This is “Raise Your Voice: Part 1”. The enemy has no allies. He attacks his own just as he attacks those who are striving to live for God. The difference is that you and I, as children of God, have access to help! In these unprecedented times, we are all fighting battles. Some of you are facing fear and uncertainty that you’ve never known, and we cannot stay silent and pretend everything is OK. As you’ll learn in this message, silence is a sin in the “city.” When you’re in the “city of God” all you have to do is raise your voice and the Rescuer will come running. Before you run from God, run to Him!

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thank you for joining us today on

kingdom connection it’s my prayer that

god will use

something specific in this broadcast

today to

really speak directly to your spirit

we’re so grateful to have you with us

on kingdom connection today let’s go

right into it the service

i want to go to the book of the old

testament book of deuteronomy for a few

moments this morning deuteronomy

chapter 22 and i want to kind of

set this verse up in these verses

because they’re some of the most

unusual verses and they can be easily

misunderstood you’re talking about

the world 2000 years ago

plus very much different from now

women were in no way

appreciated valued and had freedom like

women have now and a voice

a voice and

the scripture that i’m going to read is

a little bit uncomfortable to be honest

because i don’t want anybody to

misunderstand what i’m going to preach

today because

we know that if someone is a woman

is ever abused by a man it is evil wrong

and it

and and she is the victim always

there’s no woman that does anything that

gives a right to a man to ever

hurt or abuse them can i get a big amen

on that

but now this text is going to show you

and give you an

insight into what the world was like

before christ

and before the freedoms that women

now enjoy but there is a vital

lesson that i want to share that is so

relevant to all of us

that i believe you’ll understand when

you leave this place

look with me in deuteronomy 22 there are

laws of sexual morality

and there were things that god’s word

began to forbid

and it’s dealing with one of those

things in verse 23

if a young woman who is a virgin is a

betrothed that word betroth means

engaged if she is engaged to a husband

they’re not married yet but they’re

going to get married and a man

finds her in the city and lies with her

some translation says forces himself

upon her

then you shall bring them both out to

the gate of the city

and you shall stone them to death with

stones

listen the young woman because she did

not cry out in the city

which which implies that if she would

have just spoke up

it could have been stopped now again

remember what i just told you

but there’s a real lesson in this

spiritually you got to see this through

the

spiritual eyes to understand the insight

that i want you to get

and the young woman because she did not

cry out

in the city and the man because he

humbled his neighbor’s wife

so you shall put away this evil from

among you verse 25

but if a man finds a betrothed engaged

young woman

in the field and the man forces her to

lie with him he’s forcing her

then only the man who lies with her

shall die but you shall do

nothing to the young woman there is

in the young woman no sin deserving of

death

for justice when a man rises against his

neighbor and kills him

even so is this matter listen and he

found her

in the field and the engaged young woman

cried

out but there was no one to save her

i want to talk to you about the power of

raising

your voice silence

can be a sin in the times in which we

live

and in this text it deals with two young

women

one of them lived in the country and one

of them lived in the city

they both were engaged to a young man

they both were preparing for their

wedding

day but then the woman in the city

we don’t know if she took a back alley

or wherever it was

but somewhere in the city she was

assaulted by a man

a man overtook her a man abused her

a man forced himself on her

and she according to the text

her her silence

was worthy and this is hard for us to

understand but this is the word of god

and it’s there for a reason there’s a

lesson that i want you to see

her silence was a sin in this case

also in that when she did not cry

out in the city for her attack

for for her attacker that was attacking

her

i don’t know why she didn’t cry out

we’re not told maybe it was fear

maybe it was intimidation maybe it was

trauma

maybe she was so traumatized she could

not believe it was happening

she wasn’t guilty because she was

attacked

but she was guilty because of her

silence

according to the old testament law thank

god we’re not under the old testament

law

something happened to this woman in the

city

and when she was silent and the reason

that it was

considered grievous is because in the

city

there was help in the city all she had

to do was cry out and part of that

culture was

men would come running in the city i’m

sure

her fiance was there and he would never

allow

someone to abuse his to be bride if she

would have just

raised her voice and cried out and then

it draws

another picture it talks about if a

woman

is in a field she’s out in the country

she’s has nobody surrounding her she’s

working in the field all by herself

and some evil person with evil intent a

man

forces himself on her and attacks her

and abuses her in the field if she cries

out the scripture said that she is not

to be stoned she has done nothing the

man is to be stoned

it’s kind of confusing unless you

understand the spiritual implication and

here it is

you’re going to get it i promise

in matthew 13 and 38 jesus said in one

of his parables that the field

is the world and in hebrews chapter 12

and verse 22 it says but you have come

to mount

zion you’re in the city of the living

god so the point is simply this that

once you come into the city or the

kingdom of god

once you enter into christ we’re in the

city of the living god we’re not out in

the field

