Psalm 100- Prayer and Praise by Francis Chan

we're going to show you a video right now that children's her fun put together worse if you remember last year we gave them a million dollars to just kind of do as they please to take care of people and we made a video explaining why we're giving the money away well they made a video for us just to thank us and also to show us where that money went and as you look at this video I just encourage you it can be be real easy to get lost in just numbers and statistics and forget that every number represents a person an individual that is just as significant as you are so let's watch this video that they threw together for us I have a name you can know weed it's been a while since anybody else I love to laugh just like you do and my family also means the world to me so as you choose what to wear remember I fight to see you as you decide where to eat it's my children think of me let me live in keep loving me lovers play blind show true religion cuz words don't actions they heal me show that you believe you think of me you have a line I understand God has blessed you so enjoy what he is give her to ring positions never shield alive for mercy pain as you consider your would she see if you remember life's ears baby P let me and keep loving me [Music] should you [Music] cuz words don't really actions they heal that you busy [Music] as you choose what you wear remember at fight you decide where to in Oh [Music] think of me let me leave in your mind keep loving me another's play planned show to religion cuz words don't really they hue me show that you believe I was the notice was Miss Tennessee with me korrasami assumed I'd wanna miss picado llama make onto sangria Ozma tui Jose awareness is clear mi nombre me [Music] awesome I just love that I just love that we could have some sort of impact in the world and it's amazing I mean pennies it cost pennies to feed these people and and the real people I mean I love just even looking at that that the video those those different faces like some of those beautiful kids in the world aren't they and here's a look at it going man just I love the fact that we were in their lives last year and I just pray that every year that's what we're about is caring about other people looking beyond ourselves I know in your bulletins and on the internet and everything else we we said that today we're going to start a series on the end times and I've decided to do that in in September I'm going to do a three four week series I'm going to talk about that all through the month of September because there's some other things I want to do today and I really believe the Lord is leading us to do today but I do want to read this passage I do want to read the passage that we'll be going through in September because it has been on my mind for weeks and I just want you to listen to this passage it's second Timothy chapters three and four and so long we read through a lot of verses but but I want you to remember this is this was a letter this was a letter written by the Apostle Paul and this is right before he's going to die he just knows his life's about over and so he writes this letter to this young pastor because he's just kind of getting started and he still got a long ways to go and he says these words and they're so powerful because he talks about how at the end time will you'll hear about it just as to listen to it but I just want to read this to you because I just think these words are so powerful and I so believe it's the time that we live in right now so second Timothy chapter 3 says this but mark this there will be terrible times in the last days people will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boastful proud abusive disobedient to their parents ungrateful unholy without love unforgiving slanderous without self-control brutal not lovers of the good treacherous rash conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god having a form of godliness but denying its power have nothing to do with them they're the kind who wormed their way into homes and gain control over weak willed women who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth just as Janney's and Jan Burris also oppose Moses so also these men oppose the truth men of depraved Minds who as far as the faith is concerned are rejected but they will not get very far because as in the case of those men their folly will be clear to everyone you however know all about my teaching my way of life my purpose faith patience love endurance persecutions sufferings what kinds of things happen to me in antioch Iconium and Lystra the persecutions I endured if the Lord rescued me from all of them in fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived but as for you continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus all Scripture is god-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead and in view of his appearing his kingdom I give you this charge preach the word be prepared in in and out of season correct rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine instead to suit their own desires they'll gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths but you keep your head in all situations endure hardship do the work of an evangelist discharge all the duties of your ministry from already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come from my departure I've fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing not a great passage I get emotional just reading it like I can't read that passage without just it's like everything's getting stirred up in me because I just believe that so our time and the Bible what Paul is telling Timothy's goes man my life is over and I did it I fought it I'm about done I'm gonna go to heaven I'm receive my reward just like everyone will who holds