Constrained, Afflicted, and Ashamed Part 2: full transcript and answers

▶ 0:00 Here’s Ezra’s implosion response. Check this out. I love this. Ezra, when he heard this, he tore his garment, plucked his hair out, plucked his beard. Ah, you guys. Stunned. He fell to his knees. Lifted up his hands toward heaven and prayed. Ashamed. He asked God to forgive these people that mingled with the heathen, that got intimate with their sins and did the abominations they were doing. He is asking forgiveness for other people. Wouldn’t that be a novelty in America that we actually come together? Wouldn’t it be something that the mega churches actually came together on Sunday morning and they knelt on their knees and they cried out for the sins of America instead of the upbeat music and they all the little flattering things they do to make everybody feel like they’re on a high-tech uh media source.

▶ 1:10 I tell you right quick, they wouldn’t be a media uh a mega church anymore because the people that go to those churches don’t go to break the hold of sin on America. They go to get flattered. They go to get inspired. They want to hear the music of the day. Just put Christian words in it. They want, you know, entertainment. They want famous athletes coming in and saying what great Christians they are and all this stuff. Am I right? Yeah. In fact, most little churches wouldn’t last if they actually came and just sought God for the condition of the nation and the people around them. Think about it. One man started praying.

▶ 2:04 One man just like Ezra. One man started studying the word, doing the word, and preaching the word, and he wound up with 3,000 people plus children coming to Jerusalem with him. One man here, we got one man who fell on his knees, began to pray, and the next thing you know, there’s a great congregation of men, women, and what? Children. There’s no nurseries back then. There’s no children’s church programs back then. They had to bring their kids with them. They had children under control. And folks, they’re coming to a prayer meeting.

▶ 2:57 This mad man’s down here pulling out his hair, pulling out his beard, crying out to God to forgive the Levites, the priest, and the people of Israel for their sins. He’s out in public. It’s raining. The next thing you know, somebody sees him and they, oh my God. Yes. They get down on their knees. They begin to cry out. Somebody else comes along. The word gets out. The next thing you know, he has a great crowd out there in the open kneeling and crying out to God for forgiveness. Wow. Isn’t that powerful? One man started it and it got infectuous and spread. After they confessed, admitted they were wrong, weeping, kneeling before God, then of course God gave them an answer.

▶ 4:05 See, when you seek him, you find him. When you ask, he speaks. And what was the answer? There is hope in Israel concerning this matter, these sins. And what was the hope? To separate from the nations. Separate from these intimate sins. Separate from alcohol. Separate from drugs. Separate from sexual immorality. Separate from greed. Separate from laziness, staying home and not assembling and seeking God. Separate from those things. The very thing that’s been true since Genesis. If we confess our sins, he’s faithful enough and just to what? Forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteous.

▶ 4:57 Nothing new here. It’s just simply humbling yourself, admitting you’re wrong, and turning from the wrong. Now, Christians in the United States have got to separate from these philosophies that we gave you. Atheism, humanism, the evolutionists, the homosexuals, the liberals, the progressives, the religionists, the hedenists, and we got to separate from their sins. We got to admit we’re wrong. The Bible says it’s wrong. It’s wrong. And some of these sins are divorce. Now, we know that some people are going to have to get divorced. You know, that spouse goes nuts. The other spouse has no other choice. But it’s not a just a thing we do in the kingdom. Uh same-sex marriage, lifestyle, sexual immorality, intoxication, welfare without work, abortion on demand.

▶ 5:55 Believe in and preach all sinners go to the eternal lake of fire. I had room to put it in this time. And Christians go to the church. Why do I use the eternal lake of fire? Because there’s some groups that believe hell is just you go to the ground and the worms eat you. Well, I’m sorry, my friend, but that place that you call hell and you admit the Bible calls hell. Whether there’s worms there or you just decay, hell is thrown into the lake of fire. And you who went there are going with it. Now we get to the third restoration. All right, the third restoration. First, we’re going to see that it’s the restoration of the constrained.

