Reconciliation and Unity Through Prayer

Thank you. My praise is a weapon It's for the sound Yes it is My praise is a shout I will share it all now Take a look at the mirror As long as I'm reading I've got a reason to pray This is how I know, how could I believe, that I saw the light of day, that I saw the day, that I saw the light of day. I praise God, because you're sovereign. I praise God, because you reign. I praise God, because you rose and defeated the grave. I praise God, because you're faithful. I praise God, because you're true. I praise God, because there's nobody greater than you. I praise God, because you're sovereign. I praise God, because you reign. I praise God, because you rose and defeated the grave. I praise God, because you're faithful. I praise God, because you're true. I praise God, because there's nobody greater than you. Alright guys, today we're going to teach you a new song, and we're just going to really focus on showing God how much we love Him, because He gave everything for us, so today, let's just give everything that we have to Him, because He is worthy of it, and He deserves it, so let's just pour our love on Him. Sometimes I'm full, sometimes I'm not. I'll bless your name, no matter what. If emptiness is all I've got, Jesus, it's yours. Oh, Jesus, it's yours. Oh, let this be my sacrifice, a yielded heart, clean and in try. No matter what this worship costs, Jesus, He's yours. Oh, Jesus, He's yours. I just love you. Oh, I just love you. It takes away the change, so here's my life, my heart's praise, Jesus is yours, I just love you. Just love you, just love you It cost me nothing and I high off spud This has been a mess. Just don't speak to me I just love, I just love, I just love Jesus, give me Jesus. You can have this world. You can have this world. So give me Jesus, give me Jesus This world, you can't have all this world I think you are my one and only Let's sing it out again, we say Cause I don't want anyone else And I don't need anything else Oh, cause you are my one and only I don't want anything, I don't need anything else. You are my one. Sing, sing I just love you. Cause I just love you. Yes we do God. I just love you. I just love you, we love you God I just love you, my Oh, I just love We don't want anything else but you God Oh, I just love Love you, love you God I just love you I just love you Cause I will not bring that which cost me nothing You give it Then I deserve, can I offer you a love that's burning? You let, oh let it arise today And I will not, that which I'll see Oh no I won't, oh I want you to give it more You laugh out of the bridge, so it's costing us a lot. You give your sweet innocence to your man, who can become... You love me, love me, I just love If you sing that one more time, we say, Cause I just love Let this be your heart cry this morning We love you I just love I love you Oh, I just love you Oh, I just love you Oh, I I just love you, yes we do, yes we do Oh, I just love you God, I just love you only I just love you Oh, we just love you so much, Lord. We just thank you. We praise you. We don't want anything else in this world but you. Nothing else will satisfy. No social media posts, no bank account balance, nothing will satisfy. but you, Lord. And Father, we thank you and we praise you. We honor you. We love you. Father, I just thank you so much. Today, we're going to be praying for Siberia and of course, Kosovo. Siberia has many difficulties. Within the church. A lot of religious groups. But of course they are not necessarily walking out their faith. So we're going to pray for revival. And for Kosovo. The Evangelical Church is very small growing. It started with 80 young men and women. 80 young men and women. And in 1998 it has now grown to over 2,000. But the challenge is they are not stepping out in their faith. Let us pray together. Dear Heavenly Father we just come to you. you, Father. We just give you praise. We praise you, Father, for these young men and women in Kosovo who are standing strong in their faith, but, Father, they are hesitating. They are hesitating to reach out, to share the gospel with their brothers, their sisters, their family, their loved ones, their friends, maybe even on social media. Father, I pray right now that, Father, you go before each one of them, that you stir within their hearts the message, Father, the things that, Father, they have this great thing in you, and, Father, let us share that gospel, Father, with those around us. And, Father, in Siberia, Father, just like Kosovo, let us be strong to be able to know how to walk out our faith. Father, we pray over those church leaders, the missions leaders, the business leaders, the country leaders in those areas, Father. We pray over them. Father, they create a space to allow your name to be known. Father, we thank you, and, Father, we praise you. And, Father, just like them, Father, I pray over every young man and woman whether young or old, Father, we thank you, Father, that you are with each one of us. Father, help us know how to walk out our faith. Help us to know what we can do, what we can share, how we can share, how we can encourage our brother and sister, how we can encourage those that do not know you to know you, to invite them in to relationship with you. Father, we thank you for your unconditional love, your mercy and grace. Father, we love you, we cherish you, we honor you. you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you so much. You can have a seat. Thank you, worship team. Thank you so much for all that they do. Please give a hand. Thank you, of course, and praise our worship team. Guys, I don't realize how much what you do every day, every week to prepare, to invite us and to be able to praise and worship our Heavenly Father. Thank you so much for what you do. Of course, hello, if you do not know me, my name is Professor Melody Gray-Block. I teach in the business department and I have the opportunity, thank you, thank you guys. I had the opportunity of course to pray with you doing announcements and of course introduce our amazing speaker today so I'm excited about that exactly exactly so just a couple quick announcements for you number one calling stock is happening this next Friday right calling stock Friday November 1st at 7 p.m. if you'd like to perform please scan the QRC code and fill out your there I don't know if we have that up here close but fill out your calling stock interest form everybody is invited, so grab your roommate and meet us in the front lawn for free food and entertainment. It's a great fun. You definitely want to do that. Kinesiology, if you desire to get a kinesiology program and have completed at least 30 hours, please contact Dr. Joseph Reed at jreed at nelson.edu to be included in the application process for November 2024. He does a great job with that. You definitely want to check it out. And of course, the well is happening this Friday night. Right, right, October 25th. The Well is a night where students from all majors, years, and backgrounds meet together to worship, pray, find community while pursuing Jesus. We are meeting at a new location this time, the Schaefer Auditorium. Doors open at 8 p.m. To find out more information, you can follow our Instagram at thewellnight. We can't wait to see you there. Very good. All right, that's all I have for you for that. So today, of course, we... We are in for a treat, for a treat. Our speaker today, of course, has a long list of accomplishments, awards, honors, quite frankly, too much to share. Check out the website. There's so much there to share. Of course, I want to be able to, of course, share that time and allow that time for him. However, I do want to share that he has traveled the world playing with multiple groups with multiple music genres. He is an outstanding musician, an excellent teacher. even receiving the Distinguished Faculty Award here at Nelson University. He's a valued friend to many. He's a trusted confidant, and he is truly a leader's leader. He currently serves as the Dean of Music and Communication Arts in a trombonist with the Grammy award-winning, world-renowned Duke Ellington Orchestra. He's a wonderful dad and G-paul. He's my best friend. He's my treasured husband. please stand to your feet help me welcome to the stage Dr. Tyrone Block La How many, how many of you guys know what song that was? It was not Amazing Grace. I guarantee you pretty much most of the faculty probably would know that song. It's called Have a