Worldwide Prayer Meeting

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so welcome to the tsc worldwide prayer meeting the summit campus in granville pennsylvania we're going to worship the lord this evening we're going to pray joining together as a body of christ singing to our god water you turned into wine and open the eyes of the blind there's no one like you none like you [Music] none like you [Music] i got his awesome healer power our god [Music] you into the darkness we shine and out of the ashes we rise [Music] our god is [Music] and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is with us then what could stand against and if our god is for us then it could ever stop us and if our god is with us then what could stand against it if our god [Music] is with and us our god [Music] is with us [Music] our god is greater i got a stronger [Music] is [Music] and if our god is with us then what could stand against and if our god is for us [Music] is [Music] god is greater [Music] you are higher than any other our god is here [Music] give my shout out praise our god our god lord of hosts king of kings [Music] great and mighty high and lifted almighty he's in control he reigns over the kings the [Music] my greatest belongs to you my hallelujah belongs to you my hallelujah belongs to you [Music] my hallelujah belongs to you you deserve it you [Music] [Applause] [Music] and all of the glory belongs to you all of the glory belongs to all the glory belongs to you and all of the glory belongs to [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the universe [Music] [Applause] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] and [Music] [Applause] you deserve it [Music] [Applause] is [Music] you deserve it you deserved jesus [Music] thank you [Music] the word hallelujah is said to be the the highest praise [Music] as i was thinking about that before the service i was realizing when i say that i say that my highest praise belongs to you [Music] because there's other things that i praise as things that i i rejoice in these other things whether that's friends or a community or the gifts that god gives [Music] but my highest praise belongs to him alone [Music] and my deepest love belongs to him alone let's sing that again my holiday [Music] to you my hallelujahs [Music] my hallelujah belongs to [Music] my hallelujah [Music] she'll be the fullest my hallelujah [Music] you deserve it you deserve it [Music] you deserve [Music] [Music] thank you jesus [Music] so there were walls between us by the cross you came and broke them down broke them down and there were chains around us by your grace we are no longer bound no longer bound [Music] there were walls between us while the cross who came and broke him down [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] cause you're your love is greater your love is stronger your love [Music] awakens me your love is greater your love is stronger [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] god's love is greater and stronger thank you so much for joining us online and here in the sanctuary and tonight i would like to pray for those people that feel bound bound by the power of sin by the power of alcoholism pornography by the power of just darkness but as we've heard just now that jesus christ love is greater and stronger and he's able to free you and set you free once and for all from feeling someone is writing please pray for my parents who are alcoholics that god will save them jesus please give them a conviction that they would give their lives to you another one from australia please pray i stopped taking oxidokum as it's been over four years taking it and i no longer need it but it's hard to stop i need it gone thank you lord another one from new york new york city i'm battling with lost please pray for god to free me from this addiction and as we've heard again and again that jesus loves you and his love is so so much stronger than every addiction you're facing in your life any addiction that you face in life god's love is stronger and i want to pray that tonight you will receive freedom let's believe together for tonight for god to give you freedom father we come to you in the name of jesus and your word says whom the son sets free he is free indeed lord there are so many people in the world that feel bound to the darkness to the sin of this world we feel captivated by the plans of the enemy but god almighty we come to you because you have broke every curse every power of sin every power of hell you have broke it on the cross when you said it is finished oh jesus we cry out to you right now for these people from new york city from finland from other places the people that are bound by alcoholism god would you give them freedom let them be filled with the holy spirit god we pray right now for these parents we come in agreement with these children that they're praying for their parents for you to set them free from alcoholism lord i pray let there be joy in their lives that comes from you from your presence lord we pray that you that you deliver this young man from these drugs that the the doctors had given him at one point but now he's struggling four years of taking them the painkillers lord we pray in the name of jesus we just set him free once and for all we just set him free tonight let tonight be a day let tonight be evening where he's gonna look back in history and say this is the evening where god has set me free lord we don't have to look for freedom in a future you have one freedom for us on a cross and we come in agreement with your word right now would you cause your people to walk free o god as you cause the israelite nation to walk free from the bondage in in egypt oh god we cry out to you let your word be real to us tonight let we get up from the moments from the places where we feel bound and walk in freedom we pray for this young man in new york city that is writing that he's battling with lust god would you make him free tonight lord i pray that you give him my new mind renew his mind renew his heart bless him with a with a godly family lord i pray let the past be in the past and let his future be bright in your father oh we come to you because you have come to set the captives free oh jesus we agree with your word tonight we stand upon your word knowing and acknowledging that we don't have nothing to offer to people that are bound to people that are broken but all that we have it's your god and you is enough i pray that your love that is deeper and stronger that is higher and wider let your love set these people free once and for all so next week we can hear testimonies from this very people that you have answered our prayer oh god we thank you that we have hope in you we thank you that we have hope in you in jesus name we pray amen god i thank you so much that you know every single person right now that is just struggling with a lie god a lie that tells them that they're satisfied in this addiction god god i just ask that you would give them a revelation of truth holy spirit i thank you that you lead us into all truth and all understanding god i ask that they would begin to understand that your love for them is more sufficient than anything they could ever go searching for jesus god i thank you for the father i thank you for the son and the holy spirit god i thank you that when we believe in you god we get your we get to have faith in you god to know that you are forest god and you're not against us god god i thank you that you will be with every single person that is struggling right now god i ask that you would speak into their heart and just continue to convince them to show them that what they're looking after cannot suffice it cannot give them eternal life god i thank you for the blood of jesus that was given for us was given for each of us specifically god with