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Join us every Sunday morning at 9 or 10:30 AM in the Maywood Center. Sermons & Bible Studies available online on any podcast platform or visit our YouTube channel "@flipsidechristianchurch"! Download our app at https://flipsidechristian.churchcenter.com/setup for more info about our church and ministries.
Flipside Christian Church
Madera Ranchos, CA
I realize that sometimes listening to me
is like getting a drink of water
out of out of a fire hose.
And so I apologize
if it comes across that way.
I'm a little bit on edge
because football season has started.
Had an exuberant time of Chilean cornhole
last night.
My competitive juices
are flowing a little bit, and I'm
so excited
about what God is doing in this church.
I was doing a little bit of research
this week
about this
next gen ministry and age group,
and specifically Gen Z millennials
and Gen alphas,
and what I, what I found was this Barna
in their research in the first six months
of this year, reports that 39% of the Gen
Z generation, which is right
up to about 29, 30 years old,
and 44% of the millennial
generation consider AI.
For spiritual guidance
to be as trustworthy as pastors.
Don't. Don't listen.
Just hang tight. Don't bemoan
anything yet.
One what's that say to those who are Gen
Z and millennials amongst us?
Don't bemoan it.
Because here's the other stat.
Nearly half of all practicing Christians,
regardless of age, say they would trust AI
in some capacity to help determine
and develop their spiritual growth.
That's nothing to do with age.
And so here's here's
the church must not adopt
an anti AI position.
That cannot be our position as a church.
It can't be our position as Christ
followers.
What the congregation,
what the church needs
is a theology
to understand the role of AI.
We don't need to deny it.
We need a theology about it.
And so we have to understand that, well,
AI is valuable.
AI cannot shepherd a soul.
It has no spiritual authority.
It cannot create a conscience.
It is not community.
And it must never be a substitute
for careful interpretation of Scripture.
It can
give great information,
but it cannot give wisdom.
And so here's, here's here's our here's
our our our view of of AI.
It is here to stay is just going to grow
larger and its influence.
But here's here's
the Christians view of AI.
Scripture governs all things.
It starts and ends with Scripture.
Pastors teach and shepherd.
They teach Scripture,
and they shepherd the people.
The church affirms
what Scripture is taught and the teaching
of its pastors and the technology
and AI simply assists in that process.
Do we all understand?
This is
this is specially matters to our Gen X
and Gen Alpha generation,
because they'll oftentimes go to
and consult technology
before seeking Scripture
and speak impersonally
to a parent, pastor or a mentor.
The danger is
that while AI can give great information,
it cannot give wisdom, but it's often
the first voice most people trust.
And so this is one reason,
my dear friends,
why this flip side flow is so important.
Because this has to do with relationships
with each other and with God,
not technology.
While there is a noticeable increase
in and rise
and engagement of younger adults in faith,
there is not at all any rise or increase
in the disciplines and the development
of their spiritual formation.
So they're interested,
but there's no development.
Fewer Christians today
than two decades ago
say that faith organizes
their everyday life,
and they're less engaged in evangelism
and less consistent in church
participation week by week.
So the interest is growing,
but the discipline and formation is not.
And that's why this flip side
flow is so important,
because we're invited to belong
to the family of God by faith,
expressed that in baptism
and being a part of a church community
every week
so that we can become
more of the image of Christ
and learn the disciplines necessary
for that in Bible reading and journaling
and being a part of a small group
and spiritual disciplines, so that we can
give to the Kingdom of God, of our time,
our talent, our resources, our energies.
Because the Kingdom becomes a priority
and we go on mission and our witnesses
to the world because they need
to be invited to belonging to his family.
Do you understand this?
This flip side flow?
There are real practical ways
to help Christians become biblically
literate, prayerful, generous,
sexually and morally obedient,
to be a part of a Christian community,
to be servants, to be witnesses,
and to be spiritually durable.
And so this is why we said,
you're going to see this a lot.
You have them in front of you, understand
where you are on this flow,
and understand what your next steps are
for your own spiritual development.
That's
why this next gen thing is so important,
why the young adult
ministry is so important,
why these things are doing with men
and women are so important.
It forms the spiritually and it makes us
good models for the younger generation.
Is that clear? Yeah.
So Matthew 20,
we're going through the book of Matthew.
We're not going to get through
the book of Matthew until right before
Christmas, that we're just taking our time
going through this.
And so we're in Matthew 20.
We started Matthew 20 last week.
We're going to finish it this week.
