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Pastor Tim
I do want to challenge you to join with us. We're going through the Book of Joshua chapter by chapter and it took me six months, but we're going to keep a promise we made. We're going to have our first detour this week. We're going to be joined with our friend Dr. O.S. hawkins, who'll be doing Joshua Chapter 7. We'll run both of those simultaneous, not simultaneously, but we'll post them at different parts of the day that you'll be able to go with us through the book of Joshua chapter by chapter. It's a four year journey. It's a four year commitment. Seven minutes a day, seven days a week. We welcome, I'm hearing from different parts of the country in the world those that are joining with us. We're so excited. Joshua is a great book for you to begin to join with us and then just as soon as we get through Joshua. Wow. To get through the book of Judges. What a challenge this has been for all of us. But it's a four year journey. Now. I want to talk to you about something very important today. The message today I want to talk to you about a phone call of great importance that happened to me, that challenged and brought soberness to me that really started to become part of this message and I saw why. I was in certain portions of scripture this week and it was this phone call that did something to me that I want to share with you what happened and why it played a big part. Let's pray first. Father, in these next few moments, I pray that you would speak to us that God, you're about to do something here today. You're about to change course direction for some people and that God, this is going to be a very important Sunday for those that are here, those that are listening around the country and around the world and those that happen to come in here today didn't even know what God was going to do. So we thank you that Lord, that you are father our, our portion, you are our center, you are our life. And Lord, I agree with the words that, that it says in Book of Acts. We, we live and move and have our being in you. So God, I thank you for that Bless this time we have together in Jesus name and everybody said Amen before you sit down, I'm going to dismiss the choir. This is the 1pm I need a screen to come down them to begin to move off the stage. But would you at least greet about three or four people? Say I'm so happy to see at the one O' clock service. Give someone a handshake and a hug. Thank you, guys. You may be seated. The Apostle Paul will speak his final recorded words from a jail cell in Rome. Those words are recorded in 2nd Timothy, chapter 4, verses 7 and 8. They will be written in 67 AD. He has been preaching for Jesus for almost 30 years and it's coming. His life is coming to an end. He'll be executed by a madman whose name is Nero. They will behead him because he is a Roman citizen and not crucify him as they do for convicted criminals. His crime was preaching the Gospel. His crime was saying that there is only one Lord, which is Jesus Christ. Paul was saved in Acts chapter nine on the road to Damascus. He lived 30 years. And in those years, God used him to change the world. He would start as a terrorist being funded by the religious to kill Christians. But hallelujah, he will finish in victory. Having written most of the New Testament that we'll read portions of it today, that New Testament, which went around the world and still goes around the world, his final words that I'm going to read to you are filled with peace and power. It's words of legacy and they're so important for us today. They have a message to it. Let me read to you the Apostle Paul's final words that he would speak. The Bible says this, second Timothy, chapter four, verse seven. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course and I've kept the faith. And then he goes on to say, in the future there is laid up for me in the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. It is not long after those words are uttered by the Apostle Paul in writing that he would send out to the churches. He was giving them the message that Roman soldiers would walk into that cell, bring him and put his head on a block, and this man would pass into eternity. But he wouldn't begin to whimper out. He would go into eternity knowing he. He served God his whole life, his for those 30 years. In fact. I want to read to you out of the message, how this reads, because there's, there's something here as Eugene Peterson brings it to a real. A personal spot that I started to read as I was starting to read this. Listen to what he says. This is from the message, second Timothy, chapter four, verse five. He says, but you keep your eye on what you're doing, accept the hard times along with the good and keep the message alive. Do a thorough job as God's servant. You take Over. I'm about to die. My life is an offering on God's altar. This is the only race worth running. I've run hard to the finish, believed all the way, and. And all that's left now is the shouting. God's applause depend on it. I love that all that's left now is the shouting. And that's how this man is going to end his life. I talked with a man that sounded like the second Timothy 4 Apostle Paul last night. I talked with him and prayed with him, and his words challenged me. His life began to bring a conviction to my own heart. I've known Pastor rob for over 30 years. I knew him when he was in his early 20s, and he visited me when I was pastoring in Detroit. He's now pastoring in Washington, D.C. is on staff there. We've not stayed in contact for some time until I received the news through that somebody sent me, and. And I went and listened to the Instagram announcement. Pastor Rob, this precious man that I knew as a young pastor, was just diagnosed with als. That's Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a horrible and violent disease that attacks the brain and the muscles and the movement. And one of the things that goes and takes away first is the speech. Couldn't even think about that for a pastor, that the first thing it would take away is the ability to talk. This is someone who has preached the gospel for decades. Pastor Rob is 57 years old, and he has five children. And ranging from teenage all the way down to, I think it's three or four years old. I told him when I heard his video announcement that he began to speak about his diagnosis. I said, pastor Rob, you sounded like one of the three Hebrew children who spoke with this confidence and this. This anointing that said, whether God takes me or heals me, it is well with my soul. Those words can't be uttered unless the Holy Spirit helps you. When I was talking to him last night, my heart. My heart was moved when he said to me, he said, pastor Tim, forgive me. My speech is slowing down and it's not coming out as fast as I want it to come out. And I said, rob, regardless of how fast it comes out, the words sound like faith. To the human ear, there was a slur and a slowness. But to the spiritual ear, there was a shout out that I am in God's hands. I could just tell you this. I would rather speak slow and slurred in faith than be some polished communicator that is empty of the Holy Spirit, I told him, I want this church to meet you. I said, we're going to bring in you, your family, your wife and those five kids. I said, I want Times Square Church to pray over you and anoint you with oil and to fight with you because we believe that our God is a miracle working God. We believe that God can begin to do that. Pastor Rob will finish. He will finish and cross the finish line like the Apostle Paul. Whether God brings him home with ALS or God chooses to give him years, Pastor Rob will go home with a shout. I, I, I, I'd like us to pause for a moment and can we pray for a miracle right now for Pastor Rob? Come on, join with me, Father, you're a miracle working God. And so, Lord, this church stands in the gap, Father, for Pastor Rob right now in D.C. and I'm praying now that, God, you would begin to send healing to that body. Thank you. That in Jesus name, your blood has forgiven us of our sins. But those stripes is what heals our body. So we declare today by your stripes, we are healed. And so, Father, I'm going to pray for a miracle. A miracle. A miracle for Pastor Rob right now. And that you would get all the glory in Jesus name. And everybody said, amen. And amen. Hallelujah. I want to finish like the apostle Paul. I want to finish like Pastor Rob. I read Psalm 90 this last week, and when I started to read Psalm 90, Hear the news about my friend Pastor Rob, these words began to come to me. I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about finishing. I want to talk to you about finishing. Well, I want to talk to you about a sigh or a shout, but you'll choose how you want to finish. A sigh or a shout. The apostle Paul ended with a shout. He said, all that's left now is the shout. That's all the apostle Paul said. But the psalmist in Psalm 90 begins to bring us to something that's pretty sobering. Listen to these words in verse nine. He said, we finished our years with a sigh. With a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain 70 years. And if you have strength, 80 years. Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for soon it is gone and we fly away. We this. We're no longer there. We're off the map. The psalmist talks about a sigh at the end of our life. One version calls it a groan or a moan. You can see that that he was saying was, some will finish this life with a moan, a groan, a sigh. A regret said, you could live the years, live even with strength up to 80 years old. But he said, but there is the danger of not ending with the shout. There's the ending of finishing with a groan or a sigh. And this is God's challenge. This is the challenge from the Lord today. And I want to talk to you just about those two things today. I want to talk to you about the sigh, and I want to talk to you about the shout. I want to talk to you about what these two things mean and why this is important and why this phone call began to lead me this way. Let me first talk to you about the sigh for just a moment. That sigh is the small head shake that speaks volumes. It's when we put our head down and sometimes it goes back and forth. The head shake that goes. That wasn't worth it. What a waste of time. I don't even know why I said yes to that. It's that regret. Whether it's short term or long term. Listen carefully. Whatever you may be listening or sitting here, whatever you are diagnosed with, whether it's cancer, heart disease, or als, it's not the shock of a diagnosis that hits us, but it's the sigh of wasted time, thinking that now I'm on a time clock, thinking now that I can't get back the time when I thought I was healthy, I thought I had. I thought I had more that I can. I can work with. And all of a sudden it's taken from you. And it's usually what I have found in talking to so many people that have come out of a diagnosis, it's the thought of a wasted life, wasted years. What's amazing to me is second Timothy four was from Paul's second and final time in a Roman cell. What's interesting is that Paul has been in that cell before. The first time Paul was in a Roman jail. We got the book of Philippians out of it. Remember these words, for to me, living means opportunities for Christ and dying. That's even better yet what the Apostle Paul was saying. Paul is living with a shout of finishing. Well, even seven years earlier, he said, if you would have took me out seven years ago, I would have left shouting. And if you take me out now, I'm still gonna shout. So whether it's in second Timothy four, you want to take my life or you want to take my life seven years earlier in Philippians one, all I can say is this.
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I've run the race. I fought the fight, and hallelujah, I've kept the faith that, folks, there was no regret.
Pastor Tim
There was no regret upon this man.
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He knew it. That at any moment when God would
Pastor Tim
take him, he was ready. And always remember, God is on a rescue mission to rescue our life from the sigh and turn it into a shout.
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But we have to see each day
Pastor Tim
as a gift from God. I wrote something just a few years ago that whether whether in prison by a disease or like Paul, like Pastor Rob, or in prison by persecution, like the Apostle Paul, every day that we're breathing, every day that you're sitting here, it's a gift from God. You sitting here today, you're a miracle today.
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Do you understand that? Don't ever think that just because you're sitting here you're going rolling the eyes thinking, when is this going to be a. Thank God you're here. Thank God you can lift your hands. Thank God you can shout. Thank God you can praise him today. I wrote something a few years ago
Pastor Tim
that I called it my mandate for today. Some moment I'm going to preach on all of these. But I. I just kept. I wrote this down, said these words today. Try to say them as often as I can. I said, because today is a gift. Get this down, folks, because today is a gift.
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1.
Pastor Tim
I will be thankful. I will pray hard. I will fully forgive people.
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I will choose joy.
Pastor Tim
I will share Christ.
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I will show generosity. I will speak life. I will live for his glory.
Pastor Tim
Because I plan on finishing. Well, folks, I'm telling.
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Go back. Let's do that one more time.
Pastor Tim
Take a picture of this. Don't post lattes that you're drinking. Post this. Here it is.
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1. Be thankful, pray hard, fully forgive, choose joy, share Christ, show generosity, speak life. Live for his glory and hallelujah. Finish with a shout. Finish well, for Jesus sake. You don't get to choose how you
Pastor Tim
die or when you're going to die. You only get to choose how you're going to live. And I'm choosing to be thankful every day.
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I'm choosing that I'm going to pray
Pastor Tim
as hard as I can.
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I'm choosing that I'm not going to
Pastor Tim
live with bitterness and I'm going to live with resentment in my heart that sours the soul.
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I'm going to choose joy today. When you see me, you won't see a sour face. You're going to see someone saying, hallelujah, I've got joy.
Pastor Tim
I'm going to share Christ as much as I can.
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Show generosity, speak life. Live for his glory and feel, finish well.
Pastor Tim
Was Eugene Peterson the man who Wrote the paraphrase of the. The Bible, the message. He was writing about a time he was visiting a monastery. I believe it was in Mexico. And while he was visiting this monitor monastery, he was walking with some of the monks to lunch and was struck by an interesting sight. At this monastery, there was a cemetery, but there was a freshly dug grave. There was the dirt that was by it. No coffin, but just an empty grave. And as they walked by, he just said, which monk of the community had died? And to which one of the brothers just simply said, nobody. The grave is for the next one, folks. Think how sobering that is. He said, every day, three times a day, we walk by it to eat. And members of our community are. Are reminded to thank God we have a gift, that we're still breathing, we're still walking, and we're still alive to praise his name. The empty grave. That story just sobered me because it puts life on a time limit. When I was reading. When I was reading this passage in Psalm 90, he tells us, he says, some of us will live to 70, and if you have strength, you'll get strength, go to 80. And I kept thinking, I'm 62 years old. According to Psalm 90, I'll have eight or 18 years left with strength. And I want to live them with a shout. I don't want to live them with regret and a sigh. The sigh means that we're going to look at our 30s, and we're going to look back when we're 30 and say, man, why didn't I do that in my 20s? And those are going to be 40 going, why didn't I do that when I was 30? And those who are going to be 50 are going to look back going like, man, why didn't I capture this? And why didn't I do this? So maybe I should just buy a convertible and look young. Let me just tell you something that, folks, I don't want to live needing a convertible or needing to color my hair to go, I'm not old. Let me just help you out. If you're getting gray, who cares? We all know. I don't know. I'm gonna stay. I almost said something. I'm not even gonna. Okay, just listen. Just. Thank you, Holy spirit. I just. Thank you, Holy spirit. Wow. I don't know where that came from. But listen, my friend said this, Leonard Raven, who was with the Lord, he said, I want to so live that God doesn't have to give me one minute's notice to step out of time into eternity. That I Can say the shout. I have a shout in Philippians, I have a shout in second Timothy. I have a shout when I'm 40, I have a shout when I'm 50,
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and I have a shout when I'm 62.
