OPEN DOORS AND DEFIANT DEVILS - Tim Dilena

Summary

Times Square Church Podcast — "Open Doors and Defiant Devils"

Speaker: Pastor Tim Dilena
Date: July 27, 2026
Main Theme:
Pastor Tim Dilena explores the biblical principle that every "open door" from God is often guarded by defiant opposition. Drawing from scripture, real-life church challenges, and personal testimonies, he encourages believers to persist through spiritual resistance (“defiant devils”), using prayer, submission to God, the armor of God, and the power of Christ’s blood. The message is infused with urgency for revival in New York City and beyond, offering practical tools for individuals facing adversity in pursuit of God’s purposes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Facing Contrary Winds — The Power of Resistance

[03:08–08:19]

• Pastor Tim shares a story about a turbulent airplane takeoff:

  “When you’re going to take off, you fly into the wind because it creates the lift. You fly not with it, but into it.” (03:53, Pastor Tim)

• Relates this to Matthew 14, where Jesus sends his disciples into a storm:

  “The wind was against it.” (04:39)

• Application: God will often lead us into opposition—contrary winds—to create spiritual lift and take us to places we couldn’t go otherwise.
• Personal application for the church:

  “Growth has contrary winds. Movement needs contrary winds. Advancement in the kingdom has contrary winds.” (07:21)

• New Yorkers live in “contrary winds,” symbolic of the city’s spiritual challenges.

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2. Open Doors, Defiant Devils — 1 Corinthians 16:9

[08:19–13:20]

• Pastor’s central scripture:

  “For a great and effective door has been opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (08:44)

• Every open door in life, family, or ministry will have spiritual resistance.
• Striking imagery:

  “There are no closed doors in New York City. Just looming, imposing, hellish figures standing in the threshold, preventing access.” (09:25)

• These adversaries manifest in university campuses, government, and even within church projects (like the LED wall on Times Square).
• The church is committed not to back down in the face of such opposition.

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3. Quotable Wisdom: Speaking Truth to Adversity

[12:55–13:22]

• Citing G.K. Chesterton:

  “It is the paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most.” (12:55, quoted)

• Challenge: Will the church persevere in truth, even when it contradicts the culture?

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4. Defining the ‘Open Door’

[13:20–15:51]

• “A great and effective door is when the kingdom of God enters into places and transforms them that have been trying to keep it out.” (14:05)
• God’s access points: From UN halls to family homes, but always with resistance.

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5. Four Tools to Move Defiant Devils

[21:50–38:05]
Pastor Tim outlines four biblical means to breakthrough spiritual resistance:

a. Prayer

• Cites Paul’s call for “pray that God will open doors” (Colossians 4:3, paraphrased).
• Shares testimonies from the global TSC family, including a plea from the Netherlands about a young woman struggling with depression and euthanasia:

  “This is a battle that needs prayer.” (24:49)

• Leads the church in intercession:

  “Father, in Jesus’ name, there are many adversaries… but the enemy is not the answer. His name is Jesus.” (25:23–25:55)

b. Submission to God

• Explains true Christian submission:

  “When you say Jesus is Lord, you don’t have 51%. He’s in charge of your life, folks… Christianity means God is in charge regardless of public opinion, court rulings, inner feelings and personal opinions.” (28:21)

• Shares a testimony from Sweden of breakthrough joy and peace through submission to God.

c. The Armor of God (Ephesians 6)

• “It’s an armor that snakes can’t bite through… From head to toe, God has you covered.” (32:25, 33:28)
• The armor transcends occupation or circumstance:

  “You can wear a suit and tie to work every day and still have armor on.” (32:41)

• Lists the six pieces of spiritual armor.

d. The Power of the Blood of Jesus

• Citing Revelation 12:11:

  “They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” (39:44)

• Pastor’s weekly practice:

  “I plead the blood over these doors… God, station big angels with swords on these blocks.” (40:50–41:08)

• The blood of Jesus is always the decisive victory point over spiritual resistance.

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6. Testimony & Divine Interruptions

[34:11–37:39]

• A misdialed call from a pastor’s office led a suicidal man to see “Almighty God” on his caller ID at the moment he prayed for a sign:

  “At that point, my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and all it said was 'almighty God'…" (37:05)

• God can interrupt darkness in miraculous, unexpected ways.

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7. Warfare Is Expected, But God Gives Victory

[41:00–44:34]

• Unpacks Isaiah 54:17 — “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” — but reminds that weapons will be formed.
• “There is now weapons to stop you from advancing this gospel. The enemy was blowing on the coals as a smith is creating a weapon… But I have this hope inside: no weapon formed against me shall prosper.” (42:54–44:26)

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8. Altar Call: Engaging the Battle Personally

[47:56–57:52]

• For those who see the open door but face a seemingly insurmountable adversary:

  “It just needs a people willing to fight… to pray, to submit, to put on the armor, to trust the blood.” (47:47)

• Calls for active participation:

  “As we sing this song, I'm going to ask you to get out of your seat and get to this altar as fast as you can. We're going to start to pray.” (51:29)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Spiritual Opposition:

  “There are no closed doors in New York City. Just looming, imposing, hellish figures standing in the threshold, preventing access.” (09:25, Pastor Tim)

• On the Nature of Kingdom Advancement:

  "Movement needs contrary winds. Advancement in the kingdom has contrary winds. Maturity has contrary winds." (07:21)

• On Submission:

  "When you say Jesus is Lord, you don't have 51%. He's in charge of your life, folks." (28:21, Pastor Tim)

• On Victory:

  “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” (Repeatedly, e.g., 42:09, 56:13)

• On the Power of Prayer:

  “Foundations shake, doors are open and chains fall off. When people pray, foundations shake, doors open, and chains fall off.” (26:29–27:10)

• Testimony Highlight:

  “I looked at the caller id, and because the whole name couldn't fit on the caller id, all it said was almighty God on the caller id.” (37:05)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–01:09 — Opening prayer for global spiritual awakening
• 03:08–04:39 — Airplane illustration: flying into the wind creates lift
• 08:19–09:41 — Introduction of "Open Doors, Defiant Devils" theme
• 13:20–15:51 — Defining “open doors” and addressing spiritual adversaries
• 21:50–38:05 — The four tools for spiritual breakthrough
• 24:49–26:16 — Prayer for Dutch woman battling depression and euthanasia
• 34:11–37:39 — Testimony: accidental call saves a life
• 42:09–44:34 — Isaiah 54:17 unpacked: weapons are formed but will not prosper
• 47:44–51:12 — Call to action: fight through opposition, walk through open doors
• 56:09–57:52 — Encouragement: contrary winds are for “lift,” not defeat

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Closing Reflection

Pastor Tim closes with reminders that opposition is not a sign to turn back but an opportunity for God to show His power:

“Those contrary winds, it’s for lift. It’s not to get you to back off, it’s for lift.” (55:11, Pastor Tim)

He calls the church to action, to believe for miracles and boldness—whether in Times Square or your own home—declaring that no weapon formed against God’s people will ultimately succeed.

