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Golden Hour Prayer -- OHM
6 Plays10 days ago
Through prayer we have a direct line to the throne of God. But what is prayer? How does it differ from intercession, making petitions, and thanksgiving? Why pray? Who are we praying against? How do we pray? And how does God answer? ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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Transcript
Introduction to 'The Golden Hour'
00:00:03
Speaker
Happy days. All right, everybody. I have labeled today's teaching. Originally the name was Prayer, but think that's bit boring.
00:00:14
Speaker
Instead, going to call today's teaching the Golden Hour. That name just came to me earlier and I said, that's class. What does that mean? So according to Google, Golden Hour is the first hour of a baby's life outside the womb, which helps at bonding and nursing.
The Role of Prayer in 'The Golden Hour'
00:00:36
Speaker
When we start back with our goals in our prayer, our heavenly download prayer, it is a time to help not only with bonding with the Lord, although that is, of course, the most important thing we could ever do, but also bonding with each other.
00:00:56
Speaker
It's a cliche and a stereotype, but how it's true. The family that prays together stays together. And as anyone who is a regular on our previous prayer meetings knows, there is a level of gelling and a depth to the trust that gets developed in that atmosphere of prayer that you quite... Like intimacy, say. What was that, Ramis?
00:01:26
Speaker
like intimacy. It's like some sort... It is, though. 100%, because like your married couples would say that, that, not Christian married couples, um that when they get used to praying out loud around each other, yeah, because as Lara says, intimacy is into me, see there's ah there's a trust, there's a vulnerability,
00:01:55
Speaker
and There's a level of faith, there's a level of encouragement, a level of transparency. and And it's necessary if God's people are to be a family, not only, you know, biblically speaking, but actually in real life, real time, relationally.
00:02:13
Speaker
Necessary. 100%.
'The Golden Hour' in Medical and Spiritual Contexts
00:02:17
Speaker
Another meaning of... Golden Hour is trauma i care. The first hour after a bad accident or injury when fast medical help works best to keep a person alive.
00:02:34
Speaker
How many times were we praying for people going through the absolute throes of despair? They were just facing dire straits of the enemy.
00:02:45
Speaker
And in real time, we saw God move. In real time, we saw God rescue them. In real time, we saw situations that would have been fatal ending in life, ending in healing, ending in restoration, ending in breakthrough, ending in upending all the enemy's plans.
00:03:08
Speaker
And another meaning of golden hour is the short period of time just after sunrise and or just before sunset when the sunlight is soft, warm, and redder.
00:03:24
Speaker
And in Ireland, the sun's kind of sky about 4.35 a.m. But obviously it gets closer to the autumn or the winter, you know, we're getting up about sunset time or sunrise, rather.
00:03:38
Speaker
And um yeah, it's about giving the Lord those first fruits, giving the Lord first place and just the absolute importance of that central position.
Unity and Good Works in the Body of Christ
00:03:56
Speaker
So over OHM, the Lord has only ever spoken. Good, perfect, pleasing things, having deep foundations, real foundations, and building higher as per his leading.
00:04:09
Speaker
And the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10, tells us that we, that is every member of the body of Christ, are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
00:04:25
Speaker
which God prepared in advance for us to do. He has
00:04:33
Speaker
a long list of things he wants to see done on the earth. And his workmen, his workwomen, are his children.
00:04:45
Speaker
There is no unemployment in the house of God. He's got a long list of things he wants to see accomplished in our time. You know, someone sent me a video few hours ago, actually, of the first time that she led worship.
00:05:05
Speaker
And as I looked at, as I watched the video, it made me feel so sad. it was a church that the two of us used to go to, and we don't go there anymore. And the different people in the video that we just never see anymore, i never talk to anymore, our lives appeared to be on the same trajectory, and now they aren't.
00:05:24
Speaker
um But the Lord puts people together to co-build. Puts people together to co-labor. Puts people together to have a shared vision.
00:05:39
Speaker
um Shared values. Shared principles. shared foundation on the Lord. And to work it together to see that vision come to fruition.
00:05:52
Speaker
For that to happen...
Strategies Against Division and Destiny Derailment
00:05:53
Speaker
We need unity. And as Ramos rightly said, the intimacy that creates unity, it comes through prayer.
00:06:02
Speaker
But we have an enemy who despises unity, but who thrives on God's people being divided with each other.
00:06:16
Speaker
God's people have a destiny. This enemy does not have a destiny. Therefore, he is determined to seal the destiny of God's kids.
00:06:28
Speaker
Every one of God's children has a timeline. There are things God has for you to do on a given day. Sometimes it's in your own lane individually, sometimes it's corporate. when, you know, working together.
00:06:42
Speaker
Sometimes we we hit the nail on the head, sometimes we miss the mark. I distinctly remember being at university one day and just praying, oh, God, please send me you and to to do your will, to help people, to be a blessing. you know, I've been blessed to be a blessing, help me to be a blessing the right people on my path.
00:07:04
Speaker
Well, about two seconds later, I turn around and I see a woman of Asian descent three meters away crying her eyes out.
00:07:15
Speaker
Well, I looked at her and I said, oh, God, please send someone to help that woman. And I kept on walking the opposite direction. why I knew God was saying, you want to help someone?
00:07:26
Speaker
There she is kid. But I was, don't know. I had an hour word to kill and I was only 12 minutes into killing that hour. And I did not want to inconvenienced for the other 48 minutes of the hour I was killing. So I said, God, there are other Christians this campus. Just send one of them.
00:07:48
Speaker
There are times we miss the moment. There are times there'll be a certain event and God will say, i want you there. And we'll say, yeah, God, I will.
00:07:59
Speaker
To the next one. You know, that's three months away. Oh, if only I had four months to prep and save. But... But it's been making decisions in the moment to say, okay, when God says go, yeah go.
00:08:14
Speaker
But we have an enemy who's determined to steal those timelines. We an enemy who's determined to steal that destiny, that future.
00:08:26
Speaker
Not only yours, but also the timeline, the destiny of everyone connected to you. Everyone who was supposed to be connected to you, but you weren't where you should have been, it wouldn't happen.
The Power of Communal Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
00:08:40
Speaker
Or, you know, when God's people pray together, God will, does and will just start spitting truth bombs.
00:08:52
Speaker
You know, you might remember our last prayer meetings, we stopped calling them prayer meetings and we started calling them intelligence briefings because we were waking up in the morning with like journals full of dreams that God wanted shared. And someone else said, oh my goodness, God, give me a Bible verse to quote that. I woke up with a song on my heart. The song said the same.
00:09:15
Speaker
And God was just going boom, boom, boom, boom. boom boom boom That confirmation and that synchronization happens in a place of unity, happens in corporate prayer, happens when God's people come together as one, all of together.
00:09:31
Speaker
pieces of a wider jigsaw puzzle, and we have create the fuller, wider picture. But if we're doing life individually, there are things you can only do individually. They're in your lane.
00:09:45
Speaker
If everything you do is lone wolf style, there's a problem. If everything you do is individually, there's a problem. Most blessings in the Bible that God promises his people People read the Bible, you you you you you, you, you, but they're actually the plural you.
00:10:04
Speaker
It's if God's people en masse do this, God will do this masse to his people. God wants his people united and it starts a prayer.
00:10:21
Speaker
Some Christians, I've been told by some Christians, oh, I don't have to do that. I got a prophecy from God seven years ago and it's going to happen. I say, well okay, the prophecy was probably true, but you have to position yourself in a place where God can actually fulfill it.
00:10:42
Speaker
Think of in Numbers 13, know, God says, this very day i have given you the promised land. Most chose not to go in and God said, okay, don't.
00:10:56
Speaker
And pushed it back for decades for a different generation.
00:11:02
Speaker
God said in 2 Samuel, there will always be a king sitting in Israel. Not in heaven, in Israel. But Jesus' contemporaries didn't want him. They crucified him. They killed his disciples.
00:11:15
Speaker
So what happened? The prophecy came to a very abrupt end. The fulfillment of the word of God is dependent on unity. And again, when people are actually praying together and doing life together, and there is that intimacy and there is that trust, it's far easier but the plan God come to fruition.
