1st - Be in God’s Word - Nehemiah 1:8-9
“Remember the instructions you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah and Ezra create a rebuilding project. Rebuilding Jerusalem. The city had been ransacked and conquered. And Nehemiah around 500 B.C. wanted to rebuild it. The rebuilding vision came about through a discussion with Nehemiah’s brother. Nehemiah asked how everything was going back in Jerusalem, and his brother’s account was disheartening. Nehemiah, then, set on a path to rebuild his beloved home. Foreigners and priests were in control of the city with little beneficial results for the Israelites/Jews, and he desired a change. He went to God, he prayed. But in his prayer, we learn of who this laymen really is...his heart. He is not a prophet, like Ezra; he is simply an official in the court of Cyrus. But he is a deeply religious man that knows the Torah, the Bible of the Time, the first 5 books of the Bible. He studies, he reads, and he delights in the Word of the Lord. And he calls God on his promise. Leviticus 26:33 and following. God would punish His people if they disobey and He would reward His people if they humbly return to God. Nehemiah, in his study of Scripture, believed God to be a God that kept His promises. The application for you and I in our everyday life is to be in the Word of God in order that we might know Him better. In order that we might be able to lean on Him when in trouble and delight in Him when we are overjoyed. You see, when we fill our hearts with the promises of God, we can deal with whatever life throws at us because we have the handbook, the manual in front us with the end in mind. We know that “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 Jesus knew the Word and quoted on multiple occasions both in teaching sessions and in intimate sessions of prayer. Repeating the Word of God back to God during prayer is a common trend throughout Scripture and Church heritage. We must know the word of God because:
Our life projects should begin here…in God’s Word. When we hear of things that move us, we should be so intrenched with the Word that we immediately rise to action knowing full well what we are to do. If God has said it, if Christ has modeled it, then we too should do it. God’s Word is our manual, God’s statement of work for salvation of man. God has moved in order that you and I can live eternally in Heaven with Him and that we may live a life of joy here on the earth. Be in God’s Word in order that you might know God and God’s plan. 2 - Spend Time in Prayer “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4 Nehemiah already knew what he wanted to do; he needed to know if it was what he should do. When Nehemiah prayed, he:
Reading God’s Word and Spending Time in Prayer go hand in hand. John Stott in Christian Basics said that “prayer is always a response to God’s Word.” “He speaks first (through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit); we reply (in prayer).” You see, according to E.M. Bounds, “everything was possible to the men and women [of Scripture] who knew how to pray” because prayer connects us to God through his Word. Benefits of Prayer include:
These are just a few of the benefits of prayer. When we are embarking on a project of change, we cannot forget to spend time in prayer. Prayer enables us to clear our minds, fully understand God’s directive, and begin refreshed each day. Without prayer, we become disconnected from the manual, from the director, and our project will suffer setbacks. We will lose focus and work on unnecessary items. Nehemiah knew as he started out, he must talk with God. He had to voice his frustrations and desires to God and listen for the answer. If he had started on his own he might not have been as successful. Ezra 1:1 - The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia - The Lord was the initiator of the rebuilding of the temple, not Nehemiah or Ezra. The Lord needs to be the initiator of change in our lives. We can nothing without Christ by our side. (John 15:5) 3 - Get Approval & Support In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the King. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “may the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” The King said to me, “what is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of Heaven, and I answered the King, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Venturing out alone is a very difficult task. Everyone needs help along the way. Maybe not all the time but at some point during the journey, help is needed. So, when you begin a project, it is important to let others know what you are planning, and the help that you will need. The rebuilding of Jerusalem could not have occurred if Nehemiah and/or Ezra tried to work alone. This was going to take many more hands than Nehemiah and Ezra could give. The rebuilding project took 7 years, imagine if they had tried to do it alone? It would have taken much, much longer. When we begin to change something in our lives, it is best to enlist help, to gather support. Throughout the project we will need encouragement, guidance, and assistance. There might be areas of the statement of work that you can not complete nor understand without assistance. It is ok to ask for help. There is no shame in admitting that you need help. Sometimes, encouragement is all you need. Regardless, you need someone beside you. A couple of days ago, Laura Ann said, “I have a list for you.” Of course, I made a face, and she continued to tell me about the list. One item was the replacement of an electrical outlet. This outlet proved to be more stubborn than it ought. That is the way all of my projects go. It is never just a simple as replacing something. Even changing light bulbs...something will not go right. In this case, I had difficulty removing the old outlet and even more difficulty hooking up the new outlet. Laura Ann came down after she was finished working on her project. She held the flashlight. But her words of encouragement were more helpful than anything else she did. I was able to replace the outlet but I might have given up or broken something out of frustration if she had not come to my assistance. Here Nehemiah knows that he can not complete his project, nor begin his project, without the approval of the King. He was very afraid to tell the King of his desire, but he prayed...which I think is a very important part of the story…#2 on our list….and then told the King. We cannot be afraid to tell others about our goals, our projects, our dreams. They can help us, guide us, or give us approval. On the job, we might have an idea and be afraid to voice it. Go ahead, do as Nehemiah and show respect, but do it! Step out on faith! Projects in our life cannot go unnoticed nor unfixed. We cannot ride along the road of life with flat tires. We must take the time to fix them. We must not fear the change. We must not fear the reaction of those around us. Just get out of the car and replace the tire. No time is better than the present. It may take some planning, you can’t just stop in the middle of the road to change a tire. It may take some assistance, you might not be strong enough to turn the jack. It may take some approval, you might have to buy new tires and you need to discuss your options with your spouse. Life projects cannot be set aside for another day. Seize the Day...Talk with someone about your project, about the thing you would like to change. If you have already been in the Word and prayed about it, then talking with someone else about it will only help you reach your goal, complete the project on time. Lots of students struggle with academics. It can be difficult to juggle and comprehend the different materials, concepts, and skills at the same time. Usually, a student that struggles cannot get ahead on their own. He/she might want to, but rarely is a student able to surmount the many academic obstacles alone. Thus, the student turns to the teacher. The teacher might schedule tutorial, change classroom partners, give additional or alternate work, or assign online instructional videos for the student watch. These are just a few changes but those changes might cause the student to increase his/her academic performance. But as you can see, very few of them are isolated. The student has to have interaction with someone else in order to succeed, to ensure the student has full comprehension of the material or skill. Life is the same way. We may want to change, to get out of the rut, or to start a project. But once, the project is begun, we can’t seem to overcome the obstacles. And we fall right back to where we started. If we will enlist others around us to help and seek approval from those that are important stakeholders, we will have the support needed to climb the mountain, to overcome the obstacle. Nehemiah knew this. Gained approval. Gained support.
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