#2 “Book of Nehemiah”
Series
"PROPER PREPARATIONS!"
TEXT: Nehemiah
2:11-20
INTRO: Many
Christians over spiritualize ministry ... that is they think that when God
speaks you simply jump into action and miraculously things happen! There are certainly times when this can
be true, but if you look in the Bible you will discover that most of the
mighty works of God through His prophets and servants INCLUDED a significant
preparation time before their ministries were really
effective.
1. Moses ... needed an extra 40 years
worth of preparation in the desert!
2. Elisha ... did a long
apprenticeship under Elijah.
3. Jesus spent 30 years preparing for
His 3 years of ministry ... the Bible speaks of His learning, submitting,
discussing the law in the temple at 12 years of age, etc. Jesus "grew in grace
and knowledge."
4. The apostle Paul who had a dramatic
revelation of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus spent at least 3 years
learning and submitting himself to the other Apostles ... some commentators list
an even longer time including a 10 year silent period where Paul had evidently
gone back to his home territory after a few years; then called back by Barnabus
they went off in ministry, at first Paul under
Barnabus.
5. Samuel, the greatest prophet of
Israel during the kings spent his entire youth in preparation for his later
ministry under the High Priest Eli.
6. To simply jump into ministry
without preparation is presumption.
The only time we do this is when God is clearly indicating that this
should be the case, and those times are rare.
ILLUS: Some
people think the prayer of faith is crawling out on a limb and then begging God
to keep someone from sawing it off. But that is not real prayer, that is
presumption. If God makes it clear
that he wants you out on a limb, fine -- you will be perfectly safe there. If not, it is presumptuous to crawl out
on that limb, expecting God to keep you there. -- Ray C.
Stedman in Man of Faith.
Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 7.
PROP. SENT: Except under rare circumstances we
should expect to do the best we can to prepare ourselves for effective ministry,
careful preparations are a normal part of God's calling for ministry! Failure to prepare for effective
ministry is a failure to respond correctly to God’s call for ministry, and this
is true for all levels of ministry:
a. Nursery
b. Youth
c. Pastoring
d. Whatever the
ministry!
I. RESPONSIBILITY OF A CALL
2:11-12
A. Balances!
2:11
1. Nehemiah finally arrives in
Jerusalem after a long journey and is anxious to start on the call of
God!
a. However; understanding the
need for proper rest after a long trip he wisely takes a few days off to
recuperate!
b. Years ago the concept of
ministry was to go until you burned out for Jesus ... this never was good
teaching!
c. When you are exhausted and
tired you are not as tuned in as you should be ... those are the times of
mistakes and poor judgments.
2. Even in Ecclesiastes 3 Solomon indicates that there is a “time for
everything,” including “work & rest!”
a. David talked about the
importance of rest, notice: Psa 127:2 “In vain you rise
early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat -- for he grants sleep to those
he loves.”
b. The best servants of God
needed proper rest and balance; NOTE Elijah after the victory with the prophets
of Baal! God gave him a forced rest
and a leave of absence to correct the balances in Elijah's life
again!
c. Paul had to take rest after
his great revelation on the road to Damascus.
3. Balance is an important concept
if you are going to be effective in God's work, whatever His call is upon your
life!
ILLUS: I'm
constantly amazed by the number of people who can't seem to control their own
schedules. Over the years, I've had
many executives come to me and say with pride, 'Boy, last year I worked so hard
that I didn't take any vacation.'
It's actually nothing to be proud
of. I always feel like responding,
"You dummy. You mean to tell me
that you can take responsibility for an $80 million project, and you can't plan
two weeks out of the year to go off with your family and have some
fun?" -- Lee Iacocca.
Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4.
4. What is interesting here is that
EZRA did exactly the same thing when he came to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple
as does Nehemiah's when he came to rebuild the walls! Ezra too rested 3 days after
arriving! (SEE EZRA 8:32)
5. When God's call involves
circumstances that require no time for balance, He will provide miraculously the
strength required ... most of the time however, His call is more of a daily
nature and thus the balances are left to good use of wisdom on our
part!
B. Boldness!
2:12
1. With freshness of spirit and body
Nehemiah is able to feel a sense of boldness as he begins to prepare for the
time when they will build ... this included seeing the bigger
picture!
2. It
is important in ministry to get the whole picture!
a. If you only think your ministry is important
you will be filled with pride!
b. If you don't realize others are ministering
also you will be filled with despair ... like Elijah who thought he was the
only prophet of God left!
c. Nehemiah wanted to survey the
city walls ... get a realistic picture of what this call of God was to
encompass!
