Getting Ready for the Glory — David 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 214 -963 -8626.

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Paul’s Vision of Paradise and the Glory of Christ

Getting ready for the glory. The Apostle Paul spoke about being taken by the Holy Spirit into Paradise. He said, the scripture says, Paul speaking, I was caught up to the third heaven into Paradise. And what Paul saw in Paradise was so incredible, it was so awesome, he couldn't tell anybody about it.

He said, I could, in fact, he said it was a vision and a revelation of the Lord. This thing that I saw, this great vision that I had in the third heaven, and he said it was so incredible, God had to give to me a thorn in the flesh so I should be exalted of that measure.

And my question is, Paul, what did you see? That you had to be given a thorn in the flesh so that you'd be exalted because of this incredible revelation that you had of Paradise. He said, I can't tell.

It's unspeakable. He said, it's absolutely unspeakable. You know, there's a psalm we sing here, it's joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the half has not been told. Paul couldn't even tell his half.

He couldn't tell anything about it. The Lord had closed his mouth. The same thing happened to Isaiah. He saw into eternity the Lord himself sitting on throne high and lifted up. The seraphims were filling the heavens with praises, and they were echoing and crying aloud these words, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth was full of his glory. And that vision of Jesus in his glory devastated Isaiah. Some would say, he said, I was wiped out. He said, I couldn't compute it. I couldn't handle it. And he fell out like a dead man.

He passed out. And he said before the Lord, crying, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips. But isn't it about this glory of Jesus that no man can stand? John and the apocryphal saw the same thing. Remember, John used to lean on Jesus best.

Nobody knew him more. He was the beloved disciple. And yet, in the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, you hear John, in fact, he said, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. There was a voice, a great voice behind me.

And the voice said, I'm Alpha, and I'm Omega. I'm the beginning and I'm the end. And John said, I turned, and when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Yet again he passes out. He can't, he can't, his mind can't take it in.

Now, he knew who this man was. But now his eyes were aflame with fire. His feet are burning like grass that just came out of a furnace. And it was so awesome. There was no, they left him hugging on his head, on his vision.

He passed out. And he said, I felt like a dead man. And the only thing that rescued John was the Lord touched him and said, Don't be afraid. And the Lord began to reveal who he was. Peter, James, and John.

The Transfiguration and the Glory Revealed to the Disciples

They get a glimpse of this glory of paradise. This glory of Jesus. In fact, why don't you go to Luke, the ninth chapter, and just take a look at this for a minute. Luke, the ninth chapter. I know you brought your Bibles.

I can hear the leaves rustling. Luke, 9. The ninth chapter. I want you to begin to read with me in verse 28. Luke 9, verse 28. And it came to pass, after eight days after these things, he took Peter and John and James and he went up into a mountain to pray.

And as he prayed, the facet of his confidence was altered. Isn't it amazing to look at this man, Jesus, and he's changed right in front of your eyes. His confidence is changing. His clothes, his raiment was white and distant.

It was shining. Suddenly, there was a glow, and it got brighter and brighter. Can you imagine again when this happened to the sleeping head? But when they woke up, they were just in time to see the full blaze of the glory.

And behold, there talked of him two men, which were brothers-in-law, who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and David were with him, and he was asleep.

And when they awakened, they saw his glory. And the two men that stood with him, and they, in verse 34, when they spoke, they turned a crowd and they shouted at them, and they feared if they entered into the crowd.

And they turned the voice out of the crowd, saying, This is my beloved son, hear him. And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found all alone. Look at me, please. There was something awesome happening in that modern transfiguration.

This man that they'd walked with and talked to, this man who was their master and teacher, he's not the same now. He's entering into glory. There's a shekinah on him. There's a glowing on him. They don't understand.

They fear if they move into the presence of this glory. And it's only the voice of the Lord again that calms them. But once again, they're not allowed to speak about it. And verse 36 says,. And when the voice was passed, Jesus was not found.

And they kept it to themselves, a curse, and told no man in those days, any of those days, which they had seen. Now why is it that everyone that got a glimpse of the glory of Jesus can't talk about it?

They can't tell you. You say, Paul, what is it like? Peter's in there. You came down. There's something about your change. Something up there happened to change you. What's it about? What did you see?