Pastor Tim
I don't want there to be any regret saying, I wish I would have or I'm so sad that I didn't, I wasted this time. The world calls it. What's your bucket list? I'm not interested in what Morgan Freeman
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and Jack Nicholson said. I don't need a bucket list of,
Pastor Tim
I want a God list.
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I want a list that God gives me and says, do this for me. That's what I'm looking for.
Pastor Tim
I'm not looking like, I want to see Egypt at. At.
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No, no, no, no. What does God want me to do? That's what I want to do.
Pastor Tim
It was Jim Elliott who said, when it comes time to die, make sure
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that's all you got to do.
Pastor Tim
Make sure that's it. Make no mistake about it, folks, God has a plan for your life. Mapped out, was mapped out long before you were even born. And he wants to accomplish through you and everyone that's listening today. He's mapped out something. But some of you are off course. Some of you, God goes, I'd map this out for you. And you're veering off, you're veering off. Listen to what he says in Ephesians 2:10. We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. He says, these have been planned. These are in God's plan. When you veer off, then you live with the sigh. You live with this groan, the shaking of the head going, I wish I would have. I wish I would have stopped and just said, God, I'll trust you in this season of my life.
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I'll trust you to do this.
Pastor Tim
That we just keep going. And there's going to come a moment
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that you're going to look back over
Pastor Tim
those three, four, five years and there'll be a groan. I want to change that today. I want the sigh to become a shout Today. God wants to rescue that there was. It doesn't happen often, but I was reading the parts of a book and heard the sigh of a man that walked with God and then abandoned God. Just chose to believe that God doesn't exist. Went from walking with Jesus to an atheist. He was a Canadian writer named Douglas Copeland. He was the man that coined the phrase that started the words of Gen X. He was the one that would do this. He was philosopher, writer, a Canadian writer that spoke all of his life, of his experiences. But you're going to hear a sigh in his writing, a groan. He abandoned God. And his last book is interesting. His last book was called Life After God. And he turned away from God and wrote about his journey. And I want you to hear his sigh. This is the last chapter he wrote. It was almost like this was his second Timothy, chapter four. Paul's second Timothy four ends with a shout, Ends with the applause of heaven. Not with Doug Copeland. I want you to hear his words. This is the sigh of this man that left God, that abandoned God and said God doesn't exist. Listen to these words. Copeland ends his book with these words. So I want you to hear me. I hope you're in a quiet room. I have a secret, and this is my secret. Listen to this now. Church. This is what he said. My secret is I really need God. I'm sick and I can't make it alone. I need God to help me. I need God to help me be kind because I'm incapable of being kind. I need God to help me love because I'm incapable of loving. I have a secret that I really need God and I've abandoned Him. Now it's a sigh in his life. Now he's coming to the end. And this is what he ends with. This is where it all comes to. That when you live for self, when you live for not, when you don't live. As the masterpiece is the workmanship that God has made you and has made me. Then all of a sudden we find ourselves veering off until we come down to that deathbed. And you, you are ending like Copeland instead of the Apostle Paul or like Pastor Rob, that instead of ending with this shout, you're ending with a sigh. But I have news for you. Today God is committed to. To getting us back on track. Today God is committed to getting the sigh to a shout, no matter how far you've drifted. Copeland finished with a sigh. But I want to read to you George's How His Sigh Goes to a shout. I didn't even know this was even taking place or that this was part of his story. George Palmer was a former gang member in Australia. He was the leader of. Of a very vicious gang. And him and nine others of his gang were planning to assassinate Billy Graham during his Melbourne, his Melbourne crusade. It was George that he wrote. He said, I had intense bitterness towards God after my father's death. And the only way I Can take it out by was killing one of his servants. So Palmer and his nine other gang members attended the Billy Graham crusade at the Melbourne Cricket Arena Cricket stadium. And there they all brought. 10 men walked in from this gang, all 10 carrying guns. And when they got there, Palmer saw it as an opportunity for vengeance against God by killing Billy Graham. And they were all planning to shoot Billy Graham at the altar call. When Billy Graham was would begin to make the plea to come back to God. They would all walk down with their guns, get as close as they can to the stage and kill. Shoot Billy Graham. He said, while they were waiting in the crowd, just before the massive crowd at this cricket stadium was about to go down to the altar call. And Billy Graham was going to make the plea to be born again. And then you would hear Barrow stand up and begin to sing just as I am. Palmer heard said, I heard this voice behind me that simply said, what are you doing, George?
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He said, I knew it wasn't someone behind me.
Pastor Tim
I knew this was a voice I never heard before.
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It was God. It was this Damascus road. He said, I didn't know what to do with that.
Pastor Tim
I was overwhelmed by this sudden intense conviction. He said, when I heard, what are you doing, George? I began to weep.
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He said, then I took my gun and I placed it on the ground
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and I said, I can't do this.
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And when Billy Graham gave the altar call, I ran to the front of the stage to surrender my life to Jesus Christ. Palmer. Palmer's conversion wasn't alone neither Nine of the other ten gang members all gave their heart to Jesus. That laying on the ground of a cricket stadium in Melbourne were nine pistols meant to end Billy Graham and end those nine people's lives with a sigh. But God gave them a shout. God changed their direction, and God turned it off with one simple voice. That's what God does. God is on a rescue mission for
Pastor Tim
you to be what he's called you to be. I didn't know this. I got a text today in between services from Pastor Carter, who was listening from Canada. And he wrote me and he said, my mom died of als. He said when she could not speak anymore, when she could not say another word, Pastor Carter said he was there. I'm going to read to you what he wrote to me. He said he was there when she was coming down to her final moments, couldn't talk anymore, and she wrote on a tablet her final words before she would pass into eternity. And she wrote these words, this ALS woman of God, Not a sigh, but A shout. She wrote, it's awesome to die knowing Christ is in your life.
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That's folks, it may have been a
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pen and paper, but that was a
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shout in the heavenly places that shouted to hell. You thought you lost me to als, but God has kept me all the way to the end. Hallelujah. He turned us into a shout.
