I am reading from Exodus, the 14th chapter starting at verse 31. "Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses." Chapter 15, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying, 'I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and the rider is thrown into the sea.'" Now this is a beautiful song, isn't it? Verse two, "The Lord is my strength and song. He's become my salvation. He is my God and I will prepare him a habitation. My father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name."

Heavenly Father, speak to us. There are many here today bound by a spirit of fear. We're asking you Lord, for a miracle that not one of those who come here with an open heart will leave as they came, in Christ's name I pray. Amen.

This is a very familiar story. You've heard it all of your church life. Children of Israel are led by the Holy Spirit and by the cloud of witness into a horrible crisis, a terrible situation surrounded by the enemies. And you know the story, how panic set into the camp and they rose up, the people rose up and said to Moses in these words, he says, and summing it up, "Why did you drag us out here? Did we not tell you when you first challenged us that this would happen? Are there no graves in Egypt that you come and let us die in this miserable state?"

And there was a cry. Can you imagine the roar of that crowd? They rose up against Moses. Moses was in on the story of deliverance. The Lord had told him that the sea is going to be opened. And yet he was so overwhelmed by this cry and this despair, he fell on his knees and wept, and the Lord God said, "Moses, why do you cry up at me? Why do you cry? Why are you burdened by this? Tell the people to move on." And you know the story. That night to the roaring of the wind, and open the window, opening up the sea, and they went over on dry ground.

And you know of the story. This is the song that they were singing. They were singing, "Then the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and they saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore and Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses." Now they believe. Now that they've seeing the miracle, now that the sea has been opened, they walk on dry ground, out come the tambourines, out come the dancers, and they sang a beautiful song. They sang "The Lord has triumphed. He's my strength. He's my salvation. I will exalt him. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, fearful in praise and doing wonders?" Right song, wrong side.

Yes.

Did you hear what I said? They sang a beautiful song, but this was the song God so yearned for on the testing side. Anybody can praise the Lord after the victory has come. Anyone can dance when the prayers have been answered. What about facing the darkness? What about facing a future that you can't understand and it looks so dark and it looks so hopeless? And I've kind of argued with the Lord at times and said, "Lord, it's only natural to fear. If I was there that day in that particular crisis, I too would have trembled. My faith may have wavered and even may have failed just like the children of Israel." Now God is a tender, loving Father and there's a time to weep, there's a time to vent our fears, overcome by these human fears of the future and how we're going to make it.

When I was praying about this, I felt the Holy Spirit saying to my heart that what I wanted God to do is give some slack. Lord, they're human. Are you commanding, are you demanding that God's people rejoice and praise the Lord when everything is bleak, when there's unemployment, people losing their homes and people are in despair, and God's people tremble because God's people suffer? It rains on the just and on the unjust. And I'm saying to the Lord, "You mean to tell me..." Because there've been times I've been there and go through this and I don't feel like praying, I don't feel like singing and I sure don't want to dance.

And I'm saying, "Lord, you're asking people to make a deathlike decision that they're going to walk toward the water and they're going to step into it without any evidence at that point." And when you study this book and when you see the Lord speaking to his disciples and rebuking them for their unbelief and saying, "Where is your faith?" Over and over again. It comes out, and it comes out here. Was God unjust? Was he mean spirited when he talks to his servant, to Moses, who went through so much to come to this point and had exercised so much faith and spoke clearly the heart of God? And here he is, it's not a rebuke, but the Lord's saying, "Why are you crying? Get up."

I wonder if the Holy Spirit is saying that to somebody in this service this morning, "Why are you on your face just weeping in sorrow? Why are you mourning? Have I failed you in the past? Did you not see all of these deliverance? Do they not count?"

Folks, we have heard so many sermons on faith. We have had so many sermons on wilderness experience. We've had so many messages. We have five pastors here, five preaching pastors, one, two, three, four, five, six including me. I don't know if there is any angle about this that hasn't been preached over and over again. And when do we come to the place where we say, "God, I'm going to take a stand this time. I'm not going to let the devil take me into a pit of despair. I'm not going to let this get me down." And there has to come a point in our lives where we say as Job did, "Though you slay me, yet I'm going to trust you."

Hallelujah!

I'm not going to preach long, but I want to get this through to you. This world demands a song in hard times. In the story of the children of Israel goes into Babylon taken captive because of their iniquities. And in Psalm 137, they're in Babylon now, and I was reading this yesterday and I picked it up again this morning. And they're sitting by the river, and they're weeping, and they've hung up their harps. Now remember these people that are sitting there by the river, these people are known around the world, caravans came, the trading caravans, and into Jerusalem and out and another cities of Judah. And they had heard the joyful singing and the tambourines, and the harps, and the joyful praises unto the Lord their God, and always boasting on their God, how he was a keeper and how he was above all other gods and the power and the might and the majesty of their God.