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Summary Table — The Four Ways to Move a Defiant Devil (Spiritual Adversary)

| Way to Break Through | Explanation / Scripture Reference | Memorable Quote / Example | |-------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------| | Pray | Colossians 4:2-4; Acts 16:25 | "When people pray, foundations shake, doors open, and chains fall off." (26:29) | | Submit to God | James 4:7 | "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (28:43) | | Put On the Armor of God | Ephesians 6:10-18 | "You can wear a uniform or doctor's coat, but still have your armor on." (32:41)| | Trust the Blood of Jesus | Revelation 12:11 | “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” (39:44) |

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Final Call

“There is a wide and effective door, but there are many adversaries. But we have a God that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.” (51:12–51:19)

Listen, pray, fight in faith, and boldly cross the threshold of resistance—God has prepared the way.

Transcript

[Timothy Keller]

All right.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Just before we pray, I saw something in prayer this week. And it was. It happened at noon prayer. Not saying it was a vision, but I'm just saying I saw a picture that the Holy Spirit, I think, began to give to me. And it's important for me to tell you about it. It was as if God took a scripture and added a picture to it. And I want to just share it with you. There's something important about us, this church, and where we're going into the future. Maybe what some of you are facing individually, corporately. But I believe that God began to speak to me. It happened at noon prayer. And I'll tell you more about it as we get ready for the message. Father, in these next few moments, I know what you've spoken to me. And Father, I'm just going to ask you just to help me once again, I ask you that God, I just present to you just loaves and fishes and only you can multiply and it be enough for the multitudes. So I present to you, Lord God, just words on a page. Just what I felt like you spoke to me. And Lord, unless I have your Holy Spirit, then, God, it's a lecture. It's a. It's. It's just a sermon, God, we don't need another sermon. We don't need another lecture. But God, even as Ricardo was leading us, we need an encounter with God today. And Father, even as we kept singing

[Timothy Keller]

over and over, we need a move

[Pastor Ricardo]

of God, Father, just all over the city, all over the cities that are watching God, from Manila to London, from Los Angeles down to Lima, would you move, Lord God? In Dallas, would you move in Miami, would you move, Holy Spirit? I'm going to believe, Father in. In the countries that are represented, from Nairobi all the way down to Johannesburg, may the Holy Spirit be poured out in a special way. Come, Holy Spirit, move in Kiev, in Ukraine. Move, Lord God. I'm going to believe in St. Petersburg. Move all over the world, Lord God, in these next few moments. And we need you in Jesus name. And everybody said, amen. God bless you. You may be seated. Thank you. Thank you, worship team. Thank you, choir. Thank you so much. I learned something a few years ago. It was. It was probably. Probably over 15 years ago. I was flying out of Detroit, Michigan, and something happened when the. When the pilot got on, he said. Or the head steward got on. He just simply said. He said, there will be. On this flight no food, no snacks, no drinks, nothing. He said, the winds outside are so strong that if they bring up the Food cart. We're afraid it may get blown over. And so he said, so for these next two to three hours, I couldn't remember how long the flight was. He said, we. We rather take off than just make sure that we're stocking this up with snacks and drinks. And so there was nothing. So there was a groan in the plane, in the plane. And this pilot then gets on and said, but we're able to take off in these kind of winds. And he said something that I have never heard before. He was one of those pilots that was very specific. He was always. He was on that microphone constantly. And then said something that was shocking to me. He told me, not told me, told the plane. He said, we're getting on Runway 22R or 3L. We're getting on the Runway.

[Worship Leader]

And.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And the reason why we're getting on that Runway, he told the plane, is he said, with these high winds, we're going to take the plane right into the wind at that point. And I thought, well, that doesn't make sense to me. I said, you should have the wind

[Timothy Keller]

behind you to push you up.

[Pastor Ricardo]

That's what you'd want. And then we were told. He says, when we fly into the wind, he says flying into a wind that's contrary lifts the plane up. At that point, he says, we'll fly into. Into contrary winds, and we're going to get up fast. He said, in fact, buckle up now, because this plane is going to jump up really fast at that point. So we would be snackless and get up fast in that sky. I was amazed because I didn't realize that. That when you're going to take off,

[Timothy Keller]

you fly into the wind because it creates the lift.

[Pastor Ricardo]

You fly not with it, but into it.

[Timothy Keller]

And I want to take you to

[Pastor Ricardo]

a passage of scripture that I read on Tuesday night. But you may have missed five very

[Timothy Keller]

important words in verse 24.

[Pastor Ricardo]

It is Jesus that has sent his disciples into a storm. And while he was sending him into the storm, it was interesting. He says these words immediately. Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. And after that he dismissed them, he went up to the mountainside by himself to pray. And later that night, he was there alone. And the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because. And it was these.

[Timothy Keller]

These five words.

[Pastor Ricardo]

The wind was against it. Look at those words again. The wind was against it.

[Timothy Keller]

Jesus, who knew not only can control

[Pastor Ricardo]

the winds and the waves, had to know that Storm was coming and Jesus directed them and into contrary winds. He directed them into a place that

[Timothy Keller]

would seem to go against them.

[Pastor Ricardo]

But I have this sense that Jesus knew that that storm was there to create lift, to get them to a place that they wouldn't get on their own. A disciple at the end of that

[Timothy Keller]

story would walk on the water.

[Pastor Ricardo]

The other 11 would recognize who he is and begin to fall down and worship him. But it needed to be in that moment that's contrary, the winds coming against them.

[Timothy Keller]

It wasn't just going to be everything

[Pastor Ricardo]

going for them, but it was things that are coming against them. Walking, in a sense, in unwalkable places and worshiping Jesus alone, as they did at the end, would need contrary winds to get them on the water to walk and on their knees to worship God.

[Timothy Keller]

They would need the struggle for the lift.

[Pastor Ricardo]

In a sense, they would need to

[Timothy Keller]

face contrary to see God bring them

[Pastor Ricardo]

to where they were supposed to be. This week we have faced some contrary winds. We have faced those headwinds, we have faced those things coming against us, even dealing with sickness. This week, seeing some of our staff and part time staff and some of their diagnosis. It has been a hard week for us.