▶ 6:47 Somebody forced. I know women whose husbands wouldn’t let them go to church, wouldn’t let them serve Christ, wouldn’t let them out of the house. And these women were so fearful that they just and they misunderstood the scriptures that wife submitting to your husband no matter what. Well, that same scripture says husband loves your love your wife as Christ loved the church. It’s got to be a two uh lane highway here. Hallelujah. Two-way highway. Hallelujah. And uh anyway, whether it’s government like Russia, China, or Cuba won’t allow you, it’s constrained. Something is constraining. Something is holding you by force. Okay? We’re going to see that. And then we’re going to see the constrained through them.

▶ 7:39 The afflicted, those that are in pain, those are in misery, and the ashamed, those that are embarrassed because they’re living like the world. They’re embarrassed. The enemy is mocking them. The unbeliever is mocking them, taunting them because they’re just like them. All right? And here it is. Nehemiah chapter 1 verse two. This is in the 20th year of our desert season. When did Ezra come? What year? Seventh year. Seven from 20 is Man. I tell you guys are well educated. Yeah. 13 years later. Now Ezra brought the second restoration.

▶ 8:31 13 years later. Nehemiah, who is the cupbearer in Nehemiah 1:11 of the king, that means he ate the food before the king did. He drank the wine or whatever beverage the king and queen ate, he ate it first. It was his job to make sure that that food the king ate was not contaminated or poisoned in any way, and he had to put his life on the line by eating it himself before the king did. And so the king wouldn’t let him go with Ezra. He was important to the king. The king kept him. All right? Certain men of Judah came. They came to Babylon. They came to the king. And of course, he’s the king’s cup bearer.

▶ 9:22 So he sees them. And he asked them concerning, they came from Judah or where the house of God is in Jerusalem is. So he asked concerning the Jews that had escaped the captivity. Okay, escaped the captivity. How many of you know only a few thousand Jews went into Babylon? The rest of them, the majority of them were back there in Judah still. All right. Then you have some that escaped Babylon. They were allowed to go back. And so he asked of the condition of the people. All right? And he asked about Jerusalem specifically. Now, he didn’t have to do that because this statement right here explains it all. But why did God have it in the scriptures that he’s concerned about Jerusalem? Because Jerusalem in the Old Testament is a type of the church.

▶ 10:22 And he wants us to understand these things. Remember I showed you that last a couple weeks ago, three weeks ago. He’s concerned about Jerusalem. They replied, “The people there are in great affliction and reproach. They’re in misery and they’re embarrassed because they are living like the heathen around them.” And then they said, “Jerusalem’s wall is broken down.” Remember that word wall. Say the word wall. Wall. It’s broken down. And the gates. Remember that word gates. Say gates. Gates are burned with fire. Why did he throw all this in there? Because it is all through the Bible. The allegory, the metaphors that God establishes all through the Bible.

▶ 11:17 So you can learn and understand his plans and purposes. Okay. Now Nehemiah said, “When I heard that, I sat down.” So here’s your scripture for sitting and praying. Hallelujah. The only one that I know of I sat down. I wept. I mourned for certain days and I fasted. Here’s those humble acts again for I was the king’s cup bearer. Now let me ask you this question. Where is you know Zerubbabel and Joshua were the leaders of the first restoration.

▶ 12:10 Ezra was leader of the second restoration. Where are these people? Why aren’t they concerned about the condition of the Jews and the condition of Jerusalem? They see they didn’t get concerned and that became part of the reason they imploded. Hallelujah. Three implosions, three resurrections. Okay, real quickly now, just to remind you, Hebrews 12:22, you are come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to Jesus Christ, the church of the firstborn. Okay? All of those things are synonymous terms in the Bible of the church that he is raising up.

▶ 13:04 One body, one church. Isaiah 60:18, you shall call your walls what? What’s the walls of Jerusalem called? Salvation, deliverance, being set free. See, there salvation was broken down. The enemy was coming in anywhere. There was no gate to enter into the enemy could come in anywhere and influence them and distract them and contaminate them and get them to sin. See, they had let their salvation walls fall down. Are you there? Is that true in the church of America? We claim to know Christ, but we’re not saved from drugs. We’re not saved from alcohol. We’re not saved from sexual immorality.

▶ 13:56 We’re not saved from life. In fact, we aren’t saved from much of anything. See, the walls of salvation are down. Whom the Son of Man has set free is what? Free indeed. You shall know the truth and the truth will set you. Free. See, the word and Jesus delivers. It saves you. It’s not something you just quote. It is an experience that you experience. Amen. When that alcoholic needs deliverance, he needs deliverance, not psychology. He needs deliverance. And Jesus and the word delivers. Amen.

