THE FEROCITY OF FAITH - Carter Conlon

Thank you, maybe seated. Some of you weren't alive yet when I first came here. Anybody here younger than 33? Oh, look at all the hands, my goodness. Well, welcome to the world. It's good to have you here. I'd like to begin by saying this afternoon that this message is not my idea. And it's not just a thought that I thought I needed to come up with to step into this pulpit. About 14 months ago, I went into a surgery, open heart surgery, which I was advised that there was a small chance I might not survive it. And so I went into the surgery, and I wasn't even praying to live. I was just saying, God, if I wake up in heaven, I'm good with it. But if I wake up on the earth, I don't want just longevity. I want a reason to live. And the Lord answered that prayer, and I've had the privilege of living what I would call a supernatural life, maybe not as deep as I would like to have gone. But it's not over yet. But I feel the Lord's left me here to encourage you, because he wants to do something in your life. He wants to do something that's beyond your ability. It's beyond your own reasoning of what your life should be. He wants to enable you by the power of his spirit and by the strength of his promises

to bring you into a life that will bring his name to glory and honor through you on the earth. It's got nothing to do with whether or not you've been faithful in the past. It has nothing to do with any certificates you may or may not have. It's really the hungry heart. As Isaiah once said, the lame takes the pray. It's the hungry heart. This is Jesus, I want everything you've got from my life. And is willing to lay hold of that with a fierceness. That's why I've entitled this message, the ferocity of faith. It's not just laying hold of it as well. That's an interesting idea. Or maybe I can learn a new definition of a new word or something like that. It's I want this. If this is true, I want this. And God has left me here, I believe, to encourage the next generation, because you're going to have to live a supernatural life now. You're going to need the power of God. This generation is absolutely uninterested in an argument. An argument will not. It might have had some effect in the 1980s and '90s and maybe even early 2000s. But this generation has gone past the tipping point now. Nobody is interested even in truth. There needs to be a visible demonstration

of the reality of God. And the only place that God really does show that is through His church, through you and me. Not the mighty. The scriptures is not the noble. Not those of royal birth. But those who are foolish. Those who are nobody. Those who are nothing. Those who are of no reputation. Those who don't even like what they are. God says, you are the people I choose. And I empower-- I not only-- I cleanse you with the shed blood of Jesus Christ, my son. But God says, I give you my Holy Spirit. I give you my promises in the Word of God. I supernaturally make you into the person that you were designed or destined by God to be. And you have a testimony to your generation. As I have to mind say, I never could have done anything that God gave me to do unless it was God doing it within me. And your life will bring glory to God. And when your life begins to bring glory to God, you don't have to argue with your family anymore. You don't have to try to push your kids or grandkids into the kingdom of God. They naturally follow you. They'll naturally want-- they'll see something that they want because they're looking at a living supernatural relationship with God.

Please remember Pastor Tim, Delina, and his wife, Cindy, are away for just a weekend of rest. And you better thank God for your pastor and his wife. You really better thank God. [APPLAUSE] There is a-- I call it-- there is a shout of faith in this house during worship. I can hear it. I can hear this now. I used to be a shepherd. I don't know if you knew that or not. Some of you might. But I used to have a sheep farm. And when I would come home at night, I'd go into the barn. I could tell how healthy the sheep were by the sound of how they were chewing, believe it or not, or whether they were restless. And it stayed with me my whole life. I've traveled to a church. I can almost tell the spiritual health of the church by the ferocity of worship, and I call it that. And there's this is healthier. No, it's not that you're without problems. I get that. But there's a spiritual health here because Pastor Tim has been bringing the Word of God. It's found a lodging place in many hearts. And you have a wonderful worship team in this church. Don't take it for granted.

(applause) Be in prayer for your pastor. There are many people that go their whole Christian life and never experience one service like you experienced today. They sit in a dry place and listen to facts that don't really stir their hearts. It's really sad when you see it. But by God's grace, this church lives. It weren't going on 40 years and it's still alive. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing. (applause) I want to go to Psalm 18. I'm reading from the New King James version of the Bible. Psalm 18, "The Ferocity of Faith." Father, I thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for the touch of heaven in this sanctuary today. I thank you, Lord, that nobody is here by accident. You drew every person here who's here today. Lord, I ask you, God, that as the Word has spoken, that there would be a spark of faith begin to hit people's hearts. And people would just even say, "Is that possible? Could that be me? Is that my life in the future? Do I really want this?" God Almighty, God Almighty, do a work that only you can do today. Transcend the weakness of this physical body. And God, speak to every heart.

