Sealed. Filled. Sent. | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you for joining us.

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I want to remind our church family that this is our second week of our Spirit Within series, our series that is focused on the person of the Holy Spirit and what it means to have him activated and engaged in our lives.

And if you're taking notes, of course, you can do that through our church app at just download church center and find celebration church orlando.

And that's a great space for you to document the things that God has been speaking to you in that space.

But today I want to I want to go back to our foundational text that is found in the Gospel of John chapter 20, and then we're going to flip over to Ezekiel chapter 37.

John 20 · chapter mention Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

After saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

It was full of bones.

He led me all the way around them.

And there were many, great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry.

Somebody says very dry.

Then he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live?

And I replied, Lord God, only you know.

He said to me, Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

This is what the Lord God says to these bones I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.

I will put tendons on you and make flesh grow on you and cover you with skin.

I will put my breath in you, and you will come to life.

And then you will know that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied as I was commanded.

And while I was prophesying, there was a great noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together bone to bone.

And as I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, and there was no breath in them.

And he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man.

Say to him, This is what the Lord God says: breath come from the four winds and breathe into these who were slain that they may live.

So I prophesied as I was commanded.

The breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.

So Lord, I pray for that same resurrection.

That same wind that resurrected Jesus, that same wind that was in uh Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost, that same wind that motivated and moved your feet over for over 2,000 years.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We ask for that very same wind to move amongst us today.

So Lord, we just pray that you that you allow us to decrease and so that so that so that we can decrease and you can increase in every area of our lives.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that you give us open eyes to see you and only you.

Lord, I pray for open ears to hear your truth and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

A few years ago, I had the incredible uh privilege of taking a CPR class.

Um the the place that I worked at, we had so many people that were in and out of our facility.

They wanted to ensure that all of us knew how to administer life-changing and life-saving care in the event of an emergency.

And I remember sitting in the space where the instructor came and they had a series of mannequins that were laid out in front of us, um, and they were giving us instructions on how to appropriately apply CPR.

Now, everybody that I worked with, we're all joksters and we're all clowns, and so in order to keep our focus, they had begun to kind of teach us this rhythm that was important whenever you're administering CPR.

And and and they would they would put on a music, and it was just, you know, when you breathe into them twice and then you press on our chest, and as you're pumping, you're you're saying this cadence is staying alive, staying alive.

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

Staying alive, don't act like I'm the only one that took CPR.

Like, this is don't y'all leave me up here by myself.

Y'all leaving me hanging right now.

So that was what they did.

They were like, hey man, you gotta sing this song, and if you sing it, so it was a lot of fun.

But for me, I'm like, man, like I I know that song, but I grew up in a different era, so my song was Annie, are you okay?

Are you okay, Annie?

Because my mannequin's name was Annie.

So I was like, Annie, are you okay?

And so it was a lot of fun in that environment.

We're having an amazing time.

And so I remember at the end of the class after doing it and and and and the instructor saying, hey, you gotta put more pressure, and and still trying to figure my way through it, the the bell rang, and they're like, okay, you guys are now certified in CPR, here's your certification, and you're able to leave out of the room.

Now, I gotta be honest with you, there's a part of me that felt amazingly accomplished knowing that I am officially CPR certified.

I felt like I could save somebody's life one of the time.

I'm looking for someone that's choking, I'm looking for an opportunity to put this into practice.

If you yawned, I was on it.

Like I was ready for this, but if I can be completely honest, because this is the abstract part of my mind, I was like, okay, like, yes, I have this certification, but am I really equipped to literally save somebody's life?

Because as much as this was a safe environment where we were listening to music, we were laughing and joking, and now we were able to have fun and walk out with our certification.

How many of us know that when CPR is really needed, those conditions aren't that?

How many of us know that when someone is really in need of life-saving care, it's not in the convenience of a playlist and someone over your shoulder telling you to put more pressure or not?

