12 May 2024 Service 2, Ps Erik

The speaker encourages everyone to release forgiveness into the atmosphere, as unforgiveness can lead to bitterness and resentment. He emphasizes the destructive power of holding onto anger and the importance of forgiving oneself as well. The speaker then leads a prayer for forgiveness and freedom, and highlights the power of forgiveness in bringing healing and transformation. He also acknowledges and honors mothers, expressing love and appreciation for their sacrifices. The speaker prays for spiritual mothers and emphasizes the role they play in fathering and mothering lost souls. Finally, the speaker shares two things that God spoke to him, expressing God's love for mothers and encouraging spiritual mothers to expect and receive spiritual children. I want us to just do something together this morning, and maybe it's not something that you have to do, but for the sake of the one standing next to you, won't you join me this morning as we just release forgiveness into this atmosphere? It's like even in our first service, there's something of the hand of the Lord on it this morning. The power of unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, it's like it can be as subtle as a little offense, or you just resent somebody, and you create an atmosphere in you that invites the enemy to come and rest on that space in your life, and it might be a small little resentment for now, but two years down the line, you struggle with hatred towards people. It's a downward spiral, I wish I had time to unravel that thing in scripture for you. It's a downward spiral that will take you to a place of destruction, and I tell you there's nothing that I've seen stop people from entering into what God has for them more than unforgiveness, bitterness, offense, resentment, anger. Jesus says anger is like killing a person. Can you imagine the condemnation, the heaviness, some of you struggling with that incredible sense of sadness, it's like, I think somebody would feel that has killed that person. Whether you've been justified in a legal court or not, you'll always walk around, unless God intervenes in that thing in your life, you'll always walk around with that condemnation. That's how it is when you are unforgiving or bitter or resentful towards people. Same thing, same spiritual power. And then this morning I want us to release freedom into this atmosphere. Let's pray this with me, Lord, I forgive and I set free every person that has ever wronged me. I let them go. Lord, I forgive myself for any mistake that I have ever made, anything that I've ever done that I hold against myself, Lord, I forgive you. Not that you need forgiveness, but where I have felt that you have wronged me, forgive me God. Jesus, I invite joy, peace, life, freedom, shalom peace, to fill my heart, to fill my mind, to fill my life. God lead me into wide open spaces, liberate me, empower me to live my life for you and not bound by anything. In Jesus' name, come on, let's give Him praise this morning. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Do you feel that shift in the atmosphere this morning? I have seen people stand up out of a sick bed, paralyzed by sickness, just after confessing two sentences of forgiveness. There's power in it. Friends, family, church, I ask you this morning, never, it's not one thing you do and then it's done for the rest of your life. You might tomorrow have the reason, the opportunity to hold something against somebody again. Never let that enter your heart and your mind. Unforgiveness is like a cage in the spirit. You cage yourself. You trap yourself. Don't be trapped by anything. God loves you too much. His plans for you are much greater than whatever cage you've been in. And in this day, every single one of you will walk in absolute freedom. Come on, I prophesy that over your life in this day. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Amen and amen. Awesome. What if you take your seats for a couple of moments? Can we just love our worship team as well? Come on. We brought in a special weapon today, TJ on the electric. Can we just love TJ? It's good to have you back with us. Appreciate you, man. So I'm going to preach our message in like five minutes flat. Is that okay? I don't think I've ever done that. I've said this many times. I should never even say that in my life. But I want to share something with you very shortly. Then we're going to pray for people. But before we do anything else, can I ask all the mommies in the house. If you've been in the first service, you can't stand again. Can you do this? It's unfair. All the moms in the house, won't you stand for us, please? All the moms in the house, please stand. Yes, we want to give you something small. Remain standing after you've had your gift. Just remain standing. Yes, that's wonderful. If it wasn't for a mom, you wouldn't be here today. Some of you, that was a revelation. Okay. Somewhere, some lady decided that she wants you. And you are here today. Awesome. Stand, all the mommies. All the mommies. All the moms. Okay, great. Moms, we love you. We love you. Really. I'm not saying this because it's Mother's Day. And it'll be a good thing to say. