"II Bangladesh"--Caring Enough to Pray & Why!

It's been said that if it's big enough to care about, it's big enough to pray about. I think all of us have heard that at one time or another, and we say, well, that's good admonition and something to think about. But allow me to make this very personable to you and to me on this Sabbath day, and add the variable to that equation.

Again, what is the equation? If it's big enough to care about, it's big enough to pray about. Therefore, then, what is that variable? And the variable is simply this. Will your heart be spiritually alert and attentive enough to pray about it because you care as God cares? And therein lies the difference of being Christlike and being a follower of our Heavenly Father above. Why do I bring this up?

Five months ago, I shared a report about a fledgling, newborn, small church group in Bangladesh that all of us have become familiar with. It's a group that we helped last year for the Feast of Tabernacles. So it kind of became personal when the news came back from them of what was happening in their area. And to recognize that this small little group, about 17 to 18 fellow believers, were experiencing dynamic persecution and they were undergoing it.

And even beyond that, they're Christlike example of forgiving those that were brutalizing them. Let me take you back for a second. Remember that here's this small group in Bangladesh. When we were growing up, we called it East Pakistan, which is about 90% Muslim, about 10% Hindu. And then here's a band of Christians in a village. I just want you to think about that. Eighteen fellow believers in this nation of very few people that espouse Jesus Christ, much less the way of life that we've come to know through the biblical understanding.

What would that be like? Let's just think about that. What would that be like? That would be like having 18 goldfish in a shark tank. I want you to think about that. Eighteen goldfish in a shark tank. How would they survive other than by God's grace and by God's intervention and by God's blessing? We got some wonderful news about it. Last year, just a rehearsal, we were thinking that we were going to help them that they were new to the way, as was mentioned, I think, in the message, the way.

And that we were going to be able to help them get a kind of a head start. And then the marvelous example that they showed that they did not press charges against a mob of 200 people coming at Manich, who's the leader, and the families that were surrounding him. Two hundred people showing up at your door. How would you like 200 people? Just think about this. Are you with me? Let's make it real. Can you imagine 200 people showing up at your front door and you're their target? By the way, they do not like you. They do not want you to be around.

They don't like what you believe in. They want you to get out of town. And then they beat people with their fists and with sticks. And then they create a cancel culture where there's so much fear that a couple of your fellow members have got to close their doors. It's called cancel culture. Down and out. And then to recognize that that same group decided amongst themselves not to press charges, but forgave their oppressors. Very Christ-like. Think of Christ on the cross. Father, forgive them, or they know not what they do.

And then beyond that, they decide that they want to build a water spring, water well, because it gets very dry there in the tropics before the monsoon season when everything lets loose. But they developed a well so that all the Hindus, basically a Hindu village within a Pakistani, within a Muslim country, and that everybody, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, could all have water during the dry season. For a while it worked, and then it didn't. And now that group is back again, and they're after your fellow brethren in that village, and they want to shut them down.

They want to shut them down. They want Manic, who I've gone back and forth a little bit in email with, so I feel like I get to know him a little bit better. They want them out of town. What do we do then? Where do we go from here? Last December I gave a message. It was entitled, Regarding the Subject, Witnessing as Salt and Light Under Tribulation.

Witnessing as salt and light under tribulation. I was, personally, I was stunned by their example, and I had to ask myself as much as I would like to rise to that level that they did, what would I have done under the pressure? And they showed all of us around the world what Christianity is all about. To forgive, to move on, and even bestow and extend yourself and what you have and offer it to others.

Well, news came in here this past week. You might have read it already. I sent out the letter.

Let me just share a little bit of that letter, where this is from Manic, M-A-N-I-K, Manic Besswas.

Please join us in earnest prayer for God's intervention and for His strong and mighty hand to silence the angry mob. Also, that God will intervene and, according to His lovingkindness, to protect His people. Bring peace to the village where our faithful UCG members live.