the person across the screen and every person in this room just understand how specific your blood was for them individually god i thank you for my life i thank you lord that you've taken away the fear of death you've taken away the fear of people god and i ask that you would just continue to strengthen us and give us a boldness god to proclaim who you are god to know who you are deep within our hearts god convince our own hearts that you are for us lord that you are sovereign over every single situation god i thank you for today and i thank you for the promises that you have for our lives god i thank you for giving us your foundation to build our lives off of lord i just thank you god that you do convince us that your love is so much greater than those things we keep crawling back to god god help us to just look to you lord and continue to change us and shape us into your image god take away selfishness inside of us god take away strife lord jesus and convict us god when we're wrong and help us to yield ourselves to our brothers and sisters in christ god help us to look to you as the ultimate reflection god of of glory lord jesus we just thank you lord for all that you are and we thank you so much for your love amen [Music] is [Music] hallelujah [Music] us [Music] thanks be to god who always [Music] is [Music] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] and everything [Music] and everything will be all right all right we got the victory and everything will be all right cause we're on the winning side we're on the winning [Music] hallelujah hallelujah we have overcome [Music] hallelujah [Music] oh [Music] praise god how many know that we are on the winning side tonight because jesus is our god and he covers us when we make mistakes when we fail no matter what the battle he covers us and says i give you my love my righteousness don't give up on this great salvation you're on the winning side praise god praise god well you know tonight beloved the news is filled with a pandemic it's called covet but there is another pandemic that is sweeping this nation and that that rampant epidemic is depression and there is a sense of hopelessness wanting to invade this nation and i believe worldwide there is fear rising on every front and for so many that have written in tonight life feels very difficult of course we can blame much on the isolation the fatigue and the loneliness from kovid yes that does play a part but i believe that there is a pervasive depression wanting to invade all of humanity the peoples of this world that seems to be gaining an upper hand and i believe that it is spiritual in origin and the prophet elijah in the old testament when he had personally experienced a great victory and when what he had prayed for all his life a great turning to god in his nation at the time where he seemed he should have been at the top or the pinnacle of feeling good of feeling uh things were going so well the scripture faithfully records that this man began to run and he wanted to run he felt overwhelmed when really it could have been a time of celebration but that was not his experience he lived in a very dark time and it tells us that this force is very strong and i believe one of the reasons is there is uh an integrity exhaustion where people wanting to do the right thing seem to battle and struggle where everything can become a battle and a struggle i believe there's a physical exhaustion and i believe that there is a need for people who are christians who need to be in touch once again with that still small voice of god that refreshing that only he can bring and saints of god i just want to remind us that god gave his beloved servant elijah everything he needed he gave him a spiritual refreshing emotional and a physical refreshing and i believe that as christians it is so important that we stay in the word of god that the word of god become our meat and drink like elijah's that take us down the road many many miles why because it is a supernatural word it is said that jesus is the word and his very life is breathed into the word of god and it is it is when we read the word of god something supernatural invades us some things that are not our thoughts and it's higher than our thoughts and it comes with a power to break the despair and the depression that wants to swallow people and when we read it we get a choice lord is that you is this true what you say and when no matter what our feeling is we align ourselves and believe god's word i'm telling you there is a power to fight lies a power to fight this everything spiritual in um origin it is the power to lift us up and if you're a seeker tonight i just want to encourage you give your life to jesus you don't become problem free what happens in your life is problem solutions problems resolutions and supernatural a new spirit greater than a human spirit invades us and it reveals jesus to us and i just want to say to um before i read two requests to seeker and saint alike a psalm that we have quoted many times since the beginning of this year and let me read just a couple of verses psalm 27 it says the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid when the wicked even my enemies my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh now that's serious opposition they stumbled and they fell we didn't they did what is opposing our mind and his spirit stumbled and fell and though a host should encamp against me my heart shall not fear the war should rise up against me in this thing i will be confident for in the time of trouble he shall hide me in the secret of his tabernacle he shall hide me and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies beloved no matter this depression that wants for no sometimes apparent reason a depression that seems so steep in its origin that it seems like a thick fog that wants to envelop us but the word of god says that he is our light and he will show us the path to come and he will show us the issues the next steps that we need to understand to to not give up and he is our salvation he is our rescue and jesus christ is our deliverance that salvation is good and tonight we're going to join with someone in spain who wrote please pray for me i am depressed my life is very difficult i really love the lord yes we don't doubt that at all we can be saved and struggle at times but please don't give up and don't give in jesus is teaching us to fight with his word to believe him over our feelings to believe him and to that he will create hope where there is no hope so don't give up and from baytown texas my sister carrie needs healing from depression hopelessness and despair that has led to suicidal thoughts stemming from childhood wounds and hurts absolutely but jesus promises to be our light to carry to be able to bring her to emotional wellness and freedom that's how the lord gets glory he brings us to freedom he becomes our light and our salvation and we learn not to fear because greater is he that is in us than anything that he is in the world or comes against us so let's pray for this person in spain that loves the lord but is some fighting a battle right now and for kerry and lord jesus we just come to your throne lord we're lifting up all those that are suffering from depression this pandemic of depression that wants to cover the earth and swallow the earth and the inhabitants but i thank you jesus your word to us is you are our light and you are our salvation and though a host encamps against us oh god you promise that we will not fear and that we will come they will stumble and fall we take you at your word tonight lord jesus that it is the enemy who is defeated that that and these thoughts this depression will stumble and fall that you will continue to be our way forward in our light you will continue to be our rescue in our deliverance you will