WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 You can turn with me to Acts chapter 6, Acts 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:10.220 chapter 6, and I want to share with you this 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:14.259 morning a bit of some things that the Lord is 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:18.960 putting on my heart for 2026. I was going to 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.559 preach this message a couple weeks ago. You remember 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:26.679 when I preached on the family. And there have 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.800 been some key words that have been given already 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:32.659 this year that if you've missed, you need to 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:36.079 go back and listen to. Pastor Cammie, I already 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:41.399 said, preached on listening to the Lord last 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.259 Sunday. That's a message you need to hear. The 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:49.899 message on family. God wants to bless your family. 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:53.520 You need to hear that word, and so keep that 00:00:53.520 --> 00:01:00.990 word. close to you. And I believe that 2026 is 00:01:00.990 --> 00:01:03.789 a year where your family is going to be blessed. 00:01:04.370 --> 00:01:08.909 Amen? And this word kind of dovetails. It's why 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:13.290 I wanted to give it right after last week's word 00:01:13.290 --> 00:01:16.810 on listening to the Lord. It dovetails with that 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:20.810 a little bit. And it's going to be more me just 00:01:20.810 --> 00:01:24.230 taking you on a journey that the Lord has been 00:01:24.230 --> 00:01:30.090 showing me about what needs to take place in 00:01:30.090 --> 00:01:37.650 the church. And the things that God has given 00:01:37.650 --> 00:01:43.390 to the church are not always easy, but they are 00:01:43.390 --> 00:01:50.629 usually simple. They are usually easy to understand, 00:01:50.849 --> 00:01:54.329 although because of this struggle that we have 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:58.890 with our own selves. Of course, nobody else here 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:02.450 has struggled with their own selves. Am I the 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:04.450 only one with my hand up? Come on, put your hand 00:02:04.450 --> 00:02:06.769 up if you struggle. Make me feel better. Make 00:02:06.769 --> 00:02:09.849 me feel better. Because of the struggle we have 00:02:09.849 --> 00:02:13.449 with our own selves, this world that we live 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:17.650 in that is seemingly getting crazier and crazier 00:02:17.650 --> 00:02:23.969 by the day, can all the stuff that we deal with, 00:02:24.189 --> 00:02:29.009 the stuff of life, the scriptures call them the 00:02:29.009 --> 00:02:33.270 cares of life, that can choke it out. Because 00:02:33.270 --> 00:02:37.310 of all these things, it's not easy, but it's 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:41.969 simple. And I want to call us as a church this 00:02:41.969 --> 00:02:47.449 morning. to be overcomers in 2026, and to not 00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:49.669 just yield to those things and say, oh, well, 00:02:49.750 --> 00:02:53.849 we'll just let these things slide. We'll just 00:02:53.849 --> 00:02:58.689 do whatever in 2026. No, we need to put our hand 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:03.810 to the plow and not look back and do the things 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:08.110 that God has called us to do. And so I was devotionally 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:16.330 reading in Acts chapter 6. And I came to this 00:03:16.330 --> 00:03:19.469 passage, and this is a significant passage. This 00:03:19.469 --> 00:03:22.849 is when Jesus, or not Jesus, when the apostles 00:03:22.849 --> 00:03:29.389 first create the space for deacons in the church 00:03:29.389 --> 00:03:33.389 in Acts chapter 6. And so let's just read from 00:03:33.389 --> 00:03:37.840 verse 1 and down for a minute. Now in those days 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.419 when the number of the disciples was multiplying, 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:44.819 there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:49.900 the Hellenists. So this is the Greeks and the 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:55.300 Jews. These are both Jewish groups, but one of 00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:59.060 them is of Greek descent and the other is of 00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:05.379 national Israeli descent in the daily distribution. 00:04:06.590 --> 00:04:09.530 And I read this and I say, you know, I take comfort 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:13.969 in it. Because I'm like, there were problems 00:04:13.969 --> 00:04:21.069 in the first church. It's kind of like when we're 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:24.449 at district council and they say, play the video, 00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:29.170 and the video does not play. I go, oh, praise 00:04:29.170 --> 00:04:35.550 God. You know, it strangely encourages me. When 00:04:35.550 --> 00:04:39.269 I see churches that seemingly have it together 00:04:39.269 --> 00:04:45.329 and something flops major, I go, oh, praise God. 00:04:48.089 --> 00:04:52.810 And they had problems. And so they came to the 00:04:52.810 --> 00:04:55.370 apostles with their problems. The apostles were 00:04:55.370 --> 00:04:57.930 their leaders. And can I just tell you this? 00:04:58.990 --> 00:05:02.550 It's okay to bring stuff to the leaders of the 00:05:02.550 --> 00:05:07.290 church. Okay? People that are gossips don't go 00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:11.709 to the leaders to gossip. People that are trying 00:05:11.709 --> 00:05:15.110 to cause trouble, they don't come to the leadership. 