Include prayers that the road will not be closed as well. See, they want to shut down the road that leads to the water spring. Because they're afraid if they keep that open and that water spring stays open for everybody in the community, that a part of the Hindu community will leave that faith and become Christians. Primarily, when you think about it, because of the witness of those that are amongst us, that are amongst them, that would be attractive. They would wonder, what is this all about? What kind of God do they worship? That even after everything that we've done, they would want to serve us and give back to us. Include prayers that the road will not be closed as well. We know God has fought many battles for His people and certainly knows how to defeat this foe. And it says, thank you for your heartfelt petitions to our great God.

I'm going to give you the title of my message and the SPS. Simply put, you're probably going to smile at this for a moment. I had to smile at when I was writing it this morning. Do you know how the apostle Paul, and please, I do not equate myself at that level, and this is not holy cannon, even though we're going to be sharing scriptures out of the Bible.

Remember how the apostle Paul would do 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, or 1st Thessalonians and 2nd Thessalonians? I'm going to call this 2nd Bangladesh, because they gave the first Bangladesh sermon in December. This is the 2nd Bangladesh, titled, Caring Enough to Pray. Caring enough to pray, and I'm going to give you the why. And we're going to go right into it. How often do you, how often do I, as fellow laborers in the Word and disciples of Jesus Christ, we hear something, we think about it for a moment, but then it passes us by. We perhaps are asked to pray, and or we hear some news that should jolt us into immediately going to our Heavenly Father above and praying for this situation, praying for these people. So I'm going to ask you to go again, allow me just to share that, to get us all on the same page. 2nd Bangladesh. Hope you can spell Bangladesh. Caring enough to pray. Caring enough to pray. Not just to pray, not just to think about it, but caring enough to actually go to prayer before our Heavenly Father where things can happen, and why that's important.

Jesus, throughout the Gospels, often would say, follow me. And of course, you know that I write the column called, follow me in the Beyond Today magazine. But what I want to share with you is, He says to follow me. That's easy to read. It's easy to know. It's easy to say.

But do we do it in this regard when it comes to being sensitive to pray for people and to pray instantly, immediately, and bring their cares and bring our concern for them to our Father's throne?

Let's turn to John 1720. I want to develop some background here for you of why.

And something that we need to do to become more like our elder brother, Jesus Christ. Join me if you would in John 1720. There's a purpose why I'm turning there.

In John 17 and verse 20, let's understand what's happening.

This is the last night of Jesus' life. He's in that upper room with the disciples.

He's going to die the next day. And He's actually the only one in that room that knows He's actually going to die the next day. So He is surrounded by four walls. He's upstairs in the, what we call the upper room. And notice where He goes in this, what we call the true Lord's Prayer.

Matthew 6 is what we call the disciples' prayer, because the disciples said, Jesus, Rabbi, teach us how to pray. So our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, etc., is called the disciples' prayer. But this is Jesus, the longest prayer of His that is recorded in Scripture. Now, notice what happens. He's there. He's giving final thoughts to His disciples. He's initiating what we call the New Testament Passover. All of these things are happening in that room. He's talking to the twelve. Perhaps there were others in there. We don't know. The Scripture is silent. But we know the twelve were in there, or at least the eleven, because one had left. Then notice what happens. All of a sudden there is a transference. He's outside the room.

He's extending Himself beyond the immediate, beyond being walled in with the immediate. Notice what it says. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word. Now, you've heard the Scripture. I use it quite often. I understand that. But it struck me how often do we get trapped in the immediate, trapped in our surroundings, trapped in the moment, trapped with what's going on in our own life. And here is Jesus Christ, who's about to be dragged out of the Garden of Gethsemane, tortured all night, crucified the next day. He's talking here, but here's the point I want to share with you. He extends Himself beyond Himself. He extends Himself beyond the moment, beyond the geography that He is standing on, and He is thinking about others. And in that room, He's praying for you and me. That's what the Scripture says. He's praying for those that will yet come through the words of His disciples. He's not only thinking about Himself. He's not only thinking about His congregation that is around Him at the moment, but His outgoing concern. His action is moving beyond Himself.

