                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                       A Conspiracy of Interruptions!

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By David Wilkerson
April 28, 1997
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          There has been a lot of talk in recent years about
          great conspiracies -- schemes purportedly aimed at
          destroying both democracy in America and Christianity.
          These stratagems have included the Trilateral
          Commission, Communism, the New Age movement, Secular
          Humanism, the Illuminati and cults. Yet I believe none
          of these conspiracies has ever troubled the heart of
          God. With just one tiny whiff of his divine breath, he
          could blow them all into oblivion!

          There is only one conspiracy that concerns our heavenly
          father -- a scheme aimed directly at Christians who
          have set their hearts on entering into the fullness of
          Christ. It is a satanic conspiracy meant to thwart
          God's plan of raising up an army of sanctified people
          -- men and women totally devoted to the Lordship of
          Jesus in their lives!

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                         There Is Rampant Today - A
                       Conspiracy of Interruptions!

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

          The fact is, the devil is terrified of Christians who
          hunger and thirst after righteousness. Indeed, he fears
          praying saints more than he fears a thousand years in
          chains!

          All of hell quivers and quakes at the effectual,
          fervent prayer of a single believer. And every demonic
          principality seated in high places cowers upon hearing
          the cries of a weeping, broken-hearted child of God.
          The powerful praying of just one intercessor sounds
          like raging thunder in the caverns of the damned. And
          there is not one inch of space in hell that isn't
          affected by a believer who denies himself, takes up his
          cross and follows Christ with his whole heart.

          Yet, we must be aware: The soul that cries out with
          agonizing yearnings for depth in Christ will become the
          central focus of Satan's conspiracy of interruptions!

          A pastor from Arkansas once wrote to me, saying, "I
          must be like many other ministers. My greatest battle
          is not with some secret sin of the flesh -- but with
          maintaining a consistent life of prayer and study in
          God's word!

          "Satan rarely tempts me with sexual sin. But he has
          found one thing that works on me time after time. He
          gets me so busy with the daily affairs of life that my
          prayer and study time are crowded out!

          "I don't allow this to happen intentionally. In fact, I
          always renew my efforts to get into the prayer closet.
          But I'm soon caught up again in all kinds of projects
          and interruptions. And this cycle is repeated over and
          over. Satan is robbing me of my time with God! Perhaps
          you could write a message about this problem we all
          face...."

          Like millions of other sincere Christians, this dear
          pastor is the victim of a demonic conspiracy of
          interruptions. And the devil's chief target in these
          attacks is the secret closet of prayer! He knows it is
          the door into the holy of holies -- the armory out of
          which saints emerge in full battle dress, ready to
          withstand all of Satan's fiery arrows.

          So, how does the devil keep believers out of this
          fearsome, secret closet of prayer? Does he parade
          erotic images through their minds? Does he tempt them
          with soothing thoughts of escape through alcohol or
          drugs? Does he lure them with dreams of fame and
          prosperity?

          No, never! The devil knows that the person in union
          with Christ will not be tempted by any such vulgarity.
          And the truth is, these obvious temptations are not
          necessary for him to accomplish his work. Instead, the
          old fox seeks to interrupt a believer's every attempt
          to enter the presence of God. He uses every device in
          hell to hinder that Christian's efforts to spend time
          in prayer and in the study of God's word!

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                           Let Me Tell You About
                             My Experience With
                             This Conspiracy!

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

          I've often promised myself I would spend the entire day
          in prayer and Bible study -- to little avail. On those
          occasions I would instruct my wife or secretary, "Let
          no one -- nothing -- disturb me. This day belongs to
          the Lord. I don't care if the President of the United
          States calls. I can't be interrupted!"

          Of course, it's never the President who calls. Instead,
          it's a teenager saying she is about to commit suicide.
          When this comes up, I gladly answer the telephone. But
          within just a few minutes of talking with the young
          woman, I discern she is not in despair at all. Rather,
          she just wants to boast to her friends that she has
          talked to me.

          As I hang up the phone, a knock comes on my office door
          -- and in steps a visitor from overseas who insists on
          meeting with me for just ten minutes. Half an hour
          later, my secretary tells me other important calls are
          awaiting me. Before I know it, several hours have flown
          by, and it is now late afternoon. I've been hit with a
          plague of interruptions. I realize the day is gone --
          and my master has been robbed of my best time!

          Please don't misunderstand me. I want to be available
          to people. But I cannot deny the tremendous tug I feel
          on my heart by the Holy Spirit. It is a spiritual pull
          -- something that makes me long to run to my secret
          closet and hide away in Christ's precious bosom!

