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                     These Times Demand Special Trust

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By David Wilkerson
November 5, 1990
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          Every Christian claims to trust the Lord. But the truth
          is, many of God's children are not ready to face the
          black storm of sorrows that is fast approaching!

          The vials of God's wrath are soon to be poured out upon
          the earth, ushering in a time of trouble like none seen
          before in man's history. And unless we lay hold of a
          special, unshakable trust in the Lord, few Christians
          are going to survive the very hard times ahead!

          When the full fury of the storm breaks upon us - when
          destructive war breaks out, anarchy rules the streets,
          unemployment plagues the land and uncertainty falls
          like a cloud over mankind - multitudes of Christians
          will be lost, unable to handle it all! Overcome with
          fear, terror and hopelessness, they will lose their
          song of victory. They will be spiritually and
          physically bankrupt, without an ounce of trust in the
          Lord. They will suddenly give up hope and drown in
          sorrow and distress!

          Who are these Christians who will not be prepared to
          endure the storm? They are those who have not
          cultivated a consistent, daily life of prayer with the
          Lord!

          Repeatedly believers in our congregation and in others
          have heard their shepherds beg them to set aside a time
          each day to meet the Lord in secret prayer! Only those
          who learn to pour out their hearts to the Lord in the
          secret closet of prayer will be rewarded with a holy
          faith and trust!

          You see, communion gives birth to trust. Only by
          pouring out to God all our fears and worries can we
          come away with His rest and assurance. "Trust in him at
          all times ... pour out your heart before him" (Psalm
          62:8). Trusting and pouring out are inseparable!

          This couldn't be any clearer. If we are to trust God at
          all times - even the darkest of times - we must be
          pouring out our hearts to Him continually!

          As the days become more frightful, there will arise a
          people of God who will become bolder and bolder. These
          will be believers who call daily on the name of the
          Lord, "so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
          helper, and I do not fear what man shall do unto me"
          (Hebrews 13:6).

          David was a man of God who had learned to call on the
          name of the Lord in every crisis of his life. Time
          after time he ran to his secret place to empty all his
          fears before his Lord: "In my distress I called upon
          the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice
          out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears
          .... He delivered me" (2 Samuel 22:7,18).

          When the biggest storm of his life came upon him, David
          was ready! He didn't have to lean on someone else! He
          already had a song he could sing through the darkness
          and uncertainty:

          "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my
          deliverer; the God of my rock; in him will I trust: he
          is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high
          tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from
          violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be
          praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies" (2
          Samuel 22:2-4).

          David saw the storm coming - a storm of violence,
          floods of ungodly men, "the sorrows of hell
          compass(ing) ... the snares of death" (verses 5-6). Yet
          none of those things could bother him! His trust in the
          Lord had been set and anchored because of his daily
          communion with Him!

          There are believers today who regularly shut themselves
          in with God and are getting to know Him - and that
          intimacy is giving birth to great trust! Sitting under
          strong preaching, listening to tapes, worshipping and
          praising in the house of the Lord - all these
          activities are commendable and profitable. But none
          provides the strength you need to stand firm in times
          of trouble! Nothing will build you up in trust and
          confidence as much as secret, daily prayer with your
          heavenly Father!

          You must have a place where you can go to meet with God
          every day! You can't have a problem you won't give to
          Him, a burden you won't place upon Him. And you can't
          leave His presence until you come away assured, leaning
          on His everlasting arms!

          Heed this warning: If you are not daily pouring out
          your heart to God in the secret closet of prayer, you
          will be stricken with a "double fear" and "double
          terror" when things become really bad! You will wake up
          too late to realize you are among the foolish virgins,
          who had lamps with trimmed wicks and a desire to be in
          the wedding - but no oil to fuel the flame!

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           These Times Call for More Than a General Trust in God
             - They Require a Special Trust for Special Times!

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          All Christians have a general trust in the Lord. We all
          stand on a few promises that apply to the whole body of
          Christ, such as:

          Hebrews 13:5 - "I will never leave thee, nor forsake
          thee."