Little Talk with Jesus. And I'll tell you more about that as we keep going. So first of all, I'm going to keep with tradition. Usually you guys do shout outs, so I will not venture away from shout outs. So the first thing I would like to do is thank my beautiful wife. We have been friends for a long time, probably longer than most of you guys have been living. So she is my best friend. I love her so much. And I told her, God made you just for me. So I love my wife so much. Also, I love my kids. One of my sons works here, Colin Block. He's with admissions and man, he's a cool cat, guys. If you don't know, he's very cool. And I love him. like to give a shout out to my daughter-in-law. Today is her birthday. So Josie, happy birthday. I think I have a picture of the next one. I also like to shout out my parents. This is Otis and out of block. And trust me, he was probably one of the wisest men I know. He is a person, and hopefully he doesn't mind me saying this, but my dad, my mom actually taught my dad how to read. And my dad only completed first grade, but he has gone on to be one of the most successful businessmen around. And my mom has stood by his side through it all. They've been married for 56 years. So I am truly, truly blessed. And I told people about the truck in the background. They said, oh, man, your dad's got a nice truck. I said, that's my mom's truck. So it's funny to see. see this little five foot one woman get out of this big giant truck but boy she just she just scoots around town and she's just like peaty pop though so I'm just like love you mama so those are my parents Otis and Ida Block um also like to shout out my music faculty music students you guys are super awesome and thank you for allowing me to serve uh serve you all these years like to shout out the best college guys don't get mad best college around college of music and communication arts Rock on, rock on. You guys are awesome. I'd also like to thank Dr. Truen, President Bridges, for this opportunity to speak to you. This will kind of be a continuation of what I spoke about last time, which was lament. I'm going to continue on this, and it allowed me the opportunity to, again, I will absolutely continue this kind of series, I believe, that the Lord has downloaded. to me. So let's get started. Wait a minute. I missed a picture. You guys should see my second love outside of God and my wife, but you have to see my grandbaby. That is Asher. And trust me, that's not the only pictures we have. We have so many pictures around the house of Asher. We are excited to be Gigi and G-Paul. so we enjoy having Asher with us and here's some good news for you guys I'm about to be a grandpa at the second time and Asher loves music so he plays on the piano and then once he gets to the low end of the piano he hit a low note and he goes gee Paul and I was like yeah that's that's me appreciate it I really just love this. So we need to get into this. I have a lot to try to download to you guys really in a very short period of time. So I'm just going to be as quick as I can. So I need your attention and I'm going to make sure I'm attentive to you. at the same time. So let's start, let's jump off into this. Romans 7, 21. I'm going to read from the Amplified Version. Why? Because I really kind of like the Amplified Version. It gives you just a little bit more. So I find it to be a law, rule of action of my being, that when I want to do good, evil is ever present within me, and I'm subject to its insistent demands. For I endorse and delight in the law of the Lord and my inmost self with my new name. nature, but I discern in my bodily members in the sensitive appetites in the wills of the flesh, a different law, rule of action, at war against the law of my mind, my reason, and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites in the wills of the flesh. In Ephesians 6 and 10, in conclusion, be strong in the Lord, be empowered through your union with him, draw your strength from him, that strength which his balance might provide. Put on God's whole armor. the armor of the heavy armed soldier which God supplies, that you may be able to stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil. So I want you to know that what I'm going to be speaking about speaking about today is close to my heart and prayer is foundational for us to achieve God's vision of what I believe reconciliation within a church. I know it's a subject that is not spoken about directly but indirectly it is and it's really important to me that we pray and it's important for me that us brothers and sisters are together in Christ. Christ. So let's pray. Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. Amen. So what I believe reconciliation is a spiritual battle. I believe God's great vision for his church is biblical reconciliation. By his great mercy and the gift. to us of his undeserved grace he reconciled us to himself is this better You know, I kind of like this. This lets me hear my voice a lot better. This is great. Awesome. This is why my son goes, G-Paul. So I believe God's great vision for his church is biblical reconciliation. By his great mercies and the gift to us of his undeserved grace, he reconciled us to himself and then called each of us to the ministry of reconciliation. His grand vision is for each of us to be so motivated by his love that we make it our mission to be one with every other believer in Jesus Christ. Amen. By this great love, unbelievers will be drawn to him. So what is this reconciliation? I believe there's several steps that go with it, and I'm going to try to go through these steps very quickly. The first one is acceptance. We have to accept that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are not perfect. No person is perfect. No race is perfect. No gender is perfect. No culture is perfect. No ethnicity is perfect. However, we are reconciled to God through Jesus. I think that we should lament. This is what I spoke about before. We're broken. We've had things done to us, and we've done things to others. But through Christ, all things are made new. Confession. admit when you have missed the mark. This is the hardest one for me. I miss it. I understand I miss it. I have to look at my wife sometimes and just go, I'm sorry I didn't take out the trash. I promise you I'll get to it. I'm not perfect, honey. I'm trying. But admit that you've missed it. Forgiveness, as in Matthew 6 and 12. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Repentance. What does that mean? To go in the other direction. Not what Jason Kidd said. Please hear me. Do not do what Jason Kidd said when he came to the Mavericks. I'm going to turn this team around 360 degrees. What? Okay, you get it. So we're not going to do that. We're going to go 180 in the other direction. I would like to offer one more thing. Prayer. The fuel by which we are truly reconciled to each other and to Christ. We must pray. Without it, nothing that honors God happens. It's like this story that I kind of, it's kind of a dream story for me. Imagine with me President Bridges. He's here. And we have potential students or donors or what have you are with him and he's going around. And he takes them to these grand facilities we have here in the Schaefer Center or over in the HCC. He takes them out to our new football field. Imagine with me, full stadium, full of fans, you know, really awesome happening. And he's so happy about it. And then after that, he takes them to our offices where the faculty are. And that's where we get all the things done for the university. And it's just amazing. wonderful environment. And then he takes them to our state-of-the-art classrooms. The latest tech. Everything we wanted. The learning process never ends. Ah, it makes me happy. And then, after he shows them all of this, he waits till Friday night and he takes them over to McCafferty Hall and the well is happening. But he stops. very short. He stops really short and he looks at all the constituents and he says, this is the fuel by which our university operates. It's through prayer. And he opens it up. He opens up and he sees faculty and students and staff, and they're all on their faces praying to God, just calling down the armies that this is how. we move. And that is a great vision. But one thing that we have to know, just as Paul talks about in Romans and Ephesians, that whenever the believer tries to do good, that which pleases God, there is a war within. The enemy has been at work for a long