The Day Hell Visited Heaven

We do encourage you to join us both daily and weekly. Weekly, you heard about noon prayer meeting. It's us praying for an awakening in New York City. That is not put online because we're challenging you around the country and around the world to run a noon prayer meeting, praying for an awakening in your city. Noon prayer meeting, 12 to 1 o'clock. It's a powerful time. Don't forget, chapter by chapter as we go through that, the Bible, a four-year journey every single day, seven minutes a day. We welcome all, we encourage those watching around the country and around the world to subscribe to that. Go with us through the scriptures as we're in the book of Numbers and shortly we'll be in the book of Deuteronomy. So we encourage you. Okay, let me talk to you about the message and let me just, and we get a chance to pray. I'm very uncomfortable today and I'm struggling with this sermon, but you need to hear why. So it's in that section over there when I get to row S. Every letter on the corners remind me to pray for something. There's a section right here, the second row, if you looked on your end, it says CC on there. When I get to row CC, I pray for Carter Conlon and I pray that God would bless his family for Pastor Teresa and every grandchildren, all the grandchildren. So each one of those is something. When I get to A, it's for anointing, B, for a billion souls, C, I pray for the choir, I pray for all of you up there, I pray that God work miracles for you. Sorry, D gets the Delina family, I pray for every one of my kids and go through and we go all the way through. When I get to S, which is all the way in the back there, I pray for a sensitivity of the Holy Spirit. I pray that God would be, especially I pray on this stage that we'd be sensitive when to stop, when to go, when to move.

And so I pray for everybody to be sensitive. Little did I know that God was asking me to be sensitive. And it was back there that I felt like God says, you're not to preach what you're supposed to preach. I'm going to give you something else. And so I was a little upset because I was going, I'm already ready. And so I need them to be sensitive, not me. And so God goes, no, you need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. So God decided to make me sensitive, to change everything today. And just when I wasn't sure what to do, I got a text from a New York City pastor, just sent me a text, Hebrews 13, six, it says, the Lord is your helper. You shall have no fear. And I'm praying for you. I said, okay, that's it. I'm preaching what you've told me to preach this morning. No matter if everything was neatly packaged, it doesn't even matter. I want to talk to you about the day hell visited heaven. I want to talk to you about the day hell visited heaven. And I want to give you some words. I want to give you a prayer. I want to give you a statement. I want to give you a declaration at the end today for, for when you feel like hell has gotten to your house, got into your mind, got into your soul. Today is going to be a day of victory. Today is going to be a day of liberation. You're going to leave this place knowing what to speak and knowing what to say. And so you will be able to say with the choir and with Mo who led us in for every mountain, you will be able to say, you were there, you were there for me. God, in these next few moments, come in a powerful way. Thank you, God, for, for what you're going to do today.

Thank you for row S, for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. But I need help. I need a lot of help today. So I'm asking you, God, to undergird me. I'm praying an anointing and clarity. Father, I just, I feel that without you, Lord God, that Lord, it's, it's, it's a, it's a lecture. It's a sermon. We need life. 51st and Broadway, Times Square, New York City. We need life to be here today. We don't need another church service and another sermon. We need for the Holy Ghost to come down to this place. So God, I'm just praying for an equipping. When everything's said and done, we pray this often. Let nobody say what great choir, what great worship, what great people, what a great building, what a great sermon. Let them say, what a great God we serve. And we believe for that today in Jesus name. And everybody said, amen. And amen. You may be seated. Thank you so much. Thanks guys. I don't, I don't really think there'd be a person here that wouldn't remember this powerful New Testament verse that says in Hebrews 13, eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. How many have heard that verse before to speak about the unchangingness of Christ? They would call it in theology is immutability. This week I met with a young leader who is in a tough place in his life.