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:17.970 But the leadership is who you're supposed to 00:05:17.970 --> 00:05:21.410 come to, right? So when you have an issue, when 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:25.149 things go wrong, because they do go wrong even 00:05:25.149 --> 00:05:31.230 in the church, come to the leadership. And that's 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:34.230 what they did. And so the leaders did not bat 00:05:34.230 --> 00:05:36.870 them down. They did not tell them, well, buck 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:40.649 it up. They didn't tell them that. They recognized 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:46.009 this as a real issue. And it was in this moment 00:05:46.009 --> 00:05:49.850 that God gave them wisdom on how to deal with 00:05:49.850 --> 00:05:52.430 it. Verse 2, then the twelve summoned the multitude 00:05:52.430 --> 00:05:56.189 of the disciples and said, it is not desirable 00:05:56.189 --> 00:05:59.750 that we should leave the word of God and serve 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:04.110 tables. Now they weren't saying in this passage, 00:06:04.209 --> 00:06:07.970 they weren't saying we're above this. That's 00:06:07.970 --> 00:06:11.269 not what they were saying. We're too good to 00:06:11.269 --> 00:06:16.389 serve food. We are so high and mighty, we can't 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:22.310 debase ourselves by scrubbing toilets. That's 00:06:22.310 --> 00:06:25.329 not what they were saying. But what they did 00:06:25.329 --> 00:06:31.120 recognize is their role. And that their role 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:35.259 as apostles, they were so busy. Can you even 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:39.480 imagine? There were, at this point in time, probably 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:44.500 10 ,000... believers plus. Sometimes those numbers 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:46.860 are only the men in those days. There could have 00:06:46.860 --> 00:06:51.980 been 20, 25 ,000 Christians in this day and 12 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:55.800 apostles, and they were meeting in homes. And 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.620 the apostles every single day, every single day, 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.879 I'm sure sometimes multiple times per day, were 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:07.240 in homes with groups of 30, 40, 50 people teaching 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.040 the Word of God. It wasn't that they were just 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:13.620 preparing. for a sermon on Sunday morning. They 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:17.399 were discipling the people every single day and 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:20.620 there were only 12 of them. And the church had 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:22.920 not yet developed to the point where all the 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:26.439 gifts in the body were released. And so they 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:29.779 were the main disciplers. And now they have an 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:33.259 issue come forward, and they're saying it needs 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:38.259 to be met. But if we take our time to feed people, 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:41.819 if we take our time to organize this, to get 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:44.379 it all together, and to make it happen, then 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:49.970 the Word of God that God is using, us to deposit 00:07:49.970 --> 00:07:52.949 into other people the Word of God will suffer. 00:07:53.949 --> 00:08:00.910 And they realized their lane, their role. And 00:08:00.910 --> 00:08:06.629 so here we see the distinction, the first distinction, 00:08:06.689 --> 00:08:10.930 between what I believe the apostles acting as 00:08:10.930 --> 00:08:16.009 elders in the church and deacons. And so here, 00:08:16.050 --> 00:08:19.139 let's see what they say. Therefore, brethren, 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:25.740 seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:32.600 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:36.059 appoint over this business. And so these weren't 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:42.090 just people that liked to... liked to do things 00:08:42.090 --> 00:08:45.549 rather than spiritual. They were not people that 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:49.889 neglected the spiritual side of life. They were 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:52.710 people that were full of the Holy Spirit. They 00:08:52.710 --> 00:08:57.970 understood the Lord and they had great wisdom. 00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:05.210 And so they even said, you choose them. We're 00:09:05.210 --> 00:09:09.720 not even going to appoint them. You choose them. 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:13.179 So they all got their ballots out and nominations. 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:16.779 Actually, we don't know how they came up with 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:21.240 the first seven deacons. Later on in the church, 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:24.240 there were deaconesses. Later on, there were 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.080 women that were deacons and women that served 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.980 in leadership positions in the church. And so 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:33.899 they were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:38.580 And they chose them. And it goes on. But I want 00:09:38.580 --> 00:09:41.700 to read verse 4. And when I read this, verse 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:45.679 4, this is what the Lord captivated me with. 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:52.120 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:58.600 and to the ministry of the Word. And when I read 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:02.320 that, I felt the Lord just speak to me and say 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:06.679 that 2026, that he was speaking to me personally, 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:09.360 Darren, you need to come back to the place of 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:13.799 prayer. And I realized not that I have quit praying, 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:16.340 not that I have quit reading and quit studying, 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:21.919 but I have, and it might be because I quit doing 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:25.720 praying 3 ,000 five times a week. That might 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.899 have something to do with it, but I felt like 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:34.120 2025, I drifted away a bit from that strong place 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:40.460 of prayer. And that in 2026, that we as a body, 00:10:40.539 --> 00:10:44.820 now this is speaking about apostles, about elders 00:10:44.820 --> 00:10:47.460 as their main role, but how many of you would 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:53.210 say that God has been, in this first month of 00:10:53.210 --> 00:10:56.389 the year, speaking to you about your prayer life. 00:10:56.889 --> 00:11:02.330 Yeah. Yeah. Prayer is such an important, important 00:11:02.330 --> 00:11:09.450 place in our lives. Prayer was important in the 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:12.230 life of Jesus. I have a whole sheet that I might 00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:18.129 print and distribute