time, since the beginning of time. He says that God's way doesn't work. He began his destruction. way back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. He calls the truth of God's word into question. Listen to this. Indeed, has God said, you should not eat from any tree of the garden? That's like a professor saying, did he really say do all the math problems or the even math problems? He calls it into question. Guess. And then he continues by calling on this truth of God's good intentions. You surely will not die, for God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Since the beginning of time, Satan has not changed his approach. He hasn't changed anything. He hasn't needed to. The poison that he used in the garden still works today. We have all felt his fiery. darts. Darts of prejudice, darts of discouragement, darts of apathy, darts of complacency, and I'm sure you can name even more. And we can certainly see how these darts have crippled the church. There's more working against the church coming together across ethnic and cultural lines than just our own personal prejudice. The enemy has staked his claim on keeping us divided and keeping us from trusting one another. He knows that what Jesus said before he went to the cross was true, that if we were one, the world would believe. The devil believes God's word. Here's the real question. Do we? The devil has launched a fierce attack. How do I know this? Ephesians 6 and 12 says this, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world. of this darkness against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. And I realize some of you probably say, hey, you probably shouldn't talk about the devil. You're going to give him more power. You know, I've learned something. that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I've served in the military for 21 years. And the one thing I know is you do not go into battle and not know who you are fighting. And if you're in a battle and you don't even know you're in a battle, here's a guarantee for you. You're going to get wiped out. And I want you to know that this is real talk. The thing of reconciliation is one... of the devil's main battlegrounds. How do I know? The church was one of the last places to be desegregated. Of course we can say, Dr. Block, we're doing much better. And I go, I agree. But what happens? When there's another George Floyd. This time the church cannot be silent. We must lead the way. We need to be ready to fight and fight well. However, in our own strength, we're no match for the enemy. But with God on our side, we stand like David against the Goliath. You come to me with a sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. The God of the church. the armies of Israel whom you have taunted this day, the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you, and I will give your dead bodies of the armies of the Philistine this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by. by sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's. Amen. And he will give you into our hands. In this battle for biblical reconciliation, we do not war against the enemy with swords, spears, or javelins. We do not fight with small stones or a slingshot. We pray. We pray. We pray because this battle is the Lord's, and by praying, we call down the whole armies of God to defeat the enemies of reconciliation. Like David, we believe that God's power is more than enough to bring victory. Some may ask, is prayer enough? This question may be asked because of lack of understanding of what prayer is. You may think it's something that you do at a set time. that it's just asking God for what you want. But prayer is more than that. Prayer is also listening for God's answer. It's that intimate practice of asking according to his will and moving as he directs. There is an old song that I like that says, lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with you. thee. Lead me, O Lord, lead me. That's what prayer is, guys. My dad always says prayer and work go together. We've got to work and we've got to pray. We've got to do all that we can humanly do to move towards God's vision of unity in the body of Christ. And we've got to pray that he will reign over our efforts and we will bring his power to push against the forces that oppose us. reconciliation. The song that I was playing earlier was an old song also. It says, just a little talk with Jesus. Now tell him all about our problems. And he will hear our faintest cry and he will answer by and by. And when you feel a little prayer wheel turning, you will know a little fire is burning. Have a little talk with Jesus. Makes it right. And those, just think about, even during slavery, there were slaves who would steal away into secret places, meeting places, into what is known as brush harbors or hush harbors, where they would worship and pray. And knowing that if they were discovered, they could be beaten. But those prayer meetings served as a will, as a motor, so much so that they were willing to risk physical harm. Martin Luther King Jr. believed also in reconciliation, and he prayed this. Oh God, we thank thee for the lives of great saints and prophets in the past who have revealed to us that we can stand up amid the problems and difficulties and trials of life and not give in. We thank thee for our foreparents who have given us something in the midst of the darkness of exploitation and oppression to keep going. and grant that we will go on with proper faith and the proper determination of will so that we will be able to make a creative contribution to this world and in our lives. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray. Mary McLeod Bethune was born into a family of 17 children and was a daughter of former slaves. She prayed this, and I just love the way this flows. She says, Father, we call thee Father because we love thee. We are glad to be called thy children and to dedicate our lives to the service that extends through our children's willing hearts and hands. to the betterment of all mankind. We send a cry of thanksgiving for people of all races, creeds, classes, and colors the world over, and pray that through the instrumentality of our lives, the spirit of... of peace, joy, fellowship, and brotherhood shall circle the world. We know that this world is filled with discordant notes, but help us, Father, to so unite our efforts that we may all join in one harmonious symphony for peace and brotherhood, justice and equality of opportunity for all men. The task performed today with forgiveness for all our errors, we dedicate, dear Lord, So why did I give you these two examples? It's because, number one, I believe in prayer. I believe that in God's power to change things, and I believe in his power to change us. I challenge each of you to begin praying fervent prayers. Why? The fervent prayer of the righteous avail much. So, Dr. Block, how can we pray? How can we do this? I've listened to everything you've had to say. How do we do this? Let me give you a few points if you're wondering. I know there's others. saying, I'm ready to go now. I'm at the altar. I know, but there's other people saying, how do we? Let me give you a few. Number one, you can pray for God's will to be done. The prayer that Jesus told his disciple encouraged him to pray that his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know what his will is for reconciliation within the church. His prayer in John 17 made it clear that his heart's desire is that we We are one just as he and the father are one. His will is for one church that will cross ethnic and cultural gender and class lines and is focused on bringing him glory until he returns. This picture of the church is what must fuel our prayers. We've got to ask him to move everything that stands in the way of his will being accomplished. I know this is a big ask in light of how. divided the church has been, only God and his power will make this happen. Jesus taught saying this, for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you. Guys, I'm here to say this, we serve a mountain moving God. Amen. It will take nothing less than his mountain-moving power to bring us together as one. We must ask him, believing that he can accomplish this great task. I've heard it said that we should regularly pray prayers that are so big that only God can accomplish this. I've heard it here. I've heard it in churches I've been. I've heard it in conversations I've been in. Let me tell you this. I