Can't tell you. I'm not allowed to talk. And I know, I'm going to tell you now, I don't believe, I believe. They knew nobody would believe me. They saw something so glorious, nobody would believe it. Peter could not describe that glory, but he said, he declared very clearly that we're called to share that glory, and that we're headed for that same glory.

For we receive, Peter's speaking, for we, Christ, receive from God the Father, honor and glory. And we saw and we heard that we were looking on the mountain, 2 Peter 1, 17 and 18. Then Peter goes on to say, God required us to that glory.

You'll find that also, 2 Peter 1, 3. Peter went on to say, I am a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. He said, I saw something too awesome to talk about, yet I'm going to share it. We are called to that glory that awaits us.

Also, Peter said, the God of all grace, who has called us to share in his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. In fact, the last prayer Jesus prayed while he was on earth was this, I want that you also, whom you've given to me, that they shall be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which you have given to them, to me.

I want my people with me to see my glory. Now Thursday night, while I was in prayer, late at night, the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and the Holy Spirit was more diminutive than I ask you of any question.

And I want you to just bow before me and answer it. And that question hit me like a knife. And here's the question the Holy Spirit posed to me. David, are you prepared for the glory that's soon to come?

Preparing the Heart for the Coming Glory

That unspeakable glory that all these men beheld in just a small glimpse and couldn't talk about it, that same glory is about to break forth in all its splendor and majesty. Are you ready to look at it?

Are you ready to enter that glory? Then the Holy Spirit went on to say, David, my people are not even thinking of that glory. They're not ready for that glory. They're not prepared for that glory. David, I believe it's true.

Moses, when he came down from the glory of God in his presence, his face did shine, and the people of Israel couldn't even look at the reflection of the glory. He had to cover his face with a veil. Because they said, how?

They couldn't stand to look at the presence of God in the just and effective essence of glory with the reflection of the glory. It's always a reflection. And they couldn't look at it. Can you imagine what it's going to be like for the Christian who prays days with God?

Can you imagine when he forgets the name of Jesus? The Lord said, you forget me day after day after day. And you walk in darkness. And then suddenly you believe that you're going to be locked in and you're going to be taken into eternity.

And suddenly, in the presence of God, you're going to shine brighter than all the suns in the universe. Do you think you're going to have eyes adjusted? Have you ever seen anybody come out of a pitch black room and stand in front of a blazing light?

They've got to hide themselves. Do you know how many, many Christians whose eyes are not adjusted? They're not ready. They couldn't begin to stand the glory. And believe me, the day is coming that every one of us is going to lay down.

And we're going to breathe our last breath. Somebody's going to pull their eyelids down and try to feel a pulse. And somebody's never going to say he's gone, he's with the Lord, or he's dead. And brother, sister, at that moment, you and I, if we are walking with Jesus, we are going to be taken into the glory of Christ.

There have been a lot of people who have out-of-the-body experiences, Christians. And one Christian after another has described it as going through a passage, going toward light. They move. It gets brighter and brighter and brighter.

Moving toward the light. The bride of Christ consisted of people who prepared themselves for the coming glory. Without John saying the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. Prepared.

Prepared. A bride prepared. A bride for her husband, as a bride would do for her husband. In fact, Jesus warned against people who weren't prepared for the glory. He said, I'm not servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself.

Neither did according to the Lord's will, shall be beaten with many strikes. Now, how many of you are just living for the day? And how many of you spend conscious time, good quality thinking time? And leave you some state of mind if you please.

Where you do your job, you do your work, but you don't bring it home with you because part of it is with your thinking time about the grace and the glory of Jesus. And you leave that job behind, you have to work, you've got to occupy till he comes, God honors that.

God help the lazy man who says, I'm going to give all my time for Jesus and provide for his family. The Bible said a man who doesn't provide for his family is worse than an infidel and is denied the faith.

But giving that quality thinking time about preparing the heart to enter the glory of the Lord. Now, I see three preparations necessary to prepare for the coming glory. Now, at the end of my message, I'm going to give you just a little bit of what I think that glory is going to be like in paradise.

Rejecting the Glory of the World

The first thing that we've got to do to prepare for the glory that's coming. Now, by the way, do you believe or don't you that there's a glory waiting for us? Jesus is in glory, he's in the glory. It's the glory of the Father that has been bestowed upon him.

Unspeakable glory. The first preparation that you and I have to take to prepare for the glory that's coming is to wholly reject the glory of man. Reject the glory of this world. Now, this world does have an honor.