Last week we talked in Matthew
20 about the difference
between gifts and rewards
and how salvation is a gift of God.
And a gift
is something that is given freely.
You don't earn it.
You don't work for you don't pay for it.
Salvation is a gift by faith
because of God's grace.
And after salvation,
now comes the opportunity for rewards.
Jesus says, now that your
the received the gift of salvation.
Store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven.
And so there will be rewards
that will be based on what we do on earth,
how we serve, how we give,
how we minister, how we how we suffer,
those that will all be rewarded in heaven.
It's not salvation. Salvation
not based on what we do.
That's the free gift.
But rewards are based on what we do
on earth.
And from Monday morning,
Jesus was very clear
store for yourself treasures in heaven.
We talked about what that looks like
as far as rewards are
and what gets rewarded
and what doesn't in heaven.
And so from Monday morning
until this morning, there have been men
and women and young and old in this church
storing up treasures in heaven
because they've been serving very well.
There have been many people, many of you
have been storing up treasures in heaven.
There are some who have who
for them, it looks like the renovation
of all the stuff that's going on here.
They're serving behind the scenes,
faithfully stirring up treasures
in heaven.
For some, it's been
they've been visiting people
who need visits
on behalf of the church
they've been witnessing.
I just someone just told me I saw one of
your people at the pool that to serve at
witnessing and sharing faith with someone,
I'm like, it's treasures in heaven.
It's really cool.
There are some of you
been involved in ministry
throughout the week and this morning,
first service during the service
and for next service.
Stronger treasures in heaven.
Some of you have used your gifts
and ability
in the organization of all things
the event, the prayer thing,
the children's, the ministry stored up
treasures in heaven by your organization.
Some of you showed up this morning
to set up this stuff.
Didn't just show up outside.
These guys show up there strong up
churches in heaven by their service
in the morning.
Our sheepdog ministry,
the ones that you never see
who have responsibility for our safety
and well-being should anything happen
there, all around this campus,
every service and every event.
And they just
they know that there isn't anything.
That's how they're serving the Lord.
They're treasures in heaven.
And they understand what Jesus said.
The last will be first.
Those who were unseen will be seen there.
And I'm so proud of you.
I'm so
thank you, church, for your service.
Thank you for stirring up
churches in heaven.
Well done. Keep it up. Lean into it.
So that was the first section
of Matthew 20.
We really kind
of leaned into that last week.
So this week and we're going to round out
Matthew 24 verse 17
on through the last of the chapter.
And chapter 20 sets up
the rest of Jesus's earthly life.
Everything from chapter 21 on
is all about the last week of his life,
his death, and his resurrection.
And so to wrap this up, here's today
we're going to see two kingdoms
in conflict with each other,
the personal
kingdom of our own agenda
and God's kingdom.
And we're going to see what characterizes
both.
So here's the big idea for this
second half of chapter 20.
Here's what boils down to Kingdom of
greatness is found in serving like Jesus
and seeking him in humble,
persistent prayer Kingdom greatness.
Now the Hall of Fame
game just happened with the NFL.
There was the great induction
into the hall.
People in all of fame, Luke Keely and Sean
Payton or Drew Brees and these guys.
The greatest
that the NFL had to offer in this class.
That's what worldly greatness looks like.
You championed me
because I'm better than you.
You celebrate me
because of what I've accomplished.
That's different than kingdom greatness.
Kingdom
greatness says you want to be great.
Then follow the example of Jesus and serve
and pursue
him in humble, persistent prayer.
And so let's just jump in here.
I'm going to start in verse
17 and 17, 18, 19.
Then we'll talk about it
and we'll just go through the chapter,
verse 17.
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the 12 disciples aside.
And on the way he said to them, see,
we're going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be delivered
over to the chief priests and scribes.
They will condemn him to death.
Who will condemn him to death
and deliver him over to the Gentiles,
to be mocked and flogged and crucified.
And he'll be raised on the third day.
Jesus is saying, listen,
I want you to understand
what we're walking into right now.
He's walking
into the last week of his life.
He knows this.
And he says, the way of the kingdom
is the way of the cross.
There
is no Christianity without the cross.
There is no Christian without the cross,
not just the cross of Christ,
but the cross
that we have to pick up every day to
the way of the Kingdom
is the way of the cross.
It's the way of suffering.
It's the way of serving
that is kingdom living.
And Jesus is very clear
with them about what's going to happen.
The way of the kingdom
is the way of the cross
and then the resurrection.
But the cross has to come first.