continue to be our salvation i thank you jesus you don't judge us you cover us i thank you lord jesus you've come to save us to the uttermost so we stand against everything of a spiritual origin and depression we thank you o god tonight that you are pleased to hear and to answer this prayer i ask you to supernaturally invade the hearts and the minds that are struggling those that are struggling with depression and i ask you as great as the enemy's oppression that this oppression would stumble and fall and lord tonight you would supernaturally invade with the hope the hope of your life the hope of your deliverance the hope of your light and a way forward i thank you tonight i don't want to be any place else but in a prayer meeting asking you to move supernaturally upon the peoples of this earth that you may get glory i'll thank you tonight in advance of the people that you are rescuing delivering from depression tonight and i'll thank you for the freedom i thank you for the testimony it is my enemy that stumbled and fell but lord you kept me and delivered me because you cover us oh god and there is no god that loves us and delivers us like you so receive your glory tonight by working miracles and pushing back the darkness rescuing people's minds saving people and i thank you for what you're doing all over this world including spain and carrying texas in jesus name amen and amen come ahead and we'll have our freshman student pray thank you heavenly father we thank you that you are the god who sees father and we lift up tonight those who feel like nobody sees god what they're going through they feel like they're completely alone lord but you see you see exactly what circumstances have led them to this day and to the way they feel right now god and in a world full of messages there is so little meaning god and i know from experience having searched the whole world lord there is no word of meaning but at the cross god there is no such thing as meaning and purpose except at the foot of the cross father and i just thank you for each person who is reaching out as tuned into this meeting tonight lord or who is just seeking god you've planted that seed that very seed that seeks tonight god and i just ask lord would you plant hope into those hearts lord where they've just really close to giving up father jesus i thank you that you have you have a purpose you have a plan and a purpose for each heart for each life god lord and where those individuals are just feeling right now that they're running out they're running out of energy running out of meaning in their lives maybe they feel just completely isolated in what they're going through god i just pray lord that they would find in your word in your heart towards them lord would they find that word of power that comes by your blood god i believe it because i know it for myself god there is power in your blood the only word of power is at calvary god and i thank you lord i just pray that you would stir those hearts who don't even know what to pray because they've prayed so many prayers and they feel like they haven't been heard but you have heard them god and i just pray that those prayers lord that you would just speak a word to them father we just thank you father thank you that you hear us thank you that you this you see these individuals right now in this moment and there's a reason that they're listening to this now lord we just thank you in jesus name amen [Music] and the ground beneath my feet gives way and i hear the sound of crashing waves all my world is washing out to see [Music] i'm hidden safe in the god who never moves holding fast to the promise of your truth that you are holding tighter [Music] his word is strong the rock won't move the rock won't move and his word is [Music] hope is in the promise of your blood my support within the raging fight even in the temples i'm hitting safe in the god who never moves holding fast to the promises the rock won't move and his word [Music] won't is and his word [Music] is the rock of our salvation [Music] the rock of our salvation [Music] salvation [Music] said the rock won't move [Music] darkness seems to hide his face unless on his unchanging grace the rock won't move [Music] is [Music] the rock the rock won't move [Music] his word is [Music] [Music] he's be to god jesus is the rock that never ever moves he cannot be moved he moves for no one but he moves the hearts of men and we're going to pray for a few hearts tonight that have written in because god is moving upon them they might not see it that way but we know that the holy spirit is drawing them tonight bobby from elizabeth 10 tennessee writes i need freedom from drug addictions and to find my way back to jesus again i'm afraid i'm a reprobate because i just can't seem to repent and turn from my sin laurie from sushee georgia says asking god for true repentance deep and complete and an unnamed request from asheville north carolina says i feel i am no longer alive in the spirit i do not have a passion for prayer help me jesus i want to know you and share you with others give me hope and those of you that have written in and maybe those listening who didn't write in a request but you know exactly what these requests are talking about it's like reading your mail you could not feel this way if the spirit of god was not moving upon your heart drawing you to a place of repentance you are being more loved by god in this moment than you know he is drawing you and calling you back to himself and just to bring clarification the term reprobate applies to a person who doesn't have the capacity to hate their sin anymore their heart is hardened against any conviction over it if you hate your sin then you want to be free you are not a reprobate you are not too far gone for jesus to reach and he is calling you to come home leave the transformation to him just come home i will never get tired of talking about the parable of the prodigal son in luke 15. you could really call it the parable of the good father and when that young man who was covered in pig slop he was hungry because he'd been living in a famine he wasted all the money that his father had given him and he finally realizes i've got to go home and on his way down the road coming up the driveway he's practicing his his please forgive me speech i don't even need to be your son anymore just take me back as a slave and the father this very wealthy jewish man lifts up the skirts of his garments and sprints down the road to embrace his dirty broke unclean son and everything about this picture is so undignified jesus gives us a picture that should make us uncomfortable the father should not have been showing that kind of radical affection to his son a son who had dishonored him a son who had brought shame on the family name a son who had stripped the family of half of its wealth and ruined the legacy that kind of son the father says i'm so glad that's your home and that's all your heavenly father cares about tonight just come home you don't need to wash the dirt off before you get there you can't do that anyway just come home and he's going to throw a robe around you he's going to wash you he's going to restore you and give you back everything that you squandered and wasted in sin because god is a restorer so if you here in the house would stand with me let's join our faith together and believe god for restoration and forgiveness of souls lord jesus i thank you that we cannot find a story in the bible where you turned away a repentant heart lord over and over again your word says a broken and contrite heart oh god you will not despise you actually say that a heart that's broken over its sin a heart that longs for the forgiveness of god that's the kind of sacrifice and worship that you desire and cherish above everything else god i thank you that these prayer requests