It has a glory all of its own. But it's the glory of grass. I'll read it to you. 1 Peter 1 .24. For all flesh is as grass. And all the glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass that rivers and the flower that falleth away.

But the word of the Lord endureth forever. Now, this world has an honor that comes and goes. It's like the grass that appears one day and the hot breath of God breathes in it the next day. It's burned in the fire.

Now, this honor of man, we have terms for it. We call it making it. Going for the gold. We've got other terms like, well, he's got it made. He's arrived. That man has made it. That woman has made it. Well, my Bible says going for the grass, not the gold.

There's a lot of people going for the grass. Look, this strive is a recognition and the glory of man is in all of us in a little bit of a measure. It's been in me, it's been in everyone in this building.

There is a measure of that in all of us that has to be dealt with by the power and the knife of the Holy Ghost. You say, well, how do you know that? How do you know that's in us? How do you know? Because we're always talking about what we gave up for Jesus.

Even preachers. I hear it said, if you had to be evangelist, if I'd been willing to compromise, then I wouldn't compromise. Well, I'm just going to have forgotten me now. You didn't know, did you, that the evangelists play the same ego games?

Not all of them, but I have been in that circle and I know that. We're always talking about what we gave up for Jesus. I've done that all my life. But the Lord rebuked me this week. I got to see him, Jesus, listen to all of our, you know, we talk about it as if we have given up something important.

Psalm 11, just like this. You gave up what? You gave up grass. You gave up flowers that had wilted. You didn't give up anything. Folks, we haven't given up anything for Jesus. It's all grass. I know I've talked to Brother Sam and all these others.

None of these appear like to talk about the things that they gave up. First of all, just introduce you to who they are and then they move on. But that doesn't mean anything. I don't think that means anybody on this stage here.

And I think that if Christians did, that doesn't mean anything to you anymore because you say, Jesus, you gave it all up. I just ended up in the glory of His ears. Hallelujah. Let me tell you what's worse than being unknown.

Let me tell you what's worse than being just an ordinary person. Because that's what I, I believe I'm one of those ordinary people. Let me tell you what's worse than that. And that's to be so pursued after the world and having a hold of the glory of this grass and yet getting a hard heart in the process and having it all fade away slowly without Jesus on your side.

That to me, I'd rather nobody ever hear my name again as long as I live than to lose the presence of Jesus in my life. The fame, the fortune, the riches of this world, the Bible likes to refer to flower, grass that's going to wither.

In fact, Isaiah said, all flesh is grass and all the goodness, they're obvious as the flower. The grass withers, the flower fades because the Spirit of the Lord blows on it. The Spirit of the Lord, you know something, if you love Jesus, He's never going to let you enjoy the glory of this world.

If He did not, you'd get a handful of them going poof. He's going to blow on it and you look at it, it's all gone and then you say, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Once in a while they want to let somebody have a measure of that glory.

You said they can go there and taste it and come back and tell you how cheap it is. How worthless and how empty it is, hallelujah. Whatever happened to John Rowe, John Lennon, Lucille Ball, John Kennedy, O'Malasys, the multi-millionaire, Nelson Rockefeller who died nude here in New York City, not even in his wife's apartment.

Where are those powerful world dictators and leaders like Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt? Are these people enjoying the praises that are still being heaped on them? Do they read any of the books that are written about them?

Do they come and look at their monuments? Is all the flattering, all the praises going to do them any good when they stand before the judgment of the whole world? A bundle of grass, fascist-ass grass.

All the goodness in this world is as a flower that is fading away. Let's look at the glory of man for just a minute, this fading glory of grass. Do you remember Khrushchev? That is that corrupt dictator who in 1956 sent his tanks in to crush the rebellion of Budapest and Hungary.

He pulled multitudes of communists out of his own land, he drove out the dissidents. He came to the United Nations and he took his shoe off and pounded and said, I'll bury you. He said to the President of the United States, I'll bury you.

You know how Khrushchev ended up? They stripped him of all of his power. He wound up a chubby little forgotten man eating bones in a park bench in Moscow. Not even the kids were afraid of him. He shook fear in nations.

He winds up a puppy dog. He winds up in the last they said that Khrushchev was crying out for revelation of God. Couldn't find him. The grass faded and the flower died. Darwin, the father of evolution, he said there was no God behind creation.

