The Elevated City

Second Samuel chapter 5, I'm going to begin reading at the fourth verse, just a few verses of scripture. And I'll also read from the book of Psalms, the 48th Psalm. Second Samuel chapter 5, beginning with verse 4, David was 30 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 40 years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned 30 and three years over all Israel and Judah. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem under the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, except thou take away the blind and the lame, that shall not come in hither, thinking David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion. The same is the city of David. I will read also from Psalm 48. I just want to read a couple of verses from this beautiful Psalm, Psalm 48 verses 1 and 2. Great is the Lord. And greatly to be praised.

In the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation. Beautiful for situation. Beautiful for situation. The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. On the sides of the north, the city of the great king. I want to speak to you tonight by the help of the Lord on this subject, the elevated city. The elevated city. We lift up our voices and ask God to bless the preaching of His word tonight. Lord, I pray for Your anointing to flow through me as I attempt to handle this precious word of life that gives light to all. I pray that You will help us as we seek to know You and draw closer to You. I pray in the name of Jesus that the spirit of the Lord would move mightily in this house again and again in waves of glory. Lord, I pray You'll open up our eyes and understanding to the great truth of who You are and of Your Word. And we give You all praise and glory.

Let Your Word go forth tonight with boldness, with accuracy, with love. And we give You praise in Jesus' mighty name. And everybody said in Jesus' name. Everybody said amen. And amen. God bless you. You may be seated in the name of the Lord. We find ourselves as we open up our eyes to the passage of Scripture that we have read 2 Samuel 5. We find ourselves peering into the life of King David. This, of course, was a very unique time of his life because he was about a few years removed from the conclusion of a very difficult time. He had just come through the onslaught of the attack from King Saul. I don't know if there's anything more hurtful or harmful than to be sailed by another anointed vessel. You yourself are anointed and then someone who shares that same anointing comes against you. That can be so confusing. And that's what David experienced. It was driven by the envy of Saul. And he would attack David.

David would be a fugitive for a little while. And all of that was confusing, but David kept such a good spirit. And we heard a message today about David. That is life-changing, Bishop Hale. Thank you for that great word. If you haven't heard it, you need to go hear the making of a man of God. It was preached to us this morning. And David was indeed a man of God. He was a man at the God's own heart. It was a beautiful thing to look back upon the Holy Scriptures and see the times and opportunities that David had to just lose his integrity and give over to those fleshly instincts of revenge and retaliation. But he never did. And he kept himself in a place of humility before God. And God resolved this conflict that was brought to David and was not something of his own making. And we thank God for that. So now David is in Hebron and he is anointed to be king over. You have to understand, Samuel had anointed David as a young man.

And this anointing was upon David even while David was being chased and being mistreated. He was a fugitive, anointed but a fugitive, anointed but on the run, anointed but displaced, anointed but underappreciated, anointed but attacked. And now all of that has been resolved. But sometimes it takes a little while for the shift to occur and for things to get back to where God originally intended for them to be. So David is anointed of God and he is reigning over Judah in Hebron. This is not the perfect will of God for his life, but it is the will of God. God told him to go to Hebron. God put him there for a space of time. He was to be there for a little while and that's important for us to understand that there are moments in life where we will be kind of caught in a, we might think of it as a holding pattern, but in reality we are just circling in the wisdom and the patience of God.

Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The perfect will of God was for him to be in Jerusalem over all of Israel. But he is still in the perfect will of God in this season as being king in Hebron over just Judah. And I want to take a moment and tell somebody today you might be in Hebron over Judah right now and that's okay. That's okay. If God's given you a promise of Jerusalem over Israel, it'll come to pass soon enough. Just keep your spirit right. Amen. Keep your heart right with God. Stay humble before the Lord. And it'll all work out according to the will of God. And so seven years had been completed that David was in Hebron. An interesting number, a number that represents completion. And at that completed time, David is approached by the elders of Israel. And the elders of Israel come to him to say the time has come. We want you to come to Jerusalem. You've been in Hebron now for seven years.

