Hearing the Voice of God — David Wilkerson

Times Square pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge P .O. Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 or calling 214 -963 -8626.

None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. Voice of God.

Hearing the Voice of God

Hearing the voice of God. I'll tell you what, if you open your Bible to Mark 4 and leave it there. We'll be going back and forth to a lot of scriptures tonight. If you're going to make Times Square Church your home, you'd better get married to your Bible, and you better not let it be divorced for a moment.

I mean, you bring it to the house of God every time or you'll get lost here. Praise the Lord. You that are visiting, we want you to know we don't have a membership here. The only thing that binds people together is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

We're all here because God brought us together. We're not trying to empty any other churches unless they're not preaching Jesus, and if they're not preaching Jesus, we want to empty them. I said if they're not preaching Jesus, they ought to be empty.

Amen. I want to see if you're awake before I start preaching here tonight. Thank you, musicians, all of you. Thank God. It's very refreshing tonight. Heavenly Father, we need to hear and know your voice as never before in these troubled times.

Oh God, we have to know that still small voice. You must speak to us, O Lord, and we must distinguish that voice above every other voice that clamors for attention, and I pray, Lord, that supernaturally you bring forth a word that will touch our lives and change us.

We thank you for the word that's changing us. Every message we've heard, if we've received it, is from the Lord, and taking it into our hearts, we have been changed by it. We've been healed by it. Spirit of the living God, I pray tonight that you give me a touch from heaven.

Lord, we have taken authority, spiritual authority, over every demonic spirit, every lying spirit, every wild spirit, and we will not permit them to overrun this service, and we drive them out in the name of Jesus, casting everything out that is unlike Christ, our Lord, so that the word can go forth with unction and power and anointing.

We thank you for what you're building here in New York City. Lord, we thank you for other churches that are rising in faith. Oh God, preaching your holiness. Separation from the world. Now teach us your mind.

In Christ's name, I pray. Lord, I need you. Holy Ghost, I acknowledge I need you tonight. Fill me with your power. Amen. Hearing the voice of God. And by the way, we have a full-staff nursery. If your baby cries, you go out to the hall on the second floor there, and the ushers will show you where to go.

The Blessing of Hearing God’s Voice

One of the greatest, listen to me clear, one of the greatest blessings a true believer has is to hear and know the voice of God. That's one of the greatest blessings God has given to us. I say it's possible to hear God's voice today, just as clear and certain as Abraham heard it, or Moses heard it, as clear as Samuel heard it, or David heard it, as clear as Paul heard it in the New Testament, or Peter, or the apostles, or John on the Isle of Patmos.

It's just as clear today. His voice rings just as clear as he did in the Old and the New Testament from the very beginning. God has promised to make his voice known clearly one last time in these last days.

In fact, God has given us a prophecy, a prophecy, there's a powerful prophecy in the Bible, that God in the last day is going to gather a holy remnant people together. He calls it a holy Zion, a new Zion, a Jerusalem, new Jerusalem from above.

That's a holy separated people unto God, and he's going to make his voice known to them in a particular and clear manner. And I'll read it to you. Don't turn there, but it's Hebrews 12, 22. But ye are come unto Mount Zion.

Now, listen closely, beloved. God has called you out of a dead church for a reason. He called us together for a reason. He's going to speak to us. He calls the people out of their deadness. He calls them out of their sin to Mount Zion and under the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.

Now, why is God calling people out? Why is he separating them? Why is God calling for holiness and righteousness in a number of people? He's calling the whole church, but why are the certain few responding to that call?

Because God has a message, and this is the message, that the voice of God, that once shook the earth before, from the very beginning of time, shook it in the New Testament under the apostles, is going to shake the earth one last time before Jesus comes.

And I'll read it to you from Hebrews 12, 26, whose voice then shook the earth. But now he's promising, yet once more, I'm going to shake not the earth only, but also the heaven. He said, See then, that ye refuse not him that speaketh.

For if they escape not who refuse him who spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that is speaking from heaven. I'm telling you now, I believe God is speaking a clear, fresh word to his people.

