A (5:02)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're gonna be praying for you. Now. Listen. What a. What a blessing. I know you've been standing a long time. I'm gonna dismiss. So this is the 1 o'. Clock. So, choir, you were amazing today. Thank you for singing that midnight hour. So as you're being dismissed, the curtain, the screen's gonna come down. Would you have to. But in order to do that, you have to greet about three or four people with a big smile on your face. Just tell somebody around you, three or four people, I'm so happy to see you today. And then you may be seated. God bless you. I've told you over the last few weeks, even after the election, nothing that we are, that that's not a fight against a political party, not a fight against the city. But we're going to face some tough times in our city and in some of those that are watching even here. I said that we were going to go through some times like the Bible talks about in the book of Exodus, that it will be a darkness that will be felt. But we have encouraged you and we've said that there will be at times that God will shine bright in the darkness. The Puritan writers said something that are so important when we begin to speak this way, that it's so important that we balance it. The Puritan writer said this Any messenger or watchman who delivers the warnings and the threats of God must also deliver his promises to keep the righteous when the storm comes. This is so important. So today I want to give you hope. I want to give you a promise today that has moved me emotionally. I want to give you a promise that is emotionally described in Exodus. When I read did something, it stirred my heart. It's wonderfully confirmed with the Psalms and powerfully played out in our personal lives. Let me say that again. This promise is described in Exodus, it is confirmed in the Psalms, and it is powerfully played out in our lives. I'll tell you some of my testimonies, but in any one of these spots I you're gonna hear that. You could fill in your story there. So I wanna talk to you about this phrase and I'll explain it to you shortly. But I wanna talk to you about what I saw in this promise is life on wings. I'm gonna explain that life on wings. You're gonna see it so clearly in the scriptures. Life on wings. Here's what I want you to remember this entire message. Think about this. Hide yourself in God so when your enemy wants to find you, he will have to go where God is first. Safety comes in our closeness to God, not in our distance from our enemies. Let me read those to you again. Get this folks, because this is the basis. Hide yourself in God so when your enemy wants to find you, he will have to go where God is. Safety comes in closest to God. Not trying to run away from your enemies. Folks, since a few weeks ago, everybody's trying to get out of New York. I've heard of Christians now building bunkers in Montana and Idaho and storing food for all this stuff. There's TV preachers that are selling you non perishable food that will last, you know, in the crisis. Folks, let me just tell you something. Do not move to Montana, no offense, Montana. Do not move to Idaho. Stay close to God. That's what God is asking us to do. Because you're gonna see how important this is. That life on wings, that no matter where you live, that this is the promise of God. Let me explain it to you. Peter Marshall is a name that many of you are not gonna know, but was a Scotsman in the middle of the 20th century who became one of America's widely acclaimed ministers. But where he became outstanding and a leader is he was brought to the office of being the chaplain of the United States Senate. He was a man that was used powerfully, stood for truth, stood, regardless of what Some of the most powerful people in this country would stand for it was Peter Marshall that literally had a. Had a backbone of steel that stood on the word of God. Not like. Not like what we're facing today and what we're seeing in politics today. Just not too long ago, there was some congressman praying at the Senate. And so when he ended his prayer, he said, amen. And a woman, come on, folks. And that's why we need backbone. We need godly people that are not afraid any longer. But back in Britain, it was Peter Marshall that was trying to go into the navy, but God was calling him into the ministry. And there was a battle that was going on. It was a battle for his, in a sense, really for his future, battle for his soul to some degree. And he said he was coming out from, on a trip, but he was walking and it was one foggy, pitch black, it says the Northumberland Night. And he was taking a shortcut across the moors in the uk and he says the darkness was so deep that you couldn't see in front of you. But he was in a very dangerous area, because in that dangerous area was a limestone quarry which would drop down dozens and dozens and dozens of feet. And you had to be very careful. But he knew his way pretty well. But he was walking in the dark. And as he plodded, he said this urgent voice called out and he heard his name, Peter. And he stopped. He said it was so real. He said, yes, who is it? What do you want? But there was no response. It was just simply his name. He walked on a little bit more and he walked a few more steps and heard it again. Peter. And at that, he stopped again and tried to peer into the darkness. He told the story, stumbled forward, but he realized that this was supernatural. Peter Marshall fell to his knees. It was him submitting to the calling of his life. Fell to his knees, basically, in my