                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                       God Will Not Walk Out On You!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plain Text File + Related Bible Study + Home Page + Subscribe + Copyright +
                               Cover Letter

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

By David Wilkerson
October 9, 1995
__________

          A young pastor called me some time ago, ready to quit
          the ministry. The Lord had been using this young man in
          a wonderful way. But now he was discouraged - feeling
          worthless, useless, no good to God at all.

          You see, he and his wife had been having a lot of
          marital troubles. They'd had terrible arguments, and it
          kept getting worse. He said he had prayed for months
          that God would heal their relationship, but it had only
          gotten worse. He told me he'd spent more time praying
          about that than anything else in his life and ministry.

          Then late one evening, after a devastating argument
          with his wife, he walked out. Immediately, he let out
          his anger at God. "Why won't You help us, Lord?" he
          cried.

          In his anger and despair, he went back to an old habit
          from which he had been delivered - alcohol. He said, "I
          just lost it completely. I went out and started to
          drink." He came home in the wee hours of the morning,
          nearly drunk. His wife panicked at seeing him that way;
          suddenly it looked as if it had developed into a
          hopeless nightmare.

          Instead of repenting after his drinking episode, the
          young man did what Adam did in the Garden: He hid
          himself from God! He told his wife, "It's no use. I
          might as well quit the ministry and get a job pumping
          gas. I can't face you or anybody else over this."

          When he called me, he was devastated. He said, "Brother
          Dave, I feel like quitting. I just can't face this. I
          drank, but I hated every minute of it. I said to
          myself, 'Why am I doing this?' I knew it was because I
          was angry at God. Why hadn't He heard my prayers?"

          He sounded so broken, so beaten down. I felt no
          judgment toward this man. On the contrary - I felt only
          God's love and compassion for him.

          Now, what he'd done was utterly terrible. When a
          preacher has an argument with his wife, he doesn't just
          go out and drink. No - he runs to God, to his secret
          closet. Indeed, all of us are to trust the Lord in such
          a time. We're to cry out to Him, "Father, take this
          burden from me!"

          I didn't lecture the young pastor or rebuke him.
          Instead, I began to pray silently: "Dear Lord, what can
          I say to this man that will heal his troubled soul?
          What do You have for him - what comfort from Your
          Spirit, Your Word?"

          Suddenly, the Lord impressed upon me, "Send him to
          Psalm 107!" So I told the pastor, "The secret to your
          problem is in Psalm 107. Go now, look it up, and ask
          the Lord to minister to you through His Word." That
          young man took this word - and he is now experiencing
          God's healing, delivering love.

          I later discovered that this Psalm has been called "the
          Old Testament love feast." It is one of the most
          encouraging passages in all of God's Word - and it is
          meant especially for those needing forgiveness,
          deliverance, restoration. The final verse promises the
          reader an understanding of who God truly is:

          "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even
          they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord"
          (Psalm 107:43).

          God is saying, "Observe, read, study this psalm - and
          you will be given a comprehensive understanding of My
          long-suffering and loving-kindness!" I believe if you
          study this Psalm, you'll get a revelation of God's
          great loving-kindness, even toward the rebellious and
          disobedient. You see, it's a promise - proof that God
          will never walk out on any of His children, no matter
          how low they might have sunk!

          I remember the night the Holy Spirit spoke to me
          personally about the Lord's loving-kindness. I was
          under a burden at the time, pacing back and forth in my
          living room, crying, "Oh God, I need to know more about
          Your loving heart!"

          The Spirit said to me that night, "David, do not ever
          accuse your heavenly Father of being less kind and
          merciful than you are as an earthly father. Think for a
          moment - there is no sin, no circumstance, no act of
          rebellion on the part of your children that would cause
          you to walk out on them. Even if they cried to you from
          prison, you know you'd be there, with love and
          compassion. So, don't even think your heavenly Father
          would ever be less considerate and caring toward you."

          That shook me up. Then the Lord showed me a vivid
          picture of myself. In this vision, I'm standing on a
          corner near 42nd Street, about to hold a street
          meeting. Then I see a child of my own who has sinned
          against me terribly. This child has rejected all my
          counsel, disregarded all my warnings, and ended up in
          deep trouble.

          Now he is overwhelmed with despair. And he comes up to
          me, repentant and in tears, begging for my help and
          love. Yet I turn away from him, saying, "Sorry - I've
          called out to you many times before, but you've never
          listened. You have refused my warnings once too often.
          Now you're simply paying for your sin. There's nothing
          else I can do for you. You're on your own!"