It's in environments that could sometimes be life and death.

It's in spaces that we're not able to control it.

It happens in the kitchen of your home.

It happens in the parking lot of the church, it can happen anywhere.

My daughter just told me that a couple of days ago at our gym, there was a gentleman who was there working out, and he just collapsed right there in the middle of the gym floor.

And chaos ensued.

Because everybody's there and you have people that are like, hey, I'm a doctor, I'm a nurse, give him space.

No, he doesn't need space, somebody breathe, somebody, and all these different things are telling you what needs to be done in that moment, and and you're wondering if if if if he can just breathe.

And I and I and I think about this sometimes because I believe that sometimes as followers of Christ, we are we are great at being in safe classroom settings where we can talk about our techniques and we can have fun, we can laugh, we can do all the things that allow us to stay engaged, we can listen to podcasts on our way to work, we can have all these ideas and theories about what does it mean to really be a soldier for Christ.

But when the crisis comes, when the pain comes, we we don't need techniques, we need the breath of God.

We don't need strategy, we just need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit.

And when I look around in this room and I discern in my soul, there are so many among us that are reading our Bibles every day, we're highlighting verses, we're we're posting scripture of the day, we're on our streak in the Bible lab.

But the truth of the matter is we're in the middle of a situation that has literally taken our breath.

And we're just saying, Holy Spirit, can you can you can I can hardly breathe?

I'm talking about I'm talking about marriages that are on life support.

I can't breathe.

I'm talking about people's financial situations where they feel so overwhelmed and they can't seem to catch their breath.

I'm talking about relational distress where where you just can't catch your breath.

I'm talking about people who are experiencing loss, and it seems like it is literally taking their breath away, and they don't need three tips on how to live a better life.

They don't need three suggestions on how to get out of this situation.

What we need is the breath of the living God.

Because we get to a point where we just can't do it on our own.

So Jesus, with this profound wisdom, as he's standing in front of his disciples who are in a mix between grieving and being confused, he looks at them and says, As I was sent here to accomplish the mission of establishing salvation for all of mankind, I am now sending you to be conduits of it, and I'm going to breathe on you because you can't do this without my spirit.

And that breath that Jesus breathed on his disciples is the same breath that he makes available to us, and it was a breath of supernatural impartation.

That means that we're living on the breath of God, and that impartation is significant, that impartation is needed, and that impartation is transformational.

And what I see in scripture, that whenever the Holy Spirit shows up in our lives, what I see in scripture, when I see these moments where the breath of God begins to interact with the staleness of humanity, I see a couple of things activated.

The first thing is I see that the Holy Spirit seals us.

Somebody say sealed.

He seals us.

That means that the moment that we place our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes up on the inside of us, and we are now sealed as children of the living God.

Ephesians chapter 1, verse 13 says this.

Ephesians 1:13

It says, In Him you were sealed, there's that word again, with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, when you believed.

That means that when we place our faith in Christ, that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

What that means is we didn't perform our way into heaven, we can't perform our way out.

That when we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, that the enemy can't pluck us from the hand of God.

This is what Paul is talking about when he says that nothing shall separate us from the love of God because we're sealed.

That means that sin can't separate us from the love of God because we're sealed.

That means that death can't separate us from the love of God because we are sealed.

Somebody needs to hear that today because some of us are believing that there are circumstances that have removed us from the grace of God.

But the Bible I read tells me there's not a single place that you can go that when you are sealed by the presence of the living God, that even death can't hold you because we are sealed.

But but not only are we sealed in the presence of God, we are filled with the spirit.

Somebody shout filled.

The Bible says that when we place our faith in Christ, that we are sealed, but then there's also a filling that begins to take place.

Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18, Paul says this, he says, and don't be drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18

Paul's language that he's using right here is something that we call present passive imperative.

You guys didn't know you're coming here for a literature lesson, but you signed up for it, so buckle up and get ready.

