1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,760 Hey guys, what an honor it is to be with you all. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:06,800 For those that don't know me, I'm Pritt from Pritt and Tea, 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,560 your Hemel site pastors and and my wife Tea. 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:16,120 She's actually preaching at Hemel today and the team are all 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,280 enjoying a week off. Me being there causing trouble 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,680 and I get to cause trouble for you guys. 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,280 Yay. Can I just ask, is anyone here 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:32,800 for the first time today, anyone here has a few hands up? 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,280 Just want to say like, yeah, let's, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,360 You guys, you're so welcome. It's so great. 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,560 And if it's anyone else, it's so great to have you here. 12 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,360 And you've just heard you've joined us in a really unique 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,400 moment. And as as the guys said, we've 14 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,040 recently said goodbye to our senior pastors, Mark and Steph, 15 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,000 and we're welcoming new senior pastors, Chuck and Taron, which 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,320 we're really excited about in January. 17 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,480 So right now you've joined us slap bang in the middle of a 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,040 series, essentially, where we're looking at what are we doing 19 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,200 this time in between right? And and that our posture as a 20 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:14,600 church wouldn't just be passive, but it would be prayerful. 21 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,240 So I encourage you, if you haven't seen all the talks, do 22 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,560 catch up on YouTube. But by way of summary, Claire 23 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,480 kicks us off a few weeks back with a spade. 24 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:29,840 Who remembers the spade? I remember the spade. 25 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:31,560 Yeah. And. 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:36,920 And she encouraged us to dig deep wells of prayer, you know, 27 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,520 to contend in preparation for what's coming next. 28 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,560 And then the wonderful Richard with his gorgeous pink shirt. 29 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,880 Who remembers the pink shirt? It was lovely. 30 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,600 Wow. He spoke to us about faith in 31 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,320 the waiting. And he, he told us the story of 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,680 those people that were praying for rain. 33 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:59,880 And there was one girl who who brought an umbrella and the And 34 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,000 the the challenge was, do we expect God to answer our 35 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,360 prayers? And then Claire picked up the 36 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:07,960 bat. And again, she talked to us 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,199 about fasting, our favorite topic. 38 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,920 You know that we don't just give something up, we give something 39 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:20,160 up to feast on something else. And she launched a weekly 40 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,880 invitation for us to fast every Wednesday and pray together with 41 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,320 a, with a specific prayer focus each week. 42 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,000 And, and this week I think we've got a, a slide for it. 43 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,520 So feel free to take a picture. This week. 44 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:38,280 The, the focus is evangelism. So for many people to come to 45 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,200 know Jesus for the first time and for all those that are doing 46 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,400 alpha in this season. So that's our focus for this 47 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,680 week. And don't forget space online on 48 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,560 a Wednesday and who's who's checked out space online? 49 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:52,880 Any, anyone check that out? Hasn't it just been fantastic as 50 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:54,880 if, I mean, our worship pastors, not here, said Tiago's here. 51 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,400 I know some of the team who've been part of that are here, but 52 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,600 haven't they just been great? Like it's just been a wonderful, 53 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:02,560 wonderful space. Me. 54 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,640 And then and then last week, Jenna encouraged us to pray 55 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:11,880 Kingdom prayers. You know, that there's an order 56 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,640 even in the Lord's Prayer. You know, it's important to pray 57 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:17,960 for our own needs, like our daily breads. 58 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,320 Before we pray for Our Daily Bread, we pray your Kingdom 59 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,720 come. So what a journey it's been. 60 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,560 Who's ready for more? Yeah, let's go, let's go. 61 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,120 I mean, today we're going to look at the topic of inter 62 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:40,400 session, standing in the gap between heaven and earth, and 63 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,760 prayer for others. And I, I, I, I do joke, but I 64 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:48,560 promise I've tried to make this short because we're going to, 65 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,200 we're going to, we're going to try and race through 4 things I 66 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,360 think the Lord is saying to us about intercession. 67 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,320 And then I'd love to spend some time actually doing it together. 68 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:03,280 Oh, have fun. OK, but before we dive in, shall 69 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,760 we start? I understand some of the basics. 70 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,320 Right? So what is intercession? 71 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,400 Why do we do it? OK, so intercession in simple 72 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:17,360 terms is to intervene. Yeah, but to go in between or on 73 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,000 behalf of somebody else, right, to to kind of mediate if you if 74 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,680 you like, it's kind of like spiritual mediation. 75 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,640 Yeah. So it's to stand in the gap on 76 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,320 someone else's behalf. Or in other words, you know, if 77 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,040 we have prayers of petition, which is, you know, praying God, 78 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,560 I need this, I need this, I need this prayer of intercession is, 79 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,760 is praying for others or other situations. 80 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,480 And at this point, you might ask, well, what's the point? 81 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,840 Doesn't God know better than me what everyone else needs? 