Wait for it ... and Go!
Nehemiah 2:1-6
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/WaitForIt.html
Nehemiah is the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes, the most powerful man on earth at that time. He and his people the Jews are in captivity in Babylon, and their home town of Jerusalem is burned and destroyed, and its walls broken down.
Nehemiah hears and it breaks his heart, he weeps and prays for 4 months for God to do the impossible...to deliver his people and to rebuild the walls, the temple, and their city.
Nehemiah not only knew how to watch and pray and weep and pray...but also how to WAIT and pray.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to wait on God. We get something in our heart and we want to rush out and make it happen. But we should wait and pray first. There's nothing we can do until we pray. There's going to be much to do after we pray, but not until.
Young couples today are in a hurry, and want it all now. We want a big house right now. And we want that car right now. We need furniture and decor like our parents have right now...even though it took them decades to get it. Why wait and save when you can rent to own and buy it 10 times over! They get in over their heads w/ credit cards and the bill collector calling...and he wants his money RIGHT NOW!
I say to our young families today, that the journey is half the fun! You don't need to have it all in the first few years of marriage and then have nowhere to go from there.
We started out in an 800 sq. ft. apartment with no furniture at all, so it seemed huge! We had been given 4 sets of dishes for our wedding so we used the boxes from 3 sets as a table and opened the 4th box to use and sit oriental style. There was room right there beside the kitchen for our air mattress which was nice...I could literally reach into the fridge for something w/out ever getting out of bed! We finally got a few ratty pieces of furniture donated or cheap and we were so proud of those, and then one day at work I got the call that the roof caved in and it was all destroyed by water and tar. Fun times!
We moved to a 2 bedroom townhouse and we thought we had moved into a mansion! Plus, we were driving my '66 Comet convertible which sounds pretty great until you realize my wife's hair was to her waist, the car had no A/C, and we were in Savannah, GA riding the heated highways w/ her hair flowing in the wind the whole time. Good times! I wouldn't take a million dollars for the memories we made there. This covers the first 5 years of our marriage when we were trying to have kids...and failing, but the fun's in the trying...the joy is in the journey, not the arrival. We need to try again!!
By the time we got to Missouri and actually got a real house w/ some space we realized we had like 3 empty rooms once all our stuff was in it. But we got new things little by little, and then finally got our red head and put him in a Noah's ark room, not knowing that soon after more kids would be coming...2 by 2, male and female! Be careful what you pray for. And be patient, because before you know it you'll be pacing the floor at all hours w/ colicky babies in each arm wondering how you're gonna pay for everything and looking for a bottle...and I don't mean for the baby! You'll be wondering why there's no clean clothes and so many dirty dishes and who left that sharp toy right on the top step and how did I manage to hold those kids up in the air safely as I hit every step on my fall down like a washboard?
But I wouldn't trade it for the world. And now we're trying not to blink because we know our kids will be gone before we know it and even the Tweener's class won't allow us to stay forever before we have to move on to the final one at the end of the hall and the end of the line!
Now here we are and the Lord is giving us much more than we imagined or dreamed of, and He is rewarding patience! The journey is half the fun and we love each day of it. Even though there's other things we'd like to do, there's always some greener pasture just over the fence. As soon as I get a phone I like they come out w/ a new and better one. And there's bigger and better campers than ours too ... oh yes, then I'll be happy!
I'm not just picking on the young couples. We all have trouble waiting on the will of God.
Nehemiah knew in his heart what he wanted to do, and he was asking God for the impossible. I haven't told you something yet that is very important to this story. A few years before this the king had let another group of Jews return to Jerusalem and begin building the wall. But the word got back to him that they were insurrectionists and so he had the work stopped and the wall torn down. Then he issued a decree that they would never be rebuilt. It was the law of the Medes and Persians, which meant it could not be undone. It really was impossible.
But God delights in our asking Him for big things. That's why we need to ask Him for some big things in our lives and in our families and in our church! It's His chance to show Himself faithful and powerful, and then He gets the glory when it is clear that only He could do such things!
ill.--a man found an old dusty lamp. He wiped it clean and a genie popped up and said, I'm so powerful, you can ask me for anything, and I can do it! The man said, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii but I'm afraid to fly. I wish for there to be a road from the mainland to Hawaii so I can go there without flying. The genie said, I may have misspoken, I don't know if I can do such a big thing. Why don't you ask for something else. He said, ok, I've always wanted to understand women--how they think, what makes them tick, how to please them, and what causes their moods. The genie thought for a minute and then responded, "Do you want that 2 lane or 4 lane?"
There's nothing too big for our God! And for 120 days Nehemiah is watching, weeping, and waiting in prayer.
Here in chapter 2 we begin to see that this book is one of the greatest success stories in all of human history. God wants us to succeed. The Bible word is 'to prosper.' Not like the TV Evangelist preaches it, but in a Biblical way.
In order to succeed we need to do 2 things. We need to recognize what success really is and then we need to learn how to do it God's way. Spiritual success is much different than worldly success. What the world calls successful God often calls failure. And the world may look at you and say, what a failure, but God may say, now that's success!
Success is finding and doing the will of God for your life. You may not be rich or famous as a result, but you will be a raving success!
1. Nehemiah verbalized his goal.
• ...at the proper time. In Bible times it was common for kings to be assassinated. One way it happened was thru poisoning. It was the cupbearer's job to taste everything before the king did. Nehemiah would eat and drink and if he didn't keel over then the king could have it. But history demonstrates that cupbearer's became unofficial advisor's to the king because they were always present when business was discussed.