And here they are. Now they've hung their harps on the willow trees, those are weeping trees and they're weeping and crying. And it says, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. We wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof for they that carried us away captive required of a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth." That's joy. "'Sing unto us.' They said, 'One of the songs of Zion.'" I don't know if these were soldiers, but I think it was general populace that came up.

Could you imagine these thousands of God's people sitting there mourning and weeping. And yes, they had lost their homes, they had lost everything and there is a time to weep. But these Babylonians come, having heard that, now remember the Bible said to the wicked, there's no peace. And I don't care what religion it is. The one thing that they cannot produce is the true joy of God, they cannot produce joy. They cannot produce peace. And that's why many religions are trying to bring believers into captivity through arms and through murder, and trying to force people into their religion. These people I know are hopeless. These people have heard that this God takes you through hard times, this God puts a song in your heart, even you're facing incredible times. And it says, "They came and they demanded of us a song."

Hear me. This generation too is commanding, demanding a song. It is so empty. I saw the headlines of a magazine in a grocery store the other day, New York City: Party Every Night, and it's talking about Wall Streeters now. The same thing we heard about happening in Scotland. And you can hear on Friday and Saturday night, you hear the wailing, I mean two and three o'clock in the morning, you can hear the wailing of people, alcohol, I don't know, drugs, alcohol, whatever it be, and you hear this cry. You hear the wailing, the emptiness, and the hopelessness. You go to the hospital, go to any emergency ward in this city on Friday, Saturday night, and look at those laying out on beds, and some of them just trying to get into the wards and they're overdosed, and they're drunk. And they're the countenance is so incredible.

These people come demanding a song. Wanted to hear. And it said, "They demanded mirth." How can you sing, how can you have joy when something in your heart is rising up? You say, "How are we going to make it? How are we going to make it? Things are changing. Things are changing fast." You hear about a new health order and you're wondering, when I'm older and if you're old, "What's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to us?" And there comes a time that we have to realize the only testimony, the only hope... See, they don't want a miracle. They don't want to go to church and see a miracle. They don't want to see blind eyes open. They don't want to see somebody that gets up off of a wheelchair. They don't want to see that.

They don't want to see your miracles and mine. And they don't want to hear heavy preaching. They don't want the doctrine right now. And I thank God for doctrine, and I believe in miracles. God does open eyes. But they've seen so many medical miracles. They've seen transplants of hearts and they've seen limbs that are attached and fingers that are attached that had been cut off, and they see all of these medical miracles. And then, "No, no, no. I don't want to see a miracle. I want to see somebody, just an ordinary person like me who's going through hell on earth, who's going through a trial. And I want to see and hear something of hope. I want to see, that's what I want to see." And that's what this generation say, they're demanding a song. I'm not talking about dancing around your apartment. I'm not talking about singing out loud. Some of the loudest singing I've ever sang, you wouldn't hear, it's quiet. And the groanings I've groaned, you wouldn't hear, and some of the prayers I've prayed, you wouldn't hear.

But I have made up my mind, and I'll be tested on what I'm about to tell you. But I had made up my mind that I will... We have to do this first. We have to set our minds, fix our minds. He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on the Lord. You have to fix it. I have to fix it. Our will has to be involved. No matter how dark, no matter how unbelievable it gets, there has to be something rise up. And these people saying, "You said that your God can take you through any trial. Now was that just a fable? Was that a figment of your imagination? Were you lying?" That's what I hear the Spirit saying to me lovingly, through a loving Father and a blessed comforting Holy Spirit, "David, are you going to believe me now even by what you see and what you can't see and what you fear?"

I don't want to stand before God on that day with a backpack on me full of fear and doubts and unbelief that I've allowed to take root. These Babylonians walked away, dismayed, they're just like us. Folks, I'm not rebuking anybody. I'm preaching to myself. They walked away saying, "Their God doesn't hear, and it's total hopelessness there."

Years ago, this church started in a Nederlander theater on 41st Street. We only had 12 in the choir. We had a houseful, but small choir. And one day one of the men of the choir came to see me and he said, "Pastor Dave, I had a high paying job in media." And he said, "They asked me to make a compromise and I couldn't make the compromise so I had to quit my job." He said, "It was months ago." He said, "I have tried and tried, I've sent out resumes everywhere I could think of." And he said, "I'm hitting a wall. There's just no employment." And at that time there was a lot of unemployment here in America. And that was 1989, '90.

He said, "I have prayed, I'm doing everything right." He said, "I have friends that try to encourage me, but then I have some that ask me to search my heart to see if there's something they're hindering." And he said, "It's one thing to counsel people, but until you live in my shoes, until you know what it's like, you can't know what it's like to be unemployed and not be able to find a job, about my manhood, about my wife, about the future."

