Needing a Plan
Have you ever stopped and asked yourself…WHY AM I SO EXHAUSTED? Maybe you can relate to this story. An individual said, “As I awoke this morning I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin under the table, and notice that the bin is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first. But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the rubbish anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of soda I’d been drinking. I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the soda can aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. I feel the soda getting warm, so I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the can, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the can on the counter and find my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the living room where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall, trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day, the car isn’t washed, the bills aren’t paid, there is a warm can of soda sitting on the counter, the flowers don’t have enough water, there is still only one check in my check book, I can’t find the remote, I can’t find my glasses, and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys. Then, I hear the water running outside and as I go to turn it off I try to figure out why nothing got done today.
No matter who you are; we are all subject to being overly busy. I hear students saying that they’re too busy, parents and workers saying they are too busy, even retired people wonder how they ever worked for a living because they are so busy.
It is easy to be consistently overly active in everything we do. And there is nothing wrong with being active. But our life consists of more than being actively busy. We all need to take time away from the business to: plan, prioritize and to recharge.
Listen to this story about Jesus and his disciples founded in the gospel of Mark, in the sixth chapter starting in verse 30;The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. 31But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat.
Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.” 32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place.
33But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. 36Send the people away. They can go and buy something to eat in the nearby countryside and villages.”
37But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take eight months of a person’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”
38“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”
39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s.
41Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to set in front of the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
42All of them ate and were satisfied. 43The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of men who had eaten was 5,000. (NIrV)
Jesus was a very busy man and, on this day not only busy, but was swarmed by people. Now if you will, imagine that if you arrived at church this morning and the whole community of Harmony, Floyd, and Center Hill were here.
Some of you would say our prayers have been answered.
But imagine if all these people were asking for something from us. What if they weren’t asking for money or food, but were simply seeking to worship, wanting all of their kids to be in a Sunday school class; ages ranging from toddlers to seniors in high school. Adults that were in their early twenties married, singles in their late twenties and divorces in their late thirties, spouses of alcoholics, handicapped people, recovering addicts, families with terminally ill members, ex-convicts or a Homosexual person who is looking for the love of God and His forgiveness… people of all walks of life looking to have their needs meet by Jesus through us. My point is, I believe, with all of my heart, God’s desire is for His people to have a vision of what He wants to accomplish in and through them.
Before we go any farther let me define what vision is and where it comes from.
Vision is more than just a desire. It begins with a heartfelt conviction that brings need to change. Many churches and followers of Christ are comfortable with where their church is and the way things are. There was a pastor who preached a message that challenged the thinking of his church. It also challenged the way church business was conducted. Instead of taking the message to heart, the chairman of the deacons approached the pastor and said, “Preacher this church has always been, is now, and always will be up a small country church; so just cool your jets.” As far as this deacon was concerned he like things just the way they were and wasn’t willing to do anything differently.
I do not want harmony to fall in that trap. We know God expects more than a weekly church visit, listening to a message, and placing money in the offering plate.
God desires his children to listen to every message as an opportunity to hear from God what He wants them to do. We see from the book of Nehemiah that A VISION BEGINS AS A CONCERN. Here are the words of Nehemiah chapter 1:1-7. “These are the words of Nehemiah. He was the son of Hacaliah. I was in the safest place in Susa. I was there in the 20th year that Artaxerxes was king. It was in the month of Kislev. 2At that time Hanani came from Judah with some other men. He was one of my brothers. I asked him and the other men about the Jews who were left alive in Judah. They had returned from Babylonia. I also asked him about Jerusalem. 3He and the men who were with him said to me, “Some of the people who returned are still alive. They are back in the land of Judah. But they are having a hard time. People are making fun of them. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Its gates have been burned with fire.” 4When I heard about those things, I sat down and sobbed. For several days I was very sad. I didn’t eat any food. And I prayed to the God of heaven. 5I said, “LORD, you are the God of heaven. You are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with those who love you and obey your commands. You show them your love. 6“Please pay careful attention to my prayer. See how your people are suffering. Please listen to me. I’m praying to you day and night. I’m praying for the people of Israel. We Israelites have committed sins against you. All of us admit it. I and my family have also sinned against you. 7We’ve done some very evil things. We haven’t obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.” (NIrV)
Nehemiah saw a problem and was distressed. We see it in verse 3 He and the men who were with him said to me, “Some of the people who returned are still alive. They are back in the land of Judah. But they are having a hard time. People are making fun of them. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Its gates have been burned with fire.” Is there anything that gets your attention? Is there anything about our church, our denomination, our community that bothers you about the way things are heading? Do you believe that God have a vision for us?
I know that God wants us to be united and trained… ready to do His work. In the parable of the feeding of the 5000, we see the compassion Jesus has for the hungry. It drives home the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples not only to care but to act.
Now I think it is important to mention that even Nehemiah was emotionally upset, but he didn’t wallow in self-pity, become a gripper, nor an armchair quarterback. Nehemiah after his grief did the only thing he knew to do…
(Read) 4When I heard about those things, I sat down and sobbed. For several days I was very sad. I didn’t eat any food. And I prayed to the God of heaven. 5I said,
“LORD, you are the God of heaven. You are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with those who love you and obey your commands. You show them your love.
6“Please pay careful attention to my prayer. See how your people are suffering. Please listen to me. I’m praying to you day and night. I’m praying for the people of Israel…HE PRAYED!!!!
Many times when God gives a vision to someone and it doesn’t come to pass they give up. They say, “I can’t do what God wants me to do.”
A VISION, brothers and sisters, DOESN’T NECESSARILY REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ACTION
Nehemiah couldn’t do what he wanted to do immediately, but it didn’t stop him from doing what he could do. Nehemiah began his work… his vision by first recognizing the problem, praying about it, and then he acted upon it. Prayer friends is still God’s mighty force in solving today’s problems. Prayer and action go hand and hand. It is through prayer that God will guide our preparation, teamwork, and diligent efforts to carry out His will.
A God given vision will ALWAYS line up with what God is doing to draw people to Himself.
Do you remember Michael Jordan? He averaged 32 points per game over his 15 years in the NBA. A reporter asked him, one day, how he was able to maintain such a high average and he replied, "I simplify the matter. It takes only takes eight points per quarter to score 32 a game. I find a way every quarter to simply get those eight points." HE HAD A GOAL. You see successful people; teams, businesses and churches all have one thing in common. THEY START WITH A GOAL!!!