There is a word coming out with all the false doctrines, with all of the winds and waves of doctrines of demons. God is raising up a people who have an ear for his word and his voice, and they're going to hear it.

A Holy People Guided by God’s Voice

Now, why is God gathering his people out? He says, Come out of Babylon, my people, and partake not of our sins. Because I believe God has to have his Zion people on these last days, who are not going to be tossed by winds and waves of doctrine.

They're not going to be listened to any other voice than the masters. There are going to be many voices coming from all sides. But God has to have a people who know where they're going, who know the mind of God, who are not walking in confusion.

They're walking in his righteousness. They're directed by his voice. They're comforted by his voice. They're guided by his voice. And I believe that's the characteristic of any holy people. Anyone who walks in righteousness is attuned to the voice of God.

Do you believe that? God is promised. In fact, God is always. You go all through the Old Testament. You go through the New Testament. God has always had a people who understood and knew his voice. Adam and Eve understood it.

They heard the voice of the Lord God in the garden, the scripture says. And it was sin, sin alone, that shut that voice out. I heard thy voice and I was afraid. I heard your voice. They became afraid of God's voice because of sin.

And it's still the same way today. If you have sin in your heart, you're afraid to hear the voice of God. Abraham became the father of many nations because he heard and understood the voice of God. And in God speaking about Abraham and to him, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, and my statutes, and my laws. You say God just sovereignly moved on Abraham. God saw something in Abraham. He saw that he'd obey when the voice came.

And he said, because you heard my voice and you obeyed it, I've made you the father of many nations. Moses. He did nothing without hearing the voice of God. The scripture said, when the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder, Moses spake.

And God answered him by a voice. Now, I'll tell you what, when you read the life story of Moses, it's God speaking to Moses, Moses speaking to God. It's like a conversation going all through the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy.

God speaking to him, he's speaking to God. Let me give you an example. Exodus 19 .21. And the Lord spake unto Moses. Exodus 19 .20. And Moses spake back unto the Lord. 19 .24. And the Lord spake again unto him.

And God spake to him and he spake to God. And all through Exodus. You'll find it everywhere. He spoke to Moses. Moses spoke to God. He's a talking God, folks. I said he's a talking God. He talks to his people.

God has always sought for a people who would hear and know his voice. God said to the, in fact, that's what he wanted from the children of Israel. He said, gather me the people together. And I will make them hear my words and my voice.

They will learn to fear me all the days that they shall live in the earth. And that they may teach them to teach it to their children. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of his words.

But you saw no form. Only you heard his words. You didn't see an image. You don't image him. But you heard a voice from heaven. The scripture said, did any, did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of a fire as thou hast heard and lived?

Has there ever been a time that people heard like you heard it so clearly out of heaven? He made thee to hear his voice that he might instruct you. You heard his words. I'm asking you, have you ever heard his words?

You ever heard the voice of God speaking to you? And you said, we have heard, we have heard his voice. We have seen this day that God does talk with man and he still lives. We're going to read it again.

That's Deuteronomy 5 .24. And he said, we have heard his voice. We have seen this day that God does talk with man and man still lives. Didn't kill him. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 5. Deuteronomy, put a marker on Mark 5 and go to Deuteronomy 5.

Refusing Personal Responsibility to Hear God

And believe, believe it or not, before this service is over, you're going to see it's evangelistic. When I get to talking about hard hearts, Deuteronomy 5 .25, beginning to read Deuteronomy 5 .25. Now, therefore, why should we die?

For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. Now, they've already said, we've learned that you can talk to God and you're not going to die.

They've already learned that. They've already, in fact, they've acknowledged that. But listen to it. They're so afraid. They're such a sinful, stiff-necked people. If we hear the voice, verse 25, if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die.

For who is there of any flesh that have heard the voice of the living God speaking out in the midst of the fire as we haven't lived? Now, they're speaking to Moses. The children of Israel said, now, you go thou near.

