Take Root with Prayer | Pastor Diego Mesa

All right, We're so grateful to see you this morning.

I want you to look at somebody.

I know sometimes that's hard to look at people and

talk to people. But here's what I know about coming

to church.

How many of you go to a.

Natural gym a gym? Raise your hand? Well if you

many of you more need to go to a gym

than what I'm seeing. Let me ask you a real

difficult question. What do you do at a gym? What

do you do at a gym?

You work out? Do you know?

Church is like a spiritual gymnasium, and you're here to

work out, not just to sit and watch. You're here

to work out. And so we're going to give you

an opportunity later in the service to do a spiritual

workout based upon what God is going to share with

you today, so that you can live it out. Because

I promise you, what you won't do in this church,

you're probably not going to do outside of the church.

And so that's our job to do that.

So turn around and look at somebody who's your first

word program, Turn around and look at somebody and say

you look good today.

And I'm not just saying that last week.

Pastor Adam introduced a series that we're talking about through

the month of November called Revival. And it's a church word,

it's a spiritual word, and it's okay if you don't

understand what that word is. But if you study history,

not only natural histories, the church history, you'll see that

revivals broke out and we're going to share with you

what those things look like. But wherever there was a revival,

it was birthed and sustained through prayer. And so prayer

is the match to launch a revival. Now, when we

talk about revival, we're talking about something big and in

a magnitude that affects multitudes and individuals, society, in a community.

But it all starts with somebody personally and private that

I need a revival in my life. So with that

in mind, I'm going to ask that you stand for

the reading of God's word, and we're going to read

somebody that prayed for a public revival, but more than that,

he prayed for a private revival.

His name is Habacca.

It's found in the Old Testament where where the little

books are, those represent little prophets that existed to the

Jewish nation. He said a prayer of a back of

the prophet according to He's shiki enough. Notice it says

the prayer, which is the personal prayer that this man

named Hubaka prayed.

So let's put it to you in your terms. Could

we put.

Your prayer or a prayer that you have prayed on

the screen for all of us to learn from today,

because that's what you're seeing.

You're seeing a man's prayer here today.

It says this, Oh Lord, that's Jehovah, creator of all things.

I have heard the part of you.

I know who you are and your work, your ways,

Oh Lord, Jehovah Creator. He's crying out to the bigness

of God. Do I fear, which means we need. I

need to reverence you, I need to honor you. I

need to be in awe of you.

In the midst of the years.

Revive, revive the works that you used to do in

times past, the miracles, the stories that we read in

the Bible.

Would you give it to us again?

Or God, how you have worked in other generations, our

forefathers that maybe lived a more moral life, a more

godly life, where in the times past marriages stay married

for fifty to sixty years.

God, we don't see that anymore.

Lord, He says, whatever was good and righteous and a blessing,

what you revive it in the midst of the years

which you make it known. That's reveal God. There's some

things that are my life that are mysteries. There's things

in society that they could get together at a table

or diplomatic meeting to try to resolve, and they can't resolve. God,

You're the only one with the true revelation to resolve

the crisises of the world in the midst of the

years making known in wrath. Remember mercy, God, hold back

your judgment. I know we've aired, I know we've phoned

away from you. I know we've become an adulterous nation

that doesn't need you, an atheistic material generation.

But be merciful to us.

God, let your loving kindness overshadow the air of our lives.

You may be seated.

That's what you just read, a story of revival that

took place through prayer. Here's what revival looks like. And

I want you to identify if you need this or

it's a symptom in your life. It says, revival is

something that is in you that's dead or dormant or

dark or idle or ignorant, inactive, and it comes alive

in you. Does that describe your life in any form

or any fashion?

Is something dormant in your life?

Is something inactive that you need God to come and

stir and make alive. The second definition is it's an

awakening of something that is in you that's asleep or

abandon or absent. God, I'm just not where I should be.

I feel empty on the inside.

God.

Would you awaken righteousness, Awaken prayer in my life, Awaken

a love for you.

Oh God.

And last of all, it's recognizing your need and hunger

for Jesus. Lord, I'm not where I should be. Let

me just be honest with you. Let me not fake

it till I make it. Let me just be transparent

with you. I'm not where I should be spiritually with you,

and I have an appetite more for the things of

this world than I would ever have for you. And

I ask you to create that hunger in me. That's

what revival looks like. Revival looks like this. Revival can

be that we want Jesus to be more than a

savior in our lives, but that Jesus is the supreme

in our lives. Most people look at Jesus as the

one that died for your sins. That's true, but he

is also the Lord of your life, which means he's

the supreme in your life. You don't compartmentalize Jesus to say, listen,

you're only God on Sunday morning between eleven and twelve thirty.