Present passive imperative.

What that means is it's ongoing.

It's not one of those type of things that happens once and then it's done.

But when Paul is using that word of being filled with the spirit, it means to be continuously filled.

It means that we're continuously filled with his spirit.

That means that when I engage the word of God, I'm being filled with his spirit.

That means that when I exercise generosity, I'm being filled with his spirit.

When I lift my hands in worship, these are spiritual disciplines that invite the Holy Spirit to continuously fill us.

The reason why many of us can sometimes feel empty, even though we're in the family of faith, is because we haven't positioned ourselves to be vessels, to be available, to be filled with the presence of God.

But Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 7, where he says, For those who are coming to me who are thirsty, he says, I will allow rivers of living water to flow out of you, that filling, that ever-flowing water.

John 7 · chapter mention

And then it begins the sanctification process that allows us to bear fruit.

So I am sealed and I am filled, but then I am also sent.

Somebody says sent.

That means that we're empowered for the mission.

Jesus says these words.

He says, John baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.

Baptized, sent.

And verse number eight it says this, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

What we're talking about now is being baptized in his spirit.

So we've been we've been sealed by his spirit.

We're continuously filled by his spirit as we engage in the things of God and we're being conformed into the image of Christ.

But then we have the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And that is the space that activates our gifts.

That is a space that allows us to engage in the opposition that sometimes we face.

This is where God takes ordinary people and allows them to do supernatural things on his behalf because we're baptized and empowered with his spirit.

So he seals you, he fills you, and he sends you, he seals you, he fills you, and then he sends you off into the mission field altogether.

This sounds so beautiful to be sealed by God, to be filled by his spirit, to be sent into his mission field, empowered for the things that he called us to do.

But let's talk practically for a moment.

What does that really look like in a day-to-day life of a believer?

What does it really look like for the single mother or the single father?

What does it look like when when you're when you're struggling to even wake up in the morning?

What does it look like when you're struggling with depression?

When we're talking about this idea of the Spirit of God sealing us, filling us, and sending me.

But what if I don't feel like getting up?

I believe the text in Ezekiel shows us what it looks like when we invite the wind of God to animate every area of our lives.

You see, for Ezekiel, he was given the assignment of being both a prophet and a priest.

And his ministry was about 23 to 25 years.

And his mission field was basically two different groups of people.

It was Judah, the ones who broke free from the Israelites, and then the rest of the Israelites who were in Babylonian captivity.

I know I'm throwing a lot at you, but you can Google it or Chat GBT it later to fact-check me.

But ultimately, what we're talking about are people of God who are in two different places.

People who are who are thriving and people who are trying to survive.

And if we're honest with ourselves, it's possible to be both of those people at the same time.

Who am I talking to right now that you can feel like I'm thriving at work, but I am struggling at home?

I'm thriving in one space, but I'm struggling over here.

So Ezekiel had the responsibility of speaking to both audiences, but I think it's very applicable to us.

Feeling like you're in captivity, feeling like you don't have any mobile projectory in your life, but also recognizing that God has more for us.

So God takes Ezekiel on this profound vision to give him insight, what I think is ultimately meant to encourage us.

So I got a couple of things that I want to share with us.

A couple of things that I think can help us, whether you're in Judah celebrating, or whether you're in Israel in captivity in Babylon, but either truth can transform where you are.

Here's the first thing that I want you to write down: face the valley, speak the word.

Face the valley and speak the word.

Let me let me break down what I mean by that.

The text tells us that Ezekiel is taken out in the spirit and he's taken to a space that is referred to as the valley of dry bones.

That's that's literally the descriptor that scripture gives it.

The valley of dry bones.

And I want you to notice that this isn't a flyover, this is a space that he is told to camp out and walk through it.

Now, valleys and scripture often represent a low place.

Valleys, in contrast to mountains, which are typically associated with drawing close to God.

Mountains are often referred to as places of clarity.