And here, friends, and those that are listening, He's praying for, He was praying then for you and me today. That's love. Love is not just a feeling. It's not just something that you say. It's not just a wonderful four-letter word. It's action, and He did that. Join me again if you'd be so kind. Let's turn over. Let's come with me to Luke 23, 34. And let's get into the mind of Christ.

In Luke 23 and verse 34, notice what it says here.

Jesus again is on Golgotha. He's nailed to the cross. His life is ebbing from Him. Notice what it says here. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Now, I'm going to use, do I dare say, a little license here and stretch this to our time.

Just a thought. It may be quiet in nature. We'll be talking about that when we go through the class that we're going through. But was Jesus just talking to that audience then? Primarily, yes.

But was He praying? He's praying to His Father. See, He's up there. He's talking. He's praying to His Father. He says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

I suggest He had us in mind and heart at that moment, that He was not just talking to the people that were scolding and ridiculing Him. The Romans said, had nailed Him to the piece of wood, etc. etc., etc. But He had moved, just as He moved beyond that upper loft room the night before, He's moving beyond the geography of Golgotha. He's not trapped in time. That's what God can do. He doesn't get trapped in time. And He's thinking out. He's praying, offering this example of prayer for you and I for all times. Interesting.

What I'm sharing with you is Jesus was always thinking of others wherever He was, and extended His thoughts, His heart, beyond that which was meaty in front of Him.

He could have been caught up with everything else. Well, no, Father, I've got to kind of get ready.

I'm going to be a sacrifice tomorrow and forgotten John 17 and verse 20. But to me, that's one of the neatest verses in the Scripture that Jesus was thinking about you and me on that night, that one day we would be His disciples just as these were. Let's also now see not only how this worked in the past in 31 A.D., but let's go forward today. Join me if you would in Hebrews 3.

And let's pick up the thought here in verse 1.

Please notice Hebrews 3 in verse 1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider—that means take note, stop, stare, take it in—consider the apostle and the high priest of our confession, Jesus Christ, who was faithful to Him, who was anointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house, were to consider His example. In other Scripture, it says that Jesus is our advocate, our advocate. He is there between God the Father and the adversary that accuses us, that comes at us. And there is Christ on our side. He knows that we're going to stumble. He knows that we're going to fall, even though we've given our heart to Him. It kind of drags it down in this life sometimes, doesn't it? And we come short of the glory, and we come and we repent, and we say, Father. And when Jesus is talking to His Father as our high priest, He's praying to the Father.

Hey, Father, we know what Satan is saying. We know He's the adversary. He's going to bring up all the bad stuff. But I'm here to bring up where their heart is, even in that human framework. And Father remembers, see, when Jesus is as a high priest talking to the Father, and that's since He's praying to the Father, He's praying to the Father on our behalf as the high priest, He's the intermediary, He's the high priest, He's the advocate for the people, the Israel of God, the new Israel of God today. And He's praying. It's not even about Him. He's praying for us.

Father, receive them. Don't listen to that guy over there. I'm listening to your people down here below. And they've rung your doorbell with my name, saying in Jesus' name.

Jesus continues to pray for us. He prayed in the upper loft for you and me. He prayed Angalgatha for you and me. And He continues to pray in heaven as our heavenly high priest as He speaks to God on our behalf.

Let's notice John 1334. Well, let Scripture do the talking today. In John 1334, John 13 and verse 34, it simply says this, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. And by this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another. The love that is mentioned here, I know this sounds utterly routine in the church of God community, but that love is from the Greek word agape.

That love is not from around here. It's not earthly. It's not growing out of the soil. It's not growing out of our human framework. It is the gift of God that is bequeathed to us by the Spirit of God to have the same care for other individuals as much as God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son have given themselves for us, extended themselves, taken a time out from eternity and said, I want them to be a part of my family. I want you to think about the thought I'm trying to get across to you just by reading the scripture is stop. Be immediate in prayer. And we're going to talk about that as we go along. Join me in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 17.

1 Corinthians 10 verse 17. Notice what it says here. Why? For we though many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. For we being many are one body.