All of the awkwardness has passed. All of that tension between you and the house of Saul that Saul brought against you. All of that has passed and we need to move on now. You need to step into the fullness of your anointing and come on up to Jerusalem, David, and reign over all of Israel. And I want to tell you something, folks. They didn't have to ask him twice. David loved Jerusalem. When I talk to you today, I'm going to talk to you about Jerusalem. I know all eyes are on Jerusalem right now. But I want to talk to you about Jerusalem. And when I talk to you about Salem or Jerusalem or Zion or Mount Zion or the city of David or the city of God, I am talking to you about the very same place. And David had been told by them, the elders of Israel, come on up to Jerusalem and take your rightful role as king over all of Israel. The anointing of God is on you to be the king over all of Israel.

And David, I can't even imagine what must have crisscrossed his mind as he thought about the idea of ascending into that city, that city that meant so much to him. It was David who said, I feature stand within thy gates. Oh, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is building as a city that is compact together. The tribes go up the tribes of the Lord unto the testimony of the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. We will give thanks unto the name of the Lord. There are set thrones of judgment. Hallelujah. The thrones of the house of David. It was David who said, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. He opens that psalm. He opens that psalm of the Scripture that you may be familiar with, but it was in the context of this that he said, I was glad. I was glad. When they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

It was in the context of somebody saying, hey, it's time to go put your feet inside Jerusalem. It's time to go stand in the palaces of God's promises. You've been waiting in Hebron an awful long time. You've been spending seven, and those seven years are important. And I'm glad David didn't get in a hurry, and I'm glad you're not getting in a hurry. I'm glad David didn't get impatient and get bitter and start feeling like he wasn't being appreciated. And I'm glad you don't feel that way, because if you'll hold on and never let go. I've got news for you. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. It's a promise from God, my brothers and sisters. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Teach us, Lord. Don't teach us, Lord. Teach us, Lord, to wait. It was in the context of Him praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

It was in the context of Him dreaming about having His feet within its palaces that He said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. And so it wasn't just David that talked about it, all the prophets of the Lord. They talked about that day, that city, that Mount Zion, that all of the nations of the earth would flow unto. That they would come from the north and the south and the east and the west. And that the ransom of the Lord would come there. In this place, the wolf would lay down with the lamb. That there would be no robber there. There would be no burglar, no murderer, no villain, nobody to victimize others. It is a place where the redeemed of the Lord shall stand. And there is a highway there. And the highway is a way called a holiness. Hallelujah. It's an elevated pathway. And it's a highway called holiness. Talked about it. They all dreamed about it. And David is getting ready.

He's told by the elders of Israel, the time has come. We're going up to Jerusalem. And he does. He goes to King and all his men. And when they arrive there, to their wondering eyes do appear. But there are people living in this land of promise. They are called the Jebusites. And they have so inhabited the land and they have so overtaken the land. And it has just fallen into their civic control to the point that it's not even called Jerusalem anymore. In fact, 1 Chronicles 11 says that David came up to Jerusalem and Jerusalem was called Jabuse. It wasn't even called Jerusalem when David got there. It was called Jabuse. And it was called Jabuse because it was controlled by the Jebusites. And the Jebusites lived there and they controlled it and they guarded it and they weren't letting anybody come in to change that. But there were promises of God hanging over that city.

And there is nothing anywhere that can prevent the promises of God from coming to pass. Brother Robinette, it shall come to pass. And so David arrives and he meets the Jebusites and he had to understand that the Lord had told the prophets and the patriarchs of Israel that there would be people that they would have to drive out from that land. That there would be people who would want their annihilation. Who would want them to be completely driven off the face of the earth. And that to live peaceably there, they were going to have to drive out these other nations. And the Lord listed them. He said they're the Parisites and they're the Hivites and they're the Hittites and they're the Canaanites and they're the Amorites. And yeah, you guessed it, last but not least, the Jebusites. And the Jebusites posed a problem because they seemed to hang on really well. Seemed like nobody could get rid of the Jebusites.

In fact, Joshua chapter 15 in verse 63 tells us that the tribe of Judah tried in vain to drive out the Jebusites but they were unable to drive out the Jebusites. And so the tribe of Judah just resigned themselves to living among the Jebusites. Judges chapter 1 tells us in verse 15 that the tribe of Benjamin tried to drive out the Jebusites and that they were unable to drive them out and that they just had to finally decide, you know what? I guess we're just gonna have to live with the Jebusites. So the Jebusites meet David and his men and they have a message for him. They say to him, listen, we know what you have in mind and it is not going to happen. We own this land and they were saying, we don't care what you say and we don't care what your God says. You cannot, they said, you cannot come in hither. And the writing of 2 Samuel tells us that they thought David could not come in hither.

