hello hello hello I miss us
my goodness gracious this is like the
longest fast ever this is like this is
worse than fasting food fasting hugs it
should be illegal in fact I’m through
fasting hugs so if if that bothers you
stay away from me because I will grab
you and hug you so all of our online
family you know we’ve got folks
gathering in homes right now all over
the Reading area which is just the
coolest thing ever
so glad to hear that and then our
international community we’re just we’re
glad we’re just glad glad to be able to
call your friends glad to be able to
call your family I I know that when
there’s like a pandemic I mean this is
the it’s serious it’s a real disease and
I don’t want to ever make light of that
but I do try to find things to laugh at
in the middle of everything and so if
that is annoying to you plug your ears
do something go la la la la la while I
read to you a few funny things Chris put
this on his I’ll blame him he put this
on his Instagram page
I used to spin the toilet paper roll
like I was on the wheel of fortune now I
turn it like I’m cracking a safe that’s
a good word right there yes it is I
think the corona virus is turning me
into a dog I’m roaming around the house
all day looking for food told know every
time I get too close to a stranger and I
get really excited about going for car
rides oh goodness I love this one too I
ate 11 times today and took 5 naps and
it’s still today ok thoughts and prayers
go out to all the married men who spent
months telling their wives I’ll do that
when I have time
all right let’s let’s get started how we
doing for time we’re doing good I want
you to open open your Bibles please just
second 2 chronicles chapter 7 it’s a
very familiar passage which I’m thankful
for there are just some portions of
scripture that should stand out more
than others because there seem to be
things that the Lord is really breathing
on and and I feel it’s so strong on this
passage right now
in ways that are really hard for me to
describe I’ve been looking forward to
today I’ve it’s been an unusually busy
season for us as a staff you would think
with this slowdown that there would
actually be a slowdown but I didn’t
notice it if it came it it went past me
it’s been an unusually busy time but
thankfully Benny and I were able to take
some vacation time this month and that
was just real wonderful the letdown of
course is not being with you but I
we did have some wonderful time to rest
and and just enjoy being home so we’re
we’re glad for that for for the last
several weeks I don’t know exactly how
long but for the last at least two weeks
maybe three or four I’ve been waking up
morning after morning often not every
morning but morning after morning
sometimes in the middle of the night
quoting this verse you know sometimes
you find divine moments because you use
you’re saying something that you didn’t
come from here didn’t come it wasn’t a
premeditated statement it was just
something that came up from here just
that volcanic eruption and I’ve been
finding this happen to me over and over
again in recent weeks and it’s this
passage second Chronicles 7:14 we’ll
read the whole verse and then I’m going
to take you through it we’re going to
talk about it verse 14 if my people who
are called by my name will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways then I will
hear from heaven and will forgive their
sin
and heal their land let’s read it again
if my people who are called by my name
will humble themselves and pray and seek
my face and turn from their wicked ways
then I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their land
for probably 40 years or so of my life
this has been a a standout passage I
remember as a as a young man attending
conferences at Jack Hayford Church in
Van Nuys California I remember one in
particular where the entire event was
about prayer and intercession and
speakers would speak and oftentimes this
passage would be used as as a real
driving force to bring healing to the
land to bring healing to hundred-plus
nations represented by our viewing
audience but specifically for the state
of California for the nation the United
States that we bear a responsibility for
and it’s not only in the heart of God
it’s in the history of God to bring
healing when there has been great
devastation when there’s been great
disaster morally naturally natural
disasters that sort of thing
Wars whatever the Lord has a habit of
bringing healing and bringing
restoration and and doing a work that
only he could do and but it is it is
instigated by the people that he shared
his name with she says if my people it’s
not it’s funny to me sometimes that as
Christians we get angry for unbelievers
acting like unbelievers and I I’m not
sure where to go with that but just I’ll
leave that where it is the Lord puts the
weight of responsibility for
transformation on the shoulder of his
own people he didn’t say when the
nation’s turn to me he didn’t say one
those who
were struggle with addictions when they
get free didn’t say when the marriages