Mountains are often referred to as places where we get direction, but valleys in scripture are often considered to be the places where there's fear and despair.

We even see David pull from this imagery when he says, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Valleys are low places, places where there's a lack of hope.

Valleys are where we're the most vulnerable, where the shadows are long and the footing is unsure, and the echoes of our fear seem to come back into our subconscious.

It's the climate in a terrain where things feel unstable, where the nights are longer and the air is thick, and there seems to be no guidance.

That's the valley.

It's the atmosphere that breeds dormacy and zaps away all of our hope.

So Ezekiel is taken to the valley, not to the mountaintop, by God.

But it doesn't end there because the text then says that not only are they in a valley, but then this valley is filled with bones and not just regular bones, but but dry bones, speaking of brittleness and fragility.

These bones speak to the specific things that have decayed in our lives.

It speaks to the atmosphere of a struggling marriage, and the dry bones are the divorce papers have already been signed.

The atmosphere of struggling at your job, but then the bones of them also talking about doing potential layoffs.

I'm talking about being in an environment that you already don't feel joyful in, and then you're dealing with specific issues within that environment.

The valleys where we're vulnerable, and the bones are the things that overwhelm us.

A lack of structure, a lack of order.

Things seem incredibly scattered.

And what's so profound to me in this text is that God doesn't just pass by this section.

There is no fast-forwarding this.

You know, we have the convenience that when we listen to music, we can skip past the songs we don't like.

And if you have the YouTube premium like I do, you don't even have to listen to the commercials anymore.

You can skip right by them.

We live in a world where we can customize everything according to what we want.

So why would I not want to skip past the seasons of suffering?

Let's skip past this portion that I don't like.

Let's skip past this thing that is profoundly uncomfortable.

But in reality, the Bible shows us that Ezekiel wasn't able to skip past this part.

That God let him walk through this, not in a form of self-deprecation, but as an opportunity for him to have a full diagnosis before he experiences the deliverance.

Because how many of us know if we don't actually understand our situation, we can't celebrate the God who brings us out of it.

But the Bible tells us that he's in this space where there's a valley and there's dry bones and God doesn't rush him through it.

But then God asks a profound rhetorical question.

He says to Ezekiel, Can these bones live?

Not because God is unaware, but it's an opportunity to engage his servant to see what his response is.

He's looking for the prophet's agreement with what he's about to do.

So Ezekiel does what any smart person should do.

Lord, only you know.

Anybody who's married understands the importance of just having a possible response of saying, whatever you want.

Mega's like, don't you want to get some Chick-fil-A?

Yes, that sounds amazing.

Like, I I like whatever you want.

I'm just gonna come into agreement with whatever you say.

But if we know how to do that in our natural bodies, or I'm giving some of you some parenting tips and some relational tips, just go along with whatever the spouse says, and you'll find that you'll have a place of peace.

If you can do that in our natural life, how much more should we bring ourselves in alignment with the Word of God?

The Bible says that Ezekiel says, Lord, only you know what's going to happen next.

In other words, I've come to the end of myself.

In my own strength, I don't see the strategy for this, but I am going to recognize, but I do see the God who's above all strategy.

I do see the God who has all power.

I do see the God who has all authority.

So, Lord, I can't see a way out of this, but I see the God who can make a way out of this.

He begins to invite the hand of God into it.

I think it's important that when we are living in a life that is inspired by the Spirit, that we're honest about the bones, but we're hopeful about the breath.

I'm gonna be honest about what I see, but I'm gonna always be hopeful about what God can do.

So God doesn't take this as an opportunity.

To tell Ezekiel to come up with a new strategy.

He doesn't take this as an opportunity for him to download 28 more podcasts.

He doesn't say listen to 14 more TED Talks.

He doesn't even see go to a new conference.

What God says to Ezekiel in this moment, when he's in the valley, amongst the dead and the decay, he says, Here's what I want you to do: prophesy to the bones.

