God of this City

WOW! Sunday's message was a huge milestone in my life! Pastor Lee talked about the book of Nehemiah (encourage you to read the whole book) and as Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, so are we to rebuild the walls of our city. The title of the message was called, "God of this City."
Many years ago, my brother's best friend, Richee Parks, used to hold discipleship classes in an old, run down school building where I grew up. Richee came from New Mexico and spent 10 months in the town that I grew up in. He has been very influential in my life including the fact that he was Kurt's first and closest (still yet closest) friend right after he completely turned his life around. I was probably 15 or 16 when I met Richee. He had such a passion to see change in my city. Every week, he would hold the discipleship classes and I would learn so much. A lot about thankfulness. We would always start out with intense worship and then he would go into teaching. Many times as a teenager, I thought that he was crazy, but I was hungry for God and I wanted ALL of Him. Every Friday, Kurt, Richee, me & later Richee's wife Gracie would meet in a church and cry out to God for change in our city. Hours and hours were spent in prayer. Personally, I would go home from school and lay on my floor and bawl and bawl for my classmates. I started a prayer group in junior high and then later a bible study at SEVEN A.M. in my high school. I had such a low self-image of myself that a lot of times that got in the way. I felt so alone but yet I was so hungry for God. Once I was so desperate I went on a juice fast for 10 days crying out for change in my city. I would map out streets and go on my own prayer walks. I would pray over the strongholds of Masonry, Science Church and other places where I felt there to be more darkness. Once the Holy Spirit told me to march around my school 7 times and pray over it. Another time the Holy Spirit tugged my heart to share with my principal the heart that I had for my school and the change that God wanted to do there. He was convicted as I poured out my heart for the lost in my school. I had such favor and I was able to do a lot of things that the other kids couldn't. I often felt alone, though. One of my friends committed suicide and that was very hard. I remember talking on the phone with Gracie one night. All she said was, "It's not your fault" and miraculously all the guilt and condemnation was gone. The pain was still there, but I no longer blamed it on myself.
One day, I remembered Richee encouraging us to read Nehemiah. I started reading it and couldn't stop. Richee often referred to Nehemiah when rebuilding the walls of our city. Richee is crazy for Jesus and I love him and Gracie so much. Nehemiah and Esther have been on my heart for a long time.
After leaving my hometown for good at the end of 2004, I felt very discouraged. My expectation level was that God was going to rock my city and that I would see it before my very eyes. A lot of seeds were planted, a lot of pain. I don't even know if it was godly sorrow or worldy sorrow, honestly, at times. I felt like God didn't hear. But He DID.
New hope has risen in me. Maybe I was trying to take on strongholds and principalities as a single person sometimes. Yes, God can do anything at any time, but He wants to work with us as a body. He has brought me to no better of a local body than Radiant Church. I'm so thankful and very overwhelmed in a good way at everything that He is doing. Sometimes it seems too good to be true. There were so many years of no fruit, but now I know that that is going to change. It's not just a new season that we are going into; it's going to be a different world. Hell is mad as ____ (trying to make a strong point), but Kalamazoo, Battle Creek & the surrounding areas will be known as a region where the Name of Jesus is lifted high!
Please be praying for our church leadership in this exciting and intense time. It's time to take Jesus out of the four walls of the church and let everything be shaken that can possibly be shaken.