3. Before diving into the job and
asking others to dive into it with him he knew he should be knowledgeable about
the task ... as much as possible!
4. He realized he wouldn't be able to
do the ministry alone ... and felt responsible therefore to know as much as
possible before asking others to join in!
5. With boldness (and lots of rest beforehand) he sets
out at night to get an honest picture of the damage!
a. We need to have a realistic
picture of what encompasses a call!
b. Responsibility comes with the
call ... a responsibility to do your homework!
c. He didn't put the job on
someone else either ... he took the responsibility to evaluate the situation as
his own.
6. This boldness was really just a
good old dose of COURAGE -- and he had a few good men to go along with him! (That’s another sermon though – but an
important one!)
a. He didn’t have to preach or
speak a lot, but he did have to show the way!
ILLUS: Not long
ago at a high school, three military recruiters showed up to address some high
school seniors. Graduation was only
a few months away, and the military men were there for the obvious -- to
articulate to these graduating young men and women some of the options that
military service would provide them. The meeting was to last forty-five
minutes. Each recruiter --
representing Army, Navy, and Marine Corps -- was to have fifteen
minutes.
Well, the Army and Navy recruiters
got carried away. When it came time
for the Marine to speak, he had two minutes. So he walked up with two minutes to make
his pitch. He stood utterly silent
for a full sixty seconds -- half of his time. Then he said
this:
"I doubt whether there are two or
three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. I want to see those two or three
immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed." He turned smartly and sat down. When he arrived in the dining hall, those
students interested in the Marines were a mob. They acted without delay. He appealed to the heroic dimension in
every heart. -- W. Frank Harrington, "It's Decision Time," Preaching
Today, Tape No. 162.
b. His own bravery would
demonstrate the way to stand up to the enemy, and would encourage a response of
courage from others as well.
c. Someone has to lead the way,
and we would probably be amazed at how many brave soldiers there are who are
willing to follow a real leader!
II. REALITY OF CONDITIONS 2:13-16
A. Broken!
2:13-15
1. When it came to sharing the burden
and the call Nehemiah does not CONFESS that things are better than they really
are ... he tells it like it is!
2. He needed to be honest about the
real conditions ... and a full survey of the existing mess proved to be a real
disaster!
a. Things were really broken
down ... destruction had been widespread!
b. But to a man with a call from
God this wasn't discouraging ... just a better
challenge!
c. The greater the problem
... the greater the praise!
d. Great risks ... GREAT
REWARDS!!
3. like David; when Israel only saw a
GIANT OPPOSITION in Goliath, DAVID SAW a GIANT OPPORTUNITY; they saw a GIANT
TYRANT, DAVID SAW A GIANT TARGET – he couldn’t miss!
4. Be
realistic ... then be BOLD!
a. Nehemiah wasn't bothered by a
huge task ... it would only make the reward that much more
supernatural!
b. There is nothing supernatural per se in confessing away
reality ... but there sure is in confessing something realistically
and then believing God to give victory over it anyway!
B. Bearable!
2:16
1. It was important for Nehemiah to
first know the real extent of what the job was going to be and then to know that
he could encourage his brethren with confidence and boldness to do the
task!
2. If he wouldn't see the job as
bearable he could hardly expect to have the people believe it
was!
3. He first therefore PREPARES himself
before he CALLS on others to join him!
ILLUS: In Booker
T. Washington's autobiography, “Up from Slavery,” Mr.
4. Setting the example is an absolute
for ministry ... those you minister to will not be so willing to serve if you
are not willing to serve ... if you are unfaithful they will not be
encouraged to be faithful to the task!
5. Nehemiah was ready, he had done his
homework ... he knew the damage, and he KNEW His God ... and what was possible
by faith and work!
III. REVIVAL OF CONCERN
2:17-18
A. Burden 2:17
1. These people certainly knew the
conditions of the wall ... they had been living there without repairing the
walls ... they had been complacent about repairs.
2. They didn't rebuild the walls
because they lacked courage and a burden to do so ... they just didn't see how
it was possible!
3. They lacked badly needed
leadership, someone who could help restore a sense of burden and faith to do the
work!
4. It is very significant the Nehemiah
gives them an honest appraisal of how bad the damage was ... lest they think him
a fool or just a "POSSIBILITY THINKER" ... ignorant of the real
truth.
a. But he had done his homework
and his telling them the conditions as they really existed told them that this
man knew what they were facing!
b. He didn't deny the enormity
of the problem ... if he had they might have written him off as another outsider
with great fantasy problems!
c. His full and real description
made them realize here was a guy who knew how big the task would really be
... and thus perhaps he knows a
real way to tackle it!