82 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,520 Oh, well, Jenna talked about this last week. 83 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,080 You know, something happens in the spiritual realm and we pray 84 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,200 our prayers make a difference. Amen. 85 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:01,760 Amen. You know, the Bible says we 86 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,000 don't fight against flesh and blood, against the spiritual 87 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,760 forces of evil. So that is to say that there is 88 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,000 an enemy and he wants to reap destruction on the body of 89 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,600 Christ. I've been studying the book of 90 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,520 Ezekiel recently, all books. It's heavy. 91 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,240 It's kind of strange. And but we see moments where 92 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,840 God's heart and his character shine through. 93 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:31,840 And one such moment is Ezekiel chapter 22, verse 30. 94 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,800 I think we have it. It says. 95 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,040 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the 96 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,080 wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, but I 97 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,000 should not destroy it. But I found. 98 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:52,000 No church I. Pray with my whole heart that 99 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:53,360 God would never say this about us. 100 00:05:54,720 --> 00:06:01,200 Yeah, but instead he would find a church who run, stand in the 101 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:06,320 gap and intercede for our towns, our nation, for the world. 102 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:10,080 You know, we intercede because we recognise our prayers matter. 103 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,360 We intercede because God is looking for those who will stand 104 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,000 in the gap, right? Those big Kingdom prayers with 105 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,040 expectation. Now dig wells, contend for God's 106 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,240 Kingdom to come in our time in our land. 107 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:28,840 Amen, Amen. Right, there we go. 108 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:31,080 So what is God saying to us? Let's race through these. 109 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,000 All right? So number one, we pray based on 110 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,800 God's character. So as we go through this, I've 111 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,080 got 2 moments of intercession in the Bible and I believe the Lord 112 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,560 wants to speak to us free. So for the first, let's turn to 113 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:50,120 Genesis 1822 to 26. And when we're going to meet 114 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:53,440 Abraham, if you, if you don't know who Abraham is, he's, he's 115 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,000 essentially, he's a friend of God and God's talking to him 116 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:01,240 about God's judgement over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 117 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,000 And it says this in verse 22. It says So. 118 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,320 The men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham 119 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:13,280 stood still before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, 120 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,760 Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 121 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,200 Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city, will you then 122 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,720 sweep away the place, and not spare it for the 50 righteous 123 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,280 who were in it? Or be it from you to do such a 124 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,400 thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that 125 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:32,840 the righteous fairer is the wicked? 126 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,080 Far be that from you? Shall not the judge of all the 127 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:43,000 earth do what is and the Lord said, if I find at Sodom 50 128 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,880 righteous in the city, I'll spare the whole place for their 129 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:52,120 sake. We pray you see how Abraham 130 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,040 prays based on God's character. You know, you are a just, he 131 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,280 says you're just or you're not just do something that is just, 132 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,480 you know, you need to know that God is good. 133 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,880 And there's a danger sometimes when we pray, particularly in a 134 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,560 season like this, but we stay in a place of, of maintenance, like 135 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,080 just pray, Oh, I need this. And we make this like wish 136 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:21,840 lists, things we want to pray for, and we take it to God and 137 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,080 we think because he's all powerful and because he's all 138 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:30,480 loving and he's and he's good, we think that he'll oblige to 139 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,440 whatever it is we want. And we're asking for, 140 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:34,640 particularly if we're asking for good things. 141 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,520 But I believe that the challenge for us is that God is calling us 142 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,400 to start our intercession by listening. 143 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:51,400 You know, intercession isn't about God saying Amen to our 144 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,320 will. It's about us saying Amen to 145 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:02,040 God's will. You know, we open our hearts and 146 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,880 our lives to hear the will of God and we say, Amen. 147 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,800 So we must take the time when we come before him in prayer and 148 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:17,960 listen to him. What's God saying over these 149 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:23,840 things? And we pray based on His 150 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,440 goodness, based on His character. 151 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,160 Number one, We pray based on His character. 152 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,000 And then #2 we pray, we must know who we're praying to. 153 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:40,440 OK, so as we if we read on this this section, it's a bit funny 154 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,440 how Abraham starts talking to God. 155 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:48,000 Like verse 27, he says, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. 156 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:55,040 I who am but dust and ashes like find a weird way to talk to 157 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,000 someone. And then verse 30, he says, Oh, 158 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,920 let them Lord not be angry and I will speak. 