The Great Experiment, Day 2 (night)

It's Day 2 of The Great Experiment! Here are this evening's video devotional, Scripture passage, prayer points, and guide.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Chuck Hetzler with Christian Union Day and Night and Lead Pastor of Bethesda Grace Church. I'm so glad to be able to be here with you again today. I spoke this morning about Deborah and Barak and the song they sang and how the leaders led and the people of God offered themselves willingly as an encouragement to all of us to step fully in to this Great Experiment and beyond. And I want to continue on this theme to empower you and to let you know and let all of us know how much our individual role in the work of God today is crucial. It's not just good. It's not just going to help, but it's crucial.

And Nehemiah is another story in the Old Testament where we see that you can't just depend upon the leaders of the church, my pastor or Christian authors or Christian celebrities to carry us. It takes all of the people of God to answer, to step forward and to engage with all that we are. Just like this is our full-time job, because it really is. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is a full-time calling. And so I just want to encourage us here from Nehemiah 4:6. Nehemiah gives an update on how the building of the wall is going. And he says, "So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height for the people had a mind to work." Nehemiah couldn't have built that wall by himself.

He and some of his friends couldn't have built that wall by themselves. He needed all the people of God that God had placed in Jerusalem at that time to work. And they had a mind to work. They didn't just help out a little bit and do it when they could, when it was convenient, after they went to work or whenever. They had a mind to work. And they rose early to work. And they worked all throughout the day. And they were focused on this task. To accomplish it and to do it well. And we need that same outlook from all of us, all of us who call ourselves Christians around this country. It's not just a Sunday thing, it's not just a Wednesday thing, it's not just certain times. It's all the time. We rise up in the morning and we put our head on the pillow knowing we have followed Jesus Christ today with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

And so that's what it takes. And that's why these things like the Great Experiment are so important. One of the things that we're seeing even in the churches in America today is that the mega church is starting to be ... Seems to be a passing thing. Mega churches are starting to make their satellite congregations autonomous churches because this mega church thing isn't doing what we need to do. We can't just rally around one great leader in our city or in our community. We all as Christians need to say, we need to take our place on the wall. We need to start building. We're not just going to ... In their situation, we're not going to just look to Nehemiah to say, okay, Nehemiah, do the work. You're doing a great job. You're such an awesome leader.

You can do it. No, we've got to have a mind to work. So praise God for our leaders and our pastors and our Christian authors and all these things. But we as the people of God need to come and rise up. So I think God for things like the Great Experiment that put the power in the people. The people of the church. Put the power in us as all of us as disciples to start rising up and saying, we, we the people of God are going to do this thing. We're not just going to look to the professionals. We're all called full-time to build the church of Jesus Christ. And that starts with our own lives being right with God, devoting ourselves fully to Him. And us reaching the people that are around us by the grace of God.

And as we seek the Lord, He will help us to build as we give everything that we are to Him. So thank you for being a part of this. God bless you. Be encouraged, step into it. Have a mind to work as you proceed with following God in this Great Experiment. God bless.

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Here is this evening's guide for the “Five Rs” of The Great Experiment, June 1-10, 2019.

1. Read and Pray

Matthew 10:32-33 – So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Read Matthew 10:1-42 for more context.

This Evening's Prayer Points

• Pray for boldness from the Holy Spirit to conquer your fear of speaking for Christ.
• Pray that we will speak regularly, boldly, clearly, and lovingly about Jesus.

2. Repent.
What sins do I need to repent of today? What hindrances to my devotion to Christ can I remove today?

3. Respond to the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, what is the one thing you most want me to do today? (Write it down, and do it today).

4. Represent Christ. 
How will I bear witness to Christ today? With whom shall I share the Gospel today?

5. Raise Your Faith.
Be bold and courageous in living out your faith (Joshua 1:8,9). Choose from one of the following options for a “Joshua Faith Challenge”:

1. Host an all-night prayer meeting. Set a date during June 1-10 and invite friends to come and pray with you for revival in America.
2. Every day, pray for ten friends and family members to come to faith in Christ and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.
3. Share an evangelistic post on social media every day from June 1-10.
4. Anything else the Lord burdens you to take on that will require courageous faith.