hot chocolate, no.
Whatever's inside is coming out.
And when the devil bumps you, what's coming
out?
Jesus.
All today you talk, I tell you, I
know when somebody's shut in with Jesus, when
they come from Christ, when they've been shut
in with the Lord, and these men, these
women have been with Jesus, because that's what
they talk about.
They talk about something new God has said
to them out of the Word of God.
I was reading the Word last night.
I was in prayer, and the Lord showed
me this.
He showed me that.
They're not trying to preach it to you.
They're just so excited about it.
And it's bringing joy.
It's bringing comfort.
And it's preparing from the crisis that's coming
ahead in their life.
Someday a telephone call, and then suddenly panic.
No.
Suddenly the Holy Ghost comes with quickening power
and comfort because they've been shut in with
Him.
Boy, right now all over the United States,
between services, Saturday night they go out to
eat, or Sunday after church they go out
to eat, and those who are not shut
in with the Lord, they're talking about the
Oscars, they're talking about some guy named Tony,
they're talking about football, they're talking sports, women
are talking about shoes, fashion, hairstyles.
Where did you get those fingernails?
You may laugh, but that's what's happening.
Now, I'm not saying that's wrong, but that's
all they talk about.
You can sit there for half an hour
and not hear one word about Jesus, not
one word of revelation, nothing that comes from
the heart of God, nothing that warms your
heart, nothing that touches your soul.
Because they're worldly-minded, they are not shut
in with the Lord.
They're living on this initial experience.
I got saved 15 years ago.
I can tell you the time and the
place.
So what?
What's God said to you yesterday?
What did you hear this morning?
Another mark of those who've been with Jesus,
a holy boldness and spiritual authority.
The more a person's with Jesus, the more
like Him he becomes, the purer he becomes,
the cleaner he becomes, the more he's secure
in the righteousness of faith.
He knows it.
He's assured of it.
He's come to the Lord, and the Holy
Ghost has dealt with his sins.
The Holy Spirit's helped him mortify his sins.
And folks, the more righteous you become, the
more bold you become.
The Bible says, listen to what it says,
Proverbs 28.1, The wicked flee when no
man's chasing him.
But the righteous are bold as a lion.
Bold as a lion.
Folks, I'm not talking about in-your-face,
brass, condemnatory preaching or witnessing.
I'm not talking about that at all.
The word bold here means secure, confident.
The Bible said, the righteous are confident and
secure as a lion.
A lion stands up there and says, I
know who I am.
Folks, a Christian says, I know who I
am in Christ.
He's not afraid of the devil, he's not
afraid of man, because he's been shunned with
Jesus, and he's been clothed in a holy
boldness.
This holy boldness is really something to behold,
and it was beheld here by these men.
Folks, the Bible doesn't give us all the
details of this trial, but there was a
protocol, and it was something to behold.
Just read some of the stories of how
they came into court.
First of all, the lower priest would come
and sit on the sides, and all the
relatives on another side, and all the dignitaries,
and they're all in robes.
And here they come, and Peter and John,
of course, have been brought in and have
two seats.
They're already there in the judgment hall.
And all of this ceremony, and all this
pomp, is designed to intimidate them.
And here comes, everybody takes their seats, and
everybody, total silence.
And then suddenly everybody rises, and in comes
Annas and Caiaphas in their finery, and in
their miters that stick way up here, and
they're holding their canes, and they walk in
dignity, and everybody bows, as if to say,
John, Peter, look at those powerful men that
stand before you.
Better be careful how you speak, your tone
of voice.
You're before powerful, dignified leaders.
And Caiaphas and Annas wanted them to be
totally intimidated.
And I picture Peter turning to Paul, and
he says, wait till they see King Jesus
sitting on his throne.
Peter and John were not intimidated whatsoever.
And suddenly the clerk says to Peter and
John, will you rise?
Face the judge.
They rise and face Caiaphas and Annas in
his dignified and toned voice.
By what power, by what authority, have you
done this?
In other words, we didn't give you the
power, we didn't give you the permission, we're
the law here.
What authority did you do this?
What authority did you heal this man?
Can you imagine how stupid that question is?
By what human authority?