159 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,760 And verse 32 is like, oh, let the Lord not be angry and I will 160 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:08,760 speak again. But this once some of you wish 161 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:09,760 your kids spoke to you like that. 162 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:15,160 By the way, I'm reading this and I'm like Abraham, dude, but 163 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,280 relax. Don't you know that God is like 164 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,360 so kind and so loving He's good that you're speaking to him like 165 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:30,000 you're afraid of him. Something church, we must learn 166 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:39,720 to recapture a holy fear. You know, the fear of the Lord 167 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:42,760 is an uncomfortable topic because we associate fear with 168 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,880 negative things, right? But let me say, this fear can 169 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,640 lead us into good things, right? It's a, it's a fear of being hit 170 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:53,040 by a car. That means I don't just walk out 171 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,200 into the middle of the road. And it's a fear of it's a 172 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,040 healthy fear of being hospitalized. 173 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:00,760 But I don't eat peanut. I'm allergic. 174 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,480 I'm heavily allergic to peanuts. If you have a peanut, please 175 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:11,160 take it outside. Leviticus 10/3 says among those 176 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,520 who are near me, I will be sanctified. 177 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:20,720 Or in other translations it says I must be regarded as holy. 178 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:27,400 You know, if we want his presence must Revere him church 179 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,920 and treat him as holy and set apart as above us. 180 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,520 And, and I think this is so, so important for us in this time, 181 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:41,400 but particularly when it comes to intercession, because knowing 182 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,880 how awesome and powerful God is leads to expectation, but 183 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,480 expectation must come with reverence. 184 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,800 All right, Let me illustrate this, OK, When I go to 185 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,480 McDonald's, I have no reverence, all right, Some of you are like 186 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,840 what? I'm a KFC boy, all right, But I 187 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,760 I have no reverence towards McDonald's. 188 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,520 I have No Fear of McDonald's. But I have expectation. 189 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,560 Yeah, I expect that when I walk into McDonald's, place my order, 190 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,520 and then within within moments, all right, I'm going to be 191 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,160 walking back out with a Big Mac in my hand, maybe a Coke. 192 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,240 All right. And when that doesn't happen, 193 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:21,000 when it doesn't happen immediately, yeah, what happens? 194 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,400 I'm annoyed. I'm like, what is this? 195 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,040 And then I probably give up and go somewhere else. 196 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:29,480 Probably KFC should have gone there in the. 197 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:34,600 First place you know. So many people do this with God. 198 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:42,000 Yeah, like I, I pray. And it doesn't happen 199 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,680 immediately because there's expectation by reverence. 200 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:55,080 We give up, go somewhere else when we have expectation, with 201 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,520 reverence, we recognise that God's ways are higher beyond our 202 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,680 understanding. And so our response is to keep 203 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:10,840 praying, to keep hoping, keep pressing in and pressing on and 204 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,560 ultimately to surrender to his goodness and to his wisdom that 205 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:18,120 is higher than our own. You know, Jenna said last week, 206 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,440 there's freedom in the fact that the outcome of our prayers are 207 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,760 not our responsibility. There's there's freedom in that, 208 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,400 you know, Two Chronicles 714 says, if my people who are 209 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:35,440 called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my 210 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,400 face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from 211 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,080 heaven and will forgive their sin, heal their land. 212 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,360 When we intercede. We must come before God in 213 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:53,960 humility. You know, your morality, your 214 00:13:53,960 --> 00:14:00,360 wisdom and your power to affect any situation in your life is 215 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:06,800 not greater than God's. Yeah, you know, God. 216 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:12,600 God says to Job in in Job 38 something that I I just think no 217 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:17,040 one else can say this, right? He says, where were you when I 218 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,040 laid the foundations of the earth? 219 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,000 Like who else in your life can ask you that question? 220 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,040 Like who else? No one, right? 221 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,760 God is the only one. If you if for a moment you think 222 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,520 your morality or your power is higher than God's, which many 223 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,320 people on this world do that, you're wrong. 224 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,760 You're wrong, right? You know our God is not a 225 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,360 passive God. He is not a timid God. 226 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:46,280 Our God has conquered death, hell, and the grave. 227 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:51,080 He's the King over Angel armies. You know, He's the author of 228 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,320 salvation, the great and mighty conqueror. 229 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,520 He spoke the entire cosmos into being. 230 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,760 That is who we're coming before. That's who we're coming before 231 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:07,400 when we pray. So pray with boldness, pray with 232 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:13,080 courage, and pray with humility and with reverence. 233 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:21,800 Amen. OK, .3, look at this. 234 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:23,680 We are racing through, aren't we? 235 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:30,320 We're going to head to the next stop, which is in Acts 12. 236 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:36,640 And .3, is this all right? Intercession is for all of us to 237 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,320 do together. OK, so we're in Acts 12. 238 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,560 The church is being persecuted hard. 239 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,800 All right? And James from James, you know, 240 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,080 James and John. James from James and John. 241 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,160 He's just been killed by King Herod. 242 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,960 And we read that his execution pleased the people. 