out and is looking forward to his return but he warns this young preacher because you got to understand if you keep teaching this book here's what I'm telling you to keep preaching this book but if you do it you got it you got to know that people are going to leave your church he's in fact there's going to be a day that's coming when people they won't want to hear this stuff who wants to listen to this instead they're going to go and they're going to find places where man it's all about making you feel good everything else and he goes in the in the last days people won't stand for they just will not stand for this word they'll be against it they'll hate it and everything else he goes but you can't give up because you got to keep you got to carry it on you got to carry it on you got to keep teaching it and I love that I love that it's such a huge charge you know and command to us of saying you know what and I just felt like I need to share today in the sense of some of you guys have been around for a while for years and I just want to encourage you I know that some of the things I've said over the years have not been easy to hear and it would have been very easy to leave and go you know what this other place they never you know get in my face you seem to do it every week you know and and it's not like I'm trying to look for those passage just seems like that's just all it says and and there's tremendous encouragement in the grace of God and everything else but along with it there's also some difficult things that God has to say and I just I just thank you so much for for sticking with it and even the giving thing I realized the last two years have been so many guys have been here a long time but the last two years have been just this complete like transition in our church and there have been a lot of people that have left and a lot of you are new and have come in over the last couple of years and for those who have stuck it out man I I thank you for being patient we're still trying to figure this thing out there's just so many things about church here that I look at the Bible and I go man that's just not right we shouldn't just be a bunch of people that sit in a service and just entertain them and keep them coming back week after week that can't be what church is about and if that's really the least of these is really Jesus then we we've got to be giving to them and I know that you I mean this is all stuff that I've been really convicted about over the last few years and so you guys have kind of stuck with me and going you know what yeah that is what that word of God says but it meant sacrifices on our part I mean even just the you know you think about just the million dollars going to chill and hunger fun over last year we could have hired like a dozen 15 you know pastors for us you know we can add more staff and it would have worked out really much better with it with about three million dollars that we gave out last year we had 40 or 50 full-time pastors for us you know and just take care of us in our needs and so I know that some of it you know the pastors are kind of worn thin in trying to we got to use people in the community and we've all sacrificed because we're saying there's a huge need out there I know that was a difficult change I know that what the communities trying to change things around say man it's not right that we're believers and we've got other believers you know within a block of us and we don't even know their names well there's must be like our brothers and sisters and so let's let's work toward this and we don't have it all figured out yet but you've been patient and some of you have really been going forward and working on that alkyl man we got to do is we got to do this this is the right thing in fact last service a guy came up to me he goes man keep doing this I'm from a church in Ventura you know we had this you know building project to you know a three million dollar building project and we were so convicted about everything going on here and God was convicting us the same way that we've decided we're not going to do that and we're giving away that three million dollars and I'm going right on you know it's just there's a there's a greater need and things are happening and and I understand man it presents a hardship on us sometimes those of you who have been faithful and giving over this last year as as our houses are just kind of dropped and and jobs have been lost and struggles and everything else you're sticking it out and man I just want to encourage you in that and say you know what it's probably going to get even harder and there's many more people opposed to this way of living and thinking but God warns us about that and he says you know what you guys stick it out though keep reaching whatever is in that book because I'm Tanya just in my lifetime I'm seeing this become less and less popular and the truth of this book I don't feel like I'm I'm changing what I've taught over the years in many ways I've just been teaching this book but even the last ten years it just becomes harder and harder to teach this but the Bible says keep passing it on keep going because it's going to be hard and so we're going to spend a whole month talking about that and just encouraging just stay in that that mindset and I also want to encourage you because that whole idea of loving the people in our very neighborhoods that is so lost in our culture where we want to drive in close the garage door and just shut ourselves off to the world we all know that's not biblical and we got to care for the knees right in our faces not just overseas but our next-door neighbors and that's why we go you got to know the people in our community in your community and and and just encourage you on that this was a great week on that I was so encourage this