It's interesting as you look
at what he says, he lays out for them
five things that are going to happen.
He says, I'm, I'm going to Jerusalem.
And when I'm there,
these things are going to happen to me.
He knows it.
Betrayed, condemned,
mocked, flogged, crucified.
He knows it.
This is not going to be surprised. Him.
He knows ahead of time.
This is what I'm walking into.
I want you to walk with me.
I don't want you to participate in this.
Your time will come later.
But I want you to watch me do it.
Because this is my father's will.
And knowing that's where he's headed,
he keeps walking.
He doesn't try to skirt it.
He didn't try to get around it.
He tries not to make excuses.
He doesn't try to back off.
He says, this is what's waiting for me.
I'm going to be delivered
in the hands of evil, evil men.
And they will condemn me and mock
me and flog
me and crucify me on a Roman cross.
And I'm going to walk straight
into the teeth of it.
This is the way of the kingdom.
Jesus is not surprised
by the suffering he's going to face.
He embraces it.
So to follow
Jesus is to embrace his priorities
rather than try
to avoid the hardship.
I'm going to embrace the priorities
of Christ as model by Christ,
rather than to try to avoid the hardship
of what it means
to be a radical disciple of Christ.
And he has this moment
with his, with this.
12 and he presses into this, and,
and and this is the first place
where he details how he's going to die.
He's told him before he's going to die.
But this was the first place in Scripture
he says it's going to be by crucifixion,
the most brutal way designed for capital
punishment that the world had known.
This ought
to be a shock to the disciples crucified.
Only Romans can crucify what?
How are the Romans
going to get Ahold of you?
This makes no.
They should have felt
a charge of adrenaline.
Jesus, if this is where you're headed,
I am right by your side, I will.
There should have been this acknowledgment
that we're.
This is sacred, holy ground.
Jesus said.
And listen,
I want you to understand the call on
my life is to suffer for you
and to die for you.
I will be resurrected, but it doesn't.
The resurrection doesn't happen
without the cross.
This is what I'm walking into.
I want you to understand
what it's going to cost me.
This is a sacred moment.
It's a holy moment.
It's a power for a moment.
It's an intense moment.
It's a passionate moment.
It's an emotional moment.
This is the way the kingdom.
This is the culmination of a kingdom life.
And then the response.
The disciples show how stupid they are.
You have this moment with Jesus,
this incredible,
this incredible moment
you're invited into with them.
Look at what happens
then.
The mother of the sons of Zebedee
came up to her with her son.
This is just.
This is mind blowing.
Some freaking Jewish
Karen comes up and says, hey!
These are grown men, James and John.
She's the mother of James.
These are grown men in tow behind mommy.
Like at some point
have a freaking backbone, man.
Quit following mommy around
and letting her plead your case.
You've heard about her mom's?
This is a Jewish
bulldozer, mom. Right here.
This is ridiculous.
Look at what she says.
She came with the two sons,
and before him,
she asked him for something,
and he said to her.
What do you want? This.
That's the question
I want you to pay attention to.
Jesus is going to ask another
couple of people this exact same question.
And here's here's the thing.
He might be asking you this question
right now.
He might be asking you, what do you want?
Why are. You here?
She said to him,
say to these two sons of mine,
say that these two sons of mine
are to sit one at your right hand
and one at your left in your kingdom.
Those are places of prestige,
typical over involved bulldozer. Mom,
I want to make sure that you know
how special my children are.
And I want to make sure that you treat
them like they're supposed to be treated.
And I want to make sure
that you're honoring them the way
I think they need to be honored.
And I want to make sure they get the right
playing time.
And I want to make sure
that you understand their issue.
I bet you didn't realize how
practical scripture is sometimes,
Jesus answers.
You don't know what you're asking.
I wonder.
This mom was at the cross
and she looked up and saw Jesus
with one on the right and one on the left.
And I wonder if that moment
she thought, I don't know what I'm asking.
Just as
you do not know what you're asking.
And then he turns to the boy.
Since I was you able to drink the cup
that I'm going to drink?
In the context, drinking the cup
was the full participation with, he said,
do you really participate with me
fully in what I'm about to participate in?
And in their ignorance,
they said, yeah, we can take it.
And he said to them, verse 23,
you will drink my cup,
but to sit on my right hand
and my left is not for me to grant,
it's for those for whom
it is being prepared by my father.
He said, all right,
James and John, you will drink the cup.
James was the first disciple martyred
in the new church, beheaded John.
They tried to martyr him.
They just couldn't.
