City Lepers

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. You are the planet.you are the light of the world you have the message. It can bring people out of captivity and darkness into the life and light of Jesus Christ willingness to say God I am just an empty vessel but you can use me. I invite you to use my life for your glory.

Welcome to this week's edition of a call to the nation with Carter, from Times Square Church in New York City today, Carter takes us to second Kings chapter 7 the story of four men with leprosy who were used by God in a unique way you see the same pattern throughout the Bible. It's not by might, it's not by power but by the spirit of the Lord God uses the extraordinary to accomplish his will. Alex join Carter with a message titled cities members for many many years.

A lot of people they sit in the house of God and don't really understand that there's a calling on your life that is much bigger than just being a part in the sense of somebody else's ministry that you have a calling. You have a unique calling given to you by God's benefit was given to you before you're even formed in your mother's will the Lord know you and he called you to a specific thing that only can be achieved through you. It's a unique calling to you and the calling of God comes with an enablement of God's Holy Spirit. In other words, what it means is that God takes us beyond our natural ability.

It takes us in the places that we can't naturally going to give this gift things we don't naturally and we become a supernatural bigness of the Scripture tells us if anyone is in Christ, they become a what a new creation behold all things are passed away. All things are become new holy apostles.

That is, as we behold this incredible victory of Christ as we begin to ponder these things as we look into the word of God we are changed from image to image and glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord know that what that means is, as we behold the promises of God the things that he is destined for our lives to be God's sovereignty begins to change us on the inside out gives us gift things that we didn't have the gives us the desires of the heart may be that weren't there before corridors. That wasn't part of her natural character and takes us into a place were he alone is glorified when we get to the end of the journey was sick, only you could've done this I came to Christ at 24 years of age and and it's been an amazing journey it's defendant absolutely miraculous during its taken me throughout most of the world and God has given me over the years abilities to do things that I didn't actually have the ability to do all for his glory. When you get to the end the one desire of your heart is. Oh God, I wish I could do more. Let the glory of the letter house be greater than the former, let the wind be sweeter at the end of the wedding feast and at the beginning of Jesus.

Jesus somehow give me an ability to convey the people that what you did in my life and you done for others.

You can do for them to see you are now sitting many of your sitting where I set I was 24 years of age and a member of sitting in church for the first time I was in the church get. I was raised in the church and I member I was a police officer and I'm sitting in church on 24 of come to Christ and I begin to hear these words with God all things are possible. I member sitting on the edge of my seat one day as it could Be true. Is it possible that God can do more through my life than I can even ask or think, as it possibly can take me places that only he can do something through me. That would bring his own name to glory are never at the age of 26 I was visiting a church service to your safe now.

It was a Pentecostal church and the pastor gave an impassioned message on the topic of yielding your all for the for the purposes of God, which I'm going to actually give to you today at the end of this message and at the end of the message. Everybody stood up about 700 people or so. But roughly the size of the crowd this year in the lower century today and everybody stood up, but I'm the only guy there that's not raised in the church.

Everyone else's got nice clothes they got a big Bible. They all they look good, at least on the outside. I got genes in the genes that are most likely have a safer couple days I I'm a cop. I lived my whole world is is is prime in blood and guts and I don't live where these people live.

My experience is not the same.

But remember to give an altar call to give your all to Jesus to give your future to God for the purposes of God, and to my surprise, nobody moved. I'm the guy in the back Catholic Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 60 N. Isaiah 620 is the only guy in this needy redemption, there. Everything around the throne of God is an absolute perfection. Everything moves in unison with God, and they all really looked good as a thing with such wings flying around or disturb on the surface than the course is God and there's Isaiah. He's the only guy there that feels totally undone and suddenly starts hearing the voice of God when the mercy of God is touched his life as it has touched yours. He starts to hear she starts to hear the voice of God who will I send, and who will go for us. I feel in my heart that there was a silence in heaven for a season is as Isaiah standing there incredulously, wondering why doesn't anybody want to go and ensure if this thing was such wings appeared in and in the sanctuary we would listen to it on the night if I was Isaiah to send nothing Amanda listen to him but nobody speaks. Nobody moves and suddenly as they are just I don't see them jumping up and down it just like you feel today just kind of unworthy, but he raises his hand and says well if nobody ago your mind. Send me auto and that's what happened to me that they in that service.