believe it. And we should. shouldn't be afraid to ask God to do the impossible because we know his record. He's not afraid of the impossible. From opening the Red Sea to raising Lazarus from the dead and God's getting up out of that grave. All impossible, but he did it. And he can make us one together. He can turn our hearts from one another to one another. He can. Can do it. Speak enough. Pray for our hearts. As we pray for his will to be done, we need to pray for our own hearts. David said, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast, or I like to say, a right spirit within me. In the words of an old spiritual, it's me, it's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. If ever we needed the Lord to heal our hearts, it's in this area of reconciliation. We all struggle with what Paul talked about in Romans 7. Even when we know the good that we should do, we're more likely to do the evil. There is a war going on in our being. We are often motivated by selfish pride and a desire to look out for numero uno ourselves. We need for our hearts to be broken over the lack of reconciliation in the body of Christ. And we need for God to give us his heart for the other. We need for our eyes to be open to the truth that we are one blood and made in the image of God. After he changes our hearts, we need him to move us from beyond our fears and anxieties into a loving relationship with one another. I've heard it said that when we are fearful, our prayers probably are more powerful. And that's probably because in those moments, we're the most honest. We need him to help us lay aside our prejudices and our wrong notions about one another and help us learn from and with one another. We need his help to be honest and transparent with one another, to grieve our past and be ready to move forward together. Pray for our brothers and sisters. In addition to praying for his will to be done and our hearts to be changed, I challenge you to pray for your brothers and sisters, those who look like you and those who do not. Pray for broken hearts and changed minds. William Pannell said in one of his sermons that the ugliest four-letter word in the English vocabulary is them. It's a word that separates and divides us. It's important to know who we're praying for. One thing I love when we're praying around here with my colleagues, I find us writing names. I watch Dr. Amy Alexander. She writes the names now. She writes everyone's name now. But I think that's really good, knowing everyone's name. Why? Because if you pray for them regularly, it's really hard to dislike them. So pray for your brothers and sisters who you have been separated from. You have heard it said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father. who is in heaven. For he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Pray for God's blessing on those who you have been separated from and for their heart to be softened even as your hearts have been softened. Pray for opportunities to engage with your other sisters and brothers. in new ways and for new spirit of fellowship and brotherhood to develop. Pray against discouragement. If at first trying to reach out does not work, we know how this goes, we will all need the Lord's help to keep us moving forward and not to give up. When we are rejected and things don't go the way we want them to go. Pray for the church and the church leadership of our churches to sense God's calling towards reconciliation. We can ask God to bring revival to his church. We need the kind of revival that convicts us of our past sins of prejudice and racism. We need the kind of revival that changes how the church looks and how we work together to accomplish God's purposes. We can pray especially for the rise of more multicultural churches across our land. We should ask the Lord to help. Those church leaders remain encouraged and to not to give up in the face of difficulties from the outside and the inside. So, I really am challenging us to become fervent prayer warriors for reconciliation within our church and within our own lives. I want to encourage you to seek God's power through prayer in overcoming any division and promoting unity. I wonder what can happen when we all pray. So I'm going to ask JC to come up right now and to play keys for me wherever she's located. After this, I have one more story that I'm going to give. And after that, I'm going to ask the worship team to come. They've done an outstanding job. And they're just going to give us a chorus. And after that, I will have Dr. Alexander pray over us. us. So I'd like to give you one more thing as I come to a conclusion of what can happen when we pray. There was a prayer crusade going on in Columbia, South Carolina. This crusade was basically centered around reconciliation and community restoration. There was about 25,000 people who were coming to attend. From all ethnicities and races, they were all coming to a stadium. But there was one problem. There was a storm headed their way and their direction. And so the leaders all began to get together and they just started praying, praying that the Lord would turn the storm away. But it seemed like it was only going to progress quicker and began raining harder. But then there was a little lady named Donna, well, I mean, Linda. who asked if she could pray. Her prayer was powerful and she reminded the Lord his name was at stake. She literally called the powers of heaven to come to their aid. So as 25,000 people watched the storm advance quickly, quickly, quickly in their direction, a lot of people began putting up umbrellas. But you know what? Dr. Albel did not move. Linda didn't move. She just sat and she waited to see how the Lord would move. And then it happened. The rain came towards the stadium like a wall of water. And when it got to the stadium... The storm split. Half went one way, half went the other way, and it converged at the back end of the stadium. They were able to see a miracle. Because a little lady named Linda prayed. And she reminded God that his name was at stake. What would happen if we prayed and we knew that heaven's ear was bent towards us? What would happen if we prayed and said, we will be one? What would happen if we said in this moment and in this time, we will stand together and we will be that example. If we said we will start here at Nelson University and watch it go to Ellis County, to the state of Texas. to the United States, and I claim it in the world. If we stood together, what would happen? I'll tell you. The world would believe. If we are one, united in prayer, reconciled to each other, the world would believe. I'm going to ask the worship team to just do a chorus, and then we'll have Dr. Danning come up and pray for us. You can have all this world You can have Carl, would you stand with us this morning? Sing give me, give me Jesus. Yeah, come on, stretch your hands to heaven. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. You can have all this world. I don't want anything. And I don't want anyone else. And I don't need anything else. Because you are my one thing. You are my one thing. And I don't want anyone else. And I don't need anything else. You are my one thing. Come on, would you make that your heart cry this morning? Sing, I don't want, no, I don't want anyone else Cause you are my one You are my one What a rich message we have heard today. Would you express your gratitude to Brother Dr. Dean Block? 2nd Chronicles says in chapter 7 verse 14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and Pray, say it, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, I'll forgive their sins, and I will heal their land. Would you bow your heads please with me, and let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, your word is forever settled in heaven. If you declared in your word that if we pray that you will respond, then we take you at your word. That prayer is essential. It is important. And you are only a prayer away from us, oh Lord. So thank you for that constant presence that we can count on. And may we pray the truth that Ding Block has shared with us today. That we will pray in unity, in reconciliation, in holiness, in repentance, in worship. May we not be short in our prayers, but may they be directly given to the throne of God, expecting an answer. In Jesus' name, everybody look at your neighbor and say, I'm praying for you. Do it one more time, say, I'm praying. Amen. The Lord bless you. Go in prayer and faith. You are dismissed.

