We were reminded the other Sunday by our preacher, Neil Barker,of the words of Nehemiah, when he heard the walls of Jerusalem were in a dreadful state: “When I heard these things I sat down and wept, I mourned and fasted for some days and prayed before the God of heaven” (Neh 1:4)
Neil reminded us that, whatever age we are, the best years of our life are still to come, because, when we gave our lives to Jesus, we were given the promise of eternal life from then on. God has a purpose and work for each of us. Nehemiah in his prayer confessed the sins the he and his fellow Israelites had committed against God. He accepted that he would be part of the solution to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem irrespective of the cost to himself. He held a very responsible job as cup bearer to the king.
So with us – Neil challenged us that though we may feel our best years have gone – they haven’t. We all have so much more to give and we can be part of the solution to the rebuilding of our walls – the continued mission of the Olive Tree Church.
Neil left us with a 7 point plan:
- Pray – like Nehemiah – fervently! We can all do that including those whose physical health is restrictive.
- Confess our sins and take responsibility for them.
- Ask for success in our plans for the Olive Tree Church to be salt and light in our community.
- Act accepting that we must part of the solution, not part of the problem. There are many areas where we need people to act, to enable the Olive Tree Church to continue to support the fellowship and serve the community.
- Be brave Sometimes it needs courage to step up and get involved. In Jesus we have all the strength we need to do what he is calling us to do.
- Give of yourself– wholeheartedly. When we serve, it requires our whole self, but the rewards are beyond measure.
At the The Olive Tree Church we have come so far. Let us now all commit to the next stage of our journey as we move on from the last 18 months;
Let us all commit to being part of the solution and give of our selves wholeheartedly.
Elaine Sharpe