Those people over in Bangladesh, see, your body's kind of stuck together. And otherwise, I don't see a fall. I know sometimes you say we're falling apart, but I don't see utterly falling apart right now. We're the body is cohesive. It's together. It works together all the parts. Well, most of the time, especially when you're younger. But to recognize this is a thought that God wants us to have with his children around the world. We are one body. We need to be mindful. When they are in pain, we should feel that pain and ask our Father to intervene on their behalf. Join me if you would again in 1 Corinthians 12. I often use this when it comes to funerals or memorial services. And just the other day, Susan and I, we're doing actually one for our extended family up in Burbank. But notice what it says here. That there be no schism in verse 25 in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. This is what will draw us together, that when one member is honored, we rejoice. Amen. Wonderful. But if one member suffers, we all suffer. We're together.

I could ask you a question right now in the suffering that we've become more and more aware of from six months ago to this second book of Bangladesh that I'm sharing with you, this trial that goes on. Please don't raise your hands. That's not the question.

How many of us, how many of you have petitioned God sincerely on behalf of these people that draw us into what is going to ultimately happen to all followers of Jesus Christ as time goes on? These people take us back in modern times back to what the early Christians were suffering in Derby or Lystra or Ephesus or in Corinth or in Antioch, where communities were closing in on them, where all of a sudden they weren't showing up for the, today we call them fiestas in another church, but they were festivals back then. There was a festival almost for every day, even in the pagan Roman world. And all of a sudden your neighbor who's always been there, you grew up together, all of a sudden they're not showing up at the festival in Derby, in Colossae, in Laodicea, in Philatea. Where are they? We've always done this together. Where are they? What's going on? And then people show up at your door, perhaps a mob, because back then cities were very small, streets were very narrow, people lived on top of one another. Just kind of think about 1910, the lower east side of Manhattan, you know, with all the carts and all the people in the streets and the laundry would be hung up. You've seen those old black and white pictures. That's what it was like. What was it like for a lot? What was it like for a lot when those men were pounding on his door? Remember when they came? The mob. And people take more courage in a crowd, don't they? They get nasty. They feel strong and they do things. This is what our people are going through.

I heard something the other day about what's happening in Africa, in northern Nigeria, which is a center point between the Christian South and the Muslim North, that there's this Pokhahram group, which is very much like Hamas.

And the Christian community there, they don't fully understand what we believe we need to understand what God wants us to understand.

But in the midst of all of that, since 2009, over 50,000 individuals that bear the name of Christ have died. There was a pastor—I just heard this yesterday on the radio—there was a pastor.

He was preparing his message for the next morning in the church hall.

And all of a sudden he saw coming out of the distance men in dark. He couldn't quite make them out, but he could see they all had AK-47s.

And he was a pastor. He was preparing his message and they just let loose.

Mo down most of the people in that village.

The pastor went from his church hall to where his home was.

He found his wife dead and he found his five daughters dead. That's northern Nigeria. We have this situation happening in Bangladesh.

Can we pray and hope that it doesn't go away, that there'll be cooler heads, and that God will intervene and bless these people?

That's the world that we live in. That's the world we live in.

1 Peter 2 verse 17.

In 1 Peter 2, 17, Peter, speaking, says this, Honor all people.

Love the brotherhood.

Fear God, respect God, revere God.

Honor the King. It says to honor all people, and notice what it says, Love the brethren.

The term there again is agape.

Outflowing, outgoing, concern away from self.

To stop.

To think.

To feel. To put yourself in those folks' moccasins, as we say in America.

To walk where they're walking.

We have so much bombarding us today in the social media with text coming in all of the time. This here a little there a little, you know, just...

We need to know that when there is a need to pray, where a call has gone out, stop and pray.

Be moved as if it was your story.

Be moved when it comes to the situation I'm talking about. Be moved when we hear that somebody's going through a serious illness. I'm not talking about a three-day flu. Okay. That can be serious, but most likely after three days and three nights, the flu will go away. Okay. But be moved in the circumstance.

