Posted by: pastorapbell | March 10, 2011

as we get back to the future

One of the most important things in any individual’s life is to know that you are walking in step with the eternal spirit, Yahweh. Nehemiah heard from the Lord, built the wall around Jerusalem and encouraged people to settle in the fortified city. Now they needed to hear the word and remember what God had directed them to do in the first place, namely to be an example to those around them. So Ezra took the people back to where they started from, the word of God.  Going back to the word should be the default position for everyone. Wherever God places you and whatever you have achieved, always go back and give him thanks on a regular basis. Ezra blessed the Lord for his provision, lifted up his hands bowed down his head before the Lord in obeisance and worship.

Today always go back to God in whatever situation you find yourself. Everything that starts and end with the word will succeed. In our busy lives remember to take a day off and enquire of the Lord about where he wants to take you.

Read Nehemiah 8:1-12.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 9, 2011

as we complete the restorative process

After the foundation is laid and the walls are built, the restorative process must be completed. This is done by having the right people in the right places. Firstly, the gatekeepers must be appointed. These are the people who are on high alert and monitor who is coming in or is attempting to come in. The gatekeepers must be sensitive, alert and open to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Next to be appointed are the singers. These are people who attract and present an atmosphere for miraculous occurrences. The worshippers are crucial, as they cause the angelic presence to show up in the locality. As the praises to God are offered up, the scene is set to resemble heaven. In heaven there is constant worship led by the angelic singers who are constantly singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God the Almighty who was and is and is to come. You are worthy our Lord and God to receive glory and honour and power for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Rev. 4:8b &11. Finally the priests are appointed. These are the people who present the petition of the people to God. They have the people’s needs on their hearts. This was a part of Nehemiah’s job whilst he was restoring the physical walls of Jerusalem.

So today the order in which we do things is as follows:

Have people who know and monitor what goes in and out of your temple, through all the relevant gates: The eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, your hands and feet.

Then have a melody in your heart at all times and

Finally present your needs to the father.

For Nehemiah total restoration was achieved and Jerusalem, the city of God was secured. We too can achieve total restoration.

 Read Nehemiah 7:1-4, 70-73 & Revelation 4:1-11.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 8, 2011

as our opposition pushes us towards God

There are many times in our lives when things are going well. It is at these times that we tend to spend less and less time with God because we are busy doing our own things. However, when we are faced with an impending calamity, or we hear bad news about our physical condition, or someone who is healthy and vibrant suddenly gets struck down, we take time out to seek God about it.  Nehemiah faced these problems; his opponents were constantly trying to distract him and to get him to stop doing what God had placed in his heart to do. They sent letters (emails) (Ch. 6:2), they plotted to cause confusion among those who were builders (Ch.4:8), and threatened to kill him (Ch.6:10). However he took his eyes off his immediate problems and focused on God. He was able to complete the building of the wall in 52 days (6:15) and see the promises of the lord fulfilled in his day.

There will always be people who are sent to discourage you and who will guide you off the track that God laid out for you. There are those who will delay the purposes of God in your life by their antics. But like Nehemiah and Daniel after him, practice the spiritual discipline that God instituted, i.e. declare a fast, take your eyes off your circumstances and invite God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit into the situation and praise him for the victory the he has given you, even though you don’t see it yet. Like Nehemiah, we will face opposition from outside and inside (Ch.6:17), but when God decrees a thing it must come to pass. Read Nehemiah 6.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 7, 2011

as we overcome oppression

It is only when God starts to show up that people starts to take notice of you. You were there all the time but as God’s plan begins to take shape in your life those who want you to fail arrive to tell you what you cannot do. Nehemiah was at that place (Ch 4&5), he started the rebuilding process, organised the work into manageable portions and envisioned the workforce to see the finished product. The wall was only build to half height and the schemers started to plot against them. Fortunately for Nehemiah and for us, if God is in the plan then it may be delayed but not thwarted. The enemies will come to discourage you but they will not succeed. Today, they will try everything to get you off track, but take your eyes off the situation and place them on God. Do not focus on the opponents because God will cause them to fight against each other and will give us, who are called and who follow him, great success.  Expect a miracle today! Read 1Chrinicles 20.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 6, 2011

as we work under duress, keeping one eye on the prize!

Working towards a goal tends to focus the mind. When we have a word picture of what we are trying to achieve it is more likely that we will achieve it. Nehemiah envisioned the people and reminder them of the splendour of the city of Jerusalem and the powerful presence of God that dwelled there under an open heaven. Like another exile, Ezekiel, Nehemiah wanted the glory of the Lord to return to a place where God had placed his name. Even when the opponents rose up to thwart the restoration process, the mindset of the people of God kept them going. Today the first task of the believe starts in their mind. Once the mind is focused, the building process can be accelerated and the strength of the people allowed to ‘rise’. Nehemiah tells us that the walls were built in quick time because ‘the people had a mind to work’, Nehemiah 4:6b. Get your mindset into building mode! read Nehemiah 4.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 5, 2011

as we face up to opposition

Whenever we decide to restore anything there is always opposition. Nehemiah’s passion, enthusiasms and energy was in stark contrast to those who wants the status quo to remain. Once he presented his case to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to provide security and remove the shame that they lived with on a daily basis, the unholy alliance popped up its head. You will never succeed, you are being rebellious; you will never get a bunch of people with their slave mentality to build anything. The conviction in Nehemiah’s heart was that God gave him a vision and he would make available all the provision he required.  He spoke the word of faith to himself and to the unholy trinity; “The God of heaven will give us success.” Today, whatever God has placed in your heart to do, the onus is on him to fulfil it. He will provide the provision even at the eleventh hour. As you start the process of laying the foundations, all the rats will surface and when they do, shine the light on them and light a fire under their tails and watch them run. If God is in a thing then no one can stop it. They can delay it, but they cannot stop it. Our opponents may seem powerful, but remember it is the Lord’s purposes that will be fulfilled, not theirs. Read Nehemiah 3:1-4:3 and meditate on it.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 4, 2011

devise a plan, write it down and make it plain today!

