Why Sit We Here Til We Die — Don Wilkerson

This message is one of the 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, Texas 75771 or calling two one four nine six three eight six two six.

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

We hear till we die. Shall we bow in prayer. Our father we thank you tonight for How you have moved already in our midst. In this service our hearts were. We're warmed and we're blessed by the testimonies of the outpouring of your spirit among Teen challenge young men and young lady Lord do it again here tonight.

Hallelujah, you have been doing it. But Lord do it in a new and a fresh way and if there's someone here tonight that's in a decaying Situation. Lord let faith rise in the heart tonight that they will come to you like these lepers and Taste and see that the Lord is good and mighty.

Spiritual Famine as a Sign of National and Religious Decline

Hallelujah. Bless your word. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. We are living in a period of history similar to the days of Elisha. There is famine in the land. Throughout the Old Testament. Old Testament days famine or famines were the visible outward evidence of an inward drought and decay because of an apostasy in the land you see famine was God's judgment upon the people because of their idolatry because of their backsliding and Because they were happy they had only the forms of godliness only the forms of godliness were left and they were denying the power that produces that godliness and.

So famine was God's way of getting to a man's soul through his stomach. If the people of God were not going to bear the fruits of righteousness. God sent drought and he set famine on the land by closing up the heavens and.

The result was there was no fruit growing on the trees. There was no wheat growing in the fields and there was no bread on the table. Jeremiah prophesied chapter 44 verse 13 He said so I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem with the sword and with the famine and with pestilence and Over and over again in Jeremiah It uses the word that I'm going to judge you.

I'm going to send sword and famine. Sword and famine over and over again. Now the sword represents the nations Who came as enemies against Israel that may war against them as part of God's judgment? Therefore God's judgment was from without the sword and from within being the famine.

Now There is a spiritual famine in the land today and in America I think you know that there is not one segment or level of society be it political Be it economic be it social be it spiritual not one segment of our society today.

That is not experiencing a famine in the land. The economic famine is very obvious. All you have to do is read your newspapers every day read the financial page and Some of you know by experience because you've lost your job recently or you've had to change jobs because of the economic famine that we have entered into America Is also suffering a political famine a an absence of leadership in the land.

The Democratic candidates are called the dwarfs. The Republicans grope for a strong leader to look to there is a political Famine in the land there is not leadership. We're groping for leadership in the land today.

Psalms one says this just listen to it. How blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of a wicked. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and I see today our government our business and our civic leaders are like dying plants.

By cesspools which do not yield its fruit in its season and the leaf withers and whatsoever America does is not prospering. I see our once mighty space program like a tree or a plant that keeps withering and dying.

Do you know that since the Challenger disaster in? 1986 that our space program we have not been able to put one What one of them up into that and you know what some companies had to do they had to go to China?

Because China was able to put one up in the meantime and Right now there's some 40 of these waiting to find a Launching pad waiting to be able to be put up into the heavens and I see these as dying leaves.

That whatever we've tried to set up into the heavens fizzles and does not prosper. Now my friend is God trying to tell the nation something. I? Think he is. I think he's trying to tell us it's time to send our prayers of repentance into heaven and so from the White House to God's house there is a famine in the land and We will not prosper until first of all it begins in the house of God until we get the man in the pulpit and the man in the pew right.

Repentance Must Begin in the House of God

Our Solution is not to vote the right man into the White House. We've got to get the right man and woman in the pulpit and the pew whose delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law does he meditate day and night because God said that is a man who prospers he.

And Whatever he does whatever that man does he prospers. God Always calls the church and the ministry to account first before the rest of the nation. How often we quote 2nd Chronicles 6 24 and 25 if my people?

Who are called by my name? Shall humble themselves shall confess my name and pray and make supplication before me in heaven. Then I will hear in heaven and forgive the sin of my people. And how many times I've seen that taken to apply to the nation or to the government to the White House.

David received an invitation from a pastor one of the leading a pastor one of the largest churches in America. Asking if he would be on a committee to rally together people to go to Washington and to have a call and call the nation to repentance.

