Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
Blessings to all this week. Last week we had such an encouraging Lord’s Day and our Lord did not disappoint this week – What a wonderful congregation, Sunday School, and what a joyful Fifth Sunday Fellowship. To all who prepared for us thank you for your righteous work. To all who joined with us thank you for your faithfulness. Now, some Myrick news: Our granddaughter “Joanne Marie Dunn” was born on Tuesday. Everyone is healthy and resting now. This alters our Wednesday Night Fellowship ever so slightly. Heid and I will be with them for the rest of the work week. So, Wednesday Caleb Thrower will coordinate episode 1, season 3 of The Chosen. All, if you have not seen this series, The Chosen, you are missing a powerful blessing. The truth of Scripture is superbly presented, with creative and most of all completely plausible interpretations of what could have happened surrounding the Scriptural event. You will be blessed with this episode and series. We need to be firm with our starting time of 6:00pm, then at 6:30pm begin heading to the sanctuary. The episode is under an hour, and this will keep our departure at 7:30pm. Parents, if you think your children would like to watch, please bring them with you.
This coming Lord’s Day we will conclude “Navigating Through Life”. Nehemiah’s calling was to rebuild a physical wall to protect and secure God’s people. In taking on God’s will, Nehemiah experienced five necessary aspects we must duplicate in our own lives. God led us to see each one over the last five weeks: Prayer; Persistence; Protection, last week Priority, and this week we must Praise the Lord when His will is complete. The utter most calling we have in this life is to praise our God, and bring Him the glory He so rightfully deserves.
Praise is a wonderful thing. God always deserves our praise. Godly praise is a necessary thing. A vital thing. And the people of Judah will praise God in truth and in spirit. But before their praise came deep sorrow and grief. Nehemiah will show us the cost of their praise. Praise has a cost? How much? Who pays for it? Yes, praise indeed has a high price. The cost is spiritual not monetary, but the people would have gladly, “wrote a check” rather than felt what they did at the completion of the wall. In reaching the point of their praise to God, the people came to realize some very tragic things. They realized HOW Judah got to the point of needing their wall rebuilt. They realize WHY Judah got to the point of needing their wall rebuilt. The realized WHAT Judah did to get to the point of needing their wall rebuilt. They and their forefathers sinned greatly against God, and God punished them for their disobedience. The last thing God wanted to do.
Then God, who does not have mercy, grace, and love as if He were a better version of us. God IS mercy, grace, and love. God restored Judah in every way, and Nehemiah was the way God did it. The people not only praised God for rebuilding their wall, they also praised Him for restoring their souls. The hope for this sermon series in not to provide knowledge of Biblically accurate events. The hope is we see the way God remembers and loves His people. See, Nehemiah was called by God, sent by the most power king of the land, and given everything to complete the task. Each of us are a Nehemiah for someone else. God calls us to rebuild, to revive, and to restore, and we are sent by the all-powerful and the only living God directly to brutally damaged people of this world, and He has equipped us with everything to complete His task.
Pray for our final sermon. Pray to reach out to someone this week. Pray about opportunity to meet someone this week. Brothers and sisters, God is moving in Bethel Baptist. We are at a time of critical preparation for what He will have us rebuild. Be alert. Be ready. Be willing. As we live during this time at Bethel Baptist, how amazing it will be to see what happens a month from now, a year from now, and five years from now. It all starts now and it all starts with us. When we lay the first stone, then the next, and the next. What does this mean today? Bethel, we are laying living stones against our corner stone who is Christ Jesus. When we bring living stones to God, we will see for ourselves, “People really want what we have, they just don’t know it yet.”
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Michael
