Do you have a vision

Nehemite, does everyone have a worship guide?

If you do not, raise your hand.

We'll make sure you have one.

Because on the back's the outline, and I know many of you taking it home, got a little punch like I do.

That's exactly what I do.

I've got a little notebook.

I hold punch it and put it in.

That's what I do.

But the title of the message today is, Do you have a vision?

If we're going to be a healthy church, and we started this series four weeks, then we're going to start the book of 1 Peter.

And I've kind of started going ahead exergetically going through the book of 1 Peter.

It's going to be good.

Oh, is it going to be good?

And you'll be studying that in Sunday school with uh Warren Wearsby.

So it's going to be.

And thank you.

Last week we had over 100 in Sunday school.

Let's give God a hand.

Amen.

Amen.

Let me encourage you to find a Sunday school class, a Bible student, and get involved in it.

I'm telling you, it's awesome.

It really is.

And make this year.

Our motto is I love my church.

I'm going to love my church by being at church, being in Bible study as much as I possibly can, and letting God just really give you his vision for your life.

Because let me go ahead and say something.

Write this down.

Because I really believe this with all my heart.

What it does vision, what is vision?

Where does vision come from?

Write it down on your outline.

Vision is divine revelation.

Vision is divine revelation given through the Word of God.

Given through the Word of God.

That's exactly what Proverbs 29, 18 means when he says, where there's no vision.

In other words, where there's no revelation, where there, hey, where there's no instruction, where there's no direction from God, the people perish.

But then it says in the second phrase, but happy.

And the word happy there means jubilant, but jubilant and excited and enthusiastic are those people that find that vision, that revelation, that direction, that purpose for their life.

See, I'm convinced a lot of Christians, they don't have the joy of the Lord, which is their strength, Nehemiah 8.10, because they really don't have a vision.

Oh, they're saved and they're content, but they're not on fire.

Because, see, when you're not on fire for God, I'm convinced, man, this is so good.

God's been teaching me this recently.

When you're not on fire for God, it's because you don't have a vision.

Because once you get a vision, you get a burden.

And when you get a burden, you can't stand it until you fulfill that purpose or that project or that direction.

Whatever God's laid on your heart as a burden, you've got to do it.

And that's exactly what happened to Nehemiah in chapter 1.

In chapter 1, Nehemiah asked his brother and brethren about the Jews in Jerusalem, and then he asked about the city, the capital of Jerusalem.

Now, what gets me excited about that is when you talk about Jerusalem and you talk about the Jews, you're talking about God's work.

Because that's he's concerned.

He says, I will bless those who bless my people, I will curse those who curse my people.

He's talking about Jews in Jerusalem.

I am so excited because we have moved our embassy back to the capital city of Jerusalem.

Because God, yeah, amen.

God is concerned about Jerusalem.

That's his holy city.

And if you want to know anything about what God's doing, you watch Jerusalem and you watch Israel.

Thank God.

We're pro-Israel.

So, with that said, Nehemiah asked the question.

You got to realize the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were in a terrible condition here.

Over 150 years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon had invaded Israel and carried many of the people into slavery.

And the Jews we see here desperately needed someone who had the vision needed to restore Jerusalem and Israel to her former glory.

They needed someone who was different.

They needed someone who had a heart and a passion for Jehovah.

They needed someone, hey, who had been captured and set on fire by God.

That's what they need.

They needed a person, a vision if they were going to see their situation changed.

And I really believe God had such a man in his name right here as Nehemiah.

And he was being prepared by God as a vessel to be used in a great way to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and to bring back the restoration of the nation of Israel.

You and I may be thousands of years removed from the time of Nehemiah.

But I've thought to myself as I was going through this message and preparing this message, yes, but we live in a nation that desperately needs men and women a vision.

We're living in a time in America that the church has almost gone silent, that it's almost gone silent on issues of morality and the family.

We're living in a day when Satan has literally tried to destroy the structure of biblical morality and biblical marriage.

Oh my goodness.

We live in a day when the walls of morality, and I love what this theologian said.

We are living in a day when the walls of morality, listen, and virtue and society have been torn down and the gates of decency aflame.

We're there, folks.

That's where we are.

And he went on to say this about the church.

It is clear that all, that the church in our day is a mere shell of its former glory and self.

Wow.

And then he's made this statement.

The walls of separation between the church and the world have been torn down.

You look at the world, you see the church, you look at the church, you see the world.

The gates of glory that identified the church as the house of God have been burned by the flames of sin and watch, and tarnished by the blight of apathy.

Wow.

We're there, folks.

We're there.

We're there.

So what's the answer?

If we've ever needed men and women of vision, it's today.