He's in a waiting time. He's waiting for, for God to open up and he's, and he's, and it's frustrating for him. And it was this verse that I shared with him, which doesn't seem to be the right verse to share with somebody who maybe is in that waiting time. I said, I've spoken about this for so many times in my life that I've used it, um, with When you're speaking about, like a song we sang today, miracles, you talk about God who did miracles in the New Testament. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. I've done that all my life. You just begin to associate His miracle power with God who doesn't change. But I noticed, as I spoke this verse to him, I noticed and shared with him, what precedes it is just as important. That verse makes verse 8 so powerful. I said, for where you are and what's happening in your life, listen to the words before it and let's connect them together. He says this, the writer of Hebrews, remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The connection is powerful. What he was saying was that God's work in God's people over the centuries and over the millennia has a commonality to it. There is much similarity to the journey because God is the same. He was speaking to them and connecting the people of the past with who God is. And many times he will take leaders through very similar battles and similar situations and similar valleys. And I looked at this young man and I said, what God calls you to do is to imitate their faith, not plagiarize their lives. Imitate their faith. I've done that. I've tried to plagiarize lives. I remember as a young pastor, I was reading about the biography of John Wesley, a man who shook two continents and it said he would wake up every morning at 4am and pray for two to three hours. I said, that's me. I'm getting up at 4am every morning to shake America. Lasted for two days. 4am comes very fast. And what I would go to bed at 11 or 12 and try to get up at 4am. But I didn't realize when he was writing, when he was living his life, there was no electricity. So they're in bed by seven and I'm going to bed at midnight and I'm going like, it's not to plagiarize their life, but he says to imitate their faith is what he talks about. Don't plagiarize a lifestyle, imitate their faith. And I saw this, I've seen that face in Pastor Carter Conlin, Pastor David Wilkerson. And he tells us the challenge is consider, this is important. Consider the outcome of their way of life. I want to say something to young leaders and pastors that are watching. I

want to say to those around the country and around the world. He says, consider the outcome of their life, which means he pushes you past your peers to those that David Wilkerson would call gray heads. Sometimes he would call them cotton heads. If you don't know if you're one, just look in the mirror. So I'm becoming a cotton head. It's just ministry. It's age, it's distance, it's journey that happens here. And the Bible tells us, don't look to the person next to you, look at the person who's ahead of you, at the outcome of their life and say, when you see that outcome, he says, don't plagiarize the life, imitate their faith. Notice the outcome that's there. You don't have to plagiarize the dress or the stage or the sermon or how they look or what they're saying or the words that they're saying. He says, imitate faith. Imitate, see the outcome and if they got through it and if they made it through. Outcome means to look to the older and not to that which is present and to imitate their faith. And I want us to consider an outcome of faith here today. That outcome, that word that's used there in Hebrews 13, which is right next door to it in the book of James. Listen to James chapter five, verse 11. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and you have seen, same word, the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. He says, I want you to consider the outcome of the Lord's dealings. And the challenge from Hebrews is to imitate that faith of endurance that got through. I love the way that the message power phrases this. Listen to these words. What, same verse, what a gift life is to those who stay the course. You've heard of, you've heard of course of Job's staying power and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last. detail hallelujah such a powerful power phrase and he challenges to see the outcome and the day that all this started the day so we can see where the outcome came we have to go back to the beginning where it all started and that was the day that hell visited heaven Job 1 is a scene and a scenario that no one could have made up in their own imagination the greatest theologians throughout history could not have conjectured this unless it was spelled out for us in Scripture was about the day that hell showed up in heaven it's so supernatural that our heart doesn't even reject it or its validity Jesus Christ and Satan somehow are talking face to face about a person on earth listen to this Job 1 6 one day the angels came to present themselves before

the Lord and Satan also came with them how did that happen but I don't know any of the answers to this all I know it's what's there couldn't make this story up angels are there Satan shows up the Lord said to the man that was out of place to the demon that was out of place because now you have hell in heaven where have you come from Satan answered and the Lord and said from roaming through the earth going back and forth on it the devil while in heaven holds nothing back and tells God Almighty something about Job he tells him that self-interest is the only explanation of why your people believe in you self-interest he says anyone who says that people are that the people will still continue to love you if you remove the props and if you remove the stuff from their life he said it just won't happen he says their commitment to you is based on your blessing to them one version says this about Job 1 6 it says Satan the accuser came with them and he is doing that he is accusing the man that God's make stand out listen to Job 1 8 then the Lord said to Satan have you considered my servant Job there was no one on earth like him he is blameless upright a man who fears God and shuns evil don't miss those words blameless upright a man who fears God shuns evil does Job fear God for nothing Satan replied verse 10 have you not put a hedge around him here's the props that he's saying remove this this man will curse you he said have you not put a hedge around him in this household and everything he has you bless the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land but he said stretch out your hands strike everything he has and he will curse you to your face this is this is such an incredible encounter God disagrees the man with the reputation on earth this is something that's amazing the man with the reputation on earth has the same reputation in heaven God said this about Job there's no one on earth like him he is blameless upright a man who fears God and shuns evil look at those four things and is it an amazing that when the book opens up in Job 1 1 it says there was a man in the land of us whose name was Job and he was blameless upright fearing God and turning from evil that's amazing to me that what he was on earth he is known for in heaven which means I know what

