God Is With Us - Let's Rise And Build!

Father, I thank you, God, with all of my heart for your presence. As Moses once said, Lord, if you don't go with us, there's no point in going forward. But God, thank you that you have chosen for almost 33 years now to walk with this church. You've kept us, my God. You've journeyed with us. Your presence has always been here in the sanctuary. Even when we're not here, there's a lingering presence of the Holy Spirit here. Thank you for your grace, your goodness. You brought us through flood, fire, trial, every difficulty, Lord. God, you have been so faithful. Thank you, Lord, that you choose us not because we're wise, not because we're skilled, but God, as your word declares, you choose the weak and the foolish things of this world to confound those things that stand in their own strength and their own wisdom. One more time today, speak to our hearts. One more time, Lord, take this frail vessel and pour your life-giving word through it. I pray, God, for the grace to hide behind the cross, to literally disappear, that you may appear before your people. Speak to every heart, every situation, Lord. My voice can only say one thing at one time, but there's no limits to your voice. You can go into every need, every heart, every situation that's here today and online, and God, you can meet and answer those questions. So Father, we thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Now, if you'll find the book of Ezra, if you have your Bible with you or if you have any kind of device that has the word of God on it, the book of Ezra, and I'm going to be using the New King James version this morning if you're looking for one that has the same words that I'll be using. I have a word that God's put on my heart, and here's what it's entitled. God is with us, let's rise and build. God is with us, let's rise and build. Praise God. Instead of trying to pretend you know where the book of Ezra is, just go to the index, please, in your Bible. It'll give you a page number, it makes it a lot easier to find. Well, pride is a terrible thing, isn't it? Ezra chapter one, it's between 2 Chronicles and Nehemiah, if that helps somebody here today. Ezra chapter one. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. Now who stirred him up? He's a Medo-Persian king, he's not a partaker of the Jews' religion. He can appreciate it even though he's not a partaker of it, but the Lord stirred up the spirit of this world leader at this time, Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth, the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is among you of all his people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel. He is God, which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem. Then the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem. And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods. And Cyrus, king of Persia, brought them out by the hand of Midrathath, the treasurer, and counted them out to Shezbazar, the prince of Judah. This is the number of them, 30 gold platters, 1,000 silver platters, 29 knives, 30 gold basins, 410 silver basins of a similar kind, and 1,000 other articles. All the articles of gold and silver were 5,400. All these, Shezbazar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem. Chapter 2, verse 1. Now, these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city. Well, let me just set the scene for this particular moment in history. People of God had been called of God to be a blessing in the earth. They had been called to a specific place on the earth, the nation we now call Israel, to a particular city, Jerusalem. In this place, the glory of God dwelt in the temple. We know these things from history, from the witness of the text of scripture. The people of God were to be special people, empowered by God, gifted by God, touched by God, changed by God, given giftings and abilities that only God could give them, and they were to be a praise and a testimony to Him in the earth. Now, that's similar to the... Actually, it's exactly the same as the calling that is on your life and on mine as part of the church of Jesus Christ in our generation. But the people of that time dealt very casually with their calling. They didn't really take it seriously. And they began to do other things, and the service or worship of God began to be maybe a matter of convenience. And the worship and the temple attendance began to take on forms that God never intended it to. And the purpose that God had ordained for them as the people of God, like sand, just slipped through their fingers into the ground. And suddenly, they found themselves powerless as an enemy surrounded them called Babylon, took captive in three stages the people of God, and brought them into a foreign land for 70 years. Seventy years they were in captivity. Seventy years they were in a place they ought not to have been. It can happen. It happens throughout history. Happens to churches. Happens to believers. Happens to families. It happens. We end up in a place that we're not destined to be there. That was not God's plan. It wasn't God's purpose for us to be there. It was a time of chastening. It was a time of maybe reconsidering what their calling was supposed to have