are healed he didn’t he didn’t say any
of that stuff he just said if my people
the ones that I gave my name to think
about that for a minute the ones I gave
my name to it’s extraordinary because
Jesus said he said you will ask the
Father in my name you’re gonna use my my
name you’ll ask the Father in my name
and anything you ask for will be done
for you then he says wherever two or
three of you are gathered in my name I’m
there in the midst then he says wherever
two or three of you agree as to touching
anything in my name it shall be done for
you so the the weight of responsibility
for transformational expressions of God
rest on the shoulders of those to whom
he has given his name I’m giving you a
name now use it to bring change I’ve
given you my name one of the most
beautiful things that has happened in
this strange season is four months has
been we’ve been reduced to our point of
strength which is the two or three
gathering in his name as many of you are
doing in homes the family unit the two
or three gathered in his name the
government of heaven rests upon the
shoulders of the two or three gathered
in his name there’s responsibility we
are not here taking up space
keeping busy until we die or Jesus
returns we are here with a
transformational assignment on earth as
it is in heaven and please notice that
that expression is linked to
prayer that we pray because we’ve been
given his name if my people who are
called by my name I believe that the
most important Ministry of all
ministries is prayer worship and prayer
is the premier assignment that we’ve
been given
I’m personally thankful that in in
recent weeks the Lord’s been refreshing
me in what used to be a much greater
strength than it has been in the
busyness of recent years no excuse
whatsoever but there is a strength being
restored to my own soul oh the place of
Prayer
it’s from our knees that we have the
greatest effect on the world around us
it’s from our knees it’s from our place
of prayer of intercession that we become
actual partners with God God’s not
looking for people who know how to stay
busy he’s looking for people who know
how to represent his heart and I’m not
going to represent in action what I’ve
not found in prayer it’s the connection
of the heart of God that gives me the
authority to represent him with absolute
confidence in action prayer without
action is incomplete in the same way
that faith without works is dead we have
been called to a lifestyle of prayer and
I hope and pray that everyone listening
everybody who is here can feel the that
particular stream deepening in your own
soul as I I believe the Lord is to be
honest it’s trying to get us to repent
our way back into a place of righteous
influence
God has called us to and that is from
the place of Prayer he says if my people
the ones that gave my name to will
humble themselves Chris one of the first
words we had in the beginning of this
unusual season Chris brought and he made
a statement I think something like this
the way forward humility is the way
forward humility is the way forward
perfect and timely word humility is the
way forward at a time when it’s easy to
be hurt and offended and angry and
zealous and withdraw and do all the
stupid things that we as humans know how
to do humility is the way forward and so
the Lord said if my people the ones that
I gave my name to those are the ones who
have actual responsibility I think was
John Wesley who said that God does
nothing in the affairs of men except in
response to prayer that’s something that
I have actually believed and tried to
live aware of as that statement for the
last forty some years is that God looks
for partnership without him we can’t
without us he won’t there’s another
statement that I’ve heard through the
years without him we can’t without us he
won’t and so that place of Prayer is a
place of coming into a place of
agreement with the heart and the mind of
God to exercise his authority in the
earth so that his will is done here as
it is in heaven
there is the prayer there it is the the
contract the the the request that has
made I guess I’ve also made a statement
of this a couple of weeks ago that it
really moved me he said that something
like this the key to enter answers to
prayer says 98% of answers to prayer is
from abiding in Christ it’s living in
the conscious presence of the Almighty
God that is the strength of the
answers to prayer is the two or three
gathered in my name I’m there so the
whole issue of the breakthroughs in the
earth come out of living in that
awareness that awareness of the presence
of God with me and upon me to make a
difference in the world around me that
is the connection for answers to prayer
and so he says if my people who are
called by my name will humble themselves
and pray and pray it’s foolish to be
given such a transformational tool such
as prayer and not using it’s foolish to
face an impossible situation
everybody knows how to lift up a panic
prayer I’m not opposed to that I’m glad
he sometimes answers those but