          The devil's conspiracy of interruptions in my life is
          most ferocious whenever I am most determined to get
          alone with the Lord. Recently, after making a great
          resolve to let nothing hinder me from a day of prayer,
          I was again swamped suddenly with unexpected
          interruptions. It was so overwhelming -- and so obvious
          -- I cried aloud, "This is supernatural interference!
          The devil himself is behind these interruptions. He is
          conspiring to keep me away from my beloved!"

          From that day on, I have become more aware of Satan's
          subtle devices to hinder my prayer and study time. Of
          course, the interruptions themselves are not
          intrinsically evil -- but the force behind their timing
          often is. Think about it: If Satan can delay an
          archangel who's on his way to deliver a message to
          Daniel, he can also delay our visitors and callers --
          just long enough to coincide with our trip to the
          prayer closet!

          One young minister told me of his experience with a
          conspiracy of interruptions. It seemed all his
          interruptions had to do with human need. There was
          always someone who needed help -- his help -- just at
          the time he felt he needed to pray and seek the Lord.
          After a while, he recognized a conflict in his soul: He
          was torn between his call to prayer and his compassion
          for hurting people.

          While in prayer one day, the young man wept out all his
          pent-up confusion. He prayed, "Lord, how can I turn
          down anyone in need? How can I neglect those who are
          hurting?"

          The answer came to him clearly but firmly: "Son, how
          can you neglect me?"

          I ask you: Isn't this the crux of the issue? Could
          anyone or anything ever be more important to us than
          our Lord? Is there any need or hurt that could ever be
          more important to us than Christ himself? Of course, we
          have to make time for family and for others, as God's
          word commands. But Christ must always come first!

          Jesus himself withdrew from the massive human need all
          around him, so he could quietly communicate with his
          heavenly father. And a time has to come, in every
          Christian's life when he looks at all the hurting,
          troubled people making demands on him -- including his
          family -- and say, "You'll have to wait! I'll be back
          -- but first I have to pray. My soul is hungry, and I
          have to feed on God's word. I need time alone with the
          Lord -- or else I'll have nothing to offer you but my
          feeble human compassion!"

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                              Our Flesh Is in
                            League With Satan!

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

          I've never believed that Satan could enter the secret
          closet of prayer -- a place hallowed by the very
          presence of God, where he meets the cries of every
          devoted intercessor. But the devil doesn't have to
          enter the secret closet to accomplish his purposes. And
          that's because he already has our flesh in cahoots with
          him!

          You see, our flesh is at constant enmity against the
          Spirit of God -- and it always will be. Only by
          trusting in the glorious power of the Holy Spirit can
          we take full dominion over our flesh.

          Yet, all too often, we allow our flesh to rise up
          whenever we finally do get time alone with God. And
          we're all well aware of what follows: Constant yawning.
          Wild, fluctuating thoughts. Short attention spans. Our
          minds wander off, unchecked, in many different
          directions. And after a while, we're too weary to keep
          trying to pray.

          The flesh has won the battle. Whereas the Spirit sought
          to bring us into a much-needed place of victory,
          weariness has stolen our hearts away. I wonder: In such
          times, does Jesus stand over us, as he did his
          disciples, asking, "Could you not watch with me one
          hour?"

          Think about it for a moment: Paul would not have
          commanded us to bring every thought captive to obey
          Christ, if it were not within our power to do so. We
          are to go into our prayer closet determined to reckon
          our flesh totally dead to Christ, stripping it of all
          authority and dominion. We have the power to bring
          every yawn, every roving thought, every physical and
          mental interruption into obedience to the Holy Spirit
          within us.

          Of course, physical exhaustion is another matter. God
          deserves our best time, our most productive hours. And
          yet, that is the one thing he hardly ever gets from us
          -- quality time!

          If we've spent the day in energy-draining activities,
          we'll enter his presence weary and worn. Beloved,
          whenever that's the case, the best thing to do is
          simply to go to bed. God is not a hard taskmaster; he
          gives his children sleep. Prayer was never meant to be
          a burden, or the cause of guilt trips. On the contrary,
          prayer -- the very life of our communion with the Lord
          -- should be done when we are alert, mentally and
          physically.

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                           Even the Early Church
                      Fathers Faced This Conspiracy!

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

          In the first-century church at Jerusalem, the Jewish
          widows were being neglected in the daily distribution
          of food. Naturally, they sought the help of the leaders
          in the church.