If we've ever needed a church and churches with vision, it's today.

We can become people of vision.

We can become the people God uses for his glory in these most difficult days right now.

We can do that.

We can be that.

Can I get an amen?

That's what gets me excited about this little church.

Now I've a ride here in Westover.

We can become that light that's set on a hill that cannot be hid.

In fact, as we look into these verses, there are three simple facts presented here that teach us how to become people of vision.

In fact, we need to make a wanted poster that says, Wanted! People a vision.

Wanted! I'll put it out there if I had a billboard sign out there.

Wanted! CCW says, here, see, the church at CCJW has, hey, we want people a vision.

So, can we become people of vision?

Absolutely.

So, how do we do it?

All right, let's look at it.

Let's begin.

First of all, number one, people of vision, verses one through four in Nehemiah 1, I see encounter problems.

They encounter problems.

In fact, verses one through four, we see three tremendous things about Nehemiah.

Nehemiah, his brother comes, and by the way, his brother ends up being one of the leaders in Jerusalem after the city's restored and the walls are rebuilt.

But his brother and other brethren from Jerusalem come, and when they come to visit, his brother comes to visit him.

Nehemiah asked the question to his brother How are our people and the city of Jerusalem doing?

Now notice something.

He had a concern about God's people and about God's city.

God was working on his heart already.

Here's the beginning of a vision.

God begins to stir your heart about something.

He begins to stir your heart about something He wants you to do.

Are you listening?

That's important.

That's the beginning of where vision starts.

God lays a burden on your heart about something that He wants you to do.

I had a lady that came to me.

I was at the Apple store since my watch the other day said I had fallen down.

I figured I better go check that out.

Y'all got a big laugh out of that.

I saw the back row back there last week.

Yeah.

I've tried to figure out undoubtedly.

I went down and up too fast off the steps that day.

But anyway, long story short, I was sharing, you know me, I'm talking to everybody.

I always introduce myself.

And by the way, I have a specific reason why most of the time, when people say you introduce yourself, I say Pastor Danny.

I do that intentionally.

I want them to know right up front where I stand.

I'm a pastor.

I'm not ashamed to be a pastor.

I want them to know that I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And you don't know how many times that opens the door immediately.

Do you mind me asking you a question, Pastor?

Happens all the time.

But anyway, a lady had been worshiping in our church.

She saw me.

Well, I was witnessing to the lady working with me.

I got a new watch, by the way.

I hadn't fallen down yet on this one, so we're okay.

But but she said, Pastor, I want you to know how much I enjoyed the message last weekend.

This new year, God's been working on me.

She said, Let me tell you why.

Because I'm the type person when I commit, I get involved.

And I don't want to overcommit.

And I made this statement.

You can't overcommit if God tells you to do something.

Hello?

Not if you're doing what God called you to do.

Now you overcommit in a lot of other areas.

That's why I am very.

I used to, one of my weaknesses in my early ministry was you asked me to do something, I commit to everything.

And I had a best friend that set me down one time and he said, Pastor, you're my best friend.

Can I talk to you?

I said, sure.

He says, you tell everybody you'll do anything they ask and get involved in everything.

If you did, you'd be you'd have to have ten of you.

And then when you don't do what you tell them that you're gonna do, they get disappointed.

I had never thought about that.

So I've learned when I'm asked to do something, I now I'll say let me pray about it, and I know a lot of times that means they ain't gonna do it.

I understand that.

I'm the one that said created that.

Pastor, let me pray about it.

Oh, so you ain't gonna do it, right?

But that's okay.

But I really do.

I say, let me think through this.

I let me talk to the Lord about this because I'm not gonna commit to doing anything that I know it's not in my area of giftedness, but God gives me a burden to do it.

He gives me a vision to do it.

When Dan called me, I didn't even have to pray about that.

That's who I'm called, that's my gifts.

He said, Would you like to do this?

I text him immediately.

Absolutely.

Why?

That's my burden.

That's my heart.

That's what God's called me to do.

That makes sense, church.

You with me?

Man, this is good.

I'm telling you, this will liberate you this morning.

Some of you is gonna liberate, some of you are gonna say, ooh, I gotta do, God, I need a vision.

Or some of you are gonna say, Oh, Lord, don't give me a vision.

But that's it.

That's it.

And here we see the calmness of Nehemiah's life.

Number A.

Look at it.

Look at it.

Here is Nehemiah.

He's a cupbearer.

He is, let me tell you, when you say cupbearer, you say, Well, was that an important position?

One of the most, if not probably on the top two positions for a king.

One was his advisor, secondly, was his cupbearer.

He had to be one of the most trusted people in the whole kingdom.