On this particular day it must've been obvious he was very burdened. He has been fasting so long, his eyes are red, his cheeks are sunken, he is de-energized. In verse 2 the king notices. The end of the verse says Nehemiah was sore afraid, because this was a capital offense. Eastern Monarchs were to be shielded from all negativity. He could be executed just for having a sad face. I'm not sure I blame the king. He does government work, all day hearing about problems, and when he sits down to eat the last thing he wants is to be waited on by a sad sack. You're the same way and you know it! Some of you as soon as your spouse walks thru the room it's just something negative.
On this day Nehemiah couldn't hide it any longer. Why not? Because it was God's perfect timing. Had God not orchestrated this perfectly, Nehemiah would have been killed or banished. Every day for 120 days Nehemiah would pray for God to open the door and work the miracle for the walls, and talk about an open door...God uses the king to open it, and the king himself asks what's going on, and how can I help!
v. 3 Nehemiah verbalizes his goal. Even though he is scared, when God opens the door, he walks thru it, unashamedly, and doesn't mince words. He speaks up and takes the stand as a faithful witness.
Nehemiah verbalized his goal...
• ...with a prayerful spirit. V. 4 - This is a quick, arrow style prayer shot up to heaven, silently, stealthily. I do this in counseling often, or sometimes as I listen to someone ask me a question and I need to tell the truth when it's my turn and I'm not sure what God wants me to say! I've done this in deacon meetings, and sometimes even when I'm preaching. Some of you may notice me pausing sometimes, almost unsure what to say. Oftentimes that is the case and I'm looking to the Lord. I'm praying! Sometimes I'm saying, "Please God, wake them up!"
Now, this kind of prayer is only effective if it is backed up by a lot of private prayer. Nehemiah prayed constantly for 4 months, and that's why this arrow prayer was effective. If all your prayer life ever consists of is quickie prayers you may wonder why you never really get a hold of God!
ill.--if you are driving thru an intersection and look over and see a semi running the light and barreling toward your window and you pray a quickie prayer, "Oh God, help me!" you'd better be prayed up in private, because there will be no time to confess your sins and make things right and make sure you are right w/ family members and that you have your life in order.
Here's Nehemiah w/ the perfect opportunity laid right in his lap. He says quickly, "Lord, this is it, don't let me blow this!" Nehemiah is talking to the most powerful man in the world, but he pauses to consult His real boss!
Proverbs 21:1
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Nehemiah verbalized his goal at the proper time, in the proper spirit...
• ...in a powerful statement. V. 5 - last 5 words... "that I may build it." Here's a key to success: verbalize your goals clearly and concisely. People who transfer their thoughts and dreams into actual words are far more likely to reach them than those who don't. Motivational speakers agree w/ the Bible...we should write down our goals...it crystallizes it in your heart!
Ex-Beatle George Harrison wrote a song that says, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
Alice in Wonderland - when Alice came to a fork in the road she said I don't know which way to go. The Cheshire cat said, well, where are you going? She said, I don't really know. He replied, then it doesn't matter which road you take!
You ought to have some clearly spelled out goals. Early this year we wrote down all the projects and trips and things we wanted to do this year as a family. As we looked at the list it looked impossible, and expensive, but it focused us, and here we are halfway thru the year and we've done most of those things and what still remains is already paid for! This makes me want to set some clear goals for us as a church!
We should also announce our goals. This helps transfer the burden to others who will help us reach our goals. I must confess that I often hold such things inside for fear of failure. I should have told you last year it was a goal to pay off the $25,000 roof in 6 months. Guess what? It's paid off, and I'm sorry I didn't include you in the process along the way.
So, for starters, we need to have a goal to add X number of people by the end of summer, and to pledge X dollars to missions in this year's conference, etc.
As long as we keep our goals to ourselves there's no one to know if we hit it or not, and no one to hold us accountable. I appreciate some of you who announce how long you've been smoke free. 3 months, 2 weeks ... one time a guy said, 20 minutes!
Sometimes it takes the help of others to reach certain goals. Nehemiah needed the permission, provision, and protection of the king and the backing of his fellow Hebrews. When the moment came he gave his precise mission statement/purpose statement: "That I may build it!"
Nehemiah knew it would be tough, and there would be many challenges. But his clear cut mission statement got him thru it. When people tried to discourage him he went back to it and said, I'm gonna build the wall. [They tried to dissuade, distract, divert, depress him]
What goals should you let God drop into your heart for your spiritual life, family, home, business, ministry?
When I was a teen I was given the goal of building a bus route and a junior church from nothing. I didn't know what I was doing, and I didn't have any suspects, let alone prospects. I remember "321 Sunday" in our church and for weeks previous we sang to the tune of "Love Lifted Me" -- "321, 321, our goal in sunday school is 321!" We hit it! Aim at nothing, and you'll hit that too.
Let's get excited, let's get focused, and let's get together, let's get busy, let's get on board, let's get faithful ... let's get to it!
Some of you need to set some goals: to read your Bible everyday, to witness to someone every week, to bring someone to church, to lead a soul to Christ, to increase your missions giving, to disciple someone yourself, to start having a real prayer time every day, to build your s.s. class, to grow your own ministry, to improve your marriage, to start saving money, to defeat that habit, to bring a carload to VBS, etc.
First we need to pray and then wait for it ... and go!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/WaitForIt.html
