Have you ever watched an episode of “Extreme Makeover?” These shows select a home that needs a makeover. They remove the family from the home for a period of time and then they bring in a crew of skilled carpenters and redo the home. In televising these shows they always show before and after pictures. There is a radical difference in the before and after pictures. These are amazing restoration projects. Sometimes we need a similar experience in our spiritual lives. We need a restoration. Life will rob spiritual passion. Circumstances of life will destroy passion. When those times come, nothing less than restoration will do.
We are going to look at an occasion when God restored the spiritual passion of His people. The text is taken from Nehemiah. There is a before and after picture. The before is found in Nehemiah 1:3. “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” I believe you would agree, they needed an extreme makeover. God ignited a new fire within these people. In chapter 4 verse 6 we see their new passion. I want to read their story from three different translations so that you will get the full picture.
“the people had a heart for the work.” The Message
“the people had a mind to work.” NKJV
“the people had worked with enthusiasm.” NLT
In reading from three translations you get a feel for what was taking place. They had their spiritual passion restored. In Nehemiah 6:15-16 you see the effect of the restored spiritual passion. “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” The people’s enthusiasm for doing God’s work accomplished three results.
1. Great success was achieved.
2. People were discussing the accomplishments of God’s people.
3. God was glorified.
Thus, in Nehemiah we see an extreme makeover. God restored the spiritual passion of His people. The question I want to ask is, what was involved in God helping these people to restore their spiritual passion? This will help you if you have lost your spiritual passion. This will also help you to maintain your spiritual passion. Notice two key truths that helped God’s people.
I. God helped them rise above the pain and hurt of the past. In Nehemiah 1:3 we find a bleak description of the Israelites’ past. “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” They were defeated, depressed, and discouraged. Their past had a death grip on them.
A. The past can defeat you. Last Sunday there was an article in Parade Magazine about Marilyn Monroe. It has been widely reported that Marilyn Monroe was a very unhappy lady when she died. There has always been much speculation that her death was self induced. In the Sunday article they shared a quote from her life. “I feel if I fulfill myself as a person, I’ll find myself as an actress. The thing is, it seems like I have a superstructure with no foundation. But I’m working on the foundation.!” (7/27/08 Parade Magazine) Her past did not equip her with a solid foundation. A weak foundation resulting from a painful past can lead to defeat.
B. The past can be the building blocks for your future.
Illustration: A fable from India illustrates this point. A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was cracked and when carried from the spring to the owner’s home always arrived half full. The other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. For two years this went on daily. The water bearer delivered one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what seemed to be a bitter failure, one day the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer about its feelings. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because of this crack in my side. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Wade Hughes, Sr)
Faith Baptist Church has experienced some of the typical growing pains associated with a young church. Many of you have given time, energy, money, and sacrificed to lead Faith to where it is today. Such sacrifice can leave you empty, burned out, and feeling as if you have nothing left to give. I want to encourage you by telling you that those experiences have made you the unique church you are today. You are a loving people. You are a people with a sweet spirit. You are a people who are genuine, caring, and authentic. Any person would want to share their lives with you. However, I challenge you to let go of the growing pains of the past.
While on the subject of challenges let me add a reality check. Challenges are a part of life. Steve Spurrier won a national championship at Florida but has faced a challenge in getting South Carolina up and going. Nick Saban won a national championship at LSU but went 6-6 in his first year at Alabama. GM is laying off thousands of workers because they are having a horrendous time in car sales. In life and in church challenges are a part of the game. We need to accept that. You cannot run from them. You cannot avoid them. You cannot explain them away. If your life is going to count for God you must learn to deal with them. Look at the challenges faced by these people.
• Critics (4:3)
• Confusion (4:3)
• Tired (4:10)
• Difficulty (5:3,5,)
• Hypocrisy (5:10)
• Personal attacks (6:6-7)
The people who make a difference for God or make a difference in life are the people who keep on in spite of challenges.
II. The second truth I want you to see is to identify the source of excitement and enthusiasm? In Nehemiah 2:12 you will find a phrase that gives a strong clue as to the source renewed passion. Nehemiah said “I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do.” Simply put, passion and enthusiasm for God’s work comes from God.
Do you know the origin of the word enthusiasm? (’Enthusiasm (ἐíèïõóéáóìüò) root - en-theos = in God.) An enthusiast is a person inspired by God. It is said, the early Christians noticed an overwhelming joy in new converts but they lacked a word to describe this joy. Thus, they combined the two words (in God) creating the word (entheos) from which we get the English word Enthusiasm.
