If anyone hasn't noticed I took off to New York City for 4 days from last friday to monday! I went to visit: Times Square Church (where David Wilkerson and Carter Conlon preaches) and to Brookyln Tabernacle (where Jim Cymbala preaches).I would like to share a few experiences I had:-When I got into NYC I was overwelmed with the magnitude of the city, even though I live in toronto which is a pretty big city. I seemed to me that there was almost a covering of spiritual darkness over the city. But what a light was shining in the midst of the downtown busyness and choactic flashing lights and noises stood times square church. It remarkably blends into the surrounding buildings but when you enter it you are brought into a seperate world.The busyness of the city is lost and the still quietness of Gods presence permeades the building. I heard David Wilkerson preach on the sunday morning and he was very bold to preach against the homosexuality (sodomy) in the city. As one person told me: 'Its seems in the last 2 years that the whole city is turning homosexual'. And also it was stated late at night as we were going through the downtown area of NYC: 'Everyone thought what Wilkerson said in his book the vision was abit off, but everything that he had said has been happening in New York'. That statement brought chills down my spine.I went to visit the 'Brookyln Tabernacle' in mid-sunday and I have to travel all the way up into a pretty bad part of brookyln. But amongst the danger of that area is a building that blends into the size of the building around it, with a simple 'Brooklyn Tabernacle' on the front. But when I entered it felt like I was going into the gates of heaven. There where huge beautiful murals of the psalms on either side of the long hallway going to the sanctuary. I went up the stairs into the balcony expecting a moderate size church, but when I got in I was shocked to see a massive sanctuary holding at least 2000-3000 people. I found a seat and when all the people stood up and began to sing it was very overwhelming what a foretaste of heaven! And when we sat down to hear the 200+ person choir sing I was almost brought to tears, it was so wonderful to hear people who God has transformed from the mouldings of the awful society outside of those doors and sing with such confidence and strength to God! When Jim Cymbala spoke it touched me tremoundsly, he said the most simple things like: "Isn't it intresting that the bible tells us to just read the bible but to obey it, not just to preach the rules to people but live it as a witness". The honesty and witness of this man seemed so powerful to me, I believe that he is so close to the will of God in his life and it was very encouraging to see.