After that, I'm in charge of it.

Then you're only looking at him as savior and not

looking at him as the supreme God in your life,

or entity or person in your life. The Bible says,

every need will bow and every tongue will confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. In

our future, when all mankind dies, we will recognize that

he truly is the Supreme.

The second thing that needs.

To be revived in us if revival is going to

take play, is recognizing that we don't want Jesus to

just be part of our lives. We want him to

be the priority of our lives. You're just not this

Sunday morning.

God.

I need an emergency, God, I need a miracle. God, God,

I'm in desperation. So now you've not hurt from me

and you're not active in my life, and I've never

turned to you, but I'm just going to cry out

to you now.

He could do that, but he's so much more.

He wants the relationship with you, and he wants to

be the priority in your life. That says, Lord, I

don't know that I can't go a day without talking

to you. I don't know that I can go into

a circumstance and situation without inviting you into it. God,

because you are the priority of my life. And then

it's looking at him Jesus and recognizing that he is

not just simply a resource in your life.

He is the source of your.

Life, your job, income, your boss. Those are resources, but

we often make them sources in our lives, and so

then when we lose them, we are devastated. I feel

hopeless and helpless because you got him.

Confuse the roles.

Jesus is the source of your life. Everything else is replaceable.

Jesus in me is irreplaceable. He's the source of my joy.

He's the source of my comfort, he's the source of

my happiness, he's the source of my satisfaction. He's the

source of everything that's in my life. And last of

all to really describe what needs to be revived, and

what revival is is that Jesus is more than some

ritualistic calisthenic that we do, but a real, vibrant relationship

with a person, real Bible says he'll never leave you

or forsake you. I've been married to my wife forty

two years, and I want you to recognize the reality

is is that I am closer to Jesus than I

would ever be with my wife. I'm more intimate with

Jesus than I've ever been with my wife. He is

more real to me than even my wife. And I

want you to kick back at me and say, diego,

I'm not there. That just goes over my head. I

have no way to understand or relate to what.

You just said.

But I hope that provokes you to say, you know what,

I want to travel down that road and I want

there to get to a point where Jesus is more

real to me by him manifesting his power, his glory,

his love, his presence in me.

That could even be more real than someone very very

close to me.

You know, we talked about revivals, and last week Pastor

Adam gave a picture of some revivals that have been

taking place in history that brought all kinds of miracle,

signs and wonders, lots of conversions of faith. People were

set free and delivered miraculously.

It was just it goes on and on and on

and on.

He talked about the Wesleyan Revival, He talked about a

little bit of reformation that has taken place. He talked

about the Azusa Street Revival. And I'm just going to

play a clip if you don't know, in nineteen o six,

something happened very close to us, And here's a little

bit of a recap of what happened.

Then in nineteen o six, in the town of Los Angeles,

the fire fell again in a small rundown building on

Azuza Street.

William J.

Seymour, the most unlikely person to lead a revival, led

prayer meetings where a Holy Spirit moved with power. People

were miraculously healed. Thousands flocked into this little building day

and night, night and day.

For over three years.

People began speaking in unknown tongues and the Holy Spirit

fell on his church, rich and poor, black and white

men and women, all worshiping and praying.

Together, side by side in a day when racial segregation

was the norm. But we know that the Holy Spirit

is our great uniter, and what he started on Azusa

Street in Los Angeles lasted for over three years in

that little building and has impacted the church across.

Our nation and around the world. You know, it's.

Interesting that this just happened about forty miles from where

we are today. You know, they talk about California and

Los Angeles being the head of initiator and the music movement,

the entertainment movement, and all kinds of industries, and the

reality was this is that before that ever came to

fame and fortune, the spirit of God was moving in

our cities and in our state. Those that our grandfathers

or our forefathers of faith laid to pray that revival,

I believe still in the ground, and God is looking

for another generation to pray as earnestly as those did

one hundred years ago and cry out against the moral

all the moral issues that exist, the downfall of sin,

the corruptness that's going on, the violence that is taking place,

and believers to make us stand and say we're not

gonna allow the enemy that wants to steal, kill and

destroy to bring destruction in our backyard and the church.

The believers are uniting and we're gonna pray for God

to visit us.

Again with righteousness and holiness, and we're gonna see our

marriages brought back together, our children, our grandchildren saved and

not turning from God. We're gonna see our our fathers

come out of prison and be set free. We're to

see our children not turned to drugs. We're gonna see

our our family's being delivered from pornography and all kinds

of issues.

Because we're gonna get on our knees and we are

gonna pray.

Until God shows up, and we're gonna tell the devil

he's a liar and that he cannot steal our generation. Well,

we are the watchman on the watch and we're gonna

pray and we're gonna believe God for righteousness and holiness

and God feariness and respect to come back to our

city and back into our lives. I remember, I know

I got gray here, but I remember not too long ago,

when I was a little kid, everything was shut down

on Sunday. The moral level of thermometer in our nation

was like Chick fil A. We are gonna honor God.

Nobody's gonna work on Sunday. Not too long ago, I

was a little boy, and I remember in kiddy garten

in first grade, coming to recess, we pledge the leadion

to the flag, and then we said, we're gonna bow,

and we're gonna pray, and we're gonna ask God to

come into our classrooms in Jesus' name.

Now of a sudden, fifty years later.

Get that God stuff, get that Jesus stuff, get.

That Bible stuff out.

And look at what has taken place to our world,

in our society. Please please, twenty year old's, thirty year olds, teenagers,

don't let that happen. I beg of you. Don't allow

that to happen. Reject it. Don't conform to the ways

of this world. Stand up for God, and God will

stand up for you. You fight God battles, and I promise

you God will fight every single one of your battles.

Let me give you this little analogy here today. Does

your life when it comes to prayer or does it

or revival look more like this? Your relationship with God

like this? You think that's gonna stay lit until something

easily blows it out. That's how quickly that might define

your relationship with God kind of thing? Or is your

relationship with God look like this that doesn't even like

multimillion dollar church and can't afford that.

But that's my BEU.

It takes like fifteen strikes just to like the fire

of God in me.

I don't know about you.

I want something to look like this in my life.

Burn out the sin in my life. God, God, I'm addicted. God,

I got bondages. God, I got a secret live God.

I'm a man filled with anger. God. I got daddy issues. God.

But I'm gonna keep the fire of prayer on and

I'm gonna pray this thing out of me, and I'm

gonna believe God that God is gonna change and God

is gonna deliver. I may have never had a father

in my life, an example in my life, a model

in my life, a hero in my life.

But I can't change my ancestry.

But I could change the genealogy of those.

That will come after me. As for me and my house.

Joshua said, we will serve the Lord. The choice is yours.

The choice is yours. How much of Jesus do you

want in your life? Is this that like, okay, that's plenty.

Going to church today shoul last me at least three months.

I should be okay for at least three months. I

think I prayed like a week and a half ago,

and I think I'm living off of that prayer. Or

you have to have a revival in your life of

hunger for God through prayer that says you know what,

I'm just gonna keep praying and I'm not gonna stop praying,

and I'm not gonna pray to survive. I'm gonna pray

to thrive. I'm gonna pray that it overcomes.

God.

Empty your capacity into me and give me as much

as I can handle. God, I want you arrest.

God doesn't drive that you drive that.

He'll give you as much as you want of Him

in your life through prayer.

But it's up to you whether you're going to make

time or not.

I want to read a scripture to you, and we'll

launch with the remainder of our time. Five quick points

about what prayer is. Because all the revivals that we

would ever talk about, public revivals or personal revivals start

in prayer. Nothing is going to exceed your prayer life.

It just won't happen.

And so here we are now in the book of Nehemiah,

and here's the guy that's praying for revival outward as

well as inward. Because it goes like this that Hannah

and I, one of the Jews, came with the men

of Judea, and I asked them concerning the Jews who

had escaped, who had survived the captivity in coming to Jerusalem, saying,

I want to just get a scope of what's going

on in the world, what's going on in our homes,

our families, and now the information will come to him.

Then they said to me, the survivors who left from

the captivity and the providence, they're in great distress, and

reproach a lot of people in great distress. There's a

lot of shame in their lives. The walls of Jerusalem

now he's literally talking about the fortress that surrounded Jerusalem.

They were broken down, and there's a lot of things

broken down in this world, and its gates are burned

with fire.

But he goes on.

He says, after I heard the devastation, the bad news

and the predicament, here's what I did about it. So

it was when I heard these words that I sat

down and I wept and I mourned. That's where prayers

got to start. I feel it, man, I feel it.

I kind of am starting to have the heart of

God as to how he sees mankind and whether it's

really directed toward me or indirected toward the people around

me that are suffering in heart and feeling heartache and heaviness.

I'm starting to feel it. So he identified what's going on.

He sat down, and some things I love that. Some

things are never going to happen when you're busy. You

got to sit down. You got to just sit.

Down now and let God talk to you now.