And they had a little track record to say Judah couldn't do it, Benjamin couldn't do it, and you're not gonna do it. And David looked at them and said, I know you're not talking to me. Maybe you don't know who I am, but I'm somebody you've never messed with before. I feel like I'm preaching to a generation who is going to walk in a Davidic anointing. See the whole time, my God, I feel the Holy Ghost. You see, David had been through some tests and trials. He wasn't afraid if Saul couldn't kill him, the Jebusites couldn't kill him. If I could keep my spirit right while King Saul was attacking me, then I can keep my spirit right and the Lord will fight on my behalf. Some of y'all have been through some stuff and you wonder why you went through it. I'm gonna tell you why you went through it because God was anointing you with the kind of an anointing that's going to take the promised land in these last days.

Some of you know how to forgive stuff. Some of you have tread upon serpents that other people have been bitten by and died from. You walk in a Davidic anointing and David looked at them and said, I'm not afraid of you. I'm coming in because this is the promise of God and I have an anointing of God upon my life. They said the blind and the lame will stop you from coming into this city and you know very often that is what happens. Folks who have no vision and folks who won't walk with God are your chiefest obstacles in claiming the promises of God. But you've got to be like David and say, it doesn't matter if no one else believes that I'm coming in. I feet shall stand within my palace. The name J.B.U.S. means trodden down. That's what it means. It means trodden down. And the city of Jerusalem had been trodden down by the J.B.U. sites. And this had been an ongoing problem and is an ongoing problem.

And Jesus said it would be an ongoing problem when he said that this city shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And right now there are Gentiles trying to take the holy city. I'm going to tell you something ladies and gentlemen what gives natural Jerusalem. And I need to be clear because I'm going to talk to you about Jerusalem but when I do you need to understand there is a natural Jerusalem and there is a spiritual Jerusalem. You need to understand there is an earthly Jerusalem and there is a heavenly Jerusalem. You need to understand there is an old Jerusalem and there is a new Jerusalem. The enemy would like to trodden down and tread down this heavenly Jerusalem, this holy city, this new city of God's promise. And I'm going to tell you what gives Jerusalem natural. Its ability to be safe. It is the statehood of Israel. The statehood of Israel protects the city of Jerusalem.

This is why there are bad characters in the global scene who refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the statehood of Israel. Because they know that if they can delegitimize the statehood of Israel it will give them access to the holy city of Jerusalem. And I want you to know, oh heavenly Jerusalem, that what gives us legitimacy as his holy city is the statehood or the lordship of Jesus Christ, the Israel of God. Have no power if Jesus is not Lord. There are religious figures right now looking in on the one God Jesus name, Apostolic Pentecostal Church, wondering how in the world are they standing their ground while the winds of false doctrine, the hurricane force winds of false doctrine are blowing to and fro in our generation. I'll tell you why. Because we believe in one God and we believe he is holy and we believe he makes us whole. This oneness message, this holiness message has our feet firmly planted in the word of God.

Jesus Christ is Lord. And nothing better change that in your thinking. This is why he said, here off social media, turn off mainstream media, turn it off, tune it out, walk away, here listen to that one word and you shall love him with all of your heart and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Hallelujah. Yeah, this is what separates Jerusalem from all other cities. This is not just any old city. This is an elevated city. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain high of his holiness. Beautiful for situation. Pastor Elms, that phrase has always caught my attention. Just left out at me. It's so poetic. It's so prophetic. I just can't handle it. We don't use that kind of language and phrasing today. And so it just, that's one of the reasons why I kind of like the KJV. It just says it a certain way.

