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(Sam Tillery)
I’d like to welcome you on behalf
of the Pastor’s Prayer and Ministry Alliance.
We have been meeting for the past 6 plus years now the
first Friday of every month calling the body of Christ
together. I would also like to remind us that it is
not about the amount of people that come together, but
the fact that we come together and we represent the
greater body of Christ and the cities from which we
each come.
Next month we will be in Windsor. The
pastors there have been wanting to get involved in the
greater movement in the county and they see how God
has brought them to this place for a purpose. We are
excited for all that the Lord has in store.
So, here we are in Petaluma tonight
and we are going to reverse things up a little bit.
We usually take the first hour and pray into issues
of the city and then the second hour we hear from the
host ministry, but we are going to pray for this church
and it’s ministry concerns and praises first.
But, before we do that, if you have your Bible, could
you turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4. The last couple
verses in chapter 3 say this, “now to Him who
is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Could it be that there are not immeasurably more happening,
because the church is not praying? Now, it is one thing
to pray for a sunny day for our picnic, but that is
not what we are here to pray about right now, but for
the deeper things that relate to the transformation
of this community, specifically about this ministry
here and about Petaluma.
Last month we were at Immanuel Baptist
Church and we had prayed very specifically for them
and Harry, could you come and just share some of what
you have heard has happened there since that time? I
know that some exciting things have happened since the
united body came together at City Reach Prayer and prayed
for them and it has already began to unfold.
(Harry Skandera)
The pastor asked us to pray particularly
into 2 areas. One was into outreach and more specifically
they were going to have a Thanksgiving meal for people
who didn’t have anywhere to go for the Holiday.
They were kind of concerned, because they had never
done anything like this before and they didn’t
know if anyone would show up, etc, etc…So, since
that time of prayer and their event, they have had ten
new people for the past two Sundays in a row. Secondly,
at the Thanksgiving meal, they had 40 people come that
they had never met before and that didn’t have
a home. That was exciting for them to be able to minister
to those who came and to have an open door that had
previously seemed closed, but also sad to see how many
were without a place to be.
(Sam Tillery)
It is awesome that things that happen
as we come together to pray and lift one another up.
How powerful to see such quick results and to see how
encouraged they all are, because of God’s faithfulness
to them.
Let’s continue on with the reading
of Ephesians, “He is able to do immeasurably more
than we could hope or imagine according to His power
that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever! Amen.” Glory where? In the church.
Going on to chapter 4, “…I urge you to live
a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely
humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another
in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body
and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when
you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through
all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been
given as Christ apportioned it.” We are talking
about one church, united in Christ.
Tonight we are going to unite as different
parts. We have Santa Rosa represented, Sonoma, Petaluma,
Windsor, Guerneville, Calistoga and others that are
here to represent their cities.
We are going to hear from Pastor Bill
now from here at Adobe Christian and what some of his
challenges are and how we can lift him up and this people
here tonight.
Lord, I pray that as Pastor Bill comes
and shares, direct us in our prayers together. Amen.
(Pastor Bill)
 It
is such a gift to see all of you here tonight. Pam it
is so good to see you. It has been a long time. I am
actually 39 years old today and I am so not wanting
to be 40. (ha, ha, ha)
You know, we are just a little bit
different here. I am sure that we look a little bit
different, act a little bit different, but I have learned
something here as I have been pasturing, but they are
going to be celebrating 10 years soon. What I’ve
learned is that there are ebb and flows in ministry.
There have been times where it wasn’t all that
good, well, maybe it was good, but just not easy. I
can go from a high on one Sunday to a low on the next,
but I have seen people who were so hard, get softened
and when a door is closed, then another just gets open
even wider.
So, our vision has always been to make
ourselves available, remain open and keep it real. We
want to talk as normal people do, so that people can
be integrated in and feel at home. We probably have
about 10-12 people who are coming that are bran new
to the faith.
