Rise Up, The Miracle Is In The Rising
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 25 February 2018 ]
In Nehemiah 2:18, the people said, ” let us rise up and build. “
In 2018, we celebrated our 18th anniversary, and we too decided to rise up and rebuild whatever areas in our lives that were broken.
Do you know that rebuilding is often harder than building?
This is because when we rebuild, there is a need to take a current situation and turn it around. But God loves to rebuild because He is a transforming God. He takes the old and makes it new. He makes the useless useful. God can make all things beautiful in their time.
However, before we start to rebuild, there is something even harder that needs to be done first – and that is to RISE!
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We cannot rebuild unless we first rise up. The fullness of the vision is not only to rebuild, but to rise.
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Rising means focus. In the Book of Nehemiah, the Jews rose up to build the wall because they had a purpose and passion. When we take action and rise up, it shows that we have beaten many fears, many demons, and have built resilience.
Rising seems like a simple act but it is not, because in rising, there are many decisions to be made. When we rise, it demonstrates that we have battled internal demons that haunt us – our thoughts, guilt or failures.
Rising also means that we have committed to something that’s far bigger and better than ourselves. Anyone who rises, demonstrates that they are ready and willing to make sacrifices and leave behind comforts like personal time, family time, and even their own dreams and desires.
Rising also means that we won’t stop until the work is finished. Just like in the Book of Nehemiah, once the Jews rose up, they were caught up with building the wall. They did not go home, did not care to wash clothes, or go on with everyday life, but stayed where they were until they were able to get the wall up.
Did you know that in the Bible, many breakthroughs were achieved upon the act of rising?
Read John 5:1-15
“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” There was a man with an infirmity for 38 years. He had waited for a very long time by the pool to get healed, but had never got the opportunity to.
Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time. Others had taken his place in the pool, preventing him from receiving his healing. When Jesus addressed the sick man, Jesus said RISE and immediately he was made well – which showed that the real miracle is truly in the rising.
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Like the sick man, we may all have had a rough past, but in Christ, we have a radical future.
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Read | Mark 5:21-42
“Little girl, I say to you, arise.” It is the story of the little girl who was at the point of death. Her father, Jairus, asked Jesus to heal her and so Jesus went with him.
However, on the way to the house, the crowd announced that the little girl had died, and they asked Jairus why he still wanted to trouble the Teacher.
We are never any trouble to the Lord. None of our hopes, dreams, desires and prayers are of any trouble to the Lord. He loves our dependency on Him. The Lord has time for all of us, and by the Spirit, He is everywhere.
And so Jairus was met with hopelessness once he heard the news of his daughter’s death. Like him, too many of us get stopped in our tracks because of fear or unbelief when our miracle is just around the corner.
Jesus knew better and had to convince the parents to continue to make their way home. He told them not to be afraid and to believe that she could be saved.
This meant that Jairus had to RISE up from hearing the crowd and listen to Christ. When they arrived at the house, Jesus said to her, “Little girl, rise up”. She then arose, walked and people were amazed.
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Christ ROSE from the dead too and through that, He conquered sin and death for us. The greatest achievement of all time!
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Read | 1 Corinthians 15:17, Proverbs 24:16, Acts 3:6,
It is important to remember that it is not about the falling, but the rising up again and again. That is where the miracle is. When you RISE, nothing is impossible.
The Jewish people finished the wall in only 52 days in the Book of Nehemiah. When we live with purpose, passion and meaning, there is joy and hope – and lives will be blessed.
God has not forsaken nor forgotten us. We may not understand why certain things happen, but we need to know that God has a plan. No matter what happens, God is in control, we have to keep on praising Him, thanking Him and living right.
May we succeed through raising our minds. May we be open and set on things above; not on arguments, rumours, gossip and excuses. May we set our minds on the things of the Lord for where faith is, Christ is and where love is, Christ is.
God is going to reach down and make the old new. God is ready to do His will and work in our lives so let us “Rise and Rebuild”!
Written By: Writer’s Ink
Edited By: Ivy Wambaa & Hailey Chung