I praise God, because you reign. I praise God, because you rose and defeated the grave. I praise God, because you're faithful. I praise God, because you're true.

I praise God, because there's nobody greater than you. I praise God, because you're sovereign. I praise God, because you reign.

I praise God, because you rose and defeated the grave. I praise God, because you're faithful. I praise God, because you're true.

I praise God, because there's nobody greater than you. Alright guys, today we're going to teach you a new song, and we're just going to really focus on showing God how much we love Him, because He gave everything for us, so today, let's just give everything that we have to Him, because He is worthy of it, and He deserves it, so let's just pour our love on Him. Sometimes I'm full, sometimes I'm not.

I'll bless your name, no matter what. If emptiness is all I've got, Jesus, it's yours. Oh, Jesus, it's yours.

Oh, let this be my sacrifice, a yielded heart, clean and in try. No matter what this worship costs, Jesus, He's yours. Oh, Jesus, He's yours.

I just love you. Oh, I just love you. It takes away the change, so here's my life, my heart's praise, Jesus is yours, I just love you. Just love you, just love you It cost me nothing and I high off spud This has been a mess.

Just don't speak to me I just love, I just love, I just love Jesus, give me Jesus. You can have this world. You can have this world.

So give me Jesus, give me Jesus This world, you can't have all this world I think you are my one and only Let's sing it out again, we say Cause I don't want anyone else And I don't need anything else Oh, cause you are my one and only I don't want anything, I don't need anything else. You are my one. Sing, sing I just love you. Cause I just love you.

Yes we do God. I just love you. I just love you, we love you God I just love you, my Oh, I just love We don't want anything else but you God Oh, I just love Love you, love you God I just love you I just love you Cause I will not bring that which cost me nothing You give it Then I deserve, can I offer you a love that's burning? You let, oh let it arise today And I will not, that which I'll see Oh no I won't, oh I want you to give it more You laugh out of the bridge, so it's costing us a lot. You give your sweet innocence to your man, who can become...

You love me, love me, I just love If you sing that one more time, we say, Cause I just love Let this be your heart cry this morning We love you I just love I love you Oh, I just love you Oh, I just love you Oh, I I just love you, yes we do, yes we do Oh, I just love you God, I just love you only I just love you Oh, we just love you so much, Lord. We just thank you. We praise you.

We don't want anything else in this world but you. Nothing else will satisfy. No social media posts, no bank account balance, nothing will satisfy. but you, Lord. And Father, we thank you and we praise you.

We honor you. We love you. Father, I just thank you so much.

Today, we're going to be praying for Siberia and of course, Kosovo. Siberia has many difficulties. Within the church.

A lot of religious groups. But of course they are not necessarily walking out their faith. So we're going to pray for revival.

And for Kosovo. The Evangelical Church is very small growing. It started with 80 young men and women. 80 young men and women.

And in 1998 it has now grown to over 2,000. But the challenge is they are not stepping out in their faith. Let us pray together. Dear Heavenly Father we just come to you. you, Father.

We just give you praise. We praise you, Father, for these young men and women in Kosovo who are standing strong in their faith, but, Father, they are hesitating. They are hesitating to reach out, to share the gospel with their brothers, their sisters, their family, their loved ones, their friends, maybe even on social media.

Father, I pray right now that, Father, you go before each one of them, that you stir within their hearts the message, Father, the things that, Father, they have this great thing in you, and, Father, let us share that gospel, Father, with those around us. And, Father, in Siberia, Father, just like Kosovo, let us be strong to be able to know how to walk out our faith. Father, we pray over those church leaders, the missions leaders, the business leaders, the country leaders in those areas, Father. We pray over them.

Father, they create a space to allow your name to be known. Father, we thank you, and, Father, we praise you. And, Father, just like them, Father, I pray over every young man and woman whether young or old, Father, we thank you, Father, that you are with each one of us.

Father, help us know how to walk out our faith. Help us to know what we can do, what we can share, how we can share, how we can encourage our brother and sister, how we can encourage those that do not know you to know you, to invite them in to relationship with you. Father, we thank you for your unconditional love, your mercy and grace. Father, we love you, we cherish you, we honor you.

you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you so much. You can have a seat.

Thank you, worship team. Thank you so much for all that they do. Please give a hand.

Thank you, of course, and praise our worship team. Guys, I don't realize how much what you do every day, every week to prepare, to invite us and to be able to praise and worship our Heavenly Father. Thank you so much for what you do. Of course, hello, if you do not know me, my name is Professor Melody Gray-Block. I teach in the business department and I have the opportunity, thank you, thank you guys.

I had the opportunity of course to pray with you doing announcements and of course introduce our amazing speaker today so I'm excited about that exactly exactly so just a couple quick announcements for you number one calling stock is happening this next Friday right calling stock Friday November 1st at 7 p.m. if you'd like to perform please scan the QRC code and fill out your there I don't know if we have that up here close but fill out your calling stock interest form everybody is invited, so grab your roommate and meet us in the front lawn for free food and entertainment. It's a great fun.

You definitely want to do that. Kinesiology, if you desire to get a kinesiology program and have completed at least 30 hours, please contact Dr. Joseph Reed at jreed at nelson.edu to be included in the application process for November 2024. He does a great job with that. You definitely want to check it out. And of course, the well is happening this Friday night. Right, right, October 25th.

The Well is a night where students from all majors, years, and backgrounds meet together to worship, pray, find community while pursuing Jesus. We are meeting at a new location this time, the Schaefer Auditorium. Doors open at 8 p.m.

To find out more information, you can follow our Instagram at thewellnight. We can't wait to see you there. Very good. All right, that's all I have for you for that. So today, of course, we...

We are in for a treat, for a treat. Our speaker today, of course, has a long list of accomplishments, awards, honors, quite frankly, too much to share. Check out the website.

There's so much there to share. Of course, I want to be able to, of course, share that time and allow that time for him. However, I do want to share that he has traveled the world playing with multiple groups with multiple music genres.

He is an outstanding musician, an excellent teacher. even receiving the Distinguished Faculty Award here at Nelson University. He's a valued friend to many.

He's a trusted confidant, and he is truly a leader's leader. He currently serves as the Dean of Music and Communication Arts in a trombonist with the Grammy award-winning, world-renowned Duke Ellington Orchestra. He's a wonderful dad and G-paul. He's my best friend.

He's my treasured husband. please stand to your feet help me welcome to the stage Dr. Tyrone Block La How many, how many of you guys know what song that was? It was not Amazing Grace. I guarantee you pretty much most of the faculty probably would know that song. It's called Have a Little Talk with Jesus.

