Perpetual Backsliding | Rev Toufic Azar

when i spoke with bishop a couple of months ago about being here with you all tonight i felt like god laid this message on my heart and in prayer just felt strongly about it and with the help of the lord i want to feel like i want to go in this direction i want to ask you if you can please go with me to the book of philippians chapter 3 and verse 12. this is the apostle paul writing to the church and he made the statement not as though i had already attained either were already perfect but i follow after if that i may apprehend that for which also i am apprehended for christ jesus brethren i count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing i do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before i press toward the mark for the price of the high calling of god in christ jesus amen with the help of the lord i want to preach from this thought tonight about perpetual backsliding perpetual backsliding if you can please put your bibles down lift your hands with me toward heaven help me pray one more time lord we feel your presence so strong in this place we ask you that you administer to our hearts let your anointing flow with no limits we need you we completely depend on you and give you all the glory and all the honor and all the praise in jesus name we pray in jesus name amen and please be seated god has always had a plan god had a plan from the book of genesis for his people and this plan as you read unfolded through his promises that he gave abraham isaac and jacob when i tell you tonight nothing takes god by surprise god does not have to respond to situations as a matter of fact god knows the end from the beginning amen god does not respond but everything works out according to his plan and as you read throughout the old testament god had a plan for israel had a plan for the sacrifices that they have given had a plan for the temple had a plan for god's people and every time god's people lived according to plan amen they were they benefited from god's blessings and miraculous in their lives amen something that god had commanded them amen that that there always should be fire at the altar some one of the god's plan for his for his temple god god's always been a god of fire god love to have fire in his place amen the bible clearly speaks to us throughout the scriptures that when we step from the old testament into the new testament and we see god's plan really for the church amen it was i don't i don't really believe that the apostles completely comprehended god's plan for them beside them just stay in jerusalem and wait until you receive power from on high amen and so they were obedient to god's commandment and and they have re they have followed this commandment and the bible tells us when they get to the upper room there they waited they waited on god day one day two they stayed until the the day of pentacles on the day of pentecost the bible tells us when when that day was fully come they were all in one accord and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house that they were seeing that was something not typical for judaism that was not something typical for the old testament it was not something typical that they have ever experienced before but it was a new era that god was was bringing his people into and so god's plan for the new testament church was a plan that ought to be born through the fire it was his will where people come to god that they'll have that that fire on the inside burning on the inside of them and so god's plan was for you to come together wait until you received on power from on high and when they got to the place suddenly there was a move of god that's why i've learned a long time ago to expect god to move suddenly sometimes amen we try to set the stage and sometimes we try to do things but i've learned a long time ago that god can move on monday morning god can move on tuesday i love wednesday night because god surprised us wednesday night god can move at any moment and when god moves he's a sovereign god he can do anything hallelujah amen and so the bible tells us that amen that when that sound has taken place there was a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house and there appeared unto them clever tongues like as of fire amen and it set upon each and every one of them and the bible says and they were all filled with the holy ghost and something happened they started speaking another tongue as the spirit gave them an utterance it was the will of god for his church to be baptized in his spirit it was the will of god for his church to be full of fire it was the will of god for his church to speak another tongue something that they have not been known or experienced before but it was something new that was god's plan amen god was with his people he was with the church and most of the people at that time prior to pentecost they didn't really understand what it is to be full of the holy ghost or to be full of god's fire and to speak in tongues as the spirit gave them the utterance now the bible tells us in mark matthew 3 and 11 john made this statement he said i indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he that comes after me is mightier than me i'm not worthy to bear in his shoes but he shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire hallelujah and so it's the will of god when god when someone comes to the lord as you all know and someone turns his life around it is the will of god for god to baptize them with fire hallelujah it's the will of god for people to catch on fire now let me tell you something about this world this world is dark this world is cold this world is self-centered this world has no life in it this world is chasing toys and chasing things amen but there is something about the church the church is different the church that god planted it's a church that has something alive on the inside of it something that you can come and step into and feel the power of god on the inside hallelujah i love teaching i love preaching i love the word of god you know why i love it because just like jeremiah said the word of the lord was to me like a