Because he was the one that tasted everything and drank everything before the king ate it.

I'd been a good cupbearer.

That's what I do in the mornings.

I go back there and check on the food just for y'all.

I don't want y'all to get sick.

But think about that.

He and being that cupbearer meant that he had a position that very few people have to be very influential with the king.

And he was.

You with me?

So he had a, let me put it this way.

He had it made.

Here he is.

I mean, he's got the life.

Remember that?

The life of what?

Riley.

He had it made.

And now, though, his was a life of great serenity and ease.

Nehemiah was living the good life, but then notice B, all of a sudden in verses 2 and 3, the calamity of Nehemiah's life happens.

He goes from calm to his boat's been turned over when he starts thinking about it.

His peace and serenity was shattered by the visit of his brother.

He brought news that the people of Israel were being afflicted by their enemies and that the city of Jerusalem was completely devastated.

In fact, let me tell you what he was told.

He was told that this one once major nation of two and a half million plus people after 150 years of captivity because of their sin had now dwindled down when you read Nehemiah to about 50,000 people.

And that this great city of Jerusalem, God's city, the impregnable city with the great big walls, walls down, gates burned, all the rubbish.

In other words, he saw their size dwindle.

Hey, their status in the scriptures here says they were a providence of a Persian nation.

That meant they were just a little speck instead of a huge nation and big power.

They were now reduced to, and I think there was 127 providences in the Persian nation at that time.

They were just one little bitty providence.

He saw that, and his heart's breaking, and then the scorn and the sadness and the affliction.

He saw this, and all of a sudden his heart's crushed.

Here he is sitting now, living the good life, sitting on the mountaintop, and yet his people are in agony and defeat and destruction and dismay.

I thought for a minute.

I find it amazing how life can be perfect one minute, and the next minute everything is falling to pieces.

Ever been there?

We all have.

Falling to pieces.

That's what's happened with Nehemiah.

Man, he's excited.

He asks his brother and then bam.

Then look at the third thing: the compassion.

Verse 4.

Look at the compassion of Nehemiah.

Now it came about when I heard these words.

I sat down and wept and mourned for days and was fasting and praying before the food of that.

There's our praying and fasting.

He was, he, he was in anguish.

And let me tell you what compassion means.

Have you ever thought about that in this context?

Let me tell you what compassion means.

This is what we need if America is going to have revival.

We need the same compassion.

We need the same anguish.

You know what it means here?

We see in the perspective of Nehemiah right here, when he had compassion.

It means he will mourn.

In fact, Nehemiah was mourning much over the misery of others.

Now, watch this.

He's not mourning over himself.

You listen?

He had it made.

He was on the top.

He had the life of Riley.

But he's mourning greatly over the misery of other people.

When is that's what's wrong with the church today?

We don't have that kind of misery.

We don't mourn for our country.

Hey, our country is going, even though we're processing all, I'm telling you, Satan is blinding our minds over the unbelievable ungodliness and just filth and all that's going on and the decay that's going on.

And we are so satisfied or blessed in our comfort zones that we don't understand what it means to have this kind of anguish and weeping and mourning over our country.

Years ago, when they said that marriage could be acceptable with the same sex as a marriage, that ought to broke the church's heart.

We ought to mourn and fasted and millions of babies being killed every year by abortion.

And I saw on the news where they were talking about having another abortion clinic, and there was, and I saw the crowd, but the crowd was, it was a pretty good crowd.

But there ought to be thousands of all of us there mourning and fasting for those babies.

I hate to say, but here it is.

We're at ease in Zion.

When Nehemiah hears the awful news, his heart breaks and enters a time of fasting, weeping, and prayer before the Lord.

Instead of being happy in his position, his life is shattered and he's brought to his knees.

People, we have got to become compassionate for our city, for our region, for our country, for our governor, for our state, for our president, for our United States.

Regardless of who's in that office, we've got to pray that God will break their heart for righteousness for our country.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

But when the wicked bear through, the people mourn.

And that's what was happening and was for a hundred years.

50 years to Israel because they were living in sin.

They disobeyed God.

You'll see that as we go through.

God wanted to restore Jerusalem, but He needed a man of vision.

And you know what I wrote?

This is me.

This is me.

This is what God spoke to me.

I wrote it in my notes.

To me.

When I type out my notes, and then, well, on the computer, I go back as I'm studying all week, and then when God is speaking to me as I'm regurgitating and assimilating the truth into my heart, I write down things that He speaks to me.

What we weep over, not talking to me, really reveals what I care about.

I want that to settle for a minute.

What I really weep over and have a burden for, that's what I really care about.

When something happens with your family or your children, like right now, my heart's hurting for my wife.

