The Promise

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City in my office that very first day as the Lord led me to this passage of Scripture. Give me a promise that's the title of this message worldwide her promise here was the promise welcome to a call to the nation with Carter, a few years ago, the Lord spoke to Carter's heart to do something amazing for the city of New York and was told if he did this, God would give him a special promise Carter was led to read a particular passage in Isaiah chapter 58 there it was revealed to him what he wants to do that would affect not only New York City but the entire world. Let's find out more as we join Carter 10 years ago after Sunday's are we to go to Sunday services in New York in a role where there were so many people coming to the church. They weren't special occasions or anything like that but we just had such a crowd that were standing people in hallways and core doors. They were all over the place and was the security team. They can diminish the pastor there so many people attending the church right now in the last couple of weeks that we don't find a way to handle this. If the fire department should commend the bill shut us down so they told me this and we believe it's it's a fire hazard. So we need to find a way to handle the volumes of people or we have to close the doors. Perhaps at 10 o'clock or at the very latest 10:10 until the people were sorry but you'll have to come back at another another time for another service, and so the following Tuesday I went to prayer over this issue and my prayer was was quite simple. I I I prayed Lord, where would you have most plant satellite churches in the city. That's what everybody was doing at that time you nudge if you had an overflow crowd you just found another location you said they tied the group of people to that location and seem to be the reasonable thing to do and I knew of some locations that were available in the city in Manhattan in particular. At that time that we we could've rented and that would've actually been a blessing to the church and would've given the church an opportunity maybe to have more of an influence in the city so I'm in my office on Tuesday. I take a moment to pray on pacing back and forth I'm saying Lord Jesus Christ to show me what to do where do you want me to plant satellite churches in the city.

The answer that came to me was not what I expected. I remember the Lord start speaking to my heart and is Carter. There are satellite churches already in the city they will never just never be called Times Square Church to be called the first Baptist Church of 81st St. They'll be called the Presbyterian Church of some other place. Salvation Army messianic Jewish congregations Lord so I want you to do this I want you to underwrite 100 churches in the inner city to feed the food deprived in their communities, and that your to do it. To tell the churches that are not to tell anybody. The Times Square church is doing this that it it's the local church were to give each church $1000 worth of food per month for the food deprived in their communities. There was a huge commitment actually on the on the side of Times Square church was $100,000 a month that we were being committed to. I remember I took it to the board shortly after that of Times Square church and I told the board.

I said my responsibility as the pastor that time of this church is to hear from God and delete this church as best as I know how in the directions of God in your responsibility is to to stop me in the center did or to give you advice if if I've overstepped the five miss God if if you don't bear witness to this in the spirit, then let's not do this so we went around the table and the board meeting. I was quite surprised at the number of men who wept openly at that particular meeting and then one man to send the doll up at the end and he said as Everyman did in that room that they said this is God, and one big board member said this wasted the worst case scenario is that a lot of hungry people are going to get fed so it could possibly be wrong with that, let's go ahead. Let's do it. And so we have been for New York is still in existence today.

It's it was at that time 100 churches feeding the last report I had years ago overfeeding roughly 19,000 people a month in the inner city. Many people, many of those people had no access to healthy food. They had no access to the things that we were eventually able to provide our member that the blessing that God brought on 3D New York one the Amish community in Pennsylvania found out about what we were doing and quite by accident actually in and send a delegation to New York City and they told us is that we we understand this hungry people in the city. We would like to be part of.

Five.

The solution for this particular problem. So you give us enough money to plant the seeds and just live on and we will grow the food will bring it in and refrigerated trucks and taken to centralized locations where all of these hundred churches can commend and pick up the food and they can take it to their communities and all of this food will be organic. It would be the stuff that you actually buy at high-end stores in the city.