people can say about me I know what college says about me with a degree on the wall I even know what I say I am but the issue is it doesn't matter what does heaven say I am what does God say I am then it doesn't matter so you can proclaim anything you want if heaven doesn't agree and affirm it doesn't matter but if I'm walking with God I want heaven to know I'm walking with God I want that affirmed in heaven and God adds one final thought to Job's by you he says there's none like him Job has an amazing life and Job has no idea what is about to happen to him in the coming verses Satan is wanting to reveal Job as a phony and a fake that he could that he is claiming he is he says take away the props the kids the wealth the his health and he has no idea Job has no idea that while he is while he is just living life that his name is being brought up in heaven he's just moving on and has no idea that that heaven and hell are talking about him and God brought it up to Satan like a proud parent and all of a sudden we see Job stripped of everything stripped of wealth of children of his own health and finally you begin to see all of this take place from verses 13 through 19 everything is stripped through death destruction and enemy attacks and for seven verses all has been will be taken from Job. In fact, it's painful to read how all this happens in one day. It just doesn't stop. It's battle after battle. And where God begins to take a hedge away and let hell come in and begin to strip and take away. When hell is done with Job, Job's response is both natural and supernatural. This is what it says in verse 20. Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and he fell to the ground. And I don't understand these two words. And worships. My goodness. The tearing of the clothes, the shaving of the head, falling to the ground. That's human. Worshiping, that's God. There's something that has been implanted in this man that was beginning to take place. Let me explain it to you this way. He is worshiping with loss. He is worshiping in pain. That's the worship that I think gets heaven's attention. Let me just, I'm just gonna read to you what I was writing just in my own prayer time. Worship in pain and loss is the confirmation that the peripheral things I possess does not dictate if God is

worthy. Let me say that again. When I can worship in loss and pain, that's the confirmation that God's worthiness is not based upon what I have, what I possess, or even how I feel. He is worthy despite all those things. Listen, to tear the clothes means that my heart is broken by sudden tragedy. That was the tradition. To shave the head means I've been stripped of glory and status. But don't miss this. But despite loss, God has not lost my worship. Despite the loss of health, the loss of situations, the loss of a job, it doesn't stop me from lifting up my hands and saying, God, you have not changed. You are still who you are. That's the worship that he hears. We don't worship because of a song or a tune. We worship because of a king that's on the throne. We worship because of who he is. Once you begin to find yourself worshiping when it's all going well, then Satan is right, the accuser is right. But when you can lift your hands in cancer, you can lift your hands with diabetes, you can lift your hands with a migraine headache, you can lift your hands when the house is on fire and say, you are still worthy. That's the worship that gets his attention. What is interesting is Job's counselors made all their statements about why this happened to Job. And none of them could talk about heaven because they didn't know. This is happening because you did this. This is happening because this. But nobody could see higher. Even Job didn't know. All that is happening in this book all started on the day that hell visited heaven. The day that the accuser slandered the godly and the reason for serving God. Then all of hell breaks loose to prove his point. And no one in the book has any idea that this is all because of a conversation that hell has with God. One of the men that God put in my life when I started in ministry, when we opened up a church in a pornography theater in Detroit was a British revivalist named Leonard Ravenhill. I would get monthly letters and weekly phone calls from him as a young pastor, his books, why revival tarry. Sodom had no Bible. The America is too young to die impacted me deeply. And then I have I've got letters today from this revivalist that I treasure and I hold on to to this day. And I'll never forget a Saturday night prayer. My phone rings. And it's the end just for those that are younger here today. It wasn't a

phone. The phone was on the center of a wall with a squiggly cord. How many remember that? And it was updated because it was buttons, not a rotary. It was buttons at that time. That was our cell phone. So we're in the I'm in the kitchen. It's a Saturday night. And you don't know who's calling. You don't know who's there. There is no there's no caller ID on those phones. So I pick up squiggly thing and I hear this British accent. It's Leonard Ravenhill. He said, I felt like the Holy Spirit wants me to pray for you. I I wrote down his prayer that he prayed for me some almost 40 something years. ago. This is what he said. He said, Lord, may this be a bad day for hell. So bad that hell has to cross this day off its calendar as a loss because Tim obeyed and trusted God. I didn't understand the magnitude of that. He says, he said, let hell cross this day off on its calendar because we obeyed and trusted God. When I think about this prayer, when I think about what that 86-year-old man prayed for me, I started to ask these questions. I said, what are they saying about me in heaven? Is there, and I kept thinking, do I have a lifestyle worthy discussing in heavenly places? Does Satan and Jesus still talk like this? If they do, am I ever a topic of conversation? Are you a topic of conversation? Think about this for a second. Does the Satan desire to take me out, take me down? I kept thinking through that. Do these conversations still happen in heaven? That's what I kept thinking about. It's funny, when I was studying at Oxford under some of the great apologists of the world and I sat in their classes, they would discuss some of the great apologetic, the top five apologetic questions. The number one question was always this, is if God is all-loving and God is all-powerful, then why does he allow evil in the world? It's the number one question. I wrote my paper on that and I feel like I messed it up because I should have wrote on Job chapter one. And with all the brains and the degrees in that room, no one mentions Job one. No one says, could the suffering that a believer faces come from a conversation that's right here? Some of you are going like, I don't know about that. I don't know if that, could these conversations still be happening? We don't have anything to suggest that it doesn't happen today. Could suffering of the saint be led, tied to a satanic conversation? It proves the inadequacy of human thinking and human experience. And the people that would fight me against this wouldn't even have pegged Job one to even