Be moved when somebody has lost a mate.

To understand that separation that is...

Oh, oh, so it's like the Grand Canyon.

There's a gulf that wasn't there before.

There's no reaching back or reaching forward for now.

To be in that person's shoes.

Love the brotherhood.

Hebrews 13.3.

Let brotherly love continue. It says, Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels. Now notice verse three. Remember the prisoners as if you are chained with them. Those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in... Oh, there's that phrase, in the body also. The body of Christ.

I would suggest, I realize that different Christian associations, some of our own members, will visit prisoners and visit them in jail. I think the sense of this is that the Bible says, This is dealing with people that have been imprisoned because of Christ.

These were people that were being...

Mankind thought that they were putting this person out of commission.

And that we are to notice what it says here, that when we have people that are chained, and right now our manic and Torah, one of the other individuals, they're like chained. They're being shackled.

The politicians are now based upon that last letter that you can go home and read tonight, are citing more with the other religious communities. They had a whole hearing, and they were not even given an opportunity to speak their peace.

You know what? What's this?

Money? Politics? Elections come up, read the letter.

Our brethren need intervention. We need to pray for them.

We need to be connected with people as much as we can. Now, here we are. We live in America.

And even with the secularization of society slowly encroaching in on Christianity, we're not where they are right now. We're not the 18 goldfish in the shark tank.

We need to be able, in some manner, to...

I'm trying to be careful, Susan. I just had this talk about the difference between sympathy and empathy. We're not where they are, but we have to ask God to kind of... We're like I'm the goldfish bowl looking in because we're in America.

But we need to know that those people are loved by God, are being called by God, are under tremendous duress.

And when we pray, things begin to happen, not only with them, but with us. And I'll be getting to that in a moment. You know, it says in James 5 and verse 14, just jot this down, it says that the prayer of the righteous man in the 21st century, I'll add, the righteous woman, the prayer of the righteous man avails much.

This is a righteous cause that we have. When we stop, we look up, we ask God to listen, and to do his will and to be with these people. Ecclesiastes 4 and verse 9, I like that one. Let's turn over there a second. We'll just let scripture do the talking today.

In Ecclesiastes 4, in the book of wisdom, it says this.

It says, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls. For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? And though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand them, and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. Okay, what's string and cord have to do with you and me as individuals that have the Holy Spirit? The term Holy Spirit in the Bible comes from the Greek word paracletos. I didn't say parakeet. Paracletos. What does the easy translation of paracletos mean? It means one who comes alongside.

It's one who comes alongside for the journey. That's the Holy Spirit. Comes alongside in us to come alongside to connect and remember these people that are chained to the circumstances that they are in right now. When we pray for others, stop. Stop our busy lives. Look beyond our room here. Look beyond our current circumstances and out of love pray for others.

That is exercising God's Holy Spirit. That is God the Father in Jesus Christ. And when he is a terminology that Mr. Shaby uses, that's God growing us. If it's big enough to care about, it's big enough to pray about it. That's a bumper sticker. That's a bumper sticker.

We're moving beyond that bumper sticker and we're personalizing it. If it's big enough to pray about—no, excuse me—if it's big enough to care about, it's big enough to pray about it, we're going to add to that. So what are you going to do about it? That's the variable.

That's the variable that we need to think about and understand.

Acts 28, 13.

Next, 28, 13. This is towards the end of Paul's voyage to Rome.

And we pick up the story here. There's been a lot of miracles that occurred on that voyage. That's one of my favorite messages to be able to share. And I have not shared it for years and years.

May give it sometime soon. Resurrect it. A lot of miracles kept there. But God saved the best for last is what I always say about this message when I give it. And notice what it says in verse 13.

He landed—let me find it. For then we circled around and reached Regium, and after one day the south wind blew and the next day we came to Pudioli. We're now on the Italian coast. Now, notice what it says here. And where we found brethren and were invited to stay with them seven days, and so they went towards Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Api Forum and the three ends. And when Paul saw them, notice what it says, he thanked God and took courage. God saved everything that Paul experienced on that voyage, which is miracle after miracle after miracle. Just read through Acts 27 and into 28. He saved the biggest miracle for last.