I want to see people discover more
and more who they are in Christ and who we are as a
body in this city and what role we play here. We love
being connected with the pastors and we have a great
community here. I have always heard about Santa Rosa
for so long and we are not better than you, but we’d
like to beat Sam some day (ha, ha, ha), but honestly
I am deeply encouraged by Santa Rosa and we have a great
group of guys here, and I think that specifically, this
city is on the cusp of a breakthrough. Possibly a honest
to goodness revival. The pastors are uniting, we are
doing things together.
So, our thrust, our next direction,
this coming January and carrying through probably the
next six months, I am going to be doing a series on
a variety of things. First are marriages.
We know that marriages are under real
assault right now. I mentioned it to my church in prayer
last week, I said, “Look, holidays can bring out
the absolute worst in us. One day your tying bows on
presents and 30 seconds later your in a fight and your
talking divorce.” I truly believe that one of
our strong focuses coming up is going to be marriages,
and not just talking about God’s word in regards
to that, but really praying for people and for opportunities
to bring healing where it needs to happen.
The second is going to be around, “the
sin that so easily entangles.” All of this to
say that Christ has made us a new creation and yet everyday
we are bombarded with temptation. Every week, there
are about 3-5 guys that I am holding accountable on
their internet activity. If I see anything goofy in
there, I have to call them up and it is embarrassing
for me and it is embarrassing for them, but I know that
it is real. I know that that there are many that are
bogged down with this sin and we want to be actively
doing something to begin to seriously battle this in
the church and to help others.
So, this “Fresh Start”
series is going to be renewing our faith, renewing our
purity and vows and then working on focusing on loving
others.
Thirdly, we are always in prayer that
we are trusting God with our finances. God has of course
been so faithful and we just want to keep in check with
trusting in Him and staying up with the financial demands
at the same time. As a pastor I have spent many nights
awake and asking myself if I should be looking for another
part time job, or something, but it has been ok.
Challenges, we have a couple. Number
one, our children’s programs are really growing
and we need workers for that.
I am also really wanting to motivate
people to get together more. I am really trying to get
them excited about reading God’s word. It is a
natural motivator and I would really like to see people
motivated to do that together. We are actually going
to as a church read through the New Testament. I have
broken it down so that it is feasible for everyone.
January through May are usually pretty
good months for us, we pick up extra people and for
whatever reason, people are all on diets and going back
to church. (ha, ha, ha)
My wife has been a long term substitute
in a local elementary school. She is a sub and she gets
calls to work all the time, but I would really love
to see her get a full time job and so would she.
Lastly, for myself, I have one of those
personalities where nothing is ever good enough, so
I am always seeing the holes. I find myself not being
able to enjoy the process or the ride and constantly
looking for the change, does that make any sense? I
feel like in some ways that I am missing the journey,
so there you have it. I would love your prayers and
man, you are all so easy to talk to and you are welcome
back anytime that you would like to come back here.
(Sam Tillery)
Ok, we are going to pray as a large
group together, and so I just want to walk through and
give you some direction. The focus is Adobe Christian
and all that Pastor Bill just shared.
(Prayer)
Father, we pray that you would quicken
all that Pastor Bill has on his heart for this congregation
Lord. We pray that you would water, nurture and abound
in our lives Lord and that they would be ready to pour
out to those around them. Father, may they discover
what their gifts are all that God has put within them.
We pray that every member would be an active member.
We pray that you would release the
congregation with the freedom to give and for a heart
to want to generously sew into all that God is doing
here. We pray that they would not stop at 10%.
Father, we thank you for the work that
you did for us on the cross, dying for us and saving
us and through that comes so much more. In that so much
more comes the abundant life that we can have in you
now. Lord, I pray for this whole congregation and especially
for this pastor Bill, that you would cause his passion,
heart and words would be pregnant with so much life.
May his faith and trust in you be contagious and that
each one here would taste and see that the Lord is good.
May they be hungry for you God, and not even want to
mess with the appetizers anymore, that they would just
want to go straight to the main course, which is you
Jesus.
