Good Morning
Stand with me and lift your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God.
The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name
Amen?
Planning.
Few things in our lives happen spontaneously.
You need a plan—a plan for building relationships, for witnessing to others, for reading the Bible, and for praying each day. Almost everything in life needs a plan.
Good leaders are planners. They always think through where they’re headed, and they don’t waste time worrying about failure.
Effective ministry leaders start with prayer, and then they plan what God wants them to accomplish.
You and I can do the same.
We can pray and ask the Lord what He wants.
It takes patience and prayer and then when He shows us, we can do it with His guidance.
Why is planning important in our lives?
God does it. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).
God commands it. “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (Proverbs 4:26 GNT).
Turn with me in your Bible to Ephesians 5:15-17.
Say, “Amen” when you are there.
Planning shows good stewardship.
Read with me.
“Live life, then with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time. Don’t be vague but grasp firmly what you know to be the will of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:15-17 PHILLIPS).
Nehemiah was a master planner and gave us a biblical model for how to do so in our lives here on earth. He had an enormous challenge ahead of him when he returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls. It’s impossible to tackle something that big on a whim.
Nehemiah teaches us some specific lessons about planning.
Think it through.
Pray about it.
Nehemiah 2:1 notes that Nehemiah first talked to the king about rebuilding the wall “in the month of Nissan,”
which was four months after God began burdening him about the work.
What had Nehemiah been doing during those four months?
He prayed, and he planned. When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, he didn’t hesitate.
When you walk daily with the Lord, prepare for opportunities in life.
Also pray for patience while you wait.
When opportunity knocks, you and I must be ready to open the door. Life is full of opportunities. There are overlooked opportunities all around us.
Often, we’re not ready for them.
Nehemiah was ready. He had been praying for an opportunity to present his idea to the king—and he finally got it. Nehemiah admitted he was scared, but he took the opportunity God put in front of him.
People of faith move ahead despite their fears.
Establish a goal for your life.
Then Nehemiah shares a specific goal with the king. “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’” (Nehemiah 2:5).
You need a target to shoot for with the Lord’s help.
If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it.
Ask yourself three questions as you set the goal:
What do I want to be?
What do I want to do?
What do I want to have?
Set some more goals for life. Don’t just muddle through.
Several of us are thinking, I can’t do that.
Nehemiah was a great example of this. He had never built a wall (or anything else) when he went to Jerusalem to build the wall, but he trusted God for what he was called to do.
Set a deadline for your goals.
In Nehemiah 2:6, Nehemiah set a deadline. The king asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” Nehemiah establishes a specific timeline for what the Lord wants him to do.
A goal needs a deadline. A goal without a deadline isn’t a goal.
Anticipate the problems.
Nehemiah had already asked the king for permission. In 2:7, he asked for protection—a letter he could take with him to provide safe conduct along the way.
Nehemiah’s 800- to 1000-mile journey went through quite a few provinces.
People didn’t travel freely in those days. They had to go through proper procedures. Nehemiah recognized this potential problem and planned for a solution.
You and I can do the same.
We have to walk each step forward in faith.
Faith is what will provide us with the planning, the patience and the desire to move toward His goal in life.
He may want you to start a business.
He may want you to serve in ministry.
He may want you to serve in missions.
He may want you to just concentrate on those you love with His love as the guiding force.
The only way we are going to be able to move on in life is one of two ways.
His way.
Or ours.
I have tried my way many times.
How about you?
I was not very successful on my own.
The only success I was able to have in life, was just what He wanted to happen to guide me to where He wanted
me to be.
Are you headed to where you want to be, or where He wants you to be?
Maybe it is time to let the traffic light stay red for a while and park our lives and spend some time with Him doing some planning for the next part of life.
Amen?
To do so will allow us to be able to do three things:
1. Be refreshed and renewed.
2. See His plan for the next part of our journey here on earth.
3. And to be able to follow His steps not ours.
One of my favorite songs right now is one by a Christian music artist named Zach Williams.
It is called, “Heart of God”.
The one set of verses go like this:
“Come, prodigal children, it’s never too late
Run home to the Father, let Him clothe you with grace
And bury your burdens, break free from your fear
Step out of the shadows out of the shadows, there’s no judgment here.”
Our past is our past and our future is one we can handle on our own or:
with the Lord leading the way.
Amen?
Let us go to Him in prayer.