She's got, you know, she's got stomach virus, I guess, or she's been sick for two days.

And I've been praying my heart out.

But but think about that.

What you really have a burden for, and what you pray and and really ask God to move is what you really care about.

Hello?

And on these little less than minute little things on prayer and fasting, I'm talking praying for businesses, praying for your family, praying for the husband.

Those are the things that we want God to unite our hearts together so that we'll have a burden, a vision for this community and for our people.

I wrote it another way.

What we care about the most reveals who we are, our character.

Is that not so true, though?

The news from Jerusalem was God's call for Nehemiah to become involved in what God wanted to do.

Remember, it started with a question.

How are my people?

God knew that that question was going to be the instrument that he used to stir Nehemiah's heart for him to give him the vision to go back and restore Jerusalem.

Is that not good?

Started with a question.

Now, when God stirs your nest, God stirs your heart.

Hey, that is his call for you to become involved with him, is what it's all about.

Now, when that call comes, watch this.

People respond in different ways.

You and I both have already responded over the years in different ways when God called you.

I ran from the call to ministry for two and a half years, almost broke up my first marriage.

My first marriage, many of you know, somebody, I'd said that one day preaching, and and uh I didn't clarify that.

Somebody went to Dr.

Falwell and said, What are you doing?

Your dean of seminary is a divorced person.

He said, His first wife.

Dr.

Falwell looked at him, he said, Did you go and ask him?

Well, no.

He said, his first wife died in his arm.

Sometimes we run off our mouth before we ask.

Guilty?

Five of us guilty.

Every one of you, raise your hand.

Oh, have you heard?

My question, before you speak, do you know it to be a fact?

Well, everybody, I'm not interested in everybody.

I'm interested, is it true?

And sometimes if it's still it may be true, do you have to spread it?

Is it good?

Is it necessary?

Is it building up?

Remember last week?

Don't forget.

It's amazing how quick we can forget.

I asked somebody on Monday, I said, you remember?

He said, Pastor, that was a great message.

I said, I know it spoke to my heart.

I said, you remember what I said?

No, but it was a good message.

That's why I want you to write it down.

Let it speak to you like it does me.

But hey, Isaiah, when God gave Isaiah the call in Isaiah 6, he said, Hear my Lord, send me.

It was immediate.

God had dealt with his heart, laid a burden on his heart, gave him a vision.

Then you got Jonah.

Jonah 1:1–3

Chapter 1, verses 1 through 3.

What did Jonah want to do?

He wanted to find the, hey, the closest ship he could or the quickest way he could to go in the opposite direction.

Been there.

Guess what?

You pay for it.

He got on the ship three times.

Hey, he went down, down, down.

There's only one way to go when you run away from, hey, the vision of God.

Down, down, down.

And then you got Moses.

Remember Moses?

Moses got the vision, but Moses wanted to do it his way.

So he went out and killed the captain of the guards.

And what happened to him?

He was exiled for years until he got on the backside of the desert and realized that it wasn't his way, but he wanted to do it God's way.

And when he became still in a burning bush and saw the what?

The vision of God and heard the direction of God and what God wanted him to do, he did it and it worked.

One eagerly goes, the other runs, and the one wants to do it his way.

Sound familiar?

I've done all three.

Anyone else with me?

Well, that's about a fourth of us.

Man, and we got some spiritual people here today.

I understand God's not saying anything to you then, right?

Okay.

I'm just, hey, isn't this good?

No, it's not good.

But it's true.

It's eating my lunch.

But it's true.

See, just remember, God knows how to get our attention.

Put that down.

God knows how to get our attention.

When he stirs our nest, stirs our heart, and places a burden on our heart, do not hesitate, but go with him into whatever he calls you to do.

He has a great plan for your life, and he will give it through a vision for your life.

Jeremiah 29, 11, it's not evil, it's not bad, it's good, and he's got a great future for you, young people, older people, mid-age people.

Everybody.

Number two.

Not only people of vision encounter problems, but are you ready?

People of vision exercise prayer.

Could not be more fitting than where we are in 21 days of prayer.

People of vision exercise prayer, verses 4 through 11.

As Nehemiah goes before the Lord in prayer, he sets the example for other people, all of us, who would be people of vision.

Notice what he teaches us how to come before the Lord in prayer.

Boy, this is good now.

Couldn't be any better fitting than where we are about praying and fasting.

I have not had a donut, pie, cake, anything.

And I have friends that put it right in front of my face.

No comment.

A.

Watch this.

Visionary praying involves praise.

Look at verse 5.

Well, this is good.

And I said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving kindness of those who love him and keep his commandments.

That thing is packed with unbelievable truths.

Visionary praying involves praise.