We pray that they would want to be
in the word and long for fellowship with one another,
because they will have so much to share about what God
is teaching them and what is going on, that they wouldn’t
be able to stop talking about you Lord. We pray that
they would leave this place with a buzz of Jesus and
be talking about you everywhere they go. The light would
be shining so bright in their lives and minds that these
issues of their marriages and pornography would just
fall to the ground. That the light would be so bright
and alive, that all of those other things would pale
and become repulsive to them. We pray that each one
being tempted in that way would become so disgusted
with the enemies counterfeits for real intimacy, that
they would never go back.
We pray that all of the people here
would be real Christians with a real faith, not just
putting God first, but God in everything. We pray that
there would be a renewal here, not just for all of us,
but for the pastor himself and everyone here.
We pray for the men of this congregation,
that you would give then healthy minds and marriages,
not only from going on line, but in their hearts and
minds as well. We pray that you would call every man
to come into accountability and to raise the standard.
May they have the fear of the Lord in all that they
do. Shake them up Lord and arouse them in their love
for you and for righteousness. Teach them what it means
to walk in the fear of the Lord and what that looks
like. Give them a new beginning, Lord.
We pray that you would anoint this
pastor with a message for these men of the joy and freedom
that comes with holiness. Show Pastor Bill in how to
release these men in their journey in holiness and how
they can be set free. Bring them to a new level of transparency.
That they would be honest and real with each other so
that they can be truly set free and experience all that
you have for them.
Give him the ability and strength to
stand behind any brother who is weak and who is falling
and to lift him up. We pray that they would serve each
other and support each other.
(Sam Tillery)
We are going to spend some time in
prayer for the problems that this place is facing, but
we are not going to pray about the problems, we are
going to listen for the opposite. We will pray into
what God wants to release in this place and pray into
that, which will naturally deal with the problems. We
pray into His positive purposes and His destiny for
this place. So, just take a moment now to listen and
then we are going to release positive prayer and releasing
into this congregation.
(Prayer)
 We
pray that there would be abundant joy, rest and peace
that passes understanding for the people in this place.
We pray that there would be an overflow
of your love in this place, Father. Love for one another
and love for those outside. Let there be agreement here.
Give them your heart to reach out to
one another.
We pray that the walk of faith would
step into greater boldness this next year and that this
would be a fresh start for this whole congregation.
Father, we see Pastor Bill speaking
boldly from the pulpit and with great freedom and joy
about the love of the Father, the word of God and the
truth that is and will continue to set people free.
We pray that you would increase in
pastor Bill and give him a greater ability to speak
into the lives around him and move him beyond the natural
into the prophetic and supernatural.
We pray that he would be so intimate
with you Lord, that his heart would be expanded and
a gift of faith to rise up in greater measure in his
heart. Increase his vision and carry him in the power
of your love.
May all that you have for pastor Bill
and for this congregation to be released, Father.
(Harry Skandera)
I have been in anticipation in coming
here to Adobe. About six months ago, the Lord began
to change how we prayed at City Reach. We go into different
ministries, cities and events in the body of Christ
and into the county, so we came here and sewed into
this place. We see Petaluma as a place of resource.
As we prayed, we were listening for
the Lord’s heart for this place. So often when
we have a problem, it is because we have a idea of what
should be happening redemptively, but we are stuck,
the eyes are activated, but they are not going where
they are supposed to. The point of the vision in the
first place is not just to pray to stop the bad stuff,
but for whatever that bad stuff was holding back to
come forth and to walk in God’s redemptive purpose.
It takes us to shift in our thinking
and God wants to remind us that we are rich kids. Sam
mentioned the abundance that God as for us, which is
above what we could ever hope or imagine. I want to
challenge us to really pray in great faith. This is
a pillar church. It is not an accident that we are here.
I want you to pray, as you are in this place, like God
gave you a big megaphone that you would release something
that is able to be released, because you are in this
geographical place into the rest of this county.
It doesn’t matter what it looks
like right now, because the destiny is the destiny.
The only thing that can keep us from that is to get
distracted with the road blocks and let that become
our focus instead of, “no, no, no, that is not
going to keep us from God’s intention and from
speaking and proclaiming these things.” So, think
about what is to be heralded from this place here tonight.
What is it that we are supposed to speak?
