Transcription
[Music] Amen. And the whole church said, "Praise the Lord!" We're going to read a scripture in a moment, but I would like to begin by saying there are times, in fact, most of the time, as a pastor, I have a message for the flock. There are times, and such as the case today, that I have a proclamation for the people. I have had a blistering sensation in my bones. I feel that the tip of my tongue is blistered with a cold from heaven, and God has something He wants to say to us today. God forbid that this be normal or a ritual. When God speaks, things ought to happen. There's a trembling that ought to take place somewhere and a desire to know Him better. So, Father, I thank You today for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is our life. We have nothing outside of Jesus, and I thank You today that You've come to speak to us. Now, let us hear it, and let the messenger be faithful to it. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
And I would like for them to display Hosea chapter 10 today. We're going to read together verse 12. Is everyone ready? Do you see it? I want you to consider this a holy moment. You are standing on holy ground. You are in the presence of Almighty God. The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is in this building. This is an awesome time, and I don't mean that in a contemporary, flippant way. There should be an awe upon us today because of this very word that will come out of our mouth, that first came through His lips. So let's read together: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and reigns righteousness upon you." And the church said, "Amen." Thank you for being seated.
As always, Israel needs revival. Their obstinate heart, hard, closed ears, just living from day to day, doing the same stuff over and over, accumulating junk, disregarding God. And God always sends a prophet to interrupt, to stir up. And He says to Israel, in their backslidden condition, the best thing you can do for yourself is to start sowing for yourselves righteousness. That means start doing the right thing, the thing you know to do, so that you may reap in mercy. God wants us to have an abundant harvest of mercy, but first, there must be a sowing of doing the right thing. Break up your fallow ground. Well, you can't sow anything in hard, crusty ground. And say what you wish, our hearts regularly become crusty because we have neglected to break it up and keep it broken. God's Word cannot fall into fresh, warm, moist soil because we neglect the rains from heaven, and our hearts become hard and resilient. He said, if you want what God has for you, it's time to break up, plow up your crusty hearts. It's time to seek the Lord. It's not time for anything else. There is nothing more important than seeking the Lord right now. No matter what you think the issue is in your life of pressing importance, it is nothing compared to this. It's time to seek the Lord till He comes and reigns righteousness on you. Seek Him if you want blessings. If you need answers, seek Him. So righteousness, break up what is hard and resilient and resistant, because God stands ever ready to rain, not just sprinkle, but rain righteousness, goodness, salvation upon us.
Well, of course, they didn't do it. Now, decades and decades have passed, and we come to the last verses of the Old Testament. And the last verse in the book of Malachi says this, and they'll put it up: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." They did not break up their fallow ground. In Isaiah, they did not sow in righteousness. And now God says it's so bad, the family is so broken down, the families are so messed up, until you're living under a curse. And I'm sending a word, and I'm imploring you to draw nigh to me so that I can lift this curse. Fathers need to be fathers, and mothers need to be mothers, and families need revival. It's what's destroying this country today. It's what will ultimately bring destruction to this world. God made family first, and God intends for family to be strong and intact and spiritual and close to Him. And you say what you wish, that disease is rampant in the church today. That's why I'm preaching this message that He has heavily laid upon my heart. Our families are in a house, but they are not related anymore. There's a total disconnect between parents and children, and there's a schism and animosity between husbands and wives. The thing of divorce no longer makes us weep. It doesn't make us sick to our stomach. It's an accepted practice among church members and believers. Divorce is a, is a horrible, horrible plague that is sapping the life out of the power and the testimony of the church, and yet nobody seems to be upset about it. And, and, and the, the doing of it is only heightened and, and quickened. It's just a way to get out of misery for a moment.
And while I'm preaching to you, there are, there are men listening to me who are not taking care of their own children. You brought them into the world, but you're not taking care of the children you produced. You sing the songs, and you've clapped your hands, and you shouted glory, but you don't even understand that the Bible says he doesn't, that does not take care of his house, especially those of his own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. You cannot sit in the church house and worship God and act like you're filled with the Holy Spirit, bearing much fruit, if you've left a family somewhere else, and your children don't even know who you are. There's no contact and no support. Brother, it's time to seek the Lord. Kids, kids, or should I say children, children are watching their parents fight every day about everything. They see anger in the home, bickering, slamming, cursing, swearing, no forgiveness. They see that their parents are more sensitive about politics and culture and race more than the spiritual health of the home they're living in. Children see that their parents are more interested in and talk more about protecting the borders of the country when a bigger danger lies in front of us, and that is guarding our homes so that the devil does not get into our hearts. The devil comes in with filth and immorality and everything that displeases God. And while some of you Christians are screaming about injustice everywhere, you don't realize that you left your own doors wide open. You're taking care of somebody else's business while your own business is being infected by the world. Your kids are sitting right under your own nose, looking at and watching and singing stuff that displeases the Holy Spirit. It's vile in the eyes of God. It's time to seek the Lord.