And then he said, "Pastor Dave, I know about testing, I know about trials." But he said, "If God's saying something to me, I'm not getting it yet. If I'm being tested, I don't know the solution. I don't know where to go." But he said, "There's one thing I know from being in this market and having had such a good job, and I know that what God needs now is a testimony of an ordinary person like me." And he said, "If I get another job right now without learning this lesson, without knowing that I'm a testimony and that all around me knew what I was going through and yet I didn't murmur, I didn't complain." He said, "That's why I want to go. I want to be that testimony. If I just get another job, I've not learned anything. And then there's another test and God will keep trying to get through to me." He said, "I want God to get through to me now and I want to learn this. I don't want to be murmuring anymore and complaining." And his heart was right with God.

Now, it was a number of months before he got another job, but he was that testimony. And I'm going to close in just a minute, but I have to say this, in prayer last night, I said, "Lord, what do you really want to say to this congregation? What are you really wanting me to pour out as your instrument?" And the Lord spoke to my heart. The Holy Spirit said that there were many that would be attending here this morning that are bound by a spirit of fear. You're bound by it.

Now, folks, fear is a spirit. It's a tormenting spirit, and it can put you in a pit of despair. And I'm telling you tonight, you're going to have to get out of it today. You can't go another day going deeper and deeper into fear. God said, "I've not given you the spirit of fear, but love and power and a sound mind." And I am not just going to give you a scripture. I'm just telling you what I believe the Holy Spirit is saying. God led you just as sure as he led Israel to this crisis, God has led you to where you're at. And if you don't understand that, and if you won't grip that, you can't get out of the pit. You can't get of that pit until you say, "God, you've led me all my life. I've testified to that. And I don't understand what I'm going through. I don't understand. And the future looks so bleak."

But you see, if we don't will, if we don't take a stand, when you don't feel like praying, when you're tired of all the voices, but you stand up and say, "No, you take authority over the spirit of fear." Because hell has unleashed now principalities and powers of darkness and evil spirits. Millions of evil spirits are loose in the land right now. And the devil is looking at anyone who is lingering in this area of fear, this fear, he uses fear to drag people down. It comes to the place that you can't eat. It comes to the place where even your friends around you can't bring you out and you're going down into that, beloved, understand it's a spirit.

First of all, God has led me here. God has kept his hand on me before and God still has his eye on me. God has never taken away. And I can't see through the storm. I know there's another side. I know that God will not fail his word, but there has to come a time, you make almost like a deathlike decision, I am going to trust God through this.

Then you have the authority for the next trial. How long are we going to allow the devil to trample our minds and our thoughts and bring the fear and the loneliness and the emptiness? How long do we put up with it? When Jesus said, "I give you power to cast out evil spirits, I give you power over the devil." You take a step. Folks, it's time to rise up and take a stand. And I'm going to pray in just a moment and I'm going to pray against every evil spirit. That doesn't mean you're possessed. It means you're harassed, you're harassed. And you can put the devil to chase, the Bible says you take a stand, you resist him. He will flee from you. Now that's God's word. It's not my word. It's God's word.

You're not going to let the devil do it anymore. In just a moment we're going to stand. I am going to pray and I want you to pray. Now, if you don't know Christ as your Lord and Savior, and believe me, without Jesus, where do you go? Where do you find comfort? Where do you find forgiveness? How do you face what's coming? If you don't have Christ as Savior and the Holy Spirit abiding in you, I invite you in the annex and overflow rooms, I invite you, and those in a balcony here, if you don't know Christ, in just a moment, while we stand, I invite you to get out of your seat and come boldly, take a stand for Christ and he will meet your heart's cry in this service before you walk out.

And I'm going to talk about those who have been harassed with a spirit of fear, that's from the enemy. That's an evil spirit trying to scream into your head, into your mind, thoughts that will bring you to despair and unrest. He said there's a rest that remains for his people, and you can enter into that rest today. Will you stand?

I'm going to ask you if you have a spirit of fear that is harassing you, harassing your mind. I want you in your seat. I'm not asking... If I ask you to step forward, it'd be hundreds. We wouldn't have room. I'm asking you to take authority over that assigned evil spirit. Beloved, Paul said it right, he was pounded by a messenger from Satan. There are assignments that principalities and powers are under, under the command of Satan, to bring you down, to destroy your faith and bring you down the pit of despair so that you have no hope left.

And I'm telling you, I have the mind of God. I have the mind of the Holy Spirit right now. God knows if you take that stand, all the power of Jesus Christ and all the power of the Holy Ghost will be on your side. You say, that's mind over matter. No, that's Bible over devil.

Amen.