And I'll tell you more about that as we keep going. So first of all, I'm going to keep with tradition. Usually you guys do shout outs, so I will not venture away from shout outs.

So the first thing I would like to do is thank my beautiful wife. We have been friends for a long time, probably longer than most of you guys have been living. So she is my best friend.

I love her so much. And I told her, God made you just for me. So I love my wife so much. Also, I love my kids. One of my sons works here, Colin Block.

He's with admissions and man, he's a cool cat, guys. If you don't know, he's very cool. And I love him. like to give a shout out to my daughter-in-law.

Today is her birthday. So Josie, happy birthday. I think I have a picture of the next one.

I also like to shout out my parents. This is Otis and out of block. And trust me, he was probably one of the wisest men I know. He is a person, and hopefully he doesn't mind me saying this, but my dad, my mom actually taught my dad how to read.

And my dad only completed first grade, but he has gone on to be one of the most successful businessmen around. And my mom has stood by his side through it all. They've been married for 56 years. So I am truly, truly blessed.

And I told people about the truck in the background. They said, oh, man, your dad's got a nice truck. I said, that's my mom's truck.

So it's funny to see. see this little five foot one woman get out of this big giant truck but boy she just she just scoots around town and she's just like peaty pop though so I'm just like love you mama so those are my parents Otis and Ida Block um also like to shout out my music faculty music students you guys are super awesome and thank you for allowing me to serve uh serve you all these years like to shout out the best college guys don't get mad best college around college of music and communication arts Rock on, rock on. You guys are awesome.

I'd also like to thank Dr. Truen, President Bridges, for this opportunity to speak to you. This will kind of be a continuation of what I spoke about last time, which was lament. I'm going to continue on this, and it allowed me the opportunity to, again, I will absolutely continue this kind of series, I believe, that the Lord has downloaded.

to me. So let's get started. Wait a minute.

I missed a picture. You guys should see my second love outside of God and my wife, but you have to see my grandbaby. That is Asher. And trust me, that's not the only pictures we have. We have so many pictures around the house of Asher.

We are excited to be Gigi and G-Paul. so we enjoy having Asher with us and here's some good news for you guys I'm about to be a grandpa at the second time and Asher loves music so he plays on the piano and then once he gets to the low end of the piano he hit a low note and he goes gee Paul and I was like yeah that's that's me appreciate it I really just love this. So we need to get into this.

I have a lot to try to download to you guys really in a very short period of time. So I'm just going to be as quick as I can. So I need your attention and I'm going to make sure I'm attentive to you. at the same time. So let's start, let's jump off into this.

Romans 7, 21. I'm going to read from the Amplified Version. Why? Because I really kind of like the Amplified Version. It gives you just a little bit more. So I find it to be a law, rule of action of my being, that when I want to do good, evil is ever present within me, and I'm subject to its insistent demands.

For I endorse and delight in the law of the Lord and my inmost self with my new name. nature, but I discern in my bodily members in the sensitive appetites in the wills of the flesh, a different law, rule of action, at war against the law of my mind, my reason, and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites in the wills of the flesh. In Ephesians 6 and 10, in conclusion, be strong in the Lord, be empowered through your union with him, draw your strength from him, that strength which his balance might provide. Put on God's whole armor.

the armor of the heavy armed soldier which God supplies, that you may be able to stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil. So I want you to know that what I'm going to be speaking about speaking about today is close to my heart and prayer is foundational for us to achieve God's vision of what I believe reconciliation within a church. I know it's a subject that is not spoken about directly but indirectly it is and it's really important to me that we pray and it's important for me that us brothers and sisters are together in Christ. Christ. So let's pray.

Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. Amen.

So what I believe reconciliation is a spiritual battle. I believe God's great vision for his church is biblical reconciliation. By his great mercy and the gift.

to us of his undeserved grace he reconciled us to himself is this better You know, I kind of like this. This lets me hear my voice a lot better. This is great. Awesome. This is why my son goes, G-Paul.

So I believe God's great vision for his church is biblical reconciliation. By his great mercies and the gift to us of his undeserved grace, he reconciled us to himself and then called each of us to the ministry of reconciliation. His grand vision is for each of us to be so motivated by his love that we make it our mission to be one with every other believer in Jesus Christ.

Amen. By this great love, unbelievers will be drawn to him. So what is this reconciliation?

I believe there's several steps that go with it, and I'm going to try to go through these steps very quickly. The first one is acceptance. We have to accept that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We are not perfect. No person is perfect. No race is perfect.

No gender is perfect. No culture is perfect. No ethnicity is perfect. However, we are reconciled to God through Jesus. I think that we should lament.

This is what I spoke about before. We're broken. We've had things done to us, and we've done things to others.

But through Christ, all things are made new. Confession. admit when you have missed the mark. This is the hardest one for me.

I miss it. I understand I miss it. I have to look at my wife sometimes and just go, I'm sorry I didn't take out the trash.

I promise you I'll get to it. I'm not perfect, honey. I'm trying. But admit that you've missed it. Forgiveness, as in Matthew 6 and 12. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

Repentance. What does that mean? To go in the other direction.

Not what Jason Kidd said. Please hear me. Do not do what Jason Kidd said when he came to the Mavericks.

I'm going to turn this team around 360 degrees. What? Okay, you get it.

So we're not going to do that. We're going to go 180 in the other direction. I would like to offer one more thing. Prayer. The fuel by which we are truly reconciled to each other and to Christ.

We must pray. Without it, nothing that honors God happens. It's like this story that I kind of, it's kind of a dream story for me. Imagine with me President Bridges. He's here.

And we have potential students or donors or what have you are with him and he's going around. And he takes them to these grand facilities we have here in the Schaefer Center or over in the HCC. He takes them out to our new football field.

Imagine with me, full stadium, full of fans, you know, really awesome happening. And he's so happy about it. And then after that, he takes them to our offices where the faculty are.

And that's where we get all the things done for the university. And it's just amazing. wonderful environment. And then he takes them to our state-of-the-art classrooms.

The latest tech. Everything we wanted. The learning process never ends.

Ah, it makes me happy. And then, after he shows them all of this, he waits till Friday night and he takes them over to McCafferty Hall and the well is happening. But he stops.

very short. He stops really short and he looks at all the constituents and he says, this is the fuel by which our university operates. It's through prayer.