are holy they are sacred in your eyes oh god and we pray for bobby and we pray for lori we pray oh god for this unnamed request and everyone out there tonight listening who is in this place jesus may they feel your arms wrapped around their hearts tonight that you are restoring them oh god the reason they want forgiveness is because you've been drawing them it's not that they've been trying to make their way back to you you've gone looking for them you've been chasing after them you wouldn't let them go and get comfortable in their sin oh god thank you lord for pursuing them bring them home tonight jesus walk them back into the father's house yourself and put them at the right hand where they belong they don't belong out there in the world's pig pens they don't belong out there trapped in the filth of their lust and of their addictions they belong in the father's house god i thank you that tonight is a night of restoration god i pray that you'd give them the courage to leave the change to you jesus their one job is to come and be honest with you about their sin to be honest about where they've been you will take care of the change you will take care of god of transforming their lives surround them oh god surround them o lord with people who are going to love them and disciple them and help them walk with jesus we pray god thank you lord god for the way that you reach into the deepest darkest places of this world and you pull out broken hearts and you make them whole again you make them new lord jesus we thank you and we exalt you for that we are excited about the new journey that these brothers and sisters are going to be beginning tonight in jesus mighty name thanks be to god can we rejoice with heaven right now because that's what happens whenever somebody repents thanks be to god and this is something we usually do at the end of service but if i could take this liberty if you're coming back to jesus tonight or you're giving your heart to him whether whether you're lori from georgia or you're bobby from tennessee or you're somebody else you can text connect to 51 000 had to pull it out of the memory bank there text the word connect to 51 000 and time square church will send you videos and resources you can use to get plugged in to begin your discipleship journey as you look for a local church in your area give us that privilege of helping you out and time square church we want to thank you one more time for your continued belief in this ministry your unspeakable generosity you make so much possible from the salvations that probably took place just now as we were praying to feeding kids all around the world and we want to tell you how you can continue partnering with us and making the kingdom go forward all over the world all of our largest venues will now no longer have gatherings until such time in this crisis as it's acceptable to do so again and again i unfortunately suspect that will be a number of months the past 18 months challenged the church as we knew it but though the doors may have been closed the church could not be stopped thanks to your generosity times for church we were able to meet the growing needs of hurting people around the world in the middle of a global pandemic before 2020 through missions and our child cry feeding program we had a global presence and were feeding kids in 27 countries now 18 months later thanks to your faithful giving each week we have been able to expand our reach and we are now in 41 countries spanning five continents with 56 programs we're feeding over 8 000 kids with hot meals and snacks the doors may have been closed but god didn't stop working thanks to you times square church more than 65 000 families around the world received groceries closer to home as covet hit new york city hard we served lunches and dinners to first responders in six hospitals throughout the city and provided 2 500 hygiene kits for the homeless over 300 students received backpacks and hygiene bags through our feed new york initiative we help distribute 35 000 pounds of food monthly we partnered with local organizations to help feed 40 000 people across all five boroughs thanks to your support times square church you are making a difference right here in new york city and around the world and we want to thank you again for all you've given in the past 18 months the doors were closed but god continued to move beyond the four walls of the building with him nothing is impossible everything that we're able to do to help people here in new york city and around the world is made possible because of your generosity all of you are so generous towards the church and the kingdom and we just want to say thank you if you're prepared to give today i want to remind you that there are five ways you can give here at tsc you can text give tsc nyc to 77977 you can download the push pay app and give that way you can give online at tsc.nyc give and if you live outside the us the best way to give is by clicking the international users button on our website right here like we're showing you on the screen and that will take you to a page where you can give that way or you can always mail your check or money order to our office and if you're with us in person today you can give by putting your tithes and offering in the basket that our ushers will be passing out in a few moments thanks again for being such a generous church god is [Music] covering [Music] we will not be moved jesus [Music] i will live i will not die i will declare and lift you high christ revealed and i am healed in jesus name [Music] [Music] jesus you are [Music] alive in me and i am free in jesus name [Music] i will live i will not die christ revealed [Music] in jesus name [Music] god is fighting for us pushing back to darkness [Music] [Applause] [Music] is that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus [Music] alive in me and i am free in jesus name i will live i will [Music] in jesus name praise god thank you thank you isaac and all of the team and everyone here in the sanctuary and at home thank god and thank god for you you may be seated this evening online with us is a precious young lady she's 87 years of age her name is joan and she's going to go home to be with the lord very very shortly maybe even in the next few days when nobody's sure but she's been online with us praying with us and online with times square church for the last 14 years joan has a wonderful testimony she's raised a lovely christian family she she lost her husband he was 42 he had a massive heart attack she was 41 and since that day she has lived for christ and she has never even dated she's just waiting to see him again and and so now she doesn't want prayer for healing normally all the prayers that come in are for healing jones says i don't want to be healed so don't pray that i can be healed i don't want any heroic measures taken i don't want any intravenous i want to go home so john we your family are with you tonight and they told me they would have a tablet you'd be part of this prayer meeting this evening and what a pleasure joan it's it's been such a pleasure just to know that you've been you've been streaming with us you've been praying with us all these years and now we're going to pray with you because very very shortly jesus himself is going to come into your room take your hand and walk with you across that very thin veil that separates time and eternity and he's going to walk with you into a place that we can't even begin to think or imagine what that's going to be like but you're going to be there very very shortly and after you see jesus and your husband would you say hello to my mom and dad for me please i'd appreciate that very very much joan we love you and we thank god for you with all of our heart tonight so father we just ask god that right now that that your peace that