All you hear about today is race, culture, sexuality. I am so tired of this. I don't know what to do. My stomach can't take much more. Brother, if your whole life is about your race, you don't have a life. Friend, if all you care about is preserving your culture, you don't understand Jesus. Ma'am, sir, whoever you may be, or whatever you may be, if everything you think about is sexuality, you have no clue about the world you live in. You know nothing. You have no life. We are Christians. We belong to a different world. We were born into another kingdom. We are not about skin color, sexuality, or how we were brought up. We're not trying to preserve the traditions of man. We are here to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, lift high the blood-stained banner, and let people know there's a different way, a better way, and His name is Jesus. It's time to seek the Lord.
We live in a vulgar, trashy, lewd society, and we can't figure out why our children are attracted to all that stuff. Would you like for me to tell you? It's because parents were supposed to be the examples of civility, sanity, and spirituality. Parents were supposed to live saintly lives, sacrificial lives. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Wives, submit to your own husbands in the Lord, for this is right. Fathers, love and take care of your children. Mothers, nurture and correct your children. But we didn't do it, and we're not doing it. So our children see something in another world that lures them because they are fleshy. Let me tell you something. I and my wife, my brother and my sister, are products of a praying family. Sandra's mother and father, Pastor Weatherby, with whom I started this church, was a praying man. I still see him now as we were beginning this little germ, the seedling called Central Church, with nobody here walking the floors with me in a prayer meeting we called, and we were the only ones that showed up to it, with his crooked finger crying out to God to send revivals, send holiness. I still see Sandra's mother sitting on the church pews with her hands raised, crying and wiping the tears. The Lord brought to my memory this past week how that when I was a little boy, and whether just like this, in the hot '90s, down in Wadesboro, we had no air-conditioning. We had a floor fan, which I still have. We had a big window fan, and we would raise the windows and turn on the fans and hope for a little relief. And I'll never forget the evening when our little church was in revival, and the pastor had said, "How many of you will fast and pray that God will save somebody this week?" My mother raised her hand. My father raised his hand. And I remember the evening she cooked the meal. It was a hot southern meal. It was a hot day. She put the meal on the table. She made sure we were there. Dad was at the head of the table. She said, "I'll see y'all later," and she left the room. And I said, "Dad, where's Mom going?" He said, "Well, son, she's going into her bedroom to pray and fast for God to save somebody." That's what I grew up in. I grew up in an atmosphere where if you had a problem, you called on the name of the Lord. I grew up in an atmosphere where we didn't have anything but God, but we didn't need anything but God.
Have your children ever seen you steal away, close the door, and pray? Dennis, Janis, remember how Dad would always go in the living room, especially on the Saturday after we'd cut the grass and all that stuff that we do late Saturday? You could find him in the living room, hot as blazes, with that fan oscillating, and we'd be playing and how to run around and peep in, and there was Dad sitting with his Bible and his Sunday School quarterly and a handkerchief, wiping tears, getting ready for Sunday. Have your children caught you reading, praying, wiping tears, getting ready for Sunday? Have your children seen you so spiritually hungry that you're willing to do without a meal? I remember when they used to make us turn the TV off for a week. We thought we'd lose our minds, but they meant business back then. And, and television was so innocent in those days. Turn it off. What are we going to do? Dad, whatever. But Mom and I are gonna pray for revival. Have your kids ever heard you say, "Turn it off, close it up, take it down. It's time to seek the Lord."