And he says, I mourn for many days, and I

was fasting and noticed this keyword, and I prayed before

the God of Heaven. Then God is going to give

him an assignment, and he's going to give him an

answer to how to rebuild these walls and make the

city of Jerusalem or the people safe again.

That's what God is going to do for us.

So here are five things very quickly that I think

happened to Nea Myles's life that can happen in our lives.

And this is the benefit of prayer. Prayer is to

bring the presence of God into our lives, and for

us not just to want his presence. Many people just

want the gifts of God. They want the things of God,

they want.

The stuffs of God.

And it's okay again to pray emergency prayers. God is

so much bigger than emergency prayers. He wants to know

everything that concerns you, every jot and every tittle, not

only your failures. He wants to hear about your successes.

And he wants you to invite Him into your life,

acknowledge who he is, gain his attention.

God. I want your attention in my life.

God, I want your authority in my life. I want

your presence. I just don't want your hand of blessings.

I want your face. I want to get to know

you God in my life. You want His presence in

your life. Now there will be a thing on the screen.

It'll show you twelve benefits of prayer that could take

place in your life.

But I'm going to point out number three.

When they go on the screen of these twelve things,

it says this in Jude one twenty. It's number three

building up yourself. The thing that I love so much

about prayer because prayer is like a Swiss army knife.

It is just useful in all areas of your life.

Jesus prayed often. That's why the disciples came to him.

When they saw all the miracles he did, the healings

he did, the signs and wonders, they wanted to know

his secret sauce. And Jesus said, my secret sauce is prayer.

That's my secret sauce to doing everything. So that's why

they come to him, and they say, Lord, teach us

how to pray like you pray, because we want the

results that you want that you get. So there are

three things they saw, amongst other things, of what prayer

brought into Jesus's life. They recognize that Jesus prayed before

he chose the Twelve Disciples. Do you pray before you

have to make major choices and decisions in your life?

When someone asked you on a date, do you pray

about it? When someone asked you to be engaged.

Or get married? Do you pray about you?

Oh?

Shoot, no, look at the size of that diamond.

Man.

Look at all fine they they are. Man, look at

what they drive.

I'll pray the blessing at the altar and ask him

to bless us. But we often have reaped the results

of not acknowledging God and asking him to come.

Into our lives.

So Jesus prayed before he made major decisions. Second thing,

he was under mental anguish. Today our people are under

mental and emotional anguish. Jesus was in the garden of Yosemite.

He was under such stress that the Bible says that his.

Sweat turned into blood.

It's scientifically and medically stated that you could be under

that level of stress. So when you're under mental and

emotional anguish, that's a great time to pray. And the

third thing is when you have a broken heart. He

was broken hearted over his cousin John the Baptist when

he was murdered by Herod. And the first thing Jesus

does is show his humanity, but he shows us his

dependence upon God. And he's saying, I don't know that

I can make it. I don't know if I'm ready

to do another healing or a miracle or preach another

message until I get with my God, and my God

heals my broken heart. So prayer is like a Swiss

army knife that we bring into our lives. And so

we want the presence of God in our lives. We

need the presence of God in our lives. We think

that we need a celebrity's presence in our lives. We

think we need a SuperStar's presence in our lives. We

think we need a financial mogul presence in our lives.

But we need Jesus's presence in our lives. Have you

ever have you ever been in awed over the presence

of someone? Have you ever wished I wish I could

meet them? It would be like a bucket list to

be a dream. Who would be your wishless to meet?

Come on, you're in church. You can't lie town be

honest with me. Huh show Hey, I mean the Dodgers

and Yoshi the picture that.

Mookie. I don't know. Who do you want to meet? Beyonce?

Come on, give it up. What do you want to

Who do you want to meet? Let me talk to

you about Yeah, I heard somebody say something. But here's

the reality. Many many years ago, when we were at

our other property, Holly Berry was in our church service

and she sat like in the second row, and like

I was very small, like this, and I was preaching here,

and I said, Oh my God, Hi, I would like that, said,

how many years have you been, Pastor? I was acting

stupid in the presence of Holly Berry? Why because I

was just so odd, whether it was her beauty or

her reputation.

Would I be like that in the presence of God?

Where I go ahead? Who are you and what do

you do?

It's amazing how we can be awed by the presence

of a human but can be awed by the presence

of our creator, and yet the Creator invites us every day.

You don't need to make an appointment, you don't need

to make a reservation, you don't need to go through anybody.

Just come boldly into the throne room of grace and

ask me what.

You have need of and what you have help of,

and I'm going to help you.

