Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit apart from me you can do nothing John 155. You must never run ahead into your life purpose without your power source. Without a vision of Gods unlim- ited power the temptation will be to reduce the size of the dream by trimming it down to match your limited human power and ability. Instead of having faith in the God of the impossible fear of failure moves in with its paralyzing grip. Imagine what would have hap- pened if Nehemiah had failed to see Gods power Chances are his project would have never been started much less finished. The God-sized dream of a fortified wall around Jerusalem would have become nothing more than a set of rolled-up blueprints in a drawer. I wonder how many God-inspired life missions are stuffed in drawers. Life missions get exciting when the dream is clearly beyond human ability when the only hope of the dream being fulfilled is if God shows up. Dare to dream big by dreaming beyond yourself. Believe in a God who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work with us Ephesians 320. Second Nehemiah makes himself available. He is 800 miles from Jerusalem with no mention of vacation time but he asks God to use him. What a great attitude in seeking Gods intervention in your life purpose. You might think that the great heroes of the Bible were men and women of incredible ability. Looking at their accomplishments might lead you to believe they had superhuman skills. But look closely and you will find glaring deficiencies and poten- tially crippling inadequacies. If their secret was not found in their incredible skills and abilities where was it found The common denominator was their availability. When God called they showed up. Third Nehemiah asks for success. Are you afraid to ask God for the impossible even though Scripture teaches that God does the impossible Be like Nehemiah in boldly asking God for His favor and success. Approach the throne of God with confidence. Let the words of Paul given to Timothy guide you. For God did not give us a spirit of timid- ity but a spirit of power of love and of self discipline 2 Timothy 17. STEP 3 BEGIN TO PREPARE N ehemiah is praying but he is praying with his eyes open. He is waiting and watching for God to open a door of opportunity. This is not an easy task for a man of action like Nehemiah. He has a wall to build But this is where WWW.AGRM.ORGMARCHAPRIL 2016 39 Rick is the senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Roswell New Mexico and author of Living Your Dash from which this article is adapted. He and his wife Mary have two grown children. You must be able to answer this question God what do you want me to accomplish for you before my funeral