Series: BC Justice League
Opening thoughts to the series - “BC justice league” – God’s biblical super heroes before Christ.
Over the last few weeks we have been sharing the power of the story! We have been looking at how a person’s life can make a difference in the eternal realm of God.
http://www.whatsyourstoryonline.com/: Quote: Stories are powerful. Stories give meaning to who we are and how we became who we are. Stories help us understand how life happens, and they give value to our experiences.
Some of the most powerful testimonies to Christian faith come not from lists of accepted doctrinal beliefs (though they’re important) nor from recitations of biblical principles (also important), but from the enlivened re-telling of how God has acted, overtly or covertly, in each of our lives.
Sermon: Nehemiah’s Story pt 2
Thesis: Nehemiah gives us an example of what to do when we face disasters in this world and how at times God calls us to take a risk for the sake of others. We need to learn to call on God in crisis then go to work!
Introduction:
Summary of last week’s message:
What do you do when you are faced with a disaster that strikes home at your heart? Do you respond or do you try to blame others? Do you ignore it? Pretend it’s just a story? Nehemiah finds out how bad the city of Jerusalem is from a recent news report. It perplexes him and weighs on his heart. It was as if someone punched him in the stomach when he got the bad news about his beloved home town.
How do you feel when disaster hits close to home – how do you respond?
Do you run to God? Do you pray to Him and look to Him for support and encouragement? Do you praise Him and recall His promises in that moment or do you shut Him out and lock Him out of your heart?
Do you curse Him and blame God for the disaster?
Nehemiah did not instead he cried out to God and a divine burden was placed in his heart to go restore the city’s walls and gates.
I. Do you have a burden for others?
a. Do you pray to God about your burden? Nehemiah did? And it changed the course of history and made him a hero of the faith.
T.S. – His burden from God compelled him to take a risk to go make a difference in his hometown. Let’s read how Nehemiah took a risk for God:
Scripture Text:
Nehemiah 2:1-9: 1In 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;
2so 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,
3but 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?”
4The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven,
5and 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.”
6Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?
8And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
9So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
T.S. - Here is a modern day take on the story of Nehemiah today to help us apply the message of this life and story to our own lives today.
Video Illustration: The Life of Nehemiah – “Comfort Zone”
II. Are you willing to take a risk and leave your comfort zone?
a. Question: Are you willing to take a risk and help out someone in need?
i. Question: Are you open to making a difference for others when disaster hits and people are broken? Are you willing to leave the comfort and the safety of your home?
1. Illustration- Risks
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing, your true self
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing
They may avoid suffering and sorrow but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live
Charmed by their attitudes they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom
Only a person who risks is free
ii. What does it mean to be a risk taker for God, for His Kingdom?
1. It means opening yourself up to change.
2. It is the acceptance of the fact that there is a need for change.
3. It is literally taking the behavioral steps necessary that will result in that change.
4. It is the honest appraisal of a situation in life or others which requires your action of faith.
5. Its understanding the risks involved in taking such faith action steps.
6. It is making a choice to take the required faith action step.
7. It is performing the action with full consciousness of the risks, pros and cons and potential outcome and still being willing to trust God.
8. It is accepting the consequences of such action.
9. It is the ability to ignore your need for other’s approval in order to take the most appropriate action for you and others.
10. It involves taking the gamble that you may experience rejection from others for the faith actions you have chosen to take.
11. It is pursuing the required actions despite the fear that it will affect others negatively, resulting in their efforts to make you feel guilty about taking such action.
12. It is deciding to make a personal sacrifice of time, energy, ability and knowledge as an investment to better your circumstances and others lives.
a. (The list above from) Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/14727-becoming-a-risk-taker/#ixzz1W8h7uk9I
iii. The truth is the Christian walk is risky business!
1. Risk taking should be an indispensable part of the Christian walk. When we look back over church history we see Christians who risked all to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. All their lives and decisions to follow the task God placed in their lives required the willingness to take a risk!
b. Let’s all reflect back on OT history and think about the some-bodies who took risks. Their lives showed that this faith walk is a risky business - you have heard some of their names but let’s recall some of them:
1. Abraham 2161-1986BC - The patriarch who was the father of the people of God, Abraham the risk taker who left the security and comfort of Ur because of the call of God. He took a risk and became the "father of the multitude" he is a spiritual father of the Jews, the Muslims and the Christian community.
