                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                   America's Golden Calf Is Coming Down!

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By David Wilkerson
June 22, 1998
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          For some time I have prophesied that America is about
          to be stricken with an economic holocaust. Now, lately,
          I've become convinced that one of two scenarios could
          take place:

            1. There could be a sudden "warning blowout" -
               perhaps a 1,000- or more point drop in the stock
               market. After a brief period of alarm, the market
               may rebound. When it does, investors will convince
               themselves it has made a correction. And once
               again the general outlook will be, "The sky's the
               limit!"

               Tragically, this attitude will lead to a kind of
               euphoria never before seen in America. There could
               be wild economic speculating - and it could shoot
               the market into the stratosphere.

            2. On the other hand, the stock market or bond
               markets may dive overnight with no rebound at all.
               If so, we would see a daily retreat among
               investors - because everyone will recognize
               America has been hit with a full-blown market
               crash. At that point, total panic will set in. And
               we'll know our nation has entered a period of
               divine judgment - because we'll take a
               precipitous, sudden slide into chaos.

          What is the reason for this judgment? It will come as
          God's wrath upon a nation that has shed rivers of
          innocent blood! In the Old Testament, the prophets
          warned the nation of Judah that judgment would come
          because of just such blood-shedding.

          "Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon
          Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of
          Manasseh, according to all that he did; and also for
          the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled
          Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not
          pardon" (2 Kings 24:3-4).

          Manasseh's blood-shedding was only a tiny rivulet
          compared to the ocean of blood shed by abortionists in
          America. Add to that the blood of thousands of innocent
          people killed by drunk drivers, gunfire, murder. Then
          add the blood of children killed by other children -
          innocent lives cut down by those who have no sense of
          right or wrong.

          The Bible makes it clear: God will not pardon the
          shedding of innocent blood. He will send judgment!

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                          The Lord Is Shaking the
                           World All Around Us!

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

          Right now, a divine shaking is taking place around the
          globe:

             * Indonesia's economy has crumbled. When that
               nation's leader, Suharto, resigned under pressure,
               the rupiah collapsed, sending the 13,700 - island
               empire into a depression. In just six months,
               Indonesia went from unprecedented prosperity to
               utter ruin and chaos.

             * South Korea is slipping even deeper into a
               depression. And Japan is sinking further into its
               deep financial hole. At last count, eight of that
               nation's highest-ranking financial leaders had
               committed suicide. And now a shaking has begun in
               Thailand.

             * Russia is about to default on its international
               loans. Multitudes of workers haven't been paid in
               months. And now, as the depression spreads, a
               revolution is brewing.

             * Argentina, Brazil and Mexico all are in deep
               financial trouble. Mexico is experiencing a severe
               drought, which has contributed to that nation's
               raging forest fires. The clouds of smoke have
               covered the skies of Texas and other western
               states.

          Please hear me - this is not all just doomsday talk
          from a disconsolate preacher. These are facts. You can
          read about them in any newspaper from the past several
          months. God is shaking the world all around us - and
          soon he's going to shake America worse than he's shaken
          these nations. Why? We have shed more innocent blood!

          I've brought up this scenario before, but it bears
          repeating here: One day soon, when the crash strikes
          suddenly and fear spreads across the nation, the
          President will stand silently in the Oval Office,
          staring out the window. He'll be panic-stricken - at a
          complete loss for words - because of the economic
          upheaval.

          Finally, he'll turn to his gathering of advisers - the
          leaders of our nation, including the chairman of the
          Federal Reserve - and he'll ask: "What happened? How
          did it all come crashing down? And what can we do now?"

          His questions will be met with stony silence. No one
          will be able to explain what caused the panic. Instead,
          everyone will wonder aloud, "The indicators were all
          positive. Inflation was under control. The economy was
          on track. It just doesn't make sense."

          Beloved, America is facing God's judgment - and we will
          never be the same! In the days to come, literally
          hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their
          homes. Why? They've leveraged them with equity loans,
          so they could play the stock market and try to strike
          it rich!

          Right now, 43 million Americans are deeply invested in
          the market, with $1  to 2 trillion committed by
          individual investors. Thousands of these investors have
          actually quit their jobs so they can stay at home and
          play the market on their computers.

          I tell you, the stock market has become America's
          golden calf! People see it as a financial savior, and
          they worship it daily - trusting in it, depending on
          it, giving it all their energy and attention. But it's
          going to fall suddenly - and none of the small,
          individual investors will be spared. They'll suffer the
          most, losing their homes, their cars - everything!

          In the wake of the crash, we're going to see a wave of
          "assisted suicides." The masses who were driven by
          money and success won't be able to endure the failure
          and poverty they face. Many will opt for suicide -
          including corporate leaders.