Here is a sad, and I am so disturbed right now when I make this statement. Our children have never seen a deep, profound move of God. I'm talking about the children in this church, your children. They have never witnessed an upheaval of the Spirit where men are broken and weep before God and confess their sins, and women cry out for holiness and righteousness. They've never had their lives disturbed by an imposition, yeah, an interference of the Holy Spirit into their family and their work and lifestyle. You see, the idea of church for your children today is to go to a dark building with insufferably loud Christian rock music, with smoke, and constant advertisements about the next youth event, and then hip preachers babbling buzzwords and contemporary phrases that are gone as soon as the smoke lifts. They don't know anything about seeking the Lord while He may be found, calling upon Him while He is near. See, they don't have any godly examples. I know you don't like this. Our children haven't had that kind of godly example. Our Isaacs haven't seen the faith of an Abraham. Our Jacobs haven't seen the strength of an Isaac. They watch us waddle through the day in some semi-spiritual, quasi-religious attitude about life and talk about how we value conservative Christianity, but they don't see the fruit or the effort of it in our lives. That's why our children are fascinated with Botox-bloated Hollywood stars. That's the reason they think you're not successful unless you sign a multi-million dollar sports contract. That's the reason they can mimic vile rappers who spew filth and degradation out of their mouths. They flash their bling and serve Satan himself. That's why our children think it's normal to go on a date and have sex. That's why our offspring have no compunction about living together before they're married. You, you can agree with this or not, but I can bring in the youth workers, and they can tell you that's the reason our children say, "I don't know if I'm gay or not. I don't know if I'm transgender. I don't know what I am. I'm gonna experiment." There's nothing wrong with experimenting. They're experimenting with hell. They are playing with filth. They are scorching their soul. They are scarring their lives, and there's no conviction about it. It's just a phase that they all go through. And we, parents, empty-headed as we are, and spiritually irresponsible as we are, say, "They'll be fine. They're just going through it." They won't be fine. Satan will see to it. No wonder our kids are so messed up in their heads and hearts. They can get so upset about the government separating little children from their parents at the border, but then they'll pay somebody to tear a baby out of their own womb because it's inconvenient for them right now. Who did this? Satan didn't. He can't do anything we don't allow him to do. Who did this? The government did it. The world has no power over the child of God. Who did this? When they took prayer out of schools? No, you took prayer out of your home first. Well, you know where I'm going now. Well, they won't let them read the Bible in public gatherings. Well, when did you stop reading in a private gathering? They won't let us cry out to God in public. It's because we haven't cried out to God on our knees in a closet somewhere. It's time to seek the Lord.
And the failure of parents has done this. Hey, Dad, when you got married, you gave up your right to do and be whatever you wanted to do and be. And when you had children, you became less free and more responsible. So why don't you quit dreaming of riding down the highway with the top down and your shirt unbuttoned? Why are you laughing with your favorite oldies music blaring while your wife is at home taking care of the children, and your children at home trying to make decisions about school, and while your sons, like Luca, are looking at pornography on their phones, and your daughters are obsessed with the Kardashians? Hey, Moms, you're a mother, not a model. Put some clothes on. Dress modestly. Act your age for the sake of your children and for the glory of God, your Father. Don't embarrass your Heavenly Father by the foolish ways you're acting and the silly ways you're dressing. You're bringing a reproach on Him, on your family, and on yourself. Grow up. Be a mother. Oh, but my children are good children. So far, we're doing well. You are being deceived. Your children are already doing things and know about things, and you have no idea about it. I'm talking to every mother in this choir, every daddy in this choir. They are smarter than you are. They know how to circumvent all of your precautions, and they're doing it. And if we don't get down to business with God, we're gonna lose our children. Do you see my eyes? You are gonna lose your children to this filthy world if you don't seek God and fight for your family. Do you hear me, church? You are going to lose your children.
I've been watching the Weather Channel this week and all the other channels, and they're talking about this hurricane that's moving through the Gulf and up through Louisiana and on. Folks, I've been telling you a storm's coming for years, but it's not a storm of wind and rain. It's a storm of secularity. It's a storm of worldliness. It's a storm of self-centeredness. It's coming, and I already feel the effects of it. There's a thundering and a rumbling in the ground. Something bad's about to happen, and the world's laughing its way to hell, and the church is giggling its way into better lifestyles. And yet, here's the Lord saying, "Call unto me." Here is James saying, "Draw nigh to God, and God will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners." See, our hands are in too much, too much unholy stuff. "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded. Set your affection on things above." That's what He's saying. You think too much about the world. You get enough religion in you, get a Sunday in so that you feel better spiritually, and then you go out and live the way you want to live until you got to have another fix at Central. God is saying, "Enough of that. Your life should be every day with Me. Your walk should be every day with Me, not just occasionally." "Be afflicted." That doesn't sound like the preaching we're hearing these days. "Be afflicted and mourn: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord will lift you up." It's time to seek the Lord. It's time to start sowing in righteousness. It's time to turn our hearts to what matters. Families, fix your family. Fight for your family, lest we live under this curse that the Lord has told us about.