burning fire inside of me it was like fire shut up in my bone oh hallelujah and the reason why is is because god is a consuming fire hallelujah and it's not that that god god is a god of judgment or revenge no no don't don't misunderstand me tonight when the bible says that god is a consuming fire that tells me that it's impossible for you to get into his presence to touch him to get close to him without catching on fire oh hallelujah any moment you start worship him the fire falls anytime you you go close to him you feel that fire hallelujah are you thankful to be apostolic tonight are you thankful to be pentecostal tonight are you thankful that you were filled with the holy ghost are you thankful that you spoke on danke when god baptized you with the spirit hallelujah now there is something beautiful there is something beautiful amen that what when the fire came into the church when these men were filled with fire they were filled with boldness they were filled with passion they were filled with signs they were filled with miracles i want to tell you often the reason why we don't have miracles is we don't have fire oh hallelujah i want to tell you something about when you catch on fire you don't have to really bend the arm of god to get a miracle i believe just god moves sovereignly god can come and the fire falls anything can happen hallelujah we live in a part of the world where things are dark they say every six hours in our city someone is committing suicide in beirut every every day and a half approximately somebody is being overdosed on drugs people are with no hope we have about 70 to 80 percent of people in lebanon that they are out of work there is darkness and you walk around there is no not one person smiling in our city people lost everything that they have done there is just a darkness that happens over that place but let me tell you what's happening there somehow somewhere they walk into a little church right there called the apostolics of beirut and before you know it they feel something they feel something not from this world you know what it is it's the fire of the holy ghost and before you know it they're approaching god god is filling them with the holy ghost god is giving them hope because that's what the fire comes it gives you hope it gives you miracles it lets you know that god is real and god loves you and god will help you and god can move in your life hallelujah amen that's what i told my son i said jacob we're going to be gone to the states he said dad what would you like for me to do i said son you just keep the fire going you just keep that fire burning whatever you gotta do keep the fire because the fire will keep the presence of god hallelujah amen amen and you remember you remember when god filled us with the holy ghost i don't know about you when i was filled with the holy ghost man tears were flowing out of my eyes there were people there in the church that i did not know i was hugging everybody i loved everybody there was nuts coming out tears coming down i didn't care i loved people amen i had such a passion for god passion for the church i couldn't wait till church opened i can't wait to be in the prayer room i can't wait to speak in tongues i can't wait to feel god i was so full of the holy ghost that man i just couldn't wait hallelujah my wife will go home put a tape there back in the days of the tape we just want to listen to more preaching we just want to have more worship we just want to have more praise there was never a time when i was giving an altar call i was there before they even the preacher stopped oh hallelujah there was something in my heart i wanted to worship god because i loved him because i loved that fire i loved that fire it broke chains in my life it turned my life around it gave me reason to live it made me holy it made me clean that's the will of god that's god's plan you tell me you tell me brother what's god's plan i'll tell you exactly what it is for you to be full on fire to be full of the holy ghost amen before you do anything for god you are a stay until you're full of the holy ghost you gotta pursue being on fire for god because the battle is it's not just after your soul ultimately amen it is it is ultimately after your show but it starts with the fire in your heart the devil knows that if he can get the fire out out of our lives that he would have given us no reason to live amen if he can get that fire to quip to be queens then you have no drive no desires and you are not in the place where god wanted you to be god wanted his church to be in pentecost god wanted his church to re to remain in a place where there is signs and wonders and miracles to take place the bible tells us that in in mark 16 and 17 these signs shall follow them that they believe in my name they shall cast out devils they shall speak with new tongues you know what happened when you cast out devils man people are set free hallelujah you changed the atmosphere of the city amen i truly believe it i believe that our church in lebanon is changing the atmosphere of our city hallelujah when as long as the fire is burning devils has to flee oh hallelujah and he said you shall lay your hands on the sick and they shall recover something beautiful about the fire that it will perform miracles hallelujah it will help you to do miracles and that's where god's intended for the church to be amen something that i've learned about god that there's no neutral place in him you don't just get into a place you got the holy ghost and then you get to settle down you you don't either you're moving forward or you're going backward you cannot get a place in the church or in the kingdom of god where you're just neutral you're in a dangerous place when you get neutral you know why right what's after neutral is going backward hallelujah there is no such thing where you can just be content with where you're at something i have learned that something about fire you you gotta keep on feeding it you gotta keep on putting things in it oh hallelujah and we're living in a time where people get used to things they get used to the place because life sometimes try to quench that