Pastor Tim
Now let me talk to you about the shout for just a moment. There is a prayer in Psalm 90 that helps us get to the shout. The psalmist says this is what we're supposed to pray. Listen to the prayer. Oh, teach us to live well. Teach us to live wisely and well. That's what the psalmist prays. Can I just tell you this? You. You never know what happens when somebody prays. You never know the power of prayer. I have to tell you, this made me laugh. I was listening to a message by one of our favorite United Kingdom, our UK evangelist recently, J. John, who's preached from here a number of times, and on the power of prayer. He told this story about a family that just got a kitten and they wanted to have the kitten, to have confidence, so they brought it outside to work with it and frightened, the kitten ran up the family tree and they couldn't get it down. It wasn't really high, but they couldn't get through all the branches to get their kitten down. So their father, who is a pastor, seemed to have all the creative ideas and his idea was this. He said, kids, don't worry. I'm going to put a rope on that branch that we can get to the end of the branch. And then what we'll do is we'll bring the branch down and our little kitten will just kind of fall off into your arms. So what I'm going to do is, because the branch is a little strong, I'm going to tie the other end to my bumper of my car. So the rope is tied from his bumper to the branch and he's just going to just move slowly and bring the branch down and little kitten fall. Everybody cheers. Dad is great. But the problem was as he was pulling, I was going slowly and the children were waiting with their open arms. The rope snapped and not just only snapped, the branch flung the kitten into the sky and it was gone, just gone. The kitten's gone. J. John goes, and that's the end of the story. No story. Every story doesn't have to end. Well, that's not the end of the story. He told the rest. He goes. Two weeks later, the pastor was visiting a member of his congregation in the same neighborhood. He goes in as he's invited in. And in the hallway is the kitten.
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The kitten is in the hallway. He said it was unmistakable. But he didn't know what to do.
Pastor Tim
So he said, he said very carefully and cautiously, he said, wow, that's a lovely kitten. How long have you had her? And the woman said, pastor, you will not believe this. She said, two weeks ago, on a hot Saturday afternoon, I was in the backyard with my little son and he kept asking for a kitten. And I said, no, no, please mommy, please mommy, please mom, no, no, no, no.
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And I couldn't get him to stop. The only thing I could think of
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doing was saying to him was this, well then let's pray.
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If God wants you to have a
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kitten, then he will provide. She said, pastor, you're not going to
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believe what happened next. We got on our knees and prayed. And from heaven. Jesus sent us a kitten. You never know what happens when you pray. What is it?
Pastor Tim
What does it mean to live well?
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To pray?
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The prayer, God, I want to live well. I want to live that way. I want to live because that gets me to the shout. I started thumbing through a very interesting book because for the very first time, Cindy and I are going to be, and many of you know we're going to be rookie first time grandparents coming up. So we're so I'm trying to, trying to figure out what that means and what to do. So I, I will say this. We just found out on Thursday we're having a baby boy, grandbaby boy. So we're so excited. I told the choir and I said, well. And I haven't told my son and daughter in law yet. I said, well, he only has two choices. Either he's gonna go to the ministry or play for the Yankees and support me in the ministry. It's gonna be one of those two things. So I started reading a book, thinking like maybe this will help me be a grandparent, a granddad. So it's called 5050 dangerous things you should let your children do. Okay, don't, don't. I'm not a bad person. Just listen. It says 50 things you should let your children do with parental supervision. And it's just silly things. He said, let your kids lick a battery so they can feel the voltage of a 9 volt battery. Let your kids super glue their fingers together and just. I'm reading these 50 things that, listen, don't do this. I'm just reading this thing. It says, let us let them smash a penny on a Railroad track burn stuff with the magnifying glass. Now listen, I understand these are not constructive. Especially it's. They're not constructive, but it's fun, especially if you're a kid. So I just kept thinking, I'm going, 50 dangerous things that a parent should let their kids do. I said, God, what about us? What dangerous, risky things you asking of us? You want me to live? Well, then I want to live with what I want to do, what you've asked me to do. How do we live dangerously? Because I believe there are things our father is asking his children to do with his parental supervision. I think there are risky things that God is asking us to do. I think there are things. So I had a list here that I just wrote down what it means to live dangerously for God. These are simple that if we're writing a book on 50 things for you to do for God. Here's just some thoughts. Number one, take your family on a missions trip, not on a family vacation. Spend time on a regular basis with a friend who doesn't know Jesus. Don't complain about an area of your church unless you're already serving there to help create change. Some of you are going like, I knew I shouldn't have come to church today. When people gossip with you, ask them if the person they're speaking of would be comfortable with what they their sharing and maybe we should go and talk to him instead of you talking to me. Have a conversation with a homeless person who asks you for money. Learn their story. Okay, how about this one? Sit as close as you can to the front and get all you can from the service. No distractions. Get up as close as you can in. Instead of showing up late saying, I'm getting the best seat in the house because I want to be in spitting distance of what God is about to do here. Commit to fasting a day, a week, or maybe even a meal a week and praying for something big. Commit to reading the whole Bible in a year. It will change you. How about this one? Tithe your gross income and give to the vision Fund. Some of you going like, this is the worst service I've ever been to in my life. Okay, how about this one? Register as an independent and vote your theology, not party ideology. Thank you for that golf clap. I really appreciate that because I don't need. Listen, that's going to get me in trouble, but listen, I'm going to die with a shout. So how about caring for the widows and orphans? See, there's things that I think God will call us to live dangerously and live risky. Because I remember reading these words, everything worthwhile in life is uphill. It's uphill. It's gonna be a fight. It's not flat ground. It's not even a hill that you get to get momentum. It's a fight. It's uphill. Anything that's worth anything. I think about living dangerously in New York City. Of the things that God has called us to do as a church, I'm just going, God, I know that you're asking us to do things that are going to call out the enemy. Think about first. I was thinking about First Corinthians 16, 9. Listen to these words. The Apostle Paul says, there's an amazing door of opportunity standing wide open for me to minister here. Even though there are many who oppose and stand against me. Always remember, the bigger the door of ministry, the bigger the enemy, the discovery come and stand against you. The bigger the door to affect people's lives, the greater the enemy will come in with force. For New York City and Times Square Church, there's an amazing door that God is opening up. And to see that happen, we are going to face the enemy breathing down our throat to fight and to come against us in every way, in every capacity. I told you a few weeks ago, and I've been. And I found the book, and I've just been riveted by it, the name. It's a book written about the three and a half months, the 94 days that Billy Graham came to New York City in 1957, and this awakening that took place in our city. 94 straight nights of seeing a packed house at Madison Square Garden of people coming to hear the Gospel, to see 100,000 people meet at Yankee Stadium with 20,000 people outside. No LED walls, no smoke machines or light shows, just the simple gospel being preached. My dad would tell me, because he was a policeman during that time, of Billy Graham that would stand in the Bronx or in Harlem or in midtown Manhattan, just stand up on a street corner and 5,000 people would show up there and he'd preach with no sound system, nothing, and preach the gospel right there. Had no idea that this was going to happen. No idea that this was going to take place. And I'm reading the book. It's called God in the Garden, the Story of the Billy Graham New York Crusade. And I was reading this and realizing in order for that to happen, you know, that the enemy is going to fight against it. You know there's going to be a fight. Anything you do for God, anything you do that's going to end with a shout is going to have the enemy fight against it.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Anything you do that will end with no regrets.