243 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,120 So Herod was out for blood, right? 244 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,320 And specifically the blood of people who followed Jesus. 245 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:15,160 And his next target was Peter. So he's arrested Peter and he's 246 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,560 put him in the garden. There's four squads of soldiers 247 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,720 surrounding Peter, right? Like it's no escape. 248 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,480 And then we read in Acts 12 verse 5, it says, so Peter was 249 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:32,560 kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God 250 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:38,040 by the church. Earnest prayer was made by the 251 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,320 church. And what happens next is insane, 252 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,360 right? Because you can read this, you 253 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,240 can read this on. But basically the night before 254 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:49,760 Peter was to be publicly executed, He's miraculously, 255 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,040 it's like it's, you know, it's like the greatest escape film 256 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:55,320 you'll ever read, right? It, it's insane. 257 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,480 Angels come, they set him free. They like lead him away. 258 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,240 He thinks it's a vision. He doesn't even realise it's 259 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:04,200 real. OK, it's an incredible story. 260 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:07,240 And then he escapes to where the disciples are, right? 261 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:11,400 And he, he knocks on the door. And this is like the dead of 262 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,119 night by the way. He knocks on the door. 263 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,880 And what are they doing? They're on their knees praying. 264 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:24,200 You know, the early church modelled the the right response 265 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:29,320 to persecution beautifully. It's not to launch a rant on 266 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:35,200 social media, but it's to meet together and pray together. 267 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,760 Can I be honest with my own heart and some repentance I've 268 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,440 had to do with the Lord in the last few weeks? 269 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,120 You see, I, I am, I found myself just scrolling. 270 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:48,640 I've found in recent weeks, I found myself just scrolling, 271 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,480 scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, just getting so, so angry like 272 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,640 the world is, is it just seems so dark right now. 273 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,120 Should be. I'm just, that's the way I see 274 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:03,240 it, being honest. I, I, I, I've actually had to 275 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,160 delete my Instagram app all together. 276 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,600 I just found myself getting so angry and frustrated and 277 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,280 hopeless. But my response to do this, to 278 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:19,640 just scroll was wrong. You know, let's do less social 279 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:26,760 media, more spiritual mediation. Yeah, I actually wrote in my 280 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,640 notes, swing and a miss. It happens. 281 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:29,880 So thank you for the encouragement. 282 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,840 But guys like I love that. It must have been like the dead 283 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:41,240 of nights. And yet the church are still 284 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,320 there, gathered together, praying, contending. 285 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,000 I love my sleep. I love my sleep, right? 286 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,160 It's costly. My intercession can be costly, 287 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,680 but it's corporate, all right? We do it together. 288 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,800 And I want to say this like it's this isn't something reserved 289 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:00,960 for the prayer warriors, all right? 290 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,320 This is, this is for all of us. You know, your prayers matter, 291 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,520 your intercession matters. Your participation in this 292 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,120 matters. Don't leave it for someone else. 293 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,600 This is for all of us. Don't let this moment pass us 294 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,520 by. OK, .4. 295 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:23,120 I'm just going to rewind again to verse 5 because it doesn't 296 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:30,160 just say prayer was made, right, It says earnest prayer was made. 297 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,640 I mean, other translations it might say, you know, prayer was 298 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,520 made fervently. The Greek word here for Ernest 299 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,440 or fervently is ektenos. Everyone say ektenos, right? 300 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:44,200 This is a really important point for us. 301 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,400 I feel this point. I think this is really important 302 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:51,000 for US .4 is this we pray ektenos. 303 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,080 OK, so this is an adverb. It's a word picture. 304 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,600 It literally, it's like a word picture of a stretching, 305 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,280 stretching your arm out, no slack, like, like a stretching 306 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,480 out as hard as you can, right? There's no give maximum 307 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,600 potential. It's intense. 308 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,840 It's wholehearted. I mean, if you want an idea of 309 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,800 what this might look like in the context of prayer, I can tell 310 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,640 you that the same root word, it's the same word is used in 311 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,120 Luke 2244 when Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. 312 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,600 Right, so it says there and in and being in agony, he prayed 313 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,480 more earnestly. So the word is actually 314 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,160 eternestron, but it's just another form of the word that 315 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:37,240 essentially means more eternos. All right, so and being in 316 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:43,960 agony, he prayed more eternos. And his sweat became like great 317 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:45,640 drops of blood falling to the ground. 318 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:52,640 Like, this is what praying eternos looks like, guys. 319 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,360 I'm not asking you to sweat drops of flood. 320 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,280 I believe that God is looking for people to stand in the gap, 321 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,120 not just to go through the motions of prayer, not just 322 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:06,560 because this is the thing we're talking about as a church, but 323 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:09,440 people who will pray eternos wholehearted. 