It doesn't say, for instance, the Scripture, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. It doesn't say, you're going to cry a little bit, but tomorrow you'll be fine. No, it says weeping may endure for a night. I want you to know this city is beautiful for situation. David was referring, ladies and gentlemen, David was referring to its elevation. It was an acknowledgement of its topographical and geographical elevation. He was saying it is situated, it literally beautiful. Beautiful for situation is referring to elevation. And if you go to Jerusalem, they will take you to a spot that has that beautiful elevated city in the background. And it'll take a picture of you with that beautiful for situation city behind you. The backdrop will be that holy city, that sacred city. But I want you to know that that elevation of Jerusalem naturally is just a reflection of what this city is spiritually.

I want you to understand, ladies and gentlemen, hear me, hear me. We have not come unto the mount that did burn with blackness and darkness and tempest. We have not come unto that old Jerusalem. We have come to Mount Zion, to the city of our God, to a heavenly Jerusalem. Hallelujah to the spirits of just man made perfect. To an innumerable company of angels. We are an elevated city. You need to know who you are. You're not Babylon. You're not Cairo. You're not Constantinople. You're not Alexandria, Egypt. You're not New York City. You're not San Francisco. You are that holy city. You are that holy is where all the nations of the earth can come. This is where the teaching of peace abounds. This is where people are healed. This is where minds are restored. This is where lives are put back together. It's the church. It's the church. It's the general assembly in charge of the first form.

Jesus warned us that the city, the Gentiles, would try to tread it down. And I want you to know Jabuse. Jabuse. This is Jerusalem, not Jabuse. But the Jebusites want to turn it into Jabuse. And the thing about the Jebusites that's different than the others is that you can live with the Jebusites. Now we've overcome some things. Parisites, Hivites, Hittites. We've overcome Amorites, Canaanites. We've overcome false doctrines. We've overcome heresies. We've overcome so many ungodly doctrines of devils. And I thank God for it every day. But we've got to drive out the Jebusites. And I'm speaking spiritually, ladies and gentlemen, because the spirit of this age would love to creep up into the church. We can't let it creep up into the church because it'll make this a trodden down city. And this is not a trodden down city. This is an elevated city.

Jesus was talking to his disciples and they said, Lord, tell us who is the greatest in the kingdom? Your kingdom is coming. We can feel it. It's coming. And we've got some questions. Who are your lieutenants going to be? And who are your generals going to be? Who's going to be on the left hand and on the right hand? And who among us is going to be the greatest that Jesus said, stop all of that. What are you doing? He said, you're acting like the Gentiles. He said, you're acting like the Jebusites. You're trying to make this city trodden down. It's not about who gets elected to what. It's not about who holds what title. It's not about who holds what position. It's not about who gets what promotion. It's not about who gets famous or not. He said, you want to know who the greatest in the kingdom is? The servant of all. That's who the greatest in the kingdom is? The servant of all. You better hear me. This whole thing is going to pass away.

But his word shall not pass away. You better learn how to serve and love and bless and be a blessing. You better learn how to lose yourself and give glory to... They were all... No, nobody wanted to grab a towel and start washing feet. That would be such a... This is the demeaning inferiority to acknowledge. So they all walk in and they're all waiting for some poor soul to grab the towel. None of them wanted to do it. You know who did it? You know who did it? You know who did it? The great I am did it. The altogether lovely did it. The good shepherd did it. Science righteous governor did it. You know who did it? The alpha and the omega did it. You know who did it? El Shaddai did it. El Yon did it. El Ohim did it. Jehovah Jiret did it. Jehovah Jiret grabbed the towel. Your service city. The first shall be last. And the last shall be first. In the elevator city. The faith of a child you're not going. Don't you listen.

Don't you let this church be trodden down with envy. Don't you let this church be trodden down with fleshly competition. Don't you let this church be trodden down with political aspirations. Don't you let this church be trodden down with selfish pursuits and vain glory and unholiness. Unholiness. Unholiness. Don't you let this church be trodden down. It's an elevated city. It's a city on a hill that cannot be hid. You can be seated. Faith is a substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. For by the elders obtained a good report through faith. We understand that the world's reframed by the word of God. By faith able offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice that came. By faith ennep was translated that he should not see death without faith that is impossible to please God. For he that comeeth to him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

By faith hallelujah Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet was moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house. By faith Abraham went looking for a city that hath foundations. Whos builder and maker is God. He was looking for the church. Through faith Sarah also herself received strength to conceive seed and bring forth the sun. These all died in faith. Not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country and truly if they had been mindful of that country from which they had come out they might have had opportunity to have returned but now they desire a better country. Wherefore. And so John the revelator is asked the question. Hey come on up here. I want to show you something. You want to see something? Come up here.