The second thing is we see passion, prayer, burst, passion,

your love for God, your enthusiasm for God, your desire for.

God, your delight in God.

And I'd rather you be honest to say, you know what,

I don't know that I desire God.

I don't know that I delight in God.

I think my relationship with God it feels like more

like a duty, in a drudgery and like man, I

have to go to church, I have to pray, I

have to read my Bible, I have to forgive that person.

But when you start praying, it moves from this I

have to, I want to, and I get to, and

God begins to change the hardness of our hearts, and

he begins it deals with the issues of struggles that we.

Have in these areas.

And so now all of a sudden, I begin to

have a passion for Christ.

When I didn't have a passion for Christ.

Now, how many of you are really Again, you're in church,

so you have to tell the truth. How many of

you are really excited over the Dodgers winning?

Yeah, I don't care.

I'm looking out and I see some of you are

wearing merch of the Dodgers. Are you ashamed of wearing

your merch today? No?

The other day a Dodger.

Game went eighteen innings, six hours and thirty nine minutes.

I'm not going to ask you how many of you

watched that six hour and thirty nine minute game.

I was asleep for four hours when that thing ended.

The reality is, it's.

Amazing that you have time for what you have passion for.

When was the last time you gave God six hours

and thirty five minutes in a day, let alone a week,

let alone a month, let alone a year.

You proudly wearing the blue and white today? Would you

proudly carry a Bible to work?

Would you proudly in a restaurant hold your family's hand

and pray God's blessings over that? Would you ever wear

a Jesus' shirt in any way? Why are we ashamed

of the gospel, But we're not ashamed of the things

that we are passionate about. Our priorities have gotten misconstrued,

and God can give us a passion or all of

a sudden, I'm unashamed.

I don't care who sees me, love me, hate me,

reject me, like me. It doesn't matter.

I'm here to please one person, and it's him. And

so I want us to believe God that God will

give us a passion, because here's what passion begins to

look like when it's birthed in you. The passion is this.

I will start saying more yes is to Jesus than knows.

I will start saying more I wills, Then I won't,

that's not I want. I will start saying I can

rather than I can't. You'll start saying I do versus

I don't. You'll start saying right now versus not now,

and you'll start saying Jesus always rather than never. The

second thing, the third thing, excuse me, prayer brings a

level of purity into our lives.

When you start.

Praying, it's amazing how you'll start cleaning up your life.

How many of you wash every day, take a bath

every day, clean yourself every day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for doing

that some of us.

I met people who say I shower twice a day.

I shower three times a day. But we neglect our

personal lives because all of us have a fallen nature.

It's called our flesh.

Unless we keep that under subjection to the things of God,

it will raise and resurrect and it will start dominating you.

You are two thirds of a natural being. You are

only one third of a spiritual being. You have a body,

you have a natural mind, and you have a spirit.

And I want you to know it'll be two against

one God. I want to get up and pray.

God.

I want to talk to my spouse, right God, I

don't want to be so mean, But when you get

your flesh and your mind.

Together, they will override your spirit.

That's why Jesus said, the spirit is willing, but the

flesh is weak. And so where do I purify myself?

If I could go not go a day without bathing,

shouldn't I not go that time without seeking the Lord

and asking God to heal me, forgive me, deliver me

when I am convicted? Because every believer to some degree

is convicted or corrected or chasing whatever terminologs you want

to use when you do wrong. When that happens, what

do you do with it?

What do you do with it?

When I'm sensing oops, dang, I missed it. That's part

of what we're talking about. When prayer begins to purify you.

Are there any Trekkies in this building today? Star Trekies?

There's a terment only one of one of you. But

the reality is is in Star Trek they have something

called defense shields that when the enemy is approaching, they

say shields up. And you've got to recognize when the

enemy's coming at you. To bring out the worst in you,

or to draw a negative emotion out of you, you.

Got to say shields up.

And your shields up is dependent upon your prayer life

to protect you, to watch over you, and to keep

you during those moments.

So it's amazing that through prayer we could begin.

To purify ourselves and that God will use us to

be delivered.

In that area.

If you want to know a little bit about Diego,

Diego can't wear a white shirt. I don't care if

it's a dress shirt or anything. Stains always attract to Diego.

I could be at a nice restaurant and have a

bib around me and inevitably that sauce misses the bib

and falls on my white shirt, and then inevitably I

got to throw away that white shirt. Well, the reality

was is I ran across this little product called shout

it Out, and all I have to do is like

spray it twice, wash it and it gets cleaned.

And that's what prayer will do.