And if my words are not sufficient, change them before they hit the ears of the ear. And Lord, I thank you, God, that you can do that, and you will do that. Lord, you've left me here on the earth to encourage your church, your church body, to find you in the way that you want to be found by them. And so, Lord, I pray, God, help us, help us, help us in Jesus' name, amen. Psalm 18, "The ferocity of faith." Psalm of David, king of Israel. "I will love you, O Lord," verse one, "my strength." The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength, and whom I will trust. My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. That means a place I can go into where nothing of darkness can get at me or take away the plan of God for my life. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and so shall I be saved from my enemies. The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. I know we're dealing with that. A lot of people are afraid, because of what's starting to happen all around, even us today, when you begin to realize that evil is becoming good and good is becoming evil. Truth is trampled in the streets like the prophet Isaiah once said, and he said anybody that parts

from the thinking of this generation becomes a prey, in a sense, becomes almost the enemy. The sorrows of Shiel surrounded me. The snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God, and he heard my voice from his temple, and my cry came before him, even to his ears. Verse 16, he sent from above. He took me. He drew me out of many waters. And that speaks of many places of swirling confusion in thought, some saying this, some saying another thing, and David said, God, get me out of here. I want to hear your voice. I don't want to hear anybody else. I don't want people's opinions. I want to know what you're saying to me, because yours is the only voice that can bring life. He delivered me out of-- from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place, and delivered me because he delighted in me. Verse 28, "For you will light my lamp. The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop. And by my God I can leap over a wall." In other words, there's nothing can

stop what God wants to do in your life. Listen to me. There's nothing can stop what God wants to do in your life. The only thing that can stop it is unbelief on your part. That's the only thing that can stop it. But once you've laid hold of God by faith, once you've laid hold of the promises of God by faith, there is no troop. There is no wall the devil can build in front of you. There's nothing can stop what God wants to do in your life. As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust in him. faith, it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." You know, we can go to church and that's a good thing. Thank God you're here today. We can read our Bible. That's a great thing. Thank God you read your Bible. We can try to modify our behaviors and that's also a good thing and thank God for that. But without faith, now I'm talking about the kind of faith that takes you and I out of what we can naturally accomplish. It's not associated with good works. It's not associated with our own sense of right living and right doing and right thinking. That all has limitations. True faith takes us beyond our human limitations. True faith takes us farther than we can naturally go. It gives us more than we could possess and takes us where we could not go in our own strength. We have to believe that God is. You have to believe today that God loves you. You have to believe that God has a plan for your life. You have to believe that he's not pointing his finger at you as you're pointing your finger at yourself. You have to believe that he understands the feelings of your infirmities and your struggles and your trials and the besetting sins that keep wanting to drag you down and destroy you. He understands that and he's not abandoned you. He's stayed with you. He loves you. He didn't die on the cross to go back to heaven so he could fold his arms and eventually point his finger at you and talk about all your flaws and your faults. No, he covered you. He covered you and he invited you on a journey with him.