          My child stays there on the corner, and the street
          meeting begins. Soon I begin preaching into a
          microphone, crying, "All you murderers, rapists,
          robbers, sons of the devil - come to God, and find
          mercy and healing for your soul!" All the vile sinners
          begin to gather around me. But then my child steps
          forward - the one whom I've turned away. He says, "Dad,
          what about me?"

          I ask you: What kind of father would I be to leave that
          desperate, hurting child standing there, crying out,
          "Dad, I'm sorry - this thing is beyond me. Will you
          please do what you can to help me? You have the power
          and the authority. Please, Dad - do something about
          it!" Would I dare say, "I'm sorry - I've got another
          street meeting to go to"? No - never!

          Yet, how much more loving-kindness and compassion does
          our heavenly Father have for us? He won't ignore our
          cries if He also extends His love and forgiveness to
          every passing, mocking sinner.

          That is the wonderful message of Psalm 107! We discover
          in this Psalm that there are four classifications of
          God's people who end up in trouble and affliction
          because of their own doings. But the Lord does not walk
          out on any of them - not one. Even fools, who heap
          trouble on themselves by their own stupidity, are shown
          mercy and delivered when they cry out to God for help.

          Let's look at these four categories of believers in
          trouble. See if you find yourself in any of them:

                      -------------------------------

                  1. The First Kind of Believer in Trouble
                        Is the Starving Christian.

                      -------------------------------

          "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his
          mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord
          say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the
          enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the
          east, and from the west, from the north, and from the
          south. "They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary
          way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and
          thirsty, their soul fainted in them" (Psalm 107:1-5).

          Here is a classification of people who once knew the
          fullness of the Lord and who at some time in their life
          discovered glorious deliverance. But now they are in a
          solitary wilderness, wandering alone, and they can't
          find the city.

          "The city" in the Old Testament is always Zion, which
          represents God's true church. Today, of course, that
          city is the true body of Christ, who worship in spirit
          and in truth. And this first class of believers are
          those who cannot seem to find the city. They no longer
          attend church, refusing to worship with any body of
          believers - because there is little or no spiritual
          reality to be found.

          Indeed, there are multitudes of starving Christians who
          go from church to church today trying to find their
          place. In the end, they give up even seeking a good
          church - because they are determined there are none.

          Yet Scripture tells us this can develop into a
          dangerous condition. These Christians know what the
          Lord has commanded:

          "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as
          the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and
          so much the more, as ye see the day approaching"
          (Hebrews 10:25).

          It's true that nowadays it is hard to find churches
          worth attending. In fact, this is the number-one
          complaint among the readers on our mailing list across
          the United States and Canada. So many letters say, "I
          can't find a church that provokes me to righteousness.
          I hate getting up on Sunday morning, because the church
          I go to is boring, dead. My children are backsliding."

          One woman in southern California went to about
          twenty-five churches in her area, looking for a godly
          place to worship. She ended up sending me those
          churches' bulletins and flyers, with a note that said,
          "Please, Brother David - read these and tell me which
          one I should choose."

          Here is a sample from one bulletin. The schedule of
          church events in August was as follows:

             * Friday night, 7 to 10 - father-daughter dance.
             * Following Friday - family night at the stadium,
               Padres vs. Giants.
             * Following Friday - country-western line dancing.
             * Saturday - tennis tournament.
             * Monday - school of basketball.
             * Tuesday - junior-high Bible study at the beach;
               high-school Bible study at the bay.

          Do you think this kind of activity has every devil in
          hell trembling? No! Many churches today are an absolute
          mockery of God. The preachers are backslidden - and the
          congregation cares only about having their "needs met."

          On the other hand, something very dangerous of another
          nature is happening in churches today. Some Christians
          have become so critical - so hard to please - that no
          church could ever meet their standard. The least
          imperfection drives them away.

          Indeed, it has become vogue among believers simply to
          abandon their church if they see even the slightest
          thing they don't like. One pastor told me, "I don't
          know what to do. New people are coming in, requesting
          an interview with me about the church. They ask me a
          hundred questions about what I believe and what the
          church is all about. But the first time they disagree
          with an answer, they get up and walk out of my office."