          Yet the coming judgment won't mean the end of American
          society. It will, however, mean a severe humbling of
          our nation, through a long, terrifying period of
          chaotic conditions - including rioting, looting and
          burning in our major cities.

          I must ask you: Are you prepared for what is coming? If
          not, are you acting now to get ready? When I speak of
          being ready, where do your thoughts take you? Do you
          think immediately of investments, bank accounts,
          survival plans, safety for your family?

          In the past months, our ministry's offices have been
          inundated with newsletters and prophetic warnings
          suggesting how Christians can prepare for dark times.
          However, most of these messages concern personal safety
          and survival. They advise, "Stockpile dried foods,
          long-burning candles, kerosene lanterns, warm clothes,
          blankets, medical supplies, a battery-powered radio..."

          I don't have a problem with anyone who chooses to do
          these things. After all, scripture tells us the prudent
          person prepares for a time of crisis. I think of the
          patriarch Joseph, who wisely spent seven years
          preparing for a prophesied famine.

          But there is a problem underlying such approaches to
          the coming chaos. Indeed, if there is one thing God
          despises, it is when his children face the future with
          fear. It angers him to see believers panicking,
          stockpiling, hoarding, hiding - in fear and distrust of
          our heavenly father's care.

          Of course, God often hides his people in times of
          chaos. Jesus himself warned the citizens of Jerusalem
          to flee when they saw the Chaldeans approaching. And
          God has been faithful to hide persecuted Christians
          throughout history. In this century, he hid many Jews
          during Hitler's awful purges, often using Christians to
          do so. The Hiding Place is a wonderful, modern-day
          story of God's keeping power in this regard.

          Yet I believe it is much more important today for
          American Christians to focus on spiritual preparation -
          or, spiritual "hiding" - before the coming storm hits.
          Let me tell you why.

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                         The Coming Chaos Is Going
                          To Open to the Church -
                          Ministry Opportunities -
                        Beyond Any We've Ever Seen!

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          If you've studied the history of revivals in America,
          you may know about the "laymen's revival" of the 1850s.
          It began in a church in downtown New York City. A lay
          Christian started a noon prayer meeting at the church,
          and right away the sanctuary was filled. Moreover, the
          meetings were marked by fervent praying and weeping.

          Why did these meetings draw great crowds in such a
          short time? It was because most of those in attendance
          were the suddenly unemployed, panic-stricken workers
          and businessmen who'd lost their jobs overnight because
          of a stock-market crash. At that time, there was no
          societal safety net in place - no Social Security, no
          unemployment checks, no insurance. These out-of-work
          men were afraid - so they turned to prayer.

          Most churches in New York City at the time had
          abandoned any prayer meetings. But soon they had to
          open their doors again, due to the many requests from
          troubled people who had no one to turn to. Likewise, in
          the chaotic days ahead, multitudes of Americans will be
          driven to prayer out of sheer desperation. Here at
          Times Square Church, we're preparing to hold prayer
          meetings every day of the week.

          I believe that when the coming storm hits with full
          fury, and the nation is reeling with panic and fear,
          people will flee all false gospels and feel-good
          churches. Christians will forget about gospel
          entertainment and Christian TV, and they'll start
          demanding hard truth. They'll flock to hear godly
          pastors, demanding the true word of God. Their cry will
          be, "Who will preach to us a prophetic, life-changing
          word?"

          I've been asked many times, "Do you believe we'll see a
          great revival in these last days - especially during
          the hard times you say are coming?"

          Yes, you can be sure a great revival is coming. But it
          won't be what we think of as revival today. No one will
          be laughing or making animal noises in that fierce day
          of reckoning. No, the only kind of revival that will
          meet the needs of this society - shaken to its core
          with fear and terror - will be a revival of Holy
          Ghost-sent truth!

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                      God's Answer to Every Apostasy,
                      Crisis, Turmoil and Chaotic Time
                     Is Always This: A Fresh Revelation
                           of the Risen Christ!

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

          When the Holy Ghost moves in, what will be the
          manifestations of his work? Jesus identified the
          ministry of the Holy Spirit as follows:

          "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
          Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
          things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
          whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). "When
          he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
          into all truth..." (16:13).

          Jesus says the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth - and
          he bears witness only to truth. He won't bear witness
          to any erroneous gospel or fleshly manifestation. He is
          wedded to the cross - to the gospel of grace that
          teaches us to forsake iniquity. And he will bear
          witness to the truth that emanates from Christ's work
          on the cross.

          Sadly, many charismatic Christians today talk much
          about being Spirit-filled - but they are totally
          bankrupt of truth. They're not intimate with Christ -
          and so they don't know how to draw on his strength in
          truth. They don't tremble at the truth of his word.
          They don't know how to walk in his resurrection power
          or live wholly dependent on him. Instead, they twist,
          manipulate and misinterpret his word to accommodate
          their flesh.

