That same day, a New York City police officer spoke to me about the uncertainty and alarm within the police force and fire departments. Their macho exteriors hid secret fears because most of them had lost friends during the 9/11 attacks. Even now, years later, each time some New Yorkers travel through tunnels and over bridges they hold their breath and pray for protection. A stalled vehicle can cause panic. The greatest fear that haunts this city is a suitcase bomb, carrying nuclear or germ capabilities. Many people began carrying small gas masks. The citizenry seem to be resigned to the inevitable, believing an attack of major proportions will eventually strike. No one knows when, but the thought hangs heavily over the populace.
I ask God not to give me some detailed
theological answer to this problem of a
mountain of unbelief how do I cast it
out how do I get this thing out of my
life that hinders everything that God
would do
Anders ministry marries and there’s
everything in life because you see a
prophet came to Asia after he Syria
builder he got his deliverance but the
word of the Lord came to him said
because you did not believe from now on
you will have wars everything’s going to
be out of order
everything’s going to go right all right
everything is going to turn into flesh
you’re going to get all your directions
from the flesh now ah I have been there
when you get out of God’s will then you
get out of faith and you begin to panic
first of all it’s the grief of God’s
heart and secondly you’re going to turn
to your own answers your own thoughts
and your own fears are going to become a
way of life and I ask God Lord how do I
get
how do I cast this thing out of me
because you see he’s made it our
responsibility so you speak to the
mountain and say be gone and it she’ll
go and then when this mountain is gone
then you whatever you ask or whatever
you say everything you you want and
desire you shall have it and a lot of
people stop write this and we’ll wait a
minute I’ve been there it doesn’t work
everything I ask we see he sang after
you remove them out so I ask God and
last night he really spoke to my heart
do you really want to walk that life
because I’m going to have you I’m going
to show you something it’s going to cost
you and has no merit to it it’s the only
way to get rid of the mountain is
another way well somebody said well no
no you you just have faith it says speak
the word just speak the word Mountain go
folks you try that without what I’m
about to tell you and the Devils will
laugh at you just as I did the disciples
when they tried to cast out a demon
adèle and they laughed at him because
you see Jesus said this comes by prayer
and fasting no merit but if you want
authority over this mountain if you want
authority over demon powers if you want
thority over those hounding fears and
doubts there’s a place you have to go
and there’s a prayer you have to pray
when you get there in that place that
Gethsemane this is the garden where
Jesus went when his cup became so
overwhelming and his child so crushing
he goes into this garden you see people
say no no this is not a generation of
tears we don’t cry anymore
we just celebrate well but I celebrate
Jesus Christ
I love songs on celebration but you see
in our modern church in this time of
gold and riches and fun and pleasure and
backslidden cold prayers we don’t want
to cry we don’t want to put our face on
the ground and plead we don’t want to
intercede but you see Jesus goes into
the garden now he’s never experienced
unbelief that’s a sin in he is this is
not a matter of his unbelief but he’s
got a mountain and the cross he goes in
and he said I’m I am
sorrowful unto death have you ever
prayed that if you ever told your
husband or your wife or if you told
anybody how have you ever had a an
encounter with God you what you’re
saying if not in words is this is too
much on my understanding it if this goes
on it’s going to kill me
have you ever wept tears that were so
hot they’re like blood running out of
your face you know so we don’t want to
touch that anymore because it’s all and
why can’t we just say well God’s a God
of love I have preached so much love
reasoning and you get from this Pope we
preach grace we preach love but we also
cannot do away with this Yosemite
experience jesus wept
he prayed he interceded he called on God
he sought the Lord Lord if it’s possible
let this cup pass from me don’t let me
have to take any more of this now forget
trying to explain what’s in the cup but
folks if if he there’s touch with things
of our infirmities there’s got to be
things that are in our cup the same kind
of cup I don’t want to get into the
theological a framework of this but I I
do know this he said I’m in a situation
father I hope I would plead with you and
I beseech you enough enough that’s where
you are right now you’ve said God that’s
enough
and you have got to believe like Jesus
did that his father loved him and his
father is about to reveal something
marvelous to his heart you see we are
there was a series of Agony’s that Jesus
went through series this is the fasting
the prayer the weeping the tears the
prostration that’s a series of of
spiritual episodes that are leading to a
place and then after the tears have
stopped flowing and you know the father
bottled every tear and after the tears
can no longer flow and after all of them
been said and done Jesus praise the
ultimate prayer
now that word ultimate one of the
explanations when the definitions of
ultimate is the end of the series the
far-out end in other words everything
has been tried the ultimate is there and
he gets up looks God in the face he said
and this is what he’s saying I’ve prayed
I wept a fasted I’ve done everything
unload my soul to you Father but I’ve
come to this place nevertheless not my
will but your will be done your will be
done and it’s it you can’t move that
mountain till you pray that ultimate
faith and that prayer and you can’t pray
that until you have unloaded everything
it’s in your soul to where you go to the
Heavenly Father yes go it’s not it’s not
a way of living it’s not our daily walk
but it’s a confrontation where you come
to the place where you sign I’m at the
end and you pour your soul out to God
and you quit looking at the
circumstances and believe that God loves
you and he will not allow anything in
your life except that which is good
which is right which is according to his
will according to his will in his mind
so you give up trying to figure it out
and you cast yourself in the arms of the
Heavenly Father and say Lord this this
is not what I want I don’t think I can
handle much of it but I know your God
Almighty and I cast everything into your
hands and now I prayed the ultimate
prayer your will be done and when you do
that God begins to you starts opening
your eyes to a revelation you’re going
to you see a lot of people have cried
and went for God to use them into God to
give them patience and God to do
something in their families and God