There was no God at all, he said. He was the darling of science. He was honored worldwide for his doctrines of godlessness. This man died at 71 as a social outcast. Note, it's an amazing thing, this man who said God was not in the creation, a little tiny bug, a little parasite, a bansheka parasite, began to eat away at his knife and he developed a little known disease called Chagas.

He died in torment. He died with constant diarrhea. He died in constant pain. This man died with fear in his life, in his heart. Some of it just passed away. The grass withered, the flower faded. Darwin went out to meet God in Paris, Brussels.

We're talking about the glory of grass. The king of rock and roll. Multi-millionaire at 25, 30 years of age. The top of all the charts, an idol to the whole generation. The world of entertainment at his command.

The envy of musicians. The heartthrob of millions of young women. But all these last few years were nothing but the grass withering and the flower fading. He was all skin and a drunk stupor. Crying himself to sleep, swallowing handfuls of tears.

He was tormented. He flirted with the occult. He dreamed of death. He longed for death. And it all ended on the floor of the bathroom. The grass withered, the flower died. Michael Bennett. He conceived and directed Paris Nine, the longest running play right here on Broadway.

The longest running show right here on Broadway. He was loved and tasted on Broadway. He died two years ago of AIDS. In the paper yesterday, the Daily News said since 1980, the whole cast, this show, I quote the newspaper, we find now that they were awash with cocaine.

They were stoned since 1980. Seven years on cocaine. He caused every practice and everybody to go from the pills. He died paranoid, a skeleton, fading away with AIDS. Eugene O 'Neill, America's number one prize winning playwright.

His father was a famous actor and an alcoholic. He had a play called Long Day's Journey Into Night. And then the Iceman Cometh. It was a mockery of the Last Supper. The central character is a false messiah.

O 'Neill was born in the Times Square Hotel on 35th Street in Broadway in 1888. And he died in Boston in 1950 in a hotel all alone. He cursed God with his last breath with these words, born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room.

Blankety, blankety, blank. Two sons of O 'Neill committed suicide. The glory of grass. The glory that fades away. And if you're going to see the glory of Jesus, you must turn away from all the glory, honor and pomp and ceremony of this world.

It has to mean nothing to you. If it comes to you, stand back. Lay it down over to the Lord. The second preparation. A prepared bride has got to spend a lot of time looking into the face of Jesus Christ.

To become more and more like Him. But we are, with open face, beholding as in a glass or a mirror, the glory of the Lord. We are changed with the same image from glory to glory, even as God was fitted in the Lord.

Now listen, it's one thing to forsake the world. In fact, I've known people, I've given up everything to Jesus. I've laid everything down. But you see, it's not just laying something down. It's spending time looking in His face, being changed from glory to glory, so that you and I are prepared.

We've got some sudden burst of glory. But when you go into the arms of Jesus, it's just another blink. You have been trained in the glory. You have been looking at the face of Jesus so often. He's been revealing Himself by the Holy Ghost to you.

You'll see more of His splendor, more of His honor, more of His glory. The Holy Spirit is making the glory of Jesus real to you, so that the day you die or take Him into His presence, it's just a little baby stepping in the glory.

It's not some blinding light. You're not conscious of having been trained in the glory. You're not conscious of it all. It's a good work of the Holy Ghost. He is revealing and preparing us for that day that the curtain opens, and He makes you that person, and suddenly the blinding light of the Son, Jesus Christ, hallelujah.

And it makes Christians believe that they can play games, and then suddenly burst into that presence as if suddenly I'm home. Because you see, death doesn't change anything. Death doesn't sanctify you.

Death doesn't suddenly make you into something you will like before you die. Death doesn't change anything that's your position. It's not going to make you pure. It's not going to prepare you for the glory.

Death doesn't prepare you for glory. You prepare for the glory while you're alive. While you are tired. Oh, God been dealing with me. David, are you preparing for the glory? Are you preparing your heart for the glory?

Are you out here chasing after the glory of man? I'm not talking just to show people. Not at all. I'm talking to businessmen. I'm talking to those who have ordinary jobs. I'm talking to all of us today.

If anything would have very little to do with show business, it has to do with the whole body of Jesus Christ. God describes this light that He saw. I saw a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me.

He said the glory I saw was brighter than the sun. Is anybody here can look into the sun? Without a shade or without glasses? Can you? Don't you dare try to look in the face of the sun. Not even in this business.