been, at least in the earth. And then suddenly, revival comes. Revival. Now, let me define revival. Revival, first of all, is God's initiative. It's something that God determines in his heart to do. He'd already predetermined that he would let the enemies of God's people captivate them for 70 years, and he'd already spoken through the mouth of Daniel the prophet at the time when they were taken into captivity that at the end of 70 years, God would visit them and bring them home. There are promises in the word of God, my brother and my sister. I say it's time to get into the word of God. It's time to know the promises of God because there are promises in this book that deal specifically for you, for me, even for this time that we're now living in, and you and I have to know these promises. We've got to know what the word of God says. Revival is God saying, the enemy has had my people in his grip long enough. I'm going to bring them home. And he stirs the heart of a king who's not a believer as they were, not of another nation, Medo-Persia, but God stirs him. God stirs his heart. As a matter of fact, God named him before he was born. The book of Isaiah said, my servant Cyrus is going to... He called him by name, long before Cyrus was even born, let alone ended up ruling a good part of the world of his time. And God stirred his heart to let the people go home and to let them rebuild the testimony that had fallen through their fingers in their generation. Now, revival usually happens in response to a cry among some, at least, of God's people. Maybe not all, some probably were quite content. Maybe they've gotten themselves a fairly good life in Babylon. They're living in mixture. They've lost their purpose, and maybe some don't care. But there's always that voice. There's always that person. Maybe it's not a public figure, can be a person like you or me who's just in your own house, your own apartment, and you're sighing in your heart. You're saying, God, it's not right the way things are today. It's not right the way your people are being treated. It's not right that you're not known, Jesus. You're not revered. You're not loved. Your word is being cast into the streets as if it's something evil. It's simply not right. The prophet Habakkuk in chapter 3, verse 2, he says, Oh, Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In your wrath, remember mercy. I don't know about you, but that cry has been in my heart since I was in my 20s. Oh, God, oh, God. When I think of what the nation could be, if people's hearts opened again to who you are, why you went to a cross, what eternity can look like. You know, we sing that song this morning, meet me. Everybody's going to be happy over there. But people who don't come to Christ, I'll tell you, they're not going to be happy for eternity. Hell is very real. It's a very, very real place. And I don't think our minds or vocabulary have enough words or anything close to describing the agony that's of eternity in a place where God is not. There's no way you and I can fully even comprehend that. Revival or spiritual awakening comes suddenly. It's unanticipated, it's unusual, and it begs a response. Comes when we don't expect it. And sometimes you look out throughout history, and quite often, spiritual awakening happens when the country seems to be at its worst. The behavior's at its worst. Think of the great revivals that have struck the nation of England. And if you look at the history, it's a time when people are, there's people drunk and fornicating in the streets all throughout the cities at the time. They say the moral temperature couldn't have gone any lower. But suddenly, the spirit of God starts to move among the people. Praise be to God. So it's sudden, it's not anticipated. You see, because it's not a work of man. It's not something that happens because a committee gets together and decides, look, we're going to rent a stadium, we're going to have a big event, and God's going to come. No, that's human effort trying to procure revival. And I'm all for anything that people can do to glorify God. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. But true spiritual awakening is God-initiated, not man-initiated. It's God-initiated. And it does not require a plan on our part. It requires a response. Ezra chapter 1, verse 3, well, first of all, in verse 1, it says, the Lord stirs the heart of a king. Can you imagine being there at that time? You're captivated. Your rulers are ungodly. You're in a place where they've gloated, oh, you're the people of God, are you? What are you doing here? Have you ever heard that in your workplace or your neighborhood or whatever the situation is? And then suddenly, word comes, the king has issued a decree that God, the God he doesn't serve, has ordered him to build a house in Jerusalem. In verse 3, he issues a decree in writing and says, who is among you of all his people? In other words, who is for him? Who in this kingdom actually belongs to him? Who's part of his grand purpose in the earth? Who desires to live a life that brings glory to his name? Who, like David, the young king, when he came walking into the camp of Israel when they faced the Philistines, who's concerned about the honor of God? Who wants their life to be what