YouTube video tJofQZnvEyI

All right, everyone. We're so happy to have you guys here today. >> It's a beautiful day today.

>> Uh so, I'm just going to open up and start with just a few announcements that we have. We have uh church Bible studies or just group Bible studies happening at Canandor Coffee on uh this Tuesday. Scan that QR code to get all the information you need.

Uh it's just truly beautiful what happens in the in the in the coffee shop over there where we just just worship together and uh open up the scriptures. And uh the next thing we have is on May 10th is uh Mother's Day. We're going to be having a Mother's Day service with a guest speaker Brian Garin.

So we're really excited for that. Okay, I got nothing for that. And then we have communion service coming up May 24th.

Also a really exciting time since we've been really going through uh Exodus 12 and just really getting an understanding of of the the the power of the Passover and the body and the blood. So we're really excited for that service. And then baptism happening June 7th.

So if you guys are uh Yeah. Yeah. Praise the Lord.

[applause] If anyone is interested in taking baptism, we do have signups online. If you just go visit our website, you can sign up there. And last, we have church picnic happening July 25th.

That's an exciting one. [applause] I'm going to be the one on the grill, one of a few guys. So, I'm really thrilled and excited for that.

[laughter] Yeah. So, that's that's all we have for uh for uh the near future. I um going to start with just a little bit of a Bible study, I guess.

So bear with me. Um it won't be too long, but I just wanted to uh uh just talk about a certain topic that has been very very dear to me recently. My prayer uh recently has been very focused on a very certain topic.

And the Lord, he's been showing up every time I I I I I pray this prayer, every time I focus in this in this uh just area of scripture. And I truly just begin to see the hand of God in my life, especially recently when I really just begin to dive into this this topic of remembrance, topic of focusing on the faithfulness of God. And um it's just been really beautiful what God has been doing in my life recently.

Just in the past six months, I've been taking a really deep dive and just seeing remembrance in the scriptures. And uh something I I would want to open up is in uh Psalms 81. So if you have your Bibles, please open up with me.

And um it's just really beautiful. Recently, I've been going through the scriptures and I feel like the Lord has just been almost just calling me just remember me. Remember me.

Consider me. Remember me. remember my testimony.

[music] And I'm going to be reading out of Psalm uh 81 that is titled, "Oh, that my people would listen to me." I remember when I read first saw that uh that title, I was like, "All right, I'm all ears, Lord." And it's a very, very special psalm that I just really begin to dive into. And the context of it, it's a psalm written by Asaf, who begins by calling God's people to shout for joy, sing aloud to God, raise a psalm because of the way that God went over uh the land of Egypt and how with a strong mighty hand, he freed his people out of slavery. And so, Asaf, he begins with the call to God's people to remember and to celebrate what God has done.

And then you see in this psalm in verse six, there's almost like a change of tone where you see Asaf begins to speak the words of God that he hears. And you hear the Lord say [music] something that sounds like this. I relieved the shoulder of I relieved your shoulder of the burden which I I freed you from slavery.

In distress you called and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder which was on Mount Si. I tested you at the waters of Mebah.

Hear, oh my people, while I admonish you. And admonish is to warn, but with the intention to restore. Oh Israel, if you would but listen to me.

[music] And you see God, he's he's reaching out to his people with this open hand while mentioning all that he has done. And you wonder, why is there this weird mixture? Well, it's not so weird, but it's just this mixture of of history and God reaching out to his people because God, he he often reaches out to to his people through history and what he has done.

You you cannot separate God from what he has done. You cannot separate him from his history [music] of faithfulness. I mean, God literally met Moses at the burning bush and he said, "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, God of Jacob and Isaac." And he's basically saying, "I've got history with you." And only then Moses hid his face because he understood who he was talking to by hearing about the history of God.

And so you see Psalm 81, God reaches out to his people [music] with his hands stretched out and he has a history of faithfulness [music] that backs up his call to his people. And in the same way, you cannot separate Jesus from the cross and the history of what he has done. Because before you even knew Jesus, [music] he already stretched out his hand and he displayed his faithfulness.

[music] So that when he called out to you, he already had a history of faithfulness backed backing it up. And you see, God is constantly reaching out to his people through his faithfulness and through what he has done in in in his history. And that that is why we remember the Lord.

That is why in so much in scripture you hear the Lord [music] almost just crying out to his people. Oh, if you would but remember me, if you would just remember me. Because it's in the in the power of his testimony and in the remembrance of his testimony do we learn more about who he is.

And so I'd like to ask you to uh rise up on your feet as I read the promise of God in verse 10 of chapter 81. I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

There is a God who is the Lord, your God, who has displayed his faithfulness through his testimony. And his promise is that if you just remember me and if you just open your mouth wide to me, I will fill it. And I have a faithfulness and a history that backs that up in his mention of his history and what he has done.

So, I want us to to come into prayer today remembering the faithfulness of God. I believe that every single person in this place has a certain story, [music] a a a display of God's faithfulness in your life specifically. And God is saying that if you just open your mouth today in the midst of your struggle, in the midst of your pain, if you just open your mouth today, open wide, I will fill it because he's faithful.

And that is a promise. [music] So let's just begin to pray to the Lord in this moment. Remember the faithfulness of God.

Lord, we thank you. We thank you, Lord. With your own mouth, just begin to thank the Lord.

There's there's a only a prayer that you can pray. I can't pray for you. [music] We thank you, Jesus.

We thank you for your faithfulness, Lord. Lord, that if you did it once, you can do it again, Lord. [music] >> Open your mouth to the Lord.

Consider the Lord. Remember the Lord today, Lord. We remember you.

We remember you, Lord. >> Yes, [music] Lord. We thank you, Jesus, for the cross.

>> [music] >> Yes, Lord. We remember you. [music] >> We consider your cross, Lord.

We consider the body, Lord, and all that you endured on our behalf, Lord. We consider your faithfulness, Lord, and your hand that [music] you stretched out towards us that had a history of faithfulness. Lord, we thank you, Jesus, that we get to be here today [music] and that every one of us has a story of your faithfulness.

Lord, [music] we remember all that you have done in our lives, Lord. And we believe that you will continue to do it, Lord, in in greater measures, Lord. [music] Teach us to constantly remember you, Lord, to walk in remembrance of you, [music] Lord.

We don't want to continue remembering the history of of of our own past, [music] Lord. We want to remember the history of Christ. We want to remember the history of [music] your cross, Lord, and all that you endured on our behalf, Lord.

We are not victims to our own history, Lord. Our history of shame and guilt, Lord. We are victors by your cross, Lord, and in your testimony, Lord.

Thank you, Jesus. [music] >> [music] >> Lift up your voices to him. Satan is [music] worthy.

[singing] He's worthy. He's worthy. [music] >> [music] >> So worth [music] greatly to be praised.

Greatly to be praised. Greatly to be praised. [music] You are great to be praised.

to be free. [singing] We worship you Lord [music] your faithfulness. [music] God [music] of creation.

There [singing] at the start before [music] the beginning of time with no point of [music and singing] this spoke to the dark and flesh down the wonder [singing] of life. [music] and God [singing] of creation. And there [music] at the start before the beginning of time with no [music] point of reference, you spoke to the dark [music] and fleshed out [singing] the wonder of life.

[music] And as [music] you speak, 100 [music and singing] million galaxies have >> and the [music] vapor of your breath. The planets for [music] if the stars made [singing] worship so alive. [music] I can see [singing] your heart [music] and everything you've made.

Every burning [singing] star signal fire. [music] >> If creation sings [singing] your praises, so will I. So great [music] to be praised.

So [music] great to be praised. [music] >> God of [music and singing] your pro you don't speak in vain. [singing] No syllable empty or void.

For once [music] you have spoken. Oh nature and science [singing] follow the sound of your voice. [music] And as you speak, [music and singing] a h 100 million creatures [music] catch your breath.

>> Evolve [music and singing] in pursuit of what you said. >> If it all reveals [music] your nature, [singing] so will I. I can see [music] your heart [singing] and everything you say.

>> Every painted [music and singing] sky of your grace. [music] >> If creation still obeys you, so alive. [music] >> [music] >> So do I.

[music] How I worship you, Lord. [music] How I worship you, Lord. >> So will I.

[singing] >> If the stars [music] remain to worship, so will I. If the mountains bound in reverence, [music and singing] so alive. If the oions [music] roy your so alive.

For if [music] everything exists to lift [singing] you high, so will I. [music] If the wind goes where you ascended, so [singing] will I. [music] >> If the rocks my silence, [music] so [singing] will I.