▶ 14:47 Do you know what most churches in America do now? They have a sevenstep program. All it is is a secular program to get people off drugs, to get people off alcohol, to get people through a marriage, divorce recovery, I think it’s called. See, we we we we just bring in secular programs when we have an all powerful Jesus and we have an all powerful word. Is that an amen? Yeah. Now he says, “Your gates is called what?” Praise. Oh, enter into his gates with. Praise. They have nothing to praise about. Why? There’s no honor in their life. What are they going to thank God for? They’re still drunk.

▶ 15:38 They’re still high on marijuana. Well, what did God do for them? They still can’t handle their sexual appetite and marry and keep it in the marriage. What good? What What do they have to say? Are you there? Hallelujah. Let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more what? A reproach. Their reproach was they let the salvation walls down. They were committing the very sins that the heathen around them were committing. It was an embarrassment, a shame to them. And the enemy could throw it right back in your face. You’re no different than me. Ain’t that right?

▶ 16:33 The repoach of the heathen of our enemies. Nehemiah 5:9. So Nehemiah 6:15, the wall was finished in 52 days. How many you know that’s that’s fast building a wall. And it came to pass when all of our enemies heard and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes cuz they don’t believe in this stuff. See the atheists, the humanists, the all these groups that I gave you, they don’t believe in this stuff. And so they were cast down in their own eyes because it worked. And they perceived, they got the understanding that this work was wrought of God. It was fashioned. It was completed by God.

▶ 17:23 Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. You see, Jesus does come and he gets involved. When you humble yourself and you seek him, he comes to you and he gets involved. And people say when God Jesus is done with you, they’re going to look at you and say, “Man, you’re different.” Why? Because God o honors his word and works in you. Hallelujah. So church, we have seen that no matter where you’re at, God wants to restore you. Ain’t that right? If you’re in captivity to sin, if you’re in captivity to anything, he wants to restore you.

▶ 18:19 If your children, as Ezra’s restoration was, it was the children of the parents that rejected the restoration. They rejected Christ. He came to their children and brought them in. You see now Ezra and the the second uh restoration and the first restoration never done anything about the condition of the people. And a lot of God’s people are afflicted. They’re in pain. They’re sinning. And the church world is accepting them as Christians in their sin instead of saying, “Hey, there’s deliverance. There’s deliverance.” And remember, I told you that God’s going to move again in America.

▶ 19:14 And this is one of the reasons I say this all through the Bible. He always found a way to go and reach the people and give them a chance to be restored back to God. And he’s not going to abandon America today. We throw out these statistics, these facts, so you understand where we’re at. And we, like Nehemiah, can pray for America and ask God to bring a sweeping move of repentance and forgiveness throughout America again. And we know he did it in days of old. And why? Because he loves people. So if you’re the child of parents that don’t want God, he’ll come to you. If you’re in affliction, if you are sinning and you’re a Christian and say, he will come.

▶ 20:07 He wants to win you. He wants to restore you. And this is where what he wants to do with you. Are you ready? This is the end result of restoration. We see that he will come no matter what to restore you. And this is where he’s heading. Ready? Luke 4:18. And quoting, he’s just quoting out of Isaiah 6:11. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach the gospel. To preach. Okay. Five things we are to preach. We are to what? Preach, speak them, teach them, tell them. Number one, the gospel to the poor. Poor here is spiritual poverty. People that don’t have the riches of the spirit of kingdom of God.

▶ 20:57 Amen. The wisdom, the knowledge, the understanding, the righteousness. We are to preach to the poor spiritually. It’s not talking here about the poor financially. Amen. Number two, we are to preach deliverance to the captives. This is the first restoration. They responded and they were restored. We are to preach recovering of slight to the bind. This is the second restoration where the kids were were raised by their parents to have nothing to do with the restoration with going back to God. God came to them and opened their eyes. And with Ezra, they followed him to the house of God to be restored and beautify the house of God. Amen. Are you with me?