00:11:39
Speaker
It's far more effective, far more efficient, and far more strategic and far more fun because God himself is relational. God himself is plural, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
00:11:55
Speaker
You know, God's people, the body of Christ, are the single most powerful people group on earth. But many Christians don't understand why. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and they say, oh, we'll win. I read the end of the book. We win in the end.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah, in the abstract. But you can lose in the day. You can lose in the day today. you might you know You might say, well, heaven is our home, but you're not there yet.
00:12:28
Speaker
There are things for you to do on the earth in this world of time and space. And for that to happen, let it undergird the prayer. With petition.
00:12:40
Speaker
With intercession. Let's not forget Thanksgiving.
00:12:46
Speaker
Boldness. Faith. Action of speech. Decision-making. And prayer, personal and corporate, are necessary if we're to win in the day-to-day. Because in the moment, you can lose. You can miss your moment. The enemy can steal and timeline.
00:13:08
Speaker
Can steal a prophetic word over your life. Or you can just give it away.
00:13:17
Speaker
So what we need is not the tough get going when the going gets tough. What we need is for the world to become peripheral to the body of Christ.
00:13:29
Speaker
For the world align with the prayers of God's people, with the prophetic utter utterances of God's people, with the hymns, songs, dreams, and visions of God's people as he relays them.
00:13:50
Speaker
So I'm going to spend the next few moments showing you the severity of what we're up against, reminding you of who the enemy is. lot of Christians are very apathetic about their prayer life, very indifferent.
00:14:07
Speaker
They think, Asher, God still loves me. I'll fall asleep, I'll go to prayer tomorrow.
00:14:14
Speaker
Or, oh, the enemy is just an itsy bitsy lion. I serve the Lion of Judah. Technically, that's true. But again, in the day-to-day, the enemy does want to devour your destiny. going do a little reminder as to the enemy that we're up against.
00:14:31
Speaker
How he maneuvers. How he manipulates.
00:14:38
Speaker
And then we're going to look at different kinds of prayer. The different tool, different weapons. the Lord has gifted us with to fight back and to win in our day, to win in our time, to dismantle the operations of darkness.
00:14:58
Speaker
We're called to hate them, to resist them, to expose them, and to collaborate with Jesus and turn them down.
00:15:14
Speaker
This enemy that we face in Psalm chapter seven, verse two, we're told shreds people's souls like lions and tears them to pieces.
00:15:29
Speaker
Not every ministry necessarily discusses soul fragmentation as regularly as Open House Ministries does, but this is the enemy that we're up against.
00:15:42
Speaker
Warp against an enemy that doesn't just want to bite you take a chunk out of you, but literally tear you to shreds. Our enemy's a thief. Were he to tear your soul to shreds, what would he do with those shreds?
00:15:55
Speaker
Well, thieves take them. Where would they go? What would he do to them? What would he speak over them? That might sound a little bit science fictional, but science fiction is spiritual reality.
00:16:11
Speaker
And the darkest place your mind goes, well, that's true. And then some.
00:16:19
Speaker
Or also told that our enemy is Beelzebul in Luke 11, 15.
00:16:26
Speaker
That means Lord of the Dwelling. Lord of the Temple. Lord of the House. That's a courthouse. That's a legal word.
00:16:39
Speaker
Our enemy is an accuser. He's adversary in a lawsuit. He's a litigant. He's a master of speech. He knows just what to say to drive you crazy.
00:16:54
Speaker
Drive you crazy. Don't beat your skin.
00:16:59
Speaker
know, the song we opened up with today in Christ Alone, if no other worship song were ever written, i think in Christ Alone would be sufficient. It is just the gospel of grace right there.
00:17:13
Speaker
And it talks about no guilt in life, no fear in death. You know, i always loved that song. That was my favorite worship song for years and years and years. But do you know, just being honest with you now, I never actually paid attention to the lyrics.
00:17:28
Speaker
Because I from about the age of seven or eight up to 15 and a half crippled with guilt. Because I knew the things I'd done wrong. And demons knew the things I'd done wrong.
00:17:43
Speaker
I did not know I was under spiritual oppression, spiritual attack. I thought it was just my head. I thought it was just just me. I didn't know the intrusive thoughts were demons. I just figured i was my own arch nemesis.
00:17:56
Speaker
and and I could not go from one end the day to the next without being pummeled with a litany and assault of a record of all the things I'd done wrong that day and the day before. and the week before and several years earlier.
00:18:16
Speaker
But to actually know that you know that you know that because of the blood of Jesus there is no guilt in life, there is no fear in death, and the blood of Jesus speaks a better word. Oh my goodness, it is absolutely game-changing. It's life transforming.
00:18:33
Speaker
It's not something that I knew because the enemy is a master of speech and I was not surrounding myself with God's kids and I was very much living the lone wolf Christianity.
00:18:49
Speaker
So I did not have people in my world lined up to tell me the word of God, to tell me that I was clean, to tell me what it meant to be free. I had grown up hearing and people singing, i am free, I am free, and it meant nothing to me because I was in there in bondage.
00:19:05
Speaker
My understanding of the word free while you go to a shop and it's eu zero euros, zero cents. That was my understanding of freedom. All I'd ever known was bondage.
00:19:19
Speaker
But in the presence of God's people, in communal Christianity, in corporate Christianity, people see you when you're bound.
00:19:30
Speaker
They see you when you're struggling. And they call it out. And they shine light into the darkness. They throw you that rope.
00:19:41
Speaker
They throw you the life ring that happens in unity. I know I'm preaching to the choir tonight, preaching to people who are actually so here and have long gone. But also for the benefit of those who watch this afterwards.
00:19:55
Speaker
And for the blessing and the growth and the stretch, it comes from togetherness, not doing life as a solo agent.
Importance of Various Forms of Prayer
00:20:09
Speaker
You know, John 1010, It was the fourth Bible verse I ever learned. I think the first two verses I learned, picked up the Bible and I read Genesis 1, 1 and Genesis 1, 2, a great place to start.
00:20:25
Speaker
Then I went to Bible camp and in the same week they taught us John 3, 16 and then they had us learn John 10, 10. So I think John 10, 10, the fourth verse I ever learned.
00:20:37
Speaker
And you know what? For years and years, I'd rhyme it off. and The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come to give life and give it in all its fullness. And then, a year ago, two years ago, i just said, Lord, killing, destroying.
00:21:00
Speaker
is there really a difference? was like, you know, I suppose you kill someone, then you could destroy their life. ah Without the distinction. So I decided that I would actually look up John 1010 in the Greek.
00:21:16
Speaker
This is the enemy that we have.
00:21:23
Speaker
The thief comes to steal. The word steal specifically means, in Greek, to steal secretly and with the stealth.
00:21:38
Speaker
To steal secretly and with stealth.
00:21:46
Speaker
You know, the first move of prayer, first intercession group we had,
00:21:54
Speaker
they are God's kids, there's chance that they can be restored to him, but I i don't want to speak too harshly. But things were being said.
00:22:05
Speaker
in the space of corporate prayer, very different things were being said in the private messaging afterwards.
00:22:16
Speaker
Things were being said, oh, I had a dream. God said this.
00:22:21
Speaker
And God's speaking about your son, those people, people over there who aren't there every Tuesday night.
00:22:30
Speaker
But actually, the subtlety that God was highlighting some personal issues But no, no, they always had to point their finger externally. They would never say, search my heart and know me, God, know all my inmost thoughts.
00:22:44
Speaker
So when God searched their heart and told them, you gotta change this and this and this, they always project it on someone else. was always transference. Had be someone else's fault, someone what else's problem.
00:22:56
Speaker
He steals secretly with stout. It's subtle. Little shifts here. Little word there. Let's change that Bible verse.
00:23:09
Speaker
The word kill in the Greek, the thief comes to sacrificially offer you on an altar by burning.
00:23:22
Speaker
The enemy comes to butcher you completely. That's what it means for the enemy to kill you.
00:23:32
Speaker
You know, so often God's kids are very apathetic. at prayer They're indifferent. Actually, God loves me anyway. So Jesus is always there.
00:23:44
Speaker
So the cross is sufficient. Those things might be true. But they're supposed to be... That's what thought. They're not supposed to become excuses. And that's the around this, because these things, when we hear them, we're not supposed to use them as excuses to avoid God and his people.
00:24:06
Speaker
Those things would actually blow our minds and revolutionize the way we live. But instead, people try to use them as excuses for apathy.