(Prayer)
May Petaluma step into her divine call.
Awaken her Father God. Lord, Jesus, awaken them.
Father, we pray that you would set
people’s hearts ablaze for you, so much that it
would be known as Petaluminate, because your love and
people would be so bright here.
May the abundance be more in this place
than it has ever known before and may it be used for
your kingdom’s purpose. We pray above and beyond
what we have ever seen before. We pray for abundant
life here Lord. We release kingdom thinking in every
level of our lives.
Father, we declare that this would
be a place of justice through families being re-united,
marriages being restored, and that which is lost would
be paid back even to 100 fold. We pray that the people
would see and take note that the church in Petaluma
really does love one another.
We pray that the people of this city
would not feel like the unwanted step child any more,
but that they would realize that they are full blooded
sons and daughters. Father, even on this road that has
had so many accidents and has been so dangerous, that
the roads have been widened, Lord we praise you for
that. We are proud of being here Lord, and we want to
own it and to see the Lord glorified here.
Father, we agree, release and declare
that the glory of the Lord shall be a canopy over this
whole valley, and God, you have purposed and destined
for this place to be a place and point of release. A
release of the witness for the Son of God, a witness
to the kingdom of God, not only to the city and the
inhabitants of this place, but across the nations.
Father, you are establishing the canopy
of your glory over this valley. It is something that
has been in your heart for many, many decades. Thank
you Lord, that we have the privilege to see this and
be a part of those who are partnering with you, similar
to that in Isaiah chapter 7. Petaluma will be a forerunner
and a sign of what God can do and a place where those
who pass through will sense your presence.
Father, we pray that this would be
a safe place for children, as this was where Polly Klass
happened, that that would be redeemed and that this
would be a place where your protection would cover even
the darkest places.
Father, we pray that you would raise
up intercessors for every church here in Petaluma and
over this whole city. Raise them up and teach them how
to pray in every way.
Raise up the pastor’s awareness
that they need intercessors and that they need that
covering.
Lord, bring your vision of revelation
and knowledge for this place into a visible manifestation
and reality. We just believe you God to do this and
know that you are faithful to complete the work that
you have began.
Father, may they see the importance
that they are and in what they have to bring and what
work you are going to do through them, an emergency
work.
Bless them with strength and encouragement.
Give them the wisdom that they need and bring the help
that they will need, Father. We pray that they would
be protected from the schemes of the enemy and that
they would be filled with all of your power from on
high.
(Sam Tillery)
I just want to give you a few announcements
before you leave here tonight.
We have these four videos that we have
been working on and are here on DVD and they cover a
few of the things that we have been doing here in our
city as a result of our united prayer. One of these
videos is called “Together in Christ.” Our
prayer is that we would be able to get this into the
hands of the pastors and that they would then show it
to their congregation so that they can see what God
has done and that they would take a special one time
offering for the Pastors Alliance.
We are a home mission and desire to
see the body unite together and move forward in praying,
sharing and caring for this community. We are also asking
churches to consider putting the Pastors Prayer and
Ministry Alliance on their home missions budget as a
co-mission, but we want you to pray as these are being
distributed that people wouldn’t just go, “Oh,
that’s nice,” but that they would catch
the heart of what God has been doing and that they would
enter in by praying and sharing.
We want to see each expression of the
body of Christ to walk in each of their destiny’s
and to help each other as united cities, yet distinctive
in our function. If you haven’t received one,
they are free, so feel free to take one. If you would
like to give financially to the ministry, we are not
going to take a formal offering, but we will leave a
box right in the back by the Christmas tree and you
can drop it there on your way out.
The idea of this DVD is to get it into
the hands of your pastors or leaders who can be praying
into their part in it. It is now going world wide and
I get e-mails and calls on a weekly basis requesting
copies. That is not to toot our horn, but to demonstrate
how God is working in our county and through the prayers
of the people here to continue what God is doing here
across the globe.
There is another trip to Israel coming
up and it is planned for May 1rst.
God Bless you and thank you for all
that you are and for praying here tonight.
Special Thanks to Christelle Eddy
who transcribed this document. |