324 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:17,400 And if we want to pray eternos, we have to eradicate apathy from 325 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,640 our hearts. You know that like lazy, 326 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,240 passive, not really caring. Can I please hear my heart? 327 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,880 Because I'm not trying to just March in here and be and accuse 328 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:27,120 you all of such a terrible thing. 329 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,400 But look, I know, I know from my own heart and my own life. 330 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,720 If I'm not intentional and aware of this, it can take root and 331 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,160 then just spread across several areas of my life. 332 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:44,520 So if this is, if I'm the only one, please humour me for 5 333 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:45,840 minutes. But I'm going to go through this 334 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,440 because I just, and I just love you to just just really 335 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,480 carefully listen to the Spirit. Just be open and ask, look, 336 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,440 Lord, does this take a root in my life anywhere? 337 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,520 Because the apathy says it's not the end of the world if I miss 338 00:21:58,520 --> 00:21:59,840 the first few minutes of worship. 339 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,280 I need my coffee. Etanos says, Look, I know I'm 340 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,240 late for everything, but not this, not this. 341 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,120 This is too important because God deserves my worship. 342 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:19,200 So I make sure that I'm here and ready to worship. 9:30 Apathy 343 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,360 says it doesn't matter if I put my hand up to stand and watch 344 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,920 this month because you know someone else would do it. 345 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:32,120 Externos says I care about this family so much that if even if, 346 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,320 even if no one else is praying, I'm going to pray. 347 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,040 Apathy says well, I didn't see anyone on the parking team at 348 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:40,920 the gate today, I should really do something about that. 349 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:46,560 Externos says I'll do something about that, right? 350 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:52,960 It takes a decision, an intentional act to do something 351 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,920 external. So, in fact, all right, who 352 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,000 remembers that week? If you were here in the summer, 353 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,720 remember there was that one week when there was Rd. 354 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,000 Works just outside. And then we were all trying to 355 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,240 get home and we were just stuck in a massive traffic jam all the 356 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,320 way back, back here for half an hour. 357 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:08,000 And then it started moving and we all got to the front. 358 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,480 I don't know if they're in the room today, but but then you got 359 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,560 to the front and we saw Sir John and Dame Penny Griggs standing 360 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,800 at the, you know, they'd got out of their car and they were like 361 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,000 coordinating traffic, man. You know, apathy says they 362 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,720 should put someone out of here to direct the traffic. 363 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,280 It makes such a difference. External says, well, we'll do it 364 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:31,520 then. Look, I picked these examples 365 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,720 just to illustrate. I know it's, it's often more 366 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,600 complicated than that. So I'm not trying to not trying 367 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,000 to make anyone feel guilty or offend anyone, but but but this 368 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,480 is a heart posture. You know, the seeds that we 369 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,600 water with our actions are the seeds that take root and grow. 370 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,120 So my encouragement is let's water eternos in all areas of 371 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:57,360 our life. You know, and we must be open to 372 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:02,880 the idea that prayer can change us and prayer changes us. 373 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,720 I love the story of Azalea. I mean, it started with a prayer 374 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,560 meeting, right? A group of believers choosing to 375 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,560 pray about vulnerable women in this on the street. 376 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,080 And they could have prayed with apathy. 377 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,680 Oh, you know, maybe God will do something, maybe he won't. 378 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,080 But I've done my bit. I've said a couple of prayers. 379 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,040 But now they prayed intentionally and Exynos and 380 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,040 their prayer moved them into action. 381 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,040 You know, they took their own time, energy and resources to 382 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:37,560 sacrificially provide spaces for the women to be safe and to know 383 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,160 their love and to pray with them. 384 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,280 And now they've worked with over 500 survivors. 385 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,360 Sexual abuse and they're changing lives and they're 386 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:52,280 changing their community because a group of believers gathered 387 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,120 together and prayed at Tennos Church. 388 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:59,160 Let me ask you this, if we as a church gathered together and 389 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,520 prayed at Tennos, how many more azaleas might rise up? 390 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,200 You know, what miracles might we see? 391 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:09,080 So that's our four encouragements. 392 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:10,640 We pray based on God's character. 393 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,600 Let's know who we pray into and come before him with humility. 394 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,360 Intercession is for all of us to do together. 395 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:24,160 Church, pray Ektenos. So in a moment, we're going to 396 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,000 move into a time of intercession. 397 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,440 We're going to do this practically together. 398 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,760 But I just want to speak to a couple of groups in the room 399 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:32,480 first. All right? 400 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:34,560 Because I I get it. I get it. 401 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,040 I say we're going to do something practical. 402 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:37,200 We're going to get up off our seats. 