And he opens it up. He opens up and he sees faculty and students and staff, and they're all on their faces praying to God, just calling down the armies that this is how. we move. And that is a great vision. But one thing that we have to know, just as Paul talks about in Romans and Ephesians, that whenever the believer tries to do good, that which pleases God, there is a war within.

The enemy has been at work for a long time, since the beginning of time. He says that God's way doesn't work. He began his destruction.

way back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. He calls the truth of God's word into question. Listen to this.

Indeed, has God said, you should not eat from any tree of the garden? That's like a professor saying, did he really say do all the math problems or the even math problems? He calls it into question. Guess. And then he continues by calling on this truth of God's good intentions.

You surely will not die, for God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Since the beginning of time, Satan has not changed his approach. He hasn't changed anything. He hasn't needed to.

The poison that he used in the garden still works today. We have all felt his fiery. darts.

Darts of prejudice, darts of discouragement, darts of apathy, darts of complacency, and I'm sure you can name even more. And we can certainly see how these darts have crippled the church. There's more working against the church coming together across ethnic and cultural lines than just our own personal prejudice.

The enemy has staked his claim on keeping us divided and keeping us from trusting one another. He knows that what Jesus said before he went to the cross was true, that if we were one, the world would believe. The devil believes God's word. Here's the real question.

Do we? The devil has launched a fierce attack. How do I know this?

Ephesians 6 and 12 says this, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world. of this darkness against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. And I realize some of you probably say, hey, you probably shouldn't talk about the devil. You're going to give him more power. You know, I've learned something.

that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I've served in the military for 21 years. And the one thing I know is you do not go into battle and not know who you are fighting. And if you're in a battle and you don't even know you're in a battle, here's a guarantee for you.

You're going to get wiped out. And I want you to know that this is real talk. The thing of reconciliation is one... of the devil's main battlegrounds.

How do I know? The church was one of the last places to be desegregated. Of course we can say, Dr. Block, we're doing much better. And I go, I agree.

But what happens? When there's another George Floyd. This time the church cannot be silent.

We must lead the way. We need to be ready to fight and fight well. However, in our own strength, we're no match for the enemy. But with God on our side, we stand like David against the Goliath.

You come to me with a sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. The God of the church.

the armies of Israel whom you have taunted this day, the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you, and I will give your dead bodies of the armies of the Philistine this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by. by sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's. Amen.

And he will give you into our hands. In this battle for biblical reconciliation, we do not war against the enemy with swords, spears, or javelins. We do not fight with small stones or a slingshot.

We pray. We pray. We pray because this battle is the Lord's, and by praying, we call down the whole armies of God to defeat the enemies of reconciliation.

Like David, we believe that God's power is more than enough to bring victory. Some may ask, is prayer enough? This question may be asked because of lack of understanding of what prayer is.

You may think it's something that you do at a set time. that it's just asking God for what you want. But prayer is more than that.

Prayer is also listening for God's answer. It's that intimate practice of asking according to his will and moving as he directs. There is an old song that I like that says, lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray.

Lord, let me walk each day with you. thee. Lead me, O Lord, lead me.

That's what prayer is, guys. My dad always says prayer and work go together. We've got to work and we've got to pray.

We've got to do all that we can humanly do to move towards God's vision of unity in the body of Christ. And we've got to pray that he will reign over our efforts and we will bring his power to push against the forces that oppose us. reconciliation.

The song that I was playing earlier was an old song also. It says, just a little talk with Jesus. Now tell him all about our problems.

And he will hear our faintest cry and he will answer by and by. And when you feel a little prayer wheel turning, you will know a little fire is burning. Have a little talk with Jesus.

Makes it right. And those, just think about, even during slavery, there were slaves who would steal away into secret places, meeting places, into what is known as brush harbors or hush harbors, where they would worship and pray. And knowing that if they were discovered, they could be beaten.

But those prayer meetings served as a will, as a motor, so much so that they were willing to risk physical harm. Martin Luther King Jr. believed also in reconciliation, and he prayed this. Oh God, we thank thee for the lives of great saints and prophets in the past who have revealed to us that we can stand up amid the problems and difficulties and trials of life and not give in.

We thank thee for our foreparents who have given us something in the midst of the darkness of exploitation and oppression to keep going. and grant that we will go on with proper faith and the proper determination of will so that we will be able to make a creative contribution to this world and in our lives. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray.

Mary McLeod Bethune was born into a family of 17 children and was a daughter of former slaves. She prayed this, and I just love the way this flows. She says, Father, we call thee Father because we love thee.

We are glad to be called thy children and to dedicate our lives to the service that extends through our children's willing hearts and hands. to the betterment of all mankind. We send a cry of thanksgiving for people of all races, creeds, classes, and colors the world over, and pray that through the instrumentality of our lives, the spirit of... of peace, joy, fellowship, and brotherhood shall circle the world. We know that this world is filled with discordant notes, but help us, Father, to so unite our efforts that we may all join in one harmonious symphony for peace and brotherhood, justice and equality of opportunity for all men.

The task performed today with forgiveness for all our errors, we dedicate, dear Lord, So why did I give you these two examples? It's because, number one, I believe in prayer. I believe that in God's power to change things, and I believe in his power to change us. I challenge each of you to begin praying fervent prayers.

Why? The fervent prayer of the righteous avail much. So, Dr. Block, how can we pray? How can we do this?

I've listened to everything you've had to say. How do we do this? Let me give you a few points if you're wondering. I know there's others. saying, I'm ready to go now.

I'm at the altar. I know, but there's other people saying, how do we? Let me give you a few.

Number one, you can pray for God's will to be done. The prayer that Jesus told his disciple encouraged him to pray that his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know what his will is for reconciliation within the church. His prayer in John 17 made it clear that his heart's desire is that we We are one just as he and the father are one.

His will is for one church that will cross ethnic and cultural gender and class lines and is focused on bringing him glory until he returns. This picture of the church is what must fuel our prayers. We've got to ask him to move everything that stands in the way of his will being accomplished. I know this is a big ask in light of how.

divided the church has been, only God and his power will make this happen. Jesus taught saying this, for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you. Guys, I'm here to say this, we serve a mountain moving God.

Amen. It will take nothing less than his mountain-moving power to bring us together as one. We must ask him, believing that he can accomplish this great task. I've heard it said that we should regularly pray prayers that are so big that only God can accomplish this. I've heard it here.

I've heard it in churches I've been. I've heard it in conversations I've been in. Let me tell you this.