be happening. What do you mean by that? The ones that would fight me on this couldn't even fathom Job one. None of us could have, could have fathomed what was happening in heaven at that time. We would have been having conversations on a lower level when something was happening in heaven. When all hell comes against you. Is it because hell was just in heaven talking about you? Why has hell come against you? Sometimes human experience and suffering is too big, even for human definitions. I just kept thinking to myself, God, even the things that I'm facing, the things that I know, people that I love that are facing here. I go, God, this is a real fight. Some of you are here today in a real fight. Some of you are here today and still lifted your hands like Job 120 and just said, God, I'm still going to worship you because not an ounce of your glory has been diminished by my pain. You're still worthy to be praised. I, um, I talked to, I talked to you about James five 11 that says, imitate their faith, imitate their faith. Don't plagiarize their lives. Imitate their faith. As a young pastor, I plagiarized. I plagiarized something when I first started a church that I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm embarrassed to say what I, what I was doing. I was a new pastor. I was looking at not the outcome of their life, but where they were presently. And I was looking at denominational leaders and the way that they would worship. And I noticed something. It seemed like all of the, the people that have the titles and the positions, whenever you would watch them on stage, I won't do it. They would always just stand there. They would just be there and look over the audience. They would put their hands like this and just stare at everybody. And, and the songs could be incredible. And they would just, they would just, they would just nod their head. I said, that's what you're supposed to do when you're mature. And all of a sudden we started this church in the middle of hell. And I was going to plagiarize their lives. I wanted people to think I was mature. So when worship was happening, I sat there and looked at people to see if they were worshiping. And so they would know that I am mature as I am watching them and looking over the place. And then when I was really mature, I'd cross my arms and I would just look while people are crying out to God, I would just look and nod. I would look and nod and just go, do they see my maturity? Do they see how my holiness, because I am way further ahead than all of these in a, how stupid is that? And then I realized I don't want to be that way. I don't want to be like those men that would sit there. I'm going I started to realize that's not maturity

Their hearts were shriveling up That when all of a sudden I'm thinking the flames should be getting hotter in your life That you should lift your hands and go God the more I've lived this life the more I've experienced What we've sang today you were there you were there you are still there You are God and you are part you are there listen to me folks. I saw the outcome of their lives I didn't want that I wanted who God was So that's why there is no playing around folks. I'm telling you. I'm desperate for God's to live in this city I'm telling you when I hear the first note from Ricardo. My hands are up. I'm just going God I don't have any other options, but I need heaven to show up today No matter what the week has been no matter what the week will be God is still worthy of my praise I Can't do this with God. I can't do this with God. I've got to do this with God for who he is And I started to read when hell visited heaven it gets dark for Job and Job chapter 19 is where Job Has to take his hands apart you're gonna see a real person this isn't real This isn't real You're you're what what this is is you're revealing your hearts You're revealing where you are Listen, it's okay if you're here today, and you're not a Christian. This is okay But once you become a Christian Whoo Jesus If you're here today, and say I love God. Yeah, try telling your wife. I love you See how good that goes It's this here's flowers. Here's candy. I love you. That's what it is. You can't do this. Happy birthday Happy anniversary That doesn't work when you're in love. It's expressive you want those hands up You want to embrace you want and this is what happens you take your hands down and all of a sudden you go God I'm telling you I thank you for who you are and Job gets real in chapter 9 in fact It's as if he uncrosses his hands Takes his hands aside and now all of a sudden Job 19 is raw and real