I was sitting back and nobody moved and so I get out of my seat part under conviction part feeling better for the preacher. He gets his heart out.

Nobody responded the love and somebody's got to do this thing and it was only me and again the green suits. On the other side to people of 700 became forward one I was on the side he was on that side and I'll never forget it. As long as I live is a God Almighty I got on my knees night and I was not a weeper I I got on my knees and I started to cry just a we think of more minutes of the Lord.

I have nothing to give you nothing if you want to bet if you needed that temper I got that I got that down pretty good. The selfish man that's me getting a lousy husband and father.

I got that down pretty good. You as well and God Almighty. I discussed so many problems my life.

I'm just trying to get over my own stuff and yet I hear you calling me and I remember that the prayer apparatus ignored the kid in the Bible. At least he had the loaves and fish and you took it and you multiplied it and use it for your glory. But I have nothing. Nothing. And then I said God if you can use nothing. Jeremiah send me I've been all over the world.

I preach the crowds of the half a million people in the tenants in Africa been in the houses of presidents and kings and governments in I just been everywhere not qualified to be anywhere that have been ever since the Lord that makes us more than we are. Let me start here today. First Corinthians chapter 1 and beginning at verse 26 first Corinthians chapter 1 beginning at verse 26 pulses for you see your calling, brethren, not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called there so there is, therefore, there are a few articles that are naturally wise, naturally miter are naturally noble but not many. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise in God's chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty and the base things. That means things at the bottom of the world, and things which are despised, you know, you might you might hate yourself that you might look in the mirror and said just a what I look at eight who I am. I hate the way I think I hate the way I live. I hate the way I speak with you said God doesn't hate you.

God didn't make a mistake when he created you.

God has not written you off because you write yourself off but things which are despised, God has chosen, and things which are not. In other words, things which are nothing nothing women that look at themselves and say God I don't have anything to give you. But even in that condition. The Bible tells us that God has chosen us to bring to nothing the things that are in other words, God has chosen us in our nothingness to bring things to stand in themselves thinking there's something to nothing is going to do something so powerful in the sense in in the manner woman who knows that there nothing that they the whole of this world thinks of something is going to have to acknowledge that there is a God in the purposes that no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him are you in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that as it is written here glory living glory in the Lord.

So the Christ is our wisdom. He is a becomes our thought life. Christ is our right standing in the sight of a holy God.

Christ is our power to change as I shared with you for minutes the image and glory to glory, and ultimately, Christ is our whole story is one of say this is the one is called. This is the one is given us these incredible gift things of God.

And so the point being, have you considered your calling it over. We have a tendency in the church to live by the world's resume is that it wheat we think that if if we have six certificates on the wall or we have the accolades of 100 people and suddenly work usable in the kingdom of God.

But that's not the case. God does not see the way we see no if you were God they wouldn't use you. Would you do know that there's an old saying I forget it was a set inside never join any club that would have somebody like me as a member knows and we look in week we look at ourselves and say God that you you can't use me, but is seaward were living in a in a in a generation now where our cities are under siege. Our homes are under siege. Our families are under siege. Our entire society is now under siege. There's a psychological survey that was published this a little while ago and in this particular publication, which is a secular publication. They said in America today 100 million people go to bed suffering from depression. Now a diaper, almost 1/3 of the population you take New York City, for example, if it is 8 million people in the city. It's as well over 2 million people almost 3 million people that are going to bed now every night suffering from depression because they don't see a future they don't see it tomorrow. They don't see hope for tomorrow. Mothers don't have it going to feed the children. People are concerned about the, the instability in society that the divisions that are that are erupting on almost every corner. It's a very, very difficult moment in society that you and I are now living in would it surprise you to know that you are plan a for this generation would it surprise you to know that there is no plan B. There's no secondary plan. You are the plan of God. You are the plan of God. You are the light of the world. You are the city that set up on the hill. You are the church of the living God.

You are the church of Jesus Christ in the world you have the oil of his life and his light within you. You have the words of eternal life.

You have the message that can bring people out of captivity and darkness into the life and light of Jesus Christ.

It's true you that God wants to heal the bruised and heart have the treasure of heaven open to those that know that their poor and have no resources its review of the God wants to give sight to the blind, and opened the prison doors and set the prisoner free, not in your strength, but in your weakness, not in your everything, but in your nothingness in the willingness to say God I am just an empty vessel but you can use me.