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I want to love you this morning as I would love my own mom if she was here. But I'll love her when I get home tonight in Pretoria. So, one more thing. So, I'm not saying this now. But I'm going to love her tonight. I'm going to love her. And I want to love you like I love my own mom this morning. I want to say to you, we see you. One of the names of God is the God that sees. And one thing that I can tell you about moms is He sees you. Every sacrifice you've made, every price you've paid where your husband didn't appreciate you, where your own children didn't appreciate you. Every time where you sacrificed yourself, your own time. I want to say to you this morning, God sees you and He loves you. It's one of the two things that He said to me this week. He said, Eric, I love moms. I want to tell you this morning, He loves you. Mom, God loves you. I love you. And we want to say as a church, we love you as well. Now I want to ask all the moms, if you were here in the first service as well, I couldn't understand it, forgive me. But stand again if you were here in the first service. I want to ask you as well, Eric. But I want to pray for you. All the moms, thank you. Father, we bless our moms today. We speak a blessing over every single mother that's in this house. We bless them in the beautiful name of Jesus. We thank you, Lord, for them. Thank you for what they've done, not just for their own kids, many of them, for other children as well, spiritual children. God, we bless them, we honor them, we love them. And we thank you for our moms in this day. God, may they see you see them more than what they have in the past. May they know that your eyes are upon them. Like it says, chapter number 6, that your face is turned towards them in this day. And we bless them in this day, in Jesus' name. Come on, won't you say amen with me. Love you a lot more. Love you a lot. Awesome. Yeah, we love the first service, we're going to love her again now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Spiritual moms coming up later. There's much work to be done in this house. I said to the church in the second service, maybe we can do that now. I said to the church in the first service, last week, especially during our first service, we had this moment where we prayed for souls. It was this moment where it's like we had this window to contend for the lost. And we prayed, we said something, we said, God, send the sons and the daughters from afar, the north, the south, the east, the west. Now, here's my question to you today, church. If they start streaming through that door, which they will. There's about 29 of you that's got that expectation with me. We prayed it, we'll see it. Remember, we serve a prayer answering God. Listen, a long time ago, I realized that my prayers are effective. The prayers of a righteous man, who's the righteous? Is it not just through? Two of you, praise the Lord. Even if you're still young. Every woman, every daughter in the area, please stand. Because God's going to send the lost, not just to the church of Cape Town. He's going to send the lost from afar. Remember, we can't see Jesus return without the greatest revival of souls that this world has ever seen. It must happen, it will happen. So who's going to father and who's going to mother those kids? That's you, moms. That's you. And I want to honor every single one of you. Whether you've got children or not, it doesn't matter. God has given you the grace to be a spiritual mother to the lost sons and daughters of God. One of the worst things I think a lady can hear is if a doctor says you can never have children. I want to say to you that phrase, you'll never hear God say. You'll never hear Him say it. Not only is He able to open the womb of anybody. I've seen miracles like that, crazy miracles. I've seen somebody have kids that didn't even have the organs to have kids. God does everything. Then you think, there's a limit to this bar mother. No, no, no. He can do anything. Yeah, for real. But you will never hear Him say you can't have kids. Because in the Spirit, some of you will have many. Many, many, many. So I want to pray for you on this day. Receive, like you're holding your hands, like you're receiving something. All the moms, all the ladies. Father, I pray, add to these ones children from afar. Spiritual sons and daughters as you send them from everywhere. God, add them to these ladies. Some of them as young as what they are, some of them as old as what they are. Add to them spiritual children. Ones that they can love, care for. Ones that they can disciple and raise up. In the ways of God. And God, we bless every single woman standing in this place today. In Jesus' name. Amen and Amen. Awesome. Thank you. Welcome to be seated. Good to see you, my friend. Okay. So there's two things. Luckily, just two. If there were six, we had a problem. Two things that the Lord said to me this morning. Tuesday morning, just after Facebook Live prayer, I was sitting there on the stage. Just soaking in the goodness of God for a moment. And I heard the Lord speak to me. He said, Eric, I love moms. And to be honest with you, in that moment, I was anticipating. Okay. And that's all I felt. He said, I love moms. And the scripture popped up into my heart. Luke chapter number seven. Let's go there quickly. Yay. Or is it you? Hey, Michael. Champion, man. Can we just love our media guys there at the back? Yes, man. Amazing. Now it happened. The day after that, he went into a city called Nain. And many of his disciples went with him. And a large crowd. And when he came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out. The only son of his mother. And she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. Verse 13. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, do not weep. Weird thing to say at a funeral. Have you ever been to a funeral and that woman, he says. Only Jesus says stuff like that and gets away with it. Okay. Then he came and touched the open coffin and those who carried it stood still. And he said, young man, I say to you, arise. Verse 15. So he was dead, sat up, began to speak. And Jesus presented him back to his mother. My whole life I read that scripture. And for me, it was a story of the boy that was raised back to life. And only in this week as I read that scripture on Tuesday, I saw the story is not about the boy. The story is about the mother. The story is about a mom. Yeah, but don't sneak up on me like that. The story is about a mother. How do I know that? Let's go back to that scripture. Verse 11, 12. Let's all appreciate it. Give your heart, be a champion. Come on, let's love, let's appreciate it. Let's just photograph second to none. Love you. Verse 12. A dead man was being carried out. The only son of his mother. And she was a widow. Why would the Bible say that? The only son of a widow. In our day and age, we have a discovery life insurance or you've got something at momentum. Just some savings account, some pension fund for one day. Back in the day, there wasn't a pension fund. He was the pension fund. Study a bit of cultural background, you'll understand that the son was everything that the mother had. That mother in that day didn't just lose her only family member. Remember, she was a widow. She had no husband. She had no other children. The only son. Not only did she lose the only family member she had left, she lost everything in that day. She lost everything. Not just in relationship, she lost all her means to ever live a good life again. She will either beg for bread or her community will try and uphold her for the rest of her life. She lost everything. The story is about her. When Jesus raised that boy from the dead, He didn't just say to him like He said to the other guys, Take up your mat, go home. Or arise, sin no more. Or come, follow Me. He said, I give you back to your mother. The story is about her. You know what's even more beautiful about this story? If you study the town of Nain, it's not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. Not anywhere else. Just this one portion of Scripture. And if we study Scripture, we see that Nain is not special at all. There's nothing in Nain. Even to this day. It's an Arab city. There's no church that Jesus planted there. There's nothing that ever took place in the city of Nain. Other than Jesus going there that one day and raising that boy back to life. If you study what happened prior to Luke chapter number 7 and what happened after the story. This is the story that the Bible gives us. It's like Jesus was on a mission. He was living life in obedience to the Holy Spirit. And then in this moment, it's like something drew Him. He took an 8 mile walk to a city called Nain. Raised a boy from the dead. Gave him back to his mother. And then went back. Continuing in the journey that He was on. May I submit you that I believe that that mother pulled on God. It's like she said, God you cannot take this boy from me. And as I was reading the story and meditating on the power of that. That Jesus almost got interrupted in His journey. And said, okay God I'll do it. By the leading of the Holy Spirit I'll go and I'll raise this boy. Give him back to his mother. In that moment I felt the Lord said to me, Eric I don't just love moms, I love moments. I'm a God of moments. Moments and as I saw it, it's like scripture opened to me. I saw it everywhere we see the outflow, the revival, the breakthrough. But we don't always see the moment that led to that. We see the boy being raised from the dead. But I tell you somewhere in between His passing and the raising, there was a moment. Maybe that lady was lying on the floor of the house. Maybe she stood outside. Maybe she was at the temple court. Near, I contend for the life of this boy. We saw Abram, the man of faith. We're all called the children of Abram. Great and mighty acts of faith. He was about to sacrifice His one and only son. Yet there was a moment when he was in a tent alone. Just Him and God. And in that moment God said to him, Abram come outside. Look at the stars. See how many there are? That's how many your children will be. He had a moment. We celebrate Joshua. Well let's start with Moses. Before there was a Joshua, there was a Moses. We saw Moses, the deliverer. Staff raised, red seas opened, water from a rock, signs, wonders, miracles. This great man that led the Israelites out of Egypt. But, but, but, there was a moment in the desert. And it was just Him and God. There was a burning bush experience. A God moment in his life. That defined him. That positioned him for what God wanted to do through his