Sunday, June 23, 2013

What's That In Your Hand?


What’s In Your Hand?
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Exodus 4.1-3 NIV

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor,
    “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you. (Prov 3.27, 28)


Nehemiah:

  • Jerusalem was in disarray
  • Nehemiah was in an interesting position (leadership, gov’t, educated)
  • Nehemiah was in touch with the concerns of society. He asked about the community and its residents.(Still had connections)
  • The news broke his heart and he wept. (He knew it broke God’s heart, too)
    • He prayed
    • He fasted
  • He began to talk with God about the problem and reminded God about His promise to Israel.
  • He got a vision for the next steps (talk with King) & asked God for favor with the king
  • The King asked why does you face look sad when you are not ill (Nehemiah 2)
  • He was afraid because this was risky to talk about personal matters to the King


Moses: Exodus 2.11
  • Moses went to his homeland and witnessed the conditions of his Hebrew brothers
    • Brutality
    • Hard labor

  • Moses murdered an Egyptian who was beating a defenseless Hebrew slave
  • The next day Moses saw two Hebrews fighting each other & challenged them
  • They challenged Moses and in essence called him a murderer
  • Moses fled and Pharaoh tried to kill him

Jesus, The Christ: (Luke 9)
  • Sent the disciples out
  • Taught them about the Kingdom
  • They asked to have the crowds sent away to get food...Jesus was moved with compassion and instructed the disciples to feed the people
  • Jesus blessed the bread and fish and asked the disciples to distribute.

God, Our Father: (John 3)
  • For God so loved the world...that He did something about it.


Giving to the Needy
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Sample Template for Changing The World:
  • What breaks God’s heart?
  • What’s your story? (Where has pain taken you in life?)
  • What has broken your heart?
  • Where does your broken heart and God’s broken heart intersect?
  • What is the need? (Researching, interviewing, observing)
  • What does God want you to do about that need? (Discovered via prayer)
  • What’s within your power do you? (Formal/informal assessment of abilities)
  • What mentoring or training do you need to balance experience, power and character?
  • Who will aid you in this endeavor?
  • Who will help you develop a good strategy?
  • Who are you accountable to?
  • How will you measure you success?
  • How will you keep God’s vision pure? How will you continually offer the project back to God?

No comments: