Rewind — the teaching platform built on your church’s own preaching

The big idea

Intentions without direction lead to frustration; to see God rebuild what's broken, we have to move from good intentions to real action, following Nehemiah's pattern of praying patiently, serving faithfully, acting boldly, and preparing expectantly.

God wants to rebuild the broken, ruined places in our lives, but that rebuilding rarely happens on our timetable. Nehemiah's story shows that waiting seasons are where God shapes who we are becoming, and that fear, faithful service, and bold action are how good intentions finally turn into real change.

A story from life

Pastor Daniel recounts gaining sympathy weight during his wife's pregnancies and eventually reaching 240 pounds before making a plan with a trainer to get back in shape — used to illustrate that intentions without a plan produce no change.

intentions without direction leads to frustration

— Daniel Goulding

Point 1 of 5

Pray patiently and don't waste the season of waiting

Pastor Daniel points out that Nehemiah prayed and fasted for four months with no certainty of what would happen, and argues that God is more concerned with who we're becoming than what we're doing. He applies this to seasons of infertility, singleness, financial hardship, and his own church-planting journey, insisting that how we steward the waiting season determines the fruitfulness of the next one.

Related passage

god is more concerned with who you are becoming than what you are doing

— Daniel Goulding

How you steward your season of waiting, it will determine the fruitfulness of your next season

— Daniel Goulding

Point 2 of 5

Serve faithfully right where you are

Even while heartbroken over Jerusalem's ruin, Nehemiah kept serving King Artaxerxes well for four months without letting his internal struggle show. Pastor Daniel ties this to the church's value that worship is a lifestyle, not a Sunday activity, and says believers can control their attitude and faithfulness even when circumstances haven't changed.

Related passage

Illustration

During the 2008 economic crisis, many homeowners walked away from underwater mortgages rather than keep paying, only to miss the eventual recovery in home values — used to illustrate the danger of giving up in a season of uncertainty.

Point 3 of 5

Let fear fuel you instead of stopping you

Nehemiah was terrified to approach a brutal king who had ordered the walls torn down, yet courage and fear showed up together. Pastor Daniel shares his own fear in leaving a job to plant a church and challenges the church to let God-given fear drive them to their knees rather than paralyze them.

Related passage

fear can either stop you or it can fuel you

— Daniel Goulding

Point 4 of 5

Act boldly and have the hard conversation

When the king asked what Nehemiah wanted, Nehemiah prayed on the spot and then boldly asked for exactly what he needed. Pastor Daniel tells a childhood story of confessing to breaking a statue to show that feared conversations are usually far less painful than we imagine, and urges the church to stop avoiding the hard relational conversations they've been putting off.

Related passage

Don't let fear debilitate you. Let it fuel you. Don't let the vision die at the how

— Daniel Goulding

dependence will take you further than ability

— Daniel Goulding

A story from life

Pastor Daniel describes breaking the head off a Saint Francis of Assisi statue in his mother's garden as a child, dreading confession for far longer than the actual consequence warranted — used to illustrate that feared conversations are usually less severe than imagined.

Point 5 of 5

Prepare expectantly with a real plan

Nehemiah didn't just pray and serve; he had already worked out logistics, knowing what timber he needed and who controlled it, so when the king asked, he had a plan ready. Pastor Daniel says this is the step of turning a burden into a concrete ask, ready for when God opens the door.

Related passage

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel frames the charge as moving from good intentions to going from ruins to revival by praying, serving, acting, and preparing.

Application

Don't waste your season of waiting
If you're waiting on God to change your marriage, finances, or fertility, keep pressing into what God is doing in you now rather than growing frustrated that the external circumstances haven't changed yet.
Serve faithfully in your current situation
Whatever your current job or circumstance, keep showing up with a good attitude and full effort, trusting God is at work even when nothing outwardly seems to be changing.
Let fear drive you to your knees, not to a standstill
When God gives you a dream that terrifies you, don't let that fear stop you; let it push you into deeper prayer and dependence on Him this week.
Have the hard conversation you've been avoiding
If there's a relationship in ruin or an offense you've been dodging, take the courage this week to say what needs to be said, trusting the conversation will likely go better than you fear.
Pray and consider partnering financially with the new building
For the next 21 days, pray and seek God about the new Echo's headquarters, and consider a one-time or ongoing financial gift toward the $500,000 build-out.

Keep going

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