concerning prayer and Jesus' 00:11:18.309 --> 00:11:22.259 life. It's fascinating as you read the Scriptures, 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:25.000 especially the book of Luke. Luke seems to capture 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.480 the prayer life of Jesus more than any other 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.820 of the Gospels. But Jesus is constantly finding 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:39.100 a place to spend time with the Father. And one 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.279 of those verses in Matthew chapter 14, I want 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:48.000 to read. And this is right after the feeding 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.519 of the 5 ,000, Matthew 14. There's thousands 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:56.019 and thousands of people that Jesus is ministering 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:59.440 to. He gets this loaf, two loaves of bread, a 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:03.600 couple fish, and he breaks them and gives thanks 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:09.000 to God. gives them to the disciples, and in the 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.080 hands of the disciples, as they are distributing 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.600 the fish and the bread, multiplication happens, 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.779 and thousands and thousands and thousands of 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:22.759 people are fed. He's been teaching all day. He 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:29.039 sees this miracle happen, and it's pretty awesome. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.559 And so they were all filled. They took up 12 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:37.639 basketfuls of fragments afterwards. And just 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:42.399 an incredible time together. And then verse 22 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:47.580 comes. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:50.620 into the boat and go before him to the other 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:55.379 side while he sent the multitudes away. And when 00:12:55.379 --> 00:13:00.149 he had sent the multitudes away, he went up by 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:06.909 the mountain, to the mountain by himself to pray. 00:13:08.190 --> 00:13:16.049 He went up on the mountain by himself to pray. 00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:19.809 And the story goes on, and there's another awesome 00:13:19.809 --> 00:13:23.870 story that happens after that. But sandwiched 00:13:23.870 --> 00:13:31.929 in between them, Jesus got alone with God to 00:13:31.929 --> 00:13:42.230 pray. And then I begin to think about the different 00:13:42.230 --> 00:13:46.559 times where we're called to pray. Jesus taught 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.659 on the Sermon on the Mount, flipping back a few 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:52.840 chapters in Matthew to Matthew 6. And I shared 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:55.919 a couple of weeks ago that I believe that this 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:00.519 is the single most important Scripture for Christians 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:11.320 in 2026. Matthew 6, verse 6. In fact, I think 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:15.000 we should just all memorize it right now. Everybody 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.779 turn to Matthew chapter 6, verse 6. Turn there, 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:23.779 and we're going to read it together out loud. 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:30.139 We're going to lift it up with one voice. Well, 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.700 if you have the New King James Version. If you 00:14:32.700 --> 00:14:34.740 don't have the New King James Version, you can 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:37.980 kind of mumble along with me when the words are 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:40.379 a little bit different. But let's read it together. 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:47.820 when you pray, go into your room, and when you 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:52.399 have shut your door, pray to your Father who 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:57.279 is in the secret place, and your Father who sees 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:03.480 in secret will reward you openly. Now, I know 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.059 that to memorize something, you've got to read 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:09.600 it more than once, and so let's read it again. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:16.879 But you, When you pray, go into your room. And 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.779 when you have shut your door, pray to your Father 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:24.820 who is in the secret place. And your Father who 00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:31.200 sees in secret will reward you openly. This is 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:36.240 a powerful, powerful promise. It's one of those 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:43.049 promises that is dependent upon obedience. The 00:15:43.049 --> 00:15:49.509 open reward of the Father will not come unless 00:15:49.509 --> 00:15:55.370 you fulfill the first part. And I believe that 00:15:55.370 --> 00:16:01.830 this call, Jesus is not here talking to elders 00:16:01.830 --> 00:16:07.990 and apostles. He's talking to us all. And I believe 00:16:07.990 --> 00:16:13.759 that the enemy above all, Tries to keep this 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:17.279 verse from being fulfilled on a day -by -day 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:37.220 basis. I believe that this is one of the hardest 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:44.750 verses for the... Church to live out. But I also 00:16:44.750 --> 00:16:53.490 believe that it is the greatest call to any believer 00:16:53.490 --> 00:17:02.610 is to get alone with God and pray. Now, there's 00:17:02.610 --> 00:17:07.309 all different kinds of prayer. There are secrets 00:17:07.309 --> 00:17:13.150 to learning prayer. Dick Eastman's prayer wheel. 