week on Thursday I was in here doing one of the saddest funerals I've ever done the one-year old and it was a I met with the family on on Tuesday great couple they don't they're not believers in Jesus just really nice people and we just sat and talked for three hours about everything but you know what they were blown away by they said we've had perfect strangers from all up and down our street from Cornerstone Church coming up to us bringing us food bringing us cards bringing us stuff offering their help praying for it we don't even know them and just blown away she just couldn't say enough they couldn't say enough about what you guys were doing in that community out there in the bridle-path because you were just saying what needs are in my community in my neighborhood let me take care of them in fact and then she was saying you know and then we went to the mortuary we had to go through all these different things and everyone's given us such a hassle with all these things we got to do and then we come to Cornerstone to try to put together the service and you guys just took us in you just don't worry about a thing you plan out the service for us you let us have this place you put a reception together for us you pay for everything and you don't want a dime in return she's just excited herself she I shoes I couldn't even believe it when you guys said when I said what how much is this and you say nothing we won't take anything and then all your people come alone is it that's that's what I want in every neighborhood isn't that the way the church is supposed to be where we're in every neighborhood there's a need and and even though they're strangers to us that we just give with wanting nothing in return other than the opportunity to give and to bless someone else and good things are happening this this month I just want encourages we're talking about the inner city it's just been so great because a Keith Phillips from world impact you know is telling me about all these different people that want to serve different ones of you that want to serve down in LA now when he's emailing me names had you know this guy you know this guy you know this girl I don't know any of them you know it's like they're from your church this person wants to do is this first wants to do that I got great as so cool that you're getting out there that's what we're giving out needs every month of a different place and this focus was inner-city there's like a like 15 or so of you this week that are heading up to Richmond in in the Bay Area to one of the worst neighborhoods in the nation on the hardest nation you know neighborhoods and your your contractors builders that are heading up there and just you know helping this church out and fixing things up in these homes nearby that's huge that's that's so cool this week on Wednesday Wednesday I was out in the valley San Fernando Valley to to meet with a director over at the San Fernando rescue mission and I just want to see what the needs are there I just wanted to see what the place was about because we're giving some money there and he just we just sat down had lunch he's just tell about all the cornerstone people again it goes man your cornerstone people they're just you know this person's doing this this person's doing that this person's you I'm just counting on these cornerstone people I'm like right on you know and and we got to keep going down this path and I know it's so hard for some of you because you're thinking man I got issues of my own and yet I'm helping other people so and I just sit here and think about me and yet as you're going even with your pain you're going administering to others and you're realizing wow this is what's actually helping me take the problems off of my mind and it's actually it really is better to give than to receive and we got to keep this mindset you know when so many churches are going to a consumer mentality of what's in it for me it's got to be about giving we've got to keep going down from this path because this is where the fulfillment is and let me just say something about that that rescue mission in San Fernando Valley I was totally educated this week in that did you know that they're just in the San Fernando Valley there's 8,000 homeless people just in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley is huge it's almost 2 million people just in the San Fernando Valley 8,000 homeless now in LA in LA there's 10,000 that are homeless but they have four huge rescue missions in San Fernando Valley there's only that one rescue mission there's only San Fran rescue mission and it only houses 60 people I was pretty floored by that um and this place that rescue mission is only for families so if you don't have children this is only you know for those who have kids and but you got to see this place I mean it's they've only got three bathrooms for 60 people who live there okay you're bugs you have to wait for your daughter or whatever you know 60 people three bathrooms their kitchens smaller than mine probably smaller than yours for 60 people but I love this place because okay they do they go out they give food to those who are chronically homeless because there are people just don't even want to get off the streets there are drugs whatever else and they they're just going to be there but but these this rescue mission um while they care for all those people and feed them as well this this place where they stay is only for those who are situationally homeless for families where they just lost their job lost their house which you guys know that's becoming more and more rampant especially as last year it's been absolutely nuts in fact for every family that they accept they have to turn away 30 and again these are situational these are people who in order to stay at this place you have to be working