God has destined it to be? Who is left of the people of God? Don't forget it had been 70 years of this mixture and this captivity. Now, Cyrus says, may his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel. He is God, which is in Jerusalem. So it begs a response. Spiritual awakening begs a response. A call, a cry goes out. The rebuilding is starting. God is on the move again. God is going to do for his people and through his people what only God can do. So who belongs to him? And who is concerned that he's asking us to recapture, regain what was lost through neglect and negligence? And verse 4 says, and whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold and goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem. And so Cyrus is saying, if there are people here who can't go for whatever reason, maybe you just don't have the strength for the journey, maybe you're too old, maybe whatever the situation is, but everybody should do something. This is coming from Cyrus, a Medo-Persian king. People should get up and go to rebuild and everybody who's part of the family of God should help them in whatever way they can. Everybody needs to do something in this rebuilding of the testimony of the glory of God in the earth. And then it goes even deeper than this. This is the phenomenal thing. It says, King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put them in the temple of his gods. In other words, everything that God had given the pattern to King David who had given it to his son Solomon who had fashioned all of these instruments that were necessary for the sacrifices that would go on in the temple, instruments that were necessary in the worship of God, in the cleansing of God's people, all the things that were part of the religion of that time. Now, the people would assume that they'd all been lost and the devil would love to have them believe so and they can never be regained. But contrary to that, you see, nothing of God is ever lost. It's in storage. The numbers of them are counted. There are 5,400 instruments necessary in the worship of God in the temple. And all of these... Can you imagine being among the people as all of these things are brought out of storage as it is? The Babylonians who have now been conquered by the Medo-Persians, either one of those kingdoms could have melted them down, made gold bars out of. They were made of gold, folks. They could have made currency out of it, but God is always in charge of everything. You say to me, where is the word of knowledge? It's in storage. Where are the gifts of healing? They're in storage. Where are the prophets? They're in storage. You see, nothing is lost. Nothing can be lost to the kingdom of God. And there are times and seasons throughout history where God says, bring out everything that was taken captive and give it back to the people of God. Hallelujah to the name of God. Glory to the name of Jesus. Glory, glory, glory, glory to the name of Jesus. Where is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? It's been in storage for a little while in some people's cases. Everything is coming out. Everything God makes available to his people once again. And says, who wants to rebuild? Who wants to go home? Who wants to glorify God in the earth? Who wants to see captivity taken captive one more time in this generation? Glory to God. I can just imagine being there in my heart. A psalmist wrote about it in Psalm 126. He said, when the Lord turned back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. We thought it was lost forever. We thought this dominant society, Babylon, then Medo-Persia, that was conquering the whole world with its new philosophies and new ways of doing things and thinking, considered themselves superior to the ways of God. We thought that our way of life was gone. It would never return to us. And then suddenly, the gates open. Suddenly, we realize the hand of God is moving again. And our captivity has indeed been taken captive. We were like those who dream. It was a dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. And then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. The psalmist says, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing his seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. In other words, our confidence in God, no matter where we are, no matter what kind of sorrow has hit our hearts, no matter how poverty-stricken we may feel, to do anything about the hour we're now living in. If we have that cry in our heart, even if it's a cry of tears and sorrow for the loss of our time, the psalmist says, you will come home, and you will be rejoicing, and you will bring a harvest in with you. You will not come alone. You'll bring a harvest. Praise be to God. Now here's where it gets really interesting for me as I was reading this. In chapter 2, verse 1 says, now these are the people of the province who came back from captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his own city. And then, so for the rest of chapter 2, you're going to see all these different houses, all these different families. For example, in verse 3, it says, the people of Parash, 2,172. Verse 6 says, 2,812. Verse 10, the people of Bani, 642. Verse 14, the people of Bigvi, 2,056. Verse 17, the