I'm going to ask you, if you're backslidden, if been turned away from the Lord and your heart is cold and empty, and you want to return to Christ, come and join these. Doesn't matter how many are down here. I just want you as Christians, as believers, to be set free. I want you to pray, and just use your own words, but, "Satan, I take authority in Jesus' name." I'm going to pray it and then you pray it.

Satan, we come against you in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, you have bound God's people long enough. You've harassed long enough. You've cast so many horrible thoughts into the mind, and then you've tried to come back again and again and again. But we're not ignorant of your devices. We don't cast you out. The Spirit of the living God in us casts you out. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name above every name on earth and heaven, Satan, go and flee from this house. Flee from this place. Flee from the hearts of the minds of your people. Go in Christ's name and never return." You pray that prayer now in faith, you pray it out loud. And you have power and authority. God has never rescinded that offer.

Casting down every evil imagination and every thought that rises up against the truth of God's word in the name of Jesus Christ, casting out the spirit of fear.

In the annex rooms, the Spirit of God is there just like it is right here in this auditorium, and he wants you right now to take a step of faith and say, "Lord, I will believe you. I am weak, but you are strong. Strengthen my faith. Be with me. Let me hold fast." Beloved, take your stand right now. Take your stand by faith.

Those that need Christ, you don't need me to give you a prayer, you just say from your heart, "Lord, I need you. And I repent of my sins and I'm here to take a stand to say I need you, Lord, and I receive you as my Lord and Savior." Now, that's where it begins right now. Pray it from your heart. Pray it in your heart before the Lord. Those who have been called to the Lord, just the Lord knows your heart. If your heart is open, the Spirit of the Lord is here this morning to bring you back to your first love.

You don't need somebody laying hands on you. It's your faith. It's your open heart that accomplishes this. Hallelujah. If you believe that God delivers us from every evil spirit that's turned loose in the world right now, I want you to just raise your hands, raise your hand and keep it there, right? Just raise your hand and say to him, "Lord, I will trust you."

I will trust you.

I will believe you.

I will believe you.

And I take my stand.

And I take my stand.

I will not fear...

I will not fear...

What is to come...

What is to come...

And what is now.

And what is now.

And I will no longer...

And I will no longer...

Fear the enemy...

Fear the enemy...

Because I am more than conqueror...

Because I am more than conqueror...

Through Christ Jesus, my Lord.

Through Christ Jesus, my Lord.

Now give him thanks.

The Lord's loving response to grief. I've been amazed this past week in reading the fifth chapter of Mark. It's incredible and loving response of Jesus Christ wherever he met grief. Scripture says, "He's surely touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He's borne our grief and he's carried our sorrows." It's not a strange work. He knows the pain and the ache. I don't know what you brought into the service with you physically, mentally and spiritually. We serve a faithful God who knows how to meet those needs.

This is a church that worships and sings but we honor the Word of God. We honor the word. We believe that when we're walking with him, he gives us true manna and fresh word from heaven. This past week I was reading and rereading Mark the fifth chapter from the 22nd verse down through the rest of the chapter. Let me read a portion that. If you of your Bible Mark 5 beginning at verse 22, "Behold there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue Jairus by name. When he saw him he fell at his feet. He besought him greatly saying, 'My little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray you come. Lay your hands on her that she may be healed. She shall live.'

Jesus went with him. Much people followed him and thronged him. A certain woman which had an issue of blood 12 years. Had suffered many things of many physicians. It spent all that she had. Had nothing but had nothing bettered but rather grew worse. When she heard of Jesus came in the press behind him and touched his garments. She said, "If I may touch but his clothes I shall be whole.' Straightway the fountain of blood was dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."

"Holy Spirit will you open this to us. Show us how that same Christ, the same Jesus not another, has such compassion and such hope and such healing for those who come but touch him. Even to the hem of his garment. Speak life to us. Show us how you bring life out of death. In Christ name, I pray. Amen." What a feature on this man Jairus he is ruler of this synagogue in Capernaum. The city where Jesus did most of his miracles. The scripture bears that out all through Capernaum. Which has been exalted above heaven.

You're going to be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which were done in the had been done in Sodom they would have repented and to this day. It is been said that this is the same synagogue where a man's withered hand was healed. Stretched out and healed. Jarius certainly was there when the multitudes flonged into that into Capernaum from all surrounding parts. Demons were cast out and people were healed. Evidently a withered hand being healed does not draw him to Christ. He had to be there seeing those mighty miracles that are so powerful that God indicted other areas for indicted them for having so many miracles and not being changed by them. Jairus did not come on that account. We don't know much about his contacts with Jesus. We do know he had witnessed these miracles. The fact is, the truth is that this man came to Christ driven by grief. Overcome by grief. He said, "Master could you come with me. My daughter is at the point of death." It was not the miracles that brought him. It was not seeing firsthand the power of Jesus Christ. It was the grief. A sudden grief, a sudden calamity came into his life. It could be that Jairus would have never come to Christ, had it not been for the grief, then this calamity that had come to his home. His little daughter probably knew of Jesus. I was thinking about that because all the children knew Him. I'm sure she may have told her father, go find Jesus bring Him, he'll make me right. He will put me on my feet. Here he is with a child at the point of death. It says, there were multitude that followed. I think many of the multitude was watching the reaction to Jairus as he approaches Jesus. He had to press through the crowd also. He comes and he falls at the feet of Jesus.

