Strange Incense — David Wilkerson

I'd like to ask this same group that sang to come to the conclusion of my message and sing that again because it'll mean something entirely different. When you hear the message, it'll mean something more precious, I'm sure.

There have been times, brethren, that I've been called to preach at conventions. I'm thinking one particular at 5 ,000 people, and I was preparing my message, and God said, No, they don't want to be reproved.

They don't want correction. They just want to be blessed, so just go bless them. So I went and blessed them. They got happy. The pastor of the church said, That's just what we wanted. And I knew he wanted that.

He didn't want to hear correction. He didn't want any reproof. But you see, it's the correction that's the reproof. By the way, how mean can a surgeon be when he cuts? Is that a mean trick? No, that's the way the healing comes, the surgeon's knife.

Hallelujah. I've tried all day long to get a happy message for you, but God just... I want to just come here tonight and bless. I've got about four blessing sermons. I've got one about King Jesus coming.

It's going to have everybody shouting. We'll probably have a Jericho march around this church. But I don't know if it would change anybody. I don't know if it would change anybody. I don't think it would get down to the core of what God's saying.

And I guess I have to preach what he told me to preach, don't I? Well, I'm going to talk to you tonight about strange incense. I'm going to talk about the other side of prayer. You've heard of the good side of prayer.

I'm going to talk about the other side of prayer. There's so many people talking about the goodness of God. Every once in a while you have to have a preacher come along or a watchman talk about the sins.

Now, thank God the Church of God still has that. Evangelists and preachers who still preach the gospel of righteousness and holiness. I thank God for these men behind me, what I've seen and heard. They're set under the ministry of the Word, and I should have been sitting there listening and hearing from them.

But I thank God for their spirit. Strange incense. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I covet the anointing of the Holy Spirit more than anything in my life. That you would come, Holy Spirit, and make your precious Word real to our hearts.

Lord, we'll hear you tonight. Holy Spirit, make this come into our hearts. It's your living truth, and produce life. Produce life by the power of your Word. Oh, Holy Ghost, back up your Word. This is the Word of the Lord.

Give me clean hands and pure heart, that my lips and my heart would be pure. Sanctify me as a vessel of righteousness. Oh, Holy Ghost, I want to preach before the Savior tonight. I want to preach before all the witnesses of Heaven, so that all those host of witnesses can rejoice and say, that is the pure Word of God.

That is the Word of the Lord, that all Heaven could rejoice. Rejoice your heart tonight, God, in the truth that you've given. Let it go forth in your unction. In Jesus' name, amen. I know you have your Bibles, don't you?

Righteousness, Holiness, and the Prayer of the Righteous

1 Peter, 1 Peter, 3rd chapter. I'm going to take you through a lot of Scripture. Boy, if you don't love the Word, I'm going to pour you to death tonight. If you love the Word of God, you'll be turned away.

Hey, you know what I saw? I saw in one of the services I saw this afternoon, when Brother Phillips was having people go through the Word, I watched people just, they were pretending they were going through it, they were just flipping it, because they were already bored.

Not two men, it was all two of them. But please don't pretend you're going through it. Follow it, because, you know, there's something about seeing it, not just doing it, but seeing it with your own eyes.

That gives strength to it. Yeah, 1 Peter, the 3rd chapter, verse 11, verse 12. I'm reading from New American Standard, but you'll find the truth in King James. All right, here we go. And let him turn away from evil and do good.

Let him seek peace and pursue it, for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer. Whose prayer does he attend to? The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are attended to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

The face of the Lord is against. His ear is not open to the prayers of ungodly, sinful, living Christians. His face is turned against those who have evil in their hearts. Now, people, God took me by His Spirit, down into the dark pits of an ungodly kind of situation.

He showed me the dark side of prayer. It was so abominable. And for hours, God showed me the horror of what it means in His eyes for Christians to offer prayer to Him when their hearts were not right, when there was sin in their hearts.

Secret, hidden sin. And I'm going to prove to you tonight that not only does God not hear those kind of prayers, but the prayer that comes from ungodly hearts and unclean lips perpetrates the judgment of Almighty God.

