There's A Stranger In Your House

amen how many's happy to be in god's house tonight hallelujah go ahead and be seated just for a second every hour i need thee oh bless me now my say leave your would you lift your hands with me i thee every hour i need thee oh bless me now my soul draw me nearer nearer blessed lord to the cross if you know it tonight draw me nearer near our blessed lord to thy precious bleedings lord to the cross where thou hast die draw to thy pressure would you lift your hands and love them all over the house he caught a lot of mosaic who is there anybody that's thankful for the sacrifice that he made would you lift your hands and tell him i love you holy ghost i love you god i love you god thank you for what you did for me jesus hallelujah genesis chapter number four genesis chapter number four verse number seven while you're turning there i give honor to your pastor i elderly love him appreciate him so much give honor to this church the faithful saints who make up this church genesis chapter 4 verse number 7 if thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted but if you don't do well send lieth at the door and you are his desire and thou shalt rule over him if thou do us well you'll be accepted but if you do not well send lies at the door and you are sins desire the lord's been dealing with me today about this

this subject i think i'm gonna be kind of in the same vein y'all forgive me just gotta do what i feel tonight the same vein as i have been i just want the lord to show up tonight i really feel he's given me something for somebody maybe it's only one person here but if it's for one person that's good enough for me i wonder if you lift your hands with me one more time i need you god i need you god i need the holy ghost to help me i need you to anoint me god i need you to touch my mind i feel the holy ghost god i believe you've given me a word i want you to help me deliver it tonight help me deliver it god help me to get this burden off my heart god help me tonight jesus i really need you god if i've ever needed you i need you tonight hallelujah amen you may go ahead and be seated tonight there was a story that i want to share with you tonight that a preacher a while back shared with me and i really really felt to share it tonight if you'll give me just a few minutes there was a young woman many years ago a young girl actually by the name of [name redacted] [name redacted] was a babysitter and different accounts vary on this story i'm just telling you what i've heard and what i've looked up and read online about this particular story but [name redacted] was in high school she frequently babysat and on this particular night of the story that i'm about to tell you she was babysitting she had many friends who on that friday night were out partying and having fun and wanted [name redacted] to come but [name redacted] was saving money to buy a dress for easter and so was trying to earn as much money as she could this young lady had babysat these two particular children many times before and had proven herself to be responsible and trustworthy she arrived to the house ironically enough located in rural missouri around 7 30 on a friday night to watch a few children when [name redacted] arrived to the home she met with the parents and the mother let [name redacted] know that the babies had already been put to bed she let them or she let [name redacted] know that they were already asleep and that unless she heard the children stirring upstairs that there would be no need to go upstairs and check on them she had put them to sleep herself so the parents left that evening and went out for a much deserved date night and left [name redacted] at home with the children it was not too long before a storm began to sweep through that part of the state bringing rain and sleet and temperatures began to drop but [name redacted] was inside the house and she was by a fire they said she was a scholarly young lady and she made good use of her time and began to work on different homework assignments there in the front room of that house as time passed she had no reason to believe that anything was amiss neither did she hear the slightest stir from the upstairs bedroom where the children were as the night went on and time passed she continued to sit there and read and study her homework everything was going fine until all of a sudden across the room the phone begins to ring [name redacted] got up and went across the room and didn't really think much of it and picked up that phone and all of a sudden she heard something she was not expecting to hear she said hello and she heard a man on the other end of the line whisper into the phone and say have you checked on the children lately all of a sudden the phone goes dead she goes back and begins to study but can't seem to shake the eerie feeling that something is wrong and something is amiss but as time continued to go on and she heard no noises upstairs she tried to focus on her work but the feeling of comfort and peace that had been there before was now replaced by a feeling of trouble but she continued to work and try to push it out of her mind and just as probably she began feeling a