life. Joshua, the one that followed Moses. We all see Joshua as the man that led the Israelites into the promised land. But Joshua was the man that remained at the tent of meeting when everybody else left. He stayed there. And he pursued God. He cried out. He contended. What about Gideon? Mighty man of valor. Leads 300 men and conquers an army. But that man had a moment as well. In a winepress. Hiding. And God comes and He meets him there. God moments. God moments that defines our lives. Question. I'm closing. I'm closing. What is the thing that defines our lives? Is our life measured by time? Or is it measured by moments? I know people that have lived 70 years. They look back on their lives and there's no moments that define their lives. Their lives are defined maybe by highlights. When my child was born. When he won the rugby match. When I got promoted. When I won the lotto. OK, I'm joking. Highlights. But is there moments? I look at my life age 0 to 23. There's many highlights. There's no moments. Age 23 to where I am now, 41. I'm telling you I've got so many God moments. I've got diaries full of them. And they are the moments that have defined my life. They've shaped me into who I am today. It's the God moments that defines a man. That defines a woman. You see you can do a lot of things with anybody. But you can't do much with a guy that has had a God moment. A God moment. Last season of my life we went through something very challenging. It's the God moments in that season that define me. To keep me in the season. And now looking back I went into those moments contending for something. Which I didn't see in this life. But I can tell you that the moment itself shaped me into something that I am today. God moments. I'm talking about the moments where you lie on your inner room carpet. The moments where you take that walk on the beach and God just speaks to you. When you drive in your car. And you see the clouds opening and the sun ray coming through. And you have that realization. It's like God enters your space. And whether you laugh or cry or just sit there absolutely quiet. But you have a moment with God. When last have you had a moment? It's not heavy. I'm not trying to put heavy on you. I'm asking when last have you had a moment like that? Huh? We've become a generation that pursues the mighty acts of God. But I fear we've stopped pursuing the moments with God. Have you also not been a calmness? Huh? Eh? I mean I'll pray if we've got a prayer meeting at church. I'll pray here for seven hours. But when last have you prayed like that in your own inner room? Huh? Huh? When last have you walked your carpet in your room through the night? Say, And you war with God. You wrestle with Him. Not born in negativity. Like Jacob. You wrestle with Him. Say, God I cannot let you go before you speak to me. Before I see that breakthrough. And you might walk out of that with a limp. Not seeing the breakthrough. But that moment has defined you. No. Because you have wrestled with a God that is alive. Something happened in you in the wrestling. Now your neighbor is going through something. And he hasn't got the strength to wrestle. But you've got a history with God. And you say, near my bowel. Near my bowel. I will wrestle for you. I will contend for you. Hey, where's the church that wrestles for one another? He had prayed our prayers. He said, Lord, you know we're going through a difficult thing. Think about it today. Lord, bless him. Jesus' name. I'm serious. Hey? I fear that we have become. That's why God says, rather be hot or cold. You say this, but you're not. But don't say to me, I'm here. And then it's lukewarm. And please, I'm not here. I'm not here to beat you today. You're in my heart. There's an invitation for God moments. Here's a question. Who creates the moments? God or me? Don't answer now. Because you might be wrong. Not that there's a right or a wrong. Just think with me. Who creates the moments? Some of us will say it's God. He's all sovereign. He creates the moments. He's got my life planned out. The moment doesn't come, it was His will. Some of us will say, no, it's me. I'm the one that pushes in. I'm the one that contends. I'm the one that... I think it's both. I have to use it again for you. You have promised yesterday. And you're in the front row. So we'll just throw it. Christian Monique. They got engaged yesterday. Congratulations. How long have you been married, Sydney? Sydney and Marijke have been married 25 years. I mean, they're yet to start it. They're not even on one. The car is still idle. He hasn't pulled it out yet. Both Sydney and Marijke and both Christo and Monique will tell you that it's not just the one that pursues the other. It's both. I can't believe that Christo is the only romantic and Monique is just on the receiving end of all that happens. No, she also gives. And he gives. He pursues. She pursues. Same with Sydney and Marijke. They wouldn't be married for 25 years if Sydney didn't pursue her in some way or another. Of course he has. You catch what I'm saying? It's both. It's me and it's God. You see, Gideon was treading wheat in a wine press. He wasn't looking for God. God showed up. Yet it was Joshua that pursued God at the tent of meeting. It's both. It's both. And we need, as sons and daughters, we