00:24:16
Speaker
They try to use them as excuses for passivity. Excuses for indifference. Listen to the subtle way people change their speech. You know, oh, God asked me to do this.
00:24:30
Speaker
Did God ask you or did he tell you? Because the God I know... gives more commands than questions. But if you say, oh God, ask me, you have an excuse. you you You have the chance to say no.
00:24:48
Speaker
Little shifts. Sneaky. But the enemy that we're fighting against is an enemy who plays for keeps. Right now in my house, we got someone diagnosed with cancer.
00:25:03
Speaker
couple of years ago, had someone whose white blood cells, which in case you don't know, are the blood cells supposed to fight off diseases and infections save your body?
00:25:15
Speaker
The enemy corrupted those white blood cells to the point where they began to attack the person who died three times. God just kept bringing him back. He was my dad.
00:25:28
Speaker
I've had situations where just there before the last revival, um I collected the keyboardist from the airport and we were driving home, was taking it back to my house.
00:25:43
Speaker
And God had given a word in morning prayer.
00:25:48
Speaker
The enemy wants to kill some of you in road traffic incidents. Pray against it. So we prayed. And while I was driving on the road with my friend beside me, the keyboardist, next thing a van in front of me just stops.
00:26:04
Speaker
deliberately tries to cause a road traffic accident and make it my fault. My car, for those of who have been in it, is very small. Against a van, my car was not going to win.
00:26:15
Speaker
had to drive off the road to try to avoid him. Almost hit a wall and a signpost. So what did he do? He drove off the road in front of the wall, again, trying to make me crash into him.
00:26:31
Speaker
Eventually got around him. And then what happened? He tailgated me for a very long time. And when I stopped at a red traffic light, he came this close to ramming into my car.
00:26:47
Speaker
Why? He had murder on his mind. The enemy, when it says steal, kill, and destroy, it doesn't mean kill you. Like, you know, oh my goodness, the hot weather's killing me. i need to lie down.
00:26:58
Speaker
He wants you butchered, plastered against a stone wall, signpost halfway through your corpse, your car in tatters.
00:27:09
Speaker
He has murder on his mind at all times. That is the enemy that we're up against. So when we meet to pray, we don't pray passively. It is warfare.
00:27:26
Speaker
The thief comes to destroy. The word destroy in Greek means to cut you off entirely, to end your timeline.
00:27:39
Speaker
The enemy doesn't really care if you die and go to heaven. He'd rather you go to hell. But so long as you're off the chessboard, he's fine.
00:27:49
Speaker
He wants to violently perish you.
00:27:54
Speaker
He wants to cause you to be lost by experiencing a miserable end.
00:28:02
Speaker
To destroy you means to abolish you, to ruin you, to blot you out, to blot you off the face of the earth, and if he can, to blot you out of the land people's life, to vanish you away, where people look for you and they cannot find you, because you're not there, because you're dead.
00:28:22
Speaker
And ideally, to cause loss of everlasting life. That is the enemy we face.
00:28:37
Speaker
It is an enemy that does not slumber. It is an enemy that does not sleep. It is an enemy that does not need to go to bed.
00:28:48
Speaker
It's an enemy who has round-the-clock strategies lined up against us.
00:28:58
Speaker
Sometimes the demonic blacksmiths will fashion weapons against us and you look at them and you just know that they're bad. Sometimes the enemy is sneaky. Second Corinthians 11, 14, it's an enemy who masquerades as an angel of light.
00:29:16
Speaker
But when you're in ah corporate setting, God's people working together, living together, praying together, intelligence briefing prayer meetings where we're not just there to pray, we're there to listen.
00:29:33
Speaker
We're coming with words God's already given us. We're able to support each other, help each other, give clarity where there's confusion.
00:29:44
Speaker
And then there are attacks which are more pointed, more obvious, leave from the darkness. Ephesians 6, 16.
00:29:53
Speaker
where the arrows are flaming, they're fiery, they're literally on fire, and they're being sent into your camp to find chinks in your armor. And again, these are not metaphors, they are real weapons.
00:30:08
Speaker
The Bible talks about the enemy having swords, spears, javelins, and arrows, bows. It's not imaginary. It's not pictorial language.
00:30:21
Speaker
Weaponry existed in the spirit realm, Long before it existed in the spirit realm. Sorry. and Weapons existed in the spirit realm long before they existed in the physical realm.
00:30:40
Speaker
This enemy that we face. That we pray against. We operate against.
00:30:48
Speaker
Revelation 12.9 gives us more insights and information. It refers to him as a dragon. You know, I went shopping in Lidl one day, maybe a year and a half ago, two years ago.
00:31:03
Speaker
um I live a five minute walk from Lidl. It's a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing if you need a bottle of milk and it's, you know, kind of drizzling outside. You're like, hey I can do this and not get too wet.
00:31:16
Speaker
It's a curse when it's 10.55, and you know you can get there before closing at 11 p.m. and get your cup of ice cream. But we all have crosses to bear.
00:31:28
Speaker
And while i was in Lidl during my shopping, the Lord said to me, the great dragon means seer.
00:31:40
Speaker
I said, okay, sure, yeah. Well, I got home and I... Went on the Strongs and the yeah Hebrew and Greek translations.
00:31:52
Speaker
And sure enough, the word dragon in Greek is raccoon. Means a seer. The seeing one. To have sharp insight.
00:32:03
Speaker
To be able to spot prey. Our enemy monitor. a monitor My first teaching job, I was a classroom monitor.
00:32:17
Speaker
was my job to make sure the kiddies were doing their work. Or if they had their little flag, didn't raise their hands, they put up with the Irish flag above their table.
00:32:28
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And that would mean, you know, I want to do the toilet, want to do this, want to go there, I want to, whatever.
00:32:35
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We have an enemy who's a spy.
00:32:39
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the enemy takes notes. He's very attentive.
00:32:46
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Can't read your mind, but he can read little quivers of your lips. Or when those nasty things pop up on your laptop. The enemy knows, he didn't just click the X button.
00:33:01
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He watched this for three seconds. He considered it. His fingers like, well, I won't die. What can I get away with? Hmm, is anyone else around?
00:33:10
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And the enemy's very good at reading body language. He's been around for 6,000 Earth years, which longer an eternity.
00:33:21
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Revelation 12, 9 also tells us this enemy's a serpent. It means he has sharpness of vision. It means he is sly, cunning, has turned malice into an art form.
00:33:43
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Serpent is a symbol of danger, deception, and evil. And it means he has wisdom or prudence, which obviously he's not using for the glory of God, which he's using for the orchestration of every human's downfall.
00:34:05
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The enemy's taking notes. The enemy's attentive. The enemy does not sleep.
00:34:16
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So therefore, as God's kids,
00:34:21
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as the buffer between evil annexing the earth into hell and the human race, it's our job to be prayer warriors.
00:34:35
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It's our job to take our place as the resistance. Think of, don't know, your favorite movies, maybe it's Star Wars, for instance. You've got the evil empire. You've got the rebels.
00:34:51
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That is our job. You know, when God speaks to me about the church, he normally shows me the church, his kids, as superheroes in my symbolic dreams. Because that's what we are. We've got some of his kids speaking languages they never learned.
00:35:07
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Some his kids can see the future. Some of his kids are getting words of knowledge and words of wisdom. Some can crack open the Bible and just get downloads incredible revelation.
00:35:19
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Some, doesn't matter where they are they'll find a way to communicate the word of God and the power of the cross to the unlikeliest of peoples with the unlikeliest and most effective of examples.
00:35:31
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We are superheroes in this war, fighting against real super villains.
00:35:39
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But God's not looking for his heroes to go it alone. the superhero team, OHM, or insert the name of your church fellowships here.
00:35:52
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But he wants it to happen corporately, that place of unity,
00:36:01
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where it's not a the one-man show, but actually it's people working together, growing together, making up for one another's weaknesses, helping people to stretch,
00:36:13
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and will come more and more into what God always had for them.
00:36:21
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Another name Revelation 12, 9 gives this enemy is the devil.
00:36:28
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It means false accuser, slanderer. A word you'll probably never use and will probably never use, calumniator, traducer.
00:36:43
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It means he maliciously attacks or damages reputation.
00:36:51
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Through false spoken or written statements.