little bit better all of a sudden the phone rings again [name redacted] being a responsible young lady knew that she could not ignore this call because it could possibly be from the parents checking in on the children so [name redacted] gets up and walks across the room and picks up that phone and once again she says hello and to her dread once again she hears a voice on the other line a man whispering to her and saying have you checked on the children once again the phone goes dead and all the sudden the only thing [name redacted] could hear was the thump of her own heartbeat every nerve in her body was standing on edge at that point and unfortunately she did not have the number of the parents to call and she was hoping that this was just a prank but she began to wonder maybe i need to just go upstairs and check on the children maybe i need to go upstairs just to make sure that everything is okay but finally she collected herself enough to get back on that phone and call the police she began to explain exactly what had happened she told the dispatcher her name and the address of the place and exactly the events that had happened the dispatcher told [name redacted] to stay on the phone while the on-duty detective would do some quick work to trace these phone calls and see exactly where they were coming from as you could imagine these next few moments while [name redacted] sat there on the phone no doubt felt like an eternity as she sits there and is waiting for them to trace these phone calls as minutes begin to pass the fear began to rise and she told the dispatcher maybe i just need to go upstairs and check on the children maybe i just need to make sure that they are okay but within a few seconds the dispatcher got back on the line and she said young lady whatever you do don't go upstairs she said whatever you do don't leave the room that you are in right now she said we've traced these anonymous phone calls and we have found the location of the stranger they said [name redacted] whoever is calling you is actually in the same house that you're in they said there's no reason for you to be worried as she began to try and comfort [name redacted] she said that we've already sent police officers and they should be arriving there at any moment and within a few seconds sure enough she heard a thump at the door and she opened it as police officers began to rush into that house and they ran upstairs to the bedroom where the children was where they apprehended a violent killer who was hiding in a second floor of that house unfortunately this killer had already taken the lives of the two young children that were upstairs [name redacted] did not know it but there was a stranger in her house the parents did not know it they thought that they were leaving enough safety precautions in place and they thought that they maybe that everything would be okay because we've got somebody in and we've checked the house and everything is okay but somehow or another a stranger had gotten into the house somehow or another a stranger and a murderer was able to slip in unawares and slip past the place that the parents could see and the ones that were watching the house could see no one knew it but there was a stranger in the house ezekiel chapter 44 the bible says the lord said unto me mark well and behold with thine eyes and hear with your ears all that i say unto thee concerning the house of the lord and all the laws thereof and mark well the entering of the house with ever going forth of the sanctuary no carefully no every person no every spirit that has given interest entrance and given access into my house thou shalt say to the rebellious even to the house of israel thus saith the lord god let it suffice you of all your abominations you could sum that up by saying the lord is displeased because you have sinned greatly and that you have brought into my sanctuary strangers uncircumcised in heart and in flesh to be in my sanctuary to pollute it even my house you have not kept the charge of my holy things thus saith the lord god no stranger

everybody say no stranger no stranger uncircumcised in heart or in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary of any stranger that is among the children of israel the lord is making it abundantly clear that no stranger no perverse spirit no thought no attitude no no thing that would pollute the sanctuary or the dwelling place of god should be given access and entrance into the temple of god throughout reading this passage it becomes very obvious that strangers had entered into the house and the sanctuary of the lord and the lord is letting the people know that this is not okay this is not acceptable and as much as hard as it is to say tonight and for us to realize i feel that for the lord it is deja vu all over again because there are some of us that are here tonight that have allowed strangers to enter into our hearts and strangers enter into our lives i know this has been a long introduction but i want to preach tonight for a few minutes on this subject there's a stranger in your house there's a stranger in your house the story i told you tonight is from a physical standpoint of the house you know it's not a bad idea for you to when you leave your house to lock your doors it's not a bad idea to set up an alarm system or cameras around your house just to make sure that nothing gets in that you don't want to be in it's not a bad idea to say you're gone for two or three