          A pastor told me a couple had come to him and said,
          "We've been to every church within miles, and not one
          is worth the time. They're all in compromise, messed
          up. We walked out of the last church we visited,
          because we saw an announcement in the bulletin that
          said, 'Singles Night.' What right does that church have
          to find lovers for one another?"

          The pastor tried to explain to them that that wasn't
          what the bulletin meant. It was simply an announcement
          about a night of ministry to single people, who could
          come and praise the Lord together. But this couple was
          so critical in their spirits, they were convinced the
          church was matching up singles.

          We also received a letter from a woman who has written
          a book on music. She wrote, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't
          listen to the Times Square Church choir tape. It's all
          rock-n-roll." Yet 40,000 others tell us they worship
          with it daily and are blessed!

          Without fellowship with a true body of believers, such
          Christians can end up cold - leaving their first love
          and wandering about, lonely, hungry, thirsty, feeding
          on what I call "Christian TV dinners" - televised
          worship services and radio sermonettes. Or they become
          tapeworms, thinking sermon tapes will satisfy their
          hunger.

          No - that isn't what church is all about! It's about
          the fellowship of the saints, the bond we have in the
          Spirit. It's about praying corporately and seeking
          God's face. We would all starve without it!

          Yet, perhaps you can honestly say, "Brother Dave, I
          can't find a Christ-centered, holiness-seeking church
          in my area. I can't find the city."

          Dear saint, God has provided a solution!

          "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them
          forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of
          habitation" (Psalm 107:6-7).

          God says, "I'll show you the body. I'll lead you right
          to them!"

          Rest assured, Jesus has His body of believers all over
          the world. And if you will cry out to Him, He will
          miraculously bring like-minded Christians to you.

          Meanwhile, until you find His true body in your area,
          the Lord will not walk out on you. He promises to
          manifest Himself even where two or three are gathered
          in His name.

                      -------------------------------

                 2. The Second Kind of Believer in Trouble
                               Is the One Who
                       Has Fallen Into Sin Because of
                        Disobedience To God's Word.

                      -------------------------------

          "Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
          being bound in affliction and iron; because they
          rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the
          counsel of the most High; therefore he brought down
          their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was
          none to help" (Psalm 107:10-12).

          Why were they bound in affliction?

          "...they rebelled against the words of God... and
          contemned [rejected His] counsel..." (verse 11).

          Beloved, could this be you? You've sat under godly,
          convicting preaching. The Spirit has striven with you.
          You've known better. But still you went out and sinned
          willfully! Now you are back in the clutches of an old
          habit. The yoke is on your neck once more.

          You are miserable, bound in the irons of affliction.
          Your heart is "...brought down...with labor" (verse
          12). In Hebrew, the word labor means "misery." In other
          words: "He brought their heart down into misery."

          When a person sins willfully, disobeying the Word of
          God, his tendency is to hide, cower in fear, wallow in
          misery - to feel it's all over, thinking, "God can't
          use me." When you're in that kind of condition, the
          devil will whisper to you, "You're hooked forever!
          There is no deliverance for you. You're one of those
          lust-obsessed people who never change. God has had it
          with you. Your sin has caused Him to hide His face from
          you!"

          Satan will pound you with the Scriptures, misquoting
          them all. And he'll try to deafen you from the mercy of
          God. When you sit in church, you'll hear only judgment
          from the pulpit. You won't hear about God's mercy -
          because you're under such guilt, condemnation and fear!

          I'm not talking about people who hide from God because
          they covet and love their sin. Rather, I'm talking
          about Christians who have taken a fall - yet who in
          their misery have a sorrow and a hatred for their sin.
          Something inside them cries, "I have hurt God!"

          To this Christian, God's Word promises:

          "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out
          of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their
          bands in sunder. "Oh that men would praise the Lord for
          his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
          children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass,
          and cut the bars of iron in sunder" (Psalm 107:13-16).

          Hear this well: God never has - and never will - hide
          His face from a crying child of His! It doesn't matter
          how far you've fallen, how many promises to God you've
          made and broken. Your sins, though scarlet red, will be
          white as snow - if you will only cry out to Him for
          help!

          You may think you can whip your habit. You may stay up
          all night, trying to figure out every angle - but
          you'll only wake up tired and miserable, without sleep
          - and just as bound as you were when you went to bed!
          Only God can cut the bars in sunder. Only He can
          deliver you from your darkness. That is our strength
          and our hope!

          Many Christians have come up to me on the street and
          literally fallen into my arms, crying, "Brother Dave, I
          don't know how God can ever forgive me!"

