I knew it was going to be a good day right out of the gate as our first service (8:45am) was unusually packed! In fact, that was the most energy we’ve had in our early service that I can remember and it’s the first time our first service was more lively than the second (10:15am, most attended) service. Our third (11:45am) service crowd was their normal fired-up selves!
Major props to Team 3 as they rocked the house! The presence of God was so evident as they passionately led us through the following four songs:
- Bless the Lord (old school RC song adapted from GUTS Church in Tulsa, OK)
- No Compromise
- Our God
- Burning Ones
I hope you have enjoyed our current series as much as I have! The more I study the life and story of Nehemiah the higher he climbs on my list of favorite Bible characters. This guy is a flat-out fearless visionary! We focused this week on Chapter 2 and how Nehemiah commits his plans to God and courageously approaches the king with his vision.
I Am RockChurch (Part 3) | Prayer & Plans
- Nehemiah boldly approaches the king to share his vision for Jerusalem, but the point we drove home is the fact that Nehemiah included God. He fasted and prayed for 3-4 months before having this conversation with the king. He was ready.
- Nehemiah 2:4-5 says, The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
- Do you include God in your plans? Do you talk to Him? Do you listen to Him?
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, Never stop praying. Another translation says, Pray without ceasing. Pray continually. In other words, don’t stop going to God.
- My son Ashton (5) exclaimed to me a few weeks ago after I picked him up from preschool, “Today was the bestest day ever!” I replied, “It was?!” And he said it again this time with more umph, “YES! It was the BESTEST day ever!” I said, “Wow! Why was it the bestest day ever?!” He answered flatly, “Because we had pretzels.”
- I love having conversations like this with my kids. I love talking to my kids. I love when they come to me. I love when they ask me questions. I love when they want to include me. Yeah, you know where I’m going with this. How much more does God want us to approach Him, to talk to Him, to spend time with Him, and to include Him?! After all, we are His kids.
- Philippians 4:6 says, Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Nehemiah does this.
- God answered Nehemiah’s prayer as the king agrees to all of Nehemiah’s requests. Verse 8 says, And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me. This is HUGE! God’s favor is all over him. Psalm 5:12 tells us that the Lord surrounds the righteous with favor as like a shield. You will need to watch our video podcast for a greater explanation of how miraculous this is.
- The second point I wanted to bring out is the fact that Nehemiah had plans. A vision without plans is just a dream. Nehemiah knew what he wanted to do and HOW he wanted to do it.
- Do you have plans? Have you committed them to the Lord?
- Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your PLANS will succeed.”
- Pray.
- Plan.
We are praying and committing our plans (adding a 4th service, remodeling current facility, building larger sanctuary) to the Lord! These are plans that will help us fulfill our mission and carry out our vision of reaching and impacting the unchurched in our community. Are you in?!
Read Nehemiah 3 to get a jump on Sunday’s message (I Am RockChurch – Part 4). Then next Sunday special guest Blaine Bartel will be back with us! Good stuff ahead.
Praying and expecting BIG things this Sunday!
On the Rock,
~Chuck