[music] If the song [singing] of all our praise still falls shine, then we'll sing [music and singing] again. [music] If the stars, [singing] if the stars were made to worship, so will I. If [music] the mountains found in reverence, so will I.

[music] If the oions roar your greatness, so [music] will I. For if everything [music] exists to lift you high, so will [music] I. If the wind goes way, [music] so will I.

If the rocks cry out, [music] so will I. If the sun [music] of all the praise is still shund Heat. [music] Heat.

[music] Heat. [music] God of [music] your you chased down my hope through all of my failure and pride. Thank you.

Thank you. [music] On you created the light [music and singing] of the world abandoned in darkness to die. Yes.

He is. Yes. Yes.

>> He's the God of his. [singing] >> You chase [music] down my heart through all of my failure and pride. On the heel.

[singing] You ced [music] the light of the world abandoned in darkness to die. [singing] And as you [music] speak, a 100 [singing] billion failures disappear. [music] Will you lost your life so [singing] I can find it?

>> If you left the grave [music] behind, you still alive. [singing] >> [music] >> I can see your heart and everything you've done. Every part [music] the sun and the work of our love.

[music] If you gladly chose surrender so alive, [music] I can feel your heart a billion different ways. >> [music] >> Every precious one, a child you die to see. [music] If you gave your life to love them so alive like you would again.

[music and singing] But when measure good [singing] amount to your desire, [music] you're the [singing] one who never leaves the one behind like you would [music] like you would [singing] again. But we'll [singing and music] measure good amount to your deeds. >> [music] >> You're the one [singing] who never leaves the one behind [music] like you would like you [singing] would again a 100 billion times [music] think you but what measure [singing] could amount to your [music] leaves [singing and music] the one behind You're the [music] one [singing] who never leaves the one behind.

[music] You're the one who never leaves the one behind. [singing] [music] >> You're the one [singing] who never leaves the one [music] behind. You are.

You are. You are. You're the one [singing] who never leaves the one behind.

[music] You're the one who never [music] leaves the one [singing] behind. You're [music] the one who never leaves the one [singing] behind. Make yours.

[music] You're the one who never leaves the one behind. [music] You're the one who never [music] leaves the one [singing] behind. You're [music] the one who never leaves the one behind.

You're the [music] one who never leaves the one behind. [music] >> [music] >> If the stars are made to worship, [music] so will I. If [music] the man goes down, then so will I.

[music] If the ocean, so will I. But if [music] everything exists to let you hide. So I [music] go send it.

So I [music] cry out in silence. So alive. [music] of all the praise ship.

[music] So [music] alive you found [music] so [music] everything exist. lift. [music] So alive.

[music] So alive. [music] So alive in the [music] sun. [music] Yeah.

[music] Heat. [music] who never leaves the one [singing] behind. [music] You're the one who never leaves [music] [singing] the one behind.

You're the one who never [music and singing] leaves the one behind. You're the one. [music] You're Jesus.

Jesus, [music] you [singing] make the darkness true. Jesus, [music] Jesus, you silence [music and singing] fear. Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness [music and singing] tremble.

Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear cuz [music] your name is a light that the shadows [music] can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. [music] Your name is alive forever lifted high.

Your [music] name cannot be [singing] overcome. [music] Your name is a light [music] that the shadows [singing] can deny. Your [music] name cannot be overcome.

Your [music and singing] name is alive forever [singing] lifted high. [music] Your name cannot be [singing] overcome. [music] Your name is a light that the shadows [music] can deny.

Your name cannot [music] be overcome. Your name is alive and forever. [music] Your name cannot be overcome.

[music] Your name is alive. The shadows can deny. [music] Your name cannot be [music] your name is alive forever.

[music] Your name cannot [music] be over. Your name [music] is alive tonight. Your [music] name cannot be overcome.

Your name is alive forever. [music] Your name cannot [music] be your God. Oh Jesus, [music] Jesus, you make the darkness tremble.

Jesus, [music] Jesus, [singing] you silence fear. [music] Oh Jesus, Jesus, [music] you make the darkness tremble. [singing] Jesus, [music] Jesus, you silence fear.

[music] Oh Jesus, Jesus, you make [music] the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, [singing] you [music] silence fear. Oh Jesus, Jesus, you [music] make the darkness tremble.

Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear. Oh [music] Jesus, Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

[music] Jesus, Jesus. Jesus, [music] Jesus. Jesus.

Jesus. [music] Jesus. Jesus.

[music] Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

Jesus. Jesus. [music] Jesus.

Jesus. Jesus. [music] Jesus.

Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Jesus.

[music] Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

[music] Jesus. Jesus. Your name.

>> [music] >> Your name is light that the shadows can't deny. Your name [music] cannot be all. Your name is alive [music] and forever.

Your [music] name. [music] >> [music] >> Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot [music and singing] be overcome.

Your name is alive forever [music] lifted high. And your name [music] cannot [singing] be overcome cannot [music] be overcome [singing] cannot be overcome. >> The name above all names.

[music and singing] Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

Jesus. [music] Jesus. Jesus.

Jesus. We lift up your [music] name. Oh Jesus.

>> [music] >> Oh, I could sing your name for all my [singing] life and still find more to love [music and singing] each time. Jesus [music] be the [singing] name ever on my lips. >> [music] >> It's sweeter every [singing] time that I call.

Oh, I could [music] see your [singing] name for all my [music] life and [singing] still find more to [music] love each time. Oh Jesus, be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter [music] every time that I call.

Oh, there's just something [music] about your name. [singing] There's just something about your name. There's just [music] something about your name [singing] that makes me cry holy.

There is no [singing] other name. [music] There is no other name. There is [music] no other [singing] name.

Oh Jesus, you're worthy. [music] There's just something [singing] about your name. There's [music] just something about your name.

There's just something about [singing] your name that makes me cry [music] holy. There is no [singing] other name. [music] There is no other name.

There is [music and singing] no other name. Oh Jesus, you're worthy. [singing] [music] Oh, you have been the friend who never [singing] left.

[music] And I won't forget your [music] faithfulness. [singing] Oh Jesus, be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter every [music] time that I call on you.

Oh, you [music] have been [singing] a forever who never left. And I won't [music and singing] forget your faithfulness. Oh Jesus, be the name ever on [music] my list.

It's sweeter every [music] time that I call on your name. Oh, there's just something about your name. [singing] There's just something about your [music] name.

There's just something about your name [music] that makes me cry holy. [singing] [music] There is no other name. There is no other name.

[music] There is no other [singing] name. Oh Jesus, you're [music] worthy. Oh, there's just something about your name.

[music and singing] There's just something about your name. There's just something [music] about your name that makes me cry holy. [music] There is no other name.

No, there is no other name. [music and singing] There is no other name. Oh Jesus, [music] you're worthy.

[singing] Oh, worthy. Oh, holy. Oh, no one like you, Lord.

>> There's no one like you. Oh, [singing and music] there's no one like you, Lord. >> You're like, [music and singing] oh Jesus.

Oh Jesus, your name is [music] like the morning light, the one the darkness can't deny, the [singing] resurrection. [music] Jesus and Jesus your name can save. [music] Your [singing] name can heal.

Your name can make the storm be still. You never [music and singing] fail. You never will.

Jesus and Jesus [music and singing] the bread of life broken for us. The wounded [singing] and [music] the worthy one. The first and last and soon to [music and singing] come.

Jesus and Jesus the king who cover the great. The Lord who [music] will [singing] forever reign. The name above all other [music] name.

Jesus. [singing] And Jesus your [music] name is like the morning light. The one the darkness [music] can't deny.

The resurrection and the life. Jesus. [music] Oh Jesus.

Your name can save. Your name can heal. Your name can make the storm be [music] still.

You never fail. You never will. Jesus.

[music] And Jesus the bread of life broken for us. The world. [music] The worthy one.

the first light and soon to come. [music] Jesus and Jesus the king who overwhel [music] the Lord who will forever the name [music] of all the Jesus. [music] Oh Jesus be the name.

Oh Jesus be the name. Oh [music] Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Oh [music] Jesus be the name.

Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus [music] be the name that gets all the glory. [music] Oh Jesus be the name.

[music] Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name [music] that gets all the glory. Oh Jesus be the name.

Oh [music] Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. [music] Oh Jesus, your name is like the morning light.

The one the darkness [music] can't deny the resurrection and the life. Jesus [music] and Jesus your name. Your name can heal.

Your name can make the [music] stormy be still. You never fail. You never will.

Jesus [music] and Jesus the bread of life broken for us. The world did the world the first [music] and last and still to come. Jesus and Jesus the king [music] over the world the graus [music] be the name of Jesus be the name [music] Jesus be the name the All the glory.

Oh Jesus be the [music] name. Jesus be the name. [music] Jesus be the name that gets all the glory.

[music] Oh Jesus be the name. Jesus be [music] the name. Oh Jesus be the name.

[music] They can't stop the glory. Oh, Jesus be the [music] name. Jesus be the name.

Oh, [music] Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. [music] Oh, there's just something about your name. There's just something about your name.

There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other [singing] name. There is no other name.

[music] There is no other name. Oh Jesus, you're worthy. [music] Oh, there's just something about your name.

There's just [music] something about your name. [singing] There's just something about your name that [music] makes me [singing] cry holy. There is no other [music] name.

There is no other name. [music and singing] There is no other name. Jesus, [music] [singing] you're worthy.

So worthy. [music] >> [singing] >> So holy, [music] oh so [music and singing] holy [music] so [singing] [music] there is [singing] no other name. [music] There is no other name.

There [singing] is no other name. Jesus, [music] you are worthy. There is no [singing] other name.

There is no other name. [music and singing] There is no other name. Jesus, [music and singing] you're worthy.

There is no other name. [music and singing] There is no other name. There [music] is no other [singing] name.

Jesus, you're worthy. There's just something [music and singing] about your name. There's something about your name.

There's just something about your name. Oh, [singing] Jesus. Oh, Jesus.

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

My world is [singing] worship until >> [music] >> though my world I'll never [music] [singing] [music] I will [music] worship worship you until the very end. [music] Jesus, [singing] you're the lover of my soul. Jesus, [music and singing] I will never let you go.

You taken [singing] me from the mighty cl You set [music] my [singing] feet upon the rock. And I know Jesus, you're the lover of my soul. [singing] Jesus, [music] I will [singing] never let you go.

You [music] taken me from the mighty. You [music] send my [singing] feet upon a rock. And I know I [music and singing] love you.

I need you. Though my [singing] world may fall, I'll never let [music] you go. My [singing] s my closest.

[music] I will [singing] worship you until the very end. I [music] love [singing] you. I need you.

Though my world [singing and music] may fall, I'll never let you go. You're my [singing] savior, [music] my closest friend. I will worship [music and singing] you until the very end.

I will worship. My world [music] will worship you. Um, I um over the course of this Last week, I've I felt a pressing on my heart and and a conviction where um I felt like the Lord was was teaching me and in some ways confronting me and correcting [music] me um to say that we I I haven't done a good job at stewarding corporate prayer together with us um as a church and we we have a deep value for worship and for teaching of the scriptures and communion and water baptism and all these beautiful biblical truths.

Um, but somewhere along the lines I what started to trail behind is this gathering for corporate prayer. And the scriptures they they teach um the scriptures teach that there's some measures of some some measures some glories of Jesus that we can only experience through through [music] prayer. >> Amen.

Amen. Like when Jesus when Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane and he approached his disciples and they were sleeping and he said pray that you may not be tempted. In other words, there is some measure of temptation that is uh that we are protected from that we stand firm against when when we gather in prayer.

Amen. And certainly we gather in in you know in our personal lives in our in our as individuals we walk away and we pray the Lord keeps us and protects us. But there's also measures of protection that when we pursue something corporately we also have to pray for its protection corporately.

Amen. >> Um, so that being said, I I I want us to take the next maybe 15 20 minutes or so. And in fact, I' I'd welcome you.

You're welcome to in some ways get comfortable, meaning you you don't have to stand or be in be in uh in your chair if you want to scatter throughout the room. But what I want us to do is is I want us to engage the Lord in corporate prayer. >> And I want us to pray and contend together for [music] a move of his spirit.

I want us to pray and to contend together for protection that he would keep us from temptation like Jesus teaches us to pray. Um do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. I want us to spend some time to pray [music] and to contend for our families and and our friends and those who don't know Jesus.

I want us to spend some time contending and praying that the Lord would keep us and protect us as a church and that he would do a work in our city for those who are suffering hardships and jobs and finances and loss of job that that we yield those things together. But we come we come to the Lord corporately >> contending for one another. [music] What I'm learning is that uh that the casual prayers, they get casual answers.

Jesus always would he would always extend himself to the measure he was requested of. And when he sat at a table with with his disciples and Pharisees and and the one who broke the alabaster jar, there were many people who sat around Jesus, but there was one who anointed his feet and poured out oil upon him. And Jesus says, "This story will be told wherever the gospel is preached." And this woman had a connection, an interaction, a touch of heaven, [laughter] a relationship with Jesus that everyone else in the room had access to.

But there was only one who poured her oil. There was only one who lavished her love on the feet of Jesus that way. And so today as as we come to the Lord in prayer, uh what what I'm not necessarily looking for, what we're not necessarily trying to go for is is volume and being loud, but we certainly want to touch the heart of Jesus.

>> We certainly want to touch his heart. And so the first thing I I want to pray for, the first thing I want us to contend for together is I want us to contend for hunger. Hunger within ourselves as individuals within hunger within our church and hunger within our region for a move of the spirit.

We know that it is it is hunger that draws on heaven. That's why the scriptures say the eyes of the Lord scatter to and fro looking for someone whom he can empower by his spirit. And so may he find us here tonight.

>> And so let's let's lift our voices. Let's pray for hunger. pour out us as individuals in our families, on our sons and daughters, on our parents, on our siblings, God, on our households.

Pour out your spirit and give us a hunger, God. Give us a hunger that cannot be quenched, Lord, and something is in the way. Would you remove the obstacles?

to remove the thing that would keep us from hunger. That would keep us from [music] the pursuit of you, Lord. Give us a gift of hunger.

Give us a gift of hunger. We're hungry, God. And we want to learn to love you more.

We want to learn to be more hungry and more desperate, more long. Give us a hunger for above. Give us a gift of hunger, God.

A gift of hunger for daily breath. Help us to thirst for living water, Lord, and pursue you at any cost. >> We are hungry, God.

We are hungry. >> We are hungry, Lord. We are hungry.

Give us hunger. Give us hunger for our church. Give us hunger, Lord, that will permeate this church, that will permeate, Lord, our hearts, our souls, our congregation.

Would you give us a hunger that will touch our city, that will draw in heaven for our city? Give us [music] a h God that will draw in heaven for what you do want to do in this region. We ask come Lord Jesus come that may fill us with grant us God.

Help us to see our need for help us to see our need for you. Help us to see our need for you. Help us to see our need for [music] expose us to our need for the city.

Expose us to our need for our friend. Expose us to our need. Expose us to our need of you, Jesus.

Expose us to our >> Expose. [music] Expose us to our need for you, Lord. Expose us to our need for you.

Expose us to our need for you, Lord. expose us to our need for you. Give us a hunger.

Give us a hunger, a longing, a burning. God, give us a hunger for you. Give us a hunger for our church.

Lord, that will draw heaven to our church. Give us a hunger for our city and our region. That will draw heaven to this city and region.

Give us a hunger, God. More of you at any cost. How we need more of you at any cost.

How we need more of you at any cost. At any cost. How we need more of you at any cost.

>> We need the whole Christ. >> We need the whole Christ. >> We need the whole Christ.

We need the whole Christ. >> We need the whole Christ. We need the whole Christ.

Give us a greater hunger. >> A greater hunger for your name. >> A greater hunger.

A greater hunger for your name. [music] Christ. Lord, teach us to not not look at lesser things.

>> Teach us, Lord, to become [music] >> to become so desperate and so hungry that lesser things have lost their appeal. >> Oh, how we need the whole Christ. >> [music] >> We need the whole Christ.

[singing] >> [singing] [music] >> Yes. Thank you, Lord. Thank you.

>> Thank you for a hunger for your name. Make us hungry. Make us hungry, God.

Make us hungry. Make us hungry, Lord. Make us hungry.

Oh, please don't be complacent in your request. Please don't Please don't be complacent. Please don't let somebody ask on your behalf.

Please don't let the hardships and challenges of life >> determine the measure of your hunger. Please do not cave do not cave to complacency. [music] >> God, give us a greater hunger for your name.

Give us a greater hunger for your name, precious king. Give us a greater hunger for your name. A greater hunger.

A greater hunger. Oh, we need to know you, Lord. We want to know you.

We are longing for your name. We are longing for your presence. We are longing for your touch.

We need the whole Christ. We need our King. We need our Lord.

We need the one, the only one, the one thing that's needed. We need you. We need you, Lord.

We need you. We need you. We need you.

We need you, Lord. We need you, Lord. We need you, Lord.

[singing] [music] >> We need you, Lord. We need you, Lord. >> We need you, [singing] Lord.