When I looked at Job 19 it gets it gets not only real Job loses it Chapter 19 seems to be the bottom We get to hear the insides of a godly man. We get to hear the guts of the godly It's raw so I want you to strap in because it looks like it's over This man is just finished with God I want to read this to you and keep in mind that when he starts saying he and him he's talking about God I I read this this morning, and it was emotional to me This is a man that has been stripped of everything the Bible says he has lost his wealth. He has lost his children He has lost his home. He has lost everything the only thing he hasn't lost is his wife It's the one thing he wishes for those that know Job's wife who's going curse God and die I can see Job going why It is it is Job 19, which I think is the bottom. This is when he's real This is the part I read as I read it today It gripped me, but I have to read it to you. In fact. I want to read it to you out of the message Because there's something here. There's a language. There is a there is this commonality like Hebrews 13 Talks about you're gonna hear a commonality of the journey In fact you're gonna probably hear some phrases. You're gonna. Go. I've said that I have felt that I've been upset like this with God Because though the man worshipped in chapter 1 All of a sudden it seems like these arguments that Paul talks about in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 and these strongholds Started to build up in his heart All of a sudden it seems like these arguments that Paul talks about in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 and these strongholds Started to build up in his mind because it wasn't going away It was this journey that seemed to to grip hold and now he was starting to believe the arguments That the Apostle Paul talks about that we don't wage war in the natural It's a supernatural fight that these these arguments will raise up and he talks about it raising up against the knowledge of Christ of who God is All of a sudden His arguments were raising up in his mind. And that's where Job 19 comes from. Job is speaking to his friends that are talking to him from such a low level. No one has an idea of the conversation

when hell visited heaven. And I wanna read this to you. I just want you to listen to these words. Let them sit. Let them begin to settle in your soul. This is the conversation. Job is speaking to his friends. And let me just read it to you. He just simply says this. Tell it to God. He's the one behind all this. He's the one who dragged me into this mess. Look at me. I shout murder and I'm ignored. I call for help and no one bothers to stop. God threw a barricade across my path and I'm stymied. He turned out all the lights and I'm stuck in the dark. He's destroyed my reputation, robbed me of all self-respect. He, God, tore me apart piece by piece. I'm ruined. Then he, God, yanked out hope by the roots. He's, God's angry with me. Oh, how he's angry. God, he treats me like I'm his worst enemy. God has launched a major campaign against me. He's using every weapon he can think of coming at me from all sides at once. God alienated my family from me. Everyone who knows me avoids me. My relatives and my friends have all left.

House guests forget I even existed. The servant girls treat me like a bum off the streets. Look at me, like they've never seen me before. I call my attendant and he ignores me. Ignores me, even though I plead with him. My wife can't stand to be around me anymore. I'm repulsive to my family. Even street urchins despise me. When I come out, they taunt and jeer me. Everyone I have ever been close to abhors me. My dearest loved ones reject me. I'm nothing but a bag of bones. My life hangs on by a thread. Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me. God has come down hard on me. Do you have to be hard on me too? Do you ever tired of abusing me? Wow, that's intense. That's Job, the man who had his hands up worshiping. That's Job, who the Bible says, consider the outcome of his life. Consider that he made it through. I read this chapter, I'm going, he made it through? Wow. I mean, he is wagging his finger. I just kept thinking, this is intense. This is Job enraged. And then, then, then something happens out of nowhere. As he's wagging his finger, folks, he is unloading his heart, bearing his raw soul.

It is literally, his words are coming out unedited and uncensored. I don't even know how this happens, but it comes. G. Campbell Morgan, the great pastor of Westminster Chapel said this, suddenly amidst the darkness and overwhelmed by the sorrows of the hour, Job seems to have caught music of eternal things, as it swept across the strings which seem to be broken by suffering. That's such a powerful phrase. As if he hears music in the distance in the middle of his pain. He hears heaven, and then all of a sudden, it seems to shake him up and shake him out. It's kind of like what Helen Keller says. She said, although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of those overcoming it. And this is an overcoming moment. After a litany of accusations against heaven, God seems to break through. After Job goes, take pity on me. God has come down on, hard on me. And I don't know what happens. I don't know what takes place. I don't know what light comes underneath the door in the middle of anger with God. And then all of a sudden, these words in this chapter come out of nowhere. He simply says this, I'm not going to do this. I know that my Redeemer lives.