And David wrote back and he said no. I won't do it until first of all we gather the church and the pastors together and call pastors to repentance and What what Quranical says first of all this is misquoted.

It's applied to the nation. It's applied to the the sinner and God applied it to the church. He said if by people Israel will humble themselves and And call upon me and ask forgiveness for their sin. Then I will hear from heaven and so confession must begin in the church and particularly in the pulpit.

And if there's any one primary reason for famine today and all segments of our society is Because there is an absence of the Word of God in the pulpit. Now we receive a lot of prophecies at our office.

Some of them are off the wall. Most of them are in the wastebasket. Some of them are just little cute little exhortations. But I receive one and I want to share just a little bit of it with you because you can judge it for yourself.

It blessed me. It fits in with what I'm talking about tonight. It says 1990 -1988 will be a year when the line of demarcation between true worshipers and Religious adherence will become obvious to the spiritually discerning.

I will not move in services where flesh is being glorified. So those who desire to see me must learn how to enter into my holy of holies. Those who walk behind the veil will have discernment and will exhibit my true power and nature.

Those who don't will have to manufacture signs and wonders to keep the religious crowd pleased. There will be great theatrics and those who refuse to die to carnal lifestyles will quickly lose their discernment.

They will not know my presence and to cover up their lack. They will resort to more and more manipulation or Manipulative means to orchestrate the move of the spirit. They will welcome seducing spirits and will sell their souls for increasing fame and power.

Look to see many congregations mushroom with false converts who want to feast in the daytime. But my true church will be persecuted and will begin to do great exploits for me. Many will not endure sound doctrine and will heap up to themselves teachers to satisfy their humanistic philosophies be prepared to stand against any and all adversaries.

I Will very quickly form my army and will send my laborers where I will. True servants of mine will not be deceived by the show and will go where I go and labor for me in my vineyard. I will confirm their faithfulness with many true conversions and with many real signs and wonders.

So 1988 will be a year advancement and a year of separation. This is why I am asking you to prepare now for what is soon to come 1988 the bubble burst. Millions will be seduced and millions will be prepared for true moves of my spirit.

I will move only where the sacrifice is pure the hearts of my labors Undivided and where I am truly glorified praise the Lord. You see when there's no clear word from the Lord then gimmicks and flesh is needed and These gimmicks and these schemes and plans and strategies are the equivalent to what I call frozen food.

Your frozen food is I have to eat it sometimes, you know, I don't like to but I have you know What frozen food is. It's something that's cooked somewhere else. It's shipped to a supermarket where We go in and we buy it when we're in a hurry and we don't have a good fresh meal to eat.

We keep it from start. We eat it to keep from starving and We have many ministries today who are running off or sending off for frozen food. Trying to bring in some new exotic dish into the pulpit to feed the people and get the church to grow numerically and Everybody likes a new dish for a while.

But soon it wears off and this kind of spiritual food is cooked in a microwave Pulpit and served up to people who are longing for a fresh original home cooked truth that comes out of a prayer closet and a man who studies the Word of God and whose delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law, does he meditate day and night.

Hallelujah, and I want to tell you tonight. I'm bringing you fresh bread. Hallelujah praise the Lord. Now note some men who decided to do something about the famine they were experiencing. Second Kings 7 3 now there were four leprous men.

The Four Lepers and the Decision to Move in Faith

They were desperately hungry. Starving men who decided it was about time to make a move. Why sit we here to till we die they said. Now asking that question changed their lives and saved their lives. They decided to make a move in faith.

Now you see some people have only themselves to blame for their hunger and their lack. They sit till they die. They get accustomed to a dying Situation and I've seen people who will hold on and will hold on and will hold on and I can never Understand it.

They go to church who likes to go to a funeral every Sunday. Or if it's not a funeral, it's a three-ring circus. One of the sisters that's in our church and I share this testimony and I asked her permission to share it.