words, said, yes to God, I will do whatever you want me to do. And as he fell down and when he was surrendered to God, he began to put his hands in front of him to push himself up. But when he did that, his hands ran into air. Air. And he realized that he was at the quarry's edge, that if he walked, if he would have walked one or two more feet, he would have plunged to his death. That God was not just calling him for a lifelong ministry, God was saving his life. It was the voice of God that literally kept this man between life and death. That what was happening was Peter was living life on wings. Let me tell you what that means. But I have to give you a background first. Israel, the children of Israel has just arrived at what would be one of the most famous mountains in their history, called Mount Sinai. This mountain is a milestone. It will be known in as for the Ten Commandments. It will carry, though a special significance for Moses because God kept a promise upon their arrival. After they left Egypt, they've been. They've been in the wilderness for about a year. A red sea has opened up, water has come out of rocks, food has come from heaven. And now they're arriving at Mount Sinai. And in just a few chapters, if you read the Bible, they're going to receive the law of God. But something more was happening, because when Moses was being called in the wilderness, much like Peter Marshall and Moses began to fall on his knees, God was telling him, you were going to be a deliverer. But God made a promise to him. Listen to the promise he made before he would go into Egypt. God said to him, he said, certainly, I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship at this mountain. That's Exodus 3. And in Exodus 19, they finally get to that mountain in about a year. Moses has this aha. Moment that I'm standing here that God's kept his promise. He said that this will be the moment that I'll realize God is with me. And then God does something extra. He gives this emotional picture on how he was with him. I don't want you to miss this, because this is really the picture that moved me. He would describe it as living life on wings. Let me read it to you. You'll see it. Verse chapter 19, verse 2. And after they set out from Rephidim, they entered the desert of Sinai and Israel camped there in the desert front of the mountain. Here it comes, folks. Then Moses went up to God and the Lord called him from the mountain and said, this is what you were to say to the descendants of Jacob who are. Who. Who you are, to tell the people of Israel. Here it comes now. Verse 4. You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Folks, look at that phrase again. Carried you on eagle's wings. Carried you on eagle's wings. What an emotional picture. Not only from Moses, but it hit me on Thursday and today with God's help, hopefully you're gonna be stirred as I was. What does it mean? What was God saying? To be carried on eagle's wings. What. What is it that God is telling him? Why is this so important to understand, folks, I want you to get this. You got to get this part, and then everything will make sense. Eagles are a very. Are very cautious with their young and very protective with their children, while other birds carry their young between their feet or claws or talons, whatever they may be, for fear of the predator, of other birds that fly above them that would come down. They try to hold them below because other predator birds would come. Here it comes. Now, don't miss this. What I'm about to say. Here it is. He says, I put you on my back. I put you on my wings. Here it comes. The eagle puts its young on its wings because no other bird or predator can fly higher than the eagles. Okay, you are. I've got to say this. Please don't quote me. You're so much more quicker than the 10 o' clock service. Let me just say this. I had to say it three times. Let me keep it on the screen. Eagles put their young on their wings because no other bird can get higher than the eagles. Which means. Listen, folks, get this. Because what that means is to be carried on eagle's wings means God is putting himself between you and your enemy. God stands between you and death. Hallelujah. That's what God did for Israel. He says, when I carry you, because I have a name which is above every other name, in order for something to get at you, it has to come through me. If God is here and I'm on top, there's nothing higher than him. So anything that has to come, God goes. I've got this. I'm in charge. Death, cancer is not in charge. I choose. When these things take effect, I'm the one who is in charge. Any enemy that comes against us has to go through God first. Hallelujah. It's what God did for Israel. It's what God did for Peter Marshall stood between him and death. You are living on eagle's wings. That's what he says in Exodus 19:4. I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Which means we have an enemy. We'll face enemies, but we have a defender. We have someone that stands in between those things. Last Sunday night after church, I met with a new friend, Cindy. And I met with he and his wife. And we. It is the rabbi on the Upper east side who has become a very, very dear friend of ours. We became friends because when some of the riots, some of the protests were coming, were getting very Very even violent or even very vocal against the nation of Israel. He said he went online to find is there any church in New York City that will stand with the nation of Israel that will stand with us. And he said, we found you. Not only did he find us, he read Cross on the switchblade. He