and your kids have to be in school and you have to save 80 percent of whatever you make so you turn over your paycheck to the rescue mission and they take 80 percent of it to put in a savings account for you because they want to help you get out of there and then you can spend the other 20% but but it's that 80 percent we know you got it if you're going to stay so there's qualifications for this place you know and I just love this but the thought of men you're turning down 30 families for every family it comes there half the people are under the age 12 there in this place and I don't know my heart just my heart just absolutely broke over that because we're not talking about even LA we're not talk about Mexico we're not talking about the ends of the earth we're talking about San Fernando Valley you know at the border we borders and in a valley Simi Valley is on one side so it's not even a minute away I mean where we are the border of that and that's right next door and so I hear things like that and I know you know some of you excellent man another thing but what else do we do you know I in my mind I go we have to do something there's no way Jesus would have a Church here and have that need right next door and do nothing about I just I can't believe that and and I know it's throwing another thing on us and everything else but isn't that something you want to do isn't it something where you go man I would love to be down there with these women children you know that are just they can't believe it one day they're in their job they're in their home and next day boom they're gone and they don't might not have the family support you have they may not have the friends and the church around them and suddenly they find themselves on the street you know and that Pursuit of Happyness movie keeps getting in my head you know where you just think man it's just people go through hard times and suddenly find themselves in this situation and to know that that many of them have no place to go ever since I spoke to him on Wednesday it's just been on my head where I'm goin Lord okay there's something there's something does that mean we build a shelter does that mean we do something out there and you start going God how many things can we do and yet you look over the last year and going well we were able to do quite a bit why not throw another one you know and and it's it's coming before the Lord and saying God you know what we we need you we need you I believe this next year God has he's put so many thoughts in my mind of what I believe he wants Cornerstone Church to do and the elders minds and I we made it through this year is the craziest year ever in Cornerstone when we gave away half of our money and and still we had enough money to pay off debt you know it's just a ridiculous ridiculous thing and I want this next year not the cruise but to say God you know what we want to live by faith again exceed what you did last year blow us away I want to see something happen in that valley I don't see some more and it happened in our communities I want every community to be like what that that one community was in the bridle-path this last week I want us to be doing that in every one of our neighborhoods because I believe that's the essence of the gospel when we start living and giving to other people so we need to pray I just think we need to pray this morning and spend some time praying for these different projects but if you if you have your Bibles turn to Jeremiah 29 I just want to read one verse to you it's a verse that a lot of you guys are familiar with Jeremiah chapter 29 verse um verse 13 I'm not really texting anyone I'm illustrate don't you hate when people do that some of you guys just thought huh looks totally normal doesn't it he's preaching and texting at the same time you thought that huh it's never you're like wow is he really texting someone right now don't you hate when people do that you're in a conversation they're going oh yeah yeah I know totally and yet you do it to other people I can't stand it when people do it to me and you know I'll do it too you know middle of conversation just let me check if it's something important that's just my wife and you go up just get it but you know you you go when you're doing this and and and you're talking and everything else and and I was thinking to myself man it is so rare when I am just doing one thing at a time I mean in my mind I'm thinking why not do four things at once instead of one if you can and so I mean it is not rare for me to be texting and emailing and and writing a book and playing Wii with my kids you know at the same time I mean it's just that's just life right and and you do this you do this you do this and and and it's driving me crazy to be honest with you when I try to just do one thing I mean when's the last time you had a conversation with one human being and they looked you in the eyes the whole time and you looked at them the whole time and you were and you were thinking only about them the whole time and not about all the other tasks when's the last time you open your laptop and there's only one window you know I I can remember it's like I've got to have five different things that I'm doing it once you know and in different parts of my you know it's just I got a my mind I'm just going nuts here and something's got to change something's got to give and where it's really bugging me is I have noticed that in my prayer life I can't concentrate I cannot do it I've always struggled with it but it's like 10 times worse right now do you feel that that like I've always been one that was easily distracted so but I could get focused and I could back on my knees and go can we pray out loud you know so it makes sense you know because otherwise it's like no no no you know and suddenly I'm thinking about