They boiled him to death.
But he didn't die.
And then they sequestered him
to the island of Patmos, a prison colony.
And that's where he received
the revelation of God and wrote the Book
of Revelation and the three epistles,
first, second, third John.
See, John knew that as long as he was on
God's agenda and God's plan,
he was invincible.
But they both drank the cup.
And when the ten heard at verse 24,
they were indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus called them and said to them,
you know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lorded over them, and their great ones
exercise authority over them.
It shall not be so among you.
Whoever would be great among
you must be your servant.
Whoever would be first among
you must be your slave.
He says that. Got it? Tell us.
I just told you the way of the kingdom.
And now you're over here
worried about your position
in the world.
That's how people who are not
part of my kingdom live their lives.
That's not us.
That's not how we live.
It's not about your position.
It's not about your elevation.
It's not about your promotion.
So if you want to be great.
You'll be a servant.
That word servant, the Greek, is Diakonoff
and means literally minister.
It doesn't mean pastor.
That's a different word.
But servant means minister,
which is someone who does
the menial work at the command of another.
That's kingdom
that if I'm a kingdom man,
I am doing the hard work
at the command of someone else.
I'm a servant.
It's a way of the kingdom.
Now, most of us would say,
I don't mind serving.
I just don't want you to think
of me as your servant.
Right?
I don't
mind serving,
but don't you treat me like a servant.
Well,
the way of the kingdom
is the way of a servant.
And then he goes further
and he says, whoever you want
to, the Great One
are the ones who will be the slaves.
And it literally means Dulos slave.
Literally.
It's someone who disregards their own
interests
for the advancement of God's kingdom.
The way of the kingdom
is the way of a servant
who does the work
at the command of another,
and he sacrifices their agenda
for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
And these guys missed it completely.
Jesus just talked about dying
and the disciples
are talking about promotion.
Do you notice how quickly
the kingdom becomes about herself?
The key to this whole thing is verse 28.
And in verse 28
Jesus says, even as he says,
be a servant and be a slave, even as
the Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom.
That's the way of the kingdom.
It's the way of the cross,
and it's the way of serving
and slavery
that my life is no longer about my agenda.
It's no longer about myself promotion.
It's no longer about my elevation.
It's about
I allow the Kingdom of God
and the agenda to God to redirect
and read my life.
As a servant and a slave.
This guy's just missed it.
And I think we do sometimes.
Want to add
Jesus to my life to make it better.
Says you missed it.
And then.
And then Matthew tells this other account,
and I think Matthew puts these two things
right back to back
for a very important reason,
because you had these 12
guys who saw Jesus, who literally them
and who missed them,
and he had these two men who were blind,
who had no sight that saw him.
Look at what the Bible says.
Verse 20.
Oh, sorry, we already did that one.
Verse 29 and as they went out of Jericho,
a great crowd followed him.
And behold, there were two blind men
sitting by the roadside.
And when they heard Jesus passing by,
they cried out, you notice they had to him
because he couldn't see him.
Little details.
They cried out, Lord,
have mercy on a son of David.
And the crowd rebuked
and tells him to be silent.
But they cried out all the more, Lord,
have mercy on the Son of David.
What's the next word say?
And what?
What's this they say?
Answer with your mouth open.
What's it say?
And stopping,
just notice
Jesus has just said,
this is what I'm going into.
This is where I'm headed.
This is going to start
in these next couple days.
This is the horrific evil
that's going to be perpetrated against me.
His mind is set.
He is focused. He's determined.
Nothing is going to distract him.
And he's walking along
and he hears this guy,
Son of David, have mercy.
And he stops.
And I love that about my Jesus.
That he will.
Stop.
For those who.
Cry out.
I've had so many people tell me,
I don't know,
man, I know God's are like really busy.
Why is he going to
like he's got so much? Like
if. You cry out,
he will stop.
Jesus called them and said,
what do you want me to do for you?
The same question he. Asked.
James, John's mother.
Like I said, he might be asking you
to that question today.
What do you want me to do?
Why are you here?
They said to him, Lord,
let our eyes be open to Jesus in pity.
Touch their eyes, and immediately they
received their sight and followed him.
Now this same account is told
in Mark and John,
but it's told a little differently there.
In those gospel accounts
it only says there's one blind person.
Matthew says, there's two.
I want to give you a little Bible
knowledge, just so you're not caught off
guard by someone who doesn't understand
the Bible.
There's no contradiction
here in the least.