She said, you know before the. She's known us and on our family for many years and knew that we were coming to Times Square and she began to pray. About whether she should join us or not, and she's been here from day one.

But before we came she prayed about it and I appreciate it. I we have people who come and say look I've been coming at but I'm praying that God will direct me and so she did because she had been in her church for many many years faithful her to a church and As she was contemplating this decision she started to read this.

And she came to these four leprous men and God spoke to her and said to her heart Why sit you here till you die? And she said a man and she said that does it. I've made my decision. Now we've said this before we're not trying to steal sheep away from other churches.

If you have a good church and you're being fed there and you're coming here to a visit occasionally. We're not trying to pressure you to join you. We don't have any membership. We have a membership of the Spirit and if the Spirit directs you and a piece of paper is not going to hold you.

But let me say on the other hand if you're dying. Or if you're like some people if you're on a life support system. I'm talking about people who get along with Christian television or radio or they go here or go somewhere.

You're on a life support system. Then you ought to be like these lepers and it's a bad time for you to ask the question Why sit me? Why sit here till I die? Why am I dying when there is food to be had?

Hallelujah now Note these lepers look at verse 3 these four leprous men were at the entrance of the gate. You know what they were these were the men Who represent a kind of church that I call I call it The church on the wrong side of the wall.

Spiritual Famine and the Church on the Wrong Side of the Wall

Let me explain it to you these lepers as you know leprosy was a contagious disease and The lepers were quarantined from all the other rest of the population and They had to go out into camps. They had to go outside the city and what some of them would do is they'd go immediately outside the city walls and they would build little houses along the wall and in fact the back of their house would be literally the wall and They were these were also called houses of the unfortunate.

So on one side of the wall were people who were free Who were clean who were physically healthy and Immediately on the other side were these unclean lepers suffering from what was a terrible Incurable lonesome disease which biblically is a type of sin.

Therefore these four men are a picture of what I call a people or a church on the wrong side of the wall and These are the people who are on the wrong side of truth. They're very close to the center of the city Wherein lies the temple of the Lord and the presence of God, but in reality many are like the four lepers.

They really are on the wrong side of the truth living in spiritual famine. And they do not know it and it's one thing to know you're in a situation where there's no pure word. But it's worse to be a member of the first church on the wrong side of the wall now the lepers living in these houses of the unfortunate Could only live by begging In which occasionally some caring soul would come in and out of the city gate and would give them a bit of food or occasionally somebody would throw something up over the wall and That's how they sustain themselves and let me tell you my friend in this city Across America today.

There are spiritual houses. There are churches of the unfortunate filled with spiritual lepers. Now I'm not saying this again to build up the Times Square Church or to put down all churches. But the truth must be told if you're a member of a church on the wrong side of the wall.

If you belong to one of those the houses of one of the unfortunate ones be warned that Leprosy breaks out wherever there is no delight in the law of the Lord. I've had people tell me that they beg spiritual meals wherever they can get it and I've we've had letters from people Who have said I cannot find one church in my town That gives me a pure word and I used to didn't believe that until I Investigated and I found out that that was literally true and they said to me every church in this town Is on the wrong side of the truth on the wrong side of the wall.

And so we get calls and we get letters and people say would you throw me a little bit of food over the wall? We're like these lepers as someone's coming out of the town. They say you got a word for me.

Did you hear a message you got some truth? You got a tape for me? You've got a message for me. Throw me a little bit of food over the wall, please. Send me a word because I'm starving. I'm in famine now another danger of being a people on the wrong side of the wall is that you lose your discernment and Can fall into doctrinal and scriptural error?

Poisonous Doctrine and the Need for Discernment

Flip over a few pages to 2nd Kings chapter 4 because there were some Bible students who got themselves into a mess of poisonous trouble. Chapter 4. 2nd Kings 4 verse 38 said says when Elisha returned to Gilgal There was a famine in the land as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him he said to his servant put on the large pot and Boil stew for the sons of the prophets.