It's just shouted out in your life that can cleanse

you and wash you and purify you from a language,

a way of talking, an attitude, or an action in

your life. It will begin to purify you. One of

the greatest successes of my personal life or where I

am today is because of prayer.

Because I drag this flesh.

Into the presence of God. I don't know about your flesh.

My flesh fights me to pray. He doesn't want to

do anything godly. He's like a little child throwing a tantrum.

He kicks and he screams, and he says, I'm gonna

you can't treat me that way, you can't do me

that way. And so I know the nature of my flesh,

and I've got to drag him every morning the presence

of God, and I've got to pray and ask God

to destroy those fleshling natures within me, to bring a

level of in my life that now is resistant. All

the men in my life were failures. They were whorees.

They couldn't stay with one woman. That generational curse was

broken with diego to be with one woman for forty

two years. I can't take any credit for that. I'm

a man that is just like any other man who

came from a fallen curse, who's probably more vulnerable than

maybe some other people. And I can remember be married

to Cindy for six months and then I got that itch.

And I don't know if anybody knows what an itch is,

but I started itching a little bit, and I could

feel that thing, and I had to take.

Authority over that in.

Prayer and say I'm born again, I'm a Christian, I'm

a christ follower. That thing is dead in my flesh.

God purged that thing out of me in the name

of Jesus. I'm not gonna talk to girls that way.

I'm not going to look at girls. I'm not gonna

flirt at girls that way. God help me, and God

help me.

The fourth thing, and we're moving very quickly, is that

prayer is a press.

It's a press in our.

Lives because we could easily be overtaken. There's a press

of downloads that could take place in your life, alerts

that could take place, notifications that could take place in

your life. Again, talking about lovely Cindy, she always has

her phone on and it kind of bugs me all

the time because I was.

Here, beat beat, beat, beat beat.

Put that thing on silence. See, but if you ever

wanted to get hold of me, I don't know. I

can't hear you. I turned it on silent mode.

See. We often do that to God.

We turn him on silent mode so that he starts

he wants to warn you about something's gonna happen on

your job a week from today, but you won't take

the alert because you put him on SILENTCE again notify you,

just like you're watching TV and you're hear.

This eh and and flood coming to San Bernardino County.

If you live in a resident a rarified me where

and if God wanted to come to you danger danger danger.

Warning, warning warning, how would he do it?

Then when it happens, you come back and say, wait

a minute, wait a minute, My alert and notification was

on silent. Because I can remember a week ago feeling something.

I can remember a month ago sensing something. I can

remember yesterday a thought passed my mind and maybe God

was trying to tell me, you need to pray.

You need to pray, You need to pray, you need

to pray, but I didn't do it.

God makes you look good when you pray, because God

will bring notifications. He loves you that much to say.

I want to talk to you about your future. Some

things we will avoid, some things we can avoid, but

I'll give you the strength to make it through so

you don't have to walk around so dazed and confused.

I'll help you through it.

And the last thing is is that prayer is a place.

Jesus often prayed in a certain place. Do I believe

that you could pray in the shower, yes? Do I

believe you could pray while doing the dishes, yes? Do

I pray believe that you could pray while driving the car?

Yes? But here's what I know. That's not really quality prayer.

And the reality is is that at least me, I

could be easily distracted when I'm doing two things, and

I think Jesus needs quality time undivided, a time where

he captivates, captivates my whole attention. And so I'm going

to challenge you wherever you at and your level of faith,

just add five minutes to your prayer.

Add five.

So if you have zero, then you're just adding five.

You're just praying five minutes every day. If you're praying

five minutes and you're just adding five, and if you're

a mature Christian, then.

I'm gonna tell you to double down.

And any poker people here, don't act like you've never

been to Vegas and poker. You double down, and I'm

gonna ask you to double down sometimes. Whatever that looks like.

You pray ten minutes, you're playing twenty. Now pray thirty.

You pray an hour. Every once in a while.

You need to double down.

See, I want you to recognize this place is a

sacred place.

It's a holy place. It's a righteous place.

It's your place of therapy. It's your appointment with God.

Say God right now, before I answer an email, before

I talked to anybody, God, this is my I'm gonna

give you my first in the morning.

I'm gonna give you my first energy.

Whatever that looks like in your work day, in your

worst schedule, it's just the moment you get up. God

get your undivided attention, and then you prepare and for Diego.

He's got background worship music going. He's got a pin

in a paper next to him in case.

God wants to say anything to journal.

And then he's got his Bible open, so there's preparation

to hear from God.

There's a place in a location.