knows what he has to do and soak
God begins to allow afflictions David
said if I had been afflicted I would
decide the Lord and God knows the path
he knows the cost of that and the moment
you prayed that he went into action and
the next day the next week things
started happening in your life and you
missed the answer you’re going around
despising the answer this is God at work
I’m going to close in just a moment but
to illustrate this and right to the
point I remember I thought of again last
night my youngest son Greg back in the
pastor’s office number of years ago he
asked me to come back with him and he
threw himself on the floor began to weep
and cry and wail before God is a dope
dad died such a burden for young people
and I don’t know how that I don’t know
how to reach out and get hold of this
thing but I God has to do something as
the we’re losing the generation and I
was dumped I didn’t know what to do I
just sat there and said Oh God whatever
it takes
answers prayer and so he goes into the
greatest job of his life for years of
incredible pain
his faith and very life being tested but
you see I’d made an ultimate prayer and
said oh whatever it takes because I
trust you you will only do what’s right
and this past few months God has been
bringing him out in a glorious way and
he called me last week he said dad thank
you for not giving up on me and thanks
for not giving up on your faith I put
everything I never once doubted that God
was at work none of this is going to
work unless you are convinced totally
convinced that God loves you it’s not
going to work if you focus on your sins
it won’t believe you start right there I
commit to keeping of my soul I’m not
going to spend the rest of my life
trying to make things up to God
I’m not going to try to be God anymore
and try to answer everybody’s prayer how
does a via all the joy of God then when
we cast our self into his care will you
stand
you know there was a time that uh when
Gwen and I would walk home from the
service
I’d say honey how’d I do and Lord showed
me that that was a sign of a kind of
hardness in my heart I should have been
asking the Lord and myself see I don’t
do that anymore but I should have been
asking did I preach that in love what
was my point
well what was I trying to accomplish
when this church was established that
took in my estimation for years – for
God to make me even a low-class kind of
pastor because I used to see people in
multitudes and they were all faces and I
never got to talk people and so it was
just just faces and then when you come
face to face with people in trial and
hardship and all of this you can’t just
say oh now I’m gonna love you have to
work these things out and your own heart
first and I know that you know that you
have pastors and elders here that love
you
we’re not into race issues in this
church because every one of these men
black white Hispanic whatever it is
there’s something God has done by his
Spirit that is supernatural
I hope what you know I hope you
understand I’m trying to say that God in
His love is spoken to my heart and yours
and this is what he’s trying to
accomplish that you now pour your soul
out to God nothing all retreat free
preach my sermon you don’t have to come
to the altar to do that in the annex you
can do right where you’re at I don’t
want you to pray ultimate prayer here I
don’t want you to just flippantly say
all right not my will Lord but yours be
done they get all the other stuff out
first tell him tell them like it is talk
to him get alone and say I’m not leaving
this room I’m not leaving this place
until my soul is that rest
and you’ll know the mountains gone when
you have this rest I’m not trying to do
it anymore your own we’re questioning
God’s work by resting on his promises
and his word Heavenly Father would you
show us your heart show us where we are
in our walk with you now are we resting
on your side
are we accusing you father of child
abuse or is there anything in our hearts
that would hinder us now remove it by
your grace
take it out of ours hallelujah
hallelujah would you lift your hands to
the Lord both hands put your Bible down
whoever has just lift your hands before
the Lord and would you begin to thank
him for his love for you just begin
that’s where you start thank you for
loving me see God’s not mad at anybody
here he’s not mad at you let’s thank him
for his love Lord we thank you that no
matter what we’re going through you have
given us evidence that you truly loved
us we are under the love of God we’re
under the Covenant of God we’re under
the grace and mercy of God but Oh Lord
we’re also friends with God and Lord we
can approach you as a friend and say I
have an issue in my heart now Lord Jesus
give me the Holy Spirit in greater
measure so that I can pray from my heart
and surrender to the perfect will of God
wherever that takes us wherever it ends
that we will go your way in full
surrender now one thing before we close
the service up in the balki in here the
main floor
if you’re not where you know you should
be with Christ if you know in your heart
you’ve grown cold or indifferent to him
I want you to step out of your seat if
you feel the tug and pull of the Holy
Spirit I want you to get out of your
seat and come and I will pray with you
and we’ll believe the Lord to bring you
back to his heart if you have strayed
any way at all or if you’ve been living
in dreaded fear absolute dread fear now
I’m not just talking about something
that happened last night but you it’s a
way of life now you live day by day
under a spirit of fear I want to pray
against that spirit I want you to get
out of your seat up in the balcony down
either side and here on the main floor
come this way and those in the Annex you
can move between the screens and I’ll
pray you’ll be able to see in here in
just a moment well our instruments are
playing get out of your seat I don’t
care if there are 10 people God wants to
do something in your heart before this
service is history there’s only one
thing you can give to God down you can’t
give him any righteousness because you
and I don’t have any of our own we’re
saved by his righteousness you can’t
give him any money because he owns it
all you don’t have to give him tears
that doesn’t merit anything you don’t
his as followers of Christ we don’t
merit anything by our Bible reading and
by our prayer and by our tears and
prostration we don’t merit anything but
there’s one thing you can give him one
thing he wants and that you have the
power and ability to give him and that’s
your faith
your faith will you pray this prayer
with me nor Jesus forgive my unbelief I
trust you
I love you and I do the best I can to
give you my small faith Jesus I receive
your love I receive your forgiveness
touch my heart take all the questions
out of my mind and teach me how by the
Holy Spirit to trust you every single
day not to worry not to fear but to rest
and the promises jesus made
thank you Father thank you Jesus thank
you Holy Spirit now give him thanks