weeks and nobody was was at home it's not a bad idea for when you when you get back home to check around the house to make sure that nothing is out of order to make sure that everything is as you what as it was when you left there have been times that i've stayed in places that maybe i did not like as an evangelist you stay you don't pick where you get to stay you just stay where they put you there have definitely been times where i've stayed in places that i did not feel comfortable there have been times i've stayed in places where i did not feel that i was the safest and i'm not embarrassed to admit to you tonight that there have been times when i get back to a place very late at night that hey i'll tell you right now i'll open up a closet i'll look under a bed just to make sure there's nothing in there that i do not want to be in there now when we talk about the sanctuary of god we typically talk about this building we talk about the physical house of god and and many times that that is what we are referring to but can i tell you tonight that you and i are also the sanctuary of god the bible says your body is the temple of the holy ghost when when you go home tonight and you look in the mirror realize that you are the sanctuary of god you are the dwelling pace of the holy ghost now the translation says that your body is the house in which the holy spirit dwells if any man shall defile the body or the house of god the bible says that god will destroy him the bible lets us know that the temple must be clean it must be clean it must be holy it must not be dirty because god will not dwell in a dirty place god will not dwell in a heart in a life that has allowed things to enter in that have no business entering in to that place you've got to realize tonight that when god filled you with the gift of the holy ghost you immediately became the habitation for the presence of god when when you began to talk in a language that you did not understand that was the same moment that you became the dwelling place and the sanctuary of god hey i've come to tell you i'm thankful for the holy ghost i'm thankful for what it does for me but i've got to tell you it's more than just a good feeling but when i received the holy ghost i immediately became the sanctuary and the dwelling place for the very presence of god and it's up to me to make sure that nothing gets into my sanctuary that should not be there it's your job and it's my job to make sure that we keep ourselves clean and pure and holy and righteous before god i've heard it said that it's one thing to get the holy ghost but it's another

thing to keep the holy ghost it's one thing to receive the holy ghost the initial time and we've all seen people who received the holy ghost at one time but somewhere along the path of life they lose what they once had i just want to tell you tonight i don't believe it's the will of god that you go too long without praying again in the holy ghost and without praying until god renews you in the gift of the holy ghost hey whether you believe it or not tonight we're all in a battle we're all on a spiritual battleground every person in this building tonight we've all fought the flesh we've all fought temptations we've all fought desires that we should not have but when you don't have the holy ghost you've got to realize you're trying to fight it all by yourself when you don't have the holy ghost you don't have the ability to say no you don't have enough power of yourself to resist the devil you shall receive power after that the holy ghost has come upon you that tells me if you don't have the holy ghost you don't have power the only way the only way to stay full of the holy ghost is to continue to pray in the holy ghost i believe you can lose the holy ghost almost as quick as you can get it you know life has a way of draining us it does i was thinking you could go to your car tonight you could turn your car on and did you know that you don't even have to put it into gear and drive it you can just turn your car on and leave it there not drive anywhere not go anywhere and it's only going to be a matter of time before that car runs out of gas i want to tell you the same is true with us and the holy ghost it's not that you always have to be out sinning and committing adultery and fornication and looking at things you shouldn't be looking at sometimes life just has a way of as we go through life and as we do our errands throughout the day life just has a way of draining us and taking out of us what should be there hey the bible so many times makes reference to people that were full of the holy ghost they didn't just get it one time they didn't just get a touch on a sunday night but they understood it's a daily walk it's something i've got to wake up tomorrow and i've got to do it all over again it's something that if i want to make sure i don't fall and i'm right with god i've got to get up on tuesday morning and i've got to pray all over again acts 6 and 3 the bible says they chose seven men that were full of the holy ghost acts 6 5 the bible says they chose stephen a man that was full of the holy ghost acts 7 55 the bible tells us once again that stephen was a man that was full of the holy ghost acts 11 24 the bible talks about what a good man barnabas was but the bible also says that he was full of