Happy Anniversary SCC!

What are the times in your life where you have had no Vision?

· Proverbs 29:18 AMP – Where there is no vision (no revelation of God and His word), the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law (of God).

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-4 NLT – In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

· We move forward with Purpose and Confidence

o Jeremiah 29:11 NIV – 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

o John 8:12 NLT – I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

· Our Prayer and Dependence upon God intensifies

o Nehemiah 1:11 NLT – 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

o 1 John 5:14 NIV – 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

o Jeremiah 33:3 NIV – 3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

· We discard Distractions and Temptations

o Distractions can come internally and externally

§ The Jews bickered and complained.

- Nehemiah 4:10 NLT – 10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

§ Sanballat and Tobiah

- Nehemiah 4:11 NLT – 11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”

- Nehmiah 6:1-3 NLT – Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates. 2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to harm me, 3 so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?”

o What is distracting you from your faith? What is keeping you from receiving vision or moving forward?

· Philippians 3:14 NIV – 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

· In time, we see the vision accomplished

o Nehemiah 6:15-16 NLT – 15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

· Be faithful to Him as you wait.

· Ask the Lord to give you vision.

· Be on the lookout for God to reveal a problem He wants you to engage.

· Vision – a picture of the future

o What is God’s vision for my life?

o What is God’s vision for my family or my marriage?

o What is God’s vision for our church?

o What is God’s vision for our community?

o Memorize: John 8:12 NLT

o Evaluate: What areas of my life am I lacking vision?

o Action: Make a habit of writing down the vision God gives you for your future and take steps to fulfill it.