00:17:14.589 --> 00:17:17.710 The hour that changes the world. That's the book 00:17:17.710 --> 00:17:21.349 he wrote. Dick Eastman put a prayer wheel together 00:17:21.349 --> 00:17:24.369 and it tells you how to spend five minutes in 00:17:24.369 --> 00:17:29.579 each. spoke of the wheel in praise, in reading 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:34.759 scripture, in asking for needs, in listening 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.539 to the Lord. It has 12 different spokes and it 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:41.099 ends with praise, starts with praise and ends 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:44.859 with praise. And if we spend five minutes in 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:47.839 each of those spokes, we'll have spent an hour 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:50.339 in prayer. It's a really wonderful, wonderful 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:55.759 tool to teach you how to pray. But more than 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:00.500 the formula of how you pray, is that you pray. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:09.859 Is that you spend time with God. Amen? Spend 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:15.660 time with the Lord. And Jesus says, go into your 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:20.839 room. Shut the door. Shut the door. And what 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:30.170 He's saying is, Get alone with God. If He was 00:18:30.170 --> 00:18:37.349 in our culture today, what might He say? Everybody's 00:18:37.349 --> 00:18:40.170 saying the same thing. Turn off your cell phone. 00:18:40.829 --> 00:18:45.529 Because this is the number one distraction in 00:18:45.529 --> 00:18:48.809 my life. Is it the number one distraction in 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:52.079 your life? If it is, raise your hand. Okay, most 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:55.339 of you have your hand raised up. The number one 00:18:55.339 --> 00:19:00.059 distraction right here. That's what he's saying. 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:06.579 Shut the door. Be alone with God. And friends, 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:09.880 when you first start, if you've never shut the 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:12.900 door, and if you've never spent time alone with 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:16.680 God, you will shut the door and you'll sit down 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:18.700 and you'll say, Lord, I thank you for this day. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.220 And then after that, you'll be like, and what 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:29.180 do I say now? But I want to encourage you that 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:34.299 the journey of learning how to pray is worth 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:38.799 it. And the journey of learning to spend time 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.880 with God. will help you. It's there in the alone 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:47.099 time with God that He will bring conviction to 00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:49.319 you when you need to repent and turn back to 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:52.720 God. It's there in alone time with God that He 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.359 will speak to your heart direction that you need 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:58.579 for your life. It is there in the alone time 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:01.519 with God that He will unlock the keys that you 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:04.160 need and give you the wisdom that you need to 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:08.700 solve problems. It is that alone time with God 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:11.940 that ultimately isn't about your own life, but 00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:16.099 it changes and shapes nations. Alone time with 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:21.299 God changes the course of nations because we 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:26.279 spend time with the Lord. When the disciples, 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:32.500 when they asked Jesus to teach them how to do 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:39.279 something, They did not ask Jesus to teach them 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:44.880 how to preach. I believe that Jesus was a good 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:49.160 communicator. And people sat on the edge of their 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:52.259 seats and they even commented, they said, you 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:56.980 teach like one with authority. You teach like 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.559 with... Somebody that has substance behind what 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.960 they're saying, not like what we've heard our 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:07.019 whole lives in the synagogue. And they were captivated 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:11.319 by how he taught and how he preached to the multitudes, 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.339 but the disciples did not say, teach us how to 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:20.000 preach. Jesus did miracles, which the disciples 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.299 also did, but could not do them all. In fact, 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:27.529 failed on at least one of them. But the disciples, 00:21:27.730 --> 00:21:33.490 their question in this moment was not, teach 00:21:33.490 --> 00:21:37.529 us the supernatural. But we need to learn the 00:21:37.529 --> 00:21:43.190 supernatural. Their question was, Jesus, teach 00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:50.910 us how to pray. Teach us how to pray. Teach us 00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:56.500 how to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, If 00:21:56.500 --> 00:22:01.839 you'll go there in Matthew chapter 26. Matthew 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:07.680 26 and verse 40. And Jesus, he brought Peter, 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:10.859 James, and John, and he was in the garden of 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:13.240 Gethsemane. This is the night before his arrest, 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:16.380 the night before he went to the cross. And he 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:19.680 takes them in the garden so that he can pray. 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:22.819 And he wants to be alone with the Father, but 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:25.460 not totally alone. And so he brings the three, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:28.759 and he puts them here. And the Bible says he 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.519 moves a stone's throw away. What is that? About 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:37.220 50 yards away. Carter and David and I were at 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:40.160 a campsite, and we found out how far a stone's 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:44.500 throw was. And I threw with all my might, but 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:47.420 I could not hit the other side. I was two feet 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:53.319 away, and my arm was sore. I don't know why I 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:57.039 told you that story. But they were a stone's 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:02.759 throw away, and Jesus is there praying. And in 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:19.180 verse 40 it says, lest you enter into temptation. 