That it's not going to be the homosexuals who bring judgment on America. It will not just be the alcoholics. It will not be the crooks and the criminals and the mafia. The thing that's going to bring the judgment of Almighty God on this nation is the abominable praying of Christians living a double life.

I'm going to prove that to you tonight. Tonight, I actually, every time I've preached this message, I've felt the hot breath of the Holy Ghost down my neck. I've heard God encourage me and encourage me.

I couldn't preach this message unless the Holy Ghost was with me. It makes my knees tremble. All right, I'm going to take you to the other side of prayer. I want you to go to Psalms 109. Psalms 109. I'm going to show you something tonight so clear that you can't refute it.

Psalms 109. If you don't have a Bible, peek over your shoulder to somebody else or just look at somebody else's. If you see someone next to you without their Bible, just let them see it with you. Psalms 109.

Verse 7. 109, verse 7. Let's go to verse 6 first. Appoint a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, and let his prayer become what?

Let me hear you. Let his prayer become what? Prayer become sin? Is that what it says? How many believe that's what the Bible says? Let his prayer become sin. There's such a thing as prayer becoming sin.

All right, I want you to go with me to Proverbs. Go to the right. To Proverbs 28. I'm going to nail it down before I get into this. Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28, verse 9. I want you to get this down good in your heart.

Mark these scriptures, please. Mark them. Proverbs 28, verse 9. He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is what? His prayer is a what? An abomination. David said, let his prayer become sin.

Solomon is now saying, or the writer of Proverbs is saying, he who turns his ear away from hearing the word of God, a man is disobedient. Let his prayer become an abomination. Are you hearing what the word of God is saying?

There's such a thing as prayer becoming sin? Prayer becoming abomination? All right. In case you're not yet convinced, go to the right. A little further to Lamentations. Find Jeremiah. It's right after Jeremiah.

Lamentations. Lamentations, the third chapter. Begin with verse 40. Lamentations. If you go to Ezekiel, you've gone too far. Just back up. Between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And by the way, that's in the Old Testament.

Boy, some people just don't know where it's at. All right. Lamentations 3, verse 40. Beginning. Let us examine and probe our ways. Let us return to the Lord. We lift up our hardened hands toward God in heaven.

We have transgressed and rebelled. Thou hast not pardoned. Thou hast covered thyself with anger and pursued us. Thou hast slain and is not spared. Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud. What's it say?

So that no prayer can pass through. You've covered yourself with a cloud. Why? Because of the transgression in the hearts of the people. God said, when you sin against me, I'm going to cloud myself over and you cannot get your prayer through.

I've heard people say the heavens are brass. Praying against the brass heaven. God says your sin will cause a cloud between you and me. Your prayer cannot pierce that cloud. All right, I'll tell you what.

You may not be convinced. Go left. I'm going to nail it down right now. Jeremiah 14. Jeremiah 14. I'm not giving you David Wilkerson. I'm giving you the holy word of Jehovah God. Jeremiah 14. Go to verse 10.

Jeremiah 14. Verse 10. Beginning. Thus says the Lord to this people. Even so, they have loved to wander. Wander. They have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.

So the Lord said to me, do not pray for the welfare of this people when they fast. I'm not going to listen to their cry. You understand that these are Christians. These are people of God he's talking to.

When they fast, I'm not going to hear their cry. And when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, that means when they pray, I'm not going to accept them. Rather, I'm going to make an end of them by the sword and famine and pestilence.

All right, folks, look at me. Is it beginning to dawn on your spiritual mind that there's such a thing as not getting your prayer approved, and praying as a sin, as an abomination to God? Still praying, but the abomination is there.

Clean Hands Before Public Prayer

All right, if you will, go to the left a little more to Isaiah. Isaiah 1. First chapter of Isaiah. Let me give you a very profound scripture. This frightens me. I'll show it. Just get Isaiah open. Lay it down on your lap and look this way.

Wait until you find it. And as soon as you find it, look up and give me your good ear. Listen, I've been invited recently by the League of Prayer. This is a national organization to speak at a national call to prayer in Washington, D .C.