Pastor Tim
There is going to be opposition. I want to read to you. I'm going to put it on the screen. I want to read to you the journal entry. It's a little lengthy, but I want to read to you the journal entry that Billy Graham wrote from North Carolina the day he was leaving to come to New York City. I want you to hear that the Apostle Paul in him that is speaking to the great door is opened up. But there are many that are opposed me. I want you to listen to what Billy Graham writes. This is from his journal that was in the book. Listen to this. This is one of those beautiful May mornings that makes one dislike being inside. This is the first spring that I've ever spent at home. Usually our campaigns have taken us to other places at this period of the year. I've never dreamed the Blue Ridge Mountains could be so beautiful. These have been unforgettable days of preparation before the forthcoming New York crusade. During the past few months, we have faced many obstacles and problems. I guess I've been on the phone to New York an average of three or four times a day. Many problems seem to be impossible to solve, yet somehow they all get resolved. It seemed a few months ago that the opposition from the extreme liberals and the extreme fundamentalists would combine to put a hurdle in the pathway of blessing. Most of this opposition is now dissipated. I believe in answer to prayer. My own attitude towards opposition has been one of quiet commitment to Christ. There are a few times when I would hear some of the lies, distortions of truth, and even slander. I had a bit of resentment in my heart and was tempted once or twice to lash back. But then scores of scriptures began to echo in my heart, penetrate my heart, such as 1st Peter 2:15. For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. This somehow just really resonated with today. I feel more inadequate and helpless as I go to New York than at any time. I feel that way. You feel that what God is asking you to do, anything that gets as close to a shout. I think you feel inadequate and helpless because the only person you can depend upon is God himself. Listen to this. He said, I have a certain fear and dread coupled with anticipation as I board the strain this afternoon from Washington. New York, New York is such a gigantic city. The opportunity, responsibility is overwhelming. The eyes of the entire Christian world will be on the New York Crusade. I am now convinced that the Holy Spirit is going to answer the prayers of millions. My desk has been flooded daily with letters from all over the world informing me of the thrilling experiences that Christians are having everywhere. Praying for New York for the New York Crusade. Can I just tell you, for those that are watching around the country and around the world, I hear from you all the time. What can we do? What can we do to be part what can we do to be part of Times Square Church? Pray for an awakening in New York City. Pray an awakening in New York City. Pray for God to do it again. Could you do that? Philippines and South Korea. How about it? Uk how about it? Wales. Pray for an awakening in New York City. Germany.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Pray for it.
Pastor Tim
Italy. Pray for it. Venezuela. Pray for it. Brazil and Argentina and Uruguay.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Pray.
Pastor Tim
Barbados and Grenada. Pray for an awakening in New York City. Pray for that. If you want to do anything for us, Nothing. I think there's nothing this city can fight against if you have millions of people praying that God would show up one day in New York City city. He said people are praying many times all night that God would send a spiritual awakening in New York City. I believe that in his own way, God will answer those multiplied prayers. Almost done. This great united spiritual crusade is going to ignite the wrath of Satan. All the forces of hell will probably be turned on us. There are many of my friends who who have predicted that the New York Crusade would end in failure. Can you imagine that you're fighting hell and friends, you're fighting hell that says we're fighting you and friends going, this won't even work out. Are you out of your mind? Finally he says this. I shall miss the children during the next weeks having no idea it will turn into months. I've come to love this mountaintop and would love nothing better than for the Lord to say that I should stay here the rest of my life. I do not naturally like to go out to the wars. It is so peaceful and restful here. But duty calls. I must put on the whole armor of God and go forth to meet the foe. Folks, listen to me for just a second. Listen to me. I encourage you somehow. Find this used book. Just go online. Find God in the garden. God at the garden. About this 1957 crusade, it put faith inside of my heart. Can you imagine if he listened to the mountaintops of the Blue Ridge Mountains and stayed there and didn't come to New York? Can you imagine the sigh and the groan inside of him? Can you imagine the sigh that says it's too hard. I didn't want to do it. It's too hard. It's going to be a fight. It was always a fight there, but
Assistant or Co-Pastor
it's going to be a fight to
Pastor Tim
see the garden packed for 94 straight nights. 19,000 people hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, that it's always a fight.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Whenever there is a big open door,
Pastor Tim
there are enemies that will oppose us. In New York City, think about this.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
This is. This city has probably the lowest national
Pastor Tim
average of people who attend church. Only about 15% of the entire city go to church on Sunday.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
That means there's millions of people out there. Millions. So if we're going to affect this,
Pastor Tim
their lives, folks, we're gonna face a formidable enemy. But, folks, I'm going out with a shout.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
I'm not going with a side going, let's just stay here. Let's not, let's not stick a stick. You know, let's not get people riled up.
Pastor Tim
Let's just stay here and talk about nice things. Folks, let me tell you the first. Let me tell you some of the things that I want you to get ready for. One of the things we're going to start to do. We're going to change our Tuesday night services. We're doing Sundays on Tuesdays, we're going to take choir and children and youth and we're going to do Sundays on Tuesdays that when you come to church, we're going to come in with guns blazing on Tuesday nights and just say, let's, let's have.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
While the modern day church is shutting down midweek, let's ramp it up. Let's do what God's called us to do and reach this city. Let's do it. But hey, hey. There's going to be people going like, nah, but you listen, you should be
Pastor Tim
happy I come on Sundays.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Then you live with a sigh and a groan. I want to see. No, I'm going to pray.