403 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,800 And some of you are like, yeah, come on, I'm ready. 404 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,720 I'm ready. Some of you are not like that. 405 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,360 Some of you are like, oh, my goodness. 406 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,640 OK, it's 1042, right? We'll just keep your head down, 407 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,080 get through this. We'll be out with the doughnut 408 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,400 soon. I get it. 409 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:55,360 Look, I get it. I get it. 410 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:58,360 I've been there. But Claire started this series 411 00:25:58,360 --> 00:25:59,120 with the prop. Yeah. 412 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,080 So I've brought off my own. OK. 413 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,360 This I was saying to Richard Frey, this this here was in my 414 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:07,920 mouth this morning brushing these teeth. 415 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,560 OK, can I over share a little bit more than I just have? 416 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:16,680 I hate brushing my teeth. Anyone else? 417 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:18,720 Like it's so boring. It's thank you. 418 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:20,840 Like can we just be honest? Who hates brushing their teeth? 419 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:23,520 It's so boring. And you've got to just do it all 420 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,600 the time. All the time, honestly, like 421 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:29,680 it's tedious. I've spent so much time doing 422 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:35,080 this, so much time in my life. Anyway, see you that now. 423 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,280 And yeah, do you know this activity has changed my reality, 424 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:46,320 OK, But by example, OK, as I've alluded to earlier, I'm, I'm 425 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:51,840 married and I'm married to, if I say so, a very beautiful lady. 426 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:56,640 Like, she is stunning. And back when I was an annoying 427 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:58,640 teenager and I was trying to impress her. 428 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,840 Can I tell you if I didn't do this regularly? 429 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:05,440 Genuinely right. If I didn't do this regularly, I 430 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,560 I I mean, I don't know. The Lord knows his wisdom is 431 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,040 greater than mine, but I don't think we'd be married right now. 432 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:13,920 Yeah, that's fair. That is that fair? 433 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:19,560 Yeah. This is a pretty significant 434 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:21,920 part of my life. I owe to this little thing. 435 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,960 I you know, just because I've. I've used this once a week, I've 436 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:26,760 I'm joking. I'm joking. 437 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,360 I'm joking. But guys. 438 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,520 But. But guys, genuinely, genuinely, 439 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,680 right. So if we do this a couple of 440 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,240 times a day and it, and it can change our reality, like how 441 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:44,200 much more can intercession can standing in the gut change our 442 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,120 reality? So, so let, so let me say this 443 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,360 like, if you're sitting there and you're like, Oh, I don't, I, 444 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:54,560 I don't want to do this. Like you might, you might not 445 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,720 find it exciting. That's, that's fine. 446 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,120 You might not feel like you're any good at intercession. 447 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:00,480 You might not know what words to say. 448 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,680 You might just feel totally awkward. 449 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,600 But my encouragement is just do it. 450 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,720 Just do it because it will change reality. 451 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,240 And I know there's some of you. Well, I know there's some of 452 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:13,640 you. It's your first time here. 453 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:16,800 And look, look, maybe it's your, I don't know, your story. 454 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,960 Maybe it's your first time in, in, in church, you know, maybe 455 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,000 you're here and you're not even sure there is a God. 456 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,240 Can I tell you there is? And he loves you more than you 457 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,720 could ever comprehend. You're so precious to him. 458 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,840 He wants to know you so much so that he's made a way for you to 459 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,920 be here today. And you're not here by accident. 460 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,200 And you should know that this invitation, this opportunity to 461 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:49,760 stand in the gap and to speak to the living God, that's for you 462 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,360 too. You know, you can do this too. 463 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,880 In fact, you can pray to God and he will listen. 464 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,760 Your prayers matter just as much as anyone else's. 465 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,840 OK, I'll be ready. So here's here's how we're going 466 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,640 to do this. All right, in a moment, I'm 467 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:10,000 going to ask you to stand if you're able. 468 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:11,760 And what we're going to do is we're just going to huddle up 469 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,520 with with in small groups of people around you. 470 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,880 I'd say groups of, say, 4 to 6 is probably the ideal size. 471 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:19,800 Yeah. Tioga, if you want to. 472 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,080 Thank you. But so 4 to 6 is ideal, but 473 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:28,280 let's just make sure everyone's in a group and then on screen 474 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,760 we're going to have a prayer .1 prayer point at a time. 475 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,040 And then as we get to each, I'll tell you the logistics of, of, 476 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,840 of what we're physically going to do and how we're going to do 477 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:38,240 it. But why don't I invite you now? 478 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:39,840 Do you want to stand? And let's just get into some 479 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,560 groups. So 4 to 6, but let's just make 480 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:45,920 sure everyone. So just turn around, huddle up 481 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,960 with people near you. If you don't know each other, 482 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,320 it's a great time to say, hey, my name's Prit. 483 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,280 Or if your name's not Prit, don't say that, obviously. 484 00:30:06,620 --> 00:30:08,540 All right. Are we in groups? 