And I've declined to go. I've heard other calls to prayer in America. Let's call America to prayer. Let's call a solemn assembly. Let's all pray for God to spare America from justice. But God showed me something.

And when I saw this, I could not go. I said, no, I will come and preach repentance. And after people repented, their hearts are clean and their hearts are pure and their hands are clean. Because my Bible said, who is he that will ascend to my holy hill?

He that hath clean hands and pure heart. And I won't ask anybody to pray until their hearts are clean. Because I could do more damage than all the homosexuals in Washington, D .C., than to call 10 ,000 people to pray.

Let's skip that song that says, oh, for a thousand tongues to sing. There should have been another word, oh, for a thousand sanctified tongues to sing. There has to be a sanctified tongue, a sanctified heart.

I want to prove it to you. I want to prove it to you. I'm telling you, if you call people to pray in your church and they're not holy, you're going to bring the judgment of God on your church. We're going to bring the judgment of God on America because we've got thousands of charismatic hands being lifted.

I'm going to tell you something. The charismatic moment is becoming very evil and wicked. It's becoming wicked. Drinking, cursing, violence. Horrible, horrible violence. Not everywhere, but it's becoming violent because there has not been the preaching of holiness.

There has not been a righteous standard lifted up. These people have brought their drinking and their drugs and everything else into the house of God. And because they talk in tongues and say sweetly, Jesus, Jesus, we've accepted it.

Now, no clapping, please. I want to get this off my heart. I've heard the holy thunder and the hot breath of God that's down my neck. Now, I've got to deliver my soul. Isaiah, first chapter, verse 15.

So, when you spread out your hands in prayer, suppose there's 10 ,000 people spreading out their hands in prayer. Suppose it's your church spreading out their hands in prayer. How many understand what that means to come to a charismatic cross meeting?

They say, everybody raise your hands. Listen to it. So, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I'll do what? I'll hide my eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply them. You call many people to prayer.

Multiply your prayers. Call thousands together. Yes, even though you multiply your prayers, I'll what? I'll not listen. Because your hands are covered with blood. So, wash yourself. Make yourself clean.

Remove the evil of your deeds from your sight and cease to do evil. God said, you're going to lift your hands and multiply your prayers. They'd better be clean hands. Pure heart. Cease from your evil deeds.

Then I'll hear you. We quote that scripture. My people called by my name will humble themselves and pray. I'll hear from heaven and heal their land. We forget to quote the rest of it. And confess and forsake their sins.

Look at verse 13. Bring your worthless offerings no longer. Your incense is abomination to me. Your new moon and Sabbath and the calling of assemblies. I can't endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They become a burden to me. I'm weary of bearing with them. God says, I'm sick of this business. Listen, I've been in charismatic meetings where there have been 10 ,000 charismatics in various denominations.

And I heard people, I saw people weaving back and forth and waving and praising God. And I knew Jesus was out the back door waiting there. He wasn't even in the meeting. He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

We've got an adulterous, fornicating generation. And we dare not call this fornicating generation to prayer and tell them there's a revival of repentance and walking in righteousness in the glory of the Holy God.

You know that's the truth. We've got to get the people to the labor before we get them to the golden altar of incense. And what we're doing, we're doing just like Ahab. We've taken the labor right off with the oxen.

We've laid it on the ground and they sloughed right through it. They didn't even pay attention. They walked right through the labor to the golden altar. We have no sense of the awesome holiness of God anymore.

Incense as a Type of Prayer

David said, I'm going to show you that prayer, that incense in the Bible is a type of prayer. Now, you know that already, but I want to nail it down. David said, let my prayer be counted as incense before thee for lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee. I'm going to make it even clearer. Go to Revelation. The last book in the Bible, Revelation, the fifth chapter. Revelation 5. Please, quickly. I have to establish this before we go any further.

Revelation 5. Do you have that? Verse 8. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowl or censer full of incense, which are what?

Bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Now, if you understand, the Bible makes it so clear there's no mistaking it. Incense is prayer in the sight of God. When the Bible says incense, he's talking about what?

Prayer. Lifting up of my hands, evening sacrifice, count my prayers as incense, golden censers full of the prayers of the saints. Incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Do you accept that now? I want to take you into some prophecies in just a moment.

Now, let me say this. Here's what the Holy Ghost has been saying to me. For Christians to offer corrupt prayers to a holy God is the most unspeakable sin a Christian can commit. To offer to a holy God a corrupt prayer.

I want you to go by your Revelation, chapter 8, that will show you a very profound prophecy. Revelation 8. I want to tell you folks, when God, the Holy Ghost, showed me this Revelation, when I saw this truth unfold before my eyes, prayer has become something very beautiful but awesome.

I just don't run into God's presence anymore. Be very careful what I say to my God. Be very careful to make sure that my heart is pure before Him. I know the Scripture says, come boldly to the throne of grace, but that doesn't mean to come rashly before the throne of grace.

That doesn't mean to come sloppily before the throne of grace. Let's read. Chapter 8, Revelation, verse 1. And when he broke the seven seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. I'm going to tell you what that means.

Silence in heaven for half an hour. Keep that in your mind. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer.

And much incense was given to him. Now what did we say incense was? Prayer. Much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. Now look what happens. And the angel took the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth, and there followed drills of thunder, and sounds and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up.

Folks, I believe that's a hydrogen holocaust. A third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and the green grass was burned up. All right, now look at me. This whole prophecy in 8th chapter has to do with prayer.

It's all about incense. You understand that? We're talking about incense. We're talking about prayer. All right, go back to Revelation 5. Revelation 5. Just turn left to Revelation 5. I want to show you something.

Revelation 5. Go to verse 11. This is John speaking. And he said, I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands.

They were saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessings. And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and upon the earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

And the four living creatures kept saying Amen and the elders fell down and worshiped. Now, didn't we read in the 8th chapter there was silence in heaven? This is just before that. Does this sound like silence to you?

When you've got myriads and myriads of angels singing, Worthy, worthy is the Lamb. You've got the four living creatures saying Amen. You've got all living created things in heaven worshiping Him with hearts, singing praises.

Amen. Worthy is the Lamb. Glory to the Lamb. What a sound is being made in heaven. Worship and praise to Almighty God. Go to chapter 6 now. Just over to 6. Verse 9. And when he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, because of the testimony which they had maintained.

Verse 10. Does this sound like silence to you? And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O God, Lord? How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

Now look at me. Do you hear what John is saying? He said just before this seventh seal is opened, in fact, right up to the fifth and sixth seal, as these parchments are being opened, these are rolled scrolls, and there's a seal on them, six of them have been opened up to the sixth seal, there's rejoicing, angels are singing, four and twenty elders are singing, the seraphims, the cherubs, all the living, created creatures in heaven are worshiping God.

All of the martyrs that were beheaded for the sake of the gospel, all of the martyrs beneath the altar, they're crying with a loud voice, How long, O God, how long before you avenge the blood, you saints?

When we were in Poland, we went to Auschwitz, six million people were murdered by Hitler's Germans, the Nazis. I've been to Dachau, where another five to six million have been murdered. Many of them were Christians.

Many of them under the throne of God, and they're crying out, Folks, this sounds to me like all of heaven is ablaze. There is the greatest sound you could ever hear, or mixed with the praises or the cries from under the altar.

Revenge, God, when we revenge our blood. Now you get to Revelation 8, and there is suddenly, how does it begin? And when he broke the seventh seal, there was what? Silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Did the angels quit singing? Why did they lay down their harps? Why did the four twenty elders in those living creatures, those four marvelous living creatures with eyes on all sides, the living eyes of God, why are they all bowed in terror and silence?

What is with heaven? And for half an hour they're not astounded, heaven. Oh, there's an awesome thing happening. It has to do with prayer. That seventh seal is open, and the judgments are being read. There are seven angels standing by to judge the earth.