I invite you to use my life for your glory. I will go into your word. I will read your promises to me and I will trust that by the power of your indwelling Holy Spirit that I will become the man or woman that you have destined me to be. I trust God that you will give me the gift things I need to do what I'm called to do when I get the worm, called the go I trust God that you will open the doors before me that need to be opened so that your name can be brought to reputation, and people around me can be set free. You really are God's plan a for this generation. This generation of liars. This generation of incivility this generation of moral confusion where everything seems to be turned upside down in the cities. Now our cities are undersea rib entire towns now in America that have been declared emergency zones.

People are so addicted to opiates, grandmas and grandpa's are unconscious in their cars and it's just unbelievable what's going on in this society, we are quickly degenerating into absolute decadence and confusion. There is no plan B. You. You are planning to go with me to second Kings chapter 7 and to show your story. That is a type of where we live today and what God's calling is on each of our lives. The city was surrounded second Kings chapter 7, an enemy army had come in they had surrounded the city where the people of God of that time were in their military strategy was to starve the people to death or starve them until he would surrender. Now it says in verse three of second Kings chapter 7 there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate and they said to one another when we sit here till we die if we say we will enter the city.

The famine is in the city, and we shall die. There we sit here we die also. Now, therefore, let us surrender to the Army of the Syrians if they keep us alive. We shall live in if they kill us. We shall only.so here is God's choice to bring deliverance to the city didn't raise an army and wasn't a military general. With that didn't happen. The sword of the chariot and horse. It was for leopards. You know the ways of God are not our ways. I love that fact that his thoughts are not our thoughts, his ways are not our thoughts and you see it all throughout Scripture. When you grow in grace, and you study the Scriptures you will find that God waits until there's no possibility we can do this in our own strength to do something through us. He waits until the game was barren and that brings forth the voice of a prophet into the nation. He he waits until Moses is too old and what is too old and he calls them to deliver 3 million people out of bondage since David and what is too young for sins Esther to the king when she feels unloved and unwanted.

You see it all the way through the Scriptures. The pattern is the same. It's not by might, it's not by power. It's by my spirit says the Lord, holidays, not by my ability, not by my intellect or your intellect is not by my diplomas or lack thereof. It's by the spirit of Almighty God and most often he waits until we know that it could never be done. No strong then goes a Long Way, Jill before he figures this out and actually the weakness is at an advantage because when the strong man's trying to figure everything out theologically the week menacing Jesus son of David, have mercy on beach is just crawling through the crowd to touch them of his garment. All I love it I love the ways of God. And so here are four people at the city gate when you know what you think of it is a type maybe if you and I hear today that they have this condition called leprosy. Leprosy produces a numbness that leprous or they can burn themselves, not even feel the heat there in their hands, their tendons begin to restrict and in the case of a leper, it becomes hard to receive things.

If you're leper it's hard it's hard for you today to believe that God actually wants to use your life, you're finding it hard to receive this.

I'm sharing with you something from the word of God. I'm sharing with you a living experience with your people are today that are finding it hard to receive it.this can't be needed can't be for me and you want to reach out to define your hands or try to curb this is a leper's hands is very difficult to embrace or to receive things leper lives in isolation feels alone feels Phyllis like to stand out in a crowd like that is a leper hides a leper is living with continual chambers people here today that you wonder, could God ever use me after the things that I have done for the things that have been done to me or the things that I'm involved in now or the way that I think your bid, you can't mean me pastor because because God obviously knows what I do behind the scenes and this is the way the lepers would've felt that the date that it was it was a condition word. You would think that God could ever ever consider using you and in chapter 7 beginning at verse five it says the roles of twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians when they came to the outskirts of the Syrian camp to their surprise is, no one was there. They just simply decided to get up and go into the camp of the enemy is the decision you have to make today. If you're going to be used of God to go to make this choice so I'm not going to run from my enemies any longer. I'm not going to run from the fear in my life. I'm not going to run from the addictions are not going to run from that the self-loathing I'm not going to run from my my feeling of lostness or whatever it is that wants to grip your life. I'm going into the camp of my enemies. I'm not going to flee any longer.