Then one went out into the field to gather herbs and He found a wild vine and gathered from it his Lap full of wild gourds and came and sliced them into the pot of stew for they did not know what they were and So they poured it out for the man men to eat and it came about as they were eating the stew.

That they cried out and said old man of God There is death in the pot and they were unable to eat it. Now listen to me in times of spiritual famine There are plenty of wild vines Full of wild gourds which if you eat them are Dangerous to your spiritual health and they can kill you.

Now these sons of the prophets these Bible students were better skilled in the word than they were in gathering herbs and They put a meal together that if they had eaten the whole pot of stew probably would have killed them but they were fortunate to take only a few bites and They looked at each other and they said there's something wrong with this message.

There's something wrong with this pot of stew there's something wrong with this truth that I'm hearing and What happened is when these students or this student was looking for life? He almost found death.

You see nature grows poison as well as food and death lies very near to life not only in the natural but in the spiritual realm and Think of it. Could it be possible that these sons of the prophets? went out to gather food upon which to live but came back with poison and You know It's a shocking thing for a Christian to wake up one day and realize I am a partaker of poisonous doctrine.

I'm eating off of a wild vine full of wild gourds and they are in my spiritual system. And I hear questions like how could God allow this? How could I be so deceived? Well, you see these students had the right motive but they had the wrong message and When there's famine in the land the devil has wild gourds for you my friend.

And you gotta be discerning. These sons of the prophets were deceived by appearance. Listen my friend not everything that looks good and sounds good goes down good. Not everything that looks good and sounds good and goes down is good once it gets down into your system.

It might make you happy, but does it make you holy? It might make you fall down under some kind of power, but does it make you stand straight when you get back up? I went and I was preaching Thinking of it tonight where the day was talking about falling into the power.

I went to this meeting where It became very evident that the thing there was to fall under power. And I went up to this with the first father that came to me. He said would you pray for me and I reached up to pray for him.

I wasn't you know. Yeah, I wasn't wanting him or expecting him to be slain under the spirit. I just wanted to pray for him and I reached out my hand before I could reach my hand up. He fell down. Now there wasn't there wasn't any power and he just fell down.

He was more interested in falling under some kind of power Than being under that same power so that he could walk in righteousness. And my friend be careful like these sons of the Prophet be careful. Things are not often as they seem and The most dangerous air is that which bears a superficial resemblance of great truth and That's why we need according to Hebrews 414 our senses exercise discern both good and evil.

Because for every true vine there exists some wild ones. There are many gourds that seem to nourish and satisfy at first. But eventually are revealed to be what they really are poisonous imitations and You see the devil goes about looking for those who he may devour and you know He looks for especially he looks for hungry people.

He looks for hungry people in order to plant a wild gourd on your pathway. You know, I think I gave this illustration before it bears repeating. I was in a car with a young man one time and He began to ask me about prophecy Bible prophecy and I could see that he was very very heavy into prophecy and he asked me what I thought about certain things and I Said well, you know, that's all right, but you better you better be careful.

Because if the devil can't get you to backslide He'll get you to front slide. Then he looked at me quickly and he said would you please explain that turn to me? He said I've never heard that before in my life front sliding and I looked at him and I thought to myself This is gonna be interesting because I never heard the term before in my life either.

And I asked the Holy Spirit for a quick interpretation. And I said to him if the devil can't get you to go back in the world. And I you know, and I didn't know it at the time. He had been an ex-hippie had been into drugs and all that and I didn't know that and I said if the devil looking at You and if he can't get you to go back into the world, he'll do the next best thing he'll take you into some truth or he'll take you into some air or he'll get your nose into something and push you so deeply down Into it that you've lost sight of the full counsel the Lord and that's what it means to front slide.

He said that's very interesting. And he kept thinking about that and thinking about that and when I I went to the church He was taking me to his church to preach and after I shared with his pastor what I had said to him.

He said Oh brother Don. He said you don't know. He laughed. He said this fella is certainly front sliding an awful long way. You see the best intentions good intentions Can lead to sad mistakes. Good intentions and sincerity must never be a substitute for the truth and Poisonous principles are just as deadly in their influence if you arrive in them arrive at them in ignorance as if When they are adopted with full knowledge of their deadly character.