          Romans 8:28 - "All things work together for good to
          them that love God, to them who are the called
          according to his purpose."

          Psalm 84:11 - "For the Lord God is a sun and shield:
          the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will
          He withhold from them that walk uprightly."

          These well-known promises have brought great comfort
          and blessing to God's people worldwide for many
          centuries. Yet beyond these general promises, God gives
          us specific promises for special times - hard times. We
          must know them and bring them with us when we come
          boldly to His throne of grace!

          The Puritans, who were mightily blessed of God, said
          every promise of the Lord is a holy argument. They
          believed a Christian shouldn't come before the Lord
          with just a general faith.

          When God tells you to come boldly before the throne of
          grace, to receive mercy and grace in our time of need,
          you can't have just a general idea of why you're there,
          other than that the Bible says you should be. You can't
          just say, "Okay, Lord, You know my heart. Give me
          whatever You see fit."

          That may sound good - but God has particular, specific
          promises for specific times in our lives. And He wants
          us to lay hold of them with our hearts so that we might
          stand strong and assured as we reason with Him! He
          wants us to stand before His throne having perfect
          consolation, absolute assurance and no doubts
          whatsoever!

          Maybe the reason you are not hearing from God is that
          you've given Him a general faith without being specific
          with Him. God says, "Come, bring forth your strong
          reasons. Why should I do this for you? Why should I
          bless you?" He knows why, of course - but He wants you
          to know why!

          I want to point out three very specific times when
          special or particular trust is needed, based on God's
          special promises. There are many more times when such
          trust is needed, but these three instances are
          especially noteworthy:

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             1. When an Act of Obedience Casts You Out Into the
                                 Unknown!

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          God demanded of Abraham an incredible act of obedience
          - He asked him to step out into an unknown future!
          Abraham was to take this step with nothing more
          tangible than the promise of God: "Get thee out of thy
          country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
          house, unto a land that I will show thee" (Genesis
          12:1).

          The writer of Hebrews said: "Abraham, when he was
          called to go out ... obeyed; and he went out, not
          knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8). The Lord did
          not lay out before Abraham a neat, detailed travel
          plan! Instead, He simply said, "Gather your family,
          pack up your belongings, leave your kin and go to a
          place I'll tell you about."

          At seventy-five years old Abraham was asked to cast
          himself fully upon God's faithfulness! He was told to
          pack up and go - with no explanations, no description
          of where he was going or of the possible dangers
          involved. Abraham went out not knowing anything! He was
          to rest only in a promise: "I will show you - I will
          bless you!"

          Sarah probably was no different from any modern-day
          woman. She may have asked the questions any wife would
          ask: "Are we going south or north? What kind of clothes
          should I pack? Are we going to settle down or stay on
          the move?"

          All Abraham could answer was, "God said to go, so we
          are going! He will show us the next step as soon as we
          get moving!" God couldn't show Abraham anything until
          he moved - and even after that it remained a day-to-day
          walk for him!

          We sometimes have the idea that when God commands us to
          do something and we obey, everything will be smooth
          sailing from that point on. We think God should be so
          grateful for our obedience that He'll put us on a
          four-lane freeway to heaven!

          There were times when God told me to step out by faith,
          and I did. But afterward I said, "God, don't ever ask
          that of me again. I did it, and You blessed me - but I
          don't want to live that way!"

          Abraham obeyed God - but one act of obedience does not
          add up to a walk of obedience. Indeed, he had a promise
          from God - but along the way he had to go through the
          Negev desert, snow-covered mountains, another desert,
          the warring people of Canaan, and he ended up in the
          midst of a famine in Egypt. I'm so glad God didn't tell
          him about the path he would walk!

          Yet that particular path was like no other Abraham had
          walked. Through it all he was never in any danger.
          Nobody could touch him. God was his shield, his
          protector every day. And because of his faith, Abraham
          was becoming a friend to God!

          God asks all of His servants to continually step out
          into the unknown! It is not a one-time thing - it is a
          walk that is required our entire lifetime!