started listening to sermons and ended up reading one of the books that I wrote. And here's what's amazing. I was talking to him and I've just found out that it said that it was even this week at his synagogue. A hateful mob of anti Israel protesters descended some two or 300 against that synagogue and began to shout globalize the infatata. That began to say from New York to Gaza, globalize the infantada to the beat of a drum. So I called my friend and I gave him a psalm that mentions God's protection. And I told him that we are praying over him, that he is going to be carried on, Israel is going to be carried on, on those wings that God will stand in, in front of those attacks that would come his way, that God would begin to do that. And folks, let me just say this. I realize this. I'm just telling you that I know as the, as time goes, as we stand on the scriptures, we're gonna, this is a promise we're gonna have to keep because we're gonna be, we're gonna, we're gonna find ourselves in the way of an enemy that's gonna try to come after us. It's gonna try to shut this place down, it's gonna, going to try to silence this place. And I'm telling you, we're going to whisper to each other, life on wings. Life on wings. Life on wings. Our God stands in between us. When God goes before us and stands in front of our enemies, he becomes a shield for us. And we're going to need this promise. I can't help but think of a story that one of the men that has had great influence on my life, who's now with the Lord, Leonard Ravenhill, he told her the story about a Russian woman that he met in Australia that is trying to get back to Russia. And he asked her, he said, are you homesick? Is that why you're trying to get back? Because you're trying to get back to a country where it's very difficult to be a Christian. She goes, I'm not homesick. She says, I'm worship sick. He said, what do you mean? He says, I can't find the same spirit of worship that she knew with the Russian Christians that were going through difficult times, that were going through rough times. She was telling him, there's something about people who worship, in a sense, from the wings when the enemy is trying to come against us. It's one thing to sing words on a screen. It's a whole other thing to believe what you sing, to sit there and say, listen. The enemy may come in like a flood, but I have a God that is going to protect me. I have a God that is with me. Folks, right now in North Korea, being a Christian is so dangerous. Church buildings, illegal Bibles, illegal and confiscated worship services are being hunted and found out. They have services held in whispers in basements and forests. And yet the church is growing in North Korea in secret rooms, risking prison, beatings and even death. They read scripture quietly during their service. They pray with their eyes open, watching for danger. They sing in hushed tones. One underground believer was asked, why do you keep gathering when it's so risky? And they answered, because Jesus is worth it. That's not faith, folks. That's not faith. That is a person that knows life on wings, that will survive through persecution, thrives in the shadows, clings to Jesus with unshakable conviction. They have no stage. They have no lights. They have no sound system. They have no pulpits. They have church on wings. To know that the enemy has to go through Jesus in order to get to them. They have what we all need, a deep, bold, mountain, moving faith, living in Christ. Their faith reminds us church isn't a building, it's not a people. It's about surrender to the God of that will protect us, look after us and get between us and the enemy. I want to be identified with living my life on wings. I want to be identified that way. Just two weeks ago, it was. The famous actor Tom Cruise has just received an honorary Academy Award. Just two weeks ago, it was an honorary Oscar presented at the Academy Governor Awards. He was, and he was asked to make a speech and he says, making films is not what I do, but making films is who I am. I said, what? That's the last thing I would want to be identified as who I am, folks. Not me, not by a long shot. I don't want to be identified as he's a preacher or he comes to church or he's religious. I don't want to be identified that way. I want to be identified that this man walks with God, is protected by God, is close with God, folks. I don't want any of these singers to be identified as a singer. Charles Billingsley As a singer or Ricardo. I want to be identified that we are close to God, live our lives in God. Our identity is found in Him. Folks, all my life I didn't realize that God was carrying me on eagle's wings. I never saw this picture before. What did God describe for Israel was a description for me? It was God putting himself in between me and my enemies. Those things that would try to come after me. I identify with something bigger, with someone, bigger than what I do in my occupation. That's the exciting part. My goodness. I don't want to be identified with that. I'm a pastor. I want to be identified with Christ, with who he is. This pulpit can't protect me. Only God can protect me. How does God carry you? How does God carry me on eagle's wings today? That's what I kept putting on the scripture. I said, how do you do this? How does he stand between you and our enemies? I want you to write down five things. This is what I wrote in my notes. I just wrote this down. God will use five things as wings. Five things as wings. There's five things that I've watched God do. As he did for Israel. He'll do for