You see some people go into things with our eyes wide open others do it innocently, but the results are the same. For they did not know the scripture says they did not know What was in that pot. The fact that they did not know it or were ignorant or were sincere or whatever did not alter the fact that there was death in the pot and Note that they were unable to eat thereof.

You see it's important to discern the fact that if one part of the stew is bad. It makes the whole pot bad. One poisonous ingredient has destroyed or had destroyed the value of a whole and one vital error planted with some other wholesome truths can create a mixture and a blend that taints and destroys and poisons the whole a little leaven.

Leaveneth the whole lump and how many people. I've said yes, but there's so much good there. Yeah, I agree that it that's there's air there, but there's so much good there my friend. Tell that to the sons of the prophets.

Or or sometimes we talk about some Christian or some Christian leader who has fallen or is is gone into air and people say yes. But that person did so much good. Tell that to the sons of the prophet my friend be careful.

There can be death in the pot. Death in the pot. Now you ask how can I tell whether I'm on the wrong side of the wall? Or if I'm partaking of a pot. That is full of death and for that matter. How do I know if not at Times Square?

Church. There's death in the pot. That's a pretty good question. Look at 2nd Kings chapter 4. The Lysa came along said now bring me meal bring me the pure word of the Lord and He threw it into the pot and he said pour it out for the people that they may eat.

Testing Doctrine by Its Fruit

Then there was no harm in the pot now. Let me take let me give you one test of doctrine. One test of doctrine is the testimony of Its fruitful works of righteousness in your own life. Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3.

2nd Corinthians 3rd chapter. And this is only one reference I could go. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two and I don't. I'm not going to take the time to go into a lot of them.

But here is one that Paul writes and he says for 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, he said are we beginning to commend ourselves again. In other words. Am I trying to? Build myself up before you. Am I trying to give a commercial or do we need as some letters of?

Commendation to you or from you. He said no you are our letter. Written in our hearts known and read by all men. Being manifest that you are a letter of Christ cared for by us. Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God.

Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the human heart and such confidence we have through Christ towards God also. Ephesians 2 10 another verse. It says for we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for good works which God Prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

One more scripture. 1st Corinthians 9 2 says. If to others I am NOT an apostle at least I am to you for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord now. One test of whether a message is right is this does it produce?

Righteousness in my life is it creating something new in my life. Is it working? Is it producing a change in my life that is manifested in my home in my? Marriage and my job or wherever I go and my friend if it's doing that.

Then that's the seal. That's the sign that there's life in it. Hallelujah. Jesus followed this principle. Turn with me to Luke chapter 8. Again, and again Jesus followed this principle. Luke chapter 8 is a story the testimony of a man who had a very severe life-controlling problem.

In fact he had legions That controlled him. This is the story in the 8th chapter of the story of the demonic of Gadara out of Jesus cast the spirit out of him and Verse 38 it says but the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging him That he might accompany him.

But Jesus did something that he did frequently to people that experienced a great miracle and He would send him away saying Return to your house and describe or I like the King James and show what great things God has done for you, and he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Now I see this story. I enjoy this story because I see a picture of many of the converts that I've worked with who gets marvelously saved marvelously delivered and Immediately like this man. He said Jesus.

Let me go with you on Crusade and I'll give my testimony. How you delivered me from all these demons and he said my goodness, you know when they hear my story. They'll just come by the thousands and I can just see him today if he lived today be young convert right away.

He'd be out getting his testimony giving his testimony. I was doing you know, I was personally delivered by Jesus Christ. But no Jesus would not let him do that. He said if you're if this is for real if your life has been changed if something has happened to you then return to your house and live it out and manifest works of righteousness.

Because that will be the proof the true proof of your healing not just what you say with your lips go to Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17 Verse 12 it says and he entered a certain village. There were ten members of the church on the wrong side of the wall.