          But our obedience wins us a great reward: not only the
          constant, invincible protection of our covenant Lord,
          but the Lord Himself! "The word of the Lord came unto
          Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy
          shield, and thy exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:
          1).

          God is making a glorious statement to us! Those who
          obey Him - who step out not knowing what will happen to
          them yet blindly trusting in His Word - will never be
          in danger! "I will hover over them as a shield. I will
          be their reward! I will give Myself to them!"

          The Lord may have commanded you to lay something or
          someone down on the altar. He may have told you to take
          a step of obedience - and you know if you do, it will
          cast you out into the unknown and cost you everything:
          your career, your business, your loved ones. You may be
          called crazy or foolish - but in your heart you know
          God has lovingly ordered you, "Obey Me - now!"

          A member of our church, Diane Venora, is an acclaimed
          actress. But just a few weeks ago she gave up show
          business completely, as an act of obedience to the
          Lord. She knew in her heart the Lord had told her to
          leave it all behind!

          So she put aside a best supporting actress award and
          stepped out into the great unknown. She had no job or
          guarantees of work of any kind. She went out not
          knowing where she was going!

          The very next day her agent called to tell her she had
          been offered a starring role in a movie with three of
          the best-known actors in the business. After she hung
          up, she said, "No, Satan, I know what you're trying to
          do. I won't change my mind!"

          Beloved, that's the way it's going to be! Whenever you
          step out in faithful obedience, the devil will bring
          some enticement to draw you back to the side of
          disobedience. Obedience will always cost you something!

          Yet that same week Diane went to court and won a great
          victory in a child-custody battle. Her shield was
          working for her! She had won Christ! Her reward had
          been the Lord Himself!

          Three years ago God called the pastors of this church
          and our families to take a great step of obedience when
          He asked us to leave our comfortable Texas environment
          and come to New York City. We had no congregation, no
          building and little money! God had said only, "Go, and
          I'll be with you! I'll bless you, I'll be your
          reward..."

          "So Abraham departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him"
          (Genesis 12:4). And so did we! God became a shield to
          us, and He has given us Himself day after day. Today we
          have a growing, maturing congregation that stands as a
          testimony to His miracle!

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              The Word Abounds With Special, Specific Promises
                 for Those Who Must Step Out in Obedience!

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          Here are just a few to carry with you to the throne of
          God! You can lay your life on the line by these
          promises!

          "If ye will obey my voice indeed [with no halfway
          commitment], and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
          peculiar treasure unto me above all people" (Exodus
          19:5).

          "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good
          of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
          devoured [destroyed]" (Isaiah 1: 19-20).

          "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be
          my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have
          commanded you, that it may be well unto you" (Jeremiah
          7:23).

          You also have this ironclad promise that the Holy Ghost
          will be with you through all your steps of obedience
          and times of testing: "And we are his witnesses of
          these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God
          hath given to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32).

          If God is telling you to lay something down, step out
          and do it! The Bible clearly says that if you obey God,
          He will give you the Holy Ghost to be your guide and
          your strength - to provide you with everything you need
          to complete the act of obedience!

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                   2. We Need a Particular, Special Trust
                  When Our Very Livelihood Is Threatened!

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          In my lifetime I have never talked to so many
          frightened people as I have in the past three months.
          America is downright scared!

          Builders, real estate people, Wall Street
          professionals, retailers, executives, lawyers,
          restaurant owners, small-business owners - they're all
          saying the same thing: "It's worse than most people
          know. And it's going to get worse! Everything is coming
          to a stop - it's all sellers and no buyers!"

          Beloved, we are racing toward very hard times! Many
          Christians are among the multitudes who have lost their
          jobs, and many more will face unemployment!

          In one state, 21,000 homes have been repossessed. In
          New York City, more than 100,000 people have had to
          double up their families with others in single-family
          apartments. In Denver, many people have walked away
          from houses and mortgage commitments because they owe
          more than the house is worth. They strip the house,
          move out and leave no forwarding address.