My wife can find me in the morning because I'm

in the same place every time. It's either four o'clock

or five o'clock. That's where Diego and he is in

that seat right there in that living room praying. When

I had cancer, it would be in my backyard at

that bench. When my boys were growing up, it'd be

in my office. Susanna Wesley that birthed the Wesleyan movement

with Charles and John Wesley had ten children.

She had a busy line because she taught her children.

When you see mama's apron and I put it over

my head, that means I'm talking to Jesus. Don't interrupt

me while the apron is over me. Every superhero has

his secret hiding place. Clark Kent has to find his

phone booth to turn into Superman. Where's your phone? He

has to find his fortress of rests of solitude that

no matter how much he's a superman, he can't be

a superman to the world. He's got to go and

he's got a replenish. He's got to reflet, refresh himself.

He's got to disconnect, so he knows where to go.

It's a place and God will meet you in that place.

Now here's this spiritual gymnasium homework. It's gonna make some

of you very uncomfortable, but you're gonna do it and

you'll be fine. And the people outside in the courtyard,

I want you to participate, but I'm.

Gonna ask you.

We're gonna put a time clock on the screen, and

you're gonna get in groups of two threes and fours.

You're not gonna get in groups of five, sixes.

And sevens because there'll not be enough time to pray

or give every person an opportunity to pray. And if

you've never done anything like this, I promise you it'll

stretch you. We're gonna we're gonna put some We're gonna

put some some weight on that bar and you're going

to bench press it. But when you get out of

this church, you're going to be able to take on

the world and offer prayer and not be so intimidated

because you remember you did it in church. And you

can ask any person any of these questions, or that's

how you.

Can pray for one another. If you just ask somebody

do you have a need?

They'll tell you yes or no, and you pray for that,

or you pray your favorite scripture over somebody. I'm asking

you to stay to the end because then I'm going to

pray over you, and then I'm gonna invite people to Jesus.

You can do this.

Your prayer might make the difference in someone's life this week.

I want you to stand on your feet now and

I want you to find in groups of two threes

and fours, and I want you to pray for one

another with some of these questions that are on and

I want you to pray with them.

Now, let's get in the little group and pray for

one another.

Pray for people's hurts, their pains, their struggles. They're miracles,

they're wants, their needs. Pray for someone the way you

would want them to pray for you. Don't walk out

of this church. Take advantage of this moment. Now, pray

and invoke God.

This syst the breed, this sis the breed. Don't prey.

This is.

This is potily bread, This is not anything.

No man so s.

Adust behind lost. This is the this sis decisly theres sis,

not t spoke, notcast across abovespa.

You don't like.

How us before us?

All right, I'm so proud of you. How did that feel?

It's good to work off our faith, it's good to

practice what we believe.

Now I'm going to say a corporate prayer for us.

Now, I'm going to get in a posture, because prayer

is a place, but it's a posture. It's a posture

of humility, surrender, and a posture of.

Faith to believe God.

But every night, this is the posture that Diego takes,

and he's been.

Doing it for many, many years.

He goes like this, and he gets next to his

bed before he goes to sleep, and he bows.

And God, Now we bow before you today.

To a place of reverence and awe and fear in

honor of You, Oh God, forgive us of our idolatry

to worship something more than You, O God. Forgive us God,

of our complacency and our apathy and our lethargicnessness as Christians,

O God, whereb we been ashamed of our belief in You,

Oh God, Make us bolder and strong. God, God, help

us help our families. God help our bodies that are broken,

our hearts, God, our nervousness, our anxiousness, our worries, our

greatest fears, Oh God, we surrender them to You, O God.

We give you our best, our careers, our job, our fame,

our fortune, our money, our opportunities, our gifts, our talents.

We lay them before you. God.

Bless our children and our grandchildren in this world, Oh God,

watch over our babies, Oh God.

Father, that the world and the enemy.

Wants them God so desperately, keep them from herd harm

and damage.

O God. Let them grow up with a strong identity

and who You've created them to be. O God, Let

them not be god mentally ill.

In any form or fashion, suicidal, depressed. Oh God, help

our babies in their careers and their callings and their choices.

Help them to date, write, and marry right. Oh God.

We pray Father, for our marriages to be whole and strong.

We pray for a generation of men that will lead

and cover their families in prayer. Oh God.

We pray for our nation, but we pray for California. God.

We pray for our leadership to be ripeous, holy, Oh God,

to make godly choices and godly decisions.

Oh God.

We revive the prayers God that were once prayed from

all the way God, from San Francisco, all the way

to San Diego, to Santa Barbara.

To the City of Angels. Oh God, that this state

was once.