>> We need you, God. We need you. We need you.

We need you. [singing] >> We need you, God. We need you.

We need you. >> [music] >> Oh, how we need the Holocaust. [music] >> Yes.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

>> [music] >> Rema, why don't you come up here? Why don't you come up here? [music] I I want you to [music] lead us in prayer and and ask that the Lord that he he protects us and he keeps us from [music] temptation.

Uh whether here as a church corporately or or as individuals, but the Lord would keep us from temptation. that he would he [music] would he would lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Let's all pray together.

Rema will lead us but let's all pray together. Pray for yourselves, for your families, for your household. >> Jesus, beautiful Jesus.

Beautiful Jesus. We hunger for you. We hunger for you, Lord.

come and consume us. We yield ourselves over to you. We thank you.

We thank you that you are our deliverer. You are our protector. You watch over us.

We submit ourselves to you, God. I thank you that you watch over this church. I thank you that you strengthen us.

Holy Spirit, fill us. Consume us. Consume us.

We need you, Jesus. We need you, Jesus. We need you, Jesus.

We need you. May there be no complacency in our midst towards your holy name. May there be no complacency in our midst towards your holy name.

[laughter] May there be no complacency in our midst towards your holy name. Jesus, come and consume us. Come and consume us.

Come and consume us. God, I ask that YOU WATCH OVER EVERY single person. God, I pray that you touch every single person.

Holy Spirit, fill every single person in our midst tonight that they would encounter the living Christ. They would encounter THE LIVING CHRIST. LORD, I ASK that you reveal yourself to every single person tonight.

That you open their eyes and open their ears to see the beauty of your name, to see the beauty of your holy name. Lord, I thank you for your protection over every single person right now. God, I thank you that bodies are healed right now in the mighty name of Jesus.

I thank you that your protection is over us. I plead the blood of Jesus over every single person here. I plead the blood of Jesus over every so single person here.

Lord, I thank you that any complacency towards you is destroyed, God. And as they go through the week, that you would move in their hearts that they wouldn't be able to silence the still voice of the Holy Spirit. Come, come Jesus.

Come Jesus. Come Jesus. I thank you.

The minds are restored right now. I thank you. The minds are restored right now.

I thank you. The minds are restored right now. God, I rebuke anxiety.

I rebuke depression. I thank you for favor in the marketplace RIGHT NOW. FOR THOSE who need favor in the marketplace for those who need jobs, God, I thank you for your provision.

You are a God [music] that provides. You're Jehovah Gyra. God that provides.

You're Emmanuel, God with us. I thank you, Jesus, for every single person here. I bless them in the mighty name of Jesus.

We need you, glory. We need you, Lord. Holy Spirit, [music] fill every single person tonight.

Touch every single person tonight. Reveal yourself to every single person tonight. Draw every single person tonight to yourself.

May they know you. May they hear your voice. May they find you beautiful.

[music] May they find you beautiful. May they find you beautiful that there be no complacency in their midst. Jesus, I bless them right now.

I thank you for your [music] covering. I thank you for your covering. I thank you for your covering right now over every single person over every single person.

Lord, I pray that you meet every single person in their need tonight. I pray that you meet every single person in whatever need they have, God. That you would reveal to them what needed, what's needed [music] to be done.

Holy Spirit, I thank you for filling every single person, for opening their eyes and their ears that they would [music] see and hear you. God, I thank you that every single person tonight encounters the love of God. I [music] thank you that every single person tonight encounters the love of God.

Jesus, have your way in our midst. Have your way in this church. I thank you for your protection.

[music] I thank you for your protection, Lord. We love you. We hunger for you.

We bless you, Jesus. [music] There's no one like you. >> [music] >> Yes Jesus we ask would you keep us from temptation keep us from temptation as the world [music] has so much to offer not just in sin but in way of life and perspective and we ask would you [music] keep us on the straight and narrow as a church to not compromise your presence to not compromise your way to not compromise [music] your will for anything or anyone that we would remain on the steadfast path of righteousness and holiness and purity.

[music] I pray Lord, would you keep us as individuals when temptation comes our way that we would stand strong. But we also ask Lord that as a family, as families within the room that you would keep us from temptation, [music] from lesser things and lesser lovers, you would protect us and cover over us. And then I pray, Lord, for us as a [music] church.

Would you protect us, Lord, from swaying to the left or to the right when church becomes about other things and lesser things and something about about something other than your presence. God, please protect us from that. [music] Protect us from that and keep us on the stray and narrow.

Keep us in love with you in pursuit of you [music] to never grow weary in doing good. To never give ourselves of ourselves to something less than. God, protect us as a [music] church.

I ask, Lord, would you cover us in your blood? Cover us in your blood. Precious King, cover us.

[music] Cover us and watch over us. Cover us and watch over us. Cover us and watch over us, precious Lord.

[music] Cover us and watch over us. Cover us and watch over us, Lord. Cover us and watch over us.

Cover us. [music] there that any [music] protect us Lord. [music] Keep us from temptation.

Keep us from temptation. Lord, [music] lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Keep us, Lord, on the straight and narrow.

[music] Keep us pleased as a church. Keep us on the straight amen. That the only name that would resound in this room and [music] in this church would be the mighty name of Jesus.

That any and every other name, Lord, the name of a church, the name of a person, a pastor, a team, that all of that stuff, it would be blurry. It would it would be peripheral [music] in the light of the glorious name of Jesus Christ that reigns over this house. >> [music] >> Oh, we ask.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come, keep us, Lord. Keep us.

[music] Oh, keep us, Lord. Keep us. Keep us in the center of your love.

Keep us in the center of your love. Keep [music] us in the center of your love. [music] >> My Why don't you come up here?

>> [music] >> I want I want >> I want you to pray for our children and and lost sons and daughters, prodigal sons and daughters that [music] God would bring would bring our children home. [laughter] >> Jesus, you're so precious. [crying] [laughter] Thank you Lord for your salvation.

[crying and laughter] Thank you Lord for your body and your blood that reach out Lord for those who are lost. For those who are astray Lord that went away from you Lord for the families here who are contending for the loved ones. Lord we pray right now that you reach us wherever they are.

Lord, that you bring your sons and daughter back, Lord. Lord, we contend together as a church, Lord, that Lord, that those souls, those souls, they're going to come back, Lord. Those souls, they're going to come to you, Jesus.

[music] And Lord, burn in our heart, Lord. The the love, Lord, and burn in our heart, Lord. [crying] the weight of praying and contending for this next generation Lord that is coming after us Lord because Lord we understand that if it dies on us Lord this was all in vain Lord [laughter] Lord I pray for every children Lord in this church the ones that are here and the ones that are going to come Lord teach us how to lead them to you Lord Lord, [crying] teaches them how to teach them to love you, Jesus.

How to bring them to you, Lord. [laughter] Lord, we pray that our children, they're not going to be away from you, Lord, but they're going to be so close to you, Jesus. They're going to be children with tears in their eyes of love for you, Lord.

They have a song in their hearts. They're going to sing for you, Jesus, that you give to them, Lord. Help us protect their purity, Lord.

Help us protect their mind, Lord. Help us protect their souls and their body, Lord, for the children that you gave to us, Lord. Help us be good stewards of their lives, Lord.

And one day, Lord, when we see you and we meet you in heavens, Lord, that you can tell us that we did a good job because we passed on [laughter] what you entrusted us and in us, Lord, that when we go, Lord, that we may look to the fruit of our labor, those childrens that going to keep carrying the torch, Lord, help us, Lord. Help us Jesus. [music] >> Yes, Lord.

We pray for prodigal sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, [music] and we bind them to the cross. And we ask, Lord, that you would bring them, you would bring them into the kingdom. You would meet them.

You would [music] encounter them. Lord, as they're asleep, may they not find rest and peace outside of your presence. Would you send people along their path and in their life who [music] will preach the gospel to them, who will pray for them, who will share the good news with them, and Lord, that truly, genuinely, people would step into the light and the glory of your heavenly kingdom.

[music] And that within our church, Lord, within our church, we wouldn't just be saved as individuals, we would be saved as families. [music] families like Cornelius's household, entire households and families being brought into the kingdom of heaven. So, thank you, God, that you are faithful [music] and true, that you are kind, that you love people, that you are all about people.

And so, we come into agreement, Lord, with the assignment of heaven, and we say yes and amen for our city that you would bring lost souls into the kingdom, [music] that you would save people, Lord. you would save souls, that you would save souls in in our city, you would save souls in our region. And that one day our city would be known as one after the heart of Jesus.