fire out of us and things happens in our life amen there is a place and a condition that god wanted his church to be this place and condition wise is for his church to be at a place where there is their own fire for him and there is no question about it amen the bible tells us and this is where the israel struggled so much in their lives is that they struggled with with perpetual backsliding amen if i can speak to you a little bit about it people don't backslide overnight now i am a missionary but i'm a pastor of a church and we deal with people and i understand and i've been around that i can tell you that people don't backslide overnight they don't commit sin just out of the blue they don't walk on god just because amen they made a decision no no no it happened long way before that you even see it trees don't fall just suddenly but but there is something that's eating them on the inside that's causing them a man to die from the inside before they die on the outside hallelujah amen backsliding takes place when people start losing the the temperature that they're supposed to have and you tell me pastor well as long as i have some some heat i'm all right you're wrong brother amen you cannot you cannot unless you're you're hot unless you're burning you might be lukewarm lukewarm it won't do it for god that's why it's gonna take it if we're gonna be the church of the 21st century is gonna take a church that's on fire it's a church that's pursuing the fire oh hallelujah don't don't you be upset at a missionary because he's preaching to you tonight about being on fire for god but i want to tell you what the holy ghost has laid on my heart you've got to have that fire burning on the inside of you you got to go way back to where god filled you with the holy ghost amen amen backsliding literally means going back or giving up it means slipping or losing a place or a position from once someone had and i believe the place that god had us all in is the place where god filled us with the holy ghost anything less i've backslid anything less from the day that god filled me with the holy ghost anything less that i lose that passion and that desire for god a pax led oh listen to me tonight you don't have to go out and commit sin and do crazy things right away but it starts with perpetual backsliding slow here and little here little here and leave it there until you finally find you lost your drive and you lost your fire and you lost your purpose and you lost it amen you wonder where is god i don't feel god can i tell you you can always feel god when you have fire in your heart hallelujah the only thing that can keep you from feeling god is sin oh hallelujah the only thing that can keep you from feeling god is carnality it's the flesh but the moment you open your heart god is so there god is everywhere god is ready to baptize you with the holy ghost amen the brother came to me a while back he said pastor i don't feel god i said brother it's sin don't tell me that god you cannot feel him hallelujah it doesn't take much you right there lift your hands you feel him if that that faucet is open you can feel him and if you don't feel him he will feel you backsliding amen louis means losing ground or a status losing influence or a position losing grounds and sometimes the devil knows that he cannot get you to to to to do crazy things but if he can let you lose the place where god put you he won and i'll tell you what i told our church our church is on the move we want to gain ground the moment that we lose the fire in our church i tell them we backslid let me tell you what's happening when people backslide the number one you find in the bible they lose their first love hallelujah you know what i'm talking about you remember when when god filled you with the holy ghost how you're just so full of love you love the church you love your pastor you love the word of god you love worship you love there's that passion for god i tell you when people backslide when they lose that first love when things becomes calming to them where they can get be used to the things that they are there amen one of the other signs is when prayer life becomes less people backslide when their prayer life becomes less less fervent less sincere oh hallelujah you know how i measure my fire by the prayer that i pray but the desire that i have for god for the prayer room and i thank god for for wonderful worship and praise but i'll tell you i long for prayer rooms there is something special when you step into that prayer room there is so much fire there and i've told you i'll tell you what we learned we learned that our saturday nights our prayer meeting in beirut on saturday night is going to affect the whole day on sunday oh you're not hearing me tonight i said prayer prayer meeting that you put in is going to affect the rest of everything that you do and people backslide because their prayer becomes less amen someone said backsliding becomes one serving becomes more important than having a relationship with him when your relationship with jesus is no more that the thing that you long to and then you pray but that you're not investing in that relationship hallelujah if you love him you stay close to him if you love him you'll serve him if you love him you'll spend time with him if you really love him amen you'll do whatever it takes for him hallelujah when you love him you will invest in that relationship with him he's on your mind in the morning he's on your mind during the day he's on your mind in the evening he's on your mind when you want to do things god what would make you happy i want to make you happy amen the bible tells us in luke 10 and 41 martha was busy doing a lot of things but jesus told her there's one thing that's needful you just stay around me because when you stay around me you're going to have that fire on the inside of you something happens when people backslide as they become self-righteous preaching and teaching becomes offensive to them hallelujah and i tell you this is this is something i don't ever get into that place in my heart i want to tell you when the preaching and the word of god goes out god forbid that i