Very soon, one third of the earth's population is going to be destroyed by fire. These destroying angels are standing by ready to move. But before it happens, they know why the judgment's coming. They know what perpetrates the judgment.

Listen to this. Seven trumpets were given. These seven angels with seven trumpets stand in silence with heads bowed. They know what is on the seventh seal. They know why God is going to judge the earth.

They know. You say it's because of the communists. Oh, it's more than that. You say it's because the homosexuals are plundering their sins. Not according to this eighth chapter. Not at all. You see, the third verse, another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer, and much incense was given to him that he may add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar.

There's two kinds of incense. There are the precious prayers of all the saints that have gone up, the martyrs' prayers, the prayers of the fathers from the very beginning, all the sanctified prayers of all the godly saints of all times.

You know, listen, not a prayer that's ever been prayed falls to the ground. A holy prayer doesn't fall to the ground. And an ungodly prayer doesn't fall to the ground. You know that every prayer a Christian prays with sin in his heart is collected in a censer?

And he's got to answer to it? Not a single prayer that's prayed from unclean lips falls to the ground? Think of it. If you see this much incense that's gone up, all of these ungodly prayers, all these prayers from Christians with divided hearts, preachers with adultery, people sitting before the idols, covering all their gut with tears, and then their hearts and their hands filled with idolatry.

They've been praying these unclean, abominable prayers in the sight of God. They're gathered by this one angel, in this one great golden censer. And every prayer of all time is gathered there. And he tries to mix it.

Now, in the Old Testament, there was a purifier, I mean a perfumer. He mixed the perfume. Do you remember in the Old Testament in the tabernacle, the perfumer was told his hands couldn't touch it, no one else could touch it, it was a very fine, precious, pure perfume.

Pure perfume, and he had to mix it. This angel is the perfumer of the Old Testament. He's trying, he's going to try to mix it. But you see, the righteous prayers of the saints of all times are going to judge these ungodly prayers.

And this angel tries to take it to the altar, and he tries to mix them, and they will not mix. And because they don't mix, the sustenance goes up in the nostrils of God. And quickly, the angel takes that censer, and he pours it out on the earth, and judgments fall on all sides, and one third of the earth is destroyed.

Why? Because of that incense that's poured out on the earth. Read it. And the angel took the censer, he filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth. God didn't accept it. He said, take that censer, throw it out.

It's judgment. Throw those prayers out. Those prayers become fire. Those prayers become brimstone. Those prayers become judgment. And I know this is a heavy message, but now it peels and thunders. Why is it for two thousand years he's accepted the prayers of the saints?

Those holy hands and clean hands and pure hearts have been lifting up in sweet order to the Lord. And now he says, you take all of those sinful prayers, and I'm going to judge them with my fire. And one day, folks, God's going to put his holy fire to our prayers.

He's going to put a holy fire to our praying. That selfish praying that once God gets to bless you financially. Those prayers for prosperity and success, if they haven't come from a pure motive, they're all going to be burned by fire.

And everyone is going to turn to judgment on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Oh, my Jesus, help me. I want you to go to Exodus 30.

Strange Incense and the Holiness of the Priesthood

Exodus 30, verse 6.

And you shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony. In front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony. For I will meet with you, and Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it.

He shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. And when Aaron trims the lamps of twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord through your generation. Verse 9.

You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar. New American Standard says, strange incense on this altar. You know what he's saying? You shall never, never as a holy priesthood offer unclean prayers on my altar.

No unclean prayers. No strange incense. I want you, while you're here in the Old Testament, turn over to Leviticus, please. To Leviticus. The next chapter. Leviticus. Are you still with me? Leviticus 10.

Will you get Leviticus 10 and just open it on your lap and then look here? Pastors, evangelists, everyone here tonight, please. We stand before an awesome holy God. We've been so flippant about our praying.

And God in the Old Testament has tried to show us that He will not have a flippant people come into His presence unclean and unholy. And He gave us an example in the Old Testament that should put the fear of God in us.

Folks, we don't have the fear of God anymore. That's why people that sit before their idols and come to the house of God make all kinds of excuses. That's why people don't have... They can commit adultery and excuse it and come to the house of God.