A city, [music] a city known for revival, a city known as one who's in love with the living Christ. [music] A city after Jesus. >> Thank you, precious Lord.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank [music] you.

Thank you that you are faithful and true. [music] >> Thank you that you are faithful and true. Thank you Lord that you are faithful and truth.

Thank [music] you. Thank you. >> Thank [music] you Lord.

>> [music] >> Yes. [music] >> Eddie, are you in the room? Eddie, our [music] worship leader, come up.

[music] Just I want you to pray [music] on lead us in prayer that >> uh that [music] that the Lord would would rest with us his presence you would be at home with his presence in this [music] room with us. Jesus, I thank you. [music] Thank you for your presence.

Thank you for your sweet, sweet presence. [music] And I pray that you would make your home with us, Lord. That we would want you more than anything else in this world, Lord.

That everything else in this world would just fall. would just fall, Lord, because it does not compare to your presence. It does not compare to having you, Jesus.

I pray, Lord God, that we would be so enamored by you, Lord. That we would be so in love with you, Lord. That you would choose to be here with us, Lord.

That you would choose to rest with us, Lord. that you would choose, Lord God, because you know that we are a people after your heart. That all we want is to be with you.

That all we want is more of you. That all we want is more of your presence, more of your spirit in our lives, Jesus. So would you come and find a people that is hungry, that is thirsty, that is longing for you, Jesus, above everything else in this world, that you would be the one and only thing we would want.

Lord, would you come and rest with us, Lord? Would you come and make your home, Lord, in our midst, Jesus? That we would just want more, more, more of you, God.

That we would never be satisfied. But that we would be wanting more, Jesus. More of your spirit, more of your presence, more of you, God.

Oh, come Lord, come. Come Lord, come and fill this room. Fill this room Lord.

That every single person in this room would know Jesus. That you love to rest here. That you love to be here with us, Lord.

Be among us, Jesus. Oh, would you come? Would you come, Lord?

Come, Lord. Come, come, Lord. Come, come and have your way.

Come and have your way. Come and have your way, Jesus. We want more.

We want more. We want more, Jesus. Oh, come and have your way.

Come and make a home among us. Come and make your home among us, Lord. That our hearts, Lord, that our hearts would not be satisfied.

That the thirst, Lord, for you would never be quenched, Lord, but that we would always want more. That as we see you, as we behold you, we would want to know you more. We would want to love you more.

We would want to seek you more. That you [music] would find a people, Lord, that is so in love with [music] you, that is so in love with you here in this room. Come and have your way.

Come and make your home among us. [music] Jesus. And so our request is [music] is just to know you and to be with you >> and to love you all the days of our lives.

>> To be loved by you. And Lord, I, you know, >> I want to repent, Lord, and just apologize for for not stewarding prayer corporately as like we should have, like like I should have. And we ask God that you would have mercy on us, all of us, >> that you would keep us, Lord.

>> That you would keep us, protect us, watch over us. >> I pray, Lord, that you would save our family members >> and baptize them in your spirit. >> And I pray, Lord, that you would rest here with us.

[music] that this would be a dwelling place, a home for your presence with your people. >> Please Lord, come live with us. We don't want we do not want to settle for anything else, for anything less, Lord.

Come dwell with us, Jesus. And so we lift up our prayers, God. We yield them over to you >> and we fill those bowls of incense that [music] >> that burn that burn in your presence.

God, [music] >> thank you for your faithfulness, your kindness, your grace towards us. Lord, >> thank you that you are so much more than enough for us. Can we sing I love your presence please.

I love I love I love your [music] presence. I love I love I love [singing] your presence. I love I love [music] [snorts] I love you, Jesus.

I love I love I love [singing] your presence. I love I [music] love I love your [singing and music] presence. I love I [singing] love [music] I love your presence.

I [music] love our [singing] love. I love you, [music] Jesus. [singing] I love I [music] love I love [singing] your presence.

I love I [singing] love [music] I love [singing] your presence. [music] I love I [singing] love [music] I love [singing] your presence. I love the [music] love.

[singing] I love you, [music] Jesus. [singing] I love [music] thy love. I love your [singing and music] presence.

I'm after your [music and singing] heart. After your heart. [music] I'm after [music] your [singing] heart.

After your heart. [music] Jesus, [music] I'm after [singing] your heart. After your heart.

[music] I'm after [music and singing] your heart. After your heart. [singing] After [music] your heart.

After your [singing] heart. [music] I'm after your [music and singing] heart. After your heart.

After your [singing] heart. After [music] your heart. I'm after your heart.

[singing and music] After your heart, I'm after [music and singing] your heart. After your heart, [music] [singing] Jesus, I'm after your heart. [music] After your [singing] heart, you're all we want.

You're only one. I'm [music and singing] after your heart. After your heart.

[singing] I'm after your [music and singing] heart. After your heart. [music] Oh, [singing] I'm after your heart.

After your heart. >> [music and singing] >> And [music and singing] after your heart. After your heart, [singing] your [music] presence Jesus [singing] is all [music] I just [music] to be with you.

How I long [singing] to be with you. Your presence, [music] your presence, [singing] Jesus. I'm [music] in pursuit of just [singing] to be with you.

[music] How I long to be with you. Your presence. Your presence [music] Jesus is [singing] all [music] I'm in pursuit of just to be with you.

[music] How I [singing] long to be with you. [music] Your presence Jesus is his song. I'm in [music] pursuit of just to be with you.

[music] How I [singing] long to be with you. [music] You're all that I need. The most beautiful thing that my heart [music] has ever seen.

You're my treasure, my prize, [music] my heart's great delight. Oh Jesus, you're everything. You are [music] all that I need, the most beautiful thing that my heart has ever seen.

[music] You're my treasure, my prize, my heart's great delight. Oh Jesus, you're everything. [music] I need the most beautiful thing that my heart [music] has ever seen.

You're my treasure, [music] my prize, my heart's great delight. Oh Jesus, you're everything. [music] I'm after [music and singing] your heart.

After your heart, Jesus, I'm after your [singing and music] heart. After your heart. I'm after [music and singing] your heart.

After your heart. I'm after your heart. [music] After your heart.

>> Yes, Lord. [music] Oh, God. We submit ourselves over to you and we thank you that you are the God who answers prayer.

[music] That you are the God of the impossible. That you hear our cry. you hear our prayer.

[music] And so we offer ourselves up for we are yours and you are ours. [music] We love you, Jesus. We give you all of the glory, [music] all of the honor.

And in your most precious and most wonderful name we pray. >> Amen. [music] >> Amen.

>> Amen. >> [applause] >> You may find your seats. [clears throat] Maybe you can stay up here.

[clears throat] Um, we're so glad you're with us here tonight. Um, I I know again I know we've been going through Exodus 12 over the last several months and or several weeks and and um I love communion so much. I mean, if you've re if you've received communion with us before, you know that we uh we do not take it lightly at all in this room and [clears throat] I love teaching on it.

But it over the last couple weeks, it just felt like I would study for Exodus 12 and and seek the Lord and then and then direction would shift um whether before I got to service or during worship. And and you know, one of one of my like one of our core values and and certainly one of my uh vows has been that we are, you know, we do [clears throat] I would say this much more at the beginning. It's still true.

I just I don't say it as much is that the way we long to operate, we desire to operate is we have two questions in mind. The first one being how do we get Jesus in the room when we gather. The second one being how do we get him to stay?

And um which means that everything else kind of just it submits to what Jesus wants in the room. We would say we would say uh Jesus gets what Jesus wants. It's it's his room.

we are his people and and certainly myself and and anyone on stage is is a servant of of Jesus um for what he wants to accomplish in this room. So, part of me feels a little bit lost right now because um well, part of me wants to go into Exodus 12, but the other part of me wants to, which is where I think we're going to go, is is to teach on prayer. And um you know certainly I hope that all of us have a prayer life outside of church uh outside of this room where you walk away with Jesus and and it's you and him.

And if you do, that's amazing. And I want to I want to take you to some scriptures that tell us why it's important and the effectiveness of it in our lives. And if you don't, I hope to provoke you to um to engage in that direction with Jesus because uh in so many ways prayer prayer is kind of the glue almost like the glue that holds all these other things together.

And so [clears throat] there are several scriptures there are several scriptures um we'll go through in the New Testament that that teaches about prayer and [snorts] um we won't get through all of them all of them tonight but I do hope that there's a provoking for us as individuals and then certainly for us corporately for I think where God's taking us. In fact, I um I I'm going be praying into this, but I feel like I feel like what we're going to start doing is, you know, we'll worship for however long we worship on Sundays, and then I'm thinking maybe the last 15 minutes of worship every Sunday we'll just take to corporately pray together. Um, it's one way that we can carry one another's burdens and it's it's a way that we can um carry the weight of the glory of what God's entrusted to us in this house.