00:36:56
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Not only is the enemy monitoring you and taking notes, he's also a liar.
00:37:04
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The devil also means backbiter.
00:37:09
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Someone who says one thing to your face, another thing behind your back.
00:37:16
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Someone betrays you, a friend, for instance, or a friend in God's family, you might say, oh, you backstabbed me. Well, now you know why. was a real spiritual weapon or a real demonic thing.
00:37:32
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And devil means makes charges to bring you down or to destroy you.
00:37:44
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lot of those words are legal. That's why we say the enemy looks to have legal ground to afflict you. Looks for an opening.
00:37:55
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Another name of the devil in Revelation 12.9 is Satan. A personal, supernatural adversary. An accuser.
00:38:08
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One who is consistently hostile. We looked at what stealing, killing, and destroying means. Think that fits the bill. One who's deceptive.
00:38:18
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destructive.
00:38:22
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One who tempts you and opposes all the plans of God for your life.
00:38:29
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An executioner. Killing, destroying.
00:38:35
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One who thwarts evangelistic travel.
00:38:45
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Two lead worshippers. in this ministry have been taken out who've led our events in the past. We've had other people on worship teams before that God loved them.
00:38:58
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We want their restoration, but in the near future, we cannot have in that position a prominent begin.
00:39:07
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The Lord would have his people walking in perfect step with him and tandem with him, using their gifts for the glory of God and getting the word of Jesus out there But the enemy resists.
00:39:23
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Sees the opportunity for OHM to be everything God wants it to be and more. And knows exactly what buttons to push with each individual in order to steal that destiny.
00:39:39
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And we've had one too many instances of God's kid feeding that control, that destiny to the darkness.
00:39:50
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Relation 12.9 states, and it also and the Strongs, says one who blinds unbelievers. I would say one who blinds unbelievers as well.
00:40:01
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One who inflicts physical suffering. If you're sick right now, or you're struggling with your health, well, you know who it's from.
00:40:09
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murderer and the energizer of evil.
00:40:17
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The last quality Revelation 12.9 gives our enemy is one who leads the whole world astray. Leads them into deception. Leads people from safety, truth, or moral uprightness.
00:40:32
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One who seduces them.
00:40:37
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One who causes them to roam the wrong direction. To wander into error, usually subtly.
00:40:46
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and wants them to deviate from the correct path, the road of righteousness. Just veering off to the right or at to the left, but outside the good, perfect, pleasing will of Jesus.
00:41:04
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This is the enemy that we face. This is the enemy who comes against every person on earth, especially God's people, especially a ministry like this,
00:41:17
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which from its conception was never to be one or two people at the helm everyone else just says, yes, sir, yes, ma'am, three bags full.
00:41:28
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They say, jump, you say, how high? It's to be an act of ministry where people are given the opportunity to step into purpose, to step into the purposes and plans of God.
00:41:43
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And it starts fundamentally, it has always start with prayer. Because prayer, and we'll look at four examples of prayers today, is possibly the greatest weapon.
00:42:01
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There are many spiritual weapons. It's possibly the greatest one of them all that God has equipped us with to dismantle the operation of the darkness and to send the enemy fleeing from us.
00:42:16
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The book of Hebrews chapter 4, 16 says, let us then approach the throne of grace or confidence so that we may receive mercy, God's loving kindness, and find grace to help us in our time of need.
00:42:36
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We are not supposed to stay away from that throne. we are supposed to come to it as many times as we can during the day.
00:42:51
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Our big verse for today is Timothy 2.1. two one
00:42:59
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It says, I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all of God's people.
00:43:26
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You know I've taught even on this topic before in other ministries. There's one thing I never actually saw before today. The word first of all. This might baffle you, surprise you, blow your minds.
00:43:40
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The word of first of all in Greek means first of all. It means chiefly in time, chiefly in place, chiefly in order.
00:43:56
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And chiefly in importance.
00:44:02
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The reason we have prayer at the start of the day while people are getting ready to leave for work is to set you up for the day.
00:44:12
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The enemy would kill you on the way to work. Were your guardian angels and hosts of heaven not working in overtime? I would actually wager that the attacks that we see against us are the parts that just spill over.
00:44:29
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While the plans against us are actually more consistent than we can possibly imagine.
00:44:39
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It means chiefly in place and in order.
00:44:44
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You know when Hades joined us there earlier i could have said You know us, we'll pray for at the end, be fine. But actually there's no point in giving a teaching on prayer and missing an opportunity when it was presented to us on ah on a golden plate. You have to meet the moment.
00:45:11
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And of chief importance.
00:45:18
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That's why we stress it so much. I know there were mornings when one or two of us may have lost the head a head little bit and said, for goodness sake, the primate and pray.
00:45:31
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But you know what? It is that important. It is life and death. We literally had moments when we would pray for someone before they went into and surgery and say, oh God, if anything's been overlooked, reveal it.
00:45:49
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And nurses would come to the patient literally before the knife was put on their body, before the scalp was put on their body and say, oh, quick question for you, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, yeah, 10 years ago, and someone's life got saved because of it.
00:46:02
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Someone who would have bled out on the table in five minutes. We said, oh, God, if anything's been overlooked, reveal it. And he did. That's why we put so much emphasis on the importance of prayer.
00:46:17
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not to blow smoke. It's not so that, you know, we look self-important. It's because we are on a chess board. And the enemy is a very good chess player.
00:46:30
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And he has his eyes on all the royal pieces. In chess, know, they're the kings and the queens. But here's the thing. Our father is the king of the world of heaven.
00:46:40
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That makes you a prince or a princess of the world of heaven. The enemy has his eye on the big guns.
00:46:47
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And we can't let up. We cannot give an inch.
00:46:54
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We were born into a world at war. It is a war that will continue even after we are dead. But in our time, we've been called to fight that war and to win.
00:47:08
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and we've got four words here. Petitions, prayers, intercession, thanksgiving. I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving, okay, fair enough. would have been like, that's just saying, cheers, is Jesus.
00:47:19
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Thanks a mil. and Petitions, prayers, intercession, probably up until year and a half ago, two years ago, I would have just been like, why didn't Paul just use one word?
00:47:34
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Why did he use three words to say the same thing?
00:47:40
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It's because they're not the same thing. There are different modes of prayer, different styles of prayer with different focuses.
00:47:56
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Petitions, this is translated from the Greek now, means entreaty, heartfelt begging arising out a deep personal need Being real.
00:48:16
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Being authentic. Being vulnerable. Not praying like other people do because you think their prayer sounds holier than yours.
00:48:28
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Coming at the Lord and saying, right, it is what it is. i am who I am. And you say it as it is. No beating around the bush. No errors and graces.
00:48:39
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No performance.
00:48:44
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Petition the Greek means humility and dependency based on lack or want.
00:48:58
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Petition really takes into account the heart posture.
00:49:05
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It means earnest, fervent, specific pleas.
00:49:13
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Not three people each thanking God for the birds and the trees. Again, I love poultry. I'm to replace trees survey.
00:49:26
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Certain benefits, I suppose. And I do love nature walks and and and forests and woods. But actually being specific, not thanking God for a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And circling back to the first point that feel a embarrassed because someone else listening to go to something. No, hitting the nail on the
00:49:45
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It means urgent desires. What are the needs of the day? We would tell people, come with something prepared.
00:49:59
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Come with something to say. Okay, you might not have a dream every night. Okay, if you wake up and you spend five extra minutes on the toilet, you might not have time to pick a Bible verse or a Sam.
00:50:11
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But to the best of your ability, say, okay, God. What is at the forefront of your mind today? What is it that is on your agenda?
00:50:22
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Because I know what's on my agenda, but there are some things I can pray by myself. What is it that you would have us pray for corporately in this setting?
00:50:36
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Urgent needs.
00:50:41
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Another character diagnosis is having childlike confidence as you converse with God. Sometimes people hear you know heartfelt begging and they just start whinging and whining and crying and you'd swear or someone has a gun in their face.
00:50:57
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Faith is required. You do actually have to trust that the father you're speaking to is a good, good father. And when you say yes and amen, it's in Jesus Christ that he is going to do it.
00:51:14
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Because he is absolutely good.
00:51:18
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And it means anchored in reverence and expressed through obedience.