You hear all that the Lord our God shall say. And speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto you. And we will hear it and we will do it. Now, look at me, friends. You saw right now a people who didn't want to take the responsibility for themselves of hearing the word of God, the voice of God.

God had ordained that every single Israelite would know and hear the voice of God. It was to be their joy and their strength. But they said, no, we don't want to hear the voice of God. We want you to go.

Even though they knew he was a talking God, even though they knew he could survive. We have seen this day that God does talk to man and he lives. They knew that. But you see, God's people haven't changed much since that time.

We have millions and millions of Christians doing the same thing today. They don't want the responsibility of going into the secret closet and seeking the face of God. They don't want to really lay down their sins.

We have people today that want to go to a prophet. They want a teacher that they believe is a holy, righteous person. And they will go to them and say, now, you seek the Lord. They don't say it in so many words, but that's how they come to hear them.

You get something from God and we won't hear it. And I'm telling you, there are charismatic believers in the world today who look to their teachers as gods. They are God to them. They don't question anything.

They're so convinced either by signs or miracles. And Bob covered that this morning. But they don't go to God. They've not heard the voice of the Lord themselves, so they really can't discern his voice.

They can't discern what is the voice of God and what is the voice of the flesh or what is deception. And they come, and that is why we have multitudes being led astray today, because they don't know the voice of the Lord themselves.

Even Moses. I'm telling you, if you go to church and you tell me, look, my pastor's such a holy man. My pastor's meek. I can trust him. I'm not saying you don't trust your teacher. I'm not saying you don't trust the pastors.

I'm saying that you come to the house of God, having heard the voice of the Lord, and you're so in touch with him that what we say is being judged by the Holy Ghost inside of you. That's your safeguard against any error that you're hearing from the Lord yourself.

All right, you tell me your pastor's a holy man. Well, so is Moses. Yet Moses spoke unadvisedly with his lips, didn't he? In fact, he couldn't even go to the promised land because this holy meek man, the meekest man on the face of the earth outside of Jesus Christ, this man misrepresented the holiness of God.

Now, if Moses can do that, and they're saying to Moses, you go to God, a man who's fallible, a man who can make a mistake, a man who speaks unadvisedly with his lips, a man who misrepresents the holiness of God, they're trusting their whole life into his hands.

You go, you hear, and then we'll accept it. Most dangerous thing you can ever do, saints of God. We don't want people like that. Just yes, people who pat us on the back and say, anything you say is all right with me.

It shouldn't be anything we say is all right with you. You should have the word of God hidden in your heart. You should be hearing from God. And when we speak, it either is yes or no. And you'll know it.

Hallelujah. But oh, how many are thrilling to new gospels. They're thrilling to it. Not even knowing that they're sitting under deception, clapping their hands, praising the Lord, and being blinded by false doctrines.

As the nations which the Lord destroyed before your face, so shall you perish, because you would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. You didn't know the voice. Oh, Samuel knew that voice.

Hallelujah. In fact, it came to him time and time again, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Silo by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. He knew that voice so much that everything he said was life-giving.

And the Bible said not word and word. He spoke fell to the ground. He didn't speak anything unless he knew it was from God. He didn't say anything about it being from God unless he knew it. David was the same pattern.

David heard God talk. David talked to God. God's voice was his joy in life. David said, He has spoken to me in his holiness, so I will rejoice. David said, The Spirit of the Lord spake to me. His word was in my tongue.

The rock of Israel speaks to me. You can get that in 2 Samuel 23, 2 and 3. The rock of Israel speaks to me. Hallelujah. Oh, isn't it amazing that God would speak to his children? Shouldn't that be the greatest joy that we have that we know that God talks to us, that we can hear his voice?

Hearing God Through Christ and the New Testament

Now, there are many today who don't believe that God talks to his children except through the written word of God, that that's it, the canon of Scripture is closed, and God does not speak anymore. And the Scripture is quoted, God hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son.

Well, I believe that with all my heart. I don't believe God will add anything to this or take anything away from it, but I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ does speak to us this day, just as the Hebrew writer says.