And I can picture Peter.
You know how impetuous he is?
These men are not intimidated at all.
Honestly, I was thinking about this yesterday.
I was just going over it in my
mind.
You know, they had to bring the charges
up.
This wasn't just sudden, instant kind of thing.
They went through all the protocol, and then
Peter and John are called up, and I
know what Peter's thinking.
Let's get this meeting started.
Turn me loose.
I've got a word from heaven for these
men.
And when I read in the Scripture, then
Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost.
I have to stop right there.
And I'm saying to myself, this is not
going to be a quiet meeting.
This man has just come from the upper
room.
This man has just been filled with the
Holy Ghost.
This man, you're talking about meeting with Jesus.
He just met with the resurrected Christ.
They've all been with Jesus in His resurrected
form, the Holy Ghost.
Jesus came back in the Holy Ghost, and
He communed with them.
He filled them with His Spirit.
And these men, and the Bible says, then
Peter, full of the Holy Ghost.
Say, let me at him.
Let me loose.
And you say to yourself, this is going
to be some meeting.
This is not going to be a lecture.
This is going to be fire from heaven.
This Jesus-possessed, Holy Ghost-filled man stands
before them, and I don't believe He just
stood there quietly.
I believe Peter was walking up and down,
and though the sermon is only four verses
recorded, I think that's just the summary.
It could have been an hour long.
And in essence, He said, you examine us?
You put us on trial as to how
this happened?
And the Bible says, you priests, you rulers.
There had to be a finger to that.
I can't say you without pointing a finger.
You priests, you rulers, and all of Israel,
listen to me.
It was the name of Jesus that accomplished
this.
It was Jesus of Nazareth who you crucified,
and God raised Him from the dead, and
He's alive.
No, folks, it's not Peter judging these men.
Paul said to the Thessalonians, we were bold
in our God to speak unto you the
gospel.
But then in the next few verses, he
says, but we were gentle among you, even
as a nurse cherished the children, because you
were dear to us.
And you see, this man was, Peter was
so assured in Christ, he had come from
Christ, and he's not trying to belittle these
men, and he's not, folks, there are preachers
that stand in the pulpit, sound like they
have power, sound like they have authority, but
they're just dictators.
They've not been cited with the Lord, and
they make up with loudness what they lack
in anointing.
It's not loudness.
It's not somebody walking all over the stage
and screaming at you.
That's not what this is all about, because
there's something in his heart.
He wanted them to know that Jesus was
alive.
He wanted them to repent, and that's why
he gave an altar call.
That's exactly what he did.
He said, there's no other name.
You've got to repent.
There's no other salvation other than in His
name.
He wanted these men to repent, because many
of the priests had already repented, and the
whole city is talking about Jesus now.
You see, the holy boldness of those that
are set in with God is tempered with
a passion for Jesus, yes, but also a
love for the lost, a love for the
people to whom they preach.
Folks, it's going to be more and more
important in these last days to be alone
with Jesus and come forth in His righteousness
and boldness, because there's a political correctness now.
There's a political correctness in the land, and
the very name of Jesus has become anathema,
cursed, and many are going to crack under
the persecution that's coming.
When I was in Poland a few weeks
ago, a minister friend of mine told me
an experience he had under the Communists.
When the Communists had taken over Poland, he
was working in a factory that was owned
and operated by the Communists, and he was
called by the foreman of the factory to
visit the office, and he said, Look, we've
got the Communist bosses coming here this week
for a big meeting, a conference, and they've
got some English-speaking foreigners coming also to
do business, and we need an interpreter.
Will you interpret for us?
Because my friend, Brother Chesler, speaks.
He's very fluent in English, and he said,
I'll do it on one condition.
I'm a Christian.
I walk with Jesus, and I won't drink,
because, you know, vodka is as cheap as
other beverages there.
Vodka just flows all through the Balkans and
through Russia, especially, and Finland, but especially in
Russia, vodka is very cheap.
If they raised the price of vodka, they'd
have a revolution on their hands.
That's the truth.
I'll tell you that.
And so he agreed.
He said, You come.
You don't have to drink, but you interpret.
