Latest / Equipped: A Podcast Platform for the Equip Ministry of Cuyahoga Valley Church / LaunchPad: Day 6

Transcript

LaunchPad: Day 6 · Equipped: A Podcast Platform for the Equip Ministry of Cuyahoga Valley Church

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah chapter 1, verses 10 through 11.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of Nehemiah 1, we come across a sentence that almost feels like a passing detail.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: But this is not a throwaway statement.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to hold on to that thought for now.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah has just spent days mourning, fasting, and praying over the condition of Jerusalem.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: He begins his prayer by acknowledging who God is, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant and shows faithful love.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: He asks God to listen.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: He confesses the sins of Israel, his family, and even his own sin.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: He remembers God's promise that even if the people were scattered because of their unfaithfulness, he would gather them again if they returned to him.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Then Nehemiah says something pretty significant in verse 10.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: He says, They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: These are God's people.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Jerusalem is broken.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: The walls are destroyed, and the people have experienced failure, loss, and even disgrace.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: But Nehemiah remembers that none of these things have changed who they belong to.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: That truth gives Nehemiah confidence to pray boldly.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: He says, O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah serves one of the most powerful rulers in the world at this time.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yet before the God of heaven, the king is still simply this man.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah understands where ultimate authority rests.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: His hope is not ultimately in the king's power or his own influence or his access to the palace, but instead his confidence is in God.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Then the chapter closes with that seemingly simple detail.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: I was a cupbearer to the king.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: That sentence may seem like little more than Nehemiah telling what he's been doing for a living.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: But as the story continues, we discover that his position is anything but insignificant.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: God had placed Nehemiah near someone with the authority and the resources to make a difference in Jerusalem.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: His vocation would become part of the way that God answered the prayer that he just prayed.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Before Nehemiah ever rebuilds a wall or organizes workers or even develops a plan, God has already placed him somewhere significant.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: His position will become part of God's answer to his prayer.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: That invites us to consider something as we pray for CVC and for what God may want to do through us in the years ahead.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: What if where God has placed us is part of his answer to what we are praying for?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: When we think about building up and multiplying God's kingdom, it can be easy to think first about church programs, ministry teams, missionaries, pastors, or organized opportunities.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, those things are important, but God's people spend most of their lives outside the walls of the church.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: God has placed his people everywhere.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us are students.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us work in construction.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Others are accountants, teachers, nurses, business owners, or retirees.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: We live in neighborhoods, attend schools, walk onto job sites, sit in offices, lead organizations, we raise families and interact with people throughout Northeast Ohio every single week.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those places are not disconnected from God's purposes.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe during this season of prayer and fasting, one of the questions before us is not simply what should CVC do next, but God, where have you already placed your people?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Before we rush into action, we can bring those places before Him.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah didn't begin by leveraging his position.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: He began by surrendering himself to God in prayer.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: He remembered that the people belonged to God, the work belonged to God, and even the king before him ultimately stood under God's authority.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: The same is true for us today.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: We are God's people.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: The mission belongs to him.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And wherever he has placed us, we can make ourselves available to his purposes.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: As we pray for God to build up his church and multiply his kingdom through CBC, perhaps our prayer can begin here.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: God, these are your people.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: You have placed us where we are.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Help us see those places with fresh eyes and prepare us to be used however you choose.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a question to consider.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Where has God placed you in this season?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And how might he be preparing to use that position, relationship, or opportunity for his kingdom purposes?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh prayer.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: What do I say?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And here's a prompt for prayer.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Ask God to show you how where He's placed you right now might connect to the vision he's unfolding at CVC and to reveal one faithful step you can take in that place he's positioned you.