In these last days, he's spoken to us by his Son. You shut yourself in with the Son, the Lamb of God, and I promise you, he'll speak to you. He'll speak to you. He does speak in these last days through his Son.

His Son's still talking to his children. Hallelujah. Say, well, you're talking about the Old Testament. Show me in the New Testament where God literally talks to his children. Well, remember Saul on the road to Damascus that said, suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth and he heard a voice?

I know people say, that's crazy. We have enough people in New York hearing voices. He heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I'll tell you what, that soul stuck in him, it so changed him all through his life to his dying day.

He could say, God spoke to me. I heard him. In fact, when he's before King Agrippa, remember his testimony? And he said, he's talking to King Agrippa. He said, King Agrippa, I heard God, and he said, rise.

I've appeared unto thee for a purpose. I heard a voice speaking unto me, he told King Agrippa. In fact, he spoke to me in the Hebrew tongue. He spoke to me in my own language, the language I understood.

I've often wondered when people get up, sometimes they prophesy, and it sounds like God is unintelligent because he uses poor English and so forth. Well, you see, God has to use the tongue that he has.

He uses the talent he has. He moves on the voice, he moves on you, at the states you're at. He moves on you. You may not be able to interpret it as intelligently, but he moves through, this treasure is in earthen vessels.

And he speaks through the vessels he has. And I'll tell you what, that's why sometimes street preachers are not theologians, because the theologians are too proud to go down there, so God has to find some uneducated people and send them out in the street to give the gospel out.

He uses what he's offered. I'm not saying all street preachers are not theologically correct. I'm not saying that at all. Peter, boy, he heard the voice of the Lord. He said, no, I heard he was on. Remember, he's up there praying on the rooftop.

He said, I heard a voice say to me, I heard a voice say to me. He just almost. It's natural. I heard a voice. It came to me. In fact, he said it came to me three times. Said, Peter, slay, rise up, slay and eat.

But I said, not not so, Lord. No, but the voice answered me again from heaven. This came to me three times. That's actually seven. He came to me three times. You know, you know what it says of Jesus. Let me just read three to you what it says of Jesus, what Jesus on testimony was.

Jesus said, I do nothing of my own initiative, but I speak those things as the father teaches me. Jesus said the things which I heard from him, those I speak to the world. Jesus said the father himself sent me and he's given me commandments, what to say and what to speak.

Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the father has spoken to me. And he said, as he is in the world, so are we. He said, I don't I don't talk just out of my head. I get along with my father.

Jesus went up the mountain to pray and he heard from his father and he spoke what the father told him. Now, this matter of hearing the voice of God is so serious and like to to bring to your attention some things.

Safeguards for Discerning God’s Voice

The scripture gives us in the way of safeguards. First of all, not everyone who says God told me has heard the true voice of God. Can I say that again? Not everyone who says God told me has heard the true voice of God.

There's a tragic misunderstanding in the church of Jesus Christ nowadays. In fact, the most common phrase heard in religious circles today is thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. As if that that demands your attention.

Now you can get your strong concordance and look up. Thus saith the Lord. You'll find page after page after column after column after all through the Bible. Thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. Yes, God talks, but there are many voices in the world, the scripture says, and none of them without significance.

In fact, let me read it. There are. It may be so many kinds of voices in the world, but none of them are without meaning or significance. There are voices inside of us that clamor for attention. There is the voice of the flesh.

There's the voice of our stubborn will. There's the voice of the enemy. There's the voice of the world. And all of them are sweet. All of them are gentle. And all of them coming to you say, this is God.

You're hearing from God. Your flesh will cry. This is Jesus talking to you. So sweet. And it will come back so often, so frequent and so loud. And it will cry in your subconscious mind. You have heard from heaven.

The flesh especially loves that phrase. The devil borrows that phrase. You think the devil can't do by what they're going to come as an age of light to deceive? If it were possible, even the elected chosen of God.

It's not possible if you're walking in the spirit and taking the time with God to discern what is right and wrong. He said, if it were possible to make Matt tell you that not everything you hear from God is God.