Neobi begins his prayer by exalting the Lord.

Watch.

He praises God for his superiority.

Look at it.

Look at what he says.

To all other gods.

In other words, you know, running rampant during that day were man's gods, the sun god, the earth god, the water.

And he says, There's no God like my God.

There's only one God, the creator of the heavens and earth, and it's Jehovah Jirah.

Elohim, Adonai.

And then notice what else he says.

His strength.

His strength.

In other words, if he's the creator of the heavens and the earth, he's the creator of everything.

Can I get an amen?

This earth did not happen with one big Adam Pain.

It happened by the creation of an awesome Almighty God.

By his word.

Hebrews 11:3.

Hebrews 11:3

Yes.

Yes.

And then notice what he says.

We want to praise him for his superiority, his strength, and then watch his sovereignty.

His sovereignty.

Oh, that means, hey, he rules.

He's the ruler of our lives, of everything.

Hey, he's sovereign.

He knows.

And then, hey, his sacredness, his awesomeness, the word awesome there.

And then his hey, his sincerity.

You know what I love about this?

He says you can praise him because he won't lie.

He'll tell you the truth, and what he tells you will happen.

Ladies and gentlemen, the reason we can believe God when we go to God in prayer is by his promises.

He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what God had said he would do.

Romans 4, 20 and 21.

So we see this right here.

And then not only do we see really his superiority, his strength, his sovereignty, his sacredness, his sincerity, and then we see he praises God for who he is.

And by the way, that is all we need to know.

After all, this is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Remember Matthew, the Lord's prayer?

What did he say?

Our Father, which art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

And then what about Psalms 104?

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise.

I will bless the name of the Lord forever.

Wow.

B.

Visionary praying involves perseverance.

Look at verse 6.

First part of verse 6.

Let thy ear now be attented and thy eyes open to hear the prayer of the servant which I am praying before thee now.

Perseverance.

What do you mean?

Look.

Look how he prayed.

Day and night.

He got before the Lord and prayed until the answer came.

Woo!

I'm guilty here.

Now, when there's a situation or problem, I really start praying.

But he prayed, he didn't give up.

He prayed night and day till God answered his prayer.

I don't think, I never, I don't know how to do that.

I mean, I guess I know how to do it, but I've never done it.

When's the last time you went to your prayer room and you just said, I'm not getting out of this prayer room until God, you move and answer my prayer.

I'm not eating, I'm not drinking.

Well, maybe you drink some water.

But I'm until you answer my prayer.

This new year I've been writing some people's names down.

Then I said, God, I'm going to pray for them.

And God, I want you to turn them upside down.

I want you to give them a love for you, a love for your church, and a love for your word, and a love for people.

They're good people.

But I want them to have a passion for you, Father.

You know, if we would do more praying than maybe discussing, is that a good way to not say gossiping?

We see a major difference in the peoples that we're talking about.

And I made up my mind in this new year, that's what I'm going to do as your shepherd, as your pastor.

I'm going to pray so fervently, day and night, I'm going to have an attitude of prayer every day.

I'm going to get to the point where I can ask the Lord, is it okay for me to go to the bathroom?

Now that's learning to really pray in this, I think say in the spirit, but in acknowledgement of his presence.

Can I get an amen?

Or oh me.

I want to studying, memorizing, preaching, I want to learn to pray.

Erica's wants to meet with me, and we're going to try to do that soon.

She wants to teach our church how to pray.

My house shall be called the house of.

Oh, man, that's good.

Note the kind of prayer that will stop after a time or two.

That's my praying.

But the kind of prayer that goes to God and stays before God until, hey, it has what it came after.

That is what Jesus calls us to do.

Luke 18, 1, it's there.

Men ought to always pray and not to faint.

Don't quit praying for that that you need or that that you want to happen.

C.

Visionary praying involves penance.

Look at verse 6 and 7.

As this man prays, Nehemia prays, he begins to confess his sins as an individual and the sins of his people as a nation.

He even confesses the sins of his forefathers.

Why?

Why would he do that?

Because they had been in captivity for over 150 years because of their disobeying God.

The root of their captivity was because they disobeyed God.

In fact, he goes on and tells you, if you go read Deuteronomy, it's pretty simple.

If you're willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

If you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.

That's also in Isaiah 1:19 and 20.

Isaiah 1:19

It's pretty simple.

They had been in captivity.

Man, are you talking about stubborn?

God promises right here, you can read it right there in these verses.

God makes two promises here.

He makes a promise to the nation of Israel.

If you disobey me, you're going to be what?

You're going to come in captivity.

If you repent and turn back to me, I will restore you.

Those are the two promises he gives right there in those verses.