And you know, I you know, I pray at home. I I pray every day. And you know, some days are longer than others, meaning I spend more time in prayer some days than others.

But I pray every day. and I pray for our house and pray for the church and the team and and all of you and that you know especially on Sundays before I come my prayer is that is that every like every chair is anointed for the person that'll sit on it for what God wants to do in your life and um [clears throat] but I this isn't me building a church and this is not me building a body this is us building an assignment or pursue pursuing an assignment that God has for us as a church, right? >> Which means that u you and I carry the same responsibility when it comes to the stewardship of God's presence in prayer.

I may I may be responsible for up here and teaching and but we are all responsible for the stewardship of God's presence through prayer. And so, um, I want you to open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5:44.

Um, the scripture says, well, I'll start in 43. Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

There's a measure of sunship, being a child of God, that is found only in praying for those who have hurt you and persecuted you. >> Amen. In fact, it seems like this what the scriptures what rather I should say what Jesus not just the scriptures what Jesus is teaching he says pray for those who persecute so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven in other words it's a characteristic a nature of who God is that if we do not become we separ we separate ourselves from from sunship in God I know that all of us have all of us as believers we would say we have some measure of burden for souls.

Certainly there will be some of us who ache with the burden more than others. But God's burden for prayer is not is not dealt with because we share his burden for it. God's burden for souls is we take ownership of it when we begin to pray for those who do not know him yet.

We begin to pray for our city. We begin to pray for our region. We begin to pray for our families, for our brothers and our sisters, our parents, our aunts, uncles, family members, whoever it is in your life, friends.

There's a there's a measure of there's a measure of salvation of souls that happens when when God's people say yes to God's plan. >> Amen. And in saying yes to God's plan, what we're saying is that we pray for those who wronged us, who persecuted us, who hated us, who hated God.

In other words, God the Father in his nature and his nature when humanity hated him. Jesus in his nature when humanity hated him and cursed him and laughed at him. Jesus hanging on a tree, nails in his hands and his feet bleeding, his flesh absolutely torn apart, crown of thorns on his head that pierced his skull.

He's aching and in pain. And he looks upon those who persecuted him. He looks upon those who hated him.

And his response to those who are mocking him as he's hanging on the cross is, "Father, forgive them. They know what they know not what they do. They know not what they do.

Have mercy on them." In other words, for you and I to look like Jesus, for you and I to be sons of God, sons of the father, children of the father, it is it is absolutely required that in our prayer life, within our prayer, there is a cry out for the souls of people. >> Amen. >> It's what he burns for and it's it should be what we burn for as well.

And so there's a measure of sunship. There's a measure of sunship that we discover in Jesus when we pray for those who persecute us. Matthew chapter 9.

[clears throat] Verse 37, it says, "Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. [music] Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. Jesus isn't uh what he's not doing is he's he's not casually creating more jobs for Christians to engage in, you know, he's not like uh uh increasing the unemployment rate.

Like he is he says what he says. He says to pray for laborers to the father for laborers because there's something about there's a co-laboring with the father there's a co-laboring with heaven that you and I when we say yes to god he begins he begins a work in the hearts of people in his church and his bride and you and I where our hearts begin to burn for people who who don't know him yet. And so you think of our city and and and in many ways what the Lord is saying is he's he's saying is like listen the harvest in Seattle is plentiful and the laborers are few those who are and so he says listen pray to the Lord of the harvest.

It's it's actually quite interesting that he doesn't say go out and take the harvest. He says pray that the Lord would send harvest. In other words, excuse me that the Lord would send laborers to the harvest.

In other words, God God longs to anoint a people for the salvation, the redemption of a city, the redemption of a region, the redemption of a nation, the redemption of a generation. In other words, we do not just get to casual. We like uh the the transformation of of the gospel in the life of a person isn't just the preaching of a message.

It's the communion of a man, of a person, a woman in communion with the Holy Spirit that goes and and when you speak, when you declare the the gospel, when you declare the truth of heaven, there's an anointing, a power on the word to cut the heart deep. >> That's when true salvation happens. It's it's not just when we in modern evangelism and I I I don't say this in a uh in a critical way in a because I'm not saying it's bad.

I just mean there's greater there's a greater death to salvation than the praying of a prayer. Amen. >> What we learn about Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus is that there was no prayer said other than the fact that he realized he met Jesus and he went blind.

And his his salvation moment wasn't that he prayed a prayer of salvation. It was an encounter, an experience with Jesus. >> Do you hear what I'm saying?

Now, what I'm not saying is like don't preach the gospel or anything like that. I just I mean that the Jesus tells us that his instruction is to pray for laborers because the laborers aren't just isn't it's not just for the sake of walking the field and doing your thing to labor in the field is to know exactly what you're doing to be anointed for the task. >> And so what Jesus is saying pray that the Lord of the harvest would send the laborers in other words that he would anoint a people.

He would say yes. He as he says yes to the people out there, there would be an a people anointed in here to go out for the harvest. >> Does that make sense?

>> And so all of us have a desire for for God to move in our city and souls to be saved. And Jesus is like there has to be a prayer, a communion of prayer. Yes, a desire, but it has to meet prayer for a church, for God's people, for the bride, for there to be a work of the spirit that flows from from this room, from our lives.

And so again, prayer becomes the anchor point. So pray for those who persecute you. Pray if you want to see souls saved.

Matthew 26 Matthew 26. [clears throat] I'm going to start with verse 40. It says, "And he came." This is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

It says, "And he came to his disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." In other words, there's [clears throat] there's a measure of temptation that uh that we are protected and covered from, kept from when uh when we pray. It's one of the re, you know, I said it when we were praying earlier is is certainly for ourselves is like when you're when you're praying in secret and like like by yourself and you're spending time with Jesus, one of the prayers that we're taught in scripture is to pray that the Lord would keep us from temptation that he would protect us. He would guard us.

In other words, that he would help us to remain focused, our gaze set on him, that that we wouldn't lose sight of him and and his purposes and his plans for our lives, the purity, the righteousness, the holiness of the scriptures, of who Jesus is. And so there's temptation in life that that you are only kept from through prayer. So it can happen it can happen individually like as individuals it can happen where where you know whatever it is whatever it is that can tempt you it can come in life and whatever and in prayer that thing gets severed it gets cut off and and the Lord shapes and forms us like like clay in his pottering hands but then also So corporately when we gather and we begin to pray is that as a as a church what happens is there there can become corporate temptations or where we can do the next cool thing or the next fun thing or the next exciting thing or the next and kind of go in directions that God may not be asking us to go and certainly I'm going to be the first and foremost to respond to be responsible for that and so it's it's I remain diligent in prayer but for all of us together is Like when you come into the room, like I said earlier, it's like it's not me building a home for Jesus.

It's us building a dwelling place for Jesus to come rest in. And so when we gather in prayer together, it's like, hey, I do not want to be tempted from taking the living stone that God's given me to build this home and place it somewhere other than because I want a different room. You know what I mean?

It's kind of an analogy, but it's like I don't want to come into the room and build my own thing because that's what I feel like and that's what I think would be nice. And [snorts] that's the power of unity in the spirit is when we're all united in the Holy Spirit, God begins to build something through a people. He begins to build a home, a temple for himself where he rests and dwells in.

And when he's there, what I've been saying over the last few weeks is like the scriptures teach that he is the desire of the nations. So people come and and what they're drawn to the presence of Jesus in the room, not to a people, not to a worship band, not to a they're drawn to Jesus in the room, but there's a people who fought for it. And so he says, [clears throat] "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." Acts chapter 1.

So this is this is before the uh the day of Pentecost before the Holy Spirit fell upon the upper room. In verse 14 it says all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the woman and and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. And so the people who were closest to Jesus, they they begin to devote themselves to prayer.

They began to devote themselves to knowing Jesus in and through prayer. And God's response to their prayer was that he met them. He clothed them with the Holy Spirit.

And as the Holy Spirit covered over them, as the Holy Spirit came over them, these Peter, we know Peter preached the gospel and 3,000 got saved that day. And then God began to build his church. And one of perhaps the greatest, if not the greatest revival in all of church history and was in Acts chapter 2.

And it started with a people who would not stop praying. They devoted themselves to prayer. I don't know that all of us all of us there's a there's a longing there there's a desire some measure of cry of like God, we need revival.

We need revival in our families, in our churches, in our city, in our region. We certainly need revival in our nation and the nations of the world. We need a move of the Holy Spirit.