With that definition in mind, look with me at Nehemiah 2:12. Notice three aspects of finding enthusiasm.
A. Passion for serving God comes from a personal encounter with God. This personal encounter can be prayer, worship, a word from God, a sermon, or some profound personal experience. Nehemiah said he “ told no one what ‘my’ God had put in my heart.” Nehemiah had a personal encounter with God.
A man wrote a story about a lesson in prayer. My wife and I were trying to show our grandchildren the importance of thanking God for everything that He had blessed us with. We encouraged them to speak to God whenever they needed to know what they should do. Michael, our 4 year old grandson, enjoyed holding our hands, and with head bowed, he would close his eyes and listen as my wife or I led in prayer. One evening as we were preparing to eat the evening meal, I asked that we all join hands and bow our heads as I led in prayer. To my surprise, Michael asked if he could say the prayer. I responded by asking him "Michael, do you know how to ask God to bless our meal?" To which he nodded with enthusiasm that he did. So we all bowed our heads and I gave Michael permission to begin. Instead of hearing words of a prayer, I heard nothing, and was about to ask Michael to begin again, when my ears caught a very faint sound coming from the direction of his bowed head. I listened, I strained, yet I could not make out any intelligible words. Finally, a very hardy "Amen" was uttered from Michael, and he looked up with an expectant expression that looked for an affirmation from his grandparents that he had done a very good job. Before I could say anything, to Michael, my wife instructed him that we would say the prayer again, because she could not hear a single word of anything that he had said. After all, we wanted to teach them how to talk to the Father, and they needed to know how to do so. What happened next drove home the lesson my wife and I had been attempting to teach. Michael’s facial expression changed from one of joy to one of puzzlement, and then he quickly added, "But Granny, I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to God!" (Contributed to Sermon Central)
B. Passion and enthusiasm must be personal but it must also be initiated by God. Nehemiah referred to what God “had put” into his heart. The Bible is referred to as a book inspired by God. The word inspiration literally means God breathed. God breathed his life into this book. When God initiates something it sticks and it will get you excited.
Illustration: I had a wonderful experience with God last week. I was out visiting one night when God put an impulse into my heart to call Terry and Tonya Crawford. I had no reason to suspect that anything was going on. I just knew that God put a burden for them in my heart. I called their home and Trent answered. I asked to speak with Terry or Tonya. Trent informed me that his dad was in the hospital, preparing for back surgery. I then understood why God placed them on my heart. That may seem like a small coincidence to you. I do not believe such things are coincidences. They are God things. The next morning, at the hospital, I shared that story with them. That was exciting. When something is exciting you will want to share it.
C. Passion and enthusiasm requires a personal encounter with God, must be initiated by God, and it requires a response. Nehemiah testified to what God “put in my heart to do.”
Joke: The pastor of a church that didn’t have the reputation for being very generous with their giving decided that it was time to do something drastic in order to teach the congregation the importance of giving. He contacted an electrician and had all of the pews wired. The next Sunday which was the first Sunday of the New Year, the time when the church had traditionally taken up pledges from the people the Pastor stood up and made the following announcement. "From now on instead of putting your pledges in sealed envelopes and turning them into the church office all pledges will be made publicly during the worship service." Then he said, so let’s get started. "All of you who will pledge to give ten dollars a week, please stand up." As soon as he said this he pushed a button that the electrician had installed in the pulpit and it sent a jolt of electricity through the wires and into the pews. Immediately about one half of the congregation jumped to their feet. The pastor reached down and adjusted a knob on the podium and then said, "All you who will pledge to give twenty dollars a week please stand." A second stronger volt of electricity caused several more people to rise to their feet. This whole process was repeated several times. Each time the pledge amount was raised along with the voltage. The ushers had to work fast just to record all of the names and pledges. After the service the pastor and his staff were busy adding up the totals and congratulating themselves on the great success of the annual stewardship campaign—Their enthusiasm ended abruptly however, when one of the Deacons opened the door and announced that four church members had been electrocuted because they refused to stand up.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Matthew Sickling)Passion requires an obedient response.
Enthusiasm results in passionate obedience to God’s request. Nehemiah spoke of what he would “do.” If we are to experience restored spiritual passion we must obey God’s voice.