So he comes, and he sits near the
boss and the foreman, and the vodka starts
flowing, and the alcohol, and everybody's drinking, and
Brother Chesler says no.
And the foreman is getting angrier and angrier,
because the big boss, the Communist boss, says,
Why isn't he drinking?
Is he better than us?
And everybody at the table is urging him
to drink.
And he tells the whole group, all the
leaders, the Communist leaders, who could have killed
him.
He could have been jailed.
And he said, I agreed.
I would come here.
I will interpret, but I'll not drink with
you.
I'm a Christian.
I'm a follower of Jesus, and I can't
do it.
I'm going to take a stand.
Folks, you talk about holy boldness.
This man is a praying man.
He's been shutting with Jesus.
He's come to the very presence of the
Lord.
He prayed before he walked into the meeting.
He'd been praying for a few days after
the Lord helped me to take the stand.
There's no question.
He wasn't afraid.
I don't care if I go to jail.
I'm not going to drink with these men.
He took the stand.
And the foreman was raging mad.
But the next day, he was called into
the foreman's office.
He said to Pastor John, he said, You're
a lucky man.
You're very fortunate.
He said, The big boss called me this
morning and said, Hey, look, if we ever
have a secret mission and we need somebody
we trust, I want that man.
I want that man.
Folks, there's a holy boldness that comes from
being shut in with God, shut in with
Jesus.
No fear of man.
No fear of demons.
No fear of false prophets.
No fear of man.
And take the stand at any cost.
Hallelujah.
Now, the final mark I want to talk
about is a physical, visible evidence that God
is with you.
With them.
There's a physical, visible evidence that happens all
the time.
And in this incidence, the Scripture says, Beholding
the man with his shield standing with them.
See, Peter and John are there and they're
finished preaching and they call this man to
their side.
They're standing right there waiting for the judgment
call.
And these priests looking down at this man,
beholding the man with his shield standing with
them, they could say nothing against it.
And they said, What shall we do with
these men?
For that indeed a notable miracle hath been
done by them is manifest to all that
dwell in Jerusalem.
And we can't deny it.
See, there was visible evidence that they had
been with Jesus.
Visible evidence that they had been in the
presence of the Lord.
What did Peter and John do as soon
as they were released?
The Scripture says, And being let go, they
went to their own company and reported all
that had happened.
They went right back to the presence of
Jesus.
They had come from the presence of Jesus.
They immediately go back to a prayer meeting.
They share it with all the elders of
the church and all the congregation.
What does a congregation do?
The Scripture says, They prayed, They laid hands
on him and said, Lord, behold their threatenings
and grant unto these thy servants, Peter and
John, that with all boldness they will speak
thy word by stretching forth your hand to
heal and that signs and wonders may be
done by the name of thy holy child
Jesus.
He says, Oh God, they prayed.
Thank you for the boldness you've given us.
But that's just the beginning.
Keep us bold.
Grant that we will speak with a holy
boldness and that you give visible evidence that
you're with us.
That by the hand of this holy child
Jesus and in his name you do signs
and wonders and miracles that everybody can see
and know that God is with us, that
Jesus is with us.
You know, when these men turned to one
another and said, These men have been with
Jesus, Peter and John had to have overheard
that.
Can you imagine them winking at each other?
Because you see, the priest is saying, These
men have been with Jesus.
They're talking about the historical Jesus.
They're talking about the Jesus who walked in
the streets of Jerusalem, who's now in glory.
And he said, These men, you know, months
ago, this is now at least 50 days
later and it could be much longer than
that.
And here they are saying, These men have
been with Jesus.
Jesus walked this earth and whatever was in
his spirit has rubbed off on them.
They've been affected by his authority and his
power.
They couldn't speak like this because they're unlearned
men.
Can you imagine Peter and John thinking?
If they only knew.
They're saying, We've been with Jesus back then.
We were with him last night.
And we were with him this morning.
And as soon as this stuff is all
over, we're going right back to him.
Have we been with Jesus?
Oh, yes, we've been with Jesus.
With the resurrected Christ, we've been with him.
These are the men who said, We will
give ourselves to prayer.
That's the presence of Jesus.
And to the study of the Word, we
will give ourselves to it.