I want to show you listen I've shown you. I have shown you. The lamb who is worthy to open the books and loose the seals thereof. I have shown you the lamb in the midst of the throne. I want to show you the lambs folks we have a revelation of the lamb. God wants to show us. The lambs wife. That's us. John I want you to see the lambs wife. We know all about the lambs. Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. You don't know the lamb if you don't know his wife. So John said I want to see her and the angel of the Lord said to see her you got to be elevated. Come with me up into a great and high mountain. He goes up into a great and high mountain and says there she is. John looked upon that holy city. She was a new Jerusalem. What makes sense why David said welcome out Zion. Her towers. Mark well her bull works. Because she is speaking a language in this earth about something coming in the heaven.

The lambs wife look at her. How beautiful and John said I saw her. She was a holy city. He said there was no sun there. There was no moon there. There was no need of the sun of the moon. The lamb was the light there. He said the city lieeth four square. Four square dimension of the city is what elevates the city. He described it. He said the length and the breadth of it are equal. The length and the breadth are the exact same dimension. Then he said the height the wall was 144 cubits high. It's 12 times 12. Then he said the depth was 12 foundations deep. And upon each foundation was the name of one of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb. So there were 12 names upon 12 foundations and other 12 times 12. The exact dimensions the length the breadth the height the depth. There's another place where the scripture in the New Testament tells us about the length the breadth the height the depth. It was the Apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus.

He said let me tell you about these four dimensions. He said I write unto you because I want you to be rooted and grounded in love. The dimensions the length the breadth the height the depth are the love of God. That's what they are. That's what elevates the city ladies and gentlemen. I want you to be rooted and grounded in love. I want you to comprehend with all saints what is the length the breadth the height the depth. I want you to know the love of God which passive knowledge. I want you to be filled with all the fullness of God. And you know what he says happens after that he says now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask. Or they want you to know that the four dimensions the four square dimensions of this elevated city. The four dimensions of the love of God. Here they are the first dimension of his love is linear. It's just length. It's he loves you. Full stop. That is the length of this city.

He loves you like a line. There is no speech no language in all the earth where their line is not speech is not heard because their line go with forth. It is linear. It is length. It is just forever. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. And Paul said I want you to be rooted and grounded in love. I want you to know beyond the shadow of a doubt. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me. That's why we bring our children into the Sunday school class and we sit them down and we give them a little fruit punch and some animal crackers and we say, Now you repeat after me. Yes. Jesus loves me. Sing it with me now. Yes. Jesus loves me. You hear me children. Everybody's saying yes. Jesus loves me. For the Bible tells me so. I'm going to tell you something. There have been too many people who have tried to live in Jerusalem without that foundation of the city. And it is you can't live with the Jebusite.

You've got to drive out that spirit that says he doesn't love you. We want you to know it when you're in the hospital waiting room waiting for test results. He loves me. We want you to know it when you made the worst mistake of your life. And you're scared to come back to church because you're not sure what people will think of you. You let it resonate in your mind right here right now. Yes. Jesus loves me. It is the first first dimension of the city. But I want you to know that's the length. The breath is equal to it. The width of it is equal to it. The width of it is when it spreads out. It's his love for us. But it's spread out as we love each other. It's the second dimension of this elevated city. And it is. And it spreads out. It is love for others. It is love for your neighbor. It is love for your brother. It is love for your sister. It is love for your enemy. It is love for them who despitefully use you.

It is love for them who persecute you. I'm just telling you the dimensions of this city. And we can't be the church we're supposed to be until we get it line upon line. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Here a little, there a little, here a little. And not love one another. Too many times we try to be the church and not love the lost. Too many times we try to be the church and not forgive. And when you do, you wipe out part of the second dimension of this city. It lies a four square. And the third dimension of this city is his love for us as the first. God called it first love. That's why he told the church of Ephesus. You have left your first love and because you have, I'll remove that candlestick unless you repent. Because you got to have that first dimension, he loves me. And that second dimension, I love you because he loves me. He gave me love wherewith to love you. He loves us, we love each other.