Every voice you hear. Not every voice you hear is God's. If you're going to operate your voice, your whole life on little voices, you better listen closely tonight at the parameters and at the safeguards the Holy Spirit has given us.

Now, there are many so-called prophets in the church today that are crying out, thus saith the Lord. Most of them have strong spirits. And if your spirit's not strong, they'll walk all over you. They'll trample on you.

And you'll mistake a strong spirit for the voice of God. I've had them in here. They've threatened. We've had them in here just a few weeks ago. One of them threatened my very life. He said, you're a dead man.

Words like that. You're a dead man. I wouldn't accept what he's saying. And because we accept it. Well, bless God. I heard from God. You better hear it. Well, that's not even the spirit of Christ. You walk away from that.

And by the way, any prophet that curses you, you can smile at him and say, brother, I will pray for you because the Bible makes it clear. If you curse a man, those curses come back on you. You're not to curse a man.

Any prophet that tries to curse you is not of God. You don't have to be afraid of any of that. Go to Ezekiel 13. I'm going to give you a word of God tonight because we heard a very clear word this morning that will produce correction and healing in our doctrines.

And we hope tonight that we'll see something a little clearer tonight. Ezekiel 13. Let me show you something about all the would-be prophets. Now, I believe there are prophets today. But I'll tell you what.

If there's a prophet, he's not going to tell you he is. The Holy Ghost will tell you that. But if he says, I'm a prophet, I just walk away. You tell me you're a prophet, then you're going to have a humble spirit like Jesus Christ.

And you will not want to be verified at any time. You'll leave the results to God. You'll speak his word and then leave it. You'll speak it in love. You speak it in anger and shake your finger. I wonder about it.

Ezekiel 13, verse 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy. And say unto them that prophesy out of what? They prophesy out of their own hearts.

Hear ye the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God. Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit. They haven't heard from God. They've seen nothing. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert.

They've not gone up into the gaps. Neither made up their heads for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They've seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith, and the Lord hath not sent them, and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

Have you not seen a vain vision? Have you not spoken a lying divination? Whereas you say, the Lord saith it, albeit I have not spoken. Listen to me clearly. Ezekiel 13, verse 7. You have been misled. Verse 7.

You have seen a vain vision and have not spoken a lying divination. Whereas you say, the Lord saith it, albeit I have not spoken. Now look this way, please. God does not speak to any person who's hiding sin.

Other than repentance and warnings and righteous judgments. You cannot get guidance. You cannot hear his voice. You cannot hear it clearly. You cannot understand his voice if you have an idol or sin harbored in your heart.

I'm not talking about something you know nothing about. I'm not talking about coming to the Holy Ghost and saying, Lord, if there's something there, show me. Because he's faithful, he'll show you. I'm talking about that which God has shown you.

You know it's there. It's a stumbling block right in front of your eyes. It's an idol that God has dealt with. And you will not lay it down. All right. Let me read to you. Go to Ezekiel 14. Just turn over.

Fourteen. I think. I'm sorry. It must be. I think it's in Jeremiah. Just let me read it to you. It's Jeremiah 14, 14. The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not. Neither have I commanded them.

Neither did I speak to them. They prophesy to you a false vision and a revelation and a thing of no value and the deceit of their own heart. All right. Listen to Jeremiah 23. In fact, just go to Jeremiah.

Go left. Jeremiah. And I want you to go to Jeremiah, the 23rd chapter. And I tell you, I wish you'd go home tonight and start studying some of these verses. I'm not trying to be a teacher tonight. It's just burning in my heart.

I'm an evangelist, and we'll see where the Lord's leading us in this in just a moment. Jeremiah 23. Start verse 21. Are you still here? All right. Verse 21. I've not sent these prophets. Is it possible for prophets to go out among us and not be sent by God?

I've not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I've not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel and they had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way and from the evil their doings.

And that's the test of a true prophet, that he turns people away from their iniquities. He doesn't make you safe. He doesn't make you secure in your sin. When you hear a true man of God, your heart will burn in you, and you'll want to fall in your face.