transformational praying is more like
giving birth Paul actually talked about
that he used the he used the concept of
giving birth to illustrate prayer he was
referring to one of his associates and
he said he is praying he is laboring in
prayer the word labor as physical labor
of a woman laboring in prayer until
Christ is formed in you was the phrase
he used it’s a it’s a different kind of
a praying it’s it’s it’s digging in I
know the heart of God I know the will of
God and I know there’s opposition
I don’t know necessarily what the
problem is I just know I have nothing
better to do with my life than to abide
in him until the presence of God his own
faith becomes my faith and I learned in
prayer to petition God but also to
represent him as I make decrees to
standing opposition
I understand something like 25 26
percent of Christians vote that’s insane
the moral cesspool that has grown in
many of the nations of the world
watching this broadcast that moral
cesspool has developed and grown on our
watch and the lamest excuse invented by
the devil himself is that I only have
one vote my vote doesn’t really matter
devil made that one up to disengage the
most powerful influential people on the
planet because there’s no such thing as
a act of obedience that is powerless
there’s no such thing there’s no such I
don’t care if you’re taking a sandwich
out of your grocery store to the
homeless man in front of the store it is
an act of obedience there releases
presence and power I don’t care if it’s
the phone call to your neighbor that you
haven’t seen and you heard that they
were sick and you’re finding out what’s
happening every act of obedience of a
believer releases presence and power the
glory comes manifest in the atmosphere
of obedience the simplest act of
physical obedience and the thought that
I could do something responsible for my
nation and vote for my city and to be
powerless is an absolute insult to the
power of the gospel that he has given us
his name he’s given us his name a single
act of obedience of the Lord just do
your best
pray vote values not personalities and
let’s see if we can make a difference I
know he’s not talking about voting in
here but I am
it’s it’s honestly our responsibility is
to pray you know there’s a lot of people
moan and groan they call it intercession
and but do nothing outside of that to
make a difference in your own culture
and we’ve been called to make a
difference it’s our responsibility to
make a difference if my people who are
called by my name will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face the face of
God is what we are invited to pursue
think about that for a minute because
the scripture gives that warning anyone
who sees his face dies so it’s a great
invitation come and die and I tell you
what every time we come before the face
of the Lord something dies that
shouldn’t have been alive the Lord
invites us into this ongoing interaction
with a countenance of a perfect father
so when he says seek my face he’s not
saying seek my hand I I’ve I’ve tried to
make a strong point for the last
probably 20 years that Jesus never
scolded anyone for seeking his hand
blind Bartimaeus wanted to see Jesus
didn’t say are you supposed to seek to
know me he didn’t he gave him healing in
his eyes you know the wonder of the dead
relative they you know Jesus brought
through his hands the power of God to
establish kingdom he’s never scolded
anyone for seeking his hand is blessing
I think it’s a responsibility we have
but forgiveness doesn’t come from his
hand comes from his face from the
countenance it’s the father who welcomes
and that’s what’s needed right now is a
group of people that get recalibrated to
the face somehow seeing the eyes of a
loving father recalibrates every value
in my soul things that were important
ten minutes ago are no longer important
things that plague me or worried me or
frustrated me suddenly they don’t have
the bite that they once had why because
there’s something about the countenance
it just absorbs every offence or
distraction that I carry in my heart it
just gets absorbed in this face of a
loving father and it says if my people
the ones I gave my name to if they would
just humble themselves
seek my face turn from their wicked ways
there is a picture given old and new
Testament that to seek the face of God
automatically implies turning from
something I must turn from the inferior
to seek the face of God you can’t drag
both values into one act he is the all
or nothing god he is the he is he likes
being first and King I mean he is that’s
him Everitt everything is about putting
him first so here he says seek my face
turn from your wicked ways in Hebrews 6
it says turning from dead works faith
towards God it’s this turning from unto
and one of the things that I’m so
thankful for about the Lord is he
welcomes us into his presence regardless
of the condition of our heart he can be
bitter it can be mad you can be
indifferent it can be you know careless
it doesn’t matter where you’re at he
says come but you can’t leave the same