because jesus said the field represents

the world but the city

represents the city of the living god

once you’re in the church

notice that the same attack came

on the woman that was in the city that

came upon the same

attack happened to the woman that was in

the field or the world

just because you’re in church and just

because you’re serving god

does not mean that we don’t have an

enemy who hates us

and who attacks us and who wants to

destroy

us the same attack comes on you

in the church and it happens to people

in the field

which really is an important lesson just

because you’re attacked in the city

doesn’t mean if you leave the church and

give up on your faith

that the enemy’s going to let up on you

and you go out into the devil’s

territory and into his field

and you forget god and forget religion

don’t

think that the attacker is going to

leave you alone

he’s not going to leave you alone you’re

going to be attacked

either way the devil is not

good to his own it’s a matter of time

you may have fun

in the field you may have excitement in

the field fourth season

but there will come that moment when

satan will

attack you in the field and the bible

said the tragedy of the person in the

field

is when they are attacked and they cry

out there is no one there to hear them

but in the city if you cry out

if you’re not too embarrassed if you’re

not too ashamed

to say i need help if you’re not too

much of

of a person who refuses to acknowledge

you just want to pretend

like you’re okay but you’re really

hurting you’re really struggling

if you can ever get to the place that

once you’re in the city once you’re in

the church

once you’re in the kingdom you’re

willing to cry out

and say help i’m struggling

i’m losing ground i’m falling away help

all you got to do is cry out and the

rescuer will come running

so important to understand that

because when you begin to understand

that if you’re defeated in your mind

if you are attacked mentally physically

spiritually

nothing’s going on with you that’s not

going on out there in the world

this is so important what burdens me is

if i’m going through it and you’re going

through it

in the middle of this pandemic we’re all

fighting battles

we can pretend and we can wear outward

mass

but i’m afraid sometimes we’re wearing

spiritual masks

all the time playing like everything’s

beautiful in our life

and we can be silent when we’re dying

and if it’s like that in the church what

is it like out there

if you don’t know the lord what is it

like out there if you’re dying in an

addiction to alcoholism

or drug addiction or some other vice

that’s destroying your life

and you’re crying out but you don’t know

who to cry and there’s nobody to rescue

you

i want to say first of all i’m thankful

i’m in the city

i’m thankful i’m in the church i’m

thankful that i have jesus that i can

call on

you see john 10 10 said the thief comes

to steal

kill and to destroy and that’s not just

people in the church that’s people out

there

he’s coming i don’t care how much spun

you’re having in sin

he’s coming to kill steal and destroy

it’s a matter of time

and i hope you’re not so far out there

that nobody can hear your cry

when you go serve the devil in his field

he doesn’t give you a peace

that you didn’t have in church

you’re not going to solve your problems

by backsliding

by leaving the church you’re not going

to find

peace out there that you couldn’t find

in here

when you understand what i’m preaching

today you understand that the devil

cannot give you joy he cannot give you

hope for eternity

he cannot give you purpose for living he

cannot put your home back together

he cannot put your life back together he

cannot give you the dream

and the purpose for which you are here

understand that if you go serve the

devil

is he’s not going to stop tormenting you

as a matter of fact he will take his

hate out on you in ways you cannot

imagine

and the sad thing is you’re crying but

nothing nobody’s hearing you

i want to say to some of you who are

being tempted to leave the church and go

to the field

you know too much you felt too much

to ever be happy out there because you

know

what is in here and don’t think that if

you go out there

that you’re not going to be ambushed and

you’re not going to be attacked

in a moment when you feel like

everything is beautiful and wonderful

i promise you i’ve been doing this a

long time

and i’ve seen people who thought i can

play with it i can live in the devil’s

field

and do anything i want to do and get by

it’s a matter of time before that sorry

devil

who seduced you out is going to ambush

you

and attack you in a way you never saw

coming boy people don’t like this kind

of preaching but

here we go oh i got some for you today

the girl was attacked in the field just

like

the damsel was attacked in the city but

there

is a huge difference

if you’re in the city and you don’t

uplift your voice

if you don’t lift your voice in the city

then death

comes there’s hope for you in the city

there’s help for you in the city of the

living god

and we put our mask on and we come to

church spiritually

not just the physical mass that we’re

wearing

but the spiritual mask i’m afraid that

people come to church

and they put their best foot forward

they want everybody to think

that everything is beautiful and they

don’t want

anybody to know i’m struggling i’m being

tempted

i feel like quitting i don’t know how

much more of this i can take

at a time when when you’re supposed to

act like

everything is all right when you feel

the attack of the

adversary that is not the time

to pretend like it’s all okay

but when you’re being attacked and i

really sense this is a word in season

because all of us are under attacks

we never dreamed or saw in this year

and only those who learn how to cry

out when they’re under attack are going

to make it

and when you feel the attack of the

adversary

it’s time to cry out it’s time to lift

up your voice

it’s time to say god help me god rescue

me there’s hope in the city of god

if you will cry out too many are

backsliding

