On Sunday, November 16, Pastor Deven Wallace released a word for our church in a sermon named Rise + Build, calling us to fasting and prayer.
Instructions:
Whenever you deny your flesh of food, be sure to fill your spirit with His Word, worship, and prayer.
We will fast from sundown on November 30 to sundown on December 3.
1. Read the book of Nehemiah, especially chapters 1 - 7
2. Seek God and ask “Lord, what do You want?”
3. Pray in the Holy Ghost – Jude 1:20
BUILD acronym
B - Burden
- Carrying God’s heavy responsibility initiates building, ensuring that our efforts align with God’s heart, not just "good" ideas
- Burden requires embracing what God desires deeply like Nehemiah’s heart for Jerusalem’s walls. Pray that your desires will completely align with God's desires, even if it doesn't benefit you personally
- Leadership and congregation are committing to a three-day fast and prayer pursuit from December 1–3 to seek God’s burden for 2026
U - Unity
- Essential for building, unity begins with individual commitment. It is the key to overcoming opposition and division
- Nehemiah’s model of unity undergirds the vision; the church must actively fight division rather than tolerate it
I - Investment
- Building requires mutual investment of time, talent, and treasure as demonstrated in Exodus 35, where willing hearts freely gave resources for the tabernacle
- The expectation is overflow in giving, reversing scarcity mindsets to abundant provision
L - Leadership
- Leadership is critical to mobilize vision execution, with emphasis on rising leaders across family and church sections, mirroring Nehemiah’s division of labor
- The vision is likened to a train station sending leaders (apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist) to the nations
- Every person is called to lead in their sphere, especially families and local communities
D - Diversify
- Unity in diversity allows varied gifts and expressions to pursue one vision, as different weapons and skills built Jerusalem’s walls
- The Holy Spirit enables this balance, preventing uniformity while fostering anointed diversity
- Encouragement for individuals to discover and use their unique gifts because every contribution is vital