485 00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:12,860 Are we in groups? Is there, is there anyone not in 486 00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:14,140 a group? Just stick your hand up if 487 00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:15,900 you're not in a group. Anyone not in a group. 488 00:30:17,540 --> 00:30:18,580 We're all in groups. All right. 489 00:30:18,580 --> 00:30:19,540 Amazing. Amazing. 490 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,320 OK guys, look, part of the reason why I want to do this 491 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,280 practically now together is because I want us, I want us to 492 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,760 have all practised this in a, in a, in an environment like this. 493 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,320 We're all together. It's all nice and safe because I 494 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,440 want us to be confident enough to do this through the week. 495 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,640 OK? So please don't think or let 496 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:39,800 this moment be the only time we do this this week. 497 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,200 Like I encourage you get familiar with it here. 498 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,200 If this isn't something you do or you've done, be familiar with 499 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,880 it now and then let's do it. Let's do it through the week. 500 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,880 But my encouragement when we approach intercession is to 501 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:53,720 follow. We're going to do these three 502 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:54,520 steps. OK. 503 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:00,280 So number one, we come before God with humility and adoration 504 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,520 and our worship. You know, it's a privilege that 505 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,320 we get to come before him. So let's let's just all 506 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,560 together, just right now OfferUp our praise and our Thanksgiving. 507 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,080 Let's just do that. Outline where you are now. 508 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,400 Just say Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord 509 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,640 that you're here. Thank you, Lord, that we have 510 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,360 this privilege to be in your presence, that we can come 511 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:21,240 before you. Just shout it out wherever you 512 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,440 are. Thank you, Lord. 513 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,480 Thank you Jesus. Thank you, Lord. 514 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:26,800 You're so kind. Lord. 515 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,600 We worship you, Jesus, we worship you, Lord. 516 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,200 You are greater than us. You are mightier than us, Lord, 517 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,160 and we thank you. We thank You that you lend us 518 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,560 your ear, that you care about what we have to come before you 519 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:50,800 with Lord Jesus. And as we do that step 2:00 we 520 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:55,320 we re censor our scattered senses on his presence like his 521 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,120 presence is in the room right now. 522 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:01,120 So just begin to turn your ears, your eyes, your hearts towards 523 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,680 him and his presence retune into the spirit. 524 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:11,840 Now we listen His direction. You know, Hebrews 725 says that 525 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,080 Jesus is always interceding for us. 526 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,240 So we ask, Lord, what are you saying? 527 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,840 And then we speak into what the Lord is saying. 528 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,280 We follow His direction and we come into agreement with Him. 529 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,320 And it's helpful to use Scripture as you pray. 530 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,080 So I encourage you to do that. But guys, let's go. 531 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,240 So we're going to listen and then we're going to speak into 532 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:34,280 what God is saying. We're going to do about two 533 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,160 minutes for each prayer prompts. And the first is this guys, 534 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,000 we're going to pray for our incoming senior pastors, Chuck 535 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,960 and Tarrant, that they would have clarity, vision, 536 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,760 protection, courage, and anything else that you feel led 537 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:49,800 to pray. And I'd love for you to take 538 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,680 turns within your group. So let's let's pray short 539 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,160 prayers, give people the opportunity. 540 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,240 Like I say, we're just going to do this for two minutes for each 541 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,520 prayer prompt. So one person at a time, 542 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,440 speaking out loud and everyone else unifying and agreeing with 543 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,160 that prayer. So off you go. 544 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:20,560 The. All right, guys, 30 seconds more 545 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:22,480 on this one, then we'll move to our second prayer prompt. 546 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,480 All right, for our next prayer prompt, I'd love it as you guys 547 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,719 are now split again into two into into two groups within your 548 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:51,360 group. So I'm looking for twos and 549 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:52,880 threes. If you're already in the two and 550 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:55,639 three, great. And this time we're going to 551 00:34:55,639 --> 00:35:01,560 pray for our church family for unity, humility, spiritual 552 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:05,480 hunger, anything else as you feel LED And again, short 553 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,760 prayers. So I say in in in twos or 554 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:09,520 threes, maybe a four if you're in a big group now. 555 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,400 But let's, let's, let's pray for our church family again. 2 556 00:35:13,400 --> 00:37:15,760 minutes. OK, so for our third prayer 557 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:21,560 front guys, we're going to pray for our community, All right? 558 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,320 We're going to stand in the gap together. 559 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:27,800 And I'd love us to pray and contend for a revival, for 560 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:32,640 reconciliation, for renewal. Any other R words that you feel 561 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,200 LED? But this time what I'd love us 562 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,160 to do is to just stand together as one big group. 