Only God can do that only God can do that and so we began to feed people God began to provide an ingredient in miraculous ways. For this churches increase that the food supply and we started to meet all the pastors and leaders of the hundred churches began to meet together once a month and we would pray together and God would visit us our member when the first time the Amish community delegation came in there was a collective gasp in the room, in the presence of God literally filled the room. I have to tell you these were true, genuine brothers in Christ. They shared two of them shared the testimonies of how they found Christ in their community and they brought a chicken and tomatoes and eggs for every pastor was there working to go New York City at: were you going to go on the subway with a chicken and and eggs and tomatoes and I remember asking the Amish delegation. I said, are these live chickens you brought in with you. Are they dead chickens. I want to be sure because my chickens are not very appreciated on the subway system. New York City turned out they were already dead and they have brought the men and the blessing of God was in these meetings and so we we begin to pray together and the Lord gave me a promise one when he spoke to my heart to gather together 100 churches and begin to feed the hungry in the city took me in my office on the first Tuesday to this particular passage in Isaiah chapter 58 we read it to you is that is this not the fast that I've chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke is not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house when you see the naked that you cover him and hide not yourself from your own flesh, then your light shall break forth like the morning your healing shall spring forth speedily and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard and then you will call in the Lord will answer and use of crime and he will say here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness. If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness in your darkness shall be as the noonday Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought and strengthen your bones. You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail in those from among you shall build the old waste places you shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repair of the breach in the restorer of streets to dwell in and in my office that very first day as the Lord led me to this passage of Scripture.

He gave me a promise that's the title of this message worldwide per the promise here was the promise if you will not hide from human need, if you will not hide from the needs that other churches and communities in the body of Christ have in this local area stressed in the most deprived areas in the city if you will reach out and become something part of something much bigger than just Times Square church itself is an ongoing to be able to answer your prayer. I remember at that particular moment, I thought. Will that is in kind of an awed thing for the Lord to say because my prayer was where shall we plant satellite churches, but that's not the prayer that the Lord was speaking about was another prayer there would be coming at a later time we begin to meet monthly, and we began to pray and the fellowship was amazing all different backgrounds all different denominations and nobody cared what name was on the door. All we cared about us.

Do you belong to Jesus as you trusted him for your salvation as his blood cleansed you of your sins are you believing in him and in his atoning sacrifice for your salvation.

And if you are you are my brother you are my sister and the fellowship was heavenly.

I can't describe it any other way. It was amazing. Our prayer meetings were amazing. The presence of God would come down upon us in that room, the love, the camaraderie they built the fellowship that would happen after as we would meet at the table to the meat to sing to pray whatever we would do it was it was that there were moments food from those years that I will I will never ever forget as long as I live.

I think I learned to love people in a deeper way than it ever had before.

I learned how these barriers that we erected around the churches and around each other are just so man-made and actually obnoxious in the sight of God and only let them come down and we just we don't focus on what divides us, but we focus on what unites us and we move together in prayer and the blessing of the Lord. I guy I know I'm I'm laboring this point, but I was there in the blessing of the Lord, especially by heart was just out of this world. The worship was sweet. The dog people didn't want to stop worshiping in that in that room. Many times many weak many months when we met together. It was in one of these firm meetings that the Lord begin to lead us now and I'm going to skip over something very quickly but one of the meetings we had and those infirmities was to to meet end and Times Square. In the pray for the future of the cities we met in 2007, 2008 2009 we gathered the hundred churches and anybody else in the community that wanted to join in. In 2009. 60,000 people showed up to pray that it all came from feed New York. It all came from 100 pastors getting together for the common cause of reaching out in the name of Christ afraid together, loving one another at 60,000 people. The mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg came as well. At that time and join with us with his delegation. We prayed for the future of the city and interestingly enough, right were we prayed. It was about a year later that somebody tried to detonate a car bomb.

It didn't go off in that area, so who's to say that God didn't answer for that specific way in and save us in the sense from what could've been another very difficult moment in the city. Then after that we got together as pastors again in the permitting that we had.

Because of this moment in the office and the promise of Isaiah 58 we got together and the Lord led us to. We said let's let's let's have an interactive live permitting what we pray for New York City. Let's advertise it in the subways and suchlike on the radio. I was on the radio at the time in New York City.

Let's advertise it. Let's put together something where people can text in live real time or they can email and live real time and we can interactively pray live with people from all over the city for the future of the city and there was this common witness and were going to do this for walking together in unity and someone $0.33 one brother walk together in unity, God commands the blessing of life.

So we believe the God would command the blessing of life. As we reached out to the city and give people an opportunity to come and didn't become the church you could come and live online and pray with us, so that first worldwide permitting came on Tuesday night. We didn't know what was worldwide.