          I answer, "Yes, He can."

          "But you don't know what I did!" they say.

          "I don't have to know what you did," I respond,
          "because I know my Father."

          "Well - what do I do?" they ask.

          I answer, "You cry out for mercy."

          "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          saved them..." (verse 13, emphasis mine).

          The sufferers in this Psalm didn't cry out to God after
          they were out of their mess - but while they were still
          in it. And the Word says He saved them!

                      -------------------------------

                 3. The Third Kind of Believer in Trouble
                     Is the Fool Who Has Brought Down
                           Trouble Upon Himself.

                      -------------------------------

          "Fools because of their transgression, and because of
          their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth
          all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates
          of death" (Psalm 107:17-18).

          According to the dictionary, a fool is someone who
          lacks judgment or good sense - one who makes silly,
          stupid mistakes. He does his own thing without thinking
          of the consequences.

          What could be more foolish and unthinkable than
          indulging in sexual activity with some unknown person?
          The whole world knows that AIDS is an international
          problem. And yet people all over the world are still
          contracting it.

          People simply refuse to be alarmed. Women risk their
          lives for one night of passion. Men trade their future
          for an hour of carnal pleasure. And now many are
          suffering the consequences for their absolutely stupid
          acts. They have become fools!

          A growing number of Christians now are HIV-positive or
          have full-blown AIDS. Many of these are wonderful
          believers who acted foolishly before they knew Jesus -
          and now they are being given the death sentence: "Sorry
          - you've got the virus."

          They talk about the terror they felt when they first
          sensed something strange in their body. They knew
          something wasn't right - and suddenly a haunting memory
          came back to them of a foolish act in their past,
          either sexual or drug-related. It happened when they
          were living in sin, playing the fool:

          "...because of their transgression, and because of
          their iniquities, [they] are afflicted" (verse 17).

          The despair of many such Christians is unspeakable.
          They feel helpless, on the verge of giving up. One man
          said, "I feel like my life is over. There's nothing I
          can do. I just look forward to death."

          "...they draw near unto the gates of death" (verse 18).

          Other Christians are paying a high price for their past
          acts of foolishness. Some are sinking into a financial
          hole because of foolish spending. Others are locked in
          a terrible marriage because they rushed into it
          foolishly. Some women come to our church black and blue
          from their husbands' abuses.

          I wonder how many who are reading this message right
          now lie down at night and cry, "Oh God, I've been a
          fool. I've made a terrible mistake. I'm paying for my
          own foolishness!" They can't eat or sleep.

          "Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat..." (verse
          18).

          Yet, beloved, you don't have to live without hope. You
          don't have to give up. God has given you His Word that
          He does not walk out on fools!

          "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word,
          and healed them, and delivered them from their
          destructions" (Psalm 107:19-20).

          I get so happy when I read these verses - because I
          know all the dumb mistakes I've made in my own life.
          I'm embarrassed at the stupid, silly things I've done.

          The Lord knows there are things we can't change, words
          we've spoken that we can't bring back. Yet He is not
          asking us to do any penance or make any promises. All
          He asks is that we cry out to Him in our desperation.
          He can heal, prolong life and provide supernatural
          grace:

          "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them
          from their destructions" (verse 20).

          God will send someone to you with His Word! Perhaps the
          pastor will preach a message just for you. Or perhaps
          the Holy Spirit will direct you to a certain passage.
          It will be your healing Word. All you have to do is cry
          out to Him!

                      -------------------------------

                 4. The Fourth Kind of Believer in Trouble
                      Is the One Who Is Swamped by a
                       Storm in Business or Career.

                      -------------------------------

          The following verses are for those who are facing
          trouble in their business or career:

          "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do
          business in great waters; these see the works of the
          Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth,
          and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves
          thereof. "They mount up to the heaven, they go down
          again to the depths: their soul is melted because of
          trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a
          drunken man, and are at their wit's end" (Psalm
          107:23-27).

          Career people and businessmen here are likened to
          seamen in ships. And the great waters signify the big
          world of competition, an ocean of activity.

          Now, these people are God's beloved saints. They're in
          awe of His greatness and power. But a storm breaks out
          that is beyond their control. It is not judgment and
          retribution for sin. Yet, suddenly waves are swamping
          them, swallowing up their boat. They are staggered by
          problems on all sides, and it looks like their ship is
          going down. Suddenly they are confused and perplexed:

          "...their soul is melted because of trouble" (verse
          26).