passes understanding would just go into that room and comfort the family members and prepare joan's heart for this incredible journey that she's just about to take through the veil that separates life here from eternity with christ god almighty we just thank you what a wonderful thing it is to be a believer in you jesus and not be afraid of death you told us in your word that you came to deliver those through who the fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to bondage thank you lord as even as christian prayed tonight we're not afraid of dying anymore god almighty for to be absent from this body is to be present with the lord and what a day that's going to be oh god when we all get there when we all join joan and her husband and all of the people that we've known and loved that have gone before us and everyone we take with us lord what a beautiful day that is going to be be with mark be with joanne be with all of the family tonight who are surrounded her surrounding her in her bed tonight and god we just want to say thank you for your blood jesus thank you for your redemption thank you for the peace that you give to every heart that trusts in you which your word says is past human understanding and we give you praise for joan tonight and we thank you for her life and we thank you that you will soon take her into eternity in jesus name amen we also want to remember susie georges who speaks frequently from this pulpit she's part of our ministry team here she has coveted and has been struggling with covet for the last couple of weeks susie our prayers are with you tonight and we trust for uh a very very quick and a very thorough healing to come into your life we love you susie father we just pray god touch susie tonight touch her as she's uh listening to this prayer meeting and just just invade that room that she's in god and let not anything anything anything that would take away any of her confidence and hope for the future be taken from her invade the room with hope with life with light my god and we thank you lord that you'll bring her back to us stronger than she was before and lord we love her and we thank you for her in jesus name amen and amen praise god now i want to talk to you tonight about holy desperation holy desperation now it's a message about prayer and before i do let me just read to you a couple of prayer requests and and please don't forget to prepare for communion so if you have bread or juice in your home or your apartment wherever you are just get a cracker and some juice of any sort and prepare to celebrate communion with us after this message tonight philip from sweden says thank god do we we could be together and praise the lord's name for love of tsc in the house and around the world so philip writes us from sweden who is part obviously of the service times square churches opening service on sunday morning and philip we're just so thankful that even though you're online we are together and and god does through technology making this world a very very small place we're very very thankful for that tabitha from kansas says i requested prayer from my dad months ago that god would restore his relationship with him praise the lord god restored him fully with a fiery zeal for him so that's a total restoration tabitha we rejoice with you and we thank god for your prayers that you prayed for your dad lucera from california says long time ago i asked for prayers for my brother who is struggling with self-harm yesterday he got delivered baptized and filled with the holy spirit thank you the chair for sharing that thank god and gladys from hamilton township new jersey said praise god i was able to speak into the life of a young woman who wanted to hurt herself i pointed her to jesus and told her to call on his name and she's fine now i want to talk to you tonight about prayer i want to talk to you about holy desperation from the book of esther chapter 4 the words if you have your bible you can follow along or device or the words will be on the screen above me father thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you that you are showing us again and again and again the incredible power of prayer of talking to you and believing you for the miraculous believing you for deliverance believing for power believing that each of our lives can make a difference we heard it tonight about the prodigal son coming home and god his life made a difference though he had made a mess in the past you received him you restored him you rejoiced over him and you sent him out to represent your heart among this people of this world so father we just want to thank you thank you for giving me the ability to share this thank you lord for helping us to receive your words and to believe god to believe that you can use any one of us in jesus name amen now let me just set the stage for you for esther chapter 4 for those who are not familiar with it now the people of god because they dealt lightly and loosely with the things of god actually some would say they dealt treacherously with the things of god and because of that they were taken into captivity they lost their presence they lost the provision they lost the protection of god and a nation called babylon came in conquered almost unthinkable to them that they could be conquered because they were the people of god's promise in the earth i mean they had history of miracles they had the the scriptures they had the promise but they they held it casually as societies are prone to do throughout history because of it they were conquered and they spent 70 years in a geographical place called babylon now babylon itself was eventually conquered by another nation called the medo persians and the medo-persian king cyrus allowed the people to start going home god moved on his heart he allowed the people to start going home to rebuild the testimony that they had lost in the earth starting with of course the the geographic location itself and the city then the temple and ultimately nehemiah went back to with a group to rebuild the wall now the first return the first return back to the promised land they began to rebuild their society that had kind of broken down and in between the first and the second which was a return of of ezra the priest with some people with him there this whole scenario evolves because you see the devil himself is always trying to stop the testimony of christ through his people in the earth you find it all the way through scripture when god has a plan for his people the devil will come up with a counter plan and it always involves oppression threats the threats of darkness the threats of uh retaliation the threats of harm and even death and this is a common theme all the way through history even today we're seeing it playing out in afghanistan for example i mean we just see that that same spirit being animated by the same darkness still going after the light of christ in god's people now into this scenario this scene in a sense if if those who plotted to kill all the jewish people at this time had been successful then it's it's a conclusion we can draw that the second and third return into the promised land would not have happened the temple would not have been rebuilt jewish history would be different it would affect all of history so what is what is god's plan to thwart this whole thing now we give we give esther in a sense the marquee in this whole story because she was the queen she we know the story she went in she petitioned the king she prayed she fasted but i want to suggest to you the real hero of this story is a man called mordecai he was a man who just began to intercede and it proves to us once again that the the holy desperation of one person can change both the future and can change history in this case the holy desperation of one man this is what we're going to talk