whatever and it's like I just want to just focus on you and I'm finding it's harder and harder and harder because we have so many ways to do so many things I'm even while I was up here you know saying hey turn to that passage it made perfect sense to some of you that if I got 10 3 seconds I can text for people you know that makes total sense oh good he's making use of his time in fact I'm going to you know and I see some of you do you think I don't see you you know during my talk ok but but it's just that whole it's driving me nuts man I mean I've always struggled I mean you guys know me I'm King ad D but now it's like so much worse and it's really taking a toll on my prayer life is last year and just it just been hitting me and I'm just going to Kate Lord something's got to give something's got to change because I just I can't live this way I'm getting a lot done you know but am I really Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 13 God says you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart and I just got to throw the question out there when's the last time you sought after God with all okay keyword all of your heart you weren't in the back of your mind thinking well I'm kind of in a hurry right now I still got a few things to do today I got this I hear the baby crying you know what I'm listening to the TV at the same time okay in score that inning you know you're just all these things are going on you know your pockets vibrating you know because of the the text you're getting whatever else and it's like lord do we ever just seek you with all our heart anymore and I'm getting a little I'm just no I'm just being honest with you I'm getting concerned about the person I'm becoming and it's not that I want to be this it's just it's just happening to me and I've got to pull some things under control and I and everyone so when I think about taking a step you know so I haven't got a blackberry yet you know I'm still with the goofy little razor and and and just going man I got to take bigger steps though because I got to be able to think I got to be able to pray with it with a clear mind I asked thinking man do I just not take the laptop home oh you know like the thought of that and just work a normal job you know and and leave the job at the John you know like can I do that you know these things they're just radical do I get rid of cell phone to do this because I just got a I got a seat God with all my heart again and I feel like I'm losing the capacity to do so to seek God with all my heart so here's what we're going to do I want to give you a present this morning I want to give you five minutes where we turn off all the cellphones five minutes we're not going to sing I'm not going to talk we're just going to come before God and seek Him with all of our hearts I'm not I'm going to tell you what to pray for I'm going to ask Nathan to come out and just kind of play softly on the on the organ so that so that we can just drown out the coughing and the noise is anything that might distract you I just want to I just want to give you five minutes where you just do one thing okay let me prepare you for this because this is going to be weird okay I promise you that five minutes from now things will be okay God will still be on his throne he's still in control okay whatever text just finish them off right now and and just for five minutes okay don't think about your kids don't think about your work don't think about all the problems don't think about the relationships that been bugging you just for five minutes and you just see God with all of your heart it's such a great time for service just doing that just having some silence so you just bow your heads I've been praying for this time for you forget that anyone else is in this room forget about life completely there's just nothing else going on in the world it's you and your Creator God picture him sitting on his throne in heaven and he very well could take you home right now when all this earth you you it's just it'll be a distant memory just picture him right now on his throne just you and him seek him with all your heart just talk to him and say whatever is on your mind you [Music] you [Music] [Music] single-minded Oh Hardy one thing I ask [Music] single-minded Oh Harden one thing I asked I may gaze upon your beauty I may see you No laughter you all of my days single-minded wholehearted Wadley see my man wholeheartedly [Music] I [Music] it follow laughter you all of my eye [Music] may gaze of all your peers may see you Oh we know you [Music] for the wives being all of [Music] laughs to you [Music] we could just stay in this attitude of Prayer I'd like you to pray for certain things for the church and I want you to believe in this time I wrestled with doing this and honestly it was because my own doubts you know around the week I thought man I feel like we need to spend a few times a few minutes praying for the church and then I thought now everyone wants to hear a sermon let me just do that and and it's almost like I doubted that whether our prayers would be effective or something and I really had to get my heart right before God because James 1 tells us that if we doubt then don't don't expect to receive anything but to really believe that if we devote next few minutes to prayers things will be different and there's things we really need pray for in the church so I'm asking you to pray believing right now with me praying in faith the first thing I'd like you to pray for is for our new property on Tierra hata we closed escrow on Friday it's been a two-year process and we're still not through it with the county but things are looking good as far as I it looks like it's going to work but the problem is is something I wants to pray about is in the process after the media got ahold of it