00:51:27
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In prayer meetings, we do not just pray to God. God speaks back. And when he does, God hates wasted words.
00:51:40
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If he says it, he expects you to do it. God tells us what to pray by his Holy Spirit. We release the prayer. And then God releases and answers a strategy. some There are some things he will just do miraculously himself. That's great. i love those moments.
00:51:59
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And there are times he's like, I'll do things on my end. You got to do things on your end. Do you have the humility to obey to say, yes, sir.
00:52:11
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Okay. I will. Count me in. This is the life I've signed up for. Again, a lot of people say, yeah, sure, God loves me anyway, it's brand.
00:52:25
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And I'm sure, well, God loves me. I don't have to do this. mean, the Ross is sufficient, the Wood's sufficient. They're not excuses. The gospel of grace empowers you to live that life of obedience.
00:52:40
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It does not empower you to live a depowered life. It empowers you to live a sanctified life, a holy life, a powerful, authoritative, fruitful, blessed, prosperous life.
00:52:56
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Obedience. It's not a very sexy word in 2026 Christianity. It's in the Bible. And God's very, very serious about it.
00:53:07
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he says it, he knows he is God and he expects it done.
00:53:18
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The next word Paul writes there, he says, petitions and bring your prayers. This is what prayer means in Greek.
00:53:28
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Having adoration.
00:53:32
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Confession. Thanksgiving, intercession, encapsulates petition and surrender.
00:53:47
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The adoration, letting God just take your breath away. Letting him blow your mind with how amazing he is and enduring him and loving him, giving him first place, putting Jesus on the throne of your heart.
00:54:04
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Putting Jesus on the throne of every area of your life.
00:54:11
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People hear the word confession and they often just think, you know, of their prayer closets locking themselves away for three hours a day telling God a bad person there. Confession includes a declaration of your faith.
00:54:24
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But the Greek specifies that a prayer is not a ritual.
00:54:31
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It is to meet the needs of the day. As Holy Spirit prompts you, you speak what God has on his mind. I remember when I my master's year, to get the bus to university at 6am.
00:54:51
Speaker
No, I didn't. That's way too early. 7am. And I would arrive at campus about 9am. And every morning at 7, I would sit In the back row of the window seat on the right-hand side, and my friend Laura would sit beside me.
00:55:06
Speaker
And, you know, we'd talk for a while, then we'd get quiet for a minute or two while I would pray and we'd go back talking. And I would pray, Father God, thank you that I'm alive.
00:55:20
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I pray, God, that I will not be involved in a road traffic incident or a car crash or a bus crash, nor in anyone that I've ever prayed for. In Jesus name, Amen.
00:55:31
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And I, that's good prayer. I would pray that prayer every morning. I probably did it for maybe six or seven years verbatim. I wasn't at university for seven years, but across my life, I probably prayed the exact same thing word for word for seven years.
00:55:52
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That particular morning, i was wrecked. was exhausted. So the prayer was a little bit more like this. Oh my god! Thank you that I'm a... Oh my goodness, that I'm alive.
00:56:08
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um i pray god that I won't be in a...
00:56:15
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It's a nice Mercedes-Benz. In a car crash or a road traffic incident or a... Hmm. One-ish scale m or road traffic incident.
00:56:27
Speaker
And you know what? Eventually I got to the end. I said, in Jesus name, amen. I thought that was sufficient. Well, for the first time in my life, I heard the audible voice of God. And I knew was God because he is a man The girl beside me was a a girl. And it was not her voice.
00:56:43
Speaker
Shout, play that part about the camera again and mean it. Well, I it sat up straight. And let me tell you.
00:56:57
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What had been 20-second rhyme, which I've been coming out with 365 days a year for almost a decade, I put emphasis on every single word.
00:57:16
Speaker
And I personalized that prayer for that day. And do you know what happened? Absolutely nothing that I was aware of. But fast forward 25 hours.
00:57:29
Speaker
So I got to university, went home, went back. to This is now the next day. sat down on a Monday, this another Tuesday. And I had just started university. i've sitting around waiting for first class 10 a.m. One of my friends, Suzanne, comes up.
00:57:44
Speaker
Beautiful girl, really, you know, Barbie face. And she's like, hi, Brendan, how's it going? And I was like, you know, I shouldn't actually speak like that. And I said, you know, hi Suzanne, you know, I'm great, it's always great, are you? And she said, oh my goodness, you'll never get to watch.
00:58:01
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So she sat down in front of me and said that the previous day her classes had finished early or they were cancelled or something. So she was driving home on motorway and next thing, tires, which are supposed to look like this, flipped horizontally.
00:58:20
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How did that happen? I don't know. But It flipped her car off the motorway, doing we but but down a hill into a field.
00:58:35
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She sat there frozen, paralyzed with fear. Tears streaming down her face. That kind of guttural cry.
00:58:46
Speaker
Try to find a hard even to scream or to process what just happened. Next thing. She sees smoke coming from the bonnet. And she goes, this thing's going blow.
00:59:00
Speaker
So she tried to open the passenger door. Her door was crushed. Wouldn't move. Turns around and tries know climbs over the passenger seat. Tries to open it. That door is wedged up against a hedge.
00:59:12
Speaker
That ain't opening. So she wheels down the window. Climbs out the passenger seat onto the hedge, down onto the field. runs through the field, climbs up the hill, climbs over a gate, and stands for 20 or 30 minutes screaming on the side of a busy motorway trying to get someone to slow down, which no one does because they're all busy going somewhere or thinking, who is this woman? She probably wants to steal the car.
00:59:39
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Eventually someone stops, says, oh my goodness, miss, are you okay? Can I help you? Her car was so irreparably damaged she had to pay you to get it scrapped.
00:59:53
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There was not a single cut, slice, bruise, or bleeding on her entire body.
01:00:03
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The absolute power of God. Prayer in action, but not a ritual. Not reciting random prayers, or prayers that sound fanciful, or prayers that sound somewhat articulate.
01:00:22
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but actually praying in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit does not always mean praying in tongues. It just means praying whatever Holy Spirit has on his to-do list for you that day.
01:00:34
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And prayer also means, in the Greek, relational conversation grounded in faith, offered through Jesus the Son, and enabled by Holy Spirit.
01:00:53
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I grew up initial initially going a Catholic church, then a Baptist, then Pentecostal, then dispensationalist.
01:01:04
Speaker
But everywhere i went, okay, the Catholics were praying in the name of everybody. The other three were all praying in the name of Jesus.
01:01:14
Speaker
The first 15 years of my life, no one ever told me why. I grew up, you know, when there is power, power, wonder, working whatever. ah You know, in the name of the land.
01:01:26
Speaker
Or, you know, and there's power in the name of Jesus. Absolutely. No one ever actually told me what that meant. I just thought it was Christianese. You know, any Sunday I went, something else was on fire. You know, sometimes fire was a bad thing. Sometimes it was a good thing.
01:01:43
Speaker
Sometimes we were praying for it come down. Sometimes they were giving out about the rain. Other the weeks they were saying, oh, let the rain fall down. Christianese meant nothing to me.
01:01:55
Speaker
But why they pray in the name of Jesus, I could not have told you.
01:02:02
Speaker
And then when I was a teenager, i was in a, I was a Christian. I was. If I had died, i would have gone to heaven. But I was very bound in religion.
01:02:17
Speaker
wouldn't have said I was, but I was. I was very, very guilty. The enemy had thrown guilt my way and I just accepted it. I was bound by trauma. It wasn't popular to use that word back then, that's what it was. i is a I was a traumatized teenager before social media made it cool.
01:02:39
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I was bound by addiction.
01:02:43
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I was bound by loneliness and rejection. To such an extent, I was literally having mass hallucinations of having friends. I we go in my back garden, the phone ring, and have a conversation with a friend for two hours or so. We'd talk about girls, my cousin, which cousin liked him, who liked someone else.
01:03:03
Speaker
This person at summer camp said this. Oh my goodness, they said, oh, can't believe that. After the call would end, I said, I forgot to mention so-and-so and such-and-such.
01:03:14
Speaker
When looking for the number, they weren't in my call log. I was literally hearing voices and seeing people who were not there.
01:03:22
Speaker
And very, very desperately suicidal. And then one night, in this room, on that bed, I picked up my Bible I was a very, very short boy with 2,200-page mammoth of a Bible.