[Timothy Keller]

But I have to believe that as

[Pastor Ricardo]

we have been praying both in the hospital and on the phone and believing for God to bring healing even despite doctor reports and despite what we're faced with even here as a church and not just for our staff, but for

[Timothy Keller]

you, I have to believe that when

[Pastor Ricardo]

those contrary winds come, that I have to believe that God is wanting to bring us to a new place.

[Timothy Keller]

I have to believe that when you

[Pastor Ricardo]

are facing those contrary winds, even when it regards to your health, I have to believe that God is saying I'm bringing you into contrary winds and to lift you to a place that you've never been before. They could get you there not only to lift, but to get you there faster.

[Timothy Keller]

To get you there. You don't need snacks anymore in the church. We need lift. We got to get to where we're going, folks.

[Pastor Ricardo]

That's.

[Timothy Keller]

I'm just telling you,

[Pastor Ricardo]

if you've not

[Timothy Keller]

been to New York City, we are.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Our whole life is contrary winds. Amen.

[Timothy Keller]

This is what we face. We don't have time to put lattes

[Pastor Ricardo]

and mocha chinos in the lobby for

[Timothy Keller]

you to drink and worship. And we've come in in the middle of contrary winds and need lift to get to where we can't get to without God.

[Pastor Ricardo]

That's what God is asking us.

[Timothy Keller]

Can I just tell you growth has contrary winds. Movement needs contrary winds. Advancement in the kingdom has contrary winds. Maturity has contrary winds, all those things. If you want to walk in maturity, if you want to see the kingdom of God, advance on your university and. And in your city, if you want to see movement in your Christian life, you are going to be put in places that you wouldn't have chosen on your own. That's what Jesus did with the disciples. The one who could calm the storm knew there was a storm coming. He's omniscient. He knew what was coming and what they were going to face. But he also knew they would walk on water and they would worship gods. They knew that those things would be part of it. I want to share with you what I saw in my heart as we were praying. Wednesday at noon prayer. I want to talk to you just for a few seconds. The words that I got and the verse that I want to share with

[Pastor Ricardo]

you just in a second here.

[Timothy Keller]

I want to talk to you today about open doors and defiant devils. Open doors and defiant devils. The open doors is where the plane is really the lift into destination. The defiant devils is the contrary wind.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And here was the verse that I've

[Timothy Keller]

been really wrestling with and that God began to make clear to me even about our city. It's 1st Corinthians 16, 9.

[Pastor Ricardo]

When the apostle Paul says this.

[Timothy Keller]

For a great and effective door has

[Pastor Ricardo]

been opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

[Timothy Keller]

Let me say that again. For a great and effective door has been opened to me, but there are many adversaries. There's open doors, but you're going to face defiant devils. I felt God speak to me as we were in service and just speak very clearly that every door that you want to walk through, every door is open in New York City and in your city. But every door has a defiant devil,

[Pastor Ricardo]

has an adversary in front of it.

[Timothy Keller]

I felt that God said, there are no closed doors. Let me just read to you what I wrote down in my notes.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I wrote this down.

[Timothy Keller]

I said, when I saw, as we prayed, there are no closed doors in New York City. Just looming, imposing, hellish figures standing in the threshold, preventing access. I want to say that again because

[Pastor Ricardo]

some of you missed it. You were just so fixated on looming hellish figures.

[Timothy Keller]

Listen to me carefully. There are no closed doors in New York City. Just looming, imposing, hellish figures standing in the threshold, preventing access. For the work of God to come into those places, folks, I was starting to pray for the un, Broadway, Wall street, the Financial District, sports teams, New York City. Politics, New York City government. Folks, I'm telling you, all these places are open doors, but there are many adversaries. You have to believe that. That all of a sudden this not closed university campuses in New York. NYU is not closed. Columbia's not closed. Fordham's not closed. We just have to believe that these are great and effective doors. But there is an adversary to keep us out, to keep the gospel out. I have to tell you, don't you understand that even for us to put up an LED wall in New York City on Broadway is going to be met with many adversaries? Folks, it's not just going like, hey, we're going to Preach the Gospel 24:7 in New York City. Don't you know there'll be many adversaries that is going to come against us? We have to. We have just found out everything is in to start the marquee. And then we just found out from the city.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I want to just. I want to speak to us as Times Square Church.

[Timothy Keller]

We have just found out from the city. They said, well, now you're going to have to go before the city council and you're going to have to present your case, and we're going to invite all the businesses all over the place. And so there's many adversaries. So they're trying. We don't know if it's stopping. We don't know if it's an adversary. We don't know what's ahead of us. But I'm just telling you, we know this is an effective door that God wants to open up, folks. And listen, we're not stopping. I'm just gonna tell you. And so they said to us, even on the annex, they said, you can use your existing signs, but we're not gonna allow it to go any further than that. So more adversaries to do this. But. But then. Then we just had this revelation. I want to show you something on the screen. We said, let's do the marquee. Look at this. And we said, let's even go above it. That's four stories high. So I said, let's. Let's wrap the marquee and go four stories up in this. So this way. Now, look, folks, let me just tell you something. And people are going to go like, oh, I knew he's going to talk about money. It'll cost more, but God will provide. Our adversary is not finances. Our adversary are going to try to stop the message of the gospel to go out. So, folks, I just kept thinking, I'm going We're going to believe for God to open up this door to share. 24. 7 believing. Even Pastor Carter told me he says, tim, what if we stuck up their QR codes that people can QR code and listen on, on their ear pods to what's on that screen that folks that even if you don't want to come in the building, you can still listen secretly to the gospel 24. 7 on in Times Square, New York City.

[Worship Leader]

Folks, it is a wide and effective door, but there are going to be many adversaries.

[Timothy Keller]

We're going to have to fight against this. Some years ago it was British writer G.K. chesterton who spoke about the man, the woman, the church that will change their generation and they can't be intimidated by the adversaries. And he said these words, listen to this. He says, therefore it is the paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Keep that on the screen for a moment.