You'll want to repent and get right with God. All the way down, verse 25. I've heard what the prophets say. They prophesy lies in my name, saying, I've dreamed, I've dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?

Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. Look at verse 28. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What's the chaff to the wheat?

Verse 29. Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, or like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces? And you know, verse 20, 32, it speaks. The people go into error by their lies and by their likeness.

By their likeness. And the rest of the chapter said they perverted the words of the living God. I will cast them out of my presence. Now, go back to Ezekiel, to the right again. Ezekiel 14. It's where we were just a little while ago.

Idols, Sin, and the Loss of God’s Voice

Ezekiel 14. I'm going to reiterate it. I want you to understand it. As soon as you get there, could you look this way just a moment? I don't know about you, but the great cry of my heart in the last few months has been, Oh, Lord, there's so much confusion in the world.

So many voices clamoring for attention. Have you ever in your lifetime heard so many voices? I mean, they come at you from every side claiming to be right and saying everybody else is wrong. You hear it from teachers and evangelists.

You hear it everywhere. It's on radio. It's on television. Voices, voices clamoring for attention. The cry of my heart is, Oh, God, give us a people who know how to hear and understand and know the clear voice of almighty God.

That's the cry of my heart tonight before this message is over. Let's, let's, Ezekiel 14, verse 3. Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and put stumbling block of their nickety before their face.

Should I be inquired of at all by them? You know, God says, you mean they're going to come to me and ask me to speak to them? Am I going to speak to a person who has idols and stumbling blocks right before their eyes?

And look at verse 4. Therefore, speak unto them and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, every man of the house of Israel that set up his idols in his heart and put up the stumbling block of his nickety before his face and cometh to the prophets, I, the Lord, will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols, that I may make the house of Israel, that I may take the house of Israel in their heart because they are estranged from me through their idols.

Skip down to verse 7. For every one of the house of Israel or the stranger that sojourneth in Israel would separate himself from me and set up his idols in his heart and put up the stumbling block of his nickety before his face.

And he comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me. I, the Lord, will answer him by myself. I will set my face against that man and will make him a sign and a prophet and I will cut him off from the midst of my people.

You shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet be deceived when he has spoken a thing, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet and I will stretch out my hand upon him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel and they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity.

The punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks unto him. You see, it's dangerous to seek after a false prophet because you are under the same judgment he's under. It's so very, very clear.

It's been preached from this pulpit before. But God said if there's deception there, I have allowed that deception because I'm answering them according to the idols of their heart. Now, I've said this.

Churches deserve their pastors. Churches deserve them. If you go to a church and there's idolatry in the church, people don't want to separate themselves and walk in holiness and righteousness, God's going to give them shepherds after their own heart.

He's going to set a man in the pulpit that's half consecrated. He'll set a man up there who has idols in his heart and he's got that idol and he'll relate to the idol in you and he'll be excusing his idol and your idol at the same time and you will not be convicted of it because he's not convicted of it.

He can't bring you any further and there's a total deception there because they set up idols in their heart and God answers us according to our idols. Fourteen, verse four, there it is. He said, and I, the Lord, will answer him according to the multitude of his idols.

We've had people storm out of this church. Literally storm out. They couldn't stand what they considered a hard word. I believe a few this morning. I sensed a few that walked out. Two in particular this morning walked out.

When Bob was coming down with such a strong word from the Holy Ghost. And we grieve that that's happening, but I'm wondering if we haven't uncovered or exposed an idol. I wonder if there isn't a stumbling block there and they don't want to because, I'll tell you, you can find a church in New York that will, if you keep looking long enough, you can find a church that will appease every idol you have, that will overlook every sin in your life.

Now don't come to me and ask where they're at. I'm not interested in telling you. He said, fourteen, verse five, you are separated from me through your idols. Now listen closely. God's voice is heard only by those who are shut in with him in the secret closet of prayer.

Those who are open before the Holy Ghost, they've laid down their idols and their iniquities. God is very careful to whom he speaks. God doesn't waste his voice. It's only to those who value it so much that they'll give him quality time.