That he met who stood at a distance met him and they raised their voices saying Jesus master have mercy on us. Then when he saw them he said to them go and show yourself to the priest. He went about that as they were going they were cleansed.

Now one of them when he saw that he had been healed turned back glorified God with a loud voice and he fell on his face as at his feet saying thanks giving thanks to him and He was a Samaritan. Now, let me tell you something God is going to build this church on Samaritans.

God is going to build his church on men just like this and He fell on his face at his feet in surrender in repentance and in submission and in surrender and He was a Samaritan and Jesus answered and said where?

They're not ten cleansed, but the nine where are they? Was no one found who would turn back and give glory to God except this foreigner. You know something if we would turn this church into a miracle healing revival center and Announced that every night we're going to have emphasis on Great miracles and healing and there's nothing wrong with that because we believe in that.

We believe in divine healing. We believe in signs and wonders. We believe in deliverance. It has been happening in our church. But if we turn this entire church Format into that kind of a thing Believe me this place would be filled service after service.

But you see what would happen After we would stop it and we would go back and do what we're doing right now and preaching you the work. You know what? We would be saying you know what you would be doing you would be looking around and you would be saying where are the nine?

Where are all of those people that had a healing where are all those people that had a deliverance? And you know where they would be and why was it that these other men did not come back? Because they came and they got what they wanted.

But this man got more than just a healing. He wanted a relationship with Jesus Christ and He came back and he fell down on his knees and worshipped him. And that's why I say we're going to build our church on Samaritans just like this who want to bow down before the Lord hallelujah.

True Conversion Is Proven by Righteous Living

Now in the midst of it will have signs and wonders and will have deliverance. But you can't build a church on that you've got to build it on the pure word of God and that will produce Something in your life hallelujah go with me to mark the first chapter the story of another leper.

This was a principle that Jesus followed with lepers mark the first chapter Verse 41 and moved with compassion he stretched out his hand and touched him and he said to him. I am willing be cleansed and immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed and He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and he said to him see that you say nothing to anybody.

But you go first Show yourself to the priest and offer for the cleansing what Moses commanded for a testimony to them. Excuse me you see the law was that The the priest declared one to be a leper in the first place when it reached a certain Contagious level he declared him to be a leper and to go into confinement.

Therefore when he was healed he had to go back to the priest because the priest served kind of like as a health official and The priest would look him over and say hmm look pretty good to me and The priest would verify his healing and in contemporary terms would give him a certificate of health.

But in those days he would just put the word out and said he's healthy he can go back. But he had to go back and show himself to the priest. Now let me tell you my friend. This is what God wants to do here if the message is working in your life if the message of Righteousness if the pure word of God is working in your life.

Then you know who's going to be the first one to testify. The priest that you go to and he's going to declare whether you are clean or not. And you know who the priest is. The Bible says we're all kings and priests unto God.

And so in my life my wife was a priest to me. And I'm a priest to her. My wife declares whether I'm a righteous man or not and I declare whether she's a righteous woman. My children Declare whether they have a righteous father or not and in turn I declare as well and one another you see as our works of Righteousness are produced in us other people will see something is working, and they're going to declare whether You have a testimony or whether you are a testimony.

You know you can have a testimony. That's something you say. But if you are a testimony that is something that you are that you walk in and they and the Lord says Immediately if this is working go home and make it work.

Go home, and we've heard the testimony of some here a husband. Who's coming a wife wasn't and said I wasn't sure whether I should come or not. But I saw the change in my husband's life. Well praise the God he was a priest who declared him him clean hallelujah.

And that's what God wants to do in your life, and that's one of the ways and One of the tests as to whether there is life in the pot or whether there is death in the pot. Now let me close with this. What happened to the four members of the church on the wrong side of the wall?

Moving Beyond Fear Into Revival and Spiritual Life

Go back with me to second Kings chapter 7 again. 2nd Kings chapter 7. What did they do they said the first thing they had to do over do is well look at verse 4. You can see that there was kind of in a debate going on among them as to should we do this or shouldn't we.