us as he has done throughout the Scriptures. He has done it for me. He has done it for you. You're gonna. You see the picture in Exodus at the very end. You're gonna see it confirmed in Psalms when we close at the Psalm 91. But I wanna just for a moment show you how it's wonderfully seen in our own lives. God will use these five things. Let me give them to you quickly, and then you'll see them come up again. He uses the people of God. He'll use the voice of God, the angels of God. I've also seen him use the providence of God and the prayers of the saints. And I want you just to bear with me as we begin to go through those. Number one, the people of God. The people of God. Tuesday night was a special night for us at Times Square Church. We had the privilege of hearing our legacy from Nikki Cruz was here and spoke about a Holy Ghost hospital. For those that don't know. It was Nikki Cruz that was the gang member in 1957 that became born Again. When a skinny Pennsylvania preacher left the hills of Pennsylvania, came to to New York City at some of its lowest times. Filled with hundreds of gangs. Nicky's gang, the MAU MAU's were the worst of them. And that God would lead. David Wilkerson, the founder of this church, not only to New York City, but lead him to the MAU Mows and lead Nicky Cruz to Christ. And who would have thought that David Wilkerson coming here, that God would not only save that young gang member at 17, 18 years old, but God would use him around the world. The only person in the that has spoken to more people and has led more people to Christ, folks, is Billy Graham. That's what's the miracle about this. Nikki Cruz has spoken to tens of millions and millions have come to Christ because of him. He was here. And as he stood here last Tuesday night, Nikki is 87 years old. We decided that we wanted to capture his story. We don't wanna miss the legacy of what he means to this church and really our history. It was riveting. As we sat down for almost six hours of podcasts, as I would just ask Nikki questions, I learned things I didn't know. I was challenged. I was so moved by some of the things I asked. One of my questions was this. I said, nikki, your conversion was epic. At 67th in Columbus, just 16 blocks from here at St. Nicholas Arena. I said, how did you get there? He told me, he said, david Wilkerson sent buses to all the gangs, school buses to all the gangs. David Wilkerson paid for school buses to pick up gang members. I said, like, all on the same bus. He goes, no, we would have killed each other. So he said, no, a bus for the MAU MAU's, a bus for the Bishops, a bus for whoever, whatever gangs were coming. And he said, we got there. He said, I got on the MAU MAU bus. We got to the arena and we got in there. There were 300 gang members in that place. He said, I knew there was going to be blood that night, that there was going to be a fight in that place. Somebody was. People were going to die that night. These are rival gangs. And he said the spot that softened his heart when everything was going awful there, as they booed a young lady off the stage, and as they're screaming, Nikki told me, they're screaming at each other while David Wilkerson is trying to gain some type of semblance. And then David Wilkerson had to be by the Holy Spirit says, we're going to take up an offering and. And the gang members are gonna take it up, folks. You just don't do that, okay? So he takes up. He calls the gang members, Nikki Cruz leading them. And he takes up. He gives them buckets. And Nikki was telling me the story. He says, we would go one by one. And he said it was probably the best offering David ever got. He said we'd go to each person. He told me the story. He said, as we were, I went to one guy, he opened up his wallet in front of me and he said, and I saw how much money he had in there. He had a. I don't know if he said, some 20s and a one. And he put the one in there. And Nikki looked at it, he says, uh, you put it all in there. Put all of it in there. And the man threw his whole wallet in the. In the thing. I told some of our ushers, we need to step it up over here at the church. And this is what Nikki said. I said, what, what drew you to Christ? What was the next step? He said, I told the gang members that took up the offering. I said, let's double cross the preacher, give him the offering, and let's not steal it. Because they all thought they were gonna take the money. And so he said, let's give it back and let's double cross David Wilkerson. He said. So we handed it back and Nikki told him, it's all there, not a dime is missing. And Nikki didn't realize this, this is what he said. He said, when I stood back against the wall, he said, it was the first time in my life I did something right. And he said, I got a feeling that I didn't want to lose again. I didn't want to lose it. And he said that was the beginning of God drawing him to the altar. David gives the altar call. Nikki gets saved at the altar. And then all of a sudden, my final question to Nikki was this. At this point of the podcast, I said, nikki, this is what I want to hear about. Tell me about the next day to be saved. Tell me about the next day. Tell me about the next couple days. You come out of a life of just violence, a life of drugs, a life of gangs, a life of that is just filled with such darkness. Tell me about the next days of what happened. He said, I went home that night, but before I left, David Wilkerson told me, he says, nikki, you're going to be attacked. As soon as you leave this place, the enemy is going to attack you. He said, but what