Speaker 1: Welcome to Recharge If it is okay with you and I guess you don't have any way to give me any feedback, but if it is okay with you, this evening is going to look different.
Speaker 1: We have been walking through and talking about the role of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit, understanding the Spirit, the Spirit's call in our life.
Speaker 1: I was writing in the middle of writing my recharge message this afternoon it was 90% done.
Speaker 1: And when I don't know about you, you might have heard the news about a pretty prominent conservative political figure named Charlie Kirk that was assassinated today and it really is sending shockwaves through our country, regardless of your political affiliation, of whether you completely aligned with everything that Charlie Kirk stood for.
Speaker 1: He was a prominent Christian and evangelist.
Speaker 1: He quoted Scripture and loved Jesus with all of his heart, soul and mind, and so that hit me hard.
Speaker 1: So let me tell you two things.
Speaker 1: One, sometimes as a church we go through seasons where there's just an unusual number of deaths or illnesses or sickness and circumstances, and you need to know that obviously that weighs heavy on your pastoral staff and it weighs heavy on the body as a whole.
Speaker 1: We love each other, we care for each other, so we're kind of in a season like that, and then the political unrest of what's been going on in our country.
Speaker 1: And then the political unrest of what's been going on in our country.
Speaker 1: The Charlie Kirk assassination overshadowed the fact that there was another school shooting in Colorado I haven't even heard the latest but three presumably students were rushed to the hospital, and just a lot going on.
Speaker 1: So, if it's okay with you, I want us to circle up and just spend these next 10 minutes in prayer together.
Speaker 1: I want to lead us into a time of prayer.
Speaker 1: So have courage, stand up, circle up with some people around you.
Speaker 1: I was really thinking about what this was going to look like and I think as a body we need to get a little more comfortable just praying with the people around us.
Speaker 1: Okay, if you just hate that idea, you can stay and pray just you and your spouse or whatever.
Speaker 1: But at this time would you guys just create little groups so that we can spend some time praying together?
Speaker 1: I promise next week we'll be back to typical recharge.
Speaker 1: I'll preach on the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1: You guys circle up.
Speaker 1: I want to lead us into specific times of prayer.
Speaker 1: So greet your neighbor and, for the record, not everyone has to pray out loud.
Speaker 1: So it's okay, you can pray silently while one of you kind of prays.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm going to give us the prayer prompts.
Speaker 1: So you guys listen to me, I will lead us in a time together.
Speaker 1: Okay, so we begin with and I want you in your mind, I want you to quiet your mind and I want you to say to God right, we come before the throne of God in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: The King of kings and the Lord of lords is a friend of mine.
Speaker 1: Say that to God, father, we come in the name of Jesus, we come before your throne.
Speaker 1: His blood covers us.
Speaker 1: He gives us all access.
Speaker 1: Believer, I want to remind you how Jesus knows and understands the heaviness of your heart, all of the circumstances in your mind right now.
Speaker 1: He knows and he understands and he bids us to come before His throne, understands and he bids us to come before His throne.
Speaker 1: Let me read for you 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14, beloved.
Speaker 1: It reads and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.
Speaker 1: Then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land.
Speaker 1: Will someone in your group right now pray a prayer of repentance and humility, that we would be a people willing to humble ourselves before God, almighty.
Speaker 1: Thank you Now.
Speaker 1: Would someone else in the group, would you, be willing to cry out that God would heal our land, would forgive our sins and heal our land?
Speaker 1: Would you cry out to God for that?
Speaker 1: Thank you Now.
Speaker 1: Would you, according to 1 Timothy, chapter 2, would you begin to pray for the leaders in our land?
Speaker 1: Okay, would you pray for those in leadership in government?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for our president?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for those in Congress?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for those in leadership in government?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for our president?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for those in Congress?
Speaker 1: Would you pray for those in local leadership?
Speaker 1: Would you pray that godly leaders would raise up amongst us?
Speaker 1: Thank you All right, church family, would you listen to me for just a second?
Speaker 1: Listen to me in John, chapter 17,.
Speaker 1: When Jesus is, he's about to leave and he's praying for his disciples.
Speaker 1: Okay, we are his disciples.
Speaker 1: And he specifically prays that the church that we, as Christians, would have a unity, okay, a unity, a togetherness, okay, that is able to overcome our differences, that is, our culture, is so divided.
Speaker 1: You understand that, okay, and I didn't live through the 60s.
Speaker 1: I would imagine it was probably as divided then, but this has to be as divided as we have been as a culture since then.
Speaker 1: Okay, and our culture is so politically divided.
Speaker 1: But listen to me.
Speaker 1: Jesus prayed that the church would be unified and would be able to show brotherly love and unity that causes the rest of the world to say how do I get what they have?
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 1: So I want you to pray right now, in your circles, for a unity for the love of Christ, to be able to allow us to overcome and talk about our differences and shine the light of Christ.
Speaker 1: That is greater than what this culture, what our culture, could ever accomplish.
Speaker 1: Go Amen, heavenly Father, we come in the name of Jesus and we pray in unity for you to heal our land, for you to spark a revival.
Speaker 1: I can't see any other way that these divisions are healed unless there is a revival of the church of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: Unless you save, unless you move in might amongst us.
Speaker 1: And so, father, we pray let it begin with us that there would be deep confession and repentance, that there would be genuine unity and fellowship, a fellowship that the world longs for, that we would be able to talk about our differences and be able to work through critical issues.
Speaker 1: As the world gets so polarized, there's an inability to see humanity in one another.
Speaker 1: Father, I pray that that is not the case here, but that the love of Jesus Christ shines brightly for the glory of your name.
Speaker 1: Father.
Speaker 1: We pray that there would be a revival.
Speaker 1: We pray that you would continue to save and, father, that that movement would spread from our churches into the community and that we would be a light that shows our culture how to heal and what that looks like.
Speaker 1: We pray that in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1: Friend, while you are still huddled, if in your circle, if there is anyone there that has a deep hurt and you want to express that, maybe you have financial need, maybe you have experienced a loss, there's a broken relationship, maybe there is something deep that you want prayer for right now.
Speaker 1: Listen, we are the body of Christ.
Speaker 1: We are praying in unison together.
Speaker 1: Express that to your group and allow your brothers and sisters to pray over you.
Speaker 1: If you just need encouragement maybe you had a tough week please express that right now.
Speaker 1: Be bold.
Speaker 1: Come on, be bold.
Speaker 1: You need prayer.
Speaker 1: Is there a loved one that needs to be saved?
Speaker 1: Do you need God to move in a situation?
Speaker 1: Pray for that right now as a group.
Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, you know the cry of our hearts.
Speaker 1: Father, you hear your children.
Speaker 1: You hear your children and, like a good father, you long to respond.
Speaker 1: Father, I pray that this is just a beginning.
Speaker 1: This is just a spark of us being a praying church, a church that is on our knees, begging you to move within us and in our community and in our nation.
Speaker 1: God, may the name of Jesus be high and lifted up.
Speaker 1: The name above all names.
Speaker 1: We love you, we praise you, we celebrate you.
Speaker 1: King Jesus, when our eyes are fixed on you, the things of the earth fade into existence, because you are amazing and you bring healing and life to everything that we do.
Speaker 1: May this be the beginning.
Speaker 1: As we leave here, in Jesus' name, we pray Amen, all right, god bless you guys.
Speaker 1: Thank you.