GOD IS OPENING DOORS
During the Angels & Lampstands sermons series this past fall, God began to move in clear and distinct ways among our church family. As we received both correction and commendation from The Lord, and positioned ourselves to truly, “hear what the Spirit has to say to the church.” There has been an increased sense of excitement and joy around the mission of Jesus, increased participation in the mission, and open doors of opportunity.
Jesus told the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3, that when he opens a door, no one can shut it. The implication is that the church was to walk through the door Jesus opened, not try to open the doors Jesus has closed.
It seems that God is opening up a few doors of opportunity that could make 2025 a year that sets us on a brand new trajectory! To get us ready to walk through that door next year, we are studying the book of Nehemiah. Our study will take us all the way to Easter 2025. It is by then, we hope to be well on our way into acquiring a permanent home for our church!
We estimate that in order to secure the facility God has for us we need, and additionally $600,000! This is a God-size need and we are trusting him for provision.
This is exactly what we see with Nehemiah. God has called him to a mission and his mission needs massive funding. Nehemiah prays, fasts, and asks the King of Persia to fund the mission. And he does just that! Nehemiah, however, understands that the Persian King granted the request because of the powerful hand of God.
“…And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me” (Nehemiah 2:8).
CONTENDING FOR THE FUTURE
We are going to see God do great things in Nehemiah for his people. There is a future he has for them and it’s going to take a lot of work. There is going to be great opposition, large tasks, hard work, and sometimes literal fights. God’s people must labor with God, on his mission, and contend for the future he has for them.
As our church family heads into the next season God has for us, we too must be ready to contend and labor faithfully with Jesus on his mission. When we think about what it means to contend for the future, three specific responses are evident in Nehemiah and throughout Scripture: prayer, giving and fasting.
PRAYING FOR THE FUTURE
One thing we will see throughout our study of Nehemiah is that he is a man of prayer. There is a lot of work for him to do and there is a lot of opposition along the way which means he has a lot to pray for. Likewise, if we are going to contend for the future God has for us, we must start with the same posture Nehemiah had — the posture of prayer!
If next year goes as we anticipate and we are able to move into our own facility, we may find ourselves in one of the busiest, most eventful, and maybe even the most fruitful years in the history of our church. The elders and I feel led to prepare for what God has for us with 40 days of prayer as a church.
We began our 40 days of prayer this past Friday, November 22nd and it will continue through December 31st. We are asking you to pray for our church. Pray that we would glorify Jesus. Pray that lots of people will be saved. Pray for our future.
Throughout the 40 days of prayer, we will be posting daily prayer requests here on the blog. You can also find other study materials for Nehemiah at our resources table on Sunday or on our website here.
GIVING FOR THE FUTURE
The bible teaches that God is a generous giver who called his people to be generous too. We are to give out a heart of worship and obedience to God. This past year has been one of the best financial years for us as a church. So, to the members of The Well, I want to thank you for your generosity.
During this season, we as a church will be raising money—above and beyond our normal budget—to help us make the proper steps toward owning a church building. We estimate that in order to secure the facility God has for us we need, and additionally $600,000! This is a God-size need and we are trusting him for provision.
Our year-end goal is $ 60,000 above and beyond normal giving. — this is essentially a tithe towards our God-size need of $600,000. Please pray about what your portion is and pray for everyone to do their part. We desire to see 100% participation among those who call The Well their church home. Just as Jesus took the fishes in loaves from the Hebrew boy’s lunch box and multiplied it to meet the needs of the people, so too we trust God to multiply the gifts we offer this year.
HOW TO GIVE:
Text any amount followed by “future” to: 84321
Visit: thewellsa.org/give & be sure select the “future” fund to give towards our goal
Click “Give Here” below to give towards our goal
FASTING FOR THE FUTURE
Lastly, to begin the New Year, we are going to take another page out of Nehemiah’s book and fast. Prayer and fasting go hand-in-hand. So, as we close out the year with 40 days of prayer, we will begin the new year with fasting. We encourage you to join us in a biblical fast, abstaining from food, during January 5th to sundown on January 10th. This could be fasting from one meal a day or fasting during daylight hours. If you are unable to fast from food, consider implementing spiritual disciplines that would change your normal rhythms and create more time for prayer during this time (for example, cut out T.V., internet, games, etc.). Choosing to abstain from them will allow you to use that time to read Scripture, pray, and rely on the Lord. There will be more to come about this as we get closer. We plan to provide different resources online and through our community groups.
I’m excited about what the Lord is doing at The Well and I invite you to join us as we contend for the future God has for us!
–Pastor Al Johnson