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:26.839 And just as a side note, we see here the single 00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:31.400 greatest key, I believe, to overcoming temptation. 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:34.660 Like if you have a besetting sin and temptation 00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:38.720 keeps coming your way, the number one way to 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:42.859 get strength to overcome that temptation, watch 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:47.339 and pray. Learn how to pray. Well, don't I need 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.460 to learn how to resist and say no? Well, there 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.440 might be some keys to that. But the first key 00:23:53.440 --> 00:24:00.220 is to give yourself to prayer. Amen? Amen. And 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:02.660 so if you find yourself, you know, constantly 00:24:02.660 --> 00:24:08.319 tripping over sin, learn how to pray. Watch and 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.400 pray so that you don't enter into temptation. 00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:16.430 told them, couldn't you? You're my disciples. 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:19.470 Couldn't you even stay awake and pray with me 00:24:19.470 --> 00:24:23.529 for one hour? And for some of us, an hour of 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:28.450 prayer seems very daunting. And this is not saying 00:24:28.450 --> 00:24:30.609 that if you can't pray an hour, you're a failure. 00:24:31.369 --> 00:24:36.490 But I do think that time with God, that we need 00:24:36.490 --> 00:24:40.529 to be challenged in that. And so I just want 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:44.509 to challenge every one of you, grow in 2026 in 00:24:44.509 --> 00:24:49.490 your prayer life. Amen? Grow in your prayer life. 00:24:49.710 --> 00:24:56.309 The Father who sees what is done in secret will 00:24:56.309 --> 00:25:01.039 reward you openly. Now it's right to bring your 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:04.319 needs to the pastors, to the elders. It's right 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.180 to have them anoint you with oil and pray over 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:09.839 you. James chapter 5 says if anybody's sick, 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.240 let them come to the elders of the church. In 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:15.279 fact, it's an act of faith. The Bible says come 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.039 to the elders of the church. You can make a phone 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:22.220 call. You can text. Now, you couldn't do that 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:25.160 in Jesus' day, but you can do that now. And then 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:27.740 you can come down to the altar after church and 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:30.859 say, Pastor, pray over me. All those things are 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:34.180 good and all those things are important, but 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:39.900 may those things not be in lieu or instead of 00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:43.799 you going to your father in the prayer closet. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:48.740 Because your trust is never, even though you 00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:52.279 come to your elders, even though you're anointed 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:58.579 with oil, your trust is not in people. Your trust 00:25:58.579 --> 00:26:02.460 is in God. Amen? And so when you have a need, 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:06.799 where should you go? Hebrews says this. Hebrews 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:10.279 says that we should come boldly to the throne 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.920 of grace. That's the secret place. That's the 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:16.900 place where God wants to meet you so that you 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:22.220 can find help in your time of need. Hallelujah. 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:26.680 Somebody give praise to the Lord. And so you 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:28.539 have problems at work. Do you know what you need 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:31.119 to do? You need to bring them to the Father in 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:33.539 your prayer closet. You have problems in your 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:35.380 home. You know what you need to do? You need 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:37.619 to bring them to the Father in the prayer closet. 00:26:37.940 --> 00:26:40.640 You have problems with your kids. Then you know 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:42.380 what you need to do? You need to bring it to 00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:45.720 the Father in the prayer closet. You have problems. 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:48.420 Maybe you're in a blended family now and you 00:26:48.420 --> 00:26:51.160 have problems with people that you used to be 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:53.140 in relationship. You know what you need to do? 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:56.460 You need to bring that to the Father. in your 00:26:56.460 --> 00:27:01.980 prayer closet because the Father sees what is 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:06.660 done in secret. This is true for young people. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:10.019 You have a problem with somebody at school. You 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:12.559 have a problem with your teacher. You have a 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.960 problem with other students. Do you know what 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:18.859 you can do? You can bring it to the Father in 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:23.529 your prayer closet. And the Father... who sees 00:27:23.529 --> 00:27:29.609 what is done in secret, will reward you openly. 