In other words, he's saying, I want you to be honest about the bones, but I want you to speak my word over every situation in your life.

What I believe God is saying for us is that there's a moment when we take inventory of our suffering, and there's a moment when we come into agreement with what God's word says about him.

He says, declare life over that dead situation, declare hope over that broken situation, declare comfort over that suffering situation.

That you have an opportunity to invite my word into that situation.

He says, speak to the bones.

He doesn't say speak to your friends, which I think is important.

He doesn't say speak in theories, but he says, I want you to speak exactly to that same situation.

This is not naming and claiming, but this is declarative speech that allows atmospheres to shift as a result of God's word going out into the atmosphere.

Do you not realize that the Bible says that our enemy, that that the adversary, that he is the prince of the power of the airs?

That means that his domain is literally the atmosphere in which we live in.

So when we're silent with our praise, when we're silent with our worship, that means that the enemy is still occupying the very space that should be holy ground.

But when we begin to declare the word of God over our homes, it literally begins to shift the atmosphere.

So this is why I don't pray in my mind, I pray out loud.

I don't quote scriptures in my mind, I quote it out loud.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

That this is holy ground because I'm fighting back the enemy with the presence of the word of God.

Sometimes you got to declare God's word over your situation, and people won't understand it, they're gonna think you're crazy.

But sometimes you got to say it at the top of your voice that this house belongs to God, my family belongs to God, and I fight against every sign of darkness that tries to come against me because I declare what thus saith the Lord.

God says, God says, I watch over my word to ensure that it accomplishes everything that I sent it out to do.

We realize that the power of God's word it literally shapes reality.

That all of creation began when God's word, the logo said, Let there be, and the atmosphere shifted as a result of it.

Let there be light, and there was light.

God's word is living and active.

He said, Lazarus come out, and Lazarus came out.

Jesus quieted the storm by saying, Peace be still.

Sometimes the reason why our atmosphere hasn't changed is because we're keeping it inside and we need to say it out loud.

So God tells Ezekiel to declare it at the top of your voice and declare that these bones are going to come into alignment with God's word.

What is the thing that is fractured in your life that actually just needs to be told what to do because of God's word?

This is a moment that we begin to see, that we begin to speak to the situation according to what God's word says.

We tell the truth to the bones, we don't glamorize our suffering, but we speak life over it, and then we invite God's breath.

Because the second thing I want you to write down is that we build the frame, but we welcome the wind.

We build it, but we welcome the wind.

Because what's interesting is the Bible says that when Ezekiel begins to speak the word of God over this dead situation, that it was beautiful because what ends up happening is that the ground literally begins to shake.

They said that the atmosphere literally began to change, and then there was a loud sound that was echoing in the space.

That means that sometimes when we're bringing our lives in alignment with God's word, it gets a little noisy.

Let me say that again.

Sometimes when we begin to position our lives in alignment with God's word, things start to get shaken up a little bit.

And if we're not careful, we will hear the noise and think that that is something of the adversary coming against us and we'll get quiet.

We'll see the shaking that's taken place, and we'll think that everything around us is losing its footing and then we'll be quiet.

But what if the noise that we hear is the presence of God coming in and shattering off the enemy from every area of your life?

What if the ground shaking is not God shaking up your foundation, but it's shaking the sin off of your life, it's shaking the bondage off of your life, it's shaking the fear off of your life, it's shaking the anxiety off of your life, because I believe that before God can pull it together, there's some things we need to shake off of ourselves.

He's shaking some things up, he's shaking some things off and he's shaking some things loose, he's shaking some things up, he's shaking some things off, and he's shaking some things loose.

He's shaking some things up, he's shaking some things off, and he's shaking some things, he's shaking some things up, he's shaking some things off, he's gonna shake some things loose, he's gonna shake some things up, he's gonna shake some things off, he's gonna shake some things loose.