Hallelujah.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
I told you that those who are with
Jesus with quality time, they're prepared for every
crisis.
We got a letter from a couple this
week.
I was reading, sent in from our mailing
list.
This couple are prayer warriors.
You talk about two people shot in with
Jesus.
You can't read their letters without knowing that
they've been with Jesus.
A knock came on the door.
Their daughter had gone out with a girlfriend.
Hadn't been gone too long.
And a madman, insane, kidnapped them.
Daughter was 24.
Took them out in a some lonely place.
Released the daughter's girlfriend.
Then he took a knife.
Slit their daughter's throat.
Stabbed her in the head five or six
times.
Then carved a symbol on her back.
Killed her.
Murdered her.
Police knocked on the door.
With a sudden shock.
Hearing the gruesome story.
But within an hour, they told us the
Holy Spirit had come in.
Holy Spirit had absolute, settled peace.
There were tears.
The next day there were questions why.
But those why questions soon vanished.
People, when it hit the news and everything
else, people were saying, how can any parent
take that?
Neighbors are thinking they're going to collapse.
But the people in the church, the pastor,
everybody else knew that these people would not
break.
Because they'd been with Jesus.
These were prayer warriors.
They knew where to go.
They had prepared for this moment.
God had prepared them by this very, by
just being shunned with Him.
They had grown in the knowledge.
They knew that God wouldn't allow anything in
their life unless there was a purpose to
it.
They knew they understood the Word of God.
And they didn't fall apart.
They didn't question their faith.
They didn't look for sin in their life.
Because they knew they'd been made right with
God in the secret closet of prayer.
And then they and the other children began
to pray for the killer.
That the Lord would save him.
And that the town couldn't accept.
They couldn't believe.
In fact, they were on media and they'd
go from church to church ever since, telling
how the Lord had put desire in their
heart to pray for this man that they'd
forgiven.
And now they're a testimony to a whole
wide section of that country.
A countryside testimony.
And people are saying, that's the real Jesus.
That's real Christianity.
These people that don't break when such a
horrible gruesome thing happens in their home they
still stand strong in Christ.
How can that be unless you come from
Him?
How can that be?
I stood before twelve hundred pastors just less
than two weeks ago in Moscow.
Came from everywhere.
I think it's...
Russia has, somebody said, 89 states.
That doesn't mean the provinces are broke off,
but just Russia itself.
They came all the way from Siberia.
And in closing, one of the closing services,
I preached my heart out.
And the Holy Spirit came on me.
And I said, you've been sitting here listening
to me.
I've been preaching to you for two days.
I said, there's been weeping, there's been rejoicing,
and God's been doing a work.
You've got a new burden for your families.
But I said, the Holy Spirit just spoke
to my heart that there are many of
you here making this your last conference because
you have already made up your mind to
leave the ministry.
You're going to quit because you're discouraged.
And I said, I know that you're here.
And I said, if it's only ten or
twelve, I want to pray for you.
And there was no place up at the
front, only a stage much bigger than this,
a huge stage.
And I said, all I know, if you
want me to pray for you, if you
had it in your mind that this is
going to be your last meeting, you're going
to go home and resign the ministry.
You're not going to preach anymore.
You're giving up on the ministry.
I want you to come up stage here
and I want to pray for you.
It was a stampede.
Over 250 pastors.
In fact, our bodyguards, they insisted on bodyguards
because so many people are being kidnapped if
they have a reputation or anything.
And the guards thought they hadn't heard the
whole invitation, thought people were rushing me.
And they were trying to hold me back.
I said, let him go, let him go.
And I had to push off the guards.
And they filled the stage.
And I'm standing there talking to the Holy
Spirit, an interpreter here, and I said, God,
I've never seen anything like this in my
life.
This is supernatural.
There's no human power.
I can't do this to these men.
All I did was give an invitation.
God, what's going on here?
And the Holy Spirit said, remember all those
months you were shut up in that room
and you prayed day after day that God
would give you love for these men?
You remember praying and asking me to move
on the Spirit and to send everyone home
encouraged that everyone's discourage would be healed?
He said, do you remember that?
I said, I do.