the holy ghost it was not good enough that he was a good man it was not good enough that cornelius gave alms and did these different good religious things but the fact of the matter was that he still had to have the holy ghost he still had to be full of the holy ghost i wish you lift your hands with me right now god break any spirit that would try to come against us right now in the name of jesus come on would somebody lift up your hands would you open up your mouth and help me pray right now come on the holy ghost has a word for somebody come on i don't want to miss out on what god wants to do in this place come on you can fall to temptation if you're not full of the holy ghost you'll become carnal if you're not full of the holy ghost you'll look at things you shouldn't be looking at if you're not full of the holy ghost you'll say things you shouldn't say if you're not full of the holy ghost you'll go places you shouldn't go if you're not full of the holy ghost we've got to be a people not just of talent not just of ability not just a people that knows how to have church but we've got to be a people who knows how to pray in the holy ghost we've got to be a people who knows what it is to intercede who knows what it is to walk in the spirit

god told cain sin is lying at the door another translation sin is crouching at the door it's ready for you to make the slightest little mistake it's ready for you to let down your guard it's waiting for you to slip up just a little bit can i tell every person that's in this building tonight i don't care how spiritual you get sin is lying at the door i don't care how long you've been in the truth i don't care how long you've known god i it really doesn't even matter how long you've had the holy ghost sin is lying at the door each person that's in this building tonight as i'm preaching there's a stranger of sin that is outside the door of your heart there's a stranger who is desiring for you to maybe let a guard down so that way that stranger can slip in unawares it does not matter if you are a preacher there's a stranger at the door it does not matter if you are a worship leader there's a stranger at the door it does not matter if you're full of the holy ghost there's a stranger at the door i don't care how long you've been here i don't care if you're brand new or if you've been in it for 30 years there's a stranger at the door of your house don't you ever go through life and think that the devil isn't looking for you to make a mistake don't you ever let your guard down and think i can live this way and everything will be all right all he's waiting on you to do is make one little mistake and a stranger will enter into your house we're living in a world today that wants to normalize sin that wants to glamorize sin that wants to normalize immorality and perversion we are living in a society that wants to cancel the family that wants to cancel the church that wants to cancel morals and religion but i've just come to remind somebody to not an old-fashioned message and that message is this sin still separates from god sin is the most expensive thing you will ever buy there is a high spread a price tag for low living there is a high price tag to every single sin that we commit the sinners pay such a great price for their sin just ask a ask a drug addict who's lost their family if they ever intended on it getting that far ask them if sin is expensive why don't you ask the alcoholic who has traded his family in his career and his life for a feeling ask them if there is a high price tag for sin i remind somebody again tonight that sin destroys sin tears people's lives apart sin tears families apart sin as a way of convincing you that you aren't good enough sin has a way of convincing you that you'll never be able to do it and that you should not have any faith in yourself a sin has a way of stripping away any bit of hope and peace and joy that you've ever felt in your life sin as a way of convincing you that because you've made mistakes that you're too far beyond the mercy of god sin as a way of convincing us that the way we are right now is the way that we've always been or the way we're always going to be but i've come to tell somebody tonight there is no sin that the blood of jesus cannot cover there's no sin that's more powerful than the blood of jesus i don't care what you've done i don't care the mistakes that you've made there was a bloody oh there was a bloody cross over 2 000 years ago where the blood that ran down that cross was enough to cover our mistakes with enough to cover our sins and our shortcomings