Pastor Tim
I'm going to pray God do more miracles on Tuesday. Some of you are all offended at that.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Good, good. Listen. Why, why are we doing this? Why? Why would you do this? Because we want to see God move in this city. Why would you do a prayer meeting at noon? That. Because I believe prayer is the way for God to begin to respond to his people. Why?
Pastor Tim
Listen to this.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Why would you do an LED wall on Broadway?
Pastor Tim
Because I want to answer. I want to answer. Prada, Dolce Gabbana. I want to answer every beer commercial. I want to answer them all.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
I want to begin to Say something to them.
Pastor Tim
Here's the good news.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Here's the good news.
Pastor Tim
And the new news.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
The good news is this.
Pastor Tim
They start.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
They start all of the process on
Pastor Tim
the marquee next month to get it all set. But here's the new news. We may have found a way to get a really large LED wall that literally is going to be. I think. And I'll give you details later. Could we say maybe four, five? Five. Would that be stories, Three stories, three or four stories high on the side of our building to speak to every. So it may cost us more money. But listen, I'm not interested in all the people behind me going, ba, ba, ba, ba. You can't do that.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You can't.
Pastor Tim
Folks. I don't care. All the people behind me live with your sigh. Moaning and groaning we're gonna. I have to read this to you.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Someone.
Pastor Tim
Someone. I found this and it's so good. Listen to this.
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Says.
Pastor Tim
Don't worry about those who talk behind your back. They're behind you for a reason.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Keep moving forward. You can't do that.
Pastor Tim
How can you?
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You can.
Pastor Tim
You're gonna meet here at noon for a prayer meeting. You're gonna try to put an LED wall out there. You're gonna listen. You need to have. You can't do a Tuesday night service. You should just have somebody up there with a little guitar and sing Kumbaya. Listen to me close. It's gonna be choir worship, altar call.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
We're believing for God to pour out his spirit in this city with power and God to do it again. Why would we do the Cross and
Pastor Tim
the Switch played on Broadway for three
Assistant or Co-Pastor
days, three nights a week, for months next year. We're gonna do it Sunday night. You ready for this? Get ready.
Pastor Tim
We're going Monday night.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
And you know what that means.
Pastor Tim
There is no shows on Broadway on Monday night.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Jesus. Which means we're the only show in Times Square on Monday nights. The only show we'll do Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night. So that's why. Scan that code. We need some of you to act
Pastor Tim
like a gang member. Get the people playing the things. Come. I'm just ready. I'm going out with a shout. I'm just telling you that. Right. Why would you pray and believe for a miracle? For als? I don't know of anybody that's been healed of als. Because I believe that God can do it. I'm not leaving this with a. With a sigh. I'm not leaving this with a moan. I want. I want a church that's Going to pray for Pastor Rob and believe for a miracle. I want to live with a shout. I'm not living with regrets. I thought of, you know, I don't want people to sit there and go, ah, well, I thought about moving to New York. I thought about, I thought about, you know, that, that I was going to witness to this. I thought about giving to this folks. I think nothing.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
That's a.
Pastor Tim
Those are moaners. Wow, you're mean today.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Because I want you to get a shout inside of you. I want you to get a shout inside. Stop moaning. Oh my goodness. Get a shout that says God wants to come.
Pastor Tim
God wants to do something. I'm just telling, listen, I believe God wants to do something so powerful in this city. And here's what I would tell you. I was thinking about, we were doing a pastor's conference in Strasbourg, France about two years ago and I ran into, I think it was the home of the man that invented the printing press, Gutenberg, and this man who created the printing press in 1455. It took him 20 years to build a printing press. 20 years. So you can carry this 20 years. When he finally got it done, the Gutenberg printing press, this is what was crazy. It said it took him five years to print the very first book, which was the Bible. And he printed 180 of them and he only sold three. They weighed 14 pounds. Can you imagine coming to church with a 14 pound Bible? You'd be buff if you kept coming to church. You're going like, let's read for God over here. 14, 4. As he was doing this. 3, 3, 3 Bibles. And he did this in five years. And here. But here's the part I want you to get. Listen to this. When he made the printing press, 70% of the world was illiterate. He wasn't building it for the 30% that could read.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
He was building it for the people that can't read. He was thinking, let's get the printed
Pastor Tim
word and let's believe that there's going to be a world that will begin to get this book and begin for their lives to be changed. He was printing, he was building something and printing something that never existed before. This is what God is calling us to do.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Did it work?
Pastor Tim
Ready for this? I read a article, I won't go through all 10. I read an article of the top 10 books of the most distributed around the world. These are the best selling books of, of, of our lifetime. I'll start with three, two and one. Three is the Quran. 800 million copies of the Quran, I was surprised with number two, it was quotations from chairman Mao say tung from China on communism, 900 million. So you had the Quran with 800 million. You have the Mao say tongue with the 900 million. You ready for this? Okay, first guess, what's number one? Of course it is. So you have 800 million, 900 million ready for this. I love this. Number one. Put it up there.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Five to seven billion copies of the Bible around. God wins. God wins. God wins. Talk about a shout. I could see Gutenberg going that nobody would buy my Bible. Nobody would buy it.
Pastor Tim
And I could see God going, well, it's £14. You got to make it. You got to make it less.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
And all of a sudden, who would
Pastor Tim
have thought that that printing press would be the very catalyst for 5 billion Bibles.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
5 billion Bibles that have gone around the world, folks.
Pastor Tim
That's why you have to understand what
Assistant or Co-Pastor
God is calling us to do.
Pastor Tim
We may not know just yet. You don't do it when it's happening.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You build.
Pastor Tim
You don't. You build an ark before it rains.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You prepare an altar before the fire comes down, and you get the empty vessels before the oil starts flowing. So God is calling us to do it before it even happens. We just gotta listen to the voice
Pastor Tim
of the Holy Spirit.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Hallelujah.
Pastor Tim
All right, stand with me. I'm tired. Don't forget these words. Look at the screen.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
A.W.
Pastor Tim
tozer said this. Put this on the screen. It takes all of the Bible to make it the word of God. You can't just pick and choose what you want. All the Bible makes it the word, word of God. And so here's the part I want you to get, the Psalm 90 challenge. If you take it, God help me to live. Live well. If you want the shout, if you want the shot. And let me just tell you, if you ask for the shout, you are going to be uncomfortable. If you want the shout, you're going to live dangerously. You're not going to be putting batteries on your tongue. You're going to be living dangerous. But the man that prays teach us to live well in Psalm 90 will get Psalm 91 for his new season. When I prayed for Pastor Rob, I started to pray these words over him on the phone. I started to pray this because you're gonna need this. So when you say, God, I want to end with a shout. God, I want to end with a shout. God, I want to end with a shout. Whatever that means, Lord. No regrets, no moaning, no groaning, no sighing. I want to Shout inside of me. You're going to need Psalm 91 to live that way. You know what Psalm 91 says? If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, oh, hallelujah. No evil will conquer you. No plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
They will hold you up with their
Pastor Tim
hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You'll trample upon lions and cobras. You'll crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. The Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I'll protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them, and I will reward them with a long life and give them by salvation. Hallelujah. You pray Psalm 90, you get 91.