We thought it was citywide and there was 40,000 is a member.

That night we all showed up on the platform with no real program other than to pray it was a Tuesday night worldwide permitting I was a permit did not worldwide. At this point and within pray for the city and so we we we were can I like sitting on the platform with the baited breath as this that we didn't know what was going to come in, or how many prayer requests were going to commit.

We this screen was live and we knew the people were going to be texting in and we expected to be able to stop and pray for specific prayer requests and our jaws dropped because the curtain went up the service begin the worship start of the permit where Chris started coming in and were looking on the screen, Japan, China, Russia, India, Veracruz were coming in from all over the world, but we hadn't advertised all over the world with only advertise New York City but they were coming in from everywhere and what it happened is a God had given us a worldwide permitting that permitting has continued to this date with hundreds of thousands of brokers coming from 211 countries independence is no summer individuals. Some of these are groups of people, summer churches, some of our meeting the summer groups of pastors. I met one group that it get up and in their time zone.

It's like 11 o'clock at night and they get up and they commit in the pajamas as they told me that they actually meet together without talking with my pray with us now that it comes back to the original promise I will be able to answer your prayer if you will do this dawned on me one day. My prayer always has been a God send a spiritual awakening before you return. Especially in this hour that were living in now. Especially at this time when there such crisis in homes and families. Is there such a dealing with a mental issues and suchlike out where addictions and divorce in the breakup of the Christian home in the whole world seems to be mounting an offensive against the.

The truth of Jesus Christ. But God sends moments of mercy, and seasons like this I don't know what part worldwide prayers going to play in this and I don't claim exclusivity and neither should we. At any time there's a big church out there is in Elijah's day the 7000 others. That is not how their need to the gods of this hour is a lot of other good churches. Other good pastors, good leaders, good for abilities that are part of the prayer of my heart is God Almighty send a spiritual awakening and remember the promise in Isaiah 58 is if you don't hide from human need which we didn't. When we started to reach out not just Times Square church but also don't forget the hundred little churches New York City. They didn't hide from you when needed. They went out to the communities they began they had to be the arms and the legs of God's goodness into their own communities and then he said if you do this when you call out to me I will answer and say, here I am, I will guide you continually always satisfy you and doubt I will strengthen your bones.

You will be like a watered garden, whose waters do not fail, and those from among you them so this is where you come in online those from among you, and others.

Those who are part of what God has chosen to do at this particular time in history shall build the old ways places no Illinois place for you might be your your own mind, my dear own body your own life your own future, but those who are part of what God is doing now God says you will become a rebuilder of the old ways places your family might be a wasteland right now, your community might be a wasteland.

Your city might be a wasteland. I don't know you might be living in a building with a lot of people whose lives are being destroyed all around you, but those from among you.

Those who turn to God at this particular moment in history and cry out, and God will say here I am a jeweled not just be a person standing there with your hat in your hand, spiritually speaking for the rest of your life. But God is going to put tools in your hand and victory in your life that will cause you to be a rebuilder of the places that have been destroyed by sin all around you and you will raise up the foundations of many generations.

Places that have been destroyed lives, families and ruins communities that the just RR don't even know where to go in the future you will be part of that solution of God did this last hour of time to rebuild these communities in the foundations of many generations and you will be called the repair of the breach in the restorer of streets to dwell in the context of the breaches means that something in the wall place for the enemy was able to break through the wall and did in and wreak havoc and families and lives and minds of the homes and bodies in communities. God is going to raise you up. You see, you are what was in the heart of God. 10 years ago when he spoke to me in my office and am only talking about our part as a church are part where only 1000 above a piece of 1003 picture the God is putting together right now, but he spoke to my heart about what this permitting would be and how he would respond to us when we cry out, not just us in the physical facility here at the summit to see some a campus church but not just that but it's it's those who are part of this video are crying out at home.

Your crying out for freedom.