i thank god for conscience thank god for a conscience i'm sure i've told this story here but there's a young lady in our church a girl named [name redacted] and as a teenager she was always kind of in and out she always came to church but you never knew if she was gonna be spiritual that service or carnal she continued to live and sin and do whatever she wanted to do she kept coming to church and i'll never forget when i heard the story she was in the bathroom with another girl from the church and she began to tell her she said it's so great she said it used to be that when i would sin and make mistakes i'd feel so bad about it she said it'd keep me up at night i couldn't sleep i felt so bad about what i had done she said but it's awesome she said i've been doing it so long she said i do whatever i want to do and i can go straight to bed he said i can do anything i can say anything i can go anywhere i can go to the club on monday night right after church she said i don't feel bad about it anymore she said it's great it's an awesome thing and i tell you there was a stranger that had entered into her house tonight she's a million miles away from god and you want to know what your conscience does it makes sure strangers don't enter into the house it makes your strangers that have come for the single purpose of destroying your future it makes sure that they don't have easy access in to your house you know sin comes in many forms it comes in many varieties and shapes and sizes it doesn't always look evil you're gonna get an amen you know that's true sin doesn't always look evil it doesn't always look destructive it doesn't always look all that bad it can come in the form of social media it can come in the form of an application on our phone it can come in a form of games or sports or entertainment i tell somebody tonight there's no such thing as a sin that is not dangerous i believe that there is no such thing as a sin that is not destructive sin can be so deceptive how many times have we heard somebody that made a mistake say if only i would have known i didn't know what this really was all about it was paul that wrote and said sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me and by it salute me sin deceive me and sin slew me i tell you sin can be so deceptive i know sometimes it's hard for us to admit but you're sitting by people tonight that if we would be honest we could all admit there have been times when something entered into our life and we thought we were able to control it we thought it was something that we had enough self-control and discipline to not let it take over our lives but but somehow it began to deceive us can i preach to you tonight and tell you that sin is not something that you can handle if you don't kill your sin i'm telling you tonight your sin will kill you if you don't handle your sin i've come to tell you your sin will handle you paul said that which i do i allow not but what i hate that's what i do he said i know that in me and my flesh dwelleth no good thing for the will is present with me but how to perform that which is good i i just can't seem to find it he said the good that i would i do not but the evil which i would not that's what i do you know what paul said he said i know that in me in my flesh dwelleth no good thing can i tell you tonight if there was nothing good in paul's flesh i can promise you there's nothing good in my flesh and

there's nothing good in yours if paul couldn't trust his flesh why do we seem to think we can trust our flesh if paul realized i've got to pray in the holy ghost i've got to crucify my flesh what makes us think we shouldn't have to crucify our flesh what makes us think we shouldn't have to pray in the holy ghost would you lift your hands with me one more time help us i tell you tonight sim brother caleb come help me sin may start small it may it won't stay small the bible says he that is faithful and that which is least is faithful and much he that is unjust and least is unjust and much you know what that tells me if you sin in the little things you'll send in the big things if you're unfaithful and little you'll be unfaithful and much many people believe that they can choose how to sin and draw a line that says when it gets this far i'll stop that's not the way it works sin convinces us to indulge in it a sin some of you that used to bother you you can now do no problem i know it's tough and i know it's tight tonight but it's true the thrill begins to go away and now we've got to do something greater to get the same thrill that we used to get have you ever heard somebody say when i grow up i want to be a drug addict no nope can i tell you drug addicts usually start with something that maybe seems a little bit innocent as time goes on that no longer satisfies them the way that it used to why little sins lead to big sins you ever heard anybody say i want to grow up and be an alcoholic no just starts with one drink because little sins lead to big sins you ever seen somebody at the wedding altar who was thinking one day i'm gonna betray my spouse maybe one day i'll cheat on my husband or my wife no but a lingering glance and a peek at a website what seemed to be an innocent flirt grows and morphs into a relationship that should have never been there in the first place why little sins lead to big sins i want to tell you in the holy ghost there's some people here tonight you've opened up the door to some things you think you can control you've opened up the door to some things that you think you've got enough discipline and self-control and ability to where you'll stop it when you need to you know we think it's just a little innocent game it's just a pigskin people are throwing up and down a field it's just a basketball people are shooting into a hoop but what you don't realize is that it's an introduction and it's a stranger of idolatry we may not realize it but get on the website and then going and clearing our history afterwards we think it's not a big deal but what we don't realize is that it's a stranger that's come to ruin your mind and ruin your marriage with your wife or