[Timothy Keller]

Some of you need to see that it's the voice that is not afraid to speak the truth. The paradox of history that each generation is converted. An awakening, a revival, a move of God like you son, happens by the woman, the man of God, the woman of God who contradicts it most, who doesn't go with the flow and just says what everybody else is saying, but says we need a move of God and is willing to stand even, even against defiant devils that would come against it. For a great and effective door, the Bible says is open to me and there are many adversaries. And what is the great and effective door? What is that? It's when the kingdom of God enters into places and transforms it that's been. It enters into places that's been trying to keep it out, that is afraid for Jesus to walk into a place, afraid to come into a family, afraid to walk into a university, afraid to walk into a government building, afraid to walk into a city, afraid to walk into a community. I am telling you, a great and effective door is when the kingdom of God comes in and transforms a life, a heart that we are afraid sometimes for it to come into an apartment building, into a house, into a. Into a marriage. That's what changes lives. You walk through open doors into new places. It can be for you personally a family, a church, a city. Every open door will have adversaries, the forces of hell that will try to stop God from doing something. Every open door will have a defiant enemy that will try to stop it. Once again. For a great and effective door is open to me, and there are many adversaries. Think of the words that are just there, great and effective means. Impact is on the other side that God sees what can happen if God is allowed to show up and walking. Why? Why when we get to Christmas, why is everybody afraid of a manger scene? It's a baby. No, no, no, no. It's God, the King of kings that has come down. They folks. It's not you're afraid of a baby. You know, God has showed up, that's what that is. And the apostle Paul says it's been open to me means every place has an entry point for the kingdom access every place right from the UN to a family to a home, to a religious home.

[Pastor Ricardo]

He says that there'll be adversaries, which

[Timothy Keller]

means we can't move forward without engagement, without there being a battle, without there being a fight, without there being those things that says this is not right. No, we're not doing this. And the Bible says not just adversaries but many. Which means there will be multiple fights. You can't back down. We need God to move and it is going to be a fight. That's why we're going to need church a people that are going to believe. Can I just tell you in these last days you can go to school and get all the degrees you want,

[Pastor Ricardo]

but that doesn't change anybody's life.

[Timothy Keller]

Folks. We need a move of God. We need the power of God. We need. That's why I love. One of my spiritual fathers said this.

[Pastor Ricardo]

He says many preachers have degrees but

[Timothy Keller]

they don't have heat. We need preachers with heat that are filled with the F. Keep that on the screen. Take a picture of that and post that. Many preachers have degrees, but do you have the heat? Do you have the fire of God upon us? That's what we want. That's what I want. I don't need a degree. I need the fire of God to come down. I kept thinking of the book of Acts. Jesus wanting the gospel to advance just before he ascended into heaven. There would be open doors but defiant devils. They needed a church with heat, a church with fire. That's why he, he came down with fire in Acts chapter two. But it was going to be willing to fight through those multiple fights to go through the engagement. I was thinking of Acts 28 where the healing took place on the island of Malta. And it wasn't just for the king but for all those people. But there was an adversary in the way. It was a serpent that bit Paul's hands, a Venomous serpent. While Paul was building a fire, a serpent came and bit the Apostle Paul.

[Elder Vicki]

And.

[Timothy Keller]

And that healing that was supposed to come to the island of Malta, if that serpent, if that serpent won, there

[Pastor Ricardo]

would have been no healing in that island.

[Timothy Keller]

But God delivered Paul. God gave Paul a miracle that the hand that was bitten, that has, that has fang, that has fang scars on it, would be the hand that would lay hands on people to be healed. That hand would be the very hand that would pen the New Testament. That hand would. That I. I love it. I truly believe this, that on the island of Malta that the Apostle Paul was writing the gospels, or, I'm sorry, writing the epistles. And as he's writing, he can see those two fangs from a serpent that try to bite him. And I can just see him writing the Bible, looking and going, ha, devil. And then just continue to write those Scriptures. It was Acts 16. There was a jailer in Philippi that needed to get saved and his family family baptized. But his evangelist, the Apostle Paul and Silas were on the other side of an iron prison door. Those doors needed to open up, and hallelujah, they did. An earthquake came that there was a great and effective door, that a family in Philippi would be born again. But God needed to send an earthquake to open up those doors. And the very. That very jailer would get saved this family, and they would be baptized. How about Acts 8? There was an Ethiopian eunuch that would bring the gospel to a continent called Africa. But the one who would share the gospel with him was 65 miles away. And while he was on foot and a eunuch was on in a chariot, God made a way to pull him from Samaria, get him on a desert road, lead an Ethiopian to Jesus so the gospel can go into Africa. How about Acts 9? The world needed a mass murderer saved so he could write part of the New Testament and bring the gospel to the world. But religion was deceiving the Apostle Paul at that time. His name was Saul, and he would need for God himself to show up. There would be open doors, but defiant devils. They'd be blocked by snakes, blocked by iron doors, blocked by distance and blocked by religion. But there was a God that can do the impossible and open up those doors.

[Worship Leader]

Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

The island of Malta would be changed. Paul was healed. Philippians jailer family would be saved because they sung and prayed in prison. And an earthquake came and opened up the door. Africa would be transformed from one salvation moment on a chariot because God sent Philip to leave the the Christian meeting in Samaria to go meet a non Christian on a desert road. And the greatest Christian needed heaven to come down Jesus to come on the road to Damascus and to bring an

[Pastor Ricardo]

encounter with heaven to the Apostle Paul.

[Timothy Keller]

There are open doors, but there has to be a people that are willing to break through the many adversaries and engage in fight. How do you, how do you move a defiant devil out of the doorway?

[Pastor Ricardo]

How do you do that?

[Timothy Keller]

How? Because there are people that are sitting here that are going, I see the open door, but it's. But I can't get through. I can't get through to that son and daughter.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I can't get through to that professor.

[Timothy Keller]

I can't get through to a co worker. I keep being turned down over and

[Pastor Ricardo]

over again in my office building because I want to start a prayer meeting or a Bible study.

[Timothy Keller]

I keep getting turned and I'm telling you folks, listen to me, every business, every building, I'm speaking to New York City, I'm speaking to your city.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Every one of these places.

[Timothy Keller]

It is an open door.

[Pastor Ricardo]

But you've got to be willing to

[Timothy Keller]

engage with the defiant. You have to be willing to believe that God can open up a prison door, get through snake bites, take care of distance and get through religious jargon and politics and all that. God is greater than all of that. How do we get through that? How do you remove a defiant devil out of the way? I think there's four ways to move it. I think there's four ways to move hell. Let me give them to you just very quickly and then we'll go through it. I think, number one, you have to pray. Number two, you have to submit to God. Number three, we need the armor of God. And number four, don't ever forget the

[Pastor Ricardo]

power of the blood of Jesus Christ.

[Timothy Keller]

Let me talk to you first about prayer to move the defiant out of the way.

[Pastor Ricardo]

This was Paul in prison in Acts 16.

[Timothy Keller]

Listen, I think, I think he has to write from experience.

[Pastor Ricardo]

When he writes Colossians chapter four, listen to verse two.