But the Bible again and again and again teaches that that thing that we're looking for, that thing that we pray for is found in a devotion to prayer and seeking the face of Jesus through prayer. Philippians chapter 4 [clears throat] in verse uh verse four it says rejoice in the Lord always again I will say rejoice Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus. You know, we certain we love that scripture and it's it's a beautiful scripture.

I I love it too. and and and I pray often. I pray often where I say, "God, give me the peace that that surpasses understanding." Like I want to know this peace.

The scriptures are very clear. The peace that surpasses understanding is not found again in in thinking about peace. And a lack of anxiousness is not found in not thinking about your problems and issues.

It's found it's found in rejoicing. Rejoice in the Lord always, a gentleness of spirit, and with by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And so when we when there's a when there's prayer and thanksgiving and requests are presented to God in that manner and the then the peace of God which understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

>> So good. And so in other words, like you know, I mean, we're all do we're all living life. So we all know that uh peace is especially in our day and age, peace seems to be a rare commodity.

It's like anywhere you go outside of outside of Jesus, it's you'll find that you just have more things to worry about. And you know, it was like you get you worried about gas prices and then all of a sudden you're realizing, you know, food is more expensive and then and then rent is going up and and all this all this stuff starts happening. And when you look at life outside of Jesus, the only outcome is you become more anxious and more stressed and more tired and more weary and burnt out.

But in Jesus, he he did he says the scriptures teach you you recognize your need and in prayer and supplication you you bring it to God with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving meaning that I don't come as an orphan begging as a as a popper from from God to give me his his last little bit. With prayer I come and thanksgiving saying I know who I am and who my father is and I present these requests before him in this manner and then in this manner I find that I have peace that surpasses all understanding.

What does that mean? Peace that surpasses all understanding. Yes.

Yes. I certainly agree that it's a peace that I do not understand. meaning it's like it's just it's far beyond human comprehension.

But peace beyond understanding also looks like it also looks like I fully am aware and understand the chaos of my situation and I have a peace that surpasses everything I understand about my life. >> I may have may have lost my job. I may not be able to afford gas.

I may be able I might be having issues in with my family or at work or whatever it is. And all these things that I understand to be true and what the outcome is in these things I have a peace that surpasses all what I understand because I see a greater revelation of the one who is peace himself. >> But that understanding that revelation again is anchored back in prayer.

And so really in many ways a lack of prayer is also a lack of peace. It's the two go hand in hand. Let's go to James 5.

[clears throat] In verse 14, it says, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven again." And in other words, there's there's a measure of prayer. There's a measure of prayer that uh excuse me, there's [music] there's measure of healing that is found in prayer. And you might say that's obvious.

I think I think what I I want to take that a step further. We when I say there's healing and prayer, what I don't mean is that when you see a sick person and you pray for them, there's power there. There is.

There is. But I think what the scriptures are talking about, it's saying for those of you who are sick, have the elders who have a way of life that is prayer come and pray for you. >> You know what I mean?

It's like, I don't I don't want to learn to swim when I'm drowning. >> I don't want to be thrown into the middle of the ocean and have to learn how to swim there. I want to I want to know and learn how to swim and get good at swimming so that if I ever do find myself end up in the middle of the ocean or in a deep pool whatever I am not concerned with whether I'm going to drown or not because my I have a way a way of life of swimming.

I have history of learning how to swim, knowing how to swim and I don't want to when I'm this is I think this is a really hard part of prayer and healing and kind of like the questions that I have or excuse me the questions that I get sometimes with people is is like is we prayed we prayed and we didn't see the the the miracle that we were hoping for and And and I love that there was that there was prayer there. I certainly do. But prayer is not like a a break glass in case of emergency tool.

Prayer is a way of life that we live that demonstrates a faith before I get to the mountain that needs to be moved. I don't want to have to learn to move mountains when I'm when I'm facing Everest, you know, like I I want to I want to move the the little molehill and then the little ant hill and then the uh you know, whatever the little hill in my backyard and then and I want to learn bit by bit. It's my way of it's my way of life is moving hills.

And then the when I finally got to Everest, I am I'm not trying to convince myself and call that faith. I'm not trying to convince myself the mountain will move and then label it faith so that everybody around me kind, you know, like it feels right. Faith is not demonstrated in the moment of of challenge.

Faith is demonstrated who you were leading up to the moment of challenge. And so he's saying he and in the scriptures it talks about there's there's healing found in prayer. Yes, certainly it's in the prayer in the in the momentary declaration in the moment prayer.

But that prayer carries weight because it's got history with God of a way of life that is prayer. So that when I when I meet a hurdle in my life, I'm already running. And I'm just I'm jumping right over it and moving forward.

>> Like no runner will win will win a hurdle race. Walking up to the hurdle and then trying to kind of like part of the race is that as I have momentum I am jumping over the thing the obstacles that are in my way because I have momentum. >> In a similar manner prayer is that momentum.

It's like I'm in prayer and I encounter a sickness or I encounter an issue or a hardship in life or lost my job, whatever. Now all of a sudden I'm I am not coming up to a hurdle and trying to figure out how do people jump this thing. I have momentum come starting years ago that when I got to this point jump over, keep running my race.

>> Do you hear what I'm Do you hear what what I mean by that? >> Okay. 1 Peter chapter 3.

Ladies, you're going to love this one. Uh 1 Peter chapter 3:7 it says, "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel since they are heirs with you of the grace of life. So that your prayers may not be hindered." In other words, prayer has power and it carries authority to bring transformation.

But prayer is it rests upon a heart devoted to Jesus. In other words, it is not simple. It's not just you saying words that change that moves things and changes things.

It is a person in line with the spirit of God. And so when you honor, the reason it talks about honoring your wife in this context, it's saying that if we do not carry the nature and character of Jesus in this manner, what happens is we begin to utter empty words. And empty words do not have power to change or transform lives.

Only Jesus does. And so there's has to be honor. There has to there excuse me there's within the life of a believer there's honor certainly for your family your spouse your kids there's honor for people knowing that when I pray when I'm praying I'm praying in and through and from the the heart of Jesus because if I am not in line with his heart and his will and his ways all of a sudden I'm declaring words I'm declaring language that is out of out of tune out of line with what heaven is saying.

>> Does that make sense? You hear what I'm saying? >> Yeah.

>> Okay. And then and then I want to go to Revelation chapter 5. [clears throat] So, uh, Revelation 5:8, it says, "And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." And they sang the song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seal, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God, from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." In other words, it's saying >> the prayers the prayers of the saints the prayers of the saints uh filled the go the the golden bowls of of incense.

And so these bowls of incense, they they're there before the father. And the aroma, the aroma that comes from this, from the incense, it's the aroma of the of the declarations, the prayers, the requests, the asks, the cries of the saints. And so when we gather in prayer and we pray for our city and we pray for our region and we pray for what God's doing in this room, what happens is there's an aroma in heaven that is that comes before the father that pulls on heaven to say, "We want more.

We want to know Jesus. We want to see souls saved. We want to see our family members saved.

We want to see healings and salvations and the redemption of families and marriages and and lost loved ones coming back into the kingdom. And all of a sudden, heaven is provoked and drawn to a people who have said yes to Jesus. The presence of God is drawn to to a people who pray.

>> Amen. >> The presence of God is drawn to a people who who who [music] live in a way of life that is prayer. And so what I what what's going to happen on my end um is is we're we're slowly we're just going to make some adjustments where I want us to engage in in corporate prayer more often.

And um I want us to make sure that we as a church as we're running our race and we have the momentum that when we get to a hurdle, we have a a a way of life that is prayer that is full of prayer. So when we get to a hurdle, we jump over it and we continue to run our race. But we are not hindered.

We're not stopped. We're not uh we're [clears throat] not crushed by hurdles because we don't have momentum going into it through prayer. And what I would encourage you as as you know in our in our personal lives, in our personal walks would be the same thing is we do not want to hinder momentum in our run the the the the race of faith that we're running.

We do not want to hinder momentum because of a lack of prayer in [music] our lives. We need Jesus all of him. >> Amen.

And if we do not know him, we we we have nowhere to run. And so, [clears throat] and so I just I want to remind I want to remind us is the thing that makes prayer different or separates it from talking to yourself is that we engage the heart of Jesus in it. And I understand that there might be times there might be moments in life where where it feels like you don't want to pray and you you feel disengaged or maybe in prayer you're kind of hitting a wall.