Dedicated to You, we rededicated unto You, Oh God, that

there is a movement of holiness where people are turning

to You like never before. Wanting to come to church,

wanting to know who God is, Oh God, and want

to honor you, Oh God. We pray godly success over people. God,

that you will open doors.

That no man can open. O God, I pray now

the blessings of the Lord over people today, Oh God.

May they operate in a level of peace that they

have never had before. May they operate in a present

of joy that they've never had before. May they operate

in comfort, protection, provision, divine favor increase in their lives.

O God.

We pray that no weapon formed against them will prosper.

In every lie of the devil that comes against them

will not come to pass. In the name of Jesus,

we pray for divine protection against all forms of witchcraft, curses, hexes,

and potions, in anything demonic.

In the spiritual world. We remind the enemy that he

is bound.

Rebuke, rendered helpless, hopeless and ineffective. We bind principalities, powers, rulers,

and darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness and high places.

And we tell the the devil we will not be intimidated.

Because of God before us, who can be against us,

and no evil shall befall us.

Neither shall any flake come ny thy dwelling.

I thank you today, Oh God, ignite and birth prayer

in every person now, and I pray every.

Day they have to spend time with you in Jesus' name. Amen.

As we get.

Ready to leave this church, I'm gonna ask them nobody moved.

And the reality is is this.

We are one germ, one virus, one accident or miss

up away from Heaven's gate or Hell's doors. I pray

that everybody in this room live to be another one

hundred years, but that should not be granted.

But I just simply want you to be ready. I'm

not trying to.

Put doom and gloom before you, and I'm not trying

to put fear in front of you. But we never know,

and you don't have to fear dye if you know, oh,

where you're going.

But if you don't know where you're.

Going, there's a lot of uncertainty and mystery and fear

around it.

Though we all want.

To live forever, we've got to realize that we are

eternal beings.

As Christians.

The Bible tells us we're pilgrims, we're souljournals were temporary residents,

just passing through and the Bible says that your life

and my life is a breath.

Watch this. That was one hundred year, that was another

one hundred year, that was another year. It's a blinking

of eye. Lived a hundred year, lived another, und you

lived one hundred year. It's one drop of rain taking

place is your life.

But eternity is forever and forever and forever and forever,

and you will either spend it in the presence of

God or outside of the.

Presence of God.

And how you live has nothing to do with your

eternal destination.

Only one decision. Who is Jesus to me?

Is he my say and the supreme Lord of my life,

the one that died for my sins and I've asked

him to forgive me and now I follow him?

Or is he just a moral teacher.

He's on the same level as Buddha, He's on the

same level as Mohammad. He's on the same level of

Hinduism Hadi Krishna. But he's the only one that was

raised from the dead and told the world that he

would be raised. He's the only person that five hundred

witnesses saw him after his death. He is who he

said he is and today I want you to get

to know him. Would you just say this simple prayer

with me, Say, dear Lord Jesus, I commit my life

to you.

I can pretend with everybody.

Else, but you're the God that knew me when I

was in my mother's womb. I ask you to forgive

me of my sins and to give me eternal life.

And I ask you to be my lord. From this

moment forward, I will live for Jesus. I am forgiven

and Heaven is my home in Jesus' name. Amen, Pastor Aaron,

would you dismiss us?

Hallelujah.

Let's celebrate what Jesus accomplished through his word, through his service.

Where you blessed today?

Halleluijo.

But hey, if you just gave your life to Christ Patrio,

we want to walk alongside you. Here's a resource you

can pull out your smartphone and put www dot grow

dot Faith. We want to put a book in your

hand by our founding pastor that just talks about next

steps and your faith journey.

And speaking of next steps, here's a challenge.

Come to church for the.

Next fifty two sundays. See what God will do in

your life and was the prayer practice. Good for you guys.

That was wonderful.

I want to remind us all that every Friday at

seven pm, we have Friday Night Prayer with Pastor Diego

on our YouTube channel. Tune into that. I remember when

I came to church, this church fifteen years ago, I

did not know how to pray. Thank God, there's seasoned

saints in this church that know how to pray.

And I learn more how to pray by.

Watching others pray in developing my language with God. We

also have Saturday prayer at four pm every Saturday in

our gym. If any specific prayer, we'll have our elder's

dc is in prayer team at the altar right here.

I'll pray generally and then you'll be dismissed. Heavenly Father,

thank you for what you've accomplished. Give us the courage

to continue practicing prayer. Surround us with community that we

can prayer with. Thank You, that you hear us and

that you're for us. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen, God,

bless you.

You're dismissed. Thank you,