          None of us likes to hear these kinds of reports -
          they're so very depressing! But the Puritans had a
          saying: "Our affections bribe our discernments." We all
          love America and our way of life. But unless we face
          the truth that hard times in this nation are upon us,
          we will never have the trust and confidence we're going
          to need! We've got to be able to discern the times, so
          we can dig in to receive from God a very particular
          kind of trust to see us through what is ahead!

          Rest assured, none of this is taking Jesus by surprise.
          He saw it all coming! He who has numbered every
          person's hair and counted every fallen sparrow knew
          beforehand what His followers would face in the last
          days.

          He knew where every dollar in the federal budget would
          go - and that your rent and taxes would escalate. He
          knew about every job layoff His children would face,
          about all your bills, your needs, even the number of
          children you have! There isn't one thing our blessed
          Savior didn't know when He told us very specifically,
          in Matthew 6:25-33: "Don't give these things a second
          thought. Your heavenly Father knows all about your
          personal needs. He will take care of you!"

          Jesus also told us of the perilous times coming - the
          famines, wars, pestilences, earthquakes, perplexities,
          calamities, the fear on all sides. Still He said,
          "Don't even give a thought to your needs. Don't worry
          about any of it!"

          You say, how can a Christian in need give no thought to
          his physical condition? Beloved, we cannot shrink back
          from Jesus' promise to us. His very words are eternal:
          "I say unto you...." In fact you can take those very
          words to the throne-room of God and say to Jesus,
          "These are the red-letter words: 'I say unto you, give
          no thought to your needs!"'

          No matter how many banks close or how long the
          unemployment lines grow, our Lord will be feeding the
          fowl of the air, dressing the lilies of the fields and
          supplying an ocean-full of fish with all their daily
          needs! "Your heavenly Father feedeth them" (Matthew
          6:26). Not one creature will suffer without our Lord
          knowing it!

          What kind of Father would He be if He fed the dogs and
          neglected His children? What kind of God would know the
          number of your hairs but not your coins? The very
          thought is blasphemy!

          Our Father feeds the entire animal kingdom, and no
          amount of hard times will stop His provision: "Are ye
          not much better than they? ... Shall He not much more
          clothe you?" (Matthew 6:26,30).

          I believe God has provided us today with a very
          specific, particular promise for the hard times that
          are coming. It was given to Abraham and his seed as an
          oath. And God has to honor it with you, because it is
          His own Word:

          "The oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He
          would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the
          hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in
          holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of
          our life" (Luke 1:73-75).

          God has sworn to deliver us from every enemy, every
          fearful thing, so we can serve Him all the days of our
          lives without fear! Beloved, hunger is an enemy!
          Nakedness and poverty are enemies!

          This oath from God must be the foundation of our trust
          in every crisis, calamity and fearful time! Memorize
          it! Let it be your holy argument at the throne of
          grace!

          In Psalm 121 David has provided us with one of the most
          powerful Holy Ghost arguments ever given to man. The
          entire psalm tells us that all our help comes from the
          Lord alone! Psalm 124 is yet another holy argument - it
          is your specific promise to enable you to build special
          trust!

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               3. We Need Special Trust in Times of Calamity
                 That Come as a Result of Divine Judgment!

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          Right now America is under a "signature judgment" of
          God. Signature judgments bear a special mark of God, in
          that the judgment mirrors the sin committed against
          Him. These judgments can be seen throughout the Bible.

          Adoni-bezek was a king who severed the thumbs and great
          toes of some seventy kings he conquered. When the
          children of Judah captured Adoni-bezek in battle, they
          cut off his thumbs and big toes. He knew this was a
          signature judgment of God, because he said, "As I have
          done, so God hath requited me" (Judges 1:7).

          Jezebel caused the death of Naboth. whose blood was
          licked up by dogs. Yet again, we see God's signature
          judgment: Jezebel was cast out a window and killed -
          and her body was entombed in the bellies of dogs! The
          judgment mirrored the crime!

          In the book of Esther, Haman erected a gallows intended
          for Mordecai - but he was hanged on it himself instead!
          King Asa, who locked up the prophet of God in the
          stocks by his feet, died of diseased feet himself!

          We call these things irony - but they are God's
          signature judgments! Obadiah 15 sums it up well: "As
          thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee ... thy
          reward shall return upon thine own head."