need two things. Number one, we need a conscious awareness of God so that we don't miss His moments. Quick example. You walk down the road. There's a sick guy. You have this little thing in your heart. Pray for the sick guy. Now you're thinking, I'm already late. Oh, for God's sake, no man. Lord, next time. You don't even think it out loud. You just brush it off. It's like you just, yeah, yeah. And you probably never even think of that again in your life. But what if that was your God moment? And irrespective of the groceries, the wheelies and all that happens, you stop and you pray. And in that moment, God uses you. Let's say He opens the eyes of the blind. Friend, for the next couple of days, you're going to tell everybody in your life that you prayed for a blind guy and his eyes opened. It will be a God moment that defines the rest of your life. You will forever think back, yeah, I prayed for the blind. Eyes opened. I think back of the miracles that I've seen God do through my life. They're God moments. I've testified about them a hundred times. It was a God moment that I got invited into. And it's not just the moments in victory. It's the moments in failure as well. Loftus for Jesus. It's the only time I really enjoyed going to Loftus. All the guys in Pretoria listening to this, I know there's a couple of you. Forgive me for saying that. Went to Loftus for Jesus. From Angus Buck and preaching up a storm. And the spirit of revival burns in my heart. I cry like a baby in that stadium. I walk out there. We're going home. I'm so on fire. Thousands of people streaming down the street. Yes, it's a guy in a wheelchair. As I walk past him, the Lord speaks in my heart. Lily said, silver and gold have I not, but in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk. My heart starts beating. I see my heart beating through my own shirt. I promise you. I walk down the road. I look at my wife. She looks at me. The look she gives me. I know, okay, I'm not going to walk away. Really. She would have been, like, are you for real? Are you walking? She knows exactly what happens that moment. I turn around. I sit in front of that guy. I said to the guy, what's wrong? Well, he's in a wheelchair. I put my hands on his legs. He's sitting under a blanket. I feel the thickness of his legs, and the first thought that pops through my head is, there's no way this guy can stand. It's like it's only the bone and the skin. There's no muscle. There's nothing there. And the thought goes through my head. He can't stand. Yet I feel God says, pray for him. And in that moment, now we've got, and remember, we're talking thousands of people streaming out of laughter. Now we're talking with cameras. I mean, the crowd has gathered. Yes, and now's the moment. Now we have to get up. Yes, I can feel nervous. I'm just, I mean, I'm saved a couple of months now. Thought goes through my head. You know the thoughts. I just quit smoking the other day. I just, will God ever use my, you know, I'm doubting everything. I mean, I was like, bong. And in that moment, I asked the guy, can I pray for you? Yes, yes, yes. He's all too happy. Pray for me. I asked him what's wrong. He says, no, I can't walk. I thought, well, it's clear. He says, no, I've got pain everywhere. And he lifts up that blanket, and it just soars on his body. Now I lay my hands on that, and I pray. And I pray, and I pray, and I look up, and I see tears rolling down his face. And he says to me, the pain is gone. Yes, and I was thinking to myself, wow. And in that moment, I feel God says, pick him up. And this would have been the God moment that I would have loved to share with you. And in that moment, I took him by the hand, and I pulled him up. But I didn't. I kept it. Fear gripped my heart in that moment. I was too afraid. What if I pull this man up, and he doesn't stand? Hundreds of people around me, cameras clicking. What if he doesn't stand? And for me in that moment, I was happy enough that the pain went away. Don't care. And I stood up, and I walked away. I tell you, I'll give anything to go back to that moment. But, here's the beautiful thing about God. That is still a God moment in my life. It has defined me, because I can tell you, after that day, I have not once in my life disobeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit to pray for someone. Not once. If He says, well, go. Because I have realized in that day, the price of disobedience. And I choose to believe that God is still able to do the miraculous. Seeing somebody else, maybe just two minutes after me, to put him in another form. I don't know. God is God. But for me, I say, God, no. The point I want to make is, whether you pray and the guy jumps up out of the wheelchair, or he doesn't, it's your moment. Seize it. Seize the moment in God. And not just in ministry, in the seeking, in the pressing in. What if you wake up two o'clock in the morning, and you wake up, and normally when you wake up two o'clock in the morning, your body might tell you, there's a reason why you've woken up. Your bladder says, just, let's quickly make a turn. But maybe you wake up in the middle of the night. Have you ever had this thought? Anybody, just raise your hand. If you've ever woken up and, okay. So, don't raise your hand now. Who of you in that