2. Moses 1527-1405BC- This man of God gave up the best Egypt could offer a prince to serve God. He risked his life and reputation in Egypt to serve God. His reward for taking a risk is that nearly every book in the bible references Moses or his writings.
3. Joshua ruled 1406- 1382 BC -This risk taker is still considered one of the best military minds of history. His dedication to risking all to take the promised-land is noted by all. His strategy and tactics are still classics in military science. And after taking the land for Israel he devoted himself to strengthening the worship of the Lord even when many others were falling away from God. The last appearance of him in the Bible is one which shows a man challenging the people of Israel to covenant themselves back to God. He once again took a risk to call people back to God when it was not popular.
4. Deborah- Deborah demonstrated the quality of courage when she rallied the tribes of Israel to attack Sisera and the Canaanites, who had been raiding Israel for years. Barak assisted Deborah as they defeated them at Kishon with help of a violent storm (Judges 4, 5).
5. Ruth- She took a risk to stay with Naomi and her God. She risked and helped a person through the grief process. She left her family and home country to stay with Naomi. God rewarded her with man who loved her and restored her and Naomi.
6. David 1050 - 1,000 BC- a risk taker who challenged a Goliath. He took a risk for God and slew a giant everyone else was afraid of. This risk taker became Israel’s most famous king and the nation fondly remembered his reign as its golden age. God called this man a man after his own heart.
7. Jeremiah 625-585 BC- The priest who took the risk to speak for God during the heartbreaking final days of Judah. His risk caused himself to be called a traitor, to be arrested, to be hounded, and threatened throughout his ministry. Yet he took the risk for God and as he predicted, Jerusalem was captured and the nation deported because of their unwillingness to repent to God for their sins.
8. Esther was an orphan who became queen of Persia. Mordecai raised her and helped her to become queen. She was placed in her position by the Lord to be the solution to the problem created by Haman. She needed to risk her life to save the annihilation of the Jewish people by Haman’s evil plan.
9. Daniel 606- 530 BC- a prophet who took the risk of serving God in a heathen nation under captivity and refused to change and conform to their ways. Daniel the prophet who took the risk to refuse to bow to the emperor and acknowledge him as divine. He became known as one of the most famous prophets during the captivity of Israel and he also became one of the top leaders in Babylonian empire, and Persian Empire. His risk taking caused King Nebuchadnezzar to accept the Lord.
10. Ezra 516 - 458BC - a priest/scribe who was a risk taker who returned to Jerusalem to restore the temple insist on obedience to the Law of God and purity among the Israelites. His risk caused many to repent and the restoration of the temple.
11. Nehemiah 516- 433 BC -He took the risk to return to Israel and give up the posh life in the Babylonian court to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and support Ezra’s revival of the Jewish community.
c. The ultimate example of a risk taker: Jesus 0-33 AD- He was willing to risk all to follow God’s plan even risk his own life on the cross to see to it that God’s plan was fulfilled and the world given redemption through his willing sacrifice.
i. He is the ultimate risk taker of all time!
1. He risked all and worked through his fears- He worked through his fear in the Garden and he faced them and defeated them.
2. Jesus knew that to defeat fear you had to risk comfort and safety and face it head on in God.
3. Jesus was a risk taker - Jones states, "Jesus was not exactly what people had in mind for a leader." Jesus took risks consistently confronting the Pharisee’s and the sinner and speaking the truth.
4. Jesus had the attitude of a risk taker because he said "Why not me?" The key here to understand is that maturity in Christianity says "Why not me?"
a. How about you? “Why not you?”
b. We come to understanding that we are in a walk that will have crisis moments risk taking for the Kingdom of God.
c. Jones states, "... The willingness to enter into whatever God wants is one of the hallmarks of spiritual leadership."
ii. Nehemiah realized that God placed a burden on his heart for a reason and he was to do something about the torn down walls of Jerusalem.