01:03:42
Speaker
And I remember quoting John 10.10. And I said, Lord, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Yeah, I get that. But the second half, you said that you came to give life, abundant life, life not its fullness, exceeding life.
01:03:59
Speaker
And I said, well, I don't see that. So I had spent... many years doing the Adam and Eve thing. You know, Adam, you he blames Jesus. know, you made the woman, or you blamed the woman, and she blamed the devil. There was always someone to blame.
01:04:14
Speaker
And that night I said, God, if it is remotely possible, even to a tinsey, tiny extent, that maybe I'm somewhat responsible for the predicament I have found myself in.
01:04:28
Speaker
Maybe I'm... I didn't really believe I was, did I? I don't know. I don't think I thought i was guilty of anything. Not really. But I said that if I am in any way culpable or have co-partnered with my enemies, i
01:04:48
Speaker
I want to make amends. i want to change this. I can't live like this. This is not living. This is... I'm literally dying to die every day.
01:04:59
Speaker
And I picture it in jewelry box. And I said, God, I think you see people as jewels, as treasure, as jewelry, and you pick them up and you put them in a jewelry box and you slam it shut and we live in darkness and misery and then we die.
01:05:17
Speaker
And then... hit Not true. Not saying that's theologically accurate. It's what I thought. It's 15. I said, but God,
01:05:28
Speaker
yes your word it says you want us to have an abundant life and I'm not loving it. So I said, I can't go on living like this. I'm literally dying every day. It's it's literally like I'm dying. I said, God, I'm going to put you to the test.
01:05:41
Speaker
Does the Bible say not to? Yeah, I was 15. And I said, i'm going to open the Bible. And if the God who made all of reality in six days is still alive and mighty to save,
01:05:55
Speaker
I want you to speak into my situation in the first line of the first page I open. if you do that, I'll know you'll love me.
01:06:07
Speaker
I had the head knowledge, not the heart knowledge. And I said, if you don't, that's okay. I'll still believe you exist. I'd seen God, he'll be from cancer and all sorts.
01:06:21
Speaker
But I said, like I can't live like this. I can't die to die anymore. I can't do this. um What I meant was i will no longer live like a Christian, whatever that means.
01:06:38
Speaker
Looking back now, i would not have lasted the rest of the year on this earth. My corpse would have washed up somewhere.
01:06:48
Speaker
Well, I opened up my Bible. And the first line, the first page was in red, which was encouraging. And with Last Supper, it was John 10... No, sorry. I butchered the story now at the finale. It was John 14, 14.
01:07:04
Speaker
You may ask anything in my name, will do it. Well, I slammed the Bible shut, threw it to the opposite end of the bed. I was convinced I was having hallucinations again. i just said, there's no way.
01:07:18
Speaker
There's no way of all the things I've been praying for, and that one actually worked. So I picked up the Bible, remember what the Bible verse was. thought it was John 16, 16. And said, let's go with the first line, the first page. And I said, no, relax.
01:07:32
Speaker
It was 14, 14. It was still there. Jesus said, you may ask anything in my name, and i will do it. And that absolutely revolutionized my life. I gave him a good long list of all things I want to change.
01:07:48
Speaker
and power in his name, offering the prayer in his name. The party in heaven, he is our VIP. We're getting in under his name, making a request under his name. there's yes and amen in his name.
01:08:02
Speaker
And next thing, my spiritual eyes opened. So the first vision i had, i last one I'd have for a number of years, and I saw eyeballs all around my room watching me.
01:08:15
Speaker
I did not know about the Ophan interlocking gyroscope whirling wheels covered in eyes. I did not know what cherubim were, the ones were covered in eyes the living creatures.
01:08:27
Speaker
i don't even think I knew the Bible verse, the eyes of God roam to and fro looking for the righteous. But I knew heaven was watching. knew somehow I had caught the attention of the throne of heaven.
01:08:46
Speaker
That is prayer, not a ritual. It's relational conversation grounded in faith because I was at the end of my brother.
01:08:57
Speaker
That's two words in one. The end of my rope, the end of my tether. And I knew the only one who could rescue me was God.
01:09:10
Speaker
That's John 14, 14.
01:09:14
Speaker
You may ask anything in my name and I'll do it.
01:09:19
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But prayer is not just the conversation. It's the place and the space. In Greek, prayer is not just talking to God. It is the place where it happens.
01:09:34
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It is the personal and corporate communication and with God, an exchange of wishes, And a place set apart for the exchange of those wishes.
01:09:48
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A house, open house, hello, open house ministries. A house devoted to offering prayer. Another translation of prayer in Greek.
01:10:00
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You know in Jesus' day, the synagogues would be situated on a bank. of a stream, or near the shore of the sea, near a source of water.
01:10:14
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Why? So people could wash their hands before they prayed.
01:10:21
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The prayer was the conversation. The word prayer also meant the place where the prayer happened, singularly or corporately. But you had to wash your hands before you prayed.
01:10:36
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You might think that's a bit strange when I just said it's not a ritual. But what am I saying? Search my heart to know me, God. Know all my inmost soul. Tell me anything in my life that displeases you before you start to pray for everything else.
01:10:53
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Do a heart check. I'm going to be honest with you. I used to get off on that Bible verse. I don't remember last time prayed that verse in relation to myself.
01:11:05
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I spend one of the day to the next telling God all the kids of his who drive me up the walls. but but And all the politicians who's, that I would not mind if they were to perish before a day's end.
01:11:19
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It's actually been a long time, hand in my heart, because I said God and searched my heart and only knew all my enemies thought. But washing your hands, spiritually, before you start to come with your requests.
01:11:32
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Before you start to come with your me, me, me, me. me me me me me Before you start to come with, you know, God, my government for human traffickers destroyed. Well, what wickedness have you been trafficking in your own heart? Hello. um
01:11:50
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You got your heart checked first. When we're doing it corporately, before you log on,
01:12:00
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take that time of the Lord and say, God,
01:12:04
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I lay that down. I nail that to the cross. You said it's finished. I'm done. You said you hate it. I come out partnership with it.
01:12:18
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You say you don't want it in my life. I annex it into hell here and now. And you leave it there.
01:12:30
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Even when we do corporate worship or corporate prayer, um in the mornings and we will do in the mornings and the evenings um some people said I can't make mornings I'm free in the evenings though or we're going to let those OHMers put the money where their methods and we'll see yeah in time and we always start with a worship song you may have noticed that a praise song or worship song that's not just for the crack It's not too late umman it's to create that atmosphere of readiness.
01:13:02
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Even that is a time to say, you know what, God, if there's anything right now that would obstruct my prayer, that would obstruct this time with you, I lay it down.
01:13:14
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ah May ask what happened to with the prayers? Because i I thought the topic is on and and I don't understand because sometimes as well, by going to the hero, I stay and then And again, girl, got dealt, you know, with unforgiveness and start somehow unraveling, you know. And the and it's not over, but the situation straight away started changing. i thought, wow, but that's a good sign.
01:13:47
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I couldn't believe. didn't realize that I was so deep, you know. Mm. I didn't realise, to be honest. But the bitterness starting to... and I've seen everything stopped.
01:14:03
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So when you say it sets your heart, it's it's probably...
01:14:08
Speaker
something to happen is probably our heart will will will you not carry any bitterness because it doesn't matter who wronged us. doesn't matter. The devil will always wrong us and we fight not against these people but against the devil and them. They are the puppets who who are messed with. you know with within They don't even realize what they're doing but what I'm saying it is the heart. Like you say, it's the first thing.
01:14:37
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yeah The same concern... You know who confirmed that? It's quite a big teacher. Jack Cole and Derek Prince. He was saying like revival started when they start confessing their shortcomings and sins, you know? Yeah, it starts from within God's people.
01:14:55
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Yeah, revival in God's people's hearts. um Yeah, because we don't like to go there. That's the reality. We...
01:15:08
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typically like to say, oh, we've got it all together. I'm fine. i'm okay. Well, your spirit, if you're Christian, is okay. Doesn't mean your soul is.
01:15:20
Speaker
That's right, yeah. Your soul can still have very, very deep wounds caused by your own sin, caused by the sins of other people, caused by the sins humans, and caused by addictions, caused by things you dabbled with, called and thing caused by things that you're are not responsible for, that are not your fault, but because of things that people around you were doing, you got contaminated.