          Many career people have told me at various times, "It
          looks bad. I don't know what happened, but suddenly I'm
          in a mess." They were able to solve their own problems
          in the past, and to escape one crisis after another.
          But with this trial, there seems to be no way of
          escape. They are mentally and physically exhausted.

          "They...are at their wit's end" (verse 27).

          How easily we forget that our loving heavenly Father is
          our partner in our work, no matter what our career or
          calling. Indeed, nothing happens to us on our job
          without His involvement. He has power over all people
          and all our difficulties - and He has a reason and
          purpose behind them all.

          So - what can you do when your business partner can't
          give you any advice - when consultants can't help you?
          Where do you turn when your spouse, your pastor, your
          best friend has nothing to say to you?

          I am no businessman. But I can point you to the seamen
          in Psalm 107:

          "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the
          storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then
          are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth
          them unto their desired haven" (Psalm 107:28-30).

          I talked some time ago to the godly young pastor of a
          church who was at his wit's end. It seems the elder who
          had served as church treasurer for twenty years was
          trying to run things. He had been stealing money for
          years, and he had succeeded in running off a host of
          other pastors. Now he stood against this young pastor
          at every turn, poisoning the elders against him. The
          pastor's wife had developed stomach problems from all
          the stress.

          When I talked to this pastor, he was busy preparing a
          sermon to preach to his hostile congregation. The
          message was all about turning them over to the devil
          for the destruction of the flesh, that their souls
          might be saved. He explained, "Brother Dave, I've got
          to preach this before it kills me. I've got to hand
          them over to Satan!"

          I told him, "No! Don't fight them. Don't let all this
          get into your spirit. Don't think about taking revenge.
          Instead, show them the light of God's Word. Preach
          Jesus to them.

          "What you need to do is to lay hold of God. Cry out to
          Him. He'll take care of your congregation. He can do
          what you'll never be able to do. He can either remove
          them or save them!"

          I have a prophetic word for some readers right now:
          Don't let your situation get into your spirit! Bring it
          all out before God. Go into your secret closet and cry
          out everything to Him. He will deliver you - out of all
          your misery and all your messes!

          How long will you stay up at night worrying? How long
          will you stagger around in fear, trying to reason your
          way out of it? God alone can calm your storm. He alone
          can still those threatening waves. He alone can bring
          gladness and peace - and lead you into your desired
          haven.

          "Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him
          with their counsel, and were brought low for their
          iniquity. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction,
          when he heard their cry" (Psalm 106:43-44).

          God is not about to walk out on you. He is in this
          battle to the end. He is in you, with you - no matter
          what.

          Hallelujah!

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

          This material is solely for personal use and is not to
          be posted publicly on other web pages. The Lorain
          County Free-Net Chapel holds exclusive rights from
          World Challenge, Inc. to publicly post these messages
          on its web page. You are free to download, copy, print
          and distribute this material, so long as you do not
          post it on a different Internet site. You may, however,
          link this site to reference these messages.

                 ------------------------------------------

Plain Text File + Related Bible Study + Home Page + Subscribe + Copyright +
                               Cover Letter

                 ------------------------------------------

         Times Square Church Information | New Reader Information

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:

This data file is the sole property of World Challenge. It may not be
altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for
circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data
file must contain the copyright notice [i.e., "Copyright  1998 by World
Challenge"]. This data file may not be used without the permission World
Challenge for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This
includes all of its content with the exception of a few brief quotations.
Please give the following source credit: Copyright  1998 by World
Challenge, Lindale, Texas, USA.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       This web site is a service of
                          The Missing Link, Inc.
       Linking Troubled Youth and Adults with Life-Changing Programs
                       Web Site - http://misslink.org
               Chapel Site - http://misslink.org/chapel2.html
  Home of David Wilkerson's Times Square Church Pulpit Series Multilingual
                                  Web Site
             http://misslink.org/chapel/teacher/multilan.html

                                ------------

            Copyright  1998 - The Lorain County Free-Net Chapel
                         North Central Ohio, U.S.A.

                                TOP OF PAGE

           Our webmaster welcomes your comments and suggestions.
              This page was Last updated September 13, 1998.

  Why Revival Tarries/ "Help!"/ What's Here/ Sponsor/ Statement of Faith/
   Bible Study/ Around the Piano/ Bulletin Board/ Library/ Pulpit Series