5. Notice after his honest description
of the problem he also presents them with hope: “COME, LET US
BUILD!”
a. Here is a man who knew what
leadership really meant ... he didn't say, "YOU BUILD while
I tell you what to do."
b. He offers himself as a fellow
servant, this inspires them and they respect his leadership for this!
c. A TITLE won't give you
respect ... you earn that by being a servant!
6. He adds an important reason for
rebuilding too … so that “we won't be in
disgrace!”
a. What's the point ... this was
the "CITY OF
PEACE" ... God's chosen place for His people ... His temple dwelt
here, meaning His presence was among them in this
city!
b. It was a disgrace that God's
dwelling place should be encompassed by brokenness without
concern.
(1. Brokenness itself was not the
problem.
(2. It was the lack of concern about the
brokenness that was the problem!
B. Building!
2:18
1. Their combined response: “LET US START
REBUILDING!”
a. All they need was someone to lead
the way!
b. They needed a new look at an old
problem.
c. Leadership from Nehemiah provided
the boost.
2. Encouraged to believe the job was
possible with God's help and their being united though small in number go them
going full steam!
3. If only the story would end here it
would have been a happy ending ... it will be a happy ending, but with a lot of
struggle in between!
4. Their perspective had shifted now
to seeing the job as a “GOOD WORK!”
5. There is nothing wrong about “WORKS” in the Christian vocabulary ...
IT IS CERTAINLY TRUE THAT WE ARE NOT SAVED BY “GOOD WORKS” BUT WE ARE SAVED TO DO GOOD
WORKS!
6. James went so far as to declare, "SHOW ME YOUR
FAITH BY YOUR WORKS!" the point: real faith has real
evidence! Only when real
pressure has been applied can the strength of something be
determined.
ILLUS: In 1938 a
hurricane threatened the New England coast. People feared that the railroad
bridge at White River Junction would be destroyed. The danger was averted when some
thoughtful person backed a line of loaded freight cars onto the bridge. The bridge withstood the force of the
winds because of the weight that it bore. The weight of your responsibilities may
rest heavily upon you, but that weight may be the very thing that keeps you from
being swept away by the storm of sin. -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio:
Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
IV. RIDICULE AND CONTENTION!
2:19-20
A. Belittling!
2:19
1. As soon as you do something for God
you can be sure someone will come by and criticize you or the job you are
doing!
a. Three guys mocked the Jews
for attempting to do the impossible, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite
official and Geshem the Arab!
b. At first their complaint
takes on sarcasm like "A BIG JOKE" ... they don't really believe the Jews can do
it ... and they are mocking the people for being
foolish!
2. Their comments were totally stupid
... after all ... it did seem quite impossible to think that a few people who
managed to escape the exile and were living still in the area could rebuild huge
walls around and entire city!
3. They even questioned their motives
for rebuilding: "rebellion against the king" ... perhaps they
thought this might put a scare into the locals!
4. At a point like this it is
important to hear from God … which in this case meant through God's servant
Nehemiah!
a. This was not a time for
Nehemiah to be silent!
b. It would be important for the
people that they saw boldness and faith from their leader! IT was also not a time to cave in to a
few complainers! So they were a few
weak band, they could help each other out and be stronger for
it!
ILLUS: While
walking through the mall, I smiled when I heard one elderly lady in a wheelchair
say to her companion pushing her, "When you get tired, we'll trade."
-- Betty
Traver,
B. Believing! 2:20
1. Notice carefully how Nehemiah
phrases his response, "THE GOD OF HEAVEN WILL GIVE US
SUCCESS!"
a. If only some preachers would
have remembered this point they might not have fallen!
b. Our success comes from God
... yet He expects our faithful service in the PROCESS OF
SUCCESS!
2. Nehemiah also carefully understands
their role in the process "WE HIS SERVANTS WILL start
rebuilding..."
3. And he carefully notes that they
who do not participate will not have any of the shares of the blessing that is
to come!
4. Some people are ready to jump on
the bandwagon after success, but they really don't appreciate the success like
those who built the bandwagon!
a. Being involved in
the process of God's work puts you in line to enjoy the fruit of God's
work.
b. After all, who doesn't
want to be fruity! I know I do!
(And some say, I am
already!)
c. Nehemiah states
the facts ... these 3 troublemakers aren't even in the covenant family ... they
have no historic right therefore to discourage God's people from doing God's
work!
d. If they listened to the
outsiders they would never get anything done for God – this is still
true!
CONCLUSION: The most effective ministry is
accomplished by God's call and power AND careful planning; patience, and a step
by step process that can cover a significant amount of time! This kind of ministry produces long
lasting fruit!