The third dimension is we love him. This is where obedience comes. This is where submission comes. This is where holy and righteous living comes. We love him. This is the love of God. That we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous. The third dimension is we love him. These are three dimensions. These are the spatial dimensions of the church when we operate. He loves us, we love each other and we love him. These are the commandments, the two commandments upon which all the law and the prophets hang. They hang on it because it's spatial dimensions. It is a structure upon which they can hang. But scientists will tell you that there's a fourth dimension. There's not just three dimensions of space, there's a fourth dimension of time. And the fourth dimension of time and space, they're kind of connected. Scientists call it a space time. And it kind of goes like this.

You know, we knew, somebody told you that if you will meet at East Wind Pentecostal Church, if you'll meet at this, when they gave you the address, they were giving you the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. And when you got here, you knew that somebody was going to be up on this platform singing and preaching. We were going to be elevated. There was going to be height to what we were doing. And you knew if you came in and we stood up here, that you were going to have the experience that was promised to you, and you knew when to be here. If you'd have been here today at 3.30, we would have missed each other. But all four dimensions had to be operating for us to meet at this place right here, right now. You had to know where to go. You had to know when to be here. And you had to know where to go when you got here. This is the space time. This is the four dimensions that allow things to function.

And that's the way the church operates. This elevated city operates in a space time, spiritually. And the three dimensions of this are, he loves us, we love each other, we love him. But the fourth dimension is so vitally important. It is Paul called it depth, John called it depth. Scientists would call it time. How does depth become time and time become depth? How is that compatible? You have to know what that word depth means. When you look at what that word depth means, it means profound. Profound. So if you were to say the preaching today this morning and last night and yesterday, this preaching of this conference, you could say the messages, they were, they had such depth to them. You could also say they were profound and you would be saying the same thing. The way that that word depth and that word profound relate to time is found in the etymology of the word profound.

It means profound or pre-found or before-found or before-foundation. When he talks about the depth of this city, he is referring to before the foundation of the world. From the foundation it is profound. There is depth to what we're doing. Now let me take you back to before the foundation of the world and let me tell you what happened. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world and began. The logos of God had a plan. Now let's, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. That's the profound. That's the pre-found. That's the before-found. That's the depth of this city. Now let's jump back to the book of Revelation and look at the Lamb. What is the Lamb? The Lamb is the light. No sun, no moon, just lamp. I'm going to tell you that's why everything up there is transparent. The rivers transparent, the walls are transparent, the streets are transparent.

Everything in that city is transparent and you and I will be transparent. That's why we're like gold tried in the fire. He is stripping us of us and turning us into his image. So that when people look at us, they don't see us, they see the Lamb. The profound depth of this city is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 21, we understand that the Lamb is the light. Hallelujah. So let's go back to before the foundation of the world. Let's take a good look at this Lamb. Where's the light? The earth was without form and void. Darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be that moment is when in the logos of God the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. I want you to understand when he said, let there be light, that word let there be is the same word he used with Moses when he said, haia. Moses said, who shall I say has sent me?

Tell them haia. Tell them I am has sent you. Let there be light is the word haia. Let there be haia. He was literally saying I am light. It is the identity of God that illuminates the world. They say that in the speed of light there is no distance and no time. No time and no distance in the speed of light. It is the fastest speed known to man. It is a cosmic speed limit as scientists would say. The scientists would say that you could never reach the speed of light because if you did you would be infinite. Say that a photon that is emitted from the sun takes eight minutes to come to the earth from the earth's perspective. But from the photon's perspective there is zero distance and there is zero time that elapses. So the question becomes from which vantage point are you observing things? From the vantage point of the earth or from the vantage point of the light? Because I'm going to tell you something.

We are to walk in the light as he is in the light. You are the darkness. Into this marvelous light. In him was life. And the life was the light of man. Ladies and gentlemen here's what happens in the elevator city. We are not to be trodden down. We are to be elevated. Listen to the elevated language of the scriptures. Lift up your heads though ye gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors. And the king of glory shall come in. When you see these things begin to come to pass. Look up for your redemption draweth nigh. I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from which comeeth my health. The dead in Christ shall rise first. The dead shall be raised incorruptible. If that spirit which raised Christ from the dead. It's an elevated city. The only thing preventing me from walking in the absolute perfect light as I am destined to walk is this natural body. It's the only thing that holds me on this earth.