about now the decree has been issued by this king who's been convinced that the people of god are worthless to his kingdom and they should be eliminated that's where this story begins when the story falls upon the ears of this man called mordecai who's who's a family member in a sense of queen esther who's the the wife of the the media persian king at that time this is where this particular chapter begins and this is where the victory of god's people gets uh to be known again in the earth verse one chapter four i'm going to read the whole chapter when mordecai learned all that had happened he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the midst of the city he cried out with a loud and a bitter cry he went as far as the front of the king's gate for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth in other words his he went as far as he could go in his prayer here's a man whose heart was was gripped with a holy desperation not for himself i don't think mordecai at any point was looking to preserve himself his prayer was outside of himself it was about others this is where prayer really finds its power when we finally get away from our own struggles and trials this wasn't just about god save me this was about god's savior people your people are destined for the slaughter there there's a law that's been passed and and people are going to be allowed on a certain day to to kill the jewish people and to and to steal all their possessions and the jewish people have no might against this and so he began to cry out it was just a lone voice so you can hear him he said he's all by himself and he's he's dressed himself in sackcloth and ashes he's repenting for the sins of the people as much as he knows how he's repenting for the horrid condition they find themselves in and and he goes as far as he physically can go it goes right to the king's gate but he's not allowed to enter because of the way he's dressed and because of his burden obviously verse 3 says and in every province where the king's command and decree arrived there was great mourning among the jews with fasting and weeping and wailing and many lay in sackcloth and ashes so esther's maids in eunuchs came and told her and the queen was deeply distressed then she sent garments to clothe mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him but he would not accept them and esther called haytak one of the king's eunuchs whom she had appointed to attend her and she gave him a command concerning mordecai to learn what and why this was in other words she just sent out somebody says what is going on with my my cousin mordecai what's happened to him why why is he doing this so hitac went out to mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate and mordecai told him all that had happened to him and the sum of money that hayman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the jews he also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction which was given as true shan that he might show it to esther and explain it to her and that he might command her to go into the king and make supplication to him and plead before him for her people so haytak returned and told esther the words of mordecai and esther spoke to hatak and gave a commandment for mordecai all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court of the king who has not been called he has but one law put all to death except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live yet i myself have not been called to go into the king these thirty days so they told mordecai esther's words and mordecai told them to answer esther do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other jews for if you remain completely silent at this time relief and deliverance will arise for the jews from another place but you and your father's house will perish yet who knows whether you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this then esther told them to reply to mordecai go gather all the jews who are at present in sushan and fast for me neither eat nor drink for three days night or day my maids and i will fast likewise and so i will go to the king which is against the law and if i perish i perish so mordecai went his way and did according to all that esther commanded him we see this man mordecai in verse two it says he went as far as the front of the king's gate for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sack loss like mordecai is like a runner in a multi-person race he ran as far as he could and stretched out the baton to someone in his family who was supposed to be the next runner the problem is the next runner didn't even know that there was a race let alone that she was supposed to be the closer in this race and we can we can have that happen to us so esther's maids in eunuchs in verse four came and told her the queen was deeply distressed she sent garments to clothe mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him but he would not accept them she she called one of the king's eunuchs and she gave him a command concerning mordecai to learn what and why this was in other words esther is saying this is the type of of somebody that says well just cheer up it can't be that bad be happy when all around you you know that everything is going to be destroyed the law of sin and death is on steroids the society and those in authority have turned against the people of god and the people of god seem to be powerless to rise up and defend themselves and mordecai would not accept this comfort mordecai had a holy desperation in his heart he knew that this was going to be destructive he knew it was going to take away the testimony of god in the nation and he couldn't have known but he must have suspected that it's going to have a deep effect on the future something something dreadful was about to happen if this situation was not somehow countered by the power of prayer and thank god that esther through the intercession of her cousin mordecai took up the burden of prayer and threw her own life in as part of the answer and she opened the door to god's plan god's provision and god's power she did take the baton but she took it because somebody else began to pray and it reminds me of the the situation where maybe you can say nobody in your family is walking with god you're the only one walking i want to challenge you go to the king's gate go there with the holy desperation go there with a prayer that is deeper than and with the knowledge that only god can make this happen and you'd be surprised who starts to take up the baton in your own home and in your own family supernaturally god moved upon esther's heart and instead of preserving herself instead of being really uninformed she didn't even know she didn't even know this law had been passed she didn't even know the jews were slated for destruction she didn't know why mordecai was weeping and fasting and crying out in the city and at the king's gate but because of his intercession the baton now was passed through the gate to esther and esther took the baton and she turned to prayer you see people won't pray if we don't pray they won't have a burden if we don't have a burden it's it's not enough just to try to push somebody else into the into the arena and say you go and you get involved in the fight no you and i have to go to the gate all it takes to change history is one person with a holy desperation in their heart one person that says i'm not giving up until god moves i'm not drawing back because the word of god says if any man draw back my soul will have no pleasure in him i'm not drawing back i don't care who tells me to be quiet i don't care who tells me i'm too heavy i don't care how much they try to say you're too extreme i see something in the spirit i see a destruction coming to the people of god i see god's people crying out all over the nation