          But the apostles didn't feel right about giving up
          their study of God's word and time in prayer just to
          oversee this administrative task. So they called
          together the church body and said, "...It is not reason
          (good) that we should leave the word of God, and serve
          tables" (Acts 6:2).

          As a result, seven men of "good report" were appointed
          to handle all the church's business affairs. In the
          meantime, the apostles pledged, "We will give ourselves
          continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word"
          (verse 4).

          This arrangement resulted in "...the word of God
          increas(ing); and the number of the disciples
          multipl(ying)..." (verse 7). The church grew, because
          these men refused to neglect their primary task!

          Yet very few pastors today will make this kind of
          sacrifice. One minister looked me in the eye and said,
          straight-faced, "I simply don't have time to pray. I'm
          too busy. There are too many demands on my time."
          Another pastor confessed to me, "I haven't prayed in
          months. I meditate and have quick devotions every so
          often. But I can't bring myself into the discipline of
          prayer."

          I frequently receive pitiful letters from Christians
          who complain of the lack of spiritual life and depth in
          their churches. Many write, "Our pastor is dry. His
          messages are light, without any kind of conviction.
          Most of the time he seems preoccupied."

          I don't want to condemn any hardworking, devoted
          minister of God. But the fact is, every servant rises
          and falls to his own master. And many preachers of the
          gospel today are not aware that they have become
          victims of a satanic conspiracy of interruptions!

          These men are constantly on the run, bogged down under
          an avalanche of duties and details. And if their church
          is in the midst of a building project, their dilemma
          only grows worse. They feel compelled to flit about the
          construction site, keeping on top of everything.

          Such running about can become an addictive way of life
          for many pastors. (My grandfather called such ministers
          "preachers with sand in their shoes.") And in the
          process of running around, trying to stay on top of
          things, they neglect the Lord and cheat their
          congregation.

          I believe this is one of the main reasons many
          Christians are falling away from the faith --
          especially young people. Dead, dry preachers have
          become so preoccupied with business affairs that they
          have no time to pray and get a fresh word from heaven.
          I cringed when the pastor of one of America's largest
          evangelical churches told me, "I just can't get away to
          pray. My congregation can't get along without me. I
          have too many things going on in the church."

          This man doesn't realize that congregations actually
          prefer their ministers to shut themselves away with God
          -- and let the elders and associates deal with everyday
          business matters. No minister of God is to act as a
          corporate president. His time is to be given to prayer
          and the study of God's word!

          Now, I thank God for every minister who is faithful to
          his family and to his congregation. Such men are
          righteous, conscientious, and their lives are an open
          book. Yet it is possible for any godly minister to come
          under the dominion of Satan's conspiracy of
          interruptions -- and be kept from a deeper walk with
          the Lord!

          Any congregation that loves its pastor should pray for
          him continually: "Oh, God -- deliver our pastor from a
          gadabout spirit. Keep him from the devil's conspiracy.
          Let him know he must avoid Satan's trap -- and flee
          like an escaped bird to your heavenly refuge!"

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

                           There Is Also a Great
                          Conspiracy in the Home!

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

          Satan's conspiracy of interruptions has been most
          effective in Christian homes. The myriad interruptions
          that keep husbands and wives from praying together is
          not accidental. And those who do finally make it to
          prayer discover that the harassment of interruptions
          has intensified!

          The devil knows he doesn't have to break up Christian
          homes to reach his main objective. All he has to do is
          divert godly people from prayer and God's word. He
          knows if he can interrupt their Bible study and
          intercessory time, they will falter in their faith.

          After all, prayerless parents are weak parents. They
          have no spiritual authority to keep the spirit of the
          world out of their homes. They represent no threat to
          the devil's kingdom or to any of his strongholds. And
          the result is, their children become prey to demonic
          seductions.

          Most prayerless parents eventually end up parked in
          front of their TV -- wasting hours at a time, growing
          spiritually dull and hard. And that is the real evil of
          having a TV: It becomes the greatest interruption of
          time that rightfully belongs to God!

          Consider this fact: By the time he's eighteen, the
          average teenager has watched six years of TV. Yet in
          that same period, he has spent only four months in
          church. The tragedy is that most Christians can hardly
          sit through a one-hour worship service -- yet they can
          easily sit through a three-hour TV special, without a
          trace of impatience!