you need to do is when the enemy attacks you, you need to pray. You need to pray to Jesus. And Nikki said, it happened. He got home to his apartment and like every night, he couldn't sleep. He's up till 3, 4 in the morning. And he said, I wanna sleep. He said, My dreams were so bad, they were filled with such evil things. And he said. And I remembered Davey told me to pray, so he said I needed to pray. And he said, but I've never prayed a prayer in my life. I don't even know what to say. So he told me, he said he sat there in bed and he just goes, good night, Jesus. And he said. He went right to sleep. He said, it was the first night of sleep I've ever had in my life at that moment, with three words. Good night, Jesus. Isn't it amazing that God can hear our prayers? Even if it's that simple? And here's what's amazing. Four days later, after his conversion, up the street here, four days later, God is going to use this man, this ex gang member, to touch millions of people. I just. I saw the. His last crusade in Nicaragua, where 120,000 people gathered together. 120,000. They couldn't even give an altar call because there'd be too many people that would come down. And four days later, a rival gang sabotaged Nikki Cruz and stabbed him. They thought he was going to die. They brought him to a local Manhattan hospital. He was put in the hospital to recover and under protection. And while he was there, a nurse came up and said, I know who you are. I saw your picture in the paper. You're that gang member that got converted to Jesus. And then the nurse goes, I want. I want it, too. Would you pray for me? And Nikki goes, I don't even know how to pray. My last prayer was, good night, Jesus. I don't even know what to say. And so Nikki told me, he said, so. He prayed. And this is. I said, so tell me, how did you evangelize? The nurse, he just said, I said, bow your head. And Nikki said, all I said to them was this, God, do to them what you did to me. Amen. That was it. That's all he had. But here's how Nicky is living on wings. This is how he was living on wings. He was stabbed, and God spared his life. Then the voice that led him to Christ, that voice of that Pennsylvania country preacher David Wilkerson, said this to him once. Did he come out of the hospital? He said, nikki, you can't stay here in New York City. We need to get you out of here. We need to send you to California. We're going to get you on the other side of the country, and we're going to get you there. Think about this for a moment. The same voice that said, you need Jesus is the same Voice that God would use to protect him and get him to California to save him from sabotage. To save him because Nicky said he would have been killed if he would have stayed. He was being hunted. He would have died. And God needed a voice. God was going to use a global voice to touch the world. And David Wilkerson, that Pennsylvania man, that Pennsylvania preacher, Nikki called him as skinny as a spaghetti noodle. He said that spaghetti noodle preacher told me to go there. He sent me to a Bible college. I could barely speak English. He said the education was awful. I was doing horrible there. But God knew he needed to be there. He would meet Gloria, his wife he's been married to for 67 years. He would get baptized in the Holy Spirit and he would receive his calling when he went to California. That thank God for the people of God. Thank God for David Wilkerson. That took it one step further. Further that you need to become born again. But he would also take the second step. We need you. Get you out of here. Because God had to work. God had something for Nikki Cruz. God was going to use Nikki Cruz, but he couldn't. He couldn't start here. He had to get him out of here. And God would make David Wilkerson's voice not only for the conversion part, but for the protection part. That that voice, that per. That person, that preacher would stand between Nikki and death. In Acts 23, the apostle Paul is under arrest. There is an ambush that Paul knows nothing about, not even. Not even the government knows about that's being planned to kill Paul during his prison transport. Paul is about to be transported and 40 men said, we're not going to eat or drink until we kill the Apostle Paul. Listen to it, and here's what happens. Paul's nephew, he doesn't even have a name. His sister's son overheard them plotting the 40 men, the ambush. He went immediately to the barracks and told Paul, Paul's sister son, this nameless nephew, heard the scheme and his nephew saved his life, stood between him and death. Paul is safely rescued by night. And Paul lives eight more years because of a nephew that stood between him and death. Why are those years important? You ready for this, folks? In those eight years, Paul writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, first and second Timothy, Titus. The nameless kid gets him eight more years and seven more epistles. You get to read in the New Testament because. Because God uses his people. That's what makes this powerful. God puts a kid between Paul and death. God puts a skinny Pennsylvania preacher between Nicky. And death. That's living life on wings. Hallelujah. Number two. The voice of God. The voice of God. I won't use his name, but this young man gave me something that I hold dear to this day. I. I have it in a special place. He came into my office and he took a blue cord. It was what they give to every Army Ranger that graduates the rigorous training of trying to become Special Forces. And he got that. This is what they gifted them at graduation. And he gave