feel like man i'm so good enough i don't need that oh i need it i need i need the word of the lord i need someone to push me closer to god i need someone to speak into my heart i want some i don't want any all the time somebody tapping me on the back tell me how good i am i need somebody to tell me the truth i need somebody to challenge me to greater things in god oh hallelujah that's why you know you're not backslid when preaching like this makes you understand makes you want to jump oh hallelujah and something i've learned about backsliding backsliding amen will give you a self-justification it's just self-justifying spirit the bible says in jeremiah 3 and 11 lord sent unto them the backslidden israel has justified herself you start justifying your action you just start justifying your situation you just start justifying the time that you need the time off and i i i don't know but you know what we we we face we're fighting devils we're fighting a roaring lion that's that's wanting to destroy our homes and our family and our children that want to hinder the works of god we're fighting evil and wicked spirit and i don't know i cannot afford i cannot afford to be to be loose or or just lose on certain things we like to take times off we took three days off but i'll tell you it seems like all the world and all of troubles came from every side because we are fighting the real thing we are fighting for our families we are fighting for our church we are fighting for the work of god the bible tells us about king david you can imagine you read the stories we we we speak so much about him you're such a great worshiper he wrote most of the psalms he was he was he was a man that would dance with all his might for the lord you know why because he was on fire for god you know the man would not make a move until he heard from the lord he had that kind of relationship with god when god said i shall i pursue god would say pursue shall i stop you stop he has such a relationship with the lord when it came to sacrifices the man didn't just gave everything for the lord he loved god he loved god passionately he fought for the lord he fought for god's people but after several years of fighting wars the bible says he came to a time when he justified taking the time off and i'm not talking about taking a vacation getting a retreat no we all do that but i'll tell you where the danger comes the danger comes is when you feel like man i used to pray like that i used to fast i used to put on a fast a day or two or several days so i used to be on fire and i have gained some ground with the lord i have some experiences and i don't need to do that anymore i just let my wife pray i just let my children pray i just let my pastor pray i just let somebody else do the things that i'm supposed to be doing and i'll tell you this is when people backslid without even knowing it and they justify their old experiences and the battles they fought before to say well you know what i don't need to have to do all of that oh i want to tell you tonight more than anything we're fighting flesh we're fighting criminality we're fighting laziness we're fighting spirits from hell we're fighting things that they are coming against us oh and the moment that you feel like i gotta put my sword down the moment you feel like i don't have to be the person that god wants me to be the moment that i don't feel under to be on the front pills on the front battles for god this is the time that you decided to take a couple of steps back your backslid the bible tells us in second samuel 11-1 and it came to pass after the years that was expired at the time at the time when kings go forth to battle there was an appointed time where kings had to be ready and listen they would spend all winters getting ready and i wonder tonight if anybody getting ready are you getting ready for what god want to do in your family in your life in your church in your city oh hallelujah when everybody is supposed to be ready david sent joab and his servant with him and all israel and they destroyed the children of ammon and besieged rabbah but david teared still at jerusalem at the time when king's supposed to go to war he decided i don't need to i prayed enough i fasted enough i fought enough i've been in church for 20 years i'm used to it i know the ins and outs and that's exactly what happened with david the bible tells us in verse 2 and it came to pass in the evening tide that david arose from of his bed and he was supposed to be in the tent in the front of the battle but he stayed home the story goes on he walked on the roof of the king's house and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself and the woman was very beautiful to look upon don't you tell me that the devil is not going to set you up oh he's planning it he's preparing it he's working on it he's setting the stage and he knows the moment you put your guards down amen this is when he moves and he set the stage so he can bring you down amen the bible tells us you all know the story he lusted after that woman he committed fornication with the woman he ended up killing her husband lying committing murder you know why because he was not on the front battle because he was not where he's supposed to be don't you tell me you can afford to miss a prayer meeting you're wrong don't tell me you can afford to miss a church service you're wrong don't tell me you can afford just to sit down in a worship you're wrong don't tell me that you're strong enough and spiritual enough that you can handle things you're wrong you're wrong oh hallelujah the devil knows how to set you up can i tell you can i tell you tonight that david did not backslid when he fornicated with bathsheba he did not backslid when he killed mariah he did not backslid when he lied he backslid when he stayed from the battle this is when this is when things start going backwards backward and it goes so backward you don't even know it and you cannot even stop it hallelujah that's something i've learned about perpetual backsliding you cannot stop it sometimes you don't even know which direction you're going until you have fallen so deep because you let