Pastor Tim
You don't pray some 90. You don't need 91. I'm just telling you. You want to live for God, you're going to need some 91. You want to live in New York City, you really need some 91. And then you get. And the man that gets Psalm 91 also gets to do what Psalm 92 says morning and night. You know what it says? It's good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing your praises to your name almost high. What are you gonna sing? You're gonna sing this? I'm gonna declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. Hallelujah. Anybody with me? I want to go out with a shout. Anybody with me on that? I want to go out with a shout.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
I do.
Pastor Tim
I want to go out with a shout. This is the way I want to go out. I want to go out like. I want to go out like this kid. Bobby. Edna and Ron Butterfield had this incredible ministry of ministering to children that had cognitive disabilities. And they were younger children, and they
Assistant or Co-Pastor
wanted to help them.
Pastor Tim
They wanted to help them in. So they wanted them to see what they could do, that instead of talking about what they can't do, they would teach them how to play chess. They would teach them with their limitations. He would teach them how to. Ron would teach them how to play chess, restore furniture, even repair electrical appliances. And my favorite story was when I was reading this, he said it was little Bobby. That just was amazing. He said. We taught Bobby about appliance repairs. We told him how to fix a coffee maker, how to fix a. He said. He said, one day I saw Bobby coming. Coming to class, and he Was carrying a broken toaster under one arm and a loaf of bread under the other arm. Do you understand what that means? He goes, this is busted. I'm fixing this, and I'm having toast today. That's what he's saying. He goes, He. Who else do we know? Everybody else could talk about, oh, this city's broken. This thing is broken. We're the people who have a loaf of bread. I want to carry a loaf of bread. I'm tired of carrying broken toasters. I want a loaf of bread. Give me the broken city, Give me the broken government.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Give me the broken nation.
Pastor Tim
Give me the broken stuff.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Everybody can post.
Pastor Tim
We need to do this. We need more of this. We should have voted for this. We should have.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
That's broken toaster talk.
Pastor Tim
You know where the broken toasters are?
Assistant or Co-Pastor
They're all online. Let me help you again. You know where the broken toaster.
Pastor Tim
You're.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
You're on a keyboard telling everybody, everybody, all the stuff that they should have done.
Pastor Tim
You know, the people that are changing the world, they got a loaf for bread.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
They don't have time for being online posting stuff. They're doing something for God. I know. I'm. I'm fired up today. I'm fired up today. I'm. I'm ready.
Pastor Tim
Come on. I'm ready for all of you today because we're. There are people. There are people here that are crazy enough to go, we want to shout. We want to change the world. We want to change to see what God wants to do. I'm not living in New York City. Can I just tell you? I'm not living in New York City to go to church. Oh, my goodness. I want to live in this city to see a city change. I want an awakening in this city. I want God. Anybody with me that says, I want to shout in my life, I want to shout.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Can I.
Pastor Tim
Can I just ask this for just a second? I. We don't have time to call you to an altar or anything like that, but I want to ask this. If you're here today and just say, pastor Tim, I need my sigh turned to a new shout. I'm tired of carrying a broken toaster. I'm. Today, I'm going to be a loaf of bread man. I'm carrying a loaf of bread. If you're here today and say, I want my sigh to a shout today. Lift those hands up right now.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Come on.
Pastor Tim
Lift those hands up and say, I need that side to a shout today. Would you ask him, say, God, teach me to live well. Teach me to live. Let me do whatever you ask. Come on, ask him right now. Just say, God, whatever you've asked me to do, I'm there. I'm there. I'm going to do it, Lord God. I'm going to do it, Lord God. So, Father, with our hands that are up, with our hands that are up, that God, we're choosing. We're choosing to live for the kingdom. We're choosing to live for us. We're choosing that when life is over, whatever you call us, whether you call us seven years earlier in Philippians or you call us in second Timothy four,
Assistant or Co-Pastor
we choose today to leave with a shout. No regrets, no moaning, no groaning, no sighs, but a shout that says, God, we're ready. We're ready. We're going out strong. We're going out strong today. Hallelujah.
Pastor Tim
But I have to tell you this. I have to tell you this. In Luke 15 and 16, there's a groan and a shout. Groan and a shout. Don't miss this part online. Don't miss this. There's a groan and a shout. You know what the groan was? It's Luke 16. Luke 16 is about a man in hell, that the way you start a life living for God is you need God in your life. And the man in Luke 16 was a man that was groaning in hell. It was a life of regrets. You hear a man crying out in hell, going, please, someone tell my brothers. Someone tell my brothers. It's a groan in hell. But you know what the shout was? The chapter before is when Jesus talks about the parable of the lost coin and the lost sheep and says when they come home, it's like a soul coming home. And all of heaven rejoices. And the angels shout that a sinner has come home. Folks, I'm telling you, the first step on this life is get God in your life. Get God in your life. You can't. You can't do it any other way. You need God in your life. Would you just bow your head and close your eyes for just a second? It's the most important decision you can make. It's called being born again. It's getting God in your life. It's Jesus's words. Jesus says in John, chapter three, he says, no man can see the kingdom of heaven unless they're born again. That's what Jesus said. Which means that if anybody knows the way to heaven, it's Jesus. He knows the directions. Not you and not me. He gave the directions. Well, you have to be a good person. You have to get baptized. You have to. You have to do communion. You have to do your first communion. You have to be a Catholic, you have to be a Muslim, you have to be a Jehovah's Witness. Jehovah's Witness say there's only a certain number that go to heaven. I'm telling you this. I don't believe any of them. I believe Jesus. Jesus simply says this. Jesus says you must be born again. That's what Jesus said. So, folks, if you're sitting here today going like, well, I've done this, I've hurt somebody, I've lied, I've cheated, I've not been a good person, here's the good news today, is that Jesus simply said you must be born again. That's what he says. He can change you from the inside out. Your life can be changed today. If you're here today, I'm here to tell you, you don't have to live with a groan. You can live with a shout. Today. Today can happen today. You don't get good and come to Jesus. You come to Jesus and he makes you good. That's where it starts. So how does that happen? As simple as abc. A. It's admitting I'm a sinner, that I. I'm broken on the inside. I have a condition. It's called sin. I can't fix it with a prescription, I can't fix it with a program. I can't fix it with a priest, a pastor, even that, even with promises. I promise I'll never do it again. I can't. So then, what's my answer? B.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Believe.