it to me. He says, I want to give this to you so you could remember what God has done, so you could remember. He didn't say these words I'm saying, so you could remember life on wings. I had. This young man came out of the occult. He was a Satanic. He worshiped Satan. Went into the armed forces, went into Special Forces and became a Christian. Was at our church and was growing as a Christian. But he had some rough spots. I had to remove him from ministry. It was a little messy, but I had to remove him from ministry. And he got so angry with me that the anger that he had inside of him almost opened up a spot in his soul that he went back to a dark place. He went back to a very dark place. He got so angry with me. And then he came to my office a year later because he left the church. And here's the part I started to realize. God is protecting us even when you don't know it. Even when you don't know it. A year later, this young man walks back into my office, hands me that blue cord, and he says, I need to tell you a story. And I said, okay. And this is what he said. He said that not long after you removed me from ministry, he said, what you should have done. He said, anger got inside of me. I hated you. Hated you. And then that dark. That hatred started to grab something deep in my soul, bring me back to a place of the occult days. So this is what I did. And he told it to me. He said, I went into my house and I put on my army fatigues. He said, I painted my face and I got all my automatic weapons, and I was on my way to your house to kill you and your children. He said, I had everything set. He said, I put the automatic weapons in the back of the. He said, I was dressed in the army fatigues and I was ready. He said, I knew where you lived. I knew your four children were there, and I knew you and your wife were there. And I was about to kill all of you. And so at this point, this is a very intense meeting. Now I'm sitting here going, okay, but you're changed. Like God has touched you. So he said, and this is what happened. And I remember him telling me this. He says, you need to understand that. That God has protected you. I said, what do you mean? He said, with my weapons in the back, dressed in fatigues, a face that is painted. And with murder in my soul. He said, I sat in my car, and when I put my hand on the transmission to go backwards before I can put it in reverse, I heard the audible voice of God. And he said, and this is what it said. If you back up, I will kill you. He said, and if you touch him or his family, I'll kill you. He said, I knew this was God. He said, I knew. And he said, and I knew there was some type of protection upon you. He said, I got out of my car, fell on my knees and got right with God. On that day, folks, I didn't even know it. I was living on wings, that God's voice was protecting me and my family from death. The voice of God spoke to this young man like Peter Marshall. Mine was a. Mine was a murderer coming over my house to shoot me and my family. Peter Marshall would fall into a quarry. And all I'm here to tell you is this. God was protecting me. And I didn't even know was the voice of God. The audible voice of God that literally went in between me and. And a murderer. The voice of God protected us. The voice of God. And that's why when I hold that little rope, that little braided thing that he gave to me that he put into my hands, that graduation cord, that little braided cord, it reminds me, God, you're in charge of my future. The voice of God was between me and death. Folks, I'm telling you, the voice of God is powerful. Listen to Psalm 29. He says seven times. He mentions the voice of the Lord. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thunders. The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and surrey on like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord hews out flesh flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calf strips the forest bare and his temple in his temple, everything Says, glory. The Lord sat as the king is the flood. The Lord sits as king forever. The Lord will give strength to his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. The voice of the Lord, you know what it says? Three times. It says seven times. The voice of the Lord. And then it says this. The voice of the Lord will break those trees. It will make things happen and shake foundations. Look at those words. If you're sitting here today, I'm telling you, you're in earshot of the voice of God. He will break, folks. I'm telling you, he'll break bondage. He'll make you into something you never thought you can be, and he'll shake that junk and out of your life. That's the voice of God that can come and set you free today. That voice will keep you out of hell. That voice will keep you out of bondage. That voice will begin to work miracles inside of your life. I'm living. I'm just telling you, I'm living my life on wings. I've got God in front of me. And folks, I'm telling you, I know God is with me. Number three. It's the angels of God. The angels of God. Psalm 103 says this. God has set his throne in heaven. He rules over us. He's the king. So bless God, you angels ready and able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says. Bless God, all you armies of angels alert to respond to whatever he wills. Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are, everything and everyone made by God. I love that phrase, when he says they're able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says. It was a night in Detroit that I saw this in action. Cindy and I, we were about, I don't know, six, seven months into our relationship. I couldn't tell you what month it was, but we were both downtown Detroit at a Christian gathering. Because I had responsibilities there, I had to stay a little bit longer. Cindy, with tens of thousands of people that were down there, Cindy was going home. She worked downtown, not too far from the arena where we were meeting. And she had to walk. I'm gonna guess it may have been about a half a mile from the arena to the parking garage where at the bank where she was, where she was working. She walked from there in daylight over to the Christian event. And then when it was over, it was dark and the streets were dangerous. At this time, I couldn't walk her back, and I didn't even think about it. But Cindy left that night. Because I was towards the front with responsibilities. So she left. And as she was walking, she felt something, that something was not right. And she said for the first time, she started to feel a little bit, maybe a fear that. That there was some danger that was there. And she said, out of nowhere, out of nowhere, this older gentleman came and said, can I walk you to your car? She just assumed he was from the conference. And she goes, oh, that would make me so happy. She said this older gentleman walked her all the way to her car. They talked about the things of God. They talked about the conference, they talked about what God was doing. And she couldn't stop thanking him, said, thank you. You don't know you came at the right time. I don't know what it was. I'm not usually afraid, but I felt like there was something dangerous that could have happened. These were Cindy's words. I'll never forget. She told me the next day. She said she got to her car, she took out her keys, got into the car, turned around, and the person was gone. I can tell you who that was. God was going, you, Gabriel or Michael, get to Detroit, and you're going to get down there and you're going to walk the prettiest young lady in all of Detroit over to her car. I want you to understand this because this is so important. She was living life on wings. God sent an angel that if there was death waiting, if there was something dangerous, God goes, I'm going to put myself in between you with my armies, with my host of heaven. I'm going to put myself between you and death, you and danger. That's life on wings. God does that. So before God divides the Red Sea in two, and before the miracle happens, I want us to see what God does. God was giving him a taste of saying, I put myself in between you and the enemies. Look at this. Just before he. He begins to open up the Red Sea. Look what it says in Exodus 14. The angel of God who had been going before the camp of Israel moved, and I love this word, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. Remember, it was the pillar of cloud and the. And. And it was the pillar of cloud and the fire and the angel that would. Would leave them. And God goes, stop. Go behind them now. Why? It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, and there was a cloud along with the darkness. Yet it gave light at night. And thus the one did not come near the other all night long. They. They. When Pharaoh Took his army to go after Israel. God goes, not only can I guide you, I will protect you in this season. He brings. He brings that angel of the Lord. He brings that cloud, that pillar, and goes behind them and says, I'm going to send you through a sea, but I'm going to protect you first. God says, I have to protect you so I can send you into your future. That's why he protects you. He protects you because he has a future for you. He protects you because he has something for your life. Thank God for his protection. In Detroit, folks, I used to pray over our children and our family. Kids would hear this every single night. I would pray this prayer. They heard it all the time. God put angels on all four corners of our property that no wicked thing could come near this house. I pray that every single night. I still pray it, but I pray it over this building now. I prayed over this building yesterday. I prayed. I walked to each corner and I prayed. God said, station an angel at 51st and Broadway, 52nd and Broadway. Then I'd walk down to 8th Avenue, station, enable an angel at 52nd and 8th, 51st, 50, 51st and 8th. And I'd say, God, station those angels when we meet tomorrow. I pray that this place would be protected. I pray your hand would be here, that no wicked thing could come come near this place. Commission those angels. Then I go to each door, post each opening of this building, praying for the protection of God. I pray over, when you come in that front entrance, I'm going, God, let them feel Jesus, let them feel the Holy Ghost. Let them know that, God, when they walk in here, that, Father, if anybody else walks in here, that, God, you not only have angels outside, you have angels of protection inside this place today. And I remember praying that every single night when we first started building a family together. And then I'll never forget coming home one day from the church and my neighbor coming to me and asking me, said, hey, did you hear the ruckus in the alley last night? I said, no, I was already sleeping. He says, not only were they screaming, there was gunshots. He said, I want to show you something. He brought me over to his car and he said, look, the alley. This bullet was coming right for your home. And it got lodged in the head ramp of my car and showed me the bullet hole and the bullet lodged in the headrest. And he goes, my headrest