This this bondage doesn't have authority on my life anymore, so shake it off of me.

This fear doesn't have authority in my life anymore, so so shake it off of me.

This this this bondage that cannot have it, so shake it off of me.

This poverty, I can't have it anymore.

So look so Lord, shake it off of me.

God, shake it off of me, shake it off of my family, shake it off of my mind, shake it off of my soul, God, shake it loose.

There are some times where God is shaking some things up in our lives and we will feel like we're losing our footing.

But I've learned that whenever I'm losing my footing, I just lower my sinner gravity and I get down on my knees and I say, Lord, I'm just gonna hold on until you bless me.

God, I know it's not stable, but I'm not meant to stand in this moment anyway.

So I'm gonna bow because holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

I'm not meant to stand in this moment, but I'm gonna bow and surrender, and I'm gonna ride this thing up and shake it off until I'm free.

He's shaking it up, and so the text tells us that as God is shaking some things up in our lives, and we're seeing the freedom that's getting established in our lives, and we're seeing the healing and things that come together in our lives, that things begin to come into alignment, and if we're not careful, we'll be completely at peace with that.

So the Bible says that everything came into alignment, that the ligaments were there, that means support.

The muscles were there, that speaks to strength, the skin came back on, that speaks to identity.

Everything was there.

I got I got support that I need, I got the strength that I need, I got the identity that I need, but the text tells us but there was no breath in it.

That means this that means that we can have all the strategy and structure in the world, but if the breath of God is not in it, it will not produce the fruit that God had caused it to produce.

Some of us are so analytical and so practical that we will put everything in place like we're putting together pieces of a puzzle and wonder why the image isn't moving because we haven't invited the breath of God into it.

Yes, the scripture gives us form, but the spirit gives us life.

Scripture creates the structure, but the breath of life turns the lights on.

Well, I'm speaking to some people right now because you've been going to counseling, you've been doing the work and you have the form.

But when is the last time you invited the Holy Spirit into your situation?

I'm talking about people who have the profound strategy and everything that you have lined up, and you're wondering why you're not taking ground.

When is the last time that you said, Holy Spirit, breathe on this?

Breathe on my marriage, breathe on my fight, breathe on my children, breathe on me, Holy Spirit.

I know I have things in order, but I need the breath of God in this situation.

We all need to invite God to breathe.

And when God breathes, it animates and activates something on the inside of us that transcends all thought because the text tells us that when the wind of God came in contact with dormant beings, it says that they stood and they advanced.

They stood.

At one point you were laying down and you were unstable, but they were able to take a stand and they were able to advance.

It says that they stood and they were an exceeding great army.

What powerful language the text is using.

It's it didn't say that they went on about their lives, but it says that they were going to be an army that was marching for the things of God.

That means that when God baptizes us in his spirit, it's not just so that we can have chills when we go to our services.

When he baptizes us with his spirit, it's not so that we can we can read and pontificate on scripture with people that don't believe or do believe the same thing as we do, but he gives us his spirit so that we can be soldiers in his army and recognizing that everywhere I go is my mission field, and I'm taking ground in the name of Jesus.

That means that sometimes my marriage is my mission field, sometimes my job is my mission field, sometimes my family is my mission field, sometimes going around folks that don't think like me is my mission field, but God gives me his spirit so I can go into the mission field because the Bible tells me we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we wrestle against principalities and spiritual darkness and wickedness in high places.

So God gives us his spirit, he gives us his power, he gives us dominion, he gives us influence, he gives us authority so that we can fight back darkness with the light of God that is on the inside of us.

We are not coming to church so that we can have a good great service and going about our business.

We're not coming to church so that we can go and have brunch afterwards.

We're coming to church to be filled with his spirit, to be anointed with his presence and go off into our mission field in the name of Jesus with the authority of Christ Jesus and shift the atmosphere with every environment that we go into.

It's time for Christians to stop being defeated.