And the sweet thing in Jesus is that the Bible doesn't say that you have to feel something when you pray. The Bible doesn't even say you make sure you feel like praying when you're praying. In fact, most often times what you'll probably find in life is that the moments you you do not want to pray and you want to worry are probably some of the moments uh where where you should be praying most.

revival history like revival history over and over and over it shows it proves that there are people when they begin to engage the heart of God in prayer like [clears throat] we've all heard most of us probably heard of the Isuza Street revival in California right >> or okay some of us is well Isuza Street started at the in the Welsh revival there There's one man named Evan Roberts who he determined in his heart that he was kind of done away with like he was he was fed up with the fact that his nation was kind of just falling in turmoil and and it was godless and all sorts of just wickedness. And he would lock away by himself and he would pray non-stop. He would pray again and again and again and then and then God began to stir his heart and he would weep and and mourn before the Lord.

And one day he came to his pastor and he said, 'Hey, I I want to share something. And his pastor said, his pastor finished the sermon and said, "Hey, Evan wants to share something if anyone wants to stay." And Evan Roberts shared. And I think 12 or 15, something like that, people stayed.

And they heard his cry for the nation. They heard his burden for the nation. And they began to pray.

And all of a sudden, out of that prayer time, out of Evan Roberts came forth the Welsh Revival. And it was like profound like their their crime rates were like near near zero. And it was just like what God was just saving people left and right.

Criminals in jails and people out on the street and in bars and all sorts of people were just encountering Jesus because one man locked away and and would pray for his nation. And God's response to one man's hunger was was revival over our nation. I I shared it before in in First Kings 18.

Elijah's offering, Elijah's worship altar that the fire of God fell upon his worship in First Kings 18 p put out rain for the for an entire nation that was in drought. But it didn't stop there. What happened is that people would come from from Wales and they would come to America and it began to influence people in in Los Angeles.

And I believe I I believe it was William Seymour. Um I think it was William Seymour. Um he began to pray in Los Angeles.

And he would pray for hours a day seeking again a move of the spirit over over his life, his family in that region. And he prayed for two years. Hours a day.

He prayed for two years. But one day the spirit of God just totally consumed him. And as it consumed him, he began he was he was a Baptist, so didn't believe in in the move of the spirit at all to like like [snorts] overdrive, electrocuted by the spirit of God, not knowing what to do with his hands, his arms, his legs, falling in in love with Jesus in ways he didn't know before.

And all of a sudden from there what began to happen is is souls were be were being saved and they were coming into the kingdom. And all of a sudden this move of the spirit started in Isuza over a hundred years ago that that today we are still we are still reaping of the fruit of one person who locked away in their closet to pray. And so, you know, often times it's hard to carry the burdens of of just our individual lives like it can get difficult and challenging.

How much more you know trying attempting to carry the burden of a nation um or a city. But in Jesus, what we find is that when our when prayer is engaged with the heart of God, he does all of the work, absolutely all of the work. And all we had to do is engage in conversation with him.

>> Amen. >> He doesn't he doesn't ask much more. And the wild thing is that then then you get to heaven.

We get to heaven. We spend stand before the Lord and he rewards us. Our reward is vast and great because of all the things that Jesus did.

And you just we get to be the middleman, the one the one person that prayed that didn't give up on the presence of Jesus. And you stand before the father and rewarded on just being the middleman of all the stuff that Jesus has accomplished. >> God looks at you and says, "Well done, good and faithful servant.

And so what I what I want to do what I we we'll end tonight here. Um what I want to do uh worship team if you want to come back up. I want to take us back into into worship, but we'll we'll we'll go gently and and I know we we you know, we prayed for whatever 20 30 minutes or so that it was, [clears throat] but I want to I want us maybe for just another 5 10 minutes or so to re-engage the heart of God in prayer and to and to begin to build and grow momentum in us together as a church and in life towards what what God has called us into what what he has said yes to us for and what we have said yes for and you may have you certainly have your personal needs like like we all do.

Um, and I would encourage you is as we bring that stuff to the Lord, bring it up with prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving >> and just just give ourselves over to the Lord tonight. Is that all right? >> We do that.

Okay. So, I'll invite you to stand up. You're also welcome to however you want to get on your knees or or sit.

You're welcome to be. We just we just want to engage with the Lord. Let's go back into I love your presence.

[clears throat] The >> We'll do the whole song though. The whole song. >> [music] >> Jesus.

Jesus. in [music] the glory [singing] of your presence. I find rest for my [music] soul.

And in the [singing] depths [music] of your love I find peace [music] makes me whole in the glory [singing] [music] of your presence. [music] I find rest [music] for my [singing] soul. And in the depths [music] of your love, I [singing] find peace [music] makes me whole.

I love I [music and singing] love I love your [singing] presence. [music] I love I love I love your [music and singing] presence. I love I [music and singing] love I love you, [music] Jesus.

[singing] I love unance. [music and singing] in the glory of your [music] presence. I find a rest [music] for my soul.

And in [music] the depths of your love I find peace [music] makes me whole [music] in the glory [singing] [music] of your presence. I find [music] rest for my [music] soul. And in the [music] depths of your love, [singing] I find [music] peace.

[singing] makes [music] me whole. I love I love [music] I love [singing] I love [music] your presence. I love I love [singing] I love your presence.

[music] I love [singing] I love I [singing] love you, [music] Jesus. I love I [music and singing] love I love [music and singing] your presence. I love I love [singing and music] I love your presence.

[music] I love I [singing] love I [music] love your presence. I love [singing] I [music] love I love [singing] you Jesus. [music] I love I love [singing] [music] I love your presence.

[music] I love my love. I love [music] your presence. [singing] I love I love [music] I love your presence.

I love [music] I love I love [music] you, Jesus. My love, I [music and singing] love I love your presence. I love thy love.

[music] I love your presence. I love [music] I love I love [music and singing] your presence. I love [music] my love.

I love you, [singing] Jesus. I love my love. [music] I love your presence.

[music] I love my love. [music] I love your presence. I love my love.

I love your [music] presence. I love I love [music] I love you Jesus. [music] I love [music] I love your presence.

[singing] I'm after [music] your heart. After your [singing] home. I'm after your heart.

[music] After your [singing] heart, Jesus. [music] I'm after [singing] your heart. After your [music] heart.

I'm [music] after your heart. [singing] After your heart. I'm after [music and singing] your heart.

After your heart. [singing] [music] We're after your heart. After your [singing] heart.

[music] >> We're after your heart. After your [singing] heart. You're all we want, [music] Lord.

We're after [singing] your heart. After your heart. [music] Oh, Lord.

We're after [music] your heart. After [singing] your heart. We're after [music] your heart.

After your [singing] heart. We're after. We're after your [music and singing] heart.

After your heart. >> [music] [singing] >> After your [singing] heart. After your heart.

[music] [singing] After your heart. After your [singing] heart. [music] After your heart.

After your [music] heart. After your heart. After [music] your heart.

After your heart. >> [music] >> Jesus, thank you. Lord, we we yield ourselves and submit ourselves in prayer.

[music] And I thank you, Lord, that you see every need in this room. That you take care of us, you watch over us, Lord. [music] You keep us.

You protect us. And we really are after your heart, God. [music] So help us.

Help us, Holy Spirit. That our way of life would be prayer, our way of life would be in the momentum of prayer. [music] That when we come across hardship or challenges across mountains that need to be moved, that we have a [music] history in you and with you.

where we find our confidence and our assurance. [music] >> I thank you, Lord, for the way that you're the way that you're you've loved us, the way that that you've the way that you've met us, all of us, the way that you've drawn us to yourself and called us yours. [music] And I thank you that we get to love you, that it is the privilege of our lives [music] to love you and to know you.

And so thank you for tonight, God, for all that you did. For the ways, [music] the ways that you show up and the ways that you come that you don't have to and yet you always do. [music] Teach us, Lord, to pray, to live in prayer.

That our lives would be moved by you. [music] Thank you for your faithfulness, your kindness, God, for your grace that that you are so much more than enough. Your broken body, your spilled out blood, the cross, so much more than enough.

So we yield ourselves over to you, Lord. We love you. We give you all the glory and honor.

And in your name we pray. Amen. >> Amen.

>> Amen. Amen. Um well, prayer team, I I want to invite you up front if you want to if you need prayer for something and you would love um you we would love to pray with you and stand with you, believe with you for um for whatever it is you're believing God for.

So, our prayer team is up here. Otherwise, we love you guys so much. We thank you for coming.

Um I think they had mentioned at the beginning is that Brian Garren will be here with us next week. And so, right, is that next week? >> Yeah.

Okay. Um, and so we we hope to see you there. Otherwise, God bless you.

Have a good night. Uh, and we'll see you Tuesday, Thursday, or next Sunday.