saved you. I said, nah, I don't think so. I said, your headrest didn't do much. I don't. I wouldn't give Ford that much credit, I said, that's called angels on all four corners of our property, holding back the enemy. It's the miracle of God. It's the angels of God. So the voice of God. It's the people of God. Number four. It's the providence of God. This is such an important word. Some of you don't understand the providence of God, so let me make it as clear as I can. The providence of God is when God orders your steps and the events of your life to achieve his will. It's when God begins to tell you that nothing is random and nothing is accidental. It's all planned by God. The Bible says in Psalm 31:15, David gives my times, seconds, weeks. My Mondays are in your hands. You see everything that's going on. I was commissioned today. I have to tell you because there's a point to this. I have to tell you. Pastor Carter made me say this. He goes, you gotta say something. You gotta say something. And then my kids confirmed and said, you gotta say something. This weekend, we had just such a fun family moment. My daughter Grace plays for a university, plays volleyball for them. And so this week they go into their. This is the conference tournament. This gets you your seeding for the NCAA Tournament and the invite and what seeds will be. It's kind of. It's just like the March Madness, but I guess it's for volleyball. And it's in November, so it's November Madness. And so she's playing yesterday at her university. And while she's playing, so it's two days of games. And so it all determines your seating. You get a conference, you get a ring, you become the conference champion and everything else. I'm just telling you, God put, like, springs in that little girl's legs. That girl crushed. She was a beast out there. So not only did they win, they never lost the set. They crushed everybody. And then at the end, they gave her the MVP of the tournament. So what moved my heart was there were so many places trying to bring her and bring her to this school, this university, this school. But God knew that this is where I wanted you. God put it together. Even with roommates that are thinking about God and reading the Bible. God put her there. God put her in that place. God gave her the moment to become successful. Only God can do that. God. You know, something special even happened this morning. When I looked over to my left this morning, I saw a face that was part of my life 50 years ago. 50 years ago, my father, when he retired from the new and this is God ordering our steps as he did for grace, as he's done for all of you. Once again, these are my stories. Every one of you could fill in how God is, how God has providentially kept you as God has guided you. Every one of you here can tell me probably of angelic protection, that God protected you and your family. Some of you could tell me about the voice of God when you were going to go left and God goes, no, go right. And some of you can tell me where the people of God have stood in the middle and have helped you in some of the hardest times, times. This is what happened even with us. The providential hand of God. Think about this. When my dad retired from the New York City Police Department, it was David Wilkerson, the man who spoke to Nikki Cruz to say, go to, go to California, spoke to my dad and said, go to Fort Worth, Texas. He said, be close to Gwen and I. He said, when we go traveling, you and Sonia, my mother can go traveling with us. But go down there. I'm going to, one of my relatives is down there pastoring a trip church. Go to that church, work there. But we can. You're retired now. Go be a blessing down there. And folks, I'm telling you, my brother and sister are gone. I'm a teenager and I'm telling you it was the hand of God, it was the providence of God. God brings me down there. And the person that was sitting here this morning from 50 years ago was my youth pastor. I'm 13 years old and he came to that church when he was about 18, 19 years old, came from Iowa. No one lives in Iowa. He comes from Iowa. So God goes, folks, and I want you to listen to me if I would have stayed and listen. If you're watching from Iowa, we love you, God bless you and we pray for revival. And so what's interesting is this. I'm telling you, if I did not leave New York City, I would not be in the ministry. There's no doubt in my mind knowing the trajectory of my life, not that I was on drugs or gangs. There's no way I would be standing here today if my dad didn't listen to the, to that, to that. Call that David Wilkes and goes, go to Fort Worth, folks. To go from New York City to Fort Worth, that doesn't even make sense. And then to call that 18, 19 year old young man out of Bible that was going to Bible school. They said come down and be the youth pastor. So he'd bring a 19 year old from Iowa, a teenager from New York City and says, you're gonna meet in Fort Worth, what that's called the Providence of God. Because it was him that allowed me to understand the call of God. He discipled me, brought me to camps where I started to feel the first stirrings of God to go into the ministry. The first times of being down there, I never would have had that. If David Wilkerson say to my dad, go to Texas, go to Fort Worth, go to Cowtown. Cowtown is what they call it, Cow town. We went to Fort Worth. I'll never forget my first week down there. Everybody's waving at me. I'm going, hey, you don't know me. I'm just going like. And I guess that's Southern hospitality. And I'm gone. I'm sitting there checking my wallet.