It's time for Christians to stop being deflated, but for us to take our rightful place and say, I am a soldier in the army of the Lord and I'm gonna take dominion because God says so.

So, Holy Spirit, breathe on me, Holy Spirit move through me, Spirit use me to change the atmosphere, shift everything up because in my own strength I can't do it, but with the spirit of the living God, all things are possible.

The Holy Spirit is doing a work in all of us, and you're not here by accident.

So, what I suspect is that there's some among us right now that we need we need the breath of God, Lord.

I I need your breath because I can't breathe right now.

Lord, I need I need to be filled with your spirit so I can step in boldness and so I can begin to see the order that you've called me to walk in, that I can begin to bear fruit in.

And Lord, I need your spirit so that I can recognize that I'm not fighting against flesh and blood, but I'm fighting against spiritual forces that have been designed to tear me down, to steal, to kill, and destroy.

But because of your spirit, I am saved, I am sanctified, I am spirit-filled, and I am on mission, and I'm gonna shift the atmosphere because of that.

So, so maybe you need a touch from God today.

Maybe you need a fresh wind from God today.

If that's you, I want you to come and meet me at this altar right now to get a fresh wind of God, to get a fresh encounter with his presence.

We're gonna pray, we're gonna worship, but this is an opportunity for us to say, Lord, yes, I need a fresh dose of the Holy Spirit, I need the wind of God to move on my behalf, I need God to breathe on my finances, I need God to breathe in my marriage.

God, I need the Spirit of God to do something.

I need him to shake some things up, shake some things off, and shake some things loose because in my own strength I can't do it anymore.

But the Spirit of God is moving amongst us, and there's an opportunity for us to engage it.

Coming to this altar is simply our place of surrender, saying, God, I'm inviting you into this situation.

So I want to start praying for us, and I'm gonna ask some of our prayer leaders to just come and touch and agree and encourage people as we go.

But what I want us to do is I want this to be a posture of surrender as we declare God's word over our situations, as we invite the Holy Spirit to breathe on our situation.

We still have some room over here in the middle if anybody wants to come over in the middle, but I want to pray specifically for a couple of things.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus.

I pray specifically for our community and people who are struggling with addiction.

God, I declare in the name of Jesus, whom the Son has set free, is free indeed.

And I command for the chains of addiction to be broken off of them and for the yoke of bondage to be destroyed in the name of Jesus.

Father, I also pray and intercede for every marriage and relationship that has been established under the ordinance of God.

We plead your blood over him and we say, devil, you're a liar.

You cannot have our families, you cannot have our futures, and we command for the Spirit of God to blow things together, to shake some things up, to shake some things off, shake some things loose, and bring them together in the name of Jesus.

And Father, we pray for those who are in need of healing and in comfort.

Father, I declare in the name of Jesus for the body to come into alignment with the word of God, and I procmand for them to be healed in Jesus' name by the word of God in the name of Jesus.

And Father, I pray for comfort, I pray for peace for those who are grieving, for those who are suffering.

That Father, you come and allow a fresh wind to blow.

Holy Spirit, have your way.

Move amongst your people, shatter our expectations, God.

Do exceedingly abundantly above all.

We can ask or think.

Holy Spirit, we ask for you to shake it up, to shake it off, and to shake it loose and bring it all together and allow you to allow us to stand and be a great army in the name of Jesus.

So our posture is worship, our posture is praise.

We make this place a holy ground and invite the Holy Spirit to have his way.

Move and have your way amongst us.

As we reach out and call out on your name at this altar, God, move amongst us, strengthen us in the name of Jesus.

Allow our identity to be solidified in you in the name of Jesus.

Heal us in the name of Jesus.

We declare it.

Bring things into alignment and spirit move amongst your people.

Come on, church, let's worship together.

Let's call on the name of God together.

Let's intercede together.

But let's let the Holy Spirit move amongst us and do what only He can do.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.