Is that not good?

Can I say those promises are just as good for you and me?

If we're willing and obedient, we eat the good of the land.

If we refuse and rebel, we're devoured by the sword.

Can I ask you one question?

Is that hard to understand?

That can't be.

Now, it's hard to do.

But it's not hard to understand.

Why is it so hard for us to do what God asks us to do?

Because there's a battle called the flesh.

And I may preach on that next week.

The difference between saved, lost, and carnal.

But is that not true?

I battle my flesh every morning.

What's the battle?

It's not the things you do, it's the battle.

It's the attitude for why you do them.

It's the battle.

See, if you win the attitude, you win the victory.

Because your attitude directs what you do.

Your attitude directs your actions.

And your actions direct, hey, your destiny.

That's good.

Painful, but good.

So we see right here, he says, he confesses everything.

Repentance is about me getting my heart right with God.

I love what he says, and boy, what a powerful verse.

In Psalm 66, 18, it's in there for you.

He says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear me.

Wow.

Is that pretty simple?

In other words, if I'm disobeying what God's asked me to do, God's not going to listen to me.

And he didn't say God's not there.

He's always there.

He was always there that 150 years of captivity with the Israelites.

He was just waiting for them to repent and turn back to him.

He's waiting.

He's not mad at you, well, he's not pleased with you.

But he's not gonna, oh God's so mad at me, he'll never let me come.

No, all that's of the devil.

God loves you so much.

He may not be pleased with you, but he loves you like a child.

He created you for you to worship him and to love him and to be intimate with him.

And when you're not doing what he's called you to do and giving you the vision to do it so that you can be pleasing to him, he's, hey, hey, you're gonna reap what you saw, but he's still there waiting for you to just say, God, I have blown it.

I have messed my life up, but God, please forgive me.

The prodigal son, I've been in the pig pen, but they have it better than they had than my servants have it better at the Father's house.

I am tired of this.

Oh Lord, I want you to take my life and change it and give me your direction, not my direction.

I'm going home to the Father.

Yes, yes, yes.

And you know how the Father greeted him.

Oh, I told you yes would happen.

I told you you get no, no, no, no, no.

No.

That's the way you and I I told you, son.

If you'd have listened.

Well, I didn't.

Well, you paid just, yes, I did.

But that's not the way he greeted him.

He's waiting every day because he didn't give up praying.

He prayed for his boy to come home.

Every day.

Every day he was looking.

Lord, could this be the day?

Every day you ought to get up.

Lord, could this be the day?

And start praying.

Could this be the day?

And when he came home, he saw him, he ran to him, he put his arms around him, loved him, kissed him.

Go get the fatted calf.

Get the ring.

Get the best coat we got.

My son once was lost, but now he's found he's come home to the Father.

Now that was a burden.

Which brings me to D visionary praying involves promises.

All the promises of God are yea and amen.

2 Corinthians 1 20.

Amen.

I told you the two promises.

If you're willing, you eat the good of the land if you're disobedient.

Devoured by the sword.

It's that simple.

Verses 8 through 10.

He tells them, I'll do this.

He gives them those two promises.

And then look at verse 11.

Visionary praying involves partners.

I like this.

Look at verse 11.

That's why where two or three are gathered together and his name shall agree, it shall be done.

This is good.

Notice what he says.

Verse 11.

O Lord, I beseech thee.

May thy air, ear, be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and the prayer of thy servants, who delight to revere thy name and make thy servant successful today, and grant him confidence.

Before this man.

Now he's praying.

Because he's got such a vision and a burden.

He knows that he's got to go tell the king.

Now he's in there in that prayer closet praying about the king, Art of Xerxes.

I'm praying.

I know the king, I have favor with the king.

Can I say something?

When you have favor with the king, you can ask and it will be done.

We don't have any Pentecostals because if I'd have said that in a Pentecostal church, they'd have been running a lamp.

I said, if you got favor with the king, you can ask what you will.

And it shall be done.

When people get excited about Jesus.

But let me tell you when you really get excited, when you get a vision of what God wants you to do.

Nothing will stop you.

Nothing will stop you.

You told me not to say anything, and I'm not, but I am.

Darren, I'm looking at you.

I'm coming.

Right after we got that land, God laid on my land.

I and I told David, I said, God's gonna give us this land.

I had a burden.

We had to have some property.

And we David and I had shared the vision with each other.

You just know about half of what we talked about.

And you're seeing it happen right now.

I told you everything, it'd scare you.

But I told him, I said, we gotta pray and fast for this land back here.

God's gonna give us this land.

I even told him how he was gonna do it.