I'm going to tell you when this corruptible puts on incorruption. When this mortal puts on immortality. When that happens there's not going to be any distance. And there's not going to be any time it's going to happen in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye at the last trump the trumpets shall strike. We will enter with no restriction with no holds barred. We will enter. It's a spatial dimension. Three dimensions. He loves us. We love each other. We love him. That's the place. He said where I am there you shall be. We got to get the space right. We know the space. Now we have to operate in the context of time. When is time? I am where I am there you may be. B. What I've come to tell you is that all we're waiting for we got to get these three dimensions right. And the fourth dimension is simply the dimension of time. And the time is here it is ready. I'm going to tell you what time. The time is now. Now is the time. I'm stepping listen.

Listen scientists call it the speed of light. But John calls it Godspeed. I bid you Godspeed. When you enter into Godspeed. Listen. I can enter into Godspeed even while I'm in this natural body. I'm going to tell you how I do it. I enter into prayer. Hallelujah. Bishop Hale when I enter into prayer. I'm traveling at Godspeed. I'm darting around. I'm all over the place. I'm all over the place. Brother here I go to Europe in Godspeed. Brother Robinette I go to Africa in Godspeed. I pray for missionaries. I'll bow my knees at this altar. And I pray for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost in Christ. How? Because I'm traveling. I bid you Godspeed. Godspeed. I bow my knees in prayer. And I can go 15 years back. And I can pray over things that happened 15 years ago and say God heal it. God heal it. God put oil. Put balm on it right now. Touch hearts that are broken. I can travel should the Lord tarry in Godspeed. I can pray over my grandchildren.

And I can say Lord should you tarry. And they're 20, 30 and 40 years old. Be with them in the name of Jesus. Put a hedge of protection around them in the name of Jesus. I'm in the light. There's a country far beyond the starry sky. There's a city where the lamb is the light. I'm a mansion over there. It's free from... Lamb is the light. I wonder if there's somebody here right now that can lift up your hands under heaven. Come on, elevated city. Come on, elevated city. Beautiful. First situation. Holy, heavenly, elevated city. It's time to step out from the jebysites. It's time to get out from another foothole. It's time to walk in the light as he is in the light. I want you to hear me now. I want you to hear me real quick. I'm coming to a close, but this is important. I want you to hear me. I'm coming to a close, but this is important. When he said, let there be light, that was the lamb. Slain from the foundation of the world.

From the perspective of light, it happened right then. That's why he could say, before Abraham was, I am. And I go to prepare a place that where I am there, you may be. He was all in all. From the perspective of the light, there's no distance and there's no time. But from the very beginning of the foundation of the world, let there be light. Boom. In the logos of God, lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He spoke it at the beginning, but it took 4,000 years for time to catch up. What does that mean? Listen to me. I'm going to tell you what that means. What is time? Why did God create it? Here's why God created time. The Bible calls it a space of grace. You are not predetermined to serve God. He wants you. He wills that no man should perish. But your salvation is not predetermined. Your salvation is not predestined. He spoke it all from the very beginning. What time is? Time is a space of grace for you to decide.

Do you want what he has prepared? It's already done. It's already finished. No distance, no time in God's eyes. It's already done. The holy city is already in place. Everything is waiting. The feast is made ready. The marriage supper of the lamb is ready. The space of grace. God created the day from the night of the hours. Notice the 24 hours, the 12 and the 12, the 7 days a week. Don't you see? It's all coordinating with the holy scriptures. It's a creation of God. And it is a space of grace. It is a place that God created where you can decide if you want what he already has prepared. People are dying every day and going to hell. Making the wrong decision. And I've come to tell you, he gave time as a space of grace. But hear me. Hear me well. Time is running out. And midnight is fast approaching. And the bridegroom is coming. And you better make up in your mind that I'm going to get in the church and I'm going to stay in the church.

And he is staying in the city. Preaching, I'm done preaching. Somebody lift up your hands right now and say, God, I'm staying. I want to get in the city and stay in the city.