[Timothy Keller]

He said, pray diligently, stay alert with your eyes wide open with gratitude. He says, but don't forget to pray for us that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ. Even while I'm locked up in this jail, pray that every time I open my mouth I'll be able to make Christ as plain as day to them. He knew that prayer opens up those doors. This is why we challenge you to commit to noon prayer for New York

[Pastor Ricardo]

City and for our city.

[Timothy Keller]

This is why we challenge you that

[Pastor Ricardo]

are watching all over the world that people sometimes get upset with us.

[Timothy Keller]

They're going, why don't you post, why don't you put the noon prayer meeting online? I said, because it's not for you, it's for us. So if you want to see God move in your city, start your own prayer meeting, do something, believe for God to do it. Well, it'd only be me and one other person. That's enough. Where two or three are gathered in his name, God can show up in that place. But there's something powerful. Let me just say this to you

[Pastor Ricardo]

about this noon prayer meeting that we

[Timothy Keller]

do every single week. We are praying, folks. There is no sermon, there is, there

[Pastor Ricardo]

is no song service.

[Timothy Keller]

We are praying for an awakening in New York City. Now here's the thing.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Why for those that keep going, there are people that are here going like,

[Timothy Keller]

I'm coming, I'm going to be there, I'm going to. Why do you think that every noon

[Pastor Ricardo]

or every Wednesday at 11 o' clock, something always comes up? Because the enemy doesn't want you to pray. He doesn't want you to be part of this.

[Timothy Keller]

The enemy knows the power of prayer.

[Pastor Ricardo]

We have a special prayer request from the Netherlands and I want you, I want to read it to you. I've attended TSC online from the Netherlands for years now together with my wife and we are thankful for Times Square Church. I want you to listen to these words. Today my co worker sent me a heart wrenching email. He explained that his daughter has been battling every heavy depression for over eight years and she has been admitted to multiple treatment clinics over the years and have attempted suicide multiple times. The most recent one was last September. Since a few months, I want you, this is the part I want you to lock in. Listen to this. For the last few months, she started the process for euthanasia, for assisted suicide because she cannot cope with the chaos in her head anymore. And the only peace that she can find is by ending her life. And she now has received medical approval from the hospitals in the Netherlands for, for the doctors to end her life on September 1st. Folks, listen to me. This is a battle that needs prayer.

[Timothy Keller]

This is a young girl, she's 27

[Pastor Ricardo]

years old and the only answer that the doctors can give her for the chaos in her head is we're gonna help you end your life.

[Timothy Keller]

Folks.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I said we're gonna pray as a church that this young girl is gonna begin to find Jesus, that I'm going

[Timothy Keller]

to pray that the doctors that have signed the report, they're going to find Jesus, because he will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon him. I want to believe, can we. Without using her name, we're just going

[Pastor Ricardo]

to use the country which is the Netherlands. Can we just stop for a moment

[Timothy Keller]

right now and pray for a breakthrough for this young lady, Father? In Jesus name, Father, there are many adversaries right now that is going to try to stop, stop this young lady, Father, from receiving life. That life wants to walk right into her heart. The Son of God wants to come in and change her right now. But the enemy is has many adversaries.

[Podcast Host]

Hell.

[Timothy Keller]

A hellish looming figure. Euthanasia, assisted suicide. That says it's the only answer. But we say today there is an answer. His name is Jesus.

[Worship Leader]

Oh God, save that young lady today. God let her know that Christ will change her from the inside out. I pray that before September 1st she finds Jesus. She finds a miracle.

[Timothy Keller]

Oh God, I'm believing that we are

[Worship Leader]

fighting to move that hellish figure out of the way.

[Timothy Keller]

And salvation will walk right into that home. In Jesus name. In Jesus name.

[Elder Vicki]

Amen.

[Timothy Keller]

Amen and amen.

[Worship Leader]

Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

And just a reminder, if prayer works, don't forget Acts 16:25. At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the prisoners were listening. And suddenly there came an earthquake. The foundation of the prison was shaken, the doors were open and everyone's chains were unfastened. Keep that verse on the screen. Don't miss this. This, it says, foundations shook, doors are open and chains fall off. If maybe you didn't hear me. Foundations shake, doors are open and chains fall off. Let me try it one more time because I thought we were in Church on 51st and Broadway.

[Worship Leader]

When people pray, foundations shake, doors open and chains fall off. Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

I thought I was at Times square. Church number two. Submission.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Submission.

[Timothy Keller]

This was Philip in Acts 8 when God said, leave the Samaritan revival.

[Pastor Ricardo]

This is Philip submitting that in the

[Timothy Keller]

middle of God moving amongst the Samaritan

[Pastor Ricardo]

people, God says you're going to go to a desert road.

[Timothy Keller]

He had no idea he was going to meet an Ethiopian eunuch who was

[Pastor Ricardo]

reading, in a sense, a pamphlet of Isaiah 53. And that that encounter, leaving the religious, leaving the saved to go to the unsaved. That submission to God would change everything. People want autonomy today, not submission to God. They want a 51% decision in their Christianity. Let me help you today. When you say Jesus is Lord, you don't have 51%. He's in charge of your life, folks. I want you to listen to me.

[Timothy Keller]

God won't allow it.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Christianity means God is in charge regardless of public opinion, court rulings, inner feelings and personal opinions. When he is Lord, I want every pastor, every church to listen to me that he is the one that makes

[Timothy Keller]

the rules, not you, not society, and not courts you. God is the one from the very foundation.

[Pastor Ricardo]

He's the one that's in charge.

[Timothy Keller]

We obey Him. It's found in his word. What happens when you submit to God. Here it is. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Oh, hallelujah. You submit so you can resist and the devil flees from you. When the enemy runs, breakthrough comes. What has God asked you to do

[Pastor Ricardo]

that you're stalling on? What has God spoken to you and says, this is what I want you to be, this is what I want you to do, this is what I

[Timothy Keller]

want you to be, to begin to enter in and maybe to take that submission, walk out of a boat and walk on water to do whatever that means.

[Pastor Ricardo]

This is from one of our Beyond Sunday members. I was just sent this. This is from one of the people watching online that works with our online team that you saw from Sweden. I want you to read. I want to read this to you. Annette writes from Sweden. She said on Sunday, July 19. That was. Was that last Sunday? Yes, last Sunday. I was a bit down due to trying circumstances in my family. I didn't really feel like watching the service, but I have the honor of serving Times Square Church as the Beyond Sunday host. So I felt responsible to attend. Anyway, immediately when I turned tuned in, I felt that there was something special going on at church and said, right then, all the way here in Sweden, the presence of the Holy Spirit started to move here in Sweden.