people of Bezzi, 323. The people of Jorah, 112. Verse 21, the people of Bethlehem, 123. This is what this speaks to me. Not everybody is going to get up and rebuild. But in every town, in every city, in every state, in every place, there will be somebody. There will be somebody who gets up. There'll be some little towns. Oh, if God, if the United States of America were in this book of Ezra, if we could be part of this, I see it this way. Of the state of Florida, 7,644 got up to build. Of the state of New Jersey, 5,322 got up to build. And not just states, but little towns. Of these little towns, 600 got up, 400, 123, they rose up. Of all denominations, of all places, they were the people of God. They were the body of Christ. And they heard the decree of the king. They heard something in their spirit. God is with us. Let's rise up and build. And I tell you, in America today, whoever can hear, God is with us. Let's rise up and build. Of the Methodists, 6,000. Of the Baptists, 50,000. Of this group, of that group, of that town. And now, it comes down to you. Praise be to God. May it be written of this moment in history. Of the family of Conlon, 63 got up to build. Again, the testimony of God. Of the family of Pastor David Hamm, 127. Of the family of great Thomas, 156. May it be said of us, may it be said of us that we rose up to build in this generation. May it be said of us that we were able to really sing freedom in our spirit. No more shackles of Babylon, no more chains, no more duplicity, no more compromise, no more bondage, no more association with sin, no more wickedness before our eyes, no more crooked speech out of our mouths. We're rising up. We're going to build the testimony of God because God is with us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. In your family and in your house, in every one of these houses listed in the book of Ezra, somebody was the first one to speak. Somebody stood up in their house. Somebody said, I'm hearing something in my heart. I've heard it with my ears. I hear it in my spirit. God is calling us back to the place where we once were. God is calling us to a place where we worship him again in spirit and in truth. God is calling us all to a place where we as his people bring glory and honor to his name by becoming a people that only God could make us into, by doing things that only God could do through us, by carrying in our possession things that only God could give to us. Somebody, somebody, somebody stands up. You don't have to shout it in your dining room. You don't have to say it like I'm saying it to you right now. But somebody says, I believe God is calling us to rebuild the testimony of who he really is. And he's giving us back everything we need. We need the understanding of the cross. We need to understand what true worship is all about. It's not just about hitting the right tune and waving our hands in the air. It's about coming into the house of God, having been empowered by God that week to do something that glorifies his name, and coming in and lifting our hands and saying, God, thank you for what you did in my life. And thank you, God, for what you're going to do through me in the future. Thank you, Lord, that you're going to be faithful to my family. Thank you, God. You're going to bring all of those I love out of captivity. That is worship in spirit and in truth. It's not just coming in and listening to songs. God's going to give us back the understanding of these things, a hunger for his word, an ability to pray and to believe that when we cry, he hears. If you have the time, you read Psalm 107. It talks about four different categories of people, people who are rebellious, people who are indifferent, people who are taken captive because of their own foolishness. People who thought that money would bring them satisfaction. And all of these people run into trouble and the scripture says, then they cry and the Lord hears them and brings them out of their place of captivity and brings them into the place they've always desired to be. God has heard the cry. God has heard the cry in America of the single mother who doesn't know how she's going to keep her children living for God. God has heard the cry of the father who doesn't know how to be a father, but longs in his heart. God has heard the cry of the person who's sick and tired of the mixture of going to clubs on Friday night and trying to go to church on Sunday morning. God has heard the cry of the young person who says, I don't understand what commitment is, but oh God, I want to know what it is. And I want to walk in your way and in your truth. God has heard the cry of his people and he is with us. So we have to rise up and build now. That's the call of God that's on his church and on our lives. Nehemiah chapter two, verse 18. Here's what Nehemiah did. He said, I told them of the hand of my God, which had been good upon me. Also the King's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, let us rise up and build. And they set their hands to this good work. Now you say, who's going to listen to me in my house? I'm the least in my house. And you see, that's why God throughout history has taken people so that it gives us an example of what real spiritual authority looks like. Nehemiah