Your crying out for deliverance are crying out for victory. You see, it was a it's amazing because weeks ago, Pastor Tim, Delina, spoke on a Sunday morning about a of a four-day fast the times were churches undertaking and is going to culminate on the fourth day back in this permitting is a regular pray for bondage is to be broken families to be healed minds to be brought back in the right order lives to be transformed by the presence and power of God within a pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on people's homes and and as I heard him speak that message. I realize God that's what you spoke to me 10 years ago that you were going to do is what I believed in my heart and Pastor Tim, it's the Holy Spirit that spoke these words to him in the mouse and two witnesses are more everything is established.

It's absolutely amazing. It just it all came back to my mind against the God. That's what you spoke to my heart all these years that you were going to do that in the time of calamity in crisis.

There was going to be a spiritual awakening you were going to pour out your spirit but I didn't realize it would be in homes all over the world.

That's why we say in this permitting stay in pray this is not just a a program stay and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, stay and ask him to give you the courage and strength to walk this walk and to be everything that God promised he was going to make you into now this is the promise of the Lord for you.

This is what God is about to do Jesus Christ when his ministry began it's going to finish the way up again in this world is still in the pulpit and he said the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he is anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor is sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind and the set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord to close the book and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down in the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say that to them today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing today I want to tell you today this is the day that God spoke to me about this is the promise 10 years ago they spoke to my heart. Back in my office and said, if you will do this if you won't hide from human need, if you will acknowledge the body of Christ. If you if you will not attempt to be just exclusive and try to do this all by yourself. But if you will acknowledge there is a church, a body, if you will break down the walls and become part of this body that would stop pointing the finger and start reaching out.

They had if you will together begin to serve the poor in your afflicted communities when you cry out to me.

I'm going to answer you by not just in my going to answer, but a good answer you in a profound way while to give you light in your seasons of darkness. I'm going to give you water in a season of drought and when everyone else around you is destroyed and number to make you into a builder when they tried to break down the walls and go to make you into a person can restore those walls, those places are drawing in God.

This is the promise of God and this is the time the God spoke to me about this is the moment why believe that if you will open your heart, God will give you his Holy Spirit and abundant measure. God will bring deliverance to your mind, your life, your body, God will heal your sicknesses in your home. God would do the things that only God did not speak it with authority is speaking from a heart that's walk with God. All these years.

I know what he is spoken to my heart is spoken to me about you because you are the end time army of God. You're the menu are the women you are the young people of God is about to raise up in this generation. And according to Daniel, you will be strong and you will do exploits in the name of God, you will do things in the power of God that can only be done by God through surrendered vessels, you don't have to be weak and strong in yourself. You can be weak. You don't have to be noble you don't have to be a royal birth. You don't have to be overly intelligent. You don't have to have 10° on your wall. You just have to have a voice and a heart this is Jesus I want everything you've got for my life. I want to be the person you called me to be.

I'm not sitting here any longer. I'm not going to be annexed this in the next that are annexed something else I'm going to be the man. The woman, the young person that you have destine my life to be and I'm going to be that in the strength of my God and I'm going to be a restorer of pasta dwell in. I'm go to be the one who builds up the breach. I'm going to be that spring of water that doesn't fail. I'm going to be that like that is not extinguished in the darkness that voice that can be drowned out by all the contrary opinions, the God of the God's word. I'm going to stand as a city set upon a hill cannot be hidden in my voice is going to bring us out of glory to the name of God in its category in the hearts of many people throughout the world and I'm going to Simon to be able to say like we sang to behold the glory behold the glory of God. Behold the 1 Who Makes Her Way through the waters, behold the one who walks with us through the fire and we don't get burned.

Behold, the healer of our second bodies. Behold, they hear about disease lines. Behold, the one whose comic, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

This is what you will be. This is the promise of God to my heart that came with the worldwide permitting 10 years ago, so I encourage you my brother, my sister stay in prayer is not a program stay in pray is a cry from God's heart to you, stay and talk to me. God is saying stay and ask me to do and you would only I can do stay in call out to me asking me for the Holy Spirit. If you know how to give good yes, your children, how much more we are heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask those of the words of Jesus, how much more will your heavenly father give you the Holy Spirit take you out of all bondage out of weakness and confusion. I do listen, this is powerlessness and bring you in the fullness of what God has for your life. The message today has been brought to you by Carter Conlon from Times Square church. For more information log onto TSC.NYC TSC.NYC plan to be with us next week for a call to the nation with Carter,