it's created like this negative feel in our community and I hate that if I had five strangers come up to me this week and tell me about different things that they were bugged by about the project like man you got it all wrong that's not what we're trying to do and and even as I explained it you know this week fliers went out this week about how you know even if it's just going to be grass in a park still they're bugged about the the parking lot that they'll be asphalt on the parking lot which will make it warmer there in that whole community and everyone's going to be hot and you know pretty soon will be the cause of global warming it's just you know I'm going man this is not what I expected you know I thought everyone's gonna be like wow that is so cool you guys are going to meet outside and sit on grass so that we can have a green bell and then you're gonna build children's Hunger Fund right on you know what so that Ventura County can be known for sending you know all around the world we come with our families and pack food yeah that's my crazy mind thought that that was going to happen and and so I'm meeting with some different city and government officials and just trying to go you guys what do you want us to do and I just don't want this to be a negative thing in our community I wouldn't be something you guys are proud of and excited about and so help me out with that and I know some of you guys probably hear comments and I appreciate just your your hard and gentleness and part of it is just it's just love and instruct people and I just want that all the change you know I mean I just want people to see you know what what we're trying to do is help whoever and we'll do whatever it takes to do that and so what you just bow your heads right now and just pray for the property Ontario hata that somehow God would use it to his glory now pray for your immediate neighborhood just a few blocks around you pray specifically for families you know there in your specific neighborhood pray for them by name and pray for their needs and if you don't know their names or their needs then pray for yourself that you would actually get into your neighborhood and care about these people's just pray for your mediate neighborhood right now [Music] pray for the rescue mission in San Fernando Valley that God would just do more in that Valley and that that we would figure out as cornerstone church how he wants us involved pray huge on this one pray for those 8,000 people that slept on the street last night right next door to us just pray for them when have you pray for some of our missionaries now [Music] actually some of them are here so I'm going to actually have them come up here and we can pray for this Mike and Jennifer crach and a couple other boys they had to come back from Papua New Guinea for a few months because I Jen was having some medical difficulties and it's been all worked out now and she's had some treatment and they're about ready to head back but they've been out in the jungle for three years before that they were preparing for it for four years for last seven years they've been about this and we're about to send them back out again and when you're out in Papua New Guinea in the middle of a jungle with this tribe and learning their language and sharing the gospel with them and you can just feel really alone sometimes then a another gal that's just up the river would you say an hour canoe ride this girl a Melissa Sparrow who's also a part of our church young single gal twenty-something years old and her tribe is uh she's been trying to share with this tribe out there and called the wobbu coup people and just recently a lot of these people have decided that they want to leave their tribe and flee before she's really even getting to get in the gospel because a lot of them are dying in that region and they believe it's because of this witch doctor that's in that area and so they're all wanting to flee and she's saying you know what you have the church pray they stay because they got to hear the gospel and not only that but then she says one of her best friends out there one of the ladies one of the tribes people she just recently just started freaking out where she would just tear her clothes off and start pounding on people and they would tie her up to trees and she'd break loose and it's just the strange thing that's going on with her and so her whole world is kind of just here's this young gal in the opposite side of the world going I'm just feeling so alone and just feeling like what am i doing out here and so we want to lift up Melissa too and so let's pray for the crashes is pray from Melissa Farrell is pray for Tim and Courtney shun tear that are also in Papua New Guinea with another tribe and they're there sharing the gospel with them in fact a few of you if we could have some people come up and just lay hands on the wretches if you guys would do that as I'm praying I appreciate that just a few of you guys that's just that's just people come forward and pray for them let's just bow your heads and just pray pray from a list pray for Tim and Kourtney pray for Mike and Jen and the kids father thank you for Mike and Jennifer giving up their lives for last seven years to this taking their boys on this adventure because they love you.thank for Tim and Courtney and their kids they're also out there with the young BMB tri of god guy lift up Melissa Sparrow everything she's going through with her tribe leaving or wanting to leave God just she keep him around Lourdes they hear the good news and for her friend Lord

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Keywords: Francis Chan, Francis Chan Sermons, Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Prayer And Praise

Id: i_E769UInpE

Length: 44min 10sec (2650 seconds)

Published: Wed May 02 2012