563 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,720 And I love us just to pray. Just pray out loud. 564 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:43,640 You know, if you pray in tongues, feel free to do that. 565 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:45,480 I'm not going to go into that. But if you, if you pray in 566 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:46,840 tongues, feel free to do that as well. 567 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,120 But guys, let's just let's be loud. 568 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,360 Let's just contend for our community right now in Jesus 569 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,320 name. Let's go Lord. 570 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:18,800 Thank you, Jesus. Yes, Lord, we pray, We contend 571 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,160 for our community. Lord, we contend for our 572 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:25,360 community. Lord, we say, we say, come Holy 573 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,320 Spirit, take back this land. Take back this landlord, Jesus, 574 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,960 come and heal our land. Take back this landlord. 575 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,800 Will the light shine through in the darkness, Holy Spirit, Come. 576 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:40,920 Lord Jesus, we pray for revival in our time, in our in our land. 577 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:47,200 Come Holy Spirit in Jesus name, guys, I do have a fourth prayer 578 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,280 prompt, but can I encourage you rather we're not going to do the 579 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,840 4th one right now. The 4th is the 4th is to 580 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:57,200 actually just pray for someone else and intercede for someone 581 00:39:57,200 --> 00:39:58,880 else. So I'd love you. 582 00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:00,760 Maybe, maybe you want to do it after the service. 583 00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,720 But if you like your homework or your challenge or invitation's 584 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:06,680 probably the right word, right? It's to pray with someone else 585 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:08,640 this week and intercede for them, right? 586 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:13,040 So you can you can pray for. What's up? 587 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:17,480 I think we've got the slide actually for our 4th that that, 588 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:19,960 that people would be obedient. There we go. 589 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:25,320 Boldness, burden and obedience. So, so find someone and pray for 590 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,480 them this week, maybe after the service, get it done nice and 591 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,360 early. But that's your that's your 592 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:32,840 challenge. You could you can stay standing, 593 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:33,960 standing. I'm just going to bring us all 594 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:36,320 together. I just want to, I just want to 595 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,480 tell one quick story is to bring this all together. 596 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:46,320 You know, it's 1940 and it's the middle of World War 2, and the 597 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:50,120 Allied soldiers have been pushed back to the French beach and 598 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:52,440 there's no hope for them. You know, the Germans are 599 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:57,960 advancing and there's no hope. And so your King George calls 600 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,000 for a national day of prayer and intercession. 601 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,960 And what happens? Well, there's a storm over the 602 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:08,160 German Luftwaffe, so all their planes are grounded. 603 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:12,400 The the German army make a number of tactical errors that 604 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:14,160 just delay them getting to the beach. 605 00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:17,800 And at the same time there's calm on the English Channel. 606 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:22,680 And, and, and as millions flocks into churches to pray and 607 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,120 intercede. You know, they prayed at Tennos. 608 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:26,920 They allowed their prayers to change them. 609 00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:30,000 And a number of civilians, no doubt, who'd been in church and 610 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,840 prayed, decided to take their own boats across the Channel. 611 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:43,400 335 soldiers were rescued that that day because this nation got 612 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,160 together to intercede. Church, What would happen if we 613 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:51,720 got together to intercede? All right, so I pray, let's pick 614 00:41:51,720 --> 00:41:55,480 up this mantle. OK, Let's pray, Ektenos, and 615 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:59,160 let's watch God do his thing. Amen. 616 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:11,550 Amen. Hallelujah, guys. 617 00:42:11,790 --> 00:42:14,750 We we have a wonderful prayer team who meet before the service 618 00:42:15,510 --> 00:42:18,030 and, and they prayed and asked the Lord for some words of 619 00:42:18,030 --> 00:42:21,710 knowledge and, and these are the words as they listened. 620 00:42:22,230 --> 00:42:25,030 These are the words they had repetitive strain injury on the 621 00:42:25,030 --> 00:42:28,390 right wrist. A lady called grace with pain 622 00:42:28,390 --> 00:42:31,830 and upset stomach. Someone with a wound on the 623 00:42:31,830 --> 00:42:36,200 upper body that's not healing. A mum worried about a daughter 624 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:39,600 with eating disorder. Someone with rheumatoid 625 00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:42,840 rheumatoid arthritis who's given up hope of healing. 626 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:47,920 Someone with pain in their feet. Someone with psoriasis. 627 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,760 Someone with cluster headaches or migraines. 628 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:57,520 Someone feeling stuck in life, I can't see a way forwards and 629 00:42:57,520 --> 00:42:59,760 then someone with I'm going to pronounce this wrong with giant 630 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:02,840 cell arthritis, arthritis. I don't know. 631 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:07,080 But if, if, if any of those are you or even someone that you 632 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:08,920 know. And and if you're watching 633 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:10,960 online, please, please let us know. 634 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,680 So if you're in the room, please come over to to my right, your 635 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,480 left just over there. There'll be a wonderful prayer 636 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:18,000 team if you pray with you. If you're online, please e-mail 637 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,960 us at prayer at Versailles dot Church. 638 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,560 But you should know that God sees you. 639 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:29,480 God sees you and he loves you. So keep praying, Keep 640 00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:34,200 contending. Yeah. 641 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:39,320 Hasn't this been wonderful? I just love the kindness of the 642 00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:43,000 Lord that he, he gives us the invitation to do this together. 643 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,200 So I want to intercede for you all now and I want to pray that 644 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:51,880 the Lord would bless you, that He would make His face shine 645 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:56,400 upon you this week. He would lift up his countenance 646 00:43:56,400 --> 00:44:00,880 towards you. He would grant you His perfect, 647 00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:06,600 perfect peace that surpasses all knowledge and all understanding 648 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:10,440 and everything else on this planet and that you would be 649 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:14,000 blessed in Jesus name. Amen. 650 00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:14,760 Amen.