moment, seize the moment. Hey. How am I awake now? But I tell you, after this day, you're never going to wake up again, two o'clock in the morning. And then think to yourself, how am I awake now? You'll always remember, that in that day, Pastor Eric challenged my thinking, that maybe, just maybe, I woke up, because God wants me to be awake. And though it's not comfortable, and lekker, and it's cold, and it's, maybe that's the time for me, to climb out of that bed. Half an hour later, you might sound much, more passionate than that. And you just know, that you're contending for something. You might even know, what you're praying for. The Bible says, the Spirit of God, prays through us, the mysteries of God. You're pressing in. You might be praying, for some guy in China, that's about to be executed tomorrow. And God finds no man to pray. Yet there's somebody, two o'clock in the morning. He says, I'll pray. And not only is your moment, shaping the course of your life, it might be shaping the course, of somebody else's life. Church, that's a beautiful thing, about moms. Moms, you also carry the power, to create moments, for your children, with God. There were moments, that God encountered, Veronique, that I had nothing to do with. It was just her moments, dreams that she had, encounters with Jesus. But there were moments, that I created for her. Not plastic, not in a way, that is religious. But there were moments, we would pray as a family, and I would say, Veronique, what's Jesus for you? It's a moment, that God might, just might, whisper something to her, that could forever change her. But it's because her dad said, let's take a moment, to listen what Jesus is saying. Simple example, you catch what I'm saying? God moments. And friends, they're everywhere. I'm closing, really closing. The invitation today is this, that there's an invitation, to God moments. Listen to what I'm telling you church, there's an invitation, for God moments. There's always been, but I stood this morning, looking out of my window, looking at the ocean, and it's like, there was this invitation, from God to say, Erik, look for the moments, make the moments, be expectant for the moments. I tell you, you're going to have God moments, in this week, just because you're expectant, just because you're aware, just because you are like, you know, you know. And when he whispers, respond. When you feel that drawing, go. Be expectant, that he will meet with you. Be expectant, that he will encounter you. Is that okay? What if we take time this morning, and we say, yes Lord, can I teach you something? Seeing that I'm the guy with the mic, can I teach you something? The best answer you can give God, is yes. I've walked into many meetings of my life, and then I just say, Lord, the answer is yes. I haven't heard him ask a question yet, I just know, that whatever he's going to ask, it'll be yes. What if we live our lives like that? What if we say this morning, yes Lord, yes Lord, come and encounter me. I make a decision, yes Lord, to come and pursue you. Let the moments of my life, be defining moments, like this widow, like Joshua, like Moses, like Hannah, every single one of them. Let us live our lives, as people that live from God moments. Let our testimonies, constantly be fresh. For Auskland, when was the last time you had a God moment? Hey, my bud, this morning, I mean, woe unto me for Auskland, that question, he says, you know what bud, back in 2003, I mean, I was just like, hey, when's your last moment with God? When's your last moment with God? What if this church, it's my prayer, I prayed it this morning, we prayed it in the first service, I'm a reckless prayer warrior, I'll pray it again now. What if this church, becomes the place of God moments, for others? I mean, you're just like, okay Mark, and you walk through these doors, bam! Hey, some of you, have walked into this church, and had a God moment, in this church. Anybody can raise their hand. Let this church, be a place of encounters. Stand with me, this morning church, let's pray. And then we're going to pray, into one or two things. I'll definitely, be done by four. Thanks Kevin. Okay. Yeah, lunch is on the house. Who's buying lunch? Sydney. Sydney says, KFC buckets for everybody. Okay. Church, I can't pray this prayer for you. I can agree with you, but it's something, that you need to pray yourself. And you don't have to pray, but if you say, God, I want to encounter you more. I want to have these moments, God, I want defining moments, that will shape my life, and shape the lives of others. Then pray that. In this moment, close your eyes with me. Yara, we come to you this morning. You hear every single man, and every woman, as they speak to you. It's our cry, it's our desire, it's our prayer, it's our hope, it's our desire, to live our lives, in these moments, defining moments with you, God. Worship team, won't you join us? And then I want to give you an opportunity, just wherever you are, speak to your Father. I'm going to agree with you in a moment. I'm going to pray. Maybe your prayer this morning, is one, like Gideon, pray the prayer, which is saying, God, wherever I am, busy treading wheat, in my life currently, come and meet with me, God. I long for you, to come and meet with me. Maybe your prayer, should