And that's why men of God can commit adultery and come and still preach in the pulpits. They think because they cry a few tears of repentance, that's going to be all right. By the son of God, a preacher's wife called me a few weeks ago.

In fact, it was from Alabama. She said, David, my husband passed in the Assembly of God church for over 25 years in one church. He was in his late 50s. She said three months ago he got up on a Sunday and resigned the church.

On Monday he ran off with a woman in the choir that had two teenage daughters. Those two teenage daughters used to sit and hear that man for 25 years preach unholiness. And now they have to sit and watch mother living in adultery.

They weren't even married. They were living together. And she said, Brother Dave, I've been praying that he come back and God bring him to his senses. She said, I called him last week. She said, dear, how can you justify what you're doing?

Do you know what he answered? He said, I'm really not bothered by it. He said, I call myself on the mercy of God. He said, God's merciful. Then he said, remember that year you were sick and you couldn't be a wife to me?

You defrauded me and the scripture said you're not to defraud your husband. That gave me an out. If you want an excuse for your sin, you can find it, brother, sister, you can find it. But that man right now is attending another church where the pastor is kind of sympathizing with him now.

And if that's not going to belong to him, he's going to go back to the pulpit. He's not repenting. He's going to be preaching again. Do you think God hears that man praying? Do you think God is letting that man minister?

No, he's ministering death. He's killing people with his message. You kill people with your sermons. You send them to hell with your preaching. Do you believe that? I want to show you something. First, Leviticus 10, verse 1.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective censers and firepans and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.

And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them and they died before the Lord. Look at me. Can you imagine Aaron, their father? I've got four children, two sons in the ministry. My youngest is going into ministry in Bible school.

And I love those children. I love those preacher boys of mine. I love them. And I don't know what it's like for a father to stand outside the house of God and Israel's gathered at the tent because they've got a rope tied to two young priests still dressed in their vestments.

And they're pulling the cords because you don't even dare touch them. God's fire comes down and consumes them. They're charred. These are charred bodies. Just charred hunks of flesh. And they're dragging these charred bodies out of the holy place.

Out to the outer court and out the door. And Aaron's standing there thinking to himself, What kind of a God is this? What kind of a God is this? My boys went in there to offer prayer. My boys went in the house of God and they all were praying.

Because that's what incense is. Aaron trembles. And Aaron's thinking, What kind of a God is this that he kills my boys? And Moses must have seen the terror in Aaron. Because God sent Moses to Aaron with a message.

Read the next verse. Then Moses said to Aaron, Is this not what the Lord spoke? Isn't this what the Lord told us? By those who come near me, I will be treated as holy. And before all the people, I will be honored.

Do you understand what God's saying to the church? I'll tell you how serious God takes prayer. 150 Levites come against Moses. And said, Moses, you take too much on yourself. We've got the anointing just like you.

And they stood up against the leadership and they had sin in their life. And Moses said, Go get your censers. We're going to take this thing to the altar. Go get your censers. Put incense on them. Light your fire and come and stand before God.

They filled their incense censers. In other words, they brought their prayers to the altar of God. You know what the Bible said? Fire fell out of heaven and consumed 250 of these priests. Levites. But I'll tell you, God takes prayer so serious.

He told the priest, he told Aaron, Go get those censers. Get them. Go get them. They went in the midst of that fire. When the fire was down enough to get in,.

They picked up those hot censers. And God said, Melt them down.

And make a plate. And put it on the golden altar. And it will be a testimony for all time how I consider prayer. Even though God consumed them, he said, Those censers are holy. He said, This matter of prayer is a holy thing and I'll not let it be defiled.

Somebody, Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Those who come to me, I'll be considered. You'll make me holy before the people. You'll show me as a holy God. That's why I preach against idols. Master, evangelist, whoever you are.

You don't dare stand in the pulpit and tell you so. A holy God by the way you live. So that your praying and your preaching comes from holy lips. And the lamp from which you take it. Pure. Oh, my God.