unable to defend themselves but i see also something else that there is somebody somewhere that has access to the throne that can make a difference and if i can move those people to going to the throne of god the scepter of god will move in their direction because jesus christ still moves mountains today he told his people i give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy not some of the power of the enemy or an ounce of the power of the enemy or a tiny portion i give you power to tread on these demonic powers of hell and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you there's there's a fear of self-preservation in the hearts of so many people that will cause us in this hour in which we're not living now living rather it will cause us to draw back to preserve ourselves but mordecai said to esther don't be fooled into thinking you'll escape because you you carve out some nice little niche for yourself this evil is not going to pass over your house either you have a choice you either perish or you fight for the honor of god and you invoke the holy god to do what only he can do and suddenly after mordecai's intercession esther herself calls her friends to fast and pray three days and three nights don't eat anything and don't drink anything and after you've prayed and we've fasted i'm going to go into the king and if i perish i perish and i thank god that she threw her life in with her prayer and she said well i suppose it's better to die than to live to preserve to try to preserve myself didn't jesus himself say if you try to save your life you lose it but if you lose what you have for my sake you will gain a life you could never have of any of your own choosing everything turned to victory god gave esther incredible wisdom she came out of that time of fasting and prayer with a wholehearted dependence on god and god gave her wisdom and you read the rest of the book and you'll see she had a wisdom that could only come from god she didn't rush in to ask her favor she waited until i believe the holy spirit told her to speak i believe the lord told her when to speak how to speak what to speak and why to speak and when you begin to pray and you begin to fast you watch the influence that god will start to give you over your family even if you didn't even know that you were supposed to be in the battle you're spending your whole time trying to preserve yourself many people online listening to me now you've just spent your whole you've spent most of your life just trying to preserve yourself all your prayers are all about yourself but tonight god is challenging you there's a bigger battle out there than just preserving yourself esther there's a whole host of people that have no power to defend themselves against evil and you are in a place where you have access to the throne of the king they don't you do those people were not in proximity to the king there's all kinds of people in our society today they don't have access to the throne they don't even know that there is a king that would move his scepter forward towards them they have no knowledge of the goodness of god because they're so distant from the throne of power but esther you aren't you are in a place where you can go to the king and the favor of the king will move towards you and he said esther what is it that you would have me to do for you and you and i both know that esther was seeking to have this law of sin and death canceled over her people and a new law written that would give them the power to stand up and not only fight back but to be victorious and it wasn't just about the people in medio persia at this time you and i know historically that it was about those people that were going to leave me to a persian go back into israel and rebuild the testimony of god and rebuild the temple and rebuild the wall the the very spot that jesus christ himself was going to come into we all know it was it was an integral part it was a link in the chain that that couldn't afford to be broken in the in the redemptive history of god on the earth and this incredible link held and the people of god were delivered and families were given the power to stand up and fight back against this onslaught of hell that was coming against them all because one man wouldn't quit one man had a holy desperation in his heart if you're going to pray for something tonight pray god give me a holy desperation for your power give me a holy desperation for my family give me a holy desperation for this generation give me a holy desperation to see your power released and revealed one more time to to push back this this this weight of darkness that's trying to swallow a whole society it's trying to swallow our children if it doesn't kill them in the womb it confuses them in their schools and radicalizes them in their colleges and tries to destroy their minds and teach them how to hate god and hate their country and live for themselves and be completely self-focused not knowing they're fighting against powers of darkness that are taking away their strength you see this is why in this prayer meeting on tuesday night we say after the prayer meeting stay and pray stay where you are stay in the group you are stay in the home you're in stay in the park bench you're sitting on right now stay and pray whether it's two minutes five minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes an hour it doesn't matter stay and pray until the power of god comes upon you stay and pray until you see clearly what the will for your life is in the future stay and pray until you know in your heart that god is going to use you to reach your home and to reach your family pray for something bigger than your own need you and i have got to learn to escape having always just praying for ourselves and god help me in this area and that's necessary i get that we have to do that but there's a point where we have to branch out beyond that and it becomes about other people pray for the family of god and your family to become engaged in the spiritual battles for people today pray pray that your sons your daughters your brothers your sisters your mom your dad that they would get involved in the battle of god that they would they would pick up that sword of the spirit as it is and begin to fight the battles of god pray that those that are cowering would be given courage pray pray pray and let's believe god together that there's going to be a moment of mercy in this world and an end-time spiritual awakening pray for power to stay faithful until the answer comes as mordecai did it would have been so easy for him to give up people in the city were probably mocking him i can see the soldiers near the near the king's gate mocking him i can see esther's servants coming out and say the queen says get up and take off these sackcloth and put on put on garments and wash your face and cheer up it can't be all that bad but esther mordecai rather he stayed faithful until he got the answer and this is a time for the church of jesus christ to stay faithful until the answer comes not in our strength but in the strength of our christ not in our zeal but in the zeal of the lord of hosts who will perform this not in any strategy we can procure but just you and i going to the throne of god and believing that the scepter of god's power and mercy is going to move towards us in christ and believing that our sons and daughters will take the baton from our hands and carry the fight ahead of us not even maybe at this moment even knowing that there is a fight to be fought praise god all these things in scripture the new testament tells us are given us for our instruction for our admonition for instruction in righteousness that the man of god might be the woman of god might be perfected coming to this full measure of knowledge in jesus christ let these things not just be stories