Invited you to be an ambassador in your generation and in your home of who God really is. You have to believe that he is, not just that he exists, but he's for you. I am, God said. That's good enough. That's all he told Moses. That's the only name you need to know me by. I am. And he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, who put an effort into it. I'm not talking about volume or time. I'm talking about heart. You diligently seek him. I know he was a young believer. That's what I did. I started going to church and I remember I told Pastor Teresa, I said, "Look, if this thing is real, I want the whole thing. And if it's not, I don't want any part of it. I'm absolutely uninterested in religion. But if this is real, if there's a heaven, a hell and a savior that stands between the two, if it's true that when you come to Christ, you can have your sin washed away and you can, you can be a new creation in Christ Jesus." Where he says, "The old things pass away and all things become new." Then I remember my words to her. I said, "I'm not interested in putting my toe in the pool on Sunday morning. I'm going off the high diving board if this is real. I want the whole thing of this walk with God." And I began to diligently seek him, which, yes, I was in the Word of God, but there were times that God was speaking things that were beyond me. Remember with David? Remember he said, "The arrow is beyond the David. The plan of God is farther than we can imagine or think. It's deeper. It's richer. It's more full. It's not something you can come up with in your natural mind." Hebrews chapter 4 talks about those who have come before us. Listen, the writer says in verse 1, he said, "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it, for indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." They heard his word. As a matter of fact, they heard the audible voice of God on the mountain. They heard him, but for whatever reason they could never lay hold of faith. They were always, always governed by what we think and what we can see and what we can feel. God help us to get out of that realm. God help us to get into a place where we start to trust that what God speaks God is able to do. So those are the people that came before us, and now there's a people that are going to come after us. Paul the Apostle says in the last days, people will have a form of religion. He didn't say they won't be going to church. They'll have a form. They look good. They might even carry a Bible. They'd sing the songs. It's all form. They will always be learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. In other words, never coming to the place where the truth is supposed to take us.

The truth is not just to accumulate facts so that we can present an argument to our generation. You should know the truth and the truth shall what? Set you free, lead us into freedom. Lead us out of weakness and into strength, out of captivity and to freedom, out of blindness and into vision, out of one kind of a heart and into another. You know, I was a police officer when I got saved and I remember my wife told me one day at home. She's always had this prophetic edge, at least when it comes to me, she's had it anyway. And she said to me, you will be known in your latter years as a man of love. You'll be known for the love that's in your heart for the people of God. And I remember thinking, 'cause I was a police officer, I didn't have a whole lot of affection for people. I'd be honest about it. But I remember thinking God, if it's gonna have to be you, I can't do that. I mean, I won't be able to do that. People had been a source of pain in my life. I mean, I just, the thought of loving people just did not appeal to me. I remember the first time ever, I walked into a church and a man came up and hugged me and said, I love you, brother. It gave me the creeps. There's no other way I can say it. And I stood there and I stared at him.

And then Theresa said to me, Carter, why didn't you tell him you love him? Back, I said, I don't even like him. Why would I tell him I love him? I don't wanna be a man that's just learning and never coming. I could, what if I could quote to you? You know, he will love, he doesn't love, doesn't know God for God, his love, et cetera, et cetera. And yet I didn't care for anybody here. I'd just be a sounding gong, as the scripture says, just a pack of noise, standing here, opening the Word of God to you. James 2.20 tells us that faith without works is dead. And in 2.18 he said, show me your faith without your works and I'll show you my faith by my works. You know, some people think that faith is just learning Bible verses. And that's a good thing, learn Bible verses. But faith comes when the Bible verses learn you. When the Bible verses, when they're written on your heart, when the Bible verses begin to change your character by the power of God's Holy Spirit. And you turn from what the Bible says from one kind of a person into another kind of a person. You turn from what you were, because the old things are passed away if you're in Christ to what you will be in Christ. Remember, every time Jesus met somebody, like Peter, for example, he said, this is who you are, this is who you will be.

You always spoke into the future because when Christ is in your life, there's this divine change that begins to happen. So there's a works and that works is faith in action. May I put it that way? Not just learning things, but letting the things that we learn become part of the essential character of who we are by God's power within us. In other words, true faith has an outward action and a forward motion. Remember the people of God in the Old Testament? They, surely they should have had faith. I mean, they saw the plagues come down on those who are trying to hold them captive and they were fed in the wilderness and they saw Pharaoh's army drowned in the sea. And yet when they came to their shores of the place of promise that God had for them, they couldn't, wouldn't go in, it's nothing they couldn't, they wouldn't. They came to the conclusion that the obstacles were too great and many people like that in the body of Christ. We just, we become defined by what we think we can do, not what God says he will do through us and where he will take us. I shared this morning that years ago, when I was in college, I applied for, to be a dorm proctor, which is just, you know, it was a course you had to take