This is an amazing thing because he belongs to an institution that’s mocking Christ and would have him killed. Here's an institution, here's a church gathering, here's a church body that rather seem dead than alive. Here's a ruler of that synagogue bowing down in his feet before the master. This was a challenge. This was a big step because he could have been put out of the synagogue. All of his friends and all of his acquaintances and those that he wined and dined with, that would all end. There is a cost when you come to Jesus and press in. It does affect your friends. It does affect your social society. It does affect the way you move in your lifestyle.

It does affect you and many will not come to Jesus. His disciples could have looked at that man and say, "Jesus, why would you go with him? He didn't come to you when he saw the miracles. He didn't want you when times were good and everything was well. Now he wants you because of his grief. He wants you because there's no other option." I want you to know something. I know this church is the church of last option. We don't mind if you come here as the last option. Evidently, you've tried everything else. We are the last option church and there are many of them in the United States.

[applause]

The last option, because where is he going to go? To whom is he going to go? This man is in desperate. These people are following to see what would happen. Jesus responds to this man. The scripture says, "He begged Him urgently, and Jesus went with him." You see Jesus responding to the hurt and the pain in this man. See, it could be that you're here and you're like this man, Jairus. Up to now, you have not given much time and thought to Jesus. You've not thought of forsaking all to follow Him and be His disciple. I'm confident because I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit this morning that some of you have walked in here now.

You're here because of a need. Something drew you here. Maybe you're from another country but you're here. You're here seated miraculously by the Holy Spirit. He is here right now speaking to need but also feeling the pain and feeling the grief. This word by definition, grief, is deep sorrow, sadness caused by an extreme distress. I'm asking if there is an extreme distress hanging over you now, or burning in your heart, and you’re here and you say, well, I've never given Him much time.

You see the Lord in His gracious providence, He leads people. I've talked to many over the years in church now. I think it's 22 years this month. Over the years, we've talked to many that walked in here and you couldn't tell by looking at them. They've never said anything, but you see, the Holy Spirit knows everything. He knows every mind. I've talked to people who said, it was a miracle that I was here because God dealt with me today. He's dealing with you now. Even though you can forget every rejection you have made of him. You may be a part of a society like Jairus' was that mocked Christ, you would have nothing to do with him, but you can step out of that place right now because the Holy Spirit wants to minister Christ to your need. He wants to minister to your pain and to the grief that is in you. Even in the Old Testament, you find God's response to grief. On one occasion in Judges, the 10th chapter, the verses 9-16, God was so angered at evil among His people. The Bible said, "His anger had grown hot."

He began to see the cries and the tears of the people under the chastising hand of God, and the Bible says, "God mourned, and He pained." The grief of their hearts overwhelmed our Father. He answered and brought them through to a victory. It says over and over again, God repented because of their groanings. In the Hebrew, because He wanted to pity them, give them sorrow, and to console them, and to comfort them, and to ease their burden. Even when David sinned against the Lord by numbering the people and 70,000 military men and others died of the plague.

The death angel was standing over the city of Jerusalem and about to destroy the city, and God looks at this broken-hearted man, this David who had sinned. Now he had already murdered a man and he committed adultery, but he sinned a very grievous sin, it cost 70,000 lives. Now, Israel was partly to blame because of their pride and arrogance also. God looks at David and he sees that terror. He sees that grief of his heart and his crying, "Oh God, I'm the one. Judge me."

The scripture says when the angel of the Lord was about to stretch out his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil and said to the angel that destroyed the people, "That's enough. Stop your hand now." You see, God's heart answers to honest grief. The cry of the heart that is so burdened down, so overburdened by grief, that there's something in the heart of God. If you want to see it and search for it, you'll find it in a number of places through the scripture.

The Psalmist said, "He remembered His covenant for them, and he repented according to the multitude of His mercies." In fact, he made His enemies to pity them as they carried them about. This is a picture of the heart of God and beginning to understand his ways when there is something of grief that leads to repentance. In justice, and even when God is having to chasten His people, it says, "Those he chastens, He loves. He loves in chastening at times."

Many listening to me right now, many burdened with a heavy grief. The pain of somebody in your family. I was trying to list some of the griefs that I've experienced over my 78 years of life. I remember the grieving times. How many times in the hospital that looking at Gwen's over 20 operations. Folks, I've known grief and we've all known grief. You may be sitting here with some kind of grief in your heart now. Maybe some loved one or friend face-to-face with a terrible sickness, affliction. You may be going through the affliction of your life.

