What If...?

Flood Zone Recap
August 12, 2007

I know, I know...you don't want to hear it, but you can't deny it! School is starting SOON (if it hasn't already started for you). Yes, I used the "s" word. And I use it without apology. In fact, I'll say it again...

SCHOOL is Here...

and I bet there are a hundred questions running through your mind:

What will I wear the first day?
Who will be in my classes?
Will I like my new teachers?
Will I make any new friends this year?
Will I like high school?
What locker number will I have?
Will I remember the combination?

All of these questions are great and important (kind of), but what about the big questions? Have these questions crossed your mind as you prepare for a new school year?

What do I want to see God do at my school this year?
What do I want to see God do in MY life during this school year?

Take a minute to think about those questions. What do you want to see God do this year?

Have you even though that God might have specific plans and desires for you and your school this year? Have you even though about the POSSIBILITIES of what God COULD do this school year?

Check out Jeremiah 29:10-14. Here's a little background:

The nation of Israel is in captivity because of their refusal to serve the one true God. They keep forgetting God, and they keep paying for it. But, God is not through with them. He still has a plan for them, even though they are in exile.

"For thus says the Lord, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,' decleres the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you serach for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and I wiill rstre your fortuness and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declres the Lord, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'"

Maybe you feel like you've been in exile and you haven't been focused on what God wants for your school years. God is saying, "get focused, and I'll do something INCREDIBLE."

Maybe you feel like the only Christian left at your school who actually cares about what God wants. God is saying, "trust me...cry out to me, and you'll see me bring back those other believers into a force of Christians that your school won't have a choice but to notice."

Mabye you feel like your school is so lost, so dark, that God has forgotten and given up on it. God is saying, "don't worry, I haven't forgotten you, I'm just waiting for the right time, and if you're ready to do something big, so am I."

Maybe God is waiting on YOU! No, he doesn't need you to change lives, but he wants to use you! He has a plan, and it involves you!

So, here's another HUGE question:

If you could see God do ANYTHING (and I mean ANYTHING) this year, what would you want it to be? A family member or good friend saved. A bible club started at your school. People flocking to you to ask you how they can have the joy that you have. Teachers sharing their faith in the middle of class. Principals allowing the Gospel to be presented at school assemblies. Parents rescuing their children from years of neglect. The hardest heart and most outspoken person against Christianity broken and weeping because of their sin and need for Jesus. Churches uniting for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Now that something is in your head, think about this next question:

What are YOU willing to do to be a part of that plan and see it happen?

If you want to see revival in your school, family, and community this year, then you have to be willing to do something. Take action. Start praying.

That's where it all begins, with prayer. So, here is the challenge. Over the next 22 days until school starts in Mecklenburg county, pray daily for these 10 things. Then, continue to pray daily for them through the first month of school. And as you see God beginning to answer the prayers, JOIN WITH HIM and do the work of the ministry. Your school needs you. Your family needs you. Your friends need you. DESPERATELY!!!

Praying for Revival in our Schools:

1. Pray against unbelief.
2. Pray for brokeness over sin.
3. Pray for radical obedience.
4. Pray for outspoken believers.
5. Pray for well-guided zeal.
6. Pray for support for revival among teachers and principals.
7. Pray for humility among the proud and popular.
8. Pray for boldness among teachers despite restrictions.
9. Pray that opposition will be silenced.
10. Pray for humility and Christ-likeness among believers.