And in the end, he will stand on the earth. In the middle of hell, in the middle of anger with God, he just goes, I know that my, that doesn't even connect. It doesn't even seem to go together. Where do you start? Don't miss this. The story that started with hell visiting heaven is going to end with heaven visiting earth and visiting Job's house. That out of nowhere, the man that says God hates me is now beginning to declare my Redeemer lives. The man who said God is against me is now coming. back to God. I got blindsided by this. I couldn't believe it. I'm reading this, getting emotional, and then all of a sudden he goes, my Redeemer lives. Out of nowhere, light comes underneath the door in this dark room, in the depths of darkness, a Redeemer breaks through. I probably am honest with you. Willie, you can come, in the depths of darkness. I have felt like this, and I've seen those things happen. The way I could describe it is, let me just tell you a story and read something to you. I probably didn't read a whole book until I was a junior in high school. Those who are here with your parents, don't go, see, he hasn't read a book. But the first book that I read changed my life and started on a journey with me. The first book I ever read was in a public school, a reading class. It was a class for athletes. It was just a one-off class, just so you can just get an easy A. Mrs. Cox's reading class, all the athletes went there because it was just easy, just read books. So I looked at a list and I picked up a book and was blindsided. The name of the book was Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. You have to read it opposite, because it's about a senior devil writing to a junior demon on how to destroy believers' lives. And so it's hard, because when you read it, and he talks about the enemy, the enemy in his book is God. Because he'll talk about the enemy with a capital E, he says, the enemy is doing this, and that's God. So you have to readjust your thinking as you read this incredible book. And I have to read to you, because he's going to,

the senior demon is going to say, here's what happens to these people, and really it's Job, here's what happens to these kind of people, and you've got to keep an eye on something here. Now remember, when you see the word enemy, he's talking about God. I want to read this to you. So just kind of lock in for just a moment, as I read from Screwtape Letters, the senior demon is talking to the junior demon about the enemy, which is God, and how God can mess up their plans, how God will show up with a, my redeemer lives, and he shall stand on the earth one day. Listen to these words. C.S. Lewis writes, this is the demon, he, God, he will set them off with communications of his presence, though faint, they'll be great to them with emotional sweetness and easy conquest over temptation. He's saying God will start speaking to them, but he never allows the state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later, he, God, will withdraw, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports, that's Job, and incentives, he leaves, God leaves the creature, don't miss this, to stand up on its own legs, to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It's during those tough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing in the sort of creature he, God, wants them to be. Hence, the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please him best. Let me say that one more time. He says, he says, he says these words, he says, the prayers offered in a state of dryness are those which please him best. He wants them to learn to walk, and must therefore sometimes take away his hands. And if only the will to walk is really there, he is pleased even when they stumble. Do not be deceived, Wormwood, that's the demon's name. Our cause, here it comes, last lines, our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending to do our enemy's will, looks around upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to be gone, and ask why he has been forsaken, and still obeys. He says he looks around, he doesn't see it. That's Job 19. He goes, I don't see God anywhere on this stuff. And all of a sudden, as if, These hands go up and says my Redeemer still lives my Redeemer Still lives folks when all hell breaks loose Whisper those words Whisper those words when all hell breaks were whisper the words of the most broken man in human history

Come on, you know the words. I know that my Redeemer lives. Come on. Just whisper to him right now Just some of you are in hell right now lift those hands and just say I know my Redeemer lives Tell him say it out loud. I know my Redeemer lives. I know my Redeemer lives. Say it again I know my Redeemer lives. I know my Redeemer lives. I Know my Redeemer lives means I have help on earth. I Know that my Redeemer lives that in the end he will stand on the earth Let me just say this Job could have used any name for God, but he chooses Redeemer That is such a New Testament title And what makes this even More astounding is Job not chronologically But penmanship Job is the first book of the Bible ever written Genesis is the first book chronologically creation, but Job is the first to be penned So to grab a word like Redeemer makes this even more supernatural Redeemer is not a word someone at that time would say Job Finds the Redeemer without knowing why his troubles are caused and he just simply says he is my Redeemer He is my Redeemer that is alive He is my Redeemer that is alive I just kept thinking When he says my Redeemer lives, I know you're playing that that that chorus I Kept thinking of this song from Bill Gaither Because he lives I Can face tomorrow Because he lives All fear is gone Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living Just because can I use Job's words my Redeemer lives Because he lives

Come on, just lift those hands for a moment. And could you can you begin? Just to join just for a moment just for a moment Can we just make the statement today in song as we begin just to declare it that we can Let this be our Job 19 where light breaks underneath the door just say because He lives Come on say I can face tomorrow Because he lives come on lift the hand and say all fear is gone Because And We're gonna kick it up a key just for a second as we go up you lift those hands and declare it come on because He lives My Redeemer lives You can face Job 20 Because He holds the future We're gonna sing it one more time. Come on. We're gonna go up. Let's lift those hands and declare it Because he lives come on declare it today I can face Because he lives hallelujah Come on do you mean it today all fear all fear? Because Oh, behold the future And life is worth the living Just because He lives Hallelujah! In the Old Testament, when you say the word Redeemer, it's a relative, it's a close family member who has legal, a legal duty to protect, rescue, restore. It's to come to the rescue of. To say, my Redeemer lives, you are calling, you are calling for help, is what you're doing. You're calling for help, is what you're actually crying out for. Though, that's really, there's the one book of the Bible where the word Redeemer lives and pervades is the book of Ruth. As Ruth is rescued by a Redeemer.