People that had courage, people that understood that we are one body, people that put themselves at risk by meeting him and traveling with him to what would be ultimately a trial in Rome. They were not thinking about themselves. They were thinking about, we are one body. We are one membership. And we want to be like what Jesus Christ said that in that last night of his life, he said, Father, thank you for these. Allow them to see us, me and you, you and me, I and them, they and you and me. It goes back and forth with those pronouns.

Have you ever seen that expression sometimes when people, you know, hey, you know what? We're tight like this. We're tight. That's how we need to be as the people of God. We need to be tight. We need to get our minds off of ourselves. Take care of yourself, but extend yourself. Now let me make a comment here.

John 15, 13. Then I'm going to start wrapping up here. John 15, 13.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

Now, wait a minute. You're saying, Robin, what are you saying?

What we're talking about is sacrifice. We're giving ourselves away, our life, a little bit at a time, with active, agape, love towards others, and to ask God to comfort people and intervene according to his perfect will. I'm going to talk about Bangladesh in a moment and to understand something that's going to be very important. At times, prayer, when we pray to God, and we offer ourselves, and we say, God, and we put out our list, do this, do this, and do this, and do this. He's not always going to do this, and this, and this, and this.

Just talk to Abraham. Remember? 50, 40, 30, 20. Like, blast off of what human nature is really like and how many people were really righteous. And that was even optimistic because he said eight and less than eight went out. Here's what I want to share with you. When we pray to God and we follow what Manich told us to do, what he would hope for his people, and we would want that for our families and our congregation. I wonder if 200 people were coming down this hallway right now and yelling and then breaking out and beating some of our people. And then even after you left on the Sabbath day, you couldn't open your store. This is what's happening. This is what's happening to our own people because they love God the Father and Jesus Christ. It's easy for it, not easy. We've all had our own challenges in this way of life, but we're in America, which has the Judeo-Christian culture. These are like lambs, living sacrifices, and a sense to the slaughter, the disruption minimally of their life, perhaps having to leave their homes. So we want to honor that prayer and give it to God. But even as God Jesus said at the Garden of Gethsemane, Father, not my will, but Your will be done. The will here is that they can stay in the village. Amen. The will is that they could have their own church building. Amen. That's what we would hope. That's what we want. We'd like to have a kumbaya moment between the Muslims, the Hindus, and the Christians.

And amen to that. God can do that. He can work minds. But wonder if He doesn't.

We still need to pray now for God's will to be done. Even when we do everything that I'm imploring myself and all of us to do, God has His ways. Because we do this does not always mean that God's going to do this. God's mind and heart moves beyond time and where we are at. And sometimes His purposes are served down the way in a different way. Just think of Stephen, the wonderful deacon in Jerusalem, Hellenistic Jew. Stephen's the Greek name. And remember, he gave this tremendous oratory to the Sanhedrin. Then after that, they threw him down. They were going to stone him. What did he say? Father, forgive them. He modeled the prayer of Jesus Christ, speaking to God. Father, forgive them. Just as our our brethren did over in Pakistan, over in Bangladesh.

They asked God to forgive these people and that they would be forgiven. Even when we line up and follow God's will, sometimes He moves beyond those moments. I pray and I hope that that church over in Bangladesh will hold fast and that God will bless them according to what Manicha has asked us to pray. And we need to pray that prayer. At the same time, we need to remember the prayer of Jesus Christ, not my will, but your will be done. And therein lies the great decision.

We can pray in this sense. We can pray that God will give them strength, that God will give them vigor. He knows exactly what's going on. He is looking down there just as He's looking down here. He's God. And it says that He knows the sparrow that falls from the tree and lights to the ground. It says in one sense in Psalms 116 verse 15, it says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. I'm not going that far. What I'm saying is this changed that word. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the life, the life of his saints. He knows where we are. He knows the spirit. If he knows the sparrow that's lit to the ground, then how much more does he know us that have surrendered ourselves to Him? That not only want to keep our physical image but we want to be made in a spiritual image. And to give that to God, to give that to God, that's important.