          Beloved, all of God's judgments on America are mirrored
          in her sins! Our greatest sin has been a vaunted pride
          - a "can-do" mentality. We've been confident our nation
          could solve any problem, win any battle and find a cure
          for any disease. We have policed the whole world,
          confident of our armed might!

          For a long period God was with us. We had presidents
          and legislators who were able to overcome the nation's
          problems. Our scientists discovered vaccines for all
          kinds of diseases: malaria, [diphtheria], smallpox,
          tuberculosis, measles. When polio was plaguing the
          nation, God gave Jonas Salk the vaccine to prevent it.

          Now the cures are few and far between! There is no
          vaccine in sight for AIDS! And we are drowning in other
          "unsolvable" problems: the drug plague, the
          Savings-and-Loan collapse, the homeless, the rampant
          crime, the chaos in schools, jails and hospitals -just
          name it, and we can't solve it!

          New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman wondered aloud
          recently if we have reached a stage in history when the
          three branches of federal government do not really work
          anymore. He says they have become a "gridlock with no
          accountability."

          There you have it - God's signature -judgment on us is
          a humiliating confusion and helplessness! By its own
          admission our government isn't functioning!

          Where is our pride, our "can-do" assurance? Five years
          ago America was the number-one creditor in the world.
          In that short time we have become the number one debtor
          nation! For years we were the head and now we are the
          tail, just as prophesied in Deuteronomy 28!

          God's Most Severe Signature Judgment on America Is Yet
          to Come!

          What do you think this judgment will be?

          Think of how this nation is trampling underfoot all
          that is moral, holy and godly with so-called "art" that
          depicts the crucified Jesus submerged in a vat of
          urine! Christ is being trampled in the theaters and
          movie houses, where the sacred is mocked and the
          profane is exalted.

          What signature judgment will be cut from this same bolt
          of cloth? What punishment fits the crime?

          Here is God's signature judgment on America, for years
          the number-one superpower, the mightiest nation in all
          the world. "I will bring down their strength to the
          earth" (Isaiah 63:6).

          God will trample this nation underfoot - our armies,
          our theaters, our institutions, all our former
          strengths! He will make America His footstool because
          of the blood of the 30 million babies murdered by
          abortionists!

          There is blood on our nation's hands! Do you think God
          is going to wink at that - that He's going to ignore it
          because He sees a remnant, a handful of holy people?
          No! He is a just God!

          Right now our strength is ebbing fast! Already we have
          fallen to number three in economic power, behind
          Germany and Japan. All our wealth is simply going to
          melt away! The European Community - the ten kingdoms of
          the revived Roman Empire - will rise as the number-one
          world power.

          God's foot is on our neck! He is exposing our nakedness
          to the world! He is making our external appearance
          match the state of our soul - and our spiritual
          bankruptcy will be turned into financial bankruptcy on
          city, state and federal levels. Philadelphia, New York
          City and Massachusetts all are on the brink of
          bankruptcy!

          We're seeing God's signature judgments now. And He's
          going to make them so clear that no other nation in the
          world will miss them!

          As these judgments take place before our very eyes,
          your only answer is to have Jesus as your shield. Run
          today to meet Him in the secret closet of prayer - let
          your roots go down deep into Him. Know that He who
          numbered the hairs of your head will keep you in all
          circumstances.

          Take hold of these special promises, in readiness for
          any and all calamities we may face:

          "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the
          darkness.... He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:
          his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart
          shall be established, he shall not be afraid" (Psalm
          112:4,7-8).

          "And he shall judge the world in righteousness .... The
          Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge
          in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will
          put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not
          forsaken them that seek thee" (Psalm 9:8-10).

          And here is your specific, all-powerful, holy argument
          for the throne-room of God:

          "Though an host should encamp against me, my heart
          shall not fear: though war should rise up against me,
          in this will I be confident, One thing have I desired
          of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell
          in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to
          behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his
          temple, For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in
          his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he
          hide me: he shall set me up upon a rock" (Psalm
          27:3-5).

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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