to be a dorm proctor, which is essentially just greeting new students and telling them where the room is and saying if you have any questions, you know, knock on my door and I'll help you as best as I can. I took the course and I failed it. And when it was over, one of the leaders came to me and he said, you know, they had to cushion it, et cetera, you're a nice guy, et cetera, et cetera, but you're not leadership material. Here I am. (audience applauding) But what if, what if I had allowed what that man said to define my future? What if that had become the box in which I saw my life and then when I was maybe called into leadership in the church, I would have backed off and said, you know, I'm not leadership material. Well, that's what man said, but that's not what God says. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Paul said. (audience applauding) Didn't David say, by God's presence, I can leap over a wall. who strengthens me. This is a supernatural kingdom. This is not a natural kingdom. I have not led in the body of Christ all these years by any amount of natural ability. I have led by the power of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, the voice that says, "This is the way walk ye in it." I don't want my own thoughts. My own thoughts are limited. My own thoughts are corrupted. I don't want my own thoughts. I want the thoughts of God. I want the Word of God to be drawing richly, as the Scripture says, and be guided by the Word of God and empowered by the

Spirit of God. Now, Hebrews chapter 11 tells us in the beginning of that chapter that faith believes God's Word and sees what is promised long before it becomes visible to the natural eye. Now, faith, verse 1, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. There are times in my life and in your life that we don't have yet what God is promising, but yet we do have it because we believe it. Do you understand? We do have it. And say, "God, I want to tongue this peace truth. I don't want anger to be part of my life. I want a heart. I'm asking you, God." You said, "Whatever I ask, according to your will, I will receive it." And this is according to your will. I want to love my wife as Christ loves the church. I want to be a good father to my children. I want to be a wonderful grandfather to my grandchildren. I want to be a friend to my friends. I even want to love my enemies. God, only you can do this. For Biodes says, "The elders obtained a good testimony, and by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith we begin to understand that God doesn't need something to make something. He just speaks and nothing turns to something. He speaks and the universe is created. He speaks to dust and a human being is raised out of the dust. He just speaks. That's all he has to do. And by faith we begin to understand this. By faith we begin to understand that he has already spoken to us in his Word. He speaks to us by the Spirit. And when we begin to walk in line with God, things start coming to life within us that weren't there before. Hebrews 11-7 tells us that faith hears and prepares. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen. Listen, it hadn't reigned. Not just that it just never had reigned. He moved with godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith. He believed God. And in that belief of what God had spoken to him, he started to prepare for the saving of his house. True faith moves in the direction in which God is leading in verse 8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out of the place which he would receive as an inheritance, to go out to the place rather, which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. I did that. I remember when I first left the police department and after 12 years there and I was called into ministry and honestly it looked like financial suicide. Really? I mean I was leaving really good security and heading off into the wilderness

having no idea how this was going to work out but an inner peace that passed all understanding. I knew, I knew, I knew God was calling me to something but I couldn't see what it was but I knew it was real. Does that make sense to you? I knew it. I just knew it in my heart that I don't know. I don't know where this is going to lead. How could I know it was going to lead to civil war areas in Africa or in New York City helping to pastor a church of this size and influence or other places we've been throughout the world. I have no way of knowing and when I left I just walked across and all I had was we had a little farm and we had a bit of savings not very much and a promise of a wage that wasn't big enough to pay my electric bill but I knew God was in it. Faith moves in the direction he went out not knowing where he was going. Verse 9, "Faith lives in the land of promise. By faith he dwelt in the land of promises in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him of the same promise." We as the people of God also live in the land of promise. Do you understand? That's not America and trust me. It's not here. It's not New York City either. The land of promise is the the promise of God. It's the life of Christ. It's the power of God's Holy Spirit. We live in a place where we live by the promises of God. Verse 11 tells us, "Faith brings forth new life where life has not been." By faith, Sarah herself received strength and conceived seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised. You see, God can bring life when we don't have the power to bring it. That's one of the beauties of the gospel. We know what our character is too deep to ever change. Then the Lord says, "No, let me change it then. You trust me." The Scripture says she believed him. She believed that what he had promised her, he's able to perform it. And because of it, she conceived seed, which has been, of course, a blessing to the whole of the known world. Verse 16 tells us that faith moves towards where God is and what God has promised. Verse 16, "But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for