The purpose of Mark's writing and Mark
will say,
there's one guy, and I think Mark
was the one who calls this guy Bartimaeus.
Like they knew who he was.
Blame Bart.
And he says, there's one. Here's why.
Because Mark's gospel is written like a
like a news report.
Just the facts.
Just give me the facts.
And the fact is, one man cried out,
but there were two president.
And the reason
why Matthew says that there were two is
because he was writing his gospel to Jews.
And for Jews,
they had to have the testimony
of two people
in order for something to be corroborated.
And so that's why Matthew says to and Mark
and Luke say one.
There were probably two,
but only one of them
spoke on behalf of both of them,
and his name was Bartimaeus.
And so
Matthew puts these two stories together
because he wants to show the juxtaposition
between those who had sight and proximity
and who missed Christ,
and those who had no sight,
but who were desperate
and who received him.
See, these blind men
didn't simply just believe in Jesus.
They publicly pursued Jesus.
Their faith was visible,
their faith was audible,
and their faith was.
The Bible says they cried out
all the more,
Son of David, have mercy on us.
Shut up!
Like you don't have to be that brass.
Nobody needs to hear.
Nobody needs to like just God.
Nobody needs to see your thing.
Just quiet down.
You don't gotta take this whole thing
so public and serious.
Just throttle it back.
And in response, even more. So
you want to shut me up?
You'll hear me more.
See, they were so desperate
that their desperation
didn't care about who was around
and who was looking,
and what everybody else thought.
They were desperate.
And sometimes desperation gets loud.
And some of you have been in those places,
you know, when you have been desperate
but yet so insecure.
You've never been loud.
These men had a need.
They were desperate,
and they believed Jesus could.
And had they remained silent,
the implications just would have walked on
by. But because they had a need
that they could meet,
and because they were desperate enough
to cry out in front of everybody,
Jesus stopped.
And he intervened.
And he did what nobody else could
because of his mercy,
their
arrogance and their pride
could have kept them blind.
But their desperation and humility
was the touchpoint of their healing.
And I wonder how many here
Jesus is saying,
what do you want me to do for you?
Are you desperate enough?
To cry out?
Our faith is meant to be expressed,
not merely possessed.
Some of us possess great faith, but
it's not really expressed in the public.
And that's not faith that moves mountains,
and that's not faith that gets healed.
They cried out,
no, what they didn't do,
they didn't sit there
silent in their hearts, thinking, I know
Jesus can and I'm just going to pray.
He hears my prayers, which he does 1,000%.
He does hears silent prayer.
Absolutely.
But there was such desperation
and then that their faith
was impossible to ignore.
Faith cannot be ashamed
to be expressed and heard.
The crowd tried to silence them,
and they shouted all the more.
Their declaration of Son of David!
This was a this was a messianic title.
What they were saying is Jesus,
we believe that you are the Son of God.
We believe in your DD.
We believe that you came to set
the captives free, to heal the
the sick, to to free the oppressed,
to open the eyes of the blind.
And we believe this is who you are.
This was not a safe statement
for them to make.
The scribes and Pharisees hated you.
They were going to kill him in a week
to align themselves with Jesus.
And the statement who Jesus was was
putting them in the crosshairs of death.
They didn't care.
They weren't embarrassed.
They weren't.
They were the living example
of Matthew ten.
So everyone who acknowledges me
before men, I will also acknowledge
before my father in heaven they lived it.
One of Satan's greatest victories
is convincing Christians
that private prayer is
okay all the time.
Jesus does teach.
Go to your prayer closet in private.
The father who sees in
private will reward you.
He teaches that absolutely.
There are times when you go to your prayer
closet alone where nobody knows.
But that's not all the time.
The first church always prayed together.
Acts one, acts two, acts four, acts 12.
Over and over and over Bartimaeus shouted.
The tax collector cried out.
The church prayed together.
Paul prayed publicly.
The elders prayed publicly.
The apostles prayed publicly.
Listen.
Prayer is personal,
but never intended to only be private.
There are times when it
must cry out in public.
Charles Spurgeon said this
if a person will just come to
Jesus, he will find no
stinginess in Jesus's healing
power.
I challenge
you, show me anywhere in the scripture
where someone cried out to Jesus
and he ignored them and walked by.
Now he walked by a lot of people
who were in need
because they were silent.
But I don't see anywhere in Scripture
where someone in desperation
cries out for Jesus
and he ignores him and walks by.
And my question to you this morning is if
Jesus were to ask you, what do you want?
Why are you here?