I think it's wonderful when we come to church and we worship and we praise, and we clap our hands. The Holy Ghost helps us. And there is a release in all of that, and it's glorifying to God, but if you only knew, if you had only-- If God could show us just a few. On Sunday nights there's testimonies that we hear and we get a little inkling of what goes on in the lives and what they've been delivered from. If God could show us on the screen and just take five minutes out of, maybe 50 people, and show some of the grief and afflictions up there, we would be on our face. It'd be so overwhelming. Jesus responded to this man who was overwhelmed. Bible says, "And he went with him."

Let me tell you, when you start walking with Jesus and you hear his voice and you're step-and-step with Christ, you're going to know delays and this is exactly what happened to this Jairus. He was going to be brought to point to of utter hopelessness. He's walking with Jesus, he's been on his face, but a deadly delay is coming regarding his prayer.

His hopes are dashed to the ground and calamity is about to strike his home. He's going to be surrounded by miracles happening to others and not get his on the time. Jairus' miracle is delayed because Jesus is responding to somebody very desperate who just touched him. You know the story of the woman who had the chronic issue of blood or chronic hemorrhaging. For 12 years she'd been to every doctor, she'd been everywhere, to the specialist. Luke, who himself was a physician said, they helped her none.

She would tell them the problem. Have you ever been through this routine where your situation would go from one doctor to another doctor and you tell the same story and there's not much they can do, but they make you promises and you go back and it doesn't work. Then some run to Mexico. Running everywhere looking for an answers She had spent all her living upon physicians and none could heal her of her disease. Bible says it was growing worse every day.

I have this, something of the Holy Ghost, that's been burning in my heart all this week. There's something of the Holy Ghost speaking in my heart and God made it real to me, that there would be those in this service this morning. We don't know who you are. The Holy Spirit is trying to reach you in a very unique and special way. You see, this woman came back trembling because Jesus said, "Who touched me?" She came back trembling because under the law she was unclean. She should've waited three days for purging, or for cleansing. She was not to touch any clean thing. Certainly she touched a clean thing in touching Jesus.

Ceremonially according to the Law, she's unclean. She comes trembling at the feet of Jesus. There are some that come to this church. You may be here now, and you come knowing in your heart there's something unclean. I want to talk to you in love and the mercy of God. You've come to a clean place. Jesus is here. You see, under the law, the law would condemn and convict, but under Christ in this day of grace, it's the Holy Spirit does the work.

He brings. He said, "When the Holy Spirit--" Bible says, "When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgement." If you're honest before the Lord and you don't have a hard heart, right now the Holy Spirit is doing His work. Because he lives in this church, he abides in this church. This is a spirit-filled, spirit believing church and you've come wherever you've come from, and you're sitting in here now and you have a bleeding heart. In a way, you're like this woman spiritually. In your heart, there's something unclean that you've battled with for years, maybe 12 or more years, just like this woman battle with her problem. You've tried everything and you've counseled with people, you've done many, many things trying and you feel this unclean this in you because nobody has to call you that that's something your conscience calls you and you want freedom. You say, "If I do come to Jesus, then what about my past? How do I make up for my past? What about those around me? Are they going to turn me?" You're playing with the cost in your mind. You say, "Well, Pastor David, you don't know what I've done. You don't know how I go to bed at night. You talked about bleeding. You talked about no hope."

I had a dear drug addict friend, delivered drug addict. He was director of one of our centers our drug centers. He been saved for a number of years but in a downtime of testing, he went back to heroin. One by one, his boys walked out because they recognize something unclean in their director. He kept shooting heroin. He called me and he said, "Brother Dave, I feel like I'm the dirtiest man on earth." He said, "I have marks on my face, where I get down on my rug and cry and weep and plead with God to deliver me. Pleading with God."

I want you to know that he didn't come through, he came through. He was healed, and not later died. It wasn't through works. It wasn't through effort. It wasn't through making promises. It was through him trusting what God said, "Don't be afraid. I am with you. Don't be afraid, just believe. Just believe." He began to trust God and God began to deliver him. He had his last year or two with a wonderful ministry down in Florida. Then the Lord glorified him and took him home.

You see, this church doesn't matter how much you've sinned. This church doesn't matter how bad you've sinned. You're among of people who serve a holy God. You've come to the right place if you bleeding in your heart because the doctor is in. I said the doctor is in.

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Jesus suddenly stops, turns about and said, "Who touched me?" She fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her came and fell before him and told him all things. Now see, here's Jairus very nervous now because Jesus has already started the walk toward his home and he surrounded and this woman now touches him and Jesus, there's a delay. You can be a step in step with Jesus, you could have been on your face before him and made your petition known and the delay. There's a delay. Your answer hasn't come. That many of you know what that is.