Pastor Tim
Believe that God sent this son 2000 years ago to begin to die for, become my substitute for sin. He would live the life I couldn't live, die the death I was supposed to die, and give me a reward. I don't deserve to be born again. Means you two. That just as you had a first birth, called your first birth your birth date, you need a second birth date, your spiritual birth date. That's the believe part. That's what happens. And finally, see, confessing him as Lord, that's the hard part. That means God is in charge of not just Sundays. God did not die on that cross, send his son to die on that cross and to go through that pain to get you to church on Sunday. He did that to get you to heaven forever. That's what he's come to do. So if you think being a Christian is just coming to church on Sunday, that God's come to ruin your weekend, I'm telling you God's come to fulfill your future. That's what he's come to do. You are God's masterpiece. And you know what becoming a Christian is, is? You get to do the things he's
Assistant or Co-Pastor
planned for you to do from the very beginning.
Pastor Tim
You are God's masterpiece.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
And you get to do the good
Pastor Tim
things he's planned from you long time ago. You don't live selfishly. You live for God with every head bowed and every eye closed. If you're here today and say, pastor Tim, I want that. I want that born again, I want. I want Jesus to come in and change me today. I want to start with that shout that's living well, getting God in my life. If that's you, without any hesitation. If you're saying, pastor Tim, when you pray that born again prayer, include me. Include me. I want God in my life. If that's you holy, hold your hand up high. As high as you can. Let me see those hands that are up. Hold them up high. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All of them back there. All those hands. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Let me see. Balcony. Oh, my goodness. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. All the way in the back. Got you over there. That's so exciting.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Thank God for.
Pastor Tim
For what he's going to do.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Listen, let's all pray this together.
Pastor Tim
Come on, say this with me.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God.
Pastor Tim
I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today, Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin to be born again.
Assistant or Co-Pastor
God is my father, Jesus is my
Pastor Tim
savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home.
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Episode: A SIGH OR A SHOUT - Tim Dilena
Date: July 12, 2026
Host: Pastor Tim Dilena & Times Square Church
In “A Sigh or a Shout,” Pastor Tim Dilena challenges listeners with a compelling question: How will you finish the race of life— with a sigh of regret or a shout of victory? Drawing from the final words of the Apostle Paul, the sober news of a pastor friend diagnosed with ALS, and vivid personal and historical anecdotes, Pastor Tim examines what it means to live with purpose, gratitude, and faith, urging the Times Square Church congregation (and listeners worldwide) to finish life "with a shout."
The episode is deeply motivational, blending scriptural exposition with practical application, stories of resilience, and a passionate call for spiritual revival—both personal and city-wide.
Timestamps: [03:10]–[10:00]
Pastor Tim reflects on a sobering phone call from his friend, Pastor Rob, diagnosed with ALS, juxtaposed against Apostle Paul’s famous final words (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Paul’s legacy: From persecutor to preacher, he ends his life with peace, power, and no regret.
Psalm 90:9 is introduced: “We finish our years with a sigh.” Some end their journey with regret; others, like Paul, finish with a victorious shout.
Timestamps: [10:30]–[19:15]
The “sigh” represents a life summed up by regret, missed opportunities, or bitterness.
Diagnosis or adversity (like Pastor Rob’s ALS, cancer, etc.) is not the core shock—it is the realization of wasted years.
Example of Douglas Coupland, a writer who abandoned faith, ending his book "Life After God" with confessions of emptiness:
Timestamps: [14:46]–[16:49]
Pastor Tim shares his daily “mandate”:
“You don’t get to choose how or when you die. You only get to choose how you’re going to live.” ([16:11])
Encourages listeners to reject sourness and bitterness, opting for deliberate gratitude and action.
Timestamps: [19:16]–[28:29]
Life is short and uncertain—what matters is making each day count for God.
Examples of “finishing with a shout”:
“God wants to rescue your sigh and turn it into a shout.” ([14:10])
Timestamps: [28:29]–[39:20]
The Psalm 90 Prayer: “Teach us to live well. Teach us to live wisely and well.” ([28:29])
Practical call for bold, risky, faith-filled living:
“Everything worthwhile in life is uphill.” ([36:30])
Timestamps: [39:21]–[50:05]
Announcement of major new church initiatives:
Rallying call for city-wide and global prayer:
Challenges listeners to live for more than comfort and routine—live for revival.
Timestamps: [53:21]–[61:24]
The impact of vision, even in small beginnings:
Quoting A.W. Tozer: “It takes all of the Bible to make it the word of God.” ([54:37])
The Psalm 90 challenge: Pray for God to “teach me to live well.” Those who pray Psalm 90 get the promise of Psalm 91's protection.
Timestamps: [57:59]–[60:31]
Story of Bobby, a child with cognitive disabilities, who brings both a broken toaster and a loaf of bread to class—determined to do something rather than just talk about what’s broken.
Application: “I want to be a loaf-of-bread person in a broken world. The people changing the world aren’t posting— they’re doing.” ([59:17])
Listeners were challenged to lift their hands and ask God to turn their sigh into a shout.
Timestamps: [61:43]–[67:34]
Pastor Tim closes with the distinction between a life spent with regret (the “groan” of hell, Luke 16) and a life celebrated with a “shout” (the joy in heaven, Luke 15).
Call to salvation—explaining the need to be “born again” (John 3), using the ABCs of faith:
“You don’t get good and come to Jesus; you come to Jesus and He makes you good.” ([63:46])
Many in the congregation and online respond to the invitation, indicating “I want my sigh turned to a shout.”
A Sigh or a Shout is a stirring, unashamed call for followers of Jesus to avoid a life (and eternity) of regret, and instead live with intention, boldness, and joy—finishing well, with a shout of faith. Pastor Tim’s exhortation is practical, urgent, and hope-filled, inviting every listener to examine their legacy, make daily choices that align with God’s purpose, pray for city-wide awakening, and embrace a full, uncompromising faith.
For full context and inspiration, listen to the entire episode on Times Square Church’s podcast feed.