be like the mother, the city of Nain, but more violent, passionate. Not that you have to, pray that now, but maybe that's the attitude, that you need to adopt, currently in your life, to say, God, I want to grab a hold of you. I want to grab a hold of you, today. God, I contend for something, in my life. Lord, Father, I put my prayer, my faith, with every single person, in this place. Every person, that's praying that prayer today, saying, God, I want to have those moments, more in my life. I want to be able, to see them clearer. I don't want to miss them. I don't want to miss the invitation. God, I want to pursue, encounter with you, life-defining, altering moments, in my life. So Lord, we pray in this day, we pray in this day, for something to shift, for something to move, for something to change. Father, I want to pray now, for the Moses, to have their, burning bush encounters. Oh, it's a great place to say, yes Lord. I want to pray, for the Gideons, to have their, threshing floor encounters. I want to pray God, for the Hannah's, to have their moments, in the temple God. I want to pray, for the Abrams, to have their moments, in their tent God. The Joshua's, to have their tent, of meeting moments God. I pray now, for the people, that feels like the women, with the issue of blood, that they will have that moment, where I can grab a hold, of the cloak of Jesus. God, the lay man, at the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus rocks up, into our world, creates a moment, of healing, of restoration. Father, I pray into this, right now, in the powerful name of Jesus. Let this be, a defining day. Let us look back, on Mother's Day 2024, and say that was the day, where something shifted, something moved, something reminded me, that God is still a God, of moments. And He's looking, for those moments with me. Moments that can, change my life. Moments that will, forever shape the lives, of others. And God, we say yes Lord. Say that with me. Say yes Lord. Oh, let's say that, with a bit more passion. Say yes Lord. Lord, I pray that you will, come and encounter, every single one of us, in this week, and make our lives, lives of encounters, for others. Come on, have you thought about that? That God wants to use, your life as a God moment, for others. That maybe this week, you are somebody else's, God moment. Oh, there's like 17 people, with faith in the house. That your life, could be a God moment, for somebody else this week. That they could be praying, God just send somebody, that could lay hands on me. Just send somebody, that can provide for me. Just send somebody, that can speak to me, and you are that moment. Father I pray, open our ears, let us see, let us feel, and have the compassion, that you had on this woman, in Luke 7. God give us, the same compassion, for the lost, for people around us. Lord make us, the encounters of others. I pray, and if you agree with that prayer, come on, why don't you say, Amen. Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Come on, let's give Jesus some praise, this morning, can we? Thank you. I'd love a leader to stand with every one of these ladies, wouldn't you? Moms, for those of you standing, I want to ask you to just look at me for a moment, before I pray for you. When we lost our first child, due to a miscarriage, back in 2006, or 7, somewhere there, the Lord gave me a scripture in Psalm 22, I can't remember the verse, but it's been a scripture that has just so encouraged me, to pray for you. I want to ask you to just look at me for a moment, before I pray for you. When we lost our first child, due to a miscarriage, back in 2006, or 7, somewhere there, the Lord gave me a scripture in Psalm 22, I can't remember the verse, but it's been a scripture that has just so encouraged me, to pray for you. I want to ask you to just look at me for a moment, before I pray for you. When we lost our first child, due to a miscarriage, back in 2006, or 7, somewhere there, the Lord gave me a scripture in Psalm 22, I can't remember the verse, but it's been a scripture that has just so encouraged me, to pray for you. I want to ask you to just look at me for a moment, before I pray for you. When we lost our first child, due to a miscarriage, back in 2006, or 7, somewhere there, the Lord gave me a scripture in Psalm 22, I can't remember the verse, but it's been a scripture that has just so encouraged me, to pray for you. I want to ask you to just look at me for a moment, That child was God's, even though it never saw you, or you saw that child. That child has been God's from the beginning. That child is in His hands, and I'll tell you, that child of yours is waiting for you. I'm speaking specifically to anybody that's gone through something like an abortion. That child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, that child doesn't receive God's love, Whether you've lost a child somewhere in your life due to whatever accident, it might even be suicide, or whatever, it doesn't matter, but if you've lost some child due to miscarriage or abortion, that in this day, that the healing power of Christ will flood your heart. And if there's any form of happiness, sorrow, grief, that's still connected to that event in your life, that the healing power of Christ will come. No matter how traumatic