By the man that would rescue them out of poverty, out of shame, out of all that was taking place. But it was for Him to announce, my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. So let me finish. On Monday, after Sunday services, I got up early Monday to go. It was, it was, it was something I did for a friend. So I caught an early flight on Monday morning to San Diego. Did a podcast and came back on Tuesday. It was very quick and, and thank God we missed the pothole, the sinkhole at LaGuardia Airport. It was early in the morning. And as we're driving there, I'm tired. The guy who's driving is tired. And then the phone rings. He gets on the phone. And he's speaking in Arabic. He's speaking to his friend. And then he, he looks at me and he goes, I'm from Pakistan. It's my best friend. And I, and I could see Delta. I could see the terminal. I could see it. And he, and he says, my friend, he said he's, he's doing haji. For those that don't know, he's making a pilgrimage to Mecca. He's a Muslim. It's the Muslim pilgrimage. And then he looked at me and I see Delta. I see it. And he goes, God is everywhere. And I said, I'm a Christian. He goes, it's the same.

Muslim, Christians, we're all the same. And I see Delta. And I see it. I'm so close to getting out of the car. But I can't leave well enough alone. I have to say something. I can't, I can't just, I'm going, oh. Lord, you just couldn't get me dropped off. He had to say, they're similar. And then I said, they're not the same. He says, well, they only have minor differences. I said, oh, no, they don't. I said, I am a Christian who believes in Jesus. He said, good, good. We believe. I said, it's not the same. I said, you Muslims believe that he never died on the cross. You believe that he got snatched up and brought into heaven. In order for him to be a redeemer that lives, he has to go to the cross and he has to resurrect from the dead. And I see Delta. I see it there. And I'm going, God, you couldn't just let me off the hook. It's early. I just preached all day Sunday. And I said, you just couldn't. But soon as he said, we're the same, I said, oh, no. I said, Jesus died. He goes, no, Jesus didn't die. I said, not only did he die, he rose from the dead.

In order for that phrase, my redeemer lives, he had to go to the cross and die. That's redemption. He had to be buried in a grave, rise again. That's the second part. My redeemer on the cross, he lives. In order for Job to say that, you need a cross and an empty tomb. You need a cross and an empty tomb. And I'm here to say, when hell comes against me, I've got a cross. I've got an empty tomb. I've got a redeemer that lives. Hallelujah. So to my Muslim friends that are here, I'm sorry. He did die. He rose from the dead. You want to snatch him into heaven. You wanted Allah to rescue. He didn't need rescuing. I needed redemption. I needed a Redeemer that's living and resurrected. That's where it starts. I needed my sins forgiven. Because He lives, I could live also, is what Jesus said. Listen to me today. This is so important. There are some of you that are still stuck with your fist at God from verses 1-24 of Job 19. You've turned against me. Look what you did to my family. Why is my body wracked with this? And you've lived for years with 1-24. Thank God that the light came under the door. And in the middle of doing this, I have to believe when He said those words in verse 25. He just had to go, my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. This is a day that I'm telling you.

To let heaven break underneath the door in the middle of all hell that is breaking loose. Hell visited heaven, but thank God heaven visited earth. It came down and said, my Redeemer lives. Here's how we close. Would you just bow your head for just a moment? All over this place. Those watching around the country and around the world. Just keep, for a moment, just very softly. Would you just sing those words again, because He lives, because He lives. Come on, just sing it very softly, because He lives. Because He lives. Hallelujah. I can face. I can face. Hallelujah. Come on, say it. Because He lives. Say it again. All fear, all fear is gone. All fear is gone. Because I know. Because I know. Because I knew. And I deserve. Let's sing it again. Because He lives. Balcony, I want you to sing it. On the bottom floor, you be quiet. Come on, balcony, you're going to have to sing it if you believe it. Come on, be quiet. Oh, that sounds good. Come on, balcony. You're closer to God than we are right now. Those on the bottom floor, let them sing. You can worship while that balcony begins. All fear is gone. Say it, balcony. All fear is gone.