It is the Lord purposes that prevail although we may make many plans in our hearts (Proverbs 19:21). Nehemiah had a passion to repair the place where God’s name is lifted up. So much so that his very countenance changed when he heard how bad things were. The king for whom he worked noticed that something was not right with Nehemiah and granted him favour to go and initiate the work. Nehemiah already had a business plan, he had ideas about what to do but he needed resources. We know that the king’s heart is in the hands of God and he directs it wherever he pleases (Proverbs 21:1).  So the king granted him whatever he asked for and he went on his way to fulfil the plans he had dreamt about.  Today, as we make plans and devise schemes, let us remember to ask the king of glory if he will underwrite it. Since it is his purposes that will be established let us keep in step with what he has already planned for us. There is a Niagara of souls being lost every day in our communities, what plans can you implement to address this? I would suggest the following: look around you, what are the walls that need rebuilding? When you see and hear what is going on in our streets, can you stay quiet and do nothing? Let us get our houses in order so that we can help others to build their crumbling walls in their relationships, families and faith.  Remember there will be opposition, but let us say like our brother: “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start the building process.” Nehemiah 2:20 (Read 2:11-20).

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 2, 2011

as I develop a desire to bring restoration to my people

For the month of March we will be walking with Nehemiah to see how he overcame the struggles within and those without to fulfil his purpose in his generation. Nehemiah was a prosperous civil servant in the kings employ. However, he knew who he was and was aware of his history. Like all of us who were born in a different land, we are always on the lookout to hear how they are doing and to try to understand what is going on there. And from time to time we even visit these places on holiday, although we are well aware that we are more stressed out when we come back and really do need a proper break. This was the case for Nehemiah. He was an exile in the Babylonian capital city of Susa serving as one who was trained to serve by his masters.

There are several things that happened to Nehemiah that we can draw from in our own lives today.

  1. He heard that there was a problem with his home town (v.2) and that the people who had escaped captivity were living in shame.
  2. When he heard the report he wept and fasted and prayed for days about what he could do (v.4).
  3. He confessed for himself, his family and his nation.

So today like Nehemiah can we develop a passion for our people who are lost? Can we raise up our heads and look at those who have become cannon fodder in the system that is stacked against them? Can we who profess a faith in Jesus come before him with repentance, contrition, and real deep confession to move God into our circumstances? Can we?

I believe we can and we must, if we don’t then another generation of young vibrant possibilities will become lost in the abyss of hopelessness and mediocrity.  Become passionate like Nehemiah and do something that will leave a mark among our young people, and start today. Meditate on Nehemiah 1.

 ***come and listen to what the Mayor of  London, Boris Johnson , is proposing to do about gun and knife crime in London at Capital City, Doyle Gardens, NW10 3ST. 6.30 -8.30 Tonight 2/3/2011***

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 28, 2011

as we use our minds to glorify the creator

The most powerful part of our make-up and the control centre of any human being is their mind. For generations clever men have been trying to find out exactly where the centre of the human being is. Our ancient ancestors thought that our control centre was in the centre of our physical bodies. So magicians and people who cured others would kill animals and use their entrails as a method of revealing secrets. We see this also being evidenced in the bible, particularly in the Psalms. The psalmists would use language to suggest that my heart, lungs, intestines and all that was contained within me was used in the worship of God the father. After examining many entrails, hearts and livers, people began to realise that the control centre of the human being was in fact in the head and not in the centre of the body. In the 19th century after the period of enlightenment, people began to consider that the centre of a person was in their head. Thus began the science of Phrenology. The idea was that the size of your head determined your intelligence, and hence we get the term big headed or big head to indicate superior intelligence. We who are followers of Jesus knew all along that it is not the size of your brain but your connectivity with the creator that determines how you develop. This is what God says:  “Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord purposes that will be established”, Proverbs 19:21.  The word ‘heart’ here refers to the human mind. Once our minds are connected with the eternal spirit, the Spirit of God, then we are free to be whoever God ordained for us to be. Today, renew your mind by meditating on the word of God. Jesus said: “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out”, Matthew 15:11. Our mind is powerful, use it wisely.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 27, 2011

as we unshackle our minds

The old covenant and the old way of doing things in many ways was harsh and draconian. The legal system legislated for and allowed slavery. Indeed all the people of God knew whilst in Egypt was slavery. They were in bondage for 430 years. This affected the way they thought, the way they behaved and the way they acted towards each other. The slave masters connived to highlight the differences between the slaves, the keep them ignorant and to have them fighting each other so as to perpetuate the slavery mentality and thus provide a constant source of labour to do all their menial work.

This method of deliberately keeping people undereducated is still being applied today. However, tyranny and deceit can only last for so long. Once the mind of one individual is enlightened, this becomes a touch paper to initiate the liberation of the masses. There is a Moses born in every generation. Today we see the shackles being shaken off from the people who have lived under oppression for many years. Egypt has told its leader, no to dictatorship and Libya is following suite. In the spiritual realm we too can shake off the shackles that keeps us limited to the natural and become people who access the portal of the supernatural. Jesus said “if you ask anything in my name, believe that you have received it and it will be yours”, Mark 11:24. Ask for things that will help to enhance the kingdom of God!

 

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