your husband we think it's just a little innocent relationship just a friendship what you don't realize is it's a stranger that's come to strip you of your innocence and strip you of the purity that god gave you you know all it takes is for you to turn the knob and just crack the door you don't have to fling the door wide open you don't have to open and say stranger come on in all you've got to do is let a little bit of curiosity get out of hand that's it i'm telling you all you've got to do is let that guard down and be just a little bit careless the parents of these children did not know it but somehow maybe through a window that was not locked maybe a door that was left a jar there was a murderer and a stranger that was able to slip into that house unaware and completely wreck and ruin their lives stay with me tonight i tell you one of the problems with sin is that people become so familiar with it that it's no longer a stranger but it's a companion the thing you used to be scared of you're embracing it's no longer a stranger but it's something that some of you don't want to separate from a connection you're not willing to sever a relationship that i know although you know it's jeopardizing children your families you're not willing to cut it off why because it's fun why because we get pleasure out of it a temptation that we have enjoyed indulging in so much that this thing we used to hate now we've started to love it some of us have learned what it is to welcome the stranger did you know sin will never be content with just being a stranger sin wants you to be so familiar with it to where it's your companion where it's not something you're willing to get out of your life somewhere sin i snuck into somebody's life tonight i know i'm talking to somebody maybe we thought we were protected but somewhere sin has found a weak spot and there's a stranger in our house he's a stranger in our house and i tell you that you can't hold hands with god and hold hands with the devil at the same time but i'm thankful tonight that there's an altar at this place did you know there's enough power to where you can serve an eviction notice on the stranger that's in your house i wonder if there's anybody tonight that would get enough holy ghost boldness about them to say stranger you can get out of my house you've been in long enough you've tried to ruin my family i'll tell you what the stranger wants to do the stranger wants to stop the revival that god wants to send this church revival will not come as long as there's a stranger in the house your family members may not pray through as long as there's a stranger in the house i don't wonder if there's anybody tonight that's sick enough for where you are it says hey i've gotten used to this maybe it's something that i used to be scared of but now i'm embracing it but guess what god if you'll show me tonight i'll get rid of it hey revival won't come until we're ready for it we won't pray people through until we pray through come on i know probably i'm only talking to one or two or three or four tonight but i wonder if these few could respond to the holy ghost hey maybe this wasn't for you tonight but i'm asking you would you begin to intercede for somebody else come on there's somebody here tonight that's unaware but there's a stranger in your house you don't even know it but

you've jeopardized the souls of other people that's around you because of what you've led into your house because of what you've led into your life i wonder if i've got somebody who would intercede for somebody else hey it may not be for you but i promise you the holy ghost has come to deal with somebody tonight i promise you the holy ghost has come to convict and stir and change somebody's life tonight whoever it is god find them come on would you pray that with me come on would you open up your mouth and pray that with me tonight god find him tonight find him tonight god find him at this altar find him in between the pews wherever it is god show him the stranger help us to get enough holy ghost boldness to say enough is enough i'm serving an eviction notice on the stranger you need to get out of my house you need to get out of my family's life you need to get out of my heart come on could you pray come on i'm feeling worship seeing the holy ghost come on with somebody please open up your mouth and help me come on i'm not gonna push you all night i'm not gonna beg you all night but i'm just asking if somebody would get bold enough to open up your mouth and help me pray i just wonder if there's somebody who knows how to pray of the holy ghost would you close your eyes and open up your mouth and make a connection right now would you pray until the spirit begins to intercede would you pray until the holy ghost begins to serve somebody in this house god let the spirit of intercession go through this house tonight let the spirit of prayer go through this house tonight come on sir come on come on what about the souls of your family members come on are you willing to jeopardize the soul of your family for a little bit of entertainment something that may seem so innocent and cute you don't realize it but it's come to wreck your life i've preached what the holy ghost has given me tonight it's up to you to respond