00:27:30.289 --> 00:27:34.829 Now Jesus told the disciples in this passage, 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:43.589 watch and pray. Watch and pray. That doesn't 00:27:43.589 --> 00:27:50.890 sound like somebody that is just sitting in a 00:27:50.890 --> 00:28:07.259 chair. That's right. Watch and pray. There's 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:16.359 a vibrance to that. Watch and pray. Watch and 00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:21.660 pray. We need to apply this to the news that 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:30.519 we take in. We watch. We need to pray. The world 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:39.400 is watching. I think sometimes, depending on 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:44.259 your news source, just believe whatever slant 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:48.440 comes from the news source. You can't do that. 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:54.180 But when you digest what is happening, then what 00:28:54.180 --> 00:29:02.200 do you do? You've got to pray. We can't afford 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:07.200 to just be people that have opinions like the 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:14.980 rest of America. We can't just choose a side 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:23.720 and then get angry with that side. are the watchers, 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:28.740 and we are the intercessors. Do you know who 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:34.900 history belongs to? The people that pray. Do 00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:38.240 you know why we won World War II? There were 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:41.500 soldiers on the front line, and there were intercessors 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:49.180 praying at home. World War I is documented that 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:53.940 where intercessors prayed, Things happened on 00:29:53.940 --> 00:30:00.099 the battlefield. I can show you. Intercessors 00:30:00.099 --> 00:30:08.059 own history. People that pray. And so as you 00:30:08.059 --> 00:30:13.920 engage in America, engage in your prayer closet. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:18.819 Go into the secret place. Father, I lift up Minneapolis 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:22.160 to you right now. Father, I'm just asking you 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:25.460 that you would work and move in Minneapolis. 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:28.200 In fact, let's all just pray right now. Let's 00:30:28.200 --> 00:30:30.819 just engage as if you're in the prayer closet 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:34.420 right now in Jesus' name. Father, we ask in the 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:37.160 name of Jesus that your hand would be on church 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:40.059 leaders in Minneapolis. This morning, even as 00:30:40.059 --> 00:30:42.599 they're worshiping you, I pray that your presence 00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:45.220 would be made manifest amongst the believers. 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.119 I pray that there would be a distinction between 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:50.980 believers and people in the world. I pray your 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:54.019 presence, oh God, will minister right now. God, 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:57.000 I'm asking you that families, Lord, in Jesus' 00:30:57.200 --> 00:30:59.980 name, that their needs will be met in the name 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:02.539 of the Lord. And I'm asking you that no matter 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:08.940 what person, God, whether they're immigrants 00:31:08.940 --> 00:31:11.619 or whether they're being dealt with as illegal 00:31:11.619 --> 00:31:15.279 immigrants, God, whatever person, they are all 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:18.740 made in the image of God. And I pray in Jesus' 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:22.299 name that Your hand would be on their journey 00:31:22.299 --> 00:31:24.839 and that they would come to know Christ as their 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:29.240 Savior. In Jesus' mighty name. God, we bind up 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:34.400 demonic activity over that city that would do 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.259 what the devil does. He steals. He kills. He 00:31:37.259 --> 00:31:39.880 destroys. And the instruments that are being 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:42.319 used by the enemy, whether they realize it or 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.500 not, we pray that they would come unto repentance 00:31:45.500 --> 00:31:51.380 in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah. I believe 00:31:51.380 --> 00:31:54.680 that it's God's will. friend, that revival break 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:58.460 out in Minneapolis. I believe that Minneapolis 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:02.640 needs to be a city that is known for the moving 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:05.680 of the Holy Spirit and not just a city known 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:09.039 for conflict like it has for the last five or 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:15.960 six years. We are watchers and we are prayers. 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:20.279 Hallelujah. Turn with me to Luke chapter 21. 00:32:21.390 --> 00:32:31.109 This is concerning the second coming of Christ. 00:32:32.130 --> 00:32:39.490 This is the words of Jesus. Verse 34. But take 00:32:39.490 --> 00:32:43.230 heed to yourselves. Everybody say that together. 00:32:43.529 --> 00:32:49.109 But take heed to yourselves. Lest your hearts 00:32:49.109 --> 00:32:53.390 be weighed down. With carousing, with drunkenness 00:32:53.390 --> 00:32:58.109 in the cares of this life. There it is. And that 00:32:58.109 --> 00:33:01.690 day, that's talking about the return of Christ. 00:33:02.609 --> 00:33:07.289 And that day come on you unexpectedly. For it 00:33:07.289 --> 00:33:10.329 will come as a snare on all those who dwell on 00:33:10.329 --> 00:33:15.670 the face of the whole earth. Wow. Wow. And you 00:33:15.670 --> 00:33:17.589 think about the world right now. Do you think 00:33:17.589 --> 00:33:21.009 it's ready for the return of Christ? It is not. 00:33:21.529 --> 00:33:29.430 But you take heed. You take heed. Watch, therefore, 00:33:29.710 --> 00:33:35.150 and pray. There's that phrase. Watch and pray. 00:33:36.650 --> 00:33:43.430 Always that you may be counted worthy to escape 00:33:43.430 --> 00:33:48.809 all these things that will come to pass. And 00:33:48.809 --> 00:33:56.109 to stand before the Son of Man. Wow. That if 00:33:56.109 --> 00:33:59.930 you watch and pray, if you go into the prayer 00:33:59.930 --> 00:34:07.549 closet, that God will count you worthy to escape 00:34:07.549 --> 00:34:15.710 the judgments that will come upon mankind. And 00:34:15.710 --> 00:34:19.980 to stand in that day. before the Son of Man. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:24.739 This life, what is it? It's a rehearsal for that 00:34:24.739 --> 00:34:29.099 life that is to come. You're going to stand before 00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:34.340 God one day. I think about it every day. I am 00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:38.079 going to stand before Jesus and give an account. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:44.039 And Jesus says, if you'll be a person that will 00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:50.039 do this, that will watch and pray, Make... Prayer, 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:53.900 a part of your life. Make the secret place a 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:57.820 part of your routine. If you will be one that 00:34:57.820 --> 00:35:00.820 will watch and pray, He will count you worthy 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:04.500 to escape the judgment coming on the world. And 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:07.659 you, when you stand before God, won't try to 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:12.000 run and hide. You won't be ashamed in that day. 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:16.079 But you will be able somehow to stand before 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:20.460 the Lord in that day Receive the reward that 00:35:20.460 --> 00:35:24.820 He has for you. Hallelujah. That's good news. 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:32.059 That's good news. For people that will watch 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:41.199 and pray. For people that will go in to the secret 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:53.460 place. Favor. Favor. referring to this passage. 00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:57.800 I just feel like it's time to conclude here. 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:01.880 I've got a bunch of other scriptures here, but 00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:04.800 I'm going to go to the last one. And I've been 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:10.400 turning to this passage quite a bit lately. And 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:14.960 it's in 1 Peter 4. And I've already read it publicly 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:21.159 a couple weeks ago. I think it's an important 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:31.440 passage, 1 Peter 4, 7. And it says this, But 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:39.239 the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:49.050 be serious and watchful in your prayers. It goes 00:36:49.050 --> 00:36:51.449 on to say, and above all things, have fervent 00:36:51.449 --> 00:36:56.989 love for one another. But that first part is 00:36:56.989 --> 00:37:02.449 what we're talking about right now. It says, 00:37:02.510 --> 00:37:09.750 therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. 00:37:13.369 --> 00:37:18.309 Be serious and watchful in your prayers. This 00:37:18.309 --> 00:37:20.630 year is going to be a year for us as a church 00:37:20.630 --> 00:37:25.510 to grow in prayer. I'm talking here today about 00:37:25.510 --> 00:37:28.409 your personal prayer. Pastor Cammie preached 00:37:28.409 --> 00:37:31.469 last week as well on your personal prayer, listening 00:37:31.469 --> 00:37:38.670 to God. And the scriptures talk about corporate 00:37:38.670 --> 00:37:41.510 gatherings. It's why we meet on Sunday morning. 00:37:41.590 --> 00:37:44.789 This is the Lord's Day. Sunday is the Lord's 00:37:44.789 --> 00:37:46.869 day because it's the day Jesus rose from the 00:37:46.869 --> 00:37:49.250 dead. The believers gathered together. And all 00:37:49.250 --> 00:37:51.190 through the scriptures, you see corporate prayer 00:37:51.190 --> 00:37:53.329 meetings and we're called to corporately pray. 00:37:53.570 --> 00:37:58.110 And what I'm telling you that in 2026, we are 00:37:58.110 --> 00:38:01.989 going to be growing as a body in corporate prayer. 00:38:02.289 --> 00:38:07.469 It is also essential. But corporate prayer is 00:38:07.469 --> 00:38:11.579 fanned into flame. when the people that are a 00:38:11.579 --> 00:38:15.579 part of it have been maintaining their secret 00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:24.420 place. Private prayer makes corporate prayer 00:38:24.420 --> 00:38:33.440 powerful. Sometimes when you go to pray and you 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:37.710 get done, And the Bible says when Jesus finished 00:38:37.710 --> 00:38:40.809 praying, there was a time when he concluded that 00:38:40.809 --> 00:38:43.909 moment of prayer. He was still connected to the 00:38:43.909 --> 00:38:47.789 Father, but he finished praying. And sometimes 00:38:47.789 --> 00:38:51.369 when we finish praying, we go, well, that wasn't 00:38:51.369 --> 00:38:55.849 all that powerful. God didn't really say much 00:38:55.849 --> 00:39:00.769 to me today. I didn't even understand the Scripture 00:39:00.769 --> 00:39:05.429 I read. But I'm telling you that there is way 00:39:05.429 --> 00:39:09.530 more happening than what you know. Sometimes 00:39:09.530 --> 00:39:15.210 God reveals what's happening when we pray, and 00:39:15.210 --> 00:39:20.809 we love that. But oftentimes He does not. But 00:39:20.809 --> 00:39:26.130 your faithfulness to the secret place changes 00:39:26.130 --> 00:39:32.920 the world in which we live. And God has his hand 00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:38.679 upon this church to be a church that prays. The 00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:41.920 third weekend of February, we have a gentleman 00:39:41.920 --> 00:39:46.519 by the name of Travis Rosenthal coming. On that 00:39:46.519 --> 00:39:49.039 Saturday night, we're going to be gathering people 00:39:49.039 --> 00:39:53.039 that just have a heart to pray. Saturday night, 00:39:53.139 --> 00:39:57.059 6 p .m., I believe it's the 21st or the 22nd, 00:39:57.059 --> 00:40:01.760 21st of February. Travis Rosenthal is a young 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:05.380 man. He's 27. He might be 28 now. I don't know. 00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:09.400 But he's a young man, and he's a home missionary. 