01:15:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, very easy. Infected. or infested. and and yeah, it's about putting Jesus on the throne of your heart and every canal and chasm in your heart and bring it all to submission to him. And I'll be honest, when you honestly and truly pray, search my heart and know me, know all my inmost thoughts, you will be surprised at the things that God starts to highlight.
01:16:14
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Yeah. Yeah.
01:16:18
Speaker
But as I like to think of this, you're not in a guard, a Shia Kana station. You're not in a police officer station. It's not like the light over my head, you know, in the dark room. Who are you with? What time was it? Who else was there?
01:16:34
Speaker
any No, you're in a dentist surgery. You're sitting on the high chair. And dentist puts the light in front of you and says, open your mouth and say, uh, stick out your tongue.
01:16:47
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a And okay, you're on uncomfortable for like 30 seconds when he has a drill in your mouth. All he's doing is removing the plaque.
01:16:58
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And then what does he do? Gives you a teeth whitening and up and off the chair you go about your business. You go on your merry way. God is not a guard.
01:17:09
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He is a dentist. It's not the intimidating scary light, the overhead light. It is a healing light. For God's kids, one thing if you're living in wickedness, for God's kids, he reveals so you can deal, so you can heal, and it's all concealed by the blood.
01:17:33
Speaker
And the enemy will reveal something to steal from you. And conceal it to steal from you. And if the enemy deals with you, it's to steal from you.
01:17:46
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But the Lord, he reveals, so you can deal, so you can heal, and it's all concealed by the blood of them who are slain.
01:17:58
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Amen?
01:18:01
Speaker
And that brings us very nicely to the third one. Intercession.
01:18:08
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Intercession. Intercession. is not a word that most people outside of Christian circles tend to use, and I would say most Christians use this use it incorrectly.
01:18:22
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Intercession means standing in the gap for someone through prayer. Okay, most people know that. After that, it is a legal word. Earnest appeal to God, often for the needs of others.
01:18:37
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Supplication. Most of us have never looked up to me that word before. Acting as mediators. Advocating on behalf of others to higher authorities.
01:18:53
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Appeal, supplication, mediator, advocacy. Those four words are all legal terms. Intercession is about the court of heaven.
01:19:08
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You're standing in the gap for someone else through prayer in the court of heaven, as an officer of the courts of heaven. I've known people before who literally said, Brendan, am an intercessor.
01:19:23
Speaker
And I said, it's nice. Once you the court of heaven, they didn't know anything. And then what they did tell me was that they don't pray for unbelievers.
01:19:35
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They don't pray for believers who they know have at least one sin in their life. They don't really want people praying for them. So the only people that they apparently intercede for are the super Christians.
01:19:49
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And I just said...
01:19:53
Speaker
Who told you you were intercessor? Sorry, super what? The super Christians. They're very select with who they pray for. and I just said...
01:20:04
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I don't think that's intercession. I think that's called favoritism. but but but but But earnest appeal to God for the needs of others.
01:20:15
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The word appeal means to make a formal request to a higher court or authority to change a lower court's decision or verdict.
01:20:29
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The enemy comes to sift To steal, to kill, to destroy, to eradicate, to butcher, to blot our name out, to vanish us entirely, even to the end of ever everlasting life.
01:20:44
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Intercession means you go to the courts of heaven and you say, Father God, whatever the enemy has said, your blood speaks a better word.
01:21:00
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Whatever dalliances that human has made with others, they are now reconciled to a mighty God, and nothing is more important than that.
01:21:12
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It's, yes, God, they were guilty and dead in their sin. Your blood's sad of their innocence. Yes, Lord, sin does indeed leave crimson stains.
01:21:27
Speaker
But that's your child up there in the witness stand, the witness box. The blood of Jesus has washed them whitest now. It's about picturing yourself, which is really happening in the spirit realm, in the courts of heaven, and having it out with God, that the enemy's plans to sift, to destroy, to wipe out, are criminal,
01:21:58
Speaker
are illegal, are fraudulent, are wicked, and you're declaring the total goodness of God over a person's life.
01:22:10
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Supplication means to make a humble request. Again, the heart, attitude, the character. It's done with deep respect.
01:22:21
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Some people, I hear how they pray to God, and I just think you are aware he's Like, you know, the creator of all reality, right? He's the one who set everything in motion. Hello. It's used when someone one desperately wants or desperately lacks something important.
01:22:40
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You make formal pleas to a ruler or judge. Who is the judge of heaven? Jesus Christ.
01:22:48
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You may have heard of, you Judge Judy Sheridan. Judge Jesus is even better.
01:22:56
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means acting as a mediator. What's a mediator? A neutral third party who acts as a guide, a middleman, and a facilitator to help people in a conflict find a shared solution.
01:23:13
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Even if you don't know the person, standing in the gap for them. And saying, Lord, your plans for every human are for good and not for evil.
01:23:27
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They're not to harm them, but to bless and prosper them. They are designed that person reaches an anticipated, expected, preordained end.
01:23:38
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They are good, perfect, pleasing plans.
01:23:42
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More numerous than the sand and the seashore are the plans you have for that person from now until eternity, which never ends. Eternity lasts a very long time.
01:23:54
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Forever and ever and ever and ever.
01:23:58
Speaker
And when you put on the mind of Christ, you will see that those plans are good, perfect, pleasing, beautiful, praiseworthy, commendable, noble, pure, and true. And you say, God, they are facing a situation that is none of those things.
01:24:15
Speaker
So I declare your word, your will, your way over that person's life. Because your word says that's your will.
01:24:28
Speaker
And to advocate for people means to publicly recommend them, to speak in favor of them, to write in support of an idea or action, to back a plan, whose plan? God's plan, policy or group, and to defend a client in court.
01:24:51
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Whatever it is the enemy speaks against them.
01:24:56
Speaker
you're declaring the word of God.
01:25:02
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The enemy, like I said, he's a watcher. He's a monitor. He may have hidden documents against them, detailing every unholy covenant, contract, agreement, word, action, deed, certificate, oath, and bow that entangles them with darkness.
01:25:23
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The evidence might be fraudulent, fake, full of crap.
01:25:31
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But we have weapons at our disposal.
01:25:35
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The blood of Jesus that speaks a better word. The blue bruises of Jesus that purge all sin.
01:25:45
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Heavenly fire to burn up all the advances of the darkness.
01:25:50
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Fiery coals to descend on the heads of those spiritual enemies.
01:25:57
Speaker
Flaming cherubim swords to torch, scorch, and burn to ashes those documents. The name of Jesus, in whom there's only yes and amen.
01:26:19
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The story I read a few months ago, and I just cannot get past it. I think this might be my story for 2026 in the Bible. and Zechariah chapter 3, verses 1 to 10.
01:26:38
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Zechariah has a vision. He is alive, but a layer of his soul and spirits are caught up into heaven.
01:26:46
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Most of his soul is still in his body. He's not dead, but he's taken up. And when he's there, he realizes he's not the only one. The high priest Joshua has also been snatched up. Joshua is still alive. Most of his soul is still in his body, but a layer of him has been caught up.
01:27:04
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And Satan is there. When you go to heaven, I'm not saying you'll be seeing Satan everywhere, but there is one throne room where he has access. And he goes night and day. He's probably there right now.
01:27:18
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And in that throne room... Satan makes accusations against the high priest Joshua in front of Jesus.
01:27:28
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He's a scumbag. He's a sinner. He did this. He saw that. He watched this. He spoke like that. When no one was around, i saw him do this.
01:27:38
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And here's the thing.
01:27:41
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It was probably true. We're told that Joshua was covered from head to toe in the clothes he was wearing. He was covered head to toe in filth.
01:27:53
Speaker
Filth polite English in the Bible for excrement. That's what actually means in Hebrew. He was covered in spiritual excrement.
01:28:07
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In spiritual feces.
01:28:11
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He was covered in spiritual crap. And I'm sure it's thank the high heaven. no pun intended.
01:28:20
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Jesus never looks at him and says, it's a lie. Joshua's never sinned in his life. Because it probably true.
01:28:28
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But Jesus saw the heart Joshua had. The repentance. The destiny Jesus had for him. And Jesus st instructs an angel. As Zechariah is watching all this, Jesus instructs an angel, take that filthy garment off him and put on something clean.