[Timothy Keller]

Comes from New York to Sweden. I found myself in a state of joy. With tears flowing down. A new joy came into my soul and spirit. Spirit, because I totally submitted, submitted, submitted to trusting God with everything and all the chaos that was going on in my family. I submitted and trusted God. I didn't care what my family thought that I was starting to worship out loud with a full voice. Then the message proclaimed that we can be free. When trusting God with everything that is hard and painful, he will make a way. I am amazed how God is working even from New York all the way over to Sweden. When you submit to God, I'm telling you folks, when you submit, the devil flees and there is victory that takes place. It has to start with submission. It's not just I resist you, Satan it has to be. I submit to you, God. I give you my life, I give you my thoughts. I give you everything. It all belongs to you. A people that pray, a people that submit. Let me talk to you about the

[Pastor Ricardo]

armor of God for just a second. It's an armor of God that the Bible talks about. Number three. It's an armor that snakes can't bite through. It's an armor that breaks them. It breaks the venomous fangs of hell that seek to come in and begin to wreak havoc like it was in our precious sister in Sweden, or even this precious young girl in the Netherlands. Acts 28 on Malta, when that serpent tried to come. This is a man, though he is, in a sense a castaway on a boat that broke up and they floated on wood to an island. I'm telling you, that man probably had nothing on but a piece of rag because he was being sent to Rome as a prisoner. He's being sent there in chains. But can I tell you, on the outside it looked like a prisoner in a piece of rag floating on wood. But can I tell you that man had on the armor of God? Listen to these words. Finally. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

[Timothy Keller]

Put on the full armor of God

[Pastor Ricardo]

so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.

[Timothy Keller]

Therefore, take up the full armor of God so you may be able to resist in the evil day. And having done everything, stand firm. Hallelujah. Folks, I'm telling you, listen to me close. You can wear a suit and tie to work every day and still have armor on. You can dress up as a character on Broadway and still have your armor on. You can put on a uniform for a New York sports team, still have your armor on. You can have a badge that says a delegate at the United nations and still have your armor on. You can wear a doctor's coat and have a stethoscope. But underneath that, that doctor's coat is the armor of God. We need the armor of God today. The Bible tells us what the armor.

[Worship Leader]

What?

[Timothy Keller]

What does the armor of God do? From head to toe, God has you covered. Listen to this. A helmet of salvation, a belt of truth, shield of faith, sword of the spirit, breastplate of righteousness and shoes ready to advance the gospel. This is God's armor. Almighty God has picked it out for you. I love the last piece. The head is the helmet of salvation. And then Ephesians 6:15 says, Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the good news of peace with God. It's God saying, you never know when these feet will bring you to places

[Pastor Ricardo]

to share that gospel.

[Timothy Keller]

It's the armor of God.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I have to read this story to you. That just caught my attention. There was a pastor of a storefront church in one of the Midwest cities here in America. The name of his church. Now, wait for it. It's pretty intense. Listen to this. This church, this small church was called Almighty God Tabernacle of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ Apostolic Church of God in Christ.

[Timothy Keller]

Let me read this to you one more time. I should have put it on the screen. Almighty God, Tabernacle of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Apostolic Church of God in Christ. Let me read it one more time.

[Timothy Keller]

Can you imagine?

[Pastor Ricardo]

You can't even say tsc. I mean, I know you have to

[Timothy Keller]

say A, G, T, O, O, S, a L, J, C, A C, O, G in C. All the. The first, it's. It's called Almighty God Tabernacle of our

[Pastor Ricardo]

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apostolic Church of God in Christ. Okay, he got the name down. It was a Saturday night. This pastor was working late and decided to call his wife before he left home. He was at the church working on his message. It was about 10pm but his wife didn't answer the phone when he called home. The pastor said that pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd. He knew the family was home. But he was odd that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and then try again a few minutes later. When he tried again, she answered right away. He asked her, he said, why didn't you answer before? She said, well, the phone didn't ring. They brushed it off as just a fluke that maybe something with the. With. With their server.

[Timothy Keller]

Whatever.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Something happened and he just went on his way and that was it. Preached Sunday, he said the following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office. Listen to this. Which was the phone that he used that Sunday night because he used the church phone. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he called him on Saturday night at 10pm the pastor couldn't figure out what the guy was talking about. And then the guy sang. It rang and rang, but I didn't answer on Saturday night. And the pastor remembered. And he goes, oh, my goodness. I am so sorry. That was me. I'm so sorry for Calling you so late and disturbing you, explaining all that. He said, I was trying to call my wife, and I must have dialed the wrong number. The man said, let me tell you my story. He said, that night I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night. But before I did, I prayed. I said, God, if you're there and if you are real and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now. At that point, my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller id, and

[Timothy Keller]

because the whole name couldn't fit on the caller id, all it said was almighty God on the caller id.

[Worship Leader]

He said, God showed up on that day. Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

Hallelujah. I think we need to get a longer name for our church.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Now, as the band comes. Let me finish this. It's prayer that moves that defiant devil

[Timothy Keller]

out of the way.

[Pastor Ricardo]

It's submission that moves that defiant devil. It's the armor of God when you show up, that moves the devil. Suicide moves out of the way for people that show up with the armor of God. And finally, it's the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.

[Timothy Keller]

I kept thinking about the Apostle Paul

[Pastor Ricardo]

on the road to Damascus. The most religious man you could ever meet before he encounters Christ. The Apostle Paul constantly talked about his religious background. I was a Benjamite, if you could read it in Philippians, chapter two. And it's. It became so deceiving to him that

[Timothy Keller]

he thought he was doing God's will

[Pastor Ricardo]

by murdering Christians in the first century. Because religion got into his soul and spirit. And it wasn't fixed until Jesus showed up personally on the road to Damascus and changed his life. That a mass murderer, a man who's responsible for, we don't know in history, for all those. All lives that were taken, whether he was responsible for getting the papers sanctioning the deaths, ravaging homes. It talks about this in Acts, chapter 9. But the apostle Paul's whole world will be upended when he meets Jesus, the crucified Christ that would die for his sins. Religion puts everything on man. You gotta do this. You gotta carry a briefcase. You gotta ride a bicycle. You gotta wear a name tag. You gotta.

[Timothy Keller]

You gotta become a martyr.

[Pastor Ricardo]

You gotta do this. Christianity is the only religion that says this. It's not what you do for God. It's what God has done for you, which is the cross of Jesus Christ. That's why the apostle Paul, all throughout his letters, he kept talking about the cross, the blood of Jesus that was shed. Free me. The blood of Jesus. See, it's that blood that removes. That gets things out of the way.