Stand with me, please. If you heard one scintilla of truth, say "Amen." If you believe what you heard, say "Amen." If you believe God is able to rescue our families even now, say "Amen." Anybody want to fight for your family? Anybody decided it's time to seek the Lord? Think of your little children, your teenage girls and boys. There is a target on their back, and Satan says, "I'm going to have them." And you guys can sit up here and practice 10 days a week if you need to, sing and speak in tongues and pray for one another, but if you're not putting on the whole armor of God and getting in a closet somewhere and defying the enemy of their souls, you are letting your family down. They're sweet and cute now. Everybody wants to hug them and hold them, but there's coming a day they're going to make you sick on your stomach. They're gonna tell you they've done things or they want something, and you'll say, "You cannot be the child that grew up in this home." But God does not leave it there. He says, "If you call, I'll answer. If you knock, I'll open. If you seek, you'll find. If you humble, I'll lift." So here's what I'm going to do. Before I call you down to pray, Jesus Christ spoke to me, not audibly. Ain't that spiritual? He spoke to me and said, "Tomorrow night at seven o'clock in the Family Life Center in Weatherby Hall, I am to call a solemn assembly where we come and we cry out and we bow in brokenness for a revival in our homes." Seven o'clock tomorrow night, out in that building, solemn assembly. There's going to be some noise because I'm going to make something. I'm tired of hearing about separation and divorce in my congregation. I'm tired of all the bad reports of what our children are doing and where they're going. I'm tired of it because I believe there's a God in heaven that will listen to the cries of His church. Do you believe this? Tomorrow night, 7 o'clock, I'm gonna start promptly. If there's no program except to cry out to God. Now, how many of you will join me around this altar right now, today? We're not gonna wait 31 hours. Today, this morning, come down with your children on your mind. Come down with your home on your heart. You can stay up on the stage if you want to. Guys, just stand up around me here. It doesn't matter.
[Music] Somebody at some point, I ought to be so moved by the Holy Ghost at this point that they say, "Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus, by Your power, Satan cannot have my family." [Music] After my family's grown, I don't care how old they are, God is able. [Music] Listen, if God can raise up children from stones, Jesus said, how much more can He raise up wayward children and broken homes if we cry out unto Him? I asked Dennis to cut the music short because I want this time right now. I want to look my sheep in the eyes, and I want you to see the desperation in my heart. Folks, it's time to seek the Lord, and I'm telling you, if we don't, we're gonna suffer the consequences. If we don't, we're gonna suffer the consequences. God has sent Elijah. He is speaking. I'm not Elijah. This is the spirit and power of Elijah, and He says, "Fathers, be fathers. Mothers, be mothers. Husbands and wives, pray together. Forgive one another. Stop the bickering, the competition. Fall back in love again." Pastor, the love is gone. Hey, He is love, but He comes in. There is love. And I'm gonna tell you something, you get down to business with God, and if both of you are seeking God, you won't separate. You won't always be fighting. When that happens, somebody has dropped the ball spiritually. Can I get an amen? [Music]
I'm not finished yet. Some of you that think your marriage is good, you don't think anything can happen to it. Don't you be so naive. The devil is looking for one crack, one, one opening in your spouse's mind or heart. Do not underestimate what Satan can do when people don't pray. [Music] The reason I'm calling the prayer meeting here instead of saying, "Just pray at your home," God just may want to see how much effort you really like to put into this. Pastor, we live way past Gastonia. How much do you want God to move in your family? It doesn't matter. That's not even an issue. When you cry out, when you can't take it anymore, Jesus is the answer. Now, what do we do here? We are. [Music] Who could actually acknowledge the Lord right now? Who will take these hands and lift them towards His holiness? And who will bless His name? Who will thank Him for His bloody kindness and His tender mercy? Who will now call on Him to break us, to make us fall before His feet, so that all we can do is groan and hunger for Him, for Him? [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Now listen as I talk to God on our behalf. Listen, Father, I sense that there are many who are saying, "It's too late. I failed. They're too old. They're gone. I messed up. It can never be repaired." I hear them saying that, Lord, but I also hear You say that if we call upon You, You can restore. [Music] You can rejuvenate. You can revive that which seems to be dead and eaten up. Help us to know that it is never, oh, it is never too late to call on God. It is never too late to seek the Lord. God can undo what Satan thinks is done. I tell you again, it's never too late. So right now, some of you have never made noise in church. I wonder if you would be desperate enough right now to with your mouth call on God to send revival to every home in this church right now. You do it. [Music] Tamiya kata Yosh shame Allah Allah. [Music] [Music] I know for a fact, many of you call Senator the First Lady. I know for a fact that she keeps in her Bible a list of her children, her grandchildren, and the list gets longer and longer. And I know for a fact that every day, God's throne room hears those names. And don't you ever forget, for some, it takes longer than others, but when you pray in the Spirit, it never falls to the ground. It always, how much, it always registers in the heart of Almighty Father. Do you believe that? Don't you walk out of here upset. You want to walk out of here happy that God has spoken and said, "It's never too late." God has said, "If you'll come, I'll meet you there." God, He said, "If you seek Me, you'll find." I praise Him now for that. They are all praise Him for that. One time, David, whatever. Oh, yes, holy. [Music] [Applause] [Music] I said once, but pick it up. [Music] [Music] Say it with me as a church, the Word of God: "So to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he comes and reigns righteousness upon you." So be it, Lord Jesus. So be it. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen. See you tomorrow night at 7:00, unless Jesus comes. [Music]