          Jesus said we are not to tremble in fear at the awful
          things coming upon our nation. But we are to tremble in
          holy reverence for God's word: "...to this man will I
          look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite
          spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).

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

                      Samson Represents Ministries And
                      Ministers Who Revel in The Holy
                      Spirit's Power - But Who Lightly
                        Esteem the Spirit of Truth!

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

          Samson was a man wholly unprepared for the crisis his
          generation suffered. He misused his gifts and
          squandered the power the Holy Spirit gave him. And I
          believe his failure and fall are a lesson meant
          especially for the church in these last days.

          When Samson was born, Israel was poverty-stricken, in
          bondage and deep affliction, because "the children of
          Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord..." (Judges
          3:7). But God raised up Samson to be a deliverer in
          this time of ruin and despair. Scripture tells us, "The
          Spirit of the Lord began to move him..." (13:25) at a
          young age. The Hebrew word for "move" here means "a
          regular stirring." In other words, God's Spirit stirred
          Samson continually.

          Indeed, Samson was called from birth to be a Nazarite.
          The word "Nazarite" means "to separate, consecrate,
          abstain." In short, Samson was appointed to lead a
          holy, separated life - never cutting his hair, never
          drinking wine or any intoxicating beverage, never going
          near a dead body, even if it was that of a close
          relative. He was being set apart for use by the Holy
          Spirit, and therefore he was to be a totally
          consecrated vessel.

          We know the Holy Spirit moved on Samson long before he
          began his ministry to Israel. Yet how did the Spirit
          the manifest himself in Samson? Peter tells us,
          "...holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
          Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). Whatever physical
          manifestations occurred in the Old Testament, they were
          always accompanied by God's Spirit speaking in and
          through people.

          As the Holy Ghost moved on Samson, the Spirit surely
          confirmed to him the word he was taught in childhood.
          And the Spirit's stirrings constantly reminded Samson
          that the secret to his power lay in his total
          dependency on the Lord. Only through the Holy Ghost
          would he be able to remain separated and to keep his
          eyes on his calling.

          The fact is, God would never send out a man to do a
          needed work of power without first teaching him the
          manner in which the Spirit would work upon him. So
          Samson knew full well he had to stay under the covering
          of the Spirit of truth - remaining consecrated and
          abstaining from wickedness - in order to minister the
          Spirit's power.

          Yet we know from Samson's life he had a driving lust -
          an overwhelming passion for "strange" women. He first
          had a relationship with a forbidden Canaanite, then
          with a harlot in Gaza and finally with the prostitute
          Delilah. Simply put, Samson had a terrible sexual
          addiction.

          Of course, the Holy Ghost was fully aware of Samson's
          propensity to lust. And as the Spirit stirred Samson,
          he would have made known to him the truth Paul would
          express in the New Testament: "...if ye through the
          Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live"
          (Romans 8:13). God's Spirit always speaks to people
          troubled by sin, urging them, "Trust in me! I'll show
          you the way to overcoming victory."

          Samson had access to all the power of the Holy Spirit
          to lead a holy life. But he ignored the Spirit's voice.
          And he made this his first mission: "Samson...saw a
          woman in Timnath...and told his father and his
          mother...get her for me..." (Judges 14:1-2).

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

                       Samson Dared to Use the Power
                    of the Holy Ghost Without Submission
                        to the Spirit of Truth - and
                      the Result Was Mere Theatrics!

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

          Like Satan, Samson "...abode not in the truth..." (John
          8:44). And anyone who dares to use the Holy Ghost's
          power apart from his truth will end up performing only
          theatrics.

          When Samson visited the harlot in Gaza, the Gazites
          fenced him in and waited to capture him. Then something
          supernatural happened: "Samson lay till midnight, and
          arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of
          the city, and the two posts, and went away with them,
          bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and
          carried them up to the top of an hill that is before
          Hebron" (Judges 16:3).

          What a feat of strength! Samson's act was without doubt
          a demonstration of supernatural power. Yet, in truth,
          it amounted to nothing more than theatrics. It was
          played out before a sleeping city of unconcerned
          heathen - with no victory won, no bondages broken, no
          deliverance wrought. As I read the passage, I wonder,
          "What was that all about? What was the purpose?"

          Likewise today, many so-called revivals are played out
          before a world that remains untouched and unaffected by
          such demonstrations. You see, whenever the Spirit of
          truth does not receive preeminence, all displays of
          supernatural power - signs, wonders, manifestations -
          end up being empty theatrics.

          You may ask, "But, Brother Dave - don't you believe in
          manifestations by the Spirit?" I surely do. But if any
          manifestation is not founded on the Spirit of truth,
          its power is to no avail. Only the truth sets souls
          free!