Can you sing it a little bit louder, those that are up there? Come on, because I know. Because I know. That's good. He holds the future. Hallelujah. Now, bottom floor, I know that you feel like you're right there. Come on, bottom floor, balcony, quiet. Come on, come on, sing it. Because He lives. You can worship, balcony, as the bottom floor begins to sing. I'm in place tomorrow. Because He lives. All fear is gone. Come on, declare it today. All fear. All fear is gone. Come on, sing it loud, because I know. Because I know. He holds the future. And life is good. All of us now, come on. This is the moment for all of us to lift our hands. Begin to declare it, because He lives. Oh, because He lives, sing it. Because He lives. My Redeemer lives, my Redeemer. I can faith tomorrow. Because He lives. Because He lives. All fear is gone. Hallelujah, because I know. Because I know. My Redeemer. All fear of the future.

And life is worth the living, just because He lives. So as we close, I never want to be subservient to the clock, but I understand we have people that need to get in for the next service, but I am going to say this. There are people here that have lived for months, years, stuck with verses 1-24. God's done this. God did this. Why did this happen? Why would you do this? Why would you take my mother? Why would you, why, why wouldn't I get that job? Why did I, why, why can't I stay in my apartment? Now I've got to leave the state. I've got to go back over, and all of a sudden, we're finding those painful moments. And truly, hell has visited heaven, but God, for some reason, is taking away the props to teach you how to walk. And can I just give you some good news? Like C.S. Lewis was saying, even when you stumble, He's pleased. Even when, I think, I think Job 19 is a stumble. I think it's a stumble. And God goes, He's honest. He's not there like this. Oh, I bless you, precious Savior, for what you have done for me. You're a good God, all the time. And all the time, I think God would have went, eww. He needed this. And God goes, even in your stumbling, I'm there. And all of a sudden, the light comes underneath the door. And I don't know how it happened, how it goes from 24 to 25, and He lifts His hand and says, but I know my Redeemer lives. How many are, so here it is.

We close with this, and I'm going to pray for you. How many are stuck, and are just saying, I need a my Redeemer lives moment? I need light to break through in my family, my life, my mind? If that's you, lift both hands right now. Just lift both hands. All over this place. Balcony, lift them both up. Some of this may mean salvation. Some of this, whatever this may mean, I'm going to end this quickly, but I want you to lift those hands and just say, I need a breakthrough. I need light to break through right now. So as I get ready to pray, would you just begin to start saying, my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. Come on, tell them. Say, my Redeemer lives. Let light break through. Those are the breakthrough moments. That's the break. Come on, lift them up. Whatever you're facing, even physically, mentally, the challenges, the arguments that have been raised. You're going, how come this thing has not let go yet? How come it's not let go yet? And now, over that thing, whether it's depression, whether it's anxiety, whether it's cancer, whether it's disease, whether it's anger, whether it's bitterness, would you begin just to whisper over those areas, my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives.

Father, with our hands lifted up today, for some of us, that God, that think that you've left us, that you've walked away. God, if there's any moment that you could have walked away, it's in those 24 verses of Job. If you got to say those words and you didn't walk away, you're amazing. You're a Redeemer that's there. So I want to say, thank you, God, that you died on the cross. Thank you, God, that you've risen from the dead. So on this day at 51st and Broadway in Times Square, New York City, I declare with all of these people from around the country and around the world, my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. Would you get us? I pray for our choir, I pray for our band, I pray for our front-line singers, I pray for production, I pray for every cameraman, soundman, I pray for everybody that doesn't get a chance always to answer altar calls. I'm asking you, God, let them cross that divide between verse 24 and 25. Let them cross from those 24 verses of arguments that says, God's done this, God did this, He's against me. And now bring them to light. Bring them to the place that says, My Redeemer lives. So God, today, let it be a day of salvation. A day of healing. A day of miracles. A day where God comes with His power. I bless you and I thank you. In Jesus' name. Come on, declare it one more time. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives.

Listen, what's gonna happen here, we're gonna close, we're gonna sing you out of here. When I'm done, these amazing people, these are great, these are great Job 19, 1-24 prayer warriors right here. So if you have to come down for prayer and your fist is still shaking, they'll pray you right to verse 25. They'll get you there. These are intercessors. When they start praying, you're gonna feel the light come through. If you need prayer today, these amazing people are gonna be here. So as you leave today, as Ricardo sings and the curtain goes down, would you just look at someone and say, My Redeemer lives.