          There was a time not long ago when sold-out believers
          were sensitive to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit,
          calling them to the secret closet to pray. But after
          spending weeks and months idling away precious hours in
          front of the TV, they no longer hear the still, small
          voice of God. His voice has become drowned out by all
          the worldly voices emanating from the tube!

          You may say, "But we all need balance. And every TV
          does have an 'Off' button, you know. All anyone ever
          needs to do is just turn it off." But how many
          Christians are actually doing that? How many have the
          self-restraint to shut off the clamoring voices of the
          world, and get alone to hear the voice of God? Where
          are Christian parents who have the courage to take
          authority over the conspiracy in their living room --
          and turn off their TV long enough to hear the Lord in
          prayer?

          Beyond all the nudity, filth and godless immorality,
          the real issue with TV is that it absorbs too much
          time, keeping us away from much-needed communion with
          the Lord. We simply have to take godly authority over
          its misuse. And the time we save by not watching it
          must be given to the Lord, in the secret closet of
          prayer. Otherwise, we won't be prepared for the great
          shaking about to fall on all humanity -- because our
          homes will be without God's protective wall of fire!

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

                           What Is the Solution?

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

          The Lord has led me take the following steps to guard
          my prayer time and withstand all satanic conspiracies.
          I believe these steps are meant for you as well:

             * 1st Make communion with the Lord your primary goal
               in life.

          This must be a life-and-death decision on your part.
          Communion in prayer and study in God's word cannot be
          optional. Your thought shouldn't be merely that you
          ought to pray -- but that you cannot survive without
          prayer! Job declared, "...I have esteemed the words of
          his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:19).

          Only when prayer becomes important enough will you make
          the time to do it. Yet, most Christians -- including
          pastors -- neglect prayer simply because they don't
          recognize its importance and effectiveness. I know that
          as a pastor, I dare not minister to people until I
          first minister to the Lord; otherwise, I will be an
          unprofitable servant.

          The truth is, it is impossible to waste time when you
          are in prayer, seeking God. And furthermore, outside
          the secret closet, the praying man or woman
          accomplishes more in less time, with less hurry and
          sweat.

          But the most effective work for God we'll ever do is on
          our knees, anyway. While the prayerless run helter
          skelter, to and fro, attempting great things, the
          praying Christian is hard at work moving kingdoms,
          shattering strongholds -- and, in the process, becoming
          a giant with God!

             * 2nd You must consider your appointments with God
               more sacred than any appointments with people --
               no matter who they are!

          How embarrassing it must be for heaven to see the way
          we Christians give so little regard to the majesty of
          our God, the king of glory. We're often flippant in the
          way we keep him waiting. And at the drop of a hat,
          we'll suddenly cancel plans to meet with him in his
          courts -- all for the least trifling thing!

          Can you imagine someone keeping the creator God of the
          universe waiting, while that person lingers to view his
          favorite TV program? Yet that is what most of us do!
          Even worse is that we often don't bother to show up in
          God's presence at all. It's not that we forget our
          appointment with him -- but that we willfully refuse to
          appear before him!

          Isaiah lamented, "He is despised and rejected of men; a
          man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid
          as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
          esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3). When I allow
          interruptions to come between me and my appointments
          with the Lord, I am hiding my face from him -- and not
          appreciating him!

             * 3rd You must reject every interruption that is
               within your power -- and take spiritual authority
               over those interruptions you discern to be
               supernatural!

          Of course, some of my interruptions are my own doing --
          and they are mostly nonsense. There is nothing
          conspiratorial about many of the interruptions I allow
          during the day. But, beloved, you must constantly be
          aware that Satan can and does conspire to interrupt you
          in supernatural ways, when you have committed yourself
          to prayer and seeking the Lord!

          Yet, I thank God that we are never at the mercy of
          Satan or any of his devices. We can expose his tactics,
          speak the word of faith, and in Christ's name stop
          every single interruption. And by the power of God's
          Spirit within us, we can clear our path to the Lord's
          gates -- and come boldly to his throne of grace, to
          receive help in our time of need. That is what the Lord
          desires for all of us.

          Will you mortify your flesh today, and return to the
          secret closet of communion? Will you give up wasteful,
          worldly hours in front of your TV, in order to gain
          what nothing on this earth can give you?

          Cry out to Jesus to deliver you today, by the power of
          his Spirit. Take authority over Satan's conspiracy of
          interruptions in your life, which is meant to shipwreck
          your faith. And enter into the fullness of your walk
          with Christ, as God has planned for you.

          Amen!

          ---
          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
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          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.

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