I said, God told me we're gonna buy that land for half a million dollars, we're gonna raise 250,000, and the guy that owns it's gonna finance the rest.

David, well, I and I sure do miss him.

And I know this sometimes is tough on Christian.

I try to be sensitive.

But when David, David never said that's a dumb idea to me.

But if he wasn't sure that I was on the right track sometimes, he'd do this.

Such a sweet loving.

I mean, he loved me to death.

That's like I said, I knew what that meant.

And then that day when the guy he said, Well, why don't we try to get to ten acres?

I said, Okay.

So I he met me over here.

He said, I'll sell you this ten acres right here, right behind us for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

I said, that's a little high, but I w I'm thinking, I'm not saying anything.

I'm just praying.

He said, But I got a better deal, preacher.

I said, I'm listening.

I don't want to just sell you the whole ninety acres for five hundred thousand dollars, and he that's coming off.

It was too it was at one time a million and a half, it down to eight hundred fifty thousand or eight hundred, yeah, eight hundred something plus.

Anyway, long story he said, I'm gonna sell it to you for five hundred thousand dollars.

You give me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and I'll finance the rest.

That's a burden, that's a vision, and I'm seeing God complete every step.

This is this has been four and a half years ago.

But God sent him right after that, and you know what he said after he came here?

I remember us praying.

He said, God sent me here.

I got the gifts and the talents to help do what God wants done on this property.

You remember telling me that?

That's what I had to tell.

And it's happening.

It's a burden, it's a vision for what God calls you to do.

Because that's what it's about, people.

That's what we're doing out there.

It's not so we can say what we have, but if we can say what God's doing there.

Amen.

Amen.

We have to do it.

We have to embrace that in the truth and realize that God's got a vision and a purpose.

Just like all that up at Soccer Blast, God can do greater things right there on the back of the property.

But we as a church have to embrace it and invite people and have families and share the gospel with them because there's gonna be hundreds and hundreds of people saved on that property out there.

That's why I've done what I've done, because it's the only thing in my life that I've ever done, anything that will have eternal difference forever and ever.

Because one day there's gonna be children in heaven come up to me and say, you know what?

Because of what you did, I'm here.

That is why I did what I did.

And to God be the glory for everything that I've done.

He gave me what I had with the equipment and the ability to be able to do that.

And let me tell y'all, he's burnt that in your hearts as well, but you have to embrace it.

Look, when Dave gets ready to have coaches and have things that y'all as a body are able to do, y'all have to embrace that because now is the moment that we have to take this and run with it and make the difference.

Because, hey, there's going to be lives changing, hearts change, and eternity change right there.

But we as a church have to do to make the difference now.

Thank you.

Love you.

Give me a hug.

Love you, Betty.

That wasn't planned.

That's a pretty good commercial right there.

Amen.

That's called an actual application.

He did.

Now watch this.

Not only partners, verse 11, visionary praying involves petitions.

Praying for the Lord to give him grace in the sight of the king.

You have not, say it.

Because you what?

And God gave him.

Seeking you shall find, knocking it shall be open.

And then the last thing.

People of vision, embrace providence.

Providence.

Verse 11 again.

The final statement of Nehemiah in verse 11 seems to indicate to me that he felt the weight of this assignment.

He knew that, hey, he knew who he was.

He knew where he was.

And he knew what God had called him to do.

Eh?

That position is no accident.

What am I saying?

You are no accident.

Where you are is no accident.

Where God has placed you is no accident.

God's got a vision for you.

Teenagers, in your school right now, God pray that God will give you a vision to be a light to all your students, your friends.

You say, but they'll make fun of me.

Yes, yes, they will.

They made fun of the Jews.

They made even fun of Nehemiah.

But yet he was second in, I mean, he was one of the top persons in King Artazerse's court.

He was a cupbearer.

You had to be an unbelievable person of character and trust to be there.

But even though, any remember this, anytime God's using you, people will make fun of you.

Boy, that's good.

Write that down.

Anytime God's using you, people will make fun of you.

I've been made fun of all my life.

Somebody asked Clay the other day playing pickleball.

He says, How does he preach?

Because I'm pretty competitive on the pickleball court.

I know that wouldn't you wouldn't believe that.

I've been made fun of how I preach, I've been made fun of how I witness, I've been made fun of my bald head.

I thought, I think it's pretty.

Shiny.

When God's using you, people will make fun of you.

That's a great statement.

God's placed you where he has for a purpose.

Here's what I wrote down.

Ready?

He has placed you where you are for his purpose.

Not only has he placed you where you are for a purpose, he's placed you where you are for his purpose.

And for his plan.

Amen?

And then B.

Prosperity is no accident.

Let me tell you something.

Y'all been listening to me.