He said, I'm answering your prayer.
You see, folks, I could have never come
in and spent a day before and asking
God to do this.
No way.
I'd spent time and I'd wept over these
men and I knew it.
And the Lord said, now I'm going to
honor that.
And I turned around and said, what do
I do now with these men?
What do I do with men and women,
husbands and wives, and they're weeping and some
are on their knees and pastors couldn't even
get up front and pound in the altar
and crying out to God.
I said, what do I do?
He said, just turn and pray in the
name of Jesus that everyone be restored and
healed and a new vision to go back
and take up the cross.
And I just turned.
They couldn't, they didn't even understand me because
the interpreter wasn't even interpreting half of it.
I said, in the name of Jesus, all
discouragement, everything in this world, every distraction, go!
In the name of Jesus, be restored!
God came down and restored and we've heard
some good news recently that there were testimonies
everywhere.
I'm going home to preach.
I'm going home to lift up Jesus.
Renewal.
Healed by the power of Jesus' name.
Visible evidence that God was with us.
And the Lord said, you haven't seen anything
yet.
If you stay, shut in with me.
If you come to every pastor's meeting from
the presence of God.
If you spend time alone with me.
And folks, the next day they asked to
have a meeting with me.
These were the three Pentecostal denominations in Russia.
Pentecostal Union, that's the old timers.
Most of them had been in jail under
communism.
The leader had been in jail 18 years.
His wife for 5 years.
And these are veterans.
And then you have the unregistered Pentecostals.
And then you have the charismatic Pentecostal movement.
So there's three Pentecostal groups in Russia.
They had never before in history ever worked
together on a meeting.
Ever.
This was the first time.
And the Holy Spirit was healing.
And here they are all in one room,
in one table with their wives and my
team.
Eighteen.
The pastor had...
By the way folks, after I left they
had another meeting.
A unity meeting.
And one of the greatest things that God
did was to heal the Pentecostal movement in
Russia.
To heal the Pentecostal various movements.
Brought them together in unity.
And we trust that that will stick and
that it will grow.
But at the table, this pastor had been
in prison for 18 years.
He said, Brother David, I want to tell
you a story.
Now folks, this man is godly.
You can see it in his face.
This man...
I've heard stories sometimes that just stretches your
belief system.
It's so far out.
But this man is flesh and blood.
And he's standing in front of me.
He's a leader of 1200 churches in Russia.
And he just emits the presence of Christ.
He said, Brother David, I was in one
of the rough communist prisons for 18 years.
My congregation took care of my wife while
I was in prison.
His wife had been in prison prior to
that for five years.
And he said, Yes, there were hardships, but
Jesus was so real in that prison.
Jesus was so real to me.
He said, More real than I've ever known
him in any time.
Because he had this quality time to just
talk to Jesus.
The revelation that he received.
And the Lord gave him the respect of
the prison guards and of everybody else.
But many of the prison guards were hardened
communists.
And many of the prisoners, very, very difficult
to reach.
But they respected this man.
High expectation.
High respect for this man.
He said, After 18 years, the Holy Spirit
came to me and said, In three days,
you're going to be released.
Three days.
He got word to his wife and congregation
somehow.
And he testified.
The Lord told him to testify.
So he told all the prisoners, Three days
from now, God's going to release me.
They laughed at him and said, No one
has ever been released from this place.
You'll die here.
He said, Three days from now, I'm going
to be released.
Third day came.
Noon came.
Nobody came.
And all the prisoners are watching.
The guards are laughing at him.
He said, No, God told me.
I am going to be released from this
prison.
He said, It got dark.
He said, But God told me.
And outside the prison, down the block, waits
his wife and congregation with flowers.
They do everything with flowers in Russia.
They gave me flowers.
They gave Gwen flowers.
I'm standing up there with a bunch of
roses on my thing.
And I said, That's a nice thing to
introduce to Times Square Church.
Roses.
You know, 11 o'clock.
And nothing.
Just a moment after 11 o'clock, over
the loudspeaker.
His name was called.
Reverend Soso.
I forget his name.
Long Russian name.
You've been released.
Come to the office immediately.
And the prisoners were stunned.