silently drifting and their voice is

never heard in prayer

their voice is never heard in the midst

of their trouble

in intercessor in intercessory prayer

and in praise to god if you stay silent

when you’re under attack

you could lose it all but when you learn

to open up your mouth when i open

up my mouth and when i begin to proclaim

just

sometimes you’re so weak all you can say

is jesus

i don’t know how to fix it but jesus i

don’t know how to turn it around but

jesus

i can’t do this it’s a job for jesus

but lord have mercy and help us he says

i’ve been waiting

and i’ll rescue you i’m waiting on you

to call my name

i believe today that if you would get

your voice uplifted

you would be rescued if you would get

your voice

uplifted you could be healed if you

would get your voice

uplifted god could intervene into your

circumstances

because we are engaged to jesus christ

we are that woman in the story that is

engaged

in the city and our our fiancee

is bad to the bone he can fight like you

wouldn’t believe

and if some old sorry man touches us

he’s touching the apple of his eye he’s

touching

and that that lover gets furious

he gets angry he’s insanely jealous

and he will rip your head off touch not

my anointed

and do my pro and i’m telling you you’re

the anointed

and you are god’s property and you’re

engaged to jesus christ

and he takes it personal when someone

attacks you

when the enemy satan attacks you he says

that’s

my fight call on me i’ll fight your

battles

everybody take a praise break and lift

up your voice

and say jesus i need you

i need you

i think that when we understand that

we’re engaged to jesus christ

in the old testament if a woman was

engaged to a man and another man put his

hands on that woman that man had the

legal right

to take that guy out i kind of like that

forgive me as a daddy i like that

sometimes we need to say to satan get

your hands off my family

we need to raise our voice and say get

your filthy hands off my children

get your filthy hands off my wife or off

my husband

you foul devil get your hands off

the property this home this family this

marriage this these children they belong

to his majesty the lord jesus christ and

you

get your filthy hands on i will not

be silent i will not shut up the more

you

attack me the more i’ll cry out lord

have mercy and

heal my life and heal my need scream it

if you have to i’ll never forget

i preached many times at the great

lakewood church for

joel osteen and i love one of my

favorite things about going there is i

get to get to

go backstage with dodie osteen his

mother

and boy she is a godly woman she can

quote half the bible and she’s a prayer

warrior

little bitty thing but boy she’s full of

the word of

god and she told me one time she said

jensen when they told me i had cancer

and that i wouldn’t live she said the

lord told me

you talk back to that disease don’t let

it trash

trash talk you you trash talk it and she

said

that john her husband at that time well

he was dead and gone on to be with the

lord

but she said the children joel and all

of them they would hear her in the back

bedroom

and they they would say let’s get out of

the house mom’s going into one of her

fits

and she would close the door and she

would take out scriptures and she would

walk the floor

and say the word of god says that by his

stripes i am healed the word of god says

you can’t let the devil do all the

talking

you have to learn how to lift your voice

and cry out with the praise and

cry out with a prayer

instead of panic praise instead of worry

worship

because you’re in the city tell somebody

you’re in the city

there’s hope for you there’s help for

you you’re not out in the country where

nobody can hear you

you’re in the city

if you’re thinking crazy thoughts you’re

not alone

it’s not a time to be silent if you’ve

been saying i’m thinking about quitting

you’re not alone

but it’s time to talk to that quit

and say he who has begun a good work in

me will be faithful to complete it

and i don’t understand everything but

here i go i trust the lord

and i believe his word we need a revival

of the uplifted voice

we need the people of god to realize

that the power of death and life are in

their tongue

and we’ve got to start speaking life and

talking life

and speaking the power of god into our

homes and into our lives

there’s some moms and some dads and some

grandmas and some grandpas

who are listening to me at all of our

campuses and all over

on television and you are feeling the

attack

of the enemy like you have never

felt in your life i in this year

of this pandemic i have been

under more attacks in every way

than i have ever been in my 58 years

of living and now i’m almost getting

happy about it

i’m almost realizing that god even our

nation come on we’ve never

faced times like these and it’s not a

time

for us to be quiet in the cities when

there’s

rioting when they’re burning when we’re

seeing division and violence and hatred

if ever there was a time for the church

to lift up their voice and cry aloud and

spare not

to shout unto god with the voice of

triumph

the blood of jesus the name of jesus and

the cross

it’s in this hour i need somebody to say

i will not

be silent

many people were in the presence of

jesus the people who got the miracles

when they were in the presence of jesus

were people who cried out

thank you so much for being with us

today on kingdom connection it’s because

of

you we’re on television right now our

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jesus christ if you’re hurting today

and you’re watching right now and you

want to give your life to jesus

why don’t you just repeat this prayer

after me lord jesus just say those words

lord jesus come into my heart

you died and shed your blood to forgive

me

rose again to live through me

i give you my life give me your peace

give me your help give me your

your purpose for my life help my family

help

me direct me guide me through this time

in jesus name i don’t want to be alone

anymore

amen and amen i really

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