any longer that you and i read in our bible let's let's live this moment again we're in a dark time my brother my sister we're in a time when laws are being written against the people of god we're in a time where depression is abounding addictions are sweeping and destroying entire communities we're in a time when children are confused and crying as the scripture says for bread on every street corner we're in a time when you and i need to learn to pray again with the holy desperation my god i have been praying this way for the last season i i sometimes find myself just groaning and crying out the name jesus the prayer that's being birthed in my heart is deeper than words now i don't have words to express it i'm just crying out for him jesus you have to come jesus you have to show your power again jesus you have to deliver this generation jesus you said you would rise and defend the children when societies moved into the fields of the fatherless you claimed to be their father and you said you would rise and defend them jesus you said you would confuse and confound those who believe they can cast off the word of god in their societies jesus you said that if we would believe that we would have whatsoever we asked for believing you told us that mountains could still be moved jesus you said that if we would tarry we would be filled with power and we would become witnesses where we are and where you send us all throughout the world jesus you've got to take your right hand to power out of your bosom one more time and fight for this generation we come to the gate of the king we come with a groaning we come with a holy desperation we're not looking to preserve ourselves we're looking for you to be glorified in the earth and for your people to be given strength to stand up and fight back this is the cry of my heart this is the holy desperation that's got to be in the church of jesus christ again in this last hour of time it's time for all the partying to cease it's time for all the back padding to be put away it's time for all the stars to come down out of their lofty places it's time again in our hearts to put on sackcloth and ashes it's time to come to the throne of the king and say god i'm not going to rest i can't rest i can't stop i can't cease praying until i see your glory in the earth again until i see my family walking with you until i see my sons and my daughters my grandchildren my god until i i see my home taking that that baton of prayer and fasting and fighting for the glory of god i can't stop i'm not going to stop until somebody reaches through that gate and gives this baton to esther because it's now her turn to run praise be to god praise be to god praise be to god and so the prayer of my heart tonight as we close out this message and prepare for communion is stay and pray it's really no more difficult than that say god give me your holy spirit god give me your holy spirit it's not just about an experience it's about power it's about the ability to stand it's about the ability to persevere it's about the ability to step out of the confines of self-concern and see the bigger picture that what we do matters we can actually change the future do you know that we have the power we've seen it in the scriptures all through the scriptures we've seen it we have the power as the people of god to change the future if we will pray so father tonight in jesus name when we come to the communion table tonight lord you promised us power that is your promise you promised that we would become new creations you promised that if we would trust you you would wash away our sins you would become our savior you promised that heaven would be our home you promised a new and a full and an abundant life and a reason to live on the earth you promised a new heart a new mind and a new spirit that we could escape the prison of self-consumption and come into a place where other people become more important than ourselves you told us you would take us out of cowardice and give us the courage to fight for those who can't fight for themselves god thank you for mordecai thank you for the example this godly man left to us thank you for esther we heard her cousins cry and took out the baton and threw her own life and safety and future into the plans of god thank you for the testimony of scripture of those who who did these things and change history literally god almighty we need to change this day this this day has to be changed darkness has come in like a flood but you promised that by your spirit you would raise up a standard against it and so here we are and if we perish we perish father give us the courage to go in as we partake of the table tonight give us the courage all of us all of us i speak to everyone tonight everyone everyone no matter what we're going through we have a calling of god to make a difference father we thank you for it and we praise you in jesus name we're gonna just sing one song and then we'll come back and we'll share communion together before we close out tonight [Music] [Music] take your bread we take [Music] smartly shed his precious love [Music] our sins are broken death be defeated and we are free in calvary [Music] travels [Music] we stand and testify that we are free we take our place beneath the crosstalk [Music] [Applause] and we are [Music] me no higher place than the foot of the cross my sin and shame overcome by my savior [Music] your scars my life [Music] our chains are broken death be defeated and we are free [Music] that we are [Music] dreams [Music] thank you jesus thank you jesus for i received to the lord that which i also delivered to you the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread when he had given thanks he broke and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me [Music] in the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes thank you jesus thank you lord thank you for this incredible redemption thank you god for the hope that we have for the future thank you for the power you give us to lift us out of ourselves and bring us into a bigger picture than we could even imagine thank you lord for what you did with esther and thank you what you're going to do for for many of us and through many who are listening tonight god online thank you lord that you take the least likely of us and use each life for your glory thank you for the courage to fast and pray and go in and say if i perish i perish thank you for the courage to come to the king's gate and not give up for our families not give up on our loved ones not give up on our society thank you god for the courage for the courage lord that we all need now we give you praise and we give you glory in jesus name remember if you open your heart to receive christ as your savior or you're coming back to god and you need fellowship just text in connect the word connect to 51 000 and somebody from times square church will get in touch with you send you some videos and help you to get started in your walk with god we love you so much we're going to be praying for you we're going to be praying with you and remember at home stay and pray just give it a little time stay and pray i heard a testimony of somebody who did that last week a group of people did that last week and they said it was incredible what broke out in our midst let that be your story this week god bless you times square church 10 o'clock sunday morning new york city don't forget that 10 o'clock and 1 o'clock god bless see you soon [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] is [Music] hallelujah [Music] jesus [Music] oh [Music] all right [Music] hallelujah [Music] of [Music] you god you so much thank you so much for joining us tonight join us again next week [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 112min 3sec (6723 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021