          Think of how little Samson accomplished in his ministry
          by all his demonstrations of power to no real purpose:
          He killed a lion with his bare hands. He trapped 300
          foxes and tied their tails together. He burned down
          some fields and fruit trees. Yet no one was delivered
          by any of these acts.

          The tragic fact of Samson's life is clear: He totally
          failed in his mission. After twenty years of his
          ministry, Israel was in as great a bondage as when
          Samson started.

          Saul is another example of this. He was "slain by the
          Spirit," lay prostrate before God and prophesied. But
          in the end, it was all theatrics. Why? Saul had no
          change of heart. All those manifestations were wasted,
          because Saul wouldn't subject himself to the Spirit of
          truth. To use Paul's phrase, Saul was "destitute of the
          truth" (1 Timothy 6:5).

          Beloved, the power of the Holy Ghost rests in God's
          word - indeed, in his cross: "For the preaching of the
          cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
          which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians
          1:18).

          Many pastors and evangelists today have no interest in
          seeking the Spirit of truth. They think they can call
          on the Holy Ghost at any time to come down and sweep
          away all the powers of hell. But these people won't be
          prepared for the dark times that are coming!

          The only manifestations we'll see when the storm hits
          will be men and women falling to their knees in awe and
          fear of God's word. They'll be slain by the piercing,
          convicting, soul-cleansing preaching that comes from
          the Spirit of truth!

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

                        God Knows What Is Coming -
                      And He Knows the Exact Hour When
                     America's Chastening Will Begin!

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

          The Lord already knows how people will react to the
          coming storm. They'll be panic-stricken and full of
          fear. After all, Jesus warned that a time would come
          that's so frightening, people's hearts would fail due
          to the fear and stress.

          Yet even in exercising his judgment, God always extends
          his tender mercy. He works far ahead of time, making
          plans for his people and stirring his true shepherds.
          Indeed, today - while most of America focuses on its
          prosperity - God is waking a holy remnant in the
          church. These saints are on their faces, seeking him
          with all their strength and crying out for a true word
          from the Spirit of truth. And I believe the Spirit is
          revealing Christ to them with a glory beyond that of
          any past generation!

          In recent months, our ministry has received hundreds of
          letters from pastors and believers who are repulsed by
          most of what they see in the church: hype, foolishness,
          entertainment, shallow preaching. They're crying out,
          "Enough! We're tired of seeing our pastors go to
          conventions and return only to introduce some new
          gimmick. We're sick of seeing the flesh accommodated.
          We're hungry for truth! We want to hear preaching that
          convicts us and challenges us to holiness and prayer."

          Believer, you can rest assured - in the coming days of
          calamity, the true revival won't come through
          showboating, big-time preachers or TV evangelists. It
          won't come through prosperity teachings or other
          doctrines of false security. No - God's revival will
          come through a hidden company of pastors and lay people
          who have been in the school of Christ, learning his
          ways and trusting in him. These will lead a revival of
          truth!

          I believe we're already seeing signs of the Spirit's
          work as he breaks up the fallow ground in America in
          preparation for this revival. The Op-Ed (Opinion and
          Editorial), page of the New York Times, May 24, 1998,
          featured an article titled "Coming - the Most Religious
          Century." The article reported the following:

             * Norman Mailer, the renowned pagan and liberal
               writer, has declared, "Religion, to me, is now the
               last frontier."

             * Vaclav Havel, the famous Czech writer and leader,
               calls America "the most atheistic society in the
               history of the world." Yet both he and Mailer
               agree that our nation is on the brink of the most
               religious period in its history.

          Most amazing of all, Mailer and Havel are predicting a
          return not just to any religion, but specifically to
          Judaism and Christianity. They predict even scientists
          will yearn for faith.

          Of course, they're right - the age of reason and
          science has failed to satisfy humanity's need for
          peace. Socialism has failed...communism has
          failed...politics has failed...the new age has failed.
          And now even the most successful people in our society
          are crying out, "There has to be more to life than
          this!"

          Yet not everyone is going to want truth. Many will turn
          to unbridled lust. Indeed, our society could see Sodom
          replayed a hundred times over. But as our nation poises
          on the brink of chaos, many Americans will begin to
          seek truth, answers, life.

          As for me, I want to face the coming times as "...a
          workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
          dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). I believe
          that's the way we're to prepare for the days ahead - by
          girding our loins with truth (see Ephesians 6:14).

          I urge you: Ask the Lord to prepare you - his way - for
          the day America's golden calf comes down. Seek his
          Spirit of truth in your secret closet. Learn to
          recognize his voice above all the worldly clamor going
          on in his church. Then you'll truly be prepared to face
          the coming storm!

          ---
          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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          link this site to reference these messages.

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