Everybody was stunned.
The guards.
And he goes, he walks out.
And all the prisoners run to the top
floor of the prison where they had a
cafeteria.
There was some glass.
You could see out in the streets.
And they stood there.
The pastor said, They had the most exciting
experience I've ever had.
I told them in the name of Jesus,
I would be released.
And it would be on this day.
He said, On that day, 11 o'clock.
A little after 11 o'clock.
They called my name.
No explanation.
I still don't know why.
I don't know how.
They called my name.
Led me out the door.
I walked down the street.
And he said, I got to the corner.
And I looked up.
And all the prisoners were in the cafeteria.
They saw me.
Embraced my wife.
They saw all the flowers.
And they started screaming at the top of
their voices, There is God.
There is a God.
Visible evidence.
Folks, what could be greater visible evidence than
those among us who have been saved from
drugs and alcohol and a messed up mind
and a messed up life.
That's visible evidence that God is with you.
God is with you.
And folks, what greater visible evidence that God
is in a church when invitations are given
and people come streaming to the altar hungry
for God, wanting a change in life.
Folks, we've seen hundreds and hundreds come streaming
down these aisles.
We were baptized this afternoon.
We had so many.
We usually be baptized.
We baptized Tuesday night for about 40 minutes.
We're going to be baptized this afternoon.
The rest, we couldn't handle them in one
service.
That's wonderful visible evidence that God is with
His church.
That people in this house have been with
Jesus.
These men have been with Jesus.
Oh, blessed be the name of the Lord.
Oh, my.
Did I preach that long stand?
Please.
You hungry for more of Jesus?
How much time did you spend with Him
this last week?
Alone?
Nobody around?
Just you and Jesus?
How many were with Him yesterday?
You see, this can't be just a theory.
It can't just be a theology or doctrine
to us.
It has to be a lifestyle.
It has to be something that we finally
deal with and say, Look, I've heard this
preached.
I've said I'd do it.
Now it's time for me to become a
seeker after Christ.
I'm not going to be satisfied with the
measure of Christ that I have.
I want a full measure of Jesus.
I want to come into the full stature
and into maturity in Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Heavenly Father, I pray for those that are
in this house.
Lord, there's so many here for the first
time.
And I don't know what they think of
the preaching or the service.
Lord, I believe that everyone that has an
honest heart has to acknowledge that the Spirit
of Christ is here.
That Jesus is here.
And the Holy Spirit is wooing and He's
calling to a deeper life, a closer walk.
Lord Jesus, some have been getting so lazy
and drifting so far from what they know
they ought to be in Christ.
Lord, forgive us.
Oh God, forgive us.
Holy Spirit, do a miracle in some hearts
this morning.
Do a miracle.
Hallelujah.
Let me tell you what I feel the
Holy Spirit saying to my heart.
I'm going to give an invitation.
I'm going to ask you to step out
of your seat boldly.
Forget what people think.
In all honesty, if you've been neglecting Jesus,
what you've been giving Him have been what
we call devotional time.
You've given a little devotional time and some
hurried reading of the Scriptures.
Just hurriedly reading.
You know, just grabbing a Bible and opening
it and reading a couple of verses and
going.
You don't have that quiet, set time with
the Lord.
And when you don't, then your life becomes
marked by the things that you're giving your
time to.
If you're giving your time to TV, if
you're giving your time to internet, that marks
you.
You talk about it.
It's in your mind.
You come to church with it in your
mind.
We need to come into God's house with
nothing but Jesus on our mind.
I'm convinced more and more you don't have
to know all the deep doctrines.
Even Peter said some of the things that
Paul said are very hard to understand.
But I know one thing.
You can live an overcoming life and be
fully satisfied if you'll simply spend time alone
with Jesus.
And by faith and trust, believe His word.
It's going to mark you.
Your wife, your husband will know it.
Everybody will know it.
You've been a changed person.
That changes you.
The very awe, the very essence of Jesus
will just pour out of you.
People will see it.
It doesn't mean that you have an aura
around you like Moses had.
There'll be something comes out your voice, out
of your demeanor and out of your walk
that marks you, distinguishes you as somebody wholly
given to Jesus.