I believe it. And we should. shouldn't be afraid to ask God to do the impossible because we know his record.

He's not afraid of the impossible. From opening the Red Sea to raising Lazarus from the dead and God's getting up out of that grave. All impossible, but he did it. And he can make us one together. He can turn our hearts from one another to one another.

He can. Can do it. Speak enough.

Pray for our hearts. As we pray for his will to be done, we need to pray for our own hearts. David said, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast, or I like to say, a right spirit within me.

In the words of an old spiritual, it's me, it's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. If ever we needed the Lord to heal our hearts, it's in this area of reconciliation. We all struggle with what Paul talked about in Romans 7. Even when we know the good that we should do, we're more likely to do the evil. There is a war going on in our being.

We are often motivated by selfish pride and a desire to look out for numero uno ourselves. We need for our hearts to be broken over the lack of reconciliation in the body of Christ. And we need for God to give us his heart for the other. We need for our eyes to be open to the truth that we are one blood and made in the image of God.

After he changes our hearts, we need him to move us from beyond our fears and anxieties into a loving relationship with one another. I've heard it said that when we are fearful, our prayers probably are more powerful. And that's probably because in those moments, we're the most honest. We need him to help us lay aside our prejudices and our wrong notions about one another and help us learn from and with one another. We need his help to be honest and transparent with one another, to grieve our past and be ready to move forward together.

Pray for our brothers and sisters. In addition to praying for his will to be done and our hearts to be changed, I challenge you to pray for your brothers and sisters, those who look like you and those who do not. Pray for broken hearts and changed minds.

William Pannell said in one of his sermons that the ugliest four-letter word in the English vocabulary is them. It's a word that separates and divides us. It's important to know who we're praying for.

One thing I love when we're praying around here with my colleagues, I find us writing names. I watch Dr. Amy Alexander. She writes the names now.

She writes everyone's name now. But I think that's really good, knowing everyone's name. Why? Because if you pray for them regularly, it's really hard to dislike them.

So pray for your brothers and sisters who you have been separated from. You have heard it said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father. who is in heaven. For he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Pray for God's blessing on those who you have been separated from and for their heart to be softened even as your hearts have been softened. Pray for opportunities to engage with your other sisters and brothers. in new ways and for new spirit of fellowship and brotherhood to develop. Pray against discouragement. If at first trying to reach out does not work, we know how this goes, we will all need the Lord's help to keep us moving forward and not to give up.

When we are rejected and things don't go the way we want them to go. Pray for the church and the church leadership of our churches to sense God's calling towards reconciliation. We can ask God to bring revival to his church. We need the kind of revival that convicts us of our past sins of prejudice and racism. We need the kind of revival that changes how the church looks and how we work together to accomplish God's purposes.

We can pray especially for the rise of more multicultural churches across our land. We should ask the Lord to help. Those church leaders remain encouraged and to not to give up in the face of difficulties from the outside and the inside. So, I really am challenging us to become fervent prayer warriors for reconciliation within our church and within our own lives.

I want to encourage you to seek God's power through prayer in overcoming any division and promoting unity. I wonder what can happen when we all pray. So I'm going to ask JC to come up right now and to play keys for me wherever she's located.

After this, I have one more story that I'm going to give. And after that, I'm going to ask the worship team to come. They've done an outstanding job. And they're just going to give us a chorus.

And after that, I will have Dr. Alexander pray over us. us. So I'd like to give you one more thing as I come to a conclusion of what can happen when we pray. There was a prayer crusade going on in Columbia, South Carolina.

This crusade was basically centered around reconciliation and community restoration. There was about 25,000 people who were coming to attend. From all ethnicities and races, they were all coming to a stadium. But there was one problem. There was a storm headed their way and their direction.

And so the leaders all began to get together and they just started praying, praying that the Lord would turn the storm away. But it seemed like it was only going to progress quicker and began raining harder. But then there was a little lady named Donna, well, I mean, Linda.

who asked if she could pray. Her prayer was powerful and she reminded the Lord his name was at stake. She literally called the powers of heaven to come to their aid. So as 25,000 people watched the storm advance quickly, quickly, quickly in their direction, a lot of people began putting up umbrellas. But you know what?

Dr. Albel did not move. Linda didn't move. She just sat and she waited to see how the Lord would move.

And then it happened. The rain came towards the stadium like a wall of water. And when it got to the stadium... The storm split. Half went one way, half went the other way, and it converged at the back end of the stadium.

They were able to see a miracle. Because a little lady named Linda prayed. And she reminded God that his name was at stake. What would happen if we prayed and we knew that heaven's ear was bent towards us? What would happen if we prayed and said, we will be one?

What would happen if we said in this moment and in this time, we will stand together and we will be that example. If we said we will start here at Nelson University and watch it go to Ellis County, to the state of Texas. to the United States, and I claim it in the world. If we stood together, what would happen? I'll tell you.

The world would believe. If we are one, united in prayer, reconciled to each other, the world would believe. I'm going to ask the worship team to just do a chorus, and then we'll have Dr. Danning come up and pray for us.

You can have all this world You can have Carl, would you stand with us this morning? Sing give me, give me Jesus. Yeah, come on, stretch your hands to heaven. Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world. You can have all this world. I don't want anything.

And I don't want anyone else. And I don't need anything else. Because you are my one thing.

You are my one thing. And I don't want anyone else. And I don't need anything else.

You are my one thing. Come on, would you make that your heart cry this morning? Sing, I don't want, no, I don't want anyone else Cause you are my one You are my one What a rich message we have heard today.

Would you express your gratitude to Brother Dr. Dean Block? 2nd Chronicles says in chapter 7 verse 14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and Pray, say it, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, I'll forgive their sins, and I will heal their land. Would you bow your heads please with me, and let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, your word is forever settled in heaven.

If you declared in your word that if we pray that you will respond, then we take you at your word. That prayer is essential. It is important. And you are only a prayer away from us, oh Lord.

So thank you for that constant presence that we can count on. And may we pray the truth that Ding Block has shared with us today. That we will pray in unity, in reconciliation, in holiness, in repentance, in worship. May we not be short in our prayers, but may they be directly given to the throne of God, expecting an answer.

In Jesus' name, everybody look at your neighbor and say, I'm praying for you. Do it one more time, say, I'm praying. Amen. The Lord bless you. Go in prayer and faith.

You are dismissed.

Transcript for:Reconciliation and Unity Through Prayer

Transcript for:
Reconciliation and Unity Through Prayer