[Timothy Keller]

Remember these words.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And they have defeated him by the blood of the lamb, by their testimony. They didn't love their lives so much as they were afraid to die. Every week, as I walk around the block, as I pray, finish. When I finish praying for seats on Saturday, I walk around the block and I stop at every entrance into this building. Side doors, front doors, annex all over. I just say, God, I said, I know that there are open doors all over the city that your kingdom wants to go into. But I also know that these are doors that the enemy wants to come into. And so what I would do every. I did it yesterday, I would say, this. This is gonna be. For some people, maybe not used to these words. I would just go, I plead the blood. I plead the blood over these doors.

[Timothy Keller]

What does that mean, to plead the blood?

[Pastor Ricardo]

It brings us back to the Old Testament. It brings us back to the night where the death angel came, where they put the blood of a lamb on a doorpost to keep a death angel.

[Timothy Keller]

And I would walk.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I'd walk by every one of these.

[Timothy Keller]

These doors.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And I said, God, blood of Jesus over this door. I plead the blood that God, you'd protect us. You'd protect us from any.

[Timothy Keller]

Anything we played, we prayed it with,

[Pastor Ricardo]

with the choir today. You know what I pray every single week? God Station Angels on 51st and Broadway, 52nd and Broadway, 51st and 8th. 52nd and 8th.

[Timothy Keller]

I said, let this be the safest full block in New York City. I said, station big angels with swords

[Pastor Ricardo]

on these blocks that when people come

[Timothy Keller]

to this place, they're going to know Jesus is to able.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I said, devils are going to walk into this place. Throughout my ministry, I'm telling you, it has always been the name of Jesus and the blood of Jesus that has always brought victory. It's always been the thing that breaks through. It's always been the thing that will begin to silence hell, remove those defiant voices and defiant devils. Because it is a battle. It's a battle that's out there. As the whole team comes, Ricardo singers instruments stand with me. I want to. I want to because we know this verse. But I want to help you with this verse for just a second, and then we'll close. It's Isaiah 54, 17.

[Timothy Keller]

How many know? How many remember this verse?

[Pastor Ricardo]

Look at it on the screen. Put it up on the screen for me, please.

[Timothy Keller]

No weapon formed against you. How many know that verse? Well, I have to tell you, that's the end of the story. See this Verse. What gives this verse power. See, this verse is the conclusion of the matter. It's the verse before it that tells you why you need verse 17.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And this is what it says.

[Timothy Keller]

Listen to it. Behold, I've created the smith who blows the fire of coals and brings out a weapon for its work. And I've created the destroyer to run.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Do you understand?

[Timothy Keller]

He says there is a smith, a

[Pastor Ricardo]

weapon dealer, who is blowing on the

[Timothy Keller]

coals of fire to bring weapons against you. He said, there is now weapons to stop you from advancing this gospel. He says, you understand that there is a fight to destroy. A young girl in the Netherlands is fighting for her life. The enemy is coming in to cause all this chaos. Is as if the enemy was blowing on the coals as a smith is creating a weapon and says, now I'm going to put in her mind, she is worthless. She has. She has no hope. The only answer for her is death. Early death at 27 years old. There is some in here that the weapon against you has been your past. You'll never be used of God. Remember what you did. You're a failure. You've done all this, and all of a sudden that defiant devil has looming in the doorway and saying, you're not coming through. You can't come through. And all of a sudden that looming hellish figure stands there. But I'm here to tell you this. Listen to me. There is a wide and effective door, but there are many adversaries. But I have this. I have this hope inside of me that this very thing is true, that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. No weapon formed against me shall prosper, one version says.

[Worship Leader]

But in that coming day, no weapon

[Timothy Keller]

turned against you will succeed. I'm here to tell you there is victory when the people of God begin

[Worship Leader]

to realize weapons have been formed. But I've got a God that is able to bring victory in my life today, in my family, in this city, and in our church. Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

Hallelujah. I want you to listen to me, God. Oh, yeah, that's Willie. You just.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I mean, you say one thing and Willie starts playing the song. It's. That's the. There's no weapon formed against me. You know that song, right?

[Timothy Keller]

Come on, just sing it for a second.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Come on. Come on.

[Timothy Keller]

You know.

[Pastor Ricardo]

That's all there is. Come on.

[Timothy Keller]

Lift the hand and say. Sing it again. No weapon.

[Elder Vicki]

No weapon against me shall prosper. Against me.

[Timothy Keller]

Elder Vicki, sing this. God would do. God will do. Sing it.

[Elder Vicki]

God will do what he said he would do. He will stand by his word. He will come through. O God will do what he said he will do. He will stand by his word.

[Worship Leader]

No weapon sing it.

[Elder Vicki]

Shall prosper.

[Pastor Ricardo]

You see the door, but you have a. That looming figure that door is in of front, front that just says you, you know.

[Timothy Keller]

And post a bogus sign that says

[Pastor Ricardo]

no entrance, no trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted.

[Timothy Keller]

It's put in there.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Don't bring this into your family. And you have people, even your family.

[Timothy Keller]

Don't bring this Jesus in here. Don't, don't bring it here. We'll write you up if you do that.

[Pastor Ricardo]

And all of a sudden those adversaries rise up. Those adversaries start coming in and it's all the fight that seems to come. Folks, listen to me.

[Timothy Keller]

It's a wide and effective. There are no closed doors.

[Pastor Ricardo]

It just needs a people that are willing to fight. It just needs a people that are willing to say, we'll pray, we'll submit to God's.

[Timothy Keller]

It's a people that would say, we'll put on the armor of God every single day. And it's the people of God that says this. There is power in the blood of Jesus Christ. There is power in the blood.

[Pastor Ricardo]

That's what it is.

[Timothy Keller]

It's a people that would lift one hand and say, we're gonna pray. We're gonna fight through. We'll pray. Number two, they're gonna say, we'll submit to God. There won't be left anything on the table that will be considered disobedience. I'm gonna do what God has asked me to do. And, and it's a person that says, every day I'm going to put on that helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, a shield of faith. And those feet are going to be shod with the gospel of peace. That no matter how, how long the name of my church is, I know that an almighty God may show up on a caller ID and stop someone from committing suicide. And finally listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. And all those places, all those churches that are afraid to sing songs about the blood of Jesus because you're afraid it's going to offend people. Folks, I'm saying, Jesus, let your blood saturate our worship. The blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus. For they overcame him.

[Worship Leader]

Folks, I'm here to tell you I can't not talk about the blood if it's the very thing that defeats the

[Timothy Keller]

enemy in this place. So I'm sorry you're going like, oh, that blood stuff, that's why we need to find a church that talks, that we can get a latte. Give me the blood.