1. So he went to the king and took a risk to make a difference for his people – he put his life on the line.
d. What are some road blocks to becoming a risk taker for the Kingdom of God? They would include the following:
i. Fear of rejection
ii. Need for approval
iii. Need to always be right
iv. Need to know all the "in’s and out’s’’ of a situation
v. Need for certainty
vi. Lack of belief in yourself, in others and mostly in God
vii. Fear of being incompetent
viii. Desire to avoid conflict
ix. Fear of failure
x. Unwillingness to face problems honestly
xi. Lack of assertiveness in protection of the rights of others
xii. Inability to take the responsibility for your own life
xiii. Unwillingness to accept possible negative consequences
xiv. Playing it safe
xv. A need for security
xvi. Rationalizing the lack of need for direct action
xvii. Denial that a problem exists and that action needs to be taken
xviii. Projecting the need for action onto others
xix. Exempting yourself of responsibility to resolve a problem
xx. Relying on others to resolve your problems
xxi. Over-emotional response to a problem
xxii. Fear of pain ("no pain, no gain")
xxiii. Irrational belief that it is impossible to change the situation
xxiv. A disregard for the rights of yourself and others
xxv. A belief that life should always be fair
1. The list above from the following to read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/14727-becoming-a-risk-taker/#ixzz1W8i6ryaB
e. We have been exploring some of these Heroes of the faith individuals who had courage to begin something or take a stand for God in the midst of difficult circumstances. For some it meant ridicule, slanderous remarks, becoming laughing stocks in their community, it meant being condemned by their community, it meant imprisonment, it meant personal loss of family, friends, and finances. It meant facing a dangerous situation. For some it cost them their lives. But all these risk takers made an eternal impact for the Kingdom of God.
i. Yet, sadly, on the other side of the coin where the ones who where Christians but refused or where too afraid to take a risk for God.
1. You don’t see their names recorded in the Bible or in Church history!
a. They waited for a better time, a safer situation, or a guarantee of assured results which never came.
b. It’s a sad fact that throughout history there have been many opportunities to make a difference but individuals refused to step forward.
c. They refused to take the risk for God. No names - nobody knows about - names lost in history forever!
2. But the Bible as we have seen and Church History records are filled with risk takers who did make a difference with their earthly lives.
f. So are you willing to take a risk?
i. Are you willing to take a risk for the kingdom and for this burden to be met by God through your actions?
1. Do you want to see change?
2. Are you willing to go and give up your cushy job?
3. Are you willing to go the extra mile and see God use you?
4. Are you willing to sacrifice?
ii. Nehemiah prayed to God for favor of the secular king! He admits he was afraid!
1. But God opened the door and Nehemiah opened his heart to the King.
2. The King was touched by the Spirit of the Lord and his story is set in motion for all of us to read about and learn from.
iii. Question: Do you really believe God can do this and that he will even take a chance with using you?
T.S. – The truth is God loves to use nobodies and make them some bodies in His Kingdom. He is looking today for those who are willing to leave their comfort zones to go make a difference in this world. It does not mean that the tasks God assigns us will be easy just observe what Nehemiah discovered upon arrival at Jerusalem.
III. The inspection and the reaction of Nehemiah – faith not fear!
a. It looked bad – things were a mess!
i. The walls were broken down and debris was everywhere.
ii. The gates were broken and burned.
iii. There was no security for the people of Jerusalem from wild animals or raving bandits.
iv. The neighbors were causing trouble and threatening Nehemiah with rebuilding.
v. They tried to cause dissension with Nehemiah and the King. They cried that Nehemiah was starting a rebellion from the King!
1. Their words were filled with lies, threats and insults.
vi. But Nehemiah rebuked them with the Word of God and with boldness!
b. He once again recalled their history and trusted God to come through with a miracle for the task at hand.
i. His willingness to take a risk helped him and the others to experience the Spirit of God – to see God help them to rebuild, to restore and to renew the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.
1. God was with them – His Spirit working through them to fulfill history and prophecy!
c. Risk-takers have the character trait of having faith in God in spite of what is going on around them.
i. What does true faith in God look like?
1. Jim Cymbala in his book "Fresh Faith" explains it this way:
a. What is faith? It is total dependence upon God that becomes supernatural in its working. People with faith develop a second kind of sight. They see more than just circumstances, they see God, right beside them. Can they prove it? No. But by faith they know he’s there nonetheless (16).
i. He goes on to say: Without faith, says Hebrews 11:6, it is impossible to please God. Nothing else counts if faith is missing (16).
ii. In other words faith in risk taking is centered on the belief that God will use you to achieve the desired result of your risk.
iii. The key to faith is realizing that it is not faith in what you can do but it is the belief that God will use you to do the task that is risky.
ii. Nehemiah would not allow the Devil to use others to steal away His faith in God and hinder the completion of His God given burden and task.