your guards down because you lost the fire because you lost the purpose because you are not where you're supposed to be oh hallelujah the bible tells us amen that they have gone to every high mountain and that's what happened in jeremiah 3 and 6 and the lord said unto the days of josiah the king has now seen that which backslid in israel has done she's gone up up upon every high mountain under every green tree and that has played the harlot high mountains are a resemblance for for idols getting into our life where things becomes more important than church when games becomes more more important than church when family functions becomes more important than church when jobs becomes more important at church hallelujah oh hallelujah man it feel i'm going to say it one more time i'm going to tell you anything that between will be between you and god is an idol that will come between you and the presence of god is an idol anything that you put before church and worship and prayer meeting and praise it's an idol don't tell me you're going up to a height no no no no you don't understand that's when people backslide he saw israel sacrificing for idols on the high mountain but they were supposed to be in jerusalem the bible says under every green tree you know what green tea tree is it's a false advertisement for success when it tells you now that you've got to compromise your conviction for the sake of success and growth your back's riding i don't know i i read about this church in the book of acts it was born in the fire it was born with people receiving the fire you know what we've learned we've learned in the middle east all what we need is a little fire a little fire that will change people that will make muslims believe that there is one god and his name is jesus lit a fire that will let them know there is something different about these people oh if you stand with me tonight this is what the bible says matthew 12 and 20. he said a bruise reads shall he not break and smoking flax shall he not quench something that i love about god that even if we are just have a litter smoking flax god can take that and he will blow from his spirit on it and he will make it alive several years ago it was the first time in my life i go camping and i loved it for some reason we never been back we can't go camping in lebanon but maybe you can but you know what i've learned i went with this family i went camping with them the first thing they did is they got some woods together and they got a fire going we got that fire and as we said they put the things they made coffee the wall what we did we sat around that fire and the night came they just put more wood in there and they just kept the fire going all night we went to sleep and the fire was going you know what there is something beautiful you can rest where there's fire and you don't have to worry about backslide you don't have to worry about the devil taking advantage in you if you just keep that fire going if you just keep throwing amen you know you know what i do to get the fire going i will praise i will worship if i have to run the ass i'll run the eyes if i have to praise him i'll do whatever i can to keep that fire going and i believe tonight i believe that the holy ghost is going to flame some fire in this place i believe that god wants to breathe into someone let that fire get back get back in your heart get back in your home one of the greatest remedies for problems at home is fire you know what god called us the book of revelation 5 and 10 he said and has made us unto our god kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth kings you're a king that's why there's so much of responsibility on the fathers of this place i believe it is my personal responsibility to keep the fire burning in my home so i can keep my children safe i believe it is my personal responsibility that my children hear my cry and hear my tears and see my worship and i've got to be real in my home before i'm real at church because i'm a kings and i'm supposed to be in the forefront not my children not my wife me oh hallelujah when kings are supposed to to go to battles where are you isn't it amazing isn't it amazing how a little fire in your home will drive out strife and problems drive up the spirit of confusion and the worldliness you just put on girl fashion prayer you keep on praying in your house you see how your marriage gets get better your relationships get better oh hallelujah can i tell you you'll do a whole lot of amen i don't believe you need counseling if you just put on some good old-fashioned prayer meeting and allow the holy ghost to move you'll save your pastor and your assistant pastor so much time you just pray if you just can't jump fire if you lift your hands with me tonight i came all the way from lebanon with that burden on my heart that god wanna want somebody to catch on fire tonight i came with a word to tell you there's a danger in perpetual backsliding oh god take me back take me back to that altar take me back to that place when i first was filled with the holy ghost take me back when i saw vision and dreams take me back when i felt your fire and your presence so strong in my life take me back god oh hallelujah if you don't have the holy ghost tonight i want to encourage you to walk out of this piece and come to the front and say lord i want that fire i want a reason i want a purpose in my life i believe the lord will fill you with the holy ghost tonight if you're dry if you're thirsty if you're hungry if you desire to get back to that place i challenge you tonight to leave your pew and walk to the front and say god i want to be on fire more than i've ever been before bring it back bring back more of your experience in my life bring back your voice in my heart bring back your flame and let your words be like burning fire like fire shut up in my bones hallelujah your church needs you your family needs you we need you to be on fire for god the lord needs you that's it as you reach out to him close everything around you and tap into that consuming fire of the lord let the spirit come one more time speak in tongues baptize me lord one more time