If you would just stay silent
and he will walk by
or in desperation as a blind beggar,
you will say, I have no hope.
I have no help. I am so desperate.
I don't care who sees.
I don't care who's around.
The healthiest thing for a church
is that people pray with each other
after they've heard the Word of God,
preached and taught and proclaimed.
There are so many Sundays,
and I know because you tell me
the stories of the healing that you need,
the surgeries that are upcoming,
the marriages that are falling apart,
the kids that are wandering away,
the health battles you're struggling,
the financial pit that you're in,
and you tell me,
I know all of this desperation
that you need God to do something.
And week after week,
we have opportunity to go before God
with another person of God to approach
God's throne of grace together in prayer.
And though
there's desperation in your life,
there's a silence in your prayers,
and you walk out hoping that
somebody at some point
says some prayer for you.
And I just wonder
if there's enough desperation to cry out.
If God would stop.
Not because God can't hear silent prayer.
He absolutely does.
And every morning I go to my prayer
closet and pray Scripture.
And for people buying,
I know he hears me in the private place,
but public prayer says I need Jesus
and I am so desperate
and I'm not ashamed to seek him.
Jesus said,
my house will be a house of prayer.
See, prayer
is the expression of dependance.
And when we come together in open
and pray, it's my expression.
I am so dependent on God,
I'm not going to let them walk by
and ignore me.
Let us
then approach God's throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need.
Do you have an area of your life
where you need the mercy
and grace of God to intervene if you do?
When we sing this last song, I'm a band.
Come forward when we sing this last song.
I don't want you to think.
You gotta wait
till everybody's gone I got trained
prayer people all around this place.
Who will stand up and be around. Go
ask someone to approach
God's throne of grace.
Where you need mercy and grace.
And in public.
Pray not because God doesn't
hear some prayer, but because sometimes
prayer must be public.
And it's got to be desperate enough
to be a blind beggar who cries out, God
have mercy!
Through Jesus,
we have also obtained access by faith
into that grace.
It may be humbling to walk towards
someone and say, hey,
I need prayer and I need you to approach
God on my behalf with me.
Not for me, but with me.
But I'm
amazed that some people are so public
regarding their politics and their sports,
and detailing
every area of their lives on social media,
and yet struggle
to be silent when it comes to the Christ
in public.
He's blind.
Men remind me there are moments
when faith should have a voice,
and especially in a safe place
of the house of prayer.
To seek the church and play with you,
not just for you.
When we sing, I'm going to invite you.
We're all going to stand up.
I'm going to invite you
if you have that place that you need
the mercy and grace of God, don't keep it.
Be desperate enough.
To ask for prayer.
Perhaps this morning
Christ is going to stop.
In your life
and do what only he can do.
Throughout the Bible,
Jesus constantly stopped
and intervened for people who cried out
publicly
and walked by those who remain silent.
If there's a thing,
you need God to move in.
If there's a health thing that you have
that you're walking into,
if there's a relationship thing
that you have not been able
to gain peace, closure, restoration,
healing in, there's a family issue,
a financial issue,
a future issue over your kids, over
your grandkids.
Don't stay seated.
Approach God's throne of grace
will you will receive mercy
and grace to help in your time of need.
Everybody make flip side
a house of prayer.
Pick up those lanyards.
Can you imagine?
Just dream a little bit.
Can you imagine what might happen
by a church like ours?
Desperate people like
us who approach
God's throne of grace with each other.
How God might move, the healing
that is waiting,
the restoration
that is waiting in the wings, and
what God might do in our community
as every student and teacher
and admin and school board member
and administer
and superintend are prayed for by name
every day,
can you imagine
what it might be like for God to stop
and not walk by this time?
This is why he went to the cross.
This is the way of the kingdom.
Father.
Thank you.
We come to you in the knowledge
that we need you.
You, God, are our only hope.
As we seek you.
Allow us the privilege to find you.
And as we
find you,
meet all of our needs for your glory.
See us in this moment, in this place
as we seek you.
Hear us as we cry out for you and respond,
we trust you, God.
There are some people right now
who are going to approach your throne
of grace,
so that they may receive mercy and grace
to help them in their need.
Oh God,
respond.
Our prayers
are the statement of our dependance
upon you.
Oh God, respond.
May your kingdom
come in this place right now,
as it already is in heaven
for your glory.
Amen. Church.
I'm going to bite you. Stand up and sing.
And if there is that need, do not leave
here.
Do not leave here
until you have cried out with someone.
Oh, Lord have mercy.