If you are not there yet, you say,
Brother David, I think I'm drifting.
I'm not where I should be with Jesus.
I want you to get out of your
seat and come here.
Let me pray for you and let's believe
God.
And in the annex, I want you to
go forward, not in front of the screen,
but between the screens.
And I'll pray for you there.
I'll pray for you while you're there.
And let's believe the Lord.
I have faith in my heart that what
he did among the pastors, he'll do here
this morning.
We're going to ask in the name of
Jesus that you be revived in your spirit
and the Holy Ghost begin to woo you.
Now, if you're not right with the Lord,
if you've been backslidden, you don't know Jesus.
Come with these that are coming up in
the balcony.
Go to the stairs on either side.
Come down any aisle.
And in the annex, just step forward in
between the screens.
And I'll pray for you there.
We'll pray for you in just a moment
while we wait for these that are gathering.
Move in close, if you will, please.
Move in tight.
Make way for these that are coming.
How many of you believe that in the
name of Jesus, God can do something visible
and clear in your heart?
Something that people can see?
Now, let me give you an example for
you gentlemen that are here right now.
You know, I was walking down the street
yesterday.
I was shocked at the number of men
that just turned and followed every woman walking
by.
Their eyes just following every woman that walked
by.
And you may be one of those kind
of men that have roving eyes.
If you're married, especially, this is quite a
visible miracle that God could heal that.
And when you go to wrestle with your
wife, you walk down the street, she's not
seeing you going this way and that way
looking at everybody around.
But you have your eyes only on your
wife.
That's visible.
That's the evidence of a work that's being
done in the heart.
That you are obeying Jesus and you're drawing
closer to him.
Those are evidences.
I don't know, it could be your temper.
Suddenly, your wife finds you friendly.
She finds you not popping off at every
little thing.
That's visible evidence that Jesus is with you.
You've been spending time with the Lord.
First people know it's going to be your
family.
Your family.
Those closest to you, they're going to know
that you've been with Jesus.
Hallelujah.
How many of you have to acknowledge right
now that you have not given him the
time that he wants and that you need?
Raise your hand, please.
Keep it up right now.
And I want everybody to pray this prayer.
Jesus, you see my hand.
You see my heart.
And I ask you in the name of
Jesus to forgive me and draw me near
to you.
Put it in my heart in a way
I'll never forget.
That I have a time and I have
a place where I will meet with you.
And I will talk to you.
I'll spend time with you.
Draw me to that.
Oh God, print this on my heart.
Stamp it on my mind.
I want to be with Jesus.
I need to be with Jesus.
Touch me now.
Help me to commit to this.
Forgive my sins, Lord.
Blot out my transgressions.
Help me, Lord, not to neglect you anymore.
I can't do it unless your Holy Spirit
comes and gives me power and strength.
But I believe in the name of Jesus,
I am free.
Now I want to pray for those in
the annex, those standing between the screens.
You can hear my voice at least if
you don't see my face.
And here in the main auditorium, all these
that have become forward father.
I'm asking now to release everybody that's here
in the name of Jesus.
Release us from bondage to materialism.
Release us, oh God, from all the activities
that have stood between us and you.
Tear down the walls, I pray, in the
name of Jesus.
And I pray, Lord, that you send into
everyone listening, everyone standing before your presence.
That you would supernaturally put this drawing into
their hearts.
This wooing of the Holy Spirit.
Come alone, come away with me, my bride.
Come away with me, my servant.
Come away with me, my son, my daughter.
Come away and be with me.
Lord, draw them into your presence.
And when you see them respond, Holy Spirit,
in Jesus' name, I'm asking that you just
fall upon them with a joy, a peace,
a rest, revelation.
Oh, God, make us seekers after Christ our
Lord.
Seek you, you said, the day you seek
me with all your heart, you will find
me.
Lord, we're set out to find you.
Lord, cleanse us, sanctify us now and set
us free.
We glorify you now in the name of
Jesus.
All of those in the annex that have
come forward and all those that are here
right now, I want you to just thank
Jesus.
Lift up your hands and give him thanks.
Just give him thanks.
I give you thanks, Lord.
I give you praise.