WHEN A DREAM ENCOUNTERS
A DREAM-CATCHER
# 2 PREPARATION FOR RE-VISIONING AT SAC
Nehemiah 2:1-10
06/01/14-15
The true joy of life is the trip.
Nehemiah was…
MOVED WITH THE NEED
D. Mcarthy, the founder of the Sunday
School Times said…
Needs come in assorted shapes and sizes. But all of
them await the touch of someone with the agony of
caring. A burdened God is at work in the world.
He searches for burdened believers through whom
He many work.
The mark of a dream-catcher is a hearing heart!
EFFECTIVELY PRAYING
Henri Nouwen said…The great illusion of leadership
is to think that people can be led out of the desert by
someone who has never been there
INTRINSICALLY MOTIVATED
-That is extrinsic motivation…the promise of a reward.
- Intrinsic Motivation…it appeals to values and passions
deep within a person.
THE PROCESS OF PRAYER…Nehemiah 2:1-10
Hudson Taylor once said…It is possible to move men
through God, by prayer alone. Proverbs 21:1 would
put it this way…The king’s heart is in the hand of the
Lord. He directs it like a watercourse wherever He
pleases.
WAITING
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Romans 8:22-25
says …Waiting does not diminish us, any more than
waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are
enlarged in the waiting.
ACTION
Nehemiah’s action indicates great tact - a
combination of truth and character in knowing how
to approach someone.
1. He appealed to the king’s personal and national
abhorrence for the desecration of the graves of
someone’s forefathers.
2. He did not mention the name of the city of Jerusalem
because of the edict found in Ezra 4.
ACTION…con’t
1. He appealed to the king’s personal and national
abhorrence for the desecration of the graves of
someone’s forefathers.
2. He did not mention the name of the city of Jerusalem
because of the edict found in Ezra 4.
ACTION…con’t
1. Send me to a city in Judah where my forefathers are
buried and I will rebuild it.
2. Give me letters of safe conduct to the Persian
governors west of the Euphrates River
3. Give me a letter to the keeper of the king’s forest
Faith never implies a lack of planning and organization.
We don’t want our dreams because they
will be too small - we want God’s dreams!
OPPOSITION
Any dream of God that is embraced will
also awaken a dormant opposition!
Quickly his aide explained,
“You don’t understand sir. The entire line
stepped forward two paces!”
If you are not in a small group, would you
consider giving us 60 days of listening by
joining a group?
Isaiah 58:12 is a promise we embrace:
YOUR PEOPLE WILL REBUILD THE
ANCIENT RUINS AND WILL RAISE UP THE
AGE-OLD FOUNDATIONS; YOU WILL BE
CALLED REPAIRER OF BROKEN WALLS,
RESTORER OF STREETS WITH
DWELLINGS.