way you came that’s that’s the whole
deal you can’t you can’t expect I’m
gonna bring all this baggage and I’m
going to come in and then I’m gonna
leave the same way that’s not how it
works we come in before him and we just
get refined in the journey that’s part
of the whole process is that I come to
seek his face and things get
recalibrated in this in this journey it
may be a five-minute journey it may be
an all-day long journey but it’s this
journey where I engage once again to the
face of God that reveals the heart of
God that automatically engages me into
my reason for being
you said if my people who are called by
my name will humble themselves and pray
and seek the countenance of this
wonderful father I’ve been reading the
last couple days again Psalm 67 which is
personally a favorite of mine and in
verse 1 and 2 of that great song verse 1
says Lord bless me which I love that
prayer I’m into that kind of praying
anytime bless me and cause your
countenance to shine upon me countenance
is a word for favor
it’s the loving favor of a father it’s
it’s the Brian and Jen that just adopted
another little boy and and we we got to
have him at our home again last night
and and it’s just you don’t have you
know a parent will make faces to an
infant that they would never even make
in the mirror to themselves while they
were alone I mean you say things you
make noises you do all kinds of stuff to
this little tiny infant they you don’t
even know you’re doing it just seems to
come out of you as you as you and I’ve
been told that children are actually
infants are trained in a lifestyle of
joy through the countenance of their
caregiver and so it’s that face and so
here we are we seek the face of the
Almighty God this perfect father who
welcomes us welcomes us we come with
baggage we leave clean and powerful
would come with issues we leave
confident he is settling the issues and
he says you seek my face you turn from
your wicked ways then I will hear that’s
an amazing statement because the Bible
tells us he doesn’t always hear I don’t
know if you know that or not but the
Bible says scripture says if I regard
iniquity in my heart God will not hear
me if I come conscious
of sin and I’m unwilling to repent so
here he welcomes us he says turn from
your wicked ways seek my face then I
will hear from heaven forgive their sin
this is amazing to me forgive their sin
personal blessing and heal their land
corporate influence the personal
breakthrough becomes a transformational
influence in the land
sometimes I think people avoid times of
prayer because they think it will take
hours and you know sometimes I’ve been
in moments of Prayer were you just lose
track of time
those are glorious glorious moments but
history has been shaped by people who
prayed simple prayers but they were all
in all in the history of our nation were
celebrating Independence weekend history
of our nation has been shaped by the
prayers of a general in an army where it
looked like they would certainly lose
and they just took the knee and they
prayed a simple prayer and everything
changed
simple prayer a president a governor
different ones who just simply take the
knee and pray acknowledge the Almighty
God this is something that we have the
privilege of doing throughout the day
it’s not just the two-hour block of time
it’s the five minutes of surrender here
it’s the ten minutes of praise and
exalting him there it’s it’s that riddle
throughout my day I never want to escape
the fact I carry his name and I carry it
for a reason I’m here to make a
difference and then the abiding presence
of God I’ve been finding that that the
prayer meeting never stops and never
stops it started while I was sleeping
I found myself praying if my people for
a call by my name I wouldn’t wake up
friend upright get up in the morning I
would grab my Bible sit out on my deck
it would continue and continue
throughout the day it just it doesn’t
stop because the abiding presence of the
mighty God is upon me as a testimony to
me that you here son to make a
difference learn to pray out of abiding
learn to pray out of the presence learn
to touch to tap into the heart of God
express that in prayer and decree and
let’s do what we’re supposed to do make
a difference in the earth this is what
we are assigned to do this is who we are
were people that have been given his
name
this will seem very elementary to you as
it is but this next statement is one
that I think is forgotten often and it’s
this we battle not against flesh and
blood
we battle not against flesh and blood
that’s not our problem and to fight
effectively in the war we were born into
requires a strength that is found only
on our knees it’s only on her knees
I’m going to assume that you’ve been
experiencing this as I have I would have
been embarrassed to admit it but it
feels like more and more
I am being delivered from the prayer
life that wants to convince God of doing
what I want him to do I never would have
thought that it would ever be a desire
of mine but I can tell sometimes that