Let's conclude by going to Deuteronomy 31.6.

This is when Israel is about to go into the land. They've been in the wilderness for 40 years.

And notice what is said here in Deuteronomy 31.6.

Be strong of good courage and do not fear nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, and he will not leave you nor forsake you. What's going to happen over in Bangladesh and all the other Bangladesh moments throughout the body of Christ in one way or the other, no matter how big they are, we need to ask God in prayer to remind those people that they are not alone. God is not going to ditch them.

God may have other plans for them.

God may have other plans. God may have other plans to secure them and to keep them safe.

Back in 67, 68 A.D., when the Romans were coming down from Syria and they were into the Judeo war, the Judeo-Romano war that was occurring, that would actually mean the destruction of Jerusalem, there was a voice that came out of the temple. You can read this in Josephus. There was a voice that came out of the temple saying, flee hence. And it's at that time that the Christian community in Jerusalem began to move towards the hills of Pella. If you've ever read that story, a voice came. They would have wanted to stay. That was home. Maybe they wanted to be a witness of the Christian community at that time.

But God said, move on. Let's just simply pray for God's wisdom for our dear friends in Bangladesh, that, Father, Your will be done. But have mercy. Give these people wisdom.

Give these people courage. Help them to lean on You. Chain Yourself with them in prayer in the days to come. I'm going to make that commitment every day that I'm going to be praying for the people in Bangladesh, and all the Bangladeshis that we don't know every day that are happening around the world, for those that uphold the truth of God the Father and Jesus Christ. What we're going to do right now is we're going to just conclude, and I'm going to say a prayer. Because you know what one point I had in my notes, which I didn't go to, is be instant in prayer. And that's why sometimes we just pray. But this is just going to be the start for us. Let's work together. Let's be together in praying for our brethren around the world.

We are one, one in Christ, before our Father.

When we think of Jesus' prayer, it said, our Heavenly Father. As we say down there, sometimes in the neighborhoods, we may have different mamas, but we've got the same Father.

We have a Heavenly Father. That's what we're going to pray to now, by our heads, please.

Our Heavenly Father, dear God Almighty, we come before you. We thank you so much, Father, that you've called us out of this world, given us your truth, opened our eyes, opened our ears, opened our hearts. And, Father, that work continues from the time of Jesus' forward, where you are calling children to be a part of your family. And, Father, in this moment in time, we're asking that you transport our hearts and our minds not only up to you in heaven, but also to have the big vision and think of our dear brethren over in Bangladesh.

That, Father, need you more than ever. Father, they need to know in their heart of hearts that they're not alone, to give them wisdom, to give them favor, Father. And you say oftentimes with Paul, as Paul said, to give free course to the gospel. That we not only pray for Paul as a minister, but that we pray for Manich and the members over there, that they might have just free course to live their life before you and be the witness that they've been as they've opened up their hearts. They have forgiven. They've brought water to the community. Help them to be patient. Help them, Father, to be wise. This is a tough situation. So in one sense, they need to be harmless as a dove, but as as wise as a serpent going forward. And to draw on the wisdom, not only of the serpent, but the wisdom of Christ who you gave to us as wisdom. Father, watch over and keep each and every life that is there. Bless them. Keep them. Let them know that we care. Let them know that you care, Father. Touch their lives. Enrich their hearts with your spirit. Galvanize them. And, Father, allow us also to learn from them, which we have already so much. So we thank you, Father, and we commit that small group. It's never our size, but it's the size of our God, and you are great. You are wonderful. You are all in all. Your presence extends beyond time and space, and beyond the moment, and you know what you have in store for them in the future.

So, Father, as a servant of yours, along with our family here in San Diego, we bow our heads.

We come to you. Jesus Christ offers up this prayer to you in His name. Father, be moved.

We trust you. We love you. We sincerely commit these lives and hearts into your hands that it all might be to your glory. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.