Author: Rick Henderson

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day seven)

because they understood the words which had been made known to them. vs 12b

This was not the first time the Israelites had heard the laws from Scripture be told to them, but this was the first time they heard The Law in a way that touched them to the core.

As we wind down the summer, I reflect back on Impact Camp. Something special happens at camp where students hear and understand scripture on a level that touches them to the core. The speaker is saying the same thing that we tell them every week, the Holy Spirit is the same God, and their Bible is the same Bible. What makes camp so special? Separation, Saturation, and Expectation. They are separated from their normal pattern of life, saturated in Scripture all week, and they expect for God to do something big.

What if it wasn’t just camp? What if we saturated ourselves in Scripture all week? What if we were to walk into Sunday morning Bible Study and Worship with the same expectation as youth do for camp? What if it wasn’t just something we checked off the box? What if we really listened to understand the sermon instead of just hearing another word? Maybe we too will weep. Maybe we too will be filled with the joy of the Lord. Expect for God to do something Big!

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day seven)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. vs 15

Fifty two days. A feat that can only have been accomplished with divine supplementation. Yet, God did not physically assist in the building of this wall. The supplementation is a direct result of the supplication of Nehemiah. As has been stated in the vlog and other posts, Nehemiah spent 4 months in prayer before ever starting this project. He prayed for more than double the amount of time it took to build the wall. The fight began on his knees before the Lord, and God rewarded his supplication with wisdom and favor.

What are you praying for? We have a tendency to pray for the things that are directly in front of us, but what is coming down the line that you need to pray for now? If we wait until the moment is upon us to begin praying, we will miss out on valuable time to begin to fight. Even if you do not believe something is coming that you need to pray for, go ahead and get on your knees now, and ask the Lord to guide your steps. Imagine what the Lord will begin to do when we all our praying in unison for the future of our lives and His church. Revival is near!

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 5:6-13 (day seven)

I was very angry. vs 6a

Anger in and of itself is not sinful. Christ modeled this for us in clearing out the Temple and multiple times with the Pharisees. There are things in this world that break the heart of God, and for those things, we have a right to feel anger. Exploitation, injustice, unrepentant sin, idolatry. It is comforting to know that God condones controlled anger of such things. What God does not condone is a hasty response to anger. That is when anger becomes sinful.

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,
    but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

Anger, when controlled and consulted, is an attribute of wisdom. In recent days I have seen much anger in the world. Some is warranted, some is driven by hate, most is not controlled. What about you? Have you been angry? How have you responded to anger?

One last word: This week I was watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood with my sons and a song came on that resonated with me, “If you feel so mad that you want to ROAR, take a deep breath, and count to four!” Nehemiah, followed this as he took a moment and consulted with himself (and the Lord). So how about for us, if you feel so mad that you want to ROAR, take a deep breath, and take it to the Lord!

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 3:1-5 (day seven)

After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. Nehemiah 3:22-23

The first time I heard about Nehemiah was not in a Sunday School class nor was it a sermon. It began outside the walls of the church. I read it on a t-shirt of the local high school football team where my father was the head coach. He had chosen this passage to communicate principles of teamwork through the building of the wall.

The highlight and main point that has stuck with me all these years was the fact that each person did the work outside of their own house. This was an ingenious move by Nehemiah, clearly wisdom from the Lord, because it not only helped the speed of the construction process it also helped the quality of the construction. If you are in charge of building the wall in front of your home, are you going to give it half of your effort or are you going to make sure it is done perfect to protect your loved ones? If each person builds their wall swiftly and thoroughly, you will be able to complete the entire wall in no time and can trust that you can keep the enemy out.

Now I think the point for the football team can be translated to our spiritual life equally as well. Your job is not to worry about the integrity of the entire wall. You just need to do the job that is in front of you. If everyone does their job correctly, the wall will hold up against any enemy trying to break it down. What if you just started to build a spiritual kingdom with what God has put right in front of you? Your family, your home, your neighborhood?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 2:11-20 (day seven)

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. vs 11

So I came to Los Angeles and have been here three days. In a month of bustling ministry, even my days have felt off. From Impact Camp to VBS to Mission Choir Tour, our student ministry has not stopped. Being two hours behind does not help either, so I apologize for the tardiness of this post. However, in my time here so far I have seen God doing some really cool things.

Maybe not quite to the level of Jerusalem, but Southern California was once the center of revival and the Jesus Revolution. When we hear on the news and through political discourse, it would appear that SoCal is no longer a hub for Christian influence. Walking Rodeo Drive and serving in soup kitchens has given us a glimpse at the brokenness of the city from the top of the socioeconomic food chain to the bottom. I would agree that this city is broken and in need of the Lord.

Yet, in the midst of it all, we have come across some people of peace who are walking with the Lord and trying to put together the pieces of the brokenness and heal the city through the Love of Jesus Christ. Places like the Dream Center, the Salvation Army, and the St Francis Center have revived hope in my mind and shown me that the Lord is doing amazing things in this city. Will you pray for us as we continue to serve here? Will you pray that God might use you to heal the brokenness in your own neighborhood and city?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 1:4–11 (day seven) 

but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell. vs 9

If you see a strawberry blonde male that looks out of place today, don’t be alarmed! It is me! This is not a fashion statement. Rather it was a challenge to our students to get their friends to come to Impact Camp. I promised them if they got 130 students to camp, then I would bleach my hair. That number would be more than I have taken to camp in my 9 years at FBCSA and would rival numbers of youth groups past. We took 133 students to Impact Camp! We also had 30 other staff and volunteers serving and leading in other capacities taking over 160 people to camp.

Hair, numbers, and records ultimately do not matter. The heart behind my challenge is to get people to camp who need to hear the Gospel, and God moved in a mighty way! We had many salvations and dozens of rededications. I am excited to tell their stories in the days ahead! But what I want to leave you with today is that God has chosen to dwell in the hearts of this generation. Many of you may be worried about the state of our country and society in their love for Jesus. I can assure you, God is working in a mighty way in this generation and in our youth group right now. What will we do to further their growth?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 1:1–3, 11 (day seven)

“and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”  vs 3b

The wall was everything for an ancient city. Protection, fortification, economy, identity. A broken wall meant that the city was vulnerable, just waiting to be attacked. Could you imagine trying to sleep at night knowing the enemy could walk right through the gates and destroy your home? Could you imagine trying to build anything of significance or beauty, only for it to be stolen and destroyed the next day? Could you imagine trying to raise your children, plant your fields, or go to work, all the while knowing that at any moment, all of it could be taken away? This was what broke Nehemiahs heart. God’s people had lost their hope. 

Does it break your heart to see people with broken walls? Does it break your heart to see people with no hope? Does it break your heart to watch the news and see a world where the enemy is preying on the vulnerable and exploiting the hopeless? If your heart is not broken by brokenness of the world, maybe your wall is the one that has been broken.