Listen to me.

Oh, let me tell what I'm really getting excited about.

Do you realize this little church in the month of December took in a hundred and forty thousand dollars in one month?

Can we give God all the glory?

We had businessmen, we've had people with good jobs.

I mean, the way God has prospered you and you've given back and you've honored him.

We had people coming off the, we had things happen we didn't just come in and give me a$7,600 check.

You know why?

Because they said we know what God's doing something over there.

They want to.

Can I ask you something?

Where would you invest your money?

Where you're getting 0% or a bunch of percent?

So if I'm gonna invest my money with God, I want to invest it where I know God is being honored, glorified, and I see the results.

Oh yield, Annie.

Yes.

So thank you.

Your profits are no accident.

Your giftiness, your prospering.

Hey, financially is no accident.

I want you to understand that.

He said, Well, I did it.

No, you didn't.

God gave you the talents or the abilities that you have.

Whether it's your whether you're a Todd, I think of Todd Plumbers, the moving dirt, I think of investors, salesmen, whatever, whatever your job is, whatever it is God's placed you there for his purpose.

He's blessed you financially for his purpose so that you can give to God's work.

He went back to the are you right?

I'm fixing, I'm gonna just take a lap by myself this morning, I guess.

But I'm here to tell you, God blessed him so much that when he went back and asked the king, could he go back and build, rebuild the city and build the gates and restore his family and his people, his brother's people?

Not only did King Artisarse say yes, but he says, Hey, I'll give you what you need to do it.

And he's lost.

He wasn't a Jew.

When you find favor in God's eyes, you find favor with man.

You quoted that to me this morning, Harry.

I gotta quit.

Position's no accident, prosperity's no accident.

Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that gives thee power to get wealth, Deuteronomy 8, 18.

And then see, power is no accident.

You remember?

You remember Nehemiah and the king, God gave him power.

Remember the little servant girl?

Nobody forgets, don't even know her name.

When Naaman.

She said, if the master would go see the prophet.

He said, the prophet said, go dip yourself seven times in the Jordan River.

I'm not gonna do that.

What is who does he think he is?

I am in charge.

I am a man of power and prestige and stature.

And then he said, and first of all, if he decided I needed to duck, why didn't he let me do it in some clean water?

But he succumbed, got over his pride, and went and dunked seven times.

And on the seventh time he came up clean from leprosy.

God's got the power.

Amen.

Just do it his way.

Moses.

Do it his way.

And I conclude.

Psalms 31, verse 15 says, My times are in your hands, Lord.

Psalms 31:15

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

Here's what I want to ask you today.

Would you agree with me that we desperately need people of vision and glory right now, here in America today?

Amen.

I think we all see that need for people who are in touch with God, for people who are moved by God.

And people who move with God.

Move by God and move with God.

That's people that gotta give a vision to.

We need that kind of people in our churches.

Our families, our communities.

Those are the people who use by God to change their communities, to change their schools, to change their homes.

Can I say something?

Teenagers, listen, there's some teenagers sitting.

God could use you.

Just you.

God will send you somebody where two or three.

Isn't it amazing?

He didn't say where whole church is gathered together, where two or three are gathered together, Erica.

Two or three.

And shall agree in my name, it will be done.

You get to school, you get your two or three with you, and you go find a place to pray, and ask God to use you that day to be a living testimony in that school.

Use me my junior year.

I said, Lord, let me bring my buddies to Christ.

And by my senior year, out of 35 football players, 22 of them knew Jesus.

Now here's the question we face today.

I beseech you, therefore, brother.

Gotta give it up.

Gotta give it up.

You need to get before God on the purpose and to catch his vision foreseeing that purpose fulfilled.

Can I get an amen?

That's what's okay.

So let me ask you this morning.

Has God given you a vision?

He may not have yet.

Let me tell you what.

Psalms 139, 23, 24.

Here's what you gotta do.

Search me, O God.

Know my heart.

Try me.

If there be any wicked way in me, lead me in the way of everlasting.

Proverbs 28.

Verse 13 says, if we cover our sin, we shall not be lost.

But if we confess and forsake that sin, we shall find mercy.

So you gotta get the clear.

You gotta get you gotta get the sin out.

You gotta get a man.

Oh me.

Oh me, owe me.

Gotta get it out.

Gotta repent.

Turn from that sin.

Per sins.

Just like he promised.

If you'll turn, I'll forgive you.

If you'll prosper.

But you know why you're gonna prosper?

Because I'm gonna give you a vision for you to fulfill my purpose in your life.

That's it.

So it's really not hard.

That's not true.

It's very hard.

Because you gotta crucify them.

But it's not hard to understand what you're supposed to do.