You have been there, maybe you're there now. Your situation is very desperate and appointed at the point of death or the point of despair. Jesus is listening to him because he told him all. I wonder if Jairus is wringing his hands and saying, hey, look my daughter's 12 years old. Can't this wait? She's been at this 12 years. She's an adult. I'm wondering if he's looking over the crowd anxiously to see looking toward the path to see if there any messages coming. Jesus listens to this woman.

I see two reasons why Jesus delayed. This hit me yesterday. He first wants to relieve her of her sense of defilement and He wants to remove her reproach. He wants to publicly remove her reproach. He did just that. The second reason is the impatience of this man. Jesus had to have seen it. A group of men came from his home and said, "Don't bother the master. Your child is dead." Jesus overheard that. He said, "Just don't be afraid. Just believe." Don't be afraid. Just believe. She goes on. Here's the problem I see. It's possible that he's so consumed by our own needs. We can't stop and rejoice when we see others being healed and blessed.

I see this is what Jesus is dealing with. This is what Jesus wants to accomplish, and sometimes this is how he does deal with us in our grief and sorrow. God knows how desperate your situation is. He knew all about it. There was nothing hidden to Him. He's wanting this man, first of all, to have his faith encouraged. Whenever you see people around you being healed, and your healing hasn't come, or they're getting answers to prayer, and yours, I'm sure Jesus' saying, "Can't you just wait a little bit."

This woman has been 12 years. That's when your daughter was born, 12 years ago. All that time that you've enjoyed the fellowship, that child, this woman has had this hemorrhaging. It's the same woman who's not allowed in your synagogue. This is the woman that needs help. She needs me. Now, the Lord, just saying, there's something about Jesus. He can be healing a thousand people around you and still have his eye on you. He had his eye on Jairus. I think that's what God is saying to us. I want you to get this out of what I'm saying today. We are so focused on our pain.

When I was going over this last night, I went into my office and just looked at what I had written. I came in. Gwen was on the couch sitting. I sat by her. I just broke down weeping with joy. I started praying in the Spirit. Gwen, Holy Ghost just told me he knows all about it. He's going on with us. He's going to give us faith to believe. It's not going to be our faith. It's going to be his.

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Gwen started walking and getting under the Spirit. I was walking, bumping into her in the hallway. We have something that Jairus didn't have, and we have something this woman didn't have. They didn't have the abiding Holy Ghost. They didn't have the Comforter living in them. They didn't have the promises being made real from inside their very hearts. We've got something no other generation had. We have the Holy Ghost that comes to comfort us in our time of sorrow and suffering. There's something else. This man has to come to a place where he looks death in the face.

There comes a time when Jairus must have that moment that some of us are going to face and we all must face one day. When you go into a confused room, you go into the face of confusion. He went home, Jesus went with him.

There's doubt and fear at all sides and the people are saying there was no use. There's no use, let the master alone-- We don't know if Jairus' faith held up but we do know that he went on with Jesus. We do know that he went to the house. I would picture his wife falling in his arm saying, "Where are you? It's too late. Why is Jesus here?" Outside the door, these paid minstrels are playing their flutes and wailing and screaming. Jesus saying, "What's all this ado about? She's just sleeping," and they laughed at him with scorn. He walks in to that surrounding and he's looking death right in the face.

There comes a time to walk right into the house of confusion with death and terror looking you in the face. You hear a word, "Do not be afraid, only believe." Jesus turns to him face to face with death. Don't be afraid. If a Holy Ghost doesn't come and make those words real, don't be afraid, only believe. That has to be what we say time and time again in the face of death in the face of hopelessness. Death here represents hopelessness, all human possibilities are gone. Humanly, nothing can be done. You will hear, as I have heard time and time again after 58 years of preaching, in every crisis that God has brought us through, David, don't be afraid. Just believe. I say, "Lord, then you're going to have to help me. You're going to have to put your faith in me. I can't do this on my own." Folks, if we're going to live in our despair, if we allow ourselves to wallow in our sorrows, we're putting kindling on the fire of despair. It just goes deeper, it gets worse.

There comes a time where you have to take a stand and I have to take a stand. I believe Jairus did and this woman did too, "If I could just touch the hem of his garment," and how Jesus responds. It's not just that he responds, but it's how he responds. He has he who absolutely breathed the stars. David said he breathed to pass the stars, the very breath of his mouth, he put all of the galaxies in place hanging on nothing and racing through space. This God who, who has created billions and billions of stars and galaxy after galaxy, folks, all you have to do is stop and say, "If God can do this, he certainly can meet my need." I do that every day I concentrate on the majesty and the glory of God.