I'm not staying where I am because I'm just if I stay here. I just know I'm going to amount the nothingness of the said if we would just die if we stay here so were getting up and were going into the camp of our enemies which is what they did, which is what I did at the age of 26. I used to suffer from terrible terrible panic attacks years ago, and these attacks came into my life because a lot of pressure was put on Mesa as a young person and when I was about 15 years of age. I just imploded inside and I didn't feel I could live up to others expectations of me I could live up to my own expectations either. And so I started having panic attacks and if you don't know what that is. It's the closest thing to held either I've ever experienced on this earth. It you suddenly have it feels like some is pouring a bucket of sand on your head. Your heart starts pounding on your chest you're having a meltdown like a computer but sit in the human body. You feel like this is no hope you feel acute futures taken away your your overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness and you feel like you're going to die. I suffered these things from nine years and twice and put me in the hospital one time the nurse in the hospital put the blood pressure device on my arm and my blood pressure was so high she dropped it on the floor ran out to get a doctor fearing that I was going to have a heart attack or stroke rate on the table.

I was 19 years old at the time so I know what fear can do to a person's life. I went to college literally underwater had to take so many volume. I hardly remembered I went to college in a bubble and only went to college because of the pressure of other people that were on me. That was on me to achieve. So I understand what fear is all about. Then, at the age of 24 I came to Christ and I was reading my Bible and I remember reading this one verse and only remembered half of the verse. If God be for us, who can be against us.

Now this is the verses longer, but you don't need a whole. David did need a gravel truck to bring down Goliath.

The only need one tab know so you don't.

You don't need all the stuff you just need to believe what you know so I I knew half a verse of God before us to be against us. So I was up in my room at night going to bed and I felt one of these attacks.

About midnight coming on my life and I went downstairs in the my living room and I said under I'm not living on the taken pills anymore and I'm not drinking whiskey any longer either. I am not going to dig on the Christian now so I said I went into the living room and this is what I said is it Satan you can only kill me if God allows you to and if you do kill me tonight.

I'm going to heaven so I went either way it's a win-win for me because it's so you throw at me.

Everything you got.

But I throw back to you what I now have that I said these words in the name of Jesus Christ the son of God.

I stand against you. That was I resist you access that I resisted and as I said those words, a key not a fuzzy warm feeling an actual feed it my feet went through my Through my legs through the center core of my body through my chest or my head and out the top of my head and in one minute I was set free from nine years of hell in that room nine here know when these lepers got up and headed into the camp of the Syrians chapter 7 verse six is the Lord because the Army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses and the noise of a great army so they said to one another look. The king of Israel has hard against is the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us. Therefore, they rose and fled the twilight left the camp contacted tense the horse of the donkeys and they fled for their lives.

See, I didn't realize that what had happened to me in that farmhouse living room that night was way beyond just setting me free from here.

There was another. There was a shorter sent to hell one more time because somebody had gotten up again and went into the camp of the enemy somebody had rediscovered the power of God. There was another vessel that God could begin the use that was willing to say I'm not staying here in the longer I'm not living like this anymore. I'm not going to live a mediocre life because I have the God of the universe. Now resident within this earthly body and when I prayed just like with these lepers got up and they headed into the camp of the enemy.

The Scripture tells us that God calls them to sound like an approaching army's only four sets of lepers feet heading into the camp of the enemy and suddenly they hear chariots there to see this is a spiritual war that were fighting we don't fight against flesh and blood are wars against powers, principalities, five things that exalt themselves above the knowledge of God, but in the Bible we are told we have power to bring down these things with power to stand against those thoughts and stand against the ways of God, so that when in these lepers. They came to the outskirts of the camp and they went into one tab that they found horses they found donkeys and they found tense and they found food and drink and silver and gold and closing in. And of course the first inclination was to hide it and keep it to themselves to the message for lepers suggested and run look at it I be just that. They left a trail clothing there in such a panic and exercise. They knew they were nothing but God had used them to drive away an entire army talking probably in the tens if not hundreds of thousands of people surrounding the city and the Lord it used for lepers to drive them away. So what if they do, they came back to the city. The city that had caused them pain, the city that had left him outside the gate the city that that was not really a pleasant place but they came back to the city and the shadow over the walls that they the power of your enemies is been broken and you know what you need to focus your hungry, getting sustenance and clothing in the covering. We found that all you are the city lovers do know that to the city lepers that are come back and start over the walls.

I have found that I found that I found that I real simple because people are hungry, hurting, press only the need you are planning you been listening to Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information and resources to help you in your walk in Christ. Log on to TSC, not NYC.

That's TSC, not NYC. Be sure to be with us next week for a call to the nation with Hunter,