1. Quote Cymbala notes: Our enemy Satan has no feelings of sympathy. If you don’t resist, he’ll rip you off every week, all year long. He adds, He is not out to steal your things money, coat, cars, (etc.). He is out to steal your faith in God. Satan wants to snatch this more than anything else, for he knows "The righteous will live by faith" (Romans 1:17). He knows that "Without faith it is impossible to please God"(Hebrews 11:6). He knows that real faith is our lifeline to God’s grace and power. If he can sever the faith connection, he has gained a tremendous victory. He knows that without a living faith, prayer as a force in our lives will be extinguished. We will soon be just mechanically going through the outward forms of religion while experiencing nothing of God’s power (21).
Conclusion:
Key Quote: “The power of prayer – Sheets/Ford: “Your prayers have the power to Heal the past and shape the future.”
So what are you praying about – what burden has gripped your heart or prayer life? What risk is God asking you to take?
Is it to evangelize America?
Billy Graham 1918 - He risked all to serve Christ in the mid-twentieth Century of which theological liberalism dominated the mainstream churches. The authority of the Bible was discounted, and a belief in the upward march of humanity was still in fashion. Yet along came Billy who has impacted our society beyond belief. Liberal theology was challenged and is on the decline, The Bible is coming back, humanism is slipping and Billy keeps on preaching even today.
All the individuals portrayed in church history were individuals who took risks for Him and that is why we know who they are in Christ. Risk takers get noticed when it’s done for Jesus - they change society, cities, churches, lives and facilitate growth in the Kingdom of God.
These risk takers had a drive to step out for God. There risky steps made an impact on the Kingdom of God. These individuals will go down in history for all eternity as God’s risk takers.
They all received blessings from God because of their step of faith.
But remember not being a risk taker or being willing to step out in faith will only bring the following to your life:
* The problem or crisis’ will continue to go unresolved and build into a crisis
* Change for the good will be avoided and bad will just keep piling up
* Maintenance of the status quo, will go on and on even though it is negative
* No gains in life—you will live a life of stagnation-you will just exist day by day
* Unhappiness concerning your current status in life will envelop you
* Depression over your problems and the crisis which surrounds you will dominate your life and thinking
* The problems will become more and more exacerbated and over powering
* The needs of others will continue to be ignored
* Experiencing ``burnout’’ in facing your problems and a hopeless mindset of change in your community will press on you
* Loss of physical health will occur
* Loss of emotional health will rob you of joy
* You will become isolated and ignored by others as you wallow in self-pity and misery
* Your blaming others will drive them away as you deceive yourself into more and more apathy
* Your self-destructive, self-defeating behavior will hinder your divine destiny and purpose
The following list is: http://www.livestrong.com/article/14727-becoming-a-risk-taker/#ixzz1W8k3Fgbv
The honest reality check of non risk takers is that millions who have not taken risks for God and have become the no names of divine history. I do not want to see that happen to you!
I have met a lot of talented and gifted people who have never taken a risk to step out of their comfort zone and go for broke with God. Sadly, they refused or where to afraid to take a risk for God. They waited for a better time, a safer situation, or a guarantee of assured results which never came. These people will never be heard or known in the Kingdom of God archives.
It’s a sad fact that throughout history there have been many opportunities to make a difference but individuals refused to step forward. They refused to take the risk for God. No names - nobody knows about - names lost in history forever! All because these individuals lacked the character traits of faith in Him and courage to step out and risk for Him.
Sheila states, "What good would big thinking be if it stopped short of taking risks that turn dreams (and visions) into reality"(129).
The truth is -- when risks are taken for God things will happen - visions from God become realities. Lives are changed and miracles happen.
The BC Justice League Heroes spoken of this summer all where risk takers who left impressions on our minds and spirits as inspiring examples of fearlessness in the face of ridicule, harassment, deprivation, and even death for the spread of the Kingdom of God.
These risk takers changed their future and our life for the better. How about you? Do you want to take a risk for Him? I dare you! Take a risk for Him now and get your name written into the journals of Heaven!
Altar Call:
Is there anyone here this morning who desires to risk all and surrender their life to Jesus? If so raise your hand and we will pray with you.
Also Is there anyone here today who wants to take a risk for Jesus, to fulfill a divine burden that’s one your heart? If you do stand up and we are going to pray for you too!