Can you imagine being right there in His presence? He brings us out of the sun? That's what Paul said. You see, Paul saw he was not ready for that light. Oh, later he could look into the brightness of His glory.

He said He's the brightness of His Father's glory. He's the specialness of His person. The Bible says, in fact, Jesus told us in Revelation 3 .18, He said, Anoint your eyes with eye salve that thou mayest see.

I believe right now that God said to this preacher tonight, Come on, saints. This is the eye salve. Get it on your eyes. Get your eyes prepared. Get ready to see the glory that's coming. Moses could forsake all the places of Egypt.

He's not afraid of the wrath of the king because he's got his eyes fixed on the glory. By faith he forsook Egypt. And he didn't fear the wrath of the king. And Moses endured as seeing Him was invisible.

Oh, folks, Jesus can be seen. There's a spiritual eye that begins to see glimpses of glory. And it gets sweeter and brighter and brighter. Hallelujah. I want to tell you that what I said, Jesus, this year is a million times brighter than what I saw last year.

Jesus is closer. He's revealed more and more of Himself to me because I've been with Him, looking in His face. Not with as much time as I want to spend, but as He gives it to me and as I appropriate it, little by little, more and more of that glorious light that Paul talked about begins to die.

Hallelujah. Paul said our conversation and our lifestyle is in heaven. Philippians, third chapter. Would you go to Philippians, the third chapter? Let me show you something in Philippians. If you find Ephesians, go right.

One chapter, one book. Philippians. The third chapter. Verse 18, beginning to read. Philippians 3, 18. We're going to have to look at this. This may describe some people that may be in this church today hearing me.

Philippians, the third chapter, verse 18. Paul says, For many walk, he's talking about the way they walk their Christian life. For many walk, of whom I've told you often, and I now tell you even weeping.

Boy, this broke Paul's heart, the way some Christians are walking. That they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their body, and whose glory is in their shame, who mines earthly things.

So our conversation is in heaven. So let's also look to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at me, please. He's saying there are some who are walking among us. They're walking among us, and they are enemies to the cross.

They don't want to take up the cross. They don't want to crucify themselves. They don't want to pay this price. They want the world and they want Jesus too. They are enemies to this process called dying to sin.

They're enemies to this crucified life. They don't want it. They'll go to a church. They'll keep looking until they find a doctor or a preacher that will let them go past the cross of Jesus. Now don't get quiet on me.

Paul said, I tell you even in Egypt, there are those who walk. He's talking about telling them to walk with Jesus. He said, no, I'm telling you the reason they don't want the cross is because they will die in the world.

He said, there's a God inside of them. It's their impulses. No, really, it's a better God. It's the priests themselves. There's no sacrifice involved. There's no cross. There's no denying self. It's the belly reaching out.

That belly is self-will. That belly is self-use. And he said, that belly is reaching out, and that belly, God tells him, it's all right. The belly, God says, look what Jesus is doing for me. I consider the television program Dallas to be incubated in hell.

I don't have television, and it's been years since I've seen it, but the last time I saw Dallas, I thought the devil wrote the script that I saw. I mean, it's rape, it's incest, it's adultery, it's meditation, it's sinning, it's bribery, it's greed, it's everything that's against the cross of Jesus Christ.

And yet there's a young actress who stands in a church in California asking the crowd to rejoice with her for the pardon, Dallas, that Jesus gave to her. Now, Jesus didn't give her that pardon. Her belly, God gave it to her.

He said, that end is going to be destruction. He's got his belly, and his glory's in the church. The very thing that should make them ashamed, they burst out. They burst with things that they should be bowing their head and saying, Jesus, I've disgraced your name.

And they burst. But Jesus has done it. He said, the glory and the shame, the glory in it, remind earthly things. Hallelujah. I don't know about you folks, but I honestly believe, I don't think the church needs a bunch of rules and regulations or anything.

And by the way, if you know somebody that's struggling through these now, I tell you now, I said it this morning and I'll say it again, this church and these pastors are open. My door is open for you to call us when you have decisions to make, and when you're struggling and you need advice and help, we'll stand with you.

We'll not condemn you. We'll hold the truth up loving to you, and then turn and embrace you and go home and cry for you. Until God, the image of Jesus is stamped on your personality, until you're so wrapped up in looking at Jesus, you don't need a preacher to tell you any man is right or wrong.