[Pastor Ricardo]

The blood of Jesus breaks through religion

[Timothy Keller]

and says, it's not me, folks. I'm telling you, I can't get myself to heaven. I need Jesus. I need the cross. I need the blood that was shed for me. That's why this church was founded on celebrating communion every Tuesday night. Not once a month, not once, but every Tuesday night is what the David Wilkerson started with to say we need to celebrate it every. Every Tuesday night, once a week to

[Pastor Ricardo]

say Jesus's blood, his cross. He has done the work for us. So here's. Here's how we close. We're going to sing this song one more time. And I felt so strongly to ask this. Some of you have seen the door open, but you've. You can't seem to get through it. This is an altar. This is an altar.

[Timothy Keller]

I'm going to invite you.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Balcony, main floor. Those that are online, I want you to listen. This altar is going to be for those that need for that defiant devil to move out of the way that you've been told everything.

[Timothy Keller]

You can't go in.

[Pastor Ricardo]

You can't see that happen at your job, on your workplace, in that locker room, in that dressing room, in this place. You can't have a classroom to do this. You can't have a. You can't do this.

[Timothy Keller]

And it's those that have just lost.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Maybe you forgot how to fight.

[Timothy Keller]

And that looming hellish devilish figure stands

[Pastor Ricardo]

brash and bold, and you've forgotten that they have formed weapons to get in your mind. It says, don't cross here. Don't cross here. Don't do this. Don't go through this door. And I'm telling you, there is a great and effective door. But there are many adversaries.

[Timothy Keller]

But we have a God that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

[Pastor Ricardo]

Shall prosper.

[Timothy Keller]

How many needed to fight devil to

[Pastor Ricardo]

move out of the way in a home, in a school?

[Timothy Keller]

How many need that? As we sing this song, I'm gonna

[Pastor Ricardo]

ask you to get out of your seat and get to this altar as fast as you can. We're gonna start to pray.

[Timothy Keller]

Come on, let's sing this again. Come on. Come on. You come. Balcony will wait for you to come make your way down. This is going to be a declaration to say we're going to believe for a miracle. Miracle. Miracle. That defiant devil is going to move

[Worship Leader]

out of the way. Hallelujah. It won't work.

[Timothy Keller]

No weapon. Sing it church.

[Elder Vicki]

Won't sing it again.

[Timothy Keller]

No weapon.

[Elder Vicki]

Shall prosper.

[Timothy Keller]

Come on.

[Worship Leader]

God will do. You can sing this with us. Come on. God will do.

[Elder Vicki]

I will do my. He said he would do. He would stand by. He will come through. Say what he said he would do. He will stand by his word. He will come through. Nowhere. Shall prosper.

[Timothy Keller]

Come on, just for a moment. Lift those hands and just say God, I believe it. Just say it. No weapon formed against me will prosper. Come on, tell them that right now.

[Worship Leader]

No weapon.

[Timothy Keller]

Weapon formed against me shall prosper over my family, my marriage, my children, God, my career, my job, my office. God. We're going to believe right now that God in this city, in our lives, that God the enemy is. There's a. There is a weapon, there's a smith that's blowing on the coals right now to try to stop these precious people. But we are believing for victory today.

[Worship Leader]

They.

[Timothy Keller]

They are forming weapons right now to bring fear, to say, you better not say Jesus, you better not invite anyone to church.

[Worship Leader]

You better not do.

[Timothy Keller]

You better not bring a Bible. You better not begin to think that this.

[Worship Leader]

But God. We believe there are open doors. Open doors, open doors.

[Timothy Keller]

But there are adversaries. But God, with our hands lifted up, we say we will pray. With our hands lifted up, we say we will submit. With our hands lifted up, we say we will put on the armor of God. With our hands lifted up, we say thank you for the blood. Thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ.

[Worship Leader]

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[Timothy Keller]

So, Father, this altar call is a declaration. Declaration today. It's a declaration to say that we won't fight. These are men and women, these are

[Pastor Ricardo]

young people, these are students that are

[Timothy Keller]

willing to stand even with contrary winds. Contrary winds. But Father, you're about to lift.

[Pastor Ricardo]

You're about to do something. And I believe for that. I believe for that right now. Folks, just look at me for a moment. Let me just say something to you. Those contrary winds, it's for lift. It's for lift. It's for lift.

[Timothy Keller]

It's not to get you to back off.

[Pastor Ricardo]

It's for lift. Can I just tell you, on this ship, for those that are at this

[Timothy Keller]

church, I'm gonna tell you what the pilot told me. No snacks will be served. Buckle up, because we're gonna get up really fast. And it's going to be. Those winds are going to be strong, but it's still can go up. I, I, I, we're going to go into the wind, but with God's Help. It's going to go higher than it's ever been. I'm believing. I'm believing. Anybody with me, I'm believing there's going to be a four story led wall. I mean, anybody going to believe with me out there, there's going to be a four story. I know we're going to have to stand before the tribunal of the. Whatever that is. And I'm gonna go, God, give us the. The Apostle Paul boldness with the tribunal. As we're doing that, we will not back down. God is gonna begin because, because we

[Pastor Ricardo]

say, no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

[Timothy Keller]

It won't work. So for your family, for your marriage, there's a fight to stop you from having a healthy marriage. There's a fight to stop you as

[Pastor Ricardo]

single people that have a healthy mind

[Timothy Keller]

that wants to get in your mind and say, you're going to be alone. You'll never be anything because you're alone.

[Pastor Ricardo]

I'm telling you, there's no weapon formed against you that shall prosper.

[Timothy Keller]

Can I, can I tell you what happened?

[Pastor Ricardo]

And I was reminded of this. I was in a conversation with somebody and I was reminded of this. I have friends and family that I remember when I was going to marry Cindy years ago.

[Timothy Keller]

And I remember I was so afraid

[Pastor Ricardo]

because I knew people, even just so

[Timothy Keller]

many great people that divorced, divorce, divorce, divorce. And I was so afraid, I was so afraid, going like, God, I don't want to get married and get a divorce. I don't want to get married and get a divorce. And this thing got in my mind. And at that moment, man, folks, I'm

[Pastor Ricardo]

just telling you, no weapon formed against me shall prow.

[Timothy Keller]

This year we celebrate 30 years. 30 years. 30 years. Have how many here, how many married people have faced those contrary winds? Anybody here face those contrary wins? Okay, listen, that's not for divorce. That's to lift you up. That's not for divorce. That's to get you to a place that you've never been before. So when the contrary winds come, you go, we're locking in. No snacks served. Buckle up. God's getting ready to do something. Amen.

[Podcast Host]

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