them." I don't know about you, but I desire a better place than this world. I really do. I really desire a better place. Oh, God. While we're here, may we speak of you, and may we testify of your glory and your power, but oh, God, this is not my home. This is not my home. There's nothing here that I want. This is not where you've destined me to be for eternity. Verse 17 tells us that faith lets go of whatever God asked for. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up is only begotten Son. You see, we have to let go of something to lay hold of something. We have to let go of former trust or desires or just even if we thought that was the thing that was going to satisfy the deep longing of our heart, if God asked for it, we have to have the willingness. If we're going to have this, this audacity of faith or this ferocity of faith, if we're going to have it, we have to be willing to let go of old things in our lives. Let go of what we once thought would bring us happiness. I shared this morning of a young lady in this church once that was just an avid worshiper of God. She stood out just in love with Jesus, singing and crying and shouting and such like and after being here for a little while, a few months maybe or so, she came and saw me backstage after one of the services and she told me she was an actress and here on Broadway and she just had found Christ and she was just so excited about a newfound faith in God and shortly after that she met me again and said, she looked at me and she said, "God can't be asking me to give up my career." Is he? And I said, "I have no idea.

I'm not asking you to give it up for sure and nobody has the right to tell you that but I said if he's asking you to give it up then there must be something better for you in your future. I guess that God has for you. I think he's God for your life." I said, "So you just need to just wait until you're sure and then just listen to his voice." A few weeks later she's backstage again. She says, "It can't be that God is asking me for you to give up my career. It can't be." She said, "I remember her words. This is my dream." I said, "Well all I can say is that if God's speaking to you, you should obey him." When I watched over the next few weeks I was, she gradually drifted to the back of the church. She's not worshipping anymore. And then the last time I saw her, I used to be a Starbucks across the street and I went in for coffee and she was getting a coffee at the counter. She turned. She saw me coming. We looked eye to eye and then quickly turned to pretend that she hadn't seen me. I found that so sad. I wonder what it is that God had for her life and I really do hope she found it. I do hope. I do hope. He doesn't give up. That's a good thing about God. You might make your way to the back of the church. But if he had something better for her life, he's going to hound her until she finally is glad to leave whatever she thought her dream was. Faith verse 21 tells us, "Blesses others with its words.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, meaning on the top of his staff." I had a minimal privilege like that 14 months ago. When I wasn't sure I was going to live and had a chance to speak to my children and my lovely wife, of course, and it was wonderful to be able to bless those that are coming after you and speak words of faith in the people's lives. because I didn't know if I'd see them again on- to be able to speak. Verse 22, "Faith is not bound by the fear of death." By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instruction concerning his bones. It was wonderful to go into an operating room, and I'm not even praying to live. I just said, "Lord, all this," they took me down the hall. I said, "God, I prayed last night with my two sons and my daughter and my wife, and I've heard them all cry out to you, and I've heard them pray in a way that only the Holy Spirit could pray through them. God thank you. Everybody will be well cared for. My grandchildren, all serving God as much as I know." And I said, "God, if you want me to wake up in heaven, I'm quite good with that, okay?" But if you want to leave me here on the earth, I don't want to be left here just for longevity. I want a purpose. There has to be a reason. And I found the reason, and the reason is you. The reason is that God wants to encourage you. Faith, verse 23, is unafraid when laws turn evil. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's command. Faith has a courage that comes with it. There's something about faith that transforms the human heart and gives us the ability to

stand when others around us are falling. Verse 25 says, "Faith chooses right when wrong abounds, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin." And finally, verses 29 to 31, the Hebrews 11, "By faith they pass through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. Faith passes through waters of impossibility, through places that we can't go, but only God can take us any will. It gives us the ability and drowns our enemies who are pursuing us, trying to bring us back into captivity. Through faith walls come down, places like Jericho when they went into the Promised Land that would try to impede their progress, had no power against those that God was leading into the fullness of what He had for them. And even the harlot Rahab, I love it, is not deterred because of her present or past lifestyle. Thanks be to God. It's not by works of righteousness that we have done that God uses us. According to His mercy, it's by His grace and grace alone. If David the Psalmist once said, "God, if you judged iniquity, who would stand?" Who here today could say, "I haven't had a bad thought in my mind for the last seven days." Come on. Who can say, "I haven't had a bad thought in my mind throughout the service?" The foxes do flow through the vineyard. They do. There's no doubt about it. Who's living a perfect life in the sight of God? And if God started calling us out, would we want that to happen? No.