▶ 21:49 I don’t care where you’re at. God’s after you is what I’m telling you. He’s after you. He wants you. And he has the power, if you will, respond to restore you back into a right relationship with him. The acceptable year of the Lord here. These people had been living there through the first restoration, the second restoration. They never went into captivity. And they never got to hear that, hey, it’s restoration time. It’s restoration time. This is the accept. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. Today is the day you get saved. You don’t have to wait till tomorrow. You don’t have to wait to prepare yourself. Can I hear an amen? Well, I’m not ready. There’s no such thing as not being ready. If you’re going to hell, you better be ready now.

▶ 22:46 And the day of vengeance of our God. And Luke, he stopped there because Jesus did not come to bring judgment. He came to bring salvation. But the judgment came and the abomination of desolation some 40 years later. He brought vengeance on the earth. And the vengeance is also the lake of fire. That final judgment day, you’re going to pay the price for sin. Can I hear an amen? Amen. That’s the scriptures. I don’t care what your priest and your minister or you think. That’s the scriptures. All right. And he sent Jesus to heal the brokenhearted. He’s not going to leave you in despair. He’s going to heal your spirit. He’s going to heal your mind.

▶ 23:37 He’s going to heal your emotions. That’s why he sent Jesus. Jesus is the healer. Can I hear an amen? Can I hear an amen? See, the Holy Ghost isn’t the healer. Jesus is the healer. The Holy Ghost is the convvictor and to set at liberty them that are bruised. In the Luke, it’s to set at liberty them that are bound. Alcohol got you, drugs got you, whatever’s got you. He wants to come and what? Set you free. He wants to come and heal you. He wants to come and liberate you. That’s what he came for. To comfort all that mourn, to give them beauty for ashes. Yes, your life is a ash heap. Worthless. Ash is worthless.

▶ 24:30 It used to have something valuable. It used to be a chair that you could sit in, a plate that you could eat off of but now it’s burned up and it’s worthless. And he’ll make something beautiful out of those ashes. He’ll put you back together. Worship the Lord and the beauty of what? Holiness, right? Living. You see, he’ll make something beautiful by turning you to right. He’ll give you the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for your spirit of heaviness, the depression, the sadness you are in. He will give you honor and praise. He will give you joy that no man can take away that you might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.

▶ 25:31 Who is going to make you a tree of righteousness? The Lord. He’s going to get involved in your life. And as a tree grows naturally by being in the right atmosphere with a right fertilizer and a little time, it naturally grows. It doesn’t struggle and it just naturally grows. And so will you. And in three years, that tree will bring forth fruit. Naturally. And look at this. When he’s got you to this place of restoration, look what he says. They, who’s they? These people that have been restored. They’re experiencing the joy. They’re experiencing God. They’re experiencing righteousness. They shall build the old ways places.

▶ 26:26 Not like the first people of the first restoration in Ezra and Nehemiah and Hagi and Zechariah. Not like the second ones, but they’re going to be like the third ones. They’re going to be concerned about those that are in affliction, those who are living a shameful life. They’re going to be concerned and what? Build them. They’re going to raise up, resurrect the former desolation. They’re going to resurrect them. Hallelujah. They are going to repair the waste cities. We need some repairing. Even after God builds our life, we still need some repairing, don’t we? And who’s God going to use to do it? They that have been restored. See, it’s not a one-man ministry. It’s not some great author.

▶ 27:18 It’s normal people like us letting God grow us up to a place where our life affects those around us and we can share the gospel with them and repair them and build them up. Isn’t that beautiful? How many believes that God can do that through your life? He has the power to do that. Yes. Good. He does. The Bible says that he has the power to perform what he’s promised the desolations of many generations. In other words, until this thing is over, God is going to restore people like you and I. And he’s going to use us to restore others. Every generation can be what? Restored.

▶ 28:09 Every generation can be what? Restored. God’s going to move in America again. And I don’t know about you, but I want to be on the front lines of that. I don’t want to be one catching up from behind. I want to be out in front. How many raise your hands say, “Yeah, I want to be on the front line.” Yeah. And see, he’ll do it just naturally. You can just enjoy your life while he is building your life. Hallelujah. Young people have to get an education. They got to learn a job skill. Then you get married. You got to raise kids. You got to take care of a wife. Got to take care of husband. Got to take care of a house. Got to take care of bills. Hey, it’s all normal. While you’re doing that, you can be growing spiritually. You don’t have to be some weirdo, some hermit in a cave to get away from the world. You can live in the world powerfully while God is restoring you.