You'll look in his eyes and listen. If you look in his eyes and you see his hurt, look in that mirror. You're supposed to be changing from glory to glory, becoming more and more like him, and it's getting colder and colder.

Your heart is drifting, and suddenly you look at Jesus, you see a tear in his eye, you see no hurt. You better back up. Back up and say, Jesus, where did I go off? Bring me back. Oh, he's loving. Hallelujah.

He's faithful. I want to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Hallelujah. That's the second preparation. If you keep your eyes fixed on him and obey the Holy Spirit, we're going to bring you to a place of richness in Christ.

Pursuing Jesus Instead of Waiting to Be Pursued

Finally, before I get into it, I want to see the glory of paradise. Listen closely now. Here's the third preparation. Learn to pursue the Lord instead of being the pursued one. Now, there's a parable, there's a story in the Bible about Jesus going out after the lost lamb and picking up the lamb and laying it on his shoulder.

That's a wonderful parable. I love it. But it's not for blind saints. It's for strong converts or sinners or backriders. But it should not be for mature church. It should not be for mature Christians who know better.

No, that's not the parable. That's not the kind of gospel right now that you and I need. That's a part of the gospel that's for the sinner. I preach on the lost lamb and Jesus going after the lost lamb.

You see, Jesus is pursuing that lamb. Jesus is saying, listen, don't let off on me anymore. I've chased after you and I've yearned after you and I've longed after you. Why don't you stay with me and be faithful?

Why don't you be part of the flock and walk with the rest of the sheep? Why do you, why do you stay out there that you're reaching to? Do you hear the master talking to this one because he's pursuing?

And the Holy Ghost is the hound of heaven. Jesus sends the Holy Ghost to hound and to woo and to love you. But in these last days, the Lord is going after people who are not having to be pursued. That they're so in love with Jesus, they become the one who chases after the Lord.

Not being pursued, but pursuing Him. Listen, when does the Holy Ghost stop being the Lord's policeman to you? And he starts becoming your guide to the riches of Jesus. Some of us already know the Holy Ghost is policing.

The Holy Ghost coming to you for the sin, righteousness and judgment. How many of you have heard Jesus say, the Holy Ghost when He comes, He will take what is mine. And He will teach it to you. He will give it to you.

He won't speak for Himself. He'll talk about me. The Lord in these last days must have a people who are not being chased down. Every little bit of iniquity saying, hey, don't cheat on me anymore. Come on out of that pit.

Man, when is the Lord going to trust you? When is the Lord going to be able to relax in your presence and look down and say, there's one who loves me. There's one who chases after my heart. I don't have to chase Him anymore.

I don't have to chase her anymore. Anywhere I go, there He is. I want Jesus to call me a bulldog. David's a bulldog. He won't let go of me. I'll try to hide what's left of David. I'll hide behind the walls of sand.

I'll hide behind the trees of Lebanon. David's not there, so I'm waiting there. I know you're hiding, but you're there. I'm going to keep coming at you, Jesus. He's hiding. He doesn't hide. The fact of our salvation, often we hide the hiding of God.

He's been made by every man tested in the deep things of God. But it's only to test you to see if you keep coming. The bride in the song of Solomon, she was the pursuer. I'm glad I married a wife who pursued me.

That's right. The first time she saw me, she said, I'm going to marry him. Twelve years old. She chased me in her ark until I got to the altar. May I tell you, it was marvelous. Just wonderful. And I'm in a hole or something here.

I dug a hole. Be careful how I get out of it. I love you, Graham. Ah, but the bride in the song of Solomon, she was the pursuer. She said, by night on my bed, I'll sop for him whom my soul loves. I'm going to rise up now and go into the city, into the streets, and into the broadways.

I'm going to seek him whom my soul loveth. I'll sleep that my heart waits for him. I charge you, O God, as a Jerusalem. If you find my beloved, tell him, I'll faint with desire for him. Oh, God, give us a chance.

God, give us a people who chase after him. Do you faint with desire for him? Come on now, sit there right now. Is your heart fainting with desire for Jesus? Are you fainting with the desire for him right now?

Raise your hands and yell out. I have a heart that's fainting with desire for Jesus. Hallelujah. What awaits us? Now, let's go to paradise. What's going to await us when we see the glorious light? Jesus is the light.