Instead of doing that, He covers us and says, "I've cleansed you. I've called you mine and you can't call yourself unclean or calm in any longer. And I have a divine purpose for your life. I'm going to use your life for my glory." So where does the ferocity of faith begin? It begins by moving forward with God from wherever you are. Wherever you find yourself right now, that's where the ferocity of faith begins. It begins at the beginning. It begins by declaring the impossible in your life possible. That's the essence. That's the cornerstone. You've got to get to the place of saying, "God, I believe this is possible. I believe you can use my life. I believe that the wounding of my past doesn't have to follow me into my future and start dictating what kind of a person I'm going to be." I believe, Lord, that the rough edges of my character don't have to follow me into the future. You are able to change me, sovereignly, supernaturally. I don't have to take a course. I don't need 17 steps to being a nicer person. I just need your promise and the power of the Holy Ghost and your heart being birthed within me and something begins to change. It's a miracle change coming into my life. I've become a new creation in Christ Jesus, the old things in my life pass away. That means that they lose their power to deceive. They lose their power to govern my future and all things become new. I've lived this. That's why God is letting me live another decade or so. I didn't have anything together when I came to Christ. I was a lousy husband, not a good father, at a violent temper, and that's just the beginning

of it all. I remember when he called me into ministry, I went to an altar, and I probably told you this before, but I got down on my knees. I was one of only two that responded in that church, and I got down on my knees and said, "God, I have nothing to give you." The kid in the story, at least had five loaves and two fish, I don't even have that. I'm not a good father, I'm not a good husband. I have a bad temper. I said, "God, I don't even like people, and you're calling me." I knew he was calling me. There was something greater than my own heart. Remember the scripture says, "If your own heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart." And he was calling me. That's who God is. He said, "Don't let your present situation stop you from responding to what God wants to do in your life. I have walked in the power of God. I have known the power of God. I've seen the power of God." And there's a stirring in my heart now for something more. It's something he's speaking. I don't fully understand it, but I feel drawn towards it. My story starts and I'm going to finish with this story. I suffered from panic attacks from the time I was 15 years old until I was 24, nine years of hell on earth. Twice they put me in the hospital. I had to take value every day to go through college. I went through college virtually in a bubble. I was so drugged.

When I would have a panic attack, I would drink straight whiskey to get through it. The closest thing to hell on earth I've ever known in my lifetime. You'd feel like a bucket of sand is being poured on your head. It comes out of nowhere, and at any time your heart starts pounding in your chest, you feel like you're going to die. It was taken by ambulance to the hospital one time, and the nurse, when she took my blood pressure, dropped the machine on the floor and ran out of the room to get a doctor thinking I was going to have a heart attack on the table. I was 18 years old. I know what fear can do. But I also know what God can do. I was reading my Bible, and I read a verse, a half a verse, "If God be with us, who can be against us?" It's not even the whole verse, but it was enough. David had five rocks in the shepherd's bag. He only needed one to bring Goliath down. I needed a half a verse, I went home, and I was in bed. I was 24 years old, I was newly saved, and I felt one of these panic attacks coming on. It would start with a loud ringing in my ears, and so I got up and I went down into the living room, and I remember I said, "I'm a Christian now, I'm not drinking whiskey anymore, I'm not taking pills, I'm done with it." I went into the living room, and I remember the words I spoke. I said, "Satan, you can only kill me if God allows you." And if he does, if he does, I'm going to heaven tonight, so I win tonight. I win. Either way, I win. So I said, "You throw at me everything that you've got. You throw your entire arsenal at me, but I throw back at you what I now have." And I said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I resist you." In 30 seconds, I was set free from nine years of hell, 30 seconds by the power of God.