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I don't think that any preacher from any pulpit can give you answers to everything. I can't give answers anymore to many, many things, but I do know this, in 78 years walking this walk God never failed me one time. Never.

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You may think God has failed you, you may think he's not answered your prayer, but it's on the way. He's at work. The first moment you pray, he began to do something in the supernatural realm, and he's not going to forsake you. I'm telling you, the hills may shake and the mountains may fall into the sea. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, but he cannot be shaken. His church cannot be shaken. God's people will not be shaken. There are some things that cannot be shaken. I want to tell you in closing, I was sitting in this pulpit last Sunday, sitting next to pastor Carter and the Spirit of the Lord was on me, and God said to me something that I will never forget. He said, "David, your destiny is in nobody's hands, but mine."

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"Your destiny and my destiny has nothing to do with the economy. Our destiny has nothing to do with the Muslims. Our destiny has nothing to do with Congress or any world leader. We are not under the hand. We are not in the hands of these situations around us. We are in the loving hands of Jesus Christ, our Savior who's written us in the Palm of his hand.

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Get your eyes off. Get your eyes off the things that we don't know about. Yes, folks. I believe with everything in my heart that God would spare even America, if God's people would get a hold of God and renew their faith, that there could be a time. I believe God is so merciful and so touched with the grief. There's such grief in the land. 80% of the people they say now we're in some sorrow and fear and living in fear. God who made you, God who made me, God who made all things is still their creator. If he can create in David a clean heart, he can create a clean heart in me. If God would not take away his Holy Spirit from a man like David coming through adultery and coming through murder, then he can save any sinner in this house and he can turn your life around.

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Will you stand? This woman was healed because she came to Jesus. She pressed through. Jairus, saw a miracle because he came to Jesus and he believed. I'm going to ask you if you're here this morning and I'll make this simple, clear and to the point. No one will push you, beg you. No one will say anything to you. You come willingly. If the Holy Spirit has moved on you, sometime that's reflected by real feelings in the inside of you. It could be a conviction, it could be a drawing, but whatever it is and you relate to this story, there's something that was said that touched your heart. I'm not going to try to find that point, but you know what it is.

This is a praying church. This is a church where thousands of people turn to Christ in a year's time. Every week people turn to Christ. Sometimes in many services come to Christ. Those who are backslidden come home. While tshe musicians are ministering the music I simply invite you to get out of your seat. Up in the balcony, you could go the stairs into the side, come down the steps. Come to the front of this church and make a confession. I need him. If you're in grief of some kind, God will respond to your grief. You may not have faith even, but he'll take your grief. He’ll respond to your grief. You that grieving heart that hurt and that pain, bring it to Jesus.

We'll pray with you that the Lord will give you his faith and bring you to repentance and healing. Anywhere in the house. As they’re ministering of music. Step up. I'm talking about those who are backslidden specifically. I'm talking about those who are carrying tremendous grief and those who don't know Christ is Lord or you have stepped away. You don't have that relationship with Christ. Lord, speaking, mercy and grace. Lord, bring home many that have been running from you. You obey the Holy Spirit. There are people coming follow these that are coming.

If you came forward to surrender your life to Christ, or to renew your life with him, will you pray this prayer with me right now? Pray it verbally. Let it be heard. Dear Jesus, I ask you to send the Holy Spirit and lead me and speak to me and comfort me. I'm casting all my cares on you. Forgive me, Jesus, of all my sins, and all that I've done against you.

All my pride. Everything that I've sinned, I bring to your blood for cleansing and healing. Jesus, I want to touch you. Jesus, you told me not to be afraid. So take the fear out of my heart. Heal my grief. Jesus, you told me to believe, I believe. I believe that you're real. I believe that you forgive me. I believe you'll answer my prayer. Now, would you just lift up your hands and say Thank You, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, we thank you.

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Now, Lord, for those that are burdened down with sorrow, overcome by grief, we pray, Lord Jesus, that they would reach out by faith. That's the only way, by faith and say, I take your word. He sent his word and healed. Now Jesus, send your word and heal. Let people that have come down here to the front, who brought their burden, cast at your feet right now.

That's what he said, cast all your burdens on Him because He cares for you. Oh, audience people in the annex here. Would you lift your hands? Would you hear him speak to you right now? Don't be afraid. Just believe. Would you just tell God you believe him now. Say, Lord, I want to believe. I want to trust you. No matter how dark it gets, no matter what happens. I want to be one of those who trust you. I want to be a testimony. I want that testimony.

I want that testimony, and I can't do it in my physical power. Lord, we have to come to you. We have to quit thinking about what we're going through and focus on reaching you, focus on seeking you, focus on resting in your promises. Oh, God, you will never fail. You will not fail your church and you will not fail those who are in your presence. Right now. We thank you. Now just give him thanks.

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