is a butler. He's a butler to the King. Gets a report that his city is in reproach and his people are suffering. The burden of the Lord comes on him. He leaves with King's permission, goes into Jerusalem. And so here comes the butler. Now in Jerusalem, there are architects, I have no doubt. There are leaders, there are military people, there are skilled civic leaders. And suddenly this guy who's only claim to fame is he carried a tray to the King, shows up and he says, God's hand is on me. And the King has given me good words and told me this thing can be done. And the people said, let us rise up and build. You see, don't underestimate what God can do through you, even in your own home. Whether or not you're a person of high position or a person of low position, you've been successful or you've been a failure in your own sight. So I've heard something from God. And I believe that he's going to rebuild something of his testimony on this earth. And we are to be part of it. And the people said, let us rise up and build. And they set their hands to this good work. And so that's my altar call for you today. Who will be the voice in your house? And the people that you know, who is willing to say the hand of God is with me. I've heard the call of God. I've heard the words of the King. God is giving us a chance, once again, to build a testimony that will bring glory to his name on the earth. Just as the people of Ezra's day had to consider this word, so do you have to consider it today, too. Some, I suppose, said, nah, we've heard all this before. It amounts to nothing. Others might have said, well, just wait now. Don't you think it's odd? That in the midst of this captivity, that God has raised up a king, a leader, that whose heart is towards the work of God and the people of God? Don't you think maybe that God's giving us a window to do something that only he can do? The Bible says the hearts of kings are in the hands of God. Doesn't mean the king has to be a believer. The hearts of kings are in the hand of God. If we have a window, and we are wise, then we will rise up and begin to build. For the sake, Nehemiah told the people, he said, for the sake of your children, rise up and build. For the sake of your families, rise up and build. For the sake of the stranger, rise up and build. Watch what God will do. So, Father, I thank you, God, that I have given your people your word. This is a perilous moment in history. It's a dark moment in our nation. Our children are captivated. The ones that aren't killed in the womb are being radicalized and confused, even in school. And we recognize the peril of the moment we now live in. Our country is divided. Our culture is divided. Statesmanship seems to be no longer in existence. I pray, God, with all my heart, because the baton has now come and is in the hands of your people. Give us the grace, Lord, not to miss this moment in history. Give us the grace, like Daniel, to open the window towards Jerusalem and not close it like many others would have done. Give us the grace, Lord, to believe that you are still the God of the impossible. Give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear that which you have commissioned us to do in our generation. We don't know how, but we will know when we get there. You will show us. But for now, I pray, God, with all my heart, that you raise up a voice in every house. A voice in every house. Every house. Every house. Calling the least likely to rise up and join us and build the testimony of God in the earth once again. We thank you for the knowledge that you are already speaking to people's hearts, and we will not be bringing something new to them, but something that they already know. Thank you, Lord. May it be said of each of our houses, may the number in heaven be recorded of those of our house that rose up to build, those of every church, those of every small town in America, those of every city, those in government, those in education, those in every facet and form of life, every student in every school, that those of us who knew you, we heard the call and we rose up and we began to build. We ask you, Lord God Almighty, for the third great spiritual awakening, and perhaps the greatest of all that America has ever known. We ask you to fill every house of worship in every town and every city. We ask you to fill living rooms all over the place with worshipers of God. We ask, Lord, that our park benches become altars, even in New York City. We ask you, Lord, to push back the wave of darkness that would want to swallow the entire country and give us a moment of revival and refreshing that we may worship you again. We ask you, Lord, to bring our children out of captivity to false ideologies. We ask you, Lord, for courage for each of us, Lord, to take our place and do what we're called to do. Deliver us from the spirit of self-consumption and cowardice. Give us the courage to be the people of God. We ask you for ears to hear your voice. My God, help us to hear you. Help us, Lord, to turn off all the other voices and to hear above the whole noise of this generation, your voice calling us over the waves. Give us the grace of Peter, when you called him in the storm, to step out of the boat and walk towards you. Help us, Lord