01:28:48
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So a clean garment is put on him.
01:28:52
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head covering. Now Jesus tells him, stop sinning. Be obedient. Do what I tell you.
01:29:03
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back to earth now and fulfill the destiny I have for you. I'm restoring your timeline. probably made Satan red in the face or redder in the face.
01:29:16
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But that's the court of heaven.
01:29:19
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Where you go, even if you are responsible for the fix you're and you say, Jesus, your word says your blood is sufficient. Your word says that I was dead and now alive.
01:29:37
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That I'm free and free indeed. The old is gone, the new has come.
01:29:45
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I am chosen, I am free, am living for eternity, free now and forever. pick me up, turn me around, set my feet on solid ground. Yada yada yada, thank you, Tim Hughes, great song.
01:30:00
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You combat your past with what the Word of God says over your life, your Christ identity.
01:30:12
Speaker
You combat the lies of the enemy with your in Christ identity, your Garden of Eden self. Your all my sin is hidden in Jesus self.
01:30:26
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Your the old's gone, the new has come. I'm a new creation self. That's your fight.
01:30:38
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In the court of heaven.
01:30:45
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The last weapon of prayer on look at today and on Thanksgiving.
01:30:55
Speaker
Thanksgiving is not just saying thank you. It's in the Greek, it's gratitude, which means to have a grateful attitude. This is a posture. You're not like, thanks, God.
01:31:06
Speaker
Thanks, JC. Cheers, man. No, it's actually from the heart. This is your posture. This how you go about your day. It's not just a polite acknowledgement that God's good.
01:31:23
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it is a covenantal response that recognizes God's character, God's works and God's gifts were commanded in Psalms, do not forget one of his blessings.
01:31:43
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That means you're supposed to have the attitude of gratitude from sunup to sundown seven days a week.
01:31:55
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It's never detached from faith. Sometimes I hear people who, well, they they believe in God when he's convenient. thank you Oh, God's good. Oh, thank God. Oh, thank Jesus. Or Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Whoever they want to say thank you to.
01:32:13
Speaker
St. Anthony for finding their car keys. Now, a Thanksgiving prayer always has to be attached and rooted around in faith. The trust in the Lord Jesus and his goodness to you.
01:32:29
Speaker
It's the grateful proclamation that God is worthy of glory and that his providence is good and his goodness is extended to you personally and us corporately.
01:32:42
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It's great for language to God expressed as an act of worship.
01:32:49
Speaker
And thanksgiving literally means you thank God for his grace. You thank God for the unmerited favor he has bestowed upon each and every one of us.
01:33:08
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Where Jesus took all, not some, o Not the ones that are easy to fix. All. Not the ones that are really, really bad. All your sins.
01:33:19
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All your sickness. All your diseases. All your pain. All your shame. Buried it in the grave. And has traded you his life.
01:33:37
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When we start back. With our prayer meetings in the mornings and the evenings.
01:33:45
Speaker
Determine in your heart. Which one's it going to go to?
01:33:52
Speaker
Don't say, Astral, see how I feel and in the morning. Astral, see how I feel after work. Make a decision. Because the enemy, or you know, just yourself. You'll talk yourself out of going remarkably easy.
01:34:06
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It's easier to fall out of good habits or not to start good habits than it is to start a good habit and see it through. So make a decision now in the moment of clarity.
01:34:18
Speaker
Because you may not make a very good decision in the moment of indecision that comes later. And when you've made that decision, commit to seeing it through.
01:34:31
Speaker
God gave me a dream and in that dream, Jesus stood behind me. I was very excited to see him. I was less excited by the time the dream was over.
01:34:41
Speaker
He came up close to me and I knew was Jesus. And opened his mouth. And I thought, oh wow, he's going to say something really, really revelatory. This is close.
01:34:53
Speaker
Do I know what he said? Nothing. But this is what he did. All over my back. I woke up lifted.
01:35:05
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I was furious. I was fuming.
01:35:10
Speaker
And then I took a breath. And I said, right. What did that mean?
01:35:19
Speaker
And I could think of blindness in the Bible. Muteness. Death. Paralyzed. I could think of Bible verses with sneezing.
01:35:31
Speaker
I could not think of one with coughing. So I did something quite dangerous. Sometimes it works. Usually it doesn't. I asked Google for a Bible verse in which someone coughed.
01:35:43
Speaker
This is what came up. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17, we are told to pray continually.
01:35:56
Speaker
Pause there for a second. A lot of people misread that as pray continuously. Continuously means start and never stop.
01:36:08
Speaker
So people say, well, I can't pray when I'm driving or in the shower or talking to my boss. It does not say continuously. says continually. Continuously, never stop.
01:36:21
Speaker
Continually, you do it, pause. Do it, live your life. Do it, do this. Do it, do something else. Do it, sleep. There are natural breaks. So it doesn't say continuously, it says continually. And I read, okay, pray continually. Okay, fair enough.
01:36:38
Speaker
That does not answer my question, Google. So I looked up continually in the Greek. And continually in the Greek translates this. Pray like you have hacking hole.
01:36:55
Speaker
Pray like there's an itch in your throat. and you cannot keep your mouth shut. Pray like there's an itch in your throat and it will be injurious for you to hold it in.
01:37:10
Speaker
and live your life. 6am.
01:37:18
Speaker
Go live your life. You see a car on fire outside the bus window. Go live your life. You see someone's upset. me get it That's it. You can't hold it in.
01:37:31
Speaker
It would be wrong to hold it in. Biologically dangerous to you to hold it in. That is how we're told to pray. Passionately, fervently,
01:37:45
Speaker
urgently, knowing the weight of what it is we carry. Knowing the severity, the seriousness of what we do. knowing the importance, is the life or death significance
01:38:02
Speaker
of what it means to wield the weapons of petitions, prayers, of intercession, thanksgiving.
01:38:18
Speaker
And my last point, why? What is the point of all this?
01:38:28
Speaker
I started looking today at our enemy and how our enemy operates, how our enemy moves and maneuvers against us. He's a thief who steals, kills, and destroys whenever he can.
01:38:43
Speaker
But the second half of that verse is even better. But Jesus has come to give us life in all of its fullness and abundance. Let's look at what that means in Greek.
01:38:57
Speaker
But I have come that you may live above mere bodily flesh-driven existence, above your nine to five.
01:39:12
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He has come to give life that always ways and only comes from and is sustained by God's self-existent life.
01:39:27
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I have come that people may have an intimately shared gift.
01:39:35
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I've come that people can live a superior, these are all meanings in Greek, a superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon, excellent, remarkable, more eminent, if you don't use that word, use the word successful, life.
01:39:58
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I've come that you would have more vitality.
01:40:04
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More super abundant in quantity. More superior in quality.
01:40:13
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You would live a greater life.
Living a Life Beyond Expectations
01:40:15
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You would live a life with more advantages. You would experience the absolute fullness of life in the land of living.
01:40:26
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I have come that you may have a life active, not passive, not indifferent, not sitting down watching no one else do all the hard work, an active, vigorous life, devoted to God and blessed because of it.
01:40:44
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I have come that you may be a partaker of eternal and worth of life.
01:40:51
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I have come that you would have a life that is exceedingly abundantly above. A life that's beyond measure. A life beyond what's anticipated.
01:41:05
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A life that exceedingly is expectant. A life that goes past any and all limitations put on you by people, demons, and circumstances.
01:41:23
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A life full the brim of more than enough. A cup that's running over.
01:41:31
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a life where you enjoy more than is necessary. God does not just give you what you need. He also meets your wants as well.
01:41:44
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A life, this time it is continuously, experiences all around excess. No want, no dryness, no lack.
01:41:57
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And probably my favorite of all would be a super added life.
01:42:06
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That is the life that the Lord has for you. That is the life the Lord has for every single person if only they were to reach out and take it in the name of Jesus by crossing over from death to life by cross hell for it.
01:42:23
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And the Lordship of Christ
01:42:27
Speaker
And it comes from a life lived in unity
01:42:35
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where we corporately pray, give our petitions, make intercession, and give thanksgiving to our God who is, at all times, absolutely good.
01:42:58
Speaker
In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
01:43:04
Speaker
Amen.
01:43:06
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damen