that experience was, but that God will come and restore in this day. So church, won't you stretch out a hand with me to our mom standing. Father, we pray for every single mother standing right now, that have lost a child. We pray for the palm of Gilead, the healing power of Christ to flood their hearts right now. We pray that every memory that still causes pain or despair, heaviness, sorrow in their hearts, that those memories will be, in this day, renewed. And that every memory of sorrow will be filled with one of joy. We pray in this day for that exchange, all sorrow to go, joy to come, heaviness to go, freedom to come. We thank you God that we know that those children are with you. We thank you God, that we can pray healing over our moms in this day. Healing over every lady standing. Thank you God. Lord Holy Spirit, I want to ask you, if it's your will, that you will show these moms something about those kids that they've lost. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. 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In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. In this moment, show them something God. God loves you. What's your name, sir, with the jersey you're wearing? Yeah. Simon. And that's you? That's your wife. And I'm just testing you. I mean, I can't see a ring, so I don't want to assume it's your wife. Simon. And your wife's name? Are you English? Irish? Oh, come on, man. For real? I like that. And you married an Afrikaans girl? Welcome to the family, bud. It's just better than the Irish, eh? Afrikaans people, eh? I feel like there's something that I should hold back that I'm proud to say, but I can't not say what I have in my heart. Simon. I've prayed many a times in my life, that God never let me say more than what you want me to say, never say less than you want me to say. And I want to be sensitive in what I say. But Simon, and it's not because there's anything bad in what I want to say. Simon, God loves you very much, man. And the enemy has contested what I've just said in your life. He's contested for that. Does God really love you? And I see how the enemy has warred against you and against your wife. And there's been very difficult seasons in your life. In all areas of your life. And I feel like God wants me in this morning, and that's actually all I feel I should say. The rest I'll say as He leads me. I feel God wants me to say to you, allow me to war for you. There's some things you cannot war against in yourself, Simon. And your wife has tried her best as well to war with you, against the onslaughts of the enemy in your life. But God is the one that fights for us. You know how powerful that is, man? And I think that if I have to, what I see in the Spirit is that you are that kind of a guy that you would war for some of your friends as well. Maybe it's because you're Irish. If Simon is your friend, then you know you've got somebody that will have your back. It's like if you want my noble pizza, and I'm going to say, I'm going to fight for my own Simon, because I know you'll be with me. Can you imagine if you are that kind of a man to other Simon, how God wants to fight for you. And I want to say this morning, for both of you, stop warring in your own strength. There's some things that you're fighting for, and I even see in relationships, I see how the enemy has even come against your marriage. He's warred against you. And you've tried your best to war back that God warred for you. And if you don't know how to do that, come and chat to me. But it's about a surrender, Simon. It's about a giving away, so that God can do. I'm full of myself, what can He fill? I'm not saying you're full of yourself, I'm just saying you've got to let go, and let God war for you, Simon. For your marriage, and for the things that you're contesting for in your life. God is for you, and He's not against you. And He's brought you to this place that I did tell you, that He's for you and He's not against you. And He loves you, man. He loves you. He loves the both of you. Have you got kids? Come and chat to me sometime, when you have something in that area that I feel God wants to manifest. Come and chat to me, and you have a moment, okay? Stretch out a hand to Simon and his wife today. Father, I want to pray that the storms of their laughs will cease, and become quiet. Storms in their hearts as well. Father, you know how the enemy has warred against them. And I pray that in this day, Lord, give them the strength to give over to you. Not to fight harder, but to let you do the finding for them. We pray over their marriage, and every other relationship. Breakthrough. Strength. Power. Life. I thank you for the man that you have made, Simon. Thank you for the character that you have placed within him. God, reveal yourself through him. Take them to new spaces and places. I pray God in Jesus' name. Amen. What if we just give Jesus a hand? Thanks, Gavin. Church, bless you. Have an amazing Mother's Day. It's been so good to be with you. I'm sorry for taking some of your time. But have a lovely Sunday. Enjoy Mother's Day. I'll see you next Sunday for Pentecost. Love you. Thank you, Pastor Eric. If we could just continue with that. Let's just honor Pastor Eric. He's our family, and we love him. We love him. I know that our