God, help us. Father, I thank you with all my heart. In Jesus' name. Praise God. Now, you know, some of you are here at this altar. You say, well, you know, where do I start? What do I do? Well, what you and I have to do is we go back to the pattern in the Bible. We're 120 people who are weak. They were just weak people like you and I. They had nothing really to offer. They had no power to stand against a society that was enraged actually against Christ. I mean, how could they stand against that? But they went into a place of prayer and they began to pray and they began just to talk to God from their hearts. And they waited until God gave them the strength they needed to do what they were called to do. And when God's Holy Spirit came and gave them that strength, they went out into the public and they began to declare the things that God was about to do. Now, you see 3,000 at least people coming by them from the temple. And that's part of that religious system that was so enraged it had just crucified Christ. A religious system that says we will not have this man to reign over us. He's a fraud. And suddenly they're so gripped by the testimony of a people who are declaring what God's about to do through their weakness. The 3,000 that day bent their knee. And then eventually the mighty army of Rome bent its knee as well to Christ. And so don't be taken aback by your own weakness. This is where we start. We just go into prayer and say, God, give me the power. Give me your words. Give me the grace. Give me the courage. Lead me. Lead me. And when you speak to my heart, help me to have the courage to say to others what you've been speaking to me. Help me not to hold it back or modify it or try to make it more palatable just to help me to say it. And when you do that, you begin to do these things. You watch what will happen. You watch the knees that will begin to bend before you. So, Father, I thank you personally, God, for the mighty army that you've gathered here at this altar and as well at Summit in North Jersey and in the Bronx and online in homes and living rooms. God, you're gathering an army again in this generation, not an army of the strong, but of the weak, an army of people like us who know that we need you. And without you, we don't go forward. But we're hearing you call us in our barrenness, in our weakness, in our trials and struggles. We're hearing you call us so that the testimony of your power might be rebuilt again in the earth in our time. And so, God, help us. Help us, Lord. Lead us. Guide us. We don't know what else to say. We're going to go back to the beginning and start there. Help us to love you with all our heart and our soul and our mind and our strength. Help us to love our neighbor as ourselves. God, help us to just do the first things first, and you'll guide us, Lord, and you'll give weight unto our lives and our voices. We believe this, Lord, with all of our heart. I pray for an anointing that can only come from heaven on every man, every woman that has responded at this altar and those who have responded in their hearts, Lord, in this church and online as well. I pray for the anointing of God. Lord, as you gave me in my youth, Lord, when I had no ability to speak, I didn't even care about people, Lord, but your Holy Spirit came on me and changed everything. And so, God Almighty, I pray for that spirit of prophecy to come upon the people. The people would see into the future. They would understand what you desire to do and begin to speak it without cowardice. God Almighty, bringing your name to glory again in our generation. Lord, give us words of knowledge again, Lord, for young people who just so desperately need to know that you are real, that you are alive. Give us the ability to see the troubles in their heart and speak directly to it. Give us the ability like Daniel had to untangle mysteries. Oh, God, people's situations, Lord, who don't think anybody knows but you know, Lord, and speak to situations in the workplace, marriages that are in trouble. Speak to people through us, Lord. God Almighty, give us the courage. Speak to us and give us the grace that we would let you speak through us. Help us, Lord, to begin to rebuild the testimony of who you are in our generation. My God, I pray for this baptism of strength to be given to every man, woman, every young person, Lord God, let us not be the same from this day forward. Let us be your people, a people to be wondered at, a people that bring glory as lights in the heavens. You told us where a city sat on a hill, we can't be hidden. So, my God, let it be the portion of your church and your people in this generation. Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that through us prison doors would open everywhere and people would be set free. Blinded eyes would see the way forward into eternity and life. I pray for wounded hearts everywhere to be healed, captives to be released, oh God. Through your church, my God, through your church, I pray, Lord, that our words would give strength to the poor, that they may understand that there is a God who loves them and will provide for them. God, thank you, Lord. God, thank you. Help us to be your church. Help us, Lord God. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.