And I've preached all over the world, and I've preached in civil wars, and I've preached in violent areas, and I've preached in prisons locked in with lifers. I've been everywhere, even a Hindu Muslim prison one time I've preached in. With no fear, when God does something, he doesn't just take 90 percent, I'll leave you with 10 percent. He takes it all out. I can say that from experience, and I can say the absence of fear in my life is a miracle of God. It's a supernatural work of God. That's not who I am, but that's who God is in me. That's who Christ in me has become. Praise me to God. You see, that's what the Christian walk and the Christian life is supposed to be. It's a supernatural life. 120 people stepped out of the upper room. They were speaking. They were standing with the courage that was not their own, because all of them had run. Just a few days before they'd all fled. But now they're standing in a hostile marketplace that's got a bloodlust in its veins because they had just crucified the Son of God, and they're in no mood for his followers. But they weren't afraid. They stood there by a power that was greater than their own. They stood there with a love that was greater than any love that any one of us could naturally produce. That perfect love that the Bible says casts out fear. And so the question I have for you today is, what will your story be? When you get to be my age, I'm 73 now. What will your story be? What will you tell your children? If you do get married or you're unmarried and you have children, what will you tell your children?

What will you tell your grandchildren? What will you tell your brothers and sisters? What will you say to the people you work with? What will your story be? Let me tell you what I think it's going to be. Your story is going to be I was wounded and bruised. My heart was destroyed. The love of my life I had lost and some relationship betrayed me. I never thought I'd recover. But God came and gave me a new heart and gave me a new mind and gave me a new spirit. And He did it sovereignly and supernaturally and you'll be able to say what God did for me He could do for you. Somebody else's story will say I was just hopelessly impressed. My thoughts all the time were to the point of I wanted to commit suicide. I was just suppressed in my mind, but I heard a voice saying the door is open, come out, come to me and I'll give you life. And I got up and I went out of that place of oppression and now my thoughts are different. I have a new mind. I have a new heart. I have a new hope for the future. And somebody else is going to say well I was hopelessly bound in iron and affliction. And I called up to God and I looked up suddenly one day and my door was open and the Lord said you can come out if you want to. And not only will I set you free, but I will use you as a key to open the door to other people around that are also bound that need to know that there's freedom in Jesus Christ. And somebody else will say well I was sitting in Times Square Church way back in what month is this anyway? Is this November? It's not just you who's having a problem today. I was sitting in Times Square Church and I was so poverty-stricken when it came to resolve.

I just didn't have what it takes to, I was hearing a message and suddenly God just came to me and said I'm not looking for your resources. I'm looking to give you mine. And I got out of my seat and I went forward and God touched my life and I've never been the same since. And lastly there would be somebody here that says I walked in blind and I went out seeing. I couldn't see a way forward, I couldn't see a way out, I couldn't see a way in, I just couldn't see. And suddenly I felt a hand touch my eyes and I started to see that I have a future. I started to see that God loves me, he's not mad at me for my struggles. I started to see that God wanted to use me. I started to see that God created the universe out of nothing. Why couldn't he do something with me? And I started to see something beyond my struggles and my poverty and my blindness. You see this generation needs to see a supernaturally empowered church one more time. We've tried arguing and serving coffee and none of it has worked. The nation is dying all around us. And you know folks, we just got another inquiry from University of Pennsylvania to go do a prayer meeting there. I've never seen such hunger in this young generation. I've never, never, never, never, I mean they're starving. And you would think the Ivy League schools would just, you know, the iron gates are closed. They're not interested in the gospel because that's what we've been told but that's not true. I was doing a radio interview with a ministry in Washington and they said, "We hear that you're having great success in the Ivy League schools. How do you account for that for these gates that have been locked and the scorn that's been there to the things of God?" I said, "It's really easy." He said, "Well, what's the key?"