the frustration of prayer comes from
that and the whole issue about effective
prayer is it begins in surrender it’s
not that great things aren’t supposed to
happen we’re designed to make a
difference in the course of history
we’re shaped for that I made a statement
here some years ago that you can’t find
your significance until you have found
your insignificance sometimes it’s just
that place of going low and surrender
where you were you you are not confident
of yesterday I don’t need
self-confidence I need God confidence
and I I don’t want to you know I don’t
want to speak bad about being
self-confident but I’ve had it it’s
disappointing it’s disappointing
self-confidence is no greater than self
and it’s very unimpressive prayer is
engaging with the unlimited strength and
the unlimited heart of compassion of a
perfect father
it’s that countenance of a father this
says son now now pray this now do this
now call this person now give this away
now do that it’s it’s that it comes out
of it comes out of this the countenance
of a father who can guide you with his
eyes he looks at you in a certain way in
you you just know this is this is not my
responsibility it’s it’s the abandonment
to the heart of God
it’s the abandonment to the will of God
then suddenly find ourselves praying
simplest prayer
that move heaven and earth because they
come out of abiding they come out of
surrender they come out of the
acknowledgement that goddess with me
goddess with me not just as a
theological statement I sense the might
the beauty the wonder of the Almighty
God was now resting upon me because he
has assigned me to do something I remind
you
Jesus stood in Luke 4 before he had done
any miracles and he said the Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me and then he
declared why the Spirit of the Lord God
is upon me and then he announced why it
wasn’t arrogance see in abiding presence
and abiding presence there is courage to
declare truth regardless of what it
sounds like to somebody else it’s not
permission to be offensive it’s just the
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me to
open the eyes of the blind to proclaim
the favorable year of the Lord and he
had not done any of those things I’d
like to suggest to you that in that
abiding presence comes that God
confidence we were all designed for the
God confidence that they can look at a
situation and say no that will not be
happening
on my shift no no that will not be
happening that disease you know we draw
the line no further no the destruction
of that family line no that ends today
it’s not a careless prayer it’s
something that comes from the abiding
presence of digging your heels in saying
I know the heart of God I know the mind
of God and I know why I am here I am
here with
purpose and it is to bring an end to
that that that will no longer happen I
want you to stand if you what I’m gonna
wrap this up I know I’ve got more time
left but I’m gonna end it in a moment
anyway all of you there at home you can
stand if you want those of you in your
car like I said it earlier don’t stamp
if you’re in your car don’t stand please
I I was about to say I feel like
commissioning for prayer taking place
but it’s different than a commissioning
it’s an invitation it’s a summons it’s a
summons come into the courts of the King
I gave you my name for a reason come
into the courts the king
learn to recognize my countenance pick
up my heartbeat because it’s in that
abiding partnership my purposes are
accomplished in the earth father I pray
that you would increase that that global
sense of summons the summoning from a
perfect father to come and to pray and
to make a difference in the earth I’m
asking for everybody in this room
everybody watching online give us the
grace for this season
to not fight against flesh and blood to
not mistake people for the enemy give us
the redemptive touch the eyes of a
perfect father the loving heart of a
father help us to represent you well I
want to end with this I know that any
time we have as many people as we have
gathered on Bethel TV YouTube the
various forms formats there’s always a
high probability that there are people
watching they don’t have a personal
relationship with Jesus you don’t know
what it is
to truly be forgiven by God
and welcomed into his family I want to
say this is your moment now is the
moment whoever calls upon the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ there’s no other
name whoever calls upon the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved
wherever you are in fact if you’re
watching a Bethel to be or YouTube any
of those formats please you can write
right now on your comment and and get
the help of a pastor one of our team
that will pray with you I pray for that
right now that there will be
transformation of people’s lives all
over the world through this beautiful
and wonderful gospel amen now how many
of you say amen to the invitation to not
fight with flesh and blood but instead
abide and see answers amen amen amen
all right bless you thank you
[Applause]