00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:12.059 He's raised support so that he can be a part 00:40:12.059 --> 00:40:14.500 of the Assemblies of God World Prayer Center 00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:20.340 in Springfield, Missouri. And just talking with 00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:25.179 him, I can sense, like they said of the disciples 00:40:25.179 --> 00:40:29.369 in Acts chapter 3, They took note that they had 00:40:29.369 --> 00:40:34.070 been with Jesus. And when I was talking with 00:40:34.070 --> 00:40:39.010 Travis, I can tell this man has been in the presence 00:40:39.010 --> 00:40:42.630 of Jesus. And I believe that God is going to 00:40:42.630 --> 00:40:45.849 do something on that weekend in the area of helping 00:40:45.849 --> 00:40:49.949 us to grow as a body in this area of corporate 00:40:49.949 --> 00:40:56.159 prayer. And so we can expect that in 2026 for 00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:59.500 that to happen. What I want to call for this 00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:02.159 morning, those of you at home, those of you here, 00:41:02.300 --> 00:41:09.119 is for you to come before the Lord and say, God, 00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:14.019 this year I want to grow with intentionality, 00:41:14.059 --> 00:41:23.380 with purpose. I want to grow. In my secret place, 00:41:23.619 --> 00:41:31.599 time. I want 2026 to be a year where I gained 00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:37.079 more discipline. Some people, that's what they 00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:43.280 need. That's what I need. Gain more discipline 00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:49.780 in how you spend the moments of your day. For 00:41:49.780 --> 00:41:55.539 some of us, it's... turning something off. For 00:41:55.539 --> 00:42:02.139 some of us, it's getting up earlier. Perhaps 00:42:02.139 --> 00:42:09.340 your schedule denotes you stay up later. But 00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:17.420 we purpose in 2026 to say, God, I want my prayer 00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:21.639 life to grow. The greatest thing fathers can 00:42:21.639 --> 00:42:26.739 do for their family, pray. Spend time with God. 00:42:27.780 --> 00:42:31.760 The greatest thing mothers can do for their children, 00:42:31.960 --> 00:42:40.320 pray. Spend time with God. Spouses, the greatest 00:42:40.320 --> 00:42:43.699 thing you can do for each other, maintain your 00:42:43.699 --> 00:42:48.800 personal prayer life. Everything else will grow 00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:57.840 out of that. Give yourself to prayer. Hallelujah. 00:42:59.320 --> 00:43:06.260 Hallelujah. This is a real altar moment of us 00:43:06.260 --> 00:43:08.820 saying, God, here I am. Perhaps you need to come 00:43:08.820 --> 00:43:12.380 with humility and just say, Lord, I know I've 00:43:12.380 --> 00:43:16.099 failed in my secret place time. It hasn't been 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:21.440 a part of my life. Perhaps you need to just make 00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:25.460 that confession to the Lord. But will you come 00:43:25.460 --> 00:43:28.780 before Him? He's not saying, oh, because you 00:43:28.780 --> 00:43:31.840 have not been great at this in the past, I'm 00:43:31.840 --> 00:43:34.380 pushing you away. No, that's not the heart of 00:43:34.380 --> 00:43:38.820 our Father. He's saying, come on, son. Come on, 00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:44.000 daughter. I will teach you if you will come. 00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:50.139 Will you come? Will you come before the Lord? 00:43:51.099 --> 00:43:53.519 I want to encourage you to just bow your head, 00:43:53.699 --> 00:43:56.559 just close your eyes, whatever you need to do, 00:43:56.679 --> 00:44:01.500 and just talk to the Lord right now. Just say, 00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:06.039 God, I want you to have your way in my heart 00:44:06.039 --> 00:44:14.860 and in my life. I want the secret place, God. 00:44:16.519 --> 00:44:24.760 To be real in my home. To be real in my family. 00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:34.219 To be real in my personal life. Here I am, God. 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:41.719 I give myself to you. Help me, God, to embrace 00:44:41.719 --> 00:44:45.159 that which might feel a bit uncomfortable at 00:44:45.159 --> 00:44:55.869 first. Help me embrace. Help me embrace the command 00:44:55.869 --> 00:45:03.030 of God. Jesus, you said it, the promise. And 00:45:03.030 --> 00:45:06.309 if I'll go into the secret place and I'll shut 00:45:06.309 --> 00:45:11.389 the door and I'll engage with my Heavenly Father, 00:45:11.610 --> 00:45:20.260 that my Heavenly Father will reward me openly. 00:45:23.860 --> 00:45:30.360 God, I just say yes to you. This is a consecration 00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:37.099 moment. That whatever else I do in my day, all 00:45:37.099 --> 00:45:43.900 the getting that I give myself to, get to work, 00:45:43.980 --> 00:45:47.340 get to the grocery store, get to this appointment, 00:45:47.500 --> 00:45:53.920 get to that appointment, then in all of my getting, 00:45:54.019 --> 00:46:04.760 I will get to this secret place. In all of my 00:46:04.760 --> 00:46:10.159 imperfections aside, I will come before my Father 00:46:10.159 --> 00:46:31.320 and I will say, God, Here I am. Here I am. I 00:46:31.320 --> 00:46:38.679 want to know you. I want to know you. And the 00:46:38.679 --> 00:46:49.949 secret in the quiet place. In the stillness you, 00:46:50.210 --> 00:47:02.130 you are there In the secret, in the quiet hour 00:47:02.130 --> 00:47:11.570 I wait only for you Cause I want to know, know 00:47:11.570 --> 00:47:28.280 you more to know I want to hear your voice to 00:47:28.280 --> 00:47:46.159 know Jesus I want to touch to see your face to 00:47:46.159 --> 00:47:50.690 know If this is your heart, I'd like you to stand 00:47:50.690 --> 00:47:56.389 with me as we sing verse two. I am reaching the 00:47:56.389 --> 00:48:06.710 highest goal. And I might receive the prize. 00:48:08.150 --> 00:48:13.730 Running after you, oh God. I sing onward, pushing 00:48:13.730 --> 00:49:21.159 every hindrance aside. my way cuz I want to I 00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:28.920 want to touch you. I want to see your face. I 00:49:28.920 --> 00:49:49.460 want to know you more. that do that religious 00:49:49.460 --> 00:49:54.199 thing and then go on with their day. But Lord, 00:49:54.380 --> 00:49:57.639 you did not go to the cross to start a religion. 00:49:58.340 --> 00:50:02.780 You went to the cross so that we could know you. 00:50:04.300 --> 00:50:07.900 And I'm asking you, Lord Jesus, that you would 00:50:07.900 --> 00:50:13.239 help us in 2026 to take on that mantle. God, 00:50:13.500 --> 00:50:21.909 I want to know you. Jesus, some of us have people 00:50:21.909 --> 00:50:25.409 in our families that knew you that we respect. 00:50:27.349 --> 00:50:30.070 There's something about them, a quality about 00:50:30.070 --> 00:50:33.869 them. And now you're knocking on the door of 00:50:33.869 --> 00:50:38.409 my heart. And you're saying, son, you're saying, 00:50:38.469 --> 00:50:47.719 daughter, I want to know you. God, I pray for 00:50:47.719 --> 00:50:54.280 courage to do the practical things in the next 00:50:54.280 --> 00:51:02.539 24 hours to make room for time alone with God. 00:51:04.760 --> 00:51:08.800 Here we are. Just present yourself to the Lord 00:51:08.800 --> 00:51:15.420 right now. Just say, God, here I am. Here I am. 00:51:21.700 --> 00:51:29.219 Jesus, Jesus, I want to know you. I want to know 00:51:29.219 --> 00:51:31.420 you. Thank you, Lord.