I said, "Here's the key. Don't try to sell me a car you've never driven yourself." That's the key. I'm not interested in being another argument. They want a testimony. I had a Muslim man come to me one time and he said, "How dare you say that Jesus Christ is the only way to return a life?" And I said, "Can I tell you something and it's going to take me about five minutes. Can I tell you what Jesus Christ has done for me?" And he said, "Okay, go ahead." And he's really mad. So I told him the story and then I said, "Now, you tell me what your God has done for you." And he teared up and he just looked at me and said, "Thank you," and turned and walked away. See, because his God had done nothing for him. I didn't have to prove it. I just said to be able to tell him what Christ has done in my life. I want to give an altar call, which, if you're not familiar with that, it means that you just get out of your seat and move forward, okay, to in agreement. It's the first step of maybe the rest of your life, really. It's the first step. It's just, it's not the pack and altar, it's just that you're getting out of your seat and you're going forward. Like I did years ago, and I said, "God, if this is true, you can have me. You can have my life." I remember saying to the Lord, "If you can use nothing, you can have me." It's the first step out of poverty, and out of blindness, and out of whatever, or just a sense of hopelessness, or just wondering will my life ever amount to anything? And God says to you, "If you will let me, it will amount to a lot. It will amount to way more than you could ever think or dream." So we're going to stand in just a moment, and if I'd love to pray for you and ask God to do something in your life that only He can do, and if that's you today, as we stand, would you just come and join me here at the front of this auditorium? Let's all stand. Balcony can go to either exit, make your way down here, main sanctuary, just slip out. Just join those that are coming. Move in close, just to make room. Thank God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now you guys got such a future ahead of you. It's awesome. It's awesome. You've got a future, and God's going to do this. Hallelujah. Just keep coming. Move in close. Just keep coming. Young and old, rich and poor, successful in failures, doesn't matter. Just come. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. I'm turning back. The cross before me. The cross before me. The world behind me. The cross before me. The world behind me. The cross before me. The world behind me. No turning back. No turning back. Don't go with me, still I will follow. Don't go with me, still I will follow. Don't go with me, ♪ See I will follow ♪ Don't decide, don't decide to follow Jesus. And decide it to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. Before I pray for you, if there's somebody here, either the balcony, the main sanctuary, or at this altar, and you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, and you're not even sure what that is. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now sin is when we live in a way that dishonors what God told us we should be, and the way we should live. For example, if we lie when we're told to tell the truth, it's such like that. And sin separates from God, not just here, but forever. It separates from God. But God so loved the world the Bible says that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came and died on the cross. He was nailed there. He was beaten. He was rejected. He was falsely accused. He was spit on. He was whipped. They pulled his beard out of his face. And they did all of that. He did all of that to pay the price for what we have done so we could come back to God. An innocent man took the sentence that was on my life and took it on himself and then stretched out his hands and offered me forgiveness. Admit you can't save yourself and believe that God sent His Son and just confess Him. The Bible says if you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and God raised Him from the dead and you confess it with your mouth, you shall be saved. Want to lead you in a prayer to do that and if you'd like to join in that prayer would you raise your hand wherever you are all over? Oh gosh, thank you Lord All over the all over the back Thank you. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you Lord Let's pray together Lord Jesus Christ Thank you for loving me

Dying on a cross To save me Today I open my heart to you And I invite you into my life To be my Lord and my Savior Thank you for loving me and promising to change me From now on I am your child and You are my God Help me never to turn back In Jesus name amen and amen praise God. Let's thank you Thank you So father and I pray for those that have responded Physically to this altar and those who responded in heart God Almighty I ask you Lord for a touch of heaven to come upon every life a Fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. Oh God an ability that only you can give to believe your promises and To begin to walk in those promises by the strength of God in our lives Lord Jesus Christ this these people are your plan. They're your plan To show this generation that you live and that you are God So Lord, I know you're going to use this group of people. I know this is plan A in your kingdom God empower empower with gift to the Spirit empower with a new mind empower with new abilities and new strength Empower with an ability to read and understand the Bible and believe the promises of God. Oh Jesus, thank you God for the young and the old and so many are here Different walks of life. Thank you. God. Thank you God. Thank you. God in Jesus mighty name. I Love what pastor Teresa says. She said she always says to the church You're not dismissed you're dispersed You're to go in the city and you're to be salt and light everywhere you go And when you come back next week you just lift your hands and say God reached out to somebody that I wouldn't have cared for naturally

You begin and you don't have don't don't don't get discouraged because it's only one or two Things that happen, but you just go and start doing that and watch when you come back if you thought you sang loud today You you watch what's going to happen in a week ahead. I Want to finish whenever God has worked there's got to be a shout of glory come into your heart There's got it. Can we give a shout of glory to God today? Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah No, wait wait a minute. No, you didn't understand me. You didn't understand me. I Said can we give a shout of glory to God in this house? Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Hallelujah to the land of God Glory to the name of Jesus Glory!